Finally, you say, the fall concert season has arrived! No more lovely, warm, breezy … windblown, rain-drenched, too-hot/too-cold, outdoor venues, right? Time to put away your festival folding chairs, straw hats and sunscreen and head for the comfort of the concert hall. Not so fast. There remain a few summer series and festivals “in the game,” reminding us, in the words of Yogi Berra that, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” However, for those of you itching to put away your daypack of festival gear, do not despair; there’s a handful of presenters off to a flying start with their 2011/12 concert seasons, ready to lure you inside.

Fall Flyers

Mooredale Concerts’ September 25 season opener at Walter Hall will be a milestone moment in Canadian music history. It will mark the return of celebrated cellist Ofra Harnoy to the concert stage after a 10-year hiatus. For The WholeNote’s “On the Road” project, Mooredale’s artistic director, Anton Kuerti, himself an eminent pianist, told us this when asked about his plans beyond the summer: “I will perform at the opening Mooredale Concert … with the extraordinary cellist Ofra Harnoy, who has not performed in Canada for about 10 years, and whom I have long admired but never played with.” Now is his chance. At 3:15pm, Harnoy will begin the programme with Bach’s Unaccompanied Cello Suite No.3 in C Major. Kuerti will then join her in a performance of Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in A Major Op.69 and César Franck’s Cello Sonata. Earlier, at 1:15pm, Harnoy and Kuerti will offer an hour-long, interactive “Music and Truffles” concert geared toward 5 to 15 year olds. Welcome back Ofra!

In contrast to Harnoy’s 10-year sabbatical, distinguished actor Christopher Plummer has continued to grace the stage, non-stop, for close to 60 years. He will grace Roy Thomson Hall, as narrator, when the Toronto Symphony Orchestra opens its season with a performance of William Walton’s music for the film Henry V, on September 22.

14Music Toronto marks the beginning of its 40th season on September 15 with the Tokyo String Quartet and pianist Markus Groh performing works by Brahms, Debussy and a world premiere by MT composer advisor Jeffrey Ryan; (and then, cannily, invites Groh back for a solo recital on September 20).

Over the Labour Day long weekend, you might want to consider the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society’s opening concert on September 4. KWCMS begins its jam-packed season with pianist Anne Louise Turgeon and flutist Ron Korb in works by Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Korb and others. Did I say “jam-packed?” Not only does KWCMS produce eight concerts in September, alone; it presents over 70 a year! And they’re held in the KWCMS Music Room — a large room in a private home in Waterloo, with an 1887 Steinway. Is there a nicer way to hear chamber music?

And here’s one final lovely fall season opener. For the first event of the Canadian Opera Company’s 2011/12 Free Concert Series, on September 27, artists of the COC Orchestra will perform music by Debussy, Mozart and Puccini, in a tribute to their late, great and beloved music director, Richard Bradshaw — in the magnificent amphitheatre that bears his name.

Summer Refrain

And now back to summer. The one series that braves the elements in September is Summer Music in the Garden, hosting its 12th season in the enchanting Toronto Music Garden. The series winds up with three concerts in September; there’s one on the 8th, followed by two Sunday afternoons. Interestingly, the first concert features baroque cellist, Kate Bennett Haynes, performing Bach’s Unaccompanied Cello Suite No.1 in G Major, the piece that was the inspiration for the design of the Toronto Music Garden! (www.harbourfrontcentre.com/thewaterfront/parks/musicgarden.cfm)

Music Mondays has four concerts on offer this month, in downtown Toronto’s acoustically superb Church of the Holy Trinity, bringing their extended 20th anniversary season to a close on September 26. Jerome Summers, clarinet, Sharon Kahan, flute, and Angela Park, piano, perform works by Debussy, Shostakovich and Bizet.

The following summer festivals serve up an impressive array of chamber music and all three take place beyond the GTA, where the churches of Barrie, Leith, Owen Sound and Picton are alive with the sound of music festivals in September!

For its 10-day event (September 23 to October 2), Barrie’s Colours of Music has assembled outstanding recitalists and chamber musicians in ensembles ranging from duos to orchestras. A few highlights: the Ames Piano Quartet plays works by Saint-Saëns, Fauré and Hahn on the 24th; violinist Brian Lewis and pianist Valerie Tryon will tackle Milhaud, Brahms and Schumann on September 28; and the finale, a “Concerto Celebration,” features Tryon and Sinfonia Toronto in works by Turina, Vaughan Williams, Dvořák and Mendelssohn. See www.coloursofmusic.ca/schedule.html for more.

With the “dream team” of artistic director/violinist Mark Fewer and guest directors, cellist Roman Borys and clarinetist James Campbell, programming this year’s SweetWater Music Festival, you know it’s going to be a stellar event. Over three days (September 16 to 18, in Leith and Owen Sound), they will be joined by violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon and pianist John Novacek, and others, to perform works by Dohnanyi, Schulhoff, Messiaen, Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Turina and Cam Wilson’s A Tribute to 20th Century Jazz Violin.

Over in Picton, the Prince Edward County Music Festival presents seven concerts between September 16 and 24, with Ana Sokolovic as composer-in residence. On September 23, at the Oeno Gallery in Bloomfield — the only non-Picton concert — you’ll be able to catch SweetWater’s Fewer, again, this time with the SuperNova String Quartet, playing Ravel’s String Quartet and Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 59 No.3; another SuperNova member, recently named TSO concertmaster, Jonathan Crow, will also be in Bloomfield. And on September 24, Marie Bérard, concertmaster of the COC orchestra, will join the ubiquitous Fewer and his other two SuperNova mates, violist Douglas McNabney and cellist Denise Djokic, along with PECMF’s artistic director Stéphane Lemelin on piano, for Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A Major.

Clearly, there is much from which to choose in these latter days of summer and early days of autumn. Can’t decide? Here’s a suggestion: Drop everything, right now, hang a “GONE FISHIN’” sign on your office door, then head up to Barrie to catch the Colours of Music’s concert of the same name. It includes works by Gershwin. With any luck, maybe they’ll play Summertime.

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

For over a year, the Old Mill’s Home Smith Bar has been presenting the “Something to Sing About” series on Fridays and “Piano Masters” series on Saturdays. This summer, the music continues, but singers get a break and piano players become sometimes sidemen, as the Home Smith houses veterans of instrumental jazz Friday and Saturday nights from 7:30–10:30pm. Some of the highlights include a one-of-a-kind booking, “The Three Guitars,” featuring George Grosman, Tony Quarrington and Dave Dunlap on July 23; trombone master Alastair Kay with Brian Dickinson and Neil Swainson on August 6; and clarinetist extraordinaire Bob De Angelis with Danny McErlain and Ron Johnston on September 2. See our jazz listings for the complete summer schedule.

