Very early in my radio broadcasting career - I'm talking back in the mid-70s - I was invited to the opening night of one of the National Ballet of Canada performances at the then-named O'Keefe Centre in downtown Toronto. It never was the best place to view a ballet but back then that was all Toronto had for staging large-scale dance and operatic performances.
From that very first night I was hooked. I always found it to be an escape for me, no matter what the programme was. I loved the big classical ballets, of course, but always went with an open mind when a mixed programme of shorter, more contemporary works was being staged.
From there I got to know people at the National Ballet School and often attended student performances at their home base as well to see what the young and up-and-coming talent was doing.
That love affair with the ballet in particular and dance in general lasted well into this century for me, although I must admit I have not been for many years now.
My interest was piqued, however, when news came of a programme of piano music accompanied by meditative dance to be held tonight in Hamilton at the Church of St. John the Evangelist. How appropriate, I thought, an art form incorporating leaping into the mix should be performed on this evening, February 29th...leap year, of course...
The pianist in question is Hamilton-based pianist/composer Robert Bruce and the dance is provided by dancer/choreographer Kate Hilliard. Together they will present the Hamilton premiere of Eternal Spring, comprising gentle and evocative piano music composed by Robert Bruce himself, melded with specially-conceived meditative dance by Hilliard.
In this hectic world full of angst, tension and news headlines attacking us from all directions, a meditative programme for modern times might seem to be just what the doctor ordered. It's largely modelled on the aesthetic value system that existed in Western European art during the period predating our present one, roughly from 1870 to 1910.
A lot changed around the time of the nineteen-teens, not the least of which was the turmoil the world was plunged into with the start of the First World War in 1914. Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring rocked the sensibilities of ballet patrons of the day as well, leaving behind the calmer, quieter aesthetic people had enjoyed up until that time in favour of the more daring and avant-guard works to come later in the last century.
Eternal Spring strives to recreate the more intimate and daydream-y atmosphere in which subtle expressions of beauty are presented as the main content. Think of calming, gently flowing music and dance working in graceful harmony with each other and you have the picture clearly in focus.
Drawing inspiration from neo-classicism, Romanticism, Impressionism, Belle Epoque and Art Nouveau among others, Eternal Spring transports the audience into a place of serenity. If you want a modern equivalent perhaps yoga or even meditation could provide a basis on which to draw comparisons here, but really the work is highly original in its own right.
A musical balm for the senses amid the furor and clamour of the modern world? Seems like as good a place as any to escape to during a leap year or any other year for that matter...
Eternal Spring will be presented for one night only tonight at 8 pm at The Rock on Locke, the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Hamilton. Doors open at 7:30 and tickets are $25 at the door or $20 in advance using PayPal. There is also a seniors/student rate of $15. Advance tickets can be had by going to www.robertbrucemusic.com.
The Rock on Lock, for the uninitiated, is at 320 Charlton Avenue West in downtown Hamilton.
Enjoy the weekend!
February 29th, 2020.
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Friday, February 21, 2020
Catherine Wilson's Ensemble Vivant begins the New Year with a new disc
Just over a month ago I had a phone call while waiting in my doctor's office for an appointment and it was from one of my favourite musicians I've gotten to know over the years. Catherine Wilson, based in Toronto, was at the other end with some good news: her musical group Ensemble Vivant had just released a brand-new CD and she wanted to send me a copy so I could be one of the first to hear it.
To say that news was the highlight of my doctor's appointment that day goes without saying, especially I was shortly afterwards the recipient of the ubiquitous flu shot!
Catherine was effusive with her description of the new disc, the group's 14th release and the new one available now from the Opening Day Entertainment Group. Entitled Latin Romance, the recording is a tasteful and refined ode to the venerable tango. Covering a wide spectrum of Latin-American music ranging from the familiar such as Ernesto Lecuona's Andalucia and Isaac Albeniz' Tango in D to lesser-known works (to North American ears at least) by composers such as Gismonti, Piazzolla, Guarnieri and even Antonio Carlos Jobim.
The proverbial icing on the cake was the inclusion of Leroy Anderson's Serenata, a purely North American confection if ever there was one, yet it feels comfortably at home alongside Latin American composers from the past and present.
The disc has an overall feel of warmth and cohesiveness that makes it instantly as comfortable as putting on your dressing gown and slippers when you come home after a long hard day out in the cold of a Canadian winter. The main reason for this is because the musicians feel as comfortable playing this music as much as we do listening to it.
Catherine's group have performed the gamut of musical styles together for many years now so there is really not much they have not encountered in one form or another. They work well together and feel totally at home alongside some notable guests from Toronto's jazz and world music scenes.
Ensemble Vivant features Catherine Wilson on piano, Jim Vivian on bass, Cory Gemmell on violin, Norman Hathaway on viola and Sybil Shanahan on cello. They're joined on this disc by Juan Carlos Medrano and Luisito Orbegoso on Latin percussion, Kevin Turcotte on trumpet and Don Thompson on vibes.
Together they bring a joy of music making that is truly infectious, inviting the listener to, if not get up and dance the tango, at least feel they are being transported to some warmer clime where they could watch dancers do it for them.
As joyful as this collection is, it also comes tinged in unexpected sadness as a follow-up phone call from Catherine revealed the composer of an original composition on the disc had just passed away. Catherine was beside herself when we spoke that day, as she had only heard the night before of the passing of Canadian composer John Burke, who contributed the Art Tango La Despedida to the disc.
