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 ● Music at St. Andrew’s Music at St. Andrew’s is a community outreach program of historic St. Andrew’s Church in downtown Toronto. The program was inspired by the church’s 2011 purchase of a Bösendorfer Imperial grand piano and the desire to share this fine instrument with the greater community. The piano is featured extensively in our free Friday Noontime Recitals each fall and spring, which re-launches October 7. Performers include U of T post-graduate music students and professionals. Also this October, we’re premiering a contemporary music series with the TO.U Collective. Free daytime and ticketed evening concerts: soprano Xin Wang, clarinetist Max Christie, pianist Stephen Clarke and others. Enjoy a reading of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol on December 3 with media personalities, musical interludes and a gingerbread reception. Don’t miss St. Andrew’s annual Mardi Gras concert February 25. Celebrate Canada 150 on May 13 at Singing our History, an all-Canadian program of opera, operetta and musical theatre with Allison Angelo, Christopher Enns and others. Great music at affordable prices! Concerts take place at St. Andrew’s Church, 73 Simcoe St., Toronto. Dan Bickle 416-593-5600 x231 info@standrewstoronto.org www.standrewstoronto.org ● Music Gallery Named the Number 1 Experimental Music Venue in Toronto by BlogTO, The Music Gallery, “Toronto’s Centre for Creative Music,” is a centre for promoting and presenting innovation and experimentation in all forms of music and for encouraging cross-pollination between genres, disciplines and audiences. The Music Gallery occupies a valued position within Toronto’s musical ecology that allows them to present, encourage and promote leading-edge contemporary music, and for the last 40 years, they have welcomed diverse audiences to explore and engage with this music through approximately 50 live concerts each season. Monica Pearce 416-204-1080 monica@musicgallery.org www.musicgallery.org ● Music TORONTO A legacy organization in Toronto’s classical music scene, Music TORONTO presents the world’s best chamber ensembles and pianists. “Toronto’s outstanding chamber music series…” - The Ottawa Citizen; “an embarrassment of riches…” - The Toronto Star; “consistently phenomenal…” - musicaltoronto.org Music TORONTO’s 45th season includes a truly international quartet series – the Juilliard from the US, the Prazak from the Czech Republic and the Philharmonia Quartet Berlin from the famous orchestra – with a stellar collection of Canadian ensembles – Quebec’s Quatuor Arthur-LeBlanc, Toronto’s Eybler, and a special evening of soprano Suzie LeBlanc with Nova Scotia’s Blue Engine String Quartet. Not to be missed are our local favourites – the St. Lawrence Quartet and the Gryphon Trio. And then there are pianists: the sterling Janina Fialkowska with an all-Chopin program, master British pianist Danny Driver in his Toronto debut; young American charmer Sean Chen playing Ligeti and his own transcriptions, and Russian-born, Toronto and Yale trained Montrealer Ilya Poletaev. Accomplished, eclectic, always interesting: Music TORONTO concerts challenge and delight. Chamber music for the 21st century – traditional, transformative. You can’t afford to miss music this good! Heather Lacey MTO: 416-214-1660 Box office: 416-366-7723 www.music-toronto.com ● Musicata - Hamilton’s Voices Musicata - Hamilton’s Voices ...formerly The John Laing Singers, is a renowned Hamilton-based chamber choir founded in 1982 by John Laing. Over the past 34 years, the group has performed throughout Canada, the US and Europe. Armed with a new name, Musicata - Hamilton’s Voices has a renewed sense of energy and purpose within the community as it launches the 2016/17 Performance Season. Under the artistic direction of Dr. Roger Bergs since 2011, Musicata - Hamilton’s Voices has a subscription series which includes three concerts each year: Pre-Christmas, Mid- Winter and Spring. While its current repertoire still includes the great chamber choir classics, there is a fresh energy to Musicata concerts in which performers and audience take equal delight in their encounters with amazing new and lesserknown pieces. Musicata concerts feature excellent instrumentalists, outstanding program notes and lively conductor’s comments, all of which provide a concert experience that is both educational and delightful. Experienced singers with good musical skills and a