INSIDE: The Canaries Are Here! 116 choirs to choose from, so take the plunge! The Nylons hit the road after one last SING! Fling. Jazz writer Steve Wallace wonders "Watts Goode" rather than "what's new?" Paul Ennis has the musical picks of the HotDocs crop. David Jaeger's CBC Radio continues golden for a little while yet. Douglas McNabney is Music's Child. Leipzig meets Damascus in Alison Mackay's fertile imagination. And "C" is for KRONOS in Wende Bartley's koverage of the third annual 21C Festival. All this and as usual much much more. Enjoy.
CANARY PAGES ●
CANARY PAGES ● Canadian Orpheus Male Choir The Canadian Orpheus Male Choir is a TTBB choral ensemble of some 30 members known as the men who love to sing. Join us! Founded in 1977, this Hamilton-based registered charity performs to support charitable causes and to entertain. Covering pop, traditional and folk songs, spirituals, jazz numbers and hits from musicals, we’ve sung in Roy Thomson Hall, the Burlington Performing Arts Centre and Hamilton Place, among others, and helped raise some 0,000 for charities. We’ve shared the stage with guest performers like soprano Abigail Freeman and violinist Martin Beaver. Book the COMC for your special event! ‘Like’ Canadian Orpheus Male Choir on Facebook. Subscribe to the Canadian Orpheus Male Choir YouTube channel. Follow @CanadianOrpheus on Twitter! KEITH THOMAS 905-681-1936 info@comc.ca www.comc.ca ● Cantemus Singers Cantemus Singers, conducted by Michael Erdman, perform mainly renaissance and early baroque repertoire. Our 14-voice group gives equal time to secular and religious compositions of the period in a variety of languages, with particular focus on the rich five- to eight-part compositions less familiar to Toronto audiences. We present three programs a year, in late fall, mid-winter and spring. Although we are primarily an a cappella ensemble, we occasionally join forces with ensembles/players of period instruments. Our choristers are a mix of enthusiastic, well-trained amateurs and semi-professionals, all sharing a common interest in early music. We rehearse Wednesday evenings through the season. Membership is by audition. Our main performance venue is the historic and acoustically lively Church of the Holy Trinity, Eaton Centre. MICHAEL ERDMAN, conductor 416-578-6602 cantemus.ca@gmail.com www.cantemus.ca ● Cellar Singers The Cellar Singers, founded in 1968, is an auditioned, adult regional chorus. Under the leadership of Mitchell Pady since 2012, it is dedicated to providing and promoting artistic excellence through education, outreach and the high quality of performance of the choral art. The Cellar Singers aim to promote the choral art form throughout Simcoe County and Muskoka with their performance of standard classical repertoire as well as contemporary Canadian classical and other contemporary styles of music. The Cellar Singers look forward to their 49th season starting September 2016, and welcome new singers to join the rehearsals as they progress to celebrate 50 years of simply beautiful singing. LAUREN TURGEON 705-481-1853 info@thecellarsingers.com www.thecellarsingers.com ● Choralairs Choir theWholeNote 2016/17 CANARY PAGES DIRECTORY ● Cantabile Chamber Singers Cantabile Chamber Singers is an auditioned choir of 16 to 20 voices, formed in 2006 by artistic director Cheryll J. Chung. We perform eclectic and challenging repertoire spanning six centuries. We especially strive to bring Canadian music to audiences while attracting a new generation to choral music. In addition to our concert season we have participated in choral festivals and other events, including most recently being featured in the Mozart Project of Toronto. Contact us for an audition as a singer, as a soloist or to submit a newly written choral work. Check out our recordings on YouTube, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @CantabileTO. Auditions are held in June and September. CHERYLL CHUNG cantabilechambersingers@gmail.com www.cantabilechambersingers.com ● Cantala Women’s Choir Founded in 2008, Cantala is an award-winning, vibrant choral group in the Toronto choral community. Cantala is committed to performing diverse Canadian and world choral music at the highest level from the baroque, classical and modern eras. The choir is made up of singers with various levels of choral and/ or singing experience, from all walks of life. With training and experience in singing and vocal pedagogy, our director, Nancy Singla, brings