Ondine Signs Violist David Aaron Carpenter and Announces North American April Releases

[Note: Fact sheets attached as PDFs

Ondine North American News and Releases for April 2009

�� Signs violist David Aaron Carpenter

�� Releases world premiere recording of long-lost Hindemith work, the Klaviermusik mit Orchester, Op. 29

�� Releases Bizarre Bazaar featuring clarinetist Kari Kriikku

�� Releases world premiere recording of Hallgr��msson's Cello Concerto performed by Truls M��rk

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ONDINE SIGNS RISING STAR VIOLIST DAVID AARON CARPENTER

Debut recording ��� Viola Concertos by Elgar and Schnittke ��� will be released internationally in September 2009 and features the Philharmonia Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach. A pre-release sample is available at www.ondine.net/davidaaroncarpenter

Ondine is pleased to announce the signing of a recording agreement with 22-year-old violist David Aaron Carpenter, who has recently emerged as one of the world's most promising young talents. The initial agreement calls for four CD releases. Mr. Carpenter, who was the Winner of the 2006 Walter W. Naumburg Viola Competition, will be performing in recital at Carnegie Hall in Zankel Hall on Monday, April 13, 2009 at 7:30 pm (www.carnegiehall.org/article/box_office/events/evt_12771.html).

His debut recording ��� to be released in September 2009 ��� couples two concertos: a viola arrangement of Sir Edward Elgar's famous Cello Concerto and the Viola Concerto (1985) by Alfred Schnittke. Christoph Eschenbach leads the Philharmonia Orchestra. David Aaron Carpenter adapted much of the Elgar Concerto himself, using the well-known and Elgar-sanctioned arrangement by Lionel Tertis as a basis.

Since making his orchestral debut in 2005 with The Philadelphia Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach, David Aaron Carpenter has been performing with leading musicians and orchestras in the United States and Europe. In 2007, he became the first American and youngest prot��g�� for The Rolex Mentor and Prot��g�� Arts Initiative and the prot��g�� of world-renowned violinist and violist Pinchas Zukerman. He was chosen among an international selection that included every violinist and violist of his generation.

David Aaron Carpenter has been acclaimed as producing, "a seductively rich sound and demonstrating both a forceful interpretive personality and remarkable control of his instrument," (The New York Times) and, "whose beautiful modulated tone makes a striking impression." (The Strad)

Industry veteran Kevin Kleinmann, who brought David Aaron Carpenter to Ondine's attention and serves as Executive Producer for this and future recordings with the artist on Ondine, said, "In my more than thirty years working with classical musicians, I have rarely encountered a more striking talent than David Aaron Carpenter. He combines an incandescent and imaginative musical personality with effortless technique an maturity far beyond his years. His intense musicality and talent brings to my mind such past greats as Michael Rabin and Jacqueline du Pr��. Working on the Elgar recording project made me realize how, I David's hands, this Concerto works so well on the viola."

Reijo Kiilunen, Managing Director of Ondine, added, "It is my pleasure to welcome this outstandingly gifted young musician to Ondine and to release his debut recording. I believe that David Aaron Carpenter combines superstar potential with an artistic depth uncommon for his age. The juxtaposition of the concertos by Elgar and Schnittke underlines our label's artistic vision, and we look forward to many further exciting recordings with David in the future."

On signing with Ondine, David Aaron Carpenter said, "I want to express my gratitude to the Rolex Mentor and Prot��g�� Arts Initiative for making this recording possible. I look forward to my collaboration with Ondine, a company that remains true to its core musical principals. I am fortunate that Ondine aligns its vision with my own to establish the viola as a solo instrument. Making my first recording with Maestro Eschenbach and the Philharmonia Orchestra has been a truly remarkable journey. Performing the Elgar Cello Concerto on viola has definitely been the highlight of my musical career thus far, and I hope that listeners will appreciate this masterpiece interpreted in a new light." Subsequent to the release of his debut album, David Aaron Carpenter will be performing the Schnittke Concerto in Dresden with the Dresden Staatskapelle conducted by Christoph Eschenbach on November 29th and 30th, 2009.

Artist profile at Ondine.net: www.ondine.net/index.php?lid=en&cid=3.2&oid=4055

Artist profile on The Rolex Mentor & Prot��g�� Arts Initiative website: www.rolexmentorprotege.com/en/music/david-aaron-carpenter/index.jsp

Video portrait of the artist: www.rolexmentorprotege.com/en/music/david-aaron-carpenter/journalself-portrait.jsp

Video showing the artist working with his mentor Pinchas Zukerman: www.rolexmentorprotege.com/en/music/mentorship-2006-2007/index.jsp

Interview with the artist: www.rolexmentorprotege.com/en/music/mentorship-2006-2007/interviewwith-protege.jsp

Official website of the artist: http://davidaaroncarpenter.com

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PAUL HINDEMITH

KLAVIERMUSIK MIT ORCHESTER,

Op. 29 (for Piano Left Hand)

WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING

ANTON��N DVO���K

SYMPHONY No. 9 in E minor

Op. 95 "From the New World"

Leon Fleisher, piano

The Curtis SymphonyOrchestra

Christoph Eschenbach, conductor

ODE 1141-2

Release date: April 28, 2009

Ondine is proud to announce the April 28, 2009 release of the first-ever commercial recording of a long-lost major work by Paul Hindemith, the Klaviermusik mit Orchester, Op. 29 for piano left-hand and orchestra. The New York Times has called it, "a fantastic work that requires tremendous technique and stamina" (December 2, 2006). The disc also features Anton��n Dvo��k's popular Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World").

Hindemith wrote this concerto in 1923 for the left-hand pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm during the First World War. Wittgenstein never performed it, and it was only upon the death of his widow, in 2002, that the piece was discovered in a farmhouse in Pennsylvania; the work received an acclaimed 2004 world premiere in Berlin, with piano legend Leon Fleisher as soloist and the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle. Leon Fleisher, who is one of the most prominent specialists of left-hand repertoire, is the soloist on this recording.

Watch the Christoph Eschenbach and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra performing Dvo��k Symphony No. 9 on YouTube.

**********************************

KARI KRIIKKU, CLARINET

BIZARRE BAZAAR

TAPIOLA SINFONIETTA

JAN S��DERBLOM, conductor

ODE 1140-2

Release date: April 28, 2009

Hailed by press and public as one of the world's foremost clarinetists, Kari Kriikku is celebrated for his musical inventiveness and fresh attitude towards traditional performance. His versatility covers numerous periods, ranging from Mozart to the contemporary, and has been a muse for composers such as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho and Kimmo Hakola.

Kari Kriikku's passion for traditional folk music shines through in Bizarre Bazaar, his new album release on Ondine. The eclectic programme showcases the diverse use of the clarinet in Jewish klezmer, Portuguese fado, Argentinean tango and Arab music. "I have followed my instincts in gradually bringing together works from various cultures that have impressed me on my travels and then unabashedly adapted those works for concert use," says Kari Kriikku who performs here with the chamber orchestra Tapiola Sinfonietta and additional oud, qanun and laud players. The Finnish press hailed their live performances as "vibrantly energetic and entertaining" (Helsingin Sanomat).

**********************************

HAFLI��I HALLGR��MSSON

CELLO CONCERTO, HERMA

TRULS M��RK, CELLO

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

JOHN STORG��RDS, conductor

ODE 1133-2

Release date: April 28, 2009

The celebrated Norwegian cellist Truls M��rk is known as a tireless champion of the best contemporary music. On this release, he presents the Icelandic composer Hafli��i Hallgr��msson ��� himself a professional cellist ��� with his two works for cello and orchestra. Truls M��rk joins forces with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, one of the finest ensembles of its kind, under the direction of John Storg��rds. This CD includes the first commercial recording of the Cello Concerto, which Hallgr��msson dedicated to M��rk in 2003. Since the premiere, he has championed the work in a number of performances across Europe to great acclaim; The Times called it, "a remarkable new addition to the cello repertoire�Ķ one of his [Hallgr��msson's] finest work to date�Ķ" (Hilary Finch, The Times, 28 January 2004), Scotland's Herald spoke of "a work of haunting beauty" (Michael Tumelty, The Herald, 26 January 2004).

**********************************

About Ondine: Ondine was founded more than twenty years ago in Helsinki, Finland, where the company is still based and today offers an extremely eclectic catalogue of both contemporary Finnish music, as well as recordings with major Finnish and international artists.

Ondine's extensive catalogue includes more than four hundred recordings (two hundred and fifty of which are available physically) of artists and ensembles such as conductor and pianist Christoph Eschenbach, conductors Vladimir Ashkenazy, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sakari Oramo, Leif Segerstam, John Storg��rds and Mikko Franck, orchestras such as The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the London Sinfonietta, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic, sopranos Karita Mattila and Soile Isokoski, pianist Olli Mustonen, violinist Pekka Kuusisto and clarinettist Kari Kriikku. The label has also had a long and fruitful association with the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, having recorded the premieres of many of his works and garnering many awards along the way.

The roots of Ondine date back to 1985 when founder Reijo Kiilunen released the very first Ondine album under the auspices of the renowned Finnish Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival. The label's initial mission was to produce one live album at the Festival each season. The fourth album, however, featured Einojuhani Rautavaara's opera Thomas (ODE 704-2), raising major international attention and opening up the possibility for North American distribution. Kiilunen, who was running the Festival's concert agency and had begun the recording activity part-time, soon decided to devote himself fully to the development of this new business, producing and editing the first 50 releases himself. In 1991, Seppo Siirala joined as producer, and the Helsinki-based company has been expanding steadily since, currently numbering six full-time employees. Today, Ondine continues to uphold its reputation as one of the most respected labels in classical music, and its products have received numerous prizes at the Cannes (MIDEM) Classical Awards, the Gramophone Awards, the BBC Music Magazine Awards and the Classical Internet Awards.

Universal Music Classical and Ondine entered into a distribution agreement that began on January 1, 2008. Both physical and digital distribution in the United States and Canada are covered under the agreement. Universal Music Classical comprises the Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, and ECM labels and is a division of the Universal Music Group. For more information about Ondine, visit www.ondine.net.

When WiIl the iPod Become Obsolete?

Toronto sound artist explores the ever-changing state of
music experience through sly exchange of human technologies

Walper Terrace Hotel ArtGallery in Kitchener, April 25^th-- May 3

(Toronto, ON) ��� What does it mean to be obsolete? This key question sparked sound artist Micheline Roi���s inspiration for Obsolescence, a sound installation that explores the ever-evolving manner in which music reaches us.

For Roi, the home piano stands as an icon and witness to vast changes in music technology. Over the last century, its function has shifted from being one of the main sources of home entertainment to nothing more than a piece of furniture. Displaced by electronic keyboards, hi-fidelity audio and home speaker systems, the home piano is reduced to a curiosity ��� an ornamental antique of music technology. Now the loudspeaker functions as the central audio interface in home entertainment, creating a radical shift in the sound of domesticity from a social, self-produced acoustic to a manufactured digital environment. The question now is: how much longer will the loudspeaker last before it is superseded by the next piece of technology?

In Obsolescence, which opens at the Walper Terrace Hotel Art Gallery in Kitchener on April 25^th, the roles of an antique upright piano and 52 loudspeakers are exchanged. In this whole-gallery installation, the loudspeaker is positioned as an antique ornament through which the voices of pianists are heard, and the piano evolves from an ornamental piece to a modern-day transducer by which other sounds are made ��� not by it, but on it and through it.

Obsolescence is just one of over thirty events in CMC���s 2008-2009 New Music in New Places festival series, designed to showcase the work of Canada���s talented composers outside of the concert hall and in the communities where they work and live. Obsolescence also appears as part of the Open Ears Festival of Music and Sound, running April 24 ��� May 3 in various locations throughout Kitchener, Ontario.

EVENT DETAILS

WHO: Composer and Sound Artist Micheline Roi

Canadian Music Centre ��� Ontario Region

Open Ears Festival of Music and Sound

WHAT: The Canadian Music Centre���s New Music in New Places festival series presents Obsolescence ��� a sound installation that explores the ever-evolving manner in which music reaches us. For more information, visit nmnp08.ning.com or www.openears.ca

WHEN: April 25 4 - 7 pm
April 26 12 - 5 pm
April 28 4 - 7 pm
April 29 4 - 7 pm

April 30 4 - 7 pm
May 1 4 - 7 pm
May 2 12 - 5 pm
May 3 12 - 5 pm

WHERE: Walper Terrace Hotel Art Gallery
1 King St. W, Kitchener, ON N2G 1A1
Take #401 to Highway 8. Highway 8 becomes King Street. Continue on King.
The Hotel is on the corner of King & Queen (Entrance off Queen).

HOW MUCH: FREE

New Music in New Places acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Music Fund, administered by The SOCAN Foundation.

The complete New Music in New Places concert schedule is available online at nmnp08.ning.com.

RCM May and June events

The Royal Concert Season 08.09

Ends With an Eclectic Selection of Shows

Spring is in full bloom at The Royal Conservatory and the shows couldn't be more exciting! The May/June schedule includes world music, family shows, and a concert by some of The Conservatory's own, combining to create the perfect end to an exciting season.

The May/June concert series begins with a concert from The Royal Conservatory's Academy Symphony Orchestra (May 2), followed by award-winning artist Kiran Ahluwalia and the Rez Abbasi Trio, who will perform together on May 28. The season will end with two family-friendly shows from dance troupe Motus O who will present Petrouchka (May 30 and 31) and East of the Sun, West of the Moon (June 5-7).

The Academy Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Visentin (Associate Dean of The Glenn Gould School and Dean of Young Artists Performance Academy), will perform their second of two symphonic concerts this season on May 2. Comprised of senior string students of the Young Artists Performance Academy of The Royal Conservatory, the orchestra will perform repertoire from Antonio Vivaldi to Arvo Part. Young Artist Performance Academy provides its students with the chance to work with internationally acclaimed faculty and guest artists in order to refine and enhance their performance skills, musicality, and desire for artistic excellence. This concert is free.

Indo-Canadian JUNO Award-winner Kiran Ahluwalia will be performing her blend of ghazal (a form of sung poetry that originated in Persia 1000 years ago) and Punjabi folk music, with her husband, Rez Abbasi of the Rez Abbasi Trio, on May 28. Abbasi, described as one of the foremost modern jazz guitar players on today's scene, has received critical acclaim for his latest album Bazaar, which also features Ahluwalia on several tracks. Ahluwalia's approach to ghazals reflects her own transplanted upbringing (she was born in India but grew up in Toronto) and her bi-cultural life experience has made her adept at reaching new audiences. She is one of the few modern artists who composes new music for the Urdu language ghazals.

Dance group MOTUS O, founded in 1990 by an American gymnast, an Australian sheep shearer, and a Canadian figure skater, bring two of their critically acclaimed full-length productions, created for both family and adult audiences and everyone else who has ever been in love, to The Royal Conservatory. The classic Russian tale of Petrouchka (May 30 and 31), with iconic music by Igor Stravinsky, tells the story of a magical world where a wizard and his three marionettes learn about love and valour. East of the Sun, West of the Moon (June 5-7), is a mythological story which explores the timeless themes of love and redemption, with original music by Peter Jarvis and Paul Tedeschini.

The 2008.09 season was a very exciting one for The Royal Conservatory with the return to the
newly renovated TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning on Bloor Street. The new Centre has garnered much praise for the beautifully restored Ihnatowycz Hall, the state-of-the-art technology, and the impressive new academic spaces.

THE ROYAL CONCERT SEASON

MAY/JUNE 2009

Academy Symphony Orchestra (Rising Stars Series): Saturday, May 2, 8pm*

Rez Abbasi Trio with Kiran Ahluwalia (World Music Concerts): Thursday, May 28, 7:30pm

Motus O Dance Theatre presents Petrouchka (Family Series): Saturday, May 30, 2pm

Motus O Dance Theatre presents Petrouchka (Family Series): Sunday, May 31, 2pm

Motus O Dance Theatre presents East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Family Series): Friday, June 5, 7:30pm

Motus O Dance Theatre presents East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Family Series): Saturday, June 6, 2pm

Motus O Dance Theatre presents East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Family Series): Sunday, June 7, 2pm

Tickets $20.00, students $10

Motus O performances are free for children 5 and under

Tickets are available online at www.rcmusic.ca, by calling 416-408-2824 X321,

or at the door at the RCM, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

* FREE EVENT

All events take place at the Conservatory's new home, the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West.

More information about the 2008-2009 Concert Season is available on The Royal Conservatory website at www.rcmusic.ca.

Juno Award-Winning Composer John Burge at Avery Fisher Hall

Music of 2009 Juno Award-Winning Canadian Composer John Burge to be Performed at Lincoln Center

���In attempting to communicate the suffering of political prisoners, to pay tribute to Amnesty International���s role in ending it and to write a large piece, the young composer set himself a challenging task�ĶJohn Burge���s Mass for Prisoners of Conscience is a triumph.���-- Kingston Whig Standard

A classical and a modern Mass

It has just been announced that a recording of the music of John Burge, Flanders Fields Reflections, by the Sinfonia Toronto, conducted by Nurhan Arman, is the winner of a 2009 Juno Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys, in the category of Best Canadian Classical Music Composition. The US premiere of the Burge Mass for Prisoners of Conscience will be presented in a performance dedicated to human rights organization Amnesty International, at Lincoln Center���s Avery Fisher Hall, Sunday, April 5, at 2:00 PM. Conductor Laureate Doreen Rao will conduct musicians and singers from the University of Toronto, where she is Director of Choral Programs, and Queen���s University in Ontario, where Dr. Burge is Director of the School of Music.

