Blue Pages 2020

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The namesake of the Victoria Scholars, Tomás Luis de Victoria, was an outstanding Renaissance composer whose music is renowned for its spirituality and emotional expressiveness. The Victoria Scholars bring clarity and balance of sound so characteristic of Renaissance music to all their repertoire, encompassing Medieval plainchant, works from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and contemporary eras, and newly-commissioned works. Past winners of the Healey Willan Grand Prize in the CBC Radio National Competition for Amateur Choirs, the Victoria Scholars have performed with many exceptional arts organizations (including Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Kiev Chamber Choir) and vocal soloists (including Sondra Radvanovsky, Michael Schade, Russell Braun and Norine Burgess). They have toured nationally and internationally and are heard regularly on CBC Radio 2 and Classical 96.3FM.

We are pleased to offer audiences a three-concert series each year; however, due to COVID-19 and in the interests of the health and safety of both our audience and choir members, we currently do not have any concerts planned. Please visit us on our website or Facebook for updates on the remainder of the 2020/21 season should the situation change.

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Vesnivka Choir, established in 1965 by founding artistic director Halyna Kvitka Kondracki, is an award-winning women’s ensemble whose repertoire consists of Ukrainian liturgical, classical, contemporary and traditional folk music. The choir’s regular concert season comprises three major concerts, one of which is an annual Christmas concert. Vesnivka, together with its partner the Toronto Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir (TUMCC), are often accompanied by local professional soloists and chamber ensembles. The choir also sings Christmas and Easter Liturgies. While regular rehearsals (normally held on Mondays for TUMCC and on Tuesdays for Vesnivka) as well as performances have been put on hold as a result of the current pandemic, the choirs are occasionally meeting virtually to continue their work. New singers are welcome. We invite you to explore our website for information on the choirs and on Vesnivka's e-library of Ukrainian choral music, which offers free downloadable scores in both Ukrainian and transliterated versions. Information on ordering CD recordings is also available on the website. We look forward to resuming our full schedule and sharing live music with you as soon as it is safe to do so.

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This award-winning women’s ensemble, established by Halyna Kvitka Kondracki in 1965, has delighted audiences around the world with its rich repertoire of Ukrainian classical, sacred, contemporary and folk music.

Vesnivka begins its 54th season on October 27 with a concert featuring the music of Ukrainian composer Oleksander Koshyts. Koshyts led the National Choir of Ukraine on a concert tour in North America in the 1920s and later taught in Winnipeg. Joining Vesnivka and its partner, the Toronto Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir (TUMCC), will be St. Nicholas Choir. On January 12, Vesnivka and TUMCC present their ever-popular annual “Ukrainian Christmas” concert with guest soloists and a folk instrumental ensemble. The season wraps up on March 29 with a concert commemorating the 180th anniversary of the publication of Kobzar - a collection of poetry and prose by Ukraine’s famous literary figure Taras Shevchenko – featuring music written by Ukrainian composers inspired by his poignant words. Guest artists will include soloists from the Ukrainian Art Song Project. Vesnivka also sings Christmas and Easter Liturgies on January 7 and April 19 at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church (Toronto).

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Toronto Operetta Theatre is in its third decade as Canada’s only performing arts company dedicated to music theatre in all its variety.

The 2021 season opens with an online presentation of our patron’s favourite Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers in early Spring of 2021. The world premiere of Canadian work A Northern Lights Dream by Michael Rose and Kálmán’s The Csardas Princess are being planned and the details to be announced at a later date.

Please check our website and social media for upcoming performance announcements and archived video series.

