Volume 30 Issue 5 | April & May 2025

Music Toronto’sCOSE at

Music Toronto’sCOSE at theAperture RoomDAVID PERLMANThe Aperture Room is the crown jewel of a beautifullypreserved building at 340 Yonge St., a couple ofblocks north of Yonge and Dundas, designed andbuilt in 1922 for the Thornton-Smith Company – anantique furniture and interior design firm.COSE concerts all take place from 4pm to 6pm on Saturday afternoons,with the sun (if there is any), streaming in through the threerecessed skylights that give the room its name. “The broad range ofmusic, time of day, and the room aesthetic all contribute to the series’popularity” says Music Toronto’s Roman Borys.With the music at COSE events being primarily acoustic, it makessense to centre the performers on the long uninterrupted north wallof the room, with the audience radiating out in a semi-circle aroundthem. “Not the exact centre though,” says Ken Rutherford, whosupplied the photo, pointing toward the bar at the Yonge St windowsend of the building. “It’s that wide open space opposite the elevatorand stairs as people come in that defines the central purpose of thespace – a room designed for people to engage,” he says.The building has been in Rutherford’s family for over half a century,with his own involvement increasing over time. It’s no accident, forexample, that he could come up with a photograph from a previousMusic Toronto COSE event right away, when we asked, because heattends every event. “People like to meet the owner,” he says.There are, consequently, only as many events in the space as he iswilling to be there for. “Around twenty a year,” he says. “Well maybe25.” And the events that happen there tend to reflect his own, broadlyeclectic interests. He rhymes off a few: an S&P Global conference onsustainable development; a UHN [University Health Network] staffappreciation party; Club Canadien de Toronto; a PETA fundraiser;Ladom Ensemble (Adam Campbell, percussion; Beth Silver, cello; MichaelBridge, accordion; and Pouya Hamidi, piano) at the third and final concertof Music Toronto’s Celebration of Small Ensembles series, June 1 2024Rotary Wintergrow; Impact AI [artificial intelligence discussion];Future Skills; Music Toronto’s COSE series: and (the event I first methim at) a gathering to hear a progress report on how consultations aregoing about programming Sankofa Square just down the street.True to his “meet the owner” mantra, he was stationed betweenthe elevator and the door to the stairwell, and the event illustrated hisobservation about the room’s design being conducive to interpersonalengagement: around 160 attendees able to move freely around or clusteras they chose; a comfortable feeling. And then plenty of room, onceattention was asked for, to cluster, standing or seated, in the aforementionedsemi-circle around the (not-quite) centre of the north wall.Music Toronto’s COSE formula suits the room well; three concertsabout four weeks apart, one each in April, May, and June; always twohours long, always from 4-6pm; always on a Saturday; and always two45-minute sets, by contrasting ensembles, with a break in between.This year’s COSE dates (third season!) are April 5, May 3, and June 7,and the pairings are as creative as ever. Check them out in our listings.“The artists enjoy the challenge of putting together a 45-minute set”says Roman Borys. “It captures the spirit of the salon – as much socialas it is discovery.”A gem of a series in a jewel of a room.David PerlmanJ KEN RUTHERFORDArkelCHAMBERCONCERTSMarie Bérard - Winona ZelenkaUnder a Veil of StarsSUNDAY, MAY 18th 2025 3pmFranz Schubert piano trio in E flatand Kevin Lau piano trioGuest Artist:Philip Chiu, pianoSeason SponsorsTrinity St. Paul's Centre, 427 Bloor St. Weventbrite.ca18 | April & May 2025 thewholenote.com

NoteworthySIAN RICHARDSCBCOn April 9 and 11 Ron Korb (featured on pages 16-17) will performin the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Japanese-themed concert“Kimko’s Pearl and Romantic Treasures,” playing the Shinobue, aJapanese transverse flute, providing an entr’acte, between Takemitsu’sRequiem for Strings and the premiere of Kevin Lau’s Kimiko’s PearlSymphonic Suite.The TSO really has something for everybody in April and May:there are ten different programs, from masterworks to pops. There’sa performance on April 26 by the TSYO, a young people’s concerton May 4, and on May 28 you can hear a TSO Chamber soloistsconcert at 6:45 if you have a ticket to the 8pm masterworks concert“Beethoven’s Eroica.”Aisslinn NoskyTom AllenOrchestras: If you’re lookingfor orchestral fare on a differentscale or outside of downtownToronto, consider this: a quicksearch of our online listingsat thewholenote.com/justaskoffered 21 different programsby 19 individual orchestrasin Brampton, Burlington,Hamilton, North York, Oakville,Scarborough, Milton, Mississauga,Niagara, Stratford and Sudbury.Most of these are included in thisprint magazine, but new concertsare listed online every week. Soyou might like to sign up to getour weekly updates by email.thewholenote.com/newsletterAbove: Nosky Performs Handel,Haydn & Bach and leads the HamiltonPhilharmonic at FirstOntarioConcert Hall in Hamilton, April 12.Below: Music From Earth andBeyond: Tom Allen and FriendsGallery Players of Niagara. TomAllen, story teller; Sheila Jaffé,violin; Lori Gemmell, harp &guitar, in St. Catharines, May 11.Chamber: Prefer a smaller ensemble? Chamber music is a verybusy scene at this time of year. 5 at the First Chamber Concerts inHamilton has three different concerts upcoming (Apr 12, May 17,Jun 7). The Gallery Players of Niagara have events in St Catharines(April 13 and May 11), with an adaptive performance (May 31). TheAlliance Francaise de Toronto (Apr 24, Apr 26, May 3, Jun 7) has fourinteresting programs coming up. Have a look at Amici ChamberEnsemble (Apr 13); Confluence Concerts (May 2/3); Arkel ChamberConcerts (May 18); Friends of Music at St. Thomas’s (Apr 26 andMay 9); Mooredale concerts (May 4); and Music in the Afternoon(Apr 3 and May 8).Or select “chamber” for a search of our online listings atthewholenote.com/justaskThe 2025 JUNO Awards were announced March 31, and celebratesome remarkable classical performances and artists thatyou’ll want to hear, or hear againClassical Composition of the Year: “Angmalukisaa” by Inuk classicalsinger Dorothea Edwards. The title means “round” in Inuktut.It’s a personal composition about human connections, and youcan hear it on a recording called Alikeness which features theNewfoundland Symphony Orchestra Sinfonia directed by MarkFewer. (Reviewed by David Olds in Dec 2024/Jan 2025 edition,and included in our online Listening Room) Leaf Music LM296Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble): Messiaen:Turangalîla-Symphonie. This recording by The TorontoSymphony Orchestra, under the direction of Gustavo Gimenofeatures pianist Marc-André Hamelin and ondes Martenotspecialist Nathalie Forget (Reviewed by Daniel Foley in our April/May 2024 edition) Harmonia Mundi HMM905336Classical Album of the Year (Small Ensemble): Rituæls(Reviewed on page 60 of this edition) by the Montreal-basedstring ensemble collectif9. This recording brings together musicdating from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. originallyperformed as a live artistic and spiritual experience, and then afilm-concert (released in 2021). Analekta. AN955Classical Album of the Year (Solo Artist): Freezing. Mezzo-sopranoEmily D’Angelo’s second solo recording includes 17 songs spanningfive centuries: folk and art song, John Dowland to PhilipGlass, and recent works by Randy Newman, Cecilia Livingston,and US band Ween. Deutsche Grammophon 4866571thewholenote.com April & May 2025 | 19