Volume 30 Issue 6

VOLUME 30 NO 6

SUMMER 2025

MUSIC! LISTINGS

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STORIES

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RECORD REVIEWS

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THE GREEN

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21st Annual

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Music Guide

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2025-06-24 9:31 AM

The WholeNote

VOLUME 30 NO 6

JULY & AUGUST 2025

EDITORIAL

Publisher/Editor in Chief | David Perlman

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ON OUR COVER

VOLUME 30 NO 6

SUMMER 2025

AQUA

PHOTO: GILLIAN MAPP

Volume 30 No 6 | Summer 2025

6 FOR OPENERS | This isn’t a “say uncle”

moment ... | DAVID PERLMAN

STORIES & INTERVIEWS

8 WHERE STORIES INTERSECT |

Missing comes to Toronto

Summer Music | DAVID PERLMAN

1O FROM UP HERE | Postscript and

prelude – The Hamilton Plan |

SOPHIA PERLMAN

12 MUSIC & HEALTH | When Music

Meets Mindfulness | VANIA CHAN

11

MUSIC! LISTINGS

live and livestreamed

STORIES

profiles, previews

and interviews

RECORD REVIEWS

and Listening Room

THE GREEN

PAGES

21st Annual

Summer

Music Guide

I remember how peaceful I felt amongst the giizhik–cedar

trees…closing my eyes, taking a deep breath…it was so

comforting. Holding my blue bison drum behind me…my

turtle shell, my shield, my protection. I felt blessed to work

with Gillian Mapp who was not only open to coming to my

happy place, The Countryside Preserve in Uxbridge, but who

encouraged me to play and be myself in my natural habitat

amongst the trees. I sang, I danced, we laughed, we played.

It was a magical experience to be captured on film and share

my essence, my truth. I was envisioning the cover of my selfproduced

album Alive. This was it. As a peacekeeper I knew

this image would resonate with humanity. My soul free and

so I hope yours to be.

— AQUA (see pg 14)

14 SUMMER MUSIC |

Thoughts on a stay-home

musical summer

– Fruitful juxtapositions:

Aqua’s Red Rhythm and Blues

at Guild Park and Gardens |

DAVID PERLMAN

– Old friends and new

acquaintances |

STEPHANIE CONN

– Musicals everywhere, new and

renewed | JENNIFER PARR

– Water, water (almost)

everywhere | ANDREW SCOTT

COPYRIGHT © 2025 WHOLENOTE MEDIA INC

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WHOLENOTE

MEDIA INC.

4 | July & August 2025 thewholenote.com

Come Sample

The Listening Room!

for online enhanced

reviews

LISTINGS

14 The 21st annual Green Pages

Our guide to Ontario summer

music presenters

24 EVENTS BY DATE

Live and/or online

31 MAINLY CLUBS

32 OPERA, MUSIC THEATRE,

DANCE

32 RELATED EVENTS &

ETCETERAS

DISCOVERIES:

RECORDINGS REVIEWED

34 Editor’s Corner | DAVID OLDS

35 Strings Attached |

TERRY ROBBINS

38 Vocal

39 Classical and Beyond

40 Modern and Contemporary

42 Jazz and Improvised Music

45 Something in the Air |

KEN WAXMAN

46 Listening Room INDEX

22

Look for the yellow arrows!

Starts on page 34

thewholenote.com/listening

thewholenote.com July & August 2025 | 5

The WholeNote

VOLUME 30 NO 6

JULY & AUGUST 2025

IN THIS EDITION

STORIES AND INTERVIEWS

Vania Chan, Stephanie Conn, Jennifer Parr,

David Perlman, Sophia Perlman, Andrew Scott

CD Reviewers

Stephanie Conn, Ori Dagan, Sam Dickinson,

Michael Doloschell, Raul da Gama, Richard Haskell,

Tiina Kiik, Kati Kiilaspea, Pamela Margles,

Lesley Mitchell-Clarke, Cheryl Ockrant, David Olds,

Ted Parkinson, Terry Robbins, Stephen Runge,

Andrew Scott, Michael Schulman,

Yoshi Maclear Wall, Ken Waxman.

Proofreading

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Listings Team

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Sophia Perlman, Colin Story

Design Team

Kevin King, Susan Sinclair

Circulation Team

Dave Bell, John Bentley, Jack Buell, Jane Dalziel,

Bruno Difilippo, Carl Finkle, Vito Gallucci,

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Sheila McCoy, Lorna Nevison, Janet O’Brien,

Tom Sepp, Mark Zayachkowski

DEADLINES

Weekly Online Listings Updates

6pm every Tuesday for weekend posting

for Volume 31 No. 1, SEPT 16 – OCT 31 2025

Blue Pages submissions deadline:

6pm Tuesday August 26, 2025

Print listings deadline:

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Web advertising can be booked at any time

PUBLICATION DATES

OUR 31st SEASON

includes six print editions:

Vol 31 no 1 | September 16, 2025

– includes our 26th Annual Blue Pages;

Vol 31 no 2 | October 21, 2025;

Vol 31 no 3 | January 6, 2026;

Vol 31 no 4 | February 24, 2026;

Vol 31 no 5 | April 21, 2026;

Vol 31 no 6 | June 23, 2026.

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FOR OPENERS

THIS ISN’T A “SAY UNCLE” MOMENT …

but it ain’t business as usual either

“Say uncle” definitely isn’t what we called it in my sporadically brutal schooldays. Back

there it was “GIVE UP?!” in increasingly threatening tones, as the arm of the victim was

twisted past the point of endurance, or their airways choked. But “ow, ow, ow okay okay” was

all one had to say to tap out or surrender – not something as ceremonial as “uncle”.

I suspect that say uncle must have entered my verbal repertoire via the Teddy Lester books,

or some other such British boy fiction, in which public schoolboy heroes of small stature stoically

or heroically prevailed over larger, meaner adversaries, on the cricket field and off. Or

maybe it was from the Cagney/Bogart strand of Saturday matinee, local movie-house life – the

American version of the same thing.

I realize that what happens to The WholeNote is small (Canadian) potatoes given the extent

to which “business as usual” (economically, ethically and emotionally) is at risk right now on a

global scale. But those of you who do care are the ones most likely to be reading this. So I have

a couple of requests.

First, please check out our proposed 2025/2026 publication schedule (page 6). It’s six issues

like last season, but we think in a pattern that matches better the actual rhythms of the arts

calendar year. We’ll be giving ourselves till mid-September to publish the first one (September

and October), then stick to strictly bimonthly publication after that.

My second request arises from a phonecall from a reader just a couple of days ago, wanting

to know where to find a print copy of the summer issue. From the tone of the call and the

timbre of the voice I made an automatic assumption – that this was a reader who shuns all

digital media for whatever reason, and would be at loss without timely comprehensive print.

I took a phone number so I could call back with the information they needed, and then tentatively

asked if they had an email address as well. There was a tiny pause, then the withering

reply: “Of course I do. This is the 21st century, you know.”

So if that sounds like you, I stand corrected, and here’s what we would like you to consider.

We publish a regular weekly listings update which goes out by email every Thursday, looking

ten days ahead each time. Unlike the decades when we published monthly, a bimonthly cycle

is just too long to keep up with the new listings that flow in on a constant basis, along with

changes and corrections. You can sign up to receive the weekly update at thewholenote.com/

newsletter so please give it a try.

We are not “crying uncle” when it comes to giving up on print. But print can’t become the

tail that wags the dog; we are going to have to use it more wisely and economically than we

have in the past – including having to cut back in print on the level of detail we have always

prided ourselves on automatically including in our print event listings.

Each of our digital properties comes with things that print can’t replicate: (like this exact

magazine in digital form with all kinds of links to follow; or Just Ask on our website which

enables you to pinpoint the kinds of music you are interested in.

Please give it a try.

T'KARONTO

publisher@thewholenote.com

For thousands of years before European settlement, T’karonto (The Meeting Place) was part

of the traditional territory of many Nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit River,

the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, and remains

their home to this day, as it now is for many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples.

This Meeting Place lies within the territory governed by the Sewatokwa’tshera’t (Dish

with One Spoon) treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee

– a Treaty which bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent

Indigenous Nations and Peoples, and all newcomers are invited into this treaty in the spirit

of peace, friendship, respect and reconciliation. We are grateful to live and work here,

helping spread the word about the healing power of music in this place.

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Fierbois – oboe and piano duo

J.S. Bach’s Long Walk in the Snow

Tom Allen and Friends

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Rob Kapilow; Isabella Perron, violin;

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WHERE STORIES INTERSECT

MISSING COMES

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SUMMER MUSIC

DAVID PERLMAN

There’s an intersection in Prince George, British

Columbia from which, no matter what direction

you head, you will be on one of the roads the

chamber opera, Missing, has travelled in its seven-year

journey en route to Koerner Hall this coming July 24.

Go west. You are on Highway 16, travelling towards Prince

Rupert on the Northern B.C. coast, around 700 km away. Go carefully.

There are lots of trucks on the Highway of Tears. Before too

long, you will pass, unnoticed, the point on the road described in

the Prelude to Marie Clement’s searing playscript-turned-libretto

for Missing.

HIGHWAY 16. JUST WEST OF PRINCE GEORGE. FALL. From

the darkness the sound of rain falling. Then – a solid white

painted line is slowly drawn through the aisle dividing the

audience, and stage, like the white line of a long highway.

There on the side of the highway, THE NATIVE GIRL, age

16, stands hitchhiking on the deserted road. There on the

other side - lights up on AVA, age 22, as she drives along the

highway. Jagged flashes of light and darkness move across

her face. The Native Girl suddenly looks up at Ava – their

eyes meeting and locking – suspended in time. Ava drives

past The Native Girl. Time passes. The sound of a car skidding

on the wet road, the sound of the car’s metal scraping,

the sound of Ava letting out a low scream as the sound of the

car crashes into the base of a tree on impact.

Head east instead. You are on the part of Highway 16 known as

the Yellowhead Highway. In this direction, 700km will get you just

past Banff, en route to Regina and eventually Winnipeg. “That’s

the thing you have to realize about Prince George,” says violinist

Jonathan Crow, artistic director of Toronto Summer Music, “it’s not

really rural. It’s a town of about 75,000. Not nothing. And it has the

additional advantage of being far from everything else – a day’s

drive to Edmonton, South Calgary or Vancouver. Or Banff. ‘Prince

George, the capital of Northern B’, they call it.”

Ongoing involvement: part of Missing from the start, Marion Newman

(Dr. Wilson) and Melody Courage (Native Girl), seen here in Hasalala

Danxalax: Marion Newman and friends at the Chan Centre in Victoria,

November 2021. Screenshot from Road to Hasalala Danxalax.

Head south. You are on Highway 97, BC’s longest, 700km away

from Vancouver (unless you miss your turnoff in which case you

could end up in Seattle). Vancouver’s York Theatre was where

Missing first saw the light of operatic day, presented by City Opera

Vancouver, in November 2017, after which it moved to Victoria’s

Baumann Centre for Opera for a further six shows. Writing about

that first production for The WholeNote, Roberta Staley said this:

In the hands of librettist Marie Clements of Vancouver, an

award-winning Métis writer, director, producer and playwright,

words become as powerful as arrows, each one

piercing deep-seated emotions, from guilt, sorrow and

enlightenment among white viewers to – for Indigenous

members of the audience – grief and a sense of vindication

from having the suffering of one’s community acknowledged

and honoured in a public setting.

And about the music she wrote:

The power of Missing’s libretto is magnified by the equally

spare music of Toronto-based JUNO Award-winning

composer Brian Current, whose sublime score – conducted

here by Timothy Long – soars and plummets in unison

with the fierce complexity of emotions that are brought to

bear through the telling of … two linked, but very different,

tales. One is the suffering of an Indigenous family whose

daughter, a high school student, goes missing while hitchhiking

along BC’s Highway 16 … the other a masterful

rendering of the chasm that divides Canada’s European and

Indigenous cultures …expressed through the near-death

experience of Ava, a law student from Vancouver, whose car

goes off the road during a nighttime drive along Highway 16.

Following that 2017 premiere, Missing took the next step on its

journey with the announcement that in November 2019, Pacific

Opera (in partnership with the Victoria and Prince George Native

Friendship Centres, Regina Treaty/Status Indian Services, Regina

Symphony Orchestra and Prince George Symphony Orchestra)

would remount the opera: at the Baumann Centre in Victoria,

the Regina Performing Arts Centre and at the House of Ancestors

ARTICLE 11


“Uda Dune Baiyoh,” at 355

Vancouver St. Prince George,

a block from Highway 16.

Now, derailed for almost

five years by COVID and

its aftermath, Missing is on

the road again, buoyed by

the ongoing involvement

of a majority of the opera’s

cast and creative team, and

continuing to evolve, as

befits a work of art which

tells an unfinished story that

demands to be heard.

To complete the circle,

let’s head north on

Highway 97 from where

our stories intersect. You

can stay on 97 all the way

to the BC/Yukon border,

1200km away. But in this

Jonathan Crow, 1993

context you don’t have to go

very far – a matter of minutes – to the Prince George Conservatory

where Jonathan Crow, at the helm of Toronto Summer Music for the

last time, made his musical start. “It wasn’t yet the Prince George

Conservatory back then,” he says. “It started with the school board

offering a free Suzuki program and my parents were like ‘This is

amazing – a chance to put our kids in music lessons!’ So we did

music lessons, right?” The free program only lasted a couple years,

but there were enough parents in Prince George who wanted to

continue that it morphed into the Prince George Music School, and

then eventually the Prince George Conservatory of Music.

Crow’s involvement with the violin wasn’t one of those “love at

first sight” storybook things. “I didn’t even know that I was going to

like violin. I actually wanted to play cello, but our car was too small.

I know some kids hear a violin and know that this is what they want

to do. I was not one of those kids.” Nor was he one of those BC hinterland

kids who made regular pilgrimages to the Lower Mainland to

study with the one teacher who shaped their lives. “In fact I didn’t

even have one teacher for a long period of time. There were always

teachers coming up to Prince George as a way to start their career.

You know: do some teaching, play in the orchestra and other stuff,

and then move on. But always incredibly dedicated and grateful to

have an opportunity to teach and to play.” Crow too had wonderful

opportunities to play, not least in the part-professional Prince

George Symphony, currently celebrating 50 years of existence. “I was

12 maybe; you know, just this little annoying kid – I wasn’t that tall

at the time – probably bothering all the people around me, but, you

know, I got to play in a real orchestra.”

It also happened to be a time, he says, when the Canada Council

offered really, really great touring support. “So, fantastic Canadian

artists would come through Prince George. I mean [violinist] Scott

St. John came through and played the Brahms Concerto with us. I’ve

still got his signature on my music. As a 12 year old? Having the opportunity

to not just hear but work with really world-class soloists.”

Listening to him talk about those years, I can’t help making a

connection between the pedagogy of the Toronto Summer Music

Academy, which runs concurrently with the festival, and its homespun

Prince George precursor: free tuition; not just masterclassstyle

mentorship by guest artists, but the extraordinary gift of

getting to rehearse intensively and perform in public with them.

“Exactly,” he says. “You actually make a connection, right? You

learn how that person works and you see different ways people

learn. You learn to think about music, to talk about music, and to

interact – beyond just being taught.”

“Like 12-year old Jonathan Crow did?” I ask. “Exactly like,”

he replies.

David Perlman can be reached at publisher@thewholenote.com

COURTESY PRINCE GEORGE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Experience

the Power

of Opera

coc.ca


FROM TK UP HERE

POSTSCRIPT AND PRELUDE:

Reflections on

“the Hamilton Plan”

SOPHIA PERLMAN

During my third, or maybe fourth, phone call to

his home in Hamilton, as I was piecing this story

together, Larry Paikin said he was starting to get a

bit worried that he’s going to be the subject of the story. I

promised him that wasn’t the case, but, hey, every story

has to start somewhere, and the easiest place to start this

one seems to be shortly after Larry, starting third year at

Western, spotted the “Freshette Beanie” atop the head of a

“tall Jewish girl” named Marina Sibulash.

Granted, it wasn’t pure happenstance; he had been alerted to the

impending arrival of the incoming Marnie by a fraternity brother who

had grown up across the street from her in Toronto. But in any case,

he says, they were dating by the end of the first week of class – a fine

example of the “if you see what you want, go for it. If you don’t see

what you want, ask for it!” that pervades this story.

Says Larry: “When Marnie and I moved to Hamilton from London,

ON (UWO), the Hamilton Y had an adult education program at night,

so we just asked if they could add a music appreciation course to their

adult ed series, and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra provided

Victor DiBello. His classes were so interesting – the insider’s view of

the works he covered as well as an overview of how the HPO operated

– that we both subsequently volunteered with the orchestra.”

“Volunteered” is a bit of an understatement. Larry joined the board

in his early 20s; Marnie joined the Women’s Committee, and wrote the

newsletter The Philarmonotes. Later, both would serve as President

of the Board of directors - Larry from 1963 to 1965, and Marnie from

1969 to 1971. It was then that they developed a close working relationship

with the HPO’s first executive director, Betty Webster. And it was

during that period of time that “The Hamilton Plan,” the focus of this

story, was hatched.

Before I let Larry off the hook for (most of) the rest of this story,

one thing he said really stuck with me, when I asked if there was

something in particular that the HPO had done that made them get

involved beyond that first class at the Y. His reply: “They were excellent

at communicating what they needed!”

What they needed

The HPO needed to change in response to changes in Hamilton’s

cultural landscape. The HPO had recently transitioned from what one

musician described as “the world’s finest community orchestra” to a

professional orchestra needing a) to find a permanent home; b) to find

a way to attract high calibre, professional musicians willing to come to

Hamilton, even though the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and a very

lucrative commercial music scene were just down the highway; and

c) to continue to attract younger people to get involved with orchestral

and classical music.

Megan Norse, current strategic marketing initiatives manager at

the HPO, points out that prior to the opening of Hamilton Place (now

FirstOntario Concert Hall), in 1973 the HPO had been presenting its

season in various local theatres and auditoriums – a powerful tool in

making the case for the permanent home that the orchestra needed.

And with Betty Webster as Executive Director and Marnie Paikin as

the “tactician” on the board, the other two problems were tackled via

a model where, as Norse describes it, musicians would be engaged on

a “33/33/33” basis: a third of their time as sitting symphony musicians,

a third of their time at McMaster University, and the other third

in partnership with school boards.

And so “The Plan” was born: small ensembles from each section

of the HPO would present concerts throughout the season at schools

within a 60-mile radius of Hamilton (Toronto excepted); and then

students at all the schools visited this way, would be brought together

for a culminating concert with the whole HPO at the end of the year.

“The road to Carnegie Hall… paved with children’s shows!”

The school concerts, the Hamilton Plan brains trust realized, would

be easier to implement if there were pre-existing small ensembles

(string, brass, woodwind and percussion) already embedded in the

orchestra. One of the first of these was the fledgling Canadian Brass,

wooed to Hamilton during Marnie Paikin’s tenure as board chair,

with the full support of the then head of the Ontario Arts Council

Louis Applebaum. Tuba player Chuck Daellenbach, the sole remaining

original member of the Canadian Brass reflected on the serendipity of

the match.

“What made Hamilton special,” he observed, “was its ability

to augment its small core of fulltime musicians, around 20, into

a full symphony orchestra of 100 players. Not all of the “sitting

orchestra professionals” were as enthusiastic about the school

outreach performances, he concedes, but the Canadian Brass saw the

Victor DiBello, conductor of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, left, is the instructor

for lovers of classical music at the YMCA. Mr. and Mrs. Larry Paikin are among his

music appreciation students. (Hamilton Spectator, 1960)

COURTESY HAMILTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA


PUFFINGOD.COM

Chuck Daellenbach of

the Canadian Brass

opportunity as a gift from the get go. “Hamilton gave us, and would

have given others if they had cared to open their eyes, a chance to

work together as a group seven days a week,” he says. “For us, we felt

a one-hour children’s concert could be treated as a musical laboratory

for music choice and, as important, presentation.” Plus, he notes,

children are notoriously honest in their feedback; after some concerts,

there was a collective sense in the ensemble that after that kind of

feedback “Carnegie Hall would be a breeze.”

Their move to taller audiences and bigger halls (Carnegie included),

is now history, but “to this day Canadian Brass has people approach

them with ‘I saw you at my school in …’ usually in the very early 70s.

Marnie and Betty were totally focused on getting instrumentalists into

the schools, and for us libraries as well, and even lunchtime restaurants

for business people…”

The Hamilton Plan had achieved a 30-mile radius – half its original

ambitious goal – by the end of the 80s, before being wound down

in the early 90s. Some of the people I spoke to mentioned shifting

funding priorities at school boards as a significant factor in the

program’s demise. (As a student in the Ontario public school system at

that time, I can testify to that.)

But Megan Norse points out that the HPO’s own needs had also

changed. Their own professional transition had been successfully

made, and the wider social and economic landscape was shifting too.

What had made the Hamilton Plan work in the first place was that it

had been a clearly communicated ask, in response to a specific social,

economic and creative moment. And that moment had passed.

Norse doesn’t see “the Plan” as repeatable for the HPO today, but

definitely believes there is value in the core idea for organizations in

communities readying themselves now for what Hamilton was ready

for then. But not without local knowledge fuelling adjustments. Where I

live in Northern Ontario, for example, 60 miles (96 km) doesn’t even get

me to the nearest community by road in any direction. And what else, I

wonder, would it take, for the Plan to fly again up here?

Astrid Hepner

An Instrument for Every Child.

Meanwhile, 2025 marks 15 years for

another remarkable Steeltown initiative

whose time had come: the Hamilton

Music Collective’s “An Instrument For Every

Child.” In 2022, CEO and founder Astrid

Hepner gave a talk looking back at that

time, as part of the Hamilton Third Wave

Learning lecture series and available on

AIFEC’s YouTube page. For anyone inspired

by this story, it’s my recommendation for

“summer listening” – a wonderfully candid

From a “Jazz in the Hubs” event

An Instrument for Every Child - 10 Years Later

perspective on the time, and the collective will, that it took to create

and implement the initiative.

In the talk, Astrid remembers: “When you arrive in a new town and

you don’t know anyone – as was the case for me when we moved to

Hamilton – you try to find ways to connect with your new community

and our new home. And for me that connector was music, as it always

has been throughout my life.” Enter the Paikins again. At the time of

the Hepners’ arrival in Hamilton Larry Paikin was on a committee of

music lovers called the Steeltown Friends of Mohawk Music — dedicated

to raising funds for the Mohawk College Music Program. “They

invited us to their home just after we arrived in Hamilton,” Astrid

says, “where we were introduced to Bob Miller, a former Steel executive

and chair of this committee who was also a passionate jazz

lover….. I knew we were in good company.”

(I can vouch for that. From my own time in Hamilton, I remember

Bob Miller right around the time he had agreed to sit as the Hamilton

Music Collective’s board chair. I also remember it being just as likely

to find him putting out chairs for an audience, or finding water for a

musician, or selling tickets at the door.)

HMC didn’t set out to run an educational program – they were

actively presenting music and related arts programming, building

education into outreach. But as we know from the Hamilton Plan, one

thing leads to another when the time is right and you know what to

ask for. A pilot at a single school in the so-called “cultural desert” of

Hamilton’s North End now has embedded music into the school day

of over 9,000 children across the city, along with the low-cost music

programming and concerts they started out to do.

The finest of Hamilton traditions.

We lost both Bob Miller and Marnie Paikin in 2023. Having left

Hamilton a bit before that, it’s harder for me to imagine the fabric

of the music community without them. At some point I asked Larry

about a 2024 press release announcing the “Marnie and Larry Paikin

Music Initiative.” He explained that her obituary, like Miller’s, had

requested donations to AIFEC, leaving it entirely up to HMC and

AIFEC to decide how to use the money donated in her name ($45,000

as it turned out.) Coming full circle, HMC and AIFEC chose to collaborate

with the HPO, so children learning music through AIFEC could

attend HPO concerts and engage with the orchestra’s musicians.

Whether these children become musicians themselves or “failed clarinetists”

as Larry Paikin jokingly refers to himself, doesn’t matter. All of

them are what the arts world needs.

Ultimately this story is about times when people come together to

converse based on a common purpose instead of a common skill set,

because it is out of such conversations, in due course, that great plans

arise. May your summers be full of conversations like that.

Sophia Perlman grew up bouncing around the jazz, opera, theatre

and community arts scene in Toronto. She joined the creative exodus

to Hamilton in 2014, and now eagerly awaits the arrival of her

WholeNote to Hornepayne, Ontario, where she uses it to armchairtravel,

make connections, and inform her Internet video consumption.


MUSIC & HEALTH

Vania Chan

WHEN MUSIC MEETS MINDFULNESS

David Fallis and Krisztina Szabó

Exemplary art

Because Art makes a profound impact, artists

have an equivalent responsibility in all the various

roles they play during their careers: as performers,

producers, creators, leaders, educators, and public

figures. A strong work ethic, a commitment to the

art form in all its intricate details, a deep sense

of empathy, and the desire to communicate and

sincerely connect with others – all these are characteristics of exemplary

art. And the two artists featured here, conductor David Fallis and

mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó, are among the most highly respected

practitioners of classical music in Canada.

David Fallis’ musical expertise spans from the Medieval, Baroque

and Classical periods to current contemporary repertoire, often

premiering new works and championing Canadian composers. He

was at the helm of Toronto Consort from 1990 to 2018; as Music

Director for Opera Atelier, he recently conducted Charpentier’s

David and Jonathan in April of this year, as part of the company’s

celebratory 40th season; and he also frequently collaborates with

Soundstreams, conducting Choir 21, a vocal ensemble specializing in

contemporary choral music. Fallis is often instrumental in guiding

singers through unconventional and challenging repertoire, as I have

discovered working with him through several projects. Once again I

look forward to working under his direction, tackling Claude Vivier’s

music, along with other avant-garde vocal pieces, in Soundstreams’

remount of Love Songs, part of their 2025/26 season.

