Volume 23 Issue 3 - November 2017

PRICELESS
Vol 23 No 3
NOVEMBER 2017
CONCERT LISTINGS
FEATURES | REVIEWS
COVER STORY
918 Bathurst
Daniela Nardi
takes the reins
Q& A
Ben Stein
on 17th-century jazz
Philip Chiu
on playing solo
MUSIC AND HEALTH
Life after injury
Laura Ortman at 918 Bathurst

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2017/18
SEASON
MOZART’S
PIANO
GUEST DIRECTED BY
KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT
NOV 9–12, 2017
JEANNE LAMON HALL,
TRINITY-ST. PAUL’S CENTRE
“Bezuidenhout is a prince
of the fortepiano”
– The London Times, UK
FOUR WEDDINGS,
A FUNERAL, AND
A CORONATION
DIRECTED BY ELISA CITTERIO
& IVARS TAURINS
NOV 29 – DEC 3, 2017
JEANNE LAMON HALL,
TRINITY-ST. PAUL’S CENTRE
Featuring the Tafelmusik Baroque
Orchestra and Chamber Choir
Toronto’s favourite holiday tradition!
HANDEL MESSIAH
DIRECTED BY IVARS TAURINS
DEC 13–16, 2017 AT 7:30PM
KOERNER HALL, TELUS CENTRE
SING-ALONG
MESSIAH
DIRECTED BY “HERR HANDEL”
DEC 17, 2017 AT 2PM
MASSEY HALL
Tickets start at $30!
tafelmusik.org

Sunday November 19, 2017
8:00pm Concert | 7:15pm Pre-Concert Chat | Koerner Hall
Emergence
Featuring guest soloist Véronique Mathieu
Season Sponsor
Concert Sponsor
Subscribe
espritorchestra.com
Koerner Hall Box Office
416 408 0208
Alex Pauk, Founding Music Director & Conductor
The Max Clarkson Family Foundation

Volume 23 No 3 | November 2017
ON OUR COVER
PHOTO: © CONOR MCSWEENY
Pictured is New York City-based violinist/multiinstrumentalist/composer
Laura Ortman, in the middle set
of the middle concert of the Music Gallery’s 12th X Avant
Festival which took place October 11 to 13 at 918 Bathurst
Cultural Centre, subject of this issue’s cover story (page 14).
The concert, co-presented with Indigenous music platform
Revolutions Per Minute (RPM), was an evening of electronic
and experimental Indigenous music featuring Native
American (Cherokee/Muscogee) composer and artist Elisa
Harkins and Vancouver’s Mourning Coup along with Ortman.
The gig followed on the heels of the release of Ortman’s latest
solo album, My Soul Remainer. Ortman was back in town the
following weekend for a screening at the Horseshoe – as part
of the imagiNative Film + Media Arts Festival – of filmmaker
Nanobah Becker’s “My Soul Remainer” video billed as “starring
New York City Ballet sensation Jock Soto (Navajo) and crazy
violinist Laura Ortman (White Mountain Apache)!”
ACD2 2765
FEATURES
7 OPENER | Rear View
Mirror: Nine Prime
Novembers | DAVID PERLMAN
8 FEATURE | Music of
Remembrance |
DAVID JAEGER
10 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS |
Solo Phil: pianist Philip
Chiu | PAUL ENNIS
12 CONVERSATION | Ben Stein
on 17th Century Jazz |
DAVID PERLMAN
14 COVER STORY | Daniela
Nardi at 918 Bathurst |
DAVID PERLMAN
63 WE ARE ALL MUSIC’S
CHILDEN | MJ BUELL
64 REMEMBERING | Deep
Gratitude: Pauline Oliveros
| WENDALYN BARTLEY
65 MUSIC AND HEALTH | Life
After Injury | VIVIAN FELLEGI
Haunted
By BraHms
Brahms lieder
as you have
never heard it
sung before!
Lewis Furey
64
G R I G O R I A N . C O M

an Ontario government agency
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Beat Columnists
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Matthew Whitfield
Features
Wendalyn Bartley, Paul Ennis, Vivien Fellegi,
David Jaeger, David Perlman
CD Reviewers
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Daniel Foley, Raul da Gama, Janos Gardonyi,
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Patrick Slimmon, Dagmar Sullivan, Dave Taylor.
BEAT BY BEAT
16 Art of Song | LYDIA PEROVIĆ
18 On Opera |
CHRISTOPHER HOILE
20 Classical & Beyond |
PAUL ENNIS
22 In with the New |
WENDALYN BARTLEY
24 Jazz Notes | STEVE WALLACE
26 Early Music |
MATTHEW WHITFIELD
28 Choral Scene | BRIAN CHANG
32 World View | ANDREW TIMAR
34 Music Theatre |
JENNIFER PARR
36 Bandstand | JACK MACQUARRIE
LISTINGS
38 A | Concerts in the GTA
54 B | Concerts Beyond the GTA
57 C | Music Theatre
59 D | In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz)
60 E | The ETCeteras
DISCOVERIES:
RECORDINGS REVIEWED
66 Editor’s Corner: DAVID OLDS
68 Strings Attached:
TERRY ROBBINS
70 Keyed In: ALEX BARAN
72 Vocal
75 Classical and Beyond
76 Modern and Contemporary
78 Jazz and Improvised Music
81 Pot Pourri
82 Something in the Air |
KEN WAXMAN
84 Old Wine, New Bottles |
BRUCE SURTEES
MORE
6 Contact Information
7 Upcoming dates and
deadlines
62 Classified Ads
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an Ontario government agency
un un organisme du du gouvernement de de l’Ontario
6 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

FOR OPENERS | DAVID PERLMAN
Rear
View
Mirror:
NINE PRIME
NOVEMBERS
The theme of this month’s opener is, I confess, a bit of a happy accident;
I recently noticed posters announcing the imminent arrival in town
(courtesy Mirvish) of a musical based on a book I like enough that my
curiosity at how the heck someone managed to make it into a stage play is locked
in mortal combat with my fear of coming away feeling that they killed the book.
The book is called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by
Mark Haddon and in it (just one of many insights into the mind of the narrator)
the chapters are numbered not in the usual fashion, but as prime numbers in
sequence: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17,19, 23 and so on. As the book’s narrator explains,
“Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away.
I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never
work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”
(One could suggest that music is endless logic sonically infused with emotion,
but that would be the beginning of another essay.)
In any case, this just happens to be the 23rd November since we launched
this publication in September 1995. So here for your amusement are the covers
of our other eight “Prime Novembers.” You can dip into them at your leisure by
going to our website, where under the “About Us” tab you will find complete
flip-through editions of all 218 issues in our history to date.
Depending on the personal memories and musical interests you bring to doing
so, you will find the exercise an inexhaustibly patterned experience.
Next “Prime November” won’t be till Volume 29 – our 2023/24 season – so our
next “Rear View Mirror” will have to use a different excuse for dipping into the
memory pool.
publisher@thewholenote.com
Vol 2: Doug Sanford and East York
Symphony (now Orchestra Toronto);
Vol 3: Joel Quarrington and
Raymond Luedecke;
Vol 5: Robert Aitken;
Vol 7: Penderecki String Quartet;
Vol 11: Jim Montgomery;
Vol 13: Anton Kuerti;
Vol 17: Richard Greenblatt
and Ted Dykstra;
Vol 19: Suzie LeBlanc
Upcoming Dates & Deadlines
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Publication Date
Tuesday November 28 (online)
Thursday November 30 (Print)
Volume 23 No 4
“DECEMBER & JANUARY” is a
two month combined edition
covering December 1, 2017 –
January 30, 2018
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thewholenote.com November 2017 | 7

FEATURE
Afghanistan poppies
MUSIC OF REMEMBRANCE
DAVID JAEGER
ASIAN STUDIES - UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
Suzanne Steele
In 2009 Canadian poet
Suzanne Steele was
appointed as the first ever
Canadian war poet, and served
in Afghanistan with the 1st
Battalion Princess Patricia’s
Canadian Light Infantry as a part
of the Canadian Forces Artist
Program. She documented her
experiences in her poetry and on
her website, warpoet.ca.
After her return home, she mentioned to the late Michael Green,
a co-founder of One Yellow Rabbit theatre in Calgary, the idea of
writing a requiem using the words she had written in Afghanistan.
Green introduced her to Heather Slater at the Calgary Philharmonic,
who in turn suggested Vancouver composer Jeffrey Ryan as a collaborator.
Steele liked Ryan’s music, and soon they were working together
on a project that became Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation. The
work received its premiere in Calgary in 2012, and was also produced
and recorded with the Vancouver Symphony last January.
Ryan and Steele were easy and effective collaborators. Ryan recently
told me, “It was clear to me from our first meeting that for Suzanne,
the poetry would be coming from a deeply personal and emotional
place–of course it could be nothing else but. So I knew that, not being
the one who was there, it was also my job to be the counterbalance
to that. Suzanne wrote and wrote, and I gave practical feedback from
the compositional side: I think this is one too many stories, this needs
to be longer, this needs to be shorter, this needs to be soprano not
tenor, we need to combine these two ideas, can we have an orchestraonly
moment here, and so on. It helped that Suzanne has a degree in
music, so she had an understanding of what I was talking about, as
well as how to write words that can be effectively set and sung. In the
end, I think through this process we came up with something that is a
perfect marriage of words and music.
I asked Ryan what struck him most about Steele’s poetry. He said,
“The most exciting thing for me is that she was there. She was writing
from what she saw and experienced. She knew people there who were
killed, she knew people who came home with PTSD, she knew their
families. So I knew there would be a truth and authenticity in her
poetry that, really, no other poet could have brought, and it gave the
piece immediacy and relevance. Also, it was a perspective I never could
have even imagined myself. But being able to talk with her as the words
were being shaped meant that as soon as it was time to start composing
the music, I knew where she was coming from and what she was
wanting to express, and from that foundation I already had ideas
about what the music would sound like. It’s the same when collaborating
on opera; being part of the development process of the story and
the libretto, discussing each draft and giving feedback, means that the
music is already emerging in my head long before I put pencil to paper.
“One thing that Suzanne said in our first meeting stuck with me
through the whole process. She said that she was there as a witness,
and it was the artist’s job not to provide the answers, but to ask the
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Elliott Carter: String Trio
Linda C. Smith: Path of Uneven Stones
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Paul Frehner: Clarinet Concerto (premiere)
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Robin de Raaff: Percussion Concerto
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NMC Ensemble | Robert Aitken direction
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8 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

CHICK RICE
questions. We both agreed that it was important that the piece not
takes sides in the conflict, but convey a witnessing of events to the
audience: ‘These are some of the things that happened, what do you
think about that?’ As the composer, I sought to express musically the
emotional and dramatic content of each scene, whether it was the
triage nurse trying to hold down a sense of panic as more and more
injured arrive, or the fragmented thoughts of a soldier with PTSD, or
the joyful sounds of children playing a game amongst the rubble.”
The completed work, Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation,
is scored for four soloists, both adult and children’s choruses, and
orchestra. The piece is in nine sections, opening with an evocation
of the space and calm of the North, and a prayer for healing. The
program notes in the score state: “It quickly comes back to earth, and
to Afghanistan, with the fractured memories of a soldier suffering
from PTSD, living in the present but tortured by the past, the sound
Jeffrey Ryan
“One thing that Suzanne
said in our first meeting
stuck with me through
the whole process. She
said that she was there as
a witness, and it was the
artist’s job not to provide
the answers, but to ask
the questions.”
— Jeffrey Ryan
of helicopters ringing in his ears. As the work unfolds, a young soldier
writes home during a cold Afghan night, the voices of parents and
children echoing in his mind. In the Day of Wrath, apprehension
turns to catastrophe seen first in slow motion, gradually speeding up
to real time as a soldier, critically injured by an Improvised Explosive
Device, is airlifted to emergency care. A lover mourns. A soldier is
killed two days before the tour of duty ends. A body returns home.
Two soldiers tell their story of a lamb. Children play. Voices of light
evoke a flock of birds flying freely overhead. A medic is overwhelmed
by mounting casualties. A soldier seeks to be made whole again. In the
final movement, the choir looks to an unknown future as the soloists
remember past sacrifices, all coming together in a closing appeal for
rest and peace.”
continues on page 86
Tuesday, November 7 at 8pm
BENJAMIN GROSVENOR
Thursday, November 16 at 8pm
CARDUCCI QUARTET
ENSEMBLE
POLARIS
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FRIDAY
NOVEMBER 24
7:30 PM
Tuesday, November 28 at 8pm
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Heliconian Hall
$25, $15
INFO: 416-588-4301
ensemblepolaris.com
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 9

FEATURE
SOLO
PHIL
A Q&A with Philip Chiu
PAUL ENNIS
Philip Chiu, acclaimed for his collaborative piano
work with Jonathan Crow, Janelle Fung, James
Ehnes, Andrew Wan and Raphael Wallfisch
among many others, makes his Toronto recital debut
for Music Toronto on November 28.
In a mid-October email exchange, the talented and personable
Hong Kong-born pianist told me that he was excited to come back to
Toronto, “very much my hometown and place of musical birth.” He
left when he completed his studies at the Glenn Gould School in 2006
and has returned many times for concerts and recitals (most recently
with Jonathan Crow at Toronto Summer Music) “but this feels like a
real homecoming artistically, especially since it’s a return to form as
a soloist.”
WN: Who was the first composer you fell in love with as a child?
Who were the first performers you fell in love with?
PC: I like this pair of questions because I can answer them with
the same story: In brief, 1) Mendelssohn 2) Jon Kimura Parker. I
forget exactly how old I was, maybe 14 or 15, when I was studying
Mendelssohn’s G Minor Piano Concerto. Between working feverishly
on that piece (so many arpeggios!) and constant exposure to the
Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture, I had completely succumbed to
the infectious effervescence of Mendelssohn’s writing. Up until this
point in our story, I never really listened to much classical music, so
after years of taking me to classical music concerts and trying to keep
me awake, my parents must’ve been totally confused to be hearing
orchestral music coming from my room... I’m sure they thought I
was hiding something! Suffice it to say, I was not your classic case of a
young pianist dreaming of being the next Rubinstein or Horowitz.
One day I happened to catch a performance of that same concerto
on CBC, and I was so thrilled to hear someone playing it the way I
hoped I could play it! I caught the name of the pianist (Jackie Parker)
and tried locating a recording to purchase. Sadly, his website revealed
no such recording. In mild distress, I wrote to the email address on his
website expressing my admiration for the recording I had heard and
asked if it was available for purchase (expecting an efficient, dismissive
reply from his agent).
I was totally floored when I received a reply from Jackie just a few
days later. He had written an explanation of the recording (a live CBC
recording that was not available for purchase) and excitedly asked
about my progress with the concerto and shared his thoughts on the
piece. He finished by saying that he would ask his father to search for
the recording in his archives and to send me a copy (on cassette tape,
of course) as soon as possible. I received the recording with another
kind letter from his father within a short period.
This tiny, personal moment has stayed with me these last 15 years;
among other things, it has shaped my idea of what it means to have
success and to encourage those coming up (in my case, from very, very
far away) behind you.
You’re known as a top collaborative pianist. What are the challenges
of a solo recital?
Going solo involves an interesting mix of challenges and rewards.
First and foremost, the memory component of the solo piano recital
requires its own special mention: No thanks to Liszt for creating an
expectation of pianists that far exceeds those of any other instrument.
I am not one of those musicians with a prodigious mind that memorizes
music the first time they hear it on the radio; it was one thing when
I was a teenager and my brain was a soft, malleable mass, but now,
trying to find the time to memorize about 85 minutes of music (for one
program!) is not particularly easy nor, frankly, the most rewarding part
of music-making. I am buoyed by more and more famous pianists (e.g.
Alexandre Theraud, Gilbert Kalish) having scores on stage, but it’s still
quite hard to shake the stigma associated with doing so.
Another challenging aspect of performing solo, as someone who has
found some degree of success as a “very sociable pianist,” is convincing
the established musical community that a pianist can be many
things and, shockingly, even perform all roles extremely well. There
is little doubt that collaborative pianism and solo pianism have some
stark differences in their skillsets, but there is a surprising amount of
bias (from all sides) about the ability of one to perform the other.
I absolutely love the thrill of having the stage to myself; the notinconsiderable
allocation of brain power dedicated to playing with
others is now freed up for... anything! Even the finest of collaborations
have some limitations to how far one can stretch timing/phrasing or
introduce new ideas on the fly (of course, one of the joys of chamber
music is pushing that boundary and being amazed by the results), but
when I’m alone on stage, I have only to answer to the composer, the
audience, and myself.
10 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

I absolutely love the thrill of having the stage to
myself; the not-inconsiderable allocation of brain
power dedicated to playing with others is now
freed up for... anything!
What went into choosing the repertoire for your Music Toronto
recital? Please give us a snapshot of each of the works you’ve chosen.
“Stories & Legends” is a program I created specially for my Music
Toronto debut. I would like to add how grateful I am to be performing
in this longstanding series in the city where the majority of my education
took place. I have many fond memories of attending great piano
and chamber music recitals hosted by Music Toronto, so I was ecstatic
when I heard from my agent Andrew Kwan that they had gotten in
touch. When choosing the program, it was vitally important to me
to share something of myself and not only to present A Good Piano
Recital Program.
Our evening starts with The Mother Goose Suite. It is a brilliantly
simple work that showcases Ravel’s uncanny ability to channel innocent
wonder into song. It is a work I came to know intimately through
my work with Janelle Fung (as part of the Fung-Chiu Duo), and is
also, in a small way, my homage to our musical partnership. Fairy
tale after fairy tale, Ravel gifts us beautifully rendered, first-person
perspectives from these stories. I present it here in its solo arrangement
by Ravel’s friend Jacques Chariot.
The companion work I’ve chosen for the first half is a personal
selection of Rachmaninoff
Preludes. I find they are not unlike the Mother Goose Suite; selfcontained
tales that evoke diverse images and emotions. I’ve chosen
five for five, five preludes that loosely match, in sense and style, the
five movements of the Ravel suite.
Schubert. Yikes. The Wanderer Fantasy. Double yikes. This is a
beautiful, impressive (every piano program needs some fireworks)
piece that strays fairly far from its source material, at least in character.
Save for the second movement, which quotes the original
Der Wanderer lied almost directly, the remaining three movements
present this melancholic song in a more jubilant, highspirited
manner. Twenty minutes of keyboard intensity with plenty of
Schubertian modulations, melodies, and mood-changes.
Our night concludes with Liszt’s Deux Légendes; epic storytelling
at its very epic-est. Liszt uses all his tricks in the piano-writing book
to vividly illustrate two biblical stories (St. Francis’ Sermon to the
Birds, and St. Francis of Assisi Walking on the Waves). You will hear
birds, you will hear undulating waves, you will hear quiet, awestruck
wonder and also very loud wonder.
Two years ago you were the first recipient of the Prix Goyer, an
award so covert that the performers in the running for it don’t even
know they’re being considered. Now that you’ve had time to digest it,
what has winning the prize meant to you?
I can’t say I’ve really taken much time to digest it, haha. I was
obviously flabbergasted to know I was the first recipient of the Prix
Goyer, but my next reaction was to think of all the other moredeserving
musicians I know who should have received it. Honestly,
I think I’ve spent most time trying to find ways to justify (to myself)
having been awarded this prize.
In another way, I took winning that prize as a message that it was
time to change direction. It felt really, really good to be recognized
for my work as a collaborative artist, but it was also a sign to myself
that it was time to take stock of what I had accomplished thus far and
consider where I wanted to go next. It’s a big part of the reason I’m
answering your questions today: I knew that it was time to set aside
the collaborative hat for a moment and show everyone a lesser-worn,
but much-beloved hat: Solo Phil.
Paul Ennis is the managing editor of The WholeNote.
QUARTETTO
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427 Bloor St West, Toronto
Tickets start at $25 • eventbrite.ca
quartettogelato.ca • 416-738-6390
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 11

FEATURE
Ben Stein On 17 th Century Jazz
A CONVERSATION
DAVID PERLMAN
The specific concert that sparked this conversation
takes place Sunday, November 19, 2017, in the Music
at Metropolitan concert series at Metropolitan United
Church, one of a cluster of major downtown religious
edifices that gave Toronto’s Church Street its name. The
Met United congregation will be celebrating its 200th
anniversary in 2018. This particular concert celebrates
music that goes back 200 years before that, but in an
intriguingly modern way.
Titled “Jazz Standards of the Seventeenth Century,” it promises
“ground basses, lute songs and madrigals sung and played
with the freedom, invention and unpredictability of modern club
performers” and is the brainchild of lutenist Ben Stein. Under the
rubric “Musicians on the Edge,” it features Stein on lutes along with
the Rezonance Baroque Ensemble (Rezan Onen-Lapointe, violin;
and Dave Podgorski, harpsichord), along with co-conspirators Emily
Klassen, soprano; Charles Davidson, tenor; and Erika Nielsen, cello.
A few days after our initial discussion, Stein got in touch, balking
at the idea being characterized as his “brainchild.” “I hope what I’ve
written doesn’t give the impression that this is a new thing I’ve come
up with. If anything, I’m late to the program. There are a good number
of [early music] groups building programs and ensembles around
improv – but they are European for the most part. There are a few
ensembles in the USA, and very little in Canada, which is why I’m
pushing for it. And while places like the RCM are starting to add these
elements, in my opinion they start too late. That was the key with the
Neapolitans and their antecedents – it was built into early training. …
Also we are being a bit liberal with the 17th century thing in the title;
we`ve got a few bits of 18th- and 16th-century rep as well. It`s more
about looking at the forms that musicians were aware of – ground
basses, dances – that you can find in different centuries, though they
evolved and changed during that time. …”
But let’s start at the beginning.
WN: So, how, why, when did you propose this idea to Pat Wright
[Patricia Wright, music director at Met United]?
BS: Last year I presented a concert called “The Mystery of the
Partimento” as part of the Music at Met series. It got a very good
response from audience members who didn’t know quite what
to expect, because no one knows what a partimento is. I didn’t
until recently, even though I’d been playing early music for a
number of years.
And what is it?
Essentially a bass line over which musicians were expected to
extemporize melodies. Partimenti were a central element of Italian
Baroque and galant music training, especially in the Neapolitan
conservatories that produced some of the most popular performers
and composers of that era. They resemble basso continuo accompaniment
lines, but they weren’t just for chord harmonization. You were
expected to use partimenti to create interesting melodies, and the
Italians were renowned for their mastery of this skill.
Seeing how much people enjoyed having classical extemporization
taking place before their eyes, I thought: if I was going to play a couple
of rock or jazz sets for a club gig, I’d pick music I Iiked, find some
musicians I was comfortable with and jam on the chord changes. Why
can’t I do the same with classical repertoire I enjoy, playing melodic
variations in a historically informed manner? So my colleagues and
I are going to treat songs and madrigals, as well as partimenti and
ground basses, as jumping-off points for improvisation, and no two
renditions will be the same from rehearsal to concert.
Patricia Wright regularly programs early music at concerts and
church services … The Rezonance Baroque Ensemble are actually Met’s
artists-in-residence this year, playing at church services throughout
the year, and also the featured ensemble for the Marg and Jim Norquay
Celebration Concert in April 2018 – I’ll be joining them and other
players for a collaboration/jam on Baroque concertos and sonatas. I’m
planning to play the Vivaldi Lute Concerto in D, improvising on the
the famous Adagio movement with the freedom of a player of the era.
I remember Jim Galloway, our long-time Jazz Notes columnist once
remarking, in a column significantly on the topic of how to listen
to jazz, saying (very loosely paraphrased), words to the effect of “If
you want to find the structure and the beat listen to the bass, not the
drums, It’s all built from that.” So when I saw this listing I immediately
thought “Aha, the man with the lutes, especially the theorbo,
must have had something central to do with this.” Is Renaissance/
Baroque continuo as backline the way the word is used in a jazz
context a far-fetched idea?
Jim was right! It really is “all about the bass.” Baroque and
12 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Renaissance musicians were aware at all times of the intervallic relationship
between bass and treble voices. Beginner sight-singing exercises
in the Neapolitan conservatories were not one-voice melodies,
but two-voice duets, with the vocal line accompanied by a maestro
or more experienced students. Musicians learned to improvise in
melodic counterpoint to bass lines. They even had a name for musicians
who possessed this skill: contrapuntisti. But contrapuntal
knowledge is not fostered effectively in modern training; it’s reserved
for advanced theory class, which is the worst place for it. So yes, I
agree – if you truly want to understand a melody, play the bass line
first! That should be de rigueur for all instrumentalists and singers.
“Freedom, invention, unpredictability.” These are the words
chosen in the Music at Metropolitan release to try to capture the
jazzy essence of the concert. But often in the jazz context the platform
for those things working is the strong sense the players, and
at best their audiences, have of the structures that allow for the
apparent spontaneity of the “improvisations.” How far would you
push the comparison in terms of the two musics structurally and in
terms of the kinds of spontaneous on-the-spot negotiation that will
take place among the players on stage during the performance? And
would you say a jazz-lover in the audience might even have an edge
over a typical period music aficionado, in terms of recognizing what
is taking place?
Audiences of the Baroque court were aficionados, quite similar to
the denizens of the jazz club. They were very aware of the components
of composition – dance forms, ground basses, structural elements that
recurred from composer to composer – and they expected invention
and variation. I’ve found that classical audiences really enjoy hearing
a model – a ground bass, madrigal or partimento – and then having
a musician vary it before their eyes, composing on the fly. It’s as fun
and engaging as watching a jazz musician take a solo, and rarer than it
should be in early music performance, especially in North America.
So, problems of tuning aside, do you see the potential for an
ensemble like yours, which is becoming comfortable with working
from charts, actually rocking out with a jazz quartet capable
of reading a Pergolesi oboe concerto score so you have a text to
work with?
I am very interested in any kind of stylistic interaction that gets
people challenging their preconceptions about how to play and sing
- and most crucially, how to listen to music. I think classical musicians
have a lot to learn from the jazz approach. And harmonically
and structurally, there’s a lot more connection between rock, folk
and early music repertoire than people understand or acknowledge.
I’ve played Bach and 12-bar blues; Cole Porter and Caccini. I see more
similarities than differences in them all. And I like to think of a score
as something to be adventuresome with, to alter and vary, rather than
to execute like a script within strict parameters. I’m advocating an
approach that is serious, but not solemn; historically informed, but
not historically constrained; and respectful, but not reverent towards
the written score. If I feel like interrupting a composed set of variations
to add my own, I’m going to do it – and encourage others to
do the same.
I’ve played Bach and 12-bar blues;
Cole Porter and Caccini. I see more
similarities than differences in them all.
So, all going well, what happen from here?
I’d simply like for the skill of improvisation to be more widespread
among classically trained players. Why stop at the Baroque era? What
if young musicians were given the tools and skills to improvise in a
Classical or Romantic style? For that to happen, it’s got to be bred in
the bone from the beginning of training, which means that our current
approach has to be rethought. Even with various pedagogical attempts
to develop creativity and stronger aural skills, we’re still very focused on
correct execution of the written score as a primary goal, to the exclusion
of all else. Score reading is a professional necessity, of course – but
increasingly, so is improvisation. Baroque musicians could do both, and
jazz musicians can do both, so it’s time for us to get with the program!
The Neapolitans learned this approach from the very start of their
training. Their beginner drills were simple, but the effect of them on
young musicians’ ability to listen and create was profound.
This pushes your musical buttons, I see!
I’m a bit evangelical about pushing this, for sure, especially in
Canada. It’s happening elsewhere, and has been for a while, but it’s
not at all prevalent here. Very few people know about partimenti, and
I’ve met players from all over the world who struggle to improvise
Anyhow, ranting again! I could add that there’s a terrific website about
partimenti, at Northwestern U which might entice people to have a
look. Just google “Gjerdingen Partimenti” and you’ll find it. The guy
who did it is one of the top two researchers in this area.
Better still, come on Sunday, November 19. Hopefully you’ll hear
what I mean.
David Perlman can be reached at publisher@thewholenote.com.
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 13

FEATURE
918
Bathurst
DANIELA NARDI
takes the reins
DAVID PERLMAN
It was October 11 when I got in touch with Daniela
Nardi, newly appointed artistic and executive director
of the 918 Bathurst Centre for Culture Arts Media
and Education, less than a five-minute walk north of the
Bathurst/Bloor subway station.
Coincidentally, October 11 was also the opening day of the 12th
edition of the Music Gallery’s X Avant New Music Festival, which
would, in other years, have had nothing to do with this story, because
it would have been mostly presented at the Music Gallery’s usual
home at the Church of St. George the Martyr on John Street, just
south of Grange Park. This season, though, adjacent condo construction
woes are, literally, shaking the Music Gallery to its foundations,
leaving the Gallery and its partners scrambling for alternative venues.
Now it seems that 918 Bathurst has emerged as the answer to at
least some of their prayers. As David Dacks, artistic director of the
Music Gallery says: “We are beyond excited to present the majority of
the [XAvant] festival in the beautiful main hall of 918 Bathurst ... The
Centre has been a welcome new partner in helping us to stage the
festival with a similar sense of occasion as our audiences have come to
expect from the [St. George the Martyr] church environment.”
I started out my conversation with Daniela Nardi by asking what
she thinks the qualities of 918 are that Dacks was referring to when he
said “similar sense of occasion.”
“There are many possible layers to that” she replied,”the first being
physical. That is, the music events presented at St. George the Martyr
certainly had a vibe – not just another concert hall or club setting but
a unique space. Combined with the Music Gallery’s top-notch sensibilities
for presenting concerts, the musical experience was a special
one, a particular one, unlike any other concert experience. And this
is the same for 918 Bathurst. Our space is an ex-Buddhist temple,
with its A-frame roof, all the wood, midcentury detailing. There is no
other space like it in the city hence the musical experience created
in this space is special, is unique. And the acoustics to boot are truly
wonderful. Above all, though I think it has to do with a similar sensibility
when it comes to the value in presenting quality. Both the
Music Gallery and 918 Bathurst adhere to this sensibility as a mantra;
coming to things from the same viewpoint allows us to be in sync,
work together seamlessly in order to create the kinds of experiences
we believe to be memorable and substantive.”
WN: The first time I became aware of 918 Bathurst as a venue
was back in March 2012 when b current and Theatre Archipelago
brought Nicole Brooks’ Obeah Opera there for its first workshop
production. I don’t even know how long before that the Centre was
already a going concern. Even since then, to be honest, it’s been on
my radar more than my itinerary, despite the range of ensembles and
presenters who feature in these pages who’ve used it, or are planning
to – Ensemble Polaris, Afiara Quartet, TorQ Percussion, Opera 5,
Tafelmusik, Toronto Creative Music Lab, Music Gallery, Teo Milea ...
It seems like it still remains for many (artists and audiences), one of
those “best kept secret” places – a “How come I never knew about
this place” kind of thing. Fair comment?
DN: Absolutely a fair comment. It is Toronto’s best kept secret, it is a
gem of a space and it is pretty remarkable that not enough people know
about it. I hope to change that. The space is like no other space in the
city and it is the perfect size. You can seat 200, it is intimate, the acoustics
are great. We have a piano thanks to the Music Gallery and hopefully
going forward with our partnership, 918 will house the other piano the
Music Gallery owns. It is easily accessible by subway, part of the downtown
core, part of the Bloor Street Culture Corridor. And this is just the
start. But to go back to the question, I believe that not enough has been
done to promote this space as a performance space. It has been a great
staple for the community that surrounds it and has survived by word of
mouth. Given its size and architecture, it is most suitable for most arts/
music presenters in the city. Considering the programming, we would
like to create, as well as to continue, our partnerships and collaborations,
we hope to demonstrate the fact that 918 is a unique cultural
hub, a cultural sanctuary if you will, a cultural destination.
Say more about the “sanctuary” aspect. There’s the main hall (which
was literally a sanctuary in the spiritual sense). And what else?
Yes, the Great Hall was used as a Buddhist temple – and you can still
feel the good vibes. But we do have two smaller skylit rooms which we
call the SunRoom and StarRoom which are primarily used for gallery
showings, installations, also good for smaller more intimate concerts,
meetings. We also have a slew of rooms in our lower level which are
great for classes and meetings, a and fully equipped kitchen suitable
for catering of events.
“Artistic and executive director” is your official title and you’re just
starting in that role, right? So I am wondering to what extent you
were aware of the Centre yourself as an artist, prior to applying for
the position?
Yes I just started in July, then went off to Edinburgh to perform at
DANILO URSINI
14 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Fringe so really I haven’t even had my first 100 days yet! But on the
artist side of things, yes I did know about the space, had been in it a
few times for other performances and was quite enamoured with it.
Never did I think I’d end up here doing what I am doing.
Are the “executive” and “artistic” challenges ahead distinct and
different from each other in your own mind at this point? Which
ones wake you up in the middle of the night?
The two roles are distinct and different from one another. Executive,
to me, is about managing all the moving parts which make the facility
function: from day-to-day, nitty-gritty matters to more big-picture
items like fundraising, strategic planning and marketing. This role is
about making the venue go so that the art can soar.
The artistic director role is where my artist side can be creative,
where I get to play. Discovering and showcasing the creators, thoughtleaders
and visionaries of our city is truly inspiring and satisfying.
I say satisfying because being an artist myself, I am grateful for the
opportunity to give other artists a space to do their thing and as a
result, contribute to Toronto’s cultural landscape.
What keeps me up at night more are the items on the executive
side of the checklist. Now being in this role, I can understand how
presenters would talk about their bottom line. There truly is one! I
find myself, when I am talking to artists, saying things like “I still need
to keep the lights on,” which shocks me at times, like a parent saying
“Because I said so.” But this is the reality. I want to keep this space
running, sustainable and viable so that all creators can do their thing –
and how to do that? THAT keeps me up at night.
And why are you the right person for the job?
Why? Well, first I don’t see this as a job. I have been in the arts all
my life. I bring love, passion and hard-earned wisdom to this role. My
skills set comes from the school of hard knocks, not an MBA program
(not that there’s anything wrong with that). I have a drive and truly
a passion to showcase the arts. I am driven to give an audience an
experience. Whether it is through my own shows as an artist or from
presenting other inspiring creators, I am motivated by the desire to
move an audience member, to give them a moment where they can
suspend themselves, be present and have an experience like no other.
I have the impression that much of the artistic and musical
programming over the years has taken the form of the Centre being
available to partner organizations (so mainly as a venue). But does
918 have plans for more events/series of your own?
Yes, I do have intentions of creating our own programming. 918 has
not done that for some time. I see our programming as multidisciplinary,
with strong emphasis on music. But as our tagline suggests:
Where It All Happens. THAT is what I would like to see.
From art to theatre, music to dance, film to literature from all
cultural groups, I want to see 918 be the place where it all can happen.
I want 918’s reputation to be the place where people come to find out
what is happening in the Toronto cultural landscape, what artistic and
cultural contributions are being made. To be life-enhancing. Tall order
perhaps but I’ll try.
Planning arts and culture in the city seems to fall into two camps:
there are those who talk about big plans for “making Toronto into
a real music city,” and those who think it is already one, and worry
about “keeping it real” in the face of forces, economic, political,
social, that weaken the existing social and cultural fabric. I’m interested
in your own thoughts on this. Also, where 918 Bathurst fits in.
First and foremost, Toronto is an amazing music city. We are finally
coming into our own. Developing a personality, a character. Having been
born and raised in this city, I have seen it grow, shape, form itself. No
more are we comparing ourselves or thinking ourselves less than our
American colleagues. We have it going on – and we are proud. Finally.
How I believe 918 fits into “keeping it real” is by staying committed
to quality. By staying committed to giving audiences what is good and
not what is expected. The moment you lose sight of that commitment
is the moment it all starts to fall apart, when you do start to fall prey to
the forces.
Perhaps this all sounds like new-agey rhetoric but if you ask
what does it take to keep things real, you will observe that it’s about
being true to what one believes. And when one is committed to that,
nothing can shake it loose.
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 15

Beat by Beat | Art of Song
Barbara Hannigan
Barbara Hannigan
Getting Inside
the Music
LYDIA PEROVIĆ
Agnès in George Benjamin’s Written on Skin, and soon to be
Isabel in another world premiere by the same composer,
Lessons in Love and Violence. Title character in Toshio
Hosokawa’s Matsukaze. Ophelia in both Brett Dean’s Hamlet and
in Hans Abrahamsen’s song cycle let me tell you. Vermeer’s model
in Louis Andriessen’s Writing to Vermeer. The She character in
Pascal Dusapin’s Passion. Title character in Gerald Barry’s Alice’s
Adventures under Ground. Mélisande in the Katie Mitchell-directed
paradigm-shifting production of Pelléas et Mélisande. Berg’s Lulu in
productions by Christoph Marthaler and Krzysztof Warlikowski. Voice
of Salvatore Sciarrino’s cycle La nuova Euridice secondo Rilke per
soprano e orchestra.
This is just a tiny selection of the world premieres and roles brought
to life by Canadian soprano of global renown, contemporary music
advocate and now also conductor, Barbara Hannigan. She returns
to Toronto on November 10 for a Koerner Hall recital programmed
around the Second Viennese School and the preceding generation
of composers. Dutch pianist, composer and conductor Reinbert de
Leeuw will be at the piano. De Leeuw has been music director and
conductor of the Schönberg Ensemble since its founding in the mid-
1970s. The ensemble, now known as Asko|Schönberg, continues to
prioritize new music and perform the works of the 20th and 21st
centuries exclusively.
Hannigan is based in Paris, where she lives with her partner, actor
and filmmaker Mathieu Amalric. I asked her a few questions via email
about the forthcoming Toronto recital and its program consisting of
songs by Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, Zemlinsky, Alma Mahler and
Hugo Wolf.
Cathedral Bluffs
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Norman Reintamm
Artistic Director/Principal Conductor
Saturday December 9, 2017 8 pm
HANSEL & GRETEL
by Humperdinck
with TrypTych Concert & Opera
Special Encore Matinée: 2 pm Sunday
SUBSCRIPTION CONCERT 2 | TICKETS: from $35 adult $30 senior/student
children under age 12 are free ORDER ONLINE OR BY PHONE
P.C. HoTheatre 5183 Sheppard Ave E (1 block east of Markham Rd), Scarborough
cathedralbluffs.com | 416.879.5566
WN: Schoenberg’s Four Lieder, Op.2 and Webern’s Five Lieder have
poet Richard Dehmel in common. Does this also make Schoenberg
and Webern musical siblings? (They sound like it to me, I could be
wrong.) Both atonal and Sprechgesang, poetry-driven, rather than
songs as we know them from the Romantic and post-Romantic eras?
BH: Dehmel… well, he wrote a very important book in the 1890s
called Weib und Welt, for which he was put on trial for obscenity.
I mean, we read those poems now and we don’t feel that at all, but
in the time, just to try and express sensual feelings, and from the
imagined woman’s perspective… WOW! He was using imagery like…
reflections in water, a beckoning hand from a window, a kiss outside
VOICE
B OX
OPERA IN CONCERT
Guillermo Silva-Marin
General Director
operainconcert.com
Christina Raphaëlle
Haldane
Charles Sy
RODELINDA
by George Frideric Handel
Larry Beckwith, Conductor
featuring Christina Raphaëlle Haldane, Charles Sy,
David Trudgen and Alexander Dobson
One of Handel’s greatest works,
a favourite of opera houses and
festivals the world over.
Sun. November 26
at 2:30 pm
27 Front St. E., Toronto
416-366-7723 | 1-800-708-6754 | www.stlc.com
16 | November 2017 thewholenote.com
ELMER DE HAAS

marriage, a woman pregnant from a man she did not know or love…
it was shocking. Dehmel was a huge influence for Schoenberg’s
early vocal works (his writing was the reason we have Schoenberg’s
Verklärte Nacht) and Berg, Webern and many others. So…is the music
related because of Dehmel? Not necessarily. There are images, reflections,
a fluidity of the music which was a musical development and
style at the time. If it hadn’t been Dehmel it would have been Stefan
Georg, who was a later influence for Schoenberg. The tonalities are
not yet what I think of as atonal…that came a little bit later. Certainly
the Schoenberg Op.2 are closer to Strauss than anything (but better
than Strauss!). Webern’s five Dehmel songs are absolutely atonal. They
avoid harmonic centre, though their endings always seem to confirm
some kind of tonal centre which was elusive for the entire song.
How does the singer make them dramatic, as something unfolding
before the audience? We rarely get to hear songs like this in recital,
and the Romantic and post-Romantic songs have spoiled us in terms
of drama, contrasts, things happening, and big, legible emotions.
I don’t need to make them dramatic. They already are dramatic. I
just have to sing them, rather than interpret. I find the idea of “interpretation”
very foreign. The emotions are deep, pure, full of instinct
and that very Viennese idea of Sehnsucht… longing. It’s all there. I just
need to get inside it. And with a pianist such as Reinbert de Leeuw…a
huge mentor to me for over 20 years…this is a kind of musical heaven
for me. An earthly heaven.
Berg’s Seven Early Songs come across as more varied. The texts are
from different poets – but the songs differ musically too, for example
the intense, soaring Die Nachtigall vs. the playful Im Zimmer. How
do you approach this cycle? Berg is very much “your” composer, if I
can put it that way – you’ve sung Lulu of course and your new CD is
planned around the character of Lulu.
The Berg are more accessible I suppose. We have to remember
that in this late-Romantic period, the song was still the centre of a
composer’s expression. Every composer began with writing songs.
They developed their harmonic style through the very intimate union
of piano, voice and text. And from that, they expanded to larger
works. Nowadays things are very different...
Intriguing that there’s Alma, but not Gustav Mahler on the
program. We rarely get to hear her in recital. How would you
describe her songs? (I thought Laue Sommernacht probably the most
melodic song on the entire program?)
The Alma Mahler songs we chose were in part written when she
was a student (and love interest) of Zemlinsky. And the songs we
present of Zemlinsky were, by the way, written when he was teaching
her. They seemed to be in love, before she met Mahler. Honestly,
her songs are good but they are not great. They are the weakest on
the recital program but we included them because she was such an
important figure at that time. A muse, later a patron. She was the
lover of Kokoschka and inspired his work, also Klimt, also the writing
of Werfel; and the early death of her daughter Manon (with Gropius)
inspired Berg’s violin concerto. She was a very, very important figure
in the musical world of the early 20th century. These four songs
show her potential but she did not develop it. Mahler told her before
they married that she had to stop composing. So she only achieved
a certain niveau in her work and then she stopped, and became
Mahler’s wife. Laue Sommernacht … is it the most melodic? I don’t
think so. Die Nachtigall of Berg is more soaring, I’d say. Or Irmelin
Rose, the strophic fairytale song of Zemlinsky. And really, what does
melodic mean? Something with a tune? I don’t know. I think melodic
means something different to everyone.
The concert ends with Wolf’s extraordinary, almost operatic
Kennst du das Land. How does a singer conserve the energy, physical
and dramatic, up to that point and then deliver that Mignon miniopera
at the end?
I don’t know how other people do it but for me, there is a degree of
2017/2018
Inna Perkis & Boris Zarankin
Founders and Artistic Directors
a season of sequels.
again and more.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2017 | 3 PM
MEDICINE + MUSIC:
A CARDIAC AFFAIR
featuring
Steven DANN | Dr. David GOLDBLOOM | Virginia HATFIELD
Inna PERKIS | Ernesto RAMIREZ | Meghan SYMON
Boris ZARANKIN | Julia ZARANKIN
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor Street West
TO ORDER TICKETS, please call 416.466.6323 or visit offcentremusic.com
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 17

Beat by Beat | On Opera
TrypTych’s
Toronto Farewell
CHRISTOPHER HOILE
ELMER DE HAAS
Upstaged by West Side Story but never
obscured, CANDIDE has become the darling
of opera companies and Broadway through
the sheer power of its drama, music and
imaginative splendour. Voltaire’s irresistible
– and censored! – masterwork becomes great
music theatre.
Tonatiuh Abrego
Barbara Hannigan
strategy in the pacing of the recital and then… I count on adrenaline
to get me through the final four songs of Hugo Wolf. I love them
so much, I love Mignon and her need for secrecy. I just slip into her
skin and she carries me through the music; her need to try to reveal
herself, without explaining herself, is so powerful that the songs just…
pour out. This recital program was devised by Reinbert de Leeuw.
As I wrote earlier, my mentor. He is the guide and inspiration for me
through this musical journey. And he carries me through it… every
rehearsal reminding and insisting that I attempt the most delicate
adherence to the composer’s wishes. Always searching for the real
pianissimi that the composers demand, rather than the verismo of
the earlier part of the 19th century. This world is one of reflection, of
suggestion, of intimacy without explanation. And I am so thrilled to
bring this program, with Reinbert, to Toronto.
Lydia Perović is an arts journalist in Toronto. Send her your art-ofsong
news to artofsong@thewholenote.com.
Guillermo Silva-Marin
General Director
by Leonard Bernstein
Derek Bate, Conductor
Guillermo Silva-Marin, Stage Director
Vania Chan
Elizabeth Beeler
Nicholas Borg
December 28, 30 & January 5, 6 at 8 pm
December 31, January 7 at 3 pm
416-366-7723 | 1-800-708-6754 | www.stlc.com
Dedicated Toronto operagoers know that operatic activity in
Toronto is not confined to the city’s two largest companies, the
Canadian Opera Company and Opera Atelier. Numerous smaller
companies have helped make the opera scene in Toronto one of the
most diverse in North America. There is therefore a pang of sadness
whenever one of these companies ceases operations, as did Queen of
Puddings Music Theatre in 2013 and as will Toronto Masque Theatre
in 2018. Some may have seen on the website for TrypTych Concert &
Opera that co-artistic directors Edward Franko and Lenard Whiting
will be leaving Toronto and moving to Kenora. To find out more about
the history of TrypTych and how the move will affect the company, I
interviewed Franko and Whiting last month.
TrypTych was founded in the early fall of 1999 by Franko, Whiting
and William Shookhoff. Franko had been working with Nina Scott-
Stoddart’s company Opera Anonymous. As Franko says, “The three of
us all got together and thought that we should do something together
and utilize all our different skills and decided that with the three
heads of the beast and the famous Il Trittico [by Puccini] we could
convert that to TrypTych and just change the spelling.”
Then, about ten years ago Shookhoff had to pull out of TrypTych
due to health reasons, leaving Franko to do the opera side of the
productions and Whiting the choral side. But the TrypTych name
stuck. (As it happened, Shookhoff recovered and founded his own
company, Opera By Request.)
Franko emphasizes: “We were very strong at the beginning about
not just being an opera company. We felt that we didn’t want to
be beholden to opera even though all three of us had a very strong
connection to opera. We were also working with singers from a lot of
different musical backgrounds. We thought that singing as a whole
isn’t just opera – you have to be able to fit into a lot of categories.
That’s why we did cabarets that featured music like jazz, pop and rock
and quite a wide range of things. Then we had the classical oratorio
side and tried to do some things that aren’t done a lot like Dubois’
Seven Last Words, Gounod’s Messe solennelle, Saint-Saëns’ Mass for
Four Voices and even the Widor Mass.”
Whiting explained the reason for this dual focus: “This is part of the
reality of what Canadian singers really have to be exposed to. There’s
a handful that find a really wonderful opportunity in opera, but if you
don’t happen to break into that market you’ve got to find other ways
to present yourself and to be diverse.”
TrypTych has presented quite a number of seldom-heard operas
over the past 18 seasons, such as Marcel Mihalovici’s Krapp, ou la
dernière bande (1961), Hugo Weisgall’s The Stronger (1952), Jack
Beeson’s Sorry, Wrong Number (1996), Menotti’s The Saint of
Bleecker Street (1954), Quenten Doolittle’s Boiler Room Suite (1989)
and the Canadian stage premiere of Verdi’s Oberto (1839).
Franko adds: “One of the big things we’ve been really happy with
over the last five years has been our relationship with conductor
Norman Reintamm and the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra,
doing fully staged opera with a 60-piece orchestra at the 600-seat
P.C. Ho Theatre in Scarborough. In fact, our shows get the best houses
of all their concerts. We’ve done all three parts of Il Trittico now and
two one-act operas last year. This December for the first time we’re
doing a full-length opera, Hansel and Gretel, with the big orchestra,
a children’s chorus and Lenard as the Witch with an LED screen for
backdrops.
“A lot of the opportunities that opera school graduates get is singing
opera in concert, which is great, but we and the CBSO give them a
18 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Edward Franko (left) and
Lenard Whiting
chance to incorporate
all aspects
of the art – singing,
acting and movement
on stage –
with a full orchestra.
Young people don’t
get that chance
very often.”
Toronto operagoers
will be
relieved to hear
Franko affirm that
“Even after we move north we’re keeping a connection with the CBSO
and TrypTych so we’ll be able to do at least one production a year even
though we’re far away.” Whiting has renovated the basement of their
Toronto base at Trinity Presbyterian Church into a combined rehearsal
space and concert/performance space for 125 people, “so there will be
no need to rent since we already have space and a good working relationship
all round.”
The main reason for choosing Kenora for their move is that is where
Whiting is from. As Franko says, “We have a home up there on an
island in Lake of the Woods and Lenard has been going back every
year so that we now know lots of people in the community.”
Franko makes their goal clear: “TrypTych for us has always been
a labour of love. We’ve never made money off it. Our goal now is
to develop a real thriving arts company in Kenora that can operate
all year round but with a summer focus. We want to work with the
community and with young people to really develop a community
organization. We want to make a great impact in a small place and
give them a boost. We’re thinking of it as TrypTych North.”
On October 28 and 29, TrypTych staged the rarity H.M.S.
Parliament (1880), in which the Canadian William Henry Fuller wrote
a new libretto for Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore (1878) in order to satirize
Canadian politics. “This will also be the first staged production we
will do in Kenora,” Franko says. That being said, Franko and Whiting
have already made plans for their next production in Toronto. “In
February 2019 the CBSO and TrypTych will do Donizetti’sThe Elixir of
Love. It will be performed in English because we’ve always been ones
to make opera more accessible. We love the form and we want to make
people more connected with it.”
Asked what some of the highlights were for them in Toronto, they
agree that it was the workshops and the world premiere of Canadian
composer Andrew Ager’s opera Frankenstein (2010). “It was a
wonderful journey for us to work with him and make that piece
come alive.”
Franko also lists the Canadian stage premiere of Grigori Frid’s The
Diary of Anne Frank (1972), starring Shoshana Friedman. The production
was invited to the Three Rings Festival in Prague and was staged
in the gorgeous Spanish Synagogue. “It was overwhelming for me as a
producer-director to have my work performed there,” Franko says.
For Whiting, highlights include Stanford’s Stabat Mater (1906),
with piano and organ reduction, which Whiting calls “just to die for”
and the company’s performance of Bach’s St. John Passion where he
both conducted and sang the role of the Evangelist.
A huge challenge for Franko personally was both performing and
directing himself in The Tell-Tale Heart (2006) for tenor and three
cellos by German-born American composer Danny Ashkenasi, based
on the tale by Edgar Allen Poe.
But they are not ready to talk about highlights only in the past
tense. “We have at least 15 more years of being able to contribute to
the arts scene up north in a really vital way,” Whiting says. “We have
the energy and the imagination and the experience from working in
Toronto, and we think that it’s time to bring our abilities to the people
up north.” And when asked when they plan to retire, Franko states,
“The artistic soul never retires.”
Christopher Hoile is a Toronto-based writer on opera and theatre.
He can be contacted at opera@thewholenote.com.
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thewholenote.com November 2017 | 19

Beat by Beat | Classical & Beyond
Stellar Soloists
In Chamber
Works
PAUL ENNIS
Mai Tategami began studying the violin at the age of six. As an
orchestral player, she was concertmaster of the Seiji Ozawa
Ongaku-juku Orchestra and became an academy student
and temporary contract member of the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester
Berlin (2012-2015). During the 2015/16 season, she performed with
the Beethoven Orchester Bonn as concertmaster. At 28, she won
the first edition of the Orford Music Prize in 2016. She makes her
Toronto debut with a free Music at St. Andrew’s noontime recital
on November 24
Mai Tategami
and follows that
up November 26,
when she joins the
Rebelheart Collective
in Mooredale
Concerts’ third
program of the
season to play the
second violin part
for a performance
of Mendelssohn’s
exuberant String
Quintet in B-flat
Major, Op.87.
She told me in a
mid-October email
conversation that
she started her
musical education
at three with the
piano. “My teacher
gave me some Bach
to practise,” she told me. “His music was like a magical world. I have
always felt peaceful and relaxed when I play/listen to Bach. He is still
one of my favourite composers.” So Bach was the first composer she
fell in love with. What about musicians? “I don’t remember which one
was the first violinist that I liked, but I loved Itzhak Perlman and Gil
Shaham when I was small. They were my superstars, and I fell in love
with their brilliant and sweet Romantic sound.” A few years ago, she
had the chance to play with Gil Shaham as a member of the orchestra.
“It was one of my great memories as a musician in my life.”
I asked when she knew she would devote herself to music and she
told me that there had been two turning points in her life. When she
was 12 years old she had to choose which private junior high school
to get into. One was the best junior high school in the Osaka/Kobe
area, but to get in there she would have had to go to cram school and
give up on playing the violin as a professional player. The other was
the academy connected to her elementary school. To enter it no cram
school was necessary so she could continue practising the violin
as much as she wanted. Her other dream was to be a lawyer and to
pursue that dream she would have had to go to the best school and
forgo studying the violin altogether. After much self-examination,
she realized she couldn’t imagine her life without playing music so
she decided to go to the academy which would allow her to study and
play violin. “I think it was the first decision I made to devote my life to
music,” she said.
I asked how winning the Orford Music Prize had changed her life.
She was playing in the Beethoven Orchester in Bonn, Germany at
the time, she told me, but winning the prize gave her opportunities
to play solo and chamber music concerts in Asia and Canada, so she
quit playing in the orchestra and concentrated on her music, studying
again to get ready for her next step. “I think it was one of the biggest
decisions I have made in the past few years,” she said.
At her St. Andrew’s recital she will be playing Mozart’s Violin
Sonata K526 and Poulenc’s Violin Sonata with Canadian pianist
Jean-Luc Therrien, whom she met at the Orford Music Festival a few
years ago. They played an all-Mozart recital together in Salzburg last
summer that included K526. The second movement of the Poulenc
sonata was the encore piece that evening, but they had so much fun
playing it they included it on their Canadian tour. She thinks the audience
will enjoy hearing such “totally different style composers.”
She didn’t know the Mendelssohn Quintet until she was asked to
play it at Mooredale but she relates to “this wonderful piece” in her
own unique way. She explains that Mendelssohn wrote the piece
when he was 36, just two years before his death. “He was resting in
Frankfurt after spending a very busy few years in Leipzig including
his musical trip to England,” she said. “I think he very much enjoyed
his stay in Frankfurt, because I could feel his excitement in the music.
And the fact that I have been to Leipzig and Frankfurt helps me think
of how he liked it there and how it influenced his music. I somehow
can feel his happiness and normal everyday life.”
She added: “I’m very much looking forward to playing in Toronto.
I’ve never been there but heard many good things about the city. And
of course to be able to play with such wonderful musicians is a great
honour for me.”
Quartet for the End of Time
“The most ethereally beautiful music of the twentieth century,” Alex
Ross wrote in The New Yorker (March 22, 2004), “was first heard on
a brutally cold January night in 1941, at the Stalag VIIIA prisoner-ofwar
camp, in Görlitz, Germany.” Messiaen wrote most of the Quartet
for the End of Time, Ross goes on to explain, after being captured as a
French soldier during the German invasion of 1940. The premiere took
place in an unheated space in Barrack 27 where the German officers of
the camp sat in the front row “and shivered along with the prisoners.”
Ross concludes: “This is the music of one who expects paradise not
only in a single awesome hereafter but also in the happenstance
epiphanies of daily life. In the end, Messiaen’s apocalypse has little to
do with history and catastrophe; instead, it records the rebirth of an
ordinary soul in the grip of extraordinary emotion. Which is why the
Quartet is as overpowering now as it was on that frigid night in 1941.”
Pianist Lucas Debargue discussed Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of
Time for medici.tv in advance of his Verbier Festival performance of it
earlier this year:
“It’s a very challenging piece… but most of the difficulties are
musical because you can consider this is a work still impressionist in
the writing -- there are some effects with pedalling tonal pedal and
right pedal -- some writing of chords with some modal harmonies,
but at the same time there is a very moderne aesthetic that Messiaen
has already developed. It’s a mature work. He knows exactly what he
is doing and he has found his style and how to organize it to create a
peak piece. Messiaen himself was very inspired by spiritual matters.
He considered himself a very, very strong Catholic and so the whole
work is inspired by some mystical subjects. The piece is not the traditional
four-movement chamber music piece; it’s in eight movements.
And Messiaen says himself it’s like the seven symbolic figures
plus another one -- eight -- which symbolizes eternity. And it ends
very peacefully with the most melodic movement of all; just the solo
violin with piano accompaniment. It’s like a scale to heaven, to the
sky. It’s an incredible piece to just go out of this pragmatic, material
world. Because it’s all out of here. We are somewhere else, from the
first notes.”
Debargue and his cohorts, Dutch violinist Janine Jansen, Swedes
20 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Torlief Thedeen
Lucas Debargue
(cello) and Martin
Fröst (clarinet),
have been on
a mini-trans-
Atlantic tour since
recording the
Messiaen earlier
this year for SONY
(release date is
November 3).
Beginning at the
end of May in
Stockholm, they’ve
performed
the Quartet to great acclaim in Wigmore Hall, London and the
Verbier Festival, Switzerland. A concert in Quebec City takes place
on December 4, the day before their Koerner Hall performance
December 5. An appearance in Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall wraps it up
December 7. Jansen, incidentally, is the Perspectives Artist at Carnegie
Hall this season. The North American tour’s program begins with
Bartók’s Contrasts for violin, clarinet and piano, commissioned in
1938 by Joseph Szigeti and Benny Goodman. Bartók downplayed the
piano part as if in deference to the skills of his commissioners but
played up the three instruments’ differences in timbre. There is a 1940
recording of the three of them available on YouTube. Szymanowski’s
incandescent Mythes for violin and piano completes the first half of
the recital.
WCMT Career Development Award
The Women’s Musical Club of Toronto’s Career Development
Award (CDA) is presented every three years to an exceptional young
Canadian musician (or small ensemble) embarking on a professional
performing career. The winner gets $20,000 and the opportunity to
give a recital in the Music in the Afternoon concert series. The process
for choosing the 2018 CDA winner is now well under way with the
recent announcement of the ten candidates under consideration.
Five of them are likely familiar to our readers: Toronto native,
mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, well-known to local audiences,
took a giant international step forward in March 2016, when she was
one of five winners of the 2016 Metropolitan Opera Auditions at 21.
Violinists Boson Mo and Blake Pouliot and pianists Mehdi Ghazi and
Tony Yike Yang are also familiar fixtures here. Now, on November 4
and 5, another of the CDA candidates gets an opportunity to make
his mark in the GTA. Timothy Chooi is the soloist in Bruch’s hugely
popular Violin Concerto No.1, a piece that unabashedly wears its heart
on its sleeve; it promises to be a highlight of the Oakville Symphony
Orchestra’s “50th Anniversary Fireworks” program.
Music Toronto gathers steam
The 46th season of Music Toronto is well under way with four
concerts taking place under the umbrella of this issue of The
WholeNote, beginning with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor’s highly
anticipated return to the Jane Mallett stage on November 7. On
November 16, Britain’s brilliant Anglo-Irish quartet, the Carducci, will
fly in especially to perform a heavyweight program -- Beethoven’s
Quartet No.11, Shostakovich’s Quartet No.4 and Debussy’s Quartet
in G Minor -- following the unexpected cancellation (for medical
reasons) by the Škampa Quartet. Described by The Strad as presenting
“a masterclass in unanimity of musical purpose, in which severity
could melt seamlessly into charm, and drama into geniality,″, the
internationally-known Carducci Quartet studied with members of the
Amadeus, Alban Berg, Chilingirian, Takács and Vanbrugh quartets.
A Toronto solo piano recital debut by Timothy Chiu, who is profiled
elsewhere in this issue, follows on November 28. And finally the
Gryphon Trio, now in its 23rd year, makes its annual Music Toronto
visit December 7 with a typically diverse program of Haydn, Mozetich
and Brahms.
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Enjoy an hour of beautiful music performed
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Spotlighting Roy Thomson Hall’s magnificent
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ELMER ISELER SINGERS
Season of Joy
TUE DEC 19 ◆ 12:00 PM
Lydia Adams, conductor | Shawn Grenke, organ
CANADIAN CHILDREN’S
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Celebration of Youth
FRI FEB 2, 2018 ◆ 12:00 PM
Teri Dunn, conductor | Christopher Dawes, organ
OTTAWA BACH CHOIR
Bach to the Beatles
FRI APR 13, 2018 ◆ 12:00 PM
Lisette Canton, conductor | Matthew Larkin, organ
HAMILTON CHILDREN’S
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Ring of Fire
MON JUN 4, 2018 ◆ 12:00 PM
Zimfira Poloz & Elise Bradley, conductors
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Made possible by the generous support of Edwards
Charitable Foundation
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 21

