Volume 31 Issue 1

VOLUME 31 NO 1

SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2025

MUSIC!

LISTINGS

live and livestreamed

STORIES

profiles, previews

and interviews

RECORD REVIEWS

and Listening Room

26

BLUE

th ANNUAL

PAGES

26th Annual

Directory of

presenters

and venues

Zarankin & Perkis

Off Centre

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SEASON OPENER

SELLING

FAST!

MOZART 40

& SCHUBERT 5

Directed by Rachel Podger

Critics were quick to notice the “special

chemistry” (Barcza Blog) between Tafelmusik

and Principal Guest Director Rachel Podger,

who returns for the opening concerts of our

2025/26 Season with Mozart’s extraordinary

Symphony no. 40 and Schubert’s sunny

Symphony no. 5—an exhilarating season opener!

Sept 26–28, 2025

Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre for

Performance and Learning

tafelmusik.org/mozart40

VIVALDI’S

WORLD

Directed by Lina Tur Bonet

Rachel Podger by Broadway Studios

No one who attended Lina Tur Bonet’s

Tafelmusik debut in 2024 could possibly forget

her exuberant, gorgeous playing and intense

rapport with the orchestra. In her hands, Vivaldi’s

high-voltage concerto “Il Grosso Mogul” is as

startlingly fresh, inventive, and virtuosic to our

ears today as it was at its debut.

Oct 23–26, 2025

Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’sCentre

tafelmusik.org/vivaldisworld

Season

Presenting

Sponsor

FUNDED BY

THE CITY OF TORONTO

3106_Cover.indd 1

2025-09-12 1:23 PM

The WholeNote

VOLUME 31 NO 1


EDITORIAL

Publisher/Editor in Chief | David Perlman

publisher@thewholenote.com

editorial@thewholenote.com

ON OUR COVER

Volume 31 No 1 | September & October 2025

Recordings Editor | David Olds

discoveries@thewholenote.com

Listings Editor | John Sharpe

listings@thewholenote.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

Danial Jazaeri, Colin Story

social@thewholenote.com

SALES, MARKETING & MEMBERSHIP

Advertising & Memberships | Karen Ages

advertising@thewholenote.com

members@thewholenote.com

Production & Operations | Jack Buell

jack@thewholenote.com

Advertising Art

adart@thewholenote.com

WEBSITE / SYSTEMS

Danial Jazaeri, Kevin King

systems@thewholenote.com

CIRCULATION

circulation@thewholenote.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS

subscriptions@thewholenote.com

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reported on or advertised in this issue.

Zarankin & Perkis

Off Centre

PHOTO: MARCEL CANZONA

6 FOR OPENERS | Not a rant, for once |

DAVID PERLMAN

STORIES & INTERVIEWS

8 COVER STORY | Definitely still

off centre | DAVID PERLMAN

10 COMMUNITY + MUSIC |

Ancestors Voices, Culture

Days, and more |

MJ BUELL

12 IN WITH THE NEW | The Art

of Improv at Annette |

WENDALYN BARTLEY

15

VOLUME 31 NO 1


MUSIC!

LISTINGS

live and livestreamed

STORIES

profiles, previews

and interviews

RECORD REVIEWS

and Listening Room

26

BLUE

th ANNUAL

PAGES

26th Annual

Directory of

presenters

and venues

“… which brings me to the film that sits at the centre of

this season. It’s a full-length documentary titled Chopin’s

Preludes: A Life in Fragments, and I had the opportunity to

view a cut of it (the latest but certainly not the last), courtesy

the filmmaker Marcel Canzona. The idea of it is as twisty

and well-wrought as a trademark Off Centre salon. In Boris

Zarankin’s words it’s about “the ways that Chopin’s Preludes

intersect with our lives … an exciting hybrid film that blends

live performance with our own immigrant story.” The photos

we chose for our cover, and for the story itself, are both stills

from that film.”

(See page 9)

15 MUSIC THEATRE |

Dave Malloy’s OCTET

comes to Crow’s |

JENNIFER PARR

18 FOR THE RECORD | Afrokando:

Alexis Baro Y La Big Band |

GLORIA BLIZZARD

20 MUSIC AND HEALTH | When

Music Meets Mindfulness |

VANIA CHAN

COPYRIGHT © 2025 WHOLENOTE MEDIA INC

WN

WHOLENOTE

MEDIA INC.

4 | September & October 2025 thewholenote.com

THE BLUE PAGES

21 Our 26th ANNUAL

DIRECTORY OF

MUSIC MAKERS

LISTINGS

34 EVENTS BY DATE

Live and/or online

42 MAINLY CLUBS

43 MUSIC THEATRE,

OPERA, DANCE

44 ETCETERAs

DISCOVERIES:

RECORDINGS REVIEWED

46 Editor’s Corner | DAVID OLDS

48 Strings Attached |

TERRY ROBBINS

50 Vocal

50 Classical and Beyond

51 Modern and Contemporary

52 Jazz and Improvised

54 Jazz from the Archives

19

thewholenote.com September & October 2025 | 5

The WholeNote

VOLUME 31 NO 1

SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2025

IN THIS EDITION

STORIES AND INTERVIEWS

Wendalyn Bartley, Gloria Blizzard, MJ Buell,

Vania Chan, Jennifer Parr, David Perlman

CD Reviewers

Stuart Broomer, Ori Dagan, Sam Dickinson,

Michael Doloschell, Raul da Gama, Richard Haskell,

Tiina Kiik, Kati Kiilaspea, Lesley Mitchell-Clarke,

David Olds, Terry Robbins, Andrew Scott,

Michael Schulman, Yoshi Maclear Wall,

Ken Waxman.

Proofreading

David Olds, Ted Parkinson, John Sharpe

Listings Team

John Sharpe, Kevin Harris, Gary Heard,

Kevin King, Sophia Perlman

Design Team

Kevin King, Susan Sinclair

Circulation Team

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

Bruno Difilippo, Carl Finkle, Vito Gallucci,

James Harris, Bob Jerome, Marianela Lopez,

Miguel Brito-Lopez, Chris Malcolm,

Sheila McCoy, Lorna Nevison, Janet O’Brien,

Tom Sepp

DEADLINES

Weekly Online Listings Updates

6pm every Thursday for the following Thursday

Print listings deadline:

for Volume 31 No. 2, Nov 1 – DEC 31 2025

6pm Thursday, Oct 9, 2025

Print advertising, reservation deadline:

6pm Tuesday, Oct 7, 2025

Web advertising can be booked at any time

PUBLICATION DATES

OUR 31st SEASON

includes six print editions:

Vol 31 no 1 | September 16, 2025

Vol 31 no 2 | November 1, 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.

Printed in Canada

Couto Printing & Publishing Services

FOR OPENERS

Not a rant, for once

Our most faithful readers have grown accustomed to me sounding off indignantly in

this spot, on one subject or another. So rest assured. This time I have resolved to be

useful by pointing out a couple of things in this issue that you might otherwise not

give the attention they deserve.

The first is our BLUE PAGES annual directory of presenters and venues – tucked in just

ahead of our daily listings, starting on page 21. There are 64 profiles in print this issue, with

more to follow in the November/December issue. They are in alphabetical order, which if you

think about it, is as random as you can get, if you are looking for something specific –

a specific genre, for example.

But the thing they do give you, if you browse from beginning to end, is a tantalizing taste

of the range of music on offer in what have been to this point in time, our areas of greatest

strength. It’s not the easiest way to find what you already know you are interested in. But it’s

a great way to stumble across things it might never have occurred to you to explore.

Beyond that, please take a look at the introduction to this year’s directory, on page 21,

because it explains how the support of our Blue Pages members helps us honour the most

fundamental pledge we made to our readers 30 years ago – that “we would offer free daily

concert listings to as broad a spectrum of presenters as possible – a service not only to our

readers but to the live music community at large.”

The second is our DAILY LISTINGS – over 70,000 in the last twelve years alone, and

increasing in numbers, and the range of music covered, with every issue, and becoming

more and more difficult to do justice to in print alone – especially given the fact that, as our

listings editor, John Sharpe, explains in his note to readers on page 34, “our new bimonthly

print cycle reduces the usefulness of the listings themselves [because] too much gets

announced between issues for us to be able to keep up with the constant inflow of new listings.”

And because printing listings in the detail to which our most devoted print readers

have become accustomed “pushes up the cost of print, unsustainably” leaving us unable to

find space for all the stories we would like to be able to run.

Consequently, starting with this issue we have significantly reduced the level of detail in

the individual listings – specifically descriptions of repertoire and names of performers.

We have not stopped collecting this information. And will not do so. It is available on our

website (where it can also be sorted in ways impossible to do in print), and even more useful,

you can sign up for our weekly listings update which goes out by email every Thursday. Close

to 5,000 readers have already signed up. All the details about how to do so are also on page

34, immediately following John Sharpe’s note.

For the rest, all that remains here is to wish you all the joy and sustenance that live and

recorded music can offer. We are glad to be around to assist in getting out the word.

David Perlman, publisher@thewholenote.com

T'KARONTO

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.

an Ontario government agency

un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario


KOERNER HALL

2025.26 CONCERT SEASON

PRESENTING PERFORMANCE PARTNER:

Stephen Kovacevich,

piano

SUN. OCT. 5, 3PM KOERNER HALL

TICKETS START AT $50

Piano sonatas by Brahms,

Beethoven, and Schubert

Series generously supported by

Michael Foulkes & Linda Brennan

Concert generously supported

from The Estate of

Claudia Krawchuk

Generous additional support

provided from The Michael

and Sonja Koerner Fund for

Classical Programming

Royal Conservatory

Orchestra with

conductor

JoAnn Falletta

Jonathan Alter, piano

FRI., OCT, 10, 8PM KOERNER HALL


The Grammy Award-winning

conductor leads the Royal

Conservatory Orchestra in a

thrilling program of works by

John Adams, Ludwig van Beethoven,

and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Part of the Temerty Orchestral Program

Matthias Goerne

with Daniil Trifonov

THU. OCT. 16, 7PM

KOERNER HALL


Hear these titans of the classical

world perform an unforgettable

rendition of Schubert’s masterpiece,

Winterreise.

Generously supported by

Deanne & Joseph Bogdan and

Michelle Koerner & Kevin Doyle

Generous additional support provided

from The Michael and Sonja Koerner Fund

for Classical Programming

An Intimate Evening

with Renée Fleming

Voice Of Nature: The

Anthropocene Concert

With the Royal Conservatory

Orchestra conducted by

Robert Moody

SAT. NOV. 01, 7:30PM

KOERNER HALL


PRESENTING SPONSOR:

DINNER SUPPORTER:

Generously supported in Memory of Gary Miles

Generous additional support provided from

The Michael and Sonja Koerner Fund


Kyung Wha Chung

with Kevin Kenner

SUN., NOV. 9, 3PM

KOERNER HALL


The legendary violinist is joined

by long-time sonata partner

Kevin Kenner to perform

works by Debussy, Schubert,

Schoenberg, and Franck.

Generous support provided from



Ray Chen with

Julio Elizalde

SUN., APRIL 7, 2PM

KOERNER HALL


Works by Beethoven, Bach,

Saint-Saëns, Bazzini, Dvořák,

and Chick Corea. “Ray Chen

can do pretty much anything

he wants on the violin.”

(The Washington Post)

Generous support provided from



TICKETS & SUBSCRIPTIONS ON SALE NOW! 416.408.0208 RCMUSIC.COM/PERFORMANCE

237 BLOOR STREET WEST

(BLOOR ST. & AVENUE RD.) TORONTO

COVER STORY

STILL DEFINITELY

OFF CENTRE

INNA PERKIS AND

BORIS ZARANKIN

DAVID PERLMAN

Boris Zarankin and Inna Perkis

The last time Inna Perkis and Boris Zarankin were on

the cover of The WholeNote was in October 2004.

Their Off Centre salon series had just turned ten,

and so had The WholeNote. A tenth anniversary felt like

a big deal back then, so we chatted about it, at quite some

length. And right at the end of the chat one of them,

probably Inna but I am not sure, brought the conversation

to a triumphant close (like the final flourish in a Perkis-

Zarankin piano four-hander) by saying “and … we have a

notebook with program ideas for the next twenty years.”

And the other nodded and smiled.

Truth be told, I can never quite tell from my notes after interviewing

them, which of them said what. It’s a bit like watching a couple of people

playing a cooperative racquet game, batting half sentences back and forth,

with the objective of keeping the narrative alive rather than scoring points.

Not so different, come to think of it, from the piano four hands artistry

that has been at the core of Off Centre Salon’s identity from the get-go.

Here’s an example of the batting back-and-forth, from the very

beginning of our previous conversation in October 2004.

WholeNote: Why Off Centre?

Boris: Well we started in Markham so you could say that was definitely

off centre …

Inna: Definitely!

Boris: …but of course also in the sense of not usual, so therefore

room to experiment.

Inna: Exactly. The moment we become “in the square” and proper

we will have failed.

Boris: So ten years ago we were in Markham; the first three salons

were there.

Inna: It was the hall of a music store

Boris: Euromusic. After that, the audience was already too big and

we moved to the Arts and Letters Club for three, or was it four …?

Inna: It was three

Boris: seasons.

Inna: And then to the Glenn Gould.

Boris: Which is where we are still.

Inna: For the next twenty years.

(They both laugh.)

Twenty years later, they are no longer at the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio.

Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre on Bloor St. has become their new haven.

So, are you still getting ideas from that notebook? I ask. Indeed

they are. And they rhyme them off for me. “October 19, Poulenc’s Le

bal masqué ; December 14, Rimsky Korsakov’s chamber opera Mozart

and Salieri; March 14, Debussy’s Afternoon of the Faun (Ravel’s fourhand

arrangement). A full length feature film …and, what else? Ah yes,

mentoring.’’

But it’s not like crossing off items on a bucket list, they tell me.

“Every notebook idea is just an embryo which has to grow into something

bigger and complex and this is a process. We look at each

concert as an equation with many unknowns becoming a puzzle

where everything is tight and fits together perfectly.”

As to what constitutes a “perfect fit” at an Off Centre salon, one

thing is certain. It is always more than just how the music fits

together. It’s about evoking how that musical program might unfold

in the context of the salon – a room where the boundaries between

performer and audience are fluid, and music is just one medium in

the swirl of ideas evoked by the occasion. And, of course, there is

always a piano at the heart of the room, whether it be a Viennese

Bösendorfer or the Yamaha in the recital hall at Euromusic.

It is a vision that has been with them since the transitional year

they spent in Vienna, after emigrating from Russia in 1978. “The mix

of people all bringing their background disciplines, medicine or philosophy

or art or whatever to it. Right from [the beginning] the inspiration

was there: how can we, someday, bring this energy back to the

concert form.”

Emerging from the maelstrom: One example of this energetic blend

of song, reading, commentary and virtuosic musicianship has stuck

with me, even after 20 years. It was a concert in January of 2004 based

on the connection between composers and their doctors: Mozart and

Mesmer, Brahms and Billroth, Rachmaninov and Dr Dahl. As Perkis

and Zarankin explained at the time,“It so happens that Brahms’ Piano

Trio Opus 101 was dedicated to and first performed in the salon of

one Dr. Billroth, a talented musician and friend of the composer’s. We

went from there.”

How they “went from there” is of course where the hard work

and the magic come into it. David Goldbloom, a professor of psychiatry

at U of T, and a talented pianist, was one of several speakers

that night. (He was also, by then, the chair of the Off Centre Board,

and a firm believer). “There’s something very invigorating in seeing

how each Salon in its final form emerges from the maelstrom…It is an

immensely stimulating association,” he said.


MARCEL CANZONA

You can see the same “off centre” thinking

happening this season if you look at how the

first couple of works they mentioned earlier

fit the programs they are part of. Poulenc’s Le

bal masqué is part of a program titled “From

Melancholy to Surrealism, with Laughter in

Between” that traces a path from the world of

Schubert via Poulenc to Ravel. “Life + Death,

Genius + Jealousy” is the context for Rimsky-

Korsakov’s Mozart and Salieri, with an

emphatic side order: Mussorgsky’s Songs and

Dances of Death.

What they make of each of these programs

as they find their way into a perfected fixed

form remains to be seen. It can only truly

come to life in the mix of people, audience

and performers alike, gathered around

their piano.

Which brings me to the film that sits at the

centre of this season. It’s a full-length documentary

titled Chopin’s Preludes: A Life in

Fragments, and I had the opportunity to view

a cut of it (the latest but certainly not the last),

courtesy the filmmaker Marcel Canzona. The

idea of it is as twisty and well-wrought as a

trademark Off Centre salon. In Zarankin’s words it’s about “the ways

that Chopin’s Preludes intersect with our lives … an exciting hybrid

film that blends live performance with our own immigrant story.”

The photos we chose, for our cover and for the story itself, are both

stills from that film.

One topic remains to touch on,

the last item in their “from

the notebook” list rhymed off

earlier – namely mentoring.

They’ve been doing it for years,

informally, in the array of young

performers and collaborators

they have drawn into the orbit of

their piano. You have only to look

at the already-confirmed cast for

the unabashedly celebratory 30th

Anniversary Gala that concludes

the of the season in June to get

a sense of how widely they have

cast their net.

But this year something is

different. Look for the name Mira

Kardan in the lineup for each

of the concerts in the season.

Kardan, a cellist in the Glenn

Gould School of Music at the

Royal Conservatory, is Off Centre’s

Artist-in-Residence for the year.

It’s yet another big idea in embryo

– to turn this one-off residency

into a formal ongoing partnership

with the Glenn Gould School and

Taylor Academy.

After all, if there’s to be

another Off Centre notebook

with 20 years worth of ideas

in it, it will be because the

torch, and the notebook, have

been passed, at some point, to

another generation.

David Perlman can be reached

at publisher@thewholenote.com

Mira Kardan

The WholeNote,

October 2004

AMY HILLIS: ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

OCTOBER 9, 2025 | 1.30 PM

KAROLINE PODOLAK

Karoline Podolak, soprano

Rachael Kerr, piano

NOVEMBER 13, 2025 | 1.30 PM

MAXWELL QUARTET

Colin Scobie, violin; George Smith, violin

Elliott Perks, viola; Duncan Strachan, cello

MARCH 5, 2026 | 1.30 PM

VC2 CELLO DUO

Bryan Holt, cello

Amahl Arulanandam, cello

WITH: Amy Hillis, violin

APRIL 2, 2026 | 1.30 PM

STÉPHANE TÉTREAULT

Stéphane Tétreault, cello

Denis Plante, bandoneon

AND: Chloé Dumoulin, piano

MAY 7, 2026 | 1.30 PM

FIERBOIS

Caitlin Broms-Jacobs, oboe

Madeline Hildebrand, piano

WORLD PREMIERE OF WMCT COMMISSION

BY DAVID BRAID

Ticket Orders

By phone: 416-923-7052

Online: www.wmct.on.ca

Subscriptions: $200 | Single tickets: $50

Accompanying Caregivers | Students with ID: Free admission at the door

Walter Hall, University of Toronto, Faculty of Music

80 Queen's Park (Museum Subway)

2025

2026

wmct@wmct.on.ca

www.wmct.on.ca

416-923-7052


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Stttttttteeeeeeeep

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COMMUNITY + MUSIC

NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH

AND RECONCILIATION

CMEC announces

Adrian Sutherland

as featured artist

for “Ancestors Voices”

MJ BUELL

The Coalition for Music Education in Canada has

announced that Adrian Sutherland is the featured

artist for this year’s “Ancestors Voices: Music and

Learning for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation”

and that his all-Cree song Kiyash will be shared coast

to coast to coast, inviting students to learn about truth,

reconciliation, and the power of music as storytelling.

Launched in September of 2024, Ancestors Voices is a curriculumbased

initiative that amplifies Indigenous voices in classrooms across

Canada, bringing Indigenous artists and their songs into Canadian

classrooms, along with lesson plans and activities about the history

of residential schools – honouring the children who never returned

home, the survivors, and all others whose lives were impacted.

“I’m proud to have been chosen to share my all-Cree song Kiyash with

thousands of students and educators across the country, who are using

music as a tool for learning. As a musician from Attawapiskat. I believe

music carries our stories, our language, and our spirit. I hope this song

inspires young people to learn and to walk together in love and respect.”

Music serves as a vital tool for storytelling and healing in Indigenous

cultures, and each year, the coalition partners with a different

Indigenous artist so that music can be part of the National Day

for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30), while the coalition

continues to build a library of year-round resources for educators that

blends education, music, and cultural storytelling.

“I’m proud to have been chosen to share my all-Cree song Kiyash with

thousands of students and educators across the country, who are using

music as a tool for learning. As a musician from Attawapiskat. I believe

music carries our stories, our language, and our spirit. I hope this song

inspires young people to learn and to walk together in love and respect.”

“Ancestors Voices uses music as a bridge to foster empathy, cultural

understanding, and dialogue about truth and reconciliation,” says

Stacey Sinclair, executive director of the coalition. “Our vision is to

honour Indigenous voices and knowledge keepers through music and

storytelling, while inspiring the next generation with messages of

healing, hope, and unity.”

NADYA KWANDIBENS

Taaakeeeee muuussiiiccaaal wiiittthhh

Take a musical aaa journey joooouuurnneeeeeyy with

ttthhheeeee yyoooouuunng vooooiiicceeeeess oooof ttthhheeeee.........

the young voices of the...

Toronto Children’s Chorus

Songs of

the Forest

225tttttthhhhh | 3:0000ppmmm

Occcttttttoooooobbeeeeeerrrr

Unnniitttttteeeeeed Chhhhhurrrrccchhhhh

Meeeeeettttttrrrrooooooppoooooollliittttttaannn

Songs of

the Season

14tttttthhhhh | 22:0000ppmmm

Deeeeeeccceeeeeemmmbbeeeeeerrrr

Thhhhhoooooommmsoooooonnn Haallllll

Rooooooy

MMoooviiee MMooomeenttss:

Nostalgic Movie Moments:

Nooossttalgiic

Tiiicccckeeettttsss aaaavaaaaiiilllaaaabllleee aaaatttt wwwwwwwww .ttttooooorrrooooonnttttooooocccchhiiillldrrreeennssscccchhooooorrrusss .ccccooooom


Adrian Sutherland is an award-winning, prolific professional musician

who has made a number of recordings and is about to publish a

book (December 2025) about his extraordinary life in the north: The

Work of Our Hands: a Cree Meditation on the Real World. He lives in

a remote fly-in First Nation – Attawapiskat on James Bay. Sutherland’s

music is a rich mix of roots, rock, folk, and blues, drawing inspiration

from his life, the land, and his Cree language and culture “Kiyash”,

which means “before” in Cree, is featured on his 2024 recording

Precious Diamonds. “Kiyash is about our ancestors who once walked

this land, and how we see signs of them everywhere we go. It’s a

reminder about how wonderful the earth is, and that we’re only here

for a short time so why not spread the love.”

The Coalition for Music Education is a national organization

dedicated to ensuring that all children in Canada have access to the

powerful benefits of learning and making music. “Music Monday”, in

May, is another of their initiatives.

ANNOUNCING OUR 25/26

Concert Season

ALSO...

Indigenous Legacy Gathering Toronto Council

Fire Native Cultural Centre

A vibrant celebration of Indigenous culture, community,

and intergenerational connection, held at Nathan Phillips

Square. Experience a day filled with traditional drumming,

dancing, and teachings, as well as live performances and ceremonies

that honour our shared histories and futures. Explore

artisan booths, community services, and cultural organizations

showcasing their work and stories. Admission: Free for

all attendees.

Mon Sep 29 & Tues Sep 30

councilfire.ca

Orange After Dark: An Orange Shirt Day Show

NEECHI BY NATURE

A Truth & Reconciliation Day after-party featuring

Indigenous music, fashion, and poetry. Presented by this allages

event takes place at the Poetry Jazz Café (1078 Queen

Street West) from 8:00 PM to 11:30 PM (doors open at

7:00 PM). Expect performances across hip hop, R&B, soul, jazz,

as well as an Indigenous streetwear showcase and community

photo ops.

Tues Sep 30

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/orange-after-dark

MUSIC + COMMUNITY continues on page 55

Resonance

Oct 25, 2025

Children’s

Messiah

Nov 29, 2025

Christmas

Through the Ages

Dec 3 & 6, 2025

Arkel

CHAMBER

CONCERTS

Marie Bérard - Winona Zelenka

Saint Nicolas

Apr 18, 2026

Darkness

to Light

May 30, 2026

CHOOSE YOUR PRICE

$40 l $20 l $10

www.paxchristichorale.org

NOVEMBER 9th ‘25, 3 pm

Affetuoso

Eric Abramovitz, Clarinet

Coleridge-Taylor Quintet Op. 10

Beethoven / Price / Kodály

MAY 31st ‘26, 3 pm

Grand Romance

Enesco Octet for Strings in C Major, Op. 7

Strauss sextet from Cappriccio

Haydn Quartet Op. 33 No. 1

MARCH 22nd ‘26, 6 pm

Four Temperaments

Monica Whicher, Soprano

Hindemith Mélancholie

Borodin / Goddard

Season Sponsors

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IN WITH THE NEW

New Voices, Intimate Venues

THE ART OF IMPROV AT ANNETTE

WENDALYN BARTLEY

Now that the fall season has arrived, it’s a good time

to dig into what’s new on the horizon, especially in

venues that may be less familiar but offer unique

possibilities for creative music-making. One such place in

Toronto’s west end is the Annette Studios, which will host

The Art of Improv on September 28, a series launched in

2023 by musicians Bill Gilliam and Eugene Martynec.

Their goal is to invite artists with distinctive approaches to improvisation

to join them for an evening of collaboration. I recently talked

with Gilliam, Martynec and invited guest composer-guitarist John

Gzowski about their September show, which will bring Gilliam and

Martynec together in the first set with a guest still to be announced,

and in the second set with Gzowski and dancer Julia Aplin.

Gzowski and Aplin, as a husband-and-wife team, have been collaborating

for more than 30 years. Their most recent performance

took place in Hamilton at McMaster’s LIVELab, a hybrid performance

venue and psychology research centre, where they worked with

LIVElab founder Dr. Laurel Trainor, artist-engineer Jim Ruxton, and

playwright Anna Chatterton. They incorporated biomedical testing

tools, working with motion capture, EEG and EKG data, video, sound

and lighting.

In other recent projects, Gzowski composed the score for Hamlet,

directed by Robert Lepage, and for the Mahabharata, presented by

Whynot Theater. For the September concert, he will be performing

on his Moog electric guitar and laptop electronics, and together with

John Gzowski and Julia Aplin

Aplin, they will bring an assortment of homemade instruments and

found objects into the mix.

Eugene Martynec has had a long career as a composer and record

producer, and for decades he has explored the cutting edge of musical

technology. These days he’s working with Midiax, a software program

that lets him improvise live using just a computer mouse. Originally

developed as one of the first sequencing programs for the Atari STE,

Midiax remains central to his practice. “What I’ve done over the years

is assemble what I call scenarios—basically timbres or instrument

sounds that I think work well together—and I’ve married them to

Mouse Gestures, which come with the program. It’s very interactive,

and I’m able to change things quickly, so I can react to other players. It

makes me feel like I’m actually playing an instrument.”

When improvising with Gilliam and the series’ guests, Martynec

chooses sounds that complement the instruments at hand. Over the

past four years, he and Gilliam have also formed a trio with flute

player Bill McBurnie, releasing several albums and developing a

distinctive musical language.

Bill Gilliam focuses on piano performance, expanding the instrument’s

sonic palette using mallets, brushes, ping-pong balls and other

objects placed inside the instrument, blending its altered sounds with


those of the other musicians. At times, he

augments the piano with samplers and

loop stations, enabling him to process

sounds live and further extend his

improvisational vocabulary.

His partnership with Martynec was

inspired by their time in the Toronto

Improvisers Orchestra, after which they

decided to focus on working with smaller

groups in duos and trios. They began by

inviting artists with a unique vision of

improvisation. Annette Studios provides

the perfect setting: a fine piano, a dance

floor, and space for about forty people.

They present concerts three or four

times a year, keeping the series artist-driven and paying guest musicians

from door receipts. Attendance has been steadily growing with

an expanding following. Gilliam noted that at their spring concert

they invited Christine Duncan and the Element Choir—the choir’s

first performance since COVID. I attended that evening, and it was

an exhilarating experience to hear both Duncan and the choir create

spontaneous music that also built a sense of community, by speaking

directly to the audience, sharing their unique point of view on

the process.

Why improvisation? For Gilliam, “pretty much everything I create

starts with improvisation. It has that element of discovery and

newness. As composers, we’re always looking for new approaches

and exploring new languages,” he says. Gzowski agrees: “Composing

and improvisation are pretty much the same thing, just happening at

different speeds.”

He recalls hearing Casey Sokol, a long-time member of the CCMC,

the Music Gallery’s original improvising ensemble. “[Casey] could

From left: Bill Gilliam, Eugene Martynec and Kye Marshall

improvise something that sounded like a composed piece. That’s the

goal. To create something on the fly that is as well thought out as if

you’d taken the time to write it. Some things are harder to notate than

others but easier to create.”

Martynec echoes these thoughts, saying that for him, improvisation

always comes first. He likes to “fool around” with sounds for a while

to develop techniques he can draw on later. Because there’s nothing

tactile about the instrument he works with, he tries to “get inside the

sound to feel as if I’m manipulating it.” Those experiments then carry

into the live situation.

Kye Marshall: The first set of the evening was to have been an

opportunity for Martynec to join again with his longtime friend Mark

Gane – a rock guitarist with an experimental edge and a flair for

improvisation, and a founding member of the band Martha and the

Muffins – but Gane is no longer available. At the last minute, cellist

Kye Marshall, no stranger to Art of Improv, has agreed to step in,

and will be joining Gilliam and Martynec for the first set. Whatever

unfolds in that set instead will one way or another still provide a great


October 4, highlights his Suite for Solo Guitar, and the final concert

on October 25 brings cellist Sybil Shanahan together with Battenberg

and Danbrook for a celebratory close to the trilogy.

Tracing Hollow Traces: Andile Khumalo

segue into the second set. After all, as Gilliam noted in our interview,

these improvisations can turn into one long piece, or several shorter

ones, depending on the moment. That’s the appeal and magic of this

way of creating music together.

Music in Unexpected Places

The Tranzac: Another newer voice in Toronto’s music landscape

is Slow Rise Music, a concert series founded in 2021 by vocalist and

curator McKenzie Warriner together with composer-performer

Tristan Zaba. Their aim is to connect the city’s vocal and experimental

music communities, encouraging unlikely encounters and adventurous

collaborations. On September 27 and 28, their concert Collideo-Scope

will feature singer Samantha Selci alongside an ensemble of

saxophone, tape loops, electric guitar, jazz piano, bass, and drums.

Adding a physical dimension to this mix will be martial artist Alex

Machete, offering another chance to experience the interplay of sound

and movement. The venue is the Tranzac Club, an essential hub

for Toronto’s ever-expanding range of music and performance. The

concert will also be available via livestream.

Danforth Mennonite: Continuing the theme of intimate venues

where new music flourishes, Mark Battenberg Music offers a series of

concerts celebrating the arrival of autumn. A composer, guitarist, and

community builder, Battenberg is devoted to creating shared spaces

where meditative, elemental-themed music invites reflection and

connection. This season he presents his Autumn Trilogy of Music in

three parts at Danforth Mennonite Church. The first, on September 20,

features Battenberg on guitar with Debbie Danbrook on shakuhachi

flute performing his original compositions. Part Two, on

Kitchener-Waterloo: Hopping over to the Kitchener-Waterloo

area, The Douglas Haas Legacy Concerts are a longstanding series

of midday performances held at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.

For decades, the series has presented a range of artists and ensembles

in an intimate, community-oriented setting. On September 24,

three compositions by Carol Ann Weaver will be featured. Weaver has

been especially active recently in her musical support for Ukraine,

and her piece Sounds For Ukraine honours the suffering of its people

while offering hope and courage. It’s both a lament and prayer for

healing. Kalahari Kaleidoscope, inspired by the vast desert landscapes

of southern Africa, layers field recordings with instrumental sounds

to evoke the desert’s fragile ecosystems. The same concert will be

presented on September 23 at 1st United in Waterloo.