John, who was born in 1951 and was a composer of many orchestral, choral and chamber works over his lengthy career, passed suddenly and peacefully at his home in Marmora, Ontario.
John and Catherine's group had a musical association that went back many years and included the world premiere of Dr. Burke's Heiratikos at the 2010 International World Music Festival at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto.
Just this past December Catherine and Ensemble Vivant launched the new disc at a sold out concert at Hugh's Room in Toronto and included the world premiere of John's contribution to the disc, La Despedida, which translates as The Farewell.
It was a bittersweet event as John was in the audience for the premiere that night and it would prove to be the final time Catherine would play before her old friend. In spite of the fact he planned to write more music for the group, the inclusion of La Despedida on Latin Romance will indeed prove to be his farewell.
We go through this life making friends, some closer than others of course, and a chosen few become friends through their musical gifts shared together. As we hear on Latin Romance, the friendship ran deep for both John Burke and Catherine Wilson's Ensemble Vivant.
Thanks for the music, John. And thanks to Catherine and her group for championing his music both now and no doubt in the future too. Because that's what friends do. They remember and never forget.
Have a great weekend.
February 21st, 2020.
To say that news was the highlight of my doctor's appointment that day goes without saying, especially I was shortly afterwards the recipient of the ubiquitous flu shot!
Catherine was effusive with her description of the new disc, the group's 14th release and the new one available now from the Opening Day Entertainment Group. Entitled Latin Romance, the recording is a tasteful and refined ode to the venerable tango. Covering a wide spectrum of Latin-American music ranging from the familiar such as Ernesto Lecuona's Andalucia and Isaac Albeniz' Tango in D to lesser-known works (to North American ears at least) by composers such as Gismonti, Piazzolla, Guarnieri and even Antonio Carlos Jobim.
The proverbial icing on the cake was the inclusion of Leroy Anderson's Serenata, a purely North American confection if ever there was one, yet it feels comfortably at home alongside Latin American composers from the past and present.
The disc has an overall feel of warmth and cohesiveness that makes it instantly as comfortable as putting on your dressing gown and slippers when you come home after a long hard day out in the cold of a Canadian winter. The main reason for this is because the musicians feel as comfortable playing this music as much as we do listening to it.
Catherine's group have performed the gamut of musical styles together for many years now so there is really not much they have not encountered in one form or another. They work well together and feel totally at home alongside some notable guests from Toronto's jazz and world music scenes.
Ensemble Vivant features Catherine Wilson on piano, Jim Vivian on bass, Cory Gemmell on violin, Norman Hathaway on viola and Sybil Shanahan on cello. They're joined on this disc by Juan Carlos Medrano and Luisito Orbegoso on Latin percussion, Kevin Turcotte on trumpet and Don Thompson on vibes.
Together they bring a joy of music making that is truly infectious, inviting the listener to, if not get up and dance the tango, at least feel they are being transported to some warmer clime where they could watch dancers do it for them.
As joyful as this collection is, it also comes tinged in unexpected sadness as a follow-up phone call from Catherine revealed the composer of an original composition on the disc had just passed away. Catherine was beside herself when we spoke that day, as she had only heard the night before of the passing of Canadian composer John Burke, who contributed the Art Tango La Despedida to the disc.
John, who was born in 1951 and was a composer of many orchestral, choral and chamber works over his lengthy career, passed suddenly and peacefully at his home in Marmora, Ontario.
John and Catherine's group had a musical association that went back many years and included the world premiere of Dr. Burke's Heiratikos at the 2010 International World Music Festival at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto.
Just this past December Catherine and Ensemble Vivant launched the new disc at a sold out concert at Hugh's Room in Toronto and included the world premiere of John's contribution to the disc, La Despedida, which translates as The Farewell.
It was a bittersweet event as John was in the audience for the premiere that night and it would prove to be the final time Catherine would play before her old friend. In spite of the fact he planned to write more music for the group, the inclusion of La Despedida on Latin Romance will indeed prove to be his farewell.
We go through this life making friends, some closer than others of course, and a chosen few become friends through their musical gifts shared together. As we hear on Latin Romance, the friendship ran deep for both John Burke and Catherine Wilson's Ensemble Vivant.
Thanks for the music, John. And thanks to Catherine and her group for championing his music both now and no doubt in the future too. Because that's what friends do. They remember and never forget.
Have a great weekend.
February 21st, 2020.
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Music to celebrate Valentine's Day this weekend
With tomorrow being Valentine's Day, I thought I'd offer up a trio of musical suggestions for you to romance your sweetie with something other than just flowers and chocolates this year, although either or both of them might be a great accompaniment to any of these upcoming concerts.
First up, Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts gets the romance going tomorrow night with A Century of Heroes: The music of Frank Sinatra, Jon Hendricks, Billy Eckstine and Nancy Wilson. Popular jazz vocalist Kurt Elling fronts an all-star band in Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines for an evening of swing classics from the Great American Songbook and beyond.
Holding a dozen Grammy nominations and eight Jazz Journalists Association Awards for "Male Singer of the Year", not to mention a fourteen-year run atop the DownBeat Critics Poll, Elling knows his way around a finely-crafted tune, much as the predecessors he salutes in the show did during their time. My personal favourite has always been Sinatra, of course, but the classic 50s Capitol recordings remain for me the pinnacle of Old Blue Eyes' craft, so no doubt several songs from that era will be on the programme.
