NOTE: All times are Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.
ETCeteras listings are based on information sent to WholeNote in advance by event presenters. Due to circumstances resulting from COVID-19 and restrictions imposed by the Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto, some events may subsequently have been cancelled or postponed. Please visit presenters' websites or contact them directly for updated information. Thank you for your understanding and stay safe!
DAILY LISTINGS FOR OCTOBER
Oct 16-18: Music Gallery. X Avant XV: Transmissions. Curated by Pratishtha Kohli and Olivia Shortt. All events FREE to stream. All shows will be available to stream online and will be a mix of on and off-site concerts produced by the Music Gallery. Further information available here.
Oct 16 12 noon: Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra. SPOGreatMusic Podcast: Episode 3 - Socially Distanced: Music for a Solo Instrument: J.S. Bach Plus. Featuring interviews with special guests. Host: Dr. Daniel Mehdizadeh. Find links and further information here.
Oct 16. Tafelmusik. Baroque for Baby. A kid-friendly playlist curated by violinist and mother of two, Cristina Zacharias. Selections from renowned Tafelmusik recordings include music by Telemann, Purcell, Lully, Vivaldi, Handel, Monteverdi, Rameau, Merula, Sweelink, and Marais. Zacharias’s choices balance enlivening, energetic music that encourages children to move and dance with calming, quieter pieces for bedtime. More information available here.
Oct 17 7:00-8:00: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Gord's Legacy: A Free Virtual Experience to Honour Gord Downie. For more Information, visit here.
Oct 17 7:00: Guitar Society of Toronto. Online Recital: Austin Wahl. Registration is required in advance here. A suggested donation of $20 can be made during registration.
Oct 17 7:00: New Adventures in Sound Art/Charles Street Video. Endosymbiosis: Live Electronic Music Performance with Liquid Light Imagery by Robert Fantinatto. A video and improvised electronic music performance which utilizes a variation on the technique of Liquid Light by replacing the overhead projector with a 4K video camera. The improvised music performed by Fantinatto uses a customized modular synthesizer along with slowed-down water sounds. The performance will be live-streamed over YouTube with Q&A discussion taking place afterwards on the Whereby platform. Online Location issued after Advance Registration here.
Oct 17 8:00: Royal Conservatory of Music. The Resounding Concert. A FREE online event. This celebration of music in support of Koerner Hall and The Royal Conservatory of Music will include performances by Chinese superstar pianist Lang Lang, celebrated American-Canadian soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, young Canadian pianist and an alumnus of the Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School Jan Lisiecki, Indian tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain in an exclusive improvised jam session with the world’s reigning rhythm section, Canadian concert violinist and violist James Ehnes, Cuban-Canadian singer-songwriter Alex Cuba, and award-winning British violinist Daniel Hope. The evening will also include appearances by Hollywood star Meryl Streep and Buffy Sainte-Marie, the legendary Cree singer-songwriter who has been a trailblazer, a disruptor of the status quo, as well as a recipient of an Honorary Fellowship from The Royal Conservatory. The livestream is available here.
Oct 18 2:00: TD Niagara Jazz Festival. LIVEstream.LOVE.WORLD Series #09 with Juneyt. Interested but can't attend? ALL of our livestreamed performances are available at our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. Enjoy this performance with our compliments. Donations in support of our Festival and our artists are gratefully accepted here. See our full lineup here.
Oct 18 7:00: Canzona Chamber Players. Sean Rice & Anna Petersen, Clarinet / Oboe Duo. See the concert here. In lieu of a concert ticket, donations to the St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation COVID-19 Courage Fund, in Memory of Elizabeth Krehm, can be made here.
UPDATED!! Oct 18 8:00: New Music Concerts. Virtually Yours: Anima. Sanya Eng, harp; Ryan Scott, percussion. 7:15 Pre-Concert Chat. Broadcast free online from Koerner Hall. To watch Anima at home this Sunday, please follow one of the following links: Facebook, YouTube or Vimeo.
