|
Two Great Divas Make Their Conservatory Debuts:
Susan Graham and Mavis Staples
Returning Artists Include
Cecilia String Quartet and Julian Kuerti
The Toronto Blues Society Celebrates its 15th Annual
Maple Blues Awards
The New Year at The Royal Conservatory starts with the Cecilia
String Quartet returning on January 15 to
Mazzoleni Concert Hall in the historic Ihnatowycz Hall. Praised for their “passionate tone and
sure sense of timing” (The Gazette), the
2010 Banff International String Quartet Competition winner is joined by
internationally acclaimed pianist John
O’Conor, for a program of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 31 in
E-flat Major, Op. 110 and String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op.
135, and Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44.
Performers from across Canada take the Koerner Hall stage at the
blues party of the year on January 16,
as the Toronto Blues Society celebrates its 15th annual
Maple Blues Awards. Some of the most powerful blues entertainers
in the country will be performing at the gala event, including
Maple Blues Award nominees Rita Chiarelli (Ontario), Joe Murphy
(Halifax), Fathead (Ontario), MonkeyJunk (Ontario), and Bill
Johnson (British Columbia), all backed by The Maple Blues Band
featuring Gary Kendall, Michael Fonfara, Teddy Leonard, Al
Lerman, Tom Bona, Chris Whiteley, Pat Carey and Chris Murphy.
Also performing at the Maple Blues Awards gala are the hostesses
for the evening, Shakura S’Aida and Treasa Levasseur.
Canadian conductor Julian
Kuerti, who made his Conservatory debut last season conducting
the Royal Conservatory Orchestra,
returns on January 27 to lead the musicians again, this season
joined by pianist Minjoo
Jo, winner of the 2010-11 Glenn Gould School Concerto Competition. The program
includes Dream-e-scape by R. Murray Schafer, the
Composer-in-Residence at The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould
School, along with Liszt’s
Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4
in F Minor. Prior to the concert, from 6:45-7:15pm, students
from The Glenn Gould School present a free chamber music concert
in Koerner Hall.
Two formidable singers make their Conservatory debuts in
January. Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham (with Malcolm Martineau on
the piano), who was a stunning Iphigenia in a recent Canadian
Opera Company production of Iphigenia in Tauris,
returns to Toronto on January 28 in a program of
Purcell, Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Duparc, Sondheim, Noel
Coward, and many other composers.
“Graham’s mezzo-soprano is a voice without regrets,
healthy, rounded, ineffably musical, and eager for a challenge.”
(The New Yorker). On January 29, the soul and gospel
legend Mavis Staples brings one of the most recognizable and
treasured voices in contemporary music to Koerner Hall. A member
of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and lead singer of the first
family of gospel music – The Staples Singers – Ms. Staples was
named by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 Greatest Singers
of All Time. She is responsible for blazing a rhythm & blues
trail while never relinquishing her gospel roots, and
influencing artists from Bob Dylan to Prince, who dubbed her
“the epitome of soul.” Get ready to raise the roof!
Master Classes, Prelude Recitals, and Postlude Concerts
Free to the public, the master class series of The Royal
Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School provides students with the
opportunity to work one-on-one with internationally acclaimed
artists and educators. Susan
Graham graces The Royal Conservatory with a master
class on vocal performance on Friday, January 27.
Three of the Koerner Hall mainstage
performances are followed by Postlude Concerts in the
Leslie and Anna Dan Galleria, Lower Level: The 24th
Street Wailers follow the Maple Blues Awards ceremony on January
16, students from The Glenn Gould
School follow Susan Graham on January 28, and Belinda Corpuz
follows Mavis Staples on January 29. New this season, the Royal
Conservatory Orchestra concerts are now preceded by Prelude
Recitals starting at 6:45pm and featuring the talented young
students of The Glenn Gould School in chamber music settings.
The Royal Conservatory’s 2011-12 concert season is made possible
through the generous support of:
Donors/Sponsors: Aaron Brock Foundation, Georgian Capital,
Invesco Trimark, The Kanahoff Foundation, Mohammad and Najla Al
Zaibak, Roland Canada Ltd, TD Bank Group, World MasterCard®,
Yamaha Canada
Season Beverage Sponsors: Amsterdam Brewery, ESKA Natural Spring
Water, Jackson Triggs & Inniskillin
The Glenn Gould School Sponsors: D&T Davis Charitable
Foundation, Dr. Günes N. Ege-Akter, RBC Foundation, R. S.
Williams and Sons Co.
Government: Department of Canadian Heritage, Ontario Arts
Council, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, Toronto Arts Council
Media: Classical 96.3 FM, Jazz FM, NOW
January Performances at The Royal Conservatory
Cecilia String Quartet with John O'Conor, piano (Mazzoleni
Masters):
Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 2pm (MCH);
$31.50
Toronto Blues Society Maple Blues Awards (Blues):
Monday, January 16,
2012 at 7pm (KH);
starting at $37
Royal Conservatory Orchestra with Julian Kuerti (Orchestra):
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 8pm (KH);
starting at $22
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano, with Malcolm Martineau (Vocal):
Sat., Jan. 28, 2012 at 8pm (KH);
starting at $33.50
Mavis Staples (Soul/Funk/R&B):
Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 8pm (KH);
starting at $33.50
(KH) – Koerner Hall; (MCH) – Mazzoleni Concert Hall
Tickets are available online at
www.rcmusic.ca, by calling 416.408.0208,
or in person at the Weston Family Box Office
Create your own package: select any 4-6 concerts and save 10%;
select any 7+ concerts and save 15%
A limited number of $10 rush tickets are available starting 90
minutes before all performances presented by The Royal
Conservatory
All concerts take place at The Royal Conservatory
TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning
273 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Join the Premiere email list, follow us on Facebook and Twitter,
and download our Mobile App
|
|
