Interesting personalities: the world of music is full of them. I’d like to tell you about a few who will be gracing our stages and charming our senses during the coming month.

early__harry_bicket_and_the_english_concertTake, for example, Jan Dismas Zelenka, one of those talented people whom history might well have completely forgotten, had it not been for the determination of some who “discovered” and sought to revive his music long after his death in 1745. This Bohemian composer, whose lifetime spanned more or less the same years as that of J.S. Bach, spent most of his career at the Dresden court (a flourishing centre of music and the arts in 17th- and 18th-century Germany) where he played double bass, conducted the Dresden Court Orchestra and became Court Composer of Church Music. His music is acknowledged as being extraordinarily creative, with unexpected turns of harmony and a freshly expressive outlook.

Of course, as part of his duties he wrote masses. One of these, the Missa votiva, has quite a touching genesis: Zelenka wrote it to give thanks after recovering from a long illness, dedicating it as follows: “J.D.Z. composed this Mass ad majorem Dei gloriam to the greater glory of God in fulfillment of a vow, after having recovered his health through God’s favour”.

You can hear it, along with a beloved motet by one of his acquaintances and admirers, in Tafelmusik’s “Glorious Bach and Zelenka” performances, which take place on various days, and at various times, between October 14 and 20.

And consider Johann Rosenmüller, 17th century German composer and virtuoso trombonist, who is credited with being an instrumental figure in the transmission of Italian musical styles to Germany. He had a promising career as teacher and organist in Leipzig, and was in line for the position of cantor at the Church of St. Thomas, but his career was abruptly halted in 1655 when he and several schoolboys were arrested and imprisoned on suspicion of homosexuality. Aha; he escaped, fled Germany and next turned up in Italy, where by 1658 he had established himself at St. Mark’s in Venice as a trombonist and composer. Years later he also held the post of composer at the Ospedale della Pietà (the girls’ orphanage soon afterward to become famous as fertile ground for Vivaldi’s prolific creative output).

Rosenmüller’s music was clearly inspired by the brilliant acoustic of the Cathedral of St. Mark’s. You’ll be able to hear the effect of this magnificent space when, on October 21 and 22, the Toronto Consort brings together voices, strings, cornetti, sackbuts, lutes and keyboards to present “Venetian Splendour: The Music of Johann Rosenmüller.”

A towering figure of the 15th century, the Franco-Flemish composer Johannes Ockeghem led a life that is somewhat obscured to us now, some five or six centuries later. We know that he was employed as a bass singer in the chapels of various royal courts, most notably the French courts of Charles VII, Louis XI and Charles VIII; that his life was very long; that though his surviving output of compositions is not large, it reveals a highly innovative style; also that he was admired throughout Europe for his expressive music and his technical prowess.

It’s obvious that he revelled in creating musical problems and working out solutions — for example, his motet Deo Gratias is a magnificent, pulsating canon for four nine-part choruses (36 parts in total). His Missa Cuiusvis Toni is a mass that may be sung in any one of four different modes, at the performers’ choosing. Enormous technical feats of composition, these — yet (to quote one account) “music of contemplative vastness and inward rapture”.

Both these works will be performed this month — the Deo Gratias in “surround sound,” the Missa Cuiusvis Toni in — well, you’ll have to attend the concert to find out which mode. They’ll be heard in the Toronto Chamber Choir’s first concert of the season, “Ockeghem: Medieval Polyphony,” on October 23.

A much-admired musician of the 21st century, the acclaimed English conductor and keyboard player, Harry Bicket, will be bringing his ensemble, the English Concert, to town — alas on one of the same nights as the Toronto Consort performs. Bicket is renowned for his interpretations of the baroque and classical repertoire and for his work in opera, though his biography is chock-full of music making in wide-ranging styles and periods, all over the world. It’s especially telling that he was chosen in 2007 to succeed Trevor Pinnock as artistic director of the English Concert, one of the finest of the U.K.’s period orchestras.

The concert takes place in an ideal venue for this group, the Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall, on October 21. The music is ideal too, a true representation of their art: suites from semi-operas by Purcell, solo and orchestral concertos by Vivaldi and Telemann.

early_philippe_jaroussky2_by_simon_fowlerA compelling musical personality whose star is definitely on the rise is the French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. He’s been described as a “young singer with the tone of an angel and the virtuosity of the devil.” Perhaps because he began his musical life as a violinist, his singing displays a very pure sound quality and high, sweet timbre; this combined with his dazzling vocal feats, expressive phrasing and handsome stage presence have catapulted him into an international career in a relatively short time.

Jaroussky’s art is ideally suited to the virtuosic coloratura of the baroque; this will be evident when, on November 1 at the RC’s Koerner Hall, he’ll be joined by the acclaimed baroque orchestra from Cleveland, Apollo’s Fire, in a programme of fiery operatic arias and orchestral music, entitled “Handel and Vivaldi Fireworks.”

Others in a nutshell

• October 8: “Apt for Voices, Viols or Violons”: For its first concert of the season, the Musicians In Ordinary presents a programme of consort songs, dances, lute songs and solos from the Elizabethan and Jacobean courts, by Holborne, Byrd and Dowland. Soprano Hallie Fishel and lutenist John Edwards are joined by a renaissance violin band of five parts, led by violinist Christopher Verrette.

• October 8: Cardinal Consort of Viols presents “Oktoberfest!”:

Beautiful German music from the 16th and 17th centuries, with refreshments included, in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere at Royal St. George’s College Chapel.

 

• October 15 and 16: “Best of Baroque”: Andrew Davis conducts the TSO, and plays harpsichord and organ in a rich tapestry of music by Bach, including Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Concerto for Oboe and Violin and Davis’ own orchestrations of Bach organ works.

• October 16: Windermere String Quartet on period instruments presents the fourth in their six-concert survey of “The Golden Age of String Quartets,” juxtaposing three great works by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.

• October 22: “A Celebration of Victoria: 1611–2011”: Tallis Choir commemorates the 400th anniversary of the death of Victoria, presenting some of his greatest works and those of his contemporaries, Guerrero, Lobo and Esquivel.

• October 29: Our ever-energetic friends in Kingston, Trillio, present their third annual “Baroquetoberfest” with music on period instruments by Telemann, Bach, Matthes and others — not to mention home-prepared German food including choucroute garnie and a German beer sampling!

Simone Desilets is a long-time contributor to The WholeNote in several capacities who plays the viola da gamba. She can be contacted at earlymusic@thewholenote.com.

Yes, toronto brims with many breeds of live music, as this magazine makes crystal clear. But truth be told, this question bears reflection: Can our city, recently named the planet’s ninth most expensive city to live in, sustain a venue devoted exclusively to cabaret? And is it really the ticket price, usually comparable to catching a flick, that keeps audiences away? Or, is it that listening rooms require listening patrons? Whatever the reasons, thankfully, presenters keep trying. The brand new Green Door Cabaret at the Lower Ossington Theatre is hoping to be around for a long time. Robert Missen, artistic director, is working hard to preserve, celebrate and cultivate an audience for this unique art form.

“Cabaret has an intimacy,” says Missen, “and there’s an element of story-telling to the singing which is different from a regular concert. And of course, if you look at the various historical forms of cabaret, you can make the argument that it can be a very interesting tool for political satire or the promotion of certain kinds of humour or music. Since my background training is as a classical singer, I liken it to singing lieder, which is another endangered species of live performance.”

On the challenges of this new venture, Missen is quick to acknowledge the financial limitations on all sides of the equation:

“This is a very bare bones operation … I am not getting paid any salary for this, I get a small slip of the door. The theatre also takes a share, but most of the money goes to the artists, so it behooves the artists to try to get people in. That is really the main challenge. I’ll tell you though, one area that doesn’t have any challenges whatsoever is in the quality of the talent we are presenting. We could be doing shows every night of the week from now until Christmas and we wouldn’t run out of talent worth showcasing.”

To readers who have yet to attend a cabaret performance, what can they expect to experience?

“Come with an open mind and an expectation that whatever you see and hear will be of the highest quality, whether it’s German-style or New York-style or musical theatre or jazz … open your ears and open your heart. From my perspective it’s all about trust. Audiences will have to take a leap of faith, but that leap should be tempered by the reality that what they will hear will be extraordinary. And another important thing: there is no talking during the performances. This is definitely a listening room. The focus is the stage, and artists will not be competing for your attention.”

While booking veterans such as Louise Pitre of Mamma Mia, Order of Canada recipient Joe Sealy and Jersey Boys star Jeff Madden, Missen is also extremely supportive of emerging artists. Last month, one of the first shows to grace the Green Door’s fall lineup was “Liza Live: a Tribute to Liza Minnelli & Friends.” The directorial debut by singer, actor, dancer and performance artist Ryan Graham Hinds featured musical direction by Mark Selby and starred a pair of greatly gifted 20-something comediennes: Jennifer Walls, who zestfully impersonated Liza with a Z and Gabi Epstein, who channelled Barbra Streisand to a tee. Visit our website to taste a video sample of this cabaret!