Krisztina Szabó and I also crossed paths initially through

Soundstreams: in an opera workshop. I eventually had the great

fortune of singing with her in one of their main stage productions,

Airline Icarus (music by Brian Current, libretto by Anton

Piatigorsky). Her warm and lush voice is equally at home with

Bach’s St. John Passion and Bartók’s opera Bluebeard’s Castle. She

recently performed in the Canadian Opera Company’s productions of

Wozzeck (Berg) and Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky). At the upcoming

VANIA LIZBETH CHAN

David Fallis, at left, with Soundstream’s “Musik für das Ende” ensemble

International Congress of Voice Teachers (ICVT), taking place July 31 to

August 3, in Toronto, we will cross paths again.

She will moderate a plenary session called “Our Voices Alive – Our

Voices Uplifted,” featuring an inspiring panel of Canadian artists – Ian

Cusson, Alice Ping Yee Ho, Britta Johnson, Teiya Kasahara, and Cecilia

Livingston – while I will offer my own presentation, entitled Charting

a Course in Mindfulness, which promotes having conversations about

music and mindfulness, the way the artists in this series, including

David and Krisztina, have done, opening up about their mindful

processes and approaches to discovering and making music.

In their respective interviews, both artists stressed similar themes:

the maintenance of good health and self-awareness; of being able to

analyze how one learns and functions best; and the importance of

preparation and accountability in every aspect of life as a performing

artist – as a leader, an educator and a teammate.

As with previous participants in this series, their full interviews are

available on the YouTube channel Vania Chan Music. What follows

here are some of their insights, drawn from the interviews, into three

fundamental precepts of mindfulness.

Calming the Mind:

David: I find that it’s important to get a good night’s sleep if I can,

which I do by making sure that I have routines, not working to the

last minute and expecting to “turn off.” This is always a challenge for

a musician; because of course, you’re often performing at night. I do

like walking a great deal. I find walking a kind of meditative activity.

Even just going for a walk, not going anywhere in particular, trying

a different route. Sometimes that’s a good thing to do before going to

bed. I’ll go for a walk, even for just ten or fifteen minutes.

Krisztina: Being attuned to my body’s needs has been a great way to

calm my mind. The body responds to regularity. A consistent bed time

is very important, a certain number of hours of sleep, hydration, and

regular meals. I like to set up my environment nicely with what makes

me feel good– lights, flowers, candles. Before performances, I like solitude

to really centre myself. If there’s too much stimulus it takes me

KEITH LAM


out of my body. I really like to have that quiet time for myself, thinking

about the role, talking myself through it, mentally going through it.

Organizing Thoughts:

David: I try to put myself in the composer’s position – what

were they trying to express on the page? Sometimes I find contemporary

music a bit like a puzzle. You need to work with it, look at it

a number of times, and come back to it the next day. We were doing

another piece by Murray Schafer, and some of the pitches seemed very

unusual. I looked at it enough to know that the pitches all fit within a

kind of scale. And so, we learned that scale as an exercise, so that you

got a sense of where there are tones, semitones, thirds, and so on. The

singers had in their minds’ ear that there was a pattern to it… a little

key that unlocks the puzzle…and then…practice!

Krisztina: I always take a score and flip through it, assess, and see

how it’s structured, where the challenges are going to lie, and then I

get a little plan “of attack” together. I work very methodically, from

beginning to end, scene by scene, repetition ad nauseam. I do play

the piano, enough that I can play some of the score myself, so that I

know where I fit into the harmonic landscape. I have encouraged my

students to have a practice journal, to self-assess. It is a process that

I’m guiding them through, but it’s going to be about what works for

them, their voices, and their life circumstances.

Flow:

David: The idea is concentration on the task at hand, and momentarily

forgetting everything else. As a conductor, you are both leading but

also making sure that you’re listening. Once in a while I have to make

sure that I’m listening almost dispassionately, as if I’m a listener from the

outside - hearing things that aren’t together, or things that aren’t in tune.

You have to be aware of the sounds around you. Sometimes I will say –

this time, I’m going to quite deliberately hear the tenor line or the bass

line or the viola part. In a performance, you give all of yourself. But in

rehearsal, as a conductor, you have the responsibility to be “the ears.”

Krisztina Szabó (r) as Madame Larina, with

Emily Treigle as Filipyevna, in the Canadian

Opera Company’s Eugene Onegin (May 2025)

Krisztina: I am happiest when I’m working my way through a new

score. The process of learning and of rehearsing the role with others is

my favourite. For me, the entire process leading up to the performance is

what I love the most – that sense of discovery, connection, of being superpresent

when you’re learning things. Mindfulness is constantly evolving

because we’re constantly evolving. What it looks like in your twenties is

not what it looks like in your thirties, your forties. You really need to stay

tuned into what your needs are, and be okay that they’re going to change,

not being rigid about that…really just going with the “flow.”

Author and creator of this series, Vania Chan is a lyric coloratura

soprano, artist researcher and educator. Visit her website:

www.vaniachan.com to learn more about upcoming projects.

MICHAEL COOPER


Thoughts on a

STAY-HOME

musical summer

DAVID PERLMAN

When we talk about a “stay-home” musical

summer, we’re not recommending you

hunker down in your domestic cocoon (home

or cottage, air-conditioned or otherwise) and wait

for music to come to you already digitized. Quite the

opposite is what we’re proposing.

This year in particular, maybe we should all apply the same

criteria for how we choose our live music as we do when

buying our groceries. So for our current “buy local” purposes,

“home” means Ontario. The next few pages that follow offer

a healthy sample of choices that we hope will stimulate

your appetite.

Summer music in Ontario offers new music in the familiar

places, and familiar music in new places. Either way these are

fresh opportunities to hear and see, and to support our local

cultural community and economy while doing so. Bon appetit!

GREEN PAGES

Aqua Nibii Waawaaskone

1. Fruitful juxtapositions: Aqua’s Red Rhythm and

Blues at Guild Park and Gardens

Oddly juxtaposed symbols influence audiences to have new

perspectives by challenging their habits of thinking.

—Kenneth Burke

A perfect example of what literary theorist Kenneth Burke called

“perspectives by incongruity” was a recent announcement by Guild

Festival Theatre that their 14th summer will commence July 3 with a

special concert: Aqua’s Red Rhythm & Blues – “an innovative musical

ensemble that fuses traditional Indigenous sounds with contemporary

blues, creating a unique genre known as IndigiBlues – bringing stories

of Indigenous hope and resilience to the Greek Theatre through music

and dance.”

Aqua’s Red Rhythm & Blues is led by Aqua Nibii Waawaaskone,

a Métis artist of mixed Anishinaabe, Irish, and French ancestry,

GILLIAN MAPP

WELCOME TO THE WHOLENOTE’S 21ST ANNUAL

GREEN PAGES GUIDE TO SUMMER MUSIC!

Nineteen music festivals and summer concert series

are here to let you know what they’re up to, in their own

words. There’s music for everyone: from classical to jazz;

opera and music theatre; and increasingly -- music that

combines or disregards entirely “genrefication.”

The profiles here in print are only what we had

received by the time we went to press: a dynamic

snapshot in miniature of Ontario’s rich, diverse, and

much much larger summer music scene.

Visit our Green Pages online at thewholenote.com for

new profiles which we’ll post as they come in.

NOT TOO LATE!

For information on how to submit

a festival profile please contact

members@thewholenote.com

2025 Green Pages Team

PROJECT MANAGER: Kevin Harris

PROJECT EDITOR: Danial Jazieri

LAYOUT & DESIGN: Susan Sinclair

DIGITAL EDITOR / WEBSITE: Kevin King

BEACHES JAZZ FESTIVAL

JULY 4 TO 27, 2025

Beaches & Leslieville neighbourhoods, Toronto, ON

Celebrating its 37th year, the Beaches International

Jazz Festival is a month-long music

festival held each year in the lakeside Beaches

community of Toronto, with stage concerts held

in several different parks and also along a two kilometre

stretch of the Beach mainstreet - Queen

Street East. It’s now one of Canada’s largest free

jazz festivals with nearly 1,000,000 attendees,

throughout its month-long span.

lidojazz@hotmail.com

www.beachesjazz.com

www.facebook.com/beachesjazz

www.instagram.com/beachesjazzfestival



who describes themself as as “an IndigiQueer artist,

activist, mover, and shaker, …inspired by their life

stories of overcoming intergenerational trauma,

mental health, addictions, homelessness, and violence

as an IndigiQueer person of mixed ancestry,” and

accompanied by their Queer guitarist Valentina

Morelli, talented violinist Alex George, and fancy

shawl dancer, Nichole Leveck.

By contrast, Guild Park and Gardens has an imperturbably,

if somewhat quirky, colonial and postcolonial

pedigree, dating back to 1914, when Colonel

Harold Bickford built Ranelagh (later Ranleigh) Park, a

33-bedroom villa with stables and acreage on a 50 acre

site, immediately adjacent to the Scarborough Bluffs

in easternmost Toronto. Ranleigh was purchased by

heiress Rosa Hewetson in 1932. She and her husband,

Spencer Clark, renamed and repurposed it as “The

Guild of all Arts” artists’ colony and inn, inspired by

the Roycroft colony in New York, converting their

home into a workplace for artists in many media, and

providing space and even homes for artists who would

otherwise have nowhere to work.

The property’s so-called “Greek Theatre” had its roots

in another idealistic Rosa and Spencer Clark initiative, commencing

in the late 1950s, when older buildings in Toronto were being bulldozed

at an alarming rate, and the thing we now call “heritage status”

was still two decades down the political road. The Clarks’ response

to this wholesale demolition was to acquire remnants from more

than 60 demolition sites and have them re-erected in and around the

Guild gardens.

The “Greek Theatre” was constructed in the early 1980s, at Spencer

Clark’s expense, after the property had been purchased from the

Clarks by Metro Toronto and the government of Ontario. It was

anchored by eight marble columns (replete with Corinthian capitals

and arches, that had been previously recovered during the demolition

of the Bank of Toronto at Bay and King where the TD Centre

now stands.

GREEN PAGES

The Greek Theatre at Guild Park and Gardens

First theatrical performance (folk music by the Good Time Rolling

Folk Music Medicine Show) was in 1984. Between 1998 and 2003

Cliffhanger Productions took over production, specializing in adaptations

of world mythology for family audiences. And since 2011 Guild

Festival Theatre has carried the Greek Theatre torch, presenting plays,

concerts and other live events.

Aqua’s Red Rhythm & Blues embodies the transformative power

of music, blending cultural heritage with contemporary artistry to

inspire, entertain, and heal,” they say. All the more so, in a context

where two strands of heritage, one long acknowledged and one long

denied, are juxtaposed in a way that can challenge long-entrenched

habits of thought.

Aqua will also perform at Sudbury Pride on July 12 (2pm)

www.sudburypride.com, and at Vibrant Brampton Summer Fest, on

July 18th 5pm) www.vibrantbrampton.ca

TORONTO.CA

BROOKSIDE FESTIVAL OF THE BAY

JULY 28 TO AUGUST 11, 2025

Midland Cultural Centre, Midland, ON

Just an hour north of Toronto, Brookside Music’s

2025 ‘Festival of the Bay‘ keeps the sweet

sounds of summer alive at 7pm at the Midland

Cultural Centre. Join us for True North Brass

(Mon, July 28); Janina Fialkowska (Thur, July 31);

Rudersdal Chamber Players & Paul Marelyn

(Mon, Aug 4); Opera Plus (Thur, Aug 7); and

James Campbell, Cameron Crozman, Graham

Campbell and Carter Johnson (Mon, August 11).

Series Pass available at the door until July 28th:

$125 + hst. Students attend for FREE!

Visit www.BrooksideMusic.com

CCC TORONTO INTERNATIONAL

MUSIC FESTIVAL

OCTOBER 14 TO NOVEMBER 5, 2025

5183 Sheppard Ave. E, Toronto, ON

Since 2010, the CCCTIMF has established a

solid name as one of the most reputable music

festivals in Canada, providing young musicians

with the opportunity to learn, grow, and showcase

their potential in performance, including the

Gala Concert and the “Rising Star” concert series.

The annual festival is conducted at the 626-seat,

state-of-the-art P.C. Ho concert hall in Toronto,

with trophies, medals, and scholarships awarded

to the winners.

ccctimf@cccgt.org / www.ccctimf.org

www.facebook.com/people/

CCC-Toronto-International-Music-

Festival/100069307357306

www.instagram.com/ccctimf

www.vimeo.com/1077230145

COLLINGWOOD MUSIC FESTIVAL

JULY 9 TO 18, 2025

Collingwood, ON

Experience the magic! This year features the

legendary Canadian Brass, the Elmer Iseler Singers

with a commission by Ian Cusson, Payadora Tango

Ensemble with Legend of Carau, The Montreal

Guitar Trio with a tribute to Ennio Morricone, a

free family-friendly Symphony Under the Stars,

a family-fun night with Guy Few, and inspiring

youth performances. A Gershwin Gala featuring

Adrianne Pieczonka, and our Artistic Director

Daniel Vnukowski offers an unforgettable close.

liesbeth@collingwoodfestival.com

www.collingwoodfestival.com

www.facebook.com/collingwoodfest

www.twitter.com/collingwoodfest

www.youtube.com/

watch?v=--n5nVpaqjA&t=39s


2. Old friends and new acquaintances

STEPHANIE CONN

Southern Ontario is awash with live music

this summer, as always, and this season brings

some old favourites, festivals and performers,

as well as some intriguing new offerings. These

are some that stood out for me.

Jul 01 10:00am to 9pm is the second day of the Aga

Khan Museum’s Rhythms of Canada 2025 mini-festival.

Although the Aga Khan Museum’s focus is on Islamic

art of the Middle East, for this two-day festival their lens

is opened to the wider world of music. The Eagleheart

Singers are Indigenous performers who come together

from a diversity of nations including Cree, Ojibway, and

Mohawk. Toronto Klezmer Society and African dance

workshops will please fans of traditional genres, while

artists such as Achanté (born in Mumbai, based in Toronto) and

Lahore-based Natasha Noorani bring the edge and electronica of

urban music and retro-pop. A perfect festival for Canada in 2025!

Jul 10 7:30: Toronto Summer Music’s opening night at Koerner

Hall features Cappella Mediterranea’s in-concert presentation of

Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea with Sophie Junker (Poppea);

Nicolò Balducci (Nerone); and Mariana Flores (Ottavia / Virtù); led by

Swiss-Argentine conductor Leonardo García Alarcón. A champagne

reception for the entire audience after the concert adds to the appeal.

Monteverdi is always worth going out for, as far as I’m concerned—

but combine that with a champagne reception and the lush acoustics

of Koerner Hall and you have the makings of a lovely evening. The

Coronation of Poppea was composed for a general audience during

carnival season, so some might find it one of Monteverdi’s more

appealing and approachable works. Note that this production is not

staged, which makes it a bit less colourful —but perhaps also shorter!

#summeradhd

Aga Khan Museum’s Rhythms of Canada, 2024

Jul 11 7:30: Georgian Bay Concert Choir’s Organ Recital caught my

eye because of the repertoire: Bach’s Organ Trio Sonata No.1 in E-flat

BWV 525; Franck’s Chorale No.2 in B minor; Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im

Spiegel; and Messiaen’s “Dieu parmi nous” from La Nativité. Norman

Reintamm, the choir’s artistic director is the organist; guest soloist is

Chris Burton on piano.

Many people only hear the organ playing as they dash out of church

after a service or wedding, but here’s a chance to sit and relax in the

coolness of a church and listen with intention to a well-chosen and

eclectic program. The hypnotic Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt was

a hit when it was first recorded in the ‘90s, and I’d welcome a rendition

on the organ; this chosen movement of Messaien’s La Nativité de

Seigneur uses the organ’s kaleidoscopic possibilities with great effectiveness;

and Bach played on the organ is always welcome. The concert

is PWYC, with all proceeds going to the choir, so bring the whole

family and cool off after your beach day.

ALNOOR MERALLI

ELORA FESTIVAL

FRIDAY, JULY 11 - SUNDAY, JULY 27

Elora, Ontario, N0B 1S0

This summer, celebrating 46 years as Canada’s

international choral festival, we present three

weeks of world-class choirs and vocal ensembles

over three weeks in Elora, “Ontario’s most beautiful

village”. A stunning lineup of concerts and music

experiences, features acclaimed international

artists, talented soloists, and special venues. Highlights

include The Elora Singers, Jeremy Dutcher,

Chanticleer, The Gesualdo Six, Autorickshaw, and

more, including intimate chamber performances,

immersive musical experiences, and fun events for

the whole family.

elorafestival.ca

www.facebook.com/elorafestival/

www.instagram.com/elorafestival/?hl=en

www.youtube.com/@TheEloraSingers/featured

FESTIVAL OF THE SOUND


Parry Sound, ON

Founded in 1979 by pianist Anton Kuerti, and

led by clarinetist James Campbell since 1985,

FOS has grown into one of Canada’s leading

summer music festivals presenting world-class

performances in the acclaimed Charles W.

Stockey Centre. The 2025 season, July 25 to

August 9, offers chamber music, jazz weekend

events, candlelight concerts, opera, and musical

cruises. Enriching masterclasses, artist talks,

by-donation community events by donation, and

collaborations between emerging and established

artists round out the program.

1-866-364-0061

www.festivalofthesound.ca

www.facebook.com/FestivaloftheSound

www.x.com/FestoftheSound

www.instagram.com/festivalofthesound

HABARI AFRICA FESTIVAL

AUGUST 8 TO 10, 2025

Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON

Batuki Music Society is proud to present Habari

Africa – a multi-disciplinary all-ages music and

arts festival, presented free to the public, that

displays the rich and diverse cultures of Africa.

Join us for a weekend of exploration and engagement,

celebrating the uniqueness, wealth and

diversity of African music, dance, film and arts. A

focal point of Toronto’s cultural calendar, Habari

Africa Festival brings together musicians and

performing artists from all over the world.

batukimusic@yahoo.com

www.batukimusic.com

www.facebook.com/BatukiMusic

www.instagram.com/batukimusic

www.youtube.com/user/BatukiMusic


Elora Festival

Opening night at the Gambrel

Barn in Elora, July 2024

WAYNE SIMPSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Elora Festival: Friday, July 11 - Sunday, July 27

This summer, “celebrating 46 years as Canada’s international choral

festival,” the festival promises us “three weeks of world-class choirs

and vocal ensembles. A stunning lineup of concerts and music experiences

…including intimate chamber performances, immersive musical

experiences, and fun events for the whole family.”

The Elora festival is always a treat: great singing is at its heart, and

you experience it in an utterly charming southern Ontario town. This

year there are two male vocal ensembles: Chanticleer, vocal virtuosi

from San Francisco, presents a concert of medieval works by Landini

(crunchy medieval harmonies!), di Lasso (silky renaissance lines),

and a new work by Ayanna Woods, whose vocal works explore the

vowels and sonorities of the voice as can be seen in performance by

Chanticleer. The Gesualdo Six, a British group, have crafted a concert

inspired by the service of Compline, meant to be a time of peace and

reflection at day’s end. They will include renaissance music by Tallis,

Palestrina and Gesualdo, but also 20 th -century Estonian composer

Veljo Tormis and Canadian composer Gerda Blok-Wilson.

Two more hot Elora Festival tickets you should not hesitate to buy:

Jeremy Dutcher will perform a concert of his one-of-a-kind music

that draws on his Wolastoqiyik roots, operatic training, and playful

imagination. And I’ve said before that no opportunity to hear cellist

Elinor Frey play should be missed; she’ll be featured in an Elora

Festival Singers Baroque Music by Candlelight concert.

GREEN PAGES

HIGHLANDS OPERA STUDIO


Haliburton, Ontario K0M 1S0

Established in 2007 by tenor, Richard Margison,

O.C. and stage director and violist, Valerie Kuinka,

Highland Opera Studio provides advanced professional

training and career development for 10-15 top

level emerging professional operatic artists chosen

from across Canada and beyond. Successful applicants

attend the four-week professional program

free of charge, including presenting 13-16 concerts,

masterclasses, outreach events and fully-staged

operas to the public. The year-round Highlands

Opera Community School offers pay-what-youcan

singing lessons, opera appreciation clubs, and

other opera-centred activities.

info@highlandsoperastudio.com

www.highlandsoperastudio.com/

Facebook Link: @HighlandsOperaStudio

X and Instagram: @HighlandsOpera

Video: @HighlandsOperaStudio

MARKHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL

AUGUST 16 TO 17, 2025

Unionville Main Street and Carleton

Avenue, Markham, ON

Set in a charming heritage village setting, the

festival showcases more than 30 free jazz, blues,

soul and related acts on three-plus stages. Headliners

include multiple Juno Award winner Caity

Gyorgy, legendary reggae/soul singer Jay Douglas

& His All-Stars, and the stellar jazz/funk/blues

group Shuffle Demons. Experience award-winning

music, stroll shops and restaurants between stages,

and mingle with thousands of like-minded fans,

professional, up-and-coming artists, and amazing

performers you already know and love!

647-983-7777

markhamjazzfestival.com

www.facebook.com/markhamjazzfestival

www.x.com/markhamjazzfest

www.youtube.com/@markhamjazzfestival2823

MUSIC AT PORT MILFORD


Prince Edward County, Ontario, K0K 2P0

In the face of strife – experienced internally, interpersonally,

or internationally – where do we turn?

This summer’s programs will provide reflections

on the human capacity to heal – through cathartic

expression, love, and community, as this

season’s performers, from celebrated string quartets

(Verona, Cavani, Blair, Tokai) and principal

players of major orchestras (Toronto Symphony,

Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, National

Ballet Orchestra, Orchestre de l’Agora), return

to the Port Milford stage for another summer of

collaboration and connection.

director@musicatportmilford.org

http://musicatportmilford.org/

www.facebook.com/musicatportmilford

Instagram: Musicatportmilford


3. Musicals everywhere, new and renewed

JENNIFER PARR

As the summer officially begins, musicals are, as usual, popping up

on stages all around the province, while at the same time holding their

own in Toronto, particularly as the annual Toronto Fringe Festival,

beginning on July 2 has more musicals in its program than ever before.

New alliance: Part of this abundance is due to the new Alliance

for Canadian Musicals which is taking over Theatre Passe Muraille

creating a Fringe musical hub. Producer Derrick Chua (whose brainchild

this is) explained:

“The inspiration behind the creation of Alliance for Canadian Musicals

came about from two separate conversations on the same day: one about

my firm continued belief in the importance of Fringe festivals as a platform

for artists to realise their visions, and the other about my firm

continued belief that Canadian musicals and Canadian musical theatre

artists are among the best in the world. And so the idea of a Fringe

Satellite Venue, dedicated solely to Canadian musicals, was born.”

The 2025 cast of People Suck

Eight wildly different musicals will play in rep at TPM with two

immediately standing out for me; a revamped version of People Suck,

an award winning hit in 2015 and including the fabulously funny

Ashley Comeau in the cast, and Iron Mask, a resetting of the classic

Dumas swashbuckling tale to Prohibition Era 1920s Toronto complete

with gangsters, speakeasies and a fight against tyranny.

Another seven musicals can be found around the other venues

of the Fringe including a new modern tale Almost Ever After from

Andrew Seok who has given us several sold out fairy tale musicals

over the past few years. This new show he says is a modern story with

songs inspired by the Beatles, Bruno Mars, and Adele among others

and features a strong cast including the always good Kelly Holiff, and

Julia Pulo who seems to be everywhere these days.

The Blyth spirit: Outside Toronto the Blyth Festival famous for its

championing of new Canadian plays has commissioned a new musical

from Irish/Canadian playwright Emma Donoghue best known for her

dark play with music Room (based on her novel of the same name )

that played to packed houses at the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario

and at Toronto’s Princess of Wales a few years ago, and almost had a

Theatre Passe Muraille

KRISTY BOYCE

PETER MCCALLUM

RHYTHMS OF CANADA

JUNE 30 TO JULY 1, 2025

The Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, ON

Start your summer by celebrating Canada Day

with the whole family at the Aga Khan Museum

as the entire site comes alive with music, art, and

vibrant celebration. Take in two days of world-class

performances; enjoyfree admission to the Museum

Collections Gallery. Visit the Rhythms of Canada

Family Tent for hands-on workshops and activities

for all ages. Enjoy some of Toronto’s favourite food

trucks. And prepare to dance and sing to the sounds

and rhythms of the city.

aqil.pirani@akdn.org

www.agakhanmuseum.org/rhythmsofcanada

www.facebook.com/agakhanmuseumtoronto

x.com/agakhanmuseum

www.instagram.com/agakhanmuseum

SOUTHCOAST JAZZ

BRANTFORD & PORT DOVER

AUGUST 8 TO 10, 2025

Brantford, Ontario N3T 2J2, Sanderson Centre

Canadian Music Legends LIGHTHOUSE headline

the 12th annual South Coast Jazz Festival,

7pm August 9 at Sanderson Centre, 88 Dalhousie

Street, Brantford. Other highlights include

Queen Mary in Harmony Square, Brantford at

6pm Aug 8, and on August 10 Jesse Murphy, Gail

Fuller, and Maya Chappell at Glenhyrst Gardens,

Brantford, and Michael Bell and Kataryna Kohn

at Schofield’s Bistro, Port Dover. For all tickets,

times and full line-ups, in Brantford and Port

Dover, go to southcoastjazz.com.

