WHO IS JUNE’S CHILD?

“Heard any good jokes?”

Apparently benign, a tyrant lurks within. But plays well with others: Sitarski,  Dann, Wiebe, Quarrington, Dwyer, Piltch, and Goldsmith; also with May’s Mystery Child – Winona Zelenka (July 29).

“So….what else?”

Collaborators have included  Peggy Baker, Sarah Slean, Tom McCamus, Shauna Rolston, Ted Dykstra, Michael Ondaatje and Steven Page. Perhaps he’s playing on a pan with a shovel to explore the art of time. Or digging into what it takes to break down barriers of culture and genre. Think you know who our mystery child is? Send your best guess to musicschildren@
thewholenote.com. Please provide your mailing address just in case your name is drawn! Winners will be selected by random draw among correct replies received by June 20, 2010.

May’s Child Winona Zelenka

Cellist Winona Zelenka lives in Etobicoke, in Toronto, with her husband, audio engineer Ron Searles (an enthusiastic amateur violinist); daughter Kathryn, who sings; son James, who also plays cello in his spare time; and Felix, an orange cat who likes to eat bow-hairs when Winona’s back is turned.

Earliest memory of music?
My earliest memory is singing in Sunday School! I was probably about four: “If You’re Happy and You Know It”. Everyone knows that one!

Other family musicians?
My father was a professional flautist in Slovakia before emigrating to Canada, then taught high school music in Espanola, Ontario. My mom was a pianist and organist, and played with me for Kiwanis festivals; she always had a job playing organ in church, too, and still does!

At the time of the photo?
I would’ve been around six years old: Mom would take all three of us to Sudbury every week for Suzuki lessons. My sister played violin and piano, my brother guitar. Dad was still practising and playing at the high school sometimes. Music was a daily thing, even if it was just a few minutes of playing – Mom made it consistent for us. They both had the very European approach that learning music should be part of growing up for every kid. Dad played his LPs all the time – romantic orchestral works – great players like Heifetz and Rubenstein.

Making music alone?
I started on piano, probably at around age four, then cello at four-and-a-half. I remember playing at home in our house in Espanola – I remember the white tape on the little cello I started on, that shows you where to put your fingers. My first cello teacher, who I’m still in touch with, is a remarkably sensitive person with a perpetually enquiring mind; she never lost patience with me and always tried to find ways to get around my stubbornness and frustration.

And with others?
I balked at playing the cello, till there was a group Suzuki performance when I was five or so, and I refused to play. When I saw the applause the other kids were getting, I said hey! I can do that too! My jealousy of the others caused me to pick up the cello and show my stuff.
My family moved to Toronto when I was nine. The move was prompted by two things – my Dad had been teaching music at Espanola High School, but did not like it, and decided to change careers – so he ended up going to the Chiropractic College in Toronto. He never went back to teaching music. The other reason was to find me more advanced training, which they knew they could get in Toronto. My teacher in Sudbury knew Bill Findlay of the TSO – they had both studied with Ronald Leonard at Eastman years back. I think my parents also had the idea of me going to the Conservatory, which I eventually did.
Read the full interview online at thewholenote.com.

MAY'S WINNERS & PRIZES: CONGRATULATIONS!
HERE'S WHAT THEY WON
• Mandy Lam: A pair of tickets to attend the launch of Winona Zelenka's two-CD Marquis Classics recording, J. S.Bach: Six Suites for Solo Cello, with a performance on Sunday, June 6 (note the 3pm starting time). Winona takes centre stage at Glenn Gould Studio to perform Bach's hauntingly beautiful Suites 1, 2 and 6. Prize includes a copy of the CD.

• Louie Calleja: And a friend will be guests of Stratford Summer Music to hear Winona Zelenka play one of the six solo cello studies in the "Bach at Rundles" series: an intimate 11am performance followed by a delectable three-course luncheon at Rundles Restaurant in Stratford. A "suite" way to enjoy a Sunday in July or August (date to be arranged with the presenter).

• Paul Sayer: Two tickets to hear Winona Zelenka perform at the Toronto Summer Music Festival with Andrew Burashko and the Art of Time Ensemble, in Musical Transformations: Erich Korngold: Source & Inspiration on Thursday July 29 (8:00pm, Walter Hall). This intriguingly creative concert linking the 20th and 21st centuries features a Korngold suite and the new songs it has inspired.

• Julie Goldstein: Wins a copy of Winona's brand new CD, J. S. Bach: Six Suites for Solo Cello on Marquis Classics (MAR 509). Winona says "I continue to believe that there is nothing in human experience that can't be said with this amazing music." We're sure you will agree.

Music’s Children gratefully acknowledges Francine, Ron, Kathryn, Luisa, John, Cecilia, Stratford Summer Music, Toronto Summer Music, and Marquis Classics.