Elling will be including several original compositions in the mix tomorrow night as well I'm told, so that will be an added bonus to keep things up to date as well as timeless.
Tickets are almost sold out for the performance tomorrow night, but you can book online at www.bravoniagara.org or call 289-868-9177. You can also stop by the PAC box office tomorrow if you're downtown to pick up your tickets in person in advance of the performance. The show begins at 8 pm, by the way.
On Saturday night you can head down the QEW to downtown Hamilton and stop by FirstOntario Concert Hall, formerly Hamilton Place, for the next concert with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Music Director Gemma New.
Entitled Scheherazade, the performance features the famous orchestral masterpiece of the same name by Rimsky-Korsakov illustrating the tale of One Thousand and One Nights. In its own way, it is a perfect accompaniment to a romantic weekend as it involves one woman dazzling her man with never-ending tales lasting, well one thousand and one nights, give or take...
The HPO's Principal Trombone David Pell shows why he is a virtuoso on the instrument when he is featured in the Trombone Concerto by Tomasi, and the full orchestra will be in full bloom as they lead off with the popular Semiramide Overture by Rossini.
The concert begins at 7:30 Saturday night. For tickets, call the box office at 905-526-7756.
Finally, the Niagara Symphony presents their third Pops! concert this weekend, both Saturday night at 7:30 and Sunday afternoon at 2:30 and will be a decidedly more popular programme this weekend. Entitled Music of the knights, the concert highlights music composed by three famous "Sirs", Andrew Lloyd Webber, Paul McCartney and Elton John and includes a number of hits from the Broadway stage as well as from many a playlist these days.
Selections will include Memory from Cats and Don't Cry for Me, Argentina from Evita by Webber, Crocodile Rock by John and Yesterday by McCartney, among others.
Tickets to any of the Niagara Symphony concerts are available by calling the FirstOntario PAC box office at 905-688-0722. Or you can visit in person while you're downtown buying the flowers and chocolates!
Now, if you decide to go for the trifecta and book all three, well, I won't say you'll be the most popular partner on the planet, but you'll be darn close. Oh, and the idea is gender-neutral too. Anyone can book for whomever they are attached to or wish to be. After all, love should be nothing if not democratic, right?
Good luck and enjoy the weekend!
February 13th, 2020.
First up, Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts gets the romance going tomorrow night with A Century of Heroes: The music of Frank Sinatra, Jon Hendricks, Billy Eckstine and Nancy Wilson. Popular jazz vocalist Kurt Elling fronts an all-star band in Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines for an evening of swing classics from the Great American Songbook and beyond.
Holding a dozen Grammy nominations and eight Jazz Journalists Association Awards for "Male Singer of the Year", not to mention a fourteen-year run atop the DownBeat Critics Poll, Elling knows his way around a finely-crafted tune, much as the predecessors he salutes in the show did during their time. My personal favourite has always been Sinatra, of course, but the classic 50s Capitol recordings remain for me the pinnacle of Old Blue Eyes' craft, so no doubt several songs from that era will be on the programme.
Elling will be including several original compositions in the mix tomorrow night as well I'm told, so that will be an added bonus to keep things up to date as well as timeless.
Tickets are almost sold out for the performance tomorrow night, but you can book online at www.bravoniagara.org or call 289-868-9177. You can also stop by the PAC box office tomorrow if you're downtown to pick up your tickets in person in advance of the performance. The show begins at 8 pm, by the way.
On Saturday night you can head down the QEW to downtown Hamilton and stop by FirstOntario Concert Hall, formerly Hamilton Place, for the next concert with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Music Director Gemma New.
Entitled Scheherazade, the performance features the famous orchestral masterpiece of the same name by Rimsky-Korsakov illustrating the tale of One Thousand and One Nights. In its own way, it is a perfect accompaniment to a romantic weekend as it involves one woman dazzling her man with never-ending tales lasting, well one thousand and one nights, give or take...
The HPO's Principal Trombone David Pell shows why he is a virtuoso on the instrument when he is featured in the Trombone Concerto by Tomasi, and the full orchestra will be in full bloom as they lead off with the popular Semiramide Overture by Rossini.
The concert begins at 7:30 Saturday night. For tickets, call the box office at 905-526-7756.
Finally, the Niagara Symphony presents their third Pops! concert this weekend, both Saturday night at 7:30 and Sunday afternoon at 2:30 and will be a decidedly more popular programme this weekend. Entitled Music of the knights, the concert highlights music composed by three famous "Sirs", Andrew Lloyd Webber, Paul McCartney and Elton John and includes a number of hits from the Broadway stage as well as from many a playlist these days.
Selections will include Memory from Cats and Don't Cry for Me, Argentina from Evita by Webber, Crocodile Rock by John and Yesterday by McCartney, among others.
Tickets to any of the Niagara Symphony concerts are available by calling the FirstOntario PAC box office at 905-688-0722. Or you can visit in person while you're downtown buying the flowers and chocolates!
Now, if you decide to go for the trifecta and book all three, well, I won't say you'll be the most popular partner on the planet, but you'll be darn close. Oh, and the idea is gender-neutral too. Anyone can book for whomever they are attached to or wish to be. After all, love should be nothing if not democratic, right?