50_intheclubs_jessicastuart_photo_by_jaylyn_toddPurveyors of alcoholic beverages and proud providers of live music, the folks at the Emmet Ray (924 College St.) have been presenting jazz and new music by young local artists since their opening in 2009. On Sunday, July 10, the venue presents a one-day music festival featuring nine young acts on the local scene, including sets by the Parker Abbott Piano Duo, CNE Quintet (Card, Newton, Easty), Mikko Hilden Group, Kelsey McNulty Group and the Jessica Stuart Few, featuring the leader on vocals, guitar and koto (a 13-string Japanese harp). I’m honoured to be playing a set at this event as well. The Emmet Ray is a vibrant new light on the live music scene; this would be a great opportunity to sample its glow.

Peel is about to gain substantial musical appeal. Presented by Art of Jazz, the inaugural Brampton Global Blues and Jazz Festival is gearing up for an exciting lineup August 11–14, including — are you sitting down, folks? — a concert and workshop by 10-time Grammy winner, Bobby McFerrin. President of Art of Jazz, Bonnie Lester, is understandably excited about presenting one of the world’s most virtuosic vocal artists:

52_intheclubs_bobbymcferrin“For me, he is an unmatched musical force. Watching him perform live is an extraordinary experience. He crosses all musical boundaries and stretches the imagination in terms of what the human voice is capable of. I saw him perform several years ago and his improvised solo concert had me staring at the stage in disbelief. As a vocalist, I have followed his musical journey with a sense of awe. We were particularly delighted to have the opportunity to offer a workshop along with the concert for vocalists and teachers. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most local singers and teachers — a chance to see a little bit of what is behind the magic of Mr. McFerrin.”

Art of Jazz is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to jazz education and performance, founded in 2005, with a vision to present, promote and perpetuate the art of jazz through enriched educational activities and innovative live musical performances. It began in Toronto’s historic Distillery District in 2006 and has recently relocated outside of Toronto proper to neighbouring regions of Peel and beyond. Why the migration?

“Part of the mandate of the organization is to build new audiences for jazz and to expose audiences to musicians they may not have the opportunity to see or hear. With changes underway at the Distillery, particularly construction that was affecting our outdoor space, we decided it was time to find new communities to build our global village. Last year, we took the Festival north and the Art of Jazz Global Jazz Village took place in Maynooth. We are once again presenting the Art of Jazz Global Jazz Village in Maynooth and neighbouring Bancroft August 17–21, 2011. We further expanded our Festival season to include the Brampton Global Jazz and Blues Festival August 11–14, 2011 … Our focus and mandate remain the same — each is a celebration of the art form of jazz and has deep roots in education. Local artists along with top musicians from around the world come together to perform in intimate venues. We create a relaxed, casual and welcoming atmosphere that allows audiences and musicians to mix, mingle and learn from one another.”

Why Brampton?

“The City of Brampton approached the Art of Jazz about bringing a jazz festival to their city. They have generously sponsored the Festival and provided unprecedented support behind the scenes. We have access to the beautiful Rose Theatre, Gage Park, Garden Square and more — all located in downtown Brampton and in close walking distance so that we can maintain the feeling of a community throughout the weekend. Brampton is the second fastest growing and 11th largest city in Canada with over 511,000 people from more than 175 distinct ethnic backgrounds. It is an ideal place to build a jazz festival, build jazz audiences and grow a vibrant jazz community.”

Thank you to all of you who continue to support live music. Whether you’re paying with credit, cash or with your attention, you make a world of difference. Happy Summer!

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


The 2010–2011 season is now over for most community bands and orchestras. It would seem to be a good time to reflect on the past year and take a look into the proverbial crystal ball. While, as an audience member, I enjoyed several amazing performances, for me, the highlights of the past season were in following the developments of a couple of startup ensembles. It was not just the musical achievements of these groups, which were considerable. It was also so encouraging to see groups of total strangers coalesce into close knit social groups through the common bond of making music.

page_26_resas_piecesIn last month’s column I reported on the achievements of the combined New Horizons bands from Long and McQuade and their concert at the Glenn Gould Studio. Shortly after that issue came off the presses I was equally impressed at a concert by Resa’s Pieces Strings at their Debut Gala Performance on June 5. Did their debut programme suggest that they were timid? How about a Bach Brandenburg Concerto, the ubiquitous Pachelbel Canon, Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory and Leroy Anderson’s challenging pizzicato Plink, Plank, Plunk for a beginners group?

As for plans for the future, the L&M New Horizons groups will be intermediate groups in the fall and two new beginners groups are planned. Resa’s Pieces Strings are seeking out new repertoire, and would welcome more violas with open arms. A few days after that concert, during a break in one of my own rehearsals, I mentioned the concerts of these groups to a friend that I have know for years. Surprise! He is the conductor and one of the founders of Grand River New Horizons Music, located in Waterloo. Founded in the fall of 2008, they started with 26 members, whose musical experience ranges from new (never played an instrument before) to symphony level.

They now have a busy performance schedule, as I learned from their very professional web site: www.grandriver-newhorizonsmusic.org.

Now for the summer season

What are my own plans? From the 1960s through the 1980s, my summers were dominated by outdoor concerts. For 15 of those years I acted as MC for the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation summer music program. In addition to that, I played in numerous concerts. Once the CNE began, it was a busy schedule of two or more concerts almost every day at either the Main Bandshell or the North Bandstand. When not playing, I would be listening to famous international bands such as those of The Royal Marines, The Grenadier Guards, The President’s Own U.S. Marine Band or the National Band of New Zealand. That all changed several years ago. Band concerts are no longer a part of the CNE programme. Outdoor band concerts are now rare in Toronto. We are now in the era of megaproductions, like those in Dundas Square, with elaborate staging, blazing lighting and systems where sound operators appear to hold sway as the stars.

With the advent of warmer weather, the major shift for most bands is to outdoor concerts and street festivals too numerous to mention. Unlike the town bands of old, few community bands participate in parades. Among the few exceptions that do parade, they are, almost without exception, the older bands which were formed in an era when bands were expected to participate in most parades in their towns. The few bands in this part of the country, which fall into that category and still parade are such as the Newmarket Citizens’ Band, the Ayr Paris Band and the Perth Citizens’ Band. The concerts listed below in Coming Events represent a small sampling of community music in our area. There is much more, but alas, those are the only ones to cross The WholeNote desk by press time.

Personally, so far I know that I will be playing at Black Creek Pioneer Village, the Orillia Aqua Theatre, Palmer Park in Port Perry, Fairy Lake in Newmarket, in at least two cenotaph ceremonies, numerous street festivals in communities surrounding Toronto and, yes, one solitary indoor concert in the dying days of August.

What can we look forward to in the fall?

