Volume 21 Issue 3 - November 2015

PRICELESS!
Vol 21 No 3
NOVEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7 2015
LISTINGS | FEATURES | RECORD REVIEWS
INSIDE
Boesmans’ Julie
comes to CanStage
Radvanovsky
comes to Koerner
William Norris
comes to Tafelmusik
Matthew Jocelyn

The Holidays
at
Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir
BACH
CHRISTMAS
ORATORIO
IVARS TAURINS JANA MILLER BENNO SCHACHTNER JAMES GILCHRIST PETER HARVEY
DIRECTOR SOPRANO COUNTERTENOR TENOR BARITONE
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Volume 21 No 3 | November 2015
FEATURES
6. Neighbourhoods of the Musical Heart | DAVID PERLMAN
8. CONVERSATIONS | Sondra Radvanovsky Comes Home | DAVID PERLMAN
10. CONVERSATIONS | William Norris Comes to Tafelmusik | DAVID PERLMAN
14. ON OPERA | Boesmans’ Julie Comes to CanStage | CHRISTOPHER HOILE
16. CBC RADIO TWO: THE GOLDEN YEARS | Alex Pauk’s Big Idea | DAVID JAEGER
30. JAZZ STORIES | Jane’s Day, Jane’s Way | ORI DAGAN
61. WE ARE ALL MUSIC’S CHILDREN | MJ BUELL
BAROQUE MUSIC
FROM THE
SPANISH NEW WORLD
BEAT BY BEAT
17. In with the New | WENDALYN BARTLEY
19. Classical & Beyond | PAUL ENNIS
22. Bandstand | JACK MacQUARRIE
23. Choral Scene | BRIAN CHANG
26. Art of Song | HANS DE GROOT
27. Early Music | DAVID PODGORSKI
28. World View | ANDREW TIMAR
55. Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz! | BOB BEN
B1 - B2 (33-34) Blue Pages Presenter Directory Update
LISTINGS
34. A | Concerts in the GTA
51. B | Concerts Beyond the GTA
55. D | In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz)
58. E | The ETCeteras
ACD2 2702
DISCOVERIES: RECORDINGS REVIEWED
62. Editor’s Corner | DAVID OLDS
64. Keyed In | ALEX BARAN
66. Strings Attached | TERRY ROBBINS
68. Vocal
68. Early Music And Period Performance
69. Classical & Beyond
71. Modern & Contemporary
71 Jazz & Improvised
73. Pot Pourri
74. Something in the Air | KEN WAXMAN
76. Old Wine, New Bottles | BRUCE SURTEES
78. Jazz, Eh? | STUART BROOMER
MORE
6. Contact Information & Deadlines
7. Index of Advertisers
60. Classified Ads
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FOR OPENERS | DAVID PERLMAN
Neighbourhoods of the Musical Heart
Sometimes a detail from one of the
stories or columns in the magazine
leaps off the page, grabs my
heart, and makes my job of penning this
Opener much easier. This time it was a a
tiny detail – the caption to a joyous photograph
at the top of Paul Ennis’ Classical and
Beyond column. Dang Thai Son and Yike
(Tony) Yang at the end of the 2015 Chopin
Competition it reads.
What grabbed me wasn’t the name of
16-year-old Toronto high school student
Yike (Tony) Yang who came seemingly
out of nowhere to take fifth place in the
world’s most prestigious Chopin competition
in Warsaw. It was the joy on the face
of the man hugging him – Dang Thai Son,
described in the column as “one of Yang’s
teachers.”
Dang Thai Son, you see, was on the cover
of The WholeNote in February 2000, in the
context of what he called “my real Toronto
debut” at Women’s Musical Club of Toronto.
That February 2000 Toronto recital was 20
years after he had “burst seemingly out of nowhere, onto the world
stage in 1980, when he was awarded the First Prize Gold Medal at the
tenth Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.”
Lots of the details of that story are still clear
in my mind, but I hunted out the issue and
re-read it. (You can follow his 30-year journey
from Saigon to Hanoi, then Moscow, Tokyo
and Montreal yourself, by the way. If you go to
thewholenote.com/previous you will discover
a complete digitized flip-through archive of
every magazine in our 20-year history, handily
shelved.)
But one crucial detail in the story I had
completely forgotten, from the time Dang
Thai Son was still a youth in Hanoi: “In 1974
a visiting Russian pianist Isaac Katz heard
the 16-year old play, and made it his business
to get him to Moscow – to the Moscow State
Tchaikovsky Conservatory.”
There is such a huge arc of time captured
in that photograph: from Isaac Katz in
1974 making the musicianship he saw in
16-year old Dang Thai Son “his business”; to
Dang the teacher’s joy at Yike (Tony) Yang’s
2015 triumph.
It’s nice to think that without the “sheer
plod” of documenting, month in and month
out, the simple heartbeat of our musical neighbourhoods, such sweet
coincidences, with their capacity to make our hearts soar and sing,
might well simply be lost in the mists of time.
The WholeNote
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6 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Do we repeat ourselves? Very well, then, we
repeat ourselves. The way we work around here,
our individual columnists usually function pretty
autonomously within their beats. They seldom have
access, in deciding what to cover, to information
about what other writers have also decided to cover.
Editorially we attempt to avoid complete trainwrecks
(i.e. such as when writers’ individual trains
of thought go barrelling down exactly the same
track from opposite directions).
But more often than not, our reasoning is that
if two writers covering different beats find themselves
interested in the same story, that’s something
of value for our readers to know, because it suggests
that the musical item in question has escaped the
pigeonhole one might normally consign it to.
Andrew Timar in his World View column this
month, for example, talks about something he calls
“hybridity” – which I understand to be a rigorous
and ethical alternative to cultural appropriation.
David Dacks, artistic director of the Music Gallery
explains the distinction succinctly in Timar’s
column: “If one is attempting to join culture A to
culture B in a coherent musical statement, one must
be really attuned to power relationships, comparative
structures/forms/tuning/language, your own
personal experience and other points of connection
or difference between musical ingredients one
is working with.”
Is something of the same force at work when beat
writers, normally overlapping very little in their
interests, find themselves drawn from different
directions, like moths, to the same musical candle?
Academy Concert Series
43
Acclarion Records 67
Adam Sherkin 35
ArtsMedia Projects 60
ATMA 5, 67
Aurora Cultural Centre 39,
42, 50
Bach Children’s Chorus 24
Beth Anne Cole 37
Cantemus Singers 25
Cathedral Bluffs Symphony
Orchestra 39
Choirs Ontario 39
Christ Church Deer Park
Jazz Vespers 55
City of St. Catharines 54
Claude Watson Secondary
Arts Program 21, 51
Don Wright Fac Mus/
Western U 53
Eglinton St. George’s United
Church 51
Elizabeth Krehm Memorial
Concert 40
Ellen Waterman 67
Elmer Iseler Singers 48
Esprit Orchestra 15, 40
Exultate Chamber Singers
48
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
Galen Weston / The Rose
Room 31, 45
Greater Toronto
Philharmonic Orchestra
44
Group of 27 36
Horizon Tax 60
Jubilate Singers 47
Kira Braun 42
Lark Ensemble 35
Liz Parker 60
Long & McQuade 30
Massey Hall/RTH 38, 46, 80
MasterPerforming 60
Masterworks of Oakville
Chorus & Orchestra 42
McGill Symphony Orchestra
13
Mississauga Festival Choir
49
Mississauga Symphony 43
Mozart Project 41
Music at Metropolitan 36
Music Gallery 18
Music Toronto 9, 35, 38, 45
Musicians in Ordinary 45
Nagata Shachu 29, 46
Naxos 63, 75
Neapolitan Connection 47
New Music Concerts 37, 51
Watch for the tendency as you read. Chances are,
something special’s going on! Examples? Watch how
David Virelles’ Gnosis shows up in Timar’s column
and in Wende Bartley’s In with the New. And how
Timar’s reference to Jane Bunnett in the context
of discussing Bunnett’s role in Virelles’ musical lif
resonates with Ori Dagan’s story “Jane’s Day, Jane’s
Way,” which charts some of the reasons that Bunnett
is this year’s worthy winner of the Premier’s Award
for Excellence in the Arts.
Congratulations, Jane.
Masterpiece means what? As a Facebook RRRR
(relatively recent regular reader) it still intrigues me
to see which posted topics push people’s buttons
enough to get them to comment.
One such recent thread came from a musician/
teacher I have a particular interest in, wondering out
loud how to explain to her students what a “masterpiece”
is.
It elicited a large volume of responses, most of
which took the form of naming particular works
which, in the opinion of the commenter, were
worthy of the designation.
In my way of thinking that is analogous to
responding to the question “what is a forest?” by
rhyming off the names, or even individual locations
of a whole bunch of trees.
My own response was along the lines that a
masterpiece is a work where if you don’t get it, the
problem is more likely to be with you than with it.
What do you think? I can be disgreed with, or
enlightened, at publisher@thewholenote.com
Nine Sparrows Arts
Foundation 37
NUMUS Concerts 18
Ontario Christian Music
Assembly 49
Ontario Philharmonic 43
ORIANA Women’s Choir
44
Ottawa Bach Choir 39
OUR Recordings 63
Pasquale Bros. 59
Pax Christi Chorale 23, 50,
62
Peter Hum 75
Poculi Ludisque Societas
36
Remenyi House of Music
17
Royal Conservatory 44, 79
Scarborough Philharmonnic
46
Show One Productions 4, 49
Sound Post, The 31
Soundstreams 11
St. James’ Cathedral 19, 50
St. Michael’s Choir School
49
St. Olave’s Church 47
St. Philip’s Jazz Vespers
34, 55
Steinway Piano Gallery 10
Sultans of String 75
Tafelmusik 2, 3, 36, 48
Tallis Choir 47
Tapestry Opera 41
That Choir 25, 38
Toronto Classical Singers
50
Toronto Concert Orchestra
46
Toronto Consort 11, 27, 39
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
24, 44
Toronto Symphony 38, 41,
77
Toy Piano Composers 43
Trio Arkel 38
U of T Faculty of Music 41, 42
Unitarian Congregation in
Mississauga 44
Village Voices 25
Windermere String Quartet
40
Women’s Musical Club of TO
41
Wychwood Clarinet Choir
51
Yorkminster Park Baptist
Church 20, 49
16
BLUE
TH Annual
PAGES
DON’T
EVER
STOP
MUSIC IS
FOR LIFE
THE BLUE PAGES
A rich resource for musicians
and all lovers of live music, with
detailed profiles of Southern
Ontario’s live music makers and
their 2015/16 seasons.
Printed in October WITH
UPDATES IN THIS ISSUE
and year-round at
thewholenote.com. Inquiries
to members@thewholenote.com
THE CANARY PAGES
The WholeNote’s annual guide
to the extraordinary choral
diversity of Southern Ontario.
Find yourself the right choir
anytime! Printed every year
in May but searchable online
year-round. Inquiries to
canary@thewholenote.com
THE GREEN PAGES
GUIDE TO
SUMMER MUSIC
Our 2015 enhanced coverage
remains online for year-round
browsing and dreaming of next
summer. Updated and printed
in our Summer (June, July,
and August, 2016) edition.
Inquiries to
summer@thewholenote.com
Musical guides
online, all the time
thewholenote.com/
resources
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 7

CONVERSATIONS AT THE WHOLENOTE
Sondra
Radvanovsky
Comes Home
DAVID PERLMAN
Making our way to Sondra Radvanovsky’s rural Caledon,
Ontario home, on this particular October day, takes us
down a blazing gold avenue to the side door of a spacious
country house on ten hilly acres, about an hour and a half’s drive
from Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
Nice thing about arriving at the side door is it takes one into the
house through a light-filled informal side room, past an upright piano
laden mostly with opera scores, and lumped in among them an oversize
box of Crayola crayons. The wall behind the piano is covered with
posters for various operas. The posters collectively supply a snapshot
of contemporary opera’s greats – its greatest singers, conductors,
directors and opera houses. Radvanovsky’s name is nestled in among
them in each poster.
I’m already mumbling my (only partially sincere) apologies for the
intrusion as I sidle in the door. True, I am disrupting one of a few
precious days of “down home” time for Radvanovsky before she and
husband/manager Duncan Lear must hit the road again. She has just
completed five Donizetti Anna Bolenas at the Met, as well as a glittering
New York appearance at the annual Park Avenue Armory Gala
(alongside electropop duo The Young Professionals). From here it’s on
to Berlin for Manon Lescaut and Tosca. And it’s only October.
This season, by the time it’s over, will see her achieve the almost
unthinkable feat of performing Donizetti’s “Three Queens” at the Met
in a single season. A veritable operatic grand slam, for those of you
who don’t mind a sporting metaphor or two. (After all, it was just the
fact of taking on Roberto Devereux, Maria Stuarda and Anna Bolena
that Beverly Sills described as shortening her operatic career by at
least five years.)
So, it’s a season that promises to put paid, once and for all, to the
lingering label of Radvanovsky as “the greatest Verdi soprano you’ve
never heard of” that has inexplicably dogged her career.
Best news of all from a Toronto perspective is that, courtesy of Show
One Productions and the Royal Conservatory, we will have the opportunity,
sooner rather than later, to hear Radvanovsky in the relatively
intimate context of a solo recital, December 4 at Koerner Hall, with
pianist Anthony Manoli, who, perhaps more than any other musician,
has helped to shape her career.
(This is why my apology as I enter the side door of her Caledon
home is only partly sincere. This is the story I am here to get, and she,
being a consummate musical professional in the modern sense of the
word, understands that interviews like these are an integral part of
the job.)
Anthony Manoli: Her professional relationship with Anthony
Manoli goes back a very long time. “Twenty years!” she says. “I know;
I call him my first husband!” It’s a particularly interesting association
in the context of the Three Queens Met marathon now under way.
Because it was Manoli, as she explains, who put her on the path of
going beyond Verdi - the composer with whose work her career had
become inextricably linked - to Donizetti.
“He’s the one who heard it” she says. “He heard it in my voice. I had
no idea; this was a whole new world that opened up to me. I wasn’t
all that familiar with the bel canto repertoire, and we started with
Lucrezia Borgia, actually; that was my first foray into the bel canto.
And then the Met approached me with the Three Queens, and I said,
‘I’m not so familiar with those. Let me go home and look at them
first.’ I knew Bolena, but Maria Stuarda: no. And Devereux: really no
... So we took some time and looked through them and I said, ‘Yes,
absolutely. I want to embrace it and take the challenge’.”
Asked what she thinks it was Manoli heard in her voice at that
moment, she becomes reflective. “You know, my voice is a very unique
voice – and not saying that egotistically – but it’s … voices fit into
boxes, and mine doesn’t really seem to fit into a conventional box. I
would say that it’s a large instrument, but it’s not thick. It’s not like
a Deborah Voigt, who has a very thick voice, you know, a dramatic
voice. Mine is loud, yes, and it confuses people sometimes because
they think, ‘Wow, it’s so loud that you should sing Turandot and all
the dramatic soprano roles’; but ... I [also] have that agility and I think
it really fits more into that category of soprano d’agilità, like Maria
Callas in many ways. And it took a long time to really find that niche
for me. So I started out with more of the big, full Verdi and then we
found this flexibility.”
Curiously, the turning point came at a moment in her career that
could have been devastating – 2003, after she had vocal cord surgery.
“I think that’s where it all came from because I was starting with a
clean slate and I didn’t have this impediment that was constantly
blocking my voice. And we found this agility in the voice and thought,
‘Wow! Use it!’”
I ask her about Beverly Sills’ comment about the Three Queens
taking five years off her performing life. “I would call her – she was
probably a coloratura soprano, and I think I have a little more weight
in my voice, so that the Anna Bolena, which is probably the heaviest
of the three, really doesn’t weigh me down, the dramatic demands of
that role. Whereas I think that probably weighed her down a lot. I’m
sure Roberto Devereux for her was easy! Which for me is going to be
probably the most challenging.”
We’ve heard her rise to the challenge of Devereux already here, at
the COC about a year and a half ago. But there will be differences this
time round. “It’s going to be a new production by Sir David McVicar
again ... The Anna Bolena was done for Anna Netrebko, four years ago;
then we go onto the Maria Stuarda that was done for Joyce DiDonato,
probably about two years ago; and then mine will be the new, the last
new one. And that will complete the whole cycle.”
And down the road? “Well, we do have some new roles coming up.
Honestly, I’m very happy singing what I’m singing now. And as long as
I can keep singing the bel canto, it keeps the voice young, fresh, flexible,
all of that. Mozart didn’t work for me as medicine for the voice.
It just didn’t. So this is my medicine for the voice: the bel canto, the
early Verdi. Maybe a few later Verdi works will be coming in – some
bigger, more spinto roles. Maybe some Russian repertoire will be
coming in. And maybe some German repertoire.”
“I notice you’ve got some Strauss art song in your December 4
recital,” I say, fishing. “Baby steps!” she replies.
“Is that a clue?” I ask, and she relents, slightly.
“It probably will be a bit of Strauss and it might be some Korngold
in the mix, in the operatic repertoire, and Russian, might be some
Tchaikovsky, so yeah, baby steps. You know I think I don’t want to get
too dramatic too soon, if I don’t have to. Because I think once you go
down that path, there’s no turning back. So I think the voice, more
than anything, will tell us when it’s ready to do that. And I think it’s
starting to say, ‘Why not?’ I did the Four Last Songs last year, here
with the Toronto Symphony, and that was a lot of fun. So ...”
In Recital: The program for her December 4 recital is a combination
of arias and art song that seems to be the way these days. “Aria
in recital is an odd one for me, as an audience member,” I challenge.
“It’s like figure skating [replays] where all they show you are the triple
axels - all arias without the recitative and without the build.”
She has clearly thought about it. “You know, I think nowadays the
whole context of recital has changed,” she says. “I think the audience
wants to see kind of a snapshot of who you are. My last Koerner Hall
recital [Toronto Summer Music, July 31, 2014] was just that, a snapshot:
I talked to the audience. I think that’s what they want. They
want to know who I am, not only as a singer but as a person. And I
am an opera singer. I don’t call myself a recitalist. So this program
kind of displays who I am musically. I try to give a snapshot of where
I’ve come from – so Rusalka is there. And La Mamma Morta is where
I’m going. And I do have Chénier scheduled in the future. So to show
people, kind of, this is what I do vocally. But also the language of the
8 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

METROPOLITAN OPERA
Sondra Radvanovsky in Roberto Devereux
recital is definitely art song .. so I want to give them both, a little bit
of both, but definitely more art song than aria, to kind of end it with
a bit of a ‘Wow!’ ... Everything on this recital is music that I love.
Because Renata Scotto told me, ‘If you don’t love it, they’ll know it, so
don’t do it.’ So everything on this, I love. And it relates to me in one
way or another and when they come to the recital, they’ll see how it
all relates to me.”
Toronto Masterclass: Along with the December 4 Koerner concert,
Radvanovsky will also give a masterclass December 1 at 2pm in Walter
Hall at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. It’s a side of her
that we have not seen much of before, but from what she says, this
is something that is sure to change. “Everywhere I go in the world,
I teach masterclasses, usually for free. And I think that will be my
passion once I decide to retire from this crazy world, just to keep
passing it along. It’s my real passion. It’s passing on that knowledge
that I’ve acquired over 20-some years of doing this trade ... passing
it on to the new generation, because I felt that I was given so much
information along the road, being in the Lindemann Young Artist
[Development] Program, and working with the greats, with Renata
Scotto, with Régine Crespin, having a close relationship with all these
people, picking their brains–this is my 20th year of singing at the
Metropolitan Opera. Hearing these people and passing that on: I think
it’s my duty and my job to help young kids because if I don’t, what’s
going to happen to opera?
Next year, and the year after ... It’s a comfortable hour and a
half drive from the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts at
University and Queen to that country house in the Caledon Hills, with
its basement home gym for the opera singer who fully understands
that she is an athlete, and its upright piano covered with thumbedthrough
scores, marked up with Crayolas. The journey to and from
the FSCPA is not one that she has made often enough for some of us, I
tell her. “I know I can’t ask what it is,” I say. But will there be news, at
the Canadian Opera Company 2015/16 launch this coming January to
change that situation?
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 9

“Yes there will,” she says. “About
what I am doing next year. And the
year after that … And the year after
that. And the year after that. I will
be coming back every year now.”
“That’s good news!” I say.
“Yes. Alexander Neef and I had a
meeting and we decided that this is
my home, this is where I live and I
love, and I want to sing here every
year. And it’s a conscious decision
that we made, so it’s a good
place for me to try out new repertoire
as well …
Sondra Selfie!
“Well, that was true of your Aida
and it was also true of the Devereux,
so it’s a good town for that.”
“I think so. And not just a good town, but an amazing opera house:
the hall is spectacular, the acoustics are great, everybody top to bottom
is wonderful – the orchestra, the productions that they get. I’m really,
really happy to be singing here.”
“Right now, as you can hear, I’ve been talking and singing a lot this
last week. It takes a toll on you and you have to really be very regimented
in what we do. And some days you live like a nun and you
don’t go out and see your friends, because, well, it’s our job. But I
signed up for it, and all of this – doing interviews – nowadays is all
part of it. Hosting – I’m going to be hosting the Live from the Met, the
Manon Lescaut which I love to do, it’s really a lot of fun; you get to put
another hat on but it’s a lot of talking, a lot of energy for a whole day.
So that’s why we come home and refresh and reboot the whole
computer system and stay in our pyjamas and let the phone ring …”
David Perlman can be reached at publisher@thewholenote.com
CONVERSATIONS AT THE WHOLENOTE
William Norris
Comes to
Tafelmusik
The WholeNote had a chance recently to chat with William
Norris who has arrived in Toronto as the new managing
director of Tafelmusik. (Norris replaces Tricia Baldwin, who
has moved on to take the helm at the new Isabel Bader Centre for
the Performing Arts in Kingston. But that will have to be a story for
another day.)
Norris comes to Tafelmusik following a ten-year sojourn with
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, in London, England, or OAE
as he refers to it. OAE has a 30-year history, the past 20 as orchestrain-residence
at London’s Southbank Centre.
He dropped by our offices to chat with publisher David Perlman.
The WholeNote: We won’t start by asking you for sweeping statements
about everying you’ve learned about Toronto already! Tell us
about Orchestra of the Age of Enlightment and your connection to it.
That way our readers who know Tafelmusik can draw some parallels.
Norris: OAE has been at Southbank for two decades, Southbank
being the equivalent of, say, the Lincoln Center in New York. OAE
plays in two halls there, one 900-seater, one almost 3,000 seats, and
has been resident there for at least 20 years.
And before that? OAE will celebrate their official 30th birthday in
June 2016. It was set up by musicians themselves, I suppose as a rebellion
against a time when the period bands were led by one conductor
(like John Eliot Gardiner or Roger Norrington). The musicians decided
they wanted to run their own show and decide who they wanted to
be conducted by rather than be dictated to. So the fact of OAE being
period instruments and run by musicians was, in 1986, quite a rebellious
thing to do to. And it evolved from there. They started out doing
a concert here and a concert there, and now it’s over 100 events a year.
In a wide range of venues? Yes, actually; though their home base
is in London, most events happen outside of London, lots of touring
in Europe – in the U.K. and further afield – also resident orchestra at
Glyndebourne Opera Festival and frequent appearances at King’s Place
in London which is a new venue, more of a chamber-size venue.
Three thousand seats is an enormous obligation, tough to fill
especially if you are pushing the adventurous end of things. Yes, so
obviously the larger programs go there. The OAE’s repertoire extends
more into the romantic era than, say, Tafelmusik’s does – this season
includes music by Mahler and Bruckner, for example.
So for OAE, the Age of Enlightenment didn’t end in 1789, then? No.
For us (for them, I should say, now) Age of Enlightenment is more of
an ethos than a strict era.
Looking at the name, I misread it first as “Orchestra For The Age of
Enlightenment,” so as though it was intended to have a dual intent,
in terms of how attitudes to this music are going to have to shift if it
is to survive. Is there that kind of dual intent in the name? I guess it’s
about embodying enlightenment values, about adventure, seeking out
new things, exploring different ways of doing things, so the values of
the era, not just the music of the era.
So values like the coffee houses, the penny university, the salon
taking music into milieus not controlled by “the aristocracy,” that
kind of thing ... Absolutely yes. That’s definitely the kind of thing the
orchestra has been exploring in recent years, taking the music to pubs
for example, and venues not usually associated with classical music.
I read about one OAE program called The Night Shift that you were
particularly involved in. You were at OAE for, what, five years? Ten
and a half, actually. A big slice of my time, and of their time. We set
The Night Shift up in 2006 – a very experimental thing at the time.
10 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Black
CMYK
Pantone
A stunning 21st-century operatic take
on August Strindberg’s Miss Julie
JULIE
COMPOSED BY PHILIPPE BOESMANS
DIRECTED BY MATTHEW JOCELYN
MUSIC DIRECTION BY LESLIE DALA
North American Premiere
November 17–29, 2015
A Canadian Stage production presented
in association with Soundstreams with support from
the Théâtre d’Orléans (France).
PRODUCTION
SPONSOR:
Photo: Carolina Bruck-Santos and
Alexander Knop in Julie. Photo by:
Gérard Bezard/La République du Centre.
NEW DIRECTIONS IN MUSIC
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 11

The idea was to appeal to new audiences
and audiences aged under
35, not by changing the music
we play but by changing how
we were presenting it, giving it a
different surround. So by putting
music in other genres before and
after it, and having the classical
music presented from the stage, by
changing the lighting, by having
people bring drinks in, encouraging
social media, photography,
that kind of thing. And it’s been a
huge success. From a one-off event
it’s now a real part of what the
orchestra does, usually between
four and ten events a year – four
William Norris
large-scale and chamber events,
say, plus chamber events in pubs as
part of the London season.
Is there also a strategy at OAE of using, say, orchestra section leads
for chamber concerts, for outreach into schools, for example? They
do a lot of education work. In fact it’s quite interesting because the
education work is led by Cherry [Forbes] who used to play in the
orchestra as well, so she had a dual role, something like Charlotte
[Nediger] at Tafelmusik, bridging the orchestra/office’s two different
worlds. But they do a huge amount of work in schools with children
of all ages, and all sorts of public education. One of the real successes
of recent years has been what they call OAE Tots, concerts for children
under under five years old. Its amazing the kind of rapt attention you
can get from children under five if you’ve got the right material.
Brought by grandparents? Grandparents or parents, yeah, or ...
The grandparent/grandchild dynamic particularly interests me –
bypassing the generation between. If you can set it up so you take
away the stress for the adults in question of worrying that the children
have to behave in a particular way.
Yes. And it’s amazing because we’re still using core bits of the
baroque repertoire but we might put words to them or actions to them
that engage children and at the end there’s a good chance for the children
to come right up close to the instruments.
I want to go back for a second to something you said earlier about
OAE as a player-driven ensemble. It put me in mind of the Vienna
Philharmonic which is a player-run association – I don’t think it’s
even incorporated. But they decide which conductors to invite, as
guests, to lead them. In their case, though, they are also all employees
of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra on negotiated leave. So there
isn’t the worry of “who’s going to pay the bills?” So in the case of
OAE, who does pay the bills? That’s interesting because the other
unique thing about OAE is that it was founded with no government
money, no public money; it was all individual donors. Obviously in
the U.K. there are lots of ensembles funded at arms length by the
Arts Council, and now the OAE does get money from the government,
but it was a difficult decision to take at the time because they
prided themselves on their independence and not being answerable to
a government body. Even so, it’s still a very small part of it, less than
ten percent. The rest is individual donors, ticket income; but also lots
of it – it’s a different model to here – lots of the income comes from
touring; touring in Europe is a major part of an orchestra’s income.
And recordings? Less so these days because, sadly, now recordings
are more things you invest in.
In terms of arts council funding, a lot of what happens around here
is that, until you are well established, you’re compelled to undertake
new projects to apply for funding, so new funds entail taking on new
work that overextends the same little band of workers. Yes, that’s a
familiar problem. In a way OAE has been quite lucky. In terms of core
funding from the arts council we’ve been able able to demonstrate
the quality of what we do, and that’s been fine. Certainly if you want
to go to trusts and foundations, they want something new, so when
the Night Shift was started ... I wouldn’t say it was easy but certainly
it was slightly easier to find money, and now that it’s a core part of
what the orchestra does
it’s less easy to find
money for something
that is just continuing,
although actually what
made that project
successful was keeping
at it and developing it,
refining it, and building
that brand with the
right audience.
How does the fact
that the orchestra
performs exclusively
on period instruments
affect how the
orchestra can collaborate
with other musicians,
in something like
Night Shift, for example?
They can’t really, in fact. So what usually happens is the OAE
orchestral bit of the evening is usually a stand-alone thing and the
music, say, in the bar happens separately to that so we don’t have
problems with things like pitch. Having said that, we have done
collaborations, say with London Sinfonietta, which is contemporary
music; we’ve recently had a new commission written for both orchestras
which actually used the difference in pitch as something within
the composition. So we have done collaborations like that, and that’s
something I would be interested to do here as well I think.
One of the interesting things about Tafelmusik, in the same way as
a symphony orchestra in town does, is that it helps stabilize the life
of the core players. So they are able engage in all kinds of interesting
other musical stuff at times the orchestra isn’t playing. Does OAE
have enough critical mass to enable its players to do the same kind of
thing? I think it’s slightly different. It does a degree – I mean there are
100 concerts a year - but membership is more fluid than Tafelmusik
is; that’s also just how the European music scene is – everyone has
portfolio careers, and plays in other orchestras in London, or teaches,
or even plays with other orchestras outside London or even Europe, a
lot of the time, so it’s a slightly different environment. But one of the
great things, or possibly unique, about Tafelmusik in terms of period
instrument orchestras is to have such a stable core of musicians. It’s
really unusual and I think a great bonus.
And of course it develops into a two-way street; for example,
[Tafelmusik violinists] Aisslinn Nosky and Julia Wedman came to
Tafelmusik from I Furiosi; I think I was there the first time that
Jeanne Lamon and Christina Mahler came to hear I Furiosi on their
home turf, and things went from there, evidently to mutual advantage.
In London I guess it’s just that there are so many ensembles
there is no one ensemble which is that binding element, because
there’re just too many. But it’s interesting what a musician was saying
to me earlier about Tafelmusik and that having that stability is that
it encourages risk in a way because the musicians are secure in their
position and there’s not the feeling with each job that you’re being
assessed and might not get booked again. You have that security that
allows you to try things out which you might not have the opportunity
to do otherwise.
And does OAE also have an associated choir? Yes we do – the Choir
of the Enlightenment, you’ll be surprised to hear it’s called! A fantastic
choir and they do seven projects a year with the orchestra. It’s on
somewhat more of a loose basis than the choir here which is much
more part of the core of what the orchestra is all about.
I also wanted to ask you a bit about audiences. Tafelmusik has
always had a hardcore band of purists in its Birkenstock brigade,
I guess you could once have called them – you know, people who
emphatically draw “thus far but no further” lines in terms of musical
taste. “Early Mozart is fine,” for example. Has OAE gone through a
similar kind of challenge in terms of audience horizons? I guess I
would have had to be with them ten years before I arrived to know
that; interestingly, these days it’s actually the earlier boundary that
12 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

has been the debate. It was only quite recently that we did Monteverdi
for the first time, five years ago was our Vespers. My understanding
though has been that it has been quite an organic process, trying new
things. Obviously there’s a point at which you can go no further or
there would be no point in playing a period instrument, but there are
huge amounts of repertoire to explore.
And in terms of pushback on changes in concert etiquette? Well
I think the point is we haven’t stopped doing anything, we have just
added to what we are doing. We still do concerts that start at seven
o’clock and last two hours with an interval, as you would expect.
There might be one or two things about it you might find a bit
different, but it’s still a standard concert, maybe with talks before or
after. But then, the same evening there might be a Night Shift concert
at 10pm for a completely different audience and a couple of days afterward
a toddlers concert, and there might also be a study day taking
up a Sunday. We try to tailor things for different audiences so even
the aficionados can come to study events and really get in depth
with things.
With concerts do you live with the late-19th-century ethos of not
applauding during works even though the custom postdates most of
the music? You can’t regulate the audience.
But do you try? And do people try to glare others into silence?
Well, personally I really like it if the audience claps between movements
because a) it means we’ve got a different audience in and b) it
means there’s been a spontaneous enjoyment of something and people
have shown that. There was a really nice instance of that recently at
the Night Shift. We were playing in a night club so it was great for the
setting. We were doing some Purcell and there was a particularly elaborate
passage for the violins and people kind of clapped over like they
would in a jazz bar and that was a lovely moment because it was a
completely spontaneous moment. It was great.
And probably closer to the original effect. Exactly. I am sure it
would have happened back in the day when the music was played.
And so I am all for spontaneous shows of appreciation.
I am all for it being the responsibility of the host to tell the guests
out loud what the house rules are. Indeed. Yes. And, really, often the
composer gets what they want. I mean it’s a much later example but
in the Tchaikovsky Sixth I am pretty sure Tchaikovsky expected people
to applaud at the end of the penultimate movement because it’s such
an explosive ending.
Funny you should mention that. We had a fantastic Tchaikovsky
Sixth here a season or so ago at the TSO, with a lot of young people in
the audience. [Conductor] Peter Oundjian came onstage and talked
about the structure of the work - the thing you just mentioned - that
after the third movement you are probably going to want to break
out in applause at that point as if it were the end. So go right ahead
and applaud when you feel like it, because the rule about not doing
so came a decade or so after this symphony was written. And of
course the payoff was absolutely magical, including silence at the end
of the work. Yes indeed! And to have the last movement, the despair
of it, emerge from applause is way more effective than if everyone was
sitting in “Gosh, I can’t clap now” silence. I never quite understand
that thing where clapping is frowned upon but coughing and sneezing
is absolutely fine. So I’d rather have people evidently enjoying themselves
than awkward silence.
So how did you find Tafelmusik, or how did they find you? Was
there some kind of Aha! moment for you at some point? Or did you
know the orchestra already? I knew the orchestra a little bit because
in the last few years it’s really raised its profile in the industry because
of things like the Galileo Project which was such a different thing for
an orchestra to be doing. And actually two people sent me the job
listing, two friends of mine, and said, you should look at this. And
after the second person said it and someone posted it on Facebook, so
it was clearly very social media-age-related, I thought okay I’ll look at
it. And I was looking for a new challenge; so it was a chance, really, a
lovely chance.
I said I wouldn’t pin you down to sweeping generalizations about
Toronto so early in your stay, but that was 15 minutes ago. So generalize!
I’m enjoying it so far. I’ve seen it in all seasons. I was here for
job interviews in January and February which was my first experience
of sub-minus 20 weather; I was here in the summer which
was much more pleasant. And I enjoyed the fantastic weather over
the Thanksgiving weekend. (It’s very British of me to talk about the
weather, all the time.) But I’m enjoying getting to know it. I have been
surprised at how much is happening musically. One of the things
about London is you can feel overwhelmed by how much is going on
and you end up seeing nothing. Actually I think I could end up feeling
the same in Toronto because there is so much happening – conflicting
events I want to go and see. I want to dip my toe into the musical
scene as much as possible, and also musical theatre and so on. And
everyone has talked about Toronto being a city of neighbourhoods so
I am enjoying getting to know those as well. So I’m enjoying it so far,
apart from the streetcar system which almost made me late for work
this morning.
We look forward to working lots with you, keeping the scene
looking as overwhelming as possible. Well, your listings certainly
do that!
Tafelmusik has been part of what we cover since our very first
issue 20 years ago and it’s been absolutely fascinating to watch the
organization maintain itself and thrive by the way it manages change.
We look forward to the next chapter. As do I.
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 13

ISABELLE FRANÇAIX
Beat by Beat | On Opera
Boesmans’ Julie
Comes to CanStage
CHRISTOPHER HOILE
An unusual event that bodes well for opera in Toronto takes
place in November. Canadian Stage and Soundstreams have
combined forces to produce the chamber opera Julie by
Belgian composer Philippe Boesmans. This will not only be the North
American premiere of Julie, but, amazingly, the North American
premiere of any opera by Boesmans, one of the most highly regarded
contemporary composers of opera. This will also mark the first
time that an opera has been included in Canadian Stage’s subscription
series.
Julie, which had its world premiere at La Monnaie in Brussels in
2005, is based on August Strindberg’s classic play Miss Julie from
1888, a portrait of class and gender politics that was far ahead of its
time. The libretto was written by the director Luc Bondy and Marie-
Louise Bischofberger in German. For the Toronto production, director
Matthew Jocelyn has decided to use an English-language translation,
with English super-titles, first presented by Music Theatre Wales in
London in 2007.
The cast is entirely Canadian. Singing the aristocratic Julie will be
Lucia Cervoni, a mezzo-soprano from Toronto who has a great career
singing all the major mezzo roles in Europe, but until now, has never
sung in Canada. Jean, the servant with whom Julie is enamoured, is
baritone Clarence Frazer, who graduated from the COC Ensemble last
year. Christine, the servant engaged to Jean, will be sung by coloratura
soprano Sharleen Joynt. The conductor will be Leslie Dala.
To discover how the Canadian Stage/Soundstreams production
came about, I spoke with Jocelyn in mid-October. Jocelyn noted that
there are both practical and philosophical reasons: “Soundstreams
and Canadian Stage have been speaking for two or three years about
various forms of collaboration and this one seemed like an ideal
project. It’s not the kind of thing Canadian Stage could have done
alone, but by partnering with another organization we have the
resources with which to do it. There is a philosophical reason as
well. For me, from the very beginning, it has been important to say
of Canadian Stage that we are no longer a ‘theatre’ – we are a place
of contemporary performance practice, and some of that is straight
plays, and some of that is contemporary dance and new musical
theatre like London Road, that we did in 2014 – which was a radical
departure from the more standard type of musical fare that had
been presented at Canadian Stage in the past. London Road was our
first foray into a new form of contemporary musical vocabulary. So
now with Julie we are going one stage further into an actual piece of
contemporary classical music. It is just one stage further in the sophistication
of the palette that we are offering audiences here.”
When asked whether he is confident that his audience will follow
Canadian Stage in this next step, Jocelyn answered, “The audience has
not only been following us, they have been increasing over the course
of the past few years and becoming more diverse. At present more
than half of our audience is under the age of 50, which no other largescale
theatre in the country can claim.
“We find that each of these adventures brings us new audiences. I
think that there are a lot of opera aficionados in the city who don’t
go to the theatre, don’t go to contemporary dance. The opportunity
of seeing the North American premiere, in Toronto, of an
opera by Philippe Boesmans is extraordinary. There may be many
in the audience who have never been to Canadian Stage before. On
the other hand, for theatre lovers, the opera is based on a classic of
dramatic literature so there is automatically a point of reference, a
point of recognition. And the opera follows the storyline very closely,
though very economically, since the entire opera is only 70 minutes
long. Reducing the play to a libretto has left the work incredibly
precise, incredibly
heart
wrenching, and a
powerful form of
music theatre.”
There are
at least two
other wellknown
operatic
versions of
Miss Julie – one
by Ned Rorem
from 1965 and
one by William
Alwyn from 1977
– besides that
of Boesmans.
So I asked
Jocelyn why
he chose this
version, “I have
a long-standing
relationship
with Philippe
Boesmans. I
met him over
20 years ago
when I was
Patrice Chéreau’s
assistant for a
production of
Matthew Jocelyn (left) and
Philippe Boesmans
Hamlet by Shakespeare and he engaged Philippe to write the music
for the Ophelia songs. Later he came to see the work I was doing for
Opera Studio of the Strasbourg National Opera; I asked him to do a
chamber version of his opera Reigen [from 1993], based on the play La
Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler, and he agreed to do it.
“That chamber version is now the one done around the world far
more than the full orchestral version because it’s just got that extra
theatrical quality and it’s a great piece for younger singers. And
Philippe has come to prefer the chamber version himself because
he says it brought him closer to the theatre, and his real love is the
theatre. So when he received his next commission from La Monnaie,
he asked to do a chamber opera and wrote Julie.”
“After the world premiere,” Jocelyn continues, “I did my own
production of Julie, two or three years later, that played in Orléans,
Paris, and toured to about 12 or 14 theatres in France, Belgium and
Switzerland. So because of this long relationship with Philippe and
because I have done the opera before and know it so well, that’s why I
wanted to do it again.”
“Besides that,” Jocelyn emphasizes, “Philippe really is one of the top
opera composers, if not the top, in the world today. This year he won
the International Opera Award for his latest opera Au Monde. He is
an exceptional composer. He has an understanding of dramaturgy, an
understanding of theatre on the stage. He has a complexity of musical
languages at his disposal.”
Asked to characterize Boesmans’ music, Jocelyn responded that
“Boesmans is a non-dogmatic composer. He’s free of the Boulezian
orthodoxy or the 12-tone orthodoxy or the new American music
orthodoxy. Philippe was a master of baroque music and so he has
the facility of tempo changes and the facility of the relationship with
the spoken word of the baroque and an absolute virtuosity in terms
of rhythm. His greatest inspiration probably comes from [Alban]
Berg and a bit from Richard Strauss. In terms of other 21st-century
composers, he has the brio and the orchestral sophistication of a
George Benjamin. He’s really in a class of his own. He is also 80 years
old and had the opportunity to live through many, many schools of
music. But even though he may quote or play with specific styles, you
hear a page of his music and you know it’s Boesmans.”
“The Philadelphia Opera is co-producing his next opera in 2018,
14 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

“I am delighted that we are the first but I
am also ashamed that we are the first since
Boesmans should have been recognized in
North America long ago.”
–Matthew Jocelyn
but that is still three years away. But our
Julie will be the first time ever that one of
his operas will be done in North America.
I am delighted that we are the first but I
am also ashamed that we are the first since
Boesmans should have been recognized in
North America long ago. Still, it is fantastic
that such an important event as this should
take place in Toronto.”
Asked about the future at Canadian Stage,
Jocelyn says: “We won’t be doing an opera
every year, but in our modest way we’re
already looking toward the future to what
that kind of project might be. We have to
make sure it’s the right partnership and a
work we can really defend because a project
like this is a very heavy project for us. Over
the next couple seasons I hope that we will
be doing more opera and more musical
theatre of a more challenging variety. Opera
is a form I am enamoured of and continue
to work in. I’m working on a couple of
other projects right now for elsewhere so I
do remain very plugged in to the world of opera.”
Play
Many readers may not know just how connected Jocelyn is to the
Sunday
November 15
2015
8:00pm Concert
Koerner Hall
world of opera. Before coming to Toronto,
he led the Atelier du Rhin in Alsace, France,
for ten years, establishing it as a major
centre for theatre, opera and contemporary
dance. In 2008 he was named Chevalier des
Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of
Culture, one of the country’s most prestigious
arts honours. Last year he won the ACMA
Award for best opera production in Argentina
for Requiem for a Nun by Oscar Strasnoy, based on the novel by
William Faulkner which Jocelyn directed for the Teatro Colón and for
which he wrote the libretto.
Currently Jocelyn has been at work on the libretto for a new opera
for Glyndebourne, an experience he calls “joyful” and “a real pleasure”
since it is the first new commission from Glyndebourne for their
main stage in a decade. The source text is no less than Shakespeare’s
Hamlet and the composer is the Berlin-based, Australian composer,
Brett Dean. The opera will have its world premiere in 2017 as part of
Glyndebourne’s celebration of Shakespeare. Describing his ability
to run Canadian Stage and still have the chance “to disappear for
a little while to work on opera in houses like the Teatro Colón and
Glyndebourne – it’s like dying and going to opera heaven.”
Julie by Philippe Boesmans and directed by Matthew Jocelyn
runs at the Bluma Appel Theatre November 17, 19, 20, 22, 25, 26, 28
and 29.
Director Matthew Jocelyn gives us a sneak peek into his creative
process and a first chance to hear excerpts from the opera before
its North American premiere at the Berkeley Street Theatre,
November 12. Free; PWYC.
Christopher Hoile is a Toronto-based writer on opera and
theatre. He can be contacted at opera@thewholenote.com.
Season Sponsor
we’re not voting for our bank balance.
Concert Sponsor
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ESPRIT
ORCHESTRA
Alex Pauk,
Founding Music Director
& Conductor
Andrew Norman (U.S.A.)
Thomas Adès (England)
John Rea (Canada)
Play*
Tevot**
Zefiro torna (Zephyr Returns)
*Canadian Premiere
**Canadian Premiere generously supported with funding from The Koerner Foundation
Box Office 416 408 0208
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The Max Clarkson
Family Foundation
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 15

CBC Radio Two: The Golden Years
Alex Pauk’s
Big Idea
DAVID JAEGER
The moment my new CBC Radio Two network program Two New
Hours hit the airwaves in January of 1978, composers, and especially
Canadian composers, suddenly had a new way to connect
with audiences across Canada. The simple act of broadcasting
concerts of new works from all the major production centres of Canada
each week immediately allowed a growing number of people to become
aware of all the diverse sorts of newly created music. And naturally, the
musicians who performed in these concerts of new works quickly realized
there were paying gigs for them if they were willing to learn new
compositions. Musicians began networking with other musicians, often
with the result that they created ensembles to play all this new repertoire.
Two New Hours was an instant success. Audience numbers for
what was considered highly specialized listening were at once respectable
and in a short period of time grew to be more than just respectable.
By 1982 Two New Hours had already broadcast more than 400
world premiere performances and commissioned more than 30
original works, composed specifically for the program. Several of these
commissioned works, such as Walter Buczynski’s 1978 Monogram for
solo piano, Brian Cherney’s 1979 String Trio and R. Murray Schafer’s
1981 Third String Quartet had been heard around the world through
international program exchanges such as the International Rostrum of
Composers in Paris.
Enter Esprit: The missing ingredient in this early success story was
the lack of new Canadian works for orchestra. Our symphony orchestras
at that time showed no interest in contemporary repertoire. And
the budget that had been established for Two New Hours productions
was sized for chamber music recordings. This made sense, given
that the new music ensembles across the country were all chamber
groups of various sizes. This aspect changed in 1983, when composer
and conductor Alex Pauk founded Esprit Contemporain, an orchestra
devoted entirely to the performance of contemporary music.
Alex Pauk was experienced in starting new music groups. The
Toronto group Array was “born in my living room in 1972,” he told
me. In 1974 Alex settled in Vancouver and founded, first Array West,
a group that didn’t last, and then Days, Months and Years to Come,
which did. Their concerts were heard on Two New Hours in the
1970s. He also became familiar with the CBC Vancouver Chamber
Orchestra, an orchestra that often included new Canadian works in
their concerts, usually blended with standard repertoire. It was at one
of those concerts that Pauk met his mentor, the French-Romanian
composer-conductor, Marius Constant. But in 1981, Alex moved
back to Toronto and was elected president of the Canadian League of
Composers. In 1982 he told me that he had started thinking seriously
about creating an orchestra that would only play contemporary music.
Versed as he was in the mechanics of raising support for musical
start-ups, it was clear to Alex that the usual modest sums available
from the regional, provincial and national arts councils would barely
get him into the rehearsal room, let alone cover the costs of paying the
musicians to perform a series of concerts. However, a chance meeting
with a Suncor executive at the Financial Post Awards for Business and
the Arts in 1982 gave him a key connection with corporate Canada.
A major donation from Suncor Inc. was secured, and the company’s
commitment of continuing support, together with a grant from the
Canada Council gave Alex the means to mount his first concert with
Esprit Contemporain in the summer of 1983, in Kingston. This concert
of new Canadian orchestral music, presented in association with the
National Youth Orchestra of Canada, was not broadcast on Two New
Hours, but their very next concert was. It was the beginning of a
The cover of our November 2000 issue.
legacy of broadcasting contemporary orchestral music on CBC Radio
Two that lasted 25 years.
World Music Days: John Peter Lee Roberts, a former head of CBC
Radio Music, and the creator, along with Sir Yehudi Menuhin, of
International Music Day, had persuaded the International Society
for Contemporary Music to hold their annual festival, World Music
Days, in Canada in 1984. This high profile event was a made-for Two
New Hours opportunity. I made sure that we were the lead broadcaster
for the festival by making the case to CBC senior managers
that this was our chance to show ourselves to our international
colleagues as a model for contemporary music broadcasting. Alex
Pauk’s new orchestra was a festival highlight, and we were there to
help Alex announce Esprit Contemporain to the world via our broadcasts
on CBC Radio Two in Canada and through international program
exchanges with public radios in more than 30 countries. World Music
Days was a watershed moment for Alex’s new orchestra, and the
positive spin it created helped Two New Hours as well. Karen Kieser
(1948-2002), who was Deputy Head of Radio Music in 1984, and
who had helped raise budgetary support for our broadcasts of the
festival, arranged that we be funded to continue including orchestral
broadcasts.
The addition of Esprit Orchestra concerts allowed Two New Hours
to offer its listeners a full range of contemporary musical genres. Alex
Pauk and I shared the conviction that developing emerging Canadian
composers was a necessity. Esprit Orchestra gave young composers
their first high profile presentation of large-scale compositions and
Two New Hours let the network audience know who these young
artists were and what they were doing. “The Two New Hours broadcasts
of our concerts created a sense of camaraderie among our musicians,”
Alex told me. “The CBC relationship knit the players together
and helped to raise their expectations to a higher standard.”
When Alex Pauk takes the podium November 15 at Koerner Hall
to conduct the largest orchestral ensemble in Esprit’s history, it will
demonstrate the result of decades of patient development and cooperation
by those who believed it was necessary to have such an orchestra
and those who insisted the story needed to be shared.
Esprit Orchestra’s concert at Koerner Hall, November 15, begins at
8pm; pre-concert chat at 7:15.
David Jaeger is a composer, producer and
broadcaster based in Toronto.
16 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Beat by Beat | In with the New
Playing Big
WENDALYN BARTLEY
Once there was a time when aspiring Canadian composers were
discouraged from writing pieces that required large ensembles,
such as an orchestra. “No one will play it” was the advice
given. But in Canada, that was before Esprit Orchestra came along.
Formed in 1983 by conductor and director Alex Pauk, the orchestra
is still going strong after more than 30 years of programming exclusively
new orchestral music. Recently Pauk was recognized for his
outstanding contributions to Canadian life and was appointed as a
member of the Order of Canada.
That followed on the heels of a wildly successful tour this past
spring to China, where according to Alexina Louie’s blog posts, they
performed to cheering packed houses, with audience members clamouring
to have selfies taken with members of the orchestra afterwards.
Such was the reception of Canadian orchestral music in China! To
read more about the tour, I recommend reading Louie’s posts, which
can be found by going to espritorchestra.com and clicking on the
blog link.
Play: The opportunity and possibilities that Esprit gives composers
are about to be displayed to the maximum in their upcoming concert
on November 15 with the programming of a piece titled Play by
American composer Andrew Norman. Play is a massive and sprawling
47-minute work originally written in 2013 for the Boston Modern
Orchestra Project and is described as being akin to a “Symphony
No.1.” In researching Norman’s work, I came across a November 18,
2014 episode of the Meet the Composer podcast series produced
by Q2, an online radio station connected to the Classical WQRX
station based in New York. Luckily, the last segment of the episode
(44 minutes in) was dedicated to a conversation with Norman about
Play. He talked about how he was given free rein to write anything he
wanted, so he decided to go “really big.”
The podcast begins with a collage of different voices, each one
describing their response to the piece. “Like a roller coaster ride, a
jack-in-the-box, exhilarating, expansive, breathless, frightening, frenetic,
and risky” are some of the terms used. With such a description,
it’s best to go straight to Norman’s own words about the inspiration
for the piece: the structure of video games. Although not a gamer
himself, what intrigues him the most is the idea of “trying things
again and again until you get it right. You try something, and you fail.
You try again, and choose another door.” For him, this gaming process
is very much about structural or formal design, the architecture of a
piece. He even goes so far as to equate classical symphonic form itself
as sharing similarities with video games. For example, in a Beethoven
symphony, several ideas are first presented, but all mixed up. The ideas
return in different ways until finally they appear in the right arrangement
in the finale.
A similar process happens in Play, where the listener is confronted
with a vast array of ideas at the beginning, a “gazillion ideas,” as
Norman describes it. As the piece unfolds, some of those ideas
become important and are transformed, while others are like wrong
doors and are discarded. There are even multiple climaxes – each one
coming up with a different answer, which turn out to be the wrong
one, until the final climax appears with the right answer close to the
end of the piece. He also uses the percussionists in a fashion analogous
to the different operations in a game environment – pause, fast
forward, rewind, etc. For example, every time a certain percussion
instrument is played, that’s the signal for the orchestra to pause. It’s
actually how he wrote the piece, thinking “what would it sound like if
I randomly paused the music at any moment, sped it up, or moved it
fast forward?”
Norman’s other interest in the piece is to explore the human
potential of the orchestra, rather than just limit himself to using the
orchestra as a field of sonic resources. Thus the orchestra members
become different protagonists, interacting on an interpersonal level.
This also extends to the
underlying meanings of
the word “play,” which
suggests something both
fun and also something
more dark, like a chain
of control with the musicians
being “played” by
the conductor. And given
the role of the percussionists,
they too become
more like a conductor,
playing the orchestra. In
all, it sounds like it will be
quite the ride on the evening
Andrew Norman
of November 15. Joining
in on the Esprit express that night will be two other works – Tevot,
written in 2007 by English composer Thomas Adès and Canadian John
Rea’s Zefiro torna (Zephyr Returns) from 1994.
Seismic Waves: There are several other upcoming musical events
that also promise to create seismic movement in the local airwaves. In
early December, Soundstreams is launching “Ear Candy,” a new series
designed to engage the audience with new forms of presentation in
more intimate venues. The first one happens on December 7 and 8 and
features an electrified version of the Christmas classic, the Messiah.
“Electric Messiah” puts together electronic musicians (John Gzowski,
Doug Van Nort), extended vocals (Christine Duncan) and sound
poetry (Gabriel Dharmoo) along with the Electroacoustic Orchestra
of York University. The evening at the Drake Hotel will be bookended
by DJ sets. Before all this gets going though, Soundstreams will be
collaborating with Canadian Stage to present the North American
premiere of Julie, which runs from November 17 to 29. This chamber
opera composed by Belgium’s Philippe Boesmans is an adaptation of
Strindberg’s 1888 play, Miss Julie, and is an example of Strindberg’s
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 17

naturalism aesthetic that sought to create theatrical
characters who were more realistic with multiple
motivations for their behaviour. The story pits an
aristocratic and desperate Julie against the ambitious
social climber Jean, who inevitably become
involved with each other, but not seemingly for
love or mutual attraction. The score is minimalistic
with the composer’s aim being to distill the music
so that the narrative shines through.
Tagaq and Pallett: To get us rock and rolling
into the Christmas season, what surely will be an
explosive event will be happening at Massey Hall
on December 1 when two previous Polaris award
winners - Tanya Tagaq and Owen Pallett – take the
stage. Pallett is a Canadian composer and violinist
whose creative output spans writing orchestral music
and performing in the indie music scene using programmed loop
pedals to send his sound into multiple speakers. Tagaq, who appeared
in R. Murray Schafer’s Apocalypsis back in June, is renowned for her
extreme range of primal vocal sound that arises out of her Inuit throat
singing heritage. She will appear with members of her band, percussionist
Jean Martin and violinist Jesse Zubot, with a special appearance
by the improvising Element Choir directed by Christine Duncan.
Gnosis: Shock waves will also spread on November 27 and 28 when
Arraymusic and the Music Gallery team up to present the world
premiere of Gnosis, a large-scale work created by former Torontonian
David Virelles. Virelles sought out the Music Gallery as his venue of
choice to present this work which offers a kaleidoscopic ride through
the percussive rhythms of Cuban music. The evening will be an
opportunity to hear the unique drums used by the Afro-Cuban secret
society Abakuá, as well as master drummer Román Díaz performing
with members of the Array Ensemble.
Thin Edge, Spectrum, Toy Piano: Three of Toronto’s younger and
blossoming presenters are hot at it this month with their opening
David Virelles
concerts of the 2015/16 season.
Founded four years ago in 2011, the Thin Edge
New Music Collective begins its season with “Light
Show” on November 29, including the Toronto
premiere of Music for Lamps, an installation and
performance work for 12 sound and light emitting
lamps. Other works by Oesterle, Murail and
Bolaños Chamorro complete a program that also
includes visual illuminations and silent film.
Spectrum Music, founded in 2010, opens its
season on November 14 with a concert delving
into the complexities of colonial exploration. The
program is made up of a suite of works narrating
the adventures of explorers from the 15th century
JUAN HITTERS
that left the world forever changed. As an interesting
twist, each new work is paired with a reimagined
classic folk song performed by singer-songwriter Alex Lukashevsky.
Kicking off their eighth season on Novembert 21, the eclectic Toy
Piano Composers presents “To Be Announced III”– a program of six
world premieres by emerging composers curated from TPC’s national
call for new works.
Additional Concerts and Performances of contemporary music
New Music Concerts has two events this month. On November 8,
an R. Murray Schafer CD benefit concert and on December 6, a
program featuring two works by French composer Philippe Leroux,
who currently teaches at McGill University, works by Gérard Grisey
and Elliott Carter, and a newly commissioned piece by one of Leroux’s
former students, Scott Rubin.
group of 27 and Eric Paetkau presents Loved and Were Loved
by Canadian composer John Burge, November 6, in a novel venue:
the ground floor “Garage” at the Centre of Social Innovation at 720
Bathurst Street.
New Music Kingston: Works by John Estacio, Vivian Fung and
Jordan Pal, November 11, in the new but already muscally thriving
Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts in Kingston.
Music Toronto presents a world premiere commission by Nicole
Lizée, performed by the Cecilia Quartet November 5.
Heliconian Club celebrates the music of Canadian composer Kye
Marshall, including a world premiere for harp duo. November 20.
University of Toronto Faculty of Music: Works by Christos Hatzis,
Dean Burry, Julie Spencer, Dinuk Wijeratne and George Kontogiorgos,
December 7.
Wendalyn Bartley is a Toronto-based composer and electrovocal
sound artist. sounddreaming@gmail.com.
18 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Beat by Beat | Classical & Beyond
Speaking of
Prodigies
PAUL ENNIS
Toronto and Canada have been abuzz recently with the announcement
of pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin’s second-place finish
in the 17th Fryderyk Chopin Competition in Warsaw. It’s the first
time a Canadian has won a prize in that prestigious event. In addition
Richard-Hamelin won the Krystian Zimerman Prize for best performance
of a sonata for Chopin’s Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58. The
Women’s Musical Club of Toronto was justly proud. It was the same
sonata that won him their Career Development Award last April. In
fact at the initial concert of their 148th season October 15, the WMCT
announced that Richard-Hamelin had just made the finals.
Even mainstream media picked up on the historic nature of the
award, the story made sweeter by the (perhaps) more unexpected
news that 16-year-old Toronto high school student Yike (Tony)
Yang, who finished fifth, became the youngest prizewinner in the
history of the gruelling competition. One of Yang’s teachers, former
Chopin Competition winner (1980) Dang Thai Son (the subject of The
WholeNote’s February 2000 cover story), was one of 17 jury members.
Martha Argerich (whose final vote mirrored the top two finishers
-- Seong-Jin Cho of South Korea was awarded first place), Garrick
Ohlsson, Yundi and Adam Harasiewicz were other former winners
among the jurors. Richard-Hamelin’s second place puts him in the
distinguished company of Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mitsuko Uchida and
Ingrid Fliter.
Ardeeva: This month’s listings are brimming with young talent. In a
Dang Thai Son and Yike (Tony) Yang at the end of the 2015 Chopin Competition
coincidence of rare serendipity, Yulianna Ardeeva, who placed first in
the previous Chopin competition in 2010, is the guest soloist with the
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) at Roy Thomson Hall on
November 25. On her website you can get a sense of the crisp articulation
that will undoubtedly serve her well here in Stravinsky’s elegant
Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. Kent Nagano will also lead the
orchestra in Shostakovich’s profound Symphony No.10.
Alexander Seredenko, who won first prize in the Canadian Chopin
Piano Competition in 2014 is the soloist in the latest instalment of Rob
Kapilow’s ongoing TSO series “What Makes It Great?” Rachmaninoff’s
justly popular Piano Concerto No.2 will be explored by the engaging
Kapilow and the up-and-coming Seredenko.
Anastasia Rizikov, another gifted prodigy, now 16, gives a recital
at Glenn Gould Studio, November 28. It will be interesting to see if
she performs Albéniz’ Triana, which earned her first place at the
Jaén International Piano Competition in Spain earlier this year, as
well as a special prize in the Obligatory Spanish Work category. This
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHOPIN INSTITUTE
65 ChurCh STreeT, ToronTo 416.364.7865 www.stjamescathedral.on.ca
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 19

