Opera Division singers perform Cole Porter

Singers from the Opera Division to perform songs of Cole Porter

TORONTO ’Äì Singers from the Opera Division of the University of Toronto Faculty of Music will present Why Can't You Behave?, a revue celebrating the songs of Cole Porter, and the wit of writer/poet Dorothy Parker. The program includes some of Porter's most famous songs, such as Anything Goes, In the Still of the Night, I Get a Kick Out of You, Night and Day, and Let's Do It. The two performances take place Friday and Saturday, April 3 & 4, 2009, at 7:30 pm in Walter Hall. Tickets ($14 adults and $8 seniors/students) can be purchased at the Faculty of Music box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744.

Part of Canada’Äôs top university, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music has an illustrious history as one of North America’Äôs leading centres for the scholarly and professional study of music, offering a rich array of degree and diploma programs from the undergraduate to post-graduate levels. Many of this country’Äôs greatest musicians such as John Weinzweig, Lois Marshall, Elmer Iseler, Adrienne Pieczonka, Russell Braun, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet have studied or taught at the Faculty. With over 100 events featuring students, faculty and distinguished guests, the Faculty’Äôs performance season embodies its commitment to an education that champions diversity, depth and explorations. Highlights of the 2008-09 season include cellists Steven Isserlis and Shauna Rolston, baritone Sherrill Milnes, composer Maria Schneider, conductors David Briskin and Miah Im, jazz great Phil Nimmons, the Mirˆ„, and St. Lawrence String Quartets, the Gryphon Trio and Nexus.

For more information on this or other Faculty of Music concert series, please visit our website at www.music.utoronto.ca or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

Ticket sales and general inquiries:
Faculty of Music Box Office
Hours: 1 ’Äì 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Phone: 416-978-3744
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’Äôs Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5

U of T Symphony Season Finale

Ivars Taurins conducts U of T Symphony Orchestra in season finale

TORONTO ’Äì On Thursday, April 9, 2009, the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra presents the last concert of the season. Conducted by Ivars Taurins, the program includes Giovanni Gabrieli’Äôs Canzon primi toni a 8 (from Sacrae Symphoniae 1597), Beethoven’Äôs Symphony No. 2 in D major and Tchaikovsky’Äôs Symphony No. 5. The concert takes place at 7:30 pm at MacMillan Theatre in the Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’Äôs Park. Tickets ($18 adults and $10 seniors/students) can be purchased at the Faculty of Music box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744.

Ivars Taurins conducts symphonic and choral repertoire with equal expertise. Founder and director of the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir since 1981, he was also principal violist of the Tafelmusik Orchestra for its first 23 years. Under his direction the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir has been widely praised for its clarity and brilliance, and in 1991 was awarded the Canada Council's Healey Willan Prize “Äåin recognition of the consistently high level of achievement by the choir and its unique contribution to choral art in Canada.“Äç
A passionate lecturer and teacher, Mr. Taurins teaches conducting and baroque ensembles at the University of Toronto. He is in demand as a guest lecturer, adjudicator and clinician. He was guest lecturer at Podium 2000, the conference of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors. He has been a guest teacher at the Universitˆ© de Sherbrooke in Quebec, the University of Western Ontario, the University of Alberta, and at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto. Mr. Taurins is director of the vocal/choral programme at the annual Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute.

Part of Canada’Äôs top university, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music has an illustrious history as one of North America’Äôs leading centres for the scholarly and professional study of music, offering a rich array of degree and diploma programs from the undergraduate to post-graduate levels. Many of this country’Äôs greatest musicians such as John Weinzweig, Lois Marshall, Elmer Iseler, Adrienne Pieczonka, Russell Braun, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet have studied or taught at the Faculty. With over 100 events featuring students, faculty and distinguished guests, the Faculty’Äôs performance season embodies its commitment to an education that champions diversity, depth and explorations. Highlights of the 2008-09 season include cellists Steven Isserlis and Shauna Rolston, baritone Sherrill Milnes, composer Maria Schneider, conductors David Briskin and Miah Im, jazz great Phil Nimmons, the Mirˆ„, and St. Lawrence String Quartets, the Gryphon Trio and Nexus.

For more information on this or other Faculty of Music concert series, please visit our website at www.music.utoronto.ca or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

Ticket sales and general inquiries:
Faculty of Music Box Office
Hours: 1 ’Äì 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Phone: 416-978-3744
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’Äôs Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5

U of T presents Grammy-winning composer Maria Schneider

University of Toronto Faculty of Music to present Grammy-winning composer Maria Schneider

"To call Schneider the most important woman in jazz is missing the point in two ways. She is a major composer - period." - TIME MAGAZINE

"...she puts together stories that speak with the clarity of Ernest Hemingway and the musical grace of Aaron Copland."
’Äì PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

TORONTO ’Äì The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto presents Grammy Award-winning composer Maria Schneider in a lecture and a concert with the U of T Jazz Orchestras. On Thursday, April 2, the Roger D. Moore Distinguished Visitor in Composition will present a lecture in Walter Hall as part of the Thursdays at Noon Series, and on Saturday, April 4, she will join the Faculty of Music’Äôs 10 O’ÄôClock and 11 O’ÄôClock Jazz Orchestras in a concert in MacMillan Theatre. Details of the events are as follows:

Thursday, April 2, 2009
LECTURE: MARIA SCHNEIDER
Roger D. Moore Distinguished Visitor in Composition
12:10 pm. Walter Hall, 80 Queen’Äôs Park. Free

Saturday, April 4, 2009
CONCERT with the U of T Jazz Orchestras
Maria Schneider conducts her own music with the U of T Jazz Orchestras
7:30 pm. MacMillan Theatre, 80 Queen’Äôs Park. Tickets: $14 ($8 seniors/students).
Box Office: 416-978-3744
Box office hours: 1 ’Äì 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’Äôs Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5

Maria Schneider's music has been described as evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and beyond categorization. Born in Windom, Minnesota, Schneider arrived in New York City in 1985 after studies at the University of Minnesota, the University of Miami and the Eastman School of Music. She immediately sought out Bob Brookmeyer to study composition, and at the same time became an assistant to Gil Evans, working on various projects with him.