Good luck and enjoy the weekend!
February 13th, 2020.
Saturday, February 8, 2020
It's all about the singing this weekend
It's all about the singing this weekend, as we collectively try to keep warm and comfortable during the cold winter months we've been enduring. So if you feel the need to escape the cold for an afternoon of song on a Sunday, I have a couple of great musical suggestions for you.
Here in Niagara the 25th season of Gallery Players of Niagara continues with a performance tomorrow afternoon at 2 at Silver Spire United Church in downtown St. Catharines. The Gallery Players have programmed a concert entitled From Home and Afar - A Journey of Enchantment, and it will take listeners on a voyage from Canada to Germany and back again, with a festive stop in warmer Argentina for good measure.
The all-star performers include mezzo-soprano Kristin Hoff, along with Caitlin Boyle on viola, Timothy Phelan on guitar and Antoine Joubert on piano. That's typical of Gallery Players concerts, as the musical personnel is never constant. You always hear something new each time out, and that for me is the joy of this artistic endeavour.
On the programme will be Two Songs for mezzo, viola and piano, Op. 91 by Johannes Brahms, Three Songs for mezzo, viola and piano by Frank Bridge, Sid Rabinovitch's Canciones sefardies for guitar and mezzo, and Penelope for piano and voice by Cecilia Livingston. Instrumentally, the concert will be rounded out with Timothy Phelan's own arrangement for viola and guitar of Astor Piazzolla's Histoire du Tango.
The tango, incidentally, just never seems to go out of fashion, either as a musical form or dance form. It's as popular now as ever, with the music of Piazzolla really defining the genre. I mention that because next weekend in this space I'll be writing about a brand-new CD release by the Toronto-based Ensemble Vivant, who have just recorded and released their new Latin Romance CD. It is chock full of tangos to light up your Valentine's Day weekend, so keep an eye out for that next week.
Getting back to the Gallery Players performance tomorrow, tickets should be available at the door prior to the concert or in advance by calling 905-468-1525 or logging on to www.galleryplayers.ca.
Meantime in Elora tomorrow afternoon the ever-popular Soup & Song concert will be held at St. John's Church in the heart of Elora. I'm told the soup tickets are sold out, which is a regular occurrence for this popular winter event, but there are still tickets available for the concert featuring The Elora Singers directed by Mark Vuorinen. Mr. Vuorinen will also be discussing the music on the programme, which includes three cantatas by J.S. Bach.
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich is one of Bach's earliest cantatas, although the date of composition is really not known. But the sparse orchestration Bach gave the cantata coupled with the prominence of the choir - no surprise there with Bach - makes it an excellent vehicle for the considerable talents of The Elora Singers. Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir was composed in either 1707 or 1708 and remains one of Bach's earliest surviving cantatas. It is also an early example of Bach's interest in counterpoint. Finally, the Singers will perform Weinen, klagen, sorgen, zagen, a cantata consisting of seven movements and originally composed by Bach for the third Sunday after Easter.
The sound of St. John's Church, The Elora Singers' home base, is absolutely radiant and the cosy surroundings add to the flavour and intimacy of hearing the Singers at this time of year. No huge, drafty church here, so you'll be warmed by the music as well as by the soup beforehand.
For tickets and more information call the box office at 519-846-0331 or go to www.elorasingers.ca.
Enjoy your weekend!
February 8th, 2020.
Here in Niagara the 25th season of Gallery Players of Niagara continues with a performance tomorrow afternoon at 2 at Silver Spire United Church in downtown St. Catharines. The Gallery Players have programmed a concert entitled From Home and Afar - A Journey of Enchantment, and it will take listeners on a voyage from Canada to Germany and back again, with a festive stop in warmer Argentina for good measure.
The all-star performers include mezzo-soprano Kristin Hoff, along with Caitlin Boyle on viola, Timothy Phelan on guitar and Antoine Joubert on piano. That's typical of Gallery Players concerts, as the musical personnel is never constant. You always hear something new each time out, and that for me is the joy of this artistic endeavour.
On the programme will be Two Songs for mezzo, viola and piano, Op. 91 by Johannes Brahms, Three Songs for mezzo, viola and piano by Frank Bridge, Sid Rabinovitch's Canciones sefardies for guitar and mezzo, and Penelope for piano and voice by Cecilia Livingston. Instrumentally, the concert will be rounded out with Timothy Phelan's own arrangement for viola and guitar of Astor Piazzolla's Histoire du Tango.
The tango, incidentally, just never seems to go out of fashion, either as a musical form or dance form. It's as popular now as ever, with the music of Piazzolla really defining the genre. I mention that because next weekend in this space I'll be writing about a brand-new CD release by the Toronto-based Ensemble Vivant, who have just recorded and released their new Latin Romance CD. It is chock full of tangos to light up your Valentine's Day weekend, so keep an eye out for that next week.
Getting back to the Gallery Players performance tomorrow, tickets should be available at the door prior to the concert or in advance by calling 905-468-1525 or logging on to www.galleryplayers.ca.
Meantime in Elora tomorrow afternoon the ever-popular Soup & Song concert will be held at St. John's Church in the heart of Elora. I'm told the soup tickets are sold out, which is a regular occurrence for this popular winter event, but there are still tickets available for the concert featuring The Elora Singers directed by Mark Vuorinen. Mr. Vuorinen will also be discussing the music on the programme, which includes three cantatas by J.S. Bach.
