Blue Pages 2019

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The Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC), founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton, offers audiences a wide range of choral music of the finest quality, performing music from all historical periods while keeping Bach’s choral œuvre as the focus of its repertoire. Through a combination of both a scholarly and emotional approach to choral music, the ensemble expands all aspects of the artistic spectrum. Joining some of Canada’s most accomplished artists and top choristers from the National Capital region and beyond, the professional choir has received national and international recognition.

Now in its 18th season, the OBC performs a large subscription concert series in Ottawa and travels extensively in Canada and abroad. In 2020 the choir has been invited to return to the world’s most prestigious international Bach festival, Bachfest Leipzig, as one of a select number of ensembles worldwide (and the only Canadian ensemble) to present the entire chorale cantata cycle of Bach. Last season, the choir released its 7th CD, Handel, Bach & Schütz, on the ATMA Classique label. Performances this season include "A Bach Christmas" on Nov. 30 (in Toronto), "The Genius of Josquin" and "Prelude-Europe 2020", several Special Events and a 5th European tour.

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The Yorkminster Park Baptist Church senior choir, under organist and music director William Maddox, enjoys a reputation as one of the best congregational choirs in the city of Toronto. Yorkminster Park presents a series of free organ recitals at 12:30pm, every Wednesday from September through June, with performers from around the world.

We have a wide variety of unique musical events throughout the year, but Yorkminster Park is renowned for its special seasonal concerts. 

The quality and dedication of the music ministry at YPBC is never more evident than during Advent and Holy Week and these services have become community traditions: “City Carol Sing,” “Carols by Candlelight,” the “Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols,” “Passiontide Devotion” during Holy Week and traditional Evensong services three times a year. Our sanctuary is frequently made available to other choral and concert groups, which draw appreciative audiences from all over Southern Ontario.

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York University’s Department of Music presents many public events each season. This year, our “Faculty Spotlight Series” showcases jazz bassist, Al Henderson; pianist Dorothy de Val; pianist/composer Michael Coghlan; and The Accolade Trio featuring clarinetist Patricia Wait and cellist Mark Chambers. 

Classical chamber concerts and performances by the York U Concert and Chamber Choirs are also offered along with electroacoustic explorations and student compositions. Our annual “World Music Festival” celebrates a wide variety of musical practices including Caribbean, West African and Celtic traditions. The “Music at Midday” series offers free lunchtime performances featuring guest artists, faculty, and student talent. 

Masterclasses by leading Canadian and international artists are frequently open to observers. Each term concludes with showcase performances by the York U Symphony Orchestra, Gospel Choir and Wind Symphony, as well as a four-day jazz festival. Performances take place in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall or in the informal setting of the Martin Family Lounge in the Accolade East Building at York’s Keele campus.

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York Region Chamber Music is a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting chamber music experiences inside and outside the concert hall to inspire both seasoned concertgoers and first-time listeners. Primarily based at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, York Region Chamber Music also presents throughout York Region at venues such as the Aurora Cultural Centre.

York Region Chamber Music focuses on featuring exciting, young, professional performers and bringing new works by emerging composers to the stage. As advocates for classical music and the arts, we have strong ties with the community and local organizations through partnerships, including the City of Richmond Hill and the York Region Arts Council.

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Established in 2009, the Wychwood Clarinet Choir is directed by clarinetist and conductor Michele Jacot. Members of the choir include skilled clarinetists who share a love of music-making, friendship and fun. The group rehearses weekly and performs on a regular basis in Toronto’s St. Clair and Wychwood area. The instrumentation of the WCC extends from the contrabass clarinet to the E-flat sopranino. The choir’s repertoire includes many compositions and arrangements written by the group’s own Composers’ Collective, and by the choir’s late composer and conductor laureate, Howard Cable.

The Wychwood Clarinet Choir embraces the ideal of ‘music for life” and is committed to sharing the musical experience in educational settings and in the wider community.

Choir members are admitted by audition and pay a modest annual membership fee.

Three concerts are planned for the 2019/20 season. “Creepy Clarinets,” a Halloween themed concert on October 27; “Midwinter Suites” on February 23; and “Sounds of Spring” on May 24. Please visit the choir’s website for all the exciting details!

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Through its “Music in the Afternoon” concert series, the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto (WMCT) presents chamber music concerts, featuring musicians on the threshold of international recognition, as well as established artists and ensembles. Concerts are held Thursday afternoons at 1:30pm at Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park, Toronto. 

Concerts in the 122nd (2019/20) season include Trio Fibonacci (October 3); soprano Jane Archibald (November 14); Diotima Quartet (February 27, 2020); percussionist Beverley Johnston and Friends (April 2); and the WMCT’s 2018 Career Development Award winner, Blake Pouliot, violin (May 7). 

