Volume 25 Issue 6 - March 2020

25 th SEASON! 

Vol 25 No 6 

MARCH 2020 

CONCERT LISTINGS 

FEATURES | REVIEWS 

Q&A 

Inhaling Music 

James Rhodes in Recital 

ART OF SONG 

Beste Kalender 

Mezzo Rising 

LOOKING FORWARD 

Room for the New 

At Gimeno’s TSO 

EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT 

The March Toward 

A Musical Summer 

James Rhodes, piano

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Jana Miller, soprano 

Krisztina Szabó, mezzo-soprano 

Charles Daniels, tenor 

William Sharp, baritone 

Andrew Mahon, bass-baritone 

Tafelmusik Chamber Choir 

Mar 26–29, 2020 

Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre 

Turbulent, intense, and tender, 

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Kathryn Hosier, detail, Karolina Kuras 

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Apr 28, 2020 

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ON OUR COVER 

MARCH 2020 



Q&A 

Inhaling Music 

James Rhodes in Recital 

ART OF SONG 

Beste Kalender 

Mezzo Rising 


Room for the New 

At Gimeno’s TSO 

EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT 

The March Toward 

A Musical Summer 

PHOTO: PETER HUNDERT 

FEATURES 

25th SEASON! 


James Rhodes, piano 

7 OPENER | If All the World’s 

a Stage … | DAVID PERLMAN 

10 Q & A | “Inhaling Music for 

All of My Life” – James 

Rhodes | PAUL ENNIS 

12 ART OF SONG | Mezzo 

Rising – Beste Kalender | 

LYDIA PEROVIĆ 

16 LOOKING FORWARD | 

Making Room for the New 

at Gimeno’s TSO | 

DAVID JAEGER 

Volume 25 No 6 | March 2020 

“I’m very, very sorry for BREXIT, thank you for letting me into 

your country!” is what James Rhodes was saying to the audience 

in that moment. 

Shooting James Rhodes was part of a larger project: portraits 

of the heroes at Hamburg’s new landmark concert hall, The 

Elbphilharmonie. The idea for my book, Backstage, was born 

when the venue opened in early 2017. For me, the most captivating 

aspect about The Elbphilharmonie is the unique range of 

world class artists from very different musical genres. 

James’s artistic concept, too, breaks the boundaries of the 

expected in unique and prototypical ways. He’s not only a great 

pianist and interpreter of various classical masterpieces, but he’s 

also an engaging entertainer and raconteur who makes classical 

music far more accessible to a broader audience. 

—Peter Hundert, backstage-thebook.com 

19 MUSIC AND HEALTH | 

Balance in Blindness – the 

Plasticity of Perception | 

VIVIEN FELLEGI 

70 WE ARE ALL MUSIC’S 

CHILDEN | MJ BUELL 

94 REARVIEW MIRROR | 

Bonnell’s bug – Inviting 

Criticism | ROBERT HARRIS 

Nuits 

Blanches 

Opera Arias at the Russian court 

of the 18th century 

ACD2 2791 

Karina 

Gauvin 

Pacific Baroque Orchestra 

Alexander Weimann 

Karina Gauvin sings 

arias from rarely heard operas 

by Russian composers. 

TO BE RELEASED ON 

MARCH 27, 2020 

16

an Ontario government agency 

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VOLUME 25 NO 6 | MARCH 2020 

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THANKS TO THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS 

Beat Columnists 

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Jack MacQuarrie, Jennifer Parr, Colin Story, 

Steve Wallace, Matthew Whitfield 

Features 

MJ Buell, Paul Ennis, Vivien Fellegi, Robert Harris, 

David Jaeger, David Perlman, Lydia Perović 

CD Reviewers 

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Daniel Foley, Raul da Gama, Janos Gardonyi, 

Richard Haskell, Tiina Kiik, Kati Kiilaspea, Roger 

Knox, Barry Livingston, Lesley Mitchell-Clarke, 

Nancy Nourse, David Olds, Ted Parkinson, Ivana 

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Scott, Sharna Searle, Adam Sherkin, Bruce Surtees, 

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Jerome, Chris Malcolm, Luna Walker-Malcolm, 

Sheila McCoy, Lorna Nevison, Garry Page, Andrew 

Schaefer, Tom Sepp, Julia Tait, Dave Taylor 

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an Ontario government agency 

un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario 

BEAT BY BEAT 

22 In with the New | 

WENDALYN BARTLEY 

25 Classical & Beyond | 

PAUL ENNIS 

28 Early Music | 

MATTHEW WHITFIELD 

32 Choral Scene | BRIAN CHANG 

35 Music Theatre | JENNIFER PARR 

38 Jazz Notes | STEVE WALLACE 

40 Bandstand | JACK MACQUARRIE 

65 Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz | 

COLIN STORY 

LISTINGS 

50 A | Concerts in the GTA 

61 B | Concerts Beyond the GTA 

64 C | Music Theatre 

65 D | In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz) 

68 E | The ETCeteras 

35 

DISCOVERIES: 

RECORDINGS REVIEWED 

72 Editor’s Corner | DAVID OLDS 

74 Strings Attached | 

TERRY ROBBINS 

76 Keyed In 

80 Vocal 

81 Classical and Beyond 

82 Modern and Contemporary 

85 Jazz and Improvised Music 

88 Pot Pourri 

89 Something in the Air | 

KEN WAXMAN 

91 Old Wine, New Bottles | 

BRUCE SURTEES 

MORE 

6 Contact Information 

7 Upcoming dates and deadlines 

69 Classified Ads 

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6 | March 2020 thewholenote.com

FOR OPENERS | DAVID PERLMAN 

If All the World’s a Stage ... 

Two pm this past February 8 was a Saturday afternoon, and my 

concert companion and I had barely had time to settle into our 

Roy Thomson Hall balcony seats with our beer and popcorn 

before the lights, already dim, dipped even more, and a fractional 

moment of quiet rippled across the cheerful din of the place, the way 

a passing cloud wiping the face of the sun high above a summer lake 

evokes a moment’s hush. 

(You can always tell it’s February in Toronto when people like me 

distract themselves from a task at hand by starting to talk, out of 

nowhere, about the summer.) 

Where was I? Ah yes. February 8, about four minutes past 2pm, in 

the balcony level of Toronto’s most imposing cultural hall of mirrors. 

The momentary hush that descended on the room when the lights 

flickered is turning into a ripple of applause as our conductor for the 

day, Jack Everly, strides briskly onto the stage. 

If it’s less of a ripple of applause than one might reliably expect at 

that moment in the concert ritual, it’s certainly not because the crowd 

is smaller than usual – the place is, as far as I can tell from where I 

am sitting, pretty much its usual respectably crowded self. And it’s 

not because the audience is already settling morosely into an appropriate 

frame of mind for something portentous – there’s a palpable 

buzz and hum in the air. Mostly it’s less of a ripple than one might 

have expected, because the logistics of applause are complicated with 

a beer in one hand and popcorn in the other. 

Toronto Symphony Orchestra members already seated on stage do 

their usual decorous bit to salute the maestro as he enters – they tap 

their bows carefully on their instruments; stamp their feet in a refined 

(and of course rhythmic) way; there are smiles all round. 

Everly strides to the front of the stage, all affable business, picks 

up a microphone that just happens to be there, and invites us all to 

have a good time, cheer for our heroes if we feel like it, laugh or cry 

if we want to, and applaud or not as the mood strikes. And then, all 

business, he turns to the orchestra, all attention. The lights take a 

deeper dive, a deeper hush descends. He raises his baton … and the 

movie begins. 

Calling it a “movie” in these splendid surrounds is, I readily 

concede, not the most formal way of addressing it. Film With 

Orchestra is how it’s titled on the cover of the TSO program book I 

picked up on my way out of the hall (I had a hand free by then). 

Mind you, that’s not what it’s called inside the program. On subsequent 

closer inspection, on the page with the official production 

credits for the highly successful road show, it is styled A Symphonic 

Night at the Movies which neatly captures the middle-brow appeal of 

the thing: neither film as art nor “a flick at the bioscope,” as I would 

have called it as a nine-year-old child in 1962 (in another country) ten 

years after this particular movie was made. 

Whatever one calls it, film with orchestra has become, for a whole 

bunch of reasons, a hybrid genre that is much in vogue. The TSO, 

for example, does four of them a year in its own season. Three of 

them, this season (two Star Wars movies and Home Alone, which 

has become a perennial Christmas holiday offering), are branded 

showcases for the astonishing film score output of composer John 

Williams. The fourth generally digs into film classics: last year it was, 

if I remember, Casablanca. Today it is 1952’s Singin’ In the Rain, starring 

Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds. 

I understand the appeal. For movie fans it’s a chance to get under the 

hood of an aspect of movie-making normally hidden from view. For 

millions of people, for whom orchestral scores, consciously or unconsciously, 

are intrinsic to the way we are programmed daily as to what to 

feel and think, it’s a revelation to see how the all-too-familiar sounds 

are made: a bit like actually seeing milk come from a cow rather than 

from a carton on a shelf. I like to think there are favourable statistics out 

there concerning how many people who came primarily for the novelty 

value of seeing a favourite film in a new context discover the orchestra 

as something worth revisiting in its own right. 

As for die-hard fans of the orchestra, it’s a chance to spend time in 

the hall, indulging a passion, without any of the usual self-appointed 

distractions of having to instruct less couth patrons in the etiquette of 

cultural palaces – a chance to let our hair down, so to speak. 

So I was expecting to have fun, and would have, even without 

the popcorn and beer. What I wasn’t expecting was the way this 

particular film in this context has stayed with me for the past few 

weeks, taking on an aesthetic shape and colour: posing questions 

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thewholenote.com March 2020 | 7

(and suggesting answers) about the relationships we cannot afford 

to take for granted in regard to the continually evolving relationship 

between artists and audiences. 

Part of the reason it was so interesting is the pivotal moment in 

the history of film that is at one and the same time the reason for 

the film’s existence and it’s own major storyline – the advent of the 

talking picture. Stars of the silent screen died off, metaphorically, in 

droves; new stars were born; actors who could actually act, singers 

who could actually sing, and dancers who could actually dance were 

suddenly able to bring prodigious live performance skills to a mass 

audience. Studios acquired orchestras where previously movie houses 

had theatre organs or player pianos. Sound stages on an immense 

scale came into existence. 

Memorably, February 8 in the RTH balcony, I found the inner story 

of the film being played out all over again, in a crazed, Escher-like 

version of itself: as though the fun-house mirrored twists and turns of 

Roy Thomson Hall’s intentionally disorienting lobbies and levels had 

been transported into the auditorium itself. 

There was one moment, for example, where I found myself 

watching the TSO live on the RTH stage (with a pull-down movie 

screen most of them could not see above their heads), making beautifully 

synchronized music for an orchestra on the screen, reduced 

once again to silent-movie puppetry by technology’s latest twist and 

turn; while, to top it all off, on that screen an auditorium of people 

sat watching their orchestra accompanying the same stars that our 

orchestra was. Layers within layers. 

There was a more fundamental moment for me, though, well into 

the movie’s second half. (Yes, there was an intermission to top up on 

popcorn and beer.) 

It came during one of the film’s memorable songs – not one of the 

obvious ones, like the title song, that had dozens of audience members 

happily singing along, but “Would You” a lovely gentle waltz, masterfully 

positioned at the film’s moment of denouement, ricochetting 

from bathos to pathos, in a lovely arc: 

He holds her in his arms, 

would you, would you? 

He tells her of her charms, 

would you, would you? 

I suddenly became aware that the person seated next to me was 

singing, completely comfortably and absorbed entirely in the moment. 

Not “singing along,” just singing. Not an audience member “joining 

in.” Nor aware, even for an instant, that she herself had an audience. 

Just feeling permitted. 

And here’s the point: she would not have had that permission 

either in a movie theatre or in a concert hall. It was a gifted moment, 

arising from a uniquely oddball set of circumstances: the live audience 

watching the live orchestra brought the people on the silver screen 

to life in a way that film alone cannot. The privacy of the typical filmwatching 

experience kept other audience members at bay, in a way 

that the typical concert environment does not. 

It’s an alchemy we all, artists and presenters alike, need to seek. 

After all, if, as the bard says, “all the world’s a stage,” then what’s 

an audience? 

Three days later: Tuesday February 11, at the COC 

“Oh, it’s a starry night!” my opera companion, delighted, turns to 

me and says, very quietly, as the Hansel and Gretel overture starts and 

the mysterious-looking panelled stage curtain we have been eyeing for 

the past ten minutes or so, speculating as to how its panels will part 

and divide, reveals what is behind it. Like lightning the person in the 

row right in front of us spins around. Her “SSSSHHHHH!!!” can be 

heard at least 15 rows back. Our slightly sheepish discomfort lasts all 

of the three minutes it takes for the same individual to take things to 

the next level by whacking the elbow of the person next to them with 

a rolled up program, for encroaching over the midline of the seat arm. 

Thirteen years ago, approximately 

In the selfsame balcony at Roy Thomson Hall. It is a performance 

of Bach’s St. John Passion. One of it’s great chorales “O grosse Lieb” 

has just commenced and someone, I would guess in his 80s, deep in 

the moment and alone with the music starts, quietly, to do what Bach 

instructs – to sing along. Someone turns to chastise ... 

David Perlman can be reached at publisher@thewholenote.com 

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KOERNER HALL 

2019.20 Concert Season 

MAURICE RAVEL’S L’HEURE ESPAGNOLE 

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THE GLENN GOULD SCHOOL SPRING OPERA 2020 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 & FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 7:30PM 

KOERNER HALL 

The extraordinary artists of The Glenn Gould School vocal program and 

Royal Conservatory Orchestra perform a double-bill opera in Koerner Hall: 

Ravel’s L’heure espagnole and Puccini’s Suor Angelica, conducted by 

Nicolas Ellis and directed by Michael Cavanagh. 

Part of the Price Opera Program 

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March 2020 | 9

Q & A 

“Inhaling Music for All of My Life” 

JAMES RHODES 

PAUL ENNIS 

RICHARD ANSETT 

JOSE GUTIÉRREZ 

Since the 2008/2009 

season when his 

star began its rise, 

celebrated pianist, author 

and media personality 

James Rhodes has released 

seven chart-topping classical 

albums, written four books 

James Rhodes 

and appeared in and made 

several television programs for British broadcasting. 

According to his website, Bach, Beethoven and Chopin 

offered comfort for the “suffering that dogged his 

childhood and early adult life.” Classical music offered 

“solace” and was key to his survival. 

Now in his mid-40s, Rhodes’ unfettered passion for classical music 

is at the core of his approach to concertizing; he communicates 

directly with audiences, interweaving anecdotes of composers’ lives 

with his own experiences as they relate to the music being performed. 

March 5, 2020, in Koerner Hall, the Glenn Gould Foundation is 

presenting Rhodes’ Canadian debut, in an all-Beethoven recital, as 

part of the Foundation’s “continuing commitment to celebrating 

excellence and exploring the indelible impact of the arts on the 

human condition.” 

The following Q & A took place via email in early February. 

WN: Your love of Glenn Gould is well known so it’s appropriate 

that the Glenn Gould Foundation is presenting your March 5 Toronto 

debut. You said in Geeking Glenn Gould, your 2017 BBC documentary, 

that when you were “a kid,” Gould was really your best friend, 

“during a time that was very bleak and he made things feel so much 

better and so much more exciting.” Please elaborate on that friendship 

and on how classical music saved your life then. 

JR: There were a lot of bad things happening when I was a kid. Things 

that shouldn’t happen to any child but, sadly, happen to far too many. 

When a child is raped it shatters their idea of trust. By some miracle 

(and I don’t use the word lightly), I discovered classical music at around 

that time and it was the only thing I could trust. It is that weird, schizophrenic 

thing of living most of my life in a dull monochrome, barely 

sleeping, bleeding from weird places, twitching all the time and unable 

to talk properly, and then listening to this incredible music and having a 

multicoloured, transcendental escape at my disposal. And of course you 

cannot experience classical music without Gould. He was such a revolutionary, 

the very opposite of the safe, academic performers that were 

so commonplace. He embodied the thrill of music for me. He did things 

with a piano that I would literally dream about doing. 

How does Glenn Gould inspire you? 

He reminds me of Beethoven, who wrote that immortal line, ‘There 

will be many emperors and princes. There will only ever be one 

Beethoven.’ He [Gould] just didn’t give a fuck. He was the closest thing 

classical music had to a rock star. He believed in playing music in a 

way that no one had the bravery or insight to play it. I mean listen to 

his cadenza to the last movement of Beethoven’s first piano concerto. 

Or the prelude of the fifth partita. Or the Meistersinger Overture. Man 

alive, the guy just punched you in the face and didn’t even apologize. 

This is what music-making should be about. 


What was the first piece of Bach’s that changed your life? 

The Chaconne in D Minor from his Violin Partita No.2. A musical 

cathedral that he built to the memory of his dead wife. I love the fact 

that it keeps trying to end. But he always has one more thing to add. 

Like saying goodbye to the woman you love. Leaving the hospital 

room. And then returning to say that ‘one more thing.’ For me it was 

a kind of key to my mini, seven-year-old fucked-up soul that just fit 

right and made everything seem shinier. 

When did you begin to play the piano? 

Play, in the loosest sense of the word, when I was a kid. But I didn’t 

get my first proper teacher until I was 14. and then I stopped for ten 

years, aged 18, and restarted at 28. I wouldn’t recommend that. 

According to your website you had no formal academic musical 

education or dedicated mentoring until age 14 when you studied for 

four years under Colin Stone. Then, in your early 30s, you had a brief 

tutelage with Edoardo Strabbioli in Verona. Was that the extent of 

your training? 

Yep. But I like to think that dreaming, breathing, thinking about, 

listening, talking and inhaling music for all of my life was training too. 

That’s the magic trick with music. You can be 

at your most desperate and abandoned and 

suddenly there is a hand reaching out from 

300 years ago giving you a hug and telling you 

it’s all going to be ok. 

Who were your musical heroes in your youth? 

Sokolov, Gilels, Bernstein, Ashkenazy. 

Tuesday March 10 at 8 pm 

André Laplante, 

pianist 

Thursday March 19 at 8 pm 

Pavel Haas Quartet 

I love the story you told Tom Power on CBC’s q about the time a 

dozen years ago when you were in a locked psychiatric ward and not 

allowed anything, but a friend smuggled in an iPod filled with Gould 

and Bach and you heard Bach’s transcription of the slow movement 

of Marcello’s oboe concerto. “Something this profoundly beautiful – 

the fact that this exists in the world – means that it’s not necessarily 

a completely hostile place,” you said. It’s an example of the extraordinary 

power of music. There’s nothing like it. Please expand. 

Nah. Listen to the piece and it’s easy to get. That’s the magic trick 

with music. You can be at your most desperate and abandoned and 

suddenly there is a hand reaching out from 300 years ago giving 

you a hug and telling you it’s all going to be ok. And that piece is a 

perfect example. 

When did you first fall in love with Beethoven? 

As a very young boy, listening to the Emperor Concerto. Holy shit 

what a piece to fall in love with! It’s everything my tiny, geeky little 

mind adored – virtuosity, thrills, beauty and lots of big fucking drums. 

How did you choose the pieces for your Toronto recital? 

I wanted to find three sonatas that told a bit of a story and covered 

the basic arc of his life. 

You recorded all three sonatas [No.15 in D Minor, Op.28 “Pastoral”; 

No.27 in E Minor, Op.90; No.21 in C Major, Op.53 “Waldstein”] seven 

to ten years ago. Please describe your relationship with each of the 

sonatas and how your approach to them has evolved over the years. 

You know I think it was Arrau (or maybe Bolet) who said something 

really brave – along the lines of ‘LVB wrote the sonata and 

moved onto the next one. I’ve been studying these sonatas for 30, 

40, 50 years. I know them inside out. Have performed, memorized, 

Tuesday March 31 at 8 pm 

Benjamin Grosvenor, 

pianist 

Tickets: 416-366-7723 

option 2 

27 Front Street East, Toronto 

| music-toronto.com 


ART OF SONG 

JOSE GUTIÉRREZ 

recorded and lived with them for decades. I know them better than 

Beethoven.’ I think there’s something in that. Every time I play them I 

discover something new. A different stress on one beat, a hidden inner 

melody, a tiny inflection in half of a bar…. There is an infinite world 

inside them. 

Did you have any particular heroes who contributed to your 

understanding of Beethoven? 

Gould, obviously. Also Teodor Currentzis. [chief conductor of 

the SWR Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart and artistic director of the 

ensemble musicAeterna and of the musicAeterna Chamber Choir] 

He’s the greatest living conductor (don’t even try to argue with me 

about that). Sokolov too – he makes the sonatas sound as if you’re 

hearing them for the first time. 

Talking to the audience and contextualizing the music you’re 

about to play, why you chose it and what it means to you, was very 

prescient when you began doing it more than a decade ago. Now it’s 

part of the zeitgeist. How did it come about? 

I don’t think it’s that common sadly. I wish more musicians would 

do it. Imagine hearing Zimerman discussing Schubert for a few 

minutes before playing D960! I’d die of joy. I would always choose to 

introduce a piece for a couple of minutes before playing it and then 

turn the lights off and let people disappear with the music, instead 

of having the audience reading program notes about sonata form in 

Beethoven’s Vienna while I’m playing the bloody thing. There are so 

many things in classical music that are considered a blasphemy. So 

many unspoken rules. Sometimes you feel like you’re going to church 

instead of a recital. This music is so immortal and has sadly been 

appropriated by a certain group of people for their enjoyment only. 

It’s desperate. Classical music is not high art. It’s not something you 

must understand in order to ‘appreciate it’ (whatever that means). It 

is simply a connection with a part of ourselves that is too easily lost in 

this age of always-on, super-fast distraction. 

BESTE 

KALENDER 

MEZZO 

RISING 

LYDIA PEROVIĆ 

The year 2020 is coming up roses for 

mezzo-soprano Beste Kalender, who grew 

up in Turkey and moved to Canada at 

the age of 22 to pursue two great interests – postgraduate 

research in the psychology of musical 

cognition, and professional singing. One of those 

is now clearly taking over, and the current year 

is marked by gigs that she finds particularly 

meaningful. “I hope I won’t be just a singer who 

sings pretty music and has no other interests,” she 

says when we meet in the RCM cafe, deserted for 

the long weekend. Our voices are ringing in the 

empty space but the security guy on duty doesn’t 

seem to mind us being there. “I’d like to be able 

to engage with larger issues and causes. And have 

my own distinct voice. This year feels like I do.” 

The Glenn Gould Foundation presents “In Conversation with 

James Rhodes” on Wednesday March 4 at 7:30pm, in the Isabel 

Bader Theatre. 

The Glenn Gould Foundation presents James Rhodes: “The 

Beethoven Revolution” on Thursday March 5 at 8pm, in Koerner Hall. 

Paul Ennis is the managing editor of The WholeNote. 


Beste Kalender, at Koerner Hall with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra (2014) 

LISA SAKULENSKY. 

Unlike most of the group, he survived, but he had a breakdown, was 

moved between military hospitals, and ended his life in a Paris asylum 

in 1935 a broken man. “This concert is about celebrating Komitas, 

and it’s about celebrating peace and always working to keep it”, says 

Kalender. “I’ve listened to a lot of Armenian music alongside my 

Armenian friends at the Conservatory in Istanbul, and loved it. Our 

musical traditions share so much.” 

Istanbul is a diverse city which easily breeds cosmopolitans, and 

the Turkish-Canadian mezzo is one of them. She grew up in a liberal 

family and, parallel to attending the Music Conservatory, also went to 

Boğaziçi University, founded as Robert’s College in 1863, the then only 

American-run university overseas. “I would go to the European side 

of Istanbul for the psychology classes in the morning and cross the 

Bosporus Strait to the Anatolian side of Istanbul for the classes at the 

Conservatory in the afternoon,” she says of her youthful, pre-Canada 

years. “It was busy and fun.” She came to Canada to work on a PhD, 

on an invitation from the University of Toronto. The research-heavy 

master’s degree she completed fast, but getting into the Glenn Gould 

School made her put a pause on the PhD, although she enjoyed the 

work. She would spend a lot of time in the soundproof booths of the 

U of T’s Mississauga campus, she explains, researching complex and 

simple meters and how people who speak different languages perceive 

metre and tonal structures differently. It was a mix of linguistics, 

music and psychology that she can see herself returning to later in life. 

But singing kept interfering. 

She got her first big break in 2015 at the Calgary Opera, where she 

was scheduled to sing Mercedes in Carmen. The mezzo who sung 

“I said to myself: if you enjoy this 

and if it works out, then you’re 

leaving academe.” 

One of those larger causes is cross-cultural collaboration. Last 

month, Kalender performed as a soloist with Sinfonia Toronto in 

Musical Bridges: Komitas@150, a program of Armenian, Turkish, 

Azerbaijani, Hungarian and Greek music conducted by an Armenian- 

Canadian, Nurhan Arman. Komitas – composer, Orthodox priest, 

ethnomusicologist, and the first Armenian national music systematizer 

– was born in the Ottoman Empire in 1869. April 24, 1915, 

Komitas was among more than 200 prominent Armenians rounded 

up by Ottoman/Turkish forces and deported from Istanbul to Ankara. 

Carmen fell ill with flu just as the run opened, and Kalender had to 

jump in on short notice. “I said to myself: if you enjoy this and if it 

works out, then you’re leaving academe. I had the best time ever on 

stage. So I thought, okay, let’s try this seriously, let’s go for it.” 

By that time, she was also married. She had met her Lebanese 

husband at U of T, where he was working on a master’s degree in 

Engineering. Between Arabic, Turkish and English, what language do 

they speak at home? She responds that the linguistic barrier probably 

made them work more on the relationship: “That’s how our marriage 

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has been a success these eight and a half years. Certain things get lost 

in translation … which is not always bad. But we keep working on 

figuring out the between-the-lines – the unsaid in the said. That took 

some time.” 

Kalender will be spending March in Alberta while preparing for 

the role of the Old Lady in the Joel Ivany-directed Candide at the 

Edmonton Opera. (“I will actually be singing the line I am so easily 

assimilated,” she laughs.) Back in Toronto in April, rehearsals, with 

the same director, begin in a very different project: Against the Grain 

Theatre’s final version of the Kevin Lau-composed Bound, the story 

of four characters in a brush with law enforcement and the arbitrary 

rules at border crossings. Kalender’s character is based on 

a true story of a professional Middle Eastern woman being asked 

and refusing to remove her hijab at the point of entry into France. 

“Border crossings is a topic we don’t talk a lot about in Canada,” she 

says, “and when I saw an earlier version of Bound I was grateful that 

these guys decided to tackle it.” Kalender became a Canadian citizen 

last February, and before that travelled on her Turkish passport as 

a Canadian permanent resident, which sometimes made things 

complicated. One year, on her way from Canada to Moscow via 

Zurich Airport for a singing gig, she was taken out of the queue and 

held at the airport because the airline staff in charge were not able, 

or willing, to verify that she did not require a work visa for Russia. 

When eight hours later they finally realized their mistake – thanks 

to a network of frantic phone calls between Turkish and Russian 

consular offices across two continents – she was allowed to board the 

next available plane to Moscow. She landed in the Russian capital at 

4am, and went straight to rehearsals on little or no sleep. 

The character she will play in Bound is held at a border for a 

different reason, but she and Kalender have one thing in common: 

their faith. Kalender is a Sufi Muslim who decided early in life that 

the headscarf wasn’t for her. There are countries in the world where 

not wearing a headscarf in public will get a woman in jail: where 

does she stand on this question? “Actually, when I was university-age, 

wearing hijabs in places like parliament and school was 

forbidden by law,” she says. 

(An aside: I pause here to remind the reader that Turkey’s path to 

secularization commenced after the demise of the Ottoman Empire 

and the end of the First World War, under Turkey’s first republican 

president Kemal Ataturk, and was at times more top-down than it was 

productive.) 

“But in my school, Boğaziçi University,” Kalender continues, “our 

professors didin’t occupy themselves with how you look. So some 

people would wear a hat over their scarf, for example … and the 

administration didn’t police clothing. But in other state universities, 

this rule was enforced. In today’s Turkey, it’s a matter of free choice. 

You can wear a hijab in school if you wish.” 

“In my opinion,” she says, “to order a woman to put on a scarf or 

to take off the scarf, they are the same thing. It means forcing your 

opinion on them. And it’s generally men who decide this – while I’m 

happy for women to be able to decide that for themselves. If it’s the 

government deciding for you, or members of your family, it’s coercion.” 

Kalender tried a hijab on for the very first time only last year 

– in preparation for the role in Bound. “I had a relative who wears a 

hijab visit me recently in Canada. One day we were talking and I told 

her about this role, and asked her to show me the different ways of 

doing a hijab. She said, ‘Beste I thought you were against it,’ and I told 

her, well yes, I don’t think my religion is about that. I am a religious 

person – but not a conservative person. I really believe in Sufism. I 

believe that we are all one, and that our differences are only as deep as 

putting on a label. I don’t believe that I necessarily need a hijab, but if 

that’s how you feel most comfortable, then why should I try to decide 

that on your behalf?” 

There is a lot of the Ottoman Empire in Western European opera 

– Ottomans held a place of fascination and fear for centuries – and 

I ask her what she thinks about the increased sensitivity around 

cultural representation in opera. She’s already sung a Fiorilla aria 

from Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia at a private concert, she tells me, and 

had fun with it, but hasn’t yet managed to see an entire traditional 

production of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail. The rewritten 

Beste Kalender, Against the Grain Theatre’s Opera Pub Night 

at the Amsterdam Bicycle Club, Toronto (2017) 

Wajdi Mouawad production at the COC from a few years back she 

did enjoy. “The COC took a risk, decided to adopt this new angle, and 

good on them. I had heard the buzz about it, that there was namaz 

[Islamic prayer] on stage, and all those changes in the production, and 

I went in and was glad that someone took this approach.” The original 

Entführung is fiction of course, and when it comes to the life in the 

Pasha’s harem not exactly accurate.“In Mozart’s opera, the ladies are 

in control, but in real life, they would not have been,” Kalender says. 

Mothers would have probably have had more influence on viziers than 

their harem favourites. As for the stereotypical Turco character in 

other operas? “When you create a character, you should endow them 

with a variety of features – they can’t be there just for fun and ridiculing. 

Something to keep in mind when reviving productions.” 

In Mouawad’s production, namaz is performed in Arabic. Would 

Ottomans have worshipped in Arabic? “Yes,” she says, and puts my 

pedantry to rest. “There were several languages in circulation in the 

Ottoman Empire, with Arabic and Farsi particularly influential. With 

the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the coming of Ataturk and the 

Turkish Republic, the official language was reformed and unified. Up 

to that point we were using Arabic letters; after Ataturk, we switched 

to Latin letters. If someone spoke to me in Ottoman today, I would not 

understand them.” How is the empire looked upon in today’s Turkey? 

Is it being fantasized about? “Yes. Certain political groups still talk 

about it. But I think what reignited interest in Ottomans more than 

anything else is this hugely popular TV show that went on for years. 

Magnificent Century – a quality, historically informed soap opera set 

in the court of Suleiman the Magnificent.” I tell her I knew about it 

even before Elif Batuman wrote a long piece on it in The New Yorker 

because the show was extremely popular in all the Slav countries in 

the Balkans – countries that were colonized by the Ottomans, some 

for several centuries. The mistrust of all things Ottoman/Turkish and 

the legends of heroes who fought for liberation from the empire were 

inbuilt in all the national poetries in the region – but this TV show, 

when it was on, emptied the streets. It was something akin to mania, 

I tell her. “It was a good show! And wasn’t Suleiman’s main woman of 

East European origin?” 

“The lady who designed tiaras for the show designed the tiara for 

my wedding,” Kalender says. “My big, fat Middle Eastern wedding! 

No, I don’t do things by halves.” 

Lydia Perović is an arts journalist in Toronto. Send her your 

art-of-song news to artofsong@thewholenote.com. 

DARRYL BLOCK 


KOERNER HALL 

2019.20 Concert Season 

Taylor Academy 

Showcase Concert 

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 4:30PM 

MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALL 

Free tickets will be available 

starting Fri. Mar. 6. 

The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance 

Academy for Young Artists presents 

this concert by the leading young 

classical musicians in Canada. Hear 

the stars of tomorrow! 

John O’Conor 

and Beethoven 

SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 2PM 


TICKETS: $30 

Beethoven specialist John O’Conor, 

John O’Conor, whose playing “has 

the kind of flawless touch that makes 

an audience gasp” (Washington Post), 

will perform the final three piano 

sonatas by Beethoven, considered 

the pinnacle of his works. 

The Glenn Gould School 

ChamberCompetition Finals 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 7PM KOERNER HALL 

Free tickets will be available starting Wed. Mar. 25. 

Hear the talented ensembles of The Glenn Gould School 

compete for over $11,000 in prizes. 

Presented in honour of R.S. Williams & Sons Company Ltd. 

Pamela Frank with Emanuel Ax 

FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 8PM / PRELUDE RECITAL 7PM KOERNER HALL 

Tickets start at only $40 

With Pamela Frank’s artistry, “even single notes don’t leave the strings 

without meaning” (Philadelphia Inquirer). “Ax’s greatness, his 

overwhelming authority as a musician, technician, and probing 

intellect emerges quickly as he plays” (Los Angeles Times) 

Dang Thai Son 

SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 2020 1PM 


Free tickets will be available 

starting Mon. Mar. 30. 

Vietnamese - Canadian pianist Dang 

Thai Son was propelled to international 

acclaim in October 1980, when he 

captured First Prize and Gold Medal 

at the 10th International Chopin 

Piano Competition in Warsaw. For 

this concert, he performs works by 

Debussy and Chopin. 

Generously supported by 

Dorothy Cohen Shoichet 

Rebanks Family Fellowship Concert 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2020 7:30PM MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALL 

Free tickets will be available starting Wed. Apr. 1. 

Hear artists on the cusp of major careers perform solo and chamber works. 

Generously supported by the Rebanks Family and 

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


237 (BLOOR ST. STREET & AVENUE WEST RD.) 

(BLOOR TORONTO ST. & AVENUE RD.) TORONTO


Gustavo Gimeno 

MAKING 

ROOM FOR 

THE NEW AT 

GIMENO’S TSO 

DAVID JAEGER 

MARCO BORGGREVE 

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO), made a 

bold and exciting statement about new music in 

announcing its 2020/2021 season, the first under new 

music director Gustavo Gimeno. On their website, maestro 

Gimeno is quoted as saying, “I believe that orchestral music 

is at its most exciting when we create contrasts and diversity. 

We bring together our most cherished musical masterpieces 

alongside less familiar but equally brilliant works by 

contemporary composers who are evolving orchestral music 

for new generations.” Gimeno’s perception that Toronto’s 

vibrancy and diversity are qualities on which he feels he can 

build his tenure as TSO music director is reason for Toronto’s 

music creators to take heart! 

MOUSSA, CHIN, AND CROALL 

Gimeno and his artistic team have expressed this initiative of 

blending the new with the old in several ways. For example, in his 

opening concert next season, Gimeno has programmed Crimson for 

large orchestra by Montreal-born composer and conductor Samy 

Moussa, along with Mahler’s Symphony No.1 and selections from 

Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito. Moussa has been appointed the TSO’s 

first annual artist in residence and as such he will both conduct the 

orchestra (a concert including his Violin Concerto, with the brilliant 

Canadian soloist Kerson Leong) and compose for it (his new 

Symphony No.2.) Other works by Moussa will also be heard in various 

contexts throughout the season. 

I spoke to Moussa at his home in Berlin recently, and he told me he 

is “thrilled to take on this honour” of serving as the TSO’s first artist 

in residence. His Symphony No.2 is a work he was eager to propose 

to the TSO. It’s a work, he told me, “with a special ambition, a purely 

musical entity with a personal artistic goal.” 

Another approach to blending new repertoire with the classics can 

be seen in the TSO’s celebration of Beethoven @250: interpolating 

PRISKA KETTERER 

RICHARD MOORE 

L to R: Samy Moussa, 

Unsuk Chin, 

Barbara Croall 


contemporary works by Odawa First Nation composer Barbara Croall 

and by Korean-German composer, Unsuk Chin, both inspired by 

Beethoven. 

“The Toronto Symphony’s efforts for new music are much to be 

lauded,” Chin told me. “It is a good thing if new works are being 

placed alongside key works from the orchestral canon, by placing 

them in a more ‘classical’ context one learns that there is no need to 

be afraid of contemporary music. My new work freely relates to the 

conversation books by Beethoven which he created when he increasingly 

struggled to communicate, due to his deafness. The loss of 

hearing frequently resulted in an inner rage and frustration which 

may have found its reflection in the extreme range of his musical 

language, the whole gamut of emotions from volcano-like eruptions 

to utmost serenity. It tells very profoundly and poignantly something 

indispensable about 

the human condition. 

Beethoven was, 

so to say, the first 

modernist composer: 

he constantly 

stretched the boundaries 

of musical 

language, and his 

quest for originality 

completely changed 

the course of music 

history. He is a 

composer for one’s 

whole life, someone 

whose music can be 

constantly rediscovered 

and redefined.” 

In the case of 

Croall’s work, titled alternatively in German and Odawa, Innenohr/ 

Biinjii’ii Tawgaang (Inner Ear), she was invited to use Beethoven’s 

Second Symphony as a basis for inspiration. “I imagined Beethoven 

outdoors on one of his many excursions of ‘walking the music 

through his mind’” Croall writes, “when suddenly a winged insect 

flies into his ear and becomes the source of the idea (and new obsession) 

and cause of Beethoven’s reawakening – about how much the 

nature around him envelops him with creative inspiration, and is 

always there to also help him with his own healing from a childhood 

of trauma and the increasing loss of his hearing (which became clearly 

apparent while he embarked on composing his second symphony). 

This insect trapped inside his ear opens up his ‘gift’ of tapping into the 

nature around him – the sensations of winds in the branches of trees, 

the shape of the hilly landscape he is walking through the woods, the 

strident calls of birds and sounds of their wings beating, the dense fog 

after a rain, (und so weiter) – and to confront his own darkness and 

‘monsters within’ that have been the underlying source of his frustration 

and torment.” Croall’s work was co-commissioned by the TSO 

with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Croall and Moussa will also both have compositions included in the 

TSO Chamber Soloists presentations, preceding selected concerts. In 

the case of Croall it’s her Lullaby for Pipigwan and String Quartet, 

and for Moussa it’s his Frammenti dolorosi et amorosi for voice and 

piano, on texts by Michelangelo. 

Croall added, “I was really very surprised when approached about 

maestro Gustavo Gimeno programming my work. He has a special 

interest to understand new works by composers of many cultural 

backgrounds which is so exciting. He truly is committed to knowing 

more and more about what shapes the ideas of music that comes from 

this land. His own special ear for colour, gestural expression, and 

seeking to find the true heartbeat of a piece of music and its soulfulness 

makes him a unique conductor of this era.” 

Throughout the 2020/2021 season, there are contemporary works of 

various styles and origins included in Gimeno’s programming. These 

include the Canadian premieres of Steve Reich’s Music for Ensemble 

and Orchestra, in collaboration with Soundstreams Canada; 

Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen’s Horn Concerto; Grammy 

Award-winning Jennifer Higdon’s Loco; and Wynton Marsalis’ Violin 

Concerto with soloist Nicola Benedetti. North American premieres 

include Unsuk Chin’s tribute to Beethoven, mentioned earlier, as 

well as Nadia Boulanger’s (1887–1979) rarely heard Allegro, and an 

example of imaginative contemporary scoring, Aqua Cinerea, by the 

rising young Spanish composer Francisco Coll. 

KUZMENKO, LIZÉE, AND LEBEL 

In addition to the works by Moussa and Croall to be performed 

during the TSO’s upcoming season, there are more Canadian 

composers featured in Gimeno’s programming. Larysa Kuzmenko’s 

Behold the Night for children’s choir and orchestra is an earlier TSO 

commission, and is included in a concert with Gustave Holst’s The 

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BO HUANG 

L to R: Adam Scime, Bekah Simms, Roydon Tse 

Planets. Kuzmenko told me, “I am honoured that maestro Gimeno 

chose to feature my music in his first season. It is clear from the 

season that he has a strong commitment to new Canadian music. 

I believe he will be a great advocate for Canadian composers.” 

Montreal-based Nicole Lizée’s Zeiss After Dark is a TSO co-commission 

with the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) and will be 

presented when the NACO visits in the spring of 2021. Commenting 

on the program, which includes the Shostakovitch Ninth Symphony 

and a new work by Philip Glass, Lizée told me, “I’m excited to be 

included as part of NACO’s program as the invited orchestra as well 

as being a part of Gustavo Gimeno’s inaugural season with the TSO. 

I appreciate that my work is being performed alongside that of two 

important composers by an orchestra that has also made Canadian 

music a large part of their initiatives.” 

Emilie LeBel has been the TSO affiliate composer since 

September 2018. “During the first week of my new position, I met 

Gustavo as he was announced as the incoming music director,” she 

says. “I am thrilled that my contract as affiliate composer has been 

extended to a third year. As Gustavo steps into his new role, I have the 

opportunity to see all the excitement and hard work that has gone on 

behind the scenes take fruition! My role as affiliate composer encompasses 

a new orchestral commission each year, plus I have an active 

role in the artistic administration team, and as a mentor in specific 

education and outreach projects. 

“I am currently working on a new 15-minute work, which is my 

third TSO commission. It will be conducted on the Masterworks Series 

by John Storgårds in January 2021. I am blessed to have benefited 

from learning under Sir Andrew Davis, and several guest conductors 

these past two years. It has been a time of immense learning and 

artistic growth. I am excited to broaden my horizons under Gustavo 

this year, as I observe rehearsals and study scores. I look forward 

to learning from a new perspective, and to exploring how this will 

support me while immersed in the creation of this new piece.” 

It is important that the affiliate composer position play an active 

role in nurturing and supporting new Canadian work, Lebel says. “I 

am looking forward to our third year of ‘Explore the Score’, offering 

the opportunity for composers to hear their orchestral works be read 

by a professional orchestra, and also receive mentorship on the many 

facets of a career in composition. Expanding on this opportunity, we 

have created a new program this year, NextGen, to support emerging 

talent, bridging the gap between attending a score-reading session and 

a professional commission.” 

SCIME, SIMMS, AND TSE 

The NextGen program invites three composers each year to 

receive mentorship from the affiliate composer, and write a fiveminute 

work for the orchestra that will be premiered on the TSO’s 

Masterworks Series. “After two years of planning, I am thrilled to 

see this program come together” LeBel says, “and to be supporting 

the work of three Canadian composers selected by Gustavo: Adam 

Scime, Bekah Simms and Roydon Tse. These two annual programs will 

offer support to promising composers, and ensure a strong future for 

Canadian music.” 

The commissions for Scime, Simms and Tse are included in three 

Remembrance Day concerts, early in November. “It is definitely a 

huge honour to be named one of the first composers for Gustavo to 

commission for the TSO,” Tse told me. “Not only is it a tremendous 

privilege to write for the players, I am pretty excited for the opportunity 

to get to know Gustavo more through this opportunity. I know 

that Gustavo is very serious about the next generation of Canadian 

composers, and I feel honoured that he has taken the time to listen to 

my music and chosen me for this commission. Artistically speaking, 

there is a lot that I want to do and try for the TSO. This being Gustavo’s 

first season at the TSO, there is a certain weight of responsibility that 

is unlike other commissions. I have written quite a few works for 

orchestra before but there’s always something else I would like to try 

like new timbres, textures and harmonies. There is a new sound that 

I want to achieve from the orchestra which I am still working on, so 

I think this commission has been instrumental in helping me think 

deeper about orchestration and sound. The piece will be rooted in 

the theme of Remembrance which I am excited to be tackling in the 

coming months.” 

Tse’s sentiments were echoed by the other NextGen composers. 

“Since a young age I have attended TSO concerts, Scime wrote, “and 

remember wondering what it would be like to be a part of such 

an incredible collection of musicians and artists who get to make 

wonderful music of the highest quality for a living. I am very proud 

and excited to now be a part of this music-making process with the 

orchestra as a composer. It will be an honour to work with the new 

director, Gustavo Gimeno, and the TSO musicians in a professional 

artistic capacity and to hear these world-class musicians interpret my 

music. Working with an orchestra of this calibre is a hallmark of any 

composer’s career – and I am especially thrilled that this project also 

happens to be with my hometown band.” 

Simms enthusiastically agreed: “I’m excited by Maestro Gimeno’s 

intensity and his excitement for new music; my music is often roiling 

and full of details, so I think he can really bring out the important 

features of my work. He has an edge and flair to his conducting that I’m 

really looking forward to see. I’m extremely delighted and honoured 

to work with my ‘home’ orchestra! My musical language is often most 

effective with large, expansive instrumental forces, so I’m delighted to 

be working with as fine an ensemble as the Toronto Symphony.” 

David Jaeger is a composer, producer and broadcaster 

based in Toronto. 


MUSIC AND HEALTH 

BALANCE IN 

BLINDNESS 

THE PLASTICITY 

OF PERCEPTION 

VIVIEN FELLEGI 

Susanna McCleary 

PHOTO COURTESY AMI 

Violinist Susanna McCleary shimmers in a silver 

top as she strides over the Miles Nadal Jewish 

Community Centre stage, one hand balanced 

lightly on the back of her mother, Dorothy de Val. 

McCleary leads the pair in a rousing rendition of the 

klezmer piece Hora Marasinei, her brow furrowed in 

concentration as her bow darts and dances over her 

violin. De Val replicates her rhythms on the piano, and 

mother and daughter sway in synchrony. 

After their opening act, pianist Michael Arnowitt grabs his white 

cane and heads into the spotlight. As his nimble fingers plunge into a 

series of Bach selections, Arnowitt is mesmerized by the music, punctuating 

the accents with sharp tosses of his head. The final, plaintive 

note quivers for an eternity in the hush of the room. 

This performance on October 15 last year, “An Evening in the Key of 

B: A Benefit Concert,” was a fundraiser for the non-profit organization 

BALANCE for Blind Adults (balancefba.org), which helps visually 

impaired clients regain their independence. 

The two musicians resonate with the relevance of this mission – both 

are blind, and both have had to overcome challenges springing from this 

state. But their loss of eyesight has also garnered them gifts, sharpening 

their other senses to make up for this deficit. And these finely tuned 

faculties of hearing and touch have, in turn, moulded their artistry. 

McCleary and Arnowitt join the ranks of a long line of blind and 

brilliant musicians, including soul music pioneer Ray Charles, rocker 

Stevie Wonder and opera singer Andrea Bocelli. The sheer number 

of such performers has long caused music connoisseurs to wonder if 

there is a special relationship between vision loss and musicality. 

FREE NOON HOUR CHOIR & ORGAN CONCERTS 

Enjoy an hour of beautiful music performed by outstanding Canadian choirs and organists, 

spotlighting Roy Thomson Hall’s magnificent Gabriel Kney pipe organ. 

VOCA CHORUS 

OF TORONTO 

Star Songs 

THU APR 9 ◆ 12 PM 

CANTALA WOMEN’S CHOIR 

The Infinite Beauty of Sound 

FRI MAY 1 ◆ 12 PM 

VOICES 

Poetry in Songs 

THU JUNE 11 ◆ 12 PM 

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Michael Arnowitt 

PHOTO COURTESY AMI 

This affiliation has now been thoroughly documented. One of 

the first researchers to link the two qualities was Adam Ockelford, 

professor of music at England’s Roehampton University. Ockelford 

found that an astonishing 40 percent of the blind children in his 

studies had perfect pitch, (compared to only one in 10,000 people in 

the regular population). This capacity springs from the youngsters’ 

lifelong reliance on auditory data to make sense of their world, says 

Ockelford. Right from birth, the blind children paid more attention 

to everyday noises than their sighted peers, and their attunement to 

aural input reinforced their sensitivity to sound. 

Ockelford’s theory of brain adaptation has been validated by a host 

of evidence. The hearing of blind people surpasses that of the sighted 

in in several modalities – they are better at discriminating between 

different pitches, localizing sounds in space, and processing speech. 

Their sense of touch is also more refined and they’re able to detect 

finer-grained differences in the feel of objects. 

The brain’s ability to compensate 

for visual loss with enhanced 

perception in other domains, is 

adaptive, says McGill University’s 

research associate Patrice Voss. 

If you’re born without vision, or 

you lose it early in life (when the 

brain is especially mouldable), 

the sight-processing centre in the 

brain (the visual cortex), does not 

receive input from the eyes. In 

response to these absent signals, 

the unused visual cortex gets 

repurposed to process sound and touch stimuli instead. 

Anatomical changes accompany this transformation. Imaging 

studies have shown that the visual cortex is thicker than normal 

among those who become blind early in life. This growth results from 

new pathways springing from the sound and touch processing centres, 

connecting these to the transformed visual cortex, reorganized to 

interpret signals from the ears and skin. 

While amplified sound sensitivity is more prominent amongst those 

who are born blind or lose their sight early on, recent research shows 

that the brain can adjust to vision loss at any stage in life. In one study, 

mice were blinded temporarily after being shut in the dark. Afterwards, 

researchers played tones of varying frequencies and measured the electrical 

activity of cells in their brains’ sound processing centre (auditory 

cortex). After just one week of light deprivation, these cells fired faster 

and more powerfully, enabling the blind mice to detect quieter noises 

and distinguish between pitches much better than the sighted mice. 

Lead researcher Hey-Kyoung Lee, professor of neuroscience at 

Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University, attributes these impressive results 

to strengthened connections between nerve cells carrying sound data 

from the environment and those neurons which translate the signals 

into conscious sound experience in the auditory cortex. These alterations 

dial up the volume of external sound to increase its impact in the 

brain, says Lee, who was surprised by the extent of the animals’ adaptation. 

“We didn’t expect that level of change…(it) was pretty amazing.” 

Violinist McCleary illustrates this plasticity of perception. She was 

born with Leber’s congenital amaurosis, which damages the lightsensing 

tissue in the eyes (the retina). But the fiddler makes up in 

her hearing what she lacks in vision. She can detect noises at lower 

volumes than her sighted friends. “If someone’s phone’s going off I 

can hear that better than anyone else,” she says. McCleary also has 

perfect pitch, which enables her to transform everyday noises, from a 

beeping microwave to a fork hitting the table, into musical notes. 

Those without sight depend on 

An astonishing 40 percent of the 

blind children in [Adam Ockelford’s] 

studies had perfect pitch (compared 

to only one in 10,000 people in the 

regular population). 

their acoustic acumen for survival, 

says Voss. Their supranormal ability 

to map space using sound helps 

them get around. “They can’t rely 

on sight to cross the street, and 

need to (depend) ... on hearing to 

recognize where traffic is,” he says. 

The same faculty is also critical 

for conversing, says registered 

psychotherapist and neurologic 

music therapist Amy Di Nino, who 

runs her own business, ADD Music 

Wellness (addmusicwellness.com), in Cambridge, Ontario. The timbre 

of a particular voice identifies the speaker, while qualities such as 

tone, rhythm, and pitch convey nuances of meaning. In the absence 

of visual cues like body language, the blind draw on their listening 

skills to intuit emotions in others – a rapid pace of speech can signal 

anxiety, while loudness can convey anger, for example. 

McCleary has always depended on her heightened hearing to make 

sense of her world. The sound of a television in a familiar house guides 

her to the living room, while a squeaky noise signals the washroom 

door in her home. She’s also adept at extracting information from 

voices, and readily picks up on her mother’s feelings. “If she freaks out 

about something…she changes to a high voice,” says her daughter. 

McCleary’s exceptional ear ultimately led to her career as a violinist. 

The musician showed an affinity for tunes right from infancy. “(Music) 

was a way in,” says her mother, a pianist and music professor, who 

calmed her daughter with soothing Renaissance polyphony. “She was 


attentive, she wouldn’t fuss or cry when music was going on.” 

For as far back as she can remember, McCleary yearned to play an 

instrument. But teachers at her school for the blind in England, who 

favoured the partially sighted students, underestimated her talent 

and discouraged her from learning the violin. “(They) … didn’t think I 

could do anything,” says McCleary. 

But this injustice only made her try harder. “They had a false view of 

me – I (was) forced to prove (them) wrong,” says McCleary. Her mother 

ignored the staff’s pessimism and found a private music teacher who 

taught her daughter the Suzuki method of learning by ear. Buoyed by 

his encouragement, McCleary logged up to four hours of practice a day, 

progressing rapidly and making her debut at church when she was 

only 11. Her auditory acuity helped her internalize different rhythms 

and master diverse musical styles, including classical violin, traditional 

fiddling, klezmer and Celtic. After earning a bachelor’s degree in music 

from McMaster University, she began performing regularly at family 

events, nursing homes and English country dances. 

McCleary’s determination is typical of those who lose their vision early 

in life, says Di Nino, who has taught at the W. Ross Macdonald School 

for the Blind in Brantford, Ontario. These students are pros at tackling 

obstacles. “(When) you’re in a sighted world and you’re not visual, almost 

everything you do is a bit of a challenge,” she says. Di Nino has witnessed 

an extraordinary drive amongst her pupils, which has propelled them 

past hurdles. “Constantly needing to be on top of your game…create(s) 

a strong resilience,” says Di Nino. This toughness is a useful asset for 

aspiring musicians facing relentless competition and critique. 

McCleary’s investment in music has paid off both personally 

and professionally. Because of her visual impairment, she has few 

distractions to enjoy during her down time, and feels at loose ends 

when she has nothing concrete on her agenda. Music fills the gaps 

during these moments. “It...gets the day going, (and) makes the time 

go fast,” says McCleary. 

Music also gives her solace. During tough times McCleary turns to her 

violin for comfort. “It … helps to relieve the stress,” she says. Practising 

and performing with her mother is also rewarding. “When we play 

together, and it goes well, it makes me feel good,” says McCleary. 

Like McCleary, pianist Michael Arnowitt has also battled vision 

loss and benefitted from it. He was born with retinitis pigmentosa, 

a condition which causes cells in the retina to degenerate gradually. 

Endowed with perfect pitch and brought up in a home filled with 

music, Arnowitt naturally gravitated to the medium. He astonished 

his first piano teacher at their initial encounter, when the five-yearold 

boy ploughed through an entire volume of pieces at one go. “It was 

some sign of prodigy talent,” he says. 

He was hooked from that moment on, developing an almost mystical 

convergence between himself and his chosen instrument. “There’s 

this magical, quicker connection …the thought can become a sound,” 

he says. His sound was praised by critics ever since his debut as a solo 

pianist at age 12. Later, his gift won him a seat at the prestigious Juilliard 

School in New York City. But Arnowitt was ill at ease in the fast pace and 

competitive atmosphere of NYC and relocated to the bucolic rural town 

of Montpelier in his early 20s. “Vermont gave a lot of freedom to create 

musical events and musical styles … without … the New York Times to 

say ‘You suck,’” says Arnowitt. He began collaborating with a variety 

of artists, developing multimedia shows combining piano music with 

spoken commentary, live painting and even food. 

Just as Arnowitt’s creativity and career were taking off, his failing 

eyesight forced him to make adjustments. When night blindness 

obscured the backstage area, Arnowitt positioned stagehands in the 

wings to guide him back there at the end of his concerts. Then his 

narrowing tunnel vision compromised his reading ability and he had 

to magnify his sheet music and increase the illumination onstage to 

enable him to play. After his vision closed off entirely a decade ago, 

he turned to a computer program to articulate new pieces. Playing 

one note at a time, the system tells you its placement in the measure, 

pitch, length, etc. While Arnowitt is grateful for the software, which 

allows him to keep learning, he’s frustrated by the tediousness of the 

continues to page 92 

presents 

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JAMES RHODES, PIANO 

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IN CONVERSATION 

WED, MARCH 4, 7:30PM 

Isabel Bader Theatre, 

93 Charles Street West 

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“performances of such natural ease and brilliance 

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The Glenn Gould Foundation gratefully 

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Beat by Beat | In with the New 

Gender Fluidity in 

Music and Dance 

WENDALYN BARTLEY 

Peggy Baker Dance Projects: Collaborations between 

choreographers and composers have played a significant part in 

the creation of some of the most loved pieces of contemporary 

music. The classic example is, of course, the partnership between 

composer Igor Stravinsky and Serge Diaghilev, director of the Ballets 

Russes that resulted in the scores for The Firebird, Petrushka and 

The Rite of Spring. Among the first of the contemporary dance 

companies to form in Toronto were Toronto Dance Theatre in 1968 

and Dancemakers in 1974, and both companies quickly began to 

work with contemporary composers, many of them local. One of the 

early company members of Dancemakers was Peggy Baker, and in 

1990 she went on to establish Peggy Baker Dance Projects. Over the 

years, she has received much praise for her collaborative partnerships 

with composers such as Michael J. Baker, John Kameel Farah, Ahmed 

Hassan and Ann Southam as well as with performers Andrew 

Burashko, Shauna Rolston, Henry Kucharzyk and the Array Ensemble, 

among many others. Over the last five years, contemporary vocalist 

innovator and music creator Fides Krucker has collaborated on all of 

Baker’s new works, bringing to their collaboration her expertise in the 

creation of non-verbal human sound textures and her commitment to 

an emotionally integrated vocal practice. 

Baker’s latest work, her body as words, will be performed March 19 

to 29 at the Theatre Centre. For this piece, Baker has drawn together 

a unique intergenerational ensemble of dancers and composer/musicians 

who have taken up the challenge of addressing questions of 

female and gender identity. I invited one of the composer/musician 

members of the ensemble, Anne Bourne, who herself has collaborated 

on past projects with Baker, to have a conversation with me about 

her contribution to the piece as a composer and how her distinctive 

performance style of combining vocal toning while playing the cello 

will contribute to the overall musical score. 

In choreographic notes that Bourne shared with me, Baker describes 

the ideas that provide the context for the music in this adventurous 

piece. “From my earliest creations,” Baker writes, “a pervasive, 

underlying subtext of my work has been the embodiment of varied, 

authentic and relevant images of women.” Coming of age during the 

second wave of feminism, her ideas of female identity were formed 

largely through reading Simone de Beauvoir, Betty Friedan, and other 

key authors of that generation, so she was shocked to discover in early 

2019 that the translation of Beauvoir’s The Second Sex was incomplete, 

and that the translation by H.M. Parshley was heavily influenced 

by his own personal views. When she discovered the unabridged 2009 

translation by Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-Chevallier, “I was 

knocked over by the power of de Beauvoir’s philosophical text and the 

epic proportions of her proposals.” She found herself reassessing her 

own life from the point of view of an older woman now caught up in 

feminism’s third wave; what she learned from this updated version 

was a key element leading to the creation of her body as words. 

Another key influence in the work is Baker’s fascination with 

mythic stories. “As a child, I was haunted by Grimm’s fairytales in 

which girls were required to endure terrible trials in order to save 

their brothers and fathers from imprisonment or death. By such 

stories have young girls been initiated into the web of patriarchal societies.” 

In her body as words, these images of femininity are brought 

into sharp contrast with spoken text excerpts from The Second Sex in 

which de Beauvoir deconstructs these damaging stereotypes. 

Contemplating the questions Baker’s notes posed regarding female 

identity in this current time and place, Bourne asked “What is it we all 

Anne Bourne 

share?” and with that question comes her answer: “The sound of the 

earth we all walk on, and the weather that troubles us.” During our 

conversation, she elaborated further on what this might sound like. 

“I want to make sounds that hold the space or open the space almost 

as if they were light. The cello tones may be at times lyrical, and 

at times transparent.” She envisions improvising using a cycle of 

tones that are closely voiced, as well as experimenting with difference 

tones, which are sounds that arise acoustically on their own 

due to the combination of other tones sounding simultaneously. She 

describes these difference tones as sounds that “emerge almost like 

a response to what you are sending into the space.” She will improvise 

a sonic environment, with cello and voice, listening to the underlying 

pulses, and articulating the dancers’ gestures. She is also 

considering using specific tonalities to differentiate between various 

combinations of dancers or scenes and is also imagining the possibility 

of incorporating the sounds of a windstorm. When she imagines 

female identity, she thinks of it like “an arc of a storm that moves in 

and out of a quiet space but has a powerful range.” 

Bourne emphasized, during our conversation, that much of what 

will become the piece is yet to unfold through the rehearsal process 

and the collaboration with the two other composer/vocalists Ganavya 

Doraiswamy and Fides Krucker, each of whom will bring their own 

unique vocal approach and way of improvising to the performance. 

Her interest in creating a shared space through sound also defines her 

views on the nature of collaboration. The potential is there, she says, 

“to honestly express our experience of being in relationship to each 

other. Rather than defending our positions, trust that you can just be 

all that you are and create a piece of art together. When we open 

and listen to each other, a kind of change may arise that we haven’t 

found yet.” 

Bourne’s work over the past few decades as a close collaborator 

with Pauline Oliveros and the Deep Listening process is a key 

component to her understanding of how to create a shared space 

through sound, and will bring an important perspective to the entire 

collaboration. Another of the influences she will be bringing into 

the creative mix is the ideas of author Lynn Margulis as expressed in 

her book, Symbiotic Planet. Margulis makes the point that all beings 

currently alive on the planet are equally evolved, and that “since all 

living things are bathed by the same waters and atmosphere, all the 

inhabitants of Earth belong to a symbiotic union.” For Bourne, this 

describes a way of listening, and will influence both the sonic decisions 

she will be making and the way she approaches improvisation 

and the collective process. 

As mentioned earlier, Fides Krucker has been a collaborator with 

Peggy Baker’s company for the last five years and in that time has 

created four vocal scores for the dancers. Krucker was just beginning 

this exploration back in 2015 when I interviewed her for the 

April edition of The WholeNote about Baker’s piece, locus plot. At 


Fides Krucker (left) and Peggy Baker 

that time, Baker posed an unanticipated question about what sounds 

the dancers would be making while performing. This led Krucker 

to imagine what she herself would do vocally if she were capable of 

doing a particular movement and then translated those sounds for 

the skill set of the dancers. For this piece, Krucker states that she 

“will use my own voice to express the stories housed in the dancer’s 

bodies. Anne and I are designing improvisations to illuminate, 

counterbalance and accompany the complexity of being ‘othered’. I 

will also use my body in motion to incarnate the female experience of 

age … and own it.” 