a unique approach and knowledge to choral singing. Cantala strives for exceptional music-making, and its singers are rewarded with a moving, rich choral experience with the support of a like-minded singing community. For audition interviews and more information, please email nancy.singla@hotmail.com. NANCY SINGLA 416-629-8805 nancy.singla@hotmail.com www.cantalawomenschoir.com ● Cantores Celestes Women’s Choir Cantores Celestes Women’s Choir is an auditioned, fun, committed women’s choir conducted by Kelly Galbraith, celebrating its 28th season. The singers are interesting, talented, funny and passionate about life and music. Perform with the best instrumental musicians in Toronto! Repertoire includes everything from medieval and baroque to classical and modern with gospel and Celtic. The choir has released six CDs, has performed live on CBC Radio, donated over ,000 to charities and was featured in three films, and was the featured women’s choir in Schafer’s Luminato performance. It has toured the Maritimes, Ontario and New York City. Performances: December 3, 2016 and April 22, 2017 as well as exciting projects and tours to be announced. Auditions are held in May, June and August. KELLY GALBRAITH, director 416-655-7335 cantorescelestes@hotmail.com www.cantorescelestes.com ● Celebration Choir Are you a senior and looking for a fun, energetic and eclectic choir? The Celebration Choir is one you should consider! Founded in 2007 within the Toronto Singing Studio and directed by Linda Eyman, this choir of 60 voices features songs to suit every musical taste. Repertoire spans popular to classical to folk with appealing musical arrangements. The Celebration Choir rehearses from September through May on Thursday afternoons, 2pm to 4pm, in the gymnasium at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W., Toronto. Two formal concerts are presented each season along with community outreach concerts when possible. Rehearsals are very sociable. No audition necessary. A season membership is paid. LINDA EYMAN, music director 416-455-9238 linda@thetorontosingingstudio.ca www.thetorontosingingstudio.ca The Choralairs are a nonprofit, 50-member, 4-part harmony adult choir who sing a variety of popular songs, jazz standards, Broadway show tunes and folk songs. Directed by Peter Ness and Gary Heard as our piano accompanist, the choir requires no auditions, just a love of singing and the ability to carry a tune! We rehearse from September to June on Tuesday evenings at Earl Bales Community Centre at Bathurst and Sheppard. We also perform regularly for seniors at residences in the GTA. All are welcome to our free annual concert on Sunday June 5, 2016 at 1:30pm at Earl Bales CC in the Banquet hall. MARTHA: 905-884-8370 Sally: 416-636-8247 choralairs@gmail.com www.choralairschoir.com ● Chorus Hamilton Chorus Hamilton, formerly the Mohawk College Community Choir, is one of Hamilton’s finest choral ensembles. It was founded by Patricia Rolston in 1968 and has grown into a 70-member community choral society, with singers from all walks of life who have their vocal talent and love for choral music in common. With current artistic director David Holler, the choir performs a large variety of music including chamber music, Broadway and opera selections and large-scale works with orchestra. Chorus Hamilton has collaborated with the Fanshawe Chorus London, the McMaster University Choir, the Redeemer University Sinfonia and Symphony on the Bay. New members are invited to audition every September and January. Please see our website for concert listings and more information. LOUISE DRIEMAN 905-526-7938 l.drieman@cogeco.ca www.mohawkcollege.ca/chorus-hamilton C4
● Chorus Niagara Worth the drive to Niagara! Chorus Niagara, the Power of 100, is a passionate group of singers of diverse ages and walks of life. As the Niagara region’s premier symphonic chorus, CN performs classic choral masterpieces as well as new, modern and seldom-heard works, provides a showcase for emerging Canadian talent and attracts singers of all ages through its Chorus Niagara Children’s Choir (CNCC), Side by Side High School Chorale and Robert Cooper Choral Scholars program. The spectacular 2016/17 season features a diverse program including Elijah, Messiah, The Phantom of the Opera – a ‘silent’ film with live choral soundtrack – and a passionate celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary, all performed in the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. ROBERT