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A very merry holiday edition of The Buzz:
Dec. 18-Jan. 7

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  December 18, 2012

Happy Holidays everyone! This will be the last Buzz of 2012 and so below we include details for a variety of holiday performances including New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day celebrations at the Halls. We’ll see you back here at Soundboard on January 8, 2013!

PERFORMANCES
Victoria Scholars Men’s Choral Ensemble & The Choirs of St. Michael’s Choir School, A Christmas Celebration (Wednesday): This festive edition of Roy Thomson Hall’s FREE Noon-hour Choir & Organ concert series promises holiday cheer in the form of both sacred and secular choral music – and sing-alongs! Join us on your lunch hour to hear these excellent choirs alongside the Hall’s marvellous Gabriel Kney pipe organ (played by organist William O’Meara). Artistic Director of the St. Michael’s Choir School and Musical Director of the Victoria Scholars Men’s Choral Ensemble, Jerzy Cichocki, conducts the concert.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday): The Toronto Symphony Orchestra performs Handel’s Messiah five times this week featuring the 150 voice Mendelssohn Choir and internationally renowned vocalists including Canadian luminaries Michael Schade and Russell Braun. A pre-concert chat will take place in the North Lobby prior to the Saturday performance with Rick Phillips.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir, Sing-Along Messiah (Sunday): For another take on this masterpiece, head down to Massey Hall this Sunday to take part in the collective efforts of 2,700 audience members and guest soloists, conducted by “Herr Handel” himself, performing this seasonal oratorio (for an example, see video embedded above). Vocalists include Allyson McHardy, mezzo-soprano, who will also be performing the concluding recital of our 2012-2013 Canadian Voices vocal recitals series on April 14 at Glenn Gould Studio.

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Jesse Cook, The Lost Fingers, Cuff The Duke, Jenn Grant, and CAL play Exile on Main St.
The Buzz: Nov 20-26

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  November 21, 2012

PERFORMANCES
To say this week is hoppin’ at the halls would be an epic understatement. There is really and truly something for everyone – for just a sampling, read on:

Jesse Cook (Thursday): Jesse Cook returns to Massey Hall with his The Blue Guitar Tour 2012 in support of his eighth studio album. To get in the mood for this week’s concert, you can read up with this Montreal Gazette feature article and interview or watch this video from George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, where Jesse Cook discusses living through his worst nightmare onstage.

Old Man Luedecke (Thursday): After releasing his latest, Tender is the Night, last month, we’re thrilled to have the chance to see the Old Man perform it live at Glenn Gould Studio. Special guest Grey Kingdom opens the evening. For more on this singer-songwriter and to get a taste of what a treat you’re in for, check out his CBC Music page. And if you missed it, check out the hefty prize pack up for grabs in this recent soundboard contest.

The Lost Fingers (Friday): We’re excited to have these fellas return to Glenn Gould Studio with some of their signature Django-jazz takes on some of our faves (perhaps most famously, “Pump Up the Jam”). Check out their tunes over on MySpace.

Classic Albums Live: The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St. (Friday): Classic Albums Live is back at Massey Hall for their first show this season and they’re going to make you “Shake Your Hips” until you’re “Torn and Frayed” while they “Shine a Light” on this important record in music history. Watch CALs Craig Martin discuss Exile on Main St. here.

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Dala’s Best Day, TSO meets BBNG, and a
Crazy Horse film in The Buzz: June 5-11

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  June 5, 2012

JUST ANNOUNCED
If you missed it, last week we announced that Lewis Black will be performing at Massey Hall this September presented by Just for Laughs. Looking to do some preliminary research? Here’s his take on weather and meteorology (but head’s up: not entirely safe for work). Tickets are currently on sale!

PERFORMANCES
Dala (Friday): The duo that is Dala is made up of Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine and they’ll be hitting the Glenn Gould Studio stage this Friday in a highly anticipated concert with special guest Kevin Fox. Dala’s new album, Best Day, is available starting today – and you can check out a trailer for the record here (or embedded above). We’re giving away copies of Best Day on our Twitter  and Facebook  page – if you’re not already, follow us for your chance to win (and other good things, of course).