As a counterpoint to the Burge Mass, the evening will also feature the Mass No. 12 in B minor ("Theresienmesse") of Franz Josef Haydn, under the baton of Guest Conductor Eric Johnson. This work features the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra International and the Distinguished Concerts Singers International, which consists of vocalists from all corners of the United States and abroad. Guest soloists for this section of the program will be Orna Ariana, Soprano, Shannon Magee, Mezzo, John Tiranno, Tenor, and Samuel Smith, Baritone.

Previous recognition; First musical setting for world-famous poem

John Burge has written a large body of vocal, chamber, and orchestral compositions. His piece, Angels��� Voices, for choir and orchestra, received the 2006 Outstanding New Choral Composition Award from the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors and was performed in New York City���s Carnegie Hall in 2005. As a long-serving past-President of the Canadian League of Composers, Burge has been a passionate advocate for contemporary music and Canadian music in particular. His oeuvre contains many works that are inspired by Canadian poetry and landscape, such as One Sail, based upon a poem by Canadian poet Margaret Avison. Regarding the Juno-nominated Flanders Fields Reflections, based on the iconic poem by Canadian military officer John McCrae, conductor Nurhan Arman said, ���Recording these works was a real labour of love for us, and we are delighted that now people�Ķwill be able to listen to these remarkable compositions�Ķit���s a great privilege to help pieces as beautiful as these become better known.���

The Program

Mass for Prisoners of Conscience, commissioned in 1987 by Vancouver���s Christ Church Cathedral Choir, is scored for baritone, mezzo-soprano and child soloists, accompanied by choir and a small instrumental ensemble of four solo woodwind instruments, two pianos and percussion. The text material for the soloists consists entirely of settings of first-hand accounts of political prisoners and their families sung in English. These accounts or testimonials are drawn from material provided by Amnesty International. The choir sings sections from the liturgical Mass in Latin, and comments on the emotions and situations expressed in the solo movements. Musically, the work is highly dramatic in the way that it combines percussively angular passages with lyrical vocal writing. The work was premiered by the University of Toronto Symphony Chorus, Dr. Doreen Rao, conductor, on November 9^th, 1990.

The Theresienmesse was composed following Haydn���s tenure in England, where he had secured his reputation as the greatest living composer of his day. He would write no more symphonies, but did accept a commission from Nicholas II, the fourth of the Esterh��zy princes whom he had served, to write a Mass each year celebrating the name day of Nicholas���s wife. The Theresa Mass is written for four vocal soloists, chorus, and a somewhat unusual orchestra consisting of two clarinets, bassoon, two trumpets, timpani and strings.

Tickets

To obtain tickets or further information regarding this event, please visit the Distinguished Concerts web site, www.DCINY.org. Tickets can also be purchased by calling the DCINY box office, 212.707.8566, x 307 or directly from the concert venue.

Premiere works

In just two short years, DCINY has joined the ranks of major classical music production companies in America, nearly doubling its roster of participating ensembles and attracting talent from all over the globe. Among the events DCINY is honored to present this season are: one world and two US premiere performances of major new works by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, which took place on January 19, the US Premiere of Mass for Prisoners of Conscience by Canadian composer John Burge, and the world premiere of two new choral pieces by American composer Eric Whitacre, one this past March 15 and the other on June 28. Please visit www.DCINY.org for details regarding other highlights of DCINY���s 2009/2010 Season.

Victoria Symphony announces 2009-2010 season

Grammy-award winner James Ehnes headlines Victoria Symphony's 09/10 season!

Victoria, BC ��� On Friday, March 27, Music Director Tania Miller unveiled the Victoria Symphony���s new season of concerts for 2009/10. Highlights include performances by acclaimed violinist James Ehnes and jazz vocalist Michael Kaeshammer and of masterworks such as Holst���s The Planets, Bach���s Magnificat and Rachmaninoff���s Piano Concerto no. 3.

In front of an enthusiastic crowd of over 500 Victoria Symphony supporters, media and members of the arts community at the Royal Theatre, Maestra Miller, Conductor in Residence Giuseppe Pietraroia, trombonist Marcus Hissen and Concertmaster Terence Tam, presented personal highlights for the season.

The biggest announcement of the evening was that the Grammy-award winning violinist James Ehnes would appear with the Victoria Symphony in December and perform Beethoven���s powerful Violin Concerto.

The return of the Canadian College of Performing Arts and the Victoria debut of renowned pops specialists Five By Design in the Beltone Pops series was met with much excitement. In addition, the orchestral debut performance of jazz pianist and vocalist Michael Kaeshammer with the Victoria Symphony is set to be one much anticipated concert in the season, as well as Charlie Chaplin���s silent film City Lights which will be screened with orchestral accompaniment.

Maestra Tania Miller comments, ���We are very proud of the series we���ve assembled this year and we will continue to connect and engage our audience. Many of our series show great strength in the music and the special guests we have this season. I���m very excited that artists such as James Ehnes, Five By Design and the students of the CCPA will be joining us, as well as again working with homegrown talent such as the Victoria Choral Society and Nikki Chooi.���

This season launch marks the Victoria Symphony���s 69^th year and Tania Miller���s 7^th year as Music Director. Conductors Alain Trudel, Giuseppe Pietraroia and Brian Jackson join Maestra Miller as the Victoria Symphony���s artistic leaders.

The Victoria Symphony is Vancouver Island���s largest and most active arts organization. It is committed to producing high quality live music, fostering new music and encouraging community involvement through music education. The 2009/10 season offers a diverse and exciting line-up of over 50 concerts led Tania Miller, its vibrant Music Director.

52nd Annual Monterey Jazz Festival

52nd Annual Monterey Jazz Festival Presented By Verizon

Celebrates The Joy Of Jazz With Legendary Icons, Classic Tributes And Young Upstarts On 9 Stages For 3 Days Of Nonstop Jazz Entertainment, September 18 - 20, 2009

2009 Artists-In-Residence Wynton Marsalis And The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra Headline Arena/Lyons Stage

Dave Brubeck Quartet Celebrates 50th Anniversary Of Time Out

Conrad Herwig���s Latin Side All-Star Band Plays The Music Of Miles Davis

And John Coltrane Commemorating 50th Anniversary

Of Kind of Blue and Giant Steps

American Icon And Folk Pioneer Pete Seeger Makes MJF Debut

Showcase Artist Joe Lovano Performs With NEA Jazz Master Hank Jones,

Us 5, John Patitucci Trio, Conrad Herwig

Commission Artist Jason Moran & The Bandwagon

Debuts Signature Piece, ���Feedback���

Debut Of Monterey Jazz Festival All-Stars Featuring Kenny Barron,

Regina Carter, Kurt Elling And Russell Malone

Sunday Night���s Arena Show Features Three Generations Of Pianists:

Corea, Clark & White, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Jason Moran & The Bandwagon

March 30, 2009; Monterey, CA; The Monterey Jazz Festival Presented by Verizon will once again celebrate the joy of jazz as it launches its fifty-second edition with a variety of legendary performers, American icons, and visionary new artists in weekend of jazz, blues, folk, and American song that has characterized the world-renowned event on the oak-studded and beautiful land of the Monterey Fairgrounds, the location of the Festival since its inception in 1958. The 52nd Monterey Jazz Festival Presented by Verizon takes place September 18 - 20, 2009.

Tickets are on sale now by phone at (925) 275-9255 and on the Monterey Jazz Festival���s website, montereyjazzfestival.org. Full Weekend Arena Packages are available from $225; Daily Grounds Tickets are from $35; Full Weekend Grounds Tickets are $110.00. MJF���s new Family Discount Pack is $80 for 2 Adult and 2 Youth Tickets.

The Arena/Jimmy Lyons Stage will be the focal point of the Festival, with a lineup that is a celebration of the past, present, and future of American music with multiple award-winning artists and special projects, including NEA Jazz Master Hank Jones with Grammy winning saxophonist Joe Lovano (MJF/52 Showcase Artist); the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by 9-time Grammy-winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (MJF/52 Artists-In-Residence); the Monterey Jazz Festival All-Stars featuring pianist Kenny Barron, violinist Regina Carter, vocalist Kurt Elling, and guitarist Russell Malone; the gifted bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding; vocalist extraordinaire Dee Dee Bridgewater; the incomparable Grammy-winning pianist George Duke; the incendiary Jason Moran & The Bandwagon (MJF/52 Commission Artist); and the highly-anticipated super-trio of 15-time Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master, pianist Chick Corea with legendary bassist Stanley Clarke and fiery drummer Lenny White.

A celebration of strings will also be featured in the Arena with soulful roots/blues guitarist and vocalist, Susan Tedeschi; the American icon and folk music pioneer Pete Seeger; and the gospel-soaked baptismal blues of John Scofield and the Piety Street Band.

Special golden anniversary celebrations of classic and historic jazz recordings from 1959 will fill the Arena with Conrad Herwig���s Latin Side All-Star Band (with special guests, the 5-time Grammy-winning trumpeter Randy Brecker and Joe Lovano, playing the music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the beloved and influential jazz classics, Kind of Blue and Giant Steps. NEA Jazz Master, living legend and pianist Dave Brubeck returns to the stages of Monterey for his 15th appearance to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his world-wide best selling and groundbreaking recording, Time Out.

The fruits of music education will also take center stage in the Arena, with the top high school big band -- selected at the Monterey Jazz Festival���s Next Generation Festival (April 3 - 5, 2009) -- kicking off the Sunday Arena program, followed by MJF���s own Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, featuring Wynton Marsalis and the top high school musicians in the country.

Tickets are on sale now by phone at (925) 275-9255 and on the Monterey Jazz Festival���s website, montereyjazzfestival.org. Full Weekend Arena Packages are available from $225; Daily Grounds Tickets are from $35; Full Weekend Grounds Tickets are $110.00. MJF���s new Family Discount Pack is $80 for 2 Adult and 2 Youth Tickets.

2009 ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE, SHOWCASE ARTIST AND COMMISSION ARTIST

In 2009, members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will serve as the Festival���s Artists-In-Residence, with participation at the Next Generation Festival, April 3 - 5, 2009, the MJF Summer Jazz Camp in June 2009, and at MJF/52. Featured members of JALC members include saxophonist Sherman Irby, trumpeter Sean Jones, trombonist Vincent Gardner, drummer Ali Jackson, and the 9-time Grammy-winner and Pulitzer Prize recipient, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. At MJF/52, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will be performing both in the Arena and on the Grounds.

Grammy-winning saxophonist Joe Lovano will be the MJF/52 Showcase Artist, and will put in four different performances with a myriad of groups: as a co-leader with NEA Jazz Master Hank Jones, featuring bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade; in Mr. Patitucci���s Trio (also with Brian Blade); leading the intergenerational US5, with bassist Esperanza Spalding, pianist James Weidman, and drummers Francisco Mela and Otis Brown Jr.; and as a featured member of Conrad Herwig���s Latin Side All-Star Band playing the music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

Pianist Jason Moran serves at the MJF/52 Commission Artist. Described by Rolling Stone magazine as "the most provocative thinker in current jazz," Moran���s piece, ���Feedback,��� will be debuted by his ensemble, The Bandwagon on the Arena stage, and the group will perform an additional set on the Grounds.

The longtime and growing tradition of Arena artists performing on the grounds is also unusually rich for MJF/52 -- patrons will be able to catch sets from Conrad Herwig���s Latin Side All-Star Band, the Monterey Jazz Festival All-Stars featuring Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, Kurt Elling, and Russell Malone; Esperanza Spalding; John Scofield, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Joe Lovano with John Patitucci and Brian Blade; and Jason Moran & The Bandwagon on Grounds stages throughout the weekend.

MJF/52: DAY BY DAY

Friday, September 18 in the Arena will kick off MJF/52 with an extravaganza of talent -- starting off with the MJF debut of up-and-coming bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding; followed by the latest edition of the Monterey Jazz Festival All-Stars featuring pianist Kenny Barron, violinist Regina Carter, vocalist Kurt Elling, guitarist Russell Malone, bassist Kiyoshi Kitigawa and drummer Johnathan Blake. Closing the Arena���s first evening is Conrad Herwig���s explosive Latin Side All-Star Band featuring Randy Brecker and Joe Lovano, updating Miles Davis��� Kind of Blue and John Coltrane���s Giant Steps in honor of the 50th anniversary of their release.

Friday night on the Grounds, New Grooves comes back to Dizzy���s Den for 7th year. Kicking it off is the return of the deep soul of vocalist Lizz Wright, followed by breakout sensation Esperanza Spalding in her second set of the evening. Across the pathway in the Night Club, the Scott Amendola Trio will get the venue���s evening of to a quirky bebop-oriented set, followed by the stellar John Patitucci Trio, featuring Joe Lovano and Brian Blade. Closing the Night Club will be Forro in the Dark, performing the Brazilian-folk dance music that has world-wide appeal. On the outdoor Garden Stage, the Roger Eddy Group gets the music started with his West Coast-flavored jazz, followed by the straight-ahead 2009 Berklee-Monterey Quartet, a harbinger of future musical talent. Global Noize -- a mash-up project headed by keyboardist Jason Miles and DJ Logic -- closes out the Garden stage on an inclusive world music note. In the Coffee House Gallery, fans will be treated to three sets from pianist Jonathan Batiste, the next generation of a New Orleans musical dynasty. In Lyons Lounge, DJ Vinnie Esparza will shake things up with an extended set of Salsa, Afro-Latin and Brazilian music.

Saturday, September 19 in the Arena features an afternoon of radically different guitar styles: John Scofield and the Piety Street Band opens the day with a sanctified set of New Orleans and Gospel-inflected blues, followed by American icon and visionary acoustic folk pioneer Pete Seeger in a very special and historic MJF debut. Soulful blues guitarist and lauded vocalist Susan Tedeschi also debuts on Saturday to close the afternoon with another MJF first. Saturday night���s Arena program returns with three classic jazz acts -- starting the evening is the Joe Lovano and Hank Jones Quartet, featuring John Patitucci and Brian Blade; followed by vocalist, jazz ambassador, radio personality, and actress Dee Dee Bridgewater. Closing the evening is the Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, the Artists-In-Residence of MJF/52.

Saturday on the Grounds will get off to a rousing start with a wide variety of performers and styles on the Garden Stage, including a tribute to Charles Brown from pianist Martin Headman; the Texas blues of guitarist, vocalist and songsmith Ruthie Foster; the raucous and funky New Orleans All-Stars featuring Henry Butler and Cyrile Neville; the soul-pop of guitarist and vocalist Raul Mid��n; and the Afro-Brazilian funk of Wayne Wallace and Rhythm & Rhyme.

Dizzy���s Den will open on a ���Blue Note��� with an historical conversation with Blue Note label president, Bruce Lundvall and Mosaic Records founder and 3-time Grammy-winner, producer Michael Cuscuna. Journalist Dan Ouellette returns with his longtime MJF favorite, the DownBeat Blindfold Test -- this time with legendary pianist George Duke. The Monterey Jazz Festival All-Stars with Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, Kurt Elling, and Russell Malone will put on their second show of the weekend, followed by the groove-oriented Soulive, featuring John Scofield. Closing out Dizzy���s will be Dee Dee Bridgewater, also her second appearance of the weekend. Visitors in the intimate and dynamic Coffee House Gallery will be treated to three sets each of classic and progressive jazz from the Weber Iago���s ���The Dhanyavad Project��� and the Peter Erskine and Alan Pasqua Trio.

In the Night Club, the day gets off to a youthful start with the top college vocal group from MJF���s Next Generation Festival, followed by the Monterey Bay Jazz Orchestra. The evening���s shows will simmer with the Cuban and Latin jazz of the Rodriguez Brothers, the burnin��� post-bop trumpet of Ambrose Akinmusire (a former MJF Next Generation Jazz Orchestra member) and regale in a special tribute from Conrad Herwig���s Latin Side All-Star Band, playing the music of Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.

On the other end of the grounds in Lyons Lounge, DJ Vinnie Esparza will pump out a second extended set of Soul-jazz, Afro-Latin and Brazilian music in what has become an ongoing tradition (now in it���s third year at MJF) in pushing the musical envelope.

Sunday, September 20th in the Arena reflects MJF's 52-year support of jazz education with the top high school big band from the Next Generation Festival, followed by followed by MJF���s own Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, featuring Wynton Marsalis and the top high school musicians in the country. The Grammy-winning George Duke closes the afternoon set. Sunday night celebrates Three Generations of Pianists, with the premiere of the MJF/52 Commission piece, ���Feedback��� and set from Jason Moran & The Bandwagon, followed by the incomparable Dave Brubeck Quartet as they celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Brubeck���s groundbreaking recording Time Out. Capping off the Arena���s Sunday program is the highly-anticipated super-trio Corea, Clark & White. Featuring former Return to Forever members the 15-time Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master, pianist Chick Corea, trendsetting bassist and Grammy winner Stanley Clarke, and influential drummer and Grammy winner Lenny White, the MJF/52 Arena program will end on a highly eclectic and electric note.

Sunday will be no less eclectic on the Grounds. The Night Club will host the top eight student groups from MJF���s Next Generation Festival, with the evening���s concerts featuring the pianist and NEA Jazz Master Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Quartet, followed by Jason Moran & The Bandwagon.

Dizzy���s Den will feature an afternoon of jazz education and music, with a conversation with NEA Jazz Master Toshiko Akiyoshi, hosted by journalist Yoshi Kato, followed by a Jazz Journalists Association panel entitled Jazz�Ķand the DJs Who Played the Records. Dizzy���s Den will enjoy an evening of jazz stardom with shows from Joe Lovano leading US5, with bassist Esperanza Spalding, pianist James Weidman, and drummers Francisco Mela and Otis Brown Jr. The closing show in Dizzy���s Den will feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.

The outdoor Garden Stage will have the top college big band from the Next Generation Festival, followed by master trumpeter, Scotty Barnhart. Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodriguez will close out the afternoon���s Garden Stage. The evening shows will subvert the norm with the debut of Buffalo Collision, a collective-improv supergroup featuring pianist Ethan Iverson and drummer Dave King of the Bad Plus, with New York downtown improvising legends saxophonist Tim Berne and cellist Hank Roberts. The Shotgun Wedding Quintet will bring their own contemporary take on the acoustic tradition with a blend of hip-hop and jazz to end the evening.

