New Canadian Global Music Orchestra to Celebrate Canada's Sesquicentennial

During the 2016-17 concert season, The Royal Conservatory of Music is excited to celebrate the cultural diversity and pluralism of our great country as it turns 150 by presenting extraordinary Canadian artists from across the nation, including its world-renowned faculty and gifted students. 70 of 97 concerts include Canadian talent playing solo, in ensembles, or in special 'only at Koerner Hall' events. But that is only the beginning!

A major new initiative is the formation of the New Canadian Global Music Orchestra, which brings together 10 to 15 top-notch musicians from all over the world, all of whom now live in the GTA. These artists will be in residence through the concert season: they will collaborate on new musical compositions, rehearse and participate in educational activities, play in other venues throughout the GTA, and finally come together as the New Canadian Global Music Orchestra for a concert in Koerner Hall on June 2, in celebration of Canada's sesquicentennial. The musicians will play on instruments from every corner of the globe.

There has been an overwhelming interest in this project - more than 100 musicians have applied from 47 countries, including: Afghanistan, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, as well as two Indigenous artists.

The first round of auditions was held at The Conservatory last week. The field of applicants will be short-listed in the next month, and first meetings and rehearsals will commence during the month of November.

The Conservatory is also pleased to announce Toronto's own multi-talented musician, composer, producer, and visionary David Buchbinder as the Artistic Director of the project.

David Buchbinder is a Juno Award-winning trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and cultural inventor. He presents large-scale performance projects, has toured across the Americas and Europe, and has earned a reputation as one of the leading lights in the Canadian world music and jazz scenes. Expanding past his boundaries as a musician, he was the founding artistic director of the world-renowned Ashkenaz Festival, North America's premier celebration of Jewish music and culture, as well as founder and artistic director of the creativity-based urban transformation organization Diasporic Genius. He has also composed numerous award-winning scores for film, theatre, and television, and is the creator/producer of many multidisciplinary performances. Buchbinder is a recipient of the 2016 Toronto Arts Council William Kilbourn Award and has just been announced as a finalist for the 2016 Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts for his body of work, which has always included forging relationships between communities.

At The Conservatory, Mr. Buchbinder produced the 2011-12 season opening concert, Andalusia to Toronto, as part of the "Music From Across the Middle East" concert series. He revived the project for the Family Concerts series in 2015-16.

The New Canadian Global Music Orchestra is presented by The Royal Conservatory of Music in partnership with: Aga Khan Museum, Batuki Music Society, Diasporic Genius, Lula Music and Arts Centre, Small World Music, York University Department of Music, and 918 Bathurst Centre.

IF YOU GO:

New Canadian Global Music Orchestra

Friday, June 2, 2017 at 8pm

Koerner Hall

$45-$90

Tickets and subscriptions are available online at www.performance.rcmusic.ca, by calling 416.408.0208, or in person at the Weston Family Box Office

Become a Royal Subscriber: select any 4-6 concerts and save 10%; select any 7+ concerts and save 15%; both levels receive special subscriber benefits

A limited number of $10 BMO Rush Tickets are available starting 90 minutes before all performances presented by The Royal Conservatory.

All concerts take place at The Royal Conservatory of Music, TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

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