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich is one of Bach's earliest cantatas, although the date of composition is really not known. But the sparse orchestration Bach gave the cantata coupled with the prominence of the choir - no surprise there with Bach - makes it an excellent vehicle for the considerable talents of The Elora Singers. Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir was composed in either 1707 or 1708 and remains one of Bach's earliest surviving cantatas. It is also an early example of Bach's interest in counterpoint. Finally, the Singers will perform Weinen, klagen, sorgen, zagen, a cantata consisting of seven movements and originally composed by Bach for the third Sunday after Easter.
The sound of St. John's Church, The Elora Singers' home base, is absolutely radiant and the cosy surroundings add to the flavour and intimacy of hearing the Singers at this time of year. No huge, drafty church here, so you'll be warmed by the music as well as by the soup beforehand.
For tickets and more information call the box office at 519-846-0331 or go to www.elorasingers.ca.
Enjoy your weekend!
February 8th, 2020.
Saturday, February 1, 2020
No shortage of music available in downtown St. Catharines this weekend
The weekend is here and if you are craving some great music in an equally great setting, I have a couple of suggestions for you. Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon can be musically enjoyed in downtown St. Catharines.
First off, the Marilyn I. Walker Cultural Leader Series continues this evening in the Recital Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre downtown at 7:30.
Guitar Extravaganza 2020 is Brock University's annual celebration of the guitar, featuring The Mighty Niagara Guitar Orchestra, comprised of 70 classical guitarists from throughout Niagara and the rest of Southern Ontario. Performers travel from as far away as Sarnia, Sudbury, Ottawa and even Boston to perform right here in our own backyard. And they all perform under the direction of Artistic Director/Conductor and Brock University guitar instructor Timothy Phelan.
The Department of Music presentation features Niagara natives Paul Wiebe and James Bryan as they join special guests Rene Izquierdo from Cuba, Elina Chekan from Belarus and Emma Rush. The music is composed and/or arranged by three Niagara-area musicians, James Bryan, Timothy Phelan and Floyd Turner.
I remember years ago listening to the 50 Guitars of Tommy Garrett, who regularly featured some of the best guitarists in the world performing in unison, and the sound was always enjoyable. Some of those old recordings have made it on to CD and I have a couple in my collection at the moment, in fact. But 70 classical guitarists? That is something special, and it should be a spectacular performance tonight.
Tickets should be available at the FirstOntario PAC box office prior to the show tonight.
Meantime in Partridge Hall at the PAC tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 the Niagara Symphony presents a concert entitled Simply Irresistible, the fourth concert in their Masterworks series for the current season.
Maestro Bradley Thachuk conducts the orchestra along with featured soloist Jinjoo Cho on violin in some rather heavy-duty music leaning towards unbridled romance, just in time for the romantic day coming up later this month.
The NSO continues their Sibelius cycle with the Symphony No. 5, certainly one of Sibelius' great orchestral works, as a concert finale. Leading off will be Toronto-based composer Kevin Lau's Dark Angels concert suite, adapted from his full-length ballet of the same name that was commissioned by the National Ballet of Canada back in 2017. Lau's interpretation of the Medusa myth is both tense and dark, but along with the Sibelius will show a decidedly full-bodied facet of the Niagara Symphony that perhaps suits the darker winter months as we hibernate until warmer weather arrives.
Sandwiched in between those two orchestral works will be one of the most interesting of the last century's showcases for violin as young violinist Jinjoo Cho joins the NSO in Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto. Now considered an American classic, the work was considered "unplayable" when it premiered many years ago. Now, young violinists regularly showcase the work in their repertoire as something of a calling card as they build their musical careers.
If Groundhog Day makes you gag and the Super Bowl makes you yawn, clearly you yearn for something more substantial. The Niagara Symphony has your back this weekend at the PAC!
Tickets should be available from the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre box office prior to the performance tomorrow afternoon or in advance by calling 905-688-0722.
Have a great weekend!
February 1st, 2020.
First off, the Marilyn I. Walker Cultural Leader Series continues this evening in the Recital Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre downtown at 7:30.
Guitar Extravaganza 2020 is Brock University's annual celebration of the guitar, featuring The Mighty Niagara Guitar Orchestra, comprised of 70 classical guitarists from throughout Niagara and the rest of Southern Ontario. Performers travel from as far away as Sarnia, Sudbury, Ottawa and even Boston to perform right here in our own backyard. And they all perform under the direction of Artistic Director/Conductor and Brock University guitar instructor Timothy Phelan.
The Department of Music presentation features Niagara natives Paul Wiebe and James Bryan as they join special guests Rene Izquierdo from Cuba, Elina Chekan from Belarus and Emma Rush. The music is composed and/or arranged by three Niagara-area musicians, James Bryan, Timothy Phelan and Floyd Turner.
I remember years ago listening to the 50 Guitars of Tommy Garrett, who regularly featured some of the best guitarists in the world performing in unison, and the sound was always enjoyable. Some of those old recordings have made it on to CD and I have a couple in my collection at the moment, in fact. But 70 classical guitarists? That is something special, and it should be a spectacular performance tonight.
Tickets should be available at the FirstOntario PAC box office prior to the show tonight.
