We’re pleased to be featuring composer Bruce A. Russell this February as part of Black History Month. Piece: Linea Nigra, for string octet (2015) Watch: On Vimeo. From the Composer: Linea Nigra (2015) is an orchestration and expansion of my piano piece Canon Chorale (2005). It’s scored for string octet: four violins, two violas and two… Read More
In honour of the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, we’re pleased to feature Toronto composer Kevin Lau. Piece: Between the Earth and Forever (2020) From the Composer: Between the Earth and Forever is, first and foremost, a work inspired by space exploration, and the intrepid explorers who dare venture beyond the boundaries of our planet,… Read More
We’re pleased to be featuring composer Bruce A. Russell this February as part of Black History Month. Check in for deep dives on works specially chosen by him. Piece: Companion, for two pianos (2019) Watch: Companion, Bruce A. Russell from Arraymusic on Vimeo. From the Composer: Companion (2019) is written for two pianos and is… Read More
We’re pleased to be featuring composer Bruce A. Russell this February as part of Black History Month. Check in for deep dives on works specially chosen by him. Piece: Kalimba Canon, for two alto kalimbas (1999) From the Composer: Kalimba Canon (1999) is written for two alto kalimbas. It began as a shorthand sketch in… Read More
TO BE BROADCAST THIS DECEMBER Friday November 27, 2020 // Toronto, ON – Soundstreams has announced its original reimagining of Handel’s masterpiece Messiah in a special broadcast event airing for free on December 17, 2020 at 8 PM EST. This year’s world premiere holiday event escapes the confines of in-person venues and transforms into a full-length music video, complete with a mix of on-location outdoor filming in the… Read More
The following is a special guest post from Electric Messiah 2020 artist Teiya Kasahara. Learn more about Electric Messiah here! An album I’m listening to a lot right now that is inspiring me in many ways is Kishi Bashi’s latest album called “Omoiyari”. It means “compassion” in the simplest of terms, but I’m probably not… Read More
By Tim Crouch, Director of Marketing & Patron Experience, and Emma Fowler, Director of Artistic Planning This year’s Electric Messiah is unlike any other, but the spirit of innovation has always been a part of the very fabric of this show. As in past years, we once again look at the material with a new… Read More
We hope you enjoy this edition of SoundStories, with a deep dive into the music of James Rolfe. Composer Spotlight: James Rolfe “One of our most gifted composers of new concert music.” – Wholenote Magazine Toronto-based composer James Rolfe is among the country’s most gifted composers writing for voice. Soundstreams has had the privilege of commissioning and… Read More
We hope you enjoy this edition of SoundStories, with a deep dive into the music of Cecilia Livingston. Composer Spotlight: Cecilia Livingston “this vast and curious creative mind” – Wholenote Magazine We’re pleased to feature Cecilia Livingston in this edition of SoundStories. In the upcoming 2020/21 season, she’ll be composing for 4 voices and instruments… Read More
We hope you enjoy this edition of SoundStories, with a deep dive into the music of Morton Feldman. Composer Spotlight: Morton Feldman “Art in relation to life is nothing more than a glove turned inside out. It seems to have the same shapes and contours, but it can never be used for the same purpose…. Read More
Soundstreams now has a new home, and it couldn’t be a more perfect fit – we are excited to announce we are now the proud tenants of the third floor of the Canadian Music Centre (CMC) in downtown Toronto. Even with the overcast of a pandemic, we believe in moving forward – in this case, physically moving!… Read More
We hope you enjoy this edition of SoundStories, with a deep dive into the music of Max Richter. Composer Spotlight: Max Richter One of the classical repertoire’s best-known standards gives birth to a startling new creation: Max Richter’s reinvention of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons violin concertos. Here is violinist Daniel Hope performing ‘The Four Seasons Recomposed –… Read More
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