Randy Bachman

This coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Glenn Gould Studio welcomes the legendary Randy Bachman, for special two-hour live tapings of his award winning radio show “Vinyl Tap”.

His website promises the shows will showcase history unfolding and recreated “from Fender Telecaster, Gibson Les Paul to Gretsch…from echo, flanging, distortion to overdrive – to showcase effects heard on some of the greatest records in the world.”

Truly, a rock n’ roll lecture straight from the source!
All shows are completely sold out but you’re able to hear them on CBC radio one, Saturdays at 7pm (8pm AT, 8:30pm NT) and you can check out previous shows here.

Jann & Midi

Jann Arden is no stranger to funny. The woman who has built a career on baring her soul and wearing her heart on her sleeve is quite frankly, hilarious. I’ve known this about Jann for some time, as does anyone who has seen her being interviewed or has witnessed her unscripted stage banter during one of her concerts. But when she began following Massey Hall on Twitter, and vice versa, I finally caught a glimpse of what it’s like to live inside Jann Arden’s head.

Every day, me and the over 10,000 people following her updates, are kept abreast of Jann’s whereabouts, her ponderings, conversations with herself and the, ummm, habits of her dog Midi, a regular fixture on Jann’s Twitter updates.

Midi, her teeny tiny little dog, often travels with her on tour, loyally by her side on busses, planes and in hotel rooms. You can bet that Midi will be nearby when Jann takes the stage at Massey Hall for 4 shows this month.

Jann & Midi check into Massey Hall January 27, 28, 29 & 30th.

Here are just a few of the most recent tweets by Jann that have made me literally spit coffee out of my nose.

“I am going to shower now. May shave my legs even…Or maybe just one leg and one armpit? Yeah, that’s all I have time for today.”

“I guess I should turn the treadmill on…I’ve been standing on it watching the Food Network.”

“George Strombo is one hot babe…very darling indeed. And also, the dog just peed.”

“Dear Jesus, when I turned 46. I woke up and my neck was gone. Just thought I’d let you know…”

Caroline Hall is the Marketing Coordinator for Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall.

Ancient and refined, Persian classical music remains one of the hidden gems of world traditions -- hidden until recently, that is. With beautiful poetry by Rumi and other Sufi poets, soaring vocals, exquisite melodies and powerful rhythms, this music is now winning an increasing number of listeners among classical and world music enthusiasts.

One of the key reasons for this growing audience? The Masters of Persian Music, an ensemble that has produced several sold-out North American tours and a Grammy award-winning CD.

The current incarnation of the Masters of Persian Music (the group has changed membership over the years) is kicking off a thirteen-city, three-week North American tour soon, with a show at Roy Thomson Hall on February 5. This tour, titled “Three Generations,” spotlights the talents of two of the pre-eminent figures in Persian classical music: Hossein Alizadeh, maestro of the Tar (plucked lute) and Kayhan Kalhor, the world’s greatest virtuoso of the Kamancheh (spike fiddle). Also featured is the remarkable young vocalist Hamid Reza Nourbakhsh, the leading disciple of the legendary Mohammad Reza Shajarian.

If you aren’t yet among the burgeoning ranks who have come to appreciate the intricacy of Persian music this show will be the perfect place to start. And if you already are, it’s a rare chance to hear some of the genre’s foremost artists in action.

Alan Davis is the Founder and Executive Director of Small World Music.

Portrait of Mozart painted posthumously by Barbara Kraft, 1819.

Five years ago, when Peter Oundjian was relatively new in his position as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director, he announced the Mozart@249 festival at the TSO’s annual season media conference. He explained that he didn’t think we had to wait until the all important 250th birthday to have an excuse to have a Mozart festival so he was going to get a head start on everybody else. It was rather endearing, although we all knew it was really just clever marketing. But who cares? What’s not to love about Mozart, especially in the dark cold days of January?

Well here we are five years later and the annual January Mozart Festival is so popular that the TSO artistic team just keep programming it – hence Mozart@254. The festival opened last night and runs until January 24 at Roy Thomson Hall and includes appearances by American pianist Jonathan Biss, Canadian soprano Shannon Mercer, the National Arts Centre Orchestra under its conductor Pinchas Zuckerman, and even a program with Canada’s favourite “Mountie,” actor Paul Gross. Of special note are the January 20 and 21 concerts with a roster of world-class female artists in a program devoted to the women in Mozart’s life; it will feature conductor Jane Glover, pianist Imogen Cooper, violinist Anne Akiko Myers, and violist Teng Li.

Will there be a Mozart@255? Well we will have to wait until next week’s season launch announcement to find out. But with over 600 compositions, there is no shortage of Mozart repertoire. In the meantime, come down to RTH over the next two weeks and enjoy some of the world’s most beloved music.

