performance. On Sunday, October 25, in “You Can’t Keep a Good Band Down” they featured a ten-piece virtuoso ensemble conducted by Daniel Warren. In the case of the Markham Concert band, they tell us that the Flato Markham Theatre has extended its closure until at least the end of 2020. This, of course, means that the previously announced Markham Concert Band’s October 18 and November 29 concerts are cancelled. Incidents at the Bandstand As I mentioned last month, over the years I have observed many incidents at bandstands during concerts, and keep a note of incidents, some disruptive, some of no great consequence, and others that were humorous. This month’s incident was one that the audience would never have noticed, but I sure did! Some years ago I was playing a concert in a local concert hall. We were in the middle of a large work when the French horn player sitting directly ahead of me put down her horn, picked up her cell phone and proceeded to send, and/or read, a text message. So much for diligent attention to the conductor. As the saying goes, the devil makes work for idle hands. After a high altitude test flight one day, John wrote his parents a letter and enclosed a poem, High Flight, that his test flight had inspired. A few months later, in 1941, he was killed in an accidental mid-air collision over England. As he read the poem (which I am including here), Gassi, sitting at his computer, explained how every image that he envisaged from the poem would then be translated into a unique musical phrase. As viewers, we were able to see the music manuscript with each phrase highlighted in red, hear the music and hear Gassi’s explanations. It was excellent, and one of the most professional sessions that I have even seen on the Internet. Remembrance Day Along with many concerts on the theme, early in this month, on November 11, we would normally have many bands playing at outdoor ceremonies with all of the appropriate bugle calls. As my regular readers know, I have over the course of months made many comments in this column about my dislike for bugle calls being played on a trumpet. I even campaigned for the local Legion to acquire a proper bugle. I was successful, and the Legion now has an excellent custom-made silver bugle with an inscription dedicating it to a former Legion member who landed on Juno Beach on June 6, 1944. I had been hoping to attend a ceremony Doug Hoyle, with the this year and hear that bugle, but as far Legion's new bugle. as I know, there will be no such outdoor ceremonies at cenotaphs anywhere in Ontario this year. And speaking of remembrance, as a former Navy member, this is not the official Naval Prayer, but it is a short one that is used regularly at naval dinners, particularly worth noting at a time when “fields where poppies grow” are how most of us choose to remember. On all the oceans whitecaps flow. There are no crosses row on row For those that sleep beneath the sea They sleep in peace Our country’s free Band Activities Usually this would be the place to report on recent and future band activities. So far, we only have news from a couple of other bands. The Hannaford Street Silver Band is trying a different method of entertaining their audience. In a message to their subscribers, they said: “This fall, you can get your Hannaford fix from the comfort of your home!” Subscribers can sign up and then enjoy a different kind of Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com. TORONTO’S TRUSTED SOURCE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Black Friday Specials Online and In-Store Internationally renowned selection Expert Service The finest acoustic and digital pianos 18 | November 2020 thewholenote.com
PRESENTER PROFILES 2020/21 21 st ANNUAL BLUE PAGES BLUE PAGES LIST, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 2020 Aga Khan Museum Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto Annex Singers Azrieli Foundation Barrie Concert Association Canadian Children’s Opera Company Canadian Sinfonietta Chorus Niagara Church of St. Mary Magdalene Church of St. Peter and St. Simon-the-Apostle Confluence Concerts DaCapo Chamber Choir Don Wright Faculty of Music, Western University Edison Singers Elmer Iseler Singers Elora Festival & Singers Ensemble Vivant Esprit Orchestra Etobicoke Centennial Choir Etobicoke Community Concert Band Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra Exultate Chamber Singers Flute Street Hannaford Street Silver Band Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts Jubilate Singers Kindred Spirits Orchestra King Edward Choir Music at St. Andrew’s Music Gallery Music in the Afternoon Music Toronto New Music Concerts Off Centre Music Salon Opera Atelier Orchestra Toronto Oriana Women’s Choir Orpheus Choir of Toronto Pax Christi Chorale Peterborough Singers Piano Lunaire, The Royal Canadian College of Organists, Toronto Centre Royal Conservatory of Music Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra Sine Nomine Ensemble for Medieval Music Soundstreams St. Thomas’s Anglican Church Tafelmusik Tallis Choir Tapestry Opera Toronto Chamber Choir Toronto Children’s Chorus Toronto Choral Society Toronto Classical Singers Toronto Consort Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Toronto Mozart Players Toronto Symphony Orchestra Trio Arkel University of Toronto Faculty of Music Village Voices VOCA Chorus of Toronto Wychwood Clarinet Choir Big Picture Communications Bobolink Agency Concerts in Care International Resource Centre for Performing Artists Linda Litwack Publicity Rebecca Davis Public Relations SPEAK Music PR 21st ANNUAL DIRECTORY OF MUSIC MAKERS REBUILDING LIVE MUSIC BRICK BY BRICK Welcome to Part 2 of The WholeNote’s 21st annual Blue Pages directory of our region’s music community. Profiles which were printed in the October issue are in black type in the alphabetical list of directory members alongside this introduction. The 18 that can be found in this November issue are listed in red. The third and final print installment of the 2020-21 Blue Pages will follow in the December/January issue. Meanwhile, the cumulative Blue Pages directory will be continually updated online at thewholenote.com under the “Who’s Who” tab, as new profiles arrive. Additionally, all members of the directory will be given the opportunity to update their online profiles as and when their plans for spring and summer 2021 continue to firm up. As mentioned in the October issue, for many musical organizations it has been a bumpy ride to this point, with crystal balls as much in short supply as paper products on supermarket shelves! Nevertheless we hope you will find the profiles that follow to be of interest, and the links they offer to be useful as one of the communities hardest hit by COVID- 19 rebuilds itself, brick by brick. Thanks to community members who have unhesitatingly come forward with WholeNote memberships and profiles: you are helping us find ways to keep the lights on during the winter ahead. Similarly we hope your presence here also sends a signal to our readers who care about what you do, that you are finding ways to do the same. And thanks also to our faithful readers, whether in print or online at kiosk.thewholenote.com where you can find a complete digitized archive of our print editions since 1995, including the five issues we have printed since March 2020. If you missed any of those four print issues and would like copies, please contact us at circulation@ thewholenote.com. For information on the benefits of a WholeNote membership (of which a Blue Pages profile is a feature), please contact Karen Ages at karen@thewholenote.com or 416-323-2232 x26. BLUE PAGES TEAM 2020/21 PROJECT MANAGER: Karen Ages PROJECT EDITOR: Danial Jazaeri LAYOUT AND DESIGN: Susan Sinclair WEBSITE: Kevin King
Loading...
Loading...