LSM Newswire

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Concert Classique mettant en vedette le couple Greg Millar et Lisa Raposa / Classical concert featuring Greg Millar and Lisa Raposa

Événement d'intérêt communautaire
Événement :  Pas de deux à quatre mains
Date :  Dimanche 14 février 2010
Heure : 15:00
Adresse :  176, chemin du Bord-du-Lac – Lakeshore, Pointe-Claire
Coût : Laissez-passer
Description : Concert Classique mettant en vedette le couple Greg Millar et Lisa Raposa, tous deux excellents pianistes qui fêtent la Saint-Valentin de façon romantique et tout en douceur.  Ils sont tombés amoureux pendant leurs études de doctorat à Rochester, New York.  Une belle histoire d’amour musicale!  Au programme, des œuvres de Poulenc, Ravel, Barber et Brahms. Servi avec un verre de vin et un bout de chocolat!
Organisation : Centre culturel de Pointe-Claire, Stewart Hall
Contact :  Réceptionniste
Téléphone : 514-630-1220


Community Event:
Event: Pas de Deux, Piano Four Hands
Date: Sunday, February 14, 2010
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Address: 176 ch. du Bord-du-Lac – Lakeshore, Pointe-Claire
Cost: Passes
DescriptionClassical concert featuring Greg Millar and Lisa Raposa who, romantically and tenderly, celebrate Valentine’s Day.  Both excellent pianists, they fell in love during their doctoral studies in Rochester, New York.  A beautiful musical love story featuring works by Poulenc, Ravel, Barber and Brahms and served with a glass of wine and a piece of chocolate!
Organization: Pointe-Claire Cultural Centre, Stewart Hall.
Contact name: Receptionist
Telephone: 514-630-1220

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International Demand for Sheet Music Propels Sheet Music Plus' Overseas Sales Beyond 20 Percent

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Jan. 19 /CNW/ -- Reflecting the timeless appeal of printed and bound sheet music in the digital age, Sheet Music Plus (www.sheetmusicplus.com), the leading online provider of sheet music, today announced its thriving global success. In 2009, the U.S.-based company experienced 22 percent overall international growth spanning several dozen markets, including U.K., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, and many more. Despite last year's tough economy, the company successfully shipped nearly 600,000 orders worldwide, fortifying its position as the industry leader in the online printed sheet music market. With a history of extensive profitable growth, Sheet Music Plus ended 2009 with annual revenue of almost $25 million. Sheet Music Plus ships between 2,000 and 5,000 orders daily to destinations in 170 countries.

"Music is the universal language, but every country faces unique challenges when locally sourcing printed music, especially when it comes to less common instruments and obscure compositions," said Keith Cerny, CEO of Sheet Music Plus. "As a result, music lovers have gravitated toward our site since we offer the world's widest selection of printed sheet music combined with the ability to ship to most corners of the world."

In order to optimize the shopping experience for both domestic and international customers, the company launched a new, state-of-the-art data center. The company also made extensive enhancements to its website, including important improvements to its on-site search and provision of local currency conversion in dozens of markets. Sheet Music Plus sells music for all major genres - including classical and baroque, rock and popular, jazz, Christian, choral, Broadway, and movies / TV. It also sells a wide range of instructional materials for school bands, choirs and orchestras.

Illustrating the company's international success, the following is Sheet Music Plus' percentage of year over year growth in select markets: Australia (21%), United Kingdom (20%), Canada (16%), France (34%), Germany (14%), Spain (39%), Japan (32%), Netherlands (22%), Italy (24%), Belgium (20%), Ireland (14%), Norway (8%), Finland (34%), Greece (65%), Sweden (12%), Switzerland (30%), and Denmark (30%). In addition, Q4 grew relative to Q3 in the following markets, based on a number of site enhancements directed at the international market: Mexico (27%), Israel (50%), Portugal (38%), Russia (92%), and more than 100% in Poland, China, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Croatia.
About Sheet Music Plus
Headquartered in Emeryville, California - part of the San Francisco Bay Area - Sheet Music Plus provides the largest selection of sheet music to most locations in the world. With annual revenue of $25 million, Sheet Music Plus has an industry-leading catalog of more than 555,000 titles spanning a multitude of music genres from the most specialized to the most popular for all types of musicians, teachers, and instruments. For more corporate and product information, please visit our website: www.SheetMusicPlus.com

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Exceptional Praise for Composer Laitman’s Fourth Solo CD, Within These Spaces

American composer Lori Laitman’s fourth solo CD of vocal works, Within These Spaces (Albany Records, 2009), has received glowing reviews from the music industry’s most important critics, confirming yet again the composer’s incomparable gift and the enduring significance of her prolific musical oeuvre.

“One hundred years hence, when critics look back at the art songs of our era, there will be many fine composers to laud and applaud, but few will deserve higher praise than Lori Laitman. …” states Gregory Berg (The Journal of Singing, 2010). 

“With nearly 200 songs already to her credit, there seems to be not the slightest diminishment in the expressive impact of her writing or the bracing originality of her ideas.  To paraphrase a comment once made about the prolific Camille Saint-Saëns, Laitman seems to create great songs as easily and naturally as a tree produces apples, and one might add that hers are especially delicious and distinctive…One of the most striking features of this collection — and indeed Laitman’s entire oeuvre — is the endless variation and variety, coupled with an overarching sense of coherence and consistency.  Laitman has her own distinctive voice as a composer, but what makes it such a seductive voice is its limitless range of inflections, which stems from the even more limitless possibilities to be found in the world of words and ideas to which she is so devoted. A basic sort of excellence which one always finds in Laitman’s songs is an unerring ability to write songs that can be sung (a simple-sounding proposition, but one that defeats many modern art song composers) and to set texts in such a way that they can be understood by listeners.  That Laitman achieves consistent success in this regard without writing cautiously is a shining testament to her impressive and still-improving skills as a composer. Finally, Laitman crafts her accompaniments with just as much care and sensitivity, and with a consistent understanding of what will work to perfectly complete the picture. …These are superb songs sung superbly, and a composer as gifted as Lori Laitman deserves nothing less than that.”
Laurence Vittes of Gramophone Magazine remarks: “Lori Laitman opens windows onto small but deeply intimate emotional experiences…Whether it is Laitman’s blend of rich American, sometimes populist tonality, out of which her deeply personal, angular vocal writing rises, or her descents into jauntier, more popular modes, she shows an affinity for identifying with the words she sets and a keen ear for poetry that will work effectively.”
 Robert Moore (American Record Guide 2009) writes: Lori Laitman’s songs demand conscientious listening, and the time invested in doing so yields rich rewards…I agree with The Journal of Singing that ‘it is difficult to think of anyone before the public today who equals her exceptional gifts for embracing a poetic text and giving it new and deeper life through music.’ This is music of depth and richness that connects with the soul.”
Colin Clarke of Fanfare Magazine says:  “[Lori Laitman’s] songs represent outpourings of great beauty….Laitman tackles each poem’s subject mater with unfailing sympathy…yet she can react with tremendous humor, too.”  John Campbell of Artsong Update notes: Laitman has created a circle of living poets, talented younger singing professionals and an ever growing audience that trusts her gift.” And, finally, James Manheim of Allmusic Guide recommends Lori’s music to those who make it come to life, the vocalists:  "...Laitman clearly [has] the elusive ability to pick texts that emotionally resonate with her. ...Recommended, especially to young singers, who will find music here that connects strongly with audiences."
Within These Spaces is a collection of thirty-four songs, composed since 2000, set to poems by classical and contemporary poets. The album takes its title from the first set of five songs to texts by Nebraskan women poets.


WITHIN THESE SPACES
Songs of Lori Laitman
Label: Albany Records
Catalog Number: TR1118
Running Time: 78:52
Composition Date: 2000 — 2008
Recording Dates: April, June 2005; July 2008
Recording Engineer: Edward John Kelly
Composer: Lori Laitman
Performers: Jennifer Check, soprano; Karyn Friedman, mezzo-soprano; Amanda Gosier, soprano; Sari Gruber, soprano; Warren Jones, piano; Lori Laitman, piano; Randall Scarlata, baritone.

To purchase Within These Spaces click on:

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New from Temple University Press: I Walked With Giants

I Walked with Giants
The Autobiography of Jimmy Heath
Jimmy Heath and Joseph McLaren
foreword by Bill Cosby, introduction by Wynton Marsalis

Publication Date: February 26, 2010
344 pp., 35 halftones, 6 x 9”
Cloth 978-1-4399-0198-4 $35.00
 
A life in music portrayed by an NEA Jazz Master and his legendary friends
"I have long admired Jimmy's passion heard so clearly in his music; he is a soulful musician and a consummate educator. In these pages he gives a new voice to his love of life and music. He once told Dr. Camille Cosby that ‘our history is a mystery,’ so here he pulls back the veil and sets forth a wonderful collection of reminiscences culled from a long life of accumulated wisdom." Nancy Wilson , song stylist 

Composer of more than 100 jazz pieces, three-time Grammy nominee, and performer on more than 125 albums, saxophonist Jimmy Heath has earned a place of honor in the history of jazz. Over his long career, Heath knew many jazz giants, such as Charlie Parker, and played with other innovators, including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and especially Dizzy Gillespie. Along the way, Heath won both their respect and their friendship.

In I Walk with Giants: The Autobiography of Jimmy Heath (Publication Date: February 26, 2010), the legendary Heath creates an extraordinary “dialogue” with musicians and family members. As in jazz, where improvisation by one performer prompts another to riff on the same theme, I Walked with Giants juxtaposes Heath’s account of his life and career with recollections from jazz giants about life on the road and making music on the world’s stages. His memories of playing with his equally legendary brothers, Percy and Albert (aka “Tootie”), dovetail with their recollections. By turns funny, poignant, and extremely candid, Heath’s story captures the rhythms of a life in jazz.

"Heath puts all of the peaks and valleys of a rigorous professional life in a unique memoir that speaks volumes to the values of discipline, tradition, and perseverance. Heath's story is told in a classic call-and-response manner. . . . A true jazz milestone, this bold account . . . further illuminates the seldom-told story of our creative homegrown music."Publishers Weekly
 
Jimmy Heath , an NEA Jazz Master, is widely recognized as one of the greats in jazz. A saxophonist, composer, arranger, and educator, Heath grew up in Philadelphia with his renowned brothers, Percy, the longtime bassist with the Modern Jazz Quartet, and Albert (“Tootie”), a highly respected drummer. The three formed the Heath Brothers Band in the ’70s. Jimmy Heath directed the Jazz Studies master’s degree program in performance at Queens College (CUNY).

Joseph McLaren is Professor of English at Hofstra University, the author of Langston Hughes: Folk Dramatist in the Protest Tradition, 1921-1943, and editor of several additional titles. 

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Robin Ghosh appointed Director, Finance & Administration at the Canada Council for the Arts / Robin Ghosh nommé directeur des Finances et de l’administration

Le communiqué de presse français suit le communiqué de presse anglais.

Ottawa, January 18, 2010The Canada Council for the Arts is pleased to announce the appointment of Robin Ghosh as the Canada Council’s new Director, Finance & Administration, effective February 8, 2010.

Before establishing his own consulting firm in 2008, Mr. Ghosh, a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Public Accountant, worked for more than 20 years at Canada Post Corporation as Senior Director, Asset Valuation; National Director Finance, Mail Operations; and Director , Information Systems Management, where he developed policy and coordinated operations across six regions. Before joining Canada Post Corporation, Mr. Ghosh worked for several years in the private sector.

Through his professional work, Mr. Ghosh gained direct experience in providing strategic leadership and direction for the planning, budgeting and financial management of large and complex businesses and public sector organizations.

In welcoming Mr. Ghosh to the Council, Robert Sirman, Canada Council Director and CEO, stated “Mr. Ghosh’s expertise will help the Council continue to effectively steward its finances and strengthen its management practices. His interest in the arts and understanding of the role of Crown corporations make him an excellent addition to the senior management team at the Council.”

Mr. Ghosh is replacing Bill Stevenson, who will retire on February 5, 2010, after working at the Council for 23 years.

Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts is a federal Crown corporation created by an Act of Parliament in 1957. The role of the Council is to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. To fulfill this mandate, the Council offers a broad range of grants and services to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations in dance, integrated arts, media arts, music, theatre, visual arts, and writing and publishing. It also promotes public awareness of the arts through its communications, research and arts promotion activities.

The Council administers the Killam Program of scholarly awards, the Governor General’s Literary Awards and the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts. The Canadian Commission for UNESCO and the Public Lending Right Commission operate within the Council. The Canada Council Art Bank, which has some 17,400 works of contemporary Canadian art in its collection, rents to the public and private sectors.


 
Ottawa, le 18 janvier 2010 – Le Conseil des Arts du Canada annonce avec plaisir la nomination de Robin Ghosh au poste de directeur des Finances et de l’administration de l’organisme, à compter du 8 février 2010.

Avant d’établir son bureau de consultation en 2008, M. Ghosh, comptable agréé et expert-comptable (CPA), a travaillé à la Société canadienne des postes pendant plus de vingt ans comme directeur principal, évaluation des biens; directeur national des finances, opérations postales; et directeur, gestion des systèmes d’information. Pendant son séjour aux Postes, il a développé des politiques et coordonné les activités dans six régions. Avant de travailler aux Postes, M. Ghosh avait exercé sa profession dans le secteur privé pendant plusieurs années.

Pendant sa carrière professionnelle, M. Ghosh a acquis de l’expérience directe en leadership stratégique et en direction de la planification, de l’établissement de budgets et de gestion financière d’importantes et complexes entreprises et organisations du secteur public.

M. Robert Sirman, directeur et chef de la direction du Conseil des Arts, a souhaité la bienvenue au nouveau directeur, en ajoutant : « Grâce à son expertise, M. Ghosh saura aider le Conseil à poursuivre avec efficience son administration financière et à consolider ses pratiques de gestion. L’intérêt qu’il accorde aux arts et sa compréhension du rôle des sociétés d’État font de lui une excellente addition à l’équipe des cadres supérieurs du Conseil des Arts. »

M. Ghosh remplace Bill Stevenson, qui prendra sa retraite le 5 février 2010 au terme d’une carrière de 23 ans au Conseil des Arts.

Le Conseil des Arts du Canada
Le Conseil des Arts du Canada est une société d’État, qui a été créée en 1957 en vertu d’une Loi du Parlement. Le Conseil a pour rôle de favoriser et de promouvoir l’étude et la diffusion des arts, ainsi que la production d’œuvres d’art. Pour s’acquitter de ce mandat, il offre aux artistes et aux organismes artistiques professionnels canadiens une gamme étendue de subventions et de services en danse, en arts intégrés, en arts médiatiques, en musique, en théâtre, en arts visuels et en lettres et édition. Par ses activités en matière de communications, de recherche et de promotion des arts, il contribue également à la sensibilisation du public aux arts.

Le Conseil administre en outre le Programme Killam de prix et bourses de recherche, les Prix littéraires du Gouverneur général et les Prix du Gouverneur général en arts visuels et en arts médiatiques. La Commission canadienne pour l’UNESCO et la Commission du droit de prêt public sont placées sous son égide. Quant à la Banque d’œuvres d’art du Conseil, celle-ci compte environ 17 400 œuvres d’art contemporain canadien qu’elle offre en location à des organismes des secteurs public et privé.

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The COC's Operanation 6 Heats Up the Winter with Habanera

Toronto, Ontario – The Canadian Opera Company presents its annual fundraising bash, Operanation 6 Habanera Friday February 26, 2010. Held in the crystalline Isadore and Rosalie Sharp City Room of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, this must-attend event of the year brings together classic culture and young urban professionals from diverse career, social, and business circles, who share a love of the arts. This year’s exclusive cocktail reception celebrates the essence of Bizet’s most beloved opera, the sizzling hot Carmen. Guests of Operanation 6 Habanera will enjoy live entertainment, a night of Latin-inspired music and dance, specialty cocktails and fine tapas cuisine. The soiree begins at 9 p.m. and tickets are $125 per person and can be purchased online at operanation.ca or by calling 416-363-8231.

Habanera attendees will be treated to a variety of performances including one by Carmen herself, mezzo-soprano Beth Clayton. Ms Clayton stars as the sexy seductress in the COC production performed on the Four Seasons Centre stage from January 27 to February 27, 2010. Also performing is percussion quartet TorQ. Improv troupe The National Theatre of the World will create their own interpretation of scenes from Carmen and will encourage audience participation. Guests can also learn a few dance moves with City Dance Corps, and practice those moves to a mix of fiery beats by DJ Nick Fiorucci, Hi-Bias Records Inc.

Guests can sample mouth-watering cuisine featuring pomegranate chicken pinchitos, grilled rosemary lamb chops, prawn escabeche skewers, miniature pringas, and a paella bar. The evening also includes a full silent auction with luxury and specialty items such as: a $500 shopping experience at Yorkdale Mall; four tickets to a Toronto Maple Leafs game; vouchers for some of Toronto’s hottest restaurants; and much more.

The past five Operanation events have attracted over 4,000 attendees and have raised almost $400,000, with all proceeds benefiting the Canadian Opera Company and its Education and Outreach Programs.

Operanation 6 Event Sponsor: TD Canada Trust Music
Operanation 6 VIP Dinner Sponsor: WeirFoulds LLP

About the Canadian Opera Company
Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer of opera in Canada and fifth largest in North America, and celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2009/10. Under its new leadership of General Director Alexander Neef and Music Director Johannes Debus, the COC continues its international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation. The COC currently enjoys a remarkable 99% attendance rate and one of the highest subscription rates in North America. The COC performs in the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects Inc. From its inauguration in 2006, the Four Seasons Centre has been internationally hailed as one of the finest opera houses in the world. The Four Seasons Centre is also the performance venue for The National Ballet of Canada.

Canadian Opera Company Website
The Canadian Opera Company’s award-winning website, coc.ca, contains information on all productions including synopses, historical background, and production photographs.

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Randy Lennox to be inducted to the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame

Canadian Music Week: Music Business 3.0 The Next Generation

March 10 - 14, 2010

TORONTO, Jan. 18 /CNW/ - Randy Lennox, President & CEO of Universal Music Canada will be inducted to the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame. Lennox will be honoured at the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards on Thursday, March 11, 2010, during Canadian Music Week, March 10-14, 2010, in Toronto at The Fairmont Royal York.

Lennox began his career in 1978 at what was then known as MCA. A succession of promotions landed him as Executive VP/General Manager of the organization in 1993 and he was named President and CEO in 1998. In 2001, The Toronto Star included him in their "Ones to Watch" feature article, while MacLean's magazine featured him as one of the country's "50 Most Influential Canadians" in 2002.

Lennox has been the CEO of Universal Music Canada's operations for 10 years. Under his direction, Universal Music Canada was successfully guided through the largest merger in the history of the music business, experienced an increase in overall market share from 27.8 to its current share of 39.2 percent, expanded and diversified into Visual Entertainment and opened Vivendi Entertainment Canada. For ten consecutive years, Universal Music Canada has been voted Record Company of the Year while for six years running, Lennox has been voted the Canadian Music Industry's Executive of the Year by his industry peers.

His support and development of Canadian talent is evidenced by success with Gold and Platinum artists Hedley, Sam Roberts, The Tragically Hip, Paul Anka, Jully Black, The Canadian Tenors and Remy Shand. His commitment to breaking Canadian acts has resulted in No. 1 world territory status for Canadian artists such as Diana Krall, Nelly Furtado, Shania Twain and Bryan Adams.

Lennox conceived and spearheaded the creation of the Juno Box set Oh, What a Feeling, a compilation of songs from past Juno Award winners, which raised $5.2 million dollars for a number of Canadian charities. He also created strategic alliances with Maple Music, Cargo Records, DEP and Vega Musique.

Randy Lennox is Chairman of Canada's Walk of Fame, sits on a number of Boards, including CRIA, CARAS, Puretracks, DEP, Maple Music and is Chair of Talent at Massey Hall and Roy Thompson Hall.

He actively contributes to a variety of charitable organizations including Safehaven, the Music Therapy Fund and Starlight Children's Foundation of Canada, and sits on the Executive Board for MusiCounts, an ongoing charity which provides musical instruments to underfunded schools across Canada.

Randy Lennox will be inducted alongside CHUM-FM radio personality Roger Ashby who will receive the prestigious Waters Family Broadcast Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary contribution to the broadcast industry. The Waters Family, specifically Allan Waters, founded the CHUM broadcasting empire in 1954 and built it into one of Canada's most respected and successful broadcast companies.

Tickets for the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards gala dinner are available for purchase through the Canadian Music Week website at www.cmw.net.

Canadian Music Week is Canada's leading annual entertainment event dedicated to the expression and growth of the country's music, media and entertainment industries. Combining five information-intensive conferences; a trade exposition; a film festival; four awards shows and the nation's largest New Music Festival - Canadian Music Fest - CMW spans a five-day period from March 10 to March 14, 2010 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel and various downtown Toronto venues, attracting participants from across the globe. For more information, visit www.cmw.net

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Green Mountain Opera Festival Announces 5th Season

”Vermont’s first and only professional opera company” - OPERA AMERICA

Nestled in the beautiful landscape of the Mad River Valley in central Vermont, the Green Mountain Opera Festival, is now celebrating its fifth anniversary and has announced plans for its 2010 season.