Beat by Beat | In with the New
Max Christie on
New Music
Performance
WENDALYN BARTLEY
QUICK PICKS
Nov 5: Nocturnes in the City presents the eminent Czech violinist
Ivan Zenaty (who continues the Czech violin tradition he learned from
his mentor Josef Suk) in works by Franck, Tchaikovsky and Dvořák
(with pianist Dmitri Vorobiev).
Nov 5: Trio Arkel (with guest, cellist Shauna Rolston) paints a
musical picture of Russia in the years before the Revolution: Taneyev’s
Trio for Strings (1907), Arensky’s Cello Quartet (1894) and Cello Duos
(1909) by Glière.
Nov 9: Women’s Musical Club of Toronto presents the Zodiac Trio
in a recital geared to their unusual makeup: piano, violin and clarinet.
Formed in 2006 at the Manhattan School of Music under the guidance
of famed clarinettist David Krakauer and Beaux Arts violinist Isidore
Cohen, the trio has made a career out of their unique sound palette.
Nov 12: Pocket Concerts’ ebullient co-directors, pianist Emily Rho
and violist Rory McLeod, in a rare duo recital, play music by Kenji
Bunch, Brahms and Rachmaninoff.
Nov 15 and 16: Peter Oundjian leads the TSO in an all-Vaughan
Williams program showcasing orchestra members Sarah Jeffrey
(oboe) and Teng Li (viola) as well as Canadian superstar Louis Lortie
(who also gives a solo recital Nov 19 at The Isabel in Kingston). On
Nov 23 and 25, Deutsche Oper Berlin general music director Donald
Runnicles leads the TSO in Mahler’s biographical Symphony No.6,
a massive work the composer wrote as an answer to Strauss’ Ein
Heldenleben.
Paul Ennis is the managing editor of The WholeNote.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10 - 1:30pm
Deck the Halls: Downtown Carol
Sing with the Metropolitan Silver
Band and Organ
Sing favourite carols
~ Freewill donation helps Metropolitan’s
community work in the downtown core
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17 - 7:00pm
Annual Candlelight Service of
Lessons and Carols with the
Metropolitan Choirs
~ Freewill offering
www.metunited.org • 416-363-0331, ext. 26
56 Queen Street East, Toronto
Donald Runnicles conducting the
Orchester der Deutsche Oper Berlin
MetUnited Music
MetUnitedMusic
Often in this column I write about what’s happening in the
world of new contemporary music from the composer and
presenter perspective – their ideas, visions and inspirations.
However, this month I want to focus on those who undertake to
bring these ideas to life – the performers. New Music Concerts’
event “Concertos” on December 3 provides the perfect context for
this conversation as it will feature three works designed to highlight
the role of the solo performer. The concert will present concertos
written for soloist and chamber ensemble by composers Robin
de Raaff (Netherlands), Linda C. Smith (USA/Canada) and Paul
Frehner (Canada), featuring percussionist Ryan Scott, pianist Eve
Egoyan and clarinettist Max Christie, respectively. Frehner’s piece,
Cloak, is a newly-commissioned work for clarinet and chamber
ensemble, so I contacted Christie to find out more about the work
from his perspective and also about his extensive career performing
contemporary music for a number of the new music presenters
in the city.
Christie began by explaining how he sees his role as a performer.
“My job is to observe the language of the composer and then utter it.
Every voice is unique, whether a performer’s or a composer’s. I don’t
try to make my voice suit the music, I just try to hear and understand
the piece and bring it out from the potential into the actual. That
is often fun for me. I love puzzles. A new piece is a puzzle to solve. I
don’t think that’s the composer’s intention, it’s just part of learning
music of any era.”
Christie says that the musical language in Frehner’s Cloak makes
sense to him. “He’s done a good job of choosing the multiphonics for
the opening section, which is extremely mysterious yet approachable
from a performance standpoint. The title, Cloak, is a hint; it’s
word play really. There’s a masked quality to the opening, whereas
the thematic material from the later movements could almost be
from a noir thriller soundtrack What’s mysterious for me right now
is what’s going on with the ensemble while I’m playing these long,
held notes. Sometimes you get something to work on and it’s really
hard, and you’re working on the hope that you hit 60 to 70 percent --
and if I can’t get 90 to 100 percent of this piece, I’m just bad. It’s definitely
the kind of writing that makes you realize how wonderful it is
to encounter a composer who writes that well for your instrument.
It makes you look good and therefore you have a better chance of
making him look good.”
Christie has been an active performer within the contemporary
music community over the years as an ensemble member of
Continuum, Esprit Orchestra and New Music Concerts. I asked him
what it was about new music that sparked his interest and had him
pursue a career with such commitment. “A huge part of what used to
be my profile in so many groups was just my willingness to try stuff,
and my flat-out refusal to give up on the hardest pieces. As you keep
working in a particular area you get pegged as a such-and-such type
of player. I’m pretty much at home with any era of music where the
clarinet is involved, but I’ve come to accept this designation because
it’s at least partly true.”
There is often a lot of additional pressure performing new
music due to the usual constraints of limited rehearsal time being
compounded by the challenge of the music itself. Christie enjoys rising
22 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

DANIEL FOLEY
Max Christie
to the challenge. “If something is difficult, I work hard to get inside the
piece. I’m not so good at faking it.” Asked what he meant by “faking,”
he explained. “Faking is doing things not being asked for, and most
players do it. Sometimes it’s a necessary evil or skill to be able to
come up with something. I once played a piece with a passage that
was so hard that by the concert I realized I was never going to play it
exactly right. So I composed something myself that took on the character
of what was written. Not that what was written was impossible
or wrong. What matters is that the character of what you’re playing
reflects what the composer was after. A few years ago NMC played a
concert of music by Jörg Widmann, an excellent clarinetist, composer
and conductor. He realized how difficult a certain section was that had
a large number of notes per second. During rehearsal, he admitted
it – there was a recognition from this great musician that [while] we
were mimicking an effect he had written out in great detail .... in fact
he was just asking for an effect that was similar to what was written.
That’s a good composer – when they recognize that what they’ve
written is beyond the possible. It stretches you towards the impossible
and makes you creative enough to solve some of the issues. That kind
of faking is totally legitimate.”
Currently, Christie is only performing contemporary music with
New Music Concerts, an ensemble that over the years has given him
many opportunities to work with some of the great composers of our
era. I asked him what experiences have stood out, and even though
there have been so many, he immediately mentioned Elliott Carter.
He had performed Carter’s solo clarinet work, GRA, and due to this
experience, he had the opportunity to record it for the Naxos label.
“Carter signed my copy of the piece and thanked me for the performance.
Being able to record it was me putting a stamp on a particular
piece – here’s one of the standards of how the piece can go. I hope it
has had some influence, because it’s a great piece.” He also mentioned
working with Pierre Boulez, commenting on how clean and crisp he
was as a conductor, as well as with Michel Gonneville. “Being part of
NMC has meant working regularly with Bob Aitken. He has tremendous
knowledge and experience and his patience with me is all part of
what makes NMC great.”
The “Concertos” concert includes a performance by Eve Egoyan
of Path of Uneven Stones by Linda C. Smith. Egoyan has had a
busy summer schedule and has just returned from a European solo
recital tour. A recent residency in Quebec City gave her the opportunity
to be involved in the creation of an intuitive interface for
the piano that “explores the frontiers between notes played, those
heard and those transformed until they meet the imaginary.” Elliott
Carter’s 2011 String Trio is also part of the program, along with
Ryan Scott performing the Canadian premiere of Robin de Raaff’s
Percussion Concerto.
World premieres by:
Anna Höstman with Phoebe Tsang, Scott Wilson with
Beyond his
Alexandra
role as an
Oliver,
outstanding
James Rolfe
percussionist,
with Steven Heighton
Scott is also the
artistic director of Continuum Contemporary Music, which will be
launching its Plus new works season by Ann with Southam “Urgent and Voices” film by Michael on December Mitchell 8 and
9. This event is Continuum’s contribution to the commemoration of
Canada 150, and they are doing so with a series of compositions by
Anna Höstman, James Rolfe, Ann Southam and Scott Wilson that
combine stories, reflections and dreams using song, spoken word and
multimedia. They are also weaving in the honouring of Glenn Gould’s
85th birthday. While film is shown of Gould performing music from
Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Steinway’s latest player piano
innovation called the Spirio will interpret Gould’s finger depressions
and releases to recreate a live rendition of the original performance.
Additional Highlights
Esprit Orchestra’s November 19 concert offers an opportunity to hear
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by French composer Marc-André
Dalbavie, with a performance by Véronique Mathieu. Mathieu is another
performer who has made the performance of contemporary music a
priority, particularly music by Canadian and American composers. The
program also features works by Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason, as
well as by Canadians Douglas Schmidt and Ana Sokolović.
The Thin Edge New Music Collective presents “Sensing” with three
shows at the Canadian Music Centre on November 11, featuring music
by composers Höstman, Scime and Morton Feldman. Arraymusic
has two events coming up – the first on November 22 is a celebration
of the music of Wilhelm Killmayer, an underappreciated German
composer whose surreal music is ardently supported by Array’s
artistic director Martin Arnold. Then on December 2, American Sarah
Hennies will perform her piece Gather & Release for vibraphone,
sine waves, field recordings and bilateral stimulation. Her music is an
immersive psycho-acoustic experience often realized by an endurance-based
performance practice.
And finally, as we prepare to enter that ambiguous state of “holiday
time,” Soundstreams presents a more edgy twist to the usual stream
of music one hears. Their Electric Messiah returns for the third year
December 4 to 6, with a special performance on November 24 by their
resident artist, sci-fi turntablist SlowPitchSound. This will be part
of a behind-the-scenes look by SlowPitchSound and other Messiah
performers at what goes into the making of this fast-growing holiday
favourite.
Wendalyn Bartley is a Toronto-based composer and electro-vocal
sound artist. sounddreaming@gmail.com.
December 8 & 9, 2017, 8pm
Aki Studio, Daniels Spectrum
585 Dundas Street East
$35/25/15
World premieres by Anna Höstman with Phoebe Tsang,
Scott Wilson with Alexandra Oliver, James Rolfe
with Steven Heighton
Plus works by Ann Southam and film by Michael Mitchell
continuummusic.org
416.924.4945
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 23

Beat by Beat | Jazz Notes
Leaps of Faith:
Teaching an Old
Dog New Tricks
STEVE WALLACE
Clubs have traditionally been the lifeblood of a city’s jazz scene.
It was certainly that way for this “old dog” in the early part of
my career, during the heyday when Toronto boasted numerous
longstanding clubs such as George’s Spaghetti House, Bourbon Street
and Basin Street, the Montreal Bistro and Top O’ the Senator, which
presented both international and local jazz six nights a week.
If measured by this yardstick alone the health of jazz in Toronto
now, with just three major clubs presenting the music on a multinight-per-week
basis – The Rex, Jazz Bistro, and the Home Smith
Bar – can be called into question. However, it’s not as bad as all that,
because in recent years new ways of hearing live jazz have arrived,
thanks to the persistence and ingenuity of the jazz community at large
– those who play the music, those who are trying to learn to play it,
those who enjoy listening to it, and those who present it. These new
models include:
Student Jazz Concerts at The Rex
For the past several years, Monday nights at The Rex have been
given over to sets by student ensembles from the jazz programs at U
of T and Humber College. These generally begin with three different
U of T ensembles starting at 6:30pm and playing for 40 minutes each,
followed by the Humber groups at about 9:30pm. I began teaching
(and, unusually, also playing in) a jazz ensemble at U of T last year,
which brought me into direct contact with this scene, and I liked what
I saw and heard right away. Playing in a real club setting, one where
their teachers often perform, brings out the best in the students,
and I wish this opportunity had been on offer when I was a jazz
student. Mondays are not a prime night out but I urge local jazz fans
to attend, not just to support the students – which is worthy in itself
– but because you will hear some interesting and sincere music. Both
schools are brimming with young talent; in essence you will hear
the future of the music in Toronto, a future I feel confident is in good
hands after hearing some of these young people play.
Big Bands Are Back
Well, sort of. Phil Nimmons retired his big band years ago and
following the deaths of Rob McConnell and Dave McMurdo, it seemed
the future of big-band jazz in Toronto was in peril. Starting and
running a big band in these times is perhaps the ultimate jazz labour
of love, but John MacLeod has persisted in doing so with his Rex
Hotel Orchestra, which has performed at its namesake club on the last
Monday of every month for years now. The lion’s share of the arrangements
are written by MacLeod in an eclectic style reflecting both
modern and traditional elements, featuring stellar ensemble work
and plenty of solo room for some of Toronto’s best players carrying on
in the tradition established by those mentioned above. The band has
produced several recordings and its latest, The Toronto Sound, will be
released at a gala concert at the Old Mill on November 6, which I will
be attending. Kudos to John MacLeod for his perseverance and talent
in guaranteeing that high-quality big-band jazz can still be heard
around these parts.
But there’s more. Three days after the Old Mill event, November 9,
the Wee Big Band will be heard in concert in the Garage at the Centre
for Social Innovation, 720 Bathurst Street, starting at 7:30pm. The
John MacLeod
band has been a Toronto fixture for
years and has survived the death of
its founder-leader Jim Galloway and
several of its key players, such as
lead-alto stalwart Gordie Evans. But
it continues in the capable hands of
Martin Loomer, its longtime rhythm
guitarist and principle arranger, or
perhaps I should say transcriptionist.
The band’s repertoire consists mostly
of early big-band classics from masters
like Fletcher Henderson, Don Redman,
McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, Duke
Ellington, Benny Moten, Count Basie,
Jimmie Lunceford and many others, all
lovingly transcribed by Loomer and
played with authenticity and spirit by
the musicians. It’s not possible to hear
this kind of music performed live very
often anymore and I for one look
forward to the November 9 concert.
PJ Perry
The House Concert
The old model of the salon concert has been revived in recent
years, as an alternative to bigger clubs which can be crowded, noisy
and expensive. Increasingly, dedicated fans are staging intimate
concerts in their own homes, offering a unique up-close jazz experience.
By necessity the audience size is small and the concerts are
sporadic, which only makes them more special. Perhaps the greatest
success story of these is the Jazz in the Kitchen series presented
by John and Patti Loach in their spacious Beaches home, which is
uniquely equipped for musical presentation. Opposite their large
open kitchen is a music room sporting a wonderful Steinway grand
and perfect natural sound that encourages the non-amplified jazz on
offer. The audience is generally limited to 35 or 40 paying guests who
sit very close to the band – Mark Eisenman’s trio plus shifting guests
including John Loach on trumpet – and simply listen, enjoying both a
real jazz experience and the verbal byplay between the musicians. The
series started about four years ago and is always sold out. October 22
will be the 40th concert in what looked at first to be a risky proposition.
I’m sure there are others run along the same lines, such as
JazzNHouse in the Ottawa area, which I’ll experience for the first time
when Mike Murley’s trio plays there on October 28 (also sold out).
A New Jazz Festival
The Kensington Market Jazz Festival made its debut in September
of 2016, the brainchild of star singer Molly Johnson – long a neighbourhood
resident – ably abetted by her organizational partners in
crime, performers Ori Dagan and Genevieve (Gigi) Marenette, plus
an army of volunteers. This year’s festival, a weekend affair held
September 15 to 17, significantly built on the promise and success
of the first one. Well over 300 local musicians performed in various
small venues in the tight streets of Kensington in a dizzying array of
one-hour concerts running from solo piano and guitar to trios and
larger groups in various styles, all well- and enthusiastically attended.
The recipe is simple, inclusive and refreshingly non-corporate – keep
it small, because small is good, present “all jazz as we know it” played
by local musicians of many generations, and use the vibe of the ’hood,
its unique food, local businesses and “streetness” as a feel-good backdrop.
As to the finances, I have no idea how they make it work, but
there are ticketed events and free events; it’s cash only and all of it
goes to the musicians save for a small percentage to cover costs. I
played one concert in the first festival and two this year, enjoying
each immensely while being paid very fairly. It was a pleasure to walk
the streets and see so many musical friends all packed together so
happily; this is an event which puts “festive” back into the jazz festival.
Congratulations to Molly and company for their leap-of-faith vision
in bringing this unique festival to Toronto at a time when the city
desperately needed it.
24 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

CDs Galore
The self-financed CD is another way jazz artists can continue to
reach and expand their audience, and good locally produced jazz
records have spread like wildfire in recent years. One can barely keep
up. These involve a leap of faith in that the outlay involved cannot
often be recouped, but musicians keep making them anyway as a
means of documenting their art. Even ones who have nothing left to
prove, like PJ Perry. Now 75, a JUNO-winner and recent recipient of
the Order of Canada, PJ has long been one of the best alto saxophonists
in the world, although he doesn’t have that profile because he
plies his trade in the relative isolation of Edmonton. His latest release,
just out, is Alto Gusto, recorded live during two nights at Edmonton’s
venerable Yardbird Suite. But here’s the real leap of faith on his
part: while he had played with each member of the rhythm section
– veteran Los Angeles pianist Jon Mayer; drummer Quincy Davis,
originally from Michigan and until recently based out of Winnipeg,
and yours truly on bass – the three of us had never even met before
this gig. PJ just knew the chemistry would somehow work and it did,
about two bars into our hasty rehearsal. The result is a very hardswinging,
inventive record, an honest portrait of musicians creating
music in the moment.
As long as jazz has enough people – musicians, fans and presenters
– who believe in it enough to make these leaps of faith, it will
continue to evolve and flourish. Perhaps not as in the “good old days,”
which are past, but by creating some good new days.
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.
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thewholenote.com November 2017 | 25

Beat by Beat | Early Music
Starry-Eyed in
November
MATTHEW WHITFIELD
Celebrity success in classical music is a strange amalgam. In very
few disciplines do we give as much focus to the medium-like,
necromancing qualities that a good performer must have. Using
training, taste, research and the occasional séance, an interpreter must
form a personal connection with composers who are most often longdead,
and emerge with an interpretation that is ingeniously creative
and original, yet faithful to the written score.
The duty of the classical performer is similar in many ways to that
of an actor who takes a script, often
written by someone else, and absorbs
the on-page style and personality of a
character while fusing it with an individual,
personal energy. A play script,
much like a musical score, can be read
without hearing it live, but the deeper
meaning that can be wrung from the
page through practice and experience
is what separates the “pros” from the
“Joes.” And, if one is lucky as well as
good, he or she may be fortunate enough
to be discovered and swept up through
the ranks into the realm of the classical
music elite, just as can happen for actors.
This link between performing as a
Angela Hewitt
musician and as an actor is likely the closest parallel we can find
within the arts – in no other discipline is pure interpretation the
primary focus and determinant of artistic achievement. Imagine,
for example, if we bought a copy of There’s Gonna Be a God Damn
Riot in Here!, the famous film of Charles Bukowski’s 1979 Vancouver
poetry reading, only to find someone else reading his poems! In the
same way, we cannot conceive of a person whose exclusive role might
be to meander around art galleries, exhibits and openings to explain
the works using great, erudite phrases
and explanations. Certainly we have
art critics, professors, curators and
gallery owners, but they do not look at
a Mapplethorpe photograph or Basquiat
painting, stand there and tell us what to
see, and expect to be thought of on the
same artistic plane as the artist himself.
Since the late 19th century, when
the roles of composer and performer
began to exist independently, the classical
musician as performing interpreter
has existed in this rather paradoxical
grey area. Where Beethoven, Liszt and
countless others wrote the music they
played, today’s batch of internationally
renowned soloists with legendary
technique may not have written a single note on staff paper since
their student days. There are, of course, notable exceptions, including
Leonard Bernstein, John Adams and Pierre Boulez, though these are
often conductor-composers rather than instrumental virtuosi.
Modern academies and conservatories are compartmentalized,
welcoming young, talented students to learn “more and more
about less and less,” as the saying goes. When we ask “What are you
studying?” they do not reply “Music,” but rather “Composition” or
“Collaborative Piano” or “Conducting.” We categorize, break down
and divide the encompassing art into smaller, easy-to-market bites,
thereby enabling the young musician to become a rather pigeonholed,
although superiorly skilled, superstar “[fill in the blank].”
This is the old-yet-new world of classical music in the 21st century, a
roster consisting of a relatively small number of highly specialized, jetsetting
superstars who tour the globe, guest-starring with the world’s
top orchestras. Managed by a few artist agencies who book their
clients in a manner reminiscent of pop music – the biggest venues
in the biggest cities, for the biggest fees – the names are revered,
and they need not be in good form, either. Recently Lang Lang, who
is recovering from an injury to his left hand, took the stage with a
teenage prodigy who literally served as his left-hand man for the
performance.
Mind you, the phenomenon of the superstar performer is not a bad
thing for the propagation of classical music. Superstars attract hype,
and hype fills seats, which ultimately brings the music to a wider
audience. Toronto is fortunate to host a spectrum of marquee artists
from the international scene every year, which continues to foster
interest in the revival and performance of music from long ago. This
November is no exception. Here are some
highlights from the early music world:
Angela Hewitt
Legendary Canadian pianist Angela
Hewitt makes an extended stop in
Toronto this month, playing a solo recital
at Koerner Hall and two concerts with
the TSO. (I wonder if her Fazioli piano
will travel with her to each venue?)
On November 12, Hewitt’s Koerner
Hall recital, her third such appearance,
will be an all-Johann Sebastian
Bach program, which is part of her
three-year exploration of the composer.
Works include three Partitas (No. 3 in
A Minor, BWV827, No. 5 in G Major, BWV829 and No. 6 in E Minor,
BWV830) and the Partie in A Major, BWV832. This concert will be
preceded at 7pm by a talk by Rick Phillips. According to the RCM
box office, tickets are sold out, but industrious ticket seekers may dig
some up through secondhand sources such as scalpers, rush tickets
or StubHub.
The Toronto Symphony then features Hewitt as director and soloist
on November 18 and 19 in a concert of works by Bach and Mozart.
It will be interesting to hear how the
Kristian Bezuidenhout modern grand-piano-with-orchestra
instrumental approach to Bach and
Mozart will come across, particularly
in contrast with Hewitt’s solo recital.
Will the TSO’s leader attempt to temper
the Romantic tendencies of the full
orchestra, or will we hear a more scaleddown,
“HIP”-style performance?
Kristian Bezuidenhout
Speaking of Mozart, Tafelmusik
welcomes South African-born, Londonbased
guest director and fortepianist
Kristian Bezuidenhout from November 9
to 12, as he leads the orchestra through
an early Classical-era program
which includes Mozart’s Concerto for Piano in A Major K414 and
symphonies by Mozart and two of his mentors, Carl Philipp Emanuel
and Johann Christoph Bach.
This performance will pair exceedingly well with the Hewitt/
TSO concerts, as one ensemble interprets Mozart through a modern
orchestra looking back in time, the other as a Baroque ensemble
looking ahead. Both orchestras have deep roots in this style of music
and it will be fascinating to hear the different approaches each group
takes towards very similar repertoire.
26 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

In addition to his concert appearances, Bezuidenhout
(who also plays the harpsichord and modern piano) will
lead a masterclass on November 11 at Jeanne Lamon Hall,
which is free and open to the public.
Ensemble Masques
Ensemble Masques
Originally formed in Montreal, the international Baroque
chamber group Ensemble Masques makes their Toronto
debut on November 18 at St. Thomas’s Anglican Church.
A classical supergroup featuring players from Collegium
Vocale Gent, Tafelmusik and the English Concert, among
others, this team of experts will perform a concert of music
by Telemann. (Readers west of Toronto will be interested
to know that Ensemble Masques will be performing the
same program on November 16 in the Music Room of the
Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society.)
Georg Philipp Telemann was enormously prolific, writing well over
a thousand works, and was one of the most celebrated composers of
his time before falling into relative obscurity. According to Ensemble
Masques’ recent press release, their concert looks to “wipe clean
generations of misunderstanding that kept Telemann in the shadows.
Where Bach looked heavenward, Telemann’s genius was for life here
on Earth. A brilliant observer of the world around him, his music
translates all facets of human experience into works that are full of
humour, wit and infinite invention.”
For modern audiences familiar with the contrapuntal density of
Bach and the rhythmic vitality of Handel, Telemann’s music might
seem rather simple and transparent. But do not be fooled. Hiding
within Telemann’s massive oeuvre are works of remarkable beauty,
and Ensemble Masques is undoubtedly well-equipped to put these
pieces on public display. In advance of their Toronto appearance,
explore their latest recording of Telemann’s Theatrical Overture-
Suites on the Alpha label.
QUICK PICKS
In addition to these international headliners, there are a number of
other talents, both local and foreign, playing Toronto this month. Here
are a few.
Nov 4 and 5: Cor Unum Ensemble - “Music from the Early
Italian Baroque.”
Cor Unum Ensemble is one of Toronto’s newest groups, an orchestra
and chorus comprised primarily of students and graduates from the
University of Toronto’s Early Music program. This talented, homegrown
group of players presented Bach’s St. John Passion last year and
their take on music by Monteverdi, Gabrieli, Frescobaldi and other
Italian composers from the early Baroque should be on point as well.
Nov 10: “At the Heart of Bach - Christian Lane plays CCDP.”
Winner of the 2011 Canadian International Organ Competition,
American organist Christian Lane plays an all-Bach program on Christ
Church Deer Park’s 1982 Karl Wilhelm tracker organ. This instrument,
a perfect match for Bach’s inimitable organ music, should be like
putty in Lane’s hands.
Nov 19: “Musicians on the Edge: Jazz Standards of the
Seventeenth Century.”
Rezonance Baroque Ensemble presents a concert of 17th-century
tunes with a focus on ensemble improvisation. With a continuo
section of Ben Stein, whose doctoral work focuses on the ancient art
of partimento and the development of improvisation, Erika Nielsen
and David Podgorski, the bass lines in this concert should be tight
and groovy.
Dec 1: Upper Canada Choristers – “Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit.”
Christmas comes early this year, particularly for Charpentier fans,
as Upper Canada College’s choristers perform Charpentier’s Messe de
Minuit pour Noël and Kodály’s Christmas Dance of the Shepherds.
Charpentier’s mass is a time-tested masterpiece that will bring in the
Christmas season with style.
While it might seem rather early to mention Christmas, another
month of seasonal favourites will be upon us before we know it! To
keep up to date on all the Messiahs, oratorios, concertos and other
Baroque things happening in the city, check out next month’s column.
Until then, drop me a line at earlymusic@thewholenote.com.
Matthew Whitfield is a Toronto-based harpsichordist and organist.
P A X
•
C H R
I S T
•
C H O R A L E
I
David Bowser
Artistic Director
Saturday, December 2, 2017
4 p.m.
The Children’s
Messiah
Church of the Redeemer
Pay what you can at the door
Join our annual community concert,
Handel’s Messiah adapted especially
for little ones and their families.
A joyous way to welcome the season.
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 27

Beat by Beat | Choral Scene
On Sonic
Remembrance
and a Story of
Choral Life
BRIAN CHANG
Heading into the month of November remembrance, I’ve
highlighted two performances: the first is by Chorus Niagara
and the Orpheus Choir, and the second by the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra with guests. The major works in these two
performances commemorate two very different wars separated by
100 years, World War I and the war in Afghanistan. War continues to
inspire stories, and to invoke teaching, reflection and discussion. But
as we head towards Remembrance Day, it is worth reflecting on the
fact that sonic remembrance has the power to evoke things that words
alone can not. There are many options available to listeners across
the region, particularly early in the month, to experience this, in the
offerings of great composers and musicians alike.
Later in the month, on November 22, Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt, an
icon in the choral world, director of choral activities and professor
of conducting at the University of Toronto, releases her new book
on the life of Ruth Watson Henderson, I Didn’t Want To Be Boring.
Apfelstadt’s book tells the story of this remarkable musician, gathered
through interviews over several years. With over 200 choral works,
Watson Henderson’s story is anything but boring.
Lastly, at the tail end of my “quick picks” I have included a few
early holiday concerts. Make sure you check out the full listings and
get your tickets early. Holiday performances often sell out and are
amongst the most fun performances you can find anywhere!
Last Light Above the World: A War Litany
November 4 at 7:30pm, Chorus Niagara presents the world premiere
of Last Light Above the World: A War Litany by Allan Bevan. “I
scoured war diaries,” shares Bevan on the Chorus Niagara Facebook
page, “looked at war art, read letters and other war correspondence,
and delved into the large body of poetry written by people involved.”
From these sources, Bevan created a story of a couple. “He has gone
off to battle, and she is left to consider it. They become the conscience
of the work, the ones who portray the human cost of the war.” Shaw
Festival actors Hailey Gillis and Colin Palangio bring this couple to life.
Robert Cooper helms these performances with the Orpheus
Chamber Orchestra and soloists Maeve Palmer, soprano; Lillian
Brooks, mezzo-soprano; Anthony Varahidis, tenor; and Alexander
Bowie, bass. Bevan has written the soloists as “spirits” who represent
the “dead” referred to in the famous lines of John McCrae’s In
Flander’s Fields “We are the dead…” Bevan continues: “Last Light does
not pretend that there are easy answers, it is not a simple comforting…
In the poetry of WWI, generally speaking, war is neither glorified
nor vilified, it is simply recorded: all its horror, sacrifice, as well as its
unexpected beauty, compassion and forgiveness.”
The Orpheus Choir of Toronto, also conducted by Robert Cooper,
performs the same work in Toronto on November 5 at 3:30pm, Grace
Church on-the-Hill.
conducted by Craig Pike
THAT CHOIR CAROLS
featuring RESONANCE and our family carol sing-a-long
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
Works by WHITACRE | EMERY | DALEY | ALLAN
(73 Simcoe Street, Toronto ON) GJEILO | TWARDOWSKI | HANNEY | MEALOR
VISIT US
thatchoir.com
28 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

C H O R A L E
C
H O
R
L
A
E
Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation
It has been almost 16 years since the official, Parliament-sanctioned
intervention by the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan began. In those
days of constant war headlines and combat deaths, our country was
at war on the other side of the planet. Afghanistan was a war unlike
others, constantly changing and evolving, fought against an often
unstructured and asymmetrical enemy. For those of us who read the
news here in Canada, this war also strongly shaped our country in
the last decade and a half. The war in Afghanistan has opened discussions
on a great number of complex issues like post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), the role of the Canadian Forces in international
conflicts, military investment, American imperialism, racism, child
combatants, pacifism and so much more.
Art, music included, has done much to allow and facilitate some
of these conversations,with its power to evoke contemplation and
create change. Into this discussion, on November 9 and 11, we insert
Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation, including 130 choristers
from the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, 50 from the Toronto Children’s
Chorus, guest musicians from the Canadian Forces, the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra and soloists. The first half of this concert also
features Canadian Forces guests on pipes, bugle and text.
Tania Miller, music director of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra,
takes the helm for these performances. Miller was the first woman to
lead a major Canadian orchestra, ever, and her tenure began the year
following the start of the war in Afghanistan. She is joined by Measha
Brueggergosman, soprano; Allyson McHardy, mezzo-soprano; Colin
Ainsworth, tenor; and Brett Polegato, baritone.
The words come via Suzanne Steele, Canada’s war poet, who served
in Afghanistan. Jeffrey Ryan put the words to music, including text
from the requiem mass, alongside Steele’s poignant words which are
often set in repetition: “if we could give you two days, just two days...;”
“My son, my daughter, can you hear me?”
In the breaking open of lives lived and lost during war, music
can help bridge the experiences and provide a united focus. Ryan
P A X
•
C H R
I S T
•
C H O R A L E
I
David Bowser
Artistic Director
J.S. BACH’S
CHRISTMAS ORATORIO
Cantatas I, II and III
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2017 • 8:00 PM
Gloria
The joie de vivre of the season
Poulenc Gloria
Duruflé Four Motets
Fauré Cantique de Jean Racine
Gounod Noël
Pax Christi Chorale with
Andrea Núñez and Daniel Norman
FEATURING
Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto | Elmer Iseler Singers | Lydia Adams, conductor | Monica Whicher, soprano
Marjorie Maltais, mezzo-soprano | Christopher Mayell, tenor | Dion Mazerolle, baritone
Single tickets: $55 | $50 | $20
For tickets, call (416) 446-0188
or (416) 217-0537
amadeuschoir.com | elmeriselersingers.com
Metropolitan United Church
56 Queen St E, Toronto
(at Queen St E and Church St,
two blocks east of Yonge St)
Saturday, December 16 2017, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 17 2017, 3:00 p.m.
Grace Church on-the-Hill,
300 Lonsdale Rd. Toronto
FOR TICKETS, VISIT
PAXCHRISTICHORALE.ORG
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 29

describes his music as “a love
letter. Not just to one person…but
to each of us, to our country, and to
a generation that will be paying for
this war emotionally or financially
(looking after the injured and next
of kin) for another generation.”
As Ryan concludes in the program
note: “Afghanistan: Requiem for a
Generation marks one particular
war for one particular generation,
but its message is universal and
timeless.”
On a Canadian National
Treasure: Ruth Watson Henderson
Ruth Watson Henderson has had
a storied career as a performer on
piano and organ. Having served
29 years as the accompanist of the Toronto Children’s Chorus, with
the Festival Singers under Elmer Iseler, and as a church musician,
her prolific contributions to choral music have been incomparable.
Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt has spent years interviewing and researching
Watson Henderson for her new book I Didn’t Want To Be Boring.
To commemorate the book launch, the Canadian Music Centre is
hosting a concert on November 22 featuring soprano Amy Dodington,
accompanied by Watson Henderson herself, and joined by members of
the Elmer Iseler Singers and the Exultate Chamber Singers as well as
by Apfelstadt. Three days earlier at Kingsway-Lambton United Church,
November 19, Dodington will sing Watson Henderson’s Prayer of
St. Francis accompanied by the composer herself in an unofficial book
launch and 85th birthday celebration.
In an excerpt, Apfelstadt describes Henderson: “Initially a highly
gifted young solo pianist, Ruth became a collaborative artist whose
work with choral ensembles led to her development as a composer
whose music is frequently sung and respected for its craftsmanship
and expressivity. And along the way, she embodied the term “working
mother” as she raised a family of four, built a career as a practising
musician and successful composer, and held a church music director
position until the age of 80. As I write, she is 84 and still composing
music. Hers is a remarkable story.” The paperback copy of the book is
available in stores November 22.
T H E T O R O N T O C H O R A L S O C I E T Y P R E S E N T S
Bach’s Christmas Oratorio
at Koerner Hall
QUICK PICKS
Nov 4, 7:30pm. The Guelph
Chamber Choir presents
“Celebration 150.” The Guelph
choral community’s contribution
to Canada 150 commemorations
brings together five regional
choirs: the Guelph Chamber Choir,
Guelph Community Singers,
Guelph Youth Singers, Rainbow
Chorus of Waterloo/Wellington
and the University of Guelph
Symphonic Choir.
Nov 10, 8pm. The Kingston Road
Village Concert Series presents
“Remembrance Day Concert with
Scott Good and Friends.”
Ruth Watson Henderson
Nov 11, 8pm. Barrie Concerts
presents “Songs from the Great
World Wars,” featuring the UTSC Concert Choir and conducted by
Lenard Whiting.
Nov 11 and 12, 8pm. That Choir presents their annual first concert
of the season “That Choir Remembers,” featuring the music of Eric
Whitacre, Eleanor Daley and more.
Nov 12, 4:30pm. The Cathedral Church of St James presents “Service
of Remembrance,” featuring the large choral work of Sir Charles
Hubert Hastings Parry, Songs of Farewell, a collection of six songs
composed in accapella polyphony. These songs will be presented as
part of a religious service.
Nov 15 and 16, 8pm. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra presents
“Oundjian Conducts Vaughan Williams.” Marking one of the signature
performances of the TSO with Oundjian at the helm in his outgoing
year as music director, the orchestra is joined by Louis Lortie, piano;
Sarah Jeffrey, oboe; Teng Li, viola; Carla Huhtanen, soprano; Emily
D’Angelo, mezzo-soprano; Lawrence Wiliford, tenor; Tyler Duncan,
baritone; and the Elmer Iseler Singers.
Nov 29 to Dec 3, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir
presents “Four Weddings, a Funeral, and a Coronation.” Promising a
Baroque-inspired soundtrack to festivities, these performances mark
the first choral performances for Tafelmusik this season. Musical celebrations
written by Purcell, Lully, Handel, Pachelbel, John Blow’s
Anthem for the Coronation of James II and Charpentier’s Messe des
morts are all on the program.
Dec 3, 3pm, the Harmony Singers of Etobicoke present their holiday
concert, including many pop and classics favourites. The choir is also
singing We’re in the Same Boat Now, written by former Premier Bob
Rae. The Singers also provide an annual scholarship to a student at the
Etobicoke School of the Arts who performs with the choir. This year,
that recipient is Martina Myskohlid.
Dec 5 and 6, 7:30, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir presents “Festival
of Carols” featuring the Salvation Army Canadian Staff Band. The
often-sold-out concert is being presented over two nights to accommodate
extra patrons.
Follow Brian on Twitter @bfchang Send info/media/tips to choralscene@thewholenote.com
TELUS Centre
Conductor:
Geoffrey Butler
Featuring:
The Talisker Players
December 6, 2017, 7:30 PM
Tickets from $45 TorontoChoralSociety.org
30 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

FESTIVAL
OF CAROLS
WITH THE CANADIAN STAFF BAND &
CANADIAN CHILDREN’S OPERA COMPANY
& ORGANIST DAVID BRIGGS
Join us for a joyous celebration of music for the
season and add your voice to the audience carol
sing-along with jubilant brass accompaniment.
NOW ON TWO NIGHTS!
Tuesday, Dec 5
Wednesday, Dec 6
7:30 pm
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church
1585 Yonge Street
(just north of Yonge and St. Clair)
TICKETS
$35 – $76
$20 VoxTix
for patrons 30 & under
RCM TICKETS
416-408-0208 or online
www.tmchoir.org
H A N N A F O R D S T R E E T S I L V E R B A N D P R E S E N T S
Christmas Cheer
Tuesday, December 12th, 2017
7:30 PM
Metropolitan United Church
Ben Heppner,
Host and Tenor Soloist
Elmer Iseler Singers
Lydia Adams, Artistic Director
Tickets available online at www.hssb.ca By Phone: 416.366.7723 or 1.800.708.6754
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 31

Beat by Beat | World View
First FAMA Fall
Feast Continues
ANDREW TIMAR
So far it’s been an odd fall here. Into the third week of October,
it’s well past Thanksgiving, yet Toronto is still reaching daytime
high temperatures we typically experience in June. There hasn’t
even been a whisper of nighttime frost in town. The geraniums still
bloom vigorously and peppers continue to redden on my north-facing
balcony garden. Endless
summer? Dire climactic
implications aside, I for
one am thankful for this
cold weather reprieve,
soon to be over, I suspect.
The GTA’s first Festival
of Arabic Music and
Arts (FAMA), presented
by the Canadian Arabic
Orchestra, will be well
under way by the time
you read this. The festival’s
first concert was
held at Koerner Hall on
October 28, featuring
a double bill with
Iraqi guitarist, singer
and composer Ilham
Al-Madfai and the
Toronto world music
group Sultans of String.
Ever since its establishment in 2014 the professional CAO has sought
to connect expatriate Arabs with classical Arabic musical culture in
order to maintain this heritage in the hearts and minds of the present
community in Canada, as well as to safeguard it for future generations.
At the same time, the orchestra also seeks to engage with non-
Arab Canadian communities. FAMA shows both objectives at work.
Arabic Music in Toronto: Rob Simms and George Sawa
To gain further insight into Arabic music today, in both the Arab
world and here in Canada, I called Rob Simms, associate professor at
York University’s Department of Music, a Canadian ethnomusicologist
and multi-instrumentalist specializing in Middle Eastern and West
African traditions. Simms reminded me of the devastation to cultural
life impacting large swathes of Iraq and Syria as a consequence of the
recent invasions and sustained armed conflict in those countries. One
of the results of this upheaval has been the displacement of millions
of Iraqis and Syrians, many finding themselves as refugees in foreign
lands – including recently, Canada.
Aleppo, Syria, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities
in the world, is a prime example of this cultural devastation. It is
considered an important centre of Arabic traditional music, historically
supporting renowned practitioners of muwashshah, qudud
halabiya and maqam (religious, secular and poetic-musical genres).
Aleppo was also known for its sammi’a, a cadre of influential cultivated
music connoisseurs. This ancient web of music production,
patronage and appreciation has been tragically disrupted as a result of
the current civil war.
I then followed up on the phone with longtime Toronto resident
George Sawa, a renowned scholar, qanun (Arabic zither) player and
music educator who holds a doctorate in historical Arabic musicology
from the University of Toronto. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, the
multi-award-winning Sawa has over 50 years’ experience in Arabic
music performance, history and theory. “I arrived in Toronto in 1970
to study at U of T,” he recounted. One of the draws was the university’s
Robarts and Faculty of Music libraries, which according to Sawa
“contain one of the best Arabic music collections in the world.”
What was the Arabic music scene like in 1970 Toronto? “At the time
Arabic music was mostly encountered in cabarets and in clubs which
featured belly dancing,” Sawa told me. He immediately sought to
enrich the scene.
“In 1971 I founded a trio playing traditional Arabic music. Not long
afterward, CBC radio recorded for broadcast a concert of Christmas
carols sung by (leading contralto) Maureen Forrester, with me on
qanun. The trio increased into a quintet, appearing in concert and on
CBC over the next few decades. It became known as the Traditional
Arabic Music Ensemble.” Sawa also served as the music director of
Toronto’s Arabesque Dance Company & Orchestra from 1996 to 2005.
Today one of Sawa’s
performing projects
is Alpharabius, “an
ensemble dedicated to
exploring the musical
interactions of the
rich cultures of the
Mediterranean. The
group is named after
one of the great philosophers
of classical
Islam, al-Farabi (d. ah
339/ 950 CE), who was
renowned as both a
musical theorist and a
practicing musician… The
ensemble is a collaboration
of musicians trained
in the classical Arabic
George Sawa
and Western medieval
musical traditions.”
He concluded our
conversation by observing that the GTA’s “Arabic community has
grown considerably in the past few decades. For example, I think
it’s very significant and healthy that before securing support from
Canadian Arts Councils, the Canadian Arabic Orchestra initially
sought patronage from local Arabic businesses who believed in what
they were doing. More power to them!”
Charbel Rouhana, oudist
November 3, FAMA in co-production with Festival du Monde Arabe
de Montréal presents Charbel Rouhana, the Lebanese composer, singer
and oudist accompanied by the Canadian Arabic Orchestra at the Jane
Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre. This program will be repeated
November 5 at the Monument National in Montreal.
Possessing ancient roots, the oud – often placed into three general
groups, Arabic, Turkish and Persian – is at the core of much of the
traditional music played throughout the Middle East and in regions
influenced by its people. The oud, which has numerous morphological
variants highly dependent on region of origin, typically today has 11 or
13 strings grouped into five or six courses.
Its performance tradition has been particularly long-maintained in
Iraq, where a popular saying honours its high value to the culture: “In
the music of the oud lies the country’s soul.” The instrument was once
common in Iraqi households, something like the guitar in Canada or
the USA. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of the
Ba’athist regime however, the increasing power of Islamist extremists
who consider secular music to be haram (sinful, forbidden) has forced
many oud players and teachers to cease playing publicly, or even
forced them into exile in order to pursue their oud-related careers.
Already a virtuoso of the instrument, several decades ago Rouhana
established a new method of playing the oud. Published in seven
32 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Naseer Shamma
volumes, it has been adopted by the National Conservatory of Music in
Lebanon and by other music institutions, securing his standing among
today’s leading masters of the Arabic oud. Rouhana is also a prizewinning
composer: in 1990 he was awarded first prize in the Hirayama
Competition for his work Hymn of Peace. He has appeared in concert
with classical Hindustani bansuri (bamboo flute) virtuoso Hariprasad
Chaurasia, and also with many other leading musicians.
FAMA Concerts
In addition to the November 1 FAMA concert at the Revue Cinema
mentioned in my previous column, featuring the outstanding female
Syrian oud player and singer Waed Bouhassoun, and the November 3
Charbel Rouhana concert referred to above, there are a several more
FAMA concerts in the first half of November. Here are some highlights.
November 4, the group Golan, its members hailing from Tunisia,
France and Palestine, takes the stage at the Lester B. Pearson Theatre
in Brampton. Leader Hubert Dupont, Golan’s double bassist, gathered
like-minded musicians from all over the Mediterranean, arranging
a musical exchange between elements of contemporary European
music, jazz and Arabic traditional music. Pascal Rozat wrote in France
Musique that Golan is reaching for “an ideal of musical fraternity
as much as a hymn to freedom, for an ‘oriental journey’ different
from others.”
November 9, FAMA, in partnership with the Native Canadian Centre
in Toronto and in association with the Aga Khan Museum and the
Arab Community Centre of Toronto, presents the world premiere of
Origins at the Aga Khan Museum. Tagged “Indigenous/Arabic,” this
new production by the Canadian Arabic Orchestra in collaboration
with poet and singer Hassan Tamim and St’at’imc (a.k.a. Lillooet)
singer-songwriter and dancer Laura Grizzlypaws is perhaps the most
ambitious of the FAMA offerings.
Origins showcases similarities as well as cultural divides between
the people of two continents through dance and music, “in the spirit
of truth and reconciliation and… peace and harmony through the
cross-cultural medium of music.” In addition to Grizzlypaws and
the Canadian Arabic Orchestra, Origins presents whirling dervish
performers of Rumi Canada for part of the program, enhancing the
spiritual journey theme of the work.
November 12, FAMA moves to Mississauga’s Hammerson Hall, at
the Living Arts Centre. Iraqi-born Naseer Shamma, among the world’s
top oud masters, headlines the concert accompanied by the Canadian
Arabic Orchestra. Titled “On the Way to Baghdad,” the concert is
billed as a veritable masterclass in classical Arabic music.
Born in 1963 in Iraq, Shamma received his diploma from the
Baghdad Academy of Music in 1987. He has composed music for TV,
films and plays since. In 1998 he established the Arabic Oud House in
Cairo, as well as in Tunis and Dubai. His scholarly research consulting
old manuscripts on Arabic music has aided in his reconstruction
of the Al-Farabi (c. 870-951 CE) model oud, which can produce an
expanded tonal range of four octaves, giving the player a
vast improvisational terrain.
QUICK PICKS
The Aga Khan Museum hosts four concerts in addition
to Origins: Nov 4: “Fleur Persane by Perséides”
featuring Amir Amiri (santur) and Jean Félix Mailloux
(double bass); Nov 18: “Haram with Gordon Grdina”
is an evening of indie-rock meets jazz and electronica;
Nov 25:” All Rivers at Once: The Israeli-Iranian
Musical Initiative” is described as “jazz-like arrangements
of traditional Israeli and Iranian folk songs.” The
ensemble, directed by pianist Noam Lemish, includes
Saeed Kamjoo (kamancheh), Pedram Khavarzamini
(tombak) and Amos Hoffman (oud). Dec 2: “Nazar by
Turkwaz,” the Toronto quartet of world music divas
Maryem Hassan Tollar, Jayne Brown, Sophia Grigoriadis
and Brenna MacCrimmon. Expect Arabic, Balkan and
Turkish folk songs in tight arrangements with a sprinkling
of new charts.
Nov 22: 12 noon, the COC’s World Music Series continues with
“Arabic Coffee House.” The Al Qahwa Ensemble, with Maryem Hassan
Tollar (vocals), Demetri Petsalakis (oud), Ernie Tollar (flutes) and
Naghmeh Farahmand (percussion), animate the Richard Bradshaw
Amphitheatre of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
I’ll be sure to attend this concert of longtime local practitioners of
Arabic and related music, bookending what promises to be an extraordinarily
chockablock month of Arabic music in the GTA.
Andrew Timar is a Toronto musician and music writer. He can be
contacted at worldmusic@thewholenote.com.
AMANDA
MARTINEZ
IN CONCERT
Nominee for Latin Jazz
Performer of the Year
Toronto Independent Music
Awards Canadian Folk Music
Awards
“One of the greatest voices in
the world.” ~ Javier Limon
NOV
25
8 PM
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 33

Beat by Beat | Music Theatre
Storytelling
Through Song
Jake Epstein performing Only the Good Die Young
in Uncovered: Elton John & Billy Joel
JENNIFER PARR
The heart of musical theatre in any time period is storytelling
through the combination of words and music, where the whole
becomes more than the sum of its parts; and when the right
creative team and performers come together the results can be
uniquely satisfying.
October’s musical theatre season started strongly with Britta
Johnson’s Life After at Canadian Stage debuting to rave reviews, soldout
houses and an extended run (so far to October 29). Audiences
were bowled over with the sophistication of the music, the humanity
and wit of the book, and the potential of many more new musicals
to come from such a talent. An unexpectedly welcome addition to
the summer and fall was the classic Euripides drama The Bakkhai
(in the recent Anne Carson adapation) at the Stratford Festival, in
which director Jillian Keiley made the radical and fascinating decision
to have the chorus sing rather than speak and chose Vancouver
composer Veda Hille (of the recent Onegin and King Arthur) to create
their sound, a sultry, disturbing folk-like music. Back in Toronto,
Red Sky Performance continued to assert their strength of vision
with Adizokan (a collaboration with the Toronto Symphony at Roy
Thomson Hall) that will continue with a remounting of Backbone at
Canadian Stage Berkeley Street November 2 to 12.
As October ends and November begins there is even more of a
wide range of music theatre offerings to choose from. Personally, I
have been immersed in rehearsals for Opera Atelier’s production of
Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (October 26 to November 4 at the
Elgin Theatre) which, in Marshall Pynkoski’s exquisitely detailed
commedia dell’arte-inspired period staging, pulls those watching
as if through a window into the 18th century, where words, music
and movement are inextricably intertwined to serve the storytelling,
obliterating the fourth wall and delighting in sharing the space with
the audience.
The Musical Stage Company’s Uncovered concert series goes to the
root of the storytelling concept, deconstructing and reconstructing
the songs of popular singer-songwriters to uncover and share the
stories at the heart of the songs. Artistic director Mitchell Marcus
works side by side with music director Reza Jacobs and the individual
performers, experimenting and exploring the material to create new
uniquely theatrical arrangements that clarify and heighten the stories
they discover.
November 14 to 16 they present “Uncovered: Dylan & Springsteen”
at Koerner Hall with an exciting cast of leading musical theatre
performers featuring Jake Epstein as Bruce Springsteen and Sara Farb
as Bob Dylan.
Wanting to know more details, I approached Mitchell Marcus about
how the series started and his ongoing collaboration with music
director Jacobs.
Here is our conversation:
WN:What was your initial impetus or inspiration to create the
concert series?
MM: The first Uncovered (in 2007) explored the musical catalogue of
The Beatles. We both loved The Beatles and loved musical theatre, and
wondered how the songs could be interpreted with a group of singing
actors. It turned out to be revelatory as audiences started to hear
the stories contained in these iconic songs in a way that they hadn’t
previously. The combination of a great actor and an examination of
the material from the perspective of character and narrative became
something we were fiercely passionate about.
Uncovered seems to have become a cornerstone of your season.
Is there a connection between your choice of singer-songwriters to
feature with the mainstage show(s) that you are presenting in the
season or is there instead (or as well) an arc of experimentation in
the choices from year to year? How do you choose which songwriters
to feature?
There is no specific connection between the Uncovered concert
selections and the mainstage shows, except for the hope of always
presenting exciting work of the highest quality. The choice of songwriter
is a strange combination of intuition and zeitgeist. Sometimes
it’s an artist that one of us loves and has been waiting to tackle.
Sometimes it’s a circumstance like the death of David Bowie last year
which prioritized Bowie/Queen over Dylan/Springsteen (which we
had [already] been debating). I think we also try to ensure that the
concert doesn’t stay too stagnant from one year to another, which has
frequently resulted in alternating between rock/pop and folk music.
Has the shape of the show or your approach to the material
changed since the series began?
When we first started, the concert was thrown together much more
quickly, so what was onstage was really the version of the song that
the artist wanted to try out. Since then, we spend a lot more time in
rehearsal and really try to shape the overall evening into something
whole rather than feeling like a cabaret. On the musical side, this has
meant a more rigorous dramaturgical process of diving into the lyrics
of the songs and making clear decisions around whose story we are
telling and what story is being told. This becomes the foundation from
which all musical decisions are made and the lyrics of the songwriter
serve as our guide. Dramatically, we also started integrating text into
the concert to serve as a bridge between numbers. We exclusively use
quotes from the songwriters we are featuring and it has been a very
effective way to capture their spirit alongside their music.
JOANNA AKYOL
34 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Could you tell us about your decision to sometimes cast female
performers as male singer-songwriters, for example, Maev Beaty as
David Bowie last year, and this year, Sara Farb as Bob Dylan?
Ultimately we want to pay tribute to the spirit of the artists and
share their words and music with an audience, without – in any way
– trying to emulate or impersonate them. As such, the key criteria –
whether it’s for delivering text from the songwriter, or singing their
songs – is that the artist capture their spirit and intention, both of
which transcend gender or age!
There also seems to be a core group of performers who return to
take part. Is that just by chance or because they have become part of
an Uncovered rep company, so to speak?
Over time we have realized that being a successful Uncovered
performer is harder than it looks! Koerner Hall is spectacular, but its
acoustics are so good that any imperfections are amplified tenfold. So
we need fabulous singers who are also really, really good actors and
who collaborate very well in the rehearsal process, since we start with
a blank slate and build the arrangements together. We also need a very
diverse group of performers so that we can tackle a broad spectrum of
songs and styles.
So we try to find the balance between introducing new artists,
showcasing returning artists who weren’t in the show the previous
year, and bringing back some of the artists from the year prior. Each
artist who has ever worked on Uncovered has brought something so
unique and special to it. So it’s also a case of just trying to find the
group who are interesting as a unit and also right for that particular
songwriter.
Do either or both of you find that working regularly on the
Uncovered series together has changed the way you work together, or
with other collaborators, on other projects?
It has certainly built a very meaningful friendship for the two of
us, and a shorthand which I think comes in handy on other shows
that we do together. It’s also led to a lot of lessons when it comes to
developing our new musicals. Looking at good songwriting from the
perspective of narrative arc has come in handy when looking at new
musical theatre songs.
Do you see the Uncovered series leading in turn to further experimentation
with popular music, perhaps extending to exploring
staging – or do you see it staying at the simpler level of song – words
and music presented/sung live to the audience with the revelations in
the new musical arrangements?
I think Uncovered is meant to stay simple in its concert format, with
an emphasis on teasing out stories while just focusing on the words
of the songwriter. But I think it has illuminated the power of pop
music and so who knows what is possible as we continue to develop
new musicals and new musical projects. We wouldn’t want to create
a Mamma Mia per se, but I think it’s a very interesting exploration to
examine how else pop music can be used to create contemporary and
important musical works.
Elsewhere
This month there is a wide range of music theatre to choose from.
Music is the medium that transforms Shakespeare’s romance of
forgiveness The Winter’s Tale into one of the most effective recent
story ballets, through the choreography of Christopher Wheeldon
combined with the score of Joby Talbot (the same team who brought
us the popular Alice in Wonderland ballet). Winter’s Tale returns to
the National Ballet of Canada November 10 to 19, only two years after
its debut, because of its great initial success.
On the opposite side of the spectrum the record-breaking Canadian
Evil Dead the Musical returns to Toronto yet again (to the Randolph
Theatre November 9 to 19), proving that a cult classic musical version
of a horror movie can have, perhaps, even greater staying power
than the movie itself. Tickets are already selling quickly but at the
time of writing there is still room in the “Splatter Zone” for the most
ardent fans.
QUICK PICKS
Nov 6 to Dec 31:Young People’s Theatre presents a streamlined
(85-minute) Beauty and the Beast, giving fans of one of Disney’s best
musicals the chance to catch their favourite story live.
Nov 10 to 12/16 to 18: Word has just come in about another new
Canadian musical, Riding Off In All Directions . . . . the telling of
lies, about the relationship between Mazo de la Roche and Stephen
Leacock at Mississauga’s Maja Prentice Theatre. It will be directed by
the well-known stage and screen star Colin Fox, who also plays the
part of Leacock. The cast includes Bó Bardós as de la Roche; James
McLean as Timothy Findley, and Marion Samuel-Stevens as de la
Roche’s cousin and lifelong companion, Caroline Clement.
For more information—call 529-846-2552 or go online to: bit.ly/
TellingLies.
Nov 11 to Dec 3, at Factory Theatre: Trace is a one-man show that
follows three generations of mothers and sons from occupied Japan to
21st-century Canada combining virtuoso original piano compositions
with lyrical text.
Nov 20 to Dec 8: At Crow’s Theatre (345 Carlaw) rock ’n’ roll takes
centre stage in the world premiere of a new rock fable, A&R Angels, by
Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene, directed by Chris Abraham.
Nov 10 to 25, at Hart House Theatre, the first of two musical offerings:
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Nov 29 to Dec 1: Also at Hart House Theatre, the now-classic
Canadian musical inspired by the old Astaire-Rogers films, The
Drowsy Chaperone, arrives in a production by the Victoria College
Musical Society.
Toronto-based “lifelong theatre person” Jennifer (Jenny) Parr
works as a director, fight director, stage manager and coach, and is
equally crazy about movies and musicals.
presents
DECEMBER DIARIES
A Choral Drama
Shackleton at the South Pole, Champlain in New France, the
Christmas Truce of 1914... A journey in words and music to
three remarkable Christmases past.
December 9 & 10, 2017
Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts
www.annexsingers.com
featuring:
Roger Honeywell, tenor
Cheryl MacInnis, actor
Anne Lindsay, violin
Alejandro Céspedes, percussion
Maria Case, Artistic Director
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 35