Bourne initially met Ganavya Doraiswamy at the Banff Centre for 

Art and Creativity where they experienced a spontaneous improvisation 

session while performing one of Oliveros’ early compositions 

and discovered they shared a connection with Trichy 

Sankaran. The next year, Ganavya participated as a composer in 

the Collective Composition Lab for Music and Dance, a summer 

program where Bourne serves on the faculty. Ganavya lives in 

Brooklyn, NY and is currently a PhD candidate at Harvard where she 

is working with Meredith Monk, and teaching alongside Esperanza 

Spalding. Ganavya creates entrancing embodied improvisations influenced 

by South Indian classical music, her collaboration in Vijay Iyer’s 

Ritual Ensemble with Rajna Swaminathan, and many others in the 

downtown improvisers scene. In addition to this adventurous combination 

of vocalists and musicians, the musical voice of Debashis Sinha 

will be another element in the mix, as he weaves experience as a 

percussionist and electronic composer, and extensive theatrical 

experience into the creation of the sound design. 

“The artists collaborating with me on her body as words 

have navigated treacherous territory to bring this work into 

being,” Baker states in her notes. “I owe them my deepest 

gratitude.” In this intergenerational and inclusive inquiry 

into female identity, stories of the participants’ own individual 

experiences will be integrated into a generous 

expression of gesture, word and sound. The space that the 

co-created music brings into being will be, in Bourne’s 

words, “a space that allows the participants to improvise 

how they want to enter, if they want to enter; and feel 

authentically how they will express in that space.” 

Phth at the Music Gallery 

On March 14, a relatively new vocal collective from Montreal 

that goes by the name of Phth will be coming to Toronto’s 

Music Gallery. This group of seven singers comes from 

different backgrounds and each has had some form of 

training in choral or Western lyrical singing. In addition to 

being vocalists, many are also instrumentalists or have practices 

in the visual and radio arts. Phth formed officially in 2018 even 

though many of the members had known each other for several years 

before that. As well, many of Phth’s members had worked with Joane 

Hétu in her JOKER “choeur bruitiste” in the past, and this experience 

has had an influence on their own collective. Pronouncing the name 

Phth is a source of endless amusement, collective member Sarah Albu 

said to me during our recent interview and often you have to make 

a face in order to say it. “What comes out is more of a sound than a 

word and everyone can have their own way of pronouncing it. Just like 

there are many ways to sing, there are many ways to pronounce Phth. 

When you say the name, it ends up sounding more like a tongue ram 

(an explosive percussive gesture) on a flute or brass instrument”. 

The aim of the group is to explore different textures and sound 

worlds: having a choral blend is one possible choice; just as singing 

in a block of sound where everyone contributes their own voice is 

another choice. The overall approach is to discover what sounds are 

part of the group palette and what they can learn from each other. As 

Albu explained to me, since there is no conductor or artistic director 

in the group, each member takes on the responsibility of leading 

different projects. The advantage of this is that everyone has the 

opportunity of experiencing artistic terrain that they wouldn’t otherwise 

pursue on their own. 

A major component of their concert in March will be a performance 

of Claude Vivier’s Love Songs, which he wrote in 1977, and which 

caught Albu’s imagination after hearing a few different versions of 

JEREMY MIMNAGH 

Piano Erhu Project 

Thursday March 26, 2020 

Trinity-Saint Paul’s Centre, 

427 Bloor Street West 

Cory Hamm, piano 

Nicole Ge Li, erhu 

Music by 

Dorothy Chang 

Alice Ping Yee Ho • Terri Hron 

Jocelyn Morlock • Serra Hwang 

Angelique Po • Somei Satoh 

Ping Gao • Michael Finnissy 

Roydon Tse 

Pieces for Bob 

Saturday April 4, 2020 

Trinity-Saint Paul’s Centre, 

427 Bloor Street West 

NMC Ensemble | Robert Aitken and 

friends | Celebrating Aitken@80 

Music by 

Daniel Foley 

George Crumb 

John Cage • Elliott Carter 

Diego Luzuriaga 

Norma Beecroft 

Henry Brant 

Introductions @ 7:15 | Concerts @ 8 

www.NewMusicConcerts.com | Call 416.961.9594 


JEREMY SALE PHOTOGRAPHY 

Vocal collective Phth (Sarah Albu, fourth from left) 

the piece. She decided to bring it to Phth. “It really struck me,” she 

said. “There was something non-classical about it and it was quite 

different from his other pieces.” When she did research into the piece, 

she discovered that it had been originally written for an experimental 

dance company, Le Groupe de la Place Royale, that was founded in 

1966 by Jeanne Renaud in Montreal. Vivier wanted non-trained voices 

or differently trained voices to perform the piece. Even though the 

score is very notated, Albu says, it’s again different than his usual 

scores, and in fact it is Vivier’s introductory program note to the work 

that has given Phth the performance guidance that they’ve most 

relied on. 

Love Songs for 4 women, 3 men. 

To be staged or not/ To be felt not understood/ Let tones from the 

others inspire your own/ Let the music flow out of you as if you were 

a kid/ Notation is only a reminder for certain states/ Never follow the 

signs but only their spirit/ In this score you do what is appropriate 

for you to do and let the rest to the others/ Always be in love. 

– Claude Vivier. 

The score indicates many specific gestures and motifs, and there are 

some areas of the piece that for Albu are structured in a similar way 

to Karlheinz Stockhausen’s vocal sextet work, Stimmung, composed 

in 1968. Different groups of people are doing things in sync with each 

other, but the choice of when things enter in time is left up to the 

performers, she explained. Albu has added the element of staging to 

the performance and this is having an impact on how they approach 

the interpretation of the score. “Relationships that we hadn’t figured 

out sonically are starting to become apparent by even doing minimal 

movements, such as placing two people in a part of the space together. 

All of a sudden this relationship is revealed and the way the voice is 

being used changes, because you’re not reading a score off a page but 

you’re looking at a person.” The overall approach is to let the relationships 

and the bodies in the space define the sound and intention. 

Because Vivier used a lot of invented language and quotations from 

poetic texts, it makes it difficult at times to know what the narrative 

is. Should the singer be delivering a love poem to the audience or to 

the person standing in front of you? Another aspect of their interpretation 

of the piece comes in the way the roles of the main couple are 

portrayed. “It’s not always performed by the same two singers, and it’s 

not a given that this couple is one male-one female as written. Male/ 

female voice assignment isn’t always respected, and all of us switch 

and have several characters/archetypes throughout the piece.” 

One aspect of the history of this work that sparked both my own 

and Albu’s curiosity was the fact that the Array Ensemble performed 

this work three times shortly after it was composed. According to Bob 

Gilmore who wrote a biography of Vivier titled A Composer’s 

Life, the composer also authorized a concert version of the 

piece. The first performance Array gave was in the fall of 1978 

at the Heliconian Hall and during a recent conversation with 

one of the performers from that concert, composer and flautist 

Tina Pearson shared some of her memories. "It was wonderful 

and wacky and inspiring. The piece is a collage of vocal utterances, 

including invented languages, German, Latin, whispers, 

whistles, shouts, hums and nursery rhymes, all telling 

a love story of a main duo with a chorus of unruly commentators.” 

She performed in all three concerts and in the 

second and third shows performed the role of the lead female 

soloist. Array performed the piece again in 1980 at the AGO 

and a third time after Vivier’s death in October 1983 at the 

Winchester Street Theatre. 

Other elements of Phth’s March 14 program will include 

group improvisations and other pieces coming from members 

of the group. As well, they will be collaborating on a piece 

with xLq, a local emerging pop-art duo who will also perform 

their own set as part of the evening’s activities. Later on in 

March, Phth will be performing a full program, including Love 

Songs, at a New Music Edmonton concert, and four members 

of the collective, including Gabriel Dharmoo who performed 

his Anthropologies imaginaires at the Music Gallery in 

January, will be travelling to Winnipeg’s Cluster Festival to perform a 

concert of two scored pieces and two structured improvisations. 

[Correction: This story has been modified from that which appeared 

in print: a consistent number of vocalists appeared in the various 

Array performances of Vivier's Love Songs, and in all cases no 

instruments other than voice were employed in the piece.] 

IN WITH THE NEW QUICK PICKS 

!! 

MAR 5 TO 8: Women from Space 2020 Festival. A full and diverse lineup of musicians 

to celebrate International Women’s Day weekend, including Anne Bourne, Susan 

Alcorn playing pedal steel, pianist Kris Davis, free jazz bassist William Barker, percussionist 

Germaine Liu, noise sculptor Mira Marti-Gray, and Lieke Van Der Voort leading 

a trio featuring Olivia Shortt and Naomi McCarroll-Butler. March 5 to 7 at Burdock and 

March 8 at the 918 Bathurst Centre. 

!! 

MAR 22 8PM: Esprit Orchestra. A program titled “Taiko Returns” featuring 

Mijidwewinan (Messages) by 

Barbara Croall for Anishinaabekwe 

soloist and orchestra; Piano 

Concerto by Christopher Goddard; 

A Still Life for soprano and 

orchestra by Eugene Astapov; and 

Mono-Prism for taiko drumming 

group and orchestra by Maki Ishii. 

!! 

MAR 25 TO 27, 7:30PM; MAR 

28, 7PM; MAR 29, 2:30PM: Array 

Space. “Earth Hour Music: An 

Introspective Piano Experience 

in the Dark” performed by Frank 

Horvat on piano. 

!! 

MAR 26, 8PM: New Music 

Concerts. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. 

A concert titled “Piano Erhu 

Project” with works written for the 

PEP ensemble; Corey Hamm on 

piano and Nicole Ge Li playing the 

erhu. Features works by Canadian 

composers Dorothy Chang, Alice 

Ho, Terri Hron, Jocelyn Morlock, 

Serra Hwang, Angelique Po and 

Roydon Tse, as well as Ping Gao 

Frank Horvat 

(China) and Michael Finnissy (UK). 

Wendalyn Bartley is a Toronto-based composer and electrovocal 

sound artist. sounddreaming@gmail.com. 


Beat by Beat | Classical & Beyond 

Fourth Grosvenor 

Recital Tops an 

Intriguing List 

PAUL ENNIS 

Benjamin Grosvenor first came to prominence when he won the 

Keyboard Final of the 2004 BBC Young Musician Competition 

at the age of 11. He was invited to perform with the BBC 

Symphony Orchestra at the First Night of the 2011 BBC Proms at 

19. In the same year he became the youngest British musician ever, 

and the first British pianist in almost 60 years, to sign with Decca 

Classics. Gramophone named him Young Artist of the Year in 2012. 

A riveting performer with keen musical insights, many inspired by 

pianists of the past, Grosvenor’s Music Toronto recital on March 31 

marks his fourth appearance here since 2014, a testament to his 

prodigious talent. In the following email Q & A, which took place in 

mid-February, Grosvenor spoke about his latest CD and the program 

for his upcoming Toronto concert. 

WN: I very much enjoyed your new recording of the Chopin piano 

concertos which I found to be highly contemporary yet informed 

by a sensibility reaching back into the last century. I interviewed 

you in the fall of 2017 and remember your response to my question 

“Who was the first composer you fell in love with as a child?” being 

Chopin. How did you decide to select his piano concertos as your first 

recording since Homages in 2016? How long have the concertos been 

part of your repertoire? 

BG: I’ve been playing the works since I was very young. I learned 

the second when I was 12, and the first when I was 14 or so. My CDs 

to date have always included a mix of composers, and so I felt it was 

time to devote a disc to one single composer. Once I had decided with 

Decca on making a concerto recording, it felt quite natural for this to 

be of these pieces, since they had been in my repertoire for so long 

and given my long-term connection to this composer in particular. 

How did your experience playing the chamber music version of the 

first concerto inform the recording? 

I enjoyed playing the chamber versions of both works with 

the Doric Quartet last year. In the version made by Kevin Kenner 

(including double bass, which is I think is very important in this 

enterprise to give an orchestral sound to the strings) they are very 

effective and one hears lines in the orchestral writing with more 

clarity than in live performances of the works with orchestra. One 

principal ‘problem’ with the orchestration is that there are a number 

of undoubled wind lines (particularly in the sections of the opening 

movements where the piano has churning semiquavers) that in a live 

performance with orchestra can get lost. It is possible on a recording 

though to change the focus so that these come through, and we all felt 

that this should be a priority. I think that with these pieces, as with 

any concerto, it is important to study also the orchestral parts, and 

playing the chamber versions heightened my knowledge of these. 

Did you draw inspiration from any Chopin recordings from the past? 

I find that when preparing a work it is important to listen widely, to 

artists who approach it from different directions in terms of aesthetics. 

There are fascinating recordings for example by Noel Mewton-Wood, 

where he has a very Mozartian way with the music. Some recordings 

that have been particularly influential over the years though, in one 

concerto or the other, have been Cortot, Hofmann, Lipatti and, of the 

modern era, Martha Argerich. 

Benjamin Grosvenor 

What conductor or other musician of the past would you have liked 

to work with? 

One name that immediately springs to mind from the recording 

era is Wilhelm Furtwängler. I have always found his interpretations 

fascinating, and his flexible organic approach with Beethoven in 

particular to be incredibly moving and inspired. 

Turning to your Music Toronto recital on March 31, what considerations 

went into devising the program? 

I thought that in this year of Beethoven celebrations, I should 

include one of his sonatas in my program. I have always enjoyed 

Op.7, which I would say is neglected relative to its merits and charms. 

PATRICK ALLEN 

thewholenote.com March 2020 | 25

Kreisleriana is perhaps emotionally a 

kindred spirit – both with a lot of lyricism, 

but with unpredictably tempestuous 

outbursts. The Rameau makes for a good 

way to open a recital, and the Liszt Faust 

transcription is a good way to end. 

Rameau’s Gavotte and Variations in A 

Minor would have fit nicely into your 

Dances recording from 2014. What 

drew you to it? Can we look forward to a 

Dances 2 CD? 

I came to this work initially through the 

recording by Benno Moiseiwitsch, which 

has some adaptations by Leschetizky. It 

was quite a popular work by artists of 

that generation, with recordings also by 

Cherkassky, Marcelle Meyer and others. It is 

a very effective set of variations, virtuosically 

inclined. As with most Baroque music 

on the piano, there is a range of possibilities 

in terms of conceptual and stylistic 

approach that are interesting to explore. 

There are no plans for Dances 2 at the 

moment, but it is a nice idea! 

Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No.4, Op.7 has 

been in your repertoire for many years. 

When did you first begin playing it? How has your approach to 

it evolved? 

I played this one for a season in around 2013 or so. It’s hard to say 

how my approach has evolved. With any piece one’s views naturally 

change over time, but I also don’t necessarily remember everything 

that I did last time I played the work. I’d probably say that on a large 

scale in this work not much has changed, but there are many small 

details that I may have approached differently this time. 

Do you have any further plans for performing Beethoven in this 

250th anniversary year of his birth? 

I am playing some of the concerti in the latter half of the year, and 

also at that point I will be introducing Op.101 into my repertoire. I will 

have some all-Beethoven recitals with Op.7, Op.101 and Op.27 No.2, 

and then Op.101 continues into 2021. 

The second half of your Toronto recital begins with Kreisleriana, 

Schumann’s passionate, novelistic love letter to his future wife, Clara 

Wieck. How does it speak to you? 

It is a rich and enigmatic work, that is a thrilling piece to study 

and perform, filled with so many different emotions. At this time, 

his romance with Clara was forbidden by her father, and it seems to 

me an embodiment of all he was feeling in the moment, penned as it 

was over four days in a fit of inspiration. Full of moments of tenderness, 

intimacy, humour, there are also outbursts of frustration and 

anger. The novelistic influence is of course also interesting, and I think 

Schumann saw something of himself in the bipolar personality of 

Johannes Kreisler. 

Leslie Howard wrote of Liszt’s “ingenious elaboration” of Gounod’s 

Valse de l’Opéra Faust that “Musically, Gounod is transformed and 

transcended at a stroke!” What attracted you to it? How would you 

characterize it? 

I think there is genius in all of Liszt’s opera transcriptions. He takes 

the material and the essence of the opera and weaves with it his own 

rich musical tapestry. There is certainly something transcendent 

to this one – the bombast of the opening section waltz is balanced 

perfectly by his illuminating figuration in the central lyrical section, 

and emerges as a work with more deliciousness, humour and personality 

than the original. 

Music Toronto presents Benjamin Grosvenor on March 31 at 8pm in 

the Jane Mallett Theatre of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. 

Castalian String Quartet 

CLASSICAL & BEYOND QUICK PICKS 

!! 

MAR 10, 12PM: The youthful, London-based Castalian String Quartet stops by the 

Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre on their way to Carnegie Hall for this COC free noonhour 

concert featuring Dutilleux’s Ainsi la nuit and Schumann’s String Quartet No.1, 

Op.41 No.1. 

!! 

MAR 12, 12:10PM: U of T Faculty of Music presents the Calidore String Quartet (the 


Sarah Jeffrey 

James D. Stewart quartet-in-residence) celebrating their tenth anniversary with 

“Beethoven and the Fugue”, a free concert of Beethoven’s music in Walter Hall. 

!! 

MAR 13, 7:30PM; MAR 14 & 15, 8PM: Acclaimed Deutsche Grammophon recording 

artist, Sergei Babayan, known for his vast repertoire of 54 concerti, his two-piano 

partnership with Martha Argerich and his mentorship of Daniil Trifonov, joins the 

TSO and conductor Jader Bignamini for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s monumental 

Piano Concerto No.1. Bignamini, resident conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica la 

Verdi and music director designate of the Detroit Symphony, also leads the TSO in 

Ravel’s colourful orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. 

!! 

MAR 14, 7:30PM: TSO principal oboist, Sarah Jeffrey, joins Gemma New and 

the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra for Vaughan Williams’ pastoral Oboe 

Concerto. Elgar’s Serenade and Haydn’s “London” Symphony No.104 add to the 

British atmosphere. 

!! 

MAR 19, 8PM: Music Toronto presents the Pavel Haas Quartet, winners of six 

Gramophone Awards and known for their rapport and immersive approach, playing 

Martinu’s Quartet No.4, Bartók’s Quartet No.4 and Beethoven’s divine Quartet in B-flat 

Major, Op.130 and “Grosse Fuge” Op.133. 

!! 

MAR 22, 3:15PM: Andrew Wan, concertmaster of Orchestre symphonique 

de Montréal and a member of the New Orford String Quartet, teams up with his 

recording partner, pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin, silver medalist and laureate of 

the Krystian Zimerman prize at the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition, for 

three of Beethoven’s violin and piano sonatas: No.4 in A Minor, Op.23; No.10 in G Major, 

Op.96 “The Cockcrow”; and No.9 in A Major, Op.47 “Kreutzer”. Mooredale Concerts 

presents the duo at Walter Hall. 

!! 

MAR 26, 12:10PM: U of T Faculty of Music presents acclaimed pianist Dénes Várjon 

(this year’s Lorand Fenyves resident artist) in a free solo recital in Walter Hall. 

!! 

MAR 26, 7:30PM: Join conductor Gemma New and members of the Hamilton 

Philharmonic Orchestra for an unconventional, intimate, multi-sensory experience 

that integrates visual and multimedia arts in The Cotton Factory. Music is by 

Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Tse, Ryan, O’Callaghan and Palej. 

!! 

MAR 28, 7:30PM: The Academy Concert Series “Goin’ Fishing” is an inventive piece 

of programming with three works for piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass: Ka Nin 

Chan’s Salmon Quintet; Vaughan Williams’ Piano Quintet in C; and Schubert’s delightful 

“Trout” Quintet. Consummate chamber musician Phil Chiu is the pianist; Amanda 

Goodburn, violin; Emily Eng, viola; Kerri McGonigle, cello; Joseph Philips, bass. 

!! 

MAR 29, 3PM: Amici, and special guest, Yehonatan Berick, revisit the tradition of 

silent films with live music. Man Ray’s Emak-Bakia, Guy Maddin’s Heart of the World 

and Buster Keaton’s The Playhouse will be shown; music by Milhaud, Kradjian, Poulenc, 

Rota and Saint-Saëns. At the Isabel Bader Theatre. 

!! 

APR 1 & 2, 8PM; APR 4, 8PM; APR 5, 3PM: Piano wunderkind Jan Lisiecki, 

JAIME HOGGE 


Gramophone’s 2013 Young Artist of the Year, now 25, joins former TSO music director, 

Jukka-Pekka Saraste, in two programs featuring Beethoven’s much-loved Leonore 

Overture No.3 and his exultant Piano Concerto No.5 “Emperor”. On April 1 and 2, at 

Roy Thomson Hall, Schoenberg’s symphonic poem, Pelleas und Melisande, considered 

one of the “last gasps of Romanticism”, completes the concert. It’s replaced by 

Beethoven’s dramatic Piano Concerto No.3 on April 4, at RTH, and on April 5 at George 

Weston Recital Hall. 

!! 

APR 3, 7PM: Violinist Pamela Frank and pianist Emanuel Ax resume their productive 

musical partnership with this Koerner Hall recital comprised of two Mozart violin 

sonatas (K379 and K454) and Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No.10 in G Major, Op.96 

“The Cockcrow”. 

!! 

APR 3 & 4, 8PM: The youngest of the three musical sisters of the Skride family 

(Baiba’s impressive TSO debut in Brahms’ Violin Concerto four years ago still lingers in 

my memory), Lauma Skride, is the soloist with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and 

conductor Andrei Feher in Schumann’s masterful Piano Concerto. Brahms’ profound 

Symphony No.4 completes the program. 

!! 

APR 3, 8PM: Gifted cellist, Stéphane Tétrault, headlines Sinfonia Toronto’s Glenn 

Gould Studio concert in Schumann’s ravishing Cello Concerto. Conductor Nurhan 

Arman also leads his string orchestra in works by Bacewicz and Prokofiev. Grażyna 

Bacewicz (1909-1969) was a Polish composer and violinist, only the second Polish 

female composer to have achieved national and international recognition. According 

to Sinfonia Toronto’s program note, her Concerto for String Orchestra, composed 

in 1948, became one of her most frequently performed compositions. “This masterpiece 

of neoclassicism fascinates as much by its invention and virtuosic brilliance as 

its harmonious combination of formal elements of a traditional nature with new tonal 

ideas.” 

!! 

APR 5, 1PM: Vietnamese-Canadian pianist Dang Thai Son caught the world’s attention 

in October 1980, when he won the Tenth International Chopin Piano Competition 

in Warsaw, becoming the first Asian-born competitor to do so. Montreal-based, his 

teaching and coaching skills are in demand as is his concertizing worldwide. For this 

rare local appearance in Mazzoleni Hall, he performs works by Debussy and Chopin. 

Free tickets will be available from the RCM beginning March 30. 

Paul Ennis is the managing editor of The WholeNote. 

Music at Metropolitan presents 

REQUIEM AETERNAM GRANT US PEACE 

Timeless music for Good Friday 

Wolfgang A. Mozart 

Requiem, K. 626 

Gisele Kulak, soprano 

Valeria Kondrashov, alto 

Charles Davidson, tenor 

John Schneider, bass 

Metropolitan Festival Choir & Orchestra 

Dr. Patricia Wright, Conductor 

FRIDAY APRIL 10 

$30/$10 students 

416-363-0331 

metunited.ca 

RalphVaughn Williams 

Dona Nobis Pacem 

Chelsea Van Pelt, soprano 

Nicholas Higgs, baritone 

7:30 PM 

56 Queen St E, Toronto 

Beat by Beat | Early Music 

“Im Deutsch” 

Exploring Germanic 

Musical Identity 

MATTHEW WHITFIELD 

Over the last seven centuries, German-speaking artists have 

provided a powerful and innovative influence in almost 

every artistic discipline, from the region’s beginnings as a 

constellation of independently governed states to the present day, 

setting a standard for excellence in music, art, and architecture, and 

producing a roster of artists and artworks that are exemplars within 

their chosen fields. 

Consider, for example, these composers from what now constitutes 

a unified Germany: Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss 

and Schoenberg; each is a pivotal figure in the Western art music tradition, 

their music appearing countless times each year on concert 

programs throughout the world. Also consider these interpreters, 

conductors who have revolutionized the way we think of the batonwielding 

orchestral leader: Mendelssohn, von Bülow, Furtwängler and 

Klemperer. Their recordings are some of the best-selling of all time. 

Expand our lists of German-speakers to neighbouring Austria, and 

the list becomes even more astoundingly impressive: Mozart, Mahler, 

Karajan, Böhm, Kleiber …. 

Impressive as this “grocery list” rundown may be, the most significant 

point to be made is the extent to which these figures produced 

entire systems of creativity that permeated all of Europe. The concept 

of tonality, that hierarchy of tones and semitones that gives function 

to chords and directionality to progressions, is widely considered to 

have been codified in the works of J.S. Bach. Beethoven, Schumann 

and Brahms expanded the tonal vocabulary to create what we today 

call musical Romanticism, Mahler took this vocabulary to its breaking 

point and Schoenberg dissolved it altogether, establishing an organizing 

principle of these same tones and semitones that deliberately 

removed any and all reference to “tonality.” 

We see, then, just how important the German contribution was to 

the history of music. It can be stated, with a good deal of certainty and 

confidence, that art music as we know it today would be a different 

species altogether without German musical engagement. Amidst this 

pantheon of superlative performers and interpreters however, there 

are lesser figures, often no less interesting than their more renowned 

counterparts, and it is these secondary stories that we direct our 

attention to this month. 

400 Years of Rosenmüller 

Johann Rosenmüller, depending on who you ask, was either a 

composer or an anatomist famous for his discovery of the pharyngeal 

recess, known as the fossa of Rosenmüller. The two Rosenmüllers 

lived almost sequentially, the composer from 1619-1684 and the 

anatomist from 1771-1820, and they are certainly two distinct and 

unique people. Rosenmüller (from here onward we will assume 

the composer) was born in Oelsnitz, near Plauen, studied at the 

University of Leipzig, and served as organist of the Nikolaikirche 

Leipzig from 1651 to 1655. In 1655, Rosenmüller was involved in a 

scandal involving alleged homosexual activities and fled to Italy to 

avoid prosecution and prison, eventually gaining employment at 

St. Mark’s in Venice and teaching at an orphanage for girls. In his last 

years, Rosenmüller returned to Germany with Duke Anton-Ulrich of 

Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, at whose court he served as choir master. 

This return to Germany is significant, for with him Rosenmüller 

brought the influence of Legrenzi and Corelli, two Italian masters with 

whose style Rosenmüller became familiar and eventually adapted in 


his own compositions. 

Heinrich Schütz is often 

credited with singlehandedly 

bringing the 

Italian style to Germany 

and continuing its evolution 

from the Renaissance 

into the early Baroque, 

but we see through 

this brief biography of 

Rosenmüller that he too 

brought southern stylistic 

influences north at 

approximately the same 

time as Schütz. 

Many of Rosenmüller’s 

published instrumental 

works are dance suites, 

including Paduanen 

(1645), Studenten-Music 

(1654) and the Sonate 

da camera (1667). His 

vocal music, nearly all 

of it sacred, includes 

two published collections 

of small sacred 

Lucas Harris, artistic director, 

Toronto Chamber Choir 

concertos, and it is this sacred vocal music that the Toronto Chamber 

Choir presents in their “Rosenmüller@400” concert on March 14. 

Featuring the Missa Brevis, Siehe an die Wercke Gottes, Ad dominum 

cum tribularer and the Magnificat in B-flat à 10, this concert will 

provide a comprehensive overview of Rosemüller’s style and is ideal 

for anyone who enjoys the music of Schütz, Buxtehude and their pre- 

Bach contemporaries. 

Telemann’s Fantasies 

Georg Philipp Telemann was enormously prolific, writing over 

3,000 works, and was one of the most celebrated composers of his 

time before falling into relative obscurity. A contemporary of Bach, 

Telemann’s professional life coincided with Bach’s, and they were 

well acquainted on a personal level. Telemann, for example, was first 

offered the position of cantor at the Thomaskirche, and Bach only 

received his fateful offer after Telemann (and one other applicant) 

turned down the post. Carl Philipp Emannuel Bach was Telemann’s 

godson and Bach bought and studied a number of Telemann’s 

compositions. 

All this changed in the early 19th century, when Telemann’s popularity 

abruptly ceased. Considered a Vielschreiber, a writer for whom 

quantity came before quality, Telemann’s works were judged as 

inferior to Bach’s and lacking in deep religious feeling. For example, 

by 1911, the Encyclopedia Britannica lacked an article about 

Telemann, and in one of its few mentions of him referred to “the vastly 

inferior work of lesser composers such as Telemann” in comparison to 

Handel and Bach. The revival of interest in Telemann began in the first 

decades of the 20th century and culminated in the Bärenreiter critical 

edition of the 1950s; his music has since been performed regularly. 

On March 21, at St. Barnabas Anglican Church, on the Danforth, 

Valerie Gordon and a cohort of violinists (including, among others, 

Patricia Ahern, Kailey Richards, Michelle Odorico and Rezan Onen- 

Lapointe) perform Telemann’s 12 fantasias for solo violin, an opportunity 

to hear rarely performed music by this relatively recently 

discovered mastermind. Published in Hamburg in 1735, these fantasias 

comprise one set of Telemann’s collections of music for unaccompanied 

instruments, with other volumes for flute, harpsichord and 

viola da gamba. For modern audiences familiar with the contrapuntal 

density of Bach and the rhythmic vitality of Handel, Telemann’s music 

might seem rather simple and transparent – but do not be fooled. 

Hiding within Telemann’s massive oeuvre are works of remarkable 

2019-2020: The Fellowship of Early Music 

Great seats start at only $29! 

416-964-6337 | TorontoConsort.org 

CROSSING 

COUNTRYSIDE 

Hebreo: 

the and ROSSI’S CHANNEL 

COURT MANTUA 

with OCTOBER Guest guest 

25 Director vocal ensemble, 

& 26 at Scott 8pmMetcalfe 

Profeti della Quinta 

MARCH Artistic JANUARY Direction 6 31 & 7 & at by FEBRUARY 8pm Katherine Hill, 1 at with 8pmEmilyn Stam 

TRINITY-ST. 

TRINITY-ST. 

PAUL’S 

PAUL’S 

CENTRE, 

CENTRE, 

427 

427 

BLOOR 

BLOOR 

ST. 

ST. 

WEST 

WEST 

Whether enjoyed in refined 16th-century courts or in 

The 

Join 

today’s contenance 

celebrated 

traditional angloise: 

vocal ensemble, 

music fashionable 

Profeti 

scene, the undeniable harmonies 

della Quinta 

appeal from 

the 

for 

of French dissonant 

an unforgettable 

music courts has endured of 

evening 

England, 

of 

through France 

madrigals 

the centuries! and Burgundy. 

and other 

Blue 

works 

We kick Heron’s 

by 17th-century 

off the Scott season Metcalfe, 

Mantua’s 

whirling guest 

famed 

and twirling directs 

Jewish 

a 

composer 

through 

program 

the 

exploring 

Salamone Rossi, featuring 

works for five 

popular 

male 

“voix 

the marvellous 

voices, 

de ville” 

theorbo, 

songs 

15th century music of John Dunstaple, 

and exquisite harpsichord. courtly Come music of Claude Le 

Du Fay, and contemporaries, for voices, 

experience Jeune and his the contemporaries, tonal beauty combined 

recorders, percussion, fiddle and 

and 

harp. 

authentic 

with magic of guest traditional fiddler 


Georg Philipp Telemann 

Valerie Gordon 

beauty and this comprehensive performance is ideal for anyone 

looking to become more familiar with his delightful music. 

Bach’s St. John Passion 

Last year, Tafemusik collaborated with conductor Masaaki Suzuki, 

founding director of the Bach Collegium Japan, to present an extraordinary 

performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. This year, from 

March 26 to 29, Ivars Taurins leads the Tafelmusik choir and orchestra 

through the St. John Passion, a work that, although smaller in scale 

than its massive counterpart, is no less satisfying in its profundity and 

reflection of Bach’s genius. 

Written during Bach’s first year as director of church music in 

Leipzig, the St. John Passion was first performed on April 7, 1724, at 

Good Friday Vespers at the St. Nicholas Church. The structure of the 

work falls in two halves, intended to flank a sermon, and compiled 

from recitatives and choruses narrating the Passion of Christ as told 

in the Gospel of John, ariosos and arias reflecting on the action, and 

chorales using hymn tunes and texts familiar to a congregation of 

Bach’s contemporaries. 

This music is sublime from beginning to end and is an ideal introduction 

to Bach’s vocal writing, for in the St. John Passion is found 

a comprehensive overview of every characteristic feature which we 

associate with the master, from earth-shaking choruses to tender 

and intimate reflections on the pain and suffering commemorated on 

Good Friday. This concert is highly recommended and will undoubtedly 

sell out, so plan ahead and book your tickets well in advance. 

Is there a characteristic German sound, a way to determine the 

linguistic underpinnings of a piece of music through its compositional 

components? Such a question may be ultimately unanswerable, 

grasping at the intangible, but the existence of an unbroken tradition, 

passed on and evolving through subsequent generations, is undeniable. 

For where would the musical world as we know it be without 

Bach? And where would Bach and Telemann be without Schütz and 

Rosenmüller? This month Toronto’s audiences have a fine opportunity 

to explore these early days of German musical culture which, as 

the world celebrates Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, has even greater 

potency as the idea of Germanic genius fills concert halls throughout 

the world. But don’t take my word for it… listen for yourselves! 

EARLY MUSIC QUICK PICKS 

!! 

MAR 7, 7:30PM: Music at Metropolitan. “Sprezzatura! Music of the Forgotten 

Galant.” Metropolitan United Church (Toronto), 56 Queen Street East. The galant was 

an 18th-century phenomenon, characterized by a return to simplicity and immediateness 

of appeal after the complexity of the late Baroque era. This concert explores 

Italianate works by Galuppi, Scarlatti, Leo, and Handel, and provides a worthwhile look 

into the post-Bach musical landscape. 

!! 

MAR 21, 1PM: Royal Canadian College of Organists Toronto. “6th Annual Bach Walk”. 

Celebrate Bach’s 335th birthday with this year’s Bach Walk. Featuring three organists 

at three different venues, this annual event is ideal for fans of Bach’s astonishing organ 

music. With both solo and ensemble repertoire, there will be something for everyone. 

Best of all, all three events are free, with birthday cake after the last recital! 

!! 

APR 6, 8PM: Confluence Concerts/St. Thomas’s Anglican Church. “Baroque Music 

by Candelight.” St. Thomas’s Anglican Church (Toronto), 383 Huron Street. Featuring 

the music of Handel, Telemann and Bach, this concert was made for this month’s 

column. Explore works from the German Baroque and see for yourself if cultural identity 

can be expressed through sound. 

Matthew Whitfield is a Toronto-based harpsichordist and organist. 

David Bowser, Artistic Director and Conductor 

Trumpet Concerto in D major 

Leopold Mozart 

Andrew McCandless, trumpet 

Church of the Redeemer 

162 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON 

mozartproject.ca 

Requiem, K 626 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 

Soloists from the 2020 Toronto 

Mozart Vocal Competition 

Toronto Mozart Players 

Pax Christi Chamber Choir 


“The sound filled the church… What glorious sounds! 

DAVE RICHARDS, TORONTO CONCERT REVIEWS 

SACRED MUSIC 

FOR A SACRED SPACE 

TMC photo: Brian Summers 

GREGORY BATSLEER GUEST CONDUCTOR 

Take a moment for contemplation in the midst of our 

hectic urban lives. Enjoy the soaring beauty of English 

motets from the 16 th century by Thomas Tallis and 

William Byrd up to contemporary atmospheric works 

by John Tavener, James MacMillan and Eric Whitacre. 

All in the beautiful setting of St. Anne’s Church. 

The Choir will be under the baton of Gregory Batsleer, 

chorus director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. 

Wednesday, April 8 and Good Friday, April 10 

7:30 pm St. Anne’s Church 270 Gladstone Ave. 

$35 to $60, with $20 VoxTix for patrons 30 and under. 

Call 416-408-0208 or go to www.tmchoir.org 

Gregory Batsleer 

PASSIONTIDE & HOLY WEEK AT YORKMINSTER PARK BAPTIST CHURCH 

PASSIONTIDE DEVOTION 

SUNDAY, APRIL 5TH 4:30 PM 

Music for Passiontide and Holy Week by Willan, Vierne, Purcell and Allegri 

The Choir of Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, William Maddox, Organist and Director of Music, 

Christel Wiens, Associate Musician. 

IONA LITURGY 

HOLY TUESDAY, APRIL 7TH 7:00 PM 

Iona based liturgy with the musicians of Iona Passage 

Meditation - Visio Divina with the St. John’s Bible - the first hand written Bible illumined 

with art and calligraphy in over 500 years. 

Yorkminster Park 

Baptist Church 

FREEWILL OFFERING, ALL WELCOME 

1585 Yonge Street | 416-922-1167 | yorkminsterpark.com 


St. Michael’s Concerts 

presents 

Mozart 

Requiem 

Thursday, March 12 | 7:00 p.m. 

St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica 

65 Bond Street, Toronto 

St. Michael’s Choir School Schola Cantorum 

Schola Cantorum Orchestra 

Guest Soloists 

Teri Dunn – Soprano 

Krisztina Szabó – Mezzo-Soprano 

Michael Colvin – Tenor 

Robert Pomakov – Bass 

Conductor 

S. Bryan Priddy 

Freewill offering only. 

For more information visit: 

www.stmichaelscathedral.com/concerts 

Beat by Beat | Choral Scene 

Graduation With 

High Honours in Song 

BRIAN CHANG 

The end of March and beginning of April mark a special time for 

anyone in the post-secondary education sector. The term comes 

to a close, the academic school year settles into its final exams, 

papers, and for music students – final concerts. This month we’re 

exploring the end-of-term concerts at Western University, University 

of Toronto (my alma mater), and York University. 

University of Toronto is lucky in its breadth of ensembles and 

guests. The program is also very large with four major choral 

ensembles and over 200 students across the various ensembles. As 

conductors Mark Ramsay, Elaine Choi, Lori-Anne Dolloff, and David 

Fallis share, this work begins the previous year before the students 

even start classes. 

It’s a delicate balance to program works that are familiar while challenging; 

pedagogical, but fun. Not all the music needs to be new, because as 

Ramsay shares, “Working with a new conductor and/or singing with new 

colleagues can bring a fresh perspective to a familiar work. Singers also 

sometimes note [by revisiting familiar works] that their own skills have 

improved. Elements such as break management, vowel unification and 

dynamic control that were challenging the first time, may now be easier.” 

But they note, “It’s important to have some challenging music late in the 

season to keep a goal to strive for.” The MacMillan singers, under David 

Fallis also have the pleasure of singing a composition written by one of 

their own, Katharine Petkovski’s The Angels. 

For many singers, some songs they are singing may be familiar, 

some may not. John Holland at York University’s music program notes 

that he strives to “work towards finding a mix between unique music 

and music that will challenge the singers to raise their level of musicality.” 

It can’t just be all choral masterworks or the most popular 

music out there. The challenge is part of the work, and for Holland, 

“keeping choral students interested and excited, first and foremost, 

comes from the repertoire.” Holland’s approach is to create a 

welcoming and productive atmosphere that helps set the stage for 

a positive musical experience. “The students learn that they will be 

treated as professionals and are also held accountable for their work 

outside of the rehearsals, and that has helped foster a choral program 

that has produced many first-class choral musicians.” 

The Value of Music Education 

“Choir provides our students with crucial opportunities to explore 

and develop their professional musical selves,” shares Patrick Murray 

about the choral faculty at the Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western 

University. I asked him about the importance of setting students up for 

success as they graduate. “Be that through solo singing opportunities, 

furthering their ensemble skills, mentoring younger singers, leadership 

roles producing concerts and social events, or opportunities to 

connect with the community through concerts off-campus and on 

regional tours, ensemble singing sets our singers up to value their own 

musicianship and the role they want to serve in the community in 

their future careers.” 

Many of them will go on to sing in choirs for years to come, lead 

ensembles of their own and teach a new generation of musicians. 

(Murray’s colleague, Gloria Gassi, was my one of my high school 

music teachers.) 

The impact of solid music education is essential to a vibrant cultural 

landscape that enhances and vitalizes our communities. Murray 

continues, “It’s important that a musical education develop students’ 

critical thinking skills to question the canon, value works by living 

composers and other musical traditions, and think about what they 

will teach their own future students.” 


DON WRIGHT FACULTY OF MUSIC 

Patrick Murray, Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University 

The Bittersweet End 

These concerts do mark a graduating point for some of the students. 

It’s hard not to feel a little sad at the end of the endeavour. “With the 

second semester concerts, there is that terminal thought – that ‘This 

may be the last time we all sing together,’ shares Holland. “Especially 

for graduating students, the second semester concerts have a very 

powerful energy.” 

This is a common sentiment, shared by Patrick Murray at Western. 

“There’s always an energy of accomplishment after this concert. Each 

choir performs harder music and has grown in their sound and skill 

as an ensemble. It’s also always a bittersweet moment as we wish our 

graduating singers goodbye and they sing their final concert with us.” 

Some of these singers have sung together for four years, developing 

and challenging themselves as they’ve grown not only academically, 

but personally and professionally. 

Mark Ramsay agrees: “It is always exciting to experience the growth 

throughout the semester. Singers are performing with greater confidence 

and comfort. Each concert throughout the year showcases a 

new level of skill and refinement.” 

“The number one thing that I would want choral students to take 

with them is the concept of musical professionalism and all that 

entails” John Holland concludes. “The ideas of preparedness, accuracy, 

courtesy, pride, camaraderie, artistry and a high level of performance, 

are all part of being a professional musician. This can be challenging 

due to the high expectations of performance, so leaving an undergraduate 

music program with a strong skill set, understanding of 

repertoire and styles, and a high level of professionalism helps singers 

leapfrog their competition when it comes to audition time.” 

In the end, as Mark Ramsay says, it’s about “a love of ensemble 

singing and a desire to continue singing for as long as [one] wishes 

throughout their life.” 

Graduation isn’t just the end, it’s also the start. Catch these new 

beginnings at the end of March. 

March 22, 3pm: The York University Concert Choir concludes 

its season with Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart’s Te Deum, and Dvořák’s 

Psalm 149. Conductor John Holland describes this program as “the 

blending of the popular classics with unique works … something 

not to be missed, and the fine singing of the students will make you 

realize what a hidden gem the York choral program is.” (And it’s 

just across the street from the York University subway stop!) Tribute 

Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East, York University. 

March 27, 7:30pm: The might of the Western University Don Wright 

Faculty of Music choral program combines for “United We Stand” 

under the batons of Gloria Gassi, Patrick Murray and Kathleen Allan. 

The end of the university school year concert features the four UWO 

choirs separately and en masse: The Chorale, Les Choristes, St. Cecilia 

Singers and the Western University Singers. On the program are the 

men in James Erb’s classic arrangement of Shenandoah and 200 

singers performing the Sanctus from Duruflé’s Requiem, and the 

Hallelujah from Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives. St. Peter’s 

Cathedral Basilica, London, which conductor Patrick Murray calls 

TENEBRAE 

MOSAIC 

Canadian Vocal Ensemble 

and members of 

St. Michael's Choir 

School Alumni 

Soloists 

Soprano: Emily Canning, 

Cellist: Samuel Bisson 

Tuesday March 24 

7:30 pm 

St. Patrick Catholic Church 

921 Flagship Dr, Mississauga 

Pastor: Fr. John Facey 

and 


7:30 pm 

St. Leo Catholic Church 

277 Royal York Road, Etobicoke 

Pastor: Rev. Fr. Frank Carpinelli 

These are solemn liturgical 

services, open to all, FREE to all. 

However a free-will donation will 

be gratefully accepted. 

Founder, Artistic Director 

and Conductor 

Gordon D. Mansell 

For further information, call/text: 

416-571-3680 or email: 

gdmansell@sympatico.ca 


LISA SAKULENSKY 

“one of the finest acoustics in southwestern 

Ontario.” 

March 29, 2:30pm: With the 

largest choral program in Toronto, 

the University of Toronto Faculty 

of Music Choirs combine for their 

term finale, “Wake Into Voice.” The 

Tenor/Bass Choir will be led by 

Mark Ramsay. Elaine Choi leads the 

Soprano/Alto Chorus featuring 

我身騎白馬 I Ride a White Horse 

by 高竹嵐 Gao Zhu-Lan and I Arise 

Today by local composing powerhouse, 

Matthew Emery. David Fallis 

leads the MacMillan Singers with 

Britten’s Hymn to Saint Cecilia, and 

a composition by one of their own 

singers, Katharine Petkovki’s The 

Angels. Lori-Anne Dolloff rounds 

out the quartet of conductors with 

a smaller set of the sopranos and 

altos in a treble chorus. MacMillan 

Theatre, Faculty of Music, University 

of Toronto. 

University of Toronto MacMillan Singers 

CHORAL SCENE QUICK PICKS 

There is a robust selection of fantastic choral programs across the 

region (many of them, doubtless, featuring alumni of university choral 

programs). There’s absolutely no excuse for not catching some of these 

performances in the next month and a bit. Let me know what you 

think and how you felt about the experience. 

!! 

MAR 7, 7:30PM: Grace Church on-the-Hill, Toronto. MAR 14, 7PM: Royal View 

Church, London. The Canadian Celtic Choir, based in London, Ontario makes a visit to 

Toronto with guests Anne Lindsay on fiddle and Sharlene Wallace on harp. A slightly 

different lineup joins the program for the London performance, including Dan Stacey 

on fiddle and Kyle Waymouth on guitar, both with step dance. 

!! 

MAR 7, 8PM: St John the Evangelist Anglican Church, Kitchener. MAR 8, 3PM: 

Trillium Lutheran Church, Waterloo. DaCapo Chamber Choir presents “Life and 

Love and Wings.” The signature piece of the evening is a new commission by friends 

in memory of Margaret Janzen. From a Distant Star. composed by Jeff Enns and 

featuring mezzo-soprano Jennifer Enns-Modolo. 

Saturday, March 28th, 4:00pm 

Grace United Church, Niagara-on-the-Lake 

Sunday, March 29th, 4:00pm 

Basilica of Our Lady, Guelph 

Saturday, April 4th, 4:00pm 

St. John’s Latvian 

Lutheran Church, Toronto 

DaCapo Chamber Choir 

!! 

MAR 26 TO MAR 28, 8PM; MAR 29, 3:30PM: Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra 

and Chamber Choir take on one of the greatest choral masterworks, the Bach St 

John Passion. Check out my colleague Matthew Whitfield’s Early Music column for a 

preview. Koerner Hall. 

!! 

MAR 27, 8PM; MAR 28, 2:30PM & 8PM: The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony 

presents “The Magical World of Harry Potter.” This bit of magic will include action on 

stage from the Carousel Dance Company. And to bring that extra bit of whimsy, the 

Grand Philharmonic Youth Choir are along to bring all the magic of the Wonderful 

Wizarding World of Harry Potter alive. Centre in the Square, Kitchener. 

!! 

MAR 28, 7:30PM: The Guelph Chamber Choir presents John Rutter’s Requiem. The 

first part of the program includes Katerina Gimon’s beneath/sound, which conductor 

Charlene Pauls describes as “an homage to nature and earth – a theme that is particularly 

important in our current climate [crisis]. Orpheus Choir of Toronto commissioned 

the work for a concert last year featuring all female composers.” Pauls is 

happy to program the composition, giving the work a chance to be heard again after 

its commission in 2019. River Run Centre, Guelph. 

!! 

APR 4, 7:30PM: The Etobicoke Centennial Choir takes on a beautiful task with Luigi 

Cherubini’s Requiem Mass in C Minor, known for its beauty and its beloved stature. 

Played at Beethoven’s funeral at his personal request, the Requiem Mass continues to 

be a well-loved staple of refined choral connoisseurs. Humber Valley United Church. 

Follow Brian on Twitter @bfchang 

Send info/media/tips to choralscene@thewholenote.com. 


Beat by Beat | Music Theatre 

Newness Anchored 

In Passion and Experience 

JENNY PARR 

In Act Two of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, 

Dot sings to George: “Move on! Anything you do let it come from 

you, then it will be new.” This double idea, of continually trying 

new things but anchoring them in personal experience or passion, 

was at the heart of three of my music theatre highlights of February, 

and promises to be so for three of the shows coming up in March. 

Caroline or Change, presented at the Winter Garden Theatre by The 

Musical Stage Company and Obsidian Theatre Company is anchored 

in Tony Kushner’s semi-autobiographical book and this powerful 

production amped up the electricity by casting as Caroline, R & B 

Queen Jully Black, who, in her musical theatre debut, gave a performance 

of great passion and integrity. Tapestry New Opera’s Jacqueline, 

a fascinating journey into the internal thoughts of virtuoso cellist 

Jacqueline du Pré as her career and 

life were both being tragically cut 

short by MS, was an exciting risktaking 

experiment in storytelling, 

inspired by personal connections 

to the artist and envisioned 

as a duet for soprano and cello. 

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton 

finally arrived in Toronto, showing 

us why it has been acclaimed as 

the “reinvention of the American 

musical,” a thrilling example of 

unexpected medium (hip-hop 

and diverse casting) melding 

with inspiring message (surprisingly 

interesting biography of 

lesser-known American founding 

father Alexander Hamilton) to 

create a truly satisfying evening of 

music theatre. 

As March approaches, three more 

exciting productions, all wildly 

different, are blending personal 

passion and innovation to share 

with us both new and familiar 

stories in new ways designed to 

give them more immediacy and/or 

urgency in the telling. 

Sondheim’s Sunday 

Eclipse Theatre Company (ETC) is presenting Sunday in the Park 

with George in part as a celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s 90th 

birthday year, but even more as an investigation, through the use of 

an unusual setting and experimental production elements, of the 

musical’s own interrogation of the artistic process and the toll it can 

take on an artist’s personal life. Inspired by French pointillist painter 

Georges Seurat’s painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La 

Grande Jatte, the plot revolves around George (a fictionalized version 

of Seurat) and his life with mistress and model Dot as he begins to 

create his masterpiece; it then segues in the second act to the present 

time when George’s great grandson, also an artist, finds himself at an 

artistic crossroads. Just as ETC found an ideal setting in Toronto’s old 

Don Jail for last year’s site-responsive production of Kiss of the Spider 

Woman, so they have chosen Toronto’s The Jam Factory for Sunday in 

the Park. I reached out to director Evan Tsitsias to find out more about 

this choice as well as his experimental approach to staging the show. 

He explained: 

“I chose The Jam Factory because it offers incredible atmosphere for 

this particular time period and piece. It has a magical aura when you 

walk inside; it reminded me of both an artist’s studio, and, because 

of the expanse of the large room with all these wood beams, it had 

an outdoor quality as well, which felt like the perfect combination to 

Evan Buliung (left) and Tess Benger in Sunday in the Park with George 

A fresh take on the music of George and Ira Gershwin through the 

prism of an eclectic collection of artists and new arrangements. 

S’WONDERFUL 

Featuring Jackie Richardson, Billy Newton-Davis, 

Sarah Slean, Rob Piltch and Andrew Burashko. 

APRIL 2, 3, & 4 AT 8PM 

HARBOURFRONT CENTRE THEATRE 

Tickets $25 -$64 416.973.4000 artoftimeensemble.com 


ZORAN JELENIC 

Les Ballets Trocadero de Monte Carlo 

tell this story. On top of that, the show takes place during the second 

industrial revolution when things were changing so rapidly in Paris, 

and The Jam Factory was built during that exact same time period, 

which I think is rare to find in Toronto. It was the perfect alchemy of 

space and show. We’ve also decided to stage it in an alleyway formation 

which will put the audience as close to the action as possible, 

hopefully making them feel like they are part of this community of 

people they are watching in this park.” 

Along the way, Tsitsias has added another immersive and unusual 

element to the production that he hopes will bring the audience 

even more into the world of George and Dot, by recruiting artist, Lori 

Mirabelli, “who will be painting her own experience of the show each 

night on canvases around the space. Each night will be different.” This 

will be a fully staged concert production allowing the company “to 

strip down to the essentials as far as costumes, set and lighting goes, 

using this incredible space as another character in the story, and really 

honing in on the words and music.” 

Sunday in the Park with George plays at The Jam Factory 

from March 3 to 8, starring Evan Buliung as George, Tess 

Benger as Dot, and featuring Charlotte Moore as the Old 

Lady and Tracey Michailidis as Yvonne. 

“The Trocks” Affectionate Parody 

The beautiful Winter Garden Theatre will be visited on 

March 7 and 8 by the iconoclastic dance company Les 

Ballets Trocadero de Monte Carlo with their famous blend 

of technical virtuosity and expert comic timing. “The 

Trocks,” as they are affectionately known, enable audiences 

to see classical ballet with new eyes through their 

lovingly comedic take on the foibles, accidents and underlying 

incongruities of serious dance enhanced by the – at 

first startling – fact that men dance all the parts, bodies 

delicately balancing on pointe in the roles of swans, 

sylphs and princesses. There is a delicate balance in the 

company’s performances between excellent technique and 

a tongue-in-cheek awareness of parody that delights both 

connoisseurs of classical ballet and new fans alike. 

The Toronto program for each performance will include 

the company’s signature short version of Swan Lake, the 

Balanchine parody Go for Barocco, and Dying Swan (The 

Swan) which, in a Toronto-exclusive performance, will 

be danced by Toronto native, and former Trocks member 

Brooke Lynn Hytes known most recently for being the star 

runner-up contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2019. 

Ten Choirs bear witness to The Events 

At Streetcar Crowsnest, Necessary Angel 

Theatre Company is producing the 

Toronto premiere of Scottish playwright 

David Greig’s The Events, a much-darker 

themed show than the two shows above, 

but with a message of hope conveyed 

not only in the script but in the unique, 

innovative, shape and format of the 

production. 

Described by The Independent newspaper 

as “one of the decade’s most 

incendiary and important works”, the play 

began as a response to the horrific 2011 

killing of 69 people at a summer camp in 

Utøya, Norway. Set in Scotland, The Events 

tells the fictional story of Claire – a righton, 

left-wing female priest who leads a 

community choir – who one day experiences 

something terrible: a young man 

she vaguely knew turns a gun on those 

who “aren’t from here” in an attempt to 

make his mark on society. The play is not a 

documentary telling of this terrible event, 

rather, it follows Claire’s attempt to understand 

how someone could do such an awful thing, and how this leads 

her on a path to self-destruction. 

Originally commissioned by Scotland’s Actors Touring Company, 

the cast is small: one actor (Raven Dauda) plays Claire, a second 

(Kevin Walker) plays the Boy (the attacker) but also five other characters 

in her memory, as Claire tries to makes sense of what she has 

experienced. At the heart of the play is an exploration of how the 

community as a whole reacts and tries to move on and – in an innovative 

stroke – the community is played by a choir, ideally a different 

community choir for each performance. Fascinated by this, I reached 

out to director Alan Dilworth to find out more about the choir’s role in 

the play and the practicalities of recruitment and rehearsal. 

“The choirs are the heart and soul of the production – they are a 

powerful healing and humanizing force. They are hope and light in 

the aftermath of the tragic targeting of a community choir in the 

narrative of the play. Like a Greek chorus, they also bear witness to, 

are affected by, and comment on the journey of Claire, the protagonist 

Alan Dilworth 


of The Events. The choirs themselves, their performance of Irish 

composer John Browne’s compositions, and their function in the play, 

are all absolutely breathtaking. You have to witness it for yourself.” 

Ten different community choirs will be participating in the production 

after Dilworth reached out to over 140 community choirs in the 

Southern Ontario region. He says: “I felt like I had discovered a whole 

new world. There are so many choirs doing brilliant work. I want to 

join a choir!” 

Having ten different choirs as part of the production means discovering 

or inventing a show-specific preparation and rehearsal process. 

After consulting with a number of other theatre companies who 

had worked with community choirs, Dilworth said the company 

“developed a simple but effective series of guidelines for the choirs 

to learn the music with the guidance of their choir directors, and to 

gather for two brief, but very focused rehearsals before their performance. 

All of the choirs have had the script shared with them, but 

none have seen the play performed – although they have rehearsed 

the music and the cueing of their music. Like the audience, they will 

experience the entire performance of the play live as they perform!” 

With a choir at the heart of the story, the music they will sing is 

clearly important. In Dilworth’s words: “The music composition by 

John Browne is very moving, at times playful, at times funny, and 

always taking us to the beating heart of this stunning play. Each 

performance begins with a choir singing a song of their own choice. 

We asked the choirs to choose a song that they thought would best 

represent them as a choir, and that they thought would be a good 

launching point for the play. It has been very inspiring. I cannot wait 

to share The Events with Toronto audiences” 

The Events plays March 1 to 15 at the Guloien Theatre, Streetcar 

Crowsnest. crowstheatre.com. 

MUSIC THEATRE QUICK PICKS 

!! 

FEB 28, 29; MAR 4 TO 7: Hart House Theatre. Oh, What A Lovely War! Written by 

Ted Allan, Charles Chilton, Joan Littlewood and Gerry Raffles. Hart House Theatre. An 

updated take on Joan Littlewood’s famous classic about the Great War via a setting in 

the contemporary world of gaming, directed by Autumn Smith. 

ADRIANA 

LECOUVREUR 

By Francesco Cilea 

In Italian with English Surtitles 

April 5, 2020 | 2:30 pm 

FEATURING 

Sally 

Dibblee 

Rómulo 

Delgado 

Geneviève 

Lévesque 

Sandra Horst 

!! 

MAR 12 TO 15: University of Toronto Faculty of Music. Mansfield Park. Music by 

Jonathan Dove, libretto by Alasdair Middleton. MacMillan Theatre. The Canadian 

premiere of this Jane Austen-inspired chamber opera directed by Tim Albery. Sandra 

Horst conducts. 

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 DIRECTOR AND PIANIST: Narmina Afandiyeva 

CHORUS DIRECTOR: Robert Cooper 

416-366-7723 | 1-800-708-6754 | STLC.COM 

ST LAWRENCE CENTRE FOR THE ARTS 

27 FRONT ST E, TORONTO 

TICKETS $50 / $38 / $20 


Beat by Beat | Jazz Notes 

Notes Toward a 

Definition of Jazz 

Part One: The Forest and the Trees 

STEVE WALLACE 

It seems the longer I’m involved with jazz, the less I understand it. 

I’ve been immersed in it now for nearly 50 years in many ways – 

studying it, playing it, reading about it, collecting records, listening 

to it, and more recently writing about it and teaching it – and yet 

at times I feel I know less and less about it and would be hardpressed 

to offer a succinct definition of its essence. If it even has an 

essence anymore. 

Part of it is the truth of that old saw: the more you learn about a 

subject, the less you know about it, or so it seems. As knowledge of 

jazz expands, so do the boundaries; the forest keeps getting bigger to 

the point where you can’t see it for the trees. 

Perhaps this is as it should be, because jazz is not a simple music, 

though often at its best it seems so. But it’s quite complex, and part 

of the problem in trying to get a fix on what jazz actually is, is that it 

never stands still. It’s constantly shifting and expanding, taking on 

new influences while also exerting an effect on other types of music. 

Like many things in the digital age, this cross-pollination process has 

sped up in recent years, leading to a bewildering array of hybrids, 

which I call “hyphen-jazz”: Acid-jazz, smooth-jazz, jazz-rock, vocaljazz, 

Latin-jazz and so on, seemingly ad infinitum. Well, okay, these 

are contrived terms to describe narrow sub-genres of varying validity, 

but increasingly I hear people asking – and often ask myself – “Well, 

yeah, but what about ‘jazz-jazz’”? Does that exist anymore, and if so, 

then what the heck is it? 

A further complication, as always, is 

the timeline, on various levels. Firstly, 

jazz, being a largely improvised and spontaneous 

music, has always had an ephemeral, 

in-the-moment present. Unless it’s 

recorded, a jazz performance takes place 

in real time and then evaporates into thin 

air like vapour. This is one of the charms 

of the music, but also a source of frustration 

because this evanescence makes 

analysis, and thus understanding, difficult. 

But jazz is over 100 years old now 

and thanks to various forms of documentation 

– thousands of recordings, many 

films, books, publications and the like – 

it has a palpable history, an appreciable 

backlog of tradition and evolution, a past. 

Thanks to the internet, all kinds of information 

about jazz history is more readily 

available than ever before. Simply by 

sitting at a computer, one now has access 

to thousands of recordings and videos of 

live performances; to articles and reviews 

about the music; to solo transcriptions 

and sheet music; and to biographical 

information about key contributors and 

how they changed the music. There’s no 

longer any excuse for what music educators 

call “jazz ignorance.” 

But at the same time, the very nature of 

the internet, and the sheer vastness of the information it contains, has 

created a generation of (mostly) younger people with shorter attention 

spans than ever before, and with less curiosity about (and perhaps less 

appreciation for the importance of) history and the past. This will be 

a familiar refrain to others more or less my age, but I’m often stunned 

by what young jazz students – a largely hard-working, bright, talented 

and sincere group – don’t know about its history, and how few records 

some of them have listened to. There are exceptions, but some of them 

are completely unaware of Zoot Sims or Roy Eldridge or Ben Webster, 

never mind more distant figures like Sidney Bechet or Rex Stewart. 

On the other hand, they are much more up on contemporary figures 

and goings-on in the music than I am; I’m forever learning about new 

players and records from them, for which I’m grateful. This brings us 

to another wrinkle in the jazz timeline: an individual’s age and the 

effects the aging process can have on the perception of what jazz is. 

For example, I’m 63 and it’s a fact that more of my life is behind 

me than ahead; I have much more past than future. Throw in that I 

happen to have an extremely historical bent of mind and it’s small 

wonder that a lot of my ideas about what jazz is are rooted in its past, 

its history and traditions, and that I struggle to keep up with the 

present. Whereas many of my students and other younger players 

have their finger on the pulse of now, with little sense of the past or 

concern for history. 

This generational disconnect is what makes teaching challenging, 

but also rewarding. I get to inform young players about elements 

of the music’s history and then hear how they use these in their 

own, contemporary-minded ways. While being around young 

players sometimes makes me feel out of touch, it also makes me 

realize the value of my past experience and knowledge. These people 

want to learn from what older experienced players know and, if 

anything, being around them makes me feel less out of touch and 

more convinced than ever of the continuum of jazz, the connection 

between its past and its present. So in trying to come up with a definition, 

I want it to reflect not just the past or what I think jazz ought to 

continue to be, or what “good jazz” is, but also to be inclusive of how 

it’s changed and what it is now. 

All of these factors and others make defining jazz a daunting task, 

perhaps even a useless and unnecessary one. After all, Duke Ellington 

Duke Ellington Orchestra 


hated the word jazz, found it too limiting. 

