Volume 30 Issue 5 | April & May 2025

IN WITH THE

IN WITH THE NEWMUSICALGARDENSFOR SPRINGWENDALYN BARTLEYDANIEL ALEXANDER DENINOL to R: Cecilia Livingston, Donna McKevitt, Tim Albery,Back in the dark days of the pandemic, whenconcerts were little more than memories, Ispoke with composer Cecilia Livingston for theDecember 2020-January 2021 issue of The WholeNoteabout Garden of Vanished Pleasures, a project she wasinvolved with at the time. Originally presented as alivestream production by Soundstreams in early 2021, thepiece went on to become a finalist in Opera America’sAwards for Excellence in Digital Opera. Now, it is set toreceive a fully staged live performance by Soundstreams.As a refresher, Garden of Vanished Pleasures was conceived byCanadian/UK theatre director Tim Albery, who took existing worksby Canadian composer Cecilia Livingston and UK-based composerDonna McKevitt and curated them into a sonic tapestry reflecting onthe life and work of filmmaker and queer rights activist Derek Jarman.While McKevitt’s music was not originally composed for this production,it draws heavily onTranslucence, a song cycle by McKevitt set toJarman’s poetry.Seven of Livingston’s compositions were then selected to be part ofthe Vanished Pleasures production, requiring Livingston to rescoresome of them to match the instrumentation of two sopranos, mezzo,countertenor, viola, cello and piano – the instrumentation McKevittused in Translucence.Hyejin KwonIn the spirit of revisiting past stories shared with WholeNote readers,I thought it fitting to bring us up to speed on this latest iteration, whichwill run for four performances, April 25-27, at Canadian Stage, so Ireached out to the project’s music director and pianist, Hyejin Kwon.As Kwon explained, this April performance is largely a remount,with only a few changes – two new singers and Kwon herself stepping©TIM ALBERYCountertenor Daniel Cabena, Garden of Vanished Pleasuresin as pianist. Except that this time – the biggest change – it will beexperienced live.I asked her about her impressions of the video production, whichmakes extensive use of projections, both text and images. “I noticedthat the lighting was quite dark, which seemed to really capture theessence of loss, emptiness and isolation,” she says, commenting thatit took her back to the early days of the pandemic. “The countertenorcharacter, played by Daniel Cabena wears a minimal costume—just along robe—and sings primarily the words of Derek Jarman in piecesthat appeared in McKevitt’s Translucence,” she says. “I view him asthe main narrator, the voice of Jarman.”The only music written by Livingston that the countertenor singscomes at the end. “The other three singers weave in and out, eachhaving solo moments. They could be seen as parts of Jarman’s innerpsyche, but the only time the countertenor and the female voicesjoin together with the instruments is at the end, when they performLivingston’s Kiss Goodnight.” She sees this moment as the beginningof a resolution or a climactic shift in the story. “I will be having thatconversation with Tim once rehearsals begin,” she says.“The more I’ve worked on theHyejin Kwonscore, I definitely sense a spiritof resilience. Even in the darkemotional places—through lossof loved ones and health—whatI take away is human resilience.That understanding may shift inthe next few weeks, as I haven’t yethad a chance to get into the mindof Tim Albery to understand wherehe’s coming from.”Part of Kwon’s role as musicdirector will be to coach thesingers. When I asked abouther approach, she emphasizedthe importance of staying trueto the score at the beginning,14 | April & May 2025 thewholenote.comCAMERON DAVIS JNGY PHOTOGRAPHY