The artists will begin arriving in Vermont on May 27 and will spend the next three and one half weeks rehearsing for the festival’s two opera productions. The mainstage production will feature Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, a pinnacle of the belcanto repertoire, which will be performed at the Barre Opera House on June 18 and 20, accompanied by festival orchestra and chorus. The Emerging Artist production will feature Handel’s Orlando accompanied by chamber ensemble and will be performed in two venues, Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater on June 13 and in Waitsfield’s Neill Barn on June 17. Other events and performances include a festival opening concert, open rehearsals, master classes with the Emerging Artists, and an outdoor picnic concert.

Montreal born Artistic director Taras Kulish says “With last year’s production of The Marriage of Figaro, I believe we reached a new level of excellence, and I am confident we have matched this high quality with the artists assembled for this year’s festival. I am also very excited about our ever expanding Emerging Artist production for June 2010.”

The conductor for Lucia di Lammermoor is Leonardo Vordoni, a native of Italy living in the United States. Last season, he was an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and worked on a number of productions across the United States. Other venues include Minnesota Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Colorado, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Chicago Opera Theatre.  In 2011, he will conduct Il barbiere di Siviglia for Houston Grand Opera.

Garnett Bruce, artistic advisor and principal stage director for Opera Omaha, will direct the mainstage production.  His many credits include directing Turandot and La Traviata and collaborating with Peter Sellars on Doctor Atomic at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Aida and Samuel Barber’s Vanessa for San Diego Opera and new productions of La Clemenza di Tito and La Cenerentola for Wolf Trap Opera.

Canadian born, San Francisco resident soprano Nikki Einfeld will take on the lead role in Lucia di Lammermoor. Having sung the role with Syracuse Opera, she has been widely recognized for her “high flying virtuosity” (New York Times). A San Francisco Opera Merola Program graduate, she has performed throughout the United States and Canada.

American tenor Scott Ramsay will sing the role of Edgardo, a role he has sung with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. This season he will perform with Opera New Jersey, Eugene Opera and Opera Boston and Arizona Opera. He trained at the prestigious Ryan Opera Center of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Florida Grand Opera and Glimmerglass Opera.

Warren resident and set designer Gary Eckhart, who designed the set for last season’s production of The Marriage of Figaro, will again design the set for this year’s mainstage opera. Eckhart has designed more than 200 productions for the theater and opera stage.

The festival’s training component continues to grow. This year, the festival is offering a two tiered training experience for highly talented young singers, the Emerging and Resident Artist Programs.  More than 300 singers applied for eight positions. These aspiring opera singers come to Vermont to perfect their craft and to gain much needed performing experience. They also gain valuable insight from interacting with professionals in the opera world. Last year for the first time, the emerging artists staged an abridged version of Donizetti’s Elixir of Love to an enthusiastic audience. This year they will present Handel’s Orlando. Bruce Stasyna is returning for his third year as program director, and Sanford Sylvan, renowned American baritone, will serve as director in residence as well as teach master classes. These free public master classes will again provide an opportunity for audiences to observe the arduous training that opera singers must undergo to succeed in a highly competitive world.

The Green Mountain Opera Festival is located in the beautiful Mad River Valley in Central Vermont USA and has a full calendar of events in June with details soon to be posted on its website. A gala fundraiser is scheduled for March 7 at the Joslyn Round Barn in Waitsfield. Reservations for the gala may be made by calling 802-583-3184 after January 23.

For further ticket information please consult the festival website.

Sponsored by the Green Mountain Cultural Center, the festival is funded in part by a grant from the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts and is a professional member of OPERA America, an association of recognized opera companies in the United States. For a full schedule of opera festival events, go to www.greenmountainoperafestival.com.  

Detailed cast information:

LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
by Donizetti
June 18 (7:30pm), June 20 (3pm)
Conductor: Leonardo Vordoni
Director: Garnett Bruce
LUCIA: Nikki Einfeld
EDGARDO: Scott Ramsay
ENRICO: Jordan Shanahan
RAIMONDO: Gus Andreassen
NORMANNO: Adam Caughey
ARTURO: Cameron Schutza
ALISA: Samantha Grenell-Zaidman
Set Design: Gary Eckhart
Lighting Design: Jeff Bruckerhoff
Costumes: Rental from Opéra de Montréal

Rehearsal Pianist: Laurie Rogers
Production Manager: Timothy Mikovitz
Stage Manager: Donna Sharpe
ORLANDO
by Handel
June 13 (8pm), June 17 (8pm)
Conductor: Bruce Stasyna
Director: Sanford Sylvan

ORLANDO: Gerrod Pagenkopf
ANGELICA: Greer Davis
MEDORO: Shirin Eskandani

DORINDA: Margot Rood
ZOROASTRO: Cairan Ryan
Production Manager: Simon Chaussé

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Sunday, February 7, 2010

Bachauer Competition Announces Competition

The names of the competitors for the 2010 Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition have been announced:

First Name
Family Name
Nationality
Age
Charlie
Albright
USA
21
Yunjie
Chen
China
29
Stefan
Ciric
Serbia
23
Sara
Daneshpour
USA
22
Gregory
DeTurck
USA
27
Sebastian
Di Bin
Italy
28
Nazareno
Ferruggio
Italy
28
Roberto
Franca
Italy
23
Kotaro
Fukuma
Japan
27
Lukas
Geniušas
Russia
19
Pavlo
Gintov
Ukraine
23
Dorel
Golan
Israel
28
Yoonjung
Han
Korea
24
Fazliddin
Husanov
Uzbekistan
31
Daria
Kameneva
Russia
22
Benjamin
Kim
USA
26
Soyeon
Kim
Korea
27
Andrea
Lam
Australia
28
Viviana Pia
Lasaracina
Italy
21
Alexey
Lebedev
Russia
29
Dmitri
Levkovich
Ukraine
31
Steven
Lin
USA
20
Benjamin
Moser
Germany
28
Sejoon
Park
Korea
19
Hoang
Pham
Vietnam
24
Mayumi
Sakamoto
Japan
26
Serhiy
Salov
Ukraine
31
Nima
Sarkechik
France
26
Anastasiya
Solomatina
Russia
26
Konstantin
Soukhovetski
Russia
28
Ardita
Statovci
Austria
27
Olga
Stezhko
Belarus
24
Alexey
Sychev
Russia
21
Anastasya
Terenkova
Russia
28
Kateryna
Titova
Ukraine
26
Matei
Varga
Romania
29
David
Violi
France
28
Joshua
Wright
USA
22
Pavel
Yeletsky
Belarus
27
Zho
Zhang
China
21
Dizhou
Zhao
China
30
Darrett
Zusko
Canada
25

The XV Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition will be held June 17-July 1, 2010 in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The competitors will vie for more than $80,000 US in prizes before a jury of 10 distinguished artists.  The six finalists will perform concertos with the Utah Symphony in Abravanel Hall under the direction of Lawrence Leighton Smith.
The competitors were chosen from over 250 applicants who auditioned in Moscow, Hamburg, Venice, London, New York City, and Salt Lake City, Utah.
For a complete list of the International Jury and Prizes, visit www.bachauer.com.  Photos of the competitors will also soon be on the website. The latest information about the Competition is also now available on our new Facebook page.
The event marks 35 years of Bachauer competitions bringing the best pianists in the world to Utah to compete for cash, prizes, and fame.  Since beginning in 1976, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition has become one of the world’s most prestigious piano competitions, and one of only four in the U.S. recognized by the World Federation of International Music Competitions.

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Clavecin en concert présente:


En grande première montréalaise !

LE CLAVECIN À PÉDALIER
(Yves Beaupré 2010)

avec

LUC BEAUSÉJOUR
claveciniste et organiste

Le vendredi 12 février 2010, 20 h

Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours
400, rue Saint-Paul Est, Vieux-Montréal, Métro Champ-de-Mars

Prix des billets :
Entrée simple 28 $ / Aîné (65 ans et +) 25 $ // Étudiant, temps plein, 25 ans et moins 10 $
15 ans et moins accompagné d’un adulte : gratuit
Renseignements et réservations : 514-748-8625 – www.clavecinenconcert.org org>

Montréal, 14 janvier 2010 – Clavecin en concert vous invite à découvrir le clavecin à pédalier à travers un répertoire composé d’œuvres de Bach, Pachelbel, Buxtehude et Böhm. Le récital, donné par le claveciniste et organiste Luc Beauséjour, aura lieu le vendredi 12 février à 20 h, à la chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours dans le Vieux-Montréal.

Le clavecin à pédalier est un clavecin ordinaire posé sur un second clavecin qui est actionné par des touches de pédales. Les deux instruments sont donc totalement indépendants l'un de l'autre, le clavecin du pédalier disposant de ses propres cordes et registres.

Il ne subsiste aujourd’hui aucun exemplaire de ce type d’instrument, seules de nombreuses descriptions d'époque nous permettent de le reconstituer. Grâce au talent du facteur Yves Beaupré, qui a lui-même conçu les plans et l’instrument, le répertoire allemand d'orgue brillera sous un éclairage différent. Une première à Montréal!


PROGRAMME

Jean-Sébastien Bach                                  Prélude et fugue en do majeur, BWV 545
Johann Pachelbel                                       Choral Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her. (2 versions)
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637 -1707)               Wie schön leuchet der Morgenstern, BuxWV 223
Dietrich Buxtehude                                     Fugue en do majeur, BuxWV 174
Jean-Sébastien Bach                                  Choral Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir (à 6 voix, double pédale, extrait de la Clavierübung III)
Jean-Sébastien Bach                                  Toccata en ré mineur, BWV 565
Jean-Sébastien Bach                                  Fugues I et VIII (extraits de L’Art de la fugue, BWV 1080)
Georg Böhm                                                  Choral Vater unser im Himmelreich
Jean-Sébastien Bach                                  Choral Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645
Jean-Sébastien Bach                                  Passacaille en do mineur, BWV 582

Clavecin en concert remercie le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, le Conseil des Arts du Canada
et le Conseil des arts de Montréal de leur soutien.

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Gail Dubinbaum to Sing Role of Suzuki

IN PHOENIX OPERA’S MADAMA BUTTERFLY 
FORMER METROPOLITAN OPERA STAR CO-FOUNDED PHOENIX OPERA 
Madama Butterfly
  February 12, 14, 2010 

Mezzo-soprano Gail Dubinbaum, who co-founded Phoenix Opera in 2006 with her husband, John Massaro, will take to the stage herself on February 12th and 14th as she performs the role of Suzuki in Phoenix Opera’s Madama Butterfly. Ms. Dubinbaum has performed the role many times at numerous opera houses, most notably in Israel with the Israel Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Zubin Mehta. Of note also is the fact that this performance will be the first time, after many years of marriage, she and her husband will perform together in an opera as singer and conductor.  

Gail Dubinbaum has performed both opera and concert works internationally. She has sung leading roles with some of the world’s most prestigious opera companies including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Israel Opera and L’Opera de Montreal. Nationally, she has appeared with Opera Pacific, Detroit Opera, Portland Opera and Arizona Opera. On the concert stage, Ms. Dubinbaum has sung with the Los Angeles, Israel, New York, Boston, Cleveland and San Francisco Orchestras ... and with such renowned conductors as Zubin Mehta, James Levine, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gerard Schwarz, Carlo Maria Giulini and Leonard Bernstein. Known for her portrayals of Rossini and Mozart heroines, Ms. Dubinbaum has also distinguished herself in recital, having worked closely with the legendary soprano, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Beginning her studies with her mother, Ruth Dubinbaum, she continued her private studies with the great German mezzo, Mme. Herta Glaz. She appeared on television in the series “In Performance at the White House” and “Live from the Met.” Her DVD recordings include “Francesca da Rimini” with the Metropolitan Opera and the “Met Centennial Gala.” For nearly a decade, her private studio in Phoenix has produced singers who consistently win national competitions and land leading roles with major opera companies. 

As Cio-Cio San, Phoenix Opera will present internationally renowned soprano, Mihoko Kinoshita. Mihoko has been hailed by critics as “the greatest Cio-Cio San” due to her rich and incomparably controlled voice and her unparalleled portrayal of the wide spectrum of emotions necessary for the role. Mihoko has sung the role of Butterfly throughout Europe, Japan, and several major cities in the United States to enthusiastic reviews:  

Madama Butterfly premiered at LaScala, in Milan, in 1904 and has consistently been one of the most performed operas in the repertoire.  In the opera, Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton marries a young Japanese girl, Cio-Cio San (Butterfly). Taking his marriage vows lightly, Pinkerton abandons Cio-Cio San and returns to America where he finds a new wife. Only realizing that she had been abandoned three years later, shortly before a return visit by Pinkerton and his new wife, Cio-Cio San begins to set the stage for the third act’s shocking conclusion. Gail Dubinbaum describes the character she will portray: “Suzuki provides a contrast to the character of Cio-Cio San. Suzuki is older, wiser, a long time companion to Cio- Cio San, a friend of the family for years. She sees the folly in Cio-Cio San's unfailing devotion to the hope that Pinkerton will return. She tries to reason with Cio-Cio San. She is the truest of friends, and when the tragedy becomes apparent, she shares the devastation of Cio-Cio San's disappointment.  They would both be out on the street, impoverished together...but Suzuki never leaves her side. Suzuki is quite a powerful dramatic role...and I love it!  She is Cio-Cio San's greatest protector, her truest friend, the one who must break the unbearable news about Pinkerton and the child to Cio-Cio San. I cry through almost the entire opera.....and spend most of my time on my knees.’ 

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly will be presented on February 12th and 14th, 2010 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster or by calling the Orpheum Theatre at 602-262-7272.

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Parsons Dance presents Remember Me

an all-new version of the dance/rock opera
with the lead vocalists and music of the
Grammy Award-nominated
EAST VILLAGE OPERA COMPANY
The Joyce Theater
 
 THIRD WEEK ADDED!
Now Running From February 2 - 21, 2010

Parsons Dance presents REMEMBER ME, an all-new version of last season's collaboration with the lead vocalists of East Village Opera Company (EVOC), featuring the music of the acclaimed rock opera band at The Joyce Theater from February 2-21, 2010.  Following last season's World Premiere at The Joyce Theater, a PBS Special and a year-long national tour, REMEMBER ME returns to NYC with new choreography, lighting design by Tony Award-winning designer Howell Binkley and costume design by Project Runway designer Austin Scarlett.  Program A features REMEMBER ME with EVOC's two lead vocalists live onstage with Parsons Dance.  Programs B and C will feature Parsons Dance favorites including the stroboscopic Caught. Opening Night on February 2, 2010 will begin with David Parsons performing the first movement of Caught followed by the premiere of the all-new version of REMEMBER ME.
"Awesome dancing and a backbeat to knock it all home.  Eye-popping digital effects.  Excellent showbiz-savvy performers.  Perpetually smoldering.  Lusty, sensual movement."- Deborah Jowitt, The Village Voice

David Parsons, Tyley Ross (lead male vocalist and co-founder of EVOC) and AnnMarie Milazzo (lead female vocalist) have created a storyline that connects EVOC's signature operatic arias (fourteen songs from the band's albums) with David Parsons' original choreography.  REMEMBER ME is a thoroughly modern re-telling of a classic story of a tragic love triangle.  With contemporary dance, aerial dance, live and recorded music, video projections, complex digital lighting and visual effects, REMEMBER ME is the most ambitious production created by Parsons Dance in its 23 year history.

"After completing our first national tour of Remember Me, we are thrilled to bring this show back to New York audiences, in a completely revamped version," said David Parsons, artistic director of Parsons Dance.

EVOC's signature works re-imagine opera arias as popular songs, including pieces by Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Schubert.  These classics collide with electric sounds from the golden era of rock and roll, pop, R&B, and soul, exploding into a mosaic of sound in a triumphant musical celebration. They have received commissions to pen new works from both the New York Public Theatre and New York City Opera, with whom they have also performed at Lincoln Center. EVOC alternately headlines in prestigious classical concert halls and rock clubs, and records exclusively for Decca/Universal records. They have released three CD's. "Pop-infused, hard-hitting arrangements of arias and ensembles from classic operas. The group has won fans among both opera buffs and rockers."- The New York Times

Parsons Dance creates American works of extraordinary artistry that are engaging and uplifting to audiences throughout the world.  It is the goal of Parsons Dance to make contemporary dance accessible to the widest possible audiences.  In addition to choreography and performance, Parsons Dance positively impacts children, students, and communities through student performances, lecture-demonstrations, master classes, post-show discussions and more.  Parsons Dance has a company of eleven full-time dancers and maintains a repertory of more than 70 works choreographed by David Parsons, twenty of which feature originally commissioned scores by leading composers and musicians, including Dave Matthews, Michael Gordon and Milton Nascimento.  Parsons Dance has collaborated with many other leading artists, including Julie Taymor, William Ivey Long, Annie Leibovitz, Donna Karan and Alex Katz (to name a few).  The New York Times called David Parsons "one of the great movers of modern dance." New York Magazine referred to him as "one of modern dance's great living dance-makers."

Parsons Dance dancers are Julie Blume, Eric Bourne, Sarah Braverman, John Corsa, Zac Hammer, Lauren Putty, Miguel Quinones, Abby Silva, Billy Smith, Melissa Ullom and Steven Vaughn.

The three programs follow:

Program A:
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Sundays at 7:30pm; Thursdays - Saturdays at 8pm
(Program C performed on February 17 and 18.)
REMEMBER ME featuring the music of EVOC: Overture, Maria, Mari!, Habanera, Che Gelida Manina, Flower Duet, La Donna E Mobile, Ave Maria, Nessun Dorma, O Mio Babbino Caro, Una Furtiva Lagrima, Ebben? Ne Andro Lontana, When I Am Laid in Earth, Butterfly Duet

Program B:
Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm - Family-Friendly Matinees
Wolfgang, Ebben, Nascimento Novo, Hand Dance, Caught,
Scrutiny
 
Program C:
Wednesday, February 17 at 7:30pm; Thursday, February 18 at 7:30pm
Wolfganag, Brothers, Swing Shift, Kind of Blue, Caught, In The End
 
 
Wolfgang (2005) juxtaposes the classical music of Mozart with the modern choreography of David Parsons.  The three couples in Wolfgang create beautiful pictures throughout this piece, evincing their accomplished partnering skills. Various qualities subtly characterize each section of the piece.  This dance highlights the dancers' technique and musicality, while underscoring their ability to make the constant motion seem effortless and fluid.  Ebben is an excerpt from REMEMBER ME.  Parsons Dance returns to the mesmerizing and exotic music of legendary Brazilian composer Milton Nascimento in Nascimento Novo (2006), exploring themes of sensuality, community and, above all else, the stunning cohesion of ensemble work.  Hand Dance (2003), a playful work set to the vibrant music of Kenji Bunch, features ten "hands" that decide to take on a life of their own.  Through gesture and mime, five dancers offer an endless variety of imaginative evocations, from grasping and forming pistons of a locomotive to playing air cello.  Imaginative and fun, Hand Dance leaves audiences laughing and begging for more.  Caught (1981) is an internationally renowned stroboscopic dance masterpiece that features a solo dancer performing more than 100 leaps in less than six minutes.  Each leap is "caught" by the flash of a strobe light, to create a breathtaking illusion of flight.  Caught has been performed thousands of times, worldwide, for more than 27 years.  In Scrutiny (1987), David Parsons explores the societal pressures to conform.  This work premiered with the Parsons Dance Company on August 25, 1987 in Beckett, Massachusetts, as part of Jacob's Pillow.  Brothers (1982), "a physically charged duet that explores an ambivalent relationship without a wasted motion or gesture," is set to music by Igor Stravinsky and was choreographed by David Parsons and Daniel Ezralow.  Swing Shift (2003), created for four couples and featuring compelling solos for female dancers, explores the human journey toward self-discovery through social interaction, as dancers "swing" and "shift" in order to couple, uncouple and couple again with another.  A tribute to the 75 anniversary of the birth of jazz great Miles David, the quartet Kind of Blue (2001) was commissioned and presented at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy and features the music "So What" from Davis' "Kind of Blue," the best-selling jazz album of all time.  A dynamic piece, the intense, theatrical and athletic In the End (2005), set to the music of the Dave Matthews Band, offers 18 minutes of high-energy, fast-paced, full-throttle dance as short bursts of pas de deux punctuate longer ensemble sections.
 
Parsons Dance will perform February 2-21, 2010 at The Joyce Theater, with performances Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday at 7:30pm; Thursday - Saturday at 8pm; and Saturday and Sunday at 2pm.  The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue (at 19th Street), NYC.  Tickets start at $10 and are available by phone at 212-242-0800 or joyce.org.
 