Another concert taking place in the region, presented by the

Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society at the Keffer Memorial

Chapel (Waterloo) on October 4, features Turkwaz: a Torontobased

vocal quartet that blends music from the Middle East, Turkey,

Greece and the Balkans. Members Maryem Hassan Tollar, Jayne

Brown, Sophia Grigoriadis, and Brenna MacCrimmon are well-loved

performers on the Toronto scene, often performing at the Tranzac

Club and the Drom Taberna. Together, they bring both a deep love

of these traditions and a gift for reimagining them with unexpected,

inventive interpretations.

At St. George’s Grange Park (for many years the home of the Music

Gallery) the music of South Africa plays a prominent role at an

upcoming New Music Concert event there on October 4, featuring the

work of composer Andile Khumalo. Khumalo’s music is shaped by his

passion for two distinct musical worlds: the spectral aesthetics of the

concert tradition and the vibrant musical heritage of his South African

homeland.

The program includes several works from his recent album

Tracing Hollow Traces, among them the title track for clarinet. The

piece explores his fascination and passion for sonic colour through

extended techniques such as multiphonics, trills and slap-tongue.

ISO[R], for piano, flute, and cello, pushes each instrument to extremes

to create bold sonic relationships, while Wade Through Water, for

clarinet and piano, reflects his gift for weaving diverse influences into

a single voice. By bringing these worlds together, Khumalo seeks unity

rather than contrast, inviting listeners to make a connection with the

sound world itself beyond labels or genres.

From Toronto to Kitchener-Waterloo, this fall’s programs promise

unique collaborations in unusual venues open to offering music that

thrives on risk and discovery.

Wendalyn Bartley is a Toronto-based composer and electro-vocal

sound artist. sounddreaming@gmail.com

Elmer

Iseler

Singers

47 th

TORONTO

CONCERT

SEASON

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This Moment to Shine!

Lydia Adams, C.M., Conductor and Artistic Director

Sun. NOV 02, 2025

A Portrait

in Song

The Music of

Eleanor Daley

Fri. DEC 12, 2025

Handel’s

Messiah

With special guests

Amadeus Choir and

VIVA Chamber Singers

Sun. APR 12, 2026

The Earth

Sings

Luminous choral

sounds celebrating

the earth


MUSIC THEATRE

Ben Carlson (centre) and

the Octet company

DAVE MALLOY’S

OCTET COMES

TO CROW’S

An interview with

music director Ryan deSouza

JENNIFER PARR

After the phenomenal success of Dave Malloy’s

musical Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812

this summer, Crow’s Theatre is joining forces again

with the Musical Stage Company, and this time also with

Soulpepper, to produce another Malloy musical: Octet,

this September.

While Comet was an electropop thrilling large-cast operatic mix

of philosophy and love inspired by Tolstoy’s iconic 19th century

Russian novel War and Peace, Octet is a chamber choir musical,

exploring the lives of eight people of different ages and backgrounds

who come together in a support group to try to solve their respective

addictions to the internet. It’s funny, eerie and moving. It is also

sung a cappella – no instruments at all but the eight voices.

Fascinated by the contrast between the shows, especially with

many of the same creative team involved, I approached music

director Ryan deSouza, whom I’d met back in 2023 while we were

both at Crow’s Theatre: I was stage managing The Master Plan and

he was rehearsing Comet.

Here is an abridged version of our wide-ranging chat on

Thursday Sept 4, 2025.

Music director Ryan deSouza (right) and members of the Octet cast in rehearsal

WN: I became obsessed with Comet, watching it come together

like that, I have to say.

RdS: We were slightly obsessed with it, too. For everybody involved it

has been such a special adventure. As Evan Buliung [Pierre in Comet]

said, every 10 to 15 years, if you’re lucky, you get a show that changes

your approach to theatre, that changes how you feel about what you do,

and you know it’s something you’re going to hang onto for a long time.

The audience felt it too. I know some people who saw it 20, 30

times at both Crow’s and the Royal Alex.

Comet did something different from most other musicals, it was

entertaining for certain, but also dropped in some thoughts and

some big picture discussions to really challenge the audience to take

it in a different way.

PHOTOS: DAHLIA KATZ

AN EVENING WITH STEVE BELL

& MALCOLM GUITE

Join us for a rare and unforgettable night of

music, poetry, and story as acclaimed Canadian

singer-songwriter Steve Bell takes the stage

with renowned English poet Malcolm Guite.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 27 2025 | 7:30 P.M.

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, Toronto

TICKETS: $35.00 ON SALE NOW!

stevebell.com/event/toronto-on-the-bell-the-bard/


Dave Malloy

Ryan deSouza

Would you say that Malloy does something similar with Octet? It

seems very different from Comet or Ghost Quartet before that.

I guess different in what they are about – but how he approaches

them musically is not. For me his music is really complex, for

example Octet has big harmonies and really busy complex musical

ideas telling the story, and then he balances that with utter simplicity,

like the last song in Comet sung by Pierre and Natasha where

it’s like Grade Two piano playing running triads, but so effective and

actually so difficult.

It’s the same with Octet. There’s a song at the end of the show

where it’s just one person singing a cappella, a beautiful simple

melody; and after you’ve spent an hour and a half with these really

complex thick rich harmonies, to strip down to just one voice with

nothing else going on – it’s like you earn it from Malloy. He takes

his audience on a journey which earns this moment of simplicity

to land a really heartfelt thesis at the end of the show as he drops

in this beautiful song. I think it’s part of his brilliance, I think he

really finds a way to connect with his audience not only through

complexity but also through simplicity and all in one show.

So how would you describe Octet for someone who hasn’t seen

it? On the surface it is so different from Comet.

Comet followed a story with characters whereas here we’re meeting

people together for only a short time. It doesn’t have as much of a

story arc. You’re not following somebody who might have a sound

that goes through the show. Instead, each song is one person’s

journey and you get a little window into their life. And then they

become a supporting character as you meet the next person.

And the music?

Malloy also uses so many musical styles in this show, for example

he drops in doowop and there is a clear homage to the style of the

jazzy a cappella group the Swingle Singers who used vocables as

well as words to create worlds with only their voices. Here the cast

is taking on not only the role of the cast but the role of the orchestra

– the soundtrack to a movie – it’s all encompassed in these eight

people. It’s truly one of the most virtuosic things I have ever been

part of. We learned this music, which is incredibly difficult, and

then they’re left on their own. They get a pitch pipe, they hear

a note, and then they sing a seven-minute song that is just their

voices. No “I’m going to take a break now there’s going to be a drum

solo, or let’s throw a little guitar in there.” They have to provide the

story all the way – but only with their voices.

It must be terrifying and

exhilarating at the same time.

For them, and for us. There’s no

time to think. As soon as you stop

to think you’ve lost the rhythm

of the piece; you’ve lost the

communication between yourself

and the others.

At the same time you have the

director [Chris Abraham] asking

“what are we trying to say here?

Can we get it faster so we really stay

in the conversation and not drop it

and [have the audience] think ‘oh,

Chris Abraham we’re listening to a song?’”

I think that for me as the music director, that is the fun of this

kind of a show. To say “we have to sing a song but I don’t want the

audience to remember ‘here’s a song about internet addiction,’ but

‘here’s a scene.’” Chris is great at that. What we love about Chris

is that he doesn’t think that a musical is a lesser art form or in its

storytelling any different from a play.

Exactly. I know he loves musicals and actually started out

directing them.

Yes he loves them and is always saying “This is a scene. We have

to get to the bottom of it. What is the intention? That has to be the

driving force of the song.” That’s why Comet worked so well [and]

I think that’s why Octet is going to be great, because you really feel

for these people, you understand what they’re going through and

you see yourself in some of these stories.

I can’t wait to see it, I’ve been hearing bits and pieces

along the way.

Everybody’s brought their own personal journey to the piece and

as a result you get these eight people who are from slightly different

worlds but are the perfect eight people for our version of the show.

Their pitch is amazing, they’re nailing Malloy’s harmonies and really

doing justice to what Malloy intended this piece to be. It’s a great

concept: “We are so isolated by the internet but to battle this we’re

going to sing eight-part harmony which is the most connected thing

you can possibly do.” You have to trust the people around you.

Intensely collaborative. Was there a special process to choosing

who would be in it?

It was a bit of a back and forth. We had to find the right mix of

people, ages, sounds, and “colours” of voices to make sure the blend

would be there; and you still don’t really know until you hear them

sing the first song. Until we had everybody in the room we couldn’t

hear the full chords – not until our first full sing through on our

first day of rehearsals in August on a Tuesday afternoon when we

had a Comet that night. At one point I looked over at Chris and we


smiled: “We got the right people.” There’s always an element of the

unknown when you cast any musical, and this one was so specific

because there is nothing to hide behind.

And for you?

It’s funny because it’s the first show I’ve done ever where they

don’t need me to play the piano, so I feel a bit helpless. They have

to create the whole world by themselves: entries, tempos, cut offs.

Everything is built into the show. Dave Malloy was so specific about

that: there is no one boss. It’s a show about eight people; no single

one of them is in charge of the music. Make sure that everybody has

agency for their own songs. It’s been great watching them try to find

that kind of muscle. There’ll be a bit of hesitancy in diving into a

song, but as soon as they start singing the magic happens.”

Amazing, and a good note to finish on … giving the audience a

sense of the magic – beyond just saying “It’s about internet addiction

and it’s a cappella.” It’s so much more.

It really is. It’s ultimately more about a discovery of your own

association with the internet. Malloy talks about how inescapable

the internet is for all of us, and he just uses a really clever way to

remind us. I think it is the cleverest thing he has done. He doesn’t

use just words. Sometimes a simple “oo and ah” and a vocal painting

of the world gives you a different interpretation of what the internet

is to these people and to all of us. It’s eclectic, it’s kind of weird, it’s

not for everyone, but it is really beautiful theatre.

Octet with its all Canadian (or Canada-based) cast of excellent

singer/actors plays at Crow’s Theatre from September 9 -

October 12. www.crowstheatre.com

Jennifer Parr is a Toronto-based director, dramaturge, fight

director and acting coach, brought up from a young age on a rich

mix of musicals, Shakespeare and new Canadian plays.

MUSIC THEATRE QUICK PICKS

Ahmed Moneka, and members of the King Gilgamesh band

King Gilgamesh (and the Man of the Wild)

By Jesse Lavercombe, Seth Bockley, & Ahmed Moneka.

Directed by Seth Bockley.

A raucous Dora-winning production weaving together the

world's oldest epic with a modern Toronto bromance between

an American Jew and Iraqi Muslim… all scored by Ahmed

Moneka’s 2025 Juno-nominated six-piece Arabic-jazz band.

It’s a lot of fun and unexpectedly profound with excellent

performances from the leads amplified and supported by the band.

Till October 5, at Soulpepper’s Michael Young Theatre

www.soulpepper.ca

SOULPEPPER

ANDRÉ GRÉTRY

Richard

Cœurde-Lion

NOVEMBER 15, 2025

3 PM

SUZY SMITH

Music Director & Pianist

VINCENZO BELLINI

La

Sonnambula

FEBRUARY 14, 2026

3 PM

NARMINA AFANDIYEVA


KURT WEILL

Lost

in The

Stars

MARCH 21, 2026

3 PM

JOEL GOODFELLOW


“ ”

—TORONTO STAR

MOZART

THE MAGIC

FLUTE

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Season 2025-2026

Box Office Services

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Step into Mozart’s dazzling world

of dragons, spirits, and soaring arias in a

production brimming with comedy, fantasy,

and glorious music. Internationally acclaimed

coloratura soprano Rainelle Krause makes her

Opera Atelier debut as the Queen of the

Night, alongside Canadian favourites

and Artists of Atelier Ballet.

TICKETS: operaatelier.com


FOR THE RECORD

ZORAN JELENIC

Ride the Cyclone

Ride the Cyclone Shifting Ground Collective

By Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell of Victoria based

Atomic Vaudeville.

The third full scale production from tiny but mighty young

company Shifting Ground Collective. A Canadian show that

debuted in 2009 and hasn’t stopped appearing on stages around

Canada, the US and UK. Saskatchewan’s Saint Cassian High

School’s Chamber Choir has never won anything, until one

fateful day when they ride the Cyclone rollercoaster …

September 24-October 4 at the Annex Theatre

shiftinggroundcollective.com

Bright Star, Garner Theatre Productions

By Steve Martin & Edie Brickell.

A first full scale outing of Garner Theatre Productions, created

by artistic director Donna Garner to concentrate on “creating

opportunities for ambitious actor/musician-driven work.”

The Tony Award-winning musical tale of redemption by Steve

Martin (yes that Steve Martin) and Edie Brickell, performed as

you have never seen it before — by a full cast of actor musicians

each playing up to five different instruments as well as singing

and inhabiting the characters of the story – two generations of an

Appalachian Mountain family.

September 30 - October 26 at the CAA Theatre

www.mirvish.com/shows/bright-star

Les Ballets Trockadero de Montecarlo’s 50th anniversary tour

The famous — or infamous — “Trocks”, New York’s renowned

all-male ballerinas, return with a wickedly funny new program,

sure to stun with their trademark mix. In size 12 pointe shoes, of

top notch technique and comic timing.

October 18 and 19 only at the El;gin Winter Garden Theatre

www.trockadero.org

Les Ballets Trockadero de Montecarlo

A LEGENDARY FORMAT

GETS A FACELIFT

Afrokando, Alexis

Baro Y La Big Band

BY GLORIA BLIZZARD

Afrokando, an ode to the Cuban big band, is a searing,

scorching album with the deepest groove. With it,

bandleader, composer, arranger and Cuban trumpet

player Alexis Baro is continuing to build his discography,

documenting and sharing important aspects of Afro-Cuban

music. Baro travelled to Toronto from Cuba in 2001. The

young player was quickly

snapped up by Archie

Alleyne and his group

Kollage. Since then, Baro has

written and recorded many

of his own albums all rooted

Alexis Baro

in Afro-Cuban jazz.

Scheduled for imminent release,

Afrokando follows on the heels of Mi Raiz

(My Roots) – an ode to the history of the

Cuban trumpet. This latest album is deeply

influenced by the greats, from Mario Bauzá

and His Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra to Perez

Prado to Chudo Valdes. Says Baro, “this

album has influences from all of those

mentioned, and includes Chico O’Farrill,

Hilario Duran, Picallo, Demetrio Muñiz,

and Joaquín Betancourt, as well as Sami Nestico, Thad Jones and Bob

Mintzer.” It is also, of course, influenced by the American big band

musical canon from the orchestras of Count Basie, Duke Ellington

and Glenn Miller whose influences Baro says are “within the sound of

every big band, traditional or modern.”

The album features six of Baro’s original compositions and three

by other composers. The sound is rich and bold, with Baro’s arrangements

generously showing off the expertise of all the players.

Underground Cha Cha Cha, which sounds like a grand film score

for a thriller, is overlaid with solos by almost all the musicians. Bass

clarinet and bass in unison? Now that’s a tasty sound I haven’t heard

before, going on under the conga solo. In fact, the bass clarinet and its

rich, growling texture is featured significantly throughout the album.

In the legendary format of the big band – bass, drums, piano, woodwinds

and a plethora of horns – the album features a huge cast of

Cuban and Canadian musicians. In the tradition of the Cuban big

band, it also includes a wealth of percussion. It’s all very purposeful,

this assemblage of musicians of different generations and cultures.

Paco Luviano on bass, Frank Martinez on drum kit and pianist

extraordinaire Danae Olano hold it down almost throughout, with

fiery keyboard polymath Jeremy Ledbetter playing piano on Paseo por

DISCOVER HALIFAX


Alexis Baro Y Big Band recording Afro Cubania

el Prado. The 13 horn players include Allison Young, Luiz Deniz on

sax, Alexander Brown on trumpet, and Yoel Bequer and Paul Tarussov

on trombone. Baro also brings in Roberto Occhipinti on bass, for the

bolero, Tu Mi Delirio, and the cover, La Mawa, written by Pablosky

Rosales, features Rudy Bolanos who played bass on the original

recording. Throughout there is always a sense of looking back and

looking forward, honouring the past, while living very much in the

present day.

There is such a variety of Cuban genres and forms on the album.

“The title track was in part inspired by Pello El Afrokán (Pedro

Izquierdo Padron), a Cuban percussionist who created a rhythm called

Mozambique, and in part by another Cuban rhythm called Pilon

G-THREE MUSIC

created by Enrique Bonne & Pacho Alonso,” says Baro. Afro Cubania

is another very special arrangement, a history lesson almost, with its

collage of Cuban music styles, tempos and Afro-Cuban grooves. Son a

la Big Band is a song to swoon over. For some of the songs, like Tu mi

Pelirio written by Puerto Rican singer Tito Rodríguez in the 1950s, and

the loping, sensual Y Linda, Baro went with a more traditional sound.

The latter tune features the powerful, almost sacred voice of the aptly

named Angel Luis – with horns swirling respectfully around it.

Afrokando was recorded live off the floor reflecting the recording

process of the past. It is, however much brighter in texture and tone

when compared to the albums by Antobal Cuban Allstars or Benny

Moré Y Su Banda Gigante, recorded in the 1940s and ‘50s, in part due

to the fact that Alexis Baro y la Big Band worked with engineer John

“Beetle” Bailey, at Revolution Recordings – a state of the art studio

where the likes of Rush and Elton John have recorded, and where they

could include some overdubs for instrumental solos, and for percussion

which was all played by one musician, Alberto Suarez.

“My musical vision was to revitalize and modernize the sounds of

the Cuban big band without losing the essence of it. Cuban music

has evolved since the big band golden years, so it is only logical and

deserving that the legendary format gets a facelift, so newer generations

can remember, admire and relate to their roots both musically

and historically,” says Baro.

Afrokando is the next phase in the evolution of the big band. It’s

brassy, bright, complicated and compelling. It’s both classic and

exuberant, brilliant and tasty, with so much goodness. Sabroso!

Gloria Blizzard writes on music, dance, culture and is the author

of Black Cake, Turtle Soup, and Other Dilemmas.

There are many more discs to explore in our

DISCoveries section, beginning on Page 45.

Experience

Brahms’ deeply

human reflection

on love and loss.

November 5 & 7, 2025

Jean-Sébastien Vallée, conductor

Russell Braun, baritone

Charlotte Siegel, soprano

Members of K-W Symphony

FESTIVAL OF CAROLS

DECEMBER 2 & 3, 2025

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church

BRAHMS

A GERMAN REQUIEM

tickets at tmchoir.org


MUSIC & HEALTH

WHEN MUSIC MEETS MINDFULNESS

Britta Johnson and Aaron Jensen

VANIA LIZBETH CHAN

“When Music Meets Mindfulness”: Britta Johnson and Vania Chan

The International Congress of Voice

Teachers (ICVT) is a grand event that

occurs every four years, much like

the Olympics. This past summer it was

Toronto’s turn, with “Voices Uplifted” as

Vania Chan

the 2025 congress theme. Co-hosted by

the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS),

The Royal Conservatory, and the University of Toronto

Faculty of Music, voice professionals from around the

globe gathered here to share knowledge that would

advance the field of voice performance and education.

I had the pleasure of presenting a session titled “Charting A Course In

Mindfulness: Establishing A Foundation Of Self-Regulatory Strategies

In Vocal Training” in which I covered much of the same conceptual

ground as I have been doing throughout this interview series – cultivating

mindfulness by calming the mind, organizing thoughts, and

entering the state of flow, in order to strengthen awareness, encourage

the growth of self-compassion and empathy for others, and open the

door to genuine creativity and effective collaboration.

The congress ended on a high note with a panel of Canadian

creative visionaries/composers, featuring Alice Ping Yee Ho, Cecilia

Livingston, Ian Cusson, Teiya Kasahara and Britta Johnson, moderated

by mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó. It was heartening to witness

artistic friends and colleagues speak honestly and thoughtfully about

their unique experiences and investment in the vocal arts.

For this issue, I had the pleasure of interviewing one of these panelists,

composer/lyricist/writer Britta Johnson, along with composer/

producer/arranger Aaron Jensen. Britta and I met years ago at

Jumblies Theatre, rehearsing a short operatic cartoon called The

View from Here (by Norbert Palej). Aaron and I were undergraduates

together at York University, and members of the long-running

collegiate a cappella choir WIBI (formerly known as Wibijazzn’). It

has been a joy to witness the upward trajectory of their careers.

Britta’s Dora award winning musical Life After, which centres on the

experience of loss and grief deftly counterbalanced through poignant

moments of levity, completed a triumphant run at the CAA Mirvish

Theatre earlier this year. Most recently she was a co-creator of the Tim

Horton’s 60th anniversary musical, The Last Timbit. Aaron was musical

director, band leader and composer for the nine-time EMMY award

winning series, Schitt’s Creek. He is also the artistic director emeritus of

SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival, and founding artistic and musical

director of the vocal group Countermeasure.

Both demonstrate a keen sense of self-awareness of their creative

processes, and it was lovely to sit down and catch up with each of

them during their respective interviews. As is often the case in these

conversations about mindfulness in relation to individuals’ creative

endeavours, I discovered both patterns of similarity in their answers,

and also unique perspectives.

Here are some instances.

On Calming the Mind

Britta: “The Wisdom of the Bread” – I believe in many repetitive

actions. I was a busser at a very fancy restaurant where most of my

job was cutting bread in the basement. There was something about

keeping my hands busy, having a repetitive kind of meditative motion.

That’s where I first started to write my weird little projects. I’ve carried

the wisdom of the bread with me into the rest of my career. My best

ideas came while cutting the bread, so sometimes when I’m stuck, I

think, what’s today’s version of cutting the bread? I keep the channel

open with something repetitive, which keeps my body in motion,

which keeps my mind open. Usually, that’s where ideas begin, not

actually at the piano.

continues to page 45


BLUE

PAGES

26 th ANNUAL

DIRECTORY

OF MUSIC

MAKERS

Welcome to our 26th annual Blue

Pages directory, where music

presenters of all varieties introduce

themselves and highlight the events of

their upcoming season. Whether you

are interested in orchestral or choral

music, opera, chamber, contemporary

or early music, there’s a rich breadth

to choose from, reflecting the wealth

and diversity of performers and arts

organizations in our region. We’d

like to thank all who have chosen to

participate in this year’s Blue Pages

- your support enables us to sustain

much of what we do at The WholeNote,

in particular our ability to offer free

daily concert listings to as broad a

spectrum of presenters as possible - a

service not only to our readers but to

the live music community itself.

The Directory will remain online

year-round, under the “Who’s Who”

tab at thewholenote.com, and we’ll

be updating it on an ongoing basis as

new entries arrive. And, look out for

our Blue Pages supplement, in the

November/December issue.

BLUE PAGES TEAM 2025-26

PROJECT MANAGER: Danial Jazaeri

MEMBER SERVICES: Kevin Harris, Karen Ages

PROJECT EDITING: David Perlman, Karen Ages

DESIGN: Susan Sinclair

WEBSITE / SYSTEMS: Kevin King

ALLIANCE FRANCAISE - LE DIABLE A CINQ

● Aga Khan Museum

The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Ontario is

home to a growing Permanent Collection of

over 1,200 masterpieces, including manuscripts,

paintings, ceramics, and textiles from the 9th to

the 21st century. Through its innovative exhibitions

and engaging programs — from captivating

performances to thought-provoking lectures,

workshops, and film screenings — the Museum

reaches millions of people worldwide, fostering

intercultural understanding through the arts.

Aga Khan Museum

416-646-4677

info@agakhanmuseum.org

www.agakhanmuseum.org

www.facebook.com/

agakhanmuseumtoronto

www.instagram.com/agakhanmuseum

● Alliance Française de Toronto

Alliance Française Toronto is a vibrant community

dedicated to Francophone cultures and the

promotion of Canadian bilingualism. Each year, it

offers a rich cultural experience with more than

100 events, from concerts (classical, jazz, world

music, pop, folk) and theatre productions to art

exhibitions, lectures, book launches, children’s

programs, film screenings, and a wide range of

social gatherings.

Events are hosted in our intimate 140-seat theatre

and art galleries.

Aby Vignon

416-922-2014, x39

aby@alliance-francaise.ca

www.alliance-francaise.ca/en

www.facebook.com/AFdeToronto

www.instagram.com/afdetoronto

● Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto

For the 2025/26 season, the choir will be led by

Artistic Director Kathleen Allan for the November 1

performance of “Vertigo: A Choral Tango” featuring

a beginner-friendly tango lesson, renowned

accordionist Michael Bridge, and breathtaking

aerial dancing. Kathleen Allan will also conduct

Bach’s Christmas Oratorio on December 7 at

Kingston Road United Church, in collaboration

with the Kingston Road Village Concert Series. The

Amadeus Choir will then be performing brand new

choral works developed within the Choral Creation

Lab residency at its showcase on February 21

at Eglinton St. George’s United Church. Finally, the

season will conclude with the May 9 performance

“Wanuskewin: Seeking Peace of Mind” featuring

special guest Cris Derksen, cellist and composer,

and the world premiere of Andrew Balfour’s

choral work of the same title.

Paige Fitzpatrick

416-446-0188

info@amadeuschoir.com

www.amadeuschoir.com

www.facebook.com/amadeusGTA

www.instagram.com/amadeuschoirgta

●The Annex Singers of Toronto

The Annex Singers of Toronto is a spirited, auditioned

60-voice community choir with an eclectic

repertoire spanning a thousand years and

showcasing a wide range of styles, from plainchant

to jazz.

Founded in 1979, the choir has flourished for

the past 20 years under the dynamic leadership

of Artistic Director Maria Case, becoming

known for inventive, relevant programming

and for collaboration with a wide array of artists

and composers — including commissioning

and premiering new works by Canadian musicians.

Recent larger works include Orff’s Carmina

theWholeNote 2025/26 PRESENTER PROFILES | 21

BLUE PAGES 2025/26

Burana, Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, Dobrogosz’s

Jazz Mass, Faure’s Requiem and Mozart’s

Great Mass in C Minor.

We perform three concerts each season at

Grace Church on-the-Hill, each featuring guest

artists as well as our own Annex Chamber Choir

and smaller ensembles.

Our 2025/26 season:

December 13 — “Radiant Dawn”

Poulenc’s radiant Gloria, alongside contemporary

settings of ancient texts illuminating the many

facets of winter.

March 21 — “Lost & Found”

Reflections on life’s losses and unexpected gifts,

with Hovhaness, Miškinis, Runestad, Martin

and others.

May 23 — “Elemental”

Earth, water, air and fire — seeking harmonious

balance, with Hildegard, Morley, Nyberg,

and others.

Joanne Eidinger

416-458-4434

theannexsingers@gmail.com

www.annexsingers.com

www.facebook.com/AnnexSingers

www.instagram.com/annex_singers

www.youtube.com/@

theannexsingers5320

● Apocryphonia

Apocryphonia ventures beyond the standard

fare of traditional classical music programming

to reveal the beautiful, the lost, and the rare in a

rather unpretentious and enjoyable manner.

Its mission: to seek out and share hidden and

obscure musical masterpieces, either from composers

you may not know, or rare works by familiar

names.

Apocryphonia’s concerts are the best chance

to discover your new favourite pieces by your new

favourite composers.

”The Fourth Cycle of Musical Revelations” - our

upcoming season - includes:

Sept 5: “Across the Channel—French and English

Music of the Hundred Years’ War” (feat.

COMTESSA Medieval Ensemble + Diapente Renaissance

Quintet)

Oct 25 & 26: “Enchanted Baroque” (feat. Rezonance

Baroque Ensemble)

Nov 30: “Bohemian Holiday—Jakub Ryba’s Czech

Christmas Mass” (feat. Canadian Institute for

Czech Music)

Dec 6 & 12: “Diapente Book of Carols” (NoTL &

Toronto)

Feb 28: “Time’s Eldest Son—Celebrating 400

Years of John Dowland” (feat. Diapente)

Apr 17: “The Collective of Cool Cats—Jazz-Classical

from Beyond the Iron Curtain

May 2: “A Cabinet of Curiosities 3”—The GTA’s Fully

Randomized Classical Cabaret!

June 12: “Of Whales and Willpower—The Jamaican

Jonah”, Canadian Premiere of Samuel Felsted’s

Jonah (1775).

Alexander Cappellazzo

514-378-2558

apocryphoniamusic@gmail.com

www.apocryphonia.com

www.facebook.com/apocryphoniamusic

www.instagram.com/apocryphonia

www.youtube.com/@apocryphonia

● Arkel Chamber Concerts

Arkel Chamber Concerts, for 13 years now a gem

of the Toronto classical music scene, presents

some of the world’s best chamber music in three

intimate, unforgettable concerts each season.

Co-founders Marie Bérard, Concertmaster of the

COC Orchestra, and Winona Zelenka, a lead cellist

of the TSO, began their journey as Trio Arkel,

and now as Arkel Chamber Concerts, have further

expanded to present programs of ever more

imagination and depth, exploring the world of

chamber music from the timeless masterpieces

of the Classical and Romantic periods through to

exciting present-day compositions. Guest artists

include beloved and internationally acclaimed virtuosos

of the classical music world.

Winona Zelenka

416-409-6824

winonazelenka@gmail.com

www.arkelchamberconcerts.com

www.facebook.com/

arkelchamberconcerts

youtu.be/IbXGljfbiCs

● Attila Glatz Concert Productions

Founded in 1987, Attila Glatz Concert Productions

or “Glatz Concerts” produces, promotes,

and manages classical, jazz, folk, country, film

and video game music performances worldwide.

The company’s signature presentation is the

beloved New Year’s Concert, “Salute to Vienna”.

Presented annually in more than 20 major concert

halls from the Lincoln Center to Roy Thomson

Hall, this concert series celebrates its 30th

anniversary in 2025.

Nicholas Arnold

416-323-1403

nicholasa@glatzconcerts.com

www.glatzconcerts.com

www.facebook.com/glatzconcerts

www.instagram.com/glatzconcerts

www.youtube.com/

watch?v=_hCkv2UW-ZE

●The Azrieli Music Prizes

(The Azrieli Foundation)

Created in 2014 by Sharon Azrieli CQ for the

Azrieli Foundation, The Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP)

offers opportunities for the discovery, creation,

performance and celebration of excellence in

music composition. Every two years, AMP offers

four prizes: two celebrating the discovery and

creation of excellent new Jewish music; a third

for the creation of Canadian music; and a fourth

to commission a new international work.

AMP is open to composers of all ages, genders,

faiths and nationalities. Full eligibility and submission

guidelines are available on the AMP website.

AMP also seeks to engage more composers and

enrich the concert repertoire through its Performance

Fund and its instrumentation cycle

– 2026: Choir and Orchestra; 2028: Chamber

Music; 2030: Choral Music; 2032: Orchestral

Music.

All Prize Laureates receive a prize package valued

at over $200,000 CAD, including a $50,000

cash award, a premiere in Montréal at the AMP

Gala Concert, two subsequent international

showcase concerts, and a professional recording

for future commercial release. This makes

AMP the largest competition of its kind in Canada

and one of the most important in the world.

Catherine Willshire

416-322-5928, x366

music@azrielifoundation.org

www.azrielifoundation.org/amp

www.facebook.com/Azrielimusic

www.instagram.com/azrielimusicprizes

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpzY_

RPA3nc&t=20s

https://app.idagio.com/discover/

azrieli-music-prizes-hub

● Barrie Concert Association

& Georgian Music

The Barrie Concert Association (BCA) is a

non-profit organisation dedicated to bringing

exceptional musical performances to the Barrie

community. Since its founding in 1946, the

BCA has enriched the local cultural landscape

by organizing a series of concerts showcasing

a diverse range of genres, from classical to jazz

and contemporary music.

Our upcoming 2025/26 season contains an

exciting mix of music, featuring the Elmer Iseler

Singers, among others.

Marianne Belau

705-436-1232

info@barrieconcerts.org

www.barrieconcerts.org

www.facebook.com/profile.

php?id=61573562394699

● Canadian Bandurist Capella

The Canadian Bandurist Capella is a vocal-instrumental

ensemble that combines the sounds of

male choral singing with the orchestral accompaniment

of Ukraine’s national classic instrument

the bandura. The music of the Kobzars (blind minstrels)

and choral singing are core elements of

Ukraine’s musical history and culture. They were

the seeds that inspired a group of dedicated individuals

to form the Capella in June 2001. Their

goal was for the Capella’s ensemble of bandura

instrumentalists and choristers to be ambassadors

of Ukrainian music and the Kobzar/Bandurist

Art Form.

Through dynamic musical arrangements and

22 | theWholeNote 2025/26 PRESENTER PROFILES

performances, the Capella delivers a unique listening

experience that raises the profile of the

bandura and Ukrainian Song in the Ukrainian-

Canadian community and beyond.

