As many of you know, my arts writing and reporting duties are a sideline to my full-time job as producer for the morning show on Newstalk 610/CKTB here in St. Catharines, where I have been gainfully employed for over 31 years now. As such, I write about radio in general and CKTB in particular whenever the mood strikes me, as is the case this week.
Since I have been at the station for so long now, many colleagues come to me with questions about the so-called "early days" at the station, even though I only arrived there in 1981 as a new chapter was beginning at the station. Still, I have always had a keen interest in the rich history of the station that now extends to 80 years - quite a milestone I am sure you'll agree. When we celebrated the 60th and 75th anniversaries of CKTB I did extensive research on the past and at one point even considered writing a book about the storied history of CKTB. Alas, making radio history every day now at the station takes up such a lot of my time I think it will likely be relegated to a self-published retirement project once I myself fade to black as a daily employee at the station.
Of course, the rich history includes something I personally am particularly proud of: the annual Midnight Mass broadcast at the Cathedral of St. Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria in downtown St. Catharines, which itself is now 80 years old. I am only the third host of these annual broadcasts, taking over from the late Johnny Morrison in 1989, so 2013 will be my 24th year handling the broadcast. I figure I will need another 7 or 8 years in order to claim the crown of longest-serving host for the broadcast, currently held by the founding host of the broadcast, Mr. Boyne at about 31 years. Will I be around long enough to host the 100th broadcast in 20 years? I certainly hope so, but we'll have to see.
At any rate, I thought this year on an occasional basis I would explore that rich history of the station and share it with you in this space throughout the year beginning this week. This idea was precipitated by an email I received a couple of weeks ago from a good friend of mine, chef extraordinaire Greg Willis, who used to run The Cellar Bench in the basement of the old Court House at King and James Streets downtown. He now does a lot of cooking to order for clients in their homes, it seems, and he told me of one couple he cooks for in St. Catharines who actually own a good-sized piece of CKTB history. He suggested I contact them to arrange a meeting which I did, and what awaited me was astounding!
If you are of a certain age, you remember tuning in to CKTB Radio mid-mornings to hear Clarence Colton tinkling the ivories of a concert grand piano in the studio and chatting up the housewives of the day on the air with friendly banter. The piano Clarence played, apparently, was a Heintzman piano and it was in fact one of two concert grands in the CKTB studios for many years. The other was an even larger Steinway, so you can imagine how large this one studio was at the station at 12 Yates Street back in the day.
When it came time to retire the pianos from active duty, about the time when radio stations started to shift from live in-studio performances to personalities hosting music shows and playing records, this couple I met in St. Catharines were connected to the late manager of CKTB Radio at the time, Mary Burgoyne by a third party, and a deal was struck to acquire the Heintzman piano. They told me this past week the piano was in pretty rough shape when they first saw it, as apparently work had started on renovating the studios before the pianos were even removed! But they got it out of the studio and into their north St. Catharines home where a loving restoration was undertaken. It was then moved twice more as the family moved, including a memorable move up an elevator at a south St. Catharines condo development.
The couple, whom I won't identify at their request, originally purchased the piano to fill their home with music as they grieved the loss of a young daughter in the 60s, and they still have the piano in their home. It is now painted off-white and needs a good tuning, but still looks absolutely spectacular. It was a great pleasure for me to not only see but actually touch a piece of CKTB history from so many years ago.
I so far have not seen any pictures of the studio nor the pianos during that time that ended with extensive studio renovations in the mid-60s, but I would certainly love to. I will be checking the St. Catharines Historical Museum to scour the archives sometime soon where a wealth of CKTB articles and pictures reside. If you have any old pictures of the station from many years ago or even some memorabilia, I would love to hear from you. It would be a great way to celebrate our storied past and share it with a wider audience.
If you have anything at all, by all means get in touch with me either through the comments section of my blog or email me directly at music@vaxxine.com. Any information that comes my way will perhaps even make it into a future blog posting as we celebrate a rich broadcast heritage in St. Catharines-Niagara with 610/CKTB.
By the way, a good book I am working on ordering for myself that documents a lot of Canadian radio's early years including some parts on CKTB and the Clarence Colton era is "Nothing on But the Radio: A Look Back at Radio in Canada and How it Changed the World" by Gil Murray, published by Dundurn Press. It is certainly worth checking out yourself if you get a chance sometime.
Happy Listening!
February 18th, 2013.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
February events in Niagara
With the weather being very winter-like at the moment, I thought this week I would give you some excuses to get out and enjoy some entertainment in Niagara over the coming couple of weeks as we wait for spring to arrive.
The Shaw Festival film series will continue this weekend with Saturday afternoon's screening of the lavish Anna Karenina in the Festival Theatre at 3 pm. Next weekend is Silver Linings Playbook and the final Saturday screening on the 23rd is Quartet. The Friday documentary film series wraps up next Friday at 5:30 with Under African Skies. For more information and tickets, call 905-468-2172 or log on to www.shawfest.com/films.
Chorus Niagara has their annual fundraising Singathon this Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm at "The Most Famous Food Court in the World" at the Seaway Mall in Welland. That was the scene, of course, of their record-breaking flash mob performance of the Hallalujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah a couple of years ago, which is now up to about 41 million views on YouTube. The Singathon presents the Chorus in a casual, fun setting as they basically sing for their supper, along with The Chorus Niagara Side By Side High School Chorale and a special appearance by The Chorus Niagara Children's Choir at 11:30. If you are down that way, be sure to stop by and take in some entertainment with several guest celebrity conductors taking to the podium.
Saturday evening this weekend, the Avanti Chamber Singers will perform at St. Barnabas Anglican Church on Queenston Street, directed by Harris Loewen. The concert features works by Bach, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Schubert and the choir will be accompanied by the St. Catharines Chamber Music Society Strings. Tickets are available in advance at Ryson's Music Studios downtown or Niko Music Gallery, or at the door tomorrow evening.
