June, 2004 - Nr. 6
Dick reports...
Cheese Boutique has done it again…
…by bringing in Master Chefs to demonstrate their culinary expertise to the public.
Some
of you may still remember Aldo Martinelli from Bologna, Italy – last October
– and his delicious spicy tomatoes and grilled artichokes.
Well, this year it was a whole month of culinary demonstrations on every weekend in May. I picked the second one to visit Massimo Capra, from the Mistura Restaurant on Davenport Road in Toronto, where he is the co-owner since 1997.
What
was on the menu? "Scallops wrapped in Parma Prosciuto with a Vincotto
dressing" and a delicious "Paternostra La Porta" with a bean ragout.
To
complement this superb fare, Dean Coldham from Vineyards Estates - and
in-house sommelier, who represent Hillebrand & Pellham estates - had
selected a white 2001 Chardonnay and a red 2001 Cabernet Franc. "Perfect
selections" I heard some people remark, when they tasted the wine in
combination with the food.
Open House at Lein’s Deli in Etobicoke
Lein’s
put a new spin on their annual spring celebration and ‘open house’ by
choosing to celebrate Mother’s Day at the same time.
Mother
Nature played along by providing a mild climate for the visitors and Lein’s
provided the customary free Bratwurst on a bun – with Sauerkraut if you so
choose – and
coffee
with your purchase at the store. Of course coupons from the newspapers that
featured Lein’s advertisement were also presented for the free lunch, by a
number of visitors.
Since the usual DJ’s couldn’t make it that day, Annie Bushmann had to jump into the breach and be the Kapellmeister – with some help from Dietmar Lein. She had also provided the ‘flowery’ table decorations for the event.
Special Anniversary
75 years the Male Choir Harfentöne has been dazzling and entertaining audiences. A remarkable anniversary indeed! With the assistance of the Mixed Choir Edelweiss and the Harmonie Choir this event was celebrated as a "Spring Concert" at the Danube-Swabian Club on the 16th of May.
The choir was originally founded in 1929 as the choir of the St. Patrick’s Church in Toronto and re-formed and re-named ‘Harfentöne’ by Rev. Daniel Ehmann after the war. Alfred Schorman led the choir from 1955 to 2001, when the current director, Horst Hartmann took over. Five presidents held the fate of the choir since 1955 and the current one, Erwin Burchert, also acted as MC, to guide the audience through the evening’s performances.
The concert started as a "mass choir" performance – a combination of all three choirs – with a German-Canadian ‘Sängergruß’ by Alfred Kunz from Kitchener and was followed by five songs by the 36 voices of the male choir under the direction of Horst Hartmann.
Afterwards the audience of about 200 guests was invited to sing along for "Der Mai ist gekommen", very fitting, since we were right in the middle of May. The guests really put their hearts into this song and it sounded great coming from so many voices that Manfred Petz suggested that they should all join one of the choirs.
The Harmonie Choir was next with three songs followed by an Irish song (I’m roaming) as a solo rendition by Susan Brown, accompanied by Linda Marcinkus at the piano.
When Helmut Gschoesser next introduced the ‘Mixed Choir Edelweiss’ he explained to the audience that the choir is called ‘mixed’ not because of the two genders, but because some of them sing better than the others. They then entertained with three songs and were followed by the Harfentöne again with three more renditions of favourites, including "My Old Kentucky Home" in English.
After
the break Linda Marcinkus played a piano solo for the guests, a waltz by
Frederick Chopin, which found great acceptance by a grateful audience.
Next
on the agenda were the mixed choirs Edelweiss and Harmonie followed by a
solo rendition by Alfred Uhl with Schubert’s ‘Nacht und Träume’.
Then it was the audience’s turn again with ‘Kein schöner Land in dieser Zeit…’ followed by the Harfentöne who were joined by the other choirs for the final performance of the afternoon. ‘Edelweiss’ from the ‘Sound of Music’ featuring a solo by the young Susan Brown’s pure and angelic voice. It had some of the listeners wiping their eyes and promptly initiated a standing ovation. Since the audience wanted a "Zugabe" this magnificent song was repeated.
General
introductions and flowers for Linda and Susan concluded this anniversary
concert. Hopefully these choirs entertain us for a long time to come.
"Frühschoppen" at the Hansa Haus
This annual event was staged on the 30th of May
and combined with a fundraiser for the German School, Etobicoke.
The
school’s principal, Sabine Becker and two of her teachers, Jutta Schäfer and
Liesel Schade - as well as a great number of ‘camp followers’- contributed
to make this a well-attended affair.
The Golden Keys, from Kitchener, and their rich palette of
beloved tunes,
entertained
the audience with dance music all afternoon. It was also gratifying to see
‘Heidi’ and her magical trumpet back on stage after a long absence. There
were a few guests who mentioned that they missed the Harmonie Brass Band,
which had played on previous occasions.
Guests
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"Frühschoppen" is an old tradition, back in the old country, where some of the men in a village or town got together – after church, of course – to have a Schoppen (glass) of beer or wine in the morning (Früh) while the wives went home to cook the mid-day meal.
In this case the ‘inner person’ was looked after by the talents of the Hansa kitchen and one of the guests remarked that this was one of the best meals he ever had at the club.
A substantial raffle was also held at the end of the afternoon to raise money for the German school.
As always
Dick Altermann
Comments to: dick@echoworld.com
