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
by Zoe Lin, Marketing & Communications Intern We are excited to introduce the ensemble for this holiday season’s production of Electric Messiah. Electric Messiah will be presented to you by four soloists along with our ensemble team – SlowPitchSound, Joel Schwartz, Wesley Shen, Joel Visentin, and Lybido; with designer/technical director Nick Andison. SlowPitchSound SlowPitchSound is… Read More
by Tim Crouch, Director of Marketing & Patron Experience Fresh off a successful run in Toronto at the 2019 Luminato Festival, Hell’s Fury, The Hollywood Songbook is headed to the state in which a bulk of the action takes place, this time being presented by Stanford Live in early December. Soundstreams and Luminato have a… Read More
Soundstreams is proud to present their newest program, NEW VOICES: Curator Mentorship Program. Calling all aspiring music programmers! Soundstreams is now inviting proposals to develop and produce a concert on our 2020/21 season as part of our New Voices: Curator Mentorship Program. This is a unique platform for early- to mid-career music curators, seeking new… Read More
From the article: “Masks, beautifully simple imagery, repetition and cyclic form; it’s incredibly evocative and, even for non-Indigenous audiences, nostalgic.” “The simplicity of these stories drew me in, leaving me rapt for the duration and in awe of the execution of it all.” “One gets the feeling one is seeing an extraordinarily true account of… Read More
From the article: “Pimooteewin” is one of those deftly created works that suspends time as it tells its story, and the excellent performances incite us to hope that we won’t have to leave this alternate universe for a while. “[Gállábártnit] takes an old legend and makes it speak powerfully to the troubled times we live… Read More
From the article: “We need to be able to talk about our experiences using our own voices and it doesn’t always have to be about our trauma, because we’re more than that, […] Come for the opera — stay for the Indigenous excellence,” – Yolanda Bonnell, Narrator of Pimooteewin. Read the full story here.
by Cheryl Stone, Manager Advancement and Patron Engagement Villains, heroes and other characters are an integral part of opera. They act as our way into the story, connecting us with the worlds they are a part of. Two Odysseys is no exception to the operatic tradition, and even though the characters have new names and… Read More
by Felix Mills, Community Engagement Manager It’s always refreshing, speaking with someone whose personality shines out even through email. Rawdna Carita Eira is a multi-talented Sámi poet/dramatist/artist from Guovdageaidnu. She is the librettist for Gállábártnit of Two Odysseys: Pimooteewin / Gállábártnit and the stage manager at The Sami National Theatre Beaivváš, one of Two Odysseys’… Read More
by Tim Crouch, Director of Marketing and Patron Experience Soundstreams’ Electric Messiah, now in its fifth year, is one of the reasons I was so excited to come over and work here. The show itself is at one of my favourite haunts (Drake Underground, part of The Drake Hotel), is a multi-sensory experience with the… Read More
by Felix Mills, Community Engagement Manager Odaabaanag is the latest outcome of a partnership between Jumblies and Soundstreams. For the last year, it has explored collaboration across community arts and contemporary music, across cultures (Indigenous and Settler/Immigrant), and across regions (Toronto, Northern Ontario). The collaboration is coming together for its final performances on November 30th and… Read More
by Tim Crouch, Director of Marketing and Patron Experience We at Soundstreams love the occasional good brew. As does our audience! That’s why we’re ‘hoppy’ to announce a partnership with Hamilton Ontario’s Collective Arts Brewing for the 2019/20 concert season. Collective Arts Brewing is a grassroots craft brewery that aims to fuse the creativity… Read More
Composers Anna Pidgorna and Brian Current have world premieres on Top Brass, October 3, 2019. Find out what they have to say below: Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney has also weighed in to what makes this program so special: Grab your tickets for Soundstreams’ celebratory season opener today – click here!
“Soundstreams’ founder and artistic director Lawrence Cherney has long been impressed by the breadth and depth of trumpet repertoire across the ages, and as a former trumpet player myself, I am always happy to hear him out on the charms of this favoured instrument. Now Cherney has gone one step further and created a whole… Read More
“Trumpet declares. It prompts and signals. And on October 3, 2019, the trumpet(s) shall sound, at the Soundstreams 2019-20 opener: Top Brass. Three virtuosos: Ole Edvard Antonsen, Jens Lindemann and Ingrid Jensen, will gather to create a complex portrait of the trumpet, from the familiar golden Baroque of the past, to the present and its… Read More
The Three Woes Composed by Anna Pidgorna This piece is inspired by the end of the world prophesy in the Book of Revelations, in which seven trumpets bring in various catastrophes, which wipe out much of life on earth, herald the final judgement, and establish paradise on Earth. The last three trumpets are known as… Read More
TORONTO – September 30, 2019 – Daniel Weinzweig, president of the Soundstreams Board of Directors announced today that Executive Director Ben Dietschi will be leaving Soundstreams after seven years, the last four as lead administrator. He departs November 18 to begin a principal role at another arts and culture organization. The board has determined an… Read More