• THE 7 TH ANNUAL CITY •
CAROL
SING
In collaboration with City,
in support of Food Banks across Canada
SATURDAY, DEC. 5 – 2:00 PM
YORKMINSTER PARK BAPTIST CHURCH
CHOIRS • BRASS • ORGAN • READINGS
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
JOHN MCDERMOTT
MAEV BEATY
GORD MARTINEAU
The True North Brass
FEATURING
The Bach Children’s Chorus
That Choir
The Hedgerow Singers
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church Choir
ADMISSION FREE
A collection will be taken for
the Churches-on-the-Hill Food Bank
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church
1585 Yonge St., (1 block north of St. Clair Ave.)
FOR MORE INFO VISIT:
YORKMINSTERPARK.COM or 9SPARROWSARTS.ORG
COMING UP
CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT, Dec. 13th, 4:30 p.m.
NINE LESSONS AND CAROLS, Dec. 20th, 4:30 p.m.
piece is scheduled
for inclusion on her
upcoming Naxos CD,
to be released next
March, 2016.
Phil and Eli Taylor
Academy: Speaking
of prodigies, the COC
is featuring three
young pianists from
the RCM’s Phil and Eli
Taylor Performance
Academy for Young
Artists, in a noontime
free concert,
Charles Richard-Hamelin
November 26:
11-year-old Leonid
Nediak, who won the Canadian Music Competition (age 7 to10) in 2013
and made his OSM debut in 2014; 12-year-old Raymond Huang; and
Richard Chao Gao, who appeared at RTH in the Emanuel Ax-curated
“Pianorama” last February. The fall edition of the Taylor Academy
Showcase Concert November 21 at Mazzoleni Hall is already sold out,
so this is an opportune moment to get a sense of the young talent on
the rise in our city without having to wait for the Taylor Academy’s
next showcase in the winter of 2016.
Lisiecki: No reference to prodigies would be complete without
noting the sublime Jan Lisiecki, now 20, whose December 6 Koerner
Hall recital is sold out. I’m happy to say I already have my ticket and
I’m looking forward to hearing Lisiecki (and his pellucid, singing
tone) perform, among other works, Chopin’s Preludes Op.28, Mozart’s
Sonata No.11 in A Major K331 and Mendelssohn’s Variations sérieuses
in D Minor, Op. 54.
Peter Jablonski, now 44, who makes his Toronto debut at the Jane
Mallett Theatre November 10, began studying drums at five and piano
at six. He played the Village Vanguard with Buddy Rich and Thad
Jones when he was nine, earning praise from Miles Davis. He then
made his solo recital and orchestral piano debut at eleven in Sweden
before establishing a distinguished professional career in the U.S.
and U.K. in the early 1990s. His Music Toronto program is unusually
rich and varied, moving from Szymanowski and Chopin to Grieg,
Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Leonard Bernstein’s transcription of
Copland’s El Salón Mexico.
Schulich School. Richard-Hamelin, currently studying with André
Laplante, received his master’s degree from the Yale School of Music in
2013 and a bachelor’s degree in performance from McGill’s Schulich
School of Music in 2011. Another Schulich tie-in: celebrating the
Schulich School’s tenth anniversary, the McGill Symphony Orchestra,
led by conductor Alexis Hauser, makes its Koerner Hall debut
November 17.
Highlighting the evening will be Brahms’ resplendent Double
Concerto in A minor, Op.102 with violinist Axel Strauss and cellist
Matt Haimovitz as soloists. Strauss’ Naxos recording of Volume 2 of
Enescu’s violin and piano music caught the attention of Terry Robbins
in last June’s WholeNote. He called the CD “exceptional” and Strauss
“terrific”in his Strings Attached column. The opportunity to hear the
internationally acclaimed Haimovitz is always welcome. All three
artists are on the Schulich School faculty. The evening begins with
John Rea’s Over Time. Rea, a two-time recipient of the Jules Léger
Prize for New Chamber Music, will attend the concert. Closing out the
program is Shostakovich’s forceful Symphony No.5, with its contagious
rhythms that careen from sarcasm to triumph.
And speaking of student orchestras, ten days later, Tania Miller,
music director of the Victoria Symphony, leads the Royal Conservatory
Orchestra (the RCM’s own student orchestra) in its fall Koerner Hall
concert. Their program opens with Traffic Jam, by the Banff Centre’s
“emerging composer” and composer-in-residence of the Victoria
Symphony, Jared Miller. Concertmaster Heidi Hatch, a Glenn Gould
School scholarship recipient, is the soloist in Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy,
a delightful mashup of Scottish folk songs and German Romanticism.
ELIZABETH DELAGE
20 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Mahler’s memorable Symphony No.5 completes the evening.
Grosvenor’s Return: Last month I profiled the extraordinarily
talented young British pianist, Benjamin Grosvenor. His return visit to
the Jane Mallett stage October13 exceeded all my expectations. For a
report on the concert, please read my blog on thewholenote.com.
QUICK PICKS
November 5 The Cecilia Quartet’s Music Toronto concert includes
Mendelssohn’s String Quartet Op.44, No.2 which is featured on
their newly released Analekta CD. The quartet series continues
November 26 with the Toronto debut of the young Polish ensemble,
the Apollon Musagète Quartet, playing Dvořák and Schubert.
November 6 Beethoven’s under-appreciated Symphony No.4 is the
featured work in a diverse program by the energetic group of 27 under
the direction of the effervescent Eric Paetkau that also includes works
by Purcell, Burge and Glazunov.
November 8 Marquis Classics recording artist, flutist Susan
Hoeppner, and TSO principal oboist, Sarah Jeffrey, are joined by
pianist Jeanie Chung in a program of works by Ginastera, W.F. Bach,
Ibert and others in Mazzoleni Hall.
November 8 The superb string trio, Trio Arkel, includes Haydn
and Beethoven in its Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society
(K-WCMS) recital. November 9 finds the Arkel in Heliconian Hall
playing a similar program. November 12 the COC free noontime
concert series features them again in the Beethoven Trio Op.9, No.3 as
well as Michael Oesterle’s Warhol Dervish.
November 10 Legendary musicians flutist Suzanne Shulman and
harpist Erica Goodman perform “An English Midday Serenade” at
McMaster University in a free lunchtime concert that includes music
by Vaughan Williams, Handel and Elgar, among others.
November 11 Nocturnes in the City presents the celebrated
Zemlinsky String Quartet in a program of works by Dvořák, Janáček,
Suk and Shostakovich
November 12 The K-WCMS series continues with the Zemlinsky
String Quartet. The esteemed Czech musicians include the first
High School
Musicality
of Beethoven’s late string quartets, his Op.127, in their program.
November 17 rising star violinist Francesca Anderegg gives a solo
recital featuring Bach, Ysaÿe and Kreisler. November 21 the versatile
Ottawa-based pianist, David Jalbert, mixes and matches Satie, Poulenc
and Stravinsky in his “Soirée Parisienne.”
November 12 and 14 Michael Sanderling, of the musical Sanderlings
(father Kurt, brothers Thomas and Stefan) and conductor of the
Dresden Philharmonic, leads the TSO in Mahler’s Symphony No.4,
perhaps the composer’s most popular symphony. November 18
and 19 Peter Oundjian takes back the baton for Rimsky-Korsakov’s
crowd-pleasing Scheherazade, with concertmaster Jonathan Crow
as violin soloist. Principal clarinetist Joaquin Valdepeñas brings his
gorgeous, full tone to Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No.1. Dec 2, 3 and 5
Crow returns to the spotlight for Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, that
enduring romantic icon, while Oundjian conducts another of the
composer’s masterpieces, his Symphony No.6 “Pathétique.”
November 14 The Dover Quartet caught everyone’s attention when
they won the Grand Prize and all three Special Prizes at the 2013 Banff
International String Quartet Competition. Their concert in Kingston’s
Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts should be worth the trip.
November 15 The Windermere String Quartet perform Russian
works by Alabiev and Glinka as well as Beethoven’s great
“Razumovsky” Quartet Op.59, No.2.
November 25 André Laplante brings his secure pianistic sense to
Schubert’s Moments Musicaux (Nos.1,2 and 6) and Three Petrarch
Sonnets by Liszt as part of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s “German
Romantics” program.
November 29 Canadian superstar violinist, James Ehnes, is the
soloist in Lalo’s virtuosic Symphonie Espagnole with the Niagara
Symphony Orchestra.
Paul Ennis is the managing editor of The WholeNote.
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thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 21

Beat by Beat | Bandstand
Pun Times For All
JACK MACQUARRIE
At this time of year the majority of bands we hear from are
preparing for fall concerts, and only a few already have their
sights set on Christmas. After attending the rehearsals of two
different bands in mid-October, two weeks before Halloween, with
nothing but Christmas music in their rehearsal folders, I was beginning
to wonder if fall was going to be bypassed this year. Then
we heard from the Wellington Wind Symphony. In their program
November 1, “On the Road Again,” conductor Daniel Warren takes the
audience on a trip, with a broad selection of works by Grainger, Reed,
Hazo, Mahler and Koetsier. In a similar vein, Silverthorn Symphonic
Winds’ November 28 concert, “Music that Tells a Story,” is built
around music from such shows as Anne of Green Gables. So chalk a
couple up for fall fare. One day later, though, the Markham Concert
Band tilts the balance slightly the other way with a concert titled “A
Seasonal Celebration” including Christmas and Hanukkah favourites.
(Although, to be fair, it also includes music from all eight Harry
Potter films.)
Plumbing the Depths: If as some suggest the pun is the lowest form
of wit, then hats off once again to “Professor Hank,” Henry Meredith,
for once again plumbing the depths of imaginative programming.
For the London-based Plumbing Factory Brass Band’s December 2
concert, Meredith has pulled out all of the thematic stops and put
them to practical effect. Many bands will frequently feature a small
ensemble of band members for one selection, but this time every
section of the band gets to display the talents of its members. Rather
than attempt to paraphrase, here is a lengthy excerpt from the
December 2 program announcement.
“The ‘agenda’ for the Semiannual Convention of The Plumbers
Union includes small ensemble music by its offshoot subcommittees
and delegations of like-instruments, as well as music for the entire
membership.
1. The conference begins with two pieces heralding the bonds of
comradeship typically found at such a conclave – ‘Emblem of Unity’
March by J.J. Richards and Overture ‘Fraternal’ by M. M. Snyder.
2. Following these opening ceremonies, the first delegation on the
agenda, the Slush Pumps trombone ensemble, enters, sounding a
‘Royal Procession’ dedicated to their union boss.
3. Then the trombone section proceeds to discuss its regional interests
in shipping with two familiar Newfoundland folk songs, ‘Jack was
Every Inch a Sailor’ and ‘I’se the B’y that Builds the Boat.’ The entire
‘caulk us caucus’ responds with its rendition of a medley of several
additional folk songs describing life on the ocean.
4. The Siphon Sirens are next to take the podium, playing two
Austrian hunting tunes on valveless Parforce Horns. Their haunting
Nocturne from Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, follows,
performed on traditional alto horns.
5. The names of each committee evoke plumbing terminology, so
the Rusty Pipes cornet ensemble continues the serenade with the
elegant aria ‘Leise, Leise’ from Weber’s Der Freischütz, followed by
their Flanges and Flugelhorns contingent.
6. Subsequently, the Saucy Faucets of the cornet section become
Hipster Hosers when they play Jimmie Lunceford’s ‘Count Me Out.’
After these detours ... the convention recesses for an intermission card
game featuring ‘King of Diamonds,’ the seldom heard Overture by
Calixa Lavallée, composer of O Canada.
7. The semiannual conference adjourns for the holidays with two
versions by Georges Bizet of the familiar medieval Christmas carol,
“March of the Kings,” both as a “Prelude” with variations, and also as
a ‘Farandole’ folk dance.”
Other sectionals: While this program of the Plumbing Factory
Band features separate performances by just about every section
of the band, it is quite common for bands to include one or two
numbers in a concert by a small ensemble of band members. In their
concert this fall, the
Wellington Wind
Symphony will
feature a section by
their Slide by Slide
Trombone Quartet.
Another smaller
outgrowth of a
concert band is
the After Hours
Big Band which
Plumbing Factory Brass Band
consists almost exclusively
of members of the Newmarket Citizens’ Band. Unlike other
groups formed from within a concert band, this groups has never
performed in a concert with the mother band. On the other hand,
they do perform regularly quite independently from the concert band.
For many years the Newmarket Citizens’ Band rehearsed in the local
Lions Club hall. There the band had its own section for music storage
and a refrigerator to store refreshments. It was common practice, after
the regular rehearsal was over, for a few members to remain on “after
hours” and play big band music. In time this group became more
formalized and adopted the name The After Hours Big Band. In time
they started playing engagements independent of the activities of the
concert band.
Several years ago the Lions’ Club hall was destroyed by arsonists.
Over the years the Citizen’s Band has moved from one temporary
location to another. On the other hand, the After Hours Big Band has
been able to settle into a regular rehearsal location which would not
be suitable for the full concert band. While I don’t have any information
on their future performances, I do know that they quite regularly
entertain at retirement residences and long-term care facilities.
Instrumental Choirs: In past issues we have mentioned a few of
the choirs, or ensembles, of like instruments including Flute Street
and the Wychwood Clarinet Choir. We have just learned of another
such group, the Flute Flight Community Flute Choir. Their concert on
November 15, ”A Whole Lot of Treble,” will include works for flute
ensembles of various sizes from trios to full flute choir. This will all
take place at the Cosmopolitan Hall of Cosmo Music in Richmond Hill
on November 15.
Handbells: Speaking of small ensembles, for several years I have
thought about researching and writing about some of the lesserknown
groups. In particular, I was interested in learning more about
Handbell Ensembles. Then suddenly without any planning on my part
I found myself listening to two different Handbell groups within one
week. The first of these was at the 12th Annual Sandford Music Gala at
Sandford United Church. For those not familiar with the geography,
Sandford is a small hamlet north of Uxbridge. The last time I had been
to one of these events was a couple of years ago when I was playing in
a brass quintet. This year, not being a part of the show, I was attracted
when I read that one of the groups performing would be a handbell
ensemble known as Rhythm A’Peal.
Marilyn Meikle: Less than a week later I heard another handbell
group, The Embellished Handbell Ensemble. However, this latter
event was very different. The handbell ensemble was playing at a
memorial service for one of its members, Marilyn Meikle. Marilyn
was not only a member of this handbell group. She, along with her
husband Tim, were long time members of the Newmarket Citizens’
Band. Her passing has significantly impacted our household. For years
I have been sitting beside Tim in the tuba section and, when she was
able to attend, my partner Joan sat beside Marilyn in the flute section.
Less than two weeks before Marilyn’s passing, I was chatting with her
at a rehearsal. She told me how much she had enjoyed their cruise
around the British Isles just a few weeks earlier. She certainly will
be missed.
Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and
has performed in many community ensembles. He can
be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.
22 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Beat by Beat | Choral Scene
Starting Young
BRIAN CHANG
The GTA has a host of fantastic children’s choirs. From Oakville
to Mississauga, Hamilton and Niagara, these choirs are oftentimes
the entry point for a lifelong engagement with music and
the arts. They provide important exercises in strengthening the fabric
of social engagement, inside and outside of music, helping to provide
key skills as children age and move on to other adventures – some of
which may be still be musical. There are some skills essential to choral
music that directly benefit later-life experiences, such as knowing
when to blend in and be part of a greater whole; paying attention to
difficult situations and implementing plans and practices to address
them; learning to follow instructions/direction and applying them
to your personal situation/physicality; and learning how to engage
contructively with people who ignore all these things. There is so
much that these ensembles do in creating and building communities.
Here are some of them: The Toronto Children’s Chorus has eight
separate choral programs for different skills and levels of engagement
including six choirs. The VIVA! Youth Singers are featured
every year in the National Ballet’s performances of The Nutcracker
and have five ensembles. The Oakville Children’s Choir has seven
programs including six choirs. (Artistic director Sarah Morrison led
the Oakville Children’s Choir to a double gold finish at the World
Choir Games in the Summer of 2015.) The Hamilton Children’s Choir
with Zimfira Poloz was featured in R. Murray Schafer’s Apocalypsis
during Luminato, as well as the Pan American Games closing ceremonies.
These are some of the hardest working choirs out there year
after year. And there are many others throughout Southern Ontario.
It’s also important to note that these are also ensembles who have
a presence in their communities beyond their membership. The
Oakville Children’s Chorus has begun a project in partnership with
ErinoakKids, the largest children’s treatment centre for a variety of
disabilities. Members of ErinoakKids and the OCC sing together regularly
in a glee club that was created to share music. Sarah Morrison
speaks of the joy and learning that is shared when choirs reach out
into their communities. And, as she says, more often than not, it’s
the kids who have the ideas, the energy and the enthusiasm for these
collaborations. The Hamilton Children’s Choir also performs regularly
for seniors in their communities.
A functional musical vocabulary is another benefit of early involvement
in a choir. As a policy analyst by educational training and trade,
I spend a lot of time around people who have no formal musical background.
These are not people who don’t have music in their lives – far
from it. But they aren’t playing clarinet in a wind ensemble or violin
in a string quartet or singing alto in a mixed-voices choir. They have a
musical vocabulary made up of words like “rocking,” “energetic” and
“soft,” instead of “chromatic,” “largamente” and “that suspension in
the time change before the major chord was innovative.” Children’s
choirs have an important part to play in the evolution of how larger
communities engage in music. Because really, who looks at a bunch of
kids singing and goes “Wow. I really don’t like this.” These kids inevitably
grow up and in time share their experiences in music with a new
generation. Moreover, the skills they learn will continue to serve them
and us throughout their lives.
That being said, we should beware of making the jargon of music
into a kind of closed door club. I take friends to concerts who have
never been or go infrequently to live instrumental or choral music. The
musical fabric of the city is built into their lives in bars, pop concerts,
street performers and music theatre, but the same cannot be said
of instrumental music. On a recent trip to the Toronto Symphony
Orchestra’s presentation of La Mer and A Sea Symphony, I brought
a friend who had been to a symphony only twice before. I gave a
briefer on the Sea Symphony and used many of the words that I
used in last month’s column: bombastic; imperialistic; grand. This
Berlioz
L’enfance du Christ
Pax Christi Chorale
& Orchestra
with Nathalie Paulin, Olivier Laquerre,
Alain Coulombe, Sean Clark, Matthew Zadow
Saturday, December 5, 7:30p.m.
& Sunday, December 6, 3:00p.m.
Grace Church on-the-Hill
an Ontario government agency
un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario
PaxChristiChorale.org
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 23

Oakville Children's Choir at the World Choir Olympics in Latvia (2014)
worked for him. For a person untrained in music, who cannot usually
tell the difference in sound between a trombone or a horn, or what
a cadence is, he understood because he felt it. And this is where the
great power of instrumental music lies, in common experience. His
vocabulary didn’t need to be RCM certified to convey the commonality
of experience. So the languages
trained musicians use to
communicate widely should not
exclude others. The languages
of what we could describe as
music in the widest sense are as
varied and many, as diverse as
the living things that make up
this planet. One doesn’t need to
analyze the pitch and program of
toads in the Caledon Hills during
mating season to appreciate that
something grand and exceptional
is happening. Similarly, one
can listen to A Sea Symphony
and interpret a military sound
without knowing that trumpets
and snare drums are creating
that sound.
It is also worth considering
the information we get as to the
state of choral music making in
our communities not by what
the established choirs are doing,
but by what is happening on the
fringes, and anywhere children
and young voices are concerned.
Where are younger people
engaging with music? EDM, DJ
Skratch Bastid, Choir!Choir!Choir, Pentatonix, music theatre and film
soundtracks are just some of the sources of music I find my friends
going to that aren’t mega-scale, heavily produced pop concerts. And
for this, and an even younger crowd, Disney movies continue to be a
source of deep and powerful musical tradition (That Choir recently
Festival
of Carols
WED, DEC 9, 2015 | 7:30 PM
YORKMINSTER PARK BAPTIST CHURCH
The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Canadian Staff Band
welcome the season with traditional and contemporary
carols and music for Christmas.
Noel Edison conductor
Jennifer Min-Young Lee
associate conductor
David Briggs organ
Canadian Staff Band
John Lam bandmaster
Concert photo by Brian Summers
BACH CHILDREN’S CHORUS
BACH CHAMBER YOUTH CHOIR
Linda Beaupré, Conductor
Eleanor Daley, Pianist
TICKETS
$35 – $ 76
VOX TIX
$20 FOR 30 AND UNDER
TMC BOX OFFICE
416-598-0422 ext 221
www.tmchoir.org
SATURDAY DECEMBER 12, 2015 AT 7:30PM
$40 and $35 at the Toronto Centre box office
or TicketMaster at 1-855-985-2787 (ARTS)
Toronto Centre for the Arts 5040 Yonge Street
Photo by Flickr user Daniel S
Used under Creative Commons licence
Design by David Kopulos www.davidkopulos.com
facebook.com/BCCandBCYC bachchildrenschorus.ca
24 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

had a Disney-themed cabaret).
In September, That Choir did a season launch that wasn’t a choral
performance. This is unusual and welcome in an attempt to build a
community of relationships that support a choir and its work. The
TSO does this as well, with donors of much more privileged wallets.
One day I might make it through the doors of the Maestro Club or the
fancy Amex lounge at Roy Thomson Hall. For now, having a drink at
No One Writes to the Colonel and singing “I can’t feel my face when
I’m with you” by the Weeknd with 100 other people hits the spot
pretty well. And importantly, it does for a lot of other people as well.
Children’s Choir Concerts
The Toronto Children’s Chorus is going on tour to Boston and New
York City in March 2016. These talented kids will light up the hallowed
walls of Carnegie Hall in the Choirs of America National Competition.
The Toronto Children’s Chorus presents “Spectral Contrasts” on
Saturday November 7, at 4pm, in Calvin Presbyterian Church.
Proceeds will go towards the competition.
The Hamilton Children’s Choir will be part of the City of Hamilton’s
Remembrance Day ceremonies on November 8, at 10:30am in St
George’s Church.
The VIVA! Youth Singers present “Shanti!: Our Native Land” on
November 29, at 3:30pm in Trinity-St Paul’s Centre.
The Oakville Children’s Choir presents “Songs for a Winter
Night” on Saturday December 5 at 7pm in St. John’s United Church
in Oakville.
Chorus Niagara’s Children’s Choir presents “The Time of Snow”
at Beacon Christian School on Saturday December 6 at 2:30pm in St
Catharines.
Other Concerts
Chorus Niagara is pulling together the McMaster University Choir
and the Niagara Symphony Orchestra in presenting “CELEBRATE!: The
Explosive Power of 160 Voices in Partridge Hall” on November 7, at
7:30pm in FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St Catharines.
Further east, another conglomeration of choirs is assembling for
“Choralpalooza,” featuring the Kingston Chamber Choir, She Sings,
the Kingston Townsmen, the Kingston Choral Society and Open Voices
Community Choir. This will take place November 8, at 12pm in the
Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, Kingston.
Bel Canto is just one of many choirs in Scarborough. They perform
“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” on December 6, at 2:30pm and
7:30pm, in St. Dunstan’s of Canterbury.
Two sets of German choral works are being presented: one by the
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir on November 25, at 7:30pm in Koerner
Hall; the other by the Hart House Chorus on November 29, at 4pm in
the Great Hall of Hart House.
THAT CHOIR
CAROLS
GJEILO.
RAMINSH.
WHITACRE.
LAURIDSEN.
WILLAN.
PENTATONIX.
with a reading of Dylan Thomas'
'A Child's Christmas in Wales'
by Jim Mezon
Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015 | 8pm
Metropolitan United Church
56 Queen St. East, Toronto
TICKETS: $25 | $15 | $5
www.thatchoir.com
info@thatchoir.com
Please stay in touch! Feedback:
choralscene@thewholenote.com or Twitter @thebfchang
MESSIAH
DIRECTED BY JOAN ANDREWS
Guest Artists
Rebecca Whelan, soprano
Andrea Ludwig, mezzo-soprano
Asitha Tennekoon, tenor
Jesse Clark, bass/baritone
Gerald Loo, organist
The Talisker Players
Sat, Dec 12, 2015 at 7:30 pm
Markham Missionary Church
5438 Major Mackenzie Drive East, Markham
Adult $35 Senior $30 Student $20 Child under 12 FREE
For tickets call (905) 763-4172 or at the door www.villagevoices.ca
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 25

Beat by Beat | Art of Song
Five Sopranos
and A Mezzo
HANS DE GROOT
Emma Kirkby: It has sometimes seemed to me that my interest in
early music began with listening to Kirkby. When I checked dates, I
realized that that was not true. I bought my first early music LP (two
of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, conducted by August Wenzinger)
when I was a schoolboy in the early 50s, while Kirkby’s career did
not begin until 1971 when she joined the Taverner Choir as a founding
member. But my mistake highlights the fact that Kirkby’s singing has
been central to early music performances ever since. On October 18
she and her accompanist, the fine lutenist Jacob Lindberg, gave a
recital of English music ranging from William Byrd to Henry Purcell
at Trinity College Chapel. Now that Kirkby is in her mid-60s the
incomparable beauty of her singing is also layered with a lifetime of
nuance; every presentation provides a lesson in how these songs can
be delivered.
In the first half of the program we heard a number of students,
members of the University of Toronto’s Schola Cantorum. Until
recently the University had not shown much interest in early music
but this changed with the appointment of Daniel Taylor (best known
as a countertenor but now also a conductor) as Early Music Area Head.
Many of these performances were very fine, a tribute to the singers
but also to Taylor’s leadership and to the extra coaching the singers
received from Kirkby and Lindberg.
Agnes Zsigovics: Kirkby studied classics at Oxford University and
became a schoolteacher. At that time she would have had no notion
that a professional career could be built on the singing of early music.
That is no longer the case and Kirkby’s career is one reason why that
change became possible. There are now many singers who specialize
in Early Music and one of the finest is a Canadian soprano Agnes
Zsigovics whom we shall be able to hear on November 14 with the
Ottawa Bach Choir and York University Chamber Choir in a performance
of Bach’s Mass in B Minor at Grace Church on-the-Hill. The other
soloists are Daniel Taylor, alto, Rebecca Claborn, mezzo, Jacques-
Olivier Chartier, tenor, Geoffrey Sirett, baritone, and Daniel Lichti,
bass-baritone. The conductor is Lisette Canton.
When I asked for an interview with Zsigovics, she accepted readily
and added: “Isn’t it every soprano’s wish to talk about themselves all
day long?” I decided not to take this too literally and I was right not to
do so. She is not a self-absorbed diva but a down-to-earth and disciplined
artist committed to her craft. As a young woman she sang in
choirs at school and as a member of the Bell’Arte Singers. Her first big
break came in 2005, when she sang with the Toronto International
Bach Festival and was asked by the conductor, Helmut Rilling, to sing
the soprano solo in Bach’s Cantata BWV106 (the Actus Tragicus).
Daniel Taylor heard her and invited her to sing part of Pergolesi’s
Stabat Mater at a private function and to join the Theatre of Early
Music. In 2007 she sang in Bach’s St. John Passion under Rilling with
the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
I have heard her four times in recent years: in the virtuoso soprano
part of Allegri’s Miserere and as Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas
(both with the Theatre of Early Music), in Vivaldi’s Gloria (with
Tafelmusik) and as the soprano soloist in the Grand Philharmonic
Choir’s performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in Kitchener last
Good Friday.
She has now sung outside Ontario many times. In May she
performed at the Bethlehem Bach Festival (and she will return there
next May) and she took part in the reconstructed St. Mark Passion by
Bach at the Festival d’Ambronay in France in September. As for the
near future: in January she will be in Montreal in a program of Bach
cantatas, in April she will sing Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers in Chicago
with Music of the Baroque and in May she will sing Bach in Calgary.
Agnes Zsigovics and Benjamin Butterfield with the Bach
Choir of Bethlehem in a performance of the Bach Mass
in B minor at the Bethlehem Bach Festival (2014)
She will make her debut in a fully staged operatic performance when
she will sing the role of Eurydice in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Eurydice in
Grand River, Michigan. We can also hear her voice on several recordings,
two with the Theatre of Early Music (The Voice of Bach on RCA,
and The Heart’s Refuge on Analekta) and one with Les Voix Baroques
and the Arion Baroque Orchestra under Alexander Weimann (Bach’s
St. John Passion, on ATMA). Zsigovics is now looking at the possibility
of launching her first solo recording.
Simone Osborne: Like Zsigovics, Simone Osborne could be
described as a lyric soprano but, unlike Zsigovics, she is primarily an
opera singer. In 2008, when she was 21, she won the Metropolitan
Opera National Concert Auditions. In 2012, Jeunesses Musicales
Canada chose her as the first winner of the Maureen Forrester Award.
She was a member of the Ensemble Studio of the Canadian Opera
Company and has performed a number of roles for the COC on the
main stage: Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Oscar in Verdi’s
Un Ballo in Maschera, Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Nannetta in Verdi’s
Falstaff and Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. She will return
to the COC later this season to sing Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen. On
November 12 and 14, we have a chance to hear her in concert with the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Part of the TSO’s Decades Project, that
concert will show the diversity of styles in works from the first decade
of the 20th century. Osborne will sing three pieces: the aria Depuis le
jour from Charpentier’s Louise, first performed in 1900; the Song to
the Moon from Dvořák ‘s Rusalka (1901) and the soprano solo in the
final movement of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony (1901).
Isabel Leonard: The Women’s Musical Club of Toronto can always
be relied on to provide artists and programs of interest. I, myself, am
very much looking forward to the recital by the American mezzo
Isabel Leonard on November 19 inWalter Hall. A few seasons ago
Leonard sang with the COC in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito and she
was splendid in the role of Sesto. The recital will include works by
Montsalvatge, de Falla, Ives, Higdon and others.
Sondra Radvanovsky: I last heard Sondra Radvanovsky in a dazzling
performance as Queen Elizabeth I in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux
for the COC. On December 4 she will give a recital in Koerner Hall.
The program includes the aria Sposa son disprezzata from Bajazet
by Vivaldi, the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss, the Song to the
Moon from Dvořák ‘s Rusalka and songs and arias by Bellini, Barber,
Giordano and Liszt.
Magali Simard-Galdès: Jeunesses Musicales Canada has announced
that the winner of the 2015 Maureen Forrester Prize is the soprano
Magali Simard-Galdès. The prize consists of a 30-city tour in which
she will perform a program of art songs including a new song cycle by
Tawnie Olson, commissioned by the Canadian Art Song Project.
Hans de Groot is a concertgoer and active listener,
who also sings and plays the recorder. He can be
contacted at artofsong@thehwolenote.com.
26 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Beat by Beat | Early Music
But When In
Naples ...
DAVID PODGORSKI
There’s an anecdote from a book I read once that’s been bothering
me for a while. In the memoir Kitchen Confidential,
the American celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain describes the
following altercation he had with one of his Italian chefs at a restaurant
he owned:
“Gianni had taken one look at my chef de cuisine, shaken his head
and warned, ‘Watch out for dees guy. He’ll stobb you inna back,’
making a stabbing gesture as he said it.
“What? What’s his problem? He’s Sicilian?’ I asked jokingly,
knowing Gianni’s preference for all things Northern.
‘Worse,’ said Gianni. ‘He’s from Naples.’”
Bourdain never explained what the problem with being Neapolitan
was at any point in the rest of the book (maybe he never got around
to asking Gianni), and frankly, I’ve never tried to ask anyone whether
they were from Naples, Italy, or anywhere else. Was Bourdain’s chef
a racist? Are Neapolitans intrinsically untrustworthy? And (most
importantly) why would they be intrinsically untrustworthy to
other Italians?
Maybe the chef’s mistrust had to do with the fact that Naples had a
history that pitted it against the rest of the Italian kingdoms for most
of the last millennium: the Kingdom of Naples, comprising the city
of Naples and roughly the southern half of the Italian boot, was ruled
by the (French) King of Anjou from mid-13th to mid-14th century,
the (Spanish) Aragonese from then to the early 16th century, the
Spanish and Habsburg Empires for the next 200 years, and became a
Napoleonic possession from then until 1815. That wasn’t a lot of time
for Southern Italy to develop an independent, let alone pan-Italian
identity, so maybe other Italians (or at least that particular Italian)
are referencing the fact that, politically, Naples was in fact a French,
Spanish, or Austrian province more than it was ever an Italian one.
As a cultural centre, though, Naples in its prime was a fascinating
place. Ethnically Italian with a Spanish influence, its position
smack in the middle of the Meditarranean made it a natural port of
call between the rest of the European continent and the Middle East.
Naples is also largely responsible for giving us a major institution of
both culture and of classical music – the modern conservatory. The
Spanish regime in Naples was one of the first governments to found
conservatories, which it did in Naples – initially church-run institutions
to shelter and educate orphans, they later became the music
schools we know today. In 17th-century Naples, with the new form
of opera quickly becoming popular and a sudden high demand for
trained singers and musicians throughout Italy, conservatories found
themselves part of a feeder system for professional musicians and
singers, as they were both amply funded and made music education a
significant part of a child’s education.
Vesuvius:This month, The Toronto Consort pays tribute to the music
and culture of this Renaissance cosmopolis in their opening concert
of the season, “The Soul of Naples.” The Consort will be performing
this month at Jeanne Lamon Hall at Trinity-St-Paul’s Centre at 8pm
on November 13 and 14. I’ve been looking forward to this concert for
some time. The Consort is teaming up with the Vesuvius Ensemble,
which is the only folk group I’ve ever encountered that specializes
specifially in Renaissance Neapolitan folk music. The group has the
good fortune to be led by a top-rate tenor, Francesco Pellegrino, who
will be directing both Vesuvius and the Consort this time around.
And if you’re a guitar fan, this is definitely the concert for you – this
show features a menagerie of plucked-string instruments, including
baroque guitar, theorbo and lute, as well as the far more obscure
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 27

Musicians in Ordinary
Beat by Beat | World View
Hybrid Sounds
chitarra battente and colascione. The Consort has a few concerts for
2015/16 that look very interesting, and this is one of them. The group
has a unique talent for taking an audience back to a particular time
and place in history. I can’t wait for opening night.
The Canadian Opera Company is a Toronto institution that dabbles
in early music only occasionally, but it will be well worth checking
out their upcoming program this month if you’re a fan of either
Monteverdi or new music. Pyramus and Thisbe is a new opera by
Canadian composer Barbara Monk Feldman and will be headlining
the evening, but the two opening acts are overlooked gems of the
Baroque repertoire and rank as some of the Venetian composer’s most
accomplished miniatures. Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
and Lamento d’Arianna are both exciting and powerful (though
brief) works that take the listener back and forth from vivid depictions
of warfare to intense sadness, often in the space of just a few
bars. They’re great examples of the revolution in music that happened
at the beginning of the 17th century when Monteverdi declared that
poetry and text was more important than any musical idea could be.
And more importantly, they’re fun to listen to. Check them out on
November 5 and 7 at the Four Seasons.
The Oratory: Sometimes less is more. If a folk/medieval supergroup
and a pair of Monteverdi mini-operas with a full continuo band aren’t
enough to get you to a concert this month, there are a couple of choral
concerts that promise to be very enjoyable indeed. The Oratory at
Holy Family Church (1372 King Street West) is presenting two concerts
based around the Renaissance choral repertoire. The first, featuring a
five-voice men’s chorus singing just one to a part, is a requiem mass
for the feast of All Souls. The oratory has some fairly pious music lined
up for the occasion – they’ll be performing works by that great papal
hero of Renaissance polyphony, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, as
well as the Spanish composer Cristobal de Morales on November 2 at
8pm. If you miss the occasion (or don’t want to sit through a whole
mass) consider going instead to their November 18 concert at 7:30,
which will feature Roland de Lassus’ Requiem for 5 Voices and his
Music from the Office of the Dead as well as music by Tomas Luis de
Victoria and J.S. Bach. Hardly cheerful music, to be sure, but a chance
to hear Renaissance sacred music done with all soloists as opposed to
a massive chorus is a rare and enjoyable experience.
Rossi in Ordinary: The 16th-century Italian composer Salamone
Rossi has the unique legacy, for musicians and scholars, of having
written sacred music for the synagogue which survives and is still
performed today. It’s unfortunate that there aren’t more extant examples
of Jewish sacred music that modern audiences can listen to –
Catholics being the main recipients of a half millennium of high-level
patronage to the exclusion of nearly everyone else – but this month,
the Musicians in Ordinary are performing Rossi’s sacred music as well
as some of his sonatas for two violins. Violinists Chris Verrette and
Patricia Ahearn will join the ensemble on November 27 at 8 pm at
Father Madden Hall in the Carr building at the University of Toronto
to explore the work of a fine composer in the Renaissance mould who
has been regrettably overlooked by history.
David Podgorski is a Toronto-based harpsichordist, music
teacher and a founding member of Rezonance. He can
be contacted at earlymusic@thewholenote.com.
ANDREW TIMAR
In previous columns I’ve explored something I called hybridity in
Toronto music -- transculturalism as it manifests itself musically,
both in the disciplines of composition, improvisation and performance
practice, and in the way audiences respond to music reflecting
these hybridized values. This column connects the dots between a few
Toronto concerts featuring hybrid sounds.
Pedram Khavarzamini is World Music Artist-in-Residence at the
U. of T.’s Faculty of Music. Over the last decade or two the GTA has
been the beneficiary of a wave of talented, primarily emerging career
Iranian musicians. The tombak (principal Iranian goblet drum)
virtuoso, teacher and composer, Pedram Khavarzamini, stands prominently
among them. Moving to Toronto last year, this accomplished
musician and scholar has steadfastly maintained the traditions of
tombak technique and repertoire and introduced new audiences to
them. He is also known for his innovations in cross-cultural collaboration
and musical experimentation. Both the traditional and collaborative
sides of Khavarzamini’s work were on ample display in his
exciting May 16, 2015 Music Gallery concert, “East Meets Further
East,” which he shared with Montréal tabla soloist Shawn Mativetsky.
Their drum duo at the end of the night was a memorable marvel of
musical respect and communication. It reminded the audience that
transcultural challenges can be met and honoured at the highest level.
A pioneer in another – and more hybrid - arena too, Khavarzamini
also composes for Persian-centric percussion ensembles. His main
outlet is Varashan, a group he directs and composes for. Its performance
was yet another musically satisfying feature of the May 2015
Music Gallery concert I attended.
In addition to his eloquent performances set in international halls
with leading Persian and international musicians, Khavarzamini
has also taken tombak teaching onto the global stage. Offering
conducting workshops and individual instruction to scores of students
in Iran, Europe and North America, live and via Skype, he has
become a leading instructor on his chosen drum and its indigenous
musical idioms.
Khavarzamini’s activities as a virtuoso percussionist, composer,
teacher and group leader have already attracted the attention of
learning centres. His appointment this fall at U of T’s Faculty of Music
provides proof of this. Searching for insights into this development
in his career, I exchanged several emails and Facebook chats with
Khavarzamini in the penultimate weekend of October. He confirmed
that his Artist-in-Residence duties will, among others, include
“leading masterclasses and the newly formed U. of T. Iranian Music
Ensemble,” activities which will involve several dozen music students.
An excellent opportunity to witness the impressive breadth
and depth of Khavarzamini’s work can be had at a November 17
free concert at University of Toronto’s Walter Hall, where he will
lead the Iranian Music Ensemble and members of Varashan. The
Persian instrumentation will include multiple tombaks, the dayereh
(medium-sized frame drum with jingles), santoor (hammered
dulcimer), kamancheh (bowed lute), tar (plucked lute) and perhaps
a vocalist. Then on December 3 the Iranian Music Ensemble directed
by Khavarzamini takes part in a World Music Ensembles concert
at Walter Hall alongside the Klezmer Ensemble and the Japanese
Taiko Ensemble. These biannual public concerts, along with their
York University counterparts, have for decades subtly influenced
the general Toronto reception of non-mainstream European- and
American-centred musics, perhaps even laying the groundwork for
the kind of hybrid creations increasingly appearing in a whole range
of venues.
David Virelles: Gnosis featuring Román Díaz at the Music Gallery.
David Dacks, the Music Gallery’s artistic director, has certainly not
shied away from engaging in musical hybridity, as he made clear in an
X Avant festival story in The WholeNote last year.
28 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

However he remains
Pedram Khavarzamini
very aware of the inherent
complications of mixing
and matching musical
genres, especially the everprickly
notion of authenticity.
“If one is attempting
to join culture A to culture
B in a coherent musical
statement, one must be
really attuned to power
relationships, comparative
structures/forms/
tuning/language, your own
personal experience and
other points of connection
or difference between musical ingredients one is working with.” He
gives a down-home example: “randomly sampled African chants over
breakbeats just won’t fly anymore.”
Fortunately we’re mostly in good hands, Dacks adds. “In crazy,
diverse Toronto, many musicians are cognizant of these factors,
not just academically, but internally. The resulting hybrid musical
creations are way more than pastiches, they are declarations of one’s
transcultural (going back to last year’s term) life experiences.”
For Dacks the November 27 and 28 concerts, “David Virelles: Gnosis
featuring Román Díaz,” at the Music Gallery, co-presented by the
Music Gallery, Arraymusic and Lula Music & Arts, are a case in point.
For those unfamiliar with Virelles’ music, the billing “futuristic Afro-
Cuban chamber music” gives a taste of what one might expect.
Immigrating to Canada from Cuba at 18, pianist and composer
Virelles began his musical studies at Toronto’s Humber College
and continued them at the University of Toronto. He came under
the mentorship of saxophonist Jane Bunnett, long celebrated for
her support of both Cuban music and musicians. Virelles has since
developed into a cutting-edge jazz innovator. Achieving career success
along the way, last year he released his first ECM recording Mboko, in
the words of Dacks, “taking Cuban music places it’s never been.”
The 32-year-old Virelles is “capable of tropically intense polyrhythms
and irregular but internally logical phrasing, which befits
an artist who came to jazz through Thelonious Monk, Andrew Hill,
and Bud Powell.” About five years ago Virelles moved to New York
to further his career and has since worked with jazz leaders like
Henry Threadgill, Andrew Cyrille and many more. Earlier this year he
scooped the Downbeat Rising Star – Piano award.
The Music Gallery partnership with both Arraymusic and Lula
Music & Arts in presenting Gnosis is part of the story. As Dacks
explains: “Gnosis, is a big project (hence a rare two-night stand at The
Music Gallery). It’s a chamber piece, requiring some 12 musicians.
Rick Sacks … [has committed members] of the Array Ensemble to
the group, plus most of the rehearsals will be at their Arrayspace. It’s
turned into a big part of their season too.” As for Lula Music & Arts,
they’re “a natural promotion partner in this project. Virelles played
there frequently [when he was a Toronto resident] and it’s the nerve
centre for so much Latin music in Toronto.”
Another significant element in the work is the inclusion of Abakuá
drums by Cuban master drummer Román Díaz with four other Cuban
drummers. Hermetic and little known even within Cuba, Abakuá is
an Afro-Cuban men’s initiatory fraternity, a secret society, with roots
extending back to Nigeria and Cameroon. Despite its secret nature,
the percussion and vocal dance music of the Abakuá, as well as other
music of West African origin, have been found by researchers to
have collectively infused and influenced virtually all genres of Cuban
vernacular music, including rumba and son.
Dacks notes that Díaz “has been playing with Virelles for quite a
while now” drawing on Cuba’s deep African musical heritage as an
essential element of the performance. Rather than using Abakuá songs
and drumming as a superficial pinch of ethnic spice in a jazz score,
they have instead chosen to perform it as it occurs in Afro-Cuban
ritual practice (echoing Dacks’ earlier comments about authenticity).
“Abakuá drums have never been
in a concert hall setting, so this is
absolutely a new form of music that
Virelles is exploring.”
For Dacks, it’s not “just a ‘local
guy makes good’ show, it’s bigger
than that. Virelles is already the
most experimental pianist of Cuban
origin I’ve ever heard, and he has
become a major creative force. As
such, this is a unique opportunity
for the Music Gallery and our
partners to help him take the next,
ambitious step.”
Quick Picks
Continuing with this month’s theme of musical hybridity, the Aga
Khan Museum presents two concerts which can easily be included in
that portfolio.
November 28 the Kinan Azmeh City Band mounts the AKM’s
auditorium stage with a concert blending jazz, Western classical
and Syrian music. Kinan Azmeh, clarinet, Kyle Sanna, guitar, John
Hadfield, percussion, and Petros Klampanis, double bass, perform
works from their album Elastic City.
December 5 the spotlight shifts to the Indo-Afghan music of the
veteran singer Ustad Eltaf Hussain Sarahang. Starting his career as
a young court musician – appointed as Royal Musician to the Court
of King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan (reigned 1933–73) – Sarahang has
enjoyed a career spanning decades as a leading exponent of the hybrid
traditions of Indo-Afghan music.
Andrew Timar is a Toronto musician and music writer. He
can be contacted at worldmusic@thewholenote.com.
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 29

Beat by Beat | Jazz Stories
Jane’s Day,
Jane’s Way
ORI DAGAN
Jane Bunnett’s day is so chock full that the only time we can
find to do an interview is at Ana Maria’s hair salon, down the
street from her Parkdale home. It’s a big week. Two nights ago
(October 20) she won Ontario’s Premier’s Award for Excellence; today
(October 22) is her birthday; and on Saturday night (October 24)
she performs at Koerner Hall with Maqueque and Emilie Michel. I
congratulate her on the Premier’s Award and ask what this particular
honour means to a five-time JUNO winner, two-time Grammy
nominee and Order of Canada recipient:
“First of all this is my third time up for this award, and every time,
the people in this category have been people that I respected. Some
of them I knew because they are closer to my field, but when I’ve
been seeing the other nominees and investigated and researched
what they do, I’m extremely honoured because I look at them and I
think, ‘That’s amazing, look what this person has done, look what
this person has done!’ and I’m saying it about everybody and then I
go, ‘Wait a minute, I’m in the same category!’ so that must mean, you
know? The jury, my peers are recognizing me in the same way. I’m so
very honoured.”
Bunnett’s talent is astonishing, her passion contagious and her
discipline inspiring. She is also lucky in love: her husband of nearly 35
years is producer manager and occasional sideman Larry Cramer. “He
is my other half in making these things happen. We are a real team …
my vision is not as strong as his vision. A lot of the time I can’t quite
see it, but Larry sees the end results. I just see all the work that has to
get done and I freak out. We’re a great team.”
The two have toured this planet dozens of times in the past 30 years,
acting as Canadian ambassadors, standing up for social and political
causes, collaborating with some of the very best in the world and
providing countless opportunities for others every step of the way.
“Sometimes it’s hard for us to stand back and just look at the total
body of what we’re doing because artists are so forward thinking and
you never know where your next bread and butter are going to come
from. To sit back and savour the moment, the recognition because we
are always moving forward – you finish a project and you’re on to the
next one – so to be able to stand back with Larry, it means so much to
us. And not to look like a materialistic person, but there is a monetary
value to the award that could not come at a better time, when we’ve
been stretched financially. We’ve set a certain standard for ourselves,
and it can’t be any less that that. Twenty records later, we have to keep
our standard high ... keep it interesting for yourself and your fans if
you have fans. So sometimes we have to beg, borrow and steal to make
a project happen.”
Making a living as a jazz artist in Toronto can seem nearly impossible
without a secondary income. Most jazz musicians teach either
privately or in a post-secondary institution. Although she is a natural
mentor, Bunnett has never had a regular teaching position, which
arguably has allowed for the 20 recordings under her belt.
“Who knows down the road, as I get older – I don’t know how
long my body can handle the running around – as a jazz musician
when you are doing what I’m doing, when you don’t have a teaching
position, you have to travel. To work I have to travel. There’s only
so much you can do in Toronto, there’s only so much you can do in
Canada, so you have to up and move, and so when I can combine that
with going into a university or a high school or a community arts
30 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

weston_colorprintad3.5625x10_thewholenote.qxt_Layout 1 10/15/15 8:41 PM Pa
organization, I really enjoy doing that and I like to be able to shed light
on what I do, because some people really don’t understand what is
entailed in being an artist – the sacrifices that you make to do that.
How you put the whole thing together – the whole record – especially
with young people, because there is a disconnect with creativity,
everything being so hi-tech. The way I work is very organic – in
the case of Maqueque – I write a piece of music and then we sit down
and we work on it, and I’m very open to people’s ideas. If a change is
suggested we’ll all bounce it around and a lot of the time their suggestions
are great. We workshop the material to bring in the different
influences. I see myself as a collaborator – I thrive on not only doing
my own thing, but bringing other ingredients into what I do – and I
think in a certain way, I am good in the educational world, to be able
to explain this experience.”
Maqueque: The group Maqueque – which is also the name of their
debut album – is Bunnett’s latest triumph, finding her in the company
of five female Cuban twentysomethings: Daymé Arocena, vocals and
percussion; Dánae Olano, piano and vocals; Magdelys Savigne, vocals
and percussion; Célia Jiménez, vocals and bass; and Yissy García,
drums. Maqueque won the 2015 JUNO for Jazz Album of the Year
– Group.
“The record was done in 2013 and it was done pretty quickly. We put
the group together down there, and we rehearsed three or four days,
and then went into the studio and made the record. I hardly even
knew most of the girls.”
Having followed Bunnett on Facebook for the past few years,
I’ve noticed many posts about favourable receptions on their North
American tour. I asked her what surprised her about the response to
the album, both from critics and audiences:
“That’s a good question. When we made that record, I had no idea
– Maqueque was actually a very difficult record to make. There were
certain things that happened … part of the tracks were recorded on a
broken bass, and I didn’t even know it! Celia didn’t even own a bass
– she was a classical bassoon player but she really wanted to play jazz
and picked up the bass but she didn’t own one. I don’t even know
whose bass she was using. We were in the studio and then when were
mixing, both Jeremy Darby and David Travers-Smith were like ‘I don’t
know what to do about the bass sound, it’s just dreadful’ and I was
quite overwhelmed with all the things that were going on. I knew
something was funny but, I later found she was playing on a broken
bass that wasn’t hers and she didn’t want to tell me because she
thought I wouldn’t let her be in the band. Yeah, thanks! Thousands of
dollars later and trying to clean up the sound.
“And then there was making a record and not knowing who the
JAZZ STORIES continues to page 54
“... beautifully written and warmly performed …"
JazzTimes
“A guitar tour de force... ”
The Midwest Record
“...Weston straddles a myriad of styles on his auspicious
debut as a leader...with conviction and rare facility.
Definitely a talent deserving of wider recognition.”
Bill Milkowski
Contributor to DownBeat, Jazziz and author of JACO:
The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius
Galen Weston
pluggedin
Official album launch Wed Nov 25
@ Tattoo Queen West, Toronto
Fri Nov 13 @ The Pearl Company, Hamilton
Thu Nov 19 @ The Moonshine Cafe, Oakville
Wed Dec 2 @ The Boathouse, Kitchener
Violins, violas, cellos & bows
Complete line of strings & accessories
Expert repairs & rehairs
Canada’s ad largest stock of string music
A treasure trove of gifts for string players
thesoundpost.com
info@the soundpost.com
93 Grenville St, Toronto M5S 1B4
416.971.6990 • fax 416.597.9923
• SALON CONCERT •
Jeanne Lamon & Friends • Nov 1, 2pm
DOWNLOAD FOR FREE AT GALENWESTON.ORG
facebook.com/GalenWestonBand
b l u a z z
p r o d u c t i o n s
Twitter: @Galen_Weston
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 31