This year the Markham Concert Band has set a new high bar for other bands. Last year they acquired and outfitted a first class enclosed cargo trailer emblazoned with their logo on the sides. With the hard work of a volunteer crew, they transport timpani, other heavy instruments, music library chairs and stands from band room to performance location. They are not dependent on the vagaries of venues with questionable facilities. With the exception of lighting, they became more or less self sufficient. That left only one potential variable to affect the quality of their outdoor performances; the questionable outdoor acoustics. The simple solution: bring your own bandshell! And that’s exactly what they have done. It has not yet made its public debut, but The Markham Concert Band now has its own portable, inflatable bandshell. Funded through a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, this bandshell will be given its debut during the band’s summer music festival. Look for it in and around Markham. (There’s also another great innovation made possible through that grant, but that will have to wait for the next issue.)

Now for another somewhat radical departure. This summer, The Markham Concert Band is hosting a new concert band series in Markham featuring not just their own music, but performances of other community bands, as well. On seven Sunday afternoons in July and August, five other bands, as well as the Markham Band, will participate in “Concerts, Cakes and Coffee.” The bands provide the entertainment and local family restaurants will be there to sell refreshments. These concerts have been made possible through a grant from the Celebrate Markham Grant Committee (a Town of Markham committee). See the listings below.

Definition Department

This month’s lesser known musical term is: ground hog: Someone who takes control of the repeated bass line and won’t let anyone else play it. We invite submissions from readers.

Coming Events, by Venue

Heydenshore Pavilion, 589 Water St., Whitby. 905-666-2049.
July 7 7:30: Whitby Brass Band. In Concert. Free. Bring lawn chairs or blankets; concert will be held indoors in case of inclement weather.

Markham Road and Robinson Street in old Markham (Look for the big band shell): July 10, 2:00: Markham Concert Band; July 17 2:00 North York Concert Band; July 24 2:00: Thornhill Community Band; August 7 2:00: Pickering Community Concert Band; August 14 2:00: Newmarket Citizens Band; August 21 2:00: Northdale Concert Band; August 28 2:00: Markham Concert Band.

Memorial Park (corner of John St. and Simcoe St. in Oshawa).

Oshawa Civic Band. July 13 7:30: A Gordon Langford Salute; July 27 7:30: Marching Down Broadway; August 10 7:30: Around The World With The Oshawa Civic Band; August 24 7:30: A Brass Celebration. Barrie Hodgins, director.

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

More and more I am convinced that, with very few exceptions, the place to enjoy the jazz experience is in a small performance space. There are the few exceptions — Dave Brubeck, Keith Jarrett, Sonny Rollins, to name three — who can fill a large concert hall and play jazz. But when they are gone, what then?

p24_colonial_tavern_photopage_24_town_tavern_photoForget the days of touring bands — the glory days of places like the Colonial Tavern and The Town Tavern. I can remember when I first arrived in Toronto I could shuttle between The Colonial and The Town in the sure knowledge that whoever was appearing, the music would be good — and sometimes unforgettable. In any case, that all but ended years ago, when rising costs made touring bands pretty well a thing of the past and bringing in a guest artist to perform with a local group was the solution. At least for a while. Now we are left with fond memories of clubs like Bourbon Street, The Montreal Bistro and The Top Of The Senator.

Festivals are committed, if they want to survive, to presenting less jazz and more widely based music, much of it by groups often past their “best before” date who have no more than a passing reference to jazz.

So, more and more it seems to me that friendly watering holes and relatively small concert venues will be the future of jazz.

The Not So Merry Month Of June

p25_jazznotes_davemcmurdoSummer came in with a cold blast of bad news. We lost Dave McMurdo, who had been ill for some time with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but it was a heart attack that eventually felled him at age 67. It is a sad loss to the jazz community. McMurdo, originally from Vancouver, where he studied music at the University of British Columbia, was a dedicated man and took life very seriously as a musician and as a devoted teacher. He moved to Toronto in 1969, was for some years a member of Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass, and the lead trombone player in Nimmons ‘N’ Nine Plus Six. The Dave McMurdo Jazz Orchestra was formed in 1988, giving McMurdo the opportunity of having his own compositions and arrangements performed. He also invited contributions from such other prominent musicians as Mike Malone, Reg Schwager, Don Thompson and Phil Nimmons.

His death leaves a hole in the fabric of the Canadian jazz world. I shall miss his sartorial elegance and dry wit.

We also lost one of my favourite piano players and a friend when Philadelphian Ray Bryant died on June 2, at the age of 79, after a long illness. Bryant was part of a very musical family. His mother played piano in the local church, his brother, Tommy, was an accomplished bass player while his younger brother, Len, is a singer/drummer. Not only that, his sister, Vera Eubanks, is the mother of three sons who have each made their mark in music — trombonist Robin, guitarist Kevin and trumpeter Duane.

After a few years with local bandleader Mickey Collins, Bryant joined Tiny Grimes and His Rocking Highlanders, an African-American rhythm and blues group which sported the full kilt and tam o’shanter!

His break came in the 50s when, as house pianist at Philadelphia’s Blue Note club, he had the opportunity to play with artists such as Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis. From there on his career was soon established.

Bryant had an extremely personal sound on piano, making him instantly recognisable after only a few bars of music — a rare talent, but then Ray Bryant was just that — a rare talent.

Kate Weich

This next part of my column is about a well-loved member of the jazz community who was not a musician, but for a number of years was behind the bar of the Montreal Bistro. Kathleen Weich was her name, but everybody knew her simply as Kate and I don’t know anybody among the regulars at what was for a long time, our favourite watering hole in town, who didn’t like Kate.

Kate was born in Victoria, British Columbia. She completed the Visual Arts Program, with Honours, at Grant McEwen College in Edmonton and did her BFA at York University in Toronto where she made her home.

She was efficient, hard working and ran a tight ship, but was a warm and caring person with a dry sense of humour. But at the same time, like so many workers in the restaurant business, Kate’s job running the bar at the Bistro was a means to an end. I don’t mean that she didn’t enjoy her work at the Montreal Bistro, but her real love was painting.

She wanted to be able to support herself from her painting — and that’s even tougher than being a jazz musician — but eventually she did, becoming in the process a highly respected member of Canada’s art community. I’m happy to have one of Kate’s paintings hanging in my house. That painting which I see every day, is even more meaningful now. Kate fell prey to cancer and passed away on June 16. She will be missed.

Speaking of her own work she said, “My aim is not to present a finalized view of a given subject. I hope to offer a place where you can contemplate and bring your own visions.”

And that is not so different from the goals which jazz musicians set for themselves.

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

Our annual, semi-tropical season has finally arrived in Southern Ontario. As well as officially launching the BBQ, road construction and vacation seasons, it also signals a mean average increase in world music concerts. The clement weather affords all of us the opportunity to enjoy music from various corners of the world performed alfresco, as well as making it easier to travel to outdoor festivals across the province.

