Volume 17 Issue 9 - June 2012

marshmallow andLysol pie”?– The discrepancybetweenthe quality ofthe awesomefilms producedin Quebec andthose from therest of Canadais so vast that itshould make allnon-Quebecoishang our headswith shame. (Iknow that thishas nothing to dowith choral music,That Choir at Hart House.but it needs to bepointed out wherever possible.)– No choir should sing gospel music unless they can memorizetheir scores, clap on the off-beat and sway in rhythm. Kids, pleaseremember —friends don’t let friends clap on one and three.– The reason that none of the really good English music composedafter Purcell and before Britten ever gets performed is because thereisn’t any.– Choral arrangements of music theatre songs are partially responsiblefor global warming.– Choral arrangements of rock songs have been proven to causecancer in rats.– Choral arrangements of jazz standards are like bumper cars —agag version of the real thing.– The previous three statements are clearly written by a madman.In the 21st century, the benchmark for a good choir will be how wellit can execute an accurate version of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder will be a distant memory. Actually, it sortof is that already.– Choral singing in the Ontario region is not even close to reachingits full potential. The performance of one composition, and one compositionalone, can achieve this. Tune in to next month’s column forwhat this piece is, and how performing it will achieve this goal.Are you sufficiently provoked or outraged? Excellent. Just keeppassing that good vibe on to all you meet, and my work here is done.The WholeNote takes no responsibility for the opinions expressedabove, so don’t blame them.Now, on to the concerts. There are a number of groups listed belowthat have either flown under my radar, are relatively new, or simplyhave not previously given their information to The WholeNote listingsthat are the source for choral news. In any case, my apologies forany former neglect on my part, and welcome to the column.A number of these ensembles are based outside of Toronto, so ifyour choral experience is a Toronto-centric one —mine certainly is -time to get out of the city and get to know some of the groups outsideyour urban comfort zone. Incidentally, some of these choirs have themost awesome names I’ve ever seen.PETER MAHONSales Representative416-322-8000pmahon@trebnet.comwww.petermahon.comI was intriguedand mystifiedby a groupcalled That Choir.Googling that onewas an interestingexperience.It turns out thatThat Choir is ana cappella groupbased in Toronto,founded in 2008and comprisedprimarily of actor/singers.TheirJune 4 concertlaunches theirfirst CD, andfeatures musicby Rachmaninoff, Whitacre and Lauridsen. Information about themcan be found at www.thatchoir.com.Another prize in the naming department goes to the SoundInvestment Choir, which sounds like a group of very cool singingaccountants. Based out of Collingwood, their mandate is to fosterchoral music-making in the Georgian Triangle, the group of communitiessurrounding the south end of Georgian Bay. On June 1 and2 in Collingwood, the Sound Investment Choir performs “Bernstein &Broadway,” a concert that includes Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.Owen Sound’s Shoreline Chorus is another group from theGeorgian. They perform hymns and gospel songs for their two “TheGospel Truth” concerts on June 9.Ancaster’s Harlequin Singers specialize in musical theatre andother popular music. Their “45 Years of Broadway” on June 1 will bepresented, cabaret-style, with the ability to buy a drink and listen.This is entirely civilized, and is something other choirs might considertaking up regularly.Another similar ensemble is Barrie’s Bravado Show Choir, a groupthat is strongly theatrical in nature. As well as performing two showsper year, they also do community outreach work, and have a youtheducation component. They perform “Bravado Rocks!” on June 1.The Ispiravoce Vocal Ensemble is a chamber group of 10 to 12 femalevoices based out of Mississauga. In the show-choir style that is increasingin popularity, they use movement and costumes to augment theirmusic-making. On June 2, they perform “Voyage!,” music apparentlyinspired by the tango, flamenco, sacred spaces, secular vices andLord of the Rings. I confess myself intrigued by the “secular vices”aspect of this program. Further information can be found at www.ispiravoce.ca.On June 2 another west end youth group, the MississaugaChildren’s Choir, perform “City Scapes,” a concert that addresses theexperience of the modern city. The concert features a new work bythe excellent Toronto choral composer Michael Coghlan.This month it was a pleasure to discover a previously unknownlocal youth choir, the children’s ensemble from the Oratory of St.Philip Neri. The oratory is located in the west end of Toronto, andhas a lively music program. The Oratory Children’s Choir performsmusic by Legrenzi, Charpentier, Schein, Schutz, Bach and others at afree concert on June 23.At the other end of the city, the Cantemus Singers are based inToronto’s east end Beaches region. This choir steps outside its usualfocus on early music for “My Spirit Sang All Day!,” a concert ofVictorian and Edwardian songs and anthems, including works byElgar, Willan and Finzi. I confess myself a complete fan of parloursongs from this era — My Old Shako —is a personal mantra —and urgeother concert-goers to sample the delights of this beguiling and sometimesquirky repertoire. The group performs on June 16 and 17.Brian TelzerOWBen Stein is a Toronto tenor and theorbist.He can be contacted at choralscene@thewholenote.com.Visit his website at benjaminstein.ca.24 thewholenote.com June 1 – July 7, 2012