He said there were only two kinds of music, 

good and bad, and it was up to each individual 

to decide for themselves which is 

which. Certainly there’s a lot of good music 

that isn’t jazz, but at the same time jazz has 

certain special qualities that are unique to 

it and separate it from other types of music. 

It’s not a “style,” it contains many styles. 

And it’s not a what, so much as a how. 

(“T’aint What You Do, It’s the Way That You 

Do It”, as Trummy Young once put it.) So 

without further “pre-ramble” here’s what 

I would offer as a working definition of 

jazz: jazz is a music of collective improvisation 

which swings, and which places a 

premium on individual sonic expressivity. 

Notice that I used the term “collective 

improvisation,” an important distinction. 

Improvisation is obviously essential to all 

jazz, it is the music’s life blood. But that 

being said, there’s much more to jazz than improvising, and improvisation 

is not at all exclusive to it. What distinguishes the improvisation 

in jazz is that often everyone involved is doing it simultaneously 

– both the soloists and those “accompanying” them, i.e. the rhythm 

section – and this is not generally true in other types of music. Take 

country music for example – please (just kidding, I happen to like 

country music.) If you listen to, say, a Hank Williams record, the 

fiddler or pedal-steel player will often step out and take a solo turn, 

albeit usually a short one which stays in line with the song’s melody 

and the general style of the music. But these guys can really play and 

they’re most definitely improvising. However, the accompaniment 

remains essentially the same – rather four-square, not building or 

developing or interacting. The string bass continues to play two-beat, 

the drummer continues to play a simple country swing pattern with 

brushes, while the guitars strum away much like before. 

Contrast this with what happens during a jazz solo, in any style, 

from any period. Not only is the soloist improvising an often intricate 

melodic line, but those accompanying this offer all kinds of interactive 

interplay; they shape the music with dynamics, push and goad and 

interject with a great deal of freedom and intensity. And as jazz has 

evolved, this has only increased. Consider the rhythm section in John 

Coltrane’s classic quartet of the 1960s or in the Miles Davis Quintet 

of the same period, both of which form a blueprint for how modern 

rhythm sections play. There isn’t another type of music which allows 

– or demands – so much freedom in accompaniment. But even in 

simpler, more straight-ahead styles, there’s a lot more going on behind 

the improvising soloist than meets the listener’s ear. The drummer, 

bassist and pianist are making hundreds of small decisions which 

directly impact and shape the music. This is what I mean by collective 

improvisation. It’s not just the multi-horn polyphony of New Orleans 

Rhythm section of John Coltrane’s classic quartet recording at Van Gelder Studios in 1963 

music or free jazz, it’s that everyone has a stake in the music as an 

improviser, not just the soloist. 

This collectivity is what makes improvisation in jazz so complex and 

compelling, so subtle and multi-layered. And it’s what I love about 

being a jazz bassist. I can play an entire evening with a band and 

maybe not take one solo, yet I feel fulfilled because I’ve improvised 

and shaped the music as much as anybody on stage. 

As for the “individual sonic expressivity” part of my definition, 

it’s also a key. Having a personal, identifiable sound and manner of 

phrasing is sometimes important in other music but not always, and 

never so much as in jazz, where’s it’s not only desirable, but essential. 

In classical music, soloists are expected to have their own sound 

– Jacqueline du Pré does not sound like Pablo Casals, who does not 

sound like Yo-Yo Ma. But this does not extend to ensemble playing or 

orchestras, where there are rigid standards about getting a “proper” 

sound and blending within sections. This is simply not true in jazz, 

whether in a small band, as a soloist, or in a larger group. Louis 

Armstrong, Pee Wee Russell and Vic Dickenson – to name but three 

of countless jazz players with highly individual sounds – would never 

have made the grade in an orchestra, and thank God they didn’t. 

Regarding this in larger jazz groups, there are many examples but we 

have only to consider The Duke Ellington Orchestra, the individual 

sections of which abounded with individual and distinctive sounds, 

not to mention personalities. Gary Giddins wrote a marvellous piece 

about hearing the band in a casual concert in Central Park, which 

afforded him the chance to lean his head over the front of the stage 

and hear the saxophone section up close. He heard their sumptuous 

collective tone but also the separate voices of Harry Carney, Jimmy 

Hamilton, Paul Gonsalves, Russell Procope and Johnny Hodges. They 

blended and yet they didn’t blend. The freedom to make one’s own 

JIM MARSHALL PHOTOGRAPHY 

Please join our continuing 

celebration of swing era music with 

JIM GALLOWAY’S 

WEE BIG BAND 

UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MARTIN LOOMER 

Wednesday 18 th March 2020 

from 7:30 to 10:30pm 

in the elegant Great Hall of our new venue 

the historic Arts & Letters Club of Toronto, 14 Elm Street 

Ken Page Memorial Trust 

Doors 6:45 pm for Open Seating 

Licensed facility 

showcasing Duke 

Ellington and the Blues: 

blue moods, blue tunes 

and the twelve bar blues, 

the Duke’s favourite colours! 

Tickets $30, cash only please 

Close to Dundas subway 

Questions: Anne Page: 416 515 0200 or email: moraig@huntingstewart.com 

Our concerts are dedicated to the memory of saxophone master, Jim Galloway, the band’s founder and leader for 35 years – and to those members passed Media Sponsor 


sound in jazz has produced many of its greatest glories. 

I’ve left out the “which swings” part of my definition, which may 

be contentious to those who think swing has outlived its relevance or 

importance. Well, I beg to differ, but am running out of space here, so 

I will hope to return next month with Part Two of this, titled, naturally, 

Swinging Among the Branches. 

Footnote: 

This article was submitted well before deadline as I headed off on a 

Western tour in the middle of February, so I wasn’t able to complete 

my usual Quick Picks for March. (See my colleague Colin Story’s 

column Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz on page 65, for some of that.) 

However, there is one upcoming concert I wanted to mention, not 

entirely for reasons of self-promotion, but more as a shout-out to my 

sister, Tracey May, who has been staging jazz concerts the last few 

years at her church in Claremont. I’ve played about a half dozen of 

these, and they have all been a success, owing much to Tracey’s tireless 

organizing and promotion, for which I’ve nicknamed her “Norma 

Granz.” Another big plus is the venue itself, a comfy old church with 

good acoustics and an intimate atmosphere which inspires a listening 

audience. It’s become one of my favourite places to play. And, if I do 

say so myself, the Mike Murley Trio ain’t a bad band. 

The Mike Murley Trio 

Claremont United Church, 5052 Old Brock Road, Claremont 

Saturday, April 4 at 8pm. (doors open at 7:30pm) 

Tickets $25 in advance, $30 at the door 

For tickets or information call Tracey May at 647-982-4649 or email 

jazzinclaremont@gmail.com 

Toronto bassist Steve Wallace writes a blog called “Steve 

Wallace jazz, baseball, life and other ephemera” which can 

be accessed at Wallace-bass.com. Aside from the topics 

mentioned, he sometimes writes about movies and food. 

LONG & McQUADE 

FREE CLINICS 

DURING MARCH 

A series of free career-enhancing clinics specifically 

tailored to the needs of musicians, songwriters, producers 

and home studio enthusiasts. 

At all Long & McQuade locations, including: 

925 Bloor St. W • (416) 588-7886 • toronto@long-mcquade.com 

Beat by Beat | Bandstand 

Tenth Anniversary 

NHB’s Expanded Horizons 

JACK MACQUARRIE 

Beware the Ides of March! Thus spoke the soothsayer as he, 

correctly, warned Julius Caesar of his impending doom. While 

“impending doom” is probably not the cause, we haven’t heard 

much of anything from our current band world about any activities 

planned for the month of March of this year, at least not in time to 

report on here. On the bright side, while waiting for information on 

coming band activities, I had time to check on the meaning of the 

Ides of March. While the term originally referred to the full moon, 

in ancient Rome it was the time for several religious observances 

and was also a deadline for settling debts. It is the word “deadline”, 

particularly, that caught my eye. In fairness to bands in our part of the 

world, it may be that the month of March may be one of preparation, 

but not performance. In a few cases, notices we receive, about 

concerts that have been in the works for months, arrive only a few 

days before the event. For us to mention an event we must receive any 

notice no later than the 15th of the month prior to the event. Be aware 

of the Ides of March (Sunday March 15) is therefore my message this 

month. Send me your April concert listings by then and I will be sure 

to make mention of them here. 

Behind the Scenes 

As many of you know full well, keeping a concert band going requires 

a few activities other than concert preparation and performances. 

These include library updating, financial matters and executive elections 

among others. As I think about such non-performance activities, 

a few stand out. Obviously a well-organized and well-catalogued 

library tops the list. There isn’t space here to detail the many possible 

formats, but with most bands having access to computers, a spreadsheet 

where searches may be easily done based on title, composer, 

library catalogue number, style etc. is easy to create and maintain! 

A few bands I know have a numbering system for all selections in 

their libraries, but others just stick to names. I’m a big proponent 

of a numbering system. When the conductor calls out a number to 

rehearse, everyone knows what to get. If the conductor should call for 

a selection such as Pop and Rock Legends: Elton John, and filing is 

alphabetical, one might look for Pop, Rock or Elton John. Numbering 

all of the charts would eliminate any confusion. Years ago I played 

with someone who filed any chart with a name starting with The 

under the letter T. 

Another activity, sadly lacking in many musical organizations, 

is some form of band archives including photos, programs, videos, 

movies etc. How many bands have reliable, accurate, safely stored 

archives along with their libraries? Disasters can happen, as they 

did many years ago when arsonists destroyed the building where 

the Newmarket Citizens Band rehearsed and stored their music. 

Fortunately, music which had been stored in steel cabinets was 

salvageable. 

One other, much more challenging, means of recording a band’s 

history and events could be to produce a movie of the band’s activities. 

In 1971 Canada’s National Film Board produced a film called 

Goodbye Sousa. Released in 1973, the film profiles “the Newmarket 

Citizens Band, one of Canada’s oldest marching bands.” This won 

the Canadian Film Award for best theatrical short film at the 25th 

Canadian Film Awards. In the words of the band’s current executive, 

however: “It won awards but did not present a positive view about the 

band’s relevance in the community. That’s why we feel a response is 

long overdue ...by almost 50 years.” So, now, in 2020, the Newmarket 

Citizens Band is on the verge of producing a new film of community 

band activities. Band members have already received release forms for 


their agreement “for appearance 

in a documentary.” 

For those who might wish to 

view the original movie, there 

is a link to the video on the 

band’s website: 

newmarketcitizensband.ca. 

Rants 

Every once in a while I feel 

compelled to voice some concerns 

about matters in the community 

band world. This month’s rants 

may well apply to almost any 

organization presenting concerts 

or other events. The first concern has to do with event location. In 

recent months I have received a number of flyers which state the name 

of the venue but not the location. For example: one might advertise 

a concert at St. John’s Church. The obvious questions would be 

which St. John’s Church, and what is the address? My other concern 

is more for archival purposes. Many programs just indicate month and 

day. This is fine at the time, but not if one wants to check on what a 

group might have performed some time previously. It is nice to know 

what year. 

Expanded Horizons 

It seems as though it was just a short while ago when I first learned 

about the establishment in the Toronto area of a New Horizons Band. 

How time flies. It was in early 2010, when Dan Kapp told me that he 

was forming such a group in Toronto. I had heard of the organization, 

but really didn’t know much about it. For those who don’t know about 

the organization, its role is to engage people from two categories. 

Those who either always wanted to play a musical instrument, but 

never got around to it, and those who had played many years previously, 

but such matters as jobs, marriage and children took priority. 

One day, in a conversation with Dan, he mentioned that his very 

first performance with this new group was coming up, and he needed 

someone to play trombone. I agreed to sit in, presuming that this 

modest new startup beginners’ band would be performing in a local 

school or church. Not so. Dan had booked the CBC’s Glenn Gould 

Studio. I was to be playing beside another sub trombone player. Then, 

a day before the concert that sub became ill. What to do? Looking 

across the dinner table, I quietly mentioned to the lady of the house 

“you’re it.” Since she is a retired music teacher I knew that she could 

handle the trombone parts she would encounter. Since this was a 

beginners’ band, I was sure that there would only be a small audience 

of family and friends. Not so. To my amazement, the place was almost 

full. New Horizons Toronto was on its way. 

In the early days, Dan Kapp was the conductor and do-it-all organizer. 

Before retiring (for the second time) and moving to Wolfville, 

Nova Scotia, Dan aided in the establishment of a committee to deal 

with the challenges of a much larger organization. A committee was 

formed. Randy Kligerman, one of the members of the very first band, 

is now president of the New Horizons Band of Toronto. 

To get an update on New Horizons, I called Kligerman and he gave 

me a few basic statistics. When New Horizons Band of Toronto began 

teaching adults how to play concert instruments, it had one class of 

17 people. Now in its tenth year, NHBT has grown to 260 members 

participating in nine concert bands, three jazz bands and two theory 

classes! “Our growth came with certain challenges,” says Kligerman. 

In the beginning the band rehearsed in a hall over the Long and 

McQuade store on Bloor Street. When they outgrew that space, they 

moved to a nearby Salvation Army location. After a few years their 

requirements outgrew that location too. Finding suitable practise 

space in Toronto on the subway line is difficult enough, but the fact 

that they run day and evening classes from Monday to Friday, made 

things much more complicated. 

After a year of searching, NHBT now hangs their sign at 662 Victoria 

Park Avenue just north of Danforth Avenue. “The space is made to 

measure” says Kligerman, “Our band room is bright and clean, and 

Newmarket Citizens Band 

easily accommodates our largest band of 55 members. The NHBT 

office is large enough to store instruments, our music library, a desk 

for our directors, and a board room table for members to sit and chat 

over a cup of coffee. 

As mentioned, New Horizons Band of Toronto provides adults who 

have no musical experience, and also those who once played in school 

but have since been inactive, with the opportunity to learn or improve 

their skills in a non-competitive, friendly classroom setting led by 

highly accomplished music directors. “Everyone has musical potential,” 

says Kligerman, “and playing music, no matter the level, enriches 

your life intellectually and socially and is a lot of fun.” In addition to 

occasional performances throughout the year, NHBT have two special 

annual events. The first is their “Chamber Suites 2020” where a variety 

of small ensembles perform for each other’s entertainment. Then all 

of the groups will be performing their year-end concert, on May 29 at 

the Toronto Pavilion, where they will be celebrating their tenth anniversary. 

You can learn more about New Horizons Band of Toronto on 

their website: newhorizonsbandtoronto.ca. 

Until I received word of this annual concert, by the way, I had never 

Winter Waltz Concert 

CCSA Symphony Orchestra 

with Angel Wang, violin 

& Maestro Claudio Vena 

canadianchinesearts.ca 

MARCH 24, 7:30pm 

TELUS Centre for 

Performance and Learning, 

Koerner Hall, 

273 Bloor St. West, Toronto 

SPONSORED BY: LOVEONLY 

FOR TICKETS CALL 

416-408-0208 


!! 

MARCH 28, 7:30PM: University of Toronto Faculty of Music, Wind Ensemble 

Concerts, present “Remembering”. McTee: Circuits; Lauridsen: O Magnum Mysterium; 

Bayolo: Last Breaths; Colgrass: Winds of Nagual. Korin Thomas-Smith, baritone; 

Gillian MacKay, conductor. Also at the MacMillan Theatre. 

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and 

has performed in many community ensembles. He can 

be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com. 

Toronto Pavilion 

heard of the Toronto Pavilion. Since I have frequently commented 

on performance venues, I wanted to learn more. It is located at 190 

Railside Drive, south of Lawrence Avenue just east of the Don Valley 

Parkway. With a large stage, seating capacity of 1,100 and with 200 

parking spaces available, it is worth checking out. 

Silverthorn 

A few hours before sitting down to finish writing this column I had 

the pleasure of attending a concert by Silverthorn Symphonic Winds. 

As usual, director Andrew Chung treated us to an excellent program 

including the Overture to Verdi’s Nabucco, Holst’s Moorside Suite, 

Dello Joio’s Scenes from the Louvre, the Overture to Rossini’s An 

Italian in Algiers, and Morley Calvert’s Suite on Canadian Folk Songs. 

Unfortunately a disruption totally beyond the band’s control arose. 

As the band performed, we could hear unwanted sounds from the 

floor below the concert hall. The room had been rented out to a large 

party with non-stop, super-loud rock music booming from the DJ’s 

sound system. It was the first time that I had ever heard Calvert’s She’s 

Like the Swallow with rock band bass accompaniment. Kudos to the 

unflappable Andrew Chung who did a remarkable job of producing an 

excellent evening of music. 

BANDSTAND QUICK PICKS 

!! 

MARCH 22, 7PM: The Hamilton Concert Band with guests The Dofasco Male Choir 

will perform at St. Andrew’s United Church, 497 Upper Paradise Rd., Hamilton. 

!! 

MARCH 27, 7:30PM: University of Toronto Faculty of Music, Wind Symphony 

Concerts, present Jacob’s William Byrd Suite; Sampson: Moving Parts; Ticheli: Blue 

Shades; Forsyth: Colour Wheel; Maslanka: Testament. Jeffrey Reynolds, conductor. 

MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park. 


2020 

SUMMER 

MUSIC 

EDUCATION 

DIRECTORY

2020 SUMMER MUSIC 

EDUCATION DIRECTORY PART 2 

Summer is just around the corner, and it’s time 

to start planning your musical activities, whether 

you are an avid amateur musician, professional, 

or looking for music education programs for 

children. Part 1 of our Summer Music Education 

directory appeared in print in our February issue, 

featuring profiles from programs most of which 

(but not all) had early application deadlines. The 

program names are listed below, but please visit 

www.thewholenote.com and look for “2020 

Summer Music Education” under the “Who’s 

Who” tab to read the profiles. Newer submissions 

appear in the following pages (and can also be 

found online). Happy summer planning! 

Interprovincial Music Camp 

To join The WholeNote Focus on Summer 

Music Education online please contact karen@ 

thewholenote.com or call 416-323-2232 x26. 

The WholeNote Directory Team 

PROJECT MANAGER: KAREN AGES 

PROJECT EDITOR: KEVIN KING 

LAYOUT AND DESIGN: SUSAN SINCLAIR 

PROOFREADING: DANIAL JAZAERI 

WEBSITE: KEVIN KING 

Visit thewholenote.com to read profiles for 

the following: 

● Canadian Opera Company 

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, ON 

July 6 to August 1 

● Domaine Forget - International 

Music and Dance Academy 

5 Rang Saint Antoine, Saint-Irénée, QC 

May 31 to August 20 

● Great Lakes International Summer Music Institute 

Sault Ste. Marie, ON 


● Summer@Eastman 

Eastman School of Music, 26 Gibbs Street, Rochester, NY 

June 29 to August 7 

● Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute 

Faculty of Music, University of Toronto 

May 31 to June 13 

● Vancouver Symphony Orchestral Institute 

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC 

June 27 to July 6 

● Westben’s Performer-Composer Residency 

6698 County Road 30 North, Campbellford, ON 

July 5 to July 12 

●● 

CAMMAC 

Harrington, QC 


Contact: Marion Plouvin 

1-888-622-8755 

communications@cammac.ca 

www.cammac.ca 

Deadline: No applications – registration up until each week’s beginning 

Cost: Children (5 to 11 yrs): $275 / Student (12 to 24 yrs): $375 / Adults 

(25+): $550 / Accommodations are additional. 

Residential Program 

!! 

Located on beautiful Lake MacDonald in the Laurentians, CAMMAC offers 

7 week-long programs for musicians of all ages and abilities. Our summer 

programs take place in a relaxing, non-competitive environment, 

where you can play, meet people who share the same passions, learn from 

dedicated teachers, and discover new repertoire. Activities and workshops 

include choir, orchestra, chamber music, small ensembles, masterclasses, 

Broadway, Jazz, Early Music, World Music, Orff, dance, yoga, drawing, arts 

and crafts, outdoor activities and more. Vegetarian meals are available, 

and we offer a range of accommodations including private rooms, family 

rooms and camping. Make your summer memorable: come with family 

and friends, and immerse yourself in the best of what nature and music 

have to offer! 

●●Camp Musical Tutti 

2600 College St., Sherbrooke, QC 

June 28 to July 5 

Contact: Esfir Dyachkov 

514-486-8727 

info@camptutti.com 


www.camptutti.com 

Deadline: None 

Cost: $75 (Registration), $650 (Educational 

Program), $570 (Food and Lodging) 

!! 

Camp musical Tutti takes place in the picturesque Eastern Townships. 

2020 is our 25th anniversary! Our goal is to encourage students to love 

making music. We run residential and day camps, and we offer a flexi-stay 

program. Partial scholarships are available. As a non-profit organization, 

we will present our annual benefit concert, featuring the internationally 

acclaimed pianist Dang Thai Son, on April 16, 2020 at 7:30pm in Bourgie 

Hall, 1339 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal H3G 1G2. We welcome participants 

of all ages (children/adults), all levels and all instruments. We teach 

in English, French and Russian. Courses include choir, master classes, 

individual lessons, chamber music and orchestra, theatre, art, swimming 

and other recreational activities. We end with a gala concert. 

●●Centre for Opera Studies in Italy 

(COSI) 2020 Mozart “Requiem” 

Sulmona, Italy 

July 1 to 8 

Contact: Dianne 

416-766-7817 

centreforoperasulmona@gmail.com 

www.cosiprogram.com 

Deadline: March 31, 2020 

Cost: $950* (Basic) 


!! 

Sing the Mozart “Requiem” in Italy! For singers aged 18-80. Join conductor 

Matthew Otto, COSI 2020’s Choir-In-Residence, the Toronto Youth 

Choir, Sulmona’s Cappella Musicale Pamphiliana, conductor Alessandro 

Sabatini, COSI Soloists, and instrumentalists of Ensemble COSI, in vaulting 

ancient cathedrals of Sulmona and Pratola Peligna. Enjoy “la vita bella” 

of Sulmona’s medieval town centre, introductory Italian lessons, master 

class attendance, group music sessions with COSI’s international faculty, 

rehearsals, the glorious culminating performances, and a day trip to the 

Amalfi Coast. All are included in the basic fee. Not included: transportation, 

food, and accommodation (made available by arrangement at €40/ 

night double occupancy). 

●●Choral Conducting: Literature, 

Techniques & Leadership 

Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University, London, ON 

July 27 to 31 

Contact: Patrick Murray 

519-661-2043 

pmurra29@uwo.ca 

https://music.uwo.ca/outreach/choral-conducting-workshop.html 

Deadline: June 1, 2020 

Cost: Active Conductors: $625 + HST, Singers/Auditors: $295 + HST/ 

week or $80 + HST/day 

Day Program 

!! 

Open to community choir conductors, teachers, and conducting 

students, this five-day workshop will enable participants to deepen their 

expressive capabilities from the podium and explore a breadth of choral 

repertoire from multiple time periods and styles. 

Morning seminars and masterclasses will focus on different repertoire 

and topics each day, including accessible historical repertoire, score study, 

preparing larger works, and performance practice. In the afternoons, 

participants will join with other students in Western University’s summer 

music education Master’s program in masterclasses focused on rehearsal 

techniques. Participants will choose one piece to rehearse in the afternoons 

with the laboratory choir. 

Centre for Opera Studies in Italy 

●● 

Choral Mosaic 2020 

Living Arts Centre, 4141 Living Arts Drive, Mississauga, ON 

June 26 and 27 

Contact: Kate Molina 

416-508-9639 

kmolina@mississaugafestivalchoir.com 

www.choralmosaic.com 

Deadline: Midnight June 12, 2020 

Cost: $249 

Day Program 

!! 

Choral Mosaic 2020 is a brand-new choral music festival at the Living 

Arts Centre in Mississauga from June 26 to 27, 2020. Choral music lovers 

are invited to attend workshops and master classes that are designed for 

singers of all skill levels. These include: Embodied Choral Singing with 

Dr. Kimberly Barber, Building a Healthy and Expressive Choir with Dr. 

Elroy Friesen, Exploring Multicultural Connections Through Community 

Music with Dr. Charlene Pauls & Natalie Fasheh, An Introduction to South 

Indian Singing with Suba Sankaran & Dylan Bell and Raising Voices: Music 

and People Living with Dementia with Bob Anderson & Ruth Watkiss. All 

choristers will be invited to sing in a mass choir gala performance of a 

new work by composer Kim André Arnesen. 

●●Guitar Workshop Plus 

Toronto, ON; Nashville, TN; San Diego, CA; Seattle, WA 

July 26 to 31 

Contact: Brian 

905-567-8000 

info@guitarworkshopplus.com 

www.guitarworkshopplus.com 

Deadline: Up until start date (space permitting) 

Cost: Varies (depending on options chosen) 


!! 

Guitar Workshop Plus offers workshops in a musical environment at 

superb facilities. Our faculty members are professional musicians and instructors 

with extensive experience teaching in summer music programs, 

workshops, private settings, and post secondary universities. Along 

with receiving visits from world famous guest artists, our top ranked 

summer music program allows students to participate in daily classes, 

clinics, ensemble and student performances, and evening concerts. 

Guitar courses are offered for all levels, ages, and styles including blues, 

jazz, rock, country, acoustic, and classical. Bass, drum, keyboard, vocal, 

and songwriting classes are offered as well. Resident and non-resident 

tuitions are available. 


visit our website. IMC - the highlight of a young musicians summer. 

●●K@MP - Kids at Met Performing 

Kingsway Conservatory Summer Music 

Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen St. E. Toronto, ON 

August 31 to September 4 

Contact: Patricia Wright 

416-363-0331, x226 

patriciaw@metunited.org 

www.metunited.ca 

Deadline: Until Full 

Cost: Full Day $220 ($200 for siblings); Mornings only $110 ($100 

for siblings) 

Day Program 

Camp Hours: 9am to 12pm; 9am to 3:30pm 

!! 

A non-sacred day camp for those ages 4-18 who want to explore the 

performing arts. No prior experience is necessary. Instruction from experienced 

professionals in singing, instrumental music, acting and drama, 

arts and crafts. Runs mornings only for children ages 4 to 6, and from 9am 

to 3:30pm for kids aged 7 to 18. Pre- and post-camp care ($10-$15/day), and 

subsidies for all fees, are available. 

●● 

Halifax Choral Conducting Institute and 

HCCI Women’s Conducting Intensive 

Halifax, NS 

July 20 to 24 and July 27 to 29 

Contact: Caron Daley 

412-719-7788 

www.halifaxsummerchoral.com 

Deadline: May 1, 2020 

Cost: Varies by program 

Day Program 

!! 

Entering its seventh season in 2020, the Halifax Choral Conducting 

Institute offers world-class conducting instruction in an integrative curriculum 

and dynamic community of learning, equipping conductors of 

all levels to be confident and courageous musical leaders. This week-long 

workshop (July 20 to 24) offers Active and Auditing conducting tracks and 

a Choir-in-Residence opportunity for experienced choral singers. New in 

2019, the HCCI Women’s Conducting Institute addresses the gender-gap in 

conducting by empowering women conductors with dynamic musical 

and leadership tools for the podium. This 3-day event (July 27 to 29) is the 

first of its kind in Canada! 

2020 Clinicians: Jerry Blackstone, Sarah MacDonald and Caron Daley. 

●●Kincardine Summer Music Festival 

Huron Heights Public School, 785 Russell Street, Kincardine, ON 

August 10 to 15 

Contact: D. Schnarr 

519-396-9716 

info@ksmsf.ca 

www.ksmf.ca 

Deadline: August 3, 2020 

Cost: $200 

Day Program 

Camp Hours: 9am to 3:30pm 

!! 

KSMF is renowned for excellence in programming and presentations. 

Daily music classes August 10 to 14 offer fun and exciting learning experiences 

led by professional musicians. Beginning to advanced levels in 

Strings, Bands, Guitar, and Vocal programs culminate in a Friday concert. 

Advanced students may join an orchestra and chorus in Saturday’s performance 

of Mendelssohn’s “Elijah”. Students receive tickets to the fabulous 

KSMF Evening Concert Series August 10 to 14, featuring the very best of 

Canada’s top artists. Special outreach concerts for students introduce their 

music. Free “4 O’Clock in the Park” concerts August 9 to 14 in downtown 

Victoria Park. A great opportunity for adults, younger students and families 

in lovely Kincardine on the Lake Huron shore - Music and the Beach! 

●●Interprovincial Music Camp 

Camp Manitou, Parry Sound, ON 

August 23 to 28 and August 29 to September 6 

Contact: Anne Fleming-Read 

416-488-3316 

anne@campimc.ca 

www.campimc.ca 

Deadline: August 15, 2020 

Cost: $885 - $998 


!! 

Celebrating 60 years in 2020! IMC offers programs for orchestra, band, 

rock, jazz, choir, musical theatre, and songwriting. The camp has been providing 

young musicians with exceptional musical training and unforgettable 

summer-camp experiences since 1961. Campers fine-tune skills as musicians, 

develop friendships and forge a lifelong love of music while enjoying 

the setting of one of Canada’s finest camp facilities. The IMC experience 

includes housing, meals, classes, sectionals, large and small ensembles, 

faculty concerts, recreational activities and evening programs. Each session, 

IMC concludes with performances for family and friends. Our faculty 

includes Canada’s finest performers and educators. For more information, 

●●Kingsway Conservatory Summer Music 

Kingsway Conservatory of Music, 2848 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON 

Weekly programs from June 29 to August 21 

Contact: Sharon Burlacoff 

416-234-0121 

info@kingswayconservatory.ca 

www.kingswayconservatory.ca 

Deadline: Registration open; early-bird savings deadline March 15, 2020 

Cost: Program costs vary 

Day Program 

Camp Hours: Program hours vary 

!! 

KCM’s inspiring summer programs for various ages and experience levels 

promise to excite and engage! For Summer 2020: Kingsway Chamber 

Music Festival - Strings & Piano for Intermediate & Senior levels (strings 

min RCM Gr. 3, piano min RCM Gr. 5) including coachings, orchestra rehearsals, 

group composition, workshops, guest artists; “Annie KIDS” (ages 

8 to 12) and “Frozen JR” (ages 10 to 14) Music Theatre Camps - preparing 

and presenting fantastic, full-scale musical productions on a professional 

stage; Triple-Threat Arts Discovery Camps (ages 4 to 8) inspiring self-expression 

through music, art and drama; Suzuki/Traditional Strings Camp 


(ages 4 to 10) for string players in their beginning years; private instruction 

on all instruments. 

●●Kodály Certification Program - Levels I, II and III 


July 6 to 17 

Contact: Cathy Benedict 

519-661-2043 

cbenedi3@uwo.ca 

https://music.uwo.ca/outreach/music-education/kodaly-certificationprogram.html 

Deadline: June 1, 2020 (or until full) 

Cost: $795 

Day Program 

!! 

In this two-week intensive program, participants will strengthen their 

personal musicianship and pedagogical skills, with content grounded 

in a contemporary understanding of the philosophy inspired by Zoltán 

Kodály. Levels I, II and III are offered. Participants will engage in supportive, 

musically educative opportunities through singing, reading, writing, 

moving and creating to build personal skills and knowledge to assist in 

classroom music teaching and learning. 

New for 2020! Primary Junior Vocal Music Part 1 Additional Qualification 

(AQ). Faculty of Education, Western University, and a special workshop, 

open to all, will be held during the Kodály program with a focus on 

Indigenous music and ways of knowing. 

Music At Port Milford 

Prince Edward County, ON 


Contact: Margaret Hill 

914-439-5039 

director@musicatportmilford.org 

www.musicatportmilford.org 

Deadline: Rolling Admissions 

Cost: $895 to $1005/week 


!! 

2020 marks Music at Port Milford’s 34th year of bringing internationally-renowned 

artist faculty and students with a passion for chamber music 

together to create an inspiring summer music experience. Throughout 

July and August, this experience is proudly shared with Prince Edward 

County, as the students and faculty bring the highest calibre of chamber 

music to Ontario. 2020 Faculty Artists include Quatuor Saguenay (formerly 

Alcan), pianist Angela Park, select members of the Toronto Symphony 

Orchestra, and select faculty from the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance 

Academy, and Royal Conservatory of Music. 

●●Lake Field Music Camp 

Lakefield College School, Lakefield, ON 


Contact: Andrew Wolf 

647-692-3463 

info@lakefieldmusic.ca 

www.lakefieldmusic.ca 


Cost: $1199 to $1499 


!! 

Lake Field Music Camp brings together adult amateur musicians of all ages 

with intermediate to advanced skills in a friendly and supportive environment. 

The one-week program focuses on classical and jazz with a sampling of 

world and popular music. Participants build their own program from more 

than 50 workshops, technique and master classes, choirs and instrumental 

ensembles coached by 20 experienced instructors specializing in vocals, 

strings, woodwinds, brass, piano, guitar, bass and percussion. Classes for 

beginners are also offered for those wanting to try something new. Evening 

concerts provide performance opportunities and a chance to hear the 

instructors. The beautiful waterfront campus includes a performance theatre, 

onsite accommodations and meal plan. Day program also available. 

●●Music at Port Milford 

●●Music at Port Milford Adult Chamber Intensive 

Prince Edward County, ON 

August 4 to 9 

Contact: Meg Hill 

914-439-5039 

director@musicatportmilford.org 

www.musicatportmilford.org/adultintensive 


Cost: $450 

Day Program 

!! 

If you are pining away to spend some time in Prince Edward County, 

play some great chamber music, and relax at Sandbanks Provincial Park 

and tour the County vineyards, come join us at Music at Port Milford’s 

Adult Chamber Intensive for Strings, under the direction of Adrian Fung, 

founding cellist of the critically acclaimed Afiara Quartet, and recognized 

as one of Musical America’s 30 Innovators of the Year! There are many 

lovely housing options in The County, but they fill up quickly, so it is best 

to apply soon! 

●●Music Niagara Performance Academy 

St. Mark’s Anglican Church, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON 

July 18 to 26 

Contact: Barbara Worthy 

905-468-0092 or 905-468-5566 

bworthy@musicniagara.org 

www.musicniagara.org 


Cost: $990 plus HST 


!! 

Music Niagara’s Performance Academy is a nine-day program offering a 

unique blend of individual lessons, master classes, chamber music, interactive 

workshops, and public performances, for gifted young musicians 

aged 12 to 18, to improve, complement and enhance musical performance 

and stage presence. 

Overview - Master Classes: open lessons, and solo/group chamber music 

instruction with acclaimed faculty and festival artists; Workshops: public 

presentation, vocal skills, body language and performance presentation 


!! 

More than 40 hours of master classes, tutorials, reed making and recitals 

to choose from, designed to improve your oboe performance skills! 

Session 1 (July 21 to 23) - Oboe Fundamentals - master classes highlighting 

technique, embouchure, tone, pitch, articulation, vibrato and phrasing; 

hands-on reed making and cane preparation; daily reed checks for 

performers; the art of knife sharpening with additional optional classes. 

Maximum of 12 performer participants. Session 2 (July 24) - two options: 

a) Performance / Audition Preparation - includes techniques for successful 

performances, as well as managing performance anxiety, excerpt 

review, and mock audition; b) “Concert Stories” Workshop - designing and 

performing with Joey Salvalaggio, former principal oboe of the Memphis 

Symphony Orchestra. 

●●Orchestra North Owen Sound 

Niagara Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Camp 

style; Drama: from Shakespeare to improvisation, scenes, games, text 

and activities; Period Dance: body movement and fitness, dancing to the 

music you play; Alexander Technique: relieve physical stress, improve performance 

strength. Students guaranteed up to four public performances. 

●●Niagara Symphony Orchestra 

Summer Music Camp (SMC) 

Niagara, ON 

July 6 to 31 

Brody Smith 

905-687-4993, x223 

brody.smith@niagarasymphony.org 

http://www.niagarasymphony.com 


Cost: $190 to $410 

Day Program 


!! 

Since 1962, the Niagara Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Music Camp 

(SMC) has inspired and encouraged young musicians from the Niagara Region 

and beyond. We offer music instruction in a fun, inclusive day-camp 

atmosphere and welcome campers of all abilities. 

Campers have the opportunity to experience daily recitals featuring 

faculty and guest artists, approximately 32 hours of masterclasses in 

each two-week session, orchestra, string ensemble, jazz band, or choir 

participation, specialized age-appropriate Early Years programming in 

both sessions, supervised outdoor recreation and daily crafts, and every 

camper participates in SMC concerts. 

●●Oboe Intensive at Western University 


July 21 to 24 

Contact: Shelley Heron 

519-661-2111, x85844 

sheron2@uwo.ca 

https://music.uwo.ca/outreach/oboe-intensive.html 


Cost: Session 1: $250 + HST for performers / $200 + HST for auditors; 

Session 2a: $75 + HST for performers / $50 + HST for auditors; 

Session 2b: $75 + HST for all registrants 

Day Program 

Harmony Centre, Owen Sound, ON 

July 13 to 18 

Contact: Sebastian Ostertag 

416-993-3172 

owensound@orchestranorth.com 

www.orchestranorth.com 


Cost: $199 to $399 

Day Program 


!! 

Held in the heart of the scenic city, Orchestra North boasts a renowned 

faculty of nationally acclaimed musicians who specialize in classical, jazz, 

fiddle, popular music and more. Our variety of exciting programs are 

designed to inspire string, woodwind and brass players of all ages and 

abilities from across Canada. 

Beginner Strings: a fun and engaging introduction to string-playing and 

orchestra for ages 5 to 10. Half- and full-day programs available. Strings, 

Winds & Brass: experience outstanding private instruction, play in chamber 

and symphony orchestras while performing with featured artists. 

Orchestra North Academy: develop and refine skills for a career in music 

performance, outreach, and education. Full tuition and stipend provided. 

●●Progressive Methods in Popular Music 


July 20 to 31 

Contact: Ruth Wright 

519-661-2043 

rwrigh6@uwo.ca 

https://music.uwo.ca/outreach/progressive-methods-in-popular-music.html 


Cost: $795 (subject to change) 

Day Program 

!! 

This course and workshop will focus on investigating the nature and 

pedagogies establishing progressive methods in popular music education 

in the 21st century. With an emphasis on practical music making, 

supported by reading, research, and discussion, participants will explore 

pedagogic developments in the field of music education and create their 

own version of a 21st century music curriculum. Content for this course 

and workshop will include: informal popular music learning; mash-ups 

and remixes; music video production; the iPad as a classroom instrument; 

song writing; creativity development using GarageBand and other music 

software and apps. 

●●Summer Opera Lyric Theatre 

The Edward Jackman Centre, 947 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON 


Contact: Guillermo Silva-Marin 

416-922-2912 

admin@solt.ca 

www.solt.ca 

Deadline: Ongoing 


Cost: TBD 

Day Program 

!! 

Summer Opera Lyric Theatre (SOLT) is a unique program combining 

learning and performing in an environment that reflects the professional 

operatic world of today. Participation in the SOLT workshop is achieved 

through an assigned role(s) after the audition process. The program combines 

a series of music rehearsals, master classes, dramatic discussions, 

lectures and staging rehearsals, culminating in the week of performances 

at the Robert Gill Theatre. Many past SOLT alumni have benefitted from 

the workshop through a fine-tuning of technical and interpretative skills 

and an expansion of repertoire in a career that demands great versatility. 

It has nurtured, developed and promoted the careers of hundreds of 

Canadian singers for over 34 years. 

●●Toronto Summer Music Community Academy 

Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto, ON 


Contact: Jennifer Mak 

647-430-5699, x111 

jennifer@torontosummermusic.com 

www.torontosummermusic.com 

Deadline: Rolling Applications (April 24 for the Chamber 

Music Program) 

Cost: $700 for the Chamber Choir; $950 for the Chamber Music 

Program, Piano Masterclass, and Bass Workshop 

Day Program 

Camp Hours: 9am to 5pm, with evening concerts and events 

!! 

If you’re an advanced amateur musician looking to connect with other 

musicians, join the TSM Community Academy, where you can spend a fun 

week making music with our Festival artists! Participants enjoy access to 

all main stage TSM Festival Concerts, lectures, events (July 27 to August 1), 

as well as the opportunity to perform onstage at Walter Hall. 

●●TORQ Percussion Seminar 

Stratford Summer Music, Stratford, ON 


Contact: Lana Mau 

519-271-2101, x3 

info@stratfordsummermusic.ca 

https://stratfordsummermusic.ca/education/torq-percussion-seminar 


Cost: $600 

Day Program 

!! 

Now in its ninth year, TorQ Percussion Seminar is an opportunity 

for university-level percussionists to come together for an intense but 

rewarding week of rehearsals, discussions, master classes, creation and 

performance, under the direction of the TorQ Percussion Quartet (Richard 

Burrows, Adam Campbell, Jamie Drake and Daniel Morphy). Operated in 

association with Stratford Summer Music in beautiful Stratford, Ontario, 

Vancouver Symphony Orchestral Institute 

Canada, TPS2020 will culminate in a series of public performances as part 

of the festival. 

The core of the TPS experience is ensemble rehearsal. Each participant 

will be part of multiple ensemble pieces that will be rehearsed throughout 

the week; that rehearsal process will culminate in a finale concert, 

presented as part of Stratford Summer Music. 

●●Vocal Academy 2020 

Stratford Summer Music, Stratford, ON 

July 20 to July 29 and July 30 to August 5 

Contact: Lana Mau 

519-271-2101, x3 

info@stratfordsummermusic.ca 

https://stratfordsummermusic.ca/education/vocal-academy 

Deadline: March 20, 2020 

Cost: $600 to $1200 

Day Program 

!! 

The Stratford Summer Music Vocal Academy launches its sixth season 

in 2020. We are an intensive study program for professionally-trained 

singers and for pianists with a keen interest in pursuing careers as coach/ 

accompanists. Our internationally recognized faculty focuses on the perfection 

of musicianship, language and technique within a supportive and 

creative atmosphere. This year we offer the course in two sections; Opera 

and Oratorio (July 20 to 29), and Art Song (July 30 to August 5). Applicants 

may apply to one or both of these sections. Applicants should either be 

in a degree/training program with a university, conservatory or opera 

company, or have recently completed such training. All participants will 

perform in a Finale Concert, as well as at other events TBA. 

WHO’S WHO 

FIND OUT IN THE WHOLENOTE 

ONLINE all the time 

THE WHOLENOTE.COM/WHO 

All inquiries to 


THE CANARY 

PAGES 

Directory 

of Southern 

Ontario’s Choirs 

PRINTED IN MAY 



THE GREEN 

PAGES 

Guide to Summer 

Music in Ontario 

and Beyond 

PRINTED IN OUR SUMMER 

EDITION (JUNE/JULY/AUGUST) 


Tuesday May 5 

THE BLUE 

PAGES 

Directory of 

Music Makers 

PRINTED IN OCTOBER 

Deadline to join: TBA 


The WholeNote listings are arranged in five sections: 

A. 

GTA (GREATER TORONTO AREA) covers all of Toronto 

plus Halton, Peel, York and Durham regions. 

B. 

BEYOND THE GTA covers many areas of Southern 

Ontario outside Toronto and the GTA. Starts on page 61. 

C. 

MUSIC THEATRE covers a wide range of music types: 

from opera, operetta and musicals, to non-traditional 

performance types where words and music are in some 

fashion equal partners in the drama. Starts on page 64. 

D. 

IN THE CLUBS (MOSTLY JAZZ) 

is organized alphabetically by club. 

Starts on page 65. 

E. 

THE ETCETERAS is for galas, fundraisers, competitions, 

screenings, lectures, symposia, masterclasses, workshops, 

singalongs and other music-related events (except 

performances) which may be of interest to our readers. 

Starts on page 68. 

A GENERAL WORD OF CAUTION. A phone number is provided 

with every listing in The WholeNote — in fact, we won’t publish 

a listing without one. Concerts are sometimes cancelled or postponed; 

artists or venues may change after listings are published. 

Please check before you go out to a concert. 

HOW TO LIST. Listings in The WholeNote in the four sections above 

are a free service available, at our discretion, to eligible presenters. 

If you have an event, send us your information no later than the 

8th of the month prior to the issue or issues in which your listing is 

eligible to appear. 

LISTINGS DEADLINE. The next issue covers the period from 

April 1 to May 7, 2020. All listings must be received by 11:59pm, 

Sunday March 8. 

LISTINGS can be sent by email to listings@thewholenote.com 

or by using the online form on our website. We do not receive 

listings by phone, but you can call 416-323-2232 x27 for further 

information. 

LISTINGS ZONE MAP. Visit our website to search for concerts 

by the zones on this map: thewholenote.com. 

Lake 

Huron 

6 

Georgian 

Bay 

7 

2 1 

5 

Lake Erie 

3 4 

8 

City of Toronto 

LISTINGS 

Lake Ontario 

Sunday March 1 

●●1:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Sunday 

Interludes Series: Alison Young. Mazzoleni 

Concert Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 

416-408-0208. Free(ticket required). Tickets 

available a week prior to concert date. 

●●2:00: National Ballet of Canada. New 

Work by Crystal Pite & Chroma & Marguerite 

and Armand. Music by Joey Talbot and 

Jack White, and Franz Liszt. Crystal Pite, 

choreographer. Wayne McGregor, choreographer. 

Frederick Ashton, choreographer. 

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 

145 Queen St. W. 416-345-9595. $41 and up. 

Opens Feb 29, 7:30pm. Runs to Mar 7. Wed- 

Sat(7:30pm). Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm). 

●●2:00: Opera York. The Merry Widow. Music 

by Franz Lehár. Sara Papini, soprano (Hanna 

Glawari); Douglas Tranquada, baritone 

(Count Danilo Danilovitsch); Geoffrey Butler, 

music director. Richmond Hill Centre for 

the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond 

Hill. 905-787-8811. From $40; $25(st). 

Also Feb 28(eve). 

●●2:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The 

Composer Is Dead. Stookey: The Composer 

Is Dead. Kevin Frank, host; Eugene Ye, cello; 

Simon Rivard, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 

60 Simcoe St. 416-872-4255. $22. Also 4pm. 

●●2:00: Visual and Performing Arts Newmarket. 

Bridge and Wolak Duo. Michael 

Bridge and Kornel Wolak, performers. Newmarket 

Theatre, 505 Pickering Cres., Newmarket. 

905-953-5122. $30; $25(sr); $10(st). 

●●3:00: St. Paul’s Bloor Street. Organ 

Recital. Stephen Boda, organ. 227 Bloor St. E. 

416-859-7464. Free. 

●●3:00: Toronto Beach Chorale. Carmina 

Burana. Music by Carl Orff. TorQ Percussion 

Quartet; 2 pianos; Christina Lamoureux, soprano; 

Michael Dodge, tenor; Matthew Cassils, 

baritone; Mervin W. Fick, conductor. St. 

Anne’s Anglican Church, 270 Gladstone Ave. 

647-812-2505. $30/$25(adv); $15/$12.50(7- 

18); free(under 7). Tickets available at torontobeachchorale.com/upcoming. 

THE INDIGO 

PROJECT 

Feb 27–Mar 1, 2020 

Jeanne Lamon Hall 


● ● 3:30: Tafelmusik. The Indigo Project. Created 

by Alison Mackay. Suba Sankaran, 

vocals, percussion; Trichy Sankaran, mridangam, 

kanjira and solkattu; Elisa Citterio, 

A. Concerts in the GTA 

director; Cynthia Smithers, narrator & vocalist; 

Choirs from Earl Haig & Unionville Secondary 

Schools; Members of Tafelmusik 

Chamber Choir; Ivars Taurins, choral director; 

Suba Sankaran, choral director. 

Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 

416-964-6337. From $42. Discounts for sr/ 

under 36/under 19. Also Feb 27, 28, 29, Mar 3 

(all eve). 

●●4:00: Church of St. Mary Magdalene 

(Toronto). Organ Music for Lent. Andrew 

Adair, organ. 477 Manning Ave. 416-531- 

7955. Free. 

●●4:00: Music at Rosedale. Duquesne Voices 

of Spirit in Concert. Watson Henderson: 

Missa Brevis; Schafer: Epitaph for Moonlight. 

Voices of Spirit choir from Duquesne University. 

Rosedale Presbyterian Church, 129 Mt. 

Pleasant Rd. 416-921-1931. $25; $10(st). 

Reception to follow. 

●●4:00: St. Olave’s Anglican Church. Choral 

Evensong for the First Sunday in Lent: From 

Plainsong to Anglican Chant. Healey Willan 

Singers. 360 Windermere Ave. 416-769-5686 

or stolaves.ca. Free. Contributions appreciated. 

Followed by refreshments. 5pm Dr. 

Jesse Billett explains and illustrates the transition 

from the plainsong of Gregorian chant 

to Anglican styles of today. 

●●4:00: Toronto Classical Singers. An die 

Musik / To Music. Schubert: Lieder and Mass 

No.4 in C. Kendra Dyck, soprano; Danielle 

MacMillan, mezzo; Chris Fischer, tenor; Bruce 

Kelly, baritone; Qiao Yi Miao Mu, piano; Talisker 

Players; Jurgen Petrenko, conductor. 

Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. 437- 

344-1719. $30. 

●●4:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The 

Composer Is Dead. For details see 2pm. 

●●7:00: Wilmar Heights Centre. Won’t You 

Be Our Neighbour? Françaix: Sept Danses, 

Gershwin: Rialto Ripples, Gorb: French 

Dances Revisited; Verdi: Anvil Chorus 

from Il trovatore. Fanfarones, double wind 

quintet; John Edward Liddle, conductor. 

963 Pharmacy Ave., Scarborough. 416-346- 

3910. $10 or pwyc. 

●●7:30: Music Gallery. Emergents II: Bakarlari. 

Curated by Sara Constant. Works by 

Olga Neuwirth, Cort Lippe, Elliott Carter, 

Alexandre David, Quinn Jacobs, Olivia Shortt 

and others. Émilie Fortin, trumpet; Michael 

Mansourati, tuba; Charlotte Layec, clarinet. 

The Music Gallery, 918 Bathurst St. 416-204- 

1080 or musicgallery.org. $12; $8(st/members). 

Venue not wheelchair accessible. 

●●7:30: Victoria Scholars Men’s Choral 

Ensemble. A Cappella with the Victoria 

Scholars. Gregorian chant and works by 

Allegri, Biebl, Byrd, Tallis, Randall Thompson, 

and others. Our Lady of Sorrows Church, 

3055 Bloor St. W., Etobicoke. victoriascholars.ca. 

$30; $25(sr/st). 

Monday March 2 

●●12:30: York University Department of 

Music. Music at Midday: Classical Instrumental 

Recital. Student soloists. Tribute Communities 

Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, 

York University, 4700 Keele St. 416-736-2100 

x20054. Free. 

●●7:00: Pingxin Xu. Chinese Dulcimer Performance. 

Traditional, folk, contemporary 

and popular Chinese music. Pingxin Xu, 

Chinese dulcimer, cimbalom, santur, santoor, 

hackbrett; Xiaoyun Miao, Chinese lutes. 


Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St. 416- 

393-7157. Free. No registration required. 


●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company. 

Chamber Music Series: Rebanks Family 

Fellowship Showcase. Artists from the 

Rebanks Family Fellowship and International 

Performance Residency Program at The 

Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School. 

Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four 

Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 

145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231. Free. First 

come, first served. No late seating. 

●●12:10: Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation. 

Lunchtime Chamber Music. Rebecca 

Maranis, flute. Yorkminster Park Baptist 

Church, 1585 Yonge St. 416-241-1298. Free. 

Donations welcome. 

THE INDIGO 

PROJECT 

Mar 3, 2020 

George Weston Recital Hall 


●●8:00: Tafelmusik. The Indigo Project. Created 

by Alison Mackay. Suba Sankaran, 

vocals, percussion; Trichy Sankaran, mridangam, 

kanjira and solkattu; Elisa Citterio, director; 

Cynthia Smithers, narrator & vocalist; 

Choirs from Earl Haig & Unionville Secondary 

Schools; Members of Tafelmusik Chamber 

Choir; Ivars Taurins, choral director; Suba 

Sankaran, choral director. George Weston 

Recital Hall, Meridian Arts Centre (formerly 

Toronto Centre for the Arts), 5040 Yonge St. 

416-964-6337 or 1-855-985-2787. From $39. 

Discounts for sr/under 36/under 19. Also 

Feb 27, 28, 29, Mar 1(mat). 

●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Music 

of John Williams. Themes from Jaws, Indiana 

Jones, Hook, Schindler’s List and others. Roy 

Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-872-4255. 

$52. Also Mar 4(2pm & 8pm), 5. 

Wednesday March 4 


Piano Virtuoso Series: Beneath a Solace of 

Stars. Howard Bashaw: 15 for Piano; and 

works by Liszt and Shostakovich. Alexander 

Malikov, piano. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, 

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing 

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

First come, first served. No late seating. 


Opera Connect: Music in the Atrium of Princess 

Margaret Cancer Centre. Howard 

Bashaw: 15 for Piano; and works by Liszt and 

Shostakovich. Lauren Margison, soprano; 

Matthew Cairns, tenor; Joel Allison, bassbaritone; 

Alex Soloway, piano. Princess Margaret 

Cancer Centre Atrium, 610 University 

Ave. 416-363-8231. Free and does not require 

a ticket. 

●●12:30: Organix Concerts/All Saints Kingsway. 

Kingsway Organ Concert Series. Cari 

Astleford, organ. All Saints Kingsway Anglican 

Church, 2850 Bloor St. W. 416-571-3680 

or organixconcerts.ca. Freewill offering 

appreciated. 

●●12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. 

Noonday Organ Recital. Conrad Gold, organ. 

1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free. 





$37. Also Mar 3(8pm), 4(8pm), 5(8pm). 

●●6:30: VIVA! Youth Singers of Toronto. 

Annual Fundraising Gala. Old Mill Toronto, 

21 Old Mill Rd. 416-788-8482. $150. 



and Armand. See Mar 1. Also Mar 5(2pm & 

7:30pm); 6(7:30pm); 7(2pm & 7:30pm). 

●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of 

Music. UofT 12tet. Edward Johnson Building, 

Walter Hall, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-3750. 

Free. Open to the public. 

●●8:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre. H.M.S. 

Pinafore. Gilbert & Sullivan. Holly Chaplin, 

soprano; Rosalind McArthur, mezzo; Ryan 

Downey, Bradley Christensen, Gregory Finney, 

baritones; Derek Bate, conductor; Guillero 

Silva-Marin, stage director. St. Lawrence 

Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366- 

7723. $55-$95. Also Mar 6, 7, 8(3pm). 





$52. Also Mar 3, 4(2pm), 5. 

Thursday March 5 


Music. Thursdays at Noon: Opera Spotlight 

- Mansfield Park. Edward Johnson Building, 

Walter Hall, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-3750. 

Free. Open to the public. 


Music. Music at Midday: Student Showcase. 

Martin Family Lounge, Accolade East, 


x20054. Free. 

●●2:00: National Ballet of Canada. New Work 

by Crystal Pite & Chroma & Marguerite and 

Armand. See Mar 1. Also Mar 5(7:30pm); 

6(7:30pm); 7(2pm & 7:30pm). 

●●7:00: Canadian Music Centre/Women in 

Space. CMC Presents: Elisa Thorn, Claire 

Yunjin Lee, Amy Brandon and Susan Alcorn. 

Burdock, 1184 Bloor St. W. 416-546-4033. 

$15/$12(adv). 



Armand. See Mar 1. Also Mar 6(7:30pm); 

7(2pm & 7:30pm). 

●●7:30: North Wind Concerts. How Sweet 

Is the Passion: Love Cantatas from Baroque 

Italy. Music by Mancini, Ferrandini, Vivaldi 

and others. Agnes Zsigovics, soprano; 

Marco Cera, oboe; Christopher Bagan, harpsichord. 

Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 416- 

588-4301 or bemusednetwork.com/events/ 

detail/740. $32; $25(sr); $18(st); $10(under 

13). 


Music. Improv Soirée. Participatory “open 

mike” set-up, hosted by the improv studios of 

Matt Brubeck, Steve Koven and Brian Katz. 

Sterling Beckwith Studio, 235 Accolade East, 


x20054. Free. 

●●8:00: Corktown Chamber Orchestra. All 

the Threes. Beethoven: Symphony No.3 in 

E-flat Op.55, “Eroica”; Beethoven: Leonora 

Overture No.3 Op.72b: Sibelius: Symphony 

No.3 in C Op.52. Little Trinity Anglican Church, 

425 King St. E. corktownorchestra@gmail. 

com. From $20. Free wine at intermission. 

JAMES RHODES, 

PIANO 

THE BEETHOVEN 

REVOLUTION 

THURS, MARCH 5, 8PM 


●●8:00: Glenn Gould Foundation. James 

Rhodes: The Beethoven Revolution. 

Beethoven: Sonata in d Op.28 “Pastoral”, 

Sonata No.27 in e Op.90, Sonata No.21 in C 

Op.53 “Waldstein”. FILM SCREENING, James Rhodes, piano. Q&A: 

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

416-408-0208 “The or Search glenngould.ca foror rcmusic. 

com. $35-$110. 


of John TUES. Williams. Themes JAN 21 from AT Jaws, 7PM Indiana 

Jones, Hook, Schindler’s List and others. Steven 

Reineke, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 

60 Simcoe St. 416-872-4255. $83. Also Mar 3, 

4(2pm & 8pm). 

Friday March 6 

SALAMONE ROSSI” 

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

Recital. Bach: Italian Concerto; and works 

by Mozart, Chopin and Couperin. Sunny Ritter, 

piano. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church 

(Toronto), 73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x231. 

Free. 


Music. Music at Midday: Singing Our Songs. 

York University Chamber Choir; John Holland, 

conductor. Tribute Communities Recital 

Hall, Accolade East Building, York University, 

4700 Keele St. 416-736-2100 x20054. Free. 

●●7:30: Canadian Music Centre. 21st Century 

Cello. Hunter Coblentz: Ex Animo; Vincent 

Ho: Heist 2; Andrew Downing: Five Little 

Pieces; Matt Brubeck: Entsprechung; Fjola 

Evans: Ridge and Furrow; and other works. 

VC2 Cello Duo. 20 St. Joseph St. 416-961-6601 

x202. $20. 

●●7:30: Firerooster Collective. Stabat Mater. 

Pergolesi: Stabat Mater. Maureen Pecknold, 

soprano; Andrea Johnston, alto; Dorothy 

Krizmanic, piano. Church of the Holy Trinity, 

19 Trinity Sq. 647-339-8587. By donation. 

Benefit for Stella’s Place. 



and Armand. See Mar 1. Also Mar 7(2pm 

& 7:30pm). 

●●8:00: Aga Khan Museum. Amata Siria: 

Stories Through Music. 77 Wynford Dr. 416- 

646-4677. $40; $30(sr/st). 

●●8:00: De Bouche / À Oreille. In Concert. 

Philippe B with Jonno Lightstone, clarinet/flute; 

Rebecca Hennessy, trumpet; Paul 

Tarussov, trombone; Peter Lutek, bassoon/ 

clarinet. Helconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 647- 

892-7367 or dbaoproductions.ca. $30. 

●●8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. String 

Concerts Series. Mozart: Violin Sonata No.21 

in e K304; Beethoven: Violin Sonata No.7 

in c Op.30 No.2; Franck: Violin Sonata in A 

M8. Kyung Wha Chung, violin; Kevin Kenner, 

piano. Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor 

St. W. 416-408-0208. $40-$95. Part of the 

Beethoven 250 Festival. 

●●8:00: Soundstreams. Improvised Components. 

Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. 

soundstreams.ca. SOLD OUT. Limited standing 

room available at door for $20. 

CROSSING 

the CHANNEL 

with Scott Metcalfe 

MARCH 6 & 7 at 8PM 

TorontoConsort.org 

●●8:00: Toronto Consort. Crossing the Channel. 

Works by Dunstaple, Du Fay, Frye and 

others. Scott Metcalfe, guest artistic director. 

Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416- 

964-6337. $29-$72. Also Mar 7. 








7723. $55-$95. Also Mar 4, 7, 8(3pm). 

●●8:00: Vic Chorus. Winter Concert: Musical 

Theatre In Concert. Excerpts from musical 

theatre works based on books. Taylor Sullivan, 

conductor. Victoria College Chapel, 

91 Charles St. W. 416-585-4521. Free. 

Saturday March 7 

● ● 11:00am and 1:00: University Settlement 

Music & Arts School. Student Concerts. St. 

George by the Grange Church, 30 Stephanie 


St. 416-598-3444 x243/4. Free. 



Armand. See Mar 1. Also Mar 7(7:30pm). 

NINA 

SIMONE 

A TRIBUTE 

STARRING 

FAITH AMOUR 

MAR 7, TORONTO 

MAR 28, AJAX 

intributejazzproductions.com 

●●6:00: In Tribute Jazz Productions. The 

Story of Nina Simone. I Put a Spell on You; 

My Baby Just Cares for Me; Backlash Blues; 

Four Women; Feeling Good. Faith Amour, 

voice; Adrean Farrugia, piano; Chris Wallace, 

drums. Small World Music Centre, Artscape 

Youngplace, 180 Shaw St. 647-882-4848 

or faithamourjazz.com. $25/$22(online); 

$20(sr/st). Also 8pm. 

●●7:30: Canadian Celtic Choir. An Irish 

Celtic Celebration. Guests: Anne Lindsay, fiddle; 

Sharlene Wallace, harp; Jean Willadsen, 

accompanist; Paul Grambo, conductor. 

Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale 

Rd. celtichoir.ca. $30/$35(adv). Also 

Jubilate 

singers 

The 

Seas 

Sea pictures by 

Elgar, Grieg, 

Rheinberger, 

Paul Halley, 

Stan Rogers 

& more .... 

Sat. Mar. 7, 7:30 pm 

Eastminster United Church 

jubilatesingers.ca 


Mar 14(Royal View Church, London). 

●●7:30: Jubilate Singers. The Seas: Music 

Inspired by the Sea. Settings of “Ave maris 

stella”; A selection of sea shanties; and works 

by Elgar, Grieg, Rheinberger, Halley, Stan 

Rogers, and others. Eastminster United 

Church, 310 Danforth Ave. 416-485-1988. $25; 

$20(sr); $15(st). 

●●7:30: MCS Chorus Mississauga. Mozart’s 

Legacy. Mozart: Solemn Vespers; 

Michael Haydn: Requiem. MCS Chorus; MCS 

Chamber Orchestra. First United Church, 

151 Lakeshore Rd. W., Mississauga. 905-290- 

7104. $25; $12(7-18). 

●●7:30: Music at Metropolitan. Sprezzatura!: 

Music of the Forgotten Galant. Works 

by Galuppi, Scarlatti, Leo, Handel and others. 

