Two RCM Students Win at The TSO National Piano Competition

Alexander Seredenko and Samuel Deason, two students of The Royal Conservatory's Glenn Gould School, won prizes at The Toronto Symphony Orchestra National Piano Competition, held at The Royal Conservatory between May 22 and 24, 2009. This prestigious piano competition is a biennial event and attracts Canada's finest young pianists between the ages of 16 and 25. Created to foster young talent, the competition has been a project of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Volunteer Committee for over 20 years. Previous winners include acclaimed virtuoso Stewart Goodyear and rising star Todd Yaniw, both of whom are alumni of The Royal Conservatory.

Alexander Seredenko, currently pursuing his performance diploma in piano at The Royal Conservatory's Glenn Gould School in Toronto, under the instruction of Dean James Anagnoson, won The Roy Thomson Hall First Prize of $8,000 and a future performance with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. No stranger to competitions, Alexander received first place at the annual Canadian National Competition in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Following these awards, and many local competitions in and around Ontario, he obtained first standing in several international piano competitions, including most recently the 2008 Hamamatsu Piano Academy Competition. On February 20, 2009, he appeared in concert with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra under TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian, in a progamme of Ravel, Tchaikovsky, and Elgar.

Samuel Deason, a piano student of Marc Durand, also at The Royal Conservatory's Glenn Gould School, won The Victor Feldbrill Prize of $500 for best performance of a Canadian work. Most recently, Samuel also won the $500 Mary Winston Smail Piano award as well as a $3,500 scholarship to the Madeline Island Music Camp at the 53rd annual WAMSO (Minnesota Orchestra Volunteer Association) Young Artist Competition.

The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory is an internationally recognized centre for professional training in music performance and pedagogy at the post-secondary and post-bachelor levels. The School provides an intimate training environment with a curriculum designed to prepare the most gifted young musicians for all aspects of a professional career. An enrolment of 130 students keeps classes small, students receive more private lesson time, and are offered more than 150 master classes, in addition to between 80 and 100 performance opportunities throughout the year. The faculty consists of world-renowned performers, teachers, and scholars, each bringing expertise and knowledge of the highest standards to Glenn Gould students. Famous alumni include Isabel Bayrakdarian, Naida Cole, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. The Glenn Gould School has been designated a National Training Institute by the Department of Canadian Heritage.

www.tsvc.on.ca/piano_competition

Sneak Peek at Koerner Hall Inaugural Season

Mervon Mehta, Executive Director, RCM Performing Arts, is thrilled to reveal selections from the inaugural season of the country's most anticipated new concert venue, Koerner Hall, at the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning.

Certain to become one of the world's great concert spaces, Koerner Hall will be an acoustically superb, 1135-seat venue, providing a unique audience experience for all genres of music. It will become a welcome home for internationally acclaimed artists, students from The Royal Conservatory, and many of Toronto's finest performing artists. Every seat in the new Koerner Hall has a completely unobstructed view of the stage creating an intimate atmosphere at every performance. TELUS is the official season sponsor of the inaugural Koerner Hall season.

"This first selection of Koerner Hall concerts crosses many musical genres," notes Mehta. "What they all have in common is their high quality. These artists will reveal Koerner Hall's amazing acoustics while also reflecting The Royal Conservatory's commitment to the world's finest performing artists. I look forward to welcoming Toronto audiences to hear some of their favorite musicians but, perhaps more importantly, to introduce them to new and exciting talent and repertoire. In the coming months we will also be announcing several pre and post concert events featuring our students and faculty and the best musicians on the local scene."

The Canadian and international superstars who will headline the inaugural season at Koerner Hall include Jane Bunnett, Gerald Finley, Jon Kimura Parker, Max Raabe, Midori, Yuja Wang, and Pinchas Zukerman. More concerts announcements, including the Opening Festival, bonus events such as prelude and postlude concerts, master classes, and onstage chats with the artists, are still to come!

Musician and composer of jazz and traditional Cuban music, Paquito D'Rivera will open the Latin infused Jazz Series which also includes fellow Cubans Tiempo Libre, Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez and Canada's own Jane Bunnett and The Cuban Piano Masters.

Portuguese-Cape Verdean singer-guitarist Sara Tavares will launch the World Music Series. Also included are Toronto's globetrotting Quartetto Gelato, whose new CD, Musica Latina, explores the music of Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Cuba, on a double bill with amplified alt-classical string quartet Ethel. Rounding out the series are German cabaret singer and bandleader Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester and new first family of Bluegrass, Cherryholmes.