I’ll be taking advantage of both the good weather and travel opportunities to perform out of town. One gig I look forward to is at the Electric Eclectics (EE) festival, now in its sixth year.

page_23_sunda_duo_-_small_file_b_w_iiMy musical partner, guitar and kacapi (zither) player Bill Parsons, and I (on suling) are collectively known as Sunda Duo. We will be performing at the EE’s DJ Tent on Saturday, July 30, 2pm. EE is easily among Ontario’s most unusual summer festivals. In addition to having an eclectic programme, its site — a farm overlooking the scenic Beaver Valley, just outside of Meaford, Ontario — is a major draw. While EE focuses on avant-garde and crossover musicians, art installations, DJs and films, this year it is embracing Sunda Duo’s world music-meets-Toronto-eclectic fusion. Expect to hear West Javanese (Indonesia) songs combined with our compositions, creating a special Asian-inflected blend of contemporary Canadian music. Given that the majority of the audience camps out on the EE farm, I’m preparing to enjoy that age-old Ontario summer custom too.

The TD Sunfest in London, Ontario, is among our longest running world music-friendly festivals. Running from July 7–July 10 at the relaxed and verdant Victoria Park in the centre of the city, the concert lineup on the evening of July 7 looks particularly international: Tram des Balkans (France); Mamaku Project (New Zealand); Etran Finatawa (Niger); Novalima (Peru); and Dizu Plaatjies and Ibuyambo (South Africa).

On July 10 at 4pm, Hindustani classical music reigns at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga. Headlining are the vocalist Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, and the emerging young master sarod-ist Alam Khan. He is the son of the late, great sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan.

The Huntsville Festival of the Arts is also venturing into world musical territory. Arvel Bird performs on Native American flute and fiddle on July 2; Luis Mario Ochoa Cuban Quintet appears on July 28; and the Jesse Cook group plays guitar-centric music with global influences on August 18.

page_23_moana_world_moanaOf course there’s no need to get out of town to hear world music this summer. There is plenty of it right in Toronto. Among the granddaddies of summer programming is the Harbourfront Centre’s series, this year tilted “Hot Spot Summer.” Each weekend’s festivities are keyed to a different concept or national theme. During the first weekend, on July 2 at 9:30pm, Systema Solar performs their hot Afro-Caribbean and Colombian music on the Redpath Stage. The next day, on the same stage, at 5pm, Moana & the Tribe redefines inter-island music with an idiosyncratic mix of reggae, funk and Maori music. The cultures of Mexico, Colombia and Iran are featured July 8–10, July 15–17 and July 21–24, respectively. “Island Soul Festival” showcases carnival, pan (steel drums ensemble), poetry and dance July 29–August 1. One of the more intriguingly named three-day festivals is “What is Classical?” running August 5–7. I’m curious how the curators will explore the diverse forms of ‘classical’ music from the Americas, the Middle East and East Asia. August 19–21, South Asia’s turn comes with “Masala! Mendi! Masti!” Harbourfront audiences can explore Taiwan’s emergence as a source for both new and old artistic expressions August 26–28.

The annual summer series at the lakeshore Toronto Music Garden is celebrating 12 years of free concerts in its lush urban-themed garden setting. All this time it has been serving up a high level of performances of classical and traditional music from around the world. I’ve performed there several times. Despite the noisy proximity of the island airport, Front Street traffic and the Gardner, is there a better free, open-air-blanket-on-grass concert experience downtown? All that’s missing is the B&B: barbeque and beverages.

This summer I look forward to the visit of several outstanding groups to the Music Garden. Vancouver’s Juno-nominated Orchid Ensemble plays repertoire inspired by mountains and rivers on Thursday, August 18, at 7pm. The Shiraz Ensemble on Sunday, August 21 at 4pm, makes an eloquent and elegant case for Persian classical music, exploring the roots of melodic modes and rhythms in its music and sophisticated poetry. Toronto’s own muscular taiko (Japanese drum) ensemble Nagata Shachu will undoubtedly raise summer temperatures even higher with its appearance on Thursday, August 25, at 7pm.

Elsewhere in Toronto, Megobrebi: World Vocal Ensemble sings at Music Mondays’ 12:15, July 4 concert at the Church of the Holy Trinity. On July 9, the controversial Iranian musician, singer-songwriter Moshen Namjoo and his group, perform Persian music fused with western styles at the George Weston Recital Hall, presented by the Parya Trillium Foundation. Also at the Weston Recital Hall, Toronto lovers of Cantonese opera can get their all too rare fix on July 10 at 2pm, when the Starlight Cantonese Opera performs.

There are other festivals this summer, both grand and intimate, with world music programmes. Intrepid musical explorers may wish to check offerings at the Mill-Race Folk Festival, Collingwood Music Festival, Elora Festival, Savannah Festival of Rhythms, Ottawa Chamberfest and others.

I wish you pleasant musical trails and discoveries.

Andrew Timar is a Toronto musician and music writer. He can be contacted at worldmusic@thewholenote.com.

The last two WholeNote columns I wrote examined some general aspects of choirs and the practice of choral singing, a topic that did not meet with unanimous approval. A friend who can be relied on never to mince words said something to the tune of, “Can’t you just tell us what concerts are going on? All this navel-gazing about the meaning of choral singing is kind of self-indulgent.”

My first thought was that this comment was completely unjust. But just to make sure that I had not overreacted to reasonable criticism, I resolved to sternly inspect my actions and motivations. Hewing to a strict schedule, I spent every evening of the following week sitting on the back deck, drinking wine or coffee depending on my whim, moodily watching the sunset, writing about my feelings in my journal and listening to my favourite music.

At the end of the week I was absolutely certain there could be no possible justification for characterizing as indulgent someone as rigorous, self-denying and ascetic as myself. So, the final question of this tripartite series, in this last WholeNote column before the fall season begins, is this: What gives a choir its particular identity?

Choirs can define themselves by the era and musical repertoire, making their specialty baroque or contemporary music. Most choirs sing diverse repertoire, and in a crowded choral market, it is challenging for choirs to find a way to stand out from the crowd in a manner that will attract an audience. As our knowledge of the performance practices of earlier eras has increased, the “one size fits all” choir that sings repertoire from five centuries is becoming a thing of the past.

Some choirs build themselves around music associated with a particular culture or region of the world. The greater Toronto area is likely the most diversely multicultural region of Canada, and the culture of the area is enriched by those who come and bring a bit of their home country’s musical practices with them. Such groups often strive to strike a balance between being exemplars and proponents of past traditions, and exploring the way in which new influences can challenge and reshape those traditions. The Heritage Singers were formed in 1977 by Grace Carter-Henry Lyons, who came to Canada from Jamaica. Its members hail from diverse parts of Africa and the Caribbean. They will be singing at Harbourfront on July 31.

21Cross-cultural influences can give a choir its identity, as in the case of the Philippine Madrigal Singers. Hailing from the Pacific Rim and based out of the University of the Philippines, they sing diverse music but have made their specialty the European renaissance madrigal and have been hugely successful in Europe. They perform in Toronto on July 13. Incidentally, they perform their concerts seated — my kind of choir.

