CMC Ontario

David Zhang Composition Concert
2023-06-30 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Halifax) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
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East-West International Orchestra and the Canadian Music Centre present David Zhang’s Composition Concert celebration Canada’s 156th anniversary.
Program Catalog
节目单

Coloratura Soprano Concerto <My Dream >

Solo Molly M. Chen
Piano Accompaniment Helen Li Han
花腔女高音协奏曲 《我的梦》
演唱 陈默
钢琴伴奏 韩丽

Peking Opera Singing with Actions

Music Nailin Yang
Lyrics. Sizai Weng
Adaptation David Zhang.
Piano Accompaniment Helen Li Han
Solo Jade Zheng
京剧表演唱 《梨花颂》
作曲 杨乃林. 作词 翁思再
改编 张祥雨
演唱 郑玉贤
钢琴伴奏 韩丽

Piano Solo. < Niagara Falls Dreams>

Solo. Helen Han
钢琴独奏 《尼亚加拉瀑布梦幻曲》
演奏 韩丽

Harp Solo < Empty mountain birds singing>

Music Tianhua Liu
Adaptation David Zhang. Andrew Chan
Solo Andrew Chan
竖琴独奏 《空山鸟语 》
作曲 刘天华 改编 张祥雨 陈德安
演奏 陈德安

Coloratura Soprano Concerto <Maple Forest Hummingbird>

Piano Accompaniment Helen Li Han
Solo. Chen lin
花腔女高音协奏曲 《 枫林翠鸟》
钢琴伴奏 韩丽
演唱 陈琳

Piano Solo a. <Devil’s fantasy > b. <Flying Canada >

Solo Jilane Ma
钢琴独奏 a. 魔幻 b. 飞翔吧， 加拿大
演奏： 马婧一

Cello Concerto <My Dream >

Piano Accompaniment Jilane Ma
Solo James Xia
大提琴协奏曲 《 我的梦 》
钢琴伴奏 马婧一
演奏 夏国晟

Soprano Solo a. <I love you , Maple leaf Country >
Peking Opera Song <Singing On the road of life >
<Ancient Sword >

Lyrics Shuangzhu Zhang
Music David Zhang Lyrics Translation Nan Mu
Piano Accompaniment Helen Li Han
Solo Guinean Sun
女高音独唱

《我爱你，枫叶之国》
京歌《旅途吟》
《渔家傲. 古剑》

作词 张双柱
作曲 张祥雨 曲
钢琴伴奏 韩丽
演唱： 孙帼楠

music composition, fan clubs, and roller coasters
2023-06-22 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Toronto) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
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music composition, fan clubs, and roller coasters

Ever since Luke Nickel was a child, he has dreamt of creating roller coasters. Now, in his music composition practice, Luke has found countless ways to transform these speed machines into music, such as using simulated roller coasters as digital instruments or using footage of real roller coasters as video scores.

In this lunch-hour talk, Luke asks: what does it mean to be a fan of something, and how does being a fan of roller coasters relate to making chamber music? He will delve into the cringe-y-ness of fan culture, the power of fan objects to change history, and the challenges of creating a fan club chamber music performance.

To hear the world premiere of Luke’s “Leviathan Coasterclub” come out to 918 Bathurst for Thin Edge New Music Collective’s Reverb II”
Click here for more info and to buy tickets.

Luke Nickel (b. 1988) is an award-winning Canadian audio visual artist, virtual roller coaster designer and independent researcher currently living in Bristol, UK. Nickel’s work takes the form of experimental sound compositions, videos, simulated roller coasters and illustrations. His work knots together themes of memory, transcription, queer identity and gravity. He has collaborated with internationally-established soloists and chamber ensembles such as Mira Benjamin, Heather Roche, Quatuor Bozzini, and EXAUDI and shown work in festivals such as Sound Forms (Hong Kong) and the HCMF.About his work, scholar Jennie Gottschalk writes that “there is an unusual quality of rawness” (Experimental Music Since 1970).In addition to his artistic work, Nickel has received a Ph.D from Bath Spa University and actively publishes on topics such as orally-transmitted experimental music, Éliane Radigue and roller coasters. Nickel also co-founded and curated the Cluster: New Music + Integrated Arts Festival in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from 2010-2020.

