Volume 21 Issue 2 - October 2015

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BLUE PAGES 2015/16 season will end with a Gala concert on April 17, 2016 at Glenn Gould Studio, with music from four Canadian Ukrainian composers and other gems from the choir’s musical archives. Guest performers will include Elmer Iseler Singers, Lydia Adams, Roman Borys (Gryphon Trio) and TUMCC. Vesnivka also sings Christmas and Easter liturgies on January 7 and May 1, 2016 at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church (Toronto). Halyna Kvitka Kondracki, artistic director Nykola Parzei, administrator 416-763-2197 nykola@vesnivka.com vesnivka.com ●Village Voices Village Voices, a non-profit, adult mixed-voice community choir of over 50 voices, has just celebrated the PanAm Games with a multilingual Spring Concert in May 2015. Under the direction of Joan Andrews, the choir provides fellowship for its members and performs classical, sacred and secular choral music from many eras. Rehearsals are held on Wednesday nights in the Rehearsal Hall at the Cornell Community Centre in Markham. Village Voices raises its artistic level and expands its repertoire through vocal workshops and by including professional guest soloists and instrumentalists. The choir performs at various venues in Markham and the surrounding area. It continues to honour its commitment to the community by entertaining at local retirement homes. On December 12, 2015 Village Voices Choir will perform Handel’s Messiah with guest soloists Rebecca Whelan, Andrea Ludwig, Asitha Tennekoon and Jesse Clark, accompanied by the Talisker Players and Gerald Loo, organ, at Markham Missionary Church in Markham. Our Spring Concert will take place on May 7, 2016, at the same location. Joan Andrews, conductor and artistic director info@villagevoices.ca villagevoices.ca ●VIVA! Youth Singers of Toronto Celebrating its 16th season, VIVA! Youth Singers of Toronto is a vibrant, innovative choral organization for singers ages four to young adults. VIVA! offers youth the opportunity to achieve artistic excellence through innovative education in a singer-centred, inclusive community. Support is provided for youth with disabilities. VIVA!’s diverse programming features ageappropriate choral training through instruction in vocal technique, private vocal instruction and comprehensive theory. VIVA! has five choirs – Preparatory Chorus, Junior Choir, Main Chorus, ECS (Everyone Can Sing) Chorus and the SATB Chamber Youth Choir. The season includes Monday rehearsals; appearances in The Nutcracker with The National Ballet of Canada orchestra; a November 29 “Shanti: Our Home and Native Land” concert at Trinity St. Paul’s; “Carols by Candlelight” in December; the annual Gala Dinner on April 20; and the early June premiere at Daniels Spectrum of Dean Burry’s opera The Sword in the Schoolyard, commissioned by VIVA! Youth Singers. The Chamber Youth Choir’s season includes Bach’s St. John Passion on March 25. Email for information and to book an audition (in January, April, September or June). Susan Suchard, general manager 416-788-8482 info@vivayouthsingers.com vivayouthsingers.com ●VOCA Chorus of Toronto The VOCA Chorus of Toronto is an auditioned ensemble which performs eclectic repertoire, including several premieres of arrangements by artistic director, Jenny Crober, in collaboration with guest artists. Our talented and versatile accompanist is Elizabeth Acker. Our season consists of two concerts, a cabaret, performances at community events, workshops and retreats. Guest musicians have included some of Canada’s finest performers: flutist Les Allt; guitarists Michael Occhipinti and Charlie Roby; bassists Rob Clutton and Louis Simão; singers Jennie Such and Alexander Dobson; Latin band Cassava; percussionists Nick Coulter and Jamie Drake; Celtic musicians Loretto Reid and Sharlene Wallace. In May, several of our choristers (with Jenny Crober co-conducting) were honoured to perform at Carnegie Hall. We’ve also been broadcast on CBC Radio’s Vinyl Café. Our concert on Saturday, December 12, 7:30 pm at Eastminster United will feature Canadian composer Sarah Quartel’s poignant Snow Angel, along with several wide-ranging selections. Guests: Wendy Solomon, cello, Ray Dillard, percussion and Kevin Barrett, guitar. Our May 7, 2016 concert