COOPER, artistic director DIANA MCADOREY, managing director 905-934-5575 cnadmin@becon.org www.chorusniagara.ca ● Chorus York Chorus York is an auditioned amateur community choir based in Richmond Hill. We perform three to four concerts per year and sing a variety of choral music from Bach to Broadway. We are diverse in terms of age and culture, but we all share a love of fine choral music. BRUCE MORROW 905-884-7922 mlmontgrain@rogers.com ● Christ Church Deer Park Continuing its long tradition of musical excellence, Christ Church Deer Park boasts an innovative music program. Our choir, consisting of professional members and skilled volunteers, performs a rich treasury of sacred choral music and hymnody at the 10am Sunday liturgy. The choir also performs at other special events, feast days, Evensongs and concerts throughout the year. Rehearsals take place on Thursday evenings from 6:30pm to 8:30pm and offer an opportunity to develop musicianship through vocal instruction, while being part of an open and welcoming community. In addition, we present Jazz Vespers, a popular, informal service held bi-monthly from September to June and featuring some of the city’s finest jazz musicians. For more information contact Matthew Otto, choir director and organist. MATTHEW OTTO 416-920-5211 x28 motto@christchurchdeerpark.org www.thereslifehere.org ● Church of St. Mary Magdalene Steeped in musical heritage and assisted by a generous acoustic, the Church of St. Mary Magdalene offers a music program strongly rooted in the musical tradition established by Healey Willan. Every Sunday at the 11am Solemn Mass, the Gallery Choir sings a mass and motet from the west gallery while the Ritual Choir sings the Gregorian propers from the east end. Both choirs rehearse on Thursdays. At the 9:30am Sung Mass, the SMM Singers sing a motet and lead congregational singing. Membership is informal: rehearsals are at 9am every Sunday. One Sunday per month at 4:30pm the meditative Solemn Evensong and Benediction is sung, preceded by an organ recital at 4pm. For information, please contact Andrew Adair, director of music. ANDREW ADAIR 647-201-3739 andrew.timothy.adair@gmail.com www.stmarymagdalene.ca ● Columbus Belle Voci Columbus Belle Voci is a 35-member SATB choir that performs music from all genres – popular, classical, Broadway, opera and Italian folk – comprised of experienced professional and amateur singers. Maestro Paolo Busato, director of Columbus Belle Voci, conducted the Paris Children’s Opera Choir in France before Presidents Francois Mitterrand and Ronald Reagan, and conducted the choir in St. Peter’s Basilica in Italy. The Maestro also conducts a small exclusive ensemble titled Solisti Belle Voci de Columbus, a group of experienced soloists who perform solos, duets and small ensemble pieces with the Master Choir and their own concerts. Rehearsals are Monday evenings at 7:30pm at the Villa Colombo Sala Fusco, 40 Playfair Ave., Toronto, ON, and the ensemble rehearses some Wednesdays and Saturdays. New members are welcome – you must be able to read music and submit to a small audition. Those wishing to join the ensemble must approach the Maestro privately. CATRIONA DELANEY 647-267-9040 info@columbusperformingartscouncil.com www.columbusperformingartscouncil.com ● County Town Singers We are a 65-voice mixed adult community choir from Durham Region within the GTA, started in 1967. Our motto is “We Sing For the Love of it.” We present a varied repertoire with many musical styles, though little classical. We practise on Wednesday evenings from 7:30pm to 10pm from January to May and September to December, presenting full shows in early May and December. In addition, we perform smaller two or three smaller shows for community groups and charities.We have travelled extensively over our nearly 50 years of existence, most recently to the United Nations in NYC. Informal, easygoing auditions take place in early January and December. Yearly fees are reasonable. For additional info please visit our website or call/ text John Van Hoof at 647-981-2205. JOHN VAN HOOF 647-981-2205 javh1947@gmail.com www.countytownsingers.com ● Cummer Avenue United Church Chancel Choir Cummer Avenue United Church Chancel Choir consists of a group of volunteer singers supported by a number of professional section leaders. The choir sings classical and contemporary repertoire and provides strong musical leadership for Sunday worship services 12 months of the year. In addition to full choir anthems, various ensembles and solos are presented by members of the chancel choir. On selected Sundays the choir presents extra choral music such as traditional carols at Christmas and a cantata at Easter. Choral music from all parts of the globe is regularly featured in the choir’s offerings. Rehearsals are held Thursday evenings from early fall to early spring and on Sunday mornings all year. TAYLOR SULLIVAN 416-222-5417 taylorsullivan@yahoo.com www.cummeravenueuc.ca CANADIAN MEN’S CHORUS theWholeNote 2016/17 CANARY PAGES DIRECTORY C5