Heather Clark is the Director of Marketing and Development at Roy Thomson Hall and Massey Hall.

I hated New Year’s Eve when I was growing up.

The enforced frivolity drove me crazy and every emotion seemed fake. After midnight, when the horns had been blown and the noisemakers had been discharged, I would wander around the party muttering to anyone who would listen, “Well, do you feel any different? I sure don’t.”

I swear one of the reasons I got into show business was to have something I could stand to do on New Year’s Eve. Producing comedy shows at my comedy clubs gave me a context for my fun. Then, when Massey Hall approached me to produce a “comedy extravaganza” nine years ago, I leaped at the chance. Surely there was an audience who wanted to laugh -- without being totally liquored up -- in an august environment, a place that had been a venue for some of the greatest comedians of our time?

This has been a show comics have begged to be a part of, and why not? It’s not just the best gig in the city, it’s the best gig in the country. My problem is to choose from so many worthy candidates. To do my job properly requires me to be a chef for the evening.

Let me explain.

Over the course of the evening I’m serving a multi-course “meal,” and that means I’m taking the audience on a journey. As with any well-planned feast, the courses should not repeat themselves, and all the food groups must be represented.

The main course is the host, who introduces the show and keeps it moving in between acts. The host should be funny and well-known. This year, the host is Gerry Dee, whom everyone knows from his third place victory in Last Comic Standing and his comic sports commentaries on The Score. Gerry has been selling out mid-size theatres in Toronto, so he should be familiar to a large part of the audience.

The headliner is another important course. It’s an important job to end the show -- you need to be very good to make people laugh after they’ve seen a half-dozen acts -- and this year, Nikki Payne will easily do the job. Nikki has also been on Last Comic Standing, but she’s been making waves lately guesting on a lot of TV shows.

I like to err on the side of intelligence wherever possible, which explains my choice of Glen Foster, also known as “That Canadian Guy.” A veteran of Just for Laughs, Glen is your man if you’re looking for news and social satire in the manner of Jon Stewart or Bill Maher.

It’s important that the evening reflect Toronto’s multicultural traditions, and who better than Kenny Robinson, founder of the urban comedy movement, to do just that? We’ve also got to have at least one woman included, and besides Nikki there’ll be Jen Grant, a Vancouver comic who’s been living in NYC. I like to book one wild card every year, too: if you liked Andy Kaufman in his prime, wait until you see Terry Clement! Rounding out the show and with strong youth appeal are Rob Pue, Mark Forward, and Sam Easton.

And so our comedic “meal” is complete, capped off as the cast assembles on stage to sing “Auld Lang Syne” with the Jaymz Bee Combo. It’s the after-dinner mint, and I hope to share it all with you at Massey Hall this New Year’s Eve.

Mark Breslin is the founder of Yuk Yuk’sand Producer of the annual New Year’s Eve Comdey Extravaganza at Massey Hall.

Conductor Roberto Paternostro

Did you ever think it was possible to watch Mozart’s Papageno in the Magic Flute prance through the forest looking for his Papagena, and the very next minute become entranced by Calaf in Puccini’s Turandot performing Nessun Dorma? It didn’t even occur to me that I could until I found out about Bravissimo! Opera’s Greatest Hits.

The beauty of Bravissimo! is that it gives you a window into all styles of opera. There are irresistible excerpts from some of the most famous arias ever composed – Carmen, Samson and Delilah, La Giaconda – and from many of opera’s other canonical pieces. The aforementioned Magic Flute? Possibly the best instance of opera comique around. Madama Butterfly and Turandot, meanwhile, cover the romantic end of the operatic spectrum. And with my university days now behind me, I must say I’m happy to brush up on some literature with a bit of Victor Hugo and Alexander Pushkin – novelists who have also shared their words in operas such as Rigoletto and Onegin. The combination of score and libretto can bring everything from countryside romances to political revolutions alive.

As an intern for Attila Glatz Concert Productions, I’ll have the opportunity to get a sneak peek during rehearsals this week, before the big night. I am looking forward to seeing how the singers switch musical styles from one opera to another. (I’ll be tempted to join in, but knowing my singing skills I should probably leave that for another time!)

It’s the opera performance even the most timid neophyte can love. And just maybe, you might hear an extra voice in the audience singing along. That’s the beauty of the Bravissimo! effect.

Mijana Veljkovic is the Marketing and Communications intern for Attila Glatz Concert Productions Inc., which is co-producing Bravissimo! Opera’s Greatest Hits and New Year’s Day Celebration: Salute to Vienna with Roy Thomson Hall.

