ehearses there on Wednesday evenings 7:15 to 9:30 pm. Concerts next season will be sung at Grace Church on-the-Hill in November, December, March, and May. Auditions are held annually in May and again in September. E-mail Melva Treffinger Graham at grace music2@rogers.com or phone 416-488-7884 ext. 1 7 for information or an audition time. ~ THE TORONTO CHORAL SOCIETY COMMUNITY CHOIR is an inclusive, non-auditioned · choral group dedicated to enhancing· the Toronto community by provi(iing an opportunity for enthusiastic choristers to serve Torohtonians with performances of local history and tradition. Proud of our diversity, our eighty-plus members represent a range of ethnicities, ages and musical experience. Individually, members wish to accomplish their peak musical abilities, and, as a team to produce an enjoyable experience for patrons. Led by the dynamic Geoffrey Butler, Artistic Director, and William O'Meara, Accompanist, this June we proudly present, "Songs of Toronto", a portrayal Toronto's history from the eyes of its newcomers of First Nations, French, British Isles, and Black ancestry, through narrative, dance, musical and choral performances. New members and patrons are always welcome. 416- 410-3509. ~ THE TORONTO CHORISTERS · is an SATB choir made up chiefly of retired employees of the former Toronto Board of Education. In existence for 11 years, we perform mainly in retirement and nursing homes, at school functions during the year. Rehearsals are on Thursdays at 1:00 pm at Wilkinson Public School; they begin in October and culminate with an annual concert in May. Repertoire is light and varied. There are no voice tests for singers; membership is held to around 100. Women wishing to join add their names to a waiting list; there is no restriction for men at the moment. The choir is conducted by Jim Maben and accompanied by Marg Deeth. Further information is available from Daphiny Stewart at 416-284-2647. ~ TORONTO CLASSICAL SINGERS www.tmchoir.org One of Toronto's most vibrant The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir choirs, the Toronto dassical Sing- family has three outstanding ers combines dedicated choristers, choirs: The Toronto Mendelssohn. great repertoire, and dynamic Choir, The Mendelssohn Singers leadership to bring season after and the Toronto Mendelssohn season of choral classics to Toron- Youth Choir. The TMC is Canada's to audiences. Under the baton of wor.ld-renowned large vocal en CBC's Jurgen Petrenko, this lively ' semble, maintaining a tradition, 100-voice choir performs with the since 1894, of performing and Talisker Players and Toronto's commissioning the finest choral most accomplished soloists. 'High- repertoire. The Choir is comprised lights of TCS's eleven seasons: of over 160 volunteer singers and Mozart's Requiem, Handel's M~ssi- the Elora Festival Singers, who ah, Haydn's Creation, masses by form its professional core. Under Beethoven and Schubert". Elgar's the direction of Noel Edison, the Coronation Ode, and opera and TMC presents its own series and Christmas classics. Each season appears frequently with the TSO. features three concerts at Christ Its repertoire stretches from early Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St Baroque to premieres of commisnear St. Clair. In 2003, the choir sioned works. Rehearsals are Monalso performs at Roy Thomson day evenings from. 7:00-9:30 pm Hall. Prospective members who and auditions are held in June and love music, can sight-read and September. ~ have fun should call TCS Hotline 416-443-1490; rehearsals are Mon- TORONTO MENDELSSOHN days 7:30 pm at CCDP, Sept-May. YOUTH CHOIR Ticket/member info: www.toronto classicalsingers.org ~ TORONTO JEWISH FC>I.K (HOIR Conductor: Alexander Veprinsky Accompanist: Lina Zemelman Phone: 416-489-7681 E-mail: .b.shek@utoronto.ca. Web: www.winchevskycenire.org/ choir.html Started 75 years ago by immigrant needle-trade workers, the 40- member SATB choir keeps its founding spirit alive, performing beloved Yiddish folk songs, exc~rpts from the classics ori Jewish themes, contemporary music by Jewish composers in Yiddish, Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish· (Ladino) an(i English, and music of other lands and cultures. Its annual spring concert features excellent guest artists (including .a klezmer band this year, at Lawrence Park Collegiate May 25). The choir also performs Chanukah and other concerts around Toronto, and takes part in the annual Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Commemoration. Rehearsals: Wednesdays, 7:30-10 pm at the Winchevsky Centre, 585 Cranbrooke