Volume 9 Issue 10 - July/August 2004

High Park Choirs of

High Park Choirs of Toronto 9.-3 www.highparkchoirs.org invite applications for the post of Conductor Beginning in September 2004, we seek creative leadership to help with new musical and educational goals for our dynamic 5-choir organization. Founded in 1986, High Park Choirs is comprised of 120 choristers ages 6-18 who love to sing . Please call for details: 416-762-0657 Pax Christi Chorale TORONTO'S MENNONITE CHOIR STEPHANIE MARTIN, CONDUCTOR WWW.PAXCHRISTICHORALE.ORG 416-494-7889 The Messiah Cometh December 4th 0 5th, 2004 Highlights from Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Handel's Messiah, Berlioz' L'enfance du Christ, carol~ ancient & modern. Sometim.es a light surprises April 23rd 0 24th, 2005 Luminous Canadian soprano Teri Dunn joins us in music hy Schiltz, Bach, Mozart and Brahms and traditional hymns, anthems & folksongs. Grace Church on-the-Hill ~ Saturdays 8:00 pm .... :,~;-;:~:;.':;,o~:;;:\,,. Sundays 3:00 pm tor ont ca rt sc ou n cif Oakville Children's Chorus Chorally _speaking, Toronto is fairly quiet over the summer months, though there are a few pleasant diversions from the heat, namely the Latvian Song Festival in early Ju·ly , featuring choral music by Talivaldis Kenins, Imant Raminsh and others. The Oakville Children's Choir kicks off a European tour with a concert on July 5 and the Hart House Singers give an early August program in the venue for which they're named. Jf you are interested in joining a choir, now is the time to be thinking about contacting conductors and arranging auditions or meetings. If you have questions or need advice about choosing a choir, look at WholeNote's May Choral Celebration, still available online at www. thewholenote. com. And please don't hesitate to contact me at the e-mail address below. Lastly, I am heartened to know that there is a group of dedicated individuals working behind the scenes to revive the ailing Choirs Ontario and their vital programs, which include the Ontario Youth Choir. If you are interested in getting involved, donating time dr money or helping out in any way, you can contact the organization at info@choirsontario.org or by calf~ ing 416-923-1144. Have a restful and music-filled summer. Lnrry Beckwi1h can be reached al dunnbeckwi1h@sympa1ico.ca JUBILATE SINGERS AUDITIONS Director Isabel Bernaus leads a chamber choir with an eclectic, multilingual repertoire (Cuban, Argentinian, Italian, Finnish, Canad ian, Catalan, Spanish; classical, traditional, contemporary), with a 3-concert series and occasional community performances. There are openings in the baritone and tenor sections. Rehearsals are Tuesdays 7:30 pm at St. Leonard's Church. Auditions Sept. 14 and 21, 5:30-7:00 pm at St. Leonard's Church 25 Wanless Ave. (near Yonge & Lawrence) E-mail John at johnriddell @sympatico.ca or cal I 4 16-686-7607 (evenings) to arrange a time. www.j ubilates ingers.ca As the summer months roll in, a vast amount of early music activity goes out to rural parts of the province, namely the Festival of the Sound, the Elora Festival, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Festival de Lanaudiere, and the Grand River Baroque Festival. Now teaching at the Early Music Institute of Indiana University, Stanley Ritchie, one of the world's leading exponents of Baroque and Classical violin, will be coaching the Trio di Colore on the Mozart Trio for clarinet, viola and piano, in a masterclass (July 22) as part of the Festival of the Sound. Later, he will be leading The Festival Baroque in a performance of works by Bach (Chaconne from the Partita in D minor for solo violin), plus works by 17th century violin virtuoso Biagio Marini, Darius Castello, G.P. Telemann, and Arcangelo Corelli (July 23). EARLY MUSIC by Frank Nakashima Emma Kirkby Another of the world's finest early music singers is Vivica Genaux who makes an appearance with Les Violons du Roy under the direction of Bernard Labadie in a program of Handel operatic arias and other music (July 3) at the Festival de Lanaudiere. Gosh, was it twenty-five yefirs Not long after he had moved to ago that the Elora Festival intro- Leipzig, Johann Sebastian Bach d11ced us to early music in the sum- wrote some of his most inspired mer'? WelL this year's Festival sa- music, notably the beautiful Jesu lutes that era by presenting The meine Freude (Jesu my Joy). It Toronto Consort in a program was there, too, that Bach wrote his entitled "Shakespeare's Songbook" four Lutheran masses. On this oc­ (July 29). A quintet of singers, ac- casion, performing much of this companied by hurdy-gurdy, per- wonderful music, The.Elora Fescussion, lute, guitar, recorder, and tival Singers are joined by special h\lrpsichord, will transport you guests, tenor Colin Ainsworth, back in time to th0se halcyon days · baritone Daniel Lichti, organist at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Matthew Larkin, and the Festival with the many songs that appear Chamber Players, all under the di.­ in his plays. rection of conductor Noel Edison Meanwhile, Emma Kirkby, the (July 25, Elora Festival). reigningqueen.ofbaroquesopran- In last month's column, I menos, returns to the Festival to join tioned the Grand River Baroque Canadian countertenor Daniel Tay- Festival which, in a short period !or and the Theatre of Early Mu- of time, features a wealth of early sic (July 24) in a program that fea- music performances (for example, tures Pergolesi 's Stabat Mater. a performance by the Grand River Kirkby will plso be appearing in Baroque Festival Ensemble of the recital a few days later in Ottawa's complete Brandenburg Concerti 1 ~~~~rv~~~~~~:~7~~~:~~our:~~~ ~ur~ E 0 x~r!~~~t~!~~~~;; also want to catch Taylor and the' everything and go. There's more TEM in a performance of Bach music by Bach on the following Cantatas ()uly 28) with other fine day _ his Concerto for 3 Violins soloists Carolyn Sampson, tenor in D; the Oboe Concerto in F; and Scot Weir, and bafitone Peter Har- the Cantatas BWV 54 & 64 (July vey. Also in Ottawa, what's being billed as a "Baroque Extrava- 2 )You'llhearsomedarkscarymuganza" includes virtuoso violinists sical stories of S,tradella, Johnson, Monica Huggett and Adrian But- Gesualdo, Leclair, Couperin, terfield, with Sonnerie and the Lully, and Handel (July 3) in the TEM (July 31), concert entitled, Murder a la Ba- WWW .Tl llWHOL [NOTE .COM )UL Y 1 - SEPT 7 2004