DJ Logic will take a turn in Lyons Lounge with an extended evening set, and the Coffee House Gallery will host the Terrence Brewer Trio for two sets of boss guitar; a clinic with the 2009 Berklee-Monterey Quartet, followed by two sets from the visionary pianist, the Vijay Iyer Trio.

All weekend long in the evening, Lyons Lounge at the end of Lyons Lane will pulse with Samba, Afro-Cuban, funk and Soul-jazz sounds of Vinnie Esparza (Friday and Saturday) and DJ Logic (Sunday) -- both DJs are returning for encore performances. Lyons Lounge and Lyons Lane are named in honor of MJF founder Jimmy Lyons. The Lounge will again offer fans a hip jazz club to chill out on the north end of the Grounds, departing from the acoustic offerings of the Festival.

Also on the Grounds, a companion exhibit in the Coffee House Gallery celebrates the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records, entitled Somethin' Else: The Art of Blue Note Records, which showcases the iconic photography of Francis Wolff combined with the classic Blue Note record designs by Reid Miles. The art of over thirty classic albums will be displayed in what will be a visual feast of landmark graphic design from the world���s most celebrated jazz label. In addition, Blue Note recording artists will have a strong presence at MJF/52 with Artist-In-Residence Wynton Marsalis, Showcase Artist Joe Lovano, and Commission Artist Jason Moran. In what has become a signature MJF welcome, Sue Downs will be performing on the Yamaha Disklavier on the Courtyard Stage, at the entrance of the Festival grounds.

The Jazz Theater will show simulcasts of the Arena shows all weekend long in the 900-seat venue. In addition, there will also be special film screenings of the Ralph J. Gleason presentation, The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi, the official documentary authorized by the Guaraldi family about the influential and popular West Coast pianist, hosted by Toby Gleason (Saturday); and Music Is My Life, Politics My Mistress: The Story of Oscar Brown Jr. about the American singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, and civil rights activist, presented by director and producer, donnie l. betts (Sunday).

NEW FAMILY DISCOUNT PACK / 4TH ANNUAL FAMILY DAY

New for 2009, families can take advantage of MJF���s Family Discount Pack, which includes two Adult Grounds Tickets and two Youth Grounds Tickets (2 - 18 years old) for only $80 on Friday, $100 on Saturday or Sunday--a savings of up to $20. With kids under 2 years free, the family can enjoy MJF/52 together and save. Families will enjoy the music, exhibitions, food, beverages, an international shopping bazaar, and much more on the 20 acres of beautiful forested fairgrounds, with lots of room to roam, play, and picnic.

Sunday, September 20th marks the Festival���s 4th Annual Family Day! Families and children of all ages can participate in special activities, hear the country���s top student jazz musicians, and join in the fun with the return of the popular Percussion Playshop, MJF���s innovative ���Instrument Petting Zoo��� with high-tech, professional gear provided by Yamaha. The younger set can also bounce in the ���Jazzy Jumper��� on the West Lawn.

���FORE��� AND MORE

The Festival's 11th Annual Golf ���n��� Jazz Tournament will be a spectacular outing at the Links at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach, rated as one the ���Top 100 Golf Resorts��� by Cond�� Nast Traveler���s Readers��� Poll for 2008. Participants will enjoy world class golf with guest artists, lunch, awards ceremony, Callaway Golf putting contest, great prizes, and much more on Thursday, September 17, 2009. To register, please visit montereyjazzfestival.org, call (831) 373-3366, or e-mail jazzinfo@montereyjazzfestival.org. All net proceeds benefit MJF's Jazz Education Programs.

MJF���s Front Box Auction presents a golden opportunity for jazz fans to enjoy the Monterey Jazz Festival while supporting jazz education. The Front Box Auction opens on March 30, 2009 at 9:00 am and concludes on June 1, 2009 at 4:00 pm Pacific Time; patrons can bid to sit at the front of the Arena with three of their closest friends in four Front Box seats for the 52nd annual MJF. For more information, please visit montereyjazzfestival.org.

During the Festival, fans are also encouraged to visit the MJF Education Booth in the center of the midway to participate in the MJF Silent Auction featuring unique jazz memorabilia and collector���s items, with all auction proceeds benefiting MJF���s Jazz Education Programs.

PARTNERS IN JAZZ

�� Every year, partners play an important role in helping the Festival fund its Jazz Education Programs, with efforts led by Presenting Partner, Verizon, now celebrating their 25th year in partnership with the Monterey Jazz Festival!

�� Best Buy returns for the second year, partnering with MJF/52 and with the Next Generation Festival. Best Buy will host an expanded store at the center of the midway, where artists will be signing CDs.

�� Korbel Champagne once again hosts Klub Korbel, a champagne bar in the Fairgrounds' Turf Club Patio featuring Arena simulcasts

�� Monterey County favorites, Jekel and Five Rivers Wines return as Official Wines, served throughout the MJF/52 grounds

�� Yamaha, a long time partner of both the Festival and MJF's Jazz Education Programs, will once again be providing Yamaha pianos and drums on MJF/52 stages, and music on the Yamaha Disklavier with on the Courtyard Stage

�� North Coast Brewing Company returns as Official Beer for MJF/52, with a variety of North Coast brews available all around the grounds of the Monterey Jazz Festival, led by their lauded Brother Thelonious Belgian-style abbey ale

�� Apple/iTunes will be providing free music sample download cards to all MJF/52 attendees, featuring a collection of Monterey Jazz Festival artists

�� Returning Bay Area Media Partners, the San Jose Mercury News and KKSF, as well as DownBeat magazine, will be helping MJF get the word out about the Festival and its Jazz Education Programs

The Monterey Jazz Festival also receives invaluable support for the Festival and its Jazz Education Programs from the National Endowment for the Arts, Surdna Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, David & Lucile Packard Foundation, D'Addario Music Foundation, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Joseph Drown Foundation, Harden Foundation, William McCaskey Chapman & Adaline Dinsmore Chapman Foundation, Dunspaugh-Dalton Foundation, Inc., Monterey Peninsula Foundation, Pebble Beach Company Foundation, Rotary International, as well as from generous individuals like you.

The Monterey Jazz Festival encourages jazz fans to purchase tickets early for the 52nd Annual Monterey Jazz Festival Presented by Verizon. Arena Packages traditionally sell out quickly and are available only on a first-come, first-serve basis. Grounds Tickets will increase by $5 per day Tuesday through Sunday of Festival week, (September 15 - 20) so fans are advised to act quickly and save on the already low price of Grounds Tickets!

Tickets are on sale now by phone at (925) 275-9255 and on the Monterey Jazz Festival���s website, montereyjazzfestival.org. Full Weekend Arena Packages are available from $225; Daily Grounds Tickets are from $35; Full Weekend Grounds Tickets are $110.00. MJF���s new Family Discount Pack is $80 for 2 Adult and 2 Youth Tickets.

MJF/52 Highlights Include:

• Return of jazz legends Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, John Scofield, Dave Brubeck
• World Premiere of Commission Artist Jason Moran & The Bandwagon���s ���Feedback���
• Showcase Artist Joe Lovano performs in trio, quartet, quintet, and big band groups
• Artists-In-Residence Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra performs in the Arena and Grounds
• American icon and folk legend Pete Seeger, blues guitarist Susan Tedeschi, and new sensation Esperanza Spalding make debuts at MJF
• 50th anniversary celebrations of classic jazz recordings with Conrad Herwig���s Latin Side All-Star Band playing Kind of Blue and Giant Steps; Dave Brubeck plays Time Out
• Monterey Jazz Festival All-Stars features Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, Kurt Elling, and Russell Malone
• Lyons Lounge features Vinnie Esparza and DJ Logic remixing soul-jazz, salsa, hip-hop, and Afro-Cuban
• Friday���s "New Grooves" features Esperanza Spalding, Lizz Wright, and Global Noize
• New Orleans and Gulf Coast music celebrated with Jonathan Batiste, New Orleans All-Stars featuring Henry Butler and Cyrile Neville, John Scofield���s Piety Street Band, Wynton Marsalis, Ruthie Foster, and Martin Headman���s ���Tribute to Charles Brown���
• Special conversations with Blue Note���s Bruce Lundvall and Michael Cuscuna; Toshiko Akiyoshi; DownBeat Blindfold Test with George Duke
• Blue Note���s 70th anniversary celebrated with Somethin' Else: The Art of Blue Note Records with iconic photography by Francis Wolff and classic designs by Reid Miles
• Return of Sunday's ���Family Day��� with fun for all ages
• Film screenings of The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi and Music Is My Life, Politics My Mistress: The Story of Oscar Brown Jr.
• Continued releases from Monterey Jazz Festival Records, featuring rare and rarified recordings from the last 50 years on CD in conjunction with Concord Music Group

52nd Annual Monterey Jazz Festival Presented by Verizon, September 18 - 20, 2009

Artists-In-Residence: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

Showcase Artist: Joe Lovano

Commission Artist: Jason Moran & The Bandwagon

ARENA ARTISTS

FRIDAY NIGHT (Sept. 18)

Conrad Herwig���s Latin Side All-Star Band with special guests Randy Brecker and Joe Lovano; Monterey Jazz Festival All-Stars featuring Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, Kurt Elling, and Russell Malone; Esperanza Spalding

SATURDAY (Sept. 19)

Susan Tedeschi; Pete Seeger; John Scofield and the Piety Street Band; Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis; Dee Dee Bridgewater; Hank Jones & Joe Lovano Quartet with John Patitucci and Brian Blade

SUNDAY (Sept. 20)

George Duke; Next Generation Jazz Orchestra with special guest Wynton Marsalis; Top High School Big Band from the Next Generation Festival; Corea, Clarke & White; Dave Brubeck Quartet; Jason Moran & The Bandwagon

GROUNDS ARTISTS

FRIDAY NIGHT (Sept. 18)

NEW GROOVES with Esperanza Spalding, Lizz Wright, Global Noize; John Patitucci Trio with Joe Lovano and Brian Blade; Jonathan Batiste; Scott Amendola Trio; Forro in the Dark; Roger Eddy Group; Berklee-Monterey Quartet 2009; Vinnie Esparza

SATURDAY (Sept. 19)

Monterey Jazz Festival All-Stars featuring Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, Kurt Elling, and Russell Malone; Conrad Herwig���s Latin Side All-Star Band; Dee Dee Bridgewater; Soulive with Special Guest John Scofield; Peter Erskine & Alan Pasqua Trio; the New Orleans All-Stars featuring Henry Butler and Cyrile Neville; Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet; Rodriguez Brothers; Raul Mid��n; Wayne Wallace and Rhythm & Rhyme; Martin Headman, Ruthie Foster; Vinnie Esparza; Weber Iago Trio; DownBeat ���Blindfold Test��� featuring George Duke; conversation with Blue Note���s Bruce Lundvall and Michael Cuscuna; The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi (film)

SUNDAY (Sept. 20)

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis; Jason Moran & The Bandwagon; Joe Lovano���s Us 5 with Esperanza Spalding, James Weidman, Francisco Mela and Otis Brown Jr.; Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Quartet; Vijay Iyer Trio; Buffalo Collision; DJ Logic; Scotty Barnhart; Terrence Brewer Trio; Alfredo Rodriguez Trio; the Shotgun Wedding Quintet; Family Day with the Country���s Best High School and College Bands; conversation with Toshiko Akiyoshi; Music Is My Life, Politics My Mistress: The Story of Oscar Brown Jr. (film)

ALL WEEKEND

Sue Downs on the Yamaha Disklavier; Arena Simulcasts in the Jazz Theater and Klub Korbel; Coffee House Gallery Exhibit: Somethin' Else: The Art of Blue Note Records - Iconic photography by Francis Wolff, classic designs by Reid Miles

Partial list, with more artists to be announced. Artists subject to change.

Tickets are on sale now by phone at (925) 275-9255 and on the Monterey Jazz Festival���s website, montereyjazzfestival.org. Full Weekend Arena Packages are available from $225; Daily Grounds Tickets are from $35; Full Weekend Grounds Tickets are $110.00. MJF���s new Family Discount Pack is $80 for 2 Adult and 2 Youth Tickets.

Fermeture annonc��e de la Librairie Champlain de Toronto

Le 26 mars 2009 - L'Association des auteures et auteurs de l'Ontario fran��ais (AAOF) et la Table de concertation du livre franco-ontarien sont constern��s par la fermeture prochaine de la Librairie Champlain de Toronto. Fond��e en 1960, cette librairie ��tait l'une des huit (8) librairies francophones de l'Ontario. Des sept qui restent, quatre sont �� Ottawa, deux �� Sudbury et une �� Hearst. Selon le propri��taire de la Librairie Champlain, Marcel Arsenault, certaines biblioth��ques et les conseils scolaires, qui ��taient deux clients majeurs de la librairie, passent maintenant directement leurs commandes avec les gros distributeurs ou ach��tent sur Internet.

Comme en Ontario c'est la loi de la jungle concernant les achats de livres, rien ne prot��ge les petites librairies francophones, qui risquent toutes d'��tre d��vor��es par le souffle virtuel mais combien r��el du Web et des multinationales qui offrent des escomptes incroyables.

Au Qu��bec, une telle saign��e n'est plus possible depuis l'entr��e en vigueur en 1981 de la Loi 51, qui oblige les institutions publiques (biblioth��ques, ��coles, entre autres) �� se fournir dans une librairie agr����e de leur r��gion. Les achats doivent ��tre effectu��s au prix public. L'une des cons��quences de la Loi 51 a ��t�� le d��veloppement d'un r��seau de librairies sur l'ensemble du territoire qu��b��cois. Qu'attend-on en Ontario fran��ais pour se doter d'une telle Loi 51, adapt��e �� notre propre r��alit��? Cela ne pourrait-il pas faire partie d'une politique du livre cibl��e sur l'Ontario fran��ais?

La librairie est au coeur de l'industrie du livre. Fermer une librairie sur huit a des cons��quences n��fastes sur l'ensemble de l'infrastructure et sur tous les acteurs de la cha��ne du livre, qui se sentent soudainement fragilis��s devant la �� walmartisation �� de leurs int��r��ts vitaux en lecture, en alphab��tisation et en rayonnement culturel.

Rolando Villaz��n's Handel on Deutsche Grammophon 3/31

Rolando Villaz��n and Handel Make a Surprising Musical Coupling in a New Deutsche Grammophon Release In Stores March 31st

Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Players Join Villaz��n for Idiomatic and Passionate Music-Making

���Rolando Villaz��n has�Ķstepped into the operatic spotlight with a vengeance: an exuberantly brilliant, youthful, agile, all-around lyric tenor who defies the canard about tenors��� intelligence, who can genuinely act and who outstrips his rivals with a maverick breadth of repertory from Monteverdi to Puccini." New York Times

NEW YORK, NY ��� March 30, 2009 ��� On March 31st, 2009, Deutsche Grammophon will release the second studio recording from Mexican tenor Rolando Villaz��n. Paul McCreesh ��� a Gramophone Award winner for his previous Handel recordings ��� and the Gabrieli Players energize this all Italian Handel aria program. This recording follows the tremendous worldwide success of Villaz��n���s 2008 Deutsche Grammophon debut, Cielo e Mar, and spotlights a dramatically different side of this versatile and winning singer.

For those who associate Rolando Villaz��n with the lyric tenor heroes of 19th-century operas, the notion of him singing Handel may come as a bit of a shock. ���I was in Paris, at the start of my career,��� he explains, ���and I bought a CD of Cecilia Bartoli singing Vivaldi. I became obsessed by it. Ever since then I have sought out recordings of Baroque music. And I dreamed of singing it myself.���

His chance came when he met the conductor and harpsichordist Emmanuelle Ha��m. She persuaded him to make a CD of Monteverdi. ���And I must say that it was one of the most spiritually fulfilling experiences of my career. Another door opened in my inner life.��� Having convinced himself that he could sing Baroque arias, Villaz��n���s next venture into that repertoire seemed obvious. With the 250th anniversary of George Frideric Handel���s death on the horizon, he made the bold choice to record some of the greatest arias from Handel���s opere serie. Until he made this recording he had sung barely a note of Handel in public.

What Villaz��n wanted to do was engage fully ��� musically, stylistically and philosophically ��� with the world of period-instrument Baroque performance which is why Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Players ��� who are at the forefront of Britain���s period-instrument movement was engaged to work on the project.

���In a sense this marks the coming-of-age of the Baroque music revival,��� the conductor says. ���Even great Romantic tenors want to sing it now! Of course, the convention is for lighter voices to do this repertoire. But once I had some preliminary rehearsals with Rolando, I realized that he has a fantastic instrument for Baroque music.���

Rolando Villaz��n���s Handel album is released as he makes his return to the American opera stage for the first time in two seasons. In January and February, he appeared as Edgardo in Donizetti���s Lucia di Lammermoor opposite Anna Netrebko at the Metropolitan Opera. Villaz��n returns to the Met on April 8^th to showcase his comic prowess as Nemorino in L���Elisir d���Amore also by Donizetti.

CMQ - Analekta r��colte deux Prix Junos

ANALEKTA R��COLTE DEUX PRIX JUNOS

Montr��al, le 30 Mars 2009 ��� Analekta est fi��re d'annoncer que deux de ses enregistrements ont r��colt�� un Prix Juno dans les cat��gories �� album classique de l'ann��e : grand orchestre ou soliste(s) accompagn��(s) d'un grand orchestre �� et �� album classique de l'ann��e : chanteur solo ou chorale ��. Ces r��compenses confirment la qualit�� d'enregistrement mettant en lumi��re les musiciens canadiens les plus reconnus.