Info@southcoastjazz.com

www.southcoastjazz.com

www.facebook.com/southcoastjazz1

X: https://.x.com/southcoastjazz

Instagram: @southcoastjazz

STONEBRIDGE WASAGA

BEACH BLUES

SEPTEMBER 12 TO 14, 2025

Wasaga Beach, ON

The Stonebridge Wasaga Beach Blues Festival

is returning for our 13th year. Join us from

September 12 to 14 and enjoy the diverse musical

performances on our two main stages, featuring

performances by 20 bands, including Blushing

Brides, Shawn Kellerman, Durham County Poets,

Shawn Cloutier and the Crack of Dawn. Enjoy the

variety of food and beverages in our vibrant vendor’s

village and liquid lounge.

hello@wasagabeachblues.com

www.wasagabeachblues.com

www.facebook.com/SWBBlues

www.instagram.com/

stonebridgewasagabeachblues


4. Water, water (almost) everywhere

ANDREW SCOTT

Summer in Toronto and its outlying regions is

with some justification better known as the season

called roadwork and construction. It is however a

truly fine time of year if you can somehow weave

together the strands of live music, water’s edges, and

beautiful island destinations.

The Wind Coming Over the Sea, in rehearsal at the Blyth Festival

production on Broadway. The new show The Wind Coming Over the

Sea (which sounds like a much happier tale) is inspired by the true

story of Irish immigrants Henry and Jane Johnson who fled the Irish

Potato Famine of the 1840’s to find a new home in Canada. Henry set

out first and while waiting 18 months for Jane and their small child to

join him sent yearning letters home which Jane echoed with her own.

The play draws upon the letters (some of which still exist) and interweaves

the family’s story with traditional Irish folk ballads to bring

their story to life.

The Great Comet returns: As well as new musicals there is a

remount this summer that I won’t miss: the return of Crow’s Theatre

and the Musical Stage Company’s hit of 2024: Natasha, Pierre and

the Great Comet of 1812— this time under the Mirvish banner in

the glamorous (much larger) setting of the Royal Alexandra Theatre.

Set and staging will be adjusted to fit the new venue but most of

the superb cast will be back including the luminous Hailey Gillis as

Natasha, and uber suave George Krissa as Anatole.

GREEN PAGES

Parry Sound: No Ontario summer festival season

would be complete without a trip to Parry Sound

to hear what clarinetist James Campbell has pulled

out of his artistic director’s hat this year. Festival of

the Sound (July 25 to August 9) features chamber

music, jazz, opera, and more, with engaging music

both on land (in the renowned Charles W. Stockey

Centre) – or on the water as your music-filled cruise

languidly putters among some of the 30,000 Islands

of Georgian Bay.

Markham Jazz: Putting water and Markham,

Ontario in the same sentence may be a bit of a

stretch, but not when reggae artist and dynamic

performer Jay Douglas is on the bill, bringing the musical sounds

of his homeland of Jamaica to this year’s Markham Jazz Festival

(August 16 to 17). Sharing top festival billing with the Juno Award

winning Caity Gyorgy, as well as the Shuffle Demons, Douglas & His

All-Stars will turn the quaint setting of Unionville into an island

paradise, well musically anyway, across three-plus stages for what is

bound to be a wonderful summer weekend.

Amherst Island: By contrast, there will be no avoiding the water, if you

want to attend this year’s Waterside Summer Series at St. Paul’s Church

on Amherst Island in Stella, Ontario (July 3, July 12, July 17, August 11 and

August 19, 2025). The ferry ride is short and direct from the Millhaven

dock, however, and the welcome return of the great Gryphon Trio will

make the whole thing worth it for those who want to help celebrate the

SUMMER MUSIC IN THE GARDEN

JUNE 21 TO AUGUST 29, 2025

Toronto Music Garden,

479 Queens Quay West, Toronto, ON

Harbourfront Centre’s Summer Music in the

Garden is an intimate live music experience by

the waterfront, occurring most Thursdays and

Sundays all summer. The 2025 season celebrates

the 24th season of Summer Music in the Garden

and the 26th anniversary of the Toronto Music

Garden, which will feature 18 free performances

by JUNO Award-winning Canadian musicians

and artists from across Canada and internationally,

bringing jazz, soul, Middle Eastern baroque

and cyberpunk to audiences.

info@harbourfrontcentre.com

www.harbourfrontcentre.com

www.facebook.com/HarbourfrontCentre

www.instagram.com/harbourfrontcentre

www.youtube.com/harbourfrontcentre

SUMMER OPERA LYRIC THEATRE


Alumnae Theatre, Toronto, ON

Join us for a Toronto mini opera festival, at the

historic Alumnae Theatre, celebrating four decades

of SOLT productions, presented by emerging

Canadian artists, under the leadership of experts

in the field – Sabina Rzazade, Minira Najafzade and

Paul Goodfellow – and fully staged by Guillermo

Silva-Marin. This year’s SOLT offerings are Monteverdi’s

The Coronation of Poppea, Mozart’s Cosi Fan

Tutte, and Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne.

416-366-7723

admin@solt.ca

www.solt.ca

www.facebook.com/summeroperalyrictheatre

www.instagram.com/summeroperatoronto

www.twitter.com/OperaSOLT

SUMMERSTAGE 2025


Toronto and Caledon region, ON

No Strings Theatre’s 2025 ‘SummerStage’ 20th

anniversary season offers three concerts and two

operas. “Sophisticated Soul - Afrocentric classics

and crossovers”, features Denise Williams, Sean

Sutherland, Ben MacDonald and Jan Morgan.

“Music of the Spheres” is a solo piano concert by

Greg Millar. “A Summer Cabaret” led by David

Stone, features Broadway classics.Mozart’s Così

fan tutte and Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel,

both set in a rural farm in Adjala township, are

presented by Our Young Artist Opera Program.

directors@nostringstheatre.com

www.nostringstheatre.com

www.facebook.com/nostringstheatretoronto

www.instagram.com/nostringstheatre

www.youtube.com/nostringstheatre


McKay Wine & Beer Garden Stage: one of four

venues at the 2025 Markham Jazz Festival

festival’s 30th Anniversary season. Bring the kids too: the oboe–bassoon–

piano Poulenc Trio is offering a free children’s concert.

Finally, should you want something with easy access to the

Gardiner Expressway and terrific waterside views, look no

further than the always genre-expansive programming offered at

Harbourfront Centre’s Summer Music in the Garden. With an appropriate

focus on all things Canadian, the Garden offers a swath of

music this summer designed to expand listeners’ conception of what

it means to be Canadian. For example, Sounds of Stories: Dhaivat

Jani Trio, promises to fuse Indian classical music with jazz improvisation

on tabla and synthesiser, performed by a terrific cast of new and

established Canadians musicians (July 3 at 7:00pm). And if traversing

LARRY FRUITMAN

VC2 at Harbourfront’s Summer Music in the Garden, Toronto (2023)

musical geography is indeed your thing, the beat goes on! You will

be pleased to know that the same venue is showcasing Celtic and

Canadian: Lo & The High Road, a performance that blends myth and

folklore while finding the shared points of intersection between Celtic

music and new Canadian compositions (August 10 at 4:00pm). Best of

all, all concerts are free!

So, whether your interest be music or water, both await you in

abundance this summer across Ontario!

HARBOURFRONT BIA

SWEETWATER MUSIC FESTIVAL

SEPTEMBER 16 TO 21, 2025

Owen Sound, Leith, Meaford, ON

Join us for a beautiful week of Chamber Music

on Georgian Bay. Our Festival brings music that

inspires and connects and includes concerts at

various venues, participatory sessions for string

players and choristers, a children’s concert, free

events and more, all curated by Artistic Director

Edwin Huizinga. Passes sell out each year - if

you haven’t experienced the joy and community

of SweetWater, this is your year! See you at

the Festival!

sweetwatermusicfestival@gmail.com

www.sweetwatermusicfestival.ca

www.facebook.com/swmusicfestival

www.x.com/SweetWaterNotes

www.youtube.com/channel/

UCqmZ4nAlKZzmHQky-B7o0Lw

TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC


Toronto, ON

2025 marks Toronto Summer Music’s 20th Anniversary,

two decades of unforgettable Festivals

and community connections. This year’s Festival

celebrates what we’ve built together, and the

music still to come: bold new voices, beloved

masterworks, and genre-defying surprises –,

a world-class lineup of chamber music, art song,

and opera. Performers include Cappella Mediterranea,

George Li, New Orford String Quartet,

Franco Fagioli, Yura Lee and Simone McIntosh

with the TSM Festival Orchestra, Mary Bevan,

Rosamunde String Quartet, and more!

info@torontosummermusic.com

torontosummermusic.com/

www.facebook.com/TorontoSummerMusic

www.instagram.com/torontosummermusic/

www.youtube.com/@TSMFestival

WATERSIDE SUMMER SERIES

JULY 3, JULY 12, JULY 17, AUGUST 11

AND AUGUST 19, 2025

St. Paul’s Church, Amherst Island, Stella, ON

Discover the enchantment of classical music in an

extraordinary setting, the beautiful St. Paul Church

on picturesque Amherst Island. Celebrating our

30th year, Waterside offers a unique experience:

rural peace combined with concerts by remarkable

musicians. This season, our highlights include a repeat

appearance of the celebrated Gryphon Trio, and a

free children’s concert by the Poulenc Trio. We are

an easy ferry ride from the parking lot at Millhaven

dock, and all concerts are at 3:15pm. Warm thanks

to our sponsors, and appreciation for the dedication

of our artistic director, Beverly Harris.

musicwaterside@gmail.com

www.watersidemusic.ca

www.facebook.com/watersideseries

www.instagram.com/watersidesummerseries


TJALLING PHOTOGRAPHY

GREG KING

BEACHES JAZZ

BRENDEN FRIESEN

BRUCE ZINGER

JOHN WHITE

GREEN PAGES INDEX (IN DATE ORDER)

SUMMER MUSIC IN

THE GARDEN

Thursdays & Sundays,

June 21 to August 29

WATERSIDE SUMMER

SERIES

July 3 to August 19

BEACHES JAZZ

FESTIVAL

July 4 to 27

SUMMERSTAGE 2025

July 5 to Aug 17

COLLINGWOOD MUSIC

FESTIVAL

July 9 to 18

TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC

July 10 to Aug 2

ELORA FESTIVAL

July 11 to 27

STRATFORD SUMMER

MUSIC

July 17 to August 10

MUSIC AT PORT MILFORD

July 19 to August 2

FESTIVAL OF THE SOUND

July 25 to August 5

SUMMER OPERA LYRIC

THEATRE

July 25 to August 3

BROOKSIDE FESTIVAL

OF THE BAY


HIGHLANDS OPERA STUDIO


HABARI AFRICA

FESTIVAL

August 8 to 10

SOUTHCOAST JAZZ

BRANTFORD

& PORT DOVER

August 8 to 10

MARKHAM JAZZ

FESTIVAL

August 16 & 17

STONEBRIDGE WASAGA

BEACH BLUES

September 12 to 14

SWEETWATER MUSIC

FESTIVAL

September 16 to 21

CCC TORONTO INTERNA-

TIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL

October 14 to November 5, 2025

SUMMER FESTIVAL

36 concerts of jazz, broadway, pop, rock, classical and

artists from Alderville and Curve Lake First Nations

Nahre Sol & Ben Finley

July 10

Brian Manker (cello) &

Brian Finley (piano)

July 17

June 13 - August 3, 2025

CAMPBELLFORD, ON

VISIT WESTBEN.CA

Chanticleer & BBQ

July 11

Illia Ovcharenko

July 20

Dominique

Fils-Aimé

Aug 2

That Choir & Pre-

Performance Instant

Choir July 13

Michael Kaeshammer

& Jazz Bistro Aug 2


NICK HARDING

DELPHY PHOTOGRAPHY

GREAT MOMENTS FROM

FESTIVALS PAST

Clockwise from top left:

Highland Opera Studio:

Il barbiere di Siviglia

Sweetwater Music Festival:

garden concert

Stonebridge Wasaga Beach

Blues: Jordan John

Habari Africa Festival:

Watmon Amone Cultural Group

Beaches Jazz Festival: Dr. Draw

SummerStage: The Magic Flute

Collingwood Music Festival:

Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir

Experience the magic of the 2025

nest

Collingwood Music Festival

July 9-18

Canadian Brass

Elmer Iseler Singers

Ian Cusson

Montreal Guitar Trio

Payadora

Guy Few & Stephanie Mara

Kindred Spirits Orchestra

4 youth concerts

Youth Masterclass

Gershwin Gala with Daniel

Vnukowski &

Adrianne Pieczonka

www.collingwoodfestival.com

CANADA’S PREMIERE SUMMER

CLASSICAL MUSIC FESTIVAL

JUL 25 – AUG 9, 2025 • PARRY SOUND

www.festivalofthesound.ca


WHOLENOTE Event Listings

are free of charge

And can be submitted by artists,

venues or presenters at any time.

WE INCLUDE

Daily listings for date-specific events such as live and/or livestream

performances, workshops, etc.

A directory of alternative venues - mainly clubs, mostly jazz.

Listings for ongoing, on-demand and other music-related activities not

tied to a specific date.

HOW TO LIST

Use the convenient online form at thewholenote.com/applylistings

or email listings to listings@thewholenote.com.

Changes to listings already submitted can usually be accommodated.

Please note, we do not take listings over the phone.

DEADLINES

Weekly Listings Update (our e-letter)

& JUST ASK (our searchable online listings)

Eligible listings received by 6pm Thursday, each week, will be included

in the following Thursday’s e-letter, and simultaneously posted to our

searchable online listings database.

Please note: the weekly listing e-letter typically looks ten days ahead.

The Just Ask database is searchable as far into the future as we have listings.

The WholeNote, print magazine

Our next print edition, Volume 31 no.1, is scheduled for a September 16

launch, covering events to the end of October.

The print listings submission deadline is Tuesday September 2.

#3101 will include the 26th annual Blue Pages: presenter profiles for

the 2025-2026 season. The deadline for Blue Pages submissions is

Tuesday August 26.

Blue Pages membership inquiries: members@thewholenote.com

See page 6 for a list of publication dates.

Inquiries about WholeNote listings should be addressed to

John Sharpe, Listings Editor at listings@thewholenote.com

Advertising inquiries should be addressed to

advertising@thewholenote.com

REGISTER TO RECEIVE

THE WEEKLY LISTINGS UPDATE

at thewholenote.com/newsletter

LIVE OR ONLINE | Jul 1 to Sep 7, 2024

Living Room Listening Party II

Thursday June 26, 2025

Happy Hour | 6:30 PM

Concert | 7:30 PM

Eglinton St. George United Church

35 Lytton Blvd.

Featuring works by Britten, Vivaldi, Lau

Morlock, and Golijov.

For tickets, visit

canadianchamberorchestra.ca

Tuesday July 1

Rhythms of Canada, second day.

Started June 30.

See Green Pages.

● (June 26) to August 12: Blyth Festival. The

Wind Coming Over The Sea. New musical by

Emma Donoghue (Room).

● 10:00am: Aga Khan Museum. Rhythms

of Canada 2025. To 9pm. Aga Khan Museum

- Main Stage, 77 Wynford Dr. www.agakhanmuseum.com/roc.

Free. Also Jun 30.

● 2:00: University of Toronto. Soldiers’

Tower Carillon Recital. Dr. Elisa Tersigni, Roy

Lee, and Naoko Tsujita, carilloneurs. Soldiers’

Tower War Memorial, 7 Hart House Cir.

416-978-3485 or www.alumni.utoronto.ca/

community/soldiers-tower/soldiers-towercarillon.

Free. Also Aug 4(2pm) & Sep 1(3pm).

● 5:00: Hamilton Civic Museums. Canada

Day Military Tattoo. For all ages. Bring

your lawn chair and settle in for an unforgettable

night of celebration, filled with captivating

performances that honour our heritage.

Regimental Band of the Royal Hamilton Light

Infantry; Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders of

Canada Pipes & Drums; and the Argyllshire

Dancers. Dundurn Castle National Historic

Site, 610 York Blvd., Hamilton. 905-546-2424

ext. 3168 or museums@hamilton.ca. Free outdoor

event.

● 8:00: Kindred Spirits Orchestra. Canada

Day Celebration. Unionville Millennium

Bandstand, 143 Main St., Unionville. www.

ksorchestra.ca/concerts. Free.

Wednesday July 2

● 1:00: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.

Carillon Recital. Michael Gancz, carillonneur.

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church (Toronto),

1585 Yonge St. www.yorkminsterpark.com. Free.

● July 2 -13 Alliance for Canadian Musicals

at Theatre Passe Muraille as part of the

Toronto Fringe Festival (produced by Derrick

Chua). allianceforcanadianmusicals.ca; also

fringeoftoronto.com

● 3:45: Toronto Fringe. People Suck: A

Musical Airing of Grievances. Written by

Peter Cavell & Megan Phillips. Cast: David

Silvestri, Chris Johnson, Megan Phillips,

Michelle Nash, and Liana Bdewi. Theatre

Passe Muraille - Mainspace, 16 Ryerson Ave.

www.peoplesuckmusical.com. Visit website

for information. Also Jul 4(9:30pm), 6(7pm),

7(3pm), 8(8pm), 10(3:30pm), 12(6pm).

● 7:00: Civic Light Opera Company. Lucky

Stiff. Written by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen

Flaherty. Red Sandcastle Theatre, 922 Queen

St. E. www.clotoronto.com/lucky-stiff. $25.

Runs Jul 2-27. Wed(7pm), Thu(8pm), Fri(8pm),

Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 8:00: Massey Hall. George Thorogood and

The Destroyers. 178 Victoria St. www.tickets.

mhrth.com. From $66.

Thursday July 3

Waterside Summer Series

July 3 to August 19

See Green Pages.

● 3:15: Waterside Summer Series. Piano

Duo. Solos and duets from their “Storms

of Life” program including Chopin, Schubert,

and others. Agné Radzeviciuté, piano;

Dmitri Levkovich, piano. St. Paul’s Presbyterian

Church on Amherst Island, 955 Stella

40 Foot Rd., Stella. www.watersidemusic.

ca. $45; $22.50(child). NOTE: Amherst Island

requires a ferry.

● 7:00: Harbourfront Centre. Sounds of

Stories: Dhaivat Jani Trio. Indian classical

music, jazz, improvisation and cinematic

soundscapes with the multilingual stories

of spoken word poetry. Dhaivat Jani, drums

& tabla; Jonathan Kay, woodwinds & esraj;

Chris Pruden, keyboards & synths. Toronto

Music Garden, 479 Queens Quay W. www.

harbourfrontcentre.com. Free.

SUMMER 2025 | COMMUNITY

CARILLON RECITALS

Wed July 2

Michael Gancz

Thurs July 10

Annie Gao

Tues Aug 5

Gordon Slater

Tues Sep 2

Joseph Min

START TIME 1:00 pm | YORKMINSTER PARK BAPTIST CHURCH

1585 Yonge St. | www.yorkminsterpark.com


Red Rhythm

Blues

July 03

7:30 PM

The

Greek

Theatre

Guild Park

and Gardens

● 7:30: Guild Festival Theatre. Aqua’s Red

Rhythm & Blues. Bringing stories of Indigenous

hope and resilience to the Greek Theatre

through music and dance. Guild Park and

Gardens - Greek Theatre, 201 Guildwood Pky,

Scarborough. 647-250-7438 or visit www.

guildfestivaltheatre.ca/aqua. $15.






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 8:00: Small World Music. Sarāb: Live in

Toronto. Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W.

www.smallworld.com/shows/sarab. $42.

● 8:00: TD Music Hall. Klô Pelgag.

178 Victoria St. www.tickets.mhrth.com. General

admission (standing): $38.

Friday July 4

Beaches Jazz Festival

July 4 to 27

See Green Pages.






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).









7(3pm), 8(8pm), 10(3:30pm), 12(6pm).

Saturday July 5

SummerStage 2025

July 5 to Aug 17

See Green Pages.

● 3:00: Markham Museum. Kickin’ It

Country. Featuring high-energy line dancing

from Cheatin’ Hearts and refreshing

local brews courtesy of Rouge River Brewing

Company. Guests are invited to don

their boots and join in for a night of music,

movement, and community under the summer

sky. 9350 Markham Rd., Markham.

905-305-5970. Call for further information.

● 7:00: Caliban Arts Theatre. Two Parts

for Coltrane. The Mark Hundevad Quartet:

Mark Hundevad, vibes & drums; Shawn

Nykwist, saxophones; James Thomson, bass;

Sam Heineman, piano & drums. CONTXT by

Trane, 254 Lansdowne Ave. Visit www.contxtbytrane.com

for information. $30/$20(adv).

Also Jun 21.

● 7:30: Calvin Presbyterian Church

(Toronto). The Evolution of French Flute

Music: From Debussy to Bacri. Enesco: Cantabile

et Presto; Debussy: Syrinx for solo

flute; Poulenc: Sonata for flute & piano;

Nicolas Bacri: Spring Sonata; Corentin Boissier:

Sonata for flute & piano. Caara Yeung,

flute; Sonya Sim, piano. 26 Delisle Ave. www.

caarayeungflute.ticketspice.com/fluterecital-evolution-of-french-flute-music-fromdebussy-to-bacri-.

$30; $20(arts workers);

$15(st).






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

Sunday July 6






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 4:00: Harbourfront Centre. Take Me to

the Dance? – Yolanda Bruno and Michael

Bridge. Escape to the nightclubs of Buenos

Aires and the cabarets of Montmartre with

this powerhouse violin and accordion duo.

Toronto Music Garden, 479 Queens Quay W.

www.harbourfrontcentre.com. Free.

● 6:30: Mississauga Symphony Orchestra.

Symphony in the Park. A lakeside concert

featuring light classical, pops, and popular

movie themes. Port Credit Memorial Park,

40 Lakeshore Rd. E,, Mississauga. 905-306-

6000. Free. Please bring a lawn chair or blanket

from home. Seating will not be provided.









7(3pm), 8(8pm), 10(3:30pm), 12(6pm).

Monday July 7


Musical Airing of Grievances. Written by Peter

Cavell & Megan Phillips. Cast: David Silvestri,

Chris Johnson, Megan Phillips, Michelle

Nash, and Liana Bdewi. Theatre Passe Muraille

- Mainspace, 16 Ryerson Ave. www.peoplesuckmusical.com.

Visit website for information.

Also Jul 2(3:45pm), 4(9:30pm), 6(7pm),

8(8pm), 10(3:30pm), 12(6pm).

Tuesday July 8

● 7:00: Toronto Reference Library. Steve

Koven Trio (Summer Concerts). Steve Koven,

piano; Sergio Ponde Dhelomme, bass; Zachary

Dawood, drums. Toronto Public Library

- Toronto Reference Library, Beeton Hall (1st

Floor), 789 Yonge St. For information, call the

Celebrate

20 years of

unforgettable

music with us!

Join us at Walter Hall for a spectacular

lineup of Festival Concerts featuring:

New Orford, Rosamunde, and

Calidore String Quartets; Recitals;

Art of Song; Klezmer; and so much more!

Be a part of the celebration and

experience stunning performances in an

intimate setting. Get your tickets today!

PART OF THE TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL

JUL 10 - AUG 2

TOSUMMERMUSIC.COM



Arts Department at 416-393-7157. Free. No

registration required.


Musical Airing of Grievances. Written by Peter

Cavell & Megan Phillips. Cast: David Silvestri,

Chris Johnson, Megan Phillips, Michelle

Nash, and Liana Bdewi. Theatre Passe Muraille

- Mainspace, 16 Ryerson Ave. www.peoplesuckmusical.com.

Visit website for information.

Also Jul 2(3:45pm), 4(9:30pm), 6(7pm),

7(3pm), 10(3:30pm), 12(6pm).

Wednesday July 9

Collingwood Music Festival

July 9 to 18.

See Green Pages.






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 8:00: Small World Music. Warsaw Village

Band. Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W. www.

smallworld.com. $52.

Thursday July 10

Toronto Summer Music

July 10 to Aug 2.

See Green Pages and individual listings.


Carillon Recital. Annie Gao, carilloneuse.


1585 Yonge St. www.yorkminsterpark.com.

Free.








for information. Also Jul 2(3:45pm),

4(9:30pm), 6(7pm), 7(3pm), 8(8pm), 12(6pm).

● 7:00: Harbourfront Centre. Songs of

Birds and Love. The Merry Band: Michele

Deboer, soprano; Laura Pudwell, mezzo; Cory

Knight, tenor; John Pepper, bass; Jonathan

Stuchbery, lute; Alison Melville, recorder

& flute. Toronto Music Garden, 479 Queens

Quay W. www.harbourfrontcentre.com. Free.

OPENING

NIGHT:

THE CORONATION

OF POPPEA

July 10

tosummermusic.com

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Opening

Night: The Coronation of Poppea (In Concert).

Music by Claudio Monteverdi. L’incoronazione

di Poppea (concert performance). Sophie

Junker (Poppea); Nicolò Balducci (Nerone);

Mariana Flores (Ottavia / Virtù); Cappella

Mediterranea; Leonardo García-Alarcón, conductor.

Royal Conservatory of Music - TELUS

Centre - Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-

408-0208 / www.torontosummermusic.com/

event/opening-night-poppea/. From $20. Join

us for a champagne reception for the entire

audience after the concert.






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

Friday July 11

OPENING NIGHT GALA:

THE GENIUS OF MOZART

FRIDAY, JULY 11 | 7:30 PM

GAMBREL BARN, ELORA

The Elora

Festival

EloraFestival.ca | 519-846-0331

Elora Festival

July 11 to 27

See Green Pages.

● 7:00: Jazz at Durbar. The Matt Pines Trio.

Featuring Francine Kirsh on vocals. Durbar

Indian Restaurant, 2469 Bloor St. W. 416-762-

4441. No cover. Reserve a table for dinner or

come by for a drink at the bar.

