He wants to join the Seminary. She's persuading him not to. His dad also thinks it's a bad idea. What do you think?

Special thanks to CASSIUS FRANCIS of the CANADIAN CHILDREN'S OPERA CHORUS who will sing the role of AMAHL in a special pre-Christmas treat!

OPERA NELLA CHIESA Young Artists

We are fortunate to have five young and lovely singers join us for OPERA NELLA CHIESA on DEC 1. Come hear BRITTANY RAE, EMILY D'ANGELO, CHARLES SY, IAIN MACNEIL, and TIMOTHY WONG!

Just one of the guys...

On Dec 1: Tenor ADAM LUTHER, baritone ANTHONY CLEVERTON, and bass NEIL CRAIGHEAD

Featuring Soprano LAURA ALBINO & Mezzo-Soprano LAURA TUCKER

On Dec 1, we present two very talented and beautiful singers, LAURA ALBINO & LAURA TUCKER:

OPERA NELLA CHIESA! (Sunday Dec 1st 2:30pm)

Christmas is almost upon us ! On DEC 1 at 2:30pm, RECITALS AT ROSEDALE invites you to an afternoon recital of OPERA NELLA CHIESA, with music from THEODORA, MANON, and AMAHL and the NIGHT VISITORS! Featuring a cast of wonderful singers, including soprano Laura Albino, mezzo-soprano Laura Tucker, tenor Adam Luther, baritone Anthony Cleverton, and bass Neil Craighead. Also featuring a group of upcoming singers from UofT: Brittany Rae, Emily D'Angelo, Charles Sy, Iain Maclean, and countertenor Tim Wong. Plus a young treble, Cassius Francis (Canadian Children's Opera Company), as Amahl. The wonderful Rachel Andrist accompanies from the keyboard.... plus Rosedale's own Rev. Wes Denyer makes an appearance ! (no sermon however) Tickets are 35$ at the door, and $100 for the series (4 concerts). For more info, visit www.rpcc.ca, or call (416) 921-1931.

An Enchanted Summer Evening of Song & Opera

Next Saturday June 1st at 7:30pm, come join us at RPC for "An Enchanted Summer Evening of Song & Opera", our launch concert for Recitals at Rosedale: A New Vocal Series.

This concert will sample from the four concerts of the 2013-14 season- The Seven Virtues, Opera nella Chiesa, Love...Actually, and The Seven Deadly Sins. 

Come hear the talent and artistry of our wonderful featured artists:

Laura Albino, Lindsay Barrett, Leslie Ann Bradley, Ambur Braid

& Miriam Khalil, sopranos

Laura Tucker, mezzo-soprano

Colin Ainsworth & Michael Colvin, tenors

Peter Barrett, Gregory Dahl, Anthony Cleverton & Robert Gleadow, baritones

Rachel Andrist & John Greer, pianists

and

Erika Raum, violin

Enjoy a post-concert reception hosted by RPC - a perfect time to meet and greet with the artists and other music lovers over a glass of wine! 

Tickets are $20, and can be purchased by contacting office@rpcc.ca or 416-921-1931. Tickets also available at the door.

Subcriptions for the series is also now available, and on the evening of June 1st. 

RPC is located at 129 Mount Pleasant Road, two blocks north of Bloor, by Sherbourne station. 

Springtime in Paris

Thanks to Rezonance Baroque Ensemble who played a beautiful concert on May 5 at Rosedale on a beautiful Sunday afternoon . They finished their wonderful program of French baroque music with a cover of Cole Porter's 'I love Paris'. Featuring Soprano Britney Rae.

REZONANCE BAROQUE ENSEMBLE: Springtime in Paris

Spring has arrived! Come join us at RPC this Sunday May 5 at 3pm, when we host REZONANCE BAROQUE ENSEMBLE in a concert of music by the French baroque masters. Lead by violinist Rezan Onen-Lapointe and harpsichordist David Podgorski, Rezonance is a new Toronto-based ensemble that has performed in Montreal and was recently heard at the Tranzac Club in the Annex area. Also featuring soprano Brittany Rae, the program features works by Couperin, Rameau, and many more.

Tickets at door: $20/adult, $10/seniors&students. Rosedale Presbyterian is located at 129 Mount Pleasant Road, two blocks north of Bloor by Sherbourne Station.