The first two artists of the Vocal Concert Series to be revealed are the Tallis Scholars, an a capella chamber choir from England that specialize in sacred music, and Canadian bass-baritone Gerald Finley who will make a rare Toronto appearance on Mother's Day.

Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Jon Kimura Parker, an Officer of The Order of Canada, will debut the Koerner Hall Piano Recital Series, followed by Hungarian-born British pianist Andrˆ°s Schiff, virtuoso Yefim Bronfman (who made his international debut in 1975 with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra conducted by the legendary Zubin Mehta), French Canadian pianist Louis Lortie in an all-Chopin program to commemorate the composer's 200th Birthday, and Chinese piano sensation Yuja Wang.

Five diverse violinists shape the Strings Concert Series, beginning with the Japanese sensation, Midori (who made her debut with the New York Philharmonic when she was only 11 years old), multiple Juno and Grammy Award-winner James Ehnes (who appears in recital at Koerner Hall and with the Toronto Symphony at Roy Thomson Hall in the same week), American multi-genre violinist Mark O'Connor, Hungarian gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos, who has been called "the devil's fiddler" for his astonishing stylistic versatility, and German violinist Christian Tetzlaff, who will return to Toronto for his first solo recital in ten years.

Simˆ„n Bolˆ‚var Youth Orchestra Brass Ensemble's performance will be one of the highlights of the Chamber Music Series which also include Zukerman Chamber Players with special guest mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung, and violinist extraordinaire Pinchas Zukerman who will play the viola on this occasion. American pianist Simone Dinnerstein will be joined by New York's contemporary-classical Absolute Ensemble conducted by Kristjan Jˆ§rvi in an all Bach programme, and the incomparable Emerson String Quartet will present an all-Dvorˆ°k evening.

"Along with The Royal Conservatory's many supporters we look forward to the upcoming season with great anticipation," remarks RCM President Dr. Peter Simon. "The quality of this superb performance space ensures for the first time that the students who graduate from The Conservatory's Glenn Gould School - and who'll go on to dazzle audiences around the world - will first train and perform and one of the world's great stages‰Ýright here at home."

Founded in 1886, The Royal Conservatory is the largest and oldest independent arts educator in Canada. It is an internationally-renowned centre for performance and learning providing opportunities for personal development through music and arts education in over 300 communities across and Canada and a dozen countries around the world. Each year more than 500,000 Canadians take part in RCM programs, exams and public school initiatives.

SNEAK PEEK AT THE ROYAL CONCERT SEASON 09.10

Simˆ„n Bolˆ‚var Youth Orchestra Brass Ensemble (Chamber Music): Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 8pm

Midori (String Concerts): Friday, October 30, 2009, 8pm

Jon Kimura Parker (Piano Recitals): Sunday, November 8, 2009, 3pm

Zukerman Chamber Players (Chamber Music): Saturday, November 14, 2009, 8pm

Sara Tavares (World Music): Thursday, November 19, 2009, 8pm

James Ehnes (String Concerts): Friday, November 27, 2009, 8pm

The Paquito D'Rivera Quintet (Jazz): Saturday, December 5, 2009, 8pm

Tallis Scholars (Vocal Concerts): Friday, December 11, 2009, 8pm

Quartetto Gelato & Ethel (World Music): Saturday, January 16, 2010, 8pm

Mark O'Connor (String Concerts): Saturday, February 13, 2010, 8pm

Absolute Ensemble with Simone Dinnerstein (Chamber Music): Thursday, February 18, 2010, 8pm

Tiempo Libre (Jazz): Saturday, February 20, 2010, 8pm

Andrˆ°s Schiff (Piano Recitals): Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 8pm

Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester (World Music): Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 8pm

Roby Lakatos (String Concerts): Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 8pm

Danilo Perez: 21st Century Dizzy (Jazz): Saturday, March 27, 2010, 8pm

Yefim Bronfman (Piano Recitals): Thursday, April 1, 2010, 8pm

Louis Lortie (Piano Recitals): Sunday, April 11, 2010, 3pm

Jane Bunnett and The Cuban Piano Masters (Jazz): Saturday, April 17, 2010, 8pm

Cherryholmes (World Music): Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 8pm

Christian Tetzlaff (String Concerts): Sunday, April 25, 2010, 8pm

Yuja Wang (Piano Recitals): Saturday, May 1, 2010, 8pm

Emerson String Quartet (Chamber Music): Wednesday, May 5, 2010, 8pm

Gerald Finley (Vocal Concerts): Sunday, May 9, 2010, 3pm

Tickets $20-$75

Select any 4 concerts from $72

Select 7 or more concerts from $119

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

or in person at The RCM Box Office, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

All events take place at The Royal Conservatory's home, the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West. More information about the 2009-2010 Concert Season is available on The Royal Conservatory website at www.rcmusic.ca.

