Chantal Kreviazuk
PERFORMANCES
Chantal Kreviazuk (Tuesday): We mentioned Winnipeg-born Chantal last week because she has been selected to write, perform, and record one of the songs for CBC’s Great Canadian Song Quest, but today we mention the songstress because she returns to Massey Hall for a performance as part of her Plain Jane tour. Chantal has a heart that is anything but plain: she and her husband, Raine Maida, have done extensive work for War Child Canada, including participating in this fall’s Busking for Change event. More recently, Chantal recorded a song with other Canadians for compilation album War Child 10 called “People Have the Power.”
Il Divo (Friday): Il Divo takes the stage at Roy Thomson Hall, just after releasing their latest last Tuesday: a CD/DVD set entitled An Evening With Il Divo: Live in Barcelona. This performance in Toronto could well give Barcelonaa run for its money. Who needs romantic Spain anyway, when the sweet sounds of these gentlemen singing live are right here at home?
JUST ANNOUNCED
Suzie McNeil will be at Massey Hall on January 26, 2009 as a special guest of Colin James. As we gear up for Vancouver 2010, it’s worth recalling that Suzie McNeil (along with the 61-person National Arts Centre Orchestra) recorded the unofficial Olympic theme song for the event, “Believe.” Suzie McNeil is currently on the Olympic Torch Relay circuit, making appearances in Markham, Brantford, and at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto on December 17. We’re looking forward to seeing her here at Massey Hall soon after.
ACCOLADES
The Grammy Awards nominations and the East Coast Music Awards nominations just came out last week and we’re thrilled that so many of the artists we have been or will be presenting are being recognized. Check it out:
- PEI natives Catherine MacLellan (who performs at the Glenn Gould Studio in March and Jenn Grant (who performed at the Gould just last month) are duking it out with three ECMA nominations each. Both are up for Female Solo Recording of the Year, while Jenn also has noms for FACTOR Recording of the Year and Pop Recording of the Year and Catherine is a
contender for both SOCAN Songwriter of the Year and the Folk Recording of the Year. - No less than three Grammy nominations went to the Mariinsky Orchestra, led by conductor Valery Gergiev: Best Classical Album and Best Opera Recording for Shostakovich: The Nose and Best Orchestral Performance for Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 15. Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra appear at Roy Thomson Hall in March.
- Baritone Nathan Gunn, who is also coming to Roy Thomson Hall in March, got a mention as Britten: Billy Budd was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Engineered Album, Classical, with Neil Hutchinson and Jonathan Stokes at the helm as engineers.
- And finally, Yuja Wang, who just performed here at Roy Thomson Hall with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, was nominated for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without Orchestra) for her Sonatas & Etudes.
Want to see the full lists? You can review the ECMA Music & Industry Nominations here and The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List here.
Stefania Paterak is the Programming Coordinator for Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall.
Comments on this entry are closed.