Competitions
International Music Festival and Competition. Piano, voice, guitar, harp, strings, woodwinds, brass, conducting, and composition. Competition dates: May 23-June 2, at Cornell Recital Hall 3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham. Application deadline: April 12. For details, visit intermusic.ca or contact 905-604-8854 or office@intermusic.ca
Steinway Junior Piano Competition 2019. Division I (ages 9 and under), Division II (ages 10-13), Division III (ages 14-18). Registration deadline: Apr 1. Auditions: Apr 28-May 4. Winners Concert: May 17. Venue: Steinway Piano Gallery, 2651 John St., Suite 8, Markham. For information call 905-940-5397 or email
info@steinwaytoronto.ca.
Yip’s Music Festival Competition. Piano, violin, musical theatre, and chamber music. Competition dates: Apr 13-14, 27-28, May 4-5. Application deadline: Feb 19. For details, visit ymf.yips.com or call 905-948-9477 x2211.
Family Events
Feb 18 1:00: The Elgin County Heritage Centre. Musical Family Day. Come down and enjoy a musical day with the whole family! Join the Town Band and explore brass instruments. Bring grandpa’s old cornet, musician or town band photos. Receive further information and identification. Try out various band instruments, with instructions from our guest curator Dr. Henry Meredith. Elgin County Heritage Centre, 460 Sunset Dr., St. Thomas. For further information, visit elgincounty.ca/museum or call 519-631-1460 x193. All ages welcome! No admission fee.
Film Screenings
Mar 23 7:00: The Gallery Players/FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Movie Night: A silent film with improvised sound score. Nosferatu (1922). Directed by F.W. Murnau. 94 min. Douglas Miller, flute; Eric Mahar, guitar; Penner Mackay, percussion; Joan Nicks, film historian. FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Film House, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines 6:45pm: pre-screen talk. For more information call 905-468-1525, or visit our website galleryplayers.ca. $39; Senior $36(sr), Student/Arts Worker $14(st/arts), $80(family).
Apr 02 6:30: Royal Conservatory of Music. Ravi Shankar: Between Two Worlds (2001).Directed by Mark Kidel. 90 min. Celebrating the life and career of one of India’s most revered musicians, Ravi Shankar. Following the star for two years of his life, this captivating documentary details the seven decades of innovative collaboration with Western musicians like George Harrison, John Coltrane, and Yehudi Menuhin. Featuring archival footage from performances filmed from the 1930s to the present day. Q&A hosted by Mervon Mehta with sitar player Anwar Khurshid, member of KUNÉ – Canada’s Global Orchestra. Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W. Tickets can be purchased at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema box office or at hotdocscinema.ca. $17; $12(Members).
Galas and Fundraisers
Mar 01 7:00: Yorkminster Park Speakers Series. Rites of Passion: The St. Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach. A lecture by musicologist Rick Phillips. Yorkminster Park Church, 1585 Yonge St. Admission is $10 or PWYC. Visit ypspeakersseries.com.
Mar 01 7:30: Melos. Venetian Carnevale Fundraiser. Join Melos in Baroque Venice for a raucous evening of music, drama, food, drink and all-round revelry while helping to support Melos’ ongoing educational outreach and excellent period performances! Silent auction featuring art and music lessons, gift packages, and weekend getaways in Prince Edward County. Italo-Canadian Club, 1174 Italia Lane, Kingston. (Snow date Mar 2, in case of storm.) Transport available from downtown Kingston. Tickets $60 available at melos-earlymusic.org. Information from the website or by email at meloskingston@gmail.com or by phone at 613-767-7245.
Mar 02 7:00: VOCA Chorus of Toronto. 9th Annual Cabaret / Silent Auction. Great Hall, Estonian House, 958 Broadview Ave. Jenny Crober, artistic director; Elizabeth Acker, accompanist. Huge variety of chorister acts; 50/50 draw; appetizers, cash bar; free parking. 416-931-8224. Tickets: $30.
Mar 23 8:00: Beth Anne Cole. Concert & Fundraising Gala. CD Release: Call Down the Dew. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. $30/$25(adv at bethannecole.com). Further information at bethannecole.com.
Apr 03 7:00: Opera in Concert. Opera Salon: Viva Verdi. A tribute concert to Giuseppe Verdi’s music. Proceeds supporting Opera in Concert. Gallery 345, 345 Sorauren Ave. Tickets available through St. Lawrence Centre Box Office, 416-366-7723. $45 (includes post-concert reception).