“especially when the composers are still alive and available for discussion”.Interestingly, one of Livingston’s compositions in the production,Calypso, is a piece Kwon previously coached with singers fromthe University of Toronto. (Originally composed as a stand-alone songfor singer and piano, it may require a different interpretation to fit intothe overall narrative.)Kwon has also had the pleasure of working with Albery before. Backin 2014, at the end of her first year in opera school at U of T, she workedwith him on Last Days, a staged production commemorating the 100thanniversary of World War I. That piece, a staging of songs and texts, ledaudiences from the gaiety of pre-war Europe to the devastating impactof the war on both those caught up in it and those at home. The selectedmusic included works by Schoenberg, Berg, Ives, Ravel and Poulenc.So when she was invited to be the music director for Garden ofVanished Pleasures and saw that Albery was part of the team shejumped at the opportunity. “I really loved the way Tim worked,” Kwonsaid. “He has his principles and ideas, and I really respect him for that.It was the most rewarding experience I could have had as a student.”Currently Kwon is pursuing her doctorate in collaborative piano atU of T, specializing in the vocal stream, which focuses on coachingopera singers. For her dissertation she is researching Korean art songswritten by June-Hee Lim (b.1958), creating an interpretation guideto Korean art songs for non-Korean singers and vocal coaches. In hercoaching practice, she emphasizes the importance of vocal health,with her number one priority being that singing should never causeharm to the voice.An accomplished pianist, Kwon will also perform in Gardenof Vanished Pleasures. Rather than serving as a conductor fromthe keyboard, she sees her role as part of a collaborative chamberensemble, offering occasional cues. The only pieces that involve pianoare those composed by Livingston, giving Kwon the opportunity toassist the performers with balance and other musical aspects—essentiallyproviding an additional set of ears within the ensemble.Esprit OrchestraDuring April, Esprit Orchestrawill present the final concerts oftheir five-concert Edge of YourSeat International Festival, whichbegan on March 4 – a concert Ihad the pleasure of attending. Theevening was charged with energyand spirit, opening with an explosiveand masterful performanceBurgos sings Vivierby Esprit orchestra member RyanScott on solo marimba in Keiko Abe’s The Wave. Scored for soloistand four percussionists, the piece filled the room with ricochetingsounds – not just from the instruments, but also from the rhythmicclaps, stomps and shouts of the other percussionists, creating an electrifyingatmosphere. These body percussion elements enhance therhythmic intensity of the marimba soloist’s performance. The eveningconcluded with the premiere of Vito Žuraj’s work Anemoi, sustainingthe same high energy and dynamic spirit that had opened the concert.I wrote about concerts two and three of the festival in my columnin the February-March WholeNote. Concerts four and five take placeon April 6 and 17. Both concerts will feature world premieres of Espritcommissions: a new work by Quinn Jacobs on April 6, and on April 17works by composers Nicholas Ma and James O’Callaghan. The April 17concert will also include a performance of Claude Vivier’s LonelyChild, sung by American soprano Sophia Burgos – aligning with thefestival’s mission to showcase outstanding international performers.Burgos, one of the leading interpreters of Vivier’s vocal works, promisesto bring a fresh perspective to this beloved piece.New Music ConcertsNew Music Concerts has an intriguing event planned for May 2,co-presented with Arraymusic, called MAKEWAY. At its core, thisis a composer training program designed to support each participant’svision, providing the necessary instrumentation to bring eachcomposer’s ideas to life. The May 2 concert will showcase the newlyKATE LEMMONcreated works, with the composers sharing insights into their pieces.Building on the program’s 2023 launch, this year’s edition features works byTsu Long (Fish) Yu, Alex Matterson, Anju Singh, and Steven Webb. The diverseinstrumentation highlights the program’s commitment to supportingindividual artistic expression—Long’s piece, Home, is scored for erhu andelectronics, while the other works feature a variety of instru-mentalcombinations, with Webb’s composition also incorporating elec-tronics. With arecord number of submissions, it’s clear this initiative is meeting a need. Thenext cohort of composers will be selected in 2027.ROUNDUPMay 3, 8PM. 21C Music Festival with Bruce Hornsby & yMusic.The final event of this year’s festival presents BrhyM, a collaborationbetween American singer-songwriter and pianist BruceHornsby and the yMusic ensemble who specialize in performingmusic from a variety of genres. They were involved in a tour inearly 2020 before having to stop their travels due to the pandemic,but they decided to keep the musical exchange going remotely.The piece BrhyM arose from their musical conversations, and theyhave released their debut album Deep Sea Vents.May 16, 7:30PM. Grace Church on-the-Hill. Venezuela Viva.Cantemos and the Upper Canada Choristers present an eveningof music by Venezuelan composer and choral conductor CésarAlejandro Carrillo. Carrillo will conduct two works the Cantemosensemble commissioned from him: El Pajaro que espero (The BirdI Await), set to a poem by his wife Morales Balza commemoratingthe son they lost at an early age; and La Rosa de los vientos (TheWind Rose), with words by the choir’s own Jacinto Salcedo writtenat a time of profound nostalgia and loneliness. Cantemos specializesin music from Latin America, singing repertoire primarily inSpanish, Portuguese and Latin, in a variety of styles including folk,classical, contemporary, and dance.May 25 4PM. EnsembleU. As part of EstonianMusic Week that runsfrom May 22-25, thiscontemporary musicensemble will offeran “enhanced cosmicjourney” set to themusic of Canadian-Estonian composer UdoKasemets. Kasemets wasan important figure in Toronto’s new music community, teachingsound at OCAD and being a voice for the pioneering work of JohnCage. He had a close relationship with composer James Tenneyand influenced many younger composers living in Toronto. VenueTBA, stayed tuned!Wendalyn Bartley is a Toronto-based composer andelectro-vocal sound artist. sounddreaming@gmail.comMAKEWAY 2025May 2nd, 2025 | Pay What You Can | Doors 7:00PMSt.George’s Grange Park, Toronto, ONnewmusicconcerts.comRAUL KELLERthewholenote.com April & May 2025 | 15