will feature the sublime Fauré Requiem. Guests: Talisker Players. Rehearsals: Monday evenings - Eastminster United (Chester subway). Jenny Crober 416-463-8225 vocachorus.ca/contact vocachorus.com ●Voicebox: Opera in Concert Voicebox: Opera in Concert is Canada’s only company dedicated exclusively to the presentation of rare opera programming. Our performances rely on the power and beauty of the human voice, the dramatic inflection of text and poetry accompanied by orchestra or piano. The 2015/16 season opens with Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin on Sunday, November 22, 2015 featuring Natalya Matyusheva, Deanna Pauletto, Adam Fisher, Geoffrey Sirett, Andrey Andreychik and Giles Tomkins with music director Narmina Afandiyeva leading our roster of emerging Canadian artists. Falstaff by Antonio Salieri featuring Colin Ainsworth and Allison Angelo with Aradia Ensemble is next on February 7, conducted by Kevin Mallon. The finale of the season is a world premiere of a Canadian work, Isis and Osiris by Peter Anthony Togni and Sharon Singer on April 1 & 3, 2016, featuring Lucia Cesaroni, Julie Nesrallah, Ernesto Ramirez and Michael Nyby, along with Robert Cooper as conductor. Robert Cooper leads OIC’s renowned chorus. Performances are held at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. Yuki Azuma Box Office: 416-366-7723 admin@operainconcert.com operainconcert.com ●Windermere String Quartet The Windermere String Quartet was formed in the spring of 2005 to perform the music of Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and their contemporaries on period instruments. The quartet is known for its dynamic performances and distinctive approach to well-known and rarely-heard repertoire as well as its regular commissions of new works. The Windermere String Quartet’s concert series takes place in the warm acoustic and intimate atmosphere of St. Olave’s Anglican Church in Toronto’s west end. Concerts from the series have been recorded for broadcast by CBC Radio. The quartet’s first CD, The Golden Age of String Quartets, was released in the 2011/12 season to critical acclaim. In addition to its own concert series, the quartet has also performed at the Toronto Music Garden, Academy Concert Series, Royal Ontario Museum, Nuit Blanche, Musically Speaking, Stratford Chamber Music, the Lake MacDonald Music Centre, Music at Port Milford and New Hamburg Live!, and is regularly appointed as the quartet-in-residence at summer festivals. Anthony Rapoport 416-769-0952 info@windermerestringquartet.com windermerestringquartet.com ●Women’s Musical Club of Toronto Through its Music in the Afternoon concert series, the 118-year-old Women’s Musical Club of Toronto presents chamber music concerts featuring musicians on the threshold of international recognition, as well as established artists and ensembles. Concerts are held Thursday afternoons at 1:30pm at Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park, Toronto. Artists for the 118th (2015/16) season include Caroline Leonardelli, harp with Afiara String Quartet (Thursday October 15); Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano with Vlad Iftinca, piano (Thursday November 19); Daedalus String Quartet (Thursday March 3); Steven Dann, viola and friends, presenting the B26 | theWholeNote 2015/16 PRESENTER PROFILES

premiere of a new work by Zosha Di Castri, commissioned by WMCT (Thursday April 7); and Honens Laureate Pavel Kolesnikov, piano (Thursday May 5). Member/subscriber benefits include Tuning Your Mind, a free pre-concert lecture series presented in partnership with the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, on a topic related to the day’s concert. Masterclasses this season are to be announced. wmct.on.ca ●Wychwood Clarinet Choir Established in 2009, the Wychwood Clarinet Choir is directed by clarinetist and conductor Michele Jacot. Members of the choir include skilled clarinetists of all ages who share a love of music making, friendship and fun. The group rehearses weekly and performs on a regular basis in Toronto’s St. Clair and Wychwood area. The instrumentation of the WCC extends from the contrabass clarinet to the E-flat sopranino. The choir’s repertoire includes many compositions and arrangements written by the group’s own Composers’ Collective, and by the