Blog Behind the Scenes

All About the Instruments

Behind the Scenes

Composer George Crumb (b. 1929) is well known for exploring unusual timbres in his compositions, as well as calling for instruments to be played in unique ways. He was initially… Read More

A Night at The Dora Awards

Behind the Scenes

Our Executive Director Susan Worthington attended The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (otherwise known as The Doras), on Monday, June 22. Despite the threatening rain, she had a great time celebrating… Read More

Thanks for a wonderful season

Behind the Scenes Support

2014/15 concerts: Daniel Hope performing in The Seasons; David Fallis conducting in Vespers; Claire Chase and Tony Arnold in The Whisper Opera; Patricia Rozario singing in Song for Athene; Maria… Read More

The Creation of Gállábártnit

Artist Spotlight Behind the Scenes

Bud Roach and Xin Wang, with Elmer Iseler Singers, in Pimooteewin The concert season might be over but new music creation never stops! This week, Soundstreams is holding a workshop… Read More

Lightning Round Q&A: Staff Edition

Behind the Scenes

In every interview we conduct with various Soundstreams performers, conductors and composers, we always end with a “lightning round” of questions. To cap off an excellent year, we decided to… Read More

Inviting all choral and vocal music lovers

Behind the Scenes

A message from Artistic Director, Lawrence Cherney Our next three concerts are a glorious back-to-back celebration of choral and vocal music: Vespers on November 25 at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, The… Read More

Q&A with Susan Worthington

Behind the Scenes

Susan Worthington joins Soundstreams this week, officially taking over as Executive Director at the beginning of September. We chatted with her via email to find out about her inspiration for… Read More

Music and Sport

Behind the Scenes

In the summer we become much more active. The weather is nice and we feel the need to get outside and move around, or attend outdoor games. I know many… Read More

What to do when the lights go out

Behind the Scenes

This concert was very different for Soundstreams in that it was one of the first occasions were the music was a mixture of the composed and the improvised. This style… Read More

How do you define Improvisation and Composition?

Behind the Scenes

The definition between improvisation and compositions isn’t as objective as you might think. There as many definitions of the two practices as there are people practicing them. There are two… Read More

Behind the Scenes: Juliet Palmer’s Sweat

Behind the Scenes

Sweat takes place in a contemporary sweatshop, the multilingual libretto conveying the global nature of the garment industry. Departing radically from traditional opera, this piece sheds the orchestra and focuses… Read More

Creating a Hybrid Bach

Behind the Scenes

When Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (or Weihnachts-Oratorium) was brought to my attention I knew that it had to be the source material. It was not only timely for the season and… Read More

The Sharing of World Cultures before Planes, Trains, and Internet Fame

Behind the Scenes

Before the internet had wired us together, one of the ways that people were able to experience art and ideas from around the globe was at international expositions. These events,… Read More

Are Orchestras in Crisis?

Behind the Scenes

In his article America's Orchestras are in Crisis,  Philip Kennicott raises a number of valid issues in his critique of programming by American orchestras and others. He argues that the… Read More

What’s With Walt Whitman?

Behind the Scenes

I guess I like working with Walt Whitman. My new work Open Road is our fifth collaboration. Soundstreams has commissioned Six Songs (2001) and When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard… Read More

Airline Icarus, a new opera: Inspiration & History

Behind the Scenes

Airline Icarus is about the intersecting thoughts of passengers aboard a commercial airplane. It explores themes of hubris mixed with technology, the forced intimacy of strangers and flying too close… Read More

Salon Thoughts: Audience and the New Development Process

Behind the Scenes

In November, we will spend a week developing Juliet Palmer’s opera Sweat and in June we will present a fully staged version of Brian Current’s Airline Icarus at the Daniels… Read More

So You Think You Can Listen?

Behind the Scenes

Deep Listening is a practice that is intended to heighten and expand consciousness of sound in as many dimensions of awareness and attentional dynamics as humanly possible. Pauline Oliveros from… Read More

A Little Furniture Music

Behind the Scenes

Erik Satie has become a darling of the avant-garde. Brought back from obscurity by John Cage, the 20th century composer enfant terrible, Satie has been an important influence on American… Read More

A Backstage View of Some of the Finest Concert Halls in Asia

Behind the Scenes

My role on the recent Soundstreams tour to Taiwan and China gave me a different perspective than most of the others. My official role was production manager; in some cases… Read More

Learn About Traditional Chinese Instruments

Behind the Scenes

Our Music for China concert on May 14 features performances by Taiwan’s acclaimed Chai Found Music Workshop. Here are some fun facts about the types of instruments that they play,… Read More

On the Road Again: Soundstreams Tours to China

Behind the Scenes

  This May, Soundstreams will make Canadian music history with the first significant tour of Canadian contemporary music to Taiwan and China. The ensemble, which features Canadian musicians alongside Chinese-born… Read More

Inside the Music: Letters to God by Akira Miyoshi

Behind the Scenes Program Notes

We have been enchanted in the office by Haruka Fujii’s copies of the Japanese Children’s Letters to God books. On March 5 at our Fujii Percussion and Voices concert, Rika… Read More

The Poetry and Music of The Three Faces of Jerusalem

Behind the Scenes Program Notes

We have had a lot of great feedback about the concert last Sunday, and a lot of curiosity about the poetry and music presented, so we wanted to share some… Read More