Performances of special note at the Green Door this month will include Bremner Duthie’s “33: A Weimar Kabarett” (October 15), which will feature songs by Kurt Weill and his contemporaries in the context of Germany’s being taken over by the Nazis, as well as Ray Jessel (October 29), a brilliant Welsh-born composer, lyricist and performer now in his 80s who saw his start in cabaret here in Toronto back in the mid-1950s as part of Dora Mavor Moore’s illustrious “Spring Thaw” revue.

Missen calls Koller Michels (October 22) “among the best jazzers in the country, frankly!” Bassist George Koller and vocalist Julie Michels “… share a unique rapport, like two peas in a pod. The synergy between them is very special. These two are unsung heroes in this country. I mean, a core group of people know them and how great they are, but I think they are deserving of a higher exposure.”

Tickets to all shows at the Green Door Cabaret (www.greendoorcabaret.com) are priced as follows: $30 for reserved seating, $25 at the door or $20 for students and industry people with appropriate identification.

In related cabaret news, Toronto’s jazz radio station JAZZ.FM91 presents the Kronenbourg 1664 Cabaret Series, starting with a performance by critically acclaimed American jazz vocalist, pianist and composer Ann Hampton Calloway on Tuesday October 11 at Hugh’s Room. “We are excited about this venture into cabaret, as it will allow us to expand our horizons and to engage and delight a diverse calibre of audiences,” says Ross Porter, President and CEO of the radio station. Between December and March of next year, three additional cabaret evenings will feature international guests at Hugh’s Room. Tickets are $45, $40 in advance or $135 for a series pass. Tickets can be purchased at www.hughsroom.com.

In even more related cabaret news, October 28–30 marks the fourth annual Global Cabaret Festival, this year featuring 150 musicians in 44 performances and taking place over three days. Returning this year will be festival favourites Jackie Richardson, Molly Johnson and Patricia O’Callaghan, as well as performances by a diverse array of artists. To name a mere few, these will include celebrated countertenor Daniel Taylor, eternal hipster Don Francks, enchanting jazz vocalist and broadcaster Heather Bambrick and one of this city’s most outrageously entertaining cabaret artists, Sharron Matthews. All performances take place at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in the Distillery District. Tickets are $25, $20 in advance and $15 for students with valid ID. The full schedule is available at www.globalcabaret.ca.

If you have read to this point, perhaps you will consider putting down the knitting, the book and the broom! As Missen himself said after the Liza Minnelli tribute, “you are now a part of the Toronto underground cabaret movement. Please spread the word!” So by all means, invite your loved ones, your liked ones, your friends and your Facebook friends. But only if they will listen …

Ori Dagan is a Toronto-based jazz vocalist, voice actor and entertainment journalist. He can be contacted atjazz@thewholenote.com.

opera_opera_atelier_don_giovanni_photo_by_bruce_zinger._phillip_addis__curtis_sullivan_and_artists_of_atelier_balletFrom October 29 to November 5, Opera Atelier premieres its new production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Phillip Addis sings the title role with Carla Huhtanen as Zerlina, Vasil Garvanliev as Leporello, Peggy Kriha Dye as Donna Elvira and Meghan Lindsay as Donna Anna. Italian conductor Stefano Montanari leads the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Marshall Pynkoski directs.

During an extensive telephone interview with Pynkoski, I raised the question, “What can be called ‘new’ in a period production?” In answer, he had much to say about Opera Atelier’s goals and what a period production is:

“By period production we’re not talking about a museum. We’re not talking about reproducing something someone did at an earlier time. We could do that if we wanted to, and at times we do, but when we say ‘period production’ we mean we are taking elements of every discipline involved in the production — the acting style, the singing style, the dancing style, the orchestral playing — all of those things, not so that we can copy what they did in the 18th century, but to see if there is anything that we’ve missed in the past and anything that we’ve lost that will challenge us as artists in the 21st century.”

“Our goal is to be more linear. We want to be storytellers. We’re going to follow the text and we’re going to try to figure out how to make it make sense. For example, we’re taking a look at what happened in the early productions of Don Giovanni so that we can challenge ourselves in a new way. Of course, we’ve done Don Giovanni before, but I think we’ve learned a great deal about it over the years. Initially, we were unable to build the production we wanted and had to cobble it together from what we had in stock. This is our first complete statement of what we’d like Don Giovanni to be.”

“The most important thing I want to get across is that it is a comedy. That doesn’t mean that there are no tragic or dark moments. All great comedy has moments that are poignant. But what I have right in front of me is a letter Andrew Parrott gave me, where Mozart refers to Don Giovanni as an opera buffa. I don’t care if everyone else called it a dramma giocoso with an emphasis on the drama. Mozart called it an opera buffa and I’m following what he said, because I think it makes the opera absolutely make sense.”

“I’m sick of seeing a Don Giovanni about a middle-aged Lothario who hates woman and can’t achieve intimacy. It never makes sense because it means every woman on stage is insane. How exactly can a horrible, dirty old man be irresistible? On the other hand, we find things amusing, even charming, in young people that we would find reprehensible in middle age. Just think, the first Don was under 20. The second Don was under 25. Therefore I have to find someone like Phillip [Addis] who registers young, innocent, fresh, irresistible.”

“Basically, Don Giovanni is Cherubino at age 25. He says all the same things. He falls in love with every woman he sees. He doesn’t hate women — he loves them. And women adore him. There has to be something adorable about him, but I have yet to see a Don Giovanni where I understand why women love him. To my mind Don Giovanni is the most innocent and the most honest man on stage. He’s a comic character and everything on stage revolves around him.”

“Anyone in the 18th century would have known from the first scene that we’re in the world of the Italian commedia dell’arte with the servant, like a Harlequin, outside a tavern who wants a drink but has no money while his master is inside drinking. The design will not be as strongly commedia as it was last time. I think we made our point. Martha [Mann]’s costumes will be more Spanish but will still retain very clear commedia touches.”

“What makes it ‘new’ when talking about period is to say it’s a comedy and to discover what that means. It means we have to re-examine every character and fight the stereotypes that have been built up over the past hundred years or so. It’s a big challenge for everyone, especially the singers, because they come in with so much baggage from other productions that we have to strip away.”

“We’ve recently learned that in the original production the Commendatore and Mazetto were played by the same person with little time for a costume change at the finale. This immediately tells us something about the opening. The Commendatore is not some doddering old man who staggers around the stage before Don Giovanni kills him. He has a daughter, after all, who is probably 17. Therefore he’s a vital, strong, dangerous middle-aged man. Of course, the Don calls him ‘old’ as any young person would. As soon as you see that the duel at the beginning is thus more on an equal footing, itchanges everything. It’s no longer the brutal murder of a senile old fool. Once we learned this we thought, ‘Let’s do it. Curtis [Sullivan] will play both roles. It’s a challenge, but we’re just doing what Mozart did.’”

For tickets and more information visit www.operaatelier.com.

THERE’S MORE!

For devotees of Music Theatre in its many forms, Atelier’s “Don Giovanni” won’t be the only event of interest this month.

On the afternoon of Sunday October 2, Opera in Concert presents a concert titled L’accordéoniste: Latin Heat with Kimberly Barber, mezzo; Peter Tiefenbach, piano; Carol Bauman, percussion; and Mary-Lou Vetere, accordion. The same day, at 7:30pm, Solomon Tencer Productions presents An Evening at the Opera at the Studio Theatre, Toronto Centre for the Arts.

Monday October 10, 8pm, sees the opening of an extended run of Art of Time Ensemble’s “I Send You This Cadmium Red,” an evening of theatre, dance and music, exploring correspondence between artist John Berger and filmmaker John Christie.

Wednesday October 12 at noon Canadian Opera Company/ Queen of Puddings Music Theatre showcase Ana Sokolovic’s new a cappella opera “Svadba — The Wedding.”

Wednesday October 19 at 7:30pm Opera Belcanto’s “Cav/ Pag” double bill kicks off a two-night stand at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.

Friday October 21 at 7:30pm, Opera By Request presents Handel’s “Orlando” at College Street United Church; Markham Theatre for Performing Arts has Isabel Bayrakdarian in recital at 8pm; and also at 8pm at St. John’sYork Mills Anglican Church is What They Did For Love, the debut concert of a newly formed opera ensemble, Opera Rouge.

Sunday October 23 brings Zarzuela Gold from Toronto Operetta Theatre, an opening gala concert; the same day, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music’s perennially popular Opera Tea features a Menotti Double Bill in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

Saturday October 29 sees not only the start of the aforementioned Atelier “Don Giovanni,” but also what might be described as the “final return” of “Two Pianos Four Hands,” Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt’s musical comedy. about, what else, music.