Lectures, Salons and Symposia
Mar 04 7:30: Confluence. Music Has No Borders. Words and music in a warm space, featuring a short lecture by Canadian composer and historian John Beckwith on his long association and friendship with the great Hungarian-Canadian composer Istvan Anhalt (1919-2012); Alice Ping Yee Ho speaking about Witch on Thin Ice; and Majd Sekkar and Andrew Downing speaking about music in Syria. With performances by Gregory Oh, piano; Majd Sekkar, clarinet; and Andrew Downing, double bass. The Shaftesbury Atrium, 21 Shaftesbury Ave. $25 at the door or pre-order at bemusednetwork.com/events/detail/611.
Mar 05 6:30: Toronto Reference Library. The Many Faces of Joseph Joachim. A portrait of the eminent 19th-century violinist, including career highlights, social and cultural influences, and insights into his life and legacies. Presented by Susan Spier, violinist/musicologist, former member of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, writer for The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, and lecturer in music appreciation at Ryerson and McGill. 789 Yonge St., Beeton Hall. Free. No registration required. For further information, visit torontopubliclibrary.ca
Mar 07 2:00: Classical Music Club Toronto. Diabelli Variations Bicentennial. The 33 Variations on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120, commonly known as the Diabelli Variations, is a set of variations for the piano written between 1819 and 1823 by Ludwig van Beethoven on a waltz composed by Anton Diabelli. Often considered to be one of the greatest sets of variations for keyboard along with J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, the work has been called “the greatest set of variations ever written” (Donald Tovey), “the greatest of all piano works” (Alfred Brendel), and “a microcosm of Beethoven’s art” (Hans von Bülow). In celebration of the bicentennial of the piece in 2019 we will examine a selection of video and audio recordings. For further information, visit classicalmusicclubtoronto.org or contact John Sharpe at 416-898-2549 or torontoshi@sympatico.ca. Annual membership: $25(regular); $10(sr/st). Free for first-time visitors. Donations accepted for refreshments.
Mar 12 7:30: Toronto Duke Ellington Society. General Meeting. “Essentially Ellington” is a video presentation by Jim Northover. Jim promises that there is absolutely no intellectual content whatsoever to this presentation, but the joy and excitement will more than make up for that. Montgomery’s Inn, 4709 Dundas St. W., Etobicoke. For further information, visit torontodukeellingtonsociety.com or call 416-239-2683. Membership is $35(single) or $50(couple). First visit is free.
Mar 18 1:30: Miles Nadal JCC. Great Canadian Opera Singers. Presented by one of Canada’s foremost opera educators, Iain Scott. While our greatest claim to fame is our tenors, we have also created outstanding stars in all of the other vocal categories. This lecture will reinforce your pride in being Canadian! Miles Nadal JCC, 750 Spadina Ave. To register, please call 416-924-6211 x0 or visit www.mnjcc.org. Admission: $22.
Mar 23 8:00: Acoustic Harvest. “Give Me Wood and I’ll Make It Sing for You”. Lecture, presentation and concert by guitar maker Grit Laskin. St. Paul’s United Church, 200 McIntosh St., Scarborough. For more information contact Lillian Wauthier at
lillian.wauthier@gmail.com. $25/$22(adv).
Mar 29 12:30: Queen’s Colloquium Series. Melos and Queen’s University host Alpharabius, a musical ensemble dedicated to exploring the musical interactions of the rich cultures of the Mediterranean from the 9th to the 19th centuries. Joining them is new Kingston resident, and traditional Egyptian dancer, Angelina Thorne. Featuring renowned Arabic music historian, Dr. George Sawa, playing qanun; percussionist Suzanne Meyers-Sawa, and members of Sine Nomine Ensemble for Mediaeval Music on period instruments, Alpharabius will perform European and Middle Eastern instrumentals from centuries of cultural exchange, and accompany traditional Egyptian bellydance by Ms Thorne. Co-sponsored by Melos Choir and Period Instruments, in preparation for their May 11 concert at the Bader. Dan School of Drama and Dance, Room 120, Harrison-LeCaine Hall, 39 Bader Lane, Kingston. Contact meloskingston@gmail.com or phone 613-767-7245.
Mar 31 11:30am: Music Therapy Centre. Sixth Annual Music March for Music Therapy. This year our fundraising goal is $40,000! Help us reach it by purchasing a ticket to the after-party (goo.gl/MnfU8y) or by creating a fundraising page (goo.gl/GESRXp). We are doing the same route as last year along Bloor Street West from the Music Therapy Centre to Lee’s Palace. The after-party at Lee’s Palace will have amazing entertainment, delicious food, drinks, awesome raffle prizes, and more. 11:30 - Event begins at Music Therapy Centre (1175 Bloor St. W); 12:00 - We start marching!; 1:00 - After-party and artist showcase at Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor St. W)
This year’s lineup has some incredible local acts, and there are more to come! Matata 6, Rachel Romu, Darrelle London, plus a special performance from our music therapists!
