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Valkyrie

Die Walküre

Besides rehearsing lost oratorios, teaching masterpieces of classical music, and enduring the rigours of Scottish country dancing, there were some exceptional events this week. I shared a few drinks (many drinks) with girlfriends whilst grooving to Mike McLean at the Jazz Bistro, drank champagne and celebrated the launch of a history book with my other girlfriends (who happen to be Anglican nuns) and also took my parents to see Wagner’s Die Walküre at the Canadian Opera Company. How can I find a theme for my blog, in a week otherwise defined by snow, snow and more snow? Let’s try… Wagner,… Read More »Die Walküre

WholeNote magazine: November’s child

WholeNote magazine is a Toronto treasure. The monthly must-have publication is put together by a group of talented, selfless, hardworking individuals who keep our musical network connecting, informing, and spreading the word about our vibrant underground classical community. I’m catching up with an article that tells a bit of my own story. It’s called November’s Child. It came out in print last month, but there’s a longer interview online. Here’s one of the secrets revealed in the piece- an embarrassing childhood musical memory: “What was my most embarrassing experience as a child learning music? I was entered in a sight-reading… Read More »WholeNote magazine: November’s child

Pax Christi Chorale

Blest pair of sirens

Stand on a street corner in Toronto and you may see architectural vestiges of our Victorian past; extravagantly crafted stone treasures, surrounded by modern towers of concrete, glass and steel. In a similar musical landscape, Pax Christi Chorale commissions new music, but in a fast-changing world, we take a second look at pieces once unjustly judged as unfashionable. On Sunday October 19 at 3pm, we will blow the dust off this seminal repertoire at Grace Church on-the Hill in Toronto. Our choral scholars, orchestra, and special guests, the Aslan Boys Choir will be joined by actor Emilio Vieira, who will… Read More »Blest pair of sirens

The Parry Diaries

Jan. 2013 A choir member lends me some old scores bound in red leather – two oratorios by a major composer – King Saul and Judith by C. H. H. Parry. March 2013 Had my family around me for Easter thank goodness. After dinner show my Dad the score of Judith and sing through the big tune. Tough going without his reading glasses, but still beautiful. April 2013 Pax Christi performs Handel’s Solomon with orchestra, soloists, off book and dramatized, high school students from Fr John Redmond. Excitement palpable! Oct. 2013 Great Canadian Hymn contest brings together composers from across… Read More »The Parry Diaries

Happy Easter

Just in time for Easter, here is our Pax Christi video. Two previous blogs refer to this, so I am very pleased to present it to you, hot off the press, with best wishes for a happy and healthy Eastertide. Now the Queen of Seasons

Passion and Peace: Q and A with Susan Mahoney

Pax Christi Chorale is putting the finishing touches on our Spring concert “Passion and Peace” coming up on April 26 in Kitchener and April 27 in Toronto. We’re performing Jean Langlais’ Missa Salve Regina, Faure’s Messe Basse and Randall Thompson’s Peaceable KIngdom. Here’s a short interview with Susan Mahoney about the repertoire.   Q – All of the music in this concert was composed in the 20th century. Why did you want to move away from the Bach-Mozart-Handel canon? There’s room on the dance floor for everyone. Not every choir will take musical chances like Pax Christi does. That’s why… Read More »Passion and Peace: Q and A with Susan Mahoney

500,000 hits

When your blog ticker says you’ve reached 500,000 hits, is it appropriate to open a bottle of bubbly? Pax Christi Chorale and Laura Adlers set me up on my blog back in September 2010 when I left the choir for a Sabbatical break. Back then I wrote “I blog, therefore I am.” The blog really was a lifeline whilst travelling alone in Europe; a place to sort out my own experiences and record events and impressions of things I saw and people I met. It was a great comfort in my dark time of grief and provided a venue for… Read More »500,000 hits

In memoriam Pete Seeger

I’m beat up today that Pete Seeger has died. And people ask, “you were a Pete Seeger fan?” The thing is, with Pete you were not a “fan.” You did not sit idly by and merely listen and pledge fan-ship to a performer. You did not “like” him on FaceBook. You didn’t even buy the records. You didn’t have to because your parents already had them on the shelf. There wasn’t kid’s music and parent’s music, there was just music. No, you were not a fan. You were a collaborator. You were part of the band. You sang along with… Read More »In memoriam Pete Seeger

The Beggar’s Opera at York University

About two years ago Gwen Dobie, Catherine Robbin and I had lunch on a patio under a tree, sipping white wine and evaluating our production of Dido and Aeneas at York University. We were exhausted but happy after our initial collaboration, and keen to sink our teeth into something even bigger. That’s when the idea was hatched to produce The Beggar’s Opera at York. We open next week after a year of planning, designing and rehearsing. The production is high energy, imaginative, and a little off the wall. Gwen presents the opera as a “play within a play” set in a… Read More »The Beggar’s Opera at York University

Candlemas

Music for Candlemas: free score for you

You’ll know it as “Groundhog Day.” It’s a turning point in the year surrounded with Northern mythology, like the Celtic folk tale of the Blue Hag, or the more down-to-earth Canadian legend of the rodent who sees his shadow and returns to his lair for 40 days. The Church of St. Mary Magdalene celebrates Mary presenting her baby to Simeon in the temple. The service involves a beautiful procession with candles and lovely music like the Nunc Dimittis. It’s sort of the last remnant of the Christmas season, and you have to eat all your left over plum pudding by… Read More »Music for Candlemas: free score for you