Often, groups are assembled for the express purpose of putting on a discreet performance. This summer is the first and, hopefully, inaugural year of the BlackCreek Summer Music Festival. Out of whole cloth, the festival has had to assemble a chorus for its concert performances. In the spring, the emails went out advertising work opportunities for choral singers. In this kind of situation, it is really the conductor that must pull together the group, quickly giving it an identity and aesthetic in a short rehearsal period. Listeners can judge whether or not this has been achieved at an August 27 performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, with the great London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lorin Maazel.

Other festival performances this summer include the Arcady Singers performing Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana at the Boris Brott Festival on August 18, The Elmer Isler Singers at the Festival of the Sound (in Parry Sound) on August 6, and numerous concerts by the Elora Festival Singers during the Elora Festival, which runs July 8–31.

Choirs are often defined by (and sometimes named for) their conductor, such as the aforementioned Elmer Iseler Singers, and more recently, the relatively new Larkin Singers. One conductor whose presence is likely to be strongly felt in coming years is the new head of choral conducting at the University of Toronto, Hilary Apfelstadt. Originally from Nova Scotia, she has worked for years in the United States, at Ohio State University, and has guest conducted all over the world. She is this year’s conductor for the Ontario Youth Choir, an ever-changing group of young singers that assembles each summer to learn choral skills and give concerts. They will be performing on August 28 in Toronto.

Not so incidentally, Choirs Ontario, which coordinates the OYC program, celebrates its 40th anniversary with a gala reception and dinner after this concert. Choirs Ontario has been a staunch supporter of all the diverse choral groups of this region and it is a pleasure to congratulate them on 40 years of choral activism and advocacy.

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

This summer there is not quite as much opera on offer in town in July and August as there has been in past seasons. Yet, it is not totally absent and nearby summer music festivals should hold much of interest for opera lovers.

16For staged operas with piano accompaniment, Summer Opera Lyric Theatre is always reliable. This year SOLT (www.solt.ca) is presenting Mozart’s Idomeneo on July 29 and 31 and on August 3 and 6 with Michael Rose as music director. Playing with it in repertory is Verdi’s La Traviata on July 30 and August 2, 4 and 6 with Jennifer Tung as music director and Aaron Copland’s seldom-staged The Tender Land on July 30 and August 3, 5 and 7 with Nicole Bellamy as music director. The Tender Land, which premiered at the New York City Opera in 1954, concerns Laurie, a girl about to graduate from high school, who falls in love with an itinerant worker. It was staged at Glimmerglass just last year. All performances take place at the intimate Robert Gill Theatre on the University of Toronto campus.

On July 9, Opera by Request (www.operabyrequest.ca) will present a concert performance of Verdi’s Il Trovatore with Steven Sherwood (Manrico), Carrie Gray (Leonora), Karen Bojti (Azucena) and Yevgeny Yablonovsky (Count di Luna) with William Shookhoff as music director. The performance takes place at the College Street United Church, 452 College St.

The 24th annual Brott Music Festival in Hamilton (www.brottmusic.com) offers several enjoyable options. Opera Ovations! on July 7 presents well-known opera excerpts sung by Ermano Mauro, Sinead Sugrue, Lauren Segal and Peter McGillivray accompanied by the National Academy Orchestra under Boris Brott himself. On August 6 the festival presents Bizet’s Carmen in concert with Lauren Segal (Carmen), Keith Klassen (Don José), Gregory Dahl (Escamillo) and Sinead Sugrue (Michaëla). Brott again conducts the NAO and Giandomenico Vaccari oversees the production. The previous day, Signore Vaccari will hold a dress rehearsal chat about the opera and discuss his role in rebuilding Bari’s famous Petruzzelli Theatre. The festival concludes on August 18 with a performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with John McMaster, Leslie Anne Bradley and Theodore Baerg.

To the west, Stratford Summer Music is presenting A Serenade for Maureen Forrester at the Avon Theatre on July 25 commemorating her life and career. Soloists include Kimberly Barber, Allyson McHardy, Catherine Robbin, Krisztina Szabó, Jean Stilwell and Mary Lou Fallis. In addition to musical performances will be tributes from music critic William Littler, director Brian MacDonald, prima ballerina Karen Kain and composer R. Murray Schafer. Video tributes will come from conductors Zubin Mehta and Sir Andrew Davis. For more information and to book tickets visit www.stratfordsummermusic.ca.

To the northeast the Westben Arts Festival in Campbellford is mounting a fully-staged production of Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring from July 1 to July 3. The UBC Opera Ensemble is directed by Nancy Hermiston and Philip Headlam conducts the Westben Festival Orchestra. On July 14 well-known singers like Donna Bennett, Gabrielle Prata, Colin Ainsworth and Robert Longo take a break from opera to explore musicals from West Side Story to A Little Night Music and beyond. On July 24, Isabel Bayrakdarian with Serouj Kradjian at the piano presents a concert titled Sunday Afternoon at the Opera. Visit www.westben.ca for more information.

If you’re looking for rarities and would rather stay in Canada, head over to Quebec to the Festival de Lanaudière (www.lanaudiere.org) near Montreal. On July 30 it will present what must be the first fully-staged performance in Canada of the romantic opera Der Vampyr (1828) by Heinrich Marschner (1795-1861), a composer whose operas are known to have heavily influenced Wagner. Wagner, in fact, conducted the work in 1833 with his brother in the tenor role. The opera is ultimately based on the first vampire story in English, the short novel The Vampyre (1819) by John Polidori, doctor to Lord Byron and friend to Percy and Mary Shelley. The singers include Phillip Addis in the title role, Frédéric Antoun, Nathalie Paulin and Robert Pomakov. Alain Gaulthier directs and Jean-Marie Zeitouni conducts the Orchestre du Festival. Toronto last had a chance to hear the work in 1994 when Opera In Concert presented it. Since then others have championed it including Roberto Abbado, who conducted it in Bologna in 2008.

Opera productions in the US within a day’s drive of Toronto include Luigi Cherubini’s Medea (1797) in Italian at Glimmerglass Opera (www.glimmerglass.org) July 8 to August 16; Richard Strauss’s Die Liebe der Danae (1940) at the Bard Music Festival (http://fishercenter.bard.edu/bmf) July 29 to August 7; and at the Ohio Light Opera (www.ohiolightopera.org) July 15 to August 6, Cole Porter’s Jubilee (1935), Victor Herbert’s The Fortune Teller (1898) and Leo Fall’s Madame Pompadour (1922).

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

It’s time to pack your knapsack, your suitcase or your picnic basket and head out of town in search of different impressions. For the early music aficionado this doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning the music you’re fond of, just that you’ll have lots of chances to experience it in new places.

