From the category archives:
Bravissimo! Opera’s Greatest Hits is returning for an exciting 6th season and this year, we have a stellar international cast including soprano Davinia Rodriguez (Spain), mezzo-soprano Annalisa Stroppa (Italy), tenor Ho-Yoon Chung (Korea), tenor Gordon Gietz (Canada), and baritone Gregory Dahl (Canada). I recently had the chance to speak with Canadian opera star Gregory Dahl about making his Roy Thomson Hall debut this New Year’s Eve and about what goes on in his opera world.
Enter to win one of three Old Man Luedecke “Tender is the Night” Live at Glenn Gould Studio Prize-Packages.
Each package includes a copy of the recently released Tender is the Night CD, an Old Man Luedecke T-shirt, and a pair of tickets to see Old Man Luedecke Live at Glenn Gould Studio (250 Front St. W, Toronto) on Thursday November 22 at 8pm with special guest Grey Kingdom.
In anticipation of Chilly Gonzales, Solo Piano II presented in Pianovision on November 8 at Winter Garden Theatre, we thought it would be nice for you to hear straight from The Musical Genius, what you can expect from the show:
There is something so natural and effortless about Luke Doucet’s guitar playing. It’s as though it’s an extension of him. As inherent as breathing, walking or talking. Match that with equally effortless vocal harmonies, combined musicianship, and clever wordplay-song-smithing and the husband and wife duo of Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet, better known as Whitehorse, cast a pretty impressive spell on its audience.
Massey Hall is pleased to present them (along with special guest, Amelia Curran) when they perform at the Winter Garden Theatre next Friday, February 24, 2012 at 8PM.
If you can tell us in the comments section below, the title of the song they recently performed acoustically for our Soundboard video (*hint, the video is embedded below), you’ll be entered into a draw to win a CD and a pair of tickets to the show. CONTINUE READING >
Toronto is such a fantastic city to grow into your own as an artist and the Glenn Gould Studio for me has always represented this feeling I have about Toronto – that it is a gracious host to a vast and complex community of artists. For a venue to do this it must be adaptable, there must be wisdom in the architecture and most importantly the room must be warm. There’s an electric quality to the energy around this show for us – the knowledge that we’ll be on stage in front of our largest Toronto audience yet – housed within the CBC building which only seems fitting – it’s a great pleasure to look forward to.
Watch Alejandra perform “Cielito lindo” at Belle et Bum
Hello Canadian comedy lovers;
Well, 2011 was an interesting year to say the least. A great year to be Canadian. A terrible year to be a dic…tator.
The new mayor of Toronto provided all the fodder a comedian could ask for. The new majority Prime Minister is quick to shun tyrannical leaders (and no one sees the irony in this). The most heated debate in the house of Commons was whether or not to keep the beaver as a national symbol. And we left the Kyoto protocol in our greenhouse gas emissions proving that the new Canadian mantra is “we’re here for a good time, not a long time.” Heck, if Charlie Sheen can get his citizenship, maybe there’s a Senator post for him?
I doubt The Band set out to make the greatest rock movie ever. Most bands, when they break up, dissolve into a pool of watered down press releases all citing musical differences. We’ve heard it all before. But not The Band.
They get the greatest concert promoter in the history of music – Bill Graham – to produce a farewell show. Then they get the greatest filmmaker in the history of film – Martin Scorsese – to direct and document the evening. Then they get the world’s greatest musicians together to play some of the greatest music ever made.
Things like this don’t happen anymore. Today there’s a team of people behind the scenes all going over contract details and backstage riders before their ‘treasured artists’ step foot in the door. But in 1976, it was less formal and more about the music. The Last Waltz is the sound of some hippies getting together and saying goodbye. Thanks for the trip. CONTINUE READING >
Jamie Oliver is coming to Roy Thomson Hall next week (Wednesday, November 16!) for a speaking engagement, titled after his new book Jamie Oliver’s Food Escapes (which you receive for free with every ticket) - In addition to the event, you can send a question for Jamie to “soundboard(AT)rth-mh(DOT)com” and he’ll answer right here on the Roy Thomson Hall blog, soundboard.ca
To get you started, here is a great video clip of a speech he gave when he accepted the TED Award:
As our bio suggests, Soundboard is the official community of musicians, music fans, and friends of The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall. Here, we provide a place for those on stage and behind the scenes to share their insights and experiences as it relates to events not only in our Halls but in our community at large. Today, guest contributor Laura Newcombe shares what she took home from a recent presentation by former US Vice President Al Gore. Laura is a Toronto resident, grade 9 student, and a master spelling expert! Here is Laura’s review of October 13, 2011 at Roy Thomson Hall.
When my mother asked me if I wanted to hear a speech by Al Gore ‘live’ at Roy Thomson Hall, my first reaction was: …He’s still alive?! This is the man responsible for An Inconvenient Truth that we watched in school years ago. Isn’t that a classic? And aren’t the guys who did the classics generally… ahem… somewhat… dead?
Next Tuesday, October 25, Roy Thomson Hall welcomes ‘I Believe – A Holocaust Oratorio For Today’. I Believe is a non profit organization who in their words “seeks to move audiences towards a spirit of understanding and acceptance of others through music and words in telling a story of the Holocaust.” An artistic work, created by composer and music teacher Zane Zalis, is intended to inform, educate, perpetuate remembrance and hopefully affect change and acceptance of others. In today’s post, guest contributor, Zane Zalis shares his thoughts on the project and the process and inspiration behind it.
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Creating I Believe has been and continues to be a life-changing journey. I knew when I started the project that it would be an artistic and emotional challenge but, as a dear friend shared with me “….bet you didn’t know what you were getting into” – despite all the preparatory work I had undertaken, he was right. In 2004 I had just completed a new work which had focused on Kristallnacht for the gala opening of the Arthur V. Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice at the University of Manitoba and as a result I felt compelled to create a large scale work about the Holocaust.
Michael Kaeshammer
May 25 2013
Fred Penner (2 shows -1pm & 4pm)
June 08 2013
Willie Nelson and Family
June 20 2013
Pink Martini w/ the TSO
June 26 2013
Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo
August 09 2013
The Bad Plus
December 14 2013
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