Beat by Beat | Bandstand
Quartetto Gelato
Musicianship
On Show
JACK MACQUARRIE
What a way to kick off the fall music season. Although I
had often heard of Quartetto Gelato since they first hit
the Toronto music scene 25 years ago, I had never had the
opportunity to hear them in person. Now, here they were almost
on my doorstep, at the classic Uxbridge Music Hall, 15 minutes
from home. If you have not heard of Quartetto Gelato, you have
been missing out on
first-rate entertainment
provided by a very skilled,
classically trained ensemble
with the most unusual
instrumentation of violin,
oboe, accordion and cello.
The group has had numerous
personnel changes since 1992
with violinist and tenor singer
Peter De Sotto being the only
original member still in the
group. Alexander Sevastian,
who joined in 2002, was
the winner of the renowned
Coupe Mondiale International
Accordion Competition in
Washington in 2007. In 2009
JACK MACQUARRIE
they were joined by Colin
Maier on a wide range of
instruments including oboe,
clarinet, violin, five-string
banjo, electric/acoustic bass, flute, guitar and musical saw. In that year
Elizabeth McLellan also joined the group on cello.
With the unique sounds of this instrumentation, and their years
of classical training, the ensemble boasts an eclectic repertoire that
ranges from Brahms, Bach and Weber to Argentinian tangos, gypsy
music and much more. Initially, from my vantage point in the balcony,
I assumed that the accordion was the fairly well-known large piano
accordion. After watching the dazzling movement of the fingers of
Sevastian’s right hand, I realized that this was not the instrument that
I had assumed. It is a rare Bayan accordion where the right hand has
an amazing array of buttons. (For those who might be curious about
the Bayan accordion there is a 30-minute lecture on YouTube detailing
its complexities.)
There was not a scrap of music in sight the entire evening. All of
the shows musical and choreographic intricacies were performed
by memory, with De Sotto switching routinely from violin to his
fine tenor voice. Other than the cellist, who remained on her private
podium, the others were often in movement. At one point, with De
Sotto playing his violin while kneeling on centre stage, Maier put
down his oboe, removed his shoes and socks and began a gymnastic
routine flip-flopping back and forth over the violinist. It turns out that
he is also a dancer and acrobat who spent a time in his career with
Cirque du Soleil.
How does this musical group get away with such histrionic showmanship,
and what does this all have to do with this column? The
answer: first and foremost, is that, for community bands there is
a lesson to be learned here. Quartetto Gelato displays outstanding
musicianship. With the music under complete control, then a musical
group can afford to indulge in showmanship. Unfortunately, in many
community bands, either showmanship takes precedence or remains
completely hidden. Either way, the end result can be a lacklustre show.
Musicianship
What’s the best way for a community band or orchestra to achieve
their musicianship goals? I’m sure there are many ways, but we just
heard of an interesting procedure used by Ric Giorgi, conductor of the
Strings Attached Orchestra. Here’s the kind of email message he sends
to members of his group after a rehearsal: “1. Keep working to make
a difference in the sound of notes according to the staccatos, tenutos,
caps or accents etc they have over or under them. The rhythm was
starting to sound pretty classy once you started playing these. Check
your accidentals and see how far into the section after letter E you can
get. 2. After letter E the arranger throws the melody around in bits to
different sections, so write in (in pencil) the beat numbers and subbeat
‘and’s with vertical lines over them so it’s clear how much you
have to rest between notes as well as how you play when you have
notes. Remember that an accidental affects every note in a bar after
the accidental and any note
that’s tied into the next bar.”
This may all sound very
elementary, but it certainly
doesn’t hurt to honour
the basics.
While on the subject of
Strings Attached, we just
received word of their Young
Composers Initiative (YCI).
In November they will be
performing Cassiopeia
with the 2016 YCI winner
in Orangeville. Last year’s
second-place winner (now
12 years old) has said that
he’s determined to outdo
his previous effort. More
power to him.
Henry Meredith with part of his collection.
A trip to London
Next recent musical journey
for me was a trip to London, Ontario. The first part of this trip was
to sit in as an observer of a class reunion of music graduates from
Western University. While I did not attend this university, it was interesting
to observe class mates of years gone by. Having not seen each
other for years, they soon coalesced into a band and a choir in the
morning and performed on stage in the afternoon. Again: musicianship
at play.
The other part of my journey took me to the home of Professor
Henry Meredith, also known as Dr. Hank, the conductor of the noted
Plumbing Factory Brass Band. Having donated some of my older
instruments to his collection of old brass instruments, I was expecting
to see a large array of instruments including some obscure vintage
items rarely seen in public these days. Astounding would be a better to
describe what I saw. On the ground floor of his house there were a few
instruments. Then, in the basement I saw rows of trumpets, cornets
and bugles hanging six deep on pegs in one section, with larger
instruments in nearby nooks. Then it was off to the two-car garage.
There were two cars in the driveway, but no room for them in the
garage. Hanging all over were framed pictures of town and military
bands from years gone by. How many forms of tubas, sousaphones,
ophicleides and other bass instruments could there be? Then we went
up to the loft over the garage. More varieties of instruments, row on
row, greeted us.
More about all this later, but, in short: I’d say all that Dr. Hank
wants for Christmas is a museum to display his collection of 6.000-
plus musical instruments.
36 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Eddie Graf
It is with great sorrow that I report on the passing of Eddie Graf.
Edwin John Graf was a composer, arranger, musician and bandleader.
During WWII Eddie was a band leader in an army entertainment
troop in Europe. It was there that he met his wife-to-be Bernice
(Bunny), who was at his bedside when he passed away 73 years later.
I first met Eddie in the late 1960s when I was acting as MC for many
concerts in Toronto parks. Over the past few years Eddie had been
gradually declining, but continued playing and writing music. He
played in and wrote music for the Encore Band and his son Lenny’s
band. He last played his clarinet at a band concert just a few days
before his passing.
On my return from London I headed straight to a service to celebrate
Eddie’s life. Such services are frequently very sombre memories
of a person’s life, but not this time. This was truly a celebration of
Eddie by hundreds of fellow musicians and family members. Son
Lenny spoke and showed a video which he had compiled about his
father. This was followed by music from a small band of friends. I
personally met up with many people with whom I had played as long
as 50 years ago. Before we knew it, people were dancing to the band’s
music. Why, I even had a dance with Resa Kochberg the founder and
director of Resa’s Pieces Band. (By the way, Monday, December 4 at
7:30, Resa’s Pieces, which over the years has grown to four distinct
ensembles, presents “Music from your Favourite Films” at York Mills
Collegiate, 490 York Mills Rd.)
A TORONTO CHRISTMAS TRADITION FEATURING
ST. MICHAEL’S CHOIR SCHOOL
SPECIAL GUESTS
Schola Cantorum Orchestra
Members of True North Brass
SOLOISTS
Meredith Hall, soprano
Christina Stelmacovich, alto
Lawrence Wiliford, tenor
Stephen Hegedus
(SMCS 1998), bass
CONDUCTORS
Vincent Cheng (SMCS 1999)
Maria Conkey
Teri Dunn
Peter Mahon
ACCOMPANIST S
William O’Meara
Joshua Tamayo (SMCS 2003)
Missed
Too late to attend, we learned of an interesting evening in Richmond
Hill called “Notes and Quotes” on October 22. There was a lecture and
concert on the music history of York Region by professor Robin Elliott,
Chalmers Chair, University of Toronto. This was a partnership with
the Richmond Hill Historical Society and Richmond Hill Heritage. The
Richmond Hill Concert Band performed a newly commissioned piece
by Bobby Herriot.
A different kind of missed concert for me, will be the Northdale
Concert band’s 50th anniversary concert which will take place
on Saturday, November 4, 3pm, at the Salvation Army Citadel on
Lawrence Ave. E., at Warden. Having been a member of the band for
several years, I had hoped to be able to attend their special concert
but a long-term prior commitment has to be given precedence. On a
visit to one of their recent rehearsals, however, I did manage to hear
Gary Kulesha’s new Dance Suite for Concert Band and guest trombone
soloist Vanessa Fralick’s stunning performance of Arthur Pryor’s
Thoughts of Love.
Upcoming
Nov 2 and Dec 7 at 12pm: The Encore Symphonic Concert Band
presents their “Monthly Concert” of big band, swing, jazz and film
scores. John Liddle, conductor. Wilmar Heights Centre, 963 Pharmacy
Ave., Scarborough.
Nov 3 at 8pm: Etobicoke Community Concert Band presents
“Movie Magic” featuring current and past motion picture box
office hits; Hollywood blockbusters, Disney at the movies, Queen’s
Bohemian Rhapsody and more. Etobicoke Collegiate Auditorium, 86
Montgomery Rd., Etobicoke.
Nov 19 at 3:30pm: The Wychwood Clarinet Choir presents “Harvest
Song” featuring Claribel by Roland Cardon, The Lark in the Clear
Air (arr. Roy Greaves), and many others too numerous to mention;
conductor and clarinet soloist, Michele Jacot. Church of St. Michael
and All Angels, 611 St. Clair Ave, W.
Nov 25 at 7:30pm: Silverthorn Symphonic Winds open their
2017/2018 season with “Fall Festival” at the Wilmar Heights Event
Centre Concert Hall, 963 Pharmacy Ave, Toronto (just north of
Eglinton).
Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has
performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at
bandstand@thewholenote.com.
Christmas at Massey Hall
PART
Handel’s Mess1 ah
December 2& 3 at 3pm
TICKETS $20 TO $60
416.872.4255
MasseyHall.com
and an array of
seasonal favourites
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 37

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 59.
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 60.
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
December 1 to February 7, 2017. All listings must be received by
Midnight Wednesday November 8.
LISTINGS can be sent by email 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
Wednesday November 1
●●12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
Noonday Organ Recitals: Stefani Bedin.
1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free.
●●7:30: Living Arts Centre. Patricia
O’Callaghan Sings Leonard Cohen and More.
RBC Theatre, Living Arts Centre, 4141 Living
Arts Dr., Mississauga. 905-306-6000.
$30-$50.
●●8:00: Gallery 345. The Art of the Piano:
Jenny Lin. Celebrating Valentin Silvestrov’s
80th birthday. Silvestrov: Benedictus; Mompou:
Angelico (from Música callada); Silvestrov:
Der Bote (The Messenger); Mozart:
Allegro from Piano Sonata No.16 in C; Silvestrov:
Wedding Waltz; and other works.
345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $25; $10(st).
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Yasmin Levy
and The Klezmatics. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $45-$110.
●●8:00: Soundstreams. Musik für das Ende.
Works by Claude Vivier. Choir 21; Alex Ivanovici,
actor; Adanya Dunn, soprano; Owen
McCausland, tenor; and others. Crow’s Theatre,
345 Carlaw Ave. 647-341-7390. From
$22. Also Oct 27, 28, 29, 31, Nov 2, 3, 4. Times
vary.
Thursday November 2
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Chamber Music Series: Musica Universalis.
Works by Haydn, Lau, Ho and Connesson. Trio
d’Argento (Sibylle Marquardt, flute; Peter
Stoll, clarinet; Todd Yaniw, piano). Richard
Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre
for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W.
416-363-8231. Free. First-come, first-served.
Late seating not available.
●●12:00 noon: Encore Symphonic Concert
Band. Monthly Concert. Big band, swing, jazz
and film scores. John Liddle, conductor. Wilmar
Heights Centre, 963 Pharmacy Ave.,
Scarborough. 416-346-3910 or 647-287-
5390. $10. First Thursday of each month.
Refreshments available or bring your lunch.
●●12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Thursdays at Noon: Opera Spotlight.
A preview of UofT Opera’s production of
Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. Free.
●●12:30: York University Department of
Music. World @ Midday: Kouraba World
Music Ensemble. Martin Family Lounge,
Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St.
647-459-0701. Free.
●●6:15: St. Thomas’s Anglican Church. All
Souls’ Day Solemn Requiem. Fauré: Requiem
Op.48. Choir of St. Thomas’s Church; instrumental
ensemble in the manner of the work’s
first performance in the Church of the Madeleine,
Paris; Matthew Larkin, organ and
conductor. St. Thomas’s Anglican Church
(Toronto), 383 Huron St. 416-979-2323. Freewill
offering. The music will be part of the liturgy
of the Solemn Requiem for All Souls.
●●7:30: Canadian Opera Company. The Elixir
of Love. Music by Gaetano Donizetti. Andrew
Haji, tenor (Nemorino); Simone Osborne, soprano
(Adina); Gordon Bintner, baritone (Belcore);
James Robinson, director; Yves Abel,
conductor. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing
Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231.
$35-$235. Also Oct 11, 15(2pm), 21, 27, 29,
Nov 4(4:30pm).
A. Concerts in the GTA
THE ELIXIR
OF LOVE
DONIZETTI
OCT 11 – NOV 4
coc.ca
●●7:30: Opera York. Carmen. Bizet. Romulo
Delgado (Don Jose); Beste Kalender (Carmen);
Andrew Tees (Escamilo); Sara Papini
(Micaela); Denis Mastromonaco, artistic
director. Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing
Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond Hill.
905-787-8811. $40-$50; $25(st). Also Nov 4.
●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. Faculty Concert Series: Al Henderson
Quintet. Al Henderson, bass; Alex Dean,
saxes, oboe, bass clarinet; Richard Whiteman,
piano; Barry Romberg, drums; Pat LaBarbera,
saxes, flute. Tribute Communities Recital Hall,
Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St.
416-736-5888. $15; $10(sr/st).
●●8:00: Art of Time Ensemble. ... Hosted
by Glenn Gould: Gould’s Perspectives on
Beethoven and Shostakovich. Excerpts from
Glenn Gould on Television will be screened
before performances of works by Beethoven
and Shostakovich. Andrew Burashko, piano;
Stephen Dann, viola; Sheila Jaffe, violin
and viola; Stephen Sitarski, violin; Thomas
Wiebe, cello. Harbourfront Centre Theatre,
235 Queens Quay W. 416-973-4000. $25-$64;
$15(rush tickets, 30 and under). Also Nov 3, 4.
●●8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. Music of
Hollywood II. Gershwin: Porgy and Bess
(excerpts); John Williams: Music from E.T.;
and works by Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.
Younggun Kim, piano; Toronto Concert
Orchestra; Kerry Stratton, conductor.
171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham. 905-305-
7469. $15-$65.
●●8:00: Gallery 345. Bridge Between the
Arts. Toronto Artists for Mexico Earthquake
Relief Fundraising Concert. Artists of different
genres united in an eclectic showcase of
classical music, Mariachi and interdisciplinary
projects. 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781.
$25/PWYC. Cash only.
●●8:00: Soundstreams. Musik für das Ende.
See Nov 1. Also Nov 3, 4.
Friday November 3
●●12:10: Music at St. Andrew’s. Noontime
Recital. Jordan Klapman, jazz piano; John
MacMurchy, reeds. St. Andrew’s Church
(Toronto), 73 Simcoe St. 416-593-5600 x231.
Free.
●●5:30: Dinner and a Song. David Bradstreet,
Guitar. Olde Stone Cottage Pub,
38 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

3750 Kingston Rd., Scarborough. 416-265-
7932. $40(incl dinner and show). 5:30pm:
dinner, 7:30pm: show starts. Limited number
of “show only” tickets available.
●●7:30: Festival of Arabic Music and Arts.
In Concert. Charbel Rouhana, oud; Canadian
Arabic Orchestra. Jane Mallett Theatre, St.
Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E.
416-366-1656. From $50.
●●7:30: Gallery 345. An Evening With Holly
Bowling, Piano. Reimagined music by
Phish and the Grateful Dead for solo piano.
345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $25; $15(st).
This show may sell out. Check ticket site first:
www.eventbrite.com.
●●7:30: Opera Atelier. The Marriage of
Figaro. Music by Mozart, libretto by Da Ponte.
Douglas Williams, baritone (Figaro); Mireille
Asselin, soprano (Susanna); Stephen Hegedus,
baritone (Count Almaviva); Peggy Kriha
Dye, soprano (Countess Almaviva); Mireille
Lebel, mezzo (Cherubino); and others; Marshall
Pynkoski, stage director; Jeannette
Lajeunesse Zingg, choreographer; Artists of
Atelier Ballet; Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra;
David Fallis, conductor. Elgin Theatre,
189 Yonge St. 1-855-622-2787. $39-$194. Also
Nov 4.
●●7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
What Makes It Great?® - Stravinsky: The
Firebird. Daniel Janke: Small Song (Sesquie
for Canada’s 150th); Stravinsky: Suite
from the Firebird (1919); Various musical
examples and commentary; Q&A with audience.
Rob Kapilow, conductor and host. Roy
Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-593-1285.
$35.75-$83.75.
●●8:00: Art of Time Ensemble.
... Hosted By Glenn Gould: Gould’s Perspectives
on Beethoven and Shostakovich. See
Nov 2. Also Nov 4.
●●8:00: Aurora Cultural Centre. Great Artist
Music Series: The Gryphon Trio. 22 Church
St., Aurora. 905-713-1818. $35/$30(adv).
●●8:00: Etobicoke Community Concert
Band. Movie Magic. Current and past motion
picture box office hits. Hollywood Blockbusters,
Disney at the Movies, Queen’s Bohemian
Rhapsody, Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones
and the Crystal Skull, and other works. Etobicoke
Collegiate Auditorium, 86 Montgomery
Rd., Etobicoke. 416-410-1570. $15; free(under
12).
●●8:00: Flato Markham Theatre. A Night of
Synergy: Dave Koz and Rob Tardik. 171 Town
Centre Blvd., Markham. 905-305-7469.
$15-$75.
●●8:00: Soundstreams. Musik für das Ende.
See Nov 1. Also Nov 4.
Saturday November 4
●●2:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Wallto-Wall
Percussion. Soloist “Jam”; Sousa: The
Washington Post; Milhaud: Excerpt from Percussion
Concerto; Joseph Green: Xylophonia;
Mussorgsky (orch. Ravel): Tuileries from Pictures
at an Exhibition; and other works. Vern
Griffiths, percussion; Earl Lee, conductor. Roy
Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-593-1285.
$20-$33.75. Also 4pm.
●●3:00: Soundstreams. Musik für das Ende.
See Nov 1.
●●4:00: Maestro Music Entertainment. Four
Seasons: Fall. Works by Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky,
Glazunov and Piazzolla; Ellina Svitsky: video
montage. Karine Vasserman, piano; Janusz
Borowic, violin; Cathrine Sulem, cello; Diana
Romanova and Anita Vasserman, hostesses.
Video Shoot Studio, 199-4544 Dufferin St.,
North York. 416-357-8345. $15. Interactive
introduction to classical music for ages 3 and
up. In English and Russian. Also 5pm.
●●4:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Wallto-Wall
Percussion. Soloist “Jam”; Sousa: The
Washington Post; Milhaud: Excerpt from Percussion
Concerto; Joseph Green: Xylophonia;
Mussorgsky (orch. Ravel): Tuileries from Pictures
at an Exhibition; and other works. Vern
Griffiths, percussion; Earl Lee, conductor. Roy
Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-593-1285.
$20-$33.75. Also 2pm.
●●4:30: Canadian Opera Company. The Elixir
of Love. See Nov 2.
●●4:30: Opera Atelier. The Marriage of
Figaro. See Nov 3.
●●5:00: Maestro Music Entertainment. Four
Seasons: Fall. Works by Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky,
Glazunov and Piazzolla; Ellina Svitsky: video
montage. Karine Vasserman, piano; Janusz
Borowic, violin; Cathrine Sulem, cello; Diana
Romanova and Anita Vasserman, hostesses.
Video Shoot Studio, 199-4544 Dufferin St.,
North York. 416-357-8345. $15. Interactive
introduction to classical music for ages 3 and
up. In English and Russian. Also 4pm.
●●6:00: Canadian Music Centre. Dilan
Ensemble in Duo. Pieces based on Kurdish
and Mesopotamian music systems. Shahriyar
Jamshidi, kamanche, vocals; Sina Khosravi,
percussion. 20 St. Joseph St. 416-961-6601
x202. $15/$10(adv).
●●7:00: Toronto Mass Choir. Gospel & Jazz:
A Family Reunion. Toronto Mass Choir;
Toronto Jazz Orchestra; guests: Renee
Rowe, Patricia Shirley, Chardon Myers, Terence
Penny and Shawn Byfield. Daniels
Spectrum, 585 Dundas St. E. 905-794-1139.
$35/$30(adv); $45(VIP). Also Nov 5.
●●7:30: Academy Concert Series. Sweet
For Bach. Bach: Cello Suites Nos. 2, 4, 5, 6
BWV1008, 1010, 1011, 1012; Morris Surdin: Arioso
for 4 cellos; Bach: Sinfonia from Ich steh
mit einem Fuß im Grabe BWV156 (Arioso) arr.
for 4 cellos; Bach: Lass mein Herz die Münze
sein, from Cantata Nur jedem das Seine
BWV163 arr. for 4 cellos. Christina Mahler,
cello; Mime Brinkman, cello; Felix Deak, cello;
Kerri McGonigle, piccolo cello; Järvi Randsepp,
dancer. Eastminster United Church,
310 Danforth Ave. 416-629-3716. $20; $14(sr/
st); $5(under 18).
●●7:30: Cor Unum Ensemble. Bella Musica.
Featuring polyphonic madrigals and string
band of 16th-century Italy, complemented
by works for solo keyboard. Trinity College
Chapel, University of Toronto, 6 Hoskin Ave.
226-980-9828. $20; $10(st/arts worker).
Also Nov 5.
●●7:30: Gallery 345. Jazz at The Gallery: John
MacMurchy and Jocelyn Barth Quartet. John
MacMurchy, sax and clarinet; Jocelyn Barth,
vocals; David Restivo, piano; George Koller,
bass. 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $25;
$10(st). Cash only.
●●7:30: Koichi Inoue. Brampton Chamber
Music Concert Series. Gina Hyunmin Lee,
Renee Huynh Barabash and Renee Farrell,
piano solos. St. Paul’s United Church (Brampton),
30 Main St. S., Brampton. 904-450-
9220. PWYC.
●●7:30: Opera by Request. Idomeneo. Mozart.
In concert with piano accompaniment.
Fabian Arciniegas, tenor (Idomeneo); Daniella
Theresia, mezzo (Idamante); Brittany Stewart,
soprano (Ilia); Michelle Veenhuizen, soprano
(Elettra); Cian Horrobin, tenor (Arbace);
William Shookhoff, piano and music director;
and others. College Street United Church,
452 College St. 416-455-2365. $20.
●●7:30: Opera York. Carmen. Bizet. Romulo
Delgado (Don Jose); Beste Kalender (Carmen);
Andrew Tees (Escamilo); Sara Papini
(Micaela); Denis Mastromonaco, artistic
director. Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing
Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond Hill.
905-787-8811. $40-$50; $25(st). Also Nov 2.
●●7:30: Toronto Concert Orchestra. Stage &
Screen. Works by Williams, Bernstein, Rogers
and Hammerstein and others. Toronto Concert
Orchestra; Kerry Stratton, conductor.
Christian Performance Arts Centre, 1536 The
Queensway. 416-255-0141. $25-$40. Charity
concert for Haven on the Queensway. Silent
auction in the lobby.
●●8:00: Aga Khan Museum. Fleur Persane
by Perséides featuring Amir Amiri and
Jean Félix Mailloux. Santur and double bass.
77 Wynford Dr. 416-646-4677. $40. Ticket incl.
same day museum admission.
●●8:00: Art of Time Ensemble. ... Hosted
By Glenn Gould: Gould’s Perspectives on
Beethoven and Shostakovich. See Nov 2.
●●8:00: Oakville Symphony Orchestra. 50th
Anniversary Opening Fireworks. Timothy
Chooi, violin. Oakville Centre for the Performing
Arts, 130 Navy St., Oakville. 905-815-
2021. $27-$56. Also Nov 5(2pm).
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. String Concerts:
Joshua Bell with Alessio Bax. Koerner
Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-
0208. SOLD OUT.
●●8:00: Toronto Mozart Players. Nathalie
Paulin sings Mahler. Mahler: Songs from
Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth’s Magic
Horn). Nathalie Paulin, soprano. Church of
the Redeemer, 162 Bloor St. W. 647-478-7532.
$35; $15(st).
Sunday November 5
●●2:00: Gallery 345. Jazz at The Gallery:
Gerry Shatford Trio. Music inspired by the
Poetry of Al Purdy. Gerry Shatford, piano; Neil
Sawinson, bass; Barry Elmes, drums; Paul
Vermeersch, narrator. 345 Sorauren Ave.
416-822-9781. $20; $10(st). Cash only.
●●2:00: Oakville Symphony Orchestra.
50th Anniversary Opening Fireworks. Timothy
Chooi, violin. Oakville Centre for the
Music at
St. Thomas’s Church
383 Huron Street, Toronto
Matthew Larkin
Organist & Director of Music
Evensong & Devotions
each Sunday at 7:00 p.m.
Choral music from a rich
tradition spanning 500 years
Evensong Prelude at 6:30
Oct. 29: Larry Beckwith &
Matthew Larkin play Bach for
violin & keyboard. Nov. 19:
Pianist Christopher Burton
November 1 at 6:15 p.m.
All Saints’ Day Eucharist
Music: Howells, Bainton,
Healey Willan’s recently
reconstructed anthem “In
the heavenly kingdom”
November 2 at 6:15 p.m.
Requiem for All Souls
Music for the liturgy:
Requiem
Gabriel Fauré
with instrumental ensemble
www.stthomas.on.ca
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 39

Performing Arts, 130 Navy St., Oakville. 905-
815-2021. $27-$56. Also Nov 4(8pm).
●●2:00: Royal Conservatory. Sunday Interludes:
Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello. Mazzoleni
Concert Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W.
416-408-0208. Free.
●●2:00: Visual and Performing Arts Newmarket.
Cecilia String Quartet. Newmarket
Theatre, 505 Pickering Cres., Newmarket.
905-953-5122. $30; $25(sr); $10(st).
●●3:00: Shaftesbury Salon Series. Battle
of the Bands 1867 & 1967. Canadian music
from the confederation generation and
the swinging sixties. Ian Bell, guitar, accordion,
banjo and vocals; Tom Leighton, piano,
accordion and vocals; and others. Atrium,
21 Shaftesbury Ave. 416-519-7883. $28.
Refreshments following.
●●3:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre. The
Widow by Calixa Lavallée. Viennese Operetta
and other works. Julie Nesrallah, mezzo;
Diego Catalá, baritone; Julie Obermeyer;
Michael McLean; Rosalind McArthur, mezzo;
Gregory Finney, baritone; Guillermo Silva-
Marin, stage director; Michael Rose, piano
and music director; and others. St. Lawrence
Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-
7723. $29-$49.
●●3:30: Orpheus Choir of Toronto. Last Light
Above the World. Allan Bevan: Last Light
Above the World (A War Litany); David Lang:
national anthems. Hailey Gillis and Colin Palangio,
narrators; Sidgwick Scholars; Orpheus
Chamber Orchestra; Robert Cooper, conductor;
Edward Moroney, accompanist.
Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Rd.
416-530-4428. $45-$75; $20(st).
●●3:30: St. Anne’s Anglican Church. St. Cecilia
Day Celebration. Purcell: Hail! Bright
Cecilia, and other works. Junction Trio;
orchestra; soloists from the St. Anne’s Choir.
270 Gladstone Ave. 416-536-3160. PWYC.
●●4:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
Organ Recitals: Ian Sadler. Repertoire TBA.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865 x234. Donations
welcomed.
●●4:00: Church of St. Mary Magdalene
(Toronto). Organ Fireworks. Andrew Adair,
organ. 477 Manning Ave. 416-531-7955. Free.
●●4:00: St. Olave’s Anglican Church. City
Flutes. Choral Evensong for All Souls. Classical,
contemporary and popular flute pieces.
Lana Chou Hoyt, director. 360 Windermere
Ave. 416-769-5686. Free; donations welcome.
Religious service. Followed by Pumpkin Tea.
●●5:00: Nocturnes in the City. Chamber
Music Recital. Works by Franck, Tchaikovsky
and Dvořák. Ivan Zenaty, violin; Dmitri
Vorobiev, piano. St. Wenceslaus Church,
496 Gladstone Ave. 416-481-7294. $25;
$15(st).
●●7:00: Toronto Mass Choir. Gospel & Jazz:
A Family Reunion. Toronto Mass Choir;
Toronto Jazz Orchestra; guests: Renee
Rowe, Patricia Shirley, Chardon Myers, Terence
Penny and Shawn Byfield. Daniels
Spectrum, 585 Dundas St. E. 905-794-1139.
$35/$30(adv); $45(VIP). Also Nov 4.
●●7:30: Cor Unum Ensemble. Bella Musica.
Featuring polyphonic madrigals and string
band of 16th-century Italy, complemented
by works for solo keyboard. Trinity College
Chapel, University of Toronto, 6 Hoskin Ave.
226-980-9828. $20; $10(st/arts worker).
Also Nov 4.
●●7:30: Trio Arkel. The Edge of Revolt. Tanyev:
A. Concerts in the GTA
Trio for Strings: Arensky: Cello Quartet;
Glière: Cello Duos. Guest: Shauna Rolston,
cello. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W.
416-409-6824. $30; $15(st).
Monday November 6
●●7:00: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
An Evening with John McDermott in Song and
Verse. John McDermott, tenor; Toronto Artillery
Foundation Band. 1585 Yonge St. 416-
922-1167. $30. Fundraiser in support of the
Toronto Artillery Foundation.
●●7:15: International Resource Centre for
Performing Artists. Singing Stars: The
Next Generation. A program of arias. Rachel
Andrist, piano. Zoomer Hall, 79 Jefferson Ave.
416-362-1422. $30, $20(under 30/sr/arts
workers).
●●7:30: Happenstance. Rêverie. Debussy:
Première rhapsodie; L’isle joyeuse; Françaix:
Tema con variazioni; Neuf Histoirettes; Messaien:
Regard de l’Esprit de joie from Vingt
regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus; Dusapin: To God;
and other works. Brad Cherwin, clarinet;
Alice Hwang, piano; Adam Harris, baritone;
Whitney Mather, voice. Temerty Theatre,
273 Bloor St. W. 647-767-9879. Free. RSVP
encouraged.
●●8:00: Gallery 345. The Art of the Piano:
Marc Toth - Beethoven Sonatas. Beethoven:
Sonatas 2, 20, 21 “Waldstein” and 27.
345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $25; $10(st).
●●8:00: Toronto Theatre Organ Society.
Screening of Silent Film “Sunrise”. Live organ
accompaniment. Bill O’Meara, organ. Kimbourne
Park United Church, 200 Wolverleigh
Blvd. 416-499-6262. $25.
Tuesday November 7
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Dance Series: DanceWorks 40th Anniversary
Weekend. Joanna de Souza, dancer; Esmeralda
Enrique, dancer. Richard Bradshaw
Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the
Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-
8231. Free. First-come, first-served. Late seating
not available.
●●12:10: Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation/
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Lunchtime
Chamber Music: Rising Stars Recital.
Students from the Glenn Gould School. Yorkminster
Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St.
416-241-1298. Free; donations welcomed.
November 7 at 8pm
BENJAMIN
GROSVENOR
●●8:00: Music Toronto. Benjamin Grosvenor,
Piano. Mozart: Sonata in B-flat K333 “Linz”;
Brahms: Four Pieces Op.119; Brett Dean:
Hommage à Brahms (played as interludes
between the Brahms pieces above); Debussy:
L’après-midi d’un faune (arr. Leonard Borwick
and George Copeland); Berg: Sonata Op.1;
Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit. St. Lawrence Centre
for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723.
$50-$55; $10(st, full-time).
Wednesday November 8
●●12:30: Organix Concerts/All Saints Kingsway.
Kingsway Organ Recital Series.
Michael Capon, organ. All Saints Kingsway
Anglican Church, 2850 Bloor St. W. 416-769-
5224. Freewill donation.
●●12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
Noonday Organ Recitals: John Paul Farahat.
1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free.
●●1:00: Miles Nadal JCC/Alliance Française/
Holocaust Education Week. Music, Cinema
and Memory. Theme songs featured in such
films as Defiance, Exodus, Schindler’s List,
Yentl, Diary of Anne Frank and Life is Beautiful.
Isabelle Durin, violin; Michaël Ertzscheid,
piano. Spadina Theatre, 24 Spadina Rd. 416-
924-6211 x155. PWYC, $10 suggested. Also
7pm.
●●5:00: Canadian Opera Company. Jazz Series:
You’ll Never Know. Heather Bambrick,
vocalist. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre,
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts,
145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231. Free. Firstcome,
first-served. Late seating not available.
●●6:00: Quintageous Woodwind Quintet.
In a Land Far, Far Away. Berio: Opus Number
Zoo; Oracel Hysterical: The Fisherman
and His Wife; Gottlieb: Twilight Crane; and
others. Lauren Yeomans, flute; Adam Weinmann,
oboe; Marc Blouin, clarinet; Iris Krizmaniz,
horn; Kevin Harris, bassoon. Burdock,
1184 Bloor St. W. 416-546-4033. $20; $15(st).
●●7:00: Miles Nadal JCC/Alliance Française/
Holocaust Education Week. Music, Cinema
and Memory. Theme songs featured in such
films as Defiance, Exodus, Schindler’s List,
Yentl, Diary of Anne Frank and Life is Beautiful.
Isabelle Durin, violin; Michaël Ertzscheid,
piano. Spadina Theatre, 24 Spadina Rd. 416-
924-6211 x155. PWYC, $10 suggested. Also
1pm.
●●8:00: Ashkenaz Foundation/Holocaust
Education Week. Semer Ensemble. Alan
Bern, Lorin Sklamberg, Daniel Kahn, Saha
Lurje and Fabian Schnedler. George Weston
Recital Hall, 5040 Yonge St. 1-855-985-2787.
$40. Performed in Yiddish, Hebrew, German
and Russian, with supertitles.
●●8:00: Humber College. Humber at 50: A
Celebration Through Music. Humber Faculty
Big Band; Denny Christianson, director. Featuring
Pat LaBarbera, Al Kay, Kurt Elling, Rik
Emmett, Laila Biali, Rich Brown’s rinsethealgorithm
with Robi Botos, Larnell Lewis
and Luis Deniz. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208 or 416-675-
6622 x4348. $175(premium); $55(concert
only); $25(st).
●●8:00: York University Department of
Music. York University Chamber Choir.
Mathew Larkin, organ; Lisette Canton,
conductor. Grace Church on-the-
Hill, 300 Lonsdale Rd. 416-736-5888.
$20/$15(adv); $15(sr/st)/$10(adv).
Thursday November 9
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Vocal Series: Journeys of the Soul. Wagner:
Wesendonck Lieder; Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer.
Samantha Pickett, soprano; Megan
Quick, mezzo; Rachel Kerr, piano; Stéphane
Mayer, piano. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre,
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing
Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231.
Free. First-come, first-served. Late seating
not available.
●●12:30: York University Department of
Music. Jazz @ Midday: Kevin Turcotte Quartet.
Kevin Turcotte, trumpet; Mark Eisenman,
piano; Jim Vivian, bass; Anthony Michelli;
drums. Martin Family Lounge, Accolade East
Building, YU, 4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701.
Free.
●●1:30: Women’s Musical Club of Toronto.
Music in the Afternoon: Zodiac Trio. Paul
Schoenfeld: Fraylakh from Trio for clarinet,
violin, and piano; Nicolas Gilbert: Comment
Cidel Asset Management
TRIO
Sponsors:
Marie Berard - Teng Li - Winona Zelenka
Presents
THE
EDGE OF
REVOLT
Guest Artist
Shauna Rolston, Cello
Sunday,
November 5 th , 7:30 PM
Trinity St.Paul's Centre,
427 Bloor St.W
40 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

WOMEN’S MUSICAL CLUB OF TORONTO
NOVEMBER 9, 2017 | 1.30 PM
ZODIAC TRIO
416-923-7052
wmct.on.ca
révéler un secret; Stravinsky: L’Histoire du
soldat (Suite); Piazzolla: Milonga, Muerte del
Angel; Khachaturian: Trio for clarinet, violin,
and piano; and other works. Riko Higuma,
piano; Kliment Krylovskiy, clarinet; Vanessa
Mollard, violin. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson
Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s
Park. 416-923-7052. $45.
●●5:30: Canadian Music Centre. Andrew
Downing’s Otterville. Selections from Otterville.
Andrew Downing Quintet. 20 St. Joseph
St. 416-961-6601 x202. $20/$15(adv);
$12(CMC members/arts workers); $10(st).
●●7:00: Aga Khan Museum. Origins by the
Canadian Arabic Orchestra. Laura Grizzlypaws,
vocals and dance; and others.
77 Wynford Dr. 416-646-4677. $27-$30.
●●7:30: Canadian Chordoma Network.
Chords for Chordoma: Jazz at the Lyric – A
Pan-American Jazz Event. A night of jazz for
cancer research also honouring Dr. Janis
Sarra. Brazilian, Samba, Swing and Cuban
jazz. Memo Acevedo, Pat LaBarbera, Andre
Mehmari, Chico Pinheiro, Dave Restivo and
others. Lyric Theatre, Toronto Centre for the
Arts, 5040 Yonge St. 416-250-3708. $50-
$100. All profits to the Canadian Cancer Society
to benefit Canadian chordoma research.
●●7:30: Ken Page Memorial Trust/WholeNote
Media Inc. Jim Galloway’s Wee Big
Band. Celebrating the music of the swing era.
Martin Loomer, conductor. The Garage, CSI
Building, 720 Bathurst St. 416-515-0200. $25.
●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Wind Symphony and
York University Symphony Orchestra: Preview
Concert. Mark Chambers and William
Thomas, conductors. Tribute Communities
Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, YU,
4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888. $5.
●●8:00: Gallery 345. Cinema Remembrance.
Music from films including Yentl, Fiddler on
the Roof, Life is Beautiful, Schindler’s List and
Exodus. Works by Williams, Legrand, Piovani
and Delerue. Isabelle Durin, violin; Michael
Ertzscheid, piano. 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-
822-9781. $25; $10(st). Cash only.
MOZART’S
PIANO
GUEST DIRECTED BY
KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT
NOV 9–12
TRINITY-ST. PAUL’S CENTRE
tafelmusik.org
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Mozart’s Piano. J.C. Bach:
Symphony in g Op.6 No.6; C.P.E. Bach: Symphony
for Strings in C Wq182/3; Mozart: Symphony
No. 29 in A K201; Rondo in a for Solo
Piano K511; Piano Concerto in No.12 in A K414.
Kristian Bezuidenhout, guest director and
fortepiano; Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall,
427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337. $19-$116. Preconcert
chat at 7pm. Also Nov 10, 11, 12(3:30).
TS
Toronto
Symphony
Orchestra
Afghanistan:
Requiem for a
Generation
Nov 9 & 11
Measha Brueggergosman,
soprano
TSO.CA
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation.
Julien Bilodeau: La fantaisie du pendu
(Hangman’s fantasy) (Sesquie for Canada’s
150th); Traditional: Piper’s Lament (Flowers
of the Forest); Diespecker: Creed (reading);
Vaughan Williams: Mvmt 2 from A London
Symphony (Symphony No.2); Jeffrey
Ryan: Afghanistan - Requiem for a Generation;
and other works. Measha Brueggergosman,
soprano; Allyson McHardy, mezzo; Colin
Ainsworth, tenor; Brett Polegato, baritone;
Toronto Children’s Chorus; Toronto Mendelssohn
Choir; Tania Miller, conductor. Roy
Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375.
$34.75-$148. Also Nov 11.
●●9:00: Polyphonic Ground. Sina Salimi plus
D’Bi and The 333. Revival Bar, 783 College St.
416-536-5439. $20/$15(adv).
Friday November 10
●●12:10: Music at St. Andrew’s. Noontime
Recital. Agnes Wan, piano. St. Andrew’s
Church (Toronto), 73 Simcoe St. 416-593-
5600 x231. Free.
●●7:30: Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
Trent Severn. Folk trio. Burlington Performing
Arts Centre, Community Studio
Theatre, 440 Locust St., Burlington. 905-681-
6000. $45. Series discount available.
●●7:30: National Ballet of Canada. The Winter’s
Tale. Music by Joby Talbot. Christopher Wheeldon,
choreographer. Four Seasons Centre for
the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-345-
9595. $39-$265. Opens Nov 10, 7:30pm. Runs to
Nov 19. Wed-Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●7:30: Opera by Request. La Clemenza di
Tito. Mozart. William Ford, tenor (Tito); Deena
Nicklefork, soprano (Vitellia); Madison Arsenault,
mezzo (Sesto); Shannon Mills, soprano
(Servilia); and others; William Shookhoff,
piano and conductor. College Street United
Church, 452 College St. 416-455-2365. $20.
●●7:30: Royal Canadian College of Organists.
At the Heart of Bach. Works by J.S.
Bach. Christian Lane, organ. Christ Church
Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. 416-598-4521. $25;
$20(RCCO members/sr/st).
●●8:00: Alliance Française de Toronto. 1917:
The Trenches, A Musical Cradle. Joanne
Morra, vocalist; Eric St-Laurent, guitar;
Rachel Melas, double bass. 24 Spadina Rd.
416-922-2014 x37. $15; $10(sr/st/member).
Rémi Bolduc
Jazz Ensemble
presents
Swingin’
with Oscar
Fri. November 10,
8pm
auroraculturalcentre.ca
905 713-1818
OPERA SINGERS AND FANS ALERT!
Ten Singing Stars - Next Generation
Rachel Andrist, pianist
IN CONCERT MONDAY NOVEMBER 6, 7pm
info@ircpa.net
416.362.1422
www.ircpa.net
Zoomer Hall, home of Classical 96.3fm,
70 Jefferson Avenue in Toronto’s Liberty Village (King/Dufferin area)
Free parking available
TICKETS: $30, $20 FOR UNDER 30, SENIORS AND ARTS WORKERS
The IRCPA acknowledges with thanks support from the Ontario Arts Council,
the Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation, Toronto Arts Council, and private donors.
Partners: La Scena, Lula Lounge, the Wholenote, Classical 96.3FM
At the Heart
of Bach
Prize-winning organist
Christian Lane plays
masterpieces central to the genius
of J.S.Bach on the famed organ of
Christ Church Deer Park.
Friday November 10 • 7:30pm
Christ Church Deer Park
1570 Yonge Street
$25, $20 RCCO members,
students and seniors
416-598-4521
rcco.ca/toronto-on
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 41

●●8:00: Aurora Cultural Centre. Rémi
Bolduc Jazz Ensemble: Swingin’ with Oscar.
22 Church St., Aurora. 905-713-1818.
$35/$30(adv).
●●8:00: Gallery 345. Jazz at The Gallery:
Noah Franche-Nolan: Solo Piano and Sextet.
Weaving elements of traditional jazz, contemporary
jazz, contemporary classical music,
and Christian hymns. 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-
822-9781. $20; $10(st). Cash only.
●●8:00: Kingston Road Village Concert Series.
Remembrance Day Concert with Scott
Good and Friends. Full orchestra, singers,
piper and readers. Kingston Road United
Church, 975 Kingston Rd. 416-699-6091. $25;
free(under 13).
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Vocal Concerts:
Barbara Hannigan with Reinbert de Leeuw.
Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W.
416-408-0208. $40-$95.
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Mozart’s Piano. See
Nov 9. Also Nov 11, 12(3:30).
●●9:00: Jazz Bistro. An Evening of Edith
Piaf: Patsy Gallant Sings Piaf. 251 Victoria St.
1-888-222-6608. $35. 6pm: doors open. Dinner
reservations: 416-363-5299. Also Nov 11.
●●9:00: Snaggle. Snarky Puppy Tribute
Show. Nick Maclean, keyboards; Brownman
Ali, trumpet; Graeme Wallace, tenor sax;
Anoop Isaac, guitar; and others. Junction City
Music Hall, 2907 Dundas St W. 416-389-2643.
$15/$10(adv).
Saturday November 11
●●2:00: National Ballet of Canada. The
Winter’s Tale. See Nov 10. Runs to Nov 19.
A. Concerts in the GTA
Wed-Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●3:00: Thin Edge New Music Collective/
Canadian Music Centre. Sensing. Works by
Höstman, Scime and Feldman; Sonja Rainey:
design. Canadian Music Centre, 20 St. Joseph
St. 416-961-6601 x202. $25; $20(sr/st/arts
workers). Also 5:30pm, 8pm.
●●5:30: Thin Edge New Music Collective/
Canadian Music Centre. Sensing. Works by
Höstman, Scime and Feldman; Sonja Rainey:
design. Canadian Music Centre, 20 St. Joseph
St. 416-961-6601 x202. $25; $20(sr/st/arts
workers). Also 3pm, 8pm.
●●6:00: Horseshoe Tavern. Reykjavik Calling:
Mammút and Fufanu. 370 Queen St. W. www.
facebook.com/events/119087432134074. Free
on a first come, first served basis. RSVP to
website.
●●7:30: National Ballet of Canada. The Winter’s
Tale. See Nov 10. Runs to Nov 19. Wed-
Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
THAT CHOIR REMEMBERS
conducted by Craig Pike
NiNe SparrowS
artS FouNdatioN
presents
A CONCERT OF
REMEMBRANCE
saturday November 11th
7:30 pm
special Guest
David Hetherington
cello
ADMISSION FREE
DONATIONS WELCOME
www.9SparrowSartS.org
●●7:30: Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation. A
Concert of Remembrance. Guest: David Hetherington,
cello. Yorkminster Park Baptist
Church, 1585 Yonge St. 416-241-1298. Free;
donations welcomed.
●●8:00: Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
Gordon Lightfoot. Burlington Performing
Arts Centre, Main Theatre, 440 Locust St.,
Burlington. 905-681-6000. $125. Series discount
available.
●●8:00: Caliban Arts/Remix Lounge.
Celebrating Dizzy at 100. Remix Lounge,
1305 Dundas St. W. 647-722-4635. $25(adv).
RE-SCHEDULED FROM OCT 21.
●●8:00: Cathedral Bluffs Symphony
Trinity College Chapel
(6 Hoskin Avenue, Toronto ON)
VISIT US
thatchoir.com
Orchestra. Subscription Concert #1. Rachmaninoff:
Piano Concerto No.1 in f-sharp;
Symphony No.2 in e. Robert Horvath, piano.
P.C. Ho Theatre, Chinese Cultural Centre
of Greater Toronto, 5183 Sheppard Ave. E.,
Scarborough. 416-879-5566. $35 and up;
$30(sr/st); free(under 12). 7:15pm: Pre-concert
talk.
●●8:00: Gallery 345. Dual Vision: Paul Novotny,
bass and Joe Sealey, piano. Classic
jazz duo with a unique signature sound.
345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $25; $15(st).
Cash only.
●●8:00: Jana Skarecky presents. Time Tributaries:
Music and Art by Jana Skarecky.
Skarecky: The Lightning Flash Endures (premiere);
Uluru; What Draws Us Together;
Planet Earth; Emily (excerpts); The Way
You Are; and other works. Brandon Leis,
tenor; Ben Bolt-Martin, cello; Ramona Carmelly,
mezzo; Joseph Ferretti, piano; Encore
String Quartet; and others. Heliconian Hall,
35 Hazelton Ave. 416-922-3618. $25. Proceeds
to benefit First Nations Child and Family Caring
Society of Canada; also in celebration of
Skareky’s 60th birthday.
●●8:00: Oakville Centre for the Performing
Arts. Dirty Dishes. Country, bluegrass, and
gospel. 130 Navy St., Oakville. 905-815-2021
or 1-888-489-7784. $33-$44.
●●8:00: Scaramella. Les idées heureuses.
Works by Bach, Jean-Marie Leclair, and François
Couperin. Grégoire Jeay, transverse
flute; Joëlle Morton, basse de viole; Lysiane
Boulva, harpsichord. Victoria College Chapel,
91 Charles St. W. 416-760-8610. $20-$30.
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Mozart’s Piano. See
Nov 9. Also Nov 12(3:30).
●●8:00: That Choir. That Choir Remembers.
Whitacre: When David Heard; Mealor:
Love’s as Warm as Tears; Henson: My Flight
for Heaven; Allan: In paradisum; Daley: In
Remembrance. Craig Pike, conductor. Trinity
College Chapel, University of Toronto,
6 Hoskin Ave. 416-419-1756. $30; $20(sr/arts);
$10(st). Also Nov 12.
●●8:00: Thin Edge New Music Collective/
Canadian Music Centre. Sensing. Works by
Höstman, Scime and Feldman; Sonja Rainey:
design. Canadian Music Centre, 20 St. Joseph
St. 416-961-6601 x202. $25; $20(sr/st/arts
workers). Also 3pm, 5:30pm.
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation. Jordan
Pal: Fallen (Sesquie for Canada’s 150th);
Traditional: Piper’s Lament (Flowers of the
Forest); Diespecker: Creed; Vaughan Williams:
Mvmt 2 from A London Symphony
(Symphony No.2); Jeffrey Ryan: Afghanistan
- Requiem for a Generation; and other
works. Measha Brueggergosman, soprano;
Allyson McHardy, mezzo; Colin Ainsworth,
tenor; Brett Polegato, baritone; Toronto Children’s
Chorus; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir;
Tania Miller, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall,
60 Simcoe St. 416-598-3375. $34.75-$148.
Also Nov 9.
●●9:00: Jazz Bistro. An Evening of Edith
Piaf: Patsy Gallant Sings Piaf. 251 Victoria St.
1-888-222-6608. $35. 6pm: doors open. Dinner
reservations: 416-363-5299. Also Nov 10.
Sunday November 12
●●2:00: National Ballet of Canada. The Winter’s
Tale. See Nov 10. Runs to Nov 19. Wed-
Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●2:00: Pocket Concerts. Pocket Concert
in The Annex. Brahms: Sonata for viola and
piano Op.120 No.2; Bunch: Suite for viola and
piano; Rachmaninoff: Sonata for cello and
piano Op.19 (arr. Borisovsky). Rory McLeod,
viola; Emily Rho, piano. Don and Rowley’s,
505 Palmerston Blvd. 647-896-8295. $48;
$30(ages 19-35); $15(under 19). Incl. reception
with refreshments.
●●3:00: Amici Chamber Ensemble. Inspired
by Canada. Chan Ka Nin: Among Friends; Bell:
Trails of Gravity and Grace; Cohen: Hallelujah;
Mitchell: A Case of You; Léveillée: Les Vieux
Pianos; and other works. Mireille Asselin,
soprano; Joaquin Valdepeñas, clarinet;
David Hetherington, cello; Serouj Kradjian,
piano. Mazzoleni Concert Hall, Telus Centre,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $45; $40(sr);
$15(under 31); $10(st).
●●3:00: Mississauga Symphony Orchestra.
Mississauga Symphony Youth Orchestra:
Canada 150. RBC Theatre, Living Arts Centre,
4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga. 905-306-
6000. $25.
●●3:00: Royal Conservatory. Invesco Piano
Concerts: Angela Hewitt. Koerner Hall, Telus
Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. SOLD
OUT.
●●3:00: St. Paul’s Bloor Street. A New Song.
Works by MacMillan, Moore, Mealor, Daley
and Bell. Choir of St. Paul’s Bloor Street Anglican
Church; Thomas Bell, director of music;
Gerald Loo, organ. 227 Bloor St. E. 416-961-
8116. Free.
●●3:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. TSYO
Fall Concert. Verdi: Overture to La forza
del destino; Smetana: “The Moldau” from
Má vlast; Shostakovich: Symphony No.5.
Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra; Earl
Lee, conductor. Toronto Centre for the Arts,
5040 Yonge St., North York. 416-593-1285.
$33-$100.50.
●●3:30: Tafelmusik. Mozart’s Piano. See
Nov 9.
●●4:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
Organ Recitals: Ian Sadler. Repertoire TBA.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865. Free. Donations
welcomed.
●●4:30: Cathedral Church of St. James. Service
of Remembrance. Parry: Songs of Farewell.
Choir of St. James Cathedral, Robert
Busiakiewicz, conductor. 65 Church St. 416-
364-7865. Free. Religious service.
●●4:30: Christ Church Deer Park. Jazz Vespers.
Bernie Senensky Trio. 1570 Yonge St.
42 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

416-920-5211. Freewill offering. Religious
service.
●●6:00: Festival of Arabic Music and Arts.
Canadian Arabic Orchestra: On the Way to
Baghdad. Naseer Shamma, oud. Hammerson
Hall, Living Arts Centre, 4141 Living Arts Dr.,
Mississauga. 905-306-6000. $61-$71.
●●7:30: St. Paul’s Anglican Church
(Uxbridge). A Concert For Remembrance
Day. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5. Orpheus
Symphonietta; Stuart Beaudoin, conductor.
65 Toronto St. S., Uxbridge. 866-808-2006.
$15.
●●8:00: That Choir. That Choir Remembers.
Whitacre: When David Heard; Mealor:
Love’s as Warm as Tears; Henson: My Flight
for Heaven; Allan: In paradisum; Daley: In
Remembrance. Craig Pike, conductor. Trinity
College Chapel, University of Toronto,
6 Hoskin Ave. 416-419-1756. $30; $20(sr/arts);
$10(st). Also Nov 11.
Monday November 13
●●7:30: Matthew Whitfield. Surréalisme:
Pure Psychic Automatism. Satie: Vexations
(accompanied by live automatic readings).
Matthew Whitfield, piano. St. John the Baptist
Norway Anglican Church, 470 Woodbine Ave.
647-302-2074. PWYC.
●●9:30: Sonuskapos Jazz Orchestra. CD
Release Party: Imagine We’re Sailing. Mason
Victoria, director. The Rex, 194 Queen St. W.
416-219-9587. $20(with CD)/$15(without CD);
$15(st with CD).
Tuesday November 14
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Vocal Series/Chamber Music Series: Three
Portraits. Kieren MacMillan: Three Portraits.
Haven Trio (Lindsay Kesselman, soprano;
Kimberly Cole Luevano, clarinet; Midori Koga,
piano). Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre,
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts,
145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231. Free. Firstcome,
first-served. Late seating not available.
●●12:10: Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation/
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Lunchtime
Chamber Music: David Potvin, Piano.
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge
St. 416-241-1298. Free; donations welcomed.
●●1:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
Organ Recitals: Richard Hansen. Repertoire
TBA. 65 Church St. 416-364-7865 x234. Free.
Donations welcomed.
●●7:30: Canzona Chamber Players. St.
Michael’s Hospital Benefit Concert. Jean
Coulthard: A Prayer for Elizabeth; Mahler:
Rückert Lieder; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6
“Pathétique”. Rachel Krehm, soprano; Canzona
Chamber Players Orchestra; Yosuke
Kawasaki, concertmaster; Evan Mitchell, conductor.
Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge
St. 647-248-4048. PWYC (suggested donation
$25). All proceeds benefit the Medical
Surgical Intensive Care Unit of St. Michael’s
Hospital.
●●8:00: Musical Stage Company. Uncovered:
Dylan & Springsteen. Music director Reza
Jacobs and a company of Canadian musical
theatre performers perform songs of Dylan
and Springsteen. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-927-7880. $35-$100.
Also Nov 15-16.
Wednesday November 15
●●11:00am: Tafelmusik. Close Encounters…
In Paris. Couperin: L’Apothéose de Corelli;
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
… IN PARIS
WED NOV 15 | 11AM
HELLICONIAN HALL
SAT NOV 18 | 2PM
TEMERTY THEATRE
(TELUS CENTRE)
tafelmusik.org
Rameau: Pièces de clavecin en concert;
Marais: Pièces de viole: Livre III 4e Suite.
Charlotte Nediger, harpsichord; Geneviève
Gilardeau and Patricia Ahern, violin;
Felix Deak, viola da gamba. Heliconian Hall,
35 Hazelton Ave. 416-964-6337. $45(adv).
Introductions by the musicians. Also
Nov 18(Temerty Theatre, 2pm).
●●12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
Noonday Organ Recitals: Andrew Adair.
1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free.
●●7:30: National Ballet of Canada. The Winter’s
Tale. See Nov 10. Runs to Nov 19. Wed-
Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. UofT Jazz Orchestra. Gordon Foote,
director. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building,
University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park.
416-408-0208. Free.
●●8:00: Musical Stage Company. Uncovered:
Dylan & Springsteen. Music director Reza
Jacobs and a company of Canadian musical
theatre performers perform songs of Dylan
and Springsteen. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-927-7880. $35-$100.
Also Nov 14, 16.
●●8:00: Oakville Centre for the Performing
Arts. Buffy Sainte-Marie. 130 Navy St., Oakville.
905-815-2021 or 1-888-489-7784.
$59-$70.
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Oundjian
Conducts Vaughan Williams. Vaughan
Williams: Fantasia on “Greensleeves”; Concerto
in a for Oboe and String Orchestra; Serenade
to Music; Flos Campi for viola, chamber
choir and chamber orchestra; Piano Concerto
in C; Overture to The Wasps. Louis Lortie,
piano; Sarah Jeffrey, oboe; Teng Li, viola;
Carla Huhtanen, soprano; Emily D’Angelo,
mezzo; Lawrence Wiliford, tenor; Tyler Duncan,
baritone; Elmer Iseler Singers; Peter
Oundjian, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall,
60 Simcoe St. 416-593-1285. $34.75-$148.
Also Nov 16(2pm).
Thursday November 16
●●12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Thursdays at Noon: Starting from Porcupine.
Selected CBC broadcasts and readings.
William Aide, piano. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. Free.
●●12:30: York University Department of
Music. Music @ Midday: Student Showcase.
Martin Family Lounge, Accolade East Building,
YU, 4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free.
●●2:00: National Ballet of Canada. The Winter’s
Tale. See Nov 10. Runs to Nov 19. Wed-
Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●2:00: Orchardviewers. Amina Holloway,
cello. Toronto Public Library, Northern District,
40 Orchard View Blvd. 416-393-7610.
Free. Room 224.
●●2:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Oundjian
Conducts Vaughan Williams. Vaughan
Williams: Fantasia on “Greensleeves”; Concerto
in a for Oboe and String Orchestra; Serenade
to Music; Flos Campi for viola, chamber
choir and chamber orchestra; Piano Concerto
in C; Overture to The Wasps. Louis Lortie,
piano; Sarah Jeffrey, oboe; Teng Li, viola;
Carla Huhtanen, soprano; Emily D’Angelo,
mezzo; Lawrence Wiliford, tenor; Tyler Duncan,
baritone; Elmer Iseler Singers; Peter
Oundjian, conductor. Roy Thomson Hall,
60 Simcoe St. 416-593-1285. $34.75-$148.
Also Nov 15(8pm).
●●7:30: National Ballet of Canada. The Winter’s
Tale. See Nov 10. Runs to Nov 19. Wed-
Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
November 16 at 8pm
CARDUCCI
QUARTET
●●8:00: Music Toronto. Carducci Quartet.
Beethoven: Quartet No. 11 in f Op.95 “Serioso”;
Shostakovich: Quartet No.4 in D Op.83;
Debussy: Quartet in g Op.10. St. Lawrence
Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-
7723. $50-$55; $10(st, full-time). Replaces
Škampa Quartet due to cancellation.
●●8:00: Musical Stage Company. Uncovered:
Dylan & Springsteen. Music director Reza
Jacobs and a company of Canadian musical
theatre performers perform songs of Dylan
and Springsteen. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-927-7880. $35-$100.
Also Nov 14, 15.
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Haus Musik: Crossing/
Traversée. Musicians of Tafelmusik Baroque
Orchestra; Jennifer Nichols, stage director;
Andycapp, electronic artist; Jack Rennie,
dancer; Patrick Hagarty, filmmaker. The
Great Hall, 1087 Queen St. W. 416-792-1268.
$25/$20(adv). Cash bar.
Friday November 17
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Chamber Music Series: Horn Trios. Brahms:
Horn Trio in E-flat Op.40; John Harbison: Twilight
Music. Mikhailo Babiak, horn; Sheila
Jaffé, violin; Rachael Kerr, piano. Richard
Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre
for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W.
416-363-8231. Free. First-come, first-served.
Late seating not available.
●●12:10: Music at St. Andrew’s. Noontime
Recital. Works by Saint-Saëns, Gounoud,
Massenet and Gaveaux. Trio Dell’Aria
(Michael Westwood, clarinet; Kripa Nageshwar,
soprano; Ruta Vaivade, piano). St.
Andrew’s Church (Toronto), 73 Simcoe St.
416-593-5600 x231. Free.
●●7:30: Heliconian Club. Glitter and Be Gay.
Pearce and de Val: new compositions; Eatock:
Three Songs (from The Prophet); Bach:
Christmas Oratorio (excerpts); Bernstein:
Glitter and be Gay. Allison Arends, soprano;
Paula Arciniega, mezzo; Jacqueline Gélineau,
contralto; Evelina Soulis and Suzanne Yeo,
piano. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 416-
922-3618. $25; free(12 and under accompanied
by an adult).
●●7:30: National Ballet of Canada. The Winter’s
Tale. See Nov 10. Runs to Nov 19. Wed-
Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
Cathedral Bluffs
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Norman Reintamm
Artistic Director/Principal Conductor
Saturday November 11, 2017 8 pm
RACHMANINOFF
Piano Concerto no. 1 in F sharp minor
with pianist ROBERT HORVATH
Symphony no. 2 in E minor
SUBSCRIPTION CONCERT 1 | TICKETS: from $35 adult $30 senior/student
children under age 12 are free ORDER ONLINE OR BY PHONE
P.C. HoTheatre 5183 Sheppard Ave E (1 block east of Markham Rd), Scarborough
cathedralbluffs.com | 416.879.5566
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 43