Avenue. ~ TORONTO MENDE,LSSOHN CHOIR Artistic Director: Noel Edison General Manager: Steven W. Foste.r Accompanist: Chris Dawes 60 Simcoe Street, Toronto, ON M5J 2H5 Tel: 416-598-0422 Fax: 416-598-2992 E-mail: admin@tmchoir.org Conductor: Ron Cheung Accomponist: John Stephenson Tel: 416-598-0422 Fax: 416-598-2992 E-mail: tmyc@tmchoir.org www.tmchair.org The Toronto Mendelssohn Youth Choir was founded in 1977 to provide training and performance opportunities for young singers (15-23) from diverse racial and socio-economic backgrounds. Annually, the TMYC presents a subscrip.tion series of three concerts and also appears with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir for at least one performance. In 1997,. the TMYC performed throughout Italy to rave reviews and in July of 1998, they joined the TMC at the National Arts Centre for the opening of Festival Canada. The Choir has also released a recording of seasonal music under the direction of composer/conductor John Rutter. Rehearsals are Tuesday evenings 7:00-9:30 pm and auditions are held throughout the year. ~ TORONTO UNITARIAN CHOIR Love to sing? Join this group of mixed voices to sing at Worship services once a montll. We feature a wide variety of music to reflect our diversity and our history, as one of the oldest religious communities in Toronto. Unitarians and their choirs celebrate all the. major festivals: Bread Communion (Thank~giving), Christmas, Fire Communion, Easter, Flower Communion,' Pride Day, and other special projects. Alan Gasser director, offers a special focus on the community and village singing traditions of North America and worldwide. Newcomers welcome. Rehearsals on Thursdays, 7:30-9, with snacks. 1" Unitarian Congregation, 175 St. dair Avenue West (near Avenue Rd.), 416-924-9654, music@firstunitariantoronto.org UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT MUSIC AND ARTS SCHOOL COMMUNITY CHOIR This is a popular, non-auditioned 45 voice SATB choir for adults. We sing a wide range of music including classical, madrigals, folk songs from around the world, show tunes and more. This choir offers wonderful socializing. We rehearse once a week on Thursday nights from 7:30 to 9:30 from September to June at the University Settlement Recreatio.n Centre, 23 Grange Rd. Once a year, we do a joint workshop and concert with the St. Christopher House Choir. We also perform at hospitals, nursing homes and are regularly featured at Music and Arts School concerts and special events. Emphasis is on choral development and musical growth in a friendly and fun environment. For more information call 416-598- 3444 ext. 243/244. ~ UPPER CANADA CHILDREN'S C.HORUS (Brian Rawlins, musical director) is comprised of 150 ~ingers ranging in age from 6-17 years. UCC is committed to providing York Region with a world class children's chorus. The choral season includes several concerts, workshops, masterclasses, retreats and tours. UCC rehearses at Thornhill Presbyterian Church·(on Centre St. between Yonge and Bathurst). Rehearsals are either on Sunday afternoon or Monday evening depending on the age of the singer. Auditions are currently being scheduled for the 2003/2004 choral season. Call 416- 733-0615 for more information or email us at michellerawlins@ rogers.com ~ VESNIVKA CHOIR Artistic Director: Halyna Kvitka Kondracki 'Accompanist: Olya Tsinkevich Administrator: Nykola Parzei Choral Scene 14 www.thewholenote.com · May 1 - June 7·2003
78 Brule Gardens, Toronto, ON M6S 4J2 · Tel: 416-763-2197 E-mail: nykolo@vesnivko.com Web: ~ww.vesnivka.com Founding director Halynil Kvitka Kondracki established Vesnivka Choir in 1965. This award-winning 40-member women's ensemble has delighted audiences around. the world with its rich repertoire of Ukrainian liturgical, classical, contemporary and traditional folk music. The · choir's repertoire is often accompanied by professional soloists and a chamber ensemble of area musicians. There are three concerts per season, one of which is a Ukrainian Christmas Concert, as well as Christmas and ' Easter Liturgies. Rehearsals are Tuesday evenings 7:00 to 9:30 pm at 4 Bellwoods Ave., Toronto. The choir's new season commences September 2003. Contact the artistic director to arrange an audition. ~ VILLAGE VOICES Music Director, Joan Andrews Accompanist, Gerald Loo · Email: .villagevoices@sympatico.co Web: www3.sympatico.co/villogevoices Village Voices was founded in 1989 for our spring concert "A Musical Melange"on Saturday May 24th 2003, (see listing and ad). Tel. for membership: 905-4 77-1531 Tel. for tickets: 905-294-8687 ~ VIVA! YOUTH SINGERS OF TORONTO is a choir for children ages 5 - 18. Rehearsals are once a week, on Monday evenings, and take place at Trinity-St.Paul's, United Church (Bloor Street & Spadina Avenue). Carol Woodward Ratzlaff, (Founder, Music Director) holds a Masters of Music in vocal performance and is a vocal music teacher for the Toronto District School Board. VIVA! Choristers participate annually in the VIVA! Performing Arts Camp, VIVA!'s Christmas and spring concerts, The National Ballet of Canada's The Nutcracker, and VIVA!'s January Sing-along fundraiser. Auditions for the 2003 - 2004 Season, which begins in September, are being he!