NEW!! Oct 19 12:15: Music Mondays. Mid-Day Sound Painting. Featuring the original music of Karl Silveira, interpreted by some of Toronto’s most talented musicians. Karl draws inspiration for his compositions from his fascination with visual art. Karl’s music is written with the intention of being open to interpretation, much in the same way a painting would be viewed in an art gallery. He draws musical influence from Thelonious Monk, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Wayne Shorter and Maurice Ravel. The stream and full program notes will be available here.
Oct 22 8:00: Tafelmusik. Passions of the Soul. A livestreamed event curated and directed by Elisa Citterio. Bliss, grief, delight: experience a kaleidoscope of emotions with 18th-century music that will open your heart and mind. This concert is a microcosm of our season theme, “Passions of the Soul.” Works featured include Lalande’s Chaconne (inspired by the magnificent fountains of Versailles), Locatelli’s Sinfonia Funebre, and Telemann’s suite La Bourse, an irreverent depiction of the roller-coaster of emotions experienced by investors in the stock market. Single ticket purchasers will be able to re-access the concert for a full 24 hours after the original broadcast time. You can revisit your ticket link, contained in your confirmation email, to watch until October 23, 2020 at 7:59pm. $30 + service fees. Box Office: 1-833-964-6337. Visit our website here.
Oct 23 12 noon: Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra. SPO Music Performance S41E02. New music performances by members and friends of the SPO. Full performance details and links can be found here. Today's theme: Socially Distanced: Music for a Solo Instrument, J.S. Bach Plus.
Oct 23 7:00: TD Niagara Jazz Festival. LIVEstream.LOVE.JAZZ Series #43 with Jay Reed. Interested but can't attend? ALL of our livestreamed performances are available at our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. Enjoy this performance with our compliments. Donations in support of our Festival and our artists are gratefully accepted here. See our full lineup here.
Oct 23 8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. KWS Goes Online: Schubert and the Swedish Mozart. Andrei Feher, conductor. Kraus: Symphony in c; Schubert: Symphony No .5 in B-flat. Kraus has often been referred to as “the Swedish Mozart,” and while a talented composer in his own right, is overshadowed in popular memory by his famous contemporary. His Symphony in C is stormy and dramatic, full of turbulent passion. Schubert was infatuated with Mozart, but in contrast to Kraus’s symphony, his Symphony No. 5 is light and joyfully elegant. Purchase tickets here.
Oct 24 7:00: New Adventures in Sound Art and Charles Street Video. Adeva (version000_01): Electronic Music and Video Performance by Debashis Sinha. Debashis Sinha’s explorations of how his Bengali heritage can manifest through the toolset of contemporary electronic music continues with this livestream performance. The text and sound world of the Vedas (Hindu scriptures) is subjected to machine learning algorithms and processes to create content that lies just beyond the reach of human comprehension — a piecing together of half-understood and half-perceived bits of wisdom that is reconstructed by Sinha, and the listener in the moment of performance. Livestreamed on YouTube with Q&A discussion taking place afterwards on the Whereby platform. It is a co-presentation of New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA) and Charles Street Video. Online location issued after Advance Registration here.
NEW!! Oct 24 7:00: Sultans of String. Interactive ZOOM Concert: Yalla Yalla! Featuring all the songs from our second JUNO Award-nominated 2009 album, including a lot of our favourites. Tune in 15 minutes early to chat with our friends. And make sure you have speakers plugged in if you have them! We have kept the ticket price very low as we know that a lot of our friends are out of work. If that is still a barrier for you then just shoot me an email and I will provide you a comp, no questions asked, while tickets remain. The show will last about an hour, including a talk-back portion, so bring your burning questions. Thanks and look forward to seeing you all soon! Purchase tickets here.