Meantime in Partridge Hall at the PAC tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 the Niagara Symphony presents a concert entitled Simply Irresistible, the fourth concert in their Masterworks series for the current season.
Maestro Bradley Thachuk conducts the orchestra along with featured soloist Jinjoo Cho on violin in some rather heavy-duty music leaning towards unbridled romance, just in time for the romantic day coming up later this month.
The NSO continues their Sibelius cycle with the Symphony No. 5, certainly one of Sibelius' great orchestral works, as a concert finale. Leading off will be Toronto-based composer Kevin Lau's Dark Angels concert suite, adapted from his full-length ballet of the same name that was commissioned by the National Ballet of Canada back in 2017. Lau's interpretation of the Medusa myth is both tense and dark, but along with the Sibelius will show a decidedly full-bodied facet of the Niagara Symphony that perhaps suits the darker winter months as we hibernate until warmer weather arrives.
Sandwiched in between those two orchestral works will be one of the most interesting of the last century's showcases for violin as young violinist Jinjoo Cho joins the NSO in Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto. Now considered an American classic, the work was considered "unplayable" when it premiered many years ago. Now, young violinists regularly showcase the work in their repertoire as something of a calling card as they build their musical careers.
If Groundhog Day makes you gag and the Super Bowl makes you yawn, clearly you yearn for something more substantial. The Niagara Symphony has your back this weekend at the PAC!
Tickets should be available from the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre box office prior to the performance tomorrow afternoon or in advance by calling 905-688-0722.
Have a great weekend!
February 1st, 2020.
Saturday, January 25, 2020
It's not too early to start thinking of the Annual Canadian Renaissance Music Summer School
I have a confession to make. I love choral music. Just love it. The sound of human voices soaring into the rafters is for me, the nearest thing to heaven on earth I think we mere mortals can achieve.
Unfortunately, my love of choral music does not extend to me actually singing with a choir. Oh I have been approached to sing in choirs before, but that invitation usually is rescinded when they actually hear me sing. Really.
It's not that I am all that bad. I mean, I do have a voice since I spent 40 years in radio broadcasting. However I never learned to read music, and besides, my timing is off. My far better half has gone on record as stating I am always about half a beat behind everyone else whenever I sing with a group. And that's on a good day. I just like to be ready, that's all.
What's more, I tend to sing as flat as Saskatchewan. Meaning, of course, my occasional basso-profundo is enough to annoy the cats we share the house with on a regular basis.
But that's not to say I don't enjoy hearing great choral music sung by those who can hold a note or two. Or three.
Many of those aspiring young singers with an interest in Renaissance polyphony will be more than a little interested in the announcement this week the so-called "soft" deadline for applications to participate in the annual Canadian Renaissance Music Summer School at Huron University in May is set for February 1st.
Huron University is part of Western University in London, Ontario, and CRMSS is directed by world-renowned baritone and choral workshop leader Greg Skidmore. The summer music school is now in its third year, running this year from May 9th to 17th and is the only Renaissance choral music workshop of its kind in Canada.
If you need a comparison of how important this summer music school is, it's basically on a par with those run by The Tallis Scholars in Seattle and the Early Music Academy in Boston, along with those held in England and throughout Europe.
In fact, the Canadian school's official patron is none other than the current director of The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips. His recordings with the Scholars are luminous in sound and quite literally can take your breath away with their beauty.
Director Skidmore says this year they will be focusing on the works of the Franco-Flemish school, really the 'home' of Renaissance polyphonic music. Helping out the home team in musical tutoring this year will be five master's level performance students from the University of York in the U.K., as well as guest artist Robert Hollingworth, director of the dynamic and inventive U.K.-based vocal consort I Fagiolini.
The Canadian Renaissance Music Summer Music School is aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at undergraduate students, graduates and young professional singers. It will be a week-long deep dive into Renaissance polyphonic vocal music with an intensive period of rehearsal and performance, both liturgically and in concert, all with an emphasis on quality in performance.
In fact the week will culminate in a final live concert performance for the public at the end of the course in London, Ontario on Sunday, May 17th at 2:30 pm.
The theme of CRMSS 2020 is Beyond the Ordinary, with a focus on Franco-Flemish music. Essentially this polyphonic style, meaning music with multiple, independent melody lines performed simultaneously was pioneered by the great master of the genre Josquin des Prez.
Renaissance music is both vocal and instrumental music written and performed in Europe essentially during the Renaissance era. Most agree the period began about 1400 and ran for the better part of 200 years, closing around 1600 with the advent of the Baroque period.
The distribution of music and music theory texts to a wider audience was a laborious task at the start of the Renaissance period, as it all had to be hand-copied. That time-consuming and expensive process was replaced by the first printing press that came out in 1439 and that made music more accessible to those who no longer had to pay a king's ransom to acquire scores with which they could rehearse.
So now here we are in 2020 and the music is not only readily available for study and performance, but there are schools such as CRMSS dedicated to making the music literally come alive for a whole new generation.
If you want more information on the course curriculum just go to http://www.crmss.org/course.html.
I might not be able to sing with the graduates but I think I can handle sitting in the audience and enjoying the final results. Just so long as I keep my mouth shut...
Have a great weekend!
January 25th, 2020.
Unfortunately, my love of choral music does not extend to me actually singing with a choir. Oh I have been approached to sing in choirs before, but that invitation usually is rescinded when they actually hear me sing. Really.