Open Rehearsals
Mar 27 7:30: Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir. Open Rehearsal. Dewi Sant Church, 33 Melrose Ave. Come and meet the choir, sing along, or just listen. welshchoir.ca.
Sing-alongs, Jams, Circles
Apr 07 2:30: Southern Ontario Chapter of the Hymn Society. Debbie Lou Ludolph and the Inshallah Community Choir will share excerpts from their recently published resource “Sing the Circle Wide”. Eden United Church, 3051 Battleford Rd., Mississauga. 416-694-6436. Free admission.
Tours
Mar 03 10:30am: Canadian Opera Company. 90-Minute Tour of the Four Seasons Centre. Led by a trained docent. Includes information and access to the Isadore and Rosalie Sharp City Room, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre and R. Fraser Elliott Hall, as well as backstage areas such as the wig rooms and dressing rooms, the orchestra pit, and other spaces that only a stage door pass could unlock. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231. coc.ca. $20(adults); $15(sr/st). Also Mar 10. A tour is available in French on Mar 17.
Workshops
Mar 01 7:30: Toronto Recorder Players Society. Renaissance and Baroque Workshop for Recorders and Other Early Instruments. Mount Pleasant Road Baptist Church, 527 Mount Pleasant Rd. (entrance off Belsize). 416-480-1853. rpstoronto.ca. Guests: $15. Refreshments included.
Mar 03 1:30: Toronto Early Music Players Organization. Workshop coached by recorder player Femke Bergsma. Armour Heights Community Centre, 2140 Avenue Rd. Bring your early instruments and a music stand. 416-779-5750. tempotoronto.net. $20.
Mar 13 10:00am: Royal Canadian College for Organists Toronto Centre. Pedals, Pipes & Pizza. Ages 3-12 (10am-1pm). Ages 13-19 (12pm-3pm). Pizza and juice served at noon. Participants will learn about and play a pipe organ. They will even have the opportunity to build a small pipe organ with “Orgelkids”. Younger participants are welcome to bring their parents, grandparents or other care givers. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. (2 blocks north of St. Clair, east side). 416-789-1175. Free.
Mar 22 7:30: Toronto Recorder Players Society. Renaissance and Baroque Workshop for Recorders and Other Early Instruments. Mount Pleasant Road Baptist Church, 527 Mount Pleasant Rd. (entrance off Belsize). 416-480-1853. rpstoronto.ca. Guests: $15. Refreshments included.
Mar 24 12:30: Kingston Road Village Concert Series. TorQ Percussion Quartet Workshop. Richard Burrows, Adam Campbell, Jamie Drake and Daniel Morphy. Kingston Road United Church, 975 Kingston Rd. 416-699-6091. Participants will perform in the finale of TorQ’s 3pm concert. For information visit torqpercussionworkshop.eventbrite.com. $20.
Mar 24 2:00: CAMMAC Toronto Region. Reading for singers and instrumentalists of Fauré’s Requiem. Leonidas Varahidis, conductor. Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. 416-386-0258. $10; $6(members).
Mar 30 9:30am: Melos Choir. Open Workshop for Period Instruments. With members of Alpharabius and Sine Nomine. Topics include Ancient Egyptian dance (e.g., belly dance), Middle Eastern percussion, the evolution of the guitar, Islamic courtly history, and playing recorder/renaissance instrumental music. See our website for details of location, times, topics and fees: melos-earlymusic.org, or contact meloskingston@gmail.com for more information. All are welcome!
Mar 30 10:30am: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Singsation Saturday Choral Workshop. Suba Sankaran and Dylan Bell of FreePlay will introduce participants to singing jazz, blues and South Indian melodies and rhythms. Cameron Hall, Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St. $10 fee includes refreshments. More info: tmchoir.org/singsation-saturdays.
Apr 06 7:15: Toronto Gilbert and Sullivan Society. “When I first put this uniform on…” wrote William Gilbert in Patience – and he was a stickler for perfection in costuming. Learn how to costume a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta in an entertaining evening with the G&S Society. St. Andrew’s Church, 117 Bloor St. E. Parking below off Hayden. Non-members $5. Refreshments included.
Apr 07 1:30: Toronto Early Music Players Organization. Workshop coached by recorder player Stéphane Potvin, Armour Heights Community Centre, 2140 Avenue Rd. Bring your early instruments and a music stand. 416-779-5750. tempotoronto.net. $20.