@ now through to the end of June. For more information, or to book an audition, please call 416- 788-VIVA (8482) or email us at vivayst@rogers.com ~ as a not-for-profit, mixed voice VOCALPOINT CHAMBER CHOIR community choir to provide fel- Artistic Director: Ion Grundy lowship for members (at present Administrative Director: Hugh Tracy 45) and achieve a high standard Tel: 416-484-0185 in choral music performance. E-Mail: vocalpoint_choir@lycos.com While maintaining a community Web: http://vocolpoint_choir.tripod.com outreach program and public con- Founded in 1997 by Musical' Dicerts at Christmas and in the ·rector Ian Grundy, Voca!Point has spring, the choir continues to ex- quickly established itself as one · pand its repertoire and artistic lev- Toronto's finest chamber choirs. el, often accompanied by profes- Since its inception, the Choir has sional soloists and/oi: musicians. reached the finals of each succes Rehearsals are held on Wednes- sive CBC Choral Competition and day evenings, 7:30 pm at Union- during this past season, perville Presbyterian Church, 600 Vil- formed at the Glenn Gould Studio ·1age Parkway, Markham. Join us for· live broadcast on CBC's Music .·1frit Youth Singers of Toronto JUNE ··AUDITIONS CHILDREN'S CHOIR excellent opportunities for Singers ages 5-19 National Ballet's 'Nutcracker', musicals, performing arts camp . 0-0/yr tuition BloC?r & Spadina location. to book your audition or find out more www.vivayouthsingers.com 416 788-8482 or vivayst@rogers.com Around Us. This year, the Choir has perform a varied repertoire (dasbeen invited back to Roy Thom- sical to pop, sacred and secular), son Hall as part of the noon-hour with an ever-growing memberconcert series for choir and organ. ship currently at 42. We welcome The Choir is auditioned annually. singers of all ages and skill levels and comprises both amateur and without auditions. One of our professional singers. Its focus is on mandates is to give voice, to other music from the 16th, 17th and 20th local soloists or instrumentalists at centuries with a degree of diffi- ' our concerts - always a crowd culty beyond the capabilities of pleaser! Vox Huronia performs most aµiateur and church choirs. three concerts each year - Decem To arrange an audition during ber, March and June. The Rutter May or June please contact Carol Requiem was performed in March. Grundy at 416-461-8301. ~ Our final, light-hearted concert entitle~ "Groove and Jive" will be VOICES Saturday, June 14, 7:30 pm at St. Voices, a 20-voice chamber choir Paul's United Church in Midland. under the artistic direction of Ron Ka Ming Cheung, is in its seventh full season this year. This dynamic Practices are Monday evenings (same locale). For further information, call Roger Priddle at 705- ensemble is continuing to uphold a reputation for excellence in cho: 533-2052. ~ ral music, having garnered sever- THE WILLIAM BYRD SINGERS al awards as well as numerous This 16-voice professional choir performance inVitations. was · founded in 2000 by conduc- Voices' programs feature a di- tor Peter Mahon. The repertoire verse repertoire from the 14'h cen- of the choir runs from plainsong tury though the 21" century, pre- to contemporary music, but consenting masterpieces by the great centrates on sacred music of the composers of the past, as well as Renaissance. Next season, the premiering original works by Ca- choir will present 2 concerts, in nadi
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Choral Scene: Uncharted territory: three choirs finding paths forward; Music Theatre: Loose Tea on the boil with Alaina Viau’s Dead Reckoning; In with the New: what happens to soundart when climate change meets COVID-19; Call to action: diversity, accountability, and reform in post-secondary jazz studies; 9th Annual TIFF Tips: a filmfest like no other; Remembering: Leon Fleisher; DISCoveries: a NY state of mind; 25th anniversary stroll-through; and more. Online in flip through here, and on stands commencing Tues SEP 1.
