Blue Pages 2020

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Building on more than 50 years of concert performances, the Toronto Chamber Choir of around 40 skilled singers under artistic director Lucas Harris has held a prominent place in Canada’s early music scene since 1968. It specializes in Renaissance and Baroque repertoire, collaborating regularly with Toronto’s rich pool of period instrumentalists, but also with forays into other periods. Currently on pandemic hiatus but meeting virtually until it’s safe to resume, the choir generally presents four concerts per season - two Saturday evening concerts and two Sunday afternoon “Kaffeemusik” presentations - that explore the cultural context of our repertoire through narration, often with a special guest expert. Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings with occasional Saturday “retreats.” Auditions for new volunteer members are held anytime by arrangement with the director, while auditions for our Toronto Chamber Consort section lead program are held in May or June. Choir blog and other information is available on the website.

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Under the leadership of artistic director Peter Mahon, The Tallis Choir is a mixed-voice chamber choir of 36 voices that has been performing together since 1977. The choir presents an annual subscription series of four concerts between October and May each year in the magnificent acoustic of St. Patrick’s Church in downtown Toronto. Known for innovative programming and polished performances of repertoire covering more than five centuries, the Tallis Choir is an extremely versatile ensemble. They specialize in performances of rarely-heard sacred masterpieces of the Italian, Spanish and English Renaissance that form the cornerstone of their concert series. While they frequently feature a capella polyphonic works, the Choir often works with guest artists performing on period string and wind instruments to add further authenticity to the experience. Additionally, the Choir can be heard in performances around the GTA and southern Ontario, having appeared in the Colours of Music Festival, Luminato Festival, and in multiple performances at the Sony Centre.

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St. Thomas’s Church, Toronto, is one of the oldest Anglo-Catholic congregations in Canada. Established in 1874, the parish has been, from its earliest days, at the forefront of the liturgical and musical life of the Anglican Church of Canada. Excellent choral and organ music are vital components of all Sunday services, Feast Days, and the liturgies of Advent and Holy Week. Starting in September, for as long as COVID-19 restrictions are in effect and choral gatherings are prohibited, we are pleased to offer weekly solo excerpts from Bach's Church Cantatas, and hope that these provide comfort and joy in such unusual and difficult times. All of our services are live-streamed online and can be found through the St. Thomas's website.

Looking ahead to when we can once again sing together, St. Thomas's will present three choral services each Sunday, sung by a dedicated group of volunteers supported by section leads: “Sung Eucharist (Contemporary Rite)” at 9:30am; “Solemn Eucharist (Traditional Rite)” at 11am; and “Solemn Evensong and Devotions” at 7pm. The repertoire is diverse, from plainsong and Renaissance masterpieces to gems of the British cathedral tradition, contemporary Canadian compositions, and other choral masterworks.

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Founded in 1982, Soundstreams is one of the world’s leading contemporary music companies, and the largest global presenter of new Canadian music. Artistic director Lawrence Cherney and executive director Menon Dwarka are committed to showcasing the work of living composers with a focus on innovative thematic and experiential programming, and creating a living and lasting legacy for Canadian music.

Soundstreams also serves a broad community of music lovers through free outreach and education programs including Encounters, the RBC Bridges workshop for early career composers, BMO SoundWave and SoundMakers. Encounters is a free discovery series featuring performances, discussions, and audience participation; the RBC Bridges workshop for early career composers helps talented contemporary composers from around the world launch their careers; BMO SoundWave provides accessible-priced tickets; and SoundMakers provides interactive learning experiences online and in the classroom.

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SINE NOMINE was formed in Toronto in 1991 to research and perform music from before 1500, and has given concerts in Canada, the United States, and the UK. The members have varied backgrounds in vocal and instrumental performance (wind instruments, fiddles, lutes, and percussion), musicology, medieval history, language, literature, liturgy, and manuscript studies. In preparing repertoire, we draw on all of these specialties, and experiment with improvisation and ornamentation, as well as medieval pronunciations and tuning systems, hoping to create performances which are intelligible and enjoyable to modern audiences - and which would not have been wholly foreign to medieval listeners! We blend vocal and instrumental music from medieval courts and churches with readings, and occasionally drama, liturgy, or dance, to provide insight into the fascinating artistic and intellectual culture of the Middle Ages.

