Volume 4 Issue 9 - June 1999

HORAL
SCENE
BY lARRY BECKWITH
For me the month of June always
brings back fond memories of
the 1989 and 1993 Internatiomil ·
Choral Festivals that hapPened iti
Toronto. There are not~early as
many choral events happening as
there were in those special years,
b~t a glance through the calendar
brings up quite a few concerts of
interest.
S9NG OF SONGS
June 2 is your last chance to take
irl' the unique offering entitled .
The Song of Songs. This is a ·
cqllaboration between David .
Fallis's Toronto Chamber Choir,.
Brad Ratzlaff's Trinity-St. Paul's
United Church Choir and the
Lachan Choir, directed by Ben
Maissner. It's a multi~media
affair centring on the myriad of
art inspired by the biblical Song
of Songs.
ORPHEUS PREMIERES RA~JtiNSH
The Orpheus Choir of Toronto,
conducted by Brainerd Blyden­
Taylor, giv~s the premiere of
; Sonnets to Orpheus by the
Canadian composer hnant
Raminsh on June 5. The work
includes eight of the famous
sonnets by Rainer Maria Rilke
and is set for baritone (Kevin
McMillan), large choir and
orchestra. Presenting a new work
of this magnitude is a huge ·
undertaking and I know that this
event has been in the works for
some years now. Bravo to the
Orpheus Choir for bringing it to
fruition .. The programme also
includes Elgar's Sea Pictures and
VailghanWilliams' Serenade to
Music. The Raminsh will be
broadcast on CBC's Choral
. Concert at the end of June.
AMADeUs AND NEXUS
Th.e neXt evening at the Ford
Centre, the Amadeus Choir,
conducted by Lydia Adams, give
their season-ending concert with
Nexils. Robin Engelman will
. have a new work ori the programme
along with pieces by
iohn Wyte and William Mathias.
(And remember, if you are
~ · The Toronto Choral Society
~ .. .Goes to the Movies!
A Wl)nd(1r:IW eveniirg of treasured music .trom
familiar, well-loved and Oscar-winning movies
featur'ing
· Requiem
By Wolfgang llmadeu$ Mozart
interested in entering the
Amadeus Choir's popular
Christmas Carol and Chanukah
Song writing competition you
have until September 20 to get
your entries in. Cash awards and
performances happen in December.
For more information, the
choir has a splendid website at
http:// amadeus. idirect.com.)
BIG DAY FOR CQ
June 12 is a big day for Choirs
Ontario. We're holding our
Annual General Meeting at Bloor
Street United Church at 4:00pm,
breakillg for dinner, then ·
returning to the church for a
concert by Ron Cheung's Voices
choir. If you are at all interested
in the organization, please attend
our AGM and- if you still like
us! - consider taking mit a
membership. As always, if you'd
like further information about
Choirs Ontario, just give me a
call at 9i3-1144.
TSO TIMES TWO
1l1e Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
participates in two Toronto
Symphony progrrumnes tlus
month. Mahler's Third Symphony,
conducted by music
director Jukka-Pekka Saraste is
rarely heard and features
women's voices. The annual
tlrrowback to colonial times
known as the Last Night oftl1e ·
Proms, conducted by the-wonderful
Bnimwell Tovey highlights
old warhorses, Empire chestnuts
and incongruities like the·
Polevetsian Dances from Prince
Igor. Don't argue with tradition!
GUELPH SPRING
If you fancy a trip out of town,
the Guelph Spring Festival
continues into the flrst week of
June and presents a Bach
celebration on June I. There are
also several children's choir
concerts Ulking place in June.
The Oakville 'Cliil4ren's Chorus
performs-June 5, the awardwinning
La Jeunesse Northum-.
berland Girls' Choir of Cobourg
performs June 6 and again at the·
end of the month in a run of Anne
of G.reen Gables. The Georgian
Bay Children's Choir of Owen
Sound gives concerts June 5 and
12 and the Saugeen Children's
Chorus concerti;zes June 13 in
Port Elgin.
CAM MAC
I( you are~ ad!llt amate.tir
chorister, the Canadian Amateur
Musicians/Musiciens Amateurs
du Canada run a camp in the
summer that you might be
interested in. It takes place at
Cedar Glen in the Caledon Hills
and runs from July 25 to August
1 and August I tQ 8. For more.
information, -call cAMMAc at
421-0779 . .
Ple~;~s.e see Choral Quick
Picks. page 14
Larry Beckwith. is the.Geheral
. M anager of Choirs Ontario. He
can be reached at 416 923 1144.
And. selections from
Titanic, Platoon, Carousel and others
**********
Conductor: Geoffrey Butler
Accompanist: William_ O'Meara
Guest Soloists:
Suzanne Kompass -Soprano
Sandra Boyes - Alto
Mark Dubois -Tenor
Bruce Kelly - Baritone
Wednesday, June 2, 1999 ~ 8.00 p.in.
George Westo~ ~ial Hall,
Ford Centre for the Performing Azts
5040 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontazio
.- Tickets -.$17.50
for Tickets and Information call: 416-410~3509
· All voices are welcome
to audition for one of
Canada's premiere large
choirs, conducted by
Lydia Adams. The 115-
voice SATB choir, cele­
_brating its 25th season in
1999-2000, perfonns in
the George Weston
Recital Hall, Ford Centre
for the Performing Arts.
For an· appointment, call
Joan Andrews at (905)
642-8706.
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I
I
COME
SING
I WITH US!
I
j ~~~~~ ~gh~l~~n~r of
I auditions for the 1999-
! 2000 seas()n. Singers
l in all voice ranges
: ore welcome. ·
I
l
l To schedule on
I
. oydition, telephone
the. Choir Office at
., ! (905) 527-5995.
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