Dans la cat��gorie �� album classique de l'ann��e : grand orchestre ou soliste(s) accompagn��(s) d'un grand orchestre ��, l'Orchestre symphonique de Montr��al et son directeur musical Kent Nagano ont r��colt�� un Prix Juno pour Beethoven: L'Id��al de la R��volution fran��aise, disque sur lequel on retrouve Le G��n��ral, une ��uvre qui rend hommage au lieutenant g��n��ral Rom��o Dallaire.

Dans la cat��gorie �� Album classique de l'ann��e : musique vocale ou chorale ��, Analekta a r��colt�� un Prix Juno pour son disque Gloria ! Vivaldi et ses anges de l'Ensemble Caprice, sous la direction artistique de Matthias Maute.

Avec ces deux r��compenses, Analekta confirme la place unique qu'elle d��tient sur le march�� canadien de la musique classique et s'affirme comme l'une des plus importantes maisons de disques, tous genres confondus.

Devenue au fil des ans la plus grande maison ind��pendante de disques de musique classique au Canada, Analekta a c��l��br�� en 2008 son 20e anniversaire. Plusieurs prix et distinctions ont couronn�� la qualit�� de ses enregistrements et le talent de ses artistes.

POUR PLUS D'INFORMATION, VISITEZ ANALEKTA.COM, LE NOUVEAU SITE DE R��F��RENCE EN MUSIQUE CLASSIQUE.

Le plateau d'or 2009, les journ��es ludiques de Qu��bec

JOURN��ES LUDIQUES DE QU��BEC, LE PLATEAU D���OR 2009

(Qu��bec, le 30 mars 2009)- Les inscriptions �� la troisi��me ��dition du concours Le Plateau d���or sont enfin ouvertes!!!

Encore une fois cette ann��e, ce concours qu��b��cois de cr��ation de jeux de soci��t�� r��unit les auteurs, les maisons d���ditions et les joueurs pour mettre en lumi��re l���incroyable ��nergie de la culture ludique qu��b��coise.

L���objectif de ce concours est de donner de la visibilit�� aux auteurs de jeux de soci��t�� afin qu���ils puissent faire reconna��tre leur talent ludique et avoir la chance de faire ��diter leurs cr��ations. Ce d��fi a d���ailleurs ��t�� relev�� au cours des deux premi��res ��ditions puisque trois des quatre gagnants, �� Qu��bec 1608 ��, �� Nankin �� et �� Poison ��, seront bient��t ��dit��s respectivement par Filosofia Games (Canada), Lost Battalion Games (��tats-Unis) et Repos Prod (Belgique).

Pour ��valuer les candidatures, l'��dition 2009 du jury est compos�� de cinq membres provenant du milieu professionnel des jeux, des m��dias et de la communaut�� des joueurs. Cette ann��e, nous pourrons compter sur la pr��sence de Fran��ois-Dominic Laram��e, chroniqueur �� la Revanche des Nerdz au Canal Z, Raymond poirier (CKRL, Radio-Canada), ��ric Raymond (Joubec) et Charles Veilleux. Le tout sera pr��sid�� pour une troisi��me ann��e cons��cutive par Chantal Campagna (Distribution Le Valet).

Les cr��ateurs de jeux ont jusqu���au 9 mai 2009 pour inscrire leurs jeux. Ils doivent entre autres s���assurer d���tre disponibles pour pr��senter leurs cr��ations en personne durant les Journ��es ludiques de Qu��bec, les 30 et 31 mai 2009. Toutes les proc��dures d���inscription, les r��glements du concours et des compl��ments d���information sont disponibles �� l���adresse suivante : http://www.journeesludiques.qc.ca

30��me Salon du livre de l'Outaouais

Une soixantaine d'auteurs et d'��diteurs de la francophonie canadienne pr��sents au 30��me Salon du livre de l'Outaouais

Ottawa, 28 mars 2009 - Le Salon du livre de l'Outaouais sera v��ritablement investi par une soixantaine d'auteurs et d'��diteurs de la francophonie canadienne qui se retrouveront dans le stand 19 du Regroupement des ��diteurs canadiens-fran��ais (R��CF). Cette ann��e encore, plusieurs ��diteurs de l'Ontario, mais aussi de l'Acadie et de l'Ouest canadien, profitent du 30e anniversaire du Salon du livre de l'Outaouais pour lancer des nouveaux titres en pr��sence de leurs auteurs et permettre la rencontre du public et des auteurs lors de s��ances de signatures. Les ��diteurs du R��CF seront aussi �� l'honneur lors du d��voilement des finalistes de l'��dition 2009 du Prix des lecteurs de Radio-Canada, le 28 mars prochain.

Les ��ditions L'Interligne se distinguent par ses auteurs finalistes ou laur��ats des Prix des lecteurs de Radio-Canada. Gilles Dubois, laur��at du Prix des lecteurs Radio-Canada 2008 pour son roman pour adulte Akuna-Aki, meneur de chiens, lancera un roman pour adolescents, Aur��lie Waterspoon. Ce titre figure parmi les trois finalistes du Prix des lecteurs 15-18 ans Radio-Canada et Centre FORA 2009 tout r��cemment annonc��s. Toujours aux ��ditions L'interligne, l'oeuvre de Marguerite Andersen, Le figuier sur le toit, figurera parmi les cinq finalistes du Prix des lecteurs 2009 de Radio-Canada. Quant �� Fran��oise Lepage, auteure pour la jeunesse reconnue par de nombreux prix, elle fait para��tre Les chercheurs d'��toiles.

Pas moins de deux des cinq titres des finalistes du Prix des lecteurs des Radio-Canada 2009 sont publi��s aux ��ditions du Vermillon, Avec le temps de Paul Genuits et Cap Nord de H��di Bouraoui. Les nouveaut��s seront ��galement nombreuses aux ��ditions du Vermillon. Jean-Louis Grosmaire pr��sente un nouveau roman, Tout le monde vous aime Monsieur Salim, tandis que Lysette Brochu, d��voile un recueil de nouvelles pour adolescents, T��te froide, ainsi qu'un album pour les enfants, Camille et la f��te de l'Action de gr��ce. Les ��ditions du Vermillon convient les lecteurs de Gatineau et d'Ottawa �� la d��couverte de leur production du printemps lors d'un lancement collectif, le samedi 28 mars �� 16 h 30, Salle La Li��vre, en pr��sence d'une dizaine de ses auteurs.

Les ��ditions David pour leur part, organisent un lancement le vendredi 17 mars �� 18 h, sur la sc��ne Jacques-Poirier. Le nouveau roman de Katia Canciani, 178 secondes et le nouveau recueil de nouvelles de Claude Forand, R.I.P. Histoires mourantes seront en vedette. L'eau de vie de Daniel Marchildon est le 4^��me titre des ��diteurs du R��CF finaliste au Prix des lecteurs Radio-Canada 2009.

Les ��ditions Prise de parole seront repr��sent��es par le dramaturge franco-ontarien, Michel Ouellette, et sa pi��ce Iphig��nie en trichromie, alors que Rolande Faucher, biographe de l'homme politique franco-ontarien Jean-Robert Gauthier sera aussi de la partie.

De plus, Paul Roux, b��d��iste bien connu dans la r��gion, fait para��tre un quatri��me livre, Petite Ang��lique (Bouton d'or Acadie). Du C��t�� de l'Ouest canadien, Nadine Mackenzie, de Calgary, qui ��crit aussi bien pour les enfants et les adultes, lance un nouveau roman La ran��on de l'espionnage (��ditions de la nouvelle plume). Plusieurs autres auteurs seront pr��sents. (Voir la liste des auteurs en s��ance de d��dicace.)

Les cinq titres finalistes au Prix des lecteurs Radio-Canada 2009, parmi lesquels quatre sont publi��s par les ��diteurs du R��CF, seront d��voil��s lors d'une ��mission sp��ciale, enregistr��e le vendredi 27 mars �� 19 h 30, sur la sc��ne Yves-Th��riault. C'est l'animateur Claude Naubert de Radio-Canada qui d��voilera les livres finalistes de la neuvi��me ��dition du Prix des lecteurs. L'��mission sera diffus��e d'un oc��an �� l'autre �� l'antenne de Radio-Canada le samedi 28 mars 2009, de 10 h �� 11 h.

Steven Pasquale - star of TV's "Rescue Me" - releases debut CD on PS Classics

STAR OF TV'S "RESCUE ME" AND BROADWAY'S "REASONS TO BE PRETTY" STEVEN PASQUALE RELEASES HIS DEBUT SOLO JAZZ CD FROM PS CLASSICS

"SOMETHIN' LIKE LOVE"

PRODUCED BY JOHN PIZZARELLI AND JESSICA MOLASKEY

EXCLUSIVE PRE-RELEASE ON ITUNES MARCH 31, IN STORES APRIL 21

STEVEN PASQUALE (Pas-qu��l) has partnered up with PS Classics, the label dedicated to the heritage of Broadway and American popular song, to release his debut album Somethin' Like Love. The ruggedly handsome actor-singer unbuttons his collar and rolls up his sleeves for an album of romantic jazz-tinged classics. Pasquale is best known for his work as fireman "Sean Garrity" on FX's critically acclaimed hit series "Rescue Me" and is currently starring on Broadway in the Neil LaBute play reasons to be pretty. The album will have an exclusive pre-release at iTunes on March 31 and will be available in stores on April 21.

"It's always been a dream of mine to make an old-fashioned jazz record," says Steve. "When we went on hiatus due to the writer's strike, I was afforded the time to finally sit down and do what I had always talked about doing." The CD, produced by John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey, features Larry Fuller and Tony Monte on piano, Martin Pizzarelli on bass, Tony Tedesco on drums, Marcus Parsley on muted trumpet and John Pizzarelli on guitar.

Somethin' Like Love finds him invoking his musical stage roots which include The Light in the Piazza, for which he created the lead role of "Fabrizio," and his Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk-nominated performance in A Man of No Importance. He offers signature interpretations of some of the most enduring standards in the Great American Songbook. The twelve selections range from a haunting rendition of the David Raksin/Johnny Mercer gem "Laura" to a wistful "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" to a swinging starry-eyed "On the Street Where You Live," to the title song, newly written by Pizzarelli and Molaskey. This alluring new album will surprise and delight his fans and win him many new ones.

"Steve has a gift for singing rich, legato lines and has a sound that harks back to another time, while still feeling very much of the present," says Pizzarelli. "The result is an intimate performance that's rare for an artist's first solo outing."

STEVEN PASQUALE is a Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominee for Lincoln Center's A Man of No Importance and currently starring on Broadway in Neil LaBute's reasons to be pretty. He has starred in LaBute's Fat Pig (MCC), Beautiful Child (Vineyard Theatre), A Soldier's Story (Second Stage), Spinning into Butter (Lincoln Center), and The Spitfire Grill (Playwrights Horizons). TV and film roles include HBO's "Six Feet Under," Sofia Coppola's "Platinum," Aurora Borealis, The Last Run, and Fox's hit "AVP: Requiem." Steven was most recently seen in the Roundabout Theatre's A Little Night Music opposite Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson, and Victor Garber.

PS CLASSICS - founded in 2000 by Tommy Krasker & Philip Chaffin, and a four-time Grammy nominee (for its cast recordings of Nine: The Musical, Assassins, Grey Gardens, and Company) - has made significant contributions to the heritage of American popular song through its critically acclaimed cast recordings; solo albums by such luminaries as Maureen McGovern, Victoria Clark and Jessica Molaskey; and recordings drawn from rare sound archives, including Sondheim Sings. PS Classics is distributed exclusively by Image Entertainment. Visit www.psclassics.com.

Opera Division singers perform Cole Porter

Singers from the Opera Division to perform songs of Cole Porter

TORONTO ��� Singers from the Opera Division of the University of Toronto Faculty of Music will present Why Can't You Behave?, a revue celebrating the songs of Cole Porter, and the wit of writer/poet Dorothy Parker. The program includes some of Porter's most famous songs, such as Anything Goes, In the Still of the Night, I Get a Kick Out of You, Night and Day, and Let's Do It. The two performances take place Friday and Saturday, April 3 & 4, 2009, at 7:30 pm in Walter Hall. Tickets ($14 adults and $8 seniors/students) can be purchased at the Faculty of Music box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744.

Part of Canada���s top university, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music has an illustrious history as one of North America���s leading centres for the scholarly and professional study of music, offering a rich array of degree and diploma programs from the undergraduate to post-graduate levels. Many of this country���s greatest musicians such as John Weinzweig, Lois Marshall, Elmer Iseler, Adrienne Pieczonka, Russell Braun, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet have studied or taught at the Faculty. With over 100 events featuring students, faculty and distinguished guests, the Faculty���s performance season embodies its commitment to an education that champions diversity, depth and explorations. Highlights of the 2008-09 season include cellists Steven Isserlis and Shauna Rolston, baritone Sherrill Milnes, composer Maria Schneider, conductors David Briskin and Miah Im, jazz great Phil Nimmons, the Mir��, and St. Lawrence String Quartets, the Gryphon Trio and Nexus.

For more information on this or other Faculty of Music concert series, please visit our website at www.music.utoronto.ca or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

Ticket sales and general inquiries:
Faculty of Music Box Office
Hours: 1 ��� 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Phone: 416-978-3744
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen���s Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5

Les Id��es heureuses - Concert annuel de la Passion - Vendredi saint

Concert annuel de la Passion : le Vendredi saint 10 avril 2009 �� 17 h �� l'��glise du Ges��

avec la soprano Suzie LeBlanc

Montr��al, le 19 mars 2009 ��� �� l'occasion de la semaine sainte qui comm��more la Passion du Christ, Les Id��es heureuses pr��sente un concert le Vendredi saint 10 avril �� 17 h �� l'��glise du Ges��. Suzie LeBlanc, la c��l��bre soprano canadienne, est l'une des interpr��tes vedettes de ce programme de musique religieuse baroque. Matthew Jennejonh, hautbois d'amour, se joint comme soliste aux musiciens de l'ensemble des Id��es heureuses dans plusieurs pi��ces de ce programme. Depuis 2005, Les Id��es heureuses souhaite ��tablir une tradition au centre-ville de Montr��al en pr��sentant dans sa s��rie r��guli��re les Vendredis saints apr��s-midis, un concert dont les pi��ces se r��f��rent au Car��me et �� la Passion.

Suzie LeBlanc

Partageant son temps entre le concert, la sc��ne lyrique, l'enregistrement, l'enseignement et la recherche, Suzie LeBlanc a explor�� et enregistr�� nombre de r��pertoires in��dits, notamment une collection d'airs romains du 17^e si��cle, Amor Roma (ATMA Classique) et Lagrime Amare (Teldec). Sa discographie r��cente comprend des lieders de Mozart avec Yannick Nezet-Seguin (ATMA), Die Zauberfl��te (Pamina) avec La Petite Bande (BAYER) et Membra Jesu Nostri de Buxtehude (ATMA) avec Les Voix Baroques sous la direction d'Alexander Weimann, gagnant du Prix Opus pour la musique ancienne, ainsi que Chants de terre et de ciel (Olivier Messiaen), disponible en octobre 2008 sur ATMA Classique. Elle assure la direction artistique de l'ensemble Le Nouvel Op��ra en r��sidence au Conservatoire de musique de Montr��al et enseigne le chant baroque �� la Facult�� de Musique de l'Universit�� de Montr��al. Le r��cent film de Rodrigue Jean, Lost Song, dans lequel Suzie LeBlanc joue le r��le titre f��minin a remport�� le Prix du meilleur long m��trage canadien du Festival international du film de Toronto (FIFT) et le Prix de la meilleure ��uvre acadienne moyen ou long m��trage au Festival international de cin��ma francophone en Acadie.

PROGRAMME

Cette ann��e, le programme fait place �� trois compositeurs baroques allemands majeurs et contemporains : J.S. BACH (1685 ��� 1750), C. GRAUPNER (1683 ��� 1760) et G.P. TELEMANN (1681 ��� 1767). Il met l'emphase sur le hautbois d'amour (un hautbois en la, c'est-��-dire �� la tierce mineure inf��rieure par rapport au hautbois) dont la sonorit�� sombre et chaleureuse, douce et envo��tante, convient particuli��rement au temps liturgique de la Passion. Son qualificatif "d'amour" provient de sa tendresse un peu m��lancolique qui se marie si bien avec la musique �� caract��re pastoral. Son ��panouissement se fait surtout en Allemagne dans la premi��re moiti�� du XVIIIe si��cle et sa premi��re utilisation r��f��renc��e avec son nom est dans une cantate Graupner compos��e en 1717 (un an avant la cantate au programme).

C. Graupner

De C. Graupner, Les Id��es heureuses interpr��tera une cantate compos��e en 1718 pour le quatri��me dimanche du Car��me, pour soprano solo, cordes et hautbois d'amour oblig��. Le po��me de Conrad Lichtenberg est bas�� sur le psaume 102. Il s'agit de la 26^e cantate de Graupner du r��pertoire de l'ensemble depuis 2002. On entendra aussi des extraits de la cantate pour le Vendredi saint compos��e la m��me ann��e pour la m��me formation. Compositeur prolixe de musique d'��glise (mille quatre cent vingt-trois cantates), Graupner joue sur une grande int��riorit��, o�� l'��criture m��le aust��rit�� et accents intimes.

G.P. Telemann

G. P. Telemann a ��crit au fil de sa vie 46 Passions sur les textes des ��vang��listes Marc, Matthieu et Luc. Un air avec fl��te �� bec oblig�� et soprano de sa Passion selon saint-Luc de 1737 est au programme.

