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Starting Strong: Esprit Orchestra Launches 2023-24 Season

By Eva Stone-Barney on 6 October 2023 Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Orchestral, Toronto

Author : (Eva Stone-Barney)

Esprit Orchestra has a big season ahead of it—in every sense of the word. Conducted by Maestro Alex Pauk, the orchestra will perform five concerts featuring challenging repertoire, composed for large orchestral configurations. It will honour the legacies of some of the 20th and 21st centuries’ most influential compositional voices, including the late R. Murray Schafer, György Ligeti, and Kaija Saariaho, and will also spotlight the work of new and emerging composers. This ambitious season starts on Oct. 15 with a concert titled X Marks the Spot, featuring works by Anna Meredith, Iannis Xenakis, Ligeti, and Schafer. Following this first…

On his Own Terms: Davóne Tines at Bourgie Hall

By Eva Stone-Barney on 6 October 2023 Art Song, Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Opera, Vocal

Author : (Eva Stone-Barney)

Although Davóne Tines may have “tumbled his way into the opera world” somewhat accidentally, his artistic output has been deliberate ever since. As a young person, he says, he didn’t know where he would end up. Tines completed undergraduate studies in sociology at Harvard University, and worked at a series of arts organizations as an administrator, before considering the prospect of life as a professional musician. Tines grew up singing – in the Black Baptist church, growing up in Virginia; at college, in a Renaissance polyphony ensemble; in the professional choir at the National Shrine in DC; and in a…

Concert Previews

By Eva Stone-Barney on 6 October 2023 Chamber Music, Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Orchestral, Toronto

Author : (Eva Stone-Barney)

Your Brain on Music: Montreal Neurological Institute The Neuro, as it is commonly called, is hosting Your Brain on Music as part of their Amazing Brain Week (Oct. 13-19). Leading neuroscientists Robert Zatorre and Simone Dalla Bella will join musicians from the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for an event that combines performance and conversation, exploring music’s impact on the brain. Michel Rochon, scientific journalist and author, will host a conversation on topics ranging from our emotional responses to music, the impact of musical activities on brain plasticity, and the human perception of rhythm (Oct. 16). www.amazingbrainweek.ca Les jours heureux After…

Sinfonia Toronto: Ushering in the Next 25

By Eva Stone-Barney on 6 October 2023 Chamber Music, Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Orchestral, Toronto

Author : (Eva Stone-Barney)

Nurhan Arman came to Toronto at just the right time. The Chamber Players of Toronto had just ceased operations, and the city was in want of a chamber orchestra. Fortunately, Arman, who was conductor of Symphony New Brunswick at the time, felt up to the task of starting a new organization, and so Sinfonia Toronto was born. Now entering their 25th season, the organization touts an impressive history that includes local performances, concert tours, and six recording projects. The orchestra’s international appearances stand out as highlights for Arman. “Repeating the same repertoire night after night on tour, you have the…

Concert Review | Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s splendid modernization of baroque music

By Kristen Whittle on 27 September 2023 Baroque and Early, CD and Book Reviews, Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Dance, Toronto

The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir opened their 2023/24 season with “In Time,” a program that combined baroque music and contemporary dance. The choir collaborated with dancers from Compagnie de la Citadelle to create an amalgamation of old and new that was both captivating and eye-catching. Dance was incorporated into Bach’s Christ lag in Todesbanden (Christ lays in the snares of Death) and Handel’s Dixit Dominus. Considering the popularity of dance in the baroque period, it is not surprising that this music would be well-suited to accompanying dance. The Bach featured a solo dancer that acted out the German text in a…

Preview | SMCQ présents : Amitiés et étrangeté

By Viktor Lazarov on 12 September 2023 Contemporary, La Scena Online, Montreal, This Week in Montreal

On September 24, 2023, the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) will present the fourth concert in their Hommage 2023-2024 series, dedicated to composer Sandeep Bhagwati. Organized in collaboration with the Vietnamese Cultural Centre of Canada, the multimedia event will involve music, text and images, centered around such themes as proximity, distance, estrangement and familiarity. Titled Amitiés et étrangeté, the program focuses on a single work by Bhagwati, Exercices d’étrangeté 1, inspired by a verse by Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Duy, about Vietnamese diasporic communities. The idea of encountering the unknown is embodied by the musical collaboration that will bring…

Fall Hightlights: Contemporary Music

By Arnaud G. Veydarier on 1 September 2023 Contemporary, Montreal, Orchestral

SMCQ This fall, the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, Canada’s oldest concert society dedicated to contemporary music, presents the eighth edition of its Tribute Series. After Katia Makdissi-Warren, José Evangelista, John Rea, Denis Gougeon, Ana Sokolović, Gilles Tremblay and Claude Vivier, it’s German-Indian composer Sandeep Bhagwati’s turn to have his vast repertoire celebrated. From orchestral compositions to chamber music, multimedia creation, musical theatre and opera, Bhagwati stands out for his great versatility and mastery of different instrumental idioms. The first concert is scheduled for Sept. 24 at Salle Pierre-Mercure, with Amitiés et étrangetés presented in partnership with the Vietnamese…

CD Review | O Sun O Moon (True North Records, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Folk, Strings, Vocal

O Sun O Moon Bruce Cockburn, vocals and guitar True North Records, 2023 O Sun O Moon marks Bruce Cockburn’s 37th album, an incredible feat for any musician. While some of the songs on this new release serve as a reminder of why Cockburn is considered among Canadian folk-music greats, others suggest he is aiming for quantity over quality. The guitar in O Sun O Moon is naturally where his writing shines most. Cockburn turns even the simplest chord progressions and rhythms into wonderfully transfixing experiences, most noticeable in Haiku – Instrumental. He pairs his distinct lyricism with varied vocal…

CD Review | Weyn Allah (Self-published, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Vocal, World Music

Weyn Allah Al Qahwa ensemble Self-published, 2023 Their first album explored the traditional songs of the Middle East; the second, Egypt, and the third, South Africa. Al Qahwa’s latest addition to their discography, Weyn Allah, is a much more ambitious venture: uniting humanity through original world music. No two songs are alike on this album. The titular Weyn Allah (Where is God) addresses social issues of inequity and racism to the tune of a qanun, saxophone and busy backing choral group singing in Arabic and English. Peace and Safety (Salma Ya Salama) incorporates French lyrics that promote acceptance, and Humanity…

CD Review | Montréal Musica (Centrediscs, 2023)

By Pietro Freiburger on 29 May 2023 Canadian Music, CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Piano, Scena Jazz

Montréal Musica Marc Bourdeau, piano Centrediscs, 2023 Marc Bourdeau’s new project features piano music by Montreal composers. The innovative project, conceived during the pandemic, includes a CD containing 22 tracks and eight short films and music videos. Among the composers, there are names of yesterday and today who’ve made Montreal famous in the music world: piano star Marc-André Hamelin; “Canadian Mozart” André Mathieu; jazz monument Oscar Peterson, composers and pedagogues François Morel, Claude Champagne, Jacques Hétu, John Rea and Denis Gougeon; and organist Rachel Laurin. The CD, whose repertoire spans a century (1918-2017), offers the image of a city with…

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