BLUE PAGES 2015/16
16th ANNUAL DIRECTORY OF MUSIC MAKERS – SUPPLEMENT
●Adam Sherkin
The Blue Pages is The WholeNote’s
annual directory of concert
presenters: choirs, orchestras,
bands, chamber ensembles, opera
companies and more. It’s published
every October in our print magazine,
and is up-to-date and available
year-round at thewholenote.
com. The 147 profiles published
in our October 2015 edition gave
an extraordinary overview of
the vigorous and diverse music
community in the GTA and Southern
Ontario and an appetizing taste of
who’s doing what this season.
Presenters who missed the October
issue of the magazine were invited
to be a part of this November’s
directory supplement – the eight
profiled here may be old friends or
excitingly new to you.
Ongoing support from Ontario’s
music presenters helps The WholeNote,
now in its 21st season, to continue
fulfilling its mission. You can do
your part by going to concerts and
encouraging others, especially
younger people, to support live music.
PRESENTERS! It’s still not too
late to be part of the Blue Pages
online. For more information
on the benefits of WholeNote
membership, contact Karen Ages
at members@thewholenote.com
or 416-323-2232 x26.
BLUE PAGES TEAM 2015/16
PROJECT MANAGER Karen Ages
PROJECT EDITOR Kevin King
PROOFREADING Vanessa Wells
LAYOUT & DESIGN Susan Sinclair
WEBSITE Bryson Winchester
COVER PHOTO Janet Kimber
In residence at the St. Lawrence Centre for the
Arts since 2011, Toronto native Adam Sherkin is a
dynamic pianist who commands a multi-dimensional
approach to performance and composition.
Sherkin released his debut album in 2012
on the Centrediscs label: a full-length solo disc
featuring his own works, As At First. Acclaim has
followed for Sherkin’s first record, described as
displaying “a sense of daring,” “craftsmanship,”
unmistakable music by a “young, living, breathing
and very gifted composer.” Sherkin has performed
at significant venues throughout Canada
and Britain, including the Glenn Gould Studio, the
Toronto Centre for the Arts, St. Martin-in-the-
Fields, Covent Garden and the Royal Albert Hall.
In partnership with Steinway & Sons, Adam Sherkin
presents the Write Off the Keyboard Noon
Hour Series at the St. Lawrence Centre for the
Arts in Toronto this 2015-16 concert season.
All concerts take place on the first Thursday
of every month at noon, at the Bluma Appel
Lobby of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.
27 Front Street East. Admission is FREE. stlc.com
Nathan Williams,
communications manager
416-825-2744
media@adamsherkin.com
adamsherkin.com
16 TH ANNUAL
BLUE
PAGES
PRESENTER PROFILES 2015/16
● Bel Canto Singers
The Bel Canto Singers is a dynamic 50-voice community-based
SATB choir that performs works
from an assortment of genres, including opera
choruses, Broadway show tunes, folk songs,
spirituals and even rock. Auditions to determine
voice range are conducted at the beginning of
September and January. This season’s concerts
are on December 6, 2015 and May 1, 2016. We also
sing for seniors’ residences and in fundraisers for
other organizations. Rehearsals are 7:30-10:00
pm Tuesdays at St. Nicholas Anglican Church,
1512 Kingston Road, Toronto, Ontario, M1N 1R7.
Linda Meyer, director
416-699-4585
belcantosingers.ca
● Elora Festival Singers
The Elora Festival Singers, an all-professional
Grammy- and Juno-nominated chamber choir,
was founded in 1980 by Noel Edison as principal
choral ensemble of the Elora Festival. In 1992,
the Elora Festival Singers was incorporated as a
separate organization to manage its year-round
activities.
Since 1997, the choir has been the core of the
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Toronto Mendelssohn
Singers, and is the choral ensemblein-residence
of the Elora Festival each summer.
Through regular concert series, recordings,
broadcasts, and touring, the Elora Festival
B1 | theWholeNote 2015/16 PRESENTER PROFILES

Singers has established a reputation as one of
the finest chamber choirs in Canada and beyond,
contributing to the musical life not only of the
community but on an international stage.
With ten releases on the NAXOS label, the Elora
Festival Singers is known for its rich, warm sound
and clarity of texture. The choir is renowned for
its diverse styles, for its commitment to Canadian
repertoire, and for its collaborations with other
Canadian artists.
519-846-0331
info@elorafestival.com
elorafestival.com
● FirstOntario Performing
Arts Centre
The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre is a
brand new 95,000 square foot cultural complex
located in downtown St. Catharines and
is comprised of four state-of-the-art performance
venues: Partridge Hall, the crown jewel of
the FirstOntario PAC, boasts world-class acoustics
and an intimate connection to the stage. Robertson
Theatre is a flexible ‘black box’ theatre that
can accommodate performances, recitals, cabarets,
workshops and more. Cairns Recital Hall is
acoustically-pristine and the perfect intimate setting
for small musical ensembles, singer-songwriters,
recitals and spoken word artists. The
Film Theatre has fully cinematic capabilities that
will showcase the best in classic, cult and world
cinema, as well as genre films that we love.
The FirstOntario PAC will host local, national
and international music, including classical,
chamber, contemporary, jazz, folk, world, choral
and symphony. Plus a plethora of theatre, dance,
comedy, and so much more. The Arts Live Here.
Discover What’s Inside.
Jordy Yack
905-688-0722
boxoffice@firstontariopac.ca
FirstOntarioPAC.ca
● Meredith Potter Arts Management
Meredith Potter Arts Management works with
contemporary performing arts companies in
Toronto, including Peggy Baker Dance Projects
and Volcano Theatre.
Volcano creates theatre that is stylistically
and socially modern, a theatre that explores
identity, politics, history, and the contemporary
human condition.
Peggy Baker Dance Projects is dedicated to
offering experiences of significance, personal
connection, and transformative potential to our
audience through the power and beauty of the
art of dance. Established in Toronto, Canada in
1990 and incorporated in 1996, Peggy Baker
Dance Projects is a charitable non-profit organization
led by one of Canada’s foremost modern
dancers – Peggy Baker. Distinguished from the
outset by collaborations with extraordinary creators
and performers, the company has built an
MEREDITH POTTER ARTS MANAGEMENT
exceptional body of work and a growing slate of
education, engagement, and enrichment programs.
Peggy Baker Dance Projects began as
a vehicle for solo dance expression; the company’s
work now encompasses solo and ensemble
dance repertoire, performed to both live and
electro-acoustic music, and features a company
of outstanding dancers.
Meredith Potter
416-538-4436
info@peggybakerdance.com
peggybakerdance.com
● Opera Atelier
Opera Atelier is North America’s premier period
opera/ballet company, producing the opera, ballet
and drama of the 17 th , 18 th , and 19 th centuries.
While drawing upon the aesthetics and ideals of
the period, Opera Atelier goes beyond “reconstruction”
and infuses each production with an
inventive theatricality that resonates with modern
audiences. Led by founding artistic directors
Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse
Zingg since 1985, Opera Atelier has garnered
acclaim for its performances at home as well as
in the United States, Europe and Asia.
The 2015-16 season marks Opera Atelier’s
30 th anniversary. The season continues in April
with a new Canadian production of Mozart’s
Lucio Silla (Apr. 7-16, 2016), which was met with
great critical acclaim in Salzburg and at La Scala
in Milan.
Tickets start at $38 and can be purchased
through Ticketmaster at 1-855-622-ARTS(2787)
or www.ticketmaster.ca, or at the Elgin Theatre
Box Office (189 Yonge Street).
1-855-622-2787
opera.atelier@operaatelier.com
operaatelier.com
● Rose Room Music Group
The Rose Room Music Group is a new, fully-integrated
company that offers a world-class recording
studio, full-service integrated artist services
agency, boutique record label and live concert
promotions both in Toronto and on a touring
basis. The company’s core team brings over
50 years of collective experience as musicians,
promoters and agents to the table along with an
extremely broad and fluid skill set and a can-do
spirit.
Sebastian Cook
416-573-8055
roseroommusicgroup@gmail.com
roseroom.ca
●Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1922, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
is one of Canada’s most important cultural
institutions, recognized internationally
as an outstanding orchestra. Music director
Peter Oundjian leads the TSO with a commitment
to innovative programming and audience
development through a broad range of performances
that showcase the exceptional talents
of the Orchestra along with a roster of
distinguished guest artists and conductors.
The TSO also serves the larger community with
TSOUNDCHECK, the original under-35 ticket program,
the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra,
and music education programs that reach over
50,000 students each year.
416-593-4828
TSO.ca
theWholeNote 2015/16 PRESENTER PROFILES | B2

The WholeNote listings are arranged in four sections:
A.
GTA (GREATER TORONTO AREA) covers all of Toronto
plus Halton, Peel, York and Durham regions.
B.
BEYOND THE GTA covers many areas of Southern
Ontario outside Toronto and the GTA. Starts on page 51.
C.
IN THE CLUBS (MOSTLY JAZZ)
is organized alphabetically by club.
Starts on page 55.
D.
THE ETCETERAS is for galas, fundraisers, competitions,
screenings, lectures, symposia, masterclasses, workshops,
singalongs and other music-related events (except
performances) which may be of interest to our readers.
Starts on page 59.
A GENERAL WORD OF CAUTION. A phone number is provided
with every listing in The WholeNote — in fact, we won’t publish
a listing without one. Concerts are sometimes cancelled or postponed;
artists or venues may change after listings are published.
Please check before you go out to a concert.
HOW TO LIST. Listings in The WholeNote in the four sections above
are a free service available, at our discretion, to eligible presenters.
If you have an event, send us your information no later than the
8th of the month prior to the issue or issues in which your listing is
eligible to appear.
LISTINGS DEADLINE. Attention! DOUBLE ISSUE! The next issue
covers the period from December 1, 2015 to February 7, 2016. All
listings must be received by Midnight Sunday November 8.
LISTINGS can be sent by e-mail to listings@thewholenote.com or
by fax to 416-603-4791 or by regular mail to the address on page 6.
We do not receive listings by phone, but you can call 416-323-2232
x27 for further information.
LISTINGS ZONE MAP. Visit our website to see a detailed version
of this map: thewholenote.com.
Lake
Huron
6
Georgian
Bay
7
2 1
5
Lake Erie
3 4
8
City of Toronto
LISTINGS
Lake Ontario
A. Concerts in the GTA
IN THIS ISSUE: Aurora, Aurora, Bolton, Burlington, Colgan, Etobicoke,
Georgetown, Kleinburg, Markham, Milton, Mississauga, Mississauga, Newmarket,
North York, Oakville, Oshawa, Port Credit, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, Sharon,
Thornhill, Waterloo, Whitby
Sunday November 1
●●1:15: Mooredale Concerts. Music & Truffles:
Vivacious Violins - One-hour Interactive
Presentation. Prokofiev: Sonata for Two Violins
Op.56; Violin Sonata No.1 in f Op.80; Saint-
Saëns: Violin Sonata No.1 in d Op.75; Sarasate:
Navarra, Op.33 for two violins and piano.
Nikki Chooi and Timothy Chooi, violins; Jeanie
Chung, piano. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson
Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s
Park. 416-922-3714 x103. $13. For ages
5-11(adults welcome). 3:15: Full concert.
●●2:00: Canadian Opera Company. La Traviata.
Verdi. Ekaterina Siurina, soprano
(Violetta Nov. 1, 4); Joyce El-Khoury, soprano
(Violetta Nov. 6); Charles Castronovo,
tenor (Alfredo Nov. 1, 4); Andrew Haji, tenor
(Alfredo Nov. 6); Quinn Kelsey, baritone (Germont
Nov. 1, 4); James Westman, baritone
(Germont Nov. 6); Marco Guidarini, conductor;
Arin Arbus, director. Four Seasons
Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St.
W. 416-363-8231. $50–$435; $22(under 30).
Also Nov 4, 6; start times vary.
●●2:00: Latvian Guild of Organists of North
America. Festival Service and Concert. Six
North American Latvian organists; Latvian
Vocal Ensemble (Brigita Alka, conductor);
Emilija Rozensteina, cello; Lauma Pruse;
piano; Vita Kalnciema, organ; Ingrīda Gutberga,
organ. St. Barnabas Anglican Church,
361 Danforth Ave. 416-626-8910. Freewill
offering.
●●2:00: Royal Conservatory. Mazzoleni Masters
Songmasters Series: Songs of Remembrance.
Monica Whicher, soprano; Rachel
Andrist, piano. Mazzoleni Concert Hall, Royal
Conservatory, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-
0208. $25.
●●2:00: The Sound Post. Fall Salon Concert.
Jeanne Lamon, violin; and others. 93 Grenville
St. 416-971-6990 x244. Free. Call to reserve.
Reception to follow.
●●2:00: Visual and Performing Arts Newmarket.
Adi Braun, voice. Newmarket Theatre,
505 Pickering Cres., Newmarket.
905-953-5122. $30; $25(sr); $10(st).
●●3:00: McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
McMichael Concert Series: Genevieve Marentette
Quartet. 10365 Islington Ave, Kleinburg.
905-893-1121 x2209. $39; $29; $15(st).
Ticket price includes gallery admission.
●●3:00: Milton Philharmonic Orchestra. The
Magical World of Disney. St. Paul’s United
Church (Milton), 123 Main St. E., Milton. 905-
302-3169. $25; $20(sr); $10(st/child).
St. Philip’s Anglican Church
●●3:00: Toronto Chamber Choir. The Memory
Palace of Matteo Ricci. Guests: China
Court Trio; Kathleen Kajioka, narrator.
Church of the Redeemer, 162 Bloor St. W. 416-
763-1695. $30; $25(sr); $12.50(under 30).
Coffee, tea and home baking to follow.
●●3:00: Toronto Concert Orchestra. Stage
& Screen. Music from Star Wars, West Side
Story, Raiders of the Lost Ark; other works.
Kerry Stratton, conductor. Timothy Eaton
Memorial Church, 230 St. Clair Ave. W. 1-800-
222-6608. $40; $25(sr/st).
●●3:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre. H.M.S.
Pinafore: A Tribute Concert to Gilbert and
Sullivan. “He is an Englishman.” Gregory
Finney(Sir Joseph Porter); Charlotte
Knight(Josephine); Rosalind McArthur(Mrs.
Cripps); Natasha Fransblow, piano/music
director. St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts,
27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $46–$63.
●●3:15: Mooredale Concerts. Vivacious Violins.
Prokofiev: Sonata for Two Violins Op.56;
Sonata No.1 in f Op.80 for violin and piano;
Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1
in d Op.75; Sarasate: Navarra, Op.33 for two
violins and piano. Nikki Chooi and Timothy
Chooi, violins; Jeanie Chung, piano. Walter
Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of
Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-922-3714 x103.
$30; $20(under 30). 1:15: Music & Truffles for
ages 5-11.
●●4:00: Amadeus Choir. Luminosity. James
Whitbourn: Luminosity; Bob Chilcott: Canticles
of Light; Êriks Ešenvalds: Stars; Morten
Lauridsen: Lux Aeterna; Hussein Janmohamed:
Sun on Water. Amadeus Choir;
Steven Dann, viola; Diana Atherton Davis,
singing bowls; Shawn Grenke, piano; Lydia
Adams, conductor. Eglinton St. George’s
United Church, 35 Lytton Blvd. 416-446-0188.
$20-$45.
●●4:00: Cathedral Church of St. James. Twilight
Organ Series. Thomas Fitches, organ.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free.
●●4:00: Church of St. Mary Magdalene. Warlock’s
Capriol Suite. Andrew Adair, organ.
Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto),
477 Manning Ave. 416-531-7955. Free.
●●4:00: St. Olave’s Anglican Church. Music
of Fauré. Choral Evensong for All Saints’
Day. Fauré: Requiem; other works. Voices
Chamber Choir; Ron Cheung, conductor.
360 Windermere Ave. 416-769-5686. Contributions
appreciated. Includes Pumpkin Tea
and an illustrated talk on Plainsong and the
Prayer Book.
●●4:00: St. Philip’s Anglican Church.
Sunday, November 1, 4pm | Mariachi Vespers
Jorge Lopez & his Mexico Amigo Band
Sunday, November 22, 4:00 pm | Jazz Vespers
Tim Rutledge Quartet with Tim (saxophone), Ben Riley (drums),
Bruce Hemmings (piano) and Keith Laurie (bass)
Sunday, November 29, 4:00 pm | Jazz Vespers
Robi Botos (solo piano)
St. Philip’s Anglican Church | Etobicoke
25 St. Phillips Road (near Royal York + Dixon)
416-247-5181 • stphilips.net • free will offering
34 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Mariachi Vespers with Jorge Lopez and Mexico
Amigo Band. 25 St. Phillips Rd., Etobicoke.
416-247-5181. Freewill offering.
●●4:30: Christ Church Deer Park. Jazz Vespers.
All Saints’ Day with the Chameleon
Band. 1570 Yonge St. 416-920-5211. Free.
Donations welcome.
●●7:00: Aradia Baroque Ensemble. On the
Path of Champlain. In celebration of Samuel
de Champlain’s 1615 visit to Ontario. Works
by Lambert, Lully, Charpentier and Hotterre.
Katherine Hill, soprano; Patrice Dutil,
narrator; Kevin Mallon, conductor. Alliance
Française de Toronto, 24 Spadina Rd. 647-
960-6650. $35; $20(sr/under 30).
●●7:30: Lark Ensemble. In Concert. Mozart:
Flute Quartet, K298; Kodály: Duo, Op.7;
Martinů: Madrigals, H313; Haydn: “Lark”
Quartet, Op.64 No.5. Leslie Allt, flute; Aaron
Schwebel, violin; Roberta Janzen, cello; Keith
Hamm, viola. Corkin Gallery, 7 Tank House Ln.
416-979-1980. $35; $20(st). Refreshments
included.
●●8:00: Ozere. Finding Anyplace. CD Release.
Jessica Deutsch, violin and vocals; Emily
Rockarts, vocals; Lydia Munchinsky, cello;
Adrian Gross, mandolin; Bret Higgins, bass.
Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave. 416-837-
8027. $15; $10(st/arts workers).
●●10:15: Neuberger Holocaust Education
Week. Sounds of Survival: Music of the
Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz. Jeri Robins,
cantor. Temple Sinai, 210 Wilson Ave. 416-
487-4161. Free. Education Week runs Nov 2-9.
Monday November 2
●●2:00: Neuberger Holocaust Education
Week. Remembering Yiddish Culture through
Song. Sing-a-long of pre-war Yiddish songs
with Etta Donnell. Kensington Place Retirement
Residence, 866 Sheppard Ave W.
416-636-9555. Free. Education Week runs
Nov 2-9.
●●7:30: Fraser Jackson with Monique de
Margerie and Friends. Poulenc Sextet.
Works from the last century by Poulenc and
others. Gallery 345, 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-
697-4743. $10-$20.
●●7:30: Pages Unbound/Porcupine’s Quill.
Lotería Huasteca Book Launch and Concert.
Alec Dempster, author; Guests: Tlacuatzin
Trio. Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St.
W. 416-531-4635. $10. Free with purchase
of book.
●●8:00: The Oratory. Usus Antiquior:
Requiem Mass for All Souls. Works by Palestrina
and Morales. Oratory Chant Schola
with 5-voice men’s choir; Philip Fournier, conductor.
The Oratory, Holy Family Church,
1372 King St. W. 416-532-2879. Free. Donations
accepted. Free parking.
Tuesday November 3
●●12:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Tuesday Performance Class for Singers.
Songs of Requiem and Light presented by
third-year Oratorio class. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. Free.
●●1:00: Cathedral Church of St. James. Midday
Organ Series. Simon Walker, organ.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free.
●●2:30: York University Department of
Music. Music at Midday: Singing our Songs.
Arias and Lieder. Young artists in the classical
vocal performance studios of Catherine
Robbin, Stephanie Bogle, Norma Burrowes,
Michael Donovan, Janet Obermeyer and
Karen Rymal. Tribute Communities Recital
Hall, Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele
St. 647-459-0701. Free. Also Nov 5 (1:30).
●●6:30: Canadian Opera Company. Centre
Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition.
Vocal showcase of young Canadian singers
selected from nationwide auditions, followed
by dinner with competition finalists and COC
artists. COC Orchestra; Johannes Debus,
conductor. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing
Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231.
$1,500(dinner); $100(cocktail reception);
$35(st). 5:30: Cocktails.
●●7:30: Opus 8. War & Peace. Opus 8 Choral
Octet. Cathedral Church of St. James,
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free.
●●8:00: Lula Lounge. Unplugged. Conversation
between song, dance and guitar. Flamenco.
La Otra Orilla, Flamenco troupe.
1585 Dundas St. W. 416-588-0307. $32.75.
Wednesday November 4
●●12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
Noonday Organ Recitals. William Maddox,
organ. 1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free.
●●6:00: Cathedral Church of St. James. Cantatas
in the Church. Bach: Cantata, BWV139
and organ works. Kirsten Fielding, soprano;
Alison Roy, alto; Charles Davidson, tenor; Graham
Robinson, bass; David Briggs, organ.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. PWYC. All donations
go directly to the artists.
●●7:00: Monarchs Pub. Ault Sisters at Monarchs.
Jazz vocal trio. 33 Gerrard St. W. 416-
585-4352. Free.
●●7:30: Canadian Opera Company. La Traviata.
See Nov 1(2:00); Also Nov 6; start times
vary.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty
of Music. New Orford String Quartet.
Beethoven: Op.59 No.3; Op.130 with the
Grosse Fugue finale. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $40;
$25(sr); $10(st).
●●8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. Emanuel
Ax. Works by Beethoven and Chopin.
171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham. 905-305-
7469. $74-$79.
Thursday November 5
●●12:00 noon: Adam Sherkin. Chopin & Rachmaninoff:
Darkness Visible. Chopin: Scherzo
No.1 in b, Op.20; Impromptu No.2 in F-sharp,
Op.36; Rachmaninoff: Preludes Op.32, Nos.10-
12; Sherkin: Sunderance (2008). Adam Sherkin,
piano. St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts,
27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. Free. Bluma
Appel Lobby.
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Chamber Music Series: Haydn the Master.
Haydn’s earliest works contrasted with
his final compositions from Opus No.77. COC
Orchestra members. Richard Bradshaw
Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the
Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-
8231. Free.
●●12:00 noon: Encore Symphonic Concert
Band. In Concert: Classics and Jazz. John
Edward Liddle, conductor. Wilmar Heights
Centre, 963 Pharmacy Ave., Scarborough.
416-346-3910. $10. Includes coffee and
snack.
●●12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Thursdays at Noon. MacMillian: The
Country Wife; Lee Lesselman: Make Me a Willow
Cabin; Jon Magnussen: Twinge. Midori
Koga, piano; Lindsay Kesselman, soprano;
Kimberly Cole Luevano, clarinet. Walter
Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208.
Free.
●●12:15: Metropolitan United Church. Noon
at Met. Ashley Tidy, organ. Metropolitan
United Church (Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 416-
363-0331 x26. Free; donations welcome.
●●1:30: York University Department of
Music. Music at Midday: Singing our Songs.
Arias and Lieder. Young artists in the classical
vocal performance studios of Catherine
Robbin, Stephanie Bogle, Norma Burrowes,
Michael Donovan, Janet Obermeyer and
Karen Rymal. Tribute Communities Recital
Hall, Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele
St. 647-459-0701. Free. Also Nov 3 (2:30).
●●2:00: Neuberger Holocaust Education
Week. From Despair to Hope: A Musical Tribute
in Song. Deborah Staiman, vocals; Asher
Farber, piano. Hazelton Place Retirement
Residence, 111Avenue Rd. 416-928-0111. Free.
Education Week runs Nov 2-9.
●●7:30: Canadian Opera Company. Pyramus
and Thisbe. New Canadian opera and two
early Baroque classics. Monk Feldman: Pyramus
and Thisbe (world premiere); Monteverdi:
Lamento d’Arianna; Il combattimento di
Tancredi e Clorinda. Krisztina Szabó, mezzo
(Thisbe, Arianna, Clorinda); Phillip Addis,
baritone (Pyramus, Tancredi); Owen McCausland,
tenor (Testo); Johannes Debus, conductor;
Christopher Alden, director. Four
Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts,
145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231. $50–$435;
$22(under 30). Also Nov 7; start times vary.
●●7:30: Opera York. Tosca. Puccini. Romulo
Delgado (Cavaradossi); Rachel Cleland
(Tosca); Nicolae Raiciu (Scarpia); Sabatino
Vacca, artistic director; Giuseppe Macina,
stage director. Richmond Hill Centre for
the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond
Hill. 905-787-8811. $40-$50; $25(st).
Also Nov 7.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Fall Major Opera Production: The
Medium/The Telephone (Gian Carlo Menotti).
Sandra Horst, conductor, Patrick Du Wors,
designer; Lisa Magill, costumes; Michael
Patrick Albano (The Telephone) and Anna
Theodosakis (The Medium), directors. Mac-
Millan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $40,
$25(sr); $10(st). Opera Talk 30 minutes
before each performance in Room 130. Also
Nov 6, 7 (7:30); Nov 8 (2:30).
●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Wind Symphony and
York University Symphony Orchestra Preview
Concert. Mark Chambers and William
Thomas, conductors. Tribute Communities
Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, YU,
4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888. $5.
●●8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. The Irish
Rovers: 50th Anniversary Tour. 171 Town Centre
Blvd., Markham. 905-305-7469. $59-$64.
●●8:00: Gallery 345. Musikk for Hardanger
and Strings. Rebekka Wolkstein, Sarah Fraser
Raff, Brandon Chui, Wendy Solomon, Alex
Samaras and GREX (chorus). 345 Sorauren
Ave. 416-822-9781. $25; $15(st).
●●8:00: Music Toronto. Cecilia Quartet.
Haydn: String Quartet in B-flat, Op.50,
No.6: Nicole Lizée: New Commission (world
premiere); Mendelssohn: String Quartet
Op.44, No.2. Min-Jeong Koh, violin; Sarah
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 35

Nematallah, violin; Caitlin Boyle, viola; Rachel
Desoer, cello. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence
Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-
366-7723. $55, $50; $10(st); age 18 to 35: pay
your age.
●●8:00: Neuberger Holocaust Education
Week/Ashkenaz Foundation. Maramaros:
The Lost Jewish Music of Transylvania. Muzsikás.
George Weston Recital Hall, 5040 Yonge
St. 416-979-9901. $36; $30(sr/st).
BAROQUE
MASTERS
A. Concerts in the GTA
Nov 5-8
416.964.6337
tafelmusik.org
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Baroque Masters. Corelli:
Concerto Grosso; Fasch: Orchestral Suite
in d; Bach: Concerto for violin in a, BWV1041;
Locatelli: Concerto “Il Pianto d’Arianna”; Vivaldi:
Concerto for two violins and two oboes
in F. Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; Elisa Citterio,
guest director and violin. Trinity-St.
Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337.
$91; $82(sr); $81(under 18). Also Nov 6, 7,
8(3:30). Post-performance talk on Nov 5.
Friday November 6
●●12:10: Music at St Andrew’s. Noontime
Recital. Su Jeon Higuera, piano. St. Andrew’s
Church, 73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x231.
Free.
●●1:10: Gordon Murray Presents. Piano Potpourri.
Works from classics, opera, operetta,
musicals, ragtime, pop, international and
other genres. Gordon Murray, piano. Trinity-
St. Paul’s United Church (Chapel), 427 Bloor
St. W. 416-631-4300. PWYC. Lunch and snack
friendly.
●●1:30: Oakville Opera Guild. Opera Duets.
Shauna Yarnell, mezzo; Janaka Welihinda,
baritone; and Natasha Fransblow, piano.
Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural
Centre, 2302 Bridge Rd, Oakville. 905-
815-5979. $15; advance purchase required.
●●7:00: St. George Music Knights. Kings
of Gypsy Swing. A Django Reinhardt/Stephane
Grappelli Tribute Concert. Roberto
Rosenman, guitar; Aline Homzy, violin. St.
George Anglican Church, 5350 Yonge St.
Poculi Ludique Societas
The Mary Play
From the Medieval
N-Town Manuscript
Friday, November 6
Saturday, November 7
7:30 pm
Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields
365 College Street
Tickets $20 / $15 sen / $10 st
416-978-8849 uofttix.com
416-225-1922. $15/$10(adv); $10 (sr/st).
●●7:00: University of Toronto Scarborough.
Madawaska Ensemble. Guests: Anna
Redekop, Sarah Fraser Raff, Anita Walsh, and
Amber Ghent. Arts and Administration Building,
University of Scarborough, 1265 Military
Trail, Scarborough. 416- 208-4769. Free. Limited
seating. Please RSVP.
●●7:30: Canadian Opera Company. La Traviata.
See Nov 1(2:00).
●●7:30: Music at Metropolitan/Toronto Centre,
Royal Canadian College of Organists.
In Recital: Stefan Engels, organ. Works by
Alain, Bach, Reger, Mendelssohn and Karg-
Elert. Metropolitan United Church (Toronto),
56 Queen St. E. 416-363-0331 x26. $20;
$10(18 and under). Nov 7: Masterclass (see
under ETCeteras).
●●7:30: Poculi Ludique Societas/St. Thomas’s
Anglican Church. The Mary Play From
the Medieval N-Town Manuscript. Directed
by Kimberley Radmacher. St. Stephen-in-the-
Fields Anglican Church, 103 Bellevue Ave. 416-
978-8849. $20; $15(sr); $10(st). Also Nov 7.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Fall Major Opera Production: The
Medium/The Telephone (Gian Carlo Menotti).
Sandra Horst, conductor, Patrick Du Wors,
designer; Lisa Magill, costumes; Michael
Patrick Albano (The Telephone) and Anna
Theodosakis (The Medium), directors. Mac-
Millan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $40,
$25(sr); $10(st). Opera Talk 30 minutes
before each performance in Room 130. Also
Nov 5, 7 (7:30); Nov 8 (2:30).
●●8:00: group of 27. All the King’s Love. Purcell:
Chaconne from King Arthur; John Burge:
Loved and Were Loved; Beethoven: Symphony
No.4; Glazunov: Theme and Variations. Eric
Paetkau, conductor. Centre for Social Innovation,
720 Bathurst St. 416-323-1292. $30,
$25, $10.
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Music Mix Series:
David Sanborn. Jazz. Koerner Hall, Telus
Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $45
and up.
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Baroque Masters. Corelli:
Concerto Grosso; Fasch: Orchestral Suite
in d; Bach: Concerto for violin in a, BWV1041;
Locatelli: Concerto “Il Pianto d’Arianna”; Vivaldi:
Concerto for two violins and two oboes
in F. Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; Elisa Citterio,
guest director and violin. Trinity-St.
Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337.
$91; $82(sr); $81(under 18). Also Nov 5, 7,
8(3:30).
●●9:00: Hart House Music Committee. Jazz
Night: 11 O’Clock Jazz Orchestra. Jim Lewis,
conductor. Arbor Room, 7 Hart House Circle.
416-978-2452. Free.
Saturday November 7
●●2:00: Kira Braun Presents. Recital & CD
Launch. Schubert: The Shepherd on the Rock;
works by Fauré, Rachmaninoff and Chopin.
Kira Braun; soprano; Peter Krochak,
piano; Carlos Melendez, clarinet. Little Trinity
Anglican Church, 425 King St. E. 416-786-
3109. $25.
●●2:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Big
Bold Brass! Wagner: The Ride of the Valkyries;
Williams: Superman March. Øystein
Baadsvik, tuba; Sameer Patel, conductor. Roy
Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-593-4828.
$20.50 to $32.75. Also 4:00.
●●3:00: Peter Margolian and Friends. In Concert.
Pijper: Sonata for flute and piano; Gàl:
36 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Sonata for violin and piano; Finney: Divertimento
for oboe, piano and percussion.
Isobel Buda, flute; Hazel Boyle, oboe; Peter
Margolian, piano; Mike Murphy, percussion;
Steve Prime, violin. Array Space, 155 Walnut
Ave. 647-980-5475. Free.
●●3:00: The Neapolitan Connection - Musical
Matinées at Montgomery’s Inn. New World
Piano Trio. Montgomery’s Inn, 4709 Dundas
St. W. 647-262-4316. $37.99/$15.00. Tea, historical
tour (2:15), cookies included.
●●3:30: Harbourfront Centre. Day of the
Dead: Mariachi Los Gallos. Brigantine Room,
Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W.
416-973- 4000. Free. Also on Nov 8.
●●4:00: Church of the Ascension. All Souls’
Service. Fauré: Requiem. Melanie Conly, soprano;
Stephen King, baritone; Christopher
Dawes, organ. 33 Overland Dr. 416-444-8881.
Freewill offering. Reception following.
●●4:00: Toronto Children’s Chorus. Spectral
Contrasts. I Te Timatanga (Maori action
song), Inuit dancing, drumming and throat
singing; other works. Guest: James Westman,
baritone; Elise Bradley, conductor. Calvin
Presbyterian Church, 26 Delisle Ave. 416-
932-8666 x231. $35; $30(sr/st); $20(child).
Annual tour fundraising concert.
●●4:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Big
Bold Brass! Wagner: The Ride of the Valkyries;
Williams: Superman March. Øystein
Baadsvik, tuba; Sameer Patel, conductor. Roy
Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-593-4828.
$20.50 to $32.75. Also 2:00.
●●4:30: Canadian Opera Company. Pyramus
and Thisbe. See Nov 5. Also 8:00.
●●6:00: Church on the Queensway. An Evening
with the Gaither Vocal Band. Guests:
Charlotte Richie, vocalist; Gene McDonald;
vocalist; Kevin Williams, guitar. 1536 The
Queensway, Etobicoke. 877-700-3130.
$45/$40(adv); $30(sr/child).
●●6:00: Gallery 345. Jazz at Gallery 345.
Workshop & performance. Larnell Lewis,
drums; Robi Botos, piano; Mike Downes, bass.
345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $20; $15(st).
6:00-6:45 composition/rhythm section workshop;
7:00 performance.
●●7:30: Canadian Art Song Project. The Living
Spectacle. Erik Ross: The Living Spectacle;
Brian Harman: Sewing the Earthworm;
R. Strauss: Ophelia Lieder; Libby Larsen: Try
Me, Good King. Ambur Braid, soprano; Carla
Huhtanen, soprano; Steven Philcox, piano;
Jennifer Nichols, dancer. Extension Room,
30 Eastern Ave. 647-352-7041. $45; $40(adv).
Phone number is for venue only. Tickets at
canadianartssongproject.ca.
●●7:30: Music On The Donway. Lost Pilgrim
Group. Donway Covenant United Church,
230 The Donway W. 416-444-8444. $20;
free(st/child).
●●7:30: Neuberger Holocaust Education
Week. From Budapest to Toronto: A Personal
Journey in Music and Words. Moshe Hammer
and the Hammer Band. Grace Church on-the-
Hill, 300 Lonsdale Rd. 416-488-7884. Free.
Education Week runs Nov 2-9.
●●7:30: Opera by Request. The Impresario/
Bastien and Bastienne. Mozart. Stephanie
Ferracane, soprano (Mrs. Heartfelt/Bastien);
Michelle Danese, soprano (Miss Silvertone/Bastienne);
Larry Tozer, bass-baritone
(Mr. Buskin/Colas); William Shookhoff, piano/
conductor. College Street United Church,
452 College St. 416-455-2365. $20.
Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation
& Yorkminster Park Baptist Church
Present
Special Guest
Annalee Patipatanakoon
Saturday
November 7th, 2015
7:30 pm
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church
1585 Yonge Street at Heath Street
Admission Free
Donations Welcome
●●7:30: Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation/
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. A Concert
of Remembrance. Yorkminster Park
Baptist Choir; Hedgerow Singers; Annalee
Patipatanakoon, violin; Rob Crabtree, piper;
Colleen Burns, narrator; Elizabeth Anderson,
organ; Lark Popov, piano; Eric N. Robertson,
conductor. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church,
1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Admission free.
Donations welcome.
●●7:30: Opera York. Tosca. Puccini. Romulo
Delgado (Cavaradossi); Rachel Cleland
(Tosca); Nicolae Raiciu (Scarpia); Sabatino
Vacca, artistic director; Giuseppe Macina,
stage director. Richmond Hill Centre for
the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond
Hill. 905-787-8811. $40-$50; $25(st).
Also Nov 5.
●●7:30: Poculi Ludique Societas/St. Thomas’s
Anglican Church. The Mary Play From
the Medieval N-Town Manuscript. Directed
by Kimberley Radmacher. St. Stephen-in-the-
Fields Anglican Church, 103 Bellevue Ave. 416-
978-8849. $20; $15(sr); $10(st). Also Nov 6.
●●7:30: Small World Music. Anton Apostolov
with Green Sky Project. Anton Apostolov; guitar;
Jacek Karlowski, tamboura and guitar;
Nikola Gaidarov, kaval; Max Senitt, percussion;
and others. Small World Music Centre,
Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw St. 416-551-
3544. $25.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Fall Major Opera Production: The
Medium/The Telephone (Gian Carlo Menotti).
Sandra Horst, conductor, Patrick Du Wors,
designer; Lisa Magill, costumes; Michael
Patrick Albano (The Telephone) and Anna
Theodosakis (The Medium), directors. Mac-
Millan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $40,
$25(sr); $10(st). Opera Talk 30 minutes
before each performance in Room 130. Also
Nov 5, 6 (7:30); Nov 8 (2:30).
●●8:00: Aga Khan Museum. Monsoon-Music.
Indian classical traditions combined with
jazz. Jonathan Kay, saxophones, bansuri;
Andrew Kay, saxophones, eastern reed
instruments, percussion; Justin Gray, fretless
bass, electric bass, percussion. Aga Khan
Museum Auditorium, 77 Wynford Dr. 416-646-
4677. $25.
●●8:00: Canadian Opera Company. Pyramus
and Thisbe. See Nov 5.
●●8:00: G Group. Pattern / Anti-pattern.
Improvised electronic music performed
with custom-built software and hardware.
T.A. Gambarotto: Pattern / Anti-pattern. T.A.
Gambarotto, Matthew Leblanc, Robertson
Holt, Len Goins and Savino Mazzuocco. Array
Space, 155 Walnut Ave. 416-703-9536. $10.
●●8:00: Neuberger Holocaust Education
Week. The Lost Rhapsody of Leo Spellman.
Paul Hoffert of Lighthouse. Temple Har-Zion,
7360 Bayview Ave., Thornhill. 905-889-2252.
Free. Education Week runs Nov 2-9.
●●8:00: North York Concert Orchestra. Invitation
to the Dance. Works by Borodin, Copland,
Dvořák, Fauré, Tchaikovsky, and others.
Rafael Luz, conductor. Yorkminster Citadel,
1 Lord Seaton Rd., North York. 416-628-9195.
$25; $20(sr); $10(st).
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Baroque Masters. Corelli:
Concerto Grosso; Fasch: Orchestral Suite
in d; Bach: Concerto for violin in a, BWV1041;
Locatelli: Concerto “Il Pianto d’Arianna”; Vivaldi:
Concerto for two violins and two oboes
in F. Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; Elisa Citterio,
guest director and violin. Trinity-St.
Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337.
$91; $82(sr); $81(under 18). Also Nov 5, 6,
8(3:30).
Sunday November 8
●●1:30: Kingston Road United Church.
Bohemians in Brooklyn. Works by Britten,
McPhee, Weill and Bernstein; and original
songs by members of the cast. Tom
Allen, narration/trombone/vocals; Lori Gemmell,
harp/guitar/vocals; Bryce Kulak, piano/
vocals; Patricia O’Callaghan, vocals/percussion.
975 Kingston Rd. 416-699-6091. $20;
$10(st); free(under12). In conjunction with
the Toronto Public Library’s “Beaches Reads”
series.
●●2:00: Royal Conservatory. Mazzoleni Masters.
Susan Hoeppner, flute; Sarah Jeffrey,
oboe. Mazzoleni Concert Hall, Royal Conservatory,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $25.
●●2:00: Trio Bravo. In Concert. Beethoven:
Septet; Lane: Trio No.1; and other works.
Terry Storr, clarinet; Baird Knechtel, viola;
John Selleck, piano. All Saints Kingsway
Anglican Church, 2850 Bloor St. W. 416-242-
2131. $20; $15(sr/st).
●●2:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Fall Major Opera Production: The
Medium/The Telephone (Gian Carlo Menotti).
Sandra Horst, conductor, Patrick Du Wors,
designer; Lisa Magill, costumes; Michael
Patrick Albano (The Telephone) and Anna
Theodosakis (The Medium), directors. Mac-
Millan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $40,
$25(sr); $10(st). Opera Talk half an hour prior
to each performance in Room 130. Also Nov 5,
6, 7 (7:30).
●●3:00: Beth Anne Cole/Musideum. Love
a Gershwin Tune. Fasctinating Rhythm;
Embraceable You; A Foggy Day; I Got Rhythm;
They All Laughed; and others. Beth Anne Cole,
vocals; Richard Whiteman, piano. Musideum,
Suite 133 (main floor), 401 Richmond St. W.
416-599-7323. $20.
●●3:00: Hart House Music Committee. Sunday
Concerts: Joshua Peters, Violin & Katherine
Dowling, Piano. Great Hall, Hart House,
7 Hart House Circle. 416-978-2452. Free.
●●3:30: Harbourfront Centre. Day of the
Dead: Mariachi Los Gallos. Brigantine Room,
Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W.
416-973- 4000. Free. Also on Nov 7.
●●3:30: Tafelmusik. Baroque Masters. Corelli:
Concerto Grosso; Fasch: Orchestral Suite
in d; Bach: Concerto for violin in a, BWV1041;
Locatelli: Concerto “Il Pianto d’Arianna”; Vivaldi:
Concerto for two violins and two oboes
in F. Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; Elisa Citterio,
guest director and violin. Trinity-St.
Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337.
$91; $82(sr); $81(under 18). Also Nov 5, 6, 7.
●●4:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
Twilight Organ Series. David Briggs, organ.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free.
●●4:00: University Settlement Music & Arts
School. Student Scholarship Winners’ Concert.
St. George the Martyr Church, 197 John
St. 416-598-3444 x243. Free. Donations
accepted.
R. MURRAY SCHAFER
LOVING | Sun. Nov 8 | Gallery 345
Special Event | Call 416.961.9594
www.NewMusicConcerts.com
LOVE
a Gershwin tune
Beth Anne Cole
with
Richard Whiteman, piano
Sunday Nov 8, 3pm
Musideum
info@musideum.com
© André Leduc
●●7:00: New Music Concerts. R. Murray
Schafer: Loving/Toi CD Preview and Benefit.
Works by R. Murray Schafer. Brooke Dufton,
Joseph Macerollo, Robert and Dianne
Aitken, Max Christie, David Hetherington
and Gregory Oh, Stuart Laughton and Patricia
Green. Gallery 345, 345 Sorauren Ave.
RSVP: 416-961-9594. $100; 2 for $150. Charitable
receipts issued. Proceeds to support
the Centrediscs re-issue of New Music Concerts’
historic recording of Schafer’s Loving/
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 37

Toi. Door prizes and refreshments. Non-subscription
event.
THAT CHOIR
REMEMBERS
conducted by Craig Pike
November 8, 2015
www.thatchoir.com
●●8:00: That Choir. That Choir Remembers.
Works by Nystedt, Allan, Barber, Lauridsen,
Whitacre and Rachmaninoff. Craig
Pike, conductor. Metropolitan United Church
(Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 416-419-1756. $25;
$15(sr/arts workers); $5(st).
Monday November 9
●●7:30: Trio Arkel. À la Carte. String trios by
Haydn, Beethoven, Oesterle and a surprise
composer. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave.
416-409-6824. $30; $15(st). 6:30: Pre-concert
talk with Marie Bérard.
Tuesday November 10
●●12:10: Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation/
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Lunchtime
Chamber Music: Rising Stars Recital.
Featuring performance students from the
University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. Yorkminster
Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St.
416-241-1298. Free; donations welcome.
●●1:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
A. Concerts in the GTA
Midday Organ Series. David Briggs, organ.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free.
●●8:00: Music Toronto. Peter Jablonski, pianist.
Toronto debut. Szymanowski: Don Juan
Serenade; Chopin: Mazurka, Op.17 No.4;
Szymanowski: Mazurka No.1; Chopin: Polonaise,
Op.26 No.1; Grieg: Ballade in g; and
works by Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Copland/Bernstein.
Jane Mallett Theatre, St.
Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E.
416-366-7723. $55, $50; $10(st); age 18 to 35:
pay your age.
Wednesday November 11
●●12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
Noonhour Recitals. Angus Sinclair, organ;
Paulo Sanvidotti, trumpet. 1585 Yonge St. 416-
922-1167. Free.
●●7:30: Nocturnes in the City. Zemlinsky
String Quartet. Works by Mendelssohn,
Janáček, Suk and Dvořák. St. Wenceslaus
Church, 496 Gladstone Ave. 416-481-7294.
$25; $15(st).
Thursday November 12
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Chamber Music Series: String Trio Gems.
Works by Beethoven, Kodály and Gubaidulina.
Trio Arkel: Marie Bérard, violin; Teng Li, viola;
Winona Zelenka, cello. Richard Bradshaw
Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the
Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-
8231. Free.
●●12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Thursdays at Noon. Works by Saint-
Saëns, Infante and Gershwin. Emily Chiang,
piano; Helen Becqué, piano. Walter
Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492.
Free.
●●12:15: Metropolitan United Church. Noon
at Met. Sarah Svendsen, organ. Metropolitan
United Church (Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 416-
363-0331. Free.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. U of T 12tet. Jim Lewis, trumpet; Terry
Promane, director. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. $20; $10(st).
●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. Faculty Concert Series: New Twists
on the Classics. Christina Petrowska Quilico,
piano. Tribute Communities Recital Hall,
Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St.
416-736-5888. $15; $10(sr/st).
●●8:00: Hart House Orchestra. In Concert.
Hart House, Great Hall, 7 Hart House Circle.
416-978-2452. Free.
●●8:00: Massey Hall presents at the
Harbourfront Centre Theatre. Torn from
the Pages: Nino Ricci. Newly commissioned
songs, stories and poems inspired by “Sleep”.
Dave Bidini, host; Nobu Adilman; Tony Dekker;
Oh Susanna; Corin Raymond; and others.
Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 231 Queens
Quay W. 416-872-4255. $19.50-$29.50.
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Mahler
Symphony 4. R. Strauss: Dance of the
Seven Veils from Salome; Dvořák: Song to the
Moon from Rusalka; Charpentier: “Depuis le
jour” from Louise; Mahler: Symphony No.4.
Simone Osborne, soprano; Michael Sanderling,
conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe
MAHLER
SYMPHONY 4
SIMONE OSBORNE,
SOPRANO
NOV 12 & 14 | TSO.CA
St. 416-598-3375. $33.75-$148. Intermission
Chat in the lobby with Tom Allen. Also
on Nov 14.
Friday November 13
●●12:10: Music at St. Andrew’s. Noontime
Recital. Koichi Inoue, piano. St. Andrew’s
Church, 73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x231.
Free.
●●1:10: Gordon Murray Presents. Piano Potpourri.
Featuring classics, opera, operetta,
musicals, ragtime, pop, international and
other genres. Gordon Murray, piano. Trinity-
St. Paul’s United Church, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-
631-4300. PWYC. Lunch and snack friendly.
●●7:30: Leonard Music Services/Shaw
Percussion. The Cocksure Lads in Concert.
You’re a Cocksure Lad; You’ve Gotta
Stay Cocksure; Wellies in the Bath; In London
Town; Easy Peasy; and other works. Murray
Foster, vocals, bass, guitars; Mike Ford,
vocals, guitars, keyboards; Tim Bovaconti,
lead guitar; Blake Manning, drums and percussion.
Sharon-Hope United Church,
18648 Leslie Street, Sharon. 905-722-5449.
$25; $20(adv).
●●7:30: Royal Conservatory. AIMIA Discovery
Series: GGS Fall Opera. Xavier Montsalvatge:
Puss in Boots; Berio: Folk Songs. Mazzoleni
Concert Hall, Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor
St. W. 416-408-0208. $15. Also Nov 14.
●●7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. What
Makes It Great?® Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto
2. Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.2.
Alexander Seredenko, piano; Rob Kapilow,
conductor & host. Roy Thomson Hall,
60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $34.75-$83.75.
●●8:00: Curtain Call Players. A Christmas
Carol: The Musical. Music by Alan Menken.
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Book by Mike Ockrent
& Lynn Ahrens. Fairview Library Theatre,
35 Fairview Mall Dr. 416-703-6181. $28. Also
Nov 14-15, 18-21. Times vary.
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory/Batuki Music/
Small World Music. Youssou N’Dour & Le
Super Étoile de Dakar. Koerner Hall, Telus
Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $50.
●●8:00: Toronto Consort. Soul of Naples.
Renaissance music featuring comic street
songs, love poetry set to music, tarantellas
and virtuoso fantasias. Vesuvius Ensemble;
Francesco Pellegrino, tenor and director.
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall,
38 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337. $24-$57; $22-
$52(sr); $10(st/30 and under). 7:00: pre-concert
talk. Also Nov 14.
Jonathan
Crow
Philip Chiu
“Movie Magic”
Friday, Nov. 13,
8pm
auroraculturalcentre.ca
905 713-1818
●●8:00: Aurora Cultural Centre. Movie
Magic. Beethoven: Sonata for Piano and Violin
“Spring” Op.24 No.5; Janáček: Sonata for
Violin and Piano; John Williams: Schindler’s
List; John Corigliano: Chaconne for Violin
and Piano (from The Red Violin). Jonathan
Crow, violin; Philip Chiu, piano. 22 Church St.,
Aurora. 905-713-1818. $34; $28(sr/st).
●●9:00: Hart House Music Committee. Jazz
Night: Rita Di Ghent. Arbor Room, 7 Hart
House Circle. 416-978-2452. Free.
Saturday November 14
●●11:00am: Canadian Opera Company. Opera
for Families: Bremen Town Musicians. Opera
by Dean Burry for children ages three to
twelve. Inspired by the Brothers Grimm fairy
tale of a singing band of animals searching
for a better life. COC Ensemble Studio.
Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre,
227 Front St. E. 416-363-8231. $15; $10(under
15). 10:00am: Audience invited to participate
in hands-on activities; opera 45 min. followed
by Q and A.
●●1:30: Canadian Opera Company. Opera for
Families: Operation Superpower. Opera by
Armand Ranjbaran for young people ages
three to twelve. An interactive performance.
COC Ensemble Studio. Joey and Toby Tanenbaum
Opera Centre, 227 Front St. E. 416-363-
8231. $15; $10(under 15). 12:30: Audience
invited to participate in hands-on activities;
opera 45 min. followed by Q and A.
●●7:30: Ottawa Bach Choir. J.S. Bach: Mass
in B minor, BWV 232. Ottawa Bach Choir; York
University Chamber Choir; Ensemble Caprice
Baroque Orchestra and soloists; Daniel Taylor,
countertenor; and others; Lisette Canton,
conductor. Grace Church on-the-Hill,
300 Lonsdale Rd. 416-736-2100 x70191.
$40/$50(reserved); $35(sr); $15(st).
●●7:30: Royal Conservatory. AIMIA Discovery
Series: GGS Fall Opera. Xavier Montsalvatge:
Puss in Boots; Berio: Folk Songs. Mazzoleni
Concert Hall, Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor
St. W. 416-408-0208. $15. Also Nov 13.
●●7:30: The Marion Singers. All For Love.
Songs on the theme of love. 16-voice a
cappella choir. College Street United
Church, 452 College St. 416-766-7265. $20.
Fund-raiser for poverty-stricken families in
Kenya caring for orphans.
●●8:00: Blue Moss Ensemble. With Quatuor
Bozzini: Pine Mushrooms. Oswald: preLieu;
Höstman: Moths drink the tears of sleeping
birds; LeBel: gather; Renaud: Lowlands (palimpsest
I). Clemens Merkel and Alissa Cheung,
violin; Stéphanie Bozzini, viola; Isabelle
Bozzini, cello. The Music Gallery, 197 John St.
416-204-1080. $20/$18(adv); $15(st).
●●8:00: Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra.
In Concert. Rachmaninoff: Piano
Sing
Concerto No.4; Brahms: Symphony No.2.
Arthur Ozolins, piano. P.C. Ho Theatre, Chinese
Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto,
5183 Sheppard Ave. E., Scarborough. 416-
879-5566. Regular: $34; $29(sr/st). Premium:
$54; $44(sr/st). Free(under 12).
●●8:00: Indie88. Reykjavik Calling. Samaris;
Airplane and Spaceship; also a local Toronto
band and DJ. Adelaide Hall, 250 Adelaide St.
W. 647-344-1234. Free. Doors open at 7:00.
First-come, first-served. Must be 19.
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. World Music:
Adjudicated choir performances, clinics,
workshops and massed festival choir for
choirs, choristers and conductors
November 14, 2015
Come as a choir or come solo!
Concert of Choirs, 7:30 pm
Christ Church Deer Park, Calvin Presbyterian Church, Toronto
Information & registration visit www.choirsontario.org
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 39

