Volume 8 Issue 9 - June 2003

11 t.@.
!Jy Colin Eatock
A stone's throw from Queen's Park and Bloor ...
May 8, 2003: A curious crowd shows up at the Royal Conservatory of
Music for the inaugural perfonnance of ARC (Artists of the Royal
Conservatory). Before a note is played, Conservatory President Peter
Simon offers some prophetic words. "This is the first step in what we
believe will be a very successful ensemble," he announces. "We have
the finest artists of any music faculty in the world."
• . ARC, I soon learn, is an ensemble of variable.instrumentation,
made up of teachers at the Conservatory and.organized around
theme-based chamber concerts. This evening's concert is a mixed
program dedicated to lesser-known works by Richard Strauss. Pianist
Leslie Kinton and guest actor Colin Fox give a heartfelt perfonnance of
Enoch Arden- a fascinating but fortunately unique work for piano and
nqrrator . The .other major piece on the program, an eai;Jy pianQ q~et
(op. 13) is1played with alacrity by Erica Raum, YosefTamirJ Bryan .
Epperson and David Louie. Soprano Ann Monoyios' modest rendition of
seven early songs, accompanied by pianist Dianne Werner, is sandwiched
between the two larger works. ,
As I liste.n I am reminded of another chamber concert I
attended, at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music back in
March. On that occasion, violinist Scott St. John announced a new
initiative to make the U ofT a major centre for chamber music, with
prestigious ensembles in residence, high-quality instruction, and lots of
perfonnances. Could this be the beginning of a "chamber music war"
between these two institutions, located just a stone's throw from one
another near Bloor and Queen's Park Crescent? At a reception following
the ARC concert, I hear more about the Conservatory's new
ensemble: already they've been engaged to play in New York City, with
more concerts scheduled for Toronto in December. And I can't help
noticing a detailed scale-model of the Conservatory's planned expansion
discreetly tucked in the corner of the room.
II May 14: I arrive at the offices of Kuwahara, Payne Mckenna, Blumberg
. Architects for a press conference officially announcing the Conservatory's
expansion. Now the balsa-wood model is front and centre, as
architects explain exactly what they are proposing to build. Foremost in
their plans is a 1,000-seat concert venue - much like woefully underused
Geprge Weston Recital Hall up Yonge Street - to be constructed behind
old McMaster Hall. As well, there will be 60 new studios and a multimedia
centre.
Peter Simon points out that the new facility is intended not j~st
for the Conservatory, but also for the city's musical organizations: he
mentions Tafelmusik and the CBC as possible users. He also explains
tl\.at about 60 percent of the $50 million required for the project has
already been pledged, and that he hopes tO break ground in about a year.
As the meeting comes to an end, I manage to ask Simon about other
plans in the Conservatory's future. "We're going to try to get degreegranting
status in the next two years," he says.
Degrees? Isn't the U of T's Faculty of Music in the business of
h;lhding out those pieces of paper? If the Conservatory can also award
degrees, one of the main reasons for post-secondary music students to
attend an institution like the U ofT - to obtain a degree, rather than a
diploma - may simply evaporate.
• 1 , , •. , ,
It's tempting to view the ongoing competition between the U ofT and the
Conservatory for students, programs, facilities and ofcourse money as
an example of poor cultural planning - maybe even a little un-Canadian.
But even though these two institutions do sometimes seem to dance on
each other's feet, we shouldn't forget that competition can be a good
thing. If we let a hundred chamber musicians bloom and a hundred music
schools contend, might we not all be better off for it in the long run?
Time may tell.
Colin Eatock is a composer and writer in Toronto who contributes to the
Globe and Mail and other publications. His T. 0 . Musical Diary is a
regular monthly feature ofThe WholeNote.