MAY'S CHILD

Does the shy smile tug your heart-strings?

Think you know who next May’s mystery child is? Send your best guess to musicschildren@ thewholenote.com. Please provide your mailing address just in case your name is drawn!

Winners will be selected by random draw among correct replies received by May 20, 2010.

April's Child Krisztina Szabó

Wearing the pants (Idamante in Idomeneo with the COC in May), or playing the flirt, Hungarian-Canadian mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó steals hearts and scenes of all kinds, in a wide range of opera, recital, concert and chamber repertoire, both in Canada and internationally. She has a deep, rich voice and wonderful appetite for immersing herself in the emotional and psychological life of the roles she plays. These are cornerstones of a vigorous career reflecting a winning combination of musicianship and stagecraft, in a world that increasingly expects opera singers to be compelling actors as well as fabulous singers.

Born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, Krisztina attended the University of Western Ontario (B. Mus.), Guildhall School of Music and Drama (Post Diploma) and was a member of the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio 1998-2001.

Earliest musical memory?
A musical in Grade 3 at Cashmere Avenue Public School for "The King's New Clothes". I was the Queen…" "the King is in his altogether, his altogether.. the very least the king has ever worn"…

Musicians in your family?
No official musicians, but both my parents sang in their youth in hometown operetta productions (in Écs, Hungary). I am told that they both had beautiful voices. At home when I was growing up my father refused to sing, saying that he had ruined his voice smoking in his youth. My mother would sing a bit around the house in a goofy bird-like voice just to be silly. My father is crazy about Hungarian operetta and we did listen to a fair bit of Hungarian music on LPs before LPs went out of style. He has written down the words (or at least the first lines of) as many Hungarian folk songs as he knows. When I was young we would visit Hungary: it was not uncommon for people to spontaneously burst into singing folk songs to which everyone seemed to know the words - in someone's home, a pub, whatever. It was pretty cool. Sadly, I couldn't join in because I didn't know the words!

First steps?
I am told that as a child I was always singing.... you couldn't keep me quiet! But that photo was taken well before I started any formal training. My first formal music training started with piano lessons at the age of 9, and that same year I also began my 6 year membership in the Toronto Children's Chorus.

First experiences singing alone?
I sang a solo at a Remembrance Day ceremony at school - just me, a capella, and I remember the hush of the rest of the student population as I sang and how many people came up to me afterward to tell me how much they liked my singing. I remember the rush and the pride I felt in that. The song was "Blowin' in the Wind".

And with others?
I joined the Toronto Children's Chorus and began making music with others - and music at such a high level! I remember feeling like I had come home - being with kids like me who loved to sing more than anything was such an amazing feeling. I still have a love for singing in a chorus -to be surrounded by the sound of many people's voices raised together in song... it's quite a powerful experience.

First instrument?
My first instrument was the piano - I completed my RCM Grade 10 piano before going to the University of Western Ontario. Applying for universities and thinking about what to major in, music was strangely not foremost in my mind. I think I debated pursuing optometry and possibly actuarial sciences (like my sister), when it occurred to me that the one thing I truly loved in life was music. Once that realization hit, the choice made itself. I did 2 years as a piano major before switching to voice to study with Darryl Edwards.

In 4th year at Western I was selected to be a soloist in the Duruflé Requiem for a concert with all choirs and orchestra. It was a very big deal, and I had only just recently decided to truly pursue singing as a career. I remember how nervous I was but how thrilling it was to stand up in front of all those people - my fellow musicians and the audience members alike all looking at and listening to me. It really hit me that no, I didn't want to be a music teacher (I was an Education major) and that "hey, I think I am meant to be a performer". It was a crazy notion really - I had no idea of what that entailed; how I was going to achieve that and what it would take. Maybe my ignorance was a blessing because I just threw myself down this unknown path about which I only knew for sure the fact that I was meant to be a singer.

The point at which you began to think of yourself as a musician?
There is always this differentiation in the business - are you a musician or are you a singer? I'd like to think I am both.. at least on my good days! But every time someone has asked me (and they still do occasionally!).. "Oh, you're an opera singer? But what is your day job?".. I count my blessings that I get to do something I love and only that.. and get paid to do it!

If you could travel back through time and meet face to face with the little person in that childhood photo is there anything you'd like to say?
I would tell her that she was one lucky little girl...that she was going to sing and play dress-up for the rest of her life!

Upcoming?
Idamante (Canadian Opera Company's Idomeneo, Dark Star Requiem with Tapestry New Opera Works, Beauty Dissolves in One Brief Hour with Queen of Puddings Music Theatre (details below) and recitals with Brett Polegato at Music Niagara (July 23, St. Mike's Church and Niagara on the Lake) and Waterside Summer Series (July 24, Amherst Island).