NEW!! Oct 24 7:15: Toronto City Opera. The Telephone / La voix humaine. Livestream double bill includes Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Telephone with Nicole Dubinsky as Lucy England and Johnathon Kirby as Ben Upthegrove followed by Francis Poulenc’s La voix humaine with Rachel Krehm singing the role of Elle. Jennifer Tung, artistic director. Both operas deal with the ecstasies and agonies of human love, yearning for expression through the ever present third party of technology — our phones. Access to the livestream is by ticket ($30) and will be available for a two-week period until November 7th. Visit here for tickets or call 416-578-4102.
NEW!! Oct 24 8:00: Tapestry Opera. Improvisation as Life. Performers include Robi Botos, jazz piano (on Tapestry’s Bösendorfer Imperial Grand) and Moses Salihou, Art Battle Canada Painter in live improvised collaboration with Art Battle Canada visual artist Moses Salihou. Watch this collaboration free here.
Oct 24 7:30: Loose Tea Music Theatre. Dead Reckoning. A new musical adapted for film with book and lyrics by Lezlie Wade and composed by Scott Christian. With Laura Larson, Kelsey Falconer, Alicia Barban, Aisha Jarvis, Sara Shanazarian. Online YouTube premiere. No tickets required. For information contact Alaina Viau at aviau@looseteamusictheatre.
Oct 25 2:00: TD Markham Jazz Festival. Ready. Set. Connect. Concert #2. Spy Jazz with June Garber and Irene Torres, hosted by Jaymz Bee and featuring an exceptional band — Eric St. Laurent (guitars) George Koller (basses), Great Bob Scott (drums and percussion), Attila Fias (keyboards) and Alison Young (saxes). Tune in here prior to each concert.
Oct. 26 (available until Nov 1). Toronto Symphony Orchestra. On Demand Series: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Halloween Candy. Sink your sweet tooth into a candy-centred hour of musical mayhem and Halloween hilarity, as TSO Principal Education Conductor & Community Am-BOO!-ssador Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser attempts to work late on All Hallow’s Eve to program the perfect Young People’s Concert—only to be interrupted by spooks, sprites, and serious sugar cravings! Featuring favourites by Bach, Tchaikovsky, and Mussorgsky, alongside some newer symphonic confections, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, conductor. Purchase all eight concerts as a package for $120, pick three performances for $51, or select single programs for $20 (or $40 for Give One, Get One). Discounts are available to TSO subscribers and TSOUNDCHECK members. Each program will be available for unlimited viewing after its release for seven days. Tickets go on sale on Oct 14 at 11:00am. Go to TSO.CA/OnDemand or call Patron Services at 416.598.3375 (Mon–Fri, 9:00am–5:00pm).
Oct 26 12:15: Music Mondays. Folk & Song. Works by Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Dvořák, Gershwin and others. Beth Silver, cello; Jenna Richards, piano. Visit here.
Oct 26 7:30: Art of Time Ensemble / Toronto International Festival of Authors. The Poem/The Song. Available online until Thursday, October 29th, 7:30pm. The Poem/The Song presents music inspired by poetry in a variety of contrasting musical settings. Highlights include two-time Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood reading her poem Thriller Suite accompanied by an original musical composition from Canadian composer Dan Parr, Franz Liszt's musical impression of Petrarch's Sonnets, music from the worldwide smash-hit Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats, which was inspired by the poetry of T.S. Eliot, a fantastical setting of Walt Whitman by composer George Crumb and songs by Leonard Cohen. Performers include singers Thom Allison, Gregory Hoskins and Carla Huhtanen. RSVP here.
UPDATE!! Oct 28 7:00 Opera Atelier. Something Rich and Strange. A fully-staged new creation featuring theatre music that explores the realms of dreams, visions and the supernatural. Featuring soprano Measha Brueggergosman, tenor Colin Ainsworth, and more. With Artists of Atelier Ballet and musicians from Tafelmusik led by Music Director Elisa Citterio. Music by Handel, Purcell and Lully. NOTE: The live component of this performance has been cancelled. However, the performance is being recorded for future livestreaming.