●●7:30: Royal Conservatory. Glenn Gould
School Fall Opera: Hansel and Gretel. By
Engelbert Humperdinck. Mazzoleni Concert
Hall, Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-
408-0208. $15. Also Nov 18.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. UofT Symphony Orchestra. Haydn:
Symphony No.30 in C “Alleluja”; Mozart: Symphony
No.29 in A K201(186a); Séjourné:
Concerto for Marimba and Strings; Ravel:
Le tombeau de Couperin. Naoko Tsujita,
marimba; Chad Heltzel, Eszter Horvath
DENIS MASTROMONACO
MUSIC DIRECTOR &
C O N D U C T O R
A. Concerts in the GTA
and François Koh, conductors. Walter Hall,
Edward Johnson Building, University of
Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208.
$30; $20(sr); $10(st). Pre-performance chat.
●●8:00: Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
Buffy Sainte-Marie. Burlington Performing
Arts Centre, Main Theatre, 440 Locust St.,
Burlington. 905-681-6000. $69.50. Series
discount available.
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Music Mix: Holly
Cole. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor
St. W. 416-408-0208. $40-$85. LIMITED
AVAILABILITY.
●●8:00: Toronto Consort. Renaissance Splendours.
Music from the highest courts of Renaissance
Europe. Dancers from the School
of Atelier Ballet; Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg,
choreographer. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre,
Jeanne Lamon Hall, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-
6337. $15-$64. Also Nov 18.
●●8:00: York University Department of
Music. Improv Soiree. Participatory “open
mike” set-up. Improv studios of Casey Sokol,
hosts. Sterling Beckwith Studio, 235 Accolade
East Building, 4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701.
Free. Performers and observers welcome.
Saturday November 18
●●2:00: Circle of Harmony Chorus. Canadian,
Eh? 4-part a cappella harmony women’s
barbershop chorus. Canadian pop, traditional
barbershop, gospel, Broadway and
jazz. Clearview Christian Reformed Church,
2300 Sheridan Garden Dr., Oakville. 416-471-
5244. $25. Also 7:30pm.
●●2:00: National Ballet of Canada. The
Winter’s Tale. See Nov 10. Runs to Nov 19.
Wed-Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●2:00: Tafelmusik. Close Encounters…
In Paris. Couperin: L’Apothéose de Corelli;
Rameau: Pièces de clavecin en concert;
Marais: Pièces de viole: Livre III 4e Suite.
Charlotte Nediger, harpsichord; Geneviève
Gilardeau and Patricia Ahern, violin;
Felix Deak, viola da gamba. Temerty Theatre,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-964-6337. $45(adv).
Introductions by the musicians. Also
Nov 15(Heliconian Hall, 11am).
●●3:00: Neapolitan Connection. Musical
Matinées at Montgomery’s Inn: Brahms
for 3. Andrew Sords, violin; Luke Severn,
cello; Cheryll Duvall, piano. Montgomery’s
Inn, 4709 Dundas St. W. 416-231-0006. $30;
$15(child). 2:15pm: historical tour; tea and
cookies included.
●●4:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre. Come to
the Cabaret. An afternoon with songs and
chats. Elizabeth Beeler, Master of Ceremonies.
Edward Jackman Centre, 947 Queen St.
E., 2nd Floor. 416-366-7723. $45. Libations
with a touch of Broadway. CANCELLED.
●●5:30: Canadian Music Centre.
2017 Concert Fundraiser. Rob MacDonald,
guitar; Amely Zhou, erhu; Evan Lamberton,
cello; Bryan Holt, cello; Amahl Arulanandan,
cello. 20 St. Joseph St. 416-961-6601 x202.
$150 ($100 tax-deductible). Includes food/
drink, dance party and live auction.
●●7:30: Burlington Civic Chorale Singers.
Canada 150 and Christmas Favourites. A tribute
to Canadian songwriters and arrangers.
John Burge: Matins; Canadian traditional and
modern folk songs; Christmas carols and surprises.
St. Christopher’s Anglican Church,
662 Guelph Line, Burlington. 905-577-2425.
$25/$20(adv).
●●7:30: Cantabile Chamber Singers. Music
of the People. Works by Parry, Tormis,
Rautavaara, Martin, Sgroi, and Weaver.
Cheryll Chung, conductor. Church of the
Redeemer, 162 Bloor St. W. 416-509-8122.
$20-$25.
●●7:30: Circle of Harmony Chorus. Canadian,
Eh? 4-part a cappella harmony women’s
barbershop chorus. Canadian pop, traditional
barbershop, gospel, Broadway and
jazz. Clearview Christian Reformed Church,
2300 Sheridan Garden Dr., Oakville. 416-471-
5244. $25. Also 2pm.
●●7:30: National Ballet of Canada. The Winter’s
Tale. See Nov 10. Also Nov 19.
●●7:30: Royal Conservatory. Glenn Gould
School Fall Opera: Hansel and Gretel. By
Engelbert Humperdinck. Mazzoleni Concert
Hall, Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-
408-0208. $15. Also Nov 17.
●●7:30: Thornhill United Church. November
Delights. 26th annual concert of lighter
music. Choirs and instrumentalists of
Thornhill United Church. 25 Elgin St., Thornhill.
905-889-2131. Freewill offering. Refreshments
following.
●●8:00: Acoustic Harvest. Boreal. St. Nicholas
Birch Cliff Anglican Church, 1512 Kingston
Rd. 416-250-3708. $25/$22(adv).
●●8:00: Aga Khan Museum. Haram with
Gordon Grdina. Indie-rock/jazz/electronic.
77 Wynford Dr. 416-646-4677. $40. Ticket incl
same day museum admission.
●●8:00: Gallery 345. Look Ahead: Paul Novotny,
bass and Robi Botos, piano. New jazz with
an old soul and passionate melodic improvisations.
345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $25;
$15(st). Cash only.
●●8:00: Guitar Society of Toronto. Xavier
Jara. Performance by the Rose Augustine
Grand Prize Winner of 2016. St. Simon-the-
Apostle Anglican Church, 525 Bloor St. E. 416-
964-8298. $35/$30(adv); $30(sr/st)/$25(adv).
●●8:00: Masterworks of Oakville Chorus
and Orchestra. Mozart’s Mass in c and
Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. Charlene Pauls,
soprano; Ariel Harwood-Jones, soprano; Bud
Roach, tenor; Bradley Christenson, bass; Ronald
Greidanus, piano. St. Matthew’s Catholic
Church, 1150 Monks Passage, Oakville. 905-
399-9732. $30; $25(sr); $10(st); free(under
11). Also Nov 19(3pm).
●●8:00: Mississauga Symphony Orchestra.
Shostakovich. Shostakovich: Piano Concerto
No.2; Waltz from Suite for Variety Orchestra;
Symphony No.10. Denis Mastromonaco, conductor;
Sae Yoon Chon, piano. Hammerson Hall,
Living Arts Centre, 4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga.
905-306-6000. $40-$65; $36-$58(sr);
$30(youth); $25(15 and under); $100(family).
Beethoven Choral Fantasy &
Mozart Mass in C Minor
Saturday, November 18 at 8 pm
Sunday, November 19 at 3 pm
St. Matthew Catholic Church
1150 Monks Passage, Oakville
www.masterworksofoakville.ca
44 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

●●8:00: Nagata Shachu. Half Cycle, Full Moon.
Aki Takahashi, director. Fleck Dance Theatre,
Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W.
416-973-4000. $24-$37; $20(sr/st).
●●8:00: Music Gallery. TAK: Love, Crystal
and Stone + Darren Creech. Ashkan Behzadi:
Love, Crystal and Stone; works by Darren
Creech. 918 Bathurst Centre, 918 Bathurst St.
416-961-9594. $10-$20.
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Music Mix:
PARIS! Le Spectacle. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. SOLD OUT.
●●8:00: Toronto Consort. Renaissance Splendours.
Music from the highest courts of Renaissance
Europe. Dancers from the School
of Atelier Ballet; Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg,
choreographer. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre,
Jeanne Lamon Hall, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-964-
6337. $15-$64. Also Nov 17.
in A TWV55:A1; Overture-Suite in B-flat
TWV55:B5 “Les Nations”; Polish Concerto in G
TWV55:G10; Overture-Suite in G TWV55:G10
“The Burlesque of Don Quixotte”. St. Thomas’s
Anglican Church (Toronto), 383 Huron
St. www.bemusednetwork.com/events. $30.
Pre-concert chat at 7:15pm with Olivier Fortin
and Kathleen Kajioka, moderated by Larry
Beckwith.
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Angela Hewitt. Bach: Keyboard Concerto
No.3 in D BWV1054; Mozart: Piano Concerto
No.9 in E-flat K271 “Jeunehomme”; Bach: Keyboard
Concerto No.7 in g BWV1058; Mozart:
Piano Concerto No.20 in d K466. Angela
Hewitt, leader and piano. Roy Thomson Hall,
60 Simcoe St. 416-593-1285. $33.75-$148.
Also Nov 19(3pm at George Weston Recital
Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts).
●●9:00: Alliance Française de Toronto. Tribute
to Signeur Tabu Ley Rochereau and Papa
Wemba. Cour des Grands and Blandine
Mbiya. 24 Spadina Rd. 416-922-2014 x37. $15;
$10(sr/st/member).
Sunday November 19
●●1:30: Music at Metropolitan. Jazz Standards
of the Seventeenth Century. Ground
basses, lute songs and madrigals. Musicians
on the Edge; Rezonance Baroque Ensemble;
Emily Klassen, soprano; Charles Davidson,
tenor; Rezan Onen-Lapointe, violin; Erika
Nielsen, cello; Dave Podgorski, harpsichord;
Benjamin Stein, lutes. Metropolitan United
Church (Toronto), 56 Queen St. E. 416-363-
0331 x26. $20; $10(18 and under).
●●2:00: Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
Matt Haimovitz, cello. Three Bach Cello
Suites. Burlington Performing Arts Centre,
Community Studio Theatre, 440 Locust St.,
Burlington. 905-681-6000. $45; $19(youth).
Series discount available.
●●2:00: Gallery 345. TorQ Percussion CD
Release: Modulations. Features original commissions
for keyboard and percussion instruments.
Works by Hatzis, Hatch and Morphy.
345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $30; $20(sr/
arts workers); $10(st). Cash only. Ticket price
includes a copy of the new CD.
●●2:00: National Ballet of Canada. The Winter’s
Tale. See Nov 10.
●●2:00: The Sound Post. Fall Salon Concert.
Bach: Cello Suite No.6; Bottesini: Elegy; Schubert:
Arpeggione Sonata. Joel Quarrington,
bass; Peter Longworth, piano. 93 Grenville
St. 416-971-6990. $20(incl CD); free(under
16). Limited seating; reserve at events@
thesoundpost.com. Reception to follow.
●●3:00: Chorus York. Top Hats and Tunes: A
Program of Broadway Hits. Stéphane Potvin,
conductor; Christina Faye, piano. Thornhill
Presbyterian Church, 271 Centre St., Thornhill.
905-884-7922. $25; $20(sr/st). Also
Nov 25(8pm, Richmond Hill).
●●3:00: Masterworks of Oakville Chorus and
Orchestra. Mozart’s Mass in c and Beethoven’s
Choral Fantasy. Charlene Pauls, soprano;
Ariel Harwood-Jones, soprano; Bud Roach,
tenor; Bradley Christenson, bass; Ronald Greidanus,
piano. St. Matthew’s Catholic Church,
1150 Monks Passage, Oakville. 905-399-9732.
$30; $25(sr); $10(st); free(under 11). Also
Nov 18(8pm).
●●3:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
The 30th Anniversary
Concert of the
Toronto Korean-Canadian
Choir
Saturday Nov. 18,
8pm
●●8:00: Toronto Korean-Canadian Choir.
Handel’s Messiah. 38th Anniversary Concert.
Sheila Dietrich, soprano; Erica Iris, alto;
Christopher Mayell, tenor; Michael Nyby,
bass; Sinfonia Toronto Orchestra; Dr. Hoon-
Mo Kim, conductor. Toronto Centre for the
Arts, 5040 Yonge St., North York. 905-889-
0009 or 416-986-2771. $30-$40.
●●8:00: Toronto Masque Theatre. Ensemble
Masques. Telemann: Overture-Suite
Violins, violas, cellos & bows
Complete line of strings & accessories
Expert repairs & rehairs
Canada’s largest stock of string music
A
treasure trove of gifts for string players
thesoundpost.com
info@the soundpost.com
93 Grenville St, Toronto M5S 1B4
416.971.6990 • fax 416.597.9923
ANNUAL FALL SALE • Nov 14 -18
FALL SALON • SALON CONCERT CONCERT • Nov 19, 2 pm •
Joel Quarrington, bass, Peter Longworth, piano
Jeanne Lamon & Friends • Nov 1, 2pm
Limited seating. Email: events@thesoundpost.com
MASQUES
THE MUSICAL
THEATRE OF
TELEMANN
Saturday
18 November, 8pm
MUSIC AT METROPOLITAN presents
JAZZ STANDARDS OF
THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 19 - 1:30pm
Musicians On The Edge
Rezonance Baroque Ensemble
$20/10 AGES 18 AND UNDER
Emily Klassen, soprano
Charles Davidson, tenor
Rezan Onen-Lapointe, violin
Erika Nielsen, cello
Dave Podgorski, harpsichord
Benjamin Stein, lutes
www.metunited.org • 416-363-0331, ext. 26
56 Queen Street East, Toronto
MetUnited Music
MetUnitedMusic
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 45

Angela Hewitt. Bach: Keyboard Concerto
No.3 in D BWV1054; Mozart: Piano Concerto
No.9 in E-flat K271 “Jeunehomme”; Bach: Keyboard
Concerto No.7 in g BWV1058; Mozart:
Piano Concerto No.20 in d K466. Angela Hewitt,
leader and piano. Toronto Centre for the
Arts, 5040 Yonge St., North York. 416-593-
1285. $33.75-$148. Also Nov 18(8pm at Roy
Thomson Hall).
●●3:30: Wychwood Clarinet Choir. Harvest
Song. Cardon: Claribel; The Lark in the
Clear Air (arr. Greaves); Mozart: Serenade in
c (arr. Greaves); Piazzolla: Three Tangos (arr.
Greaves); Two Beatles Tunes (arr. Witkin); and
other works. Michele Jacot, conductor and
clarinet. Church of St. Michael and All Angels,
611 St. Clair Ave. W. wychwoodclarinetchoir.
com. $20; $10(sr); $5(st/child).
●●4:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
Organ Recitals: Ian Sadler. Repertoire TBA.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865 x234. Free. Donations
welcomed.
Flute Street
TORONTO’S PROFESSIONAL FLUTE CHOIR
PRESENTS
EARTH,
WIND,
SNOW
AND
FIRE
guest artist
CHRISTINE BEARD
SUN. NOV. 19, 4pm
●●4:00: Flute Street. Earth, Wind, Snow and
Fire. Guest: Christine Beard, piccolo. Christ
Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. 416-462-
9498. $25; $20(sr); $10(st).
A. Concerts in the GTA
●●4:00: Hart House Singers. This Land: Music
of First Nations and Early Settlers in Canada.
Louis Schryer, fiddle; Josette Bouchard,
tambour; Erin Leahy, piano; Conrad Gold,
piano; David Arnot-Johnston, conductor. Hart
House, Great Hall, 7 Hart House Circle. 416-
978-2452. Free. Donations to UofT Food Bank
welcome.
●●4:00: Royal Conservatory. Mazzoleni Masters:
Victor Danchenko. Mazzoleni Concert
Hall, Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-
408-0208. $25.
●●7:00: Victoria College Choir. Fall Concert.
Works by Chatman, Patriquin and
Sled. Michael Bridge, accordion; Taylor Sullivan,
conductor. Victoria College Chapel,
91 Charles St. W. 416-585-4521. Free.
Emergence
Sunday
November 19
2017
8pm Concert
Koerner Hall
ESPRIT ORCHESTRA
espritorchestra.com
●●8:00: Esprit Orchestra. Emergence. Bjarnason:
Emergence; Dalbavie: Concerto for
Violin and Orchestra; D. Schmidt: Just a
stranger here myself...; Sokolović: Ringelspiel.
Véronique Mathieu, violin; Alex Pauk, conductor.
Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor
St. W. 416-408-0208. $40-$60; $40-$55(sr);
$22-$32(under 30); $20-$25(st). 7:15pm: Preconcert
chat.
Monday November 20
●●12:30: York University Department of
Music. Music @ Midday: Classical Instrumental
Concert. Tribute Communities Recital Hall,
Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St.
647-459-0701. Free.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Faculty Artists Ensemble. Mahler:
Songs of a Wayfarer; Symphony No.4. Darryl
Edwards, tenor; Monica Whicher, soprano;
Edward Tait, music director; Uri Mayer, conductor.
Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building,
University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-
408-0208. $40; $25(sr); $10(st).
●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Department of Music
Jazz Festival: Jazz Combos. Roy Patterson,
Lorne Lofsky and Mark Eisenman, conductors.
219 Accolade East Building, YU,
4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free. Festival
runs Nov 20-23.
Tuesday November 21
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Piano Virtuoso Series: The Lyrical Keyboard.
Mariya Orlenko, piano. Richard Bradshaw
Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the
Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-
8231. Free. First-come, first-served. Late seating
not available.
●●12:10: Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation/
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Lunchtime
Chamber Music: Rising Stars Recital.
Performance students from the UofT Faculty
of Music. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church,
1585 Yonge St. 416-241-1298. Free; donations
welcomed.
●●12:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Department of Music
Jazz Festival: Jazz Vocal Ensemble. Mike
Cadó, conductor. 219 Accolade East Building,
YU, 4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free. Festival
runs Nov 20-23.
●●1:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
Organ Recitals: Ian Sadler. Repertoire TBA.
65 Church St. 416-364-7865 x234. Free. Donations
welcomed.
Light the
Flame
Tickets: $20 - $35
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre
Tues. Nov. 21 | 7PM
torontochildrenschorus.com
●●7:00: Toronto Children’s Chorus. Light the
Flame. Main Choir; Toronto Youth Choir; Lara
Dodds-Eden, Matthew Otto and Helen Becqué,
piano. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor
St. W. 416-932-8666 x231. $35; $30(sr/st);
$20(child). Proceeds supporting the Chamber
Choir’s 2018 tour to Newfoundland.
●●7:00: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Student Composers Concert. Walter
Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208.
Free.
●●8:00: Gallery 345. Become/Dessicated:
Matti Pulkki, solo classical accordion. Finnish
accordionist performs a program of
contemporary solo pieces from around the
world. G. Katehis: Become/Dessicated (Canadian
premiere). 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-
9781. PWYC.
●●8:00: York University Department of
Music. York University Department of Music
Jazz Festival: Jazz Combos. Anthony Michelli,
Artie Roth and Kelly Jefferson, conductors.
219 Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St.
647-459-0701. Free. Festival runs Nov 20-23.
Wednesday November 22
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
World Music Series: Arabic Coffee House.
Maryem Tollar, vocals; Al Qahwa Ensemble;
Demetri Petsalakis, oud; Ernie Tollar, flutes;
Naghmeh Farahmand, percussion. Richard
Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre
for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W.
416-363-8231. Free. First-come, first-served.
Late seating not available.
●●12:30: Organix Concerts/All Saints Kingsway.
Kingsway Organ Recital Series. William
O’Meara, organ. All Saints Kingsway Anglican
Church, 2850 Bloor St. W. 416-769-5224.
Freewill donation.
●●12:30: York University Department of
Music. R & B Ensemble. Ron Westray, conductor.
Martin Family Lounge, Accolade East
Building, YU, 4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701.
Free.
●●12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
Noonday Organ Recitals: Thomas Fitches.
1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free.
●●7:30: National Ballet of Canada. Nijinsky.
Music by Robert Schumann, Nikolai Rimsky-
Korsakov and Dmitri Shostakovich. John Neumeier,
choreographer. Four Seasons Centre
for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-
345-9595. $39-$265. Opens Nov 22, 7:30pm.
Runs to Nov 26. Wed-Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/
Sun(2pm).
●●7:30: Porgiamor Chamber Concerts.
Solo Messiah Project. Handel: All solo recitatives,
arias, and duets from Messiah. Lilac
Caña, soprano; Amanda Magnanelli, alto; Y.C.
Lee, tenor; Henry Irwin, baritone; Antonia
de Wolfe, piano. Bloor Street United Church,
300 Bloor St. W. 416-924-7439. PWYC ($20
suggested donation).
GUSTAVMAHLER
Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Stuart Graham, baritone
Michael Rose, piano
November 22 @ 7:30pm
Jeanne Lamon Hall
Trinity-St. Paul Centre
www.stuartgraham.ca
●●7:30: Stuart Graham. In Recital. Mahler:
Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Lieder und
Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, Vol.II/III);
R. Laurin: Les Trois Fables, poésie de Jean
de La Fontaine; Rachmaninoff: Assorted
Romances. Stuart Graham, baritone; Michael
Rose, piano. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne
Lamon Hall, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-927-9105.
$30/$26.50(adv); $50/$41.50(2 tickets/adv).
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of Music.
Woodwind Chamber Ensembles. Walter Hall,
Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. Free.
46 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Department of Music
Jazz Festival: Jazz Combos. Kevin Turcotte,
Jim Vivian and Frank Falco, conductors. Martin
Family Lounge, Accolade East Building, YU,
4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free. Festival
runs Nov 20-23.
●●8:00: Arraymusic/Gallery 345. Music of
Wilhelm Killmayer and Sandeep Bhagwati.
Killmayer: two trios and a quartet; Bhagwati:
Music of Crossings (selections). Array
Ensemble: Sheila Jaffe and Stephen Sitarski,
violin; Margaret Gay, cello; Stephen Clarke,
piano. Gallery 345, 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-
532-7513. $25; $10(st). Cash only. 7pm: Preconcert
talk.
Thursday November 23
●●12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Thursdays at Noon: Instrumentalis -
Aces and Deuces. Graduate student instrumentalists
perform solo and duo repertoire.
Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-
0208. Free.
●●12:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Department of Music
Jazz Festival: Jazz Vocal Ensembles. Richard
Whiteman, conductor. Martin Family Lounge,
Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St.
647-459-0701. Free. Festival runs Nov 20-23.
●●12:30: York University Department of
Music. Music @ Midday: York University
Chamber Strings. Matt Brubeck, conductor.
Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade
East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St. 647-459-
0701. Free.
●●2:00: National Ballet of Canada. Nijinsky.
See Nov 22. Runs to Nov 26. Wed-
Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●6:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Department of Music
Jazz Festival: Jazz Choirs. Mim Adams, conductor.
Tribute Communities Recital Hall,
Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St.
647-459-0701. Free. Festival runs Nov 20-23.
●●7:30: National Ballet of Canada. Nijinsky.
See Nov 22. Runs to Nov 26. Wed-
Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Fall Major Opera Production: Don
Giovanni. Music by Mozart. Libretto by Da
Ponte. Performed with Surtitles. Marilyn
Gronsdal, director; Uri Meyer, conductor.
MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $40;
$25(sr); $10(st). Also Nov 24, 25, 26(2:30pm).
●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Department of Music
Jazz Festival: York U Jazz Orchestra. Mike
Cadó, conductor. Martin Family Lounge,
Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St.
647-459-0701. Free. Festival runs Nov 20-23.
●●8:00: Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
UnCovered: Springsteen & Dylan. Brent Carver,
Jake Epstein, Sara Farb, Melissa O’Neil,
Andrew Penner. Burlington Performing Arts
Centre, Main Theatre, 440 Locust St., Burlington.
905-681-6000. $69.50. Series discount
available.
●●8:00: Corktown Chamber Orchestra. In
Concert. Beethoven: Symphony No.7; Schubert:
Symphony No.8; Bach: Keyboard Concerto
No.4. Will Callaghan, guest conductor;
Paul McCulloch, conductor. Little Trinity Anglican
Church, 425 King St. E. 647-528-7159.
PWYC, $20 suggested.
TS
Toronto
Symphony
Orchestra
Mahler
Symphony 6
Nov 23 & 25
Donald Runnicles, conductor
TSO.CA
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Mahler
Symphony 6. Stokes: Just Keep Paddling
(Sesquie for Canada’s 150th); Mahler: Symphony
No.6 in a. Donald Runnicles, conductor.
Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-593-
1285. $34.75-$148. Also Nov 25(7:30pm).
Friday November 24
●●12:10: Music at St. Andrew’s. Noontime
Recital. Sonatas by Mozart and Poulenc.
Jean-Luc Therrien, piano; Mai Tategami, violin.
St. Andrew’s Church (Toronto), 73 Simcoe
St. 416-593-5600 x231. Free.
●●7:00: Soundstreams. Salon 21: Holiday
Remix. DJ SlowPitchSound. Gardiner
Museum, 111 Queen’s Park. 416-586-
8080. $7(reserved seating/gallery prelude);
PWYC(saved seating); Free(general
admission).
●●7:00: St. Michael’s Concerts. Organ Spectacular.
J.S. Bach: Toccata & Fugue in d;
Widor: Toccata (Symphony V); Vierne: Carillon
de Westminister; Finale (Symphony I);
Boellman: Toccata (suite gothique). John Paul
Farahat, Paul Jenkins, Christopher Ku, William
O’Meara and Manuel Piazza. St. Michael’s
Cathedral Basilica, 65 Bond St. 416-397-6367
x6036. By donation, $25 suggested.
●●7:30: Ensemble Polaris. From Iceland
to the Moon: DVD Launch. Heliconian Hall,
35 Hazelton Ave. 416-588-4301. $25, $15(sr/st).
ENSEMBLE
POLARIS
DVD LAUNCH
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 24
7:30 PM
ensemblepolaris.com
●●7:30: Metropolitan Community Church.
‘Tis the Season: Christmas with the Choir. A
fundraiser concert. Mark Cassius, Pride and
Joy. Guest: Mary McCandless. 115 Simpson
Ave. 416-406-6228. $25. Cash bar. Also
Nov 25.
●●7:30: National Ballet of Canada. Nijinsky.
See Nov 22. Runs to Nov 26. Wed-
Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●7:30: Opera by Request. Le Nozze di Figaro.
Mozart. Jan Vaculik, baritone (Figaro); Gene
Wu, baritone (Count Almaviva); Chelsea van
Pelt, soprano (Susanna); Christina Bell, soprano
(Countess Almaviva); and others; William
Shookhoff, piano and conductor. College
Street United Church, 452 College St. 416-
455-2365. $20.
●●7:30: Toronto Organ Club. Classic
Organ Recital. Clarke: Trumpet Voluntaire;
Beethoven: Ode To Joy; Gilmanton: Sonata in
d; Adam: O Holy Night. George Heldt, organ
and piano; Frank Iacino, MC. St. Andrew’s
Presbyterian Church, Humber Heights,
1579 Royal York Rd., Etobicoke. 416-746-3071.
$20; $5(under 12).
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Fall Major Opera Production: Don Giovanni.
See Nov 23. Also Nov 25, 26(2:30pm).
●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Gospel Choir. Karen
Burke, conductor. Sandra Faire and Ivan
Fecan Theatre, Accolade East Building,
4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888. $15; $10(sr/st).
Also Nov 25.
●●8:00: Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra.
Pastoral Wonders. Beethoven: Symphony
No.6 in F “Pastoral”; Wagner: Prelude
to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; Francaix:
L’Horloge de Flore. Chris Sewerin, oboe. Martingrove
Collegiate Institute, 50 Winterton
Dr., Etobicoke. 416-239-5665. $30;
$25/$22(sr/adv); $15(st).
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Tania Miller
Conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra.
Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W.
416-408-0208. $25-$55.
Forty! Forty! Forty!
Director Peter Mahon
Tallis Choir celebrates 40 Years with the
music of our namesake, including his
incomparable 40-part Spem in Alium,
and the work that may have inspired it,
Striggio’s Ecce Beatam Lucem.
Saturday, November 25, 7:30 pm
St. Patrick’s Church
141 McCaul St.
Tania Miller conducts
the Royal Conservatory
Orchestra
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 8PM
PRELUDE RECITAL 6:45PM
PRE-CONCERT TALK 7:15PM
KOERNER HALL
TICKETS ON SALE NOW! 416.408.0208
WWW.PERFORMANCE.RCMUSIC.CA
Saturday November 25
●●2:00: National Ballet of Canada. Nijinsky.
See Nov 22. Runs to Nov 26. Wed-
Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●4:30: Royal Conservatory. Taylor Academy
Showcase Concert. Mazzoleni Concert Hall,
Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-
0208. Free.
●●7:00: Oakville Children’s Choir. Raise
Your Voice and Sing! Seasonal music. Oakville
Choir: Raise Her Voice, Chamber, Junior,
and A Few Good Men. Clearview Church,
2300 Sheridan Garden Dr., Oakville. 905-337-
7104. $25; $20(sr); $15(under 13).
●●7:00: Ritesh Das/Toronto Tabla Ensemble.
Parampara: Tradition and Legacy. An evening
of innovative rhythm and dance of India.
Chitresh Das Youth Company; Toronto Tabla
Youth Ensemble. Guest: Nilan Chaudhuri.
Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 235 Queens
Quay W. 416-973-4000. $35.
●●7:30: Cantemus Singers. Nowell, Noel.
Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Messe de Minuit
pour Noël; carols and motets. Michael Erdman,
conductor. Church of the Holy Trinity,
19 Trinity Sq. 416-578-6602. $20; free(under
12). Proceeds toward Community Centre 55’s
Tickets: $30, Seniors: $25, Students with ID: $10 (only at the door)
Info: 416 286-9798 Order online: www.tallischoir.com
an Ontario government agency
un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 47

A. Concerts in the GTA
Liona Boyd in concert
with Andrew Dolson
Saturday November 25th, 7:30 PM
Trinity-St. Paul's United Church
427 Bloor St. West (near Spadina)
With Grammy nominated flautist Ron Korb and the
Mississauga Children's Choir
TICKETS $49 at:
annex.snapd.com/events
Remenyi House of Music 210 Bloor St. W
more shows at lionaboyd.com/tour
NO REMEDY FOR LOVE - LIONA'S NEW AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND NEW ALBUM OUT NOW
FROM UNIVERSAL MUSIC AND DUNDURN PRESS !
Christmas food drive. Also Nov 26(3pm, St.
Aidan’s Catholic Church).
●●7:30: Castle Frank House of Melody. Teeming
with Song: Vocal Selections from Bach
to Bernstein. Lorna Young, Patricia Haldane,
Cara Adams, sopranos; Martha Spence,
mezzo; Michael Fitzgerald, baritone; Steven
Kettlewell, piano. St. Andrew’s United Church
(Bloor St.), 117 Bloor St E. 416-966-2685. By
donation.
●●7:30: Elysian Duo. In Concert. Works by
Gershwin, Bartók and Schumann, original
works for trumpet and guitar and a world
premiere. Dylan Rook Maddix, trumpet;
James Renwick, guitar. Willowdale Christian
Reformed Church, 70 Hilda Ave., North York.
416-221-7829. $20. Fundraising concert for
Syrian refugees; refreshments to follow.
●●7:30: Home Smith Bar at The Old Mill
Toronto. Monica Chapman: In Concert.
Bartosz Hadala, piano; Jordan O’Connor,
bass; Chris Wallace, drums. 21 Old Mill Rd.
416-236-2641 x3718. No cover. No reservations
required.
●●7:30: Jubilate Singers. Building World Harmony.
Guest: Bassam Bishra, oud. St. Simonthe-Apostle
Anglican Church, 525 Bloor
St. E. 416-488-1571. $25; $20(sr); $15(st);
free(under 13).
●●7:30: Koichi Inoue. Brampton Chamber
Music Concert Series. Penny Johnson, Eileen
Keown and Isabel Misquitta-Yip, pianos;
Corey Gemmell, violin. St. Paul’s United
Church (Brampton), 30 Main St. S., Brampton.
904-450-9220. PWYC.
●●7:30: Liona Boyd. In Concert: A Winter Fantasy.
Ron Korb, flute; Mississauga Children’s
Choir. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St.
W. annex.snapd.com/events. $48.
●●7:30: Metropolitan Community Church.
‘Tis the Season: Christmas with the Choir. A
fundraiser concert. Mark Cassius, Pride and
Joy. Guest: Mary McCandless. 115 Simpson
Ave. 416-406-6228. $25. Cash bar. Also
Nov 24.
●●7:30: National Ballet of Canada. Nijinsky.
See Nov 22. Also Nov 26.
●●7:30: Silverthorn Symphonic Winds.
Fall Festival. Wilmar Heights Centre,
963 Pharmacy Ave., Scarborough. 416-742-
4237. $20; $15(st). Free parking; wheelchair
accessible.
●●7:30: Tallis Choir. Forty! Forty! Forty!:
Music of Thomas Tallis and Striggio. Celebrating
the 40th anniversary of the Tallis Choir.
Tallis: Spem in alium; Striggio: Ecce beatam
lucem. Peter Mahon, conductor. St. Patrick’s
Church, 141 McCaul St. 416-286-9798. $30,
$25(sr), $10(st).
●●7:30: Toronto Concert Orchestra. Saint-
Saëns: Organ Symphony. Ravel: Piano Concerto
in G; Bédard: Toccata Suite pour Orgue.
Myriam Blardone, piano; Christopher Dawes,
organ; Kerry Stratton, conductor. Yorkminster
Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. 416-
556-0812. $25-$55.
●●7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Mahler
Symphony 6. Abigail Richardson-Schulte:
Step Up (Sesquie for Canada’s 150th); Mahler:
Symphony No.6 in a. Donald Runnicles, conductor.
Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-
593-1285. $34.75-$148. Also Nov 23(8pm).
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Fall Major Opera Production: Don
2017 / 2018
Season
Presents
The Promise ofLight
Saturday, November 25, 2017 ~ 8 pm
Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Road, Toronto
Tickets available through the Oriana Choir website at
www.orianachoir.com
or at at www.tickets.harthouse.ca or 416-978-8849
Adults: $25 Seniors/under 35: $20 Students: $10
ORIANA Women’s Choir gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of
www.orianachoir.com
info@orianachoir.com
48 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Giovanni. See Nov 23. Also Nov 26(2:30pm).
●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Gospel Choir. Karen
Burke, conductor. Sandra Faire and Ivan
Fecan Theatre, Accolade East Building,
4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888. $15; $10(sr/st).
Also Nov 24.
●●8:00: Aga Khan Museum. All Rivers at
Once: The Indian-Israeli Musical Initiative.
Jazz-like arrangements of traditional Indian
and Israeli folk songs. Saeed Kamjoo, kamanche;
Pedram Khavarzamini, tombak; Amos
Hoffman, oud; Noam Lemish, piano, artistic
director. 77 Wynford Dr. 416-646-4677. $40.
Ticket incl same day museum admission.
●●8:00: Chorus York. Top Hats and Tunes: A
Program of Broadway Hits. Stéphane Potvin,
conductor; Christina Faye, piano; Bells of
St. Matthew’s. St. Matthew’s United Church,
333 Crosby Ave., Richmond Hill. 905-884-
7922. $25; $20(sr/st). Also Nov 19(3pm,
Thornhill).
●●8:00: Living Arts Centre. Amanda Martinez.
Music from the album Mañana. Kevin
Laliberte, Alexander Brown, Drew Birston,
Osvaldo Rodriguez la O, Pablosky Rosales.
4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga. 905-306-
6000. $35-$50.
●●8:00: Oriana Women’s Choir. The Promise
of Light. Quartel: Winter Solstice; Raminsh:
Songs of the Lights; Henderson: Twelve Days
of Christmas; and works by Mathias, Donkin
and Daley. Mitchell Pady, artistic director
and conductor. Grace Church on-the-Hill,
300 Lonsdale Rd. 416-978-8849. $25; $20(sr/
under 35); $10(st).
●●8:00: York Symphony Orchestra. A Scottish
Voyage. Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture;
Symphony No.3 “Scottish;” Bruch:
Scottish Fantasy. Alejandro Junco, violin. Trinity
Anglican Church (Aurora), 79 Victoria St.,
Aurora. 416-410-0860. $28; $23(sr); $15(st).
Also Nov 26(Richmond Hill, 7:30pm).
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. TD Jazz: Danilo
Pérez Trio and Alfredo Rodriguez Trio.
Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W.
416-408-0208. $40-$90.
Jubilate
singers
present
BUILDING
WORLD
Harmony
Christian, Jewish
& Islamic music
from medieval Spain & beyond
with guest
bassam bishara, Oud
Sat. Nov. 25, 7:30 pm
St. Simon-the-Apostle Church
jubilatesingers.ca
Danilo Pérez Trio and
Alfredo Rodríguez Trio
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 8PM
KOERNER HALL
TICKETS ON SALE NOW! 416.408.0208
WWW.PERFORMANCE.RCMUSIC.CA
Sunday November 26
●●1:15: Mooredale Concerts. Music and Truffles:
Rebelheart Collective with Mai Tategami,
Violin. Interactive concert for young
people with a Lindt truffle at the end. Walter
Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of
Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-922-3714 x103.
$20. 3:15pm: main performance.
●●2:00: Gallery 345. Sonatas for Violin and
Piano. Sonatas by Mozart, Brahms and Rachmaninoff.
Annette-Barbara Vogel, violin; Uriel
Tsachor, piano. 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-
9781. $25; $10(st). Cash only.
●●2:00: Georgetown Bach Chorale. Music
to Embrace Advent. Bach: Cantata 131; Purcell:
Birthday Ode for Queen Mary II; Charpentier:
Missa “Assumpta est Maria”; Vivaldi:
Recorder Concerto in G. Tatsuki Shimoda,
recorder; Georgetown Bach Chorale and
Chamber Orchestra. St. Elias the Prophet
Ukrainian Church, 10193 Heritage Rd.,
Brampton. 905-873-9909. $35; $10(st).
●●2:00: National Ballet of Canada. Nijinsky.
See Nov 22.
●●2:00: St. Barnabas Anglican Church. Cello
Recital. Prokofiev: Sonata for Cello and Piano;
Falla: Suite populaire espagnole; Haydn:
Piano Trio in C. Julia Kim, cello; Konrad Harley,
piano; Julia Mirzoev, violin; Jack Zhao, piano.
361 Danforth Ave. 416-463-1344. $20; $10 (sr/st).
●●2:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Fall Major Opera Production: Don Giovanni.
See Nov 23.
●●2:30: Voicebox: Opera in Concert. Rodelinda.
Music by Handel. Christina Raphaëlle Haldane,
soprano; Charles Sy, tenor; David Trudgen,
countertenor; Alexander Dobson, baritone;
Voicebox Opera in Concert Chorus; Larry Beckwith,
conductor. St. Lawrence Centre for the
Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $29-$73.
●●3:00: Cantemus Singers. Nowell, Noel.
Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Messe de Minuit
pour Noël; carols and motets. Michael Erdman,
conductor. St. Aidan’s Anglican Church
(Toronto), 70 Silver Birch Ave. 416-578-6602.
$20; free(under 12). Proceeds toward Community
Centre 55’s Christmas food drive. Also
Nov 25(7:30pm, Church of the Holy Trinity).
●●3:00: Alliance Française de Toronto. Bach,
Scarlatti and Their Masters. Jacques Moderne
Ensemble. 24 Spadina Rd. 416-922-2014
x37. $15; $10(sr/st/member).
presents
Jacques Moderne
Ensemble
BACH, SCARLATTI
AND THEIR MASTERS
November 26, 3pm
●●3:00: Da Camera Toronto. Mozart’s Salon:
Duo Sonatas for Fortepiano and Violin. Mozart:
Sonata in G for keyboard and violin K379; Variations
on ‘Hélas, j’ai perdu mon amant’ K360;
Variations on ‘Unser dummer Pöbel meint’
K455; Sonata in D for keyboard and violin K306.
Guillaume Tardif, violin; Andrea Botticelli, fortepiano.
Trinity College, Seeley Hall, 6 Hoskin Ave.
416-275-5714. $30; $25(sr); $20(st).
●●3:00: Intrada Brass of Oakville. Kings and
Queens. St. Paul’s United Church (Oakville),
454 Rebecca St., Oakville. 905-827-0561. $15;
$10(sr/st); free(under 10).
●●3:00: Off Centre Music Salon. Medicine
and Music: A Cardiac Affair. Ben Carlson,
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2017 | 3 PM
MEDICINE + MUSIC:
A CARDIAC AFFAIR
offcentremusic.com
actor; Steven Dann, viola; Dr. David Goldbloom,
host; Virginia Hatfield, soprano; Inna
Perkis, piano; and others. Trinity-St. Paul’s
Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-466-6323. $50;
$40(sr/st); $15(young adult); $5(child).
●●3:00: Windermere String Quartet. Viola
Mania. Beethoven: Duet for viola and cello
“with two obligato eyeglasses”; Zucchi: Serenade
in D Op.3 No.2 for solo viola and string
trio; Stamitz: Quartet in g Op.10 No.2 for violin,
two violas and cello; Mendelssohn: Quintet
in A Op.18. Guests: Emily Eng, violin; Matt
Antal, viola. St. Olave’s Anglican Church,
360 Windermere Ave. 416-769-0952. $25;
$20(sr); $10(st). On period instruments.
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 49

A. Concerts in the GTA
on period instruments
supported by
Viola Mania
Sunday November 26, 3:00
●●3:15: Mooredale Concerts. Rebelheart
Collective with Mai Tategami, Violin. Haydn:
String Quartet Op.33 No.2 “The Joke”; Dvořák:
String Quartet in F Op.96 “American”; Mendelssohn:
String Quintet in B-flat Op.87.
Guests: Scott St. John and Erika Raum, violins;
Sharon Wei, viola; Thomas Wiebe, cello.
Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-922-
3714 ext.103. $30; $20(under 30). 1:15pm:
Music and Truffles.
●●3:30: Junction Trio and Friends. Mystery
Concert. Guest: Robert Dick, flute. St. Anne’s
Anglican Church, 270 Gladstone Ave. 416-
536-3160. PWYC. $20 donation suggested.
●●4:00: Cathedral Church of St. James.
Organ Recital. Ian Sadler, organ. 65 Church
St. 416-364-7865 x234. Donations welcome.
●●4:00: Christ Church Deer Park. Jazz Vespers.
Paul Novotny, bass; Robi Botos, piano.
1570 Yonge St. 416-920-5211. Freewill offering.
Religious service.
●●4:00: Oakville Chamber Orchestra. Youth
Concerto Competition Prizewinners in Concert.
St. Simon’s Anglican Church (Oakville),
1450 Litchfield Rd., Oakville. 905-483-6787.
$30; $25(sr); $20(st); free(12 and under).
●●4:30: Mississauga Festival Choir. A Salvation
Army Christmas. Christmas classics.
Resonance Youth Choir; Salvation Army Band.
Living Arts Centre, 4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga.
905-306-6000. Free. Also 7pm.
●●7:00: St. Paul’s Anglican Church
(Uxbridge). Christmas Classic. Bach: Christmas
Oratorio; Cantorei sine Nomine. Sasha
Liebich-Tait, Shannon Coates, Colin Ainsworth
and Jonathan Liebich, solos; Orpheus
Symphonietta; Stuart Beaudoin, conductor.
65 Toronto St. S., Uxbridge. 866-808-2006.
$20.
●●7:30: Mississauga Festival Choir. A Salvation
Army Christmas. Christmas classics.
Resonance Youth Choir; Salvation Army Band.
Living Arts Centre, 4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga.
905-306-6000. Free. Also 4:30pm.
●●7:30: York Symphony Orchestra. A Scottish
Voyage. Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture;
Symphony No.3 “Scottish;” Bruch:
Scottish Fantasy. Alejandro Junco, violin.
Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing
Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond
Hill. 905-787-8811. $30; $25(sr); $15(st). Also
Nov 25(Aurora, 8pm).
●●8:00: somewhere there/Studio Dan
Vienna. New Vienna in New York. Works by
George Lewis, Oxana Omelchuk, Caitlin Smith,
and others. Ensemble Studio Dan Vienna.
Array Space, 155 Walnut Ave. 416-532-3019.
$10 or PWYC.
Monday November 27
●●7:30: Gallery 345/Studio Dan Vienna.
Homo Faber by Daniel Riegler. Ensemble Studio
Dan Vienna. Gallery 345, 345 Sorauren
Ave. 416-822-9781. $25; $10(st).
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Brass Chamber Ensembles. Walter
Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208.
Free.
●●7:30: York University Department of
Music. York University Concert and Chamber
Choirs. Lisette Canton, conductor. Tribute
Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East
Building, YU, 4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888.
$15; $10(sr/st).
Tuesday November 28
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Chamber Music Series: Faune et Naïdes.
Works by Debussy, Vivier and Bartók. Palladium
Duo (Ariane Brisson, flute; Olivier
Hébert-Bouchard, piano). Richard Bradshaw
Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the
Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-
8231. Free. First-come, first-served. Late seating
not available.
●●12:30: York University Department
of Music. Music @ Midday: York University
Men’s Choir Concert. Tribute Communities
Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, YU,
4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free.
●●1:00: Cathedral Church of St. James. Organ
Recital. Richard Birney-Smith, organ. 65 Church
St. 416-364-7865 x234. Donations welcome.
●●7:00: Array Space. Gratitude Listening for
Pauline Oliveros. Pauline Oliveros: Arctic Air
(The Earthworm Also Sings); a selection of
Sonic Meditations; and an open gathering
for listening, sounding and remembering Oliveros.
Wendalyn Bartley, Tina Pearson, Jerry
Pergolesi, Andrew Timar, Doug Van Nort and
others. 155 Walnut Ave. 416-532-3019. Free.
We’re Still Singing!
Voices Relyea
Quartetto Gelato
& Friends
Tue. Nov. 28th 7:30 PM
www.VoicesRelyea.com
●●7:30: We’re Still Singing. Benefit Concert
for SickKids Cancer Research Fund. Beautiful
music by cancer survivors and their loved
ones. Songs and arias from Monteverdi to
“Hot Tangos”. Quartetto Gelato; Voices Relyea
and ten singing stars; Howard Dyck, conductor;
Michael Rose, piano. Bloor Street
United Church, 300 Bloor St. W. www.Voices-
Relyea.com. $30; $25(sr/st).
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. UofT Concert Orchestra. Paul Widner,
conductor. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson
Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s
Park. 416-408-0208. Free.
November 28 at 8pm
PHILIP CHIU
●●8:00: Music Toronto. Philip Chiu, Piano.
Ravel: Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose Suite);
Rachmaninoff: Preludes (Five Selections from
Op.23 and Op.32); Schubert/Liszt: Fantasy in
C “Der Wanderer” D760; Liszt: Legends S175.
St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St.
E. 416-366-7723. $50-$55; $10(st, full time).
Wednesday November 29
●●12:30: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
Noonday Organ Recitals: Patrick Dewell.
1585 Yonge St. 416-922-1167. Free.
●●7:00: Tafelmusik. Four Weddings, a Funeral,
and a Coronation. Handel: Ouverture from Il
parnasso in festa; Purcell: Symphonies from
FOUR WEDDINGS,
A FUNERAL, AND
A CORONATION
DIRECTED BY ELISA CITTERIO
& IVARS TAURINS
NOV 29 – DEC 3
TRINITY-ST. PAUL’S CENTRE
tafelmusik.org
the ode “From Hardy Climes” Z325; Blow: Coronation
Anthem “God Spake Sometimes in
Visions”; Lully: Ballet from Xerxes; Pachelbel
Canon & Gigue; and other works. Tafelmusik
Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir
directed by Elisa Citterio and Ivars Taurins.
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. 416-
964-6337. $19-$97. Also Nov 30, Dec 1, 2, 3.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Vocal Jazz Ensemble and 11 O’Clock
Jazz Orchestra. Christine Duncan and
Jim Lewis, directors. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. Free.
●●8:00: Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
Men of the Deeps. Christmas Concert.
Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Main
Theatre, 440 Locust St., Burlington. 905-681-
6000. $69. Series discount available.
●●8:00: Westwood Concerts. From Moscow
to Paris: - A Musical Journey. Works
by Saint-Saëns, Glinka and others. Michael
Westwood, clarinet; Ruta Vaivade, piano.
Gallery 345, 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781.
$30; $20(sr/st).
Thursday November 30
●●12:00 noon: Canadian Opera Company.
Vocal Series: Long, Long Ago. Works by Badings,
Whitacre, Corigliano, Forrest and
others. Schulich Singers; Jean-Sébastien
Vallée, director. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre,
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing
Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231.
Free. First-come, first-served. Late seating
not available.
●●12:10: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Thursdays at Noon: Enrico Elisi,
Piano. Works by Bach and Kye Ryung Park.
Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University
of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-
0208. Free.
●●12:30: York University Department of
Music. Music @ Midday: Classical Piano
Showcase. Tribute Communities Recital Hall,
Accolade East Building, YU, 4700 Keele St.
647-459-0701. Free.
●●1:00: Miles Nadal JCC. Duelling Clarinetists:
Benny Goodman & Artie Shaw. Historical
lecture with live clarinet music. Jonno Lightstone,
clarinet. 750 Spadina Ave. 416-924-
6211 x155. $5.
●●2:00: Orchardviewers. Nightingale. Toronto
Public Library, Northern District, 40 Orchard
50 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

View Blvd. 416-393-7610. Free. Room 224.
●●5:30: Ken Page Memorial Trust. 19th
Annual Jazz Fundraiser. St. Andrew’s Day
Jazz Cèilidh. An elite gathering of the finest
international jazz musicians. Old Mill Toronto,
21 Old Mill Rd. 416-515-0200. $200. Complimentary
cocktail reception, gala dinner,
grand raffle prizes.
●●7:30: St. Anne’s Anglican Church. World
AIDS Day Vigil. Singing OUT. 270 Gladstone
Ave. 416-536-3160. Freewill offering.
●●7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Home
Alone in Concert. John Williams: Home Alone
(film with live orchestra). Etobicoke School
of the Arts Junior Chorus; Constantine Kitsopoulos,
conductor. Roy Thomson Hall,
60 Simcoe St. 416-593-1285. $34.75-$148.
Also Dec 1(7:30pm), Dec 2(2pm and 7:30pm).
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. World Music Ensembles. Iranian Music
Ensemble, Klezmer Ensemble, and Japanese
Drumming Ensemble. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. 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: Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
Eddie Palmieri Septet: Eddie at 80. Latin jazz.
Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Main Theatre,
440 Locust St., Burlington. 905-681-6000.
$59.50; $19(youth). Series discount available.
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Four Weddings, a Funeral,
and a Coronation. See Nov 30. Also Dec 1, 2, 3.
Friday December 1
●●12:30: York University Department of Music.
Music @ Midday: Brass Ensemble. Tribute Communities
Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, YU,
4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free.
●●3:30: Tafelmusik. Four Weddings, a Funeral,
and a Coronation. See Nov 30. Also Dec 2, 3.
●●7:00: Brampton Folk Club. Friday Folk
Night. Frost and Fire: A Celtic Christmas with
Rant Maggie Rant. St. Paul’s United Church
(Brampton), 30 Main St. S., Brampton. 647-
233-3655 or 905-874-2800. $18; $15(sr/st).
●●7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Home
Alone in Concert. See Nov 30. Also Dec 1,
2(2pm & 7:30pm).
●●8:00: Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto/
Elmer Iseler Singers. J.S. Bach’s Christmas
Oratorio. Bach: Christmas Oratorio; Cantatas
I-III. Monica Whicher, soprano; Marjorie Maltais,
mezzo; Christopher Mayell, tenor; Dion
Mazerolle, baritone; Lydia Adams, conductor.
Metropolitan United Church (Toronto),
56 Queen St. E. 416-446-0188 or 416-217-
0537. $55; $50(sr); $20(under 30).
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Quiet Please,
There's a Lady on Stage: Lisa Fischer and
Grand Baton. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $45-$100.
●●8:00: Summerhill Orchestra. In Concert.
Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals;
Beethoven: Symphony No.8. Sarah John, conductor.
Church of the Messiah, 240 Avenue Rd.
summerhillorchestra@gmail.com. $10.
●●8:00: Upper Canada Choristers/Cantemos
Latin Ensemble. Christmas Joy. Charpentier:
Messe de Minuit pour Noel; Kodály: Christmas
Dance of the Shepherds; Forrest: Carol
of Joy; carol medley (arr. Forrest), aguinaldos
and other works; audience sing-along. Laurel
Trainor, flute; Hye Won Cecilia Lee, piano; Laurie
Evan Fraser, conductor. Grace Church onthe-Hill,
300 Lonsdale Rd. 416-256-0510. $25;
free(children and teens with adult). Please
bring an item for the food bank.
Saturday December 2
●●11:00am: Canadian Opera Company. The
Magic Victrola. Libretto by David Kersnar
and Jacqueline Russell. Works by Bizet, Mozart,
Puccini and others. Members of the
COC’s Ensemble Studio; Ashlie Corcoran,
director. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre,
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing
Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231.
$30; free(children under 12), Maximum of 2
free children’s tickets for each adult ticket
sold. Additional children’s tickets $10. Also
Dec 2(1:30pm); Dec 3(10:30am and 1:30pm).
●●2:00: Gallery 345. The Art of the Piano:
Shoshana Telner. Hummel: Sonata No.2 in E
flat Op.13; Hummel: 24 Etudes Op.125; Liszt:
Sonata in b S17. 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-
9781. $20; $10(st). Cash only.
●●2:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Home Alone in Concert. See Nov 30. Also
Dec 2(7:30).
●●2:00: Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
Carol Sing. Guests: Jim Codrington, Fiona
Reid, Kevin Frankish. True North Brass; Canadian
Children’s Opera Company; That Choir;
The Hedgerow Singers; Yorkminster Park
Baptist Church Choir. 1585 Yonge St. 416-241-
1298. Free. A collection will be taken. In support
of the Churches-on-the-Hill Food Bank.
●●2:30: Bel Canto Singers. Songs for a Winter’s
Night. Linda Meyer, conductor; Jacqueline
Mokrzewski, piano. Scarborough Bluffs
United Church, 3739 Kingston Rd., Scarborough.
416-286-8260. $20. Also 7:30pm.
A TORONTO CHRISTMAS TRADITION FEATURING
ST. MICHAEL’S CHOIR SCHOOL
Christmas at Massey Hall
PART
Handel’s Mess1 ah
and an array of
seasonal favourites
December 2 & 3 at 3pm
●●3:00: St. Michael’s Choir School. Christmas
at Massey Hall. Handel: Messiah (Part
I); Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas
Carols; secular and sacred carols with audience
participation. Elementary, Junior, Senior,
Massed, and Alumni Choirs; Meredith
Hall, soprano; Christina Stelmacovich, alto;
Lawrence Wiliford, tenor; Stephen Hegedus,
bass; chamber orchestra; Maria Conkey, Teri
Dunn, Peter Mahon, and Vincent Cheng, conductors.
Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St. 416-872-
4255. $20-$60. Also Dec 3.
BACH CHILDREN’S
CHORUS and the
BACH CHAMBER YOUTH CHOIR
Charissa Bagan, Artistic Director
James Pinhorn, BCYC Conductor
Eleanor Daley, Pianist
Saturday, December 2
Pax Christi Chorale
presents
The
Children’s
Messiah
Church of the Redeemer
Pay what you can
●●4:00: Pax Christi Chorale. Children’s Messiah.
Handel: Messiah (excerepts). Church
of the Redeemer, 162 Bloor St. W. boxoffice@
paxchristichorale.org. PWYC.
●●7:30: Bach Children’s Chorus and Bach
Chamber Youth Choir. Good Cheer! Charissa
Bagan, artistic director; James Pinhorn,
Bach Chamber Youth Choir conductor;
• The 9Th AnnuAl city •
J.S. BACH’S
CHRISTMAS ORATORIO
Cantatas I, II and III
DECEMBER 1, 8:00 PM
amadeuschoir.com | elmeriselersingers.com
Carol
Sing
In collaboration
with city
Saturday, dec. 2 - 2:00 pm
Yorkminster Park BaPtist ChurCh
With Special GueStS
Fiona Reid
Jim CodRington
Kevin FRanKish
Free admISSION
SATURDAY DECEMBER 2, 2017 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
facebook.com/BCCandBCYC bachchildrenschorus.ca
Design by David Kopulos
www.davidkopulos.com
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 51