JEAN-WILLY KUNZ organ recital April 28 3pm

Rosedale Presbyterian is proud to host an organ recital featuring Jean-Willy Kunz,  a French organist based in Montreal.  Mr. Kunz has recently been appointed to the prestigious position of Resident Organist of the Montreal Symphony,  where he will oversee the installation of the new 'Pierre Beique' Casavant organ in the orchestra's new Hall.

The concert will feature important organ works by Bach,  Bruhns,  Muffat, Mendelssohn,  and Schumann. Mr. Kunz will also delight us with an improvisation on submitted themes in the French romantic tradition.

The event is at 3pm on Sunday April 28. Rosedale Presbyterian is located at 129 Mount Pleasant Road,  two blocks north of Bloor Street by Sherbourne Station. Admission is $20.

Come hear a rising star of the organ world!

*PRESS RELEASE* Recitals at Rosedale: A New Vocal Series

Love …Actually? Requited and otherwise! Sometimes it's the "otherwise" that makes for the best music. Come and find out! Pianists Rachel Andrist and John Greer would like to invite you to a preview concert of their exciting new vocal series, Recitals at Rosedale.

On the evening of June 1 at 7:30, you will have the chance to hear some of your favourite Toronto singers and discover the vocal artists of tomorrow in a sampler concert of their 2013-14 season. Enjoy selections from Franz Schubert to Noël Coward, from John Dowland to John Greer and a glass of wine with the artists after the concert. Tickets are only $20.

The 2013-2014 season will feature four intriguing programs inspired by the beautiful interior and acoustics of our host church, tapping the wealth of vocal repertoire for both concert hall and opera house.

All concerts at 2:30 PM at Rosedale Presbyterian Church, 129 Mt. Pleasant Road, located on Mt. Pleasant at South Drive - a ten minute walk north of Bloor Street.

Ticket sales and subscription will be available at the June 1st Launch Concert or by email: office@rpcc.ca or call us at 416-921-1931. Subscription tickets are $100, $80 for COC subscribers, and cash, cheques, or Visa will be accepted.   

Holy Week Music at RPC

As Winter gives way to the early signs of Spring, RPC celebrates Holy Week with music reflecting on faith and resurrection. On Palm Sunday morning (March 24 at 10:30am), the Choir of RPC performs Finzi's magnificent anthem "Lo, the Full and Final Sacrifice".

On Good Friday (March 29 at 11am), RPC choir joins forces with the choir of St. Andrew's United to perform Bach's cantata "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" BWV 12, the basis of which Bach composed his  Crucifixus from the mighty B-Minor Mass.

Finally, on Easter Sunday (March 31 at 10:30am), we celebrate with music from the Handel's magnificent and surprising Easter masterpiece: The Messiah. As well, come hear the fabulous Toronto Brass Quintet that morning and their musical offering this Easter!

Find out more about Easter/Spring at RPC with this online PDF booklet:
http://rpcc.ca/127-easter-spring-booklet.pdf

Tickets almost ready!

A word of thanks to those of you who have called or emailed RPC regarding tickets and subscriptions for Recitals at Rosedale: A New Vocal Series. Tickets are currently being printed, and will be made available soon. 

However, you can still email RPC (office@rpcc.ca) or call the church (416-921-1931) to RSVP your tickets and subscriptions. Your name and contact information will be reserved, and we promise to get back to you.

Thank you kindly for your patience! Here is a link of our concert brochure:

http://www.rpcc.ca/130-musicconcerts-2013.pdf

***SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT***

Rosedale Presbyterian Church is proud to present

RECITALS at ROSEDALE: A NEW VOCAL SERIES

In partnership with Artistic Directors RACHEL ANDRIST & JOHN GREER, and featuring renowned Canadian singers. Special Launch Concert "An Enchanted Summer Evening of Song and Opera" on June 1st 2013 at 7:30pm. Tickets at Door 

Come enjoy the talent and artistry of some of Canada's finest singers! For more information, please contact RPC by email: office@rpcc.ca

Gillian Keith as Zerbinetta on CHANDOS

Described by the Guardian as exuding "bird-like charm as Zerbinetta", Gillian Keith delivers a spectacular performance on record as the flighty heroine in Strauss' masterpiece. This recording is well worth buying and listening to! Featuring the wonderful Scottish Chamber Orchestra and conductor Sir Richard Armstrong (Full review here: http://bit.ly/bU6z28 )

KEITH WEBER (conductor, pianist, orgainst)

Next Saturday Feb 9 at 7:30pm, Rosedale Presbyterian presents Gillian Keith in recital, accompanied by Keith Weber. 

