Volume 21 Issue 4 - December 2015/January 2016

PRICELESS! 

Vol 21 No 4 

DECEMBER 1 2015 - FEBRUARY 7 2016 

LISTINGS | FEATURES | RECORD REVIEWS 

Old 

Is New 

Timeless Handel 

Vintage Hamelin 

Vinyl Renaissance 

Against the Grain’s 

Meher Pavri & 

Joshua Wales

The Holidays at 

Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir 

SELLINNG 

OUT 

QUICKLY! 

MESSIAH at 

MESSIAH Toronto’s 

KOERNER HALL 

at 

Hallelujah 

KOERNER HALL 

Event! 

IVARS TAURINS JOANNE LUNN MARY-ELLEN NESI RUFUS MÜLLER NATHANIEL 

DIRECTOR SOPRANO MEZZO-SOPRANO TENOR WATSON 

BARITONE 

HANDEL MESSIAH 

Dec 16–19 @ 7:30pm 

KOERNER HALL AT THE TELUS CENTRE (KH) 

SING-ALONG MESSIAH 

Dec 20 @ 2pm MASSEY HALL (MH) 

COMPLETE THE MESSIAH EXPERIENCE! 

Handel Messiah 2CD, Best of Messiah CD, 

and Sing-Along Messiah DVD 

Buy your copies at the concert or 

tafelmusik.org/Shop 

INSPIRING HARMONY 

#tafelmusik 

Handel Messiah 

Best of Messiah 

MESSIAH CONCERTS SPONSOR & 

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR 

Sing-Along Messiah 

KH: 416.408.0208 | MH: 416.872.4255 | tafelmusik.org

BEETHOVEN 

SYMPHONY 

9th 

BRUNO WEIL RUBY HUGHES MARY-ELLEN NESI COLIN BALZER SIMON TISCHLER 

CONDUCTOR SOPRANO MEZZO-SOPRANO TENOR BARITONE 

TAFELMUSIK BAROQUE 

ORCHESTRA AND CHAMBER CHOIR 

Feb 4-7, 2016 | Koerner Hall (KH) 

Beethoven’s remarkable final symphony is a celebration of the 

human spirit culminating in the legendary and exhilarating “Ode to Joy.” 

This Tafelmusik presentation heralds the return of German 

conductor and long-term friend, Bruno Weil. 

The programme also features our Chamber Choir in Rheinberger’s 

Abendlied, Brahms’ Warum ist das Licht gegeben, and a NEW 

Tafelmusik choral commission, directed by Ivars Taurins. 

In the New Year 

VIVALDI 

L’ESTRO 

ARMONICO 

Jan 20-24, 2016 

Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 

Jeanne Lamon Hall (TSP) 

Vivaldi’s concert collection L’estro armonico (Harmonic fancy) took 

18th-century Europe by storm: works of astonishing creativity and 

energy, they excited musicians, composers, and audiences alike. 

Romanian violinist Mira Glodeanu makes her Tafelmusik debut 

as guest director and soloist in a programme that features several 

of Vivaldi’s groundbreaking concertos, as well as works inspired 

by Vivaldi’s “fancy,” including Giovanni Antonio Guido’s 

Scherzi armonici, depicting the four seasons. 

KH: 416.408.0208 | TSP: 416.964.6337 | tafelmusik.org

New Year’s Eve • 7:00 pm 

Roy Thomson Hall 

Selections from 

La traviata 

Carmen 

Tosca 

Così fan tutte 

La bohème 

Turandot 

and more 

OPERA CANADA SYMPHONY | OPERA CANADA CHORUS 

Marco Guidarini, conductor (Italy) 

Karina Gauvin 

soprano 

(Canada) 

Krisztina Szabó 

mezzo soprano 

(Canada) 

Stefano La Colla 

tenor 

(Italy) 

Lucio Gallo 

baritone 

(Italy) 

Celebrate with Strauss Waltzes and Operetta Excerpts, 

featuring European Singers, Dancers and Full Orchestra! 

Strauss Symphony of Canada 

Imre Kollár, conductor (Budapest) 

Katarzyna Dondalska, soprano (Berlin–Warsaw) 

Franz Gürtelschmied, tenor (Vienna) 

Featuring dancers from Hungarian National Ballet & 

International Champion Ballroom Dancers 

January 1, 2016 at 2:30 pm 


TICKETS: 416.872.4255 

roythomson.com 

Co-produced by: 

Sponsored by: 

Artists and programme subject to change

Volume 21 No 4 | December 2015/January 2016 

FEATURES 

6. OPENER | On Earlids – The Absence Thereof | DAVID PERLMAN 

8. It’s A Keeper –Handel’s Messiah | HOWARD DYCK 

10. The Reason ‘Tis The Season | STEVE WALLACE 

14. “The Score Is Still My Ideal” | PAUL ENNIS 

28. A Living Legacy | Sir David Willcocks | LYDIA ADAMS 

65. WE ARE ALL MUSIC’S CHILDREN | Joel Ivany | MJ BUELL 

86. CBC RADIO TWO: THE GOLDEN YEARS | Ann Southam| DAVID JAEGER 

BEAT BY BEAT 

17. Jazz Stories | ORI DAGAN 

19. On Opera | CHRISTOPHER HOILE 

21. In with the New | WENDALYN BARTLEY 

23. Classical & Beyond | PAUL ENNIS 

26. World View | ANDREW TIMAR 

27. Art of Song | HANS DE GROOT 

29. Choral Scene | BRIAN CHANG 

27. Early Music | DAVID PODGORSKI 

59. Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz! | BOB BEN 

62. Bandstand | JACK MacQUARRIE 

ACD2 2715 

LISTINGS 

34. A | Concerts in the GTA 

54. B | Concerts Beyond the GTA 

57. C | Music Theatre 

58. D | In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz) 

58. E | The ETCeteras 

DISCOVERIES: RECORDINGS REVIEWED 

66. Editor’s Corner | DAVID OLDS 

69. Keyed In | ALEX BARAN 

71. Strings Attached | TERRY ROBBINS 

73. Vocal 

74. Classical & Beyond 

76. Modern & Contemporary 

78 Jazz & Improvised 

80. Pot Pourri 

82. Something in the Air | KEN WAXMAN 

83. Old Wine, New Bottles | BRUCE SURTEES 

MORE 

6. Contact Information & Deadlines 

7. Index of Advertisers 

64. Classified Ads 

The album 

ANDRÉ GAGNON BAROQUE 

revisits the classic 

Mes quatre saisons and 

Les Turluteries by 

Canadian pianist and composer 

André Gagnon, adding a new, 

baroque twist. 

With 

Jean-Willy Kunz 

HARPSICHORD 

Orchestre symphonique de la 

Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent 

Daniel Constantineau 

CONDUCTOR 

AVAILABLE IN HD AT 

ATMACLASSIQUE.COM 

MP3 

STUDIO 

QUALITY 

CD 

QUALITY 

Cover Photograph Courtesy of Against the Grain Theatre

FOR OPENERS | DAVID PERLMAN 

On Earlids –The Absence Thereof 

“Our ears are constantly on the alert” says the voice, as the camera 

cuts away from the sunstreaked interior of the dilapidated Ontario 

barn. “This adventure with Murray Schafer made me sharply aware 

that while we may have eyelids we have no earlids. The deaf alone 

know a world of total silence and isolation.” 

The voice belongs to Yehudi Menuhin (whose 100th birthday will 

be celebrated at Koerner Hall January 28), narrating one particular 

segment of The Quiver of Life, part one of the eight-part documentary 

series, The Music of Man, filmed and broadcast in the late 1970s. 

It is an episode that has stuck in my mind ever since I first saw it, in 

1978. In it, Schafer walks Menuhin through the fields and woods of 

Schafer’s farm, alternately talking and stopping to listen: 

“This is what I would call a hi-fi soundscape in which the signal to 

noise ratio is very favourable,” Schafer says. “There are very few noises 

here and therefore every sound that is around us can be heard at a 

great distance...The city by contrast is really a very low-fi soundscape 

– that is to say there are so many noises that it is very hard to determine 

what the signals are. It’s very confusing. Here...if we stand here 

we can hear sounds from all around us, at a very great distance.” 

A few moments further on, the two of them are seated at opposite 

ends of a rough-hewn seesaw, in the middle of the barn, providing 

the motive power for a giant sound sculpture created, Schafer says, 

expressly for Menuhin’s visit. Their mutual glee in that moment is 

unforgettable, their laughter inextricably interwoven with the endless 

complexities of tone and overtone generated by Schafer’s great mad 

sound machine. 

What had sent me scurrying off to YouTube to find The Quiver of 

Life was the coincidence of hearing the same “no earlids” phrase 

spoken twice, by two different people, on back-to-back days, Monday 

November 7 and Tuesday November 8. 

Schafer himself spoke the words on the Monday. On the Tuesday, 

they were spoken at the Palmerston Library Theatre, just before 

leading her audience out on a blindfolded “sound walk” in the rain, 

by Jessica Thompson whose resume describes her as an assistant 

professor in Hybrid Practice at the University of Waterloo, and whose 

passion is investigating “spatial and social conditions within urban 

environments through interactive art-works situated at the intersection 

of sound, performance and mobile technologies.” Thompson 

knew she was quoting Schafer and can doubtless trace in detail the 

connections (and disconnects) between her own work and his. 

The Monday event at Gallery 345 was a concert/gala in Schafer’s 

honour, hosted by New Music Concerts – a benefit to raise funds 

for the re-release by CentreDiscs of a 1978 recording of a Schafer 

opera called Loving/Toi completed in 1965. The Tuesday event at the 

Palmerston library was the third of four in a series of events called 

New Music 101, presented by the Toronto New Music Alliance (and 

hosted by me), designed to take new music into new places – in this 

case into the Toronto Public Library system. 

This particular little essay comes to no grand conclusions. But at 

this particular time of year where the low-fi din of piped so-called 

“seasonal music” makes most of us wish we had earlids, it’s worth 

thinking about the idea that the difference between sound and noise 

(the one being musical and the other not) resides as much in the 

freshness of the listening we bring to things, as in the things we listen 

to. We wish you in the new year an infinite capacity for delight. 

publisher@thewholenote.com 

The WholeNote 

VOLUME 21 NO 4| DECEMBER 1, 2015 – FEBRUARY 7, 2016 

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Publication Date 

Tuesday January 26 (Online) 

Thursday January 28 (Print) 

Volume 21 No 5 covers 

Febrary 1 to March 7, 2016 

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6 | December 1 2015 - February 7, 2016 thewholenote.com

Academy Concert Series 

51 

Acclarion 66 

Alexander Rapoport 47, 48 

Amadeus Choir 30, 44 

Analekta 66 

Aradia Ensemble 36 

ArtsMedia Projects 64 

Associates of the TSO 16 

ATMA 5 

ATMA Classique 68, 83 

Attila Glatz Concert 

Productions 4, 45, 46 

Aurora Cultural Centre 49, 

50 

Bach Children’s Chorus 40 

Bruce Lofgren 66 

Canadian Children’s Opera 

Company 61 

Canadian Opera Company 

49, 52, 88 

Cantemus Singers 37 

Cathedral Bluffs Symphony 

Orchestra 40, 53 

Christ Church Deer Park 

Jazz Vespers 59 

Church of the Holy Trinity 

35 

City of St. Catharines 54 

Claude Watson Secondary 

Arts Programme 25, 50 

Daniela Nardi 81 

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS 

Eglinton St. George’s United 

Church 42 

Ensemble Polaris 50 

Esprit Orchestra 22, 49 

Gallery 345/Adam Sherkin 

34 

Horizon Tax 64 

I Furiosi 46 

Junction Trio 23 

Kindred Spirits Orchestra 

41, 53 

Li Delun Music Foundation 

46 

Living Arts Centre, Miss. 26 

Liz Parker 64 

Long & McQuade 15 

Madeleine Shapiro 70 

MasterPerforming 64 

Mississauga Symphony 44 

Mooredale Concerts 41, 48 

Music at Metropolitan 35, 

37, 46 

Music at St. Andrew’s 24 

Music Toronto 9, 39, 46, 47, 

48, 52 

Musicians in Ordinary 38, 

45 

Musikay 44 

Naxos 68, 70, 81 

New Horizons Bands 63 

New Music Concerts 38 

New Music Concerts / Music 

Toronto 17 

No Strings Theatre 45 

Ontario Philharmonic 13, 

50 

Orpheus Choir 31, 42 

Pasquale Bros. 64 

Pax Christi Chorale 12, 29, 

38 

Peggy Baker Dance Projects 

18 

Peterborough Singers 55 

Remenyi House of Music 17 

Royal Conservatory 11, 50, 

51 

Sacred Harp Singing 62 

Sine Nomine 43 

Soundstreams 21 

St. Anne’s Music & Drama 

Society 51 

St. James’ Cathedral 32, 36 

St. Jude’s Celebration of the 

Arts 51 

St. Michael’s Choir School 

36 

St. Philip’s Jazz Vespers 12, 

59 

Steinway Piano Gallery 15 

Suzanne Yeo 47 

Syrinx Concerts 20, 23, 37, 47 

Tafelmusik 2, 3, 35, 43, 45, 48, 

52 

Talisker Players 47 

Tapestry Opera 53 

That Choir 42 

Toronto Chamber Choir 40 

Toronto Children’s Chorus 

44 

Toronto Choral Society 43 

Toronto Consort 7, 33, 39, 

53 

Toronto Masque Theatre 

43, 44 

Toronto Operetta Theatre 

19 

Toronto Symphony 43, 49, 

50, 53, 85, 87 

U of T Faculty of Music 13, 

49 

Universal 70, 81, 83 

Univox/Florivox choirs 39 

Village Voices 41 

Voca Chorus 40 

Voicebox: Opera in Concert 

20 

Volcano Theatre 22 

Western U, Don Wright Fac 

Mus 56 

William Aide 68 

Wychwood Clarinet Choir 

43 

Yorkminster Park Baptist 

Church 37, 42 

DON’T 

EVER 

STOP 

MUSIC 

IS FOR 

BLUE 

PAGES 

LIFE 

The Blue 

Pages 

The Canary 

Pages 

The Green 

Pages Guide 

To Summer 

Music 

Musical guides 

online, all the time 

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thewholenote.com December 1 2015 - February 7, 2016 | 7

Handel’s Messiah: 

It Looks Like We 

Have A Keeper! 

HOWARD DYCK 

Relief of the Prisoners in several Gaols, and for the 

Support of Mercer’s Hospital in Stephen’s-street, and of the 

“For 

Charitable Infirmary on the Inns Quay, on Monday the 12th 

of April, will be performed at the Musick Hall on Fishamble-street, 

Mr. Handel’s new Grand Oratorio call’d the MESSIAH, in which the 

Gentlemen of the Choirs of both Cathedrals will assist, with some 

Concertos on the Organ, by Mr. Handel.” 

Thus ran the advertisement (The Dublin Journal, 23-27 March 1742) 

for the first performances of what came to be the most beloved piece 

of music in England and, eventually, Canada. Rehearsals, each of them 

reviewed in the papers, attracted overflow crowds, and the opening 

performance was even pushed back a day to allow an extra public 

rehearsal. In order to seat as many listeners as possible, the event 

organizers requested that the ladies dispense with their hooped skirts 

and the gentlemen were enjoined to leave their swords at home. 

From the first, audiences and critics were charmed: 

“On Tuesday last (13 April) Mr. Handel’s Sacred Grand Oratorio, 

The Messiah, was performed at the New Musick-Hall in Fishamble 

Street, the best Judges allowed it to be the most finished piece of 

Musick. Words are wanting to express the exquisite Delight it afforded 

to the admiring, crowded Audience. The Sublime, the Grand, and the 

Tender, adapted to the most elevated, majestick and moving Words, 

conspired to transport and charm the ravished Heart and Ear.” 

In the intervening 273 years, little has changed: Messiah continues 

to work its charms on thousands of music lovers, in Canada and in 

many countries around the world. 

Although Handel’s Dublin performing forces were exceedingly 

modest in size, it wasn’t long until enormous choirs and orchestras 

took on this remarkable work. Of its evolution into a lumbering 

warhorse, the most perspicacious critic was surely George Bernard 

Shaw. In a 1913 magazine article he argued his case: 

“Handel is not a mere composer in England: he is an institution. 

What is more, he is a sacred institution. When his Messiah 

is performed, the audience stands up, as if in church, while the 

Hallelujah chorus is being sung…Every three years there is a Handel 

Festival, at which his oratorios are performed by four thousand 

executants from all the choirs in England. The effect is horrible; and 

everybody declares it sublime.” 

Happily, those days of unwarranted excess are largely behind us. 

Nowadays, especially during the month of December – strange thing, 

that, given that Handel intended Messiah to be performed during 

the Easter season – it is possible to hear a great number of performances, 

some with very economical forces, others with large choirs and 

orchestras, albeit mostly displaying the transparency and agility we 

have come to expect. 

This year, once again, WholeNote readers will have ample opportunity 

to hear Handel’s iconic masterpiece. A quick perusal of GTA and 

southwestern Ontario listings yielded about 30 different productions, 

many of them offering multiple performances. In Toronto, you can 

hear historically informed performances by Tafelmusik; Against the 

Grain’s staged version has been generating a lot of attention recently; 

and the venerable Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Toronto Symphony 

Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis will do a series of performances 

at Roy Thomson Hall. Indeed, the TMC/TSO reading will be recorded 

for commercial release by Chandos. Incidentally, the last time TMC/ 

TSO recorded it was at Kitchener’s Centre in the Square back in 1986. 

During one particularly fraught session, soprano Kathleen Battle 

stormed out of the hall, taking refuge in her hotel room. It took all of 

Andrew’s charm and seductive wiles to persuade the diva to return 

and complete the session. If, during this year’s performances, you see 

the maestro crossing his fingers, you’ll know why! 

My own experience of conducting Messiah goes back half a century. 

Before that, aged 10 or 11, I first heard it performed live in a small 

town in Manitoba and I thought it was the most beautiful thing I 

had ever heard. Mind you, I was quite familiar with the music even 

then. The annual live CBC broadcast from Massey Hall with Sir Ernest 

MacMillan conducting was de rigueur listening in our farmhouse. 

And most years, our local church choir would attempt the Hallelujah 

Chorus. The best part was waiting to see which overwrought tenor 

or bass would come in early during the big general pause close to the 

end! We were rarely disappointed. 

Messiah holds great personal significance for me. My very first 

date with the beautiful young woman who would later become my 

wife was a performance of Messiah. We were both ushers at the Civic 

Auditorium in Winnipeg, and during the performance we sat on the 

steps in the balcony. Lois Marshall was the soprano soloist. 

Over the years I’ve conducted about 120 performances, most of 

them in Canada, but also a few in Europe and one memorable one in 

China, more about which later. There are conductors who dread the 

notion of directing yet another Messiah, but I am not among them. 

For me, each new performance of this glorious music is an eagerly 

anticipated event, an opportunity to discover another layer of meaning 

in this inexhaustible work. 

Things go wrong from time to time in Messiah performances. 

Somebody faints or is sick on stage, soloists show up late or not at all 

(yep, that’s happened to me). One soloist inadvertently locked himself 

into a church washroom, delaying the start of the performance by a 

few minutes until we could extricate him. An image that will forever 

remain in my memory is of three soloists and me struggling to do up 

the fly of our tenor who somehow managed to get his zipper stuck. 

The expectant audience was treated to some spontaneous offstage 

hilarity as we dealt with this little existential crisis. 

And then there was the Hammond organ incident. It was one of 

my first Messiah performances. We were in a small rural Manitoba 

church, said sanctuary having been adorned with a Hammond electric 

organ (remember those?). Well, we got through Part One without 

incident. Then, in Part Two, where things start to get really serious, 

there was a short circuit in the accursed instrument, and the rhumba 

rhythm kicked in. It was surely the first time such a decidedly secular 

element had been heard in that place of worship. My organist’s frantic 

Messiah in the GTA 

●●Dec 04 8:00: Elmer Iseler Singers. Handel’s 

Messiah. Lydia Adams, conductor. 

Metropolitan United Church (Toronto). 

●●Dec 04 8:00: Nathaniel Dett Chorale. An 

Indigo Christmas…Soulful Messiah. R&B rendition 

of Handel’s Messiah. Ballet Creole. 

Fleck Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre. 

Also Dec 5(8:00),6(3:00). 

●●Dec 05 7:30: York Chamber Ensemble. 

Handel’s Messiah and Christmas Favourites. 

Trinity Festival Chorus. Trinity Anglican 

Church (Aurora). 

●●Dec 06 7:00: Hart House. Hart House 

Chamber Strings. Handel: Sinfonia from Messiah 

and works by Dvořák, Elgar, Lauridsen 

and Bach. Hart House, Great Hall. 

●●Dec 06 7:30: Toronto Beach Chorale. G.F. 

Handel: Messiah in the Beach. Kingston Road 

United Church. 

●●Dec 07 7:30: University of St. Michael’s 

College. A Baroque Concert for Advent. Handel: 

Foundling Hospital Anthem; also works 

by Geminiani. With Musicians in Ordinary. 

St. Basil’s Church, University of St. Michael’s 

College. 

●●Dec 07 8:00: Soundstreams. Ear Candy: 

Electric Messiah. Drake Hotel. Also Dec 8. 

●●Dec 12 4:00: Church of St. Mary Magdalene. 

Children’s Messiah. Pax Christi Chorale. 

Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto). 

●●Dec 12 7:30: Village Voices. Messiah. Joan 

Andrews, conductor. Markham Missionary 

Church. 

●●Dec 12 7:30: Voices Chamber 

Choir. Messiah. Handel. Church of St. 

Martin-in-the-Fields. 

●●Dec 15 8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 

Messiah. Handel (orchestration, Andrew 

Davis). Andrew Davis, conductor. Roy Thomson. 

Hall Also Dec 16,18,19(8:00),20(3:00). 

●●Dec 16 7:30: Brott Music Festival. Handel’s 

Messiah. Boris Brott, conductor. Burlington 

Performing Arts Centre. 

●●Dec 16 7:30: Tafelmusik. Handel Messiah. 

Ivars Taurins, director. Koerner Hall. Also 

Dec 17-19. Also Dec 20(Sing-along) 

●●Dec 16 8:00: MasseyHall/Against the 

Grain Theatre. AtG’s Messiah. Handel. Topher 

Mokrzewski, conductor. Harbourfront Centre. 

Also Dec 17,18(8:00),19(2:00). 

●●Dec 17 8:00: Living Arts Centre. Ballet Creole: 

Soulful Messiah. 

●●Dec 18 7:30: Humber Valley United Church. 

The Magic of Christmas. M. Wilberg: musical 


GRYPHON 

TRIO 

PHOTO COURTESY OF HOWARD DYCK 

Thursday 

December 10 

at 8 pm 

MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN 

ministrations were to no avail. The Spanish dance continued. “He was 

despised” with rhumba accompaniment is, shall we say, unique! By 

this time the audience was rolling on the floor. Finally, we had to shut 

the instrument down and continue with the piano which, mercifully, 

was to hand. I concluded this was divine wrath visited upon a parish 

that would sully its place of worship with a Hammond! 

Only once have I had to fire a soloist the day before the concert, an 

alto who just wasn’t up to Handel’s demands. Enter Catherine Robbin 

at the very last minute, visibly pregnant with her first child. It was the 

first of many times we worked together, and of course she sang like an 

angel. There was one Messiah where Ben Heppner and Daniel Taylor 

graced the same stage. Their duet “O death, where is thy sting?” is the 

only time Canada’s leading Heldentenor and countertenor have ever 

sung together. It was pure gold! In April 2014 I conducted a Messiah 

performance in Waterloo with the Nota Bene Baroque Players & 

Singers. It was a deeply personal moment for my tenor soloist, Michael 

Schade. His father, already quite ill and confined to a wheelchair, was 

able to attend. Hans Schade passed away a month or so later. And 

shortly after that, Michael’s mother, Liesl, died quite unexpectedly. 

That Messiah was the last time they heard their illustrious son. 

But of all my Messiah experiences, there is one that stands out from 

all the rest. In 1999 I was invited to participate in an international arts 

festival in Kunming, China. (In 2012 and 2013 I would return to that 

arrangements; Handel: Messiah (excerpts). 

●●Dec 19 7:30: Musikay. Messiah. St. John’s 

United Church, Oakville. 

●●Dec 19 8:00: Missisauga Symphony 

Orchestra. Highlights from Messiah. Jennifer 

Tung, choral director. Living Arts Centre, 

Hammerson Hall. 

●●Dec 20 2:00: Tafelmusik. Sing-along Messiah. 

Ivars Taurins, director. Massey Hall. 

●●Dec 20 3:00: St. Anne’s Anglican Church. 

Christmas Cantate. Rutter: Magnificat 

(excerpts); Handel: Messiah (excerpts); 

Christmas carols arr. by Sir David Willcocks, 

Derek Holman, Paul Halley and John Rutter. 

Messiah beyond the GTA 

●●Dec 04 2:30: Queen’s University School of 

Music. Messiah Sing-along. Grand Lobby, Isabel 

Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, 

Kingston. 

●●Dec 05 7:30: Orchestra Kingston. Sing- 

Along Messiah. Handel. Guest soloists and 

audience sing-along. Salvation Army Citadel, 

816 Centennial Dr., Kingston. 613-634- 

9312. $20-$25. Scores available at the door. 

Rehearsal for ticket holders: Dec 1 (5:30). 

●●Dec 12 7:30: Dufferin Concert Singers/New 

Tecumseth Singers. G.F. Handel’s 

Messiah. Westminster United Church, 

Miao Villagers sing Messiah, 2012 

Messiah continues on page 84 

Orangeville. Also Dec 13 (Alliston). 

●●Dec 12 7:30: Grand Philharmonic Choir. 

Handel: Messiah. Mark Vuorinen, conductor. 

Centre in the Square, Kitchener. 

●●Dec 13 3:00: Bach Elgar Choir of Hamilton. 

Bach Elgar Sing-Along Messiah. Melrose 

United Church, Hamilton. Scores available 

to borrow or buy. Rehearsal on Dec 8(7:15) 

with ticket. 

●●Dec 13 3:00: Dufferin Concert Singers/ 

New Tecumseth Singers. G.F. Handel’s Messiah. 

Banting Memorial High School, Alliston. 

Also Dec 12 (Orangeville). 

●●Dec 13 3:00: Elora Festival Singers. Messiah. 

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Fergus. 

●●Dec 13 3:00: Peterborough Singers. Handel’s 

Messiah. George Street United Church, 

Peterborough. Also Dec 14(7:30). 

●●Dec 14 7:30: Brott Music Festival. Handel’s 

Messiah. Boris Brott, conductor. St. Patrick’s 

Roman Catholic Church, Hamilton. 

●●Dec 19 7:30: Guelph Chamber Choir. Handel’s 

Messiah. Gerald Neufeld, conductor. 

River Run Centre, Guelph. 

●●Dec 20 3:00: Grand River Chorus. Handel’s 

Messiah. St. Pius Roman Catholic Church, 

Brantford. 

Tuesday 

January 5 

at 8 pm 

ANDRIANA 

CHUCHMAN 

Soprano 

Thursday 

January 21 

at 8 pm 

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THE REASON ’TIS 

THE SEASON 

STEVE WALLACE 

Music is an essential part of Christmas and with that time 

of year fast approaching, I thought I’d offer a look at some 

records that might enhance our enjoyment of the season. 

These are all personal favourites; most, but not all, are jazz-oriented. 

Hopefully there’s something here for all tastes, from the religious to 

the secular, for those who like their Christmas music straight and 

those who like it, well…not so straight. To organize things a bit, I’ve 

arranged the selections into four loose categories: 

JAZZ INSTRUMENTAL 

Three Suites – Duke Ellington. One of the three suites is Ellington’s 

adaption of a holiday staple, The Nutcracker, to his unique musical 

world. While he and Billy Strayhorn remain quite true to the original, 

the highly individual voices of such Ellington veterans as Johnny 

Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney, Ray Nance and Lawrence 

Brown cast Tchaikovsky’s score in an entirely new light, to say the 

least. The majestic swing of the Overture is especially thrilling; as far 

as I’m concerned the Christmas season hasn’t begun till I’ve heard it. 

As an added bonus the other suites are Grieg’s Peer Gynt and Suite 

Thursday by Ellington and Strayhorn, after John Steinbeck’s novel 

Sweet Thursday. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas - Vince Guaraldi. A delightful essential 

for the inner kid in all of us. Linus and Lucy, Christmas Time Is 

Here and other favourites from the timeless cartoon are all here, but 

the strongest track is still the jazz treatment of O, Tannenbaum by 

Guaraldi and his trio-mates Monty Budwig and Colin Bailey. 

Christmas Cookin’ – Jimmy Smith. From 1964, this features Smith’s 

funky and high-octane organ in a program of festive songs with a 

powerful brass ensemble of New York’s finest, arranged by Al Cohn 

and Billy Byers. It’s one of the more ebullient and hard-swinging jazz 

Christmas albums, as you’d expect with Kenny Burrell, Art Davis and 

Grady Tate in the rhythm section. 

Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas – Kenny Burrell. Duke 

Ellington’s favourite guitarist acquits himself gracefully in this 1966 

album with a large band directed and arranged by Richard Evans. 

Originally on Cadet, it was reissued as a CD by Verve a few years ago. 

Merry Ole Soul – Duke Pearson. This beautifully recorded 1969 Blue 

Note is one of the most crisp and fresh-sounding of Christmas albums, 

but is unfortunately hard to find. Pearson was an incisive, lighttoned 

pianist who also functioned as an in-house arranger, composer 

and producer for the label and here he presents a marvellous integrated 

program with a very cohesive trio using his favourite bassist 

and drummer – Bob Cranshaw and Mickey Roker. There are some 

uncommon tunes and a highlight is their surprisingly unhurried and 

lyrical treatment of Sleigh Ride, with the leader alternating between 

celeste and piano on the melody, and some interesting open vamps 

that are quite reminiscent of Ahmad Jamal’s classic 1950s trio. 

Holiday Soul – Bobby Timmons. Another great festive trio record, 

with the iconic hard-bop pianist, bassist Butch Warren and Walter 

Perkins on drums and percussion. It’s almost impossible to find, 

because as far as I know it’s never been issued on CD, but it turns up 

occasionally in used vinyl bins. If you see it, buy it – it’s worth having 

for Perkins’ deft handling of sleigh bells alone and it grooves from 

start to finish. 

Paul Desmond & The Modern Jazz Quartet. Not a Christmas album 

per se, but a fortuitous recording of the MJQ’s Christmas Day concert 

at Town Hall in 1971 – an annual affair, but with Desmond sitting in 

after the intermission that year. Greensleeves is the only piece with 

any Yuletide connotation, but the musical interplay between Desmond 

and the MJQ, playing together for the first and only time, feels like the 

birth of something special. 

Big Band Christmas – Rob McConnell & The Boss Brass. Some 

Steve Wallace 

wonderful McConnell arrangements, by turns zesty and sensitive, 

beautifully performed by his great band. A highlight is a heartfelt 

version of Johnny Mandel’s A Christmas Love Song. Also priceless is 

the cover photo of Rob dressed as Santa Claus. 

And...Fans of big-band jazz might also enjoy A Merry Christmas! 

by Stan Kenton and five Christmas albums by the USAF’s first-rate big 

band, The Airmen Of Note – Noel, Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town, 

Christmas Time Is Here, A Holiday Note From Home and Cool Yule. 

Half of the first and third and all of the second comprise charts by the 

brilliant Mike Crotty, one of jazz arranging’s best-kept secrets because 

he spent 26 years in the military. He now lives in Arizona and works 

as a freelance composer-arranger. These are available for listening at: 

rewindplay.com/airmenofnote/sounds/sounds.htm. 

VOCAL 

Christmas Songs by Sinatra Recorded during Sinatra’s early association 

with Columbia and musical director Axel Stordahl, it’s just his 

third album as a leader. The CD reissue expands the ten-inch, 1948 LP 

with bonus tracks from both before and after the original sessions. 

His better-known A Jolly Christmas on Capitol from 1957 is also very 

good, but I prefer the freshness and restraint of the earlier record. 

12 Songs of Christmas – Etta James. Although the repertoire is 

firmly seasonal, this 1998 effort is about as close to a pure jazz record 

as the powerhouse R&B singer ever came. This is largely due to the 

excellent band of stalwarts including Red Holloway, George Bohannon, 

Cedar Walton, John Clayton and the immortal Billy Higgins. 

A Swingin’ Christmas – Tony Bennett and The Count Basie 

Orchestra. I first heard this in a record store while Christmas shopping 

a few years ago and enjoyed it so much I bought it right on the spot. 

From 2008, well after Basie’s death, but otherwise there’s nothing not 

to like about it. Bennett, the band, the charts and the soloists all sound 

terrific and it swings effortlessly. Sold. 

Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas This one is relentlessly 

upbeat and some of Frank De Vol’s writing veers toward the schlocky, 

but who cares? It’s ELLA and she’s infectious and irresistible, particularly 

on Let It Snow, where the warmth and purity of her voice bring 

an unfettered joy. 

Christmas with Dino – Dean Martin. I wasn’t expecting much from 

this one, but it’s a very solid merging of two Martin albums – A Winter 

Romance, done for Capitol in 1959 and The Dean Martin Christmas 

Album, done for Reprise in 1966. There are some interesting seasonal 

repertoire choices here, such as I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm, A 

ANNA MALANDRINO 


KOERNER HALL IS: 

“ 

A beautiful space for music “ 

THE GLOBE AND MAIL 

Academy Chamber 

Orchestra 

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 7:30PM 

MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALL 

FREE (TICKET REQUIRED) 

String students from The Phil and 

Eli Taylor Performance Academy 

for Young Artists come together 

as the Academy Chamber Orchestra 

to perform this special concert. 

Sinatra @ 100 

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 8PM 

KOERNER HALL 

CBC’s Tom Allen hosts this all-Canadian 

celebration of Frank Sinatra’s life and 

legacy, featuring Joe Sealy, Brent Carver, 

Barbra Lica, Jackie Richardson, Retrocity, 

Matt Forbes, and Justin Bacchus. 

Come fly with us! 

Joaquin Valdepeñas 

Conducts 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 7:30PM 


Toronto Symphony Orchestra 

Principal Clarinet and Royal 

Conservatory Orchestra 

Resident Conductor 

Joaquin Valdepeñas 

conducts Glenn Gould 

School students in a program 

of chamber works . 

David Geringas 

SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 2PM 


The internationally acclaimed 

cellist and conductor, known for 

“his rich tone and performing 

intensity,” (The Washington Post) 

will perform Corigliano, Bach, 

Penderecki, and Kancheli. Guest 

faculty and students join him 

forpieces by Couperin and 

Senderovas. 

The Glenn Gould 

School Concerto 

Competition Finals 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 10AM 

KOERNER HALL 


Hear the talented solo performers 

of The Glenn Gould School 

compete for the opportunity to 

perform a concerto with the 

Royal Conservatory Orchestra 

during the 2016-17 season. 

Taylor Academy 

Showcase Concerts 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 4:30PM 



The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance 

Academy for Young Artists presents 

a concert by the leading young 

classical musicians in Canada. 

Hear the stars of tomorrow! 

GREAT GIFT: KOERNER HALL CONCERT TICKETS AND GIFT CARDS 

More than 40 extraordinary classical, jazz, pop, family and world music concerts to choose from! 

TICKETS START AT ONLY $15! 416.408.0208 www.performance.rcmusic.ca 

273 BLOOR STREET WEST 

(BLOOR ST. & AVENUE RD.) 

TORONTO

Marshmallow World and Baby, It’s Cold Outside. Often forgotten over 

the years amid all the entertainer hats he wore and the endless booze 

jokes was the fact that Dean Martin was a very good and personable 

singer. 

The Very Best of Bing Crosby Christmas – One can hardly do 

Christmas without Bing, and this is a fairly complete Decca compilation 

from 1942 to 1955, with a nice mixture of carols and standards 

including, of course, White Christmas. 

A Christmas Album – Barbra Streisand. I’m not entirely a fan of 

all things “Bra,” but this 1967 record, tastefully arranged by Marty 

Paich and Ray Ellis, is very good and her renditions of Have Yourself 

a Merry Little Christmas and The Christmas Song are among the best 

I’ve heard. 

Christmas – The Singers Unlimited. Mostly traditional carols sung 

with immaculate pitch and ingenious harmonies furnished by Gene 

Puerling, the group’s leader and arranger. 

COLLECTIONS 

Jingle Bell Swing – An imaginative and eclectic Columbia jazz 

compilation with some rare Christmas oddities, including Black Xmas 

(To Whom It May Concern) with Miles Davis and Bob Dorough, Art 

Carney reciting ’Twas the Night Before Christmas in tempo with 

percussion, a kind of early jazz-rap. A trenchant, hard-swinging 

version of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer by alto saxophonist Pony 

Poindexter, a duet by Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock on Deck the 

Halls, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross singing Deck Us All With Boston 

Charlie and a 1965 re-record of Claude Thornhill’s classic Snowfall by 

The Glenn Miller Orchestra directed by Tex Beneke, which fooled me – 

I thought it was Thornhill’s band when I first heard it. There are other 

goodies too – Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman, Carmen McRae, Russell 

Malone, Mel Torme and two tracks by Louis Prima. 

Louis Armstrong & Friends – The Christmas Collection. Another 

good 20th Century Masters mix, with six tracks by Louis – some with 

Benny Carter’s underappreciated 40s band – including Christmas 

Night In Harlem, Zat You, Santa Claus? and Christmas In New 

Orleans. You’ll also get to hear Satchmo’s take on White Christmas, 

Ellington’s band jamming on Jingle Bells, Lionel Hampton’s version of 

Merry Christmas, Baby with a vocal by Sonny Burke, and, best of all, 

Dinah Washington singing Silent Night, a religious experience if ever 

I’ve heard one. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

The Messiah – Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir, 

directed by Ivars Taurins. There are countless recorded versions of 

this masterpiece, but this live performance from Toronto’s Koerner 

Hall in 2012, with soloists Karina Gauvin, Robin Blaze, Rufus Müller 

and Brett Polegato, is my favourite. This is how Handel intended this 

oratorio to sound. 

James Taylor at Christmas – A lovely recent addition to the genre, 

with great singing, classy musicians, smart arrangements and some 

different song choices – Go Tell It On the Mountain, Joni Mitchell’s 

River, In the Bleak Midwinter, Some Children See Him, Who Comes 

This Night?, plus an ingenious reworking of Jingle Bells in halftime, 

fat-back funk-killer. All brought to a fitting close with a soulful 

reading of Auld Lang Syne which captures the song’s very essence. 

The Bells of Dublin – The Chieftains. The greatest of Irish traditional 

bands with various vocal guests including Jackson Browne, 

Elvis Costello and the McGarrigle sisters. It’s a classic - traditional, yet 

unconventional, and best of all, it sounds like Christmas. Browne’s 

The Rebel Jesus is a highlight, showing a side of Christ that’s forgotten 

– he was a firebrand, no cream-puff. 

Finally, some favourite single-track strays which may not be in 

any collections but are likely available on YouTube or as downloads: 

Fairytale of New York by The Pogues; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 

by the MJQ; the priceless 1946 version of Jingle Bells by Vic Dickenson 

and Leo Watson; Jo Stafford’s rendition of The Christmas Blues; the 

classic version of Baby, It’s Cold Outside by Ray Charles and Betty 

Carter; not to mention Brother Ray’s cosmic reading of Winter 

Wonderland. And lastly, the little-known White Wine in the Sun by 

Australia’s Tim Minchin, an oddly deadpan/sentimental Christmas 

song that touches me – it’s wryly naive, whimsical yet wise, funny and 

heartbreaking all at once. 

To all music lovers, Mazel Tov and a merry, swinging Christmas. 

Toronto bassist Steve Wallace writes a blog called “Steve 

Wallace – jazz, baseball, life and other ephemera” which 

can be accessed at wallacebass.com. Aside from the topics 

mentioned, he sometimes writes about movies and food. 

St. Philip’s Anglican Church 

Sunday, December 6, 4:00 pm | Jazz Vespers 

Tribute to Frank Sinatra with Alex Samaras (vocals), 

Colleen Allen (saxophone), Scott Alexander (bass), 

Gary Williamson (piano) and Brian Barlow (drums) 

Sunday December 20, 4:00 pm | Christmas Jazz Vespers 

Diana Panton (vocals), Reg Schwager (guitar) and 

Don Thompson (piano). 

St. Philip’s Anglican Church | Etobicoke 

25 St. Phillips Road (near Royal York + Dixon) 

416-247-5181 • stphilips.net • free will offering 


2015-2016 CONCERT SERIES 

MASTERS SERIES 

at UOIT Regent Theatre, 

Oshawa 

Sat., Dec. 19, 8:00pm 

CHOPIN WITH 

DANIELA LIEBMAN 

Piano Concerto No.2 

op.21 in f minor 

Sat., Jan. 30, 7:00pm 

TCHAIKOVSKY 

SPECTACULAR! 

with celebrated violinist 

Alexandre Da Costa 

Violin Concerto op.35 in 

D major & Inaugural 

Multi-Media Exhibit of 

Abstract Artist Paul Sloggett 

TICKETS $25 – $56 from UOIT Regent Theatre Box Office 

905.721.3399 x2 or OP 905-579-6711 or 1.800.858.6711 

Dec 5 

UTSO 

Performing works by Smetana, 

Rachmaninoff and Lutoslawski. 

Conducted by Uri Mayer and Francois 

Koh. Piano solo by Eugene Chan. 

Dec 7 

Collaborations 

Internationally renowned Canadian 

percussionist Beverley Johnston 

performs pieces by award-winning 

composer Christos Hatzis and others. 

Dec 6 

Choral Celebration Concert 

The MacMillan Singers, Men’s 

Chorus, Women’s Chamber Choir and 

Women’s Chorus present a variety of 

festive music. 

Jan 19-22 

Barbara Hannigan 

The soprano and conductor is the 

John R. Stratton Visitor in Music, with 

performances, master classes and an 

interactive session. 

The January 30 concert 

and exhibit is followed by 

a ticketed VIP Reception in 

Regent Theatre Mezzanine. 

MEET THE ARTISTS 

Maestro Marco Parisotto 

OP’s Board of Directors 

OP Concertmaster and 

many more dignitaries. 

Reception tickets 

(Additional To Concert Ticket) 

$40 for OP subscribers & 

$45 for individual concert 

ticket holders 

Includes appetizers and hot/cold 

beverages, cash wine/beer bar. 

Limited availability – 

arrange today! 

905-579-6711 or 

1-800-858-6711. 

Jan 24 

The Machine Stops 

The annual opera student composer 

project imagines a science fiction 

dystopia based on the short story by 

E.M. Forster. 

Jan 25 

Viva Caledonia! Music for 

Robbie Burns Day 

Alison Melville, Julia Seager-Scott 

and Margaret Jordan-Gay perform 

baroque sonatas and variations for the 

18 th -century Scottish poet. 

MASTERS SERIES at Koerner Hall, 

TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning 

Sunday, January 31, 3:00pm 

TCHAIKOVSKY SPECTACULAR! 

with celebrated violinist Alexandre Da Costa 

Violin Concerto op.35 in D major 

tickets $30 – $50 | Koerner Hall 416.408.0208 

or OP 905-579-6711 or 1.800.858.6711 

Jan 19-Feb 7 

New Music Festival 

Students, faculty and guests (such 

as Gryphon Trio and Lands End 

Ensemble) perform works by Moore 

Visiting Composer Allan Gordon Bell. 

2015-16 PRESENTING SPONSORS 

Jan 26-Feb 9 

Michael Colgrass, Atom 

Egoyan, Scott Burnham & 

Lawrence Shragge 

The visiting composers, director and 

musicologist give free lectures. 

music.utoronto.ca 


“The Score Is Still My Ideal” 

Marc-André Hamelin In Conversation 

FRAN KAUFMAN 

PAUL ENNIS 

Marc-André Hamelin had just come in from a walk when he 

answered his phone. I had called him mid-November in 

advance of his Music Toronto recital next January 5. “It’s 

my first concert of the year, actually,” he said. I opened our 

conversation by congratulating him on his recent inclusion in the Gramophone 

magazine Hall of Fame, a group of 25 pianists that ranges from 

legends like Rachmaninov, Richter, Rubinstein, Horowitz, Michelangeli, 

Gould and Lipatti to contemporaries such as Argerich, Pollini, Perahia, 

Uchida, Hough and Schiff. I asked whether he feels a kinship with any 

particular pianist, living or dead. 

“I grew up listening to the great pianists of the past, historical 

recordings,” he answered, before moving into an explanation of his 

influences in a nutshell. “If there’s any heritage to what I do, any sort 

of influence or maybe source for a lot of what I have done, you’d have 

to look for it there. However, this is what I was exposed to at the very 

beginning due to my dad and those were his listening preferences. But 

later on I became much more aware and much more respectful of the 

written note. So I think that what I do today is sort of a happy mix of 

the two. Or let’s say a judicious use of all these elements, of both of 

these aspects.” 

Not since Glenn Gould has a Canadian pianist had such a global 

impact as Marc-André Hamelin. Just as Gould’s interpretation of Bach 

revolutionized the way we heard his music, Hamelin made musical 

sense of late 19th and early 20th century pianist-composer romantic 

music so fiendishly difficult it had seemed lost until he unearthed it. 

As the years passed, Hamelin’s repertoire has broadened to embrace 

more traditional repertoire. 

I wanted to know what considerations went into programming 

the January concert, which consists of a late Mozart sonata (K576), 

Liszt’s Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude and Venezia e Napoli and 

Schubert’s last sonata (D960). “Well,” he said, seizing on the sonata. 

“The Schubert B Flat is an easy one. I could play it in every single 

concert till the day I die. I wouldn’t be unhappy.” 

I reminded him of a 2009 interview with Clavier Companion where 

he spoke about having played the sonata already in public for nine or 

ten years, yet still found wonderful things in it. He had said that the 

piece was so fresh he doubted he would ever tire of it, even if he could 

include it in all of his recitals. “That’s true,” he laughed. “I’m glad 

things haven’t changed, because it just shows 

you the power of that particular work.” 

When I tried to get him to account for his 

attraction to it, he was surprisingly forthright. 

“It’s one of those pieces with which I’d 

rather have it remain a mystery. Because the 

more words you try to put to it, the more difficult it becomes to know 

exactly what it is that attracts me to it so much. I feel exactly the same 

way about the last three Beethoven sonatas. Which I’ve played quite a 

bit as well.” 

Not only that, I reminded him, but he had performed Schubert’s 

glorious final sonata in his Koerner Hall recital earlier this year in 

March, persuasively venturing into the Schubertian sound world 

using an unflinching romantic approach. “Aha! Not only that,” he 

repeated. “But I also played it many years ago in, I think, Walter Hall, 

to inaugurate a new piano. So it will be my third performance of it in 

Toronto. I hope people won’t get sick of my performance.” But then 

his memory deepened: “Oh, I also played it in North York. That, as you 

can imagine, was quite a few years ago. I remember because Tamara 

Bernstein reviewed it very favourably.” It was the one time he played 

the George Weston Recital Hall. 

I told him I was curious about what drew him to certain pieces, 

“Thinking about the music is at 

least as valuable as practising 

at your instrument.” 

and he was careful to give a balanced 

response: “If I say that I’m attracted to 

involved harmonies and dense textures, 

I don’t want to exclude the fact that I 

like very simple textures and simple 

harmonies as well. I’m attracted equally 

to something like the music of Franck 

or Busoni, or something like that, which 

can be really rather thorny and harmonically 

involved, but I also love the pieces 

from the collection of On the Overgrown 

Path of Janáček which have very few 

notes indeed but still express worlds of 

emotions. So basically, I guess it amounts 

to what is expressed and not necessarily 

how it is expressed. Human emotions have been the same throughout 

man’s history; it’s only the ways of expressing it – the language, 

musically speaking, I mean – that has changed and of course, evolved 

a great deal.” 

Later, listening to the Janáček on his 2014 Hyperion recording of 

it, I was struck by the emotional richness his playing conveys. For 

the most part, the music may be simple and subdued but there are 

sudden bursts of power that he unleashes in a storm of notes in Our 

Evenings, the first movement. Moving along the path, as it were, a 

brooding Slavic interlude mixes moods and colours in They chattered 

like swallows, lingering tantalizingly. The quiet contemplative beauty 

of Good night leads into the dark, angular world of Unutterable 

anguish before reaching the sublime essence of melodic purity 

with In Tears. 

I asked how Hamelin goes about learning a new piece. He answered 

by detailing what he doesn’t do, that is, use recordings. He prefers 

to go directly to “what the composer is asking,” which is the score. 

Imperfect as that may be as a vehicle for their thoughts, he believes 

it’s the only way composers have of communicating their pieces. 

“I won’t necessarily interpret everything that’s on the page. I will 

try to rationalize: If, for example, there’s a miscalculation or if they 

didn’t express exactly what they wanted. I’m a composer myself and 

that has enabled me, and I’m sure, other composer-interpreters could 

say the same thing. It has enabled me to feel 

a little closer to the creators of the works I 

perform because I know a little bit more how 

they felt at the moment of creation and what 

the task is of trying to notate your intangible 

thoughts into a system of notation that is 

open to interpretation.” 

When I asked whether Hamelin finds thinking about a piece away 

from the piano to be a valuable learning tool, I was hoping to strike 

a chord, but the answer was far more detailed than I could have 

imagined. And remarkably timely: 

“Absolutely. I experienced it just a few minutes ago when I was 

taking a walk before you called. I was thinking about something that 

I’m working on right now. And because I’m not busy producing the 

sound at the piano I can think about the music in a more pure way. 

And I can get a little more effectively to the essence of the music. And 

plenty of things will suggest themselves – little emphases – I mean, a 

counterpoint will jut out for example, tempi will be a little bit more 

right if I’m just thinking purely about the music. Architectural things 

will become clearer. Textural things will become clearer. A whole 

host of practice can be done away from the piano. That’s generally not 

something that is really well known. 


Marc-André Hamelin 

“Most parents think that once their kids have accomplished their 

two hours at the piano that’s it, they don’t have to do anything else. 

But thinking about the music is at least as valuable as practising at 

your instrument. Because after all, you’re doing this not to impress the 

populace, you’re doing this to learn how to communicate a message. 

And you have to know what message to communicate. You have to 

have something to say.” 

I started to ask about Hamelin’s close relationship with his father 

but before I could finish my question Hamelin interrupted to say, 

“You know, he actually died 20 years ago today, as a parenthesis, 

November 17, ’95.” Hamelin agreed that he was lucky to have had 

a father like that, who, although a pharmacist by profession, was a 

gifted amateur pianist, whose talent as his son quickly put it, “came 

out of absolutely nowhere because his parents weren’t musical.” 

I had read somewhere that his father was his first teacher. “In a 

sense,” he said. “My first official teacher was a local lady who I had for 

four years after which my dad enrolled me in Vincent d’Indy School. 

But essentially I have started to list my dad as one of my teachers 

simply because he oversaw a lot of my development. I could always 

talk to him and ask him things. And he offered suggestions. When he 

didn’t like what he heard, he said so.” 

Hamelin agreed that his father, with his penchant for composerpianists, 

and his recordings, which he played all the time, had a 

considerable influence on his musical taste as a child. It was hard to 

get recordings and sheet music in those days when “Canada was still 

a little bit of a cultural desert.” He told me that at the time his father 

was very intrigued by Leopold Godowsky’s music but it was very difficult 

to get, almost nothing was available, “and now it’s all available 

with a few clicks because it’s on IMSLP [imslp.org].” 

From listening to his father’s record collection Hamelin “definitely 

got a sense, predominantly, of a great and sometimes excessive interpretive 

freedom.” “You know,” he added, “at the time, musicology 

wasn’t really the science that it is today. Back then true respect for the 

printed note still had a long way to come. So I grew up with the sentiment 

that one could do with the music as one pleased [he laughs], 

which isn’t too good if you’re playing things like Beethoven or Bach 

or Chopin or Mozart. But later on [after he emigrated to the U.S. in 

1980 to study with Harvey Wedeen at Temple University] playing with 

other people and also with my teacher’s influence, I got to respect 

the printed score a lot more. And also the fact that I write music 

myself gets me to appreciate a lot more the toil and trouble composers 

go through.” 

Charles Ives’ first teacher was his father. Among other exercises, 

he would play a song on the piano and have his young son sing it in 

a totally different key. So I found it fascinating that Hamelin, with his 


own special father-son relationship, would have 

chosen Ives’ Concord Sonata as the first LP he 

bought “with his own pennies,” as he once put 

it. It was John Kirkpatrick’s second recording of 

the piece, recorded in 1968. Hamelin bought it 

in 1975. He gave me a typically detailed answer 

to my question of how he chose to buy that 

particular LP: 

“I really started to be intrigued by contemporary 

music. A few years earlier my dad had 

gotten a subscription to the Piano Quarterly and 

it featured reviews of scores at the beginning. 

And they reproduced the first page of almost everything. So there was 

everything from beginners’ pieces to the most advanced avant-garde 

scores. And those, the latter, really made an impression on me, you 

know, the ways of notation. And he also subscribed to Clavier magazine. 

In October ’74 there was an Ives special issue because it was the 

centenary of his birth. And there were a lot of articles and there was 

a discussion of the Concord Sonata, among other things. And it really 

intrigued me. At the same time I saw that a local record store had 

the Kirkpatrick recording, so I picked it up. $7.98. I still remember. 

Tenth of June, 1975. I remember it because it’s the only year I ever 

kept a diary.” 

He bought a lot of contemporary recordings after that – 

Stockhausen, Cage, Boulez, Xenakis – everything he could lay his 

hands on. “A lot of bargain records.” And “Oh my God, yes,” he 

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answered when I asked if he was still 

buying records. He elaborated: 

“You know, I shop a lot secondhand 

because first of all, regular 

record shops are dying and I don’t 

like the fact that one can’t browse 

online really, physically. So I much 

prefer second-hand shops and I buy 

vinyl at least as much as CDs these 

days. This is beside the fact that vinyl 

with young people has made a resurgence. 

But also because there are tons 

of things still to be found. And I’m not only talking classical music. I 

mean I can buy anything from classical music to comedy records to 

improvisation to noise to electronic music to all kinds of things.” 

When I asked if there is anything in particular he listened to for 

pleasure, he replied that there is so much in his collection to catch 

up on that he almost never listens to a recording twice. And he 

added something he deemed very important: “I was once asked who 

my pianistic heroes are and I had to answer: the score. Because as 

much as we have fantastic recordings, tons of fantastic recordings 

throughout history, throughout the 20th century, the score is still 

my ideal.” 

Trying to get a sense of the immensity of his collection I asked how 

extensive it was. Again, his answer took me by surprise. “It’s hard to 

quantify. The only thing I can quantify right now with any certainty 

is that I’m waiting for some funds to convert a garage into a sizable 

music room. And my sheet music collection right now is in 97 clear 

plastic bins. So that gives you an idea.” 

Of course, with over 70 CDs of his own to his credit, I was curious 

as to how he chose what to record. Hamelin volunteered that from 

the beginning of their association over 20 years ago, Hyperion has 

always been very open to what he wanted to do. “Of course, they 

were a little cautious at the beginning as far as more standard repertoire 

because I really wasn’t known for that, even though I have been 

playing standard repertoire all the time,” he said. “It’s just that my 

recorded repertoire was very maverick-y up to when I started with 

them. But gradually, I’m very happy to say, that they were willing to 

give me more freedom as far as standard repertoire. And that really 

started with the Haydn recordings that they let me do [recorded in 

December 2005; released in March 2007]. I had to do a little bit of 

persuading, but it’s really paid off,” he added. 

I had just recently listened to his Haydn Sonatas Vol. 3 and felt 

compelled to tell him that I found it to be totally seductive and 

smooth. I said that it reminded me of sipping a local wine in Beaune at 

lunch, which made him laugh. Because it was so elegant and supple. 

Which made him laugh even more and thank me. 

Among his own compositions on his Etudes CD is Cathy’s 

Variations, written for and about his domestic partner, Cathy Fuller, 

a classical music host for WCRB FM 99.5 in Boston. I found the 

theme to be very sweet and the experience of listening to it, coupled 

with a personal history of having heard Hamelin in concert several 

times during the last 20 years, compelled me to say that he seemed 

more relaxed in concert over the last several years. “Join the club,” 

he immediately interjected. “A lot of people have said that. Which 

couldn’t please me more. She’s an extraordinary person. She’s also 

trained as a pianist. A remarkable musician.” 

Coming from a man who is a remarkable musician himself, that’s 

more than a compliment to the woman he complements. In his liner 

notes to Cathy’s Variations, Hamelin wrote that the piece is “purely 

the work of a man in love…inspired by…my true soulmate, who fascinates 

me more with each passing day.” 

Marc-André Hamelin appears in recital for Music Toronto at 

the Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre, on January 5, 2016. 

The following month he returns to perform Mendelssohn’s Piano 

Concerto No.1 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, February 25 

and 27 at Roy Thomson Hall. 

Paul Ennis is the managing editor of The WholeNote. 

SIM CANETTY-CLARKE 


VINYL REVIVAL 

ORI DAGAN 

This holiday season, choose old-school LPs over iTunes gift certificates. 

The reason? #VinylRevival. It’s the old thing. It’s the new 

thing. And for the record: if you need cash, dig out those old LPs 

– they could be worth something. To get your money’s worth, check 

out a store called Good Music Toronto, recently relocated from its 

Queen Street location downstairs from Black Market Vintage Clothing 

to new premises at 1611 Dundas West, at Brock, just steps away from 

Lula Lounge. 

“I’ve been selling records in Toronto for ten years – eight as manager 

of Vortex Records and two as owner of Good Music [ilikegoodmusic. 

com],” says Lincoln Stewart, who prides himself on giving the fairest 

prices in town (half of what he sells the record for) for quality vinyl. “I 

have been a music lover my whole life and got into the business when 

the owner of Vortex asked me to work for him. Seven years prior I’d 

been the manager of his video store, Art & Trash.” 

What about this business has changed in the past few years? I 

asked him. 

“Certainly an increase in sales! Vortex has been in business since 

the ’70s and was one of the few Toronto stores to survive the drought 

of the ’90s/00s and come out the other side. Also, young people are 

buying vinyl again, which is very nice to see. I’ve also seen a drastic 

increase in prices, which is bad. Gone are the days when we could 

sell Fleetwood Mac and Dark Side of the Moon for $5. I find that 

disappointing because I’m a music lover first and a businessman 

second. Our motto sums us up nicely: Quality records bought and 

sold. Fair price in and out. Because we guarantee everything that we 

sell, we try not to carry records with audible marks on them. Our 

records play clean. If one doesn’t, bring it back for a full refund. I also 

photograph most everything that’s interesting and put it on 

instagram.com/goodmusicpopup. 

Just one thing about Good Music Toronto – while they have a 

great jazz selection, they do not currently buy or sell classical music. 

Thankfully there’s Amoroso Records (amorosomusic.com) at 4 

St. Patrick Street, across the street from the Rex Hotel, which specializes 

in classical as well as jazz, rock and rarities. This family-run 

business is co-owned by sisters Anne Lai and Jacqueline Lai. Says 

Jacqueline: 

“I decided to take a break from the bank, so I started working for a 

friend of mine at Second Vinyl. The year was 2000 and that was until 

2004. Then, reality came in and I had to go back to the bank, so from 

2004 to 2008 I worked for CIBC. At the beginning of 2008 I had had it, 

and I asked my family for help, and this is how Amoroso formed. 

ADAMS 

XENAKIS 

ZORN 

Beat by Beat | Jazz Stories 

JACK Quartet Jan.14 

BOULEZ 

+BASHAW 

Feb.15 

www.NewMusicConcerts.com 

“In the beginning, 

vinyl hadn’t quite 

come back yet. I have 

to admit, now we are 

in our eighth year, 

and only in the last 

two years, vinyl did 

come back. But, the 

problem that we have 

is that people are 

very selective. People 

want only certain 

things. For example, 

in the rock section, 

people want Led 

Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, 

Neil Young, those are 

all sellable. Everyone 

comes in wanting 

just that and nothing 

else. In classical, only 

violin, cello, solo 

piano, nothing else. So 

I’m right here doing my 

best to introduce people 

to different music.” 

Lincoln Stewart at Good Music Toronto 

with an Original Canadian Mono Love 

Supreme with U.S. Van Gelder Stampers 

in VG+ condition. Very Rare. 

There are some great finds in this store and Jackie, as she is affectionately 

known, is a real gem in her support of the local music scene, 

always accepting flyers from musicians and eager to know about your 

next gig. 

Music lovers in the Annex still miss Sonic Boom (sonicboommusic. 

com) but the new location at 215 Spadina Avenue is a cool destination 

for the Hogtown vinyl lover. As well as being Canada’s largest 

independent record store, Sonic Boom is open 10am to midnight, 364 

days a year. Says store manager Christopher Dufton: 

thewholenote.com December 1 2015 - February 7, 2016 | 17 

ORI DAGAN



“The vinyl format has been important 

to Sonic Boom for 15 years now. It’s been 

within the last five years that we’ve experienced 

some real growth in the amount of 

people making vinyl their choice of format. 

We’ve seen a steady growth in new and 

used vinyl sales of about 30 percent year to 

year over the last several years.” 

Why are consumers buying more vinyl? 

“Buying and listening to music on vinyl is 

a more complete experience than buying 

and listening to music on MP3. Buying music 

on vinyl requires a trip to your local record 

store, a place of excitement and discovery. 

You have the opportunity to interact with 

other fans of music and are surrounded 

by the physical media and the beautiful 

art that’s included in a record. Taking that 

record home and putting it on your turntable 

provides an experience that the click 

Jacqueline Lai at Amoroso records with 

a valuable original Japanese pressing. 

of music cannot. There are many local bands and artists releasing 

music on vinyl. A few examples are Born Ruffians, Grounders, 

Fresh Snow, New Fries and Mimico, which all released new albums 

on vinyl this year.” 

Parkdale peeps should take note of a cool new place on Queen West 

called Parkdale Platters (instagram.com/parkdaleplatters), which 

opened in January of 2015. “When I was younger I always wanted to 

own a record shop but after years of working other jobs I lost sight 

of that prospect,” says Parkdale Platters owner Chris Gibson. “Then 

I began coming across lots of records and the thought of having a 

record store re-emerged.” 

Gibson notes that “In the past few years record buyers wanted 

records that previously were not as sought after – records that people 

already had or weren’t interested in. Also, people have a wider range 

of interests in genres. While selling records at a rather low price, we 

stock the store to be inclusive.” 

Kensington Market’s Paradise Bound (paradisebound.ca) sells both 

rare records and antique Japanese art. “Me and my highly personalized, 

knowledgeable service. Little shop – only ever me in there,” 

proprietor G. Coyote says. “I got into it because working for other 

men in corporate settings was choking my soul and I love vinyl. So, I 

bought a lot of records cheap over a few years and opened in 2000.” 

Like Paradise Bound on Facebook to save 15 percent off your next 

in-store purchase! 

Over in the Beaches, discover Discovery (discoveryrecords.com) at 

1140 Queen East in Leslieville. “I really thought it was just a lark but 

from day one it paid the bills,” says Jim Levitt, owner 

of Discovery. “We attempt to stock a wider variety 

of music...not just rock, jazz and blues but also 

C&W, classical, spoken word, comedy, easy listening 

...etc., etc. We also list our entire LP selection on 

our website.” 

I wish I could do more than just mention others as 

well: there are literally scores of sources for vinyl in 

Toronto, all worth looking up. Kops Records now has 

three locations, two for She Said Boom! (separately 

owned) plus Vortex at Yonge and Eglinton, L’Atelier 

Grigorian in Yorkville, June Records in Little Italy, 

Grasshopper Records at Dundas and Ossington and 

Rotate This on Queen West. 

Star jazz singer Alex Pangman – just named Best 

Female Vocalist in the NOW Magazine Readers 

Poll – is a fellow vinyl collector. When “Canada’s 

Sweetheart of Swing” released what some view as 

her magnum opus 33 (2011), featuring songs that 

were famous in 1933, she was 33 years of age. Needless 

to say, she couldn’t resist releasing the album additionally in vinyl, at 

33 1/3 RPM: 

“People that love vinyl get so excited when you have it! Like really 

excited…An LP is a beautiful thing! Records are objects you want to 

own and take the time to listen to carefully and read the liner notes. 