At that same venue Sunday afternoon at 3 pm, Primavera Concerts presents Stratford Festival bass-baritone Marcus Nance and Stratford's Interim Director of Music, Franklin Brasz on piano, in a concert of opera and Broadway musical favourites, along with a number of other popular songs. Nance was part of the tour on Broadway with the Stratford production of Jesus Christ Superstar, by the way. Tickets are available in advance by calling 905-736-2150, or logging on to www.primaveraconcerts.ca.
The St. Catharines Chamber Music Society presents Voice of the Whale, an evening of 20th and 21st-century music including a world premiere by local composer Tyler Versluis on February 15th at 7:30 pm at Covenant Christian Reformed Church in St. Catharines. Tickets should be available at the door.
The Gallery Players of Niagara presents their Movie Night, an annual event at the Niagara Artists Centre on February 16th at 7:30 pm, with performers Eric Mahar, guitar; Douglas Miller, flute; and Penner MacKay, percussion. They will improvise music to silent films being screened at NAC, with the feature film being 1927's Sunrise by F.W. Murnau, which was awarded three Oscars, by the way.
Tickets are available in advance by calling 905-468-1525 or going to www.galleryplayers.ca; they should also be available at the door.
Lyndesfarne Theatre Projects will present their winter show, Criminal Genius by Canadian playwright George F. Walker, starting February 20th and running until March 10th at the Seneca Queen Theatre in downtown Niagara Falls. The show opens on the 22nd, and should be a good one. The cast draws upon veteran Shaw Festival actors Ric Reid and William Vickers, as well as Artistic Director for Lyndesfarne, Kelly Daniels, directed by Wes Berger. For tickets call the box office at 905-374-7469 or log on to www.lyndesfarnetheatreprojects.com.
Finally, the Niagara Symphony (nso) presents their Family series/Pops 3 concert the weekend of February 23rd and 24th at the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre at the Centre for the Arts, Brock University. This is a new idea this year, doing without the Saturday evening Pops concert in favour of a Saturday afternoon performance geared towards family members, and that probably will prove to be a wise move. The concert, conducted by Associate Conductor Laura Thomas, features music from Disney films as well as Star Wars, Superman, James Bond and Batman, and the concert is titled, not surprisingly, Heroes and Villains. The concert is performed without intermission, by the way, so I will be in the lobby before and after the performances that weekend with music available for purchase. For tickets, call the Brock box office at 905-688-5550, ext. 3257. Both concerts are at 2:30 in the afternoon.
So there you go - lots of entertainment this month to get you out and banish the winter blahs - get out and enjoy!
February 8th, 2013.
The Shaw Festival film series will continue this weekend with Saturday afternoon's screening of the lavish Anna Karenina in the Festival Theatre at 3 pm. Next weekend is Silver Linings Playbook and the final Saturday screening on the 23rd is Quartet. The Friday documentary film series wraps up next Friday at 5:30 with Under African Skies. For more information and tickets, call 905-468-2172 or log on to www.shawfest.com/films.
Chorus Niagara has their annual fundraising Singathon this Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm at "The Most Famous Food Court in the World" at the Seaway Mall in Welland. That was the scene, of course, of their record-breaking flash mob performance of the Hallalujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah a couple of years ago, which is now up to about 41 million views on YouTube. The Singathon presents the Chorus in a casual, fun setting as they basically sing for their supper, along with The Chorus Niagara Side By Side High School Chorale and a special appearance by The Chorus Niagara Children's Choir at 11:30. If you are down that way, be sure to stop by and take in some entertainment with several guest celebrity conductors taking to the podium.
Saturday evening this weekend, the Avanti Chamber Singers will perform at St. Barnabas Anglican Church on Queenston Street, directed by Harris Loewen. The concert features works by Bach, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Schubert and the choir will be accompanied by the St. Catharines Chamber Music Society Strings. Tickets are available in advance at Ryson's Music Studios downtown or Niko Music Gallery, or at the door tomorrow evening.
At that same venue Sunday afternoon at 3 pm, Primavera Concerts presents Stratford Festival bass-baritone Marcus Nance and Stratford's Interim Director of Music, Franklin Brasz on piano, in a concert of opera and Broadway musical favourites, along with a number of other popular songs. Nance was part of the tour on Broadway with the Stratford production of Jesus Christ Superstar, by the way. Tickets are available in advance by calling 905-736-2150, or logging on to www.primaveraconcerts.ca.
The St. Catharines Chamber Music Society presents Voice of the Whale, an evening of 20th and 21st-century music including a world premiere by local composer Tyler Versluis on February 15th at 7:30 pm at Covenant Christian Reformed Church in St. Catharines. Tickets should be available at the door.
The Gallery Players of Niagara presents their Movie Night, an annual event at the Niagara Artists Centre on February 16th at 7:30 pm, with performers Eric Mahar, guitar; Douglas Miller, flute; and Penner MacKay, percussion. They will improvise music to silent films being screened at NAC, with the feature film being 1927's Sunrise by F.W. Murnau, which was awarded three Oscars, by the way.
Tickets are available in advance by calling 905-468-1525 or going to www.galleryplayers.ca; they should also be available at the door.
Lyndesfarne Theatre Projects will present their winter show, Criminal Genius by Canadian playwright George F. Walker, starting February 20th and running until March 10th at the Seneca Queen Theatre in downtown Niagara Falls. The show opens on the 22nd, and should be a good one. The cast draws upon veteran Shaw Festival actors Ric Reid and William Vickers, as well as Artistic Director for Lyndesfarne, Kelly Daniels, directed by Wes Berger. For tickets call the box office at 905-374-7469 or log on to www.lyndesfarnetheatreprojects.com.