Recent Grammy-nominated Producer Keith Weber is a choral and orchestral conductor, vocal coach, choral clinician, organist, pianist, harpsichordist and collaborator is widely known for his musical versatility and excellence.  

A native of western Pennsylvania, he holds a B.M., cum laude, in Organ Performance from Southern Methodist University, an M.M. also from SMU and an M.S.M. from Perkins School of Theology. 

He was Director of Music at St. Phillip Presbyterian Church in Houston, TX and at Christ Church in Tyler, TX.  He has served as Chair of Music Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, is Past Dean of the East Texas Chapter, American Guild of Organist and has served on the Board of Directors of the Tyler Civic Chorale.  As a recital collaborator and accompanist, Keith has worked with singers and instrumentalist across the United States. 

As an organist, Keith won the Dora Poteet Barclay Award (Outstanding Undergraduate, SMU), the Roy and Sue Johnson Award (Outstanding Senior, SMU), and 1982 B'nai B'rith Music Scholarship, the Ninth Annual Organ Competition of the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation, the 1991 Region VII National Young Artists' Playing Competition of the American Guild of Organists, was named finalist of the 1992 Spivey International Organ Competition and is widely known for his engaging organ recital programming.  He served as Interim Organist at The Myerson Symphony Center in Dallas, TX.

As a pianist, Keith made his formal orchestral debut in 1997 with the East Texas Symphony Orchestra, Kate Tamarkin, conducting, and as keyboardist-of-all-kinds is a frequent guest artist with Ars Lyrica Houston, Mercury Baroque, Musiqa, Cantare, The Victoria Bach Festival and the International Festival-Institute at Round, Top, TX.  Keith was named keyboardist of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra for the 2002-2003 season.

Keith is Artistic Director of Grace Song, Inc., a wide-ranging, non-profit production company.

Tickets available at the door. (RPC is located at 129 Mount Pleasant Road, two blocks north of Bloor, by Sherbourne station)

A CIRCLE OF SONG, MIRTH, MAGIC, AND MOONLIGHT:

Rosedale Presbyterian is proud to present our very own Gillian Keith, internationally recognized Soprano, in recital on FEB 9 '2013, at 7:30pm.

She will be accompanied by distinguished guest pianist, Keith Weber. Music will include works by Schumann, Britten, Purcell, Copland and more!

Tickets available at the door ($20). Rosedale Presbyterian is located at 129 Mount Pleasant Avenue, two blocks north of Bloor, by Sherbourne station.
We hope to see you there!

Toronto Brass Quintet: A beautifully played concert

Last Sunday (Jan 20' 2013), the TORONTO BRASS QUINTET shared their music making with an attentive and happy audience. The program 'Classics for Brass' featured music by Bach, Gesualdo, Calvert, and Ewald. I especially enjoyed the virtuosic playing in a rendition of Bach's 'My Spirit be Joyful', from the great master's Cantata 146. The rhythmic theme was brilliantly treated by the TBQ's five instrumentalists, and  articulation details were always brought out with fine care (particularly the coordinated ornamented trills with the two trumpeters that seemed so easy).

Next were four madrigal by Gesualdo. Who knew he was such a colourful character? Apart from being an aristocrat, Gesualdo was a highly imaginative composer. This was evident in the wild turns of harmonies throughout the four madrigals. (note: History also tells us that Gesualdo had an extra-ordinary personal life, and was particularly vengeful towards a cheating spouse...)     The Suite from the Monteregion Hills by Morley Calvert had a distinctive "contemporary" feel to its energetic dance-like tunes and passages. The music was fun, and some children in attendance were highly animated during movements like the 'marche'. 

