April and May is Canary Time in the world of WholeNote -- the time when choirs in larger than usual numbers refresh the info in our online "Who's Who" to inform prospective choristers and audiences what they have to offer. Also inside: There's a new New Wave to catch at Esprit; Toronto Bach Festival no 6 includes a Kafeehaus; another new small venue on the "Soft Seat Beat" (we assume the seats are soft!); an ever-so Musically Theatrical spring. And more.
CHORAL SCENE | QUICK
CHORAL SCENE | QUICK PICKS Apr 22, 7pm: Singing Together at the.Toronto Korean Presbyterian Church. This is an annual multicultural choral event that began in 1995 at Toronto’s Columbus Centre, with two Italian choirs, a French and a German choir. The event unites local ethnic choirs to perform repertoire from their own cultures, with a finale performance of common pieces composed by Canadian musicians. This year, the common pieces will feature a Cree work and a popular song composed by the late Canadian country songwriter Ian Tyson, and will include Spanish, Chinese, Italian, Korean and Ukranian choirs. Apr 23, 5pm: A Place Fear Can’t Find. The Modern Sound Collective’s Concreamus Choir is a 50-voice new music choir dedicated to innovation in the choral arts and the creation and performance of excellent new works by young composers. The group is made up of singers, students, composers and educators from around the Greater Toronto Area. This concert will include Sami Anguaya’s Lying Awake, Waiting; Nicholas Wanstall’s The River of Sleep; Emily Green’s Snowfall, Snowmelt; Ben Keast’s I Reap a Long December; and Hirad Moradi’s: Ah, Moon of My Delight; with Jennifer Wilson, soprano and; Kai Leung, conductor. At Runnymede United Church in Toronto. Music Fit for a King is sure to satisfy those among us who cannot wait for the May 6 coronation of Britain’s Charles III. Join Toronto Classical Singers.on Apr 23 at 4pm as they celebrate 30 years of presenting great choral masterpieces including Handel’s Coronation Anthems, and other celebratory tunes by Parry and Elgar, conducted by Jurgen Petrenko at. Christ Church Deer Park in Toronto. And then on coronation day, May 6 at 7:30pm there’s the Gala Concert at St. James Cathedral with the Choir of St. James Cathedral in concert with Orchestra, at Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto. Apr 29, 10:30am: Ever wondered what it’s like to sing Carmina Burana? Find out on Apr 29 at 10:30am. Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s “Singsation Saturdays” are Saturday morning singing workshops, led by one of TMChoir’s own conductors. Start your Saturday with people who love to sing! The Carmina Burana workshop will be led by Jean-Sébastien Vallée. Their May 20 workshop will be led Shireen Abu-Khader, TMChoir’s Composer-in-Residence. Both at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church in Toronto. May 06, 7pm: Peterborough Singers will perform Verdi’s Requiem. With guest soloists Leslie Fagan, soprano; Laura Pudwell, mezzo; Ernesto Ramirez, tenor; Jonathan Liebich, bass; with a double choir, and the ‘orchestra’ of Ian Sadler at the pipe organ, joined by 12 brass players. At Emmanuel United Church in Peterborough. May 07, 3:30pm: In collaboration with Balance for Blind Adults, Toronto Chamber Choir presents a program called Musical Vision: A Brief History of Music and Blindness. In this new Kaffeemusik, the TCC and friends feature music by gifted artists who did not let their lack of sight cloud their musical vision, and will welcome some special guests, Michelle McQuigge and Lucy @MICH_MCG ANNURAL FREE NOON HOUR CHOIR & ORGAN CONCERTS VOCA CHORUS OF TORONTO Shining Night FRI APR 28, 2023 CANTALA CHOIR The Infinite Beauty of Sound THU MAY 25, 2023 Reserve your Free tickets now at ROYTHOMSONHALL.COM 24 | April & May, 2023 thewholenote.com
including distinguished CBC journalist Michelle McQuigge and her guide dog Lucy, Michelle will surprise us with true tales about blind harpers in Ireland and Wales, the blind pianist Maria Theresia von Paradis (for whom Mozart may have written a piano concerto), the charlatan surgeon who botched cataract surgery on both Bach and Handel, and Louis Braille’s adaptation of his writing system to music notation, and much more. Featuring a new commission by pianist Michael Arnowitt. At Calvin Presbyterian Church in Toronto May28, 7:30pm: the Grand Philharmonic Choir concludes their season with the world premiere of Stephanie Martin’s “Water: An Environmental Oratorio”, the story of the importance of this precious resource and a community’s efforts to protect it. Anton Bruckner’s powerful Te Deum opens this concert which includes Katy Clark, soprano, Marion Newman, mezzo-soprano, Jean- Stephanie Martin Philippe Lazure, tenor, Phillip Addis, baritone; with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and combined forces of the Grand Philharmonic Children’s Choir Grand Philharmonic Youth Choir and Grand Philharmonic Choir. Mark Vuorinen, conducts. Andrew Scott is a Toronto-based jazz guitarist (occasional pianist/singer) and professor at Humber College, who contributes regularly to The WholeNote Discoveries record reviews. thewholenote.com April & May, 2023 | 25