It's not that I am all that bad. I mean, I do have a voice since I spent 40 years in radio broadcasting. However I never learned to read music, and besides, my timing is off. My far better half has gone on record as stating I am always about half a beat behind everyone else whenever I sing with a group. And that's on a good day. I just like to be ready, that's all.
What's more, I tend to sing as flat as Saskatchewan. Meaning, of course, my occasional basso-profundo is enough to annoy the cats we share the house with on a regular basis.
But that's not to say I don't enjoy hearing great choral music sung by those who can hold a note or two. Or three.
Many of those aspiring young singers with an interest in Renaissance polyphony will be more than a little interested in the announcement this week the so-called "soft" deadline for applications to participate in the annual Canadian Renaissance Music Summer School at Huron University in May is set for February 1st.
Huron University is part of Western University in London, Ontario, and CRMSS is directed by world-renowned baritone and choral workshop leader Greg Skidmore. The summer music school is now in its third year, running this year from May 9th to 17th and is the only Renaissance choral music workshop of its kind in Canada.
If you need a comparison of how important this summer music school is, it's basically on a par with those run by The Tallis Scholars in Seattle and the Early Music Academy in Boston, along with those held in England and throughout Europe.
In fact, the Canadian school's official patron is none other than the current director of The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips. His recordings with the Scholars are luminous in sound and quite literally can take your breath away with their beauty.
Director Skidmore says this year they will be focusing on the works of the Franco-Flemish school, really the 'home' of Renaissance polyphonic music. Helping out the home team in musical tutoring this year will be five master's level performance students from the University of York in the U.K., as well as guest artist Robert Hollingworth, director of the dynamic and inventive U.K.-based vocal consort I Fagiolini.
The Canadian Renaissance Music Summer Music School is aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at undergraduate students, graduates and young professional singers. It will be a week-long deep dive into Renaissance polyphonic vocal music with an intensive period of rehearsal and performance, both liturgically and in concert, all with an emphasis on quality in performance.
In fact the week will culminate in a final live concert performance for the public at the end of the course in London, Ontario on Sunday, May 17th at 2:30 pm.
The theme of CRMSS 2020 is Beyond the Ordinary, with a focus on Franco-Flemish music. Essentially this polyphonic style, meaning music with multiple, independent melody lines performed simultaneously was pioneered by the great master of the genre Josquin des Prez.
Renaissance music is both vocal and instrumental music written and performed in Europe essentially during the Renaissance era. Most agree the period began about 1400 and ran for the better part of 200 years, closing around 1600 with the advent of the Baroque period.
The distribution of music and music theory texts to a wider audience was a laborious task at the start of the Renaissance period, as it all had to be hand-copied. That time-consuming and expensive process was replaced by the first printing press that came out in 1439 and that made music more accessible to those who no longer had to pay a king's ransom to acquire scores with which they could rehearse.
So now here we are in 2020 and the music is not only readily available for study and performance, but there are schools such as CRMSS dedicated to making the music literally come alive for a whole new generation.
If you want more information on the course curriculum just go to http://www.crmss.org/course.html.
I might not be able to sing with the graduates but I think I can handle sitting in the audience and enjoying the final results. Just so long as I keep my mouth shut...
Have a great weekend!
January 25th, 2020.
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Niagara Symphony joins the Beethoven bandwagon this weekend
In classical music we like to observe special dates of note, such as the birth or unfortunately the death of a particular composer for example. The I used to host my longtime classical music programme on 610CKTB years ago I regularly noted anniversaries of all sorts on the show.
Record companies regularly take advantage of these anniversary dates as well in order to market their classical catalogues, hopefully to new listeners as well as old. I still remember the huge marketing machine behind the 200th anniversary of the death of Mozart back in 1991 that produced all sorts of repackaged box sets of Mozart's music culminating in the mammoth Phillips Classics Complete Mozart Edition. That set was incredibly expensive to purchase but included every single work Mozart ever wrote.
Ah yes, Marketing 101: give people what they want even if they don't know they need it yet.
This year the classical marketing sets its collective sights on the so-called Bad Boy of Classical Music, Ludwig van Beethoven. In case you were unawares, 2020 would have marked Beethoven's 250th birthday and although he likely would never be able to hear the commotion caused by this anniversary were he alive today, he would most certainly appreciate all the attention nonetheless.
Beethoven has for me held a special place in music. While Mozart sounds refined and almost perfect, Beethoven on the other hand sounds rougher, almost craggy in comparison. Where Mozart is depicted often in fine garb at a society event trying to ingratiate himself to a wealthy patron or two, Beethoven appears more often than not as a bit of a lone wolf in the musical world. Alone in his apartment crafting music amid the chaos of a life well lived, his artistry seems more masculine, dare I say more virile in comparison to his precocious predecessor.
To put this in Hollywood actor terms, which I know I shouldn't but I will nonetheless, Mozart appears polished and rather Cary Grant-ish, while Beethoven might be compared to the swashbuckling swagger of, say, an Erroll Flynn. At least if you are comparing them on purely musical terms.
So on the heels of this admittedly unorthodox introduction, the Niagara Symphony joins the Beethoven bandwagon for 2020 with an all-Beethoven programme Sunday afternoon titled Triumph of Destiny. The Masterworks 3 concert happens at 2:30 pm in Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.
