Past concerts at Gallery 345.

2 Pianos 4 Hands:
John Farah & Attila Fias
Improvisations
Friday February 19, 2010 at 8pm

JOHN FARAH

Composer, pianist, electronic musician and visual artist John Kameel Farah studied composition and performance with William Aide at the University of Toronto, where he received the Glenn Gould Composition Award twice. Later he had private lessons with minimalist composer Terry Riley in California and furthered his interest in the music of the Middle-East at the Arabic Music Retreat in Hartford. He has performed with Arraymusic and Tapestry New Opera and has had the opportunity to collaborate with a great number of improvisors, jazz, classical, electronic and indie artists across Toronto's diverse music scenes. Though still active in classical music, he now focuses primarily on his own creative hybrid of composition, keyboard improvisation, Electronica, Jazz, Baroque and Middle-Eastern music, and enjoys being able to perform this music in concert halls, jazz festivals and electronic raves alike. NOW Magazine named Farah as Best Pianist 2006. In 1998, he performed the complete solo piano works of Arnold Schönberg. He has performed across Europe, USA, Canada, U.K., the Middle–East, South Korea and Mexico – in 2008 performing atop the Aztec Great Pyramid of Cholula along with galactic visuals by astronomer John Dubinski. In 1999 and 2002, he was guest artist at the Edward Said National Conservatory, giving performances and masterclasses in Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. This summer he released his new CD "Unfolding" on Dross:tik Records, which can be found at www.johnfarah.com.

ATTILA FIAS

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Attila Fias began studying music and playing piano at an early age with his father’s guidance. When his family moved to Canada, he studied with distinguished Canadian musician Dr. David Ouchterlony. He graduated with a performance degree in jazz from the University of Toronto. Attila has performed and recorded with people such as producer Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) and other Indian music stars, Jack Douglas (Aerosmith, John Lennon), New York Brazilian jazz harmonica virtuoso Hendrik Meurkens, tabla master Rajesh Rajbhatt and many fine Canadian musicians. Attila has produced, composed, arranged, and performed for Universal/MCA, Sony/BMG, EMI America and independent labels, on over 80 internationally distributed CDs. With over two million units sold worldwide, including a platinum and three gold-selling albums in Canada, they cover a diverse range of styles.

While rooted in modern jazz, the influences of Brazilian, Indian and Hungarian musical cultures can be heard in Attila’s music as well as elements of contemporary classical music and Electronica. Attila has just released a CD of his original jazz trio compositions entitled Stories, available through his website, www.attilafias.com

The Art of the Piano: Stephen Clarke
Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 8 PM

Stephen Clarke has performed in festivals in Europe, Canada, the U.S. and South America, among these the Donaueschinger Musiktage and the Berliner Festwochen. He has appeared as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, New Music Concerts, the Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. He also plays in a duo with violinist Marc Sabat, is the pianist with Arraymusic and has worked with a number of other ensembles. Solo recordings include works by Giacinto Scelsi (Mode Records). Mr. Clarke studied composition at the University of Toronto and has written works for various ensembles.

PROGRAMME

Udo Kasemets (1919):
Piano Sonata (1951) (premiere)
Koch Curve (1996)
Kaikhosru Sorabji (1892-1988):
Two Piano Pieces: - In the Hothouse (1918)
- Toccata (1920)
Horatiu Radulescu (1942-2008)
Third Piano Sonata op.86 (1992/99)
"You Will Endure Forever"

Duo Cornelia:
Galina Zisk & Jean Sophie Kim
CANCELLED

The Art of the Piano: Marilyn Lerner
Saturday February 13 at 8pm

Songs for a midwinter night
An evening of solo piano improvisations, folk songs, jazz standards and original compositions ...

Marilyn Lerner - pianist/composer
‘with a breathtaking command of the piano, Lerner effortlessly ran through the instrument’s expansive palette of colours. It was delicate and probing, hard driving, witty and funny…
Graeme Pillsworth, Coda Magazine

Repeatedly, Lerner’s interpretations are enhanced by the engaging way she slips between limpid coolness and rhythmically-charged vibrancy. Pianists with a less finely calibrated touch would plough through passages that Lerner precisely etches.
Bill Shoemaker, Point of Departure

Marilyn Lerner Bio

Exhilarating jazz pianist/improviser Marilyn Lerner performs to acclaim internationally, from her native Montreal to Havana, from Jerusalem to Amsterdam and the Ukraine. Her groundbreaking recordings have garnered recognition, including "Best Western Jazz Recording 2004" for her "Special Angel" duo with legendary guitarist Sonny Greenwich.

Lerner's work spans the worlds of jazz, creative improvisation, klezmer and 20th century classical music. She composes for film, theatre, radio and television. She produced "Birds Are Returning", the first contemporary Canadian jazz recording to come out of Cuba, playing her compositions with greats Dafnis Prieto, Yosvanny Terry and Jane Bunnett.