The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra came into being in 1993, appearing at Visiones in Greenwich Village every Monday night for a stretch of five years. Subsequently, her orchestra has performed at festivals and concert halls across Europe as well as in Brazil and Macau. She's received numerous commissions and invites with American and Europeans orchestras, guest conducting in Brazil, Italy, Portugal, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Canada, Scotland, Australia, Greenland and Iceland, as well as across the U.S. Commissions include the Norrbotten Big Band's and Danish Radio Orchestra's commission to arrange and conduct concerts with Toots Thielemans. Other commissioning organizations include the Metropole Orchestra, Stuttgart Jazz Orchestra, Orchestre National de Jazz (Recapitulation), Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra (El Viento), Monterey Jazz Festival (Scenes from Childhood), University of Miami Concert Jazz Band (Three Romances), Hunter College (Concert in the Garden and Sky Blue), Jazz at Lincoln Center (Bulerˆ‚a, Soleˆ° y Rumba), Los Angeles Philharmonic Association (Aires de Lando) and Peter Sellars' New Crowned Hope Festival (Cerulean Skies). Maria was also the recipient of a Doris Duke award to compose a dance work (Dissolution) in collaboration with the Pilobolus dance group. It was performed with her orchestra at the American Dance Festival and Kennedy Center. Her latest major work, commissioned by The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, debuted in October of 2008 Written to feature soprano, Dawn Upshaw, it is entitled Carlos Drummond de Andrade Stories.

Schneider has had a distinguished recording career as well. Her debut recording Evanescence, was nominated for two 1995 Grammy Awards. Her second and third recordings Coming About and Allˆ©gresse were also nominated for Grammys. Her third album, Allˆ©gresse was chosen by both TIME and BILLBOARD in their Top Ten Recordings of 2000, inclusive of all genres of music.

Concert in the Garden, released only through her website (an ArtistShare¬Æ site), was a watershed in her career when she won the 2005 Grammy Award for “ÄåBest Large Ensemble Album“Äç and became the first Grammy-winning recording with Internet-only sales. It also received“ÄåJazz Album of the Year“Äç by the Jazz Journalists Awards and the DOWNBEAT Critics Poll. Both also awarded her “ÄåComposer of the Year“Äç and“ÄåArranger of the Year“Äç and the Jazz Journalists also named her group “ÄåLarge Jazz Ensemble of the Year“Äç.

Her newest fan-funded ArtistShare¬Æ recording, Sky Blue, was released in July 2007 and received unanimous praise. It was nominated for two Grammy Awards, winning one in the category of “ÄåBest Instrumental Composition“Äç (Cerulean Skies). The album received the honor of “ÄåJazz Album of the Year“Äç from the VILLAGE VOICE Critics Poll as well as a Choc Award in France and was one of only two albums to receive a five-star review from DOWNBEAT in 2007.

Artist website: www.mariaschneider.com

Woodwind concert rounds out Chamber Music Series

TORONTO ’Äì The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto presents the final concert of the acclaimed Chamber Music Series. Titled Petite Offrande Musicale, the program features chamber music for 3 to 7 woodwind and brass players, including Petite Offrande Musicale (Nino Rota), Divertissement (Jean Francaix), Mladi ("Youth") (Leos Janacek) and Septet for Wind (Paul Hindemith). The performers are some of the top players in Toronto, including Harcus Hennigar, horn, Kathleen McLean, bassoon, Joseph Orlowski, bass clarinet, Stephen Pierre, clarinet, Clare Scholtz, oboe, Douglas Stewart, flute, and Barton Woomert, trumpet. The concert takes place on Monday, March 30 at 7:30 pm in Walter Hall, 80 Queen’Äôs Park. Tickets ($25 adults and $15 seniors/students) can be purchased at the box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744.

Harcus Hennigar has been a member of the Toronto Symphony since 1986, and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. A native of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Hennigar graduated from the University of Toronto, studying with Eugene Rittich, and further studied in Czechoslovakia with Frantisek Solc, Hungary with Ferenc Tarjani, and Russia with Vitali Bujanovsky.

Kathleen McLean received her musical training at the Curtis Institute of Music and has been associate principal bassoon of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 1992 and was principal bassoon with the Canadian Opera Company. She was bassoon instructor at the University of Victoria until 1988 and since then has been on faculty at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Joseph Orlowski has been a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 1988. Joseph has acted as Principal clarinettist with the Canadian Opera Company and was the Associate Principal Clarinettist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He teaches at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music. Joseph is also a Certified Personal Trainer, focusing on injury prevention and strengthening for professional musicians.

Stephen Pierre has been principal clarinet with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra for the last twenty years, a position he has also held with the Victoria Symphony. Stephen attended the University of Toronto Faculty of Music and studied with Robert Marcellus of the Cleveland Orchestra and Stan McCartney and Avrahm Galper of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Stephen is currently on the faculties of both the University of Toronto and McMaster University.

Clare Scholtz was principal oboe of the Saskatoon Symphony for four years, and taught at the University of Saskatchewan. Clare has performed with the National Ballet Orchestra in Toronto, Europe and across Canada, the Toronto Symphony, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Esprit Orchestra, Opera Atelier, Soundstreams, Arraymusic, Continuum, the International Bach Festival with Helmuth Rilling and many other ensembles. She is on the faculties at the University of Toronto and York University.

Douglas Stewart is Principal Flute in the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and the Esprit Orchestra. He has studied with Albert Horch, Nick Fiore, Robert Aitken, Marcel Moyse, James Galway, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Julius Baker and Samuel Baron. He teaches at the University of Toronto and has been Visiting Professor at the Freiburg Hochschule of Music in Germany.

Since 1982, Barton Woomert has been Associate Principal trumpet with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and trumpet instructor at Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. In addition to performing in the symphony and teaching at the University of Toronto, Barton maintains a busy private trumpet studio and performs as an associate member of the True North Brass. During the summer, he serves on the music faculties of the Interprovincial Music Camp and the Lancaster County Music Camp of Elizabethtown College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The Faculty of Music CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES brings to Walter Hall some of the world’Äôs finest chamber music groups. Recent and upcoming performers include the Pacifica Quartet, Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, cellist Steven Isserlis, and the Gryphon Trio. For more information on this and other Faculty of Music concert series, please visit our website at http://www.music.utoronto.ca or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

Edith Wiens Voice Masterclasses

Order of Canada soprano presents masterclasses at Faculty of Music

TORONTO ’Äì The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto presents renowned soprano Edith Wiens in masterclasses with students of voice and opera. On Monday, March 23 and Tuesday, March 24, the soprano will coach students singing opera, oratorio, and Lieder repertoire. Other stops on Wiens' 2009 teaching tour include masterclasses at Juilliard and the Royal College of Music in London.