I feel that in the digital age, music is becoming invisible, and especially 

this music, it has a groove...(pauses)...literally!” she laughs in 

our over-the-phone interview. Her talent is itself a gift that’s difficult 

not to admire; those who know and love Alex’s music also know the 

obstacles she has overcome with her health. Born with cystic fibrosis, 

she is a two-time double lung transplant recipient and an organ 

donation advocate. It would make her holiday season to know that 

WholeNote readers are giving the gift of life: beadonor.ca. 

Speaking of gifts, another great idea: the Royal Conservatory’s 

music appreciation classes. From Music Theory 101 to Outside the 

Box Baroque, this is your chance to Meet the Mendelssohns and The 

Great Conductors. You can even learn How Jazz Works and much 

more with these courses which range in price from $99 to $375. For 

more information or to register, call 416-408-2825 or visit rcmusic.ca/ 

musicappreciation. 

So, here’s wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season that’s full 

of music appreciation, be it by supporting live music, your local treasured 

vinyl shop, or hopefully a mix of both! 

Ori Dagan is a Toronto-based jazz musician, writer and 

educator who can be reached at oridagan.com. 

ORI DAGAN 

Photo: Makoto Hirata 

Farah 

& Krucker 

Outstanding 

Sound Design/ 

Composition 

2015 Dora 

nomination 

six extraordinary dancers 

excavate embodied memory 

PEGGY BAKER DANCE PROJECTS 

created by choreographer Peggy Baker 

music John Kameel Farah 

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dancers Ric Brown, Sarah Fregeau, 

Kate Holden, Sean Ling, 

Sahara Morimoto, Andrea Nann 

Jan 22-24 27- 31 Betty Oliphant Theatre 

Book early bird tickets by Dec 24 

Promo code EARLY20 for $20 tickets! 

(January 22-24 performances only) 

peggybakerdance.com 

1-800 838-3006 


Beat by Beat | On Opera 

Straddling The 

Old And The New 

CHRISTOPHER HOILE 

This December and January, there are far more operatic offerings 

than is usually the case. The largest-scale production will be the 

Canadian Opera Company’s revival of Wagner’s Siegfried beginning 

January 23, but that production is preceded by works of a wide 

variety of musical styles. 

FAWN: The first of these is the world premiere of l’homme et le ciel 

by much-in-demand composer Adam Scime playing on December 3 

and 4 at The Music Gallery. It is produced by FAWN Chamber Creative, 

a company dedicated to bringing new, affordable Canadian chamber 

opera to Toronto. The libretto by Ian Koiter is based on the Greek text 

The Shepherd of Hermas from the second century. The story concerns 

a former slave named Hermas, once owned by a woman named 

Rhoda, who begins to fall in love with her when they meet again 

even though Hermas has married. Over a period of 20 days Hermas 

receives five visions in which Rhoda appears as his heavenly accuser 

and tells him to pray for forgiveness. In the fifth vision a messenger 

appears disguised as a shepherd who delivers ten ethical precepts on 

how to live a Christian life. In Koiter’s version the sacred is a mirror 

of the profane and Hermas comes to see that his visions derive from 

repressed sexual impulses. 

The 45-minute-long opera, written for a six-piece ensemble and live 

electronics, will be conducted by the composer. Baritone Alex Dobson 

sings Hermas, soprano Larissa Koniuk is Rhoda and soprano Adanya 

Dunn is The Messenger. Stage director Amanda Smith states: “This 

event will not only be for avid operagoers but for anyone with a hint 

of musical adventure and curiosity.” 

Against the Grain: Following this world premiere is a new look at 

one of the most inescapable musical features of the Christmas season 

– Handel’s Messiah. This is a revival of Against the Grain Theatre’s 

highly acclaimed production of the oratorio in 2013. What places 

this Messiah in the opera category is that it is fully staged, costumed, 

choreographed and artfully lit. The cast has memorized their parts to 

eliminate the need for music stands and choral folders and to allow 

AtG’s artistic director Joel Ivany and choreographer Jennifer Nichols to 

use movement to bring out the meaning of the the oratorio. 

As Ivany explained in correspondence: “What I’ve found by working 

on pieces that are not traditionally staged is a new form. It lives more 

in the world of ballet and contemporary dance. In dance, what you 

normally have is the mix of music with the movement of the body. 

The music enhances what the body is doing and, similarly, the movement 

by the dancers enhance the music.” Exposure to dance caused 

Ivany to ask: “What if we placed more specific movement in opera and 

song? Can gesture by a singer cause the same stirring as the movement 

of a dancer?” Of Messiah in particular, Ivany says, “This work is 

about peace and striving for good. For this production, I believe that 

having movement can help accomplish this by enhancing the music 

with the visual.” 

Since the movement and choreography in this production will differ 

significantly from that in 2013, AtG’s 2015 Messiah is essentially a 

new show. Ivany says that he and Nichols have striven to create more 

of a narrative this time. The notion is: “We’re all on a journey. We can 

pinpoint where it began, and we know that there are several stops 

along the way before we arrive at our final, unknown destination. 

AtG’s Messiah highlights, in a somewhat abstract way, some of those 

‘stops’ along our life journey.” 

As for the soloists, they “do play specific roles, meaning they are 

each the same ‘person’ throughout the entire production. However, 

who that person is, is another question. I think they represent all of us 

– four different people, four different personalities and four different 

ranges of music and emotion.” 

Messiah will be the largest-scale production AtG has ever mounted, 

and this time the Corporation of Roy Thomson Hall and Massey Hall is 

partnering with AtG. Music director Topher Mokrzewski will conduct 

an 18-piece orchestra and a 16-member chorus. The soloists will be 

soprano Miriam Khalil, mezzo-soprano Andrea Ludwig, tenor Owen 

McCausland and bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus. AtG’s Messiah runs 

from December 16 to 19. 

TMT’s Mummers’ Masque: Opening just a day after Messiah, is 

another work that looks at an old tradition in a new way. This is The 

Mummers’ Masque by Dean Burry presented by Toronto Masque 

Theatre, December 17 to 19. TMT gave The Mummers’ Masque its 

world premiere in 2009 and is bringing it back because of its great 

success. Burry was born in Newfoundland, the one province in 

Canada where mummering, brought over by the province’s first 

English and Irish settlers, has remained a living folk tradition at 

Christmastime. 

In the piece Burry weaves together three different versions of 

mummering. The oldest is that of mummers’ plays with stock characters, 

as Burry informed me in conversation, rather like an English 

folk version of commedia dell’arte. The plays always feature a hero, 

often St. George, and a villain, usually called the Turkish Knight – a 

memory of when the Ottoman Empire had made great incursions into 

Europe. Sometimes there would be a Princess, but the character who 

always appeared was the quack Doctor. In the plays, either the Hero 

or the Knight is killed in battle and the Doctor, through various outrageous 

cures, brings the dead man back to life. Though the plays are 

comic, the theme of death and resurrection is what ties them to the 

winter solstice and to celebrations of Christmas and New Year. 

Mummering, or mumming, which derives from the German word 

for “disguise,” presently survives in Newfoundland as a form of “adult 

Halloween,” as Burry calls it, where people go from door-to-door in 

homemade costumes, usually cross-dressed, while playing instruments, 

singing and dancing. The people of the house give their strange 

www.torontooperetta.com 

Guillermo Silva-Marin 

General Director 

A toast to young love 

in old Heidelberg! 

The Student’s Drinking Song, 

Serenade and Golden Days, 

forever beguile, enchant and touch 

our hearts. 

Makes a Great 

Holiday Gift! 

by Sigmund Romberg 

Derek Bate, Conductor | Guillermo Silva-Marin, Stage Director 

Jennifer Taverner, Ernesto Ramírez, Stefan Fehr, Curtis Sullivan 

December 28, 31 at 8 pm 

December 27, January 2 & 3 at 3 pm 

416-366-7723 | 1-800-708-6754 | www.stlc.com 


visitors food and drink and try to guess their identities. 

The third tradition Burry uses is that found 

in the parts of Newfoundland settled by the Irish. 

This involves the mummers carrying a dead wren 

– nowadays just a likeness of one – and asking for 

money to bury it. Wren Day is December 26 and it 

is theorized that the wren represents the death of 

the old year, with December 25 as its last day. 

Musically, Burry’s task as a composer was to 

blend his own modern classical idiom with the 

folk idiom of Newfoundland while allowing for 

audience participation in the singing of hymns and 

carols. Burry says that the greatest challenge was 

finding musicians who would be comfortable in 

both classical and folk traditions, especially in the 

case of the flutist, Ian Harper, who has to play the 

flute, the penny whistle and the uilleann pipes. 

The opera also contains the only known classical 

solo for the Newfoundland ugly stick, a homemade 

instrument made of a mop handle, a rubber boot and bottle caps 

nailed to the handle. 

In The Mummers’ Masque, Carla Huhtanen will sing St. George, 

Marion Newman will be the Rival Knight and the Dragon, Christopher 

Mayell will be Princess Zebra and Giles Tomkins will be Father 

Christmas. There will also be step dancers and a children’s choir. Larry 

Beckwith will conduct the five-member band from the violin and 

Derek Boyes is the stage director. 

TOT’s Student Prince: The main production for Toronto Operetta 

Theatre always straddles the old and new year. This season the operetta 

will be The Student Prince by Sigmund Romberg from 1924 

playing December 27, 28, 31, January 2 and 3. The Student Prince was 

the longest-running work of music theatre in the 1920s with hits like 

Golden Days, Deep in My Heart, Dear and the tenor aria Overhead 

VOICEBOX 

OPERA IN CONCERT 

Guillermo Silva-Marin, General Director 

www.operainconcert.com 

CANADIAN PREMIERE! 

by Antonio Salieri 

(in Italian 

with English Surtitles) 

Kevin Mallon, Conductor 

ARADIA ENSEMBLE 

The VOICEBOX Chorus 

Robert Cooper, Ch. Director 

Sunday Feb. 7 

2:30 pm 

Allison Angelo 

Neil Craighead 

Colin Ainsworth 

Kevin Mallon 

Conductor 

416-366-7723 | 1-800-708-6754 | www.stlc.com 

Toronto 

Operetta Theatre’s 

The Student Prince 

the Moon is Beaming. Since 1974 the operetta has been performed 

annually in the original English in its nominal setting at the University 

of Heidelberg. This will be the operetta’s third staging by the TOT – the 

first in 1989, the second in 2001/02. 

The story uses one of the main plot clichés of operetta, the disguised 

aristocrat who falls in love with a commoner, but here the focus is 

not on the particulars of the plot but rather the universal feelings 

of nostalgia and regret for past deeds. Tenor Ernesto Ramirez sings 

Prince Karl Franz, who as a student falls in love with the local barmaid 

Kathie, soprano Jennifer Taverner. Tenor Stefan Fehr and baritone 

Curtis Sullivan are also in the cast. COC resident conductor Derek Bate 

is at the podium and TOT general director Guillermo Silva-Marin is 

the stage director. 

COC’s Siegfried: The COC begins its winter season with a remount 

of its highly acclaimed production of Richard Wagner’s Siegfried by 

François Girard. The production debuted in 2005 and was last seen as 

part of the COC’s complete Ring Cycle in 2006. German tenor Stefan 

Vinke, one of the finest Siegfrieds in the world, makes his Canadian 

debut in the title role. Returning in the role of the warrior maiden 

Brünnhilde, after universal acclaim as Brünnhilde in Die Walküre 

earlier this year, will be American soprano Christine Goerke. Austrian 

Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke makes his Canadian debut as the sly 

dwarf Mime who raises Siegfried for malign purposes. British baritone 

Christopher Purves makes his COC debut as Mime’s evil brother 

Alberich. The COC has informed us that American contralto Meredith 

Arwady, who sang the role of Death in the 2011 COC production of 

Stravinsky’s The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, will sing the 

role of Erda. American bass-baritone Alan Held sings Wotan, known 

in this opera as The Wanderer. Canadian bass Phillip Ens reprises the 

role as the dragon Fafner, who guards a golden hoard. COC music 

director Johannes Debus conducts his first Siegfried. Siegfried is 

sung in German with English surtitles and runs January 23, 27, 30, 

February 2, 5, 11, 14. 

Christopher Hoile is a Toronto-based writer on opera and 

theatre. He can be contacted at opera@thewholenote.com. 

James Campbell 

clarinet 

Leo Erice piano 

Leslie Fagan 

soprano 

Sunday Jan. 10, 3pm 

Heliconian Hall 35 Hazelton Ave 

www.syrinxconcerts.ca 416.654.0877 


Black 

CMYK 



Beat by Beat | In With the New 

Spectral Spotlight 

WENDALYN BARTLEY 

Over the past year in Toronto’s new music scene, composers 

working within the spectral and post-spectral composition 

aesthetic have been making their voices heard. First of all, in 

March we heard the music of Britain’s George Benjamin, the featured 

composer at the TSO’s New Creations Festival, followed by the music 

of guest composer Kaija Saariaho from Finland at the 21C Music 

Festival in May. 

Philippe Leroux: And now in the 

early days of December, another 

major figure is coming to town – 

Philippe Leroux. Although originally 

from France, Leroux now calls 

Montréal home, thanks to his permanent 

teaching position at McGill 

University. His influence on the 

compositional aesthetics in North 

America is growing fast, with many 

students being drawn to working 

with him. 

WholeNote readers may not be 

that familiar with Leroux, but three 

concerts planned for December 6 and 

8 can change that unfamiliarity into 

an opportunity to dive deeply into the 

creative oeuvre of this remarkable composer. First, on December 6, 

New Music Concerts is performing two of his chamber works: AAA 

for seven instruments and Ailes for baritone and 15 instruments. 

And December 8 is a double concert day with the performance of his 

piece Total SOLo for 28 instruments as part of the COC’s free noonhour 

concert series, followed by five of his works at a special concert 

at the Music Gallery. Leroux is this year’s Michael and Sonja Koerner 

Distinguished Visitor in Composition at the U of T Faculty of Music. 

It’s interesting to note that both concerts on December 8 will be 

performed by advanced student musicians: artists of the Glenn Gould 

School New Music Ensemble conducted by Brian Current (the COC 

event) and doctoral students from U of T’s gamUT Contemporary 

Music Ensemble, conducted by Wallace Halladay (Music Gallery 

concert). Not surprisingly, both Current and Halladay have been 

personally influenced either by their studies or performance experiences 

with Leroux’s music. 

I got together with Halladay to find out more about that relationship 

and discovered the passionate commitment Halladay has for Leroux’s 

music. In answer to my question as to how they met, Halladay told me 

how he went out on a limb and contacted the composer, still living in 

France at the time, when he discovered that Leroux was coming to the 

Université de Montréal as a visiting guest artist. He had been a fan of 

Leroux, within a contemporary trend in European music, and wanted 

an opportunity to talk with him. He followed up that meeting by 

organizing a concert in Toronto of Leroux’s music in 2011, hiring local 

professional musicians. 

What he discovered was a composer who was completely 

committed to working generously with musicians, helping them to 

interpret the score; and musicians, in response, absolutely stimulated 

by the interaction. This type of communication is, in part, what 

has led to Leroux’s appeal to different ensembles – performers just 

love working with him, resulting in many commissions. If you’d like 

to experience this firsthand, the public are welcome to attend a talk 

at the Faculty of Music on December 7 (5:30 to 7pm) as Leroux works 

with performers in preparation for 

the December 8 concert. 

Philippe Leroux 

For Halladay, the excitement 

comes from the challenge of the 

scores, which often call for a 

wide range of sounds not always 

translatable into standard notation. 

This is why the communication 

between composer and 

performer is so important. Leroux 

is always learning and listening 

carefully to the sounds being made 

by the performers, open to how 

they could be notated, or other 

possible ways to achieve what he is 

imagining. 

In my conversation with Leroux, 

he amplified this idea: “I compose 

to create a relationship with the listener as well as with the musicians. 

I write a page or two, and then try to listen as if I was the first 

listener. I always try to listen to my music as a normal listener, not as a 

composer.” 

No doubt this refined approach to listening is one 

NEW 

of 

DIRECTIONS 

the results 

IN MUSIC 

of the years Leroux spent working at IRCAM, a research centre for 

NEW DIRECTIONS IN MUSIC 

sound and electroacoustic music in Paris. This research allowed him 

to become completely immersed in the complex nature of sound itself, 

and understand all the variables that make up a given sound. This 

knowledge of the full spectrum of the sound and how it can be used to 

define the compositional structure is what defines the spectral school 

of composition, which originated in France in the 1970s with the work 

of Gérard Grisey and Tristan Murail. 

As someone influenced by this aesthetic, Leroux continues the tradition 

in his own way. During my conversation with him, he spoke 

about how his starting place is with sounds he finds both interesting 

and beautiful, sounds that have the biggest potential for development 

and variation, whether that be in their harmonic colour or their 

trajectory of movement. After the computer-based analysis of these 



sounds, he may come up with as many as 400 different chords, each 

one created by the different pitch components – the spectrum – of the 

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different sounds. He takes up to three weeks to just play those chords 

over and over on a piano or synthesizer, many of which will have 

microtunings. Finally, through an intuitive process, he selects up to 

ten chords to use as his structure in any given composition. 

Halladay elaborates on the importance of the spectral approach to 

composition. Working with timbre or using extended techniques on 

traditional instruments “is not unique to the spectralists, but what 

is different is they are using timbre for the structural organization of 

music.” This approach contrasts with the majority of compositional 

strategies where melody and harmony are the mainstays of organization, 

even if the music itself is pushing boundaries as in minimalism, 

post-serialism, chance procedures, the use of extra-musical ideas, 

or the fusion of different musical traditions. With spectral composition, 

“the process opens a window to all the elements that make 

up a sound, especially those aspects beyond the audible range” 

Halladay says. 

University of Toronto’s New Music Festival. As Halladay emphasized 

during our talk, the educational aspect of presenting Leroux’s 

music is important, introducing unfamiliar music to students who 

would otherwise never be exposed to it. They are always impressed 

with “how good the music is.” So it is fitting that U of T’s New Music 

Festival follows up this experience with Leroux’s work early in the 

new year with over a week of concerts running from January 30 to 

February 7, centred around the music of Canadian composer Allan 

Gordon Bell. One of the highlights of the festival will the performance, 

February 2, by Calgary’s Land’s End Ensemble of Bell’s work 

Field Notes, a JUNO award-winning work inspired by the prairie landscape. 

On February 1, the Gryphon Trio will perform works by Bell’s 

former students – Carmen Braden, Heather Schmidt, Kelly-Marie 

Murphy and Vincent Ho. The final concert of the festival on February 7 

will premiere a newly commissioned choral work from Bell at the 

Contemporary Showcase Concert. During the festival, various 

student ensembles – including the Wind Ensemble, the Symphony 

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 

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Alex Pauk, Founding Music Director & Conductor 

Daniel Bjarnason Bow to String 

solo cello and ensemble version 

Alexina Louie Imaginary Opera 

Samuel Andreyev Movements and Measures* 

R. Murray Schafer The Falcon’s Trumpet 

for trumpet and orchestra 

Bryan Cheng – cello / Robert Venables – trumpet 

*World Premiere – commissioned by Esprit with generous support 

from The Koerner Foundation 

Season Sponsor 

Concert Sponsor 

The Max Clarkson Family Foundation 

Sunday January 24, 2016 

8:00pm Concert | Koerner Hall 

Box Office 416 408 0208 

espritorchestra.com 

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The Koerner 

Foundation 

The Mary-Margaret 

Webb Foundation 

The Max Clarkson 

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Orchestra and the gamUT Contemporary Music Ensemble – will also 

be performing a wide range of works by Bell and others including an 

electroacoustic concert. 

Music and Dance. One aspect of Leroux’s music that I didn’t 

mention above is his fascination with the ideas of movement and 

gesture in his music, whether that be physical movements made 

by performers, or metaphorical gestures realized through sounds 

that imitate a real gesture created by a human body. For example, to 

compose one of his pieces, he worked with data generated from a 

Bluetooth pen with a camera inside. An old musical manuscript was 

rewritten with this pen, which was tracking the speed or the thickness 

of the lines. This information was used as material for the piece. 

Other ways of exploring the relationship between sound and movement 

are highlighted in several other upcoming concerts. 

For the opening concert of the Music Gallery’s Emergents series on 

December 10, curator and percussionist Germaine Liu has created 

a multidisciplinary ensemble to explore the unique space of the 

Gallery’s church sanctuary. Inspired by the collaboration of John Cage 

and Merce Cunningham, members of the ensemble will perform, 

compose and choreograph a series of new pieces that seek to blend 

the two disciplines of dance and music into an interdependent 

relationship. 

Similarly, four improvising musicians, a painter and a dancer 

will explore the possibilities of interdisciplinary improvisation and 

communication in the NUMUS concert on December 13 in Kitchener- 

Waterloo. And on February 5 and 6, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, in 

Toronto as part of their Ontario tour, will perform Mark Gooden’s 

choreography which was inspired by the stories of Residential School 

survivors, with music by Christos Hatzis and a performance by 

Tanya Tagaq. 

Additional Concerts 

Jan 11: Various composers’ works will be performed by Pamelia 

Stickney on the theremin, an early electronic music instrument, 

at Gallery 345. The evening will also include improvisations and a 

demonstration of the instrument. 

Jan 14: Audiences will have a great opportunity to hear the brilliant 

and dynamic JACK Quartet in a concert co-presented by Music 

Toronto and New Music Concerts. This high-voltage quartet will 

perform works by John Luther Adams, John Zorn, Iannis Xenakis and 

an arrangement of a work by medieval composer Rodericus. 

Jan 20: A celebration of American composer Nancy Van de Vate’s 

85th birthday with a series of her mini-operas at Walter Hall. 

Wendalyn Bartley is a Toronto-based composer and electrovocal 

sound artist. sounddreaming@gmail.com. 

St. Anne’s Ensemble-in-Residence 

The Junction Trio 

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Music of the Group of Seven 

Sunday, November 29th 3:30pm 

ST. ANNE’S COMMUNITY CANTATE 

Sunday, December 20th 3pm 

LOVE LETTER FROM MESSIAEN 

Friday, February 12th 7:30pm 

YEAR OF THE MONKEY with Ron Korb 

Sunday, February 21st 3:30pm 

EVENSONG with Schola Magdalena 

Sunday, March 6th 3:30pm 

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Beat by Beat | Classical & Beyond 

Daniel Hope’s 

Menuhin Tribute 

PAUL ENNIS 

Daniel Hope has built a substantial international career as an 

acclaimed violin soloist, chamber musician and music festival 

curator. A champion of contemporary music and an advocate of 

the classical canon, his musical curiosity cannot be pigeon-holed. He 

was the violinist with the legendary Beaux Arts Trio for six years and 

is currently associate artistic director of the Savannah Music Festival. 

He is a prolific writer (with three German-language books to his 

credit) who has devoted much of his time over the last 15 years to the 

study and preservation of music by composers murdered by the Nazis. 

He has worked with the brilliant, Oscar-winning German actor, Klaus 

Maria Brandauer, on projects combining music and the spoken word, 

including a look at Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale through the prism of 

war and peace. 

Hope’s father, author Christopher Hope, was an outspoken critic of 

apartheid. Those beliefs forced the whole family to leave South Africa 

in 1974 when Daniel was six months old. They moved to London, 

where his mother took a job as Yehudi Menuhin’s secretary, later 

becoming his manager. 

January 28 Hope returns to Koerner Hall for his third Toronto 

concert in 16 months following memorable appearances 

September 30, 2014 as soloist in Max Richter’s Vivaldi’s Four Seasons 

Recomposed, and April 8, 2015 when his singing tone contributed 

greatly to the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s performance 

of Mahler and Brahms piano quartets. His upcoming recital “Yehudi 

Menuhin @ 100” with pianist Sebastian Knauer is a tribute to the man 

in whose house he grew up and with whom he performed many times 

during Menuhin’s last ten years. 

The program consists of music dear to Menuhin’s heart. He and 

Glenn Gould famously recorded J.S. Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 4 in C 

Minor, BWV 1017. The next piece on the program, George Enescu’s 

Impromptu concertant reflects the fact that Menuhin studied with 

Enescu from the age of 11, a mentorship that led to the two becoming 

lifelong friends. Menuhin speaks about him on YouTube: “Enescu will 

always be my guiding light as a man, as a musician.” Menuhin also 

had great affection for the next piece on the program, Mendelssohn’s 

Sonata in F Major, which Menuhin was instrumental in publishing for 

the first time in 1953. 

The Walton Violin Sonata was commissioned by Menuhin in the 

late 1940s. It’s followed by Ravel’s “Kaddisch” from Deux mélodies 

hébraïques. Hearing Menuhin play it on YouTube from a recording 

he made when he was 20 is a very moving experience. He lets the 

music speak for itself; his playing is serene yet paradoxically forceful. 

Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, which conclude the program, 

acknowledge Menuhin’s devotion to the Hungarian composer 

(Menuhin commissioned the Sonata for Solo Violin from Bartók). All 

in all, a splendid way to evoke Menuhin’s spirit. 

Sheila Jaffé 

violin 

Sunday Dec. 6, 3pm 

Peter Longworth 

piano 

Mozart, Szymanowski 

Franck , Claude Vivier 

Heliconian Hall 35 Hazelton Ave 

www.syrinxconcerts.ca 416.654.0877 


Hope and Menuhin: I spoke 

briefly with Hope backstage after 

his Soundstreams concert last 

year and he told me a little about 

growing up in Yehudi Menuhin’s 

house and what an extraordinary 

influence it was on his life, how 

it was absolutely incredible in so 

many ways. 

“That it happened completely 

by accident, that was the thing. 

My parents are not musicians at 

all; they have no musical training. 

But we were kind of thrown into 

this musical environment and 

then Menuhin himself, of course, 

but also the people who came to 

that house, who played with him, 

who came to work with him. The 

amalgamation of musical styles in that house was something out of 

this world. You would have on the same day Rostropovich and Ravi 

Shankar. Or Wilhelm Kempff and Oscar Peterson. 

“So you had great, great music, the essence of music. And as a 

result, it took me until I was 10 or 11 to actually realize there were 

different categories of music. I didn’t understand that. I heard amazing 

music and this music amazed my ears. And the fact that it happened 

to be Indian music or it happened to be a Beethoven sonata didn’t 

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Daniel Hope 

make a difference 

to me. It was just 

fascinating.” 

When Hope was 

four he announced 

that he was going to 

become a violinist. I 

asked how he came 

to that decision. 

“It came about,” 

he said,” because of 

absorption. It was 

hearing the violin, it 

was seeing the violin. 

There were violins 

everywhere; there 

were real violins, 

there were images of 

violins. He had the 

most incredible collection of Paganini original concert posters. He had 

sketches and drawings of Paganini everywhere. Hundreds of them. So, 

wherever you looked you saw an image of a violin or a violinist. 

“Plus you had him always with a violin, you had violinists who 

came in there. So I heard this sound all the time so it wasn’t perhaps 

so much of a surprise when I announced that this is what I wanted 

to do but it did throw my parents slightly a curve because they didn’t 

really know how to deal with that. And it was out of the question to go 

to my mom’s boss. 

“Because I could have said the next day, ‘I want to be a fireman or an 

astronaut or something.’ So ... four-year-old child, whatever. So they 

decided instead to find a teacher who lived around the corner. And 

that was the next bit of great luck. This lady happened to be one of 

the great, great pedagogues of children. We didn’t know that. We just 

asked a few people who said, ‘This lady’s pretty good with kids.’ Sheila 

Nelson was a groundbreaking teacher. And she was the one who made 

this happen actually. 

“Menuhin, much later in life, took a real interest, but only when I 

was 16 or something. So I had to make my way and I had to learn how 

to practise and meet the teachers that defined the way I played and the 

way I worked. And it was through my last teacher, Zakhar Bron, the 

great, great teacher, that Menuhin became quite interested because 

[Bron] had great success with Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin, at 

the time, 15-, 16-year-old kids. And I think he was curious to see what 

could Bron have done. And that’s when I went to play for him when I 

was 16 and it was a mixture of shock and delight because [I was] the 

little kid who always ran around the house, who was very close to 

him (he was like a family member to us). Suddenly it changed and we 

became kind of teacher-student, mentor, colleague.” 

That was the beginning of 60 concerts Hope performed with him. 

“Starting from that moment on, until his death, his last concert. 

That was a period of about ten years; going on the road with him, 

studying with him, then playing in the evening, playing the concerts. 

That was the ultimate because you could learn so much in a lesson but 

nothing actually prepares you for that moment when you go out and 

play, when you perform. 

“And do the great concertos with him, you know, the Elgar, and the 

Bartóks – the things that he had, you know, he’d met the composers 

and he’d worked with them – was just incredible.” 

Hope’s January 28 concert precedes the international release of his 

new CD, My Tribute To Yehudi Menuhin, by just a few days. There 

are many parallels between its contents and the program of the 

Koerner Hall recital. The CD includes Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto 

in D Minor which Menuhin resurrected after one of the composer’s 

relatives presented it to him in 1951. There are works by Bartók 

and Enescu. There is an homage, Unfinished Journey, by Bechara 

El-Khoury, written ten years after Menuhin’s death. There are three 

tributes to Menuhin, by John Tavener, Steve Reich and Hans Werner 

Henze, part of the Compassion project that Menuhin undertook with 

violinist Edna Michell. 

GEORG MAYR 


Quick Picks 

Dec 2 The Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society presents 

pianist Alexander Tselyakov and the Canadian Sinfonia Chamber 

Musicians in Hummel’s Piano Quintet Op.87 and an intimate setting 

of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.2. Dec 9 Duo Concertante’s pianist 

Timothy Steeves goes it alone in a performance of four diverse Haydn 

sonatas. Dec 16 K-WCMS celebrates Beethoven’s birthday with the 

Penderecki String Quartet’s program of two of the composer’s most 

riveting quartets, Op.59 No.3 and Op.132. Jan 27 Mozart’s birthday is 

acknowledged in a diverting program by Trio+ that includes the piano 

Sonata K457, two trios (K502 and K542) and the poignant Sonata for 

violin and piano K304, reputedly Albert Einstein’s favourite piece to 

play. Jan 30 André Laplante studied with Yvonne Hubert in Montreal 

and no doubt had the same experience as all of Hubert’s students; she 

would sit on her student’s right and, with her left hand, play all the 

right-hand passages flawlessly. Laplante’s K-WCMS program consists 

of crowd-pleasing jewels by Schubert, Ravel, Liszt and Chopin. 

Dec 10 The iconic Gryphon Trio begins the third decade of its 

annual Music Toronto association with a program that includes an 

early Beethoven trio (Op.1 No.3), a world premiere by Vincent Ho 

(Gryphon Realms) and Arno Babajanian’s Piano Trio in F-Sharp 

Minor. Jan 14 The compelling JACK Quartet brings their contemporary 

focus to works by John Luther Adams, John Zorn and Iannis Xenakis. 

Feb 4 Music Toronto’s season continues with the Toronto-based Annex 

Quartet, whose program includes Janáček’s powerful Quartet No.1 

“Kreutzer Sonata”, R. Murray Schafer’s Quartet No.5 “Rosalind” and 

Mendelssohn’s Quartet No.2. 

Jan 17 A period ensemble that plays on gut strings with classical 

bows, the London Haydn Quartet brings a quintessential classical 

program to Mooredale Concerts’ first event of the new year. Their 

performance of the same program – Mozart’s sublime Clarinet Quintet 

in A Major, K581 (with guest clarinetist Eric Hoeprich), Haydn’s 

String Quartet in Bb Major, Op. 50, No.1, and Beethoven’s String 

Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3 – was called “revelatory” by the New 

York Times last year. The review went on to praise “the earthy, warm 

sounds of the gut strings [that] blended beautifully throughout” and 

the “myriad details of shading and contrast, and beautifully calibrated 

phrasing.” 

Jan 18 Pianist Christina Petrowska-Quilico heads a stellar group 

of chamber musicians in this Associates of the Toronto Symphony 

Orchestra concert with the intriguing title “Colours in Music: 

Composers with Synaesthaesia.” The sensation of experiencing sounds 

as colours manifests itself in a wide-ranging program of works by 

Liszt, Ellington, Sibelius and Caravassilis. 

Jan 16, 17 The TSO’s “Mozart @ 260” features a representative 

sampling of the great composer’s creative output: the overture and 

two arias from Don Giovanni, his “Jeunehomme” piano concerto 

(with French pianist Alexandre Tharaud) and his final symphony, all 

conducted by Bernard Labadie. Jan 27, 28 The musical treasure that is 

Barbara Hannigan returns to the TSO in a performance of Dutilleux’s 

Correspondances. Hannigan and Dutilleux had a very close artistic 

relationship which the singer touched upon in CBC RADIO 2’s This Is 

My Music recently. Peter Oundjian also leads the orchestra in Berlioz’s 

ever-fresh Symphonie fantastique, which will share the stage with 

Richard Strauss’ buoyant Horn Concerto No.1 on Jan 30. The TSO’s 

principal horn, golden-toned Neil Deland, is the soloist. 

Jan 30 Winner of the 1998 Tchaikovsky Competition, 40-year-old 

Russian pianist Denis Matsuev puts his poetic and virtuosic talent on 

display in a program that begins with Schumann’s Kinderszenen and 

Kreisleriana before concluding with Rachmaninov’s Etudes-Tableaux 

Ops.3,6 and 9 and Sonata No.2. As we go to press the Koerner Hall 

concert is almost sold out. Act quickly. 

Daniel Hope performs “Menuhin @ 100” at Koerner Hall, 

January 28. 

Paul Ennis is the managing editor of The WholeNote. 

High School 

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Music Showcase | December 7, 7:30pm 

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Ruth Watson Room, 

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Choral Night | April 18, 7pm 

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Beat by Beat | World View 

Lost And Found 

ANDREW TIMAR 

Here, patrolling The WholeNote world music beat, most months 

bring a consistent flow of concerts to preview. There’s always 

too much going on in the GTA to include more than just a 

sampling in this column for my trusting WholeNote readers. In 

the extent of its exclusions, this December-January column is no 

exception. 

However, as my deadline rushed ever closer, it initially seemed 

that something unusual was taking place, namely a large hole in the 

January World View concert listings. Just as I thought I would have to 

leave out the first month of 2016 entirely, an announcement surfaced 

for a late January concert of newly discovered Yiddish music from 

WWII – with a most intriguing backstory. While that concert is well 

into 2016 (Happy Lunar New Year, dear reader?!), it is as good a place 

to start as any. 

Lost Yiddish Songs of the USSR: January 27, Svetlana Dvoretsky/ 

Show One Productions present “Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of 

Life and Fate” at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. A 

mixed ensemble of outstanding Russian, Jewish and Canadian musicians 

premiere Yiddish songs discovered in Ukraine. Their creation, 

collection, banning and recent discovery tell a story of resistance and 

reclamation, describing a wide historical and musicological sweep. 

Our compelling story begins during the turbulent late days of 

World War II when leading Soviet linguists and ethnomusicologists 

including the eminent Moisei Beregovsky collected and notated 

the songs of Jewish refugees, Jewish soldiers in the Red Army and 

Holocaust survivors in Ukraine. Their extensive collection documented 

these survivors’ defiance of the Third Reich in song. Our 

narrative takes a dark turn when in 1949 the Soviet government 

arrested Beregovsky and his colleagues, confiscating and hiding the 

documents. Researchers had 

long considered them lost. 

We pick up the story a 

few years ago, in the holdings 

of the Ukrainian 

National Library in Kiev. 

Enter Anna Shternshis, associate 

professor of Yiddish 

and Diaspora Studies at the 

University of Toronto. When 

she opened the sealed boxes 

she found a trove of thousands 

of hand-notated 

Yiddish songs which had lain 

unheard for nearly 70 years, 

until now. 

Shternshis worked 

closely with Psoy Korolenko, 

Psoy Korolenko 

the Russian poet, philologist, “avant-bard” singer/songwriter and 

renowned klezmer performer, to produce performing versions of 

these songs. Selections will receive their world premiere in “Yiddish 

Glory: The Lost Songs of Life and Fate” performed by Korolenko, the 

virtuoso Russian trio Loyko, plus Canadian vocalists including the 

JUNO Award-winning singer Sophie Milman. Accordionist extraordinaire 

Alexander Sevastian, award-winning trumpeter David 

Buchbinder and clarinetist/conductor Shalom Bard round out the 

international cast. A recording of this music is being produced by 

Shternshis and Dan Rosenberg. 

Going Home Star. February 5 and 6 another musically powered 

story of suffering, resistance and the ultimate reassertion of personal 

and cultural identity is being performed, this time at the Sony Centre 

for the Performing Arts. The critically acclaimed ballet Going Home 

Star – Truth and Reconciliation has a story by Joseph Boyden, score 

by Christos Hatzis and choreography by Mark Godden. It explores the 


all-Canadian story of loss, resistance and reconciliation: that of the 

Indian residential school system, its survivors and their families. 

The ballet’s richly textured, cumulatively powerful music is not just 

the work of the Canadian veteran composer Hatzis, enthusiastically 

performed by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, but also enfolds 

important contributions of indigenous voices whose communities 

have been directly and profoundly affected by the Indian residential 

schools and their aftermath. They include Cree actor Tina Keeper, the 

boundary-breaking Inuk vocalist Tanya Tagaq, who won last year’s 

Polaris Prize, pow-wow stars Northern Cree Singers, as well as songs 

by Steve Wood (Mistikwaskihk Napesis). 

I’ve had a chance to listen to the impressive, recently released 2-CD 

recording of Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation. It comes 

chockablock with Hatzis’ signature inclusions of music in multiple 

vernacular music genres, as well as acoustic and electronic soundscapes 

diffused from the studi0-produced digital audio track, in 

addition to the symphonic core. I found the contribution of North 

American indigenous voices, however, to be the key to the work’s 

ethical and aesthetic fabric. These voices are essential texts in the story 

centred on the suffering imposed on children in Canada’s infamous 

Beat by Beat | Art of Song 

Indian residential schools. While the narrative contains much pain, 

loss and suffering, the ballet ends with the possibility of personal and 

intercultural redemption and reconciliation. It’s an important story for 

all of us to understand. Witnessing this production is, in my estimation, 

a fitting way to start a new year. 

Quick Picks 

Dec 1: Tanya Tagaq and her band share the stage with Owen Pallett 

and the guided improvising Element Choir directed by Christine 

Duncan, at Massey Hall and Feb 5 West coast blues and raga guitarist, 

singer-songwriter Harry Manx appears in the “Folk Under the Clock” 

series at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in Peterborough. 

For my “Quick Picks” of everything in between, please see the 

extended version of this column online at 

thewholenote.com/worldview. 

Andrew Timar is a Toronto musician and music writer. He 

can be contacted at worldmusic@thewholenote.com. 

Gauvin Returns 

HANS DE GROOT 

As in preceding years, Attila Glatz Concert Productions bring two 

events to Roy Thomson Hall, a salute to Vienna (Strauss waltzes 

and melodies from operettas by Strauss and Lehar) on New 

Year’s Day, to be repeated in Hamilton at Hamilton Place on January 3, 

and on New Year’s Eve, Bravissimo!, a selection 

from the most popular operas by Rossini, 

Offenbach, Verdi and Puccini. 

Care has always been taken to have 

both Canadian and non-Canadian singers 

in Bravissimo! This year both the tenor, 

Stefano La Colla, and the baritone, Lucio 

Gallo, are Italian, while the female singers 

are Canadian: Karina Gauvin, soprano, 

and Krisztina Szabó, mezzo. We have heard 

Szabó’s eloquent and powerful voice a 

number of times recently: in the dramatized 

version of Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin by 

Against the Grain Theatre and in the Canadian 

Opera Company’s triple bill of Monteverdi and Monk Feldman. Gauvin 

has performed in Toronto many times, with the Toronto Symphony 

Orchestra, with Tafelmusik and in recital, but she has been away 

too long and the December 31 concert will be a good opportunity 

to catch up. 

Toronto Masque Theatre presents “A Newfoundland Christmas 

Kitchen Party” on December 17, 18 and 19 at Enoch Turner 

Schoolhouse with music by Dean Burry. The singers are Carla 

Huhtanen, soprano, Marion Newman, mezzo, Christopher Mayell, 

tenor, and Giles Tomkins, baritone. Other performers are members of 

the Canadian Children’s Opera Company as well as two step dancers 

(Pierre Chartrand and Hannah Shira Naiman) and a jug band led by 

Larry Beckwith. This is a revival of The Mummers’ Masque, a work 

commissioned by the Toronto Masque Theatre and first performed on 

December 3, 2009. 

Looking back: On November 3, I attended the annual COC 

Ensemble Studio Competition, eight finalists chosen from a large 

number of contestants. The first prize (and the Audience Award) went 

to mezzo Emily D’Angelo, who gave a beautifully paced performance 

of Contro un cor from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. She needed 

a chair to lean on as she was on crutches, having broken her foot, 

but she deftly turned the chair into part of her act. The second prize 

went to Lauren Eberwein, also a mezzo, who sang Parto, parto from 

Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito; third to Bruno Roy, baritone, who 

performed Hai già vinta la causa!, the Count’s aria from Mozart’s The 

Marriage of Figaro. When there are prize-winners, there must also 

be those who receive no prizes, in this case including two especially 

fine performers: the baritone Zachary Read, who sang Valentin’s aria 

Avant de quitter ces lieux from Gounod’s Faust, and the soprano Eliza 

Johnson, who sang Caro Nome from Verdi’s Rigoletto. 

Other Events of Note (see listings for details): 

Dec 2: The Cathedral Church of St. James resumes its series 

“Cantatas in the Cathedral.” Soloists are Sheila Dietrich, soprano, 

Christina Stelmacovich, alto, Robert 

Busiakiewicz, tenor, and David Roth, bass. 

Dec 3,4,5,6:Tafelmusik Baroque Opera 

and Chamber Choir, conducted by Ivars 

Taurins, present Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. 

Soloists are Jana Miller, soprano, Benno 

Schachtner, countertenor, James Gilchrist, 

tenor, and Peter Harvey, baritone. Dec 6 

Toronto Classical Singers present the same 

work, conducted by Jurgen Petrenko with 

Jennifer Taverner, soprano, Sandra Boyes, 

mezzo, Asitha Tennekoon, tenor, and James 

Baldwin, baritone. Yet another performance 

of the work by the Spiritus Ensemble takes 

place in Waterloo Dec 13 with Sheila Dietrich, soprano, Jennifer Enns 

Modolo, mezzo, Steve Surian and Bud Roach, tenors, and Richard 

Hryztak, baritone. 

Dec 5 there is an Aradia Ensemble concert and CD launch of sacred 

music by Vivaldi; the singers are Hélène Brunet, soprano, and Vicky 

St. Pierre, contralto. 

Dec 5 and 6 there will be two performances by Pax Christi Chorale 

of Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ with soloists Nathalie Paulin, soprano, 

Olivier Laquerre, baritone, Alain Coulombe, bass, Sean Clark, tenor, 

and Matthew Zadow, baritone. 

Also Dec 6 Eliska Latawiec sings Dvořák at St. Wenceslaus Church. 

Dec 12, The Neapolitan Connection presents Allison Arends, Jennifer 

Mizzi and Victoria Gydov, sopranos, at Montgomery’s Inn. Dec 15 

Mooredale Concerts presents the extraordinary Calmus Ensemble 

in “Christmas Carols of the World.” Dec 18, at St. Andrew’s Church, 

another concert of Christmas carols features Allison Angelo and 

Xin Wang, sopranos, as soloists; admission is by freewill offering in 

support of St. Andrew’s Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Fund. 

January offers much vocal music of note, too much to do justice to 

in this small space. For details please see the extended version of this 

column online at thewholenote.com/artofsong. 

Karina Gauvin 

Hans de Groot is a concertgoer and active listener, 

who also sings and plays the recorder. He can be 

contacted at artofsong@thewholenote.com 

MICHAEL SLOBODIAN 


A Living Legacy 

In Memory Of A Mentor And Friend 

Sir David Willcocks (1919-2015) 

LYDIA ADAMS 

On Saturday, December 19 at 7:30pm, 

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church will 

ring out with the sounds of carols and 

Chanukah songs old and new as Toronto’s 

Amadeus Choir, along with the glorious voices 

of the Bach Children’s Chorus, joins with the 

Trillium Brass, composer and pianist Eleanor 

Daley and organist Shawn Grenke to celebrate 

the life of Sir David Willcocks, the great British 

choral director, who died in September. 

This event is much more than simply a 

tribute to a great musician for me personally, as 

Sir David was a great mentor and friend to me. 

Our connection goes back to 1976 during 

my student days at the Royal College of Music 

in London, where he was warm, generous, 

welcoming and encouraging to me. He gave the 

students at the RCM tremendous opportunity 

to perform on a professional level and, with his expectation of the 

highest standard, brought students to a higher level of performance 

than they could have expected, at a crucial time in our development. 

We could not have been in better hands. 

I was fortunate enough to sing with and play for him for the five 

years I was in London. My very first performance with him was as 

a member of the Royal College of Music Chorus, for the memorial 

service for Benjamin Britten in Westminster Abbey, with Sir Peter 

Pears singing the lead role in Britten’s St. Nicholas Cantata; and 

my final performance with him was as a member of the Bach 

Choir, singing at the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady 

Diana Spencer. 

In addition to recording sessions, there were many, many performances 

at the Royal Festival Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, King’s College 

Chapel in Cambridge, annual performances at Wormwood Scrubs 

prison and touring throughout England, Wales and Europe. 

Along with his uncompromising standard of excellence, he was 

one of the kindest people I have ever met. For all his brilliance, he had 

a profound humility. He led by example in his meticulous rehearsal 

technique and in his way of working with people. He gave young 

singers such as the Amadeus Choir’s honorary patron, mezzo-soprano 

Catherine Wyn-Rogers, their very first major performance opportunities, 

and he kept up with and supported all our careers as we travelled 

forward. He was extremely important in the life of our own great 

Canadian baritone, Gerald Finley, and had a profound effect on many 

choral musicians of Canada: Jean Ashworth Bartle, Robert Cooper, 

Elmer Iseler, Gerald Fagan and Peter Partridge, among many others 

throughout the country. 

He came to Toronto on several occasions as an honorary patron 

of the Amadeus Choir to conduct us and the Elmer Iseler Singers in 

extraordinary performances of Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s B Minor 

Mass. Every singer involved in those performances sang for him to 

the very best of their ability – sang from their hearts – and they, along 

with their audiences, were rewarded with some of the most brilliant 

performances you will ever hear of those works. 

Sir David Willcocks was the consummate musician. He was well 

known for the annual Service of Nine Lessons and Carols from the 

magnificent King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, and he turned the 

service into an annual broadcast event not to be missed by musicians 

around the world. He made many recordings with his King’s College 

Choir, but none more loved than his performance of the Requiem of 

Gabriel Fauré, which was released in 1967. He had a spiritual connection 

with this most sublime of compositions, and his performance 

with the King’s Chapel Choir, John Carol Case, baritone, and Robert 

Chilcott, treble, is a benchmark performance in the choral world. 

Sir David succeeded Reginald Jacques as the musical director of 

the Bach Choir in 1960. With this magnificent group of 300 singers, 

he performed all the great choral repertoire and championed the 

works of British composers Vaughan Williams, Howells, Britten, 

Elgar and Tippett among many others. As a singer in the Bach Choir, 

I performed the Bach St. Matthew Passion with them each year and 

toured and recorded with the choir regularly. 

I recall that we had just finished a recording 

of some of his famous Carols for Choirs, when 

we were told that it was the very first recording 

ever with a new technique, something called 

digital recording! We also recorded the Bach 

St. Matthew Passion (in English). Each year, the 

Bach Choir would perform a sold-out Christmas 

program at the Royal Albert Hall with the Phillip 

Jones Brass Ensemble and the massive organ of 

the Royal Albert Hall. 

Composition competition: Another aspect 

of Sir David’s legacy will also be on display at 

our December 19 concert: As part of his association 

with the Bach Choir, he had started a 

composition competition for children to write 

a Christmas carol. The lucky winner had her 

or his carol arranged by Sir David himself for 

the 300-strong singers of the Bach Choir and the Philip Jones Brass 

Ensemble, and it was always a magical moment when the time came 

for the performance of that work. It was an amazing way to inspire 

young composers. 

Sir David and the Bach Choir’s annual Christmas concerts at the 

Royal Albert Hall became the inspiration for the Amadeus Choir’s own 

seasonal composition competition, now in its 29th year. Through this 

competition the Amadeus Choir and the Bach Children’s Chorus with 

conductor Linda Beaupré have sung premieres of hundreds of carols 

and Chanukah songs, along with a number of winter solstice pieces. 

This Amadeus Choir’s annual competition for composers has 

been an important stepping-off point for many of Canada’s finest 

composers for choirs, including Eleanor Daley, Mark Sirett, Matthew 

Emery, Scott Tresholm, Kunle Owalabi, Malcolm Edwards and 

Sheldon Rose, among many others. (The collaboration with Linda 

Beaupré and the Bach Children’s Chorus has been vital to its success, 

as has Eleanor Daley’s role as an arranger of the carols by children.) 

On December 19, we will be singing nine new works, including 

one called Mary’s Lullaby by eight-year-old composer Antonia 

Dragomir, who also wrote her own stunningly beautiful lyrics. 

There is an amazing Chanukah piece, Al Hanassim, by Adam Adler 

from Thornhill in the youth category and we will have premieres 

in the adult amateur and professional categories that we consider 

outstanding. 

In the spirit of Canada, as we move forward this annual competition 

for composers will take on a new focus, starting with the upcoming 

30th anniversary: it will become more inclusive and welcoming 

of new works written in a spirit of diversity. It will also include an 

exciting additional component: a workshop with some of our finest 

composers here in Toronto, to assist young and amateur composers in 

building and honing their skills. 

When Eleanor Daley’s arrangement of Antonia Dragomir’s Mary’s 

Lullaby is being sung by the Bach Children’s Chorus on December 19 

in the wonderful space of Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, I will be 

smiling: in memory of a great musician and in pleasure at a moment 

that reflects his ongoing legacy. It is a legacy evidenced in the thousands 

of conductors, singers, instrumentalists and audience members 

throughout the world who have been inspired by his outstanding 

leadership and musicianship, as well as all his recordings, arrangements 

and original works. 

Lydia Adams is conductor and artistic director of Amadeus 

Choir of Toronto and the Elmer Iseler Singers. 


Beat by Beat | Choral Scene 

Emerging 

Conductors 

BRIAN CHANG 

Walter Mahabir greets me with a big hug and a huge smile on 

his face. We’re in the busy Coffee Pub at the Centre for Social 

Innovation Annex, the home of The WholeNote. We haven’t 

seen each other since Luminato’s staging of Apocalypsis where we 

sang in separate choirs that made up the monumental work. He’s the 

new assistant conductor of the Orpheus Choir and one of the reasons 

I’m focusing on emerging conductors this month. He’s younger than I 

am by a few years and represents the exact kind of fresh air in choral 

conducting that I’m looking for and that I respond to. He’s young and 

attractive, has a gentle yet firm approach and even broke into song 

uninhibited during our interview. 

For him, choral music has been fully intertwined with his life from 

an early age. He’s a proud graduate of the musical halls of St Michael’s 

Choir School. He has a breadth of experience behind him as well. At 

York University he studied conducting under Lisette Canton. He’s 

sung tenor with the Cantabile Chamber Singers, the Canadian Men’s 

Chorus, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and the Orpheus Choir. 

Jennifer Min-Young Lee: The second individual in this month’s 

focus is Jennifer Min-Young Lee, the new associate conductor of the 

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. As a child she was fully immersed in a 

hybrid youth leadership, skills-building and education program all 

revolving around music. Born and raised in South Korea, Jennifer 

spent many summer and winter breaks immersed in the World 

Vision Children’s Choir. In 1960, children who lost their parents in 

the Korean War 

were organized by 

World Vision into a 

choir to share love 

and hope while 

building their skills 

and experience. 

The legacy of this 

choir continues 

to this day. Lee 

explains that this 

was how she came 

to learn and interact 

with music. This 

intensive musical 

experience occupied 

her every 

break from school. 

With a master’s in 

choral conducting 

from the Eastman 

School of Music 

at the University 

Walter Mahabir 

of Rochester and 

an undergraduate 

degree in music and education from the University of Western 

Ontario, Jennifer has solid credentials and solid skills. 

She’s a powerhouse of a conductor and educator. She laughs 

nervously as she lists all her musical obligations. It’s a gentle way 

to express humility. She’s a full-time music teacher at Bur Oak 

Secondary School in York Region. She helms a vocal program of 

over 100 students as well as piano majors. Most of her students have 

never had any formal musical education. She takes them as they are 

and teaches them key skills as they grow and come to embrace the 

Berlioz 

L’enfance du Christ 

Pax Christi Chorale 

& Orchestra 

with Nathalie Paulin, Olivier Laquerre, 

Alain Coulombe, Sean Clark, Matthew Zadow 

Saturday, December 5, 7:30p.m. 

& Sunday, December 6, 3:00p.m. 

Grace Church on-the-Hill 



PaxChristiChorale.org 


creativity of music. Beyond teaching 

she has sung in the Exultate Chamber 

Singers (who also performed in 

Apocalypsis) and has served as apprentice 

conductor for Orchestra Toronto, 

all on top of her considerable experience 

in Rochester and London during 

her studies. 

When we think of conductors, our 

ingrained expectation is someone 

akin to Leonard Bernstein or Peter 

Oundjian. While maestros like 

Bernstein were powerhouses, their 

vernacular and approach to music 

were far removed from the average 

person’s. Lee’s true skill lies not just in 

her profession, but her ability to teach 

and reach students without musical 

education. The fact that she has guided 

students who previously had no 

musical experience through years of 

successful music education is significant 

and incredibly valuable. These are 

the kinds of skills and teachings that 

make a difference in our communities. 

Bur Oak is in the heart of a new 

development and in an area filled with 

newcomers, mostly from East Asia 

and South Asia. Many of her students had never had music offered in 

educational curricula until they came to Canada. These are kids who 

have no idea who Von Karajan or Bach are, and don’t know music 

beyond catchy YouTube vids. But these kids understand Lee, watching 

her conduct and teach. For many of them, singing in a choir is the 

first time they have ever learned to step back and be part of a greater 

Jennifer Min-Young Lee 

whole. And some of these kids will one day 

grow up to lead ensembles of their own. 

Every year at the end of January the Toronto 

Mendelssohn hosts one of a handful of choral 

conducting symposiums in North America. It 

is a weeklong intensive event that culminates 

in a free concert. Rarely does one get to see so 

many conductors with different styles in play 

at one time. Over the years, I’ve spent time 

cataloguing the various physicalities of these 

conductors. From “lego hands” to “stacking 

cups” to “the octopus” to “wings about to take 

flight “ - there is no shortage of physical interpretations 

and expressions of music. The first 

performance I ever did of Handel’s Messiah 

with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra was 

under guest conductor Christopher Warren 

Green. At the end of All we like sheep have 

gone astray the music becomes suddenly 

sombre and slow after a much faster and 

energetic beginning. In the last few bars 

the maestro just held his hands up to the 

choir with pleading on his face and barely 

conducted as we sang “the iniquity of us all.” 

It was incredibly effective. Lee participated 

in the Choral Conductors Symposium a few 

years ago before returning to the Mendelssohn 

Choir in her new role as associate conductor. 

Walter Mahabir speaks of his own inspirations on the podium. 

When I ask him questions about conducting influences he lists 

many noting Lissette Canton’s precise technicality, Robert Cooper’s 

balance, and Brainerd Blyden-Taylor’s emotion. Mahabir says he is 

learning from them all as he finds his own way. He explains that 

no matter what he does, he sees himself as an entertainer and he 

SEASON OFJOY 

Lydia Adams, Conductor & Artistic Director 

Saturday, December 19, 2015 • 7:30pm 

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church 

1585 Yonge Street, Toronto 

TICKETS: REGULAR $40 | SENIOR $30 | UNDER 30 $25 | 

CHILDREN UNDER 12 AND STUDENTS WITH ID 

ARE FREE FOR THE SEASON OF JOY ON DEC 19 

Be inspired! Winning compositions 

from our 29th Annual International 

Song-Writing Competition! We will 

also honour the memory of our dear 

friend and patron Sir David Willcocks 

by performing some of his brilliant 

arrangements of traditional carols 

with brass and audience participation. 



Amadeus Choir 

Lydia Adams, Conductor 

Shawn Grenke, Piano & Organ 

GUEST ARTISTS: 

Bach Children’s Chorus with 

Linda Beaupré, Conductor 

Eleanor Daley, Piano & Organ 

The Trillium Brass Quintet 

COMING UP! 

LOVE NOTES 

Our Annual Fundraising Concert Event! 

Saturday, February 20, 2016 • 7pm 

Jubilee United Church 

TICKETS: REGULAR $45 | SENIOR/STUDENT $35 

CARMINA BURANA: 

THE SPRING EMERGES 

Sunday, April 3, 2016 • 4pm 

Toronto Centre for the Arts 

TICKETS: REGULAR $45 | SENIOR $40 | 

UNDER 30 $35 | STUDENT $20 

416.446.0188 

www.amadeuschoir.com 


enjoys movement as a basketball player and dancer. The physicality of 

conducting suits his style very well. 

Mahabir and I come from similar parts of the city, he from North 

Etobicoke and I from North Scarborough. These are parts of the city 

that are socially, economically and racially diverse and in many ways 

divergent. Transit is minimal, City Hall and Queen’s Park are far away, 

schools are in disrepair, parents are working multiple jobs, and arts 

programs are woefully underfunded if they exist at all. These places 

do not lack culture and community; they are in fact some of the most 

diverse in the entire country. However, music education is not always 

prevalent. Mahabir teaches a junior kids choir that was born out of the 

growth of musical programming offered by the Regent Park School of 

Music. And he teaches piano in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood. 

He’s committed to making it more than just a place for after-school 

hanging out and to turning it into a learning experience where the 

kids can grow creatively. And he loves it most when he sees the energy 

and joy they get out of performing – of showing them that they can 

do it, and they can do it well. Mahabir exudes this energy as does Lee. 

Their respective students are very lucky indeed. 

These two conductors have a breadth of education and experience 

behind them and ahead of them. Their careers are only better because 

they represent everything that music needs to be in the coming years 

– younger, bolder, and diverse. 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! 

Choirs are on full display with their holiday offerings. It’s a 

wonderful time for music! Here’s a mix of fun and beautiful 

highlights: 

Jennifer Min-Young Lee can be seen conducting selections at the 

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir presentation of “Festival of Carols” on 

December 9 at 7:30pm, Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. David Briggs 

will be featured on the impressive church organ and the Salvation 

Army Staff Band will be performing alongside the choir. 

Walter Mahabir will be part of the Orpheus Choir presentation of 

“Welcome Christmas” on December 15 at 7:30pm, Yorkminster Park 

Baptist Church. They will be performing with the Hannaford Street 

Silver Band and the absolutely incredible Jackie Richardson. 

Singing Out! presents “All I want for Christmas is you.” Toronto’s 

LGBTQ gender-diverse and voicing-diverse choir performs fun holiday 

selections on December 5 at 3pm and 7:30pm in the Jane Mallett 

Theatre. The choir always dances and I’ve been told there will be bells. 

Univox presents the gospel cantata Great Joy by Joubert, McElroy 

and Red, featuring a five-piece band on December 9 and 11 at 8pm 

in the Al Green Theatre at the Miles Nadal JCC. The band will feature 

Chris Tsujiuchi on piano who also helms his own “A Very Christ-erical 

Christmas Cabaret” at the ever-fabulous Buddies In Bad Times Theatre 

on December 12 and 13 at 7:30pm. 

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn 

Choir perform Sir Andrew Davis’ grand interpretation of Handel’s 

Messiah. This year is a special treat as it will be recorded live by 

Chandos. December 15, 16, 18, 19 and 20, various times, at Roy 

Thomson Hall. 

The Oakville Children’s Choir and the Oakville Symphony 

Orchestra provide a fun pairing for holiday fun at 1:30pm and 4:30pm 

on December 13 at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. These 

annual family fun concerts are audience participation and include 

some lovely highlights from John Williams’ Home Alone score. 

The New Year! 

January always provides a quieter month of respite for choristers 

with the exception of two notable events. One being the 

aforementioned Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Choral Conductors 

Symposium free concert on January 30 at 3pm at Yorkminster Park 

Baptist Church. Second, the Toronto Symphony’s Mozart festival 

featuring the Amadeus Choir in Mozart’s Requiem on January 21 and 

23 at 8pm in Roy Thomson Hall. Special note: Philippe Sly, bass-baritone, 

is featured in the Requiem and he is one not to miss. 

Please stay in touch! Feedback: choralscene@ 

thewholenote.com or Twitter @thebfchang 

HANNAFORD STREET 

SILVER BAND 

2015-2016 

Making a 

Scene! 

WELCOME CHRISTMAS 

Tuesday December 15, 2015 7:30 p.m. 

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. 

Rejoice in the spirit of the season with Orpheus, 

the Hannaford Street Silver Band and JUNO-nominated 

jazz and gospel songstress Jackie Richardson for a 

glorious Christmas celebration. 

Hannaford Street Silver Band • Jackie Richardson • Orpheus Choir 

Tickets: $40; $30 senior; $10 student 

www.orpheuschoirtoronto.com hssb.ca/events 

BMO 

Financial Group 




The Jackman 

Foundation 

BMO 




Beat by Beat | Early Music 

New Take On The 

Red Priest 

DAVID PODGORSKI 

For most non-musicians, the end of December is a welcome 

opportunity to take a break from the pressures of work, usually 

present year-round, and spend time with family and friends. This 

is sadly not the case if you happen to be a performing musician. While 

most of us are winding down for the holidays, it seems like Toronto 

early music groups are working harder in the next couple of months. 

December and January are two busy months for early music groups in 

the city, and whether it’s Christmas repertoire or part of their regular 

programming, if you’re in the mood for a concert on any given week 

in the next couple of months, there will be an early music concert that 

will be well worth going out to hear. 

It’s not often that I find myself in the position of trying to argue 

that Antonio Vivaldi is an underrated composer who needs to be 

given his due. But while Vivaldi still ranks as the great Italian orchestral 

composer of the 18th century, it’s rare to hear his opera music, 

and still rarer to hear his sacred vocal music performed in concert. 

I’m happy to say that the Aradia Ensemble will be doing their part to 

give us a new take on the Red Priest with their recording of his sacred 

vocal music, which they’ll be celebrating with a CD launch concert at 

7:30pm on December 5 at St. Anne’s Anglican Church (270 Gladstone 

Ave). Soloists Hélène Brunet and Vicki St. Pierre will join the group to 

sing in an all-Vivaldi program that includes his cantatas Beatus Vir, 

Cur Sagittas, Cur Tela, and Vos Aurae per Montes. Aradia has over 50 

albums under its belt, many of them excellent, so it’s a bit of a shame 

that the group remains largely ignored by the Toronto concert-going 

public. This promises to be a solid concert of some rare music by a 

first-rate composer. 

Not Ordinary: Another Toronto group that deserves a little more 

attention is the Musicians in Ordinary. Over the last few years, the 

group has been positively thriving as the ensemble-in-residence at 

St. Michael’s College, of the University of Toronto. In an age of cuts 

to culture and with symphony orchestras being forced to close their 

doors for lack of funding, it’s heartening to see that U of T is giving 

the group a regular performance space as well as some resources for 

larger-scale concerts. There is absolutely no group on the Toronto early 

music scene that performs as wide a range of repertoire as frequently 

as this one. Their concert next month is a great example of what the 

group can do when it’s scaled up. St. Michael’s Schola Cantorum will 

be joining the Musicians in Ordinary for a concert of English music by 

Handel and Geminiani. Violinist Chris Verrette will also be performing 

with the group in what promises to be a very enjoyable musical 

evening, December 7 at 7:30, at St. Basil’s Church, St. Michael’s 

College. The holiday season also promises a chance to get out and see 

some concerts, and it’s nice to see that there’s more than just Messiahs 

to get us all in the mood. 