Following the Goldberg trail from Gould to Lang Lang; Measha Brueggergosman and Edwin Huizinga on face to face collaboration in strange times; diggings into dance as FFDN keeps live alive; "Classical unicorn?" - Luke Welch reflects on life as a Black classical pianist; Debashis Sinha's adventures in sound art; choral lessons from Skagit Valley; and the 21st annual WholeNote Blue Pages (part 1 of 3) in print and online. Here now. And, yes, still in print, with distribution starting Thursday October 1.
Alanis Obomsawin's art of life; fifteen Exquisite Departures; UnCovered re(dis)covered; jazz in the kitchen; three takes on managing record releases in times of plague; baroque for babies; presenter directory (blue pages) part two; and, here at the WholeNote, work in progress on four brick walls (or is it five?). All this and more available in flipthrough HERE, and in print Tuesday Nov 3.
In this issue: Beautiful Exceptions, Sing-Alone Messiahs, Livingston’s Vocal Pleasures, Chamber Beethoven, Online Opera (Plexiglass & All), Playlist for the Winter of our Discontent, The Oud & the Fuzz, Who is Alex Trebek? All this and more available in flipthrough HERE, and in print Friday December 4.
July/August issue is now available in flipthrough HERE, bringing to a close 25 seasons of doing what we do (and plan to continue doing), and on stands early in the week of July 5. Not the usual bucolic parade of music in the summer sun, but lots, we hope, to pass the time: links to online and virtual music; a full slate of record reviews; plenty new in the Listening Room; and a full slate of stories – the future of opera, the plight of small venues, the challenge facing orchestras, the barriers to resumption of choral life, the challenges of isolation for real-time music; the steps some festivals are taking to keep the spirit and substance of what they do alive. And intersecting with all of it, responses to the urgent call for anti-racist action and systemic change.
"COVID's Metamorphoses"? "There's Always Time (Until Suddenly There Isn't)"? "The Writing on the Wall"? It's hard to know WHAT to call this latest chapter in the extraordinary story we are all of a sudden characters in. By whatever name we call it, the MAY/JUNE combined issue of The WholeNote is now available, HERE in flip through format, in print commencing Wednesday May 6, and, in fully interactive form, online at thewholenote.com. Our 18th Annual Choral Canary Pages, scheduled for publication in print and flip through in September is already well underway with the first 50 choirs home to roost and more being added every week online. Community Voices, our cover story, brings to you the thoughts of 30 musical community members, all going through what we are going through (and with many more to come as the feature gets amplified online over the course of the coming months). And our regular writers bring their personal thoughts to the mix. Finally, a full-fledged DISCoveries review section offers cues and clues to recorded music for your solitary solace!
After some doubt that we would be allowed to go to press, in respect to wide-ranging Ontario business closures relating to COVID-19, The WholeNote magazine for April 2020 is now on press, and print distribution – modified to respect community-wide closures and the need for appropriate distancing – starts Monday March 30. Meanwhile the full magazine is right here, digitally, so if you value us PLEASE SHARE THIS LINK AS WIDELY AS YOU CAN. It's the safest way for us to reach the widest possible audience at this time!
FEATURED: Music & Health writer Vivien Fellegi explores music, blindness & the plasticity of perception; David Jaeger digs into Gustavo Gimeno's plans for new music in his upcoming first season as music director at TSO; pianist James Rhodes, here for an early March recital, speaks his mind in a Q&A with Paul Ennis; and Lydia Perovic talks music and more with rising Turkish-Canadian mezzo Beste Kalender. Also, among our columns, Peggy Baker Dance Projects headlines Wende Bartley's In with the New; Steve Wallace's Jazz Notes rushes in definitionally where many fear to tread; ... and more.