The mission of the Canadian Bandurist Capella

is to explore the full potential of the modern bandura

within a male choral ensemble, to bring

together individuals who are committed to advancing

choral-bandura music while respecting its

rich history, and to promote and popularize the

bandura within and beyond the Ukrainian-Canadian

community by maintaining a high standard

of artistry, musicianship and performance.

Volodymyr Walter Olenych

647-229-9531

info@banduristy.com

www.banduristy.com

● Canadian Chamber Orchestra

The Canadian Chamber Orchestra (CCO) is a

musician-led ensemble based in Toronto that

reimagines the concert experience through

immersive performances of classical and contemporary

music. We champion Canadian

composers, elevate diverse voices, and foster

meaningful connections between artists and

audiences through bold programming, education,

and outreach. We envision a thriving, inclusive

musical culture where Canadian artistry is celebrated

worldwide, where musicians shape their

creative futures, and where all people, regardless

of background, can engage deeply with the

transformative power of music.

Our inaugural season featured 3 self-produced

concerts, and this past July, the CCO recorded

it’s debut album at the Isabel Bader Centre with

composer Dinuk Wijeratne, and quartet soloists

the Rolston String Quartet. This album was supported

by the Isabel Bader Centre’s IMAGINE

Arts Incubator, and the Ontario Arts Council.

We kick off our 2025/26 season on Oct 31st at

Hugh’s Room with “Movie Night: Nosferatu”.

The CCO will perform a newly curated collage

score set to the 1922 horror classic. Then on

Dec 7th, Music Toronto presents the CCO with

Rob Kapilow and Isabella Perron in a “What

Makes it Great?” performance of Vivaldi’s

Four Seasons.

Emma Greve

905-512-6454

info@canadianchamberorchestra.ca

www.canadianchamberorchestra.ca

www.facebook.com/people/Canadian-

Chamber-Orchestra

www.instagram.com/

canadianchamberorchestra

www.youtube.com/@

CanadianChamberOrchestra

● Canadian Opera Company

The Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer

of opera in Canada and one of the largest in

North America. General Director David Ferguson

CANADIAN BANDURIST CAPELLA

joined the company in 2024, forming a leadership

team with Music Director Johannes Debus.

The COC enjoys a loyal audience, including a

dedicated base of subscribers, and has an

international reputation for artistic excellence

and creative innovation. Its diverse repertoire

includes new commissions and productions,

local and international collaborations with leading

opera companies and festivals, and attracts

the world’s foremost Canadian and international

artists.

The company is an incubator for the future of

the art form, nurturing Canada’s new wave of

opera performers and creators with customized

training and support. The COC’s purposebuilt

opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for

the Performing Arts, is hailed internationally as

one of the finest in the world.

Eldon Earle

416-363-8231

info@coc.ca

www.coc.ca

www.facebook.com/

canadianoperacompany

www.x.com/CanadianOpera

www.instagram.com/canadianopera

www.youtube.com/user/CanadianOpera

●The Edison Singers

The Edison Singers is a fully professional chamber

choir founded and led by internationallyacclaimed

Artistic Director and Conductor, Dr.

Noel Edison. Our vision is to reach out to communities

large and small with the world’s finest

choral music.

The Edison Singers draws from a pool of 35

professional singers with diverse cultural and

work backgrounds. We include choristers of

all gender expressions, ethnicities and physical

abilities. Please submit audition requests along

with resumes to Heather Fleming, coordinator@

theedisonsingers.com.

We currently produce an annual concert series

in four Ontario communities: the Toronto Area,

the Niagara Area, Brantford and Wellington

County. These centres are the hubs for our seasons,

and we aim to become an integral part of

the musical life of each community, bringing hope,

joy, and inspiration through the novel storytelling

of choral music.

The Edison Singers has been fortunate to

receive support from the Ontario Arts Council

and many private donors, to help support our

past and upcoming seasons, and our NAXOS

recordings. We are committed to supporting

Canadian talent. Our newest NAXOS recording

is a compilation of choral music by Canadian

composer, Timothy Corlis, and will be released

December 2025.

Esther Farrell

226-384-3100

executivedirector@theedisonsingers.

com

www.theedisonsingers.com

www.facebook.com/TheEdisonSingers

● Elmer Iseler Singers

The Elmer Iseler Singers (EIS) are a 20-voice

professional chamber choir based in Toronto

and founded by the late Dr. Elmer Iseler in 1979.

Directed by the acclaimed Lydia Adams, C.M., the

Singers are known for tonal beauty and interpretive

range, and valued for their contributions to

masterclasses and workshops with schools and

community choirs.

Experience three luminous Toronto concerts

conducted by Lydia Adams, as EIS present their

47th season series, “This Moment to Shine!”

Beginning with ‘A Portrait in Song: The Music of

Eleanor Daley on November 2nd, we celebrate

one of Canada’s most cherished composers. On

December 12th, Amadeus Choir and VIVA Chamber

Singers return to perform Handel’s Messiah

with EIS, orchestra and guest soloists. ‘The Earth

Sings’ will be the 3rd Toronto series concert on


BLUE PAGES 2025/26

April 12th, 2026, with two world premieres and a

special performance of The Living Flame of Love

in a special tribute to the late Canadian composer,

Norma Beecroft.

Series subscriptions and individual concert

tickets are available on the website, along

with news about tours, guest appearances

and workshops.

Jessie Iseler

416-217-0537

info@elmeriselersingers.com

www.elmeriselersingers.com

www.facebook.com/elmeriseler

x.com/ElmerIseler

www.instagram.com/elmeriseler

www.youtube.com/@

ElmerIselerSingerschoir

● Ensemble Vivant

Pioneering Ensemble Vivant’s innovative genredefying

classical/jazz programming is rich with

passionate, deeply communicative playing that

touches the hearts and souls of listeners of all

ages. EV has 15 internationally acclaimed CDs

heard on radio worldwide.

Of iFUGUE ~ A World of Fugues, U.S.A. Magazine’s

Fanfare & American Record Guide wrote:

“Smokin…Fugues shouldn’t be this much fun!”;

“Lively readings of fugues by all sorts of composers.

A few are presented in original form, such as

Bach’s Prelude & Fugue #9 (WTC I), played beautifully

by pianist Catherine Wilson.”

“It’s rare to hear music played with such

depth and sincerity, and yet with a sparkle that

moved its audience to new heights.” Brantford

Music Club.

“No matter the genre, there is magic in EV’s

music-making.” - Jazz icon Rick Wilkins, C.M.

“Chamber music at its evocative best!”

- The WholeNote

“…beautiful, poised performances...capture

the passion and verve…Wilson’s piano gives

this music unerring drive and plenty of sparkle.”

-The Toronto Star

EV’s invaluable live and video programs for

underserved communities are conducted

through Euterpe (musicisthekey.org) and supported

by Ontario Trillium Foundation, Canada

Council, Levante, Ross Mitchell, George C. Hunt

Foundations & more.

Catherine Wilson

416-768-8856

catherine@ensemblevivant.com

www.ensemblevivant.com

www.facebook.com/EnsembleVivant

x.com/ensemblevivant

www.instagram.com/ensemblevivant

youtu.be/

JtOSdLesS-4?si=fXzi-QG_kiVZrInS

● Esprit Orchestra

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized, professional

orchestra devoted to performing and

presenting new music.

Founded in 1983 by Music Director and Conductor,

Alex Pauk, Esprit’s commitment to commissioning

and advancing contemporary music

has set it apart as one of the few organisations

of its kind on a global scale. Esprit consistently

collaborates with outstanding composers and

performs with first-class soloists and ensembles

from Canada and abroad.

With a dynamic annual subscription concert

series, this skilled orchestra presents music that

is otherwise unavailable in Canada. Esprit performances

are regularly recorded, and many can

be viewed online in full.

During the 2025/26 Edge of Your Seat Festival

II, Esprit will present four concerts at Toronto’s

Koerner Hall, comprising the very best in contemporary

music from around the world. Esprit

will present new co-commissioned concerti by

Dieter Ammann and Misato Mochizuki for violist

Nils Mönkemeyer and violinist Akiko Suwanai,

premiere 2 new Canadian works, and perform

music by such esteemed composers as Claude

Vivier, Thomas Adès, Aziza Sadikova, Anna Thorvaldsdottir,

Ben Nobuto, Arvo Pärt, Anders Hillborg,

Alexina Louie, Gabriella Smith and more!

Cameron Dube

416-815-7887

info@espritorchestra.com

www.espritorchestra.com

www.facebook.com/espritorchestra

www.x.com/espritorchestra

www.instagram.com/espritorchestra

www.youtube.com/EspritOrchestra

● Etobicoke Centennial Choir

Etobicoke Centennial Choir (ECC) is a SATB auditioned

community choir dedicated to celebrating

the art and joy of choral singing. We offer performances

of diverse repertoire ranging from

classical masterpieces to contemporary compositions

and music from around the world.

ECC offers a challenging and supportive choral

experience guided by professional artists.

Rehearsals are held every Tuesday, September

to June, from 7:30pm to 9:45pm at Humber Valley

United Church in Etobicoke.

The ability to read music is required and

some choral experience is recommended but

not necessary.

Our 2025/26 season will feature Benjamin Britten’s

glorious A Ceremony of Carols with harp

accompaniment, and Poulenc’s Quatre motets

pour le temps de Noël.

The choir will pay tribute to the Big Band era

with the music of Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin,

Duke Ellington, the Gershwins and more, accompanied

by a combo of saxes, trumpets, trombones,

bass and piano led by Juno award-winning

drummer Ernesto Cervini.

Women composers will be showcased in a program

that includes A World Beloved: A Bluegrass

Mass by Carol Barnett with instrumental accompaniment,

music by Canadian composers Eleanor

Daley, Ruth Watson Henderson and ECC’s own

Lauren Halász.

Jan Fralick

416-695-9034

info@etobicokecentennialchoir.ca

www.etobicokecentennialchoir.ca

www.facebook.com/

EtobicokeCentennialChoir

www.instagram/

etobicokecentennialchoir

● Flute Street

Flute Street, Toronto’s professional flute choir,

opens its 12th season in a new venue: the acoustically

fine and easily accessible St. Andrew’s

United Church, 117 Bloor Street East. Under the

artistic direction of founder Nancy Nourse and

conductor Isaac Page, Flute Street offers its

growing audiences highly polished and musical

renderings of the very best original works,

recently composed for a full range flute ensemble.

From the gigantic double contrabass flute

(the only one in Canada) to the tiny piccolo on the

top, Flute Street fills seven octaves with vivid flute

colours. Along with the original repertoire, they

perform symphonic transcriptions, Renaissance

and Baroque fare, folk song settings, the occasional

jazz standard and solo performances by

Canadian and international guest artists. Additionally,

this season, two exciting new works from

Flute Street’s recent “Call for Scores” will be premiered.

Please join us on:

Sunday, November 2, 2025, 4pm - “Colour

Configurations”

Sunday, December 14, 2025, 4pm - “Chestnuts,

Candy Canes, and Carols”

Sunday, April 26, 2026, 4pm – “Flutes and

Fantasies”, Laurel Swinden, guest artist

Nancy Nourse

416-462-9498

noursewind@sympatico.ca

www.flutestreet.ca

www.facebook.com/flutestreettoronto

www.instagram.com/flutestreetto

● Friends of Music at St.

Thomas’s Church

Friends of Music at St. Thomas’s (honorary cochairs,

Larry Beckwith and Molly Johnson) hosts

a concert series featuring an exciting array of artists

specialising in everything from Renaissance

music to jazz, and Western classical repertoire

to traditional music from around the world. The

Friends of Music program supports artists by

providing a venue they love performing in, and

helps fund the free music program that St. Thomas’s

Anglican Church offers for children (grades 2

to 12). The St. Thomas’s Choristers learn ensemble

singing, vocal technique, and music theory in


a fun atmosphere (stthomas.on.ca/choristers).

Our 2025/26 concert series includes: French

and English music of the Hundred Years’ War,

performed by Comtessa and Diapente Renaissance

Quintet; our second sing-your-heart-out

Hymn Festival; a program by Lute Legends; a

special evening with Molly Johnson; the superb

Eybler Quartet; sitar player Neha Mahajan, and

two trombone virtuosos (see stthomas.on.ca/

concert-series).

In addition, St. Thomas’s liturgical music program

is renowned for excellence. Evensong at

5pm every Sunday features choral music that

ranges from plainchant to repertoire of the British

cathedral heritage, to works by contemporary

composers.

Julia Armstrong

416-979-2323

www.stthomas.on.ca/concert-series

www.facebook.com/stthomastoronto

www.instagram/smokytomsonhuron

www.youtube.com/@

st.thomasshuronstreet5235

●The Hannaford Street Silver Band

Made up of Canada’s top professional brass performers,

the Hannaford Street Silver Band honours

and builds upon the traditions of the brass

band from a uniquely Canadian perspective.

Through actively facilitating collaborations with

renowned artists from across Canada and the

world, the band continues its mandate of innovation

and creative excellence. Now in its 43rd season,

the Hannaford Street Silver Band occupies a

prominent position in the fabric of the Canadian

musical landscape.

In addition to its concert series, the Hannaford

Street Silver band supports a thriving Youth Program,

educating and inspiring the next generation

of musicians and music lovers.

Our 2025/26 season’s featured guests include

renowned trombonist Ko-Ichiro Yamamoto, visual

artist Paula Arciniega, the Orpheus Choir, and

trumpet virtuoso Karen Donnelly, all backed by

Canada’s finest brass players. Witness breathtaking

soloists, original visual art and newly commissioned

choral works - all while surrounding

yourself in the warm and majestic sounds of the

brass band. Join us this season - where Brass

is Best!

Jennifer Stephen

416-425-2874

brass@hssb.ca

www.hssb.ca

www.facebook.com/

HannafordStreetSilverBand

www.instagram.com/hannafordband

www.youtube.com/user/

TheHSSBChannel

FLUTE STREET

● Jubilate Singers

The Jubilate Singers, founded in 1969, are a

mixed-voice, auditioned, community choir

directed by Isabel Bernaus. The choir specializes

in eclectic international music and takes pride

in singing in the original languages - everything

from Arabic to Zulu.The choir also collaborates

with a variety of other musicians and performing

groups. Last season the choir performed with the

Wychwood Clarinet Choir.

This season will open with a performance of

the Abya Yala cantata, a Chilean Indigenous Suite

by Freddy Vilches along with other Latin American

favourites. The winter concert’s theme is

“Canadian Indigenous Music”. This is a collaboration

with the University of Guelph choirs and will

feature works by A. Balfour, S. Sewepagaham, T.

Williams and others. The June concert, “Four

Weddings and a Funeral”, will feature music of

love, longing and loss.

The Jubilate Singers rehearse on Tuesday

evenings, September through June, in the City of

Toronto. Each year the choir donates free tickets

to settlement houses, seniors’ centres and other

community organizations for people who would

not otherwise be able to attend cultural events.

Randy Gangbar

416-485-1988

info@jubilatesingers.ca

www.jubilatesingers.ca

● Kindred Spirits Orchestra

The Kindred Spirits Orchestra (KSO) is a critically

acclaimed audition-based civic orchestra

performing under the direction of Maestro

Kristian Alexander at the Meridian Arts Centre

(George Weston Recital Hall) and the CBC

Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, as well as at the

Flato Markham Theatre and the Cornell Recital

Hall. In addition to presenting concerts, the KSO

offers several educational, community outreach,

professional development and international cultural

exchange programmes.

Highlights of the 2025/26 season include

Tchaikovsky’s enigmatic “Manfred” Symphony,

Dukas’ colourful Symphony in C, Richard Strauss’

Neo-Baroque “Le bourgeois gentilhomme”,

Shostakovich‘s monumental Twelfth, Bruckner’s

apocalyptic Eighth, and Sibelius’ expressive

Second Symphony and a world premières

of Concerto for piano and orchestra “Pictures

from an Imagined Exhibition” by the award-winning

Canadian composer Alice Ho. Italian pianist

Antonio Di Stefano will make his Canadian début

with Ravel’s Concerto for piano and orchestra

in G. The German piano duo Florian Koltun - Xin

Wang will also make their Canadian début with

Mozart’s Concerto for two pianos and orchestra.

Jobert Sevilleno

905-604-8339

gm@KSOrchestra.ca

www.KSOrchestra.ca

www.facebook.com/pages/Kindred-

Spirits-Orchestra/250778850797

www.twitter.com/KSOrchestra

www.instagram.com/ksorchestra

● Li Delun Music Foundation

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Toronto,

the Li Delun Music Foundation is a non-profit

organisation dedicated to promoting multicultural

exchange between East and West through

musical activities.

The Foundation is named after the renowned

conductor Li Delun, who founded the first symphony

orchestra of the People’s Republic of China.

Today, the Foundation is renowned for hosting

high-calibre musical events and also promotes

the popularisation of classical music through

concerts and events. For example, the annual

“East-West New Year Concert” at George Weston

Hall brings outstanding musicians from China

and around the world to Toronto. In addition to

establishing the Toronto Festival Orchestra,


BLUE PAGES 2025/26

which provides talented young musicians with

the opportunity to collaborate with experienced

professionals, the Foundation also provides a

platform for young Canadian musicians to perform

solo recitals and various other performance

opportunities.

The Li Delun Music Foundation has also hosted

masterclasses and workshops by internationally

renowned artists such as Lang Lang, Chen

Sa, Haochen Zhang, Bruce Liu and Professor Lee

Kum-Sing, and others.

Rosalind Zhang

416-490-7962

rosy@lidelun.org

www.lidelun.org

www.facebook.com/LiDelunMusic

● Metropolitan United Church

Metropolitan United is blessed with several

choirs and groups that perform regularly. The

Metropolitan Choir is an auditioned choir of 25

members. They sing during the weekly Sunday

worship service and at special events. Weekly

rehearsals on Thursdays prepare the choir for

its performances. The choir offers a wide repertoire,

ranging from 17th-century to modern composers.

The choir often features Canadian works,

some written expressly for the group.

The Metropolitan Festival Choir is an auditioned

choir assembled for our annual Good Friday concert—a

Toronto tradition of more than 30 years.

The Festival Choir rehearses on Sunday afternoons

for six weeks prior to Good Friday. This

choir is an augmented choir that includes members

from Metropolitan United and the broader

community. The Handbell Choir is an ensemble

of 11 players who play a three-octave set of

handbells and hand chimes. The choir performs a

range of music, from traditional church music to

arrangements of modern hymns and folk songs.

The Metropolitan Silver Band has been a part of

the Metropolitan United community since 1934.

This brass and percussion ensemble performs a

mix of classics, marches, religious music, popular

selections, and contemporary works.

Jonathan Oldengarm

416-363-0331

office@metunited.ca

www.metunited.org

www.facebook.com/MetUnited

www.instagram.com/

metropolitanunitedto

● Mississauga Chamber Singers

The Mississauga Chamber Singers bring clarity

and intimacy to great choral masterpieces from a

wide range of A Capella works to timeless works

for choir and orchestra.

Led by Artistic Director, Mervin William Fick,

the choir presents dynamic concerts within a

widening scope of the classical choral repertoire.

The Mississauga Chamber Singers performs

a diverse season of extensive community

engagement events, multi-generational musical

education programming and ticketed concerts

in a variety of performance spaces within the city.

Come and hear the difference!

Jen Crawford

647-549-4524

jcrawford@mcsociety.ca

www.mcsingers.ca

www.facebook.com/mcsingersssocial

www.instagram.com/mchambersingers

www.youtube.com/@

mississaugachambersingers

● Mooredale Concerts

Our 2025/26 season showcases celebrated soloists

either in recital or ensemble formation. The

programs have an eclectic mix of world classical

works from Beethoven’s Archduke trio to

von Weber’s renowned clarinet quintet, adapted

two cello works by Bartok, Piazzolla, an all-Prokofiev

program, and fiery violin solos by Ysaÿe

and Kreisler.

The Players: Cello Fellos (Bryan Cheng & Leonard

Disselhorst), Busch Trio, David Jalbert, piano;

Eric Abramovitz, clarinet with four TSO strings;

Kerson Leong, violin. Five-concert subscriptions

are $325/$300 adult/senior and $150 under age

30. Concerts are Sundays at 3:15pm, Walter Hall

(UofT) - general admission seating.

MUSIC & TRUFFLES KIDS – Give your child their

first taste of classical music! Artists featured in

our mainstage events also perform a one-hour

mini-concert for young people ages 6-11 and their

parents, grandparents, and friends at 1:15pm. Subscriptions

are $125 and include a Lindt chocolate

truffle for everyone at the end of each concert.

Orford Music director Wonny Song, mentored by

Anton Kuerti, is our Artistic Director.

Christina Cavanagh

416-922-3714, x103 or 647-988-2102 (evg/

wknd)

marketing@mooredaleconcerts.com

www.mooredaleconcerts.com

www.facebook.com/

MooredaleConcerts

www.instagram.com/

mooredaleconcerts

● Music at St. Andrew’s

Since its 2011 launch, Music at St. Andrew’s has

gained a reputation for delivering great music

at affordable prices. We’re delighted to welcome

audiences to enjoy the superb acoustics of our

spacious sanctuary in the heart of Toronto’s

entertainment district.

St. Andrew’s magnificent Bösendorfer Imperial

Grand piano, which inspired the launch of our

music program, is used extensively in our free,

mostly classical Friday Noontime Recitals. Now in

its twelfth year of Fall and Winter/Spring recitals,

this popular series features graduate students

and professors from U of T’s Music Department,

established performers and rising young stars.

Join us on October 3 as we welcome flautist,

Caara Yeung and pianist Sonya Sim in a program

entitled “Debussy to Bacri”.

Following the success of last year’s Christmas

concert, we’ve invited St. Andrew’s renowned

professional choir to take the stage again on Friday,

December 12. Come and share in some of the

musical treasures of the season.

Dan Bickle

416-593-5600, x220

info@standrewstoronto.org

www.standrewstoronto.org

www.facebook.com/musicatstandrews

● Music Toronto

Experience great chamber music with Music

TORONTO, a presenter of the finest ensembles,

pianists and vocalists from home and abroad.

We enrich our community through chamber

music by presenting concerts, supporting artistic

development, and producing community

engagement and education initiatives. Artistic

and Executive Director Roman Borys invites you

to our 2025/26 season at the Jane Mallett Theatre

at the St Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

We open our season with celebrated Canadian

violinist James Ehnes and his quartet –

performing in Toronto for the very first time. We

continue with renowned German violinist Christian

Tetzlaff in concert with cellist Tanja Tetzlaff

and pianist Kiveli Doerken. We’ll hear from solo

pianists Michelle Cann and Louis Lortie. Rob

Kapilow will return with his much-loved “What

Makes it Great?®” presentations. The Gryphon

Trio will collaborate with both the Nordic Voices

and the Hilario Durán Trio. Celebrated British cellist

Stephen Isserlis joins forces with pianist Connie

Shih, and we top the season off with brilliant

programs presented by Berlin’s Leonkoro Quartet

and the Penderecki Quartet.

Experience the transformative power of live

music – enlightening, entertaining, enriching, and

deeply engaging.

Roman Borys

416-214-1660

info@music-toronto.com

www.music-toronto.com

www.facebook.com/MusicToronto

www.instagram.com/music.

toronto.concerts

●The Nathaniel Dett Chorale

The Nathaniel Dett Chorale is a 21-voice SATB professional

choir based in Toronto, dedicated to the

creation, performance, and preservation of Afrocentric

music of all styles and genres. Founded

by artistic director D. Brainerd Blyden-Taylor in

1998, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale is Canada’s premier

performer of Afrocentric composers and a

touchstone for the education of audiences and

communities regarding the spectrum of Afrocentric

choral music. The mission of the NDC is

to build bridges of understanding, appreciation,


and acceptance between communities of people

through the medium of music. The Chorale has

a three-concert series in Toronto, tours extensively

each season, and has released several CDs

and DVDs.

The Nathaniel Dett Chorale is artist-in-residence

at the Harriet Tubman Institute for

Research on Africa and its Diasporas. Membership

is by audition.

Brainerd Blyden-Taylor

416-712-7740

brainerd@nathanieldettchorale.org

www.nathanieldettchorale.org

www.facebook.com/

thenathanieldettchorale

x.com/ndettchorale

www.instagram.com/

thenathanieldettchorale

● New Music Concerts

METROPOLITAN UNITED CHURCH SILVER BAND

New Music Concerts furthers the appreciation,

creation and performance of exceptional adventurous

music for everyone, promoting innovative

and cutting-edge music by Canadian and international

composers.

Founded in 1971, NMC is an internationally

renowned leader and unique in Toronto as the

foremost champion of contemporary works

for large chamber ensemble, often performing

alongside cutting edge technology.

For NMC, adventurous music is any music

that, when heard at any stage of your listening

journey, teaches you something new, ignites a

spark, and inspires you. We believe that the ability

to appreciate adventurous music is a skill that

can be learned, practiced, and acquired. Achieving

this expands listeners’ horizons, unveiling

a new world of composers, ensembles, and

fresh concepts.

It is NMC’s mandate to nurture a dialogue

between the voices of multiple musical traditions,

including those that have been historically

underrepresented.

No matter where you come from, if you love

adventurous music, you will always have a home

at NMC.

Brian Current, Artistic Director

info@newmusicconcerts.com

www.newmusicconcerts.com

www.facebook.com/newmusicconcerts

x.com/newmusicconcert

www.instagram.com/nmctoronto

www.youtube.com/@newmusicconcerts

● Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation

Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation marks its 32nd

anniversary this season under the continuing

leadership of artistic director Eric Robertson. Nine

Sparrows Arts Foundation has presented a rich

variety of concerts for Toronto audiences, including

its popular weekly recital series, as well as

international groups such as King’s College Cambridge

Choir, Clare College Singers and St. John’s

College Choir. It has also featured Canadian artists

including Erica Goodman, David Hetherington,

John McDermott, Sharlene Wallace, Anne Lindsay,

Neil Swainson, John Johnson, Guido Basso,

Guy Few, Heather Bambrick, Al Kay, Marek Norman,

Barbara Barsky, the True North Brass, the

Gryphon Trio, and percussion ensemble NEXUS.

Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation is also involved

in the City Carol Sing, a large annual charity event

that raises money for food banks across Canada.

Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation is a not-for-profit

organization dedicated to bringing the best in

inspirational arts programming. It is governed

by an elected volunteer board of directors and

operates with the assistance of advisors from a

variety of backgrounds, including event management,

promotions, finance and business.

Colleen Burns

416-241-1298

9sparrows.arts@gmail.com

www.9sparrowsarts.org

www.facebook.com/NineSparrowsArts

● North Wind Concerts

“Music is life itself. What would this world be without

good music? No matter what kind it is.” - Louis

Armstrong

North Wind Concerts celebrates chamber

music of many kinds, with innovative programming

of repertoire from the European Baroque

and Renaissance, and the occasional Classical

and contemporary program. And through the

music-making and Q&As of its Encircling the

World series, NWC offers an opportunity for

delight and insight from Toronto’s richly varied

musical communities.

The 2025/26 season includes “Ephemera: Corelli

in China”, Italian Baroque music heard at the

18th-century court of Emperor Kangxi; words and

music for the quieter moments at “Versailles in

Playlist for Louis”; “Queens of Hearts”, English and

Italian music from the turn of the 17th century;

two “Encircling the World” programs featuring

harps and clarinets; and “In the Key of Cocteau”, a

collaboration with the Toronto Silent Film Festival.

NWC also presents musical workshops, and –

take note! - in 2025/26 will inaugurate its Renaissance

Big Band for young musicians aged 12-26!

Alison Melville

416-588-4301

northwindconcerts@gmail.com

www.northwindconcerts.com

www.facebook.com/northwindconcerts

● Off Centre Music Salon

Founded in 1995 by pianists Inna Perkis and Boris

Zarankin, Off Centre Music Salon is a Torontobased

chamber music series known for its

adventurous programming, intimate concert

experiences, and dedication to Canadian talent.

Inspired by the 17th-century Parisian salon tradition

and enriched by their artistic experiences in

Vienna, the founders envisioned a space where

music, storytelling, and intellectual exchange

could flourish.

Rooted in history but forward-looking in spirit,

Off Centre has continually adapted—bringing

together emerging and established musicians,

and offering audiences a uniquely personal way

to engage with music. The series remains a rare

blend of warmth, depth, and artistry that reflects

the founders’ vision: to create not just concerts,

but conversations.

This special season is titled “Dream The Impossible

Dream.” It will stand as a landmark 30th

Anniversary Season, showcasing eminent Canadian

artists throughout all five concerts of

the season.

Tamara Vuckovic

647-285-8002

tam.vuckovic@hotmail.com

www.offcentremusic.com

www.facebook.com/

offcentremusictoronto

www.instagram.com/

offcentremusicsalon


BLUE PAGES 2025/26

● Opera Atelier

Opera Atelier is a renowned opera and ballet

company dedicated to creating historicallyinformed,

period productions that serve as

complete artistic statements. Each production

is meticulously crafted from the ground up, with

equal focus on music, dance, acting, and design—

all performed on authentic period instruments.

Committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion,

Opera Atelier integrates these principles

into every facet of its administrative and

artistic initiatives, fostering a welcoming and

diverse environment.

Opera Atelier celebrates 40 years with The

Magic Flute!

Andrea Meister

416-703-3767

tickets@operaatelier.com

www.operaatelier.com

www.instagram.com/operaatelier

● Orpheus Choir of Toronto

Orpheus’ vision is to celebrate the power of

choral music as an agent of social change

and a passionate medium of artistic expression.

The 65-voice choir, under artistic director

Thomas Burton, champions the new and unusual

in choral performance, commissioning and introducing

new works and performing overlooked

masterpieces. Regularly working with living composers

and singing a wide range of repertoire in

concerts with high production values, Orpheus

has introduced audiences to many accessible

works from the current generation of leading

composers. Orpheus supports young emerging

vocal talent through its highly respected Sidgwick

Scholars Program and its newer Vocal Apprentice

Program for high school singers. Winners

of the 2018 Choral Canada Award for Outstanding

Innovation, Orpheus continues to present

an “expect something different” experience!

The 2025/26 season features a performance

focusing on the Earth, a seasonal collaboration

with Hannaford Street Silver Band, Karl Jenkins’

Requiem, and a program for double choir with

the Guelph Chamber Choir.

Helen Coxon

416-420-9660

info@orpheuschoirtoronto.com

www.orpheuschoirtoronto.com

www.facebook.com/orpheuschoirTO

www.instagram.com.orpheuschoirTO

● Pax Christi Chorale

Pax Christi Chorale, under the artistic direction

of Dr. Elaine Choi, is a vibrant and dynamic 100-

voice auditioned choir that shares its passion for

choral music through singing, performance and

outreach. Our singers bring to life a diverse range

of repertoire that includes both grand choral

masterworks and fresh, newly commissioned

works. Drawing on a broad base from across

the Greater Toronto Area, the choir has built a

loyal following, and continues to broaden its community

and deepen its impact as a leading choral

organization in the city. We value partnerships

and connections to enhance our knowledge,

expand our reach, and strengthen relationships

within the arts community. Our overarching aim

is to create a welcoming space for the development

of choral skills and to share meaningful

musical experiences with a wider audience.

Pax Christi Chorale presents five choral programs

over the 2025/26 season, including Ariel

Ramirez’s Misa Criolla in October, Benjamin Britten’s

St. Nicolas Cantata in April, and Mahler’s

Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) with Cathedral

Bluffs Symphony Orchestra in May.

Cynthia Hawkins

executivedirector@paxchristichorale.org

www.paxchristichorale.org

www.facebook.com/paxchristichorale

www.twitter.com/paxchristichorale

www.instagram.com/paxchristichorale

●The Peterborough Singers

Originally formed as the Peterborough Symphony

Singers in 1990, the Peterborough Singers (PS)

became a stand-alone entity in 1993. This highly

regarded choir boasts upwards of 130 members

under the direction of Sydney Birrell. Each season,

the choir presents four concerts, incorporating

a blend of repertoire from gospel to sacred

to pop to oratorio. World-class, professional Canadian

soloists enjoy performing with the choir

time and again. The PS also make a point of incorporating

young emerging artists into their season,

giving them a chance to perform alongside some

of the more seasoned performers. Specially commissioned

music from Canadian composers is

part of the regular repertoire. The Singers offer

weekly music classes, enabling young musicians

to develop the skills required for Choral music

performance. The PS appreciates the wonderful

support given by the community.

