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!
BLUE PAGES
BLUE PAGES 2016/17 ● Harmony Singers of Etobicoke The Harmony Singers of Etobicoke is a 35-voice women’s chorus that has been entertaining audiences since 1965. It presents concerts at Christmas and in the spring, and often performs at civic functions, private parties, hospitals and retirement homes. The Harmony Singers have sung the national anthems at Blue Jays games and appeared in a video with the group Down With Webster. The conductor is composer and arranger Harvey Patterson and the accompanist is renowned pianist Bruce Harvey. The Singers will present their Christmas concert “Winter Song” on Sunday, December 11 at 3pm at Humber Valley United Church. On Friday, December 16 at 8pm the Singers will be guest artists at the Etobicoke Community Concert Band’s concert “Christmas Sweater Swinging” in Etobicoke Collegiate Auditorium. The Harmony Singers welcome new members. To arrange a simple audition contact the conductor. Harvey Patterson 416-239-5821 theharmonysingers@ca.inter.net www.harmonysingers.ca ● I FURIOSI Baroque Ensemble I FURIOSI Baroque Ensemble is one of the world’s most innovative Baroque ensembles, comprised of four of Canada’s leading early music specialists: soprano Gabrielle McLaughlin, violinists Aisslinn Nosky and Julia Wedman, and cellist/gambist Felix Deak. Now in its 18th season, I FURIOSI’s Toronto concert series has been revitalising the face of early music in Canada, inspired by the practice of the Baroque era while invoking the “bizarre and unnatural” aesthetic both cherished and despised in its time. Thematic programming allows the performers to present Baroque music in a uniquely relevant way. This year’s concerts: Friday, October 21, 2016, Saturday, January 7, 2017, Friday, April 21, 2017 and Friday, June 2, 2017. All concerts take place at Calvin Presbyterian Church at 8pm. Gabrielle McLaughlin 416-536-2943 ifuriosi@ifuriosi.com www.ifuriosi.com ● International Resource Centre for Performing Artists The goal of the IRCPA is to be a hub that assists Canada’s musicians to achieve sustainable, fulfilling careers that meet or exceed their goals. The mission is to connect individual musicians with one another, with artistic coaches, other professionals and current leaders in the industry for knowledge exchange, coaching and employment opportunities. By 2020, the IRCPA plans to establish and operate a physical centre which, in time, will be self-sustaining, where artists can rehearse, audition, develop business practices, gain confidence and find support in their careers. Ann Summers Dossena 416-362-1422 info@ircpa.net www.ircpa.net ● Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts Situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in Kingston, the new award-winning Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts brings together exceptional spaces and programs for Queen’s students and the Kingston community. This 90,000 square foot venue was designed by Oslo/New York-based firm Snøhetta and Ottawa’s N45, with acoustics and theatre design by ARUP and Theatre Projects Consultants, and includes the 566-seat Concert Hall, 100-seat Studio Theatre, 92-seat Film Screening Room, Rehearsal Hall and Art & Media Lab. Anchored by a transformational gift to the Initiative Campaign from Drs. Alfred and Isabel Bader, the Isabel was inspired by the Baders’ love – of the arts, of Queen’s, and of each other – and is named in Isabel’s honour. Every season, the Isabel presents four dynamic performance series. The 2016/17 season features the Bader and Overton International Violin Festival with phenomenal artists such as Viktoria Mullova, Midori, James Ehnes and Ashley MacIsaac, and the season features such artists as Jan Lisiecki, Marc-André Hamelin, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Oliver Jones, and Measha Brueggergosman. The inaugural Isabel Overton Bader Violin Competition will take place April 26 to 29, 2017. Tricia Baldwin, director Box office: 613-533-2424; or toll free 1-855-533-2424 ibcpaboxoffice@queensu.ca www.theisabel.ca ● Jazz Performance and Education Centre (JPEC) The Jazz Performance and Education Centre (JPEC) – a non-profit, charitable organization – is the result of a collaboration between business people, musicians and arts professionals who are passionate about jazz in Toronto. Officially incorporated in 2008, the concept for JPEC was born when jazz aficionados Raymond and Rochelle Koskie assembled a committee of fellow enthusiasts to address the need for a full-time jazz venue in the city. Over the course of that first year, the committee identified what continues to be its primary goal: to create a performing music hub similar to New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center. Since then, JPEC has presented over 30 jazz concerts and events, as well sponsoring over 60 workshops in schools. JPEC brings professional musicians into schools in underserved areas to present workshops for students of all ages. In addition, JPEC showcases student groups from Ontario Jazz Colleges, providing them with experience by performing in various venues. Nancy Miller, marketing director 416-461-7744 millerneighbour@rogers.com www.jazzcentre.ca ● Jubilate Singers Jubilate Singers is a mixed-voice chamber choir that