POSTPONED - Rivers #5: Running Rehearsals for New Music
2023-06-15 14:30 - 16:30 (America/Toronto) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
Postponed until Fall 2023
The fifth iteration of our Rivers (Re-Imagined) workshop series will take place on Thursday, June 15, at 2:30 EST, at the Canadian Music Centre. Members of the Odin Quartet, Composer/Cellist Samuel Bisson will discuss their approach to running a rehearsal of a new piece both from the perspective of composer and ensemble. Focus will be on how to most effectively convey your ideas in a rehearsal setting, how to approach asking for changes, and what to be listening for.

Alive with Words and Music
2023-06-09 19:30 - 22:30 (America/Toronto) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
On Friday June 9 at 7:30 pm, William Beauvais presents a concert at the Canadian Music Centre at 20 St. Joseph Street. The performance, entitled “Alive with Words and Music,” celebrates the launch of two CDs and showcases the work of guitarist Beauvais, along with fellow guitarist Andrew Frost, vocalist Kira Braun, and actor Trish O’Reilly-Brennan.
The first CD, Hidden Logic, is a set of comprovisations (improvised compositions) for two guitars with Beauvais and the remarkable and versatile Andrew Frost. The work was created through a sense of joy and play, as these two musicians continue each other’s thoughts, almost as if a third party guided them through the music. This event is an opportunity to share the results of this intense and intimate collaboration with a wider public.
The second CD, A Swan In The Evening, showcases the enormous versatility of vocalist Kira Braun, who lends her personal magic to animate a group of ageless folksongs.
Actor Trish O’Reilly-Brennan joins the ensemble for this presentation, bringing to life texts from Chickasaw poet Linda Hogan’s The Radiant Lives of Animals, accompanied by musical improvisation.

Intimes exubérances
2023-06-08 20:00 - 23:00 (America/Toronto) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
LIVESTREAM
Thursday, June 8, 2023 – 8 pm
Tickets : $20 general/$15 arts worker, students, seniors

Cheryl Duvall and The Canadian Music Centre present the world premiere performance of:Intimes exubérancesby Patrick Giguère
Patrick writes:Intimes exubérances is an ambitious concert-length work for piano. It is formed of musical material patiently collected in the intimacy of my practice and shaped by the immediacy of improvisation at the piano. As I was searching for my own wonderment, for a sense of freshness, of playfulness, it unlocked a more exuberant side of my identity. In order to express it fully and freely, I tried to let go of systems and filters as much as I could, and to be as direct and unpretentious as possible. The physicality of performing the work on the piano has been a powerful inspiration during the composition, with the aim of exploring a variety of sensations and enjoyment to the pianist. I will let the listener be the judge of that, but I hope that the listening experience is as fulfilling as the collaboration between Cheryl and myself has been.

The Power of Words
2023-05-28 19:00 - 23:00 (America/Toronto) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
To celebrate the 2023 Asian Heritage Month, pianist Jialiang Zhu and her friends present The Power of Words, a Chinese music and poetry-inspired recital. Jialiang calls Toronto her home, where she met all the featured Canadian artists on this program, including soprano Zi Xin Emily Lapin, composers David Jaeger and Roydon Tse, and poets Kathryn Knowles and Edith Yang Qing. As their friendship blossomed, their mutual appreciation and admiration for each other’s artistry also grew. The Power of Words program showcases a stunning array of talents and cultural heritage of each artist. You will hear songs and poetry in English, Chinese, French, and German, written between the 12th century and the current day. There also will be live poetry recitation by Knowles and Yang along with Jialiang’s piano improvisation.
Come experience The Power of Words as we celebrate the Asian Heritage Month! This is a perfect gift for you and your loved ones, and the assembly of talents, creativity, and beauty will surely blow you away!

Rivers #4: Getting You and Your Music Out There
2023-05-26 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Toronto) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
The fourth iteration of our Rivers (Re-Imagined) workshop series will take place on Friday, May 26, at noon EST, at the Canadian Music Centre. Composer/cellist/writer/curator/publicist Nick Storring will discuss the ins and outs of publicity and promotion for independent composers and musicians trying to build a name for themselves in 2023.

Duo Perdendosi: Da Capo
2023-04-05 20:00 - 22:00 (America/Toronto) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
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“Da Capo” is the story of how two young people from diaspora populations navigate complex personal identities, find kinship within each other, and continue to nurture an ever growing and changing relationship with homecoming through the power of music, art, and community. Featuring works by Purich, Ho, Ramnath, Baker, Davidson, Kats-Chernin, Hisaishi, and Fauré.