J.S. Bach

La suite en do mineur pour clavecin de J.S. BACH peut sembler hors-propos, mais ses diff��rents mouvements (pr��lude ��� fugue ��� sarabande ��� gigue et double), intercal��s entre les pi��ces vocales se r��v��leront ��tre de v��ritables moments de m��ditation. Selon la brillante th��se du musicologue qu��b��cois Guy Marchand^[1], la fugue de cette suite serait en fait un microcosme de la Passion selon saint-Matthieu et le c��ur embl��matique de la pens��e musico-religieuse de Bach. Le �� complexe th��matique �� de cette fugue illustre l'interpr��tation luth��rienne de la Passion. Le th��me de la sarabande s'av��re par ailleurs une paraphrase du dernier ch��ur de la Passion selon Saint-Matthieu.

��glise du Ges��

L'��glise du Ges�� (J��sus en italien), o�� Les Id��es heureuses se produit pour la premi��re fois, est la seule ��glise enti��rement de style baroque �� Montr��al. Elle a ��t�� construite en 1865. Ce cadre magnifique, dans le centre-ville de Montr��al, convient parfaitement au moment de recueillement musical propos�� en ce jour de comm��moration de la mort du Christ.

Les Id��es heureuses

Fond�� en 1987, Les Id��es heureuses a produit plus de 100 concerts dans dans sa s��rie r��guli��re au centre-ville de Montr��al. Une centaine d'autres concerts ont ��t�� diffus��s dans les maisons de la culture de l'��le de Montr��al, aux ��tats-Unis, ainsi que, depuis 2004, dans les plus importants festivals de musique baroques europ��ens (Bruges, Bruxelles, Ambronay, Pontoise, Picardie, Modena, etc.). Plac�� sous la direction artistique et musicale de Genevi��ve Soly, Les Id��es heureuses se distingue par sa recherche de r��pertoire baroque in��dit, interpr��t�� devant un public s��duit par la red��couverte et par ses concerts comment��s.

Oeuvres
C. GRAUPNER : Choral Jesus dein Kreutz will ich halten et Air Ans Kreutz zum Todt pour soprano, hautbois d'amour et continuo, extraits de la cantate Christus hat uns erl��set - pour le Vendredi saint (Darmstadt, 1718) ; Herr, h��re mein Gebet, cantate pour soprano, hautbois d'amour, 2 violons, alto et continuo pour le dimanche Laetare (1718) ;

J.S. BACH: Suite en do mineur (BWV 997) ;

G.P. TELEMANN : Aria Bringe mich zu deinen Herden pour soprano, fl��te �� bec soprano, cordes et continuo, extrait de la Passion selon Saint-Luc (Hamburg, 1737).

Interpr��tes
Suzie LeBlanc, soprano, H��l��ne Plouffe et Olivier Brault, violons - Jacques-Andr�� Houle, alto - Isabelle Bozzini, violoncelle - Nicolas Lessard, contrebasse - Natalie Michaud, flute �� bec - Matthew Jennejohn, hautbois d'amour - Genevi��ve Soly, orgue continuo, clavecin solo et direction musicale.

��glise du Ges��, 1202 rue de Bleury, m��tro Place-des-arts

Billets : r��gulier : 30 $ - a��n�� (65 ans et plus) : 25 $ - ��tudiant : 10 $

INFORMATION : 514 843 5881 - www.ideesheureuses.ca

NAC Orchestra musicians and Bursary winner perform Bursary Benefit Concert

NAC Orchestra musicians and Bursary winner perform chamber music at the NACO Bursary Benefit Concert on April 5

Ottawa, Canada ��� Ensembles of musicians of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, including six principal musicians plus concertmaster Yosuke Kawasaki, will join together with last year���s winner of the NACO Bursary Competition to perform an afternoon of chamber music favourites in the NAC Salon on Sunday, April 5 at 2 p.m. The Bursary Benefit Concert is organized by the musicians of the NACO Bursary Committee to raise funds towards prizes for future Competition winners, some of whom will go on to pursue careers in professional orchestras.

The Friends of the National Arts Centre Orchestra have offered to match funds raised on the day up to $2,000, so those attending this musical matinee will know that the price of their ticket will go twice as far towards supporting talented local musicians.

PROGRAM:

ROSSINI: Duo for cello and double bass in D major

Carole Sirois, cello

Joel Quarrington, double bass

BOZZA: Image for Solo Flute, Op. 38

Amelia Lyon*, flute

* 2008 NACO Bursary recipient

RAVEL: Mother Goose Suite

Joanna G���froerer, flute

Charles Hamann, oboe

Kimball Sykes, clarinet

Lawrence Vine, French horn

Christopher Millard, bassoon

DVOR��K: String Quintet in G major, Op.77

Yosuke Kawasaki, 1^st violin

Jessica Linnebach, 2^nd violin

Jethro Marks, viola

Carole Sirois, cello

Joel Quarrington, double bass

(subject to change)

The first NACO Bursary Competition was in 1981. The Bursary provides recognition and financial support to help further the development of young Canadian orchestral musicians who have connections to the National Capital Region. The first year, one prize of $1,000 was awarded. Thanks to the generosity of additional organizations and individuals, other prizes have been added for a total in 2009 of $18,750.

Don���t miss this fabulous concert and the special opportunity to contribute to the development of young musicians! Tickets for the Bursary Benefit Concert on April 5 are $15.00 (GST and Facility Fee included) and are on sale now at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC���s web-site at www.nac-cna.ca. Donations towards the NACO Bursary Competition will also be gratefully accepted at the door.

U of T Symphony Season Finale

Ivars Taurins conducts U of T Symphony Orchestra in season finale

TORONTO ��� On Thursday, April 9, 2009, the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra presents the last concert of the season. Conducted by Ivars Taurins, the program includes Giovanni Gabrieli���s Canzon primi toni a 8 (from Sacrae Symphoniae 1597), Beethoven���s Symphony No. 2 in D major and Tchaikovsky���s Symphony No. 5. The concert takes place at 7:30 pm at MacMillan Theatre in the Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen���s Park. Tickets ($18 adults and $10 seniors/students) can be purchased at the Faculty of Music box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744.

Ivars Taurins conducts symphonic and choral repertoire with equal expertise. Founder and director of the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir since 1981, he was also principal violist of the Tafelmusik Orchestra for its first 23 years. Under his direction the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir has been widely praised for its clarity and brilliance, and in 1991 was awarded the Canada Council's Healey Willan Prize ���in recognition of the consistently high level of achievement by the choir and its unique contribution to choral art in Canada.���
A passionate lecturer and teacher, Mr. Taurins teaches conducting and baroque ensembles at the University of Toronto. He is in demand as a guest lecturer, adjudicator and clinician. He was guest lecturer at Podium 2000, the conference of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors. He has been a guest teacher at the Universit�� de Sherbrooke in Quebec, the University of Western Ontario, the University of Alberta, and at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto. Mr. Taurins is director of the vocal/choral programme at the annual Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute.

Part of Canada���s top university, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music has an illustrious history as one of North America���s leading centres for the scholarly and professional study of music, offering a rich array of degree and diploma programs from the undergraduate to post-graduate levels. Many of this country���s greatest musicians such as John Weinzweig, Lois Marshall, Elmer Iseler, Adrienne Pieczonka, Russell Braun, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet have studied or taught at the Faculty. With over 100 events featuring students, faculty and distinguished guests, the Faculty���s performance season embodies its commitment to an education that champions diversity, depth and explorations. Highlights of the 2008-09 season include cellists Steven Isserlis and Shauna Rolston, baritone Sherrill Milnes, composer Maria Schneider, conductors David Briskin and Miah Im, jazz great Phil Nimmons, the Mir��, and St. Lawrence String Quartets, the Gryphon Trio and Nexus.

For more information on this or other Faculty of Music concert series, please visit our website at www.music.utoronto.ca or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

Ticket sales and general inquiries:
Faculty of Music Box Office
Hours: 1 ��� 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Phone: 416-978-3744
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen���s Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5

Christina Petrowska Quilico Plays Music of Ann Southam & Honours Suzukis

Launch of 22^nd CD, Pond Life ��� Tuesday, May 12

PIANIST CHRISTINA PETROWSKA QUILICO

PLAYS MUSIC BY ANN SOUTHAM IN CONCERT

Pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico, winner of the 2007 Friends of Canadian Music Award, will perform the music of Ann Southam in memory of visual artist Aiko Suzuki and in recognition of the work of The David Suzuki Foundation.

The concert features music from Petrowska Quilico���s 22^nd CD, Pond Life, and takes place at the Glenn Gould Studio, 250 Front St. W., Tuesday, May 12, 7:30 p.m. At a reception following the concert, the Canadian Music Centre launches the CD, her sixth on the Centrediscs label.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the David Suzuki Foundation.

Petrowska Quilico describes the evening���s experience as ���the underwater world of Ponds, Creeks and Rivers�Ķmesmerizing, sensual and hypnotic colors of water in serene, tranquil and sometimes virtuosic waves of music.���

Pond Life is a two-CD set of music by Ann Southam. It includes new pieces written especially for Petrowska Quilico (Ponds, Creeks, Soundstill and Noisy River). The first of Southam���s Ponds series was inspired by the painting Spatial View of Pond by the late Aiko Suzuki (1937-2005).

Petrowska Quilico recorded another water-themed CD of Southam���s music for Centrediscs in 2005 ��� the acclaimed three-CD set, Rivers, on the Canadian Composers Portrait Series. She has also recorded Michel-George Br��gent���s Portraits, and Eclipse by David Mott, and appears on two other Centrediscs CDs ��� Chris Paul Harman (music by Harman), and So You Want to Write a Fugue?, a compilation of new Canadian compositions honoring Glenn Gould���s 75^th anniversary.

Tickets for Pond Life: Ponds, Creeks, Soundstill and Noisy River are $20; $10 students, and are available from the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office, 60 Simcoe Street, or online at www.roythomson.com/home.cfm -> Buy Tickets, or by phone at 416-872-4255. Tickets will also be sold just prior to the concert at the Glenn Gould Studio Box Office.

Further information is available at www.petrowskaquilico.com ��� which includes sound samples and links to 17 YouTube videos ��� and at Ann Summers International, www.sumarts.com/roster/petrowska.html.

For information on Aiko Suzuki, visit www.aikosuzuki.ca.

CHRISTINA PETROWSKA QUILICO

���An extraordinary talent�Ķdazzling virtuosity��� ��� New York Times.

���****�ĶShimmering�Ķ dazzling�Ķ.Amazing, for the amount of virtuosity and variety Petrowska Quilico has squeezed onto a mere two discs.��� ��� Globe and Mail review of her two-CD set, Ings, September 2008

Pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico has premiered hundreds of new works over an illustrious career, including over 20 piano concertos. Born in Ottawa, Petrowska Quilico studied with Boris Berlin at the Royal Conservatory of Music, where she made her debut, with orchestra, at age 10. She received a scholarship to study at New York���s Juilliard School as a student of Rosina Lh��vinne, Jeaneane Dowis and Irwin Freundlich. From them, she acquired the formidable technique that has allowed her to learn challenging new works in very short time, and to perform them with dazzling virtuosity. At 14, she made her New York concert debut with full orchestra at Town Hall as a co-winner with fellow student Murray Perahia of the High School of the Performing Arts Concerto Competition. After graduation, she studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, and later in Darmstadt and Berlin with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Gy��rgy Ligeti. She is a Full Professor of Piano Performance and Musicology at York University.

Many of her 22 recordings are devoted to music of the 20^th century. As well, she has solo CDs featuring the likes of Chopin, Liszt and Debussy, and four recorded with her late husband, Metropolitan Opera baritone Louis Quilico. In recognition of her exceptional commitment to Canadian composers and their music, in 2008 the Canadian Music Centre and Canadian League of Composers presented Petrowska Quilico with their 2007 Friends of Canadian Music Award.

Christina Petrowska Quilico���s CDs may be ordered through the Canadian Music Centre Boutique at www.musiccentre.ca, www.amazon.ca and www.indiepool.com.

Christina Petrowska Quilico is managed by Ann Summers International.

Y'fait chaud c'printemps !

Y'FAIT CHAUD C'PRINTEMPS avec JUAN SEBASTIAN LAROBINA!

Encore une fois cette ann��e, le talent de Juan Sebastian Larobina n'a pas ��chapp�� aux organisateurs de plusieurs ��v��nements importants qui auront lieu prochainement :

D'abord, dans le cadre du premier Forum sur la mise en oeuvre de la Loi sur les langues officielles du Nunavut, Juan Sebastian pr��sentera, le samedi 28 mars prochain, son spectacle �� Norte-Sur �� �� Iqaluit au Nunavut.

De retour �� Montr��al, il reprendra la sc��ne des Bobards le vendredi 3 avril �� 21h30.

Juan-Sebastian participera ��galement aux Syli d'or pr��sent�� par les productions Nuits d'Afrique. Son spectacle aura lieu le 21 avril �� 22h sur la sc��ne du Balatou. Les Syli d'or offrent au public 18 soir��es de spectacles GRATUITS. Les votes du public pourraient permettre �� Juan Sebastian d'atteindre la finale du concours le 30 avril au Kola-Note.

Finalement, on lui a confi�� les commandes du grand spectacle de cl��ture de Musique et Monde pr��sent�� par le Festival MMM (Musique MultiMontr��al). �� voir au Cabaret des festivaliers de la Maison de la culture Ahuntsic, samedi le 25 avril 2009 �� 22 h. Le musicien au parcours peu commun pr��sentera donc son spectacle NORTE SUR accompagn�� de ses cinq musiciens multi-instrumentistes.

Juan-Sebastian Larobina est n�� en Argentine, a grandit au Mexique et a ��migr�� en Gasp��sie en 1997. R��cipiendaire du prix du public du Festival en chansons de Petite-Vall��e en 2002, du prix ��toile-Galaxie en 2006 et r��cemment arriv�� �� Montr��al, le sympathique auteur-compositeur propose un savoureux m��tissage de ses origines sud-am��ricaines et de ses influences qu��b��coises.

Le r��sultat est un m��lange unique �� 100% latino-gasp��sien �� qu'il nous offre par le biais de ses chansons aux rythmes chauds, dansants et enchanteurs. Impossible de rester assis durant un spectacle de Juan-Sebastian Larobina!

Actuellement en tourn��e, le spectacle NORTE-SUR a provoqu�� l'enthousiasme des m��dias et des spectateurs partout sur son passage, du Festival d'��t�� de Qu��bec au Festival des Rythmes du Monde �� Chicoutimi, de M��moires et Racines dans Lanaudi��re jusqu'au Festival du Bout du Monde de Crozon en Bretagne.

C'est donc avec une belle ��nergie et beaucoup d'enthousiasme que Juan-Sebastian Larobina vous convie �� ces grandes f��tes de la musique :

- au Nunavut le 28 mars

- aux Bobards le 3 avril �� 21h30

- au Balatou le 21 avril �� 22h00

- �� la Maison de la culture Ahuntsic le 25 avril �� 22 h!

Pour plus d'information, visitez le http://www.myspace.com/juansebastianlarobina

Classissima : launch of the collaborative website dedicated to classical music and opera

e-media management launches Classissima.com, the collaborative website dedicated to classical music and opera

Classissima is a collaborative website dedicated to classical music and opera. It offers to music lovers and casual visitors possibilities to discover contents available on the Net, to share preferences and comments. As such, it can be called as a "social network".

Today, Classissima is an international directory of websites related to classical music: almost 6000 are already available. Classissima also incorporates editorial and multimedia contents produced daily by third parties for each language covered. For example, it provides access to more than 7,000 biographies and dozens of news flows about classical music and opera.

Classissima opens in English and French. Other languages will be available soon: Spanish, Italian, German, ... Classissima is completely free for users. Innovative information services will come soon.

The vocation of Classissima is to support all audiences of classical music and opera in their use of the Internet. Without bias, Classissima is the site of all those interested in classical music, in all their diversity.

Internet and music settle in a sustainable way in all the cultural universes. Our vision is that Classical music and opera should particularly benefit from the opportunities of the web: diversity of works and artists, diversity of knowledge and expectations, importance of the quality of information, need to share and exchange, absence of frontiers...

Classissima is provided in total independence. e-media management ensures full funding. The advertising revenue of the site will contribute to its development and give resource to develop all the information services required by classical music and opera.

La Traviata Closes Edmonton Opera Season

Verdi's

LA TRAVIATA

Closes the 2008-2009 Edmonton Opera season

La Traviata, the heartbreaking and tragic masterpiece, closes Edmonton Opera's 2008-2009 season with Verdi's acclaimed score April 25, 28 and 30 at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster, call 780-451-8000 or visit www.ticketmaster.ca. La Traviata is sung in Italian with English supertitles projected above the stage.

Violetta Val��ry, the notoriously beautiful and vivacious courtesan, is the toast of glittering Paris salon-life. While Violetta hosts the French ��lite at a party celebrating her recovery from a recent illness, Alfredo, a young nobleman, confesses his long-time adoration of her. Preferring her freedom to the confines of a romantic relationship, Violetta at first rejects Alfredo's advances. She is soon persuaded by his romantic declarations, and the couple settles into life at her country home. Furious that his son's affair is disgracing the family, Alfredo's father, Germont, demands she let Alfredo go. Although her health is failing, Violetta, in the grip of consumption, rejects him at Germont's request, sending Alfredo into a jealous rage. Will the lovers reconcile before tragedy strikes?

"I am not alone in counting La Traviata as one of the greatest of all operas, for so many reasons," says Artistic Director Brian Deedrick. "The beauty of the piece, the richness of the characters, the glorious evocations of another time and the tissue-essential heartbreak make Traviata, a must-see for everyone."

Alberta-born soprano Laura Whalen, who last graced the city's stage as Filumena, sings the role of Violetta, with Qu��bec tenor Marc Hervieux as Alfredo, and Edmonton favourite Theodore Baerg as Germont. Thomas Macleay (Gastone), Doug MacNaughton (Douphol), Brian McIntosh (Dr. Grenvil), Krista de Silva (Flora), Alexander Dobson (Marquis d'Obigny) and Ren��e Brad (Annina) join Conductor Steven Osgood and past Edmonton Opera Artistic Director Michael Cavanagh in closing the opera season. The Edmonton Opera Chorus and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra lend their talents to this much-loved production.