Finally, the Niagara Symphony (nso) presents their Family series/Pops 3 concert the weekend of February 23rd and 24th at the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre at the Centre for the Arts, Brock University. This is a new idea this year, doing without the Saturday evening Pops concert in favour of a Saturday afternoon performance geared towards family members, and that probably will prove to be a wise move. The concert, conducted by Associate Conductor Laura Thomas, features music from Disney films as well as Star Wars, Superman, James Bond and Batman, and the concert is titled, not surprisingly, Heroes and Villains. The concert is performed without intermission, by the way, so I will be in the lobby before and after the performances that weekend with music available for purchase. For tickets, call the Brock box office at 905-688-5550, ext. 3257. Both concerts are at 2:30 in the afternoon.
So there you go - lots of entertainment this month to get you out and banish the winter blahs - get out and enjoy!
February 8th, 2013.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Coughing up an opinion at classical music concerts
Last week, in the midst of my preview of the Niagara Symphony Masterworks # 3 concert, I touched briefly on the touchy subject of inappropriate applause, simply because too many times I have found the action to detract from the music being played.
Imagine my surprise when I spied a small entry in The Globe and Mail this week, referencing an article from The Telegraph Online in Britain. The article quotes a German economist, Professor Andreas Wagner, who says although there is little statistical evidence on the subject, existing research points to a strange increase in coughing at classical music concerts. The professor says the finding holds true even when the demographic makeup of the average classical concert audience is taken into account. Basically, findings indicate certain types of music appear to attract more coughs, he says.
Imagine that! According to Wagner, "It is the more modern pieces of 20th-century classical music; it is the more quiet and slow movements that are interrupted by coughs." He goes on to say, according to the article, "It is also non-random, in that coughing sometimes appears to occur in sort of avalanches or cascades through the audience." Exactly. One starts and others all around follow, perhaps even unawares of it. They just start coughing when they hear others do it around them.
These findings do not come at a surprise to me at all. In fact, when I paused and thought about the findings for awhile, I realized I don't often recall hearing a lot of coughing at a popular or jazz music concert. Are these people simply more engaged with the music, perhaps? What the findings suggest to me is people start coughing as a result of boredom; lack of interest in the music being played could indeed be a factor.
If modern 20th-century music is the culprit much of the time, well, more traditional audience members not enamoured with the music might find themselves coughing involuntarily even if they don't need to. Who would have guessed?! But what about the quieter passages and slow movements? Is it simply a faster-paced work or movement holds our interest that much more, thus making us 'forget' to cough? Perhaps. But if so I find that very disheartening. Can we never listen to a lovely slow movement of any symphony, or example, without also putting up with a cacophony of coughs? Apparently not.
Orchestras and theatre companies the world over have had to deal with this dilemma for years. Most live theatre nowadays is prefaced with a friendly reminder to do two things: turn off your cell-phone and please unwrap any hard candies or cough-drops BEFORE the performance starts. It rarely works. I can't count the number of times I have been in an audience where someone, barely thirty seconds in from the start and after just hearing that friendly reminder, finally decides that might be the best time to unwrap that cough drop!
That brings us to the next dilemma: do you unwrap it fast or slow? Logic would dictate that anyone finding themselves in need of a candy or cough-drop during the performance should try to choose a noisy passage in the music and quickly unwrap the thing. But more often than not, they choose the latter option and drag it out, slowly turning the cellophane so as to make it feel the knife in your back is being slowly turned...okay, maybe a bit melodramatic but you get my point.
I remember reading about an orchestra somewhere that decided to have ushers at the doors to the auditorium man big bowls of cough-drops already unwrapped, and you could just take what you needed on your way into the theatre. Not a bad idea initially, but then the concerns of other people pawing over the candies before you get them, and what do you do with the thing if you don't need it yet seem to have kept that idea from catching on.
I really don't know what the solution is here. If indeed the coughing is an involuntary reaction to the music being played, you can't change human nature. We just do it without even thinking. So concert-goers the world over will just have to grit their collective teeth and accept it as a fact of life. Unless, of course, we stop programming quiet movements and 20th-century music entirely...Hmmm, wait a minute, we might be on to something here!
How did baroque-era composers deal with this, do you think? Or were audiences just more attentive back then? Mind you, if the patron of the music being played, often of royal stature is nearby, you might have been far too self-conscious to risk his ire by coughing...unless he did too, of course!
Happy listening!
February 3rd, 2013.
Imagine my surprise when I spied a small entry in The Globe and Mail this week, referencing an article from The Telegraph Online in Britain. The article quotes a German economist, Professor Andreas Wagner, who says although there is little statistical evidence on the subject, existing research points to a strange increase in coughing at classical music concerts. The professor says the finding holds true even when the demographic makeup of the average classical concert audience is taken into account. Basically, findings indicate certain types of music appear to attract more coughs, he says.
Imagine that! According to Wagner, "It is the more modern pieces of 20th-century classical music; it is the more quiet and slow movements that are interrupted by coughs." He goes on to say, according to the article, "It is also non-random, in that coughing sometimes appears to occur in sort of avalanches or cascades through the audience." Exactly. One starts and others all around follow, perhaps even unawares of it. They just start coughing when they hear others do it around them.
These findings do not come at a surprise to me at all. In fact, when I paused and thought about the findings for awhile, I realized I don't often recall hearing a lot of coughing at a popular or jazz music concert. Are these people simply more engaged with the music, perhaps? What the findings suggest to me is people start coughing as a result of boredom; lack of interest in the music being played could indeed be a factor.
If modern 20th-century music is the culprit much of the time, well, more traditional audience members not enamoured with the music might find themselves coughing involuntarily even if they don't need to. Who would have guessed?! But what about the quieter passages and slow movements? Is it simply a faster-paced work or movement holds our interest that much more, thus making us 'forget' to cough? Perhaps. But if so I find that very disheartening. Can we never listen to a lovely slow movement of any symphony, or example, without also putting up with a cacophony of coughs? Apparently not.
Orchestras and theatre companies the world over have had to deal with this dilemma for years. Most live theatre nowadays is prefaced with a friendly reminder to do two things: turn off your cell-phone and please unwrap any hard candies or cough-drops BEFORE the performance starts. It rarely works. I can't count the number of times I have been in an audience where someone, barely thirty seconds in from the start and after just hearing that friendly reminder, finally decides that might be the best time to unwrap that cough drop!
