Blue Pages

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

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

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The Royal Canadian College of Organists is the oldest organization of musicians in Canada, dedicated to supporting our country's organists and promoting the organ and its music to a broad audience. The College publishes the quarterly journal Organ Canada, offers examinations for organists from beginner to professional levels, and holds a major organ convention every second summer. The Toronto Centre has approximately 200 members in the city and GTA, and is led by a vibrant executive committee that meets monthly to coordinate and plan short- and long-term events. This fall, the College's offerings are primarily online, with a video series featuring Bach's Orgelbüchlein chorale preludes as well as other performances and workshops; please see our website or Facebook page for the most up-to-date information.

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Originally formed as the Peterborough Symphony Singers in 1990, the Peterborough Singers (PS) became a stand-alone entity in 1993. This highly-regarded, auditioned, amateur choir boasts upwards of 110 members under the direction of Sydney Birrell. The PS encourages young singers to join the choir to enhance their musical skills as well as to be part of a local community. Each season, the choir presents four concerts, incorporating a blend of repertoire from gospel to sacred, pop to oratorio. Highlights have included Bach’s B Minor Mass, St. Matthew Passion, Elijah, Belshazzar’s Feast, Canadian Legends and the annual Messiah. The Singers hold weekly rehearsals and music classes enabling our musicians to gain the skills required for Choral music performance.

World-class, professional Canadian soloists enjoy performing with the choir time and again. The PS also make a point of incorporating young emerging artists into their season, giving them a chance to perform alongside some of the more seasoned performers. Specially commissioned music from Canadian composers is part of the repertoire. For information please visit our website.

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Through its “Music in the Afternoon” concert series, the WMCT presents chamber music concerts, featuring musicians on the threshold of international recognition, as well as established artists and ensembles. Concerts are held Thursday afternoons at 1:30pm at Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park, Toronto.

The WMCT is committed to presenting a full season of five online concerts for its 123rd (2020/2021) season. Planned concerts include Michael Bridge & Friends LIVESTREAM for a limited audience (November 12, 2020); Eric Lu, piano (on demand March 4 – 25, 2021); soprano Joyce El-Khoury with Serouj Kradjian, piano (April 1, 2021); Marmen Quartet & Viano Quartet - First prize co-winners Banff International Strings Quartet Competition (May 6, 2021); and Ramon Ortega Quero, oboe, with Annika Treutler, piano (June 24, 2021). Artists, programs and dates are subject to change. Please visit our website for updates.

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Founded in 1952 by Jean Dobson, Barrie’s King Edward Choir today is a group of 50 dedicated musicians encompassing all voices, striving to present a repertoire that is broad and engaging to both chorister and audience: recent years have seen performances of works by Britten, Mozart, Bernstein, Vivaldi, Mark Sirett, Stephanie Martin, Imant Raminsh and Ruth Watson Henderson, along with offerings of Renaissance motets, Spirituals, folk songs and show tunes. The choir frequently collaborates with other artists and groups, and enjoys community sing-outs. Rehearsals for our three annual performances normally take place Monday nights, and new members are welcome at any time! We are under the direction of interim conductor, Leanne Edwards, with Dan McCoy as accompanist. While our rehearsal and performance activities are now on hold until at least the New Year, KEC continues to plan for a new season and we hope to see you in 2021!

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Celebrating 60 years of great orchestral music making in and around Etobicoke, the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra features programming that has something to inspire all our musicians and audience members.  We pride ourselves on being a welcoming community orchestra that offers amateur and professional musicians alike a challenging and friendly musical experience. Granted, this is not the 60th anniversary season the EPO had planned, but until it is safe to return to live performances at our usual Etobicoke venues, you can still celebrate music in your community with us! Join us on our online portal (eporchestra.ca) where you will find all things EPO presented with the same energy and enthusiasm you have come to expect from our live performances. You will enjoy mini performances, interviews, and conversations from soloists and orchestra members talking about their role in the orchestra, how important music is in their lives, and how much they appreciate the opportunity to perform for the community of Etobicoke. Join the talented team of musicians at the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra.

