We hope you enjoy this edition of SoundStories, with a deep dive into the music of Christopher Mayo. “I’m so grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate in the Seven Deadly Sins project with Soundstreams in 2019. It was hugely inspirational to see how all the artists involved had such diverse and varied approaches to the subject matter. I’m even… Read More
We hope you enjoy this edition of SoundStories, with a deep dive into Ana Sokolović, recent Juno award winner for the classical composition of the year. Composer Spotlight: Ana Sokolović Composer Ana Sokolović was born in Belgrade and is now a professor of composition at the Université de Montréal, where she previously studied under José Evangelista. Her work, often influenced by Balkan asymmetric rhythms, is both rich and… Read More
(the following is an article from the Winter 2012 edition of Listen Magazine, reprinted with permission) A short history of the people and gestures that made a movement. By Menon Dwarka Minimalism changed the listener’s experience to something much more akin to that of a museumgoer. When a pattern repeats, you have a few moments… Read More
We hope you enjoy this edition of SoundStories, with a deep dive into the world of Steve Reich. Composer Spotlight: Steve Reich “American composer Steve Reich has strong links to Toronto: 2 original members of the Steve Reich Ensemble – Russell Hartenberger and Bob Becker – were also founding members of Canada’s illustrious percussion ensemble Nexus, famously described by the New… Read More
by Soundstreams Staff We hope you enjoy this edition of SoundStories, with a deep dive into the music of John Cage. Composer Spotlight: John Cage “History of Western music can be divided into B.C. (Before Cage) and A.C. (After Cage).” – Yoko Ono Cage’s great revolution was removing the composer’s intention from music. This took many… Read More
To our Soundstreams family, Soundstreams believes that music has the ability to bring people together, and break down barriers. It’s a mark of our collective humanity. The recent spread of COVID-19 in our society makes gathering difficult, but we continue to carry on to achieve this mission. Above everything, the health and safety of artists,… Read More
By Felix Mills, Community Engagement Manager Soundstreams’ upcoming Encounters is a chance to meet very special guests at the Gladstone Hotel. Before joining us at this free event, get to know our guests below: Up-Close with Patricia O’ Callaghan In her own words, “Patricia O’Callaghan is something of a wandering minstrel.” She speaks French, Spanish,… Read More
By Tim Crouch, Director of Marketing & Patron Experience, and Menon Dwarka, Executive Director Welcome to Soundstreams Menon! Have you always been involved in the arts and culture sector? I think like most people in our sector, I was “awoken” by some pretty typical works as a teenager (Rite of Spring, Pierre Boulez’s Piano Sonata… Read More
by Menon Dwarka, Executive Director and Zoe Lin, Manager of Advancement & Patron Experience SlowPitchSound (Cheldon Paterson) was interviewed by Soundstreams’ Executive Director Menon Dwarka at Soundstreams’ office. Soundstreams’ patrons are familiar with SlowPitchSound’s work in Electric Messiah. SlowPitchSound (Cheldon Paterson) is an experimental artist with over 20 years of experience in live composition and… Read More
By Felix Mills, Community Engagement Manager Diving into soundworlds – if you’re reading our blog, this likely piques your interest. Or, maybe you’re not sure and curious to explore. As Soundstreams gets ready for Improvised Components on March 6th at Drake Underground, we’re doing some exploring of our own, looking into the creation of new… Read More
By Felix Mills, Community Engagement Manager Which of your feet hit the floor first this morning? How many times have you said the word “and” today? Chances are you didn’t plan either of these things – you improvised; we all do. Just as it happens in your typical day, there are many different situations, structures,… Read More
By Felix Mills, Community Engagement Manager The results are in! RBC Bridges, Soundstreams’ workshop for early-career composers, is an annual workshop that brings together celebrated composer mentors, a professional resident ensemble, and six carefully selected emerging composers to develop and premiere new work in a professional context. The program enters its 8th year in 2020… Read More
by Tim Crouch, Director of Marketing & Patron Experience, and Zoe Lin, Manager of Advancement & Patron Experience On March 6th, 2020 at 8 PM, Soundstreams presents another curated musical journey – Improvised Components at Drake Underground. Featured performers include – Nick Storring, composer, guest curator Katelyn Clark, harpsichord/organetto Emily Redhead, baroque violin Pierre-Yves Martel,… Read More
by Tim Crouch, Director of Marketing & Audience Engagement We’re getting set to present to Toronto the world premiere of Karappo Okesutura Vol 3 next week at The Great Hall in our concert, The Lost Karaoke Tapes. The work will be performed by the Australian Art Orchestra and composed by Nicole Lizée – let’s dig… Read More
by Zoe Lin, Manager of Advancement and Patron Engagement Nicole Lizée, born in Gravelbourg, a small town in south-central Saskatchewan, is the mastermind behind The Lost Karaoke Tapes. A “brilliant musical scientist,” Lizée will join the Australian Art Orchestra and take us on a nostalgic multimedia trip January 30th at the Great Hall. Not only… Read More
As we start a new decade, Soundstreams welcome our new Executive Director – Menon Dwarka. “My goal over the next few years will be to more clearly connect works like Hell’s Fury and Musik für das Ende with the global conversations on refugees and the LGBTQ2 community,” Dwarka told Ludwig Van Toronto. Dwarka looks forward… Read More
by Zoe Lin, Manager of Advancement and Patron Engagement While for many people in Toronto a night out involves restaurants, bars and clubs; in Taipei, where I grew up, things are a little different. KTV (Karaoke Television) – refers to places where people hang out in a private soundproofed room with a karaoke machine, and… Read More
by Menon Dwarka, Executive Director It’s been a month since Two Odysseys, our double-bill of Indigenous operas opened at Daniels Spectrum. I just started as interim executive director of Soundstreams a few weeks before the premiere, and most of my recollections from that time are just a blur of spreadsheets, files and innumerable introductions. But… Read More
by Zoe Lin, Manager of Advancement and Patron Engagement I grew up studying Classical music – the hardcore eight hour days were filled with practicing, rehearsals, music theory, and history. As someone born in the last decade of the 20th century in Asia, it was almost impossible for me to relate to the music I… Read More
by Tim Crouch, Director of Marketing & Patron Experience Electric Messiah re-imagines George Frideric Handel’s great masterpiece with inspirations from different genres to create a feast of musical styles for curious listeners. Perhaps not known to many, but the process of putting together Electric Messiah is an extremely collaborative affair. Each soloist and musician brings… Read More