Program:
Part I “Finding Ourselves”
Leo Purich – Konzertstück
Alice Ho – Four Seasons “Spring” and “Summer”
Kala Ramnath – Aalap and Tarana
David Baker – Blues (Deliver My Soul)

Part II “Finding Each Other, Again”
Tina Davidson – Blue Curve of the Earth
Elena Kats-Chernin – Eliza’s Aria
Joe Hisaishi – Legend of Ashitaka

Part II “Coming Home”
Gabriel Fauré – Sonata in A major, Op. 13

Tong Wang and Maitreyi Muralidharan first met as bunk mates at the Brevard Music Festival in 2012, and promptly lost contact, watching and supporting each other’s life journeys from afar. 10 years after, they rekindled their friendship in Montreal, where they decided to work together as part of Trio Eudaemonia. Their similar approaches to music and art as a window into a beautiful world of connection, passion for food and community building, and love of working together sparked the beginnings of Duo Perdendosi. Both coming from conservatory backgrounds, they recognized a need for classical and contemporary music to move away from convention and towards connection. In 2022, they created the Windwood Music Festival in order to collaborate with like-minded artists and show how to connect a community through sharing the power of music to connect land and people. Maitreyi and Tong have performed in Canada and Germany and will embark on their first tour, “Da Capo,” in April 2023. Outside of performing, they enjoy cooking, writing, and each other’s company.

duoperdendosi.com/da-capo

From Oblivion to Hope - ALBUM LAUNCH
2023-03-29 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Toronto) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
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I Am Who I Am Records is proud to present, From Oblivion to Hope, a string quartet album of music by Canadian composer Frank Horvat, performed by the Odin Quartet.
This album starts pessimistically with a track called Oblivion, which is an easy headspace to live in these days, especially in the context of the pandemic and its outcomes. As the album progresses, the tone evolves into something more optimistic, ending with a heartfelt work simply called Hope. The idea of going from the negative to the positive is a mindset and a mental health issue that fascinates the composer these days. The hope is that we can all unearth a life with more hope.
Four of the tracks on the album are dedicated to the composition The Four Seasons…in High Park. This piece combines inspiration for two greats – Vivaldi’s iconic work and Toronto’s High Park. A series of four music videos in High Park, one in each glorious season, are planned.
Album generously supported by Canada Council for the Arts, FACTOR Canada, and Ontario Arts Council.

Workshop: Vocal Improvisation and Tuning with Judith Berkson
2023-03-28 15:00 - 16:00 (America/Toronto) | ON
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Following Judith’s performance at the Women from Space Festival, the CMC has invited Judith to give a workshop on her vocal improvisation practice.
From Judith:
We will explore strategies and structures for improvising with our voices. These will include opening up to new timbres and techniques as well as thinking like a composer while improvising. We will engage in free improvisation as well as slightly more structured exercises to develop our melodic and rhythmic ideas and to broaden our vocal sound spectrum. No prior improvisation experience necessary.

Please register for the Zoom meeting at the above link.

My Sunset-Land Rojava (CD Launch)
2023-03-24 20:00 - 22:00 (America/Toronto) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
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“My Sunset-Land, ROJAVA” is retelling the tale of a heart-sore nomad (a Kamanche) from Kurdistan, where tunes are born in her every brief stop she takes for a nap while passing the unwanted confines of the torn land of the Kurds. Every morning before sunrise settles, Kamanche abandons the spot leaving a newborn Stran (song)…”
My Sunset-Land Rojava is an instrumental musical project for Kamanche (Spike-fiddle) which was initiated in 2014 by Shahriyar Jamshidi to highlight the lives of hundreds of Kurdish women who bravely fought and lost their lives for the freedom of Rojava (Western Kurdistan in North Syria) from radical ISIL group. As the project was funded by both Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council, the album was publicized online (only) due to the pandemic in June 2020.
Now, we are delighted to make the first public album release event for My Sunset-Land Rojava at the heritage and lovely musical space “Canadian Music Center” in downtown Toronto. In connection with the philosophy of the project, we would love to gather and have conversations to feature the “Jin Jiyan Azadi”, Women-Life-Freedom, revolution which has shaken the world by reverberating the Kurdish women’s movements in Rojava. For this purpose, we are pleased to have:

Dr. Shahrzad Mojab, professor at the University of Toronto
Sinem Eylem Arslan, ethnomusicologist and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto

in our discussion panel.
Shahriyar Jamshidi will also perform Kamanche solo and walk us through the journey of producing the project during the event.
“My Sunset-Land, ROJAVA” album is available to purchase at the event. Get your copy which is covered with the dazzling artwork of the world-known Kurdish artist and activist Zehra Doğan and will be autographed by Shahriyar Jamshidi.
All profits from selling the albums are going to the organization to support surviving “Indigenous Yazidis (Êzidî) Women” from the IS genocide in Iraq and Syria.