Sara Tavares & Caminho. Koerner Hall, Telus
Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $35-
$80. Also Nov 13.
●●8:00: Spectrum Music. Tracing One
Warm Line. Ozere; Alex Lukashevsky, singer/
songwriter. Alliance Française de Toronto,
24 Spadina Rd. 416-988-3127. Free. Pre-concert
chat at 7:30.
●●8:00: Toronto Consort. Soul of Naples.
Renaissance music featuring comic street
songs, love poetry set to music, tarantellas
and virtuoso fantasias. Vesuvius Ensemble;
Francesco Pellegrino, tenor and director.
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall,
427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337. $24-$57; $22-
$52(sr); $10(st/30 and under). 7:00: pre-concert
talk. Also Nov 13.
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Mahler
Symphony 4. R. Strauss: Dance of the
Seven Veils from Salome; Dvořák: Song to the
Moon from Rusalka; Charpentier: “Depuis le
jour” from Louise; Mahler: Symphony No.4.
Simone Osborne, soprano; Michael Sanderling,
conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe
St. 416-598-3375. $33.75-$148. Intermission
Chat in the lobby with Tom Allen. Also on
Nov 12. Pre-concert performance by The TSO
Chamber Soloists at 6:45pm (Nov 14 only).
Sunday November 15
●●10:15am: St. John’s United Church. World
Music Sunday: The Music of Bob Dylan. St.
John’s United Church (Toronto), 2 Nobert Rd.
416-491-1224. Free.
●●2:00: Curtain Call Players. A Christmas
Carol: The Musical. Music by Alan Menken.
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Book by Mike Ockrent
& Lynn Ahrens. Fairview Library Theatre,
35 Fairview Mall Dr. 416-703-6181. $28. Also
Nov 13-14,18-21. Times vary.
●●2:00: Jazz at RY. The Gene di Novi Quartet.
Gene di Novi, piano; Mike Murley, saxophones;
Neil Swainson, bass; Andrew Scott, guitar.
Royal York Road United Church, 851 Royal
York Rd. 416-231-9401. $20. Net proceeds to
Refugee Support Fund.
●●2:00: Mozart Project. Salon Concert.
Chansons, Lieder, and Arias. Non temer,
amato bene K490; L’amerò, sarò costante;
Violin Sonata No.32 in B-flat, K454. Nathalie
Paulin, soprano; Helen Becqué, piano; Leslie
Dawn Knowles, violin. Arts and Letters Club,
14 Elm St. 416-597-0223. $40(table); $20(theatre);
students half-price.
●●3:00: Flute Flight Community Flute Choir.
A Whole Lot of Treble! Works for flute ensemble
from trios to full flute choir. Cosmopolitan
A. Concerts in the GTA
Hall, Cosmo Music, 10 Via Renzo Drive, Richmond
Hill. 416-908-9924. $20; $15(sr);
$5(under 12).
photo: Melissa Sung
Русские идут!
(The Russians Are Coming!)
Alabiev, Glinka, Beethoven
Sunday November 15
●●3:00: Windermere String Quartet. The
Russians Are Coming! Performances on period
instruments. Alexander Alabiev: Variations
on a Russian Folk Song; Glinka: Quartet
in F; Beethoven: Quartet in e Op.59 No.2
“Razumovsky”. St. Olave’s Anglican Church,
360 Windermere Ave. 416-769-0952. $25;
$20(sr); $10(st).
●●4:00: Cathedral Church of St. James. Twilight
Organ Series. Thomas Fitches, organ.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free.
●●4:00: Toronto Mandolin Orchestra. In Concert.
Folk songs of Azerbaijan and Iran; classical
music from the Caucasus, Ukraine,
Russia; other works. Toronto Mandolin
Orchestra; Hassan Anami, tenor; Narmina
Afandiyeva, piano; Ira Erokhina, domra; Alexander
Veprinskiy, artistic director & conductor.
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St.
W. 416-533-2725. $35; $30(sr); $20(st).
●●4:30: Christ Church Deer Park. Jazz Vespers.
Bill McBirnie, flute; Bernie Senensky,
piano. 1570 Yonge St. 416-920-5211. Free.
●●5:00: Neuberger Holocaust Education
Week. Concert in Honour of Illuminations:
The Art of Samuel Bak. Atis Bankas, violin;
Constanze Beckman, piano. Beth Torah Congregation,
47 Glenbrook Ave. 416-901-3831.
Free. Also Oct 27.
Play
Sunday
November 15
2015
8:00pm Concert
Koerner Hall
ESPRIT ORCHESTRA
Alex Pauk
Music Director & Conductor
espritorchestra.com
●●8:00: Esprit Orchestra. PLAY. Norman:
Play (Canadian premiere) Rea: Zefiro torna;
Adès: Tevot (Canadian premiere). Alex
Pauk, conductor. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $20 and up.
7:15: Pre-concert chat with Alexina Louie.
Monday November 16
●●8:00: Metropolitan United Church. Elizabeth
Krehm Memorial Concert. Mahler:
Symphony No.2 “Resurrection”. Michèle
Bogdanowicz, mezzo; Rachel Krehm, soprano;
Canzona Chamber Players Orchestra;
Pax Christi Chorale; Evan Mitchell, conductor.
Metropolitan United Church (Toronto),
56 Queen St. E. 647-248-4048. $20 suggested
donation. Benefit concert for St. Michael’s
Hospital ICU.
Tuesday November 17
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Chamber Music Series: Intimate Harmonies.
Young artists from The Glenn Gould
School. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre,
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts,
145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231. Free.
●●12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Tuesday Performance Class for Singers.
Fourth-year students. Walter Hall,
Edward Johnson Building, University of
Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492.
Free.
●●1:00: Cathedral Church of St. James. Midday
Organ Series. Sarah Svendsen, organ.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free.
●●7:30: Jubilee UC 2015-2016 Season. Dance
of the Blessed Spirits. Daniel Rubinoff, saxophones;
Chris Dawes, organ. Jubilee United
Church, 40 Underhill Dr. 416-447-6846. $10;
free(youth/child).
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Pedram Khavarzamini, World Music
Artist in Residence. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. Free.
●●8:00: Koerner Hall. Schulich School of
Music at McGill University presents McGill
Symphony Orchestra. John Rea: Over Time;
Brahms: Double Concerto in a, Op.102;
Shostakovich: Symphony No.5 Op.47. McGill
Symphony Orchestra; Axel Strauss, violin;
Matt Haimovitz, cello; Alexis Hauser, conductor;
Julie Nesrallah, host. Koerner Hall,
Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208.
$25; $15(sr/st).
●●8:00: Soundstreams/Canadian Stage.
Julie. North American premiere of the chamber-opera
adaptation of Strindberg’s 1888
play. Music by Boesmans; libretto by Bondy
and Bischofberger. Sharleen Joynt, soprano;
Lucia Cervoni, mezzo; Clarence Frazer, baritone;
chamber orchestra; Les Dala, music
director; Matthew Jocelyn, stage director.
Bluma Appel Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre
for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-368-3110. $24-
$99. Also Nov 19, 20, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29; start
times vary.
Wednesday November 18
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Jazz Series: Contempo. Contemporary jazz.
Humber Contemporary Jazz Ensemble; Kirk
MacDonald, saxophone and director. Richard
Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre
for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W.
416-363-8231. Free.
●●12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
Noonhour Recitals. John Paul Farahat, organ.
1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free.
●●7:00: Monarch’s Pub. Cara Matthew at
Monarchs. Monarchs Pub, 33 Gerrard St. W.
416-585-4352. Free.
●●7:30: Tempus Choral Society. Heroes:
Salute to Service Concert. Tempus salutes
those who serve as police, firefighters, paramedics,
doctors and nurses, armed forces
personnel and veterans. Tempus Choral Society;
Halton Regional Police Chorus; Burlington
Welsh Male Chorus; Craig Kielburger
MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 2
The annual Elizabeth Krehm Memorial Concert presents Mahler’s
Second Symphony as a benefit concert for St. Michael’s Hospital ICU.
Evan Mitchell, conductor
Michèle Bogdanowicz, mezzo-soprano
Rachel Krehm, soprano
Canzona Chamber Players Orchestra
Pax Christi Chorale prepared by
Stephanie Martin
Monday November 16, 2015 8:00 pm
Admission: suggested minimum
donation of $20
Metropolitan United Church
56 Queen St E, Toronto
For more information call 647.248.4048
40 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Secondary School Choir; Interlink Choir; also
students from Emily Carr Public School. Oakville
Conference Centre, 215 Wyecroft Rd.,
Oakville. 905-618-7510. $10. Proceeds to
Oakville Food for Life and Safety Net.
●●7:30: Toronto Shape Note Singing Community.
Toronto Sacred Harp Singing. Selections
from The Sacred Harp, 1991 Denson
Edition. Bloor Street United Church,
300 Bloor St. W. 647-838-8764. PWYC.
●●8:00: Curtain Call Players. A Christmas
Carol: The Musical. Music by Alan Menken.
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Book by Mike Ockrent
& Lynn Ahrens. Fairview Library Theatre,
35 Fairview Mall Dr. 416-703-6181. $28. Also
Nov 13-15,19-21. Times vary.
●●8:00: The Oratory. Oratorium Saeculare:
All Souls. Lassus: Requiem for 5 voices; Music
from the Office of the Dead; Victoria: Salve
Regina; Bach: Fantasy & Fugue in g. The Oratory,
Holy Family Church, 1372 King St. W. 416-
532-2879. Free. Donations accepted. Includes
a talk by one of the Fathers of the Oratory.
Women’s Musical Club of Toronto
Music in the Afternoon
ISABEL LEONARD,
mezzo-soprano
VLAD IFTINCA, piano
Thursday
November 19, 1.30 p.m.
Tickets $45
416-923-7052
www.wmct.on.ca
NOVEMBER 19-21 | $25/$35
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-923-7052.
$45. 12:15: Lecture by Iain Scott “Tuning your
Mind”.
●●7:30: TOLOrk. Hello World. Jascha Narveson:
Lament for Solo Computer; Simms:
PHASE:LUM (for percussion and light-sensitive
mini-synth); Walker/Taylor: little urban
green; Palumbo: Music for nn Email Machines;
and other works. Toronto Laptop Orchestra;
Maeve Palmer, Loren Graziano and Rebecca
Genge, sopranos; Myriam Blardone, harp;
Andy Macneilly, percussion. Array Space,
155 Walnut Ave. 416-532-3019. $15.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. gamUT Contemporary Music Ensemble.
Wallace Halladay, director. Walter Hall,
Edward Johnson Building, University of
Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492.
Free.
●●8:00: Curtain Call Players. A Christmas
Carol: The Musical. Music by Alan Menken.
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Book by Mike Ockrent
FEATURING MEMBERS
OF F**KED UP
WITH KRISZTINA SZABÓ
AND DAVID POMEROY
TAPESTRYOPERA.COM
(416) 537-6066
Nov 17, Dec 3
7:30 pm
Pedram Khavarzamini
Tombak master and distinguished
visitor plays with friends & students.
Nov 21
7:30 pm
U of T Symphony Orchestra
Doctorate student conductors
Chad Heltzel, Francois Koh and
Samuel Tam lead the student
orchestra in pieces by Beethoven,
Strauss, Ravel and Gershwin.
Nov 26
12 pm
ARABIAN
NIGHTS
JONATHAN CROW,
VIOLIN
NOV 18 & 19 | TSO.CA
Erika Raum & Scott St. John
The violinists play Omar Daniel’s
Gioco Della Copie and Eugène
Ysaÿe’s Sonata for Two Violins.
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Arabian
Nights. Estacio: Wondrous Light; Weber:
Clarinet Concerto No.1; Rimsky-Korsakov:
Scheherazade. Joaquin Valdepeñas, clarinet;
Jonathan Crow, violin; Peter Oundjian, conductor.
Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-
598-3375. $33.75–$148. Also on Nov 19.
●●8:30: Nomadica. CD launch: Dance of the
Infidels. David Buchbinder, trumpet and composer;
Roula Said, vocals, instrumentals, dancer;
and others. Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas
St. W. 416-588-0307. $15; $12(adv). General
admission. Dinner reservations guarantee
seating.
Thursday November 19
●●12:15: Metropolitan United Church. Noon
at Met. Peter Nikiforuk, organ. Metropolitan
United Church (Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 416-
363-0331. Free.
●●1:30: Women’s Musical Club of Toronto.
Music in the Afternoon. Works by Montsalvatge,
de Falla, Ives, Higdon and others. Isabel
Leonard, mezzo; Vlad Iftinca, piano. Walter
Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
Dec 1
2 pm
Sondra Radvanovsky
The globally celebrated soprano
visits for the Riki Turofsky Master
Class in Voice.
Dec 2
7:30 pm
11 O’Clock Jazz Orchestra
& Vocal Jazz Ensemble
Conducted by Jim Lewis and
Christine Duncan.
music.utoronto.ca
416-408-0208
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 41

& Lynn Ahrens. Fairview Library Theatre,
35 Fairview Mall Dr. 416-703-6181. $28. Also
Nov 13-15,18,20-21. Times vary.
●●8:00: Sinha Danse and Constantinople.
Sunya: A Dance and Music Spectacular.
Roger Sinha, choreographer and artistic direction;
Kiya Tabassian, musical conception
and artistic direction; Jo Leslie, artistic direction;
Thomas Casey, Tanya Crowder, Marie-
Ève Lafontaine, François Richard and Roger
Sinha, dancers; Kiya Tabassian, sétar, voice;
Patrick Graham, percussion; Pierre-Yves
Martel, viola da gamba. Fleck Dance Theatre,
Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W.
416-973-4000. $35. Also Nov 20 and 21. Postperformance
Q and A.
●●8:00: Soundstreams/Canadian Stage.
Julie. See Nov 17; Also Nov 20, 22, 25, 26, 28,
29; start times vary.
●●8:00: Tapestry Opera. Tap:Ex Metallurgy.
Music by Ivan Barbotin. Libretto by David
James Brock. Directed by Michael Hidetoshi
Mori. Krisztina Szabó, mezzo; David Pomeroy,
tenor; Jordan de Souza, keyboards; Mike
Haliechuk, Jonah Falco, and Josh Zucker.
Ernest Balmer Studio (315), Distillery District,
9 Trinity St. 416-537-6066. $35; $25(st/
artists/arts workers). Also Nov 20, 21(7:00
and 10:00).
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Arabian
Nights. Estacio: Wondrous Light; Weber:
Clarinet Concerto No.1; Rimsky-Korsakov:
Scheherazade. Joaquin Valdepeñas, clarinet;
Jonathan Crow, violin; Peter Oundjian, conductor.
Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-
598-3375. $33.75–$148. Also on Nov 18.
Friday November 20
●●12:10: Music at St. Andrew’s. Noontime
Recital. Ian Grundy, organ. St. Andrew’s
Church, 73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x231.
Free.
●●1:10: Gordon Murray Presents. Piano Potpourri.
Featuring classics, opera, operetta,
musicals, ragtime, pop, international and
other genres. Gordon Murray, piano. Trinity-
St. Paul’s United Church, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-
631-4300. PWYC. Lunch and snack friendly.
●●7:00: Soundstreams/Canadian Stage.
Julie. See Nov 17; Also Nov 22, 25, 26, 28, 29;
start times vary. Pre-show chat.
●●7:30: Danceweavers. Toussaint: Traditions
of the Dark Months. Storytelling and music
A. Concerts in the GTA
from the Celtic tradition of Breton folklore.
Emilyn Stam, fiddle; Tangi Ropars, accordion;
Bruce Carmody, storyteller. Montgomery’s
Inn, 4709 Dundas St. W. 416-394-8113. $20;
$15(sr/st/youth). Meal tickets sold separately.
Breton meal 6:30-7:30. Doors open at 6:00.
Not suitable for children under 12.
●●7:30: Heliconian Club. We Make the Air.
Classical compositions with jazz and Latin
influences by Kye Marshall; Endangered Species
(world premiere). Harp Duo Novus;
Heliconian String Quartet; Maria Soulis, contralto;
Alison Arends, soprano; Rita Greer,
clarinet; Velma Ko, violin; Ruth Kazdan, piano;
Louise Morley; piano; Dorothy Deval, piano.
Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 416-922-
3618. $25; free(child).
●●7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
James Bond: The Music. Ron Bohmer, vocalist;
Capathia Jenkins, vocalist; John Morris
Russell, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall,
60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $33.75–$112.25.
Also on Nov 21.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Wind Symphony. Boerma: Cityscapes;
Woolfenden: Illyrian Dances; Demeij: Big
Apple (Mvmt. 2); Nelson: Rocky Point Holiday;
Waignen: Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone. Russell
Lu, saxophone; Tony Gomes, conductor.
MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. $30,
$20(sr); $10(st).
Paul
Neufeld
Jazz Quartet
Friday, Nov. 20,
8pm
auroraculturalcentre.ca
905 713-1818
●●8:00: Aurora Cultural Centre. Paul
Neufeld Jazz Quartet. Paul Neufeld, piano;
Sean O’Connor, saxophones and clarinets;
Rob Clutton, double bass; Lowell Whitty,
drums. 22 Church St., Aurora. 905-713-1818.
$22/$18(adv).
●●8:00: Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
The Irish Rovers: 50th Anniversary Tour.
440 Locust St., Burlington. 905-681-6000.
$59; $55(sr/st/youth/child).
●●8:00: Curtain Call Players. A Christmas
Carol: The Musical. Music by Alan Menken.
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Book by Mike Ockrent
& Lynn Ahrens. Fairview Library Theatre,
35 Fairview Mall Dr. 416-703-6181. $28. Also
Nov 13-15,18-19,21. Times vary.
●●8:00: Masterworks of Oakville Chorus &
Orchestra. G.F. Handel’s Messiah. Guests:
Allison McAuley, soprano; Courtney V. Murias,
mezzo; Michael P. Taylor, tenor; James
Baldwin, bass. St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic
Church, 47 Reynolds St., Oakville. 905-844-
3303. $30; $25(sr); $10(st); free(child). Also
Nov 21 and 22.
●●8:00: Sinha Danse and Constantinople.
Sunya: A Dance and Music Spectacular.
Roger Sinha, choreographer and artistic direction;
Kiya Tabassian, musical conception
and artistic direction; Jo Leslie, artistic direction;
Thomas Casey, Tanya Crowder, Marie-
Ève Lafontaine, François Richard and Roger
Sinha, dancers; Kiya Tabassian, sétar, voice;
Patrick Graham, percussion; Pierre-Yves
Martel, viola da gamba. Fleck Dance Theatre,
Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W.
416-973-4000. $35. Also Nov 19 and 21. Postperformance
Q and A.
●●8:00: Tapestry Opera. Tap:Ex Metallurgy.
Music by Ivan Barbotin. Libretto by David
James Brock. Directed by Michael Hidetoshi
Mori. Krisztina Szabó, mezzo; David Pomeroy,
tenor; Jordan de Souza, keyboards; Mike
Haliechuk, Jonah Falco, and Josh Zucker.
Ernest Balmer Studio (315), Distillery District,
9 Trinity St. 416-537-6066. PWYC. Also Nov 19,
21(7:00 and 10:00).
●●8:00: Victoria College Choir. In Concert.
Rutter: The Sprig of Thyme; works by Gibbons,
Di Lasso and Henry VIII. Taylor Sullivan,
director. Victoria College Chapel, 91 Charles
St. W. 416-585-4521. Free.
●●9:00: Hart House Music Committee. Jazz
Night: UTJO. Big band jazz standards and
contemporary works. Gordon Foote, conductor.
Arbor Room, 7 Hart House Circle. 416-
978-2452. Free.
Saturday November 21
●●2:00: Curtain Call Players. A Christmas
Carol: The Musical. Music by Alan Menken.
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Book by Mike Ockrent
& Lynn Ahrens. Fairview Library Theatre,
35 Fairview Mall Dr. 416-703-6181. $28. Also
Nov 13-15,18-20. Times vary.
●●4:30: Bach on the Beach. Elizabeth Anderson
& Patrick Dewell, Organ. Beach United
Church, 140 Wineva Ave. 416-691-8082.
Free will offering. Informal reception before
concert.
●●4:30: Royal Conservatory. Taylor Academy
Showcase Concert. Phil & Eli Taylor Performance
Academy for Young Artists. Mazzoleni
Concert Hall, Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor
St. W. 416-408-0208. SOLD OUT.
●●7:00: Ladom Ensemble. In Concert. Small
World Music Centre, Artscape Youngplace,
180 Shaw St. 416-536-5439. $20.
●●7:00: Tapestry Opera. Tap:Ex Metallurgy.
Music by Ivan Barbotin. Libretto by David
James Brock. Directed by Michael Hidetoshi
Mori. Krisztina Szabó, mezzo; David Pomeroy,
tenor; Jordan de Souza, keyboards; Mike
Haliechuk, Jonah Falco, and Josh Zucker.
Ernest Balmer Studio (315), Distillery District,
9 Trinity St. 416-537-6066. $35; $25(st/artists/arts
workers). Also Nov 19, 20, 21(10:00).
●●7:00: York University Department of
Music. York University Concert and Chamber
Choirs. Lisette Canton, director. Tribute
Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East
Building, YU, 4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888.
$15; $10(sr/st).
●●7:30: Concerts at Scarborough Bluffs. The
Downtown Jazz Band. Scarborough Bluffs
United Church, 3739 Kingston Rd., Scarborough.
416-267-8265. $15.
●●7:30: Kira Braun Presents. Baroque Tales.
Works by Bach, Telemann, Haydn and others.
Kira Braun; soprano; Stephen Bell, tenor;
Michael York, baritone; Elixir Baroque Ensemble.
Little Trinity Anglican Church, 425 King St.
E. 416-786-3109. $25.
●●7:30: Thornhill United Church. November
Delights. Choirs and instrumentalists.
25 Elgin St., Thornhill. 905-889-2131. Freewill
offering. Refreshments to follow.
●●7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
James Bond: The Music. Ron Bohmer, vocalist;
Capathia Jenkins, vocalist; John Morris
Russell, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall,
60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $33.75–$112.25.
Also on Nov 20.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. University of Toronto Symphony
Orchestra. Beethoven: Symphony No.8 in F; J.
Strauss: Blue Danube Waltz; Gershwin: American
in Paris. Chad Heltzel, conductor; François
Koh, conductor; Samuel Tam, conductor.
MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. $20, $10(st).
●●8:00: Academy Concert Series. Dvořák
U of T Symphony Orchestra
Performing works by Beethoven,
Strauss, Ravel and Gershwin.
Saturday, November 21 at 7:30 pm
MacMillan Theatre, 80 Queen’s Park
For tickets, call 416-408-0208
or visit music.utoronto.ca
Friday, Nov 20/8 pm Saturday, Nov 21/8 pm
Sunday, Nov 22/3 pm
G.F. Handel’s
Messiah
Allison McAuley, soprano;
Courtney V. Murias, mezzo-soprano,
Michael P. Taylor, tenor; James Baldwin, bass
St. Andrew’s Catholic Church
47 Reynolds St, Oakville
Adults $30, Seniors $25, Student $10, Child 10 and under FREE
www.masterworksofoakville.ca
BAROQUE
TALES
Saturday,
November 21st,
7:30pm
Little Trinity Anglican Church
416-786-3109
42 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Discovers America. Von Kunits: String Quartet;
Dvořák: String Quartet in F Op.96 “American”;
String Quintet in E-flat Op.97. Scott St.
John and Elizabeth Loewen Andrews, violin;
Emily Eng and Marcin Swoboda, viola;
Kerri McGonigle, cello. Eastminster United
Church, 310 Danforth Ave. 416-629-3716. $20;
$14(sr/st).
●●8:00: Acoustic Harvest. Noah Zacharin.
Opening with Jenie Thai. St. Nicholas Anglican
Church, 1512 Kingston Rd. 416-264-2235.
$25/$22(adv).
●●8:00: Greater Toronto Philharmonic
Orchestra. The Second. Dvořák: Slavonic
Dance No.2; Sibelius: Symphony No.2; Rachmaninoff:
Piano Concerto No.2. Ethan Chen,
piano; Jean-Michel Malouf, conductor. Calvin
Presbyterian Church, 26 Delisle Ave. 647-238-
0015. $17-$27.
●●8:00: Masterworks of Oakville Chorus &
Orchestra. G.F. Handel’s Messiah. Guests:
Allison McAuley, soprano; Courtney V. Murias,
mezzo; Michael P. Taylor, tenor; James
Baldwin, bass. St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic
Church, 47 Reynolds St., Oakville. 905-844-
3303. $30; $25(sr); $10(st); free(child). Also
Nov 20 and 22.
Dvořák Discovers America
November 21, 2015 at 8pm
Featuring:
Scott St. John, violin
●●8:00: Missisauga Symphony Orchestra.
MSO Masterworks: Scenes from London.
Barber: Overture to “The School for Scandal”;
Location:
Eastminster United Church
310 Danforth Ave. (Chester)
Programme:
Kunits - String Quartet (1891)
Dvořák – String Quartet in
F Major, op. 96 “American” (1893)
Dvořák – String Quintet in
E Flat Major, op. 97 (1893)
Concert Series
AcademyConcertSeries.com
Buy online:
Single TickeTS:
$20 / $14 Sen. & Student
3 TiX FleX pAck:
$49 / $32 Sen. & Student
2015-2016 CONCERT SERIES
CLASSICS 101
Denis MastroMonaco
MUsic D irector &
c o n D U c t o r
msoMasterworks
SCENES
from LONDON
sAturdAy nov 21, 2015 8pm
HAmmerson HALL
BArBer
WALton
Overture to
The School for Scandal
Concerto for Viola
vAugHAn Symphony No. 2
WiLLiAms A London Symphony
FeAtured
soLoists
paul Barna
Viola
Living Arts Centre - HAmmerson HALL - mississAugA. tiCkets stArt At $48.
to purCHAse, CALL: 905-306-6000. or visit: mississAugAsympHony.CA
HAYDN’s Symphony
No.88 in G major
BEETHOVEN’s Symphony
No.3 op.55 in E-flat major “Eroica”
Saturday, November 21, 2015
GUEST CONDUCTOR
Juan Manuel Gonzalez
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
at UOIT Regent Theatre (Oshawa)
905.721.3399 ext.2 or OP office 905.579.6711
contact@ontariophil.ca
Saturday, November 21, 2015 | 8:00PM
UOIT Regent Theatre (Oshawa)
www.ontariophil.ca |
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 43

2015 / 2016
Presents
Sunday, November 22, 2015 ~ 3:00 p.m.
Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Road, Toronto
www.orianachoir.com
A Seasonal Celebration
Works by Jenkins, Watson Henderson, Quartel, and Rutter
Tickets available through our website or 416-978-8849 uofttix.ca
Adults: $25 Seniors/Under 35: $20 Students: $10
info@orianachoir.com
German Romantics
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir with
Conductor Noel Edison and Pianist André Laplante
WED, NOV 25, 2015 | 7:30 PM
KOERNER HALL,TELUS CENTRE FOR
PERFORMANCE AND LEARNING
CHORAL LIEDER
BY BRAHMS AND SCHUBERT
INCLUDING ZIGEUNERLIEDER AND PSALM 23
SOLO PIANO WORKS
BY LISZT AND SCHUBERT
Concert photo by Brian Summers
Walton: Concert for Viola; Vaughan Williams:
Symphony No.7 “A London Symphony”.
Guest: Paul Barna, viola. Hammerson Hall, Living
Arts Centre, 4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga.
905-306-6000. $30-$65.
●●8:00: Ontario Philharmonic. Master Series:
Haydn & Beethoven. Haydn: Symphony
No.88 in G; Beethoven: Symphony No.3,
Op.55 in E-flat “Eroica”. Juan Manuel Gonzalez,
guest conductor. Regent Theatre (Oshawa),
50 King St. E., Oshawa. 905-721-3399
x2. $45-$56.
Butler, Bernstein
& The Hot 9
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 8PM
KOERNER HALL
TICKETS: 416.408.0208
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. TD Jazz. Butler,
Bernstein & The Hot 9. Koerner Hall,
Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208.
$40-$80.
●●8:00: Sinha Danse and Constantinople.
Sunya: A Dance and Music Spectacular.
Roger Sinha, choreographer and artistic direction;
Kiya Tabassian, musical conception
and artistic direction; Jo Leslie, artistic direction;
Thomas Casey, Tanya Crowder, Marie-
Ève Lafontaine, François Richard and Roger
Sinha, dancers; Kiya Tabassian, sétar, voice;
Patrick Graham, percussion; Pierre-Yves
Martel, viola da gamba. Fleck Dance Theatre,
Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay
W. 416-973-4000. $35. Also Nov 19 and 20.
A. Concerts in the GTA
Post-performance Q and A.
●●8:00: Toy Piano Composers. To Be
Announced 3. Works by Glaser, Lowrie,
McGraw, Mermelstein, Tozer and Wang. Maureen
Batt, soprano; Jesse Clark, baritone; Tim
Crouch, flute; Anthony Thompson, clarinet;
Sharon Lee, violin; Adam Scime, bass; Daniel
Morphy, percussion; Wesley Shen, piano.
Music Gallery, 197 John St. 647-829-4213.
$20/$15(adv/st).
●●10:00: Tapestry Opera. Tap:Ex Metallurgy.
Music by Ivan Barbotin. Libretto by David
James Brock. Directed by Michael Hidetoshi
Mori. Krisztina Szabó, mezzo; David Pomeroy,
tenor; Jordan de Souza, keyboards; Mike
Haliechuk, Jonah Falco, and Josh Zucker.
Ernest Balmer Studio (315), Distillery District,
9 Trinity St. 416-537-6066. $35; $25(st/artists/arts
workers). Also Nov 19, 20, 21(7:00).
Sunday November 22
●●1:00: Paul Mercs Concerts. Raffi: Beluga
Grads Concert. Family concert with legendary
children’s entertainer. Raffi Cavoukian,
singer-songwriter. Roy Thomson Hall,
60 Simcoe St. 416-872-4255. $65(VIP);
$27.50-$37.50. VIP tickets include opportunity
to meet Raffi after the show. Proceeds
benefit the Centre for Child Honouring. Also
4:30; Nov 21 (Hamilton).
●●2:00: Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga.
The Thin Edge Music Collective.
Suhashini Arulanandam, violin; Dobrochna
Zubek, cello; Cheryl Duvall, Ilana Waniuk, artistic
directors. 84 South Service Rd., Mississauga.
905-278-5622. $25; $20 (sr/st).
●●2:30: VOICEBOX/Opera in Concert. Prince
Igor. Borodin. Geoffrey Sirett (Prince Igor);
Natalya Matyusheva (Yaroslavna); Andrey
Andreychik (Galitsky); Adam Fisher (Vladimir
Igorevich) Giles Tomkins (Konchak); Narmina
Afandiyeva, piano/conductor. St. Lawrence
Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-
7723. $40-$52.
●●3:00: Masterworks of Oakville Chorus &
Orchestra. G.F. Handel’s Messiah. Guests:
Allison McAuley, soprano; Courtney V. Murias,
mezzo; Michael P. Taylor, tenor; James
Baldwin, bass. St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic
Church, 47 Reynolds St., Oakville. 905-844-
3303. $30; $25(sr); $10(st); free(child). Also
Nov 20 & 21.
●●3:00: Oriana Women’s Choir. Snow Angel:
Unitarian Congregation
of Mississauga presents
2015/2016 Ensemble in Residence
TICKETS
$35 – $ 81
VOX TIX
$20 FOR 30 AND UNDER
WESTON FAMILY BOX OFFICE AT KOERNER HALL
416-408-0208
www.tmchoir.org
thin edge
new music collective
Cheryl Duvall, Ilana Waniuk -
Artistic Directors
Suhashini Arulanandam, Violin
Dobrochna Zubek, Cello
Sunday, November 22,
2 pm
Unitarian Congregation
in Mississauga
905-278-5622
www.uucm.ca
44 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

A Seasonal Celebration. Jenkins: A Celebration
of Christmas; Watson Henderson: Songs
of the Nativity; Quartel: Snow Angel; Rutter:
Dancing Day. Mitchell Pady, artistic director;
guests: M. Dawn Pear, flute; Alyssa Wright,
cello. Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale
Rd. 416-978-8849. $25; $20(sr/under 35);
$10(st).
●●3:00: Penthelia Singers. Magic and Musical
Enchantment. Music, magic and songs. Renaissance
to contemporary music; themes
from Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz, and other
works. Alice Malach, conductor. Rosedale
Presbyterian Church, 129 Mt. Pleasant Rd.
647-248-5079. $20; Pay your age(12 and
under). 2:30: Magic pre-show.
●●3:00: Regent Theatre. The Irish Rovers:
50th Anniversary Tour. Regent Theatre (Oshawa),
50 King St. E., Oshawa. 905-721-3399.
$49.50.
●●4:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
Twilight Organ Series. David Briggs, organ.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free.
●●4:00: St. Philip’s Anglican Church. Jazz
Vespers with the Tim Rutledge Quartet. Tim
Rutledge, saxophone; Bruce Hemmings,
piano; Ben Riley, drums; Keith Laurie, bass.
25 St. Phillips Rd., Etobicoke. 416-247-5181.
Freewill offering.
●●4:00: University Settlement Music & Arts
School. Chamber Program Concert. Intermediate
and advanced students. St. George
the Martyr Church, 197 John St. 416-598-
3444 x243. Free. Donations accepted.
●●4:30: Paul Mercs Concerts. Raffi: Beluga
Grads Concert. Family concert with legendary
children’s entertainer. Raffi Cavoukian,
singer-songwriter. Roy Thomson Hall,
60 Simcoe St. 416-872-4255. $65(VIP);
$27.50-$37.50. VIP tickets include opportunity
to meet Raffi after the show. Proceeds
benefit the Centre for Child Honouring. Also
1:00; Nov 21 (Hamilton).
●●7:00: Soundstreams/Canadian Stage.
Julie. See Nov 17; Also Nov 25, 26, 28, 29; start
times vary.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Percussion Ensemble. Walter Hall,
Edward Johnson Building, University of
Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492.
Free.
Monday November 23
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. University of Toronto Concert Orchestra.
Paul Widner, conductor. Walter Hall,
Edward Johnson Building, University of
Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492.
Free.
Tuesday November 24
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
World Music Series: Different Shades of
Blue. Jazz harmonies over the folk and popular
rhythms of the Caribbean, from Reggae,
Son and Salsa in the north to Calypso, Soca,
Rapso and Zouk from the Eastern Caribbean.
Kalabash, jazz sextet. Richard Bradshaw
Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the
Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-
8231. Free.
●●12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Tuesday Performance Class for Singers.
First-year students. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. Free.
●●1:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
Midday Organ Series. David Briggs, organ.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free.
●●7:00: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Student Composers Concert. Walter
Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492.
Free.
●●7:30: Westwood Concerts. Beethoven
meets Falla and Beach. Beethoven: Cello
Sonata in A, Op.69; Duos for clarinet and
cello; De Falla: Suite Populaire Espagnole;
and other works. Michael Westwood, clarinet;
Erika Nielsen, cello; Lisa Millar, piano.
Gallery 345, 345 Sorauren Ave. 888-316-2416.
$30/$20(adv).
Wednesday November 25
●●12:30: York University Department of
●
Music. World @ Midday. Padma Subrahmanyam.
Martin Family Lounge, Accolade
East, York University, 4700 Keele St. 647-459-
0701. Free.
●●12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
Noonhour Recitals. Rashaan Allwood, organ. ●
1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free.
●●1:00: Soundstreams/Canadian Stage.
Julie. See Nov 17; Also Nov 26, 28, 29; start
times vary. Post-show chat.
●●7:30: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. German
Romantics. Works by Brahms, Liszt and
Schubert. André Laplante, piano; Noel Edison,
conductor; Jennifer Min-Young Lee, associate
conductor. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre,
273 weston_photolistings Bloor St. W. 416-598-04221.7188x3colorad x221. $35-$81; _w
$20(ages 35 and under).
8:00pmWEDnov25
thegalen
westonband
PluggedIn CDRELEASE
TATTOO
567QUEENST.W.
●●8:00: Galen Weston. Plugged In CD
Release. Tattoo, 567 Queen St. W. 416-703-
5488. $20/$15(adv).
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Bach/
arr. Mahler: Suite for Orchestra, Harpsichord,
and Organ; Stravinsky: Capriccio for
Piano and Orchestra; Shostakovich: Symphony
No.10. Orchestre symphonique de
Montréal, guest orchestra; Yulianna Avdeeva,
piano; Kent Nagano, conductor. Roy Thomson
Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $33.75–
$148. 7:15pm Pre-concert chat in the lobby
with Rick Phillips.
Thursday November 26
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Piano Virtuoso Series: Piano Prodigies.
Leonid Nediak, piano; Raymond Huang, piano;
Richard Chao Gao, piano. Richard Bradshaw
Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the
Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-
8231. Free.
●●12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Thursdays at Noon. Omar Daniel:
Gioco Della Copie; Ysaÿe: Sonata for Two Violins.
Erika Raum, violin; Scott St. John, violin.
Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-
0492. Free.
●●12:15: Metropolitan United Church. Noon
at Met. Ian Grundy, organ. Metropolitan
United Church (Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 416-
363-0331. Free.
● 12:30: York University Department of
Music. Faculty Spotlight: Faster than Time.
Contemporary Canadian works. Christina
Petrowska Quilico, piano. Tribute Communities
Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, YU,
4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free.
● 7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Peter
and the Wolf: In Support of SickKids. Britten:
The Young Persons’ Guide to the Orchestra;
Carmichael (arr. John Iveson): Stardust;
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini;
Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf. Rick Mercer,
narrator; Coco Ma, piano; Neil Deland,
horn; Peter Oundjian, conductor and co-host.
Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-
3375. $50-$150. Proceeds to benefit Sick-
Kids Hospital.
●●8:00: Music Toronto. Apollon Musagète
Quartett. Dvořák: Quartet No.11 in C, Op.61;
Schubert: Quartet No.15 in G, Op.161 D887.
Pawel Zalejski, violin; Bartosz Zachlod, violin;
Piotr Szumiel, viola; Piotr Skweres, cello. Jane
Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the
Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $55, $50;
$10(st); age 18 to 35: pay your age. Toronto
debut.
●●8:00: Soundstreams/Canadian Stage.
Julie. See Nov 17; Also Nov 28, 29; start times
vary. Post-show chat.
Friday November 27
●●12:10: Music at St. Andrew’s. Noontime
Recital. Shara Sun, piano; Rebecca Orsini,
piano; and Vivian Chen, piano. St. Andrew’s
Church, 73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x231.
Free.
●●1:10: Gordon Murray Presents. Piano Potpourri.
Featuring classics, opera, operetta,
musicals, ragtime, pop, international and
other genres. Gordon Murray, piano. Trinity-
St. Paul’s United Church, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-
631-4300. PWYC. Lunch and snack friendly.
●●7:00: Ross Petty Productions. Peter Pan in
Wonderland. Ross Petty’s final bow. A fractured
fairytale combining Peter Pan with
Alice in Wonderland. Ross Petty; Eddie Glen;
Dan Chameroy; Jessica Holmes; Tracey Flye,
director; Chris Earl, playwright; Guests:
Anthony MacPherson; Steffi DiDomenicantonio;
Jordan Clark; Lamar Johnson; Taveeta
Szymanowicz. Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge
St. 1-855-599-9090. $27-$99; $27-$69(under
12). Runs from Nov 27 to Jan 3. Various times.
●●7:00: St. Michael’s Choir School. Christmas
Concert. St. John the Evangelist Church,
903 Giffard St., Whitby. 905-668-3676
or 905-424-8558. Suggested donation:
$25/$20(adv); $15/$10(under 12/adv).
●●7:00: University of Toronto Scarborough.
Fall Flourish Concert. Concert Choir. Arts and
Administration Building, University of Scarborough,
1265 Military Trail, Scarborough.
416- 208-4769. Free.
●●7:30: Living Arts Centre. Paula Gardin.
4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga. 905-306-
6000. $30-$45.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. PianoFest. Piano students perform.
Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-
0492. Free.
●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Gospel Choir. Karen
Burke, director. Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan
Theatre, Accolade East Building, 4700 Keele
St. 416-736-5888. $15; $10(sr/st). Also Nov 28.
●●8:00: Music Gallery/Arraymusic/Lula
Music & Arts. David Virelles: Gnosis. Futuristic
Afro-Cuban chamber music. Featuring
Román Díaz. The Music Gallery, 197 John St.
416-204-1080. $30/$25(adv); $20(members);
$15(st). Also Nov 28.
●●8:00: Musicians in Ordinary. Principal’s
The Musicians In Ordinary for the Lutes and Voices
7:30PM November 27, 2015
Madden Auditorium, Carr Hall
St. Michael’s College, 100 St. Joseph St.
Songs of Solomon
Salamone Rossi’s Hebrew sacred music for voices
and sonatas for violins and theorbo with
Christopher Verrette and Patricia Ahern,
violins, and guest singers
Tickets $30 / $20 students and seniors
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 45

Music Series: Songs of Solomon. Rossi: Hebrew
sacred music for the synagogue (works
for three to five voices; sonatas for two violins
and chitarrones). Christopher Verrette
and Patricia Ahern, violins. Fr. Madden Hall,
Carr Bldg., St. Michael’s College, University
of Toronto, 100 St Joseph St. 416-535-9956.
$30; $20(sr/st). 7:30: pre-concert talk.
PACO PEÑA
Fri Nov 27 8pm
●●8:00: Roy Thomson Hall. Paco Peña. Paco
Peña, Rafael Montilla, Paco Arriaga, guitars;
and others. 60 Simcoe St. 416-872-4235.
$44.50-$74.50.
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Royal Conservatory
Orchestra. Miller: Traffic Jam; Bruch:
Scottish Fantasy; Mahler: Symphony No.5.
Heidi Hatch, violin; Tania Miller, conductor.
Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W.
416-408-0208. $25-$55. Prelude recital at
6:45.
●●9:00: Hart House Music Committee. Jazz
Night: Jay Danley Ethio Project. Ethiojazzstyle
works. Arbor Room, 7 Hart House Circle.
416-978-2452. Free.
A. Concerts in the GTA
Saturday November 28
●●3:00: Oakville Chamber Orchestra. Youth
Concerto Competition Prize Winners. Tiffany
Yeung and Leslie Ashworth, violin; Tiffany Tse
and Thomas Dobrovich, piano. Queen Elizabeth
Park Community and Cultural Centre,
2302 Bridge Rd, Oakville. 905-483-6787. $15.
Donations accepted in support of Arthouse
music and arts programs for disadvantaged
kids of Halton.
●●7:00: In Concert. Music to Remember
Dance. Mississauga Big Band Jazz Ensemble;
Little Peter and the Elegants. Port Credit
Legion, 35 Front St. N., Port Credit. 905-274-
6131. $20.
●●7:00: The Neapolitan Connection. Anastasia
Rizikov at the CBC. Anastasia Rizikov,
piano. Glenn Gould Studio, 250 Front St. W.
647-262-4316. $25.
●●7:30: Achill Choral Society. Rejoice. Rutter:
Magnificat; and other works. Christopher
Dawes, organ; Shawn Grenke, piano; Roger
Flock, percussion; A. Dale Wood, conductor.
Christ Church Anglican (Bolton), 22 Nancy
St., Bolton. 905-936-5060. $25; $10(13-
17); $5(child). Also Nov 29 (Colgan), Dec 6
(Orangeville).
●●7:30: Jubilate Singers. Roads Travelled
and Untravelled. Rossini: La Passeggiata; Halley:
Untravelled Worlds; Thompson: Road Not
Taken; Christmas carols. St. Simon-the-Apostle
Anglican Church, 525 Bloor St. E. 416-485-
1988. $25; $20(sr); $15(st).
●●7:30: Opera by Request. Mystery Musical
Experience. Lindsay McIntyre and Peggy
Evans, sopranos; Vilma Vitols, Marcia Whitehead,
Lisa Spain, mezzos; Stephen Bell, Michel
Corbeil, Taylor Whote, tenors; Gene Wu,
Peter Wiens, Peter Barnes, baritones; William
Shookhoff, music director and pianist.
College Street United Church, 452 College St.
416-455-2365. $20.
●●7:30: Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra.
A Family Holiday Concert. John Williams:
Main Theme from Star Wars; Prokofiev:
Peter and The Wolf; Ronald Royer: Dance for
Orchestra; Alan Silvestri (arr. Brubaker):
Polar Express Concert Suite; Winter Wonderland
(arr. Calvin Custer); and other seasonal
music including a carol sing-along. Ronald
Royer, conductor. Salvation Army Scarborough
Citadel, 2021 Lawrence Ave. E., Scarborough.
416-429-0007. $30; $259(sr);
$15(st); $10(child).
●●7:30: Silverthorn Symphonic Winds. Music
That Tells a Story. Music from Anne of Green
Gables and other works. Wilmar Heights Centre,
963 Pharmacy Ave., Scarborough. 416-
301-5187. $15; $10(st).
●●7:30: Tallis Choir. Charpentier: Midnight
Mass for New France, 1725. Campra: Adoro
Te; works by Delalonde, Raison and Lebegue;
works from Livre d’orgue de Montréal. Talisker
Players; Tallis Choir; organ; Peter
Mahon, artistic director. St. Patrick’s Catholic
Church (Toronto), 131 McCaul St. 416-286-
9798. $30; $25(sr); $10(st).
●●7:30: Toronto Concert Orchestra. Saint-
Saens Organ Symphony, Schubert Mass in G,
Gounod Mass in C. Toronto Concert Orchestra;
Novi Choir; Coro San Marco; Christopher
Dawes, organ; Matthew Jaskiewicz, conductor
(Saint-Saëns); Kerry Stratton, conductor
(Schubert); Daniele Colla, conductor
(Gounod). Timothy Eaton Memorial Church,
230 St. Clair Ave. W. 1-800-222-6608.
$40/$35(adv); $25(sr/st)/$20(adv).
●●7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Romeo & Juliet vs West Side Story. Bizet: Farandole
from L’Arlésienne Suite No.2; Ravel:
Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra; Prokofiev:
Selections from Romeo and Juliet; Wagner:
Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin; Chausson:
Poème for Violin and Orchestra; Bernstein:
Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.
Angelo Xiang Yu, violin; Ward Stare, conductor.
Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-
598-3375. $33.75–$107. Also on Nov 29.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Wind Ensemble. Newman: Blow It Up
and Start Again; MacDonald: Tabula Rasa;
Meyerowitz: Three Comments on War; Shapiro:
Lights Out; Bartók: Folk Dances; Sparke:
Dance Movements. Gillian MacKay, conductor.
MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson
Building, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. $30;
$20(sr); $10(st).
●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Gospel Choir. Karen
Burke, director. Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan
Theatre, Accolade East Building, 4700 Keele
St. 416-736-5888. $15; $10(sr/st). Also Nov 27.
●●8:00: Aga Khan Museum. Kinan Azmeh
City Band. Western classical music, jazz and
the music of Syria. Works from album “Elastic
City”. Kinan Azmeh, clarinet; Kyle Sanna,
guitar; John Hadfield, percussion; Petros
Klampanis, double bass. Aga Khan Museum
Auditorium, 77 Wynford Dr. 416-646-4677.
$45.
●●8:00: Georgetown Bach Chorale. Advent
Cantatas and Double Harpsichord Concerto.
Bach: Double Concerto in c for 2 harpsichords
and strings; selected choruses and
arias. GBC (Ron Greidanus, conductor); Baroque
Chamber Orchestra. Guest: Matthew
Pope, harpsicord. St. John’s United Church
(Georgetown), 11 Guelph St., Georgetown.
905-877-2531. $35; $10(st).
●●8:00: Massey Hall/Toronto Blues Society.
Women’s Blues Revue. Jully Black, Rita
Chiarelli, Cécile Doo-Kingué, Terra Lightfoot,
Crystal Shawanda and Suzie Vinnick, vocals;
Women’s Blues Revue Band. Massey Hall,
178 Victoria St. 416-872-4255. $24-$55.
●●8:00: Nagata Shachu. 11. Featuring new
and rearranged works for large ensemble on
Japanese drums, bamboo flutes and voice.
Kiyoshi Nagata, music director. Fleck Dance
A FAMILY HOLIDAY CONCERT
NOVEMBER 28, 2015, CHILD-FRIENDLY 7:30 P.M.
SALVATION ARMY SCARBOROUGH CITADEL
2021 LAWRENCE AVENUE EAST (AT WARDEN)
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR, BY CALLING 416 429-0007, EMAIL SPO@SPO.CA OR ONLINE.
VISIT US AT SPO.CA
46 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens
Quay W. 416-973-4000. $52-$62(VIP); $27-
$37; $20(sr/st). Also Nov 29(mat).
●●8:00: Music Gallery/Arraymusic/Lula
Music & Arts. David Virelles: Gnosis. Futuristic
Afro-Cuban chamber music. Featuring
Román Díaz. The Music Gallery, 197 John St.
416-204-1080. $30/$25(adv); $20(members);
$15(st). Also Nov 27.
●●8:00: Soundstreams/Canadian Stage.
Julie. See Nov 17; Also Nov 29; start times
vary.
●●8:10: Gordon Murray Presents. Piano
Soirée. Rachmaninoff: Daisies, Op.38 No.3;
Concerto No.2 - 1st movement; Vocalise,
Op.34 No.14; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,
Op.43 - Variation 18; and others. All
works arranged by Gordon Murray. Gordon
Murray, piano. Trinity-St. Paul’s United
Church, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-631-4300. $15;
$10(st).
Sunday November 29
●●1:00: Hart House Symphonic Band. In Concert.
Hart House, Great Hall, 7 Hart House
Circle. 416-978-2452. Free.
●●1:00: Ross Petty Productions. Peter Pan in
Wonderland. Runs from Nov 27 to Jan 3. Various
times. See Nov 27 (7:00) for details.
●●1:00: Soundstreams/Canadian Stage.
Julie. See Nov 17.
●●1:30: Harmonia Hungarica. Advent Concert.
Works by Bruch, Clemens, Victoria,
Kodály, Bárdos and Halmos. First Hungarian
Presbyterian Church, 439 Vaughan Road. 416-
971-9754. Freewill offering.
●●2:00: Markham Concert Band. A Seasonal
Celebration. Christmas and Hanukkah
favourites. Music from all eight Harry Potter
films. Doug Manning, conductor. Flato Markham
Theatre, 171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham.
905-305-7469. $22; $17(sr/st).
●●2:00: Nagata Shachu. 11. Featuring new
and rearranged works for large ensemble on
Japanese drums, bamboo flutes and voice.
Kiyoshi Nagata, music director. Fleck Dance
Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens
Quay W. 416-973-4000. $52-$62(VIP); $27-
$37; $20(sr/st). Also Nov 28(8:00).
●●2:00: Pocket Concerts. Brahms on the
Wharf. Mozart: String Quintet in D, K593
(Mvts. 1 & 4); Brahms: Sextet in B-flat, Op.18.
Andrea Tyniec and Rebecca MacLeod, violins;
Rory McLeod and Theresa Rudolph, violas;
Rachel Desoer, cello. Market Wharf, Condo
Party Room, 1 Market St., Toronto . 647-896-
8295. $45; $30(35 and under); $15(child/
youth). Includes drinks and food.
●●2:30: Dinner and a Song. Concert à la
Carte. Calum Graham, singer/songwriter,
guitar; with The Scarborough Uke Jam. Stone
Cottage Pub, 3750 Kingston Rd., Scarborough.
416-265-7932. $15.
●●3:00: Healey Willan Singers. The Colours
of Christmas. Porpora: Magnificat; and
others. John Stephenson, organ; Ron Ka Ming
Cheung, conductor. St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Anglican Church, 151 Glenlake Ave. 416-519-
0528. $20; $15(sr/st).
●●3:00: McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
McMichael Concert Series: Tony Quarrington
and Friends. Quarrington: original compositions;
and other works. Guest: Don Francks,
vocals. 10365 Islington Ave, Kleinburg. 905-
893-1121 x2209. $29-$39; $15(st). Includes
gallery admission.
●●3:00: Royal Conservatory. Vienna Boys
Choir. Vivaldi: “Gloria ... Domine Deus ...
Quoniam tu solus sanctus” from Gloria in D,
RV589; Monteverdi: “Ave Maria” from Sacrae
cantiunculae tribus vocibus, SV213; Purcell:
Excerpts from Come Ye Sons of Art (Ode for
the birthday of Queen Mary II), Z323; Bach:
“Jesus bleibet meine Freude” from Cantata
“Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben”, BWV147;
Handel: “He Shall Feed His Flock,” Aria No.20
from Messiah; other works. Bomi Kim, conductor.
Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor
St. W. 416-408-0208. $30; $10(rush) - SOLD
OUT. BMO Rush tickets will be available.
●●3:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Romeo & Juliet vs West Side Story. Bizet: Farandole
from L’Arlésienne Suite No.2; Ravel:
Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra; Prokofiev:
Selections from Romeo and Juliet; Wagner:
Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin; Chausson:
Poème for Violin and Orchestra; Bernstein:
Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.
Angelo Xiang Yu, violin; Ward Stare, conductor.
Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-
598-3375. $29.50–$83.75. Also on Nov 28.
●●3:00: University of Toronto Scarborough.
Fall Flourish Concert. UTSC Concert
Band and String Orchestra. Arts and
Administration Building, University of Scarborough,
1265 Military Trail, Scarborough.
416- 208-4769. Free.
●●3:00: York University Department of
Music. York University Wind Symphony. William
Thomas, director. Tribute Communities
Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, YU,
4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888. $15; $10(sr/st).
●●3:30: Junction Trio. In the Shade of the
Sheltering Palms: Exploring the Music of
Canada’s Group of Seven. Works by Bach,
Debussy, Seitz and Alexander Muir. Junction
Trio (Jamie Thompson, flute; Ivana Popovic,
violin; Raphael Weinroth-Browne, cello). St.
Anne’s Anglican Church, 270 Gladstone Ave.
416-536-3160. PWYC. Refreshments.
●●3:30: VIVA! Youth Singers of Toronto.
Shanti!: Our Native Land. Celebrating Canadian
music and featuring songs from Canada’s
aboriginal people. First Nations Guest
Artist; VIVA!’s five choirs. Trinity-St. Paul’s
Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-788-8482. $20;
$15(sr/st).
●●4:00: Cathedral Church of St. James. Twilight
Organ Series. Thomas Fitches, organ.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free.
●●4:00: Hart House Chorus. German Choral
Works. Bach: Cantata “Christ lag in Todesbanden”;
and works by Brahms, Schütz,
Bruckner and Hammerschmidt. Hart House
Chorus; Daniel Norman, interim conductor;
David Eliakis, accompanist. Hart House, Great
Hall, 7 Hart House Circle. 647-774-0755. Free.
●●4:00: St. Olave’s Anglican Church. Advent
Choral Evensong. St. Olave’s Arts Guild and
Consort. 360 Windermere Ave. 416-769-
5686. Free. Contributions appreciated. Followed
by Christmas Tea and seasonal music
at 5:00.
●●4:00: St. Philip’s Anglican Church. Jazz
Vespers with Robi Botos, piano. 25 St. Phillips
Rd., Etobicoke. 416-247-5181. Freewill
offering.
●●4:00: St. Simon-the-Apostle Anglican
Church. Advent Lessons and Carols.
525 Bloor St. E. 416-923-8714. Freewill
offering.
●●4:30: Christ Church Deer Park. Jazz Vespers.
Mike Murley, saxophone; David Occhipinti,
guitar. 1570 Yonge St. 416-920-5211. Free.
PRESENTERS NOTE:
The next issue of The
WholeNote is the
December/January double
issue. Please send your
December and January
listings to
listings@thewholenote.com
by November 8th.
Sun. 29th Nov. at 4 p.m.
Advent Evensong
plus Christmas Tea and at 5:
CHRISTMAS
LIGHTS
St. Olave’s Arts Guild
and Consort
with light music and
entertainment, including
A Child’s Christmas
in Scarborough, an extract
from A Christmas Carol,
plus some songs, poems
and violin solos
St. Olave’s Church
Bloor and Windermere
416-769-5686 stolaves.ca
Director Peter Mahon
Charpentier: Midnight Mass for
New France, 1725
Period orchestra and organ join forces
to recreate the Baroque celebration of
Christmas Eve in 1725 in the colony of the
Sun King.
Charpentier: Messe de Minuit
Saturday, November 28 at 7:30 pm
St. Patrick’s Church
141 McCaul St.
Tickets: $30, Seniors: $25, Students with ID: $10 (only at the door)
Info: 416 286-9798 Order online: www.tallischoir.com
an Ontario government agency
un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 47