RCM May and June events

The Royal Concert Season 08.09

Ends With an Eclectic Selection of Shows

Spring is in full bloom at The Royal Conservatory and the shows couldn't be more exciting! The May/June schedule includes world music, family shows, and a concert by some of The Conservatory's own, combining to create the perfect end to an exciting season.

The May/June concert series begins with a concert from The Royal Conservatory's Academy Symphony Orchestra (May 2), followed by award-winning artist Kiran Ahluwalia and the Rez Abbasi Trio, who will perform together on May 28. The season will end with two family-friendly shows from dance troupe Motus O who will present Petrouchka (May 30 and 31) and East of the Sun, West of the Moon (June 5-7).

The Academy Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Visentin (Associate Dean of The Glenn Gould School and Dean of Young Artists Performance Academy), will perform their second of two symphonic concerts this season on May 2. Comprised of senior string students of the Young Artists Performance Academy of The Royal Conservatory, the orchestra will perform repertoire from Antonio Vivaldi to Arvo Part. Young Artist Performance Academy provides its students with the chance to work with internationally acclaimed faculty and guest artists in order to refine and enhance their performance skills, musicality, and desire for artistic excellence. This concert is free.

Indo-Canadian JUNO Award-winner Kiran Ahluwalia will be performing her blend of ghazal (a form of sung poetry that originated in Persia 1000 years ago) and Punjabi folk music, with her husband, Rez Abbasi of the Rez Abbasi Trio, on May 28. Abbasi, described as one of the foremost modern jazz guitar players on today's scene, has received critical acclaim for his latest album Bazaar, which also features Ahluwalia on several tracks. Ahluwalia's approach to ghazals reflects her own transplanted upbringing (she was born in India but grew up in Toronto) and her bi-cultural life experience has made her adept at reaching new audiences. She is one of the few modern artists who composes new music for the Urdu language ghazals.

Dance group MOTUS O, founded in 1990 by an American gymnast, an Australian sheep shearer, and a Canadian figure skater, bring two of their critically acclaimed full-length productions, created for both family and adult audiences and everyone else who has ever been in love, to The Royal Conservatory. The classic Russian tale of Petrouchka (May 30 and 31), with iconic music by Igor Stravinsky, tells the story of a magical world where a wizard and his three marionettes learn about love and valour. East of the Sun, West of the Moon (June 5-7), is a mythological story which explores the timeless themes of love and redemption, with original music by Peter Jarvis and Paul Tedeschini.

The 2008.09 season was a very exciting one for The Royal Conservatory with the return to the
newly renovated TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning on Bloor Street. The new Centre has garnered much praise for the beautifully restored Ihnatowycz Hall, the state-of-the-art technology, and the impressive new academic spaces.

THE ROYAL CONCERT SEASON

MAY/JUNE 2009

Academy Symphony Orchestra (Rising Stars Series): Saturday, May 2, 8pm*

Rez Abbasi Trio with Kiran Ahluwalia (World Music Concerts): Thursday, May 28, 7:30pm

Motus O Dance Theatre presents Petrouchka (Family Series): Saturday, May 30, 2pm

Motus O Dance Theatre presents Petrouchka (Family Series): Sunday, May 31, 2pm

Motus O Dance Theatre presents East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Family Series): Friday, June 5, 7:30pm

Motus O Dance Theatre presents East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Family Series): Saturday, June 6, 2pm

Motus O Dance Theatre presents East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Family Series): Sunday, June 7, 2pm

Tickets $20.00, students $10

Motus O performances are free for children 5 and under

Tickets are available online at www.rcmusic.ca, by calling 416-408-2824 X321,

or at the door at the RCM, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

* FREE EVENT

All events take place at the Conservatory's new home, the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West.

More information about the 2008-2009 Concert Season is available on The Royal Conservatory website at www.rcmusic.ca.