Cantemus Singers start the Christmas season off early at 7:30pm 

on December 5 with a concert of Christmas music from the courts 

of 16th-century Spain and Austria at the Church of the Holy Trinity. 

If you happen to be in Kingston, or if you’d prefer a choral concert 

that’s a little more conventional in its repertoire, you might want to 

consider checking out the Melos Choir, who will be doing a program 

of Advent and Christmas songs and readings featuring music by some 

Renaissance heavyweights –Schütz, Byrd, Praetorius and Victoria. It’s 

at St. George’s Church in Kingston on December 5 at 7:30. 

The Oratory at Holy Family Church often puts on timely music 

and a well-researched repertoire. This month’s concert at 8pm 

on December 9 at the Oratory is no exception. They’ll be doing 

Advent music by Charpentier and Bach, as well as some baroque 

composers that I had to look up. Giovanni Rigatti was a 17th-century 


Venetian composer, while Nicolaus Bruhns was a Danish-German 

composer, organist and violinist, who was a student of Dietrich 

Buxtehude. Both these composers wrote music for Advent, and 

both of them would probably be better known if more of their 

work had survived to the present day. Have they been justifiably 

ignored, or are they neglected masters? Check out the concert 

and find out. 

Zak Ozmo: As far as original ideas for Christmas concerts go, 

you can’t get much more creative – or exotic – than the Toronto 

Consort’s Christmas concert this year. On December 11, 12 and 

13 at Trinity St-Paul’s Centre the group will present a concert 

of Christmas music from the monastery of Santa Cruz. Guest 

director and lutenist Zak Ozmo will lead the group in a program of 

Portuguese- and Brazilian-influenced music unearthed from the 

monastery’s archives. I’m especially looking forward to hearing 

this concert, as it’s a unique program from a musical tradition we 

don’t often get to hear much of in Toronto (Be honest, when was 

the last time you got a chance to go to a concert of Portuguese 

baroque music?) and this find could very well be a treasure trove 

of scores to add to the early music canon. 

I Furiosi: After the holidays, I’m happy to say that the music scene 

in the city won’t be quieting down at all. The always-boisterous I 

Furiosi ensemble will be presenting a mixed concert of Luzzaschi, 

Charpentier and Purcell at 8pm on January 9 at Calvin Presbyterian 

Church. The band will be joined by soprano Merry-Anne Stuart and 

organist Stephanie Martin for a concert of songs about unrequited 

love, rejection, and futility. 

Tafel welcomes Glodeanu: Finally, at the end of January, more 

Vivaldi. Tafelmusik will be honouring Vivaldi’s music in an all-Italian 

concert led by Romanian violinist Mira Glodeanu. Vivaldi’s L’estro 

armonico (“harmonic fancy”) is a series of 12 concertos published 

by Vivaldi that endure as the composer’s best-known work and was 

hugely influential on music in the 18th century. (J. S. Bach liked the 

concertos so much he transcribed six of them.) On January 20 at 7pm 

Cantemus Singers 

and on the following weekend, Tafelmusik will perform the second, 

fourth, and eleventh concerts from the work, along with chamber 

music and a concerto grosso by Locatelli as well as music by Vivaldi’s 

contemporary Giovanni Guido, who was so enamoured of The Four 

Seasons that he based his Scherzi Armonici on them. This promises 

to be an exceptional sampling of 18th-century Italian music and with 

Glodeanu making her debut with the ensemble from the first violin, 

the concert offers for Tafelmusik regulars another teasing view of how 

the ensemble plays with someone other than Jeanne Lamon leading 

from first violin. 

David Podgorski is a Toronto-based harpsichordist, music 

teacher and a founding member of Rezonance. He can 

be contacted at earlymusic@thewholenote.com. 

Presents 

¤HE WAY oƒ THE 

PILG|iM 

From travellers en route to a sacred shrine, 

to wandering scholars searching for the perfect teacher, 

we bring you pilgrim songs, crusaders’ laments and 

ecstatic dances from Spain, France and Germany. 

Friday, February 12, 8pm 

Saturday, February 13, 8pm 

Tickets $24-$57 

Box Office 416-964-6337 

TorontoConsort.org 




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 54. 

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 57. 

D. 

IN THE CLUBS (MOSTLY JAZZ) 

is organized alphabetically by club. 

Starts on page 58. 

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 61. 

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 

February 1 to March 7, 2016. All listings must be received by 

Midnight Friday January 8. 

LISTINGS can be sent by e-mail to listings@thewholenote.com or 

by fax to 416-603-4791 or by regular mail to the address on page 6. 

We do not receive listings by phone, but you can call 416-323-2232 

x27 for further information. 

LISTINGS ZONE MAP. Visit our website to see a detailed version 

of this map: thewholenote.com. 

Lake 

Huron 

6 

Georgian 

Bay 

7 

2 1 

5 

Lake Erie 

3 4 

8 

City of Toronto 

LISTINGS 

Lake Ontario 

Tuesday December 1 

●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company. 

Piano Virtuoso Series: Preludes and Pralines. 

Works by Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Albéniz, 

Gershwin, Billy Mayerl and others. Linda 

Ippolito, piano. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, 

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing 

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

●●12:10: Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation/ 

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Lunchtime 

Chamber Music. Michael Lee, piano. 

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge 

St. 416-241-1298. Free; donations welcome. 

●●12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of 

Music. Tuesday Performance Class for Singers. 

C’est bientôt Noël!: A French Christmas 

Celebration. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson 

Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s 

Park. 416-978-0492. Free. 

●●12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. 

Noonday Organ Recital. Andrew Adair, organ. 

1585 Yonge St. 416-967-1167. Free. 

●●1:00: Cathedral Church of St. James. 

Midday Organ Series. David Briggs, organ. 

65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 


Music. Woodwind Chamber Ensembles. 

Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University 

of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978- 

0492. Free. 

●●8:00: Massey Hall/Polaris Music Prize. 

Tanya Tagaq and Owen Pallett. Tanya Tagaq, 

Inuit throat singing, electronica, industrial 

and metal influences; Owen Pallet, violin and 

loop pedal. Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St. 416- 

872-4255. $18.94-$29.50. 

●●8:00: Ventanas. An Evening With Ventanas. 

Flamenco, Balkan and Sephardic music. 

Tamar Ilana, vocals, dance; Demetri Petsalakis, 

oud, baglama, riqq, lyra; Jessica Hana 

Deutsch, violin, vocals; Derek Gray, percussion; 

Benjamin Barrile, flamenco guitar; Justin 

Gray, double bass, bassveena; Guests TBA. 

Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W. 416-588- 

0307. $20/$15(adv); $10(st). 

Wednesday December 2 


Noonhour Recitals. Andrew Adair, organ. 

1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free. 

●●5:30: Canadian Music Centre. Candlelight 

Concert. Live silent film with piano 

accompaniment. Laura Sgroi, piano. 20 St. 

Joseph St. 416-961-6601 x202. $20; $15(CMC 

A. Concerts in the GTA 

IN THIS ISSUE: Ajax, Aurora, Brampton, Burlington, Etobicoke, Georgetown, 

King Township, Markham, Milton, Mississauga, Newmarket, North York, 

Oakville, Oshawa, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, Thornhill, Whitby 

MUSICAL THEATRE 

The following musicals appear do not appear in the concert listings sections. Details for 

these musicals can be found in C. Music Theatre on page 57 

Drayton Entertainment. Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. (Beyond GTA) 

Lower Ossington Theatre. Avenue Q. (GTA) 

Lower Ossington Theatre. Jesus Christ Superstar. (GTA) 

Mirvish Productions. Kinky Boots. (GTA) 

Mirvish Productions. Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella. (GTA) 

Mirvish Productions. The Phantom of the Opera. (GTA) 

National Ballet of Canada. The Nutcracker. (GTA) 

Randolph Academy. The Addams Family. (GTA) 

Ross Petty Productions. Peter Pan in Wonderland. (GTA) 

Theatre Orangeville. The Gift of the Magi. (Beyond GTA) 

Young People’s Theatre. Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang. (GTA) 

members/arts workers). 

●●5:30: Canadian Opera Company. World 

Music Series: Roots of India, Grown in Canada. 

All-Canadian program of pop, folk and 

Indo-fusion originals. Autorickshaw. Richard 

Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre 

for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 

416-363-8231. Free. 


Cantatas in the Cathedral. Bach: Cantata, 

BWV132 and organ works. Sheila Dietrich, 

soprano; Christina Stelmacovich, alto; Robert 

Busiakiewicz, tenor; David Roth, bass; David 

Briggs, organ. 65 Church St. 416-364-7865. 

PWYC. All donations go directly to the artists. 

●●7:30: Gallery 345. Copland 2015: Complete 

Works for Solo Piano. Stephen Runge and 

Adam Sherkin, pianos. 345 Sorauren Ave. 

416-822-9781. $25; $20(sr); $15(st). 


Music. 11 O’Clock Jazz Orchestra and Vocal 

Jazz Ensemble. Jim Lewis and Christine 

Duncan, conductors. Walter Hall, Edward 

Johnson Building, University of Toronto, 

80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. Free. 


Music. Vocalis Series: Opera Excerpts. Master’s 

and DMA voice students. Great Hall, 

Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle. 416-978- 

0492. Free. 


●●7:30: Village Voices. Christmas Carols 

Sing-Along. Brass Quintet; Village Voices 

Community Choir; Joan Andrews, conductor. 

Cornell Recital Hall, 3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham. 

905-471-4464. Admission by donation. 

●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. All 

Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky: Waltz and Polonaise 

from Eugene Onegin (Dec 2 and 3 only); 

Violin Concerto; Symphony No.6 “Pathétique”. 

Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra 

(Dec 2 and 3 only); Jonathan Crow, violin; 

Peter Oundjian, conductor. Roy Thomson 

Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $33.75- 

$148; $29.50-$83.75(mat.). Also Dec 3(2:00); 

5(7:30). 

Thursday December 3 

●●12:00 noon: Adam Sherkin. Copland: The 

Music Within. Copland: Piano Fantasy; Sherkin: 

Three New Meditations (premiere). 

Adam Sherkin, piano. Bluma Appel Lobby, St. 

Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 

416-366-7723. Free. 


Jazz Series: A Very Cadence Christmas. A 

cappella bebop standards, 1980s hits and 

holiday classics. Cadence. Richard Bradshaw 

Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the 

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

8231. Free. 

●●12:00 noon: Encore Symphonic Concert 

Band. In Concert: Classics and Jazz. John 

Edward Liddle, conductor. Wilmar Heights 

Centre, 963 Pharmacy Ave., Scarborough. 

416-346-3910. $10. Includes coffee and 

snacks. 


Music. Thursdays at Noon. Morawetz: 

Sonata for flute and piano; Sonata for trumpet 

and piano; Kuzmenko: Melancholy Waltz; 

Coulthard: Fanfare Sonata for trumpet 

and piano; Baker: Elegy for flute and piano. 

Susan Hoeppner, flute; Gillian MacKay, trumpet; 

Lydia Wong, piano. Walter Hall, Edward 



●●12:15: Metropolitan United Church. Noon 

at Met. Stephen Boda, organ. Metropolitan 

United Church (Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 416- 

363-0331. Free. 




Violin Concerto; Symphony No.6 “Pathétique”. 




Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $33.75- 

$148; $29.50-$83.75(mat.). Also Dec 2(8:00); 

5(7:30). 


Music. World Music Ensembles. World Music 

Ensemble; Klezmer Ensemble; Japanese 

Drumming Ensemble; Pedram Khavarzamini, 

World Music Artist in Residence. Walter 

Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University 

of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. 

Free. 

●●7:30: York University Department of 

Music. York University Symphony Orchestra. 

Mark Chambers, conductor. Tribute Communities 

Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, 

YU, 4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888. $15; $10(sr/ 

st). 

●●8:00: Art of Time Ensemble. To All A Good 

Night: A New Holiday Concert. Ellington: Nutcracker 

Suite; works by Joni Mitchell, Mel 

Tormé, Tom Waits, John Lennon and others; 

Christmas classics. Jackie Richardson, 

Tom Wilson, David Wall, Liam Titcomb, Jessica 

Mitchell, singers; Art of Time Ensemble; 

and others. Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 

235 Queens Quay W. 416-973-4000. $25-$59. 

Also Dec 4, 5. 

●●8:00: FAWN Chamber Creative. L’homme 

et le ciel. New Canadian one-act chamber 

opera. Music by Adam Scime; libretto by Ian 

Koiter. Larissa Koniuk, soprano (Rhoda); 

Adanya Dunn, soprano (Messenger); Alex 

Dobson, baritone (Hermas). Music Gallery, 

197 John St. 416-204-1080. $35; $25(member); 

$20(under 30). Also Dec 4. 

BACH 

CHRISTMAS 

ORATORIO 

Dec 3-6 

416.964.6337 

tafelmusik.org 

●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Bach Christmas Oratorio. 

Jana Miller, soprano; Benno Schachtner, 

countertenor; James Gilchrist, tenor; Peter 

Harvey, baritone; Ivars Taurins, director. Trinity-St. 

Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall, 

427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337. $40-$93; $37- 

$84(sr); $20-$83(st). Also Dec 4, 5, 6(mat). 

Friday December 4 


Music. Music @ Midday: Brass & Percussion 

Ensembles. Tribute Communities Recital Hall, 

Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St. 

647-459-0701. Free. 

●●1:10: Gordon Murray Presents. Piano Potpourri. 

Featuring classics, opera, operetta, 

musicals, ragtime, pop, international and 

Christmas music. Gordon Murray, piano. Trinity-St. 

Paul’s Centre (Chapel), 427 Bloor St. 

W. 416-631-4300. PWYC. Lunch and snack 

friendly. 

●●7:30: Brampton Folk Club. A Brampton 

Folk Club Christmas. Triangl; Sally Campbell; 

Downtown Freddy Brown; John Stroud; 

Glenn McFarlane and Ray Whitmore. St. Paul’s 

United Church (Brampton), 30 Main St. S., 

Brampton. 647-233-3655. $15; $12(sr/st). 

●●7:30: Ontario Christian Music Assembly. 

Christmas Christian Festival Concert. Guests: 

Beatrice Carpino, soprano; Michael Ciufo, 

tenor; Adolfo De Santis, piano; Andre Knevel, 

organ, Liselotte Rokyta, panflute; Hansen 

Trio; Toronto Brass Quintet; Choirs of OCMA; 

Leendert Kooij, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 

60 Simcoe St. 416-636-9779. $25-$50. 

●●7:30: Church of the Holy Trinity. The 

Christmas Story. Nativity play celebrates its 

78th season. Professional musicians and a 

volunteer cast. 10 Trinity Sq. 416-598-4521 

x301. Suggested donation: $20; $5(child). 

Dec 4-6, 11-13, 18-20; start times vary. Wheelchair 

accessible. Am. Sign Language interpretation 

at selected performances. 

●●7:30: Small World Music. Celebrate! 

Soweto Gospel Choir. Sony Centre for the 

Performing Arts, 1 Front St. E. 1-855-872- 

7669. $35-$75. 

●●7:30: St. Clare’s Church. Christmas Concert. 

Arcadelt: Ave Maria; The Drummer Boy 

(trad.); Adolphe Adam: O Holy Night; Rutter: 

Candlelight Carol; Pietro Yon: Gesu Bambino. 

Choirs of St. Clare’s Church (directors Dr. 

Paul Jessen and Luigi Rizzo, directors); Choir 

of St. Matthew’s United Church (Dr. Paul 

Jessen, director); Columbus Centre Choir 

(Paulo Busato, director). St. Clare’s Catholic 

Church, 1118 St Clair Ave. W. 416-419-6904. 

Free. Suggested donation to the Project of 

Hope for refugees. 


Music. PianoFest. Piano students perform. 



0492. Free. 

●●7:30: Verbum Caro. Songs of Christmas 

Spanning a Millennium. Works by Hildegard, 

Bach, Handel, Schütz, Saint-Saëns and 

others. Paola Di Santo and Linda Falvy, soprano; 

Melanie Hartshorn-Walton, mezzo; Dr. 

Keith Hartshorn-Walton, piano. St. Peter’s 

Anglican Church (Toronto), 188 Carlton St. 

416-890-1710. Freewill offering. 









235 Queens Quay W. 416-973-4000. $25-$59. 


●●8:00: Elmer Iseler Singers. Handel’s Messiah. 

Lydia Adams, conductor; guest artists: 

The Amadeus Choir; Meredith Hall, soprano; 

Laura McAlpine, mezzo; Bud Roach, tenor; 

Matthew Zadow, baritone; Patricia Wright, 

organ; Robert Venables and Robert DiVito, 

trumpets; and Orchestra. Metropolitan 


217-0537. $55; $50(sr); $20(st). Pre-concert 

dinner at the Albany Club, $60. 

●●8:00: Exultate Chamber Singers. Stories 

of the Season: A Canadian Noël. Raminsh: 

Magnificat; and works by Anderson, Daley, 

Holman, Sirett, Willan, and others. Daniel 

Bickle, organ. St. Thomas Anglican Church 

(Toronto), 383 Huron St. 416-971-9229. $25. 

●●8:00: FAWN Chamber Creative. L’homme 

et le ciel. New Canadian one-act chamber 

opera. Music by Adam Scime; libretto by Ian 

Koiter. Larissa Koniuk, soprano (Rhoda); 

Adanya Dunn, soprano (Messenger); Alex 

Dobson, baritone (Hermas). Music Gallery, 

197 John St. 416-204-1080. $35; $25(member); 

$20(under 30). Also Dec 3. 

●●8:00: Gallery 345. The Art of the Piano: Teo 

Milea. CD release of “Open Minds”. Teo Milea, 

piano. 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $20; 

$10(st). 

●●8:00: Nathaniel Dett Chorale. An Indigo 

Christmas…Soulful Messiah. R&B rendition 


Fleck Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, 

235 Queens Quay W. 416-340-7000. $20-$48. 

Also Dec 5,6. 

●●8:00: Show One Productions. Soprano 

Sondra Radvanovsky in Recital. Vivaldi: 

Sposa son disprezzata from Bajazet; Bellini: 

Three Songs; R. Strauss: Four Songs; Liszt: 

Three songs; and songs and arias by Barber 

and Giordano. Sondra Radvanovsky, soprano; 

Anthony Manoli, piano. Koerner Hall, 

Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. 

$55-$125. 


See Dec 3; Also Dec 5, 6(mat). 

●●8:00: Tempus Choral Society. A Festive 

Noel Christmas Concert. Tempus Choral Society; 

Tempus Children’s Choir; Tempus Jazz 

Choir. Clearview Christian Reformed Church, 

2300 Sheridan Garden Dr., Oakville. 905- 

338-5202. $15. Also Dec 5(3pm). 

●●8:00: Upper Canada Choristers/Cantemos 

Latin Ensemble. Wolcum Yole! Britten: Ceremony 

of Carols; Rutter: Of a Rose, a lovely 

Rose (from his Magnificat); The Coventry 

Carol; Cherubini: Veni Jesu; Aguiar: Psalmus; 

Andreo: O magnum mysterium; other works. 

Performed a cappella by Cantemos. Laurie 

Evan Fraser, conductor; Cecilia Lee, piano. 

Guest: Emily Belvedere, harp. Grace Church 

on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Rd. 416-256-0510. 

$25; free(high school st/child). 

Saturday December 5 

●●12:00 noon: University Settlement Music 


& Arts School. End of Term Student Concert. 

St. George the Martyr Church, 197 John 

St. 416-598-3444 x243. Free. Donations 

accepted. Also at 2 pm. 

●●1:00: Toronto Star. Christmas Concert. 

Mississauga Children’s Choir. The Cavern Bar, 

76 Church St. 416-419-1756. Free, donations 

welcome. Also 3pm. 

●●2:00: Royal Conservatory. Family Concerts: 

Routes of Andalucia. Music of ancient 

Andalucia with Arabic, Jewish, and Gypsy cultures. 

David Buchbinder, trumpet; and others. 

Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 

416-408-0208. $25-$35. 

●●2:00: University Settlement Music & Arts 

School. End of Term Student Concert. St. 

George the Martyr Church, 197 John St. 416- 

598-3444 x243. Free. Donations accepted. 

Also at 12:00. 

●●2:00: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church/ 

City. 7th Annual City Carol Sing. Choirs, 

Brass, Organ, Readings. Bach Children’s 

Chorus; That Choir; The Hedgerow Singers; 

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church Choir; 

Guests: John McDermott; Maev Beaty; Gord 

Martineau; True North Brass. Yorkminster 

Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. 416-922- 

1167. Free. A collection will be taken for the 

Churches-on-the-Hill Food Bank. 


●●3:00: Massey Hall/St. Michael’s Choir 

School. A Toronto Christmas Tradition. Dr. 

Jerzy Cichocki, Maria Conkey, Jordan de 

Souza, and Terry Dunn, conductors; William 

O’Meara, accompanist; Guests: Michael 

Colvin, tenor; Lori Gemmel, harp; True North 

Brass; SMCSAA Jubilee Choir. Massey Hall, 

178 Victoria St. 416-872-4255. $20-$60. Also 

Dec 6. 

●●3:00: Singing Out. All I Want for Christmas 

Is You. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence 

Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366- 

1656. $25; $20(st); $15(child). Also 7:30. 

●●3:00: Tempus Choral Society. A Festive 

Noel Christmas Concert. Tempus Choral Society; 

Tempus Children’s Choir; Tempus Jazz 

Choir. Clearview Christian Reformed Church, 

2300 Sheridan Garden Dr., Oakville. 905- 

338-5202. $15. Also Dec 4(8pm). 

●●3:00: Toronto Star. Christmas Concert. 

Mississauga Children’s Choir. The Cavern Bar, 

76 Church St. 416-419-1756. Free, donations 

welcome. Also 1pm. 

●●4:30: Church of the Holy Trinity. 

The Christmas Story. See Dec 4; Also 

Dec 6,11,12(mat & eve),13,18,19(mat & 

eve),20(mat & eve). 

●●7:00: Oakville Children’s Choir. Songs 

for a Winter Night. St. John’s United Church 

(Oakville), 262 Randall St., Oakville. 905-337- 

7104. $25; $20(sr); $15(child). Advance tickets 

only. 

●●7:30: Aradia Baroque Ensemble. Sacred 

Music of Antonio Vivaldi. CD launch. Vivaldi: 

String Concerto RV115; Cur sagittas, 

cur tela RV637; Al Santo Sepolcro; Vos 

aurae per montes RV634; Beatus Vir RV795. 

Hélène Brunet, soprano; Vicki St. Pierre, contralto; 

Aradia Ensemble orchestra and choir; 

Kevin Mallon, conductor. St. Anne’s Anglican 

Church, 270 Gladstone Ave. 647-960-6650. 

$35; $20(sr/under 30). 

●●7:30: Cantemus Singers. Gloria in Excelsis 

Deo. Christmas music of the Spanish and 

Austrian courts of the 16th century. Church 

of the Holy Trinity, 10 Trinity Sq. 416-578- 

6602. $20; free(child). Benefit concert in 

support of Community Centre 55’s Share-a- 

Christmas. Also Dec. 6 at St. Aidan’s Anglican 

Church (3:00). 

●●7:30: Cantores Celestes Women’s Choir. 

Seven Joys of Christmas: Carols Ancient and 

Modern. Christmas music from Medieval to 

Gospel. Britten: Ceremony of Carols; Medieval 

Carols, Christmas Spirituals, and works 

by John Rutter and Kirke Mechem. The Pope 

Joans; Jacqueline Goring, harp; Ellen Meyer; 

piano; Kelly Galbraith, director. Runnymede 

United Church, 432 Runnymede Rd. 416-236- 

1522. $25. Proceeds to charity supporting the 

homeless. 

●●7:30: Etobicoke Centennial Choir. Sacred 

Traditions 2015. Bernstein: Chichester 

Psalms; Poulenc: Quatre motets pour le 

temps de Noel; Patriquin: Six Noels Anciens; 

Susa: Carols and Lullabies of the Southwest. 

Carl Steinhauser, piano; Angela Schwarzkopf 

and Diana Wong, harps; Etienne Levesque, 

percussion; Anton Apostolov, guitar. Humber 

Valley United Church, 76 Anglesey Blvd., 

Etobicoke. 416-769-9271. $25. 

●●7:30: Northern Lights Chorus. The Gift of 

Music. Metropolitan United Church (Toronto), 

56 Queen St. E. 1-866-744-7464. $26; $16(st). 

●●7:30: Pax Christi Chorale. Berlioz: 

L’enfance du Christ. Nathalie Paulin, soprano; 

Olivier Laquerre, baritone; Alain Coulombe, 

bass; Sean Clark, tenor; Matthew Zadow, baritone. 

Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale 

Rd. 416-488-7884. $45; $40(sr); $25(st); 

$5(child). Also Dec 6(mat). 


ST. MICHAEL’S CHOIR SCHOOL 

at MASSEY HALL 

Saturday DECEMBER 5 at 3PM 

Sunday DECEMBER 6 at 3PM 

TICKETS $20 to $60 MASSEY HALL 416.872.4255 

WWW.CHRISTMASCONCERT.CA 

CONDUCTORS dr.jerzy cichocki, maria conkey, 

jordan de souza & teri dunn ACCOMPANIST william o’meara 

SPECIAL GUESTS michael colvin, tenor lori gemmel, harpist 

true north brass smcsaa jubilee choir 

1965 -2015 

YEARS 

at Massey Hall 


Cathedral Concert. Haydn: Nicolaimesse; 

Britten: St. Nicolas. Choir of St. James Cathedral; 

Talisker Players Orchestra; Robert 

Busiakiewicz, conductor. 65 Church St. 416- 

364-7865. $30-$35. 

●●7:30: Singing Out. All I Want for Christmas 

Is You. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence 


1656. $25; $20(st); $15(child). Also 3:00. 




Violin Concerto; Symphony No.6 “Pathétique.” 




Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $33.75- 

$148; $29.50-$83.75(mat.). Also Dec 2(8:00); 

3(2:00). 


Music. University of Toronto Symphony 

Orchestra. Smetana: The Moldau; Rachmaninoff: 

Piano Concerto No.3 in d, Op.20; 

Lutosławski: Concerto for Orchestra. Eugene 

Chan, piano; Uri Mayer, conductor; François 

Koh, conductor. MacMillan Theatre, Edward 

Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978- 

0492. $30; $20(sr); $10(st). 

●●7:30: York Chamber Ensemble. Handel’s 

Messiah and Christmas Favourites. Trinity 

Festival Chorus. Trinity Anglican Church 

(Aurora), 79 Victoria St., Aurora. 905-727- 

6101. $20; $15(sr/st). 

●●8:00: Aga Khan Museum. Ustad Eltaf Hussain 

Sarahang, singer. Indo-Afghan musical 

traditions. Aga Khan Museum Auditorium, 

77 Wynford Dr. 416-646-4677. Starting at $40. 









235 Queens Quay W. 416-973-4000. $25-$59. 


●●8:00: Aurora Cultural Centre. Rant 

Maggie Rant: Celtic Christmas Celebration. 

22 Church St., Aurora. 905-713-1818. 

$30/$25(adv). 

●●8:00: Gallery 345. Chelsea McBride’s 

Socialist Night School Big Band. Brownman 

Ali, Colleen Allen and others. 345 Sorauren 

Ave. 416-822-9781. $20; $10(st). 

●●8:00: Mississauga Festival Choir. A Celtic 

Christmas With the Barra MacNeils. Hammerson 

Hall, Living Arts Centre, 4141 Living 

Arts Dr., Mississauga. 905-306-6000. $35; 

$30(sr/st); $15(12 and under). 





235 Queens Quay W. 416-340-7000. $20-$48. 

Also Dec 4,6. 

●●8:00: Onstage Productions. Sounds of 

Christmas. Family-oriented celebration of 

the season. Flato Markham Theatre, 171 Town 

Centre Blvd., Markham. 905-305-7469. $28. 

Also Dec 6. 

●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Music Mix: Bluebird 

North. Conservatory Theatre, 273 Bloor 

St. W. 416-408-0208. $25. 


See Dec 3; Also Dec 6(mat). 

Sunday December 6 

●●1:30: Music at Metropolitan. Deck the 

Halls. Downtown Carol Sing. Metropolitan Silver 

Band; Matthew Whitfield, organ. Metropolitan 

United Church (Toronto), 56 Queen St. 

E. 416-363-0331. Free, donations welcome. All 

donations to to Metropolitan’s Syrian Refugee 

Family. 

●●2:00: Pickering Community Band. Christmas 

Concert. D. McDonald: A Concert Band 

Christmas (premiere). Guests: Alejandra Ballon, 

vocals; Ron Korb, world flutes. Forest 

Brook Community Church, 60 Kearney Dr., 

Ajax. 905-427-5443. $15; $10(sr/under 18). 

●●2:30: Bel Canto Singers. The Most Wonderful 

Time of the Year. Linda Meyer, conductor; 

Jacqueline Mokrzewski, piano. St. Dunstan 

of Canterbury, 56 Lawson Rd., Scarborough. 

416-286-8260. $20. Also at 7:30. 

●●2:30: Onstage Productions. Sounds of 

Christmas. Family-oriented celebration of 

the season. Flato Markham Theatre, 171 Town 

Centre Blvd., Markham. 905-305-7469. $28. 

Also Dec 5. 


Music. Choral Celebration Concert. Shelley 

Marwood: These Fragile Snowflakes; Dale 

Warland: Nativity Suite for Choir, Harp and 

Flute; Pinkham: Christmas Cantata. MacMillan 

Singers; Men’s Chorus; Women’s Chamber 

Choir; Women’s Chorus; and brass choir. 

MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, 

80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. $30; $20(sr); 

$10(st). 2:00: pre-concert performance by 

Young Voices Toronto (Zimfira Poloz). 

●●3:00: Cantemus Singers. Gloria in Excelsis 

Deo. Christmas music of the Spanish and 

Austrian courts of the 16th century. St. Aidan’s 

Anglican Church (Toronto), 70 Silver 

Birch Ave. 416-578-6602. $20; free(child). 

Benefit concert in support of Community 

Centre 55’s Share-a-Christmas. Also Dec 5 at 

Church of the Holy Trinity (7:30). 

●●3:00: Flute Flight Community Flute Choir. 

A Holiday Serenade. Festive tunes for flute 

choir. North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge 

St. 416-908-9924. $20; $15(sr), $5(child). 

●●3:00: Massey Hall/St. Michael’s Choir 

School. A Toronto Christmas Tradition. Dr. 

Jerzy Cichocki, Maria Conkey, Jordan de 

Souza, and Terry Dunn, conductors; William 

O’Meara, accompanist; Guests: Michael 

Colvin, tenor; Lori Gemmel, harp; True North 

Brass; SMCSAA Jubilee Choir. Massey Hall, 

178 Victoria St. 416-872-4255. $20-$60. Also 

Dec 5. 





235 Queens Quay W. 416-340-7000. $20-$48. 

Also Dec 4,5. 

●●3:00: Orchestra Toronto. The Music 

of Youth. Featuring the Long & McQuade 

Instrument Petting Zoo. Prokofiev: Peter 

and the Wolf; Rimsky-Korsakov: Christmas 

Eve Suite (selections); Reinecke: Flute Concerto 

in D, Op.283. Stephanie Morin, flute; 

Tom Allen, narrator. George Weston Recital 

Hall, 5040 Yonge St. 1-855-985-2787. $43; 

$37(sr); $15(child/OTopus 14-29). 2:15: Preconcert 

chat. 

Sheila Jaffé 

violin 

Peter Longworth 

piano 

Mozart, Szymanowski 

Franck , Claude Vivier 

Sunday Dec. 6, 3pm 

Heliconian Hall 

SyrinxConcerts.ca 

●●3:00: Syrinx Concerts Toronto. Peter 

Longworth, piano & Sheila Jaffé, violin. Works 

by Mozart, Szymanowski, Franck and Vivier. 

Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 416-654- 

0877. $25; $20(st). 

• THE 7 TH ANNUAL CITY • 

CITY CAROL SING 

In collaboration with City, in support of Food Banks across Canada 

SATURDAY, DEC. 5, 2:00 PM | YORKMINSTER PARK BAPTIST CHURCH 

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS 

JOHN MCDERMOTT • SUSAN COYNE • GORD MARTINEAU 

and The True North Brass 


1585 Yonge Street | (416) 922-1167 | YorkminsterPark.com 


● ● 3:00: Pax Christi Chorale. Berlioz: 

L’enfance du Christ. Nathalie Paulin, soprano; 

Olivier Laquerre, baritone; Alain Coulombe, 

bass; Sean Clark, tenor; Matthew Zadow, baritone. 

Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale 

Rd. 416-488-7884. $45; $40(sr); $25(st); 

$5(child). Also Dec 5(eve). 

●●3:00: Royal Conservatory. Invesco Piano 

Concerts. Jan Lisiecki, piano. Koerner Hall, 

Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. 

SOLD OUT. BMO Rush Tickets will be available. 

●●3:30: Church of St. Michael and All 

Angels. Lessons & Carols. Wychwood Clarinet 

Choir. 611 St. Clair W. 416-653-3593. Freewill 

donation. 


See Dec 3. 

●●3:30: Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir. 

Holiday Concert. Our Lady of the Miraculous 

Medal Catholic Church, 739 Browns Line, 

Etobicoke. 416-255-2721. $25. 


Twilight Organ Series. David Briggs, organ. 

65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 

●●4:00: Church of St. Mary Magdalene. O 

Antiphon Preludes. Works by Nico Muhly. 

Andrew Adair, organ. Church of St. Mary 

Magdalene (Toronto), 477 Manning Ave. 416- 

531-7955. Free. 

●●4:00: St. Philip’s Anglican Church. Jazz 

Vespers Tribute to Frank Sinatra. Alex Samaras, 

vocals; Colleen Allen, saxophone; Scott 

Alexander, bass; Gary Williamson, piano; 

Brian Barlow, drums. 25 St. Phillips Rd., Etobicoke. 

416-247-5181. Freewill offering. 

●●4:00: Toronto Classical Singers. Bach: 

Christmas Oratorio. Jennifer Taverner, 

soprano; Sandra Boyes, mezzo; Asitha 

Tennekoon, tenor; James Baldwin, baritone; 

Talisker Players Orchestra; Jurgen Petrenko, 

conductor. Christ Church Deer Park, 

1570 Yonge St. 416-443-1490. $30; $25(sr/st). 


The Christmas Story. See Dec 4; 

Also Dec 11,12(mat & eve),13,18,19(mat & 

eve),20(mat & eve). 

●●5:00: Nocturnes in the City. Vocal recital. 

Works by Bach, Dvořák, Smetana and Masaryk. 

Eliska Latawiec, soprano; Ross Inglis, 

piano. St. Wenceslaus Church, 496 Gladstone 

Ave. 416-481-7294. $25; $15(st). 

●●5:00: Salvation Army. Gift of Christmas. 


Mississauga Children’s Choir. Living Arts Centre, 

4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga. 905- 

306-6000. Free, donations welcome. 

●●7:00: Hart House. Hart House Chamber 

Strings. Handel: Sinfonia from Messiah; 

Dvořák: Notturno; Elgar: Serenade for 

Strings; Lauridsen: O Magnum Mysterium; 

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.3. Hart 

House, Great Hall, 7 Hart House Circle. 416- 

978-2452. Free. 

●●7:00: Knox Presbyterian Church. The Star 

of Bethlehem: A Choral Service for Christmas. 

Josef Rheinberger: The Star of Bethlehem 

(in a new English version by Roger 

Bergs). Knox Presbyterian Church Choir and 

Soloists; strings and organ directed by Roger 

Bergs. 630 Spadina Ave. 416-921-8993. Freewill 

offering. 

●●7:30: Bel Canto Singers. The Most Wonderful 

Time of the Year. Linda Meyer, conductor; 

Jacqueline Mokrzewski, piano. St. Dunstan 

of Canterbury, 56 Lawson Rd., Scarborough. 

416-286-8260. $20. Also at 2:30. 

●●7:30: Echo Women’s Choir. Winter Concert: 

Heart Like a Wheel. Heart Like a Wheel (arr. 

Alan Gasser); Quiet on the River (arr. Alan 

Gasser); Lullabies from Latin America, South 

Africa, and the Republic of Georgia; Annabelle 

Cvostek: Apocalypse Lullaby; other works. 

Becca Whitla, piano and conductor; Alan Gasser, 

conductor. Church of the Holy Trinity, 

10 Trinity Sq. 416-779-5554. $20; $15(adv); 

$10(sr/child/underwaged/unwaged). 

●●7:30: Leaside United Church. Lessons 

and Carols. Carols and readings for Christmas. 

Sirett: Thou Shalt Know Him; Willcocks: 

Angelus ad virginem; Hopson: The Virgin 

Mary Had a Baby Boy; Rutter: Shepherd’s 

Pipe Carol; Howells: Here Is A Little Door; and 

other works. Chancel Choir of Leaside United; 

Sharon L. Beckstead, conductor; Junior 

Choir; Nancy Stewart, conductor; C Flats Jazz 

Band; Cynda Fleming, director. 822 Millwood 

Rd. 416-425-1253. Free. Offering in support of 

the Out of the Cold Program. 

●●7:30: Toronto Beach Chorale. G.F. Handel: 

Messiah in the Beach. Jennifer Krabbe, 

soprano; Jilian Yemen, alto; Charles Davidson, 

tenor; Matthew Cassils, bass; Orchestra. 

Kingston Road United Church, 975 Kingston 

Rd. 416-699-6634. $25; $12(7-18yrs); 

Free(under 7). 

●●8:00: New Music Concerts. A Portrait of 

PHILIPPE LEROUX 

© Cécile Brossard 

Sun. Dec. 6 | Oliphant Theatre 

www.NewMusicConcerts.com 

Philippe Leroux. Leroux: AAA; Ailes; Grisey: 

Talea; Carter: Canon for Three Equal Instruments; 

Rubin: less than equals three. NMC 

Ensemble; Alexander Dobson, baritone; Robert 

Aitken, conductor. Betty Oliphant Theatre, 

404 Jarvis St. 416-961-9594. $35; $25(sr/arts 

workers); $10(st). 7:15: Introduction. 

●●11:00: Arraymusic/The Evergreen Club 

Contemporary Gamelan. Percussion Meet- 

Ups. Array Space, 155 Walnut Ave. 416-532- 

3019. $10. 

Monday December 7 

●●12:30: York University Department 

of Music. Music @ Midday: Instrumental 

Masterclass Concert. Tribute Communities 

Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, YU, 

4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free. 

●●7:30: Cantabile Chorale of York Region. 

Joy of Christmas. Guests: Ethel Briggs, 

accompanist; Rev. Sebastian Meadows- 

Helmer, violinist; Robert Richardson, conductor. 

Thornhill United Church, 25 Elgin St., 

Thornhill. 905-731-8318. Entry by food donation 

to Thornhill Christmas Assistance program. 

Silent offering to defray expenses. 

Reception to follow. 

●●7:30: Earl Haig and Claude Watson Music. 

Claude Watson School of the Arts December 

Showcase Concert. Works by Monteverdi, 

Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, and others. Orchestra, 

Symphonic Band, Chamber Strings, 

Full Mixed Choir. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 

427 Bloor St. W. 416-392-3210 x20141. $10; 

$5(sr/st). 

●●7:30: University of St. Michael’s College. A 

Baroque Concert for Advent. Handel: Foundling 

Hospital Anthem; also works by Geminiani. 

The Musicians in Ordinary; Christopher 

Verrette, baroque violinist; Hallie Fishel, soprano; 

Choir and Soloists of St. Michael’s 

Schola Cantorum; Michael O’Connor, director. 

St. Basil’s Church, University of St. Michael’s 

College, 50 St. Joseph St. 416-535-9956. 

Free. Donations welcome. 


Music. Collaborations. Works by Christos 

Hatzis, Dean Burry, Julie Spencer, Dinuk 

Wijeratne and George Kontogiorgos. Beverley 

Johnston, percussion. Walter Hall, Edward 


80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-0492. $40; $25(sr); 

$10(st). 

●●7:45: Resa’s Pieces. Annual Holiday Concert. 

Strings, concert band, and singers. York 

Mills Collegiate Institute, 490 York Mills Rd. 

416-565-7321. $10; free(12 and under). 

●●8:00: Arraymusic. Array Session No.35: 

Improv Concert. Improvisation by a changing 

array of exception guest artists. Array Space, 

155 Walnut Ave. 416-532-3019. Free. 

●●8:00: Gallery 345. Cello and Voice. Works 

by Hugo Harmens and Jeremy Bellavitti. 

Alex Samaras, vocals; Wendy Solomon, cello; 

guest: Tiffany Hanus. 345 Sorauren Ave. 416- 

822-9781. $10. 

●●8:00: Soundstreams. Ear Candy: Electric 

Messiah. York University Electroacoustic 

Orchestra; Christine Duncan, Gabriel Dharmoo, 

Doug Van Noort, Ashlie Corcoran, Patrick 

Lavender, John Gzowski, SlowPitch, 

resident DJ. Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W. 

416-504-1282. $20/$15(adv). Also Dec 8. 

●●8:00: Toronto Theatre Organ Society. 

Andrew Rogers, Organ. Casa Loma, 

1 Austin Terrace. 416-499-6262. $20. General 

admission. 



Chamber Music Series: Strange Luminescence. 

Artists of the GGS New Music Ensemble; 

Brian Current, conductor. Richard 



416-363-8231. Free. 



Chamber Music. Rising Stars recital. 

Students from the Glenn Gould School. Yorkminster 

Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. 

416-241-1298. Free; donations welcome. 


Music. Tuesday Performance Class for Singers: 

Holiday Songs. Walter Hall, Edward 





65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 

●●7:30: Royal Conservatory. Historical Performance 

Class of The Glenn Gould School. 

Works by Corelli, Bach, Purcell, Lully and 

others. Members of the Historical Performance 

Strings Class; Kathleen Kajioka, baroque 

violin. Mazzoleni Concert Hall, Royal 

Conservatory, 273 Bloor St. W. 416- 408-2824, 

x322. Free. 


Music. Guitar Orchestra Concert. Walter 

Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of 

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

●●8:00: gamUT Ensemble and DMA students/Toronto 

New Music Projects/The 

Music Gallery. Philippe Leroux, Michael and 

Sonja Koerner Distinguished Visitor in Composition. 

Works by Leroux. Music Gallery, 

197 John St. 416-204-1080. $20; $15(sr/members); 

$10(st). 

●●8:00: Soundstreams. Ear Candy: Electric 

Messiah. York University Electroacoustic 

Orchestra; Christine Duncan, Gabriel Dharmoo, 

Doug Van Noort, Ashlie Corcoran, Patrick 

Lavender, John Gzowski, SlowPitch, 

resident DJ. Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W. 

416-504-1282. $20/$15(adv). Also Dec 7. 

The Musicians In Ordinary for the Lutes and Voices 

7:30PM December 7, 2015 

St. Basil’s Church, St. Michael’s College 

50 St. Joseph St. at Bay 

Handel’s Foundling 

Hospital Anthem 

with music by Geminiani and others. 

St. Michael’s Schola Cantorum 

directed by Dr. Michael O’Connor 

Soloists Hallie Fishel, soprano, 

Rebecca Claborn, mezzo and Ben Kim, tenor 

Orchestra led by Christopher Verrette 

Admission free, donations welcome 


●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 

Cirque de la Symphonie: Holiday Hits. Cirque 

de la Symphonie; Etobicoke School of the Arts 

Holiday Chorus; Steven Reineke, conductor. 

Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598- 

3375. $42.25-$107; $34.75-$83.75(mat.). Also 

Dec 9(2:00 and 8:00). 



Noonday Organ Recital. Aaron James, organ. 

1585 Yonge St. 416-967-1167. Free. 






3375. $42.25-$107; $34.75-$83.75(mat.). Also 

Dec 8 and 9(8:00). 

●●7:00: Earl Haig and Claude Watson Music. 

Earl Haig Secondary School Music Ensembles. 

Music for band, wind and string ensembles; 

and others. Earl Haig Secondary School, 

Cringan Hall, 100 Princess Ave., North York. 

416-392-3210 x20141. $10; $2(sr/st). 

●●7:30: Regis College Alumni Association. 

Magnificat! My Soul Rejoices. Marian 

and Advent-themed works by Palestrina, 

Pärt, Chilcott, Daley, Esenvalds and others. 

Incontra Vocal Ensemble; Matthew Otto, conductor. 

St. Joseph’s Chapel, Regis College, 

University of Toronto, 100 Wellesley St. W. 

416-922-5474 x266. $35. 

●●7:30: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Festival 

of Carols. Victoria: O Magnum Mysterium; 

Miller: Old Toy Trains; Keep your Lamps, 

Huron Carol and other traditional carols. 

Noel Edison, conductor; Jennifer Min-Young 

Lee, associate conductor; guests: David 

Briggs, organ; Canadian Staff Band; John 

Lam, bandmaster. Yorkminster Park Baptist 

Church, 1585 Yonge St. 416-598-0422 x221. 

$35; $20(30 and under). 


Music. PianoFest. Students from U of T’s 

piano area. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson 


Park. 416-408-0208. Free. 

●●8:00: Hoover Party. Hoover Party Digital 

Release. Karen Ng and Brodie West, saxophones; 

Matthew A. Dunn, tapes and 

effects; Amelia Ehrhardt, dance and Victoria 

Cheong, live remix; and others. Array Space, 

155 Walnut Ave. 416-532-3019. Free. 

●●8:00: Montage Music. Holiday Concert. 

Classical, Celtic and jazz music with a holiday 

theme. Melanie Conly, soprano; Lew Mele, 

bass; Laura Nashman, flute; Bill Bridges, 

guitar; Jordan Klapman, piano; Sharlene 

Wallace, harp; Greg Millar, piano. Heliconian 

Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 416-924-8180. $25. 

●●8:00: The Oratory. Oratorium Saeculare: 

Advent. Charpentier: “O Antiphons” 

with interspersed instrumental carols; Rigatti: 

“Alma Redemptoris”; Bruhns: Nun komm 

der heiden Heiland; Bach: Concerto No.2 

in a. Choir: Simon Honeyman, Bud Roach, 

Jamie Tuttle, David Roth; Chris Verrette and 

Julie Wedman, violins; Felix Deak, cello; Philip 

Fournier, harpsichord, organ and musical 

direction. Oratory, Holy Family Church, 

1372 King St. W. 416-532-2879. Free. Donations 

accepted. Includes a talk by one of the 

Fathers of the Oratory. 






3375. $42.25-$107; $34.75-$83.75(mat.). Also 

Dec 8 (8:00) and 9 (2:00). 

●●8:00: Univox Choir. Great Joy! Joubert, 

McElroy and Red: Great Joy; and other works. 

Chris Tsujiuchi, piano; Ryan Luchuck, bass 

guitar; Alejandro Céspedes, percussion; Kevin 

Mendes, drums; Dallas Bergen, artistic director; 

Lucas Marchand, band director. Al Green 

Theatre, 750 Spadina Ave. 416-924-6211. $25; 

$20(sr/st/adv). Also Dec 11. 

●●9:00: CAMH Foundation. Andy Kim Christmas 

Show. Phoenix Concert Theatre, 

410 Sherbourne St. 416-323-1251. $25. VIP 

tickets available. Benefits CAMH’s Gifts of 

Light Program. 


●●12:00 noon: Metropolitan United Church. 

Noon at Met. Su Jeon Higuera, piano. Metropolitan 


E. 416-363-0331 x26. Free. 

●●8:00: Corktown Chamber Orchestra. 

Christmas Concert. Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker 

Suite; Wagner: Siegfried Idyll; and other 

works. Paul McCulloch, conductor. Little Trinity 

Anglican Church, 425 King St. E. 647-528- 

7159. $10; free(child). 

●●8:00: Music Gallery. Emergents I: Collideoscope. 

David Baldry, trumpet; Aline Homzy, 

violin; Chris Pruden, piano; Raphael Roter, 

percussion; Paige Kobe and Nicholas Rusica, 

dance. 197 John St. 416-204-1080. $12; 

$8(members). 


Music/Arraymusic. York Electro-Acoustic 

Orchestra. Guests: Rick Sacks and others; 

Doug Van Nort, director. Array Space, 

155 Walnut Ave. 416-532-3019. $8. Concert 

will be live streamed. 

Music TORONTO 

GRYPHON 

TRIO 

December 10 at 8 pm 

●●8:00: Music Toronto. Gryphon Trio. Vincent 

Ho: new work; Arno Babajanian: Piano 

Trio in f-sharp. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence 

Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416- 

366-7723. $55, $50; $10(st); age 18 to 35: pay 

your age. 






Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-631- 

4300. PWYC. Lunch and snack friendly. 

●●7:00: University Settlement Music & Arts 

School. End of Term Student Concert. St. 

George the Martyr Church, 197 John St. 416- 

598-3444 x243. Free. Donations accepted. 


Christmas Story. See Dec 4; Also Dec 12(mat 

& eve),13,18,19(mat & eve),20(mat & eve). 

●●7:30: Oakville Choral Society. Vivaldi’s 

Gloria and the Glorious Music of Christmas. 

Vivaldi: Gloria; works by Bach, Mendelssohn 

and Handel; selection of sing-along carols. 

Oakville Choral Society; guest soloists and 

chamber orchestra. Clearview Christian 

Reformed Church, 2300 Sheridan Garden 

Dr., Oakville. 905-302-9017. $30/$25(adv); 

$15(st); free(children under 12). Also on 

Dec 12. 

●●8:00: Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Holiday Splendour. Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker 

Suite; other works. Humber Valley 

United Church, 76 Anglesey Blvd., Etobicoke. 

416-239-5665. $30; $25/$22(sr); $15(st). 

7:00: Silent Auction. 

●●8:00: Living Arts Centre. Colm Wilkinson: 

Broadway, Christmas and Beyond. 4141 Living 

Arts Dr., Mississauga. 905-306-6000 or 

1-888-805-8888. $50-$80. 

●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Music Mix: 

Oscar @ 90. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $40-$85. 

●●8:00: St. Barnabas Anglican Church. In 

Concert. Spectrum Percussion Quartet with 

John Rudolph. 361 Danforth Ave. 416-463- 

1344. $15; $10(st). 

●●8:00: St. Basil’s Church. Messiaen: La 

Nativité du Seigneur. Rashaan Allwood, 

organ. St. Basil’s Church, University of St. 

Michael’s College, 50 St. Joseph St. 416-926- 

7110. Free. 7:30: Pre-concert chat. Free-will 

donations accepted toward St. Basil’s music 

program. 

●●8:00: Toronto Consort. Christmas at the 

Monastery of Santa Cruz. A Christmas program 

of villancicos and Brazilian-influenced 

dances, found in the Monastery’s archives. 

Žak Ozmo, lute and guest director. Trinity-St. 

Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall, 427 Bloor 

St. W. 416-964-6337. $27-$64; $22-$58(sr); 

$10(st/30 and under). 7:00: pre-concert talk. 

Also Dec 12, 13(mat). 

●●8:00: Univox Choir. Great Joy! Joubert, 

McElroy and Red: Great Joy; and other works. 

Chris Tsujiuchi, piano; Ryan Luchuck, bass 

guitar; Alejandro Céspedes, percussion; 

Kevin Mendes, drums; Dallas Bergen, artistic 



Snow Angel 

Sarah Quartel’s Snow Angel, Ola Gjeilo’s Ubi Caritas, 

arrangements by our artistic director ... & more 

Jenny Crober, Artistic Director 

Elizabeth Acker, Accompanist 

Sybil Shanahan, cello Kevin Barrett, guitar 

Ray Dillard, percussion 

Saturday, December 12, 2015 

Eastminster United Church 

310 Danforth Ave., Toronto 

Gen. Adm. $25 Sr. $20 St. $10 

www.vocachorus.ca; 416-967-8487 

BACH CHILDREN’S CHORUS 

BACH CHAMBER YOUTH CHOIR 

Linda Beaupré, Conductor 

Eleanor Daley, Pianist 

SATURDAY DECEMBER 12, 2015 AT 7:30PM 

$40 and $35 at the Toronto Centre box office 

or TicketMaster at 1-855-985-2787 (ARTS) 

Toronto Centre for the Arts 5040 Yonge Street 

7:30 pm 

director; Lucas Marchand, band director. Al 

Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Ave. 416-924- 

6211. $25; $20(sr/st/adv). Also Dec 9. 


●●1:30: Oakville Children’s Choir. Community 

Carol Concerts. Guest: Simon Walker, 

organ. St. John’s United Church (Oakville), 

262 Randall St., Oakville. 905-337-7104. $25; 

$20(sr); $15(child). Also 4:00. 

●●2:00: King Music Collective. A Cozy Christmas. 

Jazz Quartet: Jake Sherwood, piano; 

Steve Wallace, bass; Terry Clarke, drums; 

Kevin Turcotte, trumpet. Home of Michele 

Mele and Luciano Tauro, 15785 8th Concession, 

King Township. 1-800-838-3006. $40; 

$20(st). Includes beverage and snack. 

●●3:00: Mississauga Children’s Choir. 

Creatures and Carols. Living Arts Centre, 

4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga. 905-624- 

9704. $20; $10(children under 12). 

●●3:00: Neapolitan Connection - Musical 

Matinées at Montgomery’s Inn. In Concert. 

Allison Arends, soprano; Jennifer Mizzi, soprano; 

Victoria Gydov, soprano. Montgomery’s 

Inn, 4709 Dundas St. W. 647-262-4316. 

$37.99/$15.00. Tea, historical tour (2:15), 

cookies included. 


Sinatra @ 100. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $40-$95. 

●●3:00: St. Simon-the-Apostle. A Christmas 

Carol. St. Simon-the-Apostle Anglican 

Church, 525 Bloor St. E. 416-923-8714 x201. 

$15; $10(st/sr). 

●●4:00: Church of St. Mary Magdalene. 

Children’s Messiah. Pax Christi Chorale. 

Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto), 

477 Manning Ave. 416-531-7955. Children 

Free, Adults PWYC. Proceeds to charity. 

●●4:00: Oakville Children’s Choir. Community 

Carol Concerts. Guest: Simon Walker, 

organ. St. John’s United Church (Oakville), 

262 Randall St., Oakville. 905-337-7104. $25; 

$20(sr); $15(child). Also 1:30. 

●●4:00: Timothy Eaton Memorial Church. 

Christmas Spectacular. Salvation Army North 

York Temple Band; Timothy Eaton Memorial 

Church Choirs. 230 St. Clair Ave. W. 416-925- 

5977. $15; $45(families). 


Christmas Story. See Dec 4; Also 7:30 and 

Dec13,18,19(mat & eve),20(mat & eve). 

●●7:00: Milton Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Winterlude II: A Christmas Tradition. Tchaikovsky: 

The Nutcracker (excerpts). Guests: 

Rachel Cleland, soloist; Dancers from The 

Dance Class Studio. Milton Centre for the 

Arts, 1010 Main St. E., Milton. 905-878-6000. 

$25; $20(sr/st/child). 

●●7:00: U of T Scarborough Community 

Concert Band. A Christmas Celebration. A 

selection of Christmas carols. Forest Brook 

Community Church, 60 Kearney Dr., Ajax. 

416-287-7176. $10; $5(sr/st). 

●●7:30: Annex Singers. Gaudete! Britten: 

A Ceremony of Carols; works by Taverner, 

Cathedral Bluffs 

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 

Norman Reintamm 

Artistic Director/Principal Conductor 

Saturday Dec. 12 8 pm 

A CHRISTMAS FIESTA! 

featuring guest artists SULTANS OF STRING 

Celebrate the Christmas season with a trip around the 

world with 2015 JUNO Award-nominees Sultans of 

String. Original world music, inspired classics and 

seasonal favourites. 

PLUS… TCHAIKOVSKY Excerpts from The Nutcracker 

SUBSCRIPTION CONCERT 2 | TICKETS: REGULAR – $34 adult $29 senior/student 

PREMIUM – $54 adult $44 senior/student (under age 12, free) 

P.C. HoTheatre 5183 Sheppard Avenue East, Scarborough 

Photo by Flickr user Daniel S 

Used under Creative Commons licence 

Design by David Kopulos www.davidkopulos.com 

facebook.com/BCCandBCYC bachchildrenschorus.ca 

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an 

agency of the Government of Ontario 

cathedralbluffs.com | 416.879.5566 


Poulenc, Victoria and Stopford. Guest: Julia 

Seager-Scott, harp; Maria Case, conductor 

and artistic director. Grace Church on-the- 

Hill, 300 Lonsdale Rd. 416-968-7747. $25; 

$20(sr); $15(st); free(child). 

●●7:30: Bach Children’s Chorus/Bach 

Chamber Youth Choir. Across the Frozen 

Night. Linda Beaupré, conductor; Eleanor 

Daley, piano. Toronto Centre for the Arts, 

5040 Yonge St., North York. 855-985-2787. 

$40; $35(sr/st). 

●●7:30: Chris Tsujiuchi. A Very Christ-erical 

Christmas Cabaret. A night of music, riffing, 

comedy, improv, and choreography. 

Chris Pruden, keyboard; Kevin Wong, vocals; 

Jon Butash, bass; Leah Canali, vocals; Steve 

John Dale, guitar; and others. Buddies In 

Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St. 416-975- 

8555. $25. Also on Dec 13. 



Dec 13,18,19(mat & eve),20(mat & eve). 

●●7:30: Counterpoint Community Orchestra. 

Don We Now Our Gay Apparel: A 

Counterpoint Christmas. Beethoven: Symphony 

No.1; Anderson: Christmas Festival; 

Sleigh Ride; Sound of Music Medley. John 

Edward Liddle, conductor. St. Luke’s United 

Church, 353 Sherbourne St. 647-977-6058. 

$20/$18(adv). 

●●7:30: Espressivo Singers. Christmas Concert. 

Mathias: Salvator Mundi; Selections 

from the Oxford Book of Carols. All-female 

chorus. Westminster United Church (Whitby), 

1850 Rossland Rd. E., Whitby. 905-435-3439. 

$20; $14(under 13). 

●●7:30: Oakville Choral Society. Vivaldi’s 

Gloria and the Glorious Music of Christmas. 

Vivaldi: Gloria; works by Bach, Mendelssohn 

and Handel; selection of sing-along carols. 

Oakville Choral Society; guest soloists and 

chamber orchestra. Clearview Christian 

Reformed Church, 2300 Sheridan Garden 

Dr., Oakville. 905-302-9017. $30/$25(adv); 

$15(st); free(children under 12). Also on 

Dec 11. 

●●7:30: Royal Conservatory. Academy Chamber 

Orchestra. Phil and Eli Taylor Performance 

Academy for Young Artists. Mazzoleni 

Concert Hall, Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor 

St. W. 416-408-0208. Free. Ticket required. 

●●7:30: St. Paul’s Anglican Church. 

Christmas with Ron Korb. Ron Korb, flutes; 

Chris Donnelly, piano; Alex Cheung, violin and 

cello. 227 Church St., Newmarket. 905-853- 

7285. $25. 

●●7:30: Village Voices. Messiah. Handel. Rebecca 

Whelan, soprano; Laura McAlpine, 

mezzo; Asitha Tennekoon, tenor; Jesse Clark, 

bass-baritone; Gerald Loo, organ; Talisker 

Players; Joan Andrews, conductor. Markham 

Missionary Church, 5438 Major Mackenzie 

Dr. E., Markham. 905-763-4172. $35; $30(sr); 

$20(st); free(under 12). 

●●7:30: VOCA Chorus of Toronto. Snow 

Angel. Sarah Quartel: Snow Angel; Ola Gjeilo: 

Ubi Caritas; seasonal early music, jazz, gospel 

and contemporary Canadian selections 

including arrangements by Jenny Crober. 

Carol sing. Jenny Crober, director; Elizabeth 

Acker, accompanist. Guests: Sybil Shanahan, 

cello; Kevin Barrett, electric and acoustic 

guitar; Ray Dillard, percussion. Eastminster 

United Church, 310 Danforth Ave. 416-967- 

8487. $25; $20(sr); $10(st). 

●●7:30: Voices Chamber Choir. Messiah. 

20th anniversary Christmas concert with 

choir alumni, organ and orchestra. Handel. 

Carla Huhtanen, soprano; Deborah Overes, 

alto; Michael P. Taylor, tenor; Giovanni Spanu, 

baritone. Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 

151 Glenlake Ave. 416-519-0528. $35; $25(sr/ 

st). 

●●8:00: Aga Khan Museum. Under the 

Sun. Internationally inflected jazz featuring 

musicians from Palestine, Afghanistan 

and Toronto. Jamey Haddad, percussion; 

Ali Amr, qanun; Salar Nader, tabla; Michael 

Ward-Bergeman, accordion; Billy Drewes, 

saxophone; and others. Aga Khan Museum 

Auditorium, 77 Wynford Dr. 416-646-4677. 

Starting at $55. 

●●8:00: Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra. 

Christmas Fiesta! Tchaikovsky: The 

Nutcracker (excerpts); Jesu, Joy of Man’s 

Desiring; Huron Carol; Little Drummer Boy; 

Turkish Greensleeves; Feliz Navidad; other 

works. Estonian National Male Choir; Toronto 

Estonian Male Choir; guests: Sultans of 

String. P.C. Ho Theatre, Chinese Cultural Centre 

of Greater Toronto, 5183 Sheppard Ave. E., 

Scarborough. 416-879-5566. $34; $29(sr/st). 

●●8:00: Kindred Spirits Orchestra. Winter 

Daydreams. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.1 in g 

“Winter Daydreams”; Bruch: Violin Concerto 

No.1 in g, Op.26; Glinka: Overture to “Ruslan 

and Ludmila”. Kristian Alexander, conductor; 

Jing Ye, violin; Alexa Petrenko, host. Flato 

Markham Theatre, 171 Town Centre Blvd., 

Markham. 905-305-7469. $35-$15. 

●●8:00: Toronto Chamber Choir. Christmas 

in Dresden. Festive music from Dresden in 

the time of Heinrich Schütz and Michael Praetorius. 

Guests: Toronto Continuo Collective. 

Calvin Presbyterian Church, 26 Delisle Ave. 

416-763-1695. $30; $25(sr); $12.50(under 30). 

7:15: Opening Notes. 







St. W. 416-964-6337. $27-$64; $22-$58(sr); 


Also Dec 11, 13(mat). 


●●1:15: Mooredale Concerts. Music and Truffles: 

Christmas Carols of the World. Interactive 

version for children 5 to 11. Calmus 

Ensemble: Anja Pöche, soprano; Sebastian 

Krause, countertenor; Tobias Pöche, tenor; 

Ludwig Böhme, baritone; Manuel Helmeke, 

bass. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, 

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

922-3714 x103. $13. 3:15: full concert. 

●●1:30: Oakville Symphony Orchestra. Family 

Christmas Concert. New and favourite music 

of the season. Oakville Children’s Choir. Oakville 

Centre for the Performing Arts, 130 Navy 

St., Oakville. 905-815-2021. $25; $21(sr); 

$13(st). Also 4:00. 

●●2:00: Flato Markham Theatre. A Swingin’ 

Christmas. Toronto All Star Big Band, TABB 5. 

171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham. 905-305- 

7469. $39; $33(groups of 20 or more). 

●●3:00: Amici Chamber Ensemble. Cinema. 

3 silent films set to music arr. Serouj Kradjian. 

Man Ray: Emak Bakia; Guy Maddin: The 

Heart of the World: Buster Keaton, The Playhouse. 

Conservatory Theatre, 273 Bloor St. W. 

1-855-821-0636. $80(includes concessions 

cocktails). 

●●3:00: Blessed Trinity Church Choir. Christmas 

Traditions Concert. Works by Tallis, 

Willcocks, Rutter, Handel and Willan. Blessed 

Trinity Choir, Children’s Choir, and Youth 

Choir; soloists from the Blessed Trinity Music 

Ministry; Michael Shuck, organ; Clea Soare- 

Min, soprano; Goody Cabral, conductor; John 

Holland, conductor. Blessed Trinity Church, 

3220 Bayview Ave. 647-969-3498. $10; 

$40(family). 

●●3:00: Harmony Singers. We Wish You The 

Merriest! Christmas favourites. Harvey Patterson, 

conductor; Bruce Harvey, piano. 

Guest: Militza Boljevic, vocals. Humber Valley 

United Church, 76 Anglesey Blvd., Etobicoke. 