Bach Music Festival of Canada

First I must tell you about a new summer festival emerging in South Huron, that area situated on Lake Huron which includes several small communities such as Exeter and Zurich. The Bach Music Festival of Canada takes place from July 11 to 17, and is actually an interesting mix of Bach, contemporary and other music, culminating in a performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass with soloists, orchestra and over one hundred singers. At its helm is artistic director Gerald Fagan, known nationally and internationally as a choral conductor and pioneer.

The week is packed with concerts, workshops and master classes. Trio Alla Grande, an extremely musical and sensitive guitar trio, opens the festival with a concert of contemporary and original music, and gives an interactive discussion and workshop. Violinist Lara St. John, known as a passionate exponent of Bach, performs a recital and offers a masterclass. Renowned basso Thomas Paul, now in his 70s, shares his expertise on the singing of Bach arias in intensive workshops, with a resulting concert, “The Art of the Aria.” The Harvestehuder Chamber Choir from Germany performs with London’s Gerald Fagan Singers in a concert of Bach, Canadian and German choral repertoire.

All this, combined with participation of locally-based choristers, make this Festival an ambitious project indeed, and a wonderful gift of music to the area.

Other summer festivals:

At the Ottawa Chamberfest there’s too much to mention here, but they have a website to guide your hunt through medieval, renaissance, baroque and other categories (www.ottawachamberfest.com). I’ll point out just two performances: on July 25, Ensemble Caprice presents “Et In Terra Pax” featuring vocal and instrumental works by Vivaldi and Zelenka; on August 4, “La Poésie noble du violon sous Louis XIV” features Lully, Jacquet de la Guerre, Clérambault and others — all with brilliant performers involved.

July 19 at the Hamilton Organ Festival, you can hear organ music by Bach, Byrd and Buxtehude played by organist Matthew Coons; and during Stratford Summer Music’s “Organ Week,” music by Gibbons, Purcell and Handel will be performed on July 29, and some of the most glorious of Bach’s organ music on July 30, by Robert Quinney from Westminster Abbey. The organ in collaboration is highlighted on July 26 at Parry Sound’s Festival of the Sound: organist William McArton is joined by flutist Suzanne Shulman and trumpeter Guy Few in works by Handel, Viviani and Rameau.

Other early music can be found here too, such as a concert of solo Bach works for flute, cello and keyboard on July 27. This is one of three July concerts I’ve noticed which feature Bach solo cello suites. At Festival of the Sound it’s the first suite, played by cellist Marc Johnson. On July 2, cellist Rachel Mercer will perform suites nos. 2, 3 and 6 in Waterloo — not in a “summer” venue but in the ongoing series of the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society. And on July 5 yet another performance, this time at Campbellford’s Westben — Concerts at the Barn, with Brian Manker, principal cellist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestr, playing suites nos. 2, 4, and 6.

At the Elora Festival, on July 16, there’s a most interesting concert of Telemann sacred cantatas — he completed several cycles of these for the church year —performed by tenor Kevin Skelton (more about him in a moment), along with recorder, harpsichord and gamba.

15_earlymusic_kevin_skeltonAt Stratford Summer Music, there’s a lovely touch of the early, “a delicious combination of musicianship and cuisine,” as lutenist/guitarist Terry McKenna performs short concerts (each showcasing a particular aspect of renaissance/early baroque music) at Rundles Restaurant, every Saturday and Sunday throughout the festival.

Whereas urban-based artists and audiences tend to migrate to out-of-town summer venues, some will also arrive in town from elsewhere. Kevin Skelton, who lives abroad, is a Canadian tenor of great accomplishment as performer, director, founder of several ensembles, contemporary dancer and published scholar who holds degrees in voice, conducting and musicology. In addition to the above-mentioned performance at the Elora Festival on July 16, he’ll be appearing at the Toronto Music Garden on July 17 with other wonderful musicians in a presentation entitled “With Joy and Light Encircled.” And, (too late to make The WholeNote’s print deadline; you’ll find it on the website at “Listings: Just In”), on July 30, Toronto’s Church of St. Mary Magdalene will resound with Gregorian chant as Schola Gregoriana Aurea Luce, a choir of men’s and women’s voices from Venice, Italy, perform.

I’ll leave it to you, the early music seeker, to find out more: The WholeNote’s summer listings, and individual websites, have all the details. The opportunity to design your own summer early music festival awaits!

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.

12_classical_roman_borysOttawa chamber music festival (Ottawa Chamberfest) artistic director, Roman Borys, and I sat down at a noisy restaurant that had spilled out onto Toronto’s burgeoning Ossington Ave. to discuss the festival and his role in it.

Borys, the cellist of the Gryphon Trio, had performed there most, if not every, summer since it began in 1993. In the fall of 2007, after the resignation of founding director, Julian Armour (also a cellist), the festival’s board of directors invited him to take on the job of artistic director.

In its first eleven years, according to Borys, “it was this amazing festival that had been fuelled by vision and charisma. The problem was that a lot of important production details were not being looked after. There wasn’t consistency in staff, and it is very difficult to run an organization like that. To be able to attract and keep good staff, you have to be able to pay them. All that business takes a great deal of time.” In spite of this, the festival had been very successful, supported almost entirely by Ottawa people. “It’s about small ensembles, a small group of people relying on one another, there’s an egalitarian feel about this music … everyone is an equal, everyone has their voice, and that’s the beautiful thing about chamber music. I think that is one of the reasons it took off in Ottawa when it did, that this aspect of the music corresponded with the Ottawa psyche.”

Borys brought to the job far more than the artistic maturity gained through study with some of the best teachers in the world and a dozen years of playing with the Gryphon Trio. With the Gryphons he had also found his stride as a musical entrepreneur. “I always paid attention to the way things work. It’s been my role in the trio to be the guy who keeps the business going,” something he has done with remarkable success. The Gryphon Trio has released 14 CDs with Analekta, two of which have won JUNO awards. For many years, while performing all over the world, it was ensemble-in-residence with Music Toronto, with whom it pioneered its innovative appearances at the Lula Lounge, including the highly successful multi-media collaboration with singers Patricia O’Callaghan and Maryem Tollar, Constantinople, which gave them the opportunity to work with Tapestry, the Banff Centre and Robert Lepage’s Ex Machina. “When you deal with these other producers who are working with you on a project, you pay attention and you learn from them, from their practices. You just listen to their conversations and you start to hear what their successes and what their responses to challenges are rooted in.”

Even more than his artistic insight and connections in the music world, Ottawa Chamberfest needed this kind of insight. The thing this organization needed more than anything else, he told me, “was to be given its own arms and legs so it could be an independent entity; it could, in fact exist with interchangeable pieces. It was my vision, right from the beginning, to get this thing to the point where it was an amazing machine.”