Along with her innovative solo piano work, Lerner tours with The Queen Mab Trio (clarinettist Lori Freedman and Dutch violist Ig Henneman) across Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Their fall 2006 European tour included the prestigious Wels XX Music Unlimited Festival in Austria. Marilyn also performs with Sonny Greenwich, the Mad Satie Trio (Andrew Downing, David Occhipinti), Nick Frasier and Matt Brubeck, Lou Grassi and Ken Filiano, and in the Jewish scene with Adrienne Cooper, Frank London, Alicia Svigals, From Both Ends of the Earth, and David Wall. She has appeared with Steve Lacy, Tito Puente, Michael Vatcher and Gerry Hemingway.

Lerner's original music has garnered the Montreal International Jazz Festival award for best composition. Her audio art collages have been broadcast internationally. A recent commission by CBC in honour of composer Dmitri Shostakovitch's 100th birthday entitled "Meditations on Mitya" was performed by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and in November 2006.

A prolific recording artist, her most recent work includes the independently produced "Romanian Fantasy", a solo recording of improvisations on traditional Eastern European Jewish music recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio at CBC Toronto, "Thin Air" (WIG) the Queen Mab Trio's new release based on Hector Berloiz' Queen Mab Scherzo, "Luminance" (Ambiences Magnetiques), solo improvised piano music using different microphone techniques, "Special Angel" (C.B.C. records), duo with jazz guitar legend Sonny Greenwich, and, with singer David Wall, "Still Soft Voiced Heart" (Traditional Crossroads), original settings of contemporary Yiddish poetry.

Lerner conducts workshops on improvisation and on Jewish music throughout North America, Europe and the former Soviet Union. Current projects include both a recording and performances of "Shake My Heart Like a Copper Bell", Lerner's contemporary Yiddish song cycle on the poetry of Anna Margolin, scored for piano, cello, clarinet and singer Adrienne Cooper, for which she received a Hadassah-Brandeis research award, ongoing collaborations with poet Patrick Friesen, a new trio project with cellist Matt Brubeck and drummer Nick Fraser and numerous solo concerts.

Quintimacy with Special Guest Artist Kristin Mueller-Heaslip
Expressionists in the Melting Pot
Sunday January 31st at 4 PM
$25/$15 seniors and students

PROGRAM:
Korngold: Drei Lieder, Opus 22
Berg: Sieben Fruehe Lieder and an excerpt from Lulu,
Scriabin: Prelude and Nocturne for Left Hand Alone,
Schoenberg: Sechs Kleine Klavierstuecke
and other between-the-wars treats.

As always with Quintimacy, our concert will be followed by a brief reception and includes entertaining anecdotes mixed with the music. Check out our Facebook Page (under groups) for more information and reservations or call Gallery 345 at 416-822-9781.

Quintimacy is a Toronto-based group dedicated to rebuilding a close working relationship between composer, performer and audience through intimate salon-style performance of new, rare and beautiful chamber works. It was founded by Musicologist Eleanor Johnston, Composer Chad Martin and Performers: Ramona Carmelly, Joseph Ferreti and Elaine Lau in 2008.

Want a sneak peek? Quintimacy’s performance of Wagner’s “Wesendonck Lieder” and Chad Martin’s “I will open petal by petal myself” from our 2008 season is posted at:

http://www.instantencore.com/contributor/contributor.aspx?CId=5143176

II - Lynn Kuo Winona Zelenka
Admission: Adults $20 / Seniors $15 / Students $10
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 - 8:00 p.m.

Program:

Maurice Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello (1920-22)
I. Allegro
II. Très vif
III. Lent
IV. Vif, avec entrain

William Bolcom: Suite for Violin and Cello (1997)
I. Prelude – Very free and fast
II. With Energy
III. Stately, slow
IV. Very fast and skittish
V. Street dances

- INTERMISSION -

Beverly Grigsby: Dithyrambos for Violin and Cello (1974)

Michael Pepa: DUO for Violynn and Winoncello (2009)

Erwin Schulhoff: Duo for Violin and Cello (1925)
I. Moderato
II. Zingaresca: Allegro giocoso
III. Andantino
IV. Moderato

Lynn Kuo, violin

Photo credit: Elaine Ling

“…. Lynn Kuo’s violin is dramatic, both rousing and melancholy..." - Showtime Magazine

Violinist Lynn Kuo has performed as soloist and chamber musician across Canada, United States, Wales, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Romania. As guest soloist,she has performed with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra of Bulgaria, Canadian Sinfonietta, Brandon Chamber Players, the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, the Nexus percussion ensemble, and has also collaborated with artists such as Christoph Eschenbach, William Aide, the Gryphon Trio, and Penderecki String Quartet.