Peg McCracken

705-745-1820

singers@peterboroughsingers.com

www.peterboroughsingers.com

www.facebook.com/

PeterboroughSingers

www.instagram.com/singersptbo

● RCCO Toronto

Founded in October 1924, the Royal Canadian College

of Organists’ Toronto Centre (RCCO Toronto)

is the city’s foremost advocate for the pipe organ

and its music. We host public concerts, featuring

both internationally-acclaimed artists and local

performers, as well as masterclasses, workshops,

lectures and other special events. Many

of our events are intended for general audiences,

while some of our educational offerings are specially

designed to support organists and church

musicians in their professional work. The centre

also offers scholarships to students interested

in organ studies. Visit our website and

follow us on social media for updates about our

2025/26 season!

Stefani Bedin (Centre President)

toronto@rcco.ca

www.rcco.ca/toronto

www.facebook.com/RccoTO

● Rezonance Baroque Ensemble

Founded in 2012, Rezonance Baroque Ensemble

has become widely known as one of the boldest

and most distinctive chamber groups on

Toronto’s classical music scene. This reputation

is founded on programming focusing primarily

on music of the Baroque, regularly integrating

improvisation and making use of innovative

concert formats to frame the ensemble’s diverse

repertoire. As the group’s reputation has grown,

it has developed an audience that has become

increasingly captivated by these innovative yet

accessible performances. In 2019, Rezonance

was featured in the Early Music America Emerging

Artists Showcase. On the wings of this success,

Rezonance released its debut album, James

Oswald: Airs for the Seasons, with Leaf Music

in 2023.

Inspired by history and informed by the present,

Rezonance leads its audiences through their discovery

of under-appreciated and unusual works,

as well as new ways of hearing the classics, in a

manner that is intimate, accessible, and fun, while

maintaining the highest possible artistry.

Rezan Onen-Lapointe

647-779-5696

info@rezonanceensemble.com

www.rezonanceensemble.com

www.facebook.com/rezonancebaroq

www.instagram.com/rezonancebaroque

www.youtube.com/@

rezonanceensemble2210

●The Rose Brampton

Brampton On Stage presents enriching artistic

programming for all ages at The Rose, Brampton’s

premier live performance destination; outdoors

in Garden Square, a community-focused

gathering space for special events and celebrations;

and at select locations in the city. Supporting

Brampton’s diverse creative talent, its

vision is to build an inspiring performing arts

community that reflects the spirit and diversity

of Brampton. Experience the power of live performance

with programming in Garden Square

and at The Rose, including Mainstage Presentations,

Studio Presentations, This is Brampton,

Arts Adventures, and Guest Presentations.

Connect with Brampton On Stage on Instagram,

X(formerly Twitter), Facebook and LinkedIn.

Carrie Libling

905-874-2800

performingarts@brampton.ca


tickets.brampton.ca/online/default.asp

www.facebook.com/BramptonOnStage

x.com/bramptononstage

www.instagram.com/bramptononstage

www.youtube.com/@bramptononstage

●The Royal Conservatory of Music

The Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall is “the

greatest venue in this city” and “magnificent in its

acoustics, as much as in its design” (The Toronto

Star). This concert season has a diverse lineup of

more than 80 inspiring performances in store for

you, featuring exceptional artists representing

Canada and the world. Experience the thrill of

live music in the magnificent Koerner Hall with

unforgettable classical, jazz, roots, and global

music concerts.

Radostina Ivanova

416-408-2824, x368

radostina.ivanova@rcmusic.ca

www.rcmusic.com/performance/royalconservatory-concerts

www.facebook.com/koernerhall

● Scarborough Philharmonic

Orchestra

Under the direction of Ron Royer, who brings

years of experience as a conductor, musician,

composer and music educator, the SPO has

developed as a lively community orchestra and

a Canadian composition incubator while also

producing live and digital chamber concerts by

orchestra ensembles.

The SPO has been an anchor cultural organisation

in Scarborough for 45 years and presents,

on average, six main-series concerts each year

in addition to performing/presenting at festivals

and community celebrations. It also records,

develops and presents substantial Canadian

programming, for which it was recognized by

the Canadian Music Centre with the 2021 John

Beckwith Award.

The orchestra has a professional core, augmented

by high-achieving community amateur

musicians. Annually, it offers a unique program

for new generation artists and composers working

in both concert and film music..

The SPO is also a local resource as a co-producer

of recording projects by local ensembles,

artists and choirs. Orchestras Canada included

SPO in its “Digital Toolkit” as an exemplar for

small orchestras citing its podcast, streaming

content and recording production skills.

Michael Jones

647-956-1182

mjones@spo.ca

www.spo.ca

www.facebook.com/SPOGreatMusic

www.instagram.com/spogreatmusic

www.youtube.com/@SPOGreatMusic

REZONANCE BAROQUE ENSEMBLE

● SoundCrowd

SoundCrowd is Toronto’s first large-scale contemporary

a cappella ensemble led by Founder

and Artistic Director Scott Pietrangelo. Since

their first performance backing up former Barenaked

Ladies frontman Steven Page in concert,

they have repeatedly sold out concerts in Toronto

each year, appeared at both Carnegie Hall and

the Lincoln Center at Deke Sharon’s (Pitch Perfect)

annual Total Vocal concerts in 2017 and

2025, opened for Disney’s a cappella sensation,

DCappella, appeared as special surprise guests

on the Canadian national talk show, “The Social,”

and launched their first album, All Voice, No Limits

in May of 2023.

Scott Pietrangelo

647-970-1397

info@soundcrowd.ca

www.soundcrowd.ca

www.facebook.com/

soundcrowdtoronto

www.x.com/SoundCrowd

www.instagram.com/

soundcrowdtoronto

www.youtube.com/@

soundcrowdofficial8162

● Soundstreams

Soundstreams is a global leader in the presentation

of innovative, carefully curated, and

immersive musical experiences. Artistic Director

Lawrence Cherney is committed to showcasing

the work of living Canadian and global

composers/musicians, often with a focus on

bringing to focus contemporary conversations

in our communities.

Our upcoming 2025/26 season features Montreal’s

Quatuor Bozzini, The Estonian Philharmonic

Chamber Choir, and more.

Kayla

416-504-1282, x106

kaylam@soundstreams.ca

www.soundstreams.ca

www.facebook.com/soundstreams

www.instagram.com/soundstreams

● S. Bartholomew’s Anglican

Church, Regent Park

S. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church, located in

Regent Park, preserves a timeless pattern of worship

rooted in the evolving tradition of Western

Christianity. Under the direction of Early Music

specialist Katherine Hill, the S. Bart’s choir sings

at the Sunday Parish mass (11am) and on other

Feast Days throughout the year. The choir’s repertoire

spans many centuries, featuring Gregorian

chant, Medieval and Renaissance polyphony, Baroque

motets, a wide variety of later English Cathedral

music and French Romanticism.

Father Walter Hannam

416-368-9180

stbartsanglican@gmail.com

www.stbartstoronto.ca

www.facebook.com/stbartsregentpark

www.instagram.com/st_barts_to

www.youtube.com/channel/

UC9NIn_hvAzv9-kMY6NYr3Rg

● St. James Cathedral

Music is central to the life, worship, and ministry

of St. James Cathedral in Toronto. Rooted in the

rich Anglican choral tradition, the music program

continues to evolve in new and exciting ways.

The Cathedral Choir sings for two choral services

each Sunday—at the 11am Eucharist and 4:30pm

Choral Evensong—and for special liturgical occasions,

offering sacred music from the 16th century

to today. Directed by Thomas Bell, the choir

welcomes both experienced amateur singers and

professional voices.

Handel’s Messiah will be presented on

December 13, 2025, and the Advent and


BLUE PAGES 2025/26

Christmas candlelight services are beloved seasonal

highlights.

Weekly organ recitals take place every Tuesday

at 1pm on our 5,100-pipe organ, featuring talented

organists from around the world—admission is

free. St. James also supports an Organ Scholar.

Enquiries about the music program are welcome

and may be directed to Thomas Bell, Director of

Music at tbell@stjamescathedral.ca.

Thomas Bell - Director of Music

416-364-7865

info@stjamescathedral.ca

stjamescathedral.ca

www.facebook.com/stjamesto

www.instagram.com/stjamesto

www.youtube.com/c/

StJamesCathedralToronto

● St. Michael’s Choir School

Since 1937, St. Michael’s Choir School has served

the Archdiocese of Toronto by educating and

training the boys’ choirs that sing every weekend

at St. Michael’s Cathedral. Founded by Monsignor

J.E. Ronan, St. Michael’s Choir School is unique

in offering both an enriched academic program,

including extended French instruction, integrated

with a lively ministry of sacred music. Choirs from

St. Michael’s Choir School perform annually on

tour and at many local concerts and events.

During the school year, they sing three weekly

Masses at St. Michael’s Cathedral. School alumni

are active in Toronto and beyond, performing in

choral groups, operas and more. St. Michael’s

Choir School accepts boys in grades 3 to 12, helping

them realize their full academic, musical and

spiritual potential. Our academic and music programmes

result in the formation of well-rounded

young men of character and faith.

For more information, please visit our website

or contact us via email.

Pina Povolo

416-723-8171

povolo@smcs.on.ca

www.smcs.on.ca

www.facebook.com/

stmichaelschoirschool

www.x.com/smchoirschool

www.instagram.com/

stmichaelschoirschool

www.youtube.com/@

StMichaelsChoirSchool

●Tafelmusik

Every now and then, a group of musicians comes

along and changes the way we think about music.

For over four decades, Tafelmusik has been synonymous

worldwide with dynamic, engaging, and

soulful performances informed by scholarship,

passion and artistic excellence.

Performing on instruments and in styles appropriate

to the era, Tafelmusik has performed in

more than 350 cities in 32 countries. Its extensive

discography on the Sony, CBC Records,

Analekta and Tafelmedia labels has garnered

ten JUNOs and numerous international recording

prizes. From a vibrant home season in Toronto,

to international tours, award-winning recordings,

innovative collaborations, and inspiring

education programs, Tafelmusik is a musical

powerhouse with a reputation for thrilling and

delighting audiences.

Lana Leprich

416-432-1148

lleprich@tafelmusik.org

www.tafelmusik.org

www.facebook.com/tafelmusik

www.instagram.com/tafelmusikbocc

www.youtube.com/tafelmusik1979

●Toronto Beach Chorale

An auditioned concert choir, Toronto Beach

Chorale attracts singers who are highly motivated,

with excellent musical skills. We offer

three choral concerts each season, performed

with professional soloists and instrumental

ensembles.

In addition to our concert season, which this

year includes music by Handel, Bach and Haydn,

we actively participate in community events,

collaborating with other groups and artists to

enhance the quality of life in our neighbourhood

and the City. Toronto Beach Chorale is a vital

musical presence in the Beach, and has achieved

a reputation for artistic excellence.

We are supported by professional orchestras

and ensembles, and we engage professional and

emerging soloists in principal solo roles.

Our Artistic Director, Mervin W Fick, has been

transforming choirs, inspiring individuals and

raising performance levels of choirs for over 35

years. He is the founding director of the Toronto

Beach Chorale, Artistic Director of the MCS

Chorus of Mississauga, and conductor of the PCS

Singers of Brampton and the National Awardwinning

Esprit Chamber Choir. One of the greatest

gifts that Mervin brings to performances

through the singers under his direction is his

ability to inspire truly joyful singing.

Vlad Bortnowski

416-839-2058

vbortnowski@gmail.com

www.torontobeachchorale.com

www.facebook.com/

torontobeachchorale

www.instagram.com/

torontobeachchorale

●Toronto Chamber Choir

The Toronto Chamber Choir has held a prominent

place enriching Canada’s early music scene

since 1968. Since 2014, the TCC’s Artistic Director

is lutenist Lucas Harris. Past directors have

included David Fallis and Mark Vuorinen.

The TCC’s 30 to 40 auditioned singers specialise

in Renaissance and Baroque repertoire

in collaboration with period instrumentalists,

though its themed concerts (four per season)

often include music from other time periods and

diverse cultures. Our performances often explore

the cultural context of our repertoire using narration

and a multimedia component. Since 2014,

we’ve run the Toronto Chamber Consort section

lead program for professional singers with a special

interest in early music, and since 2003, we’ve

run an apprenticeship program with Rosedale

Heights School for the Arts.

Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings at Church

of the Transfiguration (Mt. Pleasant/Davisville).

The TCC is committed to inclusion and diversity of

perspectives within the choir. We welcome audition

requests from singers with excellent choral

skills at any time through arrangement with the

Artistic Director.

Mary Thomas Nagel

416-903-8054

www.torontochamberchoir.ca

www.facebook.com/

torontochamberchoir

www.instagram.com/

torontochamberchoir

●Toronto Children’s Chorus

The Toronto Children’s Chorus (TCC) is a vibrant

musical community that has been nurturing

young voices for generations. The Chorus is led

by internationally acclaimed Artistic Director Dr.

Zimfira Poloz (2022-present), who follows in the

esteemed footsteps of Founder and Artistic Director

Jean Ashworth Bartle C.M., O.Ont., and

Artistic Director Elise Bradley, MNZM. The TCC

is proud to have been a cornerstone of choral

excellence in Toronto and Canada for 47+ years.

The TCC consists of 8 choirs for ages 6-18 that

provide exceptional music, vocal, and performance

training. TCC presents a concert series

each season and regularly collaborates with the

Toronto Symphony and other Toronto performing

arts organisations.

Dominic Ebona

416-932-8666

info@torontochildrenschorus.com

www.torontochildrenschorus.com

www.facebook.com/

torontochildrenschorus

www.instagram.com/


www.youtube.com/@


●Toronto Choral Society

The Toronto Choral Society has been an important

part of our city’s musical history since first

established in 1845! We provide a positive musical

environment that enables members to learn and

develop both musical ability and choral repertoire.

Under the guidance of our renowned

conductor Geoff Butler, you will receive expert

choral instruction.

This 2025/26 season, we will be performing


four concerts beginning with “The Lark Still

Bravely Sings”, a Remembrance Day Concert,

honouring Canadian veterans and those who

served in the armed forces. Our Christmas

concert at Koerner Hall is Handel’s Messiah, a

Christmas classic. In March, we will be with the

Scarborough Philharmonic orchestra, again a

unique experience.

The final concert of the season will be “Both

Sides Now”, with folk and rock music from the

1960s; a great evening.

We rehearse on Wednesday nights at Eastminster

Church, 310 Danforth Ave (Chester Subway).

Debby Blyth

416-499-3000

info@torontochoralsociety.org

www.torontochoralsociety.org

www.facebook.com/

TorontoChoralSociety

www.instagram.com/

torontochoralsociety/

●Toronto Classical Singers

Toronto Classical Singers uphold the highest

standards in performing works from the past

300 years. Now in our 35th season, we continue

to delight Toronto audiences with the best of this

wonderful musical heritage – and we always welcome

new members!

Our choir is highly regarded for its commitment

to professionalism and for a repertoire

spanning the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic

periods. Under the baton of John Holland, our

new Artistic Director, the choir continues its longstanding

partnership with the Toronto Classical

Players, an accomplished orchestra that accompanies

the choir’s performances.

For our 2025-26 season, we are pleased to

present two concerts. On December 7, 2025, we

will perform Magnificats by three different composers:

JS Bach, CPE Bach, and Zelenka. For

our April 19, 2026, concert, we present Mozart’s

Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, and Dvorák’s

Mass in D and Psalm 149.

Our Western choral tradition has brought

great beauty into this world for centuries. That

has never been more important, and the Toronto

Classical Singers are dedicated to ensuring that

this vital, inspiring tradition endures and thrives.

If this is your kind of music, then come sing

with us!

Anne Molloy

647-960-2405

info@torontoclassicalsingers.ca

www.torontoclassicalsingers.ca

www.facebook.com/

TorontoClassicalSingers

www.instagram.com/

torontoclassicalsingers

TORONTO CHILDREN’S CHORUS

●Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

The Juno Award-winning and Grammy-nominated

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir (TMChoir) is one

of Canada’s oldest, largest, and most celebrated

choral ensembles. Founded in 1894 as part of

Massey Hall’s inaugural season, TMChoir has led

Canadian choral music for over a century, commissioning

works by leading composers and performing

with the world’s top orchestras. Led by

Artistic Director Jean-Sébastien Vallée, the Choir

honours its legacy while reimagining the future of

choral performance. This past season, TMChoir

released Remember: 130 Years of Choral Music,

available for streaming everywhere.

The 2025/26 season features Brahms’ German

Requiem with Russell Braun and Charlotte Siegel;

three premieres by composer-in-residence

Stephanie Martin, including The Treasures, at the

beloved Festival of Carols; Bach’s monumental St.

Matthew Passion; and Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred

Veil, presented with Metropolitan United Church

for Cancer Awareness Month. TMChoir also joins

the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for Carmina

Burana, Messiah, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony,

and travels to Ottawa to perform Mahler’s

Resurrection Symphony with the National

Arts Centre Orchestra under Alexander Shelley.

Devon Klaas

416-598-0422

marketing@tmchoir.org

www.tmchoir.org

www.facebook.com/tmchoir

www.instagram.com/tmchoir

www.youtube.com/@tmchoir

●Toronto Operetta Theatre

Toronto Operetta Theatre has been Canada’s only

company solely dedicated to music theatre for

over 40 years.

TOT will return to the St. Lawrence Centre

stage for the 2025/26 season, presenting a

distinguished repertoire of music, comedy, and

romance from Operetta and Music Theatre.

The season will commence with “The Mikado -

Revisited” by Gilbert & Sullivan, featuring a new

setting in England, with performances scheduled

for October 24, 25, and 26, 2025. To celebrate the

holiday season, TOT will present Imre Kalman’s

Czardas Princess, beginning December 30, 2025,

with additional shows on January 2, 3, and 4,

2026, under the direction of Derek Bate. The season

will conclude with Johann Strauss’s A Night

in Venice, offered on April 17, 18, and 19, 2026. All

principal performances will take place at the St.

Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

Our patrons’ favourite, TOT’s Cabaret series

at the intimate Edward Jackman Centre, will be

held on Saturday, October 4, 2025, November 29,

2025, and March 7, 2026, starting at 4pm.

Guillermo Silva-Marin

416-366-7723

admin@torontooperetta.com

www.torontooperetta.com

www.facebook.com/TorontoOperetta

www.twitter.com/TorontoOperetta

www.instagram.com/torontooperetta

●Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Founded in 1922, the TSO performs at Roy Thomson

Hall and is known for artistic excellence,

versatility, and global reach through touring,

recordings, and broadcasts. This 2025/26 season,

Music Director Gustavo Gimeno leads the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra with bold vision

and vibrant artistry. The season opens with Carmina

Burana and closes with Beethoven’s Symphony

No. 9. Highlights include Rachmaninoff’s

Piano Concerto No. 3, Mahler’s Ninth, five more

Beethoven symphonies, and new works by Joe

Hisaishi, Jessie Montgomery, Cris Derksen, and

Wynton Marsalis. Hear soloists like Joshua Bell,

Bruce Liu, and María Dueñas at Roy Thomson Hall

and the expanded North York series at Meridian

Arts Centre.


BLUE PAGES 2025/26

The TSO serves its community through wideranging

education programs, including School

Concerts for 40,000+ students and the tuitionfree

Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. Additionally,

the TSO supports the development of

next-generation artists through its annual open

call for Canadian orchestral scores, and its

essential Resident Conductor and Affiliate Composer

positions.

Mavigail Sergio

416-598-3375

contactus@tso.ca

www.tso.ca

www.facebook.com/

torontosymphonyorchestra

www.x.com/torontosymphony

www.instagram.com/torontosymphony

www.youtube.com/user/

TorontoSymphony

●Trinity Bach Project

Trinity Bach Project is a professional vocal and

instrumental ensemble that inspires new audiences

with the extraordinary musical and spiritual

riches of J. S. Bach’s choral repertoire. By

bringing to life the underperformed cantatas of

Bach with clarity, excellence, and generosity, we

remove barriers around classical choral music

and open the doors of sacred places—both historic

architecture and human hearts.

The 44 concerts of our first three seasons

included such programs as “Bach & Mendelssohn,”

“Bach and Schütz,” “Bach & Tallis,” “Bach &

Roses,” and “Bach & Honour,” shared with diverse

audiences in 18 different church settings around

Toronto and the surrounding region. Season four

is set to debut in October 2025 with “Bach and the

Earth,” featuring the vivacious cantatas BWV 187

(Es wartet alles auf dich) and BWV 76 (Die Himmel

erzählen die Ehre Gottes), while January to June

will see, “Bach & Anguish” (BWV 12 and 127), “Bach

& Rising (BWV 67 and 95), and “Bach & Wings”

(BWV 137 and 43).

Chris Friesen

306-250-4256

trinitybachproject@gmail.com

www.trinitybachproject.org

www.faceboook.com/trinitybachproject

www.instagram.com/trinitybachproject

● Upper Canada Choristers

The concert will feature The Ceremony of Carols

by Benjamin Britten with harpist, Liane James.

On May 8, 2026, the Choristers will present

“Songs of Love and Understanding”, with music

by Richard Rogers and Lerner and Loewe. We

will also premiere a new work: Searching for Love

and Understanding, an Empathetic Tapestry, with

music by Laurie Evan Fraser and texts by Jacqui

Atkin and Jacinto Salcedo.

Laurie Evan Fraser

416-256-3809

lef@uppercanadachoristers.org

www.uppercanadachoristers.org

www.facebook.com/

uppercanadachoristers

●Vesnivka Choir

Vesnivka Choir, established in 1965 by founding

artistic director Halyna Kvitka Kondracki,

has delighted audiences around the world with

its rich repertoire of Ukrainian liturgical, classical,

contemporary and traditional folk music.

Vesnivka, together with its partner, the Toronto

Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir (TUMCC) (also

founded by Kondracki and singing under the

umbrella of Vesnivka Choir), are often accompanied

by professional soloists and chamber ensembles

of area musicians. Under the leadership of

co-conductors, Kondracki and Nazar Lozynskyy,

the 2025/26 season will include its annual Ukrainian

Christmas concert on January 11, 2026, a celebration

of Vesnivka’s 60th anniversary with a

concert on March 29, 2026, and “Chornobyl 40”,

a joint concert with Canadian Bandurist Capella

commemorating the 40th anniversary of the

Chornobyl Disaster, to be held April 26,

2026. Vesnivka also sings at Christmas and

Easter Lit-urgies. New singers for both choirs

are welcome throughout the year. If interested,

please contact us via our website. Regular

rehearsals are held Tuesday evenings at the

Ukrainian National Fed-eration building, 145

Evans Avenue, Toronto, from 7pm to 9pm.

Nykola Parzei

416-246-9880

nykola@vesnivka.com

www.vesnivka.com

www.facebook.com/vesnivka

www.instagram.com/vesnivka

●VIVA Singers Toronto

VIVA’s dedicated efforts to put choristers first

inform our rehearsal structures and music-making

processes. We embrace the coexistence of a

high level of artistic and educational engagement

while fostering a truly inclusive environment.

We continue to advocate for all voices, and push

for inclusivity to ensure that anyone who enjoys

music is welcomed - and challenged - at VIVA.

Victoria Shalygin

416-788-8482

admin@vivayouthsingers.com

vivasingerstoronto.com

www.facebook.com/vivasingerstoronto

www.instagram.com/

vivasingerstoronto

●VOCA Chorus of Toronto

The VOCA Chorus of Toronto, a dynamic, auditioned

ensemble led by artistic director Jenny

Crober, performs a wide range of repertoire in

collaboration with a variety of superb guests.

Our brilliant collaborative pianist is Dakota Scott-

Digout. VOCA’s season consists of concerts, cabaret/fundraisers,

community performances and

workshops. Several remarkable artists have

joined us as clinicians, including composer Ola

Gjeilo, conductor Ivars Taurins and jazz musician

Dylan Bell.

VOCA’s exciting 2025/26 season will open

with a concert with the Sinfonía por el Perú

Youth Choir on October 8, conducted and featuring

selections by Cree composers Andrew

Balfour and Sherryl Sewepagaham. VOCA’s

professional leads will present a cabaret/fundraiser

on October 28. Our seasonal concert

on December 20 at Eglinton St. George’s will

include world premieres by two of Canada’s

most renowned composers, Sarah Quartel and

Mark Sirett, with cellist Sybil Shanahan, organist

Shawn Grenke and percussionist Jamie

Drake. Our Spring 2026 Cabaret will be held on

February 28, and our May 2 concert will feature

guitarist Jason Fowler and a string quartet, with

works by Ola Gjeilo and others. We rehearse on

Mondays at Riverdale Presbyterian (Danforth/

Pape subway).

Jenny Crober

416-931-8224

crober.best@gmail.com

www.vocachorus.ca

www.facebook.com/vocachorus

The Upper Canada Choristers is an SATB community

choir in Toronto with a history of collaboration

with both local and international choirs and

professional guest artists. UCC is committed to

excellence and diversity. Cantemos is UCC’s auditioned

Latin American ensemble. Founding Artistic

Director, Laurie Evan Fraser and Accompanist,

Hye Won Cecilia Lee provide the professional

musical leadership for this vibrant organization.

The 2025/26 concert season opens with “This

Little Child on Friday”, December 5 at 7:30pm at

Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Road.

VIVA Singers Toronto is a family of seven choirs

with a mandate to give members, ages four

through adult, the opportunity to achieve artistic

excellence in a singer-centred, collaborative

choral community.

VIVA offers diverse musical programming,

including regular performance and international

touring opportunities, musical literacy, chorister

composition and Orff-based creation activities,

an annual fall Performing Arts Camp and commissioned

works and partnerships with distinguished

musicians and composers.

●VOICEBOX: Opera In Concert

VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert is Canada’s only

company dedicated exclusively to the presentation

of rare opera programming for over 50

years. Our performances rely on the power and

beauty of the human voice, the dramatic inflection

of text and poetry, accompanied by orchestra

or piano.

Our performances will continue at our new

venue, Jeanne Lamon Hall at Trinity St. Paul Centre,

as we present three operas under the theme


“Taking Ownership of Opera Rarities in Performance.”

The 2025/26 season will commence with

Grétry’s Richard Coeur-de-Lion on Saturday,

November 15, 2025. This will be followed by Bellini’s

La Sonnambula on Saturday, February 14,

2026, and conclude with Kurt Weill’s Lost in the

Stars on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

The OIC Chorus, under the direction of Robert

Cooper and our Music Directors, will be featured

in each production.

Guillermo Silva-Marin

416-408-0208

admin@operainconcert.com

www.operainconcert.com

www.facebook.com/OperaInConcert

www.twitter.com/OperainConcert

www.instagram.com/

voiceboxoperainconcert

●Women’s Musical Club of Toronto

TRINITY BACH PROJECT

For more than 125 years, Women’s Musical Club

of Toronto (WMCT)’s concerts have been a testament

to Toronto’s enduring appreciation of

top-quality chamber music. They have also been

a tribute to our founders’ determination to perform

and participate in the musical life of the city

despite historical social barriers. Today, WMCT’s

Music in the Afternoon concert series can be

enjoyed by anyone who loves great small-ensemble

music.

Music in the Afternoon features musicians on

the threshold of international recognition, as well

as established artists and ensembles. Concerts

are presented Thursday afternoons at 1:30pm

at Walter Hall, University of Toronto, Faculty

of Music. Illuminating pre-concert lectures at

12:15pm are free to all concert attendees.

For the exciting 128th season (2025/26) we

present Karoline Podolak, soprano, and Rachael

Kerr, piano (October 9, 2025); Maxwell Quartet

(November 13, 2025); VC2 Cello Duo with Amy

Hillis, violin (March 5, 2026); Stéphane Tétreault,

cello, with Denis Plante, bandoneon, and Chloé

Dumoulin, piano (April 2, 2026); Fierbois: Caitlin

Broms-Jacobs, oboe, and Madeline Hildebrand,

piano (May 7, 2026).

Visit our website for regular season news

and updates.

Shannon Perreault

416-923-7052

wmct@wmct.on.ca

www.wmct.on.ca

www.facebook.com/

WomensMusicalClubofToronto

www.x.com/WMCT120

www.instagram.com/wmct.

musicintheafternoon

●Wychwood Clarinet Choir

The Wychwood Clarinet Choir brings together the

family of clarinets from the E-flat sopranino down

to the contrabass. Our range of instruments is

matched by the variety of our repertoire. We

perform new compositions and arrangements,

many written or transcribed by our Composers’

Collective. The choir, now in its 17th season,

is directed by clarinetist and conductor Michele

Jacot. Choir members are admitted by audition

and pay an annual membership fee. Members

are dedicated clarinetists eager to share their

love of music-making in a collegial and musically

challenging environment. We strive to create

opportunities for serious amateur musicians

to develop their musical skills and to share our

music more broadly in educational settings and

in the wider community. The group rehearses

and performs on a regular basis in Toronto’s St.

Clair and Wychwood area. Check out our You-

Tube videos and look for updates on our website.

New members welcome - please contact us for

audition information.

Roy Greaves

905-468-7486

wychwoodclarinetchoir@yahoo.ca

www.wychwoodclarinetchoir.ca

www.facebook.com/profile.

php?id=100063566230815

www.youtube.com/@

wychwoodclarinetchoir3408

●Yorkminster Park Baptist Church

Yorkminster Park is synonymous with magnificent

music. Whether it’s the choir accompanied

by the majestic Casavant organ, our Memorial

Carillon (one of 12 in Canada), or the congregation

lifting their voices in hymns of praise, vocal

and instrumental expressions of faith are integral

in the Yorkminster Park experience.

Our choir, under organist and music director

William Maddox and his assistant, Sharon Beckstead,

enjoys a reputation as one of the best

church choirs in Toronto. We present a series of

free organ recitals at 12:30pm, every Wednesday

from September through June, featuring performers

from around the world.

We have a wide variety of unique musical

events throughout the year, but Yorkminster

Park is renowned for its special seasonal concerts.

The quality of the music ministry at YPBC is

never more evident than during Advent and Holy

Week. These services have become community

traditions: City Carol Sing, Carols by Candlelight,

Iona liturgical music, the Festival of Nine Lessons

and Carols, Passiontide Devotion during Holy

Week and Evensong services three times a year.

Our sanctuary is frequently made available to

other choral and concert groups, which draw

appreciative audiences from all over Southern

Ontario.

William Maddox

(416) 922-1167

wcmaddox@yorkminsterpark.com

www.yorkminsterpark.com

www.facebook.com/YorkminsterPark.

BaptistChurch

www.instagram.com/

yorkminsterparkbc

IT’S NOT TOO LATE!

Are you a music presenter who

missed the deadline for this print

issue of the Blue Pages, or are

discovering it for the first time?

It’s not too late to join. Please email

members@thewholenote.com for

information on the benefits of a

Blue Pages membership and how

to sign up. In addition to updating

our online directory on an ongoing

basis as more entries arrive, we’ll

be publishing a supplement in the

November/December print issue.


LIVE OR ONLINE | Sep 9 to Nov 7, 2024

Tuesday September 9

● 1:00: St. James Cathedral. Tuesday

Organ Recital. Cathedral Church of St.

James, 106 King St. E. 416-364-7865 or www.

stjamescathedral.ca/recitals. Free. Donations

encouraged.

● 5:00: McGill Granby Parkettes. Heidi

Savoie Featuring Blake Hamilton & Alex Raymond

Play the Parks Series. McGill Granby

Parkettes, 15 McGill St. www.heidisavoie.

com/shows.

Wednesday September 10

● 7:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber

Music Society. Alexandra Whittingham, Guitar.

First United Church, 16 William St. W.,

Waterloo. www.tickeftscene.ca/kwcms.

$30; $10(st).

● 8:30: Side Door Access. Alex Lakusta with

bikebike - Live at The Monarch Tavern. The

Monarch Tavern, The, 12 Clinton St. $20(at

door). Visit www.sidedooraccess.com/shows

for advance ticket pricing.

Thursday September 11

● 7:30: Opera Revue. Risqué at the Rivoli: An

Opera Revue Burlesque Show. Works by Mozart,

Weill, Bizet, Debussy, and Delibes. Danie

Friesen, soprano; Alexander Hajek, baritone;

A’Slayna von Hunt, dancer; Tucker, dancer;

Claire Elise Harris, piano. Rivoli, The,

334 Queen St. W. 647-637-7491 or www.bit.

ly/46GfQsO. $35. Also Sep 12.

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. The Sattalites.

Hugh’s Room Live - Green Sanderson Hall,

296 Broadview Ave. www.showpass.com/

the-sattalites-4. $35; $25(st/arts workers/

underemployed).

