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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 ●Trio Arkel Trio Arkel is the collaboration of three women at the top of the classical music world in Canada, each a soloist and leader in her own right: Marie Berard is concertmaster of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra; Teng Li is the principal violist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Winona Zelenka is the assistant principal cellist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Since 2008 they have joined forces to bring a wide variety of classical chamber music to the Toronto public, enlisting internationally-renowned guest artists for a truly stimulating and eclectic musical experience. Winona Zelenka 416-409-6824 admin@trioarkel.com ● Ukrainian Art Song Project Ukrainian Art Song Project (UASP) is a groundbreaking initiative that aims to record and publish a veritable anthology of over 1,000 art songs by 26 of Ukraine’s greatest composers for distribution to the music world. Since 2004, 352 art songs of Stetsenko, Stepovyi, Lysenko, Barvinsky, Liudkevych, Sichynsky and Turkewich have been released to critical acclaim, many of them only recently discovered and never previously recorded. Internationally-renowned bass-baritone and artistic director, Pavlo Hunka, has assembled a stellar cast of Canadian operatic performers for both recordings and performances. The principal piano accompanist for the project is Albert Krywolt. Musical scores for Ukrainian art songs are published on the UASP website and are available for download free of charge. The 2016/17 season will feature Ukrainian art songs at a TSO guest orchestra pre-concert on February 13, a concert of art songs set to the poems of Taras Shevchenko and William Shakespeare on March 12 at Mazzoleni Hall and, in August, the inaugural Ukrainian Art Song Summer Institute, held at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. www.ukrainianartsong.ca ● University of Toronto Faculty of Music The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto is a vital destination for the professional and scholarly study of music in North America. As part of one of the world’s top universities, the Faculty of Music is home to a diverse and dynamic community. With superb educators in every area of music study and dozens of areas of specialization, we offer an education that is both broad and deep. Our students and alumni have garnered such awards as Oscar, Peabody, JUNO and National Jazz Awards, and occupy prominent positions with such ensembles as the Toronto Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony and the Berlin Philharmonic. The Faculty of Music’s annual concert season features students, faculty and guests in over 150 public concerts, lectures and masterclasses. This year’s featured guests include composers John Beckwith, Richard Bronskill, John LaBarbera and Salvatore Sciarrino; conductor Stephen Lord; directors Joel Ivany and Stephen Wadsworth; musicologist Suzanne Cusick; cellist Laurence Lesser, pianist Warren Jones and saxophonist Dave Liebman. Ryan McClelland, Acting Dean Natasha Smith 416-978-0491; Box office: 416-408-0208 www.music.utoronto.ca ● Univox Choirs Toronto Univox Choirs is a non-profit music organization composed of two sister choirs that share the same core principles: musical excellence, social responsibility, and relationship building. Musical excellence is achieved with weekly rehearsals, workshops and sectional practices arranged by choir members. Univox Choirs upholds its social responsibility by partnering with local charities and making accessibility of the ensemble and its venues a priority. We work to build and nurture relationships among choir members as well as with outside communities through choir retreats, social events, and local and international concert tours. Univox Choirs. One Voice. Many Hearts. Dallas Bergen www.univoxchoir.org ● Upper Canada Choristers The Upper Canada Choristers is a mixed-voice community choir in Toronto with a history of collaboration with international choirs and local children’s choirs. Performing with a wide variety of guest artists, the choir has a diverse repertoire and is committed to excellence. Cantemos is the choir’s auditioned Latin American chamber ensemble. Founding artistic director and conductor Laurie Evan Fraser and accompanist Hye Won Lee provide the professional musical leadership for this vibrant organization. The choir performs 15-20 concerts in the community annually. Our 