In demand as an interpreter of new music, Lynn has given numerous world premieres of acoustic and electroacoustic works written for her and various ensembles (Duo Vita, Les AMIS Ensemble): Canadian and European composers which include Michael Pepa, Dennis Patrick, Katarina Miljkovi?, Daniel Foley, Elizabeth Raum, Scott Godin, James Harley, John Oliver, Constantine Caravassilis, Avalon Rusk (Canada), Séan Clancy (Ireland), and Viktorija Cop (Croatia).

In 2008-09, Lynn gave the Canadian and European premieres of a fifth Michael Pepa work (ISOMORPHE), as soloist with the Cantus Ensemble of Croatia. Reprising her role as head of the Les AMIS Ensemble, Lynn embarked on a third European tour in April 2009 under the artistic direction of Michael Pepa. Among the performances: world premieres at the 2009 Music Biennale Festival in Zagreb, Croatia, the Mendelssohn Concerto in D minor with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra of Bulgaria and the Chausson Concerto for Piano, violin and String Quartet with Marianna Humetska, piano and the Penderecki String Quartet.

Maintaining a busy performance schedule, Lynn is the Assistant Concertmaster of the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, and has also served as guest concertmaster of orchestras including the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Lynn also performs with the Canadian Opera Company, Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In addition to performing, Lynn is a doctoral candidate in the Doctoral of Musical Arts program at the University of Toronto for which her dissertation research is on “Holistic Health and its Role in the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Musicians.”

Lynn gratefully performs on a 1904 Riccardo Antoniazzi violin and Hill bow on loan from Steven Pepa.

www.lynnkuo.com

Winona Zelenka, cello

Photo credit: David Leyes

Winona Zelenka, known for her gorgeous, singing tone, is one of Canada’s finest cellists on the scene today. As a soloist, she has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Strauss’ Don Quixote Suite, with Thomas Dausgaard conducting, 2006), and performs often with conductor John Barnum. Their past collaborations include Lalo’s Cello Concerto in D Minor with the Mississauga Symphony (2008) and Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1, with both the Scarborough Philharmonic (2007) and the Huronia Sinfonietta (2006). She has also performed Haydn’s Concerto No. 2 in D Major with the Canadian Sinfonietta (2007), conducted by Tak Ng Lai. At this same concert, Ms. Zelenka, a proponent of new music, performed the world premiere of “Invocation II’” for cello and orchestra, a work written for her by Canadian composer Michael Pepa. In 2008, Ms. Zelenka performed as guest Principal Cellist for the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Tosca. She has been Assistant Principal of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra since 2005, and served as Principal during the summers of 2007 and 2008. She is currently serving as Acting Principal of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and has held that position since the 2004/2005 season.

Winona is a dedicated recitalist and chamber musician, who regularly performs on the Les AMIS, Syrinx, Amici, Art of Time and Offcentre series in Toronto. She collaborates regularly with many of Canada’s finest musicians including violinists Stephen Sitarski and Erika Raum; violist Steven Dann; bassist Joel Quarrington, pianist Andrew Burashko, and countless others. This summer ( 2009) she performed at the Ottawa Chamberfest with, among others, soprano Donna Brown and pianist/composer Heather Schmidt. The 2009/2010 season sees Winona performing with the Zuckerman ChamberPlayers at the Royal Conservatory’s new Koerner Hall as well as at the 92nd St. Y in New York.

Ms. Zelenka recently formed Trio Arkel with violinist Marie Bérard and violist Teng Li, with whom she will perform at the Four Seasons Amphitheatre in February of 2010. She will also be performing at the Amphitheatre with long-time duo partner Jacques Israelievitch in December 2009. In the 2009/2010 season, Ms. Zelenka is very pleased to work with Mr. Pepa again, who will compose a work for cello, violin and percussion for his Les AMIS series in Toronto.

Since the summer of 2004, Ms. Zelenka began performing in the Music Garden Series at Toronto’s waterfront. Every year, she has performed a different Bach cello suite. In 2006, she performed Canadian composer Chris Paul Harman’s “After the Sixth Suite”, also a composition written for her, which, as the title suggests, she performed in tandem with Bach’s Cello Suite No. 6. For her performance of the Suite No. 4 in September of 2009 she was joined by dancer Claudia Moore who added beautiful movements choreographed by Carol Anderson. Winona was also the cello soloist of such notable film scores as Atom Egoyan’s “Adoration” (2008), István Szabó’s “Being Julia” (2004), and the IMAX film “Under The Sea” (2009).

Exciting new projects include the recently-released films in HD of the Suite for Solo Cello by Gaspar Cassado, filmed by Moving Head Productions and available on Youtube. Winona will also be releasing the complete Bach Cello Suites in the spring of 2010; all projects are recorded by CBC recording engineer Ron Searles , whose credits include I Furiosi and the Eybler Quartet as well as film scores by Mychael Danna and Andrew Lockington.