Friday September 12

● 7:30: Opera Revue. Risqué at the Rivoli: An

Opera Revue Burlesque Show. See Sep 11.

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. The Beatles vs The

Rolling Stones (Who’d You Rather Be?).



the-beatles-vs-the-rolling-stones-whodyou-rather-be.

$40; $20(st/arts workers/

underemployed).

Saturday September 13

● 7:30: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.

Song, Serenade & Symphony. St. Matthew’s

Centre, 54 Benton St., Kitchener. www.zeffy.

com/en-CA/ticketing/concert-1-sept-13-fehersibelius.

From $28.

● 8:00: Alliance Française de Toronto. Hard

Bop Legends. Alliance Français de Toronto

- Spadina Theatre, 24 Spadina Rd. www.alliance-francaise.ca.

$18; $16/sr/st); $15(AFT

loyalty card); $12(ages 5-12); Free (ages

under 5).

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. Rum Ragged.



showpass.com/rum-ragged-4. $35; $17(st/

arts workers/underemployed).

● 8:00: Jean Darlene Piano Room. Heidi

Savoie. 1203 Dundas St. W. www.heidisavoie.

com/shows.

● 8:00: Small World Music. Incubator Concert

Series: J. E. Lopez x Eunice Keitan. Small

World Music Centre, Artscape Youngplace,

180 Shaw St. www.smallworld.com.

Sunday September 14

● 2:00: Tranzac Club Main Hall. Get

Together: Songs of Peace, Love, and Happiness.

Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave. 416-

594-3388 or www.sueanddwight.com. $20.

● 2:00: Visual and Performing Arts Newmarket.

York Regional Classical Music Festival

2025. Newmarket Old Town Hall,

460 Botsford St., Newmarket. www.vpan.ca.

● 3:00: Magisterra Soloists. Magisterra at

the Museum: Musical Jokes. Museum London,

421 Ridout St. N., London. www.magisterra.

com. $35; $30(sr); $15(st); $10(under 10).

● 4:30: Christ Church Deer Park. Jazz Vespers.

1570 Yonge St. 416-920-5211 or www.

christchurchdeerpark.org. Free. An offering

will be taken during the service, but it is not

required to give.

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. Sonic Peach Artist

Night. Hugh’s Room Live - Green

Sanderson Hall, 296 Broadview Ave.

www.showpass.com/showpass.com/

sonic-peach-artist-night. $30; $15(st/arts

workers/underemployed).

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Sam Barber.

178 Victoria St. www.ticketmaster.ca. From

$104.

Tuesday September 16





encouraged.

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Polaris Music Prize

Concert & Award Ceremony. 178 Victoria St.

www.tickets.mhrth.com. $53.


● 12:15: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.

Douglas Haas Legacy Concerts. 54 Queen

St. N., Kitchener. 519-578-4430. Free. Lunch

available for purchase at 11:30am or bring

your own.



Music Society. Penderecki String Quartet

and Arthur Rowe, Piano. Venue TBA. www.

ticketscene.ca/kwcms. FESTIVAL PASS for all

7 concerts $120; $40; $10 (st).

● 7:00: SweetWater Music Festival. Moira

Smiley & The Rhizome Quartet. Harmony

Centre, 890 4th Ave. E., Owen Sound. 519-

371-2833 or boxoffice@roxytheatre.ca. From

$20.

● 7:30: Aurora Cultural Centre. Skydiggers:

Dreams & Second Chances. Aurora Town

Square - Davide De Simone Performance Hall,

50 Victoria St., Aurora. 365-500-3313 www.

auroraculturalcentre.ca. $60; $15(st).

● 7:30: Prosserman Jewish Community

Centre. The JCC Chamber Music Series:

Roman Rabinovich & Daniel Temnik.

4588 Bathurst St., North York. 416-638-1881

X2132 or www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-jcc-chamber-music-series-ft-roman-rabinovich-daniel-temnik-tickets.

$49.18.

● 7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Masterworks: Carmina Burana. Roy Thomson

Hall, 60 Simcoe St. www.tso.ca or 416-

598-3375. From $38. Also Sep 20(7:30pm)

& 21(3pm).

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. Lynn Miles. Hugh’s

Room Live - Green Sanderson Hall,


lynn-miles-2. $35.

● 8:00: Massey Hall. Esteriore Brothers.

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

From $97.

Friday September 19

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

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.

● 7:00: SweetWater Music Festival. Chamber

Music Under a Starry Sky. Historic Leith

Church, 419498 Tom Thomson Ln., Leith. 519-

371-2833 or boxoffice@roxytheatre.ca. $55.

● 7:30: The Jeffery Concerts. Penderecki

String Quartet with Arthur Rowe, Piano. London

Public Library - Wolf Performance Hall,

251 Dundas St., London. www.grandtheatre.

com or 519-672-8800 or jefferyconcerts@

gmail.com. $40; Free(st).

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. Ontario Creates:

Tanika Charles. Hugh’s Room Live - Green

Sanderson Hall, 296 Broadview Ave. www.

showpass.com/tanika-charles-2. $30; $15(st/

arts/underemployed).

● 8:00: Massey Hall. X & Los Lobos.

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

From $49.


● 12:00_noon: SweetWater Music Festival.

Brendan Evans, Guitar. Harmony Centre, 890

4th Ave. E., Owen Sound. 519-371-2833 or

boxoffice@roxytheatre.ca. Free.

● 2:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Free

Concert. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St.

Registration required at www.TSO.CA/Open-

House. Free.


Music Society. Cuore Piano Trio. Venue TBA, .

www.ticketscene.ca/kwcms. FESTIVAL PASS

for all 7 concerts $120; $40; $10 (st).

● 7:00: SweetWater Music Festival. Castle

in the Sky: Where Voices and Instruments

Meet. Georgian Shores United Church, 997


WHOLENOTE Event Listings

are free of charge and can be submitted by venues, artists, or presenters.

Welcome to our 31st season of documenting one significant slice of live

musical activity in Southern Ontario and beyond. Regular readers of

this listings section will notice a big change: that the amount of detail in

the listings as they appear here has been significantly reduced –namely

descriptions of repertoire, and details about the performers.

There are two reasons for this. First, detailed listings in print push up the cost

of print unsustainably, so we need to economize where we can. And second,

that our new bimonthly cycle reduces the usefulness of the listings themselves.

Too much gets announced between print issues for us to be able to keep up

with the constant inflow of new listings along with changes and corrections.

This does not however mean we have given up on collecting and publishing

listings at the same level of detail as you have been accustomed to.

● Our Weekly Listings Update contains listings at our previous level of detail. It

goes out, by email, every Thursday, and covers a 10-day period, from the weekend

immediately ahead to the Sunday of the following week. Deadline for inclusion in

the Weekly Update is 6pm Thursday of the previous week. Readers can sign up

for the Weekly Update on our website or via the QR code here.

● Our Just Ask feature, under Listings on our website gets you full details of any

listing direct from our database. It also has an advanced options feature that

allows you to specify date ranges, types of music, and regions of Ontario.

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issue of The WholeNote on screen, or downloadable as a PDF file. All the websites

you see only as text in these print listings can be accessed with a click from the

kiosk.

Print publication dates and deadlines

Next print issue: November/December 2025

Publication date: Tuesday October 21

Listings deadline: 6pm Thursday October 9

All listings inquiries should be addressed to

John Sharpe, Listings Editor at

listings@thewholenote.com.

Advertising inquiries should be addressed to


REGISTER TO RECEIVE THE WEEKLY LISTINGS UPDATE at thewholenote.com/newsletter


boxoffice@roxytheatre.ca. From $20.

● 7:30: Guitar Society of Toronto. The

Ottawa Guitar Trio. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian

Church, 73 Simcoe St. www.guitarsocietyoftoronto.com.

From $20.

● 7:30: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Journey Begins. FirstOntario Concert

Hall 1 Summers Ln., Hamilton. www.hpo.org/

egvent/the-journey-begins. From $20.

● 7:30: Mark Battenberg Music. Autumn

Trilogy of Music: Part 1 - Music for the Autumnal

Equinox. Danforth Mennonite Church,

2174 Danforth Ave. www.markbattenbergcreations.com.

$20 or Pay What You Can.

● 7:30: North Wind Concerts. Ephemera:

Corelli in China. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton

Ave. www.bemusednetwork.com/events/

detail/1044. Pay-What-You-Wish.


Masterworks: Carmina Burana. See Sep 18.

Also Sep 21(3pm).

● 8:00: Acoustic Harvest. Friends of Fiddler’s

Green. St. Paul’s United Church,

200 McIntosh St., Scarborough. www.ticketscene.ca/events/52522/;

www.acousticharvest.ca.

$35.

● 9:30: SweetWater Music Festival. Late

Night Jazz with Hilario Durán Trio. Harmony

Centre, 890 4th Ave. E., Owen Sound.

519-371-2833 or boxoffice@roxytheatre.ca.

From $20.

Sunday September 21

● 12:00_noon: SweetWater Music Festival.

Next Wave Showcase. Harmony Centre, 890


boxoffice@roxytheatre.ca. Free.

● 2:30: Barrie Concert Association. Behind

the Bellows. Bethel Community Church (Barrie),

128 St. Vincent Street, Barrie. www.

barrieconcerts.org or 705-436-1232. $40;

$10(st).

● 2:30: OperOttawa. Gala Concert. First

Baptist Church, 140 Laurier Ave. W., Ottawa.

www.eventbrite.ca/e/1088258814409. $50;

$25(st); Free(under 10).

● 3:00: SweetWater Music Festival. Mozart’s

Sinfonia Concertante. Meaford United

Church, 7 Boucher St. E., Meaford. 519-371-

2833 or boxoffice@roxytheatre.ca. $20.


Masterworks: Carmina Burana. See Sep 18.


Stephenson Organ Concert Series. 325 St.

George St. W., Fergus. 519-843-3565. Free.

● 7:00: Small World Music. B-Band: Live in

Toronto. Revival Bar, 783 College St. www.

smallworld.com. $68(door); $56(general).

● 7:30: Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club. Friends of

Fiddler’s Green. Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling

St., London. 519-319-5847 or folk@iandavies.

com. Tickets available at Marienbad Restaurant,

Chaucer’s Pub, Grooves (Wortley Village),

Long & McQuade North. $30/$25(adv).

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. Luke Winslow-King.



luke-winslow-king. $30.






encouraged.


● 12:00_noon: Princess Margaret Hospital.

Music in the Atrium: Sam Broverman Quartet.

610 University Avenue. Free.


Douglas Haas Legacy Concerts. 54 Queen St.

N., Kitchener. 519-578-4430. Free.


Lang Lang’s Emperor - A Gala Celebration.

Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. Donations,

purchases, and inquiries: Sarah Bullick,

Assoc. VP, Development, sbullick@TSO.CA or

416-593-7769 x 344. $1,500(single tickets);

$25,000(table sponsorship).

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. Pierre Bensusan:

One Guitar, One Voice - 50th Anniversary.



pierre-bensusan-2. $40.

● 8:00: Shifting Ground Collective. Ride the

Cyclone. Music, Lyrics & Book by Jacob Richmond

and Brooke Maxwell. Annex Theatre,

730 Bathurst St. www.shiftinggroundcollective.com/cyclone/.

$45; $25(arts worker). Previews:

Sep 24-25. Runs Sep 26-29 & Oct 1-4.



Music Society. Eliot Quartet: Complete

Shostakovich String Quartets. Venue TBA.




Masterworks: Beethoven’s Pastoral.

Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. www.

tso.ca or 416-598-3375. From $38. Also

Sep 27(7:30pm).


Cyclone. See Sep 24.

Friday September 26






● 7:30: Royal Canadian College of Organists

Toronto Centre. A Celebration of Organ

Music in Toronto. Church of St. Mary Magdalene,

477 Manning Ave. www.rcco.ca/

toronto. Admission is by free will donation

supporting the RCCO Toronto Centre.

● 8:00: Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.

MOZART 40

& SCHUBERT 5

Directed by Rachel Podger

SEPT 26–28

Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre

for Performance and Learning

tafelmusik.org

Mozart 40 & Schubert 5. Royal Conservatory

of Music - TELUS Centre - Koerner Hall,

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 or www.tafelmusik.org.

$35. Also Sep 27(8pm) & 28(3pm).

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. Kazdoura. Hugh’s



kazdoura-2. $30; $20(st/artsworkers/

underemplolyed).

● 8:00: Old Mill Toronto. Hogtown Allstars.

21 Old Mill Rd. 416-207-2020 or www.oldmilltoronto.com.




● 10:00am: Aurora Cultural Centre. Cooo.

Aurora Town Square - Brevik Hall, 50 Victoria

St., Aurora. 365-500-3313 or www.auroraculturalcentre.ca.

$10.

● 11:00am: Xenia Concerts/TO Live. Eliana

Cuevas & Jeremy Ledbetter with Phoenix

the Fire. On stage with musical ASL interpretation,

presented in a family-friendly style

that embraces neurodiversity and disability.

Meridian Arts Centre, 5040 Yonge St., North

York. Rory McLeod at 437-441-7543 or Paolo

Griffin at paolo.griffin@xeniaconcerts.com.

Registration fee $5.

● 3:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music

Society. Eliot Quartet: Complete Shostakovich

String Quartets. Venue TBA. www.ticketscene.

ca/kwcms. FESTIVAL PASS for all 7 concerts

$120; $40; $10 (st). Also at 7pm.

● 7:00: Shoreline Chorus. Folk Songs of the

British Isles. Georgian Shores United Church,

997 4th Ave. E., Owen Sound. 519-599-2710.

$25 at door. Music, silent auction, bake sale,

refreshments at intermission.

● 7:30: Barrie Concert Association. Things

Lived and Dreamt. Hiway Pentecostal Church,

50 Anne St. N., Barrie. www.barrieconcerts.

org or 705-436-1232. $50; $10(st).

● 7:30: Canadian Opera Company. Roméo

et Juliette. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing

Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-

8231 or 1-800-250-4653 or tickets@coc.

ca. From $45. Also Oct 5(2pm), 8, 10, 14, 16,

18(4:30pm). At 7:30pm unless otherwise

noted.

● 7:30: Confluence Concerts. What Is Divine?

Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 647-

678-4923. $30; $20(sty/arts worker). Also

Sep 28.

● 7:30: Sinfonia Toronto. Soaring Strings

- Dvořák’s Love Letter. Meridian Arts Centre

- George Weston Recital Hall, 5040 Yonge

St. www.sinfoniatoronto.com. $52; $40(ages

60+); $20(st). Single tickets on sale Jun 1.

● 7:30: Stratford Symphony Orchestra.

Mystery & Memory. Avondale United Church

(Stratford), 194 Avondale Ave., Stratford.

519-271-0990 or www.stratfordsymphony.

ca. From $10.


Masterworks: Beethoven’s Pastoral. See

Sep 25.

● 8:00: Alliance Française de Toronto.

Carnet de Soie: From Iran to Mongolia. Alliance

Français de Toronto - Spadina Theatre,

24 Spadina Rd. www.alliance-francaise.

ca. $18; $16/sr/st); $15(AFT loyalty card);

$12(ages 5-12); Free (ages under 5).

● 8:00: Canadian Music Centre. Abscission.

Canadian Music Centre, Chalmers Performance

Space, 20 St. Joseph St. www.cmccanada.org/event/abscission

or 416-961-6601.

$30/$25(adv).



● 8:00: Slow Rise Music. Collide-o-Scope.

Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave. www.

ticketleap.events/tickets/slow-rise-music/

collide-o-scope. $20; $15(arts workers/st).

Also PWYC livestream. Also Sep 28(4pm).


Mozart 40 & Schubert 5. See Sep 26. Also

Sep 28(3pm).

Sunday September 28

● 1:15: Mooredale Concerts. Music & Truffles

KIDS: CelloFellos – Bryan Cheng & Leonard

Disselhorst. Walter Hall, University of

Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-922-3714 x103;

647-988-2102 (eve/wknd). $30.



● 2:30: Live!@WestPlains. Tangled Strings -

Music for Harp and Guitar. West Plains United

Church, 549 Plains Rd. W., Burlington. 905-

320-4989 or westplainsconcerts@gmail.

com. $30/$25(adv); $20(ages 16 & under);

$20(Livestream video). Ticket includes

access to concert video for 14 days following

the concert.


Mozart 40 & Schubert 5. See Sep 26.

● 3:15: Mooredale Concerts. CelloFellos –

Bryan Cheng & Leonard Disselhorst. Walter

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

416-922-3714 x103; 647-988-2102 (eve/wknd).

From $40.

● 4:00: Slow Rise Music. Collide-o-Scope.

Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave. www.

ticketleap.events/tickets/slow-rise-music/

collide-o-scope. $20; $15(arts workers/st).

Also PWYC livestream. Also Sep 27(8pm).




● 4:00: St. Olave’s Anglican Church. Love,

Music, and the Bible. St. Olave’s Anglican

Church, 360 Windermere Ave. www.YouTube.

com/StOlavesAnglicanChurch or 416-769-

5686. Contributions appreciated.

● 6:30: Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club. Pierre

Bensusan - One Guitar, One Voice - 50th Anniversary.

St. James Westminster Church,

115 Askin St., London. www.events.humanitix.



SUN 28 SEP AT 4

Choral Evensong

for Michaelmas Eve

plus at 4.45 p.m.

LOVE, MUSIC

AND THE BIBLE

with Mark Whale (above)

com/pierre-bensusan-live-at-st-james-westminster-church-london-on.

$40/$35(adv).

● 7:00: INNERchamber Inc. Beyond Limits.

Factory 163, 163 King St., Stratford. www.

innerchamber.ca. $55; $37(st/arts worker). A

light dinner is served from 5:45pm.






● 7:30: Confluence Concerts. What Is Divine?

See Sep 27.

● 8:00: Annette Studios. Art of Improv.

566 Annette St. annettestudios@gmail.com.


● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. Robert Lee.

Hugh’s Room Live - Green Sanderson

Hall, 296 Broadview Ave. www.showpass.

com/robert-lee. $33: $17(st/arts worker/

underemployed).



Monday September 29

● 7:30: Cardinal Consort of Viols. Exiled.

Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 437-776-1104

or cardinalconsort@gmail.com. E-mail preferred.

Pay-what-you-can. $25 suggested.

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. JazzInToronto’s All

That Cabaret: Feeling Good - Alana Bridgewater

Sings Nina Simone. Hugh’s Room Live

- Green Sanderson Hall, 296 Broadview Ave.

www.showpass.com/alana-bridgewatersings-nina-simone.

$35; $15(st/arts workers/

underemployed).








encouraged.

● 7:30: Music Toronto. Ehnes Quartet. St.

Lawrence Centre for the Arts - Jane Mallett

Theatre, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723 or www.

music-toronto.com/concerts/ehnes-quartet.

From $60.

Wednesday October 1





your own.



Thursday October 2

● 7:30: Royal Conservatory of Music.

Mandle Philharmonic Presents Brahms and

Beethoven. Royal Conservatory of Music -

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

416-408-0208 or www.rcmusic.com/eventsand-performances/mandle-philharmonicpresents-brahms-and-beethoven.

From $20.


Masterworks: Jonathan Crow Plays Mendelssohn.

Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St.

www.tso.ca or 416-598-3375. From $38. Also

Oct 3(7:30pm) & 4(7:30pm).

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. ES:MO. Hugh’s Room

Live - Green Sanderson Hall, 296 Broadview

Ave. www.showpass.com/esmo. $30; $20(st/

arts workers/underemployed).



Friday October 3

● 12:10: Music at St. Andrew’s. Noontime

Recital. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church,

73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x220 or www.

standrewstoronto.org. Free. Donations

welcome.

● 5:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra.

Mozart and More. St. Mark’s Anglican

Church, 41 Byron St., Niagara-on-the-Lake.

www.ci.ovationtix.com/36876/production/1239239.

$106.20. Also Oct 5(5pm) -

FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

● 7:00: Aurora Cultural Centre. Payadora.

Aurora Town Square - Davide De Simone Performance

Hall, 50 Victoria St., Aurora. 365-

500-3313 https://auroraculturalcentre.ca.

$45; $15(st).

● 7:30: Lazzuli Baroque. Music & Medicine.

St. Thomas’s Anglican Church, 383 Huron St.

514-377-0100. $40(general seating). Sliding

scale tickets available.

● 7:30: Music at First-St. Andrew’s United

Church. Organ Recital. First-St. Andrew’s

United Church, 350 Queens Ave., London.

519-679-8182 or www.fsaunited.com/musicconcerts/.

Freewill donation.

● 7:30: Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra.

Voyages. Salvation Army Scarborough

Citadel Community Church, 2021 Lawrence

Ave. E., Scarborough. 647-956-1182 or www.

spo.ca. $40; $30(sr); $15(st ages 14 & older);

Free(children under 14).

● 7:30: Toronto Chamber Choir. “A Triplicitie

of Musicke”. Church of St. Mary Magdalene,

477 Manning Ave. 416-546-3312. $35;

$20(st/arts workers). Also Oct 2(St. Paul’s

Cathedral, London).



See Oct 2. Also Oct 4(7:30pm).

● 8:00: Caliban Arts Theatre. Black Underground

30th Anniversary Soul Vocals Series:

Double Tribute to Roberta Flack and Donny

Hathaway. 918 Bathurst Centre for Culture, Arts,

Media and Education, 918 Bathurst St. www.

tickets.contxtbytrane.com/events/contxtbytrane/1808178.

All Shows Early Bird: $95 (before

Sep 10). All Shows Advance: $110 (after Sep 10).

Single Show Tickets: $30(adv); $45(door).

● 8:00: Old Mill Toronto. Laila Biali: Special

Birthday Concert. 21 Old Mill Rd.

416-207-2020 or www.oldmilltoronto.

com or www.opentable.com/booking/

experiences-availability.



Saturday October 4

● 11:00am: TYT Theatre. Disney’s The Little

Mermaid. Randolph Theatre, 736 Bathurst St.

www.tyttheatre.com/ticketterms. Shows at 11am

& 3:30pm on Oct 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26; Nov 1 & 2.

● 2:00: Hugh’s Room. Paul McKenna.



paul-mckenna. $25; $15(st/arts workers/

underemployed).



● 4:00: Friends of Music at St. Thomas’s.

Hymn Festival. St. Thomas’s Anglican Church

383 Huron St. www.stthomas.on.ca or 416-

979-2323. Pay what you wish at the door. Suggested

$25.

● 4:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre. TOT

Cabaret Series: The Drury Lane Cabaret.

Edward Jackman Centre, 947 Queen St. E.,

2nd Floor. 416-366-7723 or 1–800-708-6754

or www.ticketmaster.ca/artist/2443008.

Tickets available Sep 10.

● 7:00: Brampton On Stage. Flow Fest.

The Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln., Brampton.

905-874-2800 https://tickets.brampton.ca.

From $20.


Music Society. Turkwaz. Venue TBA. www.

ticketscene.ca/kwcms. $35; $10 (st).

● 7:30: Brantford Music Club. JoyRide.

Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts,

88 Dalhousie St., Brantford. 519-758-8090.

$35; $10(st); Free(elementary st).


Trilogy of Music: Part 2 - The Song of the

River Spirit. Danforth Mennonite Church,



● 7:30: Oakville Chamber Orchestra. A Visit

to Mannheim. St. John’s United Church (Oakville),

262 Randall St., Oakville. www.oakvillechamber.org.

From $40.



See Oct 2.

● 8:00: Acoustic Harvest. The Nicholas

Campbell Trio. St. Paul’s United Church,

200 McIntosh St., Scarborough. www.ticketscene.ca/events/53313/;

www.acousticharvest.ca.

$35.

● 8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. Connie

Han. 171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham. 905-

305-7469 or www.flatomarkhamtheatre.ca.

From $15.

● 8:00: Greater Toronto Philharmonic

Orchestra. Autumn Classics. Calvin Presbyterian

Church, 26 Delisle Ave. www.gtpo.ca.

From $25.

● 8:00: Nagata Shachu. Beats-Breath:

Nagata Shachu and Jiro Murayama. Harbourfront

Centre Theatre, 235 Queens Quay W.

www.harbourfrontcentre.com/event/beatsbreath-nagata-shachu-and-jiro-murayama.

From $50.


● 8:00: New Music Concerts. Tracing Hollow

Traces: A Portrait of Andile Khumalo. St.

George’s Grange Park Church (formerly St.

George the Martyr Church), 30 Stephanie

St. 416-961-9594. $35; $30(arts workers/

sr); $20(st). 7:40pm - Young Artist Overture

performed by students of the Glenn Gould

School. 8pm - Main Concert.



Sunday October 5


et Juliette. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing

Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231

or 1-800-250-4653 or tickets@coc.ca. From

$45. Also Sep 27, Oct 8, 10, 14, 16, 18(4:30pm).

At 7:30pm unless otherwise noted.

● 3:00: Les AMIS Concerts. Chamber Music

Concert. Trinity United Church, 284 Division

St., Cobourg. www.tickets.cobourg.ca/

TheatreManager. $40.

● 3:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Stephen

Kovacevich, Piano. Royal Conservatory

of Music - TELUS Centre - Koerner

Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 or www.

rcmusic.com/performance. From $50.

● 4:00: Rideau Park United Church. Carole

Portelance: Reflections on Day and Night.

2203 Alta Vista Dr., Ottawa. 613-302-9610.

Admission by free-will offering.





Mozart and More. FirstOntario Performing

Arts Centre - Partridge Hall, 250 St.

Paul St., St. Catharines. www.ci.ovationtix.

com/36876/production/1239239. $120. Also

Oct 3(5:30pm) - St. Mark’s Anglican Church,

Niagara-on-the-Lake.

● 7:30: Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club. Paul

McKenna. Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling St., London.

519-319-5847 or folk@iandavies.com.

Tickets available at Marienbad Restaurant,

Chaucer’s Pub, Grooves (Wortley Village),

Long & McQuade North. $30/$25(adv).

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. The Young Novelists:

Album Release “These Dark Canyons”.

Hugh’s Room Live - Green Sanderson

Hall, 296 Broadview Ave. www.showpass.

com/the-young-novelists. $30; $15(st/arts

workers/underemployed).

Tuesday October 7

● 12:10: Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation.

Lunchtime Chamber Music: Rising

Stars Recital Featuring Students from the

Glenn Gould School. Yorkminster Park Baptist

Church, 1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167 or

www.yorkminsterpark.com. Free. Donations

welcome.





encouraged.

Wednesday October 8





your own.


Pops: The Billy Joel Songbook. Roy Thomson

Hall, 60 Simcoe St. www.tso.ca or 416-

598-3375. From $64. Also Oct 8(7:30pm) &

9(7:30pm).


et Juliette. See Sep 27. Also Oct 10, 14, 16,


noted.

● 7:30: Music at First-St. Andrew’s United

Church. FSA Strings. First-St. Andrew’s

United Church, 350 Queens Ave., London.

519-679-8182 or www.fsaunited.com/musicconcerts.

Freewill donation.

● 7:30: Sarnia Concert Association. Canadian

Chamber Orchestra. Imperial Theatre

(Sarnia), 168 Christina St. N., Sarnia. www.

sarniaconcertassociation.ca/shows.

● 7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Pops:

The Billy Joel Songbook. See Oct 8(2pm). Also

Oct 9(7:30pm).

Thursday October 9

● 1:30: Women’s Musical Club of Toronto.

Music in the Afternoon: Opera & Song Recital.

Walter Hall, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s

Park. 416-923-7052. $50; Free(accompanying

caregivers/st with ID).

● 7:30: Flato Markham Theatre. Chicago

Transit. 171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham.

905-305-7469 or www.flatomarkhamtheatre.

ca. From $65.

● 7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Pops:

The Billy Joel Songbook. See Oct 8.

● 8:00: Brampton On Stage. The Poets.



From $20.

● 8:00: Small World Music. Voices Unveiled.

Trinity St. Paul’s United Church and Centre for

Faith, Justice and the Arts, 427 Bloor St. W.

www.smallworld.com. From $49.

Friday October 10



73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x220 or www.


welcome.

● 7:30: Brampton On Stage. Moksha by

Third Space - The Sacred Strings of the Subcontinent.

The Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln.,

Brampton. www.tickets.brampton.ca/online

or 905-874-2800. From $25.


et Juliette. See Sep 27. Also Oct 14, 16,


noted.

● 7:30: Trinity Evangelical Lutheran

Church. Penderecki String Quartet.

23 Church St., New Hamburg. 519-662-1810.

Call for tickets or information.

● 8:00: Caliban Arts Theatre. A Tribute

to John Coltrane’s Seminal Album “A Love

Supreme” - The 60th Anniversary Concert.

918 Bathurst Centre for Culture, Arts,

Media and Education, 918 Bathurst St. www.

tickets.contxtbytrane.com/events/contxtbytrane/1811781.

$80(door); $70(advance);

$60(Early Bird before Sep 15).

● 8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. Lighthouse.

171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham. 905-

305-7469 or www.flatomarkhamtheatre.ca.

Limited tickets from $15.

● 8:00: Old Mill Toronto. Denielle Bassels

– Live at The Old Mill. 21 Old Mill Rd.

416-207-2020 or www.oldmilltoronto.

com or www.opentable.com/booking/

experiences-availability.

● 8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Royal

Conservatory Orchestra with JoAnn Falletta.

Royal Conservatory of Music - TELUS Centre

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

0208 or www.rcmusic.com/performance.

From $25.

Saturday October 11

● 7:30: Brampton On Stage. The Rose

Orchestra: My Country, My Land - A Celebration

of Canada & Bohemia. The Rose Theatre,

1 Theatre Ln., Brampton. 905-874-2800

https://tickets.brampton.ca. From $15.

● 7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Weston

Weekends: Beethoven’s Fifth. Meridian

Arts Centre - George Weston Recital Hall,

5040 Yonge St. www.tso.ca or 416-598-3375.

From $57. Also Oct 12(3pm).

● 8:00: Caliban Arts Theatre. Weather

Reports Tribute Night with Special Guest

Tony Zawinul. 918 Bathurst Centre for Culture,

Arts, Media and Education, 918 Bathurst

St. www.tickets.contxtbytrane.com/

events/contxtbytrane/1811781. $95(door);

$85(advance); $75(Early Bird before Sep 15).


Series: Anddre Mafra x Lady Ruby. Small



Sunday October 12

● 11:00am: Caliban Arts Theatre. Brunch in

CONTXT. CONTXT by Trane, 254 Lansdowne

Ave. www.tickets.contxtbytrane.com/checkout/view-event/id/6584715/chk/c7f4.

$45.

● 3:00: Hannaford Street Silver Band. On

the Slide. St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts

- Jane Mallett Theatre, 27 Front St. E. www.

hssb.ca/events/on-the-slide. Tickets on sale

Sep 10.

● 3:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Weston

Weekends: Beethoven’s Fifth. See Oct 11.

Tuesday October 14


Lunchtime Chamber Music: Gaia String

Quartet. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church,

1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167 or www.yorkminsterpark.com.

Free. Donations welcome.





encouraged.

● 7:30: Canadian Opera Company. Roméo et

Juliette. See Sep 27. Also Oct 16, 18(4:30pm).

At 7:30pm unless otherwise noted.

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. Cara Luft. Hugh’s


296 Broadview Ave. www.showpass.

com/cara-luft. $30; $15(st/arts workers/

underemployed).

Wednesday October 15





your own.

● 7:30: Opera Atelier. The Magic Flute. Elgin

and Wintergarden Theatre Centre - Elgin

Theatre, 189 Yonge St. 416-703-3767 x700

or www.OperaAtelier.com. From $68. Also

Oct 16(7:30pm), 18(7:30pm), 19(2:30pm).

Thursday October 16


Music Society. Blackwood Trio. Venue TBA, .

www.ticketscene.ca/kwcms. $30; $10 (st).

2025

2026

OCTOBER 9, 2025 | 1.30 PM

KAROLINE

PODOLAK

Karoline Podolak, soprano

Rachael Kerr, piano

Delibes, Chopin, Puccini

and more

Tickets/Info: 416.923.7052• wmct.on.ca



● 7:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Matthias

Goerne, Baritone with Daniel Trifonov,

Piano. Royal Conservatory of Music - TELUS

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

408-0208 or www.rcmusic.com/performance.

From $70.

● 7:30: Canadian Opera Company. Roméo et

Juliette. See Sep 27. Also Oct 18(4:30pm). At

7:30pm unless otherwise noted.