Thursday November 3 and Saturday November 5 Opera York’s Madama Butterfly is on the boards at Richmond Hill Centre for the Arts. Friday November 4 Opera By Request presents Massenet’s “Herodiade.”

Details on all these, and more can be found in the listings.

Christopher Hoile is a Toronto-based writer on opera and theatre. He can be contacted at opera@thewholenote.com.

jazznotes_gershwinjazznotes_herbiehancockA legend is a person, extremely well known, whose fame and achievements make him a source of sometimes glamourized tales or exploits. Well, this article is about two musical legends, the late George Gershwin and, still with us and going strong, Herbie Hancock.

On October 22, at Massey Hall, Hancock will perform Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue with the Massey Hall Orchestra, led by Alain Trudel, Canadian musician, composer and conductor who began his career playing the trombone, but has more recently turned to conducting. He is currently artistic director and principal conductor of the National Broadcast Orchestra and Orchestre Symphonique de Laval. He is also conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Rhapsody In Blue has an interesting history. In 1923 Paul Whiteman, leader of the most popular orchestra of the day, approached George Gershwin about composing an orchestral jazz work. Gershwin sketched out some themes but took it no further than that. He was, to say the least, somewhat surprised when the New York Tribune of January 4, 1928, contained an article announcing that a jazz concerto by George Gershwin would be premiered by Paul Whiteman at the Aeolian Hall on February 12.

The evening was billed as “An Experiment in Modern Music.” Although at the time he had Broadway commitments, and a jazz concerto was farthest from his thoughts, he rose to the occasion, once more demonstrating that very often the deadline is the ultimate inspiration. And so, on February 12, 1934, towards the end of the programme, George Gershwin’s first large-scale work was performed with the composer himself playing the piano solo. The audience included Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler, Leopold Stokowski, Serge Rachmaninov and Igor Stravinsky.

It was a huge success; over the next ten years it earned Gershwin over $250,000, and this was during the Great Depression! Gershwin later said that the inspiration for Rhapsody’s title was James McNeill Whistler’s painting Nocturne in Black and Gold.

Fast forward to Massey Hall, Toronto, on January 19, 1934.

It was indeed a gala evening with Gershwin at the piano and Charles Previn, yes, the father of André, conducting the Reisman Symphonic Orchestra. The programme included Catfish Row, Symphonic Suite from Porgy and Bess and, of course, Rhapsody in Blue for piano and orchestra.

Gershwin signed a programme that evening as a memento for a fortunate member of the audience. Through the Independent Online Booksellers Association, I found a programme for that evening boldly signed by the composer over his printed name. You can have it for a mere $2866.18.

Like many musicians, Gershwin was something of a wit, but probably no match for his good friend, fellow composer and pianist Oscar Levant. At a Manhattan party in the 30s Levant said, “George if you had to do it all over, would you fall in love with yourself again?” Gershwin’s barbed response was, “Oscar, why don’t you play us a medley of your hit?”

After Gershwin’s, death an admirer with musical aspirations wrote an elegy for him and took it to Oscar Levant. Levant reluctantly agreed to hear the piece. After the man had finished playing it, he turned to Levant, looking for his approval. “I think,” said Levant, “it would have been better if you had died and Gershwin had written the elegy.”

Herbie Hancock, the principal performer on October 22, hardly needs any introduction. He started with a classical music education and was regarded as something of a child prodigy. When he was 11 years old, at a young people’s concert with the Chicago Symphony, he played the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 5.

His early jazz work was with Donald Byrd and Coleman Hawkins and later with Oliver Nelson and Phil Woods.

In 1963 he joined Miles Davis’ “second great quintet” with Ron Carter on bass, a 17-year-old drummer named Tony Williams and, eventually, Wayne Shorter on tenor. From this point on his career blossomed and is still flowering five decades later. His Empyrean Isles (1964) and Maiden Voyage (1965) were two of the most influential jazz LPs of the 60s and throughout the intervening years he has remained a creative force, being recognized as one of today’s major voices in contemporary jazz. More recently The Imagine Project, released in 2010, was recorded in many locations throughout the world, features collaborations from various artists, was complemented by a documentary and was released in CD, digital download and vinyl.

In a career spanning five decades there are few artists in the music industry who have had more influence on acoustic and electronic jazz than Herbie Hancock. In his autobiography Miles Davis said, “Herbie was the step after Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, and I haven’t heard anybody yet who has come after him.”

Given his classical background and his creative genius, he is an ideal choice for this very special evening of the music of George Gershwin.

It is worth remembering another Gershwin quotation: “Life is a lot like jazz … it’s best when you improvise.”

And the concert will, of course, be acoustic. Happy listening.

Jim Galloway is a saxophonist, band leader and former artistic director of Toronto Downtown Jazz. He can be contacted at jazznotes@thewholenote.com.

In last month’s column I decided to get retrospective. Now it’s time to shift gears and look at the year ahead. For most community musical groups, their year begins sometime in September when most vacations are over and the kids are back in school rather than at the beginning of the calendar year in January. For many groups, in addition to planning the musical content for the coming concert season, the fall may also mean electing a new executive, recruiting volunteers (conscripts) for the various non-musical chores and selecting music to add to and/or delete from the rehearsal folders. And for most groups it is also the time to welcome new members.

Take the plunge

What about you, dear reader? Are you actively involved in one or more ensembles, or are you a faithful concert attendee who has often wondered what it might be like to play regularly in a musical group? Perhaps you are a would be band member, but haven’t yet mustered up the courage to tackle a new challenge such as learning to play an instrument. Did a particular instrument attract your attention in a school band, or did you attend, as I did, a school with no music program? If you already play an instrument, perhaps you might like to try a different one.

If you have never played an instrument, now is the time to start. Both the New Horizons programs and groups like Resa’s Pieces are geared to such returnees and absolute beginners. Recent medical research studies have demonstrated some very clear benefits to playing a musical instrument. Interpreting all of those strange musical symbols on a piece of paper and manipulating the intricacies of your chosen instrument, in the company of like minded friends, keeps the brain functioning at its highest level.

Food for thought

Many years ago the York Regional Symphony, conducted by the late Clifford Poole, performed a series of “Wine and Cheese Concerts” in smaller communities throughout York Region. These provided an excellent means for people to learn more about orchestral music in an entertaining non-threatening way in their home community. The format was unlike any other concert series I have ever known. Audience members sat at large round tables which could accommodate ten people. Admission included wine of your choice with cheese and crackers on each table.

Two chairs at each table remained vacant while the orchestra performed. Rather than having a single intermission, these concerts had two or three breaks during which orchestra members would circulate and join audience members at their tables. During such breaks an audience member might meet with a bassoonist and a cellist, learn a bit about the instruments and then be more aware of their part in the music after each break. I enjoyed playing in those concerts and meeting the many people whose curiosity was aroused by them. I know of no such concerts now, but if you are involved in a band it’s a format worth considering.

Best laid plans

My personal gear-shifting resolution for this season was the same as in past years. I vowed to take on fewer concert band performances at outdoor venues on tuba or euphonium. To take up the “slack” in my musical activity I planned to get reacquainted with my trombone and the music of the big swing bands. Traditionally, these groups take an annual summer break. In both the concert band format and the smaller groups the shift would mean the opportunity to renew long standing friendships and perhaps meet a few new like minded souls.

Those were my plans, and I will still pursue them. However, a new venture suddenly loomed on my horizon. A re-enactment of a long past musical event suddenly took over and I found myself a hundred years in the past. The little hamlet of Goodwood, where I reside, is located in the Township of Uxbridge where there is an amazingly active and diverse arts community. Now, this year’s three week long annual “Celebration of the Arts” added one new musical component. It just so happens that the Uxbridge Music Hall is celebrating its 110th anniversary. What better way to celebrate such an event than to recreate as closely as possible the program performed on stage there in 1901? Local publisher, editor and sometime impresario, Conrad Boyce, dug through the archives of the local museum and obtained a copy of the program for that event. My gear shifting was put on hold!

The musical part of the program deviated only slightly from the original in that there was a band and choir, whereas the 1901 performance included an orchestra, band and choir. It included such chestnuts as Rossini’s Overture to Tancredi, Mascagni’s Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana and The Anvil Chorus from Verdi’s Il Trovatore. (For this number, local choral conductor Joan Andrews performed as guest anvilist.)

Costa and Bucalossi?

The interesting numbers in the Uxbridge program, for me, were works by Costa and Bucalossi, two composers that I had never heard of. The Oxford Companion to Music was little help, but Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians and the MacMillan Encyclopedia of Music shed some light on them. Michaele Agniello Costa, son of a Spanish church composer, was born in Italy and settled for life in England. He wrote numerous operatic and ballet works and was much in demand as a conductor. He conducted the London Philharmonic, the orchestra at Covent Garden and, from 1848 to 1882, the Birmingham Festival. His second oratorio Naaman was written for the Birmingham Festival in 1864; With Sheathed Swords from Naaman was performed. He was knighted in 1869 and in 1871 “Sir Michael” was appointed “director of the music, composer and conductor” at Her Majesty’s Opera.

