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Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 12 NoonRoy
Thomson Hall
Toronto
FREE Admission
Call 416-872-4255 for further information
www.roythomson.com
The concerts are suitable for ages 6 and up
ELORA FESTIVAL SINGERS,
led by founding conductor-artistic director Noel
Edison and featuring Michael Bloss at the
organ, present a program of glorious choral and organ
masterworks by Johann Sebastian Bach on
Thursday, March 25, 2010
at 12 Noon. The performance is part of
Roy Thomson Hall’s Free
Noon Hour Choir & Organ Concerts, an annual four-concert
series devoted to the artistry of outstanding Canadian choirs
and organists.
The popular noon-time series, now celebrating its 13th
season, spotlights Roy Thomson Hall’s magnificent four-manual
Gabriel Kney Pipe Organ, one of the largest mechanical-action
instruments in Canada. The free concert series is made possible
with the continuing generous support of the
Edwards Charitable Foundation.
The All-Bach Program features adored choral treasures
including choruses from Mass in B minor; St. John Passion, Cantata No.
140, Motets Nos. 3 and 6, and the
much-loved Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring.
Michael Bloss performs several solos, including Bach’s most famous
masterpiece for the organ,
Toccata and Fugue in D minor.
Recognized as one of the world’s finest professional chamber
choirs, the Elora
Festival Singers was founded in 1980 by Noel Edison to be
the principal choral ensemble of the Elora Festival where it is
the choir-in residence for four weeks every summer. Since 1997, the choir has also been the professional core
of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Toronto Mendelssohn
Singers. Through regular concert series, recordings, broadcasts,
and touring, the Elora Festival Singers has contributed to the musical life, not only of the
community, but internationally. The choir is known for its
diverse styles, from early music to spirituals to contemporary,
for its commitment to Canadian repertoire, and for its
collaboration with other Canadian artists. The choir has
released 12 CDs on the NAXOS label.
Noel Edison is conductor and artistic director of two
world-class Canadian choral ensembles, the large-scale Toronto
Mendelssohn Choir and the chamber-sized Elora Festival Singers.
Maestro Edison completed his formal education with a music
degree at Wilfrid Laurier University, and also studied with such
leading musicians as Victor Martens, Helmuth Rilling, Sir David
Willcocks, Wayne Riddell, as well as the late Robert Shaw. In
1979 he co-founded the Elora Festival and, a year later, the
Elora Festival Singers as its choir-in-residence and since 1984
has served as Artistic Director of the Elora Festival and
Singers. He is also Organist and Choirmaster of Church of St.
John the Evangelist in Elora. In 2009, Noel Edison was awarded
the Order of Ontario.
Since April 2007, Michael
Bloss has served as Director of Music Ministry at Dublin
Street United Church in Guelph where he continues a
distinguished tradition of pastoral music ministry which over 30
years has included Toronto tenures at the Cathedral Church of
St. James and Timothy Eaton Memorial Church. An international
prize-winner, his solo career has included performances in
Europe, Japan, and throughout Canada and the USA. He is
increasingly in demand as adjudicator and clinician in organ,
piano and choral music at festivals and workshops across the
country. Michael Bloss also indulges in his other passion of
aviation through his work as a flight instructor and pilot at
Toronto Airways, Buttonville Municipal Airport.
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