*Edith Wiens was born in Saskatoon and educated at Oberlin, making her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1981. As a soprano in the concert field, Wiens has performed with such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, Sir Neville Marriner, and Sir Georg Solti, and appeared at many major music festivals. She has sung with many major London and North American orchestras, as well as the Israeli Philharmonic, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Dresden State Orchestra. In Canada Wiens has sung with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Highlights of Wiens' busy recording career include Bach cantatas and the St. Matthew Passion with conductor Helmuth Rilling, multiple recordings of Mozart's Mass in C Minor, numerous discs of German song, and the album Ae Fond Kiss with CBC Records.

In recital, Wiens favoured works by Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, and Strauss, but her repertoire extended to Gershwin, Stephen Foster, and North American folksongs. She made her Toronto recital debut in 1994, a year in which she also gave masterclasses at the University of Toronto. She was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2000.

Monday, March 23, 12:10 pm, Walter Hall, and
Tuesday, March 24, 12:10 - 2:30pm, Geiger Torel Room
Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queens Park. Free admission.

*with materials from www.edithwiens.com and the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada

Faculty of Music presents Darryl Edwards voice recital

Faculty of Music presents Darryl Edwards in recital

TORONTO ’Äì The University of Toronto Faculty of Music presents Earth, Water, Wind and Fire, a vocal recital featuring faculty artists Darryl Edwards, tenor, with Liz Upchurch, piano, Friday, March 20, 7:30 pm, in Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queens Park. Tickets ($25 adults and $15 seniors/students) can be purchased at the box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744.

This is the final concert in the Faculty Artist Series, featuring tenor Darryl Edwards and pianist Liz Upchurch in a widely varied program showcasing art song, Shakespeare songs with lutenist John Edwards, and a dramatic cantata with mezzo-soprano Erin Crooks. Operatic selections round out the program, from Mozart's Idomeneo to Toronto composer Raymond Luedeke's I Confess, I Have Lived, based on the stormy poetry of Nobel winner Pablo Neruda. Each selection portrays vivid human emotions ’Äì fear, love, longing for home ’Äì experienced and described in terms of the visceral, concrete world around us, made of earth, water, wind and fire.

Tenor DARRYL EDWARDS has appeared to critical acclaim in oratorio, recital, and opera in England, Germany, France, Italy, Corsica, the United States, and across Canada. His recent and upcoming engagements include Kodˆ°ly's Psalmus Hungaricus with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Verdi Requiem at Dalhousie University: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Orff's Carmina Burana with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Mozart Requiem with the Toronto Philharmonia, and Handel's Messiah with the Elmer Iseler Singers.

Darryl Edwards is the Artistic Director of the Centre for Opera in Sulmona, Italy, and the Concert Opera Group. His voice students appear with major companies and orchestras across Canada, the United States and Europe (Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, New York City Opera, Philadelphia Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Bavarian State Opera’Äì Munich, Zurich Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, Greek National Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company). He has served as the Ontario District Governor of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and is the voice columnist for the Canadian Music Educator.

Critics praise him as a "rich-voiced, cultured tenor who mastered the high notes effortlessly" (Coburg Tageblatt, Germany), and an "effective communicator who expressed the text with sensitivity and fervour" (Hamilton Spectator). His recordings and broadcasts include performances with American National Public Radio (NPR), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC Radio 2), and the Canadian Music Centre (Centrediscs).

LIZ UPCHURCH is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, England, where she won several prizes as solo pianist and accompanist. As a music director, vocal coach and repetiteur she has worked in 21st-century and traditional opera, music theatre and theatre. She has also covered a wide range of working techniques with singers, actors and instrumentalists in community and educational projects. For many years she worked with young artists at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh where she played for masterclasses with artists such as Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Suzanne Danco, William Pleeth and Dame Joan Sutherland. Ms Upchurch has also worked at the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg festival in Germany and the National Theatre in London. She held a faculty position in the 20th-century Opera and Song program at the Banff Centre for the Arts and was repetiteur and chorus director at Edmonton Opera. As a pianist she has performed all over Europe and has been broadcast with the BBC, Norwegian Radio and the CBC. Ms Upchurch also appeared as a judge on Bravo’Äôs hit series, Bathroom Divas: So you want to be an opera singer!

Featuring music faculty members, the FACULTY ARTIST SERIES has a long tradition of presenting some of Canada’Äôs most celebrated artists and is considered one of the finest recital series in Toronto. For more information on this or other Faculty of Music concert series, please visit our website at http://www.music.utoronto.ca/ or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

Feb 13 Choral Concert - Vox Femina

Faculty of Music Choral Concert Celebrates Music for Female Voices

TORONTO ’Äì On Friday, February 13, 2009, the University of Toronto Women’Äôs Chorus is joined by guest choir, the University of Guelph Chamber Choir, in Vox Femina, a concert featuring music for female voices spanning 500 years. Conducted by Robert Cooper C.M. and Marta McCarthy, the program includes music by Palestrina, John Tavener, Francis Poulenc, Pavel Chesnokov, Eric Whitacre, Brahms, Duke Ellington and folksong arrangements. The concert takes place at 7:30 pm in Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge Street (NW corner of Yonge & Heath). Tickets ($14 adults, $8 students/seniors) can be purchased at the Faculty of Music box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744 and are also available at the door on performance night.

One of Canada’Äôs foremost choral conductors, Robert Cooper C.M. is currently Artistic Director of Chorus Niagara, Orpheus Choir of Toronto, the Opera in Concert Chorus, and the University Women’Äôs Chorus, University of Toronto, Faculty of Music. Mr. Cooper has had the honor of conducting the National Youth Choir of Canada and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1997 for a Celebration of Canadian Choral Music. He has conducted symphony orchestras in Halifax, Winnipeg, Edmonton and London (ON), opera companies in Victoria, Ottawa and Winnipeg, leading choirs across Canada, as well as Toronto Operetta Theatre and Opera in Concert. Acknowledged as an innovative programmer, Mr. Cooper has also commissioned and premiered many new works by both Canadian and international composers. Mr. Cooper has adjudicated the international choral competition Let The Peoples Sing on many occasions, guest conducted Newfoundland’Äôs Festival 500, Parry Sound’Äôs Festival of the Sound, the 2007 Ontario Youth Choir, and Ottawa’Äôs Thirteen Strings to which he returns once again in December 2008 to conduct works by Haydn and Britten. In addition to his work as a popular clinician, Mr. Cooper will conduct Toronto Operetta Theatre’Äôs spring production of Iolanthe. Mr. Cooper recently left CBC Radio Two after 31 years of bringing fine choral music and operatic performances to all of Canada as Executive Producer of Opera and Choral Music. He has served as President of the Ontario Choral Federation and the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors and presently serves on the Board of Directors of Chorus America. Robert Cooper is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Brock University for his significant contribution to the Canadian choral community and is a member of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Marta McCarthy, conductor, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Guelph, where she has been directing the choirs and teaching musicianship for thirteen years. She also conducted the University of Waterloo Choir, and taught choral techniques at Wilfrid Laurier University and at the University of Toronto. Marta is a graduate of Westminster Choir College of Princeton (M.Mus), the Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT, piano performance) and of the University of Toronto (B.Mus, B.Ed., Ph.D.). Recent honours include the 1999 Elmer Iseler Conducting Fellowship, an Ontario Volunteer Service Award, and being named a member of the June Callwood Circle of Caring. In 2005, she was awarded the Guelph Woman of Distinction for Arts & Culture.

