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Volume 22 Issue 2 - October 2016

  • Text
  • October
  • Toronto
  • Choir
  • Jazz
  • Orchestra
  • Symphony
  • Concerts
  • Arts
  • November
  • Musical
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 Youth Choir (for girls aged 16 and older and boys with changed voices), are also offered. This season, In Peace and Celebration, features exciting performances by all TCC choristers. Concerts in St. Anne’s Anglican Church (October 22), Calvin Presbyterian Church (November 5), Roy Thomson Hall (December 17), Randolph Theatre (February 25), Rosedale United Church (April 8), Toronto Centre for the Arts (May 6) and Church of the Redeemer (July 8) will delight audiences of all ages, and will include the Nagata Shachu Taiko drummers, Mariachi guitarists, Stratford actor Geraint Wyn Davies, harpist Judy Loman, and orchestral players from the Toronto Symphony. The TCC Chamber Choir is also honoured to represent Canada at the 11th World Symposium on Choral Music, hosted next July in Barcelona, Spain, by the International Federation for Choral Music. Carol Stairs 416-932-8666 x231 info@torontochildrenschorus.com www.torontochildrenschorus.com ●Toronto Choral Society The Toronto Choral Society (TCS) was founded in 1845, to foster a positive musical environment in which members can learn and develop both musical ability and choral repertoire. In addition, TCS aims to be an integral part of the community of Toronto, presenting important works from the traditional choral repertoire, exploring the music of the many cultures that make up our community, and making an active contribution to the life of the city by participating in community events. Artistic director and conductor of three of the TCS choirs is Geoffrey Butler, who joined the TCS in 1994. Under his guidance, the choir has flourished and grown, performing choral works in a wide variety of styles, from Baroque to jazz. An accomplished tenor, Mr. Butler helps the members of the choir to expand both their musical horizons and their singing abilities. Accompanist of the Community Choir is William O’Meara. A talented pianist, organist and harpsichordist, Mr. O’Meara is well-known for traditional solo repertoire as well as his improvised accompaniments at international silent film festivals. Eric F. Duffy 416-276-3529 www.torontochoralsociety.org ●Toronto City Opera Toronto City Opera, under the artistic direction of Beatrice Carpino and the musical direction of Adolfo De Santis, is Toronto’s most public-access opera company, and one of Canada’s oldest opera organizations, unique in the world, with roots dating back to 1946. This year we are celebrating our 50th season of presenting fully-staged operas! Anyone can join our chorus, no audition required. We will help teach you to sing and to act. This year we are presenting Georges Bizet’s Carmen, which will be sung in French, as well as Franz Lehár’s Merry Widow, which will be sung in English. For more information see our website at www.torontocityopera.com. We will present our current season in late February and early March, 2017. Come enjoy a show for as little as ! Chris Lea 647-874-6245 info@torontocityopera.com www.torontocityopera.com ● Toronto Classical Singers The Toronto Classical Singers announces its 25th season, Making a Joyful Noise, under the baton of artistic director Jurgen Petrenko. Opening with Handel’s Messiah (highlights) on December 4, 2016, and heralding spring with Rossini’s Petite messe solonnelle on February 19, TCS will crown the season on Sunday, April 30 with Handel’s Coronation Anthems and Elgar’s Coronation Ode. Don’t miss 100 Singers perform with The Talisker Players Orchestra and Soloists. 4pm Sundays, Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. Season ticket , single ticket . www.torontoclassicalsingers.ca/tickets Shirley Paquette www.torontoclassicalsingers.ca ●Toronto Consort The Toronto Consort is Canada’s leading ensemble specializing in the music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance and early Baroque. Founded in 1972, the Consort presents an annual subscription series at the newly revitalized Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre in Toronto. The Consort has toured extensively and has recorded 13 CDs as well as music for film and television, including the hit television series The Tudors and The Borgias. Artistic director David Fallis has programmed a unique series of concerts for the 2016/17 season: “The Italian Queen of France” November 