Americanadian Soundscape
2023-03-15 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Toronto) | ON
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Come hear world premieres of string quartet works by Canadian composers David Carovillano, Elizabeth Raum, and American Travis Ramsey, as well as other Odin Quartet commissioned works by Ron Royer and Jimmy Kachulis.
The event is co-presented with Canadian Music Centre and will be livestreamed as well.

Composing for String Instruments and String Quartet
2023-02-14 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Toronto) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
Composing for String Instruments and String Quartet, a Workshop with Members of the Odin Quartet and Cellist/Composer Ronald Royer
Tuesday, February 14, from 7:00 to 8:30pm.
Canadian Music Centre, Toronto
Available online or in-person

This workshop focuses on how to affectively compose for a string instrument. Detailed information will be presented on left-hand fingering and right-hand bowing techniques. For the left-hand, positions, shifting, double-stops, chords, harmonics, high position strategies, extended techniques (e.g. quarter-tones), and more will be discussed and demonstrated. For the right-hand, different types of bow strokes, articulation, slurring strategies, moving from arco to pizzicato (and back), col legno, sul ponticello, extended techniques, and more, will also be examined. Strategies for notating left hand (e.g. harmonics) and bowing techniques will be included. Strategies for composing for string quartet will be covered. Participants (in-person or online) will be able to ask questions, and where possible, the string players will demonstrate.
This workshop is presented through the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra’s New Generation Composer’s Project, supported by the RBC Foundation and the CMC.

Rivers #3: Creative Music in Education
2023-02-11 10:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
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The first River (Re-Imagined) presentation of 2023 will take place on Saturday, February 11 at 10AM EST, at the Canadian Music Centre. In addition, it will be streamed online for those who are unable to attend in person, and recorded for those who are unable to attend in real-time.
Presented in collaboration with the Canadian New Music Network (CNMN), this workshop will be an introduction to the CNMN’s Participatory Creative Music Hub: a new music education resource featuring a collection of videos profiling what creating music looks like in five different music programs across Canada. The videos demonstrate creative exercises, games, warm-ups, and ideas for lessons, units, and courses.
Attending classroom and private lesson teachers will leave with creative music games and exercises drawn from these videos to try with their own students. We will also spend some time reflecting on what role these creative practices might have in disrupting the colonial patterns still often central to institutional music education.
The workshop will be hosted by Doug Friesen, a teacher, musician, and researcher based in Toronto, and Katherine Fraser, a violinist and classroom music teacher also based in Toronto.

Album Release party for Conjuring: Viola Music of David Jaeger
2023-01-20 19:30 - 23:00 UTC | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
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Friday, January 20, 2022 – 7:30 pm
Album Release party for Conjuring: Viola Music of David Jaeger
Release Jan 20, 2023 on Redshift Records
Each of the six pieces on this recording showcases a different facet of the viola as a solo instrument, juxtaposing colourful virtuosity and technical flair with vocally poignant slow sections. The thrilling combination of melodic viola and piano with the “space-age” effects in the viola and electronics pieces will hopefully have a striking auditory impact on this recording’s listeners.
Canadian Music Centre
20 St. Joseph St.
Toronto, ON M4Y 1J9

Rivers Workshop: A More Beautiful Journey - Augmented Reality and Composition
2022-11-18 08:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
The Canadian Music Centre, in collaboration with the Canadian League of Composers, is pleased to announce Rivers (re-imagined): a monthly series of presentations and hands-on professional development workshops for composers.
These will be in-person events at the Canadian Music Centre’s Performance Space in Toronto, and they will be available for online streaming to ensure access for composers right across the country. Topics will include: grants, funding, and project management; contracts and licensing agreements; publicity and marketing; music technology; music education, and others.
The workshops will provide concrete guidance and clear, hands-on training for common professional scenarios encountered by the membership of both organizations, and they will be free to both Associate Composers of the CMC, as well as members of the CLC.
———————————————————————————————————————————–
The second edition of our Rivers (Re-Imagined) series will take place on Friday, November 18, at 1:30PM EST, at the Canadian Music Centre. Composers Brodie West and Josh Cole will join Amy Gottung from A More Beautiful Journey, and Zak Cammoun from SoundWays to give participants a hands-on look at the exciting new world of possibilities that Augmented Reality (AR) technology can open up for composers and sound artists.
Our afternoon will begin at the Canadian Music Centre. There, Amy, Zak, Brodie, and Josh will demonstrate and discuss the process of composing for AR environments. After this presentation, we will then head out on a tour where participants can experience AMBJ for themselves. We’ll be taking the 94 Harbord bus west to Ossington, and then the 63 Ossington south to Queen. We will then head back east along the legendary 501 Queen towards Bay, eventually taking the 6 Bay north to return to the CMC.

