Classified Advertising | classad@thewholenote.comMASON AND RISCH UPRIGHT piano for sale.Circa 194O. Lovely tone. Best offer. Please call416-929-1797WHILE YOUR GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS:Garage band days just a hazy memory?Your lovely old guitar / violin / clarinet iscrying out to be played! There’s someoneout there who’d love to love it, and giveit new life. Sell your unused instrumentswith a WholeNote classified ad: contactclassad@thewholenote.com.MUSICIANS AVAILABLEARE YOU A PARTY ANIMAL? TheWholeNote gets inquiries from readersseeking musicians to provide live music forall kinds of occasions. We can’t recommendyour ensemble, but YOU can! Contactclassad@thewholenote.com by January23 and book your ad for the Februarycombined edition!SERVICESRESTORE & PRESERVEYOUR MEMORIESRecital and gig tapes | 78’s& LPs | VHS and Hi8 | 35mmSlides |News clippings | Photos& more, transferred todigital files: CD’s, DVD’s,or Video slideshowArtsMediaProjects416.910.1091Publicity, press kits& image consultingfor performers416.544.1803www.lizpr.comWholeNoteCLASSIFIEDSreally deliver!Sing out and reachthe right audience.Starting at just .Discounts for multiple insertions.Deadline for our Febrary issue: January 23.classad@thewholenote.comNEED HELP WITHYOUR TAXES?Specializing in personaland business tax returnsincluding prior yearsand adjustmentsHORIZON TAX SERVICES INC.• free consultation • accurate workFor CRA stress relief call:1-866-268-1319hts@horizontax.cawww.horizontax.caVENUES AVAILABLE / WANTEDARE YOU PLANNING ACONCERT OR RECITAL?Looking for a venue?Bloor StreetUnited Church300 Bloor Street West, Toronto.416-924-7439 x22tina@bloorstreetunited.orgPERFORMANCE / REHEARSAL / STUDIO/ OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE: greatacoustics, reasonable rates, close toGreen P Parking, cafés & restaurants.Historic church at College & Bellevue,near Spadina. Phone 416-921-6350. E-mailststepheninthefields@gmail.comOur 3rd Floor“Jazz Cellar” Loungeis an ideal space for:corporate functions | privateevents | birthday parties |product launches416-363-5299 | jazzbistro.caSeeing OrangeThe Benefits ofMusic EducationPAUL ENNISLeaving a recent recital atKoerner Hall, as I passed atable devoted to The RoyalConservatory’s educationalprograms, my attention was caughtby a colourful folded-up glossyinfo sheet in the form of a posterwith an intriguing sentence coatedin two colours under a headlinewhich is also the headline ofthis article: The Benefits of MusicEducation.“Neuroscientists have demonstratedthat learning to play aninstrument or sing leads to changesin a child’s brain that make itmore likely they will reach theirfull cognitive and academic potential,” it stated. As I read further, themessage continued connecting music education to cognitive development,promising stronger connections between brain regions, moregrey matter, improved brain structure and function, better memoryand attention. Even a higher IQ.“Speech and reading skills dramatically improved in young childrentaking music lessons after only four weeks of music training.” I keptgoing. “Elementary school students in higher quality music educationprograms had 20 percent improvement in standardized tests ofEnglish and math.”This was heady stuff and gratifying to behold offering furtherconfirmation of the undeniable benefits of music on the developingbrain.The cognitive benefits of music education were then broken downinto IQ, Working Memory and Creativity. It was fascinating see scientificevidence of increased IQ scores among children who take musiclessons compared to children in drama classes or those who didneither. Additionally, individuals who are musically trained showbetter working memory abilities than those who are not, somethingthat is crucial to mental arithmetic and reading comprehension.Scientists also found a marked difference in communication betweenthe right and left sides of the brain (which fosters creativity) in individualswith musical training than in those without.I was already eager to learn more by visiting rcmusic.ca/resourcesto download a copy of The Benefits of Music Education when I noticedthe quotation on the lower right of the poster:“The theory of relativity occurredto me by intuition, and music is thedriving force behind this intuition. Myparents had me study the violin fromthe time I was six. My new discovery isthe result of musical perception.”Below the text were the words Albert Einstein.If you are looking to expand your music education, search nofurther than our online Orange Pages Directory of music teachers atthewholenote.com/orange. Teachers are always welcome to join forfree. Contact education@thewholenote.com for more information.70 | December 1 2014 - February 7, 2015 thewholenote.com