Ivars Taurins as Herr Handel. Photo by Johnnie Eisen and courtesy of Tafelmusik.

The world is a funny place, and this year I found myself in the position where I was the one ordering those same posters for Tafelmusik, and negotiating the signage for the subway ad campaign as Tafelmusik’s Marketing Coordinator. From the day I started working here I’ve been Messiah crazed, in fact, coordinating the advertising campaign for a Toronto tradition that I have yet to see!

Tafelmusik’s Messiah concerts and Sing-Along Messiah are the heart of Tafelmusik’s Toronto performance season. We have an audience of dedicated Sing-Alongers who have been coming annually for as many as eighteen years. These dedicated followers stand in line outside Massey Hall in the cold, sometimes for hours, to ensure that they get the seats they want with their friends and family. We handed out flyers recently at Union Station, and had people thank us for reminding them to buy a ticket. That’s what really convinced me there has to be something magical about this – being thanked for a flyer!

I had the pleasure of escorting Tafelmusik Chamber Choir Director Ivars Taurins to the radio station to record the on-air advertising for the Sing-Along. He slipped into the Maestro Handel character like he was meeting an old friend, with the ease and familiarity that only comes from years of shared history. All of the staff are alight with anticipation, and everyone has a story about “one time at Sing-Along….” One of our dynamic box office duo even has an annual Messiah party!

Most people who come to the concert already know what to expect, but first-timers like me need to know that seating is by general admission, and divided into voice parts: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. (I’ve been told that there are always too many sopranos and not enough tenors.) You’ll need a score with which to sing along, which you can buy at Massey Hall on December 20, but if you aren’t a singer don’t fret – you don’t have to sing if you don’t want to!  Also, the performance is of an abridged Messiah, one with all the best parts and in which the audience sings all the choruses. If you want to delve even deeper into the wonderful world of the Sing-Along Messiah, here are ten tips for enjoying the show.

This week I’ll hear the choir and orchestra in rehearsal, and hear first hand the music that brings 2,700 voices together each year to rejoice. And on the big day I’ll be there at Massey Hall, in a Santa hat handing out candy-canes, sharing in the excitement of the line-up and audience. And, finally, I’ll understand what the Sing-Along Messiah is really all about!

Laura Hagglund is the Marketing Coordinator of Tafelmusik.

Photo courtesy of: John Beebe of John Beebe Photography

There’s definitely no place like home for holiday music. Home to Toronto are an array of Christmas concerts — some are new, but others, such as Nathaniel Dett Chorale’s “An Indigo Christmas…,” return every year.

As is tradition with this holiday concert, now in its 11th year, the chorale performs at the Glenn Gould Studio.

The 21-member chorale will perform a blend of contemporary and traditional compositions, featuring carols, spirituals and folk songs.

While the concert retains its main “An Indigo Christmas…” concept every year, its theme, repertoire and guest performers are different. For example, in 2008, the concert’s theme was ‘great joy.’

The founder and artistic director of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, founded the chorale in 1998, naming it after acclaimed African-Canadian composer R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943).The chorale’s repertoire focuses on Afrocentric music that includes classical, gospel, jazz, folk, blues and spiritual genres.

For more on the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and its founder, click here.

The “An Indigo Christmas… In Silent Night,” concerts will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 16 and Saturday, Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $39 and are available by calling Roy Thomson Hall at 416-872-4255, or online at www.roythomson.com

Q&A
~ With Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, founder and artistic director of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, talks about “An Indigo Christmas… In Silent Night.” ~

Q: What makes the concert such a popular one for audiences?

A: I think that Christmas is a time when many people want to hear good choral music. It puts them in the mood to celebrate. The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, for 11 years, has offered a varied assortment of seasonal Afrocentric music, including guest artists our audiences might not otherwise hear. An Indigo Christmas has quickly become for many people a seasonal ‘not to be missed’ event.

Q: What are some of the songs included on the repertoire list, and why did you choose them?

A: There are African folksongs including “Tambokenu Mwane” and “Nama Emonate”; a suite of traditional Christmas spirituals including “Rise Up,” “Shepherd,” “What Month Was My Jesus Born In” and “Shout for Joy”; a gospel version of “Mary Had a Baby”; some vocal jazz arrangements of traditional carols including “The Coventry Carol” and “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”; and some contemporary arrangements of spirituals including “Children, Go Where I Send Thee” and “Rockin’ Jerusalem.”

In addition the jazz duo Joe Sealy and Paul Novotny will offer selections from their brand new CD entitled “Songs” and from their recent [Christmas] CD. “The Man in the Red Suit.” I chose this repertoire for the variety of mood and styles, and the diversity of rhythm and tempo. There is also a storytelling component that overarches the entire programme.