That brings us to the next dilemma: do you unwrap it fast or slow? Logic would dictate that anyone finding themselves in need of a candy or cough-drop during the performance should try to choose a noisy passage in the music and quickly unwrap the thing. But more often than not, they choose the latter option and drag it out, slowly turning the cellophane so as to make it feel the knife in your back is being slowly turned...okay, maybe a bit melodramatic but you get my point.
I remember reading about an orchestra somewhere that decided to have ushers at the doors to the auditorium man big bowls of cough-drops already unwrapped, and you could just take what you needed on your way into the theatre. Not a bad idea initially, but then the concerns of other people pawing over the candies before you get them, and what do you do with the thing if you don't need it yet seem to have kept that idea from catching on.
I really don't know what the solution is here. If indeed the coughing is an involuntary reaction to the music being played, you can't change human nature. We just do it without even thinking. So concert-goers the world over will just have to grit their collective teeth and accept it as a fact of life. Unless, of course, we stop programming quiet movements and 20th-century music entirely...Hmmm, wait a minute, we might be on to something here!
How did baroque-era composers deal with this, do you think? Or were audiences just more attentive back then? Mind you, if the patron of the music being played, often of royal stature is nearby, you might have been far too self-conscious to risk his ire by coughing...unless he did too, of course!
Happy listening!
February 3rd, 2013.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Niagara Symphony notes and then some!
I am wearing two hats while working this weekend: first, my broadcast journalist's hat (that's the fedora with the business card tucked into the band) watching the news on the new Ontario Premier picked at the Liberal Leadership convention in Toronto tonight (Kathleen for the Wynne!); the other is the more sedate homburg while covering the arts beat as I do in this space on a weekly basis.
I will let the political pundits have at it for the discussions on the Liberal Convention this weekend; for my part, let's talk about the Niagara Symphony this weekend and what news they have been making as of late. First off, let me say the Masterworks 3 concert Sunday afternoon at 2:30 promises to be an entertaining and challenging affair.
Guest conductor Earl Stafford will lead the orchestra through their paces in a programme that includes two of my favourite string works: Grieg's delightful Holberg Suite, Op. 40 and the very familiar Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber. Also on the programme are the Shostakovich Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a and the difficult and not often heard Clarinet Concerto by Aaron Copland. The nso's Principal Clarinet, Zoltan Kalman will tackle the work and I have no doubt he will be up to the task. He is one of the most accomplished musicians on the local music scene, so this promises to be an event.
Maestro Stafford has had a varied career, but is perhaps best known as Principal Conductor of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, a post he held from 1984 to 2009. He has also worked with such musical greats as Oscar Peterson, Mel Torme, James Ehnes and Evelyn Hart, the long-time Prima Ballerina of the RWB. Ah, Evelyn Hart...one of the women I had an incredible crush on years ago and it has never subsided! But I digress...
Masterworks 3 also marks the launch of a new nso initiative: they have made concerts more accessible to post-secondary students by allowing University and College students to now pay only $12 (plus applicable taxes and fees) to attend concerts by the nso, thanks to the generous support of inaugural sponsor, Scotiabank. This is a great idea and hopefully a positive move toward attracting more young people to concerts by the nso; after all, they are the orchestra's future so best to nurture the relationship now rather than later or perhaps, never.
Tickets are still available at the box office at Brock by calling 905-688-5550, ext. 3257 or picking them up before the concert in person. Should you go, be sure to keep an eye out for yours truly at my usual spot in the lobby before, after and at intermission of the concert, with a table full of great musical ideas available for purchase. The holiday season may be over but you can certainly treat yourself to some great new music for the New Year! If you don't see what you want you can always order through my website at www.finemusic.ca or directly by email at music@vaxxine.com.
One final note, and this came up in discussion at the recent Holiday Pops! concerts following my dissertation in this space last fall on etiquette in the theatre. So an addendum here for the concert hall, and it comes following the orchestra's performance of the wonderful Beatlecracker Suite, a 10-minute compendium of Beatles tunes arranged in the style of the familiar Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite. Since it is several movements long and each is as short as only a minute or more, a problem developed at the December concerts.
Generally speaking, Niagara Symphony patrons are pretty good at knowing when to - and when not to - applaud. The general rule of thumb is only after a work; in other words, a three movement symphony for example, should only elicit applause at the end of the complete work, rather than after each movement. The problem with the Beatlecracker Suite is people threw that rule out the window and applauded after each segment, thus elongating the work needlessly and frankly, breaking up the flow of the work. So please, applaud if you wish, as much as you wish, at the end of the work, not during.
This has been a problem for orchestras since orchestras began playing music, actually, but can be taken to extremes. I recall attending a concert at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto years ago, an orchestra from the U.K. if I remember correctly, and the audience was so earnest in their desire to make them feel welcome they applauded every chance they got, INCLUDING when a stage-hand came out between works to move chairs around on the stage for the next work - how embarrassing! He actually took a bow to much laughter, but I often wonder what they thought backstage on that occasion.
Audiences can go the other way, too, of course. I remember being in London at the home of the Royal Philharmonic back in the mid-80s when the great Sir Yehudi Menuhin played with the RPO and the audience actually hissed his performance! Granted he was in the twilight of his performing career as a violinist at that point but really, does he deserve that sort of reception? Of course not. But audiences there are some of the most demanding in the world, I find, and that event has always stayed with me.
Some time later I was again in Toronto at Roy Thomson Hall and Menuhin appeared with his young orchestra as conductor this time, and he was treated with great reverence by the Toronto concert-goers which seemed very appropriate on that occasion. So basically, use a little common sense and don't go overboard with the applause. People on both sides of the footlights will, I suspect, appreciate it.
Enjoy the weekend!
January 26th, 2013.
I will let the political pundits have at it for the discussions on the Liberal Convention this weekend; for my part, let's talk about the Niagara Symphony this weekend and what news they have been making as of late. First off, let me say the Masterworks 3 concert Sunday afternoon at 2:30 promises to be an entertaining and challenging affair.