Our 2020/21 Toronto season is on hold, pending public health developments, but our current project is a detailed exploration of a 14th-century Italian manuscript with an unusually rich combination of vocal music and instrumental dances.

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The Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall is “the greatest venue in this city” and “magnificent in its acoustics, as much as in its design” (Toronto Star). This concert season, we bring you jazz, classical, world, and roots music performances by extraordinary international and Canadian artists - in a way that is safe and responsible. Join us in celebrating our Beethoven’s 250 Festival in November-December 2020 and the 21C Music Festival in January 2021, and close to 100 more concerts to choose from in the 2020/21 concert season, September 2020 through May 2021.

We look forward to sharing uplifting and inspiring live music with you!

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The Piano Lunaire is a contemporary classical music organization based in Toronto, pursuing the presentation of artistic excellence in the 21st Century. The company's portfolio is three-fold: we produce monthly full moon performances, house a record label ("Lunaire Records"), and collaborate with the Canadian musical community at large, in the capacity of both fundraising and pedagogical platform. Correspondingly, our mission comprises three mandates: 1) to present new, dynamic and piano-centric music from the last fifty years to present; 2) to give voice to emerging professionals in the vibrant scene that is Toronto’s musical ecosystem and; 3) to offer audiences a direct, challenging and ultimately supportive concert experience, as they engage with the music of today and the artists of the future.

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Pax Christi Chorale Christi Chorale delivers stirring performances with great polish and total conviction. Under the leadership of artistic director David Bowser, the award-winning choir aspires to build on its strengths and accomplishments to achieve new levels of performance and audience engagement. Collaborations with outstanding guest artists and partners give audiences and performers a deep appreciation for choral masterworks and new Canadian music.

The Pax Christi Chamber Choir placed first in its category in Choral Canada’s 2017 national competition for amateur choirs. We champion great choral music among a diverse community. We have an inclusive philosophy and welcome audience members and choristers from all backgrounds and walks of life.

Pax Christi Chorale has moved its activities online for the 2020/21 season. Visit our website for more information on audition and concert information, or email interim executive director Cynthia Hawkins.

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The Orpheus Choir’s vision is to celebrate the power of choral music as an agent of social change and a passionate medium of artistic expression. The 65-voice choir under artistic director Robert Cooper, champions the new and unusual in choral performance, commissioning and introducing new works and performing overlooked masterpieces. Regularly working with living composers, and singing a wide range of repertoire in concerts with high production values, Orpheus has introduced audiences to many accessible works from the current generation of leading composers. Orpheus also supports young emerging vocal talent through its highly respected Sidgwick Scholars Program and its newer Vocal Apprentice Program for high school singers. Winner of the 2018 Choral Canada Award for Outstanding Innovation, Orpheus continues to present an “expect something different” experience!

The 2020/21 season will begin virtually, with livestreamed performances in November and December, moving to live performances when circumstances permit. Planned projects include a program of favourites selected by the choir members, and an exploration of music and mental health in Allan Bevan’s Ancient of Days.

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Oriana Women’s Choir is an auditioned ensemble of 30 amateur female singers with a long history of performance at a high artistic standard. Led by artistic director Mitchell Pady since 2011, Oriana explores the possibilities in choral music for the female voice, collaborating with a diverse range of artists to push the boundaries of typical expectations for women’s choir performances. We foster the creation of Canadian choral music, regularly commissioning works from Canadian composers for women’s voices.

Oriana typically presents a three-concert series, in November, February and May. In this anything-but-typical year, we are starting the season virtually, and continuing our focus on Canadian repertoire, including our collaborative project with the composition students in the Claude Watson Senior Arts program. We continue to monitor developments to determine when we may be able to gather safely in-person again, but in the meantime we are looking forward to engaging with you online!