As we slip into the
As we slip into the month of April, two of the favourite inspirations for choral music-making are upon us: the coming of spring, which always brings to mind ideas of rebirth and new beginnings, and the Christian celebration of Easter, which delves into similar themes. The choirs of Toronto and surrounding areas are offering a rich variety of concerts, this month, and the following are a few suggestions for dates you might want to mark on your calendars: ST. JOHN PASSION: I ended last month's column with a reminder about the Tafelmusik performances of this magnificent work on April 2, 3 and 4. A reminder also that the choirs of the Church of St. Simon's will also give a special performance of this piece on April 5, as will the Choir of St. Anne's on April 10 .. FOR MOZART LOVERS, the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto gives a performance of the Mass in C Minor, which is actually fairly rarely performed in this city, in the unsurpassed acoustic environment of the Ford Centre recital hall on April 4. THE ELORA FESTIVAL SINGERS give a free concert at noon on April 7 at Roy Thomson Hall, featuring the marvelloi!S Durufle Requiem. Two days prior, in Elora, they pair the Durufle with the popular recent setting by Torontonian Eleanor Daley. METROPOLITAN UNITED CHURCH continues a proud tradition of Good Friday concertizing on Queen Street. April 10, with cantatas by Bach and Buxtehude and the Faure Requiem. VOICES, a relatively young choir conducted by Ron Cheung, gives a concert at Trinity-St. Paul's United Church on April 18. Big things are happening for this choir, these days. They begin a tour of the Maritimes on May 9, ending up in Halifax at Podium '98, the conference of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors, where they Measha Gosman sings with Victoria Scholars and with All the King's Voices. See Concert Notes, page 7 will be featured performers. THE VICTORIA SCHOLARS. If you've never heard them, I strongly urge you to attend their April 19 concert, where they will be performing sacred Italian music for male choir, and a guest appearance by rising soprano Measha Gosman. THE CBC CONCLUDES its marvellous choral component of its OnStage series at the Glenn Gould Studio with a performance by the great Moses Hogan Chorale on April 26. I sincerely hope, whether this series was a money-maker or not, that the nation's broadcaster will continue to bring the world's finest choirs to Toronto, next season. LOOKING AHEAD TO THE MONTH OF MAY, there's a difficult choice facing choral music fans on May 2nd, where no less than four wonderful choral concerts are planned for the same evening. All the King's Voices performs Spanish music, the Oriana Singers sing Glick and Vivaldi, the Toronto Chamber Society delve into Purcell and the Toronto Children's Chorus welcome spring. All on the same night! We are indeed a rich city. MAY 30 CHORAL CARNIVAL. The Ontario Choral Federation's plans for this event at Lansing United Church are proceeding apace. For information about this or any of our programmes, contact me by phone at (416) 363-7488, fax at (416) 363-8236 or e-mail at choirs.ontario@sympatico,ca. (Larry Beckwith is the General Manager of the Ontario Choral Federation). CHORAL QUICK GUIDE Many other choral events are taking place this month. Get out to as many as you can. 111ere 's nothing like a concert of choral music to make April fee/like May! You can find all of the following in this month 's Whole Note listings! •April 2: Tafelmusik Chamber Choir •April 3: Palestrina Chamber Chorus •April 4: Amadeus Choir •April 4 & 5: Tactus Vocal Ensemble •April 4: University of Toronto Choirs •April 5: Toronto Chamber Society Choir •April 5: High Park Girls' Choir •April 5: Annex Singers of Toronto •April 5: Elora Festival Singers •April 5: Scarborough College Chamber Choir & Repertory Choir •April 5: Yorkminster Park Church Choir •April 5: ~hoir of Christ Church Deer Park •April 5: Gentlemen and Boys of St. Simon's •April 5: Hart House Singers •April 6: University Women's Chorus •April 7: York University Jazz Choir •April 7: Elora Festival Singers •April 10: Choirs of Bloor Street United Church & Trinity-St. Paul's United Church •April 10: Saint Andrew Chorale •April 10: St. Paul's Anglican Church Choir •April 10: All Saints' Festival Choir & Choir of St. George's Oshawa •April 10: Metropolitan Festival Choir •April 10: St. Anne's Choir •April 10: Mississauga Choral Society •April 11: High Park Girls' Choir of Toronto •April 15: Misa Flamenca (traditional choir) •April 16: Willowdale Middle School Children's Choir •April 17: Orpheus Choir of Toronto •April 18: Voices •April 19: St. Anne's Church Choir •April 19: Victoria Scholars •April 25: Deer Park Vocal Ensemble •April 25: Te Deum Orchestra & Singers •April 26: Moses Hogan Chorale •April 26: Etobicoke Centennial Choir •April 26: Musica Antique Vocal Ensemble & Polish Symfonia Choir •April 28: Canadian Opera Company Orchestra & Chorus •April 28: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir •May 1: Exultate Chamber Singers •May 2 & 3: Toronto Children's Chorus •May 2: All the King's Voices , •May 2: Oriana Singers •May 2: Toronto Chamber Society •May 3: The Canadian Singers •May 3: Toronto Children's Chorus •May 3: Saint Andrew Chorale •May 3: Toronto Classical Singers TORONTO'S ONLY COMPREHENSIVE MONTHLY CLASSICAL & CONTEMPORARY CONCERT LISTING SOURCE
BEIDND THE SCENES 3 Why Roy Thomson Hall needs a day job ( & the lady who makes sure it has one) BY DAWN LYONS "I don't know if it's interesting," Heather Clark said doubtfully when I said I wanted to write about her work. "I do not book artists. As Director of Marketing and Communications for Roy Thomson Hall and Massey Hall, I handle marketing of risk shows and of the two Halls, and development of corporate and other 'friends' programs." Me: 'Risk' shows? Heather: Ones that are the financial responsibility of the Hall; where we book the artist, do the advertising, sell the tickets and make or lose the money. Between the two halls, we do about 80 risk shows a year. Me: If you have to sell them, surely you would have some say in who is booked? Heather: The Programming Director of The Halls, Wende Cartwright, and I work closely together. We discuss whether something can sell out, break even, or needs corporate sponsorship. Sometimes we'll be content to take a loss. Me: You book artists who will lose money? Heather nods: "In addition to making money, we have to consider the mandate of the Halls. For instance, the Royal PHOTO: DEN CIUL Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam sold out Roy Thomson Hall February lOth. The tickets cost up to ; it must have looked like a great success. But we lost ,000 -- it costs SO much to bring an orchestra from Europe! But to maintain the profile of Roy Thomson Hall as one of the world's great concert halls we have to present the world's great artists. Me: You make money on other shows? Heather: Yes, we can rely on popular artists such as Natalie Cole, Tom Jones, and anything Celtic--- multicultural performances, too, if you know how to sell them. Toronto is cosmopolitan, but people coming from other countries often find our telephone ticketing process intimidating. We sold tickets continued on page 18 Ill 111111 ill !ill!! Ill 1iiifliiifliiif1iiif1iiif :I.AI OS 11111 11111 11111 11111 11111 DISC OF THE MONTH -April- CINEMA CLASSICS 1998 Classical music featured great movies such as: Titanic, The Devil's Own, One Night Stand, The Peacemaker, Paradise Road, LA. Confidential, One Night Stand, G.l. Jane, Jurrasic Park 2: The Lost World, Brassed Off, The Fifth Element ONLY S4.99 at fine record stores everywhere Naxos: Classical music for Everyone lllllililllllll 111111 1iiifliiif1iiif1iiif1iiif :I.AI OS 11111 11111 11111 11111 11111 Ask for a free catalogue: tel: 416- 491 - 2600 fax: 416 - 491 - 2621 em ail: naxos@ idirect.com