2016/17 concert season opens with Noche de Paz, a Global Christmas Celebration, on December 2, 2016 at Grace Church on-the- Hill: the program will feature Navidad Nuestra by Argentinian composer Ariel Ramirez. Our spring concert on May 12, 2017 at Grace Church on-the- Hill, Ubi Caritas et Amor, will focus on sacred music including works by Vivaldi, Fauré, Jenkins and Gjeilo. On Sunday, June 18, 2017, the Choristers and Cantemos will hold our annual Strawberry Social in the Parish Hall at Grace Church, featuring light classics and show tunes. Jacqui Atkin 416-256-0510 info@uppercanadachoristers.org www.uppercanadachoristers.org ●Vesnivka Choir This award-winning women’s ensemble, established by Halyna Kvitka Kondracki in 1965, has delighted audiences around the world with its rich repertoire of Ukrainian classical, sacred, contemporary and folk music. Its 51st concert season begins on November 13, 2016 with a musical tribute to Ivan Kowaliw (musician, teacher, poet) featuring a new work, Triptych, by Zenoby Lawryshyn. On January 8, 2017, Vesnivka presents its everpopular annual Ukrainian Christmas concert, joined by Toronto Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir, a chamber orchestra and guest soloists sopranos Natalya Matyusheva and Katherine Semcesen and tenor Justin Stolz. On May 14, 2017, Vesnivka and TUMCC will join the Orpheus Choir and Robert Cooper in a musical tribute celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary and the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian settlement in Canada with a program featuring the Ontario premiere of Larysa Kuzmenko’s The Golden Harvest, and John Estacios’ The Houses Stand Not Far Apart, with guest soloists Andriana Chuchman, soprano, and James Westman, baritone, and Orpheus Concert Orchestra. New members are welcome for both Vesnivka and the Toronto Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir. Nykola Parzei 416-246-9880 nykola@vesnivka.com www.vesnivka.com ●Victoria Scholars Men’s Choral Ensemble The namesake of the Victoria Scholars, Tomás Luis de Victoria, was an outstanding Renaissance composer whose music is renowned for its spirituality and emotional expressiveness. The Victoria Scholars bring the clarity and balance of sound so characteristic of Renaissance music to all their repertoire, encompassing Medieval plainchant, works from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and contemporary eras and newlycommissioned works. Past winners of the Healey Willan Grand Prize in the CBC Radio National Competition for Amateur Choirs, the Victoria Scholars have performed with many exceptional arts organizations (including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Kiev Chamber Choir) and vocal soloists (including Sondra Radvanovsky, Michael Schade, Russell Braun and Norine Burgess). They have toured nationally and internationally and are heard regularly on CBC Radio 2 and Classical 96.3FM. The 2016/17 concert series includes “Welcome Christmas” (December 18 and 19), “Canadian Scholars” (March 5), and “Sea Fever” (May 28). Volunteers are always welcome to help with operations such as website management and concert-related activities. Please contact us for more information on joining the Victoria Scholars organization. Jerzy Cichocki, music director 416-761-7776 B26 | theWholeNote 2016/17 PRESENTER PROFILES

info@victoriascholars.ca www.victoriascholars.ca ●Village Voices Village Voices is a non-profit, adult mixed-voice community choir of over 50 voices. Under the direction of Oksana Vignan, the choir performs classical, sacred and secular choral music from many eras. Rehearsals are held on Wednesday nights in the Rehearsal Hall at the Cornell Community Centre in Markham. Village Voices raises its artistic level and expands its repertoire through vocal workshops and by including professional guest soloists and instrumentalists. The choir performs at various venues in Markham and the surrounding area. It continues to honour its commitment to the community by entertaining at local retirement homes. Our May 2016 spring concert celebrated the many Faces of Love in joyous secular and sacred songs. On December 10 and 11, 2016, we will present two performances featuring John Rutter’s Gloria, at Markham Missionary Church. Our Carol Sing-Along will take place on December 14 in the Rehearsal Hall of the Markham Cornell Community Centre. Oksana Vignan, conductor and artistic director 905-763-4172 info@villagevoices.ca www.villagevoices.ca ●VIVA! Youth Singers of Toronto