Guest conductor Earl Stafford will lead the orchestra through their paces in a programme that includes two of my favourite string works: Grieg's delightful Holberg Suite, Op. 40 and the very familiar Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber. Also on the programme are the Shostakovich Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a and the difficult and not often heard Clarinet Concerto by Aaron Copland. The nso's Principal Clarinet, Zoltan Kalman will tackle the work and I have no doubt he will be up to the task. He is one of the most accomplished musicians on the local music scene, so this promises to be an event.
Maestro Stafford has had a varied career, but is perhaps best known as Principal Conductor of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, a post he held from 1984 to 2009. He has also worked with such musical greats as Oscar Peterson, Mel Torme, James Ehnes and Evelyn Hart, the long-time Prima Ballerina of the RWB. Ah, Evelyn Hart...one of the women I had an incredible crush on years ago and it has never subsided! But I digress...
Masterworks 3 also marks the launch of a new nso initiative: they have made concerts more accessible to post-secondary students by allowing University and College students to now pay only $12 (plus applicable taxes and fees) to attend concerts by the nso, thanks to the generous support of inaugural sponsor, Scotiabank. This is a great idea and hopefully a positive move toward attracting more young people to concerts by the nso; after all, they are the orchestra's future so best to nurture the relationship now rather than later or perhaps, never.
Tickets are still available at the box office at Brock by calling 905-688-5550, ext. 3257 or picking them up before the concert in person. Should you go, be sure to keep an eye out for yours truly at my usual spot in the lobby before, after and at intermission of the concert, with a table full of great musical ideas available for purchase. The holiday season may be over but you can certainly treat yourself to some great new music for the New Year! If you don't see what you want you can always order through my website at www.finemusic.ca or directly by email at music@vaxxine.com.
One final note, and this came up in discussion at the recent Holiday Pops! concerts following my dissertation in this space last fall on etiquette in the theatre. So an addendum here for the concert hall, and it comes following the orchestra's performance of the wonderful Beatlecracker Suite, a 10-minute compendium of Beatles tunes arranged in the style of the familiar Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite. Since it is several movements long and each is as short as only a minute or more, a problem developed at the December concerts.
Generally speaking, Niagara Symphony patrons are pretty good at knowing when to - and when not to - applaud. The general rule of thumb is only after a work; in other words, a three movement symphony for example, should only elicit applause at the end of the complete work, rather than after each movement. The problem with the Beatlecracker Suite is people threw that rule out the window and applauded after each segment, thus elongating the work needlessly and frankly, breaking up the flow of the work. So please, applaud if you wish, as much as you wish, at the end of the work, not during.
This has been a problem for orchestras since orchestras began playing music, actually, but can be taken to extremes. I recall attending a concert at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto years ago, an orchestra from the U.K. if I remember correctly, and the audience was so earnest in their desire to make them feel welcome they applauded every chance they got, INCLUDING when a stage-hand came out between works to move chairs around on the stage for the next work - how embarrassing! He actually took a bow to much laughter, but I often wonder what they thought backstage on that occasion.
Audiences can go the other way, too, of course. I remember being in London at the home of the Royal Philharmonic back in the mid-80s when the great Sir Yehudi Menuhin played with the RPO and the audience actually hissed his performance! Granted he was in the twilight of his performing career as a violinist at that point but really, does he deserve that sort of reception? Of course not. But audiences there are some of the most demanding in the world, I find, and that event has always stayed with me.
Some time later I was again in Toronto at Roy Thomson Hall and Menuhin appeared with his young orchestra as conductor this time, and he was treated with great reverence by the Toronto concert-goers which seemed very appropriate on that occasion. So basically, use a little common sense and don't go overboard with the applause. People on both sides of the footlights will, I suspect, appreciate it.
Enjoy the weekend!
January 26th, 2013.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
News from Niagara Artists Centre and the Shaw Festival Film Series
A couple of items I wanted to write about this week, both local and both highlighting great success stories you can take in during 2013. With January dragging on and on, any opportunity to get out and support the arts is always welcome!
This week our local MP, Rick Dykstra, announced as part of the Government's Economic Action Plan 2012, federal funding to the tune of $24,400 for improvements to the Niagara Artists Centre in downtown St. Catharines. In a release this week, Dykstra said: "Our government, through the Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund, is demonstrating its continued support for communities across Canada. Here in St. Catharines, these local projects, like the one being undertaken by the Niagara Artists Centre, will create jobs, growth and long-term prosperity in our community."
According to Stephen Remus, Minister of Energy, Minds and Resources for the Niagara Artists Centre (I love that title, by the way!), the funding will go towards installing a grass roof above the Show Room Gallery along with a small area for film screenings, music and literary events.
The Niagara Artists Centre is one of our great local arts resources, housed in a historic building at 354 St. Paul Street in downtown St. Catharines. The wide range of arts-related programming paired with the vision provided by Remus means yet another reason to venture downtown for some cultural fulfillment. You can even become a member of NAC for a very affordable price, so that might be something you want to consider for the new year.
For more information on NAC, call them at 905-641-0331 or go to www.NAC.org. They are open to the public Saturday afternoons from 12 to 4.
The Shaw Festival might be dark as far as live theatre is concerned, although the box office is now open for orders for the upcoming 2013 season. But in this quiet time at Shaw, people in the know head to the Festival Theatre Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons for the annual Film Series. There are two series, the Documentary film series on Fridays at 5:30 pm and the Feature Film series Saturday afternoons at 3 pm.
The Documentary film series continues until February 15th, with the remainder of the schedule including Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel on February 1st; Chasing Ice on February 8th; and Under African Skies February 15th.
The Feature Film series continues this afternoon, in fact, with the Oscar-nominated film Argo at 3 pm. The rest of the series includes Robot & Frank January 26th; A Late Quartet February 2nd; Anna Karenina February 9th; Silver Linings Playbook February 16th and finally, Quartet on February 23rd.
