[Toronto] York U's 3rd Annual Fine Arts Festival, March 11-31

Meet the arts in the heart of the GTA!
2008 Fine Arts Festival at York U March 11 ’Äì 31

TORONTO, February 22, 2008: The third annual York Fine Arts Festival, running March 11 to 31, showcases the resident talent in one of North America’Äôs premier centres for professional training in the arts.

Like York University’Äôs Faculty of Fine Arts, the festival encompasses all the arts, from theatre and dance productions to visual arts, design and multimedia exhibitions, film screenings and classical, jazz and world music concerts. Featuring 40 public events over three weeks, the festival packs excitement, entertainment and inspiration ’Äì plus the chance to talent-spot the next wave of outstanding young artists and performers.

The Festival kicks off with an aural and visual feast. Baroque Magnificence (Mar. 11) offers a scintillating selection of 17^th century choral gems performed by the York U Chamber Choir under the baton of Lisette Canton, backed by the York U Chamber Orchestra conducted by Mark Chambers.

The talents of 200+ up-and-coming visual artists are showcased in the graduate student exhibition Under Construction (Mar. 11-14), curated by York alumnus Stuart Reid, director of Owen Sound’Äôs Tom Thompson Art Gallery, and Brainstorm, the enormous annual Open House exhibition of the Visual Arts Department (Mar. 12).

The World Music Festival (Mar. 12-16) spotlights global musical traditions in eight different concerts, from West African drums and classical Chinese orchestra to steelpan, flamenco and Balkan music. It’Äôs followed by the Jazz Festival (Mar. 17-20), featuring performances by the York U Jazz Orchestra led by Al Henderson and Mike Cado, four jazz choirs, and small jazz ensembles directed by the likes of Mike Murley, Lorne Lofsky, Kelly Jefferson and Mark Eisenman.

The York Dance Ensemble heats up the stage with Vivid Variations: re/creating classics (Mar. 13-15), an exceptional collection of vintage and bold new works by David Earle, Darcey Callison, Susan Lee, Susan Cash and Sashar Zarif. Hard on their dancing heels comes Celestial Navigation (Mar. 26-29), a two-part program premiering original works exploring the symbolism of the cosmos created by 11 rising young choreographers, plus renowned indie mover Julia Sasso’Äôs new ensemble piece, bigBANG`, set on 30 heavenly bodies.

Theatre @ York brings cosmic forces back to earth (and water) with Mary Zimmerman’Äôs brilliantly inventive Tony Award-winning play Metamorphoses (Mar. 16-22), based on the Myths of the Roman poet Ovid. York’Äôs magical take on these classic tales of gods and goddesses run amok features some of Canada’Äôs hottest young stage talent, directed by groundbreaking Siminovitch Prize-winner, York theatre alumna Jillian Keiley.

The action moves to the big screen with York Shorts (Mar. 20), a showcase screening of recent productions by graduate film students.

Rounding out the Festival program is a wide array of other exhibitions and performances, including shows of graphic design, print media, time-based art and stage design, and ragtime, R&B and symphony orchestra concerts. The Festival culminates with two major choral events: a spirited performance by the York U Gospel Choir (Mar. 28), led by Karen Burke, with special guest, multiple-Grammy Award-winner Carvin Winans, and the joined forces and voices of the York U Concert and Chamber Choirs in Carl Orff’Äôs Catulli Carmina (Mar. 31).

York’Äôs Faculty of Fine Arts has long been a springboard for Canada’Äôs artistic talent. From Hollywood actor Rachel McAdams to Stratford Festival regulars Tara Rosling, Thom Marriott and Jennifer Gould; photographer Larry Towell and painters James Lahey and Scott Waters; musician and CBC broadcaster Andrew Craig, autorickshaw’Äôs Suba Sankaran, crooner Matt Dusk, and the bands Time Warp and NOJO; stage designers Charlotte Dean and Deeter Schurig; filmmakers Larry Weinstein, Ali Kazimi and Carl Bessai; dance artists Yvonne Ng, Santee Smith, Toronto Dance Theatre ’Äòs Christopher House and longtime Cirque du Soleil choreographer Debra Brown; curators Martha Hanna (Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography) and Jennifer Rieger (AGO); playwrights Djanet Sears and Richard Rose -- alumni of York Fine Arts have helped shape the Canadian and international arts and cultural scene for a generation.

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The Faculty of Fine Arts at York University is one of North America’Äôs leading and largest centres for fine arts education. A vibrant community of more than 3,300 students and 280 faculty working at the leading edge of fine arts practice and scholarship, it offers academic studies and professional training in dance, design, film, music, theatre and visual arts as well as interdisciplinary cultural studies in the fine arts.

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What: York Fine Arts Festival
When : March 11-31
Where : All events take place in state-of-the-art facilities in the fine arts complex at York University, 4700 Keele St.
Admission: free - $15
Box Office & Info: 416.736.5888 | www.yorku.ca/finearts/festival

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Media Contact:
Amy Stewart, Communications, Faculty of Fine Arts, York University
416.736.2100 ext. 20421 | amy.stewart@yorku.ca