celebrates the multicultural origins of Torontonians by performing folk and contemporary works in many languages, in addition to French and English. A few of the choir’s recent performances have included works in Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Yiddish and Zulu. The choir performs music from a wide variety of choral styles and periods, with a special focus on works by Canadian composers. Since 2001, the choir has benefited from the gifted direction of Isabel Bernaus. The talented Sherry Squires has been the choir’s accompanist for over 20 years. Every season, Jubilate Singers present a series of three concerts. Please check the listings in The WholeNote. In addition, the choir performs at community events around Toronto. Norm Martin 416-488-1571 olatunje1@gmail.com www.jubilatesingers.ca ● Ken Page Memorial Trust The Ken Page Memorial Trust is a non-profit charitable fund supporting jazz and the musicians who create the music. The aims of the Trust are to encourage emerging talent, foster an understanding of the evolution of the music, promote jazz education through workshops, masterclasses and outreach programs conducted by established professionals and provide financial aid to jazz musicians on an emergency basis. The KPMT holds Annual Jazz Fundraisers featuring some of the world’s leading jazz artists and honours jazz professionals with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Last year the Trust provided grants to the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, Humber College Community Music School, the Ken Page Memorial Trust Scholarship in memory of Ron Collier, the Banff Centre, the TD Toronto Jazz Festival and the All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope. Donations are our lifeline. Board members are unpaid and every dollar is dedicated to furthering our mission. Contributions are gratefully received and if you are currently a donor we extend our sincere appreciation. If you would like to help us make a difference please visit our website. Anne Page 416-515-0200 anne@kenpagememorialtrust.com www.kenpagememorialtrust.com B12 | theWholeNote 2016/17 PRESENTER PROFILES
● Kindred Spirits Orchestra The Kindred Spirits Orchestra has performed to great acclaim, sold-out audiences and standing ovations at the renowned CBC Glenn Gould Studio, in downtown Toronto. As of 2011, the KSO has also been presenting a full subscription series at the Flato Markham Theatre, in addition to several community-outreach events and educational programs. An ardent supporter of contemporary music, the KSO also brings to life great pieces of the 20th and 21st centuries during its annual Markham Contemporary Music Festival. Led by the charismatic maestro Kristian Alexander, the KSO continues to attract avid audiences across the GTA. This season, the orchestra will welcome internationally-renowned soloists from the Canadian Opera Company (violinist Aaron Schwebel and violist Keith Hamm) and National Arts Centre (cellist Rachel Mercer), as well as acclaimed pianists Michael Berkovsky and Rudin Lengo. In addition to masterworks by Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and many others, a highlight of the season will be a performance of Harold en Italie by Berlioz as well as Symphony No. 10 by Shostakovich. The Orchestra will also return for a highlyanticipated concert at the CBC Glenn Gould Studio, led by Italian maestro Stefano Vignati. Kristian Alexander, music director Michael Berec, associate conductor Jobert Sevilleno, president and CEO Office: 905-604-8339 Box office: 905-305-7469 info@KSOrchestra.ca ● King Edward Choir Since 1952, the King Edward Choir has been a musical staple in the Barrie community. Founder Jean Dobson gathered together a small group of teachers and parents and formed the King Edward Ladies’ Choir. The group quickly increased in size and reputation and, before long, both the choir and its audience had grown significantly. Our mandate is to offer choristers and audience alike opportunities to experience new choral music, to expand the appreciation of world musics, to collaborate with other artists and artforms, and to create educational opportunities for youth in our community. The King Edward Choir, led by artistic director Floydd Ricketts, is formed of trained and amateur singers who are committed to creating beautiful music together in a passionate, informed and evocative manner. Our 2016/17 Season: E.T.A. Hoffman’s The Nutcracker and the Mouse King: A Storybook in Concert, November 26, 2016; St. Augustine, a new oratorio, with music by Floydd Ricketts and lyrics by Dr. Bruce Meyer, February 25, 2017; The Coronation of King Edward VII, a dramatic re-enactment, May 6, 2017. Peter Sullivan, board president 705-739-7281 KINDRED SPIRITS ORCHESTRA pesullivan71@gmail.com www.kingedwardchoir.ca ● Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society The Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society (KWCMS) is perhaps the most active chamber music presenting organization in Canada, with some 70 concerts in the calendar year. We offer concerts in a true “chamber” – our Music Room is a very large living room seating just 85, with a superb Steinway for concerts requiring piano. Located in central Waterloo, overlooking Waterloo Park, with good restaurants and fine