Volume 22 Issue 2 - October 2016

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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