The life of Ernesto Bucalossi is not as well documented. The only information I could obtain about him was that he was an Italian composer who also settled in England until his death in 1933. He was, for a time, conductor of the famous D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. He is described as a “writer of popular dance and descriptive orchestral music such as La Gitana Waltz and Hunting Scene.” It was in that latter composition where we had the most fun. After a slow, somewhat sombre introduction, followed by a few call and answer trumpet sounds, members of the band and chorus join voices to sing “A hunting we will go, A hunting we will go,” etc. Then after several bars of a frantic gallop, the music has two bars rest with the note Bark: Arf Arf.”

At the final rehearsal, producer Boyce was accompanied by his almost constant canine companion, Lacey. It was suggested that Lacey could provide much more realistic barks than the band members. With suitable prompting she did in fact deliver beautiful sonorous barks. However, it was decided that if she were on stage in performance she might be excited and bark at inappropriate times. We were left to provide the barks ourselves.

Remembering Roland G. White

bandstand_roland_whiteIt is with a heavy heart that I report the passing of Roland G. (Roly) White, former Director of Music of the Concert Band of Cobourg. Roly served for many years in the Royal Marines Band Service in Britain, first as a musician and later as a conductor. On leaving the Marines in the late 1960s he moved to Canada and settled in Cobourg. He soon learned that, for many years, there had been a town band in Cobourg. Latterly known as the Cobourg Kiltie Band, the group had disbanded for lack of interest shortly before Roly’s arrival in town.

Roly soon took the initiative, and under his direction the band was revived in 1970 under the name the Concert Band of Cobourg. Drawing on his extensive experience he began moulding the band in the style of Royal Marines bands. In 1975, the band accepted the invitation to represent the Royal Marines Association of Ontario and donned the distinctive white pith helmets and red tunics of the Royal Marines for parades and tattoos. With the approval of the Town of Cobourg and the Royal Marines School of Music in the U.K., the band was honoured to add the distinction of The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Association, Ontario, to its name. Roland G. White retired in 2000 with the title director of music emeritus, after 30 years of dedicated service.

Of my many chats with him over the years, one story remains fresh in my memory. Roly conducted with his left hand. While working under Sir Vivian Dunn, then the senior band officer in the Royal Marines, he was chastised by Dunn and advised to switch to conducting right handed. Roly complied. Shortly after, when enrolled in his bandmaster’s course, his professor commented on his awkward conducting style. Roly explained that he was really left handed. His professor, Sir John Barbirolli, said I conduct left handed.” Roly switched. On his return from this course, Dunn immediately noticed and commented on his change back to his left hand. Roly’s reply: Sir John conducts left handed”. End of discussion; he never conducted right handed again.

A memorial service was held, Saturday, September 3, in Cobourg.

A Special Event

Too late to make it into the listings section, here’s an event worth noting: The Oshawa United Services Remembrance Committee will be presenting a Festival of Remembrance on Friday 28 October at 7pm at the Regent Theatre, 50 King Street East in Oshawa. The programme will feature the Oshawa Civic Band, the band of HMCS York, the Pipes and Drums of Branch 43 Royal Canadian Legion, the Durham Girls’ Choir and guest soloists. Honourary Colonel (Retd.) Dave Duvall C.D. (formerly CTV weather man) will act as master of ceremonies. Tickets are available from the theatre ticket office 905-721-3399 Ex. 2. All proceeds are destined for the “Poppy Appeal Fund”.

Definition Department

This month’s lesser known musical term is Schmalzando: a sudden burst of music from the Guy Lombardo Band. We invite submissions from readers.

Coming Events

• October 23 2:00pm: Markham Concert Band kicks off its theatre concert season with “October Pops,” an introduction to the world of light concert band music. Markham Theatre, 171 Town Centre Blvd., in Markham.

Please see the listings section for other concerts.

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

“New music in new places” is the name of a Canadian Music Centre initiative, now in its eighth year, to assist Canadian composers in “taking their music out of the concert hall and into the community where they work and live.” The CMC’s annual contribution to Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, Toronto’s annual all-night contemporary art festival, has been one of these events. This year, from 6:59pm October 1 till sunrise, it’s bells and more bells at Chalmers House (the CMC’s home on St. Joseph) “blended with electronic musical material and video projections in a continuous and evolving flow.” Titled “The “Crown of the Bell,” the installation is by Rose Bolton and video artist Marc de Guerre. Its companion piece, downstairs, by sound artist Barry Prophet is titled “Post Apocalyptic Belfry” and features glass lithophones, percussion, and electronics. For those of you getting October off to a flying start, it will be a great way to untune and retune your ears for what promises to be a chock-a-block new music month.

Gallery 345

“New music in new places” may well be the name of a CMC initiative, but it also describes a trend. Take Gallery 345 for example. South of Dundas Street W. at 345 Sorauren Avenue, five or six blocks west of where Dundas and College meet, this L-shaped gallery space is definitely “on the wrong side of the tracks” for a new music audience that traditionally gets nose bleeds north of St. Clair and fumbles for passports east of Parliament.

The place reminds me of the Music Gallery in some ways; even 30 people feels like a decent crowd, and you can cram a bunch more than that through the doors. It has the advantage of two decent pianos well maintained, a bright sound, and the cheerfully genre-blind, indefatigable curatorship of gallery owner Edward Epstein.

Even a partial list of concerts there gives you some idea: Saturday October 1 is AIM Toronto’s Interface Series with Sylvie Courvoisier, piano and composer, Marilyn Lerner, piano, and others. Wednesday October 5 it’s “The Art of the Piano Duo: Pieces of the Earth,” a CD release concert featuring original compositions and improvisations by John Kameel Farah and Attila Fias, pianos. “Improvisation unfolds over the evening” says their press release. Sounds like just the spot for it.

October 8 its “Trikonasana.” Friday October 14 it’s Arraymusic with “The Piano Music of Ann Southam” (mentioned in this month’s cover story). Saturday October 15 Toy Piano Composers Ensemble is there with “Avant-Guitars,” the 13 member Aventa Ensemble on Friday Oct 21; Jurij Konje on October 27; Vlada Mars on October 28; and the Tova Kardonne Octet on October 29.

Wuorinen

18_newmusic_charleswuorinenArraymusic’s October 14 foray into Gallery 345 also provides a neat segue into New Music Concerts’ next big event. It was Arraymusic artistic director and gifted percussionist Rick Sacks who persuaded NMC’s Robert Aitken to take on the challenge of presenting Charles Wuorinen’s “Percussion Symphony for 24 Players,” the work that anchors NMC’s upcoming October 30 concert at the Betty Oliphant Theatre. The work includes two pianos and a celesta (think Sugar Plum Fairy) and an entire platoon of top-flight percussionists, so it’s not that often performed. Rarely enough, in fact that Charles Wuorinen himself is coming to town to direct. (He will, as others before him, be astonished by the depth of musical talent in this town.) If you are going, get there 45 minutes ahead for Aitken’s “Illuminating Introduction.” Aitken is as deeply into the music as his interviewees and it makes for fascinating listening. There’s also a new piece by Eric Morin on the programme, matching Joseph Petric on accordion with the Penderecki String Quartet — that’s three accordionists in two concerts this season already for NMC! And those of you who also take in the Women’s Musical Club concert on October 16 will have an all too rare opportunity — the chance to hear a new work (Chris Paul Harman’s Duo for flute and cello) performed twice in four days!

MassBrass

Betty Oliphant Theatre, 8pm Oct 30, will be the place to hear the drums go bang and the cymbals clang. But for the horns that blaze away, Koerner Hall, five hours earlier, is the place to be. MassBrass promises to be one of those Soundstreams initiatives that Lawrence Cherney is famous for — throwing together players who’d otherwise be more likely to cross paths in an airport, adding a conductor who responds to what he hears, and watching the sparks fly. Copland, Schafer, and works by André Ristic (world premiere), Gabrieli and more will be the ingredients. The Stockholm Chamber Brass, Simón Bolivar Brass Quintet, and True North Brass will provide the heat. And conductor David Fallis will stir the pot.

Esprit’s Stirred So Much

20_newmusic_shaunarolston_-_photo_courtesy_of_the_banff_centreSpeaking of Koerner Hall, Alex Pauk’s Esprit Orchestra was the first of the core new music presenters to move its whole season to Koerner. Having an extra 400 seats to sell was a daunting challenge, but with curiosity about the new hall high last season it was a good time to take the plunge. After all, without extra seats how do you take on the challenge of outreach? This year they are taking it a step further, switching from a Sunday night format to include three week nights, making reaching out to a school audience viable.

