Volume 22 Issue 7 - April 2017

FOR OPENERS | DAVID

FOR OPENERS | DAVID PERLMAN Back in Our Naïve Youth Back in our naïve youth as a magazine we used to handcuff ourselves by proclaiming one or another month of the year as [some particular genre] month. As in “April is Opera Month”; or “March is New Music Month.” One problem was, of course, that we failed to inform the hundreds of presenters putting on concerts every month far enough in advance so that they could change their plans to fit with our executive orders. Another was that, with every passing year, our tidy little rolodex of genres has eroded as rapidly as the memories of those among us who still know what a rolodex is. But of all the “this month is” edicts and proclamations, the one that still feels intuitively right to me is the next one coming up after this one: thanks to the presence in our upcoming May edition of our 15th annual Choral Canary Pages, there is still an argument to be made for saying that “May is Choral Month” in The WholeNote. It’s not because all our stories in the May issue will have choral themes. It’s because our Canary Pages are not primarily designed to give audiences information about what choral performances are coming up, but to give you and me as much information as possible about what choirs are out there to join, so that we can give ourselves an opportunity to breathe in loud and joyful unison, voicing common hopes and feelings with other people on a regular basis. In a world that conspires in every imaginable way to have us twittering away in querulous, frightened or acrimonious solitude, more than ever, making music together affirms our common humanity. More than a decade ago I explained in this very spot that the reason we had called it the Canary Pages was drawn from the dark days of coal mining, where caged canaries were strategically deployed in the tunnels to alert miners to the presence of poisonous gases. “As long as the canary is singing, you’re O.K.,” the theory went. “But if the canary croaks, metaphorically anyway, hold your breath and run.” Aside from some surly Hamiltonian (since moved to Sarnia, I believe) who blasted us for holding up cruelty to animals as something laudable, it’s an image that stands up rather well I think. We can, to a significant extent, gauge the extent to which our arts environment is becoming toxic by whether community-based, collective music-making remain stable because those participating in them are able to remain within those communities. The erosion from the urban landscape of local venues to listen to live music is getting some attention these days, which is good. But the displacement of the people who work in those spaces, musicians and non-musicians alike, because they can no longer afford to live in the communities they work in, tells us even more about the fragile musical health of our cities. publisher@thewholenote.com The WholeNote VOLUME 22 NO 7 | APRIL 1, 2017 - MAY 7, 2017 Centre for Social Innovation 720 Bathurst St., Suite 503, Toronto ON M5S 2R4 PHONE 416-323-2232 | FAX 416-603-4791 Publisher/Editor In Chief | David Perlman publisher@thewholenote.com Chairman of the Board | Allan Pulker directors@thewholenote.com EDITORIAL Managing Editor | Paul Ennis editorial@thewholenote.com Recordings Editor | David Olds discoveries@thewholenote.com Digital Media Editor | Sara Constant editorial@thewholenote.com Listings Editor | John Sharpe listings@thewholenote.com Club Listings Editor | Bob Ben jazz@thewholenote.com SALES, MARKETING & MEMBERSHIP Concerts & Events/Membership | Karen Ages members@thewholenote.com Record Industry Sales/Marketing | Thom McKercher thom@thewholenote.com Advertising/Production Support/Operations Jack Buell | adart@thewholenote.com Classified Ads | classad@thewholenote.com Website/Systems | Bryson Winchester systems@thewholenote.com Website/Systems Support | Kevin King kevin@thewholenote.com Circulation/Subscriptions | Chris Malcolm circulation@thewholenote.com SUBSCRIPTIONS per year + HST (9 issues) THANKS TO THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS Beat Columnists Paul Ennis, Wendalyn Bartley, Christopher Hoile, David Podgorski, Lydia Perović, Andrew Timar, Jack MacQuarrie, Ori Dagan, mJ buell, Bob Ben, Brian Chang Features David Perlman, Andrew Timar, Vivien Fellegi Paul Ennis, David Jaeger CD Reviewers David Olds, Terry Robbins, Alex Baran, Bruce Surtees, Janos Gardonyi, Hans de Groot, Robert Tomas, Dianne Wells, Max Christie, Larry Beckwith, Michael Schulman, Stuart Broomer, Raul da Gama, Ted Quinlan, Ken Waxman, Andrew Timar, Tiina Kiik, Lesley Mitchell-Clarke Proofreading Vanessa Wells, Jennifer Liu, John Sharpe, Paul Ennis, Sara Constant Listings John Sharpe, Bob Ben, Tilly Kooyman, Ruth Atwood, Simone Desilets, Jennifer Liu, Katie White Circulation Team Beth Bartley / Mark Clifford, Bob Jerome, Dagmar Sullivan, Dave Taylor, Garry Page, Gero Hajek, Jack Buell, James Harris, Jeff Hogben, Lorna Nevison, Manuel Couto, Micah Herzog, Patrick Slimmon, Paul Ennis, Robert Faulkner, Sharon Clark, Tiffany Johnson, Tom Sepp, Wende Bartley, Lori Sandra Aginian, Christine Vespa an Ontario government agency un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario Upcoming Dates & Deadlines Free Event Listings Deadline 6pm Saturday April 8 Display Ad Reservations Deadline 6pm Saturday April 15 Classifieds Deadline 6pm Saturday April 22 Advertising Materials Due 6pm Tuesday April 18 Publication Date Wednesday April 26 (Online) Friday April 28(Print) Volume 22 No 8 covers May 1, 2017 - June 7, 2017 WholeNote Media Inc. accepts no responsibility or liability for claims made for any product or service reported on or advertised in this issue. Printed in Canada Couto Printing & Publishing Services Circulation Statement April 2017: 30,000 printed & distributed Canadian Publication Product Sales Agreement 1263846 ISSN 14888-8785 WHOLENOTE Publications Mail Agreement #40026682 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: WholeNote Media Inc. Centre for Social Innovation 503–720 Bathurst Street Toronto ON M5S 2R4 COPYRIGHT © 2017 WHOLENOTE MEDIA INC thewholenote.com 6 | April 1, 2017 - May 7, 2017 thewholenote.com

