Taste of Toronto

Toronto Taste guests had the pleasure of choosing from an astonishing range of delicious cuisine as they roamed from station to station in front of City Hall, enjoying the great weather and the culinary creations of some of the city's great chefs. The long line-ups in front of the various ethnic tents were astonishing and I gave up counting at 60. I have seen crowds at City Hall events – but never such large ones. It was a very successful event!

The Brass Orchestra from Fulda, Germany

While I am on the subject of City Hall happenings here is some musical cuisine from Germany. The brass orchestra from the ‘Freiherr vom Stein’ School in Fulda, near Kassel, presented a wonderful concert at the stage on Nathan Phillips Square. The band was introduced and welcomed by Holger Raasch, the new German Consul General.

Introduction of the Blasorchester from Fulda and its conductor Andre Müller by German Consul General Holger Raasch

70 youngsters - aged from 13 to 22 - had the square ringing with selections from their rich palette of musical jewellery under the direction of André Müller. It was gratifying to see the youngsters perform and heart-warming to see 70 young musicians from a town of less than 65,000 inhabitants perform with such enthusiasm.

An appreciative audience filled most of the chairs in front of the stage and did not leave when it started to rain slightly, they just opened umbrellas – and shared them with neighbours – and continued to enjoy the sound of this large band, where the tubas seemed to be the most prominent instruments. It was musical magic and you could tell the kids loved to perform even intricate and difficult pieces! The solo voice of Corinne Mohr captured the audience with two excellent renditions during the presentation. At the end of the concert the audience asked for more and the orchestra complied with two more well-known marches.

A great hello from the band to Toronto's audience	And applause from Toronto to the great Blasorchester from Fulda, Germany

Toronto’s Mayor David Miller also took the time to congratulate the band, the director and the youngest member of the band.

As always,

Dick Altermann