416-239-5821. $20; $15(sr/st). 

●●3:00: Royal Conservatory. Vocal Concerts: 

The Tallis Scholars. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $40-$90. 


A Christmas Circus. Artists from Cirque 

de la Symphonie; Cawthra Park Chamber 

Choir; Tom Allen, narrator; Earl Lee, RBC 

Resident Conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 

60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $25.50-$68.25; 

$20-$39(child). 

●●3:15: Mooredale Concerts. Christmas Carols 

of the World. Calmus Ensemble: Anja 

Pöche, soprano; Sebastian Krause, countertenor; 

Tobias Pöche, tenor; Ludwig Böhme, 

MESSIAH 

DIRECTED BY JOAN ANDREWS 

Guest Artists 

Rebecca Whelan, soprano 

Laura McAlpine, mezzo-soprano 

Asitha Tennekoon, tenor 

Jesse Clark, bass/baritone 

Gerald Loo, organist 

The Talisker Players 

Sat, Dec 12, 2015 at 7:30 pm 

Markham Missionary Church 

5438 Major Mackenzie Drive East, Markham 

Adult $35 Senior $30 Student $20 Child under 12 FREE 

For tickets call (905) 763-4172 or at the door www.villagevoices.ca 


aritone; Manuel Helmeke, bass. Walter 


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

$40; $20(under 30). 1:15: Music and Truffles 

family concert. 







St. W. 416-964-6337. $27-$64; $22-$58(sr); 


Also Dec 11(eve), 12(eve). 

●●3:30: Wychwood Clarinet Choir. Clarinet 

Bells Ring. Herbert: March of the Toys; 

Anderson: Christmas Festival; Sleigh Ride; 

Holst (arr. Greaves): St. Paul’s Suite. Michele 

Jacot, solo clarinet and director. Church of 

St. Michael and All Angels, 611 St. Clair W. 647- 

668-8943. $20; $10(sr); $5(st/children). 


●●4:00: ASLAN Boys Choir of Toronto. 

ASLAN Lessons and Carols. Seasonal music 

with readings from the Chronicles of Narnia. 

Songs from Canada, England, Russia and 

Germany. Guests: Canadian Men’s Chorus; 

Gregory Rainville, conductor; Thomas Bell, 

conductor. St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church 

(Toronto), 1399 Bayview Ave. 416-859-7464. 

$15; $5(children). 

●●4:00: Cathedral Church of St. James. Twilight 

Organ Series. Thomas Fitches, organ. 

65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 

●●4:00: Eglinton St George’s United Church. 

A Rhapsody of Christmas. Works by Rutter, 

Ruth Watson Henderson, Daley, Willan, 

Whitacre and others. Trillium Brass; Eglinton 

St. George’s Choir; Andrew Adair, organ; 

Krista Rhodes, piano; Shawn Grenke, conductor. 

Eglinton St. George’s United Church, 

35 Lytton Blvd. 416-481-1141. $35. 

●●4:00: Oakville Symphony Orchestra. 

Carols by Candlelight 

Sunday, december 13, 4:30 pm 

A traditional candlelight choral presentation. 

nine lessons & Carols 

Sunday, december 20, 4:30 pm 

Following the historic tradition of King’s College in Cambridge. 

FREE ADMISSION FOR bOth EvENtS | Doors open at 3:30pm. 


1585 Yonge Street | (416) 922-1167 | yorkminsterpark.com 

Family Christmas Concert. New and favourite 

music of the season. Oakville Children’s Choir. 

Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, 

130 Navy St., Oakville. 905-815-2021. $25; 

$21(sr); $13(st). Also 1:30. 

●●4:00: St. Elizabeth Scola Cantorum Hungarian 

Choir. Christmas Concert. Mozart: 

Magnificat; Christmas songs around 

the world. Adult and children’s choir; Imre 

Olah and Christa Lazar, conductors. St. Elizabeth 

of Hungary Roman Catholic Church, 

432 Sheppard Ave. E. 416-300-9305. $20; 

$10(st). Post-concert reception. 

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

Christmas Jazz. Ellington: Nutcracker 

Suite. Brian Barlow Big Band. 1570 Yonge St. 

416-920-5211. Free. Donations welcome. 



Dec 18,19(mat & eve),20(mat & eve). 


Carols by Candlelight. 1585 Yonge St. 416- 

922-1167. Free. 

●●5:00: Elixir Baroque Ensemble. 5th Annual 

Elixir Mixer. Works by Telemann, Tartini, 

2015–2016 CoNCERt SERiES 

SUNDAY DECEMBER 13 th 

4:00 p.M. 

A Rhapsody 

of Christmas 

Vivaldi, Leclair and others. Guests: Michelle 

Odorico, Rezan Onen Lapointe and Julia Wedman, 

violins; Matt Antal, viola; Rebecca Morton, 

cello. St. Barnabas Anglican Church, 

361 Danforth Ave. 647-891-9588. $20; $10(sr/ 

st/arts worker). 

●●7:00: Florivox. O Sweetest of Songs: The 

Music of Life, Love and Light. Works by Eleanor 

Daley, Ramona Luengen, David MacIntyre 

and Randall Stroope. Alyssa Ramsay, cello; 

John Ebata, piano/synth; Waleed Abdulhamid, 

percussion; Tahirih Vejdani, conductor. Grace 

Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Rd. 416- 

488-7884. $20; $15(sr/st/adv). A portion of 

the proceeds will be donated to the Red Door 

Family Shelter. 

●●7:30: Chris Tsujiuchi. A Very Christ-erical 

Christmas Cabaret. A night of music, riffing, 

comedy, improv, and choreography. 

Chris Pruden, keyboard; Kevin Wong, vocals; 

Jon Butash, bass; Leah Canali, vocals; Steve 

John Dale, guitar; and others. Buddies In 

Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St. 416-975- 

8555. $25. Also on Dec 12. 

●●8:00: Music Gallery/Kith and Kin. Holiday 

Wassail. Medieval carols, rousing sing-alongs, 

and seasonal music from Appalachia, the 

British Isles. Music Gallery, 197 John St. 416- 

204-1080. $18; $16(adv); $12(st, members, 

arts workers); Free(ages 12 and under). 

●●8:00: That Choir. Carols. With a reading of 

Dylan Thomas’ “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” 

by Jim Mezon. Metropolitan United Church 

(Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 416-419-1756. $25; 

$15(sr/arts worker); $5(st). 




Chamber Music. Amina Holloway, cello. 

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge 

St. 416-241-1298. Free; donations welcome. 

●●1:00: Cathedral Church of St. James. Midday 

Organ Series. Raphael Tambyeff, organ. 

65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 

WELCOME 

CHRISTMAS 

December 15, 2015 

Come celebrate an ESG Christmas 

with Carols, Choir, Brass 

and Organ. Works by Rutter, Ruth 

Watson Henderson, Daley, Willan, 

Whitacre and more… 

Guest Narrator: 

Michael Kramer of 96.3 FM 

Featuring 

The Trillium Brass 

The Eglinton St. Goerge’s Choir 

Andrew Adair, organist; 

Krista Rhodes, piano 

Shawn Grenke, conductor. 

Tickets $35 

35 Lytton Blvd., Toronto 

416.481.1141 

www.esgunited.org 

HANNAFORD STREET 

SILVER BAND 

●●7:30: Orpheus Choir of Toronto/Hannaford 

Street Silver Band. Welcome Christmas. 

Guest: Jackie Richardson. Yorkminster 


4428. $40; $30(sr); $10(st). 

●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Messiah. 

Handel/orch. Sir Andrew Davis: Messiah. 

Erin Wall, soprano; Elizabeth DeShong, 


MESSIAH 

SIR ANDREW DAVIS, 

CONDUCTOR 

DEC 15–20 | TSO.CA 

mezzo; Andrew Staples, tenor; John Relyea, 

bass-baritone; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir; 

Sir Andrew Davis, conductor. Roy Thomson 

Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $38.75- 

$107(eve); $38.75-$111.25(mat). Also Dec 16, 

18, 19, 20 (3:00). 

●●9:00: Burdock. Liam Titcomb. Lyle Molzan, 

drums; Ben Whiteley, bass; John Spence, 

keyboard. 1184 Bloor St. W. 416-546-4033. 

$15/$13(adv). 



Noonday Organ Recital. Michael Bloss, organ. 

1585 Yonge St. 416-967-1167. Free. 

●●7:30: Brott Music Festival. Handel’s Messiah. 

Leslie Fagan, soprano; Academy Singers; 

National Academy Orchestra; Boris Brott, 

conductor. Burlington Performing Arts Centre, 

440 Locust St., Burlington. 905-525- 

7664. $29; $24(sr); $10(st). 

●●7:30: Toronto Choral Society. J.S. Bach: 

Christmas Oratorio. The Talisker Players; 

Anne Marie Ramos, soprano; Jillian 

Yemen, alto; Anthony Cleverton, bass; Geoffrey 

Butler, conductor. Eastminster United 

Church, 310 Danforth Ave. 416-463-2179. 

$25/$20(adv). 

●●7:30: Tafelmusik. Handel Messiah. Joanne 

Lunn, soprano; Mary-Ellen Nesi, mezzo; Rufus 

Müller, tenor; Nathaniel Watson, baritone; 

HANDEL 

MESSIAH 

Dec 16-19 

416.408.0208 


Ivars Taurins, director. Koerner Hall, Telus 

Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $50- 

$106; $43 and up(sr); $30 and up(35 and 

under). Also Dec 17,18,19. 

●●7:30: Toronto Shape Note Singing Community. 

Toronto Sacred Harp Singing. Selections 

from The Sacred Harp, 1991 Denson 

Edition. Bloor Street United Church, 

300 Bloor St. W. 647-838-8764. PWYC. Also 

Jan 20. Singing is participatory; songbooks 

to borrow. 

●●8:00: Heliconian Hall. Piano Recital. Chopin: 

24 Preludes, Op.28; Rachmaninov: 

4 Preludes, Op.23 Nos.2 and 4; Op.32 Nos.5 

and 13; Mozart: Sonata in F, K332; Schubert: 

Wanderer Fantasy in C, D760; Liszt: Grand 

Concert Fantasie on Spanish Melodies in d, 

S253. Dmitri Levkovich, piano. 35 Hazelton 

Ave. 416-922-3618. $40; $20(st). 

●●8:00: MasseyHall/Against the Grain 

Theatre. AtG’s Messiah. Handel. Miriam 

Khalil, soprano; Andrea Ludwig, mezzo; 

Owen McCausland, tenor; Stephen Hegedus, 

bass-baritone; Joel Ivany; artistic director; 

Jennifer Nichols, choreography; Topher 

Mokrzewski, conductor. Harbourfront Centre, 

235 Queens Quay W. 416-872-4255. $25- 

$79.50. Also Dec 17, 18, 19(mat). 


See Dec 15; Also Dec 18, 19, 20 (3:00). 



Noon at Met. Patricia Wright, organ. Metropolitan 


E. 416-363-0331 x26. Free. 

●●7:30: Canadian Music Centre/Guitar Society 

of Toronto. Class Axe: New Music for 

Classical Guitar. Works by Daigneault, Latkovich, 

Magnuson, Murphy-King, Pelletier and 

others. Rob MacDonald; Adam Batstone; Graham 

Banfield. Canadian Music Centre, 20 St. 

Joseph St. 416-961-6601 x 202. Free. 7:00: 

pre-concert chat. 

●●7:30: Tafelmusik. Handel Messiah. See 

Dec 16; Also Dec 18,19. 

●●8:00: Living Arts Centre. Ballet Creole: 

Soulful Messiah. 4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga. 

905-306-6000 or 1-888-805-8888. 

$30-$50. 

●●8:00: MasseyHall/Against the Grain Theatre. 

AtG’s Messiah. See Dec 16; Also Dec 18, 

19(mat). 

●●8:00: Toronto Masque Theatre. Mummers’ 

The Mummers’ 

Masque 

A Newfoundland Christmas 

Kitchen Party 

17-19 December 

Masque. Carla Huhtanen(St. George); Marion 

Newman(Rival Knight/Dragon); Christopher 

Mayell(Princess Zebra); Giles Tomkins(Father 

Christmas); step dancers; children’s choir; jug 

band; and others. Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, 

106 Trinity St. 416-410-4561. $50; $43(sr); 

$20(30 and under). 7:15: Pre-show chat. Also 

Dec 18, 19. 






Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-631- 

4300. PWYC. Lunch and snack friendly. 

●●7:00: Music at St. Andrew’s. Voices of Welcome: 

A Carol Sing for Our Syrian Refugee 

Family. Allison Angelo, soprano; Xin Wang, 

soprano; St Andrew’s Choir; St Andrew’s 

Choristers; Dan Bickle, organ; and others. 

St. Andrew’s Church, 73 Simcoe St. 416-593- 

5600 x231. Freewill offering in support of St. 

Andrew’s Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Fund. 


Christmas Story. See Dec 4; Also Dec 19(mat 

& eve),20(mat & eve). 

●●7:30: Humber Valley United Church. The 

Magic of Christmas. M. Wilberg: musical 

arrangements; Handel: Messiah (excerpts). 

Chancel Choir; Children’s Choir; Paul Chant, 

conductor. 76 Anglesey Blvd., Etobicoke. 

416-231-2263 x22. $25; free(12 and under). 

Refreshments. 

●●7:30: Pickering Village United Church. 

Music for a Winter’s Eve. Celtic and Christmas 

favourites, and original world music. 

Ron Korb, flute; Sharlene Wallace, Celtic 

harp. 300 Church St. N., Ajax. 416-346-6600. 

$25/$20(adv). Also Dec 19 (Oakville). 


Dec 16; Also Dec 19. 

●●8:00: Canadian Brass. In Concert. Holiday 

Season concert. Flato Markham Theatre, 

171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham. 905-305- 

7469. $69-$74. 

●●8:00: Georgetown Bach Chorale. Christmas 

and All That Jazz. Kristina Nojd, vocalist; 

THE TORONTO CHORAL SOCIETY 

presents selections from 

Christmas 

Oratorio 

by Johann Sebastian Bach 

Conducted by Geoffrey Butler 

Wednesday, December 16, 2015, 7:30 pm 


310 Danforth Avenue 

Tickets $20 in advance 

www.torontochoralsociety.org 

sine nomine 

Ensemble for Medieval Music 

In presepio 

Medieval songs 

for the Christ-child 

Friday, December 18, 8 pm 

Saint Thomas's Church 

383 Huron Street 

Tickets $20 / $15 

416-978-8849 uofttix.com 

Information 416-638-9445 

sinenominetoronto@gmail.com 



DENIS MASTROMONACO 

MUSIC DIRECTOR & 

C O N D U C T O R 

MSOHoday * 

Tyler Wagler, Jazz bassist. Home of Ron Greidanus, 

157 Main St. S., Georgetown. 905-877- 

6569. $45(adv only). Also Dec 19, 20. 

●●8:00: MasseyHall/Against the Grain 

Theatre. AtG’s Messiah. See Dec 16; Also 

Dec 19(mat). 

The Mummers’ 

Masque 

A Newfoundland Christmas 

Kitchen Party 

●●2:00: Flato Markham Theatre. Doug Leahy 

& the Next Generation Leahy. 171 Town Centre 

Blvd., Markham. 905-305-7469. $54-$59. 

Also 8pm. 

●●2:00: MasseyHall/Against the Grain Theatre. 

AtG’s Messiah. See Dec 16. 

●●4:00: Cathedral Church of St. James. Messiaen: 

La Nativité du Seigneur. David Briggs, 

organ. 65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 

Donations welcome. 


Christmas Story. See Dec 4; Also 7:30 and 

Dec 20(mat & eve). 

●●7:00: St. John’s Vocal Ensemble. Music for 

Christmas. Works by Brahms, Buxtehude, 

Clerembault, Elgar and Schütz. Anita Gaide, 

organ; St. John’s Vocal Ensemble; String 

Ensemble; Brigita Alks, conductor. St. John’s 

Latvian Lutheran Church, 200 Balmoral Ave. 

416-247-7636. $25; $15(st); free(child). 

DENIS MASTROMONACO 

MUSIC DIRECTOR & 

C O N D U C T O R 

MSOHoday * 

17-19 December 


Masque. See Dec 17; Also Dec 19. 


See Dec 15; Also Dec 19, 20 (3:00). 


●●1:00: Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine 

and Performing Arts. Wandering Christmas 

Carollers. Groups of 4 or 8 singers combining 

Brock University student singers and 

members of Avanti Chamber Singers. Various 

locations downtown, TBA, St. Catharines. 

905-688-5550. Free. Also Dec 12. 

Lydia Adams, Conductor & Artistic Director 

LUMINOSITY SEASON OF 

JOY 

SAT. DEC. 19, 2015 

7:30PM 

Yorkminster Park 

Baptist Church 

416.446.0188 

www.amadeuschoir.com 

●●7:30: Amadeus Choir. The Season of Joy. 

Handel: Hallelujah Chorus; Carol Tribute to 

Sir David Wilcox; new carols from Amadeus 

songwriting competition. Yorkminster Park 

Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. 416-446-0188. 

$40; $30(sr); $25(under 30); students free at 

door with ID. 

●●7:30: Musikay. Messiah. St. John’s United 

●●2:00: Toronto Children’s Chorus. A Chorus 

Christmas: Across the Universe. Fantasia on 

Christmas Carols for Treble Voices and Baritone; 

other works. Toronto Children’s Chorus; 

Alumni Choir; Stan Klebanoff, trumpet; TSO 

Chamber Soloists; Russell Braun, baritone. 


4255. $35.50-$45.50. 

Stéphane Potvin 

artistic director 

.ca 

Messiah 

19 December 


Church, 226 Randall St., Oakville. 905- 

825-9740. $30; $25(sr); $15(35 and under); 

$60(family). 6:30: Pre-concert chat and tea. 


Christmas Story. See Dec 4; Also 20(mat & 

eve). 

●●7:30: Maple Grove United Church. Music 

for a Winter’s Eve. Celtic and Christmas 

favourites, and original world music. Ron 

Korb, flute; Sharlene Wallace, Celtic harp. 

346 Maple Grove Dr., Oakville. 416-346-6600. 

$25/$20(adv). Also Dec 18(Ajax). 


Dec 16. 

●●8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. Doug Leahy 

& the Next Generation Leahy. 171 Town Centre 

Blvd., Markham. 905-305-7469. $54-$59. 

Also 2pm. 






●●8:00: Missisauga Symphony Orchestra. 

Highlights from Messiah. By Handel. Soloists; 

Mississauga Symphony Orchestra Chorus; 

Jennifer Tung, choral director. Living Arts 

Centre, Hammerson Hall, 4141 Living Arts Dr., 

Mississauga. 905-306-6000. Starts at $48. 

●●8:00: Ontario Philharmonic. Chopin 

With Daniela Liebman. Mendelssohn: Overture 

to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Op.21 

and Symphony No.5 in D, Op.107 “Reformation”; 

Chopin: Piano Concerto No.2 in f, Op.21. 

Regent Theatre (Oshawa), 50 King St. E., 

Oshawa. 905-579-6711. $45-$56. 


Masque. See Dec 17. 


See Dec 15; Also Dec 20 (3:00). 

●●8:10: Gordon Murray Presents. Piano 

Soirée: “Rach”-in’ Around the Christmas 

Tree. Rachmaninoff: Concerto No.2 (1st Mvt); 

Vocalise, Op.34 No.14; Rhapsody on a Theme 

of Paganini, Op.43 - Variation 18. All works 

arranged by Gordon Murray. Gordon Murray, 

piano. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. 

W. 416-631-4300. $15; $10(st). 


SING- 

ALONG 

MESSIAH 

Dec 20 

416.872.4255 


●●2:00: Tafelmusik. Sing-along Messiah. 

Joanne Lunn, soprano; Mary-Ellen Nesi, 

mezzo; Rufus Müller, tenor; Nathaniel Watson, 

baritone; Ivars Taurins, director. Massey Hall, 

178 Victoria St. 416-872-4255. $30-$48. 

●●3:00: Missisauga Symphony Orchestra. 

A Merry Little Christmas. Mississauga Symphony 

Youth Orchestra; Cawthra Park Secondary 

School Choirs; Robert Anderson, 

conductor. Living Arts Centre, Hammerson 

Hall, 4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga. 905- 

306-6000. Starts at $48. 

Holiday 

Festival 

Sun. Dec. 20, 3pm & 7pm 

Amahl and the 

Night Visitors 

& other seasonal favourites 

refreshments | cash bar 

nostringstheatre.com 

●●3:00: No Strings Theatre. Amahl and the 

Night Visitors. Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie 

St. 416-551-2093. $25; $20(sr/st); $15(under 

12). Also 7:00. 

●●3:00: St. Anne’s Anglican Church. Christmas 

Cantate. Rutter: Magnificat (excerpts); 

Handel: Messiah (excerpts); Christmas carols 

arr. by Sir David Willcocks, Derek Holman, 

Paul Halley and John Rutter. Choir of St. 

Anne’s; Junction Trio; Ken Whiteley Ensemble; 

Leah Salomaa, soprano; and others; John- 

Luke Addison, conductor. 270 Gladstone Ave. 

416-536-3160. $15; $10(sr/st). In support of 

the Youth Scholarship Program of the Division 

14 Community Police Liaison Committee. 


See Dec 15. 

●●3:30: Karpov Ballet. The Nutcracker. Flato 


Markham. 905-305-7469. $39. Also Dec 20 

and 21 7:30pm. 



65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 

●●4:00: St. Philip’s Anglican Church. Christmas 

Jazz Vespers. The Diana Panton Trio with 

Reg Schwager and Don Thompson. 25 St. 

Phillips Rd., Etobicoke. 416-247-5181. Freewill 

offering. 

●●4:00: St. Simon-the-Apostle Anglican 

Church. Nine Lessons and Carols. St. Simonthe-Apostle 

Anglican Church, 525 Bloor St. E. 

416-923-8714 x201. Freewill offering. 


Christmas Story. See Dec 4; Also 7:30. 


Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. 

1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free. 

●●7:00: Metropolitan United Church. Candlelight 

Service of Lessons and Carols. Metropolitan 

Choirs and organ. Metropolitan 


363-0331 x26. Free. 

●●7:00: No Strings Theatre. Amahl and the 

Night Visitors. Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie 

St. 416-551-2093. $25; $20(sr/st); $15(under 

12). Also 3:00. 


Christmas Story. See Dec 4. 



Markham. 905-305-7469. $39. Also 3:30pm; 

Dec 21 7:30pm. 






Monday December 21 



Markham. 905-305-7469. $39. Also 3:30pm; 

Dec 21 7:30pm. 




65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 


John McDermott Family Christmas. 

1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Freewill donations. 

A fundraising event for the Toronto 

House of Compassion. 



A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. 

65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. Religious 

Service. 


Choral Eucharist and Procession to the 

Crèche. 65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 

Religious Service. 


●●3:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre. The Student 

Prince. Sigmund Romberg. Ernesto 

Ramirez, tenor; Jennifer Taverner, soprano; 

Stefan Fehr, tenor; Curtis Sullivan, baritone; 

Derek Bate, conductor; Guillermo Silva- 

Marin, stage director. Jane Mallett Theatre, 

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. 

E. 416-366-7723. $72-$95. Also Dec 28(8:00), 

31(8:00), Jan 2(3:00), 3(3:00). 



65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 


1570 Yonge St. 416-920-5211. Free. 


●●8:00 and 9:30: Lula Lounge. Gary Morgan 

& PanAmericana! Latin Jazz Orchestra 

performs Christmas Concert. Hilario Duran, 

Mark Kelso, Paco Luviano, Rick Lazar, Juan- 

Carlos Medrano and others. 1585 Dundas St. 

W. 416-588-0307. $20. 


●●8:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre. The 

Student Prince. See Dec 27(3:00); Also 

Dec 31(8:00), Jan 2(3:00), 3(3:00). 



Organ Series. Noels by French composers. 

Thomas Fitches, organ. 65 Church St. 

416-364-7865. Free. 


●●7:00: North York Central Library. Latin 

Jazz Quartet. University of Toronto Faculty 

of Music students. 5120 Yonge St. 416-395- 

5639. Free; register by phone. 


New Year’s Eve 7:00 pm 

Tickets: 416.872.4255 


Featuring 

Krisztina 

Szabó 

mezzo 

soprano 


●●7:00: Attila Glatz Concert Productions/ 

Roy Thomson Hall. Bravissimo! Opera’s 

Greatest Hits. New Year’s Eve celebration. 

Puccini: “Nessun dorma!” from Turandot; 

Bizet: “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” from 

Carmen; Massenet: “Méditation” from Thaïs; 

Puccini: Te Deum from Tosca; and others. 

Karina Gauvin, soprano; Krisztina Szabó, 

mezzo; Stefano La Colla, tenor; Lucio Gallo, 

baritone; Opera Canada Symphony; Opera 

Canada Chorus; Marco Guidarini, conductor. 


4255. $55-$155. 

●●8:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre. The 

Student Prince. See Dec 27(3:00); Also 

Jan 2(3:00), 3(3:00). 

Friday January 1 

●●2:00: Musicians in Ordinary. Opus 1’s. 

The Musicians In Ordinary for the Lutes and Voices 

2PM January 1 and 8PM January 2, 2016 

Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Avenue 

~ A New Year’s Day Concert ~ 

Music for the first of the year from 

Opus 1’s Vivaldi, Corelli and others 

Hallie Fishel, soprano, John Edwards, theorbo, 

Christopher Verrette & Patricia Ahern, 

Baroque violins, Laura Jones, Baroque cello, 

and Borys Medicky, harpsichord 

Tickets $30, students & seniors $20 at the door 


First compositions by Handel, Vivaldi and 

other Baroque era composers. Hallie Fishel, 

soprano; John Edwards, lute; Christopher 

Verrette and Patricia Ahern, violins; 

Borys Medicky, keyboards. Heliconian Hall, 

35 Hazelton Ave. 416-535-9956. $30; $20(sr/ 

st). Also Jan 2(eve). 

Tickets: 416.872.4255 


January 1 • 2:30 pm 


●●2:30: Attila Glatz Concert Productions. 

Salute to Vienna. Strauss waltzes; music from 

Die Fledermaus and Merry Widow. Katarzyna 

Dondalska, soprano; Franz Gürtelschmied, 

tenor; members of the Hungarian National 


Ballet; Strauss Symphony of Canada; Imre 

Kollár, conductor; and others. Roy Thomson 

Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-872-4255. $65-$155. 

Also Jan 3 (Hamilton). 

Saturday January 2 


Prince. See Dec 27(3:00); Also Jan 3. 

●●8:00: Musicians in Ordinary. Opus 1’s. 

First compositions by Handel, Vivaldi and 

other Baroque era composers. Hallie Fishel, 

soprano; John Edwards, lute; Christopher 

Verrette and Patricia Ahern, violins; 

Borys Medicky, keyboards. Heliconian Hall, 


st). Also Jan 1(mat). 

Sunday January 3 


Prince. See Dec 27(3:00). 



65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 

Tuesday January 5 



Chamber Music. Sophia Anna Szokolay, 

violin; Gergely Szokolay, piano. Yorkminster 


1298. Free; donations welcome. 


Midday Organ Series. Premiere of a work 

by Andrew Ager. Andrew Ager, organ. 

65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 

●●8:00: Music Toronto. Marc-André Hamelin. 

Mozart: Piano Sonata No.18 in D, K576; Liszt: 

Toronto Festival Orchestra, with 

Huan Jing, conductor 

Winner, China Li Delun Conducting Competition, Qingdao 

Yike Tony Yang, piano 

Winner, 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition, Warsaw 

Yuhe Li, violin 

Winner, 2015 International Leopold Bellan Violin Competition, Paris 

TICKETS $88 (VIP), $68, $48 $39, $33, $28 | TCA box office 416-733-9388 

ticketmaster.ca, 1-855-985-2787 | bemusednetwork.com/events 

Info Li Delun Music Foundation 416-490-7962 info@lidelun.org 

Music TORONTO 

MARC-ANDRÉ 

HAMELIN 

January 5 at 8 pm 

Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude; Liszt: 

Venezia e Napoli; Schubert: Piano Sonata 

No.21, D960. Marc-André Hamelin. Jane Mallett 

Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the 

Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $55, $50; 

$10(st); age 18 to 35: pay your age. 

Wednesday January 6 

●●10:00am: Phil and Eli Taylor Performance 

Academy for Young Artists. Taylor Academy 

Showcase Series. Mazzoleni Concert Hall, 

Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408- 

0208. Free. 


Noonday Organ Recitals. Aaron James, 

organ. 1585 Yonge St. 416-967-1167. Free. 

●●5:30: Canadian Opera Company. Jazz Series: 

Come Together. Julie Michels, vocals. 

Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four 

Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 

145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231. Free. 

Thursday January 7 


Dance Series: Re-imagining - TPM. Afro-contemporary 

dance drawing inspiration from 

the Diaspora. KasheDance; Kevin A. Ormsby, 

choreographer. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, 


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

Free. 

●●12:00 noon: Encore Symphonic Concert 

Band. In Concert: Classics and Jazz. John 

Edward Liddle, conductor. Wilmar Heights 

Centre, 963 Pharmacy Ave., Scarborough. 

416-346-3910. $10. Includes coffee and 

snacks. 


Noon at Met. Andrew Ager, organ. Metropolitan 

United Church (Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 

416-363-0331 x26. Free. 




musicals, ragtime, pop, international music. 

Gordon Murray, piano. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 

427 Bloor St. W. 416-631-4300. PWYC. 

Lunch and snack friendly. 


●●7:30: Li Delun Music Foundation. New 

Year’s Concert 2016. Styne: Gypsy Overture; 

Saint-Saëns: Bacchanale from Samson 

and Dalila; Borodin: Polovtsian Dances from 

Prince Igor; Chopin: Piano Concerto No.1 (1st 

mvt); Sibelius: Violin Concerto (1st mvt); Chinese 

folk music. Yike Tony Yang, piano; Yuhe 

Li, violin; Toronto Festival Orchestra; Huan 

Jing, conductor. George Weston Recital Hall, 

5040 Yonge St. 416-490-7962. $28-$88. 

●●7:30: Tafelmusik. The Orchestra in Baroque 

Germany. Participants of the Tafelmusik Winter 

Institute. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne 

Lamon Hall, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337. 

PWYC. General admission. 

I FURIOSI 

BAROQUE ENSEMBLE 

UNREQUITED 

Saturday 

January 9, 2016 

8pm 

Calvin Presbyterian Church 

www.ifuriosi.com 

●●8:00: I Furiosi Baroque Ensemble. 

Unrequited. Works by Purcell, Charpentier, 

Luzzaschi, and others. Guests: Merry-Anne 

Stuart and Stephanie Martin. Calvin Presbyterian 

Church, 26 Delisle Ave. 416-536-2943. 

$20; $10(sr/st). 


●●2:30: Musically Speaking. Music of Giuseppe 

Antonio Doni. Sylvain Bergeron, 

archlute. St. David’s Anglican Church, 

49 Donlands Ave. 416-464-7610. PWYC. 

●●3:00: Syrinx Concerts Toronto. In Concert. 

Works by Schubert, Brahms and Peter Tiefenbach. 

James Campbell, clarinet; Leo Erice, 

piano; Leslie Fagan, soprano. Heliconian Hall, 


James Campbell 

clarinet 

Leo Erice 

piano 

Leslie Fagan 

soprano 

Sunday Jan. 1o, 3pm 

Heliconian Hall 

SyrinxConcerts.ca 

35 Hazelton Ave. 416-654-0877. $25; $20(st). 

Post-concert reception. 

HIGH 

STANDARDS 

❚ The best of the 

American songbook 

Jan. 10, 3:30 pm & Jan. 12, 8 pm 

www.taliskerplayers.ca 

Talisker Players Music 

●●3:30: Talisker Players. High Standards. 

Kern: Swing Time; Rodgers and Hart: Babes 

in Arms; Gershwin: Porgy and Bess; Bernstein: 

On the Town; Sondheim: A Little Night 

Music. Virginia Hatfield, soprano; James 

Levesque, baritone. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 

427 Bloor St. W. 416-978-8849. $40; $30(sr); 

$10(st/underemployed). 



65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 


Tribute to Max Roach & Clifford Brown. 

Steve McDade, trumpet; Perry White, saxophone; 

Robi Botos, piano; Scott Alexander, 

bass; Brian Barlow, drums. 1570 Yonge St. 

416-920-5211. Free. Donations welcome. 

●●7:30: Gallery 345. Quintagious Woodwind 

Quintet. 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. 

$20; $10(st). 

Theremin Meets Piano 

Monday January 11 

Pamelia Stickney 

Marie-Theres Rauba 

Mon Jan 11 8 PM 

Gallery 345 

●●8:00: Alexander Rapoport. Theremin 

Meets Piano. Improvisations and demonstration 

of the theremin. Alexander Rapoport: 

Sonata for Theremin and Piano; Works by 

Messiaen, Ravel and Stravinsky. Pamelia 

Stickney, theremin; Marie-Theres Rauba, 

piano. Gallery 345, 345 Sorauren Ave. 416- 

822-9781. $15; $10(sr/st). 



World Music Series: Hyperborea. Eric St-Laurent 

Quintet. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, 





Chamber Music. Amy Lee, cello. Yorkminster 




Music. Tuesday Performance Class for 

Singers: Orastoryo. Walter Hall, Edward 





65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 



Noonday Organ Recitals. Imre Olah, organ. 

1585 Yonge St. 416-967-1167. Free. 



Piano Virtuoso Series: Music from the Salon. 

Works by Schubert, Mozart, Debussy, Rachmaninov, 

Chopin and Brahms. Erik Lawrence, 

piano. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four 


145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231. Free. 


Music. Thursdays at Noon: Eric Nowlin, Viola 

and James Parker, Piano. Schumann: selections 

from Märchenbilder, Op.113; Brahms: 

Sonata in f, Op.120 No.1. Walter Hall, Edward 



●●12:15: Metropolitan United Church. Noon 

at Met. Matthew Whitfield, organ. Metropolitan 


416-363-0331. Free. 

Music TORONTO 

JACK Quartet 

November 

January 14 at 8 pm 

10 at 8 pm 

Co-produced with New Music Concerts 

●●8:00: New Music Concerts/Music 

Toronto. JACK String Quartet. Adams: The 

Wind in High Places; Zorn: The Remedy of 

Fortune; Otto: Rodericus, Angelorum Psalat; 

Xenakis: Tetras. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. 

Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 

416-366-7723. $50-$55; $10(st/accompanying 

adult ½ price); pay your age(18-35). 7:15: 

Introduction. 






427 Bloor St. W. 416-631-4300. PWYC. 


●●7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. What 

Makes it Great? Mozart Symphony 40. Mozart: 

Symphony No.40, K550. Rob Kapilow, 

conductor and host. Roy Thomson Hall, 

60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $34.75-$83.75. 


●●3:00: Suzanne Yeo. Piano Recital. Schubert: 

Sonata in B-flat, D960; Brahms: 

Scherzo, Op.4; Godowsky: Symphonic Metamorphosis 

on Johann Strauss’ Künstlerleben. 

Suzanne Yeo, piano. Heliconian Hall, 

35 Hazelton Ave. 647-996-7215. $25. 

●●8:00: Art of Time Ensemble. Sgt. Pepper’s 

Lonely Hearts Club Band. Kitchener-Waterloo 

Symphony. Sony Centre for the Performing 

Arts, 1 Front St. E. 1-855-872-7669. $45.00 

- $85.00. 

●●8:00: Guitar Society of Toronto. Classical 

Guitarist Paolo Martelli. Works by Bach on an 

11-string guitar, Assad, Bellinati, and others. 


8298. $30; $25(sr/st). 

●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Mozart 

Jupiter Symphony. Mozart: Overture 

to Don Giovanni, K527; “Madamina, il catalogo 

è questo” and “Dalla sua pace” from Don Giovanni, 

K527; Mozart: Piano Concerto No.9, 

K271 “Jeunehomme”; Symphony No.41, K551 

“Jupiter”. Alexandre Tharaud, piano; Frédéric 

Antoun, tenor; Philippe Sly, bass-baritone; 

Bernard Labadie, conductor. Roy Thomson 

Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375 or 1-855- 

985-2787 (Jan 17). $33.75-$148 (Jan 16); 

$44.25-$100.50 (Jan 17). Also Jan 17(George 

Weston Recital Hall). 


●●1:00: Arraymusic/The Evergreen Club 

Contemporary Gamelan. Percussion Meet- 

Ups. Array Space, 155 Walnut Ave. 416-532- 

3019. $10. 

●●1:15: Mooredale Concerts. Music and Truffles: 

London Haydn Quartet with Eric Hoeprich, 

clarinet. Interactive version for 


children ages 5 to 11. Haydn: String Quartet in 

B-flat, Op.50 No.1; Beethoven: String Quartet 

in D, Op.18 No.3; Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A, 

K581. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, 


922-3714 x103. $13. 3:15: full concert. 


Jupiter Symphony. Mozart: Overture 

to Don Giovanni, K527; “Madamina, il catalogo 

è questo” and “Dalla sua pace” from Don Giovanni, 

K527; Mozart: Piano Concerto No.9, 

K271 “Jeunehomme”; Symphony No.41, K551 

“Jupiter”. Alexandre Tharaud, piano; Frédéric 


Bernard Labadie, conductor. George 

Weston Recital Hall, 5040 Yonge St. 416-598- 

3375 or 1-855-985-2787 (Jan 17). $33.75-$148 

(Jan 16); $44.25-$100.50 (Jan 17). Also Jan 16 

(Roy Thomson Hall). 

●●3:15: Mooredale Concerts. London 

Haydn Quartet with Eric Hoeprich, clarinet. 

Haydn: String Quartet in B-flat, Op.50 No.1; 

Beethoven: String Quartet in D, Op.18 No.3; 

Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A, K581. Walter 


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

$30; $20(under 30). 1:15: Music and Truffles 

family concert. 



65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 

●●5:00: Nocturnes in the City. George Grosman 

and Bohemian Jazz Quartet. Restaurant 

Praha, Masaryktown, 450 Scarborough Golf 

Club Rd. 416-481-7294. $25; $15(st). 


●●12:30: York University Music Students 

Association. Music Media Showcase. Martin 

Family Lounge, Accolade East Building, YU, 

4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free. 


Maple Blues Awards. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $28-$75. 

●●7:30: Associates of the Toronto Symphony 

Orchestra. Colours in Music: Composers 

with Synaesthaesia. Liszt: “Rigoletto Paraphrase” 

and “Un Rêve” (piano solos); Ellington: 

Selections arr. for string quartet by 

William Zinn; Sibelius: Quartet in E-flat, JS184; 


Constantine Caravassilis: “Blue Engines” 

Piano Quintet No.1. Christina Petrowska- 

Quilico, piano; James Wallenberg, violin; 

Bridge Hunt, violin; Douglas Perry, viola; Winona 

Zelenka, cello. Church of the Redeemer, 

162 Bloor St. W. 416-282-6636. $20; $17(sr/ 

st). 



Vocal Series: Où dort la fantaisie. Schumann: 

Liederkreis; Britten: Les Illuminations. 

Gordon Bintner, bass-baritone; Charles Sy, 

tenor. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four 


145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231. Free. 



Chamber Music. Angus Sinclair, ragtime 

piano. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 

1585 Yonge St. 416-241-1298. Free; donations 

welcome. 



65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 


Music. Student Composers Concert. Walter 



Free. 

●●8:30: Volcano Theatre/Progress. Century 

Song. Works by Rachmaninoff, Messiaen, 

Cage, Aperghis and Jacobs. Neema 

Bickersteth; Gregory Oh; Debashis Sinha. 

Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen St. W. 416-538- 

4436. $15(preview price). Also Jan 20, 21, 22, 

23(2:00 and 8:30). 


●●12:00 noon: York University Department 

of Music. Music @ Midday: New Music 

Ensemble. Matt Brubeck, director. Martin 


4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free. 


Noonday Organ Recitals. Music for Robbie 

Burns’ Day. Angus Sinclair, organ. 1585 Yonge 

St. 416-967-1167. Free. 

●●7:00: Tafelmusik. Vivaldi: L’Estro Armonico. 

Mira Glodeanu, violin and guest director. 

VIVALDI 

L’ESTRO 

ARMONICO 

Jan 20-24 

416.964.6337 


Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall, 

427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337. $38; $30(sr); 

$15-$81(35 and under). Also Jan 21-23(8pm), 

24(3:30). 

●●7:30: Toronto Shape Note Singing Community. 

Toronto Sacred Harp Singing. Selections 

from The Sacred Harp, 1991 Denson 

Edition. Bloor Street United Church, 

300 Bloor St. W. 647-838-8764. PWYC. Singing 

is participatory; songbooks to borrow. 

Three mini-operas by 

Nancy Van de Vate 

Wed. Jan. 20 8 PM 

Walter Hall, EJB, Uof T 

●●8:00: Alexander Rapoport. Mini-operas 

by Nancy Van de Vate. A celebration of Nancy 

Van de Vate’s 85th birthday. Van de Vate: A 

Night in the Royal Ontario Museum; Cleopatra 

and the Plastic Surgeon; Cocaine Lil. Michelle 

Vought, soprano; Michelle Colton, percussion; 

Alejandro Céspedes, percussion; Marie- 

Theres Rauba, piano. Walter Hall, Edward 


80 Queen’s Park. 416-540-4058. $30; $10(sr/ 

st/un[der]employed). Gala reception in honour 

of Nancy Van de Vate. 


Song. Works by Rachmaninoff, Messiaen, 

Cage, Aperghis and Jacobs. Neema Bickersteth; 

Gregory Oh; Debashis Sinha. Theatre 

Centre, 1115 Queen St. W. 416-538-4436. $25; 

$20(sr/st/arts workers). Also Jan 19(preview), 

21, 22, 23(2:00 and 8:30). 

Thursday January 21 


Chamber Music Series: La bonne chanson. 

Fauré: La bonne chanson; other works. Jean- 

Philippe Fortier-Lazure, tenor; Members of 

the COC Orchestra Academy. Richard Bradshaw 

Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for 

the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416- 

363-8231. Free. 


Noon at Met. John Paul Farahat, organ. 

Metropolitan United Church (Toronto), 

56 Queen St. E. 416-363-0331 x26. Free. 

●●7:30: York University Music Students 

Association. Music Media Music Concert. 

Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade 

East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St. 647-459- 

0701. Free. 

●●8:00: Gallery 345. Brahms and Friends. 

Brahms: Sonata in E-flat, Op.120 No.2; Ka 

Nin Chan: “Among Friends”; Brahms: Clarinet 

Trio in a, Op.114. Guy Yehuda, clarinet; 

Peter Longworth, piano; Rachel Mercer, cello. 

345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $20; $15(sr/ 

arts); $10(st). 

Music TORONTO 

ANDRIANA 

CHUCHMAN 

Soprano 

January 21 at 8 pm 

●●8:00: Music Toronto. Andriana Chuchman 

with Craig Terry. Works by Schubert, Wolf 

and Ravel. Andriana Chuchman; Craig Terry. 

Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for 

the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $21.50; 

$10(st). 


See Jan 20(7pm); Also Jan 22, 23, 24(3:30). 


Requiem. Mozart/completed by Robert 

D. Levin: Requiem, K626 (semi-staged). 

Lydia Teuscher, soprano; Allyson McHardy, 

mezzo; Frédéric Antoun, tenor; Philippe Sly, 

bass-baritone; Amadeus Choir; Elmer Iseler 

Singers; Joel Ivany, stage director; Bernard 

Labadie, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 

60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $33.75-$148. 

Also Jan 22 (7:30), 23(8:00). 


Song. See Jan 20; Also Jan 19, 22, 23(2:00 

and 8:30). 





Gordon Murray, piano. Trinity-St. Paul’s 


Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-631-4300. PWYC. 


Barbara Hannigan 

John R. Stratton Visitor in Music 

leads performances, master classes 

and an interactive session. 

January 19 to 22 

80 Queen’s Park 

All events free 

For info: music.utoronto.ca 


Music. Barbara Hannigan Concert. Faculty 

of Music student singers and pianists; Steven 

Philcox, piano. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson 


Park. 416-408-0208. Free. 

●●7:30: Brampton Folk Club. Latin Night. 

Amanda Martinez, vocals; Kevin Laliberte, 

guitar. Guest: Jon Grant. St. Paul’s United 

Church (Brampton), 30 Main St. S., Brampton. 

647-233-3655. $15; $12(sr/st). 

MOZART 

REQUIEM 

JOEL IVANY, 

STAGE DIRECTOR 

JAN 21–23 | TSO.CA 









60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $33.75-$148. 

Also Jan 21 and 23 (both 8:00). 


See Jan 20(7pm); Also Jan 23, 24(3:30). 

●●8:00: Great Artist Music Series. Stewart 

Goodyear, piano. Aurora Cultural Centre, 

Great Artist 

Music Series 

presents 

Stewart 

Goodyear, piano 

Friday, January 22, 

8pm 

auroraculturalcentre.ca 

905 713-1818 

22 Church St., Aurora. 905-713-1818. $34; 

$28(sr/st). 

●●8:30: Peggy Baker Dance Projects. Phase 

Space. John Kameel Farah; Peggy Baker, 

choreographer. Betty Oliphant Theatre, 

404 Jarvis St. 1-800-838-3006. $28; $23(sr/ 

st/CADA). Pre-show chat with Peggy Baker 

30 minutes prior to each performance. Runs 

Jan 22-24,27-31 (start times vary). 


Song. See Jan 20; Also Jan 23(2:00 and 8:30). 


●●2:00: Home Music Club. Chamber Music 

in the Afternoon. Beethoven: Sonata for violin 

and piano “Spring”; other works. Northern 

District Public Library, Room 224, 40 Orchard 

View Blvd. 416-393-7610. Free. 


Song. See Jan 20. 

SIEGFRIED 

Wagner 

JAN 23 – FEB 14 

coc.ca 

●●6:30: Canadian Opera Company. Siegfried. 

Wagner. Christine Goerke, soprano (Brünnhilde); 

Stefan Vinke, tenor (Siegfried); and 

others; François Girard, director; Johannes 

Debus, conductor. Four Seasons Centre for 


363-8231. $60-$445; $22(under 30). Also 

Jan 27, 30(mat), Feb 2, 5, 11, 14(mat). 

●●8:00: Alliance Française de Toronto. Jazz 

Manouche: From Paris to Toronto. Roberto 

Rosenman, lead guitar; Drew Jurecka, violin; 

Chris Bezant, rhythm guitar; Jon Meyer, 

double bass. Spadina Theatre, 24 Spadina Rd. 

416-922-2014. $15; $10(sr/st). 


See Jan 20(7pm); Also Jan 24(3:30). 









60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $33.75-$148. 

Also Jan 21 (8:00) and 22 (7:30). 


Space. See Jan 22. Also Jan 24,27,28,29,30,31 

(start times vary). 


Song. See Jan 20; Also 8:30. 



Music. Concerto Competition Finals. Selecting 

of soloists for the UTSO concerts in 

the 2016-2017 season. Walter Hall, Edward 



●●2:00: Quartetto Bravo. In Concert. Works 

for string trio and clarinet by Mozart, Schubert 

and others. Terry Storr, clarinet; Daniel 

Kushner, violin; Baird Knechtel, viola; John 

Trembath, cello. All Saints Kingsway Anglican 

Church, 2850 Bloor St. W. 416-242-2131. 

$20; $15(sr/st). 


Music. Opera Student Composer Collective: 

The Machine Stops. A science fiction dystopia 

based on the short story by E.M. Forster. 

Michael Patrick Albano, director; James Bolton, 

set design; Lisa Magill, costumes; Sandra 

Horst, conductor. MacMillan Theatre, Edward 


0208. Free. 

●●3:00: Amici Chamber Ensemble. Ludwig. 

Beethoven: Sonata in A, Op.69; Sextet 

in E-flat, Op.71; Rondino in E-flat, Op.post.; 

Quintet in E-flat, Op.16. Sarah Jeffrey, oboe; 

Sarah Lewis, oboe; Joseph Orlowski, clarinet; 

Michael Sweeney, bassoon; Samuel Banks, 

basson; Neil Deland, horn; Gabriel Radford, 

horn. Mazzoleni Concert Hall, Royal Conservatory, 

273 Bloor St. W. 1-855-821-0636. 

$10-$45. 


See Jan 20(7pm). 


Space. See Jan 22. Also Jan 27,28,29,30,31 

(start times vary). 


Organ Series. Organist TBA. 65 Church 

St. 416-364-7865. Free. 


Colleen Ann Quartet. 1570 Yonge St. 416- 

920-5211. Free. Donations welcome. 

●●8:00: Esprit Orchestra. Bow to String, Air 

to Breath. Daniel Bjarnason: Bow to String; 

Alexina Louie: Imaginary Opera; Samuel Andreyev: 

Movements and Measures; R. Murray 

Schafer: The Falcon’s Trumpet. Bryan Cheng, 

cello; Robert Venables, trumpet. Koerner 

Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408- 

0208. Starts at $45. 


●●12:30: York University Department 

of Music. Music @ Midday: Classical 

Instrumental Recital. Featuring student 

soloists. Tribute Communities Recital Hall, 

Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St. 

647-459-0701. Free. 


Music. Viva Caledonia! Music for Robbie 

Burns Day. Works by Oswald, Macklean, 

Munro and Reid; 18th-century settings of 

traditional airs and other tunes. Alison Melville, 

baroque flute/recorders; Julia Seager-Scott, 

baroque harp/larsach; Margaret 

Jordan-Gay, baroque cello. Walter Hall, 

Edward Johnson Building, University of 

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

$40; $25(sr); $10(st). 



Chamber Music Series: Golden Violin. Byungchan 

Lee, violin; Philip Chiu, piano. Richard 



416-363-8231. Free. 



Chamber Music. Rising Stars recital. 

Students from the Glenn Gould School. Yorkminster 




Music. Music @ Midday: Student Showcase. 

Young musicians perform wide range of 

works including original compositions. Martin 


4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free. 



65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 

●●7:30: Royal Conservatory. AIMIA Discovery 

Series: Joaquin Valdepenas Conducts. 

Mazzoleni Concert Hall, Royal Conservatory, 

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $15. 



See Jan 23; Also Jan 30(mat), Feb 2, 5, 

11, 14(mat). 

●●8:00: Svetlana Dvoretsky/Show One Productions. 

Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs 

of Life and Fate. Psoy Korolenko; vocals; 

Sophie Milman, vocals; Isaac Rosenberg, 

vocals; Loyko Trio, violins/guitar; Alexander 

Sevastian, accordion; Shalom Bard, clarinet; 

David Buchbinder, trumpet; and others. 

Bow to 

String, 

Air to 

Breath 

Sunday 


2016 

8:00pm Concert 

Koerner Hall 

ESPRIT ORCHESTRA 

espritorchestra.com 


Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing 

Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond Hill. 905- 

787-8811. $45-$85. 

●●8:00: Ensemble Polaris. Santa’s Gone 

Home! Featuring festive- and post-festive 

music old and new. St. Bartholomew’s Anglican 

Church, 509 Dundas St. E. 416-588-4301. 

$25; $15(sr/st/unwaged); $10(child). 

SYMPHONIE 

FANTASTIQUE 

PETER OUNDJIAN, 

CONDUCTOR 

JAN 27–30 | TSO.CA 

●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Symphonie 

Fantastique. Sibelius: “The Swan of 

Tuonela” from Lemminkäinen Suite (Jan. 27 

and 28 only); Dutilleux: Correspondances; 

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique. Barbara 

Hannigan, soprano; Peter Oundjian, conductor. 

Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416- 

598-3375. $33.75-$148. Also Jan 28. 


Space. See Jan 22. Also Jan 28,29,30,31 (start 

times vary). 



Dance Series: reassembled. Phase Space. 

Dancers from Peggy Baker Dance Projects; 

John Kameel Farah, piano; Peggy Baker, choreographer. 

Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, 


Wednesday January 27, 8pm 

St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church, 

509 Dundas St. E., Toronto 

Sunday January 31, 3pm 

Heliconian Hall, 

35 Hazelton Ave., Toronto 

ADVANCE TICKETS 

$25 | $15 st/sr/unwaged | $10 kids 

available at bemusednetwork.com 

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 

145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231. Free. 


Noon at Met. Rashaan Allwood, organ. Metropolitan 


E. 416-363-0331 x26. Free. 


Music. Thursdays at Noon: Music and Poetry. 

Montsalvatge: Cinco Canciones Negras; 

Luciano Berio: Quattro Canziones Popolari. 

Krisztina Szabó, mezzo; Steven Philcox, piano; 

Eric Domville, speaker. Walter Hall, Edward 



Santa’s Gone Home! 

Ensemble Polaris’s traditional mid-winter 

concert, featuring festive- and post-festive 

music old and new. 

Info 416-588-4301 

ensemblepolaris.com 

Earl Haig / 

Claude Watson 

Music presents 

Piano Night 

Many Keys in Many Keys 

January 28 4:30 pm 

Ruth Watson Theatre, Earl Haig SS 

claudewatson.ca 

●●4:30: Earl Haig Secondary School / Claude 

Watson Music. Piano Night - Many Keys in 

Many Keys. Claude Watson Piano Majors perform 

solo and ensemble works. Ruth Watson 

Theatre, Earl Haig Secondary School, 

100 Princess Avenue, North York. 416-395- 

3210 x20141. $5. 


Music. Jazz Composers Concert. Walter 



Free. 

Daniel Hope: 

Yehudi Menuhin 

@ 100 

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 8PM 

KOERNER HALL 

Generously supported by 

Helen Sinclair & Paul Cantor 

TICKETS 0N SALE NOW: 416.408.0208 

WWW.PERFORMANCE.RCMUSIC.CA 

●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. String Concerts: 

Daniel Hope - Yehudi Menuhin @ 100. 


416-408-0208. $25-$75. 


Fantastique. Sibelius: “The Swan of 

Tuonela” from Lemminkäinen Suite (Jan. 27 

and 28 only); Dutilleux: Correspondances; 

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique. Barbara 

Hannigan, soprano; Peter Oundjian, conductor. 

Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416- 

598-3375. $33.75-$148. Also Jan 27. 


Space. See Jan 22. Also Jan 29,30,31 (start 

times vary). 






427 Bloor St. W. 416-631-4300. PWYC. 



Music. Music @ Midday: Aria with Me. Young 

singers from the studios of Catherine Robbin, 

Stephanie Bogle, Norma Burrowes, Michael 

Donovan and Karen Rymal. Tribute Communities 

Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, YU, 

4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free. 

●●7:30: Opera by Request. Così fan tutte. Mozart. 

Deena Nicklefork, soprano (Fiordiligi); 

Daria Bukhman, mezzo (Dorabella); Will Ford, 

tenor (Ferrando); Austin Larusson, baritone 

(Guglielmo); Brittany King, soprano (Despina); 

Lawrence Shirkie, baritone (Don Alfonso); 

William Shookhoff, pianist and music director. 

College Street United Church, 452 College St. 

416-455-2365. $20. 

●●7:30: St. Anne’s Music and Drama Society. 

Iolanthe. Gilbert & Sullivan. Laura Schatz, director; 

Brian Farrow, musical director; Jennie 

Garde, choreographer. St. Anne’s Parish Hall, 

651 Dufferin St. 416-922-4415. $27; $22(sr/st). 

Also Jan 30, 31, Feb 4, 5, 6, 7. Start times vary. 

●●8:00: Gallery 345. In Recital. Beethoven: 

Sonata No.4, Op.102 No.1; Schumann: Five 

Pieces in a Folk Style, Op.102; Shostakovich: 

Sonata for Cello and Piano in d, Op.40. 

Blair Lofgren, cello; Peter Longworth, piano. 

345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $20; $10(st). 

●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Quiet Please, 

There’s a Lady on Stage: Lisa Fischer. 


416-408-0208. $40-$85. 

John Sheard 

presents 

A Night 

of Beatles 

Classics 

with David Celia and 

Mia Sheard 

Sat. Jan. 29, 8pm 

auroraculturalcentre.ca 

905 713-1818 

●●8:00: John Sheard. A Night of Beatles Classics. 

With David Celia and Mia Sheard. Aurora 

Cultural Centre, 22 Church St., Aurora. 905- 

713-1818. $20/$25(adv). 


Space. See Jan 22. Also Jan 30,31 (start times 

vary). 



Iolanthe. See Jan 29; Also 7:30pm and Jan 31, 

Feb 4, 5, 6, 7. Start times vary. 

●●3:00: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. TMC 

Choral Conductors’ Symposium Concert. 

Conductors from the Choral Conductors’ 

Symposium; Michael Bloss, organ; James 

Bourne, piano; Elora Festival Singers. Yorkminster 


416-598-0422. Free. 


See Jan 23; Also Feb 2, 5, 11, 14(mat). 

2015-2016 

CONCERT 

SERIES 

TCHAIKOVSKY 

SPECTACULAR! 

with celebrated violinist 

Alexandre Da Costa 

Sat., Jan. 30, 7:00pm 

UOIT Regent Theatre, Oshawa 

Sun., Jan. 31, 3:00pm 

Koerner Hall, Toronto 

ontariophil.ca 

●●7:30: Ontario Philharmonic. Tchaikovsky 

Spectacular! Tchaikovsky: “The Sleeping 

Beauty” Suite Op.66a; Violin Concerto in 

D, Op.35; Francesca da Rimini, Op.32. Alexandre 

Da Costa, violin; Paul Sloggett, abstract 

painter artist. Regent Theatre (Oshawa), 

50 King St. E., Oshawa. 905-579-6711. $45- 

$56. VIP Reception follows concert with additional 

ticket. Also Jan 31 (3:00, Koerner Hall). 


●●7:30: Royal Conservatory. AIMIA Discovery 

Series: The Glenn Gould School Vocal Showcase. 

Mazzoleni Concert Hall, Royal Conservatory, 

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $15. 


Iolanthe. See Jan 29; Also Jan 31, Feb 4, 5, 6, 7. 

Start times vary. 


Fantastique. R. Strauss: Horn Concerto 

No.1; Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique. 

Neil Deland, horn; Peter Oundjian, conductor. 


3375. $33.75-$107. 


Music. New Music Festival: Wind Ensemble. 

Bell: Vision Quest; S. Alarcon: Duende; 

Deneberg: Tappan Zee Bridge; Daugherty: 

Raise the Roof [with Xuanyu (Carol) Wang]; 

Bates: Mothership. Gillian MacKay, conductor. 


80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $30; 

$20(sr); $10(st). 

●●8:00: Academy Concert Series. Soaring 

Over a Ground Bass. Works by Purcell, 

Sances, Merula, Biber, Schmelzer and 

others. Nathalie Paulin, soprano; Lucas Harris, 

theorbo/lute; Emily Eng, violin; Kerri 

McGonigle, cello. Eastminster United Church, 

310 Danforth Ave. 416-629-3716. $20; $14(sr/ 

st); $5(under 18). 

●●8:00: Alliance Française de Toronto. 

Mathieu Boogaerts Solo Concert: An Anthology 

of the French Song. Mathieu Boogaerts, 

singer/songwriter. Spadina Theatre, 

24 Spadina Rd. 416-922-2014. $15; $10(sr/st). 

●●8:00: Canadian Sinfonietta. Songs and 

Poems. Wine and Cheese concert. Bach: 

Excerpts from Cantatas for violin, voice, 

and keyboard; Pepa: Four Haikus (A Chime 

of Windbells); Strauss: Sonata for violin and 

piano in E-flat. Erika Crino, piano; Joyce Lai, 

violin; Vania Chan, lyric coloratura soprano. 


2286. $30, $25(sr), $20(st) (wine and food 

included). 

●●8:00: newchoir. Millennium. Songs by Ed 

Sheeran, Foo Fighters, Miley Cyrus, Mumford 

and Sons, Walk Off the Earth. Jeremy Fisher. 

St. Michael’s College School, 1515 Bathurst St. 

416-653-3180. $40. 

●●8:00: Oakville Symphony Orchestra. Mozart/Gershwin: 

Youthful Genius. Mozart: Symphony 

No.23; Violin Concerto No.5; Gershwin: 

Piano Concerto. Guests: Joseph Peleg, violin; 

Mauro Bertoli, piano. Oakville Centre for the 

Performing Arts, 130 Navy St., Oakville. 905- 

815-2021. $54; $49(sr); $26(st/child). Also 

Jan 31(mat). 

●●8:00: Show One Productions. Denis Matsuev, 

piano. Schumann: Kinderszenen Op.15; 

Kreisleriana Op.16; Rachmaninoff: Études- 

Tableaux, Op.39 Nos.2,6,9; Sonata No.2, Op.36 

(second edition). Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $65-$125. 

●●8:00: St. Jude’s Church. Celebration of the 

Arts: In Praise of Holier Women. Chant and 

polyphonic pieces in honour of Saint Cecilia, 

Marguerite Bourgeoys, Julian of Norwich, 

Florence Nightingale, Hildegard of Bingen, 

and other female figures. Schola Magdalena; 

Stephanie Martin, director. St. Jude’s Anglican 

Church, 160 William St., Oakville. 905- 

844-3972. $30. 

●●8:10: Gordon Murray Presents. Piano 

Soirée. Rachmaninoff: Vocalise Op.34 No.14 

(arr. Murray); Rhapsody On A Theme Of 

Paganini, Op.43 - Variation 18 (arr. Murray); 

Piano Sonata Op.36 No.2; and other works. 

Gordon Murray, piano. Trinity-St. Paul’s 

United Church (Chapel), 427 Bloor St. W. 416- 

631-4300. $15; $10(st). 


Space. See Jan 22. Also Jan 31 (start times 

vary). 


●●2:00: All Saints Kingsway Anglican 

Church. Trio Bravo Plus. Music for clarinet 

quartet and string trio by Mozart, Dohnányi 

and Schubert. Terry Storr, clarinet; Daniel 

Kushner, violin; Baird Knechtel, viola and 

John Trembath, cello. 2850 Bloor St. W. 416- 

242-2131. $20. 

●●2:00: Oakville Symphony Orchestra. Mozart/Gershwin: 

Youthful Genius. Mozart: Symphony 

No.23; Violin Concerto No.5; Gershwin: 

Piano Concerto. Guests: Joseph Peleg, violin; 

Mauro Bertoli, piano. Oakville Centre for the 

Performing Arts, 130 Navy St., Oakville. 905- 

815-2021. $54; $49(sr); $26(st/child). Also 

Jan 30(eve). 

David Geringas 

SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 2PM 


Works by Corigliano, 

Bach,Penderecki, Kancheli, 

Couperin and Senderovas. 

TICKETS 0N SALE NOW: 416.408.0208 

WWW.PERFORMANCE.RCMUSIC.CA 

●●2:00: Royal Conservatory. Mazzoleni Masters: 

David Geringas. Works by Corgliano, 

Featuring: 

Scott St. John, violin 

Soaring over 

a Ground Bass 

January 30 @ 8pm 

Location: 


310 Danforth Avenue 

Featuring: 

Nathalie Paulin, soprano 

Lucas Harris, theorbo/lute 

Emily Eng, violin 

Kerri McGonigle, cello 

Concert Series 

AcademyConcertSeries.com 

416.629.3716 

Buy online: 

SiNGLE TiCKETS: 

$20 / $14 / $5 (under 18) 

3 TiX FLEX PACK: 

$49 / $32 Sen. & Student 


Bach, Penderecki, Kancheli and more. Mazzoleni 

Concert Hall, Royal Conservatory, 

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $25. 


Iolanthe. See Jan 29; Also Feb 4, 5, 6, 7. Start 

times vary. 

●●2:30: Musically Speaking. J.S. Bach 

Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas. Patricia 

Ahern, violin. St. David’s Anglican Church, 

49 Donlands Ave. 416-464-7610. PWYC. 


Music/Dennis Patrick. New Music Festival: 

Electroacoustic Concert. Works by graduate 

students Parisa Sabet and Xintong Wong. 

Festival guest: Allan Gordon Bell, composer. 



●●3:00: Ensemble Polaris. Santa’s Gone 

Home! Featuring festive- and post-festive 

music old and new. Heliconian Hall, 


st/unwaged); $10(child). 