Ensemble Silakbo - Est-Ouest
2022-11-05 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Halifax) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
5 NOV TICKETS
7 NOV TICKETS

Est-Ouest
Est-Ouest is a presentation of contemporary music inspired by the folk traditions of both Canada and Bulgaria, processed through the aesthetic visions of composers Svetlin Hristov (BG), Adam Vincent Clarke (CA) & Liam Elliot (CA) who, on the commission of the Silakbo Ensemble, composed three new works. The folk traditions of each other’s country served as the source material and inspiration for the musical creation. The concept is to connect foreign traditions, to find how they diverge or interconnect, whether that be by melody, rhythm, dress, dance, lyrics, or instruments, and apply it to modern classical artistic practices so as to honour the traditions explored.
Performed by: Ensemble Silakbo: Mikko Pablo (PH/USA) violoncello, Adam Vincent Clarke (CA) Bulgarian bagpipes, Angelina-Ogniana Gotcheva (BG) clarinet, Yoanna Bozhkova (BG) soprano, Bogdan Ivanov (BG) piano, Edgar Gomes (PT), violin
With works by: Adam Vincent Clarke, Svetlin Hristov, Liam Elliot

Est-Ouest - Workshop and Lecture on creative approaches to composing/creating cross-culturally
2022-11-05 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Halifax) | ON
When: 13h00 – 15h00, Saturday, November 5th
Where: CMC Toronto
What: Workshop and Lecture on creative approaches to composing/creating cross-culturally
Cost: Free
* The performance of Est-Ouest will take place later that evening at 19h00, and on Monday, November 7th at 19h00 in the Chalmers Performance Space of CMC Toronto.

Description:
As part of the mandate of Est-Ouest we offer a creative outreach that focuses on the discussion and approaches to working interculturally within art. How one approaches music cross-culturally and how to build that exchange of knowledge into your own creative practice. This workshop features a lecture by Bulgarian composer Svetlin Hristov, and Canadian composer Adam Vincent Clarke, accompanied by Ensemble Silakbo as they discuss and share approaches to working in dialogue across cultures.
Est-Ouest is a presentation of contemporary music inspired by the folk traditions of both Canada and Bulgaria, processed through the aesthetic visions of composers Svetlin Hristov (BG), Adam Vincent Clarke (CA) & Liam Elliot (CA) who, on the commission of the Silakbo Ensemble, composed three new works. The folk traditions of each other’s country served as the source material and inspiration for the musical creation. The concept is to connect foreign traditions, to find how they diverge or interconnect, whether that be by melody, rhythm, dress, dance, lyrics, or instruments, and apply it to modern classical artistic practices so as to honour the traditions explored.
Performed by: Ensemble Silakbo
Mikko Pablo (PH/USA) violoncello,
Adam Vincent Clarke (CA) Bulgarian bagpipes,
Angelina-Ogniana Gotcheva (BG) clarinet,
Yoanna Bozhkova (BG) soprano, Bogdan Ivanov (BG) piano,
Edgar Gomes (PT), violin
With works by:
Adam Vincent Clarke
Svetlin Hristov
Liam Elliot
For more information:
https://silakboensemble.weebly.com/
https://adamvclarke.com/

The Exorcist: An Operetta
2022-10-27 - 2022-10-29 | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
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October 27th – 7:30 PM ($25)
October 28th – 7:30 PM ($25)
October 29th – 7:30 PM ($25)
Eli Pasic presents a one-man version of his newest comedy, The Exorcist: An Operetta! A tongue-in-cheek variation of the 1970s horror classic, Eli Pasic will render the tale by way of narration, dialogue, and song! Don’t miss a tuneful jaunt through this dazzling portal to hell! You’ll be possessed with laughter from start to finish!
Eli studied piano and composition at Berklee College of Music and was mentored by Broadway orchestrator Larry Blank (The Producers, The Drowsy Chaperone). He’s written a musical comedy with composer Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls, Side Show), which has been published by Broadway Licensing. For more details, visit www.elipasic.com.