Oct 29 8:00: New Music Concerts. Virtually Yours: Cello Masterworks. David Hetherington, cello. Link to be provided at a future date.
Oct 30 12 noon: Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra. SPOGreatMusic Podcast S41E04 - Beethoven: The Man and His Chamber Music - Part 1. Featuring interviews with special guests. Host: Dr. Daniel Mehdizadeh. Find links and further information here.
Oct 30 6:30: SKINNAMARINK with Sharon and Randi, Back by Popular Demand! A live, interactive, virtual Halloween Costume Party Singalong. Visit the Skinnamarink with Sharon and Randi Home Routes page here. $15 plus tax. Families of three or more require two tickets. To buy tickets, go here.
Oct 30 8:00: The Piano Lunaire. Lunaire Live IV: Blue Moon Gala. Two-piano recital celebrating the rare Blue Moon. Streamed live from Toronto in collaboration with Yamaha Canada. Stephen Runge & Adam Sherkin, pianos. Adams: Hallelujah Junction; Sherkin: Ink from the Shield (2020 world premiere); Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances. $20 suggested donation. For more information, visit here.
CONTINUING EVENTS
Arts@Home. A vibrant hub connecting Torontonians to arts and culture. Designed to strengthen personal and societal resilience through the arts. Visit here to learn more about this exciting collaborative initiative.
Kevin Barrett. Live from Lockdown. Kevin Barrett does a live-streamed set of solo guitar tunes, coming directly from lockdown in his studio in Kensington Market, Toronto. Tune in to Kevin's Facebook page on Friday here. If you can't join live, the video will be available afterwards on Kevin's page with each week's episode archived on his YouTube channel here.
Classical Jukebox Founded as a response to the days of COVID-19 social separation, this site is designed to provide you the ability to sing and perform your favorite classical pieces from the comfort of your own home, with accompaniments by organ and piano accompanist, Matthew Larkin. In addition, Classical Jukebox offers another service - assisting with the creation of Virtual Choirs and virtual choir videos for those missing that collaborative and artistic outlet in their lives. Further information can be found here.
Esprit Orchestra. Filmbites. The first series of Filmbites clips are from Larry Weinstein's 1989 film For the Whales, in which writers, musicians, and artists celebrate the majestic whale. The film explores the theme of preserving our environment through artistic and musical meditations. Watch this short introductory video with composer Alexina Louie by clicking here, then click here to watch the film.
New Music Concerts. Sonic Grace: An NMC Audio Diary. Listen to David Hetherington perform Carter's Figment recorded live with New Music Concerts at the Music Gallery on Dec. 18, 2007, by clicking here.
Ottawa Chamberfest. Chamber Chats: At Home / Chez vous. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2pm. Hosted by celebrated broadcaster/writer Eric Friesen. Interactive episodes combine chat with pre-recorded and live performances and feature guest artists and lecturers from all over the world. For information: 613-234-8008. Visit the website here.
Recollectiv: Currently holding on-line meetings. A unique musical group made up of people affected by memory challenges caused by illness (such as dementia) or brain injury (stroke, PTSD, etc.) and their care partners. Volunteers of all ages also form part of the band, making this a positive intergenerational experience for all. Participation is free with pre-registration. Contact info@recollectiv.ca for meeting times, information and registration.
Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. a•P•art {of} performance series, every Thursday at 7:30pm here.