April at The Royal Conservatory

Mozart's Masterpiece Cosˆ¨ fan tutte

an April Highlight

at The Royal Conservatory

Leading Mozart specialist Mario Bernardi returns to The Royal Conservatory, after successfully launching the 2008/2009 season with a sold out concert in September, to conduct Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's darkly comic opera masterpiece Cosˆ¨ fan tutte. The performances run from April 2-7, and admission is free.

Mario Bernardi's career as a conductor began in 1953 with the Royal Conservatory Opera School and went on become one of the most outstanding Canadian conductors of his generation. He was the first conductor of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, took over the CBC Vancouver Orchestra from John Eliot Gardiner, and became the first music director of the Calgary Philharmonic. Despite his busy schedule he continued to appear as guest conductor, particularly of operas, with such companies as the Canadian Opera Company, Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and the English National Opera. Bernardi was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1972, received the Canadian Music Council medal in 1981, and has won two Juno awards.

In sharp contrast to the world premiere of the modern score of Pandora's Locker in December, Cosˆ¨ fan tutte will be an offering in lush classical music. The cast will be in elaborate costumes, generously on loan from Opera Atelier. Stage director Jennifer Parr, who also directed Pandora's Locker, will once again be in charge of this hybrid concert version with some staging around the orchestra, which will be onstage.

The double cast will be made up of The Glenn Gould School Opera Division students and will feature Wallis Giunta (who impressed as Pandora in December) as Dorabella. Other cast members who also appeared in Pandora's Locker include Sean Catheroy as Guglielmo, and Adam Bishop as Ferrando. Taylor Strande and Michelle Danese will be alternating in the role of Despina. The GGS Opera is a distinguished diploma programme that offers superb training in performance to gifted singers from across Canada and from all over the world.

Free events at The RCM continue with Canadian master pianist Anton Kuerti, who will give the last lecture in his 5-part lecture series on Beethoven's Piano Concertos on Friday, April 2, at 2pm, and award-winning composer Brian Current (who conducted Pandora's Locker) will lead The GGS New Music Ensemble in contemporary classical music repertoire on Friday, April 17, at 12pm.

Violinist Atis Bankas and pianist Dianne Werner will together give the last concert of the Great Artists Series on Friday, April 17, at 8pm. This concert will feature Karol Shimanovsky's Nocturne and Tarantella, Op. 28, Leos Janacek's Ballade, and two of the greatest works written for these instruments: Franck's Sonata for Violin & Piano and Debussy's Sonata for Violin and Piano. Dianne Werner is an exceptional soloist and chamber musician. A member of Grammy-nominated ensemble

ARC (Artists of The Royal Conservatory), she is recognized for her lyrical and poetic style, and also
frequently performs as a duo partner with cellist Bryan Epperson. Atis Bankas has appeared as soloist in the former Soviet Union, Europe, U.S., and Canada, as well as with many distinguished orchestras under Paavo Jˆ§rvi, Iona Brown, and Sir Andrew Davis. Both Atis and Dianne are long-standing faculty members of the RCM.

The newly formed Luis Mario Ochoa Quintet will present one of its first concerts as part of the World Music Concerts series on Thursday, April 23, at 7:30pm. Havana-born, Toronto-based, Luis Mario Ochoa is a guitarist, vocalist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and music producer. In 2007 he was nominated for the Canadian Latin Jazz Artist of the Year. His quintet is comprised of the acclaimed Cuban pianist Hilario Duran, Jorge Torres on congas, and a dynamic rhythm section of bass and two percussionists. This special concert will showcase songs from their latest CD, Momentos Cubanos: classic Latin American songs ranging from rumba to samba, bolero to waltz, son to cha-cha, and a very impassioned vocal interpretation of Ernesto Lecuona's timeless ballad Siboney.

THE ROYAL CONCERT SEASON - April 2009

Cosˆ¨ fan tutte (GGS Ope

MMarioMMarMare

Marehursday, April 2 at 8pm*

Anton Kuerti, piano (GGS Lecture Series): Friday, April 3 at 2pm*

Cosˆ¨ fan tutte (GGS Opera): Friday, April 3 at 8pm*

Cosˆ¨ fan tutte (GGS Opera): Sunday, April 5 at 2pm*

Cosˆ¨ fan tutte (GGS Opera): Tuesday, April 7 at 1pm*

New Music Ensemble (Rising Stars Series): Friday, April 17 at 12pm*

Atis Bankas, violin & Dianne Werner, piano (Great Artists Series): Friday, April 17 at 8pm

Luis Mario Ochoa Quintet (World Music Concerts): Thursday, April 23 at 7:30pm

* FREE EVENT

Tickets $20.00 - $30.00, students $10

Tickets available online at www.rcmusic.ca, by calling 416-408-2824 X321,

or at the door at the RCM, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

All events take place at the Conservatory's new home, the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West.