Rivers Workshop: ContaQt - Online Rehearsal and Collaboration
2022-10-19 17:30 - 21:30 (America/Halifax) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
The Canadian Music Centre, in collaboration with the Canadian League of Composers, is pleased to announce Rivers (re-imagined): a monthly series of presentations and hands-on professional development workshops for composers.
These will be in-person events at the Canadian Music Centre’s Performance Space in Toronto, and they will be available for online streaming to ensure access for composers right across the country. Topics will include: grants, funding, and project management; contracts and licensing agreements; publicity and marketing; music technology; music education, and others.
The workshops will provide concrete guidance and clear, hands-on training for common professional scenarios encountered by the membership of both organizations, and they will be free to both Associate Composers of the CMC, as well as members of the CLC.
———————————————————————————————————————————–
Our first presentation/workshop will take place on Wednesday, October 19, 2022, at 5:30. Members of ContaQt New Music will discuss and demonstrate the aesthetic and technical elements of online rehearsal and collaboration.
Like many ensembles at the onset of the initial pandemic lockdowns, ContaQt was faced with discovering new ways to musically engage with each other and audiences. Led by the research and experimentation of Jerry Pergolesi and Andrew Noseworthy, and with technological facilitation by Jeff Morton, and online performance mentoring with Tina Pearson, we developed a means to play together in real-time from our isolated locations using a combination of digital audio workstations and the audio transmitter plugin, AudioMovers’ ListenTo.
Through this process, we became more integrated as a performing group than ever before and extended our artistic practice in ways that benefited our expanding repertoire that includes music by Brian Eno, original compositions, and improvisations. This music also embraces and engages with latency that is inherent to the internet. This workshop will demonstrate the potential for this performance practice and the possibilities for collaboration using this high-fidelity means of audio transmission.

NOTES TO THE UNFORGOTTEN
2022-10-04 19:30 - 21:30 UTC | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
General admission: $20.00
Student admission (with valid ID): $10.00

Description: Piano Lunaire honours those who have been lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, and those who continue to suffer with illness. Join us in Toronto, on Tuesday, October 4th at 7:30pm (at the Canadian Music Centre). The programme is highlighted by the work of rising star associate composer, Liam Ritz. His Nine Forgotten Variations for solo piano were commissioned by Piano Lunaire and the Brantford Music Club in 2021 with support from the Ontario Arts Council; we are thrilled to finally premiere this exquisite new work for keyboard. Also on the programme: piano music from the traditional canon alongside Adam Sherkin’s Aubades in Memoriam, featuring music dedicated to long-time patrons and supporters of PL who passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Note: This is a repeat of our Fall Gala performance, held at the Art Gallery of Hamilton on Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 3:00pm.

SHHH!! Ensemble Album Launch: Meanwhile
2022-09-29 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Toronto) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
September 29, 7:30 pm
SHHH!! Ensemble Album Launch: Meanwhile
Join SHHH!! Ensemble and celebrate the release of their debut album “Meanwhile”, featuring electrifying new music for piano and percussion by some of Canada’s most creative voices.
SHHH!!… a powerful utterance designed to draw attention forward… creating space and awareness… opening ears to something important.
Percussionist Zac Pulak and pianist Edana Higham, the two members of the duo SHHH!! Ensemble, have carved a space for themselves as compelling performers, collaborators, and commissioners of electrifying new music. They have toured across Canada, performing works written for them by both established and emerging composers. A keen taste for experimentation and discovery has guided their “avant-accessible” projects, which they have workshopped at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance, and the Canadian Music Centre, leading to feature performances at the Tuckamore Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, Open Ears Festival of Music and Sound, the National Arts Centre #CanadaPerforms series, and a live-for-broadcast performance on the CBC Radio 2 program “In Concert.” Upcoming projects include the world premiere of Machines, Mannequins, and Monsters, a new double concerto written for them by Kelly-Marie Murphy, with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, as co-artistic directors of the Ottawa New Music Creators, Zac and Edana enjoy curating performances by leading Canadian and international artists in their home base of Ottawa, Ontario.
Tickets : $20

Ro
2022-09-17 20:00 - 23:00 UTC | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
Cheryl Duvall in partnership with the Canadian Music Centre:
RO
World Premiere Performance
Written by Daryl Jamieson
Performed and Commissioned by Cheryl Duvall – piano
Ro – which can be literally translated as ‘dewdrop’ – is inspired by Daryl’s reading of Konparu Zenchiku’s theoretical writings on nō theatre, and his vision of art (especially, for him, poetry, music, dance and theatre) as a spiritual experience which can reshape our understanding of – and ways of being in – the world.