●●3:00: Ontario Philharmonic. Tchaikovsky 

Spectacular! Tchaikovsky: “The Sleeping 

Beauty” Suite, Op.66a; Violin Concerto in 

D, Op.35; Francesca da Rimini, Op.32. Alexandre 

Da Costa, violin; Paul Sloggett, abstract 

painter artist. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 

273 Bloor St. W. 905-579-6711. $45-$56. VIP 

Reception to follow concert with your additional 

reception ticket. Also Jan 30 (7:30, 

Regent Theatre). 


Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra Winter 

Concert. Shostakovich: Festive Overture; 

Rossini: Overture to La gazza ladra; Sibelius: 

Symphony No.1. Toronto Symphony Youth 

Orchestra; Shalom Bard, conductor. Mac- 

Millan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, 

80 Queen’s Park. 416-598-3375. $16-$28. 

●●4:00: Georgetown Bach Chorale. Romantic 

Piano for a Winter’s Day. Rachmaninoff: 

Chopin Variations in c; works by Medtner 

and Scriabin. Ron Greidanus, piano. Home of 

Ron Greidanus, 157 Main St. S., Georgetown. 

905-873-9909. $45(adv only). Refreshments 

following. 


Space. See Jan 22. 


Organ Series. Organist TBA. 65 Church 

St. 416-364-7865. Free. 

●●4:00: Vocal Mosaic/Celebration Choir. 

Heart and Soul. Popular standards, gospel, 

spirituals and songs for children. Linda 

Eyman, conductor. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 

427 Bloor St. W. 416-455-9238. $20; $15(sr/ 

st). 

●●7:00: Attila Glatz Concert Productions/ 

Roy Thomson Hall. The British Regiments’ 

Band of the Royal Marines. Pipes, Drums & 

Highland Dancers of the Scots Guards. Roy 

Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-872-4255. 

$49.50-$79.50. 



Karen Kieser Prize Concert. Shelley Marwood: 

Imaginings (for chamber ensemble). 



0208. Free. 

Monday February 1 



Gryphon Trio. Works by students of 


Allan Gordon Bell. Carmen Braden: Candle 

Ice; Heather Schmidt: Lunar Reflections; 

Kelly-Marie Murphy: In a World of Distance 

and Motion; Vincent Ho: new work. Walter 



$40; $25(sr); $10(st). 

Tuesday February 2 


Vocal Series: Classics Reimagined. Robert 

Pomakov, bass; Gryphon Trio. Four Seasons 

Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. 

W. 416-363-8231. Free. 


Vocal Series: Classics Reimagined. Gryphon 

Trio; Robert Pomakov, bass. Richard Bradshaw 

Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for 


363-8231. Free. 



Chamber Music. Matthew Ross, trumpet. 

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 

1585 Yonge St. 416-241-1298. Free; donations 

welcome. 



65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. 


See Jan 23; Also Feb 5, 11, 14(mat). 


Music. Vocalis Master’s/DMA Series: Cabaret. 

Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave. 416- 

408-0208. Free. 


Music. New Music Festival: Land’s End 

Ensemble. Allan Gordon Bell: Field Notes; 

Phénomènes; Trails of Gravity and Grace; 

Omar Daniel: Trio (Toronto premiere); Roydon 

Tse: Starscape. James Campbell, clarinet. 

Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, 


408-0208. Free. 

Wednesday February 3 

●●5:30: Canadian Opera Company. Jazz Series: 

In for the Count. Big band standards by 

Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, 

Bill Holman and others. JAZZ.FM91 Youth Big 

Band; Jules Estrin, conductor. Four Seasons 

Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen 

St. W. 416-363-8231. Free. First-come, firstserved. 

No late seating. 


Music. New Music Festival: gamUT Contemporary 

Music Ensemble. Works by Allan 

Gordon Bell and others. Wallace Halladay, 

conductor. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson 


Park. 416-408-0208. Free. 

Thursday February 4 

●●12:00 noon: Adam Sherkin. Schubert: Tragic 

Ascent. Schubert: Sonata in B-flat, D960; 

Sherkin: Tragic Ascent (premiere). Adam 

Sherkin, piano. Lower Bluma Lobby, St. Lawrence 

Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416- 

366-1656. Free. 


Chamber Music Series: Chamber Explorations. 

Students from the Glenn Gould School. 



First-come, first-served; Concertgoers are 

encouraged to arrive early as late seating is 

not available. 


Noon at Met. Manuel Piazza, organ. Metropolitan 


416-363-0331 x26. Free. 


Music. New Music Festival: Thursdays at 

Noon. Jarlkaganova/Blumberg: collaboration; 

Cecilia String Quartet Student Composition 

Competition: winning work; Levasseur: 

new work; and others. Walter Hall, Edward 



●●1:00: Miles Nadal JCC. The Ladies of Broadway. 

Songs from Oklahoma!, The King and 

I, Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady and The 

Sound of Music. Faye Kellerstein and Noreen 

Horowitz, vocals. 750 Spadina Ave. 416-924- 

6211 x155. $4.00 (drop-in). 

THE MARRIAGE OF 

FIGARO 

Mozart 

FEB 4 – 27 

coc.ca 

●●7:30: Canadian Opera Company. The 

Marriage of Figaro. Mozart. Josef Wagner 

(Figaro), bass-baritone; Jane Archibald 

(Susanna) and Erin Wall (the Countess), sopranos; 

Russell Braun (the Count), baritone; 

Claus Guth, director; Johannes Debus, conductor. 


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

$50-$435; $22(under 30). Runs Feb 4-27; 

start times vary. 


Iolanthe. See Jan 29; Also Feb 5, 6, 7. Start 

times vary. 


Music. New Music Festival: University of 

Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Bell: Symphonies 

of Hidden Fire; Creston: Accordion Concerto; 

Higdon: Percussion Concerto; Copland: 

El Salón México. Michael Bridge, accordion; 

Michael Murphy, percussion; Uri Mayer and 

Samuel Tam, conductors. MacMillan Theatre, 

Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park. 

416-408-0208. $30; $20(sr); $10(st). 


Music. Faculty Concert Series: Barry Elmes 

Quintet. Barry Elmes, drums; Mike Murley, 

saxophone; Kevin Turcotte, trumpet; Reg 

Schwager, guitar; Steve Wallace, bass. Tribute 

Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East 

Building, YU, 4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888. 

$15; $10(sr/st). 

●●8:00: Music Toronto. Annex Quartet. 

Janáček: Quartet No.1 “Kreutzer Sonata”; 

R. Murray Schafer: Quartet No.5 “Rosalind”; 

Mendelssohn: Quartet No.2 in a, Op.13. 

Music TORONTO 

ANNEX 

QUARTET 

February 4 at 8 pm 

Stanislav Pronin, violin; Carolyn Blackwell, 

violin; Yunior Lopez, viola; Peter Cosbey, cello. 

Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for 

the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $21.50; 

$10(st). 

BEETHOVEN 

9TH SYMPHONY 

AT KOERNER HALL 

Feb 4-7 

416.408.0208 


●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Beethoven 9th Symphony. 

Rheinberger: Abendlied; Brahms: 

Warum ist das Licht gegeben, Op.74; Ryan 

(Premiere of new commission); Beethoven: 

Symphony No.9. Ruby Hughes, soprano; 

Mary-Ellen Nesi, mezzo; Colin Balzer, tenor; 

Simon Tischler, baritone; Bruno Weil, director. 

Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. 

W. 416-964-6337. $48-$109. Also Feb 5, 6, 

7(3:30). 

Friday February 5 





427 Bloor St. W. 416-631-4300. PWYC. 



See Jan 23; Also Feb 11, 14(mat). 

●●7:30: Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Going Home 

Star - Truth and Reconciliation. Choreographic 

representation of the stories of 

Indian Residential School Survivors and their 

families. Story by Joseph Boyden; music 


y Christos Hatzis; choreography by Mark 

Gooden. Tina Keeper, Cree actor; Tanya 

Tagaq; Inuk throat singer; Northern Cree 

Singers; Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. 

Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front 

St. E. 1-855-872-7669. $54.24-$115.26. Also 

Feb 6 at 8:00. 


Iolanthe. See Jan 29; Also Feb 6, 7. Start 

times vary. 


Music. New Music Festival: Wind Symphony. 

Bell: From Chaos to the Birth of a Dancing 

Star; Daugherty: Bizarro; Rosauro: Concerto 

for Marimba (with Danielle Sum); Ling: 

Rhapsody (winner of 2015 Wind Composition 

Award); Bourgeois: Serenade; Maslanka: 

Testament. Jeffrey Reynolds, conductor. 


80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $30; 

$20(sr); $10(st). 

●●8:00: Alliance Française de Toronto. Hampaté 

and Sahel Blues. Spadina Theatre, 

24 Spadina Rd. 416-922-2014. $15; $10(sr/st). 


See Feb 4. Also Feb 6, 7. 

●●8:00: Tapestry New Opera. Songbook IV. 

Wallis Giunta, mezzo; Jordan de Souzam, conductor-in-residence. 

Ernest Balmer Studio 

(315), Distillery District, 9 Trinity St. 416-537- 

6066. $99. Also Feb 6. 

Saturday February 6 


Iolanthe. See Jan 29; Also Feb 7. Start 

times vary. 

Naomi Eberhard, soprano (Norma); Jessica 

Lane, soprano (Adalgisa); Jason Lamont, 

tenor (Pollione); Andrew Tees, baritone 

(Oroveso); Jennifer Routhier, mezzo (Clotilde); 

Fabian Arciniegas, tenor (Flavio); William 

Shookhoff, pianist and music director. 

College Street United Church, 452 College St. 

416-455-2365. $20. 


Music. New Music Festival: Jazz Faculty with 

Special Guests. Improvisational and new 

music. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, 


408-0208. Free. 

●●8:00: Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra. 

Tryptych Concert and Opera. Puccini: 

Gianni Schicchi; Smetana: Die Moldau. Norman 

Reintamm, conductor. P.C. Ho Theatre, 

Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto, 

5183 Sheppard Ave. E., Scarborough. 416- 

879-5566. Regular: $34; $29(sr/st); Premium: 

$54; $44(sr/st); Free(under 12). 

●●8:00: Kindred Spirits Orchestra. Pictures 

at an Exhibition. Beethoven: Concerto 

for piano and orchestra No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 

19; Dukas: “The Sorcerer’s apprentice” symphonic 

poem. Kristian Alexander, conductor; 

Antonia de Wolfe, piano; Alexa Petrenko, host. 

Flato Markham Theatre, 171 Town Centre 

Blvd., Markham. 905-305-7469. $15-$35. 

●●8:00: Mississauga Festival Choir. Festival 

of Friends Choral Festival. Numerous local 

choirs in solo and massed repertoire. Eden 

United Church, 3051 Battleford Rd., Mississauga. 

905-824-5578. $25; $15(children 12 

and under). All proceeds go to Alzheimer 

Society Peel. 

●●8:00: Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Going Home 

Star - Truth and Reconciliation. Choreographic 

representation of the stories of 

Indian Residential School Survivors and their 

families. Story by Joseph Boyden; music 

by Christos Hatzis; choreography by Mark 

Gooden. Tina Keeper, Cree actor; Tanya 

Tagaq; Inuk throat singer; Northern Cree 

Singers; Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. 

Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front 

St. E. 1-855-872-7669. $54.24-$115.26. Also 

Feb 5 at 7:30. 

●●8:00: Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Great Romantic Music. Beethoven: Overture 

to the Ruins of Athens, Symphony No. 6; 

Brahms: Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and 

Orchestra. Ronald Royer, conductor; Conrad 

Cathedral Bluffs 

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 

Norman Reintamm 

Artistic Director/Principal Conductor 

Chow, violin; Jacob Shaw, cello. Salvation 

Army Scarborough Citadel, 2021 Lawrence 

Ave. E., Scarborough. 416-429-0007. $30; 

$25(sr); $15(st); $10 (children under 10). 


See Feb 4. Also Feb 7. 

●●8:00: Tapestry New Opera. Songbook IV. 

Wallis Giunta, mezzo; Jordan de Souzam, conductor-in-residence. 

Ernest Balmer Studio 

(315), Distillery District, 9 Trinity St. 416-537- 

6066. $99. Also Feb 5. 

Sunday February 7 

●●2:00: Canadian Opera Company. The Marriage 

of Figaro. See Feb 4 for details. Runs 

Feb 4-27; start times vary. 


Klassical Hitz for Kidz. Prokofiev: Peter 

and the Wolf; other works. Assembly Hall, 

1 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr., Etobicoke. 

416-239-5665. $20; $10(child). Also at 4:30. 


Iolanthe. See Jan 29. 

●●2:30: Voicebox: Opera in Concert. Falstaff. 

Aradia Ensemble; Allison Angelo; Colin 

Saturday February 6, 2016 8 pm 

PUCCINI Gianni Schicchi 

PLUS… SMETANA Die Moldau 

SUBSCRIPTION CONCERT 3 | TICKETS: REGULAR – $34 adult $29 senior/student 

PREMIUM – $54 adult $44 senior/student (under age 12, free) 

P.C. HoTheatre 5183 Sheppard Avenue East, Scarborough 

SCIENCE @ 

THE SYMPHONY 

FUN FAMILY CONCERT! 

FEB 6 | TSO.CA 

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an 

agency of the Government of Ontario 

cathedralbluffs.com | 416.879.5566 

●●2:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Science 

@ the Symphony. Amir Safavi, violin; 

Heidi Breier, Sean Lee Ying, Donna Francis, 

Ontario Science Centre, hosts; Evan Mitchell, 

conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 

416-593-4828. $20.50-$38.75. Also 4:00. 

●●4:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Science 

@ the Symphony. Amir Safavi, violin; 

Heidi Breier, Sean Lee Ying, Donna Francis, 

Ontario Science Centre, hosts; Evan Mitchell, 

conductor. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 

416-593-4828. $20.50-$38.75. Also 2:00. 

●●7:30: Music at St. Andrew’s. This Little 

Light: Mardi Gras at St Andrew’s. Ken 

Whiteley and Friends. St. Andrew’s Church, 

73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x231. $25. 

●●7:30: Opera by Request. Norma. Bellini. 


Ainsworth; Robert Cooper, chorus director; 

Kevin Mallon, conductor. Jane Mallett 

Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 

27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $52-$73. 

●●3:00: Gallery 345. Fundraiser Concert: 

Music on Canvas. Works by Prokofiev, 

Lysenko, Barvinsky, Kolodub, Taktakishvili, 

Kosak and Yachshenko. Alex McLeod, viola; 

Peter Stoll, clarinet; Izabella Budai, flute; 

Matthew Christakos, cello; Maria Dolnycky, 

piano. 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $35; 

$20(st). Price includes wine reception to follow. 

All proceeds support Ukraine Prosthetic 

Assistance Project. 

●●3:00: Syrinx. Friends In Music. Works by 

Schubert, Enescu, Beethoven and Lesage. Ilya 

Poletaev, piano; Axel Strauss, violin. Heliconian 

Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 416-654-0877. $25; 

$20(sr/st). 

B. Concerts Beyond the GTA 

IN THIS ISSUE: Alliston, Barrie, Belleville, Brantford, Dundas, 

Fergus, Guelph, Hamilton, Innisfil, Kingston, Kitchener, 

London, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Orangeville, Owen Sound, 

Peterborough, Port Hope, St. Catharines, Waterloo. 


●●5:30: Orchestra Kingston. Sing-Along 

Messiah Rehearsal. Handel. Salvation Army 

Citadel, 816 Centennial Dr., Kingston. 613- 

634-9312. Free to performance ticket holders. 

Performance: Dec 5 (7:30). Scores 

available at the door. 

●●7:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing 

Arts. Gryphon Trio. Works by Haydn, 

Dinuk Wijeratne and Schubert. Guests: Cantabile 

Children’s Choir; Mark Sirett, director. 

390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424 or 

1-855-533-2424. $24.25-$44; $12-$22(st). 


●●6:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Welcome 

Yule! St. Cecilia Singers; Western University 

Singers. Von Kuster Hall, Music 

Building, Western University, 1151 Richmond 

St. N., London. 519-661-3767. Free. 

●●7:30: Plumbing Factory Brass Band. Semiannual 

Convention of the Plumbers Union 

and Its Delegations. J.J. Richards: Emblem 

of Unity March; M.M. Snyder: Fraternal Overture; 

Mendelssohn: Nocturne from A Midsummer 

Night’s Dream, Weber: “Leise, Leise” 

from Der Freischütz; and other works. Henry 

Meredith, conductor. Byron United Covenant 

Church, 420 Boler Rd., London. 519-471-1250. 

$15; $10(st). 

●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music 

Society. Alexander Tselyakov, piano - with 

Canadian Sinfonietta Chamber Musicians. 

Hummel: Piano Quintet in E-flat, Op.87; Chopin: 

Barcarolle; Ballade No.4; Piano Concerto 

No.2 in f with quintet. Joyce Lai, Alain Bouvier, 

violins; Ian Clarke, viola; Andras Weber, cello; 

Tim FitzGerald, bass. KWCMS Music Room, 

57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673. 

$35; $20(st). 


●●12:15: St. George’s Cathedral (Kingston). 

Advent Concerts at the Cathedral. Mark Himmelman, 

organ. 270 King St. E., Kingston. 

613-548-4617. Free with voluntary offering. 

Thursdays until Dec 17. 



Music. New Music Festival: Contemporary 

Showcase Concert. Allan Gordon Bell: new 

work (premiere); O Virtus Sapientiae (arr. 

Parker); and other works. Men’s Chorus and 

Women’s Chamber Choir; Hilary Apfelstadt, 

Elaine Choi and Tracy Wong, conductors. 

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

416-408-0208. PWYC. 


See Feb 4. 


1570 Yonge St. 416-920-5211. Free. 



Klassical Hitz for Kidz. Prokofiev: Peter 

and the Wolf; other works. Assembly Hall, 

1 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr., Etobicoke. 

416-239-5665. $20; $10(child). Also at 2:00. 

●●12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. 

Impressions. Works by Schumann, Rossini, 

Grainger and others. Wind Ensemble. Paul 

Davenport Theatre, Talbot College, Western 

University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519- 

661-3767. Free. 

●●7:00: University of Guelph Concert Winds. 

Fall Semester Concert. University Centre 

Courtyard, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd. 

E., Guelph. 519-824-4120 x52991. Free. 

●●7:30: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. 

Hot Ticket: Louise Pitre. 250 St. Paul St., 

St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. $47. 


●●12:30: Queen’s University School of Music. 

Student Chamber Ensembles in Recital. Isabel 


390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424. 

Free. 


Messiah Sing-along. Grand Lobby. Isabel 



Free. 


Hot Ticket: Jesse Cook -- One World! 

Jesse Cook, guitar. 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 

905-688-0722. $62. 


Queen’s Symphony Orchestra. Gordon Craig, 

conductor. Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing 

Arts, 390 King St. W., Kingston. 613- 

533-2424. $15; $7(sr/st). 

●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Jazz 

Ensemble: Tribute to Mary Lou Williams. Paul 



661-3767. Free. 



Hot Ticket: Natalie MacMaster & Donnell 

Leahy’s Christmas Celebration. 250 St. 

Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. $55. 

Also 7:30. 

●●5:30: St. Andrew’s United Church. 

Indian Christmas Night: Concert & Dinner. 

Christmas carols performed in Indian Raga/ 

fusion style on sitar, flute, guitar and tabla. 

Bruce Harding, flute and guitar. St. Andrew’s 

United Church (Hamilton), 497 Upper Paradise 

Rd., Hamilton. 905-383-7411. $25; 

$20(adv). Authentic Indian dinner. 

●●7:00: Guelph Youth Singers. Snowforms. 

Annual winter concert. Markus Howard, artistic 

director/conductor; Heather Fleming, 

choir/conductor. Harcourt Memorial United 

Church, 87 Dean St., Guelph. 519-763-3000. 

$25; $20(sr/st); $5(eyeGO). 


Hot Ticket: Natalie MacMaster & Donnell 

Leahy’s Christmas Celebration. 250 St. 

Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. $55. 

Also 2:30. 

●●7:30: Lyrica Chamber Choir. A Canadian 

Noel. Works by Mark Sirett, Jeff Enns, Eleanor 

Daley, Derek Holman, Healey Willan and 

others. Lyrica Chamber Choir; Steve Winfield, 

director; Brent Mayhew, piano. Burton 

Avenue United Church, 37 Burton Ave., Barrie. 

705-722-0271. $17; $14(sr/st). 

●●7:30: Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and 

Performing Arts. Choral Series 2015-16: 

Viva Voce! Brock University Choirs; Armonia. 

Guests: Avanti Chamber Singers; Harris 

Loewen, conductor. FirstOntario Performing 

Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 

905-688-0722 or 1-855-515-0722. $15; 

$10(sr/st); $5(eyeGo). 

●●7:30: McMaster School of the Arts. 

Ensemble Concerts Series. McMaster University 

Choir and Women’s Choir. Central Presbyterian 

Church (Hamilton), 165 Charlton Ave. 

W., Hamilton. 905-525-9140 x27671. Free. 

●●7:30: Melos Choir and Period Instruments. 

A Star in the East. Advent and Christmas 

chants and carols from the 12th to 18th 

century including works by Byrd, Schütz, Victoria, 

Praetorius and others, accompanied by 

readings from 15th to 17th century poetry. St. 

George’s Cathedral (Kingston), 270 King St. E., 

Kingston. 613-767-7245. $15-$25. 

●●7:30: Orchestra Kingston. Sing-Along 

Messiah. Handel. Guest soloists and audience 

sing-along. Salvation Army Citadel, 

816 Centennial Dr., Kingston. 613-634- 

9312. $20-$25. Scores available at the door. 

Rehearsal: Dec 1 (5:30). 

●●7:30: Peterborough Symphony Orchestra. 

Home for the Holidays. Debussy: Children’s 

Corner; J. Strauss II: Wine, Women 

and Song; works by Michael Conway Baker, 

John Rutter and Mel Tormé. Peterborough 

Symphony Orchestra; Guests: Peterborough 

Pop Ensemble; Kawartha Youth Orchestra. 

Showplace Performance Centre, 290 George 

St. N., Peterborough. 705-742-7469. $30; 

$15(youth). 


Society. Pare-Shaw Guitar Duo. Mangoré: 

Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios; Bach: Prelude, 

Fugue and Allegro, BWV998; Sergio 

Assad: Six selections from Natsu no niwa 

Suite; Nobre: Cicio Nordestino Suites; Legnanai: 

Fantasy, Op.19; and others. KWCMS 

Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519- 

886-1673. $20; $10(st). 

●●8:00: University of Guelph Choirs. A 

Downton Celebration. Works by Britten, 

Elgar, Gibbons, Goodall, Morley and others. 

Betty Maher, piano; Gerald Manning, organ; 

Marta McCarthy, conductor. St. George’s 

Anglican Church (Guelph), 99 Woolwich St., 

Guelph. 519-824-4120 x52991. $15; $10(sr/ 

st). Optional: Wear your favourite hat, 

“fascinator”, bowtie or kilt! 


●●2:00: Avery Raquel Quartet. In Concert. 

Stonewalls Restaurant, 239 York Blvd, Hamilton. 

905-577-0808. $10. 

●●2:30: Kingston Symphony. Immortal Mozart. 

Mozart: Symphony Nos. 39, 40 and 41. 

Evan Mitchell, conductor. Isabel Bader Centre 

for the Performing Arts, 390 King St. W., 

Kingston. 613-530-2050. $20-$50. 

●●2:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. 

Family Concert: From Neverland to Hogwarts. 

Peter Pan; The Harry Potter Children’s 

Suite. Bradley Thachuk, conductor. Cairns 

Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 

250 St Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688- 

0722. $32; $12(child). 

●●3:00: La Jeunesse Youth Orchestra. Home 

for the Holidays. Guests: Cambridge Street 

United Choir of Lindsay. Port Hope United 

Church, 34 South St., Port Hope. 1-866-460- 

5596. $20; $15(st); free(child). 

●●7:30: Achill Choral Society. Rejoice. Rutter: 

Magnificat; and other works. Christopher 

Dawes, organ; Shawn Grenke, piano; Roger 

Flock, percussion; A. Dale Wood, conductor. 

St. Mark’s Anglican Church (Orangeville), 

5 First Avenue, Orangeville. 905-936-5060. 

$25; $10(13-17); $5(child). Also Nov 28 (Bolton), 

29 (Colgan). 


●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Contemporary 

Music Studio Concert. Von 

Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University, 

1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661- 

3767. Free. 


●●10:00am: Don Wright Faculty of Music. 

Western Performs! Concert Series: Holiday 

Surprise. Weldon Library Atrium, 

1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-3767. 

Free. 

●●12:00 noon: City of St. Catharines. Civic 

Christmas Carol Concert. Laura Secord Secondary 

School Concert Choir; Holy Cross 

Catholic Secondary School Concert Choir; St. 

Catharines Civic Brass Ensemble; Peter M. 

Partridge, choirs conductor; Ross R. Stretton, 

producer and organist. St. Thomas’ Church, 

99 Ontario St., St. Catharines. 905-688-3191. 


Freewill collection to Community Care. 

●●12:00 noon: Marilyn I. Walker School of 

Fine and Performing Arts. Music@Noon: 

Piano and Guitar Students’ Recital. FirstOntario 

Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., 

St. Catharines. 905-688-5550. Free. 

●●12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Electronic 

Music Compositions Concert. Paul 



661-3767. Free. 


Ballet Jörgen’s The Nutcracker: A 

Canadian Tradition. Bengt Jörgen, choreographer 

and artistic director. 250 St. Paul 

St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. $47; 

$25(child). Also Dec 9. 

●●7:30: Brock University Department of 

Music. Full Steam Ahead. Chuck Mangione: 

Children of Sanchez; Philip Sparke: Orient 

Express; Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from 

West Side Story; John Higgins: Christmas 

on Broadway; and other works. University 

Wind Ensemble; Zoltan Kalman, conductor. 

FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. 

Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. $8; 

$5(eyeGo). 

●●7:30: Perimeter Institute. Classical World 

Artists Series. Pärt: Seven Antiphons; Magnificat; 

I am the true vine; Sheppard: Sacris 

solemniis; Gaude, gaude, gaude; Tallis: Missa 

Puer natus (Gloria; Sanctus; Agnus dei). 

The Tallis Scholars; Peter Phillips, director. 

Atrium, Perimeter Institute, 31 Caroline St. N., 

Waterloo. 519-883-4480. $83; $55(st). Valid 

ID needed for student rate. 

●●8:00: Sanderson Centre for the Performing 

Arts. Jesse Cook, Guitar. 

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

$50; $20(uGO); $5(eyeGO). 


●●2:30: Seniors Serenade. An Eastview 

Christmas. Five choirs from Eastview High 

School; David Stewart, conductor. Grace 

United Church (Barrie), 350 Grove St. E., Barrie. 

705-726-1181. Free. 3:30: tea and goodies 

$5. 


Ballet Jörgen’s The Nutcracker: A 

Canadian Tradition. Bengt Jörgen, choreographer 

and artistic director. 250 St. Paul 

St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. $47; 

$25(child). Also Dec 8. 

●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber 

Music Society. In Recital. Haydn: Sonata in 

B-flat, HobXVI:2; Sonata in A-flat, HobXVI:46; 

Sonata in c-sharp, HobXVI:36; Sonata in c, 

HobXVI:20. Timothy Steeves, piano. KWCMS 


886-1673. $30; $20(st). 





613-548-4617. Freewill offering. Thursdays 

until Dec 17. 


●●7:30: Gallery Players of Niagara. Christmas 

Trifles. Carols and music from the British 

Isles. Guy Bannerman, narrator; Glissandi: 

Douglas Miller, flute; Deborah Braun, harp; 

David Braun, violin. Grace United Church 

(Niagara-on-the-Lake), 222 Victoria St., 


Niagara-on-the-Lake. 905-468-1525. $5-$34. 

Also Dec 13 (mat, St. Catharines). 

●●7:30: Kingston Jazz Ensemble. A Jazz Musician’s 

Christmas. Cooke’s-Portsmouth United 

Church, 200 Norman Rogers Dr., Kingston. 

613-767-8328. $25; $20(sr); $15(st and military). 

Refreshments served at intermission. 


●●1:00: Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine 

and Performing Arts. Wandering Christmas 

Carollers. Groups of 4 or 8 singers combining 

Brock University student singers and 

members of Avanti Chamber Singers. Various 

locations downtown, TBA, St. Catharines. 

905-688-5550. Free. Also Dec 19. 

●●2:00: King Edward Choir. Amahl and the 

Night Visitors. Christmas Concert. Collier 

Street United Church, 112 Collier St., Barrie. 

705-305-6797. $25; $15(st). Also 7:30. 

●●7:30: Chorus Niagara. Noël! Bravura Baritones; 

Chorus Niagara Children’s Choir; SXS 

High School Chorale; Chorus Niagara Festival 

Brass. FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 

250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. . $42; 

$40(sr); $27(under 30); $17(st); $14(child); 

$5(eyeGO High School). 

●●7:30: Dufferin Concert Singers/New 

Tecumseth Singers. G.F. Handel’s Messiah. 

With orchestra and soloists. Westminster 

United Church (Orangeville), 247 Broadway 

Ave., Orangeville. 705-435-5497. $20; $10(st). 

7:00: Performance by Bells of Westminster. 

Also Dec 13 (Alliston). A portion of proceeds 

goes towards the Orangeville and District 

Music Festival vocal scholarship fund. 

●●7:30: Georgian Bay Symphony. A Brassy 

Christmas. David: Trombone Concerto; Mascall: 

Fantasia on Huron Carol; Bach (arr. Stokowski): 

Passacaglia and Fugue in c; Carol 

sing-along and other seasonal pieces. OSCVI 

Regional Auditorium, 1550 8th St. E., Owen 

Sound. 519-372-0212. $28; $26(sr); $5(st). 

●●7:30: Grand Philharmonic Choir. Handel: 

Messiah. Leslie Ann Bradley, soprano; Jennifer 

Enns Modolo, mezzo-soprano; Marc 

Molomot, tenor; Alexander Dobson, baritone; 

Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra; 

Mark Vuorinen, conductor. Centre in the 

Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 519-578- 

1570. From $25. 

●●7:30: Hamilton Children’s Choir. In 

the House (Without Anyone Else). An original 

choral rendition of Home Alone. Ryerson 

United Church (Hamilton), 842 Main St. 

E., Hamilton. 905-527-1618. $30; $24(sr); 

$20(HCC alumni); $15(st); $10(child). 


Arts/Soulpepper. Frankly, Sinatra. 

Albert Schultz, vocals. Isabel Bader 

Centre for the Performing Arts, 390 King 

St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424. $36-$49; 

$31-$44(faculty/staff); $17-$24.50(st). 

●●7:30: King Edward Choir. Amahl and the 

Night Visitors. Christmas Concert. Collier 


705-305-6797. $25; $15(st). Also 2:00. 


●●2:00: Gallery Players of Niagara. Christmas 

Trifles. Carols and music from the British 

Isles. Guy Bannerman, narrator; Glissandi: 

Douglas Miller, flute; Deborah Braun, harp; 

David Braun, violin. St. Barnabas Anglican 

Church (St. Catharines), 31 Queenston St., 

St. Catharines. 905-468-1525. $5-$34. Also 

Dec 11 (eve, Niagara-on-the-Lake). 

●●2:30: Georgian Music. Christmas with 

Ensemble Vivant. Catherine Wilson, piano; 

Corey Gemmell, violin; Sybil Shanahan, cello; 

Norman Hathaway, viola. Grace United 

Church (Barrie), 350 Grove St. E., Barrie. 

705-726-1181. $65. 

●●3:00: Bach Elgar Choir of Hamilton. Bach 

Elgar Sing-Along Messiah. Ron Greidanus, 

organ; Alexander Cann, artistic director. Melrose 

United Church, 86 Homewood Ave., 

Hamilton. 905-5275995. $25; $10(st). Scores 

available to borrow or buy. Open Rehearsal 

on Dec 8 at 7:15 PM with purchase of a ticket. 

●●3:00: Dufferin Concert Singers/New 

Tecumseth Singers. G.F. Handel’s Messiah. 

With orchestra and soloists. Banting Memorial 

High School, 203 Victoria St. E., Alliston. 

705-435-5497. $20; $10(st). In support of the 

Banting Memorial High School music program. 

2:30: Performance by Banting Glee 

Club Carolers. Also Dec 12 (Orangeville). 

●●3:00: Elora Festival Singers. Messiah. Handel: 

Messiah. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church 

(Fergus), 760 St. David St. N., Fergus. 519- 

846-0331. $45; $20/$10(st); $5(ch 12 and 

under). 

●●3:00: Jubilate Singers. Tribute to the 

Festive Season. New seasonal carols and 

traditional favourites. Solos and group 

presentations. Polson Park Free Methodist 

Church, 139 Robert Wallace Dr., Kingston. 

613-389-8110. Free with donation to a 

city charity. 

●●3:00: Peterborough Singers. Handel’s 

Messiah. Kristen English, soprano; Cassandra 

Warner, mezzo; Darryl Edwards, tenor; 

Daniel Lichti, bass; Ian Sadler, organ; Paul 

Otway, trumpet; Sydney Birrell, conductor. 

George Street United Church, 534 George 


$20(under 30); $10(st). Also Dec 14(eve). 

●●3:30: Huronia Symphony Orchestra. 

Christmas Around the World. Anderson: 

Sleigh Ride; du Plessis: Somerkersfees; Calvert: 

’Twas in the Moon of Wintertime; Prokofiev: 

Troika from Lieutenant Kije Suite; 

other traditional Christmas works; carol 

sing-along. Oliver Balaburski, conductor. Collier 


705-721-4752. $25; $10(st); $5(child). Also 

Dec 19(eve, Innisfil). 

●●4:00: Spiritus Ensemble. Bach Christmas 

Oratorio. Parts 1-3. Guests: Sheila Dietrich, 

soprano; Jennifer Enns Modolo, mezzo; Steve 

Surian, tenor; Richard Hrytzak, baritone; Bud 

Roach, tenor (Evangelist). St. John’s Lutheran 

(Waterloo), 22 Willow St., Waterloo. 519-579- 

8335. $30; $25(sr); $15(st); $5(child). 


Society. Dave Young Trio. KWCMS Music 

Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-886- 

1673. $35; $20(st). 

●●8:00: NUMUS Concerts Inc. Anniversary 

Concert No.6: Interaction. Communication. 

Improvisation. Kathryn Ladano, bass clarinet; 

Casey Sokol, piano; Matt Brubeck, cello; 

Rick Sacks, percussion; Tomasz Dysinski, visual 

artist. Maureen Forrester Recital Hall, 

75 University Ave., Waterloo. 519-489-4444. 

$30; $20(sr/arts workers); $10(st). 


●●7:30: Brott Music Festival. Handel’s Messiah. 

Leslie Fagan, soprano; Academy Singers; 

National Academy Orchestra; Boris 

Brott, conductor. St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic 

Church (Hamilton), 440 King St. E., Hamilton. 

905-525-7664. $27; $22(sr); $10(st). 

●●7:30: Peterborough Singers. Handel’s Messiah. 

Shannon McCracken, soprano; Cassandra 

Warner, mezzo; Darryl Edwards, tenor; 

Daniel Lichti, bass; Ian Sadler, organ; Paul 

Otway, trumpet; Sydney Birrell, conductor. 

George Street United Church, 534 George 


$20(under 30); $10(st). Also Dec 13(mat). 


●●7:30: Kingston Symphony. Candlelight 

Christmas. Festive music and sing-along. 

Kingston Choral Society; Ian Juby, chorus 

master; Evan Mitchell, conductor. Isabel 



$10-$30. Also Dec 16. 


●●12:00 noon: Music at St. Andrews. Christmas 

with the Barrie Salvation Army Band. 

Doug Lewis, conductor. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian 

Church (Barrie), 47 Owen St., Barrie. 

705-726-1181. $5; free(st). 


Molly Johnson: The Billie Holiday Project. 

Molly Johnson, vocals. 250 St. Paul St., St. 

Catharines. 905-688-0722. $52. 

●●7:30: Kingston Symphony. Candlelight 

Christmas. Festive music and sing-along. 

Kingston Choral Society; Ian Juby, chorus 

master; Evan Mitchell, conductor. Isabel 



$10-$30. Also Dec 15. 


Society. Beethoven’s Birthday. Beethoven: 

String Quartet No.9 in C, Op.59 No.3; String 

Quartet No.15 in a, Op.132. Penderecki String 

Quartet. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. 

W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673. $40; $25(st). 

Syd Birrell & the 100 Voices of the 

Messiah 

Handel’s 

Peterborough’s award-winning, 

100-voice choir celebrates the 

season with this beloved 

Christmas classic. Singers, soloists, 

and musicians backed by the 

mighty Casavant pipe organ make 

it an experience you’ll cherish. 

Sun., Dec. 13 • 3:00 p.m. 

Mon., Dec. 14 • 7:30 p.m. 

George Street United Church 

534 George St. N., Peterborough 

peterboroughsingers.com 






613-548-4617. Freewill offering. Thursdays 

until Dec 17. 


John McDermott Family Christmas. 

John McDermott, tenor; Jason Fowler, Maury 

Lafoy, Coco Love Alcorn and Mark Lalama, 

musicians. 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 

905-688-0722. $52. 



The Celtic Tenors. 250 St. Paul St., St. 

Catharines. 905-688-0722. $52. 


Arts. This Heart That Lives in Winter. 

Lynn Miles, Rebecca Campbell, Keith Glass. 

390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424. $25. 

●●8:30: Zula Music & Arts Collective Hamilton. 

Samuel Blaser Quartet plus Dave Gould. 

Samuel Blaser Quartet; Dave Gould, percussive 

strings. Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, 

51 Stuart St., Hamilton. 905-522-3003. 

$15; $12(adv/st). 


●●7:00: Huronia Symphony Orchestra. 

Christmas Around the World. Anderson: 

Sleigh Ride; du Plessis: Somerkersfees; Calvert: 

’Twas in the Moon of Wintertime; Prokofiev: 

Troika from Lieutenant Kije Suite; other 

traditional Christmas works; carol singalong. 

Oliver Balaburski, conductor. Innisfil 

Community Church, 1571 Innisfil Beach Road, 

Innisfil. 705 721-4752. $25; $10(st); $5(child). 

Also Dec 13(mat, Barrie). 

●●7:00: Sanderson Centre for the Performing 

Arts. The Celtic Tenors. 

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

1-800-265-0710. $45; $20(uGO); $5(eyeGO). 

●●7:30: Christmas in the Village. 5th Annual 

Christmas Concert. Christmas classics, a 

Christmas carol sing-along and a reading 

of ’Twas the Night Before Christmas. Melissa-Marie 

Shriner, vocals; Doug Mundy, 

piano; Clark Johnston, upright bass; Peter 

Shea, drums; Christmas in the Village 


Ensemble, Richard Crossman, MC. First 

Grantham United Church, 415 Linwell Rd, St. 

Catharines. 905-941-6916. $20/$17(adv); 

$30(reserved). 

●●7:30: Guelph Chamber Choir. Handel’s 

Messiah. Musica Viva Orchestra (period 

instruments); Meredith Hall, soprano; Jennifer 

Enns-Modolo, alto; Bud Roach, tenor; 

Geoffrey Sirett, bass; Gerald Neufeld, conductor. 

River Run Centre, 35 Woolwich St., 

Guelph. 519-763-3000. $35; $10(st/under 

30); $5(eyeGO). 

●●7:30: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Home for the Holidays with the Canadian 

Brass. Popular holiday hits. Canadian 

Brass; Scott Terrell, conductor. Hamilton 

Place, 10 MacNab St. S., Hamilton. 905-526- 

7756. $25-$67; $23-$64(sr); $17(under 35); 

$10(child). 


●●3:00: Grand River Chorus. Handel’s Messiah. 

Virginia Hatfield, soprano; Peter Mahon, 

countertenor; Charles Sy, tenor; Andrew 

Mahon, bass-baritone; Grand River Baroque 

Orchestra,. St. Pius Roman Catholic Church, 

9 Waverly St., Brantford. 519-489-4444. $25; 

$15(youth). 

●●5:00: St. George’s Cathedral. Christmas 

Lessons and Carols. Christmas anthems 

and Christmas carols sing-along. Cathedral 

Christmas Choir, Teen Choir and Children’s 

Choir. St. George’s Cathedral (Kingston), 

270 King St. E., Kingston. 613-548-4617. Free. 


Society. In Recital: Students of the St. Jacobs 

Conservatory of Music. KWCMS Music Room, 

57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673. $5. 


●●2:30: Attila Glatz Concert Productions. 

Salute to Vienna. Strauss waltzes; music 

from Die Fledermaus and Merry Widow. 

Katarzyna Dondalska, soprano; Franz Gürtelschmied, 

tenor; members of the Hungarian 

National Ballet; Strauss Symphony of Canada; 

Imre Kollár, conductor; and others. Hamilton 


4040. $39.50-$94.50. Also Jan 1 (Toronto). 

Viennese Apple Strudel & Café Reception 

(Hamilton only). 


●●12:00 noon: Midday Music with Shigeru. 

Michael Adamson, Violin and Sandra Ruttan, 

Piano. Works by Bach, Dvořák, Vaughan- 

Williams and Kreisler. Hi-Way Pentecostal 

Church, 50 Anne St. N., Barrie. 705-726-1181. 

$5; free(st). 


●●12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Fridays 

@ 12:30 Concert Series: Aaron Hodgson, 

trumpet. Celebrating 20 years of trumpeting 

with a concert of old and new favourites. Von 



3767. Free. 


●●7:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Magnificent 

Movie Music! Beethoven Goes to 

Hollywood. Dr. Rachel Franklin. Von Kuster 

Hall, Music Building, Western University, 


Free. 


●●2:30: Seniors Serenade. Jazz Pianist Mike 

Lewis. Pieces from Mike’s “D” list. Grace 

United Church (Barrie), 350 Grove St. E., Barrie. 

705-726-1181. Free. 3:30: tea and goodies 

$5. 

●●7:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Magnificent 

Movie Music! Five of the Great 

Masterpiece Movie Scores. Dr. Rachel Franklin. 

Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western 


661-3767. Free. 


Society. Music by Women Composers Past 

and Present. Works by Clara Schumann; Kaija 

Saariaho; Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre; 

Heather Schmidt; Louise Farrenc; Ingrid Stolzel. 

Veronique Mathieu, violin; Stephanie 

Chua, piano. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young 

St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673. $25; $15(st). 



@ 12:30 Concert Series: Patricia Green, 

Sharon Wei and Rachel Franklin. Odes and 

love songs by Bolcom, Reutter and Eben. Von 



3767. Free. 


True North Brass. Convocation Hall, UH213, 

McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton. 

905-525-9140 x27038. $20; $15(sr); 

$5(st). 



An Evening at the Opera. Opera arias and 

overtures. Daniel Lipton, conductor. Hamilton 


7756. $25-$67; $23-$64(sr); $17(under 35); 

$10(child). 6:30: pre-concert talk. 

●●7:30: Kingston Symphony Orchestra. 

Heroes and Superheroes. Music from cinema 

heroes such as Superman, The Avengers, 

Batman, and others. Evan Mitchell, conductor. 

Grand Theatre, 218 Princess St., Kingston. 

613-530-2050. $20-$50. 

●●8:00: Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts. 

Dominic Mancuso Group. Historic Niagara 

District Court House, 26 Queen St, 

Niagara-on-the-Lake. 289-868-9177. $89.86. 


●●4:30: St. Thomas Anglican Church (Belleville). 

Two Phenomenal Musicians from I 

Musici in Concert. Marie-Ève Poupart, violin; 

Alain Aubut, cello. 201 Church St., Belleville. 

613-962-3636. Freewill offering. Reception 

to follow. 


Society. The Antero Winds. Bernstein: Overture 

to Candide; Schubert: Quintet in B-flat 

(from String Trio, D471); Ludwig Thuille: Sextet 

for piano and winds. Guest: James Welch, 

piano. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W., 

Waterloo. 519-886-1673. $35; $20(st). 



In Concert. Tim White, trumpet; Mike 

Polci, trombone. Convocation Hall, UH213, 

McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton. 

905-525-9140 x27038. $20; $15(sr); 

$5(st). 

●●11:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Western 

Performs! Concert Series: Preview from 

the Opera Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi. Weldon 

Library Atrium, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 

519-661-3767. Free. 

●●11:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. SASAH 

Concert Series. Baroque repertoire. Early 

Music Studio; Chamber Music Group. Weldon 

Library Atrium, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 

519-661-3767. Free. 


●●12:00 noon: Music at St. Andrews. Christopher 

Dawes, organ. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian 

Church (Barrie), 47 Owen St., Barrie. 

705-726-1181. $5; free(st). 

●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber 

Music Society. Paulo Martelli, Classical Guitar. 

Bach: Adagio BWV974; Sonata BWV1001 

(complete); Geraldo Vespar: Pop Brazilian 

Etudes Nos.3 and 7; Paulo Bellinati: 

Rosto Colado; Sérgio Assad: Remembrance; 

Caterete; and others. KWCMS Music Room, 


$30; $20(st). 



@ 12:30 Concert Series: Paolo Martelli, 

guitar. Bach arrangements and Brazilian 

guitar music on an 11-stringed guitar. Von 



3767. Free. 


●●3:00: 5 at the First Chamber Music Series. 

Brahms and Friends. Brahms: Sonata 

in E-flat, Op.120 No.2; Ka Nin Chan: “Among 

Friends”; Brahms: Clarinet Trio in a, Op.114. 

Guy Yehuda, clarinet; Peter Longworth, piano; 

Rachel Mercer, cello. First Unitarian Church 

of Hamilton, 170 Dundurn St. S., Hamilton. 

905-399-5125. $20; $15(sr/st); $5(child). 

●●7:30: Barrie Concerts. In Concert. From 

Opera to Broadway and from Rossini to 

Gershwin. Rich Ridenour, piano; Brandon 

Ridenour, trumpet. Hi-Way Pentecostal 

Church, 50 Anne St. N., Barrie. 705-726- 

1181. $85. 



Arts. No Tenors Allowed. Opera, 


operetta and music theatre arias and duets 

for two baritones and a piano. Bruce Kelly; 

Dina Namer; Matthew Zadow, visiting baritone. 

390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533- 

2424. $10-$30. 

●●3:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Faculty 

Concert Series. Schubert: Piano Duo; 

Dvorak: Terzetto; Schubert: Trout Quintet. 

Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University, 

1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519- 

661-3767. Free. 

●●3:00: Dundas Valley Orchestra. Hot! Hot! 

Hot! Lecuona: Andalucia Suite; Rhodes: 

Tres Dances de Mexico; Albeniz: Tango 

Op.165 No.2; Benjamin: Jamaica Rumba; Webber: 

Highlights from Evita; and other works. 

Community Symphony orchestra; steel 

drums. St. Paul’s United Church (Dundas), 

29 Park St. W., Dundas. 905-628-6396. Free; 

donations welcomed. Wheelchair accessible. 

Reception to follow. 



Society. Trio Plus: Mozart’s Birthday. Mozart: 

Trio in B-flat, K502; Trio in E, K542; Piano 

Sonata in c, K457; Violin Sonata in e, K304. 

Yosuke Kawasaki, violin; Wolfram Koessel, 

cello; Vadim Serebryany, piano. KWCMS 


886-1673. $35; $20(st). 


●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Fred 

Pattison Piano Competition Winner: Bryce 

Lansdell, 2015 award recipient. Von Kuster 



Free. 



@ 12:30 Concert Series: Ensemble Made 

in Canada. Beethoven: Piano Quartet No.2 in 

D, WoO 36; Schumann: Piano Quintet. Guest: 

Scott St. John, violin. Von Kuster Hall, Music 

Building, Western University, 1151 Richmond 

St. N., London. 519-661-3767. Free. 

●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Fred 

Pattison Piano Competition: Final Round. Von 



3767. Free. 

●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Falstaff. 

Verdi. Opera based on William Shakespeare’s 

comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor. 

Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot College, Western 

University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 

519-661-3767. $30; $20(sr/st). Also Jan 30; 

Feb 5,6,7. 

●●8:00: NUMUS. For Cello and Orchestra. 

Lutoslawski: Cello Concerto; Freedman: 

Tangents; Greenwood: Popcorn Superhet 

Receiver; Labadie. Wilfred Laurier University 

Symphony Orchestra; Elinor Frey, cello. Wilfrid 

Laurier University, Theatre Auditorium, 

75 University Ave. W., Waterloo. 519-896- 

3662. $20; $5(st). 



See Jan 29; Also Feb 6,7. 


Society. André Laplante, Piano. Schubert: 

Sonata in A, D664; Ravel: Valses nobles et 

sentimentales; Sonatine; Liszt: Ballade No.2 

in b; Chopin: Nocturne in B, Op.62 No.1; Polonaise-Fantasy 

in A-flat. KWCMS Music Room, 


$40; $25(st). 


●●2:30: Kingston Symphony Orchestra. 

Tchaikovsky and Trew. Rossini: Overture to 

William Tell; Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto; 

Ryan Trew: World premiere of a new symphonic 

work. Bénédicte Lauzière, violin; Evan 

Mitchell, conductor. Isabel Bader Centre for 

the Performing Arts, 390 King St. W., Kingston. 

613-530-2050. $20-$50. 


Concert Series. Etezady: Bright Angel; 

Maslanka: Quintet for Winds No.2. Jana Starling, 

clarinet; Allison Benstead, piano; Category 

5 Woodwind Quintet. Von Kuster 



Free. 

Tuesday February 2 


Society. CIA (Composers and Improvisers 

Association). Selections by student composers. 

WLU Faculty of Music: Trio (flute/bassoon/piano); 

The Fact Pack: voice/trumpet; 

bass; percussion; keyboards. KWCMS Music 

Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-886- 

1673. $15; $10(st). 

Wednesday February 3 

●●12:00 noon: Midday Music with Shigeru. 

A Concert of Hymns. Includes multi-media. 

Cheryl Graham, piano. Hi-Way Pentecostal 

Church, 50 Anne St. N., Barrie. 705-726-1181. 

$5; free(st). 

●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. String 

Quartet. Elissa Lee, violin; Benjamin Bowman, 

violin; Sharon Wei, viola; Blair Lofgren, cello. 

Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University, 


661-3767. Free. 


Society. Penderecki String Quartet. Leopoldo 

Erice, piano. Vierne: Piano Quintet in c, Op.42. 

KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 

519-886-1673. $25; $20(st). 

Thursday February 4 

●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Intention 

and Improvisation. Les Choristes; Chorale; 

Gary Diggins, soundwork artist. Paul 



661-3767. Free. 

Friday February 5 


@ 12:30. Canadian works by Omar Daniel, 

Allan Gordon Bell and more. Land’s End 

Ensemble. Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, 

Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 

519-661-3767. Free. 


See Jan 29; Also Feb 6,7. 

●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Exquisitely 

Lost. Bent Note Duo; Allison Balcetis, 

saxophone; Sandra Joy Friesen, piano. Von 



3767. Free. 

●●8:00: Folk Under the Clock. Blues, World 

Music Songwriter. Harry Manx. Market Hall 

Performing Arts Centre, 140 Charlotte St., 

Peterborough. 705-749-1146. $39.50. 

Saturday February 6 


Gemma Conducts Shostakovich. Premiere 

appearance of HPO’s new music director. 

Shostakovich: Symphony No.1; Prokofiev: 

Piano Concerto No.3; Kelly-Marie Murphy: 

A Thousand Natural Shocks. Katherine Chi, 

piano; Gemma New, conductor. Hamilton 


7756. $25-67; $23-$64(sr); $17(under 35); 

$10(child). 6:30: pre-concert talk. 


Arts. A Night in Vienna. Ballroom 

concert with professional dancers, food and 

Viennese music. Queen’s Orchestra; students, 

faculty and alumni from Queen’s Music. 


$30(balcony); $70(floor seating w/ food); 

$490(table of 8). 


See Jan 29; Also Feb 7. 

Sunday February 7 


See Jan 29. 

●●2:30: Georgian Music. Penderecki String 

Quartet with Leopoldo Erice, piano. Vierne: 

Piano Quintet; and works by Beethoven and 

In the GTA 

Lower Ossington Theatre. Avenue Q. Robert 

Lopez. 100A Ossington Ave. 416-915-6747 

lowerossingtontheatre.com. $50-$60. Runs 

to Jan 10; start times vary. 

Lower Ossington Theatre. Jesus Christ 

Superstar. Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

100A Ossington Ave. 416-915-6747 

lowerossingtontheatre.com. $50-$70. Dec 

3-27, Thurs-Sat 7:30pm, Sat & Sun 3:30pm. 

Mirvish Productions. Kinky Boots. Cyndi 

Lauper. Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. 

W. 416-872-1212 mirvish.com. $25-$130. Runs 

to Mar 6; start times vary. 

Mirvish Productions. The Phantom of the 

Opera. Andrew Lloyd Webber. Princess of 

Wales Theatre, 300 King St. W. 416-872-1212 

mirvish.com. $32-$210. Dec 8 to Jan 23; start 

times vary. 

Mirvish Productions. Rodgers + 

Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Ed Mirvish 

Theatre, 244 Victoria St. 416-878-1212 mirvish. 

com. $45-$210. Dec 1 to Jan 10; start times 

vary. 

National Ballet of Canada. The Nutcracker. 

James Kudelka, libretto. VIVA! Youth Singers 

of Toronto. Four Seasons Centre for the 


9595 national.ballet.ca. $50-$160. Runs Dec 

12 to Jan 3; start times vary. 

Randolph Academy. The Addams Family. 

Andrew Lippa. Liz Gilroy, director and 

choreographer; Anthony Bastianon, music 

director. Annex Theatre, 730 Bathurst St. 416- 

924-2243 randolphacademy.com. $22. Dec 1-5 

8pm, Dec 5 2pm. 

Schubert. Grace United Church (Barrie), 

350 Grove St. E., Barrie. 705-726-1181. $65. 


Concert Series. Exploration of Beethoven’s 

sonatas. Leslie Kinton, piano. Von Kuster 



Free. 

●●4:00: Spiritus Ensemble. Bach Vespers 

before Lent. Bach: Cantata 18 “Gleichwie der 

Regen und Schnee”; Kuhnau: Cantata “Gott, 

sei mir gnädig”. St. John the Evangelist Anglican 

Church, 23 Water St. N., Kitchener. 519- 

743-0228. Freewill donation. 


Concert Series. Annette-Barbara Vogel, 

violin; Durval Cesetti, piano. Von Kuster 



Free. 


Society. Toronto Serenade String Quartet. 

Alexander Taneyev: Piano Quintet; Shostakovich: 

Piano Quintet. Brett Kingsbury, piano. 

KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 

519-886-1673. $35; $20(st). 

C. Music Theatre 

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. 

These listings have been sorted alphabetically BY PRESENTER. Some 

information here is also included in our GTA and Beyond The GTA 

listings sections, but readers whose primary interest is MUSIC 

THEATRE should start their search with this section. 

This section is still in development. We welcome your comments and 

suggestions at publisher@thewholenote.com. 

Ross Petty Productions. Peter Pan in 

Wonderland. Ross Petty’s final bow. A 

fractured fairy tale combining Peter Pan 

with Alice in Wonderland. Ross Petty; Eddie 

Glen; Dan Chameroy; Jessica Holmes; 

Tracey Flye, director; Chris Earl, playwright; 

Guests: Anthony MacPherson; Steffi 

DiDomenicantonio; Jordan Clark; Lamar 

Johnson; Taveeta Szymanowicz. Elgin 

Theatre, 189 Yonge St. 1-855-599-9090 

rosspetty.com. $27-$99; $27-$69(under 12). 

Runs to Jan 3; start times vary. 

Young People’s Theatre. Jacob Two-Two 

Meets the Hooded Fang. Britta and Anika 

Johnson. 165 Front St. E. 416-862-2222 

youngpeoplestheatre.ca. $10-$41. Runs to 

Jan 3; start times vary 

Beyond the GTA 

Drayton Entertainment. Irving Berlin’s White 

Christmas. Dunfield Theatre Cambridge, 46 

Grand Ave. S., Cambridge. 1-855-372-9866 

draytonentertainment.com. $25-$42. Runs to 

Dec 20; start times vary. 

Theatre Orangeville. The Gift of the Magi. 

Leslie Arden. 87 Broadway, Orangeville. 

519-942-3423 theatreorangeville.ca. $14-$42. 

Runs to Dec 20; start times vary. 

The following performances listed in the daily 

concert listings are also of music theatre/ 

opera/dance interest. 

Also in A. Concerts in the GTA 

Attila Glatz Concert Productions. Salute to 

Vienna. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416- 


872-4255 glatzconcerts.com. $65-$155. See 

Jan 1(GTA). Also Jan 3 (Hamilton). 

Attila Glatz Concert Productions/Roy 

Thomson Hall. Bravissimo! Opera’s Greatest 

Hits. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416- 

872-4255 glatzconcerts.com. $55-$155. 

Dec 31. 

Canadian Opera Company. Siegfried. Four 

Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 

Queen St. W. 416-363-8231 coc.ca. $60-$445; 

$22(under 30). Jan 23,27,30 & Feb 2,5,11,14. 

Canadian Opera Company. The Marriage 

of Figaro. Four Seasons Centre for the 


8231 coc.ca. $50-$435; $22(under 30). Feb 4, 

9,13,17,19,23,25(7:30),7,21(2:00),27(4:30). 

Church of the Holy Trinity. The Christmas 

Story. 10 Trinity Sq. 416-598-4521 x301 

holytrinitytoronto.org. Suggested donation 

$20/$5(child). Advance ticket reservations 

available. Dec 5,6,12,13,19,20(mat),4,11,12, 

18,19,20(eve). 

FAWN Chamber Creative. L’homme et le 

ciel. Music Gallery, 197 John St. 416-204- 

1080 fawnchambercreative.com. $35; 

$25(member); $20(under 30). Dec 3,4. 

Karpov Ballet. The Nutcracker. Flato 

Markham Theatre, 171 Town Centre 

Blvd., Markham. 905-305-7469 

karpovballetacademy.ca. $39. Dec 20 3:30 & 

7:30, Dec 21 7:30. 

C. Music Theatre 

Living Arts Centre. Ballet Creole: Soulful 

Messiah. 4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga. 

905-306-6000 or 1-888-805-8888 

livingartscentre.ca. $30-$50. Dec 17. 

MasseyHall/Against the Grain Theatre. 

AtG’s Messiah. Harbourfront Centre, 

235 Queens Quay W. 416-872-4255 

againstthegraintheatre.com. $25-$79.50. 

Dec 16,17,18(8:00),19(2:00). 

Nathaniel Dett Chorale. An Indigo 

Christmas…Soulful Messiah. Fleck Dance 

Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens 

Quay W. 416-340-7000 nathanieldettchorale. 

org. $20-$48. Dec 4,5,6. 

No Strings Theatre. Amahl and the Night 

Visitors. Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St. 

416-551-2093 nostringstheatre.com. $25; 

$20(sr/st); $15(under 12). Dec 20. 

Peggy Baker Dance Projects. Phase Space. 

Betty Oliphant Theatre, 404 Jarvis St. 1-800- 

838-3006 peggybakerdance.com. $28; 

$23(sr/st/CADA). Pre-show chat with Peggy 

Baker 30 minutes prior to each performance. 

Runs Jan 22-24,27-31; start times vary. 

Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Going Home Star - 

Truth and Reconciliation. Sony Centre for the 

Performing Arts, 1 Front St. E. 1-855-872-7669 

rwb.org. $54.24-$115.26. Feb 5,6. 

St. Anne’s Music and Drama Society. 

Iolanthe. St. Anne’s Parish Hall, 651 Dufferin 

St. 416-922-4415 saintanne.ca. $27; $22(sr/ 

st). Jan 29-31, Feb 4-7; start times vary. 

Toronto Consort. Beowulf. Trinity-St. Paul’s 

Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall, 427 Bloor St. W. 

416-964-6337 torontoconsort.org. $24-$57; 

$22-$52(sr); $10(st/30 and under). Mar 11,12 

8pm; pre-concert talk 7pm. 

Toronto Masque Theatre. Mummers’ 

Masque. Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, 

106 Trinity St. 416-410-4561 

torontomasquetheatre.com. $50; $43(sr); 

$20(30 and under). Dec 17-19 8pm. 

Toronto Operetta Theatre. The Student 

Prince. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence 


3656. $72-$95. Dec 27,28,31(8pm). Jan 

2,3(3pm). 

University of Toronto Faculty of Music. 

Opera Student Composer Collective: The 

Machine Stops. MacMillan Theatre, Edward 


0208 music.utoronto.ca. Free. Jan 24. 

Voicebox: Opera in Concert. Falstaff. 

Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre 

for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723 

operainconcert.com. $52-$73. Feb 7. 

Also in B. Concerts Beyond the GTA 

Attila Glatz Concert Productions. Salute to 

Vienna. Hamilton Place, 10 MacNab St. S., 

Hamilton. 905-546-4040 glatzconcerts.com. 

$39.50-$94.50. Jan 3. Also Jan 1 (Toronto). 

Viennese Apple Strudel & Café Reception 

D. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz) 

(Hamilton only) 

Don Wright Faculty of Music. Falstaff. Paul 



661-3767 music.uwo.ca. $30; $20(sr/st). Jan 

29,30 Feb 5-7. Western Performs! preview 

concert in Weldon Library Atrium Jan 19. 

FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Hot 

Ticket: Louise Pitre. 250 St. Paul St., St. 

Catharines. 905-688-0722 firstontariopac. 

ca. $47. Dec 3,5. 

FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. 

Ballet Jörgen’s The Nutcracker: A Canadian 

Tradition. 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 

905-688-0722 firstontariopac.ca. $47; 

$25(child). Dec 8,9. 

Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. Cirque 

de la Symphonie. Hamilton Place, 10 MacNab 

St. S., Hamilton. 905-526-7756 hpo.org. $25– 

$67; $23-$64(sr); $17(under 35); $10(child). 

Mar 12. 

Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing 

Arts. A Night in Vienna. 390 King St. W., 

Kingston. 613-533-2424, theisabel.ca. 

$30(balcony); $70(floor seating w/ food); 

$490(table of 8). Feb 6. 

King Edward Choir. Amahl and the Night 

Visitors. Collier Street United Church, 

112 Collier St., Barrie. 705-305-6797 

kingedwardchoir.ca. $25; $15(st). Dec 12. 

120 Diner 

120 Church St. 416-792-7725 

120diner.com (full schedule) 

Every Tue 7pm Lisa Particelli’s GNO jazz 

jam PWYC. December 2 6pm Alan Cohen 

feat. Tracey Gallant $10; 9pm Zoe Ackah & 

Carl Harvey PWYC. December 3 6pm Laura 

Fernandez $10. December 4 6pm Annie Bonsignore 

$10. December 5 6pm Denielle Bassels 

$10. December 6 6pm Ambre McLean 

$10; 8pm Chris Hercules $10. December 9 

6pm Alan Cohen feat. Bob Brough $10; 9pm 

Zoe Ackah & Carl Harvey PWYC. December 

10 6pm Melissa Lauren & Nathan Hiltz $10. 

December 11 6pm Eliza Pope $10. December 

12 6pm Cynthia Tauro $10. December 13 

6pm Samantha Windover $10; 8pm Emily 

Steinwall & Youngchan Na $10. December 

16 6pm Alan Cohen feat. Bob Cohen $10; 

9pm Zoe Ackah & Carl Harvey. December 17 

6pm Sheri Marshall $10. December 18 6pm 

Guy Moreau $10. December 19 6pm Patricia 

Cano & Kevin Barrett $10. December 20 6pm 

Renee Yoxon & Ori Dagan $10; 8pm Sheila 

Soares $10. December 23 6pm Alan Cohen 

feat. Tracey Gallant $10; 9pm Zoe Ackah & 

Carl Harvey PWYC. December 27 6pm Jill 

Peacock $10; 8pm Andrea Pang $10. December 

30 6pm Alan Cohen with guests $10; 9pm 

Zoe Ackah & Carl Harvey PWYC. 

Alleycatz 

2409 Yonge St. 416-481-6865 

alleycatz.ca 

All shows: 9pm unless otherwise indicated. 

Call for cover charge info. 

December 2 Ben & Glen. December 4 Taxi. 

December 5 Soular. December 9 Yoyo 

Mama. December 11, 12, 18, 19, 26 Lady Kane. 