● 7:30: Opera Atelier. The Magic Flute. See

Oct 15. Also Oct 18(7:30pm) & 19(2:30pm).


Masterworks: Mozart & R. Strauss. Roy

Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. www.tso.ca or

416-598-3375. From $38. Also Oct 17(7:30pm)

& 18(7:30pm).

● 8:00: Old Mill Toronto. An Enchanted

Evening of Opera. 21 Old Mill Rd. 416-207-2020

or www.oldmilltoronto.com or www.opentable.com/booking/experiences-availability.

Friday October 17



73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x220 or www.


welcome.

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

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.


Masterworks: Mozart & R. Strauss. See

Oct 16. Also Oct 18. Toronto Chamber Soloists

performance on Oct 17(6:15pm).

● 8:00: Canadian Songwriters Hall

of Fame. Legends. Meridian Arts

Centre - George Weston Recital Hall,

5040 Yonge St. www.ticketmaster.ca/

event/10006315E5255A35. From $190.

● 8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. How

We Got to Jersey: A Tale of Two Frankies.

171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham. 905-305-

7469 or www.flatomarkhamtheatre.ca. Limited

tickets from $15.

● 8:00: Old Mill Toronto. Diana Braithwaite

& Chris Whiteley. 21 Old Mill Rd. 416-207-2020

or www.oldmilltoronto.com or www.opentable.com/booking/experiences-availability.

● 8:00: Small World Music. Incubator

Concert Series: Japs x Carol Leite. Small



Saturday October 18


Jurassic Park: Film with Live Orchestra.

FirstOntario Concert Hall, 1 Summers Ln.,

Hamilton. www.hpo.org/event/jurassic-parkfilm-with-orchestra.

From $30. 1pm: Preconcert

talk. Also 7:30pm.

● 3:30: Toronto Chamber Choir. Tempus

Imperfectum. Church of the Redeemer,

162 Bloor St. W. 416-923-9030 or www.torontochamberchoir.ca.

$40/$30/$5.


et Juliette. See Sep 27.

● 7:30: Aurora Cultural Centre. Lori Cullen

+ Talia Schlanger. Aurora Town Square

- Davide De Simone Performance Hall,

50 Victoria St., Aurora. 365-500-3313 or

www.auroraculturalcentre.ca. $40; $15(st).

● 7:30: Barrie Concert Association. A Tapestry

of Song. Hiway Pentecostal Church,

50 Anne St. N., Barrie. www.barrieconcerts.

org or 705-436-1232. $55; $10(st).

● 7:30: Guitar Society of Toronto. Gaelle

Solal, Guitar. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian

Church, 73 Simcoe St. www.guitarsocietyoftoronto.com.

From $25.


Jurassic Park: Film with Live Orchestra. See

Oct 18(2pm).

● 7:30: Metropolitan Winds of Toronto.

Across the Ages. Salvation Army Scarborough

Citadel Community Church,

2021 Lawrence Ave. E., Scarborough. 416-

321-8996. $20.


Oct 15. Also Oct 19(2:30pm).

● 7:30: Orchestra Toronto. Into the Light:

Prokofiev, Beethoven, R. Strauss. Meridian


5040 Yonge St. 416-366-7723 or 1-800-708-

6754 or boxoffice@tolive.com. From $15. Preconcert

chat at 6:45pm.


Masterworks: Mozart & R. Strauss. See

Oct 16.

● 8:00: Alliance Française de Toronto. Le

Diable à Cinq. Alliance Français de Toronto


$18; $16/sr/st); $15(AFT


under 5).

● 8:00: Kindred Spirits Orchestra. Mind

and Magic. Flato Markham Theatre, 171 Town

Centre Blvd., Markham. www.ksorchestra.ca

or 905-305-7469. From $25. 7:10pm: Prélude:

pre-concert recital. 7:20pm: Pre-concert

talk. Intermission discussion and Q&A with

Jing Ye and Daniel Vnukowski. Post-concert

reception.

● 8:00: Show One Productions. Les Ballets

Trockadero de Monte Carlo. Elgin and

Wintergarden Theatre Centre - Elgin Theatre,

189 Yonge St. www.ticketmaster.ca/les-ballets-trockadero-de-monte-carlo-tickets/artist/822154.

From $67. Also Oct 19(2pm).

Sunday October 19

● 2:30: Church of the Redeemer. Uncommon

Journey. Church of the Redeemer,

162 Bloor St. W. www.theredeemer.ca/alt/

get-involved-alternative/drop-in/ or 416-997-

4978. $20. Additional donations will be given

a tax receipt. NOTE: This event will be live and

livestreamed. Please contact the Church for

further information.

● 2:30: Music at St. Matthew’s. GAIA String

Quartet. St. Matthew’s Anglican Church,

Islington, 3962 Bloor St. W., Etobicoke. 416-

231-4014. $20. Tickets only available at the

door.


Oct 15.

● 3:00: Off Centre Music Salon. From Melancholy

to Surrealism, With Laughter in

Between. Trinity St. Paul’s United Church.

Jeanne Lamon Hall, 427 Bloor St. W. www.offcentremusic.com.

From $15.

● 3:00: Royal Conservatory of Music.

Sir András Schiff, Piano. Royal Conservatory

of Music - TELUS Centre - Koerner

Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 or www.

rcmusic.com/performance. From $80.

● 3:00: Southern Ontario Chapter of the

Hymn Society. Not a Workshop. Royal York

Road United Church, 851 Royal York Rd. 416-

342-6034 or www.sochs.org/events. Free.

Refreshments at 2:30pm. Please register at

website by Oct 15.

● 3:00: The Jeffery Concerts. Accademia

de’ Dissonanti and Elinor Frey, Cello. Metropolitan

United Church, 468 Wellington St.,

London. www.grandtheatre.com or 519-672-

8800 or jefferyconcerts@gmail.com. $40;

Free(st).


Music Society. Jarred Dunn: All Schumann

Program. Venue TBA. www.ticketscene.ca/

kwcms. $30; $10 (st).

● 7:30: Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club. Ian Tamblyn.

Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling St., London.

519-319-5847 or folk@iandavies.com. Tickets

available at Marienbad Restaurant, Chaucer’s

Pub, Grooves (Wortley Village), Long &

McQuade North. $30/$25(adv).

Tuesday October 21


Lunchtime Chamber Music: Rising

Stars Recital Featuring Students from the

Glenn Gould School. Yorkminster Park Baptist

Church, 1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167 or

www.yorkminsterpark.com. Free. Donations

welcome.





encouraged.

● 7:30: Music Toronto. Tetzlaff/Tetzlaff/

Doerken Trio. St. Lawrence Centre for the

Arts - Jane Mallett Theatre, 27 Front St. E.

416-366-7723 or www.music-toronto.com/

concerts/tetzlaff-tetzlaff-doerken-trio. From

$60.






your own.

● 6:00: Painted Lady, The. Heidi Savoie at

The Painted Lady: Winesday. 218 Ossington

Ave. www.heidisavoie.com or 416-531-5042.

● 8:00: Hugh’s Room. Matt Weidinger.



matt-weidinger-2. $25.


Thursday October 23

● 7:30: Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts.

Ailey II. FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

- Partridge Hall, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines.

www.bravoniagara.org or www.admitone.com.

VIVALDI’S

WORLD

Directed by Lina Tur Bonet

OCT 23–26

Jeanne Lamon Hall

Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre

tafelmusik.org

● 7:30: Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. VIvaldi’s

World. Trinity St. Paul’s United Church

and Centre for Faith, Justice and the Arts,

427 Bloor St. W. www.tafelmusik.org. From

$23.50. Also Oct 24(8pm), 25(8pm), 26(3pm).

● 8:00: Brampton On Stage. Classic Albums

Live Performs Michael Jackson’s Thriller.



From $25.

Friday October 24



73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x220 or www.


welcome.


Music Society. Zemlinsky String Quartet.

Venue TBA. www.ticketscene.ca/kwcms.

$40; $10 (st).

● 7:00: League of Ukrainian Canadian

Women - Toronto Branch. Musical Fridays:

Chamber Concert. Old Mill Toronto, 21 Old Mill

Rd. www.10-24-25-Musical-Fridays.eventbrite.ca.

$35(online); $40(at door); Free for

children under 15. A portion of the proceeds

will be donated towards humanitarian aid to

Ukraine.

NOT A WORKSHOP

A LIVELY HYMN SING


Classic Rock Unplugged: The New NSO

Lounge and Artist Meet & Greet. The Bank,

Art House, 22 King St., Welland. www.niagarasymphony.com.

$25(regular seating);

$75(VIP includes free food & drinks).

● 7:30: Toronto Operetta Theatre. The

Mikado - Revisited. St. Lawrence Centre for

the Arts - Jane Mallett Theatre, 27 Front St.

E. 416-366-7723 or 1–800-708-6754 or www.

tolive.com or www.ticketmaster.ca/artist/2443008.

Tickets available on Sep 10. Also

Oct 25(3pm), 26(3pm).

● 8:00: Brampton On Stage. This Is Brampton:

Bollywood Mashup. The Rose Theatre,


https://tickets.brampton.ca. $20.

● 8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. Amir Amiri

Ensemble: Echoes of Persia. 171 Town Centre

Blvd., Markham. 905-305-7469 or www.flatomarkhamtheatre.ca.

From $15.

● 8:00: Old Mill Toronto. Hilario Durán Trio.

21 Old Mill Rd. 416-207-2020 or www.oldmilltoronto.com/event/hilario-duran-2/.

$30.


VIvaldi’s World. See Oct 23. Also Oct 25(8pm)

& 26(3pm).

Saturday October 25

● 2:00: Brampton On Stage. Toronto Symphony

Orchestra: Fiesta Sinfónica. The Rose

Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln., Brampton. 905-874-

2800 https://tickets.brampton.ca. From $25.

● 3:00: Toronto Children’s Chorus. Songs

of the Forest. Metropolitan United Church,

56 Queen St. E. 416-932-8666 or www.torontochildrenschorus.com.

● 3:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre.

The Mikado - Revisited. See Oct 24. Also

Oct 26(3pm).

● 4:00: Pax Christi Chorale. Resonance.

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge

St. www.paxchristichorale.org/our-upcoming-season.

Choose your price: $10, $20,

or $40.

● 7:00: Georgian Bay Symphony. An Evening

with Tom Allen. East Ridge Community

School, 1550 8th St. E., Owen Sound. 519-372-

0212. $35.

● 7:00: Rezonance Baroque Ensemble/

Apocryphonia Concert Series. Enchanted

Baroque: Magick, Myths, and Music. St.

Olave’s Anglican Church, 360 Windermere

Ave. www.rezonanceenchanted.eventbrite.

com or 647-779-5696. $35; $20(st); Free(12

and under). Also on Oct 26(4pm) at St. David’s

Anglican Church, 49 Donlands Ave.

● 7:00: Vita Bella Entertainment. Confidential

Musical Theatre Project. Christ Church

Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. www.vitabellaentertainmentca.com.

$40/$35(adv online).

SUNDAY OCTOBER 19

at Royal York Road United Church, Toronto

2:30: Refreshments

3-4:30: Singing & discussion

Tunes by Jane Best, texts by Lydia Pedersen

With support from RYR United Church and

Wayne Leupold Foundation

INFO/REGISTRATION (by Oct 15)

www.sochs.org/events • FREE

Dream The Impossible Dream

Season Sponsor: Horatio Kemeny

October 19th, 2025

From melancholy to surrealism,

with laughter in between

December 14th, 2025

Life + Death. Genius + Jealousy

February 8th, 2026

Chopin’s Preludes:

A Life, in Fragments

March 29th, 2026

We’ve got Rhythm

( in 1, in 2 , in 3, in 4, in 5, in 6...in TEN)

June 7th, 2026

(ERIK) Satie-S-Faction

Guaranteed

Featured Artists

30 th ANNIVERSARY CONCERTS

Colin Ainsworth, Russell Braun, Ben

Butterfield, Lucia Cesaroni, David

Eliakis, Lori Gemmell, Andrew Haji,

Erica Iris Huang, Elina Kelebeev,

Andrea Ludwig, Peter McGillivray,

Maeve Palmer, Isabella Perot,

Adrianne Pieczonka, Brett Polegato,

Krisztina Szabo, Giles Tomkins,

Ilana Zarankin, among others.

www.offcentremusic.com

Rezonance Baroque Ensemble &

Apocryphonia Concert Series

Enchanted Baroque

Magick, Myths, and Music

th

Sat. October 25 - 7pm (Bloor West)

th

Sun. October 26 - 4pm (Danforth)

apocryphonia.com

SEASON 2025-2026

rezonanceensemble.com



● 7:30: Guelph Musicfest 2025. Encore Fall

Series: Zemlinsky Quartet. Guelph Youth Music

Centre, 75 Cardigan St., Guelph. www.guelphmusicfest.ca

or 519-993-7591. From $20.


Trilogy of Music: Part 3 - Canticles for an

October Night. Danforth Mennonite Church,



● 7:30: Orpheus Choir of Toronto. The

Earth I Know. Grace Church on-the-Hill,

300 Lonsdale Rd. 416-420-9660 or www.

orpheuschoirtoronto.com or tickets@

orpheuschoirtoronto.com. Pre-concert chat

at 6:45pm.

● 7:30: St. James Cathedral. The Phantom

of the Opera. Cathedral Church of St. James,

106 King St. E. www.stjamescathedral.ca/

phantom2025. $45.


The Blacklight Concert. The Rose Theatre,


https://tickets.brampton.ca. $20.

● 8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. 10th Anniversary

Gala: Good Witch/Bad Witch - The

Broadway Witches. 171 Town Centre Blvd.,

Markham. 905-305-7469 or www.flatomarkhamtheatre.ca.

Performance only:

$150(Prime); $135(Regular). Dinner + Performance

(includes Prime ticket & 3-course

pre-show dinner): $350.


Series: Chinyi C x Zamira Lacosta. Small




VIvaldi’s World. See Oct 23.

Sunday October 26

● 11:00am: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Relaxed Performance: Tricks, Treats

‘n’ Tunes. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St.

www.tso.ca or 416-598-3375. $25.


Young People’s Performance: Tricks, Treats

‘n’ Tunes. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St.

www.tso.ca or 416-598-3375. From $33.

Also 4pm.

● 2:30: Live!@WestPlains. Johannes Linstead

- From Spain to Cuba. West Plains

United Church, 549 Plains Rd. W., Burlington.

905-320-4989 or westplainsconcerts@

gmail.com. $40/$35(adv); $20(Livestream

video). Ticket includes access to concert

video for 14 days following the concert.

● 3:00: Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. VIvaldi’s

World. See Oct 23.

● 3:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre. The

Mikado - Revisited. See Oct 24.

● 4:00: Rezonance Baroque Ensemble/

Apocryphonia Concert Series. Enchanted

Baroque: Magick, Myths, and Music. St.

David’s Anglican Church, 49 Donlands Ave.

www.rezonanceenchanted.eventbrite.com

or 647-779-5696. $35; $20(st); Free(12 and

under). Also on Oct 25(7pm) at St. Olave’s

Anglican Church, 360 Windermere Ave.


Young People’s Performance: Tricks, Treats

‘n’ Tunes. See Oct 26(1:30pm).

● 5:00: Nocturnes in the City. Chamber

Music Concert. St. Wenceslaus Church,

496 Gladstone Ave. 416-481-7294. $25.

Monday October 27

● 7:00: Flato Markham Theatre. Legends

Show: Tributes to Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison,

Motown, and Elvis Presley. 171 Town Centre

Blvd., Markham. 905-305-7469 or www.flatomarkhamtheatre.ca.

$69.

● 7:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.

The Bell & the Bard: An Evening with Steve Bell

& Malcolm Guite. Yorkminster Park Baptist

Church, 1585 Yonge St. www.stevebell.com/

event/toronto-on-the-bell-the-bard. $35.

Tuesday October 28





encouraged.

● 7:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music

Society. Ida Pelliccioli, Piano. Venue TBA.

www.ticketscene.ca/kwcms. $30; $10(st).



Douglas Haas Legacy Concerts: Halloween

Special. 54 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 519-578-

4430. Free. Lunch available for purchase at

11:30am or bring your own.

● 8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. Classic

Albums Live: Michael Jackson - Thriller.

171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham. 905-305-

7469 or www.flatomarkhamtheatre.ca.

From $15.

Thursday October 30


Masterworks: Debussy & Sibelius. Roy

Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. www.tso.ca or

416-598-3375. From $38. Also Nov 1(7:30pm)

& 2(3pm).


Rising Vibes. The Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre

Ln., Brampton. 905-874-2800 https://tickets.

brampton.ca. $15.

● 8:00: Brampton On Stage. Tom Morello:

A Night of Stories & Music. The Rose Theatre,


https://tickets.brampton.ca. From $50.

Friday October 31



73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x220 or www.


welcome.

● 7:00: Celebrity Symphony Orchestra.

Polish Tenors & Viva. Living Arts Centre,

4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga. www.

rozbicki.com or 905-306-6000. From $74.

● 8:00: Canadian Chamber Orchestra. Nosferatu:

A Symphony of Horror. Hugh’s Room

Live - Green Sanderson Hall, 296 Broadview

Ave. www.canadianchamberorchestra.ca.

8pm: Concert. 9:30pm: Dance party.

● 8:00: Old Mill Toronto. Genevieve “Gigi”

Marentette. 21 Old Mill Rd. 416-207-2020 or

www.oldmilltoronto.com or www.opentable.

com/booking/experiences-availability.

Saturday November 1

● 4:00: Friends of Music at St. Thomas’s.

Borderlands: Music on the Edge. St. Thomas’s

Anglican Church, 383 Huron St. www.

stthomas.on.ca or 416-979-2323. Pay what

you wish at the door. Suggested $40; $20(st).

the 1925 CLASSIC

PHANTOM

Of the

Opera

WORLD-CLASS ORGANIST

DAVID BRIGGS

will improvise live on the Cathedral’s

mighty 5,000-pipe organ to a screening

of the classic 1925 silent movie

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25

8:00 PM

ST. JAMES CATHEDRAL

106 KING ST E, TORONTO

TICKETS $45

stjamescathedral.ca/phantom2025


AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH

RENÉE FLEMING

VOICE OF NATURE:

THE ANTHROPOCENE CONCERT

With the Royal Conservatory Orchestra

conducted by Robert Moody

NOVEMBER 1.2025

rcmusic.com/ReneeFleming

● 7:30: Royal Conservatory of Music. An

Intimate Evening with Renée Fleming. Royal

Conservatory of Music - TELUS Centre -

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

www.rcmusic.com/performance. From $200.

● 7:30: Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto.

Vertigo: A Choral Tango. The Playground,

388 Carlaw Ave. www.trellis.org/vertigo.

$45(regular); $25(community).


Debussy & Sibelius. See Oct 30. Also

Nov 2(3pm).

● 8:00: Alliance Française de Toronto.

Tawazûn. Alliance Français de Toronto


$18; $16/sr/st); $15(AFT


under 5).

Sunday November 2

● 1:15: Mooredale Concerts. Music & Truffles

KIDS: Busch Trio. Walter Hall, University

of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-922-3714

x103; 647-988-2102 (eve/wknd). $30.

● 3:00: Les AMIS Concerts. Chamber Music

Concert. Trinity United Church, 284 Division

St., Cobourg. www.tickets.cobourg.ca/

TheatreManager. $40.


Debussy & Sibelius. See Oct 30.

● 3:00: Trinity Evangelical Lutheran

Church. Organ Concert. 23 Church St., New

Hamburg. 519-662-1810. Call for tickets or

information.

● 3:15: Mooredale Concerts. Busch Trio.

Walter Hall, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s

Park. 416-922-3714 x103; 647-988-2102 (eve/

wknd). From $40.

● 4:00: Elmer Iseler Singers. A Portrait in

Song: The Music of Eleanor Daley. Eglinton St.

George’s United Church, 35 Lytton Blvd. www.

elmeriselersingers.com/events/a-portraitin-song-the-music-of-eleanor-daley.

$45;

$40(sr); $30(under 30).

● 4:00: Wychwood Clarinet Choir. Fall Fair. St.

Michael and All Angels Anglican Church, 611 St.

Clair Ave. W. www.wychwoodclarinetchoir.ca.

$25; $15(sr/st) or Pay What You Can.

● 4:00: Flute Street. Colour Configurations.

St. Andrew’s United Church, 117 Bloor St E.

416-462-9498 or www.flutestreet.ca. $25;

$20(sr/arts workers); $10(full-time st).

Flute Street

Tuesday November 4

PRESENTS

COLOUR

Configurations

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 4PM

NEW VENUE

ST ANDREW’S UNITED CHURCH, 117 BLOOR ST. E.

www.flutestreet.ca


Lunchtime Chamber Music: Rising Stars

Recital Featuring Performance Students

from the UofT Faculty of Music. Yorkminster

Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. 416-922-

1167 or www.yorkminsterpark.com. Free.

Donations welcome.





encouraged.

Elmer

Iseler

Singers

Wednesday November 5





your own.

● 7:30: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

Brahms: A German Requiem. Meridian


5040 Yonge St. www.www.tmchoir.org or

416-598-0422. From $39. Also Nov 7(Koerner

Hall).

● 7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Two-

Set Violin. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St.

416-593-1285 or www.tso.ca. From $157.

Thursday November 6

● 7:00: Magisterra Soloists. Magisterra at

the Museum: Masterworks - Piano Quartets.

Museum London, 421 Ridout St. N., London.

www.magisterra.com. $35; $30(sr); $15(st);

$10(under 10).

● 7:30: Brampton On Stage. Brampton

Musical Theatre: The Prince of Egypt, The

Musical. The Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln.,

Brampton. 905-874-2800 https://tickets.

brampton.ca. From $25. Also Nov 7, 8 & 9.

● 7:30: Sinfonia Toronto. Flute Magic - Vivaldi

/ Ho / Janáček. Trinity St. Paul’s United

Church. Jeanne Lamon Hall, 427 Bloor St. W.

www.sinfoniatoronto.com. $52; $40(ages

60+); $20(st).

Friday November 7

● 7:30: Brampton On Stage. Brampton

Music Theatre: The Prince of Egypt, The

Musical. See Nov 6. Also Nov, 8 & 9.

Lydia Adams, Conductor

Sun. Nov 2, 2025 at 4:00 pm

Eglinton St. Georges United Church

A Portrait in Song

The Music of Eleanor Daley

Lydia Adams, Conductor

416-217-0537 elmeriselersingers.com


LIVE OR ONLINE

MAINLY CLUBS

● 7:30: Confluence Concerts. Hibiki Project

and Peter Eom. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton

Ave. 647-678-4923. $30; $20(sty/arts

worker). Also Sep 27.

● 7:30: Guelph Musicfest 2025. Encore

Fall Series: East to West - A Musical Journey

with Sadie Fields & Ken Gee. Guelph Youth

Music Centre, 75 Cardigan St., Guelph. www.

guelphmusicfest.ca or 519-993-7591. From

$20. $25(online only). Also Nov 8(3:30pm -

Grace United Church, Thornbury.

● 7:30: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

Brahms: A German Requiem. Also

Nov 5(Meridian Arts Centre - George Weston

Recital Hall).

● 7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. E.T.

in Concert. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St.

www.tso.ca or 416-598-3375. From $57. Also

Nov 8(2pm).

● 8:00: Caliban Arts Theatre. Black Underground

30th Anniversary Soul Vocals Series:

Solo Tribute to Luther Vandross. 918 Bathurst

Centre for Culture, Arts, Media and Education,

918 Bathurst St. www.tickets.contxtbytrane.com/events/contxtbytrane/1808178.

All Shows Early Bird: $95 (before Sep 10). All

Shows Advance: $110 (after Sep 10). Single

Show Tickets: $30(adv); $45(door).

Lute Legends Collective

BORDERLANDS: MUSIC ON THE EDGE

Saturday, November 1 at 4:00 p.m.

Friends of Music at St. Thomas’s Church

383 Huron Street, Toronto

Pay what you wish: suggested $40 regular,

$20 students | stthomas.on.ca/concert-series

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.

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

VERTIGO

A Choral Tango

presented by

Saturday, November 1, 2025

The Playground, 388 Carlaw Ave

Tickets available at

amadeuschoir.com

amadeusGTA

amadeuschoirgta


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.

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..

● Brampton On Stage / Brampton Music

Theatre. The Prince of Egypt, The Musical.

The Rose (Theatre) Brampton. 1 Theatre Ln.,

Brampton. 905-874-2800 https://tickets.

brampton.ca. From $25. Nov 6-9.

● Canadian Opera Company. Roméo et Juliette.

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing

Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231 or 1-800-

250-4653 or tickets@coc.ca. From $45.

Sep 27-Oct 18.

● Crow’s Theatre & Musical Stage Company:

Octet by Dave Malloy, An cappella

musical about internet addiction. At Crow’s

Theatre (Dundas and Carlaw). Directed by

Chris Abraham. www.crowstheatre.com.

Until Oct 12 with possible extension.

● Flato Markham Theatre. How We Got to

Jersey: A Tale of Two Frankies. 171 Town Centre

Blvd., Markham. 905-305-7469 or www.

flatomarkhamtheatre.ca. Limited tickets

from $15. Oct 17.

● Flato Markham Theatre. 10th Anniversary

Gala: Good Witch/Bad Witch - The

Broadway Witches. 171 Town Centre Blvd.,

Markham. 905-305-7469 or www.flatomarkhamtheatre.ca.

Performance only:

$150(Prime); $135(Regular). Dinner + Performance

(includes Prime ticket & 3-course

pre-show dinner): $350. Oct 25.

● Grand River Opera. Mozart’s Idomeneo.

Registry Theatre (Kitchener), 122 Frederick

St., Kitchener.. grandriveropera.com. Pay

What You Will: $30, $40 or $50. Oct 16-18.

● Mirvish. Michael Jackson The Musical.

Sep 16- Nov 2. CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre.www.

mirvish.com Sep16-Nov 2.

● Mirvish. Bright Star. Love and redemption

set against the rich backdrop of the American

South in the 1920s and ’40s. Created

by Steve Martin & Edie Brickell. CAA Ed Mirvish

Theatre, 651 Yonge St. www.mirvish.com

Sep 30-Oct 26.

● Old Mill Toronto. An Enchanted Evening of

Opera. 21 Old Mill Rd. 416-207-2020 or www.

oldmilltoronto.com or www.opentable.com/

booking/experiences-availability. Visit website

for information. Oct 16.

● Opera Atelier. The Magic Flute. Elgin and

Wintergarden Theatre Centre - Elgin Theatre,

189 Yonge St. 416-703-3767 x700 or www.

OperaAtelier.com. From $68. Oct 15-19.

● OperOttawa. Gala Concert. First Baptist

MUSIC THEATRE

How We Got to Jersey: A Tale of Two Frankies, coming to the Flato Markham

Theatre starring Adrian Marchuk and Jeff Madden (l-r). Two small-town Canadian

"Jersey Boys" become Frankie Valli on stages worldwide.

Church (Ottawa), 140 Laurier Ave. W., Ottawa.

www.eventbrite.ca/e/1088258814409. $50;

$25(st); Free(under 10). Sep 21.

● 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.

● Shifting Ground Collective. Ride the

Cyclone. Annex Theatre, 730 Bathurst St.

www.shiftinggroundcollective.com/cyclone/.

$45; $25(arts worker). Sep 24-Oct 4.

● Show One Productions. Les Ballets Trockadero

de Monte Carlo. Elgin and Wintergarden

Theatre Centre - Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge

St. Oct 18-19.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 Dec 14

● Stratford Festival. As You Like It. With

new songs by Ron Sexsmith. Directed by

Chris Abraham. Avon Theatre, 99 Downie

St., Stratford. 1-800-567-1600. Visit www.

stratfordfestival.ca for tickets and info. Runs

until Oct 24

● Stratford Festival. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Book by Jefrey 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. Runs until Nov 23.

● Toronto Operetta Theatre. TOT Cabaret

Series: The Drury Lane Cabaret. Edward

Jackman Centre, 947 Queen St. E., 2nd Floor.

416-366-7723 or 1–800-708-6754 or www.

ticketmaster.ca/artist/2443008. Oct 4.

● Toronto Operetta Theatre. The Mikado -

Revisited. St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts

- Jane Mallett Theatre, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-

7723 or 1–800-708-6754 or www.tolive.com

or www.ticketmaster.ca/artist/2443008.

Oct 24-26.

● TYT Theatre. Disney’s The Little Mermaid.

Randolph Theatre, 736 Bathurst St.. tyttheatre.com/onstage

Oct 4-5

● Vita Bella Entertainment. Confidential

Musical Theatre Project. Christ Church Deer

Park, 1570 Yonge St. www.vitabellaentertainmentca.com.

$40/$35(adv online). Oct 25.


ETCETERA

The ETCETERAS are listings for date-related events - live and virtual - that are of

musical interest but which are not performances. This includes, for example, conferences

and symposia, masterclasses, workshops, film screenings, and competition

deadlines. Just like our daily concert listings, the ETCETERAS are updated

weekly online, and are free of charge. Please contact our listings team for more

information at etc@thewholenote.com

Please note that the ETCETERAS do not include audition and recruitment notices

or job postings. To promote these opportunities, please contact


April 19, 1928: Maurice Ravel played some of his greatest hits

at Montreal's (now historic) St. Denis Theatre.

CONFERENCES, DEMONSTRATIONS,

LECTURES, MASTER CLASSES

& WORKSHOPS

● Sep 07 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).

● Sep 11-13 Guelph Jazz Festival Colloquium

2025. Dance with the Music: Movement in

the Improvised Arts. Improvlab, University

of Guelph, Winegard Walk, Guelph. Free

and open to all. www.guelphjazzfestival.com/

colloquium.

● Sep 19 11:00am: Hamilton Philharmonic

Orchestra. Talk & Tea: The Firsts. Discussion

of works by Sibelius, Prokofiev, Shostakovich,

and Abigail Richardson-Schulte. FirstOntario

Concert Hall (Hamilton), 1 Summers Ln.,

Hamilton. www.hpo.org/event/talk-tea-the

firsts. $17.

● Sep 19-21 SweetWater Music Festival.

A series of free events during the festival

at Harmony Centre, 890 4th Ave. E., Owen

Sound. 519-371-2833 or boxoffice@roxytheatre.ca

.

● – Sep 19 12:00 noon Artist Talk.(Grey Gallery,

883 2nd Ave. E). Free.

● – Sep 20 9:00am: A Well-Being Concert:

Yoga and Guitar. An hour of stretching and

music. Brendan Evans, guitar; Stuart Reid,

yoga instructor.

● – Sep 20 10:30am: Music for Munchkins.

Bring the youngsters for an interactive

hour of music led by Coco Love Alcorn. For

ages 1-5.

● – Sep 20 1:30: Instrument Makers. Meet

some of Canada’s top string instrument makers

and hear their new instruments tested by

SweetWater artists.

● – Sep 20 2:30: Classical Jam Sesh

- Strings.

● – Sep 20 2:30: Choral Jam Sesh. Free.

● – Sep 21 9:00am: A Well-Being Concert:

Soul Care Sunday. Join Karen Choi and

guitarist Brendan Evans for a restorative

blend of live music, gentle movement, breath

work, and poetry. 519-371-2833 Free.

● Sep 30 6:30:Toronto Public Library.

Maurice Ravel Visits Canada. Beeton Hall,

located on the ground floor. In 1928, Ravel

toured North America. Most documentation

covers only the American portion of his tour.

A tour overview, and some of the mysteries

surrounding his brief visit to Canada. Susan

Spier, presenter & music historian. Toronto

Reference Library, in Beeton Hall.789 Yonge

St. www.torontopubliclibrary.ca. Free.

● Oct 17 11:00am: Hamilton Philharmonic

Orchestra. Talk & Tea: John Williams and

the Art of the Film Score. Abigail Richardson-Schulte,

host. FirstOntario Concert Hall,

1 Summers Ln., Hamilton. www.hpo.org/

event/talk-tea-john-williams-2. $17.

● Oct 19 2:30: Hymn Society of Southern

Ontario. Not a Workshop: A Lively Hymn Sing

at Royal York Road United Church,

Toronto.Refreshments 2:30, singing & discussion

3-4:30

Tunes by Jane Best and Texts by Lydia Pedersen.

Info / registration (by Oct 15) www.

sochs.org/events Free.

● Oct 19 1:30: Toronto Early Music Players

Organization (TEMPO). Workshop leader is

Jonathan Wong. At Grace Church on-the-Hill,

300 Lonsdale Rd. www.tempotoronto.net or

info@tempotoronto.net. Pay what you can.