"COVID's Metamorphoses"? "There's Always Time (Until Suddenly There Isn't)"? "The Writing on the Wall"? It's hard to know WHAT to call this latest chapter in the extraordinary story we are all of a sudden characters in. By whatever name we call it, the MAY/JUNE combined issue of The WholeNote is now available, HERE in flip through format, in print commencing Wednesday May 6, and, in fully interactive form, online at thewholenote.com. Our 18th Annual Choral Canary Pages, scheduled for publication in print and flip through in September is already well underway with the first 50 choirs home to roost and more being added every week online. Community Voices, our cover story, brings to you the thoughts of 30 musical community members, all going through what we are going through (and with many more to come as the feature gets amplified online over the course of the coming months). And our regular writers bring their personal thoughts to the mix. Finally, a full-fledged DISCoveries review section offers cues and clues to recorded music for your solitary solace!
After some doubt that we would be allowed to go to press, in respect to wide-ranging Ontario business closures relating to COVID-19, The WholeNote magazine for April 2020 is now on press, and print distribution – modified to respect community-wide closures and the need for appropriate distancing – starts Monday March 30. Meanwhile the full magazine is right here, digitally, so if you value us PLEASE SHARE THIS LINK AS WIDELY AS YOU CAN. It's the safest way for us to reach the widest possible audience at this time!
FEATURED: Music & Health writer Vivien Fellegi explores music, blindness & the plasticity of perception; David Jaeger digs into Gustavo Gimeno's plans for new music in his upcoming first season as music director at TSO; pianist James Rhodes, here for an early March recital, speaks his mind in a Q&A with Paul Ennis; and Lydia Perovic talks music and more with rising Turkish-Canadian mezzo Beste Kalender. Also, among our columns, Peggy Baker Dance Projects headlines Wende Bartley's In with the New; Steve Wallace's Jazz Notes rushes in definitionally where many fear to tread; ... and more.
Visions of 2020! Sampling from back to front for a change: in Rearview Mirror, Robert Harris on the Beethoven he loves (and loves to hate!); Errol Gay, a most musical life remembered; Luna Pearl Woolf in focus in recordings editor David Olds' "Editor's Corner" and in Jenny Parr's preview of "Jacqueline"; Speranza Scappucci explains how not to reinvent Rossini; The Indigo Project, where "each piece of cloth tells a story"; and, leading it all off, Jully Black makes a giant leap in "Caroline, or Change." And as always, much more. Now online in flip-through format here and on stands starting Thurs Jan 30.
Welcome to our December/January issue as we turn the annual calendar page, halfway through our season for the 25th time, juggling as always, secular stuff, the spirit of the season, new year resolve and winter journeys! Why is Mozart's Handel's Messiah's trumpet a trombone? Why when Laurie Anderson offers to fly you to the moon you should take her up on the invitation. Why messing with Winterreisse can (sometimes) be a very good thing! And a bumper crop of record reviews for your reading (and sometimes listening) pleasure. Available in flipthrough here right now, and on stands commencing Thursday Nov 28. See you on the other side!
On the slim chance you might not have already heard the news, Estonian Canadian composing giant Udo Kasemets was born the same year that Leo Thermin invented the theremin --1919. Which means this is the centenary year for both of them, and both are being celebrated in style, as Andrew Timar and MJ Buell respectively explain. And that's just a taste of a bustling November, with enough coverage of music of both the delectably substantial and delightfully silly on hand to satisfy one and all.