●●6:00: Ross Petty Productions. Peter Pan in
Wonderland. Runs from Nov 27 to Jan 3. Various
times. See Nov 27 (7:00) for details.
●●7:30: Achill Choral Society. Rejoice. Rutter:
Magnificat; and other works. Christopher
Dawes, organ; Shawn Grenke, piano; Roger
Flock, percussion; A. Dale Wood, conductor.
St. James Roman Catholic Church (Colgan),
2118 Adjala-Tecumseth Townline, Colgan.
905-936-5060. $25; $10(13-17); $5(child).
Also Nov 28 (Bolton), Dec 6 (Orangeville).
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Percussion Ensemble. Walter Hall,
Edward Johnson Building, University of
Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492.
Free.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. The Lamb: An A Cappella Christmas
Concert. Works by Gibbons, Purcell, Tallis,
Britten, Poston and Taverner. Theatre of
Early Music Choir; Students of the Schola
Cantorum; Daniel Taylor, conductor. Walter
Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of
Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. $30,
$20(sr); $10(st).
●●8:00: Thin Edge New Music Collective.
Light Show. Basanta, M. Stein and J. Stein:
Music for Lamps; works by Oesterle, Bolaños
Chamorro, Murail and Rainey. Music Gallery,
197 John St. 647-456-7597. $20/$18(adv);
$15(sr/st/arts)/$13(adv).
Monday November 30
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Brass Chamber Ensembles. Walter
Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of
Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. Free.
A. Concerts in the GTA
Tuesday December 1
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Piano Virtuoso Series: Preludes and Pralines.
Works by Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Albéniz,
Gershwin, Billy Mayerl and others. Linda
Ippolito, piano. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre,
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing
Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231. Free.
●●12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Tuesday Performance Class for Singers.
C’est bientôt Noël!: A French Christmas
Celebration. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson
Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s
Park. 416-978-0492. Free.
●●1:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
Midday Organ Series. David Briggs, organ.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free.
●●7:00: Ross Petty Productions. Peter Pan in
Wonderland. Runs from Nov 27 to Jan 3. Various
times. See Nov 27 (7:00) for details.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Woodwind Chamber Ensembles.
Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-
0492. Free.
●●8:00: Massey Hall/Polaris Music Prize.
Tanya Tagaq and Owen Pallett. Tanya Tagaq,
Inuit throat singing, electronica, industrial
and metal influences; Owen Pallet, violin and
loop pedal. Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St. 416-
872-4255. $18.94-$29.50.
Wednesday December 2
●●12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
Noonhour Recitals. Andrew Adair, organ.
1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free.
●●5:30: Canadian Opera Company. World
Music Series: Roots of India, Grown in Canada.
All-Canadian program of pop, folk and
Indo-fusion originals. Autorickshaw. Richard
Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre
for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W.
416-363-8231. Free.
●●6:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
Cantatas in the Cathedral. Bach: Cantata,
BWV132 and organ works. Sheila Dietrich,
soprano; Christina Stelmacovich, alto; Robert
Busiakiewicz, tenor; David Roth, bass; David
Briggs, organ. 65 Church St. 416-364-7865.
PWYC. All donations go directly to the artists.
●●7:00: Ross Petty Productions. Peter Pan in
Wonderland. Runs from Nov 27 to Jan 3. Various
times. See Nov 27 (7:00) for details.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. 11 O’Clock Jazz Orchestra and Vocal
Jazz Ensemble. Jim Lewis and Christine
Duncan, conductors. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. Free.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Vocalis Series: Opera Excerpts. Master’s
and DMA voice students. Great Hall,
Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle. 416-978-
0492. Free.
●●7:30: Village Voices. Christmas Carols
Sing-Along. Brass Quintet; Village Voices
Community Choir; Joan Andrews, conductor.
Cornell Recital Hall, 3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham.
905-471-4464. Admission by donation.
Thursday December 3
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Jazz Series: A Very Cadence Christmas. A
cappella bebop standards, 1980s hits and
holiday classics. Cadence. Richard Bradshaw
Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the
Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-
8231. Free.
●●12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Thursdays at Noon. Morawetz: Sonata
for flute and piano; Sonata for trumpet and
Stories of
The Season
Friday,December 4th,
2015, 8pm,
383 Huron Street, Toronto
Come celebrate
through spoken word
and Canadian music.
Featured composers
include Daley, Raminsh,
Sirett and Willan.
416-971-9229
www.exultate.net
an Ontario government agency
un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario
piano; Kuzmenko: Melancholy Waltz; Coulthard:
Fanfare Sonata for trumpet and
piano; Baker: Elegy for flute and piano.
Susan Hoeppner, flute; Gillian MacKay, trumpet;
Lydia Wong, piano. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. Free.
●●12:15: Metropolitan United Church. Noon
at Met. Stephen Boda, organ. Metropolitan
United Church (Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 416-
363-0331. Free.
●●7:00: Ross Petty Productions. Peter Pan in
Wonderland. Ross Petty’s final bow. A fractured
fairytale combining Peter Pan with
Alice in Wonderland. Ross Petty; Eddie Glen;
Dan Chameroy; Jessica Holmes; Tracey Flye,
director; Chris Earl, playwright; Guests:
Anthony MacPherson; Steffi DiDomenicantonio;
Jordan Clark; Lamar Johnson; Taveeta
Szymanowicz. Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge
St. 1-855-599-9090. $27-$99; $27-$69(under
12). Runs from Nov 27 to Jan 3. Various times.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. World Music Ensembles. World Music
Ensemble; Klezmer Ensemble; Japanese
Drumming Ensemble; Pedram Khavarzamini,
World Music Artist in Residence. Walter
Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492.
Free.
●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Symphony Orchestra.
Mark Chambers, conductor. Tribute Communities
Recital Hall, Accolade East Building,
YU, 4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888. $15; $10(sr/
st).
BACH
CHRISTMAS
ORATORIO
Dec 3-6
416.964.6337
tafelmusik.org
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Bach Christmas Oratorio.
Jana Miller, soprano; Benno Schachtner,
countertenor; James Gilchrist, tenor; Peter
Harvey, baritone; Ivars Taurins, director. Trinity-St.
Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall,
427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337. $40-$93; $37-
$84(sr); $20-$83(st). Also Dec 4, 5, 6(mat).
Friday December 4
●●1:10: Gordon Murray Presents. Piano Potpourri.
Featuring classics, opera, operetta,
musicals, ragtime, pop, international and
other genres. Gordon Murray, piano. Trinity-
St. Paul’s United Church, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-
631-4300. PWYC. Lunch and snack friendly.
●●7:00: Ross Petty Productions. Peter Pan
in Wonderland. Runs from Nov 27 to Jan 3.
48 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Various times. See Nov 27 (7:00) for details.
●●7:30: Ontario Christian Music Assembly.
Christmas Christian Festival Concert. Guests:
Beatrice Carpino, soprano; Michael Ciufo,
tenor; Adolfo De Santis, piano; Andre Knevel,
organ, Liselotte Rokyta, panflute; Hansen
Trio; Toronto Brass Quintet; Choirs of OCMA;
Leendert Kooij, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall,
60 Simcoe St. 416-636-9779. $25-$50.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. PianoFest. Piano students perform.
Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-
0492. Free.
●●8:00: Elmer Iseler Singers. Handel’s Messiah.
Lydia Adams, conductor; guest artists:
The Amadeus Choir; Meredith Hall, soprano;
Laura McAlpine, mezzo; Bud Roach, tenor;
Matthew Zadow, baritone; Patricia Wright,
organ; Robert Venables and Robert DiVito,
trumpets; and Orchestra. Metropolitan
United Church (Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 416-
217-0537. $55; $50(sr); $20(st). Pre-concert
dinner at the Albany Club, $60.
●●8:00: Exultate Chamber Singers. Stories
of the Season; A Canadian Noël. Raminsh:
Magnificat; and works by Anderson,
Daley, Holman, Sirett, Willan, and others. Daniel
Bickle, organ. St. Thomas Anglican Church
(Toronto), 383 Huron St. 416-971-9229. $25.
Manoli, piano. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $55-$125.
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Bach Christmas Oratorio.
Jana Miller, soprano; Benno Schachtner,
countertenor; James Gilchrist, tenor; Peter
Harvey, baritone; Ivars Taurins, director. Trinity-St.
Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall,
427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337. $40-$93; $37-
$84(sr); $20-$83(st). Also Dec 3, 5, 6(mat).
●●8:00: Tempus Choral Society. A Festival
Noel Christmas Concert. Tempus Choral Society;
Tempus Children’s Choir; Tempus Jazz
Choir. Clearview Christian Reformed Church,
2300 Sheridan Garden Dr., Oakville. 905-
338-5202. $15. Also Dec 5.
●●8:00: Upper Canada Choristers/Cantemos
Latin Ensemble. Wolcum Yole! Britten: Ceremony
of Carols; Rutter: Of a Rose, a lovely
Rose (from his Magnificat); The Coventry
Carol; Cherubini: Veni Jesu; Aguiar: Psalmus;
Andreo: O magnum mysterium; other works.
Performed a cappella by Cantemos. Laurie
Evan Fraser, conductor; Cecilia Lee, piano.
Guest: Emily Belvedere, harp. Grace Church
on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Rd. 416-256-0510.
$25; free(high school st/child).
Saturday December 5
●●12:00 noon: University Settlement Music
& Arts School. End of Term Student Concert.
St. George the Martyr Church, 197 John
St. 416-598-3444 x243. Free. Donations
accepted. Also at 2 pm.
●●2:00: Royal Conservatory. Family Concerts:
Routes of Andalucia. Music of ancient
Andalucia with Arabic, Jewish, and Gypsy cultures.
David Buchbinder, trumpet; and others.
Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W.
416-408-0208. $25-$35.
●●2:00: University Settlement Music & Arts
School. End of Term Student Concert. St.
George the Martyr Church, 197 John St. 416-
598-3444 x243. Free. Donations accepted.
Also at 12:00.
●●2:00: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church/
City. 7th Annual City Carol Sing. Choirs,
Brass, Organ, Readings. Bach Children’s
Chorus; That Choir; The Hedgerow Singers;
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church Choir;
Guests: John McDermott; Maev Beaty; Gord
Martineau; True North Brass. Yorkminster
Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. 416-922-
1167. Free. A collection will be taken for the
Churches-on-the-Hill Food Bank.
●●3:00: Massey Hall/St. Michael’s Choir
School. A Toronto Christmas Tradition. Dr.
Jerzy Cichocki, Maria Conkey, Jordan de
Souza, and Terry Dunn, conductors; William
O’Meara, accompanist; Guests: Michael
Colvin, tenor; Lori Gemmel, harp; True North
Brass; SMCSAA Jubilee Choir. Massey Hall,
178 Victoria St. 416-872-4255. $20-$60. Also
Dec 6.
●●3:00: Tempus Choral Society. A Festive
Noel Christmas Concert. Tempus Choral Society;
Tempus Children’s Choir; Tempus Jazz
Choir. Clearview Christian Reformed Church,
2300 Sheridan Garden Dr., Oakville. 905-
338-5202. $15. Also Dec 4.
●●7:00: Oakville Children’s Choir. Songs
for a Winter Night. St. John’s United Church
by the Choirs of the
Ontario Christian Music Assembly
Roy Thomson Hall
Friday December 4th,
2015 – 7:30 p.m.
Leendert Kooij Director
●●8:00: Show One Productions. Soprano
Sondra Radvanovsky in Recital. Vivaldi: Sposa
son disprezzata from Bajazet; Bellini: Three
Songs; R. Strauss: Four Songs; Dvořák: Song
to the Moon from Rusalka; Liszt: Three songs;
and songs and arias by Barber and Giordano.
Sondra Radvanovsky, soprano; Anthony
The Barra MacNeils
A Celtic Christmas
Choirs of the OCMA
TICKETS ARE: $50 / $40 / $25
ORDER YOUR TICKETS FROM:
Ontario Christian Music Assembly
90 Topcliff Avenue,
Downsview, Ontario M3N 1L8
Please enclose payment.
ORDER BY PHONE: 1-416-636-9779
OR BY EMAIL: landmkooy@rogers.com
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
DAVID AMBROSE
Saturday, December 5, 2015 / 8:00 pm / Hammerson Hall, Living Arts Centre
Canada’s Celtic ambassadors join MFC for Celtic-infused songs of the season.
Tickets: livingartscentre.ca / 905-306-6000
f themississaugafestivalchoir.com l mfchoir / mfchoir.com
ST. MICHAEL’S CHOIR SCHOOL
at MASSEY HALL
Saturday DECEMBER 5 at 3PM
Sunday DECEMBER 6 at 3PM
TICKETS $20 to $60 MASSEY HALL 416.872.4255
WWW.CHRISTMASCONCERT.CA
CONDUCTORS dr.jerzy cichocki, maria conkey,
jordan de souza & teri dunn ACCOMPANIST william o’meara
SPECIAL GUESTS michael colvin, tenor lori gemmel, harpist
true north brass smcsaa jubilee choir
1965 -2015
YEARS
at Massey Hall
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 49

(Oakville), 262 Randall St., Oakville. 905-337-
7104. $25; $20(sr); $15(child). Advance tickets
only.
●●7:00: Ross Petty Productions. Peter Pan in
Wonderland. Runs from Nov 27 to Jan 3. Various
times. See Nov 27 (7:00) for details.
●●7:30: Pax Christi Chorale. Berlioz:
L’enfance du Christ. Nathalie Paulin, soprano;
Olivier Laquerre, baritone; Alain Coulombe,
bass; Sean Clark, tenor; Matthew Zadow, baritone.
Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale
Rd. 416-488-7884. $45; $40(sr); $25(st);
A. Concerts in the GTA
$5(child). Also Dec 6(mat).
●●7:30: Cathedral Church of St. James. Cathedral
Concert. Haydn: Nicolaimesse; Britten:
St. Nicolas. Choir of St. James Cathedral; Talisker
Players Orchestra; Robert Busiakiewicz,
conductor. 65 Church St. 416-364-7865.
$30-$35.
●●7:30: Cantemus Singers. Gloria in Excelsis
Deo. Christmas music of the Spanish and
Austrian courts of the 16th century. Church
of the Holy Trinity, 10 Trinity Sq. 416-578-
6602. $20; free(child). Benefit concert in
TORONTO CLASSICAL
SINGERS
presents
Johann Sebastian Bach
CHRISTMAS
ORATORIO
BWV 248
Soloists:
Jennifer Taverner,
soprano
Sandra Boyes,
mezzo soprano
Asitha Tennekoon,
tenor
James Baldwin,
baritone
The Talisker Players Orchestra
Jurgen Petrenko, conductor
Sunday December 6, 2015 at 4 pm
Christ Church Deer Park
Tickets $30 Adult;
1570 Yonge Street, at Heath St. W. $25 Senior/Student
www.torontoclassicalsingers.ca Season tickets $80; $65
support of Community Centre 55’s Share-a-
Christmas. Also Dec. 6 at St. Aidan’s Anglican
Church (3:00).
●●7:30: Cantores Celestes Women’s Choir.
Seven Joys of Christmas: Carols Ancient and
Modern. Christmas music from Medieval to
Gospel. Britten: Ceremony of Carols; Medieval
Carols, Christmas Spirituals, and works
by John Rutter and Kirke Mechem. The Pope
Joans; Jacqueline Goring, harp; Ellen Meyer;
piano; Kelly Galbraith, director. Runnymede
United Church, 432 Runnymede Rd. 416-236-
1522. $25. Proceeds to charity supporting the
homeless.
●●7:30: Etobicoke Centennial Choir. Sacred
Traditions 2015. Bernstein: Chichester
Psalms; Poulenc: Quatre Motets pour le
temps de Noel; Patriquin: Six Noels Anciens;
Susa: Carols and Lullabies of the Southwest.
Accompanied by organ, harp, guitar
and percussion. Humber Valley United
Church, 76 Anglesey Blvd., Etobicoke. 416-
769-9271. $25.
●●7:30: Northern Lights Chorus. The Gift of
Music. Metropolitan United Church (Toronto),
56 Queen St. E. 1-866-744-7464. $26; $16(st).
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. University of Toronto Symphony
Orchestra. Smetana: The Moldau; Rachmaninoff:
Piano Concerto No.3 in d, Op.20;
Lutosławski: Concerto for Orchestra. Eugene
Chan, piano; Uri Mayer, conductor; François
Koh, conductor. MacMillan Theatre, Edward
Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-
0492. $30; $20(sr); $10(st).
●●8:00: Aga Khan Museum. Ustad Eltaf Hussain
Sarahang, singer. Indo-Afghan musical
traditions. Aga Khan Museum Auditorium,
77 Wynford Dr. 416-646-4677. Starting at $40.
Rant
Maggie
Rant
Celtic Christmas
Celebration
Sat., Dec. 5, 8pm
auroraculturalcentre.ca
905 713-1818
●●8:00: Aurora Cultural Centre. Rant Maggie
Rant: Celtic Christmas Celebration. Rant
Maggie Rant (Lindsay Schindler, fiddle, vocals;
Glen Dias, vocals, recorder, percussion; Barry
James Payne, acoustic guitar, vocals); and
guests. 22 Church St., Aurora. 905-713-1818.
$30/$25(adv).
●●8:00: Mississauga Festival Choir. A Celtic
Christmas With the Barra MacNeils. Hammerson
Hall, Living Arts Centre, 4141 Living
Arts Dr., Mississauga. 905-306-6000. $35;
$30(sr/st); $15(12 and under).
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Music Mix: Bluebird
North. Conservatory Theatre, 273 Bloor
St. W. 416-408-0208. $25.
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Bach Christmas Oratorio.
Jana Miller, soprano; Benno Schachtner,
countertenor; James Gilchrist, tenor; Peter
Harvey, baritone; Ivars Taurins, director. Trinity-St.
Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall,
427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337. $40-$93; $37-
$84(sr); $20-$83(st). Also Dec 3, 4, 6(mat).
Sunday December 6
●●2:00: Metropolitan United Church. Deck
the Halls: Downtown Carol Sing with the
Metropolitan Silver Band. Metropolitan
United Church (Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 416-
363-0331. Free. Donations welcome.
●●2:30: Bel Canto Singers. The Most Wonderful
Time of the Year. Linda Meyer, conductor;
Jacqueline Mokrzewski, piano. St. Dunstan
of Canterbury, 56 Lawson Rd., Scarborough.
416-286-8260. $20. Also at 7:30.
●●2:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Choral Celebration Concert. Shelley
Marwood: These Fragile Snowflakes; Dale
Warland: Nativity Suite for Choir, Harp and
Flute; Pinkham: Christmas Cantata. MacMillan
Singers; Men’s Chorus; Women’s Chamber
Choir; Women’s Chorus; and brass choir.
MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. $30; $20(sr);
$10(st). Pre-concert performance by Young
Voices Toronto at 2 pm.
●●3:00: Cantemus Singers. Gloria in Excelsis
Deo. Christmas music of the Spanish and
Austrian courts of the 16th century. St. Aidan’s
Anglican Church (Toronto), 70 Silver
Birch Ave. 416-578-6602. $20; free(child).
Benefit concert in support of Community
Centre 55’s Share-a-Christmas. Also Dec 5 at
Church of the Holy Trinity (7:30).
●●3:00: Massey Hall/St. Michael’s Choir
School. A Toronto Christmas Tradition. Dr.
Jerzy Cichocki, Maria Conkey, Jordan de
Souza, and Terry Dunn, conductors; William
O’Meara, accompanist; Guests: Michael
Colvin, tenor; Lori Gemmel, harp; True North
Brass; SMCSAA Jubilee Choir. Massey Hall,
178 Victoria St. 416-872-4255. $20-$60. Also
Dec 5.
●●3:00: Orchestra Toronto. Music of Youth.
Concert geared towards children, featuring
an Instrument Petting Zoo. Prokofiev: Peter
and the Wolf; Rimsky-Korsakov: Christmas
Eve Suite (selections); Reinecke: Flute Concerto
in D Op.283. Stephanie Morin, flute;
Tom Allen, narrator. George Weston Recital
Hall, 5040 Yonge St. 1-855-985-2787. $43;
$37(sr); $15(child/OTopus 14-29). 2:15: preconcert
chat.
●●3:00: Pax Christi Chorale. Berlioz:
L’enfance du Christ. Nathalie Paulin, soprano;
Olivier Laquerre, baritone; Alain Coulombe,
bass; Sean Clark, tenor; Matthew Zadow, baritone.
Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale
Rd. 416-488-7884. $45; $40(sr); $25(st);
$5(child). Also Dec 5(eve).
●●3:00: Royal Conservatory. Invesco Piano
Concerts. Jan Lisiecki, piano. Koerner Hall,
Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208.
SOLD OUT. BMO Rush Tickets will be available.
●●3:00: Syrinx Concerts Toronto. Peter
Longworth, piano & Sheila Jaffé, violin. Works
by Mozart, Bartók, Franck and Vivier. Heliconian
Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 416-654-0877.
$25; $20(st).
●●3:30: Tafelmusik. Bach Christmas Oratorio.
Jana Miller, soprano; Benno Schachtner,
countertenor; James Gilchrist, tenor; Peter
Harvey, baritone; Ivars Taurins, director.
50 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall,
427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337. $40-$93; $37-
$84(sr); $20-$83(st). Also Dec 3(eve), 4(eve),
5(eve).
●●3:30: Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir.
Holiday Concert. Our Lady of the Miraculous
Medal Catholic Church, 739 Browns Line,
Etobicoke. 416-255-2721. $25.
●●4:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
Twilight Organ Series. David Briggs, organ.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free.
●●4:00: Church of St. Mary Magdalene. O
Antiphon Preludes. Works by Nico Muhly.
Andrew Adair, organ. Church of St. Mary
Magdalene (Toronto), 477 Manning Ave. 416-
531-7955. Free.
●●4:00: St. Philip’s Anglican Church. Jazz
Vespers Tribute to Frank Sinatra. Alex Samaras,
vocals; Colleen Allen, saxophone; Scott
Alexander, bass; Gary Williamson, piano;
Brian Barlow, drums. 25 St. Phillips Rd., Etobicoke.
416-247-5181. Freewill offering.
●●4:00: Toronto Classical Singers. In Concert.
Bach: Christmas Oratorio. Jennifer Taverner,
soprano; Sandra Boyes, mezzo; Asitha
Tennekoon, tenor; James Baldwin, baritone;
Talisker Players Orchestra; Jurgen Petrenko,
conductor. Christ Church Deer Park,
1570 Yonge St. 416-443-1490. $30; $25(sr/st).
●●5:00: Nocturnes in the City. Eliska
Latawiec, soprano. Works by Dvořák. St.
Wenceslaus Church, 496 Gladstone Ave. 416-
481-7294. $25; $15(st).
●●7:00: Hart House. Hart House Chamber
Strings. Handel: Sinfonia from Messiah;
Dvořák: Notturno; Elgar: Serenade for
Strings; Lauridsen: O Magnum Mysterium;
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.3. Hart
House, Great Hall, 7 Hart House Circle. 416-
978-2452. Free.
●●7:30: Bel Canto Singers. The Most Wonderful
Time of the Year. Linda Meyer, conductor;
Jacqueline Mokrzewski, piano. St. Dunstan
of Canterbury, 56 Lawson Rd., Scarborough.
416-286-8260. $20. Also at 2:30.
●●7:30: Echo Women’s Choir. Winter Concert:
Heart Like a Wheel. Heart Like a Wheel (arr.
Alan Gasser); Quiet on the River (arr. Alan
Gasser); Lullabies from Latin America, South
Africa, and the Republic of Georgia; Annabelle
Cvostek: Apocalypse Lullaby; other works.
Becca Whitla, piano and conductor; Alan Gasser,
conductor. Church of the Holy Trinity,
10 Trinity Sq. 416-779-5554. $20; $15(adv);
SUNDAY, DEC 13 3:30PM
March of the Toys | Christmas Festival
Sleigh Ride | and a preview of
St. Paul’s Suite arranged by Roy Greaves
Church of St. Michael and All Angels
611 St. Clair Ave. W.
TICKETS $5-$20 available at the door
WYCHWOODCLARINETCHOIR.COM
$10(sr/child/underwaged/unwaged).
PHILIPPE LEROUX
© Cécile Brossard
Sun. Dec. 6 | Oliphant Theatre
www.NewMusicConcerts.com
●●8:00: New Music Concerts. A Portrait of
Philippe Leroux. Leroux: AAA; Ailes; Grisey:
Talea; Carter: Canon for Three Equal Instruments;
Rubin: less than equals three. NMC
Ensemble; Alexander Dobson, baritone; Robert
Aitken, conductor. Betty Oliphant Theatre,
404 Jarvis St. 416-961-9594. $35; $25(sr/arts
workers); $10(st). 7:15: Introduction.
Monday December 7
●●7:30: Cantabile Chorale of York Region.
Joy of Christmas. Guests: Ethel Briggs,
accompanist; Rev. Sebastian Meadows-
Helmer, violinist; Robert Richardson, conductor.
Thornhill United Church, 25 Elgin St.,
Thornhill. 905-731-8318. Entry by food donation
to Thornhill Christmas Assistance program.
Silent offering to defray expenses.
Reception to follow.
●●7:30: Earl Haig and Claude Watson Music.
Claude Watson School of the Arts December
Showcase Concert. Works by Monteverdi,
Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, and others. Orchestra,
Symphonic Band, Chamber Strings,
Full Mixed Choir. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre,
427 Bloor St. W. 416-392-3210 x20141. $10;
$5(sr/st).
●●7:30: University of St. Michael’s College. A
Baroque Concert for Advent. Handel: Foundling
Hospital Anthem; also works by Geminiani.
The Musicians in Ordinary; Christopher
Verrette, baroque violinist; Hallie Fishel, soprano;
Choir and Soloists of St. Michael’s
Schola Cantorum; Michael O’Connor, director.
St. Basil’s Church, University of St. Michael’s
College, 50 St. Joseph St. 416-535-9956.
Free. Donations welcome.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Collaborations. Works by Christos
Hatzis, Dean Burry, Julie Spencer, Dinuk
Wijeratne and George Kontogiorgos. Beverley
Johnston, percussion. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. $40; $25(sr);
$10(st).
●●8:00: Soundstreams. Ear Candy: Electric
Messiah. York University Electroacoustic
Orchestra; Christine Duncan, Gabriel Dharmoo,
Doug Van Noort, Ashlie Corcoran, Patrick
Lavender, John Gzowski, SlowPitch,
resident DJ. Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W.
416-504-1282. $20/$15(adv). Also Dec 8.
B. Concerts Beyond the GTA
IN THIS ISSUE: Barrie, Belleville, Brantford, Brockville,
Chatham, Collingwood, Dundas, Elmira, Guelph, Hamilton,
Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Nepean, Orangeville,
Parry Sound, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Waterloo
Sunday November 1
●●2:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber
Music Society. Attacca String Quartet: Complete
Haydn Quartets: Concert No.20. Quartet
Op.1 No.4; Op.17 No.3; Op.54 No.1. KWCMS
Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-
886-1673. $35; $20(st).
●●2:00: Steel City Jazz Festival. Intercurrents:
Roy Patterson and Brian Dickinson.
Works of Bill Evans and Jim Hall. Roy Patterson,
guitar; Brian Dickinson, piano. Pearl
Company, 16 Steven St., Hamilton. 905-524-
8606. $15.
●●2:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts. Piano Series: Emanuel Ax.
Works by Beethoven, Dussek and Chopin.
390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424.
$24.25-$44; $12-$22(st).
●●2:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra.
Beethoven Piano Concerto Marathon.
Beethoven: Consecration of the House; Piano
Concerto No.1; Piano Concerto No.2; Piano
Concerto No.3; Piano Concerto No.4; Piano
Concerto No.5 “Emperor”. Stewart Goodyear,
piano; Bradley Thachuk, conductor. FirstOntario
Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St.,
St. Catharines. 905-688-0722 or 1-855-515-
0722. $64; $59(sr); $32(under 31); $14(st);
$12(child).
●●3:00: Wellington Wind Symphony. On the
Road Again. Works by Grainger, Reed, Hazo,
Mahler and Koetsier. Slide by Slide Trombone
Quartet; Keith Hagerman, baritone;
Daniel Warren, conductor. Grandview Baptist
Church, 250 Old Chicopee Dr., Kitchener.
519-669-1327. $20; $15(sr); free(st).
●●3:30: Huronia Symphony Orchestra.
Opening Night. R. Strauss: Rosenkavalier
Claude Watson
Secondary Arts
Program
Music Ensembles
Showcase
Monday, December 7, 7:30 pm
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre
416-395-3210 x20141
AND
Earl Haig
Secondary School
Music Ensembles
Wednesday, December 9, 7 pm
Cringan Hall, Earl Haig
Secondary School
416-395-3210 x20141
Suite; Mozart: Horn Concerto No.4 in E-flat
K495; Beethoven: Symphony No.5 in c Op.67.
David Quackenbush, horn; Oliver Balaburski,
conductor. Collier Street United Church,
112 Collier St., Barrie. 705-721-4752. $25;
$10(st); $5(child).
Tuesday November 3
●●12:00 noon: Marilyn I. Walker School of
Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University.
RBC Foundation: Music at Noon. Piano, vocal
& instrumental students. Cairns Recital Hall,
FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 250 St.
Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-5550. Free.
2015–2016 CoNCERt SERiES
SUNDAY DECEMBER 13 th
4:00 p.M.
A Rhapsody
of Christmas
Come celebrate an ESG
Christmas with Carols, Choir,
Brass and Organ. Works by
Rutter, Ruth Watson Henderson,
Daley, Willan, Whitacre
and more…
Featuring
The Trillium Brass
The Eglinton St. Goerge’s Choir
Andrew Adair, organist;
Krista Rhodes, piano
Shawn Grenke, conductor.
Tickets $35
35 Lytton Blvd., Toronto
416.481.1141
www.esgunited.org
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 51

Wednesday November 4
●●12:00 noon: Midday Music with Shigeru.
Barbie Main, piano. Works by Abel, Chopin,
Puccini, Strauss and Lecuona. Hi-Way Pentecostal
Church, 50 Anne St. N., Barrie. 705-
726-1181. $5; free(st).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. Annette-Barbara Vogel, violin & Durval
Cesetti, piano. Szymanowski: Sonata in d
Op.9; Brahms: Sonata in E-flat Op.120 No.2;
Miguez: Sonata in A Op.14. KWCMS Music
Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-
1673. $30; $20(st).
Thursday November 5
●●12:00 noon: Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty
of Music. Penderecki String Quartet.
Maureen Forrester Recital Hall, 75 University
Ave., Waterloo. 519-884-1970 x4439. Free.
Friday November 6
●●12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Fridays
@ 12:30 Series: Western University Singers.
Works by Handel, Mozart, Brahms; and
others. Western University Singers; Victoria
Meredith, conductor. Von Kuster Hall, Music
Building, Western University, 1151 Richmond
St. N., London. 519-661-3767. Free.
●●7:00: St. Clair College Capitol Theatre. The
Irish Rovers: 50th Anniversary Tour. 238 King
St. W., Chatham. 519-354-8338. $39-$54.
●●7:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts. Jazz Series: Lemon Bucket
Orkestra. Jazz, Balkan, Klezmer, Gypsy, Party
Band. 390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-
2424. $24.25-$44; $12-$22(st).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. Trio Arkel. Works by Haydn, Osterle,
Rosza, Dvořák and Beethoven. Trio Arkel:
Marie Bérard, violin; Teng Li, viola; Winona
Zelenka, cello. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young
St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673. $35; $20(st).
Saturday November 7
●●10:30am: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Kinderconcert Series: Cabbages and
Counterpoint. The musical Mendelssohn
Mouse family is rehearsing and getting ready
for a concert. Woolwich Memorial Centre,
24 Snyder St. S., Elmira. 519-745-4711. $13 and
up; $11(child).
●●7:00: St. Jacobs Country Playhouse.
The Irish Rovers: 50th Anniversary Tour.
40 Benjamin Rd. E., Waterloo. 519-638-5555.
$52.50.
●●7:00: Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of
Music. WLU Choirs. First United Church (Waterloo),
16 William St. W., Waterloo. 519-884-
1970 x4439. $15; $7(sr).
●●7:30: Chorus Niagara. CELEBRATE!: The
Explosive Power of 160 Voices in Partridge
Hall. Finzi: Ode for St. Cecilia; Bruckner: Te
Deum; and other works. Guests: McMaster
University Choir (Rachel Rensink-Hoff, conductor);
Niagara Symphony Orchestra; Leslie
Ann Bradley, soprano; Maria Soulis; mezzo;
Adam Luther, tenor; Brett Polegato, baritone.
FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre,
Partridge Hall, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines.
905-688-5550 x0722. $40; $38(sr);
$25(under 30); $15(st); $12(child).
●●7:30: Guelph Chamber Choir. Carmina
Burana and Other Works. Orff: Carmina
Burana; Timothy Corlis: Missa Pax. Kevin
McMillan, baritone; Sheila Dietrich, soprano;
B. Concerts Beyond the GTA
Chris Fischer, tenor; Tina Yanchus and James
Hibbard Duo, pianos; Duo Percussion and
friends; Gerald Neufeld, conductor. River Run
Centre, 35 Woolwich St., Guelph. 519-763-
3000. Single tickets $35; $10(30 & under/st);
$5(eyeGO).
●●7:30: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
In Remembrance: Songs of Courage and
Honour. A tribute to the community’s military
personnel and families. Tchaikovsky:
1812 Overture; Richardson-Schulte: Song
of the Poets; Medley of Second World War
favourites. Hamilton Place, 10 MacNab St.
S., Hamilton. 905-526-7756. $25–$67; $23-
$64(sr); $17(under 35); $10(child).
Sunday November 8
●●12:00 noon: Isabel Bader Centre for the
Performing Arts. Choralpalooza. Celebrating
Kingston’s choral community. The Kingston
Chamber Choir; She Sings; The Kingston
Townsmen; The Kingston Choral Society;
Open Voices Community Choir; and others.
390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424 or
1-855-533-2424. Free.
●●2:30: Georgian Music. In Concert. Works
by Rachmaninoff and Chopin. Dmitri Levkovich,
piano. Grace United Church (Barrie),
350 Grove St. E., Barrie. 705-726-1181. $65.
●●2:30: Orchestra Kingston. War and
Remembrance. Beethoven: Eroica Symphony;
Palmer: “Lament”; and war-time songs.
Guest: Patty Smith, soprano. Salvation Army
Citadel, 816 Centennial Dr., Kingston. 613-
634-9312. $25-$20.
●●3:00: CMO Chamber Choir. Remembrance:
A Celebration of Choral Anniversaries. Palestrina:
Missa Papae Marcelli; Rachmaninoff:
excerpts (Nos.1,2,3,9) from All-Night Vigil;
Fauré: Cantique de Jean Racine; J.L. Bach:
Das ist meine Freude; Victoria: Ave Maria à 8;
and others. Guests: Anna Trubashnik, mezzo;
James Hilts, clarinet; David Jones, piano; Jeffrey
Moellman, director. St. James’ Anglican
Church (Orillia), 58 Peter St. N., Orillia. 705-
833-2202. $20; $5(under 18).
●●3:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Faculty
Concert Series. Thoughts on Remembrance
Day. Works by Bach-Busoni, Simon
Bainbridge, Bach-Nagel, and others. Von
Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University,
1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-
3767. Free.
●●3:00: Dundas Valley Orchestra. Remembering
Vimy. Vaughan Williams: Prelude to
the 49th Parallel; Old Hundredth; Palmer:
Canadian Folk Song Suite; Ketèlbey: Bells
Across the Meadow; A Soldier’s Return; and
others. Dundas Pipes and Drums; Jason
Hales, soloist. St. Paul’s United Church (Dundas),
29 Park St. W., Dundas. 905-387-4773.
Free. Donations accepted. Post-concert
reception.
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber
Music Society. Trio Arkel. Haydn: Trio, Op.53;
Beethoven: Trio, Op.9; Miklós Rózsa: String
Trio; Michael Oesterle: string trio (premiere).
Marie Bérard, violin; Teng Li, viola; Winona
Zelenka, cello. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young
St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673. $35; $20(st).
●●8:00: Midland Cultural Centre. The Irish
Rovers: 50th Anniversary Tour. 333 King St.,
Midland. 705-527-4420. $52.50-$57.50.
Monday November 9
●●6:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music.
Chamber Music Showcase Concert. Woodwind,
brass, percussion and piano students.
Studio 242, Music Building, Western University,
1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-
3767. Free.
Tuesday November 10
●●12:00 noon: Marilyn I. Walker School of
Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University.
RBC Foundation: Music@Noon. Alumna
Recital: Christina LeRose, piano. FirstOntario
Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St.
Catharines. 905-688-5550. Free. Cairns Hall.
●●12:30: McMaster School of the Arts.
Suzanne Shulman, flute & Erica Goodman,
harp. Convocation Hall, UH213, McMaster
University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton. 905-
525-9140 x27038. $20; $15(sr); $5(st).
●●6:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Chamber
Music Showcase Concert. Stringed
instrument and piano students. Studio
242, Music Building, Western University,
1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-3767.
Free.
●●7:30: Charles W. Stokey Centre for the
Performing Arts. The Irish Rovers: 50th
Anniversary Tour. 2 Bay St., Parry Sound.
705-746-4466. $37.
●●7:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Jazz
Ensemble: Explorations. The Worst Pop Band
Ever. Wolf Performance Hall, 251 Dundas St.,
London. 519-661-3767. Free.
Wednesday November 11
●●2:30: Georgian Music. A Time to Remember.
Lenard Whiting conducts Music Students
from the U. of T. Scarborough Campus
in music for Remembrance Day. Grace United
Church (Barrie), 350 Grove St. E., Barrie.
705-726-1181. Free.
●●8:00: New Music Kingston/Eckhardt-
Gramatté National Concert Tour. In Concert.
Works by John Estacio, Vivian Fung and Jordan
Pal. Winners of the Eckhardt-Gramatté
Competition: Joshua Peters, violin; Kathrine
Dowling, piano. Isabel Bader Centre for the
Performing Arts, 390 King St. W., Kingston.
613-533-2424. Free. Pre-concert talk at 7:15.
Thursday November 12
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. Zemlinsky String Quartet. Dvořák:
Quartet No.1; Jiří Gemrot: Quartet No.4;
Beethoven: Quartet No.12 in E-flat, Op.127.
KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo.
519-886-1673. $35; $20(st).
Friday November 13
●●12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Fridays
@ 12:30 Series: Eckhardt-Gramatté
National Music Competition Winners. Joshua
Peters, violin; Katherine Dowling, piano. Von
Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University,
1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-
3767. Free.
●●7:30: Centrepointe Theatre. The Irish Rovers:
50th Anniversary Tour. 101 Centrepointe
Dr., Nepean. 613-580-2700. $52-$57.
●●7:30: Kingston Community Strings. In Concert.
Brahms: Allegro Giocoso (from Symphony
No.4); Handel: Adagio and Allegro
(from Sonata No.4); Purcell: Sonata for Trumpet
and String Orchestra; Vivaldi: Concerto
for 2 Trumpets. Wayne Tindale & Dan Tremblay,
trumpets. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian
Church (Kingston), 130 Clergy St. E., Kingston.
613-546-6316. Donations at door.
Saturday November 14
●●7:30: Empire Theatre. The Irish Rovers:
50th Anniversary Tour. 321 Front St., Belleville.
613-969-0099. $45-$75.
●●7:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts. Dover Quartet. Works by
Dvořák, Berg and Beethoven. 390 King St.
W., Kingston. 613-533-2424. $24.25-$44;
$12-$22(st).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. Madawaska Ensemble. Brahms:
Piano Quartet No.2 in A; Piano Quintet in f,
Op.34. Anita Walsh, violin; Sarah Fraser Raff,
violin; Anna Redekop, viola; Amber Ghent,
cello; Brett Kingsbury, piano. KWCMS Music
Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-
1673. $35; $20(st).
Sunday November 15
●●2:00: Gallery Players of Niagara. Hello
Cello! Villa Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No.5;
Oesterle: Rilke; arrangements of works by
Brahms and Tchaikovsky. Silver Spire United
Church, 366 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-
468-1525. $5-$34.
●●3:00: Brockville Arts Centre. The Irish
Rovers: 50th Anniversary Tour. 235 King St.
W., Brockville. 613-342-7122. $49.50.
●●7:00: Zula Presents. In Concert. Lee Barwin
3 (Gary Barwin, alto saxophone/flute;
Ryan Barwin, pedal steel guitar; David Lee,
double bass); Holger Schoorl, guitar and
Tomasz Krakowiak, percussion. Artword Artbar,
15 Colbourne St., Hamilton. 289-993-
1993. $15/$12(adv); $12(st).
Tuesday November 17
●●11:30am: Don Wright Faculty of Music/
School for Advanced Studies in the Arts
and Humanities. Western Performs! - SASAH
Concert Series. Stringed instrument and
piano students. Weldon Library Atrium,
1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-3767.
Free.
●●12:00 noon: Marilyn I. Walker School of
Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University.
RBC Foundation: Music@Noon. Faculty
& Guest Recital. Colin Maier, oboe; Alexander
Sevastian, accordion. FirstOntario Performing
Arts Centre, Cairns Hall, 250 St. Paul
St., St. Catharines. 905-688-5550. Free.
●●5:30: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Happy Hour with the HPO: Mozart and
Martinis. Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra
String Quartet. Baltimore House, 43 King William
St., Hamilton. 905-546-3100. $20.
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. Songs of Solitude. Bach: Sonata No.1
in g; John Harbison: Four Songs of Solitude;
Ysaÿe: Sonata No.4; Kreisler: Recitative &
Scherzo. Francesca Anderegg, violin. KWCMS
Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-
886-1673. $30; $20(st).
Wednesday November 18
●●12:00 noon: Music at St. Andrew’s. A Time
to Remember. Chris Bohdanowicz, organ.
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (Barrie),
47 Owen St., Barrie. 705-726-1181. $5;
Free(st).
●●7:30: Grand Theatre. The Irish Rovers:
50th Anniversary Tour. 218 Princess St.,
Kingston. 613-530-2050. $44.50-$49.50.
Thursday November 19
●●2:00: Sanderson Centre for the
52 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Performing Arts. The Irish Rovers: 50th Anniversary
Tour. 88 Dalhousie St., Brantford. 519-
758-8090. $40.
Friday November 20
●●12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Fridays
@ 12:30 Series: Gwen Beamish, piano.
Works by Canadian composers. Gwen Beamish,
piano; and others. Von Kuster Hall, Music
Building, Western University, 1151 Richmond St.
N., London. 519-661-3767. Free.
●●1:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Voice
Fridays: International Week Concert. Studio
242, Music Building, Western University,
1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-3767.
Free.
●●7:30: Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and
Performing Arts, Brock University. ENCORE!
Professional Concert Series Presents Southern
Exposure. Works by Villa-Lobos, Piazzola
and Jobim. Gordon Cleland, cello; Patricia
Dydnansky, flute; Andrée Simard, viola; Timothy
Phelan, guitar. FirstOntario Performing
Arts Centre, Partridge Hall, 250 St. Paul St., St.
Catharines. 905-688-0722 or 1-855-515-0722.
$29; $23(sr/st); $5(eyeGo).
●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Opera at
Western: Hansel and Gretel. By Humperdinck.
Alain Trudel, conductor; Theodore Baerg,
stage director. Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot
College, Western University, 1151 Richmond
St. N., London. 519-672-8800. $30; $20(sr/st).
Also Nov 21(2pm and 8pm); Nov 22(2pm).
●●8:00: McMaster School of the Arts. Madawaska
Quartet & Ensemble. Works for strings
and piano. Convocation Hall, UH213, McMaster
University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton. 905-
525-9140 x27038. $20; $15(sr); $5(st).
Saturday November 21
●●2:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Opera at
Western: Hansel and Gretel. By Humperdinck.
Alain Trudel, conductor; Theodore Baerg,
stage director. Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot
College, Western University, 1151 Richmond
St. N., London. 519-672-8800. $30; $20(sr/st).
Also Nov 20(8pm), Nov 21(8pm), Nov 22(8pm).
●●2:00: Paul Mercs Concerts. Raffi: Beluga
Grads Concert. Family concert with legendary
children’s entertainer. Raffi Cavoukian, singersongwriter.
Hamilton Place, 10 MacNab St. S.,
Hamilton. 905-546-4040. $65(VIP); $27.50-
$37.50. VIP tickets include opportunity to meet
Raffi after the show. Proceeds benefit the Centre
for Child Honouring. Also Nov 22 (Toronto).
●●7:30: Avanti Chamber Singers. Nocturne:
Songs of the Night. Viva Voce! Choral Series.
Harris Loewen; conductor. Covenant Christian
Reformed Church, 278 Parnell Ave., St.
Catharines. 905-688-5550. $25; $20(sr/st);
$5(eyeGo); $5 discount on advance tickets.
●●7:30: Grand Philharmonic Chamber Choir.
Arvo Pärt @ 80: Passio. Pärt: Passio. Mark
Vuorinen, conductor. St. John the Evangelist
Anglican Church, 23 Water St. N., Kitchener.
519-578-6855. $30. Pre-concert talk at 6:45.
●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Opera at
Western: Hansel and Gretel. By Humperdinck.
Alain Trudel, conductor; Theodore Baerg,
stage director. Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot
College, Western University, 1151 Richmond
St. N., London. 519-672-8800. $30; $20(sr/st).
Also Nov 20(8pm), Nov 21(2pm), Nov 22(2pm).
●●8:00: Jeffery Concerts. Arthur Rowe, Piano.
Wolf Performance Hall, 251 Dundas St., London.
519-672-8800. $35; $30(sr); $15(st).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. Soirée Parisienne. Satie: Trois valses
distinguées du précieux dégoûté; Poulenc:
Mouvements perpétuels; Hommage à Édith
Piaf; Les Soirées de Nazelles; Eight Nocturnes;
Satie: Gymnopédie No.1; Stravinsky: Trois
Mouvements de Pétrouchka. David Jalbert,
piano. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W.,
Waterloo. 519-886-1673. $30; $20(st).
Sunday November 22
●●2:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Opera at
Western: Hansel and Gretel. By Humperdinck.
Alain Trudel, conductor; Theodore Baerg,
stage director. Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot
College, Western University, 1151 Richmond
St. N., London. 519-672-8800. $30; $20(sr/st).
Also Nov 20(8pm), Nov 21(2pm and 8pm).
●●2:30: Kingston Symphony. Major Mitchell
Salutes Science. Music from Kingston
Symphony with live science experiments.
Evan Mitchell, conductor. Grand Theatre,
218 Princess St., Kingston. 613-530-2050.
$10-$25.
Tuesday November 24
●●12:00 noon: Marilyn I. Walker School of
Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University.
RBC Foundation: Music@Noon. Voice Students
Recital. FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre,
Cairns Hall, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines.
905-688-5550. Free.
Wednesday November 25
●●8:00: Showplace. The Irish Rovers: 50th
Anniversary Tour. Showplace Performance
Centre, 290 George St. N., Peterborough. 705-
742-7469. $43.
Thursday November 26
●●12:15: St. George’s Cathedral (Kingston).
Advent Concerts at the Cathedral. Mark Himmelman,
organ. 270 King St. E., Kingston. 613-
548-4617. Freewill offering. Thursdays until
Dec 17.
●●7:30: Queen’s University School of Music.
MOSAIC Concert. Electroacoustic and
acoustic compositions by Queen’s University
students. Harrison-LeCaine Hall, Queen’s
University, 39 Bader Ln., Kingston. 613-533-
2424. Free.
Friday November 27
●●12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Fridays
@ 12:30 Series: Bud Roach. Bud Roach, tenor/
baroque guitar. Von Kuster Hall, Music Building,
Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N.,
London. 519-661-3767. Free.
●●12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Percussion
Ensemble. Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot
College, Western University, 1151 Richmond St.
N., London. 519-661-3767. Free. Also at 8pm.
●●7:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Gloria!
Christmas in Brass. Rutter: Gloria; Work by Z.
Randall Stroope. Members of the Brass Faculty;
Les Choristes; Chorale; Gregg Redner,
organist. Metropolitan United Church (London),
468 Wellington St., London. 519-661-
3767. Free.
●●7:30: Queen’s University School of Music.
Queen’s Jazz Ensemble. Directed by Greg Runions.
Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts, 390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424.
$15; $7(sr/st).
●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Percussion
Ensemble. Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot
College, Western University, 1151 Richmond
St. N., London. 519-661-3767. Free. Also at
12:30pm.
Saturday November 28
●●3:00: 5 at the First Chamber Music Series.
Payadora Tango Ensemble. Rebekah Wolkstein,
violin; Joseph Phillips, bass; Branko
Džinović, accordion; Tom King, piano. First Unitarian
Church of Hamilton, 170 Dundurn St. S.,
Hamilton. 905-399-5125. $20; $15; $5.
●●7:30: Barrie Concerts. Handel’s Messiah.
Vocal Horizons Chorus & Orchestra; soloists.
Hi-Way Pentecostal Church, 50 Anne St. N.,
Barrie. 705-726-1181. $85.
●●7:30: ChoralWorks. A ChoralWorks Messiah.
Favourite choruses and solos from Handel’s
beloved masterpiece. ChoralWorks
chamber choir; chamber orchestra; guest
soloists. New Life Brethren in Christ Church,
28 Tracey Ln., Collingwood. 705-888-4454.
$25; free(under 12).
●●7:30: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Totally Mozart. Mozart: Overture to Abduction
from the Seraglio; Sinfonia Concertante;
Symphony No.40. Stephen Sitarski, violin; Chau
Luk, viola; Ivars Taurins, conductor. Hamilton
Place, 10 MacNab St. S., Hamilton. 905-526-
7756. $25-$67; $23-$64(sr); $17(under 35);
$10(child). 6:30: pre-concert talk.
●●7:30: Queen’s University School of Music.
Queen’s Wind Ensemble. Directed by Dan
Tremblay. Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts, 390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-
533-2424. $15; $7(sr/st).
●●8:00: NUMUS Concerts/The Perimeter
Institute for Theoretical Physics. 30th Anniversary
Concert No.5: DISCO NEXT. Exploring
the social freedoms that liberated in the disco
movement and disco in contemporary classical
works. DJ Cyclist: Nudisco Improv; Hatzis:
Arabesque for Violin, Piano and String Orchestra
(2009); Hatch & DJ Cyclist: New Work
For DJ and Strings (2015 Premiere); Adams:
Alleged Dances for String Quartet (1994). Penderecki
String Quartet; Perimeter Chamber
Players; DJ Cyclist; Glenn Buhr, piano; Eric
Paetkau, conductor. Perimeter Institute for
Theoretical Physics, 31 Caroline St. N., Waterloo.
519-883-4480. $35; $20(sr/arts worker);
$15(st).
Sunday November 29
●●2:30: Guelph Chamber Choir. Carols for
Christmas. Readings and poetry about Christmas
and winter and audience participation
with carol-singing. Saint-Saëns: Christmas
Oratorio; other works. Madawaska Quartet;
Sharlene Wallace, harp; Chris Dawes, organ;
Gerald Neufeld, conductor. St. George’s Anglican
Church (Guelph), 99 Woolwich St., Guelph.
519-763-3000. $25; $10(30 & under/st).
●●2:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. Blaze
of Glory. Kevin Lau: Heroes and Angels; Lalo:
Symphonie espagnole; Mussorgsky (orch.
Ravel): Pictures at an Exhibition. James Ehnes,
violin; Bradley Thachuk, conductor. FirstOntario
Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul
St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722 or 1-855-
515-0722. $64; $59(sr); $32(30 and under);
$14(student); $12(15 and under); $5(EyeGo).
●●5:00: St. George’s Cathedral (Kingston).
Advent Candlelight Procession with Carols.
Adult, Teen and Children’s Choirs and congregational
singing. 270 King St. E., Kingston. 613-
548-4617. Freewill offering.
●●7:30: Queen’s University School of Music.
Queen’s Choral Ensemble. Directed by Darrell
Bryan. Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts, 390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424.
$15; $7(sr/st).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber
Music Society. Norteño - Tango Quintet.
Tangos by Astor Piazzolla, Pierre-Paul Provencher,
and others. Rémi Barrette, guitar;
Laurie Rosewarne, piano; Pierre-Paul Provencher,
bandonéon; Tobias Meis, bass; Christian
Vachon, violin. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young
St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673. $35; $20(st).
Monday November 30
●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Early
Music Studio. Studio 242, Music Building, Western
University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London.
519-661-3767. Free.
Tuesday December 1
●●7:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts. Gryphon Trio. Works by Haydn,
Dinuk Wijeratne and Schubert. Guests: Cantabile
Children’s Choir. 390 King St. W.,
Kingston. 613-533-2424 or 1-855-533-2424.
$24.25-$44; $12-$22(st).
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 53