More information about the 2008-2009 Concert Season is available on The Royal Conservatory website at www.rcmusic.ca.

The RCM 2008-2009 Concert Season is made possible through the generous support of:
Presentation Sponsors: BMO Financial Group and MasterCard®
Performance Supporters: Acuity Funds Ltd.; Mona and Robert Bandeen; D. & T. Davis Charitable Foundation; Margaret and Jim Fleck; Invesco Trimark; Mr. Thomas Logan; Mary Jean and Frank Potter; Meredith and William Saunderson; Janet and Michael Scott; Shiu Pong
The Department of Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Arts Council and RBC Financial Group

The Royal Conservatory concerts in 2009

Ring in 2009 with more

Spectacular Performances

at The Royal Conservatory

Come celebrate the New Year at the sparkling new TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning as the Royal Concert season continues with concerts and lectures in January and February 2009. There are plenty of free events coming up, so you don't have to worry about your wallet after the holidays‰Ý

The free Master Class Series are a wonderful way to see famous musicians as they teach the new generation and perfect their craft. January is filled with master classes and lecture series by such great artists as pianist Anton Kuerti (who continues his 5-part lecture series on Beethoven's piano concertos) on January 16; Andrea Cardenes - Grammy-nominated violinist and recognized worldwide as a musical phenomenon - on January 9; the exquisite and incomparable Tokyo String Quartet* on January 23; and renowned Irish pianist Barry Douglas* on January 28. (*presented in conjunction with Music Toronto)

Great Artists Series bring the wonderful soprano Monica Whicher (accompanied by pianist Liz Upchurch) to the stage of Mazzoleni Hall on Sunday, January 18, at 2pm, in a programme of art songs featuring Schumann's Frauenliebe und-leben, Op.42. Dublin International Piano Competition prize winner Li Wang will play Schumann's Kinderszenen, Chopin's Mazurkas, Op. 17, and Mussorsky's Pictures at an Exhibition on Sunday, February 1, at 4pm. Andrew McCandless, The Glenn Gould School faculty member and principal trumpet with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, will appear onstage with fellow musicians Neil Deland, French horn, Gordon Wolfe, trombone, Vanessa Lee, piano, Julie Spring, harp, and Leonie Wall, flute, on Sunday, February 8, at 2pm, in a program of Bernstein, Ravel, Debussy and others.

World Music Concerts will continue on Thursday, February 19, at 7:30 pm with Canada's renowned world music fusion group autorickshaw. Their music lies on the cultural cutting edge, as contemporary jazz and funk blends with the classical and popular music of India. autorickshaw has swiftly risen to become one of the most intriguing acts on the world music and jazz landscapes, garnering a 2004 JUNO nomination and winning a Canadian Independent Music Award in 2005. Suba Sankaran, autorickshaw's vocalist, was recently appointed as a resident artist at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.

The last concert of the Royal Conservatory Orchestra series will present the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Music Director Peter Oundjian leading the RCO in Ravel's quirky and passionate Alborado del Gracioso and Elgar's Enigma Variations. Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 will round out the programme on Friday, February 20, at 8pm, and feature soloist Alexander Seredenko, the GGS Concerto Competition winner from 2007. This will be the last concert the RCO will be performing at the George Weston Recital Hall before their return home, to the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, next season.

THE ROYAL CONCERT SEASON

January and February 2009

Andrea Cardenes, violin (GGS Master Class Series):

Friday, January 9 at 10am and 5pm*

Anton Kuerti, piano (GGS Lecture Series):

Friday, January 16 at 2pm*

Monica Whicher, soprano and Liz Upchurch, piano (Great Artists Series):

Sunday, January 18 at 2pm

Tokyo String Quartet (GGS Master Class Series):

Friday, January 23 time TBD*

Barry Douglas, piano (GGS Master Class Series):

Wednesday, January 28 time TBD*

Li Wang, piano (Great Artists Series):

Sunday, February 1 at 4pm

Andrew McCandless, trumpet, with the GGS Brass faculty (Great Artists Series):

Sunday, February 8 at 2pm

autorickshaw, world music fusion (World Music Concerts):

Thursday, February 19 at 7:30pm

Peter Oundjian, conductor, Alexander Seredenko, piano (RCM Orchestra):

Friday February 20 at 8pm +

Tickets $20.00 - $30.00, students $10

Tickets available online at www.rcmusic.ca, by calling 416-408-2824 X321,

or at the door at the RCM, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

* Free event

All events, except for the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, will take place at the Conservatory's new home, the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West.