Celebrating its 17th season, VIVA! Youth Singers of Toronto is a vibrant choral organization for singers from age four to young adults. VIVA! offers youth the opportunity to achieve artistic excellence through musical education in a singercentred, inclusive community. Support is provided for youth with disabilities. VIVA!’s diverse programming features ageappropriate choral training through instruction in vocal technique, private vocal instruction and comprehensive theory. VIVA! has six choirs – Preparatory Chorus, Junior Choir, Main Chorus, ECS (Everyone Can Sing) Chorus, the SATB Chamber Choir and The Six Week Singers, a non-auditioned project-based group for ages 12 and up. The season includes Monday rehearsals, appearances in The Nutcracker with The National Ballet of Canada orchestra, two series concerts annually in Jeanne Lamon Hall at Trinity-St. Paul’s, “Carols by Candlelight” in December, and an annual Gala Fundraising Dinner. Recent highlights include the VIVA!-commissioned premiere at Daniels Spectrum of Dean Burry’s opera The Sword in the Schoolyard, Bach’s St. John Passion, The Play of Daniel with the Toronto Consort and Song of Extinction at the 2016 Luminato Festival. Email for information and to book an audition (in January, April, June or September). Susan Suchard 416-788-8482 VICTORIA SCHOLARS MEN’S CHORAL ENSEMBLE info@vivayouthsingers.com www.vivayouthsingers.com ●VOCA Chorus of Toronto The VOCA Chorus of Toronto is an auditioned ensemble that performs a wide range of repertoire, including premieres of arrangements by our artistic director, Jenny Crober, in collaboration with guest artists. Our season consists of two concerts, a cabaret, community performances, workshops and retreats. Our talented, versatile accompanist is Elizabeth Acker. Some of Canada’s finest artists from various musical genres and disciplines have been VOCA’s guest performers and clinicians, including conductor Ivars Taurins, composer Sarah Quartel, flutist Les Allt, guitarist Michael Occhipinti, percussionist Ray Dillard, singer Alexander Dobson, Celtic harpist Sharlene Wallace, actor Deborah Drakeford and dancer/storyteller Adwoa Badoe. In May 2015, several of our choristers (Jenny Crober, co-conductor) were honoured to perform at NYC’s Carnegie Hall. Our December 10 “Northern Lights” concert will feature works by our fall workshop clinician, renowned Norwegian-born/NYC-based composer Ola Gjeilo, along with other selections. Guests: Elizabeth Loewen Andrews, violin; Rory McLeod, viola; Wendy Solomon, cello. Our May 27 concert will feature Carmina Burana. Guests: TorQ Percussion Quartet, Elizabeth Polese, Christopher Mayell and others. Rehearsals: Mondays - Eastminster United (Chester subway). Jenny Crober 416-463-8225 www.vocachorus.com ● VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert is Canada’s only company dedicated exclusively to the presentation of rare opera programming. Our performances rely on the power and beauty of the human voice, the dramatic inflection of text and poetry accompanied by orchestra or piano. The 2016/17 season opens with a tribute concert to Shakespeare-inspired work, Shakespeare 400, with OIC Chorus and music director Michael Rose on Sunday, October 30, 2016. I Capuleti e i Montecchi (The Capulets and the Montagues) by Vincenzo Bellini is next on November 20, 2016, featuring Caitlin Wood and Tonatiuh Abrego. L’isola disabitata (The Deserted Island) by Joseph Haydn with Aradia Ensemble follows on February 5, 2017, featuring Valérie Bélanger, Marjorie Maltais and Alexander Dobson and conducted by Kevin Mallon. The finale of the season is Khovanshchina (The Khovansky Affair) by Modest Mussorgsky on March 26, 2017, featuring Emilia Boteva, Andrey Andreychik and Dion Mazerolle, along with Narmina Afandiyeva as music director. Robert Cooper leads OIC’s renowned chorus. Performances are held at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. Guillermo Silva-Marin Box Office: 416-366-7723 admin@operainconcert.com www.operainconcert.com ●Windermere String Quartet The Windermere String Quartet was formed in the spring of 2005 to perform the music of Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and their contemporaries on period instruments. The quartet is known for its dynamic performances and distinctive approach to well-known and rarely-heard repertoire as well as its regular commissions of new works. The Windermere String Quartet’s theWholeNote 2016/17 PRESENTER PROFILES | B27

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