Rezonance Baroque Ensemble; Musicians on 

the Edge; Emily Klassen, soprano. Metropolitan 

United Church (Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 

metunited.ca/music. $20; $10(st). 



Armand. See Mar 1. 

●●7:30: Opera by Request. Puccini’s Turandot. 

Naomi Eberhard, soprano (Turandot); 

Corey Arnold, tenor (Calaf); Amanda Daigle, 

soprano (Liu); Kyle McDonald, bass-baritone 

(Timur); Lawrence Shirkie, baritone 

(Ping) and others. College St. United Church, 

452 College St. 416-455-2365. $20. 

●●7:30: Tallis Choir. Palm Sunday to Easter. 

Tallis: Lamentations; works by Weelkes, Lotti 

and others. Peter Mahon, conductor. St. Patrick’s 

Church, 131 McCaul St. 416-286-9798 or 

tallischoir.com. $30; $25(sr); $10(st with ID). 

●●8:00: Canadian Music Centre. Tradition 

and Disruption. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in 

f-sharp BWV883; Marko Tajčević: Seven Balkan 

Dances; Chopin: Nocturne Op.27 No.2 in 

D-flat & Nocturne Op.9 No.1 in b-flat; Rachmaninoff: 

Etude Op.39 No.5 in e-flat; Svetlana 

Maksimović: Three Choreographic Etudes; 

and other works; Ana Sokolović, Danses 

et Interludes; Franz Liszt, Paraphrase on 

Themes from Rigoletto. Viktor Lazarov, piano. 

20 St. Joseph St. 416-961-6601 x202. $15-$25. 

●●8:00: In Tribute Jazz Productions. The 

Story of Nina Simone. See 6pm for details. 

●●8:00: Meronq. We Are From Jazz. Malats: 

Serenada Espanola; Rodrigo: Adela; Diens: 

Tango en skai; Satie: Gnossienne No.1. Zaid 

Nasser, alto sax; Ari Roland, double bass; 

Keith Balla, drums; Vahagn Hayrapetyan, 

piano & vocals. Yorkminster Citadel, 1 Lord 

Seaton Rd., North York. 416-832-6336. 

$75(VIP); $55(reserved); $45. 

●●8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. TD 

Jazz Concerts Series: Branford Marsalis 

Quartet. Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 or rcmusic. 

com/performance. SOLD OUT. 

●●8:00: Toronto Consort. Crossing the Channel. 

Works by Dunstaple, Du Fay, Frye and 

others. Scott Metcalfe, guest artistic director. 


964-6337. $29-$72. Also Mar 6. 








7723. $55-$95. Also Mar 4, 6, 8(3pm). 


●●2:30: Georgetown Bach Chorale. Great 

Choral Gems. Mendelssohn: Elijah (excerpts); 

and works by Reger, Bruckner and Barber. 

The Helson Gallery, 9 Church St., Georgetown. 

905-873-9909. $30; $10(st). 

●●3:00: Canadian Children’s Opera Company. 

Songs for a New World. Music and 

lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Canadian Children’s 

Opera Company Youth Chorus. Aki Studio 

Theatre, 585 Dundas St. E. 416-366-0467. 

$25; $15(st). Also 7pm. 

●●3:00: Mississauga Symphony Youth 

Orchestra. A Guide to the Orchestra. Living 

Arts Centre, RBC Theatre, 4141 Living Arts Dr., 

Mississauga. 905-306-6000 or mississaugasymphony.ca. 

$30. 

●●3:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. 

Invesco Piano Concerts Series: Hélène 

Grimaud. Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 


com/performance. SOLD OUT. 

●●3:00: Trio Arkel. Brahms and Beyond. 

Brahms: Clarinet Quintet; Kulesha: String 

Trio; Bartók: Romanian Dances; Barber: Adagio. 

Marie Bérard, violin; Winona Zelenka, 

Brahms 

and Beyond 

Eric Abramovitz, clarinet 

Aaron Schwebel, violin 

Victor Fournelle-Blain, viola 

March 8 

trioarkel.com 

Director Peter Mahon 

Palm Sunday to Easter 

An exploration of some of the 

finest music written for the 

liturgies of Holy Week over the last 

500 years, featuring Thomas Tallis’ 

setting of the Lamentations, music 

from Weelkes, Lotti, and more. 

Saturday, March 7, 7:30 pm 

St. Patrick’s Church 

141 McCaul St. 

cello; Eric Abramovitz, clarinet; Aaron 

Schwebel, violin; Victor Fournelle-Blain, viola. 


229-6918. $35; $20(sr); $10(st). 


Pinafore. Gilbert & Sullivan. Holly Chaplin, soprano; 

Rosalind McArthur, mezzo; Ryan Downey, 

Bradley Christensen, Gregory Finney, baritones; 

Derek Bate, conductor; Guillero Silva- 

Marin, stage director. St. Lawrence Centre for 

the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $55-$95. 

Also Mar 4(8pm), 6(8pm), 7(8pm). 

●●3:30: Anastasia Rizikov. Julius Reubke 

Double Bill. Reubke: Sonata on the 94th Psalm 

in c, Piano Sonata in b-flat. Imre Olah, organ; 

Anastasia Rizikov, piano. Grace Church onthe-Hill, 

300 Lonsdale Rd. 647-667-4190. $25; 

$15(st with id). 

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

Tribute to Erroll Garner. Robi Botos 

(piano), Lauren Falls (bass), Brian Barlow 

(drums). 1570 Yonge St. 416-920-5211. Freewill 

offering. Religious service. 

●●5:00: Burdock Music Hall. Album Release: 

Jessica Deutsch & Ozere. Jessica Deutsch, 

voice/violin; Lydia Munchinsky, cello; 

Adrian Gross, mandolin; Bret Higgins, bass. 

1184 Bloor St. W. 416-546-4033. $15-$20. 

●●7:00: Canadian Children’s Opera Company. 

Songs for a New World. Music and 

lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Canadian Children’s 

Opera Company Youth Chorus. Aki Studio 

Theatre, 585 Dundas St. E. 416-366-0467. 

$25; $15(st). Also 3pm. 

●●8:00: Canadian Sinfonietta. Young Artists 

and Canadian Sinfonietta. Featuring the winners 

of the CS Young Artist Competition and the 

Unionville Music Academy Competition. Markham 

Wesley Centre, 22 Esna Park Dr., Markham. 

647-812-0839. $40; $35(sr); $20(st). 


●●7:30: The Piano Lunaire. Worm Moon. 

Esthir Lemi: Through the Looking Sound; 

Stockhausen: Klavierstück X; Cassandra Miller: 

Philip the Wanderer. Jana Luksts, piano. 

Bunker Lane Press, 1001 Bloor St. W. Rear. 

416-825-2744 or universe.com. $18; $10(st). 

●●7:30: University of St. Michael’s College. 

Stabat Mater and Missa Dolorosa. Caldara. 

St. Michael’s Schola Cantorum and Orchestra; 

Tickets: $30, Seniors: $25, Students with ID: $10 (only at the door) 

Info: 416 286-9798 Order online: boxoffice.tallischoir.com 


Chris Verrette, chorus director; Christina 

Labriola, conductor. St. Basil’s Church, University 

of St. Michael’s College, 50 St. Joseph St. 

416-926-7148. Free; donations welcomed. 

●●8:00: Pocket Concerts. Bach at Bellwoods 

- Part 3. Bach: Cello Suite No.5. Andrew 

Ascenzo, cello. Bellwoods Coffee and Gelato, 

1006 Dundas St. W. 647-896-8295. $30; 

$15(youth/child). 



Chamber Music Series: Thus the Night. Dutilleux: 

Ainsi la nuit; Schumann: String Quartet 

No. 1 in a Op.41 No.1. Castalian String Quartet. 

Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four 

Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 




Lunchtime Chamber Music. Gina Lee, piano. 

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge 

St. 416-241-1298. Free. Donations welcome. 

●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of Music. 

Graduate Student Conductor Concert. Edward 

Johnson Building, Walter Hall, 80 Queen’s Park. 

416-978-3750. Free. Open to the public. 

March 10 at 8 pm 

ANDRÉ 

LAPLANTE 

pianist 

●●8:00: Music Toronto. André Laplante, Piano. 

Bach/Busoni: Adagio in a from Toccata, Adagio 

and Fugue in C BWV564; Mozart: Piano Sonata 

in E-flat K282; Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.26 

in E-flat Op.81a “Les Adieux”; François Morel: 

Deux Études de Sonorité; Schubert: Piano 

Sonata No.21 in B-flat D960. Jane Mallett Theatre, 

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front 

St. E. 416-366-7723. $47.50-$52; $10(st). 



Dance Series: her body as words. Peggy Baker 

Dance Projects. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, 


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



Noonday Organ Recital. William Maddox, 

organ. 1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free. 


Upper Jazz Concerts: U of T Jazz Ensembles. 

Upper Jazz Studio, 90 Wellesley St. W. 416-978- 

3750. Free. Open to the public. Also at 8pm. 

●●7:30: National Ballet of Canada. Romeo and 

Juliet. Music by Sergei Prokofiev. Alexei Ratmanski, 

choreographer. Four Seasons Centre 

for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. 

W. 416-345-9595. $68 and up. Opens Mar 11, 

7:30pm. Runs to Mar 22. Wed-Sat(7:30pm). 

Sat/Sun(2pm). Note: also Mar 12(2pm). 


Music. York University Chamber Choir. 

Works by Zelenka, Mozart, Loomer and 

Dvořák. John Holland, conductor. Tribute 

Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East 

Building, York University, 4700 Keele St. 416- 

736-2100 x20054. $15; $10(sr/st). 


●●10:30am: York University Department of 

Music. World Music Festival. Celtic Ensemble; 

Sherry Johnson, conductor. Martin Family 

Lounge, Accolade East Building, York University, 

4700 Keele St. 416-736-2100 x20054. Free. 

●●11:30am: York University Department of 

Music. World Music Festival: World Music 

Showcase. Martin Family Lounge, Accolade 

East Building, York University, 4700 Keele St. 

416-736-2100 x20054. Free. 


Music. Thursdays at Noon: Calidore String 

Quartet Presents Beethoven and the Fugue. 

Edward Johnson Building, Walter Hall, 

80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-3750. Free. Open 

to the public. 

●●1:00: York University Department of Music. 

World Music Festival: Cuban Ensembles with 

Escola de Samba. Tribute Communities Recital 


4700 Keele St. 416-736-2100 x20054. Free. 

●●2:00: National Ballet of Canada. Romeo 

and Juliet. See Mar 11. Also Mar 12(7:30pm); 

13(7:30pm); 14(2pm & 7:30pm); 15(2pm); 

18(7:30pm); 19(7:30pm); 20(7:30pm); 21(2pm 

& 7:30pm); 22(2pm). 


Music. World Music Festival: West African 

Drumming: Ghana. Kwasi Dunyo, director. 

Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade 


416-736-2100 x20054. Free. 


Music. World Music Festival: Caribbean 

Music Ensemble. Lindy Burgess, director. 



416-736-2100 x20054. Free. 

St. Michael’s Concerts 

presents 

Mozart 

Requiem 

Thursday, March 12 | 7:00 p.m. 

St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica 

65 Bond Street, Toronto 

St. Michael’s Choir School 

Schola Cantorum 

Schola Cantorum Orchestra 

●●7:00: St. Michael’s Concerts. Mozart: 

Requiem. Stabat Mater from Gregorian 

Chant; Handel: Dead March from Saul; Mozart: 

Requiem. Teri Dunn, soprano; Krisztina 

Szabó, mezzo; Michael Colvin, tenor; Robert 

Pomakov, bass; St. Michael’s Choir School 

Schola Cantorum; Schola Cantorum Orchestra; 

S. Bryan Priddy, conductor. St. Michael’s 

Cathedral, 65 Bond St. 416-397-6367 or stmichaelscathedral.com/concerts. 

Freewill 

offering. 



14(2pm & 7:30pm); 15(2pm); 18(7:30pm); 

19(7:30pm); 20(7:30pm); 21(2pm & 7:30pm); 

22(2pm). 


Music. Mansfield Park. Music by Jonathan 

Dove, libretto by Alasdair Middleton. Mac- 

Millan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, 

80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $40; 

$25(sr); $10(st). U of T students admitted free 

with a valid TCard, space permitting. “Opera 

Talk” lecture ½ hour before concert. Also 

Mar 13, 14(eves); 15(mat). 



Recital. Chopin: Nocturne Op.27 No.2; Chopin: 

Ballade No.1 in g Op.23; and music for four and 

six hands. Lisa Tahara, Jayne Sakurako Abe 

and Victoria Yuan, pianos. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian 

Church (Toronto), 73 Simcoe St. 416- 

593-5600 x231. Free. 

●●7:30: Heliconian Club. Folkloric: Canadian 

Women Composers. Di Castri: Sprung Testament; 

Skarecky: Kirramurra Waterfall for 

String Quartet; Marshall: Land of the Silver 

Birch: Theme and Variations; Alexander: Get 

Around Sadie. Jin Lee Youn, violin; Victoria 

Yeh, violin; Jacqueline Leung, piano; Klaritas 

Vocal Ensemble. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton 

Ave. 416-922-3618. $30. 


and Juliet. See Mar 11. Also Mar 14(2pm & 

7:30pm); 15(2pm); 18(7:30pm); 19(7:30pm); 

20(7:30pm); 21(2pm & 7:30pm); 22(2pm). 

●●7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Pictures 

at an Exhibition. Eckhardt-Gramatté: 

Capriccio concertante; Tchaikovsky: Piano 

Concerto No.1; Mussorgsky/orch. Ravel: 

SPREZZATURA! MUSIC OF THE FORGOTTEN GALANT 

Galuppi, Scarlatti, Leo, Handel & more 

Conductor: Paul Grambo ~ Accompanist: Jean Willadsen 

An Irish Celtic Celebration 

with special guests Anne Lindsay (fiddle) & Sharlene Wallace (harp) 

Saturday, March 7, 7:30 pm 

Grace Church on-the-hill, 300 Lonsdale Road, Toronto 

Tickets available online at ticketscene.ca & celticchoir.ca 

Saturday March 7 th - 7:30 pm 

Rezonance Baroque Ensemble 

Musicians on the Edge 

Emily Klassen, soprano 

metunited.ca 


Pictures at an Exhibition. Sergei Babayan, 

piano; Jader Bignamini, conductor. Roy 


From $35. Also Mar 14(8pm), 15(3pm). 


Mansfield Park. Music by Jonathan Dove, 

libretto by Alasdair Middleton. MacMillan Theatre, 

Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s 

Park. 416-408-0208. $40; $25(sr); $10(st). 

U of T students admitted free with a valid TCard, 

space permitting. “Opera Talk” lecture ½ hour 

before concert. Also Mar 12, 14(eves); 15(mat). 


Music. World Music Festival: Balkan Music 

Ensemble. Irene Markoff, director. Tribute 

Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East 

Building, York University, 4700 Keele St. 416- 

736-2100 x20054. Free. 


Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 8 p.m. 

(Pre-concert chat 

at 7:15 p.m. with sackbut 

specialist Linda Pearse) 

Rosenmüller @ 400 

Calvin Presbyterian Church 

26 Delisle Ave. 


torontochamberchoir.ca 

@torontochamberchoir 

@torchamberchoir 



15(2pm); 18(7:30pm); 19(7:30pm); 

20(7:30pm); 21(2pm & 7:30pm); 22(2pm). 

●●3:00: Climax Jazz Band. Matinee Jazz. 

Dorothy Rose, chanteuse. Smoke Show, 

744 Mount Pleasant Rd. 416-901-7469. $5. 

●●3:00: Neapolitan Connection - Musical 

Matinées at Montgomery’s Inn. Rizikov Plays 

Rachmaninov! Anastasia Rizikov, piano. Montgomery’s 

Inn, 4709 Dundas St. W. 416-231- 

0006 or neapolitanconnection.com. $15-$30. 

Tea, historical tour(2:15pm), cookies included. 

●●4:30: Royal Conservatory of Music. Taylor 

Performance Academy for Young Artists 

Series - Showcase Concerts. Features classical 

musicians aged 8-18. Mazzoleni Concert 

Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408- 

0208. Free(ticket required). Tickets available 

a week prior to concert date. 


and Juliet. See Mar 11. Also Mar 15(2pm); 

18(7:30pm); 19(7:30pm); 20(7:30pm); 21(2pm 

& 7:30pm); 22(2pm). 





80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $40; 




Mar 12, 13(eves); 15(mat). 

●●8:00: Acoustic Harvest/Live Music 

East. James Keelaghan & Jez Lowe. St. 

Paul’s United Church (Scarborough), 

200 McIntosh St., Scarborough. 416-729- 

7564 or acousticharvest.ca/2020-02-22. 

html. $30/$25(adv). 

●●8:00: Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra. 

Beethoven & Schumann. Beethoven: Overture 

to Egmont; Schumann: Symphony No.4 in d; 

Wirén: Serenade for Strings; Barbara Croall: Nimkii 

N’gamwin (Thunderbird Song). Barbara Croall, 

Odawa First Nations composer and soloist; Pratik 

Gandhi, guest conductor. P.C. Ho Theatre, Chinese 

Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto, 5183 Sheppard 

Ave. E., Scarborough. 416-879-5566 or cathedralbluffs.com. 

$35-$55; $30-$45(sr/st); free(under 

12). 7:15pm: Pre-concert talk. 

●●8:00: Music Gallery. Phth + xLq. Vivier: 

Love Songs and other works. The Music 

Gallery, 918 Bathurst St. musicgallery.org. 

$18/$13(adv); $10(st/members). Venue not 

wheelchair accessible. 

●●8:00: Toronto Chamber Choir. Rosenmüller 

@ 400. Rosenmüller: Missa Brevis, Siehe an die 

Wercke Gottes, Ad dominum cum tribularer, 

Magnificat in B-flat à 10. Linda Pearse, sackbut. 

Calvin Presbyterian Church, 26 Delisle Ave. 

416-763-1695 or torontochamberchoir.ca. $30; 

$25(sr); $12.50(under 30). 7:15pm: Pre-concert 

chat with sackbut specialist Linda Pearse. 




Concerto No.1; Mussorgsky/orch. Ravel: Pictures 

at an Exhibition. Sergei Babayan, piano; 

Jader Bignamini, conductor. Roy Thomson 

Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-872-4255. From $35. 

Also Mar 13(7:30pm), 15(3pm). 




19(7:30pm); 20(7:30pm); 21(2pm & 7:30pm); 

22(2pm). 

John O’Conor 

and Beethoven 

SuNdAy, MArCh 15, 2pM 

MAzzOLENI CONCErT hALL 

Cathedral Bluffs 

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 

Norman Reintamm Artistic Director/Principal 

Pratik Gandhi Guest Conductor 

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! 416.408.0208 

www.rcmusic.com/performance 

Saturday March 14, 2020 8 pm 

BEETHOVEN & SCHUMANN 

Beethoven: Overture to Egmont 

Schumann: Symphony No. 4 in D minor 

Wiren: Serenade for Strings 

Croall: Nimkii N’gamwin 

Odawa First Nations composer Barbara Croall performs her own work 

TICKETS: from $35 ($30 student/senior; children under 12 are free) 

ORDER ONLINE cathedralbluffs.com BY PHONE 416.879.5566 

P.C. Ho Theatre 5183 Sheppard Ave East 

subscription 

(1 block east of Markham Rd), Scarborough 

cathedralbluffs.com | 416.879.5566 

concert 5 

●●2:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Mazzoleni 

Masters Series: John O’Conor and 

Beethoven. Mazzoleni Concert Hall, TELUS 

Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 or 

rcmusic.com/performance. $30. 





80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $40; 




Mar 12, 13, 14(eves). 




Concerto No.1; Mussorgsky/orch. Ravel: Pictures 

at an Exhibition. Sergei Babayan, piano; 

Jader Bignamini, conductor. Roy Thomson 

Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-872-4255. From $32. 

Also Mar 13(7:30pm), 14(8pm). 

●●4:00: Hart House Singers. Modern Choral 

Classics. Works by Tavener, Whitacre, Rist; 

songs from Haiti, Ghana, and South Africa. 

Wladimir Badia, percussion; Conrad Gold, 

piano; David Arnot-Johnston, conductor. Hart 

House, Great Hall, 7 Hart House Circle. 416- 

978-2452. Free. Donations to UofT Foodbank 

welcome. 

●●8:00: Arraymusic. Rat-Drifting Concert 

Series: Christopher Dela Cruz. Array Space, 

155 Walnut Ave. 647-385-2068. $30. 


●●7:30: Shaftesbury Salon Music Series. Mirror 

Visions. Settings of the same text by different 

composers. Mireille Asselin, soprano; 

Scott Murphee, tenor; Jesse Blumberg, baritone; 

Grant Wenaus, piano. Atrium (Toronto), 

21 Shaftesbury Ave. 416-519-7883. $30. 


Music. Vocalis: Playing Well with Others. 

Master’s and doctoral level singers. Trinity-St. 

Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-978-3750. 

Free and open to the public. 


Music. Jazz Festival: Jazz Combos. Roy Patterson, 

Anthony Michelli, Artie Roth, Mark 

Eisenman, directors. Martin Family Lounge, 

Accolade East Building, York University, 

4700 Keele St. 416-736-2100 x20054. Free. 

●●8:00: Aga Khan Museum/Kabir Cultural 

Centre. Fareed Ayaz & Abu Muhammad 

Qawwali Ensemble. Aga Khan Museum, 

77 Wynford Dr. 416-646-4677. $55; $41.25(sr/ 

st). 



Lunchtime Chamber Music. Rising Stars 

Recital featuring students from the UofT 

Faculty of Music. Yorkminster Park Baptist 




Music. Student Conductor Concert. Edward 

Johnson Building, Walter Hall, 80 Queen’s 

Park. 416-978-3750. Free. Open to the public. 


Music. Jazz Festival: Jazz Combos. Lorne Lofsky, 

Kelly Jefferson, directors. Martin Family 


4700 Keele St. 416-736-2100 x20054. 

Free. 




Dance Series: Dances with Trane. Works by 

John Coltrane. Holla Jazz. Richard Bradshaw 

Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the 

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

8231. Free. First come, first served. No late 

seating. 


Kingsway Organ Concert Series. Patrick 

McElcheran, organ. All Saints Kingsway 

Anglican Church, 2850 Bloor St. W. 416-571- 

3680 or organixconcerts.ca. Freewill offering 

appreciated. 


Music. Upper Jazz Concerts: U of T Jazz 

Ensembles. Upper Jazz Studio, 90 Wellesley 

St. W. 416-978-3750. Free. Open to the public. 

Also at 8pm. 

●●7:30: Ken Page Memorial Trust. Jim Galloway’s 

Wee Big Band Celebrates Duke Ellington 

and The Blues. Martin Loomer, guitar/ 

leader. Arts and Letters Club, 14 Elm St. 416- 

515-0200. $30(cash only). Licensed facility. 



20(7:30pm); 21(2pm & 7:30pm); 22(2pm). 

RAvEL’S L’heure espagnoLe 

PuCCINI’S suor angeLica 

ThE GLENN GOuLd SChOOL 

KOERNER hALL OPERA 2020 

WEdNESdAy, MARCh 18, 7:30PM 

FRIdAy, MARCh 20, 7:30PM 



●●7:30: Royal Conservatory of Music. Ravel’s 

L’heure espagnole & Puccini’s Suor Angelica. 

Glenn Gould School Koerner Hall Opera, 

Nicolas Ellis, conductor; Michael Cavanagh, 

stage director. Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 


com/performance. $25-$60. Also Mar 20. 


Music. Jazz Festival: Jazz Combos. Kevin Turcotte, 

Frank Falco, directors. Martin Family 


4700 Keele St. 416-736-2100 x20054. 

Free. 

●●8:00: Canadian Music Centre. Wounded 

Landscapes. Premiere of two new solo 

piano works and a piano duo by Harper-Latkovich. 

Megan Thibeault, piano; Justin Paul 

Ortez, piano. 20 St. Joseph St. 416-961-6601. 

$10-$15. 



Music. Thursdays at Noon: Norcop Winners’ 

Recital. Edward Johnson Building, Walter 

Hall, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-3750. Free. 

Open to the public. 


Music. Jazz Festival: Jazz Combos. Mim 

Adams, director. Tribute Communities 

Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, York 

University, 4700 Keele St. 416-736-2100 

x20054. Free. 



21(2pm & 7:30pm); 22(2pm). 

●●7:30: Orchestra Breva Academy Orchestra. 

Music for Social Change: A Benefit Concert 

for Sistema Toronto. Mozart: Symphony 

No.40; Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.2; Tanovich: 

Symphony in B flat. Vivian Kwok, piano; 

Emma Moss, Evan Tanovich, conductors. Trinity 

College, Seeley Hall, 6 Hoskin Ave. 519-981- 

8441. By donation. 


Music. Jazz Concerts. U of T Jazz Orchestra; 11 

O’Clock Jazz Orchestra; Dick Oatts, saxophone; 

Gordon Foote and Jim Lewis, conductors. Walter 

Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University 

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

$20; $10(st). U of T students admitted free with 

a valid TCard, space permitting. 


Music. Jazz Festival: York U Jazz Orchestra. 

Mike Cadó, director. Martin Family Lounge, 


4700 Keele St. 416-736-2100 x20054. Free. 


PAVEL HAAS 

QUARTET 

●●8:00: Music Toronto. Pavel Haas Quartet. 

Martinů: Quartet No.4, H.256; Bartók: 

Quartet No.4, Sz.91; Beethoven: Quartet in 

B-flat Op.130; “Grosse Fuge” Op.133. Veronika 

Jarůšková, 1st violin; Marek Zwiebel, 2nd violin; 

Jiří Kabát, viola; Peter Jarůšek, cello. Jane 

Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the 

Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $47.50- 

$52; $10(st). 

●●8:00: Roy Thomson Hall. Scott Bradlee’s 

Postmodern Jukebox: Welcome to the Twenties 

2.0 World Tour. 60 Simcoe St. 416-872- 

4255. $39.50-$99.50. 



Recital. Works by Haydn, Debussy, Ravel, 

Schumann and Rachmaninoff. Mathew Li, 

piano. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church 

(Toronto), 73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x231. 

Free. 


Music. Woodwind Chamber Ensembles. Walter 



Free and open to the public. 

●●7:00: St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church/ 

RESound Choir of Durham. Mozart Requiem: 

Solemn Mass in the Extraordinary form. 

Requiem. Mozart. RESound Choir of Durham; 

Victor Cheng, conductor; Nathan Jeffrey, 

organ. St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church, 

1148 Finch Ave., Pickering. 905-576-9398. A 

collection will be taken. 


and Juliet. See Mar 11. Also Mar 21(2pm & 

7:30pm); 22(2pm). 

●●7:30: Royal Conservatory of Music. Ravel’s 

L’heure espagnole & Puccini’s Suor Angelica. 

Glenn Gould School Koerner Hall Opera; 

Nicolas Ellis, conductor; Michael Cavanagh, 

stage director. Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 


com/performance. $25-$60. Also Mar 18. 


Early Music Concerts: Giulio Cesare. Daniel 

Taylor, conductor. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 

427 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $30; $20(sr); 

$10(st). U of T students admitted free with a 

valid TCard, space permitting. Also Mar 21. 

●●8:00: Kindred Spirits Orchestra. The 

Muse and the Poet. Saint-Saëns: La muse 

et la poète; Ravel: Piano Concerto in G; Bartók: 

Concerto for orchestra. Maxim Bernard, 

piano; Nakwon Ghoi, violin; Hee Yeon Kim, 

cello; Kristian Alexander, conductor; Michael 

Berec, host. Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing 

Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond Hill. 

905-604-8339. $15-$40. 7:15pm pre-concert 

recital; 7:30pm pre-concert talk; intermission 

discussion. 

●●8:00: Tapestry Opera. Songbook X. Krisztina 

Szabó, mezzo; Christopher Foley, piano. 

Ernest Balmer Studio, Distillery District, 

9 Trinity St. 416-537-6066. $25. Also Mar 21. 

●●8:00: Thin Edge New Music Collective. 

Premieres IX. Works by Koochakzadeh-Yazdi, 

Volpini, Griffin, Samiei, Ariaratnam. Array 

Space, 155 Walnut Ave. 647-456-7597. $20; 

$15(sr/st/arts). 


●●12:00 noon: Brian Katz & Ernie Tollar. Katz- 

Tollar. Brian Katz: guitar, piano, vocals; Ernie 

Tollar: saxophone, bansuri flute, ney flute. 

Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St. 416- 

393-7157. Free. 

●●1:00: Royal Canadian College of Organists 

Toronto. 6th Annual Bach Walk. Robert Dixon, 

organ. Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge 

St. 416-929-6400. Free. 



22(2pm). 


Toronto. 6th Annual Bach Walk. George Fung, 

organ. Calvin Presbyterian Church, 26 Delisle 

Ave. 416-929-6400. Free. 

●●2:00: York Harmony Chorus. Death by 

Chocolate. Martha DeClerq, conductor. Newmarket 

Community Centre, 200 Duncan Dr., 

Newmarket. 905-616-6436. $25. 


Toronto. 6th Annual Bach Walk. Bill Maddox, 

organ. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 

1585 Yonge St. 416-929-6400. Free. 

●●6:00: Valerie Gordon. Fantasia: The Complete 

Violin Fantasies by Telemann. Patricia 

Ahern, Kailey Richards, Michelle Odorico, 

Rezan Onen-Lapointe, Valerie Gordon and 

others. St. Barnabas Anglican Church, 

361 Danforth Ave. valerie.n.gordon@gmail. 

com. Suggested donation: $25; $15(sr/st/arts 

workers). 

●●7:00: West End Jazz. Ella & Louis. How 

High the Moon, Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off, 

Cheek to Cheek, What a Wonderful World; 

and other works. Alexander Brown, trumpet; 

Faith Amour, vocals. Atrium Banquet and 

Conference Centre, 5420 N. Service Rd., Burlington. 

905-339-3486. $30(show); $75(dinner 

and show). 5:30pm: dinner. 

●●7:30: National Ballet of Canada. Romeo and 

Juliet. See Mar 11. Also Mar 21(2pm). 


Music. Early Music Concerts: Giulio Cesare. 

Daniel Taylor, conductor. Trinity-St. Paul’s 

Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $30; 

$20(sr); $10(st). U of T students admitted 

free with a valid TCard, space permitting. 

Also Mar 20. 

2020 Bach Walk 

Celebrate Bach’s 

335th Birthday! 

SATURDAY, MARCH 21 

1:00pm: Christ Church Deer Park 

1570 Yonge St. at Heath St. W 

Organ Recital with Robert Dixon 

2:00pm: Calvin Presbyterian Church 

26 Delisle Ave. (just west of Yonge St.) 

Organ Recital with George Fung 

3:00pm: Yorkminster Park 


1585 Yonge St. at Heath St. E 

Organ Recital with William Maddox 

Birthday Cake reception 

at the end of the day 

Free Admission (donations welcome) 

Info: 416-929-6400 

rcco.ca/toronto-on 


●●8:00: Guitar Society of Toronto. In Concert. 

Alexandra Christodimou and Yannis 

Petridis, guitars. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian 

Church (Toronto), 73 Simcoe St. 416- 

964-8298 or guitarsocietyoftoronto.com. 

$40; $35(sr); $30(st); $35(adv); $30(sr adv); 

$25(st adv). 

●●8:00: Tapestry Opera. Songbook X. Krisztina 



9 Trinity St. 416-537-6066. $25. Also Mar 20. 

●●9:00: Alliance Française de Toronto. 

Prince Yannick. Spadina Theatre, 24 Spadina 

Rd. 416-922-2014 x37. $28; $14(members). 


●●1:15: Mooredale Concerts. Music & Truffles: 

Andrew Wan, Violin and Charles 

Richard-Hamelin, Piano. All-Beethoven program. 

Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, 

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

922-3714 x103. $20. 


and Juliet. See Mar 11. 

●●2:00: Toyich International Projects. Boyanna 

Toyich: Inspiring Life Through Music. A 

Chamber Music Concert in support of “The 

Boyanna Toyich Leadership in Music Scholarship”. 

Chamber works by Beethoven, Chopin, 

Ravel and others. Chamber musicians 

and vocalists; Guest: Klaritas Vocal Ensemble. 

Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 416- 

346-1955. By donation. All proceeds used to 

establish the scholarship at the University 

of Toronto. 


Music. York University Concert & Chamber 

Choir. Works by Mozart, Vivaldi, Dvořák. 

John Holland, conductor. Tribute Communities 

Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, York 

University, 4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888. $15; 

$10(sr/st). 

●●3:15: Mooredale Concerts. Andrew 

Wan, Violin and Charles Richard-Hamelin, 

Piano. Beethoven Violin Sonatas: No.4 in a 

Op.23 No.10; No.10 in G Op.96; No.9 in A Op.47 

“Kreutzer”. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson 

Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s 

Park. 416-922-3714 x103. $45; $40(sr); 

$30(under 30). 

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


Vespers. Works by Chet Baker & Gerry Mulligan. 

The Jeru Quartet. 1570 Yonge St. 416- 

920-5211. Freewill offering. Religious service. 

●●4:30: Vic Chorus/Emmanuel College TST 

Choir. An Afternoon of Sacred Jazz. Chilcott: 

A Little Jazz Mass; and other works. Professional 

guest jazz instrumental ensemble; Taylor 

Sullivan, Peter Merrick and Swee Hong 

Lim, conductors. Victoria College Chapel, 

91 Charles St. W. 416-585-4521. Free. 

Taiko 

Returns 

Sunday 

March 22 

2020 

8pm Concert 

Koerner Hall 

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 

espritorchestra.com 

●●8:00: Esprit Orchestra. Taiko Returns. 

Barbara Croall: Mijidwewinan (Messages), 

for Anishinaabekwe soloist and orchestra; 

Christopher Goddard: Piano Concerto, 

concerto for piano and orchestra; Eugene 

Astapov: A Still Life, for soprano and orchestra; 

Maki Ishii: Mono-Prism for taiko drumming 

group and orchestra. Shannon Mercer, 

soprano; Nagata Schachu, taiko drumming 

group; Eugene Astapov, conductor; Christopher 

Goddard, piano; Barbara Croall, Anishinaabekwe 

soloist (vocals/traditional flute); 

Alex Pauk, conductor. Koerner Hall, TELUS 

Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. From 

$20. 7:15pm: pre-concert chat. 



Music. Brass Chamber Ensembles. Walter 

Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of 

Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-3750. Free 

and open to the public. 


Music. We the Broadway North. A celebration 

of musical theatre. Hart House Theatre, 

7 Hart House Circle. 416-978-3750. Free and 

open to the public. 



Lunchtime Chamber Music. Michelle Lin, 

piano. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 

1585 Yonge St. 416-241-1298. Free. Donations 

welcome. 

●●7:30: Canadian Chinese Society for the 

Arts. Winter Waltz Concert. Works by Vivaldi, 

Tchaikovsky and Johann Strauss II. 

Angela Wang, violin; CCSA Symphony Orchestra; 

Claudio Vena, conductor. Koerner Hall, 

TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408- 

0208. From $48. 

●●7:30: Falun Dafa Association of Toronto. 

Shen Yun: 5,000 Years of Civilization Reborn. 


145 Queen St. W. 416-373-8231. $100-$400. 

Also Mar 25(2pm); 26(7:30pm); 27(7:30pm); 

28(2pm & 7:30pm); 29(1pm). 

TENEBRAE 

MOSAIC 


Soloists 



March 24 and March 31 

●●7:30: Mosaic Canadian Vocal Ensemble. 

Tenebrae Religious Service. Members of St. 

Michael’s Choir School Alumni. St. Patrick’s 

Catholic Church (Mississauga), 921 Flagship 

Dr., Mississauga. 416-571-3680. Freewill 

offering appreciated. 

Wednesday March 25 


Music. Music at Midday: York University R&B 

Ensemble. Mike Cadó director. Martin Family 


4700 Keele St. 416-736-2100 x20054. 

Free. 


Noonday Organ Recital. Matthew Larkin, 



Shen Yun: 5,000 Years of Civilization 

Reborn. See Mar 24. Also Mar 26(7:30pm); 

27(7:30pm); 28(2pm & 7:30pm); 29(1pm). 

●●7:30: Array Space/Frank Horvat. 

Earth Hour Music: An Introspective Piano 

Earth 

Hour 

Music 

FRANK HORVAT piano 

MARCH 25-29 

www.frankhorvat.com 

Experience in the Dark. Horvat: Earth Hour 2. 

Frank Horvat, piano. Array Space, 155 Walnut 

Ave. 416-434-7870. $20/$25(Mar 28). Also 

Mar 26, 27, 28(7pm), 29(2:30pm). 


Music. Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Ayelet Rose 

Gottlieb, vocalist. Walter Hall, Edward 

Johnson Building, University of Toronto, 

80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. Free and 

open to the public. 



Music. Thursdays at Noon. Dénes Vàrjon, 

piano. Edward Johnson Building, Walter Hall, 




Music. Music at Midday: Chamber Music Concert. 


East Building, York University, 4700 Keele 

St. 416-736-2100 x20054. Free. 



Experience in the Dark. See Mar 25. Also 

Mar 27(7:30pm); 28(7pm), 29(2:30pm). 



See Mar 24. Also Mar 27(7:30pm); 28(2pm & 

7:30pm); 29(1pm). 

●●7:30: Onstage Uxbridge. The Mikado. Music 

by Arthur Sullivan, libretto by W. S. Gilbert. 

Uxbridge Music Hall, 16 Main St. S., Uxbridge. 

onstageuxbridge.com. $25. Opens Mar 26, 

7:30pm. Runs to Apr 4. Thurs-Sat(7:30pm), 

Sat/Sun(2pm). 

BACH 

ST JOHN 

PASSION 

Mar 26–29, 2020 

Koerner Hall 


●●7:30: Tafelmusik. Bach St. John Passion. 

Jana Miller, soprano; Krisztina Szabó, mezzo; 

Charles Daniels, tenor; William Sharp, baritone; 

Andrew Mahon, bass-baritone; Tafelmusik 

Chamber Choir; Ivars Taurins, conductor. 


416-408-0208. From $39(Thur, Fr, Sat)/ from 

$46(Sun); discounts for sr/under 36/under 

19. Also Mar 27, 28, 29(mat). 


Music. York University Symphony Orchestra. 

Mark Chambers, conductor. Tribute Communities 



x20054. $15; $10(sr/st). 

●●8:00: New Music Concerts. Piano Erhu 


Piano Erhu Project 

THU.MAR.26 TRINITY-ST.PAUL’S CENTRE 

www.NewMusicConcerts.com 

Project. Works written for the PEP ensemble 

by Dorothy Chang; Alice Ho; Terri Hron; Jocelyn 

Morlock; Serra Hwang; and others. Nicole 

Ge Li, erhu; Cory Hamm, piano. Trinity-St. 

Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-961-9594. 

$35; $25(sr/arts workers); $10(st). 7:15pm: 

pre-concert talk. 

●●8:00 Aaron Davis. Circle of Friends. Original 

compositions from his upcoming new 

recording, in collaboration with Dylan Bell, 

Gabriel Davis, Lori Cullen, Suba Sankaran, 

Maryem Tollar, and others. Lula Lounge 

1585 Dundas Street West, Toronto. 416-588- 

0307 or eventbrite $22 (Dinner reservations, 

from 6:30pm, guarantee seating) 


●●12:00 noon: York University Department of 

Music. Music at Midday: York University Classical 

Guitar Ensemble. Martin Family Lounge, 


4700 Keele St. 416-736-2100 x20054. Free. 


Recital. Brahms: 3 Intermezzi Op.117; 

6 Klavierstücke Op.118; Variations on a Theme by 

R. Schumann Op.23. Asher Armstrong, piano. 

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (Toronto), 

73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x231. Free. 


Music. Parlami d’Amore (Speak to me of love). 

Operatic repertory from three centuries. Walter 



$20; $10(st). U of T students admitted free with 

a valid TCard, space permitting. 




Mar 28(7pm), 29(2:30pm). 

●●7:30: Brampton Folk Club. Friday Folk Night: 

Creative Voices. Coffee-house-style folk music 

concert. Quebec Fiddle Group Genticorum. St. 

Paul’s United Church (Brampton), 30 Main St. 

S., Brampton. 647-233-3655. $18; $15(sr/st). 

●●7:30: Falun Dafa Association of Toronto. Shen 

Yun: 5,000 Years of Civilization Reborn. See 

Mar 24. Also Mar 28(2pm & 7:30pm); 29(1pm). 

●●7:30: Onstage Uxbridge. The Mikado. 

See Mar 26. Also Mar 28(2pm & 7:30pm); 

29(2pm); Apr 2(7:30pm); 3(7:30pm); 4(2pm 

& 7:30pm). 









19. Also Mar 26, 28, 29(mat). 


Music. Wind Symphony Concerts. Jacob: 

William Byrd Suite; Sampson: Moving Parts; 

Ticheli: Blue Shades; Forsyth: Colour Wheel; 

Maslanka: Testament. Jeffrey Reynolds, conductor. 

MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson 

Building, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. 

$30; $20(sr); $10(st). U of T students admitted 

free with a valid TCard, space permitting. 

●●8:00: Canadian Music Centre. Brodie 

West Quintet. 20 St. Joseph St. 416-961-6601. 

$12-$15. 

●●8:00: Etobicoke Community Concert Band. 

Silver Anniversary Gala. Etobicoke Swing 

Orchestra. Etobicoke Collegiate Auditorium, 

86 Montgomery Rd., Etobicoke. 416-410-1570 

or tickets@eccb.ca. $15; free(child under 12). 

●●8:00: Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra. 

The Swirl of Humanity. Shostakovich: Symphony 

No.10; Brahms: Tragic Overture; EPO Composer 

Competition Winner. Martingrove Collegiate 

Institute, 50 Winterton Dr., Etobicoke. 416-239- 

5665. $30; $25/$22(adv sr); $15(st). 

Friday, March 27, 8:00 p.m. 

Pre-show chat, 7:15 p.m. 

www.exultate.net 

●●8:00: Exultate Chamber Singers. Brahms’s 

Requiem: An Intimate Performance of the 

Great Masterwork. Mark Ramsay, conductor. 

St. Thomas’s Anglican Church (Toronto), 

383 Huron St. 416-971-9229. $30; $25(sr); 

$20(arts workers/under 30); $10(st). 7:15pm: 

pre-concert talk by Dr. Ryan McClelland, and 

musical demonstrations. 




See Mar 24. Also Mar 28(7:30pm); 29(1pm). 


See Mar 26. Also Mar 28(7:30pm); 29(2pm); 

Apr 2(7:30pm); 3(7:30pm); 4(2pm & 7:30pm). 

●●2:00: RESOUND Choir. Eine Kleine Mozart. 

Mozart: Requiem; Te Deum; Sancta Maria; 

Regina Coeli; Ave Verum. Simcoe Street 

United Church, 66 Simcoe St. S., Oshawa. 

905-718-0533. $25; $15(youth). Also 7:00pm. 

●●3:00: Neapolitan Connection - Musical 

Matinées at Montgomery’s Inn. Springtime 

in Paris! Lucia Barcari violin; Anna 

Shaleykevich, piano. Montgomery’s Inn, 

4709 Dundas St. W. 416-231-0006 or neapolitanconnection.com. 

$15-$30. Tea, historical 

tour(2:15pm), cookies included. 

●●4:00: Chris Daniels. Climax Jazz Matinée. 

Dorothy Rose, chanteuse. Leaside Pub, 

190 Laird Dr. 416-467-8682. Free. 

●●4:30: Hope United Church. Jazz Vespers. 

Barry Livingston Group. 2550 Danforth Ave. 

416-691-9682. PWYC. 




Mar 29(2:30pm). 

●●7:00: RESOUND Choir. Eine Kleine Mozart. 

Mozart: Requiem; Te Deum; Sancta Maria; 

Regina Coeli; Ave Verum. Simcoe Street 

United Church, 66 Simcoe St. S., Oshawa. 

905-718-0533. $25; $15(youth). Also 2:00pm. 

●●7:00: St. Francis Centre for the Arts. 

Nina Simone: A Tribute. My Baby Just Cares 

for Me, I Put a Spell on You, Backlash Blues, 

Four Women, Feeling Good; and other works. 

Faith Amour, vocals; Adrean Farrugia, piano; 

Roger Williams, bass; Chris Wallace, drums. 

78 Church St. S., Ajax. 905-619-2529. $30. 

●●7:30: Academy Concert Series. Goin’ Fishing! 

ACS Casts Its Line. Chan: Salmon Quintet; 

Vaughan Williams: Piano Quintet in c; 

Schubert: Piano Quintet in A D667 “The 

Trout”. Phil Chiu, piano; Amanda Goodburn, 

violin; Emily Eng, viola; Kerri McGonigle, 

cello; Joseph Philips, bass. Eastminster 

United Church, 310 Danforth Ave. 416-629- 

3716 or academyconcertseries.com. PWYC. 

●●7:30: Counterpoint Community Orchestra. 

In Unity, Victory. Beethoven: Incidental Music 

to Egmont Op.84; Symphony No.7 in A Op.92. 

Rebecca Gray, soprano; Andrew Chung, conductor. 

Church of St. Peter and St. Simonthe-Apostle, 

525 Bloor St. E. ccorchestra.org. 

$20; $15(st); $10(under 12). 



See Mar 24. Also Mar 29(1pm). 

●●7:30: Mississauga Festival Chamber Choir. 

Musical Bookends. First United Church (Mississauga), 

151 Lakeshore Rd. W., Mississauga. 

mfchoir.com/contact.html. $15-$30. 

●●7:30: Onstage Uxbridge. The Mikado. See 

Mar 26. Also Mar 29(2pm); Apr 2(7:30pm); 

3(7:30pm); 4(2pm & 7:30pm). 

●●7:30: Opera by Request. Puccini’s Il 

Tabarro & Gianni Schicchi. Taylor Gibbs, 

baritone (Marcele); Angela Gibbon, soprano 

(Giorgetta); Cian Horrobin, tenor (Il 

Tinca); Danlie Ray Acebuque, baritone (Schicchi); 

Georgia Perdikopalous, soprano (Lauretta) 

and others. College St. United Church, 

452 College St. 416-455-2365. $20. 









19. Also Mar 26, 27, 29(mat). 

●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty 

of Music. Wind Ensemble Concerts: 

COUNTERPOINT 

C O M M U N I T Y 

O R C H E S T R A 

CANADA’S FIRST LGBTQ+ ORCHESTRA 

2019/2020 Season 

In Unity, Victory 

Beethoven’s Egmont and Symphony No.7 

Saturday, March 28, 2020 

7:30PM | THE St.Peter and St.Simon the Apostle Church 

525 Bloor Street East - Toronto, ON 

tickets at ccorchestra.org 


Remembering. McTee: Circuits; Lauridsen: 

O Magnum Mysterium; Bayolo: Last Breaths; 

Colgrass: Winds of Nagual. Korin Thomas- 

Smith, baritone; Gillian MacKay, conductor. 

MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, 

80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $30; 

$20(sr); $10(st). U of T students admitted free 

with a valid TCard, space permitting. 

●●7:30: York Chamber Ensemble. Beethoven 

250! Beethoven: Coriolan Overture; Piano 

Concerto No.5 “Emperor”; Symphony No.8. 

Coral Solomon-Berkovsky, piano; Michael 

Berec, conductor. St. Paul’s Anglican Church 

(Newmarket), 227 Church St., Newmarket. 

416-931-7899. $20; $10(child). 

●●8:00: Canadian Sinfonietta. Chamber Concert 

III: 20th and 21st Century Music for 

Voice and Strings. Debussy: Chansons de Bilitis 

(arr. Jake Heggie); Ravel: Duo for violin 

and cello; Caravassilis: Four Songs from 

the Age of Rebetiko. Maria Soulis, mezzo; 

Joyce Lai & Alain Bouvier, violins; Ian Clarke, 

viola; Andras Weber, cello. Heliconian Hall, 

SWING 

INTO 

SPRING 

Sat March 28, 8pm 

with Laila Biali 

— launching her 

new recording 

Out of Dust 

with a fabulous 

7-piece band. 

TICKET INCLUDES ADMISSION TO 

THE AGA KHAN MUSEUM 

77 Wynford Drive, North York 

jazzcentre.ca 


35 Hazelton Ave. 647-812-0839. $35; $30(sr); 

$25(st). 

●●8:00: Jazz Performance and Education 

Centre. Album Launch: Swing into Spring 

with Laila Biali. Aga Khan Museum Auditorium, 

77 Wynford Dr. jazzcentre.ca. $40; 

$20(st). Includes admission to museum. 

●●8:00: Mississauga Symphony Orchestra. 

Music by Request. Music selected by 

the audience. Works by Beethoven, Brahms, 

Mozart and Tchaikosvky. Guest: winner of 

MSO Youth Concerto Competition. Living 

Arts Centre, Hammerson Hall, 4141 Living 

Arts Dr., Mississauga. 905-306-6000 or 

mississaugasymphony.ca. $40-$65. 

●●8:00: Nagata Shachu. Taiko X Turntables! 

Featuring DJ Dopey. Al Green Theatre, 

750 Spadina Ave. dj.brownpapertickets.com. 

$30-$35; $20(sr/st). 

●●8:00: Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Celebration: 250th Anniversary of 

Beethoven’s Birth and 40th Anniversary of 

the SPO. Bruckner: Te Deum; Beethoven: 

Symphony No.9 in d, Op.125 “Choral”. Guests: 

Toronto Choral Society. Salvation Army Scarborough 

Citadel, 2021 Lawrence Ave. E., 

Scarborough. $35; $30(sr); $15(st/musicians); 

$10(child). Info and tickets available in 

advance online at spo.ca or at the door. Free 

parking. 

●●8:00: St. Jude’s Celebration of the Arts. 

Defying Gravity. Works by Pellet, Piazzolla, 

Piaf, Tiger Rag and others. Quartetto Gelato. 

St. Jude’s Anglican Church, 160 William St., 

Oakville. 905-844-3972. $30; $20(st). 

●●8:00: Voices Chamber Choir. Sorrowful 

Song. Caldara: Stabat Mater; Lotti: Missa 

pro defunctis; and other works for Lent. John 

Stephenson, organ; Ron Ka Ming Cheung, 

conductor. St. Martin-in-the-Fields Anglican 

Church, 151 Glenlake Ave. 416-519-0528. $20; 

$15(sr/st). 




See Mar 24. 

●●2:00: Canzona Chamber Players. English 

Music for Clarinet and String Quartet. Works 

by Arthur Bliss, York Bowen and Arnold 

Cooke. Jessica Tong, Csaba Koczo, violins, 

Rory McLeod, viola; Robin Howe, cello; Jonathan 

Krehm, clarinet. St. Andrew by-the-Lake 

Anglican Church, Cibola Ave., Toronto Island. 

bemusednetwork.com/groups/member/100. 

$30; $50(concert + 12:30pm brunch). Also 

Mar 30(7:30pm, St. George the Martyr, 

Toronto - concert only). 

●●2:00: Missisauga Big Band Jazz Ensemble. 

Jazz at the Legion. Port Credit Legion, 

35 Front St. N., Port Credit. 905-270-4757. 

PWYC. 


See Mar 26. Also Apr 2(7:30pm); 3(7:30pm); 

4(2pm & 7:30pm). 

●●2:00: Toronto Mozart Players. Leopold 

& Wolfgang. W.A. Mozart: Twelve Duos for 

Horns K487; Leopold Mozart: Trumpet Concerto 

in D; David Bowser: The Forest; W.A. 

Mozart: Requiem K626. Andrew McCandless, 

trumpet; Amy Moodie, soprano; Rachel Miller, 

mezzo; David Walsh, tenor; Wesley Hui, bass; 

Pax Christi Chamber Choir; Toronto Mozart 

Players; David Bowser, conductor. Church of 

the Redeemer, 162 Bloor St. W. 647-478-7532 

or mozartproject.ca. $40; $35(sr); $15(st). 

●●2:00: VPAN - Three for the Show. Rivka 

Golani & Angela Park. Newmarket Theatre, 

505 Pickering Cres., Newmarket. 905-953- 

5122. $30; $25(sr); $10(st). 

●●2:30: Array Space/Frank Horvat. Earth 

Hour Music: An Introspective Piano Experience 

in the Dark. See Mar 25. 

●●2:30: University of Toronto Faculty 

of Music. Choirs in Concert: Wake Into 

Voice. Works by Britten, Schubert, Brahms, 

Runestad and others. MacMillan Singers; 

Women’s Chorus; Women’s Chamber Choir; 

Men’s Chorus; David Fallis, Elaine Choi, Lori- 

Anne Dolloff and Mark Ramsay, conductors. 

MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, 

80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $30; 

$20(sr); $10(st). U of T students admitted free 

with a valid TCard, space permitting. 

●●3:00: Amici Chamber Ensemble. Cinema. 

Revisiting the tradition of silent films with 

live music. Films: Man Ray: Emak-Bakia; Guy 

MUSICAL 

BOOKENDS 

mfchoir.com 

Mississauga Festival Chamber Choir explores music on similar themes and texts 

from the Baroque and modern eras, covering 400 years of choral music. 

SATURDAY MARCH 28, 2020 • 7:30 PM 

FIRST UNITED CHURCH, 151 LAKESHORE ROAD W, MISSISSAUGA ON 

cinema 

MARCH 29, 2020 | 3PM 

REVISITING THE TRADITION OF 

SILENT FILM WITH LIVE MUSIC 

AMICIENSEMBLE.COM 

Maddin: Heart of the World; Buster Keaton: 

The Playhouse. Music by Milhaud, Kradjian, 

Poulenc, Rota, Saint-Saëns. Guest: Yahonatan 

Berick, violin; Amici Chamber Ensemble (Joaquin 

Valdepeñas, clarinet; David Hetherington, 

cello; Serouj Kradjian, piano). Isabel 

Bader Theatre, 93 Charles St. W. 416-408- 

0208. $50; $45(sr); $30(under 30); $15(st). 

●●3:00: Vesnivka Choir. Kobzar. Kateryna 

Khartova, soprano; Jurij Hryhorash, baritone; 

Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir. All Saints 

Kingsway Anglican Church, 2850 Bloor St. W. 

416-763-2197. $30; $25(sr/st). 


Music. York U Wind Symphony. William 

Thomas, conductor. Tribute Communities 

Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, York University, 

4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888. $20; 

$15(sr/st). 









19. Also Mar 26, 27, 28 (all eve). 

●●5:00: Nocturnes in the City. Radka 

Hanáková, Piano. Bach: Goldberg Variations. 

St. Wenceslaus Church, 496 Gladstone Ave. 

416-481-7294 or nocturnesinthecity.com. 

$25; $15(st). 



Music. Music at Midday: Instrumental 

Masterclass in Concert. Tribute Communities 



x20054. Free. 

●●7:30: Associates of the Toronto Symphony 

Orchestra. The Small Concerts: Folk Tunes 

Made Classic. Czerny: Piano Trio Op.211 No.2; 

Martin: Trio on Irish Folk Songs; Dvořák: 

Piano Trio in e Op.90 No.4 B166 “Dumky”; 

Athos: Two Spanish Pieces Op.1. Zephyr Piano 

Trio (Terry Holowach, violin; Edward Hayes, 

cello; Ilona Damasiute-Beres, piano). Trinity-St. 

Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-221- 

8342 or associates-tso.org. $25; $23(sr/st). 

●●7:30: Canzona Chamber Players. English 

Clarinet Quintets. Works by Arthur Bliss, 

York Bowen and Arnold Cooke. Jessica Tong, 


Csaba Koczo, violins, Rory McLeod, viola; 

Robin Howe, cello; Jonathan Krehm, clarinet. 

St. George the Martyr Church, 30 Stephanie 

St. bemusednetwork.com/groups/member/100. 

$30. Also Mar 29(2pm, St. Andrewby-the-Lake, 

Toronto Island). 

●●7:30: Soundstreams. Encounters: Songs 

and Intimacy. Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. 

W. 416-504-1282. PWYC. 


Music. Contemporary Music Ensemble: New 

Masterworks. Edward Johnson Building, Walter 



●●8:00: Pocket Concerts. Bach at Bellwoods 

- Part 4. Bach: Cello Suites No.2 & 3. Joseph 

Johnson, cello. Bellwoods Coffee and Gelato, 

1006 Dundas St. W. 647-896-8295. $30; 

$15(youth/child). 


●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company/ 

Against the Grain Theatre. Vocal Series: 

Unbound. In celebration of the International 

Transgender Day of Visibility. Works by John 

Coltrane. Breanna Sinclairé, transgender 

lyric soprano. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, 


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

First come, first served. No late seating. 


Lunchtime Chamber Music. Rising Stars 

Recital featuring students from the UofT 

Faculty of Music. Yorkminster Park Baptist 




Music. Music at Midday: Classical Piano 

Showcase. Tribute Communities Recital 


4700 Keele St. 416-736-2100 x20054. Free. 

TENEBRAE 

MOSAIC 


Soloists 



March 24 and March 31 

●●7:30: Mosaic Canadian Vocal Ensemble. 

Tenebrae Religious Service. Members of St. 

Michael’s Choir School Alumni. St. Leo’s Catholic 

Church, 277 Royal York Rd., Etobicoke. 

416-571-3680. Freewill offering appreciated. 


Music. U of T Percussion: Past Reset II. 

Edward Johnson Building, Walter Hall, 




BENJAMIN 

GROSVENOR 

pianist 

●●8:00: Music Toronto. Benjamin Grosvenor, 

Piano. Rameau: Gavotte and Variations 

in a; Beethoven: Sonata in E-flat Op.7; Liszt: 

Berceuse in D-flat S174 (2nd version); Liszt: 

Sonata in b S178. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. 

Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 

416-366-7723. $47.50-$52; $10(st). 

Wednesday April 1 


Jazz/World Music Series: Heart and Soul. 

OKAN. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, 





Kingsway Organ Concert Series. 

Damien Macedo, organ. All Saints Kingsway 

Anglican Church, 2850 Bloor St. W. 416-571- 

3680 or organixconcerts.ca. Freewill offering 

appreciated. 


Music. Music at Midday: New Music Ensemble. 

Matt Brubeck, director. Tribute Communities 



x20054. Free. 


Noonday Organ Recital. Rashaan Allwood, 


●●7:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Discovery 

Series: Glenn Gould School Chamber 

Competition Finals. Koerner Hall, TELUS 

Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. 

Free(ticket required). Tickets available a 

week prior to concert date. 


Music. Upper Jazz Concerts: U of T Jazz 

Ensembles. Upper Jazz Studio, 90 Wellesley 

St. W. 416-978-3750. Free. Open to the public. 

Also at 8pm. 

●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 

Lisiecki Plays Beethoven’s Emperor. Apr 1 & 

2: Beethoven: Leonore Overture No.3, Piano 

Concerto No.5 “Emperor”; Schoenberg: Pelleas 

und Melisande. Apr 4 & 5: Beethoven: 

Leonore Overture No.3, Piano Concerto No.3 

& 5 “Emperor”. Jan Lisiecki, piano; Toronto 

Symphony Youth Orchestra (Apr 1 & 2: Overture 

only); Jukka-Pekka Saraste, conductor. 

Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-872- 

4255. From $35. Also Apr 2, 4, 5(3pm, Meridian 

Arts Centre). 

Thursday April 2 

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

Music in the Afternoon: Beverley Johnston 

WOMEN’S MUSICAL CLUB OF TORONTO 

APRIL 2, 2020 | 1.30 PM 

BEVERLEY JOHNSTON 

& FRIENDS 

416-923-7052 

wmct.on.ca 

& Friends. George Kontogiorgos: Axion esti; 

Bach: Bach on Marimba; Christos Hatzis: 

Arctic Dreams; Russell Hartenberger: New 

work for percussion quartet; Julie Spencer: 

Everybody Talk About Percussion; and other 

works. Beverley Johnston, percussion; Gordon 

Fry, percussion; Aiyun Hung, percussion; 

Russell Hartenberger, percussion; Susan 

Hoeppner, flutes; Marc Djokic, violin. Walter 

Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of 

Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-923-7052 or 

wmct.on.ca. $45. 


See Mar 26. Also Apr 3(7:30pm); 4(2pm & 

7:30pm). 

●●8:00: Art of Time Ensemble. S’Wonderful. 

George & Ira Gershwin: Someone to Watch 

Over Me; Lorelei; He Loves, She Loves; instrumental 

works by George Gershwin; and 

music from Porgy and Bess. Jackie Richardson, 

John Southworth, Sarah Slean, 

Billy Newton-Davis, Gregory Hoskins, singers; 

Andrew Burashko, piano; and others. 

Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 235 Queens 

Quay W. 416-973-4000 or artoftimeensemble. 

com. $25-$64. Also Apr 3, 4. 












Arts Centre). 

Friday April 3 

●●11:00am: University of Toronto Faculty of 

Music. Felix Galimir Chamber Music Award 

Concert. Edward Johnson Building, Walter 



●●12:10: Music at St. Andrew’s/Guitar Society 

of Toronto. Noontime Guitar Recital. 

Falla: Seven Spanish Songs; William Beauvais: 

Rounding the Human Corners. Beauvais- 

Soulis Duo, guitar and mezzo. St. Andrew’s 

Presbyterian Church (Toronto), 73 Simcoe St. 

THE ASSOCIATES OF THE 

TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 

Monday, March 30, 2020, 7:30 p.m. 

FOLK TUNES 

MADE CLASSIC 

Carl Czerny Piano trio Op. 211 #2 

Frank Martin Trio on Irish folk songs 

Antonín Dvořák Piano trio ‘Dumky’ in e minor 

Op. 90 #4, B. 166 

Fernandez Arbos Two Spanish pieces Op. 1 

Tickets $25, Seniors & Students $23 

Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre 

427 Bloor St. W. 

Box Office: 416-221-8342 

http://associates-tso.org 


416-593-5600 x231. Free. 


Mar 26. Also Apr 4(2pm & 7:30pm). 


Music. U of T Symphony Orchestra. Nielsen: 

Maskarade (Overture); Schumann: Symphony 

No.1 Op.38 in B-flat (Spring); Grøndahl: 

Concerto for Trombone; Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier 

(Suite). Kyle Orlando, trombone; 

Uri Meyer, conductor. MacMillan Theatre, 

Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park. 

416-408-0208. $30; $20(sr); $10(st). Preperformance 

lecture ‘Symphony Talk’. U of T 

students admitted free with a valid TCard, 

space permitting. 