● Nov 07 11:00am: Hamilton Philharmonic

Orchestra. Talk & Tea: The Romantics.

Works by Mendelssohn and Abigail Richardson-Schulte,

host. FirstOntario Concert Hall,

1 Summers Ln., Hamilton. www.hpo.org/

event/talk-tea-the-romantics. $17.

FILMS

● Sep 16 7:00: SweetWater Music Festival.

SweetWater Mini Documentary Premieres

and Meet the Artists. Premieres

of two new mini-documentaries about the

SweetWater Festival. Roxy Theatre, 251 9 St.

E., Owen Sound. 519-371-2833 or boxoffice@

roxytheatre.ca. Free.

● Oct 31 1:30: Toronto Public Library - S.

Walter Stewart Public Library. Life as We

Know It. Humorous short films about modern

society set to a dynamic musical score.

170 Memorial Park Ave., East York. www.bitly.

com/flying-spot-players. Free.

ONGOING & NOTEWORTHY

● Every Wednesday, 5.15pm. 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.

● Weekly sessions: Recollectiv. For anyone

living with cognitive challenges from Alzheimer’s,

dementia, traumatic brain injury,

stroke or PTSD. Rediscover the joy of making

music. Please contact recollectiv@gmail.com

for more information.

● Every third Wednesday 7:15pm: Sacred

Harp Singing.. Participatory shapenote singing

from the Sacred Harp. Friends House,

60 Lowther Ave. No experience necessary.

Songbooks to borrow. Visit www.torontoshapenote.org

for information.

If you can read this,

thank a music teacher.

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Share your creative flair!

We are seeking an Artistic Director

to begin in the 2026–2027 season.

Help us enrich and transform lives through the learning,

singing, and sharing of choral music in our community.

For a full job description and application details, visit:

peterboroughsingers.com/artistic-director-job-posting/


continued from page 20

Left to right: Teiya Kasahara, Britta Johnson, Ian Cusson, Alice Ping Yee Ho, Cecilia Livingston, Krisztina Szabó, at ICVT 2025 in Toronto.

Aaron: “Being on your Feet

and Connecting to People” – As

a composer, I like to get away

from the instrument. I like to get

away from the piano. I’m most

in the moment when I’m out

in nature and I’m walking and

on my feet. I find that the best

reset, emotional and headspace,

is spending time with my family.

I feel lucky to perform with

performers that I have known for

more than a decade. I feel a really

intense comfort and ease. When I

perform, it “fills the cup.” When

leaving the stage, rather than

Aaron Jensen trying to get back to a sense of

equilibrium, I more likely want

to turn a performance into a social hang, because so much of the

work I do is introverted and at home by myself. I lean into the social

aspect of performance.

DAHLIA KATZ

On Organizing Thoughts

Britta: “Putting it on the Wall” – (Britta gestures to the wall behind

her, coloured paper stuck on it, arranged in a chart-like formation).

This is a huge part of my process. I’m not a super plot driven or linear

writer. I write a lot of “moments,” I get it out of my head, and in front

of me, with a colour coding system. This has been on my wall for a

year, the current draft of Life After. It’s not about starting a song and

writing till it’s finished. It’s about building the tapestry of the show.

You’re looking at the “plot” version right here, where green is “song”

and purple is “scene.” I find putting it on the wall is a very useful

thing, to look at the structure of what you’re doing.

Aaron: “Critical Paths and Populating the World” – I’m very processoriented.

I’m not a multi-tasker. I like to have a paper and pen and put

everything down, whether it’s a short-term project or a project that I

know is going to span years and involve multiple collaborators. I create

“critical paths” – I break every job down into tiny little discrete tasks,

and then it doesn’t seem quite so overwhelming. As a composer, the

first thing that I do is “populate the world.” A blank canvas is just the

possibilities of all of the things, and that can be stymieing. Before I write

a piece of music, I usually describe something in words – e.g. I want this

to function like this other piece, or I’m writing for specific players and

that comes with the constraints of that instrument, etc. Then I go for a

walk. That’s when I already have an ephemeral image of what this piece

is, and I can just let ideas percolate.

On The State of “Flow”

Britta: “Being in the Channel and Cracking the Code” – (Britta talks

about two of her songs from Life After.) Finding an authentic flow

state is the greatest task of a composer. You can tell where you’re “in

the channel.” Poetry was one of the very first songs I wrote for the

show. One of the first songs I wrote in my life. It came from a very

authentic moment of profound loss. I was just sitting at the piano,

trying to figure out something that there were no words for. I was

in the channel by the fact that I was in that position. For Wallpaper,

I had to find a different way into that character. I’m often pacing

around, muttering to myself, “monologuing” as the character. When

I was trying “to crack open” this moment, the thing I kept repeating

was this motive - “I’m sorry, I had to. I’m sorry, I had to. I’m sorry,

I tried to wait.” I heard the repetition, and I heard the rhythm, that

kind of tumbling triplet duple feel, and the rest of the song spilled out.

Poetry just came from the sky. For Wallpaper I had to employ some

strategies.

Aaron: “Familiarity versus Changes of Course” - I think of it in

almost two antipodal ways. There’s a kind of flow that comes from

understanding a job so fully that you can just lose yourself in it. When

Countermeasure went on tour to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, we

did the same show for almost a month straight. By the end of it, we

weren’t thinking about music. Rather than going on autopilot, it was

actually the opposite. I was more profoundly connected to the material

and to the audience. Familiarity allowed for that sense of peace.

The flip side of that is being open to changing course. There’s a piece

that I was working on for this last album. The day of the recording

session, I sat back and listened to this piece that I had been working

on for quite some time. I just didn’t connect to it. I discarded it. Rather

than cancel the session, I went for a long walk, I had a nap, I came in,

and I got everyone in a good state of mind. I knew the kind of song

that I wanted to write. I led the singers through a series of gestural

improvisatorial singing. It was so calm, so responsive. It was fun

“playing in the sandbox.” There’s a spirit that was captured in that

session. You can find flow by having things really locked in. You can

also find it on the other side of the equation.

As always, the artists’ full interviews are available on my YouTube

channel – Vania Chan Music.

Author and creator of this series, Vania Lizbeth Chan is

a lyric coloratura soprano, artist researcher, and educator.

Visit her website: www.vaniachan.com to learn more about

upcoming projects.


DISCOVERIES | RECORDINGS REVIEWED

DAVID OLDS

I first heard Ian Tamblyn’s (Once Was

A) Village, sung by our publisher David

Perlman in my backyard one lovely

summer day several years ago. He had

learned the song after hearing it performed

in Kensington Market by the SPECIAL

INTEREST group. The Spark (independent

KBG1905 thespecialinterestgroup.bandcamp.com/album/the-spark)

is the debut

CD by this self proclaimed “cultural/political project dedicated to

playing music with a progressive message and providing a playlist for

labour and activist groups.” Originally published digitally during the

pandemic, it has now been released in physical form. The disc begins

with that same Tamblyn song celebrating the small-town aspects of

communities within large cities, with some added lyrics by Rebecca

Campbell. As in most of the group’s repertoire the song is combined

with another to make an effective medley, in this case Pat Metheny

and Lyle Mays’ (Cross the) Heartland.

The quintet is comprised of Campbell (lead and backing vocals,

guitar and percussion), Kevin Barrett (various acoustic and electric

guitars, mandolin, loops, lead and backing vocals), Jim Bish (various

saxophones and flutes, backing vocals), Ian de Sousa (bass, loops)

and Rakesh Tewari (drums and percussion). They are supplemented

by the nine-voice People’s Chorus on two of my favourite tracks,

Willie P. Bennett’s (Who’s Gonna Get The) Last Word (In) and Ed

McCurdy’s classic Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream, here interpolated

with John Lennon’s Give Peace A Chance. Also of particular

note are Mimi Fariña and James Oppenheim’s Bread and Roses,

Steven Stills’ For What It’s Worth, with Harris Seaton’s Peace, Love

and Understanding, and a brilliant interlacing of Bruce Cockburn’s

If I Had A Rocket Launcher and Talking Heads’ Listening Wind

where Campbell’s voice, channeling David Byrne, is eerily reminiscent

of both Laurie Anderson and Kate Bush. That track also includes

an excerpt from Elijah Harper’s historic address to Parliament

demanding that Indigenous voices be included in any changes to the

Canadian Constitution.

I also must mention the title track, Campbell’s own The Spark, an

anthem of sorts that proclaims, “the spark, ignites the flame, that

sheds a light, on all we once held true.” This disc is a heady throwback

to the protest era of the sixties and early seventies, while addressing

contemporary concerns, and with a great backbeat to get you up on

your feet.

Anne Lindsay tells us in the notes to

Soloworks 2 (annelindsay.bandcamp.com/

album/soloworks-2-2), “This record is

dedicated to St. Anne’s Anglican Church

in Toronto where it was recorded in

November 2021 during the global pandemic.

St. Anne’s was built in 1907 and contained a

Byzantine dome with spectacular acoustics.

Murals by the Group of Seven and sculptures

by Frances Loring and Florence Wyle were added in the 1920s.

Sadly in June 2024 the church suffered a devastating fire and all that

remains of this historic Canadian cultural gem are parts of the exterior

walls. I am grateful to share a record of this outstanding acoustic space

with you.”

Lindsay’s violin (or is it a fiddle?), nyckelharpa (a “keyed” and

bowed hurdy-gurdy-like instrument from Sweden) and voice fill this

wondrous space with joyous and contemplative reverberant sounds.

The music is lyrical and mostly folk-based, at times rhythmic as in

the Celtic-sounding Carolina Parakeet where the jig-like fiddle is

accompanied by the hand drumming of Mark Mariash. Fitting for

the venue, several of Lindsay’s compositions – did I mention they

are all originals? – are religious expressions, including the opening

Votum Mane (morning vow or promise), Credo, The Lord’s Prayer and

Benedictus which is introduced by the sound of the church’s bells.

Others are inspired by water: Down by the Noisy River, Headwaters

Ramble and The Sea and the Sky. Throughout we are treated to a

thoughtful and melodious journey, with Lindsay the buoyant and

entertaining guide.

It is great to have this testament as a reminder of what a precious

space we lost with the demise of St. Anne’s. It continues to serve the

community, holding services in the Parish Hall on Dufferin at Dundas.

From its website I take the following: “We are grateful for your

continued support to our church community following the devastating

loss of our historic church. Help us rebuild our ministry and

create a church that reflects our faith through contemporary Canadian

art and through ministry to all people. You can contribute directly to

us by visiting our Canada Helps page. We are most in need of support

for our general fund, which helps us with our day-to-day operations.”

A truly worthy cause.

I’m a sucker for the Doppler effect, so I was

immediately captivated by the title work

of The White Birds, a new release from the

Latvian Music Information Centre featuring

String Trio Baltia (SKANI 171 lmic.lv/en/

skani/catalogue?id=254). Composed by

Gundega Šmite, the birds in question are

mute swans, collared doves, seagulls and

white storks. I was a bit surprised to realize

that the siren-like opening movement depicted “mute” creatures.

Also, that Baltic seagulls are quite subdued compared to local denizens

of our lakefront, although they do have that same characteristic glissando

cry. In between, the doves coo and peck as might be expected

and in the finale the storks mostly scratch and tap rhythmically, with

no discernible song.

The real reason I was drawn to the CD is the inclusion of Latvianborn

Canadian composer Tālivaldis Ķeniņš’ (1919-2008) Trio for

violin, viola and cello written in 1989. That’s the same year that he

visited Latvia for the first time since fleeing the country during the

later days of the Second World War. At that time he returned to Paris

where he had been a student before the outbreak of the war, and after

completing studies (with Messiaen and Tony Aubin, among others) he

emigrated to Canada in 1951. Ķeniņš was active as an organist, administrator

for the Canadian League of Composers and as lecturer and

professor at the Faculty of Music, U of T, retiring Emeritus in 1984.

He was one of Canada’s most prolific composers, whose orchestral

output included eight numbered symphonies, and more than a dozen

concertante works, as well as myriad solo vocal, choral, chamber and

keyboard pieces.

Although commissioned by the Toronto Latvian Concert Association

and the Ontario Arts Council almost half a century ago, like so much

of Ķeniņš’ output, the trio has remained unrecorded until now. The

three-movement work is lyrical and occasionally dark, beginning

with a Moderato con moto where the “motor” sounds are like footsteps.

Adagietto teneroso is sparse, with a mournful violin melody


over simple lower string chords, which grows into counterpoint

between the three players. The final Vivo e marcato starts playfully

enough, with each of the instruments in turn leading a game

of tag. This gives way to a sombre middle section before returning to

the chase, and after another contemplative pause ends in a flurry of

activity. Although the trio receives a thoroughly professional performance

here, I think the work is straightforward enough to be tackled by

accomplished amateur performers and I may use it as inspiration to

return to my own cello, which has been mostly languishing in its case

since the COVID lockdowns.

The disc also includes Castillo interior by Latvian Pēteris Vasks,

a tribute to Saint Teresa of Avila originally for violin and cello and

revised for string trio in 2021. In it, quiet quasi-medieval melodies

alternate with rhythmic passages representing the seven courtyards

through which the soul must pass to enter “the castle,” a journey

that requires “prayer, perseverance, self-knowledge and awareness of

sin.” This is followed by the Gran duo funebre for viola and cello by

Gundaris Pone who says, “My intention was not to write mourning

music but to show how Latvians regard this big, final question […]

approaching the issue of death with a sunnier outlook.” I think the

references to Shostakovich perhaps belie this sunny outlook, but

nevertheless it is a compelling work.

One of the first instances, and still

the most prestigious in my career as

a music journalist (The WholeNote

notwithstanding), was the publication

(in French translation) of an

article about Pierre Boulez that I

wrote for the Université de Montréal’s

journal Circuit: Revue Nord-

Américaine de Musique du XXe siècle

(Volume 3 Number 1, 1992). It was

an analysis of a workshop/rehearsal

of Mémoriale that Boulez gave at the

Royal Conservatory in Toronto during

a Canadian tour in conjunction with

his residency at Festival Nova Scotia

in 1991. The performers were flute soloist Robert Aitken and members

of the New Music Concerts (NMC) ensemble who had first performed

the work some six weeks earlier under the direction of frequent

Boulez collaborator Jean-Pierre Drouet.

This was almost a decade before my own association with NMC,

where I served as general manager from 1999 until 2019. During my

tenure there I met many of the world’s most illustrious composers,

but the absolute epitome of this was the time I spent as escort to

maestro Boulez when he became the laureate of the Glenn Gould Prize

in November 2002. In the concert at Glenn Gould Studio mounted to

honour the recipient of the prestigious prize, Christina Petrowska-

Quilico performed Piano Sonata No.1, Fujiko Imajishi was featured in

Anthèmes for solo violin, and Aitken and the NMC musicians reprised

their performance of Mémoriale. Other works on the programme

included Messagesquisse (with Boulez’s protégé Jean-Guihen Queyras

as cello soloist), Éclats, Dérive and Pli selon pli (featuring Patricia

Green). Boulez attended the final day of rehearsals, and although he

was only scheduled to conduct one piece on the programme, he

evidently felt that sufficient preparatory work had been done by

Aitken in the preceding week and he decided to conduct the entire

concert. It was a truly memorable performance and a career highlight

for many of the musicians.

Well, that was a rather lengthy introduction

to set up my final review for the issue.

Boulez lived from 1925 until 2016 and to

mark the centenary of his birth Deutsche

Grammophon has released Pierre Boulez:

The Composer (deutschegrammophon.

com/en/catalogue/products/pierre-boulezthe-composer-9905).

It’s a commemorative

box set including 11 CDs of recordings

hand-picked by Boulez representing virtually all of his output spanning

more than half a century. There is also a disc of historic recordings

of Le Marteau sans maître, Le Soleil des eaux (second version

1950) and a 1956 performance of Sonatine for flute and piano

featuring Severino Gazzelloni and David Tudor, along with an hourlong

conversation between the set’s producer Claude Samuel and

Boulez recorded at IRCAM in 2011. The interview is in French, but

there is a complete translation in the 252-page booklet that also

includes an homage by Laurent Bayle, an introduction by Samuel,

detailed bilingual programme notes (including some provided by

Boulez himself), texts of the poetry Boulez set to music and photographs.

It’s a very impressive and informative package.

Boulez, who came to prominence shortly after the Second

World War along with Stockhausen, Xenakis and a host of other

seminal composers of the avant-garde, was a complex and sometimes

cantankerous individual. After initially bonding with such senior

composers as Messiaen (with whom he studied) and René Leibowitz,

he turned on his former mentors with contempt, eschewing all that

came before including the likes of Stravinsky and Schoenberg (see his

essay Schoenberg is Dead).

Boulez took Schoenberg’s 12-tone principle that no note should be

repeated until all the other 11 semitones had appeared, and applied

this to the other parameters of

music such as rhythm, duration,

attack and dynamics. In later years,

as he blossomed into a worldrenowned

conductor, not only of

the music of his contemporaries but

also of earlier periods particularly

in the realm of opera, in his own

compositions he relaxed his strictures

somewhat.

ANDRÉ LEDUC

This collection, containing virtually

all the music Boulez acknowledged

and even a few pieces he

had not previously allowed to be

performed, is presented in more or

less chronological order, although

this is complicated by the fact that he almost never stopped revising

his works. It begins with the craggy pieces of the “angry young man,”

Douze notations for piano, Sonatine, the three piano sonatas, Livre

pour quatuor and Structures Livre 1 for two pianos.

While most of the recordings date from the 1990s there are

numerous exceptions, including the abovementioned Structures

featuring Alfons and Aloys Kontarsky recorded in 1960, Rituel

in memoriam Bruno Maderna from a 1982 Sony recording, the

1989 “definitive” version – a rare designation by Boulez – of Pli

selon pli from 2002 and sur incises with Boulez conducting soloists

of l’Ensemble intercontemporain (EI) in 2012. Virtually all of the

ensemble pieces are conducted by Boulez, most performed by EI, but

some featuring larger groups including the BBC Symphony, the Vienna

Philharmonic and Ensemble Modern Orchestra. One exception is

Domaines for clarinet and instrumental groups. The soloist is Michel

Portal with Musique vivante under Diego Masson in a recording from

1971. Portal also performs the solo version of Domaines. There are also

two versions of Anthèmes; the solo version is performed by violinist

Jeanne-Marie Conquer and the version with electronics, realized at

Boulez’s IRCAM facility at the Centre Pompidou, features Hae-Sun

Kang. As in the Toronto performance I mentioned earlier, Jean-Guihen

Queyras is the soloist in a 2000 performance of Messagesquisse, sur le

nom de Paul Sacher.

I have missed some important works in this list but make no

mistake they are all contained in this fabulous centenary tribute to

one of the most significant figures of our time, a musical genius with

whom I am privileged to have spent a memorable weekend.

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

After completing modern violin studies

in Los Angeles the Canadian-American

Baroque violinist Alison Luthmers moved

to Sweden in 2012 and began pursuing

her “true love,” the Baroque violin. It’s no

surprise, then, to find her recording the J.H.

Roman: Assagi for Solo Violin, featuring

four of the distinctive works by one of

Sweden’s most important composers, Johan

Helmich Roman (1694-1758) (Rubicon

RCD1140 shop.darksiderecords.com/en-ca/collections/releasedate-4-25-25/products/alison-luthmers-j-h-roman-assaggi-forsolo-violin?srsltid=AfmBOoot3C0eW4G6btJhhwKGMZpJ8z40sXzHS

t0gn_nw_px1ie-Lby83).

There are about 20 Assagi extant in various degrees of completion

and with a complicated and contradictory source history that includes

a few movements from an aborted print edition, Roman’s manuscripts

and contemporary copies. Luthmers has chosen the Assagi in E Minor

BeRi 312 and in A Major BeRi 301, and the two Assagi in G Minor

BeRi 314 and 320.

Her playing is exemplary – light and nuanced, unfailingly accurate

and with a lovely sense of pulse.

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.

A few years ago, somewhat uncharacteristically, I included a digitalonly

single release in the column because it was so good – a suite

from Sondheim’s Broadway musical A Little Night Music, arranged

by Broadway veteran Eric Stern and

performed by the Opus Two duo of violinist

William Terwilliger and pianist Andrew

Cooperstock. The good news is that it’s back

on regular CD; the even better news is that

it opens a full-length CD of world-premiere

recordings of Sondheim arrangements

by the same team – Opus Two Celebrates

Stephen Sondheim (Bridge Records 9605

bridgerecords.com/products/9605).

Stern worked closely with Sondheim as musical director for

numerous shows, and his arrangements are an absolute delight.

Broadway Baby and Not While I’m Around are probably the bestknown

items here, but Follies, Evening Primrose, Company,

Sunday in the Park with George and Merrily We Roll Along are also

represented.

Fittingly, the more substantial Fleet Street Suite – music from

Sweeney Todd – bookends a delightful CD.

Shostakovich – Silvestrov contains music

for viola and piano by the two Russian

composers in performances by violist

Ettore Causa and pianist Boris Berman

(Le Palais de Dégustateurs PDD041 lepalaisdesdegustateurs-shop.com/boutique/

SHOSTAKOVICH-SILVESTROV-Ettore-

Causa-et-Boris-Berman-p712329711).

The Viola Sonata Op.147, with its huge

third movement Adagio, was the last work Shostakovich composed

before his death in 1975. There has been much speculation about the

autobiographical nature of the music, given the numerous quotations

from other of his works, especially in the Adagio.

Valentin Silvestrov (b.1937) wrote a Postlude DSCH for piano trio,

but the two composers never met. Silvestrov’s 2010 Elegy for Viola

solo, his 2022 Three Intermezzi for Piano (dedicated to Berman) and

the 2023 Triptych for Viola and Piano (commissioned by the record

label for this CD) are world premiere recordings. His Epitaphium

(L.B.) from 1999, originally for piano and string orchestra, was written

in memory of his wife, whom he lost in 1996.

Shostakovich’s brief Impromptu for Viola and Piano Op.33, written

in 1931 but only discovered in 2017, ends a high-quality CD.

On DSCH & beyond the Eliot Quartett

delivers impassioned performances of

Shostakovich’s String Quartet No.3 in F

Major, Op.73 and the hauntingly autobiographical

String Quartet No.8 in C Minor,

Op.110 (GENUIN GEN 25919 genuinclassics.

com/_new/cd_1.php?cd=GEN25919).

The central work on the disc is the

remarkable Au-delá d’une absence, Op.89

by Krzysztof Meyer, a hypothetical Shostakovich String Quartet No.16

written in 1997 entirely in the style of Shostakovich as “a tribute to a

man who had been very close to me.” In 1974 Meyer had discussed a

possible 16th quartet with the composer, who had intimated that it

would be in three movements, with a singable second movement and

a double fugue finale, playing Meyer one of the tunes for the latter. On

that minimal framework Meyer has built an astonishingly idiomatic

and convincing quartet.

Concert Note: The Eliot Quartett are performing the Shostakovich

cycle of string quartets over five concerts at the Kitchener Waterloo

Chamber Music Society September 25 through 28.

Just when you think you probably won’t hear a better recording of

the Sibelius concerto along comes the German violinist Lea Birringer

performing works by Sibelius Szymanowski and Järnefelt on her

new CD, with Benjamin Shwartz conducting the Staatsorchester

Rheinische Philharmonie (Rubicon RCD1193 rubiconclassics.com/

release/sibelius-jarnefelt-szymanowski).

Hers is a full-blooded, full-bodied approach to the Sibelius Violin


Concerto in D Minor, Op.47 – no icy landscape

in the warm opening here – and her

thrilling virtuosity and huge tone combined

with the outstanding orchestral support

result in a heart-pounding performance to

rank with the best available on disc.

Much the same can be said of the

Szymanowski Violin Concerto No.2, Op.61,

a lush, Romantic work overflowing with

brilliant orchestral colours reminiscent of

Scriabin. Birringer’s shimmering tone and technical mastery again

combine with superb orchestral support in a captivating performance.

The brief Berceuse in G Minor by Armas Järnefelt completes an

exceptional CD.

The Estonian violinist Hans Christian

Aavik, who won first prize in the 2022 Carl

Nielsen International Violin Competition,

pairs two concertos written 150 years

apart on Max Bruch – Erkki-Sven Tüür,

with Gemma New conducting the Odense

Symphony Orchestra (Orchid Classics

ORC100380 orchidclassics.com/releases/

orc100380-hans-christian-aavik).

Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1 in G Minor,

Op.26 is a perennial favourite, and Aavik shows us just why with a

beautiful performance full of simply gorgeous playing on the Giovanni

Paolo Maggini violin from c.1610 that he has on loan.

Tüür’s Violin Concerto No.2, “Angel’s Share” was written in 2017.

The title refers to the small amount of whisky that evaporates during

the aging process in wooden barrels, Tüür believing that for humans,

maturity can also lead to a deepened sense of goodness. It’s a really

interesting soundscape full of dynamic contrasts and scored for strings

and percussion, including vibraphone, bass drum, tam-ta, crotales

and temple blocks.

On Tchaikovsky the London-based

Russian violinist Natalia Lomeiko performs

Tchaikovsky’s complete music for violin

and orchestra, the latter being the Russian

State Philharmonic under Valery Poliansky

(Orchid Classics ORC100195 orchidclassics.

com/releases/orc100195-natalia-lomeiko).

The Violin Concerto in D Major, Op.35 is

a lovely performance, technically assured

and with a crystal clear, glistening tone. Tchaikovsky replaced the

concerto’s original Méditation slow movement, re-working it for

violin and piano and making it the first of the three pieces that

comprise his Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op.42, heard here in the

customary orchestration by Alexander Glazunov. There’s more

beautiful playing here and in the Sérénade mélancolique, Op.26,

written in 1875 for Leopold Auer.

The Valse-Scherzo, Op.34 from 1877, written for Iosef Kotek,

Tchaikovsky’s former student who was closely involved in the writing

of the concerto, ends an immensely satisfying disc.

Cello Tango, the new 2CD set from cellist

Ophélie Gaillard is a crossover album on

which she presents new arrangements of

her favourite Argentinian pieces – timeless

hits and lesser-known gems. The ensemble

comprises Juango Mosalini and William

Sabatier (bandoneons), Tomás Bordalejo

(guitar), Romain Lecuyer (double bass), the

Debussy Quartet, singers Nahuel dí Pierro,

Inés Cuello and Agnès Jaoui and pianist

Émilie Aridon-Kociolek (Aparté AP368 ophliegaillard.bandcamp.

com/album/cello-tango).

Instrumental combinations vary from solo cello to full ensemble,

with the bandoneon tracks obviously adding the most evocative

sound. Of the 26 tracks 12 are by Astor Piazzolla, including his

Oblivion and Milonga, and eight by Alberto Ginastera, including his

Puneña No.2, Op.45 for solo cello. Other composers are Osvaldo

Pugliése, Carlos Gardel, Alfredo Le Pera, Rosita Melo, Julián Plaza,

Mercedes Sosa and Gerardo Matos Rodrígues, whose La cumparsita

closes a highly entertaining and delightful set.

On Images: Hommage à Marcel

Tournier the French harpist Emmanuel

Ceysson pays tribute to one of the

greatest harpist/composers, who

lived from1879 to 1951. Quatuor Voce

provides the various string additions,

and Véronique Gens is the soprano in the

four lovely songs included (ALPHA1133

outhere-music.com/en/albums/

images-hommage-marcel-tournier).

Most of Tournier’s compositions – and all of the ones here – were

originally for solo harp or harp and voice, with Tournier often adding

additional instruments at a later date. The works represented are from

his mature years and include several previously unpublished pieces

from recently discovered manuscripts.

The centrepiece of the disc is the Sonatine Op.30, a 1924 harp solo

to which violin and cello were added in 1939. The CD’s title comes

from the four Images Suites, No.1 Op.29, No.2 Op.31, No.3 Op.35 and

No.4 Op.39 that are spread throughout the disc.

Ceysson was principal harp for the Opéra national de Paris for 15

years and the Metropolitan Opera New York for five years; he has been

principal harp of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra since 2020.

His superb playing anchors a really beautiful CD.

The Spanish guitarist Ricardo Gallén dedicates

his latest CD, Preludes & Dances

from Brazil to the works of the legendary

Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos,

honouring his contribution to the classical

guitar repertoire (eudora EUD-SACD-2501

eudorarecords.com/shop/catalogue/

preludes-and-dances-from-brazil).

Villa-Lobos’ five Préludes W419 and the

five-movement Suite populaire brésilienne W020 are paired with the

first recording of Sérgio Assad’s 12 Colloquial Preludes, commissioned

by Gallén and dedicated to him.

The Villa-Lobos works naturally celebrate the folk and traditional

music of Brazil, the Suite also incorporating European dance elements,

while the Assad work is described by the composer in his booklet notes

as exploring a broader spectrum of Brazilian popular music.

Gallén’s playing is of the highest quality throughout a

delightful CD.

thewholenote.com/listening

The Spark

the Special Interest Group

the SPECIAL INTEREST group

brings a new rhythm to songs of

hope & struggle

O Listen

Danish National Vocal Ensemble

A journey where anything can

happen with the award winning

Danish National Vocal Ensemble

and conductor Martina Batic.


VOCAL

Benedict Sheehan - Ukrainian War

Requiem

Axios Men’s Ensemble; Pro Coro Canada;

Michael Zaugg

Cappella Records CR432 SACD

(axioschoir.com)

! After Russia

invaded Ukraine

in February, 2022

American Benedict

Sheehan received a

commission from

Edmonton’s Axios

Men’s Ensemble,

performers of

Eastern European sacred music, many of its

singers sharing Ukrainian roots. Sheehan was

asked, he writes, for “a new composition in

honor of those fallen in Ukraine’s struggle

for freedom.”

Sheehan’s Ukrainian War Requiem was

premiered in Edmonton on April 14, 2024

with the Axios Men’s Ensemble and the

tenors and basses of Edmonton’s Pro Coro

Canada conducted by Pro Coro’s artistic

director, Swiss-born Michael Zaugg.

In keeping with Ukraine’s mixed religious

heritage – Orthodox, Catholic and Jewish

– Sheehan drew texts from the Ukrainian

Memorial Service, hymns of St. John of

Damascus, Psalms 50 and 90, the New

Testament Gospels and the Latin Requiem

Mass. He combined, he says, “a variety of

musical influences, including Ukrainian and

Galician plainchant (somoilka), Gregorian

chant, a Ukrainian Jewish psalm tone

(nusach) and an array of original melodies,”

as well as Shche Ne Vmerla Ukraïna

(Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished), Ukraine’s

national anthem.

Throughout the work’s 67 minutes, the

richly sonorous men’s chorus sings with

fervent urgency in Ukrainian, Latin and

English, several choristers contributing

solos; the major solos are sung by Ukrainian

soprano Yuliia Kasimova and Canadian tenor

John Tessier. Based on traditional church

modes, Sheehan’s powerful, often heartrendingly

beautiful score is a loving tribute to

the Ukrainian dead that deserves to be heard

everywhere in remembrance of all victims of

all wars.

Michael Schulman

O Listen! to the music of Uros Krek & Else

Marie Pade

Danish National Vocal Ensemble; Marina

Batic

Our Recordings 8.226924

(ourrecordings.com/albums/o-listen)

! This is the ninth

release in a series of

challenging projects

from the Danish

National Vocal

Ensemble on Our

Records. The professional

chamber

choir scene, especially

amongst the Nordic countries, including

Canada, is one of the most musically fecund

departments in contemporary music. Choirs

just seem to be getting better and more

capable of negotiating ever newer compositional

demands.

The retro graphic on the cover, a clunky ear,

suggests that this release is odd. The disc opts

to investigate some out-of-the-way developments

around the middle of the 20th century.

The Slovenian conductor of this ensemble,

Martina Batič, has chosen two rarely exposed

composers, one a fellow Slovenian, Uroš

Krek, and Danish music concrète practitioner

Else Maria Pade.

Krek has a mid-century choral style that

is closest to Gerald Finzi in the three English

language pieces included, but the subsequent

pieces in Slovenian and Latin show several

attractive elements of his very solid style.

Pade’s mellifluous style fits well with standard

mid-century practices, although she

never sounds English. The real curate’s egg on

this disc is one of Pade’s electronic projects,

an immersive environment meant to go

around a challenging stratospheric coloratura

soprano, baritone, speaking (like zombies)

chorus and seven trombones. The electronic

background includes assembled sounds. The

very brief trombone chords and notes really

make this piece.