TSO – Late Night (Saturday): Once again this year, the TSO “stays up late” to deliver a very special concert starting at 10:30pm. This year’s program sees the performance of Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 “The Year 1905.” The evening’s entertainment doesn’t stop there, a post-performance party in the lobby features music from BADBADNOTGOOD (you can download their new album for free at their website). On the TSO’s site you can read more about the show, the symphony, and check out a video from Music Director Peter Oundjian about the excitement the night promises.

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Maple Leafs, Legends, and more in The Buzz: May 8-14

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  May 8, 2012

PERFORMANCES
TSO – The Hockey Sweater (Young People’s Concert Series) (Saturday): Saturday afternoon sees two matinee performances of this TSO Co-Commission based on Roch Carrier’s classic story. Roch Carrier himself narrates the piece and former Montréal Canadiens’ goaltender, Ken Dryden, hosts the performances. A very special afternoon for young fans of music and hockey alike! (Go Leafs Go!)

Glenn Gould Prize Gala Concert In Honour of Leonard Cohen (Monday): As we announced recently in the Buzz, this very special evening will fête Leonard Cohen with quite a list of those honouring him including Colm Feore, Basia Bulat, Cowboy Junkies, John Prine, Serena Ryder, and Gordon Pinsent with Travis Good & Greg Keelor (whom we present at Glenn Gould Studio later in June), among others. This celebration will include this, the Ninth Glenn Gould Prize, as well as the presentation of the City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize winner as selected by Mr. Cohen, Sistema.

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Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, and TSO are Out of this World in The Buzz: May 1-7

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  May 1, 2012

JUST ANNOUNCED
We’re thrilled to welcome back Lyle Lovett to Toronto and are excited to see him perform on the Roy Thomson Hall stage in support of his latest album, Release Me. This special presentation on Thursday, July 26 will be with his Acoustic Group and is sure to knock your socks off. FriendsFirst Members have access to purchasing tickets starting tomorrow (May 2) and tickets for the general public go on sale on Monday, May 7. As if that’s not enough, Steve Earle & the Dukes will be hitting Massey Hall on Tuesday, August 14. For this one tickets go on sale to our FriendsFirst Members tomorrow (Wednesday) and to the public Friday, May 4.

PERFORMANCES
TSO – Sci-Fi Spectacular (Tuesday & Wednesday): Meme-making sensation (and, of course, actor who played Captain Sulu of the Starship Enterprise), George Takei plays host for this Pops Concert offered by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The program is set to feature suites from Star Trek (obviously), Star Wars, E.T., Avatar, and classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind (I, for one, am curious to the treatment of its essential “five tone motif”).

Layla Claire (Thursday): Soprano Layla Claire provides us with the conclusion to the inaugural Canadian Voices vocal recitals series at Glenn Gould Studio. The recital will showcase a program featuring Purcell, Britten, Strauss, Debussy, and more (you can see the full program here). Worth checking out in advance, CBC Music, calls the concert a Hot Ticket this week and includes an excerpt from the Dame Kiri te Kanawa-hosted BBC documentary, “What Makes a Great Soprano.”

The Priests With Special Guest Patricia O’Callaghan (Friday): The “singing priests of Belfast” make their long awaited appearance on the stage of Roy Thomson Hall. The singers, Roman Catholic priests, hail from Northern Ireland and have been highly successful in their music careers in both religious and secular communities and, in fact, their self-titled debut album earned a Guiness World Record as the “fastest selling classical debut of all time.” Check out their blog (including audio-entries from the road) here.