Eleanor Daley, piano. Toronto Centre for the
Arts, 5040 Yonge St., North York. 1-855-985-
2787. $35-$40.
●●7:30: Bel Canto Singers. Songs for a Winter’s
Night. Linda Meyer, conductor; Jacqueline
Mokrzewski, piano. Scarborough Bluffs
United Church, 3739 Kingston Rd., Scarborough.
416-286-8260. $20. Also 2:30pm.
●●7:30: Cantores Celestes Women’s Choir.
Mystery and Wonder. Arnesen: Magnificat;
other works by Class, Halley, Gjeilo and Vivaldi.
Adanya Dunn, soprano; Stephen Tam,
flute; Kate Carver, piano; Matthew Coons,
organ; Emperor String Quartet; Kelly Galbraith,
conductor. Runnymede United Church,
432 Runnymede Rd. 416-655-7335. $25. A
$1,000 donation will be made to Stella’s Place.
●●7:30: Etobicoke Centennial Choir. Sacred
Traditions 2017. Pergolesi: Magnificat; Holst:
Christmas Day; and other seasonal works.
Henry Renglich, conductor; Carl Steinhauser,
piano and organ. Humber Valley United Church,
76 Anglesey Blvd., Etobicoke. 416-769-9271. $25.
●●7:30: MCS Chorus Mississauga. Rutter
Gloria. Rutter: Gloria; and other seasonal
works. With brass, timpani, organ, and percussion.
First United Church (Mississauga),
151 Lakeshore Rd. W., Mississauga. 905-278-
7059. $20; $10(under 19).
●●7:30: Music at St. Andrew’s. Charles
Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Readings with
musical interludes. Rick Phillips, reader; Marion
Newman, mezzo-soprano; and others.
St. Andrew’s Church (Toronto), 73 Simcoe
St. 416-593-5600 x231. Freewill offering. In
aid of St Andrew’s Out of the Cold program.
Reception.
A. Concerts in the GTA
When Angels Sing
…with the
Mississauga Symphony
Orchestra!
SATURDAY,
DECEMBER 2, 7:30PM
mfchoir.com
●●7:30: Mississauga Festival Choir. When
Angels Sing. Britten: A Ceremony of Carols;
Mark Hayes: Gloria; traditional holiday music.
Guests: Mississauga Symphony Orchestra.
Hammerson Hall, Living Arts Centre, 4141 Living
Arts Dr., Mississauga. 905-306-6000. $37.
●●7:30: Oakham House Choir. The Star of
Bethlehem. Rheinberger: The Star of Bethlehem;
Christmas carol sing-along; orchestral
and vocal seasonal favourites. Oakham
House Choir; Toronto Sinfonietta; Allison Cecilia
Arends, soprano; Jeremy Ludwig, baritone;
Toronto Mozart Players present
Brass by Alec Wilder
Steven Woomert, trumpet
James Gardiner, trumpet
Audrey Good, horn
Vanessa Fralick, trombone
Mark Tetreault, tuba
Rachael Kerr, piano
Sunday, 3 Dec 2017, 2:00 PM
Church of the Redeemer
162 Bloor Str W
(Bloor and Avenue Rd)
$35 Adults | $15 Sudents
mozartproject.ca
Matthew Jaskiewicz, conductor. Calvin Presbyterian
Church, 26 Delisle Ave. 416-960-5551.
$30/$25(adv); $15(st); free(12 and under).
●●7:30: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Home
Alone in Concert. See Nov 30.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Wind Ensemble: Music Responding
to Crisis. Balmages: Fanfare Canzonique;
Benson: The Leaves Are Falling; Meechan:
Korn Symphony; Gillingham: Waking Angels;
Sweelinck: Mein junges Leben hat ein End;
and other works. Gillian Mackay, conductor.
MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. $30;
$20(sr); $10(st).
●●8:00: Aga Khan Museum. Nazar by Turkwaz.
Melodies inspired by Arabic, Balkan, and
Turkish folk songs. Maryem Toller, vocals; and
others. 77 Wynford Dr. 416-646-4677. $40.
Ticket incl same day museum admission.
●●8:00: Arraymusic. Sarah Hennies and Kurt
Newman. Hennies: Gather & Release (for
vibraphone, sine waves, field recordings and
READINGS
& MUSIC
SAT, DEC 2
7:30 PM
RICK PHILLIPS
Music educator
MARION NEWMAN
Mezzo-soprano
& other talented readers
FREE ADMISSION
Donations accepted for our
Out of the Cold program
standrewstoronto.org
bilateral stimulation). Sarah Hennies, percussion;
Kurt Newman, pedal steel guitar.
Gallery 345, 345 Sorauren Ave. 416-532-7513.
PWYC, $15 suggested.
●●8:00: Healey Willan Singers. Christmas in
the Village. Fauré and Messager: Messe des
pecheurs de Villerville; Chilcott: The Midnight
of Your Birth. John Stephenson, piano; Ron Ka
Ming Cheung, conductor. St. Martin-in-the-
Fields Anglican Church, 151 Glenlake Ave. 416-
519-0528. $20; $15(sr/st).
● ● 8:00: Royal Conservatory. Music Mix:
SongBird North. Temerty Theatre, 273 Bloor
St. W. 416-408-0208. $35.
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Four Weddings, a Funeral,
and a Coronation. See Nov 30. Also Dec 3.
Sunday December 3
●●10:30am: Canadian Opera Company. The
Magic Victrola. See Dec 2. Also 1:30pm.
●●2:00: Royal Conservatory. Sunday Interludes:
Francine Kay. Mazzoleni Concert Hall,
Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-
0208. Free.
●●2:00: Peter Margolian and Friends. Chamber
Music Concert. Bridge: Blow, blow Thou
Winter Wind (Shakespeare) for tenor and
piano; Ireland: Sea Fever (Masefield) for tenor
and piano; Sonata for violin and piano; Fricker:
Serenade for flute, oboe and piano. Ryan
Downie, tenor; Peter Margolian, piano; Samantha
Chang, flute; Hazel Boyle, oboe; Steve
Prime, violin. Canadian Music Centre, 20 St.
Joseph St. 647-980-5475 (information). Free.
●●2:00: Toronto Mozart Players. Brass
by Eric Wilder. Steven Woomert, trumpet;
James Gardiner; trumpet; Audrey Good,
horn; Vanessa Fralick, trombone; Mark
Tetreault, tuba; Rachael Kerr, piano. Church
of the Redeemer, 162 Bloor St. W. 647-478-
7532. $35; $15(st).
●●2:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Choirs in Concert: Sing and Rejoice!
Jocelyn Hagen: How to Survive Winter for
women’s voices and string quartet; and other
works. UofT Men’s Chorus; Women’s Chorus;
Women’s Chamber Choir; MacMillan Singers;
Hilary Apfelstadt, Elaine Choi, Mark Ramsay,
Tracy Wong, conductors. MacMillan Theatre,
Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park.
416-408-0208. $30; $20(sr); $10(st).
●●3:00: Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
The Ennis Sisters: Christmas Originals
and Holiday Classics. Burlington Performing
Arts Centre, Community Studio Theatre,
440 Locust St., Burlington. 905-681-6000.
$45. Series discount available.
●●3:00: Gallery 345. From Russia with Love.
Works by Arensky, Rachmaninoff and Shchedrin.
Decus Duo: Lucia Barcari, violin; Katya
Lhatsko, piano; Guest: Olga Laktionova, cello.
345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. $25; $10(st).
Cash only.
●●3:00: Harmony Singers. That’s Christmas!
Bob Rae: We’re in the Same Boat Now;
and seasonal readings and music. Guests:
The Hon. Bob Rae, reader; Martina Myskohlid,
vocalist; Bruce Harvey, accompanist; Harvey
Patterson, conductor. Humber Valley United
Church, 76 Anglesey Blvd., Etobicoke. 416-
239-5821. $20.
●●3:00: St. Michael’s Choir School. Christmas
at Massey Hall. Handel: Messiah (Part
I); Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas
Carols; secular and sacred carols with audience
participation. Elementary, Junior, Senior,
Massed, and Alumni Choirs; Meredith
Hall, soprano; Christina Stelmacovich, alto;
52 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Lawrence Wiliford, tenor; Stephen Hegedus,
bass; chamber orchestra; Maria Conkey, Teri
Dunn, Peter Mahon, and Vincent Cheng, conductors.
Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St. 416-872-
4255. $20-$60. Also Dec 2.
●●3:00: York University Department of
Music. York University Wind Symphony.
Bill Thomas, conductor. Tribute Communities
Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, YU,
4700 Keele St. 416-736-5888. $15; $10(sr/st).
●●4:00: Church of St. Mary Magdalene
(Toronto). Nico Muhly’s ‘O Antiphons’.
Andrew Adair, organ. 477 Manning Ave. 416-
531-7955. Free.
●●4:00: Humbercrest United Church. Advent
Vespers. Bach: Cantata No.140 “Sleepers,
Wake!”. Jennifer Krabbe, soprano; Matthew
Dalen, tenor, Daniel Thielmann, baritone; Alex
Halliday, bass; Melvin J. Hurst, director of
music; Rev. Jessica McCrae, presider. 16 Baby
Point Rd. 416-767-6122. Freewill offering. Religious
service.
Sunday 3 Dec. at 4 p.m.
Choral Evensong
for Advent Sunday
plus Christmas Tea and at 5:
CHRISTMAS
LIGHTS
St. Olave’s Arts Guild
presents light music
and entertainment:
stories, poems, carols,
violin solos and some
dramatic readings from
A Christmas Carol
St. Olave’s Church
Bloor and Windermere
416-769-5686 stolaves.ca
ADVENT VESPERS
Sunday Dec 3, 4pm
J. S. Bach: Cantata #140
“Sleepers, Wake!”
with strings, oboe, organ,
and guest solosts
Melvin J. Hurst, music director
Rev. Jessica McCrae, presider.
Humbercrest
United Church
16 Baby Point Road, Toronto
416-767-6122 Freewill Offering
●●4:00: St. Olave’s Anglican Church. Christmas
Lights. Choral Evensong for Advent Sunday.
Christmas songs, poems, stories and
instrumental solos. St. Olave’s Arts Guild and
guests. 360 Windermere Ave. 416-769-5686.
Contributions appreciated. Christmas tea
following.
●●7:00: Choral Bonanza Team. Messiah Singalong.
Handel: Messiah (Christmas Portion).
Dr. Richard Heinzle, conductor; Sapphire
Navaratnarajah, accompanist. Richmond Hill
Presbyterian Church, 10066 Yonge St., Richmond
Hill. 416-568-9838. $25(participation
fee); $10(suggested donation for concert).
Rehearsal 2:30-5pm.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Percussion Ensembles. Walter Hall,
Edward Johnson Building, University of
Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. Free.
CONCERTOS!
SUN. DEC. 03 @ 404 JARVIS ST.
www.NewMusicConcerts.com
●●8:00: New Music Concerts. Concertos.
Carter: String Trio; Raaff: Percussion Concerto;
Linda C. Smith: Path of Uneven Stones;
Frehner: Clarinet Concerto “Cloak”. Ryan
Scott, percussion; Max Christie, clarinet; Eve
Egoyan, piano; NMC Ensemble (Robert Aitken,
conductor). Betty Oliphant Theatre,
404 Jarvis St. 416-961-9594. $35; $25(sr/arts
workers); $10(st). Pre-concert talk 7:15.
●●8:00: Tafelmusik. Four Weddings, a
Funeral, and a Coronation. See Nov 30.
●●8:00: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Tallis Scholars: Videte Miraculum (The
Path of Miracles). Theatre of Early Music;
Schola Cantorum; Peter Phillips, conductor;
Daniel Taylor, conductor. Grace Church onthe-Hill,
300 Lonsdale Rd. 416-408-0208.
$40; $25(sr); $10(st).
Monday December 4
●●12:30: York University Department
of Music. Music @ Midday: Instrumental
Masterclass in Concert. Martin Family
Lounge, Accolade East Building, YU,
4700 Keele St. 647-459-0701. Free.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Vocalis (Graduate Singers Series):
An Evening with the Parnassians. Jason
Nedecky, curator. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton
Ave. 416-408-0208. Free.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. Guitar Orchestra. Jeffrey McFadden,
director. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building,
University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park.
416-408-0208. Free.
●●8:00: Soundstreams. Electric Messiah.
Music by Handel. DJ SlowPitchSound. The
Drake Underground, 1150 Queen’s St. W. 416-
531-5042. $20. Also Dec 5, 6.
Tuesday December 5
●●12:10: Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation/
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Lunchtime
Chamber Music: Tristan Savella, Piano.
Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge
St. 416-241-1298. Free; donations welcomed.
FESTIVAL
OF CAROLS
WITH THE CANADIAN
STAFF BAND &
CANADIAN CHILDREN’S
OPERA COMPANY
Dec 5 & 6
at 7:30 pm
www.tmchoir.org
●●7:30: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Festival
of Carols. Guests: The Canadian Staff Band;
Canadian Children’s Opera Company; David
Briggs, organ. Yorkminster Park Baptist
Church, 1585 Yonge St. 416-408-0208. $35-
$76; $35-$70(sr); $20(VoxTix for 30 years
and under). Also Dec 6.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. gamUT: Contemporary Music Ensemble.
Wallace Halladay, director. Walter Hall,
Edward Johnson Building, University of
Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208.
Free.
●●8:00: Royal Conservatory. Chamber Music.
Janine Jansen, Martin Fröst, Torleif Thedéen,
and Lucas Debargue. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre,
273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208. $30-$75.
●●8:00: Soundstreams. Electric Messiah.
Music by Handel. DJ SlowPitchSound. The
Drake Underground, 1150 Queen’s St. W. 416-
531-5042. $20. Also Dec 4, 6.
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Best
of Tchaikovsky. Laura Pettigrew: Dòchas
(Sesquie for Canada’s 150th); Tchaikovsky:
Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture; Variations
on a Rococo Theme Op.33 (original version),
Symphony No.5 in e Op.64. Joseph
Johnson, cello; Keri-Lynn Wilson, conductor.
Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-593-
1285. $34.75-$148. Also Dec 6, 7.
Wednesday December 6
●●12:30: Organix Concerts/All Saints Kingsway.
Kingsway Organ Recital Series. Hanné
Becker, organ. All Saints Kingsway Anglican
Church, 2850 Bloor St. W. 416-769-5224.
Freewill donation.
●●7:30: Royal Conservatory. Rebanks Family
Fellowship Concert. Mazzoleni Concert Hall,
Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208.
Free.
●●7:30: Toronto Choral Society. Bach’s
Christmas Oratorio. Talisker Players;
Geoffery Butler, conductor. Koerner Hall,
Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. torontochoralsociety.org.
From $45.
●●7:30: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Festival
of Carols. Guests: The Canadian Staff Band;
Canadian Children’s Opera Company; David
Briggs, organ. Yorkminster Park Baptist
Church, 1585 Yonge St. 416-408-0208. $35-
$76; $35-$70(sr); $20(VoxTix for 30 years
and under). Also Dec 5.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. PianoFest. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson
Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s
Park. 416-408-0208. Free. Also Dec 7, 9(2:30).
●●8:00: Soundstreams. Electric Messiah.
Music by Handel. DJ SlowPitchSound. The
Drake Underground, 1150 Queen’s St. W. 416-
531-5042. $20. Also Dec 4, 5.
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Best
of Tchaikovsky. Andrew Ager: The Talk of the
Town (Sesquie for Canada’s 150th); Tchaikovsky:
Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture; Variations
on a Rococo Theme Op.33 (original
version), Symphony No.5 in e Op.64. Joseph
Johnson, cello; Keri-Lynn Wilson, conductor.
Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-593-
1285. $34.75-$148. Also Dec 5, 7.
Thursday December 7
●●12:00 noon: Encore Symphonic Concert
Band. Monthly Concert. Big band, swing, jazz
and film scores. John Liddle, conductor. Wilmar
Heights Centre, 963 Pharmacy Ave.,
Scarborough. 416-346-3910 or 647-287-
5390. $10. First Thursday of each month.
Refreshments available or bring your lunch.
●●1:00: Miles Nadal JCC. Jump & Jive @ the J.
Classic songs from the 1950s and early 1960s.
Rev-Tones rock & roll band. Al Green Theatre,
750 Spadina Ave. 416-924-6211 x0. $18.
●●7:30: Nuné Melik. Hidden Treasures: Rediscovered
Music from Armenia. Works by Khachaturian,
Vardapet and other Armenian
composers. Nuné Melik, violin; Michel-Alexandre
Broekaert, piano. Atelier Rosemarie
Umetsu, 310 Davenport Rd. 416-420-6853.
$10. CONCERT MOVED FROM NOV 16.
●●7:30: University of Toronto Faculty of
Music. PianoFest. Walter Hall, Edward
Johnson Building, University of Toronto,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-0208. Free. Also
Dec 6, 9(2:30pm).
●●8:00: Aurora Cultural Centre. Sultans of
Sultans
of String
presents
A Christmas
Caravan
Thurs. December 7,
8pm
auroraculturalcentre.ca
905 713-1818
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 53

A. Concerts in the GTA
B. Concerts Beyond the GTA
String: A Christmas Caravan. 22 Church St.,
Aurora. 905-713-1818. $35/$30(adv).
●●8:00: Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
Canadian Brass: Christmas Concert. Burlington
Performing Arts Centre, Main Theatre,
440 Locust St., Burlington. 905-681-6000.
$69.50. Series discount available.
●●8:00: Music Gallery. Emergents I: Sounds
of Silence Initiative. Four contemporary song
cycles. 918 Bathurst Centre, 918 Bathurst St.
416-961-9594. $12; $8(members).
●●8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Best of Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky: Romeo
and Juliet Fantasy-Overture; Variations on a
Rococo Theme Op.33 (original version), Symphony
No.5 in e Op.64. Joseph Johnson, cello;
Keri-Lynn Wilson, conductor. Roy Thomson
Hall, 60 Simcoe St. 416-593-1285. $34.75-
$148. Also Dec 5, 6.
●●8:00: Music Toronto. Gryphon Trio.
Haydn: Piano Trio in E-flat HobXV:29; Marjan
Mozetich: Scales of Joy and Sorrow; Brahms:
Piano Quartet in A Op.26 (with a player to be
2017–2018
ConCErt SEriES
All Bells
in Paradise
SUNDAY, Dec 10 th
At 4 p.m.
eSG chOIR AND
tRILLIUm BRASS
An ESG Christmas with
Brass, Carols, Choir
and organ
ShAwn GrEnkE,
ConduCtor
AndrEw AdAir, orGAn
35 Lytton BLvd.
toronto
416.481.1141
www.esgunited.org
December 7 at 8pm
GRYPHON
TRIO
named later). St. Lawrence Centre for the
Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $50-$55;
$10(st, full time).
JUST ASK
Search listings by genre
online by visiting
thewholenote.com/just-ask
IN THIS ISSUE: Ancaster, Barrie, Belleville, Cambridge,
Campbellford, Cobourg, Dundas, Guelph, Hamilton, Kincardine,
Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Niagara Falls, Norwood,
Orangeville, Peterborough, Port Hope, St. Catharines,
St. Jacob's, Stratford, Wasaga Beach, Waterloo, Windsor.
Wednesday November 1
●●12:00 noon: Midday Music with Shigeru.
Cheryl Graham, Piano. Hymns from the
Heart. Hi-Way Pentecostal Church, 50 Anne
St. N., Barrie. 705-726-1181. $5; free(st).
●●12:15: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
(Kitchener). Wednesday Noon-Hour Concerts.
Jason White, piano; members of the
Uptown School of Music. 54 Queen St. N.,
Kitchener. Free. 11:30am: Optional low-cost
lunch available in the foyer.
●●12:30: University of Waterloo Department
of Music. Noon Hour Concerts: Bach
Suites and Chimera. Bach: Cello Suite No.2
in d BWV1008; Suite No.4 in E-flat BWV1010;
Ken Ueno: Chimera. Elinor Frey, cello. Great
Hall, Conrad Grebel University College,
140 Westmount Rd. N., Waterloo. 519-885-
8220 x24226. Free.
Thursday November 2
●●12:00 noon: University of Guelph College
of Arts. Thursday at Noon: Elinor Frey,
Cello. Bach: Cello Suite No.2 in d BWV1008;
Cello Suite No.4 in E-flat BWV1010; and other
works. Goldschmidt Room, 107 MacKinnon
Bldg., 50 Stone Rd. E., Guelph. 519-824-4120
x52991. Free.
●●7:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts. Lemon Bucket Orkestra.
390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424. $39;
$16(st).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. HMM Trio. Brahms: Trio No.1 in B
Op.8; Shostakovich: Trio No. 2 Op.67; Haydn:
Trio No.1 HobXV:37. Heidi Wall, piano; Marcus
Scholtes, violin; Miriam Kroeker-Stewart,
cello. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W.,
Waterloo. 519-886-1673. $30; $20(st).
Friday November 3
●●8:00: Jeffery Concerts. Program 2:
Ensemble Caprice. Works by Bach, Vivaldi,
Purcell and others. Wolf Performance Hall,
251 Dundas St., London. 519-672-8800. $40.
●●Nov 03 8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Glorious Brahms. Schubert: Song of
the Spirits over the Water; Pärt: Cantus in
Memory of Benjamin Britten; Brahms: Alto
Rhapsody for alto, male chorus and orchestra;
Symphony No.2 in D. Krisztina Szabó, alto;
Estonian National Male Choir; Andrei Feher,
conductor. Centre in the Square, 101 Queen
St. N., Kitchener. 519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-
4717. $19-$82. Also Nov 4.
Saturday November 4
●●7:30: Chorus Niagara. Last Light Above The
World: A War Litany (premiere). Bevan. Hailey
Gillis and Colin Palangio, narrators. FirstOntario
Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St.,
St. Catharines. 1-855-515-0722 or 905-688-
0722. $43; $41(sr); $28(under 30); $18(st);
$15(child); $5(eyeGo).
●●7:30: Festival of Arabic Music and Arts. In
Concert. Golan; Hubert Dupont, leader. Lester
B. Pearson Theatre, 150 Central Park Dr.,
Brampton. 905-874-2800. From $31.
●●7:30: Guelph Chamber Choir. Celebration
150. Five choirs perform individually and
together as a massed choir. Gordon: new
works; other works (classical, folk, spirituals,
hymns, oratorio). Guelph Chamber Choir;
Gerald Neufeld, conductor, Alison MacNeill,
piano; Guests: James Gordon, singer-songwriter;
Guelph Community Singers; Guelph
Youth Singers; Rainbow Chorus of Waterloo/Wellington;
University of Guelph Symphonic
Choir. River Run Centre, 35 Woolwich
St., Guelph. 519-763-3000. $20; $15(group of
4 or more); $10(30 and under); $5(under 15/
eyeGO). 6:30pm: Pre-concert Podium Talk
with Dr. Gil Stelter, including images of Guelph
in 1867 through slides, history and stories.
●●7:30: Kincardine Summer Music Festival.
Beethoven with Marc. Marc Pierre Toth,
piano. Kincardine United Church, 72 Princes
St., Kincardine. 519-396-9716 or 1-866-453-
9716. $25.
●●7:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. Wish
List. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; Beethoven:
Symphony No.7. Aisslinn Nosky, conductor
and violin. FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre,
250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-
0722 or 1-855-515-0722. $67; $62(sr); $32(30
and under); $12(st/arts/child); $5(eyeGO).
Also Nov 5(2:30pm).
●●7:30: Peterborough Symphony Orchestra.
Step Into the Light. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto;
Schumann: Symphony No.4. Jonathan
Crow, violin. Showplace Performance Centre,
290 George St. N., Peterborough. 705-742-
7469. $20-$48.50; $10(st). 6:40pm: Pre-concert
chat.
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Glorious Brahms. Schubert: Song of the Spirits
over the Water; Pärt: Cantus in Memory of
Benjamin Britten; Brahms: Alto Rhapsody for
alto, male chorus and orchestra; Symphony
No.2 in D. Krisztina Szabó, alto; Estonian
National Male Choir; Andrei Feher, conductor.
Centre in the Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener.
519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $19-
$82. Also Nov 3.
54 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Sunday November 5
●●2:00: Chamber Music Hamilton. Miró
String Quartet. Haydn: String Quartet
Op.71 No.3; Puts: Credo; Mozart: Viola Quartet
in g K516. Art Gallery of Hamilton, 123 King
St. W., Hamilton. 905-525-7429. $35; $30(sr);
$15(st).
●●2:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts. Rebels Against Time: The
Tides of Romanticism. Works by Mendelssohn,
Beethoven, Franck, Gade and Piazzolla.
Duo Kleinhapl & Woyke: Friedrich Kleinhapl,
cello; Andreas Woyke, piano. 390 King
St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424. $29-$55;
$15-$27(st).
●●2:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. Wish
List. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; Beethoven:
Symphony No.7. Aisslinn Nosky, conductor
and violin. FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre,
250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-
0722 or 1-855-515-0722. $67; $62(sr); $32(30
and under); $12(st/arts/child); $5(eyeGO).
Also Nov 4(7:30pm).
Wednesday November 8
●●12:15: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
(Kitchener). Wednesday Noon-Hour Concerts.
Jennifer Enns, mezzo-soprano; Lorin
Shalanko, piano. 54 Queen St. N., Kitchener.
Free. 11:30am: Optional low-cost lunch available
in the foyer.
●●12:30: University of Waterloo Department
of Music. Noon Hour Concerts: Autorickshaw.
Great Hall, Conrad Grebel University
College, 140 Westmount Rd. N., Waterloo.
519-885-8220 x24226. Free.
●●2:30: Seniors Serenade. Pianist Mary
Kenedi: Happy 150th, Canada. Grace United
Church (Barrie), 350 Grove St. E., Barrie.
705-726-1181. Free. 3:30pm: tea and cookies
$5.
Thursday November 9
●●12:00 noon: University of Guelph College
of Arts. Thursday at Noon: Autumn Colours.
Krisztina Szabó, mezzo-soprano; Anna Ronai,
piano. Goldschmidt Room, 107 MacKinnon
Bldg., 50 Stone Rd. E., Guelph. 519-824-4120
x52991. Free.
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber
Music Society. Agnes Wan, Piano. Scarlatti:
Two Keyboard Sonatas in d (K9, K141);
Haydn: Sonata in c, Hob.XVI: 20; Chopin: Ballade
No.3 in A-flat Op.47; Barcarolle in F-sharp
Op.60; Schumann: In der Fremde Op.39 No.1,
Die Lotosblume Op.25 No.7; Widmung, Op.25,
No.1 (tr. Clara Schumann); and other works.
KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo.
519-886-1673. $30; $20(st).
Friday November 10
●●7:30: Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and
Performing Arts, Brock University. Encore!
Professional Concert Series: The Walker
Quartet. Schumann: Piano Quintet; Shostakovich:
Piano Quintet. Karin Di Bella, piano.
Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts
Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines.
905-688-0722 or 1-855-515-0722. $28.50;
$22.50(sr/st); $12.50(child); $5(eyeGo). General
admission.
●●7:30: Orchestra Kingston. An Evening with
Mozart. Mozart: overture to Die Zauberflöte;
Requiem; and other choral and orchestral
works. Kingston Choral Society. Sydenham
Street United Church, 82 Sydenham
St., Kingston. 613-766-4345. $25; $20(sr/st);
free(under 12).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Dancin’ thru the Decades. Dance hits from
the past 70 years including Elvis Presley,
The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder,
Earth Wind & Fire and others. Anita Hall,
vocals; Steve Moretti, drums; Matt Catingub,
conductor. Centre in the Square, 101 Queen
St. N., Kitchener. 519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-
4717. $19-$86. Also Nov 11.
Saturday November 11
●●7:30: Barrie Concerts. We Will Remember:
Songs From The Great World Wars. U of T
Choir (Scarborough Campus); Lenard Whiting,
conductor. Hi-Way Pentecostal Church,
50 Anne St. N., Barrie. 705-726-1181. $85.
●●7:30: Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and
Performing Arts, Brock University. Guitar
Extravaganza III. Cairns Hall, FirstOntario
Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St.
Catharines. 905-688-0722. $17.50; $12.50(sr/
st); $5(eyeGo); free(Brock students).
●●8:00: DaCapo Chamber Choir. Colour
of Freedom. Guest: Amir Haghighi, Persian
vocalist. St. John the Evangelist Anglican
Church, 23 Water St. N., Kitchener. 519-725-
7548. $25; $20(sr); $15(st); $5(eyeGO/child).
Also Nov 12(3pm, St. John’s Lutheran Church,
Waterloo).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Dancin’ thru the Decades. Dance hits from
the past 70 years including Elvis Presley,
The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder,
Earth Wind & Fire and others. Anita Hall,
vocals; Steve Moretti, drums; Matt Catingub,
conductor. Centre in the Square, 101 Queen
St. N., Kitchener. 519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-
4717. $19-$86. Also Nov 10.
Sunday November 12
●●2:00: The Gallery Players of Niagara.
Going Solo... but not alone! Bach: Concerto
for oboe and violin BWV1060; Giuliani: Concerto
in A Op.30 for guitar and strings;
Quantz: Concerto in G QV5:174 No.161; Rolfe:
Six Songs for voice and string quartet. Timothy
Phelan, guitar; Douglas Miller, flute; Julie
Baumgartel, Anita Walsh and Rona Goldensher:
violins; James Mason, oboe; and others.
Silver Spire United Church, 366 St. Paul St.,
St. Catharines. 905-468-1525. $36; $33(sr);
$14(st/arts worker); $75(family).
●●3:00: DaCapo Chamber Choir. Colour
of Freedom. Guest: Amir Haghighi, Persian
vocalist. St. John’s Lutheran (Waterloo),
22 Willow St., Waterloo. 519-725-7548.
$25; $20(sr); $15(st); $5(eyeGO/child). Also
Nov 11(8pm, St. John the Evangelist Church,
Kitchener).
●●3:00: Dundas Valley Orchestra. Fall Fair
Concert. Ridout: Fall Fair; Kosma (arr. Reed):
Autumn Leaves; Robert McBride: Pumpkin
Eaters Little Fugue; Vivaldi: L’Autumno from
The Four Seasons; De Rose: Autumn Serenade;
and other works. Suhashini Arulanandam,
violin. St. Paul’s United Church (Dundas),
29 Park St. W., Dundas. 905-387-4773. Free;
donations welcome.
●●4:00: Folk Under the Clock. Catherine
MacLellan. If It’s Alright With You: The Life
and Music of My Father, Gene MacLellan.
Snowbird; Put Your Hand in the Hand; and
other songs of Gene MacLellan. Market Hall
Performing Arts Centre, 140 Charlotte St.,
Peterborough. 705-749-1146. $37.50; $25(st).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. Clarion String Quartet: Musicians
of the Holocaust. Schulhoff: Five pieces for
String Quartet; Korngold: Quartet No.3; Ullmann:
Quartet No.3. KWCMS Music Room,
57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673.
$35; $20(st).
Monday November 13
●●7:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts. Mozart’s Piano. Mozart:
Piano Concerto in A; Symphony No. 29; and
works by C.P.E. Bach and J.C. Bach. Kristian
Bezuidenhout, guest director and fortepiano;
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. 390 King
St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424. $29-$55;
$15-$27(st).
Tuesday November 14
●●12:00 noon: Marilyn I. Walker School of
Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University.
RBC Foundation Music@Noon. Devon Fornelli,
marimba; Joe Lapinski, electric guitar; Dr.
Gregory Betts, narrator. Cairns Hall, FirstOntario
Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St.,
St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. Free.
Wednesday November 15
●●12:00 noon: Music at St. Andrews. Matthew
Whitfield, organ. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian
Church (Barrie), 47 Owen St., Barrie.
705-726-1181. $5; free(st).
●●12:15: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
(Kitchener). Wednesday Noon-Hour Concerts.
Heidi Wall, piano. 54 Queen St. N.,
Kitchener. Free. 11:30am: Optional low-cost
lunch available in the foyer.
●●12:30: University of Waterloo Department
of Music. Noon Hour Concerts: Venus
in the Garden. Eviole (Sheila Dietrich, soprano;
Corey Linforth, soprano; Jennifer
Enns Modolo, mezzo; Borys Medicky, harpsichord;
Miriam Stewart-Froecker, cello.
Great Hall, Conrad Grebel University College,
140 Westmount Rd. N., Waterloo. 519-885-
8220 x24226. Free.
●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Canadian
Brass. Featuring their signature mix
of entertainment, spontaneity, virtuosity and
fun. Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips, trumpets;
Graeme Page, horn; Gene Watts, trombone;
Charles Daellenbach, tuba. First-St.
Andrew’s United Church, 350 Queens Ave,
London. 519-672-8800. $35; $25(sr/st).
Thursday November 16
●●12:00 noon: University of Guelph College
of Arts. Thursday at Noon: Headin’ North.
Al Gorman Quartet. Goldschmidt Room,
107 MacKinnon Bldg., 50 Stone Rd. E., Guelph.
519-824-4120 x52991. Free.
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. Ensemble Masques. Telemann: Overture-suite
in A TWV55:A1; Overture-suite
“Les Nations” TWV55:B5; Concerto polonois
TWV43:G7; Overture-Suite “Burlesque de
Quixotte” TWV55:G10. KWCMS Music Room,
57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673.
$35; $20(st).
Saturday November 18
●●7:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts/Tonedeaf. Dollhouse. Coleman
Lemieux et Compagnie. Isabel Bader Centre
for the Performing Arts, 390 King St. W.,
Kingston. 613-533-2424. $39; $16(st).
●●7:30: Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and
Performing Arts, Brock University. Viva
Voce! Choral Series: Avanti Singers. Rachel
Rensink-Hoff, conductor. St. Thomas Anglican
Church (St. Catharines), 99 Ontario St., St.
Catharines. 905-684-2339. $25; $20(sr/st);
$5(eyeGo).
Sunday November 19
●●2:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts. Louis Lortie, Piano. Works
by Chopin, Schubert and others. 390 King
St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424. $29-$55;
$15-$27(st).
●●4:30: Music At St. Thomas’. Beethoven V:
An Organ Duo Concert. Albrechtsberger:
Prelude and Fugue in C; Bach: Fugues (from
the Art of Fugue); Beethoven: Symphony No.5.
Duo Pergulæ (Francine Nguyen-Savaria &
Matthieu Latreille, organ). St. Thomas’ Anglican
Church (Belleville), 201 Church St., Belleville.
613-962-3636. By donation.
●●7:00: Les Amis. ClimateKeys. Live performance
followed by a screening of Al Gore’s
film An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power.
Works by Luciano Berio and Toru Takemitsu.
Erika Crinó, piano. The Loft Cinema,
201 Division St., Cobourg. 905-372-2210.
$30/$25(adv); $15/$10(st/adv).
Tuesday November 21
●●12:00 noon: Marilyn I. Walker School of
Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University.
RBC Foundation Music@Noon. Voice students.
Cairns Hall, FirstOntario Performing
Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines.
905-688-0722. Free.
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. Celia Linde, Guitar. Tarrega: Capricho
Arabe; Linde: Three works; Malatz: Serenata
Espagnola; Brouwer: Guarjira Criolla;
Haglund: Beyond Farewell; and other works.
KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo.
519-886-1673. $30; $20(st).
Wednesday November 22
●●12:15: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
(Kitchener). Wednesday Noon-Hour Concerts.
Alexander Straus-Fausto, organ.
54 Queen St. N., Kitchener. Free. 11:30am:
Optional low-cost lunch available in the foyer.
●●12:30: University of Waterloo Department
of Music. Noon Hour Concerts: Passions for
Guitar. Celia Linde, guitar. Great Hall, Conrad
Grebel University College, 140 Westmount Rd.
N., Waterloo. 519-885-8220 x24226. Free.
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 55

●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Christmastide: A Baroque Christmas. Torelli:
Concerto Grosso for two violins in g;
Charpentier: In Nativitatem Domini Canticum;
Manfredini: Concerto Grosso No.12 in
C “Christmas Concerto”. Ellen McAteer, soprano;
Ivars Taurins, conductor. First United
Church (Waterloo), 16 William St. W., Waterloo.
519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $36. Also
Nov 24(Guelph), 25(Cambridge).
Thursday November 23
●●12:00 noon: University of Guelph College
of Arts. Thursday at Noon: Student Soloists
Day. Applied music students in the School
of Fine Art and Music. Goldschmidt Room,
107 MacKinnon Bldg., 50 Stone Rd. E., Guelph.
519-824-4120 x52991. Free.
●●7:00: Magisterra Soloists. Magisterra at
the Museum: Masterworks. Chausson: Concerto
for Violin, Piano and String Quartet;
and works by Brahms and Kahn. Guest: Uriel
Tsachor, piano. Museum London Theatre,
421 Ridout St. N., London. 519-661-0333. $30;
$25(sr); $15(st); $10(child).
Friday November 24
●●7:30: Kingston Community Strings. KCS
in Concert. Tartini: Concertino for clarinet
& string orchestra; Newbold: Lion City; D.
Cameron: Ballade (premiere). Chris Alfano,
clarinet. Christ Church Cataraqui Parish Centre,
990 Sydenham Rd., Kingston. 613-531-
6200. Free.
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Christmastide: A Baroque Christmas. Torelli:
Concerto Grosso for two violins in g;
Charpentier: In Nativitatem Domini Canticum;
Manfredini: Concerto Grosso No.12 in
C “Christmas Concerto”. Ellen McAteer, soprano;
Ivars Taurins, conductor. Harcourt
Memorial United Church, 87 Dean Ave.,
Guelph. 519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $36.
Also Nov 22(Waterloo), 25(Cambridge).
Saturday November 25
●●1:00: Westben Concerts at The Barn.
Upper Canada Christmas. Narrated concert.
Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr
Traill, vocalists; Westben Choruses; Donna
B. Concerts Beyond the GTA
Bennett and Brian Finley, directors. The Barn,
6688 County Road 30, Campbellford. 705-
653-5508 or 1-877-883-5777. $25; $15(st);
$5(youth). Also Nov 26, Dec 2(Norwood),
Dec 3(Peterborough)(all 3pm).
●●2:00: King Edward Choir. A Ceremony
of Carols. Britten: A Ceremony of Carols;
Beethoven: Hallelujah; Liszt: Ave Verum Corpus;
Rutter: Mary’s Lullaby; Ramirez: Los Pastores.
Oliver Balaburski, conductor. Collier
Street United Church, 112 Collier St., Barrie.
705-305-6797. $25; $15(st). Also 7:30pm.
●●7:30: Grand Philharmonic Choir. Winter
Hymn. Britten: Ceremony of Carols; Pärt:
Bogoroditse Djevo; Pärt: Sieben Magnificat
Antiphonen (excerpts); Ešenvalds: Stars;
Schafer: Snowforms, and other works. Winter
Hymn Grand Philharmonic Chamber Singers;
Julia Seager-Scott, harp. St. John the
Evangelist Anglican Church, 23 Water St. N.,
Kitchener. 519-578-5660 x5290. $30.
●●7:30: King Edward Choir. A Ceremony
of Carols. Britten: A Ceremony of Carols;
Beethoven: Hallelujah; Liszt: Ave Verum Corpus;
Rutter: Mary’s Lullaby; Ramirez: Los Pastores.
Oliver Balaburski, conductor. Collier
Street United Church, 112 Collier St., Barrie.
705-305-6797. $25; $15(st). Also 2pm.
●●7:30: Peterborough Singers. Yuletide
Cheer. Venabrass Quintet; Ian Sadler, organ;
Sydney Birrell, conductor. Emmanuel (George
St.) United Church, 534 George St. N., Peterborough.
705-745-1820. $30; $20(under 30);
$10(st).
●●7:30: Serenata Choir. It’s Christmas! Gary
Heard, conductor. St. Paul’s United Church
(Midland), 308 King St., Midland. 705-526-
6800. $20; $15(st).
●●7:30: University of Waterloo Department
of Music. Balinese Gamelan Ensemble. Students
play by ear on various gamelan instruments,
consisting of gongs, metallophones,
drums and flutes. Featuring new instruments
from Bali. Humanities Theatre, University of
Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W., Waterloo.
519-885-8220 x24226. Free. Audience will
have an opportunity to try the instruments
following the concert.
●●8:00: Jeffery Concerts. Program 3:
FRIENDS
Ensemble
OF MUSIC
Vivant
PRESENTS
Christmas Tidings
November 26, 2017 – 3:00pm
Port Hope United Church, joined by La Jeunesse Choir.
Andréa Tyniec, Violin; Arthur Rowe, Piano.
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No.9 Op.47 in
A “Kreutzer”; Schumann: Violin Sonata
No.2 Op.121 in d. Wolf Performance Hall,
251 Dundas St., London. 519-672-8800. $40.
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Christmastide: A Baroque Christmas. Torelli:
Concerto Grosso for two violins in g;
Charpentier: In Nativitatem Domini Canticum;
Manfredini: Concerto Grosso No.12 in
C “Christmas Concerto”. Ellen McAteer, soprano;
Ivars Taurins, conductor. Central Presbyterian
Church (Cambridge), 7 Queens Sq.,
Cambridge. 519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717.
$36. Also Nov 22(Waterloo), 24(Guelph).
Sunday November 26
●●2:30: Duet Club of Hamilton. Celebrating
Song. Duet Club’s Women of Song; Stéphane
Potvin, conductor; Guests: Kokoro Singers;
Brenda Uchimaru, conductor. Melrose United
Church, 86 Homewood Ave., Hamilton. 905-
627-4534. $18; $15(sr/st); free(12 and under).
●●2:30: Niagara Symphony Orchestra. Con
Danza. Argento: Valentino Dances; Castelnuovo-Tedesco:
Concerto for Two Guitars;
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet Op.64 (suite
compiled by Bradley Thachuk). Ken Meyer,
guitar; Steven Thachuk, guitar; Bradley Thahuck,
conductor. FirstOntario Performing
Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines.
905-688-0722 or 1-855-515-0722. $67;
$62(sr); $32(30 and under); $12(st/arts/
child); $5(eyeGO).
●●3:00: Friends of Music. Christmas Tidings:
“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”.
Ensemble Vivant; La Jeunesse Choir. Port
Hope United Church, 34 South St., Port Hope.
905-797-2295. $46; $23(st); free(children
under 13 accompanied by an adult/La Jeunesse
Youth Orchestra members).
●●3:00: Westben Concerts at The Barn.
Upper Canada Christmas. Narrated concert.
Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill,
vocalists; Westben Choruses; Donna Bennett
and Brian Finley, directors. The Barn,
6688 County Road 30, Campbellford. 705-
653-5508 or 1-877-883-5777. $25; $15(st);
$5(youth). Also Nov 25(Campbellford, 1pm),
Dec 2(Norwood, 3pm), Dec 3 (Peterborough,
3pm).
●●5:00: St. George’s Cathedral (Kingston).
Advent Candlelight Procession with Carols.
Cathedral Adult, Teen, and Children’s Choirs.
270 King St. E., Kingston. 613-548-4617. Free.
Religious service.
●●7:30: University of Waterloo Department
of Music. Festivals of Light: University Choir.
Celebrating holidays, festivals and rituals
from around the world. Music from India,
Japan, Thailand, Sweden, as well as Canadian
traditional music for Advent and Christmas.
University of Waterloo Choir; Gerard
Yun, conductor. St. John’s Lutheran Church,
22 Willow St., Waterloo. 519-885-8220
x24226. $10; $5(sr/st).
Monday November 27
●●7:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts. Ten Strings and a Goatskin:
New Celtic Heroes on the Scene. 390 King St.
W., Kingston. 613-533-2424. $39; $16(st).
Tuesday November 28
●●12:00 noon: Marilyn I. Walker School of
Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University.
RBC Foundation Music@Noon. Instrumental
students. Cairns Hall, FirstOntario
Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St.
Catharines. 905-688-0722. Free.
●●7:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing
Arts. London Handel Players: Father,
Godfather and Son. Works by Telemann,
J.S. Bach and C.P.E. Bach. Adrian Butterfield,
violin; Rachel Brown, flute and recorder;
Katherine Sharman, cello and gamba; Laurence
Cummings, harpsichord. 390 King
St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424. $29-$55;
$15-$27(st).
Wednesday November 29
●●12:15: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
(Kitchener). Wednesday Noon-Hour Concerts.
Mark Lewis, singer-songwriter.
54 Queen St. N., Kitchener. Free. 11:30am:
Optional low-cost lunch available in the foyer.
●●7:30: Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and
Performing Arts, Brock University. The
University String Orchestra. George Cleland,
conductor. Cairns Hall, FirstOntario
Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St.
Catharines. 905-688-0722. $12; $5(child);
$5(eyeGo); free(Brock students).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. Peter Shackleton, Clarinet; Stephanie
Mara, Piano. Béla Kovács: Hommage à
Bach; Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Sonata Op.128;
J. Williams: Viktor’s Tale; and other works.
KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo.
519-886-1673. $25; $15(st).
Thursday November 30
●●12:15: St. George’s Cathedral (Kingston).
Advent Concert. Brad Barbeau, organ.
270 King St. E., Kingston. 613-548-4617. Free.
Voluntary collection.
●●8:00: University of Waterloo Department
of Music. orchestra@uwaterloo. Tchaikovsky:
Swan Lake Suite; Debussy: Prelude to
the Afternoon of a Faun. Daniel Warren, conductor.
Humanities Theatre, University of
Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W., Waterloo.
519-885-8220 x24226. Free.
Friday December 1
●●12:00 noon: First-St. Andrew’s United
Church. Friday Advent Noon Recital. Ken
Baldwin, trumpet; Terry Mead, piano and
organ. First-St. Andrew’s United Church,
350 Queens Ave, London. 519-679-8182. Free
will offering. Lunch following $7.
●●7:30: University of Waterloo Department
of Music. Rejoice in the Lamb: Chamber
Choir. Britten: Rejoice in the Lamb; works
by Sandström, Ešenvalds, Corlis, Biebl and
others. Jan Overduin, organ; Mark Vuorinen,
conductor. Knox Presbyterian Church (Waterloo),
50 Erb St. W., Waterloo. 519-885-
8220 x24226. $10; $5(sr/st).
●●8:00: Folk Under the Clock. The Once.
Modern indie folk trio from Newfoundland.
Geraldine Hollett; Phil Churchill; Andrew
Dale. Market Hall Performing Arts Centre,
140 Charlotte St., Peterborough. 705-749-
1146. $37.50; $25(st).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Jonathan Crow Plays Beethoven. Jörg Widmann:
Con brio Concert Overture; Mendelssohn:
Symphony No.3 in a “Scottish”;
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D. Jonathan
Crow, violin, Pablo Rus Broseta, conductor.
Centre in the Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener.
519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $19-
$82. Also Dec 2.
56 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

d 1
Saturday December 2
●●2:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Youth Orchestra: Concert 1. Centre in the
Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 519-745-
4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $13; $11(child).
●●3:00: Westben Concerts at The Barn.
Upper Canada Christmas. Narrated concert.
Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill,
vocalists; Westben Choruses; Donna Bennett
and Brian Finley, directors. Norwood
United Church, 4264 Hwy 7, Norwood. 705-
653-5508 or 1-877-883-5777. $25; $15(st);
$5(youth). Also Nov 25(Campbellford, 1pm),
Nov 26(Campbellford, 3pm), Dec 3(Peterborough,
3pm).
musicata.ca
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Jonathan Crow Plays Beethoven. Jörg Widmann:
Con brio Concert Overture; Mendelssohn:
Symphony No.3 in a “Scottish”;
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D. Jonathan
Crow, violin, Pablo Rus Broseta, conductor.
Centre in the Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener.
519-745-4711 or 1-888-745-4717. $19-
$82. Also Dec 1.
Sunday December 3
2017-10-19 12:00 PM
C. Music Theatre
You, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, The Man I Love); and
other works. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young
St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673. $35; $20(st).
Monday December 4
●●2:00: University of Waterloo Department
of Music. UW Jazz Ensemble. Featuring
jazz classics. Michael Wood, conductor.
Great Hall, Conrad Grebel University College,
140 Westmount Rd. N., Waterloo. 519-
885-8220 x24226. $10; $5(sr/st). Reception
following.
Musicata Festiva
●●3:00: Westben Concerts at The Barn.
Upper Canada Christmas. Narrated concert.
Musicata’s Christmas concert features music that is timeless: music that crosses the
Musicata Festiva
boundaries of centuries with Susanna ease. The Moodie major and works Catharine for this Parr concert Traill, are two German Baroque
Musicata’s Christmas concert masterpieces, features Bach’s music motet that is vocalists; Lobet timeless: den Westben Herrn music and that Choruses; Pachelbel’s crosses Donna the Magnificat. Bennett
by for Lassus, and this Brian concert Lauridsen, Finley, are directors. two Mendelssohn, German Northminster Baroque Gjeilo, Hammerschmidt,
Shorter works
Music for Christmas, crossing
boundaries of centuries spanning with ease. several The major centuries, works
masterpieces, the centuries Bach’s motet Lovelace with Lobet ease and den others, Herrn round and Pachelbel’s out United a program Church, Magnificat. 300 of exhilarating Sunset Shorter Blvd, works and Peterborough.
705-653-5508 Gjeilo, or Hammerschmidt,
1-877-883-5777. $25;
touching music.
spanning several centuries, by Lassus, Lauridsen, Mendelssohn,
Lovelace Saturday and others, round Dec Saturday, out 2, a 7:30pm
program December of exhilarating 2, 2017 $15(st);
and at $5(youth). 7:30 touching p.m. Also
music.
Nov 25(Campbellford,
Hamilton Church of St. John the Evangelist, 1pm), Nov 26(Campbellford, 320 Charlton 3pm), Ave. Dec W., 2(Norwood,
3pm).
Hamilton
Saturday, December 2, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.
Church of St. John the Tickets Evangelist, available 320 at the Charlton door or Ave. at www.musicata.ca
●●7:00: Barrie
W.,
Concert
Hamilton
Band. Christmas at
Regular $25 | Senior $20 | Student $5 | Children Free
Tickets available at the door or at www.musicata.ca
the Beach. Lighthouse Community Church,
Regular $25 | Senior $20 | Student $5 | Children
800
Free
Sunnidale Rd., Wasaga Beach. 705-481-
1607. Donations to the food bank welcomed.
●●7:30: Attila Glatz Concert Productions.
●●7:30: Musicata - Hamilton’s Voices. Christmas
Concert. Church of St. John the Evangelist,
320 Charlton Ave. W., Hamilton.
905-628-5238. $25; $20(sr); $5(st).
Festival of Stars. Doo-wop, Motown, country,
pop, and rock-and-roll hits. Featuring Neil
Sedaka; Under the Streetlamp; Mickey Gilley.
Club Italia, 2525 Montrose Rd., Niagara Falls.
416-323-1403. $42 and up. Also Dec 4(2pm
and 8pm).
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber
Music Society. Raffi Besalyan, Piano. Mozart:
Sonata in C K330; Babajanian: Prelude
and Melody; Baghdassarian: Preludes (in d,
E, b; Chopin: Ballade No.4 Op.52; Gershwin/
Wild: Three Virtuoso Etudes (Embraceable
●●2:00: Attila Glatz Concert Productions.
Festival of Stars. Doo-wop, Motown, country,
pop, and rock-and-roll hits. Featuring Neil
Sedaka; Under the Streetlamp; and Mickey
Gilley. Club Italia, 2525 Montrose Rd., Niagara
Falls. 416-323-1403. $42 and up. Also 8pm;
Dec 3(7:30pm).
●●7:30: University of Waterloo Department
of Music. Instrumental Chamber Ensembles.
Six different chamber ensembles will
play classical music ranging from Brahms
to Koechlin. Chapel, Conrad Grebel University
College, 140 Westmount Rd. N., Waterloo.
519-885-8220 x24226. Free. Reception
following.
●●8:00: Attila Glatz Concert Productions.
Festival of Stars. Doo-wop, Motown, country,
pop, and rock-and-roll hits. Featuring Neil
Sedaka; Under the Streetlamp; and Mickey
Gilley. Club Italia, 2525 Montrose Rd., Niagara
Falls. 416-323-1403. $42 and up. Also 2pm;
Dec 3(7:30pm).
Tuesday December 5
●●12:00 noon: Marilyn I. Walker School of
Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University.
RBC Foundation 2017-10-19 12:00 Music@Noon. PM
Piano
and guitar students. Cairns Hall, FirstOntario
Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St.
Catharines. 905-688-0722. Free.
●●7:30: Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine
and Performing Arts, Brock University.
The University Wind Ensemble. Zoltan Kalman,
conductor. Partridge Hall, FirstOntario
Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St.
Catharines. 905-688-0722. $12; $5(child);
$5(eyeGo); free(Brock students).
Wednesday December 6
●●12:15: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
(Kitchener). Wednesday Noon-Hour Concerts.
Renaissance School of the Arts Flute
Choir; Wendy Wagler, conductor. 54 Queen
St. N., Kitchener. Free. 11:30am: Optional lowcost
lunch available in the foyer.
●●7:30: St. George’s Cathedral (Kingston).
Advent Concert. Gershwin: Rhapsody in
Blue; and other works. Valery Lloyd-Watts
and Clare Gordon, piano duo. 270 King St. E.,
Kingston. 613-548-4617. $15.
●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music
Society. Alex DaCosta, Violin and Beth Ann De
Souza, Piano. Program TBA. KWCMS Music
Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-
1673. $30; $20(st).
Thursday December 7
●●12:15: St. George’s Cathedral (Kingston).
Advent Concert. Mulberry School Choir; Margaret
Moncrieff, director. 270 King St. E., Kingston.
613-548-4617. Free. Voluntary offering.
These music theatre listings contain a wide range of music theatre types including
opera, operetta, musicals and other performance genres where music and drama
combine. Listings in this section are sorted alphabetically by presenter.
●●Brampton Music Theatre. Hairspray.
Music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman
and Marc Shaiman, book by Mark
O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the
film. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Lane, Brampton.
905-874-2800. $25-$38. Opens Nov 9,
7:30pm. Runs to Nov 18. Thurs-Sat(7:30pm).
●●Canadian Opera Company. The Elixir of
Love. Music by Gaetano Donizetti. Andrew
Haji, tenor (Nemorino); Simone Osborne, soprano
(Adina); Gordon Bintner, baritone (Belcore);
James Robinson, director; Yves Abel,
conductor. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing
Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-
8231. $35-$235. Opens Oct 11, 7:30pm. Also
Oct 15(2pm), 17, 21, 27, 29, Nov 2, 4(4:30pm).
●●Canadian Opera Company. The Magic Victrola.
Libretto by David Kersnar and Jacqueline
Russell. Works by Bizet, Mozart, Puccini
and others. Members of the COC’s Ensemble
Studio; Ashlie Corcoran, director. Richard
Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre
for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St.
W. 416-363-8231. $30; free(children under
12), Maximum of 2 free children’s tickets for
each adult ticket sold. Additional children’s
tickets $10. Dec 2, 11am. Also Dec 2(1:30pm);
Dec 3(10:30am and 1:30pm).
●●Civic Light Opera Company. The Wizard
of Oz. Music, lyrics and book by Joe Cascone
and James P. Doyle, based on the film. Zion
Cultural Centre, 1650 Finch Ave. E. 416-755-
1717. $28. Opens Nov 29, 7pm. Runs to Dec 10.
Wed (7pm), Thurs-Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm). Note:
extra show Dec 9, 2pm.
●●Clarkson Music Theatre. Irving Berlin’s
White Christmas. Music and lyrics by Irving
Berlin, book by David Ives and Paul Blake.
Meadowvale Theatre, 6315 Montevideo
Road. 905-615-4720. $30; $28(sr/st). Opens
Nov 17, 8pm. Runs to Nov 26. Thurs-Sat(8pm),
Sun(2pm). Note: extra show Nov 25, 2pm.
●●Crow's Theatre. A&R Angels. Created
by Kevin Drew. Streetcar Crowsnest,
345 Carlaw Ave. 647-341-7390. $20-$50.
Opens Nov 20, 8pm. Runs to Dec 9. Mon-
Sat(8pm), Wed/Sat(2pm). Note: no matinee
Nov 22.
●●Curtain Call Players. The War Show. Written
by Peter Colley. Fairview Library Theatre,
35 Fairview Mall Dr. 416-703-6181. $28. Opens
Nov 3, 8pm. Runs to Nov 11. Thurs-Sat(8pm).
Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●Drayton Entertainment. Kings and
Queens of Country. Featuring hits of early
country music. St. Jacob’s Schoolhouse
Theatre, 11 Albert St. W., St. Jacob’s. 1-855-
372-9866. $27-$46. Opens Sep 19, 2pm.
Runs to Dec 24. Tues-Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm),
Thurs-Sat(7:30pm).
●●Drayton Entertainment. Rock of Ages.
Book by Chris D’Arienzo to music by 1980s
rock bands. Dunfield Theatre Cambridge,
46 Grand Ave. S., Cambridge. 1-855-372-
9866. $27-$46. Opens Oct 11, 7:30pm. Runs
to Nov 5. Tues-Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/
Sun(2pm).
●●Drayton Entertainment. Beauty and the
Beast. Music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard
Ashman and Tim Rice, book by Linda
Woolverton. Dunfield Theatre Cambridge,
46 Grand Ave. S., Cambridge. 1-855-372-
9866. $27-$46. Opens Nov 22, 2pm. Runs
to Dec 31. Wed/Thurs/Sat(2pm), Thurs-
Sat(7:30pm), Sun(1pm/7pm). Note: extra
shows Dec 19 & 27, 7:30pm. Note: no mat
Dec 20, no eve Dec 24 & 31.
●●Drayton Entertainment. Honk. Music by
George Stiles, lyrics and book by Anthony
Drewe. St. Jacobs Country Playhouse,
40 Benjamin Rd. E., Waterloo. 1-855-372-
9866. $27-$46. Opens Nov 29, 10:30am. Runs
to Dec 24. Wed(10:30am), Thurs/Sat(2pm),
Thurs-Sat(7:30pm), Sun(11:30am/4pm). Note:
extra shows Dec 12, 19(10:30am). Note: no
eve show Dec 14. Note: Dec 24 show is at 1pm.
●●Factory Theatre/b current performing
arts. Trace. Written, composed and performed
by Jeff Ho. Nina Lee Aquino, director.
Factory Studio Theatre, 125 Bathurst St. 416-
504-9971. $20-$50. Opens Nov 11, 8pm. Runs
to Dec 3. Tues-Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm).
●●Grand Theatre. Once. Music and lyrics by
Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, book by
Enda Walsh. Grand Theatre, 471 Richmond
St, London. 519-672-8800. $29.95-$84.
Opens Oct 17, 7:30pm. Runs to Nov 4. Tues-
Thurs(7:30pm), Fri/Sat(8pm), Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●Hart House Theatre. The 25th Annual Putnam
County Spelling Bee. Music and lyrics by
William Finn, book by Rachel Sheinkin, additional
material by Jay Reiss. Hart House Theatre,
7 Hart House Circle. 416-978-8849. $28;
$17(sr); $15(st). Opens Nov 10, 8pm. Runs to
Nov 25. Wed-Sat(8pm). Also Nov 25(2pm).
●●International Resource Centre for Performing
Artists. Singing Stars: The Next
Generation. A program of arias. Rachel
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 57

Andrist, piano. Zoomer Hall, 79 Jefferson Ave.
416-362-1422. $30, $20(under 30/sr/arts
workers). Nov 6, 7:30pm.
●●Irregular Entertainment. Grease — The
Musical. Music, lyrics and book by Jim Jacobs
and Warren Casey. Winter Garden Theatre,
189 Yonge St. 1-855-985-5000. $29-$159.
Opens Nov 1, 1:30pm. Runs to Dec 10. Tues-
Sat(7:30pm), Wed/Sat/Sun(1:30pm).
●●Lower Ossington Theatre. Dreamgirls.
Music by Henry Krieger, lyrics and book by
Tom Eyen. Lower Ossington Theatre, 100A
Ossington Ave. 416-907-0468. $64.99.
Opens Sep 8, 7:30pm. Runs to Nov 19. Fri-
Sat(7:30pm), Sat(3:30pm). Sun(4pm).
●●Lower Ossington Theatre. Avenue Q. Music
and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, book
by Jeff Whitty. Lower Ossington Theatre, 100A
Ossington Ave. 416-907-0468. $54.99-$64.99.
Opens Sep 22, 7:30pm. Runs to Nov 26. Fri-
Sat(7:30pm), Sat(3:30pm). Sun(4pm).
●●Mirvish. Bat Out of Hell: The Musical.
Music, lyrics and book by Jim Steinman. Ed
Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St. 416-872-
1212. $29-$139. Opens Oct 14, 8:00pm. Runs
to Dec 3. Tues-Sat(8pm), Wed(1:30pm), Sat/
Sun(2pm). Note: no performance Oct 23 &
31 at 8pm, and Oct 25 at 1:30pm. Note: also
Oct 26(1:30pm), Nov 5(7:30pm).
●●Mirvish. Elf the Musical. Music and lyrics
by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, book
by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin. Princess
of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. W. 416-
872-1212. $59 and up. Opens Nov 21, 7:30pm.
Runs to Nov 26. Tues-Sat(7:30pm), Wed/Sat/
Sun(1:30pm).
●●Mississauga Players/The Mazo Collective.
Riding Off in All Directions. Book by Dr.
Daniel Bratton, music by Peter Skoggard,
directed by Colin Fox. Maja Prentice Theatre,
3650 Dixie Rd., Mississauga. 519-846-2551.
Opens Nov 10, 7:30pm. Runs Nov 10-12(2pm),
16-18(7:30pm). $30; $25(sr); $5(st).
●●Musical Stage Company. Uncovered: Dylan
& Springsteen. Music director Reza Jacobs
and a company of Canadian musical theatre
performers perform songs of Dylan and
Springsteen. Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St.W.
416-927-7880. $35-$100. Opens Nov 14, 8pm.
Also Nov 15-16.
●●Musical Theatre Productions. Time Warp:
50 Years of the Rock Musical. Concert tribute
to rock and roll on Broadway. Aeolian
Hall, 795 Dundas St., London. 519-672-7950.
$30. Opens Nov 8, 8pm. Runs to Nov 10. Wed/
Thurs(8pm), Fri(7pm/10pm).
●●National Ballet of Canada. The Winter’s
Tale. Music by Joby Talbot. Christopher
Wheeldon, choreographer. Four Seasons
Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St.
W. 416-345-9595. $39-$265. Opens Nov 10,
7:30pm. Runs to Nov 19. Wed-Sat(7:30pm),
Thurs/Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●National Ballet of Canada. Nijinsky. Music
by Robert Schumann, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov,
and Dmitri Shostakovich. John Neumeier,
choreographer. Four Seasons Centre
for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-
345-9595. $39-$265. Opens Nov 22, 7:30pm.
Runs to Nov 26. Wed-Sat(7:30pm), Thurs/Sat/
Sun(2pm).
●●Opera Atelier. The Marriage of Figaro.
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Douglas Williams,
baritone (Figaro); Mireille Asselin, soprano
(Susanna); Stephen Hegedus, baritone
C. Music Theatre
(Count Almaviva); Peggy Kriha Dye, soprano
(Countess Almaviva); Mireille Lebel, mezzo
(Cherubino); and others; Marshall Pynkoski,
stage director; Jeannette Lajeunesse
Zingg, choreographer; Artists of Atelier Ballet;
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; David Fallis,
conductor. Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge St.
1-855-622-2787. $39-$194. Opens Oct 28,
7:30pm. Runs to Nov 4. Days and times vary.
Visit operaatelier.com for details.
●●Opera by Request. Idomeneo. Music by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Fabian Arciniegas,
tenor (Idomeneo); Daniella Theresia, mezzo
(Idamante); Brittany Stewart, soprano (Ilia);
Michelle Veenhuizen, soprano (Elettra); Cian
Horrobin, tenor (Arbace); William Shookhoff,
piano and music director; and others. College
Street United Church, 452 College St. 416-455-
2365. $20. Nov 4, 7:30pm.
●●Opera by Request. La Clemenza di Tito.
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto
by Caterino Mazzolà, after Metastasio. William
Ford, tenor (Tito); Deena Nicklefork, soprano
(Vitellia); Madison Arsenault, mezzo
(Sesto); Shannon Mills, soprano (Servilia);
and others; William Shookhoff, piano and
conductor. College Street United Church,
452 College St. 416-455-2365. $20. Nov 10,
7:30pm.
●●Opera by Request. Le Nozze di Figaro.
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto
by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Jan Vaculik, baritone
(Figaro); Gene Wu, baritone (Count Almaviva);
Chelsea van Pelt, soprano (Susanna);
Christina Bell, soprano (Countess Almaviva);
and others; William Shookhoff, piano
and conductor. College Street United Church,
452 College St. 416-455-2365. $20. Nov 24,
7:30pm.
●●Opera York. Carmen. Music by Georges
Bizet, libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic
Halévy. Romulo Delgado (Don Jose); Beste
Kalender (Carmen); Andrew Tees (Escamilo);
Sara Papini (Micaela); Denis Mastromonaco,
artistic director. Richmond Hill Centre for the
Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond
Hill. 905-787-8811. $40-$50; $25(st). Nov 2/
Nov 4, 7:30pm.
●●Perth County Players. Hello Dolly. Music
and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Michael
Steward, based on the Thornton Wilder play.
Stratford City Hall Auditorium, 1 Wellington St,
Stratford. 519-272-0607. $20. Opens Nov 17,
7:30pm. Runs to Nov 25. Fri/Sat(7:30pm),
Sun(2pm). Note: extra show Nov 25(2pm).
●●Port Hope Festival Theatre. Robin Hood:
The Panto. Written, directed and visual
effects by Antonio Sarmiento. Cameco Capitol
Arts Centre, 20 Queen St., Port Hope. 1-800-
434-5092. $27-$35. Opens Nov 16, 7pm. Runs
to Dec 23. Days and times vary. Visit
capitoltheatre.com for details.
●●Randolph Academy. Moll. Music and lyrics
by Leslie Arden, book by Leslie Arden and
Cathy Eliot with Anna T. Cascio. Annex Theatre,
736 Bathurst St. 416-924-2243. $22.
Opens Nov 28, 8pm. Runs to Dec 2. Tues-
Sat(8pm), Sat(2pm).
●●Red Sky Performance. Backbone. Conceived
and directed by Sandra Laronde. Jera
Wolfe, choreographer. Berkeley Street Theatre,
26 Berkeley St. 416-368-3110. $35-
$69. Opens Nov 2, 8pm. Runs to Nov 12. Days
and time vary. Visit canadianstage.com for
details.
●●Ross Petty Productions. A Christmas Carol.
Tracey Flye, director/choreographer. Elgin
Theatre, 189 Yonge St. 1-855-599-9090. $27-
$99. Opens Nov 24, 7pm. Runs to Dec 31. Days
and times vary. Visit rosspetty.com for details.
●●Royal Conservatory. Glenn Gould School
Fall Opera: Hansel and Gretel. By Engelbert
Humperdinck. Mazzoleni Concert Hall, Royal
Conservatory, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-0208.
$15. Nov 17, 7:30pm. Also Nov 18.
●●Royal City Musical Productions. Shrek:
The Musical. Music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics
and book by David Lindsay-Abaire, based
on the film. River Run Centre Main Stage,
35 Woolwich St, Guelph. 519-763-3000. $38;
$35(sr/st); $23(ch). Opens Nov 22, 7:30pm.
Runs to Nov 26. Wed-Sat(7:30pm), Sat/
Sun(1:30pm).
●●Scarborough Music Theatre. Evita. Music
by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim Rice.
Scarborough Village Community Centre,
3600 Kingston Rd. 416-267-9292. $23-$30.
Opens Nov 2, 8pm. Runs to Nov 18. Thurs-
Sat(8pm), Sun(2pm). Note: Nov 18 show at
2pm.
●●Starvox Entertainment. Evil Dead The
Musical. Music by Christopher Bond, Frank
Cipolla, Melissa Morris and George Reinblatt;
lyrics and book by George Reinblatt. Randolph
Theatre, 736 Bathurst St. starvoxent.com.
$38.95-$89.95. Opens Nov 9, 8pm. Runs to
Nov 19. Thurs(8pm), Fri/Sat(7pm/10:30pm),
Sun(3pm).
●●Steppin’ Out Theatrical Productions. Footloose.
Music by Tom Snow, lyrics by Dean
Pitchford, with additional music by Eric Carmen,
Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins & Jim
Steinman. Book by Dean Pitchford and Walter
Bobbie, based on the screenplay by Dean
Pitchford. Richmond Hill Centre For Performing
Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond Hill.
905-787-8811. $30-35. Opens Nov 23, 7:30pm.
Runs to Nov 26. Thurs-Sat(7:30pm), Sat/
Sun(1:30pm).
●●Talk is Free Theatre. Candide (A Satirical
Musical). Music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics
by Richard Wilbur, John Latouche and Stephen
Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler. Mady
Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Dunlop St.
W., Barrie. 705-792-1949. $37.50-$40.80.
Opens Nov 23, 7:30pm. Runs to Dec 2. Wed/
Thurs(7:30pm), Fri/Sat(8pm), Sat(2pm).
●●Tarragon Theatre. Mr. Shi and His Lover.
Music by Njo Kong Kie, text by Wong Teng Chi.
Directed by Tam Chi Chun. Tarragon Theatre,
Mainspace, 30 Bridgman Ave. 416-531-1827.
$22-$60. Opens Nov 15, 8pm. Runs to Dec 17.
Tues-Sat(8pm), Sun(2:30pm), and select
Sat(2:30pm).
●●Theatre Ancaster. Annie. Music by Charles
Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, book by
Thomas Meehan. Ancaster High School,
374 Jerseyville Rd., Ancaster. 905-304-7469.
$32; $27(sr); $17(st). Opens Nov 17, 7:30pm.
Runs to Dec 2. Fri-Sat(7:30pm), Sun(1:30pm).
Note: Extra show Nov 25 at 1:30pm.
●●Theatre Aquarius. Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat. Music by Andrew
Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim Rice. Theatre
Aquarius, 190 King William St., Hamilton.
905-522-7529. $40 and up. Opens Nov 29,
7pm. Runs to Dec 24. Tues-Sat(7pm), Sat/
Sun(1pm).
●●Theatre Orangeville. The Last Christmas
Turkey, The Musical. Music and lyrics by Clive
VanderBurgh, book by Dan Needles. Orangeville
Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway,
Orangeville. 519-942-3423. $36. Opens
Nov 30, 8pm. Runs to Dec 23. Days and times
vary. Visit theatreorangeville.ca for details.
●●Theatre Sheridan. Trap Door. Music and
lyrics by Anika Johnson and Britta Johnson,
book and additional lyrics by Morris Panych.
Macdonald-Heaslip Hall, 1430 Trafalgar Rd.,
Oakville. 905-815-4049. $25. Opens Nov 28,
7:30pm. Runs to Dec 10. Tues-Thurs(7:30pm),
Fri-Sat(8pm), Sat/Sun(2pm). Note: no show
Dec 3.
●●Theatre Sheridan. Into the Woods. Music
and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by
James Lapine. Studio Theatre, 1430 Trafalgar
Rd., Oakville. 905-815-4049. $25. Opens
Nov 30, 7:30pm. Runs to Dec 9. Tues-
Sat(7:30pm), Sat(2pm).
●●Toronto Operetta Theatre. The Widow by
Calixa Lavallée. Viennese Operetta and other
works. Julie Nesrallah, mezzo; Diego Catalá,
baritone; Julie Obermeyer; Michael McLean;
Rosalind McArthur, mezzo; Gregory Finney,
baritone; Guillermo Silva-Marin, stage director;
Michael Rose, piano and music director;
and others. St. Lawrence Centre for the
Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-7723. $29-$49.
Nov 5, 3pm.
●●Toronto Operetta Theatre. Come to the
Cabaret. An afternoon with songs and chats.
Elizabeth Beeler, Master of Ceremonies.
Edward Jackman Centre, 947 Queen St. E.,
2nd Floor. 416-366-7723. $45. Nov 18, 4pm.
●●University of Toronto Faculty of Music.
Thursdays at Noon: Opera Spotlight. A preview
of UofT Opera’s production of Mozart’s
Don Giovanni. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson
Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s
Park. 416-408-0208. Free. Nov 2, 12:10pm.
●●University of Toronto Faculty of Music.
Fall Major Opera Production: Don Giovanni.
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto
by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Performed with Surtitles.
Marilyn Gronsdal, director; Uri Meyer,
conductor. MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson
Building, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-408-
0208. $40; $25(sr); $10(st). Opens Nov 23,
7:30pm. Runs to Nov 26. Thurs-Sat(7:30pm),
Sun(2:30pm).
●●Victoria College Drama Society. The
Drowsy Chaperone. Music and lyrics by Lisa
Lambert and Greg Morrison, book by Bob
Martin and Don McKellar. Isabel Bader Theatre,
93 Charles St. W. 416-978-8849. $15;
$10(sr/st). Opens Nov 29, 8pm. Also Nov 30,
Dec 1.
●●Voicebox: Opera in Concert. Rodelinda.
Music by George Frideric Handel, libretto by
Nicola Francesco Haym. Christina Raphaëlle
Haldane, soprano; Charles Sy, tenor; David
Trudgen, countertenor; Alexander Dobson,
baritone; Voicebox Opera in Concert Chorus;
Larry Beckwith, conductor. St. Lawrence
Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. 416-366-
7723. $29-$73. Nov 26, 2:30pm.
●●Windsor Light Music Theatre. Mamma
Mia! Music and lyrics by Benny Andersson,
Björn Ulvaeus, and some songs with
Stig Anderson. Book by Catherine Johnson.
St. Clair College Centre for the Arts,
201 Riverside Dr. W., Windsor. 519-974-6593.
$36; $31(sr/st); $16(ch). Opens Nov 17, 8pm.
Runs to Nov 26. Fri/Sat(8pm), Sat/Sun(2pm).
●●Young People’s Theatre. Beauty and
the Beast. Music by Alan Menken, lyrics
by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, book
by Linda Woolverton. Young People’s Theatre,
165 Front St. E. 416-862-2222. $10-$49.
Opens Nov 6, 10:15am. Runs to Dec 31. Days
and times vary. Visit youngpeoplestheatre.
ca for details.
58 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

D. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz)
As we approach the goal of realizing our intention of listing club events in a searchable format,
we take a step back before taking two steps forward. In this issue, while we do list
regular recurring events at some clubs, we do not have detailed listings. Please visit the
clubs’ websites or use the phone number provided for further information. We apologize
for this temporary inconvenience.
120 Diner
120 Church St. 416-792-7725
120diner.com (full schedule)
All shows: PWYC ($10-$20 suggested)
Every Tue 6pm Leslie Huyler Group; Every
Wed 6pm Madoka Murata: Discovery
Through the Arts; 8pm Lisa Particelli’s Girls
Night Out Jazz Jam; Nov 2 6pm Julie Michels
& Kevin Barrett; Nov 3 4pm Michelle Lecce
“Courage”; CD Celebration; Nov 4 6pm Tanya
Wills Quartet; Nov 5 6pm Richard Lam $20;
8:30pm Rob Kempson (SOLD OUT); Nov 7
8:30pm Moulann; Nov 9 5pm Indieweek:
Roger Beckett Songwriting Circle; Nov 10
5pm Indieweek: Chris Birkett Songwriter’s
Showcase; Nov 11 5pm Indieweek: Mississauga
Music Showcase; Nov 12 6pm
David Warrack Presents $20; 8:30pm John
Pugh $20; Nov 14 8:30pm La-Nai Gabriel;
Nov 16 6pm Kim Doolittle; Nov 17 7pm Kenton
Blythe; Nov 18 6pm Lesley Mitchell-Clarke
$10; Nov 19 6pm Shakura Dickson feat. David
Gall, $20; 8:30pm Bobby Hsu’s Ob-Sessions;
Nov 21 8:30pm Sarah Siddiqui; Nov 23 6pm
Ryley Murray; Nov 24 6pm Denielle Bassels;
Nov 25 Jyoti Janardan & Lisa Simone; Nov 26
6pm Wendy Lands $20; 8:30pm Kat Leonard;
Nov 28 8:30pm Mason Chance & Friends;
Nov 29 12am Boozy Broadway Open Mic;
Nov 30 6pm Jonas M.
Alleycatz
2409 Yonge St. 416-481-6865
alleycatz.ca
All shows: 9pm unless otherwise indicated.
Call for cover charge info.
Every Mon 8:30pm Salsa Night. Every Tue
Bachata Night. Every Wed Midtown Blues
Jam. Every Thurs Jazz Night.
Nov 3 9:30 Red Velvet. Nov 4 9:30 Sound
Parade.
Artword Artbar
15 Colbourne St., Hamilton. 905-543-8512
artword.net (full schedule)
Nov 2 8pm Radio Dial Band $15; Nov 3 8pm
Cootes Paradise $15; Nov 4 8pm Rae Billing
and Crybaby $15; Nov 5 7pm Barry James
Payne and String Bone $15; Nov 8 Water Bear
and Guests PWYC tip jar; Nov 9 8pm Marcelo
Puente and Guests $10; Nov 10 8pm Jennis
$10; Nov 11 8pm Men of Jazz Octet $15
Bloom
2315 Bloor St. W. 416-767-1315
bloomrestaurant.com
All shows: 19+. Call for reservations.
Nov 30 7pm Sophia Perlman Trio $45 dinner
and concert
Burdock
1184 Bloor St. W. 416-546-4033
burdockto.com (full schedule)
Castro’s Lounge
2116 Queen St. E. 416-699-8272
castroslounge.com (full schedule)
All shows: No cover/PWYC
Every Tue Every Fri 5:30pm The Straight
Eights; 10pm I Hate You Rob. Every Sat 6pm
Theolonius Hank. Every Sun 9pm Watch This
Sound - Vintage Jamaican Music.
C’est What
67 Front St. E. (416) 867-9499
cestwhat.com (full schedule)
Emmet Ray, The
924 College St. 416-792-4497
theemmetray.com (full schedule)
All shows: No cover/PWYC
Gate 403
403 Roncesvalles Ave. 416-588-2930
gate403.com
All shows: PWYC.
Every Mon 7pm Jazz Mondays with the
Jim Hamel Trio and featured guests. Every
Wed 7pm Julian Fauth Blues Night. Every
Sat 5pm Bill Heffernan’s Saturday Sessions.
Grossman’s Tavern
379 Spadina Ave. 416-977-7000
grossmanstavern.com (full schedule)
All shows: No cover (unless otherwise noted).
Every Sat 4.30 The Happy Pals Dixieland jazz
jam. Every Sun 4pm New Orleans Connection
All Star Band; 10pm Sunday Jam with
Bill Hedefine. Every Wed 10pm Action Sound
Band w/ Leo Valvassori. Nov 2 10pm Mike
Sedgewick; Nov 3 6pm Hold the Bus w/ Rebecca
Campbell; Nov 3 10pm Rob Pearl & Pat
Rush; Nov 4 10pm Mike McDonald & Pat Rush.
Hirut Cafe and Restaurant
2050 Danforth Ave. 416-551-7560
Every Sun 3pm Nicola Vaughan’s Hirut Sundays.
Nov 2 8pm Franklin Ave Swingtet.
PWYC. Nov 6 8pm The Tequila Mockingbirds
Community Singalong. Free. Nov 7 & 21
8pm Finger Style Guitar Association. PWYC.
Nov 10 8:30pm & 10pm E=Jazz and Latin Jazz
with Don Naduriak. PWYC/Donation. Nov 24
9pm Hirut Hoot Cabaret. $5.
Home Smith Bar – See Old Mill, The
Hugh’s Room
2261 Dundas St. W 416 533 5483
hughsroom.com
All shows: 8:30pm unless otherwise noted
Nov 2 & 3 Leonard Cohen Tribute
$30/$25(adv); Nov 4 Quique Escamilla - Day
of the Dead $30/$25(adv); Nov 5 Kat Goldman
- CD Launch $25/$20(adv); Nov 8 Catherine
MacLellan $30/$25(adv); Nov 9 Avery Raquel
$25/$20(adv); Nov 10 & 11 A Stan Rogers
Tribute $35/$30(adv); Nov 14 Arlene
Bishop (CD Launch) & Fraser Anderson
$30/$25(adv); Nov 16 The Kruger Brothers
$40/$35(adv); Nov 17 Kellylee Evans
$40/$35(adv); Nov 18 Séan McCann - CD
Release $35/$30(adv); Nov 19 An Evening
with Rebecca Codas $25; $15(st); Nov 23 &
24 The Last Waltz – A Musical Celebration of
The Band $50/$45(adv); Nov 25 Tom Waits
Tribute $30/$25(adv); Nov 26 Ken Whiteley’s
Sunday Gospel Matinée $30/$25(adv);
Nov 27 The Young’uns $30/$25(adv);
Nov 29 The Achromatics CD Launch
$25/$20(adv); Nov 30 The Arrogant Worms
$40/$35(adv); Dec 1 John Sheard Vinyl
Café Tribute $30/$25(adv); Dec 2 Tribute to
Muddy Waters & Howlin’ Wolf $38/$35(adv);
Dec 3 Còig $30/$25(adv); Dec 6 Minor
Empire - CD Launch $30/($25(adv); Dec 7 The
Bills 20th Anniversary Show $30/$25(adv)
Jazz Bistro, The
251 Victoria St. 416-363-5299
jazzbistro.ca
Every Wed 6pm James Dunbar. Nov 2-4 9pm
PJ Perry w/ Bernie Senesky Trio; Nov 8 8pm
Gov Fest - Battle of the Bands; Nov 9 9pm
Mark Eisenman Quartet; Nov 10 & 11 9pm
Patsy Gallant Sings Piaf; Nov 12 7pm Ros
Kindler & Lynda Covello - Jazz Sisters; Nov 14
8 pm Music Can Heal; Nov 15 9pm Dave
Young/Terry Promane Octet - CD release;
Nov 16 9pm Johanna Sillanpaa; Nov 17 9pm
Ahmed Michel; Nov 18 9pm John Alcorn Quintet;
Nov 19 7pm Simone Morris; Nov 21 8pm
Laura Marks & Bernie Senensky Trio; Nov 22
8pm Lazo; Nov 23 Colin Hunter & Anthony
Terpstra Big Band - Mostly Frank; Nov 24 &
25 8:30pm Colin Hunter & Joe Sealy Quartet;
Nov 26 7pm Mary Pitt & David Warrack;
Nov 28 8pm Stevie Vallance & The Masters of
Jazz; Nov 29 8pm Arash Behzadi - Solo Piano;
Nov 30 9pm Jesse Ryan & Bridges.
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+.
Nov 3 François Jalbert & Jerome Beaulieu
Duo $16; Nov 4 Ted Quinlan Quartet
$18; Nov 10 Top Pocket COREtet $16;
Nov 16 8pm Jason Raso Funktet - CD
Launch $20; Nov 11 Harley Cord Quartet
$18; Nov 17 Nick Maclean Quartet - CD
Release $20; Nov 18 Johanna Sillanpaa $18;
Nov 24 Lily Frost $20; Nov 25 Trevor Giancola
Trio $16; Dec 1 New Vibes $18; Dec 2 Louis
Simao Ensemble $25.
Lula Lounge
1585 Dundas St. W. 416-588-0307
lula.ca (full schedule)
Every Fri 7:30pm Early Jazz & World Sessions
free before 8pm; Every Fri 10:30pm
Havana Club Cuba Libre Fridays $15; Every
Sat 10:30pm Salsa Saturdays $15. Nov 1 Migel
de Armas CD Release (What’s to Come); Nov 2
6:30pm On a Night Like This: A Celebration of
Bob Dylan with Robert Morgan and Friends
$25/$23(adv); $15(st); 9pm Gladiator Records
Presents Juliana Album Release Party:
Sunset; Nov 3 6:30pm World/Jazz Fridays:
Chris Bottomley; 8:30pm Havana Club Friday:
Sun, Nov 12 at 4:30pm
Bernie Senensky Trio
Bernie Senensky, piano;
Neil Swainson, bass;
Brian Barlow, drums
Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St.
(north of St. Clair at Heath St.)
Admission is free; donations are welcome.
Sunday Nov 5, 8pm
hosted by
BIG RUDE
JAKE
benefits
The Red Door
Family Shelter
in Toronto
Lula Lounge
1585 Dundas St W, Toronto
bluesforthereddoor.ca
Yani Borrell + DJ Suave; Nov 5 8pm Blues for
the Red Door $25
Manhattans Pizza Bistro & Music Club
951 Gordon St., Guelph 519-767-2440
manhattans.ca (full schedule)
All shows: PWYC.
Every Tue Open Stage hosted by Paul, Pete
& Ron.
Mây Cafe
876 Dundas St. W. 647-607-2032
maytoronto.com (full schedule)
Nov 3, 24, Dec 2 8pm Sounds of the City;
Nov 10 8pm By Request Live; Nov 11 8pm
Zeib Next Door Band; Nov 18 9pm The Local
Group; Nov 27 9pm Acoustic w/ Becca TG
Mezzetta Restaurant
681 St. Clair Ave. W. 416-658-5687
mezzettarestaurant.com (full schedule)
All shows: 9pm, $8 (unless otherwise noted).
Every Wed 9 & 10:15pm Wednesday Concert
Series. Cover $10. Nov 1 Espresso Manifesto.
Nov 8 An Evening of Jobim Music.
Nov 15 Rob Piltch & Gary Schwartz (Guitar
Duet). Nov 22 Ben Bishop, guitar & Perry
White, tenor sax. Nov 29 Ron Davis, piano &
Ross McIntyre, bass.
Monarch Tavern
12 Clinton St. 416-531-5833
themonarchtavern.com (full schedule)
Every Tues 9pm Vinyl Night $5; Every
Thu 10pm Monarch Karaoke $5; Nov 13
7:30pm Martin Loomer & His Orange Devils
Orchestra $10; Nov 16 8pm The Di Palmas w/
The Haunted Lovers.
Featuring some of Toronto’s best
jazz musicians with a brief reflection
by Jazz Vespers Clergy
Sun, Nov 26 at 4:30pm
Paul Novotny, bass;
Robi Botos, piano
416-920-5211
www.thereslifehere.org
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 59

D. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz)
E. The ETCeteras
N’awlins Jazz Bar & Dining
299 King St. W. 416-595-1958
nawlins.ca
All shows: No cover/PWYC.
Every Tue 6:30pm Stacie McGregor. Every
Wed 7pm The Jim Heineman Trio. Every Thur
8pm Nothin’ But the Blues with Joe Bowden.
Every Fri & Sat 8:30pm N’awlins All Star
Band; Every Sun 7pm Brooke Blackburn.
Nice Bistro, The
117 Brock St. N., Whitby. 905-668-8839
nicebistro.com (full schedule)
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
Every Tues, Thu, Fri, and Sat.
Nov 2 Fern Lindzon with George Koller,
Nick Fraser; Nov 3 Canadian Jazz Quartet
and Friends Celebrate First Fridays;
Nov 4 Laura Fernandez with Colleen Allen,
Don Naduriak; Nov 6 John McLeod & The
Rex Hotel Orchestra; Nov 7 In Concert and
Conversation with Gene DiNovi; Nov 9 Steve
McDade with Adrean Farrugia, Scott Alexander,
Davidé DiRenzo; Nov 10 Sophia Perlman
with Adrean Farrugia, Ross McIntyre, Jeff
Halischuk; Nov 11 Brian Blain Blues Campfire
Jam with Chris Whitely, Jenie Thai, Alec Fraser;
Nov 16 Pat Collins with Tom Szczesniak,
Ted Quinlan; Nov 17 Dina LaCroix, David Restivo;
Nov 18 Julie Michels with Russ Boswell,
Tim Shia; Nov 23 Bob Brough with Adrean
Farrugia, Artie Roth; Nov 24 Ahmed Mitchell
with Alexander Brown, David Restivo,
Roberto Riveron; Nov 25 Monica Chapman
with Bartosz Hadala, Jordon O’Connor, Chris
Wallace; Nov 30 Robin Banks with Ted Quinlan,
Richard Whiteman; Dec 1 Canadian Jazz
Quartet & Friends Celebrate First Fridays;
Dec 2 Mike Downes with David Restivo, Larnell
Lewis; Dec 5 In Concert and Conversation
with Gene DiNovi; Dec 7 Genevieve
Marentette Trio with Robert Scott, George
Koller
Only Café, The
972 Danforth Ave. 416-463-7843
theonlycafe.com (full schedule)
All shows: 8pm unless otherwise indicated.
Nov 1 Jamick w/ Gary LaRocca; Nov 2 In
Between Sounds; Nov 4 Mudpunch; Nov 4
& 5 5pm Beerfest; Nov 5: Brian Passmore;
Nov 7 Kristy Hagerman; Nov 8 & 22 PSS Presents
An Evening of Improvised Creations;
Nov 16 Mid-November Mighty Moustache
Mayhem: Sawdust City Tap Takeover at the
M’OnlyCafe; Nov 18 Blakeley-Walker Band
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.
Every Sat 3pm Saturday Jazz.
Nov 4 Tune Town; Nov 11 Bob Brough Quartet;
Nov 18 Kevin Turcotte Quartet; Nov 25 Dan
Faulk Quartet; Dec 2 Alex Dean Quartet.
Poetry Jazz Café
224 Augusta Ave. 416-599-5299
poetryjazzcafe.com (full schedule)
Reposado Bar & Lounge
136 Ossington Ave. 416-532-6474
reposadobar.com (full schedule)
Reservoir Lounge, The
52 Wellington St. E. 416-955-0887
reservoirlounge.com (full schedule).
All shows: 9:45pm
Every Tue, Sat Tyler Yarema and his Rhythm.
Every Wed The Digs. Every Thu Stacey
Kaniuk. Every Fri Dee Dee and the Dirty
Martinis.
Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar, The
194 Queen St. W. 416-598-2475
therex.ca (full schedule)
Call for cover charge info.
Every Sun 12 noon Excelsior Dixieland Jazz;
7pm Marilyn Lerner Trio. Every Mon 6:30pm
University of Toronto Student Jazz Ensembles.
Every Tue 6:30pm Chris Platt Trio.
Every Tue (except Nov 28) 9:30pm Classic
Rex Jazz Jam. Every Wed 6:30pm Thompson
Egbo-Egbo. Every Thu 6:30pm Kevin
Quain. Every Fri 4pm Hogtown Syncopators;
6:30pm James Brown Trio. Every Sat 12noon
The Sinners Choir; 7:30pm Justin Bacchus.
Nov 1 9:30pm François Jalbert & Jerome
Beaulieu Duo. Nov 2 9:30pm The North.
Nov 3 & 4 9:45pm Rinse the Algorithm. Nov 5
3:30pm Club Django; 9:30pm Samuel Bonnet
Quartet. Nov 6 9:30pm Socialist Night
School. Nov 8 9:30pm Manuel Valera Trio.
Nov 9 & 10 9:45pm Carn / Davidson 9. Nov 11
9:45pm Rhythm Method. Nov 12 9:30pm Harley
Card Quintet. Nov 13 9:30pm Sonuskapos
Big Band. Nov 15 9:30pm Steve Wallace.
Nov 16 9:30pm Aubrey Dayle Quartet. Nov 17
9:45 pm Avi Granite. Nov 18 9:45pm Easy
Answers. Nov 19 9:30pm Nick Maclean Quartet.
Nov 20 9:30pm Writers Jazz Orchestra.
Nov 22 9:30pm Modus Factor. Nov 23 & 24
9:45pm ‘Nuf Said. Nov 25 9:45pm Jefferson /
Murley. Nov 26 9:30pm Mary-Catherine Pazzano.
Nov 27 8:30pm Rex Hotel Orchestra.
Nov 28 9:30pm Joe Policastro Trio. Nov 29
9:30pm Matt Lagan Quintet. Nov 30 9:30pm
Robb Cappalletto Group.
Salty Dog Bar & Grill, The
1980 Queen St. E. 416-849-5064
thesaltydog.ca (full schedule)
Every Tue Jazz Night. Every Thu Karaoke.
Every Fri Blues Jam.
Sauce on the Danforth
1376 Danforth Ave. 647-748-1376
sauceondanforth.com
All shows: No cover.
Every Mon 9pm Funky Mondays. Every
Tue 6pm Julian Fauth Plays Barrel-House
Jazz. Every Sat 4pm Saturday Matinees.
Tranzac
292 Brunswick Ave. 416-923-8137
tranzac.org
3-4 shows daily, various styles. Mostly PWYC.
Every Mon 10pm Open Mic Mondays. Every
Fri 5pm The Friends of Hugh Oliver (folk).
Book Launches
●●Nov 7 7:00: The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom.
Book Launch. Release of Jaymz Bee’s new
book Cosmic Fishing. Presented by Pages
Unbound and Insomniac Press. Readings
from plus interviews and music performances.
1214 Queen St. W. 416-531-4635. $10
($5 book rebate).
Galas and Fundraisers
●●Nov 1 5:30: Canadian Opera Company.
Centre Stage. Featuring the Ensemble Studio
Competition, a vocal showcase of young
Canadian singers selected from nationwide
auditions. Host: Ben Heppner. Four Seasons
Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen
St. W. at University Ave. Cocktails at 5:30pm.
Competition at 6:30pm. Tickets available
online at COCCentreStage.ca or 416-363-
8231. $100 (cocktail reception and competition);
$1,500 (Gala dinner).
●●Nov 5 8:00: Big Rude Jake and Pivotal Productions.
Blues for the Red Door. 4th annual
star-studded blues revue to benefit the Red
Door Family Shelter in Toronto. Lula Lounge,
1585 Dundas St. W. Tickets $25, Advance tickets
at www.bluesforthereddoor.ca.
●●Nov 17 6:30: Church of St. Mary
Magdalene. Art Show & Silent Auction.
477 Manning Ave. 416-531-7955.
$25/$20(adv).
CANCELLED
COME TO THE
CABARET
With Elizabeth Beeler as M. C.
Sat. Nov. 18 at 4pm
THE EDWARD JACKMAN CENTRE
www.torontooperetta.com
416-366-7723 | www.stlc.com
●●Nov 18 4:00: Toronto Operetta Theatre.
Come to the Cabaret. An afternoon with
songs and chats. Elizabeth Beeler, Master
of Ceremonies. Edward Jackman Centre,
947 Queen St. E., 2nd Floor. 416-366-7723.
$45. CANCELLED.
Lectures, Salons, Symposia
●●Nov 2 7:30: Darchei Noam Synagogue.
Four Jewish Musical Titans (Part 2: Artur
Rubinstein). Rick Phillips examines four master
musicians and their music. A mix of lecture,
music and discussion. 864 Sheppard
Ave. W. 416-638-4783. $20 per lecture. Also
Nov 16, Dec 7.
●●Nov 4 7:00: The Toronto Gilbert and Sullivan
Society. Loops and Whorls: The Men,
the Malice and the Fascinating History of Fingerprinting.
Illustrated talk with musical
accompaniment. St. Andrew’s United Church,
117 Bloor St. E. Parking below church, off
Hayden St. Refreshments included. Nonmembers
welcome. $5.
●●Nov 6 1:30: Miles Nadal JCC. Ten Types of
Tenors. Lecture by Iain Scott, opera educator.
750 Spadina Ave. 416-924-6211 x0. $22.
●●Nov 8 7:00-9:00: Royal Conservatory of
Music. Get Happy: The Music of Hollywood’s
Golden Age. Lecture and sing-along. Pianist
and music appreciation instructor Jordan
Klapman. Join the fun and sing all of the
greatest hits from Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Temerty Theatre, Royal Conservatory of
Music, 273 Bloor St. W. 416-408-2824. $30.
●●Nov 12 2:00: Toronto Opera Club. Opera:
Fact vs. Fiction. Guest speaker: opera producer
and lecturer Sue Elliott. Room
330, Edward Johnson Bldg., Faculty of
Music, 80 Queen’s Park. 416-924-3940. $10.
●●Nov 16 7:30: Darchei Noam Synagogue.
Four Jewish Musical Titans (Part 3: Vladimir
Horowitz). Rick Phillips examines four master
musicians and their music. A mix of lecture,
music and discussion. 864 Sheppard Ave. W.
416-638-4783. $20 per lecture. Also Dec 7.
●●Nov 25 3:00: Gallery 345. ClimateKeys:
Talking About Climate Change. Lecture
and discussion led by Prof. Matthew Hoffmann.
Music for solo piano by Berio, Ravel,
Takemitsu and Lavallée. Erika Crino, piano.
345 Sorauren Ave. 416-822-9781. PWYC.
●●Nov 26 2:00-5:00: Classical Music Club
Toronto. Prokofiev: 1917 Premieres. Many of
Prokofiev’s most interesting works were premiered
100 years ago. We will be presenting a
number of audio and video recordings exploring
these important works. Annual membership:
$25(regular); $10(sr/st). Free for
first-time visitors. Donations accepted for
refreshments. 416-898-2549.
●●Dec 3 2:00: Toronto Opera Club. Love at
First Sight! Guest Speaker: Iain Scott. Room
330, Faculty of Music, Edward Johnson Bldg.,
80 Queen’s Park. 416-924-3940. $10.
●●Dec 7 7:30: Darchei Noam Synagogue. Four
Jewish Musical Titans (Part 4: George Szell).
Rick Phillips examines four master musicians
and their music. A mix of lecture, music, and
discussion. 864 Sheppard Ave. W. 416-638-
4783. $20 per lecture.
Masterclasses
●●Nov 4 10:00am-12:00noon: Kawartha
Youth Orchestra. Violin Masterclass. Toronto
Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Jonathan
Crow. The Mount Community Centre,
“The Gathering Room”, 1545 Monaghan Rd.,
Peterborough. 705-927-0768. Audit fee $15;
$5(st).
●●Nov 11 11:00am-1:00pm: Tafelmusik. Fortepiano
Masterclass. Christian Bezuidenhout.
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall,
427 Bloor St. W. Open to the public. 416-964-
9652. Free admission. Donations welcome.
●●Nov 24 6:00-9:00: ORMTA Central Toronto
Branch. Composition Master Class with
Omar Daniel. In honour of Canada Music
Week. Participants and auditors of all ages
and levels welcome. Canadian Music Centre
20 St Joseph St. $15-$45. Contact: Avila Lotoski
at avila.lotoski@hotmail.com.
●●Nov 24 7:00-10:00: University of Toronto,
Faculty of Music. Robert Dick - Flute Masterclass.
Edward Johnson Building, University of
60 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Toronto, 80 Queens Park. Open to the public.
Free admission.
Readings
●●Dec 3 7:00: Runnymede United Church.
Annual Reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas
Carol. Performed by Ben Heppner, Gill Deacon,
Susan Ormiston, RH Thomson, Nancy Palk, Lisa
Horner and Jeff Douglas. 432 Runnymede Rd.
www.runnymedeunited.org. $25.
Screenings
●●Nov 21 6:30: Royal Conservatory. Conduct!
Every Move Counts. Every two years,
24 young conductors travel to the Frankfurt
Opera House to compete in the Sir Georg
Solti Conductors’ Competition, the world’s
leading conducting competition. Go backstage
with this film as it follows five of these
conductors through evaluation rounds to
the finals. Conductor Tania Miller will participate
in a post-screening discussion along
with a performance by Royal Conservatory
students. Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema,
506 Bloor St. W. Tickets available at the Hot
Docs Ted Rogers Cinema or online at
www.hotdocscinema.ca. $17.
Singalongs, Jams, Circles
●●Nov 17 7:30-10:00: Toronto Recorder Players
Society Meeting. Mount Pleasant Road
Baptist Church, 527 Mt. Pleasant Rd. at
Belsize Dr. Bring your recorders and music
stand. 416-779-5750. $15(non-members).
●●Nov 29 7:30: Toronto Welsh Male Voice
Choir. Open House Rehearsal. An opportunity
for prospective members or curious
onlookers to experience the choir in the
informal setting of a rehearsal. Dewi Sant
Welsh United Church, 33 Melrose Ave. 905-
726-3341. Free.
●●Dec 3 2:30-5:00 Choral Bonanza Team. Messiah
Sing-along. Handel: Messiah (Christmas
Portion). Dr. Richard Heinzle, conductor; Sapphire
Navaratnarajah, accompanist. Richmond
Hill Presbyterian Church, 10066 Yonge St.,
Richmond Hill. 416-568-9838. Choral singers
participation fee: $25. Suggested donation for
concert: $10. Concert is at 7pm. Choral singers
are asked to pre-register at ChoralBonanza@
gmail.com if possible (required if you need a
score: Watkins Shaw ed.). Soloists and orchestra
musicians: no fee, please email a short
resume to ChoralBonanza@gmail.com.
Tours
●●Nov 12 10:30am: Canadian Opera Company.
90-Minute Tour of the Four Seasons
Centre. Led by a trained docent. Includes
information and access to the Isadore and
Rosalie Sharp City Room, the Richard Bradshaw
Amphitheatre and R. Fraser Elliott Hall,
as well as backstage areas such as the wig
rooms and ressing rooms, the orchestra pit,
and other spaces that only a stage door pass
could unlock. Four Seasons Centre for the
Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-
8231. coc.ca $20(adults); $15(sr/st). Also
Nov 19, 26.
Workshops
●●Nov 5 1:30-4:00: Toronto Early Music Players
Organization. Workshop coached by recorder
player Stephane Potvin. Armour Heights Community
Centre, 2140 Avenue Rd. Bring your early
instruments and a music stand. $20. 416-779-
5750. www.tempotoronto.net.
●●Nov 18 10:30am-1:00pm: Toronto Mendelssohn
Choir. Singsation Saturday. Join
other enthusiastic singers for a fun Canada–
150-themed choral workshop. Sing through
a number of works by Canadian composers,
including Ave Verum by Imant Raminsh and
folk songs like Song for the Mira and We Rise
Again. With guest conductor Stephane Potvin
of Musikay. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church,
Cameron Hall, 1585 Yonge St. (1 block north
of Yonge and St. Clair). $10, includes refreshments.
Register at the door.
www.tmchoir.org/singsation-saturdays
●●Nov 19 2:00-4:30: CAMMAC Toronto
Region. Reading for Singers and String Players.
Choral works by Ola Gjeilo: Northern
Lights; Ubi Caritas; Across the Vast, Eternal
Sky; Tundra; and Sacred Heart. Jenny
Crober, conductor. Christ Church Deer
Park, 1570 Yonge St. 905-877-0671. $10;
$6(members).
●●Nov 25 TBA: Long & McQuade. Workshop
with Robert Dick, Flute. Long & McQuade,
925 Bloor St. W. Open to the public. Free.
●●Nov 25 10:00am-4:30pm International
Resource Centre for Performing Artists.
Branding, Marketing, Social Media. Music
theatre singer Lara Harb shares her knowledge.
NOTE: The first 10 artists to register
can have their materials critiqued.
519 Church St. 416-362-1422. $75.
●●Dec 2 10:00am-5:00pm: International
Resource Centre for Performing Artists.
From Rags to Reasonable! Financial Management
/ Planning for Artists with Chris Enns.
info@ircpa.net
416.362.1422
www.ircpa.net
BUSINESS WORKSHOPS FOR MUSICIANS OF ALL GENRES
BRANDING,
MARKETING,
SOCIAL MEDIA
SAT. NOV.25, 10am -4.30pm
519 Church St.
l block north of Wellesley
FROM RAGS TO
REASONABLE!
SAT. DEC. 2
10am-1pm- Getting
Started, Bridging gaps
2-5pm - financial planning
Canadian Music Centre,
20 St. Joseph Street
ARTISTS
NEW TO
CANADA
SUN. DEC. 3, 2:30 - 5pm
918 Bathurst Street
FREE! PLEASE REGISTER
www,ircpa.net
TICKETS: $75 - Take advantage of the 3 for 1 deal and SAVE $50!
3 colleagues can share one registration - paying only $25 per person.
The IRCPA acknowledges with thanks support from the Ontario Arts Council,
the Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation, Toronto Arts Council, and private donors.
Partners: La Scena, Lula Lounge, the Wholenote, Classical 96.3FM
Operatic tenor and certified financial planner
Chris Enns discusses the basics of financial
management, with such topics as budgeting
with variable incomes (morning); and speaks
about financial planning (afternoon). Canadian
Music Centre, 20 St. Joseph St. 416-
362-1422. $75.
●●Dec 3 1:30-4:00: Toronto Early Music Players
Organization. Workshop coached by recorder
player Vincent Lauzer. Armour Heights Community
Centre, 2140 Avenue Rd. Bring your early
instruments and a music stand. $20. (416) 779-
5750. www.tempotoronto.net.
●●Dec 3 2:30-5:00: International Resource
Centre for Performing Artists. Artists New
to Canada. Performer/composer Shahriyar
Jamshidi, a recent newcomer to Canada,
and musician, writer and teacher Marcelo
Puente, who came to Toronto from Chile in
1974, share their experiences of establishing
music careers in this country, providing guidance
and suggestions for newcomer artists
facing the same challenges. 918 Bathurst St.
416-362-1422. Free.
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 61

WholeNote CLASSIFIEDS can help you
recruit new members for your choir or band/
orchestra or find a new music director!
Advertise your help wanted needs or promote
your services starting at only $24/issue.
INQUIRE BY NOV 24 for the combined DEC &
JAN issue. classad@thewholenote.com
AUDITIONS & EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
Available pro bono positions with
the KINDRED SPIRITS ORCHESTRA: Oboe,
Horn, Trumpet, Bass Trombone,
sectional Violins, Violas, Violoncellos and
Contrabasses. The KSO is an auditionedbased
civic orchestra in residence at
Flato Markham Theatre. For information,
visit KSOchestra.ca or e-mail
GM@KSOrchestra.ca
COUNTERPOINT COMMUNITY ORCHESTRA
– now in our 33 rd season. We invite volunteer
musicians in all sections to play with us.
Monday evening rehearsals. Our next concert
is on December 9. Contact
info@ccorchestra.org. www.ccorchestra.org
PLAYERS NEEDED for children’s concert
band program at St. Albans Boys and Girls
Club. Age 9+. All levels welcome. Wednesdays
from 6-7:30 starting September 20th.
$180 for 12 week session. Please contact
Michelle Clarke for more info 416-534-8461.
stalbansclub.ca/st-albans-band
RESTORE & PRESERVE
YOUR MEMORIES
Recital and gig tapes | 78’s
& LPs | VHS and Hi8 | 35mm
Slides |News clippings | Photos
& more, transferred to
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Classified Advertising | classad@thewholenote.com
THE WYCHWOOD CLARINET CHOIR is
looking for enthusiastic clarinet players
to join our group. Contact us through our
website at www.wychwoodclarinetchoir.ca to
arrange an audition.
BUY & SELL
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS … an
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CLASSICAL RECORD AND CD COLLECTIONS
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e-mail Aaron 416-471-8169 or A@A31.CA.
DIGITAL ORGAN FOR SALE Superb
two-manual, 37 stop Allen Quantum Q265D
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audio, seven tonal suites, occasionally used
by dealer as concert rental instrument,
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negotiable, financing available, includes
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email: gdmansell@sympatico.ca
TRUMPET Bach Stradivarius model 37 (never
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INSTRUCTION & COURSES
ART OF SINGING - Who knows how to
breathe and pronounce well, knows how to
sing well! Professional voice teacher near St.
Clair W., 416-894-0809,
yourvoiceteacher@gmail.com.
FLUTE, PIANO, THEORY LESSONS. RCM
exam preparation. RCM certified advanced
specialist. Samantha Chang, FTCL,
The Best Music
Teachers Are Here!
Ontario Registered
Music Teachers
Association, Est. 1936
ormta.org
ADVERTISE
music-related needs, skills and services
Recruit new members for choirs, bands, orchestras.
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FLCM, Royal Academy of Music PGDip,
LRAM, ARCT. Toronto, Scarborough 416-801-
9196, samantha.studio@gmail.com. www.
samanthaflute.com.
LESSONS FOR ALL! Friendly and firm - I’m
an experienced musician and mom teaching
piano and singing to children (and the young at
heart) in my Toronto home (East Leslieville). To
discuss your child’s need for music-making
please contact kskwhite@gmail.com.
PIANO, VOCAL and THEORY LESSONS,
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416-574-0018
VOICE LESSONS - Develop a technique
to reach your optimal vocal potential! All
ages, all genres welcome. Convenient
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RusqueVoiceStudio@gmail.com
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Cabbagetown teaching studio welcomes
nervous adult hobby pianists, moody
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Uncommonly encouraging piano teacher
with loyal following and buckets of patience.
RCM washouts a specialty. Peter Kristian
Mose, 416/923-3060. “Sure beats studying
with those Quebec nuns!” S.A., age 65+. “Now
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SERVICES
ACCOUNTING AND INCOME TAX SERVICE
for small business and individuals, to save you
time and money, customized to meet your
needs. Norm Pulker, B. Math. CMA.
905-251-0309 or 905-830-2985
AUDIOLOGY SERVICES FOR
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Doctor of Audiology. Telemedicine option
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train/bus station. www.auditorypathways.ca
647-527-7107.
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musically engaged readers,
in print and on-line.
DECEMBER EDITION DEADLINE: November 18
classad@thewholenote.com
CD LINER NOTES, PROMO MATERIAL,
CONCERT PROGRAMS, LIBRETTI, WEB SITE
CONTENT AND MEMOIRS need proofreading
and editing for correct spelling and grammar,
clarity and consistency. Contact Vanessa
Wells, wellsread@editors.ca, for a copy editor
with a music background. Quick turnaround
and reasonable rates! wellsreadediting.ca
HOLIDAY PARTY FUN - KARAOKE! We offer
on-site karaoke services for your private
party, team-building event, or fund-raiser. All
equipment provided plus a skilled and friendly
karaoke host to run things smoothly and
make your guests feel like stars. Sing musical
theatre favourites, Frank Sinatra and Billie
Holiday, Beatles, Queens of the Stone Age,
and everything in between. Contact jason@
jasonrolland.com or call 416-809-4311.
RESTORE PRECIOUS MEMORIES lost on
old records, tapes, photos etc.? Recitals,
gigs, auditions, air checks, family stuff. on
78’s, cassettes, reels, 35mm slides etc?.
ArtsMediaProjects will lovingly restore them
to CD’s or DVD’s. Call George @ 416-910-1091.
WEDDINGS, ROASTS & RETIREMENTS! Do
you provide music services? Advertise right
here for as little as $24 plus tax! INQUIRE BY
NOV 24 for the combined DEC & JAN edition.
classad@thewholenote.com
VENUES AVAILABLE / WANTED
ARE YOU PLANNING A CONCERT OR
RECITAL? Looking for a venue? Consider
Bloor Street United Church. Phone: 416-924-
7439 x22. Email: tina@bloorstreetunited.org.
PERFORMANCE / REHEARSAL / STUDIO
SPACE AVAILABLE: great acoustics,
reasonable rates, close to Green P Parking,
cafés & restaurants. Historic church at
College & Bellevue, near Spadina. Phone
416-921-6350. E-mail
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ADVERTISERS
TAKE NOTE
NO SEPARATE
JANUARY
MAGAZINE!
Our next edition,
as always, combines
December & January.
Event listings and
advertising will
include concerts
from December 1, 2017
through to early
February, 2018
62 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

WE ARE ALL MUSIC’S CHILDREN
November's Child
Peter Mahon
MJ BUELL
NEW CONTEST
Who is
December’s
Child?
Toronto-born countertenor Peter Mahon is
both a singer and a conductor. Still a member
of the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir after 36
years, he became the artistic director of the
Tallis Choir of Toronto in 2003 after singing
with them for many years. Mahon conducts
the Vespers Choir at St Michael’s Cathedral,
and for the past 11 years has worked at
St. Michael’s Choir School as a rehearsal
conductor and voice coach. H is currently as
the interim Senior Choir director.
As a singer Mahon has also performed
with La Chapelle de Québec and the Theatre
of Early Music, as a soloist in concerts and
on recordings with Toronto Consort, Studio
de musique ancienne de Montréal, Aradia
Ensemble, Montreal Early Music Festival,
Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Toronto
Chamber Choir and the Grand River Chorus.
Mahon and his wife, soprano Katharine
Pimenoff, have six children: four sopranos,
one tenor and one bass. Four are professional
singers and one is an organist.
Do you remember that childhood photo
being taken? It was probably just before the
high mass at St. Mary Magdalene’s Church.
My parents joined the parish and the choirs
very shortly after coming to Canada in 1948.
My mother was a soprano in the Gallery Choir
and my father was the cantor in the Ritual
Choir. Most Sundays we would find ourselves
following Dr. David Ouchterlony’s beautiful
Bentley as he chauffeured Dr. Willan to SMM.
On one of those Sundays when we arrived at
the same time, someone with a camera asked
us to pose with Dr. Willan.
Your earliest memory of hearing music?
There was never a time when I did not hear
music. Hearing my parents sing every week
in church, it was just a part of our life.
Peter Mahon on tour with
St Michael’ Choir School in Germany.
Peter Mahon lives in Toronto with his
wife, Katharine and toy poodle, Molly.
Away from music he enjoys sports,
both watching (football, hockey and
soccer), and as a participant (cycling,
tennis and golf). He also enjoys
undertaking home renovation projects.
This summer, with major help from
his son Andrew, he replaced all the
hardwood floors in their house.
Your first memory of making music?
Singing in school when the itinerant music
teacher would visit the class once a week for
30 minutes: it was always something that the
whole class enjoyed.
Where did you grow up, and go to school?
I was born in Toronto and grew up with my
four sisters in a small house in Willowdale.
My dad (Albert) was a life insurance salesman
and my mother (Anne) was a full-time homemaker
when we were younger and then a
legal secretary when were old enough to
take care of ourselves. My sisters all took
up instruments in the school orchestra – I
was the only one who sang on a regular
basis and only because Walter MacNutt, the
director of music at St. Thomas’s Church on
Huron St. made a special trip over to St. Mary
Magdalene one Sunday after mass to recruit
me. I was not very interested until he said all
the choristers got paid. Of course my next
question was, “How much?”
Autumn 1979,
Truro, Nova Scotia
Equally comfortable in pants or an elegant gown,
and with a nimble penchant for risky high places,
she’s still sweeter than a nightingale, fun like a
case of (Johann) Strauss champagne, and has
the grit to simultaneously combine a busy
international career with family life. She’s
singing three roles, including two debuts, in the
2017/18 Canadian Opera Company season.
Know our Mystery Child’s name? WIN PRIZES!
Send your best guess by November 24 to
musicschildren@thewholenote.com
Previous artist profiles and interviews can be
read at thewholenote.com/musicschildren
What would you say to parents hoping
their young children will grow up to love and
make music? Put them into a choir. Private
lessons are great but practising tends to be a
solitary activity. Singing in a choir is a social
activity that can be shared with friends and
this will often make taking private lessons –
and all the practising that goes with it – easier
to take. We never pushed our children into
music but we did insist that they all join the
church choir when they turned six as part of
their education. They were not enthusiastic
but neither was I. Once they started, they
really enjoyed it.
Please read Peter Mahon’s full-length
interview at thewholenote.com
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!
The Tallis Choir of Toronto celebrates
their 40th anniversary this
season! Lucky MARUTA FREIMUTS
wins a grand three-concert prize
pack: a pair of tickets for “Forty!
Forty! Forty!” (Nov 25); “Lenten
Treasures” (Mar 3); “Milestones”
(May 12); also a copy of the Tallis
Choir’s’ CD
Splendours
of the High
Renaissance
& A Tudor
Pageant.
LISE FERGUSON and GREER ROBERTS
each win a pair of tickets to “Forty!
Forty! Forty!” The choir will be joined
by alumni and friends for music of
Thomas Tallis including the remarkable
40-part Spem in Alium and the work
believed to
have inspired
it, Striggio’s
40-part Ecce
Beatam Lucem.
GAIL MARRIOTT and CLAIRE LERICHE
each win a pair of tickets for Messiah
(Dec 13) with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
and Chamber Choir, and guest
soloists, conducted by Ivars Taurins.
Peter Mahon will be in his usual alto section
spot.
NANCY MARTIN and MARY LOUIS each
win Tafelmusik’s “Sing-Along Messiah”
DVD. Peter Mahon has made numerous
recordings with Tafelmusik, including
this one. Try it at
home with all your
singing friends –
while savouring the
magnificent soloists.
SUZANNE DE GRANDPRE wins a
pair of tickets to “Christmas at
Massey Hall” (Dec 2) presented by
St. Michael’s Choir School, joined
by the Schola Cantorum Orchestra,
members of True North Brass and
a stellar list of special guests. Peter
Mahon conducts the Senior Choir.
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 63

REMEMBERING
DEEP
GRATITUDE
Listening for Pauline Oliveros
Wendalyn Bartley in conversation with
Tina Pearson
November 24 2017 will
mark one year since
the passing of Pauline
Oliveros, a beautiful soul
who brought to the world
the practice of what she
called Deep Listening.
To mark this occasion, there
will be an event on November 28
Tina Pearson
at Array Space titled “Gratitude
Listening for Pauline Oliveros”
for people to gather to listen and sound in gratitude for what
Pauline offered.
I spoke recently with Tina Pearson who has had a personal connection
with Pauline since the late 1970s, and whose inspiration it was to
have this event. Pearson was active in the new music community in
Toronto during the 1970s and 80s, as a performer with the New Music
Cooperative, a collaborator with TIDE (Toronto Independent Dance
Enterprise) among others, and as the editor of Musicworks. Currently
living in Victoria, Pearson was here this past summer as composer in
residence with Contact Contemporary Music, offering an intensive
workshop on Deep Listening at the Canadian Music Centre as well as
a community-based Deep Listening workshop that I organized. She
also facilitated the creation of a new work titled Root, Blood, Fractal,
Breath for the Contact Ensemble performed at Allan Gardens. Pearson
is a Deep Listening Certificate holder.
I began by asking about her first encounter with Pauline Oliveros
and the impact Pauline had on her as a composer and performer
I first heard of Pauline through Jim Tenney (who taught composition
at York University from 1976 to 2000), but met her in person when she
came to the Music Gallery in November of 1979, where she was invited
to present her Sonic Meditations. Experiencing her practice was quite
powerful and validating. Suddenly the world opened up. Pauline
seemed untethered from the masculine contexts of contemporary
Western European art music and jazz-based free improvisation. She
was a brilliant, strong, compassionate and attentive woman presenting
an opportunity to everyone to listen in a complete and deep way.
One of the remarkable things about Pauline was that she could be
in the same moment so absolutely connecting personally as well as
globally.
During her visit, I recorded and transcribed the interview that
Andrew Timar conducted with Pauline for Musicworks. In those days
[when I transcribed] I transcribed everything – every pause, nuance
and emphasis. Listening so deeply to her voice and her expression
while transcribing that interview was quite significant and I think
some resonance of that stayed with me.
Afterwards, I kept in touch with her. Pauline was incredibly encouraging
and generous with her time and support, especially of women. I
started working with her Sonic Meditations, and incorporated her ideas
about listening and attention in collaborations with the New Music
Cooperative, with TIDE and in a project with David Mott titled Oxygen
Tonic. I also started teaching Sound Studies at OCAD in 1983, and used
the Sonic Meditations in those classes each year. Looking back now,
I’m aware that there was an opening up in the thinking that many of
us had about our approach to music which were in part influenced by
Pauline’s ideas of embodied listening as performers and creators.
I was already considering the separation between audience and
performer in concert music, for example, so one of the welcome
revelations, among many, about Pauline’s approach was her absolute
commitment to taking into account the experience of everyone: the
witnesses, the audience, the participants, and the performers.”
I then asked Tina to relate these earlier experiences to her recent
experiences in Toronto this past summer facilitating Deep Listening
Workshops:
Facilitating the Deep Listening intensives this summer was heartening.
The participants were very open and able to quickly understand
and take in this practice. The capacity for listening was there, and as
Pauline believed would happen it is continually growing and deepening:
The more listening there is, the more listening there will be.
I then asked her to say more about the focus and intention for
the upcoming “Gratitude Listening for Pauline Oliveros” event
happening on November 28 at Array Space:
The idea for this free event is to acknowledge the one-year anniversary
of Pauline’s passing and to give gratitude to her. The quality,
depth and acuity of Pauline’s sensibility about listening is rare. There’s
nobody else who has embodied a listening practice like she has. Her
courageous approach to listening and attention, and letting that guide
where one goes and how one approaches life and one’s work, is something
that’s so essential, and quite a beacon. The deep compassion that
comes when one is attending to listening is important right now – the
notion that listening can be a response to anything.
There will be a performance by several local performers of Pauline
Oliveros’ work Arctic Air, which includes the text The Earth Worm
Also Sings, written originally for the 1992 Glenn Gould Technology
and Music Symposium held in Toronto. In addition, everyone will
be able to participate in two of her Sonic Meditations, and there will
be an opportunity for people to speak about their memories and
Pauline’s impact. And of course, everyone is welcome.
Wendalyn Bartley is a Toronto-based composer and electro-vocal
sound artist. sounddreaming@gmail.com.
64 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

MUSIC AND HEALTH
Life After
Injury
VIVIEN FELLEGI
She will always remember those moments of
perfection during her best performances. Eyes half
closed, she sways to the beat, blonde mane swinging
back and forth. Her fingers dance effortlessly over the
frets of her guitar. Time and space shrink to a pinpoint
and only the music is real.
It didn’t happen at every concert. But when she got in the zone,
nothing else could beat that rush. “It’s an out-of-body experience
– it’s like being in love,” says 68-year-old Canadian guitar legend
Liona Boyd.
But in 2000, these moments of bliss stuttered to a stop. While her
technique once flowed almost effortlessly, Boyd began struggling to
control the movements of her right middle finger. For the first time in
her career, her smooth tremolos, once deemed the best in her business,
became jagged. Her arpeggios followed suit.
At first Boyd was hopeful that the mysterious ailment could be
fixed. She quit playing and trudged from one health practitioner to the
next, enduring hypnotherapy, botox injections, and even an immersion
into Scientology. “Every therapy you think will work, then your
hopes are dashed.” Eventually Boyd was diagnosed with musician’s
focal dystonia, an overuse condition caused by mindless and frequent
repetition of movements, which burn out the brain signals controlling
muscle function. The diagnosis forced her to confront the bitter edge
of reality. “I would never be the guitar virtuoso I once was – it was
heartbreaking.”
Boyd is not alone. Eighty-four per cent of musicians will face a
significant injury during their lifetimes, says physician Dr. John
Chong, medical director of the Musicians’ Clinics of Canada.
Musicians make extreme demands on their bodies, practising the
same notes up to six hours without a break. “There is no off switch
in the excellence-driven process,” says Chong. Chronic stress also
plays a role in generating injuries. Workplace conditions, including
job insecurity, ramp up muscle tension amongst performers, making
them more prone to strains.
The emotional fallout can be disastrous. Musicians’ injuries are
devastating because music is not just a livelihood, it’s their identity,
says Lynda Mainwaring, registered psychologist and associate
professor of kinesiology and physical education at the University of
Toronto. Injuries also deprive performers of the joy brought about by
the flow state, a transcendent experience where they lose themselves
in concentration. “Flow can be a way of coping and forgetting problems
– if musicians can’t get there, they’ll be frustrated.”
For some musicians, injuries rupture the harmonious relationships
with their instruments, says osteopath Jennie Morton, wellness
professor at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Many view their
violins and oboes as almost human, even going so far as to name
them. “But when things go wrong, their former friends can turn into
enemies,” says Morton.
Boyd was devastated by her condition, shedding tears every time
she tried to coax her guitar to cooperate. “The joy was robbed – that
was the worst thing.” It was almost as if her beloved guitar had turned
against her. “You feel your best friend has let you down.”
Liona Boyd
Denial compounds injuries. Half of injured musicians play hurt,
says Chong. From a young age, musicians are trained to sacrifice their
well-being for the greater good of the audience. They are also reluctant
to draw attention to their health issues because they fear losing
solos as well as job opportunities. But playing through pain worsens
the problem.
For a while Boyd too tried to combat her wayward finger. She
ramped up her practising, but that only worsened the dystonia. Later,
after her diagnosis, Boyd kept it under wraps. “I didn’t want people
feeling sorry for me.”
Fortunately, there are constructive ways to deal with injuries. Rapid
diagnosis and treatment by a physician trained in musicians’ health
will resolve many conditions, says Chong. But in one study, 50 per cent
of injured musicians felt they had never fully recovered, says Morton.
When injuries impact their careers, musicians need to allow themselves
to grieve, says Mainwaring. “The loss of that part of life is like a
death.” Some benefit from expressing their feelings through writing,
while others prefer talking to a therapist. Deep breathing, mindfulness
meditation, yoga and exercise can all help to relax tense muscles,
says Morton. Reaching out for support, especially from other musicians
who have gone through similar crises can be reassuring, says
Mainwaring. “It helps them feel they’re not alone.”
As injured musicians begin to reconstruct their lives, it’s important
for them to dig down deep and figure out why they picked up their
instruments in the first place, says Dr. Chase McMurren, MD, medical
director and psychotherapist at the Al & Malka Green Artists’ Health
Centre at the Toronto Western Hospital. Most just wanted to make
beautiful music, not caring if they made mistakes. But over the course
of their careers, many have internalized the expectations of their
teachers and families, and absorbed the competition for fame and
money. Injured musicians need to discard the weight of these burdens
and try to recoup the pure thrill of their artistry.
Even if they’ve stopped playing, musicians can still participate
in their craft, says Mainwaring. Sidelined artists can contribute to
their profession by sharing how they dealt with their own setbacks.
Teaching music can be another fulfilling option.
But injured performers can also find solace outside their métier. If
music has always been the driving purpose in their lives, they need to
unearth new sources of meaning, says Mainwaring. This could mean
spending more time with family, or possibly switching to a new vocation.
“They will be more fulfilled if they have other satisfying outlets.”
Toronto Symphony Orchestra viola player, Daniel Blackman, had
to reconstruct his life after a career-threatening injury. In the summer
of 2010 he was struck by a car while cycling and left for dead. He
woke up in St. Joseph’s Hospital with a collapsed lung, a concussion
and multiple fractures. But the worst problem for his career was nerve
damage and reduced flexibility in his left, instrument-holding arm.
It wasn’t until he was home that the impact of his accident sank in.
He feared he might never regain his top form. “If you have a career
and it’s taken away, you feel like your life as you knew it has come to a
close.” Blackman lay in bed, day after day, riddled with self-pity.
DEAN MARRANTZ
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 65