Winona Zelenka began her career at age 22 as Associate Principal in the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and won orchestra jobs with the National Ballet Orchestra and the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. She obtained her Bachelor of Music and Artist Diploma at the University of Indiana, and studied with the legendary Janos Starker. Ontario born and raised, Ms. Zelenka’s other main teachers include William Findlay, Vladimir Orloff, and William Pleeth.

Winona plays on the “Starker Guanerius”, which was made in 1707 by Giuseppe Guarneri, the father of the legendary “Guanerius del Gesù”. This instrument, formerly owned by Janos Starker for 30 years, is on loan to the TSO for Ms. Zelenka’s use thanks to the generosity of Dr. Edward Pong.

“Their swords were their bows, and their victory was in forgetting about their individual status in their main jobs … and deliver a gorgeous, and intellectually stimulating program…Bérard, Li and Zelenka carved into [Beethoven’s Trio Op. 9, No. 2] with glee, coming up with a full-blooded reading that never rode roughshod over quiet passages.”
John Terauds, The Toronto Star, January 2009

(Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in B Flat Major, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin)
"Her account of the famous cello prologue and epilogue in the andante movement was ravishing and deserved its special ovation."
Ken Winters, The Globe and Mail, May 2008

www.winonazelenka.com

Jane Bunnett and Hilario Duran
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 AT 8 PM

Please join us on Wednesday night, January 20th as we bring some heat to a cold January. Jane and Hilario are continuing their work in progress, performing early 20th century and contemporary Cuban composers, including compositions by Hilario, and the duos they created for piano and flute/sax. This is a reprise of their performance last month at Hart House, but in the warm and welcoming salon environment of Gallery 345. Call in advance to reserve a seat. (416-822-9781)

JANE BUNNETT, BIO

Jane Bunnett the soprano saxophonist, flutist and bandleader, has built her career at the crossroads between Cuban music and jazz. Twice nominated for Grammy Awards (Best Latin Jazz Recording 2002 for Alma de Santiago and 2003 for Cuban Odyssey), a fixture of nominations for Canada’s Juno Awards, and winner at Canada’s Urban Music Awards for Best Global Recording in 2003 for Cuban Odyssey, Toronto’s own jazz virtuoso has turned her bands into showcases for the finest musical talent from Canada, the United States and Cuba.

Honoured with an appointment to the Order of Canada in 2004, Jane Bunnett is truly one of Canada’s most valuable artistic resources.

HILARIO DURAN, BIO

Born in Havana, Cuba and based in Toronto, Canada, Hilario Duran is internationally renowned as pianist, composer, arranger, and orchestra leader. He is a winner of multiple Juno and National Jazz Awards, an American Grammy Award nominee and recipient of the 2007 Chico O’Farrill Lifetime Achievement Award. Latin Jazz Corner wrote that Hilario is one of the “contemporary Cuban pianists that moved jazz in the 21st century.” Hilario Duran and his Latin Jazz orchestra have been selected to perform at the Cultural Olympics 2010.

Like many Cuban musicians, Hilario was born into a musical family surrounded by classical, jazz, and popular music. He joined Arturo Sandoval’s band for nine years (1981-1990), touring at major jazz festivals around the world and sharing stage with the late Dizzy Gillespie and Michel Legrand. In 1990, Hilario formed his own band Perspectiva which toured successfully through Latin America and Europe. One year later Hilario participated as a pianist in Jane Bunett’s Juno Award Winning CD Spirits of Havana.

Hilario Duran is a member of the Jazz Faculty at Humber College, as adjunct Piano Professor and Ensemble Director.

Program

1. Almendra – (Abelardo Valdes)
2. Tres Lindas Cubanas – (Guillermo Caotillo)
3. Longina – (Manuel Corona) 1920
4. Contradanza #2 – (Jose Maria Vitier)
5. Esto Si Tiene Que Ver – (Hilario Duran)
6. Danza Lucumi – (Ernesto Lecuona)
7. Quiriño con Sus Tres – (Eliseo Grenet)

Intermission

1. El Manisero – (Moises Simon)
2. Suite Contradanza
I. Contradanza #1 – (Cervantes)
II. Contradanza #2 – (Saumell)
III. Contradanza #3 – (Saumell))
IV. Los Tres Golpes – (Ignacio Cervantes)

Chrysalis
Sunday January 24, 2-6 pm

Freshly hatched sounds. Step inside the creative process in a concert/workshop led by the insightful Victoria composer Christopher Butterfield and featuring new works by Toronto’s most promising emerging composers. Having performed workshops at UBC, Banff, U of T, York University, University of Aberdeen (Scotland) and Trinity College of Music (England), Continuum’s experience and unique ensemble chemistry promise a memorable event for participants and audience alike.