The first step in the realization of the vision was the hiring of Glenn Hodgins as executive director. With 12 years experience at Tafelmusik and seven at the Ontario Arts Council, Hodgins brought invaluable insight into how to run a highly successful arts organization and into the inner workings of government supported arts funding. Together, they undertook the major infrastructure upgrade of initiating the use of the database, Artifacts Event, which was created for the much larger Edinburgh Festival. “Starting from the basic premise that an artist is playing a piece at a time and a place,” Glenn Hodgins told me, “it brings together everything related to that event —other artists, sponsors, visitors, piano tuning, page turners, repertoire, guests, accommodation, transportation to and from the festival, local transportation, itineraries, letters of agreement, contracts, and payment, including T-4 slips. It has allowed us to use our limited human resources better and has led to a much calmer work environment!”

Two major infusions of capital, the estate of the late music critic, Jacob Siskind, which was left to the festival, and a Province of Ontario “Celebrate Ontario” grant, have helped the festival gain “some depth in terms of its financial stability.” It now also has a stable administration and administrative practices. “These have not been easy years for us. It has been an enormous amount of work, and we’re just getting to the point where workloads are becoming acceptable, and hopefully burnout and exhaustion are ceasing to be facts of life. I am also now very confident that in the future, when I or anyone else decides to move on, this organization won’t have any trouble going through a process to replace any one of us.”

Borys also told me a lot about the artistic end of his work, about his collaborations with James Campbell of the Festival of the Sound, Brian Finlay of the Westben Festival and other Canadian summer festivals, as well as about exciting developments for the Gryphon Trio. I will try to get some of this onto our website ASAP, but meanwhile I am sure a look at our festival listings and at the Ottawa Chamberfest’s website will be indicative of his work at the artistic end of things.

Allan Pulker is a flautist, a founder of The WholeNote and serves as chairman of The WholeNote’s board of directors. He can be contacted at classicalbeyond@thewholenote.com.

OOPS! It’s red face time again. I’m guilty of a silly error. Many years ago I taught writing courses at a local institution of higher learning. It was my standard practice to emphasize certain basics such as “get your facts correct.” Last month I broke one of my own cardinal rules. I failed to check one very simple fact. I have known Eddie Graf for years. I spoke to him, his wife and son, before writing about his birthday celebration, but had never asked the question, “What did the short form ‘Eddie’ stand for?” It could have been Edward, Edgar, Edgwick, Edsel or even Edwin. I guessed wrong. His name is Edwin not Edward. My apologies, Eddie.

Now for a look at the smorgasbord of community musical happenings which have been unfolding and are scheduled for the coming weeks. Let’s start with a bit more about Stephen Chenette. In last month’s issue I mentioned that Chenette had announced a special award for Eddie Graf and I alluded to some honours which Chenette himself had received in recent years. Most recently, he was the recipient of the Canadian Band Association’s 2010 National Band Award. This award is presented to a CBA Member who has made an outstanding contribution to banding across Canada. After trumpet studies with the likes of Arnold Jacobs, Rafael Mendez and others, and conducting studies with several top conductors, Chenette served as principal trumpet with the Denver Symphony Orhestra, the Boston Pops, the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He was a charter member of the International Trumpet Guild when it was established in the 1970s and received that organization’s Award of Merit in 2008. Now Professor Emeritus, Chenette recently retired from active teaching in the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto where he was Head of Brass, taught trumpet, orchestral repertoire for winds, brass chamber music and conducted the Concert Band, the Wind Symphony, and the Brass Choir. He has also recently retired after many years as Director of Music of the Northdale Concert Band in Toronto. However, he is still keeping his musical skills sharp by active participation in the trumpet sections of the Northdale Concert Band and the Etobicoke Community Concert Band.

p23_hannafordEnough about our veterans of music for a while. It’s time to turn our attention to some highlights from younger members of our musical community. During the Hannaford Street Silver Band’s annual Festival of Brass weekend, in mid-April, I had the pleasure of hearing the three finalists in the 10th year of the Hannaford Youth Band’s Rising Stars competition. No fewer than 13 members of the Youth Band entered the competition and performed their solos with piano accompaniment in a recital format in January. Out of that group, three finalists were selected by adjudicators Curtis Metcalf and Norman Engel. The Youth Band then learned the brass band accompaniment for the solos of the finalists and they performed, April 15, at the Festival of Brass Friday night Youth Concert.

The winner, Jacob Plachta, performed, from memory, the first movement of Gordon Langford’s Sonata, Serenade and Scherzo for trombone. A graduate of Wexford Collegiate, Plachta is in first year performance in the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto. Plachta started out with Hannaford in the Community Band five years ago on baritone. He is also a talented pianist and plays at the ARCT level. In addition to performing from memory, what makes his accomplishment more amazing is that he missed the dress rehearsal because he had to write two exams at UofT.

Second place in the competition went to Matthew Ross who performed From the Shores of the Mighty Pacific by Herbert L. Clarke. Ross is a native of Bermuda and is in second year performance at UofT, studying with Anita McAlister. He also had exams to write at UofT on the day of the competition. This is Ross’s second year with the Hannaford Youth Band. Last year he played flugelhorn and this year he is “end chair solo cornet.”

Third place honours went to Rachel O’Connor on soprano cornet who performed Concertino by Ernst Sasche. Now in her second year of performance at UofT, O’Connor has played soprano cornet with the Hannaford Youth Band for the last two seasons. Before coming to UofT, she attended the Etobicoke School for the Arts.

Plachta was awarded $500 and a trophy that he will keep. His name will also be engraved on the Rising Stars plaque donated by St. John’s Music. He also performed his solo with the HSSB on Sunday, April 17, and received a recording of his performance. Ross received $300 and O’Connor $200. Both Ross and O’Connor performed on instruments that have been donated to the Youth Program by the family of the late Fred Mills.

The judges for the final competition were Alain Trudel and guest artist tuba virtuoso Patrick Sheridan. For his part of the program, Sheridan stunned all in the audience, not just with his mastery of the instrument, but with a range of tonal colours and rapid execution most of us had never before heard coming from a tuba. During a brief post-concert conversation, I learned from Patrick about a new program of breathing exercises which he has developed with Sam Pilafian, another great of the tuba world. It’s called The Breathing Gym. It’s a course of breathing exercises for band, chorus, and orchestral winds. I hope to have more information about the 2009 EMMY award winning DVD version of this program for a future issue.

Two awards in the community ensemble domain have recently come to our attention. The most recent saw the Newmarket Citizens’ Band awarded a Platinum rating at the annual Music Alive festival. Rather than being a competitive type festival, this is a festival where a group’s performance is rated against a set of standards of performance. The other award was not for a band or orchestra, but for a radio documentary about Resa’s Pieces, a community band for beginners and those rediscovering their instruments. CBC Radio’s The Sunday Edition received a 2011 Gabriel Award for Watch My Stick, PLEASE! Here is what the award stands for: “The single most important criterion of a Gabriel winning film or program is its ability to uplift and nourish the human spirit. A Gabriel-worthy film or program affirms the dignity of human persons; it recognizes and upholds universally-recognized human values such as community, creativity, tolerance, justice, compassion and the dedication to excellence.” Congratulations to Alisa Segal and Karen Levine. Look for it at www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/2010/06/watch-my-stickplease.html.