December 16 The Brad Harrison Quintet. 

December 17 Rock Therapy. December 23 

Carlos Morgan Jazz. December 31 New Years 

Eve Party with Jamesking. 

Annette Studios 

566 Annette St. 647-880-8378 

annettestudios.com 

Every Mon 9:30pm Jazz Jam w/ Jared Goldman 

Quintet. Suggested donation $12/$9(st). 

Artword Artbar 

15 Colbourne St., Hamilton. 905-543-8512 

artword.net (full schedule) 

December 2 8pm Matthew Pullicino (drums), 

Olivia Brown (bass), & more. $5/PWYC. 

December 9 8pm A Charlie Brown Christmas 

with the Aaron Zukewich Trio $10. December 

12 8pm Brad Cheeseman (bass) Trio with 

Robert Chapman (guitar), Adam Fielding 

(drums) $10. 

Blakbird, The 

812b Bloor St. West 647-344-7225 

theblakbird.com (full schedule) 

Bloom 

2315 Bloor St. W. 416-767-1315 

bloomrestaurant.com 

All shows: 19+. Call for reservations. 

Blue Goose Tavern, The 

1 Blue Goose St. 416-255-2442 

Thebluegoosetavern.com 

Every Sun 4pm Blues at the Goose with 

the Big Groove Rhythm Section and special 

guests. 

Castro’s Lounge 

2116e Queen St. E 416-699-8272 

castroslounge.com (full schedule) 

All shows: No cover/PWYC 

Every Wed 6pm The Mediterranean Stars. 

C’est What 

67 Front St. E. 416-867-9499 

cestwhat.com (full schedule) 

December 5 3pm The Boxcar Boys. December 

12 3pm The Hot Five Jazzmakers. 

Chalkers Pub, Billiards & Bistro 

247 Marlee Ave. 416-789-2531 

chalkerspub.com (full schedule) 

De Sotos 

1079 St. Clair Ave. W 416-651-2109 

desotos.ca (full schedule) 

Every Sun 11am-2pm Sunday Live Jazz 

Brunch hosted by Anthony Abbatangeli No 

cover. 

Dominion on Queen 

500 Queen St. E 416-368-6893 

dominiononqueen.com (full schedule) 


Emmet Ray, The 

924 College St. 416-792-4497 

theemmetray.com (full schedule) 

All shows: No cover/PWYC 

Fat City Blues 

890 College St. 647-345-8282 

Garage @ CSI Annex, The 

720 Bathurst St. 416-619-4621 

livefromtheannex.com 

December 1 ‘Live From the Annex’ monthly 

Cabaret $15(adv). 

Gate 403 

403 Roncesvalles Ave. 416-588-2930 

gate403.com 

All shows: PWYC. 

December 1 5pm Howard Willett Blues Duo. 

December 2 5pm Lisa Angela: Sultant of Soul; 

9pm Julian Fauth Blues Night. December 3 

5pm Joanne Morra & The France St. Jazz 

Ensemble; 9pm Darcy Windover Band. 

December 4 5pm Evan Desaulnier Jazz Trio; 

9pm Fraser Melvin Blues Band. December 

5 5pm Bill Heffernan and His Friends; 9pm 

Melissa Boyce Jazz & Blues Band. December 

6 5pm Rob Thaller & Joanna Reynolds Jazz 

Duo; 9pm Simone Morris Jazz Trio. December 

7 5pm Mike and Jill Daley Jazz Duo; 9pm 

Bruce Chapman Blues Duo. December 8 

5pm Thom Mason Jazz Trio; 9pm Kristin 

Lindell Jazz Band. December 9 5pm Michelle 

Rumball with friend; 9pm Julian Fauth Blues 

Night. December 10 5pm Heather Luckhart: 

Blues/Roots/Jazz Band; 9pm Kevin Laliberté 

Jazz & Flamenco Trio. December 11 5pm 

Jazz Forge; 9pm Denielle Bassels Jazz Band. 

December 12 5pm Bill Heffernan and His 

Friends; 9pm Donné Roberts Band. December 

13 5pm Six Points Jazz Orchestra; 9pm 

Ilios Steryannis Jazz Trio. December 14 5pm 

Chris Wallace Jazz Quartet; 9pm Chris Staig 

Trio. December 15 5pm Sarah Kennedy and 

Matt Pines Jazz Duo; 9pm The Ault Sisters. 

December 16 5pm Concord Jazz Quintet; 

9pm Julian Fauth Blues Night. December 17 

5pm Firm Farm Trio; 9pm Annie Bonsignore 

Jazz Duo or Trio. December 18 5pm Denise 

Leslie Jazz Band; 9pm Tiffany Hanus Jazz 

Band. December 19 5pm Bill Heffernan and 

His Friends. December 20 5pm Jeff Taylor 

and the SLT; 9pm Hello Darlings. December 

21 9pm Rob Davis Blues Duo. December 22 

5pm Clair Lee Jazz Trio; 9pm K.C Bower: The 

Cooling Agents. December 23 5pm Amber 

Leigh Jazz Trio; 9pm Julian Fauth Blues Night. 

December 27 5pm Cheryl White Rhythym 

& Blues Band; 9pm The Grace San Andres 

Group. December 28 9pm Kalya Ramu Jazz 

Band. December 29 5pm Abbey Sholzberg 


Beat by Beat | Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz! 

Happy Hours 

At Grossman’s 

BOB BEN 

Until this autumn, I’d never been to Grossman’s Tavern for a show. 

Sure, I’d wandered in a few times in the middle of the day, and heard 

a song or two if a band happened to be playing. But I’d never made 

plans with people to go to Grossman’s and make a night of it. 

A few weeks ago, on a Sunday, I was wandering in Chinatown and I 

walked into Grossman’s to find a band packing up their stuff. I asked 

the musician who seemed the least in a hurry whether there would be 

more music tonight. He said another band, hosting a blues jam, would 

be starting in an hour. 

So, for an hour I sat alone in Grossman’s, looking around, inadvertently 

eavesdropping, and sending copy-and-pasted text messages 

to anyone I thought might be interested: “blues @ grossman’s? bring 

your ax.” Grossman’s is, like most establishments in Chinatown, 

completely unpretentious. The sign above the Spadina Avenue 

entrance is unassuming and easy to miss. The dimly lit room is decorated 

with posters and photos depicting performers who have played 

at Grossman’s, and little else. The food is standard pub fare, with no 

fancy additions or inventive names. The prices are downright affordable. 

I believe the menu states the total after tax. (I swear they’re not 


paying me to write this.) 

Brian Cober led the 10pm 

National Blues Jam from the 

guitar, although the drummer, 

whose full name I never got, 

also seemed to have a great 

deal of sway. The bass player 

appeared to be a guest. Cober 

shouted form at the other 

members of the band, indicating 

stop time, dynamic 

shifts and chord changes. Of 

course, blues tunes generally 

draw on established conventions, 

so there was no danger 

of a train wreck. Had I not 

Patrick Tevlin 

been watching, I would have 

assumed that this group had been playing together for years. 

Of those I texted, two showed up. At peak hours, it seemed everyone 

was a regular but us three. They all knew the protocol, the repertoire 

and the people. We, huddled in the corner as a little pocket of 

blues jam novices, played it by ear. One of the two people I drew was 

a trombonist, and once he saw a bari sax player go up without being 

called, he did the same (after speaking to a member of the house band 

at intermission, of course). When I was called up to join the band on 

the drums, they called tunes I’d never heard before. I know jazz standards; 

I do not know blues standards. But again, with fairly simple 

forms, I caught on quick and had a ton of fun. I took a mental note. To 

do: learn blues repertoire. 

Jazz Trio; 9pm Tim Shia Jazz Band. December 

30 5pm Linda Carone Jazz Band; 9pm 

Julian Fauth Blues Night. December 31 5pm 

Whitney Ross-Barris Jazz Band. 

Grossman’s Tavern 

379 Spadina Ave. 416-977-7000 

grossmanstavern.com (full schedule) 

All shows: No cover (unless otherwise noted). 

Every Sat The Happy Pals Dixieland jazz jam. 

Harlem Restaurant 

67 Richmond St. E. 416-368-1920 

harlemrestaurant.com (full schedule) 

All shows: 7:30-11pm (unless otherwise 

noted). Call for cover charge info. 

December 4 Madette. December 5 Gyles. 

December 11 Danica Bucci. December 12 

Kristen Fung. December 18 Quisha Wint. 

Hirut Cafe and Restaurant 

2050 Danforth Ave. 416-551-7560 

Every Sun 3pm Open Mic with Nicola 

Vaughan PWYC. December 4 Arlene Paculan: 

Wonder Women Jazz Music and Poetry $10/ 

PWYC. December 5 Open Mic Brigade Jazz/ 

world/folk hosted by Robbie Patterson PWYC. 

December 11 8pm Don Naduriak Quintet – 

Coose Happy $10/PWYC. December 12 8pm 

Jazzforia $10/PWYC. December 19 8pm 

Lizzie Violet Music and Poetry Night PWYC. 

Dec 31 9pm Hirut Hoot Cabaret: music & 

comedy $5/$10. 

Home Smith Bar – See Old Mill, The 

Hugh’s Room 

2261 Dundas St. W. 416-531-6604 

hughsroom.com 

All shows: 8:30pm (unless otherwise noted). 

December 1 5:30pm Texas Holdem Poker 

Tournament Players: $65(adv)/$70(door); 

Non-players $30(adv)/$35(door). 

December 2 Trent Severn – CD Release 

$25(adv)/$28.50(door). December 4 

Three Dog Night Tribute – Just An Old 

Fashioned Rock Show $25(adv)/$30(door). 

December 5 Rik Emmett with Dave Dunlop 

$35(adv)/$40(door). December 7 Johnny 

A $25(adv)/$28.50(door). December 8 

Home for Christmas – The Woodhouse 

$20(adv)/$22.50(door). December 9 8pm 

The JAZZ.FM91 Songwriters Series – A 

Kosher Christmas $40. December 10 A 

Quartette Christmas $42(adv)/$47(door). 

December 11 Dala $37.50(adv)/$40(door). 

December 12, 13 8:30pm(Sat)/7:30pm(Sun) 

Songs in the Key of Cree – A Retrospective 

Cabaret Celebrating the Music of 

Tomson Highway $22.50(adv)/$25(door). 

December 14 Catherine MacLellan 

$22.50(adv)/$25(door). December 15 The 

Arrogant Worms $30(adv)/$35(door). 

December 16 Boreal – Songs for the Snowy 

St. Philip’s Anglican Church 

● 

Sunday, January 3, 4:00 PM | Jazz Vespers 

with Lou Pomanti Trio 

Sunday, January 17, 4:00 PM | Jazz Vespers 

St. Philip’s Nancy Anglican Walker Church Trio with Kieran Overs (bass) 

St. Philip’s and Ethan Anglican Ardelli (drums) Church | Etobicoke 

25 ● St. Phillips Road (near Royal York + Dixon) 

416-247-5181 Sunday, January • stphilips.net 31, 4:00 PM | 

• free Dixieland will offering 

Vespers with Bob DeAngelis Dixieland Band 

Sunday, February 7, 10:30 AM | Mardi Gras 

Mass and Gumbo Lunch 

with Bob DeAngelis Dixieland Band 

St. Philip’s Anglican Church | Etobicoke 

25 St. Phillips Road (near Royal York + Dixon) 

416-247-5181 • stphilips.net • free will offering 


Beat by Beat | Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz! 

One of my friends told me afterwards that they had a Dixieland jam 

on Saturdays, and that it was poppin’. So, I went; and, oh my goodness, 

it popped so much. I have rarely seen so many people in a jazz 

club – and never for a weekly thing. Residency gigs and the like are 

often, too often, sparsely attended. This jam, on the other hand, was 

full almost to the point of being a fire hazard. Usually, when I see a 

jazz club that full, it’s for a trendy band that attracts people of one age 

group almost exclusively. But here, there were quite literally toddlers 

and octogenarians on the same dance floor. The best thing about 

the jam was its overwhelming and palpable positivity. Nobody was 

isolated from anyone. Everyone danced together. Unprompted, folks 

introduced themselves to me. One woman was putting her index 

finger on people’s heads and spinning them like tops. 

The band was authentic, as far as I could tell. I’m not a Dixieland 

scholar – which made it a little intimidating when I was called up. 

Patrick Tevlin, the leader of the house band, the Happy Pals, asked 

me quite abruptly before I came on stage: “You ever play old style?” I 

gave him the shortest honest answer that I could: “I can.” I was fairly 

confident that if I kept it simple, I could get across the vibe that I’d 

heard on records and shows but never really steeped myself in. I made 

another mental note. To do: listen to more “old style.” 

Tevlin sits in a chair in the centre of the stage with his horn and 

mic within reach, horn players and guitarists seated on either side. 

Charismatic and relaxed, he sings the tunes like he was born singing 

them. When he introduced the band, he included the names of 

guests. It’s apparent that he thinks of the Happy Pals as a big, everexpanding 

family. 

The jam culminated in a parade of musicians – with the house 

rhythm section still on the stage, playing the changes to When the 

Saints Go Marching In, the horn players – guests included – marched 

in a circle around the venue. People moved out of the way as they 

cheered and sang along. 

The Happy Pals Dixieland Jazz Jam has been happening at 

Grossman’s every Saturday for more than 45 years, and shows no signs 

of slowing down or stopping - certainly not this month. So come on 

down! Bring an instrument! Just...don’t expect to find a seat. 

Bob Ben is The WholeNote’s jazz listings editor. He 

can be reached at jazz@thewholenote.com. 


Season $22.50(adv)/$25(door). December 

17 China Crisis $27.50(adv)/$30(door). 

December 18 Foggy Hogtown Boys Christmas 

$22.50(adv)/$25(door). December 

19 Craig Cardiff $20(adv)/$22.50(door). 

December 20 1pm The Ault Sisters 

Celebrate the Season – Matinee Performance 

$20(adv)/$22.50(door). 

December 23 Have a Bluesy Christmas 

$25(adv)/$30(door). December 27 Don 

Ross $32.50(adv)/$35(door). December 

30 Suzie Vinnick $22.50(adv)/$25(door). 

December 31 9:30pm New Year’s Eve with 

Chris Whiteley & Diana Braithwaite and their 

All Star Band – Special guest Sam Broverman 

$45(adv)/$50(door). 

Jazz Bistro, The 

251 Victoria St. 416-363-5299 

jazzbistro.ca 

December 1 8pm Rob Tardik – CD Release 

Evening for ‘Moments’ $20. December 5 9pm 

Sophia Perlman & The Vipers $15. December 

6 7:30pm Sam Broverman: A Jewish Boy’s 

Christmas $15. December 10 9pm Julie Michels 

$15. December 13 7pm The Nathan Hiltz 

Trio plays Richard Rogers $15. December 15 

9pm Cocktails & Candy Canes Cabaret $15. 

December 19 9pm Hilario Duran and Robi Botos 

$20. December 20 11:59am The Canadian 

Men’s Chorus. December 31 10pm New Year’s 

Eve with the Jeanine Mackie Band. 

Jazz Room, The 

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

Waterloo. 226-476-1565 

kwjazzroom.com (full schedule) 

All shows: 8:30pm-11:30pm unless otherwise 

indicated. Attendees must be 19+. 

December 4 Joni NehRita Band $15 . 

December 5 Steve Wallace’s Lesterdays 

$18. December 11 Rebecca Binnendyk $20. 

December 12 Ted’s Warren Commission $18. 

December 13 4pm Barbra Lica CD Release 

Party $20. December 18 Tom Nagy’s Christmas 

Experience – The Jazz Awakens! $20. 

December 19 Randy Lyght $20. December 26 

Jazz Meets Soul Music: Dave Young & Michael 

Dunston Boxing Day Party $20. December 27 

4pm Alysha Brilla Sextet $25. 

Joe Mama’s 

317 King St. W 416-340-6469 

joemamas.ca 

Every Tue 6pm Jeff Eager. Every Wed 6pm 

Thomas Reynolds & Geoff Torrn. Every 

Thurs 9pm Blackburn. Every Fri 10pm The 

Grind. Every Sat 10pm Shugga. Every Sun 

6:30pm Organic: Nathan Hiltz (guitar); Bernie 

Senensky (organ); Ryan Oliver (sax), Morgan 

Childs (drums). 

KAMA 

214 King St. W. 416-599-5262 

kamaindia.com (full schedule) 

All shows: 5pm-8pm. 

La Revolucion 

2848 Dundas St. W 416-766-0746 

restaurantlarevolucion.com (full schedule) 

Local Gest, The 

424 Parliament St. 416-961-9425 

Lula Lounge 

1585 Dundas St. W. 416-588-0307 

lula.ca (full schedule) 

Manhattans Pizza Bistro & Music Club 

951 Gordon St., Guelph 519-767-2440 

manhattans.ca (full schedule) 

All shows: PWYC. 

December 1, 13, 24, 29 Paul Taylor & Jamie 

‘Giggles’ Mitges. December 5 Steve Koven 

Trio. December 6, 16, 30 John Zadro. December 

8, 22 Brad Halls. December 15, 20 David 

Hollingshead, Tues solo, Sunday with Jena 

Lampman + Isaiah Farahbakhsh. December 

18 Ambre Mclean. December 19 ¡DO! – Drums 

and Organ. December 23 Jokela/Vogan/ 

Cooley. December 27 Stan Chang. December 

31 Soulphonic. 

Mezzetta Restaurant 

681 St. Clair Ave. W 416-658-5687 

mezzettarestaurant.com (full schedule) 

All shows: 9pm, $8 (unless otherwise noted). 

December 2 8pm Flamenco show, performers 

TBA No cover. December 9 Ron Davis 

(piano) & RJ Satchithananthan (trombone, 

bass). December 16 Klezmology: Jonno Lightstone 

(clarinet), Nick Fraser (percussion), 

David Mott (baritone sax) $10. 

Monarch Tavern 

12 Clinton St. 416-531-5833 

themonarchtavern.com (full schedule) 

December 14 7:30pm Martin Loomer & His 

Orange Devils Orchestra $10. 

Monarchs Pub 

At the Eaton Chelsea Hotel 

33 Gerrard St. W. 416-585-4352 

monarchspub.ca (full schedule) 

Wednesday shows: 7pm. Thursday shows: 

8pm. All shows: No cover. 

December 2 David Rubel. December 3 

Jerome Godboo. December 10 The Distillery. 

December 16 Brownman Akoustic. December 

17 Wild T & The Spirit. December 18 9pm 

Turbo Street Funk. December 31 Jack de 

Keyzer. 

Morgans on the Danforth 

1282 Danforth Ave. 416-461-3020 

morgansonthedanforth.com (full schedule) 

All shows: 2pm-5pm. No cover. 

December 27 Lisa Particelli’s ‘Girls Night Out’ 

Jazz Jam. 

Musideum 

401 Richmond St. W., Main Floor 416-599- 

7323 

musideum.com (full schedule) 

December 1 8pm Chrystelle Maechler’s SOA 

$20. December 4 8pm Coleman Tinsley $20. 

December 5 8pm Rose Stella $20. December 

17 8pm Steve Koven $20. 

Nawlins Jazz Bar & Dining 

299 King St. W. 416-595-1958 

nawlins.ca 

All shows: No cover/PWYC. 

Every Tue 6:30pm Stacie McGregor. Every 

Wed 7pm Jim Heineman Trio. Every Thu 

8pm Nothin’ But the Blues w/ guest vocalists. 

Every Fri 8:30pm All Star Bourbon St. Band. 

Every Sat 6:30pm Sam Heinman; 9pm All 

Star Bourbon St. Band. Every Sun 7pm 

Brooke Blackburn. 

Nice Bistro, The 

117 Brock St. N., Whitby. 905-668-8839 

nicebistro.com (full schedule) 

Old Mill, The 

21 Old Mill Rd. 416-236-2641 

oldmilltoronto.com 

The Home Smith Bar: No reservations. No 

cover. $20 food/drink minimum. All shows: 

7:30pm-10:30pm 

December 3 Yvette Tollar (voice) Trio with 

David Restivo (piano), George Koller (bass). 

December 4 Allison Au (sax) Quartet with 

Todd Pentney (piano), Jon Maharaj (bass), 

Ethan Ardelli (drums). December 5 Dave 

Field (bass) Trio with David Braid (piano), Pat 

LaBarbera (sax). December 10 Alex Samaras 

(voice) Trio with Harley Card (guitar), Jon 

Maharaj (bass). December 11 Chris Butcher 

(trombone) 4 with Jeremy Ledbetter (piano), 

Artie Roth (bass), Lowell Whitty (drums). 

December 12 Gord Sheard (piano) Trio with 

Kieran Overs (bass), Mark Kelso (drums). 

December 17 Andrew Scott (guitar) Trio with 

Jake Wilkinson (trumpet, piano), Jon Meyer 

(bass). December 18 Paul Novotny (bass) 

with Robi Botos (piano). December 19 Dana 

LaCroix (voice, guitar) Trio with David Restivo 

(piano), Jakob Rostboll (drums). 

Only Café, The 

972 Danforth Ave. 416-463-7843 

theonlycafe.com (full schedule) 

All shows: 8pm unless otherwise indicated. 

December 9, 23 Lazersuzan. December 16, 

30 Conrad Gayle. 

Paintbox Bistro 

555 Dundas St. E. 647-748-0555 

paintboxbistro.ca (Full schedule) 

Pilot Tavern, The 

22 Cumberland Ave. 416-923-5716 

thepilot.ca 

All shows: 3:30pm. No cover. 

December 5 Alto Madness with PJ Perry, Luis 

Deniz (alto saxes), Reg Schwager (guitar), 

Neil Swainson (bass), Ethan Ardelli (drums). 

December 12 Women in Jazz with Alison 

Young (tenor sax), Stacey McGregor (keys), 

Neil Swainson (bass), Greg Pilo (drums). 

December 19 Sugar Daddies. December 26 

Donald Palmer Quartet. 

Poetry Jazz Café 

224 Augusta Ave. 416-599-5299 

poetryjazzcafe.com (full schedule) 

All shows: 9pm 


Reposado Bar & Lounge 

136 Ossington Ave. 416-532-6474 

reposadobar.com (full schedule) 

Every Wed Spy vs. Sly vs. Spy. Every Thurs, 

Fri 10pm Reposadists Quartet: Tim Hamel 

(trumpet), Jon Meyer (bass), Jeff Halischuck 

(drums), Roberto Rosenman (guitar). 

Reservoir Lounge, The 

52 Wellington St. E. 416-955-0887 

reservoirlounge.com (full schedule). 

Every Tue 9:45pm Tyler Yarema and his 

Rhythm. Every Wed 9:45pm Bradley and the 

Bouncers. Every Thu 9:45pm Mary McKay. 

Every Fri 9:45pm Dee Dee and the Dirty 

Martinis. Every Sat 9:45pm Tyler Yarema and 

his Rhythm. 

Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar, The 

194 Queen St. W. 416-598-2475 

therex.ca (full schedule) 


December 1 6:30pm Kieran Overs Quartet; 

9:30pm Classic Rex Jam hosted by Chris 

Gale. December 2 6:30pm Worst Pop Band 

Ever; 9:30pm New York’s Vincent Herring 

with Derek Gray Quintet. December 3 

6:30pm Ashley St. Pierre Trio; 9:30pm New 

York’s Vincent Herring with Derek Gray Quintet. 

December 4 4pm Hogtown Syncopators; 

6:30pm Mark Godfrey Trio; 9:45pm David 

Braid with Mike Milligan Quartet. December 

5 12pm The Sinners Choir; 3:30pm Swing 

Shift Big Band; 7:30pm Nick Teehan Group; 

9:45pm New York’s Mark McLean. December 

6 12pm Excelsior Dixieland Jazz Band; 3:30pm 

Dr. Nick & The Rollercoaster; 7pm Autobahn; 

9:30pm Greg DeDenus Trio. December 7 

6:30pm University of Toronto Student Jazz 

Ensembles; 9:30pm Josh Grossman’s T.J.O. 

Big Band. December 8 6:30pm Kieran Overs 

Quartet; 9:30pm New York’s Alex Graham 

Quartet. December 9 6:30pm Worst Pop 

Band Ever; 9:30pm New York’s Pete McCann 

Quintet CD Release. December 10 6:30pm 

Ashley St. Pierre Trio; 9:30pm New York’s 

Pete McCann Quintet CD Release. December 

11 4pm Hogtown Syncopators; 6:30pm 

Mark Godfrey Trio; 9:45pm Brooklyn’s 

Huntertones. December 12 12pm The Sinners 

Choir; 3:30pm The Jazz Mechanics; 7:30pm 

Nick Teehan Group; 9:45pm Brooklyn’s 

Huntertones. December 13 12pm Excelsior 

Dixieland Jazz Band; 3:30pm Red Hot Ramble; 

7pm Autobahn; 9:30pm Rachel Piscione R&B. 

December 14 6:30pm University of Toronto 

Student Jazz Ensembles; 9:30pm Dave Young 

& Terry Promane Octet. December 15 

6:30pm Kieran Overs Quartet; 9:30pm Classic 

Rex Jam hosted by Chris Gale. December 

16 6:30pm Worst Pop Band Ever; 9:30pm 

Bernie Senensky. December 17 6:30pm 

Ashley St. Pierre Trio; 9:30pm Italy/New 

York’s “Step In Trio” with Joe Fonda & Carlo 

Morena. December 18 4pm Hogtown Syncopators; 

6:30pm Mark Godfrey Trio; 9:30pm 

Italy/New York’s “Step In Trio” with Joe 

Fonda & Carlo Morena. December 19 12pm 

The Sinners Choir; 3:30pm Jerome Godboo; 

7:30pm Nick Teehan Group; 9:45pm Jake 

E. The ETCeteras 

Chisholm blues. December 20 12pm Excelsior 

Dixieland Jazz Band; 3:30pm Club Django; 

7pm Autobahn; 9:30pm Nick Scott Quartet. 

December 21 6:30pm Peter Hill Quintet; 

9:30pm Jake Wilkinson’s Bebop Christmas. 

December 22 6:30pm Kieran Overs Quartet; 

9:30pm Classic Rex Jam hosted by Chris 

Gale. December 23 6:30pm Worst Pop Band 

Ever; 9:30pm Leyland Gordon. December 

26 8pm The Sinners Choir. December 27 

12pm Excelsior Dixieland Jazz Band; 3:30pm 

Freeway Dixieland; 7pm Autobahn; 9:30pm 

Three Blind Mice. December 28 6:30pm Peter 

Hill Quintet; 9:30pm Marie Goudy’s E.M.S.: 

Emergency Musical Services Big Band. 

December 29 6:30pm Pete Schmidt - Holiday 

Blues; 9:30pm Classic Rex Jam hosted by 

Chris Gale. December 30 6:30pm Worst Pop 

Band Ever; 9:30pm New York’s Anthony Fung 

Quartet. December 31 9:30pm Grooveyard. 

Salty Dog Bar & Grill, The 

1980 Queen St. E. 416-849-5064 (full 

schedule) 

Sauce on the Danforth 

1376 Danforth Ave. 647-748-1376 

sauceondanforth.com 

All shows: No cover. 

Every Mon 9pm The Out Of Towners: Dirty 

Organ Jazz. Every Tue 6pm Julian Fauth. 

Seven44 

(Formerly Chick n’ Deli/The People’s Chicken) 

744 Mount Pleasant Rd. 416-489-7931 

seven44.com (full schedule) 

December 7 7:30pm Advocats Big Band No 

cover. December 14 7:30pm Mega City Swing 

Band No cover. December 21 7:30pm George 

Lake Big Band No cover. 

Stori Aperitivo 

95 King St. E 416-361-0404 

stori.ca (full schedule) 

Tattoo 

567 Queen St. W 416-703-5488 

tattooqueenwest.com (full schedule) 

Toni Bulloni 

156 Cumberland St. 416-967-7676 

tonibulloni.com (full schedule) 

No cover. Saturday shows: 9pm. $30 food/ 

drink minimum. Sunday shows: 6pm. $25 

food/drink minimum. 

Tranzac 

292 Brunswick Ave. 416-923-8137 

tranzac.org 

3-4 shows daily, various styles. Mostly PWYC. 

Every Mon 10pm Open Mic Mondays. Every 

Thurs 7:30pm Bluegrass Thursdays: 

Houndstooth. Every Fri 5pm The Foolish 

Things (folk). This month’s shows include: 

December 1 7:30pm Ali Berkok; 10pm 

Peripheral Vision. December 6 5pm Monk’s 

Music; 7:30pm Michael Herring. December 8 

7:30pm Aurochs; 10pm Bedroom. December 

13 10pm The Lina Allemano Four. December 

15 10pm The Ken McDonald Quartet. December 

20 7:30pm Diane Roblin. 

Galas and Fundraisers 

●●Dec 06 2:00: Elmer Iseler Singers. Sherry 

and Shortbread. Join us and relax in elegant 

and gracious surroundings, participate in the 

silent auction and enjoy music of the holiday 

season. Albany Club, 91 King St. E. For details: 

416-217-0537. 

Competitions 

●●Feb 02 10:00am: Royal Conservatory of 

Music. Glenn Gould School Concerto Competition 

Finals. Solo performers compete for 

the opportunity to perform a concerto with 

the Royal Conservatory Orchestra during the 

2016-17 season. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 

273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. Free (ticket 

required). 

●●Orchestra Toronto. Marta Hidy Concerto 

Competition 2016. This year’s prize awarded 

to a percussionist. For Canadian virtuosos 

aged 23 and younger. Prize includes a scholarship 

of $1,000 and an opportunity to perform 

as a soloist with Orchestra Toronto at 

its December 2016 youth-oriented concert at 

the Toronto Centre for the Arts. For full history 

and registration form: www.orchestratoronto.ca 

Deadline for mailing the application 

form and registration fee: February 1 2016. 

Lectures, Salons, Symposia 

●●Jan 12, Jan 29: Oakville Opera Guild. Jan 12 

1:30: Rusalka, Dvořák’s great opera. Lecture 

by John Holland, musician and president of 

the Canadian Institute for Czech music (Oakville 

Public Library Central Branch, 120 Navy 

St. Oakville).Jan 29 8:00: Puccini’s Myth/ 

Adventure, Turandot. Lecture by Iain Scott, 

noted opera lecturer and opera tour guide. 

Please contact for location details. 905-827- 

5678; Oakville.Opera.Guild@outlook.com. 

Each lecture $10 (proceeds go towards our 

scholarship fund, to be awarded to a student 

attending the Faculty of Music at the 

U of Toronto, and support our annual donation 

to the Canadian Opera Company). 

●●Jan 12, Jan 13: Don Wright Faculty of 

Music. Jan 12 7:00: Magnificent Movie Music! 

Beethoven Goes to Hollywood (With Dr. 

Rachel Franklin). Jan 13 7:00: Magnificent 

Movie Music! Five of the Great Masterpiece 

Movie Scores. Talbot College, Western University, 


661-3767. Free. 

●●Jan 19, Jan 26, Jan 28; Feb 2: University of 

Toronto Faculty of Music. Jan 19 10:30am: 

Barbara Hannigan, Show and Share: Living 

and Surviving as a Singing Artist. Barbara 

Hannigan, the John R. Stratton Visitor 

in Music, is known worldwide as a soprano 

of vital expressive force directed by exceptional 

technique, as well as a conductor and 

champion of new music.(Walter Hall); Jan 26 

7:00: Michael Colgrass, Wilma and Clifford 

Smith Visitor in Music. Michael Colgrass 

is a composer, jazz percussionist and Pulitzer 

Prize winner for Music. He is an associate 

composer of the Canadian Music Centre 

in Toronto. (Room 330);Jan 27 7:00: Geiger- 

Torel Lecture Series: Atom Egoyan – How 

Far Is Too Far? Film and stage director, Atom 

Egoyan, discusses his directorial interpretation 

in selected opera productions. (Walter 

Hall); Jan 28 3:30: Kenneth H. Peacock 

Lecture, Scott Burnham. Scott Burnham, 

Canadian Children’s Opera Company 

Be a Part of the Magic 

Accepting new members in January 

Ages 3-19 

featuring 

The Hobbit 

by Dean Burry 

canadianchildrensopera.com 

And appearing 

in the 

Canadian 

Opera 

Company 

production of 

Carmen 

416-366-0467 

photo: Michael Cooper 


E. The ETCeteras 

Beat by Beat | Bandstand 

professor of musicology and music theory 

at Princeton University, is an expert on tonal 

theory history, problems of analysis and criticism, 

and 18th- and 19th-century music and 

culture.(Room 130); Feb 02 12:10: Composers’ 

Forum. With Allan Gordon Bell, New Music 

Festival. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Bldg., 


●●Jan 24, Jan 31: Toronto Opera Club. Jan 24 

2:00: The True Tests in Life. Guest speaker 

Johannes Debus, music director of the Canadian 

Opera Company, discusses Wagner’s 

Siegfried; Jan 31 2:00: Guest speaker, baritone 

Russell Braun, in conversation with 

Wayne Gooding, Editor of Opera Canada 

magazine. Room 330, Edward Johnson Bldg. 

Faculty of Music, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-924- 

3940. $10. 

Master Classes 

●●Dec 1; Jan 19, 21, 26: University of Toronto 

Faculty of Music Master Classes. 

●●Dec 01 2:00,The Riki Turofsky Master Class 

in Voice. With soprano Sondra Radvanovsky; 

Jan 19 12:10: Barbara Hannigan Master Class; 

Jan 21 12:10: Barbara Hannigan Master Class. 

The John R. Stratton Visitor in Music presents 

songs and vocal chamber music of the 20thand 

21st-centuries; Jan 26 12:10: Guest Master 

Class. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Bldg., 


●●Dec 7; Jan30: Don Wright Faculty of 

Music. Dec 07 5:30: Violin Master Class. With 

Vasile Beluska, Bowling Green State University 

( Studio 242, Music Building); Jan 30 

11:00am: Master Class with Canadian pianist 

Jimmy Brière (von Kuster Hall, Music Building), 

Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N., 

London. 519-661-3767. Free. 

●●Jan 22; Feb 2 York University Department 

of Music. Jan 22 1:30: Vocal Master Class. 

Leslie Fagan, soprano; Feb 02 11:30: Vocal 

Master Class. Nathalie Paulin, soprano. Each 

soprano works with young singers from the 

studios of Catherine Robbin, Stephanie Bogle, 

Norma Burrowes, Michael Donovan and 

Karen Rymal. Tribute Communities Recital 

Hall, Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele 

St. 416-736-5888. Free. Observers welcome. 

torontoshapenote.org 

Screenings 

●●Jan 24 4:00 & 7:30: Toronto Jewish Film 

Society / The Embassy of Sweden, Ottawa. 

Simon and the Oaks. The friendship of two 

young boys, one Swedish-born with mystical 

musical tendencies, another a German-Jewish 

refugee, changes both their lives forever. 

Guest speaker: critic Adam Nayman. Miles 

Nadal JCC, 750 Spadina Ave. 416-924-6211 

x606. $15; $10 (young adults 18-35). 

Spoken Word, Performance Art 

●●Dec 04–06, 11–13, 18–20: Church of the Holy 

Trinity. The Christmas Story. Professional 

musicians and a volunteer cast present this 

charming hour-long Nativity play. Matinee 

and evening performances: please see website 

for exact times. 19 Trinity Square. 416- 

598-4521 x301; 

www.thechristmasstory.ca. Suggested donation: 

$20 adults; $5 children. 

Tours 

●●Feb 07 10:30am: Canadian Opera Company. 

Tour the Four Seasons Centre. 

90-minute tour for the general public led 

by trained docents; backstage access. Four 


145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231. $20; $15(sr/ 

st). Also Feb 21. Tickets will also be available 

on the morning of the tour starting at 

10:00am. 

Workshops 

●●Dec 04 7:30: CAMMAC Recorder Players’ 

Society. Amateur recorder players are 

invited to join in the playing of early music. 

Guest coach Avery MacLean. Mount Pleasant 

Road Baptist Church, 527 Mount Pleasant Rd. 

416-597-0485 or cammac.ca $20 (non-members). 

Refreshments included. 

●●Dec 05 2:00-4:30: Musikay. How to Handle 

Messiah. An exploration of the performance 

practices of baroque music and a discussion 

on different interpretations of Handel’s 

masterwork. Grace Lutheran Church, 

304 Spruce St. Oakville. To reserve: 905-825- 

9740; musikay.ca $30. 

●●Jan 16 10:00am-12:30 & 2:00-4:30: 

Musikay. Conducting for Choristers. 

10:00am: Level 1, beginner; 2:00: Level 

2, intermediate. Grace Lutheran Church, 

304 Spruce St. Oakville. To reserve: 905-825- 

9740; musikay.ca $30 each session. 

●●Jan 17 2:00-4:30: Musikay. Conducting 

for Choristers. Level 3, advanced. Grace 

Lutheran Church, 304 Spruce St. Oakville. To 

reserve: 905-825-9740; musikay.ca $30. 

●●Jan 20 3:10: University of Toronto Faculty 

of Music. Barbara Hannigan, Dare to Compare. 

Barbara Hannigan, the John R. Stratton 

Visitor in Music, presents an interactive 

session with composers, singers, pianists 

and instrumentalists from the contemporary 

music ensemble. Room 330, Edward Johnson 

Bldg., 80 Queen’s Park. 416-978-3744. Free. 

●●Jan 24 2:00: CAMMAC Toronto Region. 

Reading of Vivaldi’s Gloria for singers and 

instrumentalists. Daniel Rubinoff, conductor. 

Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. 905- 

877-0671. $10; $6 (members). 

●●Feb 05 & 06 10:00am-5:00: Musikay. Professional 

Conducting Workshop. Grace 

Lutheran Church, 304 Spruce St. Oakville. 

To reserve: 905-825-9740; musikay.ca $50 

– $150. 

Wartime 

Connections 

JACK MACQUARRIE 

Often, this December column focuses on Christmas themes 

because as a rule the bands that we hear from are presenting 

seasonal concerts featuring various forms of Christmas music, 

from those with a definite sacred theme to Christmas melodies from 

the popular realm. That being said, we recently attended a Toronto 

Concert Band concert at the Glenn Gould Studio that was a clear 

exception to the rule. At their first concert, shortly after they formed a 

little over a year ago, the band performed very well. The year of practising 

and maturing together was very evident in this year’s concert. 

Now, with 70 members on their roster and a full instrumentation, they 

were more ambitious. The most challenging of their offerings was an 

excellent transcription of four movements from Carmina Burana, that 

monumental choral work by Carl Orff. As a teaser we were informed 

that they intend to perform some more movements from Carmina 

Burana at their next concert, scheduled for Saturday, February 20 at 

Islington United Church. We hope to be there. 

(Speaking of challenges, I came upon a very unusual transcription 

of choral music for all-brass band recently of the Pie Jesu movement 

from the great requiem of Gabriel Fauré. Unlike most transcriptions of 

choral music, this was for a solo instrument, the E-flat soprano cornet. 

The recently formed York Brass Ensemble will present it with an E-flat 

tuba instead.) 

Musicians and war. Another event that diverted my attention away 

from the upcoming seasonal musical tide came in the form of an offer 

to join and play with the local New Horizons Band in a performance at 

a local Salvation Army facility. With the title “A Night to Remember,” 

it was similar to a performance given by this band last year. Readings 

from letters during WWII and other material from the time were 

interspersed with appropriate musical selections to convey some of 

the many feelings of those so seriously affected by such conflicts. The 

letters from the soldier were all from One Family’s War: The Wartime 

Letters of Clarence Bourassa, 1940-1944, a collection of letters written 

by Private Clarence O. Bourassa, of the South Saskatchewan Regiment, 

to his wife, Hazel. 

Interestingly, in a couple of his letters he mentions that he has been 

able to play, on a few occasions, with Salvation Army bands somewhere 

in France. Those mentions of Private Bourassa seeking out 

opportunities to play music, while so close to the battlefield, led me to 

wonder about the whole topic of musicians at war. How often did they 

hear music by military entertainment groups, local musicians, or even 

get to play in groups somewhere? 

In this context an interesting document has come my way – Toronto 

author Joanne Culley’s recent book, Love in the Air: Second World 

War Letters. This book includes historical background, photos and 

dramatized scenes inspired by 600 letters exchanged by her parents 

during the Second World War. Her father, Harry, served overseas as a 

musician, playing clarinet and saxophone in Royal Canadian Air Force 

dance and concert bands. Prior to going overseas, Harry was playing 

at a YMCA Victory Drive dance in Ottawa where he met Helen, who 

was a volunteer hostess. They dated for close to a year and became 

engaged just before he was sent to England. Joanne discovered that the 

letters were not just declarations of love, but a detailed description of 

what was happening on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Harry Culley endured bombings in London, the overall scarcity of 

food, and the exhaustion of travelling by trains, buses and army trucks 

with irregular schedules, to perform in concerts, parades and dances. 

However, he and the other band members knew that their music 

was keeping up the morale of soldiers and civilians alike. Unlike the 

book about Private Bourassa which only contains the letters which 

he wrote home, this volume contains the rarely seen both sides of a 


correspondence. Harry carried Helen’s letters all 

around during his travels, even though his band 

mates kept bugging him to toss them. He said that 

he couldn’t, when all of their love was wrapped up 

in those words. For more information on this book, 

go to joanneculley.com. 

Personally, when I enlisted in the navy, I left my 

trombone behind and didn’t have any opportunity 

to play until after I was released. Shortly after the 

war I did go to sea in some large ships which had 

bands aboard. One of these, HMS Sheffield, had a 

very fine Royal Marine band aboard. When we were 

called to action stations all band members became 

members of gun crews. They did not sit idly by. 

Three stories: On the topic of musicians in war 

time, three very different stories come to mind. 

The first is that of the famous guitarist Django 

Reinhardt. He was a gypsy of Belgian birth, and 

under Hitler’s orders gypsies were destined to be sent to the Nazi 

death camps. However, when the Nazis occupied France, off-duty 

officers went to places where Reinhardt performed. They were so 

impressed with his music that they managed to see that he was 

spared. After the war he was still a star in the Quintet of the Hot Club 

of France. 

Another man with a strange wartime connection was famous 

composer and playwright Noël Coward. It wasn’t until many years 

after the war, and only with the permission of the highest authorities, 

that he revealed that he had been a spy working for the famous spy 

master Sir William Stephenson who was code-named Intrepid. 

Among other activities, it has been reported that, at times, he 

played piano in cocktail bars in neutral countries where he was in a 

position to eavesdrop on conversations of German officers. Author 

Stephen Koch’s recent book The Playboy Was a Spy describes some of 

Coward’s wartime activities. 

The third story is that of Stephen H. Michell, a former trombone 

player with the Royal Regiment of Canada. He went overseas, 

not as a musician, but as a regular member of the regiment. At the 

Dieppe raid in 1942 the Royal Regiment landed on the beach at Puys. 

Of the 554 members of the regiment on that raid only 65 made it 

back to England. Michell was one of the 264 who were taken prisoner. 

The rest were killed. I knew that Michell had written the march, 

Men of Dieppe, but wasn’t sure of the details of how and when it 

was composed. During the intermission at the recent concert by the 

Toronto Concert Band, I was speaking with Bill Mighton, a former 

conductor of the Royal Regiment Band who happened to be sitting 

across from me in the audience. He told me that, during his three 

Joanne Culley with her 

book Love in the Air 

years as a prisoner, Michell 

worked over some themes that 

kept coming back in his head. 

When released he had with him 

a few notes of these melodies. 

On his return to Canada he took 

those melodies and from them 

composed Men of Dieppe, a very 

fine march worthy of inclusion 

in any band’s repertoire. 

Gord Evans.It with deep 

sadness that I have to report 

on the passing of Gord Evans, 

one of the finest, most tasteful 

saxophone players I have ever 

known. He passed at the age 

of 96, after spending some 

years in the Veterans Wing of 

Sunnybrook Hospital. When I learned of this, I immediately felt that 

I had to play a CD with Gord playing the solo on Sammy Nestico’s 

Lonely Street. It brought back memories of the years when I had 

the privilege of playing in a big band where Gord was the lead alto 

sax player. 

Concerts coming: All that being said, there are holiday performances 

that we have learned of: 

Dec 2: The Plumbing Factory Brass Band presents the “Semiannual 

Convention of the Plumbers Union and Its Delegations” as reported in 

last month’s issue. 

Dec 3 and Jan 7: The Encore Symphonic Concert Band presents “In 

Concert: Classics and Jazz” with John Edward Liddle, conductor. 

Dec 6: Pickering Community Band’s “Christmas Concert” with 

guests Alejandra Ballon, vocals; and Ron Korb, world flutes. 

Dec 7: Resa’s Pieces “Annual Holiday Concert” includes their strings, 

concert band and singers. 

Dec 13: The Wychwood Clarinet Choir presents “Clarinet Bells 

Ring,” a lively afternoon of festive tunes featuring Victor Herbert’s 

March of the Toys, Leroy Anderson’s Christmas Festival, and Sleigh 

Ride. This last number should never be performed without the wellknown 

horse whinny, which will be done on a clarinet. There will also 

be a preview movement of Gustav Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite arranged by 

Roy Greaves. Artistic director and clarinet soloist is Michele Jacot. 

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and 

has performed in many community ensembles. He can 

be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com. 

Play in a band for mature adults! 

It's never too late to... 

- Learn to play a musical instrument 

- Dust off that old horn and get back in the game 

- Make new friends - Keep your mind active 

- Amaze your friends, family...and yourself! 

Three levels: true beginner to advanced 

Next beginner class starts soon! 

Call 647-201-8780 or visit www.NewHorizonsBandToronto.ca 

Your best 

is good 

enough 


Classified Advertising | classad@thewholenote.com 

“ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS is 4 days at 

a good recording studio/3 hours of massage 

therapy/2 people to clean up my apartment 

while I’m away on tour/and a pet sitter for the 

partridge in my pear tree.” The WholeNote 

CLASSIFIEDS can advertise your help wanted 

needs, and promote your services. Inquire 

now for the February issue. 

classad@thewholenote.com 

AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES 

AUDITION PREPARATION WORKSHOP 

SERIES FOR TEENS No Strings Theatre. 

Preparation for secondary and postsecondary 

arts school, community auditions, 

exams, festivals. More information www. 

nostringstheatre.com, directors@ 

nostringstheatre.com, 416-551-2093. 

Available positions with the KINDRED 

SPIRITS ORCHESTRA: 2nd Oboe, 1st Horn, 

2nd Trumpet, 2nd (tenor) Trombone, 3rd 

(bass) Trombone, Principal Pianist, sectional 

Violins, Violas, Cellos and Contrabasses. The 

KSO is an auditioned-based civic orchestra 

in residence at Flato Markham Theatre. 

Weekly rehearsals are held on Tuesday 

evening at the state-of-the-art Cornell 

Recital Hall (HWY 407 ETR and 9th Ln). For 

more information visit 

www.KSOchestra.ca or e-mail Jobert 

Sevilleno at GM@KSOrchestra.ca 

THE CELTIC FIDDLE ORCHESTRA OF 

SOUTHERN ONTARIO is looking for 

additional musicians: violin, viola, cello, bass 

and flute. We practice twice a month on 

Sunday afternoon at the QEPCCC in Oakville. 

Please contact Byron Grant at 905-469-1417 

or email cfoso.exec@gmail.com 

COUNTERPOINT COMMUNITY 

ORCHESTRA (www.ccorchestra.org) 

welcomes volunteer musicians for Monday 

evening rehearsals, downtown Toronto. 

We’re especially looking for trombones and 

strings. Email info@ccorchestra.org. 

DO YOU LOVE TO SING? Are you looking for 

a choir that performs every type of sacred 

music, from Byrd to Britten, Howells to 

Hogan? The Anglican Church of St. John the 

Baptist seeks all voice types to enhance their 

Mass Choir. Services take place on Sundays 

at 10:30 AM in the Beaches, one of Toronto’s 

most active and artistic neighbourhoods. 

For more information, contact music@ 

stjohnsnorway.com or (647) 302-2074 

ORGANIST WANTED FOR SMALL NORTH 

TORONTO UNITED CHURCH Required for 

Sunday service and one weekly choir practice 

(accompaniment only). Maximum 11 hours 

weekly including 5 hours practice time. 

PASQUALE BROTHERS 

PURVEYORS OF FINE FOOD 

Additional hours for Christmas and Easter. 

Some experience preferred. Send questions 

or resume to arleighquesnelle@sympatico. 

ca. 

INSTRUCTION & COURSES 

CHILDREN’S PIANO LESSONS: Friendly, 

approachable - and strict! Contact Liz 

Parker at 416-544-1803 or liz.parker@ 

rogers.com. Queen and Bathurst area, 

Toronto. 

FLUTE, PIANO, THEORY LESSONS. RCM 

exam preparation. RCM certified advanced 

specialist. Samantha Chang, FTCL, FLCM, 

Royal Academy of Music PGDip, LRAM, 

ARCT. Toronto, Scarborough 416-293-1302, 

samantha.studio@gmail. com 

www.samanthaflute.com 

PIANO LESSONS: personalized instruction 

by experienced teacher, concert pianist EVE 

EGOYAN (M. Mus., L.R.A.M., F.R.S.C.). All ages 

and levels. Downtown location. eve.egoyan@ 

bell.net or 416- 603-4640. 

PRIVATE VOICE/PIANO/THEORY/ 

EAR-TRAINING LESSONS/GROUP 

MASTERCLASSES: Voices of Colour 

Music. Classical to contemporary styles. 

Preparation for RCM exams, festivals, 

auditions. info@voicesofcolourmusic.com, 

www.voicesofcolourmusic.com 

PRIVATE VOICE/PIANO/THEORY 

LESSONS: Experienced, BFA Certified 

Teacher located at Christ Church Deer 

Park (Yonge & St. Clair). Prepares you or 

your child for RCM exams, competitions & 

auditions. Contact Jessika: jwithakmusic@ 

gmail.com (647) 214-2827. 

STUDY SAXOPHONE with Bruce Redstone, 

BAEd, MMus. 20 years with Royal 

Conservatory, experienced performer and 

teacher. Reasonable rates and location, all 

levels. 416-706-8161, www.torontosaxlessons. 

com. 

WARMHEARTED PIANO TEACHER with 

sterling credentials, unfailing good humor, 

and buckets of patience. Royal Conservatory 

washouts and nervous learners especially 

welcome. Lovely Cabbagetown studio. “Best 

teacher ever!” - Beaches tween. “Beats 

studying with those Quebec nuns!” - Rosedale 

senior. Peter Kristian Mose, 416.923.3060. 

www.MoseMusicalArts.com. My students 

have never won any prizes, except for love of 

music. (And loyalty.) 

FOR SALE / WANTED 

CLASSICAL RECORD AND CD COLLECTIONS 

WANTED. Minimum 350 units. Call, text or 

CATERING 

(416) 364-7397 WWW.PASQUALEBROS.COM 

e-mail Aaron 416-471-8169 or A@A31.CA. 

FRENCH HORN suitable for advanced student 

or working musician. One owner since 1978, 

excellent condition. Serious inquiries only to 

mjbuell@gmail.com 

GEBRUDER MOENIG BASSOON 12532 FOR 

SALE complete Wieler overhaul 2012, two 

bocals, Kong tuner microphone, several 

accessories, $2500, jennykyle@sympatico. 

ca, 905-634-4156 

STRADIVARIUS DESIGN VIOLINS FOR 

SALE: I have hand made over 60 violins, 

many currently being played throughout the 

US and Canada. Currently 3 instruments to 

choose from with superior quality, sound 

and workmanship, made using electronic 

tuning. Priced very reasonably. I studied 

under the direction of Dr. Ling, an acoustic 

professor from McGill University. For more 

details or to book a showing/playing call Pat 

519-265-0329 (Guelph Ontario). 

TRINITY COLLEGE CELTIC BOUZOUKI (i.e. 

large octave mandolin) in like-new condition. 

Glossy black top, a round sound-hole and a 

warm, rich tone. The current retail price is 

$889. Asking $500 with a hard-shell case 

and a soft gig bag. david.olds@sympatico.ca. 

WHATS IN YOUR CLOSET? Sell your 

unused instruments or donate them to 

an educational charity with a WholeNote 

classified ad! Are your band days just a hazy 

memory? Someone out there would love to 

give your nice old guitar, flute, tuba (etc) a 

new life. Contact classad@thewholenote. 

com. 

STOLEN FROM CAR – Lorée OBOE 

& ENGLISH HORN: $700 reward for 

information leading to return. Serial #’s: 

oboe TA 78, English horn HV 25. Please call 

Karen 416-656-4312 or 416-323-2232 x.26 

MUSICIANS AVAILABLE 

BRING MODERN ELEGANCE TO YOUR 

NEXT EVENT – Arvelis Jazz Band now 

booking for winter and holiday parties! 

arvelisliveholidayjazz.com 

Master your mind. 

Mental Skills for 

Performing Artists 

Lisa Chisholm 

www.masterperforming.ca 

Children’s 

Piano 

Lessons 

Friendly, 

approachable 

— and strict! 

Liz Parker 

liz.parker@rogers.com 

Queen and Bathurst 

area, Toronto. 

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TARA MCMULLEN 

WE ARE ALL MUSIC’S CHILDREN 

December’s Child 

Joel Ivany 

MJ BUELL 

The photo was taken in Bala, Ontario, at the vacation home/cottage of my great Uncle Gogo 

and Auntie Lean. 

Joel Ivany was born in 

Penticton, BC. His family moved 

around a lot – to Kelowna, and 

after that Toronto, Montréal, 

Ottawa. He is one of four children 

– he has an older sister and a 

younger sister and brother – and 

remembers watching and hearing 

musicals with them: The Sound 

of Music, Oliver!, Mary Poppins 

and Babes in Toyland. Both of 

his parents, ordained ministers, 

worked with the Salvation Army, 

and Ivany’s early musical experiences 

included playing the cornet and eventually 

the tuba, going to music camps in the summer, 

and singing in choirs all the way through 

high school. 

The first opera he remembers watching was 

a video of La Bohème, with Luciano Pavarotti, 

which took up three whole high school classes. 

The teenaged Ivany may not have felt much 

connection at the time, but it’s interesting how 

that opera re-emerged when, as a young director, 

hungry to make stories with music resound 

in new ways, Ivany began to reimagine operas 

with his present-day company, Against the 

Grain Theatre. 

Ivany has also directed for the Canadian 

Opera Company Ensemble, Minnesota Opera, 

the Aventa Ensemble, the Canadian Children’s 

Opera Company, the Centre for Opera Studies in 

Italy, the U of T Opera Division, Wilfrid Laurier 

University, Music Niagara, Opera Nuova, Western 

University, the Royal Conservatory of Music, the 

Banff Centre and Vancouver Opera. 

Ivany’s music degree is from Western 

University. Opera wasn’t much on his radar in 

university, although theatre and music theatre 

were strong interests. But an opportunity to 

watch rehearsals of Wagner’s Ring Cycle (for the 

opening of the Four Seasons Centre) had a big 

impact on his thinking about music and storytelling. 

After some apprenticing as a director 

in Canada and Europe, he returned to Toronto 

where an introduction to director and mentor 

Michael Albano led eventually 

to an artist diploma in Opera 

Directing at U of T Opera School. 

La Bohème, Against the Grain’s 

first production in 2011, was set 

and produced in a bar in Toronto 

– the Tranzac Club. They were real 

“starving artists” doing what they 

do in a place they could afford, for 

an audience of about 120 people 

who could have a beer (or two) 

during the show - and could 

afford to because the opera ticket 

hadn’t emptied their pockets. 

Today Ivany and Against the Grain continue 

to adapt and innovate, bringing operas with 

new librettos to courtyards, bars, wedding 

halls and other non-traditional venues. Last 

season #Uncle John, inspired by Mozart’s Don 

Giovani was presented in Toronto at the Great 

Hall (and then at the Ottawa International 

Chamber Festival), followed by a double-bill 

mashup “Death and Desire” — Schubert’s 

Die schöne Müllerin and Messiaen’s Harawi 

featuring Stephen Hegedus and Krisztina Szabó, 

presented in a Toronto west-end gallery. 

NEW CONTEST! 

Who is February’s Child? 

Practicing at home in Nanjing 

A hot summer day, circa 1990 

~ ~ This little girl is no shrinking 

violet, and her first instrument 

no second fiddle. 

~ ~ First chair from the age of 21, 

she’s equally at home in our 

symphony, in her trio and 

chamber collaborations and 

solo works. 

~ ~ 1939 (a rough time for humanity, 

a remarkable time for music). 

Know our Mystery Child’s name? 

WIN PRIZES! 

Send your best guess by January 22 to 

musicschildren@thewholenote.com. 

Against the Grain Theatre first shook up (or stirred) Handel’s Messiah in 2013 at a rock 

and roll hall called the Opera House, with a show that “walked the line between edgy 

and faithful.” It was all Handel all the time, but no tuxedos, no music stands, and a lot 

of surprises. Building on that creative and critical success, their 2015 Messiah will be 

costumed and barefoot, newly choreographed, and performed in a theatre – Harbourfront 

Centre – in partnership with Massey/Roy Thomson Hall. 

In another departure from the conventional, Ivany will direct a semi-staged Mozart 

Requiem for the Toronto Symphony in January, conducted by Bernard Labadie. This project 

was workshopped last spring at the Canadian Stage Company with support from the TSO . 

Think you don’t ever need to see another production of Carmen? You might want to 

reconsider in time to get a ticket for Ivany’s mainstage directing debut with the Canadian 

Opera Company – April 12 to May 15, conducted by Paolo Carignani. Doubtless the mezzo 

will still die at the end, but your journey at her side may be a ride like no other to date. 

Meanwhile let’s begin imagining Against The Grain’s #ALittleTooCozy which is the third 

of their Mozart updates. Ivany’s new English libretto of Così fan tutte reimagined as “a 

reality TV dating show” was workshopped last summer at The Banff Centre. Coming to 

Toronto in spring 2016.To an as-yet undisclosed Toronto venue… 

You are invited to read Joel Ivany’s interview about his childhood music and theatre 

experiences and influences @thewholenote.com 

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS! 

Against the Grain Theatre’s Messiah (December 16 to19) “This is not your grandma’s Messiah (but she 

would love it, so bring her)” Co-presented by Massey Hall at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre. These 

performances of Handel’s intact score, performed costumed and choreographed feature soloists Stephen 

Hegedus, Miriam Khalil, Owen McCausland and Andrea Ludwig. Directed by Joel Ivany and choreographed 

by Jennifer Nichols, with a 16 member chorus and chamber orchestra led by music director Christopher Mokrzewski. TICKETS! 

JOAN SAYER 

Mozart Requiem (Jan 21 to 23, at Roy Thomson Hall) (Mozart/completed by Robert D. Levin) K626 has been reimagined 

as a semi-staged theatrical event, directed by Joel Ivany. Bernard Labadie conducts the Toronto 

Symphony Orchestra, with Lydia Teuscher, soprano; Allyson McHardy, mezzo-soprano; Frédéric Antoun, tenor; 

Philippe Sly, bass-baritone; the Amadeus Choir, the Elmer Iseler Singers. TICKETS! RICHARD SMITH 


DISCOVERIES | RECORDINGS REVIEWED 

DAVID OLDS 

You might think that the upcoming holiday hiatus would result 

in a backlog of new material after the fact, and generally 

speaking that is indeed what happens. But this month I find my 

desk already agog (sorry, that’s a misuse of the word, but one I woke 

up to this morning as I faced the mounting pile of CDs – perhaps it 

is I who am agog) with a wealth of offerings all worthy of note. I will 

endeavour to be brief… 

Atop the pile is a recent arrival that reminds 

me why I was drawn to contemporary music, 

string quartets in particular, in my formative 

years. PubliQuartet’s eponymous debut 

release on Concert Artists Guild Records 

(CAG115 publiquartet.com) grabbed me 

right from its percussive opening chords. 

Howie Kenty is not a composer I was previously 

aware of, but his brief An Impetuous 

Old Friend seemed just that – rambunctious and familiar, without 

seeming derivative. As a matter of fact I don’t know any of the 

composers whose work is included here, although I do find touchstones 

in their music. Jessie Montgomery is a NYC violinist, composer 

and music educator. I find many of the extended techniques she 

uses in Break Away reminiscent of the aboriginal sounds that Peter 

Sculthorpe incorporated into his string quartet writing. The program 

note however cites hip-hop and electronica as influences. Eugene 

Birman’s String Quartet, a 12-minute single movement “experiment 

in voicing and containing energy,” comes across as a meditation, 

perhaps with echoes of George Crumb’s darker moments. In 

contrast David Biedenbender’s Surface Tension is all rhythmic drive 

and percussion. 

One of PQ’s initiatives is a series titled Mind The Gap in which 

the group tries “to generate an interest in new music and keep traditional 

classical music relevant to modern audiences…[and] to blur the 

lines between performer and composer; intertwining compositions 

from seemingly disparate genres.” Two examples of this technique are 

included, Bird in Paris, juxtaposing Debussy with Charlie Parker and 

Epistrophy, in which Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for String Quartet are 

very effectively overlaid with themes by iconic jazz pianist Thelonious 

Monk. While I am not usually a fan of such hybrids, I found this a 

convincing exception to the rule and found myself smiling as the two 

worlds collided and coalesced. 

Toronto Symphony principal trombonist Gordon Wolfe (gordwolfe.com) 

has just released his debut solo CD, Reflections, with 

pianist Vanessa May-lok Lee, and it is a dandy. 

Wolfe presents a nicely balanced program of 

lyrical and idiomatic compositions, drawing 

on international repertoire – by Jacques 

Castérède, Paul Hindemith and Stjepan Šulek 

interspersed with Canadian works – that 

has influenced his own development. Gary 

Kulesha says, “I made a deliberate attempt to 

write music that played against the perceived traditional role of the 

solo instrument, with the Trombone Sonata (2013) being aerial and 

lyrical. The trombone’s music soars and sings, and never becomes 

march-like or stentorian.” Elizabeth Raum’s Fantasy, written as a 

Christmas present for her husband Richard in 1981, is a delightful, 

gentle and melodious offering. The penultimate piece – Concertino 

for Trombone and Piano “Devil or Angel” – was written expressly 

for this project by Wolfe’s mentor Ian McDougall whom he calls “my 

favourite trombonist on the planet.” The (mostly) playful piece is in 

three descriptively titled movements – Cherub vs. Imp; Guardian; Old 

Nick – which as you might expect gives Wolfe a chance to show off the 

contrasting aspects of his instrument and his mastery of it. 

On Reflections, Wolfe makes a compelling case for the trombone 

as versatile tenor voice. Without venturing into extended techniques 

or bizarre effects we are presented with a lyrical portrait of a classical 

instrument that is all too often treated as a buffoon. Lee’s sensitive and 

well-balanced support adds to the success of the argument. Recorded 

in the Royal Conservatory’s Mazzoleni Hall, the sound is everything 

you would hope for, intimate yet full. 

Speaking of maiden voyages, Jeremy Bell, 

who has shared violin duties with Jerzy 

Kaplanek in Kitchener-Waterloo’s Penderecki 

String Quartet since 1999, has just released his 

own first solo disc, Edvard Grieg – Complete 

Sonatas for Violin and Piano (Chestnut Hall 

Music chestnuthallmusic.com). Of course 

when I say solo I do not mean unaccompanied 

and for this project Bell is in fine company 

with pianist Shoshana Telner who is an equal partner in this virtuosic 

romantic repertoire. Of course Grieg is known as a nationalist 

composer and there are a lot of Norwegian folk influences evident 

in the music. As Bell tells us in his lucid program note, the Sonata 

No.1 in F Major, where violin and piano imitate Hardanger fiddling, 

was the first time that the composer introduced a purely national 

element. The second sonata, written two years later in 1867, takes 

Acclarion: Shattered Expectations 

Accordion and clarinet create 

breathtaking, richly romantic, vibrant 

original works and give a new voice to 

classical masterpieces. 

www.acclarion.ca 

Intégrale des concertos pour 

violon de Saint-Saëns 

Complete Violin Concertos of 

Saint Saëns 

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal - Kent 

Nagano 

䌀栀漀瀀椀渀 

䌀栀愀爀氀攀猀刀椀挀栀愀爀搀 ⴀ 䠀愀洀攀氀椀渀 


the nationalism further and then there is a gap of 20 years before 

the Sonata No.3 in C Minor. This latter with, in Grieg’s words, “it’s 

wider horizons” is the one most often heard in the concert hall, but 

it is the charming and “naïve” first sonata that is my favourite. In 

all three, presented here in the order 2, 3, 1 – for me saving the best 

for last – Bell and Telner are obviously in their element, capturing 

the contrasting moods and meeting the various technical demands 

with aplomb. 