2:00-3:15 - score critique session
3:30-6:00 - workshop

Click the title for a composer bio and program note (not in performance order)

Christopher Butterfield – 4 pearls
Anna Höstman – ghosts of swallows
Lan-Chee Lam – La Défense
William Peltier – Springtime for Gentle Risings within Gridlock
Chris Thornborrow – Music for Marionettes
Hiroki Tsurumoto – Code Thumbnail 1

Performers: Continuum’s ensemble

Free admission; open to the public

SPECIAL BENEFIT RECITAL FOR NEW MUSIC CONCERTS
Performance by Zygmunt Krause
Monday, Jaunary 11, 2010, 7 PM
$50 Charitable Donation
Wine and Cheese

Poland has long enjoyed the reputation of spawning some of the world’s most successful and controversial composers. We have invited distinguished pianist and composer Zygmunt Krauze to curate a program of Canadian premieres on January 10 at Glenn Gould Studio by Polish composers including Pawel Szymanski, who has proved himself one of the most uncompromising voices of our time. While in Toronto Mr. Krauze offers a special benefit recital for New Music Concerts (a non-subscription event on January 11 at Gallery 345, 345 Sorauren Avenue) in which he will improvise on the music Chopin and Lutos?awski, as well asa free public lecture at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto on January 12. The Polish mini-festival ends on a high note with Agata Zubel, an electrifying performer who is enjoying a rising double career as composer and soprano, in music for solo voice with piano and electroacoustic accompaniment on January 13 at the Music Gallery. For reservations and further information please call our office at 416.961.9594. Our January Polish festival events are proudly sponsored by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Toronto.

Winona Zelenka: Cello
Monday December 7th at 8pm

Hindemith Sonata for Solo Cello
Bach Suite No. 5 in C minor
Intermission
Britten- Suite for Solo Cello, No. 1
Cassado- Suite

Winona Zelenka, known for her gorgeous, singing tone, is one of Canada’s finest cellists on the scene today. As a soloist, she has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Strauss’ Don Quixote Suite, with Thomas Dausgaard conducting, 2006), and performs often with conductor John Barnum. Their past collaborations include Lalo’s Cello Concerto in D Minor with the Mississauga Symphony (2008) and Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1, with both the Scarborough Philharmonic (2007) and the Huronia Sinfonietta (2006). She has also performed Haydn’s Concerto No. 2 in D Major with the Canadian Sinfonietta (2007), conducted by Tak Ng Lai. At this same concert, Ms. Zelenka, a proponent of new music, performed the world premiere of “Invocation II’” for cello and orchestra, a work written for her by Canadian composer Michael Pepa.

In 2008, Ms. Zelenka performed as guest Principal Cellist for the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Tosca. She has been Assistant Principal of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra since 2005, and served as Principal during the summers of 2007 and 2008. She is currently serving as Acting Principal of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and has held that position since the 2004/2005 season.

Winona is a dedicated recitalist and chamber musician, who regularly performs on the Les Amis, Syrinx, Amici, Art of Time and Offcentre series in Toronto. She collaborates regularly with many of Canada’s finest musicians including violinists Stephen Sitarski and Erika Raum; violist Steven Dann; bassist Joel Quarrington, pianist Andrew Burashko, and countless others. This summer ( 2009) she performed at the Ottawa Chamberfest with, among others, soprano Donna Brown and pianist/composer Heather Schmidt. The 2009/2010 season sees Winona performing with the Zuckerman ChamberPlayers at the Royal Conservatory’s new Koerner Hall and at the 92nd St. Y in New York.

Ms. Zelenka recently formed Trio Arkel with violinist Marie Bérard and violist Teng Li, with whom she will perform at the Four Seasons Amphitheatre in February of 2010. She will also be performing at the Amphitheatre with long-time duo partner Jacques Israelievitch in December 2009. In the 2009/2010 season, Ms. Zelenka is very pleased to work with Mr. Pepa again, who will compose a work for cello, violin and percussion for his Les Amis series in Toronto.

Since the summer of 2004, Ms. Zelenka began performing in the Music Garden Series at Toronto’s waterfront. Every year, she has performed a different Bach cello suite. In 2006, she performed Canadian composer Chris Paul Harman’s “After the Sixth Suite”, also a composition written for her, which, as the title suggests, she performed in tandem with Bach’s Cello Suite No. 6. For her performance of the Suite No. 4 in September of 2009 she was joined by dancer Claudia Moore who added beautiful movements choreographed by Carol Anderson. Winona was also the cello soloist of such notable film scores as Atom Egoyan’s “Adoration” (2008), István Szabó’s “Being Julia” (2004), and the IMAX film “Under The Sea” (2009).