● 7:30: Elora Festival. Opening Night Gala:

The Genius of Mozart. Mozart: Excerpts from

Idomeneo K.366; Piano Concerto No.23 in A

K.488; Great Mass in c K.427. Chelsea Ahn,

piano; Hélène Brunet, soprano; The Elora

Singers; Musicians of the Kitchener-Waterloo

Symphony; Mark Vuorinen, conductor. Gambrel

Barn Elora, Corner of County Rd. 7 and 21,

Elora. www.elorafestival.ca or 519-846-0331.

$65 / $75(adult); $20(st); $10(child).

● 7:30: Georgian Bay Concert Choir. Organ

Recital. Bach: Organ Trio Sonata No.1 in E-flat

BWV 525; Franck: Chorale No.2 in b; Pärt:

Spiegel im Spiegel; Messiaen: “Dieu parmi

nous” from La Nativité. Norman Reintamm,

organ. Guest soloist: Chris Burton, piano.

Georgian Shores United Church (Owen

Sound), 997 4th Ave. E., Owen Sound. 416-

550-6465. Pay what you can. All proceeds will

go to Georgian Bay Concert Choir.

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Rosamunde

String Quartet. George Walker:

String Quartet No.1 “Lyric”; Mendelssohn:

String Quartet No.6 in f Op.80; Mozart: String

Quintet No.3 in C K.515. Noah Bendix-Balgley,

violin; Shanshan Yao, violin; Teng Li, viola;

Juan-Miguel Hernandez, viola; Nathan Vickery,

cello. Walter Hall (University of Toronto),

80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208 / www.torontosummermusic.com.

From $20.






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

Saturday July 12

● 1:00: Toronto Summer Music. ReGeneration

1. Chamber music & art song. TSM

Academy Fellows & Mentors. Walter Hall

(University of Toronto), 80 Queen’s Park. 416-

408-0208 / www.torontosummermusic.com.

$20. Also at 4pm & 7:30pm.

● 3:15: Waterside Summer Series. Duo.

Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in g Op.19. Cameron

Crozman, cello; Meagan Milatz, piano.

St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church on Amherst

Island, 955 Stella 40 Foot Rd., Stella. www.

watersidemusic.ca. $45; $22.50(child). NOTE:

Amherst Island requires a ferry.






$20. Also at 1pm & 7:30pm.








for information. Also Jul 2(3:45pm),

4(9:30pm), 6(7pm), 7(3pm), 8(8pm),

10(3:30pm).






$20. Also at 1pm & 4pm.






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 8:00: Kindred Spirits Orchestra. Symphony

Under the Stars. Music from movies,

Broadway, pops, and light classics favourites.

Creemore Village Green Park, 181 Mill

St., Clearview Township. www.collingwoodmusicfestival.ticketspice.com/summer-concerts-2025.

Visit website for ticket

information.

Sunday July 13






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 4:00: Harbourfront Centre. Wild Strings

and Tuning Things. Musicians from the

Labyrinth Ensemble explore music from Iran,

Turkey, Arabic traditions, and the contemporary

modal repertoire in a winding crosscultural

journey. Roa Lee, gayageum; Aysel

Taghi-Zada, violin; Amely Zhou, erhu. Toronto



● 7:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber

Music Society. Tsai & Li. Respighi: Five pieces

for Violin & Piano; Rachmaninoff: Deux Morceaux

de Salon Op.6; Schoenfield: Four Souvenirs

for Violin & Piano; Corigliano: Violin

Sonata. Jung Tsai, violin; Jui-Sheng Li, piano.

Venue to be confirmed, Address to be confirmed.

www.ticketscene.ca/kwcms. $35;

$10(st).

Monday July 14

● 7:30: Royal Canadian College of Organists

Toronto Centre. All-Star Organ Concert.

J-J. Grunenwald: Jubilate Deo from Diptyque

liturgique; Eric Robertson: Voices; André

Fleury: Prelude & Fugue in f; Barrie Cabena:

Jonathan Aria from Sonata for George Black

Op.71; Percy Grainger: Handel in the Strand

(arr. by Barrie Cabena); and other works.

Organists: Anne Laver, John Paul Farahat,

Sarah Svendsen, Jonathan Oldengarm, Aaron

Tan, Aaron James, and David Simon. Rosedale

United Church (Toronto), 159 Roxborough Dr.

www.all-star-organ-concert.eventbrite.ca

or 416-929-6400. $25(general); $20(virtual).

LIVE & LIVESTREAM.

BEVAN &

VIGNOLES

July 14

tosummermusic.com

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Bevan &

Vignoles. Songs by Duparc, Fauré, Debussy,

Chabrier, and others. Mary Bevan, soprano;

Roger Vignoles, piano. Walter Hall (University

of Toronto), 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208

/ www.torontosummermusic.com/bevanvignoles/.

From $20.

Tuesday July 15

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Calidore

String Quartet. Barber: String Quartet

in b Op.11; Wynton Marsalis: Selections

from String Quartet No.1 “At the Octoroon

Balls”; John Williams: “With Malice Toward

None” from Lincoln; Korngold: String Quartet

No.3 in D Op.34. Jeffrey Myers, violin; Ryan

Meehan, violin; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle

Choi, cello. Walter Hall (University of Toronto),


CALIDORE

STRING

QUARTET

July 15

tosummermusic.com

80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208 / www.torontosummermusic.com/event/calidore-stringquartet/.

From $20.

Wednesday July 16






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Schmaltz

& Pepper. Klezmer music inspired by jazz,

Roma, classical, and European folk music.

Eric Abramovitz, clarinet; Drew Jurecka,

violin/accordion/mandolin; Rebekah Wolkstein,

violin & voice; Jeremy Ledbetter, piano;

Michael Herring, bass. Walter Hall (University


/ www.torontosummermusic.com/schmaltzpepper/.

From $20.

Thursday July 17

Stratford Summer Music


See Green Pages.

● 3:15: Waterside Summer Series. Gryphon

Trio. Annalee Patipatanakoon, violin; Roman

Borys, cello; Jamie Parker, piano. St. Paul’s

Presbyterian Church on Amherst Island,

955 Stella 40 Foot Rd., Stella. www.watersidemusic.ca.

$45; $22.50(child). NOTE:

Amherst Island requires a ferry.

● 7:30: Opera York. H.M.S. Pinafore. By W.

S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan. Geoffrey Butler,

music director; Penelope Cookson, stage

director. Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing

Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond

Hill. www.operayork.com. $35-$40(General);

$30(sr). Also Jul 18.

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. George

Li, Piano. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.14 in

c-sharp Op.27 No.2 “Moonlight”; Beethoven:

Piano Sonata No.17 in d Op.31 No.2 “Tempest”;

Debussy: Images, 1st Series; Mussorgsky: Pictures

at an Exhibition. Royal Conservatory of

Music - TELUS Centre - Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor

St. W. 416-408-0208 / www.torontosummermusic.com/event/george-li/.

From $20.






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

Friday July 18

● 7:30: County Stage Company. Bittergirl:

The Musical. Written by Annabel Fitzsimmons,

Alison Lawrence & Mary Francis Moore.

Music Supervision, Arrangements and

Orchestrations by Bob Foster. Regent Theatre

(Picton), 224 Main St., Picton. 613-476-

8416 / boxoffice@theregenttheatre.org. $49.

Runs from Jul 18 to Aug 13.

● 7:30: Opera York. H.M.S. Pinafore. By W.

S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan. Geoffrey Butler,

music director; Penelope Cookson, stage

director. Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing

Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond

Hill. www.operayork.com. $35-$40(General);

$30(sr). Also Jul 17.

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Schumann

& Schubert. Ravel: Sonatine in f-sharp

M.40; Salina Fisher: Hikari, for solo violin;

Clara Schumann: Piano Trio in g Op.17;

Schubert: String Quintet in C Op.163. Jennifer

Frautschi, violin; Matthew Zalkind, viola;

Charles Richard-Hamelin, piano; Calidore

String Quartet. Walter Hall (University of

Toronto), 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208 /

www.torontosummermusic.com/event/schumann-schubert/.

From $20.






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 8:00: Kindred Spirits Orchestra. Symphony

Under the Stars. Music from movies,

Broadway, pops, and light classics favourites.

Bring your lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy

an unforgettable night of classical and contemporary

music. In the event of inclement

weather, please note our rain date of Jul 19,

2025, from 7pm to 10pm. Should the event on

Jul 18 be postponed, updates will be posted

on all Town social media channels. Stouffville

Memorial Park, 2 Park Dr., Whitchurch-

Stouffville. www.townofws.ca/play/events/

symphony-under-the-stars. Visit website for

ticket information.

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Ryan Adams.

178 Victoria St. www.ticketmaster.ca. From

$78.

● 8:00: Roy Thomson Hall. Beck with

Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 60 Simcoe St.

www.tickets.mhrth.com. From $140. Also

Jul 19.

Saturday July 19

Music at Port Milford

July 19 to August 2

See Green Pages.






$20. Also at 4pm & 7:30pm.






$20. Also at 1pm & 7:30pm.



Be there

when the future

takes the stage

Get ready to be inspired by the

next wave of musical brilliance!

TSM ReGeneration Concerts

return to Walter Hall on

Saturdays July 12, 19, and 26—

showcasing the most thrilling

emerging artists of the decade.

This is your chance to witness

tomorrow’s stars, today.

Don’t miss it!

PART OF THE TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL

JUL 10 - AUG 2

TOSUMMERMUSIC.COM






$20. Also at 1pm & 4pm.






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 8:00: Roy Thomson Hall. Beck with

Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 60 Simcoe St.

www.tickets.mhrth.com. From $140. Also

Jul 18.

Sunday July 20






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 2:30: Fonitika Vocal Ensemble. The Colours

of Love. Colin Eatock: Three Poems by

Amy Lowell; Kye Marshall: Selections from

Wild Nights; Samuel Barber: Reincarnations;

Richard Rodgers: If I Loved You; and other

works. Kathryn Rose Johnston, soprano;

Lydia Palmer, mezzo; David Walsh, tenor;

Joshua McFaul, bass-baritone. Heliconian

Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. www.eventbrite.ca/e/

the-colours-of-love-songs-of-awakeningtickets.

From $20.

Monday July 21

ALLISON

AU

July 21

tosummermusic.com

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Allison Au.

Migrations. Allison Au, saxophone; The Migrations

Ensemble. Walter Hall (University of


www.torontosummermusic.com/event/allison-au/.

From $20.

● 8:00: Massey Hall. The Swell Season.

178 Victoria St. www.tickets.mhrth.com.

From $68.

Tuesday July 22

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. The Nightingale

Sonata. Chausson: Poème, Op.25;

Franck: Sonata in A for Violin & piano. Anna

Štube, violin; Philip Chiu, piano; Thomas Wolf,

host. Walter Hall (University of Toronto),

THE

NIGHTINGALE’S

SONATA

July 22

tosummermusic.com

80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208 / www.torontosummermusic.com/event/the-nightingalesonata/.

From $20.

Wednesday July 23






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Jaeden

Izik-Dzurko, Piano. Bach: Partita No.4 in D

BWV 828; Chopin: Sonata No.3 in b Op. 58;

Scriabin: Fantasie in b Op.28; Rachmaninoff:

Preludes Op.23. Walter Hall (University


/ www.torontosummermusic.com/event/

jaeden-izik-dzurko/. From $20.

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern

Jukebox. 178 Victoria St. www.tickets.mhrth.com.

From $68.

Thursday July 24

● 7:00: Harbourfront Centre. Baroque-

Middle-Eastern-Cyberpunk. Featuring a new

Harbourfront Centre commission. John

Kameel Farah, piano. Toronto Music Garden,

479 Queens Quay W. www.harbourfrontcentre.com.

Free.


Music Society. Junwen Liang. Ravel: Valses

nobles et sentimentales; Ravel: Sonatine;

Ravel: Alborada del gracioso (The Jester’s

Aubade) from Miroirs; Chopin: Three

Mazurkas Op.56; Chopin: Sonata No.3 in b

Op.58. Junwen Liang, piano. Venue to be confirmed,

Address to be confirmed. www.ticketscene.ca/kwcms.

$30; $10(st).

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Missing: In

Concert. Music by Brian Current. Missing –

a Chamber Opera, an expression of loss and

hope, vocalizing the stories of missing and

murdered Indigenous women. Marion Newman

(Dr. Wilson); Asitha Tennekoon (Devon);

CONTINUUM Ensemble; Tim Long, conductor.

Royal Conservatory of Music - TELUS Centre -

Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 /

www.torontosummermusic.com/event/missing/.

From $20.

MISSING

OPERA-IN-CONCERT

July 24

tosummermusic.com






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Olivia Dean - Across

the Atlantic. 178 Victoria St. www.ticketmaster.ca.

From $107. Also Jul 25.

Friday July 25

Festival of the Sound

July 25 to August 5

See Green Pages.

Summer Opera Lyric Theatre

July 25 to August 3

See Green Pages and individual listings.

● 1:30: Sheila McCoy. Mostly Madrigals.

Amateur vocalists singing a cappella secular

songs, mostly from the Renaissance era.

Woodbine Beach Pavilion, 1675 Lake Shore

Blvd. E. 416-574-5250 / Lilackayak@gmail.

com. Free one-hour concert. Rain date: Aug 1.


Featuring Maddie Leroy on vocals. Durbar




● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Affairs of

the Heart. Mozart: Duo for Violin and Viola in

B-flat K.424; Shostakovich: Cello Sonata in d

Op.40; Brahms: Piano Quartet No.1 in g Op.25.

Jonathan Crow, violin; Ming-Jeong Koh, violin;

Rémi Pelletier, viola; Efe Baltacıgil, cello;

Philip Chiu, piano. Walter Hall (University of

Toronto), 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208

/ www.torontosummermusic.com/event/

affairs-of-the-heart/. From $20.






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 8:00: Aliflamenco Company. Alchemy.

Uniting renowned flamenco and contemporary

musicians and dancers, this program

is set to original live music and

movement and explores the universal

experience of one’s internal odyssey,

rebuilding identity in the face of life’s turbulence.

Winchester Theatre, 80 Winchester

St. www.aliflamenco.com. $40. Also Jul 26.

Use WHOLENOTE10 for discount.

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Olivia Dean - Across

the Atlantic. 178 Victoria St. www.ticketmaster.ca.

From $107. Also Jul 24.

● 8:00: Summer Opera Lyric Theatre.

The Coronation of Poppea. Music by Claudio

Monteverdi. Sabina Rzazade, musical director

& piano. Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley

St. www.stlc.com or 416-366-7723. Visit

website or call for ticket information. Also

Jul 30(2pm), 31(8pm), Aug 2(8pm).

Saturday July 26


Così fan tutte. Music by W. A. Mozart. Minira

Najafazde, musical director & piano. Alumnae

Theatre, 70 Berkeley St. www.stlc.com or

416-366-7723. Visit website or call for ticket

information. Also Jul 27(2pm), 30(8pm),

Aug 1(8pm).


7. Classical chamber music & art song.

TSM Academy Fellows & Mentors. Walter Hall



From $20. Also at 7:30pm.


8. Classical chamber music & art song.

TSM Academy Fellows & Mentors. Walter Hall



From $20. Also at 4pm.

● 8:00: Aliflamenco Company. Alchemy.

Uniting renowned flamenco and contemporary

musicians and dancers, this program is

set to original live music and movement and

explores the universal experience of one’s

internal odyssey, rebuilding identity in the

face of life’s turbulence. Winchester Theatre,

80 Winchester St. www.aliflamenco.

com. $40. Also Jul 25. Use WHOLENOTE10

for discount.






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).

● 8:00: Summer Opera Lyric Theatre. La

Vie Parisienne. Music by Jacques Offenbach.

Paul Goodfellow, musical director & piano.

Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley St. www.stlc.

com or 416-366-7723. Visit website or call


for ticket information. Also Jul 29(8pm),

Aug 2(2pm), 3(2pm).

Sunday July 27






Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).




Theatre, 70 Berkeley St. www.stlc.com or

416-366-7723. Visit website or call for ticket

information. Also Jul 26(2pm), 30(8pm),

Aug 1(8pm).

● 4:00: Harbourfront Centre. Stolen

Dances. Mariana Collado and Friends: Mariana

Collado, dancer; Benjamin Barrile, guitar;

Ana Lia, vocals; Chendy Leon, percussion.




The Musical. Written by Annabel Fitzsimmons,

Alison Lawrence & Mary Francis Moore.

Music Supervision, Arrangements and

Orchestrations by Bob Foster. Regent Theatre

(Picton), 224 Main St., Picton. 613-476-

8416 / boxoffice@theregenttheatre.org. $49.

Runs from Jul 18 to Aug 13.

Monday July 28

Brookside Festival of the Bay


See Green Pages.

● 7:00: Brookside Music Association. Festival

of the Bay: True North Brass. Midland

Cultural Centre, 333 King St., Midland. 705-

527-4420 or www.brooksidemusic.com. $35:

Free(st).

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Crow &

Chiu. Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances for Violin

and Piano (arr. Székely); Carmen Braden:

New Work for Violin and Piano (world premiere);

Janáček: Sonata for Violin and Piano

JW VII/7; Grieg: Sonata for Violin and Piano

No.3 in c Op.45; Ravel: Tzigane M.76. Jonathan

Crow, violin; Philip Chiu, piano. Walter Hall


408-0208 / www.torontosummermusic.com/

event/crow-chiu/. From $20.

FRANCO FAGIOLI:

THE LAST

CASTRATO

July 29

tosummermusic.com

Tuesday July 29

Highlands Opera Studio


See Green Pages.

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Franco

Fagioli: The Last Castrato. Inspired by the

career of Giovanni Battista Velluti. Works

by Rossini, Nicolini, Bonfichi, Zingarelli, and

others. Franco Fagioli, countertenor; Orchestre

de l’Opéra Royal de Versailles; Stefan

Plewniak, conductor. Royal Conservatory

of Music - TELUS Centre - Koerner Hall,

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 / www.torontosummermusic.com/event/franco-fagiolithe-last-castrato/.

From $20.







Aug 2(2pm), 3(2pm).

Wednesday July 30







Jul 25(8pm), 31(8pm), Aug 2(8pm).

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. New Orford

String Quartet. Beethoven: String Quartet

No.14 in c-sharp Op.131; Brahms: Piano Quintet

in f Op.34. Andrew Wan, violin; Jonathan

Crow, violin; Sharon Wei, viola; Brian Manker,

cello; Ian Parker, piano. Walter Hall (University

of Toronto), 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-

0208 / www.torontosummermusic.com.

From $20.

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Honey Jam - Inspirations.

178 Victoria St. www.ticketmaster.

ca. $41.




Theatre, 70 Berkeley St. www.stlc.com

or 416-366-7723. Visit website or call for

ticket information. Also Jul 26(2pm), 27(2pm),

Aug 1(8pm).

Thursday July 31


of the Bay: Janina Fialkowska, Piano. Midland

Cultural Centre, 333 King St., Midland.

705-527-4420 or www.brooksidemusic.com.

$35: Free(st).

● 7:00: Harbourfront Centre. Voice Is the

Original Instrument. Join us for a joyful evening

of playful rounds, yodelling, enchanting

medieval music and pure vocal virtuosity.

The Local Singers: Jill Harris, Robin Dann,

Felicity Williams, Mara Nesrallah, Dorothea

Paas and Alex Samaras. Toronto Music Garden,


Free.

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. An Evening

in Vienna. Works by Mozart, Lehár, J. Strauss,

Kreisler, and others. Simone McIntosh,

mezzo; Yura Lee, violin; Jonathan Mak, piano;

TSM Festival Orchestra. Royal Conservatory

of Music - TELUS Centre - Koerner Hall,

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 / www.torontosummermusic.com/event/an-evening-invienna/.

From $20.









Jul 25(8pm), 30(2pm), Aug 2(8pm).

Friday August 1

● 12:00 noon: Toronto Summer Music.

Academy Noon Concerts. R. Strauss:

Piano Quartet in c Op.13. Heliconian Hall,

35 Hazelton Ave. 416-408-0208 / www.torontosummermusic.com.

Free.


The Musical. Regent Theatre (Picton),

224 Main St., Picton. 613-476-8416 / boxoffice@theregenttheatre.org.

$49. Runs from

Jul 18 to Aug 13.

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. Mendelssohn’s

Octet. Robert Rival: String Quartet

No.2 (world première); Pouya Hamidi: “I Will

Greet the Sun Again” (world première); Mendelssohn:

String Octet in E-flat Op.20. Elizabeth

Polese, soprano; Steven Philcox, piano;

Barry Shiffman & Yura Lee, violins. Walter

Hall (University of Toronto), 80 Queen’s Park.

416-408-0208 / www.torontosummermusic.

com/event/mendelssohns-octet. From $20.

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Rushfest. 178 Victoria

St. www.tickets.mhrth.com. From $65.




Theatre, 70 Berkeley St. www.stlc.com

or 416-366-7723. Visit website or call for

ticket information. Also Jul 26(2pm), 27(2pm),

30(8pm).

Saturday August 2







29(8pm), Aug 3(2pm).

● 3:00: TD Music Hall. Rushfest. 178 Victoria

St. www.tickets.mhrth.com. General admission:

$75.

● 7:30: Toronto Summer Music. TSM

Finale. Featuring Academy Fellows, Festival

Artist Mentors, and Community Program

TSM FINALE

August 2

tosummermusic.com

participants. Walter Hall (University of


www.torontosummermusic.com. From $20.







Jul 25(8pm), 30(2pm), 31(8pm).

Sunday August 3







29(8pm), Aug 2(2pm).

● 4:00: Harbourfront Centre. Journey:

Ngoma Ensemble. Toronto Music Garden,


Free.


Music Society. Bénédicte Lauzière (Violin)

and Angela Park (Piano). Mozart: Sonata in C

K.303; Amy Beach: Sonata Op.34; R. Strauss:

Sonata Op.18. Venue to be confirmed,

Address to be confirmed. www.ticketscene.

ca/kwcms. $40; $10(st).

Monday August 4







Free. Also Jul 1(2pm) & Sep 1(3pm).


of the Bay: Chamber Music Concert.

Mozart: Piano Quartet in E-flat K.493; Carl

Nielsen: “Helios 13” (a special arrangement

of Helios Overture Op.17); Arensky: Quartet

for violin,viola and two cellos. Rudersdal

Chamber Players with Paul Marelyn. Midland

Cultural Centre, 333 King St., Midland.

705-527-4420 or www.brooksidemusic.com.

$35: Free(st).

Tuesday August 5


Carillon Recital. Gordon Slater, carilloneur.



Free.

Wednesday August 6

● 7:00: Massey Hall. Mary Chapin Carpenter

/ Brandy Clark. 178 Victoria St. www.

ticketmaster.ca. From $72.




$49. Runs from

Jul 18 to Aug 13.

Thursday August 7


of the Bay: Vocal Music Concert. Opera

arias and Brahms’s Liebeslieder Waltzes.

Leslie Fagan, soprano; Russell Braun, baritone;

Colin Ainsworth, tenor; Alyson Hardy;

Carolyn Maule, piano: Guy Few, trumpet.

Midland Cultural Centre, 333 King

St., Midland. 705-527-4420 or www.

brooksidemusic.com. $35: Free(st).

● 7:00: Harbourfront Centre. The String’s

The Thing: Mark Fewer, Nathan Hiltz &

Joseph Phillips. From the masterful work of

Bach to the sound worlds of Brazil, Brubeck,

and beyond. Mark Fewer, violin; Nathan Hiltz,

guitar; Joseph Phillips, bass. Toronto Music

Garden, 479 Queens Quay W. www.harbourfrontcentre.com.

Free.

Friday August 8

Habari Africa Festival

August 8 to 10

See Green Pages.

Southcoast Jazz Brantford & Port Dover

August 8 to 10

See Green Pages.









$49. Runs from

Jul 18 to Aug 13.

Sunday August 10

● 4:00: Harbourfront Centre. Celtic and

Canadian: Lo & The High Road. Blending

myth, folklore, this concert features Celtic

tunes alongside new Canadian music. Toronto






$49. Runs from

Jul 18 to Aug 13.

Monday August 11

● 3:15: Waterside Summer Series.

Seiler Piano Trio. Mendelssohn: Piano Trio

No.1 Op.49 and other works. Mayumi Seiler,

violin; Rachel Mercer, cello; Angela Park;

piano. St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church on

Amherst Island, 955 Stella 40 Foot Rd., Stella.

www.watersidemusic.ca. $45; $22.50(child).

NOTE: Amherst Island requires a ferry.


of the Bay: Chamber Music Concert.

Beethoven: Piano Trio in B-flat Op.11; Bruch:

Four Romantic Pieces; Campbell: Klezmer

Canadian Style plus a mix of jazz standards.

James Campbell, clarinet; Cameron Crozman,

cello; Graham Campbell, guitar; Carter Johnson,

piano. Midland Cultural Centre, 333 King

St., Midland. 705-527-4420 or www.brooksidemusic.com.

$35: Free(st).

Wednesday August 13




$49. Runs from

Jul 18 to Aug 13.

Thursday August 14

● 7:00: Harbourfront Centre. Memories

Through Song: Belinda Corpuz and Friends.

Featuring original music, classic Filipino

pop songs in the style of OPM (Original Pilipino

Music), and reimagined arrangements

of some personal favourites. Toronto Music

Garden, 479 Queens Quay W. www.harbourfrontcentre.com.

Free.

Saturday August 16

Markham Jazz Festival

August 16 & 17

See Green Pages.

● 12:30 & 2:30: Labyrinth Ontario/Toronto

Yunus Emre Institute. Modal Music in the

Parks. Music from the Middle East, Mediterranean,

South Asia, and more. R. V. Burgess

Park, 46 Thorncliffe Park Dr. info@

labyrinthontario.com. Free. Email for further

information. Also Aug 16(2:30pm), 23(12:30

& 2:30pm).