First of these week nights is Wednesday October 19 and it’s a stirring programme, as befits a band big enough to make some complex noise in a hall big enough to handle it. Douglas Schmidt’s new work on the programme “The Devil’s Sweat” caught my eye: “Carbon Concerto for carbon cello and orchestra” it says. Solo cellist Shauna Rolston’s carbon fibre cello is billed as “indestructible” so it sounds like she’s in for an unorthodox workout!

Conversations among musicians centre around familiar subjects — the low rate of pay, the perfidiousness of conductors/sopranos/arts granting organizations, the difficulty of finding an accountant who truly understands that artists can’t be constrained by things like HST collection.

After these topics have been exhausted, one can always liven things up by tossing in a verbal grenade about musical education. State firmly that “piano is a lousy first instrument for children” or “dance is more important to musicality than sight-reading” and then stand back and watch the pedagogical fur fly.

Education, after all, is our attempt to define and shape the future of music, to retrieve from the past what we feel we want to bequeath to those who will come after. When memory is at stake, feelings always run high. The more we persist in assigning to varied musical styles and techniques the pointless designations of “good” and “bad” rather than “appropriate, useful and pleasurable in different contexts and for different people,” the more widely and obstreporously opinions vary as to what constitutes the best musical education for children.

Choral education is both a dynamic field of musical training and a battleground for conflicting ideologies. The paradigm that prizes ensemble, sight-reading, pitch accuracy, blend and purity of tone is both well-established and absolutely necessary. Fostering of this model needs constant attention in a world that chronically under-funds school music programs and views music as a frill rather than a central aspect of cultural literacy.

But improvisation, which was an integral part of a “classical” musician’s skill set well into the 19th century, tends to be given short shrift. To be sure, improvisation is difficult to integrate into a choral context, in which ensemble uniformity and fidelity to the printed score are paramount. But it is also neglected because classically trained conductors and piano/vocal coaches often have no idea how to do it themselves, and are ill-equipped to give children the careful attention that this skill needs to be properly developed. A well-rounded musician needs many varied skills, and it’s important to be receptive to not only different types of music, but the different education systems which foster these musics.

Happily, the GTA is home to many excellent children’s choirs, with dedicated choral musicians striving to pass on their traditions and skills. Here are a few of them.

Linda Beaupré’s Bach Children’s Chorus, founded in 1987 and based in east Toronto, has become a fine resource for the education of young singers. On October 1, the BCC performs “Angels in Song” in Barrie’s excellent autumn music festival, Colours of Music. The concert includes the premiere of a new composition by Eleanor Daley, who is composer-in-residence for the choir.

On October 29 The Toronto Children’s Chorus presents a concert entitled “Mysterious Moments” at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church. This concert also includes a new work by a Toronto composer Larysa Kuzmenko, titled Behold the Night.

The Aurora Opera Company Children’s Chorus performs a concert of Broadway and Celtic music in Newmarket on October 15.

choral_karen_schuessler_singersAnd let’s not forget the extent to which hearing adults sing can also be part of a well-rounded child’s musical education: on October 16 in London, for example, the Karen Schuessler Singers presents “Lions, Tigers and Kids,” an “interactive concert for children with songs from the barnyard and jungle.”

The themes of memory and education are not however solely directed at the young. They come to the fore in two concerts which take as their subject the events of the Second World War. One generation after another shoulders the mantle of passing on to the next, at whatever age the listener is ready to learn, knowledge of both the beauty and the savagery of the past, in the hopes that it is the former quality that will predominate in the future.

In recent years, the Orpheus Choir of Toronto has been establishing itself as an inventive programmer of new and little-known works. On October 25 they join the University of Toronto MacMillan Singers, Hamilton Children’s Choir and the Opera Canada Symphony to present the Toronto premiere of I Believe: A Holocaust Oratorio for Today, by Manitoba composer Zane Zalis. First performed by the Winnipeg Symphony, this work uses the stories of Holocaust survivors as the basis for a 90 minute, 12 movement work.

On October 16, the Canadian Men’s Chorus presents “Honour: Love and Remembrance,” a concert that illuminates and pays tribute to the experience of the Canadian military, past and present. This ensemble, just over a year old, must be one of the newest choral groups on the scene. The concert includes the premiere of a work by Hamilton composer/conductor John Laing.

One of the more tiresome aspects of musical education has been the “Great Man” myths that have distorted our knowledge of the great composers. Our perception of Mozart’s professional struggles and untimely death in Vienna has been rendered that much more poignant by, among other things, the subsequent demonization of his colleague and rival, Antonio Salieri. But the evil character created by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin and mythologized by British playwright Peter Shaffer in Amadeus (a brilliant play, later made into a terrible movie by Milos Forman), is an utter work of fiction, one that bears no resemblance to the solidly professional Viennese musician who also happened to teach composition to Schubert, Beethoven and Liszt.

Listeners can judge for themselves if Salieri’s evil reputation is convincingly refuted in a performance of his Mass in D major by the Pax Christi Chorale on October 23. The concert also includes works by Mozart.

Ben Stein is a Toronto tenor and theorbist. He can be contacted at choralscene@thewholenote.com.

It’s October — the new fall concert season’s in full swing! And, as with most season launches — 2011/12 being no different — there was a flurry of press releases sent ‘round toward the end of summer announcing new artistic appointments — those “new faces in old places.”

classical_uri_meyer_at_arcadian_courtOne such appointment is conductor Uri Mayer’s new role as artistic director and principal conductor with the Toronto Philharmonia Orchestra. Maestro Mayer, orchestral programme director and resident conductor of the Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School, will lead the TPO in its upcoming concert series, at the George Weston Recital Hall.

Last month, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Uri Mayer at the Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall café, where we chatted about his new appointment and related topics.

Right off the bat, I asked him what compelled him to take on the position with the TPO, given his busy schedule and his extraordinary conducting career to date.

"Actually, I’d known about the orchestra for some time. Last season they had a search for a new conductor/artistic director. I was not part of that [process] but I did conduct the first concert of the previous season. And I guess some people must have liked what I did. Because at the end of the season – really at the beginning of the summer – I was asked by the Board to take on the orchestra. And I thought about it, and I realized that it’s a very good group of musicians, in my neck of the woods, playing in a beautiful hall – at the Toronto Centre for the Arts – and I believed that my talents and my experience could bring them to the next level. And I was frankly flattered that they approached me.

"So this nice, relatively small ensemble, with a few concerts, I think can add a new dimension to musical life in North York, particularly, and in Toronto. And I’m delighted that I was asked to share my expertise and experience."

Click Here for the rest of the interview

And now to some other new appointees:

Judith Yan will make her debut on October 23, as the new conductor/artistic director of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, in an all-Russian programme featuring works by Mussorgsky, Glazunov and Glinka, with guest violinist, Jacques Israelievitch (TSO concertmaster 1988–2008).

Speaking of Toronto Symphony Orchestra concertmasters, Jonathan Crow, the TSO’s newly appointed one, will be featured as soloist in two TSO programmes. On October 1 (at Roy Thomson Hall) and October 2 (at George Weston Recital Hall), Crow performs Beethoven’s Romance No.2 for Violin and Orchestra; as an added bonus, he’ll chat with TSO music director, Peter Oundjian, from the stage, following both performances. Also, pianist Emanuel Ax is performing Brahms’ Piano Concerto No.1 on the same bill. The second programme, on October 15 and 16, will feature Crow as soloist in a performance of Bach’s Concerto for Oboe and Violin and Brandenburg Concerto No.5, under the baton of TSO conductor laureate, Andrew Davis, at Roy Thomson Hall.

classical_simonfryer_2Unless you’re planning a trip to Saskatchewan in the near future, you won’t likely hear cellist Simon Fryer in his new appointment as principal cello with the Regina Symphony. However, if you’re in downtown Toronto on October 27, you’ll get to hear him perform Haydn and Weber trios with flutist Robert Aitken and pianist Walter Delahunt, and a new work for flute and cello by Chris Paul Harman, commissioned by the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto. The concert takes place at Walter Hall, and is a presentation of the WMCT’s long-standing, afternoon chamber series, of which Fryer is the artistic director.

Leaving the world of shiny, new appointments for something a bit older, I would be remiss if, in closing, I did not provide at least a brief “Liszting” — I know. Ouch! — of some concerts marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Franz Liszt (b. October 22, 1811):

• October 1, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, André LaPlante, piano, Centre in the Square, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener;

• October 6, University of Toronto Faculty of Music, Jacqueline Mokrzewski, piano, MacMillan Theatre, 80 Queen’s Park;

• October 7, Gallery 345, Alejandro Vela, piano, 345 Sorauren Ave.;

• October 16, Royal Conservatory, Louis Lortie, piano, Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W.;

• October 22, Christopher Burton, piano, Oriole York Mills United Church, 2609 Bayview Ave.; also performing November 6, Women’s Art Association of Canada, 23 Prince Arthur Ave.; and

• October 22, Lenard Whiting, tenor, Brett Kingsbury, piano, Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St.