Visions of 2020! Sampling from back to front for a change: in Rearview Mirror, Robert Harris on the Beethoven he loves (and loves to hate!); Errol Gay, a most musical life remembered; Luna Pearl Woolf in focus in recordings editor David Olds' "Editor's Corner" and in Jenny Parr's preview of "Jacqueline"; Speranza Scappucci explains how not to reinvent Rossini; The Indigo Project, where "each piece of cloth tells a story"; and, leading it all off, Jully Black makes a giant leap in "Caroline, or Change." And as always, much more. Now online in flip-through format here and on stands starting Thurs Jan 30.
Welcome to our December/January issue as we turn the annual calendar page, halfway through our season for the 25th time, juggling as always, secular stuff, the spirit of the season, new year resolve and winter journeys! Why is Mozart's Handel's Messiah's trumpet a trombone? Why when Laurie Anderson offers to fly you to the moon you should take her up on the invitation. Why messing with Winterreisse can (sometimes) be a very good thing! And a bumper crop of record reviews for your reading (and sometimes listening) pleasure. Available in flipthrough here right now, and on stands commencing Thursday Nov 28. See you on the other side!
On the slim chance you might not have already heard the news, Estonian Canadian composing giant Udo Kasemets was born the same year that Leo Thermin invented the theremin --1919. Which means this is the centenary year for both of them, and both are being celebrated in style, as Andrew Timar and MJ Buell respectively explain. And that's just a taste of a bustling November, with enough coverage of music of both the delectably substantial and delightfully silly on hand to satisfy one and all.
Long promised, Vivian Fellegi takes a look at Relaxed Performance practice and how it is bringing concert-going barriers down across the spectrum; Andrew Timar looks at curatorial changes afoot at the Music Gallery; David Jaeger investigates the trumpets of October; the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution (and the 20th Anniversary of our October Blue Pages Presenter profiles) in our Editor's Opener; the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at 125; Tapestry at 40 and Against the Grain at 10; ringing in the changing season across our features and columns; all this and more, now available in Flip Through format here, and on the stands commencing this coming Friday September 27, 2019. Enjoy.
Vol 1 of our 25th season is now here! And speaking of 25, that's how many films in the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival editor Paul Ennis, in our Eighth Annual TIFF TIPS, has chosen to highlight for their particular musical interest. Also inside: Rob Harris looks through the Rear View Mirror at past and present prognostications about the imminent death of classical music; Mysterious Barricades and Systemic Barriers are Lydia Perović's preoccupations in Art of Song; Andrew Timar reflects on the evolving priorities of the Polaris Prize; and elsewhere, it's chocks away as yet another season creaks or roars (depending on the beat) into motion. Welcome back.
What a range of stuff! A profile of Liz Upchurch, the COC ensemble studio's vocal mentor extraordinaire; a backgrounder on win-win faith/arts centre partnerships and ways of exploring the possibilities; an interview with St. Petersburg-based Eifman Ballet's Boris Eifman; Ana Sokolovic's violin concert Evta finally coming to town; a Love Letter to YouTube, and much more. Plus our 17th annual Canary Pages Choral directory if all you want to do is sing! sing! sing!
Arraymusic, the Music Gallery and Native Women in the Arts join for a mini-festival celebrating the work of composer, performer and installation artist Raven Chacon; Music and Health looks at the role of Healing Arts Ontario in supporting concerts in care facilities; Kingston-based composer Marjan Mozetich's life and work are celebrated in film; "Forest Bathing" recontextualizes Schumann, Shostakovich and Hindemith; in Judy Loman's hands, the harp can sing; Mahler's Resurrection bursts the bounds of symphonic form; Ed Bickert, guitar master remembered. All this and more in our April issue, now online in flip-through here, and on stands commencing Friday March 29.
Something Old, Something New! The Ide(a)s of March are Upon Us! Rob Harris's Rear View Mirror looks forward to a tonal revival; Tafelmusik expands their chronological envelope in two directions, Esprit makes wave after wave; Pax Christi's new oratorio by Barbara Croall catches the attention of our choral and new music columnists; and summer music education is our special focus, right when warm days are once again possible to imagine. All this and more in our March 2019 edition, available in flipthrough here, and on the stands starting Thursday Feb 28.
In this issue: A prize that brings lustre to its laureates (and a laureate who brings lustre to the prize); Edwin Huizinga on the journey of Opera Atelier's "The Angel Speaks" from Versailles to the ROM; Danny Driver on playing piano in the moment; Remembering Neil Crory (a different kind of genius)' Year of the Boar, Indigeneity and Opera; all this and more in Volume 24 #5. Online in flip through, HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday Jan 31.