●●7:30: Upper Canada Brass. Brass-ing Off! 

Sutton: The Paragon; Ballantine: Don’t Doubt 

Him Now; Gayfer: Canadian Landscape. Tom 

Hutchinson, cornet. St. Mary’s Anglican 

Church, 10030 Yonge St., Richmond Hill. 705- 

702-5766 or bit.ly/2srsfbu. $30/$25(online). 

●●8:00: Alliance Française de Toronto. Y2: 

Duo Yannick Rieu & Yves Léveillé. Yannick 

Rieu, soprano saxophone; Yves Léveillé, piano. 

Spadina Theatre, 24 Spadina Rd. 416-922- 

2014 x37. $28; $14(members). 












●●8:00: Roy Thomson Hall. Buddy Guy. Guest: 

Tom Hambridge. 60 Simcoe St. 416-872-4255. 

$49.50-$129.50. 


CELLISSIMO! 

Stéphane Tétreault, cellist 

Schumann April 3 8 pm 

sinfoniatoronto.com 

Tétreault, cello; Nurham Arman, conductor. 

Glenn Gould Studio, 250 Front St. W. 705-726- 

1181. $42; $35(sr); $15(st). 

●●8:00: TO Live. Hiromi. Meridian Arts Centre 

(formerly Toronto Centre for the Arts), 

5040 Yonge St., North York. 1-855-985-2787. 

$42.50-$65. 

●●9:00: Small World Music Society/TD 

Toronto Jazz Festival/Jazzcast. Aditya 

Prakesh Ensemble. Rivoli, 334 Queen St. W. 

416-536-5439. $20. 

Saturday April 4 


Mar 26. Also Apr 4(7:30pm). 


Music. World Music Ensembles. African 

drumming and dancing, steel pan, and Brazilian 

music ensembles. Edward Johnson 

Building, Walter Hall, 80 Queen’s Park. 416- 

978-3750. Free. Open to the public. 

●●4:00: Edison Singers. Ancient & Modern 

Reflections. Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli; 

Byrd: Mass for Four Voices; Howells: Requiem. 

Noel Edison, conductor. St. John’s Latvian 

Lutheran Church (Toronto), 200 Balmoral Ave. 

226-384-3100. $35; $20(st); $10(child). Also 

Mar 28(Niagara-on-the-Lake), 29(Guelph). 

●●7:00: Music at St. Andrew’s. Handel’s Messiah. 

Suzie Leblanc, soprano; Daniel Taylor, 

countertenor; Colin Ainsworth, tenor; Russell 

Braun, baritone; Nota Bene Baroque Players 

& Singers; Howard Dyck, conductor. St. 

Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (Toronto), 

73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x231 or standrewstoronto.org. 

$40. 

●●7:30: Etobicoke Centennial Choir. Offering. 

Cherubini: Requiem Mass in c; Brahms, Nänie, 

Op.82; and works by Elgar, Vaughan Williams, 

Mascagani and Chatman. Humber Valley 

United Church, 76 Anglesey Blvd., Etobicoke. 

416-7792258. $30. 


Mar 26. 












Pieces for Bob 










Arts Centre). 

Sunday April 5 

●●1:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. Sunday 

Interludes Series. Works by Debussy and 

Chopin. Dang Thai Son, piano. Mazzoleni Concert 

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

408-0208. Free(ticket required). Tickets 

available a week prior to concert date. 

●●2:30: VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert. Adriana 

Lecouvreur. Music by Francesco Cilea, 

libretto by Arturo Colautti. Sung in Italian 

with English Surtitles. Sally Dibblee, soprano; 

Rómulo Delgado, tenor; Geneviève Lévesque, 

mezzo; Opera in Concert Chorus; Narmina 

Afandiyeva, music director & pianist; Robert 

Cooper, chorus director. Jane Mallett 

Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 

27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $20-$50. 

●●3:00: Roy Thomson Hall. Conference of 

Independent Schools Music Festival. An 

opportunity for students and music educators 

to collaborate in a non-competitive 

atmosphere. 60 Simcoe St. 416-872-4255. 

$45-$55. 

●●3:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. 

Music Mix Series: George Hinchliffe’s Ukulele 

Orchestra of Great Britain. Koerner Hall, 

TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408- 

0208. $35-$90. 

●●3:00: St. Paul’s Bloor Street. Organ Recital. 

Gerald Loo, organ. 227 Bloor St. E. 416-859- 

7464. Free. 

Pamela Frank 

with Emanuel Ax 

FrIdAy, AprIL 3, 8pm 

prELudE rECITAL 7pm 

KOErNEr HALL 

Beethoven & mozart violin sonatas 



●●8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. String 

Concerts Series: Pamela Frank with Emanuel 

Ax. Beethoven: Violin Sonata No.5 in F Op.24; 

Brahms: Violin Sonata No.3 in d Op.108. 

Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre, 273 Bloor St. 

W. 416-408-0208. $40-$95. Prelude recital 

at 7pm. 

●●8:00: Sinfonia Toronto. Cellissimo! Bacewicz: 

Concerto for String Orchestra; Schumann: 

Cello Concerto; Grigoryan: Spring!; 

Prokofiev: Sinfonia “Kabardinian”. Stéphane 

Cherubini, Requiem 

Mass in C Minor 

Brahms, Nänie 

and works by Elgar, 

Vaughan Williams, 

Mascagni and Chatman 

Sat., April 4 • 7:30 pm 

Humber Valley United Church 

etobicokecentennialchoir.ca 

SAT.APR.4 TRINITY-ST.PAUL’S CENTRE 

www.NewMusicConcerts.com 

●●8:00: New Music Concerts. Pieces for Bob. 

Celebrating Aitken@80. Daniel Foley: Epigrams 

for Robert Aitken; George Crumb: Idyll 

for the Misbegotten (Images III); John Cage: 

Ryoanji; Elliot Carter: Scrivo in vento; Diego 

Luzuriaga: Tierra... tierra; and other works. 

NMC Ensemble; Robert Aitken; and others. 


961-9594. $35; $25(sr/arts workers); $10(st). 

7:15pm: pre-concert talk. 

●●8:00: The Rose Theatre Brampton. LAL / 

New Chance / R. Flex. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre 

Ln., Brampton. 905-874-2800. $25. 



●●3:00: Syrinx Concerts Toronto. Air, Strings 

& Keys. Works for theremin, violin and piano 

by Villa-Lobos, Saint-Saëns, Sibelius, Borodin, 

Jørgensen, and others. Heliconian Hall, 

35 Hazelton Ave. 416-654-0877 or syrinxconcerts.ca. 

$30; $20(st). 




Concerto No.5 “Emperor”; Schoenberg: 


Pelleas und Melisande. Apr 4 & 5: Beethoven: 





Meridian Arts Centre (formerly Toronto Centre 

for the Arts), 5040 Yonge St., North York. 

416-872-4255. From $99. Also Apr 1(8pm Roy 

Thomson Hall), 2(8pm, Roy Thomson Hall), 

4(8pm, Roy Thomson Hall). 

●●4:00: Cantorei sine Nomine. Miserere. 

Lotti: Miserere Mei, Crucifixus, Missa de profundis. 

Stuart Beaudoin, conductor. Church of 

the Immaculate Conception, 1710 Scugog St., 

Port Perry. 705-357-3299. Freewill donation 

($10 suggested). Also Apr 10(St. Paul’s Anglican, 

Uxbridge). 

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

Mark Eisenman (piano), Chase Sanborn 

(trumpet). 1570 Yonge St. 416-920-5211. Freewill 

offering. Religious service. 

PASSIONTIDE 

DEVOTION 

SUNDAY, APRIL 5TH 4:30 PM 

IONA 

LITURGY 

HOLY TUESDAY, APRIL 7TH 7:00 PM 

Yorkminster Park 



Passiontide Devotion. Music for Passiontide 

and Holy Week. Works by Willan, Vierne, Purcell 

and Allegri. Choir of Yorkminister Park 

Baptist Church; William Maddox, organist and 

director; Christel Wiens, associate musician. 

1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Freewill offering. 

Monday April 6 

●●8:00: Confluence Concerts/St. Thomas’s 

Anglican Church. Baroque Music by 

Candelight. A time for quiet reflection at the 

beginning of Holy Week. Vocal and instrumental 

music by Handel, Telemann and Bach. 

St. Thomas’s Anglican Church (Toronto), 

383 Huron St. 647-678-4923. Freewill 

offering. 



World Music Series: Music of Syria, Algeria, 

and the Balkans. Fethi Madjem, multi-instrumentalist. 

Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, 





Iona Liturgy. Musicians of Iona Passage. 

1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Freewill offering. 

B. Concerts Beyond the GTA 

IN THIS ISSUE: Ajax, Barrie, Belleville, Campbellford, 

Cobourg, Dundas, Gravenhurst. Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, 

Kitchener, London, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Oshawa, Pickering, 

Port Perry, St. Catharines, Stratford, Waterloo. 


●●12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. 

Dance Studies in Motion. Paul Davenport 

Theatre, Talbot College, Western University, 

1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661- 

3767. Free. 

●●2:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. 

An Ocean Called Owen. Kevin Lau: Postcards 

from a Blue Planet (selections); Good: 

An Ocean Called Owen. NSO Arts & Minds 

Wind Trio; Dwight Schenk, author, artist, 

songwriter; Scott Good, composer, arranger, 

narrator; Bradley Thachuk, conductor. 

FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. 

Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722 or 

1-855-515-0722. $69; $64(sr); $33(30 and 

under); $20(arts worker); $12(st/child); 

$5(eyeGO). 

●●7:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing 

Arts. Faculty Artist Series: Dan 

School Faculty Concert 3 - The Greg Runions 

Jazz Septet - Something Old, Something New. 

390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424 or 

queensu.ca/theisabel/tickets. $10-$28. 

●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber 

Music Society. Penderecki String Quartet. 

Beethoven: Quartets Op.18, No.4, 5, 6. KWCMS 

Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519- 

569-1809. $40; $25(st). 


●●12:00 noon: Midday Music with Shigeru. 

Bedford Piano Trio. Hiway Pentecostal 

Church, 50 Anne St. N., Barrie. 705-726-1181. 

$10; free(st). 

●●7:30: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. 

Sarah Slean and Hawksley Workman. 

250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722 

or 1-855-515-0722 or FirstOntarioPAC.ca. $45; 

$35(Hot Ticket members); $25(st-univ/college); 

$5(st-high school). 



KasheDance: Facing Home - Love & 

Redemption. 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 

905-688-0722 or 1-855-515-0722 or 

FirstOntarioPAC.ca. $35; $30(Hot Ticket 

members); $25(st-univ/college); $5(st-high 

school). Also Mar 6. 

●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music 

Society. Dave Young Trio. Music of Scandinavia 

and Brazil. Kevin Turcotte, trumpet; 

Bernie Senensky, piano; Dave Young, bass. 

KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 

519-569-1809. $35; $20(st). 

●●8:00: TD Sunfest World Music & Jazz Series. 

Dervish. Aeolian Hall, 795 Dundas St. E., 

London. sunfest.on.ca. $40/$35(adv). 


●●12:00 noon: Westben. Tick Talk: Hearing 

Beethoven. A conversation exploring 

the history and hearing of Beethoven with 

Chris Cameron, Barb Hobart, and Brian Finley. 

Clock Tower Concert Hall, 36 Front St. S., 

Campbellford. 705-653-5508 or 1-877-883- 

5777. PWYC (suggested min. $10). 

●●12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Fridays 

at 12:30 Concert Series. Erika Raum, violin; 

Thomas Wiebe, cello. Von Kuster Hall, Music 

Building, Western University, 1151 Richmond 

St. N., London. 519-661-3767. Free. 


Arts. Virtuoso Jazz. Branford Marsalis 

Quartet; Branford Marsalis, saxophone. 

390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424 

or queensu.ca/theisabel/tickets. $42-$59; 

$39-$56(faculty/staff); $19-$29(st). 

●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Instruments 

of Happiness. Guitar Quartet; Marie- 

Annick Béilveau, mezzo. Paul Davenport 

Theatre, Talbot College, Western University, 

1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661- 

3767. Free. 


KasheDance: Facing Home - Love & 

Redemption. 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 

905-688-0722 or 1-855-515-0722 or FirstOntarioPAC.ca. 

$35; $30(Hot Ticket members); 

$25(st-univ/college); $5(st-high school). Also 

Mar 5. 

●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. 

Mendelssohn & Schumann. Enescu: Pastorale-Fantaisie; 

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto 

in e; Schumann: Symphony No.3 in E 

flat “Rhenish”. Liza Ferschtman, violin; Gabriel 

Bebeselea, conductor. Centre in the Square, 

101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 519-745-4711 or 

1-888-745-4717 or kwsymphony.ca. $20-$87. 

Also Mar 7. 


●●2:00: Barrie Concert Band. Barrie Concert 

Rock Band. Collier Street United Church, 

112 Collier St., Barrie. 705-735-0720. $25; 

$10(st); free(under 13). 

●●2:00: King Edward Choir. East Meets West. 

Martin: Te Deum Laudamus; Raminsh: Ave 

Verum Corpus; Henderson: A Song of the 

Seasons. Oliver Balaburski, conductor. Bethel 

Community Church, 128 St. Vincent Street, 

Barrie. 705-733-7955. $25; $15(st). kingedwardchoir.ca. 

●●7:30: Chorus Niagara. Touch the Earth 

Lightly. Gjeilo: Sunrise: A Symphonic Mass; 

Olson: That’s One Small Step. Niagara Symphony 

Orchestra Strings; Bradley Thachuk, 

artistic director; Chorus Niagara Side By Side 

High School Chorale. Partridge Hall, FirstOntario 

Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., 

St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. $47; $45(sr 

60+); $30(under 30); $20(st valid id); $15(ch 

under 15 valid id); $5(eyeGO high school st 

valid id). 

●●7:30: Grand Philharmonic Choir. Membra 

Jesu Nostri. Buxtehude: Membra Jesu Nostri. 

Cardinal Consort of Viols; Grand Philharmonic 

Chamber Singers. Trillium 

Lutheran Church, 22 Willow St., Waterloo. 

519-578-5660 x5290. $30; $14(st/under 30); 

$5(child/HS student). 

●●8:00: DaCapo Chamber Choir. Life and 

Love and Wings. Jeff Enns: From a Distant 

Star (premiere; in memory of Marg Janzen); 

Leonard Enns: Nocturne (Juno nominated 

composition); Talbot: “Santiago” 

from Path of Miracles. Jennifer Enns Modolo, 

mezzo. St. John the Evangelist Anglican 

Church, 23 Water St. N., Kitchener. 519-725- 

7549. $25; $20(sr); $15(st); $5(under 19). Also 

Mar 8 (3pm, Waterloo). 


Mendelssohn & Schumann. Enescu: Pastorale-Fantaisie; 

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto 

in e; Schumann: Symphony No.3 in E 

flat “Rhenish”. Liza Ferschtman, violin; Gabriel 

Bebeselea, conductor. Centre in the Square, 

101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 519-745-4711 or 

1-888-745-4717 or kwsymphony.ca. $20-$87. 

Also Mar 6. 

●●8:00: The Jeffery Concerts. St. Lawrence 

String Quartet. Mozart: String Quartet No.3 

in d K421; Korngold: String Quartet No.3 in D 

Op.34; Saint-Saëns: String Quartet No.1 in e 

Op.112. Wolf Performance Hall, 251 Dundas St., 

London. 519-672-8800. $40. 


●●2:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Western 

University Jazz Ensemble. Mocha Shrine 

Centre, 468 Colborne St., London. 519-661- 

3767. Jazz Society of London member and 

nonmember ticket rates. 


Songs of Life - Year 2: Bach on Turtle’s 

Back - Death. Brian Solomon, director, choreographer 

& dancer; Julia Wedman, violin; 

Sinéad White, soprano; Asitha Tennekoon, 

tenor; Jessica Wright, mezzo, and others. 

250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688- 

0722 or 1-855-515-0722 or FirstOntario- 

PAC.ca. $45; $42(sr); $18(st/arts worker); 

$5(eyeGO). Also Mar 5. 

●●2:30: Kingston Symphony. Beethoven 7 & 

Marquez. Marquez: Danzon No.2; Baker: Harp 

Concerto; Beethoven: Symphony No.7. Kristan 

Toczko, harp; Evan Mitchell, conductor. 

Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, 


613-530-2050. $10-$50. 

●●3:00: Chorus Hamilton. Happy Birthday 

Beethoven! In celebration of Beethoven’s 

250th birthday. Beethoven: Mass in C; 

Piano Concert No.4. Chorus Hamilton; Concert 

Sinfonia; David Holler, conductor; Erika 

Reiman, piano. St. Paul’s United Church (Dundas), 

29 Park St. W., Dundas. 905-318-9381 or 

chorushamilton.ca. $30; free(under 18). 

●●3:00: DaCapo Chamber Choir. Life and 

Love and Wings. Jeff Enns: From a Distant 

Star (premiere; in memory of Marg Janzen); 

Leonard Enns: Nocturne (Juno nominated 

composition); Talbot: “Santiago” from Path of 

Miracles. Jennifer Enns Modolo, mezzo. Trillium 


519-725-7549. $25; $20(sr); $15(st); 

$5(under 19). Also Mar 7 (8pm, Kitchener). 

●●7:30: Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club. Pressgang 

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

519-319-5847. $25/$20(adv). 



Arts. Attention Storm Chasers! 

Gaelic Storm. 390 King St. W., Kingston. 613- 

533-2424 or queensu.ca/theisabel/tickets. 

$39; $36(faculty/staff); $17(st). 



Performs! Concert Series. Weldon 

Library Atrium, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 

519-661-3767. Free. 


Society. Benjamin Sung, Solo Violin. Paganini: 


24 Caprices. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young 

St. W., Waterloo. 519-569-1809. $35; $20(st). 



Arts. Havana Heat. Aldo López-Gavilán, 

jazz pianist. 390 King St. W., Kingston. 

613-533-2424 or queensu.ca/theisabel/ 

tickets. $42-$59; $39-$56(faculty/staff); 

$19-$29(st). 



at 12:30 Concert Series. The Southwest 

Guitar Trio. Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, 

Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 

519-661-3767. Free. 

●●2:00: Clefs of Moher. A Musical Tour of Ireland. 

Tim Moher, saxophone; Jesse Grandmont, 

fiddle; Paul Gribbon, Uillean pipes/ 

penny whistle; Tony Snyder, french Horn; 

Cathy Anderson, cello. Knox Presbyterian 

Church (Waterloo), 50 Erb St. W., Waterloo. 

226-792-5299 or ticketscene.ca/list. 

php?q=clefs+of+moher. $25. 

●●7:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Opera 

at Western: Spring Gala - Favourite Scenes. 

Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot College, 

Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N., 

London. 519-661-3767. $15/$10(adv). Also 

Mar 14(2pm). 

●●7:30: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. A 

Bridges Lecture by François Bergeron. Musicians 

of the KWS. St. Jerome’s University - 

Vanstone Theatre, 290 Westmount Rd. N., 

Waterloo. 519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717 or 

kwsymphony.ca. $37. 


●●2:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Opera 

at Western: Spring Gala - Favourite Scenes. 

Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot College, 

Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N., 

London. 519-661-3767. $15/$10(adv). Also 

Mar 13(7:30pm). 

●●7:00: Canadian Celtic Choir. An Irish Celtic 

Celebration. Guests: Dan Stacey, fiddle and 

step dance; Kyle Waymouth; guitar and step 

dance; Paul Grambo, conductor and MC; William 

Zadorsky, co-conductor; Jean Willadsen, 

accompanist. Royal View Church, 218 Clarke 

Rd., London. celtichoir.ca. $25/$20(adv). Also 

Mar 7(Grace Church-on-the-Hill, Toronto). 

●●7:30: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Haydn’s London. Juliet Palmer: New Work; 

Vaughan Williams: Oboe Concerto; Elgar: Serenade; 

Hadyn: Symphony No.104 “London”. 

Sarah Jeffrey, oboe; Gemma New, conductor. 

FirstOntario Concert Hall, 1 Summers Ln., 

Hamilton. 905-526-7756 or hpo.org. $24-$71. 

●●7:30: St. George’s Cathedral (Kingston). 

Choir & Orchestra Concert. Bach: Cantata 

No.3; Stamitz: Viola Concerto; English 

anthems. 270 King St. E., Kingston. 613-548- 

4617. Freewill offering. In support of the Cathedral 

Heritage Preservation Trust. 

●●8:00: K-W Community Orchestra. In Concert. 

Dvořák: Cello Concerto; Brahms: Variations 

on a Theme by Haydn; Weber: Overture 

to Euryanthe. Katie Schlaikjer, cello; Daniel 

Warren, conductor. Knox Presbyterian 

Church (Waterloo), 50 Erb St. W., Waterloo. 

519-744-2666. $20; $15(st); free(high school 

and younger). 

●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber 

Music Society. André LaPlante, Piano. Bach/ 

B. Concerts Beyond the GTA 

Busoni: Adagio from Toccata, Adagio, Fugue 

BWV564; Mozart: Piano Sonata in E-flat K282; 

Beethoven: Piano Sonata in E-flat No.26 Op.81 

“Les Adieux”; Morel: Deux Études de Sonorité. 


519-569-1809. $40; $25(st). 



Arts. Dan School of Drama and 

Music: 2020 Spring Concert - Choral 

Ensemble & Polyhymnia. Works by Mozart, 

Rogers & Hammerstein, Arlen, Sondheim, 

and others. Queen’s Choral Ensemble and 

Polyhymnia Vocal Ensemble. 390 King St. 

W., Kingston. 613-533-2424 or queensu.ca/ 

theisabel/tickets. $7-$15. 

●●2:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. 

Undaunted. Respighi: Pines of Rome; Rachmaninoff: 

Symphony No.2. Bradley Thachuk, 

conductor. FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 


0722 or 1-855-515-0722. $69; $64(sr); $33(30 

and under); $20(arts worker); $12(st/child); 

$5(eyeGO). 

PRESENTS 

MILOŠ 

March 15, 3pm 

St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 

Niagara-on-the-Lake 

bravoniagara.org | 289-868-9177 

●●3:00: Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts. 

Guitar Concert: Miloš Karadaglić. Bach: Lute 

Partita (Suite) in c BWV997; Granados: Andaluza 

from 12 Danzas Españolas Op.37 No.5; 

Granados: Orientale from 12 Danzas 

Españolas; Albéniz: Asturias from Suite 

española (arr. for guitar); Lennon/McCartney: 

Blackbird/Yesterday/While My Guitar 

Gently Weeps; and other works. St. Mark’s 

Anglican Church (Niagara-on-the-Lake), 

41 Byron St., Niagara-on-the-Lake. 289-868- 

9177 or music@bravoniagara.org. $30-$60. 

●●3:00: Les AMIS. Violinist Joyce Lai & Pianist 

Erika Crinó. Works by Bach, Schubert, 

Chopin and Leclair. The Loft Cinema, 

201 Division St., Cobourg. 905-372-2210. $30. 

●●4:30: Music at St. Thomas’. A Cello & 

Organ Concert. Dominique Beauséjour-Ostiguy, 

cello; Francine Nguyen-Savaria, Matthieu 

Latreille, organ. St. Thomas’s Anglican 

Church (Belleville), 201 Church St., Belleville. 

613-962-3636. By donation. 


● ● 1:00: Canadian Celtic Choir. Irish Benevolent 

Society Luncheon. Western Fair Carousel 

Room, 865 Florence St., London. tickets@ 

irishbenevolentsociety.ca. $40(includes buffet 

luncheon). Admission only by pre-purchased 

luncheon ticket. All seats will be 

reserved. 


●●7:30: Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club. Runa. Chaucer’s 

Pub, 122 Carling St., London. 519-319- 

5847. $30/$25(adv). 


Dahkabrakha. 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 

905-688-0722 or 1-855-515-0722 

or FirstOntarioPAC.ca. $45; $35(Hot Ticket 

members); $25(st-univ/college); $5(st-high 

school). 


Symmetry: Bach & Math. Barbara Croall: 

Zasakwaa (There is a Heavy Frost); Bach: Ich 

habe genug for alto, The Art of the Fugue, 

Chaconne. Tommy Kay, flute; Andrei Feher, 

curator/conductor. First United Church (Waterloo), 

16 William St. W., Waterloo. 519-745- 

4711 or 1-888-745-4717 or kwsymphony.ca. 

$12-$37. Also Mar 20(Harcourt Memorial 

United Church, Guelph), 21(Central Presbyterian 

Church, Cambridge). 

●●8:00: TD Sunfest World Music & Jazz Series. 

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

sunfest.on.ca. $30/$25(adv). 


●●10:00am: Westben. Mix and Master. Eve 

Parker Finley leads an electronic music production 

workshop for youth (age 11–18, all levels 

welcome), exploring various electronic 

platforms. In addition to creative composition 

and scoring, activities include rhythm, movement 

and drama games, and a chance to collaborate 

and share one another’s creations. 



5777. $39. Until 5pm. 


Arts. Afro-Cuban Adventure. Afro- 

Cuban, jazz, Latin, world music. OKAN. 


queensu.ca/theisabel/tickets. $39; $36(faculty/staff); 

$17(st). 


Society. Joseph Petric, Concert Accordion & 

Joëlle Morton, Tenor Viol. Bach: Trio Sonatas 

in G BWV530 and E-flat BWV525; Gamba 

solo - Allemande & Courante in d BWV1004; 

Accordion solo - Fantasia in c BWV986; 

Selected movements from English Suite No.3 

in g. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W., 

Waterloo. 519-569-1809. $30; $20(st). 



at 12:30 Concert Series. The Sylvestre- 

Park Duo: Stéphan Sylvestre, Angela Park, 

piano. Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western 

University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 

519-661-3767. Free. 


University Percussion Ensemble. Paul 

Davenport Theatre, Talbot College, Western 

University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519- 

661-3767. Free. Also 7pm. 

●●6:30: Westben. Creative Cafe. Eve Parker 

Finley leads an electronic music production 

workshop for adults (age 19 and over, 

all levels welcome). Clock Tower Concert 

Hall, 36 Front St. S., Campbellford. 705-653- 

5508 or 1-877-883-5777. $39. Coffee or tea 

included. Until 9:30pm. 


University Percussion Ensemble. Paul 

Davenport Theatre, Talbot College, Western 


661-3767. Free. Also 12:30pm. 

●●7:30: Brock University Department of 

Music. Rondeau Brass Quintet: Encore Concert 

No.3. FirstOntario Performing Arts 

Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 905- 

688-0722 or 1-855-515-0722 or FirstOntarioPAC.ca. 

$29; $23(sr/st); $18(Brock 

Univ. Music Student); $13(14 and under); 

$5(eyeGO). 






curator/conductor. Harcourt Memorial 

United Church, 87 Dean Ave., Guelph. 519- 

745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717 or kwsymphony. 

ca. $12-$37. Also Mar 18(First United Church, 

Waterloo), 21(Central Presbyterian Church, 

Cambridge). 


●●11:00am: CPUW Belleville and District. 

Recorders on the Run. Jeunesses Musicales 

Canada; Caroline Tremblay, Marie-Laurence 

Primeau, Alexa Raine-Wright, Vincent Lauzer, 

flutes. Belleville Public Library, Parrott Gallery, 

254 Pinnacle Street, Belleville. 613-968- 

6731 or cfuwbelleville.com. $5; free(under 2). 

Ages 3-5. Also at 1:30pm for ages 6-12. 

●●1:30pm: CPUW Belleville and District. 

Recorders on the Run. Jeunesses Musicales 

Canada; Caroline Tremblay, Marie-Laurence 

Primeau, Alexa Raine-Wright, Vincent Lauzer, 

flutes. Belleville Public Library, Parrott Gallery, 

254 Pinnacle Street, Belleville. 613-968- 

6731 or cfuwbelleville.com. $5; free(under 2). 

Ages 6-12. Also at 11am for ages 3-5. 

●●7:30: Bach Elgar Choir. Bach & Elgar: Glorious 

Master Works for Choir & Organ. Elgar: 

Te Deum, Benedictus; Bach: Cantata settings. 

Melrose United Church, 86 Homewood Ave., 

Hamilton. 905-527-5995 or Eventbrite. $35; 

$30(sr); $15(st). 

●●7:30: Barrie Concerts. A Night at the 

Opera. Excerpts from La bohème, Don Giovanni. 

Sara Papini, soprano; Romulo Delgad, 

tenor; Kerry Stratton Orchestra. Hiway 

Pentecostal Church, 50 Anne St. N., Barrie. 

705-726-1181. $85. 

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

(London). Love in Three-Four Time. Brahms: 

Liebeslieder Walzes, Op.52; Zwei Gesänge 

für eine Altstimme mit Bratsche und Klavier; 

Love Unspoken from The Merry Widow; 

Schubert: Fantasie in f Op.103; Schubert: The 

Shepherd on the Rock; Rossini: La passeggiata. 

Sonja Gustafson, soprano; Francesca 

Ranalli, mezzo; Chris Wood, tenor; Alastair 

Smyth, bass; Lynda Kennedy and Grace Yip, 

pianos. 350 Queens Ave., London. 519-679- 

8182. $20; $10(st). 



Music: String Quartets by Queen’s Composers. 

Works by Haydn, John Burge, Clifford 

Crawley and Michael Szczesniak. Isabel Quartet. 

390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424 

or queensu.ca/theisabel/tickets. $10-$28. 

●●7:30: Westben. Clock Pop: Eve Finley & 

Friends. Three emerging pop/electronic artists 

from Montreal present an evening of 

plush-core, electronica, ambient music and 


more. Lonely Boa; Nick Scofield; Cedric Noel. 



5777. $25. 






curator/conductor. Central Presbyterian 

Church (Cambridge), 7 Queens Sq., Cambridge. 

519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717 or 

kwsymphony.ca. $12-$37. Also Mar 18(First 

United Church, Waterloo), 20(Harcourt 

Memorial United Church, Guelph). 

●●8:00: Night Kitchen Too. Variety Show. 

See and hear a diverse group of performers 

present their songs, poetry, music and 

spoken word in a welcoming and warm 

venue. Invited musicians, poets and spoken 

word artists; Joe Callahan, co-producer and 

presenter. Pinnacle Playhouse, 256 Pinnacle 

St., Belleville. 613-243-9758. $10. 



The Next Generation Leahy. 250 St. Paul 

St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722 or 1-855- 

515-0722 or FirstOntarioPAC.ca. $49; $42(Hot 

Ticket members); $25(st-univ/college); $5(sthigh 

school). 



Music: Queen’s Orchestra - 2020 Spring Concert. 

Queen’s Symphony Orchestra. 390 King 

St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424 or queensu. 

ca/theisabel/tickets. $7-$15. 


Hear! Here! Niagara Music Series. Mark Lalama 

Trio. Guests: Jack Dekeyzer and Jim Gray. 


or 1-855-515-0722 or FirstOntarioPAC.ca. $35; 

$186(table of six). 

●●7:00: Hamilton Concert Band. Hamilton 

Concert Band with Dofasco Male Choir. 

St. Andrew’s United Church (Hamilton), 

479 Upper Paradise Rd., Hamilton. 289-339- 

6296. $10; free(child under 13). 

●●7:30: Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club. The Wanted. 

Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling St., London. 519- 

319-5847. $25/$20(adv). 


Society. The Azuline Duo. Falla; Two Spanish 

Pieces (arr. Azuline Duo); Pujol: Nubes 

de Buenos Aires; Villa-Lobos: Distribuição 

de flores W381 & W575; Chiquinha Gonzaga: 

Three Pieces; Piazzolla: Libertango (arr. 

Azuline Duo); and other works. Emma Rush, 

guitar; Sara Traficante, flute. KWCMS Music 

Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-569- 

1809. $30; $20(st). 



Arts. A Little Bit in Love: Bernstein 

and Brahms. Music from Candide, On 

the Town and Wonderful Town; Brahms: 

Clarinet Quintet. ARC Ensemble with Patricia 

O’Callaghan, soprano. 390 King St. W., 

Kingston. 613-533-2424 or queensu.ca/ 

theisabel/tickets. $42-$59; $39-$56(faculty/staff); 

$19-$29(st). 

Wednesday March 25 

●●7:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Chamber 

Groups and Student Composers. 

Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western 


661-3767. Free. 


University Symphonic Band. Works by 

Boysen, Daehn, Grudman, Stone and Reed. 

Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot College, Western 


519-661-3767. Free. 



University Jazz Ensemble. Paul Davenport 

Theatre, Talbot College, Western 


661-3767. Free. 

●●7:30: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Intimate and Immersive: Earthshine. 

An evocative program integrating visual and 

multimedia arts. Andrew Clark: Heliacal Rising; 

Roydon Tse: Down the Rabbit Hole; Mendelssohn: 

Mvt 2 of String Symphony No.7 in 

d (Mvt 2); Jeffrey Ryan: Earthshine; James 

O’Callaghan: The Earth, Split Open; and other 

works. Gemma New, conductor. Cotton Factory, 

270 Sherman Ave. N., Hamilton. 905- 

526-7756 or hpo.org. $33.90. 

●●7:30: University of Waterloo Dept. of 

Music. orchestra@uwaterloo. Wieniawski: 

Violin Concerto No.2 in d; Tchaikovsky: Symphony 

No.6 “Pathétique”; Smetana: Dances 

from The Bartered Bride. Ashley Yip, violin; 

Daniel Warren, conductor. Humanities Theatre, 

University of Waterloo, 200 University 

Ave. W., Waterloo. 519-885-0220 x24226. 

Free. 

●●7:30: Westben. House Concert: Annie Sumi. 

Ethereal folk artist. Songs that transport the 

audience to places of quiet wonder, unspoken 

love, and serene landscapes. Clock Tower 

Concert Hall, 36 Front St. S., Campbellford. 

705-653-5508 or 1-877-883-5777. $25. 



at 12:30 Concert Series. Noël Wan, harp. 

Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University, 

1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519- 

661-3767. Free. 


Music. University Jazz Ensemble. The Brock 

Big Band; Zoltan Kalman, director. FirstOntario 

Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., 

St. Catharines. 905-688-0722 or 1-855-515- 

0722 or FirstOntarioPAC.ca. $12; $5(14 and 

under/eyeGO). 

●●7:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Choral 

Concert: United We Stand. Les Choristes; St. 

Cecilia Singers; Les Choristes Chorale. St. 

Peter’s Cathedral Basilica, 196 Dufferin Ave., 

London. 519-661-3767. $15/$10(adv). 


University Wind Ensemble. Works by 

Daugherty, Markowski and Serna. Shaelyn 

Archibald, soprano. Paul Davenport Theatre, 

Talbot College, Western University, 

1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-3767. 

Free. 



Music: Queen’s Jazz Ensemble - 2020 Spring 

Concert. Works by Michel Legrand and Nancy 

Wilson. 390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533- 

2424 or queensu.ca/theisabel/tickets. $7-$15. 


Music. Chamber Choir: Pure Imagination. 

Songs by Willan; Bennett: All Creatures Now 

Are Merry Minded; Pure Imagination. Bob 

Anderson, conductor. Trillium Lutheran 

Church, 22 Willow St., Waterloo. 519-885- 

0220 x24226. $10; $5(sr/st). 


The Magical World of Harry Potter. Carousel 

Dance Company; Grand Philharmonic Youth 

Choir; Scott Terrell, conductor. Centre in the 

Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 519-745- 


$36-$95. Also Mar 28(2:30pm & 8pm). 



University Symphony Orchestra. Works 

by Rachmaninov and Beethoven. Paul Davenport 

Theatre, Talbot College, Western 


661-3767. $15/$10(adv). 

●●2:30: Kingston Symphony. Symphonic Shenanigans. 

Al Simmons, children’s entertainer; 

Evan Mitchell, conductor. Grand Theatre 

(Kingston), 218 Princess St., Kingston. 613- 

546-9729. $10-$50. 





Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 519- 

745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717 or kwsymphony. 

ca. $36-$95. Also Mar 27(8pm), 28(2:30pm 

& 8pm). 

●●2:30: Lyrica Chamber Choir. Requiem 

Mass. King: Requiem Mass; Works by Fauré 

and Gjeilo. Lucie Veillette, conductor; Brent 

Mahew, piano. Burton Avenue United Church, 

37 Burton Ave., Barrie. 705-722-0271. $20; 

$16(sr/st). Also 7:30pm. 



Byrd: Mass for Four Voices; Howells: 

Requiem. Noel Edison, conductor. Grace 

United Church (Niagara-on-the-Lake), 

222 Victoria St., Niagara-on-the-Lake. 226- 

384-3100. $35; $20(st); $10(child). Also 

Mar 29(Guelph), Apr 4(Toronto). 

●●7:00: Jeffery Concerts. Complete 

Beethoven Violin Sonatas (2-part concert). 

Beethoven: No.1 in D Op.12; No.2 in A Op.12; 

No.10 in G Op.96; No.5 in F Op.24 “Spring”; 

No.7 in c Op.30. Jonathan Crow, violin; 

Arthur Rowe, piano. Wolf Performance Hall, 

251 Dundas St., London. 519-672-8800. $40. 

Two-day event. Part 2 on Mar 29(2pm). 

●●7:30: Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club. Genticorum. 



●●7:30: Guelph Chamber Choir. John Rutter’s 

Requiem. Rutter: Requiem; Gimon: beneath/ 

sound for choir and chamber ensemble; Mozart: 

Laudate Dominum for soprano and choir. 

Mireille Asselin, soprano; Máté Szigeti, flute; 

Jim Mason, oboe; Ben Bolt-Martin, cello; and 

others; Charlene Pauls, conductor. River Run 

Centre, 35 Woolwich St., Guelph. 519-763- 

3000. $40/$140 for 4. 



Music: Queen’s Wind Ensemble - 2020 Spring 

Concert. 390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533- 

2424 or queensu.ca/theisabel/tickets. $7-$15. 

●●7:30: Lyrica Chamber Choir. Requiem 

Mass. King: Requiem Mass; Works by Fauré 

and Gjeilo. Lucie Veillette, conductor; Brent 

Mahew, piano. Burton Avenue United Church, 

37 Burton Ave., Barrie. 705-722-0271. $20; 

$16(sr/st). Also 2:30pm. 

●●7:30: Oriana Singers of Northumberland. 

In Concert. Grandy: new work; and other 

works; video of highlights of choir history. 

Trinity United Church (Cobourg), 

284 Division St., Cobourg. $25; $22(sr); 

$10(child). orianasingers.com. Info and 

tickets available at Snap’d and from choir 

members. 


Music. University of Waterloo Choir: Journeys. 

Works by Mäntyjärvi, Dvořák, Victoria, 

Hogan, and others. Liska Jetchick, conductor; 

Nicole Simone, accompanist. Trillium 


519-885-0220 x24226. $10; $5(sr/st). 


Society. Kristin Jónína Taylor, Piano. Grieg: 

Holberg Suite Op.40; Ravel: Le Tombeau de 

Couperin; Sigurbjörnsson: The Well-Tempered 

Pianist; Bryan Stanley: Wasatch Suite. 

Emma Rush, guitar; Sara Traficante, flute. 


519-569-1809. $30; $20(st). 





Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 519-745- 


$36-$95. Also Mar 27, 28(2:30pm & 8pm). 


●●2:00: Jeffery Concerts. Complete 

Beethoven Violin Sonatas (2-part concert). 

Beethoven: No.3 in E-flat Op.12; No.4 in a 

Op.23; No.6 in A Op.30; No.8 in G Op.30; No.9 

in A Op.47 “Kreutzer”. Jonathan Crow, violin; 

Arthur Rowe, piano. Wolf Performance Hall, 

251 Dundas St., London. 519-672-8800. $40. 

Two-day event. Part 1 on Mar 28(7pm). 


Music. UW Jazz Ensemble. Conrad Grebel 

University College, Great Hall, 140 Westmount 

Rd. N., Waterloo. 519-885-0220 x24226. $10; 

$5(sr/st). Reception to follow. 

●●3:00: Les AMIS. Lynn Kuo, Violin & Kevin 

Lau, Piano. Works by Kernis, Pärt, Beethoven, 

Pepa and Lau. The Loft Cinema, 201 Division 

St., Cobourg. 905-372-2210. $30. 

●●3:30: 5 at the First Chamber Players. 

Cello Extravaganza V. A Benefit Concert 

for Blooms for Africa & the Hamilton Philharmonic 

Youth Orchestra. First Unitarian 

Church of Hamilton, 170 Dundurn St. S., 

Hamilton. 905-399-5125. $20; $15(sr); $5(st/ 

unwaged); free(under 12). 

●●3:30: Huronia Symphony Orchestra. 

Luminaries. Haydn: Symphony No.103 in E-flat 

“Drumroll”; Bach: Concerto for Two Violins 

BWV1043; Beethoven: Symphony No.7 in 

A Op.92. David McFadden, Valerie Selander, 

violins; Oliver Balaburski, conductor. Collier 

Street United Church, 112 Collier St., Barrie. 

705-721-4752. $25; $10(st); $5(child). 



Byrd: Mass for Four Voices; Howells: 

Requiem. Noel Edison, conductor. Basilica 

of Our Lady Immaculate, 28 Norfolk 

St., Guelph. 226-384-3100. $35; $20(st); 

$10(child). Also Mar 28(Niagara-on-the- 

Lake); Apr 4(Toronto). 


Music. Instrumental Chamber Ensembles. 

Ben Bolton-Martin, conductor. Conrad Grebel 

University College, Chapel, 140 Westmount 

Rd. N., Waterloo. 519-885-0220 x24226. Free. 

Reception to follow. 


B. Concerts Beyond the GTA C. Music Theatre 


●●7:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Early 

Music Studio. Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, 

Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 

519-661-3767. Free. 


●●6:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Electroacoustic 

Music Compositions Concert. 



519-661-3767. Free. 

Wednesday April 1 

●●6:00: District School Board of Niagara/ 

Brock University/Chorus Niagara. Niagara 

Children’s Honour Choir. Guests: Chorus 

Niagara Children’s Choir and Brock University 

Choir; Mark Sirett, director. FirstOntario 

Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St. 

Catharines. 905-688-0722 or 1-855-515-0722 

or FirstOntarioPAC.ca. $15. 


Music. University String Orchestra: String 

Concert No.2. George Cleland, conductor. 



1-855-515-0722 or FirstOntarioPAC.ca. $12; 

$5(14 and under/eyeGO). 


Music. University of Waterloo Balinese 

Gamelan Ensemble. I Dewa Made Suparta, 

gamelan; UW Balinese Gamelan; Grebel Community 

Gamelan; Maisie Sum, director. 

Humanities Theatre, University of Waterloo, 

200 University Ave. W., Waterloo. 519-885- 

0220 x24226. Free. Reception to follow. 

Thursday April 2 

●●7:00: Magisterra Soloists. “The Trout”. 

Hummel: Bass Quintet; Shostakovich: Piano 

Quintet; Schubert: Piano Quintet “The Trout”. 

Guest: Pieter Grobler, piano. Museum London 

Theatre, 421 Ridout St. N., London. 519- 

661-0333. $30; $25(sr); $15(st); $10(child 

under 10). 


Society. Zodiac Trio. Glick: Klezmer Wedding; 

Ustvolskaya: Trio; Chatman: Trio; Milhaud: 

Suite for Violin, Clarinet and Piano; Piazzolla: 

Chau Paris. Vanessa Mollard, violin; Kliment 

Krylovskiy, clarinet; Riko Higuma, piano. 


519-569-1809. $35; $20(st). 

Friday April 3 


Mission Songs Project. Guest: Lacy Hill. 


0722 or 1-855-515-0722 or FirstOntarioPAC. 

ca. $35; $30(Hot Ticket members); $25(st - 

univ/college); $5(st - high school). 


at 12:30 Concert Series. Andreas Klein, piano. 

Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University, 

1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519- 

661-3767. Free. 


Joy and Passion: Schumann & Brahms. Pal/ 

Chana: Upwell (new commission); Schumann: 

Piano Concerto in a; Brahms: Symphony No.4 

in e. Lauma Skride, piano; Gurpreet Chana, 

tabla/electronics; Andrei Feher, conductor. 

Centre in the Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 

519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717 or 

kwsymphony.ca. $20-$87. Also Apr 4. 

Saturday April 4 

●●2:30: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony 

Youth Orchestra. Sun and Fire. Stravinsky: 

The Firebird. Centre in the Square, 101 Queen 

St. N., Kitchener. 519-745-4711 or 1-888-745- 

4717 or kwsymphony.ca. $18; $11(child). Free 

pre-concert activities from 1:15pm. 

●●7:00: Gravenhurst Opera House. Six Guitars 

Starring Chase Padgett. A single performer 

portrays six different guitar-playing 

characters each sharing their own style of 

music. Storytelling with songs of various 

genres. 295 Muskoka Rd. S., Gravenhurst. 

705-687-5550. $30; $10(st). 


Music. Brock University Choirs: Choir Concert 

No.2. Rachel Rensink-Hoff, conductor. 



1-855-515-0722 or FirstOntarioPAC.ca. $15; 

$10(sr/st); $5(eyeGO). 

●●7:30: Elora Singers. Elora Singers & Elmer 

Iseler Singers. Mark Vuorinen, conductor. 

Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate, 28 Norfolk 

St., Guelph. 519-846-0331. $45; $20(st); 

$10(child). 

●●7:30: Stratford Symphony Orchestra. 

A Tale of Two Russians. Tchaikovsky: Symphony 

No.4; Glinka: The Life of the Tsar. Hillary 

Simms, trombone. Avondale United Church, 

194 Avondale Ave., Stratford. 519-271-0990. 

$40; $10(st); free(child under 12). 


Joy and Passion: Schumann & Brahms. Pal/ 

Chana: Upwell (new commission); Schumann: 

Piano Concerto in a; Brahms: Symphony No.4 

in e. Lauma Skride, piano; Gurpreet Chana, 

tabla/electronics; Andrei Feher, conductor. 

Centre in the Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 

519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717 or 

kwsymphony.ca. $20-$87. Also Apr 3. 

Sunday April 5 

●●2:30: Georgian Music. String Quintets. 

Schubert: Trout Quintet; and quintets by 

Hummel and Dussek. Pieter Grobler, piano; 

Annette-Barbara Vogel, violin; Raquel Bastos, 

viola; Katerina Juraskova, cello; Joseph Phillips, 

bass. Bethel Community Church, 128 St. 

Vincent Street, Barrie. 705-726-1181. $65. 

●●2:30: Muskoka Concert Association. Vocal 

Recital. Brett Polegato, baritone; Robert Kortgaard, 

piano. Trinity United Church (Gravenhurst), 

290 Muskoka Rd. N., Gravenhurst. 

705-687-5550. $32; $7(st); free(child under 

10); $27(group of 10+). 

●●7:30: Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts. 

Brubeck Brothers Quartet Celebrates Dave 

Brubeck’s Centennial. FirstOntario Performing 

Arts Centre, Cairns Recital Hall, 


or music@bravoniagara.org. $53; $28(univ/ 

college id); $5(eyego with valid highschool id). 

●●7:30: Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club. Alan Reid. 



●●Art of Time Ensemble. S’Wonderful. Music 

by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin. 


Quay W. 416-973-4000. $25-$64. Opens 

Apr 2, 8pm. Runs to Apr 4. Thurs-Sat(8pm). 

●●Barrie Concerts. A Night at the Opera. 

Kerry Stratton Orchestra. Hiway Pentecostal 

Church, 50 Anne St. N., Barrie. 705-726-1181. 

$85. Mar 21, 7:30pm. 

●●Belleville Theatre Guild. Mamma Mia! 

Music and lyrics by Benny Andersson, Björn 

Ulvaeus, and some songs with Stig Anderson, 

book by Catherine Johnson. Pinnacle Playhouse, 

256 Pinnacle St., Belleville. 613-967- 

1442. $25; $22(sr); $10(st). Opens Apr 7, 8pm. 

Runs to Apr 26. Wed-Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm). 

Note: no show Apr 8. 

●●Blyth Festival/Shaggy Pup Productions. 

Menopause, the Musical. Blyth Memorial 

Community Hall, 431 Queen St., Blyth. 877- 

862-5984. $48. Opens Mar 13, 7:30pm. Also 

Mar 14(2pm/7:30pm). 

●●Brampton Music Theatre. Joseph and 

the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Music 

by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim 

Rice. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Lane, Brampton. 

905-874-2800. $29-$38. Opens Apr 2, 


Sat/Sun(1pm). 

●●Canadian Children’s Opera Company. 

Songs for a New World. Music and lyrics by 

Jason Robert Brown. Aki Studio Theatre, 

585 Dundas St. E. 416-366-0467. $25; $15(st). 

Mar 8, 3pm. Also 7pm. 

●●Canadian Opera Company. Opera Connect: 

Music in the Atrium of Princess Margaret 

Cancer Centre. Princess Margaret Cancer 

Centre Atrium, 610 University Ave. 416- 

363-8231. Free and does not require a ticket. 

Mar 4, 12pm. 

●●Canadian Stage. How to Fail as a Pop Star. 

Written and performed by Vivek Shraya. 

Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley St. 416- 

368-3110. $49-$79. Opens Feb 18, 8pm. Runs 

to Mar 1. Tues-Thurs/Sat(8pm), Fri(7pm), 

Sun(2pm). 

●●City Centre Musical Productions. The 

Hunchback of Notre Dame. Music by Alan 

Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, 

based on the novel. Meadowvale Theatre, 

6315 Montevideo Rd. 905-615-4720. $35; 

$32(sr); $31(st). Opens Mar 6, 8pm. Runs to 

Mar 15. Thurs-Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm). Note: 

also Mar 14(2pm). 

●●Don Wright Faculty of Music. Opera at 

Western: Spring Gala - Favourite Scenes. 



519-661-3767. $15/$10(adv). Opens Mar 13, 

7:30pm. Also Mar 14(2pm). 

●●Drayton Entertainment. Kinky Boots. 

Music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, book by 

Harvey Fierstein. Hamilton Family Theatre 

Cambridge. 46 Grand Ave. S., Cambridge. 

1-855-372-9866. $29-$49.50. Opens Mar 11, 

2pm. Runs to Apr 5. Days and times vary; visit 

draytonentertainment.com for details. 

●●Eclipse Theatre Company. Sunday in 

the Park With George. Music and lyrics by 

Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine. 

The Old Jam Factory, 2 Matilda St., 2nd Floor. 

eclipsetheatre.ca. $20-$52. Opens Mar 3, 

8pm. Runs to Mar 8. Tues-Sun(8pm), Sat/ 

Sun(2pm). 

●●Grand Theatre. Room. Music and lyrics by 

Cora Bissett and Kathryn Joseph, book by 

Emma Donoghue, based on the novel. Grand 

Theatre, 471 Richmond St, London. 519-672- 

8800. $30-$87. Opens Mar 10, 7:30pm. Runs 

to Mar 28. Tues-Thurs(7:30pm), Fri/Sat(8pm), 

Sat/Sun(2pm). Also Mar 18, 1pm. Note: 

Open caption performances Mar 27(8pm), 

Mar 28(2pm). 

●●Hart House Theatre. Oh, What A Lovely 

War! Written by Ted Allan, Charles Chilton, 

Joan Littlewood and Gerry Raffles. 

Hart House Theatre, 7 Hart House Circle. 

416-978-8849. $28; $20(sr); $15(st). Opens 

Feb 28, 8pm. Runs to Mar 7. Wed-Sat(8pm), 

Mar 7(2pm/8pm). 

●●Lower Ossington Theatre. Beauty and the 

Beast. Music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard 

Ashman and Tim Rice, book by Linda 

Woolverton. Randolph Theatre, 736 Bathurst 

St. 1-888-324-6282. $54.99-$79.99. Opens 

Mar 5, 7:30pm. Runs to Apr 5. Thurs- 

Sat(7:30pm), Sat(3:30pm), Sun(12pm/4pm). 

●●Meridian Hall. Nederlands Dans Theater. 

Meridian Hall, 1 Front St. E. 1-855-872-7669. 

$55-$145. Mar 21, 8pm. 

●●Mirvish. Come From Away. Music, lyrics 

and book by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. 

Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. W. 

416-872-1212. $69 and up. Ongoing. Tues- 

Sat(8pm), Wed(1:30pm), Sat/Sun(2pm). 

●●Mirvish. Hamilton. Music, lyrics and book 

by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Ed Mirvish Theatre, 

244 Victoria St. 416-872-1212. $50 and 

up. Opens Feb 11, 8pm. Runs to May 17. Tues- 

Sat(8pm), Wed(1:30pm), Sat/Sun(2pm). Note: 

Open caption performance Apr 5, 2pm. 

●●Mirvish. Riverdance 25. Princess of Wales 

Theatre, 300 King St. W. 416-872-1212. $28 

and up. Opens Feb 25, 8pm. Runs to Mar 1. 

Tues-Sat(8pm), Wed(1:30pm), Sat/Sun(2pm). 

●●Mirvish. 6 Guitars. Performed by Chase 

Padgett. CAA Theatre, 651 Yonge St. 416-872- 

1212. $39-$59. Opens Mar 24, 8pm. Runs to 

Mar 29. Tues-Sat(8pm), Wed(1:30pm), Sat/ 

Sun(2pm). 

●●Mirvish. Summer: The Donna Summer 

Musical. Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King 

St. W. 416-872-1212. $39 and up. Opens 

Mar 10, 8pm. Runs to Mar 22. Tues-Sat(8pm), 

Wed(1:30pm), Sat/Sun(2pm). 

●●Mirvish. Room. Music and lyrics by Cora 

Bissett and Kathryn Joseph, book by Emma 

Donoghue, based on the novel. CAA Theatre, 

651 Yonge St. 416-872-1212. $39 and up. Opens 

Apr 4, 8pm. Runs to Apr 26. Tues-Sat(8pm), 

Wed(1:30pm), Sat/Sun(2pm). 

●●Mirvish. The Boy Friend. Music, lyrics and 

book by Sandy Wilson. Princess of Wales Theatre, 

300 King St. W. 416-872-1212. $49 and 

up. Opens Mar 29, 2pm. Runs to May 3. Tues- 

Sat(8pm), Wed(1:30pm), Sat/Sun(2pm). Note: 

Open caption performance May 3(2pm). 

●●Musical Theatre Productions. Joseph 

Search listings online at thewholenote.com/just-ask 


and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. 

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim 

Rice. Grand Theatre, 471 Richmond St, London. 

519-672-8800. $33.90. Opens Mar 27, 

7:30pm. Runs to Apr 5. Tues-Sat(7:30pm), 

Sat/Sun(1:30pm). Note: Relaxed performance 

Mar 29(1:30pm). 

●●National Ballet. New Work by Crystal Pite 

& Chroma & Marguerite and Armand. Music 

by Joey Talbot and Jack White, and Franz 

Liszt. Crystal Pite, choreographer. Wayne 

McGregor, choreographer. Frederick Ashton, 

choreographer. Four Seasons Centre for 

the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416- 

345-9595. $41 and up. Opens Feb 29, 7:30pm. 

Runs to Mar 7. Wed-Sat(7:30pm). Thurs/Sat/ 

Sun(2pm). 

●●National Ballet. Romeo and Juliet. Music 

by Sergei Prokofiev. Alexei Ratmanski, choreographer. 


Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-345-9595. 

$68 and up. Opens Mar 11, 7:30pm. Runs to 

Mar 22. Wed-Sat(7:30pm). Sat/Sun(2pm). 

Note: also Mar 12(2pm). 

●●Necessary Angel. The Events. Text by David 

Greig, music by John Browne. Streetcar 

Crowsnest, 345 Carlaw Ave. 647-341-7390 

x1010 or boxoffice@crowstheatre. $20-$60. 

Opens Mar 1 2pm. Runs to Mar 15. Days and 

times vary. 

●●North Toronto Players. The Millionaire (A 

Musical Murder Mystery). Papermill Theatre, 

Todmorden Mills, 67 Pottery Rd. northtorontoplayers.com. 

$29. Opens Mar 13, 8pm. Runs 

to Mar 22. Fri/Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm). Note: 

Mar 21 also at 2pm. 

●●Northumberland Players. Chicago. Music 

by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, book by 

Ebb and Bob Fosse. Capitol Theatre, 20 Queen 

St., Port Hope. 905-885-1071. $32.50-$37.50. 

Opens Feb 21, 8pm. Runs to Mar 1. Thurs- 

Sat(8pm), Sat/Sun(2pm). Also Feb 23(8pm). 

●●Onstage Uxbridge. The Mikado. Music 

by Arthur Sullivan, libretto by W. S. Gilbert. 

Uxbridge Music Hall, 16 Main St. S., Uxbridge. 

onstageuxbridge.com. $25. Opens Mar 26, 


Sat/Sun(2pm). 

●●Opera by Request. Turandot. Music by Giacomo 

Puccini, with Franco Alfano, libretto by 

Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. College 

St. United Church, 452 College St. 416-455- 

2365. $20. Mar 7, 7:30pm. 

●●Opera by Request. Puccini’s Il Tabarro 

& Gianni Schicchi. Music by Giacomo Puccini, 

libretti by Giuseppe Adami and Giovacchino 

Forzano. College St. United Church, 

452 College St. 416-455-2365. $20. Mar 28, 

7:30pm. 

●●Opera York. The Merry Widow. Music 

by Franz Lehár, libretto by Viktor Léon and 

Leo Stein. Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing 

Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond 

Hill. 905-787-8811. From $40; $25(st). Feb 28, 

7:30pm. Also Mar 1(mat). 

●●Royal Conservatory of Music. The Glenn 

Gould School Koerner Hall Opera 2020: 

Ravel’s L’heure espagnole & Puccini’s Suor 

Angelica. Michael Cavanagh, stage director; 

Nicolas Ellis, conductor. Koerner Hall, TELUS 

Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $25. 

Opens Mar 18, 7:30pm. Also Mar 20. 

●●Shaggypup Productions. Menopause, 

the Musical. Victoria Hall, 55 King St. W., 

Cobourg. 855-372-2210. $45. Opens Mar 26, 

7:30pm. Runs to Mar 28. 

●●Show One Productions. Les Ballets 

Trockadero de Monte Carlo. Winter Garden 

Theatre, 189 Yonge St. 416-872-1212. $35-$115. 

Opens Mar 7, 8pm. Also Mar 8(2pm/7pm). 

●●Tapestry Opera. Songbook X. Krisztina 



9 Trinity St. 416-537-6066. $25. Opens 

Mar 20, 8pm. Also Mar 21. 

●●Theatre Orangeville. Early Morning Rain: 

The Legend of Gordon Lightfoot. Created 

by Leisa Way. Orangeville Town Hall Opera 

House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. 519-942- 

3423. $44; $22(st). Opens Feb 13, 8pm. Runs 

to Mar 1. Wed/Sun(2pm), Thurs/Fri(8pm), 

Sat(7pm). Note: also Feb 26(7pm) (Relaxed 

Performance). 

●●Theatre Sheridan. Guys and Dolls. Music 

and lyrics by Frank Loesser, book by Jo Swerling 

and Abe Burrows. Macdonald-Heaslip 

Hall, 1430 Trafalgar Rd, Oakville. 905-815- 

4049. $30; $27(sr). Opens Apr 7, 7:30pm. 

Runs to Apr 19. Tues-Thur(7:30pm), Fri- 

Sat(8pm), Sat/Sun(2pm). Note: no show 

Apr 10. 

●●Toronto Beach Chorale. Carmina Burana. 

Music by Carl Orff. St. Anne’s Anglican 

Church, 270 Gladstone Ave. 647-812-2505. 

$30/$25(adv); $15/$12.50(7-18); free(under 

7). torontobeachchorale.com. Mar 1, 3pm. 

●●Toronto Operetta Theatre. H.M.S. Pinafore. 

Music by Arthur Sullivan, libretto by 

W. S. Gilbert. St. Lawrence Centre for the 

Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $55-$95. 

Opens Mar 4, 8pm. Runs to Mar 8. Wed/Fri/ 

Sat(8pm), Sun(3pm). 

●●University of Toronto Faculty of Music. 

Thursdays at Noon: Opera Spotlight - Mansfield 

Park. Edward Johnson Building, Walter 


Open to the public. Mar 5, 12:10pm. 


Mansfield Park. Music by Jonathan Dove, 

libretto by Alasdair Middleton. MacMillan Theatre, 

Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s 

Park. 416-408-0208. $40; $25(sr); $10(st). 

Opens Mar 12, 7:30pm. Runs to Mar 15. Thurs- 

Sat(7:30pm), Sun(2:30pm). 


Early Music Concerts: Giulio Cesare. Daniel 

Taylor, conductor. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 

427 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $30; $20(sr); 

$10(st). Opens Mar 20, 7:30pm. Also Mar 21. 


We the Broadway North. Hart House Theatre, 

7 Hart House Circle. 416-978-3750. Free. Open 

to the public. Mar 23, 7:30pm. 


Parlami d’Amore (Speak to me of love). Operatic 

repertory from three centuries. Walter 



$20; $10(st). Mar 27, 5pm. 

●●VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert. Adriana 

Lecouvreur. Music by Francesco Cilea, 

libretto by Arturo Colautti. Sung in Italian 

with English Surtitles. Jane Mallett Theatre, 

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. 

E. 416-366-7723. $20-$50. Apr 5, 2:30pm. 

●●Wavestage Theatre. Chicago. Music by 

John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, book by 

Ebb and Bob Fosse. Newroads Performing 

Arts Centre (formerly Newmarket Theatre), 

505 Pickering Cres., Newmarket. wavestagetheatre.com. 

$29 and up. Opens Apr 2, 

7:30pm. Runs to Apr 5. Thurs/Fri(7:30pm), 

Sat(7pm), Sun(2pm). 

Beat by Beat | Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz! 

Drum Week at 

Hugh’s 

and Women From Space 

D. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz) 

120 Diner 

120 Church St. 416-792-7725 

120diner.com (full schedule) 

Most shows $10-$20 

All shows: PWYC ($10-$20 suggested) 

Alleycatz 

2409 Yonge St. 416-481-6865 

alleycatz.ca 

All shows: Call for cover charge info. 

Mon 8:30pm Salsa Night with DJ Romantico 

with free lessons. 

Tues 8:30pm Bachata Night with Weekly 

Guest DJ with free lessons. 

Wed 7pm Midtown Blues Jam hosted by 

Andrew “Voodoo” Walters. 

Thurs 7pm Spotlight Thursdays. 

Fri & Sat 9:30pm Funk, Soul, R&B Top 40 $10 

cover after 9pm. 

Sat 3pm-6pm Matinee Jazz. 

Sun 4pm Blues in The Alley w/ Big Groove. 

Mar 5 Sonic Curators. 