Exciting new projects include the recently-released films in HD of the Suite for Solo Cello by Gaspar Cassado, filmed by Moving Head Productions and available on Youtube: to find all three videos, search “Winonacellist” on Youtube.. Winona will also be releasing the complete Bach Cello Suites in the spring of 2010; all projects are recorded by CBC recording engineer Ron Searles , whose credits include I Furiosi and the Eybler Quartet as well as film scores by Mychael Danna and Andrew Lockington. Fans can now visit www.winonazelenka.com for highlights and updates, as well as links to her videos.

Winona Zelenka began her career at age 22 as Associate Principal in the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and won orchestra jobs with the National Ballet Orchestra and the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. She obtained her Bachelor of Music and Artist Diploma at the University of Indiana, and studied with the legendary Janos Starker. Ontario born and raised, Ms. Zelenka’s other main teachers include William Findlay, Vladimir Orloff, and William Pleeth.

Winona plays on the “Starker Guanerius”, which was made in 1707 by Giuseppe Guarneri, the father of the legendary “Guanerius del Gesù”. This instrument, formerly owned by Janos Starker for 30 years, is on loan to the TSO for Ms. Zelenka’s use thanks to the generosity of Dr. Edward Pong.

Fuocoso Saxophone Quartet
Sunday December 6th at 8 PM
$15/$10 seniors and students

PROGRAM:
“Three Preludes for Saxophone Quartet” – composed by George Gershwin (arr. Wolfgang Schlei)
“Carpathian Dance” – Mike Romaniak’s transcription of a ballet performed by the Virsky Symphony Orchestra.
“Wilderness” – composed by Mike Romaniak
“Ragtime Suite” – Arthur Frackenpohl’s transcription of ragtime piano solos by Tom Turpin, Scott Hayden, and Scott Joplin.

Fuocoso Saxophone Quartet is a newly formed chamber ensemble that is based in Toronto, London, and Hamilton. The ensemble strives to maintain a healthy balance between standard repertoire and new music. They encourage composers of all shapes and sizes to write for this lovely genre. Fuocoso Saxophone Quartet is: Jen Blackwell (soprano/alto sax), Julian Lam (alto sax), Mike Romaniak (tenor sax), and Alex Espinosa (baritone sax).

Steve Koven, piano
Rob Clutton, bass
Saturday December 5th at 8pm


Steve Koven - Piano

Steve Koven was born in Toronto, Canada, and began playing piano at age seven. He has studied with various jazz artists including Benny Green, Geoff Keeser, and Bruce Barth.

Steve’s been a professional musician since earning a BFA in Contemporary Improvisation from York University in 1987. In addition to performing world-wide with his trio, he’s played solo throughout North America, Europe, and the Caribbean. When not on tour or in the studio, Steve composes music for film, television and conducts master classes and workshops which focus on the development of improvisational tools and musical self-expression.

Steve is currently on staff at York University where he teaches Contemporary Improvisation and Jazz Piano in the Faculty of Music. As an Educator, Koven has conducted master classes and workshops in China, Japan, Colombia, Barbados and Mexico.

Rob Clutton - Bass

Rob Clutton is a composer and double bassist who was born in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, and has made his home in Toronto for the last twenty years. He earned a Bachelor of Music in Performance at the University of Toronto in 1991 and is currently pursuing a PHD in Music at York University.

Rob is active in the creative and improvised scenes in Toronto with solo project and group projects and as a member of a burgeoning improvising community. His solo project involves composing, performing, and recording for solo bass, including the CD Dubious Pleasures on the Rat-drifting label. Rob has performed numerous solo concerts, including the Guelph Jazz Festival in 2005.

Group projects include the Rob Clutton Band, which has released two CDs of original compositions and performed numerous concerts including the Montreal Jazz Festival. The bassist is a member of Drumheller, N, The Steve Koven Trio, N.O.J.O., Jazzstory, Quorum, The Ryan Driver Quartet, the David Buchbinder Ensemble, and the David Mott Quintet and is a founding member of the Association of Improvising Musicians Toronto, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting local creative improvising musicians, and to facilitating events in Toronto that bring international visiting artists together with local improvisers.

www.stevekoven.com

Les Amis presents:
Lynn Kuo, violin,
Winona Zelenka, cello
Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at 8 pm Details >


Lynn Kuo, Winona Zelenka
Photo credit: Dvid Leyes Photo credit: Elaine Ling

Charlotte Mundy and the Earwax Ensemble
Friday November 27th at 8pm
$15, $7 for students and seniors

PROSE COLLECTION AND SONGS BY CHRISTIAN WOLFF

Christian Wolff (b.1934) is an American composer who has been associated with John Cage, Morton Feldman and Merce Cunningham. He wrote Prose Collection using only
words, no music notation, requiring the musicians to decide how to interpret his instructions. His songs, on the other hand, are notated. They are expressive, often politically charged, and highly original.