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Over its 40-year history, the Elora Festival, under the direction of Mark Vuorinen, has been recognized as one of North America's signature choral festivals, though it also presents all forms of classical, jazz, folk and popular music. The Elora Singers is the Elora Festival's Ensemble-in-Residence. The choir performs during the three weeks of the Festival, both with solo concerts and in collaboration with guest artists and ensembles.

Through a regular concert series, recordings, and touring, The Elora Singers has established a reputation as one of the finest professional chamber choirs in Canada. With twelve releases on the NAXOS label, The Elora Singers is known for its rich, warm sound and clarity of texture. The choir is renowned for its diverse styles, for its commitment to Canadian repertoire, and for its diverse collaborations with other Canadian and international artists. Recent and upcoming collaborations include the State Choir LATVIJA, Gesualdo Six, Voces 8, Festival of the Sound, Swiss Piano Trio, Natalie MacMaster and Steven Page. A new recording featuring new works by Barbara Croall (Giishkaapkag) and Reena Esmail (This Love between Us) was released in June 2020.

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Elmer Iseler Singers (EIS) is a 20-voice professional chamber choir based in Toronto and founded by the late Dr. Elmer Iseler in 1979. Directed by the acclaimed Lydia Adams, the Singers are known for tonal beauty and interpretive range, and valued for their contributions to masterclasses and workshops with schools and community choirs.

The Elmer Iseler Singers have 15 recorded CDs featuring Canadian music. EIS with Toronto Symphony Orchestra were 2019 Grammy-nominated and 2019 JUNO-awarded for the brilliant Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Chandos CD recording, with Peter Oundjian conducting. EIS are 2014 National Choral Award recipients and JUNO nominees for “Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance” for Dark Star Requiem with Tapestry Opera and Gryphon Trio in 2017, and for David Braid’s Corona Divinae Misericordiae with Patricia O’Callaghan in 2019.

We are pleased to announce that the Elmer Iseler Singers will join the Viva Youth Singers in educational and collaborative sessions of mentorship with the EIS as vocal coaches in a study of Handel’s Messiah choruses in a virtual situation. We are excited about this new Get Music Initiative. The program of six sessions will take place in late October and throughout November 2020.

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Confluence - “an act or process of merging” - presents engaging concerts ranging from jazz to traditional South Asian music, opera to pop, across centuries and cultures. Artistic producer Larry Beckwith and artistic associates Andrew Downing, Marion Newman, Patricia O’Callaghan, and Suba Sankaran collaborate with a wide cross-section of Toronto's rich and diverse arts community to create intimate, thought-provoking programs, including cabarets, anniversary programs celebrating important figures in music, salons and lectures on a wide variety of musical topics, and commissions of new works by Canadian artists. Our 2020/21 online season features: “Something to Live For - A Billy Strayhorn Celebration”; “A Purcell Remembrance - The Exaltation of Poetry”; “Creativity and Aging - The Late Works of Olivier Messiaen and Leonard Cohen”; “The Mandala - The Beauty of Impermanence”; “The Butterfly Project - The Ballade of Chō-Chō San”; “The John Beckwith Songbook - Over 70 Years of Originality”; and “Gracias a la Vida - Spanish Serenades”. In September we launched The Fuse, a monthly podcast that supports the vibrant Canadian music scene with interviews and articles about musicians, artists, and administrators across the country.

“...this series has established itself as one of the most important and consistently interesting in the city.” - John Gilks, Opera Ramblings.

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The Barrie Concert Association, a charitable non-profit organization, presents 12 live performances of mainly Classical music from September/October to May. One-hour piano/organ recitals are also held the first three Wednesdays of every month - presenting classical, baroque, blues and light jazz.

During the COVID-19 situation, we daily get phone calls from subscribers hoping concerts can resume. They miss the music - and in these times probably need the music more than ever. However we can only start the performances again when it is safe to do so - we must care for the health challenges of the audience. We will keep you posted with developments as they happen.