● 8:00: TD Music Hall. Sam Astaroth.

178 Victoria St. www.tickets.mhrth.com. General

admission: $25.

Sunday August 17

● 4:00: Harbourfront Centre. What Is

Time For?: Tara Kannangara and Chris Pruden.

Original material using vocals, synthesizers,

drum machine and processed trumpet.



Tuesday August 19

● 3:15: Waterside Summer Series. Poulenc

Trio. Works by Piazzolla and Poulenc. Irina

Kaplan Lande, piano; Aleh Remezau, oboe;

Bryan Young, bassoon. St. Paul’s Presbyterian

Church on Amherst Island, 955 Stella

40 Foot Rd., Stella. www.watersidemusic.

ca. $45; $22.50(child). NOTE: Amherst Island

requires a ferry.

● 7:30: Massey Hall. Alison Kraus & Union

Station Featuring Jerry Douglas. 178 Victoria

St. www.ticketmaster.ca. From $240.

Thursday August 21

● 7:00: Harbourfront Centre. Ensemble

Jeng Yi by the Willow Tree. A program featuring

both traditional pieces and original compositions

for Korean percussion. In the spirit

of itinerant bands of old Korea, Ensemble

Jeng Yi will begin the performance not on the

stage, but at a distance, from where they will

approach, drumming and marching. Guest:

Joo Hyung Kim, kayagum (Korean zither).



Friday August 22


Featuring Maddie Leroy on vocals. Durbar




Saturday August 23

● 12:30: Labyrinth Ontario/Toronto Yunus

Emre Institute. Modal Music in the Parks.

Music from the Middle East, Mediterranean,

South Asia, and more. R. V. Burgess Park,

46 Thorncliffe Park Dr. info@labyrinthontario.

com. Free. Email for further information. Also

Aug 16(12:30 & 2:30pm), 23(2:30pm).

● 2:30: Labyrinth Ontario/Toronto Yunus

Emre Institute. Modal Music in the Parks.

Music from the Middle East, Mediterranean,

South Asia, and more. R. V. Burgess Park,

46 Thorncliffe Park Dr. info@labyrinthontario.

com. Free. Email for further information. Also

Aug 16(12:30 & 2:30pm), 23(12:30pm).

● 7:00: TO Live/Small World Music Series.


Padma Siri Kailash Kher & Kailasa Band.

Meridian Hall, 1 Front St. E. www.tolive.com/

shows/kailash-kher. From $59.

Sunday August 24

● 4:00: Harbourfront Centre. A Little Afternoon

Music: Charlotte Siegel and Nate Ben-

Horin. Favourite arias and songs ranging

from Puccini to Barber. Toronto Music Garden,


Free.

Monday August 25

● 1:30: Sheila McCoy. Mostly Madrigals.

Amateur vocalists singing a cappella secular

songs, mostly from the Renaissance era.

Humber Bay West Park - Gazebo, 2225 Lake

Shore Blvd. W., Etobicoke. 416-574-5250 /

Lilackayak@gmail.com. Free one-hour concert.

Rain date: Aug 27.

Thursday August 28

● 6:30: Abstract Studios. Opera Recital.

Featuring operatic arias, duets, and Eastern

European folk music. Soprano Ari Plucinska

and guests. 418B Hanlan Rd., Woodbridge.

www.ticketscandy.com/e/ari-plucinska-soprano-in-toronto-and-special-guests-1009.

$35.

● 7:00: Harbourfront Centre. In the Garden

of the Deep Blue Sea: Bunna Lawrie with

Corrina Bonshek & Collaborators. Favourite

arias and songs ranging from Puccini to Barber.

Bunna Lawrie (Mirning Elder); groovemaker

and multi instrumentalist Jason Lee

Scott, groove-maker & multi-instrumentalist;

Greta Kelly, shah kaman (Persian spikefiddle);

Whaia Sonic Weaver, Māori taonga

puroro & vocals; Michael Askill, gong master;

Corrina Bonshek, soundscapes & direction.



Friday August 30

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Jessie Murph - Worldwide

Hysteria. 178 Victoria St. www.ticketmaster.ca.

From $72. Also Aug 31.

Sunday August 31

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Jessie Murph - Worldwide

Hysteria. 178 Victoria St. www.ticketmaster.ca.

From $72. Also Aug 30.

Monday September 1







Free. Also Jul 1(2pm) & Aug 4(2pm).

Tuesday September 2


Carillon Recital. Joseph Min, carilloneur.



Free.

Friday September 5






Saturday September 6

● 2:00: Visual and Performing Arts Newmarket.

York Regional Classical Music Festival

2025. Works by Mozart, Dohnányi, and

Schubert. Tadasuke Iijima, violin; Rivka Golani,

viola; Shauna Rolston, cello. Richmond Hill

Centre for the Performing Arts - Plaza Suite,

333 Crosby Ave., Richmond Hill. www.vpan.

ca. Visit website for tickets and information.

Sunday September 7

● 2:00: CAMMAC Toronto Region. Orchestral

Reading for Instrumentalists: Mozart’s

Symphony No. 40. Emmanuelle Lambert-

Lemoine, conductor. Christ Church Deer

Park, 1570 Yonge St. www.cammac.ca/

toronto. $15; $10(members).

● 2:00: Visual and Performing Arts Newmarket.

York Regional Classical Music

Festival 2025. Works by Mozart, Bruch, Schumann.

Tadasuke Iijima, violin; Rivka Golani,

viola; Angela Park, piano. Sharon Temple

Museum, 18974 Leslie St., East Gwillimbury.

www.vpan.ca. Visit website for tickets and

information.

Angela Park,

Piano

THE YORK REGION

CLASSICAL MUSIC

FESTIVAL 2025

Rivka Golani,

Viola, Music

Director

Tudasuke

Iijima, Violin

Peter

McGillivray,

Baritone

Shauna

Rolston, Cello

3 CONCERTS

SEPTEMBER 6 • 2:00

Richmond Hill Centre for the

Performing Arts-Plaza Suite


Sharon Temple


Newmarket Old Town Hall

Purchase tickets at VPAN.CA

Berczy Tavern, The

69 Front Street East

theberczy.com @theberczy

Music 6 nights a week.

Black Bear Pub

1125 O’Connor Drive

blackbearpub.ca @blackbearpubonoconnor

Instrumental jazz on Tuesday nights.

Black Swan Tavern

154 Danforth Avenue

blackswantavern.com @

blackswantavern1972

A Toronto Blues fixture since 1972.

BSMT 254

254 Lansdowne Ave. 416-801-6325

bsmt254.com @bsmt254toronto

Wide variety from jazz to hip-hop to DJ nights.

Bluebird Bar, The

2072 Dundas St. W. 416-535-0777

bluebirdbarto.com @thebluebirdto

Live music every Thursday.

Burdock

1184 Bloor St. W. 416-546-4033

burdockto.com @burdockbrewery

A sleek music hall with exceptional sound.

Cameron House, The

408 Queen St. W. 416-703-0811

thecameron.com @the.cameronhouse

Nightly local roots acts on 2 stages.

Castro’s Lounge

2116 Queen St. E. 416-699-8272

castroslounge.com @castroslounge

Local live bluegrass, jazz, rockabilly, & more.

C’est What

67 Front St. E. 416-867-9499

cestwhat.com @cestwhatto

Real cask ale and live music.

Communist’s Daughter, The

1149 Dundas Street W.

@thecommunistsdaughtertoronto

Live music Saturday & Sunday afternoons.

Drom Taberna

458 Queen St. W. 647-748-2099

dromtaberna.com @dromtaberna

Wide variety of music 7 nights a week.

Duke Live, The

1225 Queen Street East. 416-466-2624

theduketoronto.com

Live music including a Sunday big band series.

MAINLY CLUBS

Emmet Ray, The

924 College St. 416-792-4497

theemmetray.com @theemmetray

Live music 7 nights a week.

Epochal Imp

123 Danforth Avenue

epochalimp.com @epochal_imp

Specialty coffee, bar, entertainment & books

Free Times Cafe, The

320 College St. 416-967-1078

freetimescafe.com @freetimescafeofficial

Weekly Klezmer series, every Sunday.

Function Bar + Kitchen

2291 Yonge St. 416-440-4007

functionbar.ca @functionbarto

Open mic Tues & Sun; Soul and R&B Fri & Sat.

Grossman’s Tavern

379 Spadina Ave. 416-977-7000

grossmanstavern.com @grossmanstavern

Toronto’s self-described “Home of the Blues.”

Handlebar

159 Augusta Ave. 647-748-7433

thehandlebar.ca @handlebar_to

Ongoing, including open mic Tuesdays &

monthly jazz jam.

Hirut Cafe and Restaurant

2050 Danforth Ave. 416-551-7560

hirutjazz.ca @hirutcafe

Quality live jazz and a quiet policy.

Hugh’s Room Live

296 Broadview Ave. 647-960-2593

hughsroomlive.com @hughsroomlive

Intimate performing space, great acoustics,

attentive audience.

Jazz Bistro, The

251 Victoria St. 416-363-5299

jazzbistro.ca @jazzbistroto

Historic location and world-class jazz.

Jazz Room, The

Located in the Huether Hotel, 59 King St. N.,

Waterloo. 226-476-1565

kwjazzroom.com @thejazzroom

Dedicated to the best in jazz music

presentations.

Jean Darlene Piano Room, The

1203 Dundas Street West.

jeandarlene.ca @jeandarlenepianoroom

“Singalong karaoke open mic” Thurs, Fri & Sat.

WholeNote Event Listings are free of charge.

listings@thewholenote.com


MAINLY CLUBS

MUSIC THEATRE

Joni Restaurant at the Park Hyatt Hotel

4 Avenue Rd

jonirestaurant.com @jonirestaurant

Live music Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun..

Linsmore Tavern, The

1298 Danforth Ave. 416-466-5130

linsmoretavern.com @linsmoretavern

Rock, cover bands and Sunday blues.

Local, The

396 Roncesvalles Ave 416-535-6225

@thelocaltoronto

Pub fare, local beers and live music

Lula Lounge

1585 Dundas St. W. 416-588-0307

lula.ca @lulalounge

Salsa, jazz, afro-Cuban, and world music.

Manhattans Pizza Bistro & Music Club

951 Gordon St., Guelph 519-767-2440

manhattans.ca @manhattans_guelph

Live music almost every night of the week.

Monarch Tavern

12 Clinton St. 416-531-5833

themonarchtavern.com @monarchtavern

Indie, rock, and other genres on stage.

Motel Bar

1235 Queen Street W. 416-399-4108

@motelparkdale

Casual and up-close live music.

My House in the Junction

2882 Dundas Street W. 416-604-4555

myhouseinthejunction.com @

myhouseinthejunction

Regular live music, including jazz every Friday.

Neu Lokal Social House

3047 Dundas St. W. 647-834-6363

neulokal.com @neulokal_social

Turkish restaurant with live music Thurs,

Fri & Sat.

Noonan’s Pub

141 Danforth Ave. 416-778-1804

noonanspub.ca @noonansirishpub

Live music includes swing, blues, rock and

country.

Old Mill, The

21 Old Mill Rd. 416-236-2641

oldmilltoronto.com @oldmilltoronto

Jazz Lounge:

Listenable straight ahead jazz.

Only Cafe, The

962 Danforth Ave. 416-463-3249

theonlycafe.com @theonlycafe

Wide range of music includes jam sessions &

young artist showcases.

Painted Lady, The

218 Ossington Avenue

thepaintedlady.ca @paintedladyossington

Cheeky saloon serving burlesque, & live

music.

Pamenar

307 Augusta Ave.

cafepamenar.com @pamenar_km

Live music, DJs, comedy, and more.

Pilot Tavern, The

22 Cumberland Ave. 416-923-5716

thepilot.ca @thepilot_to

Around for over 75 years, live Saturday afternoon

jazz.

Poetry Jazz Café

1078 Queen St W. 416-599-5299

poetryjazzcafe.com @poetryjazzcafe

Live jazz, hip-hop, and DJs nightly.

Redwood Theatre, The

1300 Gerrard Street East. 647-547-4410

theredwoodtheatre.com @

theredwoodtheatre

Music, dance, circus, comedy, and more.

Reposado Bar & Lounge

136 Ossington Ave. 416-532-6474

reposadobar.com @reposadobar

Top-shelf tequila, tapas, and live music.

Reservoir Lounge, The

52 Wellington St. E. 416-955-0887

reservoirlounge.com @reservoirlounge

Live music four nights a week.

Rev, La

2848 Dundas St. W. 416-766-0746

larev.ca @la.rev.toronto

A welcoming performance space, wide

musical range.

Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar, The

194 Queen St. W. 416-598-2475

therex.ca @therextoronto

Over 60 shows per month, Toronto’s longestrunning

jazz club.

Sauce on Danforth

1376 Danforth Ave. 647-748-1376

sauceondanforth.com @sauceondanforth

Live music Tues through Sat (and sometimes

Sun).

Sellers & Newel

672 College Street. 647-778-6345

sellersandnewel.com @sellersandnewel

Intimate bookstore doubling as a live evening

music venue.

Smokeshow BBQ and Brew

744 Mt. Pleasant Rd 416-901-7469

smokeshowbbqandbrew.com @

smokeshowjohn

Cover artists and original music Thurs

through Sun.

Steadfast Brewery

301 Lansdowne Ave 416-343-9595

steadfastbrewingco.com @

steadfastbrewing

Live Trad Jazz, Mon nights; Bluegrass, Sun

afternoons; & more.

Tapestry

224 Augusta Ave.

@tapestry_to

Jazz, electronic music, soul, and more.

Tranzac

292 Brunswick Ave. 416-923-8137

tranzac.org @tranzac292

Community arts venue, live shows, multiple

rooms, every day..

● July 2 -13 Alliance for Canadian Musicals

at Theatre Passe Muraille as part of the

Toronto Fringe Festival (produced by Derrick

Chua). allianceforcanadianmusicals.ca; also

fringeoftoronto.com

● (June 26) to August 12 Blyth Festival. The

Wind Coming Over The Sea new musical by

Emma Donoghue (Room)

● Mirvish Productions. Disney’s The

Lion King. Directed by Julie Taymor. Princess

of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. W.

1.800.461.3333. From $59. Runs until Aug 30.

Visit www.mirvish.com for tickets.

● Mirvish Productions (and Crows Theatre)

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of

1812. Royal Alexandra Theatre. July 15-August

24 www.mirvish.com

● Shaw Festival. Anything Goes. Music &

Lyrics by Cole Porter. Shaw Festival Theatre,

10 Queen’s Parade, Niagara-on-the-Lake.

905-468-2172. From $28. Various dates and

prices. Visit www.shawfest.com for information.

Runs to Oct 4.

● Stratford Festival. Annie. Book by

Thomas Meehan. Music by Charles Strouse.

Lyrics by Martin Charnin. Stratford Festival

Theatre, 55 Queen St., Stratford. 1-800-567-

1600. Visit www.stratfordfestival.ca for tickets

and info. Runs until Nov 2.

● Stratford Festival. As You Like It. Directed

by Chris Abraham. Avon Theatre, 99 Downie

St., Stratford. 1-800-567-1600. Runs until

Oct 25. Visit www.stratfordfestival.ca for tickets

and info.

ONGOING EVENTS

● Encore Symphonic Concert Band.

Monthly Concert Band Concert. The first

Thursday of every month at 11am. 35-piece

concert band performing band concert

music, pop tunes, jazz standards (2 singers)

and the occasional march. Trinity Presbyterian

Church York Mills, 2737 Bayview Ave.

www.encoreband.ca. $10.

● Trinity College, University of Toronto.

Evensong. Traditional Anglican choral music.

Trinity College Chapel Choir; Thomas Bell, director

of music; Peter Bayer, organ scholar.

Trinity College Chapel, University of Toronto,

6 Hoskin Ave. 416-978-2522 or Trinity College.

Free. Evensong is sung every Wednesday at

5:15pm in the beautiful Trinity College chapel

during term time.

ONLINE EVENTS

● Arts@Home. A vibrant hub connecting

Torontonians to arts and culture. Designed to

strengthen personal and societal resilience

through the arts. www.artsathome.ca.

● North Toronto Community Band. Openings

for clarinet, trumpet, trombone, tuba

and auxiliary percussion. Rehearsals held at

Willowdale Presbyterian Church 38 Ellerslie

Ave. (just north of Mel Lastman Square).

Monday evenings 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Contact

ntcband@gmail.com.

● Recollectiv. For anyone living with cognitive

challenges from Alzheimer’s, dementia,

traumatic brain injury, stroke or PTSD.

The group meets weekly to rediscover the

joy of making music. Community members

ETCETERA

● Stratford Festival. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Book by Jeffrey Lane. Music & Lyrics

by David Yazbek. Avon Theatre, 99 Downie

St., Stratford. 1-800-567-1600. Runs until

Oct 25. Visit www.stratfordfestival.ca for tickets

and info.

● Tarragon Theatre/Musical Stage Company.

After the Rain. Book by Rose Napoli.

Music & Lyrics by Suzy Wilde. Tarragon Theatre,

30 Bridgman Ave. www.tickets.tarragontheatre.com.

Visit website for ticket

pricing. Runs until Jun 22.

● Tweed & Company Theatre. Bad Hat Theatre’s

Alice in Wonderland in Tweed July 2-5, in

Bancroft July 9-20. tweedandcompany.com/

upcoming

● Tweed & Company Theatre. Disney’s Frozen

Jr. performed by the Tweed Summer

Youth Theatre participants. July 17 & 18 tweedandcompany.com/upcoming

● Tweed & Company Theatre. Jersey Boys.

Tweed Aug 6-10, Bancroft Aug 13-24

● Tweed & Company Theatre. Into the

Woods Jr. performed by the Bancroft Summer

Teen Camp participants. July 31 &

August 1.

● TYT Theatre. A Year With Frog and Toad.

Music by Robert and Willie Reale. Recommended

for ages 4 and up. Evan Harkai, director

& producer; Quinton Naughton, music

director; Sydney LaForme, choreographer.

Wychwood Theatre, 76 Wychwood Ave. www.

tyttheatre.com/ticketterms. Visit website for

ticket information. Every Sat & Sun at 11am &

3:30pm until Jul 13.

and music students are welcome to this fun,

rewarding and inter-generational experience.

Sessions take place from 2 to 3pm (with

sound checks and socializing at 1:30pm).

Please contact recollectiv@gmail.com for

more information.

REHEARSAL & PERFORMANCE

OPPORTUNITIES

● A new community Baroque orchestra is

being launched in Toronto! All instruments

(particularly violins and violas) and all levels

of playing accommodated. Interested? Please

contact me, Jane Ubertino, at lucindabell56@

hotmail.com.

● The Choralairs is a non-audition, adult

choir that welcomes new members in September

and January. Rehearsals are on Tuesday

6:45-8-45pm at Edithvale C.C. 131 Finch

Ave. W, Toronto. Please contact Elaine at

choralairs.delighted.720@silomails.com to

RSVP. Check out our new website at www.

Choralairs.com.

● Columbus Concert Band. Rehearsals:

Tuesdays 7:30-9:30pm at Villa Colombo,

40 Playfair Ave., Toronto. Openings for flute,

clarinet, tenor sax, and trumpet; however, all

who are in search of being a part of a great

band are welcome. Our members are warm

and welcoming. For more information, contact

ccbtoronto@gmail.com or visit our website

at www.columbusconcertband.com.

● Etobicoke Community Concert Band. Full

rehearsals every Wednesday night at 7:30pm.

309 Horner Ave. Open to all who are looking

for a great band to join. Text Rob Hunter at

416-878-1730.


● Harmony Singers of Etobicoke. The

women of The Harmony Singers survived

COVID and are regrouping for 2024! If you’d

like to sing an exciting repertoire of pop, jazz,

folk and light classics, the group will give you

a warm welcome! Rehearsals start in January

on Wednesday nights from 7:15 to 9:30

p.m. at Richview United Church in Etobicoke.

Contact Conductor Harvey Patterson

at: theharmonysingers@ca.com or call

416-239-5821.

● Music for Life Adult Choir meets every

Tuesday afternoon from 12:30pm-2pm at

Avenue Road Music and Performance Academy,

460 Avenue Road, just south of St. Clair.

It’s a great way to meet other adult singers in

the community, and learn some new music,

all under the direction of Dr. John Holland.

We focus on growing our voice and our abilities,

and we are open to anyone with a desire

to sing, regardless of experience. Join us for

snacks afterwards. Register here, or call 416-

922-0855. We’d love to have you sing with us.

All are welcome!

● New Horizons Band of Toronto. All levels

from beginners to advanced for brass, woodwind,

and percussion instruments. Weekly

classes led by professional music teachers.

Loaner instrument provided to each new

registrant in the beginners’ program. Visit

www.newhorizonsbandtoronto.ca.

● North Toronto Community Band. Openings

for drums, clarinets, trumpets, trombones,

French horns. Rehearsals held at

Willowdale Presbyterian Church 38 Ellerslie

Ave. (just north of Mel Lastman Square).

Monday evenings 7:30-9:30 pm. Contact

ntcband@gmail.com.

● North York Concert Band: Rehearsals

every Thursday from 7:30 - 9:30 pm. At

864 Sheppard Ave. W., just east of Wilson

Heights Blvd. Openings in most sections -

especially drum kit, percussion, woodwinds

and trumpet. If you’re looking for a challenging

and exciting band, text or call Janis at

416-953-5283.

ETCETERA

● Quinte Regional Youth Chorus. This is

a new group based in Belleville, Ontario,

for singers aged 6-16. St. Thomas Anglican

Church, Parish Centre, 201 Church St., Belleville.

Call 613-962-3636 for information.

● Sacred Harp Singing. Warm-up/Q&A at

7:15pm, singing at 7:30pm. Come and sing

shape note music from the Sacred Harp

every third Wednesday of the month. Friends

House, 60 Lowther Ave. Please enter through

the entrance at the northwest corner of

the building. Accessible entrance from the

parking lot. Everyone is welcome, no experience

necessary. The singing is participatory,

not a performance or rehearsal. There are

songbooks to borrow. Visit www.torontoshapenote.org

for information. Dates: Jun 18,

Jul 16, Aug 20, Sep 17, Oct 15, Nov 19, Dec 17,

2025.

● Serenata Singers. Senior singers, are you

free Wednesday mornings? Do you love the

joy of singing and the camaraderie it brings?

Active since 1976, this 55-voice adult SATB

community choir ranges in age from 55 to 97,

under the direction of accomplished choral

director Michael Morgan. Consider joining

this caring, friendly group of retirees at Scarborough

Bluffs United Church, 3739 Kingston

Rd, every Wednesday from 10:30am to

12:30pm. Two free trial rehearsals are

allowed before deciding to join! Check us out

at our website at www.serenatasingers.ca

or call Charlotte at 416-449-4053!

● Strings Attached Orchestra, North

York. All string players (especially viola, cello,

bass) are welcome. Mondays 7 to 9 p.m.

from Sep to Jun. Email us first at info.stringsattached@gmail.com

to receive music and

other details or visit our website at www.

stringsattachedorchestra.com for more

information.

● Toronto Summer Music. Chamber Choir.

A chance to refresh vocal skills and study

inspiring works of choral literature in the

intimacy of a chamber vocal ensemble. Aside

from daily choir rehearsals with director

Kathleen Allan, you will also enjoy sectionals

with various vocal coaches. The week will

culminate with a performance on the final

day of the Festival. Spend a week singing

and rehearsing exciting works with fellow

choral enthusiasts! Applications for the

2025 Chamber Choir are now open. Application

deadline: Jun 26, 2025. Information at

TSM Application Form.

● VOCA Chorus of Toronto. Openings for

experienced tenors and basses. VOCA is an

auditioned ensemble. Rehearsals are held

at Eastminster, 310 Danforth Ave. (Chester

subway) on Monday evenings. Contact

Jenny Crober at crober.best@gmail.com for

more info.

● Yorkminstrels Show Choir is an SATB

choir. We sing mostly Broadway, plus oldies,

popular and seasonal music, many with simple

choreo/stage. If you are a past or current

musical theatre performer or have choral

experience, we welcome you to check us

out. Rehearsals start back in September in

the Willowdale-Cummer area of North York

on Wednesday eve. TTC accessible. Website:

www.yorkminstrels.com Email to mail@

yorkminstrels.com.

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DISCOVERIES | RECORDINGS REVIEWED

DAVID OLDS

DAVID OLDS

Cello recordings seem to have been in

constant rotation on my stereo (yes, I’m a

dinosaur) for the past couple of months,

with some repertoire new to me, and a

couple of old favourites as well. Perhaps

the most unusual, or at least the most

unfamiliar to my ears, is the latest from

South African cellist, singer and composer

Abel Selaocoe. Hymns of Bantu (Warner

Classics warnerclassics.com/release/hymns-bantu) is an intriguing

blend of African popular idioms and western art music. Selaocoe is

front and centre, with his virtuosic cello playing and powerful vocalizing,

in arrangements of his compositions by Fred Thomas ranging

from small ensembles to near orchestral forces with the participation

of the Ensemble Manchester Collective. Even the small groups

sound large, with rhythmic, percussion-heavy textures dominating

the accompaniments.

Mixed in amongst the mostly upbeat original tunes are two classics

of the cello repertoire which appear mid-disc – the Sarabande from

Bach’s Suite for Unaccompanied Cello No.6 arranged for cello and

small string ensemble, and an Improvisation on Marin Marais’ Les

voix humaines entitled Voices of Bantu featuring Selaocoe’s hymnlike

vocal lines over contemplative solo cello. The mood then returns

to flamboyance with Takamba, a moto perpetuo featuring cello, electric

bass, African percussion, viola and Ensemble Manchester. Two

movements from contemporary Italian cellist/composer Giovanni

Sollima’s L.B. Files return us to a quasi-classical realm before we find

ourselves back in Selaocoe’s growling vocal/percussion-based

expanded pop sensibility in the rousing closer Camagu. For someone

like me whose exposure to South African idioms comes largely from

Paul Simon’s work with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, this album is

really ear-opening, and just as energizing.