+ The Royal Conservatory Orchestra performs at the George Weston Recital Hall at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. For RCO tickets visit www.ticketmaster.ca or call 416.872.1111.

More information about the 2008-2009 Concert Season is available on The Royal Conservatory website at www.rcmusic.ca.

The RCM 2008-2009 Concert Season is made possible through the generous support of:
Presentation Sponsors: BMO Financial Group and MasterCard®
Performance Supporters: Acuity Funds Ltd.; Mona and Robert Bandeen; D. & T. Davis Charitable Foundation; Margaret and Jim Fleck; Invesco Trimark; Mr. Thomas Logan; Mary Jean and Frank Potter; Meredith and William Saunderson; Janet and Michael Scott; Shiu Pong
The Department of Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Arts Council and RBC Financial Group

December events at the RCM

The Royal Concert Season 08.09

Warm up December with Spectacular Performances!

December at The Royal Conservatory (RCM) is filled with very special events, most of them free to the public, as The RCM continues to enjoy its return to Bloor Street and its newly refurbished TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning.

Legendary American pianist and conductor, Leon Fleisher, opens the first week of December with Fleisher Master Class Week from December 2 to December 5, during which he will give five master classes. The Master Classes are free and open to the public, a wonderful way to see a great artist at work! As well, Mr. Fleisher will give a very special concert on December 3, as part of the Great Artists Series. During the concert on Wednesday, (his first solo Toronto performance in over six years), Fleisher will perform a first half of solo piano repertoire. The second part of the concert will be comprised of Brahms' Piano Quintet in f minor, for which he will be joined by members of ARC (Artists of The Royal Conservatory) Erika Raum and Marie Bˆ©rard (violins), Steven Dann (viola), and Bryan Epperson (cello).

Great Artists Series will continue on Friday, December 12, with the renowned violinist and pedagogue Paul Kantor and his wife, Virginia Weckstrom (piano), both of whom joined the faculty of The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory in September of this year. They will be joined by two ARC members, Bryan Epperson (cello) and Joaquin Valdepeˆ±as (clarinet), in an array of chamber music repertoire.

Firmly rooted in the soil of their native land, the energetic and traditional Quˆ©bˆ©cois folk 'power trio', Genticorum, incorporates the dynamism of today's North American and European folk cultures in their music. They have performed in more than 15 countries all over the world, and on Thursday, December 11, they will appear as part of the World Music Concerts at The RCM.

Internationally renowned pianist and Beethoven interpreter Anton Kuerti returns to The RCM for the second of his 5-part lecture series, devoted to the Second Beethoven Piano Concerto, on Friday, December 12. Another wonderful free event will be the Saturday, December 6, concert by the Academy Symphony Orchestra, lead by conductor and artistic director, David Visentin.

A very special event will round out the December performances at The RCM - the world premiere of Dean Burry's opera, Pandora's Locker. This is the first major operatic commission by The Glenn Gould School, written specifically for a high school audience. Inspired by the Greek myth of Pandora's Box, in which a young woman's curiosity leads to the unleashing of all the world's evils, it is a simple, archetypal myth, which reflects humankind's own hunt for knowledge and the potential for disaster upon its discovery. Through the use of themes such as gender issues, sexuality, and gun violence, set to a musical ensemble including modern "urban music scratch electronica", the opera places the Pandora myth within a contemporary, inner-city high school setting. Performances on December 5, 11, and 13, will be conduced by Brian Current and directed by Jennifer Parr.

