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
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
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 Felix Mills, Metcalf Foundation Intern – Community Engagement Associate Working with the choir and having this kind of collaboration with my daughter is huge. My mother went to residential school so it’s very much part of our family history. The fact that we’re working with elders from my family’s home territory is very important… Read More
by Tim Crouch, Director of Marketing & Patron Experience “Rituals connect us to our past. They awaken collective memories–how we got to today–but they are also harbingers, illuminating a galaxy of future possibility.” Soundstreams Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney has laid out his vision for the 2019/20 season, one that Ludwig van Toronto is already calling… Read More
Soundstreams is delighted to see Odaabaanag, the yearlong collaboration between Jumblies Theatre and Soundstreams, coming to life. While composer Melody McKiver works on music for string quartet and recorded voices (inspired by Steve Reich’s Different Trains), a companion piece for community choir is now being rehearsed and workshopped in Toronto, composed by Melody’s mother and… Read More
“First though, a very preliminary view of an intriguing work in progress being co-produced by Soundstreams and Jumblies Theatre. Anishinaabe composer Melody McKiver has been commissioned by these two organizations to compose a work for string quartet and recorded voices. As synchronicity would have it, I was introduced to McKiver in a local restaurant, in… Read More
Soundstreams is thrilled to be working with multi-genre artist Melody McKiver on our upcoming project “Odaanaabag” in collaboration with Jumblies Theatre. Melody McKiver is an Anishinaabe musician, media artist, traditional powwow dancer and artist, and arts educator of mixed ancestry. Melody is an enrolled member of Obishikokaang Lac Seul First Nation on their mother’s side, and their… Read More
We are pleased to announce the participating composers for Soundstreams’ seventh annual Emerging Composer Workshop (ECW). Our six, 2019 participants reflect the global reach of the ECW with participants coming from Canada, United States, United Kingdom, China, and Norway. Each year the ECW hosts an international and a local mentor composer, as well as a… Read More
Percussionist Ryan Scott forgot to bring tin cans to Shanghai. When leaving for Shanghai, Scott not only packed this own bag, he also brought a bag full of mallets, gongs and other percussion equipment the master percussionist didn’t think he could get on the other side of the world. The catch was, he only brought… Read More
One of the most notable influences in Claude Vivier’s music was his lifelong spiritual journey. He was fascinated with life, death, existence, and the afterlife. These ideas permeated his compositions as he struggled to answer his own spiritual concerns through music. At the time he was composing Musik für das Ende (Music for the End)… Read More
Celebrating Soundstreams 35th season, “35 Ways” is an ongoing series that celebrates how Soundstreams has influenced, shaped or contributed to Canadian Music. In February 2009 Soundstreams broke new ground with the production of Pimooteewin: The Journey. The first opera written and sung in Cree, it featured Japanese kuroko movement and puppetry choreographed by Michael Greyeyes, libretto by… Read More
Andrew Staniland is our 2017 TD SoundMakers Composer in Residence! During his time in this role, he will be posting monthly about his experiences in the classroom and as a composer. This month Andrew shares his experiences arranging for Toronto’s Art of Time Ensemble. An arrangement is when a composer takes a previously composed work… Read More
We are thrilled to announce our participating composers for our fifth annual Emerging Composer Workshop. This year’s six participants are from across Canada and the USA, including New York, Halifax and Toronto. Each year the ECW hosts a different international visiting mentor and local mentor, as well as a professional resident ensemble. This year participants… Read More
Soundstreams is excited to announce that Canadian composer Andrew Staniland is our 2017 TD SoundMakers Composer in Residence! During his time in this role, he will be working with students from across Toronto as a Composer in the Classroom – teaching them to use audio samples to create their own pieces. Andrew has been teaching… Read More
SummerWorks is Canada’s largest curated performance festival of theatre, music, dance, and live art – and is held right here in downtown Toronto! The 2016 SummerWorks Performance Festival kicks off next Thursday August 4, with over 60 performances occurring over the span of 11 days and involving more than 500 artists. To help you choose… Read More
SoundWeavers, our final Salon of the 2015/16 Season was held on Friday June 17th at the Gardiner Museum. The evening featured two exciting new premieres, both of which were composed in collaboration with and performed by Jumblies Theatre‘s mixed-age-and-ability choir Ground Floor, as well as a quartet of guest professional singers (Sarah Albu, Hussein Janmohamed, Alex Samaras, and Maryem Tollar). About… Read More
In last Friday’s Salon 21: The Regent Park Songbook, students from the Regent Park School of Music presented a series of new works – all settings of student-created lyrics by professional Canadian composers. The program featured works by Saman Shahi, Brian Current, Pouya Hamidi, Juliet Palmer, Emilie Lebel, Dean Burry, Aaron Gervais, Omar Daniel, and Jeff Ryan. The Regent… Read More
Colin Labadie is one of the six composers selected to be a part of this year’s Emerging Composer Workshop, taking place April 2-14, and featuring guest mentors Steve Reich and Peter Hatch. Soundstreams had a chance to catch up with Colin before his arrival in Toronto for the workshop to ask him a few questions about composing… Read More
Our Emerging Composer Workshop (ECW) has seen major growth over the past few years. Now entering its fourth year, the workshop attracts composers from all over the world. This year marks an important milestone, with world-renowned composer Steve Reich serving as visiting guest mentor, Peter Hatch as local mentor, and a group of six composer… Read More