11 and 12, 2016; “A Medieval Christmas” December 9, 10 and 11, 2016; “Kanata/Canada: First Encounters” February 3 and 4, 2017; “Triptych, The Musical World of Hieronymus Bosch” with special guests Cappella Pratensis March 3 and 4, 2017; and, “Helen of Troy” by Cavalli with Kevin Skelton, Michele DeBoer and Laura Pudwell May 12 and 13, 2017. For tickets and information, visit our website and follow us on Facebook for updates. tickets are available for ages 30 and under through our Club Consort program. David Fallis, artistic director Admin: 416-966-1045 Box office: 416-964-6337 info@torontoconsort.org www.torontoconsort.org ●Toronto Masque Theatre Founded in 2003 by artistic director Larry Beckwith, Toronto Masque Theatre is one of the only companies in the world devoted to the performance and creation of masque, an art form that fuses music, dance and theatre. Inspired by the rich courtly tradition of the late Renaissance, we reinvent the art form for today’s audiences, speaking to contemporary Toronto. We have produced over 50 critically-acclaimed productions, ranging in repertoire from the late Renaissance to the present day, including eight commissions of original work from Canadian artists. This season we explore the themes of desire and transformation. In November we present Handel’s great dramatic cantata Apollo and Daphne in a double bill with Tennyson’s epic poem Enoch Arden, with incidental music by Richard Strauss. In March we present the world premiere of the thrilling The Man Who Married Himself, by Juliet Palmer and Anna Chatterton. Our salon season begins in September with Music Amongst the Trees, includes a special Christmas event in December and concludes in May with a staged reading of a Ben Jonson masque reimagined by Susan Coyne. Vivian Moens 416-410-4561 admin@torontomasquetheatre.com www.torontomasquetheatre.com ●Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Grand symphonic sound has been the trademark of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Canada’s world-renowned large vocal ensemble, for over 100 years. TMC concerts feature choral masterworks, music that expresses hope, joy, desolation and faith. The 135-voice choir includes a professional core, auditioned volunteers and apprentices. The TMC has a five-concert subscription season and performs regularly with the TSO, including Handel’s Messiah. TMC’s 2016/17 marks Noel Edison’s 20th season with the Choir. 2016/17 concerts include: The Elora Festival Singers (music of Palestrina, Pärt and Morlock), October 16 at Church of the Holy Trinity; Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah with bass-baritone David Pittsinger, November 5 at Koerner Hall; Festival of Carols with the acclaimed Canadian Staff Band and organist David Briggs, December 7; the free Conductors’ Symposium concert, January 28; Sing Joyfully!, a hymn sing March 4; and Sacred Music for a Sacred Space, April 12 and Good Friday, April 14 at St. Paul’s Basilica. The TMC’s education and outreach programs include live concert webcasts of select performances and Singsation Saturday choral workshops for anyone who loves to sing. Noel Edison, artistic director Cynthia Hawkins, executive director 416-598-0422 x221 manager@tmchoir.org www.tmchoir.org B24 | theWholeNote 2016/17 PRESENTER PROFILES

● Toronto Operetta Theatre Toronto Operetta Theatre embarks upon its third decade as Canada’s only performing arts company dedicated to music theatre in all its variety. The season opens on November 6, 2016 with a tribute concert to Kálmán and Lehár’s work from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Waltz Rivals. Michael Rose is music director and pianist. Our holiday production, The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert & Sullivan, features Colin Ainsworth, Elizabeth Beeler, Curtis Sullivan, Vania Chan and Derek Bate as conductor, December 27, 2016 to January 8, 2017. The spring production, The Chocolate Soldier by Oscar Straus, from April 27 to 30, 2017, features Jennifer Taverner, Anna Mcdonald, Stefan Fehr and Michael Nyby with Peter Tiefenbach as conductor. The season will conclude with a tribute concert to Jacques Offenbach’s work Galope Offenbachienne with music director Michael Rose. All performances are held at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. Guillermo Silva-Marin Box Office: 416-366-7723 admin@torontooperetta.com www.torontooperetta.com ●Toronto Singing Studio Welcome to a new adventure in singing! The Toronto Singing Studio offers many ways to improve and develop