Parsons Dance will present a Gala Opening Night Celebration, GET CAUGHT IN THE THRILL OF IT ALL, a Tribute to David Parsons, following the opening night performance on February 2, 2010 at The Joyce Theater.  The Gala Celebration will be held immediately following the performance at 9pm at Espace, 635 W. 42nd Street at 11th Avenue, NYC.  Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be followed by a dinner and celebration.  Honorary Chairs:  Froma and Andrew Benerofe, Rita and Irwin Blitt.  Chair:  Linda Stocknoff.  Co-Chairs:  Richard Kielar, Vickie Morris, Barbara Rohdie.  Honorary Committee:  Jody and John Arnhold, Victor Barbee and Julie Kent, Barbara and Theodore S. Bartwink, Howell Binkley, Dr. Michael Blachly, Sally Bliss, Cora Cahan, Fiorenza Scholey Cohen, John Corigliano, Beverly D'Anne, The Honorable Thomas K. Duane, Fe and Alessandro Saracino Fendi, Kelly and Alan Ginsburg, Lois Greenfield, Judy Grunberg, Paloma Herrera, Denise Roberts Hurlin, Susan Jaffe, Neil Klein and Susanne Jones, Terrence D. Jones, Ellsworth Kelly, The Honorable Liz Krueger, Toby Devan Lewis, William Ivey Long, Sharon Gersten Luckman, Kevin McKenzie, Judy and Luca Missoni, Stephen B. Morris, Milton Nascimento, Bebe Neuwirth and Chris Calkins, Moses Pendleton, Judith and Samuel Peabody, William A. Perlmuth, Hal Prince, Lawrence Rhodes, Martin Richards, Suellen Richmond, Antonio Gnecchi Ruscone, Robert A. Schulman, Stephen Schwartz, Margaret Selby, Jack Shear, Linda Shelton, Susan Stroman, Edward Strong, Patsy Tarr, Dr. Billy Taylor, Paul Taylor, Carol Walker, Bob Yesselman, Christian Zimmermann.  Tickets begin at $700 and are available by calling Parsons Dance at (212) 869-9275 or online at nycharities.org/parsonsdance.
 
Parsons Dance is committed to building new audiences for contemporary dance by creating American works of extraordinary artistry that are engaging and uplifting to audiences throughout the world. The company tours regionally, nationally and internationally.  Since 1985, Parsons Dance has toured an average of 32 weeks per year, to a total more than 235 cities, 30 countries, six continents and millions of audience members.  Many others have seen Parsons Dance on PBS, Bravo, A&E Network, and the Discovery Channel. Millions watched Parsons Dance perform live in Times Square as part of the internationally broadcast, 24-hour Millennium New Year's Eve celebration.  In New York City, Parsons Dance has been featured at The Joyce Theater, City Center, New Victory Theater, Central Park Summerstage, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art and The World Trade Center.

David Parsons (Artistic Director/Founder) has enjoyed a remarkable career as a performer, choreographer, teacher, director and producer of dance. Mr. Parsons was born in Chicago and raised in Kansas City. He was a leading dancer with The Paul Taylor Dance Company, where Mr. Taylor created many roles for him in works such as Arden Court, Last Look and Roses. He is a recipient of the 2000 Dance Magazine Award, as well as the 2001 American Choreography Award, for his work as a co-producer of AEROS, a production featuring the Romanian Gymnastic Federation that was featured on Bravo.  Mr. Parsons has created more than 70 works for Parsons Dance. He has received commissions over the years from The American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, the Spoleto Festival and Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, to name a few. His work has been performed by Paris Opera Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Nederlands Danse Theatre, National Ballet of Canada, Hubbard Street Dance and BatSheva Dance Company of Israel, among many others.  In June 2007, Mr. Parsons was honored to be the very first contemporary choreographer ever to stage work at the centuries-old Arena di Verona, in Verona Italy, where he choreographed Verdi's Aida.  The Arena is one of Italy's most respected operatic venues.  In September 2007, he directed and choreographed Gotham Chamber Opera's production of María de Buenos Aires, which made its world premiere at a sold-out engagement in New York, at NYU's Skirball Center for the Arts.

East Village Opera Company was formed in New York City's East Village in 2004 by Canadians Peter Kiesewalter and Tyley Ross.  The East Village Opera Company turned the heads of New York's music community with a series of electric genre defying shows at Joe's Pub, the intimate venue housed by the Public Theatre.  Initially meant as a one-off project, they were quickly signed to Decca/Universal records and met with universal praise from both classical and rock critics and fans. The Washington Post proclaimed that "Opera crossover acts are becoming a veritable cottage industry, but the East Village Opera Co. is markedly different."  They have toured the world with a unique live show, combining a seemingly incongruous classical string section with a powerhouse rock band.  Time Out New York stated that the group "electrifies the classics for a new generation." The Associated Press mused the band was "dramatic" and "mesmerizing" while the Wall Street Journal agreed, noting "The band rocks hard, and deranges the opera stuff with savvy skill."  In a rare feat not many artists can claim, EVOC headlines around the world in both eclectic rock clubs as well as some of the most prestigious classical concert halls. The band's appeal is evident in both cases.  The Chicago Tribune raved "Nobody puts a fresher, friskier contemporary spin on opera's greatest hits than the East Village Opera Company."  The band has also performed at esteemed events such as the Sundance Film Festival, the Miss USA pageant (nationally televised on NBC), and the world-premiere of "The Da Vinci Code" in Hong Kong.  EVOC's PBS Special "EVOC LIVE" was celebrated with an Emmy at the 2006 Emmy Awards.  Their most recent Decca album entitled Olde School was nominated for a Grammy in the Classical Crossover Album category.

Tyley Ross (Male Vocalist / EVOC co-founder) A native of Ottawa Canada, Tyley started performing professionally in his early teens while still a student at Canterbury's school of the Arts.  In the years since then, has been a street busker, a cartoon and voice artist, acted for the small and large screen, written and recorded two solo albums (his composition You Take My Breath Away was featured in the film Woman Wanted directed by Kiefer Sutherland and starring Holly Hunter), and he has performed as a guest soloist with orchestras across Canada and in the USA.  After being discovered by Pete Townshend of The Who in 1994, Tyley was cast in the title role of the Canadian premiere of the Who's Tommy.  For his work in that show, he was honored with the Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Musical.   He spent the next ten years on musical stages across North America, including starring roles at the Shaw and Stratford Festivals, and on Broadway.  In 2001, Tyley was introduced to Peter Kiesewalter and they began experimenting with recording opera arias in a variety of modern contexts.   This project led to the release of the CD La Donna and the unveiling of the East Village Opera Company in 2004 with a series of acclaimed performances at New York's Joe's Pub.  Within a year the band had signed a multi-record deal with Decca/Universal, and has since released two CD's:  East Village Opera Company (2005) and Olde School (2008).  Tyley has his master's degree in voice studies from London's Central School of Speech and Drama.

AnnMarie Milazzo (Female Vocalist) is a singer, arranger, composer and lyricist living in NYC.  She has done the vocal arrangements for Spring Awakening, the Broadway musical at the Eugene O'Neill Theater; Next To Normal, which premiered Off Broadway at Second Stage Theatre; Bright Lights, Big City at New York Theatre Workshop; and the Paramount feature film "The Marc Pease Experience" starring Ben Stiller.  Some of her most recent work includes a new musical Pretty Dead Girl, which premiered at The Sundance Film Festival and is now being produced by the Araca Group in New York City, book by David Henry Wang.  Also currently in progress is the musical Sea Change based on the Lois Gould novel, book by Karen Hartman.  AnnMarie is the lyricist for Franco Dragone's Carmen, which premiered at The Jolla Playhouse and opened in Madrid in 2009. She is currently writing lyrics for Cirque du Soleil's, Le Reve, at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.  AnnMarie's singing credits include working with artists such as Angelique Kidjo on her Black Ivory Soul Tour also singing with Carlos Santana. She also toured with Jonatha Brooke and performed on her DVD Back In The Circus, shot live in NYC.

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community and its audiences since 1982.  The founders, Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea, which opened as The Joyce Theater in 1982. The Joyce is named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz.  It was LuEsther's clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to establish the theater.  One of the only theaters built by dancers for dance, The Joyce Theater has provided an intimate and elegant New York home for more than 290 domestic and international companies.  The Joyce has also commissioned more than 130 new dances since 1992.  In 1996, The Joyce created Joyce SoHo, a dance center providing highly subsidized rehearsal and performance space to hundreds of dance artists.  New York City public school students and teachers annually benefit from The Joyce's Dance Education Program, and adult audiences get closer to dance through pre-engagement Dance Talks and post-performance Humanities discussions.  The Joyce Theater now features an annual season of approximately 48 weeks with over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 135,000.  Additionally, for the last five years The Joyce has co-produced Evening Stars as part of the River To River Festival in Battery Park.
 
The stage production of Remember Me is made possible by lead commissioning support from The Ellsworth Kelly Foundation; and Dr. and Mrs. Edward J. Prostic, in honor and memory of their daughter Elizabeth Anne Prostic.

For more information, visit parsonsdance.org and eastvillageoperacompany.com.

PARSONS DANCE
The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue (at 19th Street), NYC
February 2-21, 2010

Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday at 7:30pm; Thursday - Saturday at 8pm; Saturday and Sunday at 2pm
Tickets start at $10
JoyceCharge: 212-242-0800
joyce.org

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Portland Symphony Orchestra Hires Leah Robertson as New Associate Director, Development & Special Projects

PORTLAND, Maine - The Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO) today announced the appointment of Leah Robertson as the Portland Symphony Orchestra’s new associate director, Development & Special Projects.  In her work with the PSO, she will oversee the operations of the Symphony’s fundraising and donor stewardship strategies. Robertson previously served as the development coordinator for the Gulf of Maine Research Institute where she was responsible for Development communications, Board support, donor stewardship, and its highly successful Lunch & Learn series.  From 2004 to 2006, Robertson served as development assistant at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  A graduate of Colby College , Leah led the 2003 Women's Crew team to a NCAA Championship Title.

For information on the Portland Symphony Orchestra, visit www.portlandsymphony.com.

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Le choix du public 2008-2009 : L'Ensemble Caprice

POUR SON CONCERT VIVALDI ET LES GITANS

Montréal le 14 janvier 2010 – Dans le cadre du concours « Le choix du public » du Conseil des arts de Montréal en tournée, c’est l’Ensemble Caprice qui a conquis le public de sa 26e saison (2008-2009) avec son concert Vivaldi et les gitans.
 
Le nom de l’organisme lauréat a été dévoilé aujourd’hui par la présidente du Conseil des arts de Montréal, Louise Roy, lors de la rencontre annuelle du Conseil des arts de Montréal en tournée qui réunissait une centaine de professionnels, artistes, agents de tournée, conseillers culturels et diffuseurs municipaux, pour préparer la prochaine saison 2010-2011.
Une gravure intitulée Prospection d’un jeune artiste de la relève, Arthur Desmarteaux, a été remise comme prix de reconnaissance à Matthias Maute et Sophie Larivière. Ensemble, ils dirigent, avec doigté et passion, cette formation musicale reconnue pour l’esprit novateur qu’il insuffle au répertoire baroque.
 
L'Ensemble Caprice oeuvre depuis près d'une vingtaine d'années dans le milieu de la musique ancienne. Fondé en 1989 en Allemagne par son directeur artistique et flûtiste Matthias Maute, l'Ensemble est maintenant établi à Montréal. Sophie Larivière en assure la codirection artistique depuis 1997. Les membres de l'Ensemble Caprice sont à la recherche de nouvelles formes d'interprétation du répertoire baroque qui conduit à l'élaboration de programmes thématiques inusités et captivants. L’Ensemble Caprice connaît un rayonnement international important. (www.ensemblecaprice.com)
 
Le concert Vivaldi et les gitans, qui a été enregistré sous étiquette Analekta, allie la musique gitane de l’Europe centrale du XIIIe siècle à celle de Vivaldi.
 
Le choix du public est le résultat du vote des participants au concours qui invitait les citoyens des villes et arrondissements de l’île de Montréal à donner leur appréciation sur les activités (spectacles, expositions, films) présentées près de chez eux par le Conseil des arts de Montréal en tournée. Le résultat du vote a été pondéré selon les taux de participation et de fréquentation.

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New Jersey Symphony Orchestra & Opera New Jersey Present Bizet's Carme

OPERA SUPERSTAR DENYCE GRAVES PERFORMS TITLE ROLE

NJPAC PARTNERS ON NEWARK PERFORMANCE
FRI., FEB. 5, 2010 IN PRINCETON
SUN., FEB. 7, 2010 IN NEW BRUNSWICK
FRI., FEB. 12, 2010 IN NEWARK

Newark, NJ—Continuing a partnership that thrilled New Jersey audiences last summer, Opera New Jersey and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra present Carmen, Bizet’s immortal opera of passion, jealousy and murder, in three venues across the state. The New Jersey Performing Arts Center partners with the two organizations to present the Newark performance.

Internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves will perform the opera’s iconic title role. Metropolitan Opera veteran Richard Leech performs the role of Don José, and Luis Ledesma performs that of Escamillo, the dashing toreador. Joseph Rescigno conducts. The performance will be sung in French with English supertitles.

Maestro Rescigno says he is always excited to make the well-known work feel fresh. “The ongoing challenge for a conductor—especially one who has conducted this work repeatedly—is to cut through its great audience familiarity and rediscover the magic that caused this opera to become, and remain, the most popular in the French repertoire. Very carefully, I try to strip my mind of the many performances I’ve conducted and recordings I’ve heard, and cultivate a personal connection to the printed page.

“Especially in Carmen, the opera’s rhythms are life’s rhythms, and the conductor must have a total command of pacing to bring this opera to life,” he says.

Performances take place on Friday, February 5, (7:30 p.m.) at the Matthews Theatre Auditorium at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, Sunday, February 7, (3 p.m.) at the State Theatre in New Brunswick and Friday, February 12 (8 p.m.) at NJPAC in Newark. Tickets range in price from $25 to $125 in Princeton and from $25 to $109 in New Brunswick and Newark.

Tickets for all performances are available for purchase from the NJSO Box Office by phone at 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or online at www.njsymphony.org. Tickets for the NJPAC engagement may also be purchased through the NJPAC Box Office by phone at 1.888.GO.NJPAC (466.5722), online at www.njpac.org or in person at 1 Center Street in Newark.

About the Music
Panned by several critics at its opening run in Paris in 1875, Carmen’s popularity launched after an acclaimed Viennese production later that year. The fiery opera has since become one of the most widely performed operas in the world.

The music is as zealous as its story, which chronicles the titular character—a beautiful gypsy—and her romances with the soldier Don José and toreador Escamillo. The tale of passion, jealousy and murder inspired some of Bizet’s most daring work; he brings to the French opera a distinctly exotic musical palette.

Carmen features some of opera’s most famous compositions, including the title character’s Act I Habañera aria, a lilting tease of Latin rhythms and a chromatic vocal line based on the melody of a Spanish song. Escamillo sings the bold Toreador Song as he flirts with Carmen early in Act II.

Of interpreting the music of this operatic masterpiece, Rescigno says: “I lead the chorus of cigarette girls in Act I more slowly than it’s often done nowadays. This tempo is more in line with Bizet’s original indications. It very clearly emphasizes the sensuality of these women. The Act II quintet, on the other hand, is like a symphonic ‘scherzo and trio,’ and profits from brisk pacing, with only a slight relaxation in tempo in the middle section.

“In the climactic duet in Act IV, one must pay attention to the many tempo changes that mirror the growing instability of Don José. The development of their love-hate relationship transforms Carmen from comedy to tragedy, from opéra comique to what some consider the first verismo opera.”

About the Artists
Joseph Rescigno has served 28 years as artistic advisor and principal conductor of the Florentine Opera Company in Milwaukee, where he will conduct the world premiere of Don Davis’s Río de Sangre in 2010. In addition, he has conducted symphonies, concertos, operas and oratorios, from Bach through contemporary works, in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Rescigno has made six recordings, and he is working on his first book.

A frequent guest conductor, Rescigno has conducted some 50 opera companies and symphony orchestras throughout the world, among them the New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Hungarian State Opera in Budapest, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Seattle Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Vancouver Opera, Opéra de Marseille and l’Opéra de Montréal. The symphony orchestras that he has conducted include the Montreal Symphony and the Milwaukee Symphony orchestras, both of which he has conducted in regular subscription concerts and opera productions.

Dubbed “an operatic superstar of the 21st century” by USA Today, Denyce Graves continues to gather unparalleled popular and critical acclaim in performances on four continents. Her rich vocalism, elegant stage presence and exciting theatrical abilities allow her to pursue a wide breadth of operatic portrayals and delight audiences in concert and recital appearances. Her signature roles—those of the title characters in Carmen and Samson et Dalila—have brought her to the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Real in Madrid, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Los Angeles Opera and the Festival Maggio Musicale in Florence.

This season, Graves celebrates the opening of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts in a gala concert with Thomas Hampson and the Dallas Opera Orchestra and Chorus. She reprises her acclaimed portrayal of Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle in concert performances of the opera with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.

Graves appears continually in a broad range of repertoire with leading theaters and orchestras worldwide; she is one of the world’s most sought-after recitalists. In addition to multiple Metropolitan Opera engagements, Graves has recently appeared with the Washington Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera and Théâtre Musical de Paris, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Genoa’s Teatro Carlo Felice, the Bregenz Festival and festivals in Italy and Spain. Graves gave her first performances of Adalgisa in Norma for Opernhaus Zürich. She performed a rare double-bill of El amor brujo and La vida breve specifically mounted for her by Dallas Opera. She has appeared with the Israel and Los Angeles Philharmonics and the National, Chicago and BBC Symphony Orchestras.

Graves has garnered awards including the Grand Prix du Concours International de Chant de Paris, the Eleanor Steber Music Award in the Opera Columbus Vocal Competition and a Jacobson Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation.

For more than 20 years, Richard Leech has been singing many of the most demanding and well-known roles of the Italian and French repertoire, both on disc and on the stages of the world’s leading opera houses. Of his much anticipated 1989 debut with Metropolitan Opera as Rodolfo La Bohème, The New York Times wrote: “Other than Pavarotti on his best night, I can’t think of another tenor I’d rather hear in the part.” Since then, he has sung nearly 200 Met performances in a dozen leading tenor roles—many for the popular Texaco Radio Broadcast Series.

In addition to appearances with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the opera companies of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington and San Diego, Leech has regularly performed with Opèra National de Paris, Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, Florence’s Teatro Comunale and Deutsche Oper Berlin. Leech has appeared with orchestras including the Vienna and New York Philharmonics and the National and Montreal Symphonies.

His televised performances include a production of Madama Butterfly and the James Levine 25th Anniversary Gala with the Met and a “Live from Lincoln Center” Rigoletto with the New York City Opera, as well as appearances on the annual Richard Tucker Music Foundation Gala. Leech was the recipient of the prestigious Richard Tucker Award in 1989 and The Voice Foundation’s “Voice Education, Research and Awareness” (VERA) Award.

His discography boasts more than a dozen recordings; a 1991 Berlin performance of Les Huguenots was recently released on DVD (Arthaus).

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is comprised of some of the country’s finest musicians. The Orchestra is proud to have Jacques Lacombe as its Music Director Designate and Neeme Järvi as its Conductor Laureate. Artistic excellence, innovative programming and community engagement are hallmarks of its mission. To best serve the people of New Jersey, the orchestra brings its programs to seven different venues throughout the state. Education and outreach programs enrich the listening experience for children and adults alike. The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Broadcast Series, presented in part by the Merck Company Foundation, is a syndicated radio program broadcast regionally and throughout North America. Continental Airlines is the official airline of the NJSO.

For more information about the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, visit www.njsymphony.org or e-mail information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or on the Orchestra’s website.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s programs are made possible in part by The New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, along with many other foundations, corporations and individual donors.

Opera New Jersey

Opera New Jersey is recognized nationally as a leader among regional opera companies, providing high-quality opera performances and exceptional educational offerings. Opera New Jersey seeks to stimulate, promote and satisfy interest in opera, build a strong and diverse audience base for the art form and foster the development of emerging artists. Opera New Jersey has received three prestigious Citations of Excellence from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA). The Citation is NJSCA’s highest honor and recognizes arts organizations that “exhibit the highest standards of excellence in artistry, operations, governance, public benefit and fulfillment of areas of Council priority. Opera New Jersey is honored to be the recipient of multiple National Endowment for the Arts grants in recognition of its outstanding programming. For more information, visit www.Opera-NJ.org.

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center

New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in the heart of an emerging downtown Newark, New Jersey, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States. Home of the Grammy Award-winning New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, NJPAC has been widely cited as a catalyst in the revitalization of New Jersey’s largest city, attracting more than 6 million visitors (including more than one million children) in its first 12 years of operation.

Programming has been made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.

NJPAC is a wheelchair accessible facility and provides assistive services such as TTY ticket purchase, designated seating, Sennheiser infrared listening devices and seat cushions. For more information, visit www.njpac.org.

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The Cleveland Orchestra presents “The Fancy Flute” Musical Rainbow concerts on February 12 and 13 in Severance Hall’s Reinberger Chamber Hall

Cleveland Orchestra flute and piccolo player Mary Kay Fink will be featured in program

PNC is new sponsor of the Musical Rainbow Series
 
CLEVELAND, January 14, 2010 – Cleveland Orchestra flutist Mary Kay Fink will introduce children ages 3-6 to “The Fancy Flute” in the February 12 and 13 PNC Musical Rainbow concerts, held in Severance Hall’s Reinberger Chamber Hall.  Local actress and singer Maryann Nagel hosts the 30-minute, age-appropriate programs, which include narration, demonstration, short solo selections, and audience participation.  Biographical information on Ms. Fink follows at the end of this release.
This season, as part of its Grow Up Great initiative in Cleveland, PNC is sponsoring the Musical Rainbows Series for preschoolers as well as a wide range of other activities and programs designed to give very young children “A Great Early Start in the Arts.”  PNC Musical Rainbow programs introduce very young children to the instruments of the orchestra, one at a time. 
           