THE ROYAL CONCERT SEASON - December 2008

Leon Fleisher, piano (GGS Master Class Series): Tuesday, December 2 time TBD*

Leon Fleisher, piano, with members of ARC (Great Artists Series): Wed, December 3 at 8pm

Leon Fleisher, piano (GGS Master Class Series): Thursday, December 4 at 10am and 2pm*

Leon Fleisher, piano (GGS Master Class Series): Friday, December 5 time TBD*

Pandora's Locker (GGS New Music Ensemble and Opera Division): Friday, December 5 at 8pm*

Academy Symphony Orchestra (Rising Stars Series): Saturday, December 6 at 8pm*

Pandora's Locker (GGS New Music Ensemble and Opera Division): Thurs, December 11 at 11am*

Genticorum (World Music Concerts): Thursday, December 11 at 7:30pm

Anton Kuerti, piano (GGS Lecture Series): Friday, December 12 at 2pm*

Paul Kantor, violin, Virginia Weckstrom, piano, with members of ARC (Great Artists Series):

Friday, December 12 at 8pm

Pandora's Locker (GGS New Music Ensemble and Opera Division): Sat, December 13 at 2pm*

Tickets $20.00 - $30.00, students $10

Tickets available online at www.rcmusic.ca, by calling 416-408-2824 X321,

or at the door at the RCM, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

* Free event

All events take place at the Conservatory's new home, the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West.

More information about the 2008-2009 Concert Season is available on The Royal Conservatory website at www.rcmusic.ca.

RCM Pandora's Locker

World Premiere of

PANDORA'S LOCKER

At The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory

The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory has commissioned a new opera, PANDORA'S LOCKER, from the multi-talented young Canadian composer and librettist Dean Burry, to be premiered at the new TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning in early December.

The contemporary youth opera, PANDORA'S LOCKER, is inspired by the Greek myth of Pandora's Box in which a young woman's curiosity leads to the unleashing of all the world's evils. It is a simple, archetypal myth, which reflects humankind's own hunt for knowledge and the potential for disaster upon its discovery. This search for information - keys to the future and past - is never more tangible than in the "up-and-down" lives of the average high school teenager.

PANDORA'S LOCKER, the first major operatic commission by The Glenn Gould School, was written specifically for a high school audience. Through the use of themes such as gender issues, sexuality, and gun violence, and a musical ensemble including modern "urban music scratch electronica", the opera places the Pandora myth within a contemporary, inner-city high school setting. It reveals the many elements of people's lives they seek to keep locked up, but which demand, sometimes violently, to be released. The composer/librettist Dean Burry (who also teaches a contemporary Canadian music class at The GGS) did not shy away from any of the hardcore issues, nor gritty language, in order to make an impact and to have the work resonate with teenagers.

The performances will be conducted and directed by two other talented young Canadians, the award-winning composer Brian Current and director Jennifer Parr. Current is presently the artistic director of the New Music Ensemble at The GGS and received rave reviews for his latest CD, This Isn't Silence. Parr, an accomplished director, well known for choreographing the sword fights for Opera Atelier, will also direct The GGS spring production of Mozart's Cosˆ¨ fan tutte.

"Dean Burry is one of the most dynamic and relevant compositional voices in Canada and is writing, almost exclusively, for opera. His past works hold records for the greatest number of repeat performances for a Canadian opera and his work for the Canadian Opera Company's after-school outreach program has set the standard with its quality and power to engage young audiences. He writes in a style that is both relevant and accessible, and his original libretto for PANDORA'S LOCKER is powerful and uncompromising in its honesty and inspiration." David Visentin, Associate Dean of The Glenn Gould School

PANDORA'S LOCKER

WORLD PREMIERE!

Music & Libretto by Dean Burry

GGS New Music Ensemble and Glenn Gould School's Opera Division

Conductor: Brian Current

Director: Jennifer Parr

Friday, December 5, 2008, at 8:00pm

Thursday, December 11, 2008, at 11:00am

Saturday, December 13, 2008, at 2:00pm

FREE ADMISSION

Doors open 30 minutes prior to performance. General seating, first come first serve

At Mazzoleni Hall, The Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

For more information call 416-408-2824 x321 or visit www.rcmusic.ca

November at The RCM

A NEW ERA FOR THE ROYAL CONSERVATORY

The Royal Concert Season 08.09

Features an Expanded Program of Spectacular Performances

This fall, The Royal Conservatory (RCM) returned home to the spectacular new TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning! With its beautifully restored Ihnatowycz Hall, gorgeous concert venues, state-of-the-art technology, and academic spaces, the new Centre will expand the global reach of the RCM's innovative programs and allow for Canada's greatest artists and emerging performers to be showcased in exciting new ways.

Designed as a musical celebration of the Conservatory's return home, The Royal Concert Season features a greatly expanded Great Artists Series, World Music Concerts, Royal Conservatory Orchestra series, Rising Stars Series, and the free Master Class Series, featuring performances of opera, orchestral and chamber music, and recitals.