Performance time – 75 minutes
Tickets: $20 regular/$15 Arts Worker, Senior and Student
Click Here to Watch the Live Stream

Book Launch: John Beckwith - Music Annals
2022-09-09 17:00 - 18:30 (America/Toronto) | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
Book Launch: John Beckwith – Music Annals
Click Here to Reserve Your Ticket
Join us for the launch of the composer and writer John Beckwith’s 17th book, Music Annals. In this collection of 46 articles written over a period of some 41 years, Beckwith displays insatiable curiosity, sharp critical skills, a gracious literary style, and a boundless knowledge of music. Music Annals is a sequel to Beckwith’s well received and much praised earlier book Music Papers: Articles and Talks by a Canadian Composer 1961–1994 (Ottawa, 1997), and is being published in celebration of the author’s 95th birthday earlier this year. The launch takes place at the Canadian Music Centre, 20 St. Joseph Street, on Friday, September 9th at 5:00 pm.
Performances of two works by John Beckwith will also be heard at the launch:

Meanwhile for percussion and piano

SHHH!! ensemble

Chapters and Verse for two equal sopranos and viola, text by Paul Dutton

Caitlin Wood, Sara Schabas, sopranos; Rory McLeod, viola

Copies of the book will be available at the launch for the special reduced price of $10 each.

small, like the wren
2022-07-08 20:00 - 21:00 UTC | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
Cheryl Duvall in partnership with the Canadian Music Centre:
small, like the wren
World Premiere Performance
Written by Anna Höstman
Performed and Commissioned by Cheryl Duvall – piano
In October 2019, Cheryl Duvall commissioned 7 Canadian composers to write hour long works for a large scale commissioning project. This is the first premiere from this set of new works.
Commissioned with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Performance time – 1 hour.
Tickets: $20 regular/$15 Arts Worker, Senior and Student
Click Here to Watch the Live Stream

These are a Few of Our Favourite Bees - Artists Talk
2022-07-07 19:30 - 21:00 UTC | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
These are a Few of Our Favourite Bees investigates wild, native bees and their ecology through playful dioramas, video, audio, relief print and poetry. Inspired by lambe lambe – South American miniature puppet stages for a single viewer – four distinct dioramas convey surreal yet enlightening worlds where bees lounge in cozy environs, animals watch educational films and ethereal sounds animate bowls of berries (having been pollinated by their diverse bee visitors). Displays reminiscent of natural history museums invite close inspection, revealing minutiae of these tiny, diverse animals, our native bees. From thumb-sized to extremely tiny, fuzzy to hairless, black, yellow, red or emerald green, each native bee tells a story while her actions create the fruits of pollination, reflecting the perpetual dance of animals, plants and planet. With a special appearance by Toronto’s official bee, the jewelled green sweat bee, Agapostemon virescens!
In this Artist Talk, Sarah Peebles, Ele Willoughby, Rob Cruickshank and Steven Humphrey will discuss their artistic practices and themes related to the exhibition.
Streaming Link

Greg Bruce - Workshop: Embrace Lofi!
2022-06-26 12:00 - 13:30 UTC | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
Embrace Lofi! Cassette Tapes and Creative Practice
In this workshop, post-digital saxophonist Greg Bruce will discuss his philosophy surrounding cassette tapes and demonstrate how he uses them in his musical practice. Greg will begin by discussing how we can think about physical electronic media and the importance of materiality in music making. Following this, he will cover the fundamentals of cassette tapes: the glory of wow and flutter, the differences between cassette types, and what tapes, players, and recorders to look out for (among other topics).
Next, Greg will demonstrate the wide range of creative uses for a simple cassette recorder. This portion of the workshop will show participants how to make several types of tape loops and demonstrate various recording and playback techniques. All the equipment and materials required for this practice are intended to be affordable and easy to find, whether buying new or thrifting, so that participants can easily try this DIY, lofi practice at home.
Streaming link

Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan Symposium
2022-06-05 19:00 - 23:00 (America/Toronto) | ON
An online event hosted by the Canadian Music Centre and Arraymusic, featuring scholars and practitioners from Indonesia, Canada, and the USA. The two online panels will explore these topics on Sunday, June 5 (June 6 in Indonesia). You are welcome to join in the discussion.