When is a trumpet like a motorcycle in a dressage event? How many Brunhilde's does it take to change an Elektra? Just two of the many questions you've been dying to ask, to which you will find answers in a 24th annual combined December/January issue – in which our 11 beat columnists sift through what's on offer in the upcoming holiday month, and what they're already circling in their calendars for 2019. Oh, and features too: a klezmer violinist breathing new life into a very old film; two New Music festivals in January, 200 metres apart; a Music & Health story on the restorative powers of a grassroots exercise in collective music-making; even a good reason to go to Winnipeg in the dead of winter. All this and more in Vol 24 No 4, now available in flipthrough format here.
Reluctant arranger! National Ballet Orchestra percussionist Kris Maddigan on creating the JUNO and BAFTA award-winning smash hit Cuphead video game soundtrack; Evergreen by name and by nature, quintessentially Canadian gamelan (Andrew Timar explains); violinist Angèle Dubeau on 20 years and 60 million streams; two children’s choirs where this month remembrance and living history must intersect. And much more, online in our kiosk now, and on the street commencing Thursday November 1.
Presenters, start your engines! With TIFF and "back-to-work" out of the way, the regular concert season rumbles to life, and, if our Editor's Opener can be trusted, "Seeking Synergies" seems to be the name of the game. Denise Williams' constantly evolving "Walk Together Children" touching down at the Toronto Centre for the Arts; the second annual Festival of Arabic Music and Arts expanding its range; a lesson in Jazz Survival with Steve Wallace; the 150 presenter and performer profiles in our 19th annual Blue Pages directory... this is an issue that is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
In this issue: The WholeNote's 7th Annual TIFF TIPS guide to festival films with musical clout; soprano Erin Wall in conversation with Art of Song columnist Lydia Perovic, about more than the art of song; a summer's worth of recordings reviewed; Toronto Chamber Choir at 50 (is a few close friends all it takes?); and much more, as the 2018/19 season gets under way.
PLANTING NOT PAVING! In this JUNE / JULY /AUGUST combined issue: Farewell interviews with TSO's Peter Oundjian and Stratford Summer Music's John Miller, along with "going places" chats with Luminato's Josephine Ridge, TD Jazz's Josh Grossman and Charm of Finches' Terry Lim. ) Plus a summer's worth of fruitful festival inquiry, in the city and on the road, in a feast of stories and our annual GREEN PAGES summer Directory.
In this issue: our sixteenth annual Choral Canary Pages; coverage of 21C, Estonian Music Week and the 3rd Toronto Bach Festival (three festivals that aren’t waiting for summer!); and features galore: “Final Finales” for Larry Beckwith’s Toronto Masque Theatre and for David Fallis as artistic director of Toronto Consort; four conductors on the challenges of choral conducting; operatic Hockey Noir; violinist Stephen Sitarski’s perspective on addressing depression; remembering bandleader, composer and saxophonist Paul Cram. These and other stories, in our May 2018 edition of the magazine.
In this issue: we talk with jazz pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo about growing up in Toronto, building a musical career, and being adaptive to change; pianist Eve Egoyan prepares for her upcoming Luminato project and for the next stage in her long-term collaborative relationship with Spanish-German composer Maria de Alvear; jazz violinist Aline Homzy, halfway through preparing for a concert featuring standout women bandleaders, talks about social equity in the world of improvised music; and the local choral community celebrates the life and work of choral conductor Elmer Iseler, 20 years after his passing.
In this issue: Canadian Stage, Tapestry Opera and Vancouver Opera collaborate to take Gogol’s short story The Overcoat to the operatic stage; Montreal-based Sam Shalabi brings his ensemble Land of Kush, and his newest composition, to Toronto; Five Canadian composers, each with a different CBC connection, are nominated for JUNOs; and The WholeNote team presents its annual Summer Music Education Directory, a directory of summer music camps, programs and courses across the province and beyond.
In this issue: composer Nicole Lizée talks about her love for analogue equipment, and the music that “glitching” evokes; Richard Rose, artistic director at the Tarragon Theatre, gives us insights into their a rock-and-roll Hamlet, now entering production; Toronto prepares for a mini-revival of Schoenberg’s music, with three upcoming shows at New Music Concerts; and the local music theatre community remembers and celebrates the life and work of Mi’kmaq playwright and performer Cathy Elliott . These and other stories, in our double-issue December/January edition of the magazine.