PODCASTS
Oct 27: Canadian Opera Company. Key Change: A COC Podcast. A fresh take on today's opera issues. Co-hosted by classical singer and culture critic Robyn Grant-Moran (a member of the COC’s Indigenous Circle of Artists) alongside COC Director/Dramaturg-in-Residence Julie McIsaac, the first season of bi-weekly episodes explores the operagoing experience from a variety of perspectives, with special guests from the opera field and beyond. This first episode features COC Music Director Johannes Debus, acclaimed American soprano Angel Blue, Ensemble Studio soprano Midori Marsh, and Canadian visual artist Shary Boyle recounting their first time at the opera — and what hooked them. New episodes air every other week. Admission is free and episodes will be available here or wherever you get your podcasts.
PREVIOUSLY RECORDED
NEW!! Esprit Orchestra. Filmbites Clip #3: Excerpt from Ned Rorem’s String Symphony--Nocturne and Scherzo, as performed by Esprit Orchestra in Larry Weinstein's 1989 film For the Whales. The film explores the theme of preserving our environment through artistic and musical meditations in celebration of the majestic whale. Click here to watch.
NEW!! Esprit Orchestra. Soundbites. The latest Soundbite in our series is an excerpt from the world premiere performance of Christopher Thornborrow's Trompe L'œil, conducted by Alex Pauk and performed by Esprit Orchestra in Koerner Hall on March 24, 2019. Visit here to watch this performance. Visit here to watch a Soundbites Insight related to this event.
Kingston Symphony. Finale of Beethoven’s Third Symphony (Eroica). Forty members of the orchestra perform the finale of the Eroica, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 while in isolation in their homes. To view the virtual performance, please click here. For more information on the Kingston Symphony, please visit here.
Koerner Hall. Concerts from Home.There are more than 25 classical, jazz, and roots music concerts currently available online. Check out the available items here.
Orchestre Métropolitain. Live stream of Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1-8. On the websites of Orchestre Métropolitain and Bourgie Hall over the course of the summer of 2020. Visit here and here.
TD Toronto Jazz Festival. Online Premiere. Measha Brueggergosman, soprano; Lennie Gallant, guitar. The internationally acclaimed opera singer and concert artist co-wrote "Champions" with Lennie Gallant. The concert is available here.
Toronto Consort. Explorer: Discovering the World of Early Music. Explorer is a blog for the curious; a place of learning, sharing, and community. This all-new offering will present an assortment of curated content in a range of formats, like original short- or long-form articles, original video and audio recordings, and educational content on relevant topics relating to Early Music, history, and world music, as they relate our beloved repertoire. Visit here for further information.
Toronto Operetta Theatre. An archival video of Toronto Operetta Theatre's production of Jacinto Guerrero's Los Gavilanes (The Sparrow Hawks) performed in April 2016 at the Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Toronto. Features Guillermo Silva-Marin and some of Canada's most amazing voices to dazzle your ears and eyes. Watch scenes here.
VOICEBOX/Opera in Concert. Archival Video Project: Fierabras by Franz Schubert. Schubert’s opera had its Canadian premiere in 2019. If you missed our full production, please take a look at our gift to you with this video of excerpts featuring an amazing cast under the masterful conducting of Kevin Mallon and the Aradia Ensemble. It is a rare opera at its highest degree of excellence in performance. In the midst of wars between the Frankish Christians and Spanish Moors of the late 700s, conflicts are brought to an end with the intercession of a younger generation, where love conquers all. See the video here.
MASTER CLASSES
Nov 22. ORMTA Central Toronto Branch. Online Composition Master Class. Submission deadline: Nov 13 @ 11:59pm. Information at 416-485-6562. $40. In celebration of Canada Music Week (Nov 22-28), ORMTA Central Toronto Branch is holding a Composition Master Class with composer clinician Christopher Norton. In this online composition master class, Connections and MicroJazz composer Christopher Norton will help refine new works by first-time and seasoned composers. Participants will submit scores and recordings of their works for Mr. Norton to review. He will send feedback in some combination of written comments, video response, and score annotations, highlighting strengths, giving suggestions for next steps, and perhaps suggesting related works for score study and listening. Contact Avila.Lotoski@hotmail.com for submission information.
