Directories

Irishman and Toronto resident Kevin Mallon directs orchestras in Toronto (Aradia), Ottawa (Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra) and New York (West Side Chamber Orchestra). With 50 Naxos CDs to his name, he guest conducts in Canada and internationally.

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

At this moment (Friday, May 24), a very busy season is coming to an end and the last responsibility I have is a fundraising concert with the Thirteen Strings in Ottawa on June 8. The event is being sponsored by the Czech embassy – so there is a Czech theme with symphonies by Johann Stamitz and František Benda and waltzes by Dvořák.

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

Since I am conducting in two opera festivals in the summer, my main experiences as an audience member will be to hear the other operas being produced (the ones I am not conducting) – Gianni Schicchi by Puccini in Italy and Poulenc's Les Dialogues des Carmélites and Sondheim’s A Little Night Music in Halifax.

3. How about as a music maker/player?

On June 11 I travel to Ireland to visit my family and then on June 17I fly to Italy to conduct Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito at the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy (COSI). This is my fourth year conducting at COSI. Aradia is the orchestra in residence, so it is a wonderful residency for the orchestra and I. The day following this festival, July 21, I have an epic travel day: Sulmona to Rome, Rome to Munich, Munich to Montreal, and Montreal to Halifax. All this to conduct Figaro at the Halifax Summer Opera Workshop! I love going to Nova Scotia and working with the orchestra there regularly. This is the first time the Halifax Summer Opera Festival will have an orchestra and the players are taken from the Symphony Nova Scotia – so, I am happy about that too. It will be a long time away from home – nine weeks – but that, alas, is the life of a conductor!

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

My summer plans don’t have any direct bearing on the immediate work ahead. Aradia going to Italy is a fun and important experience for the players, and I appreciate the continued repertoire we are able to explore together. The long-term plan is to produce one of the operas we do in Italy in our Toronto season. We were able to do this once with Handel’s Giulio Cesare – and indeed last year we performed Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater six times in Italy and then performed it as the first concert in Aradia’s Toronto season (we are also performing Vivaldi’s Gloria six times in Italy this July, but have no immediate plans to perform this in Toronto). With the Halifax Opera, I continue to develop my relationship with Nova Scotia and the players there.

I am preparing for another busy season starting in September: I have full seasons with Aradia and the Thirteen Strings in Ottawa. I have concerts and a CD release with my orchestra in New York – the West Side Chamber Orchestra. There are three CD projects with Naxos next season: Purcell and Vivaldi with Aradia and Franz Beck’s Op. 2 symphonies with the Thirteen Strings. Aradia has its yearly collaboration with Opera in Concert – this time performing Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie. I have guest conducting jobs with two Canadian orchestras, Hamilton and Thunder Bay, two concerts with orchestras in the US in Seattle and Boston and concerts in the Northern Lights Festival in Mexico.

Award-winning, high-energy hillbilly swing duo HOTCHA! blends old-time Western, bluegrass, early swing and country gospel delivered with the energy of a runaway train. Soaring vocals, lively accordion, gritty guitar, wailing harmonica and big-beat bodhran are featured. 

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

Rehearsing our new material for an upcoming album in 2014, writing songs, playing gigs and otherwise indulging in the high-energy hillbilly swing we love to make (Friday, May 24).

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

Dying to check out the CD launch and NXNE showcase June 15 at Crawford Bar on College St., with Grammy-winning “Who Let the Dogs Out” songwriter Anslem Douglas in his new musical direction as a neo-soul/R&B singer. Also The Espresso Manifesto Arts Collective special presentation at the Bata Shoe Museum on June 25.

3. How about as a music maker/player?

We’re definitely looking forward to playing at Marcel Aucoin’s Piano Salon on June 9 and the annual Patsy Cline Tribute at the Lula Lounge on September 5.

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

We’ll be “on the road again” soon doing our second “Home Routes” house concert tour in 2014, and hope to be taking our second Via Rail “Onboard Entertainment” play-for-the-ride trip to get there. We’ll be sharpening up our playing chops throughout the summer and fall to be ready. And most likely that will take place in the closet to acclimatize ourselves to the train cabin environment ;)

WEBSITE

hotcha.ca

myspace.com/HOTCHA7

AUDIO

sonicbids.com/HOTCHA

VIDEO

youtube.com/hotcha7#p/u

Saxophone brothers, Jonathan and Andrew Kay, alongside Bass Veena creator, Justin Gray, created Monsoon Music (monsoon-music.com) to express and share their love for classical Indian music and Indo-Jazz. They have been traveling to India since 2006 and are among the first to traditionally learn to express the art of North Indian raga music on their western instruments.

