Tim Crouch

Recently the Sneak Peek Orchestra performed to a packed crowd at St. Gabriel’s Passionist Parish, and it was a spectacular show.  It was an honour to play with so many talented musicians, including the incredible cellist, Rachel Mercer.  And in between it all, Kevin Lau and I attemped to bring some comedy to the whole event – maybe there’s a future in some radio broadcasting for me!

As a special treat, enjoy the second movement of Kevin’s cello concerto Foundation, entitled Water:

It’s been some time since I have been able to post (Tafelmusik is keeping me busy), but two hours later after Steve Combes speaking on the phone with Bell, I can now access and post again!  Oh the horror….

Recently, our wind quintet had the privilege of performing as part of the most recent Classical Revolution Toronto event.  It took place at a wonderful venue, Atelier Rosemarie Umetsu, which is located at Avenue and Davenport in Toronto.  Amazing hosts!

For those who don’t know, Classical Revolution is a movement that began in California, which takes on the disconnect between classical musicians and their audiences by tackling the issue of venue space.  As you can tell by the picture below, patrons are welcome to talk amongst themselves, walk around, and if they are really into the music, come up and watch over our shoulders.

A great post on this movement was recently written by Katherine Duncan for the CBC Music site, which you can check out here.

Be sure to join the Facebook group, where Edwin Huizinga is in charge and updates everyone for the next one – come join the revolution!

I was very fortunate over the weekend to perform on one of the few contrabass flutes in the world.  It belongs to Nancy Nourse, who conducted and organized this weekend’s flute choir reading session.

I’ve never been a huge fan of flute choir, it is simply too much for the ear to take – as Nancy put it, it can be too much ‘dessert’ for a listener.  However, there were a great deal of bass and alto flutes, along with the contra, that created a really great, rich sound.

A ton of people came out, more than they expected, and we got to try a lot of great new music.  A really fun experience!

Also, I’d like to leave you with a sneak peek into this coming Saturday’s Sneak Peek Orchestra concert, with a piece by Rob Teehan, Dreams of Flying.  This is our second rehearsal on it, and the orchestra is already sounding pretty stellar.  Enjoy!

Work has been pretty hectic, so I apologize for lack of posts!  In the meantime, I’d like to talk about a fantastic group I am now doing Marketing for.

The Passport Duo is made up of Nadia Boucher on piano and Samuel Bisson on cello, two super talented friends of mine.  They strive to perform works from a specific region of the world for each  concert, with some favourites and new works.  I urge you to check them out, and you can find them on facebook or follow them on twitter!

Here is a clip from their recent Christmas CD, just to remind you of the holidays – enjoy!

Short and sweet today, check out this trailer for Opera Scenesters – it is informative and hilarious.  The concert takes place this Saturday, January 21st, at 8 pm at Heliconian Hall.  Check my events page for more information!

Starting on Tuesday, January 17th I’ll be starting a position as Marketing intern at Tafelmusik in Toronto, staying on until March.  I’m very excited to start at this amazing organization, one of Canada’s winning musical exports.  It’ll certainly be a learning and intense experience, making me all the more excited.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and and Chamber Choir specializes in period music from what is known as the ‘baroque‘ era, generally considered to be from 1600-1750.  Through its extensive national and international tours, its critically-acclaimed recordings and TV broadcasts, its new media initiatives and growing web of community and artistic partnerships, Tafelmusik is one of the most prolific orchestras in the world.

Looking forward to being part of this Juno award-winning ensemble!