Volume 21 Issue 1 - September 2015

September is
Building Time!
BRIAN CHANG
An unusual but fantastic summer has just passed, filled to the
brim with culture and sport. With Toronto playing host to the
Pan Am and Parapan Am games, the concurrent Panamania
cultural events truly allowed our city to showcase its diversity and love
of music. Unprecedented
energy filled many corners
of the GTA as facilities
opened their doors and
neighbourhoods flew
their colours and opened
their arms in welcome.
Choirs from across the
GTA were highlighted
across the GTA, from the
University of Toronto
Scarborough to Nathan
Phillips Square to Ajax
and the Milton Velodrome.
The Element Choir was
everywhere, supporting
Polaris Prize winner Tanya
Tagaq in her transformative
music on several occasions.
Perennial favourite,
Beat by Beat | Choral Scene
TanyaTagaq and
Joseph Boyden in Al
Purdy Was Here
the inclusive, open concept Choir! Choir! Choir! also featured in
a Panamania event in the Distillery District with their pop culture
approach to choral music. And who can forget the fantastic Hamilton
Children’s Choir singing “Shine Your Light” in front of a sold-out
Rogers Centre and millions on TV?
Apocalypsis: For those of us lucky enough, the beginning of
summer was enriched by the revelatory powerhouse that was
Luminato’s presentation of Apocalypsis. As a tenor in the Toronto
Mendelssohn Choir, I sang in one of the 12 choirs that made up the
second half of this grand masterpiece of art. One thousand performers
brought this uniquely conceived piece to fruition for only the second
time since its premiere in 1980. Unfortunately, the choristers caught
only a brief glimpse of the staging and choreography. I wonder if the
audience was even aware of about 400 of us entering towards the
end of the first act as Babylon is crumbling. I relished this moment,
entering into
the darkness of
the dim balcony
amidst the
cacophony of
thick chain metal
crashing as the
Seven Seals of
Myth are broken;
and then, in the
residue of the
broken world,
an old woman
emerged. I never
saw her but
the privilege of
hearing her was
humbling: Tanya
Tagaq in her
2015 / 2016
SnowAngel
Sun., Nov. 22, 2015 ~ 3:00 pm
In Praise of Music
Sat., Feb. 27, 2016 ~ 8:00 pm
East Meets West
Sat., June 4, 2016 ~ 8:00 pm
Concerts take place at Grace Church on-the-Hill,
300 Lonsdale Road, Toronto. Box Office: 416-978-8849
NEW SINGERS WELCOME!
thewholenote.com Sept 1 - Oct 7, 2015 | 31