LEIGH MILLERWE ARE ALL MUSIC’S CHILDRENDecember’s ChildLawrence WilifordMJ BUELLLawrence Wiliford lives in the Woodbine/Danforth area of Toronto with his wife Prof.Katherine Larson and their miniature schnauzer Hermes. When not performing or thinkingabout the Canadian Art Song Project, Lawrence can often be found gardening, landscaping anddoing light renovations of their home.American-Canadian tenor LawrenceWiliford’s 2014/15 season includes concertengagements with major symphony orchestras,choral and early music groups in the U.S. andCanada, You may have heard him in Torontothis past November with the Bach Consort asThe Evangelist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio,or with The Niagara Symphony in Britten’s:Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. Perhapsyou saw Wiliford make his Canadian OperaCompany leading role debut in Mozart’s CosìFan Tutte as Ferrando (on five hours’ notice,in 2006). He has also appeared with the COCin A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Swoon;and with Opera Atelier in Die Entführungaus dem Serail, Acis and Galatea, Persée,and Don Giovanni. Alongside his work as aperformer Wiliford is co-artistic director, withpianist Stephen Philcox, of the Canadian ArtSong Project,Do you remember that childhood photobeing taken? Yes – It reminds me of thewonderful opportunity and education Ireceived while at TheAmerican Boychoir School.Your earliest memoriesof music? I’m not surewhat my earliest memoryof hearing music is, but Iwas surrounded by musicwhen I was young – hymnsbeing sung or my momand dad singing 60s folksongs.My early memoriesof music are vocal and intimate.First memory of making music? I rememberplaying in my room making up songs when Iwas very young. I also remember my youngerbrother and I playing Beatles records andpretending to sing those songs for my mom. Wewere very surprised she knew that it wasn’t usplaying and singing.Where did hearing music, both formaland informal, fit into your life as a child? Ilistened to a lot of music in the car riding withmy father from church to church on Sundaymornings and on road trips.The soundtrackof my early childhood included John Denver;Peter, Paul & Mary; The Kingston Trio; NeilDiamond; Kenny Rogers; etc. When I was about8 or 9 I saw the movie Amadeus and becameenthralled with Mozart’s music. I beganpurchasing recordings of his symphonies,concertos and choral works. That was my introductionto classical music and I never lookedback. I sang in choirs at church when I wasvery little and had piano lessons. I went toThe American Boychoir School from age 9 to14, where I was exposed tomusic in the broadest way,performing across the U.S.and internationally withamazing conductors andmusicians.A longer interview withLawrence Wiliford can beread at thewholenote.comNEW CONTEST!Who isFEBRUARY’s CHILD?Leading from the first chair (at right)in dad’s study: Summerhill Gardens,Toronto, 1969~ ~ Toronto’s masqued marvelun-settles old scores.~ ~ Where he’ll next appear asconductor, singer or baroqueviolinist?~ ~ Sightings include Tafelmusik,Exultate, Elora, Soundstreams,Toronto OperettaTheatre~ ~ But some lucky high schoolersknow he’s keeping time for them.~ ~ Proud son of his favouritecomposer, proud husband andfather of three favourite singers.~ ~ Former producer in the heyday ofCBC Radio Music.see pages 30, 31, 40, 52Know our Mystery Child’s name?WIN PRIZES! Send your best guessby January 24, tomusicschildren@thewholenote.com.CONGRAULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS! HERE’S WHAT THEY WONMessiah: at Roy Thomson Hall. Hallelujah! for the combined forces of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra andthe Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, with soloists Jane Archibald, soprano; Allyson McHardy, mezzo-soprano;Lawrence Wiliford, tenor; Philippe Sly, bass-baritone. Grant Llewellyn, conducts while your heart soars. (Dec16, 17, 19, 20, 21) A pair of Dec 16 tickets each for Doug McInroy and Joan RosenfeldBeethoven Symphony No. 5: at Koerner Hall. Kent Nagano (Orchestre symphonique de Montréal), directs the Tafelmusik BaroqueOrchestra in Beethoven’s revolutionary Symphony No. 5, later joined by the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir for Beethoven’s lyrical and joyousMass in C Major, with Nathalie Paulin, soprano; Laura Pudwell, mezzo-soprano; Lawrence Wiliford, tenor; Sumner Thompson, baritone(Jan 22 to 25). A pair of tickets for Annie OdomAcis and Galatea: Toronto Masque Theatre in the candle-lit Enoch Turner Schoolhouse . A perfect love, a spurned giant, an enduringmemorial by George Frideric Handel. Featuring tenor Lawrence Wiliford as Acis, soprano Teri Dunn as Galatea,baritone Peter McGillivray as Polyphemus and tenor Graham Thomson as Damon. A period ensemble is led by LarryBeckwith (violin 1), with chorus (Schola Cantorum, Faculty of Music U of T) directed by Daniel Taylor. (Jan 15 to17) Apair of tickets for Anne-Maria PennanenAsh Roses (Centrediscs 2014) This inaugural CD release by the Canadian Art Song Project (CASP) celebrates Canadiancomposer Derek Holman and a 20-year prolific period of writing art songs. The featured artists are also known for their dedicationto song and chamber repertoire: tenor Lawrence Wiliford, soprano Mireille Asselin, pianist Liz Upchurch and harpist Sanya Engperform works all previously unrecorded. A copy for you, Sabrina Keyes!Music’s Children gratefully acknowledges Lawrence & Terry Sue, Teri, Alison, Juliet, and John.thewholenote.com December 1 2014 - February 7, 2015 | 71