The rest of the full interview

In addition to his having guest conducted numerous leading Canadian and international orchestras, including the Montreal, Toronto and Houston symphonies, the Israel Philharmonic and with the National Ballet of Canada, Mayer has been principal conductor/artistic director of several orchestras and ensembles over the course of his career – Edmonton Symphony, Orchestra London (then known as the London Symphony), Israel Sinfonietta, Osaka’s Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra. As a result, he’s had his share of “first days” as “the new one.” So, I inquired as to how Mayer approaches those first days with a new orchestra, what he does to set the tone, the rapport.

"For me it’s about making music. And that’s universal. So whether I conduct in Toronto or, when I’ve conducted in Japan, Germany or Israel, I try to make music. And because it’s such a universal language, it’s fairly easy to do that. And then I try to convince people and inspire people to do it my way," he added, grinning.

"Now, when somebody has an artistic leadership role, then one looks at each day differently, because one has long-term goals to really improve the quality of playing, the quality in which the music is delivered. And one has an obligation to build the ensemble, the organization, to become better and better each day. So, one addresses more specific issues and makes gentle corrections as one progresses with the work/rehearsal process. And then one has to have an outlook of what the priorities are – particularly artistic priorities. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the ensemble? And then try to capitalize, initially, on the strengths but immediately build up the weaknesses. So, that when one performs on stage, the public gets a sense of commitment and fulfillment from the music that’s performed at the platform.

"So being the music director/artistic director of an orchestra is a commitment for some years, to improve whatever is there. They take the best and improve it. And take the weaker parts and improve them even more."

With that, I proceeded to ask Mayer what he considered to be a tough question to answer, which was, on average, how long it takes him to assess, and to “gel” with, a new orchestra.

"It’s a bit elusive. It takes many rehearsals and performances to gel. But, I think if one does music with sincerity, musicians get, immediately, the sense of where the soul of the person in front of them is, where their heart is, what their approach is. And that’s a little mystical because the baton doesn’t make any noise. And the hands, with the best technique, are relative."

During my research for this interview, I learned that on October 22, 2009, Mayer received an honourary doctorate in music from the University of Western Ontario and gave the fall commencement address, that same afternoon, to about 600 graduates, including those from the Don Wright Faculty of Music. (For those interested, his full, inspiring address is available on youtube at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWNaJjhQPEs.)

In his address, he spoke of the medium of music crossing all boundaries of culture, language and economic status, and of communicating one’s vision, with the stroke of a baton, to a hundred musicians. After admitting having listened to his entire address, I wanted him to elaborate, further, on the mystery of communicating through music. With an easy laugh, he began:

"You know, the older I get, the more mysterious this becomes. I’ll tell you a story from my youth. When I was a young conducting student – all my student life I was double majoring in viola and conducting – I had the privilege of attending a masterclass given by a quite renowned conductor at the time, Antal Doráti, who was previous music director of the Detroit Symphony, Minneapolis, Philharmonia Hungarica, and he came to the University of Tel Aviv and gave this masterclass for a couple of conductors. And I stood up in front of my buddies, the students, and attempted to conduct the opening of Mozart’s Symphony No.35, “Haffner.” And I thought that technically I was quite good – very, very clear – but I could not get the orchestra to play together at all. I tried three, four times. And then the maestro, who was feeble and sort of aging, but mentally in good shape, stood up in front of them, and waved his arms; and really, there was no clarity in the motion, whatsoever. But the students, the orchestra, played fantastically together and in good spirit and it was an amazing tone, an ensemble, right off the bat. And I realized that, you know, conducting has nothing to do with clarity of the motion. It has to do with conviction. And it worked.

"So, ever since, I attempt to stand up in front of a group of people – with a lot of preparation – and whatever I like to do, play it with the best conviction that I have. And then the language does not matter.

"And, conductors are known to travel in different countries and often they do not speak the language of the host country. But they do marvelous music. And then they feel it; they can convey the feeling – with the eyes, with the body, with the soul."

I asked Mayer about some of his more memorable moments of achieving that mysterious simpatico or “kismet” with an orchestra.

"I had some beautiful moments like that, actually. Quite a few in different countries. One of them was years ago – Mahler Eighth [Symphony], in Taipei. Some concerts with the Montreal Symphony, of which I did quite a few. And some amazing concerts that people played for me in a radio orchestra in Hungary."

After Mayer mentioned Taipei, I thought about some of his other work in Asia and was curious about how he ended up conducting the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra in Japan.

"A friend of mine heard that this orchestra was looking for a conductor and they recommended me to the orchestra. And I was asked to do a concert as a guest. And a few weeks after the concert, I got a call from the manager of the orchestra asking if I would like to become their next principal conductor. So, it was basically, very simple. How did their process work? I have no idea. But I spent many months there over a six and half, almost seven year period.

"And it’s interesting because the language was not easy. My Japanese is terrible; I learned a few words. So I worked mostly in English and in German. A lot of the people in Japan were trained in Germany or had German training. So [German] terminology is very familiar to them. And really, during rehearsals I tried to speak very little and do as much conducting as possible and work on the essentials. And they were fantastically prepared, I must say, in attitude and seriousness."

I asked about the size of the orchestra and Mayer said it was a good size of about 80 to 85 musicians, adding that they played big repertoire with an absolutely full complement. And he continued:

"The number of full scores that people brought to the rehearsals was stunning for me; I’d say 30 to 40% of the orchestra members brought scores. So they knew the repertoire and they knew what else was going on. It was beyond anything I’d seen anywhere or experienced with other orchestras – and some very good orchestras, by the way."

Mayer was with Kansai from 1994 to 2000. And from 2005 to now, he has been involved with the Royal Conservatory, initially on a part-time basis, with the level of involvement increasing two years ago, when he became director of the orchestral programme and resident conductor of the Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School. So I asked him what he was up to between 2000 and 2005.

"Guest conducting in different countries. Also, I did quite a few performances with the National Ballet of Canada. So, from the mid–1990s I did quite a few productions with the National Ballet which was a major time commitment and a wonderful opportunity to learn the art of the ballet, or some of the art of the ballet."

I couldn’t resist asking if he had a favourite ballet. His answer? Nutcracker. Of course, I had to ask him why?

"Because I think the music is so gorgeous. And I’ve conducted many performances of that ballet but each time the music is lovelier and lovelier. Some people will probably think that this is silly, because it’s overplayed. But I think Tchaikovsky was a genius.

"And music is music, regardless of whether it’s played on stage or in the pit. Good music is good music."

Given the number of times he has conducted Nutcracker over the years, I wondered about how he managed then, and manages now, with other “overplayed” repertoire, to avoid a dullness and to keep things fresh.

"I approach each performance as a new experience. But if you don’t love it, you don’t do it, or you mustn’t do it. Serious musicians, I think, will agree that when one approaches all scores – I mean, each time one goes back to the score, whether it’s Tchaikovsky or Mozart or Bach or something newer, but when one studies a score in depth – each time one discovers a new element, a new angle, a new beauty. And it’s such joy to look at this thing and say, How? What did he or she mean? How come? How did they have the wisdom and the inspiration to do that? And I marvel at the gifts of composers who could put down on paper – today, maybe on computer [he laughs] – such gorgeous stuff, and such complex scoring, ideas, sonorities.

"We’re [the Royal Conservatory Orchestra] working now on Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Ravel orchestration. It’s a score I’ve conducted, probably in two dozen countries for different occasions. And I’m studying the score again, and my god, you know, it’s like discovering a new piece. How smart, how brilliant, how many colours can somebody like Ravel add to Mussorgsky’s excellent piece!

"I never had aspirations to compose. Since I was a child, my leaning and attraction was to perform. And hence, when I study scores, and the more I get into it, the more I need to learn. And to be able to discover new stuff – new stuff to me – seeing the notes in a new light, or under a new light, or a new shade; trying to understand the emotions, or the possible ways to interpret it, is so gratifying.

"And then, one never has enough time – nor should one explain everything in the rehearsal process, (either to the orchestra or the public) – but, I think if one understands the score and goes into depth, then one hopefully can convey, often without words, the meaning and the depths of emotions that go into that."

Speaking of repertoire and newness and freshness, I turned the focus back to Mayer’s new appointment with the Toronto Philharmonia, and asked him about what he envisioned for the orchestra and the type of repertoire he would like to work on with the TPO.

"I envision them playing mostly classical, romantic repertoire, and added to that, some Canadian, some American stuff – a touch, a taste of the modern. But the foundations of the programmes will be rather traditional. The orchestra doesn’t have enough concerts to cover all the range, all the possible range. And it needs, I think, in building and improving the quality of the orchestra, classics. And Mozart and Beethoven are the best. So, I think it will be highly traditional.

