TMChoir's Jean-Sébastien Vallée on large-choir community exchange; Vania Chan on Music and Mindfulness; "From Up Here" looks at Classical Life in "Zone 10"; Jazz jam etiquette; Esprit has you on the edge of your seat; Women from Space; a full slate of record reviews; all this and more.
The WholeNoteVOLUME 30
The WholeNoteVOLUME 30 NO 4FEBRUARY & MARCH 2025IN THIS EDITIONSTORIES AND INTERVIEWSWendalyn Bartley, Vania Chan, Ori Dagan,Angus MacCaull, Jennifer Parr, David Perlman,Sophia Perlman, Lydia Perovic, Andrew Scott,Colin StoryCD ReviewersLarry Beckwith, Sophia Bisson, Stephanie Conn,Max Christie, Sam Dickenson, Raul da Gama,Fraser Jackson, Richard Haskell, Tiina Kiik,Lesley Mitchell-Clarke, Cheryl Ockrant, David Olds,Ted Parkinson, Terry Robbins, Stephen Runge,Michael Schulman, Sharna Searle, Andrew Timar,Yoshi Maclear Wall, Ken Waxman.ProofreadingOri Dagan, David Olds, Ted Parkinson, John SharpeListings TeamJohn Sharpe, Kevin Harris, Gary Heard,Sophia Perlman, Colin StoryDesign TeamKevin King, Susan SinclairCirculation TeamDave Bell, John Bentley, Jack Buell, Jane Dalziel,Bruno Difilippo, Carl Finkle, Vito Gallucci,James Harris, Bob Jerome, Marianela Lopez,Miguel Brito-Lopez, Chris Malcolm,Sheila McCoy, Lorna Nevison, Janet O’Brien,Tom Sepp, Mark ZayachkowskiDEADLINESWeekly Online Listings Updates6pm every Tuesday for weekend postingfor Volume 30 No. 5, APRIL & MAY 2025Print listings deadline:6pm Tuesday, March 11, 2025Print advertising, reservation deadline:6pm Friday March 14, 2025Web advertising can be booked at any timePUBLICATION DATESOUR 30th ANNIVERSARY SEASONincludes six print editions:September 2024 (Aug 27);October & November (Oct 1);December & January 2025 (Nov 26);February & March (Jan 28);April & May (Apr 1);Summer (June 3)Printed in CanadaCouto Printing & Publishing ServicesFOR OPENERSWaxing nostalgicWith publication of this print issue, the mid-point of our 30th year of publication isnow in the rearview mirror; four down, two to go. Almost time to wax nostalgicabout walking four miles in the snow (uphill in both directions of course) in the weehours of the morning, to deliver flats to our printer, hoping the wax would hold in the cold.Flats and stats and waxers and rollers, as the transformative tools of our DIY trade, are at thispoint a distant memory – like fax machines as the technology that would “transform forever”the painstaking task of gathering concert listings from season brochures received by mail, andflyers gleaned from bulletin boards in churches, community centres and laundromats.We were wrong about fax machines, of course. There is always a next technology that will“transform forever” our current “state of the art” ways of doing things. Unless, of course, wespend so much time learning each new technological next big thing that we lose sight of thefact that our real work is getting the intel we gather out to its “end users” (that’s you). So youcan act on it.A lot changes in almost 30 years. But some things don’t change. Our printer, for example.To whom we owe an inexpressible debt of gratitude for staying with us through thick and thinfrom the very beginning.Or like the way I obsessively fret over this Opener – always the last thing to be ready – intothe wee hours of the morning of the last possible day. For any number of reasons like:–which global/national/socio-political/ethical issue of the day requires profundity from mein order for the discussion to be complete;–Why whatever got left out that shouldn’t have been, was;–Why the order chosen for the stories in the issue is a perfect arc, so please start at thebeginning and refrain from applause until you’ve read Back Story (p.70).Shuffle modeBack in the fall we ran a series of mini-interviews under the overall title “The Art of theArc” – in which we asked artistic directors of a range of music-making endeavours to talk a bitabout some individual piece of music coming up in their season: why it was chosen; how itfits the arc of the concert it’s in; and how that concert fits the arc of their whole season. All ofwhich presumes, of course, the existence of “the arc.”Alexander Cappellazzo, founding artistic director of Diapente vocal quintet andApocryphonia responded to the fall “art of the arc” invitation and talked about the pleasure ofputting together a concert that creates something new from the sum of its parts.But he also pointed out that this upcoming June the Diapente-Apocryphonia tag teamwill be offering up the second iteration of their “Cabinet of Curiosities” concert which takesseveral multi-movement musical works and completely randomizes them on the night of theshow. “I find that especially fun because it highlights musical contrasts in a way only completerandomization could do.”Shuffle mode can be hell on the ego of the artist or curator (or magazine editor) who workedinto the wee hours to determine the perfect arc for a set list or concert or recording, or magazineissue. But try to see it this way (I sez to myself): you’ve laid down in print or on disc, orcommitted to the live concert air, a picture of how that set of material reflected your state ofmind in a given moment.Now pass it on.David Perlman can be reached at publisher@thewholenote.comT'KARONTOFor thousands of years before European settlement, T’karonto (The Meeting Place) was partof the traditional territory of many Nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit River,the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, and remainstheir home to this day, as it now is for many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples.This Meeting Place lies within the territory governed by the Sewatokwa’tshera’t (Dishwith One Spoon) treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee– a Treaty which bound them to share the territory and protect the land. SubsequentIndigenous Nations and Peoples, and all newcomers are invited into this treaty in the spiritof peace, friendship, respect and reconciliation. We are grateful to live and work here,helping spread the word about the healing power of music in this place.an Ontario government agencyun organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario8 | February & March 2025 thewholenote.com
SEASON PRESENTINGSPONSORMAHLER’SFOURTHMar 20 & 22Anna Prohaskasoprano(2024/25 TSO Spotlight Artist)Gustavo Gimeno, conductorAnna Prohaska, soprano(2024/25 TSO Spotlight Artist)Mozart, Haydn & Mahler shimmer withsuperb soprano Anna Prohaska.ANGELA HEWITTPLAYS MOZARTMar 26, 27, 29 & 30 ✝Angela HewittpianoMarta Gardolińska, conductorAngela Hewitt, pianoCelebrated Canadian pianist Angela Hewittbrings elegance, musicality, and charm toMozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21.Concerts at Roy Thomson Hall & ✝ George Weston Recital HallTSO.CAFor accessible seating, call 416.598.3375TORONTOSYMPHONYFOUNDATION
