Mesmerizing March at The Royal Conservatory

German Cabaret Star Max Raabe and Wild Gypsy Fiddler Roby Lakatos

Make Their Toronto Debuts at Koerner Hall

March brings a compelling collection of concerts to The Royal Conservatory’Äôs TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning - classical music will be fused with jazz, pop, and gypsy music, while a saucy German ensemble will conjure up the sounds of big bands and Berlin.

The Conservatory performances kick off on March 4, when Art of Time Ensemble returns to Koerner Hall, this time with singer-songwriter, and former Barenaked Lady, Steven Page. This Toronto appearance is part of the ensemble’Äôs twelve stop ’ÄúA Singer Must Die’Äù tour, which will take them across Ontario. A disc of the same name will be released on February 16 by Pheromone Recordings. Founded by Andrew Burashko, an alumnus and faculty member of The Royal Conservatory, Art of Time Ensemble blends classical music with other musical genres and art forms. For this concert, the group will perform fresh new chamber music arrangements of some of Steven Page’Äôs favourite songs, including pieces by Leonard Cohen, Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright, and Radiohead. Also included in the program is a performance of Sergei Prokofiev's Sonata No. 1 in F Minor for Violin and Piano. This performance is presented in partnership with Massey Hall.

Also on March 4, the Musicians from Marlboro make their way to Mazzoleni Hall. Celebrating their 45^th anniversary, this extension of Vermont’Äôs celebrated Marlboro Music Festival visits Toronto as part of a winter tour of North America. Performers include violinists Karina Canellakis and Augustin Hadelich, violist Sebastian Krunnies, cellist Peter Stumpf, and clarinetist Romie de Guise-Langlois. The program includes Joseph Haydn’Äôs String Quartet in E-flat Major, Zoltˆ°n Kodˆ°ly’Äôs Duo for Violin and Cello, and Johannes Brahms’Äôs Clarinet Quintet in B Minor.

On March 9, cabaret comes to Koerner Hall when Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester bring their Weimar-era music to The Royal Conservatory, in their Canadian debut. Embodying the naughty irony and high style of 1920s and 1930s German nightclubs, this twelve piece dance band performs era-specific standards like Just One of those Things and Cheek to Cheek, German hits like Mein kleiner grˆºner Kaktus, and darkly sardonic readings of contemporary pop songs like Brittney Spears’Äôs hit Oops, I Did it Again. Anchored by the charismatic Raabe and his flexible baritone, the band has already wowed audiences across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Pittsburgh Review sums them up in a single word: ’ÄúWunderbar!’Äù

Fiery violin virtuosity heats up Koerner Hall on March 10, when ’ÄúThe Devil’Äôs Fiddler’Äù, Roby Lakatos, burns up the stage in his Toronto debut. This appearance is the first stop of his North American tour. Lakatos is renowned for his blazing blend of gypsy rhythms, jazz improvisation, and classical technique. A seventh-generation string player, the charismatic and classically-trained Lakatos has been performing publicly since the age of nine. Joined by his sizzling ensemble, he will perform a combination of classical pieces, traditional Eastern European folk songs, as well as his own original compositions, all described by The Times of London as ’Äúshow stoppers, each more preposterously exuberant than the last.’Äù

The Royal Conservatory acknowledges all of its sponsors and donors and recognizes the remarkable generosity of:

TELUS ’Äì Official Season Sponsor of the 2009-10 Koerner Hall Concert Season

The Globe and Mail ’Äì Season Media Sponsor

Classical 96.3 ’Äì Performance Sponsor (Roby Lakatos)

Dr. Gˆºnes N. Ege-Akter ’Äì Performance Supporter (Musicians from Marlboro)

CONCERTS AND EVENTS AT THE ROYAL CONSERVATORY ’Äì MARCH 1-15, 2010

KH ’Äì Koerner Hall; MH ’Äì Mazzoleni Hall

Art of Time Ensemble’Äôs SONGBOOK featuring Steven Page: Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 8pm;

$39.50-$49.50 (KH)

Musicians from Marlboro: Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 8pm; $20-$30 (MH)

Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester: A Night in Berlin: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 8pm;

$20-$65 (KH)

Roby Lakatos: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 8pm; $20-$65 (KH)

INDEPENDENT PRESENTATIONS

Adriane Daskalakis and Miri Yampolsky: Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 8:00pm; $35 (MH)

Gala Winners Concert, The Third Canadian Chopin Competition: Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 2pm;

$20-$50 (KH)

Tickets are available online at www.rcmusic.ca, by calling 416.408.0208,

or in person at the Weston Family Box Office, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

More information about upcoming concerts and events is available The Royal Conservatory website at www.rcmusic.ca.