"There’s a core of about 40 musicians who play regularly with the orchestra. So, the size and the budget do not lend themselves to playing the huge, romantic, and big, big repertoire. There’s a wonderful orchestra in the city that plays that. It’s called the Toronto Symphony [he laughs]. And I believe that they do a wonderful job with that and the Toronto Philharmonia does not, and must not attempt to go into that [repertoire].

"But, the other repertoire that we’ll play a lot – and I’m going to choose it carefully – will be fitting for the size of the orchestra, and will also appeal to their loyal public and their base. There’s a base on which we have to build, and we have to please that. But we are going to make an appeal to people who love classical music and who love coming to the Toronto Centre for the Arts. And hopefully, eventually, I’ll take them out from there into other communities."

I then asked if he would share with me what the TPO will be performing on January 25, for its opening concert of the season.

"Yes. Actually, it’s quite close to Mozart’s birthday, so it’s going to be an all-Mozart programme: Serenata Notturna, a “little known” piano concerto, Mozart K467 in C Major, also known as the “Elvira Madigan” [he laughs] (because of the movie), and Symphony No.40 in G Minor, the 'Great G Minor.'"

When I said it sounded like a nice program, he replied, with a smile, “I think it’s good Mozart. There are probably a dozen 'great composers.' And certainly Mozart belongs there. But, the orchestra has a tradition of, in January, celebrating Mozart’s birthday with an all-Mozart programme.”

And when I asked if the TPO usually starts off its season in January, Mayer explained that this was a unique situation, because of the search and the transition year which the orchestra had. He said that the TPO had decided, prior to his coming on board, that they would concentrate their efforts on 2012 and have concerts, once a month, starting in January, adding that the TPO’s season usually runs from October to April.

I then wondered whether, aside from having conducted them last year, he’d met with the orchestra since the new appointment and his answer was “no.” And the first rehearsal?

That’s going to be in January – January 23 or 24. When Mayer told me that, I commented on how amazing it is that conductors typically spend such little time together with an orchestra, in rehearsal, before a performance, acknowledging, of course, the hundreds of hours that go into the prep time, prior to meeting. His unequivocal reply:

"Look, we’re all professionals, starting with the musicians. These people are highly qualified, very well-prepared, very dedicated, very devoted. When I conducted them in October last year, in an all-Beethoven programme, with relatively short rehearsal time, people were very well-prepared. This is world-wide. Very few orchestras have long rehearsal periods. Musicians are serious about the profession and they come knowledgeable. Even those who don’t bring the scores know the repertoire [he grins]. Unlike dance or opera, where the rehearsal period has to be longer, symphony programmes are put together in a relatively short time at a very high level. So a lot of the preparation is in the background. And that’s the way it works."

As we began to wind down the interview, I asked Mayer about what he thought the future might hold for him in terms of any other “new posts” or artistic challenges down the road. Here’s what he told me:

"I enjoy every day as it comes. Right now, I’d like to put this orchestra on the map, as a force, an additional symphony orchestra in the city, to complement what’s already here, and to attract the public, particularly North York, to their concerts. And I’m convinced that we’ll play at a level – high enough and satisfying – that we’ll attract a lot of people.

"This is a huge city. There are a lot of music lovers in this city. There’s room on the stages; there are several very good concert halls. And there’s a public north of Eglinton, and certainly north of the 401, that likes the [George Weston Recital] hall – it’s a magnificent hall. So, we are going to show what we can do and hopefully people will listen to us."

And finally, in his 2009 address to those 600 graduates of the University of Western Ontario, Mayer spoke of those who mentored, assisted and influenced him along the way – great musicians and conductors such as Odeon Partos, Shalom Riklis, Walter Trampler, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Dutoit, to name a few. So my last question to Maestro Mayer was about whether mentoring others now played an important role in his professional life.

"Absolutely! I do that on a regular basis. Whether it’s with young instrumentalists who come and play for me or young aspiring conductors who chat with me about scores, discuss scores, and who have come to my rehearsals. There are several people like that [in my life]. And I think it’s critical that I share my experiences and my insight into the music and into the scores that I have. It’s for them to take this from me and something else from somebody else.

"I was extremely lucky to be influenced by some magical people who were very generous with their time and very helpful in guiding me. Because of them, I am what I am. And I will be always indebted to them for the warmth and the wisdom that they gave me. So, if somebody comes to me, and asks questions or advice – someone who needs help – I am more than delighted to help. I feel it’s a privilege and an obligation. And I do it with all my heart and commitment. And if I can help one person improve, or find their goals or get closer to their goals and aspirations, that’s my goal."

It was a pleasure to chat with Uri Mayer. He was kind, candid, good-humoured and generous with his time. And it was clear that he loves doing what he does. It was also clear that he is well-liked around the Royal Conservatory. Many people strolled by our table, they all smiled at Mayer, and they all said “hello”; and he said “hello” back. Consequently, the interview tape was peppered with hellos, throughout. A fitting note on which to end.

One last reminder: You’ll be able to catch Uri Mayer in action, with the TPO, January 25, at the Toronto Centre for the Arts’ George Weston Recital Hall.

Enjoy this new and exciting season!

Sharna Searle trained as a musician and lawyer, practised a lot more piano than law and is listings editor at The WholeNote. She can be contacted at classicalbeyond@thewholenote.com.

NEW VENUE, NEW MENU, NEW PIANO!

47_jazzintheclubs_derekhoughtonThree years ago, Derek Houghton purchased a broken down Etobicoke building with the intention of renovating and reselling it. He changed his mind about the latter part of the plan when he discovered Lakeshore Village’s artistic community and opened a brand new venue — complete with grand piano and drum set — called the Gallery Studio.

“I wanted to create a venue for serious artists … an art gallery slash jazz club — my two passions … I also wanted to create a setting where jazz students and recent grads could play and where the big names could also play, so there is more of a cross-pollination of talent, young and mature, so that the experience is less predictable … I want to emphasize as well the entertainment aspect of jazz as much as the very important academic aspect. I think that both are richer when brought together.”

Recently the venue has been home to the Al Henderson/Kurt MacDonald Duo, the Dave Restivo/Kelly Jefferson Quartet, Mike Murley and other greats. There is no shortage of jazz talent in the vicinity of the Gallery Studio, especially since it is just a few blocks from the Humber College Lakeshore campus. Check The WholeNote’s jazz listings to find its complete schedule, including three regular bands on Sunday and a weekly open mic hosted by Humber College Alumni. www.thegallery-studio-cafe.com

APPLAUSE FOR THE CAUSE

The Ken Page Memorial Trust presents its 13th annual fundraising gala on September 15 at The Old Mill, and once again the music director of this fantastic event is The WholeNote`s own Jim Galloway. The wholly noteworthy lineup will prove heavenly for lovers of swing. In memory of distinguished television executive and fervent jazz enthusiast Ken Page, this is an event well worth supporting; since 1998, the trust fund has been strongly committed to the health of jazz by funding various initiatives year-round with a focus on education. www.kenpagememorialtrust.com

In a similar mindset, the Archie Alleyne Scholarship Fund presents its seventh annual fundraiser, “Syncopation: Life in the Key of Black,” September 18 at the Al Green Theatre. “This event will bring us back to the era when there were jam sessions at the 355 every Sunday and where most of the black musicians in Toronto developed their careers,” says Alleyne, who will be formally honoured with the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Toronto Musicians’ Association at the event. “We were not welcome to perform in the mainstream entertainment mecca on Yonge Street until 1944 because of discrimination.” The afternoon will feature a rare photo exhibit of subjects such as Syd Blackwood, Don Carrington and Cy McLean, known as “Canada’s Count Basie” and the first black member of the Toronto Musicians’ Protective Union.
www.aasf.ca

PEACOCK STRUTS SOME SOUL!

Vocalist and songwriter Jill Peacock recently relocated to Toronto after a life-changing experience studying at Boston’s prestigious Berklee College, where she initially enrolled as a piano major. “I had played classical piano all my life … but once I was there, I found myself more drawn to the vocal department and auditioned for a transfer … I had to work hard to keep up with students who had been singing for a long time but I loved every minute of the challenge!”

Infused with a unique sweetness, Peacock’s voice is gentle as a kitten’s meow and every bit as precious. Skilled in jazz, soul, Motown and R&B standards, she is also a promising songwriter.
Jill Peacock will be performing at Harlem, 67 Richmond St. E., on the night of September 17 and also at the Reservoir Lounge from 7–9pm on September 23. www.jillpeacock.com

RUBY A GEM TO BE SURE!