French composer Fernande Decruck

(1896-1954) is one of many accomplished

women to be “discovered” lately, brought

to light through our expanding understanding

of the shortcomings of the historically

male-centric perception of classical

music. Concertante Works Volume 2

(Claves 50-3108 claves.ch/fr/collections/

all-albums/products/fernande-decruckconcertante-works-vol-2)

features Decruck’s Concerto for Cello

and Orchestra; Les Trionons: Suite for Harpsichord (or Piano)

and Orchestra; Sonata in C-sharp for Alto Saxophone (or Viola)

and Orchestra; and The Bells of Vienna: Suite of Waltzes, with the

Jackson Symphony Orchestra under Matthew Aubin. The soloist in

the cello concerto (1932) is Jeremy Crosmer and he is in fine form

in this dramatic, late-Romantic tour de force. It’s in the usual three

movement form, although the first is marked Andantino non troppo

rather than the allegro we might expect, with the cello featured in

rapid rising lines against the calmer orchestra. This is followed by an

Adagietto, Molto Tranquillo with the cello in gentle singing melodies

above the peaceful orchestration. A vigorous Allegro Energico with

virtuosic cello interpolations brings this satisfying work to a close.

The saxophone concerto (1943)appears here in the viola version

featuring Mitsuru Kubo. The viola spends most of the four-movement

work in the three and a half octave range that it shares with the cello,

so a casual listener might mistake this for another concerto for the

tenor of the violin family, but nevertheless it is an important addition

to the viola’s repertoire. Les Trionons (1946) is a playful work here

presented in the version for harpsichord, featuring Mahan Esfanhani.

It has a bit of a “Les Six” feel to it. The disc ends with the charming,

bright and lively waltz suite. It’s an early example of the use of vibraphone

in an orchestral context, an indication of the innovative nature

of this too little-known composer.

Mieczysław Weinberg is another composer

who has risen from relative obscurity in

recent years. Born in Warsaw in 1919, he

escaped to Minsk after the Nazis invaded

Poland and spent the rest of his life in the

Soviet Union where he was befriended and

encouraged by Dmitri Shostakovich. There

have been so many recordings of his music

in the past decade that it is hard to imagine

that he was virtually ignored in the years leading up to his death in

1996. Weinberg Complete Music for Cello and Orchestra (NAXOS

8.574679 naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.574679) includes a

Concertino from 1948 for cello and string orchestra, never performed

during the composer’s lifetime, a Fantasia for cello and orchestra

completed in 1953, and a reworking and expansion of the concertino

into the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op.43 (1948/56). Soloist

Nikolay Shugaev is featured with the Siberian Tyumen Philharmonic

Orchestra under the direction of Yuri Medianik in striking performances

of all three works.

It is particularly interesting to hear the difference between the

concertino and concerto, the latter being roughly twice the length of

its predecessor. Of special note is the development of the Yiddish

themes in the scherzo-like second movement, the extended cadenza

of the third movement and quasi-military bombast, and echoes of

Shostakovich, in the finale of the concerto. Shugaev gives a lyrical and

at times muscular performance somewhat reminiscent of Mstislav

Rostropovich, who premiered the concerto in 1957. The centrepiece of

the recording is the Fantasia Op.52, which, in the words of NAXOS’

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annotator Richard Whitehouse, “is among the most appealing of

Weinberg’s earlier works in the way it channels elements of the

concerto format into a span as formally symmetrical as it is expressively

spontaneous.” Performances and production values are faultless

on this welcome release.

One of the greatest thrills of my life was having the opportunity to

meet Yo-Yo Ma while I was an extra in the episode directed by Atom

Egoyan of Ma’s Inspired by Bach series of collaborative videos based

on Bach’s Cello Suites. The day began in the green room where Ma

introduced himself to all the extras, asking a little something about

each of us, information which he remembered and returned to at the

end of the day when we all gathered again. I was charmed. Not only

that, but on the lunch break he allowed a number of the cello students

among us to play his million-dollar instrument; a chance in a lifetime

for many of those young musicians!

A related thrill was receiving the Deutsche

Grammophon recording Shostakovich –

The Cello Concertos featuring Yo-Yo Ma

with the Boston Symphony Orchestra

under Andris Nelsons (deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/

shostakovich-cello-concertos-yo-yo-maandris-nelsons-13798).

The Concerto No.1

in E-flat Major, Op.107 ranks among my

all-time favourites and I have in my vinyl collection both the first

recording of it with its dedicatee Rostropovich and Eugene Ormandy’s

Philadelphia Orchestra from 1960 and Ma’s 1983 performance with

the same forces. This new recording, with its state-of-the-art technology,

surpasses both of those in sound quality and dynamic range,

and Ma, 40 years on, shows a maturity and an understanding of

Shostakovich’s music that is formidable.

I also have Rostropovich’s 1976 recording of the Concerto No.2 in G

Major, Op.126 with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra,

but I must say that it wasn’t until Ma’s current release with that

orchestra that I really got to appreciate the full sonic depth of the

piece. We think of the vocal range of basso profundo as being typically

Russian, but I’ve come to think that term might just as aptly apply in

the percussion section. As well as prominent timpani parts in both

concertos, there is a profoundly deep big bass drum featured in duet

with the cellist in the first movement cadenza of the second concerto

which is amazing. Wow, do my speakers pop! It’s truly visceral, a

feeling which continues throughout this marvelous recording.

We invite submissions. CDs and DVDs should be sent to: DISCoveries,

The WholeNote c/o Music Alive, The Centre for Social Innovation, 720

Bathurst St. Toronto ON M5S 2R4. Comments and digital releases are

welcome at discoveries@thewholenote.com.

STRINGS

ATTACHED

TERRY ROBBINS

The American violinist Simone Porter

makes her recording debut with ad tendo, a

collection of mostly 21st-century solo violin

works inspired by philosopher Simone

Weil’s quote “Absolutely unmixed attention

is prayer,” Porter feeling that the experience

of total absorption offers a kind of deliverance.

ad tendo, the Latin root of the word

“attention” means “I stretch toward.” (Bright

Shiny Things BTC-0217 brightshiny.ninja/

useless-information/ad-tendo-amazon-music-classical-focus).

The world premiere recording of Reena Esmail’s Drishti

(“focused gaze”) anchors the disc, which also includes Esa-Pekka

Salonen’s Lachen verlernt, Olivia Marckx’s Improvisation on O

Virtus Sapientiae by Hildegard von Bingen and Andrew Norman’s

Sabina, his arrangement of a movement from his string trio written

after watching a sunrise during morning mass in Rome’s Santa

Sabina Basilica.

Biber’s Passacaglia in G Minor, “Guardian Angel” provides a suitably

meditative conclusion to an excellent CD on which Porter fully

exploits the tonal qualities of the on-loan 1740 Carlo Bergonzi violin.

On Boismortier 6 Sonatas for 2 Pardessus de viole, Op.63 the

Dialogue Viols duo of Peter Wendland and Jacqui Robertson-Wade

performs delightful works by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689-

1755) that have probably not been heard in well over 200 years, a copy

of the engraved score originally published in 1737 having only recently

been discovered and published in facsimile by Atelier Philidor in 2021

(First Hand Records FHR159 firsthandrecords.com/products-page/

What we're listening to this month:

CHALEURS

Quasar saxophone quartet

The four virtuoso saxophonists

tackle a colossal, never-beforeperformed

work by Quebec

composer Walter Boudreau. Order

now on Bandcamp!

Phoenix Rising

Angel Wang & Phoenix Orchestra

A cornucopia of Chinese and

Western classical music featuring

Butterfly Lovers, traditional

Chinese songs, and Alice Ho's

world premiere tone poem

"Phoenix Rising."

Alive

John Puchiele Ensemble

John’s 7th ambient orchestral

album has elements of ambient,

minimalist, jazz and contemporary

classical music. He is a former

member of the Glass Orchestra.

Tuesdays At La Rev

Peter Hill & Reg Schwager

This studio recording of guitarpiano

duets, featuring standards

and lesser-known songs, emerged

out of regular appearances at a

beloved Toronto music venue.


album/boismortier-6-sonatas-for-2-pardessus-de-viole-op-63).

The pardessus de viole was in vogue in

France in the mid-18th century; it had six

strings tuned in fourths across an almost

identical range to the violin. The six sonatas

here are quintessentially French in style,

and the performances, at the French

Baroque pitch of A=392Hz are simply flawless

and quite captivating.

Two short pieces transposed up an octave from the original sources

end a fascinating CD: the Fantaisie en Écho from Marin Marais’ Pièces

de viole Book 1, arranged for two pardessus de viole by Villeneuve

(1706-1771) and Le Dodo, ou l’amour au berceau from Couperin’s

Pièces de clavecin Book 3, arranged by the performers.

Paganini Caprices, the second Deutsche

Grammophon release by the young Spanish

violinist Maria Dueñas is a 2CD set that

features much more than Paganini’s 24

Caprices Op.1, Dueñas also offering a selection

of caprices for solo violin, violin and

guitar, violin duo, violin and piano and

violin and orchestra (DG 4865 708 deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/

paganini-24-caprices-mara-dueas-13622).

The solo works are Kreisler’s Recitativo & Scherzo-Caprice Op.6 and

Jordi Cervelló’s Milstein Caprice, written for Dueñas. Boris Kuschnir is

the second violinist in Wieniawski’s Étude-Caprice Op.18/2, Raphaël

Feuillâtre the guitarist in Kreisler’s Caprice viennoise Op.2, Itamar

Golan and Alexander Malofeev the pianists in Sarasate’s Caprice basque

Op.24 and Gabriela Ortíz’ De cuerda y mad era respectively, and the

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Mihhail Gerts supports

Dueñas in Berlioz’s Rêverie & Caprice Op.8 and Saint-Saëns’ Caprice

andalous Op.122 and Introduction & Rondo capriccioso Op.28.

It’s the Paganini that drives this release, however, and it’s a stunning

performance, technically assured and brilliantly coloured, with

Dueñas quite rightly stressing the bel canto vocal nature of much of

the writing.

On I Can Finally Feel the Sun violinist

Robert Uchida explores musical relationships

on a CD inspired by his playing

the “Dawes, de Long Tearse” Guadagnini

violin previously played by Andrew

Dawes, the first violin of the Orford String

Quartet and a mentor of Uchida. Philip

Chiu is the pianist (ATMA Classique

ACD2 2916 atmaclassique.com/en/

product/i-can-finally-feel-the-sun).

Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne is paired with Jean Papineau-Couture’s

Suite for Violin Alone, three brief movements by a self-described

“Stravinskyist.” Telemann’s Fantasie No.1 in G Minor is coupled with

Murray Adaskin’s Sonatine Baroque, written for Dawes and first

recorded on this same violin. It quotes Bach’s E Major Partita, the

Prelude from which is the following track, paired with the Prelude

- “Obsession” from Ysaÿe’s Sonata for Solo Violin Op.27 No.2, which

again directly quotes the Bach.

Debussy’s Violin Sonata L.148 and the CD’s violin solo title track by

Canadian composer Carmen Braden close an entertaining and

engrossing disc.

On Aequora, the Mystery Sonata married

duo of violinist Zachary Carrettin and

pianist Mina Gajic present works by several

prominent Icelandic composers (Sono

Luminus DSL-92282 sonoluminus.com/

sonoluminus/aequora).

The title track, by Maria Huld Markan

Sigfúsdóttir was originally for grand piano

and electronics, with a violin and new material being added when

the composer met Carrettin. Daniel Bjarnason’s First Escape for

solo violin, commissioned by violinist Jennifer Koh explores natural

harmonics in a virtuosic fashion.

Páll Ragnar Pálsson’s Notre Dame from 2021 was originally for

harp and violin. Anna Thorvaldsdóttir’s 2017 Reminiscence for solo

piano comprises seven short sections “exploring mental images and

memories of witnessing and experiencing natural phenomena.”

Re/fractions, also by Sigfúsdóttir was commissioned by Mystery

Sonata and the Boulder Bach Festival in Colorado. Inspired by space,

time and textures, its second half gravitates around the note D – “Re”

in tonic solfa, hence the split in the title.

With Beethoven Complete String Quartets

Vol.1 the Ariel Quartet launches a project

which they describe as a testament to their

belief in the enduring relevance of the

music. Volume 2 is scheduled for release

in November, followed by Volume 3 in

June of next year and a special box set in

March 2027 to mark the 200th anniversary

of Beethoven’s death (Orchid Classics

ORC100378 orchidclassics.com/releases/

orc100378-ariel-quartet-vol-1).

This first volume contains the six String Quartets Op.18. The quartet

first played together at the ages of 13 in 1998 – three founder members

are still present – and Beethoven’s Op.18 No.4 quartet was the first

they played. There’s an immediacy and commitment in their playing

and a full, rich recorded sound on what promises to be a significant

and attractive option in a fiercely competitive field.

Poland’s Silesian Quartet is the ideal interpreter

for Górecki Complete Works for

String Quartet, a survey of the three quartets

all commissioned by the Kronos Quartet

together with five choral works played as

string quartets (Chandos 202283 2 chandos.

net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2020383).

Górecki (1933-2010) turned to string

quartets relatively late in his career, No.1

Op.62 “Already it is dusk” dating from 1988,

No.2 Op.64 “quasi una fantasia” from 1991 and the monumental

No.3 Op.67 “...songs are sung” from 1994-95. The Five Kurpian Songs

Op.75 are from 1999.

These are not new recordings: the quartets are from 2008, originally

released on Polish EMI, and the choral songs are from 2014. No matter,

for I’ve not heard these challenging and sometimes abrasive works

sound warmer or more personal and accessible than in these penetrative

and illuminating performances.

Shostakovich String Quartets Nos 2, 7 & 10

is the first release on the BIS label by the

Jerusalem Quartet (BIS-2654 SACD bisrecords.lnk.to/2654).

The String Quartet No.2 in A Major is

from 1944, but has no direct war reference,

its remarkable slow movement possibly

reflecting lingering grief over the sudden

loss of a close friend. The String Quartet

No.7 in F-sharp Minor Op.108 from 1959-60

is a brief but deeply personal three-movement work dedicated to the

memory of his wife, and the String Quartet No.10 in A-flat Major

Op.118 is one of his most accessible.

The Jerusalem Quartet is in top form on an excellent disc.

The Dudok Quartet Amsterdam completes its recording of the

composer’s three quartets with Tchaikovsky String Quartets Vol.2, the

String Quartet No.3 in E-flat Minor Op.30 from 1876 being the central

work on the CD (Rubicon RCD1124 dudokquartet.com/albums/

tchaikovsky-string-quartet-vol-2).

The single Quartet Movement in B-flat Major from 1865 opens the


disc, with four short pieces from the solo

piano work The Seasons Op.37a, arranged

by members of the quartet closing it.

The quartet members use unwound gut

strings for music written before 1900,

noting the necessary adjustments in the left

hand and the bow control – not that you

would ever know, given the remarkable and

ravishing depth of sound and colour they

draw from their instruments.

Lutenist Miguel Rincón describes his new

CD Concertos for Baroque Lute, with Il

Pomo d’Oro as the result of a deep desire

to breathe new life into forgotten repertory

from the crossroads of the Baroque

and galant style eras before the lute became

eclipsed by the classical guitar (Aparté

AP376 apartemusic.com/en/album-details/

concertos-for-baroque-lute-fasch-hagenkohaut-kleinknecht).

The small ensemble – two violins, viola, cello, bass and harpsichord

– allows the virtuosity and subtlety of the lute to predominate in

performances of the Concerto in F Major by Austrian composer Karl

Kohaut (1726-84), the Trio in E-flat Major by Bernhard Joachim Hagen

(1720-87), the Concerto in C Major by Jakob Friedrich Kleinknecht

(1722-94) and the Concerto in D Minor by Johann Friedrich Fasch

(1688-1758), his only lute work, and one which is described as a work

of great expressiveness and virtuosity that still surprises today.

It’s all absolute perfection, with brilliant playing by Rincón and

sensitive and spirited support from the ensemble.

We’re all accustomed to seeing soloists

perform concertos from memory, but on

Beethoven Violin Concerto, the remarkable

new CD from Nicola Benedetti everyone,

including the entire Aurora Orchestra

under Nicholas Collon, is playing from

memory (Decca Classics store.deccaclassics.com/products/beethoven-violinconcerto?srsltid=AfmBOorfd_sRrmBkGU4lTPTu1g8Pan7Z22yPK9WgTNblk_

VDHF3eERnt).

The Aurora Orchestra has been pioneering the performance of

orchestral works from memory since 2014, but this is the first time

they have done so for an instrumental concerto. It doesn’t translate

into a noticeably different sound, but from the opening hard-stick

timpani strokes this is clearly a performance with spirit and lightness.

There’s no sense of bravura virtuosity from Benedetti, who dances

through the finale after a slow movement that feels almost like a

private meditation – you almost hold your breath listening to it.

The very different first movement cadenza is “rearranged and

adapted” by Petr Limonov from the cadenza with timpani that

Beethoven wrote for his own arrangement of the concerto for piano

and orchestra.

On Milestones violinist Philippe Quint

presents world-premiere recordings of

three works written for him during pivotal

moments of his artistic journey. Andrew

Litton conducts the Royal Scottish National

Orchestra as well as joining Quint as

pianist for the two final works (Pentatone

PTC5187408 pentatonemusic.com/product/

milestones).

The two concertos here are remarkably

effective and simply stunning works. Lera Auerbach’s four-movement

Violin Concerto No.1 from 2003 contrasts outright aggression

(she describes the opening as “apocalyptic Deathclusters”) with lyrical

richness and beauty. Errollyn Wallen’s 2024 Violin Concerto references

Quint’s childhood memories, especially in the lovely Lamenting

middle movement. Both works are essential listening for anyone interested

in contemporary violin concertos and will richly reward deeper

acquaintance.

The Odyssey Rhapsody for violin and piano by Quint’s mother,

the Russian composer Lora Kvint was inspired by her fascination with

Greek mythology.

Florence Price’s brief but lovely Adoration completes an

outstanding release.

There have been two recent releases

featuring violinist James Ehnes. The Spanish

violinist and composer Pablo de Sarasate

is the focal point on a CD of the music

of Lalo, Saint-Saëns and Sarasate, with

Ehnes supported by the BBC Philharmonic

under Juanjo Mena (Chandos CHAN 20333

chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%20

20333).

Sarasate lived in Paris from his early teen

years, and two of the French works here – Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole,

Op.21, a work bristling with Spanish themes, rhythms and

influences, and Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No.3 in B Minor, Op.61

– were written for him. Sarasate’s own Concert Fantasy on Bizet’s

“Carmen,” Op.25 completes the disc.

Ehnes’ playing is all that we have come to expect – technically flawless,

warm and instinctively musical.

On the 2CD set J. S. Bach: The Complete

Violin Concertos, James Ehnes and

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra

fulfill Ehnes’ longtime desire to present

Bach’s violin concerti in their entirety

(Analekta AN28893-4 nac-cna.ca/en/

orchestra/recordings/ehnes-bach).

In addition to the three standard works –

the Violin Concertos in A Minor BWV1041

and in E Major BWV1042 and the Double

Concerto in D Minor BWV1043 – Ehnes also presents the three

concertos – in D Minor BWV1052R, in G Minor BWV1056R and in D

Major for Three Violins BWV1064R – that were “reverse-engineered”

from Bach’s own harpsichord transcriptions of now-lost originals. The

Concertos in A Minor for Flute, Violin and Harpsichord BWV1044 and

in C Minor for Oboe and Violin BWV1060R are also here.

The other soloists are Yosuke Kawasaki and Jessica Linnebach

(violins), Charles Hamann (Oboe), Joanna G’froerer (Flute) and Luc

Beauséjour (harpsichord), all contributing to performances of warm,

beautiful playing on a set that has the feeling of close friends making

music that they love.

The Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman studied

with – among others – Philippe Hirschhorn,

Ivry Gitlis, Igor Oistrakh, Aaron Rosand and

Herman Krebbers, so with such a legacy it’s

not surprising to find her giving a technically

flawless and engrossing and towering

performance of one of the great Romantic

concertos on her new CD Brahms – Suk,

with the Brussels Philharmonic under Elias

Grandy (Rubicon RCD1120 rubiconclassics.

com/release/9189).

The Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major Op.77 is a pure delight from

start to finish, with a warm, rich tone, beautiful phrasing, rhythmic

bite in the outer movements and lovely orchestral support.

The Fantasy in G Major Op.24 by the Czech composer Josef Suk

dates from 1902-03 and is described as being infused with heavy

doses of melancholy. Showing clearly the influence of Dvořák (Suk’s

father-in-law) and Brahms, it makes a perfect pairing for the main

work, drawing more beautiful playing from all concerned.


VOCAL

Allan Ramsay’s The Gentle Shepherd

Makaris

Olde Focus Recordings FCR924

(newfocusrecordings.com/catalogue/

makaris-allan-ramsays-the-gentleshepherd)

! Throughout

the 18th century,

Allan Ramsay’s The

Gentle Shepherd

(1729) was a smash

hit on Edinburgh

and London stages,

and continued to be

performed by amateur companies until late

in the 19th. Robert Burns himself praised the

poetry, and the story inspired over 40 paintings.

Now, 300 years after the libretto’s publication,

Scottish Baroque ensemble Makaris

has given us the opera’s very first recording,

and it is a delight— brimming with humour,

verve, and accomplished musicianship.

This was not only the first Scottish opera

but also the first ballad opera, an original

libretto set to popular airs and songs of the

day. These have no composer in the usual

sense; the poet would simply indicate the

name of the air to which his words should be

sung. For this reason, much of the compositional

responsibility fell on the musicians,

who operated in a liminal space between oral

and written traditions. For this recording

Makaris had to create their own arrangements,

drawing from a bare-bones score

made after Ramsay’s death and digging into

archives. They admit to taking some liberties

for the sake of bringing the songs alive by

choosing unexpected or atypical harmonies.

This is all for the better; it springs off the

recording so vividly that one longs for a live

production.

This recording will appeal to those who

enjoy theatre music by Boyce or Arne and

works such as the Beggar’s Opera. It might

also intrigue those who are familiar with

some of the traditional tunes that show up

here, in sparkling arrangements and with

words added. The Waulking of the Fould is

played much the same as it is now in Cape

Breton or Scotland, and the O’Carolan’s

beloved Sí Beag, Sí Mór is very recognizable,

too.

Ramsay’s work has one more relevant

element for Canadian listeners in 2025: one

of his motivations in writing and publishing

was to champion Scotland’s culture and

identity, and he was a vocal opponent of the

Union of 1707 (which incorporated Scotland

into Great Britain). Now, where is OUR Gentle

Shepherd?

Stephanie Conn

John Weldon - The Judgement of Paris

Academy of Ancient Music; Cambridge

Handel Opera; Julian Perkins

AAM AAM046 (aam.co.uk/product/

john-weldon-the-judgment-of-paris)

! This lesserknown

masque

is a rarity. In an

era of prequels

The Judgement of

Paris is certainly

not performed

frequently, and

never before

recorded. It would do well to remember that

the story this masque tells is a prequel to

Homer’s epic of the Trojan war, the Iliad.

The Judgement of Paris, an important

augury of the Trojan war, appears in Book 24,

Verse 22 (ff) of the Iliad. In that event Eris, the

goddess of discord, not invited to the wedding

of Peleus and Thetis, extracts revenge by

tossing a golden Apple of Discord, inscribed,

“To the fairest one,” amid the wedding guests.

This results in a dispute between demigoddesses,

Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite as to

who the “fairest” is. Aphrodite bemuses

Paris into kidnapping Helen of Sparta as the

most beautiful mortal woman in the world,

carrying her off to Troy. Thus, Eris’ casus belli

precipitates the Trojan War.

John Weldon (1670-1729) “won” a contest

to compose music to William Congreve’s

libretto. His succession of short arias are

executed masterfully. These all feature

eloquently crafted ritornellos and an

attractive variety of instrumental writing.

Each of the performances by the seven principal

characters, chorus and instrumentalists

is stellar. The Academy of Ancient Music and

Cambridge Handel Opera Company’s period

piece helmed by Julian Perkins runs at white

heat when Jonathan Brown’s Paris takes the

stage. Meanwhile Anna Dennis’ masterful

Venus sparkles in every phrase.

Raul da Gama

Art Choral Vol.6 - Moderne

Ensemble Artchoral; Matthias Maute

ATMA ACD2 2425 (atmaclassique.com/en/

product/art-choral-vol-6-moderne)

! Five previous

“Volumes” by

Montreal’s

Ensemble ArtChoral

traversed the

Renaissanceto-Romantic

musical eras. Vol.6,

Moderne, offers

11 pieces from

the 20th and 21st centuries, their impact

enhanced by the CD’s reverberant acoustic,

making the 12-member ensemble sound

much bigger.

Two movements from Quatuor Antiphonae

Marianae Selectae by Slovenian Ambrož

Čopi (b.1973) are engagingly cheerful and

rhythmically playful. Unicornis Captivatur

by Norwegian Ola Gjeilo (b.1978) alternates

reverential solemnity with joyful celebration

in a tale of animal death and rebirth.

Three stirring works evoke medieval chant

– Præter rerum seriem by Canada’s Andrew

Balfour (b.1967), the somber Kyrie eleison

from Missa Regensis by Latvian Ugis Prauliņš

(b.1957) and, most movingly, the haunting,

lyrical O magnum mysterium by American

Morten Lauridsen (b.1943). These soulsearching

pieces receive appropriately slow,

reflective treatment from conductor Matthias

Maute. This contrasts with Maute’s very rapid

tempi that compromise the noble gravitas of

two beloved favourites, heard here in alternative

settings – Agnus Dei, Samuel Barber’s

own arrangement of his Adagio for Strings

and Lux Æterna, a transcription by John

Cameron of Nimrod from Elgar’s Enigma

Variations.