Friday, February 12, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.   SOLD OUT
Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall

PNC Musical Rainbow:  “The Fancy Flute” (ages 3-6)

MARY KAY FINK, flute

MARYANN NAGEL, host

NICHOLAS UNDERHILL, piano


The PNC Musical Rainbow Series is endowed by the Pysht Fund.

TICKETS:  $7 for adults and children; general admission
To order tickets by phone, call (216) 231-1111.  Tickets are also available online at clevelandorchestra.com.

PARKING – For PNC Musical Rainbow concerts at Severance Hall, Standard Parking provides parking in the underground garage adjacent to Severance Hall at a special Rainbow Concert rate of $4.50 per vehicle.  Clearly marked school buses and vans may park for free on the west side of East Boulevard.  Metered parking is also available on some side streets near Severance Hall.

The Cleveland Orchestra’s PNC Musical Rainbow Series is part of a broad array of educational programs designed to foster a love of music and a lifetime of participation in the musical arts. Other programs include Cleveland Orchestra Family Concerts for ages 7 and up, Cleveland Orchestra Education Concerts (which bring more than 25,000 school children to Severance Hall each year), the Learning Through Music school partnership program, Concert Previews and Music Study Groups for adults, and several programs to nurture aspiring young musicians (Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Youth Chorus, and Children’s Chorus). For more information, call the Orchestra’s Educational and Community Programs Department at (216) 231-7355.

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Mozart’s Requiem Features World Premiere at Merrill Auditorium March 30

Presented by The Choral Art Society and Portland Ballet Company

PORTLAND, Maine – The Choral Art Society and Portland Ballet Company are joining forces once again to explore an already world-renowned choral and orchestral work with the beauty of dance. The two organizations will present Mozart’s powerful masterpiece, the Requiem, on Tuesday, March 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Merrill Auditorium in Portland.

This riveting performance will feature the world premier of new choreography by Kennet Oberly; the Choral Art Society singers; Portland Ballet Company dancers, and musicians from the Portland Symphony Orchestra. The dancers embody the emotion of the piece, its sense of grief, resurrection and hope. The Requiem celebrates the beauty and strength of life, and the power of belief in the face of death. The dance will visually enhance the majesty and spirituality of the music.

The Portland Ballet and the Choral Art Society have partnered in the past, in particular their productions of Carmina Burana received rave reviews from fans and press.

"Every composition has a story, even if it is only, 'I want to write a song,'” said Robert Russell, music director of the Choral Art Society. “The story of the genesis, and eventual synthesis, of Mozart's Requiem still grabs me. And I have read it a dozen times. We hope many will want to be taken in by its mesmerizing spirit."

The Maine Arts Commission (MAC) awarded Portland Ballet and the Choral Art Society a Good Idea Visibility Arts Grant of $1,500 to create a video element to promote its collaborative performance. MAC awards the grant with the goal of increasing the visibility of a specific artistic project.

“Our joint performance of Mozart’s Requiem with the Choral Art Society will be a truly extraordinary experience for audience members,” notes Eugenia L. O’Brien, artistic director of Portland Ballet. “This grant will help us reach a broader audience and share information about the performance with those who know and love Mozart, as well as those who might want to be introduced to his work through a powerful and emotional performance of music and dance.”

Tickets are available through PortTix at www.porttix.com or by calling 207-842-0800 or in person at 20 Myrtle St., Portland, Monday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. Tickets purchased over the phone or online will be assessed a $5 per ticket handling charge; tickets range in price from $17- $62.

The concert is sponsored by Tenney UBS Inc. This production has also received funding from the Libra Foundation, the Davis Family Foundation, the Rines/Thompson Fund of the Maine Community Foundation and the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

About The Choral Art Society:
The Society has more than 150 members who perform in three distinct ensembles: the symphonic Masterworks Chorus, the mid-sized Choral Art Singers, and the intimate a cappella Camerata. All singers are skilled amateurs, selected by audition. The Society offers an annual concert series and appears regularly as guests of the Portland Symphony Orchestra. Robert Russell, professor of music at the University of Southern Maine, is the conductor and artistic director of The Choral Art Society.

For more information about The Choral Art Society and the season of performances visit www.choralart.org or call (207) 828-0043.

About Portland Ballet:

Portland Ballet was founded in 1980 with a mission to enrich the community through classical ballet training, education, outreach, and performance. This small professional company performs throughout the year in southern Maine, presenting full-length classics as well as highly regarded contemporary choreography under the direction of Artistic Director Eugenia L. O'Brien.

For more information about Portland Ballet, its school and programs, visit www.portlandballet.org or call 207-772-9671.

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The Band of the Irish Guards and The Pipes, Drums and Dancers of the Royal Regiment of Scotland

(Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders)
Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 2 PM / Roy Thomson Hall
$69.50 - $39.50 - Call 416-872-4255 or buy online at www.roythomson.com
or visit the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office

Toronto, ON.  January 14, 2010   

The Band of the Irish Guards and The Pipes, Drums and Dancers of the Royal Regiment of Scotland (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) bring all the pomp and grandeur of the British Empire to Roy Thomson Hall with a rousing presentation of pageantry and music called “Hands Across the Sea” on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 2 PM. The Toronto performance is part of the company’s extensive 2010 North American tour and features over 80 performers and a stirring program of marches, anthems, fanfares, bagpipe medleys, jigs and popular songs from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

In 1900, Queen Victoria formed The Irish Guards to commemorate the bravery of the many Irish Regiments that had fought in the South African campaigns. The Band of the Irish Guards was formed about the same time and quickly gained a reputation for excellence. In 1905 the Band made the first of many tours of Canada and the people of Toronto were so impressed that they presented the Band with a Silver Cup that even today remains a cherished possession of the Band. With a current roster of 49 musicians, the Band’s main duty is to play for the Mounting of The Queen’s Guard at Buckingham Palace (alternating with the other four Foot Guards Bands), and for official ceremonial occasions such as State Visits, Royal Weddings, Royal Garden Parties and, of course, The Queen’s Birthday Parade.  Over the years the Band of the Irish Guards has toured Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Germany, Hong Kong, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Japan. During this 2010 North American tour, the Band makes its U.S. debut.

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders came into being in 1881 with the amalgamation of two distinguished Scottish regiments (which had been formed during the reign of George III): The 91st Argyllshire Highlanders and the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders last appeared on a North America concert tour with the Black Watch in 1989 and with the 1st Battalion Queens Regiment in 1993. In March 2006 the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders became the 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and are due to receive new colours in 2010.  The Battalion recently returned from Helmand Province in Afghanistan, where the Pipes and Drums were deployed as part of the Heavy Machine Gun platoon, working closely with the U.S. Marine Corps. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, are now based in Canterbury, Kent.

 
This performance is co-presented by Attila Glatz Concert Productions and Roy Thomson Hall
                       
The Band of the Irish Guards and The Pipes, Drums and Dancers of the Royal Regiment of Scotland Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 2 PM / Roy Thomson Hall $69.50 - $39.50 - Call 416-872-4255 or buy online at www.roythomson.com

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Vancouver Opera Takes Major Step In Social Media Innovation and Information Technology

Vancouver, BC ~ Vancouver Opera has intensified its commitment to developing community engagement and infrastructure through cutting-edge technologies with  two important staff appointments in the areas of social media and information technology.

Ling Chan has been promoted to the newly-created position of Social Media Manager and Hali Autio has been promoted to Director of Information Technology.

Vancouver Opera is one of a very few arts organizations in North America with full-time staff dedicated to Social Media initiatives. VO is proud to be a leader in the use of Social Media in the Vancouver arts community and in the performing arts world and is pleased to show its commitment to growth and innovation in this area with Chan’s promotion. 

Since joining VO in 2007 as an executive assistant, Ling Chan has been responsible for many groundbreaking social media marketing innovations. Chan’s Blogger Night @ The Opera was the first of its kind and has subsequently been adopted by opera companies worldwide. Chan has also built a strong online fan base for VO through a very active Twitter presence (including live tweeting from backstage during performances), a Fashion at the Opera Flickr stream, the OperaBot animation contest, and the popular VO blog, which includes regular features such as “Operamania 101”.

Hali Autio joined VO in 2004 and since then, as Manager of Information Technology, has worked to advance and improve VO’s technological infrastructure. In her new capacity as Director of Information Technology, Autio will continue to expand VO’s use of emergent technologies.

“I am very pleased to announce these promotions,” said Christopher Libby, Managing Director. “Ling Chan has been instrumental in establishing VO on the cutting-edge of the social media realm world-wide. Hali Autio’s commitment to new technologies has built a solid infrastructure for VO and under her management I expect we will continue to see improvements.”

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Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières Avis d'Auditions Nationales

Trois-Rivières, le 14 janvier 2010 – L’Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières annonce la tenue d’auditions nationales afin de combler deux postes de violon I de section et un poste de violon II de section.

Les violonistes intéressés devront déposer leur candidature au plus tard le 13 février 2010. Le comité de sélection, présidé par maestro Jacques Lacombe et composé de musiciens de l’OSTR, entendra les candidats retenus le 27 février 2010 au Conservatoire de musique de Trois-Rivières
(587, rue Radisson).

Pour en savoir plus sur les modalités d’inscription, consultez le www.ostr.ca ou contactez le 819 373-5340 poste 0.

L’Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières reçoit l’appui du Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, de la Ville de Trois-Rivières et du Conseil des Arts du Canada.

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Ben Heppner to Perform Special Solo Recital on September 11, 2010

Toronto, Ontario The Canadian Opera Company (COC) and celebrated Canadian tenor Ben Heppner are pleased to announce that Mr. Heppner will perform a special solo recital with piano on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 4:30 p.m. at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.  The recital is free for all ticket buyers of the COC’s November 7, 2009 Diamond Anniversary concert at which Mr. Heppner was to have been featured.

Diamond Anniversary concert ticket buyers can redeem their same seats by contacting COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231 by Friday, May 21, 2010.  All unredeemed and available tickets will go on sale to the public Monday, May 31, 2010

Accompanying Mr. Heppner is Canadian pianist and co-artistic director of Queen of Puddings Music Theatre John Hess, who works regularly with Mr. Heppner in Canada. 

“I am pleased that we have found a date for this special recital that works both with the COC’s and Ben’s full performance schedules,” says Alexander Neef, General Director.  “We are very happy that this special recital can take place at the Four Seasons Centre, and we all look forward to a highly personal concert from one of the world’s greatest artists.”

Ticket prices range from $20 to $120 and can be ordered online as of May 31, 2010 at coc.ca or by calling 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre Box Office (145 Queen St. W., Toronto). 

Mr. Heppner last performed with the COC as part of the Inaugural Gala Celebrations for the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on June 14, 2006.

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The Nylons are “Putting It Together” with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra


Winnipeg, MB – January 13, 2010 –The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) welcomes veteran vocal group The Nylons this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Centennial Concert Hall!

The Nylons, a four-member vocal group with a 30-year history, has seven gold and six platinum recordings and over three million albums sold. A global institution and one of Canada’s top international success stories, they have performed more than 1000 concerts in dozens of worldwide tours.

A legend in the world of a cappella music, The Nylons are renowned for their vibrant live shows, featuring dazzling harmonies, smooth arrangements, tight choreography, and fabulous showmanship. Their rapport with their audiences makes them perennial favorites for all age groups. The Nylons continue to perform worldwide to passionate audiences and critical acclaim.

Guiding the smooth show will be special guest conductor Charles Cozens, an internationally known arranger, composer, conductor, and producer, with credits including The Nylons, The Canadian Tenors, Eagle & Hawk, David Foster, and many Canadian Symphony Orchestras. He is a past recipient of the Established Performing Artist Award from the Mississauga Arts Council and has been nominated for a Juno Award for his album “Balance” (Instrumental Album of the Year).

The Nylons: Putting It Together will feature favourites like Putting It Together, Lovers Never Say Goodbye, Small Town Boy, If You Could Read My Mind, Time of the Season, and more!

The WSO performs the Pops concert, The Nylons: Putting It Together, on Friday, January 15 and Saturday, January 16 at 8 pm and on Sunday, January 17 at 2 pm at the Centennial Concert Hall. Tickets range from $18 to $75 and are available through the WSO box office at 949-3999, online at www.wso.ca or through Ticketmaster 780-3333 or ticketmaster.ca.

Click here listen to listen to The Nylons’ tenor Garth Mosbaugh speak with executive director Trudy Schroeder and composer-in-residence Vincent Ho on Musically Speaking with the WSO on CJOB about how it feels to perform with a full orchestra.

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Augmentation de la contribution au Conseil des Arts de Montréal

La présidente Louise Roy remercie le maire Tremblay

Montréal le 13 janvier 2010 - Le Conseil des arts de Montréal remercie le maire Gérald Tremblay et son équipe pour la majoration de 250 000$ de la contribution qui lui est versée. Cette augmentation s’ajoute à l’indexation et porte la contribution de l’administration municipale à 10 950 000 $ dès cette année, soit une hausse totale de 4,8 %.

Pour la présidente du Conseil des arts de Montréal, Louise Roy, « c’est une bonne nouvelle pour le Conseil des arts et les artistes de Montréal ! Cette augmentation de près de 5% s’inscrit parmi plusieurs actions budgétaires concrètes en culture de la part de l’Administration Tremblay. Le maire démontre ainsi la volonté de la Ville de poursuivre, malgré la conjoncture difficile, le développement de ce secteur et de soutenir les créateurs. Cet investissement témoigne également de sa confiance dans nos actions et initiatives nouvelles et il permettra au Conseil d’encourager davantage la création artistique dans la métropole. »

Les artistes et les organismes artistiques améliorent la qualité de vie de Montréal tout en contribuant à son développement économique et à son rayonnement international. Rappelons que le secteur des arts et de la culture est en forte croissance (4,6% en 2008*) et a des retombées économiques importantes pour Montréal (7,8 milliards $ annuellement*)

*Source : La culture à Montréal : impacts économiques et financement privé étude de la Chambre de commerce du Montréal métropolitain, nov. 2009.

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La place des nouveaux médias sociaux dans la stratégie marketing des organismes culturels

Avec : Philippe Ravanas

Mardi 16 février 2010
9 h à 16 h
HEC Montréal
(3000, chemin de la Côte Ste-Catherine, Montréal)

La Chaire de gestion des arts, en collaboration avec Culture Montréal, propose un séminaire qui vise à mieux comprendre comment les nouveaux médias peuvent contribuer à l’identité de la marque de l’organisme, à la fidélisation des publics et à la personnalisation de la relation entre artistes et publics. Venez participer de l'expertise de Philippe Ravanas, spécialiste en marketing et professeur à la maîtrise au Département de gestion des arts, du spectacle et des médias du Columbia College à Chicago

Tarifs
Régulier : 200$ + tx
Réduit* : 100$ + tx

*Nombre limité de places à prix réduit offert aux organismes culturels de petite taille. Premier arrivé, premier servi !

Information et inscription

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Django: World’s Greatest Jazz Guitarist

“When I think about the best guitar players ever, the first name that comes to mind is Django Reinhardt.  No one has ever equaled his sound or technique.”
—Willie Nelson 
«The story of Django Reinhardt is a natural for younger audiences…Christensen supports the inspirational story with rich, vibrant paintings that capture the texture and tone of the landscapes in Django’s life. The art steals the show here, but the text works fine, too, describing the essence of Django’s story without overwhelming middle-graders with too much detail.  (starred)            
Booklist

“Christensen’s soft, rhythmic prose echoes her evocative images….A sensuous tribute to an illustrious musician.                    
School Library Journal

Jazz Americain, jazz like Django--
Moving bending changing blending
Try that rhythm, stretch that measure
Syncopation. Twist that line.

With a haunting, rhythmic, jazz-inflected text and lush oil paintings, Bonnie Christensen captures the spirit of Django Reinhardt .  Although he is considered the world’s most acclaimed jazz guitarist, he is little known to young readers and musicians.  Now, children can get to know the great Django Reinhardt whose personal story is as riveting as his music.   Born into extreme poverty, in a gypsy encampment, Django overcame tremendous obstacles, including a debilitating injury to become a legend in the annals of jazz. 
            Through evocative prose and paintings Christensen illuminates an extraordinary life and introduces a masterful musician to a new generation.  Christensen also includes an informative afterword, notes, bibliography and a selected discography. 

BONNIE CHRISTENSEN is the author-illustrator of Woodie Guthrie: Poet of the People, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book and a New York Times Notable Book. Her illustrations also appear in the London Folio Society's edition of The Grapes of Wrath and over ten children's books, including Pompeii, Lost and Found by Mary Pope Osborne. Most recently, she illustrated Ida B. Wells: Let The Truth Be Told, with text by Walter Dean Myers. Bonnie's fine art prints have been exhibited internationally. When she’s not working on books or making prints, Bonnie can be found playing violin and gloating over the fact that she shares a birthday with Django Reinhardt. The day, NOT the year! She lives in Wilson, North Carolina.

DJANGO: World’s Greatest Jazz Guitarist • by Bonnie Christensen

A Neal Porter Book/Published by Roaring Brook Press • ISBN: 978-1-59643-422-6

Hardcover Picture Book • Ages 5 to 9 / Grades K to 4 • 32 pages •  $17.99 • On Sale September 2009

Roaring Brook Press is an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

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Monday, February 1, 2010

Treizième Édition du Gala des Prix Opus : Les Résultats !

Animé par André Papillon et Mario Paquet, le treizième gala des prix Opus a eu lieu aujourd'hui à la Salle Claude-Champagne, à Montréal. Réunis dans le cadre de cet événement incontournable, artistes et artisans ont été récompensés par 27 prix soulignant leur talent, pour la saison s'échelonnant du 1er septembre 2008 au 31 août 2009. Ponctuée par des prestations musicales, la cérémonie de remise de prix a suscité beaucoup d'enthousiasme. Plusieurs couleurs et styles musicaux ont été mis à l'honneur par des artistes de renom : l'Ensemble Caprice, Louis Dufort, Mathieu Gaudet et Karina Gauvin, Christine Tassan et les Imposteures, Normand Forget et le Jazz Trio, le tout sous la direction artistique de Mathieu Lussier.

Le prix Hommage a été remis au compositeur Jacques Hétu. Compositeur, pianiste, hautboïste et pédagogue, Jacques Hétu est l'un des patriarches de la composition au Québec. Originaire de Trois-Rivières, il est reconnu pour son style unique qui donne une place importante au lyrisme, à la poésie et à l'émotion, étant sensible à la rigueur structurelle des contemporains. Son répertoire inclut cinq symphonies, une quinzaine de concertos, un opéra, ainsi que plusieurs oeuvres de musique de chambre. Ses oeuvres ont été interprétées internationalement par des ensembles prestigieux tels l'Orchestre Philharmonique de New York et l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France. Tout au long de sa carrière, M. Hétu reçoit les plus grands honneurs de la musique. Huit fois récipiendaire du Prix Jan V. Matejcek pour la musique de concert de la SOCAN, sa musique continue d'être choyée par les interprètes. Il a été élu membre de la Société Royale du Canada et nommé Officier de l'Ordre du Canada ainsi qu'Officier de l'Ordre national du Québec.


À l'initiative du Conseil québécois de la musique, le gala des prix Opus souligne le travail des artistes, artisans, créateurs et diffuseurs, qui ont rayonné au cours de la saison 2008-2009. Tout en célébrant l'excellence de la musique de concert, cette fête nous rappelle la vitalité et la diversité de notre communauté culturelle. Le Québec foisonne de musiciens de talent et la qualité des lauréats de cette année nous a permis encore une fois de le constater, tout en offrant aux mélomanes le goût de la découverte de ces musiques.