Performances throughout the recording are

all supremely beautiful.

Michael Doleschell

Shawn E Okpedholo - Songs in Flight

Rhiannon Giddens; Karen Slack; Paul

Sanchez; Will Liverman; Reginald Mobley;

Julian Velasco

Cedille Records CDR 90000 234

(cedillerecords.org/albums/songs-inflight)

! Shawn E.

Okpebholo’s

exquisite disc Songs

in Flight, strikes me

as being an incredibly

beautiful – and

disturbing – new

palimpsest of the

American Spiritual. The uncomfortable truth

of each song cuts to the quick, deep within

the heart.

Okpebholo’s songs repurpose news stories

of young boys and girls escaping slavery

during the 18th and 19th centuries using

the language of poetry. His music turns the

narratives into arias sung by lyric soprano

Rhiannon Giddens, mezzo Karen Slack, baritone

Will Liverman and renowned countertenor

Reginald Mobley. Paul Sánchez’s

pianism and a forlorn saxophone accentuate

the dark atmosphere.

Missing may be the story of Emmett Till,

but spirituals about Ahmaud Arbery and

Trayvon Martin tell their tragic stories with

fervour and operatic flair. In particular the

lynching of Arbery is a painful gut-punch and

even complements Sing, O Black Mother by

Langston Hughes.

Slavery has deep roots, its history spanning

diverse cultures and geographical regions.

But the transatlantic slave trade and its institutionalization

on plantations has had a

profound and enduring impact on the history

of the US, leaving an indelible legacy of racial

injustice and inequality that continues to

resonate today.

“I said your name / first, choked in

wondrous / love. Nothing more holy / than

the first farewell. My womb, no longer /

habitable. My song / was your first and

only home.” – words by Wanda-Cooper

Jones, Arbery’s mother on Ahmaud sung by

Giddens, send a chill through the spine.

Raul da Gama

CLASSICAL AND BEYOND

Bach - Un itinéraire

Luc Beauséjour

ATMA ACD2 2912

(atmaclassique.com/produit/bach-un-itine

raire/?srsltid=AfmBOoqm5eVKGAQYb1ma

a7jvfUTKn3Njiks61jsMscFEYtUk2DVg_

m3B)

! Luc Beauséjour

continues to be

one of the most

internationally

respected harpsichord

virtuosos and

this meticulously

assembled Bach

programme shows

that his playing

remains superb. He plays on a sizable Yves

Beaupré instrument of 2012 [after Dulcken]

using a colourful Kirnberger temperament

at the low pitch, A = 415Hz. This gives a

somehow relaxed sound, and the tempos

are all broad, but there is above all a sense of

terrifically wide flow. For once there are not

too many actual fugues, but the contrapuntal

flow of the pieces is felt broadly with constant

subtle expressive eddies and surges in the

stream of very connected notes. This is unique

playing and the lines are always clearly

differentiated. Remarkable how Beauséjour


frequently achieves stresses and marcato

chords and phrases, on an instrument that

is not supposed to be able to produce them,

with registration and agogics.

The recording, his first with ATMA after

many years with the Analekta label, starts

with the Third French Suite, slower than we

hear it on the pianoforte lately. The bonus of

the disc comes from the early Capriccio on

the Departure of his Beloved Brother, one of

Bach’s rare affective pieces, showing expressive

but subtle grief. The final section picks

up with the coachman’s tuneful horn calls.

This piece is beautifully felt and notes by

Beauséjour make it all the more personal.

The big Bach redoubt, the Chromatic

Fantasia and Fugue, provides the climax of

the programme and Beauséjour’s control and

clarity really bring it off supremely.

Michael Doleschell

Échos

Charles Richard-Hamelin

Analekta AN 2 9149

(charlesrichardhamelin.com/en/

discography)

! Charles Richard-

Hamelin has

accomplished

much during the

past decade or

so. Not only did

the Quebec-born

pianist win third

prize at the Seoul

International Music Competition in South

Korea in 2014, but was also silver medallist at

the International Chopin Piano Competition

in Warsaw the following year. Since then, he

has appeared in concert with such orchestras

as the Warsaw Philharmonic and the Tokyo

Metropolitan Symphony and was described

by a Montreal critic as “a national treasure.”

Richard-Hamelin’s newest recording,

Échos, is the 11th on the Analekta label and

features an appealing programme of music

by Granados, Chopin, and Albéniz. The set

of eight Valses Poéticos Op.43 by Enrique

Granados is aptly named – the music is

indeed poetic and evocative, and Richard-

Hamelin does it full justice. The playing is

elegantly conceived, at all times displaying a

keen sense of phrasing.

Chopin’s Allegro de Concert in A Major

Op.46 is a bit of a curiosity. Originally

intended as a piano concerto, the orchestral

part was never written and despite some

brilliant pianistic writing and numerous

revisions, the work has languished in relative

obscurity

Albéniz’ La Vega from 1897 and the

Allegro de concierto in C-sharp Major Op.46

by Granados are further proof of Richard-

Hamelin’s affinity for Spanish repertoire.

He deftly captures the highly impressionist

mood of La Vega, while the Concierto radiates

freshness and vitality. Rounding out the

programme is a selection of eight waltzes by

Chopin, a fitting conclusion to a most satisfying

recording.

Richard Haskell

MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY

Rainbow

LMNL

People Places Records PPR | 062

(peopleplacesrecords.bandcamp.com/

album/rainbow)

! Rainbow is

the debut release

by LMNL, a new

experimental

collective project

led by Canadian

multi-instrumentalist

performer/

composer Jerry

Pergolesi. Here Pergolesi plays percussion,

trumpet and electronics with Louise

Campbell on clarinet and electronics. They

both created and facilitated Rainbow,

a 60-minute post-modern ambient treatment

of Judy Garland’s Wizard of Oz classic

performance of Over the Rainbow, a song

whose symbolism deeply resonates within the

queer community and beyond.

Garland’s deconstructed fragments were

used to create a notated, text-based score and

fixed audio track written for any instrumentation

and any number of performers, regardless

of their musical style, literacy, and/or

performance and improvisational experience.

From calm to tense, this is music for

everyone. Opening and closing held single

notes envelope the meditative soundscape.

Garland’s vocals resound throughout in short

sung repeated “minimalist flavoured” takeout

phrases, accompanied at times by instrumental

and electronic held notes and lines

at different pitches and volumes. The full

electronic washes mixed with the clarinet

are colourful. Ringing percussion and low

held clarinet add intrigue to the vocals. Nice

contrasts between tonal and more atonal

sections from classical, contemporary, experimental,

rock, pop and improvised styles add

to the diversity. The vibrating electronics keep

the intriguing vocals and music grounded.

Pergolesi’s innovative musicianship creates

spectacular electroacoustic tracks. His instrumental

playing is supported by Campbell’s

lush clarinet sounds. Repeated listening and/

or playing along with Rainbow is a memorable

experience.

Tiina Kiik

Mary Kouyoumdjian - Witness

Kronos Quartet

Phenotypic Recordings PR-2501-CD

(marykouyoumdjian.com/discography.

html)

! Is the proverbial

darkness and

despair of Armenian

history so all-pervasive

that it is impossible

for anyone to

escape it? Listening

to this music by

the Armenian

American Mary Kouyoumdjian entitled

Witness, performed by the legendary Kronos

Quartet, you have not lived if you have not

lived through the wailing – and the silence –

of the Armenian Genocide during the early

20th century. Nor will you ever be the same

if you live through what Kouyoumdjian and

Kronos have recreated (lyrically and musically)

to memorialise it.

This is music that is brilliantly – and

disturbingly – paced. It has all the constituent

parts of a Homeric epic beginning with the

feathered oracle – the Gourng (an Armenian

crane) – a feathered messenger in the tradition

of the antediluvian birds once believed

to have been released by the proto-historic

Noah to bring the good news after the

great flood.

The second piece – Bombs of Beirut –

puts to wildly agitating music the first nearannihilation

of Beirut. This thundering

three-part suite builds up to the monumental

architecture of Silent Cranes, a return to the

featured Armenian messenger (the Gourng).

Only this time, in a stunning, relentless

crescendo the Kronos pit their agitated strings

against the voices of old women and men

who have survived that massacre only to tell

of its devastation in painful detail. Celebrated

Canadian auteur Atom Egoyan’s superb

booklet notes and Osheen Harruthoonyan’s

foreboding cover photograph are masterful

contributions.

Raul da Gama

Pas de Trois

Venticordi (oboe, violin, piano, viola)

Navona Records nv6680 (navonarecords.

com/catalog/nv6680)

! Since 2009,

oboist Kathleen

McNerney and

violinist Dean Stein,

artistic directors of

Portland, Mainebased

VentiCordi

Chamber Music,

have discovered

and performed neglected works involving

their instruments. Joining them on this,

VentiCordi’s debut CD, are pianist Pamela Mia

Paul and violist Susan Dubois.

Pas de Trois for oboe, violin and piano by


Pulitzer Prize-winning American Ned Rorem

(1923-2022) is a kaleidoscope of changing

moods and vividly contrasted instrumental

colours. Its six movements encompass a

melancholy serenade; an aggressive, syncopated

dance; a fanciful ambulation; a sentimental

waltz; a wild scramble; echoes of

Satie’s Gymnopedies and a bubbling finale,

mildly spiced with piquant discords. It’s all

very entertaining.

In 1938, the Jewish Hans Gál (1890-1987)

left his now Nazi-occupied native Austria,

settling in Edinburgh. There, in 1941, he

composed his Trio for Oboe, Violin and Viola,

Op.94, nostalgic music recalling happier

times. The gentle, folk-flavoured Pastorale

is followed by Intermezzo grazioso, a lighthearted,

occasionally wrong-footed folk

dance. Intermezzo agitato is hardly “agitated,”

merely suggesting clouds gathering amid

the sunshine. Introduzione. Meditation on a

Scottish Tune begins pensively before a set of

variations on a traditional melody ends Gál’s

grateful tribute to his newly-adopted land.

Air, Variations & Finale for oboe, violin and

piano by Birmingham-born Dorothy Howell

(1898-1982) is very much in the British folkinspired

idiom. With the oboe in the forefront,

the music is successively reflective,

cheerful, sprightly, plaintive, rollicking,

languid, ponderous, disquieted, jaunty, rhapsodic

and triumphant. It’s really quite a trip!

Michael Schulman

Scott Brickman - Baltic Sketches (collected

symphonies 2006-2020)

Various Orchestras

Navona Records nv6698 (navonarecords.

com/catalog/nv6698)

! American

composer/music

and education

professor

Scott Brickman

is inspired by his

Baltic and Slavic

ethnic background

in Baltic Sketches,

his five symphonies composed between

2006 and 2020.

The three movement Symphony No.5

(2019) is influenced by his experiences with

Latvian culture and history. Latvian folk

songs, dances and Lutheran music inspire

first movement Allegro con Spirito, with its

loud, fast and dramatic sections employing

the full orchestra. The attention grabbing

rhythmic percussion parts and dance-along

feel contribute to its accessibility. There is

gentle, slower tonal melody and accompaniment

in Cantabile (Valse Melancholique).

Energetic loud effects in Energico with

shifting meters, textures and a crashing

percussive full orchestral ending.

The four movement Symphony No.1

(2006) is based on neoclassical 12-tone rows.

Brickman writes that it “tells a story of a

struggle,” scored with aggressive strings and

horns in the final movement.

The single movement Symphony No.4

“Restoration” (2018) is inspired by folksongs

from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and

Ukraine who celebrated the 100th anniversary

of independence of the Baltic states in

2018. Although there are no direct musical

quotations, the dramatic marching music,

modern orchestration, alternating dynamics

and closing high pitched held note makes for

memorable listening.

Symphony No.6 Sinfonia for Wind

Ensemble (2020) was composed after

Brickman finished chemotherapy treatments.

Diverse instrumental textures, colours, and

quieter held notes add to the solemnity of the

second movement Cantabile: Risoluto.

Each symphony is performed perfectly by

a different world-class orchestra. Brickman’s

talented composing encompasses diverse

forms and stylistic influences, which include

loud, percussive sections and quieter relaxing,

tonal and atonal listening.

Tiina Kiik

Lei Liang - Dui

Wu Man; Steven Schick; Maya Beiser;

Cho-Liang Lin; Zhe Lin; Mark Dresser;

loadbang;

Islandia Music Records IMR015

(islandiamusic.com/lei-liang-dui)

! The expert in

the qin (sevenstring

zither) Dr.

Liang Mingyue tell

us that the Chinese

word for music is

yue. In its inclusive

meaning, yue refers

to the “arts” and to

“music,” and, together with morals, law, and

politics, was considered to be one of the four

fundamental societal functions. The repertoire

of Dui (meaning “to face”) composed by

Lei Liang most certainly has a connotation

so all-encompassing that this music must be

listened to and understood with “big” ears.

Such a characteristic is not necessarily the

exclusive domain of only the most discerning

of aficionados. However, it begs employing

the heart and mind and requiring the inner

ear to open, a tall ask of cultures not as

ancient and erudite as that of Central/East

Asia. This would explain why (for instance)

the celebrated Japanese performance artist

Yoko Ono is so misunderstood. Her incorporation

of Noh and (aragoto or “rough style”)

Kabuki into her music mean nothing to the

uninitiated.

This may not be true of Lei Liang’s music –

albeit the fact that some may be more difficult

even for sophisticated, academically-qualified

listeners. However, other works here may

be more accessible. I want to go on record

and say that I am besotted by the charms of

this composer – not simply with word paintings

such as Luminosity and Landscape V

but especially the album’s apogee, Mongolian

Suite which demands intensely deep

listening.

Raul da Gama

JAZZ AND IMPROVISED

Bone Bells

Sylvie Courvoisier; Mary Halvorson

Pyroclastic Records PR 40

(sylviecourvoisier.bandcamp.com/album/

bone-bells)

! The title track

begins with a slow,

steady pulse trading

hands. This pulse

has a destination,

and will gradually

reveal itself

as cyclical, but at

the start, it is just

the slightest notion of a march. Guitar first,

and then as if flipping a switch, the piano

seamlessly picks up the very next beat. One

instrument creates space, one scribbles in

the margins, and then this process repeats

until that pulse begins to grow heavier,

slower, more laboured. Finally, after almost

stalling entirely, the original tempo and

dynamic return, velocitizing the listener into

feeling that initial interval of time as something

lighter.

The improvised passages between Sylvie

Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson begin to defy

timeflow even more; melodic phrases finding

subversive entry and exit points, glitches that

embed themselves in the logic of everything

we’re hearing. When we come to a standstill

again, Courvoisier seems to always play

the same piano chord that suddenly anticipates

the next pulse, with Halvorson picking

two notes at a time to almost illusively hold

up any form of stability that is left. The piece

ends with the pattern being abruptly cut

short in a manner that implies perpetual

continuity. What ensues is a series of increasingly

intricate ideas trading hands, back and

forth, down to the way the tracklist cycles

back and forth between the two composers’

offerings. Always there is fullness in the

spaces in between.

Yoshi Maclear Wall

Mi Hogar II

Rachel Therrien Latin Jazz Project

Lula World Records LWR048A

(racheltherrien.bandcamp.com/album/

mi-hogar-ii)

! Renowned trumpeter

and flugelhornist

Rachel

Therrien’s newest

release is a collection

of tunes that

contains spicy

Latin and Afro-

Cuban, jazz-fusion


goodness. Her eighth release, a follow up to

Mi Hogar I, brings together acclaimed, allstar

musicians for an immersive, ear-catching

musical experience that is sure to get your

head bobbing and feet moving. The selection

of songs features many original compositions

by Therrien and a couple penned by her

bandmates thrown into the mix. The album

“continues her exploration of Latin jazz…

reflecting Therrien’s deep connection to her

musical community and the myriad influences

that have shaped her sound.”

What stands out is the way in which each

piece is a unique journey, evoking its own

emotions and soundscapes, yet a cultural

thread strings together and unites these

separate “stories.” Take the tune Back Home:

the listener gets a taste of various Latin and

Afro-Cuban rhythms, complemented by

searing piano chords and sizzling trumpet

melodies, with a mid-song lengthy bass solo

that captivates and dazzles. The composition

is a great example of the way in which

“each piece reflects Therrien’s commitment

to blending traditional Latin rhythms with

contemporary jazz elements.”

Another piece to note is Beauty Free,

which closes out the album on a mellow yet

intriguing note, featuring beautiful vocals by

Mireya and Andy Ramos. A tasty morsel that

evokes the hopeful question: will there be a

Mi Hogar III in the near future?

Kati Kiilaspea

Jacob Wutzke - You Better Bet

Jacob Wutzke; Rachel Therrien; Lucas

Bubovic; Bryn Roberts; Ira Coleman

Cellar Music CM090224 (jacobwutzke.

bandcamp.com/album/you-better-bet)

! Tony Williams

(1945-1997), not

only made a spectacular

impression

as an innovative jazz

drummer when he

debuted with Miles

Davis’ Second Great

Quintet at the age of

17, but the songbook of sophisticated compositions

that he left behind means that both

his music, as well as his dynamic drumming,

continues to be mined by subsequent generations

of jazz players. On You Better Bet, Jacob

Wutzke’s terrific second recording following

2022’s Show Yourself, the Montréal, now New

York-based, drummer and composer, explores

Williams’ creative legacy, not only in terms

of his percussive approach, but his ensemble

style and compositions.

Although it would be logical to think then

that the catalyst for this recording would be

Williams’ ongoing influence on the young

Wutzke, the story does not end there. Instead,

things crystallized when longtime Williams

bassist Ira Coleman relocated to Montreal and

took a teaching job at Wutzke’s alma mater

McGill University, from where he graduated

with a Masters in 2022, and the two

musicians began to collaborate. Using some

of the original charts that Coleman had kept

from his tenure with Williams, written in the

late drummer’s hand no less, a group was

formed, along with an idea to compose some

additional stylistically synchronous music and

record the proceedings. Enter the immensely

talented Rachel Therrien, Lucas Dubovik and

Bryn Roberts, on trumpet, tenor, and piano

respectively, and this fine new hard-hitting

recording is the result.

Andrew Scott

Tippin’

Carl Allen; Christian McBride; Chriss

Potter

Cellar Music 011424 (carlallen.bandcamp.

com/album/tippin)

! Canadian Cory

Weeds’ Cellar Music

is an extremely

well curated

label, and they’ve

accomplished

the commendable

feat of

achieving a unified

sound amidst a diverse catalogue. Tippin’ is

drummer Carl Allen’s first album as a bandleader

in over two decades, and he’s chosen to

showcase himself in an intimate trio format.

Allen’s work as both a sideman and a leader

features grounded and swinging aesthetics,

and he’s chosen 12 unique pieces of music

that allow him to shine in a playful and interactive

manner.

The drummer is joined by two fellow

Americans, saxophonist Chris Potter and

bassist Christian McBride. They are all stalwarts

of the New York jazz scene, and the

album is recorded across the Hudson River

at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in New

Jersey. The trio becomes a quartet for Kenny

Barron’s composition Song For Abdullah,

when Canadian multi-instrumentalist John

Lee joins the group on piano. Lee has released

several albums with Cellar Music and fits

right in as a guest on this uplifting number.

The trio takes advantage of contrasting

sounds and textures, with Potter doubling

on soprano sax and bass clarinet, and

McBride contributing some immaculate

bowed melodies and solos. Allen penned two

of the album’s compositions, Hidden Agenda,

and Roy’s Joy, a nod to the late trumpeter

Roy Hargrove. These fit neatly alongside a

smattering of contemporary jazz pieces and

torch songs.

Charlie Parker’s Parker’s Mood is the first

track of the album, and it sets the mood for

what’s to come. A recording that’s simultaneously

spot-on and virtuosic, but “chill”

and intimate enough for a more casual jazz

listener to enjoy.

Sam Dickinson

Kenny Wheeler Legacy - Some Days are

Better

Royal Academy of Music Jazz Orchestra;

Frost Jazz Orchestra

Greenleaf Music (glmstore.bandcamp.

com/album/some-days-are-better-the-lostscores)

! Canadian Jazz

trumpeter/flugelhornist

Kenny

Wheeler’s position

is analogous to

Norman Bethune’s:

more famous

abroad than at

home. Toronto-born

Wheeler (1930-

2014), who moved to the UK in 1952 was

equally proficient playing commercial studio

gigs; big band jazz with Johnny Dankworth

and others; and free music with the likes of

Anthony Braxton. He also composed intricate

scores, most of which were played only once

for BBC radio concerts in the 1970s.

Not really “lost,” 11 of these scores are

performed by 34 musicians drawn from

Miami’s Frost School of Music and London’s

Royal Academy of Music. Reconstitutions of

these impressionistic, quietly swinging tunes

are expanded when the ensemble(s) add

veteran soloists who earlier collaborated with

Wheeler himself.

The title suite for instance uses brass blasts

to surround Norma Winstone’s wordless

vocals both shredded and soulful, with Evan

Parker’s circular breathed emphasis following

contemporary electric piano jangling. Parker’s

pressurized tenor saxophone is inventively

matched with growls and flutters from trombonist

Sam Keedy on C.P.E.P., as drum beats

push the large ensemble forward; while

flugelhornist Brian Lynch’s measured pitches

face off with a three-saxophone choir blend

on D.G.S.

Not every track is given over to the professionals

however. Maria Quintanilla’s bel canto

vocal coloration on a couple of tracks, bassist

Nikolas Lukassen steadying swing throughout

and Some Doors Are Better Open’s gentle

duet of flugelhornist Etienne Charles and

tenor saxophonist Emma Rawicz confirm

younger players’ skills and the continued

appeal of Wheeler’s music.

Ken Waxman


Old Adam on Turtle Island

Dikeman/Hong/Lumley/Warelis

Relative Pitch RPR 1203

(relativepitchrecords.bandcamp.com/

album/old-adam-on-turtle-island)

! As intense as

it is international,

Old Adam on

Turtle Island’s two

extended tracks

showcase the

collective skills of

four Amsterdambased

players in creating modern layered

improvised music. The disc is built around the

seemingly inexhaustible ability of American

tenor saxophonist John Dikeman to propel

note bending screaming smears, split tones

and altissimo shrieks with constant ferocity

as rolling clips from Polish pianist Marta

Warelis alternately decorate or drive the

expositions. Korean drummer Sun-Mi Hong’s

measured clunks or reverberations underline

sequences with beats more felt than

heard, while Canadian bassist Aaron Lumley

divides his string sweeps between rhythmic

continuity and interludes which add to

the strident polyphony without upsetting

linear motion.

The encounter reaches its apogee on Groove

- Choral - Manifest, the second track, which

is introduced by Lumley’s multi-string sul

ponticello slides and stops. Superseding

weighted drum ruffs and tolling keyboard

clips, hefty pizzicato sweeps prod Dikeman

and Warelis to filet enough discursive

keyboard shakes and bellicose overblowing to

reveal a moderated horizontal group finale.

With enough solid interludes to allow each

musician to depict progressive and reactive

skills, the session is also elevated to a definition

of creative music sophistication.

Ken Waxman

JAZZ FROM THE ARCHIVES

Happy Faces

Dave Robbins Big Band

Reel to Real Records RTRCD015

(thedaverobbinsbigband.bandcamp.com/

album/happy-faces)

! The big band

is often associated

with being a

kind of period piece

of the proverbial

Swing Era and we

tend to forget that

the best of them

can come to represent

the very epitome of an all-encompassing

concert instrument. Truth be told

this vaunted position is not only the exclusive

domain of the flashiest outfits such

as the Duke Ellington and Count Basie, or

the Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton

orchestras either.

On this disc the redoubtable American/

Canadian bandleader Dave Robbins and his

illustrious colleagues explore the fire power

of controlled chamber music that arises when

various brass, reeds and woodwind instruments,

and piano, bass and drums, are put in

the hands of some quite legendary musicians.

Happy Faces, the resultant album is a magisterial

edifice of music in numerous lyrical

and colourful contexts, each one reflecting

the singular ability of each of the contributing

musicians to swing with proverbial style

and abandon.

Robbins (1923-2005) was a generous

purveyor of musical good taste, and it is not

only charts such as Have Vine Will Swing

and Africa Lights that provide indubitable

evidence of this. There are reasons

beyond those charts to savour the disc. Fraser

MacPherson’s tenor saxophone on March

Winds Will Blow, and Don Clark’s trumpet

solo on Asiatic Raes is another; as is Don

Thompson’s tasteful contrabass on the abovementioned

Have Vine Will Swing.

Released on Cellar Live’s Reel to Real label

for historic performances, Happy Faces

comprises Jazz Workshop broadcasts recorded

at Vancouver’s Cave Supper Club between

1963 and ’65. It is an elegant reminder of the

swinging legacy of Dave Robbins.

Raul da Gama

On Fire - Jazz from the Blue Morocco

Freddie Hubbard

Resonance Records HCD 2073

(resonancerecords.org/artists/freddiehubbard)

! Few jazz trumpeters

have had

the initial impact

or sustained

achievement of

Freddie Hubbard.

Born in 1938, he

made a substantial

impact in New

York in 1960, in both hard bop circles and

the avant-garde, recording his first date as a

bandleader for Blue Note and appearing on

Ornette Coleman’s landmark Free Jazz. In

the following year, he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz

Messengers and appeared on John Coltrane’s

Olé and Africa/Brass. Merging elements of

both schools in his own music, Hubbard also

managed to combine the trumpet’s brassy

power with the fluency of line associated

with saxophonists.

On Fire is a two CD or three LP set recorded

at a Bronx club called Blue Morocco in 1967.

While one might lose the precise separation

of a recording studio, a live recording

has a special spontaneity and the real scale

of a performance. Hubbard’s own contribution

to the standard repertoire, the waltz Up

Jumped Spring, stretches to 17 minutes, while

separate traditional standards – Bye, Bye

Blackbird and Summertime – combine for 40

lively minutes.

Hubbard is joined here by his regular

working band, youthful musicians (ages range

from 23 to 26) who would all go on to have

significant careers. On Hubbard’s True Colors,

he and tenor saxophonist Bennie Maupin

press the envelope to explosive free jazz.

Throughout pianist Kenny Barron, bassist

Herbie Lewis and drummer Freddie Waits

contribute to the overall excitement, making

individual statements as well as supporting

Hubbard’s creative energies.

Stuart Broomer

Bill Evans in Norway - The Kongsberg

Concert

Bill Evans; Eddie Gomez; Marty Morell

Elemental Music (elementalmusicrecords.

bandcamp.com/album/bill-evans-innorway-the-kongsberg-concert)

! To say that iconic

jazz pianist Bill

Evans has been a

profound influence

on several generations

of jazz pianists

would be something

of an understatement.

Evans (who

passed in 1980) emerged as a sideman on the

New York scene in the 1950s, and through

his work with a long list of jazz luminaries,

Evans not only helped usher in contemporary

jazz (with all of its modern expressions),

but also perfected the Art of the Trio

as we know it today. This never previously

released music was originally recorded at a

concert at Norway’s Kongsberg Jazz Festival

in June 1970. The recording was produced for

this release by “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman.

Evans is joined here by his longest-running

trio – Eddie Gomez on bass and Marty Morrell

on drums. This comprehensive, annotated

recording includes rare interviews with

Evans with extensive notes by Evans scholar

Marc Myers.

The brilliantly restored programme

includes a cornucopia of standards from

legendary tunesmiths, and features fresh

versions of two Evans compositions, 34

Skidoo and Turn Out the Stars. At the time

of the performance, Evans was in a particularly

positive space, which is very much

apparent in the lively tempos and energy of

the trio. Harold Arlen’s Come Rain or Come

Shine is performed here with a free, extended

bass solo by Gomez, framed by the relentless

rhythm of Morell. Evans jumps in with

joy, in a celebration of both the melody and its

improvisational possibilities.

During What Are You Doing the Rest of

Your Life the audience is reverential as they

experience both the sheer artistry and great

sensitivity of Evans. Other standouts include

an almost modal, up-tempo Autumn Leaves,

a sumptuous piano performance of Denny

Zeitlan’s Quiet Now and the nearly unbearable

beauty of Bernstein’s Some Other Time.


Every track here is a gem – and a living

tutorial of how jazz should be understood

and played.

Lesley Mitchell-Clarke

Moment of Truth - Ella at the Coliseum

Ella Fitzgerald

Ume 602475454267 (shop.ellafitzgerald.

com/products/the-moment-of-truth-ellaat-the-coliseum-digital)

! Now this right

here is a true

discovery! On

June 30, 1967

at the Oakland

Coliseum Arena,

Ella Fitzgerald

appeared with her

trio, members of the

Duke Ellington Orchestra, and entertained a

rapturous audience that inspired her deeply.

While the First Lady of Song’s voice was a

few years beyond the peak of her powers, it

was still a magnificent instrument at the time

of this recording. She still had the bell-like

tone for ballads (You’ve Changed), the sensational

ability to swing like a gate (The Moment

of Truth), and a childlike imagination in her

scat singing (In a Mellow Tone). Most impressive

is her adventurous phrasing throughout;

the coda on Don’t Be That Way stretches the

title phrase effortlessly into upwards of 40

notes, in what is just one of several jaw-dropping

moments in the set.

The inclusion of songs never before heard

in Fitzgerald’s discography make this album

particularly exciting, especially the pitchperfect

version Alfie, which of course was

a big hit the year before this concert, and

Music to Watch Girls By, a great example of

her ability to make a silk purse out of a sow’s

ear. Bye Bye Blackbird is loose as a goose

with the delicious spontaneity of a late-night

jam session.

Audiophiles should know that the mixing

and mastering of this album are very impressive

– it feels like you are right there in the

audience, cheering on one of the greatest

artists in jazz history.

Ori Dagan

Editorial Note: Something in the Air will

return in our next issue, Volume 31 No 2

in November.

COMMUNITY + MUSIC

Ontario Culture Days Returns!

September 19 – October 12, 2025

Ontario Culture Days is a yearly celebration

of arts, culture and community

spirit that takes place from September 19 –

October 12, with sixteen festival hubs and

eight exclusive artist programs. Individuals,

groups, and organizations showcase their

creativity and connect with their communities

through a huge number of large and

small events across the length and breadth

of this great big province. Culture Days is in

fact a national initiative, so if you’re planning

a trip out of the province soon, you

should look at the National Culture Days

website and find out what’s happening

where you’re going! culturedays.ca

But here in Ontario, Culture Days

brings together hundreds of event organizers

across the province and offers an

astounding number of diverse events.

There’s a strong focus on encouraging

public engagement by providing handson

and behind-the-scenes opportunities

to experience art and culture firsthand.

From free family-friendly activities to

professional performances across various

artistic disciplines, Culture Days embraces

Ontario’s rich creative diversity, vibrant

artistic communities, neighbourhoods, all

of the places where lively art happens, and

the people who make art happen. There

are outdoor performances, concerts in

conventional and unconventional venues,

films, and neighbourhood art crawls;

music, dance, and visual art workshops and

demonstrations; book launches, readings,

and storytelling in many forms for all ages;

and opportunities to learn how to create

music, dance and art – all in your own backyard,

someplace near where you live.

Eight multidisciplinary artists “Creatives

in Residence” from across Ontario will

debut new works during the festival. They

will be exploring themes such as ritual,

dreams, ecological interdependence, migration

and cultural histories, under the banner

The Shape of Memory.

Since 2022, ONCD has led the highly

successful Provincial Festival Hub program.

These hubs serve as local epicentres of

cultural exchange and creativity. This year,

Ontario has 16 provincial hubs: Brant,

Caledon, Gananoque & 1000 Islands,

Guelph, London, Manitoulin Island, Milton,

Niagara, Oakville, Sault Ste. Marie, Scugog,

Temiskaming, Thunder Bay, Toronto,

Vaughan, and Windsor.

So choose your local hub, make a list of

all the amazing things you could potentially

take in and go!

onculturedays.ca/festival-hubs.

continued from page 11

Sept 30 An Afternoon of Reflections – free

noon concert with Innu soprano Elisabeth

St-Gelais, in recognition of the National Day

for Truth and Reconciliation.

Oct 8 Tarantelle d’Italia – Ballo Liscio

Social Dancing. Discover the music and

the dancing: just be entertained or even

expertly instructed!

REGISTER TO RECEIVE THE

WEEKLY LISTINGS UPDATE AT

thewholenote.com/newsletter


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FIND MUSIC THAT MOVES YOU AT TSO.CA

Volume 31 Issue 1 - September & October 2025

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Volume 31 Issue 1 - September & October 2025

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