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS Adam Sherkin..................................................37, 48 Adi Braun............................................................... 40 All Saints Kingsway Anglican Church.........31, 39 Amadeus Choir..................................................... 39 Amici Chamber Ensemble...................................47 Annex Singers....................................................... 44 Arts Media Projects............................................. 58 ATMA............................................................. 5, 63, 67 Aurora Cultural Centre....................................... 45 Azrieli Foundation................................................. 77 Bach Children’s Chorus........................................27 Bata Shoe Museum.............................................. 40 Bobcaygeon Music Council/Ensemble Vivant.51 Bridge Records......................................................67 Canadian Children’s Opera Company.............. 43 Canadian Opera Company........................... 43, 47 Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts..............23 Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra............ 44 Celebrity Symphony Orchestra......................... 46 Christ Church Deer Park Jazz Vespers........... 56 Church of the Holy Trinity..............................37, 45 Dave Young.............................................................67 Elmer Iseler Singers.......................................27, 49 Elora Festival.......................................................... 16 Ensemble Vivant................................................... 35 Grand Philharmonic Choir.................................. 51 Greater Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra.......42 High Notes............................................................. 49 Horizon Tax............................................................ 58 Humbercrest United Church.............................. 41 I Furiosi................................................................... 43 Isabel Bader Centre for the Perf Arts.................3 Judith Owen/Jane Harbury............................... 56 Kindred Spirits Orchestra...................................42 Lark Ensemble...................................................... 40 Lawrence Park Community Church.................. 41 Les Amis Concerts............................................... 50 Mississauga Festival Choir................................. 49 Mississauga Symphony........................................ 14 Mooredale Concerts........................................... 45 Music at Metropolitan................................... 42, 49 Music at St. Andrew’s.......................................... 38 Music Toronto..........................................................9 Nagata Shachu..................................................... 38 New Music Concerts..................................... 24, 46 Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation........................ 41 Oakham House Choir.......................................... 46 Opera Atelier..........................................................10 ORMTA - Central Toronto Branch..................... 58 Pax Christi Chorale.............................................. 26 Peterborough Singers.........................................52 Remenyi House of Music...................................... 21 Room 217 Foundation.............................................. 7 Roy Thomson Hall................................................. 38 Roy Thomson Hall / Massey Hall....................... 33 Royal Conservatory............................. 15, 41, 46, 79 SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival............. 29 Sony Centre............................................................ 13 Southern Ont Chapter of the Hymn Society....57 St. James Cathedral.............................................25 St. Olave’s Church................................................. 45 St. Thomas’s Anglican Church............................. 11 Stand Up Guy......................................................... 58 Steinway Piano Gallery........................................ 19 Syrinx Concerts Toronto.................................... 44 Tafelmusik....................................... 4, 37, 48, 65, 80 Talisker Players......................................................27 Thanks to Dr. Suzuki Concert Performances. 45 Toronto Children’s Chorus......................38, 48, 57 Toronto Classical Singers....................................47 Toronto Consort ....................................................17 Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.............................. 40 Toronto Operetta Theatre................................... 14 Toronto Symphony Orchestra..................2, 38, 41 Trio Arkel.................................................................47 True North Records............................................. 55 Universal..........................................................63, 65 Windermere String Quartet...............................37 Women’s Musical Club............................. 8, 38, 48 Yorkminster Park Baptist Church..................... 39 thewholenote.com April 1, 2017 - May 7, 2017 | 7