Q: What is the inspiration behind this year’s concert?

A: “In Silent Night,” subtitled “A Christmas Vignette in Pastel” was the inspiration for the programme.

Q: How did “In Silent Night” come about?

A: A few years ago the Brazeal Dennard Chorale, musical colleagues of mine in Detroit, released a Christmas CD entitled “In Silent Night,” which was how I got to hear the piece. The idea was born then to create an intimate, acoustic programme centered around a child of hope born in the still of the night. Daily children are born reminding us that we are all children at heart, reminding us to be hopeful, reminding us to ‘turn away from rancor and come the way of friendship’. My friends in Detroit were willing to share several selections from their CD that are now out of print, and around which I could build a programme similar to but quite different from theirs. And so “An Indigo Christmas… In Silent Night” was born.

Q: What can audiences expect this year?

A: Audiences can expect an intimate yet lusty concert that will take them on an emotional sleighride from introspection to toe-tapping, sending them into the rest of the holiday season with a heart-warming glow.

This piece is cross-posted at 680 News.

Matthew Good is as Canadian as Hockey Night in Canada — though,the fact that I just compared him to a commercial enterprise owned by a media conglomerate would make his head spin. Yes, Matthew Good is as much a political activist and engaged human being as he is a musician. There is not a lot that he does not discuss on his official website. From the Iraq war to global warming to the Middle East and the war in Afghanistan, Matthew has something to say.

And his fans love it.

Here is a musician who has embraced changing technologies instead of challenging them. He has his own YouTube channel, MySpace and Facebook pages, and tweets regularly. Matthew uses all of these outlets to share his take on everything from politics, activism, celebrity, his disdain for the media, and everything in between. Love him or hate him, give him your ear and he will challenge you to think, to speak up and to be heard.

Matthew Good is playing two shows at Massey Hall, on December 18 and 19. His fans know what to expect…the unexpected. A stage-diving Panda, an expletive-driven rant on the evils of capitalism, perhaps a burning teddy bear. The world is strange indeed.

Caroline Hall is the Marketing Coordinator for Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall.

Sir Colin Davis, who was a conductor at the London Symphony Orchestra for fifty years, discusses Handel’s Messiah.

There’s an excellent chance at this time of year of seeing people on the subway or in your local coffee shop with bright orange (usually tattered) choir books tucked under their arms. What are those books? If you have ever sung in a choir, you know – it’s time for Handel’s Messiah and across the land thousands of choral enthusiasts are dusting off their scores for the annual Christmas rite. I admit it. I am an unabashed Messiah enthusiast. I have been singing it (badly) since I was a 12-year-old church chorister and Christmas just isn’t Christmas without it.

What gives Messiah its enduring popular appeal at Christmastime? Well, the first thing you should know – it wasn’t written for Christmas. Handel wrote it for Lent, but because the story includes the advent and birth of Christ (Part 1 of 3), over the years choirs, especially in North America, have adopted it as the choral work at Christmas. In continental Europe you are more likely to hear Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at this time of year and Messiah at Easter. Handel probably doesn’t mind either way.  He was a masterful marketer in his day. When he conducted the premiere in Dublin on April 3, 1742, he cannily arranged for a public rehearsal to take place the day before. It caused a sensation. As a result, hundreds of eager listeners had to be turned away from the official performance.

Many performances followed, with Handel constantly revising texts and rewriting arias and recitatives, depending on what soloists were available to him. As a result, there is no definitive, “authentic” version of the oratorio. Conductors choose their favourite versions and so you will see in house programs “1754 Foundling Hospital version” or “Mozart arrangement” in small print beneath the title (yes, even Mozart took his turn at it). In the Victorian era things got a little out of hand, with the musical forces for Messiah growing to hundreds of players and voices, when Handel originally wrote it for an orchestra of twenty-five and a choir of comparable size. Luckily, Messiah is quite resilient, which I think is one of the reasons it’s so popular.  There are large and small Messiahs, Baroque and Romantic Messiahs Sing-Along Messiahs, even rock and soul arrangements.  In the end, all that matters is that the power of the work shines through, which it invariably does.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death. The commemoration has centred in London, where Handel lived for close to 50 years. The BBC has broadcast all of his operas, and every one of his keyboard suites and cantatas were performed at the annual London Handel Festival. But nothing will compare with Messiah this Christmas, the 268-year-old oratorio that still awes listeners and musicians alike. Not bad for a work that was written in 22 days!

Heather Clark is the Director of Marketing and Development at Roy Thomson Hall and Massey Hall.