This is an outstanding first release and my only question is what 

took Bell so long? Some two decades ago he was a prizewinner in 

the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition and since then 

has appeared in a variety of solo roles. I suppose participating in 

25 recordings under other auspices, being a member of an internationally 

renowned full-time quartet, his teaching duties at Wilfrid 

Laurier University and seven seasons as director of NUMUS are 

reasons enough. At any rate this is a very welcome debut. Oh, and in 

the note he sent along with the disc Bell assured me that this does 

not presage a separation from the Penderecki Quartet to which he 

remains devoted. 

Once upon a time some musical friend or another, well versed in 

17th- to 19th-century repertoire, challenged me to name an Italian 

composer whose surname did not end in the letter “i”. My interest 

in 20th-century music gave me perhaps an unfair advantage as I 

immediately came up with Berio, Nono, Dallapiccola, Malipiero and 

Maderna. As it turns out, this latter could have counted twice because 

his family name was Grossato and it was only later that he adopted his 

mother’s maiden name. 

Bruno Maderna (1920-1973), who participated in the 1949 international 

congress on dodecaphony in Milan, is best known as one 

of the forces behind the summer music courses at Darmstadt, that 

hotbed of post-war, post-serial composition. Only recently has an 

earlier and very significant work come to light. Maderna’s Requiem 

was written after his release from Dachau, having being taken prisoner 

by the SS for his activities as an Italian partisan. “At that moment 

it was only possible to write a requiem and then to die,” he later 

said. By July 1946 he had accomplished the former and avoided the 

latter. The hour-long work for four vocal soloists, choir and orchestra 

was championed by American composer and critic Virgil Thomson 

but ultimately never performed in Maderna’s lifetime. Shortly after 

completing the work Maderna lost interest in his earlier style as he got 

more and more engaged with contemporary trends. The score ended 

up lost on a shelf in the New York State’s Purchase College Library and 

was only rediscovered and published in 2009. 

Capriccio (C5231) has just released the 

world premiere recording of Requiem 

using a broadcast performance by 

Deutschlandradio Kultur from 2013 featuring 

the MDR-Rundfunkchor, Leipzig and the 

Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie directed by 

Frank Beermann. The vocal soloists are Diana 

Tomsche, Kathrin Göring, Bernhard Berchtold 

and Renatus Mészár. Composed in Maderna’s 

early 20s it shows obvious influences of the iconic works in the genre 

by Berlioz and Verdi, but more interesting to my ears are the shadows 

of Bartók, Hindemith and Stravinsky. The use of three pianos in the 

huge orchestral forces adds to the percussive effect and is also reminiscent 

of Carmina Burana which Carl Orff had composed a decade 

earlier. All of these influences aside, it is a strikingly original work and 

a great testament to the importance of this remarkable prodigy. 

If the CD set 2015 is any indication, under 

the direction of Michael Francis this year’s 

edition of the National Youth Orchestra of 

Canada (nyoc.org) lived up to the very high 

reputation developed over its 55-year history. 

And it’s no wonder, considering the incredibly 

talented faculty which nurtures the finest 

young players drawn from across Canada. There are some 40 top-rank, 

performing musicians/teachers involved, many of whom hold principal 

positions in professional orchestras, including such luminaries as 

Marie Bérard (concertmaster Canadian Opera Company), Sarah Jeffrey 

(principal oboe Toronto Symphony), both alumni of NYO Canada, 

Stephen Sitarski (concertmaster Hamilton Philharmonic and Esprit 

Orchestra) and renowned chamber musicians like Mark Fewer and 

the Gryphon Trio to name just a few. Auditioned from 500 applicants, 

90 to 100 musicians between the ages of 16 and 28 receive tuitionfree 

instruction (plus a stipend) which includes a two-week chamber 

program, three to four weeks of orchestral training, plus a wealth of 

career development, repertoire analysis and injury prevention information. 

This is followed by a national or international tour – 2016 

will see them perform in Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto, Montreal and 

Lisbon, Portugal – and a recording. 

2015, recorded at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, 

includes two staples – I’m tempted to say stables since these are 

war horses – of the orchestral repertoire, Holst’s The Planets and 

Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances. Both receive fully inspired and 

polished performances which bodes well for the health of orchestral 

institutions in Canada’s future. But more important, for the 

overall health of Canadian music, is the fact that the young musicians 

get to work with living composers who have crafted works especially 

for them. Emilie Cecilia LeBel (b.1979), whose position with 

the orchestra is funded jointly by RBC and the SOCAN Foundation, 

composed a very atmospheric work, monograph on bird’s eye views, 

giving them experience with music that is not melodically based 

but rather concerned with colours and textures. Alfredo Santa Ana 

(b.1980), commissioned with the assistance of the Canada Council, 

created Ocaso (dusk), a more traditional orchestral essay full of rich 

harmonies and dramatic turns. All in all, a very satisfying release. 

It was the realization of a lifelong dream 

to spend ten nearly nightless days in Iceland 

several summers ago, and so I was intrigued 

when two very different Icelandic projects 

came my way this past month. As with Emilie 

LeBel’s piece mentioned above, composer 

Anna Thorvaldsdottir created a very atmospheric 

work for ICE, the International 

Contemporary Ensemble which is active in 

both Chicago and New York. In the Light of Air (DSL-92192 sonoluminus.com) 

is an extended suite with evocative movement titles 

Luminance, Serenity, Existence and Remembrance which are 

connected by Transitions to form a seamless flow for the nearly 

40-minute duration of the work. (Somewhat confusingly the CD also 

contains a piece entitled Transitions for cello and electronics which 

seems to be a separate work altogether.) Scored for viola, cello, harp, 

percussion and electronics, In the Light of Air gradually unfolds as we 

journey through unfamiliar sounds and textures, both instrumental, 

with many extended techniques, and electronic. There is a visceral 

low rumbling throughout much of the piece and although there are 

many “events” along the way, nothing ever really seems to happen. 

But this is not meant as a criticism. Much like the stark and seemingly 

barren landscape of Iceland, the closer you look the more you see, or 

in this case hear. There is wealth of detail for the patient listener. 

The other project is a vision of what the 

music of the Vikings – settlers of Iceland – 

might have sounded like. Midgard (BR8939 

bigroundrecords.com), the latest release 

from Québec’s medieval and world music 

band La Mandragore, “imagines the music 

of the Vikings had they had the time and 

leisure to notate it. Playing folk instruments 

from the Mediterranean and Scandinavian 

regions, and singing songs and tales in Swedish, Norwegian, Old Norse 

and French,” the ensemble presents what it calls “an authentic and 

eclectic collection of Viking-inspired music.” The title is the Norse 


word for Middle Earth and although I’m not convinced that this is 

what the music of that time and place would have sounded like, I 

must say I have enjoyed the conceit, and the music. 

Speaking of eclectic, I’m not sure anything 

better suits that description than Black Market 

featuring Erin Cooper Gay and Contraband 

(erincoopergay.com). It is a stunning release 

on which Cooper Gay’s pure, crystalline 

soprano voice is featured in convincing 

renditions of Renaissance settings by John 

Dowland, José Marin, Tarquinio Merula and 

Claudio Monteverdi accompanied by period 

instruments, juxtaposed with clever arrangements by Drew Jurecka of 

contemporary songs by Jill Barber, Radiohead, Kishi Bashi and Punch 

Brothers. Somehow Cooper Gay and her cohorts – whose instruments 

range from harpsichord and lute and all manner of violin family 

instruments, French horn and clarinets, to qanun (Middle Eastern 

zither) and Juno (Roland synthesizer) – make what might have seemed 

like oil and water, into a very palatable mixture indeed. Compelling 

listening! 

The next disc came in a couple of months 

ago, but I decided to save it for December as 

I felt it would make a perfect stocking stuffer 

for the little ones. I Believe in Little Things is 

the latest from jazz singer Diana Panton (dianapanton.com) 

who in this instance presents 

her own take on some great songs written for 

young people. The spare and gentle arrangements 

feature Reg Schwager on guitar, Don Thompson on bass, piano 

and vibes and some memorable cello solos by Coenraad Bloemendal. 

Sesame Street’s Joe Raposo is amply represented – although I’m sorry 

Bein’ Green is not found here – including the title track, Imagination, 

Sing and Everybody Sleeps among others. Another Sesame Street 

standard, The Rainbow Connection, and the Disney classic, When 

You Wish Upon a Star, are among the most familiar tunes and highlights 

for me. Panton’s own Sleep is a Precious Thing leads to Richard 

and Robert Sherman’s Hushabye Mountain with an extended cello 

intro. The disc concludes with Stephen Foster’s Slumber My Darling. 

A perfect good night! 

Last issue I talked about symphonic works 

with organ recorded in the Orchestre symphonique 

de Montréal’s new home and mentioned 

that the current resident organist is Jean- 

Willy Kunz. This month I find him in another 

capacity as harpsichordist on André Gagnon 

Baroque (ATMA ACD2 2719). Gagnon, the 

popular Québec pianist and composer, wrote 

a couple of quasi-baroque suites for piano and 

orchestra – Mes quatre saisons and Les Turluteries – back in 1969 and 

1972 respectively that were great successes when released by Columbia 

Records. Some four decades later Gagnon has revisited the clever 

works and given the solo duties to the harpsichord. Kunz shines in 

these playfully convincing pastiches and the Orchestre symphonique 

de la Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent under Daniel Constantineau’s 

direction embraces the project with enthusiasm. Although producing 

a larger sound than period orchestras, they capture the spirit of the 

music and play with surprising lightness. 

The latter-day Four Seasons takes iconic music from Québec by 

Pierre Ferland, Félix Leclerc, Claude Léveillée and Gilles Vigneault – 

you guessed, Winter begins with the classic Mon Pays – all reworked 

à la Vivaldi. Les Turluteries takes inspiration from songs written or 

sung by Mary Travers – better known as La Bolduc – in two suites in 

the style of Bach and Handel. Tongue in cheek, or respectful homage 

– more likely a bit of both – the project comes off in flying colours. It 

really is a hoot! 

Of course for the real thing it’s hard to beat 

Toronto’s own Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. 

They have just released two sampler CDs on 

Tafelmusik Media which combine recent 

recordings from Humbercrest United and the 

Banff Centre with previously released material 

from CBC Records. Best of German Baroque 

(TMK1028CD) is actually comprised only of 

music by JS Bach, but I guess it does indeed 

not get any better than that. We are presented with various instrumental 

movements in new arrangements by Alison Mackay along 

with the full Brandenburg Concerto No.3 

with a new cadenza by Julia Wedman. Jeanne 

Lamon and Aisslinn Nosky are the featured 

soloists in movements from a sonata and a 

concerto for two violins, and Ivars Taurins 

lead the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir in the 

Gloria in Excelsis Deo BWV191. Best of French 

Baroque (TMK 1029CD) takes a different 

approach, presenting suites by Marin Marais 

(from Alcyone), Rameau (Dardanus) and Lully (Phaëton). Once again 

the Chamber Choir is featured in an extended work, Grand Motet 

“Dominus regnavit” by Jean-Joseph de Mondonville. Great music, 

great performances, great sound – great stocking stuffers! 

We welcome your feedback and invite submissions. CDs and 

comments should be sent to: DISCoveries, WholeNote Media Inc., The 

Centre for Social Innovation, 503 – 720 Bathurst St. Toronto ON M5S 

2R4. We also encourage you to visit our website 

thewholenote.com where you can find added features including direct 

links to performers, composers and record labels, “buy buttons” for 

online shopping and additional, expanded and archival reviews. 

David Olds, DISCoveries Editor 

discoveries@thewholenote.com 

䰀攀挀漀洀戀氀攀搀攀氀愀搀椀猀琀椀渀挀琀椀漀渀 

䐀愀瘀椀搀䨀愀氀戀攀爀琀 

Ekanayaka's deeply autobiographical 

piano compositions introduce a novel 

and hybrid musical genre that blends 

Sri Lankan melodies with the 

language of classical-era composers. 

The 24 Etudes by Chopin have been 

with me all my life. This book 

contains poems about and 

performances of a baker's dozen – 

includes CD 

Evju’s 'Piano Concerto' is based on 

incomplete fragments by Grieg of a 

proposed second piano concerto, 

creating a beautiful companion 

concerto full of noble passion. 


Keyed In 

ALEX BARAN 

The 2015 International Chopin Piano 

Competition boasted Canada’s Charles 

Richard-Hamelin as the second-place 

prizewinner, the first time a Canadian had won 

a prize in that prestigious event. His May 2015 

recording was timed perfectly for this victory. 

Charles Richard-Hamelin – Chopin (Analekta 

An 2 9127) presents a very powerful player 

who can push the instrument right to its limits 

without losing or distorting the sound. It’s clear that Richard-Hamelin 

understands the colouristic capabilities of the piano. He is able to 

recede to the softest pianissimos and able to shape notes through the 

mechanics of the keyboard. 

He is also very comfortable using wide variations in tempo without 

interrupting the flow of the musical idea. This is evident in the Largo 

of the Sonata No.3 in B minor, Op.58 where one encounters the 

impressive interpretive depth of this player after being dazzled by his 

performance of the preceding Scherzo. 

The disc also includes the Polonaise-Fantasie in A-Flat Major 

Op.61 and two Nocturnes from Op.62 played with an especially 

haunting beauty. 

The Canadian International Organ Competition is a fairly new horse 

race as these things go. Launched in 2008 it has brought considerable 

visibility and prestige to the performance discipline. The 2014 Grand 

Laureate is celebrated on David Baskeyfield – Concours international 

d’orgue du Canada (ATMA Classique ACD2 2719). 

Familiar composers line the program notes: 

Willan, MacMillan, Howells and Vierne. But 

organists know that they always share the 

spotlight with the actual instrument they play 

as much as the music itself. In this case, it’s 

one of Canada’s largest organs, the Casavant 

Opus 550 at St. Paul’s Bloor Street, Toronto. 

Originally built in 1914 and restored in 1955, 

it has had many enhancements over the years. 

It’s a versatile instrument with an enormous orchestral palette. 

Baskeyfield is an impressive performer and notable for his skillful 

registrations. His choice of tonal colours is masterful. He is Englishtrained 

and completely at home with Howells, Hollins and Willan. He 

also does a terrific job with the works of the French school, Vierne’s 

Naïades, Saint-Saëns’ Prélude et Fugue en si majeur. But the disc’s 

real gem is the Willan Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue. The disc 

is a fabulous recording and an important document for this historic 

instrument now more than a century old. 

Another fortepiano recording has recently 

worked its way to the shelves and will be a 

treasure to many. Christoph Berner plays 

an 1847 Streicher on Ludwig van Beethoven 

Lieder & Bagatellen (harmonia mundi HMC 

902217). The instrument is in remarkable 

condition. It’s clear, wonderfully tuned and 

voiced. Its tone is consistent throughout and 

surprisingly resonant in the upper register. 

Each of the six Bagatelles Op.126 is a joy to hear on this fortepiano. 

Berner’s playing is clean and lightly pedalled. The best feature of this 

performance is that he understands what these little pieces are and so 

doesn’t fall prey to overthinking them. 

As terrific as the Bagatelles are, the other half of the disc is the real 

surprise. Tenor Werner Güra, whose clear, light voice is well-suited 

to this repertoire, sings a number of Beethoven songs and one short 

cycle in a performance that is heart-stopping. He’s a very dramatic 

singer with great control over straight tone and vibrato. He connects 

directly to the poets’ emotions and shapes phrasing and dynamics to 

powerful effect. 

Two tracks in particular are profoundly moving: Zärtliche Liebe 

WoO 123 and the cycle An die ferne Geliebte Op.98. The combination 

of Güra’s interpretation accompanied by this extraordinary instrument 

make this disc a valuable find for those who enjoy authentic 

performance practice. 

Pianist Pier Paolo Vincenzi has undertaken 

an ambitious project with his recording of the 

Complete variations on a Waltz by Diabelli by 

51 composers (Brilliant Classics 2CD 94836) 

on which he also performs the Beethoven 33 

Variations on a waltz by Diabelli Op.120. The 

compilation of the works by the 51 composers 

who responded to Diabelli’s 1819 variation 

challenge is rich for its variety. Among the 

contributors are familiar composers like Hummel, Czerny, Liszt and 

Schubert. The others are of lesser historical standing and include a 

few dabbling aristocrats. Vincenzi, however, treats each variation as 

though it were, in fact, a masterpiece. 

Whether he’s ripping through Liszt’s arpeggiated hurricane or 

pecking through Baron von Lannoy’s 45-second effort, Vincenzi 

creates a fascinating snapshot of 51 early 19th-century psychomusical 

profiles. But when he performs the Beethoven variations, he 

changes his interpretive posture significantly. No longer dealing with 

51 different iterations, he now probes the depths of a single creative 

mind. What Beethoven can say uniquely in 33 differently ways is 

obvious on the page but only the performer can really convey that. He 

never loses sight of Diabelli’s thematic kernel. Whether dealing with 

Beethoven’s fugal architecture or delighting in his Mozart impersonation, 

he keeps the central idea from being lost in the Byzantine workings 

of Beethoven’s mind. 

The producer of this recording has chosen to record the piano dry 

with absolutely no acoustic space around the instrument at all. The 

ear does adjust to this and the Steinway D, despite its size, quickly 

becomes a very intimate instrument. 

The recording Grieg; Evju – Piano Concertos 

(Grand Piano GP689) offers a performance 

of Grieg’s familiar work but based on subsequent 

changes to the manuscript made by the 

composer and his friend Percy Grainger. The 

casual listener may not detect the revisions 

but they are occasionally evident in the piano 

part where familiar chordal structures appear 

to have been changed. 

The recording is remarkably clear. The Prague Radio Symphony 

under Canadian Kerry Stratton is not especially large but always 

sounds full and balanced. Pianist Carl Petersson performs beautifully 

and seems especially committed to this revised edition. 

The other work on the disc is a concerto based on a thematic fragment 

by Grieg. It’s a bit of an oddity but warrants several hearings 

before moving into the concerto that Helge Evju has crafted from it. 

Although in five movements, the work’s performance time is only 20 

minutes. It contains many strong allusions to the A-Minor concerto. 

That work is said to have been one of Rachmaninov’s favourites and 

curiously, one also hears a few passages that are obviously reminiscent 

of his piano concertos. 

Overall it’s a wonderful and unusual recording. The orchestra and 

pianist are excellent. 

It’s unusual to find the complete piano works of Manuel de Falla 

recorded on a single disc. The feature of this disc is the ability to follow 

the evolution of the composer’s work chronologically from 1896 to 

1935. A few of these works had remained unknown or unpublished 

until much later in the twentieth century. 

Pianist Juan Carlos Rodriguez captures de Falla’s Spanish view of 

the world around him on Manuel de Falla – Complete Piano Music 


(Paladino Music pmr 0062). He reveals the strong core of western 

classical discipline on which uniquely Spanish sensibilities rest. We 

hear this rhythmically and in small characteristic 

turns of phrase. Rodriguez also plays de 

Falla’s homages to Paul Dukas and Claude 

Debussy with the subtle hint of French 

impressionism the composer intended. 

Rodriguez approaches the Cuatro Piezas 

Españolas as the most culturally inward 

looking to reveal what may be the most 

Spanish of de Falla’s piano works. 

Franz Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz has another 

reincarnation on Waltzing Mephisto...by the 

Danube (Estonian Record Productions ERP 

8115) with pianist Hando Nahkur. The title 

track is brilliantly played with remarkable 

clarity through all the maniacal passages. The 

approach is disciplined and calculated but 

not lacking in any of the incendiary energy 

needed for this piece. 

The disc also includes Schumann’s Kinderszenen, Op.15 from 

which the dangerously familiar Träumerei is played with gratifying 

freshness. Nahkur also manages the same feat with the Schumann/ 

Liszt Widmung S.566 where he keeps the apogees of the main 

idea suspended with satisfying length before the descent to their 

phrase endings. 

Arabesques on An der schönen blauen Donau is a 1900 paraphrase 

by Adolf Schulz-Evler of the well-known Strauss waltz. It’s rarely 

heard and is very Lisztian even to the point of sounding a bit like La 

Campanella for a few measures. It demands a lot from the pianist but 

Nahkur plays it with impressive ease. 

Occasionally composers will write music 

so perfectly that all the colour, dynamics and 

nuances seem to be built in. While this doesn’t 

make it easier to perform it does create the 

pitfall of over interpretation. Wise performers 

recognize this and learn to surf the wave. 

Carlo Grante does this beautifully in Ravel: 

Mirroirs; Pavane pour une infante défunte; 

Gaspard de la nuit (Music & Arts CD-1289). 

In the Miroirs set, La vallée des cloches is especially lovely for 

Grante’s superb touch and tonal manipulation. The Bösendorfer 

Imperial responds with bell-like sonority. 

Curious, however, is Grante’s opening of the Pavane pour une 

infant défunte. He observes the staccato in the lower treble very 

sharply as marked in the piano score. This is unusual and quite 

arresting because some publishers show sustained pedal through 

these opening bars to more closely approximate Ravel’s actual orchestration 

where these short eighths are played pizzicato in the strings 

while horns and bassoon hold longer supporting phrases. What’s 

really interesting is that Ravel’s own 1922 piano roll recording of this 

does neither. Ravel plays it slightly sustained (pedalled) and not nearly 

as short as Grante. Once past the opening idea, however, Grante moves 

into the sustained legato that makes this piece flow so beautifully to 

its ending. 

The three piano poems that comprise Gaspard de la nuit are superb. 

Ondine moves liquidly as it should, Le Gibet rings under the same 

bell-like touch of the early La vallée des cloches and Scarbo is suitably 

menacing. 

Reconstructions from fragments appeal 

to our curiosity by suggesting to us what 

might have been. It’s what drives people like 

Melani Mestre to record the recent addition 

to Hyperion’s Romantic Piano Concerto 

series Albéniz; Granados – Piano Concertos 

(CDA67918). A pianist, composer, conductor 

and academic, he has constructed a concerto 

from two fragments of a Piano Concerto in C 

Minor ‘Patético’ by Granados. Speculatively dated around 1910, there 

is no evidence to indicate whether this was intended as a single-movement 

work or something of larger scale but Mestre believes the latter. 

For the middle and final movements he has used two other 

Granados solo piano works and adapted them for piano and orchestra. 

These are much more colourfully orchestrated than the first movement 

with plenty of percussion effects to highlight their Spanish 

and dance-like feel. Mestre is a skilled orchestrator and has plenty of 

fun playing his own adaptations. Some will argue about the validity 

of such efforts, but those who undertake them skillfully produce 

intriguing works that fuel many entertaining debates. 

The Albeniz Concierto fantástico, Op.78 is a mid-career work and 

is decidedly un-Spanish in its feel. Still, it’s truly beautiful and not 

often performed or recorded. Admirers generally cite its middle movement 

as the gem and rightly so. The Reverie et Scherzo opens with a 

lovely piano line against a backdrop of broad orchestral harmonies. 

The final movement’s closing pages have some enchanting waltz-like 

episodes where Mestre’s hesitations are seductively placed to enhance 

the dance-like feel. 

Pianist Angelina Gadeliya cites a profound, 

spiritual affinity for the music of Alfred 

Schnittke. Born in Soviet Georgia and trained 

in Ukraine, she now lives in the U.S. Her 

enduring commitment to Schnittke’s music 

was deepened by an encounter with the 

composer’s wife and biographer a year after 

his death in 1998. Schnittke and his Ghosts 

(Labor Records Lab 7093) is an expression 

of that experience. Gadeliya plays two of his works and adds others 

to reflect the impact on Schnittke of influences including his time in 

Give Us a Day - and We’ll Give You a 

Lifetime of Great Music. 

Iranian composer Afshin Jaberi’s 

powerful music combines 

19th-century western piano 

traditions with eastern melodic 

influences, connecting with his 

message of equality and peaceful 

unity. 

䴀愀搀攀氀攀椀渀攀匀栀愀瀀椀爀漀 

匀漀甀渀搀猀一愀琀甀爀攀㨀眀漀爀欀猀昀漀爀挀攀氀氀漀愀渀搀 

攀氀攀挀琀爀漀渀椀挀猀 

The twin series of symphonies and 

string quartets stand at the centre of 

Meyer’s achievement as one of the 

most renowned composers of our 

time. 


Vienna where he received much of his formative musical education – 

hence, his “Ghosts.” 

She gives a very personal performance of the Sonata No.2, a darker 

work of Schnittke’s later years. The middle movement is unusually 

tonal with numerous harmonically rich clusters and the final movement 

contains an ad libitum that calls for tumultuous improvisation. 

Variations on a Chord uses contemporary devices for sustained 

notes, sharp attacks and sympathetically vibrating strings. Gadeliya 

is perfectly adept at all these techniques and captures the harsh yet 

playful duality of Schnittke’s six variations. 

The Mozart Adagio in B Minor K540 may seem an odd inclusion 

until one recalls the numerous cadenzas Schnittke wrote for Mozart 

piano concertos and his orchestral tribute Moz-Art à la Haydn. 

The Shostakovich Variations on a theme by Glinka and Scriabin’s 

Sonata No.4 connect us to Schnittke’s Russian roots. But in an odd 

way the far earlier work by Scriabin (1903) takes us much closer 

to the mysticism we experience in Schnittke’s music. Gadeliya has 

programmed a fascinating, stimulating recording and performed it 

masterfully. 

Reinventions – Rhapsodies for Piano 

(Grand Piano/Overtone GP693) is an unusual 

CD and difficult to describe. Composed and 

performed by Tanya Ekanayaka, these works 

are in part improvisational and in part more 

formally crafted. The main inspiration for 

them comes from pieces preceding them in 

live performance. Key relationships, tonal 

centres and thematic fragments all serve as 

points of creative departure for this Sri Lankan pianist and composer. 

Her keyboard technique is formidable. Massive arpeggios seem 

completely effortless as she weaves together traditional Sri Lankan 

melodies with inspirations taken from composers like Bach, Debussy 

and Chopin. She is capable of both the smallest nuance as well as the 

grandest gesture the keyboard can afford. Her works carry evocative 

titles such as In Lotus, Labyrinth and Dhaivaya. Her descriptions 

and rationales for the content of the Rhapsodies is highly detailed 

and musically rich. Even the most fanciful works, e.g., Of Scottish 

Walks, Vannam & Sri Lanka’s Bugs Bunny require more than one 

listening. One begins to wonder if she is perhaps the Keith Jarrett of 

the subcontinent. 

With 25,000 Syrian refugees coming to Canada, the Middle East is 

never very far from the daily headlines and our attention. The cultures 

of that region have, in their encounter with ours, produced many 

fascinating cross fertilizations of artistic expression. Each offers a 

portal for better understanding of a region that often seems so distant 

in many ways. 

Iranian pianist and composer Afshin Jaberi 

has recorded THE BÁB – Piano Sonatas and 

Ballades (Grand Piano/Overtone GP694). 

Born in Bahrain and raised in Qatar, Jaberi 

received his musical education at the Franz 

Liszt Academy in Hungary and his doctorate 

from the Almaty Conservatory in Kazakhstan. 

His language is solidly Western and his discipline 

solidly Russian. One immediately hears 

the influences of the major 19th-century European composers on his 

keyboard language. There is however, a distinctively Eastern modality 

and shape to his musical ideas. Titles like The Seeker, The Bedouin and 

Eroica offer some idea of Jaberi’s personal quest in his music. Much 

of it is programmatically linked to historical episodes of the Baha’i 

faith but all of it is delivered through the keyboard vocabulary of Liszt, 

Chopin and Schumann. Jaberi is a gifted player and composer. His 

work offers a rare glimpse in an unusual direction. 

TERRY ROBBINS 

When you listen to the simply astonishing opening track of Shiksa, 

the new CD from violinist Lara St. John and 

pianist/composer Matt Herskowitz on 

St. John’s own Ancalagon label (ANC 143 

larastjohn.com/ancalagon) you could be 

forgiven for thinking that the rest of the CD 

couldn’t possibly match up – but you 

would be wrong! 

The Czardashian Rhapsody is Martin 

Kennedy’s fiendishly difficult take on the traditional Czardas, 

with hints of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 thrown in for good 

measure. It’s stunning, but there’s much more to come in this 

program of predominantly Middle Eastern and Eastern European 

music. All 14 tracks are based on traditional material and feature 

creative arrangements by Milica Paranosic, John Kameel Farah, Yuri 

Boguinia, Serouj Kradjian, David Ludwig, Gene Pritsker, John Psathas, 

Michael P. Atkinson and the two performers themselves. Herskowitz’s 

Nagilara, his own take on Hava Nagila, is another showstopper, as is 

St. John’s Oltenian Hora, a dazzling display of what she calls “a bunch 

of improvised Romanian violin tricks, twists and turns.” 

These are all much more than just mere showpieces though, and 

in many instances they clearly have personal resonance for both 

the composers and performers. What is truly remarkable is the way 

in which St. John effortlessly and completely captures the sound, 

style, mood and flavour of these evocative works; Shiksa may be a 

Yiddish term for a non-Jewish woman, but there’s no hint here of 

St. John’s being an outsider or anything other than totally and genuinely 

immersed in this music – you get the feeling that she’s playing 

these pieces from the inside out. The recorded sound, especially for 

the piano, is superb – hardly surprising, given that the recording was 

made in the beautiful acoustics of Le Domaine Forget de Charlevoix in 

Saint-Irénée, Québec. 

I’ve noted before that it’s almost impossible 

to do comparative reviews of Bach’s 

unaccompanied violin and cello works; all 

you can do is look at the performer’s approach 

and the creative process and report on the 

result. Luckily, cellist Matt Haimovitz has 

virtually done this for us in his new 2-CD 

set of J. S. Bach: The Cello Suites According 

to Anna Magdalena (PentaTone Oxingale Series PTC 5186 555). In 

the extensive booklet essay Haimovitz details his journey so far with 

these wonderful and challenging works, starting with his hearing 

the legendary 1930s Casals recordings when he was nine, having a 

teacher at the time who had been a pupil of Casals and who required 

Haimovitz to play two movements of Bach each day as part of his 

regular practice routine, and having the privilege in his mid-teens of 

playing the Goffriller cello used by Casals. 

The year 2000 saw Haimovitz perform all six suites in Germany, 

relying primarily on the Bärenreiter edition and the manuscript 

copy by Anna Magdalena Bach, the composer’s wife – Bach’s original 

manuscript has never been found. On his return, he launched the new 

Oxingale Records label with a 3-CD set of the suites, only to find that 

within a few years he could no longer agree with his interpretations. 

Since then he has turned increasingly to the Anna Magdalena 

manuscript, which he feels is closest in spirit to the original and 

provides many keys to the playing style and interpretation. He 

discusses these in detail in the essay. 

The performances here, needless to say, are an absolute delight. The 

cello used is a Matteo Goffriller made in Venice in 1710, with a cello 

piccolo by the 18th-century maker Georg Nicol. Köllmer used for 

the Suite V; the bow is a baroque replica made by David Hawthorne. 

Tuning is A=415 and not the current A=440, so the suites are all down 


a semi-tone from present-day pitch. 

Haimovitz says that “with humility, and no small dose of courage, I 

continue on my journey with Bach and The Cello Suites, studying the 

gospel according to Anna Magdalena.” I just hope he continues to take 

us along with him. 

Following her solo recital disc and CDs of 

the Dvořák, Elgar and Carter cello concertos 

the latest CD from American Alisa Weilerstein 

– Rachmaninov & Chopin: Cello Sonatas 

(Decca 478 8416) with the New York-based 

Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan shows just 

how much she has to offer in the chamber 

music field. From the opening bars of the 

Rachmaninov Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op.19 

it’s clear that this is going to be gloriously expansive playing from both 

performers. Barnatan is simply superb at the keyboard, with a beautifully 

judged use of legato in the long, flowing Rachmaninov phrases, 

and Weilerstein displays the qualities so often mentioned in reviews 

of her playing: technique, passion and intensity. It’s a captivating and 

engrossing performance. 

The high standard continues through the Vocalise, Op.34 No.14 to 

the Chopin Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op.65, written mostly during the 

composer’s last summer on his lover George Sand’s estate in Nohant. 

The first movement in particular clearly gave Chopin a great deal of 

trouble and was dropped for the premiere performance. It’s a strong, 

turbulent work very similar in mood to the Rachmaninov, and the two 

make an ideal pairing here. 

The sonata was dedicated to the French cellist Auguste 

Franchomme, who gave the first (albeit truncated) performance 

in 1848 in Chopin’s final public concert. It was Franchomme who 

arranged the Étude in C-Sharp Minor, Op.25 No.7 for cello and piano, 

one of two shorter Chopin works on the CD. The Introduction & 

Polonaise Brillante in C Major, Op.3 dates mostly from Chopin’s youth 

– the Introduction was added later for Franchomme – and provides a 

lovely end to a truly beautiful CD. 

` 

The Sibelius & Nielsen Violin Concertos 

make an excellent and natural pairing on the 

new 2-CD set from Latvian violinist Baiba 

Skride, with Finland’s Tampere Philharmonic 

Orchestra under Santtu-Matias Rouvali (Orfeo 

C 896 152 A). Both composers were born in 

1865; both were violinists; both became the 

leader of their respective country’s Nationalist 

musical movement; and the concertos were written within a few years 

of each other in the first decade of the 20th century. 

Skride is terrific in the Sibelius, with her rather fast and somewhat 

narrow vibrato providing a steely edge to the lush tone and phrasing 

and giving the work a real Nordic feel. The Two Serenades for Violin 

and Orchestra Op.69 complete the first disc; written in 1912-13, they 

are not heard all that often and are a welcome addition here. 

The Nielsen concerto is a lovely work that should really be more 

widely known; indeed, Nielsen’s music in general has never quite 

gained the recognition outside of his native Denmark that it deserves. 

In this case it may be the length and shape of the work that’s to 

blame: it’s almost 40 minutes long, and although ostensibly in four 

movements is actually in two sections, with the brief first and third 

“movements” – the latter the only slow movement – acting more 

as introductions for each half. Also, the simply glorious theme that 

appears after the brief flourish at the beginning of the work never 

reappears, and nothing else quite matches it. The performance here is 

outstanding, though. 

Although leaving the group within eight years of its inception in 

1992 the Brentano String Quartet’s founding cellist, Michael Kannen, 

continued his association with the ensemble, joining them on second 

cello in numerous performances of Schubert’s String Quintet in C 

Major D956 over the years, always harbouring the hope that he would 

be able to record it with them one day. In 

September 2014 his wish came true in a quite 

exquisite way when the Brentano Quartet 

decided to make a live recording of the work 

at Amherst College in Massachusetts. An 

interactive weekend was built around three 

performances over three days, and the result 

was the new CD Schubert Quintet Live! (Azica 

ACD-71304). 

The booklet notes include fascinating reflections on the recording 

challenges by Alan Bise, the producer and mix engineer for the 

project, as well as reflections on the performances by Kannen and 

violinist Mark Steinberg. Bise says that any minor blemishes had 

to be left in where fixing them would spoil the musical feel of a 

section, but he notes that “the energy and spirit represented here are 

almost impossible to capture in a closed recording session without 

an audience.” Other than the applause at the end there is very little 

to signify the physical presence of an audience, but the energy and 

spirit that Bise noted, and that they helped to create, clearly make a 

major contribution to the emotional effect of the music. It is indeed a 

wonderful performance of one of the greatest works in the chamber 

music repertoire. 

The outstanding Hyperion series The 

Romantic Cello Concerto reaches Volume 7 

with works by the German composer and 

cellist Wilhelm Fitzhagen (1848-1890), 

featuring cellist Alban Gerhardt and the 

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin 

under Stefan Blunier (CDA68063). Fitzhagen 

was apparently mostly self-taught as a 

composer, but his two concertos for his instrument are solid, competent 

and attractive works very much in the German style of the period. 

The Concerto No.1 in B Minor, Op.2 and the Concerto No.2 in A Minor, 

Op.4 “Fantastique” are both early works, from 1870 and 1871 respectively, 

round about the time that Fitzhagen became professor of cello 

at the Imperial Conservatoire in Moscow. The First Concerto is a short 

work in three movements played without a break; a dazzling and 

challenging cadenza at the end of the first movement leads into a 

very brief (just over three minutes) but lyrical and simply beautiful 

Andante. The Second Concerto is also quite short, but again displays 

Fitzhagen’s fluently melodic style. 

The central track on the CD is Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo 

Theme Op.33 from 1877. On moving to Moscow Fitzhagen had quickly 

established himself as a cellist and soon came to know Tchaikovsky, 

who dedicated the Variations to Fitzhagen and sent him the manuscript 

for his comments. The cellist went a good deal further, making 

cuts and tempo changes, adding his own passages and changing the 

order of three of the variations. Somewhat reluctantly, Tchaikovsky 

let the radically altered version stand, and it is the work for which 

Fitzhagen is most remembered. 

Fitzhagen’s Ballade – Concertstück Op.10, a single-movement work 

which is longer than the First Concerto, and Resignation – Ein geistliches 

Lied ohne Worte Op.8, a very brief but simply lovely piece, round 

out the CD. 

Alban Gerhardt has been the soloist on five of the seven releases 

in this terrific series that never fails to delight and impress, and he is 

once again in his element with this music. 

Shades & Contrasts is a quite stunning 

debut CD from the Norwegian guitarist 

Christina Sandsengen (Odradek ODRCD326 

odradek-records.com). Standard works by 

Albéniz, Tárrega, Aguado and Agustin Barrios 

Mangoré are mixed with contemporary 

works by Sven Lundestad, Carlo Domeniconi 

and Egberto Gismonti in a varied and highly 

impressive recital. These are outstanding 

performances, delivered with a flawless technique and sumptuous 


tone. Expect to hear a lot more of this artist. 

The English composer Nigel Clarke (b.1960) 

is featured on Music for Thirteen Solo Strings, 

a new CD from Toccata Classics with the 

13-member string ensemble Longbow under 

the direction of violinist Peter Sheppard 

Skærved (TOCC 0325). Clarke and Skærved 

have enjoyed a close collaboration for almost 

30 years. Their shared interest in music for 

divided strings (as opposed to string ensembles 

working in sections) led to Parnassus for Thirteen Solo Strings in 

1986. It’s music that sounds a bit chaotic at first, but soon bears out 

Skærved’s observation that the frictional interchange between adjacent 

players playing contrary but related material can produce a sort 

of ensemble “fire-making” that generates a good deal of instrumental 

energy; there’s energy here in abundance. 

The other four works on the CD are all from the past three years, 

two of them the result of an artistic collaboration with Dover Arts 

Development in Clarke’s home county of Kent and two of them tributes 

to Edith Cavell, the English nurse shot by the Germans in the 

First World War. Dogger, Fisher, German Bight, Humber, Thames, 

Dover, Wight, for Speaker, Thirteen Solo Strings and Sound Design 

is described as a diptych, Clarke’s music being preceded by a lengthy 

poem sketching Dover’s history written and delivered by Skærved’s 

wife, the Danish writer Malene Skærved. The title will have immediate 

meaning for anyone who has ever listened to the Shipping Forecast on 

BBC Radio; the seven names are of the sea areas from off the eastern 

coast of England, around the southeast corner and along the south 

coast past Dover. The music has clear – and self-confessed – references 

to sea music, including Britten’s Four Interludes from Peter Grimes 

and Debussy’s La Mer. The Navy Hymn (Eternal father, strong to save) 

emerges from the chaos of a storm to guide the piece to a serene and 

mostly tonal ending. Pulp and Rags, also linked to a Malene Skærved 

poem (not quoted), was inspired by the machinery in Buckland Paper 

Mill, an old mill near Dover that closed in 2000 after 230 years. 

The Scarlet Flower for Flugel Horn and 

Thirteen Solo Strings features soloist Sébastien 

Rousseau in a work written as a memorial to 

Edith Cavell, the opening horn solo later being 

reworked for solo muted violin as Epitaph for 

Edith Cavell, with which Skærved closes an 

intriguing disc. 

The New Goldberg Variations, a CD from 

the Australian duo of composer/pianist Joe Chindamo and violinist 

Zoe Black (Alfire Records ALFI15002) is described as “J. S. Bach’s 

original and complete Goldberg Variations with a newly composed 

counterpart for violin.” The violin part was written by Chindamo at 

Black’s request, and Chindamo says that the only self-imposed rule 

was that he would not alter a single note Bach wrote, and that he 

would adhere to Bach’s language and aesthetic. 

The first Variation offers a continuous violin line as opposed to an 

occasional commentary, and from then on there’s a tendency for the 

violin to become the primary listening focus, although it does assume 

a background role quite often. One thing is clear – any misgivings you 

may have about the project are certainly not the result of any lack of 

quality in the writing or playing of the violin part; both are done with 

consummate skill. It’s all beautifully played, with a clean, bright and 

warm violin sound, and plenty of thoughtful keyboard work which, 

ironically, made me want to hear what Chindamo would do with the 

original Goldberg Variations on his own. 

Purists may well object – imagine listening to Glenn Gould’s recordings 

and then saying “Yeah – I think I’ll write a violin part…” – but it 

is well-written, sympathetic and imaginative. However – and here’s 

the rub – it really is a different, collaborative work now, not merely an 

added commentary on the original; indeed, the CD cover shows Bach 

– Chindamo as the joint composing credits. It certainly makes for 

highly enjoyable listening, but whether or not it will ever be accepted 

as a bona fide concert work is open to question – and an interesting 

one at that. 

VOCAL 

Mozart – Davide Penitente 

Académie équestre de Versailles; 

Bartabas; Mozartwoche Salzburg; Les 

Musiciens du Louvre; Marc Minkowski 

Cmajor 7331608 

!! 

Mozart’s Davide 

Penitente dates 

from 1785. It is a 

reworking of the Mass 

in C Minor, K427, 

but with two newly 

composed arias for 

the soprano and the 

tenor who had sung 

in the premiere of 

The Abduction from 

the Seraglio. The 

practice of staging 

works which were never meant to be staged 

is now quite common but there is a difference 

here: the soloists, the instrumentalists 

and the choir (all very good) perform the 

work as an oratorio, while the acting is done 

by horses and their riders, who move rhythmically 

to Mozart’s music as choreographed 

by Bartabas. There are 12 horses, fine-looking 

animals. They all have names and receive 

equal billing with the musicians. A nice touch 

that. The soloists are soprano Christiane Karg, 

mezzo Marianne Crebassa and tenor Stanislas 

de Barbeyrac. There is an error in the booklet 

which states that both the arias Lungi le cure 

ingrate and Tra l’oscure ombre funeste are 

performed by the mezzo. She sings the first 

aria but it is the soprano who performs the 

second.This version of Davide Penitente was 

first performed in the Felsenreitschule in 

Salzburg in January of this year. It was a great 

success. I imagine that if I had been present in 

Salzburg last January, I might well have been 

swept up in the excitement. Just seeing the 

DVD was a bizarre experience however, and if 

I want to hear the work again I am likely to go 

back to the CD in which it is performed by La 

Petite Bande, conducted by Sigiswald Kuijken 

(on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi). 

Hans de Groot 

Concert Note: The Toronto Symphony 

Orchestra presents Mozart’s Requiem 

(completed by Robert D. Levin) in a semistaged 

version featuring Lydia Teuscher, 

soprano; Allyson McHardy, mezzo; Frédéric 


with the Amadeus Choir and Elmer Iseler 

Singers at Roy Thomson Hall on January 21, 

22 and 23. 

Brahms – Ein Deutsches Requiem 

Kühmeier; Finley; Netherlands Radio Choir; 

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Mariss 

Jansons 

RCO Live RCO 15003 

!! 

Although 

Requiem, a funeral 

mass, is most 

commonly associated 

with Mozart (who 

died before finishing 

his own setting) most 

versions of Requiem 

were rarely written 

in the shadow of a musician’s impending 

death. True, Verdi composed his relatively 

late in life at 60, but he lived for another 27 

years. In fact, most composers were very 

young when they took on this heavy subject. 

Berlioz, Bruckner, Cherubini, Delius, Duruflé, 

Dvořák, Fauré, Michael Haydn and Reger 

all composed either Roman Catholic or 

Protestant Requiems. 

Ein Deutsches Requiem stands out because 

of its superb choral writing, incomparable 

soprano aria Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit and the 

moving baritone solo parts in the third and 

sixth movements. Brahms, only 23 when he 

started crafting the work, resumed composition 

after his mother’s death. Encouraged by 


Clara Schumann, Brahms presented a threemovement 

work, but this was welcomed with 

scorn. Only in 1867 did a six-movement work 

receive a triumphant reception. The work’s 

profile only increased when a year later he 

added the aforementioned solo for soprano as 

part number five. 

It is a meditative piece, serious in its sorrow, 

yet lacking the transcendence of Fauré’s 

Requiem. The soloists become the pallbearers 

of this solemn mass, guiding the choral 

procession from the blessing of the suffering 

survivors to benediction of the dead. Despite 

being culled from the Old Testament and the 

Gospels, the text has been criticized for not 

being overtly religious. This speaks to Brahms’ 

humanistic, rather than religious, viewpoint. 

Both Ginia Kühmeier and Gerald Findley 

stun with their vocal performances, the latter 

entering a period of his life when his baritone 

voice moves into being defined as a bass. 

Robert Tomas 

Nielsen – Maskarade 

Milling; Reuter; Riis; Beck; Dahl; Andersen; 

Danish NSO & Choir; Michael Schonwandt 

dacapo SACD 6.220641-42 

!! 

This remarkable 

recording of 

Denmark’s beloved 

“national opera” is 

a superlative tribute 

marking the 150th 

anniversary of the 

birth of composer 

Carl Nielsen (1865- 

1931). Nielsen’s second opera, Maskarade, 

received its Copenhagen premiere in 1906, at 

a time when the composer was employed as a 

second violinist in the Royal Danish Theatre. 

Quite unlike the dramatic symphonies 

of his maturity, this is music of lightness 

and charm, immediately accessible and 

immensely enjoyable. The opera’s contrived 

comedy of mistaken identities serves as mere 

scaffolding for a libretto that revels in a peculiarly 

Danish sense of the absurd. Niels Jørgen 

Riis plays Leander, forced into a marriage 

with Leonora (Dénise Beck) by his buffoonish 

father Jeronimus (Stephen Milling). He eventually 

comes to realize during the celebrations 

at the masked ball that the disguised woman 

he truly desires is Leonora herself. Johann 

Reuter plays Leander’s servant Henrik, who 

also has his eye on Leonora’s servant, Pernille 

(Ditte Højgaard Andersen). 

The conductor Michael Schønwandt is a 

magisterial proponent of the score, a work 

he committed to memory at the age of 

ten. The studio-quality SACD recording is 

greatly enhanced by the superb acoustics 

of the new Danish Royal Koncerthuset. The 

orchestra, chorus and the cast drawn from 

the Royal Danish Opera are uniformly excellent 

throughout. A full libretto is provided; 

the English translation is identical to that of 

the newly edited score provided by the Carl 

Nielsen Project of the Music Department of 

the Royal Danish Library, freely available as a 

PDF download at bit.ly/1X2vvUO courtesy of 

the Danish Centre for Music Publication. 

Daniel Foley 

Widor; Vierne – Messes pour choeurs et 

orgues 

Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal; Les 

Chantres Musiciens; Gilbert Patenaude; 

Vincent Boucher; Jonathan Oldengarm 

ATMA ACD2 2718 

!! 

Charles-Marie 

Widor (1844-1937) 

and Louis Vierne 

(1870-1937) were, 

respectively, organists 

at Saint-Sulpice 

Church and Notre 

Dame Cathedral. The 

recent Paris terrorist 

killings occurred not far from the churches 

where these works originated. During 

those dreadful days I felt particularly uplifted 

by this disc, for both the emotional resonances 

of the two great masses (along with 

six motets) and the youth and promise of the 

singers. There is freshness and confidence in 

the singìng of both boys’ and young mens’ 

choirs of Mont-Royal led by Patenaude, that 

is complemented wonderfully by Boucher’s 

great organ and Oldengarm’s small organ 

near the choir. On disc we cannot fully sense 

the spatial separation of the great organ from 

the rest in Montréal’s St. Joseph’s Oratory, 

yet the dynamic and timbral contrasts in the 

magnificently resonant acoustical space are 

effective indeed! 

Vierne’s Solemn Mass in C-Sharp Minor 

(the track list wrongly states F-Sharp Minor) 

opens with a Kyrie that felt a little stiff, 

but ended impressively. In the Sanctus, the 

affecting opening call in each of the choir’s 

four sections followed by the whole choir, 

the impassioned and even raw singing of the 

“Pleni sunt,” and captivating organ registration 

throughout were highlights. In Widor’s 

Mass for Two Choirs the excellent trebles of 

the Petits Chanteurs are heard to advantage in 

the Kyrie. In the Gloria there are interesting 

crossrhythms and other challenges, but the 

ensemble on the recording remains amazingly 

tight throughout. 

Roger Knox 

CLASSICAL AND BEYOND 

Mendelssohn – String Quartets Op.44 

Nos.1&2 

Cecilia String Quartet 

Analekta AN 2 9844 

!! 

Having played these two quartets many 

times over the years and listening to them, 

one way or another, countless more times, 

I am still amazed at the enchanting influence 

Mendelssohn’s quartets hold over string 

players and their audiences. His penchant for 

combining beautiful 

melodies with the 

intricate underlying 

textures seems especially 

suited to the 

Cecilia Quartet, who 

bring out a weaving 

of the voices in 

the most enticing 

manner. Sonorous, youthfully energetic, 

refined and exuberant at the same time – all 

are characteristics of this recording, but what 

I was most impressed with was the element 

of subtle understatement that Cecilia Quartet 

mastered throughout. This ensemble did 

not put the emphasis on the most obvious 

elements of Mendelssohn’s music (though 

they are, of course, undeniable) but rather 

integrated it with the delicate texturing of 

phrasing and enunciation. 

The three quartets opus 44 were written 

within a year (1837-1838), at the most prosperous 

time of Mendelssohn’s life. The newly 

married composer began working on them 

on his honeymoon and the opening of the 

Quartet in D Major, Op.44 No.1 carries 

through the buoyancy and generosity of 

happiness discovered. Two middle movements 

are more classical in nature, while the 

finale brings out the spirited dance elements. 

Mendelssohn was the master of combining 

a sense of urgency with melancholy and such 

is the opening of the Quartet in E Minor, 

Op.44 No.2 in contrast to the sentimentality 

of the third movement. Cecilia Quartet is 

particularly adept at highlighting the nimbleness 

of the Scherzo with their impressive bow 

technique but they certainly don’t lack power 

in the final movement. 

Recommended to all the admirers of notes 

ingenious and pleasing. 

Ivana Popovic 

Concert Note: The Cecilia String Quartet is 

off on a European junkett in January with 

concerts in Switzerland, Norway and the 

United Kingdom, but returns to Toronto 

to perform the winning work of the String 

Quartet Composition Competition at the 

University of Toronto New Music Festival at 

Walter Hall on February 4. 

Liszt Inspections 

Marino Formenti 

Kairos 0013292KAI 

!! 

The magician of 

the keyboard, Franz 

Liszt started early 

and lived a long life 

playing, composing 

and experimenting. 

His son-in-law 

Wagner already blew 

apart traditional harmonies with Tristan, 

but Liszt introduced atonality for the first 

time (see Faust Symphony, first movement). 

Atonality of course later became the cornerstone 

of the Second Viennese School of 

Schoenberg, Webern and Berg and also the 


starting point of Italian pianist and conductor 

Mario Formenti’s remarkable journey: Liszt 

Inspections. 

Formenti selects over a dozen of Liszt’s 

less familiar pieces, played so sensitively that 

those alone would make this an attractive 

set to have, but that’s not his purpose at all. 

Instead he looks into various aspects (he 

calls it Vocabulary) of music common to both 

Liszt and a number of avant-garde composers 

and builds a well-argued thesis unearthing 

and proving these relationships. Each of the 

Liszt compositions illustrates one point of 

the Vocabulary (e.g. constructivism, sound, 

minimalism, death, remembering-forgetting, 

elimination of the metre, silence and more) 

and by this process he achieves two things: 1) 

proving Liszt’s genius and his vision into the 

future and 2) bringing a number of contemporary 

pieces into focus, highlighting them 

so the average listener who’d otherwise willfully 

reject new music is enticed to listen. I 

am willing to bet that the next time any of 

these composers’ music is played he will do 

so with interest. There are at least a dozen 

composers, like Adams, Berio, Kurtág, Ligeti, 

Rihm, Stockhausen etc., each with his own 

unique style that up to now I had considered 

so much noise and hogwash. In the shining 

light of Liszt these begin to shine as well. Nice 

achievement for Signor Formenti. 

Janos Gardonyi 

Brahms – Violin Sonatas; Schumann – 

Romances; FAE Sonata 

Isabelle Faust; Alexander Melnikov 

harmonia mundi HMC902219 

!! 

Isabelle Faust has 

become famous for 

her performances 

on a gut-strung 1799 

Strad that in almost 

every case have 

become models of 

period performance 

practice successfully 

extended into works of the mid-19th century. 

To today’s ears, her return to the more 

intimate, late romantic values could sound 

reticent with her unusually delicate, lean 

tone, very simple and deeply penetrating. 

Her recent Schumann piano trio recordings 

are shining examples of her persuasive 

approach, with its chaste, almost textured 

tone. She had already recorded Brahms First 

Violin Sonata (HMC901981) and this new 

disc once again features the like-minded 

approach of Alexander Melnikov playing his 

own 1875 Bösendorfer which can hardly be 

mistaken for the more recent instrument to 

which we have become attuned. The employment 

of this earlier practice versus the more 

viscerally robust esthetic of today’s Brahms is 

illuminating. Here Brahms is speaking rather 

than being spoken about. Melnikov has a rare 

affinity to perform Brahms and he and Faust 

are of one mind. The Schumann pieces are 

wonderfully poetic, leaving no doubt that 

they have the exact measure of this gentle, 

tragic composer. 

The unusual F.A.E. Sonata is a four-movement 

work written in 1853 by Albert Dietrich, 

Schumann and Brahms for violinist Joseph 

Joachim to identify the composer of each 

movement. He had no trouble doing so. 

The flawless sound places the listener 

about five rows back, at which point the two 

instruments are correctly balanced. This very 

successful album is most enthusiastically 

recommended. 

Bruce Surtees 

Saint-Saëns – Complete Violin Concertos 

Andrew Wan; Orchestre Symphonique de 

Montréal; Kent Nagano 

Analekta AN 2 8770 

!! 

Even though 

Camille Saint-Saëns 

was an exceptionally 

prolific composer, it 

seems that his temperament 

was especially 

suited to the form 

of the solo concerto, 

allowing him to blend 

virtuosity (which he held in high regard) with 

the wealth of his musical ideas. He also had a 

special fondness for the violin, especially after 

meeting Pablo de Sarasate (the 19th century 

violin superstar) to whom he dedicated his 

first and third violin concertos. It comes as 

no surprise that Andrew Wan, another violin 

superstar (though from an entirely different 

era) and one of the youngest concertmasters 

of a major symphony, has performed 

and recorded Saint-Saëns’ complete violin 

concertos with the Orchestre Symphonique 

de Montréal, the very orchestra he leads. This 

certainly has an advantage point – the soloist 

and the orchestra have an astonishing rapport 

on this recording. 

Captured here are live recordings from a 

series of concerts held at Maison symphonique 

de Montréal in November 2014. It is no 

small accomplishment to be able to perform 

all three concertos, as they are not only technically 

demanding but also ask of the soloist 

to be both versatile and flexible in their interpretation. 

Andrew Wan stands up to this task 

easily and fiercely – while technically superb 

in the live performances, he captures his 

audiences even more with his passion and the 

constant changes of sound colour. 

The first two concertos have been unfairly 

neglected on the concert stage – they are 

every bit as exciting and expressive as the 

third one – but this recording just may 

change that. 

Ivana Popovic 

Rachmaninov Variations 

Daniil Trifonov; Philadelphia Orchestra; 

Yannick Nézet-Séguin 

Deutsche Grammophon 4794970 

!! 

How appropriate that a pianist by the 

name of Daniil 

Trifonov would record 

a disc of music by 

Sergei Rachmaninov 

plus a composition 

of his own titled 

Rachmaniana. To be 

honest, I was unfamiliar 

with his name, 

but it seems this 24-year-old already has 

more than a few feathers in his cap. Not only 

has he been the recipient of numerous prizes, 

including first prize in the prestigious Arthur 

Rubinstein competition, but he is making a 

worldwide name for himself. In this recording 

– his sixth – he has teamed up with Canadian 

conducting superstar Yannick Nézet-Séguin 

and the Philadelphia Orchestra, resulting in a 

fusion of two great artists. 

There are innumerable recordings of the 

Rachmaninov Paganini Variations, but this 

is surely one of the finest. Trivonov’s flawless 

technique is matched throughout by 

the Philadelphia Orchestra’s full-bodied 

and robust sound. The variations literally 

fly by the listener in rapid succession, each 

a musical microcosm, notwithstanding the 

poetic and familiar No.18 which is treated 

with the heartfelt lyricism it so deserves. Both 

soloist and orchestra make ease of the enormous 

technical demands presented in the 

variations leading to the tumultuous finale, 

doing so with a sense of strong self-assurance. 

Rachmaninov’s Variations on a Theme 

by Chopin Op.22 are based on the familiar 

Prelude Op.28 No.20. Trifonov approaches 

the music with great sensitivity, deftly 

capturing the kaleidoscopic moods of the 

22 movements. His own set of variations, 

Rachmaniana, was written out of homesickness 

for his native Russia while temporarily 

residing in the U.S. While there is much 

originality within the score, the style also 

draws from Rachmaninov’s own musical 

idiom – the work opens in a quietly introspective 

manner, but the finale is a burst of 

technical exuberance. 

The familiar Variations on a Theme of 

Corelli predate the Paganini Variations by 

only three years. Despite the myriad of moods 

conveyed within, Trifonov creates a unified 

whole, demonstrating intelligence and an 

innate musicality for this most demanding 

repertoire. While a Russian artist performing 

Russian music doesn’t always guarantee a 

stellar performance, in this case it did – this 

recording is bound to be a benchmark. 

Richard Haskell 

Satie; Poulenc – Le comble de la distinction 

David Jalbert 

ATMA ACD2 2683 

!! 

Francis Poulenc 

(1899-1963), 

composer and 

pianist, was a man 

of many contradictions, 

perpetually 


vacillating between the sacred and profane. 

Paradoxically, this bipolar anxiety constitutes 

the very essence and charm of his music. 

His sometimes drastic stylistic mood swings 

are exemplified in Jalbert’s deeply affectionate 

performance of Poulenc’s Soirées de 

Nazelles that opens this album, a lengthy 

work for solo piano consisting of a series of 11 

musical portraits of personalities he encountered 

while on vacation in central France. 

The music of Erik Satie (1866-1925) is interspersed 

throughout this album in a compelling 

dialogue with Poulenc’s. Poulenc himself 

greatly enjoyed the company of Satie in 

that composer’s twilight years, finding him 

“marvellously funny” and a fertile source 

of musical and spiritual inspiration. In fact, 

Poulenc’s public debut composition, the 

Rapsodie nègre of 1917, is dedicated to him. 

Jalbert’s hypnotic performance of Satie’s 

austere Trois Gymnopédies is followed 

by Poulenc’s three unusually focused 

Mouvements perpétuels. Poulenc the magpie 

is here too, in the form of two Improvisations 

honouring Schubert and Edith Piaf. The 

subsequent selections of Satie’s Valses 

distiguées… and Je te veux invoke the spirit 

of the cabaret that Poulenc also expressed so 

well. Poulenc the miniaturist returns to centre 

stage in the final selection, a masterly rendition 

of the kaleidoscopic Nocturnes composed 

over the course of 1929-1938. 

In an age of knuckle-busting keyboard 

technicians fixated on a single era, composer 

or concerto, it is a great pleasure to encounter 

an artist of Jalbert’s stature for whom the 

piano is simply a transcendent means of 

human expression. My only frustration with 

this admirable disc is the generic program 

notes which fail to explain the ironic subtitles 

of the two Poulenc suites. For the record, the 

title track has been rendered elsewhere as 

“The epitome of distinction.” 

Daniel Foley 

Massenet’s Elegy 

William Aide 

Oberon Press 978 0 7780 1429 4 

(oberonpress.ca) 

!! 

When you open 

the back cover of 

this book of poems, 

you find a CD tucked 

into a plastic sleeve. 

It contains a collection 

of live recordings 

spanning 30 

years by one of 

Canada’s premier 

pianists and teachers, 

William Aide. The 

sound quality is variable, 

but the performances 

all dazzle – from his incisive Chopin 

and colourful Schumann to two luminous 

Debussy pieces. But it’s the poems that are 

the main attraction here. Aide is that rare 

musician who uses words as expressively as 

music. His irrepressible search for grace has 

universal appeal. For music lovers there’s 

the way he invokes composers like Schubert, 

Chopin, Schumann, and – surprisingly – 

Massenet, whose Elegy inspired Aide to 

become a pianist. 

Here is how he begins To an Old Executor: 

“Skip the need to dig the sod 

Buy a flowering linden tree 

And sentimental as can be 

Commit to Schubert, not to God.” 

Some of Aide’s most affecting poems are 

tributes to people who changed his life, like 

his first piano teacher Miss Myrtle McGrath, 

who taught him the Elegy, his later teacher 

the Chilean master Alberto Guerrero, who 

taught so many of Canada’s finest pianists 

(see John Beckwith’s excellent biography), 

his fellow student Glenn Gould, and his own 

student Peter Vonek, whose death from AIDS 

left him bereft. 

Aide has long been recognized as a significant 

voice in Canadian music. With four fine 

books (one a gutsy memoir) under his belt, 

he is unquestionably a voice that matters in 

Canadian literature as well. 

Pamela Margles 

MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY 

Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation 

(music by Christos Hatzis) 

Tanya Tagaq; Steve Wood and The Northern 

Cree Singers; Winnipeg Symphony 

Orchestra; Tadeusz Biernacki 

Centrediscs CMCCD 22015 

!! 

The richly 

textured, eclectic 

cinematic score by 

veteran Toronto 

composer Christos 

Hatzis furnished 

for the ballet Going 

Home Star – Truth 

and Reconciliation 

for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet was premiered 

in October 2014 to considerable audience 

and critical acclaim. This impressive work is 

a superimposition of at least three culturally 

defined layers. 

Hatzis directly quotes and echoes sections 

of iconic 20th-century European ballets Rite 

of Spring, Swan Lake and Prokofiev’s Romeo 

and Juliet. In addition Christian liturgical 

chorales, medieval chant and dance music by 

Jean-Baptiste Lully are all skillfully reworked 

in Hatzis’ characteristic tonal-centric style. To 

this he adds elements in multiple vernacular 

music genres, as well as acoustic and electronic 

soundscapes, diffused from the studioproduced 

digital audio track. 

Another significant layer of this 2-CD 

musical journey is the contribution of North 

American indigenous voices. They are essential 

texts in this narrative centred on the 

suffering imposed on children in Canada’s 

infamous Indian residential schools – with 

musical detours into the early contact 

between Europeans and First Nation peoples 

– ending with the possibility of personal and 

intercultural redemption and reconciliation. 

Based on a story by Joseph Boyden, the 

ballet score is given a human voice by the 

extraordinary Polaris Prize-winning Inuk 

singer Tanya Tagaq in the last scene’s Morning 

Song, eloquently performed by the Cree 

singer Steve Wood and through the pow-wow 

energy of the Northern Cree Singers infusing 

a visceral power into several scenes. 

Is Going Home Star “the most important 

dance mounted by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet 

in its illustrious 75 year history,” as described 

by one CBC TV commentator? Hatzis’ cumulatively 

moving, highly eclectic score compels 

me to see Mark Godden’s choreography 

and to find out how this important national 

story plays out on stage. I invite my fellow 

Canadians to join me on this journey during 

the RWB’s upcoming 2016 national tour. 