Long promised, Vivian Fellegi takes a look at Relaxed Performance practice and how it is bringing concert-going barriers down across the spectrum; Andrew Timar looks at curatorial changes afoot at the Music Gallery; David Jaeger investigates the trumpets of October; the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution (and the 20th Anniversary of our October Blue Pages Presenter profiles) in our Editor's Opener; the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at 125; Tapestry at 40 and Against the Grain at 10; ringing in the changing season across our features and columns; all this and more, now available in Flip Through format here, and on the stands commencing this coming Friday September 27, 2019. Enjoy.
Vol 1 of our 25th season is now here! And speaking of 25, that's how many films in the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival editor Paul Ennis, in our Eighth Annual TIFF TIPS, has chosen to highlight for their particular musical interest.
Also inside: Rob Harris looks through the Rear View Mirror at past and present prognostications about the imminent death of classical music; Mysterious Barricades and Systemic Barriers are Lydia Perović's preoccupations in Art of Song; Andrew Timar reflects on the evolving priorities of the Polaris Prize; and elsewhere, it's chocks away as yet another season creaks or roars (depending on the beat) into motion. Welcome back.
What a range of stuff! A profile of Liz Upchurch, the COC ensemble studio's vocal mentor extraordinaire; a backgrounder on win-win faith/arts centre partnerships and ways of exploring the possibilities; an interview with St. Petersburg-based Eifman Ballet's Boris Eifman; Ana Sokolovic's violin concert Evta finally coming to town; a Love Letter to YouTube, and much more. Plus our 17th annual Canary Pages Choral directory if all you want to do is sing! sing! sing!
Arraymusic, the Music Gallery and Native Women in the Arts join for a mini-festival celebrating the work of composer, performer and installation artist Raven Chacon; Music and Health looks at the role of Healing Arts Ontario in supporting concerts in care facilities; Kingston-based composer Marjan Mozetich's life and work are celebrated in film; "Forest Bathing" recontextualizes Schumann, Shostakovich and Hindemith; in Judy Loman's hands, the harp can sing; Mahler's Resurrection bursts the bounds of symphonic form; Ed Bickert, guitar master remembered. All this and more in our April issue, now online in flip-through here, and on stands commencing Friday March 29.
Something Old, Something New! The Ide(a)s of March are Upon Us! Rob Harris's Rear View Mirror looks forward to a tonal revival; Tafelmusik expands their chronological envelope in two directions, Esprit makes wave after wave; Pax Christi's new oratorio by Barbara Croall catches the attention of our choral and new music columnists; and summer music education is our special focus, right when warm days are once again possible to imagine. All this and more in our March 2019 edition, available in flipthrough here, and on the stands starting Thursday Feb 28.
In this issue: A prize that brings lustre to its laureates (and a laureate who brings lustre to the prize); Edwin Huizinga on the journey of Opera Atelier's "The Angel Speaks" from Versailles to the ROM; Danny Driver on playing piano in the moment; Remembering Neil Crory (a different kind of genius)' Year of the Boar, Indigeneity and Opera; all this and more in Volume 24 #5. Online in flip through, HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday Jan 31.
When is a trumpet like a motorcycle in a dressage event? How many Brunhilde's does it take to change an Elektra? Just two of the many questions you've been dying to ask, to which you will find answers in a 24th annual combined December/January issue – in which our 11 beat columnists sift through what's on offer in the upcoming holiday month, and what they're already circling in their calendars for 2019. Oh, and features too: a klezmer violinist breathing new life into a very old film; two New Music festivals in January, 200 metres apart; a Music & Health story on the restorative powers of a grassroots exercise in collective music-making; even a good reason to go to Winnipeg in the dead of winter. All this and more in Vol 24 No 4, now available in flipthrough format here.