CHRISTOPHER WAHL
Fortunately, his partner didn’t
allow him to wallow in despair.
After a few weeks rest, she
pried him outside for a walk.
Although he barely managed
one block, by autumn he was
doing four-hour hikes. Walking
in natural settings became his
salvation. “The air is amazing,
I don’t feel closed in, and my
mind expands.”
Blackman’s physiotherapist
also helped to pull him out of
his funk. She had overcome her
own medical issues, and shared
Daniel Blackman her struggles with her client. “If
you see someone else who had a
major situation and is thriving, it’s really motivating.”
Just over a year after his accident, Blackman returned to work. But
although he was capable of performing in the orchestra, he had to
quit his quartet and no longer plays solos. “In chamber music you’re
exposed, and everything you do is high stakes.” Blackman made
his peace with his new circumstance. “Luckily I’d had a full career
already – I didn’t feel that I had to prove anything.”
Instead of dwelling on his own losses, Blackman shifted his focus
to young, up-and-coming performers, supporting them financially.
But he gets back as much as he gives. “Watching these young careers
succeed is a pleasure.”
Today Blackman is thriving. Though he still sometimes misses the
spotlight, he sees his life overall as a blessing. Having almost died
three times after his accident, he’s just happy to be kicking around.
“I was given a gift of life.”
Boyd too has successfully reinvented herself, a process she describes
in her newly released memoir, No Remedy for Love. She simplified
her technique and expanded her repertoire, blending the purely classical
with more forgiving folk and new age elements. “When you play
classical music and you make a slip, you almost stop breathing, but
in folk style, a little squeak is not the end of the world.” Performing
as a duo [with Andrew Dolson] allows her to share the responsibility
for the tricky parts and gives her companionship on stage. “It’s more
collaborative and fun than being on my own.”
Boyd also fashioned herself into a singer-songwriter. Although a
childhood teacher had once squelched her confidence in singing, the
instructor was no match for Boyd’s tenacity. “I’m a very determined
person – I don’t know any classical instrumentalists who become
singers.” And though she says her voice isn’t trained, it has a natural
quality which suits the type of music she composes.
Songwriting brings Boyd a whole new means of self-expression.
“I’m able to say things both melodically and with lyrics, so it’s
added another level of creativity.” She finds inspiration everywhere,
singing about love, her adopted land of Canada, and even a prayer for
planet Earth.
Best of all, composing has restored to Boyd the fulfillment of flow.
As she racks her brain for the perfect word, she loses track of time.
Hours can whizz by. Sometimes a whole night when she’s on a roll.
And when the lyrics and the melody speak her truth, it’s ecstasy. “This
whole other world opens up. I get shivers.”
Boyd hopes her own triumph over trauma will inspire musicians
with focal dystonia and other injuries, who are still in the closet. Her
advice is simple. “Life throws you curve balls. You can get dragged
down. But it’s never too late to turn your life around.”
Audiences today are as moved as ever by this new Liona Boyd. Fans
say that her songs have delighted wedding guests, soothed the sick
and inspired children to learn the guitar. (Even her late cat, Muffin,
curled up by her side and fell asleep when she played). These testimonials
are Boyd’s most valuable rewards. “It’s amazing when people
tell me how much my music means to them. That makes all the struggles
worthwhile.”
Vivien Fellegi is a former family physician now working as a
freelance medical journalist.
DISCOVERIES | RECORDINGS REVIEWED
DAVID OLDS
Several months ago in this column, in reference
to Harry Freedman’s orchestral works,
I noted that “I grew up understanding
that what [identified] Canadian music as
Canadian [were] aural landscapes reminiscent
of the north, stark and angular, crisp
and rugged, but at the same time lush and
evocative.” I had that feeling again listening
to The Shaman / Arctic Symphony –
Orchestral Music of Vincent Ho (Centrediscs
CMCCD 24317) featuring the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, of
which Ho was the composer-in-residence between 2007 and 2014.
The WSO performs both works under the direction of Alexander
Mickelthwate. The Shaman is a percussion concerto written for
Dame Evelyn Glennie who premiered it during the WSO’s New Music
Festival in 2011, the performance recorded here. It is a stunning
work, in the words of John Corigliano who wrote the Foreword to the
booklet notes: “a work that set an atmosphere of magical stillness,
with the soloist evoking unearthly sounds – wolf calls, shimmering
colours, and the lightest of orchestral textures. [… In the second movement]
Vincent has written a heavenly theme with almost no accompaniment
by the orchestra. It goes to the heart, and is simple without
ever being simple-minded. [… The final movement] grows into a
primitive drum-led dance that is wild and relentless […] The Shaman
should be played often!” Glowing praise indeed from one of the most
significant mainstream American composers of our time.
Although he is now an accomplished mid-career composer as his
residencies (he is currently the artistic director of Calgary’s Land’s End
Ensemble) and accolades testify, I can’t help thinking of Ho (b.1975)
as a young composer. I first encountered his music in the summer
of 1999 at the Strings of the Future workshop in Ottawa, where the
iconic Arditti Quartet was reading through a number of fledgling
works. Ho’s String Quartet No.1 made a lasting impression on me
and went on to win a SOCAN Award. It was premiered during the
November 2000 Massey Hall New Music Festival by the Composers
Quartet. You can check it out on Soundcloud and judge for yourself.
At nearly 40 minutes, Ho’s Arctic Symphony is a mammoth, fully
mature work. Written after a residency with the Circumpolar Flaw
Lead System Study aboard the arctic research vessel CCGS Amundsen
in 2008, the five-movement work is a dramatic depiction of Canada’s
North and its Northern peoples. Ho writes of witnessing the interaction
of scientists and Inuit elders as they shared valuable information
about climate change and how it is affecting the culture and way
of life in Indigenous communities. It opens with the haunting Prelude
– Lamentations which starts with the eerie sounds of tundra winds
and an Inuit welcome song performed by Nunavut Sivuniksavut
Performers. As the song fades, the orchestra enters with a quiet shimmering
cymbal and dark string textures reminiscent of that wind.
Among the dramatic effects is an extended unison melody in the
double basses juxtaposed with pointillist piano and interpolations
from an extensive percussion battery. Three short, descriptively titled
movements follow – Meditation, Aboard the Amundsen and Nightfall
– during which Ho’s brilliant orchestration creates vivid pictures
drawing on the full resources of the modern orchestra. Towards the
end of the fourth movement however, all grows calm and a muted,
vibrato-less solo strings chorale is heard, in the distance as it were,
somewhat like the fleeting appearance of a theme from Death and the
Maiden in George Crumb’s Black Angels for electric string quartet.
The extended final movement O Glorious Arcticus – Postlude begins
with quiet strings again but builds gradually to a rousing middle
section, kind of a Northern take on Copland’s Rodeo or Weinzweig’s
66 |
66 November 2017 thewholenote.com
November 2017 thewholenote.com

Barn Dance from The Red Ear of Corn. This too gradually passes as
the work slows and diminishes, giving way to the sound of the wind
again and the return of the Indigenous choir singing the joyous Inuit
Sivuniksangat – The Future of Inuit by Sylvia Clouthier, the final
lines of which are translated as “There is strength in who we are / We
mustn’t forget that we are in this together.” A sentiment we would all
do well to keep in mind.
These are two important additions to Canada’s orchestral repertoire
and to paraphrase Corigliano, they should be played often. Kudos
to Ho, to the WSO for recognizing and fostering his potential and to
Centrediscs for a fabulous recording.
One of the perks of working at (my day job)
New Music Concerts – beyond the privilege
of daily contact with one of this nation’s
foremost artists, Robert Aitken – is getting
to meet some of the most brilliant minds
in the field of contemporary music from
around the world. Among my most cherished
memories is the time spent with the
late Elliott Carter (1908-2012) during several
of his visits to Toronto, the last of which took place on the occasion of
his 97th birthday. Arrangements were in place to bring him back five
years later for a concert celebrating his 102nd, but a major snow storm
in New York City curtailed his travel plans and we had to present the
historic concert in Carter’s absence. On that occasion Carter’s associate
Virgil Blackwell gave the very first performance of Concertino for
bass clarinet and ensemble and Aitken gave the Canadian premiere
of his Flute Concerto. Carter died in November 2012, just a month
before his 104th birthday, and since that time New Music Concerts
has presented one of his late works each December in honour of the
iconic composer who took part in our concerts on seven occasions
over the years.
And this brings me to a new Ondine release, Elliott Carter – Late
Works (ODE 1296-2), which features among its titles several pieces
presented by New Music Concerts in the past decade. Dialogues
(2003) for piano and ensemble is here performed by pianist Pierre-
Laurent Aimard with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group,
along with Epigrams (2012) for piano trio, which features Aimard with
Isabelle Faust and Jean-Guihen Queyras. Aimard, a frequent Carter
collaborator, is also featured with the Birmingham group in Dialogues
II (2010) and, with percussionist Colin Currie, on Two Controversies
and a Conversation (2011) for piano, percussion and chamber
ensemble, plus Interventions (2007) and Soundings (2005) with the
BBC Symphony Orchestra under Oliver Knussen’s direction. The brief
orchestral work Instances, from Carter’s final year, completes the disc.
In his later years, Carter’s music became a bit less craggy and
unapproachable, although he never joined the ranks of “friendly
music” composers. As Robert Aitken likes to say, good music “must
challenge someone – the composer, the performer, the listener; preferably
all three” and Carter’s music certainly continued to do that to
the end. Back in 1990, before I joined the New Music Concerts team,
I had the privilege of attending two rehearsals and a performance of
the Canadian premiere of the String Quartet No.4 (1986) by Accordes.
I was amazed that at each listening the work sounded unfamiliar, as if
I had never heard it before. There were simply no touchstones for my
relatively unsophisticated ears to grasp onto in the complexity of the
score where seemingly each of the four parts moved independently.
As I say, there is no compromise in the late works, but somehow
they do not seem as daunting. Perhaps it is my own development over
the past two and a half decades, but I do think that the music itself
also changed, becoming more genial and perhaps warmer. A case in
point is the Two Controversies and a Conversation, which began as
a single-movement concerto for piano and percussion, to which the
two brief introductory movements were added at the invitation of
Knussen. There is both playfulness and tension, harmony and discord.
As the comprehensive notes by John Link tell us, “… from the final
movement’s opening chords, the soloists quickly separate to engage
in rapid fire exchanges with the orchestra and each other. The pianist
proposes slow music, but is diverted by auto-horn-like blasts in the
orchestra, which lead to a pianistic scherzando. Undaunted the piano
returns to its rhapsodic music, speeding up and slowing down in long
phrases that enact a would-be reconciliation […] The final gesture
leaves the two conversationalists both far apart and exactly together.”
This also happens time and again in my favourite piece on this disc,
Epigrams, in 12 brief movements lasting just 14 minutes. I wonder if
my comfort level is a result of having heard Stephen Sitarski, David
Hetherington and Gregory Oh play it on a New Music Concert back in
December 2014. Is it possible that Carter’s music can sound familiar
after all? This new disc is a wonderful way to find out for yourself.
Concert note: On December 3, members of Accordes will perform
Carter’s String Trio from 2011, one of his very last works, on our
“Concertos” concert at Betty Oliphant Theatre.
One of the loveliest World/pop-inflected discs
to cross my desk in recent memory is Golpes
y Flores by singer-songwriter Eliana Cuevas,
who has made her home in Toronto for the
last two decades. Released by Alma Records
(ACD98172 almarecords.com), the disc is
dedicated to her two daughters and her
native country, Venezuela. Afro-Venezuelan
rhythms permeate the entire project, which
L/R
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below at The WholeNote.com/Listening
L/R
Musique Sacree en Nouvelle-France
Studio de musique ancienne de
Montréal; Christopher Jackson
This album illustrates musical life
during the French colonization of
the Americas, when sacred music
accompanied many daily activities.
Klezmer Dreams
André Moisan; Jean Saulnier; The
Molinari Quartet
Clarinettist André Moisan, pianist Jean
Saulnier, and the Molinari Quartet
immerse themselves in the poignant
and festive world of klezmer music.
Love Songs of James Joyce
Donna Greenberg
A “song cycle” by Donna Greenberg
set to poems from Chamber Music
(1907), an early poetry collection
by the famous Irish writer James
Joyce.
NOTTURNO
Eliane Rodrigues
Pianist Eliane Rodrigues takes a
fresh look at Chopin’s complete
nocturnes and ballades on her
Navona release.
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 67

comprises seven Cuevas original tunes and three she co-wrote with
producer/keyboardist Jeremy Ledbetter who also did the arrangements.
Central to the recording is Yonathan “Morocho” Gavidia and
several percussionist colleagues who Cuevas met through Aquiles Báez,
a Venezuelan guitar-and-quatroist who performed in Toronto last year
and who is also featured here on several tracks.
I confess I am at a disadvantage in that, although lyrics are included
in the booklet, there are no translations and I don’t have much of a
Spanish vocabulary. Fortunately the press release that accompanied
my copy of the disc includes an explanation of the title. Cuevas says
“‘Golpes’ means hit, often referring to rhythms, while ‘flores’ means
flowers. To me, the title suggests a combination of the sophistication,
beauty and gentleness of flowers and the strength and force of
the Afro-Venezuelan rhythms.” There is one song in English, A Tear
on the Ground, inspired by a visit to India, where Cuevas “spent a few
days doing yoga at an ashram that was right by a lake that had a sign
warning people to be careful of the crocodiles.” The song includes the
lyric “crocodiles will swim in our tears / and our hearts will pound
together without fear,” giving a new take on the phrase “crocodile
tears.”
In addition to a number of Venezuelan musicians there are several
familiar names from the local jazz scene including Mark Kelso, Rich
Brown, George Koller and Daniel Stone. As mentioned, infectious
rhythms abound and it’s hard to sit still while listening. One exception
is the lush and lovely Mi Linda Maita inspired by Cuevas’ grandmother.
With rich string sonorities and Cuevas’ pure voice it is
breathtaking, but even here we end up swaying to the beat that builds
as the song develops. Golpes y Flores, her fifth release, will further
cement Cuevas’ place in Toronto’s World Music firmament and, I
expect, will go a long way in bolstering her international career. It
is a dandy!
Concert Note: The Eliana Cuevas Ensemble performs at the Rex, 198
Queen St. W. on January 4 and 5 at 9:30pm and at the Richard Bradshaw
Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing
Arts on January 10 (one set only at 5:30pm; free).
I will briefly mention one more pop-inspired
disc that I’ve been enjoying this month, Let’s
Groove: The Music of Earth, Wind & Fire,
Cory Weeds’ latest venture on his Cellar Live
label (CL041017 cellarlive.com). First off, I
love the cover. I don’t know if it will come
through in the miniature version shown
here, but it’s worth a trip to the website
just to check it out. I’m not sure it would
be safe to “groove” in those oversized shoes, but it’s a great picture!
The project was the brainchild of pianist and organist Mike LeDonne
who did the arrangements of the iconic R&B band’s tunes and plays
soulful and funky Hammond organ throughout. I was always a sucker
for EWF vocal gymnastics, missed here, but the saxophones of Weeds
(alto) and colleague Steve Kaldestad (tenor) are a satisfying substitute,
especially their tight harmonies in unison passages and the
flights of fancy in their solos. The excellent rhythm section includes
LeDonne’s longtime associate drummer Jason Tiemann, percussionist
Liam MacDonald and guitarist Dave Sikula. My favourites are the title
track, Getaway and Shining Star. If you’re in the mood to Groove, you
can’t top this.
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 enhanced reviews in the Listening Room with
audio samples, upcoming performance details and direct links to
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STRINGS
ATTACHED
TERRY ROBBINS
There seem to have been several CDs lately
featuring outstanding Canadian classical
guitarists, and you can add another one
to the list with Verdi’s Guitar – Fantasies
for Solo Guitar by J. K. Mertz based on
operas by Giuseppe Verdi, performed by
British Columbia guitarist Alan Rinehart
(Ravello RR7975).
Operatic transcriptions were very popular
throughout the 19th century in the days before recordings and radio,
and were usually made with home performance in mind. These
Mertz transcriptions, though, were clearly not aimed at amateurs,
gifted or otherwise. The technical challenges of reproducing operatic
scores within the limitations of the guitar must have been daunting,
but Mertz – an important figure in the development of the Romantic
guitar style – produced an Op.8 Opern-Revue that consisted of 34(!!)
transcriptions of operas by composers from Adam to Wagner.
The six Verdi transcriptions – all included here – are from Ernani,
Rigoletto, Nabucco, Il Trovatore, La Traviata and I Vespri Siciliani.
They are delightful fantasia-style works, with familiar arias popping
out from time to time: Ernani, involami; Caro nome; Questa o quella;
and La donna e mobile.
Rinehart’s playing is clean and stylish throughout, especially in the
tremolo passages in Ernani and I Vespri Siciliani, a technique later
used to great effect by Francisco Tárrega.
Now, if we could only hear Wagner’s Flying Dutchman…
Another very interesting Canadian guitar
CD is Transcendencia, the debut disc from
Alberta flamenco guitarist, Holly Blazina
(iTunes; Spotify; hollyblazina.com).
Originally trained as a classical guitarist
Blazina has a solid grounding in the traditional
flamenco technique and has been
composing her own pieces in the genre for
more than a decade, workshopping them
with noted flamenco masters Paco Fernandez in Seville and Ricardo
Diaz in San Francisco. They are in traditional flamenco forms –
Alegría, Bulería, Abandolao and Farruca, for instance – and mostly
with the traditional accompaniment of male and female voices,
palmas and percussion, but often introduce instruments from other
musical worlds, such as violin (on three tracks), and saxophone, piano
and Persian santur dulcimer (on different single tracks). The result
is not so much a mixing of genres as an extension of the flamenco
musical style with an added dimension, and it’s very effective.
Blazina’s playing is clean, crisp and idiomatic – especially in
Invocación, the solo final track with its excellent tremolo – and the
contributions from the nine other musicians fit in seamlessly. A lovely
recorded sound adds to a highly entertaining disc.
Transcriptions form the entire program of
another Canadian CD this month, as bassist
Joel Quarrington is back with another
recital disc of transcriptions for double bass
and piano (his Brothers in Brahms was
reviewed here in September 2013), this time
in Schubert “AN DIE MUSIK” with pianist
David Jalbert (joelquarrington.com).
68 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Although transcriptions served a specific purpose in the pre-gramophone
days, making otherwise unavailable music available for home
performance, in many instances since then they have served primarily
to enlarge the repertoire for certain instrumentations, not always with
complete success. Any misgivings you may have in that respect are simply
blown away by Quarrington’s playing, however, with his astonishing
agility, his sensitivity and delicacy and the warmth and richness of his tonal
colour dispelling any lingering doubts. Granted, part of the attraction is
listening to him doing the impossible on what is usually considered a large
and unwieldy instrument, but his performances go way beyond the novelty
attraction – this is pure music-making of the highest order.
The title track is one of seven short pieces here, but the two
major works are the “Arpeggione” Sonata in A Minor D821 and the
Violin Sonatina in D Major D384. Both are completely satisfying
in all respects, with the final Allegro vivace movement of the latter
providing a simply dazzling end to the disc.
With the sensitive accompaniment of David Jalbert the CD is
an absolute delight, as well as an absolute wonder, from beginning
to end.
Concert Note: Pianists David Jalbert and Wonny Song perform music
inspired by dance, theatre and visual art on January 14 for Mooredale
Concerts and Music & Truffles at Walter Hall.
The American Euclid Quartet presents two
works separated by almost exactly 100 years
on American Quartets, featuring works
by Antonín Dvořák and Wynton Marsalis
(Afinat Records AR1701).
The Dvořák is the String Quartet No.12 in
F Major Op.96, “American,” written during
the composer’s three years as director of the
National Conservatory of Music of America
in New York and first performed in 1894. The performance here is
warm, effusive, vibrant and dynamic.
It seems a long journey from such a completely familiar and
frequently heard work to the Marsalis String Quartet No.1 “At the
Octoroon Balls,” written at the request of the Chamber Music Society
of Lincoln Center in 1995, but what a fascinating contrast it presents.
The quartet is named for the legendary 18th- and 19th-century balls
in the composer’s native New Orleans, described in the booklet notes
as being “…given as a way to facilitate long-term relationships between
wealthy White men and usually fair-skinned women of colour.” The
work has been called Marsalis’ conscious exploration of the American
Creole contradictions and compromises – cultural, social and political
– exemplified by life in New Orleans.
It’s a long (almost 45 minutes) but utterly engrossing work
of seven sections, the longest of which – at ten minutes – is the
astonishing opening Come Long Fiddler for solo violin, recalling,
in dazzling fashion, the old Black country dance fiddle tradition.
Blues, jazz, African, folk, spiritual and ragtime influences abound
in the remaining sections, with simply terrific writing and playing:
Mating Calls and Delta Rhythms; Creole Contradanzas; Many Gone;
Hellbound Highball; Blue Lights on the Bayou.
Finally, with Rampart St. Row House Rag, here we are at what
Dvořák envisioned and encouraged – the use of New World musical
material as the basis for classical composition. It makes perfect sense
of an apparently diverse program on an outstanding CD.
There are another two excellent sets of the
cello suites by Johann Sebastian Bach to
add to the already extensive list: Six Cello
Suites BWV 1007-1012 by the Australian
cellist Richard Narroway (Sono Luminus
SLE-70010); and Suiten für Violoncello by
the Swiss cellist Thomas Demenga (ECM
New Series 2530/31).
There are several immediate differences: at
the time of the recordings (2015 and 2014 respectively) Narroway was
24, Demenga 59; it’s the first recording of the suites for Narroway, the
second for Demenga; Narroway uses a modern cello and bow, Demenga
a Baroque bow and gut strings on 18th-century instruments; Narroway
plays at modern pitch, Demenga down a full tone.
There are also similarities though: both
players are fully aware of early performance
issues and have made extensive study
of contemporary sources; and both see these
works as essentially dance suites, with lively
– but not necessarily fast – tempos.
Narroway has a lovely rich sound that never
overwhelms, with beautiful phrasing and
a fine rhythmic sense that is given room to
breathe and expand. It’s all bursting with life and sounds quite effortless.
Demenga’s tone can sound a bit tight at times, but again there is
freedom in the phrasing and rhythms. On the down side, there is a fair
amount of noise from the left-hand fingers hitting the fingerboard. You
may or may not find that to be distracting, but it does mean that with
Demenga you are frequently aware of the presence of the performer;
with Narroway, however, rarely if ever are you aware of anything but the
music, and it’s his recordings that I will keep returning to.
There’s more immensely satisfying quartet playing on Last Leaf, a
recital of Nordic folk tunes all arranged by the Danish String Quartet
(ECM New Series 2550). There’s a wide range of sources for the 16
short pieces here, from ancient hymn tunes and medieval ballads to
L/R The WholeNote.com/Listening L/R
Ternion Quartet
Anne Mette Iversen
Original, global, modern jazz.
Unconditionally here and now! Silke
Eberhard, Geo roy De Masure, Anne
Mette Iversen, Roland Schneider.
Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records.
SHOSTAKOVICH
Altius Quartet
Following on its genre-bending
release DRESS CODE, Altius Quartet
puts the tuxedo back on for Dmitri
Shostakovich’s string quartets.
Tafelmusik
Beethoven Symphonies 1–9 Box Set
Tafelmusik’s cycle marks the first
time a North American orchestra
has recorded all nine Beethoven
symphonies on period instruments.
Toy Piano Composers
The debut album from a Torontobased
collective that presents
imaginative new music to curious
audiences in a playful concert
environment.
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 69

oat songs and traditional dance music. In
addition, there are original compositions
by two members of the quartet – three by
cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin and one by
violinist Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen – as well
as a polska by Swedish fiddler Eva Sæhter.
Sjölin and Sørensen also add the occasional
harmonium, piano and glockenspiel
and double bass contributions to enrich
the sound.
It’s a really lovely collection, beautifully arranged and played. The
quartet members say that they “gathered a bunch of amazing tunes
and hope you will enjoy what we have done to them.”
Well, consider it job done.
Dmitri Shostakovich wrote four string quartets
in the period 1946-56, years in which
his standing with the Soviet regime was still
uncertain, so I’m not sure I agree with the
statement by the Altius Quartet, on their
new CD of Shostakovich String Quartets 7,
8 & 9 (Navona Records NV6125) that these
three works, from 1960-64, were written
“directly after World War II when art was
often oppressed.” By 1960 Stalin had been dead for seven years and the
composer’s rehabilitation was well under way.
There is, however, no doubting the quartet’s assertion that these
three highly personal works form a triptych, dedicated as they are
to the composer’s first (No.7) and third (No.9) wives and ostensibly
to the victims of fascism (No.8) including Shostakovich – indeed, his
daughter Galina claimed that he originally dedicated it to himself,
with the published dedication imposed by Soviet authorities.
There’s a lovely feel to the playing from the outset, from the String
Quartet No.7 in F-sharp Minor Op.108 through to the highly positive
ending of the String Quartet No.9 in E-flat Major Op.117, but it’s
the String Quartet No.8 in C Minor Op.110 that is at the heart of this
group, not merely physically but also emotionally. The opening four
notes D, E-flat, C and B (or D, S, C, H in German notation) that form
the composer’s musical signature reappear in every movement, and
the autobiographical nature of the music is constantly underlined by
numerous quotations from earlier works.
It’s a committed and moving performance by the Altius, albeit
perhaps with not quite the air of utter desolation and despair that
some performances wring from the final pages.
The American composer Martin Boykan,
who turned 86 in April, may be a new
name to a lot of people, but there is no
doubting his pedigree: he studied with
Copland, Piston and Hindemith. His output
is predominantly in the chamber music
realm, which probably makes the new CD
Rites of Passage – Chamber Music 1993-
2012 (Bridge Records BRIDGE 9483) a fairly
representative introduction to his works.
A good deal of American classical music over the past 25 years or so
has been unabashedly tonal, but Boykan is clearly not of this persuasion.
There’s not a great deal of emotional warmth or purely melodic
material, and the absence or ambiguity of tonality together with the
often extreme dynamics means that it’s not always easy listening.
Still, there’s no doubting that this is a strongly individual and skilled
composer fully in control of his structures and material.
The works, recorded between 2011 and 2015 by combinations of ten
different players, are: Impromptu for Violin Solo (1993); Sonata #2
for Violin and Piano (2009); Piano Trio #3 “Rites of Passage” (2006);
Sonata for Viola and Piano (2012); and Psalm 121 (1997) for mezzosoprano
and string quartet. The violin and viola sonatas were written
for the soloists here, Curtis Macomber and Mark Berger respectively.
Keyed In
ALEX BARAN
Noriko Ogawa has just released the second
volume of her project to record all the solo
piano works of Erik Satie, Noriko Ogawa
plays Erik Satie (BIS 2225 SACD). Both this
disc and Volume I are performed on an 1890
Erard grand piano, an instrument from
the period of Satie’s life (1866-1925). The
piano maker Erard was noted for numerous
innovations in piano design, especially the
double escapement action which allowed for rapid note repetition, a
feature ever more in demand by composers of the late 19th century.
The instrument used in this recording is in remarkably fine condition,
sounding well-voiced and mechanically capable of the frequent staccato
touch, often at great volume, that Satie requires.
Ogawa’s choice of repertoire for Volume II offers a more esoteric and
quirky side of Satie’s personality, the two sets of preludes for flabby
dogs, Préludes flasques (pour un chien) being a case in point. The
Trois sarabandes are untitled early works, although the second of the
three is dedicated to Ravel. These are surprisingly forward-looking,
with a feel that occasionally evokes a modern jazz club. Sports et
divertissements is a catalogue of 21 social pastimes, often quite
comical, and each requiring less than a minute to play.
Ogawa has a very credible understanding of French music of this
period, although Satie admittedly sits comfortably outside the mainstream.
Still, her previous recordings of the complete piano works
of Claude Debussy reveal a studious and comprehensive approach
that offers a convincingly genuine feel to her interpretation of
Satie’s music.
Emanuele Delucchi is a young Italian pianist
with extraordinary technical ability. His
recording Godowsky Studies on Chopin
Op.10 (Piano Classics PCL0122) is a rare
opportunity to hear this unusual repertoire.
Godowsky claimed his studies were
equally appropriate for public concert as
well as private playing. The music is always
immediately recognizable as Chopin, but
Godowsky has taken the material and recomposed it as a series of
studies for aspiring players. They are devilishly difficult and intentionally
so. Many are written for left hand alone and just one is for a solo
right hand.
Godowsky takes Chopin’s main thematic material and moves
it around, often from one hand to the other, meanwhile creating
Chopin-style cascades of other figures around it. Some of these transcriptions
are quite strict, others freer, and still others structured as
cantus firmus and variation versions. It’s altogether quite an experiment
and in its day would have sparked a debate about originality and
legitimacy. Anticipating this, Godowsky was careful to include introductory
remarks in his publication to clarify his aims. Essentially, he
believed that pianists, composers and piano builders had more evolutionary
potential to realize. Hence, the Herculean challenge.
Despite all the muscle and stamina, Godowsky’s music is not
without its beauty. Chopin’s genius remains intact, both musically
and technically. Delucchi ensures that technique is never glorified at
the expense of art. He plays a beautifully restored 1906 Steinway, from
Godowsky’s day.
Known as “Tony” to his friends, British pianist Anthony Goldstone
passed away early this year (2017) and was unable to see his last CD
70 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

eleased. A superb pianist equally appreciated
as a soloist as well as half of the
Goldstone and Clemmow Duo, his final
recording, The Piano at the Ballet Volume
II - The French Connection (Divine Art dda
25148) is dedicated to his memory.
Goldstone delighted in transcriptions and
recorded several featuring music from opera
and ballet. This disc is the conclusion of the
latter project and uses French composers as the thematic link. Most
of the pieces are world premiere recordings, transcribed by various
others, although the notes admit that Goldstone made a few improvements
along the way.
Goldstone’s playing at age 72 is simply incredible. Speed, reach,
accuracy and, above all, unerring musicality mark every transcription
he performs. The music tends, understandably, to be extremely
athletic and Goldstone’s level of sustained energy is impressive. The
finales of Poulenc’s Les Biches and Maurice Thiriet’s L’Oeuf à la
coque are fine examples of this. He also captures the grandness of the
orchestral score in these transcriptions. Claude Debussy’s Printemps
(Suite Symphonique) is the best example of this, with its great washes
of sound that conclude the second movement.
Reicha Rediscovered Vol.1 (Chandos
CHAN 10950) is the promising launch
of a series that will see pianist Ivan Ilić
record the largely unheard solo piano
works of a composer better known for his
wind ensemble pieces. A contemporary of
Beethoven, Reicha was highly educated and
musically intelligent. A number of his later
theoretical and philosophical treatises were
translated for major European music circles.
The challenge for Ilić is to find and integrate the unique features of
Reicha’s language into his playing. The modern ear hears Reicha and
understandably recognizes some Haydn, some Mozart and occasional
tempestuous bursts of a young firebrand named Beethoven. But the
new ground Reicha was breaking was harmonic. The disc contains
three pieces from Reicha’s collection titled Practische Beispiele. Ilić
encounters each of the composer’s adventurous modulations and
plays through them with confidence that pianists of Reicha’s day
might well have lacked.
Other tracks include a wonderful set of variations on a theme from
Mozart’s The Magic Flute and a substantial mid-career Grande Sonate
in C Major that reveals a composer struggling to be free of classical
forms. The following volumes by Ilić look promising indeed.
Brazilian pianist Eliane Rodrigues has
recorded the 21 Nocturnes by Chopin on
her newest disc Frédéric Chopin – Notturno
(Navona Records NV6123). The two-disc set
also includes the Ballades No.1 in G Mino,
Op.23 and No.4 in F Minor, Op.52.
Rodrigues teaches at the Royal
Conservatoire in Antwerp, performs
frequently and has more than 25 recordings
in her discography. She traces her Chopin connection to her earliest
years at the keyboard playing the Waltzes and Mazurkas. But her
affection for the Nocturnes is more than wistful nostalgia. A passing
reference in her notes suggests a very deep and personal experience
made the sadness and melancholy of the Nocturnes profoundly meaningful
to her. As if to underscore this, she uses quotations from a fictitious
Chopin diary to capture the mood of each Nocturne.
The playing, however, is the proof of her ownership. Entirely
consistent and sustained throughout both discs, her interpretations
never stray from the beauty and tenderness that Chopin poured into
these pieces. Rodrigues never rushes anything. Arching phrases, ornaments
and grace notes are all critical to completing the composer’s
every utterance, and she gives each one the time it needs to unfold. It’s
an arresting and beautiful performance.
Ketevan Kartvelishvili is a power pianist.
The title of her new recording The Chase –
Liszt, Bartók, Prokofviev (Blue Griffin BGR
437) says it all. Using the title of the final
movement from Bartók’s Out of Doors Sz.81
BB89, Kartvelishvili establishes an ethos for
this remarkable disc by demonstrating her
formidable technique through this relentless
onslaught of musical passion. It’s not
surprising that Bartók used this piece in his rather dark ballet The
Miraculous Mandarin.
Kartvelishvili opens her CD with Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No.1 S514.
She takes this at a blistering speed without ever losing momentum
or intensity. Her performance of the Liszt Sonata in B Minor S178 is
marvellous. By this point her technical skills are beyond question and
what emerges is the tenderness Liszt requires to withdraw into his
crucial moments of repose. Even at the sonata’s conclusion, those final
measures are powerfully hesitant and highly effective.
Prokofiev’s Sonata No.7 in B Flat Major, Op.83 concludes the disc.
It’s the second of his three “War Sonatas” and is sometimes called
the “Stalingrad.” The outer movements are violent and destructive
and leave no doubt about the work’s origin in 1942 Soviet Russia. The
L/R The WholeNote.com/Listening L/R
Transcendencia
Holly Blazina
The debut album from Flamenco
guitarist, Holly Blazina, features her
original compositions with a traditional
foundation, spiced with modern
harmonies and instrumentation.
Everything is a Translation
Fiil Free
Influences from free jazz, contemporary
classical music and Scandinavian
folk-songs blend together on this
release by seven of the most interesting
improvisers from Northern Europe.
Root Structure
Mike Downes
Mike Downes (JUNO winner 2014)
leads this group of four of Canada’s
top jazz musicians, exploring
lyrical compositions with a deep
underlying structural integrity.
Thoughtful Fun
Heilig Manoeuvre
The Heillig Manoeuvre repertoire is
a songbook. It turns into jazz in the
hands of these four musicians who
share an exceptional rapport!
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 71

middle movement offers Kartvelishvili another opportunity to reveal
the depth of her musicality. With an allusion to a Schumann lied, the
movement is fairly withdrawn until she builds it to a near climax in
the second half before returning to a quiet ending.
Kartvelishvili plays with both impressive might and tender
conviction.
Florian Wittenburg is a German-born
contemporary composer. He is active
throughout Europe but his academic
and early career years were spent in the
Netherlands. Don’t Push the Piano Around
(NurNichtNur 117 01 26) is his latest disc
and it adds to an already substantial discography
and body of works. Pianist Sebastiaan
Oosthout performs on this disc and reveals
a strong affinity for Wittenberg’s music. Wittenberg is highly creative
and takes his artistic inspiration from everything around him. As a
composer, he revels in playing with patterns and sequences. Whether
animal sounds, words, or the spelling of a name, Wittenberg is quick
to place his subject into changing structures where he plays with
progressions and variants.
Oosthout’s grasp of Wittenberg’s language gives him access to the
deep emotion of the music, especially in several of the Quotes. Litany
for one pianist is particularly effective as a thoughtful and searching
work, in which Oosthout is required to whistle along with a few
specific notes he plays. But the most captivating of Wittenberg’s works
on this disc is the opening track Eagle prayer. It’s based on the call of
an African fish eagle, notated and harmonized in a highly engaging
and creative way. This is an intriguing recording worth hearing.
It’s uniquely gratifying to hear the work
of piano duos when they have performed
together for many years. Peter Hill and
Benjamin Frith have been crafting their
sound for more than three decades into
an impressive single voice. Their newest
recording, Russian Works for Piano Four
Hands (Delphian DCD 34191) is an example
of how remarkable the combination of
such talents can become. They have moved far beyond simply playing
together and evolved a unified conception of making music.
This disc presents the music of three composers for whom folk
music played an inspirational role. While Rachmaninov’s Six
morceaux Op.11 quotes no folk material, it’s written in a style that
recalls the dance and energy of folk traditions. Rachmaninov was
just 21 but his writing already shows the now-familiar ability to
think in large-scale terms. He uses the entire range of the keyboard
without hesitation and draws on its dynamic power, amplified under
the hands of two players. Hill and Frith are superb in meeting the
contrasting demands of this piece, from the gentlest moments of the
Romance to the magnificent ending of Slava.
The selections from Tchaikovsky’s Fifty Russian Folk Songs quote
directly from folk material, although much of it very briefly; there is,
however, no mistaking the focus that Hill and Frith bring to this work.
Their touch and tone are wonderfully connected to the often dark
modal nature of the melodies.
Stravinsky’s Petrushka is brilliantly played throughout. Flawless
execution is matched by complete immersion in the music. The piano
duo delivers the Russian Dance with all the wild energy it requires
and Petrushka’s Death with the contrasting gravitas the composer
intended. Hill and Frith are true masters of their art.
VOCAL
Rossini – William Tell
Gerald Finley; Malin Byström; John Osborn;
Royal Opera Hous; Antonio Pappano
Opus Arte OA 1205 D
!!
I first heard
William Tell in
the spring of 1972,
in Florence. That
production was
billed as the first
complete performance
since the
1830s. It was clear
where a major
problem lay. The
principal tenor role
is long, loud and
high. Nicolai Gedda, who was Arnoldo in
1972, had totally lost his voice by the last act.
Since then performances have become
more frequent (in Toronto we recently heard
a concert performance by the Turin opera)
and singers are more able to cope with the
demands that their roles impose. It is also
notable that, whereas the 1972 performance
had been in Italian, companies are now giving
it in French, the language in which William
Tell was composed.
John Osborn has no trouble with the
notorious tenor part, while Gerald Finley is
magnificent in the title role. A blot on the
1972 performance was the soprano who
sang Mathilde, the Habsburg princess. Malin
Byström is much better but her high notes
are shrill and unpleasant. There are good
performances from Eric Halfvarson as the
patriarch Melcthal, from Sofia Fomina in the
travesti role of Tell’s son and from “our own”
Michael Colvin as a very unpleasant army
commander.
The DVDs come with a booklet and
an interesting essay by Jonathan White,
who argues convincingly that the opera is
primarily about the occupation of the land
and the enslavement of its citizens. That
emphasis finds physical expression in a prominently
displayed uprooted tree, an emphasis
that is reinforced by the excellent chorus.
Hans de Groot
Lori Laitman – The Scarlet Letter
Claycomb; Armstrong; MacKenzie;
Belcher; Knapp; Gawrysiak; Opera
Colorado; Ari Pelto
Naxos 8.669034-35
!!
Nathaniel
Hawthorne’s
classic American
novel, abridged
into libretto form
by David Mason,
premiered in 2016
as a two-act opera
composed by Lori Laitman. Strict and stifling
moral codes in a c.1600 Puritan community
result in the punishment of young Hester
Prynne and torment the secret father of her
child, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, as well
as her long-lost husband (now returned
under an assumed name). Operatic fodder
indeed, but strangely juxtaposed with a rather
dismal and restrictive setting.
Laitman’s challenge as a composer to
reconcile the two is an interesting conundrum.
She does indeed provide highly
dramatic moments, such as the crowd’s
raging at Prynne and the taunting of
Dimmesdale by Mistress Hibbons, the
town witch (sung by the formidable mezzo
Margaret Gawrysiak). As Dimmesdale, tenor
Dominic Armstrong’s talents are showcased
with long, dramatic episodes of hysteria and
guilt. Also remarkable is baritone Malcolm
MacKenzie, as the husband bent on revenge.
Prynne, on the other hand, proving to be
much more stalwart of character, is given
a much calmer, gentler musical portrayal.
Soprano Laura Claycomb shines in the lullaby
sung to daughter Pearl; as a singer, she
manages some amazingly high notes without
ever sacrificing Prynne’s aura of tenderness.
The Opera Colorado Chorus does an excellent
job standing in judgement of all. An interesting
project indeed and well executed.
Dianne Wells
72 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

Thousands of Miles
Kate Lindsey; Baptiste Trotignon
Alpha Classics ALPHA 272
(alpha-classics.com)
!!
Kurt Weill
may be correctly
described as a
misunderstood
genius. He was very
serious about his
music, yet was (and
still is by many)
dismissed as a
“cabaret composer.” Despite the success of
his collaborations with Bertolt Brecht, these
works were banned in Nazi Germany and
took the better part of the 1970s to reclaim
their place in the repertoire. Similarly, his
American works (One Touch of Venus, Street
Scene, Lost in the Stars) were judged to be
“not American enough” and not sufficiently
“jazzy.” Here is a pairing of two artists to put
both of these myths to well-deserved rest.
Kate Lindsey, a classically trained mezzo,
takes on Weill as if his works were more traditional
German and Austrian lieder. In fact,
when intermingled with songs by Alma
Mahler, Erich Korngold and Alexander von
Zemlinsky, the interpretative point is beautifully
made. On the other hand, jazz pianist
Baptiste Trotignon eschews often sketchy and
reliably non-Weill arrangements and reductions
and instead interprets the melodies in
the best jazz tradition. The result is as fresh
and surprising as you would expect: Weill the
classical composer, and Weill the Gershwin
rival! Although for many of us it may be hard
to get the voice of Lotte Lenya out of our
heads, the genius of Weill demands no less
than that.
Robert Tomas
Musique Sacrée en Nouvelle-France
Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal;
Christopher Jackson; Réjean Poirier
ATMA ACD2 2764 (atmaclassique.com)
L/R
!!
This recording
is a re-issue of a
1995 album originally
titled Le Chant
de la Jerusalem
des terres froides
on the French label
K617. At the time,
founding member
Christopher Jackson (1948-2015) directed
Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal.
The program represents sacred music from
the daily life of 17th-century French settlements
in the New World. Books of plainchant
brought to New France were utilized
in church services, but also formed the
basis of a new style, adopted in both new
and old worlds, which added ornamentation
borrowed from secular repertoire. Mass
excerpts by Henry du Mont, based in Paris,
serve as excellent examples of this practice.
In addition to Gregorian chant, books of
petit motets were also brought to New France.
Composed for soloists (or for no more than
three voices) with chamber instrumentation,
this proved much easier to realize in
the colonies than the grand motet, which
required large forces. Composers of the form
such as Nicolas Lebègue and André Campra
are represented on this recording, highlighting
the divinely sweet persuasion of the
small ensemble. Two of the pieces, Inviolata
and Ego sum panis vivus, are examples of
the petit motet translated into the Algonquin
Abenaki dialect to abet religious conversion
of the Native population. The choir and soloists’
exquisite renderings throughout the CD
bring the history to life, enhanced by organist
Réjean Poirier’s performances of pieces from
Livre d’orgue de Montréal.
Dianne Wells
O Gladsome Light
Lawrence Wiliford; Marie Bérard; Keith
Hamm; Steven Philcox
Stone Records 506019278065
(stonerecords.co.uk)
!!
That tenor
Lawrence Wiliford’s
voice is perfectly
suited to English
repertoire is clearly
illustrated on
this recording. In
songs and hymns
by Gustav Holst,
his lesser-known student Edmund Rubbra
and contemporary Ralph Vaughan Williams,
Wiliford displays his gift for expressiveness,
sensitivity to text and challengingly high
tessitura. These qualities were assimilated
through his experiences singing in the church
since boyhood, roles in Canadian Opera
Company productions and as co-founder of
the Canadian Art Song Project along with
pianist Steven Philcox (who also accompanies
beautifully on this recording).
Because Rubbra is relatively unknown, we
are grateful for the singer’s inclusion of transcendent
modal songs such as The Mystery
and Rosa Mundi as well as Meditations on
a Byzantine Hymn for solo viola played
sublimely by Keith Hamm and Variations on
a Phrygian Theme for solo violin on which
Marie Bérard displays her signature sweetness
of tone. (Both Hamm and Bérard are
members of the COC orchestra.) Also of
note from Rubbra is Hymn to the Virgin and
Jesukin. Upon first hearing, I spent several
minutes searching through liner notes for the
name of the harpist. In fact, Rubbra had cleverly
composed his accompaniment by the use
of spread piano chords, resulting in a “harplike
rendition” played so rockingly gentle
by Philcox that one is easily lulled and thus
bewildered, but happily so.
Dianne Wells
Donizetti – La Favorite
Elīna Garanča; Bayerische Staatsoper;
Karel Mark Chichon
Deutsche Grammophon 073 5358
! ! This is indeed
a superlative
performance from
Munich, to be
remembered for a
long time to come.
It brings out all
the glory that lay
partly dormant in
past performances,
although the opera
did well for the
last 177 years since
first performed in Paris with great success.
This new production perhaps wouldn’t have
happened without Elīna Garanča’s keen
interest in the project; the role seems written
for her and she even brought along her
husband Karel Mark Chichon to conduct as if
the score was written for him. A happy situation,
as there is a symbiotic relationship here;
the two inspire each other and it sparkles like
electricity in the air.
The great mezzo towers over everything,
vocally, artistically and even physically
with tremendous vocal and emotional
range and an incredible commitment to
the character she plays. Léonor de Guzman
is a beautiful woman literally enslaved by
the King of Castile in 14th-century Spain,
trying to break out by finding true love with
a young man, only to be outwitted by the
King, losing everything including her life.
No less memorable are the men: American
lyric tenor Matthew Polenzani, as Fernand
the hapless lover, is glorious in his passionate
love for Léonor and displays magnificent
emotional and vocal fireworks in his
grand scene at the third act finale when he
finds out he’s been cheated by marrying
the King’s mistress. Internationally famous
Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecien is perfectly
cast as the charming, but utterly ruthless,
powerful monarch who, also infatuated with
Léonor but having to give her up, is thirsty
for revenge.
Talented director Amélie Niermeyer has a
well-thought-out konzept definitely centring
on the woman. Sets are minimal but powerful
and create intimacy as well as religious
fervour, not to mention space and grandeur
that works so well that it even invokes the
Grand Opera in Paris.
Janos Gardonyi
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 73

Serenade
Thomas Hampson; Maciej Pikulski
Pentatone PTC 5186 681
(pentatonemusic.com)
Dominick Argento – The Adree Expidition
Brian Mulligan; Timothy Long
Naxos 8.559828 (brian-mulligan.com)
!!
Poor baritone
– the undisputed
“viola of voices.”
You see, among
orchestral instruments,
the violas
get no respect. All
the best jokes about
musical instruments
start with something like this: “What
do you call 100 violas at the bottom of the
ocean….” Seemingly, baritones get the same
dismissive treatment. You’ve heard the Three
Tenors, you know of the Celtic Tenors. There
are superstar sopranos, diva sopranos – even
an occasional mezzo star (Magdalena Kožená,
Frederica von Stade and many others). But
when, oh when, have you heard about a baritone
superstar? A part of this neglect is rooted
in the repertoire – baritones are usually the
villains, scoundrels, humourless fathers or
sour priests. But the true mystery to me is
why a baritone (one of the loveliest voices you
are likely to hear, and for me THE best voice
for chanson, lieder and any other voice-andpiano
music) has never reached the levels of
adoration that other voices have.
Here to prove
my point, two
gentlemen poles
apart in their
careers. Thomas
Hampson, arguably
the “old guard”
baritone, with
several decades, and
some 170 CDs to his name, is pitted against
Brian Mulligan, a young and already accomplished
graduate of the Juilliard School, here
making his recording debut. Even their choice
of music underlines the elegant divergence
in their approaches: Hampson recorded his
first record exclusively dedicated to French
songs by opera composers, while Mulligan
chose new vocal works by the American,
Dominick Argento. Both are passionate,
lyrical, thoughtful singers. Both fully understand
the works they sing – no empty soundmaking
typical of some sopranos here. Both
have the benefit of intelligent accompaniment
by great piano players: Hampson with the
phenomenal Maciej Pikulski, and Mulligan
with the equally redoubtable Timothy Long.
So maybe the recording quality will give one
of them an edge? Alas, the PentaTone transparent
recording is matched here by the more
present Naxos studio job – both excellent. So
the contest is a complete draw, as both singers
are wonderful, unabashed, triumphant and
resounding baritones!
The king of voices (in my small universe)
proves again its power and beauty, showcased
by both a seasoned and a novice singer, delivering
the most satisfying vocal music of the
past and the present and leaving the listener
with an urgent need to hear more. Now, about
those violas…
Robert Tomas
Robert Aldridge – Sister Carrie
Zabala; Phares; Morgan; Jordheim;
Cunningham; Florentine Opera Chorus;
Florentine Opera Company; Milwaukee
Symphony Orchestra; William Boggs
Naxos 8.669039-40
!!
Moby-Dick, The
Grapes of Wrath,
Little Women, The
Scarlet Letter… The
list of new operas
based on classic
American novels
keeps growing.
In 2012, the Naxos
recording of Robert Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry,
with a libretto by Herschel Garfein, won the
Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical
Composition. That same year, Aldridge and
Garfein completed Sister Carrie, based on
Theodore Dreiser’s novel. It was premiered
and recorded in 2016 by Milwaukee’s
Florentine Opera Company.
It’s 1900. Carrie (mezzo-soprano Adriana
Zabala) leaves her job in a Chicago shoe
factory, becoming the mistress of salesman
Charlie Drouet (tenor Matt Morgan). Besotted
with her, restaurant manager George
Hurstwood (baritone Keith Phares) steals
$10,000 from the restaurant safe, abandons
his wife and children, and tricks Carrie into
joining him on a train to New York.
Tracked down, Hurstwood avoids prosecution
by returning $7,000, promising to
repay the balance. Suddenly impoverished,
he becomes depressed and reclusive. Carrie
leaves him, finding work as an operetta chorister
(the dress-rehearsal scene is hilarious).
Hurstwood, unemployed and homeless, is
severely beaten leading homeless replacement-workers
during a labour strike. The
opera ends with a chorus of homeless men,
Hurstwood’s suicide and Carrie, now a star,
singing in the operetta production-number,
Why I’m Single.
Naxos describes Aldridge’s two-anda-half-hour
score as “richly melodic and
unapologetically tonal.” Drawing upon
the energy and bright colours of Broadway
musicals (although a darker palette would
have been more appropriate), Sister Carrie
succeeds as very accessible, highly theatrical
entertainment.
Michael Schulman
The Yeats Project
Sarah Jerrom
Independent SJ2016CD (sarahjerrom.com
Love Songs of James Joyce
Donna Greenberg
Independent (donnagreenberg.com)
! ! Lots of poetry to
music here. Sarah
Jerrom sets her
sights on William
Butler Yeats in The
Yeats Project, while
Donna Greenberg
sets James Joyce’s
words to music
in Love Songs of James Joyce. Though both
similarly use established poetry, each collection
is original in setting, style and length.
Sarah Jerrom has an almost otherworldly
approach to her ethereal compositions,
combining jazz, improvised, contemporary
and classical music. These are detailed, wellthought-out
settings to ten Yeats’ poems,
which fit her vocal stylings with complex
melodies, wide pitch jumps and subtle tonal
colours. She has arranged her work for an allstar
nine member chamber band of strings,
woodwinds, brass and rhythm section, each
member an improvising star in their own
right. By treating her instrumentalists as
equals, Jerrom creates perfect poetic musical
settings. The opening of He wishes for the
Cloths of Heaven is a heart-throbbing introduction
to an exploration of love through
words and sound. In sharp contrast, A Coat
/ That Reed-Throated Whisperer features
a more wide-ranging vocal line effectively
matched by a very low pitched clarinet. I
love the exciting free improvisation atonal
section at the beginning of Meru leading to an
almost spooky melody with shots and heldnote
band backup. The Lake Isle of Innisfree/
Stream and Sun at Glendalough is as epic as
its poetry in length, meandering improvisations
and moods. Sailing to Byzantium is a
more traditional jazz tonal tune with bouncy
drum and piano groove, clarinet solo and
vocal line swells and scat. So much reflection,
talent and respect for music, words and
performers make The Yeats Project a memorable
concentrated listening experience.
Donna Greenberg
has chosen 13
unrelated poems
from James Joyce’s
Chamber Music
(1907) to compose
a song cycle that
tells the story of
unrequited love.
She too touches many styles from classical to
jazz to folk to tell her musical story, creating
interesting accessible music. Her songs
complement her voice perfectly, while superstar
jazz pianist Mark Kieswetter performs
and arranges for piano, voice, strings, winds
and harp. The vocal and piano performances
74 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

are extremely musical, especially in My Love
is a Light Attire where the subtle piano introduction
leads to straightforward singing
about the splendours of love, setting the stage
for an emotional wash of strings and shifting
harmonies. Greenberg seems to be the most
in her element in the jazzier O Cool, which
features an extended piano solo and nice
doubling of voice and clarinet against the bass
line. It is great to hear Greenberg vocalize at
low pitches against low instrumental timbres
in Sleep Now, about insomnia and betrayal.
Though not as dense as Jerrom’s, Greenberg’s
song cycle is moving, smart and lyrical.
Tiina Kiik
CLASSICAL AND BEYOND
Beethoven: Piano Trios Vol.5 – “Archduke”
Trio, Kakadu Variations
Xyrion Trio
Naxos 8.572343
!!
Just like the
Emperor Concerto,
Beethoven’s Piano
Trio in B-flat,
Op.97 is also aptly
named. Apart from
Archduke Rudolf,
Crown Prince of
Austria to whom
it was dedicated, it is also the grandest, most
noble of the six works in this genre, a real
Archduke of trios. It has an unforgettably
beautiful opening theme that Beethoven
breaks down into small fragments with everchanging
instrumental combinations and
moods so they become sources of further
surprises. My love affair with it began in my
youth after hearing the legendary Cortot/
Thibaud/Casals recording on EMI; it reverberated
in me so much that I resisted listening
to any later version. Until now that is, when
I came across this new recording by three
young women from Germany who have
recorded all of Beethoven’s trios as their
debut with Naxos, winning some prestigious
prizes and world acclaim thereafter.
I was immediately surprised by the upbeat
tempo, a bit faster than I remembered, and
quite taken by the youthful, exuberant and
fresh spirit, where the strong personalities and
virtuosity of the individual artists add a new
insight, achieving a “vibrant and glowing”
(Fono Forum) and intense performance.
The Archduke Trio is flanked by two lesser
works. First is the earlier (1803) Kakadu
Variations, where Beethoven’s sense of
humour is evident with its long, gloomy slow
G-minor introduction that abruptly bursts
into a popular ditty and a set of bravura variations.
At one point one can even hear the
kakadu (cockatoo) shrieking on the violin.
The even earlier Trio in E-flat Major, WoO 38
from 1790 closes and adds further richness to
this delightful recording.
Janos Gardonyi
Programs 13 & 14; Programs 15 & 16
All-Star Orchestra; Gerard Schwarz
Naxos 2.110561 and 2.110562
!!
It’s been three
years now since
the American
conductor Gerard
Schwarz embarked
on an ambitious
project: assemble 95
leading musicians
from top orchestras
across 22 states and
record an annual
series of concerts
without an audience
over a brief four-day period using highdefinition
video cameras. The undertaking
has garnered considerable critical acclaim,
and since 2014, the All-Star Orchestra has
made a significant name for itself both
through television performances on PBS and
WNET and by means of a series of DVDs on
the Naxos label. The recording sessions made
during the third season have been captured
on two DVDs – programs 13/14 and 15/16
respectively – and together they present
eclectic programs of music from the late
Romantic period to the 20th century.
The first of these, subtitled “Russian
Treasures” and “Northern Lights,” features
Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition,
excerpts from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo
and Juliet and the Symphony No.2 by Jean
Sibelius. Prior to each performance, Schwarz
provides an informal commentary, while
various members of the orchestra offer their
thoughts on the music as well, all of which
makes for an engaging personal touch –
and the myriad of effective camera angles
throughout gives the ensemble a strong sense
of presence. The performances of all three
works are uniformly excellent. The individual
movements from Pictures are finely crafted,
while the familiar segments from the ballet
– Capulets and Montagues, Portrait of the
Young Juliet, Minuet and Death of Tybalt, are
in no small way aided by the warm strings,
a full and well-rounded brass section and
woodwinds with impeccable clarity. Sibelius’
grand and expansive symphony from 1902 is
treated with much aplomb, from the gentle
opening movement to the jubilant finale.
Programs 15 and 16 take the viewer from
Northern Europe to England and America of
the 19th and 20th centuries. “British Enigmas”
presents Elgar’s noble and dignified Enigma
Variations and Britten’s Young Person’s
Guide to the Orchestra. Less well known are
the ethereal Symphony No.2 “Mysterious
Mountain” by American composer Alan
Hovhaness and the Jubilee Variations, a
collaborative work by English composer
Eugene Goossens and ten American composer
friends. The final movement of the variations,
written by Goossens himself, is a true tour de
force requiring the ensemble to pull out all
the stops, thus bringing the work – and the
DVD – to a fitting
conclusion. The
viewer is left almost
wishing there was
a live audience
present to offer
a round of welldeserved
applause!
So to Gerard
Schwarz and the
ASO, a big bravo –
here’s hoping this
ambitious undertaking
will be around for many years to come,
bringing fine music-making to home audiences
around the world.
Richard Haskell
The Tchaikovsky Project – Manfred
Symphony
Czech Philharmonic; Semyon Bychkov
Decca 483 2320
! ! This CD is
the second
release in Decca
Classics’ orchestral
Tchaikovsky
Project that
features the Czech
Philharmonic and
conductor Semyon
Bychkov. For a lonely Romantic symphony
needing advocacy, this loving version of the
much-criticized Manfred Symphony (1886)
is the answer. An hour long and very difficult,
the work here receives extraordinary
endorsements in both performance and
program notes. In the Lento lugubre movement,
action begins with Manfred’s gloomy
descending theme in B-minor, a key associated
with tragedy (as in Swan Lake). The
drama is well-paced, with the orchestra
holding nothing back. The music of Manfred’s
beloved Astarte is an abrupt contrast, delicate
strings in delightful interplay with enticing
woodwinds. But the mood is temporary;
through a controlled build-up, brass forceful
but not blaring, Bychkov ushers in her
climactic death.
In the accompanying booklet, Bychkov’s
rebuttals to criticisms of repetitiveness and
episodic structure emphasize the work as
drama. While he compares it to opera I think
of ballet, for example in the light-on-its-feet
second movement where grieving Manfred
spots a water spirit; tremendously fast woodwind
runs precede strings of supernatural
virtuosity. In the following movement the
ländler’s dance rhythm along with instrumental
drones portray the Alpine people’s
rustic life, Manfred looking on sadly. The
Czechs’ idiomatic playing makes me want
to get up and dance! The orchestra’s energy
and aplomb through the bacchanal and
ensuing fugue are remarkable, though only
in heaven are the lovers reunited. Strongly
recommended.
Roger Knox
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 75

MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY
Shostakovich – The Golden Age
Bolshoi Ballet
BelAir BAC443
!!
A friend and I
watched this video
of, as we used to
call it, The Age of
Gold, with neither
of us knowing the
story nor what they
were dancing about.
Nevertheless, it was
so brilliant that we
watched it with
delight for quite
some time, simply revelling in the joyous
and boisterous music while captivated by the
goings-on onstage.
Shostakovich had a gift for musical satire,
as his opera The Nose exemplifies. This story
plays out on the floor of the Golden Age,
a restaurant in the south of Russia and a
favorite haunt of petty criminals in the 1920s.
Interlaced with a floor show in progress at
the restaurant, a young girl, Rita, now known
as Mademoiselle Margot, is desired both by
Boris, a young fisherman and aspiring actor
and Jacques, Rita’s dance partner, in reality
Yashka, the leader of a local gang of bandits.
Inevitably, as in any good melodrama, eventually
someone is stabbed to death. The librettist
and choreographer is the legendary
Yuri Grigorovich, well known and adored
in ballet circles. Thanks to Shostakovich
and Grigorovich the action is vibrant and
non-stop. There are a few familiar tunes,
including the Polka and Tea for Two. For
those in the know, the principal dancers
are Nina Kaptsova (Rita), Ruslan Skvortsov
(Boris), Mikhail Lobukhin (Yashka), Ekaterina
Krysanova (Lyuska, Yashka’s accomplice) and
Vyacheslav Lopatin (variety show compere at
the Golden Age). The high-definition video
is, as expected, breathtakingly real, as is the
usual astonishing virtuosity of the Bolshoi
orchestra as heard in earlier releases. For fans
of Shostakovich and/or Grigorovich this is a
self-recommending must-have.
As we are getting to that time of year, here
are two apropos serious gift suggestions: The
Great Bolshoi Ballets: four Blu-ray discs in
one package – Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty,
Giselle and The Flames of Paris (BelAir
BAC610), breathtaking in every respect; and
Shostakovich: The Complete Symphonies
& Concertos with Valery Gergiev and the
Orchestra and Chorus of the Mariinsky
Theatre & six soloists (Arthaus Musik 107552,
four Blu-ray discs plus hardbound book).
These are definitive live performances
recorded over the span of a year in the Salle
Pleyel in Paris. Unique.
Bruce Surtees
George Antheil – Symphonies 4 and 5
BBC Philharmonic; John Storgårds
Chandos CHAN 10941
!!
Best remembered
for his
futuristic Ballet
mécanique of 1926,
the New Jerseyborn
pianist and
composer George
Antheil (1900-
1959) was in his
youth the darling of the Parisian avant-garde
and a rising star of American music. Alas,
his attempt to replicate his Parisian acclaim
with an ambitious, high-profile American
remounting of this work at Carnegie Hall
in 1927 was a disaster from which the selfproclaimed
“Bad Boy of Music” was slow
to recover. His scandalous score (originally
conceived for an orchestra of player pianos,
percussionists and airplane propeller) was not
to be heard again for 60 years. Dejected, the
pugnacious, pistol-packing composer eventually
found work in Hollywood, where he
scored films and worked as a journalist. The
patriotic fervour of wartime 1940s America
brought him back into the spotlight with a
catalogue of works radically more conventional
than those of his youth. Antheil’s
Symphony No.4 (subtitled “1942”) was broadcast
nationwide by Stokowski in 1944 to great
acclaim and received numerous subsequent
performances. Later Eugene Ormandy would
come calling to commission his “Joyous”
Symphony No.5 (1948) for the Philadelphia
Orchestra. Throughout the 1950s however,
the quest for the “Great American Symphony”
faded along with Antheil’s career. He died
suddenly in 1959 of a heart attack.
The numerous tempo changes noted in
the track details to the movements of these
two symphonies hint at Antheil’s problematic
sectional approach to composition. It is
a challenge for any conductor to tie so many
mood swings together coherently, a task that
Storgårds for the most part achieves, though
to my mind Hugh Wolff’s CPO recording of
the same symphonies with the Frankfurt
RSO from the year 2000 is superior in this
regard. Despite the patchwork nature of
Antheil’s music there is never a dull moment;
the listener, though perhaps a tad confused,
will find the music consistently engaging
and effectively orchestrated. Surprisingly,
despite the self-consciously upbeat all-American
profile of these works, both symphonies
exhibit strong influences from the leading
Soviet composers of the era, notably the
obsessive dactylic rhythms of Shostakovich
and the harmonic twists of Prokofiev. A bonus
track brings us the first recording of Antheil’s
Over the Plains (1945), a cinematic evocation
of the landscape of Texas. All told, an
intriguing and enjoyable album, quite plushly
recorded and very keenly played.
Daniel Foley
Facets
Cline/Cuestas Duo
Independent (clinecuestasduo.com)
!!
There are many
fine flutists in the
world these days,
and Jenny Cline of
the Cline/Cuestas
Duo is definitely
one of them. She
and guitarist Carlos
Cuestas have put
together a terrific program which combines
four substantial contemporary compositions
balanced by music from the late 19th and the
early- and the mid-20th centuries.
At 15 minutes, Maximo Diego Pujol’s
Suite Buenos Aires is the longest of the four
contemporary pieces. Composed in 1995, its
four movements depict different parts of the
city after which it is named. The slow second
movement is particularly exquisite, opening
with a guitar solo beautifully played by
Cuestas, setting up Cline for the heartrending
solo which follows. The last movement too, is
particularly noteworthy, bristling with excitement
and precise teamwork.
Among the earlier compositions are six
of Bartók’s Romanian Dances and Enrique
Granados’ Danza Española No. 5: Andaluza,
from which the duo draws haunting nostalgia
for times past in pre-cataclysm Eastern
Europe and Spain respectively.
Daniel Dorff’s Serenade to Eve, After Rodin
(1999), beginning passionately lyrical and
moving to an astonishing virtuosic conclusion,
is yet another great addition to the
contemporary repertoire for flute and guitar.
So too is Gary Schocker’s Silk Worms, music
of great refinement commissioned by the duo
in 2013 and interpreted here with warmth
and conviction.
Credit also goes to Oscar Zambrano, who
mastered the recording, for really getting
the balance between the two instruments
just right. Congratulations to all who were
involved for an excellent first CD.
Allan Pulker
Klezmer Dreams
André Moisan; Quatuor Molinari; Jean
Saulnier
ATMA ACD2 2738 (atmaclassique.com)
! ! Originating
hundreds of year
ago, the roots of
klezmer, the instrumental
party music
of Ashkenazi
Jewish communities,
were enriched
by contact with the
music of the people
of Central and Eastern Europe and beginning
in the early 20th century, with jazz.
The performance of klezmer music generally
76 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

declined as the last century progressed.
Beginning in the 1970s a grassroots revival
spread out from its North American base,
today’s klezmer scene (re)embraces the globe.
Arab, Indian, Celtic and Korean musicians
are getting in on the act. Earlier this year
Amalia Rubin’s performance of a 1927 Yiddish
song on Mongolian TV’s version of American
Idol, accompanied by six Mongolian instrumentalists,
garnered thousands of likes on
social media.
Despite its transnational appeal, there are,
however, essential features which distinguish
klezmer music. Glissandi and syncopation
that evoke laughter or sobs, ornamentation
of the melody reflecting the inflections of the
human voice, and melodies moving within
the tonal modes of Central/Eastern Europe
are just three. Emotional mood is also often
sharply delineated, ranging from deep melancholy
to dancing exuberance.
Classical concert composers have been
attracted by klezmer’s vibrancy too. Five
are represented in the very satisfying album
Klezmer Dreams, including two Canadians,
Srul Irving Glick (1934-2002) and Airat
Ichmouratov (b.1973). Sergei Prokofiev’s
Overture on Hebrew Themes (1919) for
clarinet, piano and string quartet is the oldest
composition on this disc. Prokofiev retains
the folkloric flavour of the Jewish melodies he
borrowed while maintaining his idiosyncratic
composer voice, this time rendered in a light
tone. At over 35 minutes The Dreams and
Prayers of Isaac the Blind (1994) for Klezmer
clarinet and string quartet, by Argentinian-
American composer Osvaldo Golijov (b.1960),
is by far the longest and stylistically most
adventurous score here. It features the brilliant
and stylistically spot-on Klezmorim
clarinet solos of Montrealer André Moisan.
Starting and ending with a prayer, “Thou pass
and record, count and visit, every living soul,
appointing the measure of every creature’s
life and decreeing its destiny,” this substantial
work definitively demonstrates the reach of
klezmer – once considered folk party music –
deep into the concert hall.
Andrew Timar
Toy Piano Composers
Toy Piano Composers Ensemble; Pratik
Gandhi
Redshift Records TK452
(toypianocomposers.com)
!!
There can be few
more reliable guarantees
of contemporary
music that is
both thoughtful and
entertaining than
when the name Toy
Piano Composers
(TPC) appears on
the tin. Founded by pianists and composers
Monica Pearce and Chris Thornborrow, and
now with a decade of growth in performance
that has included over 120 new works
in various formats from chamber and orchestral
to operatic, TPC, fronted by its ensemble,
has grown exponentially in performance and
in creativity.
Fuelled as much by Reich, Riley, Glass
and Pärt as by the unfettered creativity of
young questing minds, the composers in the
collective as well as its performing ensemble
have continually pushed the proverbial
envelope and the ceaselessly receding
horizon, with music that has swelled with
classical elegance and avant-garde subversion.
This album – simply bearing the collective’s
name – appears to be the first by a group that
has focused so far solely on performance.
In keeping with the mission to create
something new and remain in the continuum
of the classical tradition, these seven works,
written by various composers from 2010 to
2014, are performed by the TPC Ensemble,
a group of nine instruments of contrasting
character. Together they are famously at ease
with the most testing new music for traditional
acoustic instruments plus toy piano.
From Clangor (Pearce) to Hermes’ Lure (Ruth
Guechtal) and Modus Operandi (Nancy Tam),
the TCP Ensemble may seem stretched to the
limit but are equal to the challenge.
Raul da Gama
Charles Wuorinen Vol. 3
loadbang; Anne-Marie McDermott; Group
for Contemporary Music; Charles
Wuorinen
Bridge Records 9490 (bridgerecords.com)
!!
Among the most
prolific of contemporary
American
composers, the
79-year old Charles
Wuorinen’s catalogue
of 260-plus
compositions
includes works for
opera, orchestra and chamber music, as well
as solo instruments and voice. He has received
many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and
the MacArthur Fellowship. The 2014 Madrid
premiere of Wuorinen’s opera, set on Annie
Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain, was covered
by international media and has had several
subsequent European productions.
Anthony Tommasini in his 2014 New York
Times review characterized Wuorinen as an
“unabashedly complex Modernist.” And while
in 2008 Wuorinen called the term serialism
“almost without meaning,” nevertheless his
career-long commitment to 12-tone composition
is clear, with Schoenberg, Berg, late
Stravinsky and Babbitt cited among primary
influences. Fractals and Mandelbrot mathematical
sets are also central to Wuorinen’s
recent compositional procedures.
Much of Wuorinen’s music makes great
technical demands on musicians, including
tonal leaps, extreme dynamic contrasts,
and rapid exchange of pitches, all requiring
extreme precision and virtuosity. This is all on
ample display in the three works on Charles
Wuorinen, Vol. 3.
The album opens with Alphabetical
Ashbery (2013) a song cycle/motet marked by
the free-flowing, playful and often disjunctive
poems by the American poet John
Ashbery performed by the unique forces of
loadbang: Jeffrey Gavett, baritone, Carlos
Cordeiro, bass clarinet, Andy Kozar, trumpet
and William Lang, trombone. The muscular
and substantial Fourth Piano Sonata (2007),
the latest and most traditionally structured
of Wuorinen’s works in this genre, is definitively
rendered by the brilliant pianist Anne-
Marie McDermott. It Happens Like This
(2010) closes the CD. At just over 39 minutes
in seven bite-sized movements, this fourvoice
cantata is set to American modernist
James Tate’s surrealistic poems, providing a
charming close to our musical visit with one
of America’s enduring elder statesmen of
composition.
Andrew Timar
Rhapsodies Around the World
Guy Yehuda; Deborah Moriarty
Blue Griffin Records BGR441
(bluegriffin.com)
! ! An ambitious
project launched
by clarinetist Guy
Yehuda resulted in
six new works for
clarinet and piano,
all somehow influenced
by Claude
Debussy’s Première
Rhapsodie. Rhapsodies Around the World is
a fair description of the contents, as all the
continents are represented by the diverse set
of composers Yehuda chose to commission.
The disc opens with his performance of
the model work, and Yehuda demonstrates a
decent finesse with this always-difficult piece.
His reading is marked by certain injections
of personality, if that’s the right word. Over
time a well-worn piece might seem to beg
for reinterpretation, and one is always free to
provide one, just as a listener is free to like or
dislike the layering of liberties pasted on the
original.
I’m grateful nonetheless to the performer
for this collection. The various spinoffs most
resemble the original only in duration, each
between eight and ten minutes in length.
The composers provide an accounting of
their approach to the project’s requirements,
some more prolix than others. The essay
by Michel Petrossian describing his Timkat
Song bears so much analysis on its own that
one might forget the fine piece of music it
describes. American violinist/composer Piotr
Szewczyk’s Luminous Rhapsody reminds me
of the music of Joan Tower. Yao Chen almost
literally recalls the original Rhapsodie at the
outset of Through Waters, By Mountains.
Clare Loveday of South Africa wrote
Heatwave during a real heat wave, gave up
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 77

on trying to find a connection to the model
work, and came up with a brilliant, jazzy
number. It, Parish Ode (attention anagram
lovers), by Liduino Pitombeira of Brazil, and
The Three Alcids by Melody Eötvös are my
favourites.
Max Christie
New Discoveries
Cavell Trio
Blue Griffin Records BGR447
(bluegriffin.com)
!!
A trio named
for a heroic WW1
nurse, or for the
mountain named
for Edith Cavell,
I’m not sure which,
has compiled more
than their share of
recordings of new
works and released
them on this disc. Sharing five reeds between
them, they also share a deft rhythmic sense
and more-than-decent pitch; nor is this
surprising, as they work together as section
mates of the Tuscaloosa Symphony.
The material is charming and spunky,
matched by solid and able instrumental
performances by Shelly Myers (oboe), Osiris
Molina (clarinet) and Jenny Mann (bassoon).
They are at their best in the more challenging
works, the opening track Devil Winds by
Greg Simon, Ron Wray’s Trail Mix and Trois
Pièces by Jeanine Rueff. Much of the other
material suffers from an amiable sameness,
exacerbated by unremitting reediness. The
virtue of blend becomes somewhat a cloying
sin over the course of this remarkably large
collection. It is as though the composers who
interest the group all choose similar movement
durations, and stick to conventional
sequences of mood and tempi. Or perhaps the
group has developed a sort of signature set of
tempi for slow, medium and fast. Or maybe
there is simply too ample a range of pieces
featuring this same group and too narrow a
stylistic range of composers presented for it to
be something to listen to straight through.
Carping aside, the playing is consistently
good: their blend, pitch and rhythmic unity
serve the composers well. The disc provides
a resource for other trios who might want
to pick and choose among the material
presented.
Max Christie
Antique Violences: Music of John Mackey
Michigan State University Wind Symphony;
Kevin Sedatoale
Blue Griffin Records BGR449
(bluegriffin.com)
!!
John Mackey (b.1973) is a much-commissioned
American composer. On this disc the
vocal writing and instrumentation of Songs
for the End of the World (2015), written for
the outstanding soprano Lindsay Kesselman,
is appealing. It
vividly re-imagines
part of the Odyssey
from the point of
view of Kalypso
on her island.
Mackey’s setting of
A.E. Jacques‘s text
reflects her weariness
from isolation,
leaving room for Kesselman’s rich voice
to grow vocally throughout the performance.
In the second movement Kalypso recalls
Odysseus washing up on shore after his shipwreck
and, in Lydian mode phrases extending
into Kesselman’s radiant top range, her
healing of him and the love they developed.
Bright harp, vibraphone and piano tones
add lustre. But after seven years Odysseus
leaves for Ithaca where Penelope awaits.
The third movement’s title At Sea indicates
Kalypso’s memory-haunted despair, captured
in Kesselman’s mournful tone backed by an
evanescent harp.
Antique Violences (2017), a four-movement
trumpet concerto premiered with panache by
Justin Emerich, evokes and questions mass
violence throughout history. While admiring
the composer’s wind symphony mastery and
idiomatic trumpet part, I question whether
the work realizes its stated musical ideas.
According to program notes for the second
movement “The music begins in a decadent
French Baroque style, then unravels its
shimmering mask to reveal the barbarism
beneath.” But to me it is poor musical
pastiche, lacking compensating artistic value.
Asphalt Cocktail (2009) is a high-class car
chase, with the Michigan State University
Wind Symphony conducted by Kevin L.
Sedatole attaining peak form.
Roger Knox
JAZZ AND IMPROVISED
The Brightest Minute
Andrew Scott Quartet
Cellar Live CL022817 (cellarlive.com)
!!
Skilled guitarist,
composer, arranger
and highly
respected jazz
educator Andrew
Scott has just
released his new
Quartet CD under
the fine auspices
of the internationally noted jazz label Cellar
Live. Co-produced by Scott and pianist Jake
Wilkinson (who also engineered), the CD
features eight tasty original, contemporary
jazz compositions by Scott, as well as a fine
lineup of players including Scott on guitar,
Wilkinson on piano, Jon Meyer on bass and
Jeff Halischuk on drums.
Kicking things off is My Ears Can’t
Hear Your Voice. Scott’s swinging, soulful,
full-bodied guitar sound brings to mind
elements of Tal Farlow, Herb Ellis and Grant
Green. Combine that with a tight, grooving,
acoustic quartet, propelled by the jaunty,
well-written material and Scott’s facile
soloing, and you have a dynamic jazz track.
Wilkinson’s rhythmic and emotional piano
style is clearly featured here, and is reminiscent
of a young Hampton Hawes.
A highlight of the recording (and in
contrast to the rest of the high-octane
tracks) is the thoroughly gorgeous ballad For
Marilyn, dedicated to Scott’s late mother,
Marilyn Elizabeth Scott, who died in 2016.
Scott is capable of such direct communication
through his music that one can easily
feel the love that inspired this piece. Also of
note is the title tune – a high-intensity, New
York-ish cooker that features not only the
musical tightness of the ensemble, but also
the high level of unspoken communication
between the band members. A final favourite
is Dreamin’ – rendered with an almost Basielike
simplicity and Scott’s perfect, rhythmic
comping and in-the-pocket soloing. Easily
one of the best small jazz group recordings
of the year.
Lesley Mitchell-Clarke
Grey Mirror
Jamie Reynolds
Fresh Sound New Talent FSNT 528
(freshsoundrecords.com)
! ! Canadian-born
and New York Citybased
jazz pianist
Jamie Reynolds
has just released
a challenging and
deeply moving
recording, featuring
himself on acoustic
piano and Wurlitzer as well as special guests
Matthew Stevens on guitar (who also served
as co-producer), Orlando LeFleming on
acoustic and electric bass and Eric Doob on
drums. Other key players on this project
are the noted brass quartet, the Westerlies,
featuring Andy Clauson and Willem de Koch
on trombones, and Zubin Hensler and Riley
Mulherkar on trumpets.
In the planning stages Reynolds determined
that in order to achieve the artistic expression,
depth and meaning that he was looking
for, he would arrange most of his 14 original
compositions on the CD to be played in two
diverse ways – by his trio plus Stevens and
also by a brass quartet… thereby illustrating
in a very real way, the constant, and often
distorted and contradictory mirror images
of nature.
The opening track, The Earliest Ending, is
first expressed as a brief intro of stunning,
warm and moving brass lines, and later as an
almost Satie-like piano solo which seamlessly
melds into sensual, lush guitar lines. The
same juxtaposition occurs with Small Worlds,
a hard-driving, face-melting guitar-centric
78 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

quartet take, followed later in the program
by a smooth and beautiful brass arrangement
of the same composition. Other superb
tracks include the evocative title track, which
features excellent solos from the quartet
and the stirring Good Help, replete with the
distinctive, percussive sound of the Wurlitzer
electric piano as well as concise and solid bass
work from LeFleming.
Lesley Mitchell-Clarke
Slightly Higher in Canada
Kite Trio
Sunset Hill Music SHM-021703
(kitetrio.com)
!!
With their third
release, this fine
Montreal-based jazz
trio has pushed past
the boundaries of
contemporary jazz
and into a zone of
pure expression and
freedom. Produced
by Dave King (The Bad Plus), the recording is
both raw and experimental. Of the 12 explorations
here, half are composed by the trio,
and half by the talented individual members
of the ensemble, which include Eric Couture-
Telmosse on guitar, Paul Van Dyk on bass and
Eric Dew on drums, synthesizer and banjo.
On the opening track, Pidgin, the ensemble
creeps in with a subtle, and then an insistent,
guitar-defined rhythm and melody. The
seemingly simple becomes complex as the
composition dis-assembles into molecular
form and re-assembles into kinesthetic
harmonic and percussive exultation. The
next track up is Paul Van Dyk’s Estranged –
a solemn solo journey to the netherworld of
the acoustic bass, where dark double-stops
transport the listener deep into the chasm of
the bass clef. The appealing That Good Old
Feeling features the trio in an energetic and
joyous light. Bombastic and masterful drum
and guitar work as well as solid, innovative
bass lines (arco and pizzicato) and some wellplaced
banjo embellishments define this fine
arrangement.
The dynamic title track establishes a
complex pulse of opposition and contrast,
while lyrical sections seductively lure the
listener into a thrilling guitar-infused realm
of vibrancy, rife with the goose-bump raising
excitement of possible danger. Another
standout is Milkman, which represents
the perfect integration of rock and free jazz
sensibilities, and also features more superb
Richter-scale musicianship from the trio a
well as intriguing synthesizer sequences.
Lesley Mitchell-Clarke
Sometimes Y
Lina Allemano Four
Lumo Records 2017-7
Squish It!
Lina Allemano’s Titanium Riot
Lumo Records 2017-8 (linaallemano.com)
!!
Trumpeter
Lina Allemano
has been playing
in Toronto for two
decades, becoming
a central figure
among the city’s
more creative musicians
and developing
enduring musical associations that tip
over into a variety of bands. In recent years,
Allemano has been splitting her time between
Toronto and Berlin, where her musical life
includes work with improvising ensembles
from duos to the Berlin Improvisers
Orchestra as well as studies with Axel Dörner,
whose exploration of extended techniques
has given the trumpet new life. On the home
front, Allemano is releasing work by her two
ongoing Toronto bands, each CD testifying
to the virtues of longstanding partnerships
combined with questing musical minds.
The Lina Allemano Four first recorded in
2003 and the current lineup has been in place
since 2006, with alto saxophonist Brodie
West, bassist Andrew Downing and drummer
Nick Fraser. The group has apparent roots in
classic free jazz ensembles like the Ornette
Coleman Quartet, with similar emphasis on
the leader’s compositions and an almost stark
principle of dialogue consistently informing
the music. There’s a frequent emphasis on
speech patterns in Allemano’s compositions,
sometimes consisting of short, emphatic
truncated phrases, and their realizations here
are just as conversational, with West consistently
adding supportive counterlines to
Allemano’s solos and the trumpeter returning
the favour. Kanada, a high point, ends with
an extended group dialogue that grows naturally
from Downing’s arco lead.
Allemano first
assembled Titanium
Riot in 2013 and
released the group’s
debut Kiss the
Brain a year later.
Including Ryan
Driver on analogue
synthesizer, Rob
Clutton on electric bass and Nick Fraser on
drums, the group, devoted to free collective
improvisation, undoubtedly benefits from the
years working together in different contexts.
The 2017 recording Squish It! is a dramatic
continuation of the process. In this context,
Allemano combines a distilled and pointed
lyricism with striking timbral explorations
to provide the music with an essential
focus. It’s evident in the opening moments
of the title track as she concentrates on long
tones and a sound that’s a striking combination
of subtle muting and the light buzz of
air through the horn, the effect suggesting
more than one trumpet. The quartet’s close
listening and attention to texture consistently
create an almost orchestral feel. Allemano’s
focused concentration on sonority dovetails
with Clutton’s rich sustained bass tones
and mobile lines, Fraser’s shifting, energizing
patterns and Driver’s creative mix of environmental,
vintage cartoon and sci-fi sounds. The
results range from the playful to the genuinely
mysterious.
While the methodologies of Allemano’s two
quartets differ, the groups share a collective
passion for creative interaction as well as
admirable results.
Stuart Broomer
Concert Note: The official double release
party takes place at the Tranzac on Tuesday,
November 28.
Thoughtful Fun
Heillig Manoeuvre
Independent HM2017 (heilligman.com)
! ! Canada’s onetime
boy wonder of
neo-mainstream,
Henry Heillig, has
now, unbelievably,
spent over 30
years ploughing
his fertile furrow
across the continent
and elsewhere with the Heillig Manoeuvre,
among other well-known ensembles. With
Thoughtful Fun, the Manoeuvre’s sixth
album, the bassist continues to entertain
and dazzle in his virtuoso playing together
with the extraordinary musicianship of other
members of this ensemble.
Every piece here is played by Heillig with
a languid ease, each rhythmic variation
following the other, quietly inexorabe, his
sumptuous bass sound brilliantly caught in
this recording. There is an unhurried quality
to his approach, a lived-in character to his
phrase-making that is very engaging; and
while it might lack the fire and brimstone of
youth, it is more than compensated for by the
well-honed values of experience.
Stacie McGregor on piano and organ, Charlie
Cooley on drums and Alison Young on saxophones
also bring their own exceptional musicianship
to the eight songs on this disc. Their
own playing puts a special spotlight on these
beautifully crafted arrangements of beguiling
variety and sensuousness, each informed by
lovingly caressed phrases at every turn.
Vocalist Alex Tait not only sings on Extreme
Strolling and El Niño, but has also written
poetic lyrics for the latter song. She too is
completely attuned to the vision of the Heillig
Manoeuvre. Hers is a voice whose mellifluous
timbre beguiles and swings in the spacious
arrangements of both songs.
Raul da Gama
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 79

Volume Two
Collective Order
Independent (collectiveorderjazz.com)
!!
What separates
Volume Two
from the 2016
album Volume
One by Collective
Order is the fact
that on this second
edition the music
comprises original
charts written by members of the ensemble,
a “community,” as it is referred to in the
notes to this package. While it is impossible
to imagine a group without at least a musical
director, Collective Order prefers to keep that
function anonymous in its determination to
maintain the communal spirit of these largeensemble
works, no doubt. So far this strategy
appears to be working to the group’s advantage,
as these 12 charts prove yet again and
with good reason.
Incredibly the work of composition too
is well-spread, including contributions
from Andrew McAnsh, Liam Stanley, Ethan
Tilbury, Ewen Farncombe, Jocelyn Barth,
Connor Newton, Chris Adriaanse, Laura
Swankey, Jon Foster, Connor Walsh, Belinda
Corpuz, Andrew Miller and Joel Visentin. This
represents a total of 13 members from the
19-member ensemble; something unusually
democratic in any configuration of a music
group. Even more remarkable is the fact that
despite coming from so many different pens,
there appears to be a wonderful uniformity
of sound suggesting a kind of rare musical
intimacy between the members of the band.
Whether evocative of rarefied realms, such
as in Laniakea, or for a deep attachment
to terra firma, as in Outside My Window,
each chart takes us into some wild or
wonderful place with trusted and inspiring
musical friends.
Raul da Gama
The Tide Turns
Brad Cheeseman
Independent BCM1701
(bradcheeseman.com)
!!
This exploratory
borehole into
the atmospheric
stratum of contemporary
music is
only the second in
the career of bassist
Brad Cheeseman.
Unlike other early
recordings made by musicians of his generation,
The Tide Turns redeems itself from
self-indulgence by being original (all but
one of the compositions is by Cheeseman)
and moreover, each is accessible enough to
not require any decoding on the part of the
listener. Secondly, this is a musical snapshot
captured in the process of – as the bassist puts
it – “change, self-discovery and reinvention.”
To those aspects of the music’s source one
might also add a blending of idioms in music
that also retains much emotional intensity
and originality.
On this disc Cheeseman shows that a musician
can set out to find his own voice; and
coming ever closer to doing so, might still
retain the early echoes of his idols and those
who influenced his playing. Happily the
accolade of winning the 2016 Montreal Jazz
Festival’s Grand Prix de Jazz has not made
Cheeseman either wool-headed or a musical
stuffed shirt. This is immediately recognisable
in the music, which is all born of a questing
quality combined with a rhythmically rocksolid
yet splendidly discursive style designed
to create music that seems to be contemplative
rather than chatty. Despite moments
which are unnecessarily garrulous and
interrupted by frequent solos, this is energetic
music exemplified in the swinging of
Falling Forward.
Raul da Gama
Float Upstream
Tom Rainey Obbligato
Intakt Records CD292 (intaktrec.ch)
!!
There’s a special
relationship
between jazz and
the Great American
Songbook, that
collection of old
popular songs,
Broadway show
tunes and movie
themes largely assembled from the 1920s
to the 1950s. Whether approached casually,
romantically, harmonically or ironically,
that songbook links performers from Louis
Armstrong to Anthony Braxton and almost
everyone in between. Drummer Tom Rainey
has explored it in depth in association with
pianists Fred Hersch and Kenny Werner; with
his band Obbligato, he has found a distinctive
path, combining standards with collective
improvisation.
Obbligato includes frequent Rainey collaborators,
saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and
the émigré Canadian pianist Kris Davis,
along with the similarly distinguished trumpeter
Ralph Alessi and bassist Drew Gress.
They establish an identity immediately, the
collectivist Stella by Starlight extending
the theme’s moody haze with the horns’
exchanges until Davis initiates a bright,
fluid approach, animating the piece along
with sparkling eruptions from Gress and
Rainey as well.
The advanced harmonic language suggests
composer George Russell at times, but
Laubrock and Alessi also thrive on the
original melodies, developing pointillist
moments on Sam Rivers’ Beatrice and
a pensive luminosity on I Fall in Love Too
Easily. The counterpoint and sheer rhythmic
energy of What Is This Thing Called Love?
recall the invention of Sonny Rollins at his
most exploratory, while the extended What’s
New? takes the quintet furthest afield, a
unique cross breeding of 50s cool jazz lyricism
and contemporary impulses that’s at
once familiar and fresh.
Stuart Broomer
Another Time – The Hilversum Concert
Bill Evans Trio
Resonance Records HCD-2031
(resonancerecords.org)
!!
In 2016,
Resonance released
Some Other Time,
an unknown studio
recording by the
Bill Evans Trio
from 1968, only the
second recording
issued by the group
that included drummer Jack DeJohnette as
well as Evans’ longstanding bassist Eddie
Gomez. The label has now released this live
radio studio broadcast from the Netherlands,
recorded just two days later. The recording
quality is every bit as good and the presence
of an audience adds to the performance’s
vitality.
Evans was a master of ballad reveries
that extended the harmonic language of
jazz with a Scriabin-like passion for modes
and chromaticism. On his greatest recordings,
however, he thrived on the most aggressively
creative supporting musicians that jazz
ever had to offer, the bassist Scott LaFaro and
the drummer Philly Joe Jones, who never
appeared together in Evans’ recorded legacy.
This trio with the relentlessly busy Gomez
and DeJohnette, a highly inventive drummer
between appointments with Charles Lloyd’s
quartet and Miles Davis’ band, is as close as
we’re liable to hear.
The complex dynamic exchange adds to
You’re Gonna Hear from Me, Evans’ dense
chords subtly ambiguating the song’s
determined self-confidence, and it only
develops from there, whether it’s illuminating
the contemporary Who Can I Turn
To? or animating the superior ballad Emily.
The concert unfolds beautifully, through
DeJohnette’s feature Nardis to superb renditions
of Evans’ own Turn Out the Stars and a
brief, explosive version of Five. It’s an essential
recording for Evans enthusiasts.
Stuart Broomer
Vein plays Ravel
Vein (featuring Andy Sheppard)
Challenge Records Int. DMCHR 71179
(vein.ch)
! ! Claude Debussy was at the head of the
re-emergence of a complete French school
in music that began as a reaction against
Wagnerism. His most famous lieutenant
was Maurice Ravel who, however, never
completely followed Debussy’s lead into the
80 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

world of extreme
formal and tonal
ambiguity. It was
Ravel who cultivated
a style that
combined the
Classical with the
contemporary and
famously – especially
in Le Tombeau de Couperin – fostered
a more complex hybrid that included Romani
music, jazz, Spanish culture and the music
of the Far East. It is with that iconic suite
composed originally for solo piano that Vein
begin their unusual tribute to Ravel.
On Le Tombeau de Couperin Vein employs
the jazz trio format to re-imagine Ravel’s
suite, adding to the subtle colours and evanescent
textures of the music. In the hands
of pianist Michael Arbenz, bassist Thomas
Lähns and drummer Florian Arbenz, the
listener is not merely dazzled by sound, but
rather introduced to Ravel’s marvellous sense
of melody and structure. This tribute to the
dead, written during World War I, is brought
back to life by Vein with unconventional and
progressive harmonies. A horn section on
Bolero finds saxophonist Andy Sheppard its
most skilful advocate. Florian Arbenz never
loses concentration either, adopting a welljudged
pulse and joining the full group in
moulding a wonderfully rich orchestral
texture. Vein plays Ravel is classic jazz.
Raul da Gama
Flauto Dolphy
Dominik Strycharski
Fundacja Sluchaj FSR 03/2017 (sluchaj.org)
!!
Jazz avatar Eric
Dolphy (1928-
1964) was proficient
playing alto saxophone,
bass clarinet
and especially flute
in Charles Mingus’
and John Coltrane’s
groups. Here, his compositions and improvisations
are saluted by Dominik Strycharski.
Moving confidently through the eight tracks
during a live session that leaves little space
for miscues, the Polish polymath serves
up unaccompanied interpretations of the
Dolphy canon using soprano, alto, tenor and
bass recorders, as if this is the most normal
musical showcase.
Such Dolphy classics as Gazzelloni (named
for the classical flutist) and Hat and Beard
(saluting Thelonious Monk) are sophisticatedly
reconstituted. That’s because
Strycharski’s technical skills allow him
to build up the second piece from atomsized
bites that are both percussive and
triple-tongued, to a selection of dissonant
pitches. Meanwhile Gazzelloni divides into
exploding multiphonics seemingly squalled
from more than one recorder at once, only
to descend into a delicately tonal coda.
Screeching atonality that brings out the
instruments’ pseudo-metallic buzz on Iron
Man confirms Strycharski’s skilful appropriation
of both solo and accompaniment functions.
Meanwhile his own composition, the
concluding Sam, sets up ecstatic airy whorls
and whirls that are as vocalized as they are
played, yet still manage to capture and salute
the melodic as well as the militant attributes
of Dolphy’s art.
Ken Waxman
Golan Volume 2
Hubert Dupont
Ultrarack UT 1005 (ultrabolic.com)
!!
More cosmopolitan
than curious,
French bassist
Hubert Dupont’s
idea is for his
quintet to intertwine
Arabicrooted
sounds
with strands of
improvised music. Golan does so by stripping
away the tinge of exoticism, treating the
Middle Eastern instruments and melodies
no differently than if both were part of the
Western canon. Having players flexible in
both idioms helps. Besides Dupont, who has
worked in many jazz formations, the band
includes countryman clarinetist Matthieu
Donarier who has similar improvised music
experience. Flutist Naïssam Jalal is French/
Syrian, and she and Tunisian violinist Zied
Zouari play jazz as well as traditional music.
Meanwhile Palestinians, oud player Ahmad
Al Khatib and percussionist Youssef Hbeisch,
work both in Europe and the Middle East.
Accept the Changes, with its dual-meaning
title, is a perfect example of this formula.
Beginning with spiccato lines from the
violinist that are quickly given jazz underpinnings
by double bass strokes, a Maghreblike
rhythm from Hbeisch’s darbouka joins at
the same time as contralto clarinet glissandi
arrive as counterpoint. With cymbal slaps and
conga-like raps added, the piece crosses and
re-crosses figurative borders without losing
fluidity.
Themes expressed by various soloists
include a flamenco-like showcase for Al
Khatib’s oud on Furatain completed by sly
contemporary plucking from Dupont, plus a
harmonized clarinet and flute lilt on Midday
Promise that suggests 17th-century Graz more
than present-day Gaza.
Ken Waxman
Concert Note: Hubert Dupont’s Golan is
in concert at Brampton’s Rose Theatre on
November 4.
POT POURRI
Neither of Either
Jordana Talsky
Independent JT-17-02 (jordanatalsky.com)
!!
Although
Neither of Either is
the second album
released by Jordana
Talsky, it feels a little
like a debut, since
this one is almost
exclusively original
songs. The Torontobased
singer-songwriter (and lawyer) teamed
up with JUNO Award-winning producer,
Justin Abedin. It’s a happy collaboration, for
although the songs are harmonically and
rhythmically straightforward at their heart,
the textures added by the arrangements and
production lend complexity and richness.
The predominant style of the album is
indie-pop but there are touches of jazz and
soul throughout, making it an interesting
listen. It’s even a little bit country on Ways,
which has a hook worthy of any Nashville
hitmaker. Sick veers into fist-pumping rocksong
territory except it’s done almost all a
cappella, which gives it an unusual twist. The
techno-tinged Bitter Sweet Heart (co-written
with J. Gray) is another standout with its
pretty chorus.
Talsky’s voice is warm and appealing –
powerful when needed, at times pure and
sweet – and her style is refreshingly free of
artifice. Her singing and arranging skills really
shine on the unaccompanied pieces (like
her take on Alanis Morissette’s You Oughta
Know, the only cover) where it’s all her – no
other singers, no band – and it’s impressive.
Cathy Riches
Tea for Three
The Willows
Flatcar Records FCR-005
(flatcarrecords.com)
! ! There is a
plethora of upbeat
happy performances
in the debut
release by the vocal
trio The Willows
– Krista Deady
(contralto), Lauren
Pederson (mezzosoprano,
composer/arranger) and Andrea
Gregorio (soprano). Their website bios state
that they were involved in dance together
from childhood, both in their hometown of
Edmonton and here in Toronto at Ryerson
University’s dance program. A chance public
Ryerson music class vocal performance
encouraged them to further explore the music
world together. They are definitely dancers
who can confidently sing with clear diction,
colour, pitch, love of life and tight harmonies.
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 81

There is nothing really adventurous in
the music – all the tracks have Pederson
penning the songs either alone or with other
composers. Her music is reminiscent of many
female vocal trio jazz and ballad styles of past
decades, with support from brilliant background
musicians. Breakfast in Bed has a
great upbeat sing-along melodic hook, while
Dear Gussy is a klezmer-flavoured toetapping
tune. Valentine is a mellower jazz
ballad with storytelling lyrics that showcase
their vocal nuances. All the string and
horn instrumentalists are great, with special
mention to George Koller (bass), William
Sperandel (trumpet/flugelhorn) and Tom
Szczesniak (accordion), and the recording/
production teams.
Just like they buoyantly sing the words
“never judge a man by his cover” in the
closing track Never Judge, don’t judge The
Willows by their self-proclaimed different
hair colours but instead indulge in their
exploration of easy listening jazz.
Tiina Kiik
Two Roads
Julia Seager-Scott
Pipistrelle Music PIP1706 (harpmusic.ca)
!!
In her inaugural
solo recording,
classically trained
local modern pedal
harpist Julia Seager-
Scott embarks on
an adventurous
musical journey
performing/arranging
on two new instruments for her – the
Baroque triple harp and the clarsach or traditional
Gaelic wire-string harp.
Handel’s Harp Concerto in B-flat Major,
third movement, is the only non-arrangement
performance here. Seager-Scott writes
that she learned this staple of the pedal harp
repertoire as a teenager but was thrilled to
relearn and record it as originally written for
triple harp. Her clear melodic lines against
the lower contrapuntal notes are perfect,
along with glorious Baroque ornamentation.
Equally memorable is her performance of
Monteverdi’s Pur ti miro from Poppea, which
showcases her confident sense of Baroque
tempo and style. Seager-Scott also experiments
with improvisation in two tracks
with Monteverdi bass lines, as one take in
the opening track, and layered takes in Harp
Party Improvisation.
Her numerous tracks on clarsach harp of
the traditional Irish folk music of Turlough
Carolan (also known as O’Carolan) are a
welcoming musical contrast to the Baroque
music. Planxty Burke/Planxty Drew features
an uplifting melody against a toe tapping lilt.
Equally memorable is the slower emotional
and touching performance of Clergy’s
Lamentation.
Production is clear and successfully
captures the performer’s musical nuances.
The detailed liner notes are informative
though the tiny print may be difficult to
decipher. Keep listening to the end as a secret
track with harp and singing complete Seager-
Scott’s multifaceted adventure.
Tiina Kiik
Something in the Air
An Added Ingredient for
Integrated Improvisation
KEN WAXMAN
Sympathetic dynamics and mutual compatibility are attributes
ascribed to notable musical groupings. That’s why so many are
made up of players from the same country or even the same
region: think of the Budapest String Quartet, Liverpool’s The Beatles
or the New York Jazz Quartet. But as music becomes more global
this nationalism is increasingly rare. Here are CDs whose direction
has been changed – or not – by adding a foreign player to an existing
local combo, by creating a new entity with one expatriate element, or
when players from various national backgrounds root themselves in
one place.
Judging from the results on Ghost Lights
(Songlines 1621-2
songlines.com), French pianist Benoît
Delbecq joining the Vancouver-based trio of
clarinetist François Houle, guitar and oud
player Gordon Grdina and percussionist
Kenton Loewen was more like mixing two
complementary compounds than introducing
an unstable element to a scientific
formula. That’s because the Houle/Grdina/Loewen trio has been
together since 2014, while the clarinetist and keyboardist have worked
as a duo since 1996. Delbecq’s familiarity with non-Western scales
coupled with Loewen’s skill on the Arabic lute give pieces such as Ley
Land and especially Soft Shadows an Eastern cast. Ley Land’s moody
and crepuscule feel is further advanced by slurred string fingering
and Houle’s chalumeau slurps. Meantime Soft Shadows’ Eurasian
tinge is intertwined with minimalist tones as organ-like drones from
processed loops create a continuum. Placing a wispy reed narrative
atop sharp guitar lines, percussion shuffles and restrained pianism as
on Ghost Lights only works for so long. Like a dainty tiara perched on
a massive head of hair the wrong movement can upset the balance.
Luckily equilibrium is maintained due to contralto clarinet cries
matched with modulated piano tones. The CD’s most jazz-like piece
is Gold Spheres which evolves into a suite of multicoloured, almost
Africanized tinctures. Ghostly and atmospheric via reed snarls and
plucked inner piano strings, the wavering theme is both percussive
and succoring. Underlying harshness is relieved with slurred
guitar fingering while the quartet demonstrates perfect control of the
material, since neither this timbral softening nor the preceding firmness
prevents the tune from attaining a notable finale.
A similar situation is delineated on the
aptly-titled Everything is a Translation (Fiil
Free Records FFR0916 larsfiil.dk); a suite
composed by Danish pianist Lars Fiil and
interpreted by the Fiil Free septet of five
Danes, Swedish guitarist Henrik Olsson
and Polish trumpeter Tomasz Dąbrowski.
Composed so that each subsequent track
bleeds into the next, the five sequences
go through sections of speed and static, Arcadian lulls and aggressive
outbursts. Symbolically the session also marks how completely
Dąbrowski has integrated Scandinavian ethos. Unlike some showcases
where the soloist seems to be jammed on top of the ensemble,
the trumpeter’s muted grace notes are present from the first track
Why Search for Common Ground, with textures reflecting back onto
Fiil’s low-frequency, Lisztian chording and offhanded cracks and
swats by drummer Bjørn Heebøll and vibraphonist Martin Fabricius.
There’s such bonding that the tempo speeding up and becoming more
swinging almost passes unnoticed. Later instances such as a blustering
brass call plus piano pumps show how to fearlessly inhabit
the groove between hard bop and cool. That piece fades seamlessly
into the neo-pastoral title tune, where sour brass whistles in counterpoint
to smeared reed lines also don’t upset the narrative flow or
detract from the overall beauty. At the same time, since the suite is
sturdy and organically constructed to highlight beautiful colours, it
never lapses into mere landscaping. To demonstrate its modernity
82 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

and the versatility of the players, a track like Is It Doubt includes
brass shakes and mouthpiece kisses from the trumpeter that keep the
relaxed piano and decorative vibraphone narrative from sounding too
comfortable.
A distinct variation of this add-a-foreignplayer
appears on Live in Moscow (Leo
Records CD LR 781 leorecords.com) where
the 15-year-old Berlin-based Clarinet Trio
– consisting of Jurgen Kupke (clarinet),
Michael Thieke (clarinet, alto clarinet) and
Gebhard Ullmann (bass clarinet) was joined
by Russian alto saxophonist Alexey Kruglov.
Recorded in real time, the CD initially showcases
four instances of the trio’s near-telepathic interactions as the
members build a collection of layered sonic edifices. In low- or highfrequency
elaborations, the sense of perpetual discovery is obvious
with Kupke’s bugle-call timbre-stretching, Thieke decorating the
themes with jagged glissandi and Ullmann puffing along freight-trainlike
preserving the bottom. Adding the saxophonist turns the interface
more dissonant, but without losing the connective thread. Collective
No.9 (Part 1-4) intensifies the reveille-like yaps, squeaking bent notes
and foghorn-pitched smears from the clarinets with the saxophonist
contributing tongue slaps, reed bites, then builds to a cacophonous
crescendo where all four explore the deepest regions of their horns.
Yet not only do the four on Kleine Figuren No.2 immediately unite
high-pitched glissandi to create peppy, yet comforting harmonies that
are almost as tonal as a Christmas carol, the preceding sounds are
prelude to the concluding 14-minute-plus News? No News! Perfectly
harmonized as a Baroque chamber ensemble, but with finger-snapping
energy, they take turns propelling the theme, taking it apart
and reconstituting it. Furry slurs from linked alto and bass clarinets
suggest a Romantic tone poem, while Kruglov’s jagged and jiggling
split tones describe an alternate sound portrait. Finally, a melancholy
crescendo of crackling tones is attained and regularized by Ullmann’s
rhino-like snorts. The four’s interlaid harmonies end the piece
without schism and without sacrificing its cutting edge.
Kruglov’s potential disruptive forces were
actually melodiously linked to the Trio’s longtime
sound strategy. But an additional element
can also push an already dissonant game plan
to a strident peak. Consider Conversations
About Not Eating Meat (Border of Silence
BOS 001 borderofsilence.com). Here the
Basel-based Defibrillator trio, made up of
Polish brothers Sebastian Smolyn on electronically processed trombone
and Artur Smolyn on electronics, plus Berlin-based drummer
Oliver Steidle, invite powerful German multi-reedist Peter Brötzmann
to record with them. The result could be likened to an aural record of
North Korea’s nuclear tests. While a true defibrillator uses electrical
shocks to help control arrhythmias, and although Brötzmann’s reed
blasts have usually been linked to power from the guts, it’s mostly the
trio’s electronic boosts which pump out a blitzkrieg of themes so that
obbligatos from the saxophonist sound almost moderato. This aural
landscape of industrial noise also gains traction from the trombonist’s
extended plunger forays. With the processed oscillations arriving
as unexpected as a prolonged power outage in a city’s downtown core,
on pieces such as The Man with One Ball and Fuckir Brötzmann’s
doggedly straightforward improvising, trombone siren calls and drum
bumps cut a path through the swooshing wave forms like a bowling
ball scattering pins. Asserting the primacy of human lung power
through a combination of multiphonic growls and altissimo screams
is further proof of the saxophonist’s skill. In fact, by the climactic
Cellulite Guru finale, many of the underlying drones and signalprocessed
timbral distortions have become so regularized and dampened
that Brötzmann’s usual overwrought reed narratives seem as
mellow as Sonny Rollins elaborating a tune backed by a conventional
rhythm section.
The final variant of our theme involves trombone,
saxophone, bass and drums. That’s the
configuration of Danish-born Anne Mette
Iversen’s Berlin-based Ternion Quartet
(Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records BJUR
062 bjurecords.com). Iversen organized the
group in 2015 with alto saxophonist Silke
Eberhard, percussionist Roland Schneider
(both German) and trombonist Geoffroy
De Masure (French). Working in classic contemporary fashion with
round-robin solos from the frontline firmly grounded by Iversen’s bass
pulse and rattling drum beats, the four never stray far from swing.
This emphasis on foot-tapping also means that except for the odd
cymbal slap and snare clunks on tunes such as Trio One Schneider
stays in the background, with the bassist. Overall, the quartet’s most
notable work occurs on a trio of tunes placed in the CD’s centre.
Debacled Debate gives the trombonist space for vocalized cries, which
evolve to bel canto grace notes decorated with twisted trills from
Eberhard and a squirming bottom from the rhythm section. Reversing
pitch roles, the saxophonist and trombonist extend A Cygnet’s
Eunoia by moving brass tones upwards and reed timbres downwards.
Slippery smears from Eberhard and bottom burrs from De Masure
result in harmonies that join to produce skipping swing. The trombone
tone remains in the basement during Escapade #7. But before
De Masure and Eberhard engage in some jaunty tune-ending call-andresponse
she constructs a Dolphyesque solo that’s harsher and more
dissonant, but doesn’t upset the tune’s forward motion.
Such coherent playing is an indication not only of the band’s
mutual musical understanding, but also marks an instance in which
individual nationality is an invisible part of the performance. It’s this
connection to which all these ensembles aspire.
The Ken Page Memorial Trust and WholeNote Media Inc.
are delighted to invite you to the next performance by
JIM GALLOWAY’S
WEE BIG BAND
UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MARTIN LOOMER
Thursday 9 th November 2017
from 7:30 to 10:30 pm
back in The Garage, that
spacious, acoustically friendly
venue on the ground floor
of the CSI Building at
720 Bathurst Street
(two blocks south of Bloor )
Doors 7:00 pm for Open Seating
Tickets $25 each, cash only please
Questions: phone Anne Page at: 416 515 0200
or email: moraig@huntingstewart.com
Licensed Premises
New quick service menu
Street parking
whether or not you attended
our previous events, please gather
your friends and join these fabulous
musicians for another evening of
swing era nostalgia, toe-tapping
camaraderie, dancing and more
This concert is supported by Jim’s
Friends and is dedicated to his memory
and to band members passed
thewholenote.com November 2017 | 83

Old Wine, New Bottles
Fine Old Recordings Re-Released
BRUCE SURTEES
Carl Schuricht was an esteemed German conductor in the first
half of the 20th century. He was born in Danzig into a dynasty
of organ builders in 1880 and studied at the Berlin Hochschule
from 1901 to 1903. During his first years as a conductor he was to
be heard in Mainz, Kreuznach, Dortmund, Goslar and Zwickau.
From 1909 he conducted the Rühl Oratorio Society in Frankfurtam-Main.
From 1912 to 1944 he was the chief conductor and general
music director of Wiesbaden and was also active as a guest conductor.
He was a guest of the St. Louis Symphony in 1927. After 1944 he
conducted and recorded with the finest orchestras, the Vienna, Berlin
and London Philharmonics, the Swiss Romande Orchestra, etc.
In 1956 he returned to North America with the Vienna Philharmonic
on a 12-city tour, appearing in Washington, New York, Cleveland,
Cincinnati and elsewhere on the East Coast, and including Toronto’s
Massey Hall on November 28, winding up before the General
Assembly of the UN in New York on December 10. He continued
to conduct concerts and record in Europe over the next decade. He
died in 1967.
Today, as time and technology march on, his name is really familiar
only to collectors such as those who support the long list of his
recordings at amazon.com (far fewer at amazon.ca and elsewhere).
Newer editions appear from time to time, the most recent from
Audite and Decca which contain interesting and engaging performances
reflecting his sensitivity and understanding of the composer’s
intentions.
Decca’s CDs are in a compact box, Carl
Schuricht; The Complete Decca Recordings
(4831643, 10 CDs). Part of this set is
contained in Decca’s Original Masters
five-CD set from 2004 with some interesting
additions. There is a Beethoven
Second taken from the 1947 78s with the
Swiss Romande, produced by the renowned
Victor Olof, who produced just about all
the (then) state-of-the-art recordings in this collection, all of which,
barring this one, sound very clean and dynamic. Another 1947 Swiss
Romande recording features violinist Georg Kulenkampff and cellist
Enrico Mainardi in the Brahms Double Concerto. There are many
others worthy of attention leading to the tenth disc, an all-Wagner
program played by the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, France’s leading
orchestra at the time consisting of professors from the Conservatoire
and their pupils. Heard are the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan
and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey leading into Siegfried’s Death and
Funeral March from Gotterdämmerung. Heaven only knows how
many times I’ve heard these but I do not recall being so affected by
the poignancy of the Tristan nor the sweep of the Siegfried. There is a
wealth of superior performances here, sounding clean and dynamic,
so do check them out at arkivmusic.com for complete details, except
recording dates.
The Audite CD (Lucerne Festival Historic Performances, Vol. 11: Carl
Schuricht Conducts Mozart & Brahms, Audite 95645) finds Schuricht
joined by pianist Robert Casadesus with the Swiss Festival Orchestra
playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.27 in B-flat Major, K595 on
August 19, 1961. Schuricht had been
appearing at the Lucerne Festival since the
end of 1944 when he conducted Beethoven’s
Missa Solemnis. He was welcomed there
as “the only representative, apart from
Otto Klemperer, of the generation of old
German conductors still remaining active.”
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung later reported
that “Even if the 81-year-old has difficulty
walking to his podium, his music making has remained astonishingly
young. His economical, precise beat and the security and suppleness
with which he effects modifications of the basic tempo give no hint
of fatigue or decline of mental or emotional faculties.” The second
item of concerts from Lucerne is the Brahms Second Symphony from
September 8, 1962 with the Vienna Philharmonic. A listener might
care to compare this performance with the 1953 version also with the
Vienna Philharmonic in the above Decca set. It certainly shows what
this 82-year “old German conductor” could draw from an orchestra.
I remember years ago collecting the recordings
of Walter Gieseking, including the
various Schubert shorter pieces that he
played with such élan and affection that
one would think that they were personal
friends. Appian has released a four-CD
set of Gieseking’s complete solo recordings
of Brahms, Schubert and Schumann
that he made for English Columbia in the
1950s (APR 7402, 4 CDs). After looking over the list of contents,
I put disc two into my player to hear again Gieseking playing the
eight Klavierstücke, Op.76; the Seven Fantasies, Op.116; the Three
Intermezzi Op.117 and the six Klavierstücke Op.118. There were some
disappointments but many more were just as I remembered. Perhaps
the overload of hearing one piece and then another and another is not
really an ideal way to judge a work, nor fair to the artists. An overload.
Of interest is that the above four works were recorded over
three days, June 20 to June 22, 1950. Unlike many of his colleagues
Gieseking enjoyed making recordings. He just sat there and played,
so this must have been a treat for him. Also he claimed that he never
practised as giving recitals was practise enough. He had the score
clearly in his head. The third disc contains the two sets of Impromptus
Op.90 and 142. The fourth and last disc with Schubert’s Six Moments
musicaux Op.94 and Three Pieces D946 concludes with two Chopin
pieces, the Berceuse Op.57 and the Barcarolle Op.60 and two Scriabin
pieces, Poème Op.32 No.1 and Prélude Op.15 No.4.
A better way to clear one’s musical taste buds would be to return to
disc one for Brahms’ Klavierstücke Op.119 and the Two Rhapsodies
Op.79 followed by some music by Brahms’ close friend, Schumann.
Here is a gentle reading of Kinderszenen Op.15 and an enthusiastic,
at times passionate version of Carnaval Op.9; then a farewell with
Schlummerlied, No.16 of Albumblätter Op.124 and some parting notes
from the enigmatic Vogel als Prophet, No.7 of Waldszenen Op.82.
There was nothing pretentious about Gieseking’s playing. One gets
the distinct feeling that he is sharing his thoughts. Simply, the art that
conceals the art.
84 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

TS
Toronto
Symphony
Orchestra
Oundjian
Conducts
Vaughan
Williams
Wed, Nov 15 at 8:00pm
Thu, Nov 16 at 2:00pm
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Louis Lortie, piano
Sarah Jeffrey, oboe
Teng Li, viola
Carla Huhtanen, soprano
Emily D’Angelo, mezzo-soprano
Lawrence Wiliford, tenor
Tyler Duncan, baritone
Elmer Iseler Singers
Performed by an all-Canadian cast
of soloists, this must-see program
explores works by the great English
composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.
SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR
RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW.
416.593.1285 TSO.CA

FEATURE
MUSIC OF
REMEMBRANCE
continued from page 9
To commemorate Remembrance
Day this year, the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra and guest
conductor Tania Miller will give the
Toronto premiere of Afghanistan:
Requiem for a Generation. The
TSO production features soprano
Measha Brueggergosman, mezzosoprano
Allyson McHardy, tenor
Colin Ainsworth and baritone
Tania Miller
Brett Polegato with the Toronto
Mendelssohn Choir and the Toronto Children’s Chorus. TSO music
director Peter Oundjian has written: “Of course, Jeffrey Ryan is one
of the country’s most distinguished composers, and his work as our
affiliate composer some years ago was outstanding. I am always keen
to hear the most recent works by our former affiliates, and when our
creative team brought this Requiem to me, I knew that we should
program it. It is truly an epic work. Suzanne Steele’s moving poetry and
Jeff’s powerful music make for an unforgettable experience.”
The performances take place in 8pm concerts on November 9 and
11 at Roy Thomson Hall. The concert also contains music by Vaughan
Williams, the Scottish piper G.S. McLennan and a short so-called
“Sesquie for Canada’s 150th” by Julien Bilodeau. Jeffrey Ryan will
attend both Toronto performances, as well as a November 10 Calgary
Philharmonic performance, in Calgary.
Steele and Ryan’s Requiem adds to the ever-growing repertoire
of musical works honouring the sacrifices of Canada’s soldiers over
the course of our history and makes for a poignant reminder of the
reasons behind their creation. Ever since Canadian poet, doctor and
soldier, Lt. Col. John McCrae (1872–1918) wrote In Flanders Fields,
composers have been drawing inspiration from it and setting it to
music. In 2006, Kingston, Ontario composer John Burge composed
his Flanders Fields Reflections. Burge called McCrae’s work, “Perhaps
the most famous poem ever written by a Canadian.” The recording of
Burge’s work by Sinfonia Toronto on Marquis Classics won the 2009
JUNO for best classical composition. McCrae’s poem has been set
numerous times by composers around the world. Interestingly, the
very first setting was by American Charles Ives, in 1917. More recently,
Canadians Stephen Chatman, Eleanor Daley and Alexander Tilley have
also used the poem. In Chatman’s case, it was a setting commissioned
by the Vancouver men’s choir, Chor Leoni.
McCrae’s poem is of course not the only literary source for
music of remembrance by Canadian composers. Chatman has also
made Remembrance Day settings using poetry by Walt Whitman
(Reconciliation) and by Christina Rossetti (Songs of Remembrance).
(Music by Chatman, Daley and Tilley will be sung in a concert titled
“Acquired Taste: Music for Remembrance,” at 7:30pm on Sunday,
November 12 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Anglican Church in Toronto’s
west end.)
Born in England, Healey Willan (1880–1968) came to Canada
in 1913 and lived and worked through both world wars. He wrote
An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts in 1921 for the Toronto
Mendelssohn Choir. It’s a work that was dedicated to the memory of
those members of the choir who had been killed in WWI. Then, in
1939, as Canada entered WWII, Willan composed A Responsory for
Use in the Time of War, while serving as precentor of the Church of
St. Mary Magdalene in Toronto.
Near the end of his life, Harry Somers (1925–1999) composed A
Thousand Ages, a major work for boy soprano, men’s choir, orchestra
and electronics. The title comes from a line in the hymn, Our God,
Our Help in Ages Past. Somers’ father had served in WWI and was
haunted by severe nightmares throughout his remaining life. Somers
recalled how as a youth he had often awoken in the middle of the
night to the sound of his father’s screams. A Thousand Ages is one of
Somers’ most personal works, and it received its premiere during the
Winnipeg Symphony’s New Music Festival in 2000, with Bramwell
Tovey conducting. Tovey was so impressed with the work that he
made a version that replaced the orchestra with silver band. This is the
version that I recorded with my production team, for a CD featuring
the Hannaford Street Silver Band and the men of the Amadeus Choir
at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Toronto. It’s a powerful, visceral
work that conveys the horrors that soldiers experience. Personally, I
feel it’s an impactful work that should be performed more often at
Remembrance Day observances.
The same CD, on the Opening Day label, also contained an
important work by Tovey. This was his Requiem for a Charred Skull,
written as Tovey’s reaction to the war in Kosovo. It was this recording
that won Tovey the 2003 JUNO for best classical composition.
David Jaeger is a composer, producer and broadcaster
based in Toronto.
86 | November 2017 thewholenote.com

KOERNER HALL IS:
“
A beautiful space for music “
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Barbara Hannigan
with Reinbert
de Leeuw
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 8PM
KOERNER HALL
Tickets start at only $40
Soprano Barbara Hannigan,
in her Koerner Hall debut with
pianist Reinbert de Leeuw, will
perform a curated look at the
Second Viennese School.
The program features works
by Alban Berg, Anton Webern,
Alma Mahler, and Hugo Wolf.
Engelbert
Humperdinck’s
Hansel and Gretel
The GGS Fall Opera
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 7:30PM
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 18, 7:30PM
PRE-CONCERT TALK 7PM BOTH NIGHTS
MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALL
Tickets: $15
Students from The Glenn Gould School’s
vocal program present their annual
autumn opera. Peter Tiefenbach returns
as Music Director for the production,
directed by Brent Krysa.
Victor Danchenko
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2017 4PM
MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALL
Tickets $25
Internationally renowned
violinist Victor Danchenko,
known for his “unabashedly
old-fashioned, romantic
style,” (The Baltimore Sun)
celebrates his 40th anniversary
of arriving in Toronto and the
50th anniversary of his musical
collaboration with his sister,
pianist Vera Danchenko.
Taylor Academy
Showcase Concert
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 4:30PM
MAZZOLENI CONCERT HALL
Free tickets can be reserved
starting Fri., Oct. 20
The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance
Academy for Young Artists
presents leading young classical
musicians in Canada. Hear the
stars of tomorrow!
Tania Miller conducts
the Royal Conservatory
Orchestra
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2017 8PM
PRELUDE RECITAL 6:45PM
PRE-CONCERT TALK 7:15PM
KOERNER HALL
Tickets start at only $25
Maestra Tania Miller conducts the
Glenn Gould School’s Royal Conservatory
Orchestra in a program that includes
the world premiere of Michael Oesterle’s
Home alongside works by Prokofiev
and Stravinsky.
Part of the Temerty Orchestral Program
Danilo Pérez Trio
and Alfredo
Rodríguez Trio
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 8PM
KOERNER HALL
Tickets start at only $40
Two of the best Latin jazz pianists
and band leaders in the world bring
their trios to Koerner Hall for an
unforgettable double bill.
TICKETS & GIFT CERTIFICATES ARE GREAT GIFTS!
TICKETS & ROYAL SUBSCRIPTIONS ON SALE NOW! 416.408.0208 WWW.RCMUSIC.COM/PERFORMANCE
273 BLOOR STREET WEST
(BLOOR 237 BLOOR ST. & AVENUE STREET RD.) WEST
TORONTO (BLOOR ST. & AVENUE RD.) TORONTO