Mar 6 Lady Kane. Mar 7 Disco Night w/ 

Escapade. Mar 12 Cheryn Lyn & The Catalysts. 

Mar 13 Blonde Ambition. Mar 14 Soular. 

Mar 19 The Neckties. Mar 20 Red Velvet. 

Mar 21 Blonde Ambition. Mar 26 Richard 

Henderson. Mar 27 Gyles. Mar 28 Blonde 

Ambition. 

COLIN STORY 

In my column last month, I wrote about the February 7 appearance 

of the American jazz guitarist Russell Malone at Hugh’s Room 

Live, an unusually high-profile show to occur in the bleak Toronto 

winter. What looked like an anomaly for the Dundas West venue, 

however, now seems as though it’s part of a growing trend. During 

the week of March 8, Hugh’s Room Live hosts a special event: Drum 

Week, sponsored by Yamaha. With seven acts taking the stage from 

Sunday, March 8, to Saturday, March 14, Drum Week will feature 

leading Canadian and American drummers from multiple generations 

and stylistic backgrounds. 

Starting things off on March 8 is Sarah Thawer, who plays at 2pm. 

Thawer – who stays busy both locally and internationally as a bandleader, 

sideperson, and educator – is an exciting, high-energy 

drummer with a wealth of technique, whose own music incorporates 

elements of jazz, hip-hop, fusion and other genres. Next up during 

drum week: the legendary Jimmy Cobb, who, at the age of 91, is the 

only surviving contributor to the seminal Miles Davis album Kind of 

Blue, recorded in 1959. Active since the 50s, Cobb has played with a 

wide range of jazz luminaries in addition to Davis and co., from Dizzy 

Gillespie, Billie Holiday and Stan Getz, to younger players such as 

Peter Bernstein, Brad Mehldau and Vincent Herring. 

On March 11, Drum Week continues with a doubleheader of two 

Canadian groups: Lewis.Brown and Mark McLean’s Playground. 

Lewis. Brown is – as the name suggests – a duo of drummer Larnell 

Artword Artbar 

15 Colbourne St., Hamilton. 905-543-8512 

artword.net (full schedule) 

The Blue Goose Tavern 

1 Blue Goose St. 416-255-2442 

thebluegoosetavern.com (full schedule) 

Bloom 

2315 Bloor St. W. 416-767-1315 

bloomrestaurant.com (full schedule) 

All shows 7pm 19+. Call for reservations. 

Burdock 

1184 Bloor St. W. 416-546-4033 

burdockto.com 

Ticket prices vary by show, but typically 

$10-$20. Check website for individual show 

prices. 

Mar 3 9:30pm Taylor Ashton. Mar 4 7:30pm 

Replay Storytelling Presents: Who Am I?. 

Mar 5 8pm Women From Space Festival. 

Mar 8 5:30pm Jessica Deutsch and Ozere, 

9:30pm The Pilot. Mar 11 9:30pm Macaulay 

Colton + Kim Craig & The Gin Rash. Mar 12 

6pm Lexxicon + Tara Kannangara + Saffron 

A, 9:30pm Sameer Cash w/ Trish Robb. 

Mar 14 6pm Team Building, 9:30pm Blue Sky 

Miners. Mar 15 7:30pm Simone Baron & Arco 


BRENDAN MARIANI 

Sarah Thawer kicks off Drum Week March 8 

Lewis and bassist Rich Brown. Both Lewis and Brown are masters of 

their respective instruments and both bring a deep sense of musicality 

to their playing that extends far beyond technical accomplishments. 

Playground, a five-piece ensemble led by McLean on drums, features 

saxophonist Kelly Jefferson, guitarist Kevin Breit, keyboardist Matt 

Giffin and bassist Marc Rogers. 

While most of Drum Week will feature drummers, the kit-heavy 

programming will be broken up midweek with a performance by 

TorQ Percussion Quartet, a classical percussion ensemble made up 

of Richard Burrows, Adam Campbell, Jamie Drake and Dan Morphy. 

TorQ has collaborated with major orchestras – including the Buffalo 

Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre 

symphonique de Montréal – has played at numerous festivals and is 

highly involved in the realm of Canadian music education, performing 

at many schools and student music festivals, as well as hosting the 

annual TorQ Percussion Seminar during the summer months. 

Next up, drummer Ari Hoenig, who has long been a champion 

for younger musicians, and has consistently hired new and exciting 

voices to complement his lyrical playing style. There is something 

enduringly exciting about the unique creative tension generated 

between improvising musicians of different generations, which is 

precisely what Hoenig brings to Hugh’s Room Live on March 13, when 

he appears with the trio of pianist Nitai Hershkovits and bassist Or 

Bareket. Both Bareket and Hershkovits are in their early 30s, and both, 

like Hoenig, are based in New York, appearing regularly at Smalls, 

where Hoenig began a longstanding residency in 2003. 

(As an aside, hiring younger musicians and providing them with 

an on-the-road musical education was once standard within the jazz 

community. You need look no further than drummer Art Blakey’s Jazz 

Messengers band for a prime example of this tradition; Messengers 

alumni include the likes of Wayne Shorter, Woody Shaw, Wynton 

Marsalis, Terence Blanchard and Mulgrew Miller. The practice does not 

exist to the same extent today, primarily for financial reasons: with 

fewer gigs to go around, and less remunerative touring opportunities, 

bandleaders tend to hire their peers and keep groups relatively 

consistent over longer periods of time. This is not necessarily better or 

worse; Shorter’s current quartet, with pianist Danilo Pérez, drummer 

Brian Blade and bassist John Patitucci, would be a very different group 

if its personnel changed every few years.) 

Rounding out the week of Drum Fest is a special trio performance 

by Jeff “Tain” Watts, whose musical output, over the past 40 years, 

has been amongst the most prodigious of any working jazz drummer. 

Beginning with the Wynton Marsalis Quartet in 1981, Watts has 

played with the likes of George Benson, Harry Connick, Jr and McCoy 

Tyner, has appeared as an actor in Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues, and 

recently, in 2017, received a Guggenheim Fellowship for composition. 

Watts plays with a singular focus and intensity and is a consummate 

drummer with an extensive command of the jazz tradition. 

Women From Space 

It is always reassuring to see smaller-scale festivals taking place in 

Toronto within the jazz/improvised music community; though the 

TD Toronto Jazz Festival and other large-scale productions play an 

important role in the well-being of the scene, there is something 

equally significant in the creation of space for artists and groups 

who might not otherwise find the representation that they deserve 

on Toronto’s cultural calendar. Artists working in the improvised/ 


Belo. Mar 16 9pm Joyfultalk + Joyful Joyful. 

Mar 18 6pm Significant Other w/ Nico 

Paulo, 9:30pm Rae Spoon and Kim Barlow w/ 

Mohammad Sahraei. Mar 19 9:30pm Amanda 

Rheaume w/ Sierra Noble. Mar 20 6pm Safe 

as Houses & Rory Taillon, 9:30pm Robb Cappelletto 

& Joseph Anidjar. Mar 21 9:30pm 

Rebekah Hawker, The Pairs, Basset. Mar 22 

2pm and 7pm Asian Riffing Trio. Mar 24 9pm 

Dave Phillips / Death Kneel / Fleshtone Aura. 

Mar 28 9:30pm Texas Wayne / Westelaken / 

Sara Jarvie-Clarke. Mar 29 9pm Nat Baldwin 

/ Charles Spearin / Sandro Perri. Mar 31 9pm 

Kennedy Road. 

Cameron House 

408 Queen St. W. 416-703-0811 

thecameron.com 

Castro’s Lounge 

2116 Queen St. E. 416-699-8272 

castroslounge.com (full schedule) 

All shows: No cover/PWYC 

C’est What 

67 Front St. E. (416) 867-9499 

cestwhat.com (full schedule) 

All concerts are PWYC unless otherwise 

noted. 

Mar 6 9pm James King & The Midnight 

Hours. Mar 7 3pm The Hot Five Jazzmakers, 

9pm Julia Tynes Band. Mar 8 7pm The Free 

Spirits. Mar 13 9pm Built for Speed. Mar 14 

3pm The Vic Lawrence Seven, 9pm Craig 

Robertson, James Clark, and Alun Piggins. 

Mar 20 9pm Bluenatics. Mar 21 3pm The Hot 

Five Jazzmakers, 9pm Legion of Saints, Field 

Study, and Countless Numbers. Mar 26 8pm 

The Hiltz Family Singers. Mar 27 9pm Fool 

Hearts. Mar 28 3pm The Boxcar Boys. 

Emmet Ray, The 

924 College St. 416-792-4497 

theemmetray.com (full schedule) 

All shows: No cover/PWYC 

Grossman’s Tavern 

379 Spadina Ave. 416-977-7000 

grossmanstavern.com (full schedule) 

All shows: No cover (unless otherwise noted). 

Every Sat 4:30pm The Happy Pals Dixieland 

Jazz Jam. Every Sun 4:30pm New Orleans 

Connection All Star Band; 10pm Sunday Jam 

with Bill Hedefine. Every Wed 10pm Action 

Sound Band w/ Leo Valvassori. 

Hirut Cafe and Restaurant 

2050 Danforth Ave. 416-551-7560 

hirut.ca 

Every Sunday 3pm Hirut Sundays Open Mic. 

First and Third Tuesday 8pm Fingerstyle Guitar 

Association. 

Mar 4 8pm BTBs Trio. Mar 6 7pm Tom Reynolds 

Trio - Mennonite Fundraiser. Mar 8 

8pm Brodie West and Eucalyptus. Mar 10 

8pm Finger Style Guitar Association Open 

Stage. Mar 11 8pm Elite Music Academy 

Open Mic. Mar 13 8:30pm Don Naduriak 

Jazz of the Americas. Mar 14 8pm Dunstan 

Morey Quartet. Mar 15 8pm Brodie West and 

Eucalyptus. Mar 18 8pm BTBs Trio. Mar 19 

8pm four.30 Jazz Trio. Mar 20 8pm Steve 

Koven Trio. Mar 22 8pm Brodie West and 

Eucalyptus. Mar 24 8pm Finger Style Guitar 

Association Open Stage. Mar 25 8pm Henry 

Heiling & Eric St. Laurent Duo. Mar 26 8pm 

Blues Jam. Mar 27 9pm Hirut Hoot Comedy 

Night. Mar 29 8pm Brodie West and 

Eucalyptus. 

Home Smith Bar – See Old Mill, The 

Hugh’s Room 

2261 Dundas St. W 416 533 5483 

hughsroom.com 

All shows at 8:30pm unless otherwise noted. 

See website for individual show prices. 

Mar 2 8pm Dr. Mike Daley Presents: The 

James Taylor Story. Mar 3 8pm Dr. Mike 

Daley Presents: The James Taylor Story. 

Mar 7 Paul James and His Band Pay Tribute 

to Bob Dylan. Mar 8 2pm Yamaha Presents: 

Sarah Thawer Band, 8:30pm 

International Women’s Day w/ Jully Black. 

Mar 9 Postmodern Jukebox’s Casey Abrams. 

Mar 10 Yamaha Presents: Jimmy Cobb. 

Mar 11 8pm Yamaha Presents: Lewis.Brown 

/ Mark McLean’s Playground. Mar 12 Yamaha 


creative music realm tend to find themselves in something of a niche 

in the broader Toronto jazz community to begin with; although there 

are great organizations who routinely present this music, such as the 

not-for-profit Somewhere There, there are far fewer opportunities to 

present an evening of free jazz than there are to present an evening of 

conventionally played jazz standards. Even within this niche, however, 

women tend to be programmed less than men, and stereotypes that 

exist within the broader jazz community about women performers 

tend to perniciously replicate themselves. 

Partly in reply to this issue, the Women From Space Festival, now 

in its second year, will be taking place from March 5 to 8, with 17 

acts taking place over four nights at Burdock and at 918 Bathurst. The 

festival, which is organized by Bea Labikova and Kayla Milmine, seeks 

to highlight “visionary women working within and between exploratory 

musical traditions,” with an emphasis on performances by 

artists whose work falls somewhere at the intersection between jazz, 

contemporary classical and creative improvised musics. The performances 

coincide with International Women’s Day weekend and will 

feature Claire Yunjin Lee, Susan Alcorn, Sahara Morimoto, Kris Davis, 

and Ingrid Laubrock, amongst many others, with affordable ticket 

prices, including multi-day and student pricing. 

MAINLY CLUBS, MOSTLY JAZZ QUICK PICKS 

!! 

MAR 5, 8PM: Various artists, Women From Space Festival, Burdock. On the 

first night of the festival, catch Elisa Thorn, Claire Yunjin Lee, Amy Brandon and 

Susan Alcorn at Burdock (co-presented with Canadian Music Centre and Riparian 

Acoustics). 

!! 

MAR 8, 8PM: Various artists, Women From Space Festival, 918 Bathurst. The 

final night of the Women From Space Festival – and the only one to take place at 918 

Bathurst – includes sets by Elizabeth Lima and Meghan Cheng, Kris Davis and Ingrid 

Laubrock, and many other exciting acts. 

!! 

MAR 11, 8PM: Lewis.Brown and Mark McLean’s Playground, Drum Week, Hugh’s 

Room Live. This double bill features two of Toronto’s top drummers – Larnell Lewis and 

Mark McLean – appearing with some of Toronto’s most exciting musicians for Drum 

Week at Hugh’s Room. 

!! 

MAR 13, 8:30PM: Ari Hoenig Trio, Drum Week, Hugh’s Room Live. With pianist Nitai 

Hershkovits and bassist Or Bareket, leading modern jazz drummer Ari Hoenig comes 

to Hugh’s Room Live for an evening of communicative, high-stakes trio music. 

Colin Story is a jazz guitarist, writer and teacher based in Toronto. 

He can be reached at www.colinstory.com, on Instagram and 

on Twitter. 

Presents: TorQ. Mar 13 Yamaha Presents: Ari 

Hoenig. Mar 14 Yamaha Presents: Jeff “Tain” 

Watts Quintet. Mar 15 Celebrating Bach’s 

Birthday. Mar 16 Dan MacDonald and North 

Atlantic Drift. Mar 19 BluesIn’ Toronto Presents: 

Tribute to Muddy & The Wolf. Mar 20 

A Man Called Wrycraft Presents: A Tribute to 

Bruce Cockburn. Mar 22 2pm Ken Whiteley 

Gospel Brunch, 8:30pm Coco Montoya and 

Ronnie Baker Brooks. Mar 26 An Evening for 

Jack w/ Paul Reddick. Mar 27 Sharon Robinson: 

My Time w/ Leonard Cohen. Mar 28 Dan 

Hill. Mar 29 8pm Dr. Mike Daley Presents: The 

Weavers’ Story. 

Jazz Bistro, The 

251 Victoria St. 416-363-5299 

jazzbistro.ca (full schedule) 

Mar 1 7pm Bartosz Hadala Group. Mar 3 8pm 

Mary Margaret O’Hara & Friends. Mar 4 8pm 

David Rubel’s 251 Jam Session. Mar 5 9pm 

Mark Eisenman Quartet. Mar 6 9pm Mark 

Eisenman Quartet. Mar 7 9pm Heather Luckhart 

Birthday w/ Attila Fias Quartet. Mar 8 

7pm Carolyn Credico w/ Ross Wooldridge 

and Clark Johnson. Mar 10 8pm Gia Ionescu 

& The Update. Mar 11 David Rubel’s 251 Jam 

Session. Mar 12 9pm Daniel Barnes Ethio 

Jazz. Mar 13 9pm Aldo Lopez-Gavilan Trio. 

Mar 14 9pm Yvette Tollar 50th Birthday Concert. 

Mar 15 7pm Alex Samaras & Bobby 

Hsu. Mar 17 8pm Gia Ionescu & The Update. 

Mar 18 8pm David Rubel’s 251 Jam Session. 

Mar 19 9pm The Koffman-Hiltz Quartet. 

Mar 20 9pm Jacek Kochan. Mar 21 9pm Rich 

Brown. Mar 22 7pm Eric Yves Garcia. Mar 25 

8pm David Rubel’s 251 Jam Session. Mar 26 

9pm Kristjan Randalu w/ Mike Murley. Mar 27 

9pm Kristjan Randalu w/ Genevieve Marentette. 

Mar 28 9pm Lori Cullen. Mar 29 7pm 

Tracy Michailidis. 

Jazz Room, The 

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

Waterloo. 226-476-1565 

kwjazzroom.com (full schedule) 

Attendees must be 19+. Cover charge varies 

(generally $12-$25) 

Mar 6 8:30pm Mark Godfrey Quintet. 

Mar 7 8:30pm Ernesto Cervini’s Tetrahedron. 

Mar 13 8:30pm The Fourth Line. Mar 14 3pm 

Saturday Afternoon Jazz Jam, 8:30pm Peter 

Hum’s Ordinary Heroes. Mar 20 8:30pm 

Sonja Gustafson. Mar 21 8:30pm Joanna 

Majoko. Mar 27 8:30pm Fresh Water Funk. 

Mar 28 8:30pm Barry Elmes Quintet. 

Lula Lounge 

1585 Dundas St. W. 416-588-0307 

lula.ca (full schedule) 

Every Fri 7:30pm Afterwork Global Party 

Series free before 8pm; Every Fri 8:30pm 

Havana Club Fridays $15; Every Sat 10:30pm 

Salsa Saturdays $15. 

Mar 1 6pm SHINE Concert. Mar 6 6:30pm 

Son de Lula. Mar 8 3pm Terreiro do Samba. 

Mar 12 6:30pm Hilario Duran Solo Concert. 

Mar 13 6:30pm Son de Lula. Mar 15 12pm 

Lula’s Drag Brunch Extravaganza: Clash of 

the Queens. Mar 16 6:30pm Doox of Yale. 

Mar 18 7pm Amy Helm. Mar 20 6:30pm Son 

de Lula. Mar 22 4pm Dang Show - Nowruz 99. 

Mar 26 8pm Aaron Davis Circle of Friends. 

Mar 27 6:30pm Son de Lula. 

Manhattans Pizza Bistro & Music Club 

951 Gordon St., Guelph 519-767-2440 

manhattans.ca (full schedule) 

Mezzetta Restaurant 

681 St. Clair Ave. W. 416-658-5687 

mezzettarestaurant.com (full schedule) 

Monarch Tavern 

12 Clinton St. 416-531-5833 

themonarchtavern.com (full schedule) 

Mar 3 8pm Belleville-Ville. Mar 4 7pm John 

Kameel Farah. Mar 6 9pm PAX w/ Danika 

Vandersteen, Hobby. Mar 7 8:30pm No 

$ignal. Mar 9 7:30pm Martin Loomer & His 

Orange Devils Orchestra. Mar 11 8pm Control 

Top. Mar 12 8:30pm Larkins. Mar 15 8pm 

Combo Chimbita. Mar 20 8:30pm GirlonGirl 

LP Release w/ Man Crush, Uncola. Mar 21 

9pm Dave Schoonderbeek + BDR w/ The Fern 

Tips, Flowers of Hell. Mar 27 9pm Praises EP 

Release w/ Queen of Swords, Secret Sign. 

Mar 31 8pm Shopping. 

N’awlins Jazz Bar & Dining 

299 King St. W. 416-595-1958 

nawlins.ca 

All shows: No cover/PWYC. 

Every Tue 6:30pm Stacie McGregor. Every 

Wed 7pm The Jim Heineman Trio. Every Thur 

8pm Nothin’ But the Blues with Joe Bowden. 

Every Fri & Sat 8:30pm N’awlins All Star 

Band; Every Sun 7pm Brooke Blackburn. 

Nice Bistro, The 

117 Brock St. N., Whitby. 905-668-8839 

nicebistro.com (full schedule) 

Sunday, March 8, 4:30pm 

Tribute to Erroll Garner, with 

Robi Botos (piano), Lauren Falls 

(bass), Brian Barlow (drums) 

Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. 

(north of St. Clair at Heath St.) 

Admission is free; donations are welcome. 

Live jazz and dinner, $45.00 per person. Dinner 

from 6pm and music from 7pm to 9pm. 

Mar 11 Suzi and Doug. Mar 25 Farrucas Latin 

Duo. 

Old Mill, The 

21 Old Mill Rd. 416-236-2641 

oldmilltoronto.com (full schedule) 

The Home Smith Bar: No reservations. No 

cover. $20 food/drink minimum. All shows: 

7:30-10:30pm unless otherwise listed. 

Mar 3 Gene DiNovi. Mar 4 Karl Silveira 

Quartet. Mar 5 Maureen Kennedy Quartet. 

Mar 6 Canadian Jazz Quartet and Friends. 

Mar 7 Mandy Lagan Quartet. Mar 11 Denise 

Leslie Quartet. Mar 12 Mark Kelso Quartet. 

Mar 13 Melissa Lauren Trio. Mar 14 Brian 

Blain’s Blues Campfire Jam. Mar 18 Russ 

Little Quartet. Mar 19 Sophia Perlman & 

Adrean Farrugia’s Thursday Night Jazz Party. 

Mar 20 Kalya Ramu Quartet. Mar 21 Bill 

McBirnie Trio. Mar 25 John MacMurchy’s 

Wednesday Night Jazz Party. Mar 26 Bob 

DeAngelis and Friends. Mar 27 Barry Elmes 

Quartet. Mar 28 Jordana Talsky Trio. 

Only Café, The 

972 Danforth Ave. 416-463-7843 

theonlycafe.com (full schedule) 

Pilot Tavern, The 

22 Cumberland Ave. 416-923-5716 

thepilot.ca 

All shows: 2:30pm. No cover. 

Mar 7 Morgan Childs Trio. Mar 14 Mike 

Murley Quartet. Mar 21 Sugar Daddies. 

Mar 28 Michael Arthurs Quartet. 

Poetry Jazz Café 

224 Augusta Ave. 416-599-5299 

poetryjazzcafe.com (full schedule) 

Reposado Bar & Lounge 

136 Ossington Ave. 416-532-6474 

reposadobar.com (full schedule) 

Reservoir Lounge, The 

52 Wellington St. E. 416-955-0887 

reservoirlounge.com (full schedule). 

Every Tue & Sat, 8:45pm Tyler Yarema 

and his Rhythm. Every Wed 9pm The Digs. 

Every Thurs 9:45pm Stacey Kaniuk. Every 

Fri 9:45pm Dee Dee and the Dirty Martinis. 

Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar, The 

194 Queen St. W. 416-598-2475 

therex.ca (full schedule) 

Call for cover charge info. 

Mar 1 12pm Excelsior Dixieland Jazz Band, 

3:30pm Club Django, 7pm Julia Cleveland 

Trio, 9:30pm JV’s Boogaloo Squad. 

Mar 2 6:30pm U of T Student Jazz Ensembles, 

Featuring some of Toronto’s best 

jazz musicians with a brief reflection 

by Jazz Vespers Clergy 

Sunday, March 22, 4:30pm 

The Jeru Quartet 

plays the music of 

Chet Baker & Gerry Mulligan 

416-920-5211 

christchurchdeerpark.org 


Clubs & Groups 

●●Mar 15 1:00: Toronto Opera Club. Guest 

speaker: Michael Patrick Albano, Resident 

Director, U of T Opera. A one-hour presentation 

on the current U of T Opera production 

of Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park, based 

on the Jane Austen novel. There is also an 

opportunity to attend the opera performance 

at 2:30pm. The presentation is in Room 

330, Edward Johnson Bldg., Faculty of Music, 

80 Queens Park, Room 330. 416-924-3940. 

Free. Note: There is a charge for admission to 

the opera performance. See listings in Sections 

A and C for details. 

●●Mar 22 2:00: Classical Music Club 

Toronto. Beethoven 250 (Part 3). Join us 

for our ongoing project to celebrate the 

250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. 

Visit classicalmusicclubtoronto.org or 

contact John Sharpe at 416-898-2549 or 

torontoshi@sympatico.ca. Annual membership: 

$25(regular); $10(sr/st). Free for 

first-time visitors. Donations accepted for 

refreshments. 

●●Mar 30 7:30: Toronto Wagner Society. 


9:30pm Tangent. Mar 3 6:30pm Melissa Lauren 

Quartet, 9:30pm Tangent. Mar 4 6:30pm 

Worst Pop Band Ever, 9:30pm Jenna Marie 

R&B. Mar 5 6:30pm Kevin Quain, 9:45pm 

Tetrahedron Album Release. Mar 6 4pm 

Hogtown Syncopators, 6:30pm James Hill’s 

Local Talent, 9:45pm Tetrahedron Album 

Release. Mar 7 12pm Terry Wilkins’ Uncle 

Bass, 3:30pm Laura Hubert Band, 7pm Lester 

McLean Trio+, 9:45pm O’Kane & Turcotte. 


3:30pm Red Hot Ramble, 7pm Julia Cleveland 

Trio, 9:30pm Scotch. Mar 9 6:30pm 

U of T Student Jazz Ensembles, 9:30pm Josh 

Grossman’s Toronto Jazz Orchestra. Mar 10 

6:30pm Melissa Lauren Quartet, 9:30pm 

Chris Gale hosts the Rex Jazz Jam. Mar 11 

6:30pm Worst Pop Band Ever, 9:30pm Peter 

Hum Sextet. Mar 12 6:30pm Kevin Quain, 

9:30pm Peter Hum Sextet. Mar 13 12pm Hogtown 

Syncopators, 6:30pm James Hill’s Local 

Talent, 9:45pm Hannah Barstow 6. Mar 14 

12pm Terry Wilkins’ Uncle Bass, 3:30pm 

George Lake Big Band, 7pm Lester McLean 

Trio+, 9:45pm Roberto Occhipinti. Mar 15 

12pm Excelsior Dixieland Jazz Band, 3:30pm 

Beverly Taft Quartet, 7pm Julia Cleveland Trio, 

9:30pm Alex Kapo Quintet. Mar 16 6:30pm 

U of T Student Jazz Ensembles, 9:30pm Terry 

Promane’s U of T 12tet. Mar 17 6:30pm Melissa 

Lauren Quartet, 9:30pm Curtis + Garabedian 

+ Sperrazza. Mar 18 6:30pm Worst 

Pop Band Ever, 9:30pm Curtis + Garabedian 

+ Sperrazza. Mar 19 6:30pm Kevin Quain, 

9:30pm Mark Kelso’s Jazz Exiles. Mar 20 

12pm Hogtown Syncopators, 6:30pm James 

Hill’s Local Talent, 9:30pm Mark Kelso’s Jazz 

Exiles. Mar 21 12pm Terry Wilkins’ Uncle Bass, 

3:30pm Swing Shift Big Band, 7pm Lester 

McLean Trio+, 9:45pm Elizabeth Shepherd. 


3:30pm Dr. Nick and The Rollercoasters, 7pm 

Julia Cleveland Trio, 9:30pm Jacob’s Cattle. 

Mar 23 6:30pm U of T Student Jazz Ensembles, 

9:30pm Chris Hunt Tentet + 2. Mar 24 

6:30pm Melissa Lauren Quartet, 9:30pm 

E. The ETCeteras 

Chris Gale hosts the Rex Jazz Jam. Mar 25 

6:30pm Worst Pop Band Ever, 9:30pm Noah 

Franche-Nolan Trio. Mar 26 6:30pm Kevin 

Quain, 9:30pm Spin Cycle. Mar 27 12pm Hogtown 

Syncopators, 6:30pm Autobahn Trio, 

9:30pm Spin Cycle. Mar 28 12pm Terry Wilkins’ 

Uncle Bass, 3:30pm Paul Reddick Blues, 

7pm Neon Eagle, 9:45pm Dave Young Quintet. 

Mar 29 12pm Excelsior Dixieland Jazz 

Band, 3:30pm Murphy Bros. All-Stars, 7pm 

Julia Cleveland Trio, 9:30pm Barry Romberg 

Group. Mar 30 6:30pm U of T Student 

Jazz Ensembles, 8:30pm John MacLeod’s Rex 

Hotel Orchestra. Mar 31 6:30pm Melissa Lauren 

Quartet, 9:30pm Chris Gale hosts the 

Classic Rex Jazz Jam. 

Salty Dog Bar & Grill, The 

1980 Queen St. E. 416-849-5064 

thesaltydog.ca (full schedule) 

Every Tue 7-10pm Jazz Night. Every 

Thu 8:30pm Karaoke. Every Fri 9:30pm 

Blues Jam - house band with weekly featured 

guest. Every Sat 3pm Salty Dog Saturday 

Matinée. 

Sauce on Danforth 

1376 Danforth Ave. 647-748-1376 

sauceondanforth.com 

All shows: No cover. 

Every Mon 9pm Gareth Parry’s Book Club. 

Every Tue 6pm Julian Fauth. Every Wed Paul 

Reddick & Friends. Every Thu 8pm Steve 

Koven and Artie Roth. Sat and Sun Matinees 

4pm various performers. 

The Senator Winebar 

249 Victoria St 416 364-7517 

thesenator.com (full schedule) 

Tranzac 

292 Brunswick Ave. 416-923-8137 

tranzac.org (full schedule) 

3-4 shows daily, various styles, in three different 

performance spaces. Mostly PWYC. 

Adrianne Pieczonka. The famed Canadian 

soprano will discuss her career. Arts and Letters 

Club, 14 Elm Street. torontowagnersociety.ca. 

Free(members); $20(non-members). 

Competitions and Applications 

●●Steinway & Sons. 2020 Steinway Junior 

Piano Competition. Registration deadline: 

April 1. Steinway Piano Gallery Toronto, 

8-2651 John St., Markham. For information 

visit steinway.com/competition or call 

905-9401-5597. 

Films 

●●Mar 29 3:00: Amici Chamber 

Ensemble. Cinema. Revisiting the tradition 

of silent films with live music. Films: Man Ray: 

Emak-Bakia; Guy Maddin: Heart of the World; 

Buster Keaton: The Playhouse. Music by Milhaud, 

Kradjian, Poulenc, Rota and Saint- 

Saëns. Guest: Yahonatan Berick, violin; Amici 

Chamber Ensemble (Joaquin Valdepeñas, 

clarinet; David Hetherington, cello; Serouj 

Kradjian, piano). Isabel Bader Theatre, 

93 Charles St. W. 416-408-0208. $50; 

$45(sr); $30(under 30); $15(st). 

Galas, Tributes and Fundraisers 

●●Mar 04 6:30: VIVA! Youth Singers of 

Toronto. Annual Fundraising Gala. Old Mill 

Toronto, 21 Old Mill Rd. 416-788-8482. $150. 

●●Mar 06 7:30: Firerooster Collective. Stabat 

Mater. Pergolesi: Stabat Mater. Maureen 

Pecknold, soprano; Andrea Johnston, alto; 

Dorothy Krizmanic, piano. Church of the Holy 

Trinity, 19 Trinity Sq. 647-339-8587. By donation. 

Benefit for Stella’s Place. 

●●Mar 07 7:30: VOCA Chorus of Toronto. 

10th Anniversary Cabaret. Silent auction 

begins at 7pm. Performances by choristers 

and special guests. Complimentary appetizers. 

Fully licensed event. Grand Hall, Estonian 

House, 958 Broadview Ave. Tickets available 

at eventbrite.ca/e/voca-presents-10th-anniversary-cabaret-silent-auction-tickets-89102687537. 

$30. 

●●Mar 08 3:00 Help Violinist Arthur Lewinowicz 

Beat Cancer Fundraiser Concert. An 

afternoon of music featuring Arthur Boomin’, 

Halton Jazz Singers, Elisa Malatesta, Mark 

Twang, Linda Lavender Band, and others. All 

artists are donating their time and talent. 

Proceeds go to help Arthur with his mounting 

bills and with future expenses of producing 

an album of the music he is composing 

while in cancer treatment. Relish Bar & Grill, 

511 Danforth Ave. Advance tickets @ Eventbrite 

$20, $25 at the door. 

●●Mar 19 7:30: Orchestra Breva Academy 

Orchestra. Music for Social Change: A Benefit 

Concert for Sistema Toronto. Mozart: 

Symphony No.40; Beethoven Concerto No.2; 

Tanovich: Symphony in B-flat. Vivian Kwok, 

piano; Evan Tanovich, conductor; Ricardo 

Ferro, conductor; Emma Moss, conductor. 

Seeley Hall, Trinity College, 6 Hoskin Ave. 519- 

981-8441. Admission by donation. 

●●Mar 26 8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 

Evening Epic. The TSO’s annual fundraising 

event will feature a gala dinner and 

EPIC party! With performances by members 

of the TSO and the Toronto Symphony Youth 

Orchestra, and a one-night-only mainstage 

performance featuring the TSO in collaboration 

with award-nominated alternative-electronic 

Indigenous singer/songwriter iskwē. 

This is a 19+ event. The Carlu, 444 Yonge St. 

Visit EveningEpic.ca for tickets to the event. 

Early Bird tickets are on sale now for $155! 

●●Apr 04 7:00: Echo Women’s Choir. 2nd 

Annual Folking Awesome Music Trivia Night. 

Specially designed for music lovers of all 

ages, this fun evening will challenge your 

upper register (your brain)! Echo challenges 

all other Toronto choirs to send a team 

to compete! Evening includes complimentary 

snacks, cash bar, great prizes + bragging 

rights for the winners! Russel Harder, host 

and quiz master. Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick 

Ave., Main Hall. echochoir-music-trivia-2020. 

eventbrite.ca. Info: echowomenschoir.ca. 

$20; $70 (team table of 4). 

Lectures, Salons and Symposia 

●●Mar 01 7:00: Darchei Noam/Howard Mednick. 

Jewish All-Star Composers. Works 

of Mendelssohn, Gershwin and Copland. 

Recorded music with commentary. Darchei 

Noam Synagogue, 864 Sheppard Ave. 416- 

435-6517. $15. 

●●Mar 02 7:00: Tafelmusik. Art, Religion, 

and Culture: Bach and St. John Passion. A 

panel discussion with Gordon Rixon, S.J., and 

Katharine Lochnan, both from Regis College; 

Choir Director Ivars Taurins; and Norman 

Tobias. Facilitated by Michelle Voss Roberts, 

Principal, Emmanuel College. Jeanne Lamon 

Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 

Free admission with registration at tafelmusik.org/concert-calendar/concert/art-religion-and-culture-bach-and-st-john-passion. 

●●Mar 04 7:00: Canadian Opera Company. 

Opera Talks: Music and Mental Health. 

Explore the art and science of music’s impact 

on our physical, mental and emotional health 

with accredited music therapists and registered 

psychotherapist SarahRose Black 

and cellist Andrew Ascenzo. Participants 

will discover how music can punctuate life’s 

most important moments and learn more 

about music’s important role in the healthcare 

industry and personal wellness. North 

York Central Library, 5120 Yonge St. Free but 

advanced registration is recommended by 

calling 416-395-5639. 

JAMES RHODES 


WED, MARCH 4, 7:30PM 

Isabel Bader Theatre 


●●Mar 04 7:30: Glenn Gould Foundation. 

James Rhodes: In Conversation. Isabel Bader 

Theatre, 93 Charles St. W. Order online at: 

glenngould.ca. $25. 

Master Classes 


●●Mar 28 9:00am: The Susan Hoeppner 

International Music Academy (SHIMA). 

Flute and Picccolo Master Class. Includes 

lunch. Scholarships available. The Haworth 

Showroom. 55 University Ave. For information: 

647-801-3456 or susanhoeppner.academy@gmail.com. 

Also Mar 29. 

Singalongs, Jams, Circles 

●●Mar 14 12:30: Recollectiv. A unique musical 

group whose members are mainly made up of 

people affected by memory challenges (caused 

by Dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, stroke, 

PTSD, brain injury, etc.). Volunteers of all ages 

also form part of the band, making this a positive 

intergenerational experience for all participants. 

Recollectiv’s mission is to help 

people with memory challenges find joy and a 

sense of community through music-making. 

The band meets weekly at a central accessible 

location and is free with pre-registration. 

For more information, to participate, volunteer 

or donate, please visit recollectiv.ca or call 

Smile Theatre at 416-599-8440. Tranzac Club, 

292 Brunswick Ave. Free/PWYC. Also Mar 21, 

28, Apr 4. 

Tours 

●●Mar 01 10:30am: Canadian Opera Company. 

90-Minute Tour of the Four Seasons 

Centre. Led by a trained docent. Includes 

information and access to the Isadore and 

Rosalie Sharp City Room, the Richard Bradshaw 

Amphitheatre and R. Fraser Elliott Hall, 

as well as backstage areas such as the wig 

rooms and dressing rooms, the orchestra 

pit, and other spaces that only a stage door 

pass could unlock. Four Seasons Centre for 

the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416- 

363-8231. coc.ca. $20(adults); $15(sr/st). Also 

Mar 8 and 15 (French). 

Workshops & Classes 

●●Mar 01 1:30: Toronto Early Music Players 

Organization. Workshop coached by viola da 

gamba player Joëlle Morton. Armour Heights 

Community Centre, 2140 Avenue Rd. Bring 

your early instruments and a music stand. 

For information: 416-779-5750 or tempotoronto.net. 

$20. 

●●Mar 06 7:30: Toronto Recorder Players 

Society. Renaissance and Baroque Workshop 

for Recorders and Other Early Instruments. 

Refreshments included. Mount 

Pleasant Road Baptist Church, 527 Mount 

Pleasant Rd. (entrance off Belsize). For information: 

416-480-1853 or rpstoronto.ca. $15. 

●●Mar 17 12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company. 

Vocal Series: Opera for All Ages. Artists 

of the COC Ensemble Studio playfully explore 

opera in a lively interactive March Break concert. 

Audience members of all ages can listen 

to, learn about, and try their hand at the fascinating 

art of opera. This program is fun for 

the whole family and welcomes people of all 

abilities and exceptionalities! Richard Bradshaw 

Auditorium, Four Seasons Centre for 

the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. (at University 

Ave.) Free. Note: Admission is on a 

first-come, first-served basis. Participants 

are encouraged to arrive early as late seating 

is not available after 12:00 noon. 

●●Mar 21 10:30am: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. 

Singstation: Opera Choruses with Sandra 

Horst. Join Sandra Horst, Chorus Master of the 

Canadian Opera Company, for a lively morning 

of popular opera choruses. Bring your voice: we 

Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka discusses her career March 30, presented by the Toronto Wagner Society. 

SING OPERA CHORUSES 

with Sandra Horst 

at Singsation 


tmchoir.org 

provide the music. Register at the door. We ask 

that participants come to the event scent-free. 

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge 

St. $10 (includes refreshments). 

●●Mar 22 2:00: CAMMAC Toronto Region. 

Reading for singers and instrumentalists 

of Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem. 

Ross Inglis, conductor. Christ Church Deer 

Park, 1570 Yonge St. 647-458--0213. $10; 

$6(members). 

●●Mar 24-26 7:00: Canadian Music Centre. 

New Musical Resources: A Composition Workshop 

with the Brodie West Quintet. Shedding 

light on lesser understood aspects of rhythm, 

its function and organization, this three-day 

workshop will be beneficial to composers of 

all levels and backgrounds, with even a fundamental 

understanding of music theory. Each 

evening will include interaction between participants 

and the ensemble. Participants are 

welcome to attend all or any of the evenings. 

You must register for each individual event. 

To register and for details of each evening’s 

topics, visit on.cmccanada.org/event/brodiewest-quintet. 

Canadian Music Centre, 20 St. 

Joseph St. $10 admission per day. 

●●Mar 27, 7:30: Toronto Recorder Players 

Society. Renaissance and Baroque Workshop 

for Recorders and Other Early Instruments. 

Refreshments included. Mount Pleasant 

Road Baptist Church, 527 Mount Pleasant Rd. 

(entrance off Belsize). For information: 416- 

480-1853 or rpstoronto.ca. $15. 

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RESA’S PIECES STRINGS ENSEMBLE is 

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●●Apr 05 1:30: Toronto Early Music Players 

Organization. Workshop coached by 

recorder player Vincent Lauzer. Armour 

Heights Community Centre, 2140 Avenue Rd. 

Bring your early instruments and a music 

stand. 416-779 5750 or tempotoronto.net. 

$20. 

enjoy making music in weekly rehearsals. For 

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BUY & SELL 

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INSTRUCTION 

DO YOU SING IN A CHOIR? Would you like 

to practice your sight-singing skills? Or need 

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SIGHT-SINGING WORKSHOPS: sacred/ 

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VENUES AVAILABLE / WANTED 

ARE YOU PLANNING A CONCERT OR 

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STUDIO RENTAL IN EAST YORK - Home/ 

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WE ARE ALL MUSIC’S CHILDREN 

WHO IS 

APRIL’S 

CHILD? 

MJ BUELL 

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, 1976 

A rare moment of sitting quiet – these days he’s always on the move! 

Adventures so far this season include: Love & Murder (with Northern 

Début Nord, Sudbury); The Marriage of Figaro, as Bartolo (Edmonton 

Opera); La Bohème as Schaunard (Calgary Opera); La Cenerentola, as 

Don Magnifico (Vancouver Opera) 

Hope he travels with his Overcoat! (Toronto 2018) 

When gardening season returns, in April, he’ll be reprising a role that 

had everyone rocking in 2016, in an award-winning production with 

Tapestry New Opera. 

Know our Mystery Child’s name? 

WIN PRIZES! 

Send your best guess by March 22 to 

musicschildren@thewholenote.com 

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS! 

Aaron Davis’ Circle Of Friends, March 26: 8pm. Composer and keyboardist 

Aaron Davis performs original compositions from his upcoming new recording, 

in collaboration with Suba Sankaran, Lori Cullen, Maryem Tollar, Gabriel Davis, 

Dylan Bell, John Johnson, Rob Piltch, Davide Direnzo and others at the Lula 

Lounge, Toronto. A pair of tickets awaits RICHARD SMITH at the door! 

Confluence Concerts: The Mandala, May 9: 8pm. Their final show this 

season is curated by Suba Sankaran: words and music inspired by an 

enduring image, with Ed Hanley, 

Dylan Bell, Sheniz Janmohamed 

and others, at St. Thomas’s Church, 

Toronto. A pair of tickets each, 

for MARGARET OLDFIELD and 

CELIA HARTE 

Sing! In Concert – O Canada! We Are The World, May 29, 8pm. 

Suba Sankaran and Dylan Bell are co-artistic directors of the 2020 SING! 

THE TORONTO VOCAL ARTS FESTIVAL (May 19 to 31). Sankaran and Bell’s 

own genre-bending duo, FreePlay, will host the May 29 concert, celebrating 

the many cultures that comprise Canada, using nothing but their voices and 

innovative live-looping techniques for an a 

cappella concert of astounding variety. The 

concert will feature Tom Wilson and include 

East Coast shanty singers Pressgang Mutiny, 

and others. At Young People’s Theatre, 

Toronto. A pair of tickets 

to JOAN SAYER 

70 70 | | March 2020 thewholenote.com

March’s 

Child is 

Suba 

Sankaran 

Suba Sankaran is a vocalist, choral director, 

arranger, educator and composer. People use 

the word “fusion” a lot when they talk about 

her work, for want of a word that was especially 

coined for what she does. Her body 

of work lovingly embraces a wide world of 

disciplines and performance genres, and 

an even wider world of musical traditions. 

Most recently you may have noticed her as a 

performer and creative collaborator, in Alison 

Mackay’s The Indigo Project, with Tafelmusik. 

Sankaran performs across North America, 

Europe, the UK, Asia, Australia and Africa 

with the trio Autorickshaw; with her father, 

master drummer Trichy Sankaran; with her 

husband, Dylan Bell as the FreePlay Duo; 

and with Retrocity, an octet a cappella revue. 

Sankaran composes and produces music for 

theatre, film, radio and dance. She currently 

teaches in the jazz department at Humber 

College, co-directs Toronto’s City Choir, is 

an artistic associate at Confluence Concerts, 

and is co-sound designer, composer, and 

performer with Why Not Theatre/Shaw 

Festival’s upcoming production of the epic 

story, Mahabharata. 

When you look at your childhood photo 

today? I think about the curiosity and joy 

that is behind the mildly serious look on my 

face. I spent a lot of time alone, just singing 

to myself or playing with toys, or creating 

my own play space (especially when my 

sister was in full-day school and I in half-day 

school). It shows my happy independence. 

Suppose a friendly child asks what your 

job is? I eat, sleep and breathe music. I love my 

work so much that it doesn’t feel like work at 

all, so hopefully, when you get older, you will 

also find something that brings joy to your life. 

People and music in your childhood 

home? My father is master drummer and 

professor/founder of South Indian music 

studies at York University, Trichy Sankaran. 

My mother, Lalitha Sankaran, in those early 

days felt like a Jill-of-all-trades and right 

hand to my dad, They married in ’69, had my 

sister, Bavani, in ’70, then uprooted in ’71 to 

Toronto, with $8.00 in hand in the (original) 

Trudeau years. This is a typical yet fascinating 

immigrant story. I am the only one in 

my family (of my generation) born and raised 

Suba Sankaran lives in a 100-plus-year-old home in east Toronto with her 

husband who is also her partner on and off stage, Dylan Bell. While they are 

without children, their Steinway and myriad of plants are their de facto children. 

Beyond music, Suba enjoys dancing, movie-watching, cooking, gardening, 

walking, reading, and being close to water, mountains and forest wherever and 

whenever possible. She tours and travels whenever the opportunity arises. 

in Toronto (Willowdale/North York). Many 

musicians from India visited from time to 

time, and they would be welcomed in our 

home. As per the South Indian music tradition, 

the senior musicians were expected to 

teach the children of the house some songs – 

a way of passing the torch and maintaining 

and sustaining the guru-kula (guru-disciple 

or teacher-student) tradition. I learned from 

the best of the best, from my father on down! 

What’s your absolute earliest memory of 

hearing music? I think my first memory is 

of my father’s mrdangam playing. It’s such a 

specific and beautifully melodic sound for a 

percussion instrument. I found it so soothing 

that as a child I notoriously fell asleep during 

many of his solos in concerts! 

Your very first recollection of making 

music by yourself? I started singing when I 

began talking, at or before the age of two. I 

was taught the basic South Indian Karnatak 

exercises and short songs (called geethams) as 

well as regular children’s songs from the West 

from my parents and from children’s albums 

like Sharon, Lois and Bram, Raffi, Sesame 

Street, and the like. 

Where else did hearing music generally fit 

into your childhood? We listened to albums 

of many kinds (Indian classical, Western classical, 

jazz, world music and popular music), as 

well as what was playing on the radio – music 

or talk radio – generally CBC and other pop 

music stations that I would find on my own. 

An early memory of an audience? My 

first experience on stage was in the US 

when I was four. It was for the Navaratri 

festival (nine nights of celebration of various 

Hindu Goddesses) at Wesleyan University. I 

was one of four children selected for a solo 

performance on stage, and I sang the hymn 

Santhatham Paahimaam – the Tamil version 

of God Save the Queen, composed by the 

Saint-composer Dikshitar, only it translated 

to something more akin to “Save Everyone!” I 

remember feeling my attraction to the stage 

and for connecting with large audiences in 

this moment. 

When did you start composing? I started 

composing and arranging in high school 

when I attended Claude Watson. Before I 

really knew much about improvising as 

an art form, I would make songs up and 

simply call it “The Game”. We would do 

this in groups and create fugue-like songs, 

madrigal-type polyphony and more far-out 

music and would simply brush it off as part 

of “The Game”! 

What experiences helped to form your 

adult musical preferences? It’s a mix of 

my upbringing in my somewhat traditional 

South Indian household, having a master 

musician for a father, along with my experiences 

in an arts school, and a general hunger 

for wanting to make up music for fun, to 

create, experience and hear new things. 

Indian music has a huge scope for improvisation 

as does jazz and other art forms 

as well. I think I gravitated to these styles 

in part because they have a lot of creative 

freedom. Connecting and communicating, 

trusting the musicians around me and 

creating new music, is very important to me. 

What would you say to parents/grandparents 

hoping their young children will 

grow up to love and make music? Everyone 

will come at music in a different way. It 

can’t be forced. That being said, it’s good to 

send the message that music is communication. 

Music is storytelling. Music can be 

your best friend. Music is healing. Music 

will be here long after we are gone. Music is 

in the cosmos and it’s all around us. We just 

have to listen. 

Suba Sankaran’s full-length interview, 

which includes an astounding 

list of upcoming projects and appearances, 

can be read at thewholenote.com/ 

musicschildren. 

LUCIE KALATOVA 

Over 100 artist profiles and full-length interviews can be read at thewholenote.com/musicschildren 

Digital back issues in their original magazine format are also available online: kiosk.thewholenote.com 


DISCOVERIES | RECORDINGS REVIEWED 

DAVID OLDS 

In Terry Robbins’ Strings Attached column 

you will see Schubert’s string quartet 

Death and the Maiden referred to as an 

“almost symphonic work,” which fits right 

in with my first selection. 12 Ensemble is 

a string orchestra from the UK founded in 

2012 by co-directors Eloisa-Fleur Thom 

and Max Ruisi. Touted on its website as a 

“modern, versatile and virtuosic ensemble, 

the group is built around a core of 12 of London’s finest chamber 

musicians. Always playing without a conductor, the ensemble’s 

acclaimed performances combine the energy, excitement and creativity 

of a small ensemble with the breathtaking sound afforded 

by a string orchestra.” The core membership is supplemented as 

required by the repertoire and by my count from the video clip, 

there are 14 players involved in the group’s transcription of the 

title work from Death and the Maiden (Sancho Panza digital 

release the12ensemble.com). The disc opens with John Tavener’s 

transcription of his tranquil choral setting of Blake’s The Lamb, 

which is followed by the tumultuous Schubert. Ruisi’s program 

note includes an extended explanation of why 12 Ensemble chose 

not to use Mahler’s well-known transcription of this iconic work. 

Instead they decided to go “back to basics, using Schubert’s quartet 

parts and creating a double-bass part that adds impact and depth 

when required but is sensitive to the delicate balance of Schubert’s 

orchestration.” To my ear this is an effective treatment with only 

occasional moments of overbearingly thick textures. For the most 

part the playing is light, dynamic and convincing. 

Some 45 minutes later we are granted respite from Schubert’s 

emotional rollercoaster with Honey Siren, a three-movement work by 

Oliver Leith written especially for the ensemble in 2019. Leith tells us 

“I was thinking about sirens; the wailing kind, not the bird women 

singing on rocks. [...] They usually signal something ominous; these 

sirens do not. They are honeyed, dripping in globules of sweetness [...] 

like a smiling alarm.” All is not entirely placid however and the last 

movement ends with some near-strident tension before the sirens 

fade. The brief final work is truly calming. It dates from an Icelandic 

residency in 2016 when ensemble member Guy Button came up with 

a string arrangement of Fljótavík by the band Sigur Rós. The sense of 

the original words – “We’re sailing, stretching ourselves…We’re sailing 

into land, unknown place…I felt myself happy there…we are really 

thankful” – is aptly captured in this gentle closer. 

I am always pleased to encounter another 

recording of Glenn Gould’s String Quartet 

Op.1. Since the original recording by the 

Symphonia Quartet under Gould’s direction 

in 1960, there have been half a dozen 

or so more, most under the auspices of 

Gould anniversaries and celebrations, but in 

recent years a few stand-alone releases have 

appeared. You can find reviews of Alcan and 

Catalyst Quartet recordings in The WholeNote back catalogue (searchable 

on the website) from April 2009 and September 2015 respectively. 

The latest to appear is Glenn Gould; Friedrich Gulda – The 

String Quartet featuring the Austrian Acies Quartet (Gramola 99028 

naxos.com). This intriguing pairing features quartets from early in the 

careers of two eccentric, accomplished pianists, their only ventures 

into the genre. While Gulda (1930-2000) is described as a pianist and 

composer, Gould is almost exclusively known as keyboard virtuoso. 

Of course we know of Gould’s work as a radio documentarian, a genre 

which he approached in a most composerly fashion, but his actual 

musical output was minimal with the string quartet accounting for 

roughly half if considered by duration (about 35 minutes). We can 

be forgiven for looking on this work, composed around the age of 

21, as an aberration. Unlike his performance practice of focusing on 

the Baroque era, and to a certain extent the 20th century, the quartet 

seems rooted in the romanticism of the 19th century and is positively 

lugubrious in its thick textures at times. I note that the first recording 

described it as “reflect[ing] Gould’s love for Bruckner, Wagner, and 

Richard Strauss,” a love that, as far as I can tell, was only otherwise 

manifest in his lone venture as a conductor (other than his own chorales) 

in his recording of A Siegfried Idyll. Be that as it may, this somewhat 

anachronistic work stands as testament to his understanding 

and command of the idiom. 

Gulda, a man of broad tastes and talents, was as well versed in jazz 

as in the contemporary classical world. Born two years before Gould, 

Gulda’s lifespan exceeded his coeval’s by two decades, but he too 

wrote his only quartet at the age of 20. The String Quartet in F-sharp 

Minor was premiered in Vienna in 1953. Although not particularly 

forward-looking – no hints of postwar avant-garde tendencies here 

– it is firmly rooted in idioms of the first half of the century. With 

contemplative outer movements that are interrupted by a sprightly 

scherzo which itself gives way to a gentle middle section, the overall 

quartet has a slow-fast-slow-fast-slow arc. Incidentally, for those of 

you not familiar with Gulda the pianist, in the April edition of Old 

Wine in New Bottles, Bruce Surtees will be reviewing a newly issued 

set, Friedrich Gulda: Piano Concertos by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, 

Strauss on the SWR Music label. 

The Acies Quartet, founded some 15 years ago, is now in the fifth 

year of its current membership. Having studied and participated in 

masterclasses with some of the world’s outstanding ensembles – 

including the Alban Berg and Guarneri Quartets – it is not surprising 

that these still-young musicians play with an understanding beyond 

their years. Of note, besides excellent musicianship is their curatorial 

inspiration in bringing these two little-known works together. And 

kudos for the booklet which gives an insightful context to each, with 

essays by Jens F. Laurson (Gould) and Walter Gürtelschmied (Gulda). 

I have WholeNote alumna Simone Desilets 

to thank for bringing the next disc to 

my attention. Pianist Clare Longendyke 

was the recipient of the George Brough 

Memorial Endowment scholarship at the 

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in 2017 

and the following year Desilets invited 

her to Toronto to participate in celebrations 

to mark Brough’s centennial. Together 

with recital partner violist Rose Wollman, Longendyke recently 

released Homage to Nadia Boulanger (rosewollman.com) featuring 

works by the iconoclastic teacher and her lineage on the occasion 

of the 40th anniversary of her death. Boulanger (1887-1979) 

mentored many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th 

century, among them such notable Canadians as Gabriel Cusson, 

Jean Papineau-Couture, István Anhalt, Maurice Blackburn, Gabriel 

Charpentier, Pierre Mercure, John Beckwith, Sterling Beckwith, Roger 

Matton, Walter Buczynski and Arthur Ozolins, to name a few of the 

more than 60. 

This Homage begins with Le Grand Tango by Astor Piazzolla, who 

studied with Boulanger in his 30s when he was already an established 

tango artist. Wollman says the duo worked extensively with tango 

experts to ensure an authentic performance of this idiomatic work 


and that she is currently preparing a transcription of their approach 

into an “edition that will help classically trained musicians perform 

this piece stylistically.” The disc continues with Boulanger’s own Trois 

pieces pour violoncelle et piano in Wollman’s arrangement for viola. 

Two gentle movements of great beauty are followed by a driving finale 

reminiscent to my ears of Prokofiev, described as vite et nerveusement 

rythmé. 

The project claims to include Boulanger and her students and “great 

grandstudents.” I wondered what this latter term meant and was told 

that the youngest of the composers included – Gabriela Lena Frank 

(b.1972) – studied with William Albright and Samuel Jones who 

studied with Ross Lee Finney and Bernard Rogers respectively, who 

in turn were themselves students of Boulanger. A bona fide lineage 

indeed. Frank’s contribution is a lilting and mostly lively dance suite 

titled Cinco Danzas de Chambi (2006), inspired by the work of 

Peruvian Martín Chambi (1891-1973), the first Amerindian photographer 

to achieve international acclaim. The suite ends hauntingly 

with the mournful Harawi de Chambi. 

The most substantial work presented here is also the last on the disc. 

Emile Naoumoff is a French pianist and composer who was born in 

Bulgaria in 1962. Wikipedia tells me that “At the age of eight, after a 

fateful meeting in Paris, he became the last disciple of Nadia 

Boulanger, who referred to him as ‘the gift of my old age’. He studied 

with her until her death in late 1979.” The Sonata for Viola and Piano 

dates from 2001 and was revised eight years later. It is in one extended 

movement, beginning darkly but gradually moving toward the light. A 

pizzicato theme passed back and forth between the instruments introduces 

a lyrical section before the piece gradually returns to quiet 

calmness. The Wollman-Longendyke duo worked extensively with 

Naoumoff in preparation for this recording, about which he has said, 

“Wonderful playing and captivatingly generous narrative sound 

quality! Thank you for playing my sonata with such solar depth!” No 

argument from me – I expect the other composers would (have) 

agree(d). 

I seem to be shedding instruments at every 

turn in this column. I’m down to one cello 

in the final entry, En Solo,featuring challenging 

works by Canadian composers 

very ably performed by Pierre-Alain 

Bouvrette (ATMA ACD24039 digital 

release atmaclassique.com). As an 

amateur cellist and avid collector of 

Canadian music, I welcome this addition 

to the catalogue, but I must admit 

a number of frustrations with this digital only release. I find the 

recording quality and performance very satisfactory, but the 

digital booklet leaves much to be desired. There is a biography of 

this young and accomplished cellist, who for more than a decade 

has played with the renowned Molinari Quartet, but about the 

composers there is no information except for their years of birth 

(and death in the case of one) or about the pieces. There are hyperlinks 

which in three cases lead to Canadian Music Centre biographies, 

and in the fourth to Michel Gonneville’s own French-only 

website. There is also a link to Gonneville’s program note, but no 

notes for the other works even on the CMC site. Frankly I have 

come to expect more from the otherwise excellent ATMA label. 

The opening selection is Paean, a 1989 composition by Otto 

Joachim (1910-2010, two and half months shy of his 100th birthday!). 

I believe this is its first commercial recording, but fortunately I have 

in my collection a Radio Canada portrait disc devoted to the works 

of Joachim which includes a broadcast recording of the premiere in 

1992 by the dedicatee Guy Fouquet. (I believe my photographer friend 

André Leduc and I were actually at that performance which took place 

during the Quinzaine du violoncelle in Montreal.) Thanks to the Radio 

Canada release I am able to tell you that in his program note Joachim 

says that “Paean is mainly a 12-tone work but I subconsciously integrated 

into the series a melodic pattern from a Tamil raga that I knew, 

thereby creating a haunting melisma. I added to those long sustained 

notes a rhythm based on the tabla heard in this very raga…” He added 

“One assumes that it is harder to find ideas at 80: this was not the case 

with Paean, which I wrote in a relatively short time.” Now that’s the 

kind of information and insight that I find helpful when listening to a 

contemporary work. 

It’s a shame that we are left wanting with two of the other pieces, 

Antoine Ouellette’s Psaume, Op.5 which dates from 1982 and was 

revised in 2013, and Denis Gougeon’s Six Thèmes Solaires: Pluton 

from 1990, revised in 2014. These meagre details I was able to glean 

from the CMC catalogue of works, along with the information that 

Gougeon’s six themes are each scored for different instruments 

or instrumental combinations and take their names from planets 

(Pluton = Pluto); and I suppose that Ouellette’s title is self-explanatory. 

As mentioned, Gonneville’s website does provide a description, 

in French, and a translation of the German title Hinauf, dem Bach 

entlang. My understand of the French is “walking up along the brook” 

and there is a pun here on the name of Bach, which means brook in 

German. Gonneville says the piece takes some of its inspiration from 

Bach’s Solo Cello Suite No.5. Perhaps a bit ironically, it is Gougeon’s 

piece that is most reminiscent of Bach’s solo cello writing to my ear, 

not Gonneville’s. All that being said, this is still an important addition 

to the catalogue, and my collection, and it’s great to get to hear 

Bouvrette come into his own with this solo tour de force. 

We invite submissions. CDs, DVDs and comments should be sent 

to: DISCoveries, WholeNote Media Inc., The Centre for Social 

Innovation, 503 – 720 Bathurst St. Toronto ON M5S 2R4. 

David Olds, DISCoveries Editor 

discoveries@thewholenote.com 

ONE OF CBC MUSIC’S 10 

CANADIAN CLASSICAL ALBUMS 

TO GET EXCITED ABOUT! 

New works by 14 

composers inspired by 

each region of Canada, 

making up a richly 

inspiring whole. 

Download or stream on your favourite digital platform 

or buy the CD at www.ensemblemadeincanada.com 


STRINGS 

ATTACHED 

TERRY ROBBINS 

Not many months go by without a new set of the Bach solo works 

for violin or cello appearing, and this month sees two new 

additions. 

The American cellist Mike Block is a 

member of the Silkroad Ensemble and 

inventor of the Block Strap, an attachment 

that allows the cellist to stand and walk 

around while playing. His latest release, 

Step into the Void (Bright Shiny Things 

BSTC-0132 brightshiny.ninja), is a 3CD set 

featuring the Complete Bach Cello Suites 

with a live companion album featuring 

phonograph performance artist Barry Rothman. 

Normally with these releases the booklet notes mention a lifelong 

study of the works and an attempt to define a personal approach to 

the music before committing a performance to disc, but while Block 

admits to doing “the obligatory study” of various editions and recordings 

with the goal of creating his own consistent and historically 

informed interpretation, he now opts instead for spontaneity preferring 

to find different ways of playing them every time and not making 

too many performance decisions in advance, instead letting the feel of 

the audience and the acoustic space be his guide. 

Certainly there’s a refreshing freedom and a sense of exploration in 

his beautiful playing here, a feeling of “let’s see where this goes” with 

delightful results. For this album he limited himself to two takes for 

each movement in order to “stay in the moment” and “play from the 

gut.” He also chose not to observe repeats in the dance movements 

(i.e. 30 of the 36 movements – all but the opening Preludes) so the 

two Cello Suite CDs are relatively short at about 37 and 50 minutes 

respectively. 

The third CD, recorded live at a sold-out show a few days after the 

recording of the Bach Suites, grew from an earlier free-improvisation 

performance with Rothman. Block asked if they could play a 

completely improvised live duo concert with him using only material 

from the Bach Cello Suites. The results are quite fascinating – with 

less LP interaction than you might expect – although probably not to 

everyone’s taste. 

A bonus track of Block’s own pizzicato Prelude to a Dream 

completes a quite special set. 