Reluctant arranger! National Ballet Orchestra percussionist Kris Maddigan on creating the JUNO and BAFTA award-winning smash hit Cuphead video game soundtrack; Evergreen by name and by nature, quintessentially Canadian gamelan (Andrew Timar explains); violinist Angèle Dubeau on 20 years and 60 million streams; two children’s choirs where this month remembrance and living history must intersect. And much more, online in our kiosk now, and on the street commencing Thursday November 1.
Presenters, start your engines! With TIFF and "back-to-work" out of the way, the regular concert season rumbles to life, and, if our Editor's Opener can be trusted, "Seeking Synergies" seems to be the name of the game. Denise Williams' constantly evolving "Walk Together Children" touching down at the Toronto Centre for the Arts; the second annual Festival of Arabic Music and Arts expanding its range; a lesson in Jazz Survival with Steve Wallace; the 150 presenter and performer profiles in our 19th annual Blue Pages directory... this is an issue that is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
In this issue: The WholeNote's 7th Annual TIFF TIPS guide to festival films with musical clout; soprano Erin Wall in conversation with Art of Song columnist Lydia Perovic, about more than the art of song; a summer's worth of recordings reviewed; Toronto Chamber Choir at 50 (is a few close friends all it takes?); and much more, as the 2018/19 season gets under way.
PLANTING NOT PAVING! In this JUNE / JULY /AUGUST combined issue: Farewell interviews with TSO's Peter Oundjian and Stratford Summer Music's John Miller, along with "going places" chats with Luminato's Josephine Ridge, TD Jazz's Josh Grossman and Charm of Finches' Terry Lim. ) Plus a summer's worth of fruitful festival inquiry, in the city and on the road, in a feast of stories and our annual GREEN PAGES summer Directory.
In this issue: our sixteenth annual Choral Canary Pages; coverage of 21C, Estonian Music Week and the 3rd Toronto Bach Festival (three festivals that aren’t waiting for summer!); and features galore: “Final Finales” for Larry Beckwith’s Toronto Masque Theatre and for David Fallis as artistic director of Toronto Consort; four conductors on the challenges of choral conducting; operatic Hockey Noir; violinist Stephen Sitarski’s perspective on addressing depression; remembering bandleader, composer and saxophonist Paul Cram. These and other stories, in our May 2018 edition of the magazine.
In this issue: we talk with jazz pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo about growing up in Toronto, building a musical career, and being adaptive to change; pianist Eve Egoyan prepares for her upcoming Luminato project and for the next stage in her long-term collaborative relationship with Spanish-German composer Maria de Alvear; jazz violinist Aline Homzy, halfway through preparing for a concert featuring standout women bandleaders, talks about social equity in the world of improvised music; and the local choral community celebrates the life and work of choral conductor Elmer Iseler, 20 years after his passing.
In this issue: Canadian Stage, Tapestry Opera and Vancouver Opera collaborate to take Gogol’s short story The Overcoat to the operatic stage; Montreal-based Sam Shalabi brings his ensemble Land of Kush, and his newest composition, to Toronto; Five Canadian composers, each with a different CBC connection, are nominated for JUNOs; and The WholeNote team presents its annual Summer Music Education Directory, a directory of summer music camps, programs and courses across the province and beyond.
In this issue: composer Nicole Lizée talks about her love for analogue equipment, and the music that “glitching” evokes; Richard Rose, artistic director at the Tarragon Theatre, gives us insights into their a rock-and-roll Hamlet, now entering production; Toronto prepares for a mini-revival of Schoenberg’s music, with three upcoming shows at New Music Concerts; and the local music theatre community remembers and celebrates the life and work of Mi’kmaq playwright and performer Cathy Elliott . These and other stories, in our double-issue December/January edition of the magazine.
In this issue: conversations (of one kind or another) galore! Daniela Nardi on taking the reins at "best-kept secret" venue, 918 Bathurst; composer Jeff Ryan on his "Afghanistan" Requiem for a Generation" partnership with war poet, Susan Steele; lutenist Ben Stein on seventeenth century jazz; collaborative pianist Philip Chiu on going solo; Barbara Hannigan on her upcoming Viennese "Second School" recital at Koerner; Tina Pearson on Pauline Oliveros; and as always a whole lot more!