Over the past few months I have mentioned the formation of the first New Horizons Band in this area. It all started last September when a small group met and were introduced, by Dan Kapp, to the family of instruments used in a concert band. Comments such as “how do I hold it,” were prevalent. A week later, on a weekday morning, they assembled for their first lesson/practice and were informed that the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio had been booked for their first concert in May. (What an absurd idea!) Within a few weeks, word had spread and there was pressure from people still holding down day jobs for a new band with evening rehearsals. Responding to that pressure, a second band took shape in January with evening rehearsals. By now, the combined bands, rehearsing some identical repertoire and some different, numbered 49 members. With a concert looming on the horizon, the program was taking shape. However nobody had selected trombone as their new musical companion. Guess what? Yours truly and a fellow ringer were recruited for that performance.

The rest is history. I had expected a small token audience of family and friends. Instead, the hall was almost full with an enthusiastic audience. The concert went off without a hitch and the lobby was crammed full at the reception after. Congratulations to Dan Kapp and all members of the group who had the will to believe that they could pull it off. A great beginning. Now, stand by for another startup group: Resa’s Pieces Strings will present their Debut Gala Performance on June 5. See the listings for details.

Definition Department

This month’s lesser known musical term is: Gregorian champ:
The title bestowed on the monk who can hold a note the longest.

We invite submissions from readers.

Coming Event Quick Picks (See the Concert Listings for details)

• June 05 7:30, Resa’s Pieces Strings. Debut Gala Performance.
Ric Giorgi, music director. Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.

June 04 7:30, Festival Wind Orchestra. Broken Mirror Concert.  Works by Prokofiev, Holst, Mozart, Rossini; Broadway pieces by Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Bernstein. Keith Reid,     conductor. Lawrence Park Community Church.

June 14 8:00, Resa’s Pieces Concert Band. Twelfth Gala Performance. Resa Kochberg, music director. Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.

• June 15 7:30, Oshawa Civic Band. Scottish Splendour.
Barrie Hodgins, music director. Featuring the sounds of brass with      pipes and drums. Memorial Park (corner of John St. and Simcoe St.), Oshawa.

• June 16 7:00, Whitby Brass Band. In Concert. Rotary Park,
Queen St., Bowmanville.

• June 19 7:30, Silverthorn Symphonic Winds. Borrowed Treasures. Wind Ensemble concert featuring 2010/2011 artist-in-residence Peter Stoll, clarinet; Andrew Chung, director. St. Mary                            Immaculate Roman Catholic Church, Richmond Hill.

• June 25 8:00, Kindred Spirits Orchestra/Voices Choir. Mozart’s Coronation Mass. Mozart: Don Giovanni Overture K527; Symphony No. 41 kK551 “Jupiter”; Mass in C K317 “Coronation.”     Glenn Gould Studio.

• June 29 7:30: Oshawa Civic Band. A Canadian Salute.
Barrie Hodgins, music director. Concert in honour of Canada Day.  Memorial Park (corner of John St. and Simcoe St.), Oshawa. 

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

Jazz Festival season is well underway and it doesn’t get any easier to fill a concert hall with real jazz acts. Of course that begs the question as to what constitutes jazz. The parameters have changed drastically and the word jazz has been embraced by everything from airlines to deodorants. But for the sake of this discussion let’s use the term classic jazz which will range from Buddy Bolden and King Oliver to Miles Davis and John Coltrane. And if you question such diversity of styles, bear in mind that this year’s JUNO for best traditional jazz went to John MacLeod’s Rex Hotel Orchestra.

But classic jazz and major concert halls?

Yes, you can successfully present the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Centre Orchestra and All-Star packages like Return To Forever, but more and more festivals have to turn to performers with only a passing acquaintance with jazz. This year, Tom Jones headlined at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and one of the headliners at the Vienna Jazz festival is – wait for it – Liza Minnelli! With all due respect, she has as much to do with jazz as I do with ballet dancing.

I remember a disastrous attempt in 1991 by Kiri Te Kanawa to make a jazz album with Andre Previn on piano, Mundell Lowe on guitar and Ray Brown on bass. It’s just not that simple. You can’t just decide to be a jazz performer overnight.

In Toronto, one of the major attractions is Jessye Norman and I’m sure she will be more successful than Kiri Te Kanawa, but it is still something of an anomaly to find her topping the bill at a jazz festival.

But it will sell tickets.

There was the occasion when Louis Armstrong and Lotte Lenya were recording “Mack The Knife.” Between takes tape was running. I have a copy on cassette of Armstrong trying to help Ms. Lenya syncopate the phrase, “Mack The Knife,” and try as she might, she just could not get it right. The jazz interpretation of those three little words which came so naturally to Louis Armstrong, one of the great jazz singers, was completely foreign to Lotte.

p22_option_yehudi_menuhin_and_stephane_grappelliMore successful were the collaborations between Stephane Grappelli and Yehudi Menuhin, but there is little doubt as to which of them is the jazzer.

More and more, the real jazz content of festivals is to be found in smaller venues. Maybe that’s how it should be and has to be. The intimacy of a smaller venue lends itself to the spirit of the music and when jazz moved into large concert halls it lost something. I am not trying to take away from the success of presenting jazz in a more formal setting. The Modern Jazz Quartet, among the first to meet with acclaim in making their music successful in the concert hall environment, made some wonderful music, but hearing Milt Jackson in a club setting was a far more satisfying jazz experience than listening to him within the confines of the M.J.Q.

Which takes me back to the observation that bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to enjoying jazz. In fact, largely because he liked a freer flowing style of playing, Jackson left in 1974, causing the group to disband, although they re-formed in 1981.

It’s that time of year when I often find myself in Europe. Not that I’ve been lost or missing, you understand. As I write this I am in Vienna enjoying one of the few remaining jazz clubs that operates on a six nights a week policy. Jazzland is the name of this friendly cellar club and next year it will celebrate 40 years of presenting jazz. It is unpretentious, but has a history going back 500 years when it was an escape route in times of siege. The walls are lined with photographs of famous jazz musicians who have played in the club.

Long time readers of the column might remember earlier references to this jazz oasis, but it bears repeating that Axel and Tilly Melhardt, owners of the club, must be the best in their field.

By the time you read this, my 13 weeks of being on Jazz.FM91, Sundays from 4pm to 5pm will have begun. I hope you will give it a whirl and those of you who know me won’t be surprised to hear that each week I will feature a recording which demonstrates humour in jazz, such as Lester Young singing “It Takes Two To Tango,” and Bill Harris and Ben Webster asking for “Just One More Chance.”

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.

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