Part of Canada’Äôs top university, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music has an illustrious history as one of North America’Äôs leading centres for the scholarly and professional study of music, offering a rich array of degree and diploma programs from the undergraduate to post-graduate levels. The Faculty of Music presents an annual concert season of over 100 public events. Highlights of the 2008-09 season include cellists Steven Isserlis and Shauna Rolston, baritone Sherrill Milnes, composer Maria Schneider, conductors David Briskin and Miah Im, jazz great Phil Nimmons, the Mirˆ„, and St. Lawrence String Quartets, the Gryphon Trio and Nexus. For more information, please visit our website at www.music.utoronto.ca or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

The Faculty of Music 2008-2009 concert season is made possible by the generous support of our pillar sponsors: Manulife Financial, MBNA Canada, and TD Meloche Monnex Insurance.


Ticket sales and general inquiries:
Faculty of Music Box Office
Hours: 1 ’Äì 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Phone: 416-978-3744
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’Äôs Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5

University of Toronto symphony concert spotlights student talents

TORONTO ’Äì On Saturday, January 31, 2009, the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra (UTSO) presents a concert showcasing two young student artists. Led by guest conductor Alain Trudel, the UTSO will perform James MacMillan’Äôs percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel featuring student soloist Jamie Drake, and the premiere performance of Fountain of Dreams by student composer Kevin Lau. The program also includes Richard Wagner’Äôs Prelude to Tristan and Isolde, and Debussy’Äôs Nocturnes. The concert takes place at 7:30 pm in MacMillan Theatre in the Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’Äôs Park. Tickets ($18 adults and $10 seniors/students) can be purchased at the box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744.

Fountain of Dreams is the winning entry of the inaugural UTSO Student Composer Competition by graduate student composer Kevin Lau. It is a musical depiction of a voyage through the world of fantasy, seen through the eyes of a child. Kevin Lau is pursuing his doctoral degree in music composition at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Christos Hatzis. His works have been performed by the Hamilton Philharmonic, Mississauga Symphony, University of Calgary Brass Choir, Esprit Orchestra, Georgian Bay Symphony, Cecilia String Quartet, and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. His music has been read and recorded by such renowned artists as Scott St. John and Lara Downes, as well as eminent ensembles such as eighth blackbird, the Ensemble Contemporain de Montrˆ©al, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet.

Featuring in James MacMillan’Äôs Veni, Veni, Emmanuel is Doctor of Musical Arts candidate Jamie Drake, who performs the percussion concerto as a winner of the student concerto competition. Jamie completed his Bachelor of Music degree at University of Toronto, and his Master of Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, with Jack Van Geem and David Herbert; he is now pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Toronto. He is a double winner of the U of T Concerto Competition, has performed Steve Reich's Drumming with Nexus (twice), been percussionist for the Scotia Festival of Music and has performed live-to-air on CBC Radio 2, including a prize-winning performance with the Hamilton Children's Choir. While in San Francisco he was active in the BluePrint New Music project, and commissioned and premiered works by noted Bay Area composers Elinor Armer and Darren Jones. Jamie is in demand as both a percussionist and drummer, and regularly performs professionally with symphony orchestras, world music ensembles, music theatre productions, big bands, and the experimental/jazz group Muskox.

Principal Conductor of the CBC Radio Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Victoria Sympho¬¨ny Orchestra, Alain Trudel is also Music director and conductor of l’ÄôOrchestre Symphonique de Laval, in one of Canada’Äôs most dynamic and fastest growing cities. In addition, Alain Trudel serves as Artistic Advisor to the Manitoba Chamber Orches¬¨tra through the 2008-09 season. Alain Trudel was unanimously named Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra in 2004, a position that brings him great pride and joy. On top of his projects with those orchestras, Tru¬¨del also participates in a number of exciting artis¬¨tic projects around his native Canada and abroad, including leading the Toronto Symphony in its Ontario tour in 2008. A frequent guest of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Trudel conducted in their 2008 sum¬¨mer festival, their Young Audience series and will appear in the eXpressions series in the Spring of 2009. In the summer of 2009, Alain Trudel will be the conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, conducting Stravinsky’Äôs Rite of Spring and Mahler’Äôs 6th symphony. Website: www.alaintrudel.com

Part of Canada’Äôs top university, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music has an illustrious history as one of North America’Äôs leading centres for the scholarly and professional study of music, offering a rich array of degree and diploma programs from the undergraduate to post-graduate levels. Many of this country’Äôs greatest musicians such as John Weinzweig, Lois Marshall, Elmer Iseler, Adrienne Pieczonka, Russell Braun, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet have studied or taught at the Faculty. With over 100 events featuring students, faculty and distinguished guests, the Faculty’Äôs performance season embodies its commitment to an education that champions diversity, depth and explorations. Highlights of the 2008-09 season include cellists Steven Isserlis and Shauna Rolston, baritone Sherrill Milnes, composer Maria Schneider, conductors David Briskin and Miah Im, jazz great Phil Nimmons, the Mirˆ„, and St. Lawrence String Quartets, the Gryphon Trio and Nexus.

For more information on this or other Faculty of Music concert series, please visit our website at www.music.utoronto.ca or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.



Ticket sales and general inquiries:
Faculty of Music Box Office
Hours: 1 ’Äì 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Phone: 416-978-3744
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’Äôs Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5

University of Toronto New Music Festival 2009

FACULTY OF MUSIC TO PRESENT NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2009

TORONTO ’ÄìFrom January 20 - 23, 2009, the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto will present the NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2009. Coordinated by Dennis Patrick, the annual festival celebrates new music by the emerging student composers of the Faculty of Music. All events take place at the Edward Johnson Building and are open to the public free of charge (except otherwise noted).


FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Tuesday, January 20 - 12 noon
NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL PREVIEW
COC Amphitheatre, The Four Seasons Performing Arts Centre, 145 Queen Street West

PROGRAM
Fuhong Shi: Images of Colours
Lan-Chee Lam: Crystallized Tree
Igor Correia: Three Songs of Great Range (Kathleen Promane, mezzo)
Fuhong Shi: Traces of Time
Laura Silberberg: Three poems by Emily Dickenson (Allison Arends, soprano)


Tuesday, January 20 - 7:30 pm
STUDENT COMPOSER CONCERT
Walter Hall, 80 Queen’Äôs Park
Works by graduate student composers including the
presentation of the Karen Kieser Prize in Canadian Music*.

PROGRAM
Fuhong Shi: Images of Colours
Lan-Chee Lam: Crystallized Tree
Laura Silberberg: Three poems by Emily Dickenson (Allison Arends, soprano)
Igor Correia: Three Songs of Great Range (Kathleen Promane, mezzo)
Fuhong Shi: Traces of Time


Wednesday, January 21 - 12:10 pm
SOUND EXPLORATION:
A CONCERT OF ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC
Walter Hall, 80 Queen’Äôs Park
Curated by Mark Nerenberg. Works by Fiona Ryan, Eric Stewart, Christian Floisand, Daniel Brophy and Igor Correia plus...The U of T Laptop Orchestra.


Wednesday, January 21 - 7:30 pm
STUDENT COMPOSER CONCERT
Walter Hall, 80 Queen’Äôs Park
Featuring the TAYLOR COOK QUARTET - Taylor Cook, saxophones, Robin
Claxton, drums, Jack Bodkin, piano; Mark Godfrey, bass.

PROGRAM
Fuhong Shi: Illusions (Rob MacDonald, guitar)
Kevin Lau: Alchemist’Äôs Riddle (Tim Francom, vibraphone)
Constantine Caravassilis: Sappho de Mytilˆ©ne (Ariana Chris, soprano)


Thursday, January 22 - 12:10 pm
LEGACY OF KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN (1928- 2007)
Lecture / presentation with performance of selected works.
Walter Hall, 80 Queen’Äôs Park


Thursday, January 22 - 7:30 pm
NEXUS: BACK TO THE FUTURE
A concert of improvisations by Nexus with guests
Phil Nimmons, Parmela Attariwala, Mark Laver and others.
Walter Hall, 80 Queen’Äôs Park


Friday, January 23 - 12:10 pm
OPERA SCENES BY STUDENT COMPOSERS
Walter Hall, 80 Queen’Äôs Park


Friday, January 23 - 7:30 pm
STUDENT COMPOSER CONCERT
Walter Hall, 80 Queen’Äôs Park

PROGRAM
Cecilia Livingston: Multiple Personality Disorder
Saman Shahi: Observations of a Tree in a Park
Bence Kutrik: Motive, Variations and a Tune
Avalon Rusk: Running Fire

Jazz with the U of T Outreach Ensemble featuring Patrick Boyle.

David Briskin leads UTSO in Bernstein, Brahms, Dvorak

DAVID BRISKIN LEADS THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA IN MUSIC BY BERNSTEIN, BRAHMS, AND DVO‰òˆÅK

TORONTO ’Äì On Friday, November 28, conductor David Briskin will lead the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra in its second concert of the season. The program begins with Leonard Bernstein’Äôs Overture to Candide in commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the composer’Äôs birth, followed by Brahms’Äô Violin Concerto in D featuring student soloist Luri Lee. Rounding out the program is Dvo‰ôˆ°k’Äôs Symphony No. 9 (From the New World). The concert takes place at 7:30 pm in MacMillan Theatre in the Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’Äôs Park. Tickets ($18 adults and $10 seniors/students) can be purchased at the box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744.

Internationally recognized as a conductor of extraordinary versatility and discernment, DAVID BRISKIN currently serves as Music Director and Principal Conductor of The National Ballet of Canada. For seven years he served as Conductor with American and is now a frequent guest conductor with some of the world’Äôs leading Ballet companies including New York City Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, among others. He also served as Music Director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for three years and Conductor for the The Juilliard School’Äôs Dance Division for 12. On the concert stage, Mr. Briskin has appeared with the Pittsburgh, Detroit, Baltimore, Cincinnati Pops and Singapore Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica. He has also served for six years as the Music Director of the Masterwork Chorus and Orchestra in New York City, performing annually at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Briskin was appointed Director of Orchestral Studies and Conductor of the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra on July 1, 2008.

LURI LEE is a fourth year student at the University of Toronto, completing her Bachelor of Music degree in Performance. She began studying the violin at the age of 6 in Korea, and completed music studies at the Claude Watson Arts Program and the Young Artist Performance Academy Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music. She currently studies with Erika Raum and appears as a soloist at this concert as a winner of the student concerto competition. She has been the top prize winners of the Korean National Youth Musician Competition and the Canadian Music Competition. Luri has performed in master classes for David Stewart, Annalee Patipatanakoon, and Mayumi Seiler. She has also performed chamber music with Steve Dann and Jean-Michel Fonteneau at the Domain Forget Chamber Music Festival. She has received the Maime May scholarship from the University of Toronto (2005-7) and the Lorand Fenyves String scholarship in 2007.

Part of Canada’Äôs top university, the University of Toronto FACULTY OF MUSIC has an illustrious history as one of North America’Äôs leading centres for the scholarly and professional study of music, offering a rich array of degree and diploma programs from the undergraduate to post-graduate levels. Many of this country’Äôs greatest musicians such as John Weinzweig, Lois Marshall, Elmer Iseler, Adrienne Pieczonka, Russell Braun, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet have studied or taught at the Faculty. With over 100 events featuring students, faculty and distinguished guests, the Faculty’Äôs performance season embodies its commitment to an education that champions diversity, depth and explorations. Highlights of the 2008-09 season include cellists Steven Isserlis and Shauna Rolston, baritone Sherrill Milnes, composer Maria Schneider, conductors David Briskin and Miah Im, jazz great Phil Nimmons, the Mirˆ„, and St. Lawrence String Quartets, the Gryphon Trio and Nexus.

For more information on this or other Faculty of Music concert series, please visit our website at www.music.utoronto.ca or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

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Ticket sales and general inquiries:
Faculty of Music Box Office
Hours: 1 ’Äì 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Phone: 416-978-3744
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’Äôs Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5

Russell Hartenberger appointed Dean of Faculty of Music

Professor Russell Hartenberger appointed Dean of the Faculty of Music

TORONTO - The Office of the Vice-President and Provost, University of Toronto, has announced the appointment of Professor Russell Hartenberger as Dean of the Faculty of Music, effective December 1, 2008 and ending June 30, 2010.

