This week Massey Hall was in the headlines with the exciting news of the revitalization of the Theatre Block, the block on Yonge Street, north of Queen that includes Massey Hall and the Elgin Winter Garden Theatre. Toronto developer MOD Developments Inc.announced on Monday the purchase of 197-201 Yonge Street, a 20,000 square foot parcel of land that includes the historically designated CIBC bank building. The land, which has been owned by Parasuco Jeans of Montreal since the early nineties, extends to Victoria Street and MOD Developments will be generously donating to Massey Hall the portion directly south of Massey, from the backstage area to the back of the Elgin Winter Garden Theatre.
What this gift of additional land permits us to do is now expand Massey Hall, a project we have been working on for years. Numerous studies have been done: planning, architectural, heritage, mechanical — all with the objective of improving operational efficiencies, patron and artists amenities. But until now we were unable to proceed due to the limitations of our existing property.
The “Grand Old Lady of Shuter Street” was built in 1894, a time when the current day’s uses could not have been foreseen. The concert hall, which hosts over 100 public events each year in its 2,753 seat auditorium, has been renovated on several occasions throughout its history. Extensive alterations last took place in 1933 reducing the number of seats from 3500 to 2,753. In 1948, several operational renovations were undertaken rebuilding the stage and adding an annex to the backstage. In the last 60 years, there have been no significant architectural improvements.
With the addition of property behind the Hall, we are now looking forward to addressing the modern day needs of Massey Hall, while protecting the Hall’s concert intimacy so beloved by artists and patrons. We will be sharing news with you about the project as our planning unfolds. Stay tuned!
Heather Clark is Director of Marketing and Development at Massey Hall & Roy Thomson Hall
There is no doubt that more than ever, we have reason to voice support of the arts in Canada. It’s inspiring to see so many come together to share their appreciation and love of the arts in Toronto and we are fortunate to have so many opportunities to do so. We’re a city heaping with talent and creativity and collaboration and we’re honoured to be a home to some of what Toronto offers, as host and as a gathering place for people to share, discover, and enjoy cultural events.
Culture Days, now in its 2nd year, is a national initiative featuring numerous free, interactive activities that bring the public “behind the scenes,” to discover the world of artists and creators (+ more), at work in our community.
Tomorrow (Saturday), we are thrilled to co-host, along with the great Toronto Symphony Orchestra, a unique opportunity for the whole family to come to Roy Thomson Hall, curl up under the glow of our lobby windows and hear from the TSO’s Woodwind Quintet as they introduce the sounds and individual instruments of the woodwind family and perform music by some of the most beloved classical composers in this intimate setting.
To paraphrase the words of musical ambassador Bobby McFerrin, music is an international language that allows us all to speak and understand each other. Culture Days is a way for all Canadians to experience and participate in cultural activities together and we are thrilled to be a part of it.
Roy Thomson Hall was honoured this weekend to have hosted the State Funeral for The Honourable Jack Layton. News outlets across the country have done a fine job of covering the service and, as you know, you can find hundreds of articles online about the events of the last week surrounding his death. We draw your attention to a few links in particular from the music community:
Massey Hall and I have a long mutual history and there are also memories of an appearance at its newer cousin, Roy Thomson Hall.
When I was growing up in Toronto, my mother sang in one of the best Canadian choirs of its time, The Jewish Folk Choir, with over 200 members. They performed to sold-out audiences in Massey Hall during the 1930s and 40s with me in attendance watching such guest artists as Jan Peerce and Paul Robeson perform with the choir. When I was age 11, 12 and 13, my sister and I were selected to be in a “May Spring Concert” presented by the Toronto Board of Education. We were the only representatives from our Clinton St. Public School. There I was on this wondrous huge stage in my starched white shirt and dark trousers with about 150 other students.
It was some 10 years later that I again appeared on the same stage as a member of The Travellers folk song group at a sold-out concert which we ended with our newly-written Canadianized version of Woody Guthrie’s THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND. We followed that by sharing the stage many times with Pete Seeger and Judy Collins and other folk artists. CONTINUE READING >
CBC Television’s Hana Gartner (pictured above in rehearsal) led the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir during their last visit to Roy Thomson Hall in 2007.
The sensation of standing on the stage of a sold-out Roy Thomson Hall in front of the most magnificent choir in the world is unimaginable and indescribable. But I can tell you, it was one of the most extraordinarily powerful and unforgettable experiences of my life. It was June 2007. The world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir, one of the oldest and largest choirs in the world, was coming to Toronto on the first stop of a 13-day tour, their first performance outside the United States in nine years. Several months before their scheduled appearance, I received a phone call right out of the blue. It was an invitation to be guest conductor for the encore of their evening performance. I was floored and flattered. How can you possibly say no to an opportunity like this? I accepted most enthusiastically, but approached the responsibility with equal parts excitement and fear.