Andrew Timar 

Concert Notes: Tanya Tagaq and Owen 

Pallett perform at Massey Hall on 

December 1. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s 

tour of Going Home Star comes to Toronto 

at the Sony Centre on February 5 and 6 after 

stops in Ottawa (January 28 to 30), Kingston 

(February 2), London (February 3) and 

Burlington (February 4). 

Allison Cameron – A Gossamer Bit 

Contact Contemporary Music 

Redshift Records TK445 (redshiftmusic. 

org) 

!! 

This distinctive 

2015 CD with four 

new pieces by the 

ever-wonderful 

contemporary 

composer Allison 

Cameron is sure to 

garner her much 

positive attention among the cognoscenti. A 

Gossamer Bit, produced as what is rightfully 

described as a palimpsest, is a stimulating 

though very different program. Here Cameron 

presents pieces that represent myriad aspects 

not only of music – as in 3rds, 4ths & 5ths 

– but also great flights of the imagination 

– as in the song, Gossamer Bit, which is a 

dazzling overlay on Charles Ives and which, 

in turn is an eloquent sojourn across manipulated 

pitches and dramatic quarter-tones. 

In Memoriam Robert Ashley shapes the 

relentless octaves of Ashley’s music (overlapping 

the directions to that composer’s 

In Memoriam Esteban Gomez with great 

melodic cogency. D.I.Y. Fly combines written 

and improvised sections and finds a wider 

dynamic and colouristic scope using just this 

composerly device. 


Allison Cameron is, of course, the Albertaborn, 

Toronto-based musician and composer 

who has built a sizeable reputation in 

contemporary composition but remains relatively 

little-known even in her native Canada. 

It is hoped that this attractive and wellrecorded 

program, which hints at impressionistic 

antecedents, will greatly enhance her 

reputation. Look out, of course for the balletic 

leaps across her work especially in this repertoire. 

Cameron also has an acute sense of 

humour and this is delightfully hinted at 

in this music which is also rendered with a 

telling sensuous reserve. 

Raul da Gama 

SOUNDSNATURE – Works for Cello and 

Electronics 

Madeleine Shapiro 

Albany Records TROY 1577 (albanyrecords. 

com) 

!! 

SOUNDSNATURE 

is a series of pieces 

performed by cello 

innovator Madeleine 

Shapiro combining 

the sounds of the 

cello with electronic 

sources to bridge 

the gap between the 

listener and the heart of the natural world. 

The disc includes compositions by Morton 

Subotnick, Judith Shatin, Matthew Burtner, 

Tom Williams and Gayle Young. 

Although it may seem an oxymoron to use 

electronic means to bring us into a closer 

relationship with nature, it is precisely 

through using the microphone that we can 

enhance our experience with the soundscape. 

This is particularly evident in the 

works by Judith Shatin, Matthew Burtner and 

Gayle Young. Shatin’s For the Birds consists 

of four movements, each one using recordings 

of different types of birds found in 

the Yellowstone region. These visceral and 

intimate recordings are heard in both their 

original and digitally transformed states. 

Burtner’s Fragments from Cold takes us into 

the parallel terrains of outer snow and inner 

breath, creating the silent stillness of a skier 

gliding along the snow. 

Young’s Avalon Shores features soundscape 

recordings of waves along the stony shorelines 

of Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula. Shapiro 

becomes improviser in this work, following 

the course of the waves, highlighting patterns 

and responding through timbral variations. 

I found this an evocative partnership, 

returning to listen several times. Shapiro is a 

dynamic performer, and her passion for the 

environment is evident in this recording as 

she brings to life her deep reverence for the 

nonhuman worlds. 

Wendalyn Bartley 

Diálogos 

Dúo Lisus (Lidia Muñoz; Jesús Núñez) 

FonoSax FONOSAX001 (duolisus.wix.com/ 

duolisus) 

!! 

Though France 

is still the European 

Mecca of the classical 

saxophone, a 

contender for Medina 

might be Spain; the 

country has recently 

seen hothouse growth 

in its classical saxophone community. The 

result has been a lot of excellent saxophone 

recordings from south of the Pyrenées. One 

such disc is Dúo Lisus’ Diálogos, released this 

year on the FonoSax label. 

Five of the seven pieces on the disc are by 

Spanish composers and every single composition 

is recorded here for the first time. 

With music, the duo and even the record 

label making their debuts on this disc, the 

unified impression, especially combined with 

composer José de Valle’s opening maelstrom, 

is a kind of ex nihilo new music big bang. The 

momentum of this first burst carries through 

to American Eliza Brown’s Apart Together, an 

entropic canon which seems to disintegrate 

under the energy received from the previous 

piece – a narrative arc which accurately 

describes the entirety of the disc as the saxophones 

are subsumed by electronics. 

The other inclusion to break from the all- 

Spanish theme is Canadian composer Robert 

Lemay’s Deuce. These heterogenizing selections 

were carefully chosen, and it’s clear 

why Lemay made the cut: his extended techniques 

here always complement and never 

overshadow his finely wrought spectral and 

contrapuntal textures. 

Leonard Feather may have called Spain 

a “jazz desert,” but the saxophone, a hardy 

plant, still finds a home there in spite 

of it; both Dúo Lisus and FonoSax are 

worth watching. 

Elliot Wright 

balance 

Capitol Quartet 

Blue Griffin Records BGR367 

(bluegriffin.com) 

!! 

As a result of the 

orchestral works of 

composers such as 

Bartók, Prokofiev, 

Berg – and many 

others – the saxophone 

has become a 

standard instrument 

of classical pedagogy 

and taught in many highly regarded 

conservatories. These classically trained saxophonists 

naturally began to seek out performance 

opportunities outside the jazz scene. 

Thus, the 20th century saw the birth of a 

new ensemble: the saxophone quartet. Like 

its predecessor, the string quartet, the saxophone 

quartet has been a place composers 

turn to for experimentation and exploration. 

The Capitol Quartet is certainly no exception 

when it comes to celebrating and commissioning 

new works from today’s leading 

composers. In their release balance, Capitol 

has recorded four impressive works, three 

of which are commissions from the group. 

Carter Pann’s The Mechanics is a dizzying 

array of driving rhythms and clever gestures 

providing a playful and charming opening to 

the disc. American minimalism meets postmodern 

lyricism in John Anthony Lennon’s 

Elysian Bridges. A somber mood permeates 

Stacy Garrop’s Flight of Icarus, throughout 

which beautifully contoured chorales evoke 

the sadness of loss, a mood inspired by the 

Greek legend of Icarus. This piece is more 

about Daedalus’ loss of his son than the 

thrilling flight itself. 

Last on the disc is a piece by French 

composer Alfred Desenclos (1912-1971). 

As the history of the saxophone quartet 

continues to grow, there inevitably will be 

pieces that remain to comprise a body of 

standard repertoire. Desenclos’ Quatuor 

will undoubtedly have a place in this canon. 

Wonderfully orchestrated themes and rich 

harmonic colours reminiscent of Debussy will 

surely provoke future quartets to embrace 

this work as a significant contribution to 

the genre. 

Adam Scime 

Berg; Wellesz 

Renée Fleming; Emerson String Quartet 

Decca 478 8399 

!! 

In 1977, composer 

George Perle examined 

the annotated 

printed score of 

the Lyric Suite that 

Alban Berg presented 

to Hannah Fuchs- 

Robettin. Berg’s 

adulterous affair with her had provided the 

Suite’s encoded program. Berg had appended 

Stefan George’s translation of Baudelaire’s 

De profundis clamavi to the final movement 

in her score. Nothing suggests that 

Berg ever intended this text to be sung, yet it 

has since been incorporated, musically, into 

several performances and recordings, notably 

by Dawn Upshaw (Nonesuch 79696-2) and 

Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Naive V 5240). 

In her own brief contribution to this 

“alternative” movement, superstar soprano 

Renée Fleming adds some emotional warmth 

following the Emerson’s robust traversal of 

the Lyric Suite’s erotically charged music. 

Even more satisfying is their performance 

of Sonette der Elisabeth Barrett-Browning by 

Egon Wellesz who, like Berg, was born in 1885 

and studied with Schoenberg. Wellesz’s rarely 

heard, expressive and expressionistic settings 

of five sonnets in translations by Rainer Maria 

Rilke, draw plenty of passion and intensity 

from Fleming and the Emerson. 

Closing the CD is Eric Zeisl’s pleasant 

but unmemorable setting of Komm süsser 

Tod, enhanced by Fleming’s lush, lustrous 


voice. Zeisl (1905-1959), a Jew, fled his native 

Austria in 1938 and wound up composing 

film scores and concert works in Hollywood. 

This CD will appeal to those interested in 

little-known but rewarding 20th-century 

repertoire (the Wellesz) and, of course, to 

Renée Fleming’s justifiably innumerable fans 

(including me). 

Michael Schulman 

Krzysztof Meyer – Piano Quartet; Piano 

Quintet 

Piotr Salajczyk; Silesian String Quartet 

Naxos 8.573357 

!! 

Polish composer 

and pianist Krzystof 

Meyer (b.1943) is new 

to me but not to my 

Baker’s Biographical 

Dictionary (7th ed. 

[1984], rev. Nicolas 

Slonimsky), which 

says his “musical 

intelligence and acoustical acuity are of the 

rarest quality.” Based on this CD I concur 

heartily. The extended, single-movement 

Piano Quartet (2009) is an unusually formed 

work. To my ears, imaginative process and 

compelling content are equally involved. 

Declamation, dialogue, perpetual motion, 

stasis and recurrence are prominent yet 

unpredictable modes of presentation. To be 

sure there is considerable dissonance, yet the 

tonal centre and interval structure are clear. 

Passionate expressiveness of three Silesian 

String Quartet players complements pianist 

Salajczyk`s virtuoso performance. 

The Piano Quintet (1990-91) is a larger 

work in the traditional four movements. Its 

opening establishes a severe but still tonal 

musical language based on hierarchy of 

pitches. In the second movement I was especially 

taken by Meyer’s mastery of the midand 

late-twentieth century vocabulary of 

sound and texture, even though he does 

not use extended instrumental techniques. 

Throughout, the quartet and Salajcyzk never 

falter in ensemble, tone quality or dynamic 

control. Triplets in the more lively third 

movement suggest a vestigial scherzo; as 

perhaps also do sudden outbursts and high, 

scratchy strings. I enjoyed also the last movement’s 

drama and variety of effects – ornamental 

scrambles around main pitches, high 

dissonant bells in the piano and closing 

silences interrupted by retreating pizzicato 

whispers. 

Roger Knox 

Frederic Rzewski – The People United Will 

Never Be Divided; Four Hands 

Ursula Oppens; Jerome Lowenthal 

Cedille CDR 90000 158 

!! 

The first time I heard Ursula Oppens 

perform was in a masterclass of Rosina 

Lhevinne at the Juilliard School in New 

York. Ursula and I were both students of 

the legendary Mme 

Lhevinne. Listening 

to this CD I remember 

the lovely and rich 

tonal colours Oppens 

had in her classical 

repertoire. I am 

delighted to find the 

same lyrical palette 

in the Rzewski. It is so easy to make some of 

the Rzewski variations harsh and brittle. This 

is not the first recording Ursula Oppens has 

made of this work and this CD is far more 

reflective and poignant. There is a fluidity that 

connects the disparate movements. Rzewski 

gives many instructions to the pianist and 

each variation comes with informative titles: 

“with determination, delicate but firm, 

tenderly, in a militant manner,” and so on. 

In this performance each different style, 

whether folkloric, jazzy or lyrical does unite 

with sensitive and intuitive musicianship. 

Technically it is brilliant playing. From 

pounding chords to effervescent riffs of 

extreme delicacy Oppens is in control and 

commands the keyboard. There are numerous 

recordings of this work but this CD is definitely 

in a class by itself. 

For Rzewski’s piano duo work Four 

Hands, pianist Jerome Lowenthal, a Juilliard 

faculty member, joins Oppens. Their touch 

on the piano is so unified that it sounds like 

one pianist. It is a quirky piece with lovely 

moments and this work deserves more 

performances. However, this duo piano team 

would be difficult to improve on. 

Excellent performances. Highly 

recommended CD. 

Christina Petrowska Quilico 

JAZZ AND IMPROVISED MUSIC 

Clear Day 

Emilie-Claire Barlow; ECB Band; Metropole 

Orkest; Jules Buckley 

eOne eCD-CD5841 (emilieclairebarlow. 

com) 

!! 

Arguably, 

multiple-awardwinning 

jazz vocalist, 

Emilie-Claire Barlow, 

is one of the finest 

singer/musicians 

that Canada has ever 

produced. Blessed 

with an impressive musical genome, Barlow 

has consistently challenged herself, all the 

while continuing to mature into the impressive 

and accomplished artist that she is today. 

With her 11th recording, Barlow has partnered 

her stunning voice and arranging skills 

with the world-renowned Metropole Orkest 

conducted by Jules Buckley. 

Barlow and Steve Webster act as producers 

here, and the eclectic program is comprised of 

material from the unlikely musical bedfellows 

of Pat Metheny, Coldplay, Brad Mehldau, 

David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Canadian pianist/ 

composer Gord Sheard and more. Described 

by Barlow herself as a “personal journey over 

the last four years,” this recording is a portrait 

of the artist as a mature women poised at 

the full apex of her skill, talent, inspiration 

and power. Also included in this recording 

are arrangements featuring Barlow’s excellent 

band, with Reg Schwager on guitar, 

Jon Maharaj on bass, Chris Donnelly on 

piano, Larnell Lewis on drums and Kelly 

Jefferson on reeds. 

The CD opens with the spacious and 

magical Amundsen by noted bassist/ 

composer Shelly Berger, which segues seamlessly 

into a dynamic and fresh arrangement 

of the near title-song, Burton Lane’s On a 

Clear Day. Other impressive tracks include 

a tender, string-laden take on Coldplay’s Fix 

You and a sensual, jazz-infused version of 

Paul Simon’s Feelin’ Groovy (replete with 

a masterful guitar solo from Schwager). Of 

special note is Barlow’s arrangement of Joni 

Mitchell’s I Don’t Know Where I Stand, sung 

here with the soaring, crystalline purity of her 

magnificent vocal instrument. 

Lesley Mitchell-Clarke 

Your Mess 

Melissa Lauren 

Independent ML2015 

(melissalaurenmusic.ca) 

!! 

Melissa Lauren 

is a prolific young 

songwriter and she 

has released her 

second album of 

(mostly) original 

songs in three years. 

Lauren collaborated 

on songwriting 

and production for Your Mess with Toronto 

bassist Mark Cashion. The album is about the 

chaos and heartbreak of life as we stumble 

our way through and despite such relatively 

serious themes the songs are mostly upbeat 

and playful. 

The album opens with two songs – Room is 

Too Small and Walk Behind Me – that have an 

air of the 50s and 60s about them as Lauren 

adds a bit of gutsiness to her delicate, pretty 

voice. The title track is given a sort of New 

Orleans style with swampy effect courtesy 

of guitarist Eric St-Laurent and Sly Juhas on 

drums. The album is sparingly produced with 

guitar, bass and drums in various combinations 

being the main accompaniment, but 

guitarist Nathan Hiltz breaks out the uke and 

gets strummy for the bouncy Houses which 

is all about being content with your current 

situation and which suits Lauren’s voice to a 

T. There is a sprinkling of covers on Your Mess 

and the band’s gorgeous slowed-down take 

on the Police tune Every Little Thing He Does 

is Magic is a highlight. 

Cathy Riches 

Concert Note: Melissa Lauren will be 

performing a holiday show on December 10 


at 120 Diner, a relatively new jazz room on 

Church Street in Toronto. 

What Goes On 

Andrea Superstein 

Cellar Live CL073015 

(andreasuperstein.com) 

!! 

The young 

Montreal-born, 

Vancouver-based 

chanteuse faced a big 

challenge to improve 

on her stellar EP, 

Stars. With talent 

in spades, Andrea 

Superstein not only 

made great strides, but has slipped in a rather 

memorable sophomore album with What 

Goes On. Twice as long as Stars, this noirish 

album is replete with repertoire well-suited 

to her gorgeous, sultry and sensuous voice. If 

you want to know what exactly that means 

just listen to her take on Cole Porter’s I Love 

Paris. Not only do you get a sense of what it 

is to breathe in the melancholy and crowded 

loneliness of crepuscular Paris, but you will 

also get a wonderful sense of the dramatic 

tension that Superstein can bring to a song 

that has been done over and over again. And 

if you thought that no vocalist could ever 

bring anything new to a classic, think again. 

Superstein sings in beautifully shaded 

dialogue with her accompanists, often slipping 

into blissfully exquisite murmurs and 

slanted whispers, singing seductively as she 

conveys a lover’s infatuation, a wounded 

partner and an ecstatic bride. Her vocal slurs 

punctuate clipped and long, loping lines. At 

her flippant best she can resemble a gazelle 

gone delightfully crazy as she catches the 

scent of rain. Her extroverted personality is 

wonderfully geared to maximize her storytelling 

ability as well the stylish declamation 

of poetry in song. 

Raul da Gama 

Les Ondes Célestes 

Gabriel Lambert 

Jazz from Rant 1549 

(nette.ca/jazzfromrant) 

!! 

The label Jazz 

from Rant is very 

much a family affair, 

projects by composer/ 

drummer Michel 

Lambert, his partner 

Jeannette Lambert 

and her brother 

Reg Schwager. With 

this CD, guitarist Gabriel Lambert, Michel’s 

nephew, joins what may be the first family of 

Canadian jazz. 

Lambert is a fleet-fingered guitarist, and his 

thoughtful improvisations are clearly articulated 

with a bright, glassy sound. What makes 

the CD remarkable, however, is that it hardly 

sounds like a debut at all. His compositions 

mingle influences from both classical and jazz 

sources – serialism, modes and free improvisation 

– but the music always feels organized, 

testament to both the coherence of his vision 

and the developed empathy of the band. 

The first half of the CD consists of four 

individual pieces. L’ordre mystérieux des 

choses has bassist Adrian Vedady and 

drummer Michel Lambert developing a 

drone before Gabriel Lambert enters playing 

a serial melody, creating the kind of tonal 

tension that sustains much of the work here. 

Approximation #2 demonstrates Gabriel 

Lambert and pianist Andres Vial’s gift for 

developed scalar improvisation in a Coltrane 

vein, while Approximation #3 employs a 

Messiaen mode to develop a heightened calm. 

The second half is devoted to the four-part 

suite, Les Ondes Célestes, in which the influences 

of Schoenberg and Messiaen are further 

integrated, until the work concludes with Les 

ondes, the conventional instruments of a jazz 

quartet creating a dreamlike state of bowed 

strings and shimmering cymbals and piano. 

It’s a fitting transformation to conclude an 

imaginative recording. 

Stuart Broomer 

Kings County 

Way North 

Independent 

(dangerherring.com/waynorth) 

!! 

Way North 

explores roots-based 

music in a highly 

contemporary framework. 

The quartet is a 

collective comprised 

of Toronto-based 

musicians, trumpeter 

Rebecca Hennessy 

and bassist Michael Herring along with 

Brooklynites Petr Cancura on saxophone and 

clarinet and Richie Barshay on the drums. 

The music is instantly inviting and infectious 

with a capacity for taking the listener 

to unexpected places. The often contrapuntal 

nature of both the writing and the improvising 

brings an earlier era of jazz to mind, 

specifically New Orleans, albeit a NOLA for 

the millennium. Rarely does a solo go on for 

too long without being joined by another 

voice or voices. At times the group improvisations 

can sound as if they were composed, 

meshing seamlessly with the written parts. 

Each of the group’s members has contributed 

compositions to the recording, resulting 

in a coherent and satisfying flow of tunes. 

Cancura’s Where the Willows Grow evolves 

from a slow march to a bass solo that 

becomes a duet with trumpet before being 

joined by the rest of the group. Treefology is a 

Michael Herring composition that combines 

counterpoint with unison melodies over 

a second-line groove. Trumpet and saxophone 

continue the theme, soloing together 

with remarkable unity of intent. Hennessy’s 

Kings County Sheriff is a five-beat figure with 

a tango-like feel. Her poignant flamencoish 

solo is met by Cancura’s sax solo which 

ranges effortlessly from an intense growl to 

modern chromaticism. The tune, like the 

rest of the album, revels in the spirit of lively 

conversation. 

Ted Quinlan 

Sitting, Waiting, Wasting Time 

Ken McDonald Quartet 

Independent (ken-mcdonald.ca) 

!! 

Bassist and 

composer Ken 

McDonald’s latest 

outing, Sitting, 

Waiting, Wasting 

Time, exemplifies 

the highly informed 

yet searching nature 

of much of the 

music being heard 

from a new generation of jazz musicians. 

Schooled in the tradition, they bring a host 

of their own influences to this ever-evolving 

music. McDonald’s quartet is a lean affair 

that takes full advantage of its pared-down 

instrumentation to create a group sound 

that is instantly relatable and identifiable. 

The seven self-penned compositions offer 

original twists on some classic jazz themes 

such as the blues and uptempo swing while 

venturing into calypso, Brazilian and Middle 

Eastern flavours. 

Drummer Lowell Whitty and bassist 

McDonald form a highly adaptable and 

conversational rhythm section. The front line 

of saxophonist Paul Metcalfe and guitarist/ 

oud player Demetri Petsalakis are well 

matched in their aggressive funkiness and 

bring both humour and risk-taking to the 

proceedings. Apocalypso, the opening tune, 

features an island groove and establishes the 

band’s sound in the angularity of the writing 

and the sense of space in the ensemble. 

Metcalf’s tenor solo has a playful quality that 

is in sync with Whitty’s interactive drumming. 

Petsalakis, with his slightly overdriven 

guitar sound and fluid style, expresses himself 

in ways that are equally melodic and edgy. 

Moon features a haunting melody played by 

oud and soprano saxophone. The dynamic 

arrangement and unusual instrumentation 

take this recording into world music territory 

in a way that seems totally consistent with its 

openness of vision. 

Ted Quinlan 

Spring Rain 

Samuel Blaser Quartet 

Whirlwind Recordings WR 4620 

(whirlwindrecords.com) 

!! 

An original variant 

on the practice of 

saluting earlier jazz 

heroes by recording 

their tunes, Swissborn, 

Berlin-based 


trombonist Samuel Blaser honours Jimmy 

Giuffre’s early 1960s trio with pianist Paul 

Bley and bassist Steve Swallow, by recording 

five of its tunes plus seven originals in 

restrained chamber- jazz style. But even 

as Blaser empathizes with the particular 

sound constructed by compositions Giuffre 

and Carla Bley wrote for the trio, he’s like a 

chair designer modernizing the ergonomic 

concepts of 50 years ago to 2015. 

For a start he uses a quartet not a trio, and 

while there’s a sympathetic bassist in Drew 

Gress, his trombone and Gerald Cleaver’s 

drums replace Giuffre’s reeds. Most prominently, 

instead of using sparse acoustic 

piano inferences exclusively, keyboardist 

Russ Lossing emphasizes the textures from 

Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer and mini-Moog. 

With Gress’ sympathetic string bumping and 

Cleaver’s dextrous patterning providing a taut 

rhythmic foundation, the others are free to 

bend melodies origami-like into novel shapes. 

For example, Bley’s Temporarily is souped-up 

with a stop-time arrangement; and Trudgin’, 

a Giuffre line, becomes more ambulatory as 

Lossing’s rococo electric piano fills make the 

journey buoyant as well as lengthier. Giuffre’s 

classic plaint, Cry Want, may ramble along 

like a drive in the country, but Blaser’s roistering 

slide blasts and the pianist’s ability to 

roughen the texture by mauling chords, activates 

the piece from its bucolic repose. 

Blaser’s originals are as contemporary 

as a clock on a smart phone, but the same 

way that timekeeping is based on the classic 

Swiss concern for precision, most don’t 

neglect the coiled nonchalance suggested by 

the Giuffre 3. Missing Mark Suetterlyn, for 

instance, is a pensive ballad built up from 

the Wurlitzer’s drenched glissandi plus staggered 

drum beats; while Umbra, featuring 

only piano and trombone, is as tranquil 

as anything Giuffre created. On the other 

hand two unaccompanied tracks showcase 

Blaser’s unalloyed instrumental command. 

And The First Snow is actually a near blizzard 

that picks up cues from 1970s fusion via the 

juddering Rhodes. Authentic in its reflection 

of sounds past, present and future, the CD is 

another fluid example of this brass player’s 

flourishing talent. 

Ken Waxman 

Concert Note: Samuel Blaser’s band plays at 

the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre 51 Stuart 

St. in Hamilton December 18. 

Artifacts 

Reed-Reid-Mitchell 

482 Music 482-1093 (482.com) 

!! 

Deciding to 

honour earlier 

members of 

Chicago’s Association 

for the Advancement 

of Creative Musicians 

(AACM) during the 

organization’s 50th 

anniversary year, flutist Nicole Mitchell, cellist 

Tomeka Reid and drummer Mike Reed – 

AACMers themselves – initiated this nonpareil 

program. Like musicians who miniaturize 

symphonic scores for chamber ensembles, the 

three dextrously reimagine pieces composed 

for larger, usually saxophone-oriented bands, 

so that the vibrant swing of the pieces is 

expressed alongside their exploratory natures. 

Cases in point are two tunes by drummer 

Steve McCall, B.K. and I’ll be Right Here 

Waiting, which flow seamlessly into one 

another; plus saxophonist Ed Wilkerson’s 

Light on the Path. During the first two, as the 

slaps and strums from Reid’s cello inhabit the 

double bass role and Reed contributes pointed 

rat-tat-tats, joyous benevolence is expressed 

in Mitchell’s measured but lighthearted flute 

cadenzas. Livelier still, Light on the Path 

mates a masterful shuffle beat with nearrainbow-hues 

of timbres from the flutist. As 

Reed’s whimsical beats couple with Mitchell’s 

double and triple tonguing, the elasticity of 

the theme stretches enough so that it’s almost 

sonically diaphanous. 

Vocally intoning the title lyrics throughout 

while adding double-stopping string 

harmonies and judicious electronic wobbles, 

the trio’s variant of pianist Amina Claudine 

Myers’ Have Mercy on Us brings out the 

exotic as well as the ecclesiastical essence of 

the composition. Even Composition 238, a 

piece by the reputedly difficult, multi-instrumentalist 

Anthony Braxton, is transformed 

into a deft swinger; while pianist Muhal 

Richard Abrams’ Munkt Monk becomes an 

angular near-march. Together, skittering cello 

twangs, a harsh tongue-fluttering flute line 

and Reed’s perfectly timed drumbeats conjure 

up images of the hippest fife-and-drum corps 

that ever played, demystifying these AACM 

classics as they expand them. 

By manifestly remaining themselves while 

saluting older inspirations, Mitchell, Reid and 

Reed have created the perfect golden anniversary 

present for the AACM…and the listener. 

Ken Waxman 

POT POURRI 

Canto 

Daniela Nardi; Espresso Manifesto 

eOne REA-CD-5826 (danielanardi.com) 

!! 

Toronto singer, 

Daniela Nardi 

continues the 

Espresso Manifesto 

project with this 

latest album, Canto. 

Espresso Manifesto 

originated with a 

collection of Paolo Conte songs (Via Con Me) 

released in 2012, which Nardi recorded in 

Umbria with mostly Italian personnel. Canto 

on the other hand is a celebration of Italian 

songwriters from a range of eras recorded in 

both Naples and Toronto with a mix of Italian 

and Canadian musicians. The other new 

aspect of Canto is the addition of producer 

Antonio Fresa who lends a fresh yet often 

retro sound to the tracks with his inventive 

arrangements. Wurlitzer, clarinet, trumpet 

and a string section all enrich the album and 

Nardi’s warm expressive voice. 

On the opening track, Punto, the flute 

doubling the vibes evokes mid-century 

whimsy but there’s also a little Afro- 

Caribbean flavour stirred in. Surprising 

touches like these thread their way through 

the album – songs are reworked in French 

and English and there’s even a little Brazilian 

style added with a cool Bossa Nova treatment 

of Gira e Rigira and Vinicius De Moraes’ 

songwriting on Sensa Paura. The exceptional 

Canadians, Kevin Barrett, Mike Downes and 

Ron Davis (Nardi’s husband) come to the fore 

on Amami Ancora arranged by Downes and 

co-written by Nardi in emulation of the great 

song tradition of her heritage. View a video on 

The Making of Canto at danielanardi.com. 

Cathy Riches 

From My Life 

Judith Lander 

Independent (judithlander.com) 

!! 

Vocalist, composer 

and pianist Judith 

Lander has achieved 

wide international 

acclaim as a consummate 

classical 

cabaret and theatrical 

performer. With 

the release of her debut recording (produced 

by Lander and bassist Tom Hazlett), she 

achieves a level of meaning that can only 

be reached through rich life experience and 

the intuitive use of a profound emotional 

vocabulary in symbiosis with fine musical 

compositions. Lander has wisely selected 

material here that not only wraps around 

her warm contralto perfectly but also reflects 

her career and pays tribute to some of the 

legendary theatre artists with whom she has 

worked, such as Jacques Brel and Lotte Lenya. 

Included in the collection are potent tunes by 

Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Kurt 

Weill, Brel, Michael Leonard, Lennon and 

McCartney and Lander herself. 

Most beautifully rendered are Weill’s 

haunting September Song (rarely performed 

from a female perspective); a particularly 

lithe and graceful take on Sondheim’s title 

tune Anyone Can Whistle (arranged by the 

great Gene DiNovi) and Jacques Brel’s La 

Chanson des Vieux Amants, sung “en duo 

avec” Ghislain Aucoin. Weill’s My Ship is a 

true stunner, with a clever, fresh arrangement 

and first-rate trio work from Bruce 

Harvey on piano, Tom Hazlett on bass and 

Tom Jestadt on percussion. Also of note is 

Stephen Sondheim’s heart-rending ballad 

of longing and loss, I Remember (originally 

heard in the 1967 black-and-white television 

production of the musical Evening 


Primrose). This gorgeous, well-produced and 

well-conceived CD is not only the auspicious 

(and long overdue) debut of one of our most 

treasured performing artists, but a musthave 

for any serious devotee of cabaret and 

musical theatre. 

Lesley Mitchell-Clarke 

Finding Anyplace 

Ozere 

Independent (ozere.ca) 

!! 

Finding Anyplace 

by the Canadian band 

Ozere is a gem of a CD 

that deftly combines 

elements of classical 

and various traditional 

and folk musics. 

Founded and led by 

classically trained violinist Jessica Deutsch in 

2012, Ozere’s rich instrumental tone, interesting 

rhythms and inspired compositions 

create a music that feels profoundly comfortable 

and yet also very fresh and different. The 

core group of instruments is a new take on 

the quintessential classical string quartet, but 

here with violin, cello, mandolin and upright 

bass – the brainchild of Deutsch whose 

vision was to blend folk and art music. With 

the addition of vocals, guitar and some non- 

Western instruments we sometimes move 

into other musical realms, including Middle 

Eastern and even jazz. Of course, many bands 

cross these kinds of stylistic and cultural 

boundaries, yet not always with Ozere’s 

elegance and finesse. 

All of the 11 tracks are composed by 

Deutsch and vocalist Emily Rockarts except 

two traditional songs – Wayfaring Stranger 

and MacArthur Road. Each track brings 

something new: for example, The Sun Ain’t 

Down and Song for Tina are mostly Celtic 

in style with attractive violin and mandolin 

parts; Anyplace is an instrumental number 

that begins in quasi-Middle Eastern style, 

then segues into something more jazzy and 

Celtic; and Wayfaring Stranger is a catchy 

Klezmer-influenced interpretation. 

With its fine musicians, well-crafted songs 

and arrangements, and incredible variety, 

this is definitely a CD to recommend and a 

band to watch. 

Payadora 

Payadora Tango Ensemble 

Independent (payadora.com) 

Annette Sanger 

!! 

The popularity 

of tango music is 

no surprise. The 

diverse compositional 

strengths, 

wide-ranging musical 

sentiments and 

driving rhythms 

offer something for all listeners, regardless of 

their musical tastes. Toronto-based Payadora 

Tango Ensemble showcase their enormous 

respect for the style and their phenomenal 

performing talents in a jam-packed 12 

tango release. 

Payadora’s musicians are each superstars 

in their own right. Pianist Tom King 

shines in his flourishes and gutsy glissandos. 

Violinist Rebekah Wolkstein plays sultry long 

tones and melodies with equal dynamism. 

Double bassist Joseph Phillips performs with 

a rich tone while holding the group together 

in a tight sense of pulse. And accordionist 

Branko Džinović flies over the keyboard with 

rapid colourful phrases and chord punches 

executed perfected by the master of bellows 

control. Together they each remain as soloists 

yet with superb individual listening 

skills blend tightly as an ensemble. Superb 

production qualities add to this recording’s 

live sound. 

A welcome diverse collection of tango 

music is represented here, each performed 

with detailed musical nuances. Highlights 

include the traditional El Choclo in an 

uplifting, rollicking rendition with jazzy 

undertones. The two Astor Piazzolla compositions 

are performed with his musical intentions 

in the forefront, complete with a 

dramatic finale in Retrato de Milton. Julian 

Plaza’s Payadora is the perfect showcase with 

its swelling dynamic shifts, a mournful accordion 

and violin opening section, and a joyous, 

toe-tapping, dance-tango section. Enjoy this 

timeless release! 

Tiina Kiik 

Komitas 

Gurdjieff Ensemble; Levon Eskenian 

ECM New Series ECM 2451 

!! 

Komitas’ name 

is familiar to many 

local music-lovers, 

thanks to Isabel 

Bayrakdarian’s 

performances 

and CD of his 

songs. Soghomon 

Soghomonian (1869-1935), considered the 

founder of Armenian musical nationalism, 

took the religious name of Komitas upon his 

ordination as a priest in 1895. The priestmusician 

not only composed original works, 

but transcribed some 3,000 folk tunes, arranging 

many for piano, often indicating the 

folk instrument to be imitated by the pianist, 

such as the plucked-string tar, the doublereed 

zurna and duduk, and the tmbuk drum. 

These annotations assisted Levon Eskenian, 

director of the Gurdjieff Ensemble, when 

arranging some of Komitas’ folk-derived 

pieces for his ten-member folk-instrument 

group. These, then, are arrangements 

of arrangements, rather than any original 

Komitas compositions. 

This is a disc to be dipped into, rather than 

listened to all at once, as most of the 18 tracks, 

like most of Komitas’ songs, are slow and 

sad. Only three uptempo pieces interrupt the 

melancholy: the raucous Mankakan Nvag XII 

for reeds and drum; Lorva Gutanerg, a pogh 

(flute) solo; and Hoy, Nazan, a very pretty, 

gently flowing pogh-kanon (zither) duet. 

By far the longest track, over 11 minutes, is 

Msho Shoror, processional dance music for a 

traditional religious pilgrimage, now stately, 

now mournful, with the keening wails of 

zurnas and duduks, and the haunting sound 

of the pogh. 

While more uptempo pieces would have 

been welcome, this CD’s beautiful melodies 

and vivid, piquant instrumental timbres 

deliver genuine listening pleasure. 

Michael Schulman 

"Giving voice to the Italian corner of 

the Canadian Soul" 

Peter Goddard/Toronto Star 

CANTO - Album Out Now 

www.espressomanifesto.com 

Nielsen's vivid comedy opera has 

enjoyed a natural status as 

Denmark's national opera since its 

first performance at the Royal Danish 

Opera in 1906. 

Latvian violinist Baiba Skride’s natural 

approach to her music making has 

allowed her to work with some of 

today’s most important conductors 

and orchestras. 

An opera telling the tale of a 

legendary opera singer as she 

prepares for her Parisian comeback. 


Something in the Air 

Big Bands Redux 

KEN WAXMAN 

Although most people associate big bands with swing-era dances 

and later, jazzier, manifestations such as Nimmons ’n’ Nine and 

The Boss Brass, despite the dearth of venues and difficulties of 

keeping even a combo working steadily, musicians persist in utilizing 

large ensembles. Like muralists who prefer the magnitude of a large 

canvas, composers, arrangers and players appreciate the colours and 

breadth available using numerous, well-balanced instruments. 

Case in point is Japanese pianist Satoko 

Fujii. Like a traveller who dons a new outfit 

when moving to a new locale, Fujii organizes a 

new big band. So Fujii, who recently relocated 

from New York to Berlin, debuts the 12-piece 

Orchestra Berlin on Ichigo Ichie (Libra 

Records 212 037 satokofujii.com), joining the 

large ensembles she already leads in New York, 

Tokyo and Nagoya. Although ABCD, the final track gives individuals 

solo space, including some dynamic string plucking and key-slapping 

vigour from Fujii, the disc’s showpiece is the extensive, but subtle 

sound-melding highlighted in the title suite. Treating the orchestra as 

one multi-hued instrument, most of the skillfully arranged climaxes 

have the seven brass and reed players operating as one undulating 

whole. At the same time, two drummers – Michael Griener and 

Peter Orins – keep themes on course during transitions with surging 

whitecap-like rhythms, buoyed by bassist Jan Roder’s robust walking. 

Brief, but zesty solos also appear like sophisticated scallops in the 

origami-like sound creation. For instance, Roder’s harsh thumps face 

off with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura on Ichigo Ichie 3, with the trumpeter 

later backing up to race guitarist Kazuhisa Uchihashi’s slurred 

fingering to a mountaintop-high plateau of interlocked timbres. 

Trombonist Matthias Müller’s yearning, plunger-moans cut through 

the rumbling thunder-like tension from the other horns on Ichigo 

Ichie 1; while tenor saxophonist Gebhard Ullmnan’s metal-shaking 

glissandi reach raw quivering excitement on Ichigo Ichie 2, with his 

solo complemented by gravelly trumpet grunts. Instructively, that 

track starts out with the group swinging as confidently as any traditional 

big band. All-in-all, Fujii’s pivotal talent coordinates radiant 

group motion plus stunning single showcases to create a challenging 

yet satisfying program. 

Tellingly, drummer Orins plus trumpeter Christian Pruvost – both 

of whom play in a quartet with Fujii – are two of the dozen players 

who make up the Lille-based Circum Grand Orchestra. But its 12 

(Circum-Disc CD 1401 circum-disc.com) only resembles Orchestra 

Berlin in number not style. Just as sushi and pâté are wildly different 

concoctions, but both are food, so the CGO’s composer/leader, electric 

bassist Christoph Hache’s take on a big band differs from Fujii’s. 

Hache’s six tracks float rather than swing but avoid being lightweight 

by anchoring the tunes with a rhythm section of piano, two guitars, 

two basses and two drummers. From the top, 12 constitutes a musical 

journey as a pre-recorded voice rhymes off itinerary stops. The pieces 

are also framed by their soloists. Graphic for instance slides awfully 

close to lounge music via Stefan Orins’ moderated piano licks plus 

wordless vocalizing from flugelhornist Christophe Motury. Even the 

subsequent tenor saxophone solo is so reminiscent of a lonesome 

night on a deserted street that it takes a tag-team effort from drummers 

Orins and Jean-Luc Landsweerdt to enliven the pace. On the 

other hand Padoc could be Peter and the Wolf re-imagined by Ozzy 

Osbourne, as a buoyant flute and bass clarinet stop-time duet twirls 

into rugged melody characterized by wide flanges and distortions 

from guitarists Sébastien Beaumont and Ivann Cruz, thick tremolo 

keyboard strides and undulating, accelerating saxophone splashes. 

Putting aside the toughness suggested by reed 

shrills, string reverb and percussion clobbering 

that underlines much of the music, 

the key to 12 is probably the title track. Like 

a model changing from an outfit of raw wool 

to one of sleek silk, the romantic continuum 

suggested by the graceful dual flugelhorn 

introduction is swiftly coloured with 

streaming counterpoint from the reeds and 

rhythm section, before retreating to dual flute sonata-like patterns and 

climaxes that highlight both interpretations in symmetrical fashion. 

It’s hard not to envision symmetry when 

dealing with Orkester Brez Meja/Orchestra 

Senza Confini (Dobialabel dobialabel. 

com). As the title indicates this 17-piece 

ensemble was spawned by merging the 

Italian Orchestra Senza Confini (OSC) with 

the Slovenian Orkester Brez Meja (OBM), as 

Slovenian drummer Zlatko Kaučič and Italian 

bassist Giovanni Maier share composing and 

conducting credits. Magari C’È the second and final track is skittishly 

volatile, notable for its consolidation of magisterial beats from 

drummers Marko Lasić and Vid Drašler as well as crisscross alto 

saxophone riffs from Gianfranco Agresti and trumpeter Garbriele 

Cancelli’s carillon-like pealing. But in reality it’s an extended coda 

to Brezmejniki, the nearly 32-minute narrative that precedes it 

that defines the disc. As Brezmejniki moves in a rewarding chromatic 

fashion, like sophisticated surgeons during a difficult operation 

who allow appropriate anesthesia or incisions as necessary, the 

co-conductors add and subtract soloists. At points, one of the three 

tenor saxophonists erupts into a crescendo of honking tones; angled 

string strokes and jerky flutter tones arise from three double bassists; a 

cellist evokes contrapuntal challenges; and soothing harmonies result 

from Paolo Pascolo’s celestially pitched flute. Sometimes vocalist 

Elisa Ulian sounds distant gurgles; elsewhere, Adriatic-style scatting. 

Throughout, while certain rock music-like rhythms are heard, 

the sound perception is of looming storm clouds, conveyed by the 

ensemble resonating calculated accents and wrapped up by crunching 

bass and drum patterns that rein in and concentrate the horns into a 

time-suspended dynamic finale. 

Kaučič’s and Maier’s project uses conduction, 

which is directing improvisation through 

gestures. Lawrence “Butch” Morris (1947- 

2013) originated the concept and Possible 

Universe (NBR SA Jazz 014 jtdistribution.net), 

a newly released session from the 

Italian Sant’Anna Arresi Jazz Festival in 2010, 

confirms its skillful application. This eightpart 

suite by a 15-piece European-American 

band encompasses hushed impressionism and 

hard-rocking with the same aplomb. Like a 

theatre director, Morris knows when to sceneset 

the proceedings with moderate polyphonic 

insouciance and when to have soloists let loose with dramatic 

emotions. Floating ensemble tones dominate Possible Universe part 

two for instance before giving way to a slurry Ben Webster-style tenor 

saxophone solo. Supple patterning from percussionists Hamid Drake 

and Chad Taylor maintains the linear theme on Possible Universe 

part four, even as kinetic plinks and jitters from guitarists Jean-Paul 

Bourelly and On Ka’a Davis threaten to rip it apart. Lumbering grace 


is imparted as the ensemble members improvise in unison, with 

sophisticated dabs from Alan Silva’s synthesizer adding a contrapuntal 

continuum. Spectacularly, one curtain-call-like climax occurs on 

Possible Universe part seven. David Murray’s ocean-floor-deep bass 

clarinet smears create the consummate intermezzo between the entire 

band’s upwards-floating crescendo that precedes it and theme variations 

on the final track. At nearly 13 minutes, lengthier than anything 

that precedes it, Possible Universe part eight quivers with a semi-classical 

romanticism through affiliated cadenzas from the guitars, double 

basses and Silva’s synth’s string setting, even as atonal splutters from 

Evan Parker’s tenor saxophone and an equivalent blues-based line 

from Murray’s tenor saxophone struggle for dominance against the 

two trumpeters and one trombonist’s brassy explosions. Following 

numberless theme variations at different pitches, volumes and speeds 

from nearly every player, the finale is a calming timbre consolidation. 

However, the most unconventional use of 

a big band here is on Morph (Confront ccs 37 

confrontrecordings.com). Swiss-born, Parisbased 

tenor saxophonist Bertrand Denzler’s 

composition for Paris’ ONCEIM ensemble is 

a hypnotic, structured drone that transforms 

the entire group into a solid mass of tremulous 

polyphony. Considering that the length 

of the piece – 29 minutes – is actually one numeral less than the total 

players – 30 – Denzler’s skill in uniting tones and suppressing bravado 

is unsurpassed. Simultaneously acoustic and electric, Morph is all of 

a piece, but like the finest wine additionally manages to hint at other 

sonic flavours from the brass, reeds, strings, percussion and electronics. 

Three-quarters of the way though, the pace speeds up infinitesimally 

but distinctively, adding more tinctures of sound. A single 

guitar string strum is heard in the penultimate minutes as the timbres 

align more closely, uniting into a murmur that’s lively, seductive and 

tranquilizing. 

Hearing any of these sessions easily demonstrates that contemporary 

large group compositions and arrangements have long 

surpassed Moonlight Serenade or Take the A Train to plot and meet 

individual challenges. 

“The opening bars tell you this is 

going to be a good ‘Paganini 

Rhapsody’. As things turn out, it is a 

great one.” 

Gramophone Magazine 

What if you could 

listen in? 

Now you can! 

Widor-Vierne: Masses for Choirs and 

Organs 

Vincent Boucher: Les petits 

chanteurs du Mont-Royal 

• Read the review 

• Click to listen 

• Click to buy 

TheWholeNote.com/Listening 

Old Wine, New Bottles | 

Fine Old Recordings 

Re-Released 

BRUCE SURTEES 

On October 13, 2015 Toronto music lovers attended a recital 

by the distinguished young pianist, Benjamin Grosvenor, in 

a return engagement presented by Music Toronto in the Jane 

Mallet Theatre. After his debut there in February 2014 his self-effacing 

technique and insightful interpretations were, and still are, the 

subject of some conversation. This year’s program of Mendelssohn, 

Bach, Franck, Ravel and Liszt exceeded our highest expectations. The 

final item on the published program, a dazzling tarantella by Liszt, as 

they say, drove the audience wild. He returned to the keyboard and 

treated an expectant, hushed audience to one encore: Percy Grainger’s 

simple arrangement of Gershwin’s Love Walked In. Devastating! At 

the moment, Grosvenor has three Decca CDs which, while not exactly 

the same as being there, are the next best experience. 

I mention these two concerts because Decca 

has issued a box of Stephen Kovacevich: The 

Complete Philips Recordings (4788662, 25 

CDs). I hadn’t listened to his recordings for 

some time but, unexpectedly, here were very 

similar qualities latent in Grosvenor’s playing. 

Stephen Kovacevich is one of the most revered 

pianists in the world, whose recordings on 

Philips are to be found on the shelves of music 

lovers around the globe. He was known as Stephen Bishop until 1975 

when he adopted his mother’s name. 

The first recording by the American pianist from Los Angeles, 

who went to London to study with Dame Myra Hess, was made in 

the Brent Town Hall, Wembley in February 1968 of Beethoven’s 

Diabelli Variations. Back to Wembley in August, Philips recorded 

the Brahms Handel Variations and other pieces. In December they 

recorded the Bartók Second Piano Concerto with Colin Davis and the 

BBC Symphony. They all returned the following April to record the 

Stravinsky Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments. Davis proved 

to be the perfect conductor for Kovacevich. They were simpatico on 

the various aspects of interpretation as is self-evident in their many 

collaborations re-issued here; Bartók, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, 

Grieg and Schumann. 

I would like to have more than nine CDs of Beethoven; the five 

concertos, the Diabelli Variations, eight sonatas and three sets of 

Bagatelles for, as these performances unfolded, they reignited an old 

passion for the composer. 

The Brahms First Concerto is a favorite of Kovacevich which is 

obvious from his recording here. The second movement is tranquility 

and simplicity itself. I have never heard another performance 

come even close to its communication of elegance and acquiescence. 

Equally intuitive are the four Mozart concertos. The Schumann and 

Grieg concertos are outstanding, eschewing the empty, meaningless 

bravura of a mere technician. 

This set is a reminder of the constant introspection and depth 

that Kovacevich conjures. Each and every work – solos, duets, trios 

and quintets by a variety of composers – is infused with a sense of 

fragrance and discovery of truthfulness as it resolves with not a single 

caveat. The performances carry their own authority making comparisons 

invidious. In so many cases one forgets that the piano is a percussion 

instrument. Check out the video preview of this set at 

youtube.com/watch?v=ePGxjGWB-iw. 

Over 100 years have elapsed since Stravinsky’s ballet, Le Sacre du 

printemps, precipitated near riots at its Diaghilev Ballet premiere in 

Paris. And yet it is still the very first work that comes to mind at the 


mention of Stravinsky, even though his style 

and compositions in different genres changed 

many times over his 88 years. DG has assembled 

a 30-CD cube set, Stravinsky Complete 

Edition (DG 4794650), containing, presumably, 

everything published. 

The first dozen discs are devoted to 

the 19 stage works on which his fame 

mostly rests, beginning with The Firebird 

(1909/10), Petrouchka (1910/11), Le Sacre (1911/13), The Nightingale 

(1908/09,1913/14) etc., through to The Flood, written for television 

in 1962. The list also includes The Rakes Progress (1951), an 

opera in three acts. Conductors include Boulez, Chailly, Abbado, 

Rozhdestvensky, Bernstein, Levine, Knussen, Nagano, Gardiner and 

Ashkenazy. 

The six discs of orchestral music and concerted works include 

the Circus Polka for a young elephant, first performed by a ballet 

of elephants in the spring of 1942. With things being what they are, 

today it is performed without the elephants. The suites from Firebird 

and Petrouchka are here as is the Ebony Concerto from 1945 written 

for the Woody Herman band. Altogether some 36 shorter, jaunty 

pieces make entertaining listening. Conductors are Boulez, Mackerras, 

Ashkenazy, Pletnev, Davies, Craft, Bernstein, Bychkov and Knussen, 

with Rafael Kubelik minding the elephants. 

Three discs of choral music include the Symphony of Psalms and 15 

other works including Threni and Mass for mixed chorus and double 

wind quintet, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, Craft and Bernstein. 

There are two more discs devoted to solo vocals and two each for 

chamber music and piano music. Two discs of historic recordings plus 

a bonus disc of Le Sacre for two pianos played by Martha Argerich and 

Daniel Barenboim recorded in April, 2014. Watch the video trailer at 

youtube.com/watch?v=kEKZGnUZZec. 

So there it is… splendid performances of all he wrote occupying only 

133 mm of shelf space. 

I really had my doubts about a new collection, 

The History of Classical Music in 24 

Hours (DG 7494648), claiming to be just that. 

When it was announced I expected a mishmash 

of bleeding chunks of this period or 

that, that would really limit its appeal to one 

audience and revolt another. Today it arrived. 

It is a 3” (73mm) box containing 24 CDs in 

12 hinged double sleeves (called a “mint” in 

the trade) in chronological order, each devoted to one or two periods. 

Each mint is titled thusly: 1&2, Music of the Middle Ages/Music of the 

Renaissance; 7&8, A Trip to France/The Romantic Symphony; 11&12, 

The Virtuoso II/The Romantic Cello…and so on. 

It’s funny that after a lifetime of listening to music in both concert 

and recorded contexts, some fresh experience will turn back the years 

and once again I become excited by something new or long forgotten. 

It is never too late to at least rethink certain eras or even artists when 

you hear them again or for the first time. 

The symphonies and concertos included are complete, as are 

symphonic works like Finlandia and The Planets. There are complete 

song cycles by Wagner, Mahler and Richard Strauss; string quartets, 

and a stunning array of arias and duets. All performed by the finest 

musicians and artists. 

The breadth of repertoire is enormous and the performances are 

taken from the DG catalogue in the latest mastering. In fact, there 

are more than 24 hours of music, closer to 30 hours. It comes to 

mind, that except for some complete operas, this package is a true 

basic repertoire performed by the world’s greatest artists. You can 

hear samples of every piece at historyofclassicalmusic24.com. Here 

is a unique basic library for you or a friend at three dollars or less 

per disc. 

Messiah continued from page 9 

fabled city to teach at the Yunnan Arts University and to conduct the 

Kunming Symphony Orchestra.) To my amazement, the festival organizers 

wanted a performance of Messiah. The Kunming Symphony 

Orchestra was eager to play, but I would have to bring my own choir, 

Consort Caritatis. Maggie and I travelled to Kunming about ten days 

prior to the festival to give me sufficient time to rehearse the orchestra 

which was unfamiliar with the baroque style. We had 60 hours of 

rehearsal time. They responded quickly and with great enthusiasm. 

During our stay in Kunming, we learned about China’s minorities 

or distinct ethnic groups. In addition to the dominant Han group, 

there are 55 minorities, many of which are concentrated in the mountains 

of southern China. One of these groups, the Miao people, had 

been visited by what we think must have been Methodist missionaries 

sometime during the late 19th century. These missionaries taught 

the musically illiterate Miao to sing extensive sections of Messiah, by 

rote, in four-part harmony! And they continue to sing these excerpts 

to this day. 

Of course I was determined to meet them. It turned out that word 

had reached them high in the mountains that a choir from Canada 

would be coming to Kunming to perform the entire oratorio. A 

contingent of 20 or so from one village made the arduous fourhour 

journey on foot, then ox cart, and finally, bus. The performance 

being completely sold out weeks in advance, they came for the 

dress rehearsal. As the rehearsal proceeded, I could see that they 

were transfixed by what they were hearing. They had never before 

heard an orchestra, so this was a revelation for them. Not sure exactly 

which movements they knew, I was confident that they must surely be 

familiar with the Hallelujah Chorus. 

When we got to that point, I stopped the rehearsal and invited the 

Miao mountain people to join us onstage. I had them stand among my 

singers and we sang together. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room! The 

Chinese television crew who were covering the entire festival were 

dumbfounded. These people live very much on the margins of Chinese 

society, and yet here they were, obviously bonding with a group of 

fellow musicians from 12 time zones away. The TV people insisted on 

doing a mini-documentary, which was promptly telecast throughout 

the People’s Republic to a potential audience of 1.4 billion! The soldout 

performance itself was an unqualified success. Everyone in the 

audience had a cellphone. Hundreds of calls were made during that 

performance, audience members holding up their phones so people at 

home could hear the concert as well. 

As part of that festival, I was invited to give a lecture on Messiah at 

the Yunnan Arts University. Seventy-five students and faculty listened 

intently as I held forth on the musical and theological aspects. In 

the Q & A which followed, a young student got to his feet and said 

to me, “Mr. Dyck, when you conduct Handel’s Messiah, do you have 

Christmas in your heart?” I was deeply moved by the honest simplicity 

and the profundity of the question. It was a wonderful reminder 

to me never to take this great masterpiece for granted. 

All that was in 1999. Thirteen years later, when I returned to 

Kunming, people would walk up to me, smiling and humming bits 

of Messiah. Handel’s magic had taken root in one of the most remote 

parts of China, oblivious to time and place. And of course this music 

of promise and joy and redemption continues to nourish us year after 

year. Enjoy this season’s sumptuous Messiah banquet. Hallelujah! 

PHOTO COURTESY OF HOWARD DYCK 

Howard Dyck is a Canadian broadcaster, 

conductor and music educator. 


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“[The TSO’s Messiah] is a 

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This Christmas, rediscover the magic of music with 

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leads a grand-scaled, must-see edition of Handel’s 

holiday classic at Roy Thomson Hall. Hallelujah! 

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CBC Radio Two: The Golden Years 

Ann Southam 

By Hand For Hands 

DAVID JAEGER 

Canadian composer Ann 

Southam’s Glass Houses, 

a collection of 15 pieces 

for solo piano, was composed 

for Christina Petrowska Quilico 

in 1981. Christina often played 

selected pieces from the collection 

in her recitals, many of 

which were broadcast on my 

CBC Radio Two series, Two 

New Hours. We found that 

the public response to these 

pieces on our broadcasts was 

always enthusiastic. Southam 

(1937–2010) was quick to point 

out the essential elements in 

these compositions. The first 

was the allusion in the title 

to the minimalism of Philip 

Glass, which had charmed her 

since the 1970s. But equally 

important was the sound of 

traditional East Coast Canadian 

fiddle music, which she had 

first encountered in the 1950s 

on the CBC Television show, Don Messer’s Jubilee. Southam found 

great affinities between these two disparate sources, both of which 

delighted her. 

The recent release by the Canadian Music Centre’s Centrediscs 

record label of the complete set of these 15 pieces, as recorded by 

Petrowska Quilico, is symbolic, coming as it did on the fifth anniversary 

of the composer’s death. Christina and I produced the first group 

of recordings in Glenn Gould Studio late in 2010, shortly after Ann’s 

passing, and the second volume in 2013. Although the two volumes 

were at first released separately, we now have a freshly made package 

with all of the music together. 

Christina and I have completed six volumes of Ann’s piano music 

thus far, with more to come. In 2005 we recorded the complete Rivers 

in two volumes, and then in 2009 we produced another two volumes 

of water-inspired pieces under the collective heading Pond Life. 

Although she was already in failing health during the last of these 

sessions, Ann’s enthusiasm for Christina’s playing was overwhelming. 

While we recorded, she would explode with exclamations of “Wow! 

Fantastic! Holy Cow!” and motion thumbs up through the studio glass 

after takes she especially liked. Later she wrote to Christina, “I’m still 

blown away by the way you play Glass Houses.” 

I had first met Ann Southam in 1973, when she attended a concert 

of live electronic music presented by the Canadian Electronic 

Ensemble (CEE). This is the group that David Grimes, Larry Lake 

(1943–2013), Jim Montgomery and I had started in 1971 while we were 

graduate composers at the University of Toronto. Ann had already 

begun to assemble her own private electronic music studio in her 

home, and she had produced several electronic works, many of them 

as collaborations for modern dance, often with Toronto choreographer 

Patricia Beatty. On this occasion, however, she seemed less 

than convinced of the viability of live performance with the primitive 

synthesizers that were then available. I was struck by two observations 

at the time: I recall she had very little to say after our concert, 

and I then noticed her driving off in her Porsche convertible. Clearly, 

she had access to resources. This impression was further supported 

two years later when she self-released her most ambitious work of 

electronic music, The Reprieve, a nearly 50-minute composition on 

her own label. 

The members of the CEE took note of this and we eventually 

approached Ann with the offer of a commission to create a new work 

for the ensemble. The work that she responded with was a great 

surprise. The title, Natural Resources, or What to Do ‘Till the Power 

Comes On, gives a hint as to the nature of the work. Ann delivered a 

score, essentially a set of instructions, and a bag of commonly available 

hardware: bolts, wooden 

dowels, hooks, screws, rope 

Ann Southam, circa 1973 

thimbles, chain links, and so 

on. The score described the 

work as, “a sound game for 

four players” which “does not 

rely in any central way on 

sources of energy other than the 

players themselves.” The underlying 

message was that she 

was bidding farewell to electronic 

music. 

In the late 1970s and early 

1980s Ann’s focus shifted 

to creating works she called 

“made by hand for hands.” 

She embraced the physicality 

of instrumental performance 

and she formed close 

bonds with musicians who 

understood her new approach. 

Many of the works she 

wrote for pianist Christina 

Petrowska Quilico come from 

this time, as well as Retuning 

for violist Rivka Golani and 

Alternate Currents for percussionist Beverley Johnston. In an interview 

on Two New Hours she spoke with host Augusta LaPaix about 

“the connection between composing for soloists and other forms of 

work done by hand, such as weaving, that reflect the nature of traditional 

women’s work, which is repetitive, life-sustaining, requiring 

time and patience.” Her idea was developed further in 1993 when 

we at CBC Radio Music commissioned her string orchestra composition, 

Webster’s Spin, a work made entirely of interweaving patterns 

of melodic motives. The work was the centrepiece of a CBC Records 

CD, a disc that also contained Southam’s solo piano composition, 

Remembering Schubert, performed by pianist Eve Egoyan. 

I had suggested Eve to Ann when Ann and I were planning that CBC 

Records production. Once the two met they immediately formed a 

special bond, and Ann wrote several solo works for Eve, most notably 

Simple Lines of Inquiry. We recorded the 55-minute work for release 

on Centrediscs in 2009, and it was praised by New Yorker music 

critic Alex Ross, who placed the CD on his Top Ten for the year 2009. 

Eve and I recorded two more Centrediscs CDs of Southam’s piano 

music, Returnings in 2011 and 5 in 2013. The major work included in 

Returnings is Qualities of Consonance which CBC Radio Music and 

I had commissioned for presentation on Two New Hours. The score 

Ann created for this occasion bears the inscription, “For Eve Egoyan 

and David Jaeger with thanks.” Five posthumously discovered pieces 

intended for Eve form the contents of 5. 

Looking back on Ann Southam from the perspective of having lost 

her five years ago, it occurs to me that Ann often produced her best 

work when she was involved in artistic collaborations. Whether it was 

a choreographer, a soloist or a music producer she was responding 

to, she seemed to find her strongest voice when she was in a creative 

conversation with a colleague. I must say that I and all those 

many other collaborators miss her dearly. Thankfully, we still have 

her music. 

David Jaeger is a composer, producer and 

broadcaster based in Toronto. 

December 1 2015 - February 7, 2016 thewholenote.com

MOZART IS TIMELESS, 

ETERNALLY YOUNG, 

FOREVER EXTRAORDINARY. 

In January, join the TSO for sublime concert experiences 

celebrating the 260th anniversary of the great composer’s birth. 

Curated by classical-music specialist Bernard Labadie. 

“ 

The ultimate 

symphony experience, 

with something 

for everyone! 

” 

What Makes It Great? ® 

Mozart 

Symphony 40 

Fri, Jan 15, 7:30pm 

Rob Kapilow, conductor & host 

Mozart: Symphony No. 40, K. 550 

Amadeus—revealed! Rob Kapilow 

works his insightful magic on one of 

Mozart’s last and greatest symphonies, 

No. 40 in G Minor. In the first half 

of the program, he’ll give you 

pointers on what to listen for, including 

excerpts performed by the Orchestra, 

then puts everything together in a 

complete, uninterrupted performance 

in the second half. 

Mozart Jupiter 

Symphony 

Sat, Jan 16, 8:00pm 

Sun, Jan 17, 3:00pm * 

Bernard Labadie, conductor 

Frédéric Antoun, tenor 

Philippe Sly, bass-baritone 

Alexandre Tharaud, piano 

Mozart: Overture to Don Giovanni, K. 527 

Mozart: “Madamina, il catalogo è questo” 

and “Dalla sua pace” from Don Giovanni 

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 9, K. 271 

“Jeunehomme” 

Mozart: Symphony No. 41, K. 551 “Jupiter” 

*Concert at George Weston Recital Hall, 

Toronto Centre for the Arts. 

Mozart Requiem 

Thu, Jan 21, 8:00pm 

Fri, Jan 22, 7:30pm 

Sat, Jan 23, 8:00pm 

Bernard Labadie, conductor 

Lydia Teuscher, soprano 

Allyson McHardy, mezzo-soprano 

Frédéric Antoun, tenor 

Philippe Sly, bass-baritone 

Amadeus Choir & Elmer Iseler Singers 

Joel Ivany, stage director 

Mozart: Requiem, K. 626 (SEMI-STAGED) 

The magnificent, deeply human 

drama of Mozart’s Requiem is brought 

to life as a moving theatrical event, 

directed by Joel Ivany. 

Save 20% when you purchase tickets before Jan 1, 2016 with Promo Code MOZART260. 

Order now at TSO.CA or call 416.593.4828

CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY 

GIFT CERTIFICATES 

NOW AVAILABLE! 

2015·2016 

SIEGFRIED 

Wagner 

Production originally made possible by 

KOLTER COMMUNITIES 

THE MARRIAGE 

OF FIGARO 

Mozart 

CARMEN 

Bizet 

Production Sponsor 

MAOMETTO II 

Rossini 

Production Sponsor 

coc.ca 416-363-8231 / 1-800-250-4653 

BMO FINANCIAL GROUP PRE-PERFORMANCE 

OPERA CHATS & STUDENT DRESS REHEARSALS 

OFFICIAL AUTOMOTIVE 

SPONSOR 

PRESENTING SPONSOR 

OF SURTITLES 

PRESENTING SPONSOR OF 

OPERA UNDER 30 AND OPERANATION 

PREFERRED CREDIT CARD 

TD ® AEROPLAN ® VISA INFINITE PRIVILEGE * 

A scene from Carmen (COC, 2010). Photo: Michael Cooper 

Creative: BT/A Advertising

Volume 21 Issue 4 - December 2015/January 2016

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