OVERVIEW

In the 133 years since Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel – among many thousands of other Europeans – first encountered Sundanese gamelan, wayang, angklung and dance at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle, the diverse musics of Indonesia has fascinated Western musicians. It was the excitement of first discovering Balinese gamelan music 78 RPM discs that inspired Canadian pianist, composer and researcher Colin McPhee to move to Bali in the 1930s. His pioneering work has inspired many others to study and more recently to perform on gamelan.Around 1960 gamelan courses began to be offered in universities in the US, and in Canada on the heels of Expo ’86 Vancouver the site of the First International Gamelan Festival and Symposium. These developments had several long-term impacts on a small cadre of American composers. It provided them hands-on opportunities to learn these musical cultures, as well as serving to embed composers and performers from various Indonesian regions in American academic and artistic circles.The first gamelan group in the country, Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan (ECCG) has pioneered a Canadian approach to exploring hybrid links between post-classical and world music. Founded in 1983, this professional eight-musician Toronto cooperative plays its own bespoke West Javanese-style degung. Its mandate includes commissioning new works by Canadian and international composers, as well as presenting new interpretations of Sundanese music. ECCG has a long history of inviting Sundanese and Javanese musicians, composers, puppeteers and dancers to work with the group live and in the recording studio. In 2002 ECCG toured three cities in Java with a Toronto-based modern dance company performing and engaging in workshops. What ethical issues arise in such cultural and professional interactions? For example, what is ECCG’s relationship to Toronto’s Indonesian community and to musicians and music scenes in Indonesia? What do Indonesian musicians think of ECCG and other “outsider” groups playing various types of gamelan? What are the many-facetted implications of playing – and creating gamelan music – outside its region of origin?Jointly organized by ECCG, Arraymusic, and the Canadian Music Centre, this online symposium will begin to engage these questions and explore the broader context of Evergreen’s pioneering work. Featuring practitioners and scholars from Indonesia, Canada and the USA, this symposium seeks to plumb the current state of international gamelan music creation today and in the future.

SCHEDULE

June 5th 7:00pm to 8:30pm EDT – 4:00pm to 5:30 pm PDT – June 6th 7:00am to 8:30am WITA

Roots and Offshoots – Gamelan in contemporary Indonesian music

LINK

Panelists:

Arya Deva Suryanegara (Bali/Canada), composer, performer – Université de Montreal
Iwan Gunawan (West Java) composer, musician, music educator, gamelan leader – Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung
SutrisnoHartana (Central Java/Canada), composer, musician, music educator, researcher – Simon Fraser University
PutuHiranmayena (Bali/United States), composer, musician, musicologist – Grinnell College
Moderator: Jody Diamond, American Gamelan Institute

8:30pm EST to 9:00pm EST – Break

June 5th 9:00pm to 10:30pm EDT – 6:00pm to 7:30 pm PDT – June 6th 9:00am to 10:30am WITA

Lost in Translation? When instruments and music are taken out of their cultural contexts.

LINK

Panelists:

Leslie Tilley (Canada/United States), ethnomusicologist, music analyst – Massachussets Institute of Technology
Iwan Gunawan (West Java) composer, musician, music educator, gamelan leader – Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung
Curtis Andrews (Canada), composer, musician, ethnomusicologist
Juro Kim Feliz (Phillipines/Canada), composer
Moderator: Menon Dwarka, Arts Consulting Group

Labyrinth Ontario - Panel Discussion: Modal Composition
2022-06-02 12:00 - 13:00 UTC | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
Ross Daly and Araz Salek, both frequently composing in and across various modal traditions, discuss modal music composition, the utilization of determined modal idioms in new compositions, and what is required of a composer work creatively across modalities.
Hosted by Labyrinth Ontario and the Canadian Music Centre, Ontario Region; this event will be livestreamed.
Panel Discussion: Modal Composition | Facebook

Labyrinth Ontario - Panel Discussion: Rhythm
2022-06-01 12:00 - 13:00 UTC | Chalmers Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1J9, Canada
In this panel discussion, Pedram Khavarzamini and Yang Chen discuss rhythmic priorities, sense of groove, and a percussionist’s role across genres and styles of music!
Through an examination of Pedram’s tombak exercise books and solos, Pedram and Yang will also discuss rhythmic pedagogy.

Hosted by Labyrinth Ontario and the Canadian Music Centre, Ontario Region; this event will be livestreamed.
Panel Discussion: Rhythm | Facebook