The concert includes three of Beethoven's more muscular works, beginning with his Egmont Overture and concluding with his colossal and iconic Symphony No. 5. In the middle is the amazing Triple Concerto for violin, cello and piano, featuring the considerable talents of the Gryphon Trio.
All three works date from one turbulent decade, 1803 to 1810 as his hearing was in a steady decline but his creative genius was surely at its peak. The massive Symphony No. 5 alone pushed the musical boundaries even further than they had been following the debut of Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, the "Eroica", which happened shortly before the debut of the Triple Concerto.
It's also interesting to note the Niagara Symphony last performed the Symphony No. 5 in 2015 as they performed their final concert in the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre at Brock University in the spring of that year. Now, they launch the year-long Beethoven celebration with the same work.
The No. 5, replete with that very familiar four-note opening "dun-dun-dun-dah" has been a musical calling card of sorts for many orchestras and dare I say, conductors, for many years now. It seems any conductor wanting to show they are in control of the musical forces that lie in front of them while on the podium often chooses to conduct this work to show what he or she, and by extension they, can do as a team.
It is that very team spirit that evidently prompted the redoubtable Dr. Peter Schickle to create his famous dissertation of the opening movement of the Symphony No. 5 as a give-and-take between a couple of well-intentioned football commentators describing the "action" on stage. It's a classic recording and was certainly a boundary-pusher in its own right when the old Vanguard recording was released back in the '60s.
So with football season soon to climax in the United States early next month, that analogy is perhaps not lost on the esteemed players of the NSO and their popular conductor, Bradley Thachuck.
Kickoff, er, concert time is 2:30 tomorrow afternoon at Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines. Tickets are still available through the box office at the PAC by visiting in person or calling 905-688-0722.
Pennants are not needed for the concert, by the way...
Have a great weekend!
January 18th, 2020.
Record companies regularly take advantage of these anniversary dates as well in order to market their classical catalogues, hopefully to new listeners as well as old. I still remember the huge marketing machine behind the 200th anniversary of the death of Mozart back in 1991 that produced all sorts of repackaged box sets of Mozart's music culminating in the mammoth Phillips Classics Complete Mozart Edition. That set was incredibly expensive to purchase but included every single work Mozart ever wrote.
Ah yes, Marketing 101: give people what they want even if they don't know they need it yet.
This year the classical marketing sets its collective sights on the so-called Bad Boy of Classical Music, Ludwig van Beethoven. In case you were unawares, 2020 would have marked Beethoven's 250th birthday and although he likely would never be able to hear the commotion caused by this anniversary were he alive today, he would most certainly appreciate all the attention nonetheless.
Beethoven has for me held a special place in music. While Mozart sounds refined and almost perfect, Beethoven on the other hand sounds rougher, almost craggy in comparison. Where Mozart is depicted often in fine garb at a society event trying to ingratiate himself to a wealthy patron or two, Beethoven appears more often than not as a bit of a lone wolf in the musical world. Alone in his apartment crafting music amid the chaos of a life well lived, his artistry seems more masculine, dare I say more virile in comparison to his precocious predecessor.
To put this in Hollywood actor terms, which I know I shouldn't but I will nonetheless, Mozart appears polished and rather Cary Grant-ish, while Beethoven might be compared to the swashbuckling swagger of, say, an Erroll Flynn. At least if you are comparing them on purely musical terms.
So on the heels of this admittedly unorthodox introduction, the Niagara Symphony joins the Beethoven bandwagon for 2020 with an all-Beethoven programme Sunday afternoon titled Triumph of Destiny. The Masterworks 3 concert happens at 2:30 pm in Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.
The concert includes three of Beethoven's more muscular works, beginning with his Egmont Overture and concluding with his colossal and iconic Symphony No. 5. In the middle is the amazing Triple Concerto for violin, cello and piano, featuring the considerable talents of the Gryphon Trio.
All three works date from one turbulent decade, 1803 to 1810 as his hearing was in a steady decline but his creative genius was surely at its peak. The massive Symphony No. 5 alone pushed the musical boundaries even further than they had been following the debut of Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, the "Eroica", which happened shortly before the debut of the Triple Concerto.
It's also interesting to note the Niagara Symphony last performed the Symphony No. 5 in 2015 as they performed their final concert in the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre at Brock University in the spring of that year. Now, they launch the year-long Beethoven celebration with the same work.
The No. 5, replete with that very familiar four-note opening "dun-dun-dun-dah" has been a musical calling card of sorts for many orchestras and dare I say, conductors, for many years now. It seems any conductor wanting to show they are in control of the musical forces that lie in front of them while on the podium often chooses to conduct this work to show what he or she, and by extension they, can do as a team.
It is that very team spirit that evidently prompted the redoubtable Dr. Peter Schickle to create his famous dissertation of the opening movement of the Symphony No. 5 as a give-and-take between a couple of well-intentioned football commentators describing the "action" on stage. It's a classic recording and was certainly a boundary-pusher in its own right when the old Vanguard recording was released back in the '60s.
So with football season soon to climax in the United States early next month, that analogy is perhaps not lost on the esteemed players of the NSO and their popular conductor, Bradley Thachuck.
Kickoff, er, concert time is 2:30 tomorrow afternoon at Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines. Tickets are still available through the box office at the PAC by visiting in person or calling 905-688-0722.
Pennants are not needed for the concert, by the way...
Have a great weekend!
January 18th, 2020.
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