sense of adventure are welcome to inquire about joining us at any time. Mary Ellen Forsyth 905-628-5238 info@musicata.ca www.musicata.ca ● Musicians In Ordinary Named after the singers and lutenists who performed in the most intimate quarters of the Stuart monarchs’ palace, The Musicians In Ordinary for the Lutes and Voices dedicate themselves to the performance of early solo song and vocal chamber music. Led by Hallie Fishel, soprano and John Edwards, lutenist, the ensemble has been a fixture on the Toronto early music scene for over ten years, and also performs across North America at universities and museums. Audiences delight in the liveliness of their innovative concerts and the infectious passion of the performers for putting their repertoire in cultural context. This season, MIO will present a series of concerts combining the poetry and prose by and associated with the great ladies of the English Renaissance, those of the Sidney family, Lucy Russell, the Countess of Bedford and Queen Elizabeth, along with songs, lute music and consort music by Dowland, Holborne, Morley and others. John Edwards 416-535-9956 edwards.john@sympatico.ca www.musiciansinordinary.ca ● Nadina Mackie Jackson Touring concerto soloist and recitalist, alone and with other artists including Guy Few, Stephan Sylvestre, Leslie Newman and Valdy. Most recorded solo bassoonist in Canadian history. Director of Bassoon Out Loud, a 12-concert series based at Heliconian Hall in Toronto, the only concert series in the universe showcasing collaborations with bassoonists and poets, writers, singers, songwriters, keyboardists, artists, string and wind players featuring new commissioned concerti to Vivaldi and beyond. Founder of Council of Canadian Bassoonists. Teaches at University of Toronto. “Virtuosic playing to the end drew the crowd to its feet and a chance to meet their Bassoon Heroine at intermission…” - Classic Concerts NS, Halifax (September 2016) “…Mackie Jack son tossed off rapid-fire runs dur ing the short work’s first move ment before dis play ing her gor geous singing tone and lightly executed orna ment a tion in the second…” - Holly Harris, Winnipeg Free Press, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (March 12, 2014) Nadina Mackie Jackson 416-453-7607 info@nadinamackiejackson.com www.nadinamackiejackson.com ● Nagata Shachu Nagata Shachu proudly presents its 2016/17 concert season, “Toronto Taiko Tales – Global Beats from Around the City” with three new productions. We will celebrate the city’s diversity by holding concerts in North York, Regent Park and the Annex neighbourhoods. Season tickets are now available online at: http://torontotaikotales.bpt.me/ Nagata Shachu, based in Toronto, Canada, has enthralled audiences with its mesmerizing and heart-pounding performances of the Japanese drum (taiko) since its formation in 1998. While rooted in the folk drumming traditions of Japan, the ensemble’s principal aim is to rejuvenate this ancient art form by producing innovative B16 | theWholeNote 2016/17 PRESENTER PROFILES
and exciting music that seeks to create a new voice for the taiko. Taking its name from founder Kiyoshi Nagata and the Japanese word shachu meaning group, Nagata Shachu has become renowned for its exacting, physically demanding and energetic performances on the taiko, as well as for its diverse repertoire. Their playing is the combination of unbounded spirit and passion with the highest levels of musicianship and discipline. Joe Liu, general manager 416-651-4227 taiko@nagatashachu.com www.nagatashachu.com ● New Music Concerts The season began September 30 with highlights from New Music Concerts’ recent visit to the Beijing International Composition Workshop as the ensemble-in-residence. On October 30, Generation 2016 presents young composers from across Canada selected for the Ensemble contemporain de Montréal’s biennial tour, and then on December 2 we welcome back the Slovenian woodwind quintet Slowind for a program of virtuosic showpieces. January 7 provides an intriguing program of old and new works for one of the first electronic instruments, featuring theremin soloist Carolina Eyck. The iconic Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino is featured in a Portrait Concert which is the culminating event in the U of T New Music Festival on February 5. On March 26, “Kafka Fragments” features two artists who have worked extensively with composer György Kurtág and includes video footage of a Kurtág masterclass. Longtime