The CD closes with two austere motets

– Pablo Casals’ O vos omnes and Aaron

Copland’s Help Us, O Lord (composed as

an assignment while studying with Nadia

Boulanger). A more fitting ending, I think,

would have been the disc’s seventh track

– Nyon Nyon by American Jake Runestad

(b.1986), the singers propulsively mimicking

electric guitars, synthesizers and drums. It’s a

perfect encore piece!

Michael Schulman

Rufus Wainwright - Dream Requiem

Meryl Streep; Anna Prohaska; Maitrise,

Choeur and Orchestre Philharmonique di

Radio France; Mikko Franck

Warner Classics 5021732500601

(warnerclassics.com/release/dreamrequiem-rufus-wainwright)

! Rufus

Wainwright’s

Dream Requiem

was surely made

for this moment

– even though the

Canadian composer,

pop songwriter

and singer wrote it

during the throes of COVID. We feel a sense

of foreboding right from the beginning,

when the narrator tells us, “I had a dream,

which was not all a dream.” With that, we are

plunged into the nightmare of Lord Byron’s

aptly named poem, Darkness.

A Requiem deals with loss. Yet what’s

described is total annihilation. Wainwright

artfully transcends the utter devastation by

layering sections of the Latin Mass for the

Dead into Byron’s apocalyptic poem. Hope

comes in the final section, the In Paradisum,

when the sublime children’s choir offers the

consolations of eternal rest.

Wainwright’s musical language here is

not the most daring. But it is imaginative,

personal, and highly expressive. Sumptuous

melodies, catchy rhythms, rich harmonies


– all inescapably Wainwright’s.

Conductor Mikko Franck calibrates the

huge forces for both expressiveness and

clarity. Soprano Anna Prohaska soars with

the exquisite presence of a divine spirit,

while the dramatically charged choir honours

Wainwright’s deep connection to the words.

Actor Meryl Streep catches every nuance

in Byron’s text. Her sober narration reins in

Wainwright’s heart-on-sleeve romanticism –

that is, until the Dies Irae. Streep, as the voice

of retribution, tears through it in a frenetic,

virtuosic tour de force.

Wainwright is undoubtedly better known

for his singing and songwriting than his classical

compositions. But Dream Requiem

should be heard.

Pamela Margles

Electric Fields

Barbara Hannigan; Kati and Marielle

Labeque; David Chalmin

Alpha Classics ALPHA 980 (outhere-music.

com/en/albums/electric-fields)

! By now my

editor knows full

well just how

mesmerised I

am by Barbara

Hannigan. How – in

my eyes – she can

do no wrong. He

also knows that if

there is a new Hannigan recording – as sure

as day follows night – I will make a beeline

for it and likely find no fault in it whatsoever.

The reason? There will be no fault with a

Hannigan recording. That’s just the way it is.

Let’s put aside Hannigan’s prowess as an

actor and conductor for now. As an operatic

star she is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of artist

who does everything right, by any composer,

in any repertoire from any era. This is how

things go on Electric Fields (or might I say,

“eclectic fields”?).

Her soprano instrument is lustrous

throughout, whether she is interpreting

Hildegard von Bingen (c.1098-1179) – O virga

mediatrix and O vis aetrnitatis – or Barbara

Strozzi (1619-1977) – Che si può fare – or two

works by Bryce Dessner (b.1976). Hannigan

also contributes one composition – Che t’ho

fatt’io based on a fragment of Latin texts by

Francesca Caccini (1587-c.1640).

Admittedly Hannigan shines alongside

such star power as the piano-playing heavyweights,

Katia and Marielle Labèque, and

the wizardry of composer/performer David

Chalmin’s ambient atmospheric contributions.

But Hannigan’s performance is flawless

– again. Each work is a priceless soundpainting.

Each phrase has its own tinta;

each vocal section a distinctive character. It’s

exciting to wonder what comes next. One can

only dream.

Raul da Gama

Christopher Tyler Nickel - Mass; Te Deum

Catherine Redding; Vancouver Chamber

Choir; Vancouver Contemporary

Orchestra; Clyde Mitchell

Avie Records AV2748 (avie-records.com/

releases/christopher-tyler-nickel-mass-•-

te-deum)

! “Beauty-filled

music” – that’s

what I called

Christopher Tyler

Nickel’s Requiem

(The WholeNote,

Summer 2024),

praising Nickel’s

“distinctive

melodic gift” that consolidated influences

from Gregorian Chant to Bruckner, Fauré

and Carl Orff. Along with his many scores

for film, theatre and TV, the B.C.-based

Nickel continues his commitment to sacred

texts with Mass and Te Deum, composed

concurrently between 2019 and 2024.

Around 26 minutes each, they’re modest in

scale compared to the 70-minute Requiem

and minuscule measured against his sevenhour

setting of The Gospel According to Mark.

“I’m always finding the melancholy in

things,” writes Nickel. Here, his unusual

scoring combines, in addition to strings,

the plaintiveness of oboe, English horn,

oboe d’amore and bass oboe with the sepulchral

sonorities of four horns and tuba in Te

Deum, two Wagner tubas replacing two of

the horns in Mass. The pervading disquiet is

heightened by continually shifting, irregular

meters, including measures of five, seven and

ten beats.

Nickel supplants Requiem’s stylistic eclecticism

with a hyper-emotional, near-cinematic

spin on Renaissance modes and harmonies.

Mass begins with a plea of desperation

in Kyrie, followed by a joyous Gloria, but

solemnity reigns throughout the remaining

sections. Te Deum is even darker. Canadian

soprano, Catherine Redding, soloist in the

Requiem recording, adds fervent entreaties to

Te Deum’s intense anguish. Clyde Mitchell,

conductor of the Requiem CD, draws urgent

drama from Vancouver’s Chamber Choir and

Contemporary Orchestra in these latest examples

of Nickel’s truly “beauty-filled music.”

Michael Schulman

CLASSICAL AND BEYOND

Arc III - Brahms | Schubert

Orion Weiss

First Hand Records FHR129

(firsthandrecords.com/products-page/

album/arc-iii-brahms-debussy-schubert)

! Joyful music

for these troubled

times: this release

completes a

three-album

series that traces

a journey from

the disaster and

despair depicted

in Arc I and Arc II, moving in Arc III to what

American pianist Orion Weiss calls music of

“peace, hope, love, ambition, optimism and

the divine.” The result is a highly enjoyable

recital featuring an attractive mix of rarities

alongside established masterpieces for solo

piano as Weiss displays his comfort in music

written over a span of 160 years.

The album opens with Louise Talma’s

Alleluia in Form of Toccata (1945), sparkling

with repeated notes, jagged leaps and

offbeat accents. Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy

is given a muscular yet poised reading,

never rushed or pushed to extremes. The

slow movement’s theme, quoting Schubert’s

famous song, is a sombre contrast to the

extroversion of the surrounding movements,

and in Weiss’ hands the fugal finale is exhilarating

in its clarity and rhythmic energy.

Debussy’s L’isle joyeuse contrasts sultry

mystery (listen to the central section at 2:45)

with blazing virtuosity, a performance that

lives up to Weiss’ description of it as “one of

the most evocative and thrilling of Debussy’s

piano works.” Dohnányi’s Pastorale on a

Hungarian Christmas Song (1920) is another

valuable re-discovery, and while Brahms’

darkly dramatic early third sonata may not

immediately seem to fit the album’s theme,

the ecstasy of the second movement love

scene and the F major exuberance with which

the finale concludes gain resonance from the

music that has come before.

Ligeti’s etude Arc-en-ciel provides an

unexpectedly suitable coda, its interweaving

lines beautifully shaped. Weiss’ Yamaha CFX

is warmly recorded, and this intelligently

programmed album is warmly recommended.

Stephen Runge


Prokofiev - Sonates pour flute et piano

Ariane Brisson; Philip Chiu


product/prokofiev-sonatas-for-flute-andpiano)

! Prokofiev may

have once defined

a modern classical

composer as

“a madman making

works that his

generation won’t

understand” but he

himself achieved

significant recognition during his lifetime,

and today, remains one of the most renowned

composers of the 20th century.

Among his extensive output are a number

of chamber works, including two violin

sonatas and one for flute, all of them

composed during the Second World War.

The first Violin Sonata Op.80 in F Minor

was actually the second to be written for

that instrument, and is presented here in

an arrangement for flute by Ariane Brisson.

Brisson performs it with pianist Philip Chiu

along with the Flute Sonata Op.94 on this

ATMA Classique recording. Brisson was

first prize-winner in the Prix d’ Europe in

2014 and Chiu is a JUNO award winner and

recipient of the Order of Ontario.

The Sonata Op.80 was completed in

1946 and was awarded the Stalin Prize the

following year. This a dark and intense fourmovement

work opening with a mysterious

Andante Assai which the composer likened to

“wind passing through a graveyard.” Together,

the two artists comprise a formidable pairing

with Brisson’s warm tone aptly conveying the

dramatic mood with Chiu providing a sensitive

partnership. The strident second movement

is followed by a lyrical Andante and a

finale with an unexpectedly calm conclusion.

In comparison, the Flute Sonata Op.94

is decidedly more optimistic in spirit.

Completed in 1943, the work is a demanding

one, but the two performers easily meet the

innumerable challenges with respect to technique

and nuance. The score is affable and

pleasant from the languorous opening to the

sprightly finale demonstrating formidable

interaction between the performers, as is the

case throughout this exemplary disc.

Richard Haskell

MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY

Berio - Complete String Quartets

Quatour Molinari


product/berio-complete-string-quartets)

! Serial winners

of awards often

tend to give something

back. Quite

often that means

donating money to

a deserving cause

and – to all intents

and purposes –

being done with it, and that’s not nothing.

In the case of the much-celebrated Quatuor

Molinari, giving something back is a continuation

of their collective lives, of the philosophy

that has governed every day since

1997 when they first dedicated those very

lives to breaking musical ground in “devoting

themselves to string quartets of the 20th and

21st centuries.” This endeavour continues

with Intégrale des quatuors à cordes, (The

Complete String Quartets) of Luciano Berio

(1925-2003).

From the (complete quartets) of R. Murray

Schafer, the repertory work of Bartók,

Berg and Britten, Gubaidulina and Ligeti,

Penderecki, Schoenberg and Webern this

quartet – so named after the legendary

Canadian painter Guido Molinari – has lit a

crackling flame for the avant-garde. Their

Kurtág cycle which won them the Ecko

Klassik Award (now Opus Klassik) in 2017 is

one of many prestigious international awards

to adorn their proverbial mantlepiece,

Sparks fly when Quatuor Molinari –

Olga Ranzenhofer (first violin and artistic

director), Antoine Bareil (violin), Frédéric

Lambert (viola) and Pierre-Alain Bouvrette

(cello) – take to the stage, challenged by Berio.

His work would push musicians with even

the most sublime technical skill to the limits,

with his love of the theatrical, fascination

with the voice, and his constant willingness

to engage with art of the past –Monteverdi

and Dante – and the present – jazz and electronic

music. His unique “future-past”

musical sojourns certainly define these seemingly

omnivorous works.

The expressive breadth of Berio’s music

is beautifully captured in these sumptuous

performances. The dazzling semantic

and musical labyrinths concocted by each

work demand pyrotechnical skill from the

Molinari. The miraculously lucid performance

of Notturno is the highlight of this fascinating

disc.

Raul da Gama

Walter Boudreau - Chaleurs

Quasar

Independent (quasar4sax.bandcamp.com/

album/chaleurs)

Rupture

Quatuor Nelligan

Centrediscs CMCCD 32823 (cmccanada.

org/shop/cmccd-32823)

! The Quebec hills

are alive with the

sounds of saxophone

quartets:

Quasar and Nelligan

are both based in

that province and

both have new and

exciting releases.

Quasar was founded in 1994 and has

performed instrumental music, employed

improvisation and used electronics. They

perform as an acoustic quartet, but have also

“plugged-in,” have been accompanied by an

orchestra and have commissioned many

pieces while continuously working for new

music experimentation. Walter

Boudreau’s Chaleurs was originally written in

1985 (predating the formation of Quasar by

nine years) and was somehow forgotten until

rediscovered in the Concordia University

archives in 2019! This piece was originally

“inspired by Paul-André Fortier’s choreography

and his dancers’ work.” Boudreau

revised Chaleurs for the tenth edition of

Festival MNM in 2021 and Quasar premiered

this new version at Salle Pierre-Mercure. It is

a long, meditative piece of 50 minutes, and

travels though many moods from quiet,

sinuous and overlapping lines, to sections

with playful interactions and onto more

tentative and exploratory nuances.

Quatuor Nelligan

was also founded in

1994 (apparently a

banner year for sax

quartets) and has

been committed

to championing

both classical

and contemporary

repertoire. Rupture showcases the

work of four Quebec composers and their

different takes on quartet repertoire. Yoel

Diaz Avila’s Concerto en 6 préludes contains

several exciting sections which showcase

lively ensemble playing. This piece

is reminiscent of much standard saxophone

quartet repertoire but with modern

tonalities and sharp rhythmic departures.

Alexandre David’s Essences begins with

a quiet blending of the instruments and

then opens up with individual flourishes

and edgy statements before working back

to a softer and thoughtful ending. Victor

Herbiet’s Danse des Dragons begins slowly

with intertwining melodies and then adds a

percussive section with much pad clicking

which appears to wake up the dragons as a


vibrant dance section emerges containing

Celtic influences. Rupture ends with Robert

Lemay’s Verticales, the longest and most

experimental piece which includes abrupt

rhythms, subtle multiphonics, squeaks and

quick dynamic shifts. This is my favourite

piece on the album because it contains so

many changes and surprises.

Ted Parkinson

Nick Storring - Mirante

Nick Storring

We Are Busy Bodies (nickstorring.

bandcamp.com/album/mirante)

! Composer

and cellist/multiinstrumentalist

Nick Storring has

numerous recordings

to his credit,

but his latest solo

album Mirante

(Lookout in

Portuguese) has a beauty and complexity that

is transfixing. Storring’s compositional skills

are matched only by his imagination; the fine

balance of nature, acoustic instruments and

multi-tracking is a specialty of Storring’s, but

this luscious, pulsing album brings in a more

personal tone with field recordings from his

second home of Brazil.

Track one, Roxa, is dreamy and enticing;

you are being hypnotized to follow the sweet

ocarina calls, the percussion, the handclaps…

(are they handclaps?). Just give in, and you’ll

be smoothly led to track two, Roxa ll. The

xylophone, drums, flute, chimes…. There is no

fighting the call.

Track three Mirante’s gentle swaying of the

breeze, the birds and kites over the water…

unknowingly you will be transformed,

brought gently into town with vocals, drum

beats, cowbells. You’ll find yourself dancing

through narrow stone passageways, and along

the beach and back. Children play, water

washes over you… will you swim, sleep, or

take a walk? Here, the ocarina will sing to

you, the flute, the drum, the whistle will call.

Roxa lll is the most melancholy of the tracks;

rich, textured, filled with heavens and skies,

teaching you to be patient. It will be worth it.

The whole album organically draws you

in further and further until you find yourself

surrounded by people… walking, pausing,

walking, swimming, dancing, Storring gently

takes you by the hand into a world of music

and wonder that is almost indescribable, and

before you know it, you’ve passed through

the whole travelogue and are pressing repeat.

This album is even better savoured with headphones

to appreciate the expert mastering

and Storring’s delicate layering.

I had to look up a few of the nearly 50

instruments in use on the album. The amount

of listening and editing involved in such a solo

project would be overwhelming for most, but

Storring is right at home.

(At one point I was searching the list of

instruments for the perfectly timed kettle

whistle I was hearing, until I realized it

was my own.)

Cheryl Ockrant

Réflexions

Francis Choinière

GFN Classics (forteartmusic.com/product/

reflexions-francis-choiniere)

! Multi-talented

Quebec-based

Francis Choinière

is an awe-inspiring

musician, renowned

as the conductor

of Quebec orchestras

Orchestre

FILMharmonique

and the Orchestre Philharmonique et Chœur

des Mélomanes, and as a concert producer,

composer and pianist. Here, in his solo debut

Réflexions, he performs five of his beautiful

solo piano compositions with exquisite musicality

and technical expertise. As he explains,

the pieces paint a soundscape of memories, a

timeline of his past and present, as he draws

on and/or arranges melodies composed from

his childhood to present.

Each composition is perfect, memorable

and calming. Coup de foudre starts with a

lyrical melody accompanied by rippling single

notes with slight rubato. High note flourishes

add a change in colour. Similar lower

pitched sections add drama with alternating

slower and faster sections leading to closing

high pitched soft notes. There’s a change

in mood in the following track Unveiled as

the single line lower pitched melody and

slight accents create a more dramatic touch.

Dancelike storytelling Renaissance features

a happy harmonized melody that builds to a

louder midsection and then a faster section

leads to a slow emotional high note ending.

Rêverie is a contemporary music flavoured

melody with numerous lines leading to a

sudden abrupt ending. The tonal I’ll be Here is

romantic, softer gentle music. A very orchestral

sounding work with different musical

ideas that Choinière performs clearly with

compassion and sensitivity.

Choinière’s breathtaking piano playing

results in beautiful, reflective performances

which deserve repeated listenings.

Tiina Kiik

Phoenix Rising

Angel Wang; Phoenix Orchestra

Leaf Music LM299 (leaf-music.ca/music/

lm299)

! The talented

violinist Angel

Wang has assembled

a chamber

ensemble, Phoenix

Orchestra, in a

debut project

that includes the

notorious Butterfly Lover’s Concerto (written

by committee) that marked the beginning (in

the ‘50’s) of the Chinese détente, embracing

collaboration with Western Art Music, which

has since transformed and stimulated world

musical culture. Wang includes a few other

Chinese ethnic folk tunes, and these pieces

are all arranged for her tidy little group by

conductor Claudio Vena.

The Butterfly Lover’s Concerto has become

famous and we can find several performances

on YouTube, usually using orchestras

augmented with Chinese folk instruments

where the solo part can get lost amongst all

the sonorities. I have never really been able to

follow this piece through all its dense tangle

of sweet sounding lines, but Wang plays

with such purpose and concentration that

she negotiates all the potentially cloying and

swooning portamenti with cool accuracy and

taste. The folk tunes are similarly handled

with simple orchestration and no gimmicks.

The pentatonic sound of all these provides a

recognizable Chinese identity.

To complement this repertoire Wang

commissioned Chinese Canadian veteran

composer Alice Ping Yee Ho to provide

a contemporary balance. The result is

the lyrical, lightly orchestrated Phoenix

Rising, conceived to fit in with some of the

sonorities of the other works, except that the

violin part is more fragmented and allusive.

The piece is gentle overall, and it is a welcome

addition to Ho’s output. Sound and production

are almost slick. This really grows on you.

Michael Doleschell

Alive

John Pulchiele Ensemble

Independent (johnpuchieleensemble.

bandcamp.com/album/alive)

! Alive is the

seventh recording

by John Puchiele

Ensemble. Created

by the eponymous

Toronto composer/

performer, it was

made during the

past year when

he was ill with

cancer and during his subsequent treatment.

His personal music here is not overly

dramatic or intense but instead is very

ambient, minimalist, reflective and at times

powerful. His orchestral, electronic, contemporary

classical, new age soundscape is

composed, performed and mixed to perfection,

all by him.

Opening track, I’m Alive is a superb introduction

to the unique storytelling orchestral

music here. It starts with a quiet, “distant,”

haunting held note drone. Then fast repeated

flutelike warbling detached lines set a

contemplative yet powerful sound. Other

contrapuntal lines join in with louder, slightly

accented and lower in pitch music. The tempo

is fast, yet the hypnotic repeated note lines are


calming until they gradually disappear to a

decrescendo fast ending, like it’s time to rest …

Still begins quietly as slow held harmonic

notes slightly move in a comforting, and

not boring, manner. An arpeggiated and

slightly louder and higher pitched middle

section leads to crescendo to end. In is an

under two-minute track with the same

held note, calming orchestral drone idea.

Slightly moving higher pitches add a positive

emotional tint to the listening colour.

Puchiele has done phenomenal work here.

His knowledge of synthesizers has made

his music gorgeous. Each note has been

performed with his in-depth ability to layer

sounds that are clear and resonating after

mixing. This is memorable ambient “orchestral”

music.

Tiina Kiik

Anna Thorvaldsdottir - Ubique

Claire Chase; Cory Smythe; Katinka Kleijn;

Seth Parker Woods

Sono Luminus SL | Editions DSL-92280

(sonoluminus.com/sonoluminus/ubique)

! “Ubique” is a

Latin word meaning

“everywhere” (and

even at every time

too). But Ubique is

also recording of

works by the brilliant

Icelandic

composer Anna

S. Þorvaldsdóttir (or Anna Thorvaldsdottir

to the English-speaking world), which has

added layers of meaning because of its all-star

cast: a stellar quartet led by the generational

wunderkind and Princess Royal of the flute

family: Claire Chase.

Chase has done, for the flutes, what Steve

Lacy did for Sidney Bechet’s beloved soprano

saxophone; what Jimi Hendrix did for the

guitar and Dame Evelyn Glennie has done for

orchestral percussion. Like them Chase has

revolutionised the flute family, changing the

range and scope of each variant, vocalising

the instrument by projecting throat and chest

voices through the flute, employing pizzicato

and percussive multiphonics. In short Chase

can sound like a whole wind section.

The 45-minute Ubique was commissioned

for the tenth cycle of Chase’s Density 2036

project, a 24-year initiative to create new

repertory for the flute, to commemorate the

centennial of Edgard Varèse’s seminal 1936

flute solo Density 21.5. On this iteration Chase

is in vaunted company with the extraordinary

pianist Cory Smythe, and prodigious cellists

Katinka Kleijn and Seth Parker Woods.

Added to that is the expressive lyricism,

spectral mystique, and richly refined

humanity of Thorvaldsdottir’s ingenious

work, and here’s an album that’s nothing

short of miraculous.

Raul da Gama

JAZZ AND IMPROVISED

Dark Moon

Holly Cole

Rumpus Room Records 0246557815

(umusic.ca/products/dark-moon)

! Gifted chanteuse

Holly Cole has just

released her 13th

studio album – a

project that promises

to be one of

her most notable

musical offerings

to date. Cole serves

as producer here and has also assembled

a stellar coterie of musical colleagues that

includes Aaron Davis on piano, George Koller

on bass, Davide DiRenzo on drums, Johnny

Johnson on sax as well as eminent guitarist

Kevin Breit, harmonicist Howard Levy (famed

member of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones),

and the Nashville-inspired harmonic stylings

of the Good Lovelies.

There are 11 exquisitely produced and

performed tracks here, including compositions

from Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer, Bert

Bacharach, Henry Mancini and Peggy Lee –

all presented on a tasty platter of originality,

and the highest musicianship. Steppin’ Out

With My Baby is voiced at the bottom of her

contralto register and supported by sweeping

arco bass lines from Koller; Cole imbues this

classic with a languid, contemporary eroticism.

Moon River is performed with honesty

and pure melodic integrity, while soulful

and facile work from Davis is the icing

on the cake.

Another shining gem is the moving,

re-imagining of Bacharach and David’s

Message to Michael. The forthright arrangement

and Breit’s guitar contribution propel

this Brill Building hit into a contemporary

anthem of loss and longing. The rarely

performed title track is a deft odyssey into

Southern Swing motifs, replete with appropriate

guitar support from Breit as well

as vocal harmonies from the Lovelies that

harken back to the incomparable Boswell

Sisters. Cole’s take on the classic, Walk Away

Renée is another triumph, as well as a fine

piano/vocal duet featuring sublime intonation,

communication and creative entanglement

from Cole and Davis.

Lesley Mitchell-Clarke

Tuesdays at La Rev

Peter Hill; Reg Schwager

Independent (peterhill.bandcamp.com/

album/tuesdays-at-la-rev)

! On Tuesdays

at La Rev, pianist

Peter Hill and

guitarist Reg

Schwager pay

tribute to the late

Indira Nanavati

Cadena, who

provided them with

the opportunity to

develop a musical partnership. As the owneroperator

of La Rev, a Mexican restaurant and

live music venue in Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood,

Cadena was kind and generous to

artists. She booked a weekly residency for Hill

– best-known as an accompanist to countless

Toronto singers – allowing him to stretch

out with fellow instrumentalists. In genius

guitarist Reg Schwager he found a kindred

music spirit: both are men of few words, who

know hundreds – if not thousands – of tunes,

and who share an unwavering dedication to

the jazz tradition.

The eclectic program includes some very

pleasant surprises. The first of these is a

lilting, lyrical take on Mexican composer

Manuel Ponce’s famous aria, Estrellita, likely

a nod to Cadena who was born in Acapulco.

Other highlights include a sentimental

reading on Un Canadien Errant; a bright

version of the oft-forgotten Alice Blue Gown

where Hill’s jaunty piano playing truly shines;

and a Latin take on Cole Porter’s I Love You,

Samantha, which was far less interesting

when Bing Crosby crooned it in the film

High Society.

This sophisticated and spirited recording

will surely warrant repeated listening. On

tunes such as Poor Butterfly, Oh, Lady Be

Good and The Blue Room, words can hardly

do justice to the tantalizing taste of these two

Toronto treasures.

Ori Dagan

East Meets West: Connections - Jean-

Nicolas Trottier and Fred Stone

Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra

Chronograph Records CR-115

(winnipegjazzorchestra.bandcamp.com/

album/east-meets-west-connections)

! Winnipeg has

produced countless

great musicians,

many of

whom leave the

prairie metropolis

for other parts

of the continent.