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Culture Days at Roy Thomson Hall with
TSO’s Woodwind Quintet

Posted by Stephen McGrath in  The Scene  on  September 30, 2011

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
Saturday, October 1, 2011
11:00am – 11:45am and
1:00pm – 1:45pm

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Tunes, Tech, and TSO this week in
The Buzz: May 17-23

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  May 17, 2011

Happy Tuesday everyone! We thought we’d share this song from Doug Paisley, featuring Feist, right off the top of the Buzz this week. Lucky for us, Doug Paisley plays the Rivoli on Saturday, June 4 – we’re pretty excited about it. If you like what you hear, more info about the show is available here on the Massey Hall event page or on Facebook, here.

AUDIO FILE

From the bureau of musicology – NPR Music recently reported that the Library of Congress has launched a “National Jukebox.” The project about which “makes historical sound recordings available to the public free of charge” (via streaming) contains over 10,000 files for your listening pleasure. Also very cool: The interactive Victrola Book of the Opera which seems to be a 436-page Coles’ Notes on a variety of operas (spoiler alert!) with links to pertinent audio files in the Jukebox proper.

You can also listen to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with pianist Jean Yves Thibaudet, recorded live from Roy Thomson Hall (from March 30, 2011) over at CBC Concerts on Demand.

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The Buzz: Sept 21-27

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  September 21, 2010

PERFORMANCES

An Evening With Anthony Bourdain (Wednesday): No-nonsense Bourdain comes to Massey Hall this week in support of his latest book, Medium Raw, descriptively subtitled “A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook.” NOW Magazine recently interviewed the man himself – you can check out the chef-author’s wise responses here and here. VIP tickets are available which include not only premiere seating but an exclusive meet and greet session and lots of other good stuff. Check out the event page for all the details. Still deciding? Here are the Top 10 signs that you’re a Bourdain fanatic.

Lang Lang (Monday): Toronto favourite, Lang Lang, returns to Roy Thomson Hall for a performance with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as they kick off their new season. Lang Lang in performance is quite something to witness – his love of music and performing shines through with complete clarity. Plus, he’s perfectly charming at all times – even when (or perhaps especially when) he performs his encore on an iPad.

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The Buzz: June 15-21

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  June 15, 2010

Bruce Cockburn with Music Director Colin Linden (on guitar), rehearsing for Canadian Songbook

PERFORMANCES

The Canadian Songbook: 40 Years of Bruce Cockburn (Wednesday): Can we just talk about how awesome the line-up is for this event? Not only will Bruce Cockburn himself perform, we’ll also hear from Amelia Curran, Barenaked Ladies, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Buck 65, Hawksley Workman, Jason Fowler, Michael Occhipinti, Sylvia Tyson, and The Wailin’ Jennys. Oh, and as if that wasn’t enough, Jian Ghomeshi hosts. Check out this article from the Toronto Star to get the inside scoop on how Cockburn feels about the fete.

TSO Goes Late Night (Saturday): This week, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra performs Beethoven Symphony No. 9 and to mix it up, they are featuring one very special late night performance of the symphony on Saturday starting at 11pm. PLUS: stick around after the concert for a fantastic party in the Lobby!

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Jean Sibelius is a Crazy Diamond

Posted by Stephen McGrath in  The Shows  on  April 16, 2010

 On the surface, the two shows presented in our halls this Saturday couldn’t seem more opposite.  At Massey Hall, Classic Albums Live perform Pink Floyd’s The Wall and at Roy Thomson Hall, TSO continue their week-long festival, a tribute to iconic composer Jean Sibelius. Perhaps the two have more in common than one might think.

sibelius stampA fiercely poetic and passionate composer, Jean Sibelius (1865 – 1957) has been described as a monumental figure in shaping the Finnish national identity. Revered for works such as Finlandia, his artistic output, which famously includes seven symphonies, were virtually all composed prior to 1926. A composer during the tale end of the Romantic Movement, his compositions echoed the natural beauty, fragility and allure of his homeland. Often describing the sounds of his music by the sights and smells of the seasons, his was a dark and meticulous effort, which to this day remains as important to the culture of the Finnish people as it does to the treasured works of the genre. CONTINUE READING >

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