friend John Beckwith will turn 90 in March and our April 28 concert features two Beckwith premieres and his playful Avowals with Benjamin Butterfield, along with influential works by John Weinzweig and Igor Stravinsky. David Olds 416-961-9594 nmc@interlog.com www.newmusicconcerts.com ● newchoir Toronto’s first rock choir, newchoir, has opened its second choir, newchoir too, thrilling audiences with a repertoire of unexpected SATB choral renditions of classic rock and pop songs from the 70s onward. From Pink Floyd to Walk off the Earth, Prince to Rihanna, Queen to Train and many things in between, our two ensembles of over 120 voices appeal to audiences of all ages. Currently in our 12th year, we are looking forward to newchoir’s concerts on January 28 at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts with Cadence and at Koerner Hall on June 3, and newchoir too’s concert on April 22. We are a flash mob for hire, bringing excitement to corporate meetings and open-air venues, and we give back to our community, raising funds on GivingTuesday for the NAGATA SHACHU Regent Park School of Music programs. Everyone has an inner rock star. Come and unleash yours! Caroline Suri 647-203-3408 newchoirofficial@gmail.com www.newchoir.ca ● Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation marks its 23rd anniversary this season under the continuing leadership of artistic director Eric Robertson. Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation has presented a rich variety of concerts for Toronto audiences, including its popular weekly recital series, as well as international groups such as King’s College Cambridge Choir, Clare College Singers and St. John’s College Choir. It has also featured Canadian artists including John Neville, Erica Goodman, Colin Fox, John McDermott, the True North Brass, the Gryphon Trio, Christine Duncan’s Element Choir and percussion ensemble NEXUS. Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation is also involved in the City Carol Sing, a large annual charity event that raises money for food banks across Canada. Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to bringing the best in inspirational arts programming. It is governed by an elected volunteer board of directors and operates with the assistance of advisors from a variety of backgrounds, including event management, promotions, finance and business. Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation, in cooperation with Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, will begin its 2016/17 season on Tuesday, September 13 with the first recital in its weekly “Lunchtime Chamber Music” series. E. Burns, president 416-241-1298 9sparrows.arts@gmail.com www.9sparrowsarts.org ● Nocturnes in the City Nocturnes in the City was founded by Dr. Milos Krajny 16 years ago to promote Czech music to the Czech community and Canadian audiences. From an initial five-concert season, this series expanded to eight concerts a year – usually four classical and four jazz concerts. The classical concerts take place at the lovely St. Wenceslaus Church on Gladstone Ave. The church has excellent acoustics and seats 150 people comfortably. Jazz concerts take place in the intimate Prague restaurant at Masaryktown in Scarborough. Nocturnes has presented pianists Antonin Kubalek, Jan Novotny, Martin Kasik, Boris Krajny and Adam Zukiewicz, singers such as Gustav Belacek, Eva Urbanova, Zdenek Plech, Czech quartets – Kocian, Prazak, Panocha, Martinu and Zemlinsky – Radim Zenkl, George Grosman, Drew Jurecka and others. For this season, the classical concerts include pianists Jan Novotny, Slavka Pechocova, Zuzana Simurdova and flutist Radim Zenkl. On the jazz side in Scarborough, Bohemian swing with George Grosman, Martin Kratochvil and a jazz quartet from Prague, Emil Viklicky playing jazz piano with actor Jiri Labus and Joe Musil, piano with Lenka Novakova. Admission fee is affordable at , students (subscriptions 0 for all concerts). Dr. Milos Krajny Tickets: 416-481-7294 www.nocturnesinthecity.com ● Oakville Children’s Choir The internationally-renowned Oakville Children’s Choir consists of seven choirs ranging from the “Little Notes” Preparatory Choir Program to our Chamber Choir program to the “A Few Good Men” ensembles for boys and young men. The OCC provides a comprehensive music education program for close to 200 choristers theWholeNote 2016/17 PRESENTER PROFILES | B17
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!).