LAURÉATS DU TREIZIÈME GALA DES PRIX OPUS - SAISON 2008-2009

CONCERT DE L'ANNÉE - MONTRÉAL (prix accompagné d'une bourse de 3 000 $ du Conseil des arts de Montréal)
La porte du ciel, Société de musique contemporaine du Québec et Faculté de musique de l'Université de Montréal, 7 novembre 2008

CONCERT DE L'ANNÉE - QUÉBEC

Plácido Domingo à Québec, Orchestre symphonique de Québec et Festival d'été de Québec, 17 juillet 2009

CONCERT DE L'ANNÉE - RÉGIONS

Chopin et Liszt, André Laplante, piano, Centre d'arts Orford, 20 juin 2009

CONCERT DE L'ANNÉE - MUSIQUES MÉDIÉVALE, DE LA RENAISSANCE, BAROQUE

Le Faste de la France
, Ensemble Caprice et Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, 3 mai 2009

CONCERT DE L'ANNÉE - MUSIQUES CLASSIQUE, ROMANTIQUE, POSTROMANTIQUE, IMPRESSIONNISTE

Impressions russes, Les Violons du Roy, 5 décembre 2008

CONCERT DE L'ANNÉE - MUSIQUES MODERNE, CONTEMPORAINE

La porte du ciel, Société de musique contemporaine du Québec et Faculté de musique de l'Université de Montréal, 7 novembre 2008

CONCERT DE L'ANNÉE - MUSIQUES ACTUELLE, ÉLECTROACOUSTIQUE

Psukhô en concert 2, Productions Totem contemporain, 4 octobre 2008

CONCERT DE L'ANNÉE - JAZZ, MUSIQUES DU MONDE

Oliver Jones Jazzmen québécois, Journée Oscar Peterson, Festival de musique de chambre de Montréal,
15 mai 2009


CRÉATION DE L'ANNÉE
Chorals ornés
, Yves Daoust, compositeur, Festival Orgue et couleurs et Réseaux des arts médiatiques, Remix de classiques, 2 octobre 2008

PRODUCTION DE L'ANNÉE - JEUNE PUBLIC

(prix accompagné d'une bourse de 5 000 $ offerte par le ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine du Québec)
Aventure en mer
, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, 9 septembre 2008

DISQUE DE L'ANNÉE - MUSIQUES MÉDIÉVALE, DE LA RENAISSANCE, BAROQUE
Handel Arias
, Karina Gauvin, soprano, Tempo Rubato, Alexander Weimann, direction, ATMA Classique

DISQUE DE L'ANNÉE - MUSIQUES CLASSIQUE, ROMANTIQUE, POSTROMANTIQUE, IMPRESSIONNISTE

Bruckner 9
, Orchestre Métropolitain, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, direction, ATMA Classique

DISQUE DE L'ANNÉE - MUSIQUES MODERNE, CONTEMPORAINE

Messiaen - Chants de terre et de ciel, Suzie LeBlanc, soprano, Lawrence Wiliford, ténor, Laura Andriani, violon, Robert Kortgaard, piano, ATMA Classique

DISQUE DE L'ANNÉE - MUSIQUES ACTUELLE, ÉLECTROACOUSTIQUE

Les arbres
, Nicolas Bernier, No Type

DISQUE DE L'ANNÉE - JAZZ, MUSIQUES DU MONDE

Now What, Julie Lamontagne, Justin Time Records

LIVRE DE L'ANNÉE

Collectif, Claude Vivier, 25 ans après - une introspection, Circuit, musiques contemporaines, vol. 18, no 3 - Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal, 2008

ARTICLE DE L'ANNÉE

Marie-Thérèse Lefebvre, Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux et Marcelle Deschênes : pionnières dans le sentier de la création électroacoustique, Circuit, musiques contemporaines, vol. 19, no 1 - Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal, 2009

LAURÉATS DES PRIX SPÉCIAUX

COMPOSITEUR DE L'ANNÉE

(le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec remet 10 000 $ au récipiendaire du prix Opus du compositeur de l'année du Conseil québécois de la musique)
Analia Llugdar


DÉCOUVERTE DE L'ANNÉE
(prix accompagné d'une bourse de 3 000 $ offerte par Galaxie, et d'une année en résidence à la radio de Radio-Canada)
Jean-Michaël Lavoie, chef d'orchestre


DIFFUSEUR SPÉCIALISÉ DE L'ANNÉE
L'OFF Festival de jazz de Montréal, 10e édition


DIFFUSEUR PLURIDISCIPLINAIRE DE L'ANNÉE
L'Auditorium d'Alma


DIRECTEUR ARTISTIQUE DE L'ANNÉE
Guy Soucie, Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur


ÉVÉNEMENT MUSICAL DE L'ANNÉE
Automne Messiaen 2008


INTERPRÈTE DE L'ANNÉE
(prix accompagné d'une bourse de 5 000 $ du Conseil des Arts du Canada)
Louise Bessette, pianiste

RAYONNEMENT À L'ÉTRANGER

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, chef d'orchestre

RECONNAISSANCE À UN FACTEUR D'INSTRUMENTS

(prix accompagné d'une bourse de 5 000 $ offerte par la Société de développement des entreprises culturelles du Québec)
Hellmuth Wolff, facteur d'orgues

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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Show One Presents Hvorostovsky and Radvanovsky in Toronto March 20

A Show One Presentation – Saturday, March 20 at Roy Thomson Hall

HVOROSTOVSKY& RADVANOVSKY: INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTARS

IN AN ITALIAN OPERA SPECTACULAR

He has been called “the supreme singing actor” “with a virtuoso display of smoky tone and sensual, forthright phrasing.” With her rich, tremulous soprano voice and affecting intensity,” she is hailed as the top Verdi soprano of our age.

Show One Productions presents the first joint North American concert by two of the world’s operatic superstars, baritone DMITRI HVOROSTOVSKY and soprano SONDRA RADVANOVSKY, Saturday, March 20, 2010, 8 p.m. at Roy Thomson Hall.

An Italian Opera Spectacular features an evening of passionate arias and duets from Un Ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball), Simon Boccanegra, and other great stage works by Verdi, along with such favorites as the Song to the Moon from Dvorak’s Rusalka, and the final scene from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.

Hvorostovsky and Radvanovsky will perform with the Orchestre de la Francophonie, under the baton of Constantine Orbelian. Jean-Philippe Tremblay, the orchestra’s music director, will conduct some of the finest orchestral selections from opera, by Verdi, Puccini and Mascagni.

Tickets, $65-148.75, are available via www.RoyThomson.com or by calling 416-872-4255. Information is also available at www.ShowOneProductions.ca.

“This concert is certain to be a highlight of 2010,” promises Svetlana Dvoretskaia of Show One Productions. “When you get two talents of this magnitude in the finest operatic music ever written, it is both a rare and unforgettable experience!”

Hvorostovsky and Radvanovsky first performed together in Russia in 2009. The Toronto concert marks the start of a North American tour that takes the artists to Montreal’s Place des Arts March 26 (also presented by Show One Productions), Washington’s Kennedy Center March 29, and New York’s Carnegie Hall April 1.

BOTH STARS FEATURED IN NEW VERDI RECORDINGS: In addition to regular performances at the Metropolitan Opera, both Hvorostovsky and Radvanovsky have toured widely. Their recent joint concerts of Verdi scenes and duets in Russia were recorded and will be released shortly on Delos. As well, Radvanovsky’s Moscow performances led to her first solo recording of Verdi arias, also on Delos and scheduled for release in April.

HVORSTOVSKY’S SIMON BOCCANEGRA: While the versatile Russian baritone is a great interpreter of Russian opera and music of his homeland, he is in demand worldwide as a recitalist and for his Verdi roles. When he first performed the title role in Simon Boccanegra in 2006 with the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Chronicle praised his “magnetic” stage presence and “lustrous” sound, marveling at “his ability to convey the emotional point of words.” When he reprised the role for the San Francisco Opera in September 2008, the San Francisco Chronicle raved, “His vocal production was superb, a virtuoso display of smoky tone and sensual, forthright phrasing.” The Bay Area Reporter summed him up at the supreme singing actor.” This year (2010) sees Hvorostovsky again at the Met, as well as the Covent Garden and Vienna opera houses, and touring extensively in Russia, North America and Canada. www.hvorostovsky.com

Vanity Fair wrote that Hvorostovsky “is sending aficionados the world over into a collective swoon, inviting an adulation that recalls the advent of Baryshnikov in the dance world of the seventies.” And he was a rare classical musician to be named one of People Magazine’s 50 most beautiful people.

RADVANOVSKY’S FIRST TOSCA & AIDA: One month after her Toronto performance, Sondra Radvanovsky will sing her first Tosca in the Opera Colorado production of the Puccini melodrama (www.operacolorado.org/operas/tosca-artists). In October 2010, she will make both her Canadian Opera Company and role debuts in the title role of Verdi’s Aida. On March 20, audiences will enjoy a foretaste when she includes Aida’s aria O Patria Mia in the program.

The New York Times has praised her “rich, tremulous soprano voice and affecting intensity,” while The Times (UK) hailed her as “a true Verdian, with a big, juicy, vibrato-rich sound.” San Francisco’s Chronicle summed up her September 2009 performance in Il Trovatore: “Even if nothing else happens during the rest of the San Francisco Opera’s 2009 fall season, soprano Sondra Radvanovsky has already provided us with at least one extraordinary and indelible musical memory.” (Hvorostovsky alternated as Count di Luna in that production.)

This January has seen her as Lina in the Metropolitan Opera’s remount of Verdi’s Stiffelio, with Plácido Domingo conducting – in what the New York Times described as “a richly expressive performance as Lina, Stiffelio’s guilt-stricken wife… She sang with utter integrity, supple phrasing, nuanced colorings and aching vulnerability. Her bright, strong voice filled Verdi’s lines and penetrated the orchestra without forcing… She won me over, and the cheering audience, with her impassioned performance.”

Radvanovsky is also appearing this season as Elisabetta in Don Carlo at the Paris Opera; and in the Verdi Requiem with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. www.imgartists.com/sondraradvanovsky

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

David Sherman’s “The Daily Miracle”

While a winter storm threatens to shut down the city and the corporate big wigs meet behind closed doors across the hall to decide the fate of the newspaper, four copy editors hammer out tomorrow’s edition. It's just another night on the news desk, where the battle-scarred and overworked wrestle with fractured syntax and crushed ideals to get the next edition out. Tempers frayed from layoffs, cutbacks and corroded ambitions; it's a miracle they can get the paper out at all … a miracle that happens every day.

Performance Information
Dates & Times Jan. 26 – Feb. 14
Previews Jan. 26 & 27
Opening Night Jan. 28
Tues. through Sat. 20:00
Sunday Matinée 14:00 (Jan.31 PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN)
Monday DARK

Tickets
General Admission $20
Seniors & Students $15
Groups (6 or more) $10

Venue
Bain St-Michel
5300, St-Dominique

Box Office
(514) 987 – 1774
box-office@infinitheatre.com
www.infinitheatre.com

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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

To the Sea in Ships

Songs and stories of sailors, adventurers and fishers the world over
Tuesday, February 9, 2010, at 8 pm
Wednesday, February 10, 2010, at 8 pm

Trinity St. Paul’s Centre


For Immediate Release – Toronto, January 13, 2010: Toronto’s Talisker Players return to Trinity St. Paul’s Centre on Tuesday & Wednesday, February 9 and 10 with To the Sea in Ships. Offering concert-goers an escape from Toronto in winter to adventure on the high seas, this is an evening of music about sea-faring from across the ages and around the world. Mezzo-soprano Vicki St. Pierre, tenor Keith Klassen and baritone Alexander Dobson are the renowned guest artists joining the instrumentalists of Talisker Players.

The programme starts with British composer John Ireland's setting of the famous John Masefield poem, Sea Fever ("I must down to the sea again / To the lonely sea and the sky") for baritone and piano.  It also features Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe's evocative Island Dreaming, for mezzo soprano and string quartet, and American Lee Hoiby's Bermudas, a gorgeous setting of a poem by Andrew Marvell about the first British sailors to come upon the Caribbean islands, for tenor, baritone and piano quartet.

The Talisker Players have a strong commissioning programme, and always take pride in featuring Canadian composers.  To the Sea in Ships features the premiere of a new work by the promising young Toronto composer Juliet Hess. The Mariner's Albatross is a setting of an excerpt from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the famous narrative poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, for an unusual combination of tenor, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and double bass.  The evening also includes Sir Ernest MacMillan's rollicking setting of Three French Canadian Sea Songs, for baritone and string quintet. As always, this Talisker Players production includes the spoken word.  Readings will be from the great seafaring classic Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana.

Vicki St. Pierre’s lush voice is both dark and brilliant, an unusual combination. Still at the beginning of her career, she has distinguished herself in a wide variety of styles and genres. An acclaimed interpreter of early music, she is also at ease on the opera stage, and is in great demand as an oratorio and recital artist.  

Tenor Keith Klassen has emerged as one of Canada's busiest and most versatile tenors. His voice has been described as "pure honey, with its ease of high notes and lyrical grace of phrasing", and his acting as passionate and dramatically convincing. He is a member of the studio company of Tapestry New Opera Works, and has appeared in numerous workshops and premieres. Keith is also a sought-after oratorio singer, and has performed across Canada and abroad.

The British-Canadian baritone Alexander Dobson has been praised for his musicality and dramatic awareness on the opera, concert and recital stage. Recent highlights include his portrayal of Wozzeck conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin in Montreal, a performance lauded for his "gripping embodiment of Wozzeck", which he later reprised at the Orford Festival, and debuts at Covent Garden (U.K.) and New York’s Bard Festival. Alexander is also a noted performer of new music; he has premiered several roles with Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, Tapestry New Opera and Toronto Masque Theatre.

To the Sea in Ships
 Songs and stories of adventure on the high seas
Tuesday & Wednesday, February 9 & 10, 2010, 8 PM
Trinity St. Paul's Centre, 427 Bloor Street West
Vicki St. Pierre, mezzo soprano; Keith Klassen, tenor; Alexander Dobson, baritone; The Talisker Players

TICKETS:  $30 / $20 (seniors) / $10 (students)

Tel: 416-978-8849
Information: 416-466-1800



Talisker Players Chamber Music offers one of the most imaginative and exciting concert series in Toronto. In collaboration with some of Canada’s finest young singers, Talisker Players present the rarely-heard repertoire for voice and chamber ensemble. Their unique programming includes readings that illuminate the music and delight audiences with a stimulating, theatrical concert experience. The music, engaging and varied, includes both celebrated works and unknown gems from all styles and periods, with a strong presence of Canadian compositions.

Upcoming: Illuminations
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 & Wednesday, May 12, 2010 – 8 pm
A window on the world of mystics, visionaries and seers
Featuring Meredith Hall, soprano; Lawrence Wiliford, tenor

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EMI Classics and Virgin Classics Highlights for January 2010 Include Solo Recordings and a DVD

From Some of Today’s Hottest Singers, Including Diana Damrau, Philippe Jaroussky, and Natalie Dessay

Plus, an All-Ravel Album from Fast-rising Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and a Veritable (and Danceable) Feast of Ballet Music

Virgin Classics Artist Philippe Jaroussky Makes NYC Solo Recital Debut, Performing His Opium Program Live at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall (Jan 14)

COLORaturas
Diana Damrau, soprano
Münchner Rundfunkorchester / Dan Ettinger
CD and downloads available January 12 from Virgin Classics

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.  It’s impossible to know whether Diana Damrau was born great, but she has – without question – achieved greatness; Damrau has firm technical command, unaffected mastery of characterization, and beauty of tone… . More, please.”    – Opera News

After two highly-praised Virgin Classics releases of 18th-century repertoire, the superb German soprano Diana Damrau adds a dazzling new title to her Virgin Classics discography: COLORaturas.  With the support of the Münchner Rundfunkorchester conducted by Dan Ettinger, Damrau is showcased in repertoire that ranges from Rossini (including “Una voce poco fa” from Barber of Seville) and Verdi to Stravinsky and Bernstein; from comedy to tragedy; and covers four languages: German, Italian, French, and English.  It includes Zerbinetta’s marathon coloratura aria from Ariadne auf Naxos, one of the operas that spearheaded Damrau’s international career.

Opera News has named COLORaturas its Critic’s Choice selection for February 2010.  Under the headline “Shattering Expectations,” Judith Malafronte’s review begins with this observation: “Diana Damrau is one of those singers who gobble up the music only to spit it back out with more originality, verve, precision and ease than seems possible.  Listening to such a smart singer is an absolute delight as well as a challenge; expectations are shattered by authoritative readings that leave the listener amazed at this artist’s imagination and the inevitability of the results.”

Diana Damrau’s operatic engagements in the U.S. for the current season include starring roles in Donizetti’s La fille du régiment (Feb) and Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia at New York’s Metropolitan Opera (Feb – March), as well as Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet in Washington, D.C. (May).  She will also take center stage at New York’s Carnegie Hall on January 24, performing orchestral songs by Richard Strauss with the MET Orchestra and James Levine.

J.C. Bach: La Dolce Fiamma – Forgotten Castrato Arias
Philippe Jaroussky, countertenor
Le Cercle de L’Harmonie / Jérémie Rhorer
CD and downloads available January 12 from Virgin Classics

“The countertenor Philippe Jaroussky wields his sweet-toned, radiant voice to emotive effect, displaying both a rapid-fire coloratura technique and a poignant, lyrical expressiveness.”– New York Times

Philippe Jaroussky’s previous operatic recital for Virgin Classics was a collection of arias written for a castrato singer, Carestini, whose star had been somewhat eclipsed by his contemporaries Farinelli and Senesino.  In this newest release, the young and charismatic French countertenor turns to a composer who – despite his famous last name, his celebrity during his lifetime, and his influence on the young Mozart – is still not given his full due: Johann Christian Bach (1735-82).  The repertoire comprises arias from six of his operas, written for Milan, Mannheim, and London, the city in which he spent the last 20 years of his life and where, in 1764, he met Mozart, then a touring child prodigy. 

La Dolce Fiamma – Forgotten Castrato Arias is Jaroussky’s seventh solo disc for Virgin Classics.  Reviewing the new album, a critic for the Toronto Star observed, “France’s Jaroussky, 31, is probably the finest of the younger generation of countertenors.  Here, he tackles 13 airs and arias originally written for castrati by Johann Christian Bach… . J.C. wrote a lot of operas, all of them forgotten – which may change, given the impressive performances by Jaroussky and Le Cercle de l’Harmonie under conductor Jérémie Rhorer.  This beautiful music spans the full emotional spectrum.

In the Philadelphia Inquirer, David Patrick Stearns praised Jaroussky’s “electrifying treble voice” and “pinpoint brilliance” in a recent review of this and other important new vocal albums.  He calls La Dolce Fiamma “a must,” noting, “On Jaroussky’s disc, Johann Christian Bach sounds so good that one can only assume his music simply got lost in the historic shuffle.  The Jaroussky disc is necessary for anyone interested in pre-Mozartean opera.”

Jaroussky’s star is already high in the firmament in Europe, especially in France, where his albums have been extraordinary bestsellers.  Audiences in two American cities will have the opportunity to hear his work in a broad range of repertoire early in the New Year.  On January 14, Jaroussky will give a recital of sensuous and seductive French melodies from the late 19th and early 20th centuries – the so-called Belle Époque – at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall; it will mark his New York City solo recital debut.  Jaroussky recorded many of these songs on his Virgin Classics album Opium, which was released this past spring.

Much of the Opium repertoire will also appear on a program Jaroussky will give at the Cleveland Institute of Music on January 16 with the dynamic young ensemble Apollo’s Fire.  Writing about Opium, a critic for All Music Guide observed, “Jaroussky rose as a star of Baroque opera not only because of his flawless technique and the exceptional clarity and purity of his voice, but for his ability to bring life, through the depth and emotional honesty of his characterizations, to cardboard roles that had primarily served as vehicles for coloratura fireworks.  It’s not surprising, then, that he excels in this intensely personal and emotionally transparent repertoire.”

Additional information about the album is available on-line at www.jarousskyopium.com. 

Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande 
Natalie Dessay, Laurent Naouri, Stéphane Degout
Arnold Schoenberg Choir
Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien / Bertrand de Billy 
DVD available January 12 from Virgin Classics

“Natalie Dessay admitted that Mélisande poses few vocal challenges, noting that the role lies comfortably enough for both sopranos and lightweight mezzos.  Indeed, the role is vocally a good fit for her – splendid, in fact.” – Opera News 

“There’s more to life than top notes,” Natalie Dessay has said.  She has, of course, made her reputation with the florid, stratospheric heroines of Romantic French and Italian opera, but in this new DVD from Vienna she portrays a heroine who presents few opportunities for vocal display, but many for subtle characterization – Debussy’s Mélisande.  Dessay had sung the role just once before, in concert in Edinburgh in 2005.  Pelléas et Mélisande is full of ambiguity and its vocal lines closely reflect Maurice Maeterlinck’s hauntingly enigmatic text.  A few unaccompanied, ballad-like phrases are the closest Mélisande comes to an aria.

For this production, premiered in January 2009 at the Theater an der Wien, Dessay’s French and French-Canadian colleagues included stage director Laurent Pelly – celebrated for riotous comedy (notably La fille du régiment with Dessay, also a Virgin Classics DVD) – and his preferred designer, Chantal Thomas; Dessay’s real-life husband, bass-baritone Laurent Naouri, as her jealous stage husband, Golaud; the lyric baritone Stéphane Degout as her Pelléas; and the contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux as his and Golaud’s mother, Geneviève.  Conductor Bertrand de Billy completes the high-caliber Gallic line-up.

A preview segment from the DVD is available at this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANSOGaoJOFs.

Natalie Dessay’s ever-rising profile in the U.S. has been fueled by a series of critically-acclaimed performances with the country’s leading opera companies, particularly New York’s Metropolitan Opera.  She returns there in March to star as Ophelia in the company’s production of Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet (eight performances, March 16 through April 9).  Listeners can preview that performance on Virgin Classics’ recently released Mad Scenes, which features Dessay going off the rails – emotionally, but with perfect musical precision – in works from five 19th-century operas, along with a surprising live performance from Bernstein’s Candide.  In his review of the album for the Philadelphia Inquirer, David Patrick Stearns calls Dessay, “a modern-day Sills: her sense of theatrical comprehension wins the day.”

