Volume 20 Issue 1 - September 2014

an Ontario government agencyun organisme du gouvernement de l’OntarioBRIAN TELZEROWcolumn – join a choir!The audience for choralmusic is in part thesame demographicthat attends choralconcerts. To find outabout choral options,look into resources andmessage boards such asthe WholeNote CanaryPages, Facebook choralpages (like TorontoFreelance ChoralSingers) and the ChoirsOntario website.Open rehearsals:Another way to findout about choirs isto attend an openrehearsal, which isbecoming increasinglycommon during theautumn at the beginning of the musical season. This can allow youto meet possible choral colleagues and see the conductors in action.Open rehearsals that have been brought to my attention this monthare: Bell’Arte Singers, Saturday September 13; Orillia’s Jubilee Chorale,Saturday September 27; Oshawa’s County Town Singers, also onSaturday September 27; Toronto Beach Chorale, Sunday September 28.Some of these rehearsals (those between September 26 and 28)are taking place as part of Culture Days, an increasingly importantexpression of the arts in their fullest community sense. You can readmore about Culture Days on page 56 of this issue, and find out moreby visiting culturedays.ca.Roll over, Beethoven: For anyone who thinks musical life is harderthan it used to be, know that Beethoven’s 9th Symphony had onlytwo full rehearsals before its premiere, which is still about what youget these days for the first performance of a new work. The TorontoSymphony hosts the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir for three performancesof the 9th September 25 to 27.The TMC is also hosting a special edition of one of their regular“Singsation” Saturday workshops on September 27. (Let’s hear it forCulture Days again!) These Singsation events take place throughoutthe year. Sheet music is provided. It’s a very good outreach projectand a fun way for people to experience the city’s largest choir fromanother perspective. More about this series on the next page.In brief:The Mattaniah Christian Male Choir is based in Dundas, just outsideHamilton. They perform in Whitby on September 26, in a benefit forlong-term care facilities for the elderly in Durham.The Colours Of Music festival has a performance by That Choir (Yup,that’s their name – made you look twice, didn’t it? An ensemble’sname is another obvious way to generate interest) on September 26 –music by Bruckner, Whitacre, Mealor and others.Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of Music starts the academic yearwith an October 5 concert in Kitchener titled “Sing Fires of Justice forPETER MAHONSales Representative416-322-8000pmahon@trebnet.comwww.petermahon.comHope.” This concert is part of an initiativeat Laurier to raise awareness of Aboriginalwomen who have been murdered or havegone missing in Canada.For those who have not heard a Baroqueviol, there is really no instrument like it.Played well, it is mysterious and somehowmelancholy, even when playing livelyfigures. Toronto has its own group of violplayers, the Cardinal Consort of Viols.On October 5 they will team up withWaterloo’s Conrad Grebel Chamber Choirto perform of a concert English verseanthems and viol ensemble music.Finally, the University of Toronto’s headof choral music studies, Hilary Apfelstadt,has had considerable success in creatingevents that build a weekend of choralactivities around the work of a particularcomposer. This year, the weekend’sThat Choirguest is Morten Lauridsen, an Americancomposer whose music is performedthroughout North America. (Coincidentally Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna isalso part of the Elmer Iseler Singers’ season opening concert October 5at Eglinton St. George’s United Church.) Apfelstadt’s ambitious “ACelebration of the Music of Morten Lauridsen” won’t take place untilOctober 25, so I will have more to say about Lauridsen’s work in nextmonth’s column. But you heard it here first, didn’t you?Benjamin Stein is a Toronto tenor andlutenist. He can be contacted atchoralscene@thewholenote.com.Visit his website at benjaminstein.ca.LYDIA ADAMSConductor &Artistic DirectorJoy of Singing: The Magic of SongGreat Choral Sounds | Sun. Oct 19, 4pmEglinton-St. George’s United Churchwith Naomi Barron, cello; Clare Scholtz, oboe; Ed Reiffel, timpani;Shawn Grenke, organ.Sure on this Shining Night | Sat. Dec 13, 7:30 pmYorkminster Park Baptist ChurchGuest Host: Mary Lou Fallis, Amadeus Choir Patronwith The Bach Children’s Chorus, Linda Beaupré, conductor,Shawn Grenke, Eleanor Daley, Ed Reiffel, percussion, and the Trillium Brass.Celebrating the Toronto Arts Council 40th Anniversary.Of Heart and Tide: The Gift of Water | Sat. Apr 11, 7:30 pmTrinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon HallA multi-media event with guest speaker: Dr. Roberta BondarWater Night of Eric Whitacre, works by Schafer and Watson Henderson.Guest Artists: Christopher Lee, flute, Ed Reiffel, percussion and Shawn Grenke, pianoEarth Songs, Love Songs | Sun. May 24, 4pmGeorge Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the ArtsCelebrating our 40th Anniversary season with our wonderful musical friendsGuest Host: Ben Heppner, Amadeus Choir Patron withThe Bach Children’s Chorus, Linda Beaupré, conductorEd Reiffel, percussion, Ruth Watson Henderson andShawn Grenke, 2 pianos.Subscription and Single Ticket Information:416-446-0188 or www.amadeuschoir.com38 | September 1, 2014 – October 7, 2014 thewholenote.com