The folks at Wonderword recently featured our Hall…
First person to send us the correct solution to the puzzle wins a prize! (we don’t exactly know what that prize is yet, but we’ll think of something worthwhile – we promise!)
Have fun!
Because we acknowledge the “How To Play” fine print is hard to read on this particlular image- here are the Coles Notes:
I was asked to pick a song from Neil Young‘s album Harvest for a tribute compilation in UK’s MOJO Magazine. In sound and feeling Harvest is so complete and cohesive that you can know and love the album just as well as you can know and love any one of its songs. Still, ‘Out on the Weekend’ stood out for me and I chose that song. It’s a sad and mysterious song. The singer seems quite young and fragile but also independent and brave enough to just pack up and move away. The song moved me before I had even heard of the singer, which is to say a long time ago. Just to come clean, I also chose it because it’s the first track on the album and I thought that’s not a bad place to appear on a compilation.
With the pending arrival of the New Year comes a time of reflection. Though Rob Gordon of High Fidelity would argue that list-making is a year round activity (particularly top-five lists), the end-of-the-year best-of lists are really a genre unto themselves.
Spending any amount of time on the webbernet this time of year, you’ll stumble across at least a handful of such lists, and likely more. Torontoist is busy blogging about Toronto’s Heroes and Villains which you’ll be able to vote on from December 27-30. SPIN has a rather hilarious ranking of their favourite twitpics of the year (my fave: Snoop Dogg). One of our friends on Twitter sent us his blogpost detailing his favourite concerts of the year; you can check it out (and vote for yourself) here.
There’s a lot of ground to cover in the world of year-end-lists so, we’ve distilled down this year in music into our very own list.
We’re proud that our Halls are home to some of Toronto’s most exciting and memorable concerts and events. Not only do we present some of these events ourselves, we host and welcome major and independent promoters from across Canada. They all contribute greatly to our city’s diverse and inspiring arts and cultural scene. In this column, we celebrate some of these promoters and turn the spotlight on them. This week, we speak with Attila Glatz and take a look at Attila Glatz Concert Productions.
Strong entrepreneurial spirit has driven Attila Glatz to three successful decades of concert production & promotion, community arts development, and festival organization in North America. Some of his many accomplishments include the 1993 co-founding of the successful Huntsville Festival of the Arts in Ontario, of which he remains Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus; the North American presenter, since 2003, of the sensational Daniel O’Donnell concert tours; the successful Toronto debut of Burn the Floor, and the Ten Tenors; the North American debut tour of the world-famous Vienna Mozart Orchestra; and an exclusive Toronto-only engagement of world-famous tenor Plácido Domingo in 2000.
Attila & Marion Glatz in St. Petersburg
In 1995, Marion and Attila Glatz introduced the idea of the traditional Viennese New Year’s Day concert to North American audiences. Recently, Marion and Attila Glatz were presented with the Austrian Government’s prestigious “Decoration of Merit in Gold” for their tireless efforts promoting Austrian culture worldwide.
Having worked for Attila Glatz Concert Productions previously, I can attest to their passion for the arts and their commitment to creating great shows. CONTINUE READING >
I’ve been getting to know Canada really well in the past few years and we seem to get along quite well. In fact, I’d say we’re good friends. There have been some long nights, early mornings, a breakdown outside of Edmonton and a epic day spent at Canadian Tire trying to fix a broken tour van. But hey, it makes our relationship even stronger.
I got a call from the CBC a little while back asking me if I was interested in representing British Columbia for this year’s Great Canadian Songquest. I was honoured to take part and also excited to contribute my experience of life on the road and my love for BC. There is not a day that goes by where I’m not taken aback by the beauty of the province, and I have such an appreciation for the life I live.
On October 1st 2010, the road that I had to capture into song was revealed. Listeners nominated The Freedom Highway. Though I’ve not had the CONTINUE READING >
Soundboard is the official community of musicians, music fans, and friends of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Canada. It’s your behind-the-scenes source for related music news, recommendations, and rewards.
This week Massey Hall was in the headlines with the exciting news of the revitalization of the Theatre Block, the block on Yonge Street, north of Queen that includes Massey Hall and the Elgin Winter Garden Theatre. Toronto developer MOD Developments Inc. announced on Monday the purchase of 197-201 Yonge Street, a 20,000 square foot parcel of land that includes the historically designated CIBC bank building. The land, which has been owned by Parasuco Jeans of Montreal since the early nineties, extends to Victoria Street and MOD Developments will be generously donating to Massey Hall the portion directly south of Massey, from the backstage area to the back of the Elgin Winter Garden Theatre.
Roy Thomson Hall