"This concert season heralds a new era in our history, as we open our spectacular new home," said Dr. Peter Simon, President of The Royal Conservatory of Music. "It reflects our legacy of diversity, artistry and excellence, and is a terrific opportunity to experience performances by our accomplished students - the next generation of Canadian talent - as well as our extraordinary faculty and acclaimed guest artists."

In November, cross cultural borders and discover the RCM's World Music Concerts. George Gao, pioneer of new music for the erhu, often referred to as a "Chinese fiddle", will play on November 6, and Aditya Verma, a charismatic young sarod player, (the sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music) will appear on November 20.

The Great Artists Series, which opened in September with a sold out inaugural concert conducted by Maestro Mario Bernardi, continues with ARC (Artists of the Royal Conservatory) on November 7 with a very special concert, Music in Exile, featuring the music of composers who resisted the Nazi regime. Martin Beaver, First Violin of the Tokyo String Quartet, and pianist Li Wang will present a program of Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, and Prokofiev on November 14. And, Juno award-winner, harpist Judy Loman, and Principal Flute of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Nora Schulman, will charm audiences with a showcase of stunning works on November 23.

One of the best kept secrets at the RCM are the free concerts and events, and November is full of them! On November 12 students of the Vocal Department of the Glenn Gould School will be featured in a GGS Vocal Showcase. The Master Class Series, which offers audience members a unique opportunity to observe great artists in the process of teaching young musicians, as well as a glimpse into the personalities of these extraordinary musicians, is an experience not to be missed. The following internationally acclaimed artists will be conducting master classes: Martin Beaver (violin) on November 13, Michael Mermagen (cello) on November 14, Marc Durand (piano) on November 21, Mimi Zweig (violin) on November 28, and finally Stuart Hamilton (voice)

also on November 28.

November also sees the first of a free 5-part lecture series given by the internationally renowned Beethoven interpreter, pianist Anton Kuerti. Each of his 90-minute lecture-demonstrations will be dedicated to one of the five Beethoven Piano Concertos. The first lecture takes place on Friday, November 28 at 2pm.

Capping the music-filled month of November is the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, one of North America's finest training ensembles, who will perform on November 20, conducted by Yoav Talmi and featuring 2006 GGS Concerto Competition winner Sonia Sielaff (clarinet). The program will include Mahler, Strauss, and Neilsen's Clarinet Concerto.

Since it was founded in 1886, The Royal Conservatory has been a leader in music and arts education, and has played a central role in developing a uniquely Canadian culture. Today, the RCM continues to cultivate the next Glenn Gould, Oscar Peterson, and Teresa Stratas.

THE ROYAL CONCERT SEASON - November 2008

George Gao, erhu (World Music Concerts): Thursday, November 6 at 7:30pm

ARC Music in Exile (Great Artists Series): Friday, November 7 at 8pm

Students of the GGS Vocal Department (GGS Vocal Showcase): Wed, November 12 at 8pm*

Martin Beaver, violin (GGS Master Class Series): Thursday, November 13 at 6pm*

Michael Mermagen, cello (GGS Master Class Series): Friday, November 14 at 10am and 5pm*

Martin Beaver, violin, and Li Wang, piano (Great Artists Series): Friday, November 14 at 8pm

Aditya Verma, sarod (World Music Concerts): Thursday, November 20 at 7:30pm

Yoav Talmi, conductor, and Sonia Sielaff, clarinet (Royal Conservatory Orchestra):

Thursday, November 20 at 8pm

Marc Durand, piano (GGS Master Class Series): Friday, November 21 time TBA*

Judy Loman, harp, and Nora Schulman, flute (Great Artists Series): Sunday, November 23 at 2pm

Mimi Zweig, violin (GGS Master Class Series): Friday, November 28 time TBA*

Anton Kuerti, piano (GGS Lecture Series): Friday, November 28 2pm*

Stuart Hamilton, voice (GGS Master Class Series): Friday, November 28 time TBA*

Tickets $20.00 - $30.00, students $10

Tickets available online at www.rcmusic.ca, by calling 416-408-2824 X321,

or at the door at the RCM, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

* Free event

All events, except for the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, will take place at the Conservatory's new home, the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West.

The Royal Conservatory Orchestra performs at the George Weston Recital Hall at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. For tickets visit www.ticketmaster.ca or call 416.872.1111.

More information about the 2008-2009 Concert Season is available on The Royal Conservatory website at www.rcmusic.ca.