Now, I don't go to a lot of movies these days, although my far better half attends both series regularly each season. But two in the Feature Film series have caught my eye and I likely will be attending Quartet and A Late Quartet, both classically-themed films that look very interesting.
Consulting the online bible of all things film-related, the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), both these films get good reviews from contributors since they were released last year. Quartet is directed by Dustin Hoffman and stars Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Billy Connolly, and according to IMDB, the film takes place at a home for retired opera singers, where an annual concert to celebrate Verdi's birthday is taking place. For opera singers, this would be a big deal, you know. But an eternal diva named Jean arrives on the scene just in time to throw the proverbial wrench into the proceedings, as she is the former wife of one of the residents. Opera intrigue in a movie about retired opera singers? Why not?!
A Late Quartet is directed by Yaron Zilberman and stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken and Catherine Keener, and looks to be a rather more serious affair than Quartet. The synopsis from IMBD describes the storyline thusly: "members of a world-renowned string quartet struggle to stay together in the face of death, competing egos and insuppressible lust." Insuppressible lust? I'm in!
It is rare two classical-music-themed movies would come out in a single year, and rarer still they are both garnering a lot of buzz in movie circles, but that seems to be the case with these two, so I will be attending both at the Shaw Festival next month to see for myself what all the buzz is about.
For more information on the Shaw Festival film series, go to www.shawfest.com/films or call 905-468-2172.
See you at the theatre!
This week our local MP, Rick Dykstra, announced as part of the Government's Economic Action Plan 2012, federal funding to the tune of $24,400 for improvements to the Niagara Artists Centre in downtown St. Catharines. In a release this week, Dykstra said: "Our government, through the Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund, is demonstrating its continued support for communities across Canada. Here in St. Catharines, these local projects, like the one being undertaken by the Niagara Artists Centre, will create jobs, growth and long-term prosperity in our community."
According to Stephen Remus, Minister of Energy, Minds and Resources for the Niagara Artists Centre (I love that title, by the way!), the funding will go towards installing a grass roof above the Show Room Gallery along with a small area for film screenings, music and literary events.
The Niagara Artists Centre is one of our great local arts resources, housed in a historic building at 354 St. Paul Street in downtown St. Catharines. The wide range of arts-related programming paired with the vision provided by Remus means yet another reason to venture downtown for some cultural fulfillment. You can even become a member of NAC for a very affordable price, so that might be something you want to consider for the new year.
For more information on NAC, call them at 905-641-0331 or go to www.NAC.org. They are open to the public Saturday afternoons from 12 to 4.
The Shaw Festival might be dark as far as live theatre is concerned, although the box office is now open for orders for the upcoming 2013 season. But in this quiet time at Shaw, people in the know head to the Festival Theatre Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons for the annual Film Series. There are two series, the Documentary film series on Fridays at 5:30 pm and the Feature Film series Saturday afternoons at 3 pm.
The Documentary film series continues until February 15th, with the remainder of the schedule including Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel on February 1st; Chasing Ice on February 8th; and Under African Skies February 15th.
The Feature Film series continues this afternoon, in fact, with the Oscar-nominated film Argo at 3 pm. The rest of the series includes Robot & Frank January 26th; A Late Quartet February 2nd; Anna Karenina February 9th; Silver Linings Playbook February 16th and finally, Quartet on February 23rd.
Now, I don't go to a lot of movies these days, although my far better half attends both series regularly each season. But two in the Feature Film series have caught my eye and I likely will be attending Quartet and A Late Quartet, both classically-themed films that look very interesting.
Consulting the online bible of all things film-related, the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), both these films get good reviews from contributors since they were released last year. Quartet is directed by Dustin Hoffman and stars Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Billy Connolly, and according to IMDB, the film takes place at a home for retired opera singers, where an annual concert to celebrate Verdi's birthday is taking place. For opera singers, this would be a big deal, you know. But an eternal diva named Jean arrives on the scene just in time to throw the proverbial wrench into the proceedings, as she is the former wife of one of the residents. Opera intrigue in a movie about retired opera singers? Why not?!
A Late Quartet is directed by Yaron Zilberman and stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken and Catherine Keener, and looks to be a rather more serious affair than Quartet. The synopsis from IMBD describes the storyline thusly: "members of a world-renowned string quartet struggle to stay together in the face of death, competing egos and insuppressible lust." Insuppressible lust? I'm in!
It is rare two classical-music-themed movies would come out in a single year, and rarer still they are both garnering a lot of buzz in movie circles, but that seems to be the case with these two, so I will be attending both at the Shaw Festival next month to see for myself what all the buzz is about.
For more information on the Shaw Festival film series, go to www.shawfest.com/films or call 905-468-2172.
See you at the theatre!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Kiwanis St. Catharines Music & Arts Festival coming soon.
Last weekend a gentleman arrived at my door with a request to stock copies of the current Official Syllabus for the upcoming Kiwanis St. Catharines Music & Arts Festival, which will be held from April 8th to the 27th of this year. Even though I run a web-based business, thereby limiting the number of people actually coming to pick up orders, I agreed to stock copies of the Official Syllabus in case people contact me requesting a copy of it.
I have no idea if anyone will, but just in case, I thought I would publicize the fact in my weekly blog post to give them some publicity as the annual event is set to get underway again this year. When you think about it, although April seems a long time off, the actual deadline for entries is coming up a month from now on February 15th. Whether online, mailed or delivered by hand, the deadline is the same.
The Festival Chair, Peter Brown, is available if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions regarding the Festival at peter@copperbeechco.com; for general enquiries or to volunteer your services, you can contact Claudette Borowski at cborowskimusic@gmail.com. Any other information should be available through the website at www.stcatharineskiwanisfestival.ca including festival dates and locations.
Categories range from piano, strings, guitar, classical guitar, brass and woodwinds, band, vocal, dance and speech arts. So a wide range of arts are celebrated with the Kiwanis Music & Arts Festival, with ages of participants ranges widely, from very young to young adult. You never know what you'll hear until you actually go and watch the performances unfold.