RUSSELL HARTENBERGER is a professor of percussion. He received his PhD in World Music from Wesleyan University and has been a member of the Faculty of Music since 1974. His current research focuses on aspects of time and rhythm in music, especially in the music of minimalist composer, Steve Reich.

He is a world-class performer. He has been a member of Nexus and of the Steve Reich ensemble since 1971. He has performed with the Paul Winter Consort, Ensemble Modern of Germany, John Wyre's World Drums, Woodstock Beat, and New Music Concerts of Toronto. He has worked and/or recorded with such diverse musicians as Gil Evans, Jimmy Garrison, John Cage, John Adams, Steve Gadd, Peter Erskine, Glen Velez, Iannis Xenakis, Pablo Casals, Canadian Brass, Kronos String Quartet, Peter Serkin, Trichy Sankaran, Richard Stoltzman and Yo-Yo Ma.

Professor Hartenberger has appeared on over 70 recordings for various labels. His awards include the Toronto Arts Award in 1989, Banff Centre for the Arts National Award in 1997 and, along with the other members of Nexus, was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2005, he received two Juno Nominations in the category of Best Classical Music Recording: Solo or Chamber Ensemble. In 2006 he was Artist in Residence for the Education Program at Carnegie Hall. His composition, Sky Ghost, was recently used for the sound track of the award winning documentary, Inside Time, by the National Film Board of Canada.

He has served in administrative roles within the Faculty as the Associate Dean, Graduate Education and as Associate Dean, Academic. As Associate Dean, Graduate Education he coordinated the Faculty's graduate enrolment expansion. He has served as Interim Dean of the Faculty since October 15, 2007.

With its illustrious past, stimulating present, and exciting future, the FACULTY OF MUSIC AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO offers an outstanding education in music. With superb educators in every area of music study, and dozens of areas of specialization in our degree and diploma programs, the Faculty of Music offers an education that is both broad and deep. Our alumni occupy leading positions in the music world, both nationally and internationally. Some of our most famous recent graduates include soprano Measha Bruggergosman, conductor Julian Kuerti, jazz pianist/composer David Braid, and composer Mychael Danna, among others.

Recital celebrates 50th anniversary of Lois Marshall in Russia

FACULTY VOICE RECITAL CELEBRATES HISTORIC TOURS OF LOIS MARSHALL TO THE FORMER SOVIET UNION

TORONTO - Lois Marshall was one of the best known Canadian sopranos of her generation. She has sung in the world’Äôs finest performance halls under such conductors as Toscanini, Sargent, Beecham, MacMillan, Stokowski, and Barbirolli. In October 1958, Marshall became the first North American singer ever to tour the Soviet Union exclusively as a recitalist, and her route took her from Moscow to Riga, Leningrad, Kiev, and back to Moscow. On Friday, November 14, the University of Toronto is proud to present Russian Nights, a voice recital celebrating the 50th anniversary of that historic event. Featuring faculty soprano Lorna MacDonald and pianist Che Anne Loewen, the program is a compilation of Marshall’Äôs Russian tours between 1958 and 1977, including lieder by Schubert, Britten and Richard Strauss; arias by Handel and Puccini, as well as folksong arrangements.

The recital takes place at 7:30 pm in Walter Hall in the Edward Johnson Building at 80 Queen’Äôs Park. Tickets ($25 adults and $15 seniors/students) can be purchased at the box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744.

Professor of Voice and Voice Pedagogy at the University of Toronto, soprano Lorna MacDonald holds the Lois Marshall Chair in Voice Studies and is head of Voice Studies at the Faculty of Music. She enjoys a career of distinction as a lyric-coloratura soprano and voice teacher, and has sung across Canada and the US, in Wales, Taiwan, France, Ireland, the UK, Germany, and Bermuda. Her acclaimed performances have been broadcast on CBC, PBS and NPR. The Halifax Chronicle-Herald has praised her performances of Mozart and Buxtehude as having ’Äúfreshness of tone’Ķclarity of style and diction’Ķbeautifully expressive musicianship’Ķserved by a perfection of technical mastery.’Äù As a teacher, Lorna initiated many successful and innovative additions to the voice studies curriculum at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her record has been recognized with Ontario’Äôs prestigious OCUFA Award for ’Äúteaching excellence and outstanding contributions to university teaching’Äù.

Che Anne Loewen, originally from Steinbach, Manitoba, is a collaborative pianist of breadth and authority. She has performed throughout Canada and in Europe with many singers and instrumentalists, including Jean Stilwell, Catherine Robbin, Gary Relyea, and Measha Brueggergosman. She has been heard many times over the CBC and has been praised in the press for ’Äúher brilliant support’Äù (The Globe and Mail), ’Äútruly exquisite articulation’Äù (Fredericton Daily Gleaner) and ’Äúher subtlety and nuance’Äù (Halifax Chronicle-Herald).

Featuring music faculty members, the Faculty Artist Series has a long tradition of presenting some of Canada’Äôs most celebrated artists and is considered one of the finest recital series in Toronto. For more information on this or other Faculty of Music concert series, please visit our website at www.music.utoronto.ca or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

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Ticket sales and general inquiries:
Faculty of Music Box Office
Hours: 1 ’Äì 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Phone: 416-978-3744
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’Äôs Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5

Renowned baritone Sherrill Milnes to give Master Class

Opera superstar Sherrill Milnes to visit faculty of music for master classes

"Milnes knows exactly how to clothe his voice with the unique mixture of lyricism and bravado that Verdi demands. It was vintage Verdi, sung by a master of this extremely difficult art." ¬‚ Detroit Free Press

TORONTO ’Äì Universally acclaimed as the foremost operatic baritone of his generation, American opera superstar Sherrill Milnes will visit the University of Toronto as the Faculty of Music’Äôs John R. Stratton Visiting Artist for two voice master classes. A superstar in every sense, Milnes’Äôs remarkable voice, artistic integrity, commanding stage presence and rugged handsomeness have made him a favorite for all audiences. Details of the master classes are as follows:

Friday, November 7, 2008
7:30 ’Äì 10 pm. Walter Hall. Free

Saturday, November 8, 2008
2:30 ’Äì 5 pm. Walter Hall. Free

Sherrill Milnes has conquered all of the great opera capitals of the world: the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; La Scala, Milan; Berlin's Deutsche Oper; the Paris Opera; Buenos Aires' famed Teatro Colon; the Liceu in Barcelona; the Bavarian State Opera in Munich; the Salzburg Festival; the Hamburg Opera and Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre. He has also appeared with the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the opera companies of Pittsburgh, San Diego, Miami and Denver, among others in the United States. At the Metropolitan Opera he has been honored with 16 new productions, seven opening nights, and ten national telecasts, and he also performed at the 25th anniversary gala honoring James Levine. In 2008 he is honored with the receipt of the Opera News Award for Distinguished Achievement.