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

Since living with our North Indian raga music Guru, Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya, in Kolkata for the past four years we have experienced not only what it means to play music, but also to “live” music. As we have been learning to authentically express the subtle nuances and deep spirituality of the ragas of North India, we have also adopted the traditional lifestyle of a raga musician which is life-long journey into the Yoga of music. Waking at sunrise and sitting on the floor with the tanpura (the drone instrument) learning from our Guruji for 10 to 12 hours a day has become our routine in order to internalize the deepest aspects of this vast music. To unite with the transcendental power of the ragas and create their penetrating and tangible moods, you must be one with the raga; you must learn to merge with the spirit of the ragas.

During our travels around India, we have played music at the snow peaks of the Himalayas and all the way to the ancient Hindu temples of South. From performing in the oldest city in the world to one of today’s most prestigious music conferences in Kolkata, our experiences over the past six years have challenged us to grow as musicians and artists far beyond our expectations, but more importantly have started the life-long journey of discovering ourselves; the essence of what our music is trying to ultimately express (Friday, May 24).

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

As the heavy monsoon clouds fill the dark sky, we listen to our Guruji sing Mian Ki Malhar, a monsoon raga, evoking the booming thunder and flashing lightning.

3. How about as a music maker/player?

As the golden sun emerges on the horizon, its light unveiling the new day, the meditative and sublime sounds of the morning Raga Bhairav resound from the bells of our saxophones and strings of the bass, as our performance concludes the all-night music festival in the Indian countryside.

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

Being among the first students of raga music to receive traditional training to play the ragas of North India on our western instruments, we will return home to Canada to record our first traditional raga music album.

We also are recording our Indo-Jazz ensemble, Monsoon, a project that is the culmination of the past eight years of experience in the realm of creating original music inspired by Indian classical music and creative Western music.

Freshly relocated to Toronto, Adam has jumped into the scene performing with the Niagara Symphony, Opera in Concert and the Toronto Operetta Theatre. Upcoming debuts for this young tenor include Pedrilloin Opera Atelier's “Abduction from the Seraglio” and Alfredin Edmonton Opera's “Die Fledermaus.”

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

I'm not really being taken away ’cause it never really stops, there's always music playing in my house! As I write this (Friday, May 24), my computer is playing a mix of new albums from Daft Punk, The National and Tesseract. Plus the classical music I'm working on for the fall!

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

As an audience member I'm really looking forward to some rock concerts and festivals this summer. The Grove Music Fest is bringing dance acts Hot Chip and Girl Talk which will bring myself and many others many dance-happy smiles during the time off from the sublime music of Mozart and Britten.

3. How about as a music maker/player?

I have no booked contracts this summer so I'm learning to play the guitar and hanging on a patio somewhere with friends making music.

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

I'm currently working on Pedrillo for Opera Atelier's Abduction from the Seraglio and Britten's Serenade for Tenor and Horn with Ottawa's Thirteen Strings Ensemble. Part of being an opera singer is that you're always growing and learning as a performer and artist. I'm always working on something, my voice, my body or my brain. It takes complete dedication to do this for a living and I relish every minute of it!

Links:

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Adam singing Rake's progress:

Canadian violinist Jonathan Crow is currently concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, Jonathan has performed at chamber music festivals across the globe, and has performed as a soloist with most major Canadian orchestras.

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

Practising (Friday, May 24) for upcoming TSO concerts (West Side Story with film next week and Scheherezade later in June), as well as scheduling for New Orford String Quartet summer concerts and teaching at the Orford Arts Centre.

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

I'm excited to hear the “Mentors and Fellows” performances at the Toronto Summer Music Academy and Festival in August – each student at the program performs in a group with a professional mentor. It's amazing the level that the ensembles can achieve with just a week of intense rehearsal time, and the energy on stage is going to be incredible!

3. How about as a music maker/player?

I can't wait to play the Franck sonata with Ian Brown on July 31at Walter Hall (torontosummermusic.com) – a spectacular piece with an amazing pianist! I'm also looking forward to touring with the New Orford String Quartet across Quebec and Vermont with a special trip to Music Niagara! (neworford.com, facebook.com/neworford)

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

I'll be going on tour with the New Orford String Quartet in October – 16 concerts in 17 days across Western Canada! We'll be previewing some of our tour rep this summer – we'll also be touring repertoire we recorded last fall for CBC. (music.cbc.ca/#/concerts/New-Orford-String-Quartet-Beethoven-2012-10-23)

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