oque , and also on the same day , a rarely-heard work by Alessandro Scarlaui, fl Primo Omocidio , not to mention a perfonnance of the stunning Mystery Sonmas by Biber as performed by Tafelmusik violinist Linda Melsted and others. The final event of this short but intense Baroque experience is Bach 's masterwork, the Sr. John Passion with soloists Monica Whicher, Laur2 Pudwell , Michael Colvin, Daniel Lichti , and the Grand River Baroque Festiv'!l Chorus & Ensemble under the direction of Victor Martens (July 4). For your convenience, I have provided a list of websites for the festivals and events mentioned above. Happy surfing! Elora Festival - www.elorafestival.com Festival of the Sound - www. fe!S ti valofthesound. on. ca Festival de Lanaudiere - www.lanaudiere.org Grand River' Baroque Festival - www.grbf.ca Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival .._ www.chamberfest.com Frank T. Nakashima (franknak@interlog.com) is rhe President of rhe Toronro Early Music Cenrre, a non-projir charirable organizarion ivhich promores rhe apprecimion of hisroricrzlly-informed performances of early music www.torontoearlymusic.org. TORONTOHEARANDNOW.COM NEW MUSIC COMPOSER COMPANIONS by Jason van Eyk Although the Toronto con- jubilee, and if the concerts that inc.ert season has officially elude Canadian music are any income to its close, we are dication of what to expect, then we never without live music thanks to are all in for a treat. the summer festival season. There On July 11th the Elo.ra Festiare always plenty of opportunities val Singers and the ever-popular here in Toronto, and not too far Gryphon Trio willjojn forces for afield, to experience fantastic con- a world premiere by Toronto-based temporary music by both our accomplished Canadian composers and their international counterparts, as performed by our great Canadian performers and special invited international ensembles. From the summer blooms of the Music Garden to the theatrics of the touring Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, and from the musical soul of the Elora Festival to the .intimate scale of Stratford Summer Music, the range of contemporary music runs wide in July and August. As always, we encourage you to jump in and get immersed in the music of our times by joining us at any or all of these concerts with a Composer Companion as your own personal audio tour guide. The beautiful rural setting of Elora sets the summer _backdrop for national .and international artists to create musical magic at the Elora Festival, a signature summer event celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Artistic Director Noel Edison has promised great musical happenings for this silver JULY 1 - SE PT 7 2004 composer Larysa Kuzmenko. Larysa Kuzmenko Ms. Kuzmenko is frequently commissioned by some of Canada's · best performers and ensembles, and has had · her works performed throughout Canada, the United States and Eurnpe. The Gryphon Trio are well noted for their awardwinriing interpretations of Canadian work, including a recent 2004 Juno for their "Canadian Premieres" compact disc . CONTINUES NEXl PAGE . arraymus1c 2004/2005 CONCERT SEASON Sch·ipol 2 October 14, 2004 8:00 PM The Glenn Gould Studio T ·he Composer/ lrn.proviser December 4, 2004 8:00 PM The Music Gallery An Arraymusic!Music Gallery Co-production Giorgio Magnanensi Conducts April 30, 2005 8:00 PM The Glenn Gould Studio Future Lab Young Composers' WorkshopFinal Concert May 29, 2005 8:00 PM The Music Gallery For subscription information: arrayrnusic 60 Atlantic Avenue, Suite #218 Toronto, ON, M6K 1X9 www.arraymusic.com I info@arraymusic.com tel: 416.532.3019 Oates, venues and programs subject to change without notice Canada Council for the Arts A Conseil des Arts torontaartscouncil du Canada ~ f,n .:Hm's l