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The critically-acclaimed Symphony In The Barn Festival at Glencolton Farms, Canada's leading biodynamic farm, brings together music, and the tastes and sounds of idyllic farm life as an immersive backdrop for a three-day open-air weekend festival. A typical concert is accompanied by the sounds of the birds in the rafters, a visit by one of the farm animals, and features a starlight reception, and farm-baked refreshments.  Symphony in the Barn has been host to critically-acclaimed opera productions, jazz concerts, an annual film festival, its annual Christkindl market, First Nations dance, classical chamber, and orchestral performances. With the tagline “Where Culture Meets Agriculture”, the festival is centred around themes of sustainability, education, and artistic enlightenment.

Symphony in The Barn looks forward to celebrating its 26th anniversary, by producing a full open-air festival on the first weekend in August 2021. Farmer/conductor/general director Michael Schmidt is excited to announce the appointment of pianist Kati Gleiser and conductor Kevin Mallon as co-artistic directors. Virginia Gallop joins the team as Executive Director.

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Reaching Out Through Music was founded in 2007 with the goal of providing free, high-quality music education to the children and youth of St. James Town, a dense, underserved community that is home to thousands of ethnically diverse, low-income newcomers to Canada. Over the years, hundreds of children have participated in a variety of free arts programs including choir, piano, violin, guitar, ukulele, voice and, most recently, drama. Professional artists provide sensitive, child-centred instruction, and the children receive free instruments, as needed. The St. James Town Children’s Choir remains at the heart of the organization. Our recent name change from Reaching Out Through Music to St. James Town Community Arts (SJTCA) was prompted by the desire to highlight the community that we serve and to acknowledge our expansion into other artistic domains. The SJTCA team consists of dedicated professionals and volunteers who contribute their talent and passion with the shared belief that every child should reap the benefits of arts education and engagement regardless of their financial means. Visit us on our website and follow us @sjtca.

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Music at Metropolitan has a long history of presenting a variety of choral and instrumental concerts and special events. During this time, we are planning online events; please visit our website and watch for Wholenote listings. Our planning includes “Friday Noon at Met” livestreamed concerts featuring our Casavant pipe organ - the largest in Canada - as well as our various singers and instrumentalists. Stay tuned! And please stay safe and well.

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With over 150 singers, Mississauga Festival Choir is the largest and most spirited community choir in our city. We first came together in 1984 to celebrate Mississauga's 10th anniversary, and we stayed together to celebrate the joy of singing in a choral community like no other. Our spirited singing springs from our no-audition policy. Everyone who loves to sing is welcome to join us, and audiences hear the joy in every song.

Under the leadership of David Ambrose, MFC performs many concerts, raises money for local charities, records professional CDs, holds an annual choral competition and tours the world.

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In its 47th season, Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society is one of Canada’s busiest presenters of chamber music concerts with over 60 concerts per year, ranging from solo recitals to octets. Programs range from medieval to contemporary; most feature both classics and recent music. Almost all of our concerts take place at our Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo, in a private home - it holds a maximum of about 85 people. A superb Steinway piano, good acoustics, a supportive audience and an intimate but informal atmosphere make for great concert experiences. Notable performers have included pianists Janina Fialkowska, Till Fellner, André LaPlante, Sofya Gulyak, and many more; the Penderecki, New Orford, Alcan, and many other quartets; the AYR and Andromeda trios and many more.

This year we complete our “Beethoven String Quartets” series featuring the Penderecki String Quartet, with four remaining concerts at First United Church, December 16 and 18 and February 3 and 5. We hope to present three to four concerts per month, all at the church unless the pandemic ends and we can resume in our Music Room.

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Counterpoint Community Orchestra has been operating as a community orchestra in downtown Toronto for 34 years. Formed in 1984, it was the first lesbian/gay/gay-positive orchestra in Canada and in the world. Counterpoint is a full symphony orchestra, and the programming is drawn from Baroque through contemporary orchestral repertoire. Rehearsals are at the 519 Community Centre on Church Street. The other pages in the ‘About Us’ section of our website give a more detailed history and description of Counterpoint Community Orchestra.

Counterpoint Community Orchestra performs three concerts during the season in December, March and June and participates in “Nuit Rose”.