All performances of La Traviata begin at 7:30pm and run at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Single tickets, which range from $28 to $160, are available at Ticketmaster at 780-451-8000 or visit www.ticketmaster.ca. For more information, please visit www.edmontonopera.com.

Pour la FCCF : la couverture r��gionale culturelle en sort fragilis��e

Pour la FCCF : la couverture r��gionale culturelle en sort fragilis��e

Ottawa, le 26 mars 2009 : �� la suite des compressions �� Radio-Canada, la FCCF r��agit. �� Nous avions craint des coupures beaucoup plus importantes dans les r��gions et celles-ci sont relativement ��pargn��es. Dans ce contexte budg��taire particuli��rement difficile, l'effort qui a ��t�� fait est salu�� par la FCCF. Cependant, la disparition d'��missions culturelles telles �� Les arts et les autres �� en Ontario, �� TamTam en Acadie ��, ainsi que la d��cision de mettre en veilleuse l'��mission �� Zeste �� dans l'Ouest, et de r��duire le nombre et la fr��quence d'��missions sp��ciales, comme le Chant'Ouest, sont accablantes et viennent d��finitivement fragiliser la couverture r��gionale culturelle et la pr��sence des artistes franco-canadiens sur le r��seau de la SRC. Bien que nous comprenons les imp��ratifs de la SRC, aujourd'hui est une journ��e bien sombre pour les milieux artistiques et culturels des communaut��s francophones et acadiennes. �� d��clare Mme Raymonde Boulay LeBlanc, Pr��sidente de la FCCF.

Pour la FCCF, la SRC est et doit rester un partenaire essentiel pour les arts et la culture de la francophonie canadienne. �� C'est un incontournable �� notre appropriation des ondes et un lieu de diffusion privil��gi�� pour les artistes, les produits de nos industries culturelles et nos grands ��v��nements d'antenne, reflets de notre imaginaire collectif et de notre culture francophone. �� insiste Mme Boulay LeBlanc.

La FCCF estime que la SRC doit demeurer un v��ritable espace m��diatique francophone, distinctif et rassembleur, porteur d'identit�� pour les francophones et acadiens, avec des ��missions culturelles de qualit��. �� Il faut lui donner les moyens et le cadre qui lui permettront de mener �� bien ce r��le. Il importe donc d'accorder �� la SRC les fonds et la latitude n��cessaires pour maintenir sa force de frappe. Si le gouvernement f��d��ral consid��rait qu'un diffuseur public fort est une n��cessit�� pour l'affirmation et la promotion de notre culture, il devrait se commettre en faveur d'un financement pluriannuel stable et suffisant. L'existence d'un diffuseur public ne doit en aucun cas r��pondre aux seuls imp��ratifs du march��, la SRC doit rester encore et avant tout un service public engag�� qui partage les responsabilit��s de la soci��t�� qui la finance et qu'elle dessert. Voil�� pourquoi, il est essentiel que des fonds ad��quats, pr��visibles et r��guliers soient consentis �� cette institution. Le gouvernement f��d��ral doit prendre des initiatives pour pr��server le service public canadien qui aujourd'hui doit faire face �� des d��fis ��conomiques et technologiques de plus en plus importants. Enfin, et au-del�� des questions de financement de la SRC, il y a ici des enjeux culturels qu'on ne peut ignorer. �� de conclure Mme Boulay LeBlanc.

La FCCF est un organisme national dont la mission est de promouvoir l'expression artistique et culturelle des communaut��s francophones et acadienne. Elle r��unit des repr��sentants de sept regroupements nationaux en th����tre, en litt��rature, en chanson-musique, en arts m��diatiques et en arts visuels, ainsi que des repr��sentants de onze provinces et territoires du Canada.

ESO Concertmaster to take leave of absence for 09/10 season

Martin Riseley to take leave of absence in 2009-2010

ESO Concertmaster to share extensive knowledge with new generation of musicians

Edmonton, AB �Ķ Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) Concertmaster Martin Riseley is taking a leave of absence for the 2009-2010 concert season.

���My family and I are travelling to Wellington, New Zealand for one year in order for me to be Head of Strings at the New Zealand School of Music,��� Dr. Riseley says. ���I will see what I can do there to both help the school and its students, and to develop my own solo and chamber music playing. I am excited to take on a class of university-aged students again, as I have enjoyed teaching in the past, and passing on various 'guild secrets' to the new generations of musicians! Also, shaping the developing curriculum of the school is an exciting opportunity, one which does not come along very often. I also look forward to coming back to Edmonton during the year for solo engagements with both our Edmonton Symphony and the Alberta Baroque Society!���

Mr. Riseley has previously served as the Interim Associate Concertmaster of the National Arts Centre Orchestra for the 2002-2003 season, and was Guest Concertmaster of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra during 2003.

A native of New Zealand, Martin Riseley began violin studies at the age of six, and gave his first solo concert when he was ten. After several years of study with the English violinist Carl Pini, he entered the University of Canterbury School of Music in 1986. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree, he went to the Juilliard School in 1989 where he studied with Dorothy DeLay and Piotr Milewski, and was coached in chamber music by Samuel Rhodes and Joel Smirnoff of the Juilliard Quartet, and by Felix Galimir. Riseley graduated from Juilliard in 1996 with his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree.

Mr. Riseley assisted Dorothy DeLay as a teaching fellow in the Pre-College Division of Juilliard while in New York. He was also Soloist and Concertmaster with the Chamber Players of the Juilliard School in their Merkin Hall debut, and in Alice Tully Hall as part of the Mozart Bicentennial celebrations at Lincoln Centre.

Martin Riseley has been Concertmaster of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra since 1994, giving his first performance on November 30^th of that year. Highlights of Martin���s term as ESO Concertmaster include the North American premiere of the violin concerto ���The Bully of Bashan��� by Gavin Bryars, and the premiere of a concerto by former ESO Composer in Residence Allan Gilliland in 2002.

Mr. Riseley will return next season to perform with the ESO in both the Classic Landmarks Masters and Lighter Classics series. On September 18 & 19, 2009, he will perform Red Violin Chaconne by John Corigliano. On January 14, 2010, Martin will present some of his favorite ���party pieces��� for violin and orchestra, including music by Tchaikovsky, Gershwin, Saint-Sa��ns, Kreisler, Khachaturian, and Wieniawski. Music Director William Eddins will conduct both programs.

The ESO wishes Martin and his family all the best in their new endeavours. In the meantime, the ESO has begun the process of finding a Guest Concertmaster for the 2009-2010 concert season.

The ESO and local choirs embrace powerful and evocative scenic cantata - Apr. 4 & 5

Classic Landmarks Masters

The ESO laments lost love, the coming of spring, and fickle fate in epic cantata Carmina Burana

Saturday, April 4^th ��� 8:00 pm; Sunday, April 5^th ��� 2:00 pm

Edmonton, AB �Ķ An overwhelming feeling of rhythmic energy will pulsate through Enmax Hall at the Winspear Centre as the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) brings to life the primitive tales of love, lust, the pleasures of drinking, and the heightened moods evoked by springtime. The towering epic and 20^th century masterpiece Carmina Burana is a compelling drama that explodes with its expressive intensity and stirring poetry.

Joining the ESO and Music Director William Eddins in this grand production are Allene Hackleman (ESO Principal horn), tenor Bonaventura Bottone, soprano Ilana Davidson, baritone Hugh Russell, plus the amalgamation of voices from the Kokopelli & ��ran choirs, Cantilon Chamber Chorus, and the Ukrainian Male Chorus of Edmonton. Over 200 performers will powerfully denote events of foreboding nature and the capriciousness of fate in O Fortuna, one of the most widely heard and recognized classical music themes of our time.

���Everything I have written to date, and which you have, unfortunately, printed, can be destroyed. With Carmina Burana, my collected works begin.��� ~ Carl Orff, 1937

Ticket prices for this performance range from $20-$69 (agency fees apply). Student and senior $20 rush tickets are on sale, subject to availability, two hours prior to performance time. Learn more about the performance on Saturday at Symphony Prelude: 7:15 pm in the Upper Circle (Third Level) Lobby with D.T. Baker.

The next performance of the Masters series will take place on May 8^th and 9^th, as conductor Jacques Lacombe leads the ESO and Richard Eaton Singers Women���s Chorus in A Space Odyssey. Celebrate the heavenly bodies in this, the International Year of Astronomy.

This series is generously supported by Classic Landmarks Master Builder.

Saturday evening���s performance is generously sponsored by Finning Canada.

Media Sponsors: The Edmonton Journal and CKUA Radio Network

Guest Artist Sponsors: Dr. & Mrs. G. Tertzakian & Dr. James Timourian

Sponsorship inquiries can be directed to Marc Carnes, Director of Development, at (780) 401-2518.

Hornist Jamie Sommerville and Symphony Nova Scotia

Hornist Jamie Sommerville conducts and performs with Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax, Wolfville and Liverpool

Halifax, NS ��� Jamie Sommerville, principal horn with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic, joins his former colleagues at Symphony Nova Scotia for four performances featuring music by Mozart, Sibelius, and Canadian composer Gary Kulesha.

First, Sommerville will perform on Thursday, April 2 at 7:30 pm at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax. Then, he and the orchestra will travel to Liverpool on Friday, April 3 to perform at the Astor Theatre at 7:30 pm. On Saturday, April 4, they will perform in Wolfville's Festival Theatre at 8:00 pm; and then on Sunday, April 5, they return to the Rebecca Cohn in Halifax for a Sunday afternoon encore performance at 2 pm.

Sommerville was once the principal hornist with Symphony Nova Scotia, and this will be his first "homecoming" as conductor. "It's tremendously exciting for me to come back to the Rebecca Cohn stage after so many years away," he says. "I have such great memories of my years playing in Symphony Nova Scotia, and of life in Halifax, but most of all, the passion and talent of my colleagues in the orchestra.

"For this, my first re-appearance here as a conductor (though with horn in tow!), I have chosen a program that, above all else, features the Symphony's fantastic musicians. They are all pieces I've come to love, and I'm so looking forward to bringing the audience along as we discover them together."

All four performances will feature Sommerville in Mozart's Horn Concerto no. 3 on French horn, and Symphony no. 38 "Prague" as conductor. He will also conduct Sibelius' incidental music for the play Pell��as et Melisande and Canadian composer Gary Kulesha's Beethoven-inspired Symphony no. 3. Kulesha will actually be traveling to Nova Scotia to attend the performance.

Get your tickets now! Tickets for the Halifax performances are available at 494.3820 or 1.800.874.1669, or at www.SymphonyNovaScotia.ca. Tickets for the Liverpool performance are available at 902.354.5250 or www.astortheatre.ns.ca, and tickets for the Wolfville performance are available at 902.542.5500 or 1.800.542.TICK (8425).

While in Nova Scotia, Jamie will also be leading two masterclasses. The first will be on Monday, March 30 at 6 pm at Dalhousie University's Arts Centre, Room 406. Tickets are $15 ($10 for students and seniors) and are available at the Music Department and at the door. The second will be on Saturday, April 4 at 1 pm at Acadia University's Festival Theatre. Tickets are $15 and are available by calling 421.1300, ext. 229.

About Jamie Sommerville

Jamie Sommerville joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as principal horn in January 1998. As a former hornist for the Toronto Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, and as acting solo horn of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, he has traveled throughout the globe and recorded extensively as an orchestral player. Sommerville is heard regularly on the CBC network in various chamber music combinations, and has recorded the entire standard horn repertoire for broadcast over the past 20 years. He maintains an active and growing conducting career, presenting a full season of subscription and educational concerts in Hamilton each year.

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Expect the Unexpected with Symphony Nova Scotia ��� from Baroque to Berlioz to bluegrass! Each year the 37-member ensemble performs for more than 40,000 audience members (including 14,000 young music lovers) in communities across Nova Scotia. Under the inspirational leadership of Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Join the orchestra in celebrating its 25th anniversary this season!

Symphony Nova Scotia is grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture, and Heritage, and the Halifax Regional Municipality for their continued support.

This concert is generously sponsored by Women for Music.

Opera Lyra Ottawa Presents Eugene Onegin by Pietr Ilych Tchaikovsky

Opera Lyra Ottawa Presents Eugene Onegin by Pietr Ilych Tchaikovsky

April 4 ��� 11, 2009 Southam Hall National Arts Centre

March 24 2009. Opera Lyra Ottawa (OLO) presents for the first time Tchaikovsky���s great romantic opera Eugene Onegin April 4, 6, 8 and 11, 2009 at the National Arts Centre. Exquisite singing, beautiful dancing and gorgeous music will transport audiences to 19th century St. Petersburg.

For this production, Opera Lyra Ottawa has brought together a stellar cast of Canadian and international singers led by baritone Russell Braun in the title role. With a voice that has been described as thrilling, glorious, powerful, elegant, soft-grained, and spine-tingling, Russell first sang the role of Onegin in San Francisco in 2004. Russian-born soprano Inna Dukach takes on the role of Tatiana, a beautiful and innocent young woman who falls passionately in love with Onegin. Acclaimed for her ���appealing emotional vulnerability����Ķcolourful shaping and shading��� (Opera News), this is Inna Dukach���s first appearance with OLO. Richard Troxell brings an ���intensity and sensitivity��� to the role of Lenski who, through jealousy, is doomed to die by Onegin���s hand in a duel.

As Olga, ���radiant and rich-voiced��� Ottawa-based mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Turnbull is doomed to lose her lover Lenski in a flirtatious moment with Onegin. New Yorker Peter Volpe, who appears as Prince Gremin, was ���especially impressive in both voice and stage presence��� (Opera) in the same role in the recent Vancouver Opera presentation of Eugene Onegin. Highly appreciated for her dramatic stage presence, Polish mezzo-soprano Agnes Zwierko, makes her Canadian debut as Madame Larina bringing to the role a ���dark and homogenous voice�Ķand a well-established stage authority��� (operaclick.com). Rounding out this superb cast are Emilia Boteva in the role of the maidservant Filippyevna, Hugues Saint-Gelais as Triquet, and Alexander Savtchenko as Zaretski.

Stage Director Joseph Bascetta, choreographer Jean Leger, and lighting designer Louise Guinand, using Neil Patel���s set design from the new Vancouver Opera, will recreate the luxury and elegance of 19^th century Russian high society on the stage of the NAC���s Southam Hall. Opera Lyra Ottawa���s Artistic Director and Conductor, Tyrone Paterson, will lead the National Arts Centre Orchestra and OLO���s Chorus.

Sung in Russian, with English and French Surtitles, performances of Eugene Onegin will begin at 8:00 pm. Pre-opera chats are presented free of charge to all patrons one-hour prior to each performance in the lobby. These offer an opportunity to learn more about the composer, context and historical significance of the opera.

The Story

Based on the epic Russian novel by Alexander Pushkin, Eugene Onegin is the story of a melancholic young aristocrat whose restlessness and yearning for meaning in his life leads to heartbreak and death.

Through his best friend Lenski, Onegin is introduced to the young and innocent Tatiana who is captivated by this aloof and serious young man. She professes her love for him in a letter but is rejected by Onegin who admits he was touched by her letter but adds that he would tire quickly of marriage ��� the most he can offer is a brother���s love. Crushed, Tatiana rushes away.

Some months later, Onegin and Lenski attend a party in honour of Tatiana���s name day given by Madame Larina at her country estate. Onegin dances with Tatiana but is clearly bored by his fellow guests and their provincial sensibilities. To get back at Lenski for dragging him to the party, Onegin dances with Tatiana���s sister Olga, who is betrothed to his friend. In a fit of jealousy, Lenski challenges Onegin to a duel. Although both men privately admit they would prefer to be laughing together than fighting a duel, pride does not allow them to back down; the duel is fought and Lenski is fatally shot.

Several years later, Onegin finds himself once again in St. Petersburg at a magnificent ball where he encounters Tatiana. She is no longer the girl he knew ��� she is now a confident, poised woman, married to Prince Gremin. This time it is Onegin who rights an impassioned letter, begging for Tatiana���s love. In a meeting at the Gremin���s town house, she finds the courage to reject him. As his pleas grow more ardent, Tatiana rushes from the room, leaving a distraught Onegin behind.

Background Notes:

In this era of email, Twitter, and text messaging, modern means of communication are seemingly endless���we are overloaded with digital ephemera���but in the nineteenth century the letter was the primary means of sharing news and gossip, and of cultivating friendships. So it is not surprising that letters play a pivotal role in our understanding of both the personal and public life of Tchaikovsky, especially in the writing of Eugene Onegin. It was in the late spring of 1877, during a social visit, that contralto Yelizaveta Lavrovskaya casually suggested to Tchaikovsky that he might write an opera based on Pushkin's beloved novel. This was a timely notion as he had been considering composing a vocal work on Tatiana���s letter scene for some time. He enlisted the assistance of his friend Konstantin Shilovsky to help him construct the libretto and together the two of them worked out a text that maintains a great deal of Pushkin���s original verses. Tchaikovsky exploited the episodic nature of the novel���indeed he titled his work a lyric drama rather than an opera���offering up juxtaposed vignettes of pivotal moments in these lives for our scrutiny. Though flying in the face of dramatic conventions, the resulting work espouses the contemporary penchant for realism in opera, the Russian equivalent of Verdi���s Traviata and Massenet���s Manon.