I remember being asked a number of years ago to emcee the annual gala performance in St. Catharines, usually held at the end of April or beginning of May, and it was always inspiring to see such young, talented people performing at such a high level on their chosen musical instrument. Performances were not always letter perfect, but they are not expected to be. That being said, the calibre of performances were uniformly high. This year's Festival of Stars Celebration will be held May 16th, by the way, and all participants receive a certificate.
In addition to Peter Brown and Claudette Borowski, the Kiwanis St. Catharines team includes George Cleland overseeing strings; Michelle Cumiskey with vocals; Anne Deyme of Rysons United Music Studios of St. Catharines overseeing guitar/brass/woodwind and band categories; Deanna Smith with speech arts; Jordan Setacci with dance and Jeanne teSligte, piano. Together, they all endeavour to carry out the mission to encourage, nurture and support performances and educational activities in the city; musicians can enhance their interpretive and musical styles as a means of strengthening character development and further their enjoyment of the arts.
Once again, the deadline for entries this year is February 15th, and the Official Syllabus is now available at many locations throughout the city of St. Catharines, including my offices for A Web of Fine Music. If you want to pick up a copy here, send me an email directly at music@vaxxine.com and I will set one aside for you.
Of course, if you need a recording of music for a performance for preparations, I can certainly help you there as well; just send me an email or go through my website at www.finemusic.ca and I will do my very best to get a recording of a particular work for you.
Let the competitions begin!
January 14th, 2013.
I have no idea if anyone will, but just in case, I thought I would publicize the fact in my weekly blog post to give them some publicity as the annual event is set to get underway again this year. When you think about it, although April seems a long time off, the actual deadline for entries is coming up a month from now on February 15th. Whether online, mailed or delivered by hand, the deadline is the same.
The Festival Chair, Peter Brown, is available if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions regarding the Festival at peter@copperbeechco.com; for general enquiries or to volunteer your services, you can contact Claudette Borowski at cborowskimusic@gmail.com. Any other information should be available through the website at www.stcatharineskiwanisfestival.ca including festival dates and locations.
Categories range from piano, strings, guitar, classical guitar, brass and woodwinds, band, vocal, dance and speech arts. So a wide range of arts are celebrated with the Kiwanis Music & Arts Festival, with ages of participants ranges widely, from very young to young adult. You never know what you'll hear until you actually go and watch the performances unfold.
I remember being asked a number of years ago to emcee the annual gala performance in St. Catharines, usually held at the end of April or beginning of May, and it was always inspiring to see such young, talented people performing at such a high level on their chosen musical instrument. Performances were not always letter perfect, but they are not expected to be. That being said, the calibre of performances were uniformly high. This year's Festival of Stars Celebration will be held May 16th, by the way, and all participants receive a certificate.
In addition to Peter Brown and Claudette Borowski, the Kiwanis St. Catharines team includes George Cleland overseeing strings; Michelle Cumiskey with vocals; Anne Deyme of Rysons United Music Studios of St. Catharines overseeing guitar/brass/woodwind and band categories; Deanna Smith with speech arts; Jordan Setacci with dance and Jeanne teSligte, piano. Together, they all endeavour to carry out the mission to encourage, nurture and support performances and educational activities in the city; musicians can enhance their interpretive and musical styles as a means of strengthening character development and further their enjoyment of the arts.
Once again, the deadline for entries this year is February 15th, and the Official Syllabus is now available at many locations throughout the city of St. Catharines, including my offices for A Web of Fine Music. If you want to pick up a copy here, send me an email directly at music@vaxxine.com and I will set one aside for you.
Of course, if you need a recording of music for a performance for preparations, I can certainly help you there as well; just send me an email or go through my website at www.finemusic.ca and I will do my very best to get a recording of a particular work for you.
Let the competitions begin!
January 14th, 2013.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Some random thoughts on Social Media to start the New Year
It's a new year and I have learned a new word: conversate. Ever hear of it? Neither have I, but it is apparently what we do now, rather than CONVERSE. Sheesh. Will we have any language left by the time the next generation reaches our age? The way things look right now, I am beginning to have my doubts.
I was thinking of this over the past week as I mulled over what to write about this weekend, and I thought this would be the best time to offer my thoughts on social media and the use thereof by one and all. First off, let me state I am using social media myself more and more all the time, mostly due to work responsibilities rather than I want to, but I do in fact find it rather helpful chasing down stories and people for interview material on the CKTB morning show, which I produce each weekday morning. My use of Facebook and Twitter is more of a news-gathering device more than anything else, really, and that aspect of it I find quite useful.
My own postings on both are increasing as time goes by, and in fact you might have noticed I now post my weekly blog to both Facebook and Twitter each weekend. If you want to follow me on either, I would love to add you to my circle of colleagues on both. For Facebook, I simply use my name, Mike Saunders rather than the business name, A Web of Fine Music. For Twitter, my handle is @finemusicman, and last time I checked I was up to about 61 followers since I started on Twitter in the fall. The more the merrier, I always say, and while you're at it, why not add yourself as a follower of my blog right here on the site?
Now, those are the nuts and bolts of the matter. On the subject of social media in general, I have sort of a love/hate relationship with the whole idea of social media; I have begun to worry people are spending far too much time on social media when the time could perhaps better be spent actually interacting with people on a more personal level. How many times have you thought to yourself, rather than phone or meet someone in person, you simply just email them or send a message with either Facebook or Twitter? Far too many times, I suspect, and the problem seems to be we can avoid people we don't want to take the time with but at least keep a civil distance from them without ignoring them entirely. Nothing wrong with that, as we all have people in our lives we don't want to spend too much time with, but it can be taken too far so as to interact almost exclusively on either and lose the human contact entirely.