Ravel: La Valse, Mother Goose, Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2, etc.
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra / Yannick Nézet-Séguin
CD and downloads available January 12 from Virgin Classics

“In everything, Nézet-Séguin – who is flashy and hyper-expressive in his gestures – got a sound I had never quite heard before from the Angelenos.  It was lean, sleek, tart in the French manner, yet also very bold and forward.  It reminded me of the sound of the Montréal Symphony during the Charles Dutoit era, but with more punch.”– Los Angeles Times 

A new album of orchestral works by Ravel marks Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s debut recording with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.  The French-Canadian conductor finds Maurice Ravel to be the greatest orchestrator that French music has ever had, which is what he and the orchestra want to showcase on this recording.  “It’s all about colors,” Nézet-Séguin explained, “[and] the contrast between intimacy and grandeur, Valse being one of his greatest and most powerful symphonic poems, and yet the Valses nobles et sentimentales being much more in the intimate way… . In Ma mère l’Oye, we are being so intimate, while Daphnis and Chloé is also one of his most uplifting and triumphant [works].  There’s a lot of contrast.”

In the 2008-09 season, Yannick Nézet-Séguin succeeded Valery Gergiev as Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and also became Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.  Since 2000, he has been Artistic Director of the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal, gaining many awards for his work there.  He has worked with all the leading Canadian orchestras and returns regularly to the Toronto Symphony.  He made his European debut in late 2004 with Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and has since been invited back by all the orchestras with which he has worked.

Nézet-Séguin has been busy in New York this winter, making his Metropolitan Opera debut conducting a new production of Bizet’s Carmen, which opened on December 31 (six performances through Jan 21), and will soon head across the Lincoln Center plaza to lead the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in two orchestral concerts at Avery Fisher Hall (Feb 17 and 19). 

Schubert: String Quintet in C (D.956); String Quartet No. 15 in G (D.887); String Quartet No. 14 in D minor (D.810), “Death and the Maiden”
Belcea Quartet; Valentin Erben, cello 
Two-CD set and downloads available January 12 from EMI Classics 

The Belcea Quartet adds three late masterpieces by Franz Schubert to their impressive discography on EMI Classics: the String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, “Death and the Maiden” (D.810), the luminous and transcendent String Quartet No. 15 in G (D.887), and the life-affirming String Quintet in C (D.956) with Valentin Erben of the Alban Berg String Quartet as the second cellist.  The Belcea Quartet has garnered much praise for their take on Schubert, with the New York Times recently stating, “In the Belcea’s account [of ‘Death and the Maiden’] the work seemed so formidable and emotionally complex that there was nothing more to say.” 

Chopin: “Journal Intime”
Alexandre Tharaud, piano 
CD and downloads available January 12 from Virgin Classics 

Alexandre Tharaud plays Chopin with superlative technique…[his] intelligent playing …matches its clarity with perception and sensitivity, and variety of touch with sonic beauty.  Tharaud is unfailingly responsive to melodic nuance and seems to relish every new twist of the texture.  But there is also immense power when the dark energy beneath is unleashed.  His concept plumbs the depths of Chopin’s musical psyche with humility… a brilliant and original performance.”
BBC Music magazine 

Already established as one of today’s most individual and thoughtful pianists, Alexandre Tharaud makes his debut on Virgin Classics with a diverse and very personal collection of pieces by Frédéric Chopin, just in time for the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth (he was born on March 1, 1810).

“Journal intime” (Private diary) features works by Chopin – mazurkas, nocturnes, ballades, the famous Fantaisie-impromptu, and a number of other, lesser-known works that have special importance and significance to Tharaud, who cites the pianism of Vlado Perlemuter and Sergei Rachmaninov as a particular influence on his approach to the music of Chopin.  Many of these pieces have been in Tharaud’s repertoire since his student days.  “I let time work for me,” he explains.  “It is extraordinarily enriching to study a work when you are young and then revisit it in the course of your life.  It becomes part of you.”  A preview video for the project is available at the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ0835-S67M, and a full track listing follows below.

Tharaud, born in Paris in 1968, takes a discerning approach to repertoire, highlighting and often juxtaposing composers such as Bach, Rameau, Couperin, Chabrier, Satie, Ravel, Poulenc, and Thierry Pécou (b.1965).  His catalogue of recordings for Harmonia Mundi has contributed substantially to his reputation.

This winter and spring, Tharaud will give a number of recitals in America, including performances at the Frick Collection in New York City on March 7 and at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. on March 12 (these and other dates are listed in the artist tour section at the end of this news release). 

Track list
1.    Mazurka, Op. 63, No. 3
2.    Ballade, Op. 23, No. 1
3.    Mazurka, Op. 17, No. 2
4.    Mazurka, Op. 68, No. 2
5.    Fantaisie, Op. 49
6.    Nocturne posthumous
7.    Mazurka, Op 7, No. 2
8.    Ballade, Op. 38, No. 2
9.    Mazurka, Op. 17, No. 4
10.  Largo
11-13.  Trois Écossaises, Op. 72, No. 3 (I-III)
14.  Contredanse
15.  Fantaisie-impromptu, Op. 66
16.  Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2 

Lehár: La veuve joyeuse (The Merry Widow)
Véronique Gens, Ivan Ludlow, Gordon Gietz, Magali Léger
Opéra de Lyon / Gérard Korsten
DVD available Janaury 12 from Virgin Classics 

The heroine of La veuve joyeuse is called Missia Palmieri, but she had started off in 1905 as Hanna Glawari in Vienna, where this operetta is known as Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow); its French premiere followed in 1909.  The story of the merry widow and her rekindled romance with dissipated diplomat Count Danilo takes place in Paris – notably Chez Maxim’s in the final act – and in fact has its roots in a French play, L’attaché d’ambassade by Henri Meilhac.  With Ludovic Halévy, Meilhac was the librettist of Carmen, a number of Offenbach’s operettas and a play called Le Réveillon, which forms the basis of that other supreme Viennese operetta Die Fledermaus.  Johann Strauss’s waltzes and polkas were clearly an influence on Lehár, but his sumptuous and often touching score also frequently furnishes reminders that he was a contemporary of both Richard Strauss and Giacomo Puccini.

This production, mounted in December 2007 at the Opéra de Lyon (the source of Virgin Classics’ DVD of Offenbach’s La vie Parisienne in a riotous contemporary updating by Laurent Pelly) is by the French director Macha Makeieff.  She treats the work as the masterpiece it is: “Macha Makeieff’s reading … turns its back on the conventions of operetta frippery, of musical champagne bubbles to keep the crowds happy … . In defining the personalities of the two lovers – two wounded birds who have put up barriers to protect themselves from love – she brings depth and gravity to the work, giving it new stature” (Le Progrès).

In the title role is the leading French lyric soprano, the graceful Véronique Gens, whose two Tragédiennes recitals are on Virgin Classics; her Danilo is the dashing British baritone Ivan Ludlow, while the roles of the secondary pair of errant lovers are played by the Canadian tenor Gordon Gietz and the delightful Magali Léger, with the latter’s long-suffering husband portrayed by baritone François Le Roux.  Conducting is Gérard Korsten, born in South Africa but with long experience as both student and performer in Austria, notably Salzburg. 

Special compilations, boxed sets, and reissues 

Aldo Ciccolini: The Complete EMI Recordings 1950-91
Specially-priced 56-CD set available January 12 from EMI Classics 

Beyond Aldo Ciccolini’s two bestselling complete Satie recordings and other proofs of his natural affinity with the French repertoire (which put him very much in tune with the artistic policy of French EMI under the leadership of René Challan, Eric Macleod, and Gréco Casadesus), and his unflashy Liszt – the ideal alternative to someone like Georges Cziffra – the public knows surprisingly little of the recordings that Ciccolini made for EMI between 1950 and 1991.

In 1950, as winner of the 1949 Marguerite Long Competition, the 25-year-old Ciccolini recorded his first 78; it was devoted to Scarlatti, a composer to whom he later returned.  Following soon afterwards was Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, conducted by André Cluytens – the pianist asked for the tapes of the second concerto to be destroyed, since he did not like the piece – and then produced an anthology of Mozart sonatas which has a finesse, balance, and sonic splendor still typical of Ciccolini’s concert performances today.

EMI’s new 56-CD collection contains numerous items which have become available for the first time (such as Mozart sonatas and Bach inventions previously only released in Japan, or his first Debussy disc, dating from 1969), or which have never before been released, such as the magnificent Pictures at an Exhibition recorded in 1976.  With particular care taken over the transfers, including re-masterings of all the late recordings, this box will convince any remaining skeptics that Aldo Ciccolini, though born in Naples, holds a place at the very summit of French pianism. 

The Complete Chopin Edition – 200th anniversary
16-CD set and downloads available January 26 from EMI Classics. 

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Frédéric Chopin’s birth in suitably grand fashion, EMI Classics is proud to release the Polish composer’s complete works in an exclusive, specially-priced 16-CD boxed set.  The collection brings together all of the works – the piano sonatas, mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises, études, impromptus, preludes, and other works – that established Chopin as one of the greatest Romantic composers and virtuosos who ever lived.  Featured artists include Leif Ove Andsnes, Claudio Arrau, Daniel Barenboim, Andrei Gavrilov, Benjamin Grosvenor, Garrick Ohlsson and Ronald Smith. 

American Classics series – five new titles
Various artists 
Single and two-CD sets and downloads available January 26 from EMI Classics 

EMI Classics expands its attractively-designed and smartly-programmed American Classics series by five new and diverse titles this month, spanning the characteristically wide spectrum of the American music scene, from music theater and spirituals to minimalism and the avant-garde.

The five programs and their contributing artists are as follows: 

AMERICAN COUNTERPOINT 
John Adams: Harmonielehre; John Cage: Three Dances; Conlon Nancarrow: Three Canons for Ursula 
Michael Tilson Thomas, Ralph Grierson, Thomas Adès
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle 

LEONARD BERNSTEIN: Wonderful Town 
Kim Criswell, Audra McDonald, Thomas Hampson
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group; London Voices / Sir Simon Rattle 

RIDE ON, KING JESUS 
Florence Quivar sings black music of America
Florence Quivar, Larry Woodard, Joseph Joubert, Harlem Boys’ Choir 

AMERICAN CLARINET 
Elliott Carter: Clarinet Concerto (“Gra”); Steve Reich: New York Counterpoint; Howard Sandroff: Tephillah; John Adams: Gnarly Buttons 
Alain Damiens, André Trouttet
Ensemble InterContemporain / David Robertson 

GEORGE GERSHWIN 
Porgy and BessA Symphonic Picture; Second Rhapsody for piano and orchestra (“Rhapsody in Rivets”); Concerto in F
Cristina Ortiz
London Symphony Orchestra / André Previn 

Two New Titles in “100 Best” series:
Best Violin 100
Best Chopin 100
Various Artists
Two six-CDs-for-the-price-of-one sets available January 26 from EMI Classics 

EMI Classics adds two titles to its enormously popular “100 Best” series (now numbering 23 titles with a combined total sales of two million sets worldwide).  Like its predecessors, each of the new titles features a plethora of superb artistry from the catalogues of EMI Classics and Virgin Classics at an unbeatable price: six CDs for the price of one!

The first contains 100 violin masterpieces, performed by some of the world’s greatest artists past and present, including Renaud Capuçon, Sarah Chang, Kyung-Wha Chung, Augustin Dumay, Christian Ferras, Leonid Kogan, Fritz Kreisler, and Gidon Kremer.

Each CD is themed by eras and genres, as follows: 

CD 1: Vivaldi and the Italian Baroque
CD 2: Bach and Mozart
CD 3: Beethoven and Brahms
CD 4: The 19th-Century Violin
CD 5: The 20th-Century Violin
CD 6: Encores and Showpieces

The second new title, Best Chopin 100, features a glittering galaxy of keyboard stars performing the most beloved and famous works by the great Polish composer.  Featured artists include exciting new performers, established stars, and legendary artists such as (in alphabetical order): Dmitri Alexeev, Leif Ove Andsnes, Martha Argerich, Claudio Arrau, Daniel Barenboim, Stanislav Bunin, Georges Cziffra, Youri Egorov, Ingrid Fliter, Samson François, Andrei Gavrilov, Nelson Goerner, Stephen Kovacevich, Dinu Lipatti, Garrick Ohlsson, Mikhail Pletnev, Maurizio Pollini, Arthur Rubinstein, Maria Tipo, and Alexis Weissenberg. 

Three special ballet titles:
The Ballet Edition (ten two-CD sets)
A Festival of Ballet (50-CD boxed set in luxury packaging)
I Love Ballet (Greatest hits on two mid-price CDs)
Available January 26 from EMI Classics 

Some people love the total experience of the ballet.  Others just love to listen to the glorious music – romantic, dramatic, tragic, comic, charming, exhilarating – composed for the theater by supreme figures like Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Ravel; by lesser masters such as Glazunov, Delibes, and Adam; or by the “one-hit wonder” specialists, like Lovenskiold and Drigo.  With this winter’s three complementary ballet strands, EMI Classics draws on its rich catalogue to present releases for the balletomane, the new ballet enthusiast, or simply the lover of enthralling music, all superbly performed. 

The Ballet Edition
This new series, with a special focus on complete ballet scores, is launched with ten two-CD sets.  It includes a number of landmark performances: Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and Nutcracker and Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet and Cinderella from the London Symphony Orchestra under André Previn – interpretations that have long set the standard in these magnificent works; Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé and Debussy’s Jeux from the Orchestre de Paris under Jean Martinon, a master of French style; and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Petrushka, Firebird, and Apollo – the kind of repertoire that first established Sir Simon Rattle’s international reputation – with the British maestro and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.  The collection also includes Delibes’ Coppélia and Sylvia, performed by Parisian forces; Adam’s Giselle and Lovenskiold’s La Sylphide; and extracts from Glazunov’s Raymonda, Minkus’s La Bayadère, and Drigo’s Le Corsaire, all in the hands of expert ballet conductors. 

A Festival of Ballet
This sumptuously-packaged 50-CD set provides an epic survey of ballet music as a genre, from its origins in the Baroque era with composers such as Purcell and Rameau, through its establishment in the 18th and 19th centuries in France and Russia, to the great narrative works of the late-19th and early-20th centuries, and the works of modernism, some jazz-inspired.  Many rarely-heard scores are included alongside essential repertoire.

The array of Russian music exemplifies the set’s impressive scope: beyond substantial highlights from the great Tchaikovsky ballets and other works by the composer, there is music by Glazunov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky (from Firebird of 1910 through to Agon of 1957), Prokofiev, Khachaturian, Shostakovich and a number of lesser-known figures such as Liadov and Glière.  The discs devoted to French, British, German, and American repertoire also yield a plethora of scores, and there are even four CDs of dances from operas, oratorios, and plays.

Among the fascinating rarities in the set are John Antill’s Corroboree (1950), a spectacular work inspired by the Aborigines of Australia; Charles Koechlin’s tone poem Les Bandar-Log (based on Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book), which underpinned Antony Tudor’s 1967 ballet Shadowplay; and Constant Lambert’s Horoscope.  Presented beside much-loved scores by Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland is songwriter Cole Porter’s only classical ballet, Within the Quota.

The recordings feature the world’s great orchestras under leading conductors such as Herbert von Karajan, Riccardo Muti, André Previn, Simon Rattle, Carlo Maria Giulini, Thomas Beecham, John Barbirolli, Charles Mackerras, Neville Marriner, Seiji Ozawa, Roger Norrington, John Eliot Gardiner, Leonard Slatkin, Kent Nagano, and Michel Plasson, and also leading ballet specialists such as John Lanchbery, Barry Wordsworth, Terence Kern, and Robert Irving. 

I Love Ballet
These two richly-filled CDs provide a perfect introduction to the joys of ballet music, with many of its greatest hits included: highlights from Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Romeo & Juliet, Giselle, Les Sylphides, Sylvia, Cinderella, La fille mal gardée, Gayaneh (the soaring theme from the BBC TV drama The Onedin Line), and the charming Tales of Beatrix Potter; the complete “Dance of the Hours” from the opera La Gioconda (made famous by Disney’s Fantasia), the can-can overture from Gaité Parisienne, and the sparkling opening dance from Pineapple Poll (set to the music of Sir Arthur Sullivan); two numbers from Façade, and The Dying Swan, so closely identified with the legendary ballerina Anna Pavlova.  The impressive line-up of conductors includes Herbert von Karajan, André Previn, Sir Malcolm Sergent, and Sir Charles Mackerras. 

EMI Classics and Virgin Classics: Artists on tour – Winter 2010 

Jan 14
Philippe Jaroussky: Opium program 
Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall (New York, NY)

Jan 15 and 16
Ingrid Fliter: Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major
St. Louis Symphony (St. Louis, MO)

Jan 16
Philippe Jaroussky: Songs from Opium program and other works
Apollo’s Fire (Cleveland Baroque Orchestra)
Mixon Hall, Cleveland Institute of Music (Cleveland, OH)

Jan 21
Fabio Biondi: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Carnegie’s Zankel Hall (New York, NY)

Jan 22
Fabio Biondi: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Mandel Hall, University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)

Jan 23
Fabio Biondi: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
First Congregational Church (San Francisco, CA)

Jan 24
Fabio Biondi: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Beekman Auditorium (Los Angeles, CA)

Jan 24
Diana Damrau: R. Strauss orchestral songs
MET Orchestra / James Levine
Carnegie Hall (New York, NY)

Jan 26
Fabio Biondi: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Cabell Hall, University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA)

Jan 26
Capuçon-Angelich Trio
Schwab Auditorium, Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA)

Jan 27
Capuçon-Angelich Trio
Rockefeller University (New York, NY)

Jan 28
Capuçon-Angelich Trio
University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT)

Jan 29
Capuçon-Angelich Trio
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY)

Jan 29
Fabio Biondi: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Struthers Library Theatre (Warren, PA)

Jan 30
Fabio Biondi: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Southern Theatre (Columbus, OH)

Jan 31 and Feb 1
Capuçon-Angelich Trio
Music Room, Dumbarton Oaks (Washington, DC)

Feb 1
Fabio Biondi: recital
Carnegie’s Zankel Hall (New York, NY)

Feb 2
Capuçon-Angelich Trio
La Maison Française (Washington, DC)

Feb 5-23
Quatuor Ebène: North American tour
Appleton, WI (Feb 5); Columbia, MD (Feb 6); Toronto, ON (Feb 8); Tucson, AZ (Feb 10); Los Angeles, CA (Feb 12-14); New York, NY (Poisson Rouge, Feb 16); Burlington, VT (Feb 19); Athens, GA (Feb 21); and Washington, DC (Feb 23)

Feb 6 (six performances through Feb 22)
Diana Damrau: title role in Donizetti’s La fille du régiment
Metropolitan Opera (New York, NY)

Feb 17
Yannick Nézet-Séguin / Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Messiaen, Liszt, Strauss
Avery Fisher Hall (New York, NY)

Feb 19
Yannick Nézet-Séguin / Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Brahms, Verbey, Bartók

Labels: ,

La Scena Musicale numéro de février 2010 - publicité



[English Version]

LSM Sept 2009


The Music Scene Hiver 2010
Bonjour !

Au nom de toute l’équipe d’employés et de bénévoles de La Scena Musicale, je vous souhaite une bonne et heureuse année 2010. Nous amorçons l’année avec un nouveau blogue, Vidéo de musique classique d’aujourd’hui, qui s’inscrit dans notre nouvelle stratégie de communications électroniques et qui propose chaque jour une nouvelle vidéo.

Malheureusement, l’année musicale compte déjà ses mauvaises nouvelles. Le producteur de disques Pierre Dionne (des Disques XXI), un grand ami de LSM et de la musique classique canadienne, a perdu la semaine dernière son combat contre le cancer. Voir plus bas les précisions sur les obsèques.

En février, La Scena Musicale tourne les projecteurs vers les jeunes musiciens prometteurs.
  • En couverture, le pianiste Wonny Song et la violoniste Alexandre da Costa, qui ont tous deux commencé leur carrière musicale au début de l’adolescence et qui sont aujourd’hui des modèles pour d’autres
  • Notre CD Découverte du mois est consacré à des interprétations de Wong (lesTableaux d'une exposition de Moussorgski) et da Costa (les Quatre Saisons de Vivaldi).
  • Nous mettons ce mois-ci l’accent sur l’enseignement de la musique au primaire, au secondaire et privé.
  • Ce numéro comprendra notre guide annuel des écoles ainsi que leurs calendriers, des conseils et des articles, entre autres des conversations avec de grands professeurs, des musicologues, des adultes professionnels et de jeunes musiciens.
  • Entrevue avec le pianiste de 14 ans Jan Lisiecki
  • Les lecteurs en sauront un peu plus sur la toute première tournée nord-américaine de Yannick Nézet-Séguin et de l’Orchestre philharmonique de Rotterdam qui commencera en février.
  • À Montréal, le festival MusiMars approche et l’Orchestre de chambre McGill célèbre un important anniversaire en 2010.
  • La Scena Musicale rencontre le gagnant du Prix d’Arts-Affaires Maurice Forget et la gagnante du grand prix d’Apéro à l’Opéra de l’Opéra de Montréal Annie Sanschagrin.
  • Aria du mois : « Vissi d'arte » de Tosca de Puccini
Tout cela et plus encore en musique classique, en jazz et en musique du monde – y compris nos indispensables critiques, concerts à venir et calendriers mensuels.