The Earwax Ensemble is a group of talented, adventurous young musicians and improvisers on a mission to perform adventurous music, with little regard for genre
or convention. They are Bram Gielen (bass), Peter Hart (guitar), Charlotte Mundy (voice), Patrick Power (guitar), Mike Romaniak (saxophone), and Chris Willes
(clarinet/electronics).

The Art of the Piano:
Glenn Buhr
Monday November 23rd at 8pm

PROGRAM

Glenn Buhr premiered his semi-improvisational 2nd Piano Concerto with the Esprit Orchestra in 2006; a second performance with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra on 2007. The work is dedicated to Casey Sokol. On this recital, he presents the world premiere of the solo piano version.

He'll also be performing a selection from his full length ballet Beauty and the Beast, which was commissioned by the Birmingham Royal Ballet, along with some of his improvisational Jazz/Blues/Hiphop Etudes; and a few of his other creative works for piano.

Dr. Glenn Buhr’s works have been performed by chamber ensembles, soloists, and orchestras all over the world. He became well known in Canada as co-founder with Bramwell Tovey of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s New Music Festival. In March 1996, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra created the position of Artist Laureate for Dr. Buhr. He has also toured extensively as a jazz pianist with various ensembles, and his own ensemble has just released its second CD. Buhr has received composition awards, including first prize in the prestigious Italian Pro Loco Corciano Competition for Epigrams, a work for wind orchestra. In 1998, he was named University Research Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, the first time that honour had been given to a creative artist. He has also received a number of commissions from important performers and ensembles such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. His music has been performed by such diverse ensembles as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. His full length ballet Beauty and The Beast premiered in England in 2003 with the Birmingham Royal Ballet. The work continued on tour in 2004 for a total of 50 performances. Dr. Buhr’s music is often heard on the CBC and is available on CD on the Marquis Classics and CBC labels.

Rob MacDonald

Madawaska String Quartet

IMAGES CD RELEASE CONCERT

Rob MacDonald, guitar
Madawaska String Quartet
Rebecca van der Post, Sarah Fraser Raff, violins
Anna Redekop, viola
Amber Ghent, cello
ChromaDuo, Tracy Anne Smith and Rob MacDonald, guitars

Concert program:
Full Circle (solo guitar) - Andrew Staniland
Into The Woods - Toru Takemitsu
Nocturne for viola, guitar, cello - Omar Daniel
Images for guitar and string quartet - Christopher William Pierce
...and ChromaDuo will perform as a preview for their upcoming Music Gallery concert

Tickets at door: $20 (adults) $10 (seniors/students)

Ensemble Made in Canada
Thursday October 29th at 8pm

Angela Park, piano Judy Kang, violin Sharon Wei, viola Rachel Mercer, cello

“What do you get when you take four young and extremely talented female Canadian musicians who: studied across the United States and Canada; have each won several prestigious awards; developed into stellar soloists in their own right; and joined together to form a piano quartet?

You get Made in Canada, this country's newest up-and-coming chamber group, quickly making its mark on the Canadian music scene.” - Gwenda Nemerofsky, Winnipeg Free Press, 2007

ONTARIO TOUR
Music by Dvorak, Brahms, Coulthard
Recent winners of the Canada Council Instrument Bank Competition, Judy and Rachel will be playing on Strads from the 17th century.

Tickets at the door: adult $20/senior $15/student $10

Music of Riccardo Malipiero and David Lidov
Saturday, October 24th at 7:30

Sonatina (1964) David Lidov
Sinfonia, Arioso, Joropo, Ballade
Zachary Ebin, violin, David Lidov, piano.

Fantasy Ricardo Malipiero
Phases of Courtship II: Under the Spell of Decorum David Lidov
Lora Wilcox, viola, Jose R. Lopez, piano
- - - I N T E R M I S S I O N - - -

Three Songs of Duty (1984) David Lidov
“At midnight’s hour” (H. Thoreau)
“I approve every wild action” (R.W. Emerson)
“Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” (R. Frost)
Kristin Heaslip Muller, soprano, David Lidov, piano
Sonata (1965) Ricardo Malipiero
Jose R. Lopez, piano

T256 (Music and Game)
VIDEOSPREAD – Laurent Chambert
NUIT BLANCHE Toronto
Saturday October 3rd 2009 Details >

The Grace Trio
Journey with Classical Groove
September 12th 2009, 8pm   Details >

Dan Tepfer, Piano
Goldberg Variations/Improvisations
New Series: The Art of the Piano
September 14th, 8pm

Critics have called New York-based pianist/composer Dan Tepfer “brilliant” (NY Times), “impressive” (Boston Globe) and “certainly among those clearly willing to play with familiar formulas and take new approaches” (Jazzreview.com). While he has played with some of the great names in jazz, he strives to create music that is distinctly of our time. He tours internationally in support of several diverse projects, and his breadth and talent have won him international recognition and prizes, leading him to be named the 2007-2009 Cole Porter Fellow in Jazz.

