Art of Time Ensemble Opens 2012-13 Season with WAR OF THE WORLDS Tonight, 10/30

Innovative music group, Art of Time Ensemble, launch their most dynamic and entertaining season yet with The War of the Worlds. Presented in association with Harbourfront Centre, The War of the Worlds runs from tonight, October 30 to November 4, 2012 (opening and media night: October 30) at the intimate Enwave Theatre (231 Queens Quay W.). Tickets from $25 to $59 are available online at harbourfrontcentre.com, by phone at 416.973.4000 or in-person at the box office.

“My goal has been to create unique musical experiences that blend theatre, dance, film and music in a meaningful way, underscoring the intersections of high art with popular culture,” said Andrew Burashko, artistic director. “As part of our cultural mythology, The War of the Worlds is a great entry point into classical music for audiences, as it marries familiar and unfamiliar art forms with a theatrical flair, and includes the music of Bernard Herrmann – one of the greatest 20th-century composers.”

The War of the Worlds, a remount of the company’s acclaimed production which premiered as part of World Stage in 2011, is a dramatic staging of Orson Welles’ infamous radio drama. The original 1938 broadcast, presented as a series of news bulletins, tricked many listeners into thinking that an actual alien invasion by Martians was taking place. This year’s Art of Time Ensemble staging has Sean Cullen (The Producers) join returning actors NICHOLAS CAMPBELL (Da Vinci’s Inquest) and Marc Bendavid (The Border). The all-star cast is accompanied on-stage by Art of Time Ensemble’s artistic director Andrew Burashko leading a five-piece “radio orchestra” alongside live Foley sound effects artist John Gzowski. The result is an innovative and engaging show-within-a-show theatrical experience punctuated by music.

Also on the bill is Herrmannthology, where Burashko conducts a nine-piece ensemble in a suite based on the scores penned by legendary film composer Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann, who composed the music for such films as Citizen Kane, Taxi Driver, Psycho and Cape Fear, also collaborated with Orson Welles on his radio dramas as Musical Director, including the The War of the Worlds. Dan Parr arranged a medley of themes from 20 of Herrmann’s dramatic scores which are performed by the orchestra, while Tess Girard’s live montage of the brilliant films they underscored are projected and mixed on the screen.

Art of Time Ensemble is the creation of renowned classical pianist and Artistic Director Andrew Burashko. Not content to rehash basic classical repertoire, Burashko and Art of Time Ensemble have become known for their daring interaction with the Toronto cultural scene. Now in its thirteenth season, Art of Time Ensemble is one of Canada’s most innovative and artistically accomplished music ensembles. Their mandate is to give classical music the contemporary relevance and context it needs to maintain a broader audience to survive. Since its inception, Art of Time has steadily grown in reputation as an ensemble that undertakes and delivers programs that are at once thought-provoking and compelling. Committed to finding new ways of blending classical music with other genres as well as other art forms, each Art of Time program is uniquely different in theme and content. 

Harbourfront Centre is an innovative, non-profit cultural organization which provides internationally renowned programming in the arts, culture, education and recreation, all within a collection of distinctive venues on a 10-acre site it operates in the heart of Toronto’s downtown waterfront.  For more information visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com.

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