Montreal-born guitarist and composer Eric St. Laurent spent considerable time honing his craft in Berlin and New York City before settling in Toronto a few years back, and appropriately, his engaging music tells the tales of a traveller. Layered with influences from around the globe, this music is energetic, intelligent and full of energy. Augmented by two extraordinary musical forces — bassist Jordan O’Connor and percussionist Michel DeQuevedo — the Eric St. Laurent trio is one of this country`s most exciting new musical acts. Ruby is the title of the trio’s second CD, which will be released at Hugh`s Room on September 15. www.ericst-laurent.com

REMEMBERING TRANE (1926–1967)

Jazz icon John Coltrane would have turned 85 this month, and his musical legacy lives on with multiple tributes in Toronto. Named after the master, The Trane Studio in The Annex will play host to a pair of Coltrane tributes: the Michael Arthurs Quartet on September 23 and the Scott Marshall Quartet on September 24. And as is the annual tradition at the Rex Hotel for longer than we have been in print, tenor saxophonists and local luminaries Pat LaBarbera and Kirk MacDonald will be paying tribute to the master with a three-nighter, September 23–25. www.tranestudio.com, www.therex.ca

Ori Dagan is a Toronto-based jazz vocalist, voice actor and entertainment journalist. He can be contacted at jazz@thewholenote.com.

As i sit down to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, the days are getting shorter and fall is almost on the horizon. There could be a temptation to do a bit of crystal ball gazing about what musical treats may be looming on the fall horizon. On the other hand, there are still several more weeks left before fall officially arrives, so let’s stay in the present for community music in the summer. For the most part, community orchestras take the summer off while for most community bands, public performance activity increases during the summer.

Having resisted the strong temptation to look at what may be on the fall horizon, I decided to get retrospective. How has the role of community bands evolved over the past century, and, in particular, how have their activities changed since I first produced sounds on an instrument out in public? Let’s look at performance venues, band activities, band membership, dress, influences of technology and repertoire.

Although concerts were a part of our activities when I first started in the band world, parades and tattoos were a much bigger part. During the summer months our band participated in many small town tattoos, but rarely mounted a stage for a concert. Local tattoos are almost a thing of the past, except for major ones such those in Quebec City and Halifax. With a few notable exceptions, most community bands today would decline any invitations to parade. They are “concert bands,” and many members would consider parading to be demeaning. So! Where do they perform their summer concerts? As for band membership, that has changed dramatically. My first band was a “boys’ band” as were most junior bands. As a rule, girls didn’t play in bands, but ours was an exception. We had two girls; it did help a bit that their father was the bandmaster.

A century ago most towns in this country had a town bandstand, most often in the style of a gazebo open on all sides. At some point some clever architect decided that it would be possible to focus the music and direct the sounds towards the audience. Eureka! The bandshell was born! When? I could find no literature on when or where the first bandshell was built. The earliest that I could find in this part of the world was opened in Cobourg in 1934. The most prominent bandshell in Canada, the great Art Deco structure at the Canadian National Exhibition, opened in 1936. It featured daily performances by the band of Knellar Hall, The Royal Military School of Music. With the exception of the years during WWII, daily band concerts on the shell were highlights of the CNE. During the 1950s and into the 1960s there were four concerts a day on the shell. Two of these were by featured bands from around the world and two each day were by local bands. That ended sometime in the 1960s. In the words of a CNE official, the role of the bandshell shifted to “pop culture.” This year, instead of four band concerts a day, there are only two scheduled for the entire period of the CNE. These, by a Canadian Forces Band, are for the opening ceremonies and on Warriors Day. Personally, this summer I performed at two shells and attended a concert at a third. The first of these was an afternoon performance in the town of Markham’s new portable, inflatable bandshell. Later that same day I travelled to one of the best known shells in Ontario, The Orillia Aqua Theatre.

bandstand_1The Markham event warrants special attention. The brainchild of Markham Band members Peter Ottensmeyer and John Webster, the “Sunday Afternoon Band Series,” referred to as “Concerts, Cakes and Coffee,” encourages people to listen to the concert and then stroll through the older Markham Village to visit the shops, galleries and restaurants. Full concert programs available at the shell include discount coupons and a map showing all participating merchants. The bright yellow and green inflatable shell was funded through an Ontario Trillium grant. From a performer’s vantage point, it was not possible to evaluate its acoustic properties but people in the audience spoke very favourably of the new shell.

bandstand_2Changing technology has transformed many aspects of the activities of a modern community band. Who could have imagined an inflatable bandshell when the Cobourg bandshell was erected? Now many bands not only have websites, they post recordings of their current repertoire so that members may practice at home by playing along with the recordings. Helpful perhaps, but how does that influence their sight reading skills? Alternatively, a concert that I played a week ago was recorded and is available for me as an MP3 file to download to see how we sounded. Finally, on the technological front, the Uxbridge Community Concert Band is having a video documentary produced that will focus on the preparation of a new work by local composer Don Coakley, commissioned to celebrate the band’s 20th season.

I had intended to take a look at the changes in how bands present themselves both in terms of dress and repertoire. However, the space limitations have caught up with me. That will be grist for the mill in a future edition.

Definition Department

This month’s lesser known musical term is Placebo Domingo:
a faux tenor. We invite submissions from readers.

Coming Events
Please see the listings section.

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

SOUND JUDGEMENT

With the Toronto International Film Festival coming up I thought it would be good timing to have a look at some aspects of jazz on film.

jazznotes_warrenvache2It would seem that even back in 1927 there was some confusion about what constitutes jazz. Why else would they have called the movie The Jazz Singer when its star, Al Jolson — certainly a great entertainer — was no more a jazz singer than W.C. Fields was a spokesman for the temperance movement.

But long before that, a less well-known fact is that the group known as The Original Dixieland Jazz Band showed up in a rare 1917 film titled The Good For Nothing. It was, of course, a silent movie so the ODJB could be seen but not heard; but pianist Eubie Blake and singer Noble Sissle made some experimental short sound films in the early 1920s.

jazznotes_thejazzsingerThe remarkable video collection At The Jazz Band Ball (Yazoo Video) has some of the best clips of the 1925–1933 period. The most famous so-called jazz film of the period is Paul Whiteman’s The King Of Jazz. There is a short sequence showing violinist Joe Venuti and guitarist Eddie Lang, but overall the movie is disappointing. Also worth looking for is the pioneering 1929 black movie Hallelujah which in one nightclub segment features Curtis Mosby’s Blue Blowers on had purchased a Panoram machine, a full 1,889 soundies were released. Add to this number the jukebox shorts made by the producers of other presentation systems and the number of shorts is well over 2,000. It is the most complete audiovisual picture available of popular music in the 1940s. Obviously a sound investment.

But the first merging of a motion picture projector within a jukebox device was developed in 1938 by Los Angeles dentist Gordon Keith Woodard and tested in several Los Angeles area taverns. In fact, over the next few years close to 30 projection systems and/or film products were on the market.

Along with television came Snader telescriptions in 1950, made specifically as fill-in programming — TV’s very first music videos. They were around for three or four years and all of the top jazz/pop/country stars made these three and four minute films in the thousands and almost all of them were filmed with multi-cameras and live mics. No playbacks or lip-syncing!

Moving into the 40s, Hollywood gave us Birth of the Blues (1941) which features the Jack Teagarden band; Cabin in the Sky (1943) with Ethel Waters and Lena Horne, Duke Ellington’s music and Louis Armstrong; and Stormy Weather (1943) with Lena Horne, Bojangles, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller and the Nicholas Brothers.

In the 50s along came the bio-pic: Young Man with a Horn (1950), loosely based on the life of Bix Beiderbecke; The Glenn Miller Story (1953); The “Benny Goodman Story (1955); The Five Pennies (1959), about Loring “Red” Nichols; and The Gene Krupa Story (1959). They were all highly fictionalized but probably did introduce a lot of people to jazz.

Somewhat closer to reality were The Gig (1985) with Warren Vaché, Round Midnight (1986) and Bird (1987).

Limitations of space mean that I can only scratch the surface of this fascinating topic, but mention should be made of a few of the many significant documentaries: The Last of the Blue Devils, a feature-length portrait of Kansas City’s old-time jazzmen made by Bruce Ricker, who died in May of this year; and a couple by Toronto filmmaker Brigitte Berman, BIX (1981) and Time Is All You’ve Got (1986), about Artie Shaw, which received an Academy Award for Best Documentary. Nowadays, there is a vast amount of jazz available on the internet. All you need is time.

Mention of The Gig and Warren Vaché gives me a natural lead-in to the fact that Vaché and an all-star line-up of Canadian and US musicians will be in Toronto for The Ken Page Memorial Trust Gala on September 15. The KPMT supports Canadian jazz and jazz musicians with an emphasis on education. It will be held again at The Old Mill and you can find all the details in the ad in this issue of The WholeNote. Please check it out and I’ll hope to see you there for this worthy cause.

Jim Galloway is a saxophonist, band leader and former artistic director of Toronto Downtown Jazz. He can be contacted at jazznotes@thewholenote.com.

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