Dan Tepfer is a New York-based jazz pianist and composer. Born in 1982 in Paris, France, in an American family, he earned a bachelor's degree in astrophysics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, before settling down in the United States. Today he divides his time between sideman work with some of the great jazz musicians of our time (Lee Konitz, Charles McPherson, Paul Motian, Ralph Towner to name a few), and a busy touring schedule with his own solo, duo and trio projects. One of his compositions was recently premiered at Carnegie Hall. He is the winner of both the first prize and audience prize of the 2006 Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competition and is the current Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association.

10 Beethoven Sonatas in Eight Hours
VIOLINIST JACQUES ISRAELIEVITCH
& PIANIST KANAE MATSUMOTO
Sunday, June 21 Details >
“It’s like running a marathon,” exclaims violinist Jacques Israelievitch. “Actually, like running two!”

...and then my brain exploded.
Improvised music by The Toy Piano Composers as performed by Digital Prowess
Saturday, May 30, 8pm

The Goldberg Variations
by J.S. Bach, String Trio Transcription.
Sunday, May 31, 3pm
Tickets at the door - $20 / $15 seniors and students

Coenraad Bloemendal, Cello
Uri Mayer, Viola
Deborah Kirshner, Violin

Current classics concert
Array Ensemble performs music by Jean Derome, Jan-Bas Bolen + Walter Zimmerman Details >
Friday, April 24, 7pm

Jurg Wyttenbach lecture/recital
"Beethoven: The Avant-Garde Composer"
Monday, April 20, 2009 at 7pm



Featuring Jürg Wyttenbach’s lecture “Beethoven the Avant-Garde Composer” and his performance of Beethoven’s piano sonatas opp.90 and 109; Beethoven’s Sketches for op.109 and Wyttenbach’s own Trio to the “Prestissimo” and Six “new” Variations to the third movement of that sonata.


Dear Friends of New Music Concerts,

Fundraising is a year-round activity for most non-profit music ensembles. This year is more important than in the past because of the severe economic recession. We need your support more than ever. If you can attend the fundraiser on April 20th, please do so. It should be both entertaining and educational, especially if you love Beethoven. If you cannot attend, your donations are vitally important for keeping us in the game. Go to the New Music Concerts website to make a donation.

We hope to see a full house at the concert on Saturday night at the Glenn Gould Studio and on Monday night for the fundraiser at Gallery 345.

Thanks for you support. Bring a friend that hasn't been to a NMC event, help build our audience for this wonderful ensemble.

Edward Epstein
President, New Music Concerts
Gallery 345

New Music Concernts Presents Jurg Wyttenbach
April 18, 2009 / www.newmusicconcerts.com

The playful and iconic Swiss composer Jürg Wyttenbach conducts the New Music Concerts Ensemble in a varied program including rarely heard folksong settings by Beethoven, a number of Wyttenbach's own theatrical works and his arrangement for large ensemble of Mussorgsky's Kinderstube (The Nursery). Soloists include sopranos Melinda Delorme and Xin Wang, Kate Promane (mezzo-soprano), Jürg Wyttenbach (piano), Robert Aitken (flute) and Max Christie (clarinet).
Illuminating introduction in the lobby at 7:15

Les Amis: Preview / Fundraising Concert
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 8 pm  Details >

Music of Jean Derome and Jan Bas Bollen

The Toy Piano Composers
Friday, February 13th at 8 pm  Details >

"Cage the Bird"
The Toy Piano Composers present premieres of compositions for string quartet.

Thunder Bay ensemble on tour in Toronto

Tuesday, March 18, 2009 at 8 pm

Shift Festival - Continuum Music
Wednesday, February 25th at 9 pm  Details >

Performance by Dutch Pianist/Composer GUUS JANSSEN

A Tale of 2 Tenors
Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 3:00 PM  Details >

New Series: LES AMIS
Tuesdays at Gallery 345

Tuesday, February 17th/09
Duo Vita - Lyn Kuo, violin and John Oliver, guitar

Tuesday, December 9/08
Shoko Inoue, Piano Recital  Details >

Tuesday, October 21st/08
Mary Kenedi, Piano

The Toy Piano Composers
Friday, October 24th at 8 pm

Monica Clorey and friends present premieres of compositions for toy and grand pianos.

Fund raising gala for the Canadian Musicians Centre, with special performances by the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Eve Egoyan and Gregory Oh.  Press release >