APRIL'S WINNERS & PRIZES: CONGRATULATIONS!
HERE'S WHAT THEY WON

• Hans de Groot: A pair of tickets to attend the May 12 performance of Mozart’s Idomeneo, as guests of the Canadian Opera Company. Kristina Szabó will sing sing the role of Idamante, son of Idomeneo – the King of Troy. The role of Idamante was originally sung by a castrato when Idomeneo was first performed in 1781, two days after Mozart’s 25th birthday. The COC cast also includes Paul Groves (Idomeneo), Isabel Bayrakdarian (Ilia) and Tamara Wilson (Elettra). Conductor: Harry Bicket, Director: François de Carpentries.

• Judith Haynal: A pair of tickets for Dark Star Requiem (June 12) during the opening weekend of the 2010 Luminato Festival. This  world premiere production from Tapestry new opera works & Luminato, features the Gryphon Trio & the Elmer Iseler Singers. A dramatic oratorio from poet Jill Battson and composer Andrew Staniland, Dark Star Requiem explores “the 25-year history of the AIDS pandemic with astonishing power and hope” and features Neema Bickersteth (soprano), Krisztina Szabó (mezzo soprano), Peter McGillivray (baritone) and Marcus Nance (bass-baritone).

• Deirdre Warren: A pair of tickets for Beauty Disolves in a Brief Hour – A Triptych (July 29, 30 or 31st), as guests of Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company. Chamber operas on the eternal theme of love are sung in Mandarin, English and medieval French, commissioned from three Canadian composers: Fuhong Shi, John Rea and Pierre Klanac presented in a unified fully staged music-theatre/opera work. Xin Wang (soprano), Krisztina Szabó (mezzo-soprano), John Lettieri (accordion) and stage director Ruth Madoc-Jones team up with Queen of Puddings' co-artistic directors, Dáirine Ní Mheadhra and John Hess. At the Tank House (Distillery Historic District) in association with Young Centre for the Performing Arts.

Wearing the pants (upcoming at the COC in May), or playing the flirt, this Hungarian-Canadian steals hearts and scenes of all kinds, both here and internationally. Renowned in rehearsal for hopping up and down when things go either very well or very long, she is also known for her taste in leather pants and dance movies.

Think you know who April’s mystery child is? Send your best guess to musicschildren@thewholenote.com. Please provide your mailing address just in case your name is drawn!

Winners will be selected by random draw among correct replies received by April 20 2010.

March's Child

February's Child was…

…mezzo-soprano Laura Pudwell, who grew up in Fort Erie, went to U. of T. for Honours English at Trinity College, and started singing professionally in 1986.

Laura is a singer of extraordinary versatility, whose musical appetites range from early to contemporary. Both in Canada and internationally she is at home onstage in opera, oratorios, intimate ensemble collaborations, and recitals. Laura appears regularly with The Toronto Consort often as a guest artist with Opera Atelier, Tafelmusik, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Toronto Chamber Choir, Chorus Niagara and the Menno Singers, to name a few of her more local collaborations. She lives in Kitchener-Waterloo with her husband and two children.

People don't forget working with Laura Pudwell and this goes back a long way. Director Jennifer Parr remembers her die-hard work ethic from Trinity days: "Laura broke her ankle and ended up in a cast during rehearsals of Camelot at Trinity College, and so played "the old lady" of the court, so that she could legitimately have a cane and hobble around,  as well as singing Nimue's song from offstage.."

Laura Pudwell is certainly pretty serious about what she does. Interestingly, she claims to be puzzled that Opera Atelier, for example, usually casts her as a comic character: " Don't know why, since no one here at home finds me very funny ...!" Under the deadpan is a complex sense of humour that informs her work both onstage and off. Last month's cryptic clues reflected examples of this.

In the OA Magic Flute, directed to enter the stage laughing and to laugh until the entire audience was laughing helplessly for absolutely no reason at all, she then abruptly stopped and stared back at them, eliciting further uproarious laughter: a sample of her particular brand of drollery and timing. It takes a particular kind of self-possession for a female singer to happily sport a  beard (as the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas), but Laura carried that off gleefully, and took the audience with her.

In rehearsal? "In unaccompanied ensembles, I'm usually known as the pitch bitch, but you can't print that, can you?  I'll stop rehearsals and tune chords until they lock in."

And backstage? "…I cannot stand being called for an entrance, and will always arrive several minutes before cue time and say Miss Pudwell, standing by!"

Your earliest musical memory? Music has been such a huge part of my life, for so long, I can’t remember any firsts.  But I do know that I always woke up to music.  Either my mother would be playing the piano, or my father would have one of his jazz records playing.

Other musicians in your family? My mother is a church organist and choir director.  My entire family, both immediate and extended, are all musical, with lovely voices.

Music in your life at the time? Of course, always music at church.  Hymns remain some of my favourite music.  But mostly music is fellowship.  It’s what you do when you get together with family. You hang out around the piano and sing songs and laugh.