La date de tombée pour les annonces dans le numéro de février est le 25 janvier, les maquettes devant nous parvenir au plus tard le 26 janvier.


Promotion « Abonnements » de janvier – Pourquoi pas s’abonner ?

Jusqu’au 31 janvier 2010, les nouveaux abonnés obtiendront une réduction de 10 $ sur un abonnement à LSM s’ils s’abonnent en ligne. Cette économie équivaut à 4 numéros gratuits et l’abonnement comprend des privilèges comme l’accès à la Discothèque Naxos et le téléchargement gratuit de le la collection écouverte en format MP3 (10 CD). À noter : à partir de 2010, seuls les abonnés payants recevront le CD Découverte matériel.
Nous recommandons aux lecteurs à l’extérieur du Canada notre option écologique, la Carte verte La SCENA, vendue seulement 25 $/année. Voir les détails ci-dessous.

Collecte de fonds
Enfin, nous commençons l’année 2010 en lançant notre Campagne Fonds de dotation : pour chaque dollar de don, nous recevrons 1,50 $ du programme Placement Culture du gouvernement du Québec. Notre objectif est de recueillir 100 000 $ afin de créer un fonds de dotation de 250 000 $ qui maintenira l'excellence et assurera la pérennité de nos magazines. Veuillez faire un don ou vous joindre à notre comité de financement. Voir ci-dessous.

Pour nos lecteurs montréalais, nous levons aussi des fonds en vendant des billets pour la présentation de Tosca de l’Opéra de Montréal du 11 février 2010 (billets de 46 $ à 99 $).

Nos meilleurs vœux pour 2010.

Salutations amicales,

Wah Keung Chan
Éditeur et rédacteur en chef fondateur
La Scena Musicale
La SCENA
The Music Scene


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La Scena Musicale février 2010
  • Thème : Éducation musicale
  • En couverture : le pianiste Wonny Song et la violoniste Alexander da Costa
  • Sortie : le 29 janvier 2010
  • Tombée (publicité) : le 25 janvier 2010
  • Maquettes : le 25 janvier 2010
  • Tirage : 25 000 exemplaires
  • Québec : 2 500
  • Montréal : 18 500
  • En kiosque : 2 000
  • Abonnements : 2 000
  • Public visé : artistes amateurs et professionnels, passionnés de musique et d’art
  • Contact : 514-948-0509 ou sales@scena.org
  • Trousse Média : http://ads.scena.org/
À venir : La Scena Musicale mars 2010 et The Music Scene Printemps 2010
  • Thème : Camps d'été

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Funérailles pour Pierre Dionne
Date : le samedi 23 janvier 2010
Lieu : Trois-Rivières
La famille recevra les amis et collègues de Pierre au Centre Funéraire Rousseau, 445 rue des Volontaires (juste en face de la cathédrale), le samedi 23 janvier dès 10 h 00. Les funérailles suivront à 13 h 30 à la cathédrale de Trois-Rivières, 362 rue Bonaventure.
Contact : Olivier Godin, oligodin@yahoo.com

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Promotion« Abonnements » de janvier – Pourquoi pas s’abonner ?

Jusqu’au 31 janvier 2010, les nouveaux abonnés obtiendront une réduction de 10 $ sur un abonnement à LSM s’ils s’abonnent en ligne. Cette économie équivaut à 4 numéros gratuits et l’abonnement comprend des privilèges comme l’accès à la Discothèque Naxos et le téléchargement gratuit de le la collection écouverte en format MP3 (10 CD). À noter : à partir de 2010, seuls les abonnés payants recevront le CD Découverte matériel.

Nous recommandons aux lecteurs à l’extérieur du Canada notre option écologique, la Carte verte La SCENA, vendue seulement 25 $/année.

http://www.scena.org/LaSCENACard/index_fr.html

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NOUVEAU : la Carte verte La SCENA

Tout disponible en ligne
  • Versions électroniques de La Scena Musicale/La SCENA (10 numéros) et The Music Scene (2 numéros)
  • CD Découverte mensuels téléchargeables (10 / année)
  • 39 000 CD @ Discothèque Naxos
  • Réductions
  • Seulement 25 $ (taxes incluses)
  • 514-656-3947, sub@scena.org
  • http://www.scena.org/LaSCENACard/index_fr.html
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Prochaine activité-bénéfice LSM

Montréal, le jeudi 11 février 2010 à 20 h
Opéra de Montréal
Puccini : Tosca
Distribution: voir ce lien
Billets : 99 $, 71 $, 46 $
Réduction de 10 % pour les abonnés de La Scena Musicale
À noter : autres dates disponibles sur demande.

Réservations* 514-656-3947, sub@scena.org

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Lancement du Fonds de dotation LSM

Notre demande au programme de subventions de contrepartie, Placement Culture, a été officiellement approuvée. Par conséquent, le gouvernement du Québec versera 1,50 $ pour chaque dollar de don reçu par LSM. Le programme Placement Culture exige que La Scène Musicale crée un fonds de dotation. Notre objectif est de recueillir 100 000 $ au cours des douze prochains mois. Si l’on y ajoute la subvention de contrepartie du gouvernement, le montant du fonds s’élèverait à 250 000 $. L’atteinte de cet objectif est d’une extrême importance pour maintenir l'excellence et assurer la survie de nos périodiques, et c’est pourquoi nous annonçons maintenant le lancement de notre campagne 2010 de contributions au fonds de dotation. Veuillez faire un don ou vous joindre à notre comité de financement.

Info : 514-948-2520 ou info@lascena.org

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Dons et bénévoles demandés

La Scena Musicale/The Music Scene est un organisme de bienfaisance enregistré qui fait la promotion des arts et de la musique en publiant trois magazines et un site Web. Nous rapprochons les musicien(ne)s et les artistes avec la communauté artistique, les mélomanes et les amateurs d'art. Aidez-nous à poursuivre notre travail avec un don (d'argent ou de biens) ou par du travail bénévole. Communiquez avec nous au 514-948-2520 ou à info@scena.org

Donnez à CanaDon.org

No d'organisme de bienfaisance à l'ARC : 14199 6579 RR0001
 
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Labels:

La Scena Musicale February 2010 Issue Details



[Version française]



The Music Scene Winter 2010

Hello!

On behalf of La Scena Musicale’s dedicated staff and volunteers, I want to wish you a Happy 2010. We began the New Year with a new blog Today’s Classical Music Video as part of our 2010 digital strategy, which presents a music video pick each day.

Unfortunately, the year has already its share of sad music news. Record producer Pierre Dionne (of XXI Records), a dear friend to LSM and the Canadian classical music community, lost his battle with cancer last week. See below for funeral details.

In February, La Scena Musicale shines the spotlight on the young and budding musician.
  • Gracing our cover are pianist Wonny Song and violinist Alexandre da Costa, who both started their musical careers as young teens and serve as role models for other young musicians.
  • The monthly Discovery CD (in collaboration with XXI Records) will feature a double program by both Song (Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition) and da Costa (Vivaldi's Four Seasons).
  • This month’s focus on primary, secondary, and private music education includes our annual guide to schools plus related calendars, tips and articles, including conversations with top music educators, musicological scientists, professional adult and young performers.
  • Interview with 14 year old piano prodigy Jan Lisiecki.
  • Readers will also learn more about Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra’s first ever North American tour which begins in February,
  • Montreal news such as the upcoming MusiMars Festival and the McGill Chamber Orchestra, which celebrates an important anniversary in 2010.
  • La Scena Musicale sits down with Prix d’Arts-Affaires winner Maurice Forget, Apéro à l’Opéra of the Opéra de Montréal winner Annie Sanschagrin and soprano Danielle de Niese.
  • Aria of the Month: The heart wrenching "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's Tosca
All this and more from the worlds of Classical, Jazz, and World music – including our indispensable monthly reviews and concert previews and calendars.

The deadline for advertising in the February 2010 issue is January 25 with artwork due on January 26.


January Sale - Why not consider a subscription?

Until January 31, 2010, new subscribers will get $10 off an LSM subscription if they subscribe online. This savings is equivalent to receiving 4 free issues, and the subscription include benefits such as the Naxos Music Library and free MP3 downloads of the Discovery CD Collection (10 full CDs). Note: New for 2010, only paying subscribers will receive the physical Discovery CD.
For non-Canadian readers, we recommend the new environment-friendly La SCENA Green Card for only $25/year. See below for more details.

Fundraising

Finally, we are launching our Endowment Fund Campaign: For every dollar we raise, the Quebec government Placement Culture program will match it with $1.50. Our goal is to raise $100,000 to create a $250,000 endowment fund that will ensure the continued excellence and longevity of our magazines. Please donate or join our fundraising committee. See below. For Montreal readers, we are also raising funds by selling tickets to the Montreal Opera’s production of Tosca for February 11, 2010 (Tickets: $46 to $99).

All the best for 2010.

Yours sincerely,

Wah Keung Chan
Founding Publisher and Editor
La Scena Musicale
La SCENA
The Music Scene


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Upcoming Issues:

La Scena Musicale February 2010
  • On the Cover: Wonny Song and Alexander Da Costa
  • Theme: Music Education
  • Distribution: January 29
  • Deadline for ad reservations: January 25
  • Deadline for artwork: January 26
  • Total 25,000 copies, 50,000 readers
  • Montreal: 18,500
  • Quebec City: 2,500
  • Newsstands: 2,000
  • Mailing: 2,000
  • Target Readership: professional and amateur artists, music and art lovers
  • Contact : 514-948-0509 or sales@scena.org
  • Media Kit: http://ads.scena.org/
Upcoming: La Scena Musicale March 2010 Issue

Theme: Summer Camps

The Music Scene: Spring 2010

50,000 readers
Theme: Summer Camps

English Canada

circulation: 25,000 copies
  • Toronto : 15,000 
  • Ottawa : 5000
  • English Canada (Schools): 3,000
  • Mailing: 2,000
Distribution date: March 15
Advertising deadline: March 5
Materials deadline: March 8

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Funeral for Pierre Dionne
Date: Saturday, January 23, 2010
Place: Trois-Rivières
The family will receive friends and colleagues of Peter Rousseau Funeral Center, 445 rue des Volontaires (just opposite the Cathedral), Saturday, January 23 at 10:00. The funeral will follow at 13:30 at the Cathedral of Trois-Rivieres, 362 rue Bonaventure.
Contact: Olivier Godin, oligodin@yahoo.com

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JANUARY Subscription Sale

January Subscription Sale - Why not consider a subscription?
Until January 31, 2010, new subscribers will get $10 off an LSM subscription if they subscribe online. This savings is equivalent to receiving 4 free issues, and the subscription include benefits such as the Naxos Music Library (39,000 CDs streaming) and free MP3 downloads of the Discovery CD Collection (10 full CDs). Note: New for 2010, only paying subscribers will receive the physical Discovery CD.
http://www.scena.org/LaSCENACard/index_en.html

Already receive the magazine? 
We recommend the new environment-friendly La SCENA Green Card for only $25/year. Also ideal for non-Canadian readers.


NEW: The La SCENA Green Card

All available online
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Next LSM Benefit Activity

Montréal, Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Opéra de Montréal
Tosca by Puccini
Tickets: $99, $71, $46
10% discount for La Scena Musicale subscribers / La SCENA Card members
Note: other dates available upon request.

Reservations
* 514-656-3947, sub@scena.org

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NEW Endowment Fund: 
Our application for the matching program, Placement Culture, has formally been accepted: for every dollar donated to LSM/TMS, the Québec government will contribute one dollar and fifty cents. Placement Culture is designed to create endowment funds for charitable arts groups like La Scene Musicale/The Music Scene. Our goal is to raise $100,000 until November 30, 2010, which combined with the government contribution, will create a $250,000 endowment. This will help us continue our magazines's excellence and innovation for years to come. We are therefore launching at this time our 2010 endowment fund campaign. Please join our fundraising committee or make a donation.

Please contact 514-948-2520 or info@lascena.org
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Donations Requested:

La Scena Musicale/The Music Scene is a registered charity promoting music and the arts through three magazines and a website. We connect musicians/artists, the arts community and music/art lovers together through education and information. Help us continue our work with a donation (cash or goods) or by volunteering.

Please contact 514-948-2520 or info@scena.org

Donate at CanadaHelps.org or through Paypal
  


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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Ross Reynolds, former Universal Music Canada President/Chairman, honoured with 2010 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award

Founding Director of CARAS to receive the prestigious award at
the 39th Annual JUNO Awards in St. John's, NL


St. John's, NL (January 13, 2010) - The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) is very pleased to be honouring one of its own today as it announces Ross Reynolds as the 2010 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award recipient. For more than four decades, Reynolds has been a major player in the music industry, notably as a founding board member of CARAS and long-time Universal Music Canada President and Chairman.

"On behalf of the CARAS board, we are so proud to see our friend and colleague honoured in this capacity and recognized for his tremendous contributions to the Canadian music industry," said Melanie Berry, President & CEO of CARAS. "Not only has he been instrumental in helping to steer CARAS to where it is today, Ross Reynolds has wholeheartedly dedicated his career toward fostering Canadian talent on a variety of levels."
"Receiving this award is the result of me having the extraordinary good fortune of timing and being supported by wonderful people, particularly my wife, Jane," said Ross Reynolds. "Nevertheless I'm thrilled to be honoured. It's an exciting ride."

Reynolds is a respected music industry veteran who once held the position of President at GRT Records for 10 years (from the label's inception in 1969), where he signed such Canadian artists as Dan Hill, Dr. Music, Ian Thomas, Lighthouse and Moe Koffman. His resume also includes five years as Executive VP in Canada for WEA (now Warner Music Canada).

He is perhaps best known for his long and outstanding tenure as President then Chairman of Universal Music Canada (formerly MCA) for nearly two decades from 1983 to 2001, during which he oversaw the development of a Canadian roster that included soon-to-be global stars such as The Tragically Hip. Under his leadership, Universal Music Canada experienced exponential growth to achieve a market share of approximately one-third. Today it is still considered one of Canada's most influential music companies. In 2001, Reynolds moved to the position of Chairman Emeritus where he was responsible for administering Universal's multi-million dollar commitment to the support of Canadian culture, which came as a result of the Universal/Polygram merger.

Reynolds' involvement with CARAS dates back to 1975, initially as one of the organization's founding directors. Years later in 2001, he was elected by his peers to the full-time position of Chairman, and immediately made an impact by expanding the focus of the JUNO Awards and setting out to create a brand that Canadians from coast to coast could be proud of. He was instrumental in taking Canada's Music Awards show "on the road" for the first time to St. John's, NL, in addition to growing the singular celebration into a full weekend of events that showcases the successes of Canadian music. In 2006, Stephen Stohn succeeded Reynolds as Chairman of CARAS.

His experience and expertise in the music industry has him currently acting as an advisory board member for the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame; MusiCounts, Canada's music education charity associated with CARAS; in addition to serving on the board of St. Lazarus Hospice. Reynolds is also a past Chairman of the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) and has served on the boards of the Starlight Children's Foundation, Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall, The Audio Visual Preservation Trust Fund, and Canada's Walk of Fame.

For more information about the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award, or to download photos of Ross Reynolds, go to www.junoawards.ca.

JUNO Week takes place April 12-18, 2010, in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, culminating in the live broadcast of THE 2010 JUNO AWARDS, Sunday, April 18, on CTV.

Sponsors of the 2010 JUNO Awards include FACTOR, Canada's Private Radio Broadcasters and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage's "Canada Music Fund," with commitments from The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the City of St. John's and Radio Starmaker Fund.

Sponsors of THE 2010 JUNO AWARDS broadcast on CTV include Chevrolet, Garnier, Pepsi and Rogers.

Web Links:
Official JUNO Awards website: www.junoawards.ca
CTV's JUNO Awards website: www.junos.ctv.ca
St. John's Host Committee: www.ruckusontheedge.com
CARAS website: www.carasonline.ca
CTV website: www.ctv.ca

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The JUNO Awards come full circle making a much anticipated return to St. John's, NL

JUNO Week excitement builds in the city that first hosted the Awards' cross-country road trip in 2002

ST. JOHN'S, Jan. 13 /CNW/ - It's been eight years, eight Canadian cities, and one remarkable journey for the JUNO Awards since the landmark decision was made to take the annual show on the road across Canada. Now the JUNO Awards come full circle! Canada's greatest music celebration returns to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador - site of the unforgettable first leg of the cross-country road trip - for the 39th Annual JUNO Awards.

Today at a media conference held in St. John's, The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) announced the official dates, venues and ticketing details for JUNO Week Events converging on the city April 12 - 18. JUNO Week culminates with THE 2010 JUNO AWARDS broadcast from Mile One Centre, Sunday, April 18 on CTV.

Tickets for THE 2010 JUNO AWARDS broadcast go on sale Saturday, March 6 at 12pm NDT. Tickets are $189 plus HST and surcharges and can be purchased at the Mile One Centre Box Office; by phoning (709) 576-7657, (toll free) at 1-800-361-4595 or online at www.admission.com.

For the full release and more information on JUNO Week and the 2010 JUNO Awards, visit www.junoawards.ca.

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Major Changes Announced by Russian Ministry of Culture for XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011

MOSCOW, RUSSIA―Maestro Valery Gergiev, the recently appointed Chairman of the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition by the Russian Minister of Culture, Alexander Avdeev, accepted the position with a mission to elevate the competition to the level of prestige it enjoyed in past decades. The event, to be held June 14–July 2, 2011, will be bound by a new set of rules, regulations and a voting system designed to assure fairness, openness and transparency. To maintain the highest standards of integrity, Maestro Gergiev, the Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre and Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, is assembling four juries composed of performers of world-renowned stature.

 “From the beginning, the Tchaikovsky Competition inspired me with awe, when, as a child, names soon to become legendary―Van Cliburn, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Grigory Sokolov―were blossoming on the Moscow stage.  The competitions also served as a gathering of a spectacular array of the greatest musicians of their day―Dmitri Shostakovitch, Emil Gilels, Sviatoslav Richter, Aram Khachaturian.  Today we are inviting my colleagues, the world’s most celebrated performing artists, to join together in helping us discover a new generation of brilliant young talents.  We will all do our very best to ensure that the XIV Competition serve as a milestone in the illustrious history of this great event,” Gergiev said.

The new Organizing Committee under Maestro Gergiev consists of such influential individuals as co-chairpersons Avdeev and Liudmila Shvetsova, the First Deputy of the Mayor of Moscow;  Yuri Laptev, Councilor of the President of Russia; Sergey Khudiakov, Head of the Cultural Department of Moscow; Konstantin Ernst, General Manager of the  First TV Channel; Rodion Schedrin, composer; Denis Matsuev, pianist and member of the President’s Cultural Council and Alexei Shalashov, Head of the Ministry’s Department of Contemporary Art and International Cultural Relations. Also appointed as Senior Advisor to the Organizing Committee and Chairman of the Working Committee is Richard Rodzinski, President Emeritus of the Van Cliburn Foundation.

Many of the recently approved rules and conditions are designed to conform to those adopted by the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.  “There is no more important attribute a competition may enjoy than a reputation for being crystal-clean,” said Rodzinski. “The Tchaikovsky Competition, one of Russia’s great cultural icons, deserves to be restored to a position of international prominence and recognition.”

For the first time in its history, and in keeping with practices encouraged by the World Federation of International Music Competitions, the Tchaikovsky Competition will organize prestigious concert engagements for its laureates both in Russia and abroad. Maestro Gergiev has announced that he plans to engage the winners to perform with the Mariinsky Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. 

Russians can look forward to Cliburn’s return to Moscow as an Honorary Chairman, and to a host of other internationally acclaimed musicians selected by Maestro Gergiev for the jury.  Cliburn said of this distinction:

“When the Minister of Culture, Alexander Avdeev, graciously invited me to serve as honorary chairman of the piano division of the Fourteenth International Tchaikovsky Competition, I was very touched and I am deeply honoured to accept. The great Valery Gergiev, my friend and chairman of the competition, and his distinguished colleagues of the Organizing Committee are blending their talents, wisdom, inspiration and commitment to one of the crown jewels of Russia's cultural crown: the world famous Tchaikovsky International Competition for Piano, Violin, Cello and Voice. The enormous wealth of Tchaikovsky’s immortal masterpieces written for each of those instruments will again be heard in their glory by young musicians from all over the world, beginning in June 2011 in the beautiful city of Moscow. This competition is not only a fitting memorial to the world beloved Tchaikovsky but also a tribute to the exalted position in which classical music is held in the hearts and minds of the great Russian people.”

The Competition unveiled its preliminary website (www.tchaikovsky-competition.com), which includes the application form, repertoire requirements, rules and general information. The appearance of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, unchanged since 1958, will be newly designed by internationally recognized graphic design firm Chermayeff & Geismar in New York.  They are especially noted for creating symbols and logotypes for hundreds of companies, including Mobil Corp., Chase Manhattan Bank and National Geographic. Also for the first time in its history, the Tchaikovsky Competition is undertaking a major international public relations and advertising campaign to support its new initiatives.