In this issue: conversations (of one kind or another) galore! Daniela Nardi on taking the reins at "best-kept secret" venue, 918 Bathurst; composer Jeff Ryan on his "Afghanistan" Requiem for a Generation" partnership with war poet, Susan Steele; lutenist Ben Stein on seventeenth century jazz; collaborative pianist Philip Chiu on going solo; Barbara Hannigan on her upcoming Viennese "Second School" recital at Koerner; Tina Pearson on Pauline Oliveros; and as always a whole lot more!
In this issue: several local artists reflect on the memory of composer Claude Vivier, as they prepare to perform his music; Vancouver gets ready to host international festival ISCM World New Music Days, which is coming to Canada for the second time since its inception in 1923; one of the founders of Artword Artbar, one of Hamilton’s staple music venues, on the eve of the 5th annual Steel City Jazz Festival, muses on keeping urban music venues alive; and a conversation with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, as he prepares for an ambitious recital in Toronto. These and other stories, in our October 2017 issue of the magazine.
In this issue: a look at why musicians experience stage fright, and how to combat it; an inside look at the second Kensington Market Jazz Festival, which zeros in on one of Toronto’s true ‘music villages’; an in-depth interview with Elisa Citterio, new music director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; and The WholeNote’s guide to TIFF, with suggestions for the 20 most musical films at this year’s festival. These and other stories, in our September 2017 issue of the magazine!
CBC Radio's Lost Horizon; Pinocchio as Po-Mo Operatic Poster Boy; Meet the Curators (Crow, Bernstein, Ridge); a Global Music Orchestra is born; and festivals, festivals, festivals in our 13th annual summer music Green Pages. All this and more in our three-month June-through August summer special issue, now available in flipthrough HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday June 1.
From science fact in "Integral Man: Music and the Movies," to science fiction in the editor's opener; from World Fiddle Day at the Aga Khan Museum to three Canadians at the Cliburn; from wanting to sashay across the 401 to Chamberfest in Montreal to exploring the Continuum of Jumblies Theatre's 20-year commitment to the Community Play (there's a pun in there somewhere!).
In this issue: Our podcast ramps up with interviews in March with fight director Jenny Parr, countertenor Daniel Taylor, and baritone Russell Braun; two views of composer John Beckwith at 90; how music’s connection to memory can assist with the care of patients with Alzheimer’s; musical celebrations in film and jazz, at National Canadian Film Day and Jazz Day; and a preview of Louis Riel, which opens this month at the COC. These and other stories, in our April 2017 issue of the magazine!
On our cover: Owen Pallett's musical palette on display at New Creations. Spring brings thoughts of summer music education! (It's never too late.). For Marc-Andre Hamelin the score is king. Ella at 100 has the tributes happening. All; this and more.
In this issue: an interview with composer/vocalist Jeremy Dutcher, on his upcoming debut album and unique compositional voice; a conversation with Boston Symphony hornist James Sommerville, as as the BSO gets ready to come to his hometown; Stuart Hamilton, fondly remembered; and an inside look at Hugh’s Room, as it enters a complicated chapter in the story of its life in the complex fabric of our musical city. These and other stories, as we celebrate the past and look forward to the rest of 2016/17, the first glimpses of 2017/18, and beyond!
In this issue: a conversation with pianist Stewart Goodyear, in advance of his upcoming show at Koerner Hall; a preview of the annual New Year’s phenomenon that is Bravissimo!/Salute to Vienna; an inside look at music performance in Toronto’s health-care centres; and a reflection on the incredible life and lasting influence of the late Pauline Oliveros. These and more, in a special December/January combined issue!
In this issue: David Jaeger and Alex Pauk’s most memorable R. Murray Schafer collabs, in this month’s installment of Jaeger’s CBC Radio Two: The Living Legacy; an interview with flutist Claire Chase, who brings new music and mindset to Toronto this month; an investigation into the strange coincidence of three simultaneous Mendelssohn Elijahs this Nov 5; and of course, our annual Blue Pages, a who’s who of southern Ontario’s live music scene- a community as prolific and multifaceted as ever. These and more, as we move full-force into the 2016/17 concert season- all aboard!