Making music? I apparently sang before I could talk.  You can just imagine the sound of a little girl singing with sand in her mouth … yep, I was a sandbox kind of kid.  Apart from that, I can certainly remember that on long car trips we sang in four part harmony .. as soon as my little brother could manage.  Which would have been when he was four and I was about six.  He sang the treble, I sang the alto (I never had a very high voice) my mother would sing the tenor and my father would sing the bass.  We pitched everything pretty high, because my father is actually a tenor.

Your first instrument? Performance? My first instrument was the piano, which I learned to play from my mother. I played sousaphone and bassoon in high school. I’ve always loved a good bass line …  As for an audience, do you mean apart from my brother, captive in his high chair?  Poor little guy ..I suspect my first solos would have been at church.  The first one I can remember actually preparing for was the Christmas portion of the Messiah in high school. I had to sing “O Thou That Tellest.”  As I recall, it went just fine.

When did you first  think of yourself as a musician? Hm…I’ve been putting that one off, sort of like Peter Pan …  I would say that accepting my place as a musician is  a fairly recent phenomenon for me.

Ever think you'd do anything else? I don’t remember ever thinking of actually being anything when I grew up. But if you could earn a living reading, that would have been my choice. Singing wasn’t even on the radar as an option until my mid-twenties. Singing was something you did for fun, and at church.  Not something you could earn a living doing.

Events or milestones that shaped the directions your musical life has taken? In my first year of university, going to Trinity College at U. of T, during frosh week, I discovered there was a chapel choir and thought I would try out for it. During the open rehearsal that served as the audition, the director, Robert Hunter Bell, kept staring at me with a strange look on his face. I figured I should beat a hasty retreat before he started yelling at me. I was quite surprised to find that he actually wanted me to stay, and that he would like me to sing in his church choir as well, at St. Mary Magdalene. I learned a lot about pitch and rhythm singing all that a cappella music with him.

Christmas of 1985 I was asked to do my first full Messiah, in Toronto. I was working full time for the Inter-Church Committee for Refugees, through the Canadian Council of churches.  My boss and her husband happened to select my Messiah for that year’s festive listening. After the performance, they came and found me and offered the upstairs of their huge house in the beaches on the condition that I quit working as a secretary and see where my singing would take me. I never would have thought of that myself.  At about that same time, the Toronto Consort advertised for a new singer.  On something of a whim, I went and auditioned.  And that was that.

Anything you'd like to say to the child in that photo? Stop fighting with your mother during piano lessons. And keep playing instead of quitting to spite her!!

Upcoming in Southern Ontario: Opera Atelier (April); Bach B Minor Mass in Kitchener with Howard Dyck on Good Friday (Grand Philharmonic Choir, April 2); Toronto Consort (May 7,8); and  Chorus Niagara's Gilbert and Sullivan show with Bob Cooper (May 15 and 16).

MARCH's Child….

Already loving music: conducting and singing at the same time, and only two years old! Today he's a busy pianist, composer, arranger, and chamber musician and married to one of Canada’s most beloved sopranos.

Think you know who March's mystery child is? Send your best guess to musicschildren@thewholenote.com. Please provide your mailing address just in case your name is drawn!

Winners will be selected by random draw among correct replies received by March 20 2010.

FEBRUARY's Winners and Prizes

CONGRATULATIONS TO

Julie Goldstein and a friend will be the guests of Opera Atelier for the April 27 performance of The Marriage of Figaro (April 24-May 1). This is a brand-new production of Mozart's commedia dell'arte inspired opera, featuring Olivier Laquerre in his role debut as the incorrigible Figaro, with baritone Phillip Addis and mezzo soprano Wallis Giunta, and OA favourites Carla Huhtanen, Peggy Kriha Dye, Laura Pudwell, Curtis Sullivan, Artists of the Atelier Ballet, and the Tafelmusik Orchestra under the baton of conductor  David Fallis.
Louie Calleja and a companion with be guests of the Toronto Consort on Saturday May 8^th for Lutefest (May 7&8), for "the poetry of the lute" with Consort regulars, including Laura Pudwell, and guests from two other lute traditions: Bassam Bishara, oud (the Middle Eastern lute, and the world’s original lute), and Wen Zhao, pipa ( the Chinese lute).

Paulette Popp will receive a copy of Toronto Consort's recording The Queen: Music for Elizabeth.(MARQUIS 387). Gloriana would have had these 22 tracks for mixed consort and singers on her iPod, including Laura Pudwell's version of "Essex Last Goodnight", like a Patsy Cline of the 17^th century!

Music's Children gratefully acknowledges Elaine Pudwell, Jennifer Parr, Karen Lorenowicz, Jane Harbury, Opera Atelier, and The Toronto Consort.