Violinist Tomás Cotik’s brilliant recording of 

the Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin 

(Centaur CRC 3755/3756 tomascotik.com) is 

released this month to mark the 300th anniversary 

of their composition. 

The promo copy came with an extremely 

detailed 32-page booklet which appears to 

be a collection of the ten brief articles Cotik 

wrote for The Strad magazine last year, and 

which can be accessed through his website at tomascotik.com. Just 

about every approach to performance issues is addressed – everything 

from the physical instrument and bow through early treatises and 

editions, to the implementation of slurs, dynamics, chords, vibrato, 

pitch, ornaments, trills and much more. 

Cotik uses a modern violin – albeit with softer and more resonant 

strings than usual – with a Baroque bow, which he feels offers more 

expressive potential, subtle nuances and transparent textures and 

allows for “a lighter sound, quicker, more flowing tempi, and lively 

articulations.” That’s exactly what we get here, with Cotik producing 

a smooth but bright sound with a lightness and agility that is quite 

breathtaking and never in any danger of becoming heavy-handed or 

over-stressed. Slower tempos are relaxed but never allowed to drag; 

faster tempos are dazzlingly brilliant, with faultless intonation. 

The result is a very personal and distinctive sound and style, with 

even the massive D-minor Chaconne never approaching the heavy 

and ponderous tones of some recordings. 

Interestingly, Cotik repeatedly returns in his writings to the need 

not to be hide-bound by rules of interpretation; studying the music is 

just the starting point of a journey where interpretation changes along 

the way. He admits that many of those challenges “can ultimately be 

solved only by each of you in performance – not to mention differently 

every time” (my italics). 

And perhaps, as with Mike Block, that’s the secret here; never settle 

for one consistent interpretation and always let curiosity be a constant 

inspiration. If Tomás Cotik ever revisits these works on record it will 

be fascinating to hear the results, but it’s hard to see how they could 

be better than this. 

Manchester isn’t exactly a city you associate 

with Baroque violin sonatas, but it’s front 

and centre in Vivaldi – Manchester Sonatas, 

an excellent new 2CD set from violinist 

Mark Fewer and harpsichordist Hank Knox 

(Leaf Music LM229 leaf-music.ca). 

The manuscripts for this collection of 

12 works by Antonio Vivaldi originated in 

the private collection of Vivaldi’s contemporary 

Cardinal Ottoboni, passing through several owners (including 

Handel’s Messiah librettist Charles Jennens) before being purchased 

by the Manchester Public Library in 1964. Even so, they were only 

discovered in Manchester’s Henry Watson Music Library in 1973 by 

musicologist Michael Talbot. 

Apparently dating from the 1716-1717 period the collection contains 

only four sonatas that were completely new – Nos. 5, 10, 11 and 12 

– the remaining eight known to exist in earlier sources although 

reworked in numerous ways here to fit the duo genre. The violin part, 

while quite detailed for the period, still leaves room for embellishment 

by the performer; the harpsichord part, meanwhile, does not even 

feature a figured bass line most of the time, so Knox has full rein when 

it comes to realizing the accompaniment. 

Fewer’s playing is bright, assured and technically brilliant, with 

Knox supplying a rich accompaniment that focuses more on harmonic 

support than contrapuntal interplay of melodic voices. The sonatas 

themselves are highly entertaining and inventive, featuring less of the 

usual Vivaldi arpeggios, scales and sequences than you might expect. 

The fast movements in particular are quite exhilarating. 

There are no track timings, but the two CDs run to 68 and 63 

minutes respectively. 

There are quite lovely performances of the 

Beethoven Violin Concerto & Romances on 

a new CD featuring Lena Neudauer and the 

Cappella Aquileia under Marcus Bosch (cpo 

777 559-2 naxosdirect.com). 

The ensemble, founded by Bosch in 2011 

as the orchestra for the Heidenheim Opera 

Festival, draws top-level musicians from 

across Germany and beyond, with its size 

based on the original chamber-symphony proportions of the Leipzig 

Gewandhaus Orchestra. There’s a resulting clarity and transparency 

to the playing that makes the concerto in particular less heavy 

than in many performances, the quite dry and short opening timpani 

strokes setting the stage for an idiomatic performance that never 

lacks emotional depth. The timpani also features in the first movement 

cadenza, Neudauer drawing on Beethoven’s own cadenza for his 

piano transcription of the concerto. The Romances in G Major Op.40 

and F Major Op.50 have the same delightful feeling of light and clarity 


without ever sounding lightweight. 

Neudauer’s playing throughout is exemplary and stylistically 

beautifully judged – hardly surprising given her admission that it was 

Thomas Zehetmair’s recording with Franz Bruggen’s Orchestra of the 

18th Century that was the key to her understanding the concerto. 

Bosch provides sympathetic support on an outstanding CD. 

I can’t remember when I last heard the 

Schoenberg Violin Concerto, which made 

Schoenberg Brahms Violin Concertos, the 

latest CD from the outstanding violinist 

Jack Liebeck, even more welcome. Andrew 

Gourlay conducts the BBC Symphony 

Orchestra (Orchid Classics ORC100129 

orchidclassics.com). 

The album, celebrating Liebeck’s 

upcoming 40th birthday, is a deeply personal one for him, described 

in the booklet notes as a “visceral and passionate portrait of two 

major violin concertos, emotionally drawing from the experience of 

his grandfather and honouring the many members of his family who 

perished during the Holocaust.” More than three dozen of Liebeck’s 

mother’s Dutch relatives died. Liebeck’s grandfather, Walter Liebeck, 

was a decent amateur violinist; a student in Germany when Hitler 

came to power in 1933, he left for South Africa the following year. The 

Brahms was his favourite concerto. 

Schoenberg himself left Germany in 1933 for the United States. 

His 1936 concerto marked a return to atonality after a relatively tonal 

period, but despite its 12-tone basis and the composer’s own description 

of it – “extremely difficult, just as much for the head as for the 

hands” – it’s a quite stunning work that is emotionally clearly from 

the heart, and that really deserves to be much more prominent in the 

mainstream violin concerto repertoire. 

Liebeck displays all of his usual qualities – clarity and strength, brilliance 

of tone, impeccable technique, faultless phrasing and interpretation 

– in immensely satisfying performances of two quite different 

but perfectly-paired works. Gourlay and the BBCSO are quite 

outstanding partners. 

Violinist Piotr Plawner is the soloist on 

Philip Glass American Four Seasons, a new 

CD in the Naxos American Classics series 

that features the composer’s Violin Concerto 

No.2, with Philippe Bach conducting the 

Berner Kammerorchester, and the Sonata 

for Violin and Piano with Gerardo Vila 

(Naxos 8.559865 naxos.com). 

It was violinist Robert McDuffie who, 

enamoured with Glass’ Violin Concerto No.1, suggested the idea of an 

American Four Seasons as a sequel that could be programmed with 

the Vivaldi classic. Jointly commissioned by the Toronto Symphony 

Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the new work was 

premiered by McDuffie and the TSO under Peter Oundjian in Toronto 

in December 2009. 

Scored for strings and synthesizer (set for harpsichord sound but 

not used as a continuo) the four movements were deliberately left 

untitled by Glass, inviting listeners to decide for themselves which 

movement best depicts each season. A solo violin Prologue and three 

numbered Songs between the movements – which Glass felt could be 

extracted as a separate work for solo violin – act as cadenzas. Several 

Glass characteristics – arpeggios and sequences, for instance – provide 

a link with the Vivaldi era, but in a strongly tonal work the sound is 

unmistakably Glass. 

Much the same can be said of the Violin Sonata, apparently written 

with youthful memories of the violin sonatas of Brahms, Fauré and 

Franck in mind, but again unmistakably Glass, with a show-stopping 

third movement. 

Top-notch performances all round make for a highly enjoyable disc. 

The Fitzwilliam String Quartet continues 

the celebration of its 50th anniversary 

with another outstanding CD following 

the Shostakovich Three Last Quartets 

reviewed here last month. This time 

it’s Franz Schubert String Quartets – 

those in A Minor D804 (often called the 

“Rosamunde”) and the monumental D 

Minor D810 “Death and the Maiden” – 

performed on period instruments with Viennese gut strings (Divine 

Art dda 25197 naxosdirect.com). 

Violist Alan George’s outstanding booklet notes once again add 

immensely to our understanding of these almost symphonic works 

and the performance questions they raise – questions superbly 

answered by the FSQ. Vibrato – if used at all – functions as an expressive 

device, emphasising accents, increasing intensity and employed 

as decoration or ornamentation. Similarly, historically informed use 

of the bow, the treatment of the abundant dynamic markings and 

the approach to choice of tempo were all subjects with which the 

ensemble took great pains. 

The resulting performances consequently have a feeling of authenticity 

that is quite remarkable and perfectly exploits the emotional 

range of these visionary works. In spite of knowing and coaching the 

Death and the Maiden quartet for many years, the Fitzwilliam only 

added it to their own repertoire eight years ago, although it sounds as 

if they’ve been performing it all their lives; the wild finale, says Alan 

George, “still leaves us all physically and emotionally shaking.” 

What we're listening to this month: 

thewholenote.com/listening 

En Solo 

Pierre Alain Bouvrette 

A unique album that invites 

the listener into the worlds of 

major Canadian composers Otto 

Joachim, Antoine Ouellette, Denis 

Gougeon, and Michel Gonneville. 

Vivaldi: Manchester Sonatas 

Mark Fewer and Hank Knox 

Vivaldi’s Manchester Sonatas 

featuring violinist Mark Fewer and 

harpsichordist Hank Knox, the 

first Canadian recording of the 12 

works brought to light in 1973. 

A Howl, That Was Also a Prayer 

Ekmeles 

Intrepid vocal ensemble releases 

its debut recording to critical 

acclaim of works featuring 

microtonality of Taylor Brook, Erin 

Gee, and Christopher Trapani. 

Mosaïque 

Ensemble Made In Canada 

14 thrilling and diverse new works 

for piano quartet celebrate the 

richness, beauty and diversity of 

Canada. 


Keyed In 

CPE Bach – The Solo Keyboard Music Vol.39 

Miklós Spányi 

BIS BIS-2370 (naxosdirect.com) 

!! 

Verschiedener (varied) is perhaps an 

understatement for the sheer variety of 

compositions on this CD. The 22 movements 

break down into forms as intense and individual 

as Fantasias lasting less than two 

minutes and as structured as a 23-minute 

conventional three-movement Concerto. 

Miklós Spányi has thus set himself a challenge. 

In fact, regardless of the type of 

movement, throughout the whole of this CD he has to draw on the 

tremendous expertise normally required for compositions by the (i.e. 

JS) Bach. The aforementioned Concerto in its Allegretto and Allegro 

movements bear this out. 

As if the compositions themselves were not sufficiently testing, 

Spányi discusses at great length the problems posed by the harpsichords 

of the day. There was a trend at the court of CPE Bach’s 

employer (Frederick the Great), to commission harpsichords from one 

highly fashionable centre, London. These instruments often incorporated 

specialized attachments not usually found on other harpsichords, 

something reflected in CPE Bach’s work – and adding to Spányi’s task. 

While it is difficult to single out the most attractive tracks on this 

highly varied and attractive CD, the measured Allegro ma non troppo 

from the Sonata in D Minor is highly enjoyable, as are the demandingSinfonia 

in G Major and Fugue in G Minor. 

Spányi has taken on so much to bring us this particular demonstration 

of CPE Bach’s skills and ingenuity. His interpretations deserve a 

wide audience. 

Michael Schwartz 

Mozart – Piano Sonatas Vol.2 

Jean Muller 

Hänssler Classics HC19074 (naxosdirect.com) 

!! 

In a 21st-century sonic sea, awash with 

dozens of recordings of Mozart sonatas 

released each year, the savvy listener must 

scrutinize attributes from one such disc over 

another, divining the hallmarks of Mozartian 

keyboard perfection simply via one’s own 

tastes. In the case of Luxembourgian pianist 

Jean Muller’s newest release on the Hänssler 

Classic label, the listening experience is 

immediately amicable: we deeply appreciate Muller’s gifts at delivering 

this repertoire with expertise and humbled reverence. 

Opening with Mozart’s inspired D Major Sonata, K311 – written 

in Mannheim in December 1777 – this record gently sets two oftplayed 

works against two more heard infrequently; this programming 

is subtle and perfectly balanced. As bookends to the disc, the two 

sonatas in D stand as points of departure and return, closing with the 

earlier work of the two, K284, sometimes nicknamed the “Dürnitz” 

Sonata. (It was written in 1775 for a Baron von Dürnitz – a bassoonist 

– who infamously withheld payment for the sonata!). Incidentally, it is 

the longest of Mozart’s 19 solo piano sonatas. 

Muller brings utter neoclassical eloquence to all four sonatas on the 

album, charming with cajoling melodies and playful ornamentation. 

The imaginative – even boyish – spirit of Mozart’s keyboard is fully on 

display here. Every interpretive decision Muller makes is of the highest 

order, historically informed and beautiful to behold. He has produced 

an engaging, aesthetically satisfying album, sure to make any savvy 

Mozart listener smile with delight. 

Adam Sherkin 

Games 

Melissa Galosi 

Col legno CL3 1CD 15001 (naxosdirect.com) 

!! 

Italian pianist Melissa Galosi makes a 

strong case for the common wellsprings of 

both play and music on her debut album 

Games. She presents an argument for her 

thesis in piano music by master European 

composers of the 18th (W. A. Mozart) and 

20th (György Kurtág) centuries. Kurtág 

rediscovered his compositional creativity 

in the 1970s through his observations of “…children who were spontaneously 

playing an instrument … who still saw the piano simply 

as a toy. They try to touch it, to caress it; they attack it and let their 

fingers run along the keyboard […] pure pleasure in the act of playing, 

joy of daring…” These experiences inspired his Játékok (“Games” in 

Hungarian), a substantial collection of piano works imbued with the 

creativity and wit of youthful games. 

On the other hand Mozart never had a true childhood. Driven by 

his musician father, by the age of three he was hard at work practising 

the piano. His father kept him constantly practising, performing 

and touring: the very model of the prototypical child prodigy. Yet W.A. 

maintained a childlike sense of play for his entire life. 

Galosi has chosen 17 aphoristic works from Játékok, interspersed 

with excerpts from three works by Mozart: variations on the famous 

Ah vous dirai-je maman (“Twinkle, Twinkle…”) and two other variation 

suites. I found the “mixed tape” across two centuries that Galosi 

presents convincing, musically delightful. Her playing is direct, 

unaffected, yet energetic and incisive when the music calls for it. 

Andrew Timar 

Beethoven Piano Sonatas Nos. 23; 18; 6 

Young-Ah Tak 

Steinway & Sons 30106 (steinway.com) 

! ! With his 250th birthday approaching, 

the popularity of Ludwig van Beethoven 

continues unabated for classical music audiences 

and performers alike. Captured here 

in her debut recording for the Steinway 

label, South Korean-born, now Americaresiding 

pianist, educator (on the faculty at 

SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music) and 

academic, Young-Ah Tak, performs the late 

composer’s piano sonatas with a deft touch, a stylistically appropriate 

grand Romantic gesture and a level of familiarity with LvB’s work that 

is unsurprising, given the fact that her first solo recital, at age nine no 

less, included some of the very pieces captured here. 

Recorded live at New York City’s Steinway Hall, this CD has an 

appropriately intimate quality to it and, as such, the engaged listener 

can identify, and, perhaps, even relate to the artistic struggle that 

occurs when an ambitious and deservedly feted pianist takes on a 

repertoire of well-trodden (and perhaps overly familiar) material – 

think Sonata No.23 in F Minor, “Appassionata” – yet desires to reify 

the expectations of an audience who demand that she make this 

material her own. Not an easy task, to be sure, but in Tak’s capable 

hands, new and effervescent subtleties of this music are introduced, 

exposed and played with to the satisfaction of both the performer and 

audience (and one would hope composer too). Nowhere is this more 

evident than in Tak’s dramatic interpretation of the clarion call “The 

Hunt,” (Piano Sonata No.18 in E-flat Major, Op.31, No.3). A recommended 

addition for piano enthusiasts and LvB collectors alike. 

Andrew Scott 


Beethoven – Sonatas Opp.26 & 90 

Victor Rosenbaum 

Bridge Records 9517 (bridgerecords.com) 

!! 

Victor Rosenbaum’s third recording 

for Bridge Records underlines his affinity 

for classical-era composers. Here we have 

a selection of Beethoven’s piano pieces 

ranging from early to late works and 

including two sonatas, variations, rondo and 

bagatelles. The chronological progression 

of pieces on this album is a wonderful treatise 

on the evolution of Beethoven’s compositional 

style and techniques. 

It is especially enjoyable listening to the two sonatas on this 

album. Sonata in A-flat Major Op.26 is charming and unconventionally 

structured, opening with a relatively slow movement in the 

form of a theme with variations. Rosenbaum is delightfully playful 

in the Scherzo and introspective in his interpretation of the striking 

Funeral March (third movement). Written some 14 years later, Sonata 

in E Major Op.90 contains only two movements but they are vastly 

different in character. The first movement, written in E Minor, is 

dramatic, depicting the loneliness and anguish that will later become 

even more prominent in Beethoven’s music. The second movement, 

written in E Major is, in contrast, gentle and more Romantic in character. 

Rosenbaum navigates between the two worlds so naturally; 

his interpretation is powerful in the first movement and exquisitely 

nuanced in the second. 

The naturalness and the candour of Beethoven’s language is very 

much suited to Rosenbaum, who has no difficulty communicating 

his musical ideas with conviction. It is as if the acumen acquired in 

his long performing career has been poured into every phrase, thus 

making this recording special. 

Ivana Popovic 

Schumann – Complete Music for Piano 4-Hands 

Roberto Plano; Paola Del Negro 

Brilliant Classics 95675 (naxosdirect.com) 

!! 

There is something deeply satisfying 

about playing piano duets. Perhaps it is 

the synergy one might feel with his fellow 

player or the shared delight in casual music 

making. The jubilant sense of teamwork 

is undeniable in this recording. Pianists 

Roberto Plano and Paola Del Negro are 

an unyielding force together, beautifully 

attuned to each other’s ideas and expressions, 

and clearly ardent about Schumann’s music. Here we hear it all: 

passion, precision, style, energy and, above all, joy. 

Schumann himself loved playing piano duets and wrote an extensive 

collection of pieces that ranged from his beginning years as a 

composer to the late Op.130. This 2CD album includes the whole 

scope of his piano four-hands music: eight early Polonaises (homage 

to Schubert); 12 Vierhändige Klavierstücke fur Kleine and große 

Kinder (which became well-known and loved pieces of the piano 

repertoire); Bilder aus Osten (influenced by Eastern poetry and philosophy); 

and two late collections of dance pieces, Ballszenen and 

Kinderball. 

Some of these compositions are quite complex and many became 

quite popular, inspiring various arrangements. Here they are played 

with a combination of gusto and lyricism and an evident sense of 

style. With this album Plano and Del Negro pay tribute to all the 

intricacies and wonders of Schumann’s piano music while bringing 

forward their own artistic perspectives. 

Ivana Popovic 

Variations 

Mishka Rushdie Momen 

Somm Recordings SOMMCD 0603 (somm-recordings.com) 

!! 

The bright, young pianist Mishka 

Rushdie Momen has released a new 

recording that features works in variation 

form by assorted composers: Clara 

Wieck and Robert Schumann, Brahms, 

Mendelssohn, Nico Muhly and Vijay Iyer. 

Rushdie Momen’s thoughtful liner notes 

offer a rationale for her recording choices, 

explaining the “variation” thread that 

connects each piece on the disc. In some cases, there are direct quotes 

and reorganization of materials from an older piece to a newer one 

(Vijay Iyer’s Hallucination Party, After R. Schumann’s Op.99 is one 

such example). In other instances, works are referenced by thematic 

origin: Robert Schumann wrote variations on a theme by Clara and 

vice-versa; Brahms wrote variations on a theme by Robert Schumann, 

and so on. 

Throughout the disc, one is struck by Rushdie Momen’s tonal 

command and wide-ranging technique as she wields the instrument 

in a quest for beauty of sound. This is a rare phenomenon today, 

particularly from a performer so young. Warmth and perfection of 

pianism seem at the forefront of Rushdie Momen’s musicianship; her 

attention to detail and technical confidence is on par with the artistry 

of such old master pianists as Clara Haskil, Sviatoslav Richter and 

Myra Hess. 

Rushdie Momen can evidently manage any musical era with aplomb 

and the premiere recordings of works by Muhy and Iyer offer promise 

of exciting things yet to come from this gifted young artist. Composers 

– along with the rest of us – should flock to her keyboard side! 

Adam Sherkin 

Grammy-nominated composer Michael Hoppe presents 

his newest album: the inspirational voices of the Sedona 

Academy Chamber Singers and 

the Tetra Quartet, conducted by 

Ryan Holder. 

www.springhillmedia.com 


Saint-Saëns – Piano Concertos 3 & 5 

Louis Lortie; BBC Philharmonic; Edward Gardner 

Chandos CHAN 20028 (naxosdirect.com) 

!! 

Camille Saint-Saëns was an exceptionally 

gifted pianist, admired by his contemporaries 

for his dexterity and grand style. 

Yet despite his significant output of piano 

music, it’s only the works for piano and 

orchestra – including five concertos – which 

seem to have stood the test of time. To be 

certain, recordings of these compositions are 

by no means scarce, but this one featuring 

Louis Lortie and the BBC Philharmonic 

conducted by Edward Gardner, is a particularly worthy addition to the 

catalogue. 

The majestic Piano Concerto No.3 from 1869 has been often overshadowed 

by the others – particularly the second – but the pairing of 

Lortie and the BBC orchestra is a sublime one. From the mysterious 

opening measures with the arpeggiated piano passages, Lortie demonstrates 

a flawless technique, his delivery strongly self-assured. The 

wistful second movement Andante is but a calm interlude before the 

buoyant and joyous third movement Allegro non troppo. 

Piano Concerto No.5 – written in Luxor between 1895 and 1896 and 

suitably named the “Egyptian” – has always proven more popular. 

The piece is a true study in contrasts – the opening Allegro alternates 

between slow and fast segments; the central Andante begins with 

an introductory blast before settling into its more lyrical section and 

the piece ends with an energetic Molto allegro, the opening of which 

simulates the sound of a paddlewheel boat up the Nile. 

Interspersed with the concertos are the popular Rhapsodie 

d’Auvergne and the less familiar Allegro appassionato, both from 

1884, and each a satisfying melding of piano with orchestra in under 

ten minutes. In all, Lortie proves once again he is a pianistic supernova, 

one who can easily conquer the most demanding repertoire. The 

clarity of his interpretation and his elegant touch – along with a solid 

backing from the BBC Philharmonic – combine to make this a stellar 

recording. 

Richard Haskell 

Rubinstein – Music for Piano Four Hands Vol.2 

Duo Pianistico di Firenze 

Brilliant Classics 95965 (naxosdirect.com) 

!! 

Pianists Sara Bartolucci and Rodolfo 

Alessandrini, collectively known as Duo 

Pianistico di Firenze (Piano Duo of Florence) 

have been garnering the accolades of the 

classical world since 1990, mining the overlooked, 

rarely performed or forgotten piano 

repertoire of the Western art music canon 

on a series of recordings, concerts and 

artistic residencies. Here, on this sprawling 

2019 double CD released on the Brilliant Classics label, the Italian duo 

mightily dig in to the little-known, four-hand piano work of Russian 

composer Anton Rubinstein (1829–1894). 

A touring piano soloist, composer and educator (he is perhaps best 

known as the teacher of Tchaikovsky), Rubinstein’s work here, similar 

to some of the best-known pieces of JS Bach, is didactically pedagogical 

by design. As founder of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, 

Rubinstein’s 20-movement long Bal Costumé is not a high-water mark 

of Russian pianistic virtuosity (for which Rubinstein was known), 

but rather is intentionally welcoming and accessible to amateur and 

student pianists, a collection of tuneful miniatures meant for parlour 

performances for attendees at a costume ball. Although Rubinstein the 

pianist would become celebrated for his virtuoso performances, he too 

included Bal costumé in his concerts, performing with Anna Yesipova 

or Monika Terminskaya, garnering accolades for the popular Toréador 

et Andalouse, movement seven from this suite. Captured here as 

the complete suite, this recommended CD set features the beautiful 

four-hand touch, playing and simpatico interaction of Bartolucci and 

Alessandrini seamlessly weaving together a unified tapestry of sound 

that is worth adding to one’s classical CD collection. 

Andrew Scott 

Four Elements Vol.2 Fire 

Yu Kosuge 

Orchid Classics ORC 100108 (orchidclassics.com) 

!! 

This disc is Volume 2 of Yu Kosuge’s 

four-CD series Journey of the Four 

Elements. Fire begins intimately and after 

the pianist’s long, well-chosen program 

of late 19th-/early 20th-century compositions 

closes with grandeur. In Tchaikovsky’s 

January: At the Fireside, she conveys a 

family event’s togetherness well, along with 

imagined romantic passions. By contrast, 

five pieces from Max Reger’s Dreams at the Fireside evoke solitude. 

Here the composer remembers piano works from his youth: 

for example, piece No.2 references Brahms’ well-known Intermezzo 

No. 2, Op.118 in A Major. Reger adds complex harmony and voiceleading, 

but fortunately Kosuge clarifies the tonal structure well. Next, 

a storm arrives in the guise of Liszt’s symphonic poem Prometheus 

(arr. Ludwig Stark). Sizzling “lightning flashes,” a difficult fugue and 

bravura alternating octaves followed by cascading chords, present 

technical challenges that Kosuge masters ably. 

Among succeeding short pieces, Debussy’s brief Les soirs illuminés 

par l’ardeur du charbon (1917) is a welcome, evocative novelty discovered 

only in 2001; while the Feux d’artifice (Preludes, Book II) ranks 

with the best recordings I have heard. Kosuge’s touch is even and 

crisp, her grasp of the fitful harmonic base secure. The disc’s pièce de 

résistance is five numbers from Stravinsky’s piano version of his great 

Firebird Suite (1919). Brilliant handling of the Infernal Dance’s syncopations 

and cross-rhythms, a mysterious mood with magical tremolos 

in the Lullaby and astonishing bell-like sonorities at the finale’s 

tremendous climax cap this marvellous CD. 

Roger Knox 

Sergei Prokofiev – Piano Sonatas 3; 8; 9 

Freddy Kempf 

BIS BIS-2390 SACD (bis.se) 

!! 

Sergei Prokofiev’s music is a study in dramatic contrasts, not the 

least because the composer always seemed to look forward while 

harking back to the past. He was a brilliant piano virtuoso whose 

work was redolent of melodicism wedded to a tonality that was 

Mirrored Glass 

Taktus 

Featuring the music of 

Ann Southam and Philip Glass 

Album Launch Party @ the Tranzac 

Club Tuesday, March 10th, 7pm 

thewholenote.com/listening 

Solo Sessions Volume 1 

Brenda Earle Stokes 

Solo Sessions Vol. 1 is a stunning 

mix of standards, originals and 

arrangements of materials recorded 

in a single 4-hour session by Sarniaborn, 

NYC-based jazz pianist and 

vocalist Brenda Earle Stokes 


characterized by cascading warmth often 

spiked by the force of dramatic rhythms and 

broad dissonances. All of this is heard in 

these Piano Sonatas especially the last two – 

No. 8 and No. 9. 

Prokofiev’s work always demanded fingers 

of flexible steel and those on Freddy Kempf’s 

hands seem to embody this to perfection. 

From the first dramatic rendering of the 

Piano Sonata No. 3 in A Minor Kempf plays like a man possessed, 

and his breathtaking variety of touch means that the less hard-driven 

passages of No.8 and No.9 have an unparalleled degree of subtlety 

and nuance. His muscular style is eminently suited to such tempestuous 

music. 

The Piano Sonata No.3 in A Minor is the shortest and from 

Prokofiev’s earlier attempts at the form, while No.8 in B-flat Major 

and No.9 in C Major are much longer and infinitely more intricate. Yet 

all three live and breathe in sharply characterized music that demands 

a sense of structure and momentum. Kempf embraces their wide 

tonal range, sharply drawn contrasts and intricate detail with sublime 

energy and a wonderful sense of occasion. 

Raul da Gama 

Canadian Organ Music on the Organ of Coventry Cathedral 

Rachel Mahon 

Delphian Records Ltd. DCD34234 (delphianrecords.co.uk) 

!! 

On the surface, this disc appears to be 

an interesting international essay: Canadian 

organ music played on an English cathedral 

organ, performed by a Canadian organist 

working in the UK. It seems straightforward 

enough but, if one looks into the 

historical relationship between Canada and 

Coventry, a much deeper and meaningful 

relationship is quickly uncovered. In 1940 

the Coventry organ was destroyed by German air bombers, reducing 

the entire medieval building to a pile of rubble. At the same time, 

the (Royal) Canadian College of Organists was collecting donations 

from its members to assist with the rebuilding of damaged English 

instruments. In the end, the decision was made to dedicate the entire 

amount of raised funds to Coventry, paying for a major part of their 

new instrument. It is therefore no surprise that there is a large brass 

maple leaf on the west-end floor of the Cathedral, commemorating 

Canada’s generosity. 

It is with this historical backdrop in mind that organist Rachel 

Mahon selected her program. The first work, Healey Willan’s monumental 

Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue bridges both countries; 

born in England, Willan later moved to Canada and eventually became 

known as the “Dean of Canadian composers.” Mahon treats this 

tripartite tome with the focus it requires, blending rhapsodic virtuosity 

with careful attention towards the structure of the composition. 

Gerald Bales’ Petite Suite and Ruth Watson Henderson’s Chromatic 

Partita are smaller pieces, but no less satisfying to hear on this 

magnificent organ, while Rachel Laurin’s Symphony No.1 is simply 

breathtaking in its immensity and dramatic content. 

This disc merits repeated listening for numerous reasons, both 

historical and immediately practical. Mahon, recently appointed the 

next director of music at Coventry, is a superb performer with a keen 

ability to craft a satisfying program, and her debut recording is highly 

recommended. 

Matthew Whitfield 

Aphorisms – Piano Music of Carl Vine 

Lindsay Garritson 

Independent (lindsaygarritson.com) 

!! 

The music of composer, pianist and 

conductor Carl Vine so often evokes the 

lucidity and sun of this artist’s home 

country: Australia. The world premiere 

recording of his Fourth Piano Sonata (2019) 

is included on a new disc by American 

pianist, Lindsay Garritson, a disc entirely 

devoted to Vine’s varied piano catalogue. 

Pianists tend to revel in performing Vine’s 

music; it is idiomatic and expressive – Romantic at heart yet fresh 

and buoyant, unmistakably of our time. (American composer Lowell 

Liebermann’s aesthetic seems a close relative to Vine’s.) 

Garritson throws herself headlong into the fulsome soundscape 

of Vine’s newest piano sonata, in a whorl of an opener to the record, 

demanding the listener’s attention. Her heart is clearly devoted to 

every single note of this album, with a seemingly special affection 

for The Anne Landa Preludes (2006). These programmatic, deeply 

expressive pieces are aptly suited to Garritson’s musical sensibility 

as she relishes their expansive resonating lines and tolling chords, 

born of a personal mode of expression. After these (12) preludes, the 

record returns to sonata form, in a rhapsodic performance of one of 

Vine’s most popular works from his early period, the Piano Sonata 

No.1 of 1990. 

After five Bagatelles, including the haunting Threnody (for all of the 

innocent victims), Garritson treats the listener to Vine’s Toccatissimo 

(2011), a robust and thrilling finale to this attractive new album by a 

self-assured young pianist, with a career on the rise. 

Adam Sherkin 

What we're listening to this month: 

Suite Vincent 

Greg Runions Big Band 

Featuring Dave Barton, William 

Carn, Tara Davidson, Mike Cassells, 

Brian Dickinson, John MacLeod, 

Brian O'Kane, Andrew Rathbun 

and Artie Roth 

Woven Dreams 

Lara Driscoll 

Lara Driscoll, Chicago based 

French-American pianist with 

“captivating style and uncluttered 

finesse” and “magical touch... 

musical solos” releases debut jazz 

trio album Woven Dreams. 

Latin Romance 

Ensemble Vivant 

Beautiful, joyful, interpretively 

clairvoyant performances. A sparkling 

tapestry of Brazilian/Argentinian/ 

Cuban/Latin inspired works including 

the world premiere of John Burke’s 

evocative Art Tango, La Despedida. 

Something More 

Lynne Harrison 

Songs that delve deep into love, life 

and the human spirit. 

“I knew instantly Lynn was a 

special artist.” (John Apice, 

“Americana Highways”) 


VOCAL 

Schumann – Myrthen 

Camilla Tilling; Christian Gerhaher; Gerold 

Huber 

Sony Classical 19075945362 

(sonyclassical.de) 

!!“To my beloved 

Clara on the eve 

of our wedding 

from her Robert.” 

So wrote Robert 

Schumann on a 

specially bound 

set of 26 recently 

composed songs 

dedicated to Clara, collectively titled Myrthen 

for the myrtle branches and flowers that traditionally 

adorned bridal wreaths. 

In it, Schumann drew from nine poets, with 

Rückert, Goethe, Heine and Robert Burns (in 

translation) accounting for 19 of the songs. 

Schumann specified those to be sung by a 

woman or a man, suggesting a young couple’s 

ongoing relationship. Here, the appropriately 

light-and-bright voices of soprano Camilla 

Tilling and baritone Christian Gerhaher are 

ably supported by pianist Gerold Huber. 

Myrthen begins with the well-known 

Widmung (my favourite among Schumann’s 

250-plus songs); others in the set that will 

be familiar to many are Der Nussbaum, Die 

Lotosblume and Du bist wie eine Blume. Of 

those less-often encountered, the tender Lieder 

der Braut and Hochländisches Wiegenlied, 

the sprightly Räthsel and Niemand, and the 

plaintive Aus den hebräischen Gesängen are 

particularly gratifying. The wistful, concluding 

Zum Schluss promises, almost prophetically, 

that only in heaven will the couple receive “a 

perfect wreath.” 

Robert and Clara married in 1840, after 

years of obstruction from Clara’s father. Sadly, 

their marriage ended in 1856 with Robert’s 

early death in a mental asylum. Myrthen, 

Robert’s wedding gift to Clara, thus represents 

an enduring, significant, poignant testament to 

what is surely classical music’s most enduring, 

significant and poignant love story. Texts and 

translations are included. 

Michael Schulman 

A Voice of Her Own – Musical Women Who 

Persisted 1098-1896 

Toronto Chamber Choir; Lucas Harris 

Independent n/a (torontochamberchoir.ca) 

!! 

Sacred and 

secular music 

require two wholly 

different mindsets 

and the singers 

of the Toronto 

Chamber Choir, 

with Lucas Harris 

as artistic director, 

have the wherewithal to do both in spades. 

Both genres demand an immersion of sorts 

into the music itself. The performance by this 

choir does more than simply tick all the boxes; 

it soars impossibly high, taking the music 

to another realm altogether. Another challenge 

– admirably handled by the choir – is the 

fact that the music spans almost 800 years of 

evolved tradition. 

The program itself is an inspired one and 

is quite representative of women composers 

who, as the title suggests, emerged with high 

honours in a world dominated, at every level of 

art and its commerce, by men. This recording 

gets off to a glorious start with music by the 

ecstatic mystic, Hildegard of Bingen (1098- 

1179). In the extract from Ordo Virtutum, 

where the monastic nun adapted the language 

of visions and of religious poetry, the choir’s 

interpretation is resonant and retains the 

exquisite purity of the music. 

From the soaring intensity of the 

anonymous 17th-century composition Veni, 

sancte Spiritus by the nuns of Monastère des 

Ursulines de Québec through songs from 

Gartenlieder by the prodigiously gifted Fanny 

Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847) to the deep 

melancholia of Clara Schumann’s (1819-1896) 

work, the musicians and choristers achieve 

unmatched levels of elegance and refinement. 

Raul da Gama 

Whither Must I Wander 

Will Liverman; Jonathan King 

Odradek ODRCD389 

(odradek-records.com) 

!! 

Wanderlust – 

both literal and 

figurative – lies 

dormant in the 

human genetic 

makeup. It is often 

awakened, especially 

among artists, 

and takes flight into both real and imagined 

landscapes often with breathtaking results. 

From Wandrers Nachtlied, Goethe’s poetry 

set to song by Nikolai Medtner, to lieder from 

Mondnacht penned by Robert Schumann; 

from Songs of Travel by Ralph Vaughan 

Williams to King David by Herbert Howells 

and At the River by Aaron Copland, Whither 

Must I Wander captures the timeless beauty of 

man’s propensity for real and imagined travel. 

The music is interpreted by Will Liverman, 

an outstanding lieder singer blessed with a 

warm-toned baritone. Liverman shows himself 

to be an artist of the first order. His performance 

here eschews melodrama and his interpretations 

are understated yet powerfully 

convincing. Howells’ King David is typical. 

Although Liverman is still young, and will 

surely mature, his singing already combines an 

authoritative vocal sound with accomplished 

interpretative insights into the music. 

Liverman has an outstanding relationship 

with pianist Jonathan King. Together the 

two parley with the familiarity of old friends. 

The singer is aware of when to recede from 

the spotlight, making way for King to embellish 

melodies. The pianist, for his part, always 

rises to the occasion; his playing is full of 

adventurous handling of harmony and tone. 

Together with Liverman’s vivid storytelling, 

this makes for a profoundly dramatic and 

characterful performance 

Raul da Gama 

A Howl, That Was also a Prayer 

Ekmeles 

New Focus Recordings FCR245 

(newfocusrecordings.com) 

!! 

New York-based 

contemporary 

new music vocal 

ensemble Ekmeles is 

spectacular in their 

first solo release. 

Featuring commissions 

by Christopher 

Trapani and 

Canadian Taylor Brook, and a third work by 

Erin Gee, the six singers perform these innovative 

21st-century works with precision and 

understanding. 

Brooks’ nine-part microtonal a cappella 

Motorman Sextet is based on David Ohle’s 

1972 cult novel. The opening party-like vocal 

chatter sets the stage. The clear-spoken narrative 

by different voices features atmospheric 

backdrops like multi-voice unison spoken 

words, dynamic swells, held notes, high voice 

staccatos and atonal harmonic touches. 

Gee sound-paints new dimensions to my 

favourite pastime in Three Scenes from Sleep, 

taken from a larger piece. No words here; just 

voice-created clicks, pops, rustles, held notes, 

rhythms, high-pitched intervals and the final 

closing more-song-like held-low note which 

musically illustrate the unconscious sleep state. 

Trapani’s End Words features live voices 

with prerecorded vocal fragments and electronics. 

The three movements, based on 

texts by Anis Mojgani, Ciara Shuttleworth 

and John Ashbery respectively, are driven by 

tight ensemble performance. The first movement 

electronics add another voice to the clear 

ensemble articulations and swells with low 

drum-like thunder manipulations, squeaky 

electronic birds and plucked string effects. 

The closing third movement is unique with 

the opening electronic bell sounds leading 

to a strong electronic “duet” with the almost 

spoken vocals. 

Director/baritone Jeffrey Gavett leads 

Ekmeles in an exciting futuristic musical 

direction. 

Tiina Kiik 

Ogloudoglou – Vocal masterpieces of the 

Experimental Generation 1960-1990 

Sara Stowe 

metier msv 28593 (divineartrecords.com) 

! ! English soprano Sara Stowe is a versatile 

and inventive musician with repertoire 

ranging from contemporary concert music 


to medieval song. 

A prize-winning 

harpsichordist and 

pianist at the start of 

her career, she then 

decided to learn 

20th-century vocal 

music in Italy. One 

of her specialties is 

the songs of the outsider composer, Giacinto 

Scelsi (1905-1988), whose reputation leapt to 

international prominence only at the end of 

his life. 

Ogloudoglou, titled after the song by the 

same name by Scelsi, is a skillfully curated 

album focused tightly on 11 art songs from 

1960 to 1990 by what Stowe calls “the experimental 

generation.” She renders boundarystretching 

songs by Italian composers Scelsi, 

Luciano Berio, Luigi Nono, Niccoló Castiglioni 

and Sylvano Bussotti, as well as one each by 

the Argentine-German Mauricio Kagel and 

Americans John Cage and Morton Feldman. 

And experiment they did. 

Outstanding tracks for me are Nono’s cinematic, 

epic La Fabbrica Illuminata for voice 

and tape, and the more concise, though 

perhaps even more musically compelling, 

Sequenza III by Berio. The latter is beautifully 

rendered by Stowe – and I’ve heard 

Cathy Berberian, for whom it was composed, 

perform it live. 

Breathtakingly iconoclastic, perhaps even 

shocking when brand new, this tough song 

repertoire is little programmed today, at 

least in Canada. Stowe thus does us a favour, 

presenting her recital of songs by seminal 

later-generation high modernists with 

virtuoso verve. She committedly follows 

their demanding performance instructions 

and groundbreaking aesthetics, by the end 

winning over those who care to listen with her 

exhilarating musicality. 

Andrew Timar 

Paul Moravec – Sanctuary Road 

Soloists; Oratorio Society of New York 

Chorus and Orchestra; Kent Tritle 

Naxos 8.559884 (naxosdirect.com) 

!! 

Stories of 

the plight of the 

African slave in the 

US have echoed 

in the secrecy of 

the Underground 

Railroad for 

hundreds of years, 

the best of them 

recounted in prose, poetry and, somewhat 

recently, also in film. Musical stories – sung 

in the style of classic and modern blues and 

extended narrative jazz compositions – have 

also been heard. However, the operatic stage 

with live characters offers a distinctly different 

canvas where some of the most uplifting 

stories of the escape from slavery have 

been told. 

In this most recent one, Paul Moravec and 

Mark Campbell have come together as musician 

and librettist in Sanctuary Road, to 

recreate epic narratives of William Still’s book 

The Underground Railroad. This is a powerful 

work, layered with meaning, rich in detail, 

tragedy and triumph and, above all, cathartic 

pathos. All of this takes more than the stories 

themselves. It takes a fabulous cast, which 

Moravec and Campbell have found in the 

singers and musicians of the Oratorio Society 

of New York Chorus and Orchestra directed by 

Kent Tritle. 

On Sanctuary Road Still’s narratives rise to a 

rarefied realm thanks to compelling performances 

by its soloists. Soprano Laquita Mitchell 

is radiant, mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce- 

Davis is mesmerizing, and tenor Joshua Blue, 

baritone Malcolm J. Merriweather and bassbaritone 

Dashon Burton are spellbinding. Each 

of the soloists palpably evokes the suffering 

and joy of those who escaped to freedom from 

the American South into Canada. 

Raul da Gama 

CLASSICAL AND BEYOND 

Del Signor Graun 

Ludovice Ensemble 

Veterum Musica VM021 

(veterummusica.com) 

!! 

Music at the 

court of Frederick 

the Great usually 

conjures up images 

of JJ Quantz and 

CPE Bach – or even 

Frederick himself. 

That image is now 

under challenge 

due to this recording of music by the brothers 

Graun, who occupied key positions during 

Frederick’s rule. 

This CD features three sonatas by each 

composer. Some movements are highly 

spirited. Listen to the Poco Allegro from the 

opening to the Sonata in D by Carl Heinrich 

and then contrast it with the Largo from the 

same sonata; there is an almost hesitant entry 

of the flute. And some movements are genteel. 

The Adagio from the Sonata in G is thoughtful 

and measured. 

Then there is the other Graun, Johann 

Gottlieb. The Adagio from his Sonata in 

D demonstrates how much freedom this 

composer allowed his flutist, what with this 

movement’s forthright and almost chirpy 

playing, something enhanced in the following 

Allegro ma non molto. Joana Amorim 

obviously appreciates this tuneful opportunity, 

although it should not be allowed to 

overshadow Fernando Miguel Jalôto’s harpsichord 

playing. 

Contrasted as they are in their approaches, 

these two composers’ works are rarely 

performed these days. It is time for them to be 

restored to a more popular status. 

Michael Schwartz 

Schumann – Overture Genoveva; 

Symphonies 2 & 4 

London Symphony Orchestra; Sir John Eliot 

Gardiner 

LSO Live LSO0818 (naxosdirect.com) 

!! 

Sir John Eliot 

Gardiner represents 

a new breed 

of conductors, like 

Norrington, Jacobs 

and others who 

began their careers 

in Baroque repertoire 

with period 

instrument orchestras and then through the 

back door, came to the classics and Romantics 

and modern symphony orchestras. Gardiner 

with the LSO and modern instruments interestingly 

now turns to the very Romantic music 

of Robert Schumann. 

Schumann’s symphonies have been much 

maligned in the past by critics saying that he 

couldn’t orchestrate, but actually this was 

caused, in Gardiner’s words, by “the late 

19th century, opulent concept of Schumann” 

with muddied textures resulting from the 

over-Romantic approach of conductors of 

the time. Gardiner intends to rectify this by 

bringing “freshness, vivaciousness and clarity” 

and clean and transparent textures, using his 

previous experiences with period orchestras. 

The Fourth is a particular favourite of mine 

and also it seems a favourite of conductors. It’s 

compact, optimistic, forward-looking and full 

of surprises. Note how Schumann links the 

movements together with no stops between 

them, the “trombone sigh” in the first movement 

development or the mysterious transition 

between the end of the third and beginning 

of the fourth movement. I remember Solti 

practically dancing the lovely melody in the 

last movement. 

The Second is a turbulent affair, a work 

of genius; the first movement especially, a 

tremendous tour de force of a single strong 

rhythmic theme relentlessly driven with 

neverending variants towards a strong conclusion 

on the brass. Gardiner opts for fast speeds 

throughout (except for the heavenly Adagio 

espressivo) that can be very exciting, but can 

be detrimental to the beauty of the details. 

Bernstein’s magisterial reading with the VPO is 

still my benchmark. 

Janos Gardonyi 

Piccolo Concertos 

Jean-Louis Beaumadier; Prague RSO; Vahan 

Mardirossian 

Skarbo DSK3192 (site.skarbo.fr) 

! ! How extraordinary 

is this 

recording of the 

Prague Radio 

Symphony and 

virtuoso piccolo 

crusader, Jean- 

Louis Beaumadier! 


Smashing any expectations of the loud, piercing 

or vulgar, this first-ever CD comprised 

entirely of piccolo concerti with full orchestra, 

casts the solo instrument in a most reflective, 

sweet and expressive light. From the outset, 

the neo-Romantic/impressionist music of 

Florentine Mulsant offers both soloist and 

orchestra multiple opportunities to soar, 

which they do marvellously. With whole-tone 

passages, Ravel-like transparencies and their 

sensitive rendering, it is compelling listening. 

The well-known staple amongst serious 

piccolo players, Lowell Liebermann’s Concerto 

follows and then a colourful, newly orchestrated 

version of Joachim Andersen’s Moto 

Perpetuo. On both, Beaumadier assures us of 

his utter command of the instrument through 

impressive technical displays and his trademark 

control of hushed pianissimos. 

While the redundancy of both of these 

works being available online (in other 

versions) might diminish the CD’s value, the 

sheer magic of this album lies in the remaining 

three concerti and the Mulsant, all dedicated 

to Beaumadier and composed since 2012. 

Véronique Poltz‘s “Kilumac” Concertino is 

brooding and suspenseful and showcases 

Beaumadier‘s stellar flutter-tonguing. Various 

minimalist ostinati spin ethereal tapestries in 

Régis Campo’s Touch the Sky, over which the 

soloist weaves evocative threads. In conclusion, 

the final Concerto composed by the late Jean- 

Michel Damase is a poetic, three-movement 

masterpiece, filled with humour, episodic 

melodic sonority and brilliant orchestration. 

Simply forget that it’s for a piccolo; this 

recording is truly a musical delight. 

Nancy Nourse 

Mahler 4 

Carolyn Sampson; Minnesota Orchestra; 

Osmo Vänskä 

BIS BIS-2356 (naxosdirect.com) 

!! 

Osmo Vänskä 

continues his 

ongoing Mahler cycle 

in this fifth instalment 

of his wellreceived 

survey 

of the complete 

symphonies. 

Composed at the 

dawn of the 20th century, Mahler’s uncharacteristically 

carefree and nostalgic Fourth Symphony 

turns the classical conventions of the symphonic 

tradition of Haydn, Mozart and Schubert on its 

head with a dark, ofttimes menacing humour. 

This wry, affectionate sarcasm is, for me, best 

captured in the classic 1965 recording by George 

Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra at the height of 

their fame. Though Vänskä does not command 

the subtle structural micro-shifts of tempo Szell 

was able to coax from his notoriously intimidated 

band in the first two movements, the amiable 

Minnesotans still have much to offer. I particularly 

enjoyed the hushed serenity of the opening 

of the adagio movement and the expanded 

dynamic range the digital process enables. At 

times I even felt that the musicians are almost too 

fastidious – the unique melodic unison of four 

flutes in the first movement is so unnervingly in 

tune that the evocative, distant fuzziness of this 

moment is lost. 

Carolyn Sampson is the vocal soloist in the 

finale of the work, to which she lends the 

stipulated youthful, angelic tone along with 

excellent diction. Curiously, a photograph in 

the erudite booklet shows her performing 

from the rear of the stage on a riser next to 

three trumpets, though in the digital mix she 

is very much front and centre. I would have 

preferred to experience the true ambience of 

this accommodating stage placement. That 

aside, this is an excellent rendition that I very 

much enjoyed. 

Daniel Foley 

The Deeper the Blue… 

Janet Sung; Simon Callaghan; Britten 

Sinfonia; Jae van Steen 

Somm Recordings SOMMCD 275 

(naxosdirect.com) 

!! 

The title of this 

disc refers to a series 

of associations in the 

areas of harmony 

and instrumental 

colour. A key figure 

is prominent British 

composer Kenneth 

Hesketh (b.1968), 

recipient of many significant commissions and 

awards. A student of Henri Dutilleux (1916- 

2013), Hesketh orchestrated that composer’s 

piano suite Au gré des ondes (1946) and 

the recording here by the Britten Sinfonia 

led by Netherlands conductor Jac van Steen 

is delightful. Among these six post-Ravelian 

miniatures I am particularly enchanted by the 

oboe solo in Improvisation, accompanied by 

a complex textural weave with particularly 

notable harp writing. The harp is also prominent 

in Mouvement perpétuel, where rapid 

flutes, piccolos, trumpets, horns and violins 

compete for attention. 

Hesketh’s own composition Inscription- 

Transformation for violin and orchestra 

pays homage to his teacher and to his grandmother 

Muriel McMahon. It is a substantial 

work where sustained long pedal points 

provide direction including a suggestion of 

the octatonic (eight-tone) scale structure. In 

the foreground is an exciting solo part played 

cleanly and with brio by US-based virtuoso 

Janet Sung; it is by turn aggressive and calm, 

and is supplemented by instrumental scatterings 

and outer-space-like sonorities from 

the other instruments. Sung also excels with 

pianist Simon Callaghan in Ravel’s Tzigane 

and in Vaughan Williams’ Concerto for Violin 

and String Orchestra (1924-25), which is well 

shed of its former name “Concerto Academico” 

– I especially enjoyed the melodic invention 

of the slow movement and the irresistible 

closing Presto. 

Roger Knox 

MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY 

Mosaïque 

Ensemble Made In Canada 

Independent 0 51497 14047 2 

(mosaiqueproject.com) 

!! 

Canada’s remarkable 

ethnic and 

scenic diversity is 

glowingly reflected 

in the stylistic 

diversity of the 14 

pieces that constitute 

Mosaïque, each 

about four minutes 

long, drawing from classical, jazz, folk, pop 

and Indigenous idioms. The Mosaïque project 

was created by Ensemble Made In Canada, 

Western University’s superb ensemble-in-residence, 

comprising pianist Angela Park, violinist 

Elissa Lee, violist Sharon Wei and cellist Rachel 

Mercer. Since premiering Mosaïque in 2018, 

EMIC has performed the suite in every province 

and territory, as each province and territory is 

represented musically in one of the pieces. 

Fourteen composers contributed to the 

project: David Braid, Barbara Croall, Julie 

Doiron, Andrew Downing, Vivian Fung, Nicolas 

Gilbert, Kevin Lau, Nicole Lizée, Richard 

Mascall, Samy Moussa, William Rowson, Darren 

Sigesmund, Sarah Slean and Ana Sokolović. 

Many of their pieces depict familiar features 

of Canada’s physiognomy: prairies, mountains, 

the icy North and lots of flowing water 

– rivers in Quebec, Manitoba, B.C., Yukon and 

Northwest Territories are referenced in six 

pieces. There are also echoes of Gaelic, Acadian 

and Métis folk music, aboriginal petroglyphs, 

canoe trips, a legendary Newfoundlander and 

Saskatoon ghosts. 

Happily, all these disparate pieces fit together 

like tesserae, those tiny, coloured bits of stone, 

glass or ceramic that compose a mosaic floor, 

wall or ceiling. Here all the differently coloured 

musical bits have combined to create a vivid 

sonic “mosaïque” of our remarkable country, 

vividly performed by Ensemble Made In 

Canada. A truly wondrous achievement! 

Michael Schulman 

Mirrored Glass 

Taktus Duo 

Ravello Records RR8027 LP, CD and Digital 

(taktusduo.com) 

! ! The Taktus duo 

was formed in 

2010 by Canadian 

percussionists 

Greg Harrison 

and Jonny Smith 

while pursuing 

master’s degrees 

at the University 

of Toronto. With 

musical influences ranging from classical 

to electronica, their stated mission includes 


making music “that crosses borders between 

genres…”. Their second album consists of very 

effective marimba duet arrangements made 

by the duo of key minimalist keyboard works 

by Canadian Ann Southam (1937-2010) and 

American Philip Glass (b. 1937). 

Southam is represented by five pieces on 

Side A. The four from the piano work Glass 

Houses (1981, revised 2009) are constructed 

from short, primarily major-key tonal units. 

Possessing an overall lyrical quality, the 

composer slowly transforms melodies derived 

from only a few tonal chords. Inside those 

chords, in the evocative words of Musical 

Toronto, “a tone row gradually unfolds at the 

speed of a tulip blossom opening on a warm, 

sunny spring morning.” The fifth work is from 

Southam’s earlier and harmonically more 

adventurous Rivers I (revised 2004). 

Side B features spirited, idiomatic Taktus 

arrangements of Glass’ well-known Music 

in Contrary Motion (1969) and pieces from 

Etudes (1994-2012). Throughout, the duo’s 

playing is both precise and nuanced, as is the 

quality of the accurate and warm-sounding 

recording. The use of processing to lengthen 

the decay on the percussive marimba sound is 

organic, never obtrusive. Harrison and Smith 

sensitively render the complex interplay of 

solo and accompanying voices with virtuoso 

panache in both sets. 

This satisfying album promises a bright 

Taktus future. 

Andrew Timar 

Shostakovich 13 “Babi Yar” 

Alexey Tikhomirov; Chicago Symphony 

Orchestra and Male Chorus; Riccardo Muti 

CSO Resound CSOR 901-1901 

(naxosdirect.com) 

!! 

In January of 

1970 Ricardo Muti 

conducted the first 

performance in 

Western Europe 

of Shostakovich’s 

controversial 13th 

Symphony written 

in 1962. The orchestra in Rome was the RAI 

Symphony Orchestra and the soloist was 

bass Ruggero Raimondi. One of Italy’s most 

highly regarded and enlightened artistic directors 

succeeded in securing a microfilm of the 

forbidden symphony and translated the poetry 

into Italian. A tape of the performance was 

sent to the composer who liked the translation. 

That very tape had been presented to Muti by 

Shostakovich’s widow as a gift a few months 

before this powerful performance in Chicago, 

making for a real sense of occasion. Muti 

certainly knows the music, as many of us who 

have seen the video of this same live performance 

of this thrilling, cantata-like symphony 

posted on YouTube will attest. The YouTube 

sound, of course, pales again this CD release. 

The CD booklet gives an account of how and 

why the symphony was banned. Here is an 

outline. 

The symphony is set to texts by Yevgeny 

Yevtushenko. The composer was drawn to his 

poem Babi Yar, written in 1961, that tells of the 

1941 massacre of 34,000 Jews in 36 hours on 

a hillside in Kiev. Shostakovich selected four 

other poems for a five-movement symphony. 

The selection was made by Shostakovich and 

was in no way intended by the composer to 

be a song cycle. Upon its first performance 

on December 18, 1962 the work was immediately 

banned with no review. For Khrushchev 

and the Presidium and others whose antisemitism 

was ubiquitous, this was an open 

condemnation. Yevtushenko eventually undertook 

to emend Babi Yar so that not only Jews 

were slaughtered in Kiev, and that the Russian 

people fought the Nazis. There was however 

one more performance using the unchanged 

text two days after the first; Kirill Kondrashin 

conducted it in the Conservatory and that 

powerful performance was recorded and is 

available on all formats from Praga Digitals. 

Audiences today are once again hearing 

Yevtushenko’s original poem. 

Bruce Surtees 

Weinberg – Flute Concertos Nos. 1 and 2; 12 

Pieces for Flute and Orchestra; 5 Pieces for 

Flute and Piano 

Claudia Stein; Szczecin Philharmonic 

Orchestra; David Robert Coleman 

Naxos 8.573931 (naxosdirect.com) 

!! 

Mieczyslaw 

Weinberg (1919- 

1996) was a Polish- 

Jewish pianist and 

composer who 

came of age just as 

Europe was plunged 

into the inferno of 

the Second World 

War. Moving first to Minsk to escape the Nazi 

occupation of Poland, he subsequently moved 

to Tashkent and then, with some help from 

Shostakovich, to Moscow where he lived for 

the rest of his life. The music on this recording, 

composed between 1947 and 1987 is a window 

into the musical culture, nipped in the bud 

by World War II, emerging in the 1930s in 

Eastern Europe. 

The first thing that struck me about 

Weinberg’s music was his prodigious mastery 

of technique. For example, the first movement 

of Flute Concerto No.1 is an exciting, dramatic 

and technically challenging dialogue between 

the soloist and the orchestra. The second 

movement, an elegiac soliloquy for the flute, is 

supported by a simple but profoundly expressive 

chord progression played by the orchestra: 

the two movements couldn’t be more different, 

but both display equal mastery. 

The first of the Five Pieces for Flute and 

Piano, begins by quoting the opening of 

Debussy’s La fille aux cheveux de lin, but 

moves on seamlessly into Weinberg’s own 

wonderfully original and expressive flight of 

melodic invention. 

Flutist Claudia Stein, pianist Elisaveta 

Blumina and the Szczecin Philharmonic 

Orchestra, conducted by David Robert 

Coleman, are equally up to the challenges of 

Weinberg’s music. Kudos also to Naxos for 

introducing us to Weinberg’s music for flute. 

Allan Pulker 

Michael Byron – Bridges of Pearl and Dust 

Ben Phelps 

Cold Bllue Music CB0057 

(coldbluemusic.com) 

! ! This CD single 

features Bridges of 

Pearl and Dust, a 

16-minute fourvibraphone 

work 

by “second-generation 

West Coast 

minimalist” 

American composer 

Michael Byron. It’s dense, contrapuntal and 

polyrhythmic music which generously rewards 

repeated listening. 

I first met the Los Angeles-raised Byron at 

Toronto’s York University around 1973. He 

came to study composition with American 

Richard Teitelbaum, as well as to teach music. 

Byron had already studied with maverick 

composer James Tenney in LA, and had formed 

close musical friendships with influential 

post-modernist, minimalist composers Harold 

Budd and Peter Garland. At York Byron worked 

closely with music professor, composer, musician 

and biofeedback-music pioneer David 

Rosenboom. Very quickly Byron became an 

integral member of the vibrant mid-1970s 

Toronto avant-garde performing arts community. 

Byron moved to New York City a few years 

later, and there too found an influential place 

in the downtown experimental music scene. 

Byron’s compositions are marked by those 

varied influences, yet even his earliest works 

project a unique musical voice. One reviewer 

called it “shimmering minimalism.” The four 

vibraphones in Bridges of Pearl and Dust 

(2011), all played with élan by LA percussionist 

Ben Phelps, combine to express a complex, 

harmonically shifting sound field. Challenged 

on the first listening, I replayed the album four 

times. Over time, the logic and aesthetics of 

Byron’s musical imagination were revealed. 

Filled with rhythmically percolating, interpenetrating 

melodic lines, the resulting tightly 

interwoven texture elicits, as the composer 

aptly put it, “a musical experience in the 

present tense.” And as I found out, one which 

richly rewards deep listening. 

Andrew Timar 


Memory – Patrick Yim plays works for solo 

violin 

Patrick Yim 

Navona Records nv6268 

(navonarecords.com) 

!! 

Championing 

contemporary works 

for violin by living 

composers has 

become an integral 

part of Patrick Yim’s 

performing career 

in recent years. This 

Honolulu-born 

violinist displays both dazzling technique 

and passionate interpretations of solo violin 

works on his new release, Memory. Among 

five pieces, four are commissioned for this 

occasion and premiered on the album, and 

three are inspired by Miles Upon Miles: World 

Heritage Along the Silk Road, an exhibition at 

the Hong Kong Museum of History. 

Memory features works by a talented array 

of composers – Chen Yi, Kai-Young Chan, Yao 

Chen, Austin Yip and Michael-Thomas Foumai. 

Their music is both an engaging showcase 

of inventive musical ideas and treatises on 

contemporary violin techniques. Through the 

exploration of cultural identity and the role of 

memory in preserving it, they bring out a delicate 

tapestry of ideas on the significance of 

sound in both past and present-day settings. 

Field recordings processed through granular 

synthesis in combination with amplified violin 

in Miles Upon Miles by Yip is a perfect example 

of accord between relics of the past and rich 

expressions of the modern language. 

Yim is very attuned to each of these pieces. 

His skill in highlighting the minute nuances 

and details is fiercely supported by an understanding 

of the musical language and ideas of 

each composer. His sound is encompassing 

and penetrating at times, lyrical and poetic 

when needed, adding a special dimension to 

this album. 

Ivana Popovic 

Dreamers – The Music of Jeffrey Jacob 

Various Artists 



!! 

The disc, 

Dreamers, is 

a collection of 

pieces written by 

composer/pianist 

Jeffrey Jacob. The 

pieces are all earnest 

expressions of 

melancholic feeling, 

moving through discord towards reconciliation. 