Wednesday December 2
●●6:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Welcome
Yule! St. Cecilia Singers; Western University
Singers. Von Kuster Hall, Music
Building, Western University, 1151 Richmond
St. N., London. 519-661-3767. Free.
●●7:30: Plumbing Factory Brass Band. Semiannual
Convention of the Plumbers Union
and Its Delegations. J.J. Richards: Emblem
of Unity March; M.M. Snyder: Fraternal Overture;
Mendelssohn: Nocturne from A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, Weber: “Leise, Leise”
from Der Freischütz; and other works. Henry
Meredith, conductor. Byron United Covenant
Church, 420 Boler Rd., London. 519-471-1250.
$15; $10(st).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. Alexander Tselyakov, piano - with
Canadian Sinfonietta Chamber Musicians.
Hummel: Piano Quintet in E-flat, Op.87; Chopin:
Barcarolle; Ballade No.4; Piano Concerto
No.2 in f with quintet. Joyce Lai, Alain Bouvier,
violins; Ian Clarke, viola; Andras Weber, cello;
Tim FitzGerald, bass. KWCMS Music Room,
57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673.
$35; $20(st).
Thursday December 3
●●12:15: St. George’s Cathedral (Kingston).
Advent Concerts at the Cathedral. Mark Himmelman,
organ. 270 King St. E., Kingston.
613-548-4617. Free with voluntary offering.
Thursdays until Dec 17.
●●7:30: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.
Hot Ticket: Louise Pitre. 250 St. Paul St.,
St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. $47.
Friday December 4
●●7:30: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.
Hot Ticket: Jesse Cook -- One World!
Jesse Cook, guitar. 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines.
905-688-0722. $62.
Saturday December 5
●●2:30: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.
Hot Ticket: Natalie MacMaster & Donnell
Leahy’s Christmas Celebration. 250 St.
Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. $55.
Also 7:30.
B. Concerts Beyond the GTA
Laura Secord Secondary School Concert Choir
Dave Sisler ~ Conductor
Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School Concert Choir
J.P. Dupont ~ Conductor
The St. Catharines Civic Brass Ensemble
Steve Fralick ~ Conductor
●●5:30: St. Andrew’s United Church. Indian
Christmas Night: Concert & Dinner. Christmas
carols performed in Indian Raga/fusion
style on sitar, flute, guitar and tabla. Bruce
Harding, flute and guitar. St. Andrew’s United
Church (Hamilton), 497 Upper Paradise
Rd., Hamilton. 905-383-7411. $25; $20(adv).
Authentic Indian dinner.
●●7:00: Guelph Youth Singers. Snowforms.
Annual winter concert. Markus Howard, artistic
director/conductor; Heather Fleming,
choir/conductor. Harcourt Memorial United
Church, 87 Dean St., Guelph. 519-763-3000.
$25; $20(sr/st); $5(eyeGO).
●●7:30: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.
Hot Ticket: Natalie MacMaster & Donnell
Leahy’s Christmas Celebration. 250 St.
Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. $55.
Also 2:30.
●●7:30: Lyrica Chamber Choir. A Canadian
Noel. Works by Mark Sirett, Jeff Enns, Eleanor
Daley, Derek Holman, Healey Willan and
others. Lyrica Chamber Choir; Steve Winfield,
director; Brent Mayhew, piano. Burton
Avenue United Church, 37 Burton Ave., Barrie.
705-722-0271. $17; $14(sr/st).
Sunday December 6
●●2:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra.
Family Concert: From Neverland to Hogwarts.
Peter Pan; The Harry Potter Children’s
Suite. Bradley Thachuk, conductor. Cairns
Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre,
250 St Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-
0722. $32; $12(child).
●●7:30: Achill Choral Society. Rejoice. Rutter:
Magnificat; and other works. Christopher
Dawes, organ; Shawn Grenke, piano; Roger
Flock, percussion; A. Dale Wood, conductor.
St. Mark’s Anglican Church (Orangeville),
5 First Avenue, Orangeville. 905-936-5060.
$25; $10(13-17); $5(child). Also Nov 28 (Bolton),
29 (Colgan).
Tuesday, Dec. 8 th ● Noon
St. Thomas’ Church, 99 Ontario St.
Doors Open at 11:30 a.m.
Free-will collection
to Community Care
25 TH ANNIVERSARY
CIVIC CHRISTMAS
CAROL CONCERT
PRESENTED BY THE CITY OF ST. CATHARINES
Peter M. Partridge
Conductor of Massed Choirs
Ross R. Stretton
Producer & Organist
of the Civic Christmas
Carol Concert
JANE BUNNETT continued from page 31
Beat by Beat | Jazz Stories
record was going to be for, because at that time EMI was being bought
by Universal and so we didn’t have a label for it. A lot of people work
like that, do it independently, but we had spent a lot of money and we
were very lucky, we got some assistance from Ontario Arts Council
and Toronto Arts Council and FACTOR to make that recording. That
all being said, when it was done, I thought, ‘This music is very, very
different from any of the musics I have written.’ There is a feminine –
there’s something different from any other record I’ve made. There’s
all these women singing – there’s a vocal component on four tracks
– it’s not a pure jazz record, not a pure Afro-Cuban record, it’s a real
mixture of the two things. I was really afraid of how people were going
to react to it.
“As with all of our recordings, we are always moving ahead of the
curve when we make something and it’s also our problem in a way
too. I can’t stay in one place, do the same thing over and over again,
but just as somebody starts to understand what our last project is,
we have moved on to something different. So there’s always kind of a
catch-up mode with your audience, and some people get it and some
people don’t. But yeah, I was really afraid, to be totally honest. Plus
with it being an all-female record, I was worried that people wouldn’t
give it their ears – an all-girl group – not give it the real attention and
look at the integrity of it. Every one of those artists, even though some
were more developed than others – it was a leap of faith taking a
bunch of girls – most of them had never been into a studio before and
it was their first recording.
“It’s a whole bunch of firsts and Larry and I were carrying all these
new things, it was a huge leap of faith and money to do this and say to
the world, “What do you think of this one now?” Larry really was the
one that was saying, ‘It’s going to be a great record.’”
Maqueque is now working on their second album.
“We’re writing new material and rehearsing every day, much to my
neighbour’s chagrin,” laughs Bunnett. Following Saturday’s concert,
they are doing a tour of Australia – Bunnett’s first time down under
since 1993 – as well as performances planned in Cuba as part of the
JAZZ.FM91 jazz safari and the Kennedy Center in May.
“The record was great and it’s the door opener, but I think when
this group gets on stage, people’s minds are blown because the energy
is so strong from these young women. They so love performing and
they so love the opportunity to get on a stage. I have been saying this
for years in interviews: the only way you get better – you get more
popular, you become great – is by performance opportunity. Look
at Esperanza Spalding as a perfect example. She is a great talent,
but if she didn’t get all those opportunities with Joe Lovano and all
those people, they have all been stepping stones to her becoming her
own artist.
“There’s the 10,000 hours thing which has been studied – but you
can put all those hours in and not get the opportunities too. I feel it so
greatly when I get on the stage with them … they have these great big
smiles and they are not being phony. They’re so excited to be in front
of an audience, playing and getting feedback. They love it and it’s very
contagious. And they’re all kickass musicians who play their instruments
so well. They love being together as a group, and I know that
because they’re all living in our house! So I see how it works, there
is a deepness in the relationship, all the girls coming from Cuba and
knowing what they’ve had to be up against. And knowing that what is
happening for them right now is a huge opportunity. It’s been great for
me because it has given me new energy also.”
Heavyweights’ Chris Butcher: As selected by Bunnett, the Emerging
Artist Award that goes with the Premier’s Award went to trombonist,
composer and bandleader Christopher Butcher. At the awards gala,
she introduced him:
“This wonderful young musician has been in the trenches as an
artist/educator/radio show host at U of T and an arts activist. Along
with his Heavyweights Brass Band, he brings great musicianship to
the streets and concert halls …”
And says Butcher: “It is a huge honour to be selected by Jane
54 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Bunnett as
emerging
artist at the
Premier’s
Awards for
Excellence
in the Arts.
The award
comes at an
important
moment in
Jane Bunnett and Chris Butcher
my career. I’m
heading to New
Orleans in January to study with trombone master and producer
Delfeayo Marsalis, with support from the Ontario Arts Council. I look
forward to being able to focus on my art while soaking up vibrations
from the birthplace of the music I love. I’ll be coming back to the first
American tour of my group, the Heavyweights Brass Band, in March,
with clinics and concerts in NYC, Buffalo, Williamsville, Cleveland,
Akron, Detroit and more, as well as heading out west with Mexican
singer/songwriter and JUNO award-winner QuiQue Escamilla.”
Butcher, like many musicians – yours truly included – feels lucky to
have Jane Bunnett as an inspiring beacon in our community.
“Jane has been a mentor and inspiration to me for years. I feel validated
and inspired to have been selected by her. Not only do I want to
work harder for a positive change to the fabric of Canadian culture
through my art/music, I also want to give back to the community
and have a positive impact on humankind. With her Spirit of Music
Foundation, which provided instruments for Cuba, and countless
benefit concerts, Jane has showed the way.”
Ori Dagan is a Toronto-based jazz musician, writer and
educator who can be reached at oridagan.com.
C. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz)
Beat by Beat | Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz!
Music Never To
Die For
BOB BEN
This past September, The WholeNote celebrated its 20th
anniversary with a concert/party at the newly renovated
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. Rarely passing up an opportunity to
hear live music for free, and absolutely never turning down a good
excuse to wear a suit and tie, I reserved my seats very quickly. It was
great. There was a diverse program, lots of good humour, and perhaps
most importantly cake.
I remember turning to my plus-one after a lot of the performances
and saying “Okay, that was my favourite.” Some highlights include:
Mary Lou Fallis, who did a great job co-hosting the event with
WholeNote publisher David Perlman, sang a hilarious song, listed
in the program as Tone Deaf, in which the narrator goes on about
her musical ineptitude, pokes fun at herself and punctuates phrases
with deliberately off-key notes. It’s the tiniest bit ironic that while
singing about an inability to distinguish pitches, Fallis demonstrates
a very finely tuned command of pitch by nailing those “off” notes so
perfectly imperfectly.
The pianist Christina Petrowska-Quilico paid tribute to renowned
violinist and educator Jacques Israelievitch, who passed away from
lung cancer three short weeks earlier, by playing a quick and upbeat
piece of music, Glass Houses (5) by Anne Southam because, as she
told it, the “always on” Israelievitch never wanted to play things slow
(or, more accurately, below performance tempo), even in sight-reading
sessions, and “because he would have liked it.”
The program also included some jazz. During the second set, as
Sophia Perlman, Julie Michels and Adrean Farrugia approached the
120 Diner
120 Church St. 416-792-7725
120diner.com (full schedule)
Nov 1 6pm Emily Mac $10. 8pm Tracey
Gallant $10. Nov 3 7-11pm Girls Night
Out Jazz Jam. PWYC. Nov 4 6pm Black
Unicorn: Zoe Ackah & Carl Harvey
PWYC; 8:30pm Kevin Barrett with
Amanda Martinez $10. Nov 5 6pm Perlhaze
$10. Nov 6 6pm Sam Broverman
$10. Nov 7 6pm Rebecca
Binnendyk $10. Nov 8 6pm Coleman
Tinsley $10; 8pm Hello Darlings
$10. Nov 10 7-11pm Girls Night Out Jazz
Jam. PWYC. Nov 11 6pmBlack Unicorn: Zoe
Ackah & Carl Harvey PWYC; 8:30pm Kevin
Barrett with Julie Michels $10. Nov 12 6pm Liz
Tansey $10. Nov 13 6pm Bobby Hsu &
Alex Samaras: Tribute to Angela Lansbury
$10. Nov 14 6pm Brenda Lewis
CD Release with Margaret Stowe (guitar)
$10. Nov 15 6pm Darlene Stimson
Sings Carole King $10; 8pm Laura
Hubert $10. Nov 17 7-11pm Girls Night Out
Jazz Jam. PWYC. Nov 18 6pm Black Unicorn:
Zoe Ackah & Carl Harvey $10. PWYC;
8:30pm Kevin Barrett with Daniela
Nardi $10. Nov 19 6pm Ori Dagan & Marla Lukofsky
Sing June Christy $10. Nov 20 6pm Kathleen
Gorman $10. Nov 21 6pm Kristina
Nojd $10. Nov 22 6pm Bossa Nova with
Angela Turone & Chris Platt $10; 8pm Kalya
Ramu: Kal’s Hot Four $10. . Nov 24 7-11pm Girls
Night Out Jazz Jam. PWYC. Nov 25 6pm Black
Unicorn: Zoe Ackah & Carl Harvey. PWYC;
8:30pm Kevin Barrett with Rebecca
Campbell $10. Nov 26 6pm Michelle
Lecce $10. Nov 27 6pm Whitney Ross
Barris $10. Nov 28 6pm Elizabeth Martins
$10. Nov 29 6pm Hampton Avenue
Four $10; 8pm Juliet Dunn & Peter Shea $10.
Alleycatz
2409 Yonge St. 416-481-6865
alleycatz.ca
All shows: 9pm unless otherwise indicated.
Call for cover charge info.
November 4 Amber-Leigh. November 6 Taxi.
November 7, 27 Jamesking. November
11 Sean Stanley with Carlos Morgan. November
13, 14, 21, 28 Lady Kane. November
18 Play at the Parks. November 20 Recipee
Band. November 25 Nightbird Band.
Annette Studios
566 Annette St. 647-880-8378
annettestudios.com
Every Mon 9:30pm Jazz Jam w/ Jared Goldman
Quintet. Suggested donation $12/$9(st).
Artword Artbar
15 Colbourne St., Hamilton. 905-543-8512
artword.net (full schedule)
November 12 8pm Vocal jazz jam with Sue
Ramsay Trio. November 13 8pm Art Crawl:
Beg to Differ Trio with Tim Ninehouse PWYC.
November 15 7pm Lee Barwin 3 plus Schoorl
& Krakowiak $15.
Blakbird, The
812b Bloor St. West 647-344-7225
theblakbird.com (full schedule)
Bloom
2315 Bloor St. W. 416-767-1315
St. Philip’s Anglican Church
Sunday, December 6, 4:00 pm | Jazz Vespers
Tribute to Frank Sinatra with Alex Samaras (vocals),
Colleen Allen (saxophone), Scott Alexander (bass),
Gary Williamson (piano) and Brian Barlow (drums)
Sunday December 20, 4:00 pm | Christmas Jazz Vespers
Diana Panton (vocals), Reg Schwager (guitar) and
Don Thompson (piano).
St. Philip’s Anglican Church | Etobicoke
25 St. Phillips Road (near Royal York + Dixon)
416-247-5181 • stphilips.net • free will offering
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 55

Beat by Beat | Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz!
stage, I nudged my friend and said, “This is definitely going to be my
favourite.” I had said before that Sophia Perlman was my favourite
jazz singer in the city and then quickly corrected myself. “One of my
favourites. Top five.”
The finale of the anniversary celebration invited the participation
of the audience. A bunch of people with conducting experience
came on stage, divided the audience into sections, and conducted each
respective section in a rendition of the round Music Alone Shall Live,
while Mary Lou Fallis accompanied us on the piano. “All things shall
perish from under the sky. Music alone shall live, music alone shall
live, music alone shall live, never to die.”
The song is true. If not literally, then in some other way. Music may
not survive the heat death of the universe, but it is transcendent and
universal. It has existed since before recorded history and it – or at
least evidence of it – will exist after our species has gone extinct. It
could have been my imagination, or the nature of the music, or the
elevation of the stage, or just the fact that we were in a church, but for
me, it was a reverent moment. There was no dancing or even standing
(excepting the conductors). Only a bunch of people simultaneously
expressing a belief we all share, and which none of us takes lightly.
Sophia Perlman: Vocal diamonds. Earlier that week I had gone to
the Reservoir Lounge, a venue with less light, more food, and a louder
audience, to hear Sophia Perlman. Accompanied by Farrugia on piano,
the band also included Richard Underhill on alto sax, Jeff Halischuk
on the drums and Mike Carson on bass. It was a marvellous show. The
finale of the night, a cover of Paul Simon’s Diamonds on the Soles of
Her Shoes, complete with vocal harmony from the band also invited
audience participation. Before the night was over, everyone was on
their feet. Most people danced. I’m not one for dancing, but I couldn’t
sit for it. I had to sway.
The music aside, the setting was different. The stage was less
elevated. No one was in formal attire. Most people were drunk (I was
not) and at times willing to talk over the band (also not I) – which I
think made it all the more meaningful and beautiful when the audience
did choose to hand over their attention to the musicians on stage.
“Ta na na, Ta na na na” is not quite the statement that “music alone
shall live, never to die” is. Nonetheless it lifted in a similar way to the
Sophia Perlman at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre (late September 2015)
round in the church. So in retrospect, maybe it wasn’t the words.
Maybe it was the joy of making music with other people.
For the aforementioned jazz singer, Sophia Perlman, a large part of
the joy of making music – specifically improvised music – with other
people is the spontaneity of it. Jazz musicians aren’t known for their
creative inflexibility or physical tension, but even in this idiom you
will rarely see someone as loose, relaxed, comfortable on stage and
comfortable in her skin as Perlman is.
JOSHUA GOLDHAR
C. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz)
bloomrestaurant.com
All shows: 19+. Call for reservations.
November 26 7pm Sophia Perlman (voice)
Trio with Adrean Farrugia (piano), Ross Mac-
Intyre (bass) $45 (includes dinner).
Castro’s Lounge
2116e Queen St. E 416-699-8272
castroslounge.com (full schedule)
All shows: No cover/PWYC
Every Wed 6pm The Mediterranean Stars.
C’est What
67 Front St. E (416) 867-9499
cestwhat.com (full schedule)
November 7, 21 3pm The Boxcar Boys. November
14, 28 3pm The Hot Five Jazzmakers.
Chalkers Pub, Billiards & Bistro
247 Marlee Ave. 416-789-2531
chalkerspub.com (full schedule)
De Sotos
1079 St. Clair Ave. W 416-651-2109
desotos.ca (full schedule)
Every Sun 11am-2pm Sunday Live Jazz
Brunch hosted by Anthony Abbatangeli No
cover.
Dominion on Queen
500 Queen St. E 416-368-6893
dominiononqueen.com (full schedule)
Call for cover charge info.
Emmet Ray, The
924 College St. 416-792-4497
theemmetray.com (full schedule)
All shows: No cover/PWYC
November 1 8pm Matt Marantz (sax) Quartet
with Alex Goodman (guitar), Rick Rosato
(bass), Jimmy MacBride (drums). November
2 7pm Jacob Damelin Trio; 9:30pm Keith
Price (guitar) Trio with Mark Godfrey (bass),
Curtis Nowasad. November 5 9pm John-
Wayne Swingtet: Wayne Nakamura (guitar),
Abbey Sholzberg (bass), John Farrell (guitar).
November 8, 22 5:30pm Monk’s Music.
November 8 8pm Autobahn: Jeff LaRochelle
(sax), James Hill (piano), Ian Wright. November
9 7pm Christian Overton Quintet. November
12 9pm Bossa Tres: Victor Monsiváis
(guitar), Abbey Sholzberg (bass). November
15 8pm Parker Abbott Trio: Teri Parker
(piano), Simeon Abbott (piano, organ), Mark
Segger (drums). November 16 9:30pm William
Carn & Kelsey Grant (trombones). November
19 9pm Vokurka’s Vicarious Virtuoso
Violin with Ed Vokurka (violin), John Fletcher
(guitar), Abbey Scholzberg (bass). November
22 8pm Avi Granite & Ted Quinlan (guitars).
November 23 7pm Max Senitt Trio; 9:30 Mark
Godfrey Quartet.
Fat City Blues
890 College St. 647-345-8282
Garage @ CSI Annex, The
720 Bathurst St. 416-619-4621
livefromtheannex.com
November 3 ‘Live From the Annex’ monthly
Cabaret $15(adv).
Gate 403
403 Roncesvalles Ave. 416-588-2930
gate403.com
All shows: PWYC.
November 1 5pm Keith Price Blues Music
from Winnipeg; 9pm Diablo’s Dust. November
2 5pm Mike Daley Jazz Trio; 9pm Bruce
Chapman Blues Duo. November 3 5pm Howard
Willett Blues Duo; 9pm Grant Lyle Blues
Music. November 4 9pm Julian Fauth Blues
Night. November 6 9pm Fraser Melvin Blues
Band. November 7 5pm Bill Heffernan and
His Friends. November 9 9pm Chris Staig
Trio. November 11 5pm Michelle Rumball with
friend; 9pm Julian Fauth Blues Night. November
12 9pm Kevin Laliberté Jazz & Flamenco
Trio. November 13 9pm Denielle Bassels
Jazz Band. November 14 5pm Bill Heffernan
and His Friends. November 18 9pm Julian
Fauth Blues Night. November 20 5pm
Sam Broverman Jazz Duo. November 21 5pm
Bill Heffernan and His Friends. November 25
9pm Julian Fauth Blues Night. November 28
5pm Bill Heffernan and His Friends. November
30 Kalya Ramu Jazz Band.
Grossman’s Tavern
379 Spadina Ave. 416-977-7000
grossmanstavern.com (full schedule)
All shows: No cover (unless otherwise noted).
November 1 4:30pm New Orleans Connection
All Star Jazz Band; 10pm The National
Blues Jam with Brian Cober. November
2 9:30pm The Band is called NO BAND
REQUIRED. November 3 9:30pm Ms. Debbie
& The Don Valley Stompers.
Harlem Restaurant
67 Richmond St. E. 416-368-1920
harlemrestaurant.com (full schedule)
All shows: 7:30-11pm (unless otherwise
noted). Call for cover charge info.
November 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Neil Brathwaite.
November 5, 12, 19, 26 Dirty Jazz. November
7 Liz Loughrey & Adrian X. November
13 Mellow Dee. November 14 Kristin Fung.
November 20 Gyles. November 21 The Jay
Danley Ethiojazz Group.
Hirut Cafe and Restaurant
2050 Danforth Ave. 416-551-7560
Home Smith Bar – See Old Mill, The
56 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

She has clearly worked hard at developing this craft, and she must
know how good she is. But yet, offstage, she is as uncomfortable with
flattery as anyone. When I told her I had transcribed one of her scat
solos (All of Me at Shops at Don Mills, available on YouTube), she
laughed nervously and said: “Don’t do that, I don’t know what I’m
doing!” Imagine the luck that must be involved, to build a career of
not knowing what you’re doing!
Her voice has a rasp to it. Not the kind that comes from years of
smoking, but the kind that might come from shouting excitedly about
something for a few minutes. The rasp isn’t the defining feature of her
voice, but to me it adds something to the performance that’s difficult
to nail down. It’s shading. Musical shading. The rasp is good. But
through the rasp comes a voice that is clear, powerful, and shockingly
huge.
I’ve only heard her perform live three times – each at a different
venue, with a different ensemble. And each time the experience was
radically different. In fact, if it wasn’t radically different, it wouldn’t be
worth attending, never mind writing about.
When she was a novice on the Toronto scene, Perlman says she
found it “baffling, and at times really frustrating” how fluid lineups
were. But – as evidenced by the performances I’ve seen, and the ease
with which she adapts – she’s gotten used to that since then: “The
beauty of belonging to this community is that every time you stand
onstage, and take stock of who’s there, you realize there are two
things at play: you have a relationship with everyone on the bandstand
to some degree. Usually. But most of the time, they all have their
own relationships with everyone else on the bandstand – a whole
other collection of shared musical experiences, some of which don’t
include you!”
I’m excited, and I hope you’re excited, too:
You can catch Sophia Perlman adapting to all manor of different
factors at two listed gigs this month (and possibly more): one at
Bloom in Toronto with Adrean Farrugia and Ross MacIntyre on
November 26; the other at Manhattans Pizza Bistro & Music Club in
Guelph with Terra Hazelton, under the name PerlHaze.
Bob Ben is The WholeNote’s jazz listings editor. He
can be reached at jazz@thewholenote.com.
Hugh’s Room
2261 Dundas St. W. 416-531-6604
hughsroom.com
All shows: 8:30pm (unless otherwise noted).
November 1 Joey DeFrancesco Trio
$35(adv)/$40(door). November 3 Tom Paxton
$42.50(adv)/$45(door). November
4 Daniel Champagne $18(adv)/$20(door).
November 5 Oliver Swain’s Big Machine
– Never More Together Album Launch
$20(adv)/$22.50(door). November 6 Ian
Thomas $30(adv)/$32.50(door). November
10 JP Cormier – Take Your Chances
Tour $22.50(adv)/$25(door). November
11, 12 Howard Jones – Solo Piano Performance
$48.50(adv)/$52.50(door).
November 13 8th Annual New Orleans
Stomp! featuring Gregg Stafford & Detroit
Brooks $25(adv)/$30(door). November
14 Carlos del Junco & The Blues Mongrels
$25(adv)/$27.50(door). November 15 7:30pm
Micah Barnes & Friends “Uptown: Tribute to
The Apollo Theatre” $27.50(adv)/$30(door).
November 16 Sherman Downey & Matthew
Byrne $25(adv)/$28.50(door). November
17 Dione Taylor – CD Release – Born Free
$20(adv)/$22.50(door). November 18 Eric
Andersen $30(adv)/$32.50(door). November
19 The East Pointers $20(adv)/$22.50(door).
November 20, 21 Stan Rogers Tribute
C. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz)
$25(adv)/$27.50(door). November 23
8pm The Cherry Trees Band & Friends –
A Fundraiser for the Water for Life Initiative
$30(adv)/$35(door). November
24 Catholic Family Services of Toronto
Foundation presents Jazz Night to End
Woman Abuse $40(adv)/$45(door). November
26 Jay Aymar – CD/Book Release
$20(adv)/$22.50(door). November 27 A Man
called Wrycraft presents 10th Annual Heart
of Saturday Night – A Live Concert Tribute
to Tom Waits $25(adv)/$30(door). November
28 The Last Waltz – A Musical Celebration
of The Band $40(adv)/$45(door). November
29 2pm Ken Whiteley’s Sunday Gospel
Matinee $20(adv)/$22.50; 8:30pm The Last
Waltz – A Musical Celebration of The Band
$40(adv)/$45(door). November 30 Tara
Beier & The Silverthorns $15(adv)/$20(door).
Jazz Bistro, The
251 Victoria St. 416-363-5299
jazzbistro.ca
November 1 7pm The Nathan Hiltz (guitar)
Trio with Pat Collins (bass), Morgan Childs
(drums) plays Gershwin $15. November 3
8pm The Eric St. Laurent (guitar) Quartet
with Paul Pacanowski (sax), Jordan O’Connor
(bass), Attila Fias (piano) $15. November 4
8pm Hump Day Blues with Michael Pickett
$10. November 5, 6, 7 9pm The Steve Koven
(piano) Trio with Rob Clutton (bass), Anthony
Michelli (drums) $15(Thurs)/$20(Fri, Sat).
November 10 7am Jazz FM – Piano Series.
November 11 8pm Hump Day Blues with Professor
Piano Scott Cushnie $10. November
12, 13, 14 9pm The Dave Young (bass) Sextet
with David Restivo (piano), Terry Clarke
(drums), Kevin Turcotte (trumpet), Landen
Viera (sax), Drew Jurecka (violin) Plays
Ellington $15(Thurs)/$20(Fri, Sat). November
15 8pm The Nightwatchers: Rupert Wates
(guitar) and Bartosz Hadala (piano) $15. November
18 8pm Hump Day Blues with Shakura
S’Aida $10. November 19 8pm George Olliver
(voice) with Tony Padalino (piano), Peter
Mueller (guitar), Eli Eisenburg (bass), Paul
Delong (drums) $15. November 20, 21 9pm
Broadsway: Heather Bambrick, Julie Michels
& Diane Leah $20. November 22 7pm I hear
Music: The Lorraine Foreman Songbook
$20. November 26 8pm Swing Night with
Colin Hunter (voice) and the Anthony Terpstra
(drums) Seventet: Richard Whitehouse
(piano), Dave Field (bass), Paul Tarussov
(trombone), John Little (trumpet), Steve Mac-
Donald (tenor sax), Anthony Rinaldi (bari
sax) $15. November 27 8:30pm Colin Hunter
(voice) with the Joe Sealy (piano) Quartet:
Paul Novotny (bass), Daniel Barnes (drums),
Alison Young (sax) $15. November 29 7pm
Preludes and Pralines $20.
Jazz Room, The
Located in the Huether Hotel, 59 King St. N.,
Waterloo. 226-476-1565
kwjazzroom.com (full schedule)
All shows: 8:30pm-11:30pm unless otherwise
indicated. Attendees must be 19+.
November 6 Paul Mitchell (trumpet) Quintet
with Mike Massaro (sax), Joel Haynes
(drums), Rob Fekete (piano), Clark Johnston
(bass) $18. November 8 4pm Christian
Howes Band (Ohio) $20. November
13 Benjamin Deschamps Quartet (Montreal)
$15. November 14 Carol McCartney (voice)
Group with Brian Dickinson (piano), Kieran
Overs (bass), Reg Schwager (guitar), Chris
Robinson (sax), Terry Clarke (drums) $18.
November 20 New Vibes Quintet with Andy
Macpherson (percussion and vibraphone),
Dan Brennan (bass), Gary Tomlin (drums),
John Zadro (piano), Jerzy Kaplanek (violin)
$15. November 21 Alex Dean’s Three Baritone
Band $20. November 27 Jason White
Trio $15.
Joe Mama’s
317 King St. W 416-340-6469
joemamas.ca
Every Tue 6pm Jeff Eager. Every Wed 6pm
Thomas Reynolds & Geoff Torrn. Every Thurs
9pm Blackburn. Every Fri 10pm The Grind.
Every Sat 10pm Shugga. Every Sun 6:30pm
Organic: Nathan Hiltz (guitar); Bernie
Senensky (organ); Ryan Oliver (sax), Morgan
Childs (drums).
KAMA
214 King St. W. 416-599-5262
kamaindia.com (full schedule)
All shows: 5pm-8pm.
La Revolucion
2848 Dundas St. W 416-766-0746
restaurantlarevolucion.com (full schedule)
Local Gest, The
424 Parliament St. 416-961-9425
Lula Lounge
1585 Dundas St. W. 416-588-0307
lula.ca (full schedule)
November 3 8pm La Otra Orilla $32.75(adv).
Manhattans Pizza Bistro & Music Club
951 Gordon St., Guelph 519-767-2440
manhattans.ca (full schedule)
All shows: PWYC.
November 3, 18 John Zadro. November
7 Parker Abbott Trio. November 8, 22 Stan
Chang. November 11, 25 Jokela, Vogan &
Cooley. November 13 PerlHaze: Sophia Perlman
& Terra Hazelton. November 14 Ori
Dagan Trio. November 17 Brad Halls.
Mezzetta Restaurant
681 St. Clair Ave. W 416-658-5687
mezzettarestaurant.com (full schedule)
All shows: 9pm, $8 (unless otherwise noted).
Monarch Tavern
12 Clinton St. 416-531-5833
themonarchtavern.com (full schedule)
November 9 7:30pm Martin Loomer & His
Orange Devils Orchestra $10.
Monarchs Pub
At the Eaton Chelsea Hotel
33 Gerrard St. W. 416-585-4352
monarchspub.ca (full schedule)
Wednesday shows: 7pm. Thursday shows:
8pm. All shows: No cover.
November 4 The Ault Sisters. November
5 Mark “Bird” Stafford. November 11 Soren
Nissen Trio. November 12 Crissinger Band.
November 18 Cara Matthew. November
19 Michael Schatte. November 25 Brownman
Electryc Trio. November 26 Jack de Keyzer.
Morgans on the Danforth
1282 Danforth Ave. 416-461-3020
morgansonthedanforth.com (full schedule)
All shows: 2pm-5pm. No cover.
November 1 Fall Back into Jazz with Ilana
Waldston (voice), Bernie Senensky (piano),
Steve Wallace (bass). November 29 Lisa Particelli’s
‘Girls Night Out’ Jazz Jam.
Musideum
401 Richmond St. W., Main Floor
416-599-7323
musideum.com (full schedule)
November 1 8pm The Steve Koven Trio $20.
November 6 8pm On Topic $20. November 8
3pm Beth Anne Cole: “LOVE A Gershwin Tune”
$20. November 13 8pm Coleman Tinsley $20.
November 14 8pm Peter Campbell $20. November
15 3pm Joel Sheridan Sings Billie &
Frank $15. November 19 8pm Malkah Lerner
& Andrew Downing $20. November 22 8pm
Eva Green: Compared to What $20. November
24 8pm Steve Amirault $20. November
28 8pm Rose Stella $20.
Nawlins Jazz Bar & Dining
299 King St. W. 416-595-1958
nawlins.ca
All shows: No cover/PWYC.
Every Tue 6:30pm Stacie McGregor. Every
Wed 7pm Jim Heineman Trio. Every Thu 8pm
Nothin’ But the Blues w/ guest vocalists.
Every Fri 8:30pm All Star Bourbon St. Band.
Every Sat 6:30pm Sam Heinman; 9pm All
Star Bourbon St. Band. Every Sun 7pm
Brooke Blackburn.
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 57

Nice Bistro, The
117 Brock St. N., Whitby. 905-668-8839
nicebistro.com (full schedule)
Old Mill, The
21 Old Mill Rd. 416-236-2641
oldmilltoronto.com
The Home Smith Bar: No reservations. No
cover. $20 food/drink minimum. All shows:
7:30pm-10:30pm
November 3 In Concert & Conversation
with Gene DiNovi. November 5 Micah
Barnes (voice, piano) Trio with Russ Boswell
(bass), Daniel Barnes (drums). November
6 Colina Phillips (voice) Quartet with Stacie
McGregor (piano), Mike Milligan (bass), Ted
Warren (drums). November 7 Drew Jurecka
(violin, sax, voice) Trio with Mark Kieswetter
(piano), Clark Johnston (bass). November
12 Whitney Ross-Barris (voice) Quartet
with Mark Kieswetter (piano), Ross MacIntyre
(bass), John MacMurchy (sax). November
13 Tom Szczesniak (piano) Trio with Neil
Swainson (bass), Ethan Ardelli (drums). November
14 Vern Dorge (sax) Trio with Nancy
Walker (piano), Paul Novotny (bass). November
19 The Satin Dolls: Karen Bell, Donna
Green, Liz Tansey, Ilana Waldston (voices),
Mark Kieswetter (piano). November 20 Mike
Cadó (guitar) Trio with Patricia Wheeler
(sax), Ross MacIntyre (bass). November
21 Maureen Kennedy (voice) Trio with Bernie
Senensky (piano), Steve Wallace (bass). November
26 Terra Hazelton (voice) Trio with
Richard Whiteman (piano), Drew Jurecka
(violin, sax, voice). November 27 Shirantha
Beddage (bari sax) Trio with Mike Downes
(bass), Mark Kelso (drums). November
28 Russ Little (trombone) Quartet with Tom
Szczesniak (piano), Scott Alexander (bass),
David DiRenzo (drums).
Only Café, The
972 Danforth Ave. 416-463-7843
theonlycafe.com (full schedule)
Nov 11, 25 Lazersuzan.
Paintbox Bistro
555 Dundas St. E. 647-748-0555
paintboxbistro.ca (Full schedule)
November 8 1pm Moo’d Swing Concert & CD
Launch $18(adv)/$20(door).
Pilot Tavern, The
22 Cumberland Ave. 416-923-5716
thepilot.ca
All shows: 3:30pm. No cover.
November 7 Pat LaBarbara Quartet. November
14 Mike Murley Quartet. November
21 Bob Brough Quartet. November 28 Barry
Elmes Quartet.
Poetry Jazz Café
224 Augusta Ave. 416-599-5299
poetryjazzcafe.com (full schedule)
All shows: 9pm
Reposado Bar & Lounge
136 Ossington Ave. 416-532-6474
reposadobar.com (full schedule)
Every Wed Spy vs. Sly vs. Spy. Every Thurs,
Fri 10pm Reposadists Quartet: Tim Hamel
(trumpet), Jon Meyer (bass), Jeff Halischuck
(drums), Roberto Rosenman (guitar).
C. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz)
Reservoir Lounge, The
52 Wellington St. E. 416-955-0887
reservoirlounge.com (full schedule).
Every Tue 9:45pm Tyler Yarema and his
Rhythm. Every Wed 9:45pm Bradley and the
Bouncers. Every Thu 9:45pm Mary McKay.
Every Fri 9:45pm Dee Dee and the Dirty Martinis.
Every Sat 9:45pm Tyler Yarema and his
Rhythm.
Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar, The
194 Queen St. W. 416-598-2475
therex.ca (full schedule)
Call for cover charge info.
November 1 12pm Excelsior Dixieland Jazz
Band; 3:30pm Club Django; 7:30pm Scott
Kemp Trio; 9:45pm New York’s Ari Hoenig
with Jacam Manricks Trio. November 2
6:30pm University of Toronto Student Jazz
Ensembles; 9:30pm Mike Malone & The Writers
Jazz Orchestra. November 3 6:30pm
Jordana Talsky’s Standard Deviation; 9:30pm
Classic Rex Jazz Jam hosted by Chris Gale.
November 4 6:30pm The Cookers Quintet;
9:30pm Laura Swankey. November 5
6:30pm Kevin Quain; 9:45pm Mark Eisenman
Quintet. November 6 4pm Hogtown Syncopators;
6:30pm Artie Roth Quartet; 9:45pm
Mark Eisenman Quintet. November 7 12pm
Rachel Piscione Rhythm & Blues; 3:30pm
Swing Shift Big Band; 7pm Sara Dell; 9:45pm
Mark Kelso’s Jazz Exiles. November 8 12pm
Excelsior Dixieland Jazz Band; 3:30pm Red
Hot Ramble; 7pm Scott Kemp Trio; 9:30pm
Greg DeDenus Trio. November 9 6:30pm
University of Toronto Student Jazz Ensembles;
9:30pm Edmonton’s Jenie Thai. November
10 6:30pm Jordana Talsky’s Vintage
Pop; 9:30pm Classic Rex Jazz Jam hosted by
David Diao. November 11 6:30pm Ryan Oliver
Trio; 9:30pm Lorne Lofsky Quartet. November
12 6:30pm Kevin Quain; 9:30pm Lorne
Lofsky Quartet. November 13 4pm Hogtown
Syncopators; 6:30pm Artie Roth Quartet;
9:45pm Alison Young. November 14 12pm
The Sinners Choir; 3:30pm Advocats Big
Band; 7:30pm Justin Bacchus; 9:45pm Kiki
Misumi Sextet. November 15 12pm Excelsior
Dixieland Jazz Band; 3:30pm Dr. Nick
& The Rollercoasters; 7pm Bugaloo Squad;
9:30pm James Brown Quartet. November 16
6:30pm University of Toronto Student Jazz
Ensembles; 9:30pm Brampton’s Jazz Mechanics
Big Band. November 17 6:30pm Jordana
Talsky’s Mixed Bag; 9:30pm Classic Rex
Jazz Jam hosted by Chris Gale. November 18
6:30pm Ryan Oliver Trio; 9:30pm New York’s
Greg Osby with Luis Deniz Quintet. November
19 6:30pm Kevin Quain; 9:30pm New York’s
Greg Osby with Luis Deniz Quintet. November
20 4pm Hogtown Syncopators; 6:30pm Artie
Roth Quartet; 9:45pm Alex Pangman. November
21 12pm The Sinners Choir; 3:30pm
Laura Hubert Band; 7:30pm Justin Bacchus;
9:45pm Al Henderson Quintet. November
22 12pm Excelsior Dixieland Jazz Band;
3:30pm Mr. Rick’s Tin Pan Alley; 7pm Bugaloo
Squad; 9:30pm Three Blind Mice. November
23 6:30pm University of Toronto Student
Jazz Ensembles; 9:30pm Taylor Cook Quintet.
November 24 6:30pm Jordana Talsky’s Cabaret
Jazz; 9:30pm Classic Rex Jazz Jam hosted
by Chris Gale. November 25 6:30pm Ryan
Oliver Trio; 9:30pm Ken McDonald Quartet.
November 26 6:30pm Kevin Quain; 9:30pm
Mike Murley Quartet. November 27 4pm Hogtown
Syncopators; 6:30pm Artie Roth Quartet;
9:45pm New York’s Russ Nolan Quartet.
November 28 12pm The Sinners Choir;
3:30pm George Lake Big Band; 7:30pm Sara
Dell; 9:45pm Humber Faculty Nonet. November
29 12pm Excelsior Dixieland Jazz Band;
3:30pm Freeway Dixieland Band; 7pm Bugaloo
Squad; 9:30pm Sammy Jackson Group.
November 30 6:30pm University of Toronto
Student Jazz Ensembles; 9:30pm University
of Toronto Jazz Orchestras.
Salty Dog Bar & Grill, The
1980 Queen St. E. 416-849-5064 (full
schedule)
Sauce on the Danforth
1376 Danforth Ave. 647-748-1376
sauceondanforth.com
All shows: No cover.
Every Mon 9pm The Out Of Towners: Dirty
Organ Jazz. Every Tue 6pm Julian Fauth.
Seven44
(Formerly Chick n’ Deli/The People’s Chicken)
744 Mount Pleasant Rd. 416-489-7931
seven44.com (full schedule)
November 2 7:30pm Advocats Big Band No
cover. November 9 7:30pm The Big City Big
Band No cover. November 16 7:30pm George
Lake Big Band No cover. November 23
7:30pm Mega City Swing Band.
Stori Aperitivo
95 King St. E 416-361-0404
stori.ca (full schedule)
Competitions
●●NUMUS. Student Curator Competition
2015. Open to all undergraduate students
currently enrolled at accredited Canadian
universities or colleges, up to a maximum
age of 25. The winner will curate a concert in
NUMUS’ MIX Music Series in the 2015-2016
concert season, to be presented on Sunday,
April 10, 2016 at The Block 3 Brewery
in St. Jacobs. Winners will receive financial
support from NUMUS (up to a maximum of
$500) to cover programming costs such as
artist fees, tech fees, and equipment rentals if
applicable. Winners will also receive advertising
and marketing support from NUMUS and
mentorship from NUMUS’ artistic director.
numus.on.ca Deadline: November 27 2015.
●●Orchestra Toronto. Marta Hidy Concerto
Competition 2016. This year’s prize awarded
to a percussionist. For Canadian virtuosos
aged 23 and younger. Prize includes a scholarship
of $1,000 and an opportunity to perform
as a soloist with Orchestra Toronto at
its December 2016 youth-oriented concert at
the Toronto Centre for the Arts. For full history
and registration form:
orchestratoronto.ca Deadline for mailing the
application form and registration fee: February
1 2016.
●●Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Choral Composition
Competition for emerging composers.
Winner receives $1000, Debbie
Fleming Prize for Choral Composition, and
TMC premiere of work at the January 20th
D. The ETCeteras
Tattoo
567 Queen St. W 416-703-5488
tattooqueenwest.com (full schedule)
Nov 25 8pm Galen Weston CD Release:
Plugged In $15(adv)/$20(door).
Toni Bulloni
156 Cumberland St. 416-967-7676
tonibulloni.com (full schedule)
No cover. Saturday shows: 9pm. $30 food/
drink minimum. Sunday shows: 6pm. $25
food/drink minimum.
Tranzac
292 Brunswick Ave. 416-923-8137
tranzac.org
3-4 shows daily, various styles. Mostly PWYC.
Every Mon 10pm Open Mic Mondays. Every
Thurs 7:30pm Bluegrass Thursdays: Houndstooth.
Every Fri 5pm The Foolish Things
(folk). This month’s shows include: November
1, 15 5pm Monk’s Music. November 2 7:30pm
Jeremy Cunningham (drums) Quartet with
Jeff Parker (guitar), Josh Johnson (sax),
Matt Ulery (bass). November 3 7:30pm Ali
Berkok; 10pm Peripheral Vision. November
8 10pm The Lina Allemano Four. November
10 7:30pm Aurochs; 10pm Bedroom. November
15 7:30pm Diane Roblin. November 17
10pm The Ken McDonald Quartet. November
24 10pm Nick Fraser Presents. November 27
10pm The Ryan Driver Sextet.
Symposium concert. For more info and
submission requirements: tmchoir.org/
new-choral-composition-competition-foremerging-composers/
Deadline for submissions: November 13 2015.
Festivals, Fairs, Festivities
●●Nov 15: Iceland Naturally. An Evening in
Iceland. Interactive ticketed event showcasing
the best cuisine Iceland has to offer. Join
chef Helgadóttir along with Oliver & Bonacini’s
Anthony Walsh and Michael Wilson
for a meet and greet cocktail reception, followed
by a four-course tasting menu. Chefs
will walk guests through the menu while they
dine at communal tables and are treated to a
musical performance throughout the night.
Luma Restaurant, 330 King St. W.
icelandnaturally.com. $115.
Lectures, Salons, Symposia
●●Nov 01 2:30-5:30: International Resource
Centre for Performing Artists. Who’s Who
in the Industry. William Littler moderates a
high-voltage session that examines the challenges
and advantages of the present day,
through the perspectives of music presenters,
managers, performers, journalists, publicists
and more. Panelists include Annette
Sanger, Women’s Musical Club; Anthony Sargent,
Luminato Festival; Stan Passfield, Orillia
Concert Society; Faye Perkins, Real World
Management/Records; Kathy Domoney,
Domoney Artists Management; and others.
Performing Arts Lodge, 110 The Esplanade.
58 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

416-362-1422; http://ircpa.net $20 IRCPA
members; non-members $25
●●Nov 02 – 23, Mondays at 1:30: Miles Nadal
JCC. Four of the Greatest Scenes from Four
of the Greatest Operas. With opera educator
Iain Scott. Does the stage director make a difference?
Iain will examine the ways in which
all-time great scenes from Carmen, Don Giovanni,
Aida and Tosca have been interpreted
in widely different productions. 750 Spadina
Ave. To register: 416-924-6211 x0. $72 (4-week
series); $22 drop-in.
●●Nov 05 – 26 1:00-3:00: Royal Conservatory
of Music. Music Appreciation Course: Music
of the North. This course will survey Sibelius’
wonderful seven symphonies – works
that are famous for their evocations of mists,
hoar frosts and bleak, austere landscapes.
Instructor: Rick Phillips. 273 Bloor St. W. For
information and to register: 416-408-2825;
rcmusic.ca/musicappreciation $195.
●●Nov 06 12:30: Queen’s University. Queen’s
Music: New Directions for Sociology of Music
Education. Colloquium Presentation by Dr.
Roberta Lamb. Harrison-LeCaine Hall, Rm.
124, 39 Bader Lane, Kingston. 613-533-2066;
queensu.ca/music Free.
●●Nov 07 7:00: The Toronto Gilbert and Sullivan
Society. Quiz ’n Kaye. Fun prevails with
a riotous quiz on all things Victorian. Plus,
hear Danny Kaye and Nelson Eddy sing G&S,
through recordings, with Canon Michael
Burgess providing context, a bit of bio, and
‘answers oracular.’ St. Andrew’s United
Church, 117 Bloor Street E. 416-763-0832.
Guests: $5.
●●Nov 08 2:00–5:00: Classical Music Club
Toronto. A gathering place for all lovers of
classical music. Originally started over 20
years ago as a gay social club, we now warmly
welcome both gay and gay-positive visitors.
Monthly sessions offer a prepared program
and feature audio and video recordings
and informal discussion with refreshments.
This month’s program covers Swedish pianist
Peter Jablonski who appears with Music
Toronto on Nov. 10. For information and location,
contact John Sharpe at 416-597-1924 or
info@classicalmusicclubtoronto.org Annual
membership: $25; first-time visitors free.
●●Nov 08 2:00: Toronto Opera Club. Aging
and Creativity in Verdi, Strauss, Messiaen and
Britten. Guest speakers Linda and Michael
Hutcheon discuss their latest book Four Last
Songs. Room 330, Edward Johnson Bldg.,
Faculty of Music, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-924-
3940. $10.
●●Nov 12 7:00: Soundstreams Salon 21. Directing
an Opera. Canadian Stage artistic director
and Julie director Matthew Jocelyn
gives us a sneak peek into his creative process
for directing contemporary opera. A
first chance to hear excerpts from Philippe
Boesmans’s opera, Julie, before its North
American premiere on Nov 17. Berkeley
Street Theatre, Upstairs, 26 Berkeley Street.
416-504-1282. Free; PWYC preferred seating
available.
●●Nov 13 12:30: Queen’s University. Queen’s
Music: The Language of Music. Colloquium
Presentation by Robert Aitken, flutist. Harrison-LeCaine
Hall, Rm. 124, 39 Bader Lane,
Kingston. 613-533-2066; queensu.ca/music
Free.
●●Nov 17 11:30am: Queen’s University.
D. The ETCeteras
Queen’s Music: Overcoming Obstacles in Performance:
Strategies to Combat Performance
Anxiety. Colloquium Presentation by
Dina Namer. Harrison-LeCaine Hall, Rm. 124,
39 Bader Lane, Kingston. 613-533-2066;
queensu.ca/music Free.
●●Nov 17 1:30: Oakville Opera Guild. Opera
Gems on Film. Features Dean Perry, musician
and classic movie aficionado. Oakville Public
Library Central Branch, 120 Navy St. Oakville.
905-827-5678; Oakville. Opera.Guild@
outlook.com $10 (proceeds go towards our
scholarship fund, to be awarded to a student
attending the Faculty of Music at the
U of Toronto, and support our annual donation
to the Canadian Opera Company.
●●Nov 18 7:00: North York Central Library.
Elvis is King: Costello’s My Aim is True. Richard
Crouse delves into the story of the creation
of the groundbreaking album, focusing on
Costello’s musical upbringing, the recording
of the legendary songs, and the marketing
behind the music that would redefine youth
culture. Auditorium, 5120 Yonge St. To register:
416-395-5639. Free.
●●Nov 19 1:30: Miles Nadal JCC. Big Band
Jazz: Gershwin to Goodman and Beyond.
Learn how songwriters from Tin Pan Alley
and musicians George Gershwin and Benny
Goodman changed the face of American Jazz.
Includes an historical overview, film/music
clips and live clarinet music. With musician
Jonno Lightstone. 750 Spadina Ave. For more
information: 416-924-6211 x155 or lisar@
mnjcc.org $4.
●●Nov 20 12:30: Queen’s University. Queen’s
Music: Brave New World: The Twentieth Century
Begins. Colloquium presentation by
Philip Adamson, pianist. Harrison-LeCaine
Hall, Rm. 124, 39 Bader Lane, Kingston. 613-
533-2066; queensu.ca/music Free.
●●Nov 25 & Dec 02 2:00-4:00: Royal Conservatory
of Music. Music Appreciation Course:
Christmas by Bach: The Christmas Oratorio.
Explore the joy, mystery, contemplation and
awe of this 6-part masterpiece in preparation
for the performance by the Tafelmusik Baroque
Orchestra and Chamber Choir, directed
by Ivars Taurins. Instructor: Rick Phillips with
special guest, Ivars Taurins. 273 Bloor St. W.
For information and to register: 416-408-
2825; rcmusic.ca/musicappreciation $99.
●●Nov 26 1:30: Miles Nadal JCC. Big Band
Jazz: Gershwin to Goodman and Beyond.
Learn how songwriters from Tin Pan Alley
and musicians George Gershwin and Benny
Goodman changed the face of American Jazz.
Includes an historical overview, film/music
clips and live clarinet music. With musician
Jonno Lightstone. 750 Spadina Ave. For more
information: (416) 924-6211 x155 or lisar@
mnjcc.org $4.
●●Second Tuesday of every month (excluding
December & June/July): Duke Ellington Society,
Toronto chapter. Meeting dedicated to
learning more about Ellington’s music. Montgomery’s
Inn, 4709 Dundas St. W. For membership
details: 416-239-2683.
●●Every Wednesday to Nov 30: Majlis Arts.
Artists in the Library residency: Pneuma
Ensemble. Medieval music events, including
lecture/demos, kids and adult programs,
and an anglo-norman werewolf
theatrical extravaganza just after Halloween.
Fairview Library, 35 Fairview
Mall Dr. torontopubliclibrary.ca/search.
jsp?Ntt=pneuma+ensemble Free.
Master Classes
●●Nov 03 and 04 10:00am-1:00 and 2:00-
5:00: International Resource Centre for
Performing Artists. Encounter with Measha
Brueggergosman. Soprano Measha
Brueggergosman works with young professional
singers in opera, oratorio or recital,
in matters such as repertoire, performance,
stagecraft, style and career essentials. Applications
must be received no later than October
20. Alliance Française, 24 Spadina Road.
416-362-1422; ircpa.net Observers welcome:
$20 IRCPA members (or $30 for the day);
non-members $25 ($35 for the day).
●●Nov 05 2:00-5:00: International Resource
Centre for Performing Artists. Encounter
with Maestro Marco Guidarini. Guidarini will
give advice to five Canadian singers on their
Italian style and pronunciation in performance.
Alliance Française, 24 Spadina Road.
416-362-1422; ircpa.net $20 for IRCPA members;
non-members $25.
●●Nov 07 10:00am-12:00 noon: Music at
Metropolitan. Organ Master Class with
Stefan Engels. Metropolitan United Church,
56 Queen St. E. 416-363-0331. Free.
●●Nov 20 2:10: University of Toronto Faculty
of Music. Flute Master Class with Lorna
McGhee, principal flutist of the Pittsburgh
Symphony Orchestra. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Bldg., 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-
3744. Free
●●Dec 01 2:00: University of Toronto Faculty
of Music. The Riki Turofsky Master
Class in Voice. With soprano Sondra Radvanovsky.
Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Bldg.,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-3744. Free
Screenings
●●Nov 08 4:00 and 7:30: Toronto Jewish
Film Society/ Royal Conservatory/Goethe-
Institut Toronto. Wunderkinder. The moving
story of three musical prodigies - two Jewish
and one German - set in 1941, during the Nazi
invasion of Poltava/Ukraine. In a war-torn,
grown-up world gone mad, the three children
provide the light of music and, ultimately, salvation.
Guest speaker: author/artist Bernice
Eisenstein. Miles Nadal JCC, 750 Spadina Ave.
416-924-6211 x606. $15; $10 (young adults
18-35).
Spoken Word, Performance Art
●●Nov 12 8:00: Massey Hall. Torn from the
Pages: author Nino Ricci. Also featuring Nobu
Adilman, Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers),
Oh Susanna, Corin Raymond, Lucas
Silveira and Michael Winter. Each will perform
newly-commissioned songs, stories,
poems and more, evoked and inspired by Ricci’s
latest novel, Sleep. Ricci, too, will participate,
reading his own work. Harbourfront
Centre Theatre, 231 Queens Quay W.416-872-
4255; masseyhall.com $19.50 - $29.50.
●●Dec 04 – 06, 11 – 13, 18 – 20: Church of the
Holy Trinity.The Christmas Story. Professional
musicians and a volunteer cast present
this charming hour-long Nativity play. Matinee
and evening performances: please see
website for exact times. 19 Trinity Square.
416-598-4521 x301; thechristmasstory.ca
Suggested donation: $20 adults; $5 children.
Workshops
●●Nov 07 2:00: CAMMAC Toronto Region.
Vocal Percussion Workshop. Rodrigo Chavez,
leader. Northern District Library,
40 Orchard View Blvd. 905-877-0671. $30;
$25 (members).
●●Nov 13 7:30: CAMMAC Recorder Players’
Society. Amateur recorder players
are invited to join in the playing of early
music. Mount Pleasant Road Baptist Church,
527 Mount Pleasant Rd. 416-597-0485 or
cammac.ca $15 (non-members). Refreshments
included.
●●Nov 14 10:30am-1:00: Toronto Mendelssohn
Choir. Singsation Saturday Choral
Workshop. Join guest conductor Mervin Fick
of the MCS Chorus and Toronto Beach Chorale,
members of the Toronto Mendelssohn
Choir, and an enthusiastic community of singers
for a program of Handel’s stirring Coronation
Anthems. Bring your voice, we’ll provide
the scores. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church,
1585 Yonge St. 416-598-0422 x223; tmchoir.
org/singsation-saturdays/ $10.
●●Nov 22 2:00: CAMMAC Toronto Region.
Reading of C.P.E. Bach: Die Israeliten in der
Wuste, for singers and instrumentalists.
David Passmore, conductor. Christ Church
Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. 416-482-6562. $10;
$6 (members).
●●Dec 04 7:30: CAMMAC Recorder Players’
Society. Amateur recorder players are
invited to join in the playing of early music.
Guest coach Avery MacLean. Mount Pleasant
Road Baptist Church, 527 Mount Pleasant Rd.
416-597-0485or cammac.ca $20 (non-members).
Refreshments included.
●●Dec 05 2:00-4:30: Musikay. How to Handle
Messiah. An exploration of the performance
practices of baroque music and a discussion
on different interpretations of Handel’s
masterwork. Grace Lutheran Church,
304 Spruce St. Oakville. To reserve: 905-825-
9740; musikay.ca $30.
PASQUALE BROTHERS
PURVEYORS OF FINE FOOD
CATERING
(416) 364-7397 WWW.PASQUALEBROS.COM
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 59

AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES
AUDITION PREPARATION WORKSHOP
SERIES FOR TEENS No Strings Theatre.
Preparation for secondary and postsecondary
arts school, community auditions,
exams, festivals. More information
www.nostringstheatre.com,
directors@nostringstheatre.com,
416-551-2093.
THE CELTIC FIDDLE ORCHESTRA OF
SOUTHERN ONTARIO is looking for
additional musicians: violin, viola, cello, bass
and flute. We practice twice a month on
Sunday afternoon at the QEPCCC in Oakville.
Please contact Byron Grant at 905-469-1417
or email cfoso.exec@gmail.com
COUNTERPOINT COMMUNITY
ORCHESTRA (www.ccorchestra.org)
welcomes volunteer musicians for Monday
evening rehearsals, downtown Toronto.
We’re especially looking for trombones and
strings. Email
info@ccorchestra.org.
DO YOU LOVE TO SING? Are you looking for
a choir that performs every type of sacred
music, from Byrd to Britten, Howells to
Hogan? The Anglican Church of St. John the
Baptist seeks all voice types to enhance their
Mass Choir. Services take place on Sundays
at 10:30 AM in the Beaches, one of Toronto’s
most active and artistic neighbourhoods.
For more information, contact music@
stjohnsnorway.com or (647) 302-2074
SEEKING A CHORAL CONDUCTOR/
DIRECTOR. Effective immediately. Jewish
women’s ensemble (SSAA), meets once/
week in North York. Conductor to be paid on
a per rehearsal basis. Please send resume to
debkara@gmail.com
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS is 4 days
in a good recording studio / 3 hours of
massage therapy / 2 people to clean up
my apartment while I’m away on tour /
and 1 dog walker for those long rehearsal
days... WholeNote CLASSIFIEDS can
advertise your SERVICES or your HELP
WANTED needs. Inquire now for the
December & January combined issue
classad@thewholenote.com
Introducing
BUSINESS
CLASSIFIEDS!
Ideal for ongoing promotion
of your services and products
to the WholeNote’s musically
engaged readership, in print and on-line.
Book by November 21 for Dec/Jan!
classad@thewholenote.com
Classified Advertising | classad@thewholenote.com
INSTRUCTION & COURSES
CHILDREN’S PIANO LESSONS: Friendly,
approachable - and strict! Contact Liz
Parker at 416-544-1803 or liz.parker@
rogers.com. Queen and Bathurst area,
Toronto.
FLUTE, PIANO, THEORY LESSONS. RCM
exam preparation. RCM certified advanced
specialist. Samantha Chang, FTCL, FLCM,
Royal Academy of Music PGDip, LRAM,
ARCT. Toronto, Scarborough 416-293-1302,
samantha.studio@gmail. com
www.samanthaflute.com
PIANO LESSONS: personalized instruction
by experienced teacher, concert pianist
EVE EGOYAN (M. Mus., L.R.A.M., F.R.S.C.). All
ages and levels. Downtown location.
eve.egoyan@bell.net or 416- 603-4640.
PRIVATE VOICE/PIANO/THEORY/
EAR-TRAINING LESSONS/GROUP
MASTERCLASSES: Voices of Colour
Music. Classical to contemporary styles.
Preparation for RCM exams, festivals,
auditions. info@voicesofcolourmusic.com,
www.voicesofcolourmusic.com
PRIVATE VOICE/PIANO/THEORY
LESSONS: Experienced, BFA Certified
Teacher located at Christ Church Deer
Park (Yonge & St. Clair). Prepares you or
your child for RCM exams, competitions &
auditions. Contact Jessika:
jwithakmusic@gmail.com (647) 214-2827.
STUDY SAXOPHONE with Bruce Redstone,
BAEd, MMus. 20 years with Royal
Conservatory, experienced performer and
teacher. Reasonable rates and location, all
levels. 416-706-8161,
www.torontosaxlessons.com.
VOCAL JAZZ LESSONS: Study with jazz
singer Faith Amour - Joyful and Easy-going!
Toronto/Scarborough. All Ages!
faith.amour@gmail.com | 647.882.4848.
WARMHEARTED PIANO TEACHER with
sterling credentials, unfailing good humor,
and buckets of patience. Royal Conservatory
washouts and nervous learners especially
welcome. Lovely Cabbagetown studio. “Best
teacher ever!” - Beaches tween. “Beats
studying with those Quebec nuns!” - Rosedale
senior. Peter Kristian Mose, 416.923.3060.
www.MoseMusicalArts.com. My students
have never won any prizes, except for love of
music. (And loyalty.)
RESTORE & PRESERVE
YOUR MEMORIES
Recital and gig tapes | 78’s
& LPs | VHS and Hi8 | 35mm
Slides |News clippings | Photos
& more, transferred to
digital files: CD’s, DVD’s,
or Video slideshow
ArtsMediaProjects
416.910.1091
FOR SALE / WANTED
CLASSICAL RECORD AND CD COLLECTIONS
WANTED. Minimum 350 units. Call, text or
e-mail Aaron 416-471-8169 or A@A31.CA.
WHATS IN YOUR CLOSET? Sell your
unused instruments or donate them to
an educational charity with a WholeNote
classified ad! Band days just a hazy memory?
Someone out there would love to give your
nice old guitar, flute, tuba (etc) a new life.
Contact classad@thewholenote.com.
STOLEN FROM CAR – Lorée OBOE
& ENGLISH HORN: $700 reward for
information leading to return. Serial #’s:
oboe TA 78, English horn HV 25. Please call
Karen 416-656-4312 or 416-323-2232 x.26
MUSICIANS AVAILABLE
BRING MODERN ELEGANCE TO YOUR NEXT
EVENT with stunning live jazz – Arvelis Jazz
Band now booking for winter and holiday
parties! www.arvelisliveholidayjazz.com
HITCH’em & PITCH’em! I Do you play in a
party band? If you provide live music for
wedding & wakes, roasts & retirements,
and all kinds of occasions, you can advertise
your ensemble right here for as little as $24
plus tax!! Contact classad@thewholenote.
com by November 23 to book your ad for the
December & January combined edition!
Master your mind.
Mental Skills for
Performing Artists
Lisa Chisholm
www.masterperforming.ca
DO YOU DRIVE?
Do you love
The WholeNote?
Share the love and earn a little
money! Join The WholeNote’s
circulation team: 9 times a year,
GTA and well beyond. Interested?
Contact:
circulation@thewholenote.com
SERVICES
ACCOUNTING AND INCOME TAX SERVICE
for small business and individuals, to save
you time and money, customized to meet
your needs. Norm Pulker, B. Math. CMA.
905-251-0309 or 905-830-2985
CD LINER NOTES, PROMO MATERIAL,
CONCERT PROGRAMS, LIBRETTI, WEB SITE
CONTENT AND MEMOIRS need proofreading
and editing for correct spelling and grammar,
clarity and consistency. Contact Vanessa
Wells, wellsread@editors.ca, for a copy editor
with a music background. Quick turnaround
and reasonable rates! wellsreadediting.ca
VENUES AVAILABLE / WANTED
ARE YOU PLANNING A CONCERT OR
RECITAL? Looking for a venue? Consider
Bloor Street United Church. Phone: 416-924-
7439 x22. Email:
tina@bloorstreetunited.org.
PERFORMANCE / REHEARSAL / STUDIO
/ OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE: great
acoustics, reasonable rates, close to Green
P Parking, cafés & restaurants. Historic
church at College & Bellevue, near Spadina.
Phone 416-921-6350. E-mail
ststepheninthefields@gmail.com
SPACES AVAILABLE FOR RENT - sizes
range from 220 to 1600 square feet, at
Hillcrest Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) 2 Vaughan Rd at Bathurst, 1 block
south of St. Clair. TTC Bus & subway
accessible. Rehearsal/Concert space, main
floor meeting room with kitchenette. Lower
level meeting rooms with kitchen. Contact
416-654-0311 or by email
hillcrest@bellnet.ca
Children’s
Piano
Lessons
Friendly,
approachable
— and strict!
Liz Parker
liz.parker@rogers.com
Queen and Bathurst
area, Toronto.
NEED HELP WITH
YOUR TAXES?
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including prior years
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HORIZON TAX SERVICES INC.
• free consultation • accurate work
For CRA stress relief call:
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www.horizontax.ca
60 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

WE ARE ALL MUSIC’S CHILDREN
November’s Child
Johannes Debus
MJ BUELL
NEW CONTEST!
Who is December’s Child?
Johannes Debus lives in Toronto and Berlin with Elissa Lee, Jonah and Noah. Some of his other
passions and pastimes include riding the family Brompton, baking pancakes grandma-style,
taking nonsense photos, trying to understand the intricate rules of baseball.
BOHUANG.CA
Johannes Debus was appointed Music Director
of the Canadian Opera Company in 2009 after
an acclaimed 2008 COC debut – War and Peace.
Recently at the COC: Falstaff, Die Walküre,
Bluebeard’s Castle / Erwartung. In the current
season he’s conducting the world premiere of
Canadian Barbara Monk Feldman’s Pyramus
and Thisbe (onstage through Nov 7), Siegfried
(Jan 23 to Feb 14) and The Marriage of Figaro
(Feb 4 to Feb 27). Beyond the COC: in November
he’ll conduct the National Arts Centre Orchestra
and the San Diego Symphony. In February he’ll
conduct the Royal Conservatory Orchestra; in
April The Cunning Little Vixen for the Frankfurt
Opera; The Marriage of Figaro in May for
the Komische Oper in Berlin; the Cleveland
Orchestra at the Blossom Festival in the summer.
Debus’ TSO debut was part of their 2013
Mozart@257 – “Pure joy, driven like the wind”
(Robert Harris’ response in The Globe and
Mail.) Called upon to step
in for James Levine at
Tanglewood and for Sir
Colin Davis at Symphony
Hall, Debus conducts,
internationally, repertoire
of every kind.
Between opera houses
and symphony halls one
hopes he will find time for
a little winter skating here
in Ontario.
Where were you born?
Speyer am Rhein, in
a lovely region called
Palatinate, southwest of
Germany, close to Alsace
in France. I would like
to call it the German
Tuscany. I grew up in Speyer and attended high
school in Speyer.
And right after high school? I went to
Hamburg to study conducting.
When you look at that childhood photo
today, what do you think about? Happy childhood
memories! I remember the wobbly
feeling being on ice skates for the first time in
my life. It was a lot of fun, though, enjoying
really cold winters in such a way.
Your earliest musical memory? My mom
singing whilst changing my diapers. Now you
can say either I have a very good memory or I
wore diapers significantly longer than others!
She sang this beautiful German folksong “Der
Mai, der Mai, der lustige Mai...”
We all got to sing, we all got to play the
recorder (hooray) and we all learned other
instruments. My younger brother is a fine jazz
musician - he is the really talented one.
Where did listening to music fit in? All
sources were important to me: the radio,
even the TV at times, recordings in various
Look who’s in charge of getting his own
show on the road!
!!
Born in Penticton BC, grew up
“in Kelowna, Toronto, Montreal,
Ottawa …”
!!
His December Messiah will go
against the grain for some.
!!
He’ll bring a Requiem to life in
January.
!!
He’ll reconquer Carmen in April
and invite us all to get a little too
cozy in the spring.
!!
Circa 1984 at Great-Uncle Gogo
and Auntie Lean’s cottage, Bala
ON.
(nowadays vintage) formats (MC, LP, CD). I remember subscription concerts of regional
symphony orchestras, lots of very fine concerts by renowned
orchestras, ensembles, and organists at the cathedral – memorable
also just because of the 12 seconds reverberant sound, which gave
certain pieces a slightly unusual soundscape. But at the end it was
about being able to play music myself.
First memories of making music? Singing was in fact the first
way to make music myself. I don’t think there is a more elementary
and better way to start. It is also an elementary experience to sing
with others. I remember the great community and spirit we had
in the choir when I was a young boy. It obviously also trains you to
listen, and in particular to listen to others.
And instruments? After maltreating everyone’s ears with the
unavoidable recorder, I continued with playing the piano. Don’t
know if it helped to reconcile those I might have offended with the
recorder. The most painful years of my early life involve three years
of violin lessons. I regret that I wasn’t patient enough to continue.
Instead I went on with the organ and played a lot in the local
churches – not the worst move – ask my piggy bank.
How did conducting first enter the picture? I loved to conduct
the LP player and didn’t care if I made a fool of myself. Ask my siblings!
Where does music fit into your family life at home today? Isn’t family life an opera
in itself?!
You are invited to read an expanded interview at thewholenote.com.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!
Johannes Debus conducts
Wagner’s Siegfried (Jan 23 to Feb 14), directed by François Girard, with Stefan Vinke (Siegfried), Christine Goerke
(Brünnhilde), Alan Held (Wanderer), Phillip Ens (Fafner), Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (Mime) and Chrisropher
Purves (Alberich). TICKETS! LIDA H.
Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (Feb 4 to Feb 27), directed by Claus Guth, with Josef Wagner (Figaro), Jane Archibald (Susanna), Erin Wall
(Countess), Russell Braun (Count), Emily Fons (Cherubino), Michael Colvin (Basilio), Robert Pomakov (Bartolo), Helene Schneiderman
(Marcelina), Doug MacNaughton (Antonio). TICKETS! PHOEBE CLEVERLY.
The Royal Conservatory Orchestra, at Koerner Hall (Feb 12, 8pm) – Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto
No1 with Edward Zhou and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. TICKETS! RHODA SION.
Debus says he’d choose the Brandenburg Concertos for road music on a long drive.
LINDA BRANSCOMBE wins this lovely recording by Tafelmusik.
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 61

DISCOVERIES | RECORDINGS REVIEWED
DAVID OLDS
When the Orchestre symphonique de
Montréal moved into its new home,
the Maison symphonique in the Place
des Arts in 2011, the reviews were enthusiastic
for both the aesthetics and acoustics of
the hall. In May 2014 the crown jewel of the
edifice, Le Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique, was
unveiled in concerts which included the Saint-
Saëns “Organ” Symphony No.3 and new
works by Montreal-born Samy Moussa and Finnish composer Kaija
Saariaho. Kent Nagano was at the helm of the orchestra and the soloists
were OSM organist emeritus Olivier Latry in the Saint-Saëns
and Saariaho and current organist-in-residence Jean-Willy Kunz in
the Moussa. The stunning performances were captured in exquisite
recordings that can be found on a recent Analekta CD (AN 2 8779).
In earlier years the OSM made many of its recordings in Église de
St. Eustache which offered a good acoustic and a fine organ. As the
sound on this new CD attests there is no longer any reason for the
OSM to leave home to make a recording, and the arrival of the new
organ by Casavant Frères is the icing on the cake. The organ was
designed in collaboration with the hall’s architects Diamond Schmitt
+ Ædifica to specifications developed by Latry (now organist at the
Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris). It comprises four mechanical action
keyboards, with electrical assistance, 109 registers, 83 stops, 116 ranks
and 6,489 pipes.
The Saint-Saëns, the benchmark against which all other works in
the genre must be measured, is well enough known that I will not go
into details here. It will suffice to say that orchestra, soloist and instrument
are all in splendid form and under Nagano’s direction it’s hard to
imagine a finer performance. The new works, both commissioned by
the OSM (in conjunction with Orchestre national de Lyon and
London’s Southbank Centre in the case of the Saariaho), are dark
works that explore the sound/colour spectrum available through the
combination of full orchestra and the vast resources of the “King of
Instruments.” Moussa, is a 30-year-old with a flourishing career in
Quebec and in Germany. His A Globe Itself Infolding is a one-movement
work that slowly unfolds, gradually combining dense textures
with only moments of punctuation and no real melodic development
but is effective and compelling. It is conceived as a stand-alone piece
but also as the prelude to a possible future full-length concerto.
Saariaho’s Maan Varjot (Earth’s Shadows) is in three movements. The
first, Misterioso ma intenso, is just that, mysterious and intense
without much development. This is followed by a Lento calmo in
which prominent, if sparse, trumpet phrases are echoed and embellished
by the organ. The final Energico opens with a blasting cadenza
from the organ which is taken up and sustained by the orchestra,
eventually giving way to quiet bass drum “footsteps” and a high, soft
organ chord that gradually dies away. Although she has not written
extensively for the instrument, Saariaho was an organist in her
student years and her understanding of the medium is displayed in an
effective work that brings this excellent disc to a close.
I first met Erkki-Sven Tüür at the quadrennial
Estonian World Festival which was held
in Toronto in 1984. At just 25 years old, he was
a young composer emerging from the world
of rock and roll where he was something of
a star. I have followed his development in the
three decades since then, both through recordings
and live performances, as he has become a
fully mature contemporary composer.
Tõnu Kaljuste, who conducted a work of Tüür’s a few years ago in
Toronto for Soundstreams, was the instigator of a recent recording
which features Tüür and Australian composer Brett Dean. The title
Gesualdo (ECM New Series 2452) refers to the Italian Renaissance
composer and prince, Carlo Gesualdo, best known for his intensely
expressive chromatic madrigals and for brutally murdering his
first wife and her lover after finding them in flagrante delicto. The
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber
Orchestra perform under the direction of Kaljuste, who transcribed
the opening track, Gesualdo’s Moro lasso, for string orchestra. Dean’s
Carlo for choir and strings begins with a quotation from Moro lasso
and other Gesualdo motives in the choir which are gradually displaced
by the orchestra as we are led into a 20th-century sound world.
Toward the end of the piece, in the composer’s words, “Gesualdo’s
madrigals are eventually reduced to mere whispers of his texts and
nervous breathing sounds. These eventually also grow in dramatic
intensity into what may be seen as an orchestral echo of that fateful
62 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

night in Naples.”
At Kaljuste’s request Tüür arranged Gesualdo’s O crux benedicta for
strings (adding some “fragile sound clouds” to the original material)
and composed L’ombra della croce especially for this recording. The
latter reflects the sensibility of Gesualdo’s music with its sombre mood
and slowly descending melody, with a brief light and joyous section
just past the mid-point before returning to the murky depths.
The disc concludes with Psalmody, an earlier work which has its
roots in Tüür’s prog-rock band In Spe (1979-1982). Although not
composed until 1993, Tüür says it was “a retrospective commentary on
the music I had created in [those] years.” It stands in marked contrast
to the other works on the disc. Originally written for mixed chorus
and the early music ensemble Hortus Musicus, it was conceived as a
vehicle to bring together a minimalist diatonicism and complex atonality.
In its several incarnations the atonal aspects were excised and
in 2012 it was re-orchestrated and reworked for choir, double winds
and brass, percussion, keyboard and strings. It is a joyous and energetic
work in which the composer “aimed to step into a dialogue with
the mainstream of minimalism that originates from America.” I think
fans of Steve Reich and John Adams would be suitably impressed. I
know I was.
The other discs to pique my interest this month were a direct result
of my association with New Music Concerts over the past 16 years. I
first encountered the composer and clarinet virtuoso Jörg Widmann in
October 2005 when Robert Aitken invited him to curate a concert of
his own music on the series. He was just 32 but well on his way to a
stellar double career. Since then he has returned to Toronto several
times, at the invitation of the Toronto Symphony in 2012 to take part
in the New Creations Festival with conductor/composer Peter Eötvös
and again in 2014 for another portrait concert with NMC and to
rehearse with the TSO for their European tour.
On that first NMC concert he played music
of Alban Berg with pianist David Swan and
three works of his own with our musicians.
The highlight of the concert for me however
was the Accordes’ performance of Widmann’s
Jagdquartett – String Quartet No.3 with its
vocal and extra-musical interjections and
flamboyant gestures. That came right back to
me while listening to a new Wergo 2CD set
Jörg Widmann – Streichquartette which features all five numbered
string quartets plus two short early works for the strings performed by
the Minguet Quartet (WER 7316 2). The Minguet has worked extensively
with Widmann over the past decade. This is actually their
second recording of his quartet cycle so I think we can consider these
definitive performances of very challenging works that employ myriad
extended techniques.
The quartets are presented in chronological order and, as discussed
extensively in the comprehensive liner notes, treated as five movements
of one large work. In this way I am reminded of the Orford
Quartet recording of the first five quartets of R. Murray Schafer as
recorded for Centrediscs back in 1990. At the time producer David
Jaeger suggested the same thing about Schafer’s cycle with its interlocking
themes and motives. There are other parallels between the
Widmann and Schafer quartets, particularly with the vocal outbursts
in both third quartets and the use of soprano (albeit much more
extensively by Widmann – Claron McFadden is superb) in their
respective fifths. Of course Schafer has gone on to expand his set to an
even dozen, all interconnecting and all recorded by Quatuor Molinari
for ATMA (atmaclassique.com). I wonder if Widmann will continue in
the same fashion. At 42 he certainly has time to consider it, but he is
currently booked for years in advance with opera and orchestral
commissions. It has been a decade since he composed his fifth quartet
and so, for the time being, we must content ourselves with this testament
to the outstanding contribution to the genre by a young
composer who has moved on to larger projects. The set also includes
the youthful Absences for string quartet and a brief moto perpetuo
movement entitled 180 beats per minute for the somewhat unusual
combination of two violins, viola and three cellos. A marvellous
“portrait of the artist as a young man.”
The most recent New Music Concert featured
the Turning Point Ensemble from Vancouver,
a large group whose members include cellist
Ariel Barnes (featured in a concertante role in
Linda Catlin Smith’s Gold Leaf) and harpist
Heidi Krutzen (not present for the Toronto
performance). Together these two formed
the ensemble Couloir in 2011 and have since
commissioned a number of works for this
somewhat unusual combination. Released in 2013 but previously
unknown to me, Wine Dark Sea (Revello Records RR7879 couloir.ca)
presents three of these original works: Three Meditations on Light by
Jocelyn Morlock; Drifting Seeds by Baljinder Sekhon; and A monk,
dancing by Glenn Buhr.
The disc opens with Vancouver composer Morlock’s Meditations.
The birds breathe the morning light begins quietly with the harp
providing pointillistic accompaniment to a high, falling melody
in the chanterelle range of the cello which gradually develops
denser textures without ever losing its contemplative mood.
Bioluminescence, the subtitle for which gives the album its title,
while still gentle is a more dance-like movement with rhythmic harp
motives shimmering under the lyrical cello melodies. Absence of
Light – Gradual Reawakening begins, as we might expect, in darkness
and the depths of the instruments’ registers but eventually leads us
back to the light with some bird-like sounds along the way, ending in
warm long tones from the cello.
Sekhon is a composer and percussionist living and teaching in
Florida. There are world music influences and extended techniques in
his 2012 Drifting Seeds which he says “explores the social and cultural
connections between individuals and societies. … While composing
this work I was very interested in the idea that we are all different
versions of each other.” He does this by juxtaposing, layering and
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Known for his large-scale
compositions, Bernstein also wrote
extensively for his own instrument
- performed beautifully here by
Brazilian pianist Alexandre Dossin
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 63

ultimately eliminating materials from a “collection of musical fragments.
They appear at different speeds, transposition levels, and with
different timbres throughout the work.” It is very effective.
Kitchener-based Buhr says, “A monk, dancing is a good metaphor
for a composer. We composers spend much of our time alone in our
studios (monastic cells), but the task is to imagine music; so in our
minds, we dance.” After a long contemplative section rife with rich
melodic chant-like lines in the cello, an arpeggiated transition leads to
the “dance” – “bright and happy, with a beat a monk could dance to…”
– before returning to contemplation.
While there is a certain sameness to the lush timbres and textures
produced by harp and cello in all of the pieces, there is enough
diversity to sustain interest throughout this fine recording.
At the Turning Point concert I was particularly impressed with the
sound Barnes produced from his cello which he told me is a modern
Portuguese instrument. On this CD he is playing another gorgeoussounding
cello, the 1730 Newland Johannes Franciscus Celoniatus on
loan from the Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank. I am left with
the feeling that any cello would sound great in his hands.
The only piece of music by Isang Yun that I have ever heard
performed live was Novelette for flute, harp, violin and cello,
presented in the context of New Music Concerts’ Portrait of Toshio
Hosokawa that also included Hosokawa’s Memory (In memory of
Isang Yun) back in May 2000. The story of Yun is an intriguing one. He
was born in what is now Tongyeong, South Korea in 1917, long before
the division of North and South. Yun studied and settled in Germany
where he was the first Asian composer to integrate aspects of the
music of his homeland into the Western Art Music tradition. Yun was
a strong believer in the reunification of Korea. While living in West
Berlin, along with a number of compatriots, he was in contact with
North Korean representatives in East Germany trying to open cultural
relations between the two Koreas. Accused of being a spy, Yun and his
colleagues were kidnapped and taken to South Korea where they were
imprisoned and tortured. After a year, pressure applied by the German
government resulted in Yun’s release and return to Germany, where,
despite hoping to one day return home to a unified Korea, he
remained until his death in 1995. Since that time his music has been
championed in both North and South Korea where there are institutes,
competitions and festivals in his name, although he is still seen
as a dubious character by some.
teacher, mentor and composer of
popular school anthems, which
continued to be performed
anonymously during the period
when his music was banned in
his homeland.
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Of course there is much more to the story
than that, some of which is told in Isang
Yun Inbetween North and South Korea, a
film by German director Maria Stodtmeier
which has been released by Accentus (ACC
20208). It is an excellent introduction to the
man and the music, with extended excerpts
of performances of his challenging and virtuosic
compositions – of special interest to me
was the extremely demanding Cello Concerto
– as well as moving reminiscences of him as a
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Keyed In
ALEX BARAN
Variations, by their nature, tend toward
the cerebral. Pianists who understand
this devote a good deal of effort
maintaining their ties to the thematic homeland
in spite of the distances a composer may
travel in his creative wanderings. Konstantin
Scherbakov demonstrates this beautifully in
Eroica (Two Pianists Records TP1039190)
where Beethoven’s Eroica Variations Op.35 journey far on a surprisingly
short musical idea. When at times the composer has left little
more than a hint of harmonic progression as a fragment of the original
idea, Scherbakov finds it and underlines it to remind us of our point
of departure. By the time he’s played through all fifteen variations,
the closing fugue comes as a highly energized and joyous finale in the
form Beethoven so loved to use.
The same disc contains both the Pathétique and Appassionata
sonatas. Here, Scherbakov is more formal. He is very aware of the
architecture around his musical content and artfully recalls the ideas
Beethoven requires in the closing arguments. The Adagio of the
Sonata No.8 in C Minor, Op.13 “Pathétique” is perhaps less outwardly
emotional than some would like, but this works well in the context
of Scherbakov’s overall approach to both sonatas. A strong performer
with a clear technique, he has made this a very fine addition to
anyone’s Beethoven collection. Production values on this disc are very
high despite the fact that the program was recorded in different locations
(UK and Moscow).
Also recorded in Moscow are Prokofiev’s
Piano Sonatas 6, 7 and 9. Digitally restored
from original sources Prokofiev Piano Sonatas
(Archipel Records ARPCD 465) features three
separate public recitals by Sviatoslav Richter
from the mid-1950s. Disappointingly bereft
of any historical notes about the concerts,
the disc is economically packaged but thankfully
a little web sleuthing can uncover plenty
more about this material. These are among the recordings from the
decade that introduced Richter to the West. The audio restoration is
wonderful although the somewhat narrow frequency range of the
recording reflects the technology of the period. Still, it in no way
impedes the colossal technique Richter possessed. His utter control
of the wildest passages in Sonatas 6 and 9 stand in contrast to his
pensive playing of the Sonata 7 where doleful reflection speaks of the
personal burden Prokofiev felt under the Stalinist regime.
Richter seems the perfect pianist for this repertoire. Recording two
of Prokofiev’s “War” sonatas from the early 1940s (No.6 and No.7) just
a few years after Stalin’s (and the composer’s) death, one wonders
what the propaganda chatter must have been at the time. The final
sonata on the disc, No.9, was written for and dedicated to Richter in
1947. All three of these performances are truly arresting.
Vadym Kholodenko is the 2013 Van Cliburn
International Piano Competition gold medalist.
His collaboration with Miguel Harth-Bedoya
and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in Grieg,
Saint Saëns Piano Concertos (harmonia
mundi HMU 907629) produces thoughtful
and unhurried performances. Pianist and
conductor are in complete agreement on
tempi that favour a more relaxed approach than we sometimes hear.
This subtle expansion of time offers the listener an extra moment of
consideration before processing the composer’s next thought. The
Grieg slow movement is especially exquisite for this reason.
The Saint Saëns Concerto No.2 in G Minor, Op.22 is not quite so
64 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

estrained. Kholodenko takes the first two movements almost ad
libitum alternating between the pensive approach of the opening
movement and his dazzling chromatic octave runs in the second. But
the third is where he explodes out of the gate with real drama. The
palpable energy and crisp articulation make this a performance hard
to surpass. This is Kholodenko’s second recording for the label. His
third is the Prokofiev concertos the first disc of which we can expect
the first disc in 2016.
Last month’s column reviewed several
discs using period instruments. American
Romantics, The Boston Scene (Piano Classics
PCL0080) does something similar using an
1873 Chickering grand in a historic Episcopal
church in Charlestown, MA. The instrument
benefits from modern action and sounds more
like a contemporary piano than a fortepiano.
Still, its darker colours and unique upper
register voicing remind us of its vintage. Pianist Artem Belogurov
clearly loves this piano and as much caresses it as plays it. His repertoire
choices reveal how much this late romantic American school
owed to its European origins.
It wasn’t until the next generation of composers, the modernists
of the early 20th century, that an identifiable American voice began
to emerge. Still, this disc’s program helps us understand the creative
heritage from which that sprang. Highly programmatic, these short
pieces by Foote, Paine, Chadwick and Nevin are beautifully written
by composers who knew their craft well. Belogurov commits to them
wholly. His playing is sincere and utterly convincing.
The disc is enlightening, entertaining and offers a profoundly satisfying
final track with Margaret Ruthven Lang’s Rhapsody in E Minor
Op.21. Published in 1895, it’s the most substantial work on the
recording and demonstrates a remarkable affinity between composer
and pianist, across cultures and generations.
Some four decades later Leonard Bernstein,
then in his late teens, wrote his Sonata for
the Piano (1938) and Music for the Dance
No.2. These two works open and close pianist
Alexandre Dossin’s program on Bernstein:
Thirteen Anniversaries (Naxos 8.559756).
Dossin is Brazilian-born, Moscow
Conservatory-trained and now teaches in the
U.S. He plays the Sonata with all the boldness
and assertiveness that the young Bernstein brought to the page.
It’s brilliant music and brilliantly played. The three-movement Music
for the Dance is polytonal and angular in rhythm. Dossin understands
Bernstein’s structures and always keeps the principal ideas up front
for us to follow.
Thirteen Anniversaries from 1988 is the last of four such collections
of miniatures Bernstein wrote for his family and numerous friends.
A half century separates these from the early compositions on this
disc and the difference is remarkable. Dossin conveys what the older
composer is feeling. For Stephen Sondheim is a heartfelt tribute to
his friend and librettist with very subtle harmonic tilts in the direction
of Broadway. In Memoriam: Ellen Goetz is simple and profoundly
moving and serves as a fitting close to the set. The 1943 Seven
Anniversaries contains tributes to Aaron Copland as well as Serge
and Nathalie Koussevitsky and others. Dossin finishes this set with an
aggressively energized For William Schumann. All of it is superb.
Felt Hammers (Tantara TCD0314FHM) is a
collection of the piano works of Michael Hicks
played by Keith Kirchoff. This disc is far from
common fare but more than a few will like it
– a lot. Contemporary and a bit experimental
in both composition and performance, the
music has titles that reflect strong allusions
to the sacred, poetic and philosophical. Still,
one hesitates to deem it entirely programmatic. With the piano tuned
to Werckmeister III (a tuning system with subtle shimmers in certain
keys), Kirchoff plays the instrument in the conventional way, but also
stops and plucks strings manually and occasionally adds vocalizations.
The core of the program is The Stations of The Cross and its narrative
is easy to follow. What raises this composition far out of the ordinary
is that Kirchoff has fully captured Hicks’ intention to use the piano in
ways that create new and powerfully evocative sonorities. These are
sound paintings that strongly project images of Jesus’ journey from
condemnation to death and burial. It’s emotionally graphic, though in
an abstract way.
The Annunciation is the only piece that extensively uses familiar
keyboard technique. Its technical demands are high and Kirchoff
meets them capably. The disc opens with a helpful introduction to
Hicks’ keyboard language. The Idea of Domes is a simple keyboard
tone poem that delivers exactly what its title suggests and prepares
the listener for what’s to come. The closing track L’épitaph de Monk
is based on Thelonious Monk’s Crepuscule with Nellie and echoes the
rhythmic note clusters that punctuate Monk’s original. Those in the
target niche for this recording will find it very gratifying.
Since winning first prize at the 2000
International Chopin Competition at age 18,
Chinese pianist Yundi has scarcely stopped
to catch his breath. Countless international
tours and 16 recordings later Yundi’s energy is
as impressive as ever. His latest disc is Yundi
Chopin Preludes (Mercury Classics/Deutsche
Grammophon 4811910) which presents all of
the Op.28 Preludes plus the Op.45 in C-sharp
Minor and a posthumous work as well.
While each on separate tracks, the 24 preludes are produced with
very little time between them and give the effect of a larger single
piece. This has the novel effect of joining Chopin’s disparate ideas,
many less than a minute long, into a statement that he may never
have considered. If anything, it allows us a high-contrast glimpse of
his remarkable imagination and technique, none of which is beyond
Yundi’s grasp. His playing is often unbelievably fast as in the Prelude
No.18 in F Minor, but never sacrifices clarity or phrasing. Others like
the No.23 in F Major move with an enchanting fluidity. It’s a breathtaking
recording and easy to play often for the sheer marvel of it.
Film music became its own form when
musicians first started playing for silent
movies. Largely given to supporting and
enhancing the emotions portrayed on the
screen, film scores occasionally rise beyond
their usual task and stand on their own artistic
merits. Composer/pianist Francesco Di Fiore
has taken this a step further by creating a video
and piano performance project using selected shots from a variety
of modern films and has reinterpreted the film scores as minimalist
keyboard iterations. The studio version of this live project is Piano
Sequenza – Piano Music in Film (Zefir Records 9642) and is a remarkably
intimate listening experience.
Most of the music selected for this recording was already pianocentric,
either written for the instrument as solo or using it to carry
the main thematic idea. Di Fiore’s reinterpretations have the effect of
being artistic distillations, powerful for their links to films we know
well, The Piano, The Hours, The Truman Show and others. And while
there is a strong melancholic undercurrent to it all, he infuses it with a
clear and uplifting simplicity that has a lingering effect.
Whether he is spinning the ideas of Michael Nyman or Phillip Glass,
Di Fiore succeeds in turning the piano into a unique voice, through
which we experience the film world of directors Peter Weir, Jane
Campion and the others included on this unusual disc.
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 65

TERRY ROBBINS
Our own James Ehnes is back with a CD of early 18th century
works on Vivaldi Four Seasons
(Onyx 4134), with his regular partner
Andrew Armstrong at the piano for Tartini’s
Devil’s Trill Sonata and Leclair’s Tambourin
Sonata, and the Sydney Symphony under
Ehnes’ direction providing the support for the
title work. It’s the first time Ehnes has
recorded The Four Seasons, and it was
certainly worth the wait. The playing is everything
you would expect from him: it’s warm, intelligent and beautifully
judged, with sensitive and very effective orchestral
accompaniment.
The Tartini and Leclair sonatas are the opening works on the CD,
with Ehnes using the Kreisler edition of the Devil’s Trill sonata that
ends with the challenging cadenza that Kreisler added to the work.
Again, the playing by both performers is outstanding.
Another Onyx CD features live concert
recordings of violin music by Sergei Prokofiev
in terrific Frankfurt performances by Viktoria
Mullova (ONYX 4142). The Frankfurt Radio
Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi
provides the support in the lovely Concerto
No.2 in G, Op.63, recorded over two days in
May 2012. Mullova is equally at home in the
work’s beautiful slow movement and in the music’s spikier passages.
Prokofiev’s two unaccompanied violin sonatas – the Sonata for
Two Violins in C, Op.56 and the Solo Violin Sonata in D, Op.115 –
were recorded in December 2014. Tedi Papavrami joins Mullova in the
former. The recorded ambience is full and resonant, especially in the
concerto, and there is no real sign of audience presence other than the
applause at the end of the works, which fades out after a few seconds.
There’s more live Prokofiev, as well as
Shostakovich and Rachmaninov on Russian
Concert, a 2-CD recording of the March 28,
2006 concert in Toronto’s Glenn Gould Studio
by the outstanding violist Rivka Golani and
pianist John Lenehan (Hungaroton HCD
32743-44). The concert opens and closes
with pieces (six on CD1, five on CD2) from
Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet, transcribed
for viola and piano, with the composer’s permission, by the
Russian violist Vadim Borisovsky. Violist Douglas Perry joins Golani
and Lenehan for the final two pieces.
CD1 ends with a brooding performance of the Shostakovich Sonata
for Viola and Piano Op.147, the only work in the concert in its original
form, but the heart of the recital is the transcription – again by
Borisovsky – of Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata in G Minor Op.19. More
than anything else on the two CDs this brings impassioned playing
from both performers, with the piano often predominant in a role that
is far from being merely an accompaniment. Despite the wonderful
viola playing, however, it’s difficult to ignore the fact that the instrument’s
pitch is higher and somewhat thinner than the cello’s, and the
absence of the latter’s strength, depth and richness, particularly in
the lower strings, alters the tonal relationship with the piano; at times
here, the music just seems to be too big for the instrument. Still, what
a performance!
The ever-reliable English cellist Steven Isserlis is back with yet
another delightful CD, this time with harpsichordist Richard Egarr on
Bach, Handel and Scarlatti Gamba Sonatas (Hyperion CDA68045).
Bach’s three sonatas – in G Major BWV1027,
D Major BWV1028 and G Minor BWV1029 –
are programmed around Domenico Scarlatti’s
Sonata in D Minor Kk90 and Handel’s Violin
Sonata in G Minor HWV364b. The Handel here
relies on an authentic manuscript version that
shows the opening of the violin part lowered
an octave and indicated as for viola da gamba.
In this work and the Scarlatti the players are
joined by Robin Michael on cello continuo.
Isserlis points out that playing with a harpsichord allows him “to
play as lightly as possible without ever courting inaudibility,” and the
result is playing of grace, lightness and warmth. Add the usual intelligent
and insightful booklet notes written by Isserlis in his inimitable
style – he even quotes Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel at one point – and the
whole package is another winner.
The often-asked question “How could I
not have heard them play before?” raised its
head again this month when I played Four
Centuries, a new CD from pianist Susan
Merdinger and violinist David Yonan featuring
works by Mozart, Schumann, Bloch and the
Chicago-based contemporary composer Ilya
Levinson (Sheridan Music Studio susanmerdinger.org).
Both players have impressive résumés, but the Berlin-born
Yonan made his recital debut in Berlin, Moscow and St. Petersburg
at the age of 11. He also studied with the legendary Dorothy DeLay at
Juilliard. He has impeccable technique, a sumptuous tone and a real
depth to his playing.
A lovely performance of Mozart’s Sonata No.13 in B-flat Major,
K454 opens the disc, with the fine balance between the instruments
reminding us that the work was written as being “for Piano
and Violin.”
Schumann’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 in A Minor, Op.105 is
also beautifully played, but it is the 20th century work, Bloch’s Suite
Hébraïque that really steals the show here. “It is the Jewish soul that
interests me,” said Bloch, and it’s that soul which is at the heart of this
three-movement suite and given a brilliant realization by Yonan. It’s
stunning playing.
The final work is the world premiere recording of Levinson’s Elegy:
Crossing the Bridge, a short piece dedicated to David Yonan, who gave
the world premiere in Chicago in 2011. Susan Merdinger is a terrific
partner throughout a highly satisfying CD.
Three of the great Czech string quartets
are featured on Janáček & Smetana String
Quartets, the latest CD from the Takács
Quartet (Hyperion CDA67997). All three
works, while being strongly nationalistic, are
also intensely personal.
Smetana openly admitted that his Quartet
No.1 in E Minor, From My Life, was a tone
picture of his life: the first movement is his
youthful yearnings; the second the dance music of his youth; the
third his first love – his future wife, whom he would lose to tuberculosis;
and the fourth his joy in incorporating nationalism in his mature
music, a joy that would be terminated by his growing deafness, represented
in the score by the sudden ominous high E harmonic pitch
that sounded in the composer’s ear. It’s obvious from the passionate
opening that this will be a rewarding performance, and it never
disappoints.
Janáček’s two quartets, subtitled The Kreutzer Sonata and Intimate
66 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Letters, were both written late in his life, when he had found his
decidedly individual voice and was experiencing a late surge in his
career. In particular, he was deeply involved in an intensely passionate
– though essentially unrequited – friendship with the young Kamila
Stősslová, and the second quartet specifically represents events in
Janáček’s relationship with her; despite his age, it’s full of the passion
and yearning of a youthful man.
The performances of both works here are all that you could want
them to be.
American Dreams is the title of a lovely new
CD from the St. Helens String Quartet (Navona
Records NV6004) as well as the subtitle of the
opening work, Peter Schickele’s String Quartet
No.1 from 1983.
Schickele, who turned 80 this year, has
enjoyed a long career as a composer and
performer when not busy with his alter ego
P.D.Q. Bach. This quartet, the major work on the CD, is beautifully
written, moving in an arch from an Appalachian start through jazz,
blues and fiddle styles and a Navajo song back to the dulcimer-like
Appalachian tune from the opening.
Ken Benshoof (born 1933), Bern Herbolsheimer (born 1948) and
Janice Giteck (born1946) are the other composers, represented by
a variety of short works. Benshoof’s Swing Low from 2004 is eight
views of the famous spiritual, and his Remember is a nostalgic sketch
from 1977. His Diversions from 2005 – six pieces in various moods,
including Blue Grass and Raggedy Blues – are for violin and piano,
with pianist Lisa Bergman providing the accompaniment.
Botanas, Herbolsheimer’s five-movement work from 2008, is
named for the appetizers served in Mexican bars and cafes. The two
pieces by Giteck are Ricercare (Dream Upon Arrival) from 2012
and Where can one live safely, then? In surrender, written for the
St. Helens Quartet in 2005. There is nothing here that is hard to
assimilate, and a great deal that is thought-provoking and highly
enjoyable. The playing throughout is warm and idiomatic, the
recording quality excellent.
Also from Navona Records is Feral Icons,
a suite of six movements for solo viola by
Peter Vukmirovic Stevens performed by Mara
Gearman (NV6008). The work was written
for Gearman in 2013-14, and according to the
very sparse booklet notes employs Stevens’
signature sound of extended tonality and
isometric rhythms.
To be honest, I’m not quite sure what that means in this
particular context. We’re told that Stevens, who studied with Bern
Herbolsheimer among others, has a compositional approach that
strips away the extraneous to reveal simplicity, and certainly the
writing here seems to be mostly tonal and quite accessible, with
a fairly standard use of the instrument. There’s not a great deal of
dynamic, rhythmic or tonal range though, and Gearman’s vibrato
never seems to vary much. Still, she’s more than up to any technical
challenges the work presents.
Judging by the number of cello ensembles around these days,
cellists must love company. Vibrez is the
first release on the UK’s Edition Classics
label by the London-based cello octet
Cellophony (EDN1047), featuring a program
of nine arrangements by octet member
Richard Birchall and one original composition.
The eclectic list includes Wagner’s
Prelude to Act 1 of Tristan und Isolde, three
Schubert songs, Liszt’s La Lugubre Gondola,
Wieniawski’s Scherzo-Tarantelle (in a particularly dazzling performance),
Mendelssohn’s Ave Maria, a Bach Prelude and Barber’s Adagio
Op.11, the famous “Adagio for Strings.” The original composition
Violoncelles, Vibrez! by the contemporary Italian composer and cellist
Giovanni Sollima completes a charming and entertaining disc.
Music for a New Century is a new and intriguing CD of Violin
Concertos by the American composers Sidney
Corbett and Christopher Adler, performed by
Sarah Plum (Blue Griffin Recording BGR371).
The Chamber Music Midwest Festival
Orchestra under Akira Mori joins Plum in a
live recording of Corbett’s Yaël at its June 5,
2011 North American premiere in Wisconsin,
while Nicholas Deyoe conducts San Diego New
Music in the world premiere of the Adler concerto, commissioned by
Plum specifically to pair with the Corbett on this CD release.
While both works are clearly very strong neither is an easy first
listen, with a good deal of unrelenting toughness that tends to act
like a suit of emotional armour, keeping you at bay. Plum, however,
calls them “beautiful, original and quite striking,” and says that she
is “confident that they will enter the repertoire and be played for
many years to come.” I really hope she’s right, but I won’t be putting
any money on it; these are works that are not immediately audience
friendly in the traditional sense, even on repeated hearings, and might
prove difficult to program.
Mind you, it’s difficult to imagine a better flag bearer for them than
Sarah Plum, who is quite brilliant here, or better performances or
recordings. This is still an indispensable addition to the contemporary
American violin concerto discography.
Listen in!
• Read the review
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New this month to
the Listening Room
TheWholeNote.com/Listening
For more information
Thom McKercher at
thom@thewholenote.com
MAHLER – SYMPHONY NO.10
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
with
Orchestre Metropolitain
Acclarion: Shattered Expectations
Accordion and clarinet create
breathtaking, richly romantic, vibrant
original works and give a new voice to
classical masterpieces.
www.acclarion.ca
Like a Ragged Flock
~spin~ duo
James Harley: electronics and
sound diffusion
Ellen Waterman: flutes and voice
Available from the Canadian Music Centre
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 67

VOCAL
Rimsky-Korsakov – The Tsar’s Bride
Peretyatko; Rachvelishvili;Kränzle;
Cernoch; Kotscherga; Tomowa-Sintow;
Staatkapelle Berlin; Daniel Barenboim
BelAir Classics BAC105
!!
This production
was a highlight
of the 2013 season
in Berlin. One of the
reasons was Russian
director-genius,
Dimitry Tcherniakov
(creator of the COC’s
unorthodox and spectacular
Don Giovanni
last February) who
has since become a
very desirable commodity all over the world.
Tcherniakov’s modern concept targets the
world of media bosses inventing computergenerated
heroes and rounding up beautiful
women (remember The Bachelor?) to be
chosen against their will to be their wives.
His concept chimes in nicely with the gruesome
original story and is also very engaging,
colourful and spectacular to look at.
Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Tsar’s Bride
is largely unknown in the West and it is the
true story of Ivan the Terrible’s chosen bride
who was poisoned soon after their marriage.
The opera is strongly dramatic with beautiful
melodic invention and is profoundly moving,
especially in the hands of Daniel Barenboim,
who is packing in sold-out performances
one after the other in Berlin and in Milan –
at La Scala where Verdi was discovered and
where he is referred to these days simply as
“The Maestro.”
The celebrated cast is headed by Russia’s
latest export, the gorgeous high soprano Olga
Peretyatko, still a bit of an unknown quantity
to most, but already a star. I’ve watched her
in Rossini literally charming the Pesaro audience
with her conquering hair-raisingly difficult
vocal acrobatics and her spectacular stage
presence. It’s almost impossible to outdo her,
yet mezzo Anita Rachvelishvili’s deeply felt,
heartbreaking performance as the wronged
woman gets even more applause at the end.
Of the men, German bass-baritone J.M.
Kränzle, who is also a great character actor,
makes a big impression as a larger-than-life
and complex Boyar Grigory. Opera at its best.
Janos Gardonyi
Parry – I Was Glad; Coronation Te Deum
Choir of Westminster Abbey; Onyx Brass;
Daniel Cook; James O’Donnell
Hyperion CMA68089
!!
Sir Hubert Parry’s most famous Church of
England standards such as Jerusalem, Dear
Lord and Father of mankind (on his hymn
tune Repton), the ode Blest pair of sirens,
his “Mag and Nunc” (Magnificat and Nunc
dimittis) and coronation
pieces I was
glad and Te Deum are
featured alongside
lesser-known early
works in this excellent
recording by the
gentlemen and boys
of Westminster Abbey.
Though some contemporaries saw Parry as
overly conventional, one must admit that his
music can be rousing and has graced many a
royal occasion, not just in his own time but in
ours as well.
While I was glad and Te Deum served
for coronations throughout the 20th
century, Blest pair of sirens – Parry’s setting
of Milton’s ode At a Solemn Music, was
performed by the Westminster Abbey Choir
for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge (William and Kate). By employing
the Onyx Brass, this recording pays tribute
to the many times brass was introduced in
arrangements of Parry’s work, notably those
by Grayston Ives. The choir performs as if
born to this music and an excellent solo
quartet for the Magnificat emerges from its
ranks, including a treble solo of great clarity
by the young Alexander Kyle. Organist Daniel
Cook veritably shines, having been given
the over 11-minute Fantasia and Fugue
in G Major.
Dianne Wells
Rufus Wainwright – Prima Donna
Janis Kelly; Kathryn Guthrie; Antonio
Figueroa; Richard Morrison; BBC
Symphony; Jayce Ogren
Deutsche Grammophon 479 5340
!!
Rufus Wainwright
is certainly a polarizing
figure.
Celebrated by some,
panned by others, for
his fawning song-bysong
recreation of Judy
Garland’s concerts. He
has been a ubiquitous
presence at the Toronto Luminato Festival
and is now a recorded opera composer. Wait,
what? Yes, his 2009 opera Prima Donna, seen
in Toronto at Luminato, recently received the
full Deutsche Grammophon treatment with a
stellar cast. Wainwright says he was inspired
by a late-in-life interview with Maria Callas,
apparently conducted in French, hence the
language of the opera. Instigated apparently
as a promise of commission from Peter Gelb
and the Metropolitan Opera, it did not end up
at the Met – Gelb insisted on a new opera in
English, not French. Instead, the Manchester
Festival and the now defunct New York City
Opera staged it to little fanfare. So, how is it?
Surprisingly listenable. Wainwright does not
break any new ground here, but it is a competent
piece of Puccini-esque nostalgia. The
interesting part is that Wainwright writes the
best melodies not for his Prima Donna, but
for her imagined lover, the journalist André
Letourneur. Late in the work, in the fifth
scene of the second act, the beautiful voice
of Antonio Figueroa brings to life some fine
operatic writing. In an intriguing twist of the
libretto, the scene is a recreation of the past
glory of the Prima Donna and her partner,
foreshadowing the sad ending. Nostalgic
musically and thematically, Prima Donna is a
surprisingly enjoyable effort from the bad boy
of torch song.
Robert Tomas
EARLY MUSIC AND PERIOD PERFORMANCE
Perfect Polyphony – Peter Phillips’
Favourites
Tallis Scholars
Gimell CDGIM 213
!!
Coming up to
2000 concerts and 56
albums, director Peter
Phillips has chosen
to celebrate the Tallis
Scholars by compiling
his favourite recordings
from 40 years
of their stellar performances of Renaissance
polyphony. Appropriately, the disc begins
with Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli,
which also happens to be the very first piece
the group ever recorded, and is followed by
a lovely 1987 recording of Victoria’s Versa
est in luctum. Tackling Gesualdo’s intense
and harmonically challenging Ave, dulcissima
Maria highlights the high level of precision
these singers can execute. Particularly
moving are the two sets of Lamentations of
Jeremiah by Thomas Tallis, with Brumel and
Ferrabosco’s settings following. Repetition,
however, is not an issue: each composer’s
treatment (and selection of text) is quite different.
The opening of Josquin’s Missa Ave
maris stella is resplendent with purity of
tone, particularly in the women’s voices, and
is lovely in its canonic pursuit from start to
finish. The Tallis Scholars’ perfect intonation
is enhanced by their uncanny ability to imbue
the performance with meaning and beauty,
never departing from the true spiritual
significance of these works.
Dianne Wells
Concert note: The Chamber Music Orillia
Chamber Choir performs Palestrina’s Missa
Papae Marcelli and works by Rachmaninoff,
Fauré and Bach under Jeffrey Moellman’s
direction on November 8, at St. James’
Anglican Church, Orillia.
The Vale of Tears
Theatre of Early Music; Schola Cantorum;
Daniel Taylor
Analekta AN 2 9144
!!
Many years ago I discovered Heinrich
Schütz’s funeral cantata, the Musikalische
68 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Exequien at an
early music workshop
in Amherst,
Massachusetts. I am
not exaggerating when
I say that this was one
of the most stunning
musical experiences
which have come
my way. The week ended with a performance
which was recorded. Naturally I rushed
out to obtain the tape. It proved truly awful.
Fortunately I discovered a fine professional
performance conducted by Hans-Martin
Linde on LP (it never made it to CD). Since
then there have been others. I do not myself
care for the very extroverted disc conducted
by John Eliot Gardiner (Archiv) but there is a
superb rendering by Vox Luminis on Ricercar,
conducted by Lionel Meunier, who is also one
of the bass soloists.
I am not going to claim that this new
recording led by Daniel Taylor is even better,
but it certainly runs close. It gets off to a very
good start with the Intonation sung by Rufus
Müller, who is terrific throughout. The singing
is very fine and besides Müller I very much
enjoyed the soprano soloists, Agnes Zsigovics
and Ellen McAteer. The CD also contains two
short movements from a mass by Michael
Praetorius as well as a cantata by Bach (O
heiliges Geist- und Wasserbad, BWV165).
That cantata has a solo quartet consisting of
Zsigovics, Müller, Daniel Taylor (alto) and
Alexander Dobson (baritone). They are very
good as are some of the obbligato players,
notably the violinist Cristina Zacharias
and the cellist Christina Mahler. Highly
recommended.
Hans de Groot
Concert note: The Theatre of Early Music
Choir and Students of the Schola Cantorum
led by Daniel Taylor, are featured in The
Lamb: An A Cappella Christmas Concert
at Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building,
University of Toronto, on November 29.
Also, baritone Alexander Dobson is the
featured soloist in New Music Concerts’
peformance of Ailes by Philippe Leroux on
December 6 at Betty Oliphant Theatre.
Le Concert Royal de la Nuit
Ensemble Correspondances; Sébastien
Daucé
harmonia mundi HMC 952223.24
!!
The ballet Le
Concert royal de
la Nuit was first
performed in 1653.
It can be seen as an
act of homage to the
young French king,
the then 15-year old
Louis XIV, who also
danced the main part,
that of the rising sun.
A complete list of
the performers has survived: it includes 24
princes and aristocrats, four courtiers and five
children. We know that the author of the text
was Isaac de Benserade. Jean de Cambefort
was the most prominent composer of the
music. The vocal music has been preserved
but the instrumental music is based on a
copy by Philidor, made half a century after
the ballet’s performance. Philidor wrote out
the top line and sometimes the bass line. It
was left to the conductor, Sébastien Daucé,
to reconstruct the implied but missing
inner lines.
Often now record companies try to economize
on the material provided. That is not
the case here where the CDs come with a
richly documented book of almost 200 pages
that includes illustrations of the original
performers and their costumes, illustrations
taken from the material preserved at
Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. In
one of his notes, Daucé mentions that he
had originally intended to create a complete
reconstruction of the original ballet, but that
was not feasible. Instead, we have here all
the vocal music as well as 51 of the original
77 dance sequences. This music is juxtaposed
with selections from two Italian operas
written for Paris: Ercole amante by Francesco
Cavalli and Orfeo by Luigi Rossi. These operatic
sequences are written in a rather different
idiom than that of the dance music but they
go together surprisingly well. The record also
contains some earlier airs by Antoine Boesset
(who had died in 1643): these provide an
interesting contrast with the slightly later
dance music. The music requires large forces
to do it justice: I counted 16 singers and
34 instrumentalists. Everything is beautifully
done.
Hans de Groot
CLASSICAL AND BEYOND
Haydn; Schubert; Brahms
Stéphane Tétrault; Marie-Ève Scarfone
Analekta AN 2 9994
!!
This cello disc
comprises three
significant works by
Viennese masters.
Haydn’s delighful
Divertimento in D
Major was arranged
for cello and piano
by Gregor Piatigorsky
from the original, composed for the violrelated
baryton, viola and cello. Cellist
Stéphane Tétreault is heartfelt in the opening
Adagio’s melodies, still achieving classical
poise with pianist Marie-Ève Scarfone. They
convey the Menuet’s classicism and match
the finale’s brightness and geniality. For me
the disc’s highlight is Schubert’s Sonata in A
Minor for the six-stringed, bowed arpeggione
(1824), now usually played on the cello. The
duo’s reading is impassioned, its expression
tasteful. Dramatic arpeggios and leaps suggest
agitation and crying. The Adagio’s emotional
opening cello melody carries forward into
a well-shaped long line. There is plenty of
colour in Tétreault’s playing, with flexibility
of tempo and perfect ensemble by the duo.
Lucie Renaud’s fine program notes point
out nostalgic and historical elements in
Brahms’ Sonata in E Minor (1871) – for
example the second movement’s minuet and
third movement’s fugato – and connections to
the disc’s previous works. After the Schubert,
I was struck by this piece’s analogous leaping
cello cries in the first movement’s opening
theme. And Brahms-like Schubert is a master
at mixing major- and minor-key inflections
that evoke shifting moods. The performers are
neither routine nor precious in their expressive
reading of the Menuetto. And Scarfone
comes to the fore in the finale, playing
its contrapuntal passages with fire and
conviction.
Roger Knox
Schumann – Piano Concerto in A minor;
Piano Trio No.2
Alexander Melnikov; Isabelle Faust;
Jean-Guihen Queyras; Freiburger
Barockorchester; Pablo Heras-Casado
harmonia mundi HMC 902198
!!
This is the second
installment of
Schumann’s three
trios and concertos.
The first (HMC
902196) contained the
violin concerto and
the third trio Op.110 in
performances that were game changing with
a soft attack and sensitive textures.
This orchestra as we know by now, with
their aesthetic firmly based, seeks to recreate
the sound of early music in its time. The open
mesh to their sound illuminates this middleromantic
deployment of pre-modern instruments.
With valveless horns and trumpets,
woodier woodwinds, sinewy gut strings and
taut percussion, this must be the sound the
composer knew wherein no instrument is
buried. Schumann in his concertos sought to
harmonize the sound of soloist and orchestra
rather than throw them against each other
as Brahms did later. The pianoforte employed
in this concert performance, recorded in
the Berlin Philharmonie, is an 1837 Érard.
The enthusiastic performance is a revelation,
driven by Spanish conductor Heras-
Casado’s well-paced tempi, always attentive
to the felicities of Schumann’s score. All
aspects considered, this is decidedly a benchmark
account.
Exactly as I noted in my May 2015
WholeNote review of their performance of
the Third Trio, “Faust and her colleagues
radiate ardor and optimism, performing with
sensitivity, sincere musicality and flawless
ensemble that hold the listener’s attention.”
Their choice of instruments is interesting:
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 69