your voice and singing skills. Interested in private singing lessons? Discover the unique sound that is your singing voice. Are you more comfortable in a group class? The very popular “Singers’ Repertoire Class” for experienced singers (adults) who want to work on solo song performance may be a good fit. The Toronto Singing Studio has three amateur non-auditioned adult choirs: Vocal Mosaic (Monday evenings), Celebration Choir (Thursday afternoons, for singers over age 55) and the Summer Singers (meets in June and July). Do you love Broadway shows? Do you dream of being onstage, singing, dancing and delivering funny, serious, or romantic lines in a play? Then you are a perfect candidate for the new Musical Theatre Workshop for Adults program. The Toronto Singing Studio has locations downtown and midtown. For more information, visit the TTSS website. Linda Eyman, director 416-455-9238 linda@thetorontosingingstudio.ca www.thetorontosingingstudio.ca ●Toronto Symphony Orchestra Founded in 1922, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is one of Canada’s most important cultural institutions, recognized internationally as an outstanding orchestra. Music director Peter Oundjian leads the TSO with a commitment to TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR innovative programming and audience development through a broad range of performances that showcase the exceptional talents of the orchestra along with a roster of distinguished guest artists and conductors. The TSO also serves the larger community with TSOUND- CHECK, the original under-35 ticket program, the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, and music education programs that reach over 50,000 students each year. 416-598-3375 www.tso.ca ●TorQ Percussion Quartet Canada’s premier percussion ensemble, TorQ Percussion Quartet continues to bring new vitality to percussion repertoire and performance in every situation and opportunity. Renowned for their engaging performances, members Richard Burrows, Adam Campbell, Jamie Drake and Daniel Morphy are committed to making percussion music accessible to audiences that span generations, and as the Toronto Star states “[TorQ] can stand proud among the growing throng of chamber percussion ensembles around the world.” Since coming together in 2004, some of their international highlights include performances at the International Percussion Quartet Festival (Luxembourg), Percussive Arts Society International Convention (Indianapolis) and with the Stuttgart Chamber Choir. At home, TorQ has made appearances at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, PEI’s Indian River Festival, Toronto’s Soundstreams, and Kitchener’s Open Ears Contemporary Music Festival. In 2012, they launched their first annual concert series in Toronto where they collaborated with invited guest artists, composers and dancers. As collaborative artists, the quartet has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Hamilton Children’s Choir, as well as with soloists Krisztina Szabo, Rivka Golani and composer Nicole Lizée. Richard Burrows 416-788-8272 info@torqpercussion.ca www.torqpercussion.ca ●Toyich International Projects (TIP) Toyich International Projects (TIP) is a non-profit charitable organization devoted to developing the skills, professional training and musical education of music students, performers, mature amateur musicians and music teachers by providing them with opportunities to develop and present their talents nationally and internationally. Our acclaimed Monster Concerts (piano orchestras) have showcased many talented performers over the years and have been featured on radio, television and print media in Canada and Europe. TIP’s mandate is inclusive and we provide and support professional training on an ongoing basis to musicians of all ages, in the form of coaching, masterclasses and performance practice (contact Boyanna Toyich for information about participation). TIP, in collaboration with the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, is proud to present RomeSMARTS (Rome Summer Musical Arts) in Rome, Italy, each summer, offering performance programs, masterclasses with Canadian and Italian teachers, lectures, seminars, public performances and University of Toronto credit courses for eligible students. The dates for next year’s program in Rome are July 10 to 21, 2017. boyanna@sympatico.ca; boyanna.toyich@utoronto.ca www.romesmarts.org theWholeNote 2016/17 PRESENTER PROFILES | B25

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