In this issue: several local artists reflect on the memory of composer Claude Vivier, as they prepare to perform his music; Vancouver gets ready to host international festival ISCM World New Music Days, which is coming to Canada for the second time since its inception in 1923; one of the founders of Artword Artbar, one of Hamilton’s staple music venues, on the eve of the 5th annual Steel City Jazz Festival, muses on keeping urban music venues alive; and a conversation with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, as he prepares for an ambitious recital in Toronto. These and other stories, in our October 2017 issue of the magazine.
In this issue: a look at why musicians experience stage fright, and how to combat it; an inside look at the second Kensington Market Jazz Festival, which zeros in on one of Toronto’s true ‘music villages’; an in-depth interview with Elisa Citterio, new music director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; and The WholeNote’s guide to TIFF, with suggestions for the 20 most musical films at this year’s festival. These and other stories, in our September 2017 issue of the magazine!
CBC Radio's Lost Horizon; Pinocchio as Po-Mo Operatic Poster Boy; Meet the Curators (Crow, Bernstein, Ridge); a Global Music Orchestra is born; and festivals, festivals, festivals in our 13th annual summer music Green Pages. All this and more in our three-month June-through August summer special issue, now available in flipthrough HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday June 1.
From science fact in "Integral Man: Music and the Movies," to science fiction in the editor's opener; from World Fiddle Day at the Aga Khan Museum to three Canadians at the Cliburn; from wanting to sashay across the 401 to Chamberfest in Montreal to exploring the Continuum of Jumblies Theatre's 20-year commitment to the Community Play (there's a pun in there somewhere!).
In this issue: Our podcast ramps up with interviews in March with fight director Jenny Parr, countertenor Daniel Taylor, and baritone Russell Braun; two views of composer John Beckwith at 90; how music’s connection to memory can assist with the care of patients with Alzheimer’s; musical celebrations in film and jazz, at National Canadian Film Day and Jazz Day; and a preview of Louis Riel, which opens this month at the COC. These and other stories, in our April 2017 issue of the magazine!
On our cover: Owen Pallett's musical palette on display at New Creations. Spring brings thoughts of summer music education! (It's never too late.). For Marc-Andre Hamelin the score is king. Ella at 100 has the tributes happening. All; this and more.
In this issue: an interview with composer/vocalist Jeremy Dutcher, on his upcoming debut album and unique compositional voice; a conversation with Boston Symphony hornist James Sommerville, as as the BSO gets ready to come to his hometown; Stuart Hamilton, fondly remembered; and an inside look at Hugh’s Room, as it enters a complicated chapter in the story of its life in the complex fabric of our musical city. These and other stories, as we celebrate the past and look forward to the rest of 2016/17, the first glimpses of 2017/18, and beyond!
In this issue: a conversation with pianist Stewart Goodyear, in advance of his upcoming show at Koerner Hall; a preview of the annual New Year’s phenomenon that is Bravissimo!/Salute to Vienna; an inside look at music performance in Toronto’s health-care centres; and a reflection on the incredible life and lasting influence of the late Pauline Oliveros. These and more, in a special December/January combined issue!
In this issue: David Jaeger and Alex Pauk’s most memorable R. Murray Schafer collabs, in this month’s installment of Jaeger’s CBC Radio Two: The Living Legacy; an interview with flutist Claire Chase, who brings new music and mindset to Toronto this month; an investigation into the strange coincidence of three simultaneous Mendelssohn Elijahs this Nov 5; and of course, our annual Blue Pages, a who’s who of southern Ontario’s live music scene- a community as prolific and multifaceted as ever. These and more, as we move full-force into the 2016/17 concert season- all aboard!
Music lover's TIFF (our fifth annual guide to the Toronto International Film Festival); Aix Marks the Spot (how Brexit could impact on operatic co-production); The Unstoppable Howard Cable (an affectionate memoir of a late chapter in the life of of a great Canadian arranger; Kensington Jazz Story (the newest kid on the festival block flexes its muscles). These stories and much more as we say a lingering goodbye to summer and turn to the task, for the 22nd season, of covering the live and recorded music that make Southern Ontario tick.