Music lover's TIFF (our fifth annual guide to the Toronto International Film Festival); Aix Marks the Spot (how Brexit could impact on operatic co-production); The Unstoppable Howard Cable (an affectionate memoir of a late chapter in the life of of a great Canadian arranger; Kensington Jazz Story (the newest kid on the festival block flexes its muscles). These stories and much more as we say a lingering goodbye to summer and turn to the task, for the 22nd season, of covering the live and recorded music that make Southern Ontario tick.
It's combined June/July/August summer issue time with, we hope, enough between the covers to keep you dipping into it all through the coming lazy, hazy days. From Jazz Vans racing round "The Island" delivering pop-up brass breakouts at the roadside, to Bach flute ambushes strolling "The Grove, " to dozens of reasons to stay in the city. May yours be a summer where you find undiscovered musical treasures, and, better still, when, unexpectedly, the music finds you.
INSIDE: The Canaries Are Here! 116 choirs to choose from, so take the plunge! The Nylons hit the road after one last SING! Fling. Jazz writer Steve Wallace wonders "Watts Goode" rather than "what's new?" Paul Ennis has the musical picks of the HotDocs crop. David Jaeger's CBC Radio continues golden for a little while yet. Douglas McNabney is Music's Child. Leipzig meets Damascus in Alison Mackay's fertile imagination. And "C" is for KRONOS in Wende Bartley's koverage of the third annual 21C Festival. All this and as usual much much more. Enjoy.
From 30 camp profiles to spark thoughts of being your summer musical best, to testing LUDWIG as you while away the rest of so-called winter; from Scottish Opera and the Danish Midtvest, to a first Toronto recital appearance by violin superstar Maxim Vengerov; from musings on New Creations and new creation, to the boy who made a habit of crying Beowulf; it's a month of merry meetings and rousing recordings reviewed, all here to discover in The WholeNote.
2016 is off to a flying start! We chronicle the Artful Times of Andrew Burashko, the violistic versatility of Teng Li, the ageless ebullience of jazz pianist Gene DiNovi and the ninetieth birthday of trumpeter Johnny Cowell. Jaeger remembers Boulez; Waxman recalls Bley's influence, and Olds finds Bowie haunting Editor's Corner. Oh, and did we mention there's all that music? Hello (and goodbye) to the February blues, and here's to swinging through the musical vines of the Year of the Monkey.
What's a vinyl renaissance? What happens when Handel's Messiah runs afoul of the rumba rhythm setting on a (gasp!) Hammond organ? What work does Marc-Andre Hamelin say he would be content to have on every recital program he plays? What are Steve Wallace's favourite fifty Christmas recordings? Why is violinist Daniel Hope celebrating Yehudi Menuhin's 100th birthday at Koerner Hall January 28? Answers to all these questions (and a whole lot more) in the Dec/Jan issue of The WholeNote.
"Come" seems to be the verb that knits this month's issue together. Sondra Radvanovsky comes to Koerner, William Norris comes to Tafel as their new GM, opera comes to Canadian Stage; and (a long time coming!) Jane Bunnett's musicianship and mentorship are honoured with the Premier's award for excellence; plus David Jaeger's ongoing series on the golden years of CBC Radio Two, Andrew Timar on hybridity, a bumper crop of record reviews and much much more. Come on in!
Vol 21 No 2 is now available for your viewing pleasure, and it's a bumper crop, right at the harvest moon. First ever Canadian opera on the Four Seasons Centre main stage gets double coverage with Wende Bartley interviewing Pyramus and Thisbe composer Barbara Monk Feldman and Chris Hoile connecting with director Christopher Alden; Paul Ennis digs into the musical mind of pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and pianist Eve Egoyan is "On the Record" in conversation with publisher David Perlman ahead of the Oct release concert for her tenth recording. And at the heart of it all the 16th edition of our annual BLUE PAGES directory of presenters profile the season now well and truly under way.
Paul Ennis's annual TIFF TIPS (27 festival films of potential particular musical interest); Wu Man, Yo-Yo Ma and Jeffrey Beecher on the Silk Road; David Jaeger on CBC Radio Music in the days it was committed to commissioning; the LISTENING ROOM continues to grow on line; DISCoveries is back, bigger than ever; and Mary Lou Fallis says Trinity-St. Paul's is Just the Spot (especially this coming Sept 25!).