In recent seasons, Sherrill Milnes expanded his vast operatic repertoire to include performances of new roles, including the title role in Falstaff (several productions including New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera and Baltimore Opera); Count Westmoreland in Wolf-Ferrari's Sly (Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu, Washington Opera on tour in Japan); Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd (Ravinia Festival); the title role in Gianni Schicchi (Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, also with performances of Michele in Il Tabarro); and Ajax in Georges Antheil's Transatlantic (Minnesota Opera, United States premiere). However, Mr. Milnes continued to perform most of the roles which have brought him great acclaim, including Amonasro in Aida at the Metropolitan Opera; Scarpia in Tosca (Budapest and Torre del Lago); Iago in Otello (Budapest and Karlruhe); Mendelssohn's Elijah (performances throughout the United States); Gerard in Andrea Chenier (Pittsburgh Opera); Germont in La Traviata (L'Opˆ©ra de Montrˆ©al); and performances of Verdi and Puccini arias with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.

Mr. Milnes was also in great demand as a recitalist and in concert, appearing on the world's major recital stages and with the great orchestras of North America and Europe. He had the honor of performing for every United States president since Gerald Ford, and has appeared in recital at the White House at the request of Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush.

Conducting has become an integral part of Mr. Milnes' multi-faceted career. Two recent engagements include Elijah at Carnegie Hall (which marked his New York conducting debut), and Aida with Opera Memphis (his operatic conducting debut).

He has the distinction of being the most recorded American opera singer, with a discography encompassing his great opera roles, as well as lieder, oratorio, symphony and Broadway. His recordings of Cosˆ¨ fan tutte, Aida, and La bohˆ®me had the distinction of receiving Grammy Awards, and his recordings of Brahms's Four Serious Songs (with Erich Leinsdorf at the piano) and the sacred recording Amazing Grace received Grammy Award nominations. In 1997, Video Arts International (VAI) released two of several live recital albums: There but for You Go I and Kingdom by the Sea. The baritone is also featured on three music videos: Homage to Verdi, Sherrill Milnes: All Star Gala, and Sherrill Milnes at Juilliard: An Opera Master Class, as well as on his Metropolitan Opera performances on current release. His autobiography, American Aria: From Farm Boy to Opera Star, was published by Schirmer Books.

Throughout his remarkable career, Mr. Milnes has shown an affinity for Verdi, whose works form the cornerstone of his repertoire which comprises some 70 roles, including the lead baritone roles in Otello, Don Carlo, Aida, La Traviata, Il Trovatore, La Forza del Destino, Luisa Miller, Ernani, and Un Ballo in Maschera, as well as the monumental title roles of Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra, Macbeth, and Nabucco, all sung to overwhelming acclaim. He has also triumphed as Mozart's Don Giovanni, at the famed Salzburg Festival, as well as Bizet's Escamillo in Carmen, Rossini's Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Puccini's Scarpia in Tosca, Jack Rance in La Fanciulla del West, Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet, Athanael in Massenet's ThaˆØs, and the title role of Henry VIII by Saint-Saˆ´ns, among many others.

Mr. Milnes grew up on a dairy farm in Downers Grove, Illinois. Despite a childhood devoted to daily chores, he, in addition to taking voice lessons, studied piano, violin, viola, double bass, clarinet and tuba. But when it came time for college, he could see no future in music and pursued pre-medical studies. After a year and a half, however, during which he had banished music from his life, he realized that it was his true calling and enrolled at Drake University where he studied with Andrew White, earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in music in the hope of becoming a teacher. Additional graduate studies with Hermanus Baer followed at Northwestern University. During these years, the young baritone supported himself by playing in local jazz bands and singing wherever he could at women's clubs, with local opera groups, in churches and synagogues, and for television and radio commercials. A great opportunity came when the baritone won an audition with the Boris Goldovsky Opera Company, an event he has called the "luckiest possible beginning" for his career. He toured throughout the United States with the Goldovsky Opera Company - over 100,000 miles by bus - singing in over 300 performances of more than a dozen roles.

It is fitting that the career of this artist was launched in his native land, belying the notion that singers must work their way through the small European opera houses before earning the respect of American critics and audiences. In fact, it was at the quintessential American house, the New York City Opera, that Mr. Milnes made his first important debut, Valentin in Gounod's Faust. It was in this same role that Sherrill Milnes made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera to great public and critical acclaim. Sherrill Milnes was launched to stardom, however, when his riveting performance as Miller in Verdi's Luisa Miller literally stopped the show at the Met and immediately made him the dominant baritone of our time. His international career began with a triumphant Macbeth at the Vienna Staatsoper.

The baritone has received numerous honors during his distinguished career, including seven honorary doctoral degrees. He is particularly proud of being named as a Commendatore of the Italian Republic for his long commitment to Italian opera. In 1987 he received New York City's Seal of Recognition for his rich contribution to the city's cultural life. Mr. Milnes was also chosen by the American Bible Society to receive the 25 millionth copy of its Good News Bible, and in 1993 he organized a benefit concert in Vienna's famed St. Stephen's Cathedral for the victims of the Bosnia-Herzegovina War. In September 1996, Mr. Milnes was honored by the French government with the distinguished Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and in 2003 he became a member of the Lincoln Academy, the highest honor awarded by the state of Illinois.

Sherrill Milnes has worked extensively with young singers throughout his career, including master classes and more extensive teaching during his concert and opera tours. He has led master classes at the Juilliard and Manhattan Schools in New York, at major universities throughout the country, and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. More extensive teaching has been done at the Yale University School of Music, Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, at the Northern Royal College of Music in Manchester, the Israel Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, and the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari, Italy. Mr. Milnes has judged several international competitions including the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. He is currently the John Evans Distinguished Professor of Music at Northwestern University.

In 2000, Mr. Milnes with his wife Maria Zouves, founded VOICExperience, a not-for-profit organization. VOICExperience helps young singers develop and pursue their careers with programming throughout the country. They bring the best coaches and teachers, as well as the stars, from both the operatic and theatrical world to interact with the singers.