Ticket Information:

Single tickets, from $39 to $165, are available from the NAC box office and all Ticketmaster locations (service fees will be applied). Visit Ticketmaster online or call 613-755-1111. DISCOUNTS: For groups of 10 or more please call Opera Lyra Ottawa at 613-233-9200 and ask about our group rates. Students with a valid Live Rush�Ѣ membership card may buy up to 2 tickets per performance at a discounted price. Tickets may be purchased online or in person at the NAC Box Office on the day of the performance from 2 to 6 pm. More information is available at www.liverush.ca.

About Opera Lyra Ottawa

Opera Lyra Ottawa is a not-for-profit organization with the mandate to produce and present opera in the National Capital Region of the highest quality and to promote opera as an art form, making it accessible to as large a segment of the population as possible through community outreach and education. Wherever possible, Opera Lyra Ottawa is committed to encourage, nurture and support Canadian artists. For more information please visit www.operalyra.ca.

Opera Lyra Ottawa gratefully acknowledges the generous support of our sponsors who make the 2008-2009 season possible. We thank Bell, Season Sponsor, as well as our other Principal Sponsors: Bel-Air Lexus, Rio Tinto Alcan, Sun Life Financial, and Ottawa Citizen; Major Sponsors: Arosa Suites Hotel, Custom Printers, Kolegram and Handa Travel. Opera Lyra would also like to thank the following agencies for their support: the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Ottawa.

Symphony Nova Scotia presents the 2009 Library Series

Symphony Nova Scotia presents the 2009 Library Series

Halifax, NS ��� Symphony Nova Scotia is once again back at the Halifax Public Library for a series of fun and informative chamber music performances. Please bring your lunch and join us for wonderful music and entertaining stories about the composers from host Max Kasper. All concerts are free of charge, and begin at 12:00 noon.

Still Movements

Wednesday, April 29 ��� Spring Garden Memorial Branch, Halifax

Friday, May 1 ��� Alderney Gate Branch, Dartmouth

In this concert, the Library Players explore the evolution of the "movements" of a piece of music. Most symphonies and quartets that we know all follow a familiar four-movement pattern. Using the music of Haydn, Mozart, Bach and Purcell, we will illustrate the differences and evolution of the string quartet movements.

The Library Players are:

Yi Lee ��� violin

Anita Gao-Lee ��� violin

Jane Levitt ��� viola

Max Kasper ��� bass

Christmas in May

Thursday, May 14 ��� Spring Garden Memorial Branch, Halifax

We're pleased to welcome back Halifax's own R��jouissance as they once again play at the Library. Join us for some festive Baroque music on period instruments. Though most of the music was written for the Christmas holidays, it's wonderful to hear anytime of the year (...and it's never too early to start preparing for Christmas!).

R��jouissance is:

Karen Langille ��� baroque violin
Ivor Rothwell ��� baroque bassoon, recorder
Shawn Whynot ��� harpsichord
Hilary Brown ��� baroque cello

The Best Music You've Never Heard of...

Thursday, May 28 ��� Spring Garden Memorial Branch, Halifax

Friday, May 29 ��� Alderney Gate Branch, Dartmouth

Most of us have only heard about 5% of the composers out there. Even the ones that were very famous in their time and wrote wonderful music have somehow become overshadowed by the "Greats." It's time to hear some of these composers again. The music is well worth it! Join the Gatto Dolce Duo as they perform music by Pleyel, Matthews, Aslan, Neher, Boismortier, Corrette and Romberg, to name a few!

The Gatto Dolce Duo is:

Colin Matthews ��� cello

Max Kasper ��� Bass

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Expect the Unexpected with Symphony Nova Scotia ��� from Baroque to Berlioz to bluegrass! Each year the 37-member ensemble performs for more than 40,000 audience members (including 14,000 young music lovers) in communities across Nova Scotia. Under the inspirational leadership of Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Join the orchestra in celebrating its 25th anniversary this season!

Kyiv Chamber Choir Makes Awaited Return

Roy Thomson Hall: Friday, April 24 at 7:30PM

For Immediate Release ��� Toronto, March 24, 2009: Platinum Concerts International (PCI) proudly presents the world-renowned Kyiv Chamber Choir and conductor Mykola Hobdych at Roy Thomson Hall on Friday April 24 at 7:30 p.m. This concert is part of a Canadian tour which includes 12 Canadian cities and marks the much-anticipated return of this award-winning ensemble, which last appeared in Canada in 2006 to public and critical acclaim. The Toronto performance is unique however, as the Kyiv Chamber Choir joins forces with renowned choral ensembles Elmer Iseler Singers, Vesnivka Choir, and St. Michael���s Choir School for an evening of classical Ukrainian choral works sung in the antiphonal style, with the sounds of these Choirs coming from around Roy Thomson Hall.

Kyiv Chamber Choir performances always bring audiences to their feet. Presenting programmes that combine choral works drawn from a rich Ukrainian musical history dating back over 1,000 years, the 21-voice ensemble has earned a world-wide reputation as the foremost proponent of Ukrainian choral music, and has won three Grand Prix awards in European choral competitions. Ukrainian folk music, arranged by the finest contemporary composers, is also a part of the Choir���s dynamic performance, featuring costumes, instruments and choreography. The Kyiv Chamber Choir���s outstanding performances are unlike anything else in the world of music. ���This is an ensemble of rare quality, a purveyor of music at its transcendent best���, wrote Bill Richardson in The Georgia Straight after the KCC���s last Canadian visit.

In addition to their touring and concerts, the celebrated Kyiv Chamber Choir has recorded over 30 CDs, featuring the best music of their homeland, delivered with outstanding skill and overwhelming passion. The Kyiv Chamber Choir���s 2009 spring tour (taking place April 22 to May 5) includes Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Kitchener-Waterloo and (for the first time) Victoria B.C. and St. Catharines, Ont.

Platinum Concerts International is a Toronto-based organization whose primary goal is to bring the ���hidden treasure��� of great Ukrainian choral music to mainstream arts and music audiences in North America. For more details, please visit PCI���s website - www.platinumconcerts.com

Kyiv Chamber Choir / Mykola Hobdych, conductor

With the Elmer Iseler Singers (Lydia Adams, conductor)

Vesnivka Choir (Halyna Kvitka Kondracki, conductor)

St. Michael���s Choir School (Jerzy Cichocki, conductor)

Roy Thomson Hall ��� Friday, April 24 at 7:30PM

For tickets: $65, $55, $45 (incl. all sales taxes), please visit www.roythomson.com

or call the box office at 416-872-4255

Tickets are also available through PCI toll-free at 1-877-266-2557

30th Anniversary Concert: Elmer Iseler Singers

CELEBRATE!

30^th Anniversary Concert

Friday, April 17, 2009 at 7PM

Metropolitan United Church

For Immediate Release ��� Toronto, March 23, 2009: The Elmer Iseler Singers conclude their 30^th anniversary celebrations with a glorious concert entitled CELEBRATE! Founded by the late Dr. Elmer Iseler in 1979, the Elmer Iseler Singers are one of Canada���s most illustrious professional choral ensembles. On Friday, April 17, the celebrated twenty-voice chamber choir shares the stage with mezzo-soprano Andrea Ludwig and EIS guest alumni for an evening of stunning music, all under the direction of Lydia Adams, who also celebrates her 10^th anniversary as Artistic Director and Conductor. This salute to the ensemble���s 30 year journey (which has featured Canadian composers, the classics, folk, gospel and the first performance of an opera in Cree, among others) features works by Aaron Copland, Benjamin Britten, Imant Raminsh, Srul Irving Glick, Healy Willan and Arthur Honegger.

���The choir���s mastery of dynamics, attacks and the other paraphernalia of musical expression gives them the broadest possible palette of hue and colour from the palest tint to the most richly saturated hue.��� ��� Chronicle Herald

The legacy of the Elmer Iseler Singers has set standards for all choirs. For 30 years the organization has been a leader of excellence in choral singing, in creation and performance of new works and has led the way in touring, broadcasting, recording and performing throughout the small and large centers of Ontario, Canada and U.S. The Elmer Iseler Singers have recorded extensively and have had a profound impact on the international artistic field, with a discography of over 50 recordings. This has been the backbone of repertoire development for conductors and choirs throughout Ontario, Canada and worldwide. Known for the unique beauty of their sound, the Elmer Iseler Singers bring to life exciting repertoire that spans 500 years of great choral music.

Program: In the Beginning ��� Aaron Copland

Rejoice in the Lamb ��� Benjamin Britten

Magnificat ��� Imant Raminsh

Psalm Elegy ��� Srul Irving Glick

Lady Motets ��� Healy Willan

Laudate Dominum (final movement) ��� Arthur Honegger

CELEBRATE!

30th Anniversary Concert

Featuring Andrea Ludwig, mezzo-soprano & Guest Alumni of the Elmer Iseler Singers

Lydia Adams, conductor

Friday, April 17, 2009 at 7PM

Metropolitan United Church: 56 Queen Street East, Toronto

For tickets ($35 Regular and $30 Seniors/Students), call 416 217-0537

http://www.elmeriselersingers.com/

Coco Love Alcorn's New Album

COCO LOVE ALCORN SPRINGS INTO 2009 WITH A JOYFUL NEW ALBUM!

Toronto, ON ��� Acoustic, jazz, folk, R&B, groove, pop and extraordinary vocals to name a few, have often been used to describe Coco Love Alcorn's incredible mix of musical talent. This Spring be prepared for some playful, soulful and compelling new music from Alcorn's sixth album Joyful (Sound of Pop / Fontana North) April 21, 2009. She is currently on tour and will be visiting cities nationally in support of her new album.

Joyful features new fan favourites "Intellectual Boys", "Revolution" and "I Got A Bicycle", all of which resonate Alcorn's 'joyful soul'. "Writing this album was yet another evolution for me", remarks Alcorn. "Inspiration was coming from everywhere as I traveled. I've finally stopped worrying about trying to fit my music into a neat and tidy genre box." Laced with themes of fun, love and social awareness, Joyful leaves the listener feeling happy and hopeful.

Alcorn has previously toured with an impressive roster of musicians including Ani DiFranco, Burton Cummings, 54.40, Chantal Kreviazuk, Steve Poltz, Matt Andersen and Jesse Cook. Her current solo tour travels coast to coast where you will be able to purchase Alcorn's new clothing line Simon +Coco which is made of up-cycle clothing with Coco-centric silkscreen designs.

Canadian Tour Dates:

March 27 South River, ON Renee's Cafe

March 29 Sault Ste. Marie, ON Shingwauk Theatre

March 30 Thunder Bay, ON Black Pirates Pub

April 2 Edmonton, AB Blue Chair

April 3 Canmore, AB Communitea

April 4 Nelson, BC North Shore Hall

April 5 Winlaw, BC House Concert

April 8 Nakusp, BC Bonnington Centre for the Arts

April 9 Revelstoke, BC The Village Idiot

April 10 Nelson, BC The Sugar Shack

April 11 Kaslo, BC Longham Theatre

April 17 Vancouver, BC The Rio Theatre

April 18 Pender Harbour, BC Pender Harbour Music Society

April 19 Courtenay, BC Joe's Garage

April 21 Ucuelet, BC Wild Heather Books

April 22 Duncan, BC Duncan Garage Showroom

April 23 Bowen Island, BC Cates Hill Chapel

April 24 Merritt, BC Capitol Soundstage

April 25 Rossland, BC Old Fire Hall

April 27 Lethbridge, AB The Slice

April 28 Calgary, AB The Ironwood

May 1 Saskatoon, SK Persephone Theatre Second Stage

May 2 Souris, MB Forbidden Flavours

May 3 Winnipeg, MB The Edge Gallery

May 4 Thunder Bay, ON Black Pirates Pub

May 7 ��� 10 Penticiton, BC Dream Caf�� (with Matt Andersen)

May 20 Montreal, QC St. Ambroise

May 23 Charlottetown, PEI Haviland Club

May 29 Antigonish, NS The Dragonfly

May 31 Halifax, NS The Carleton

June 5 Brookside, NS Moosehorn

June 6 Margaretsville, NS The Evergreen

June 7 Guysborought, NS Chedabucto Place

June 14 Toronto, ON Hugh's Room

Track List:

1. Compassion

2. I Got A Bicycle

3. Stranger

4. Revolution

5. Super Glue

6. Intellectual Boys

7. Where Do The Robots Go When They Die

8. Sleepless

9. Props

10. Hope For The World

11. Joyful

Weblinks: http://cocolovealcorn.com or http://www.myspace.com/cocolovealcorn

Jewish lawyer defends neo-Nazi in play CHERRY DOCS

Militant Right & Liberal Left Collide Head-On in "CHERRY DOCS"

Persephone Productions tackles complex social and racially charged issues in CHERRY DOCS, a taut psychological two-hander by Canadian playwright, David Gow from April 16^th to 26^th at Theatre Ste-Catherine (264 Ste-Catherine East). Written more than 10 years ago, this is the first time a local company stages the play in Gow's hometown, though it gained renewed notoriety in 2006 with Steel Toes, the film version. Since its 1998 premiere, CHERRY DOCS has become one of the most successful dramas in Canadian theatre history, with twenty productions in a number of languages, firmly establishing it in the international repertoire.

The rhythmic text has Danny Dunkelman, a Jewish liberal-minded lawyer, assigned as public defender for Mike Downey, a neo-Nazi skinhead who has kicked an Asian man to death with his cherry red Doc Marten combat boots. "One of the play's issues is that of first impressions," says Director, Gabrielle Soskin. "Mike comes on as a militant bigot, navigating his world guided solely by race. Danny is a successful professional with a strong sense of his Jewish identity. Yet as the two square off for what they both consider a necessary but repugnant partnership, unexpected depths are revealed to themselves, the audience and each other. That peeling away, one layer of the onion at a time, is where the drama lies", she confides. Not one to shy away from tough, provocative subjects, Soskin continues to say, "The play also deals with the possibility of redemption. Can we forgive? Should we forgive? Is it possible for us to change ourselves and our perspective?" It connects with audience and artists alike, demanding a great deal of both, never trying to avoid the full repercussions and complexity of its subject matter. "There is an ambiguity in the conclusion of the play; we are left looking at both sides of the argument and our own personal sensibility will inevitably influence our perspective".

"�Ķa collision of primal and ideological forces [with] no moral high ground and no easy answers"

- Eye Magazine

Dan Jeannotte, a founding member of the improv group Uncalled For with Fringe hits Thunderspank! and Blastback Babyzap, as well as the hugely popular nightly Fringe show, The 13th Hour, plays the zealous neo-Nazi. Winnipeg native, Sean Carney, plays the middle-aged lawyer who gradually becomes obsessed with the case and the offensive delinquent he initially dismisses as a lost cause. Given the company's mandate of providing unique opportunities to new talent, though both actors are not new to the stage, certainly the high-octane role of the pugnacious skinhead is one of Dan's greatest acting challenges to date. For Sean Carney, an erudite McGill theatre professor who is customarily in the position of instructor and director, embarking on the lawyer's arduous journey as he examines his liberal ideology and consequently suffers great loss, is definitely a career highlight.

"This is an epic battle that will leave each man marked by the other's belief."

- The Toronto Sun

Ms. Soskin is assisted in her direction by John Abbott alumnus, Heidi Hawkins, last seen in The Real Inspector Hound. Mee Youn, a recent Concordia graduate who is one of the first to come out of the Segal Internship program under Norberts Muncs, designed the set and lighting. The sound design is provided by Rob Denton with stage management by Mary Davidson.

For additional details, please visit the web site at www.persephoneproductions.org

---

Dates & Times: April 16 - 26

Tues. through Sat. 20:00

Weekday Matin��es (April 21, 22, 23 & 24) 12:30

Sunday Matin��es 14:00

Monday DARK

Tickets:

General Admission $21

Seniors, Students, PWM, QDF/Equity $15

Groups (10 or more) $15

Discount Evenings (April 23 & 24) $12

Venue:

Theatre Ste-Catherine

264 Ste-Catherine East

www.theatrestecatherine.com/

Box Office:

514-481-1327

OCNA, le 28 mars : Le maestro Boris Brott dirige �� Bravo Beethoven ��

Le maestro Boris Brott dirige �� Bravo Beethoven �� ��� le prochain concert des Aventures familiales TD Canada Trust, le 28 mars

Ottawa (Canada) ��� Le grand Ludwig Van Beethoven est �� l'honneur au cours du prochain concert de la s��rie Aventures familiales TD Canada Trust avec l'Orchestre du Centre national des Arts sous la direction du premier chef des concerts jeunesse et famille Boris Brott, le samedi 28 mars �� 13 h 30 et 15 h 30. Le concert �� Bravo Beethoven �� met en vedette le com��dien d'Ottawa Peter Duschenes, du Th����tre Platypus, dans le r��le du compositeur, avec le violoniste Nikki Chooi, le percussionniste de l'OCNA Kenneth Simpson au synth��tiseur et un rassemblement de ch��urs de jeunes de la r��gion et du secteur scolaire coordonn�� par Barbara Clark. Les Aventures familiales TD Canada Trust sont des concerts bilingues parfaitement adapt��s aux enfants de cinq ans et plus accompagn��s de leurs amis adultes.

Le billet inclut les activit��s �� Dor��miville �� pr��sent��es avant le concert dans le Foyer du CNA par les Amis de l'Orchestre du CNA, 45 minutes avant le d��but de chaque concert, soit �� 12 h 45 pour le premier concert et 14 h 45 pour le second.

Retrouvez Ludwig van Beethoven (incarn�� par Peter Duschenes) tandis qu'il red��couvre sa propre musique gr��ce �� une proth��se auditive du XXI^e si��cle. Les jeunes spectateurs pourront partager la joie de Beethoven �� l'��coute de chefs-d'��uvre musicaux tels que la Cinqui��me Symphonie, la Symphonie �� H��ro��que ��, �� La Bataille de Vitoria �� et la temp��te de la Symphonie �� Pastorale ��. Nikki Chooi, violoniste originaire de Victoria, ancien ��l��ve des conservatoires de Victoria et du Coll��ge Mount Royal, qui a ��galement particip�� �� l'Institut estival de musique du CNA, jouera un extrait du Concerto pour violon de Beethoven. �� la fin du concert, les membres de l'auditoire seront invit��s �� chanter avec le ch��ur d'enfants le magnifique �� Hymne �� la joie �� de la Neuvi��me Symphonie!

