If you’re a budding composer, you could create an Electronic Music Composition – no maximum length!

If you’re better with words, they are looking for sound experiences in everyday life – what do you hear, does it affect those around you?

Click here for more information – and best of luck!

Tonight, Monday May 6, the Toronto New Music Alliance will be presenting two groups in their New Music 101 series: the Toy Piano Composers and junctQin keyboard collective.  The TPC will be speaking about their playful approach to music making with performances by the recently formed TPC Ensemble, and junctQin will present “In the Composer’s Studio”.

The series is hosted by Toronto star music critic, John Terauds, and it takes place at 7pm in the Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium of the Toronto Reference Library.

On Tuesday, May 7, violoncellist of Tafelmusik Allen Whear will present a lecture on Beethoven, in anticipation of their final concert of the season.  The lecture will also be in the Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium, and begins at 1pm.

You can learn more about it by clicking here.

Happy learning!

On Friday, April 19th, the high-flying Sneak Peek Orchestra will be presenting SYMPHONIC TALES, a symphonic adventure.

Led by Conductor Victor Cheng, we’ll be performing Jared Miller’s 2010 Traffic Jam (written for the Vancouver Olympics), and then actor J. Adam Brown will narrate Prokofiev’s famous tale, Peter and the Wolf (featuring yours truly as the bird!).

There will also be the return of an audience favourite, Kevin Lau’s Gooby Suite, based on his score for the 2009 children’s film.  Finally, Rimsky-Korsakov’s epic Schererazade will close the programme.

The concert will take place at St. Gabriel’s Passionist Parish (670 Sheppard Ave. East, near Bessarion Subway Station). Tickets are $20 general admission, $15 students. To purchase tickets, visit www.sneakpeekorchestra.com.

Monday, April 8, 2013 Classical Revolution Toronto brings concert hall performance to the bar, free of charge. James Gaffigan, principal conductor of the Luzern Symphony Orchestra, will conduct an impromptu orchestra comprised of Toronto’s most phenomenal young, professional talent — and, yes, entrance is free.

Read-throughs of Mozart’s Symphony No. 36 and Schubert’s Symphony No.5 will be performed at the Tranzac, an Annex bar typically headlining rock and pop acts. The show, and the Tranzac’s bar, will be open to any Torontonians interested in experiencing classical music in a non-traditional venue.

This is an exceptional opportunity for music-lovers, particularly those on a tight budget.

Click here for the Facebook event.

It has been some time since I have posted (moved into the hip neighbourhood of Liberty Village in Toronto), many apologies!

I’m very excited to announce the final Toy Piano Composer concert of the season – ‘Threshold/Le Seuil’, with the ultra-talented group from Montreal, Ensemble Paramirabo.  6 composers have written music specifically for this group, and Paramirabo has been perfecting the music on tour throughout Canada.

This concert also marks the first time the TPC are presenting concerts outside of Toronto, with an already sold-out show in Hamilton, and Montreal on Monday.

In the meantime, there are still tickets available for our Toronto show – click here for advanced tickets!

The Blythwood Winds were fortunate enough to be the first group brought in having prepared music beforehand – and we were thrilled with the enthusiastic response from the audience!

You can find out more about Classical Social on their facebook page.

Here are our first reviews – thank you to Musical Toronto and Mechanical Forest Sound for coming out to the show!

Click here to read the Musical Toronto one, written by Margaret Lam

And click here for the Mechanical Forest Sound Review, where we’re called the “indie rock band of the New Music scene.”

Join us as we re-imagine great Canadian art from the past and present, transforming canvas and paint into notes and sound.  This energetic concert will focus on the intersection of these two art forms – line, colour, gesture, and form are explored by each of the brand new compositions.  Each of the visual works of art will be displayed while the pieces are performed onstage.

From local Toronto paintings to animations and video game art, the TPC have drawn on a diverse range of visual media for musical inspiration that playfully reflects each composer’s own unique style.  World Premieres include: Sylvan Sworcery by Christian Floisand (art by Sylvian Coutouly), Get in Line by Glenn James (art by Zoë Cilliers), In the forest, glow. by Monica Pearce (art by Brandon James Scott), Strange Gazes and Birdsong by Fiona Ryan (art by Kate Domina) and Walking by Chris Thornborrow (animation by Ryan Larkin).  Also joining the TPC Composers will be guest composer Patrick Murray, who has written Skin and Bone (with art by Ognian Zekoff) for the ensemble.  Come hear what art sounds like and what music looks like.

Hope to see you there!  For discount advanced tickets, please click here!

Last night was a performance of all of Luciano Berio’s Sequeze’s, by amazing musicians from across Canada.  I helped out with a group in Toronto called the Toronto New Music Alliance by manning a table, talking about the multitude of new music groups here in Toronto (including the Toy Piano Composers – blog post coming next week about our concert!).

TPC Founder Monica Pearce put up with my jokes by manning the table as well!

As the general relaxed attitude and feelings of apathy from the holidays come crumbling down, we are thrown right back into the swing of the musical mecca that is Toronto.  Before my own group, the Blythwood Winds, starts back up again with our tour of local bars, we have created a new Youtube channel where you can listen to some of our recent live recordings!  Some of them were recorded in bars, some in galleries, so the audio is – well, not professional.  But you get the idea!

Click here for our Youtube channel.

And here’s a clip from last year!