Cellist Steven Isserlis visits U of T

British cellist Steven Isserlis to perform and teach master classes at faculty of music as 2008 Lorand Fenyves resident artist

"The music world - and music itself - is infinitely richer for the presence of Steven Isserlis." - Gramophone Magazine (UK)

TORONTO ’Äì Steven Isserlis is acclaimed worldwide for his musicality and technique alike. A leading cellist of his generation, he is especially renowned for his interpretation of the music of Robert Schumann, and has received the coveted Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau (Schumann’Äôs birthplace). From November 3 -5, Mr. Isserlis will visit the University of Toronto Faculty of Music as the Lorand Fenyves Resident Artist. His residency includes a cello recital with pianist Connie Shih (including works by Schumann) and two cello master classes featuring advanced cello students of the Faculty of Music.

Details of the residency:

Monday, November 3, 2008
Cello Recital with Connie Shih on the Chamber Music Series
Mendelssohn: Variations concertantes
Schumann: Adagio and Allegro, op 70
Schumann (arranged for cello by Isserlis): Violin Sonata No. 3
Britten: Sonata
Poulenc: Sonata

The concert takes place at 7:30 pm in Walter Hall in the Edward Johnson Building at 80 Queen’Äôs Park. Tickets ($25 adults and $15 seniors/students) can be purchased at the box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744.

Tuesday & Wednesday, November 4 & 5, 2008
Cello Master Class
1 pm. Walter Hall. Free

Steven Isserlis is a cellist whose passion for music transcends conventional divisions. He is equally at home in chamber music or in recital; delving into the historical archives to emerge with a forgotten gem; or on the concert platform with some of the world's most prestigious orchestras and conductors.
This season's highlights include a residency at Frankfurt's Alte Oper, who prominently features Isserlis as its 'Auftakt' artist, incorporating a concert with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe; and performances with the Orchestre de Paris under Christoph Eschenbach at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest. Isserlis appears with the Philharmonia under Paavo Jˆ§rvi, the Philadelphia Orchestra under Charles Dutoit and tours with both the City of Birmingham Symphony and the Australian Chamber orchestras. He also participates in a Gala Concert with the Israel Philharmonic to mark the 50th anniversary of the Mann Auditorium, performing Bloch's Schelomo under Zubin Mehta's baton. With a strong interest in authentic performance, Isserlis plays with many of the foremost period instrument orchestras. He has recently performed all Beethoven's works for cello with fortepianist Robert Levin in Boston and at London’Äôs Wigmore Hall. Last season he performed the Dvorˆ°k Cello Concerto with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Sir Simon Rattle.
The chamber concerts of Isserlis' devising are renowned, not only for the quality of performance, but also for his ingenuity and innovation in programming. Schumann is a particular passion for Isserlis, and last season he performed Schumann's Cello Concerto on a major tour of Germany with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie under Marc Albrecht, spearheaded a Schumann project in Japan, and performed in an evening of words and music dedicated to the story of Schumann and Brahms ¬‚ with a script written by Isserlis ¬‚ in London and New York. This season, Isserlis presents a Russian series of his own devising at the Wigmore Hall, French and Russian programmes as part of his residency at Frankfurt's Alte Oper, and a series of chamber music and educational events at the New Zealand International Arts Festival.
Last season, he launched his own series at the 92nd St Y in New York; such was its success that the series continues and develops in the present season. Isserlis’Äôs interest in musical education has another outlet in the masterclasses he gives regularly all over the world; and for the past ten years he has been Artistic Director of the masterclass and chamber music seminar IMS Prussia Cove. He has also published several editions and arrangements, principally for Faber Music.
Steven Isserlis is a keen exponent of contemporary music and works with many composers on new commissions. He recently gave the world premiˆ®re of Wolfgang Rihm¬¼s Cello Concerto at the Salzburg Festival, and future plans include the premiˆ®re performances of works written for him by Mikhail Pletnev and Thomas Adˆ®s.
With an award-winning discography, Isserlis' recordings reflect his diverse interests in repertoire. His most recent release is of the complete Solo Cello Suites by Bach on the Hyperion label, which has been met with the highest critical acclaim and won many awards. Other recent releases include two recordings with Stephen Hough: the Brahms sonatas, coupled with works by Dvorˆ°k and Suk, for Hyperion Records, voted Listeners' Disc of the Year on BBC Radio 3's CD review; and a highly-acclaimed disc of children's cello music for BIS Records.
Awarded a CBE in 1998 in recognition of his services to music, Steven Isserlis has received many honours, including in 2000 the Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau (Schumann's birthplace); previous recipients include Gilels, Masur, Richter and Fischer-Dieskau.
Steven Isserlis plays the Feuermann Stradivarius of 1730, kindly loaned by The Nippon Music Foundation of Japan

Pianist Connie Shih, born in Canada, is considered to be one of Canada's most outstanding young artists. In 1993, she won the Sylva Gelber Award for most outstanding classical artist under age 30. At the age of nine, she made her orchestral debut with Mendelssohn's First Piano Concerto with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. At 12, she was the youngest ever protˆ©gˆ© of Gyorgy Sebok at Indiana University, and then continued her studies at the Curtis Institute with Claude Frank. Later studies were undertaken with Fou Ts'ong in Europe. As soloist, she has appeared extensively with orchestras throughout Canada, U.S. and Europe and in recitals she has made countless appearances in Canada, the U.S., Iceland, England, Germany, and China. She frequently performs chamber music with many world renowned musicians. To critical acclaim, she appears regularly in recital with Steven Isserlis. She has performed at London’Äôs Wigmore Hall in London, Carnegie Hall, and at the prestigious Bath Music Festival and the Kronberg Festival. This past season included collaborations with Steven Isserlis, Susan Gritton and Anthony Marwood at the Aldeburgh Festival and other performances with Tabea Zimmermann and Isabelle Faust.

The Lorand Fenyves Residency program was established by the Fenyves family in 2006 to perpetuate the legacy and pedagogical vision of the late Lorand Fenyves, violin professor at the University of Toronto for over 35 years. The purpose of the Residency is to provide undergraduate and graduate string students direct access to world renowned master teachers and artists in the spirit of Mr. Fenyves. Visiting Artists’Äô residencies include intensive individual coaching, master classes, and public recitals.

The Faculty of Music Chamber Music Series brings to Walter Hall some of the world’Äôs finest chamber music groups. Recent and upcoming performers include the Miro Quartet, Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, cellist Steven Isserlis, and the Gryphon Trio. For more information on this and other Faculty of Music concert series, please visit our website at http://www.music.utoronto.ca or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

Ticket sales and general inquiries:

Faculty of Music Box Office
Hours: 1 ’Äì 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Phone: 416-978-3744
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’Äôs Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5