Volume 21 Issue 2 - October 2015

BLUE PAGES 2015/16
communities of people through the medium of
music. The chorale has a three-concert subscription
series, tours extensively each season and has
released several CDs and DVDs. Membership is
by audition.
Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, artistic director
416-712-7740
info@nathanieldettchorale.org
nathanieldettchorale.org
● Neuberger Holocaust Education
Centre, UJA Federation
of Greater Toronto
Through its museum and programs, the UJA Federation’s
Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust
Education Centre generates knowledge and
understanding about the Holocaust and serves
as a forum for dialogue about civil society for
present and future generations. The Neuberger’s
annual signature program, Holocaust Education
Week is recognized as one of the most comprehensive
forums for Holocaust education and
remembrance in the world.
From November 2–9, the 35th annual
Neuberger Holocaust Education Week explores
Liberation: Aftermath & Rebirth in honour of the
70th anniversary of the end of the Second World
War. More than 100 multidisciplinary programs
including concerts and music programs offer
important opportunities to explore the theme
and engage with the diversity of experiences in
the aftermath of liberation.
One of the most comprehensive Holocaust
education programs in the world, Neuberger
HEW invites you to become active participants in
exploring the theme of liberation and reflect upon
the lingering consequences of the Holocaust.
Iris Glesinger Lichtinshtein
416-631-5689
neuberger@ujafed.org
holocaustcentre.com
● New Music Concerts
New Music Concerts’ 45th season features
three notable visiting groups (Vancouver’s Turning
Point Ensemble on October 17, JACK String
Quartet on January 14 and the Quasar Saxophone
Quartet on March 13) primarily performing works
composed especially for them, plus four concerts
with our own musicians. On December 6
French composer Philippe Leroux is featured in
a portrait concert that also includes works by
Gérard Grisey and Scott Rubin. Another iconic
French composer, Pierre Boulez, is honoured on
Family Day February 15 in a concert which also
features Edmonton composer Howard Bashaw.
Viva Electronica on April 3 features commissions
by Anthony Tan, Keith Hamel and Paul Steenhuisen.
Flutes Galore features works for an orchestra
of 24 members of the flute family, from piccolo
to contrabass, by Robert Aitken, Bruce Mather
and Christopher Butterfield plus a world premiere
by Alex Pauk. In addition, in a special
non-subscription event on November 8 there will
be a preview of the Centrediscs CD re-issue of R.
Murray Schafer’s Loving/Toi originally released
on LP by NMC in 1978.
Robert Aitken, artistic director
David Olds, general manager
416-961-9594
nmc@interlog.com
newmusicconcerts.com
● newchoir
Toronto’s first rock choir, newchoir, under the artistic
direction of Scott Pietrangelo, thrills audiences
with a repertoire of unexpected SATB
choral renditions of classic rock and pop songs
from the 70s onward. From Pink Floyd to Walk off
the Earth, Prince to Rihanna, Queen to Train and
many things in between, our 160 voices appeal
to audiences of all ages. Currently in our tenth
year, we are looking forward to our concert on
January 31, “newchoir unplugged” at St. Michael’s
College School Centre for the Arts with Cadence;
our trip to Carnegie Hall for a performance on
March 29 and then back to Toronto’s Koerner Hall
on May 30! We are a flash mob for hire, bringing
excitement to corporate meetings and open
air venues, and we give back to our community,
raising funds for St. Jamestown “Reaching out
Through Music” and the Regent Park School of
Music programs. Everyone has an inner rock star.
Come and unleash yours!
Caroline Suri
647-203-3408
newchoirofficial@gmail.com
newchoir.ca
● Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation
Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation marks its 22nd
anniversary this season under artistic director
Eric Robertson. Since the inaugural performance
of “Hasten to Come Before Winter,” Nine Sparrows
Arts Foundation has presented a rich variety
of concerts for Toronto audiences, and has
presented international groups such as King’s
College Cambridge Choir, Clare College Singers
and St. John’s College Choir, and has featured
Canadian artists including John Neville, Erica
Goodman, Colin Fox, the True North Brass, the
Gryphon Trio, Christine Duncan’s Element Choir
and percussion ensemble NEXUS. Nine Sparrows
Arts Foundation is also involved in the City Carol
Sing, an annual charity event that raises money
for food banks across Canada.
Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation is a not-forprofit
organization dedicated to bringing the best
in inspirational arts programming. It is governed
by an elected volunteer board of directors and
operates with the assistance of advisors from a
variety of backgrounds, including event management,
promotions, finance and business.
Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation, in co-operation
with Yorkminster Park Baptist Church,
will begin its 2015/16 season on Tuesday,
September 15 with the first recital in its weekly
“Lunchtime Chamber Music” series.
E. Burns, president
416-241-1298
9sparrows.arts@gmail.com
9sparrowsarts.org
● No Strings Theatre
No Strings Theatre, established in 2005, was
modelled after local and international performance
training programs designed to provide
professional artistic training through intensive
programs and workshops led by industry professionals.
Participants gain experience through
performing fully staged and other types of productions
for public audiences. We have recently
extended our programming from our signature
teen program, the Young Program (ages 13-21),
to emerging professional artists, Emerging Artists
Program (ages 21-30), and pre-teens, Tween
Prep (ages 10-12). The season’s workshops for
our Young and Tween Programs include Audition
Preparation in the fall (ideal for secondary
and post-secondary art school auditions), March
Break, Summer Intensive, Creative Writing and
Pit Orchestra. The EAP program invites collaboration
from experienced young artists to present
productions spanning cabaret, theatre, music
theatre, and opera, and also welcomes submissions
of new works. Annually in December, No
Strings Theatre presents, in concert, Gian Carlo
Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. This season
we will be proud to present this work at the
Artscape Wychwood Barns. Auditions for this
opera are open to all ages!
Denise Williams
416-551-2093
directors@nostringstheatre.com
nostringstheatre.com
● Nocturnes in the City
Nocturnes in the City started 15 years ago at
the Czech community centre at Masaryktown’s
Prague Restaurant. Initially, Czech or Slovak artists
living in Canada or in the Czech Republic were
presented. Because of increased interest among
Czech and Slovak patriots, the number of concerts
was expanded from six to eight depending
on availability of the artists. Canadian artists with
some ties to the Czech community or partly presenting
Czech repertoire are also presented.
In the last 8 years, classical performances
have been moved to the acoustically excellent
St. Wenceslaus Church on Gladstone Avenue,
while jazz concerts still take place at Prague Restaurant.
Artists such as Eva Urbanova, Gustav
Belacek, Zdenek Plech, Jan Novotny, Boris Krajny,
Antonin Kubalek, Ivan Zenaty, Radim Zenkl
have performed there, from the famous quartets
- Panocha, Zemlinsky, Prazak, Kocian and others.
This upcoming fifteenth season brings pianists
Karolina Kubalek, Jan Novotny and Adam Zukiewicz,
sopranos Kripa Nageshwar, Eliska Latawiec
B16 | theWholeNote 2015/16 PRESENTER PROFILES