hotels within walking distance. Concerts range from solo piano, violin and guitar, to all chamber music combinations – especially string quartets. Many of our artists are world-famous; most are of national note in Canada; a few are local, including amateur events. Our current season includes a three-concert set of the ten Great Mozart Quartets by the Aviv Quartet of Israel, a five-concert tour of all the Shostakovich quartets by the brilliant Lafayette Quartet from Victoria, B.C., and Bach’s unaccompanied violin music in two concerts by Movses Pogossian, now at the University of Southern California. Go to www.k-wcms. com for much more, and an invitation to our e-list. Jan Narveson 519-886-1673 kwcms@yahoo.ca www.k-wcms.com ● Lawrence Park Community Church Lawrence Park Community Church has a long tradition of fine music, both in worship and in concert. Sunday services are held at 10:30am in the renovated and air-conditioned Sanctuary. Musical groups include the Adult Choir (volunteer and professional singers), the Lawrence Park Handbell Ringers and a Youth Band “Pancake Lunch.” There are monthly music sessions “Sundays with Kenny” for young people with saxophonist and percussionist Kenny Kirkwood. New members are warmly welcomed in all the groups. On Friday, November 11 at 8pm, Fridays @ 8 and the Toronto Centre of the Royal Canadian College of Organists present organ virtuoso David Briggs in a Remembrance Day Recital. On December 18 at 10:30am, the Choir leads in a Service of Lessons and Carols. Mark Toews 416-489-1551 x28 mark@lawrenceparkchurch.ca www.lawrenceparkchurch.ca ● Li Delun Music Foundation The Li Delun Music Foundation was established in 2002 in Toronto as a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of cultural exchange between the East and the West through musical events. Named after the renowned Chinese conductor Li Delun, who founded the first symphony orchestra in the People’s Republic of China, the foundation is now well known in the community as a presenter of high-quality musical events such as the annual “East Meets West New Years Concert” at the Toronto Centre for the Arts each year, and recitals by acclaimed musicians. Aside from forming the Toronto Festival Orchestra, which gives talented young aspiring musicians a chance to work alongside seasoned professionals, the foundation also provides a platform for young up-and-coming soloists to play on the concert hall stage accompanied by a professional orchestra in front of a live appreciative audience. The Li Delun Music Foundation also holds masterclasses and workshops given by internationally-acclaimed artists such as Lang Lang, Sa Chen and Prof. Lee Kum-Sing. Rosalind Zhang 647-281-8768 rosy@lidelun.org theWholeNote 2016/17 PRESENTER PROFILES | B13
Choral Scene: Uncharted territory: three choirs finding paths forward; Music Theatre: Loose Tea on the boil with Alaina Viau’s Dead Reckoning; In with the New: what happens to soundart when climate change meets COVID-19; Call to action: diversity, accountability, and reform in post-secondary jazz studies; 9th Annual TIFF Tips: a filmfest like no other; Remembering: Leon Fleisher; DISCoveries: a NY state of mind; 25th anniversary stroll-through; and more.
Online in flip through here, and on stands commencing Tues SEP 1.
Following the Goldberg trail from Gould to Lang Lang; Measha Brueggergosman and Edwin Huizinga on face to face collaboration in strange times; diggings into dance as FFDN keeps live alive; "Classical unicorn?" - Luke Welch reflects on life as a Black classical pianist; Debashis Sinha's adventures in sound art; choral lessons from Skagit Valley; and the 21st annual WholeNote Blue Pages (part 1 of 3) in print and online. Here now. And, yes, still in print, with distribution starting Thursday October 1.
Alanis Obomsawin's art of life; fifteen Exquisite Departures; UnCovered re(dis)covered; jazz in the kitchen; three takes on managing record releases in times of plague; baroque for babies; presenter directory (blue pages) part two; and, here at the WholeNote, work in progress on four brick walls (or is it five?). All this and more available in flipthrough HERE, and in print Tuesday Nov 3.
In this issue: Beautiful Exceptions, Sing-Alone Messiahs, Livingston’s Vocal Pleasures, Chamber Beethoven, Online Opera (Plexiglass & All), Playlist for the Winter of our Discontent, The Oud & the Fuzz, Who is Alex Trebek? All this and more available in flipthrough HERE, and in print Friday December 4.
July/August issue is now available in flipthrough HERE, bringing to a close 25 seasons of doing what we do (and plan to continue doing), and on stands early in the week of July 5. Not the usual bucolic parade of music in the summer sun, but lots, we hope, to pass the time: links to online and virtual music; a full slate of record reviews; plenty new in the Listening Room; and a full slate of stories – the future of opera, the plight of small venues, the challenge facing orchestras, the barriers to resumption of choral life, the challenges of isolation for real-time music; the steps some festivals are taking to keep the spirit and substance of what they do alive. And intersecting with all of it, responses to the urgent call for anti-racist action and systemic change.
"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!).
