On The Road

Born in Prague, Lenka Lichtenberg is a vocalist in six languages, composer and bandleader, with seven CD releases and several collaborations to her credit. Lenka is the recipient of the 2012 Canadian Folk Music Award for “Traditional Singer of the Year.”

1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)? 

Your mail caught me between two concerts for Festival Mitte Europa – one in Chemnitz, Germany, the other in Ostrov, Czech Republic. It is a festival dedicated to fostering harmonious relations between neighbours, the German and Czech people. It takes place in various towns and cities not too far from the border between the two countries. I found it fascinating that the "border" is now invisible; not even a sign! All of a sudden, the signs in a village are in German. It made me think of John Lennon…Imagine, there's no countries. I wish we had that in North America. I performed with my Czech colleagues, top Czech musicians David Doruzka (guitar) and Tomas Reindl (percussion). The audience was very reserved! Not a peep for my trio's two-set performance, and then…they bought ALL the CDs I had with me! 

2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member between now and September 7? 

I am off to Kenya with my family at the end of July to work in Bungoma, Kaptet and Kisa, in the Western province. At the beginning of our journey, there will be a music festival in Nairobi which I hope we can attend. I think this will be unlike anything I've seen before, and I am very excited! Also, I am always looking for ways to embrace global togetherness through my music, and who knows – it could inspire some new approaches in my writing or instrumentation. 

3. How about as a music maker/player?

In between trips this summer, I am spending all available time at Zolis Audio, working hard with Jim Zolis to finish mixing the next project “Lullabies from Exile” – a collaboration with the Iraqi-Israeli oud and violin virtuoso Yair Dalal. It is a very unusual project, as it intertwines two strands of Jewish music that were separated some 2000 years ago. I am really looking forward to having this done – it's taken over two years and three continents to get it to this point! And…I think it is magically beautiful. 

4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans?

The early fall will be devoted to promoting my most recent CD “Embrace.” I believe it is my strongest work yet, maybe a lucky number seven, and I am really thrilled with how it's turned out. It is the second album created with my amazing “Fray” band colleagues, Alan Hetherington (who co-produced it with me), Ravi Naimpally, Chris Gartner, John Gzowski and Ernie Tollar. From the first note, it sets a tone that I simply adore. It has now received some extraordinarily positive reviews and so I have high hopes for this creation! As well, with Fray “Redux,” I will be opening for the wonderful Jorge Drexler as part of the Small World Music Festival on October 3. That should be really nice, an interesting match of styles between us. 

WEBSITE

www.lenkalichtenberg.com

FACEBOOK

www.facebook.com/lenkalichtenbergmusic

TWITTER

@embracelenka

SOUNDCLOUD

"Laska, Boze, Laska": Czech folk song, recorded at "Embrace" release in Glenn Gould Studio (April 28, 2013) http://snd.sc/155U75y

Amanda Martinez is a Toronto-based singer-songwriter whose new CD Mañana exultingly blends her unique Mexican and South African roots with flamenco soul. GRAMMY-winning producer Javier Limón calls her “one of the greatest voices in the world.”

1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)? 

Right now I am rehearsing for some shows I have this summer while my twins are napping!

2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member (not work-related) between now and September 7?

I am really looking forward to the “Heart of Africa” concert at Lula Lounge on July 18, featuring both amazing musicians and dancers. This is the music of my mother's homeland and I am very excited to hear it.

3. How about work-related events/activities?

This month I am very honoured to be performing for Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday. Also performing at the Nelson Mandela School will be the amazing Lorraine Klaasen and Liona Boyd (I am a huge fan of both). There will be a simultaneous broadcast around the world in Nelson Mandela’s honour so this will be very special. 

This month I am also hosting a few shows at the Harbourfront Centre, including “Classical V: Brass,” and performing for the Cultura Festival at Mel Lastman Square

4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans?

I am working on our show to take on the road for our new album Mañana, which comes out this fall. Our summer performances will be helping the creative juices flow for new material, as well as shaping our show for the CD release.

WEBSITE

www.amandamartinez.ca

Instantly recognized by her "arrestingly beautiful tone" (Strad), cellist Denise Djokic’s upcoming concerts take her across North America. This fall she releases a new disc of Chopin and Rachmaninoff sonatas with pianist David Jalbert. 

1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)?  

I'm listening to the Grieg String Quartet while watering the plants and doing laundry (can you tell I'm in pre-travel cramming mode?)

2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member (not work-related) between now and September 7? 

I'm excited to go to my cousin's wedding back home in Illinois, and also to spend time in my new house!  I'm trying to learn how to take care of our garden. But I'll have to wait until August before I'll have a chance to do that, since I'll be on the road for the next six weeks.

3. How about work-related events/activities? 

I always enjoy the summer festival craziness, especially this July when I'll be playing with my family in Ottawa at Music and Beyond. If we're not rehearsing, we're usually sitting on a patio somewhere during happy hour. I'm also excited to have the chance to see and play with one of my closest friends, pianist David Jalbert.

4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans? 

For some reason, the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations seems to be the piece I'm performing most this year, and two of these performances will be part of all-Tchaikovsky programs. I'm glad to have the chance to perform it in Wisconsin this summer at the Peninsula Music Festival and I'll be playing it again this October with the Winnipeg Symphony. I'm also starting to learn a concerto by Friedrich Gulda which I'm performing for the first time this January. But I'm mainly trying to stay sane with my repertoire load this summer and catch a little down time when I can!

A rising star on the international stage, baritone Phillip Addis’ upcoming season features a return to the Opéra Comique as Pelléas, performances at the Ravinia Festival, the COC, Los Angeles and Cincinnati and recitals in Toronto and Paris. 

1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)?

At the moment I am in rehearsals for a production of Britten's Curlew River with the Teatro dell' Opera di Roma. It is one of a number of performances that I have with maestro James Conlon this season as we celebrate the Britten centenary. This performance will take place within the marbled walls of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli, right next to the Campidoglio. I really can't complain about the vista we're afforded on our breaks, and the music making is pretty fine too!

2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member (not work-related) between now and September 7?

I hope to get to see some of the great programming at the Stratford Festival as well as Stratford Summer Music. I'd like to catch some jazz in Toronto too, such as Aurochs at the Tranzac on July 9th. I'm also looking forward to a rare performance of Massenet's jewel, Le Portrait de Manon, at the Muskoka Opera Festival on August 12.

3. How about work-related events/activities? 

My next project is again with maestro James Conlon, as we perform Britten's The Burning Fiery Furnace at the Ravinia Festival in August.

4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans?

I am preparing for my debut at the COC this fall, where I'm going to have fun playing the roles of Schaunard and Marcello (not simultaneously!) in their fall production of La Bohème. I have performed both roles before, so I'll be reviewing them as I incorporate them into my current technique. There will be more Britten with maestro Conlon in Los Angeles: the War Requiem and the Cantata Misericordium. For my trip to LA I'll also dust off my Magic Flute score, after a decade's hiatus, for an engagement with the LA Opera.

What is occupying more of my time this summer is the preparation of recital repertoire that I will be performing in December, with Emily Hamper at the piano, as part of the Music Toronto series and again in January at the Opéra National de Paris. It's an ambitious program with works by Britten, Poulenc, Wolf and Purcell, as well as a new work by Toronto-based composer Erik Ross. The thrill of the recital, where the opportunities for exposed risk and deep intimacy with an audience can be so much greater than in any other form of performance, is driving me to be as prepared as possible, with as many options at the ready as possible, for showtime.