Melnikov’s pianoforte is again the Streicher
(1847 Vienna), Faust’s violin the 1704 Strad
and Queras’ cello the 1696 Gioffredo Cappa.
Bruce Surtees
Mahler – Symphony No.5
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra; Myung-
Whun Chung
Deutsche Grammophon 481 154-0
Mahler – Symphony No.10
Orchestre Metropolitain; Yannick
Nézet-Séguin
ATMA ACD2 2711
!!
Two very different
recordings pose the
question: how “live” is
a live performance?
The Korean conductor
Myung-Whun Chung
has brought the Seoul
Philharmonic to the
world’s attention
thanks to his recording contract with the
venerable yellow label and the orchestra
certainly sounds fabulous in this latest DG
recording of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.
Though it is difficult to say precisely whether
the credit lies entirely with the conductor or
the German Tonmeister team, the results are
sonically exceptional. It is, after all, quite
unusual to detect the grainy sound of contrabassoon
doublings so distinctly in the concert
hall or to apprehend orchestral balances this
clearly in real life live performances. In any
case, Chung proves himself a master of this
familiar work, conducted from memory and
sensitively interpreted with a convincing
Viennese lilt in the lengthy third movement
Scherzo and a moving yet not maudlin
performance of the celebrated Adagietto. The
challenge of the Rondo finale is adroitly
solved by taking a middle-ground tempo that
binds together the ever-shifting tempi of the
disparate sections.
From the outset of his Tenth Symphony
it is clear that
Mahler was tentatively
entering into a
new sonic realm of
expanded chromaticism
and rhythmic
freedom, tragically cut
short by his untimely
death at the age of 50.
He left behind skeletal sketches of the entire
work which has been reconstructed several
times, the most familiar of these being the
third Deryck Cooke version presented here.
For the most part the Orchestre Métropolitain
delivers an impressive performance save
for some occasionally ragged playing by the
brass section. Though the normal OM string
section has been doubled in strength for
this performance, they still fall 17 players
short of the Seoul forces and the difference
is telling. Nonetheless Nézet-Séguin uses this
to his advantage, bringing forth a beautifully
veiled pianissimo behind the exquisite
flute solo in the moving finale of the work.
ATMA’s production is far less interventionist,
spliced (not altogether seamlessly) together
from multiple performances in long takes
with a modest array of microphones. Despite
the disparate production values of these two
releases it is the ATMA recording I find myself
returning to most often; Nézet-Séguin clearly
has something special to say about this least
familiar Mahler symphony and I am willing to
forgive its relatively minor shortcomings.
Daniel Foley
Rachmaninov; Haydn; Ravel
Alain Lefèvre
Analekta AN 2 9296
!!
Ever since winning
first prize in piano and
chamber music at the
Paris Conservatoire
followed by first prize
at the Alfred Cortot
International Piano
Competition, Alain
Lefèvre has earned a
reputation as an artist of the first rank. His
performances have won him rave reviews
in the press and he has appeared on concert
stages as far reaching as New York, Berlin,
London and Shanghai. Although born in
Poitiers, France, Canada has long claimed
him as a native citizen, owing to his long
period in this country beginning with his first
lessons at the Collège Marguerite-Bourgeoys
in Montreal.
His newest disc on the Analekta label
features an eclectic program of music by
Rachmaninov, Haydn and Ravel. From
the opening descending arpeggio of the
Rachmaninov Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor,
the listener is made keenly aware that Lefèvre
is in full command of this most challenging
repertoire. Like Chopin’s sonata of the same
key, this work is a study in contrasting movements.
Lefèvre approaches the technical
demands of the first and third with apparent
ease, capturing the dark and dramatic spirit
with much bravado, while the quietly introspective
second movement is treated with
much sensitivity. In total contrast is the
Haydn Sonata No.38 in F Major, dating from
1773. Lefèvre’s interpretation is elegant and
precise, demonstrating a particular clarity of
phrasing as befits this music, clearly rooted in
the classical tradition.
Ravel’s La Valse from 1918 has always been
regarded as a tour de force. In this version for
piano, Lefèvre adroitly captures the waltz’s
kaleidoscopic moods, from the opening references
to a gracious Second Empire ballroom
to its final frenzy – a true musical depiction
of a “harsh new world” brought on by the
immense political and social changes of the
early 20th century. Bravo, M. Lefèvre – once
again you have proven yourself most worthy
of the accolades bestowed by critics and
audiences alike.
Richard Haskell
Prokofiev – Cinderella
Mariinsky Ballet & Orchestra; Valery
Gergiev
Mariinsky MAR0555
!!
Of late, with its
ongoing confrontation
in Ukraine, European
trade sanctions and
a worrisome intervention
in the Syrian
war, Russia is again
starting to look like a
frozen-in-time empire
of the Cold War. There
is no such freeze in
the artistic life of the country however. Case
in point: new, exciting choreography for
Cinderella. This staple of traditional ballet,
rendered beautifully by many artists, from
Margot Fonteyn to Maya Plisetskaya, was a
stylish piece, to be sure, but it has been in dire
need of a makeover. The new Cinderella is
simply brilliant. Contemporary and energetic,
with smart costumes by Elena Markovskaya,
it plays, as it should, as a modern parable
of the triumph of good over evil. The sheer
nervous energy of the performance highlights
the beauty of the score. In typical Prokofiev
fashion, the music reveals itself to be even
more ahead of its time than we suspected.
The physically demanding new choreography
illustrates perfectly the tension of the
score and highlights Prokofiev’s uncanny
ability to express movement through
music. Filmed in the Mariinsky Theatre
in St. Petersburg, the work truly belongs
in Mariinsky II, designed by the Canadian
starchitect Jack Diamond. Fresh, exciting and
triumphant, this recording leaves us hoping
that Putin’s Russia is nothing but a phase in
the history of a great artistic nation.
Robert Tomas
Shattered Expectations
Acclarion
Acclarion Records ACC3000 (acclarion.ca)
!!
Acclarion’s latest
release showcases the
phenomenal musicianship
of clarinetist
Rebecca Carovillano
and accordionist David
Carovillano. Partners
both in life and in this
12-year duo project, they perform here with
passion, elegance, wit and stylistic acuity.
Five tracks are composed by David
Carovillano. It is always a joy and an earopening
experience to hear a composer play
his own works. Rooted in romantic and postromantic
soundscapes with touches of jazz
flavours, the serene virtuosic opening and
challenging fluid lines of Twilight of Shadows
and driving momentum of the aptly titled
70 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

Frenzy, especially showcase Acclarion’s tight
ensemble awareness of balance, breath and
colour, and the composer’s thorough knowledge
of both instruments.
Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet for Two is a
gorgeous performance by two exceptional
classical players as the accordion proves itself
to be a perfect instrument to join the clarinet
in this transcription. Likewise the three
short Vaughan-Williams English Folk Song
tracks are welcome, soothing delights both
in arrangement and the colourful lush sonic
qualities.
Rebecca Carovillano is a star clarinet
performer with solid breath control, superb
varied tone and an unmatched musical ear
sensitive to nuance. David Carovillano plays
the accordion with the same qualities, and
solid bellows control and technical mastery.
Together they create detailed and interesting
musical conversations. More varied dynamics
and a bit more spontaneity would drive
the duo toward a welcome future musical
journey that will hopefully continue for many
years to come!
Tiina Kiik
MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY
Leo Ornstein – Piano Quintet; String
Quartet No.2
Marc-André Hamelin; Pacifica Quartet
Hyperion CMA68084
!!
Why has there been
a revival of music by
composer/ pianist
Leo Ornstein (1893-
2002)? From early
groundbreaking piano
pieces onward, his
was an extraordinary
(and extraordinarily
long!) musical life. In 1906 his family
emigrated from Russia to the United States
where he trained as a piano virtuoso, but after
an amazing start he gave up concertizing. His
father was a cantor and Ornstein’s Russian-
Jewish musical heritage came to the fore. In
a modernist context it permeates the Piano
Quintet (1927), which I think ranks in quality
with the Shostakovitch and Bloch quintets
for piano and string quartet. The tempestuous
opening movement typifies Ornstein’s
rhapsodic process of linking varied phrases
and sections that suggest frenzied dances,
song-like laments, marches and much
more. I particularly liked the slow movement,
especially a passage with high violin,
mysterious piano repeated notes and chords,
and uneasy supporting strings. The Quintet
reflects Ornstein’s piano virtuosity; Marc-
André Hamelin, who has recorded a notable
Ornstein solo disc on Hyperion, is ideal, while
the outstanding Pacifica Quartet partners him
with confidence, colour and clarity.
Ornstein’s String Quartet No.2 (c.1929)
is a more orderly affair. Strings are treated
more independently than in the Quintet,and
the lower instruments are given solos. The
Pacifica Quartet emphasizes the work’s lyrical
beauty with well-shaped melodic gestures
and sensitive playing of accompanying parts,
which through Ornstein’s variety of chord
spacings, registers and rhythmic patterns
become just as interesting as his melodies.
Roger Knox
Spin – like a ragged flock
James Harley; Ellen Waterman
Independent ADAPPS
15001(jamesharleymusic.com)
!!
Spin is a highly
original disc created
by composer James
Harley and performer
Ellen Waterman,
combining electroacoustic
composition,
improvisation
and spatialized sound. Harley provides the
electroacoustics, processing, sound diffusion
and theremin playing, while Waterman
performs on an array of flutes and provides
vocal elements. To demonstrate their improvisational
creative process, they have included
two versions of two different pieces. The
first two tracks, Birding I and II, intermingle
a wide range of bird and flute calls,
creating hints of an intimate human-nature
dialogue before cascading into more complex
dissonant textures.
The second two tracks, Fluting I and II,
create a sonic environment that puts the
listener within a field of multiple flute voices,
particularly evident when listening in the 5.1
surround sound format, a major feature of
this recording. Sound diffusion is the art of
moving the sound sources amongst multiple
speakers. In listening to all six pieces, I
observed a different-than-usual approach to
diffusion. Rather than sounds dispersed individually
in different spatial locations, I experienced
a melded aesthetic, much like being in
a reverberant space with the combined sound
coming from all directions. Creating contrast
between different locations in the space was,
however, utilized in unique ways – to split up
the layers of a dissonant chord, or to highlight
glissandi moving between front and
back. Spin creates a unique aural experience,
providing several touchstones highlighting
our relationship with nature. Although
primarily a surround-sound DVD without a
CD layer, the disc includes stereo files that can
be downloaded to a computer or iPod.
Wendalyn Bartley
Ivan Ilić plays Morton Feldman
Ivan Ilić
Paraty 135305 (ivancdg.com)
!!
American avant-garde composer Morton
Feldman, the pioneer of “indeterminate
music,” began (like Varèse) with the orchestra
making weird sound effects as tonal paintings
and later simplified it
to white noise like his
famous Rothko Chapel
where people could
sit for hours in isolation,
meditate and
chill out. For further
simplification he
turned to the piano with long works lasting
over an hour, like this one that sounds like
soft notes moving slowly and undisturbed
around the middle of the keyboard, always
quiet, no crescendo and never reaching forte.
Sometimes shrill and percussive very high
notes interrupt in a different rhythm like a
bird chirping, then a sudden blob of a broken
chord in the lower register like a drop of
water into a still pond ….
Listen to it lying down and soon you’ll drift
and float, no longer awake but not asleep
either, and when it’s suddenly over you feel as
if you have been asleep and perhaps missed
something. Wagner wrote such subliminal
music like the ancient, atavistic shepherd pipe
tune meandering in and out of the consciousness
of the mortally wounded Tristan that
miraculously breaks through his coma and
returns him to life.
Feldman’s music operates on this level,
but it is also a set of 22 very loose variations
with changes so imperceptible, like
things that happen in real life. When you
expect it, it usually won’t happen but if you
don’t, it might. You’ll notice the difference
between each variation when you quickly
sample the tracks. The whole thing is actually
composed and written down, but then it has
to be played to sound totally improvised or
haphazard, completely unstructured. With
his soft and wonderful touch pianiste extraordinaire
Ivan Ilić’s mind is so dedicated and
attuned to Feldman’s that he can do this like
no one else can. It’s spellbinding. (You can get
a taste of it along with commentary by Ilić at
youtube.com/watch?v=V1B9uX4v1H0.)
Janos Gardonyi
JAZZ AND IMPROVISED MUSIC
On the Street of Dreams
Morgan Childs
Independent (morganchildsmusic.com)
!!
Morgan Childs
is, as a composer, a
drummer, an accompanist
and a soloist,
deeply rooted in tradition,
well-informed,
incredibly proficient
and bubbling with
unmistakable personality.
All of this and more is on display in his
newest release, On the Street of Dreams, a
live album which, over the course of around
70 minutes, presents a compelling argument
for going to see Childs play live.
Street of Dreams is a compilation of
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ecordings made by Childs’ quartet during
two 2013 gigs, cut together as one cohesive
set. Included are excellent, underplayed
selections from the standard repertoire such
as The Man That Got Away and It’s All Right
With Me, as well as some original Childs
compositions.
Such tunes are often tributes to eras past,
such as Theodore, a playful tune with a
Caribbean vibe that evokes St. Thomas, and
Parting of the Rocks, a composition of barely
contained righteous anger, reminiscent of
jazz protest songs by black composers of the
1960s. That title is an English translation of
Attawapiskat; Childs wrote it as “a response
to the lack of response by the Harper government
to the crisis at Attawapiskat.” In both
the composition and the group’s approach,
John Coltrane’s classic quartet comes to mind.
From ballads to scorchers, this album
immaculately captures the energy and sound
of the group’s live performances; the rest is up
to you. Grab a cold drink and enjoy.
Bob Ben
Meltframe
Mary Halvorson
Firehouse 12 FH12-04-01-021 (firehouse12.
com)
!!
In her mid-30s,
Mary Halvorson has
distinguished herself
as the most original
jazz guitarist of her
generation. A veteran
of numerous ensembles
led by Anthony
Braxton and a regular
musical partner of Marc Ribot, Halvorson
has touched on the radical fringes of folk and
rock as well as jazz and has created a remarkable
series of CDs leading a trio and quintet.
Meltframe is her first solo CD, and it goes very
close to the heart of what makes her such a
compelling musician, her rare ability both to
reach back to jazz traditions and forward to
the possibilities while setting everything in an
insistent present.
Whether it’s her embrace of Duke Ellington
and an absurdly full-size hollowbody archtop
guitar, or Ornette Coleman and an effects
pedal that carries pitch bending to the stratosphere,
Halvorson is at ease with fundamentals,
corollaries and contradictions. They’re all
here, from the dense electric roar with which
she approaches Oliver Nelson’s Cascades to
the (lightly amplified) flamenco touch she
employs on Annette Peacock’s Blood. McCoy
Tyner’s delicate Aisha occasionally surrenders
to grunge rock. It’s more for those who
like to be surprised than those who hate to be
disturbed.
Coleman’s Sadness arrives amongst wildly
bending arpeggios, while Ellington’s Solitude
is a reverie in artificial reverb that moves at
a glacial pace toward microtonal dissolution.
Halvorson can create great drama with
minimal means, evidenced in her treatment
of Carla Bley’s Ida Lupino, which develops a
kind of intense inevitability through deceptively
simple strumming. Works by Peacock
and Carla Bley may suggest their first advocate,
pianist Paul Bley, whose stark keyboard
lines and manipulations of timbre are paralleled
here.
Stuart Broomer
Telling Stories
Sonoluminescence Trio
Art Stew Records ASR 003 2015
!!
A band whose
improvising is as
enlightening as its
name, which refers
to light produced as
sound waves pass
through liquid, this
trio combination
confirms that fluid musicianship can easily
overcome geography and separation. A tale
of three cities – baritone saxophonist David
Mott lives in Toronto, percussionist Jesse
Stewart in Ottawa and bassist William Parker
in New York – the Sonoluminescence three
don’t play together very often. But when
they do, intercommunication is paramount,
because exposing unique sonic patterns is
more important to all than sporting showy
techniques.
Mott and Stewart are particularly cognizant
of this. One feels the drummer would
sooner lock himself in an airless crypt than
shatter this partnership with blasting beats.
As opposed to other baritone players who
plunder its lower depths like deep-sea divers
in the ocean, Mott emphasizes his horn’s
moderato facility. He could be playing a tenor,
save for some infrequent rhino-like snorts.
As for Parker, he’s cognizant that the double
bass can be treated as many instruments
simultaneously.
This is expressed as early as Echoes of
Africa, the CD’s first track, where the
patterning from Parker’s strings could come
from a berimbau or an ngoni and Stewart’s
rhythms from a combination of a wood
drum and a conga. Mott’s response isn’t
further exoticism however, but comprehensive
tongue flutters and expressive peeps.
A comparable transformation appears on
There’s the Rub, where the sum total of
thickened bass string strums, timed percussion
clatters and selective reed breaths add
up to a New Music-like interlude, with the
trio’s storytelling facilities intact. The three
are also capable of outputting non-stereotypical
rhythmic activity as on the slyly
named Rumble for Jackie Chan. But the
resulting hard-hitting beat is strained through
sardonic 21st-century sensibilities, so that the
metrical syncopation is brainy rather than
merely brawny.
Mixing speedy rhythms, standard tune
references and technical extensions when
needed for additional colour and emphasis,
the Sonoluminescence Trio does just what is
promised in the title. It tells unusual stories
energetically, with subtlety, but without artifice
or showboating.
Ken Waxman
Wind and Sand
Bruce Lofgren’s Jazz Pirates
Night Bird NB-4 (brucelofgren.com)
!!
With the release
of this exceptional
recording, talented
Los Angeles-based
guitarist, composer
and arranger Bruce
Lofgren has once again
established himself
as one of the most innovative and relevant
jazz artists currently leading large ensembles.
Lofgren has surrounded himself here
with “Jazz Pirates” that include the crème de
la crème of West Coast musicians, including
two French horn players (reminiscent of the
late Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass). Lofgren’s
prestigious career as a composer/arranger
(Airto, Flora Purim, Buddy Rich), as well as
his instrumental skill, has informed every
note of this project with a tasty smorgasbord
of tempos, styles and feels.
The CD kicks off with a re-imagined take
on Invitation and segues on to the clever
Bop Talk with a vocal by Karen Mitchell,
whose lovely soprano is all about the beauty
of the melodic line – with each vocal nuance
perfectly placed. Mitchell adds her voice
to two additional tunes on this recording,
(including the stunning bossa nova, Find a
Place) with equally wonderful effect. A true
stand out is Lofgren’s composition, Far Far
Away, which has deeply personal significance
to him, and the writing conjures up an
almost childlike quality of innocent longing.
The addition of Glen Berger’s soprano solo
is nothing short of breathtaking. The title
track is another stunner – utilizing Lofgren’s
superb rhythmic skills and musical vocabulary
– as a guitarist, composer and arranger
– and speaking of rhythm, Café Rio delivers
everything that it promises as well as a
face-melting keyboard solo from the gifted
Charlie Ferguson.
Wind and Sand is arguably one of the
most significant large ensemble jazz recordings
of the year, rife with musical gems. It’s a
must-have.
Lesley Mitchell-Clarke
A Serpent’s Dream
Michel Godard & Le Miroir du temps
Intuition INT 3440 2 (intuition-music.com)
!!
Michel Godard
may be the rarest and
best kind of musician,
filled with curiosity
and energy and
without prejudice. A
master tuba player and
member of the French
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National Orchestra since 1988, he’s even more
distinguished as an explorer. Taking up the
tuba’s ancestor, the serpent, he plays jazz on it
as well as ancient music. His most distinctive
work may be in the unusual hybrids he
constructs between jazz and renaissance
music, like A Serpent’s Dream with his
quartet Le Miroir du Temps.
The band’s sounds are distinctly beautiful,
blessed by a dry and ancient clarity in the
case of Godard’s serpent and Katharina
Bäuml’s shawm, though Bruno Hestroffer’s
theorbo (a long-necked lute) sounds lightly
amplified (at least with a microphone close
to the steel strings) and Godard’s occasional
electric bass is by definition. Percussionist
Lucas Niggli employs a host of instruments
to add colour, but it’s his hand drumming
that comes to the fore. There’s nothing of
the purist in Godard’s approach: most of the
works heard here are his own compositions,
and he’s just as happy setting them beside the
ancient and anonymous In Splendoribus as
Charlie Haden’s Our Spanish Love Song, with
its distinctively contemporary – or at least
romantic – harmonies.
Godard’s ensemble manages to reveal a
subtle sense of order, some of it gleaned from
archives and some just coming into being.
Presented with the opportunity to play a
serpent made in 1830 that is decorated with
an ornate, gilded sea monster with scales
and tail, Godard elects to play the blues, the
traditional, specific and appropriate Old
Black Snake Blues. It’s impossible not to
be charmed.
Stuart Broomer
Leo Records 35th Anniversary Moscow
Gratkowski; Kruglov; Nabatov; Yudanov
Leo Records CD LR 719 (leorecords.com)
!!
Anniversaries of
record companies
usually only serve
as a reminder of the
longevity implicit
in cannily peddling
particular products.
But the commemoration
associated with
this CD is more profound. Recorded at the
initial Moscow concert of a quartet consisting
of two Russians – Alexey Kruglov playing alto
saxophone and basset horn and percussionist
Oleg Yudanov – plus Germans, pianist Simon
Nabatov and alto saxophonist/clarinetist
Frank Gratkowski, the five tracks pinpoint
the cooperative skills of players from both
countries. Providing a forum for Russian free
improvisers to demonstrate their advanced
expertise was one of the reasons Londonbased
Leo Records was founded 35 years ago.
That neither the Eastern nor Western players
can be distinguished on the basis of talent or
sound on this celebratory disc is a tribute to
the label’s ideas.
Russian-born and American-educated
Nabatov provides the perfect linkage among
the band members. The grandeur of his
cascading runs on Our Digs for instance,
creates emotional underpinning for the reedists’
atmospheric whispering; plus his emphasized
wooden key stops provide the climax.
At the same time he clatters phrases on
the keys and slams the instrument’s frame
to amplify the piano’s percussiveness on
Homecoming, locking in with Yudanov’s
smacks and rolls, never unduly forceful in
themselves. Marathon-speed chording also
adds to the saxophonists’ expositions that mix
harsh Aylerian smears with reed textures as
broad as wide-bore scanners. While as indistinguishable
as corn stalks in a field, when
alto saxophone bites emanate from both
players, identifying resonation distinguishes
Gratkowski’s bass clarinet and Kruglov’s
basset horn on the reed showcase Hitting
It Home. Exchanges between the Russian’s
warbling yelps and the German’s sonorous
hums that could be sourced from an underwater
grotto are ornamented by the pianist’s
ringing timbres and shaped into a pleasing
narrative.
Since outsiders rarely associate Germans
or Russians with humour, House Games is
particularly instructive, when the woodwind
players’ choked yelps and snarling pants make
the exposition sound like an aural Punch and
Judy show – and just as violent. However this
tongue splattering and note spewing is eventually
harmonized into a manageable melody
by the pianist’s romantic interludes.
Overall, Leo’s more than three-decade-old
promise is fulfilled with a connective session
such as this one.
Ken Waxman
POT POURRI
Persian Songs
Nexus; Sepideh Raissadat
Nexus 10926 (nexuspercussion.com)
!!
Persian Songs,
the 16th album on
its own Nexus label
(there are numerus
others in addition),
provides an interesting
dual portrait of
the veteran Torontobased,
internationally renowned group’s
musical roots and multi-branched evolution.
It’s also an exhilarating listening experience.
Two musical suites are featured on the album,
both skillfully arranged by Nexus member
and University of Toronto music professor
Russell Hartenberger. They provide insights
into his – and the group’s – career-long
investment in two (often complementary)
threads: on one hand 20th century American
music, and on the other, music performed
outside the Euro-American mainstream.
First up is Moondog Suite, a mellow
tribute to the compositions of Louis T. Hardin
(1916–1999), a.k.a. Moondog, the outsider
American composer, street musician and
poet. His music has been cited as an influence
on the development of New York musical
minimalism. Hartenberger’s caring and crafty
arrangements, rearrangements and adaptations
for keyboard-centric percussion provide
a disarmingly straightforward presentation of
Moondog’s tonal contrapuntal melodies. The
Suite is capped by Suba Sankaran’s cameo
appearance singing the cheery I’m This, I’m
That, set in a classical passacaglia form.
The album’s centerpiece is the eight-part
Persian Songs, featuring arrangements of
songs by the award-winning contemporary
Iranian stage director, novelist and songwriter
Reza Ghassemi. Musical interpretations
of poems by giants of the Persian
classical literary period, including Hafez,
Sa’adi and Rumi, these songs are evocatively
sung and accompanied on the setar by the
Iranian vocalist Sepideh Raissadat. Steeped
in the rich Persian music tradition from an
early age, she has been called “a key figure in
the new generation of classical Persian song
interpreters.” In 1999 Raissadat took the bold
step of giving a solo public performance at
the Niavaran Concert Hall in Tehran, the first
female vocalist to do so after the 1979 Iranian
revolution.
Raissadat is currently pursuing her doctoral
studies in ethnomusicology at the U. of T.
with Dr. Hartenberger among others, just one
of the fascinating interconnecting threads
on this album. Hartenberger’s arrangements,
Raissadat’s singing and Nexus’ precise
performances culminate in eight and a half
minutes of glorious music making on Az In
Marg Matarsid; Bouye Sharab. It’s a powerful
illustration of the vibrant and rich transcultural
musical tapestry being woven right
now, right here in Toronto.
Andrew Timar
Subcontinental Drift
Sultans of String; Anwar Khurshid
Independent MCK2060 (sultansofstring.
com)
!!
World music
Canadian superstars
Sultans of String
continue to expand
their musical journey
with the addition of
guest sitar master
Anwar Khurshid
in this release. Khurshid adds energy and
Eastern flavours to the already diversesounding
flamenco, Arabic folk, Cuban
rhythm, East Coast fiddling and you-nameit-sounding
band. The result is perfect, joyful
music performed by perfect musicians.
Founding members violinist/bandleader
Chris McKhool and guitarist Kevin Laliberté
along with guitarist Eddie Paton, bassist
Drew Birston and Cuban master percussionist
Rosendo “Chendy” Leon have created
the band’s signature successful blend as
heard on the rhythmical percussion-driven
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 73

Subcontinental Drift and the more folksy
A Place to Call Home. It is their strength of
vision that welcomes Khurshid’s musicianship
to all the tracks. Rakes of Mallow is an
ancient Irish fiddle tune introduced to India
and taught to local musicians during the
English rule. Sung passionately by Kurshid, it
is followed in medley form by the rollicking
original Rouge River Valley. Bob Dylan’s
Blowin’ in the Wind is given a timeless
world beat cover. Journey to Freedom is an
uplifting positive song/anthem sonic blend
tracing Kurshid’s journey from Pakistan to
Canada. Other special guests lending their
signature sounds to specific tracks include
Ravi Naimpally, Shweta Subram, Waleed
Abdulhamid and a backing choir.
The production qualities feature a balanced
mix and live off the floor clear tone quality.
Subcontinental Drift is simply great music for
all to enjoy and respect.
Tiina Kiik
Shadow Trails
Linda McRae
Borealis Records BCD237 (lindamcrae.
com)
!!
This stirring roots/
folk/country project
is the inspired brainchild
of Canadian
vocalist/composer/
multi-instrumentalist
Linda McRae and
her husband, retired
rancher and poet, James Whitmire. The
material (nearly all original) is inspired by the
Nashville-based couple’s life-affirming work
with incarcerated, nascent writers being held
in the notorious New Folsom Prison, as well
as their important work with at-risk youth
– many of whom contribute moving lyrics
and their personal stories to this recording.
Perhaps best known as a member of the platinum-selling
band Spirit of the West, McRae
brings to the table her well-lived-in contralto
and infallibly honest delivery. Well-produced
by guitarist Steve Dawson (who also serves
as frequent co-writer), each tune tells a story
of love, loss, regret, poverty, isolation, injustice
and also grace. In addition to Dawson and
Whitmire, McRae’s talented collaborators also
include bassist John Dymond, drummer Gary
Craig, keyboardist Steve O’Connor and an
array of guests including fiddler Fats Kaplin
and Ray Bonneville on harmonica.
The music here is unflaggingly authentic,
deeply satisfying, refreshingly acoustic
and imbued with a big dose of soul and a
skilled musicality. Of special note are Linda’s
biographical reverie, Can You Hear Me
Calling; also Flowers of Appalachia, with
lyrics by Ken Blackburn – an inmate in New
Folsom Prison who became a poet and lyricist
through the Arts in Corrections program –
and finally Singing River, the heartrending
tale of Te-lah-nay and the dehumanizing
treatment of Yuchi Native Americans and
their brutal relocation away from their
beloved “Singing River” in Muscle Shoals,
Alabama. Whether roots music is your cup
of tea or not, this standout recording is a
consciousness-raising journey through a
challenging emotional landscape that also
embraces hope and redemption.
Lesley Mitchell-Clarke
Something in the Air
Honouring More Than The Few Famous Jazz Greats
With music like the other arts increasingly focused on known
quantities, recorded salutes to jazz greats have almost become
a subcategory of their own. If the world needs another record
of Beethoven, Mozart, Elvis or Sinatra, then saluting Ellington, Trane
or Miles one more time shouldn’t be a dilemma. But more erudite
improvisers realize the music’s wider reach, and if they opt to honour
innovators, as on the CDs here, choose lesser-known but equally
important stylists.
Prize of the group is saxophonist Roscoe
Mitchell’s Celebrating Fred Anderson (Nessa
ncd-37 nessarecords.com). Here, one of the
founders of Chicago’s influential Association
for the Advancement of Creative Musicians
(AACM) honours another of its founders,
tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson (1929-2010)
by playing two of Anderson’s and four of his
own compositions. Backed by other AACMers,
cellist Tomeka Reid, bassist Junius Paul and drummer Vincent Davis,
Mitchell, 75, a more experimental stylist than Anderson, uses the
narrow, near-Oriental timbres of sopranino to liberate Anderson’s
Bernice and Ladies in Love from the older saxophonist’s freebop
conceptions. As Davis’ cymbal smacks sprinkle intermittent tones
like flowers on a tombstone, Mitchell uses the natural melancholy
from Reid’s instrument plus his sax’s nipped tones to convert Bernice
into an effective threnody. In contrast, Ladies in Love moves from a
respectful moderato melody to Morse code-like beeps, expressed by
near replication of infant cries from Mitchell plus staccato counterpoint
from the cello. Emphasized is the rainbow-like expressiveness
of the theme’s powerful colours. Hey Fred is the session’s highlight.
During its 17-minute length Mitchell expels staccato alto saxophone
timbres with the ferocity of a lightning storm, while Paul’s thundering
stabs and slants pace his string tones. As laboratory scientistlike
Mitchell exposes melody permutations, Reid contributes arco
KEN WAXMAN
extensions and Davis a continuous pitter patter. Crucially, the climax
is reached when circularly breathed saxophone pitches blend with
distinctively scattered arco swipes from both string players. Confirmed
is the abiding power of, plus the continued sonic research involved in
creating, the sounds that Anderson and Mitchell helped nurture.
Cello, soprano, bass and drums are also
featured in a salute to another deceased
saxophonist, also using a combination of
his compositions and others written especially
for the date. But soprano saxophonist
Rob Reddy’s Bechet: Our Contemporary
(Reddy Music RED 003 robreddy.com) resembles
neither Celebrating Fred Anderson nor
a reproduction of the music of New Orleansborn
soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet
(1897-1959). Like theatre companies which perform modern variations
on Shakespeare’s plays, Reddy re-orchestrates the timeworn
pieces into something contemporary. Case in point is Chant in the
Night expanded from Bechet’s rickety-tick, under-three-minute reed
showcase to a 15-minute exercise in counterpoint between trombonist
Curtis Fowlkes’s protracted slide smudges and hard-punching
almost rural licks from Marvin Swell’s guitar. Encircled by flashing
swipes from violinist Charles Burnham and cellist Marika Hughes
plus amalgamated horn riffs, the end result piles burnished tones
atop one another creating a unique structure that’s both traditional
and futuristic, especially when a Theremin-like twinge signals the
end. Trombone and trumpet vamps predominate on Petite Fleur. But
like a ballet dancer who surprises by executing a faultless cha cha,
rather than the familiar theme coming from Reddy’s soprano, it’s
instead given a memorable reading by Burnham. Two other Bechet
tunes are strutting expositions, although Pheeroan akLaff’s Gene
Krupa-like hollow wood block smacks on Broken Windmill may be
more trick than tribute. Reddy’s portion of the tunes is as high class,
74 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

with Erasing Statues making room for bottleneck guitar-like sonorities
within a ring-shout-like accompaniment; while luculent horn
multiphonics modernize the yearning blues licks from Sewell that
introduce Yank.
Taking the concept one step further is cellist
Erik Friedlander whose Oscalypso (Skipstone
SSR22 skipstonerecords.com) consists of nine
compositions by cellist Oscar Pettiford (1922-
1960), one of the first to introduce that orchestral
instrument to jazz. Throughout Friedlander
and company – tenor and soprano saxophonist
Michael Blake, bassist Trevor Dunn
and drummer Michael Sarin – interpret the tunes with restrained,
unselfconscious swing, that could be called cool, but with a harder
edge. Sarin, for instance, never thunders, but outputs a constant
pulse that ranges from clipping rim shots on the title tune that are
answered by spiccato bowing from Friedlander and narrowed note
spearing from Blake, to near-Afro-Cuban conga replications on
Sunrise Sunset that encourage dance-like flutters from the saxophonist.
Supple and relaxed, the cellist’s and reedist’s timbres intersect
often, like the conversation of fraternal twins. They can do so
at warp speed as on Pendulum at Falcon’s Lair, with its familiarsounding
melody studded by (Stan) Getzian euphony from Blake,
or in full balladic mode with the slowly building Two Little Pearls.
Tongue-trilling tremolos from the saxophonist are egged on by the
cellist’s string sweeps as Dunn strengthens the rhythmic bottom as
he does throughout. Expressively romantic playing arco as any cellist
facing the Impressionistic repertoire, yet as rhythmically exciting
plucking pizzicato as any guitarist in a swing combo, Friedlander not
only confirms his talents and those of the quartet members, but flags
the continued adaptability of Pettiford’s compositions to contemporary
sounds.
Canada’s second best-known jazz pianist
is the subject of another salute: Homage to
Paul Bley (Leo Records CD LR 732 leorecords.
com), but Italian pianist Arrigo Cappelletti
has taken the oddest way to frame his admiration
for someone he lists as one of his chief
inspirations. Cappelletti, who teaches at
Venice’s Music Conservatory and has played
with Bley associates like drummer Bill Elgart
and bassist Steve Swallow, plays mostly his own music here. Of the
three tunes not by Cappelletti though, one was composed by Andrew
Hill, two were composed by Thelonious Monk. There’s probably some
perverse Mediterranean logic at work here. Although none of the 13
tracks are Bley compositions, the pianist, assisted by bassist Furio Di
Castri and drummer Bruce Ditmas, both of whom worked with Bley,
writes short, weedy lines that compare to the Canadian’s work. Unlike
Bley’s note economy though, the Italian’s style is much busier, even
on the title tune. The multi-note textural exposition he specializes in
Listen in!
is reminiscent of someone making sure to spread jam on every single
millimetre of his toast. More crucially, the pianist’s synergy with his
bassist is as pronounced as Bley’s was with his sidemen. Tracks such
as the stop-and-go Bluesy and Refugee Blues find the two playing
pitch and catch with the themes, with blues expressed only by inference.
Meanwhile on the introspective Ashes, Cappelletti appears to
be answering every chord he plays himself; and on the slow-moving
and stately Coral creates a sense of unfolding drama which perfectly
presages the Monk medley that follows it. While Cappelletti’s touch is
also not spare enough to meet Monk’s idiosyncrasies on Pannonica &
Crepuscule with Nellie, the luxurious elegance he brings to his own
compositions is imposing. DiCastri’s bowed bass line adds expressive
deep tones to Durate, as Ditmas’ molasses-slow rolls maintain
the tune’s ambulatory momentum; while the almost endless thematic
development the three bring to Dialogue invests it with a scanty
romanticism, characterized by piano-key dusting and the drummer’s
patterning smacks.
An identical format was used in 1975 by
pianist Barry Harris’ trio to pay tribute to a
composer-arranger-pianist, whose achievements
were even at that early date in danger of
being forgotten. Plays Tadd Dameron (Xanadu
Master Edition 906071 elemental-music.com)
with bassist Gene Taylor and drummer Leroy
Williams was the first – and for many years the
only – disc given over to classics by Dameron
(1917-1965), whose tunes such as Hot House and Our Delight defined
bebop. Harris, whose harmonic adroitness is in many ways comparable
to Dameron’s, stresses both the melodic and rhythmic parameters
of these tunes. With Taylor string interpolations shadowing him
like a guide dog with his master, the pianist’s interpretations are more
buttoned down than the originals, but this controlled session also
lacks spectacular front men like Fats Navarro and John Coltrane, for
whom the tunes were first composed. Yet by separating these eight
classics from their initial recordings, Harris burnishes the composer’s
reputation. For instance his evocative version of If You Could See Me
Now, initially recorded by Sarah Vaughan, adds a wash of colourful
breaks to the ballad like nuts sprinkled on caramel chocolate.
Soultrane, first recorded by Coltrane, is modulated into sophisticated
smoothness with the floating beat encompassing pure emotionalism.
Meanwhile the assured treatment of the frequently recorded Ladybird
is allowed to float freely until double-timing bass work and an elliptical
keyboard coda confirm its individuality. Even the lush Casbah
is dappled with rhythmic quotes and humour to strip out the false
exotica so that the melody stands on its own.
Forty years ago Harris, now 85, showed that memorable jazz was
made by more than a handful of great composer/performers. Today,
canny players are further exposing inventive compositions by lesserknown
creators. With more colours and contours in place, a fuller
picture of the music emerges.
• Read the review
• Click to listen
• Click to buy
New this month to
the Listening Room
TheWholeNote.com/Listening
For more information
Thom McKercher at
thom@thewholenote.com
Subcontinental Drift
Sultans of String
with
Anwar Khurshid
Considered by many the finest sung
Ring ever, featuring Astrid Varnay,
Hans Hotter, Wolfgang Windgassen,
Gustav Neidlinger, Josef Greindl
and Ramon Vinay in top form.
Alpha Moment
Peter Hum
thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 75

Old Wine, New Bottles | Fine Old Recordings Re-Released
BRUCE SURTEES
Thanks to recordings, we can continue to appreciate earlier generations
of performers whose special artistry would be completely
lost but for the recording industry – in this instance EMI, who
thankfully recorded as many artists as they did, including pianist
Benno Moiseiwitsch (1890-1963). He was born in Odessa, the birthplace
of many of the great ones: Vladimir de Pachmann, Mischa
Elman, Emil Gilels, David and Igor Oistrakh, Nathan Milstein
and others.
Moiseiwitsch espoused artistic values that today seem to have
slipped away. His playing is so packed with meaning and nuances that
the question of mere precision is quite irrelevant. Today we are
swamped with pianists who outdo each other for accuracy and perfection
but Moiseiwitsch, a natural pianist in the Romantic tradition, had
a wonderful tone, achieving a continuity though a constant organic
pulse, that finds music in every phrase where others find only notes.
A new collection from Testament, which
already has earlier Moiseiwitsch releases,
contains performances from 1946 to 1961
(SBT3.1509, 3 CDs). Included are Beethoven’s
Waldstein Sonata, Schumann’s Kreisleriana,
Pictures at an Exhibition, Beethoven’s
Emperor Concerto and the Rhapsody on a
Theme by Paganini. The third disc has over
70 minutes of informative interviews given in
New York and on the BBC.
The Waldstein is a revelation. The performance from 1958 is
instantly captivating with a magic that is, I believe, unique to
Moiseiwitsch. In the second movement he finds the sense of indolent
suspension that conveys more than only the usual merely slow tempo.
Yes, the Waldstein is outstanding but when we turn to Kreisleriana
we find the artist in home territory: “What never fails to appeal to me
is Schumann.” The constant inflections that are needed to bring this
composer off are organically natural to him.
While not technically a Richter, Moiseiwitsch’s Pictures at an
Exhibition is not an exercise but is a fully searching treatment that
fleshes out the emotional suggestion of each of these miniatures.
Earlier in his career he had no interest in performing the work and
ignored it over many years but eventually he was drawn to it and
played it regularly but, in his own words, never the same.
Moiseiwitsch first toured the United States in 1919 and New York
was no stranger to him. On July 19, 1961 he played the Emperor
Concerto with Josef Krips and the Philharmonic in Lewisohn
Stadium. The pianist had longtime affection and admiration for the
work and he and Krips worked very well together.
Rachmaninov is a composer with whom Moiseiwitsch had a close
personal relationship (revealed in the accompanying third disc of this
set). Rachmaninov was having doubts about one of the variations in
the Paganini Variations. He confided in Moiseiwitsch that when he
wrote it, it was fine but playing it now he skipped a note. One thing
led to another and Moiseiwitsch told him that a drink of crème-dementhe
would solve his problem. Later that evening Rachmaninov
was coaxed into playing for some guests and he played the variation
perfectly. Moiseiwitsch insisted it was the crème-de menthe and so,
according to Moiseiwitsch, whenever Rachmaninov played the work,
he first enjoyed a crème-de menthe. The Rhapsody on a Theme of
Paganini is a showpiece for the kind of volatile collaboration
Moiseiwitsch was able to forge with a great artist like Sir Adrian Boult.
The tempi they discover here go to necessary but natural extremes yet
they stick to each other like glue. The ensemble with the BBC
Symphony is honestly thrilling and elicits our rapt attention, hanging
on every note. The recording is of the performance given at a Proms
concert on September 14, 1946 in The Royal Albert Hall and, although
more than serviceable, is not of studio quality. Still, it is much better to
have this performance than not.
For 50 years the most talked-about, bestknown
recording of Wagner’s Ring Cycle is the
Decca set from Vienna conducted by Georg
Solti (4783702). Decca initially took quite a
gamble producing such a massive and expensive
project, not exactly sure that there would
be a market. However, under the care of
producer John Culshaw, the recording was
made, opera by opera, over a period of years
and the four individual operas – rather, music dramas – and the
complete Ring set, have not left the catalogue since. Decca has repackaged
the set using the latest 2012 remastering plus the two-CD set of
Deryck Cook’s, An introduction to Der Ring Des Nibelungen
explaining the themes associated with characters and objects in the
drama. A CD-ROM of the complete libretto with English and French
translations and two booklets about the Ring and synopses complete
the package. Most noteworthy is the price of these 16 CDs – around
$50! A case of “it’s so cheap I can’t afford not to buy it.”
Testament has issued two sets of music from
The Ring both featuring Birgit Nilsson singing
Brünnhilde’s Immolation Scene. The first entry
is the complete Act III of Götterdämmerung
live from the Royal Albert Hall on September 6,
1963 with a full cast from the Royal Opera
including Wolfgang Windgassen, Gottlob Frick,
Marie Collier, Thomas Stewart, Barbara Holt,
Gwyneth Jones, Maureen Guy and the Royal
Opera Chorus and Orchestra (SBT 1506). This was, in effect, a dress
rehearsal for the complete opera to be staged a few days later in Covent
Garden. Given the venue, the Proms and all that, this would have been
less demanding for Solti’s first public performance of this work. While
it is not as perfect as Solti’s Vienna performance for Decca a year later,
it does have a sense of occasion – a you-are-there reality in real space,
an illusion that it seems cannot be convincingly faked electronically.
Also, the listener knows that there are people attached to the voices
and where they are. I enjoyed this immensely. Dynamic stereo sound
courtesy of the BBC. The other set from Testament is an all-Wagner
concert conducted by Pierre Monteux with the
Concertgebouw Orchestra from July 1, 1963
(SBT2 1507, 2 CDs, mono). We hear the
Tannhäuser Overture, the Siegfried Idyll and
the Prelude and Liebestod (with Nilsson) from
Tristan. Following intermission, presumably, is
Siegfried’s Rhine Journey and Funeral March
followed by the Immolation Scene. Monteux
was a master musician, a conductor who left
his stamp, in varying degrees on whatever he directed. How different
his Wagner is from Solti’s: Monteux’s is broader and more meaningful
with a sweep missing under Solti. The listener feels an awareness that
engenders different emotions. Recorded three months earlier than the
Solti, Nilsson is in splendid voice and under Monteux, I would say,
more sympathetic to the role.
76 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

MUST-SEE
FALL
CONCERTS
Mahler Symphony 4
Thu, Nov 12 at 8:00pm
Sat, Nov 14 at 8:00pm
Michael Sanderling, conductor
Simone Osborne, soprano
R. Strauss: Dance of the
Seven Veils from Salome
Dvorˆák: Song to the Moon
from Rusalka
Charpentier: “Depuis le jour”
from Louise
Mahler: Symphony No. 4
What Makes It Great? ®
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 2
Fri, Nov 13 at 7:30pm
Rob Kapilow, conductor & host
Alexander Seredenko, piano
Discover the lush, romantic world of
Rachmaninoff's most popular work
for piano and orchestra!
Arabian Nights
Wed, Nov 18 at 8:00pm
Thu, Nov 19 at 8:00pm
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Joaquin Valdepeñas, clarinet
Jonathan Crow, violin
John Estacio: Wondrous Light
Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 1
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
SIMONE OSBORNE,
SOPRANO
GET GREAT SEATS FROM ONLY $33.75
ROY THOMSON HALL | 416.593.4828 | TSO.CA

STUART BROOMER
Drummer/composer Harris Eisenstadt is currently based in New
York, but he commemorates his roots in the band that recently
released Canada Day IV (Songlines SGL
1614-2, songlines.com). The group style has its
roots in the Blue Note avant-garde of the mid
60s: it’s a quintet of trumpet and reeds, vibraphone,
bass and drums, but the style is
stretched at every point into a dramatic
contemporary idiom, from the eerie sound of
Chris Dingman bowing his vibraphone to Nate
Wooley’s radical reconstruction of trumpet sound, sometimes
departing from his crisply incisive lines to couple multiphonics with
circular breathing. Eisenstadt’s compositions keep inviting the band
members to further invention while anchoring them in often complex
designs that reference his interests in African and Cuban rhythmic
patterns. An emphasis on sub-groupings brings each individual to the
fore, including tenor saxophonist Matt Bauder and the group’s newly
arrived French-German bassist Pascal Niggenkemper, while Eisenstadt
leads from his drum kit, exploring fresh forms of momentum.
Known for his long tenure in Metalwood, the
remarkably successful trans-Canada fusion
band, Ottawa-born Ian Froman is another
Canadian drummer who works primarily in
the New York area. He plays a key role on Noah
Preminger’s Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar (noahpreminger.com).
Preminger is an adventurous
saxophonist whose influences range from the
laconic abstraction of Warne Marsh to the wail of Ornette Coleman,
but he’s chosen to root his music here as deeply as possible. The CD
consists of two songs by Mississippi Delta blues singer Bukka White:
Parchman Farm Blues and Fixin’ to Die Blues. Each primordial blues
provides a launching pad for a 32-minute exploration that will recall
both the Coleman quartet and the titanic work of John Coltrane and
his drummer Elvin Jones as Froman (a student of Jones) keeps the
music moving with continuous polyrhythms and shifting accents,
whether pressing Preminger and trumpeter Jason Palmer ahead or
providing detailed commentary on their phrasing. Like its sources in
the blues, this music has the feel of living tissue.
Another fine Ottawa-born drummer, Nick
Fraser provides solid support to saxophonist
Scott Marshall on Nihahi Ridge (SMT004,
scottdouglasmarshall.com), Marshall’s fourth
CD as a leader and the third by his Toronto
quartet with pianist Marcel Aucoin and bassist
Wes Neal. Marshall is a lyrical player using
his tenor to create warmly reflective music
even when the rhythms are forceful. The group’s sense of dialogue
emerges on After all this Time as the quartet smoothly negotiates
shifts in mood. Aucoin’s luminous solo is a highlight. Marshall’s tone
is just as nuanced when he switches to alto, from the keening wail
of Groovy Eliot to the light, airy sound he achieves on I Wish You
Peace. Marshall’s preference for ballad tempos and strongly asserted
melodies can dominate here, but the off-kilter How Very Kerouac
provides a change of pace along the way.
Pianist/composer Peter Hum may be better known as a jazz and
food critic for the Ottawa Citizen, but there’s nothing to suggest
anything but full commitment to his art on
Alpha Moment (peterhum.com). Hum leads a
sextet here, and his group concept is almost
orchestral. His compositions are well formed
and subtly voiced, with solos arrayed against
his own lush chords, Alec Walkington’s
resonant bass and drummer Ted Warren’s
constant sonic shadings. While the band’s
members are currently spread out geographically,
the group clearly came together at a special moment for the
Ottawa jazz scene, much of the excitement coming from two Ottawaraised
saxophonists who have since moved on: Kenji Omae, now resident
in Seoul, may be the most exciting tenor saxophonist to emerge
in Canada in recent years, a powerful, impulsive player who’s also
capable of lustrous ballad playing; Nathan Cepelinski, now a New
Yorker, plays alto and soprano with quicksilver thought and phrasing.
Along with glassy-toned Montreal guitarist Mike Rud, the six make up
a terrific band, something that’s apparent everywhere here, but most
pointedly on the aptly named title tune.
Bassist Daniel Fortin makes his debut as a
bandleader on Brinks (Fresh Sound New
Talent FSNT 473, freshsoundrecords.com).
While his compositional skills have figured in
releases by the band Myriad3, they play a more
prominent role here, defining a strong,
personal style. Fortin’s pieces consist of just a
few notes, a phrase or two to be recast, concentrated
and contrasted. He creates edgy, tensile
structures that have some of the character of Thelonious Monk’s
works without any particular resemblance. It’s music that requires
tremendous discipline on the part of the band to come up with sufficiently
minimalist improvisatory approaches that are true to the spirit
of the works, but that’s just what tenor saxophonist David French,
vibraphonist Michael Davidson and drummer Fabio Ragnelli have
done. Operating within a set of timbres that might suggest comfortable
ballads, the group turns out complex music filled with intriguing
juxtapositions and fresh patterns. Fortin himself plays bass with a
keen sense of structure and a special melodic focus.
Tenor saxophonist Steve Kaldestad
criss-crossed Canada and spent an eightyear
sojourn in England before settling in
Vancouver in 2008. Since then he has established
himself there as a solid exponent of the
mainstream modern. New York Afternoon
(Cellar Live CL032014, cellarlive.com) presents
him in performance with pianist Renee Rosnes
(one of Vancouver’s great contributions to New
York jazz) and her regular rhythm section of bassist Peter Washington
and drummer Lewis Nash. Kaldestad swings fluidly through a
program that ranges through hard bop blues and swaying Brazilian
melodies to the more exotic modal underpinnings of Joe Henderson’s
Punjab, with Rosnes’ scintillating solo recalling her extensive work
with the late saxophonist’s band. Her own Icelight explores similar
strata, while the ballad highlight comes on Kaldestad’s soulful and
silk-toned rendering of Beatriz.
Don’t forget to check out the Listening Room at TheWholeNote.com/listening
Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

KOERNER HALL IS:
“
A beautiful space for music “
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Susan Hoeppner &
Sarah Jeffrey
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2PM
MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALL
“A born soloist,” (The Globe and
Mail) flutist Susan Hoeppner performs
with oboist Sarah Jeffrey and pianist
Jeanie Chung. The program includes
works by Ginastera, W.F. Bach, Dring,
Damase, Ibert, and others.
THE GGS FALL OPERA:
Puss in Boots by Xavier Montsalvatge
Folk Songs by Luciano Berio
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13 & SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 7:30PM
MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALL
Students from The Glenn Gould School’s vocal program present their
annual autumn opera. Peter Tiefenbach serves as Music Director.
Taylor Academy
Showcase Concerts
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 4:30PM
MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALL
The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance
Academy for Young Artists presents
a concert by the leading young
classical musicians in Canada.
Hear the stars of tomorrow!
Butler, Bernstein & The Hot 9
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 8PM KOERNER HALL
“New Orleans embodied in music, from the blues to exhilarating jazz
improvisations on the Crescent City canon. (The New York Times)
Tania Miller conducts
the Royal Conservatory
Orchestra and Heidi Hatch
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 8PM
PRELUDE RECITAL AT 6:45PM
KOERNER HALL
Conductor Tania Miller’s “experience and
charisma are audible.” (Hartford Courant)
Program includes Jared Miller’s Traffic
Jam, Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy with
Heidi Hatch (violin), and Gustav Mahler’s
Symphony No. 5.
Generously supported by Leslie & Anna Dan
Routes of Andalucia
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2PM
KOERNER HALL FAMILY CONCERT
Follow Juno Award-winning
trumpeter David Buchbinder and
his crew of cross-cultural musicians
on a journey into the magic musical
realm of ancient Andalucia, with
Arabic, Jewish, and Gypsy cultures!
A grown-up concert for people
6-13 years old and their
parents, grandparents,
and friends.
Presented in association
with Small World Music
GREAT GIFT: KOERNER HALL CONCERT TICKETS AND GIFT CARDS
More than 40 extraordinary classical, jazz, pop, family and world music concerts to choose from!
TICKETS START AT ONLY $15! 416.408.0208 www.performance.rcmusic.ca
273 BLOOR STREET WEST
(BLOOR ST. & AVENUE RD.)
TORONTO