It's combined June/July/August summer issue time with, we hope, enough between the covers to keep you dipping into it all through the coming lazy, hazy days. From Jazz Vans racing round "The Island" delivering pop-up brass breakouts at the roadside, to Bach flute ambushes strolling "The Grove, " to dozens of reasons to stay in the city. May yours be a summer where you find undiscovered musical treasures, and, better still, when, unexpectedly, the music finds you.
INSIDE: The Canaries Are Here! 116 choirs to choose from, so take the plunge! The Nylons hit the road after one last SING! Fling. Jazz writer Steve Wallace wonders "Watts Goode" rather than "what's new?" Paul Ennis has the musical picks of the HotDocs crop. David Jaeger's CBC Radio continues golden for a little while yet. Douglas McNabney is Music's Child. Leipzig meets Damascus in Alison Mackay's fertile imagination. And "C" is for KRONOS in Wende Bartley's koverage of the third annual 21C Festival. All this and as usual much much more. Enjoy.
From 30 camp profiles to spark thoughts of being your summer musical best, to testing LUDWIG as you while away the rest of so-called winter; from Scottish Opera and the Danish Midtvest, to a first Toronto recital appearance by violin superstar Maxim Vengerov; from musings on New Creations and new creation, to the boy who made a habit of crying Beowulf; it's a month of merry meetings and rousing recordings reviewed, all here to discover in The WholeNote.
2016 is off to a flying start! We chronicle the Artful Times of Andrew Burashko, the violistic versatility of Teng Li, the ageless ebullience of jazz pianist Gene DiNovi and the ninetieth birthday of trumpeter Johnny Cowell. Jaeger remembers Boulez; Waxman recalls Bley's influence, and Olds finds Bowie haunting Editor's Corner. Oh, and did we mention there's all that music? Hello (and goodbye) to the February blues, and here's to swinging through the musical vines of the Year of the Monkey.
What's a vinyl renaissance? What happens when Handel's Messiah runs afoul of the rumba rhythm setting on a (gasp!) Hammond organ? What work does Marc-Andre Hamelin say he would be content to have on every recital program he plays? What are Steve Wallace's favourite fifty Christmas recordings? Why is violinist Daniel Hope celebrating Yehudi Menuhin's 100th birthday at Koerner Hall January 28? Answers to all these questions (and a whole lot more) in the Dec/Jan issue of The WholeNote.
"Come" seems to be the verb that knits this month's issue together. Sondra Radvanovsky comes to Koerner, William Norris comes to Tafel as their new GM, opera comes to Canadian Stage; and (a long time coming!) Jane Bunnett's musicianship and mentorship are honoured with the Premier's award for excellence; plus David Jaeger's ongoing series on the golden years of CBC Radio Two, Andrew Timar on hybridity, a bumper crop of record reviews and much much more. Come on in!
Vol 21 No 2 is now available for your viewing pleasure, and it's a bumper crop, right at the harvest moon. First ever Canadian opera on the Four Seasons Centre main stage gets double coverage with Wende Bartley interviewing Pyramus and Thisbe composer Barbara Monk Feldman and Chris Hoile connecting with director Christopher Alden; Paul Ennis digs into the musical mind of pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and pianist Eve Egoyan is "On the Record" in conversation with publisher David Perlman ahead of the Oct release concert for her tenth recording. And at the heart of it all the 16th edition of our annual BLUE PAGES directory of presenters profile the season now well and truly under way.
Paul Ennis's annual TIFF TIPS (27 festival films of potential particular musical interest); Wu Man, Yo-Yo Ma and Jeffrey Beecher on the Silk Road; David Jaeger on CBC Radio Music in the days it was committed to commissioning; the LISTENING ROOM continues to grow on line; DISCoveries is back, bigger than ever; and Mary Lou Fallis says Trinity-St. Paul's is Just the Spot (especially this coming Sept 25!).