The deadline for all applications and submission of a DVD of a 50-minute recital will be December 1, 2010. An international screening jury will review all materials and propose to select 30 pianists, 25 violinists, 25 cellists, and 20 male and 20 female singers. The names of the selected musicians will be announced in March. The competition will consist of three rounds of live performances, all of which will be open to the public. Among new features of the competition will be a classical concerto to be performed by the instrumentalists during the semifinal round.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the top five competitors in each discipline of piano, violin, cello, and to each of the top four competitors in the men’s and women’s solo vocal categories. First prize (always to be awarded) is 20,000 Euro; second, 15,000 Euro; third, 10,000 Euro; fourth, 5,000 Euro; and fifth, 3,000 Euro. An additional prize, a Grand Prix of 10,000 Euro, may be awarded to one of the gold medalists deemed outstanding by the juries. Additional awards will be given for best performance of the chamber concertos and the commissioned new work.

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Isaac Albéniz's lyric comedy The Magic Opal

The Orquesta Sinfónica de Chamartín conducted by Silvia Sanz will present a concert version with full orchestra, soloists and chorus of Isaac Albéniz's lyric comedy The Magic Opal (new critical edition by Borja Mariño) on February 27, 2010 at 10:30 PM. The performance will take place at the Symphonic Hall of the Auditorio Nacional, located at Principe Vergara, 146 in Madrid (Spain). Tickets are available via Serviticket + 34 902 33 22 11. For more information go to www.oschamartin.org.

The Magic Opal is the last of the stage works of Albéniz to be brought to life since its original premiere 1893. This lyric comedy shows Albeniz's innate talent to compose in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan, causing George Bernard Shaw to say in a review of the work that the composer was “well ahead of his competitors”. A fantasy tale that takes place in Greece with pirates and magic stones, Albeniz is at home in the lyric comedy theatre, lending the work with his own Spanish aesthetic touch and flourish. The date of the première on February 27, 2010 marks precisely to the day the 117th anniversary of the London last performance of this work.


The Orquesta Sinfónica Chamartin and Chorus
Silvia Sanz, Director
Javier Franco (Carambollas)
Estefanía Perdomo (Lolika)
José Ferrero (Alzaga)
César San Martín (Trabucos)

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Venez Voir Divines paroles mettant en vedette les finissants 2010 du Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Montréal, du 22 au 30 janvier

Montréal, le 11 janvier 2010 — Les élèves finissants du Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Montréal présentent, du 22 au 30 janvier 2010, Divines paroles de Ramón del Valle Inclán, dans une traduction, une adaptation et une mise en scène de Philippe Soldevila, au Théâtre Rouge situé au 4750, avenue Henri-Julien à Montréal.

VENEZ VOIR Divines paroles qui prend vie dans l’Espagne profonde du début du XXe siècle. Juana la Reina traîne son fils, un nain hydrocéphale, de foire en foire depuis des années. L’attraction qu’il suscite lui permet de gagner son pain et de subsister dans un monde miséreux. Mais voilà qu’elle meurt subitement, laissant son nain orphelin. Flairant la bonne affaire, tout le village est intéressé par la garde du précieux héritage.

Interprétée par les finissants 2009-2010, avec une scénographie signée Katia Talbot, des costumes dessinés par Érica Schmitz, des éclairages de Claude Accolas et une musique composée et interprétée par Alexis Raynault, Divines paroles sera jouée à 19 h 30 (relâche les 24 et 25 janvier) et le samedi 30 janvier à 15 h et à 19 h 30.

L’auteur espagnol Ramón del Valle Inclán est né le 28 octobre 1866 en Galicie. Le pays de son enfance laissera une empreinte profonde sur son œuvre avec ses traditions, ses superstitions, ses sortilèges moyenâgeux et son dialecte propre. Ses extravagances ne tardent pas à lui valoir une certaine célébrité. Il porte une longue barbe, les cheveux longs jusqu’aux épaules et un lorgnon. Son insolence et sa verve font de lui une des figures les plus éminentes et les plus pittoresques de la bohème littéraire espagnole de la « génération 98 ». Il écrit, entre autres, sa trilogie Comédias bárbaras (Comédies barbares) qui évoque les paysages et les passions féroces de l’âme galicienne. Il publie en 1920, Divinas palabras (Divines paroles), sa « tragicomédie de village » considérée d’emblée comme un chef-d’œuvre. Il meurt le 5 janvier 1936.

Les billets au coût de 5 $ sont disponibles à la billetterie du Conservatoire (514 873-4283, poste 313), du mardi au vendredi, entre 13 h 30 et 17 h 30, ou une heure avant les représentations ainsi que sur le réseau Admission : www.admission.com (514 790-1245).

Vous pouvez voir un court extrait de Divines Paroles en répétition, dans le site web du Conservatoire : www.conservatoire.gouv.qc.ca.

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Music with Bite returns to Harbourfront Centre Feb. 14

FREE family concert features trombone quintet “I Tromboni”

TORONTO, ON (Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010) – Harbourfront Centre is thrilled to present the next installment of Music with Bite, our interactive and intimate FREE concert series designed especially for kids ages five to 12.

Satisfy your ears and your taste buds! Music with Bite is a refreshing experience where children can pull up a comfy cushion and sit in front of the stage for an enjoyable, interactive music performance tailored to young audience members. This is a fantastic opportunity to sample music of diverse styles in a friendly, accessible format. All of the artists performing bring an element of interactivity, education and entertainment to their programmes. After the concerts, children can enjoy a complimentary Natrel® milk beverage and cookie. In partnership with Jeunesses Musicales Ontario.

Upcoming Music with Bite concerts include trombone quintet I Tromboni on Feb. 14, cabaret performer Patricia O’Callaghan on April 18, and erhu master George Gao on May 23. Performances take place Sundays at 1 p.m. at Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West.

For additional information and complete event listings, the public may visit harbourfrontcentre.com or call the Information Hotline at 416-973-4000.

UPCOMING 2010 MUSIC WITH BITE CONCERTS AT HARBOURFRONT CENTRE

I Tromboni
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010 – 1 p.m. (Enwave Theatre)

Kids can discover the magic of the trombone on a voyage that strays off the beaten path. I Tromboni is compiled of five young trombonists who are ready to entertain and enlighten you! Since forming in 1999, they have worked to break down the myths & stereotypes that have kept trombones in the back row of the band for too long! Nicknamed “Team Canada of Trombones,” this dynamic Vancouver-based quintet incorporates music of many genres including jazz, romantic, popular and original compositions. I Tromboni entertains, educates and brings great music-making to kids of all ages. For more information visit itromboni.com.

Patricia O’Callaghan
Sunday, April 18 – 1 p.m.  (Brigantine Room)
The whole family can enjoy a vocal performance by the most promising cabaret performer of her generation, Canada’s own Patricia O’Callaghan. O’Callaghan has performed her European cabaret show around Europe and North America. She has also toured the Juno Award-winning opera Constantinople. O’Callaghan is no stranger to the camera; she appeared in CBC’s “Youkai Hotel” and the acclaimed series, “Foolish Heart.” For more information visit patricia-ocallaghan.com.


George Gao
Sunday, May 23 – 1 p.m.  (Brigantine Room)
PART OF HARBOURKIDS WEEKEND!
Hailed as one of the most exciting, innovative and respected erhu masters today, the Gemini Award-nominated erhu master George Gao performs at Music with Bite as part of an exciting HarbourKIDS weekend festival. Gao has performed with multiple orchestras around the world including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Billions of people around the world have watched him on CCTV, China's most watched TV station. Gao fuses traditional Chinese music with jazz, Western Classical music, New Age and other ethnic music from different world cultures. For more information visit  georgegao.com.


HarbourKIDS Club Membership
Sign up to be a HarbourKIDS Club Member and receive your very own “Splooshy” tattoo! Pick up a copy of our Kid’s Guide to Harbourfront Centre and explore our site on an interactive discovery walk! If you want, we’ll send you periodic emails to let you know what fun family events are coming up at Harbourfront!
 

ABOUT JEUNESSES MUSICALES ONTARIO
Jeunesses Musicales Ontario is a non-profit arts organization that fosters the careers of outstanding young professional musicians at home and abroad. JMO promotes the development of the arts in Ontario by bringing fine classical music to audiences of all ages. As young artists gain valuable experience and exposure, students, families and the general public enjoy high-quality, affordable, accessible musical entertainment. For more information visit jmontario.ca.

ABOUT HARBOURFRONT CENTRE
Harbourfront Centre is an innovative, non-profit cultural organization which provides internationally renowned programming in the arts, culture, education and recreation, all within a collection of distinctive venues on a 10-acre site in the heart of Toronto's downtown waterfront.

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George F. Walker's And So it Goes World Premiere at Factory Theatre

Toronto, ON – Tuesday, January 12, 2010The World Premiere of AND SO IT GOES, written and directed by George F. Walker, continues Artistic Director Ken Gass’ Factory Theatre 40th Anniversary Season in 2010. Walker has had 23 shows produced at Factory, including three revivals, but this is his first new play in a decade.  AND SO IT GOES plays January 30 – February 28, 2010 in the Mainspace Theatre.

“Walker has been a huge part of Factory’s history, and his plays have resonated in a big way with audiences,” says Gass, “So that when George called to say that he had written a new play, I pretty much leapt at the opportunity. AND SO IT GOES is quite different stylistically from the East End plays that Walker’s audiences are most familiar with, but the intensely obsessed characters, troubled social landscapes and signature Walker humour are ever present.  This is very much a play for our times.”

AND SO IT GOES is about Ned and Gwen, middle-class victims of the recession grappling with the fallout of their daughter’s schizophrenia and Ned’s downsizing. Pushed to the edge during their downwardly mobile spiral, perhaps the unorthodox therapy of a quirky literary legend may keep them from going all the way over.  Starring Martha Burns (Stratford, Shaw, NAC, Tarragon) as Gwen; Peter Donaldson (Soulpepper, Stratford) as Ned; Jenny Young (Factory, Shaw, Royal Shakespeare Co.) as Karen, their 25-year old daughter; and Jerry Franken (Factory, Tarragon) as Vonnegut. 


The creative team assembled by Walker includes Set & Costume Designer Shawn Kerwin, Lighting Designer Rebecca Picherack and Sound Designer John Roby. The Stage Manager is Joanna Barrotta and the Apprentice Stage Manager is Heather Thompson. Assistant Director Courtney Walker will be making blog entries throughout the rehearsal process to provide behind-the-scenes comments about the creation of this show at http://factorytheatre-andsoitgoes.blogspot.com/.

George F. Walker is one of Canada's most prolific and widely-produced playwrights. He has received nine Chalmers Awards, five Dora Awards, and three Governor General’s Awards. He is also the recipient of the Order of Canada. His plays have met with critical and popular success in hundreds of productions worldwide and have been translated extensively. In 1997, Suburban Motel--six plays located in the same motel room--premiered in Canada under Walker's direction at Factory Theatre. Since then, individual plays from the series have had numerous productions throughout the USA, the UK and Germany. Walker’s last play was Heaven (January 2000 at Canadian Stage Company). In addition to his playwriting, Walker has written extensively for television, co-creating three major series: CBC’s This is Wonderland, the Movie Network’s The Line, and the recently-filmed Living in Your Car. Other screen work includes the feature film Niagara Motel, based on three of the plays from his Suburban Motel cycle, CBS's Due South and CBC’s Newsroom.


AND SO IT GOES is 75 minutes long with no intermission. It previews January 30 - 31 and February 2 - 3, opens February 4 and closes February 28, 2010. Shows run Tuesday – Saturday, 8 p.m., and on Sunday at 2 p.m. (with the exception of the Sunday, January 31, preview show at 7 p.m.) in the Factory Mainspace Theatre. 

Single tickets run $15 - $35 (discounts for previews, seniors, students or theatre artists as well as groups of ten or more) and may be purchased online at www.factorytheatre.ca 24 hours a day, or by calling (416) 504-9971 or by visiting the Factory Theatre Box Office in person Tuesday through Saturday, 1 p.m. - 7 p.m., at 125 Bathurst Street (at Adelaide Street), Toronto. In addition, 3–play subscriptions, Pay-What-You-Can Sunday and a limited number of $10 RUSH tickets (Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday) are also available.

Factory’s 2009/2010 season continues with the World Premiere of ahdri zhina mandiela’s who knew grannie: a dub aria (March 13 – April 4) produced by Obsidian Theatre Company in association with Factory Theatre, and Walker’s Featuring Loretta (May 1 – June 6).  Where the Blood Mixes, by Kevin Loring, winner of the 2009 Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, plays April 7 – 18, headlining Factory’s annual Performance Spring/CrossCurrents Festival, April 6 – 25. See www.factorytheatre.ca.

Listings Information:

SHOW The World Premiere of And So It Goes by playwright/director George F. Walker is about Ned and Gwen, middle-class victims of the recession grappling with the fallout of their daughter’s schizophrenia and Ned’s downsizing. Pushed to the edge during their downwardly mobile spiral, perhaps the unorthodox therapy of a quirky literary legend may keep them from going all the way over.  Starring Martha Burns, Peter Donaldson, Jerry Franken and Jenny Young; LENGTH 75 minutes - no intermission; DATES January 30 – February 28, 2010; TIMES Tuesday – Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. (exception is Sunday, January 31, 7 p.m.); TICKET PRICES $15 previews (January 30 – 31 & February 2 – 3); $25 Tuesday – Thursday; $35 Friday – Saturday; P-W-Y-C Sunday or $25 in advance; $10 limited RUSH Tickets Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (7 p.m. lineup and 7:50 p.m. purchase); VENUE Factory Theatre – Mainspace, 125 Bathurst Street (Adelaide Street Doors); BOX OFFICE (416) 504 – 9971; WEB PAGE www.factorytheatre.ca.

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Friday, January 15, 2010

Pierre Boulez leads The Cleveland Orchestra in all-French program featuring music by Debussy, Messiaen, and Ravel at Severance Hall on February 4, 6, and 7






Pierre Boulez 


Concerts are part of international celebrations of Boulez’s 85th birthday
   
Pierre-Laurent Aimard is soloist in Ravel’s Piano Concerto  in G major and Concerto for the Left Hand


CLEVELAND, January 12, 2010 – In the first week of Cleveland concerts marking the 85th birthday year and the 45th anniversary year of Pierre Boulez’s American professional orchestra debut with The Cleveland Orchestra, the conductor/composer will lead the Orchestra in a program of French music including Debussy’s “Ibéria” from Images and Messiaen’s L’Ascension at Severance Hall on Thursday, February 4, at 8 p.m., Saturday, February 6, at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, February 7, at 3:00 p.m.  Mr. Boulez will also conduct the Orchestra in concerts on February 11, 12, and 13, featuring music by Mahler.  (A separate concert announcement will follow.) 
The program for February 4, 6, and 7 begins with Olivier Messiaen’s L’Ascension (Four Symphonic Meditations). Next is Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major.  After intermission, the program continues with Ravel’s Piano Concerto in D major for the Left Hand.  The program concludes with Claude Debussy’s “Ibéria” from Images.
Mr. Boulez, who from 1970-72 served as musical advisor of The Cleveland Orchestra, turns 85 on March 26.   He has been a regular and favorite guest conductor of the Orchestra, leading more than 200 concerts. Among his many recordings with the Orchestra, five have won Grammy Awards, including the 1969 award in the “Best Classical Performance, Orchestra” category, for their album including Debussy’s Images.
When Pierre Boulez turned 80, the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, “… how many enfants terribles of the music world have lived to see their work, their contributions as composers, conductors and advocates celebrated around the world as they mark their 80th birthdays? The category is unique, and the sole designate is Pierre Boulez.”  
  Pierre-Laurent Aimard will be soloist in both of the Ravel piano concertos, which will be recorded live for future release on the Deutsche Gramophone label.  Mr. Boulez and Mr. Aimard have worked together as colleagues over many years, since Pierre Boulez appointed Mr. Aimard (then age 19) as the first solo pianist of the Ensemble Inter­Contemporain – the Paris-based contemporary music ensemble Mr. Boulez founded in 1976.


GUEST ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
            French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez is regarded as one of the world’s most distinguished musicians.  His 2009 Kyoto Prize affirms the importance of his compositions and activities as author, teacher, and advocate of contemporary music. 
Mr. Boulez made his American professional orchestra debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in March 1965.  In 1969, he became the Orchestra’s first principal guest conductor.  Following the death of Music Director George Szell in July 1970, he served as musical advisor through the 1971-72 season.  Since then, he has been a frequent guest conductor with the Orchestra, most recently in February 2008. 
Pierre Boulez was born in 1925 in Montbrison, France.  After initial training in mathematics, he studied piano, composition, and choral conducting at the Paris Conservatory, where his teachers included Olivier Messiaen and René Leibowitz.  In 1953, Mr. Boulez founded a modern music concert series that later became the Domaine Musical.  Throughout the next decade, he taught at Basel University and in Darmstadt, and was a visiting professor at Harvard University.  He later joined the faculty at the Collège de France.
In 1971, Pierre Boulez became music director of both the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic; he held the posts until 1975 and 1977, respectively.  In 1974, French President Georges Pompidou invited Mr. Boulez to establish and direct a music research center – the Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM).  He also founded the Ensemble InterContemporain, and now holds honorary positions with both organizations.
Pierre Boulez has fostered close relationships with the world’s major orchestras and opera companies.  His conducting highlights include the inaugural concert of the Cité de la musique in Paris; a four-orchestra festival of his compositions in Tokyo; tours with the London Symphony Orchestra celebrating his 70th, 75th, and 80th birthdays; and new productions of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Schoenberg’s Moses and Aron, and Wagner’s Parsifal.  More recently, Mr. Boulez has led Janáček’s From the House of the Dead in Aix-en-Provence, Amsterdam, and Vienna; served as composer-in-residence at Salzburg’s Mozartwoche; and conducted Mahler’s complete symphonies at Carnegie Hall.
            An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 1992, Pierre Boulez has focused his discography on 20th-century works.  His recordings have garnered Gramophone, Echo, and Deutscher Schallplatten awards and more than 25 Grammys.  Mr. Boulez also has received the Glenn Gould Prize and Wolf Prize, numerous honorary doctorates, and many other awards.


            French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is acclaimed as a key figure in both the music of our time and the standard piano repertoire.  He made his Cleveland Orchestra debut in February 1996.  Mr. Aimard appeared with the Orchestra at the Lucerne Festival in August 2008, in the world premiere of George Benjamin’s Duet for piano and orchestra, and in subsequent performances of the work at Severance Hall in September 2008 and at Carnegie Hall in February 2009.  He served as artist-in-residence with the Orchestra for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.
          Born in Lyon, France, in 1957, Pierre-Laurent Aimard studied at the Paris Conservatory with Yvonne Loriod, and in London with Maria Curcio.  He received first prize in the 1973 Messiaen Competition and was appointed at age 19 by Pierre Boulez as the Ensemble Inter­Contemporain’s first solo pianist.  For nearly 20 years, Mr. Aimard collaborated with György Ligeti, and he has recorded Ligeti’s complete works.  Pierre-Laurent Aimard received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist Award in 2005 and 2006, and was named Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year in 2007. 
Mr. Aimard performs with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors.  He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2001 and maintains a regular relationship there, as well as with the Berlin Philharmonic, Konzerthaus Vienna, Lucerne Festival, Mozarteum Salzburg, Philharmonie Cologne, and the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.  His teaching activities include professorships in Paris and Cologne, as well as concert lectures and workshops worldwide.  Mr. Aimard served as inaugural artist-in-residence at the Salle de Concerts Grande-Duchesse Josephine-Charlotte in Luxembourg in 2005 to 2006, became an artistic partner with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in 2006, and in 2008 was artistic director of the Southbank Centre’s Messiaen centenary festival in London.  In 2009, he became artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival in England.    
           Pierre-Laurent Aimard has an extensive discography with Sony Classical and Teldec, and now records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon.  His first DG release, “Bach’s Art of the Fugue,” won the Diapason d’Or award and the prize for the Choc du Monde de la Musique.  Mr. Aimard also has received two ECHO Classic Awards:  in 2003 for his recording of the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos, and in 2004 for Debussy’s Images and Etudes.  His recording of Ives’s “Concord” Sonata and Songs with Susan Graham garnered a 2005 Grammy Award.  Mr. Aimard’s recent releases include solo works by Carter, Messiaen, and Ravel, and the Mozart piano concertos, which he conducted from the keyboard.

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Celebrated Australian trio Splintergroup showcase incredible physicality and inspired storytelling harvested from myths and paranoia of the outback

TORONTO, ON (Jan. 12, 2010) – Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage 2009-10 performing arts series resumes this winter with the celebrated Brisbane-based company Splintergroup and the intense contemporary dance-theatre piece roadkill. This edge-of-your-seat show runs four performances only, Feb. 3 – 6, at Harbourfront Centre’s Enwave Theatre.

Choreographed by Gavin Webber, Grayson Millwood and Sarah-Jayne Howard, the trio of collaborators who currently comprise Splintergroup, roadkill is set in Australia’s legendary and treacherous outback. A couple are stranded with a car that won’t start next to a phone booth that doesn’t work with a mobile phone out of range. The vast and unforgiving outback offers them little salvation, until a stranger comes along wh