choir’s composer and conductor laureate, Howard Cable. The Wychwood Clarinet Choir embraces the ideal of “music for life” and is committed to sharing the musical experience in educational settings and in the wider community. Choir members are admitted by audition and pay a nominal annual membership fee. wychwoodclarinetchoir@yahoo.ca wychwoodclarinetchoir.com ●York Chamber Ensemble The York Chamber Ensemble (YCE) has been presenting concerts to Aurora audiences since 2001, celebrating the rich artistic resources of York Region. Under the direction of Tony Browning, YCE presents four annual concerts at Trinity Anglican Church, 79 Victoria Street, Aurora. 2015-2016 Concert Season: Sat October 17, 2015 7:30pm, “Haydn & Mozart”: Haydn Cello Concerto with soloist Mark Chambers, Mozart Symphony no. 29. Sat December 5, 2015 7:30pm “Handel’s Messiah & Christmas Favourites” with Trinity Festival Chorus. Sat March 5, 2016 7:30pm “Bring Home Beethoven”: Beethoven Violin Concerto with soloist Michael Adamson, Beethoven Symphony no. 7. Sat May 14, 7:30pm and Sun May 29, 2016 3pm “Back to Bach”: Bach Magnificat, Bach Suite no.3, Bach Cantata – Ich habe genug with Trinity Festival Chorus and Tapestry Chamber Choir. Tickets are available at the door: for Adults, for Seniors/Students. Saturday concerts: Trinity Anglican Church, 79 Victoria Street, Aurora Sunday May 29 concert: All Saints Anglican Church, 12935 Keele St, King City yce.email@gmail.com yorkchamberensemble.ca WINDERMERE STRING QUARTET ●York University York University’s Department of Music presents more than 100 public events each season. This year our Faculty Concert Series spotlights mridangam virtuoso Trichy Sankaran, pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico, jazz drummer Barry Elmes, as well as pianist and composer Michael Coghlan. Classical chamber concerts and performances by the York U Concert and Chamber Choirs are offered alongside electroacoustic explorations and original student compositions. Our annual world music festival celebrates global traditions from Caribbean and Middle Eastern music to West African drumming and Chinese orchestra. The Music at Midday series offers free lunchtime performances featuring guest artists, faculty and student talent. Masterclasses by leading Canadian and international artists are frequently open to observers. Each term concludes with showcase performances by the York U Symphony Orchestra, Gospel Choir and Wind Symphony, as well as a four-day jazz festival. Performances take place in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall or the informal setting of the Martin Family Lounge in the Accolade East Building at York’s Keele campus. William Thomas, chair Matt Vander Woude, associate chair Michael Coghlan, graduate program director Judy Karacs, events and promotions coordinator 416-736-5186 musicprg@yorku.ca Box Office: 416-736-5888; yorku.ca/perform/boxoffice ●Yorkminster Park Baptist Church Yorkminster Park is synonymous with magnificent music. Whether it’s the choir accompanied by the majestic Casavant organ or the congregation lifting their voices in hymns of praise, vocal and instrumental expressions of faith are integral in the Yorkminster Park experience. The senior choir, under organist and music director William Maddox, enjoys a reputation as one of the best congregational choirs in the city of Toronto. Yorkminster Park presents a series of free organ recitals at 12:30pm, every Wednesday from September through June, with performers from around the world. We have a wide variety of unique musical events throughout the year but Yorkminster Park is renowned for its special seasonal concerts. The quality and dedication of the music ministry at YPBC is never more evident than during Advent and Holy Week and these services have become community traditions: City Carol Sing, Carols by Candlelight, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Passiontide Devotion during Holy Week and traditional Evensong services three times a year. Our sanctuary is frequently made available to other choral and concert groups, which draw appreciative audiences from all over Southern Ontario. William Maddox 416-922-1550 wcmaddox@yorkminsterpark.com yorkminsterpark.com Updated online at thewholenote.com/blue theWholeNote 2015/16 PRESENTER PROFILES | B27