Those who remain

have curated a vibrant musical community,

taking advantage of a city that is simultaneously

intimate enough to celebrate local

talent, but large enough to provide artists


with opportunities and exposure.

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra marked

their eighth release with East Meets West:

Connections. The album commissioned

composers Fred Stride and Jean-Nicholas

Trottier, from the west and east of the country

respectively, to pen a nine-movement suite

that features the who’s who of Winnipeg

jazz. I had the pleasure of reviewing the

group’s penultimate release Tidal Currents,

which I described as “short but sweet.”

Connections offers listeners an album just shy

of 50 minutes in duration. It flies by, but not

without plenty of musical goodness to sink

one’s teeth into. The suite flows organically,

and eschews track numbers.

Niall Cade plays the first improvised solo

on the album, on Trottier’s Sounds of Joy.

This was my first time hearing Cade, and I’m

sure it won’t be my last. It is tough to feature

everyone as an improviser when the ensemble

is this large, but we are graced with solos

from many unique artists, including pianist

Will Bonness, trumpeter Jonathan Challoner,

and a nylon string guitar solo on The Healing

Song from Larry Roy.

I haven’t named each individual soloist, or

addressed each track of the suite, but a more

chronological description wouldn’t do the

album’s production arc justice. I recommend

this recording to keen contemporary jazz

fans, and suggest listening to it in its entirety.

Each track can stand on its own, but the

album truly flows when heard uninterrupted.

Sam Dickinson

Gravity

Jeremy Ledbetter Trio

Canefire Records WBH003

(jeremyledbetter.com)

! If you’re a

musician or just

have an appreciation

or love for

music, you know

that a “sweet spot”

is when a group

comes to make

music together,

is on the same wavelength and meshes

instantly. It makes for a certain kind of

magic that is perceptible through the music

itself. This musical phenomenon is present

on highly acclaimed pianist, composer and

producer Jeremy Ledbetter’s latest album.

The record has recently won a JUNO for Best

Jazz Recording and features Grammy-award

winning drummer Larnell Lewis as well as

renowned bassist Rich Brown. With a tracklist

of all original compositions penned by

Ledbetter himself, this exhilarating disc is one

for all music-lovers to check out.

The listener is transported into a world

of fiery rhythms and searing melodies

right from the first track, Flight. As the title

suggests, Ledbetter’s digits “fly” over the

keys with modern, captivating chords and

tunes, underpinned by Brown’s tight bass

line and Lewis’ complex beats. The inspiration

for this album comes from Venezuelan

and Trinidadian music which can be heard

within the rhythms and melodies throughout

each song.

The record takes you on both a musical

and cultural journey, introducing the listener

to something completely new while also

somehow managing to create a sense of

familiarity and comfort. A truly experiential

and captivating collection of tunes, we’re left

wanting more and awaiting what this talented

musician comes up with next.

Kati Kiilaspea

Crossing Paths

Renee Rosnes

Smoke Sessions Records SSR-2408

(reneerosnes.bandcamp.com/album/

crossing-paths)

! Illustrious jazz

pianist/composer

Renee Rosnes

has just released

a recording that

has been in her

thoughts for more

than 30 years.

This formidable,

Brazilian-infused project was co-produced by

Rosnes and Paul Stache, and all arrangements

here were created by Rosnes, embracing her

unique perspective on the compositions of

Edu Lobo, Egberto Gismonti, Gaetano Veloso,

Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gilberto Gil and Milton

Nascimento. Rosnes performs on Fender

Rhodes and acoustic piano, surrounded by

a stellar coterie of hand-picked co-creators,

including legendary vocalist/composer

Lobo, vocalist/composer Joyce Mareno and

luminous chanteuse, Maucha Adnet. Noted

instrumentalists here also include John

Patitucci on bass, guitarist Chico Pinheiro,

drummer Adam Cruz, percussionist Rogerio

Boccato, saxophonist Chris Potter, trombonist

Steve Davis and flutist Shelley Brown.

The opening salvo is appropriately

Gismonti’s Frevo (Fever). The tune is based

on marching rhythms from the north of

Brazil, and the complex, rhythmic, melodic

line is presented in rapid fire, with stirring

unison motifs and unfettered soloing from

Rosnes and Pinheiro, while Brown’s expressive

flute enhances the high-energy track.

Next up is Lobo and lyricist Torquato Neto’s

emotional composition Pra Dizer Adeus (To

Say Goodbye), in which Neto’s poignant

lyrics reflect his 1972 suicide. Previously

recorded by over 75 artists, this version

boasts a unison line with Rosnes in duet with

Lobo’s heart-rending vocal performance. A

fine inclusion is Veloso’s Trilhos Urbanos

(Urban Tracks). Veloso and Gil’s importance

to Brazilian music cannot be underestimated,

and Davis’ facile trombone solo enhances the

arrangement. Of special delight is Jobim and

Vinicius de Moraes’ Canta, Canta Mais (Sing,

Sing More) featuring the lovely tones and

meaningful interpretation of Adnet.

Another stand out is Lobo’s classic Casa

Forte. Lobo’s vocal and the free solo sections

(particularly Potter’s soprano solo) make

this one of the finest contributions to this

programme, but every track here is a work

of art – a creative concept germinated and

supremely brought to fruition by Rosnes and

her colleagues.

Lesley Mitchell-Clarke

Roots

Ostara Project

Rhea Records RR CD 00001

(ostaraproject.ca)

! Without context,

given song titles

alone, this music

still conveys so

much. So much

feeling, so much

meaning, so much

narrative, so much

image, and so

much life from every voice within the sixpiece

ensemble. However, the liner notes

provide the context behind each piece and

the overall vision of this album and how the

pieces transform into exploratory reflections

and tributes through sound. For example,

the notes describe how the album’s title,

Roots, takes on a double meaning, referring

to honoring the foundations and experiences

integral to one’s very being, while also resonating

deeply with the welcoming of spring.

Each member contributes at least one of

their own sonic offerings of personal storytelling,

either by composition or arrangement,

and while commonality between these

distinct statements could be reduced to “they

sound seasonal,” the more you listen, the less

reductive that actually becomes. Seasonal

changes are above all else, transitional. In the

case of the coldest season giving way to one

very often associated with emerging colours

and rebirth, that transition becomes emblematic

of new ways of receiving a story. Allison

Au’s 2601, Shruti Ramani’s Rajalakshmi,

Rachel Therrien’s Papa and the collective

improvisation Voyage Sans Retour all honour

specific family members, in a way that feels

transitional between remembrance and the

power of stories to be retold and given new

life. Meanwhile Amanda Tosoff, Jodi Proznick

and Valérie Lacombe honour places, letting us

see/hear for ourselves.

Yoshi Maclear Wall


Dr. Purgatory - The Consumption: A Tragic

Folktale in Six Parts

David Riddel; Aline Homzy; Colleen Allen;

Conrad Glutch; Noah Lemish; Andrew

Downing; Stefan Hegerat

Independent (drpurgatory.bandcamp.com)

! Dr. Purgatory

is the nom de

plume of Toronto

guitarist and

composer David

Riddel who

studied at the U

of T and who has

figured centrally

into several exciting jazz and creative music

fusions in this city over the last ten or

so years.

Assembling a great band of Aline Homzy,

Colleen Allen, Conrad Gluch, Noam Lemish,

Andrew Downing and Stefan Hegerat, Dr.

Purgatory’s second album, The Consumption

(A Tragic Folktale in Six Parts) combines the

influences of Reinier Baas (an Amsterdambased

guitarist and composer with whom

I was unfamiliar until now), the French

impressionist Maurice Ravel, and the

Icelandic singer and composer Björk into an

idiosyncratic, but always musically satisfying

package. Over ten compositions, including

a Prologue, Intermission and Epilogue,

the group traverses what seems like every

improvisatory chamber group subgenre. On

Necropolis, exciting musicianship and wellexecuted

unison lines between the strings and

reeds are employed to great effect. Riddel’s

guitar playing is marvelous throughout, and

includes soaring single note lines, beautiful

wide intervallic solo playing, such as the

beginning of The Philistine, and genre-less

musical improvisations throughout.

Included is a short novella that relates the

folktale in prose,that is explored musically on

the recording so Riddel can now add author

to his already impressive list of credits. The

head-spinning mix of genres represented

here, from Aleister Crowley to Björk to Ravel,

remind me of the post-Third-Stream teaching

and music of Ran Blake, who, like Riddel and

company, somehow managed to coalesce a

dizzying list of disparate influences into an

always impressive and unified whole. I am

not sure if Riddel knows Blake, but I have a

feeling they would find sympatico musical

and philosophical ground. A creative and

thought-provoking new recording.

Andrew Scott

Wind Forms

Greg Burk; Michel Lambert

Tonos Records (gregburk.bandcamp.com/

album/wind-forms)

! This idea of

putting Wind Forms

to music is interesting,

especially

when you pair

piano and drums

and more especially

when the musicians

are as adventurous

as Greg Burk and Michel Lambert. The

“trick” (a word used with caution so as not

to denigrate the musical gestures employed

here) would be to astutely meld the majestic

chordal power of the piano and extend its

percussive possibilities.

This seems easy thanks to the intrepid technical

ingenuity of Burk. Conversely it is the

extension of Lambert’s facility as a percussion

colourist by finding ways to turn the

rolling thunder of the drums and the hissing

of cymbals into the realm of melody and

harmony. These strange bedfellows coalesce in

a dynamic partnership.

The disc gets off to a fiery start with

Scirocco, a searing desert wind that sweeps

across the sand dunes that could scorch

anything in its path. Other ingenious

improvisations may be heard on Aeolian

Awakenings (a clever little play on an

ancient mode), the darkness of the play on

Hamartian (Aristote’s fatal syllogistic flaw)

in which piano and drums incessantly – but

brilliantly – argue musically. And then there

is the majestic Zephyrus, crafted as a wall of

music to recall both the Greek demi-god and

winds heralding the arrival of spring. The

collision of intellectuality with poetic imagery

makes for a wonderful study in improvised

music.

Raul da Gama

Remnants

Roberto Occhipinti

Modica Music (modicamusic.bandcamp.

com/album/remnants)

! It’s not often

that we get to take

a closer, intimate

look at the great

musical mind of

renowned bandleader,

bassist and

composer Roberto

Occhipinti. But

with this latest CD we get to do just that;

featuring previously unreleased tracks, it feels

like we are privy to a new, exclusive foray into

unexplored musical territory. With a musician

as in-demand as Occhipinti, it’s always great

when an album featuring his own compositions

is released. As is often the case with

someone of the bassist’s calibre, the record

features a star-studded list of musicians,

among them Hilario Duran, Luis Deniz, Mark

Kelso and Kevin Turcotte.

Remnants’ tracks are a mix of those

penned by Occhipinti himself, as well as

interesting takes on songs by greats such as

Pat Metheny and Leonard Bernstein. With

the first notes of title track Remnants, we’re

taken into a sultry, mellow musical landscape

where the woes and worries of the world and

winter chills instantly melt away. In contrast,

Occhipinti’s large ensemble arrangement of

Brazilian Hermeto Pascal’s Os Guizos is just

stunning, with flowing string melodies, a

melodious bass solo and fluttering flute tune

showcasing the fabulous musical imagination

of the bassist. Featuring everything

from rhythmic, catchy tunes to slower tempo

passionate ballads, this is a great addition to

any music lover’s collection.

Kati Kiilaspea

Meeting Place - Convergence

OVK3

Modica Music (modicamusic.bandcamp.

com/album/meeting-point)

! This album

features an impeccable

trio playing

beautiful music

where each musician

shines individually,

the air filled

with distinctive

sounds. Pianistcomposer

Manuel Valera contributes seven

out of nine tunes here, each one being a piano

trio’s dream. Left hand countermelodies and

incredible rhythmic emphasis abundantly

bring out the most dynamic of interactive

tendencies within the group. OVK3’s sound

embodies quietude, crispness and brightness

in equal measure, skating briskly across

the liberating open plane of Mark Kelso’s

feathery ride cymbal, always in control, each

hit bringing the picture into more life-like

definition.

Kelso’s rhythmic gestures are open air

and Valera’s ideas are the feeling of sudden

lucidity while Roberto Occhipinti’s lines are

pure butter, in the midst of a constant phase

change each note placed in the most tender of

places with an impossibly fluid throughline.

There is the feeling of comfy tension where

the listener ingests a meal numerous morsels

at a time.

Occhipinti provides an original here, El

Rey, and it is emblematic of something that

never rests or ceases, and yet it leaves a firm,

digestible imprint on the mind. The inclusion

of Soul Eyes, track eight, made this Mal

Waldron fan happy.

Yoshi Maclear Wall


Hommage à Galina Ustvolskaya

Steve Swell’s Imbued With Light

Silkheart SHCD 166 (silkheart.bandcamp.

com/album/hommage-galina-ustvolskaya)

! Surrounded by a

coterie of six fellow

New York improvisers,

trombonist

Steve Swell blends

these players’ tones

to honour the

oeuvre of Russian

composer Galina

Ustvolskaya (1919-2006). A unique homegrown

avant-gardist whose music was often

out of the Kremlin’s favour, her idiosyncratic

creations are saluted by Swell and company

with a nine-section suite influenced by

her sound blocks and frequent triple forte

sequences.

The instrumentation means that these

salutes highlight more than Ustvolskaya’s

favorite motifs like percussive piano dynamics

played by Robert Boston or Chris Hoffman’s

strained spiccato cello slices. Also highlighted

are Sara Schoenbeck’s pinched

bassoon undulations, which introduce

Essential Workers and often harmonize with

Ben Stapp’s tuba burps; as well as Harris

Eisenstadt’s percussion patterning. Swell’s

brass skills contribute as do Herb Robertson’s

trumpet yelps, grace notes or squeaky

toys which produce layered cadences on

Composite #12.

With slurry honks, gutbucket snarls and

speedy note bending, at times in unison

with the other brass, the trombonist puts

an individual stamp on such pieces as

Hammer, Rocks and Toe The Wet Sprocket.

Simultaneously his portamento connections

with metronomic keyboard work and tuba

stops confirm the tunes’ horizontal evolution

– and unexpected marching band resemblances

– despite frequent interludes of

thematic mutation.

This CD should introduce more people to

Ustvolskaya’s works and at the same time

confirm how exceptional the Swell septet’s

tribute to her music is since it’s created with

its own distinctive sounds.

Ken Waxman

Something in the Air

Multiple Musical Sets Celebrate

Different Milestones and

Achievements

KEN WAXMAN

Only a vanity project if designed that way, multiple recordings from a single artist can

offer more than collating obscure or famous souvenirs of a storied career or celebrating

a brace of hits. When it comes to creative music, multiple discs give the creator more

space to showcase original music in one package and a chance for the listener to hear in

complete detail perspectives the individual innovator wishes to present. Dealing with musical

auteurs here, each of these sets serve a different purpose. One is new music attached to

receiving an important artistic honour. Another presents different tranches of a musician’s

oeuvre as he celebrates an important age milestone. The third collects idiosyncratic

performances of wholly original music.

Honouring her as the first non-American recipient of the Lifetime

Achievement award presented annually by New York’s Vision Festival

Lifetime Rebel (RogueArt ROG-0137 rogueart1.bandcamp.com/

album/lifetime-rebel) assembles concerts from French bassist Joëlle

Léandre. Three CDs recorded during the 2023 festivities feature

her with her Tiger Trio of flutist Nicole Mitchell and pianist Myra

Melford; on another with her Roaring Tree group with pianist Craig

Taborn and violist Mat Maneri; and a third matches her bass and

voice with the spoken words of Fred Moten. Another disc, presenting

her Atlantic Ave. Septet, was recorded six months later in France with trombonist Steve Swell,

tenor/soprano saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, violinist Jason Hwang, violist Maneri, cellist Fred

Lonberg-Holm and guitarist Joe Morris. Interestingly enough, every other player featured

is American. These international connections and her unique role in the music world are

touched on, along with other subjects in the included DVD where Léandre, who will be 74 this

year, is interviewed about her long career with first notated and then improvised music, interspaced

with bass solos.

While the interaction with Moten gives Léandre a chance to demonstrate her immediate

response to poetic prompts, Moten’s citing of various jazz heroes within his stream of

consciousness, seemingly disjointed tales about neighborhoods, travel and relationships don’t

really connect to Léandre’s sounds. His poetics seem more fanciful than logical. Moten singing

a snatch of Lush Life comes across as less musical than the yells and yodels Léandre appends

to her string improvisations that reach an early climax as she mumbles and string bumps to

underline his salute to other bass playing avatars.

More balanced, the Tiger Trio improv is swifter and tougher with pieces starting from a

connective centre and moving outwards. Mitchell’s transverse arabesques growl and trill with

the same finesse; her highest notes resembling human vocals while her thickened quavers

balance the bassist’s sul ponticello strokes, which sometimes appear to slice the strings and

wood like a sharp axe blade. Melford’s measured comping means that connection and expression

are never lost and her quick key clips and tingles are dynamic enough to cement forward

motion even as Mitchell peeps and Léandre vocally whoops, mumbles and pants.

The Roaring Tree trio’s set of improvised chamber music is involved in contrapuntal expositions

involving intense keyboard leaps on one side and buzzing pitches from the bass and

viola on the other. Maneri’s strident clipping and spiccato slashes decorate the four tracks’ top

layer while Léandre’s responsive buzzes maintain the bottom. Everything comes to a head on

Roaring Tree #4 where the set’s finale involves moving a portamento piano turnaround into

pedal point with vital arco extensions from the others, as the exposition moves from andante

to allegro to prestissimo.

Latterly, the Atlantic Ave. Septet’s nearly 43-minute performance of Atlantic Ave. #1 captures

a fully realized composition by the bassist which uses the ensemble’s capabilities to broaden

the piece which reflects aspects of her musical persona. Bisected by several tutti interludes


during which the players ascend the scale with confidence, the polyphonic

movement encompasses harmonized, almost romantic

sequences with space for individual expression. Although the five

string players sometimes move as a block, a jazz-like walking bass line

and harsh col legno string banging arise solely from the cellist and

bassist. Hwang and Maneri alternate between swelling unison strokes

and aviary squeaks. Swell’s plunger tones roughen up any string cushioning

as do Laubrock’s thin soprano sax squeaks. Despite sections of

cacophony, Léandre and Swell combine for a break that’s almost

baroque, while the saxophonist’s tenor contributions inject an

element of modern jazz into the piece. Beside her distinctive tough

wood smacks and pizzicato pacing, by the conclusion the bassist

vocalizes her now familiar Bedlam-style grumbles and faux operatic

bel canto cries. Confirming the individuality of her composition, this

quirk is manifest seven-fold at the beginning, the end and at midpoint

as all the musicians vocally mutter, yell, gurgle, laugh and

hector before circling back to their instruments.

Significant birthdays can also be a reason for

exploratory musicians to reflect on their

legacy. To celebrate his 60th birthday last

year Berlin-based composer/improviser

Burkhard Beins has released Eight Duos (Ni

Vu Ni Connu LP 053-055 nivuniconnu.

bandcamp.com/album/eight-duos), whose

eight selections feature his collaboration

with a cross section of the city’s other sound

makers. Beins, who also creates sound installations, has for decades

been involved in the German capital’s evolving Echtzeitmusik or realtime

music scene. Here he varies his instrumentation on every track

bringing out an amplified cymbal, bass drum, snare drum, drum kit,

analog synthesizers, walkie talkie and samples at various times, with

his partners playing acoustically or heavily involved with electronics.

Unleash with pianist Quentin Tolimieri, is probably the closest to jazz.

Using a full kit Beins’ echoes and rattles complement the pianist’s

linear dynamics that slide down the scale and then reverse in such a

manner that Tolimieri’s sudden stops and hammered keys end up as

percussive as Beins’ beats. In contrast Transmission, where Beins’

synthesizer and samples are interlaced with the antennas, receivers

and tape machines of Italian Marta Zapparoli, is solely affiliated to

voltage. The rugged oscillations by both distend to mirrored affiliations

which centre on extensive textures that commingle as widening

electric lawnmower-like drones and unvarying rumbles are only

infrequently pierced by suction-like projections, muffled rocketlaunching

explosions, airy whooshes and backwards flanges and

shakes. The result is almost opaque until the final dissolve. Still the

most characteristic duets involve two individual Echtzeitmusik theoreticians:

idiosyncratic trumpeter Axel Dörner and Andrea Neumann,

who plays inside piano and mixing board. Initially low key, Expansion

blends board hisses and reverb with Neumann’s careful string slides

that meld tolling, buzzing and clipped timbres. Beins’ isolated cymbal

vibrations and strained scratches end with reverberations sounding

like distant thunder. The joint murmurs simultaneously suggest

vibrant colours and crepuscule. A variant of this, Dörner’s technique

on Unlock is to never emphasize a whole note but instead create brass

architecture from half valve spits, hollow strains, toneless breaths,

growly smears and distant whistles. Occasionally side snare scratches

and foreshortened drum top rubs match up with trumpet strategy

combining tongue and palm percussion sizzles.

The oddest sessions here are the two-volume

four-disc Louis Armstrong’s America

Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (ESP 5109/5110 allenloweesp.bandcamp.com/album/louisarmstrongs-america)

performed by tenor

saxophonist Allen Lowe & the Constant

Sorrow Orchestra. Despite what the title

may suggest this isn’t a salute to Satchmo’s

music, but instead 69 unique tunes composed by Lowe that mix the

styles of jazz created during Armstrong’s lifetime (1901-1971). Played

by a total of 24 musicians in different small

groups, the postmodern performances

feature variations of every style from Classic

Jazz to Free Jazz, with pivots into blues and

tinges of rock. A writer as well as a musician

Lowe whose career sideline for cancer

treatment is referenced throughout with

multiple versions of the non-sentimental

ballad I Should Have Stayed Dead, reflects

his POMO orientation in quirky song titles which are inside jokes for

jazz fans. Duke Ellington’s Black and Tan Fantasy becomes Black

and White Fantasy and a jolly march with Ray Suhy’s clanking banjo,

Aaron Johnson’s slippery clarinet and Frank Lacy’s muted trumpet

prominent. Hello Dali, a contrafact of Hello Dolly, joins synthesizer

gurgles, some bebop licks and ends with the famous few notes

from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Under the Weather, a take off

on Armstrong and Earl Hines’ Weatherbird, rolls along with pianist

Loren Schoenberg emulating Hines’ swift and splattering patterns

and Lowe’s slippery Swing Era sax solo. A salute to an early ragtime

popularizer Mr. Harney Turn Me Loose has pianist Matthew Shipp

melding his free jazz timing to a raggy beat; while Shufflin’ The Deck

(Take 5, Please) turns the Dave Brubeck quartet’s Take Five into a

simple shuffle as Johnson languidly and pianist Jeppe Zeeberg vigorously

create a Bizarro version of Brubeck/Paul Desmond duets. When

Dave Schildkraut Goes Marching In blends When The Saints featuring

slap bass and banjo with hard tenor sax riffs and bass drum accents

in the style of the obscure bop saxophonist of the title. Meanwhile

guitarist Marc Ribot adds his searing rock-blues flanges on tunes like

Riot On The Sunset Strip – named for the 1967 drug exploitation film

– where Lowe quotes Lonely Avenue within his slurpy, honking solo.

Trombonist Ray Anderson comes across as the session’s MVP, adding

modernized gutbucket slurs and rippling tailgate extensions mated

with Johnson’s clarion Trad clarinet on Back Home Rag; and contrasts

his basement plunger tones with tap-dancing like drumming on Mr.

Jenkins Lonely Orphan Band a take off on both Sgt. Pepper’s and the

New Orleans orphanage band where Louis Armstrong learned to play

cornet. There’s even a sly salute to modern notated music with John

Cage Turns the Page (or: 3:02) where Lowe and company burlesque

Cage’s infamous “silent” piece by shaking loosened strings, slapping

piano wood, muffle drum pops, advance brief reed cries and above all

noisily shred and crunch paper.

Multiple sets can be used by musicians to celebrate honours, notable

age milestones or to express multiple ideas without having to précis a

musical vision. All are equally valid.

What we're listening to this month:

54 CHALEURS

Quasar saxophone quartet

55 Phoenix Rising

Angel Wang & Phoenix Orchestra

55 Alive

John Puchiele Ensemble

56 Tuesdays At La Rev

Peter Hill & Reg Schwager



Experience the opera that inspires conversation.

MISSING

OPERA-IN-CONCERT

July 24 at 7:30pm

Koerner Hall

Missing is a groundbreaking and deeply

moving chamber opera that gives voice

to one of Canada’s most urgent human

rights issues: Missing and Murdered

Indigenous Women and Girls.

Created by Métis playwright Marie Clements

and JUNO Award-winning composer

Brian Current, this unforgettable 80-minute

work tells the emotional story of two women

— an Indigenous woman known only as

“Native Girl”, who disappears, and Ava,

a non-Indigenous law student whose life is

forever altered by their tragic connection.

Critics call it:

“shatteringly emotional”

“something every Canadian should see”

Buy your tickets now and witness

a story that must be told.

TOSUMMERMUSIC.COM

Marion Newman,

MEZZO-SOPRANO

JULY 10 – AUGUST 2

Jonathan Crow, Artistic Director

We’ve got your July covered at the Toronto Summer Music Festival!

18 Mainstage concerts 15 Free concerts

Learn about our Academy

Meet our Fellows Meet our Mentors

TOSUMMERMUSIC.COM 416-408-0208

Volume 30 Issue 6 | July & August 2025

Transform your PDFs into Flipbooks and boost your revenue!

Volume 30 Issue 6 | July & August 2025

Transform your PDFs into Flipbooks and boost your revenue!

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