Member/subscriber benefits include “Tuning Your Mind,” a free pre-concert lecture series presented in partnership with the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, on a topic related to the day’s concert, and a masterclass, this season by Diotima Quartet.

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Westben is now a year-round Centre for Connection and Creativity Through Music. The Centre focuses on the year-round convergence of people, ideas and activities and is a cultural hive where professionals, amateurs and enthusiasts meet and are nurtured through the joy of music. Artist residencies, “Lunchtime Tick Talks,” “House Concerts,” and “Concerts to a Tea” are just some of the new year-round programming.

In 2020, Westben will celebrate its 21st season of “Concerts at The Barn” featuring classical, jazz, folk, fiddle, and Broadway offering the incredible opportunity to experience world class music in a natural setting. Also returning is the one-of-a-kind in Canada, peer-driven, Performer-Composer International Residency. 

Westben is where the best of music and nature spring to life in your company! Ask about our one-of-a-kind experiences such as “Chocolate Voices,” “Secret Concert” and the expanded “Dare to Pair” series. Nestled amongst the peaceful hills of Northumberland County two hours east of Toronto, near Campbellford, Westben’s primary performance venue is a custom-built, timber-frame barn. The Barn seats 400, and on sunny days from June to September, massive walls and doors roll away – allowing music to waft over the surrounding meadow.

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Vox Choirs is a non-profit music organization comprised of two sibling choirs, Univox and Florivox, that share the same core principles: musical excellence, social responsibility, and relationship building. 

Univox, led by artistic director and conductor, Dallas Bergen, is a mixed-voice community choir for young adults. Performed works are primarily a cappella and span a wide range of the choral spectrum: Renaissance madrigals and motets, choral classics, modern composition, spirituals, and international folk songs. Univox aims to fill the niche for young adults who wish to continue to have a rewarding choral experience with others in their age group. 

Florivox, led by conductor Josh Tamayo, is a non-auditioned choir for treble voices. Just like its sister choir, a love of singing and a strong sense of community are guiding principles of Florivox. Members meet once a week to explore a wide variety of styles and to develop choral/singing skills, all within a friendly and supportive environment.

Both choirs perform 3 principal concerts a year, and this year promises to be another exciting program as the choirs continue to deliver a high quality and passionate musical experience.

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VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert is Canada’s only company dedicated exclusively to the presentation of rare opera programming. Our performances rely on the power and beauty of the human voice, the dramatic inflexion of text and poetry accompanied by orchestra or piano. 

The 2019/20 season opens with a double bill presentation of Maurice Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortilèges and L’heure Espagnole on October 20, with featuring artists Holly Chaplin, Anika-France Forget, Danlie Rae Acebuque and Joshua Clemenger, with chorus director Robert Cooper and Suzy Smith as music director. Katya Kabanová by Leoš Janáček is next on December 1, with music director and pianist Jo Greenaway, and featuring Lynn Isnar, Emilia Boteva and Michael Barrett. A Canadian opera, Kamouraska by Charles M. Wilson follows on February 16, featuring Jennifer Taverner, Aaron Dimoff and Matt Chittick, with conductor and chorus director Robert Cooper. The finale of the season is Francesco Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur on April 5, featuring Sally Dibblee, Romulo Delgado and Geneviève Lévesque, with Narmina Afandiyeva as music director and chorus director Robert Cooper.

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The VOCA Chorus of Toronto is a dynamic, auditioned ensemble under the leadership of artistic director Jenny Crober. We perform a vast range of repertoire, in collaboration with a wide variety of superb guest artists. VOCA's season consists of concerts, cabarets, community performances and workshops. Our talented, versatile accompanist is Elizabeth Acker. Several remarkable artists have joined VOCA as guest clinicians, including composer Ola Gjeilo, conductor Ivars Taurins and jazz musician Dylan Bell.

At our Saturday, December 7 “Comfort & Joy” concert, VOCA will present Vivaldi’s Gloria and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia On Christmas Carols, featuring soloists Dallas Chorley, Lindsay Connolly and Parker Clements with the VOCA Chamber Orchestra, along with selections by Ola Gjeilo, Elise Letourneau, Pentatonix and others. We’re thrilled to have been invited to perform in Roy Thomson Hall’s Annual Choir and Organ Series on April 9, 2020, where we will present a world premiere by renowned Cree composer Andrew Balfour. This event, along with our "Star Songs" concert on Saturday, May 9 will feature guests Shawn Grenke, organ, Colleen Allen, sax, and Jamie Drake, percussion. Rehearsals are Monday evenings at Eastminster United (Chester subway).