Sure, Facebook has been a boon to people finding long-lost friends and even family members and is especially helpful for helping to organize class reunions for your alma mater. But we cannot and should not allow it to overtake our lives and be the driving force of almost all our social interactions on a daily basis. Don't laugh; the less you interact on a personal level with people, you risk losing the ability to properly handle social situations when they actually do arise.
What can you expect when you connect with me on either Facebook or Twitter? Well, first let me tell you what you won't find. Foul language is one. Nothing irks me more than to read a post by someone using expletives such as the f-bomb; remember, this is media, and that means people are (hopefully) actually reading your posts. So for the sake not only of decorum but also good manners and sense, keep it clean. Basically, if you wouldn't say the word or phrase in your normal conversation with your mother, for example, it doesn't belong on social media either.
The second thing you won't find in my posts are pictures that are of no use to anyone but the person who took the picture. In other words, I don't take pictures of my lunch or any other meal of the day or the venue I happen to be in at the moment, be it public or private. Maybe it is just me, but I remain unconvinced this sort of posting is of any social value whatsoever. A funny picture or video or a clever saying? Sure, that is fair game for the entertainment value alone. But the far-too-personal posts are not for me and I shun them at all costs.
What I will post, on the occasional opportunities I do, in fact, post, are random thoughts on Twitter and Facebook and often something shared I have found of particular interest. I don't profess to offer any great insights into the world around us, other than to say if I have an opinion on something I might just share it. Nothing wrong with that, I believe, as public discourse is always healthy in this day and age. I will often post items I feel are of interest to those who read my blog on a regular basis, usually involving the performing arts or some related topic, or on music topics which hopefully will appeal to those who check out my website, www.finemusic.ca.
So, I've taken the plunge with social media in a big way over the past year and a lot of that has been due to the fact I now own an iPhone 4S, so both Facebook and Twitter are at my fingertips at all times. No need to sit on the sidelines when you can get yourself into the game, I always say. The phone, incidentally, has more features than I will ever learn about nor make regular use of. I almost cringed at the mere thought of acquiring one a few months back, as I did not want to be connected at all times. But due to job requirements I felt it was in my best interests to do so, and here we are today.
Saunders with an iPhone and on social media. The mind boggles...
Happy New Year!
January 5th, 2013.
I was thinking of this over the past week as I mulled over what to write about this weekend, and I thought this would be the best time to offer my thoughts on social media and the use thereof by one and all. First off, let me state I am using social media myself more and more all the time, mostly due to work responsibilities rather than I want to, but I do in fact find it rather helpful chasing down stories and people for interview material on the CKTB morning show, which I produce each weekday morning. My use of Facebook and Twitter is more of a news-gathering device more than anything else, really, and that aspect of it I find quite useful.
My own postings on both are increasing as time goes by, and in fact you might have noticed I now post my weekly blog to both Facebook and Twitter each weekend. If you want to follow me on either, I would love to add you to my circle of colleagues on both. For Facebook, I simply use my name, Mike Saunders rather than the business name, A Web of Fine Music. For Twitter, my handle is @finemusicman, and last time I checked I was up to about 61 followers since I started on Twitter in the fall. The more the merrier, I always say, and while you're at it, why not add yourself as a follower of my blog right here on the site?
Now, those are the nuts and bolts of the matter. On the subject of social media in general, I have sort of a love/hate relationship with the whole idea of social media; I have begun to worry people are spending far too much time on social media when the time could perhaps better be spent actually interacting with people on a more personal level. How many times have you thought to yourself, rather than phone or meet someone in person, you simply just email them or send a message with either Facebook or Twitter? Far too many times, I suspect, and the problem seems to be we can avoid people we don't want to take the time with but at least keep a civil distance from them without ignoring them entirely. Nothing wrong with that, as we all have people in our lives we don't want to spend too much time with, but it can be taken too far so as to interact almost exclusively on either and lose the human contact entirely.
Sure, Facebook has been a boon to people finding long-lost friends and even family members and is especially helpful for helping to organize class reunions for your alma mater. But we cannot and should not allow it to overtake our lives and be the driving force of almost all our social interactions on a daily basis. Don't laugh; the less you interact on a personal level with people, you risk losing the ability to properly handle social situations when they actually do arise.
What can you expect when you connect with me on either Facebook or Twitter? Well, first let me tell you what you won't find. Foul language is one. Nothing irks me more than to read a post by someone using expletives such as the f-bomb; remember, this is media, and that means people are (hopefully) actually reading your posts. So for the sake not only of decorum but also good manners and sense, keep it clean. Basically, if you wouldn't say the word or phrase in your normal conversation with your mother, for example, it doesn't belong on social media either.
The second thing you won't find in my posts are pictures that are of no use to anyone but the person who took the picture. In other words, I don't take pictures of my lunch or any other meal of the day or the venue I happen to be in at the moment, be it public or private. Maybe it is just me, but I remain unconvinced this sort of posting is of any social value whatsoever. A funny picture or video or a clever saying? Sure, that is fair game for the entertainment value alone. But the far-too-personal posts are not for me and I shun them at all costs.
What I will post, on the occasional opportunities I do, in fact, post, are random thoughts on Twitter and Facebook and often something shared I have found of particular interest. I don't profess to offer any great insights into the world around us, other than to say if I have an opinion on something I might just share it. Nothing wrong with that, I believe, as public discourse is always healthy in this day and age. I will often post items I feel are of interest to those who read my blog on a regular basis, usually involving the performing arts or some related topic, or on music topics which hopefully will appeal to those who check out my website, www.finemusic.ca.
So, I've taken the plunge with social media in a big way over the past year and a lot of that has been due to the fact I now own an iPhone 4S, so both Facebook and Twitter are at my fingertips at all times. No need to sit on the sidelines when you can get yourself into the game, I always say. The phone, incidentally, has more features than I will ever learn about nor make regular use of. I almost cringed at the mere thought of acquiring one a few months back, as I did not want to be connected at all times. But due to job requirements I felt it was in my best interests to do so, and here we are today.
Saunders with an iPhone and on social media. The mind boggles...
Happy New Year!
January 5th, 2013.
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