The second half of the program consisted of Quintet no.3 by Victor Ewald, an original member of the groupf of five Russian composers called "The Mighty Handful"  (including Balakirev, Cui, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov). The four movement work is cast in the mold of the classical symphony, and is full of beautiful melodies (of Russian romantic flavour) that sticks with the listener long after the performance.

Special thanks to the TBQ's members for the wonderful afternoon of music! We hope to hear them again in the future ! 

Canadians and the Brass Quintet

Rosedale Presbyterian is hosting the Toronto Brass Quintet this coming Sunday (Jan 20 3pm), and I got curious about the origins of the brass quintet. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Canadians have been a champion of this terrific brass ensemble medium !

A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. The most common instrumentation is two trumpets or cornets, one horn, one trombone or euphonium/baritone horn, and one tuba or bass trombone.
As an ensemble type, the brass quintet is very flexible, with a repertoire encompassing musical genres from madrigals to jazz and everything in between. The instrumentation for a brass quintet is very flexible. Often trumpets will double on piccolo trumpets and flugelhorns. In some pieces the horn is replaced by a trombone. In some ensembles a euphonium substitutes for the trombone part. While a tuba is considered standard, the range and style of many pieces lends themselves to being played on bass trombone. Additionally some pieces call for the use of percussion instruments, particularly tambourine, snare drum and especially timpani.
The contemporary brass quintet was started in the late 1940s by two different groups operating independently—the Chicago Brass Quintet and the New York Brass Quintet. Two members of the Chicago Brass Quintet can arguably be credited with helping plant the seed for today's success of the brass quintet medium: Arnold Jacobs, tubist of the CBQ was teacher to the two founders Daellenbach and Watts of the Canadian Brass, while Renold Schilke, trumpet player in the CBQ and master craftsman, was mentor to the entire group, successfully crafting the first-ever matched set of gold-plated quintet brass instruments. Canadian Brass has gone on to establish both the style and popularity of the quintet medium throughout the world having performed more than five thousand concerts and having sold more than 500,000 quintet music books for performers around the world, affirming the rise of the brass quintet as a worldwide phenomenon. The wealth of new music for brass quintet can be attributed to the American Brass Quintet with over 100 premieres of new quintet works.

TORONTO BRASS QUINTET at RPC !

Rosedale Presbyterian Church is pleased to present the TORONTO BRASS QUINTET in concert with CLASSICS for BRASS! (Sunday JAN 20' 2013 at 3pm). Works by Bach, Gesualdo, Calvert, Ewald etc.
Wine & cheese reception to follow !

Welcome!

Dear Visitor,

Welcome to a new blog about music and arts activities at Rosedale Presbyterian Church(RPC), here in Toronto. 

(Here is a brochure link of full winter activities at the church: http://rpcc.ca/160-christmas-2012-p1.htm)

We appreciate music very much at RPC as it plays an important role in our worship activities. Our choir is made up of volunteer members of the congregation, lead by professional soloists. We are also celebrating the 30th anniversary of a beautiful two-manual organ by Karl Whilhelm. 

RPC has developed relationships with several distinguished artists from the Toronto's classical music community. We are pleased to have as a regular performer, MEHDI GAHZI,   a young piano virtuoso based at the Royal Conservatory of Music. We are also pleased to be presenting internationally reknowned soprano, GILLIAN KEITH, in recital with accompanist KEITH WEBER this FEB 9' 2013. 

We are looking forward to continuing an artsong collaboration with distinguished opera coach, RACHEL ANDRIST  (Canadian Opera Company, Royal Conservatory, Salzburg Festspiel). Many of Toronto's talented singers will continue to share their vocal talent with the public in future RPC concerts.

RPC has also fostered an interest in partnerships with Toronto-based ensembles. We are pleased to have as our resident ensemble, the fabulous TORONTO BRASS QUINTET. The TBQ were part of our Christmas worship last December 2012, and we are excited to present the group on JAN 20' 2013 in a program of splendid brass music.

Other ensembles that have an association with RPC are the Rosedale Winds, and the Rosedale Chamber Orchestra. 

Rosedale Presbyterian has community outreach in other arts initiatives: we have an annual Fall Festival of the Arts, where we invite local artists to exhibit their works, and we invite the Toronto community to drop in and see the artwork (with wine and cheese!). We are also home to the Penthelia Singers, a ballet program for young children, and a music therapy program.