Blue Pages 2020

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The Canzona Chamber Players concert series is a volunteer community group, founded in 2002 by Jacob Stoller and Jonathan Krehm. Prior to COVID-19, live concerts were produced for St. Andrew by the Lake church, on Toronto Island by Roger Sharp and Jonathan Krehm, and beginning in 2012 for venues in downtown Toronto, most recently the St. George the Martyr church. Many of the live concerts were documented by Alison Gray (video) and John Gray (audio) and are available to watch on Canzona's YouTube Channel or on our website.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Canzona Chamber Players have been safely broadcasting recitals, recorded to the highest standard, made possible by technical wizardry of Evan Mitchell (video), and John Gray (audio). These performances can be viewed on our youtube channel. The concerts are free to view, and Canzona Chamber Players asks for any amount to be made to the St. Michael's Hospital Foundation COVID-19 Courage Fund at http://smh.convio.net/couragefund.

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Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer of opera in Canada and one of the largest in North America. The company enjoys an international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation. The company typically presents six fully-staged productions at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts annually. In light of current health guidelines around the spread of COVID-19, the company has created "Opera Everywhere" - a new slate of digital opera experiences that can be shared and enjoyed safely. The COC’s repertoire spans the history of opera from the Baroque to the 21st-century and includes several commissioned works and Canadian premieres. The COC engages professional opera artists from all over the world, including a significant number of Canadian singers, directors, conductors and designers. The company performs with its own professional chorus and orchestra. The company also fosters emerging Canadian talent through its Ensemble Studio, Orchestra Academy and company-in-residence programs.

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Renowned concert pianist Andrew Burashko formed Art of Time Ensemble in 1998 by inviting a group of like-minded musicians and prominent figures in dance, theatre and other art forms to perform one-off concerts in Toronto. The company has gone on to become a leader in Toronto’s vibrant performing arts scene, through its subscription season at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre, regular appearances at Koerner Hall, album releases, performances with leading Canadian orchestras, and tours of its unique offerings to dozens of cities throughout Canada and the United States.

Exploring the relationship between classical music and other genres such as jazz, pop, electronica, rock, folk, electroacoustic, gospel and others, Art of Time seeks to reveal the qualities that lie at the heart of all great music.

The ranks of Art of Time Ensemble’s artists are deep and their talents unmatched; featured collaborators include authors Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje, jazz legend Branford Marsalis, vocalists Madeleine Peyroux, Sarah Slean, Hawksley Workman and Tony Award-winner Brent Carver, composers such as Gavin Bryars and Jonathan Goldsmith, and many more.

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Robert Missen, the Burlington-based proprietor of The Bobolink Agency, celebrates 35 years representing some of Canada's most distinguished classical and jazz performing artists, ensembles and attractions. His two artist management companies, Robert Missen Artists (1990 to 2005) and The Bobolink Agency (2010 to present), have arranged and promoted tours of such artists as Ben Heppner, Maureen Forrester, Veronica Tennant, Sylvia Tyson, Michael Burgess, Elmer Iseler Singers and The Men of the Deeps.

In the upcoming seasons Bobolink will be undertaking tours with RH Thomson (A Christmas Carol), Heather Bambrick and The Canadian Jazz All Stars, and musical theatre star Chilina Kennedy among others. Black Artists Matter, a special new roster, will feature attractions celebrating such esteemed Black Canadian artists as Joe Sealy and Jackie Richardson (“Africville Stories”), Thom Allison in “Unforgettable - The Nat King Cole Story”, Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley in “Sugar and Gold - The Underground Railroad Story”, and special programs from the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and Toronto Mass Choir.

Stay tuned for a new Toronto venture entitled “Words and Music”, which celebrates cabaret, Bach cantatas, and art song recitals.

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The International Resource Centre for Performing Artists (IRCPA) is a service organization for musicians providing resources needed to bridge the GAP between training and employment by Encounters with National and International experienced artists keeping skills sharpened and savvy information about the Industry, how it currently functions. and who's who in the business. Resources are also offered for mid-career artists who may need to change direction.

Membership is without cost. Sign-up forms are on our website. Paid public performances are live-streamed and can be used as auditions. IRCPA proposes a new Centre for Music by converting an unused heritage building. If we are successful, there will be practice/rehearsal studios, meeting rooms, recording studio, two performance venues, and office space for arts organizations such as the IRCPA. There is also space for an affordable residential building for the music community in perpetuity. The main floor includes a Community Centre, box offices,  instrument repair shops, cafe/restaurant. We welcome volunteers to help with this new Centre for Musicians to meet, exchange ideas, create and collaborate.  A great opportunity for artists to live, work and perform in Toronto.

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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.

Due to COVID-19, we do not know when rehearsals and performances will resume, but the Composers Collective has been very busy, so a large selection of new arrangements will be ready when rehearsals finally begin. Please visit the choir’s website for updates

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Village Voices is a non-auditioned community choir with our home base in Markham, Ontario. We perform major concerts in December and in May. We provide opportunities for members to sing together in fellowship, and encourage and promote each individual’s musical growth. We also provide choral music presentations to community-based groups, such as seniors’ homes, local fairs, festivals and churches.

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Operated by the Mozart Project, the Toronto Mozart Players are composed of professional solo, chamber and orchestral musicians dedicated to performance of the highest calibre. Specializing in the music of Mozart and his contemporaries, the Toronto Mozart Players perform a varied repertoire from the early eighteenth century to the twenty-first century under the direction of David Bowser. With commitment to Canadian repertoire and commissioned works by Canadian composers, the Toronto Mozart Players present world premieres along with classical repertoire.

Toronto Mozart Players perform both at Church of the Redeemer, in the Bloor Street Cultural Corridor, and virtually. Concert programs offer variety and include chamber, orchestral, vocal and choral works - featuring the Toronto Mozart Choir.

For more information, including concert dates and information on the Toronto Mozart Choir, please visit our website.

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The Toronto Choral Society (TCS) was founded in 1845, to foster a positive musical environment that enables members to learn and develop both musical ability and choral repertoire. The TCS aims to be an integral part of the community of Toronto, presenting important works from the traditional choral repertoire, exploring the music of the many cultures that make up our community, and making an active contribution to the life of the city by participating in community events. During this difficult time TCS hopes you are all safe. We would love to provide you with more information about our upcoming concerts, unfortunately at this time due to the current lock-down restrictions we will not be performing live concerts until sometime in 2021.

We are currently pursuing the possibility of an online concert in November. There are a number of technical issues that still need to be resolved as well as engaging our choir members through online rehearsals. We have been very fortunate with the loyalty of our members and supporters and we will keep you informed as things develop.

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Called “the leader of the opera pack” by the Globe and Mail, Tapestry Opera is a rare gem in Canada’s cultural landscape. After four decades of boundary-breaking opera, the company enters its 41st year filled with hope and the drive to explore in its 2020/21 season.

Featuring digital comedy opera shorts about the current social and political climate, the first-ever opera writers' room and group-creation workshop, Tapestry's 2020/21 season showcases the best of the creativity that comes with adversity. Faced with a year in which indoor live performances are no guarantee, the company instead curated a season full of cancellation-proof digital works. Monthly livestreams from the beautiful Ernest Balmer Studio each embody the spirit of innovation that defines Tapestry; slow-release digital gems pop up on your timelines without warning; and the world premiere of a gorgeous new work, Dragon's Tale by Ka Nin Chan and Mark Brownell, satisfies the desire for human connection in a free, outdoor performance in June 2021, co-produced with Soundstreams.