He often pits the brightest register of 

the piano against sombre lower strings, and 

he uses short melodic motifs that sometimes 

recall a familiar strain of someone else’s: the 

lilting adagio in 6/8 time of his Sanctuary 

One, almost quotes Mozart’s Piano Concerto 

No.23 in the solo piccolo; there’s a gesture 

somewhat like Debussy’s Syrinx in some of the 

woodwind lines in The Persistence of Memory; 

in the same work the piano and the cello give 

voice to Schumann-esque nostalgia (although 

in his notes the composer freely admits this 

last reference). 

The writing is assured, and Jacob’s performance 

skills are fine (he appears as piano soloist 

or ensemble member on most of the tracks). 

He also receives (takes?) oboe credit for the 

final track, somewhat puzzlingly, as it’s a 

synthesizer, not the real thing. 

The disc opens with the title work, a threemovement 

concerto dedicated to the cohort 

of American immigrants known as Dreamers. 

The first movement is subtitled Rain, Lagrimas 

(Tears). The piano solo provides the persistent 

drops of sound to generate this image, an evocative 

technique if somewhat heavily present 

in the mix, a comment that applies for much 

of the disc. The string orchestra provides the 

melancholy. 

Jacob confines much of his syntax to the 

four-bar phrase. This is just a quibble, one 

from someone who gets easily bored of the 

repeated trope. 

Max Christie 

Elliott Miles McKinley – Shadow Dancer 

Janáček Trio; Auriga String Quartet 



!! 

As I write 

this review on 

Valentine’s Day 

(despite any 

personal reservations 

about this day) 

it seems fitting – 

and strangely serendipitous 

– that I 

am writing about 

a collection of pieces centred around the 

common theme of remembered love. Elliot 

Miles McKinley’s Shadow Dancer contains 

three chamber works from the well-known 

American composer: a quartet performed 

by the Auriga String Quartet, a duo for cello 

and piano, and the title work, a piano trio in 

six movements performed by the eminent 

Janáček Trio. 

Sentimentality is a term thrown around 

in many negative contexts – and rightly 

so when a surplus of emotion is offered in 

excess of the object itself. That said, McKinley 

provides easily recognizable moods through 

varying angles that in turns assume flourishes 

of jarring dissonances, agonizing punctuation 

and repetitive thoughts that somehow 

create a welcomed atmosphere of sentimentality. 

These shifts in emotional temperament 

are most expertly woven in the String Quartet 

No.8 – a work that ignites a journey of doubt 

and eventual spontaneous resolution. The 

aforementioned duet, A Letter to Say I Love 

You, and Goodbye, is most fittingly titled in 

its obvious dramatic purpose and longing. 

Shadow Dancer attempts to create a sense of 

purpose through love and understanding – 

wordless poems that are expertly performed 

by the highly accomplished musicians. 

Adam Scime 

Playing on the Edge 

Sirius Quartet 



!! 

The brightest 

star in the visible 

night sky has been 

given the name 

Sirius – a word of 

Greek etymology 

meaning “glowing” 

or “scorching.” 

The Sirius Quartet 

certainly lives up to such a depiction in their 

masterful performances on this release, 

comprised of five genre-bending composers, 

each providing a confident array of compelling 

sonic landscapes. Jennifer Castellano, Ian 

Erickson, Brian Field, Marga Richter and Mari 

Tamaki all bring a level of creative excellence 

that elevates this disc to a compulsory level 

along with the brilliant performances by the 

musicians. 

The need to push boundaries and push 

limits is an ever-present theme in contemporary 

genres; however, as one listens 

throughout, such pushing is seemingly met 

with no force as it feels natural and pure as 

the music is refreshingly contemporary while 

avoiding any tired clichés. We do get the standard 

contemporary tricks as are heard in many 

pieces of recent times, but unexpected innovation 

takes over if any doubt arises concerning 

overused performance techniques. For those 

who ask if there are still new sounds and new 

contexts to be accomplished in contemporary 

classical music – this release is a must-listen. 

Adam Scime 

Found Objects – New Music for Reed Trio 

PEN Trio 

Summit Records DCD 754 

(summitrecords.com) 

! ! I’m seeking synonyms 

for “wholesome.” 

I do so 

because I so enjoy 

what seems to me 

the very salubrious 

effect of listening to 

the timbre of three 

distinct reed voices. 

I am ready to accept that this is not everybody’s 

cup of tonic, but it seems to cure what 

ails me to listen to the very excellent PEN 

Trio. The tuning between the instruments is 

uniformly excellent, whether in consonant or 

dissonant voicings. Whether they’re swatting 

staccato flies or swinging languorous legato 

lines, they match character to one another. 

They play their respective windpipes with 


vigour, elan and grace. All three are fine practitioners, 

although I am personally less partial 

to Nora Lewis’ oboe sound. Phillip Paglialonga, 

clarinet, and Eric Van der Veer Varner, bassoon, 

form a more sympathetic blend. It might be a 

question of the close mic being less kind to the 

oboe, although it allows one to hear the players 

inhale, very inspiring and invigorating. 

The disc is named for one of the pieces 

presented: Found Objects, by Jenni Brandon, 

turns out to be pleasant tuneful tonal evocations 

of flotsam on Long Beach CA. No plastic 

included in the collection – artistic licence I 

guess. Two colours of sea glass are the only 

semi-synthetic items, which I think is in 

keeping with my overall impression of the 

disc being salutary. The opening work 5-4-3 

(except after C) by relative old-timer William 

Bradbury (he’s now 64 – the other composers 

are all 40-something), is similarly pleasant, if a 

bit more lively. 

As much as the happily tonal first two works 

are like gentle massages for the ears, the final 

two are good stiff workouts designed to keep 

one’s ears in proper shape for hearing new 

sounds. Oblique Strategies by Aleksander 

Sternfeld-Dunn and In Threes by M. Shawn 

Hundley round out this terrific collection. 

Max Chrisite 

Atomic Legacies 

Xenia Pestova Bennett 

Diatribe Records (shop.diatribe.ie) 

!! 

Before sitting 

down and listening 

to this new release 

by UK-based, 

Canadian artist 

Xenia Pestova 

Bennett, one is 

immediately struck 

by the vibrant, 

compelling images on the cover design. This is 

one of those exceptional instances where the 

sonic expression found therein sounds just 

as its extramusical inspirational sources look: 

stunning chemical elements that glow and 

pulsate. From Pestova Bennett’s liner notes: 

“Radium is an element which glows pale blue, 

Plutonium glows deep red, Tritium is green 

and the gas Radon is yellow at its freezing 

point, and orange-red below. I added the fifth, 

obsessively-repetitive loop… this element is 

silvery-white, glowing blue.” 

Glowing Radioactive Elements, the five 

tracks that correspond to the colours depicted, 

unfold in a well-curated and scintillating arc. 

The beauty of sound that emerges from Pestova 

Bennett recording this music on a piano with 

magnetic resonator – designed and trademarked 

by Andrew McPherson – enhances 

the sound world and draws the listener in, 

through dips and heights of pianistic gesture. 

The effect is akin to watching slow-moving 

landscapes in isolated, unfamiliar parts of our 

globe. The range of expression and musical 

material here is impressive: spontaneous at 

times and focused, personal and singularly 

driven at others. 

This disc rolls on to its significant final track, 

featuring the Ligeti Quartet in a companion 

work to the first, Atomic Legacies. Pestova 

Bennett directs the action in a florid series of 

closely connected gestures, deconstructing 

Haydn’s music and her own. 

Adam Sherkin 

JAZZ AND IMPROVISED 

Solo Sessions Volume 1 

Brenda Earle Stokes 

Independent ASNM 007 (brendaearle.com) 

!! 

Smooth and 

rather sultry-voiced, 

vocalist Brenda Earle 

Stokes has released 

a truly enjoyable 

collection of wellknown 

pop and jazz 

songs that she has 

put her own twist 

on. Featuring her own compositions among 

pieces by significant musicians in the general 

music universe including Dave Brubeck, Huey 

Lewis and Michael McDonald, this album is 

a versatile and captivating journey. The title 

refers to the fact that it’s just her and the piano 

on this record, which creates such a charming 

sense of intimacy; the listener truly feels as if 

they are seated right by the piano, watching 

and hearing Stokes play. 

If You Never Come to Me opens up the 

album with a sensual punch, showcasing 

Stokes’ very apparent vocal talent. Standing 

is an original, a unique and modern piece 

that features interesting chord and melodic 

progressions which easily catch anyone’s 

attention. Throughout the album, not only is 

the listener taken through various genres from 

traditional jazz to the blues, but Stokes’ talent 

as a pianist is very well showcased. Her voice 

and melodies blend in seamlessly for a satisfying 

whole. A favourite is undoubtedly the 

cover of Lewis’ Power of Love, in which the 

original song is still fully recognizable but has 

been jazzed up just enough to be refreshing. 

Anyone looking for a treat to the ears and 

something a little different from the norm will 

enjoy this album. 

Kati Kiilaspea 

Embargo 

University of Toronto Jazz Orchestra 

U of T Jazz n/a (uoftjazz.ca) 

!! 

It is no easy 

feat to construct 

an eclectically 

programmed 

album that maintains 

its flow from 

start to finish, but 

this is exactly what 

the University of 

Toronto Jazz Orchestra, under the direction 

of Gordon Foote, has done with their most 

recent release, Embargo. The student compositions 

on the album all demonstrate intricacy 

and wisdom, ranging from swing numbers 

to more contemporary pieces, and everything 

in between. It is a testament to both the 

quality of these arrangements and the stylistic 

programming of the album, that they 

sound right at home next to legendary trombonist 

and arranger Rob McConnell’s version 

of Take the A Train. McConnell’s treatment of 

the Ellington/Strayhorn classic is a demanding 

one to execute, but the ensemble does a fine 

job, as do the four soloists featured. Hearing 

the music of the Boss Brass live on through a 

younger generation of Toronto musicians is 

a unique treat. It is apropos that this should 

happen at the University of Toronto, which 

inherited McConnell’s scores and library 

following his death in 2010. 

From contemporary ballads like Jesse 

Marshall’s Summer’s Over, and the energetically 

uplifting title track, Embargo, which 

features solos from its composer Vonne Aguda 

and guitarist Julian Bradley-Combs, to Hannah 

Barstow’s Count Basie-esque Medium Blue, 

a wide scope of large ensemble jazz writing 

is present on this release. Full of arrangers, 

composers and soloists who are wise beyond 

their years, depth and maturity are the true 

themes of this album. 

Sam Dickinson 

Suite Vincent 

Greg Runions Big Band 

Independent Grind 2019 (gregrunions.net) 

! ! With the 

release of this 

superbly conceived, 

performed and 

recorded big band 

project, vibraphonist/composer/ 

arranger Greg 

Runions has fashioned 

a magnificent musical celebration of the 

iconic, late Canadian trumpeter/composer/ 

arranger Kenny Wheeler. To realize his 

concept, Runions built upon his longstanding 

septet, and also created a “live-off-the-floor 

experience” by recording in the studio of 

the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing 

Arts. Wheeler was an unassuming, ego-less, 

gentle genius, who would no doubt be incredibly 

honoured by this inspired six-movement 

musical tribute. 

The skilled A-list cast includes Andrew 

Rathbun, Tara Davidson and Bob Leonard 

on reeds/saxophones; John MacLeod, Brian 

O’Kane and Jason Logue on flugelhorn and 

trumpet; William Carn on trombone; Brian 

Dickinson on piano; Mike Cassells on drums; 

Dave Barton on guitar; Artie Roth on bass 

and the lithe vocals of Yoon Sun Choi, channeling 

Wheeler’s longtime collaborator, 

Norma Winstone – particularly on the vocal 

feature The Long Way (which also displays 

Dickinson’s moving, emotionally vulnerable 


and technically thrilling piano work). 

The project opens with Chorale for 

Ken, composed by Runions in 1992, a stirring 

brass choir followed directly by Bass 

Interlude – an intricate and stunning bass 

solo by Roth. Wheeler’s profound influence 

as a seminal jazz composer and trumpeter 

saturates this arrangement of Bitter 

Tart, as does the exquisite flugelhorn work 

by MacLeod. Another stunner is Around 

About, featuring Barton with Davidson on 

alto and O’Kane on trumpet. The final Suite, 

Jeckle & Clyde, includes a nod to the more 

free aspects of Wheeler’s style, and Rathbun’s 

lush tenor incites the rest of the ensemble into 

gorgeous solos and heavenly, contrapuntal 

ensemble work. 

Lesley Mitchell-Clarke 

Concert Note: Greg Runions Septet and Big 

Band present the premier of Suite Vincent in 

concert March 1, Isabel Bader Centre for the 

Performing Arts, Kingston Ontario. 

Trout in Swimwear 

Harrison 2 

Independent (harryvetro.com) 

!! 

Harrison 2 

(that’s Harrison 

squared) abounds 

in doubles. There 

are two Harrisons, 

saxophonist 

Harrison Argatoff 

and drummer 

Harrison Vetro, 

both newcomers, and they’re paired with two 

veterans, saxophonist Mike Murley and bassist 

Steve Wallace. Further, both saxophonists are 

playing tenors. The group began in an encounter 

between Vetro and Wallace, the latter a changeof-pace 

substitute for Vetro’s drum teacher (Nick 

Fraser deserves credit here) at the University of 

Toronto. Argatoff joined in on some standards at 

the end of the lesson; a performance at Toronto’s 

Rex followed with Murley making it a quartet. 

The absence of a chordal instrument opens 

up the music, encouraging the saxophonists’ 

dialogue and heightening Wallace and 

Vetro’s presence. It puts Wallace’s strong lines 

in the foreground and adds more room for his 

sculpted solos; Vetro is a very good drummer, 

precise and assertive with a keen sense of form. 

Argatoff and Murley each contribute four 

compositions, developing them in ways that 

suggest the classic pairing of Lee Konitz and 

Warne Marsh; lithe, convivial music with a 

harmonic focus, but with a harder edge to 

their sounds. The two play together, whether 

it’s the dovetailing improvised dialogue of 

Argatoff’s title track or the way the younger 

saxophonist trails Murley on his ballad Writers’ 

Tears, as much an invitation to reflection 

as the Irish whiskey for which it’s named. 

Though it’s set deep in the tradition, the band 

has a special vitality, some rare chemistry 

among different generations. 

Stuart Broomer 

Murray: Trombone Solos 

Scott Thomson 

Tour de Bras TDB90036CD 

(tourdebras.com) 

!! 

Trombonist, 

conceptualist, 

composer of sitespecific 

works 

and programmer, 

Scott Thomson 

takes a speculative 

approach to improvised 

solo performance. 

In April 2014, he launched his first 

Trombone Solos at Odd Hours in Montreal’s 

La Poêle dance studio at times like 4 June, 

9:11 am. Since then he has performed over 

130 such concerts, often for a single listener. 

In 2016, the Calgary label Bug Incision released 

Heures Indues, a CD with three performances; 

Murray comes from a 2019 series in 

the Montreal studio of Thomson’s late friend 

and collaborator, the painter and drummer 

John Heward. 

Thomson’s solos don’t explore a single 

idea; rather, they’re perambulations, here two 

half-hour long journeys through a variety 

of impulses and inspirations, with shifting 

melodies and timbres that can burst forth with 

marching band gusto or alight in a singing 

high register. Sometimes there’s a resonant 

partnership with some other material, 

whether an appended mute or something like 

furniture moving in the room. Sudden volume 

shifts suggest that Thomson is playing two 

trombones, one blasting loudly into the microphone, 

the other a distant, whispered aside. 

The CD is packaged with cards reproducing 

a few of Heward’s starkly powerful abstractions, 

and the echoes of his studio may play a 

role in these performances, thematic as well as 

sonic. There’s something dramatic here, moods 

developing and changing along with the 

materials, a moving meditation in a terrain full 

of surprises, the shifting interior monologue of 

a musical flâneur. 


Augmented Indifference 

Manteca 

Mmusic MM201913-4 

(facebook.com/MantecaMusic) 

!! 

Happy anniversary, 

Manteca! 

A perennial audience 

favourite, 

Manteca returns to 

mark their 41st year 

with Augmented 

Indifference, a foursong 

EP bristling with their trademark energy, 

creativity and virtuosity. And a fitting celebration 

it is. 

In the band’s 41-year history, they have been 

one of Canada’s leading musical ambassadors, 

sharing stages with Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald 

and Van Morrison. Founded by percussionist 

Matt Zimbel and bassist Henry Heillig, who ws 

the group’s music director for three decades, 

the group has been recognized as a musical 

innovator, drawing upon diverse influences 

in exhilarating performances. Accordingly, 

this latest release finds the group charting out 

new directions, while also revisiting more 

familiar musical territory. Miss Meteo, arguably 

the most experimental song, pairs electric 

guitar with spoken word, trumpet and the 

bass clarinet of Colleen Allen, along with alternating 

driving rhythms and spacey textures. 

Somehow, they make it all work! Busking In 

Deadwood, introduces a beautiful, majestic 

melody and features some outstanding work 

by Lucas Zimbel on accordion and Steve 

McDade on trumpet. 

The aptly titled Avant Cool highlights the 

innovative pairing of guitar and alto flute, 

while the set closer, a Beach Boys-inspired 

Kowabunga, again features guitarist Nick 

Tateishi alongside bright, punchy horn backgrounds. 

Let’s all raise a glass to Manteca – 

here’s to another 40 years! 

Barry Livingston 

Nostalgia and Other Fantasies 

Aaron Dolman 

Independent (aarondolman.com) 

! ! Montreal-born, 

up-and-coming 

drummer, composer 

and bandleader 

Aaron Dolman takes 

the listener on a 

meandering trip 

through music with 

his latest release. 

Closing your eyes while listening to this record 

evokes a feeling as if you were in a film, with 

each track bringing up a vivid image in the 

mind to accompany the melodies. Each piece 

is composed by Dolman himself and features 

younger musicians such as Marcus Savard- 

Lowry and Zacharie Bachand on guitars, 

Mathieu McConnell, bass, and Caitlin Smith on 

viola and vocals. The folk element imbedded in 

many of the pieces is a welcome and pleasing 

experience to the ear. 

Gone for a While II is an atmospheric and 

ethereal beginning to the album, a fitting start 

to the journey on which the listener is about 

to embark. Stars in a Midnight Lake features 

a beautiful acoustic guitar riff underlying the 

entire piece, with the soft vocals by Smith 

joining in during the middle of the song for 

a wonderful and captivating interlude. The 

reprise of Willow Bunch is a joyful conclusion 

to the record and to the almost cinematic 

ride the listener has been taken on. The enjoyment 

in this album comes from not knowing 

exactly what’s going to be happening musically 

behind the next turn in the road, so to 

speak. It provides for an interesting listen that 

truly pulls you in and keeps you focused on 

the music. 

Kati Kiilaspea 


Old Prose 

Richard Whiteman Quartet 

Cornerstone Records CRSTCD 151 

(cornerstonerecordsinc.com) 

!! 

Toronto pianist 

Richard Whiteman 

developed a late 

fascination with 

string bass about a 

decade ago, rapidly 

becoming an 

adept performer, 

as demonstrated 

here in a 2019 performance from the Huether 

Hotel’s Jazz Room in Waterloo, Ontario. 

Another distinguished Toronto multi-instrumentalist, 

Don Thompson, has described 

Whiteman’s bass lines as “Bach-like” in their 

precision. Perhaps it’s a pianist’s special gift, 

but it’s apparent here in both accompaniment 

and some well-constructed solos. 

Perhaps befitting a bassist’s role, Whiteman 

may be the most retiring member of his own 

quartet. The principal role is given to visiting 

American pianist Harold Danko who provides 

five of the six compositions played here, while 

tenor saxophonist Pat LaBarbera and drummer 

Terry Clarke supply much of the band’s fire. 

The music is consummate mainstream modern 

club jazz, focused, energetic, sometimes dense, 

sometimes lyrical, often intense, but always 

involved and involving. 

Though Danko has worked extensively 

with cool jazz giants like Chet Baker and Lee 

Konitz, his compositions reveal the breadth of 

his inspirations. Blue Swedish Wildflower is 

gently melodic, with Danko’s own introduction 

reaching toward the rhapsodic; McCoy’s 

Passion, however, a clear nod to modal master 

Tyner, is an open invitation to LaBarbera 

and Clarke to summon up their roots in the 

inspirational turbulence of John Coltrane and 

Elvin Jones. That balance between the gentle 

and the edgy, sometimes contrasting, sometimes 

combined, distinguishes this entire 

set of engaged post-bop jazz, crafted by 

senior masters. 


Job’s Trials – A Jazz Song Cycle by Dan 

Loomis 

Yoon Sun Choi; Song Yi Jeon; Dan Loomis; 

Jeff Miles; Jared Schonig; Daniel Breaker 

Independent (danloomismusic.com) 

!! 

With this release, 

New York City-based 

producer, composer, 

librettist and bassist, 

Dan Loomis, has 

created a 14-part, 

contemporized and 

unusual look at the 

biblical story of Job. 

The recording (to quote Loomis) is “…a song 

cycle and narration that offer a fresh look into 

a universal story exploring why bad things 

happen to good people” – perhaps a story only 

previously explored in a contemporary light 

in Neil Simon’s Job-focused hit comedy God’s 

Favorite. All compositions here are by Loomis 

with the exception of the project closer, Dear 

Lord by John Coltrane. 

The Narrator (A.K.A. Satan) is masterfully 

performed by Broadway Star Daniel Breaker 

(Hamilton, The Book of Mormon), and the 

balance of the company includes vocalists 

Yoon Sun Choi and Song Yi Jeon, guitarist Jeff 

Miles and drummer Jared Schonig. Highlights 

of this unique jazz song cycle include 

Abundance Overture, where a funky, insistent 

bass supports the heavenly choir of Choi and 

Jeon, as they proceed through a complex scat 

section, underpinned by dynamic guitar work 

from Miles as well as relentless, bombastic 

drumming by Schonig. 

As Job sinks into despair and confusion, Do 

Not Cover My Blood also takes a dive into the 

darker aspects of the human psyche, as the 

vocalists bob and weave through a cacophony 

of emotions and bop motifs. Although not 

a blues in the traditional sense, Job’s Blues 

focuses on our hero as he begins to bargain 

with his God with a rapid fire tempo, propelled 

into hyper-drive by Miles and Loomis. The 

closing salvo, Dear Lord, re-sets Coltrane’s 

lovely tune – leaving us with hope for the 

triumph of the unconquerable human spirit. 

Lesley Mitchell-Clarke 

Woven Dreams 

Lara Driscoll 

Independent (laradriscoll.com) 

!! 

On the face of it, 

with cold hard logic, 

the act of weaving is 

simple: you treadle 

a needle with yarn 

(weft) that passes 

evenly through even 

lengths of more yarn 

(warp) strung taut 

across a frame. If you’re skilled, you could do 

all manner of ornamental things with that weft 

as well. Applied to music, however, weaving 

is altogether more daunting, especially when 

your aim is to become a weaver of dreams. 

Whether Lara Driscoll was challenged in 

making Woven Dreams, however, seems 

to be a proverbial moot point. This is truly 

outstanding music that tells wordless stories 

about living things (Siblings and Trespassers) 

conjuring each with humour and detail; it 

sketches and paints moving pictures and landscapes 

with vivid colour and texture (Black 

Dog Skirts Away and Isfahan) and does so 

much more, seemingly enchantingly, by 

manipulating the black and white keys of the 

piano, which is then woven into bass lines and 

dappled with percussion colours. 

Having sat mesmerized through it all, 

Driscoll, together with Paul Rushka (bass) and 

Dave Laing (drums), will have done for you 

just what they did for me: imprinted upon 

your mind’s eye something of a magical, seemingly 

unending dreamscape. In sheer colour 

and variety, in the depth of its characterization 

and the exceptional range and refinement of 

her pianism, Driscoll imparts an extraordinary 

bigness to this music that most pianists would 

die to achieve. This is music evoked as few 

pianists can. 

Raul da Gama 

Concert Note: Lara Driscoll launches Woven 

Dreams at The Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar on 

April 9. 

Chimaera 

Emmeluth’s Amoeba 

Ora Fonogram OF149 (orafonogram.no) 

!! 

Emmeluth’s 

Amoeba consists of 

Signe Emmeluth, 

alto saxophone and 

compositions, Karl 

Bjorå (guitar), Ole 

Mofjell (drums) and 

Christian Balvig 

(piano). Their 

playing is tense and engaging. Chimaera was 

recorded in Trondheim, Norway in 2019 and 

features eight compositions which offer a 

great deal of improvisatory freedom: much 

of this album›s excitement comes from the 

contrasts between the improvised portions 

and the sudden interruption of composed 

ensemble sections. Emmeluth’s saxophone 

is lithe and delightfully erratic and Balvig is 

particularly impressive with his clusters of 

runs and staccato interjections. 

Throughout the album, change is the main 

constant. For example, the first half of Squid 

Circles features Emmeluth’s skittering saxophone 

lines interspersing melodic fragments 

with quick multi-phonics. Then the drums 

enter with guitar and piano soon after. The 

last two minutes are a solid groove that builds 

towards an extremely abrupt ending. AB is a 

longer piece with a variety of sonic adventures, 

including a short section reminiscent of some 

zany music that Raymond Scott might have 

written. No. 1 begins with a slightly off-kilter 

lounge piano section and keeps this same 

nuanced mood as more instruments are added. 

It’s understated and beautiful. Chimaera is an 

excellent album that manages to be surprising, 

charming and edgy at the same time. 

Ted Parkinson 

Living Midnight 

Colin Fisher Quartet 

Astral Spirits MF211/AS 107 

(astralspiritsrecords.com) 

! ! Leaving his guitar 

back in Toronto, 

Colin Fisher took his 

saxophones to New 

York and recorded 

this sometimes sage, 

sometimes savage, 

trio of exemplary 

improvisations with 


three of that city’s most accomplished free 

players: multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, 

bassist Brandon Lopez and drummer Marc 

Edwards. All four function as if they’ve worked 

together for years. 

With Fisher on alto and tenor saxophones, 

while Carter roams among clarinet, flute, 

tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, the only 

disorientation occurs when both play saxophones. 

But on Valley Spirit for instance, the 

resulting layered reed affirmations create 

enough elasticized power to counter the 

rugged polyrhythms of Edwards, who is 

constantly aggressive, although his distinctive 

accents and patterns never disrupt the 

narratives. 

Elsewhere Carter’s discursive trumpet flutters, 

breezy flute tones or fluid clarinet timbres 

create a calm oasis during the extended tracks, 

which Fisher joins with breathy lower-case 

vibrations. Meanwhile Lopez’s sprawling 

thumps maintain the tunes’ flow, except 

those times he joins the others for expressive 

intensity. 

Overall, the horn players use chalumeau 

and clarion registers in double counterpoint 

to create packed tension or relaxed flow with 

frequent detours into split tones and irregular 

vibrations, as on Crescent Moon Furnace and 

Embryonic Breath. What this means is that 

Fisher, Carter and the others unite to productively 

vary sequences among light and dark, 

speedy and frantic, and high and low pitches. 

It also confirms that a Hogtown improviser can 

easily pull his weight when facing Big Apple 

challengers. 

Ken Waxman 

Café Grand Abyss 

Jon Rose; Alvin Curran 

ReR Megacorp ReRJRAC 

(rermegacorp.com) 

!! 

Busman’s holidays 

for American 

pianist Alvin Curran 

and Australian 

violinist Jon Rose; 

the two navigate a 

program of improvisations 

that also 

reference Curran’s 

experiments with electronics and Rose’s habit 

of stretching the fiddle’s expected characteristics 

for offbeat music-making. 

Both are possessed of a sardonic sense 

of humour. For instance, they end the disc 

with a brief singing saw-and-keyboard-clipping 

variant on Tea for Two and precede that 

with a pseudo-blues, where at every turn, 

wide multi-string violin squeaks burlesque 

the jittery piano syncopation beside it. But 

this café’s main courses are extended duets, 

where amplified tenor violin sweeps expose 

unexpected techniques answered succinctly 

by keyboard colours plus wave-form drones or 

sampled sounds. 

Curran exhibits percussion backing, brasslike 

pumps, electronic wiggles, and sampled 

vocals and music on Benjamin at the Border, 

without neglecting consistent piano note 

patterns. These merge with Rose’s kinetic 

glissandi and hoedown-like patterns that 

complement the exposition while mocking 

the pianist’s few lapses into romanticism. 

Dramatically intriguing, The Marcuse 

Problem is built upon thickening a narrative 

constructed from angled fiddle runs 

and keyboard clinking to reach such a level 

of echoed intensity that it appears the pressure 

can’t be further amplified – and then it is. 

Finally the theme is deconstructed, leading to 

an appealing conclusion. 

Recorded in sessions two years apart in 

Rome and Sydney where each musician lives, 

the CD’s stimulating duo program should 

encourage the two to collaborate more 

frequently. 

Ken Waxman 

POT POURRI 

Latin Romance 

Ensemble Vivant 

Opening Day ODR 7458 

(ensemblevivant.com) 

!! 

This is Ensemble 

Vivant’s 14th album. 

Founder, artistic 

director and pianist, 

Catherine Wilson, 

and her merry band 

of fellow world-class 

musicians, have 

been serving up a 

captivating mix of classical, Latin, jazz, ragtime 

and music from the Great American Songbook, 

in an intimate chamber music format for over 

30 years! 

Writing this, as I am, on Valentine’s Day, 

how very appropriate that so much of the 

music, and the music-making, on Latin 

Romance is absolutely stirring and heartachingly 

beautiful; Wilson’s opening solo 

on Gismonti’s Memoria Y Fado is especially 

poignant. And speaking of matters of the 

heart, sadly, noted Canadian composer, John 

Burke, whose rich and rhythmic La Despedida 

for solo piano (a gift to Wilson, his longtime 

friend and colleague) graces track five, passed 

away on January 18, 2020. (Eerily, and perhaps 

fittingly, La Despedida – translated as “The 

Farewell” – was the last piece of his music 

Burke heard performed, live, before he died six 

weeks later.) 

Wilson, along with bassist Jim Vivian, 

violinist Corey Gemmell, violist Norman 

Hathaway, cellist Sybil Shanahan, and 

guests Don Thompson, whose vibe work on 

Gismonti’s Lôro is an exhilarating tour de 

force, trumpeter Kevin Turcotte, and Juan 

Carlos Medrano and Luisito Orbegoso on Latin 

percussion, sparkle, shimmer, pulsate, yearn, 

beckon, move, tango and haunt in gorgeous 

(and often sexy) pieces by Piazzolla, Jobim, 

Lecuona, Albeniz, Mozart Camargo Guarnieri, 

Ernesto Nazareth, Leroy Anderson and 

Phil Dwyer. 

Latin Romance is chamber music at its 

evocative best! 

Sharna Searle 

Concert note: A Tribute Concert to John 

Burke: A Celebration of His Musical Life is 

being organized by Catherine Wilson, to be 

held later in 2020. For details contact catherine@ensemblevivant.com 

or visit www. 

ensemblevivant.com. 

Something More 

Lynn Harrison 

Independent (lynnharrison.ca) 

! ! Sometimes 

a low-key first 

impression leads, 

like the title of this 

CD, to Something 

More. Toronto 

folk singer Lynn 

Harrison’s finely 

crafted, penetrating 

lyrics and music 

become more and more intriguing as the 

disc progresses. In the title song I was at first 

concerned about plainness, but now I realize 

that, together with hollow-sounding guitar 

chord voicings, the repeated word “something” 

builds a sense of trouble effectively. Relentless 

lyrical uncertainty is appropriate enough in the 

song Riddle, yet in the closing guitar passage 

acceptance emerges non-verbally. In another 

song, Don’t Know How It Works, the line “To 

turn this anxious overflow into an easy grace” 

is especially memorable. In When I’m on the 

Water the continuation goes “… I’m above deep 

blue/When I hold my paddle I can glide on 

through.” With political and environmental 

themes, Protester and Pretty It Up become 

distinguished contributions in the social 

justice tradition. 

Hope in the face of difficulty is pervasive, 

and this artist’s inner depth no doubt also 

supports her work as Unitarian Universalist 

minister. In Harrison’s folk style, her clear alto 

voice and confident acoustic guitar work are 

notable. Enriching influences from blues, rock 

and jazz in her songs are realized by stellar 

contributions from Noah Zacharin on guitars, 

including slide work on You Come to Me, and 

from too many other excellent instrumentalists 

to name individually. Production by Zacharin 

in association with Douglas September tops it 

all off professionally and imaginatively. 

Roger Knox 


The Space Between Disguises 

Simone Baron & Arco Belo 

Independent GF0001 (simonebaron.com; 

arcobelo.com) 

!! 

American 

pianist/accordionist/composer/ 

arranger Simone 

Baron created her 

self-described 

“genre queer” sevenmember 

chamber 

ensemble Arco Belo to perform styles ranging 

from classical to jazz to folk to world to new 

music. This debut release is a grounded 

creative quasi-work in progress performed 

with expertise. Co-produced with bassist 

Michael Pope and percussionist/drummer 

Lucas Ashby, Baron’s music is eclectic accessible 

listening. 

Baron is equally proficient in arranging and 

composing. Highlights include her opening 

track composition, Post Edit Delete, with lush 

string sounds opening, followed by her solo 

piano playing leading to a more jazz sound 

with solo violin. Its diversity is surprisingly 

not fragmented and introduces the listener 

to Baron’s self-described musical “worlds as 

different gestures.” Her Passive Puppeteer 

touches on many, never dissonant, ideas 

featuring her piano grooves and accordion 

runs supported by Pope’s electric bass virtuosity. 

Love her three short Disguise Interludes 

with static electronic sounds and voice. 

Baron’s arrangement of Brazilian composer 

Tibor Fittel’s Valsa, which features a lyrical 

accordion part with bass, full string section 

and traditional harmonies, shifts from sad 

to upbeat rhythmic tango. Baron’s sensitive 

accordion performance here would benefit 

from more subtle dynamic variations but the 

high accordion pitches, trills and repeated 

notes at the end are colourful. World music 

sounds abound in her take on Béla Bartók’s 

Buciumeana/Kadynja. 

String players Aaron Malone, Bill Neri and 

Peter Kibbe, and percussionist Patrick Graney 

complete the band membership. Other special 

guests play here too and Baron’s musical forecast 

shines brightly! 

Tiina Kiik 

Wherein Lies the Good 

The Westerlies 

Westerlies Records WST001 

(westerliesmusic.com) 

!! 

The Westerlies 

are a brass quartet 

playing postmodern 

roots music with 

classical finesse 

while throwing in 

some down and 

dirty jazz licks and 

a few extended techniques. Wherein Lies the 

Good is their third album and the current 

members are Riley Mulherkar and Chloe 

Rowlands (trumpet) and Andy Clausen and 

Willem de Koch (trombone). The album is 

just over an hour with 18 songs and they run 

the gamut from Charles Ives to five gospel 

numbers transcribed from the Golden Gate 

Quartet’s arrangements, and an original from 

each member of the group. 

One of my favourites is Robert Henry, 

written by Clausen for his nephew’s birth. It 

has a beautiful lilting melody played by the 

trumpets over pensive and moving trombone 

bass lines. It contains strains of minimalism 

with rapid fire exchanges between the trumpets 

and crisp articulation from everyone. 

Like many of the works, it has several sections 

which shift moods and keep the listener 

engaged. On the other hand, Entropy Part 

II becomes densely discordant and downright 

spooky. Wherein Lies the Good is a fresh 

delight and the arrangements make the four 

horns seem like a much larger ensemble. 

Ted Parkinson 

Something in the Air 

Expanding the Trumpet’s Role 

and Range Outwards 

KEN WAXMAN 

With the trumpet’s traditional heraldic and heroic roles in most music, and construction 

which depends on only three valves, tubing and a bell, it would seem that 

distinctive brass innovation would be at a premium. Yet as the following discs 

demonstrate, those who mix innovative concepts and technical sophistication can create 

notable exploratory sessions. 

While American Dave Douglas’ Engage (Greenleaf Music GRE-CD- 

1074 greenleafmusic.com) is the performance closest to the jazz 

tradition, his choice of engaged song titles such as Sanctuary Cities 

and Living Earth confirms his political concerns, while the group 

lineup is unconventional. Besides drummer Kate Gentile and bassist 

Nick Dunston, it includes guitarist Jeff Parker, cellist Tomeka Reid 

plus Canada’s Anna Webber moving among alto and bass flutes and 

tenor saxophone. Engaged, not agit-prop though, challenges are 

expressed in sound. Orchestral, with a bass flute introduction for 

instance, In It Together splinters from anthemic to atonal due to trumpet gusts, swift cello 

string jerks and barbed guitar frails. One Sun, A Million Rays mates an exemplar of brass 

tongue jujitsu and valve hide-and-seek timbres propelled by guest trumpeter Dave Adewumi, 

with parade ground-like drumming and a chromatic counter line from the flutist. Meanwhile 

Living Earth could be a sleigh-ride melody reimagined by a Dixieland combo, although 

Webber’s tough tenor intensity, Parker’s colourful finger-picking and Douglas’ open horn 

work, backed by vamps from Adewumi and another trumpet guest, Riley Mulherkar, confirm 

its contemporary stance. This substantiates another Douglas concept. Like a concerned 

progressive who wishes society to evolve not rupture, his compositions cannily advance new 

textures that build on established ones. Faith Alliance and Free Libraries, Engage’s most 

advanced tracks, are instances of this. Faith Alliance slides Parker’s Jimi Hendrix-like 

squealing flanges and razor-sharp distortions within a layered horn vamp, culminating in a 

challenge from string pressure to brass expansion. Free Libraries could be termed roots music 

with the cello’s string swelling and the guitar’s blues licks never disrupting the harmonized 

horn part that, with gentling grace notes, instills concluding calm. 

Touching on roots music by inference is Dropping Stuff and other 

Folk Songs (Relative Pitch RPR 1094 relativepitchrecords.com) but 

the eight tracks don’t resemble any extant folk music. Instead they 

reflect the sounds made by instruments stretched to their technical 

limits during improvisations created by an unconventional line-up of 

Amsterdam-based violist Ig Henneman and flutist Anne La Berge 

plus American trumpeter Jaimie Branch. There are a few instances of 


the extroverted trumpeter producing bugle call-like vamps, ferocious 

yelps and an entire section on the concluding title track where her 

inner Bubber Miley is revealed via plunger mute snarls. But Branch 

generally mutes her output to match the others’ horizontal pitches. 

Meanwhile La Berge often concentrates on affiliating peeping and 

keening trills as Henneman’s spiccato string slices alternate between 

disruptive angled pings and flowing ostinato pulses. Although enough 

echoes within the trumpet’s body tube, narrow flute whines and 

dissected string drags are featured, a perverse lyricism sometimes 

peeks through. Branch’s arching brassiness is effective in meeting the 

pseudo-romanticism of Henneman’s sluicing buzzes on Gigging, 

while unexpected, though quickly cut off, trio elation characterizes 

Canal Rounds. However the defining track is the extended When bells 

stop ringing. Melding the violist’s sul ponticello swells with the trumpeter’s 

propelling triplets and smears at Flight of the Bumblebee 

speeds, flute peeps create the connective continuum. Finally harmonized 

whistles from the horn players match Henneman’s protracted 

string sawing for a downshifting conclusion. 

Also in the realm of close-knit tripartite 

improvisation, but intensified with 

programming, is Hangkerum (Clean 

Feed CF 533 CD cleanfeedrecords.com) 

involving trumpeter Tom Arthurs and electronic 

musician Isambard Khroustaliov 

both from the UK and Swiss percussionist 

Julian Sartorius. Vibrant and balanced, the 

disc consists of five tracks, which purposely 

reveal the distinct aspects of each instrument through separation and 

interaction until the trio’s parallel strategies cinch. Beginning with 

rounded trumpet notes, Arthurs’ pitches are held and framed by 

galloping pulsations from Khroustaliov’s electronics and Sartorius’ 

intermittent beats until the brass player’s muted lyricism, highlighted 

with note flurries, meets knob-twisting oscillations and sharp, 

unexpected peeps. By the time Herrgöttli is elaborated, midpoint 

digression has Arthurs timbre-stretching to piccolo trumpet-like 

pitches or fluttering growls, but without weakening the narrative 

thread which was advanced at the outset. While the electronic 

undulating continues in building tension, there’s a sudden realization 

that live processing has created a secondary brass line, whizzing 

alongside the first. Timed chimes echoes plus power ratamacues from 

the percussionist concentrate the textures of the subsequent Duch 

even further, until halfway through a nuanced melodic line from the 

trumpeter unexpectedly floats over the sound miasma, leading to 

Reréaux, the extended finale. Picking up on each of the sound properties 

propelled by the trio members, the piece is buzzy, bellicose 

and breezy in equal measures. While the programmer’s synthesized 

outer-space-like whooshes and juddering oscillations are audible, so 

are the drummer’s doorbell-like tolling, churning bass drum pumps 

and ascending cymbal pings. Yet as much as the percussion and electronics 

vibrate irregularly beside him, Arthurs not only excavates the 

nooks and crannies of his horn for unusual textures, but uses muted 

puffs to confirm the alluring beauty of the suite. 

Stripped down even further in concept and 

execution is the duo of French bassist Benoit 

Cancoin and German trumpeter Birgit 

Ulher, who uses a radio, speakers and 

objects to further splinter her brass sound 

during Electric Green (Blumlein edition 

blumlein.net). Interestingly enough, despite 

the obvious differences between their 

instruments there are points at which the 

bassist’s arco string sweeps and the trumpeter’s sounding of wide 

projected textures make differentiation nearly impossible. Most of the 

time though, Cancoin propels his low-pitched stops and rubs to create 

an ongoing continuum, while Ulher manipulates her horn and 

add-ons to source unique vibrations. One second she can output firedrill-like 

elevated pitches, while on the next inflate balloon-like blows 

from deep inside her horn or latterly produce gentle flute-like tones. 

In fact, the extended Seladon is one of the date’s most low-key tracks 

with brief sniffs and watery gurgles from the trumpet’s innards 

brushing up against the bassist’s string stretching and wood banging 

until her aviary bleats and his col legno string slaps move their strategies 

closer. Establishing individual real estate they can be discordant, 

as on Aureolin, contrasting jet-plane-like brass propulsion and 

powerful purported string shredding from the bassist. But overall the 

aim is to stretch expected timbres in the course of affiliation. By the 

brief, final Signal Blue, they establish an unshakable rapport so that 

the trumpeter’s note burbling and mouthpiece French kisses snugly 

align beside the closest Cancoin comes to pumping out a swing beat 

on the date. 

Something completely different is Possible 

Worlds (SOFA 575 sofamusic.no), a single 

track, 66-minute program of mesmerizing 

avant-ambient sound by Norwegian duo 

Pip. Consisting of Torstein Lavik Larsen 

on trumpet, sampler and synthesizer plus 

Fredrik Rasten who plays fretless electric 

and acoustic guitars, chimes and electronics 

in varied combinations, here the brass is used sparingly to 

infuse accents onto constantly repeated microtonal hooks propelled 

by Rasten’s slurred fingering. Subtly, the sequences gradually intensify 

as the track progresses while synthesized granular motifs including 

brass vibrations and organ-like sweeps inflate and take up more aural 

space. A defining diversion arrives at the three-quarter mark as the 

finger-picked guitar pulse is strengthened and turns upwards to meet 

synthesizer drones and percussive slaps. Meanwhile, inside horn 

growls from Larsen wash over the interaction. After fuzz tones, chime 

echoes and dripping water-like sound samples are introduced into the 

mix, the continuous guitar strums are reintroduced to slide through 

harsher drones and bond with the exposition. 

Each of these trumpeters chose to blow his or her horn in a unique 

fashion and all the strategies are equally valid. 

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Old Wine, New Bottles 

Fine Old Recordings Re-Released 

BRUCE SURTEES 

How fondly remembered are Leonard 

Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts with 

the New York Philharmonic as seen on 

CBS Sunday afternoons from 1958 to 1972 

and held in the new Philharmonic Hall, 

Lincoln Center. Years later the videos were 

first issued by Sony on VHS but those are 

long gone. We now have some of them on 

a four Blu-ray video disc set from Cmajor 

as Volume Two of these concerts (Unitel 

Edition 800504 naxosdirect.com). 

For these readers who may not be aware of these still-memorable 

concerts, the intention was to introduce younger people, and 

anyone else, and help them appreciate and hopefully understand classical 

music, new and old. Bernstein explained in easily understood 

language, with examples conducting the orchestra, what the music is 

all about and what the composer intended. Bernstein himself wrote all 

his scripts, over which he devoted enormous time and care. What we 

see and hear appears completely spontaneous, sharing information 

and never talking down to his audience. 

In this collection there are 14 programs on subjects of interest upon 

which he elaborates and illustrates, each of which turn out to hold 

our attention even when presenting familiar works. For instance, Two 

Ballet Birds, aired on September 14, 1969, tells us that there are basically 

two kinds of ballet, one that tells a story and the other which does 

not. Les Sylphides is a perfect example of the latter. Bernstein illustrates 

a combination of both with music from Tchaikovsky’s Swan 

Lake. All very beautiful Romantic music, but with an abundance of 

simply abstract dancing for our pleasure, choreographed to show what 

the dancers can do and not to advance the story. On the other hand, 

in Stravinsky’s thrilling ballet, The Firebird, what is unfolding on the 

stage is precisely described and reinforced by the orchestra in the pit. 

Bernstein treats the audience in the hall with Stravinsky’s own suite 

from the ballet. 

The set includes a tribute to Shostakovich on the great composer’s 

60th birthday, January 5, 1966, including a very interesting analysis 

and complete performance of the compact Symphony No.9. There 

is also a tribute to Sibelius with a discussion and performance of 

Finlandia on the composer’s 100th anniversary, February 19, 1965. I 

found What is a Mode? most fascinating and somewhat of a revelation 

concerning popular music of the time, including an appreciation 

of the Beatles. The last example in this concert illustrating modes 

is a smashing performance of Debussy’s Fêtes. In Berlioz Takes a Trip, 

we are treated to an examination of the idée fixe in the Symphonie 

fantastique all with the aid of the Philharmonic. Bernstein is very 

positive about the “flawed masterpiece” Fidelio, the opera that 

Beethoven wrote and rewrote. He explains the ins and outs of the 

whole opera with the plot and sub-plots which attract critical attention. 

In truth, according to Bernstein, the blame lies with the author 

who saddled the composer with a problematic libretto. Bernstein 

introduced four young voices to perform some “charming excerpts.” 

The last of the 14 individual programs in this set is the Aaron 

Copland Birthday Party, celebrating his 60th on the evening of 

February 12, 1961, which ended with Copland conducting his wellknown 

El Salón México. But there is more, much more! Plus, there are 

three episodes of “Young Performers” introducing, among so many of 

outstanding talents, pianist André Watts, violinist James Oliver 

Buswell IV and the 30-year-old Claudio Abbado. This is a unique, 

engaging collection; a pleasure to watch and listen to the articulate 

Lenny talk about music and music-making. Volume Three on Blu-ray 

has been announced and is imminent. 

Hans Rosbaud was one of the few great 

conductors of his time who rarely 

performed beyond Germany, Switzerland 

and France. Undoubtedly, he would have 

been internationally recognized had he been 

active in the outside world. However, his 

name was somewhat familiar as the 

conductor in many records by Wilhelm 

Backhaus, Walter Gieseking, Pierre Fournier 

and various singers. DG issued their complete catalogue of Rosbaud 

recordings in 2004 but it is on SWR Classic CDs that he is now best 

represented. In addition to single CDs they have numerous composerdedicated 

sets: Bruckner, Haydn, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Brahms, 

Chopin and now a Schumann collection (SWR19085CD, 3 CDs naxos. 

com). Disc One has the First and Fourth Symphonies and an overture 

to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Op.128. Disc two has the Cello 

Concerto, Op.129 with Pierre Fournier and the Violin Concerto, 

WoO23 with Henryk Szeryng. The Third CD finds Annie Fischer 

playing the Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op.54. Schumann, as some 

readers may know by now, is my most cherished composer and I am 

critical of any performer, live or recorded, who skews the score by 

straying too far from what is written. Here are perfectly balanced 

performances, meticulously prepared but not for a moment sounding 

over-rehearsed or uninspired. Were it not that I have a copy, I would 

want this set. 

On the other hand, Austrian conductor Karl 

Böhm (1894-1981) was recognized across the 

music world, emerging, in the 1930s with 

his superb recordings from Dresden with 

the then Saxon State Orchestra. After WWII 

he was a major maestro worldwide until his 

death in 1981. From the late 1930s on just 

about any station in the world that played 

any classical music even for only a few hours 

on the weekend, most probably would have 

a 78 rpm record or two of light classics by the Saxon State Orchestra. 

Conducted by Böhm, a part of their recorded repertoire consisted of 

overtures and entertaining concert pieces, the genre of music that Sir 

Thomas Beecham would refer to as “lollypops.” Their 78s were sold in 

stores around the world. 

Today it is interesting to see some of the repertoire that did so well for 

Electrola, HMV, et al. being reissued by Profil as Edition Staatskapelle 

Dresden, Vol. 43: Karl Böhm (PH18035, 2 CDs naxosdirect.com). The 

performances are absolutely first rate and the recordings full bodied 

and dynamic. Do they have the same attraction all these years later? 

Here is the list of just the overtures: Die Fledermaus, Abduction from 

the Seraglio, Marriage of Figaro, Egmont, Leonore 3, Der Freischütz, 

Oberon and The Bartered Bride. That’s only CD1 of two. More overtures 

to follow plus the Rákóczy March, the Emperor Waltz, Eine Kleine 

Nachtmusik, Capriccio Italien, and more to a total of 24 complete little 

showpieces. Two and a half hours of “never-a-dull-moment.” A lot of 

contagious energy here. 


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continued from page 21 

“(Music) is a peaceful escape from the world 

and the frustrations…the blindness creates” 

process – it can take an hour to go through just seven bars. As well, 

the loss of his once dazzling sight-reading skills precludes him from 

jamming with others unless he’s already memorized the music. “I 

can’t just get together with an oboist and play for fun,” says Arnowitt. 

Losing vision later in life is more challenging than being born blind, 

says Di Nino. As your sight gradually diminishes, you realize how 

much you rely on that faculty just to get around, and, in its absence, 

you might be limited in what you used to be able to accomplish. “You 

can have the feeling…(that the) world is literally closing in,” she says. 

Loss of sight can impact your social life as well. People usually gravitate 

to communities of friends who share similar capacities, so the shift 

into blindness can make the person feel out of place amongst their old 

networks. It can also shake up romantic relationships, says Di Nino. 

Music therapy can be healing in these situations. As a nonverbal 

medium, it helps clients process their grief before they’re able to 

attach words to their feelings. Later, when their mobility has been 

restored, clients can turn to songs to help them forge connections and 

keep loneliness at bay. “Music is a social act to be shared,” she says. 

Music therapy can also help newly blind clients augment their 

remaining sensory capacities and regain their functional independence. 

Neurologic music therapist John Hartman, from the Milwaukee 

Center for Independence in Wisconsin, uses musical techniques to 

boost auditory discrimination. In one exercise, clients try to emulate 

the pace and volume of the therapist’s playing, reproducing these on 

their own instruments. In another lesson, they concentrate on the 

location of sounds, turning their heads towards notes issuing from 

instruments spread out in the room. 

Hartman also uses music to activate newly blind clients fearful of 

flailing around in the dark. Rhythm engages the brain’s motor area, 

rousing people into motion. Hartman plays clients well-known action 

songs like Row, row, row your boat, which stimulate movements in 

response to the musical cues. As clients begin to explore their surroundings 

in the safety of familiar pieces, their ability to navigate improves. 

Arnowitt hasn’t needed formal music therapy to compensate for 

his perceptual loss, since he’s accomplished this naturally. Though the 

pianist’s hearing hasn’t changed since he lost his vision, (he already 

had a highly trained ear by that time), he’s become better at orienting 

himself in the environment. Arnowitt maintains the same organization 

of objects in every room, so when he looks for something, his 

hand always moves to the same spot. He believes this emphasis on 

spatial memory has impacted his piano playing. “The blindness might 

have caused me to be more aware of the distances between things, …so 

maybe I’m able to play greater jumps…on the piano,” he says. 

Arnowitt’s tactile ability has also grown since he lost his vision. 

He attributes this development to his increased reliance on the sense 

to identify commonly used items like toothpaste, scissors, or a hairbrush. 

This experience has, in turn, refined this dimension of perception. 

(That)…sensitivity in the fingertips…would make (your) piano 

touch a little bit better,” says Arnowitt. 

Music has also helped Arnowitt come to terms with the difficulties 

issuing from his disability. “(Music) is a peaceful escape from the 

world and the frustrations…the blindness creates,” he says. His years of 

solo practice have also made him comfortable spending long hours by 

himself. He rarely feels alone when he’s at the piano, since the instrument 

itself is a companion. So are the composers. “You have a connection 

to them even though you didn’t live (during) their time,” he says. 

Back at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, “Evening in the 

Key of B” is ending. Arnowitt stands and bows. The theatre explodes 

with applause and cries of “Whoo, whoo.” 

McCleary is relaxed after the show, her seriousness giving way to 

a smile as she talks to her parents. “It was a fantastic evening,” says 

her father. De Val agrees. “Working with Susanna is a real trip for me… 

she’s so professional, so musical,” she says. “It’s a bit of a high.” 

Arnowitt too is surrounded by fans. These moments of communion 

insulate him from the loneliness that can trouble others with visual 

impairment. “I lead an unusual life compared to typical blind people… 

every time I perform, I’m surrounded by people afterwards who want 

to talk to me and shower me with compliments,” he says. 

Every once in a while, spectators go deeper. One time a woman credited 

his concert with helping her mourn a death. Times like these 

confirm Arnowitt’s own conviction of music’s transformative potential. 

“You like to think that making music is more than entertainment,” 

says Arnowitt. “When you know someone in the audience had a deeper 

experience, it gives myself, as a performer, a special satisfaction.” 

Vivien Fellegi is a former family physician now working as a 

freelance medical journalist. 

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Bonnell’s 

bug 

Inviting Criticism 

ROBERT HARRIS 

“ 

There is an aspect to cultural work – or in our 

case, artistic ceremony – which does not align 

with current colonial reviewing practices. In order 

to encourage a deeper discussion of the work, we are 

inviting critiques or thoughts from IBPOC folks only. 

There is a specific lens that white settlers view cultural 

work through and at this time, we’re just not interested 

in bolstering that view, but rather the thoughts and 

views of fellow marginalized voices and in particular 

Indigenous women.” —Yolanda Bonnell 

Actor and playwright Yolanda Bonnell created quite a stir in 

Toronto arts circles in mid-February when she made the above 

statement, widely interpreted as a request that only Indigenous, 

black or other persons of colour be sent to review her show at 

Theatre Passe Muraille, bug. The play is a searing look at indigeneity 

and addiction, among other things, and Bonnell suggested 

that she felt, based on some previous experience, that critics from 

the dominant cultural group in society would be more likely to 

misrepresent her work in their reviews. She is not alone in this 

idea – many other Indigenous artists have been thinking along 

the same lines for some time. Bonnell also noted what she called 

the ceremonial aspects of bug, its role as a unifying rite for people 

who have suffered similar traumas to her own, a production 

style she did not feel jibed with the traditional expectations of a 

conventional review. 

I’ve cycled through a surprising range of personal responses to 

Bonnell’s request – surprising to me, that is. And I’d like to share 

my thought processes about it, as a sort of confession of confusion 

around the deeply problematic issue of art and politics in our 

present age. 

When I first read about Bonnell’s statement, I wasn’t especially 

alarmed. A bit surprised, but not alarmed. Reviewers have 

an enormous amount of power over artists and their productions, 

and in setting the limits of discourse around a work of art. A 

review is inherently an exercise of power. Why wouldn’t artists 

try to influence the exercise of that power, for whatever motivation? 

It’s true that the power of the mainstream review, in an era 

of disappearing arts sections in North American newspapers and 

a plethora of blogged, Instagrammed and Facebooked responses to 

arts events, has never been weaker. But it’s still there. Why not try 

to enjoin it? I could live with that. 

Or so I thought. 

But then I realized, or was honest enough to admit to myself, 

that I am one of the people Bonnell was targeting in her request. 

(And it was a request, not a demand, it’s important to note.) I’m 

a mainstream critic who is neither Indigenous, black or a person 

of colour. In effect, therefore, Bonnell was telling me that she 

didn’t want me to review her show, because she didn’t think I 

could do so responsibly. And that hurt me, and made me angry. 

Surprisingly so. 

Why, I wondered? At first, I said to myself, this is offensive: I’m 

a professional reviewer – art is art, even ceremonial art, and I’ve 

been trained to separate out my personal biases from my professional 

opinion of it, and I resent the implication that I cannot – a 

nice argument, except that we now understand, or should, that this 

notion of a politically neutral “art” is a form of bias all of its own – 

that art is inherently political. Especially within classical music, my 

usual critical stamping grounds, this dispute between art as cultural 

meaning and art as pure form has been fought for decades, mainly 

in the academy, around discussions about the new, politically 

conscious musicology. And the new musicology has won, by and 

large. And rightly so. My taking umbrage at being accused of potential 

professional critical incompetence was a bit disingenuous. 

Then, I surprised myself even more by turning petulant. “I know 

several people of colour” I protested to an absent Yolanda Bonnell, 

“who would be considerably less sympathetic to bug than I 

would be. Why do you assume that my sympathies wouldn’t 

be with you?” In asking the question, I had to laugh at myself. 

Because I full well knew the answer, like it or not. The answer is 

that Indigenous people have been watching our “settler colonial” 

behaviour with great care in this country for the past 400 years. 

We haven’t acquitted ourselves well in the past; there’s no reason 

to think we will now. I don’t like that answer very much – no one 

likes to be stereotyped – but it’s hard to argue with it, if I’m being 

honest. So the fact that I was not being sought out for my views 

can’t really be the root of my anger either. 

March 2020 thewholenote.com

Here, I confess, is what I think is the real reason for my personal 

reaction. I think, in the end, I realized that I couldn’t bear to 

absorb, in even the mildest possible dose, this tiny, tiny check on 

my autonomy – absurdly tiny – having to deal with the suggestion 

that I wasn’t welcome to review a work of theatre. It was infuriating 

to me. And I was a bit ashamed to realize that. More than 

a bit ashamed. I realized that privilege, and the assumption of 

privilege takes many forms, and is very insidious. It’s not just 

about the imposition of an inherited cultural framework – it’s 

about the assumption that everything in my world should be open 

to me, that I had the right to be and go anywhere I choose. To 

understand that there are things that aren’t for me, or about me, 

was a lesson it was about time I learned. 

So, I can understand and fully endorse Bonnell’s initiative to 

create a supportive mental and emotional infrastructure for works 

of art that are harrowing, and vulnerable, and open to being 

misunderstood. But that’s not quite the end of the story for me. 

Because, as much as I can sympathize with the reasoning behind 

Bonnell’s statement, I worry about it becoming the default position 

in the relationship of mainstream audiences and non-mainstream 

art, or to put it more baldly, (perhaps too much so), the 

relationship between the audience of the oppressors and the art 

of the oppressed. Art is a vehicle for celebrating many aspects of 

humanity: from forming community among people of like experience 

(one of the stated goals of bug), to allowing different points 

of view a vehicle for expression, to providing forms of entertainment. 

Above all, art is primarily a vehicle for the liberation of the 

imagination – the imagination not just of the artists making the 

art, but the imaginative landscape of the audiences absorbing it, 

reflecting upon it, eventually critically reviewing it. If Bonnell’s 

statement (and others like it) are simply making a plea for, and 

an argument about, the expansion of the cultural diversity of arts 

reviewers, I, for one, am not going to argue with her. 

But there is another point at play here as well, I think. Art is 

at its most valuable in its ability to disturb preconceived notions, 

to expand the emotional and imaginative range of people stuck 

in a depressing sameness of mental and cultural viewpoints, to 

jiggle and jostle and storm the bastions of hatred and prejudice 

and limits – limits of empathy, limits of understanding. That is 

the most important work we have for ourselves these days in our 

complex, multivalent society. And it is work that art is uniquely 

positioned to do. 

It might be unfair to impose on Yolanda Bonnell the expectation, 

even the demand, that bug radically alter the perception of 

people who might otherwise be ignorant of, and unintentionally 

Performer / playwright Yolanda Bonnell in a scene 

from bug, Luminato Festival June 2018. 

diffident about, the circumstances that gave rise to her art. In 

fact, she has done a great deal of that work already by simply 

making her statement and taking the stand she did, to considerable 

personal hostility, as she has reported. Eventually, we need 

to find a way to create a landscape of equivalence and equality, of 

righteousness, to use a very old-fashioned word, in our society. 

Exclusion cannot be a permanent vehicle to get to that hoped-for 

state. But Bonnell and her creative team, in a very courageous way, 

have helped all of us begin to understand what exclusion is, the 

many levels on which it operates, and the hurt it occasions. For 

that, we should give her sincere thanks. 

Robert Harris is a writer and broadcaster on music in all its forms. 

He is the former classical music critic of the Globe and Mail and the 

author of the Stratford Lectures and Song of a Nation: The Untold 

Story of O Canada. 

GILAD COHEN 

Considering 

Matthew Shepard 

The true story of an ordinary boy: an oratorio 

passion honouring Matt’s life, death and legacy 

Considering Matthew Shepard, 

by Craig Hella Johnson 

Pax Christi Chorale featuring Megan Miceli & Simone McIntosh, 

sopranos; Krisztina Szabó, mezzo-soprano; Lawrence Wiliford, tenor; 

Phillip Addis, baritone; and the Toronto Mozart Players 

SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2020, 3:00 P.M. 

George Weston Recital Hall, Meridian Arts 

Centre (formerly Toronto Centre for the Arts) 

5040 Yonge Street 

BUY TICKETS ONLINE AT 

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thewholenote.com March 2020

Passions of the Soul 

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online at tafelmusik.org. 

Mozart Party 

Masumi Nagasawa harp soloist 

Emi Ferguson flute soloist 

Passions of the Soul 

Cornetto Freestyle 

Doron Sherwin guest director and 

cornetto soloist 

Bach Christmas Oratorio 

Bach’s Friends & Rivals 

Alfredo Bernardini director 

Beethoven Symphony no. 4 

Kristian Bezuidenhout director and 

fortepiano soloist 

Reflections of Mary 

Birth of a Symphony 

Bach Brandenburg Concertos 

Vivaldi’s Choral Colours 

Rinaldo Alessandrini guest director and 

organ soloist 

Krisztina Szabó mezzo-soprano

Volume 25 Issue 6 - March 2020

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