Le Centre national des Arts Centre d��die ces concerts �� la m��moire de Mario Duschenes, c��l��bre fl��tiste, compositeur et chef d'orchestre (et p��re de Peter Duschenes) qui est mort un peu plus t��t cette ann��e. Mario Duschenes a dirig�� les tout premiers concerts de l'Orchestre du CNA destin��s au public familial et a continu�� �� exercer ce r��le de 1973 �� 1988. Il a dirig�� l'Orchestre du CNA pour la derni��re fois en 2001 pour la pr��sentation du spectacle musical Des rebuts et des rythmes, une commande du CNA qui a ��t�� reprise en janvier dernier sous son nouveau titre : Musique au clair de lune.

Les activit��s �� Dor��miville �� pr��sent��es �� l'occasion du concert �� Bravo Beethoven �� comprennent une exposition de la Biblioth��que publique d'Ottawa sur le th��me de Beethoven; un coin d'activit�� anim�� par Musique pour Jeunes Enfants; une exposition touche-��-tout d'instruments �� cordes pr��sent��e par l'Acad��mie des orchestres des jeunes d'Ottawa; un coin de bricolage pour fabriquer des signets inspir��s par Beethoven et une zone pour r��p��ter l'Hymne �� la joie de Beethoven en vue du concert. Le Ch��ur des jeunes de la r��gion d'Ottawa, le Ch��ur d'enfants d'Ottawa, l'Ottawa Catholic School Board Choir, le ch��ur de jeunes filles Cantiamo d'Ottawa et l'��cole secondaire publique De La Salle disposeront de tables d'information.

Toutes les Aventures familiales TD Canada Trust b��n��ficient de l'OCNAtron pr��sent�� en collaboration avec la T��l��vision Rogers. Cinq cam��ras de t��l��vision install��es sur sc��ne et dans la salle enregistrent en direct des images vid��o des musiciens pendant qu'ils jouent sur sc��ne et les transmettent sur l'��cran g��ant surplombant la sc��ne, afin de permettre au public de suivre de pr��s tout ce qui se passe.

L'Ottawa Citizen est le m��dia partenaire des Aventures familiales TD Canada Trust avec l'Orchestre du CNA.

Les billets pour �� Bravo Beethoven ��, spectacle pr��sent�� le samedi 28 mars �� 13 h 30 et 15 h 30, incluant les activit��s �� Dor��miville �� avant le concert, sont en vente d��s maintenant �� 12 $ pour les enfants et 20 $ pour les adultes (TPS et frais d'��tablissement inclus dans les cas qui s'appliquent), �� la Billetterie du CNA (du lundi au samedi de 10 h �� 21 h) et par l'entremise du r��seau Ticketmaster (frais de service en sus) au (613) 755-1111. Consultez le site Web du Centre national des Arts �� l'adresse www.nac-cna.ca .

Formez un groupe de 10 personnes et plus et ��conomisez de 15 % �� 20 % sur le prix normal des billets pour l'Orchestre du CNA, la Danse et le Th����tre. Pour r��server, composez le 947-7000, poste 384, ou ��crivez �� grp@nac-cna.ca.

U of T presents Grammy-winning composer Maria Schneider

University of Toronto Faculty of Music to present Grammy-winning composer Maria Schneider

"To call Schneider the most important woman in jazz is missing the point in two ways. She is a major composer - period." - TIME MAGAZINE

"...she puts together stories that speak with the clarity of Ernest Hemingway and the musical grace of Aaron Copland."
��� PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

TORONTO ��� The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto presents Grammy Award-winning composer Maria Schneider in a lecture and a concert with the U of T Jazz Orchestras. On Thursday, April 2, the Roger D. Moore Distinguished Visitor in Composition will present a lecture in Walter Hall as part of the Thursdays at Noon Series, and on Saturday, April 4, she will join the Faculty of Music���s 10 O���Clock and 11 O���Clock Jazz Orchestras in a concert in MacMillan Theatre. Details of the events are as follows:

Thursday, April 2, 2009
LECTURE: MARIA SCHNEIDER
Roger D. Moore Distinguished Visitor in Composition
12:10 pm. Walter Hall, 80 Queen���s Park. Free

Saturday, April 4, 2009
CONCERT with the U of T Jazz Orchestras
Maria Schneider conducts her own music with the U of T Jazz Orchestras
7:30 pm. MacMillan Theatre, 80 Queen���s Park. Tickets: $14 ($8 seniors/students).
Box Office: 416-978-3744
Box office hours: 1 ��� 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen���s Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5

Maria Schneider's music has been described as evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and beyond categorization. Born in Windom, Minnesota, Schneider arrived in New York City in 1985 after studies at the University of Minnesota, the University of Miami and the Eastman School of Music. She immediately sought out Bob Brookmeyer to study composition, and at the same time became an assistant to Gil Evans, working on various projects with him.

The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra came into being in 1993, appearing at Visiones in Greenwich Village every Monday night for a stretch of five years. Subsequently, her orchestra has performed at festivals and concert halls across Europe as well as in Brazil and Macau. She's received numerous commissions and invites with American and Europeans orchestras, guest conducting in Brazil, Italy, Portugal, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Canada, Scotland, Australia, Greenland and Iceland, as well as across the U.S. Commissions include the Norrbotten Big Band's and Danish Radio Orchestra's commission to arrange and conduct concerts with Toots Thielemans. Other commissioning organizations include the Metropole Orchestra, Stuttgart Jazz Orchestra, Orchestre National de Jazz (Recapitulation), Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra (El Viento), Monterey Jazz Festival (Scenes from Childhood), University of Miami Concert Jazz Band (Three Romances), Hunter College (Concert in the Garden and Sky Blue), Jazz at Lincoln Center (Buler��a, Sole�� y Rumba), Los Angeles Philharmonic Association (Aires de Lando) and Peter Sellars' New Crowned Hope Festival (Cerulean Skies). Maria was also the recipient of a Doris Duke award to compose a dance work (Dissolution) in collaboration with the Pilobolus dance group. It was performed with her orchestra at the American Dance Festival and Kennedy Center. Her latest major work, commissioned by The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, debuted in October of 2008 Written to feature soprano, Dawn Upshaw, it is entitled Carlos Drummond de Andrade Stories.

Schneider has had a distinguished recording career as well. Her debut recording Evanescence, was nominated for two 1995 Grammy Awards. Her second and third recordings Coming About and All��gresse were also nominated for Grammys. Her third album, All��gresse was chosen by both TIME and BILLBOARD in their Top Ten Recordings of 2000, inclusive of all genres of music.

Concert in the Garden, released only through her website (an ArtistShare�� site), was a watershed in her career when she won the 2005 Grammy Award for ���Best Large Ensemble Album��� and became the first Grammy-winning recording with Internet-only sales. It also received���Jazz Album of the Year��� by the Jazz Journalists Awards and the DOWNBEAT Critics Poll. Both also awarded her ���Composer of the Year��� and���Arranger of the Year��� and the Jazz Journalists also named her group ���Large Jazz Ensemble of the Year���.

Her newest fan-funded ArtistShare�� recording, Sky Blue, was released in July 2007 and received unanimous praise. It was nominated for two Grammy Awards, winning one in the category of ���Best Instrumental Composition��� (Cerulean Skies). The album received the honor of ���Jazz Album of the Year��� from the VILLAGE VOICE Critics Poll as well as a Choc Award in France and was one of only two albums to receive a five-star review from DOWNBEAT in 2007.

Artist website: www.mariaschneider.com

Gala de la musique: D��j�� 1 000 votes pour le Prix du public Qu��bec-Scope !

1^er Gala de la musique de Qu��bec

D��j�� 1 000 votes pour le Prix du public Qu��bec-Scope !

Qu��bec, le 23 mars 2009 - Plus de 1 000 personnes ont d��j�� vot�� pour d��terminer le Prix du public Qu��bec-Scope et il reste encore trois semaines �� la p��riode de votation, soit jusqu'au 14 avril prochain. Pour les membres de l'Association des professionnels de la grande r��gion de Qu��bec (APMGRQ), le deuxi��me tour de scrutin s'amorce aujourd'hui dans les cinq cat��gories qui contenaient le plus de nominations, soit album chansons francophones, album pop-rock, vid��o clip, son studio et r��alisation studio.

Notes on Composing

SHIFT

Movement and meaning between Canada and the Netherlands

A Festival of Canadian and Dutch Music, Film and Literature

NOTES ON COMPOSING

5 collaborations in film and music

Final Event of SHIFT Festival Marks Opening Night of the

2009 IMAGES FESTIVAL

April 2, 2009 at Isabel Bader Theatre

www.shift-festival.ca

For Immediate Release ��� Toronto, March 23, 2009: SHIFT is not over yet, but the big bulge of activity at the end of February -- swelling the city's cultural offerings like an early spring thaw -- has passed. After continuing on to Vancouver for a concert with Vancouver New Music Society, Ives Ensemble musicians (now great musical friends of many in Canada) have returned to the Netherlands; Quatuor Bozzini returned to Montreal before setting off on yet another European tour; having made their guerrilla hit, Toca Loca's musicians have again dispersed. But Continuum is hard at preparations for the final event.

On April 2 at the Isabel Bader Theatre, The Images Festival and Continuum present Notes on Composing: 5 collaborations in film and music. Premiered at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam, the event features works on diverse themes by well-known and emerging Canadian film and video artists with music by composers from Canada and the Netherlands: Clive Holden (CA) and Oscar van Dillen (NL) deal with the sea as the Pacific Ocean and the North Sea are juxtaposed on a split screen; Christina Battle (CA) and Martin Arnold (CA) treat the mutual invasion of the human and natural worlds as represented by clips from old movies intercut with highly processed images of birds and bats in flight; Vera Frenkel (CA) and Rick Sacks (CA) have created a poignant view of the loss of connection with water in Toronto's urban environment; Da��chi Sa��to (CA) and Malcolm Goldstein (CA) muse on trees in Parc Mont-Royal in Montreal; and Guy Maddin (CA) and Richard Ayres (NL) present the story of an aging gangster's paranoid delusions, near death experience and revival through highly unconventional means.

NOTES ON COMPOSING ��� Opening Night of the 2009 IMAGES FESTIVAL

Thursday, April 2 at 8PM at Isabel Bader Theatre: 93 Charles Street West

Tickets: $15 adults / $12 students & seniors

Advance tickets available at: www.imagesfestival.com/store Info: (416) 971-8405

Composer/Filmmaker: Title

Martin Arnold/Christina Battle (Toronto/Toronto): Behind the Shadows

Richard Ayres/Guy Maddin (Renkum/Winnipeg): Glorious

Oscar van Dillen/Clive Holden (Rotterdam/Toronto): 2 Cameras @ Sea

Rick Sacks/Vera Frenkel (Toronto/Toronto): ONCE NEAR WATER: Notes from the Scaffolding Archive

Malcolm Goldstein/Da��chi Sa��to (Montreal/Montreal): Trees of Syntax, Leaves of Axis

STATEMENT ON AGE RESTRICTION

Admittance to all screenings (except Youth Screenings) is restricted to those 18 years of age or older. The Images Festival believes in freedom of artistic expression and is against discrimination on the basis of age. However, under the Ontario Theatres Act, film and video festivals are required to adopt a blanket adult rating in order to hold public screenings without having to submit all works for prior classification. Film and video are the only forms of expression subject to this kind of censorship system in Ontario. The Images Festival complies with the Ontario Theatres Act under protest.

Continuum is supported through grants from The Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the city of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council; the Metcalf Foundation's Strategic Initiatives programme; the SOCAN, Emerald and McLean foundations; by patrons Aurora Tewksbury Reford, Ann Southam and Christopher Des Brisay; by the accounting firm Newman & Sversky; and as well, through the generosity of many private donors. SHIFT is supported by The Canada Council for the Arts, Muziek Centrum Nederland, Muziekgebouw aan ���t IJ, the Consulate-General of The Netherlands, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Qu��bec, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Charles Street Video and a variety of individual and corporate donors.

For more information on SHIFT please contact Festival Coordinator Josh Grossman at (416) 924-4945 or josh@continuumusic.org , or visit www.shift-festival.ca .

Les M��lod��nes de la Place des arts - Le piano et l'orgue �� l'honneur en avril

LES M��LOD��NES DE LA PLACE DES ARTS

Le piano et l���orgue �� l���honneur en avril

Les jeudis 2 et 9 avril 2009 de 12 h 10 �� 12 h 50

Montr��al, le 23 mars 2009 ��� Pour terminer la saison en beaut��, Christian Parent, pianiste, et Pierre Grandmaison, organiste, deux artistes au sommet de leur art, sont au programme des M��LOD��NES au mois d���avril. Les M��lod��nes sont coproduites par la Soci��t�� Pro Musica et la Place des Arts.

Jeudi 2 avril de 12 h 10 �� 12 h 50 au Piano nobile de la Place des Arts

Belge d���origine, le pianiste Christian Parent re��oit sa formation musicale au Conservatoire royal de musique de Li��ge. Plusieurs institutions et ��v��nements d���Europe soulignent aussit��t ses performances en lui octroyant prix et distinctions. Install�� en permanence au Canada, il perfectionne son art avec Irving Heller. La critique et le public vantent son jeu spontan�� et sa virtuosit�� saisissante qui concourent �� donner une sonorit�� unique �� ses interpr��tations. Artiste accompli, il s���int��resse ��galement aux techniques d���enregistrement dans le studio qu���il a cr���� et o�� il grave des CD de ses compositions et interpr��tations. Professeur de piano �� la Facult�� de musique de l���Universit�� de Montr��al et au coll��ge Vincent-d���Indy, il donne aussi des classes de ma��tre et participe, �� titre de jury, �� plusieurs concours. Il pr��sentera des pi��ces de Scarlatti, Beethoven, Medtner et Rachmaninov lors de ce concert du 2 avril.

Jeudi 9 avril de 12 h 10 �� 12 h 50 au Piano nobile de la Place des Arts

Pierre Grandmaison entreprend ses ��tudes musicales en tant que pianiste et organiste. �� son retour de Paris, boursier du gouvernement du Qu��bec, il se consacre �� l���orgue. En 1973, il est nomm�� titulaire des grandes orgues de la basilique Notre-Dame de Montr��al et, en 1977, il a le plaisir d���inaugurer l���orgue Casavant restaur�� de l���glise de Saint-Hilaire. ��minent sp��cialiste de musique sacr��e, il enseigne au Grand S��minaire de Montr��al et participe �� d���importantes manifestations �� caract��re religieux, notamment �� Notre-Dame de Paris et �� Saint-Pierre de Rome. Pierre Grandmaison est aussi compositeur. Citons, entre autres, son oratorio Pl��nitude et R��sonnances, cr���� en 2005 lors du centenaire de fondation de l���Oratoire Saint-Joseph. En ce Jeudi Saint, qui ouvre le Tridium Pascal, le concert qu���il pr��sente est une formidable occasion de relier le sacr�� et la beaut��.

Une production de la Soci��t�� Pro Musica en collaboration avec la Place des Arts.

Entr��e : 8 $ (taxes incluses) ��� Apportez votre lunch !

R��servations : Billetterie de la Place des Arts 514 842-2112 ou 1 866 842-2112 ou laplacedesarts.com

LES M��LOD��NES AT PLACE DES ARTS

Piano and organ spotlighted in April

Thursdays, April 2 and 9, 2009 from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m.

Montreal, March 23, 2009 ��� To close the season in style, pianist Christian Parent and organist Pierre Grandmaison, two artists at the height of their career, will perform on the program of LES M��LOD��NES in April. The series is co-produced by the Soci��t�� Pro Musica and Place des Arts.

Thursday, April 2 from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. at the Piano nobile of Place des Arts

The Belgian-born pianist Christian Parent trained at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in his native city of Li��ge. He was soon winning prizes and distinctions at competitions throughout Europe. After immigrating to Canada, Parent perfected his art with Irving Heller. Critics and public alike have praised his spontaneous style and astonishing virtuosity, which combine to give his performances a unique flavour. Recording is also a major part of Christian Parent���s career: as the owner of his own studio, he is able to record his interpretations of masterworks for the piano, as well as his own compositions. Christian Parent teaches piano at the Universit�� de Montr��al���s faculty of music and at the Coll��ge Vincent-d���Indy; he also gives master classes at various institutions and serves on the juries of numerous competitions. In this concert on April 2, he will perform works by Scarlatti, Beethoven, Medtner and Rachmaninov.

Thursday, April 9 from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. at the Piano nobile of Place des Arts

Pierre Grandmaison began his studies as a pianist before turning to the organ. Awarded a grant by the Quebec government, he studied in Paris for two years. On his return from France, he gave organ recitals throughout Quebec and in 1973 was named the regular organist at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal. In 1977, he had the honour of inaugurating the restored Casavant organ at Mont St-Hilaire, one of the builder���s first instruments. An eminent specialist in sacred music, he teaches at the Grand S��minaire de Montr��al and performs at major religious events at such churches as Notre-Dame in Paris and St. Peter���s in Rome. As a composer, he has written several masses, as well as the oratorio Pl��nitude et R��sonances, created in 2005 for the 100th anniversary of the founding of St. Joseph���s Oratory. On this Holy Thursday before Easter, he is a presenting a program combining the sacred and the beautiful.

A production of the Soci��t�� Pro Musica in collaboration with Place des Arts.

Admission: $8 (taxes included) ��� Bring your lunch!

Reservations: Place des Arts box office 514-842-2112 / 1-866-842-2112 / laplacedesarts.com