COC Announces Free Concert Series at Bradshaw Theatre, 11/1 - 29

The Canadian Opera Company announces its free concert series in the Richard Bradshaw Ampitheatre from November 1 - 29,2011. The series will take place at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts 145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue).

The Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre is a unique opportunity to experience diverse artistic programming in what has become one of Toronto's most exciting cultural hubs. Six inspiring series offer concerts, dance performances and engaging presentations that feature both up-and-coming young artists and established international stars. All performances are FREE to the public.

Nov. 1, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Chamber Music Series
Reeds and Keys
Clarinettist Kornel Wolak and pianist Chris Donnelly present a program of jazz and classical music in a concert that celebrates the similarities between genres and styles rather than the differences. The program includes Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major, Gershwin's famous Rhapsody in Blue and Oscar Peterson's jazz classic Hymn to Freedom. The musical selections are supplemented with brief, light-hearted historical and personal perspectives.

Nov. 2, 2011
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Jazz Series
Noir
Canadian jazz vocalist Adi Braun is joined by pianist Jordan Klapman, percussionist Daniel Barnes and bassist George Koller to present an hour of delicious and dangerous music selected from iconic films of the Film Noir genre. Showcasing music that defines the mood and ambience of Film Noir, the quartet performs pieces such as David Raksin's haunting composition Laura and Arlen and Mercer's bittersweet Blues in the Night, as well as musical selections from the films The Blue Angel and Love Me or Leave Me.

Nov. 3, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Dance Series
Bharatanatyam Beat
Ipsita Nova Dance Projects' artistic director
Nova Bhattacharya and her long-time collaborator, composer and virtuoso tabla player Ed Hanley, present their hybrid world of contemporary dance and music. Drawing on the traditions of India's classical dance form, bharatanatyam, and the two strains of Indian classical music - Hindustani from the north and Carnatic from the south - Bhattacharya and Hanley give these traditional styles a highly personal and contemporary expression.

Nov. 8, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Chamber Music Series
Three, Two, One
Array New Music Centre presents a concert of trios, duos and solos featuring Rebecca van der Post (violin),
Stephen Clarke (piano) and Array's artistic director
Rick Sacks (percussion). Trio selections include the brief but haunting Sweet Queen by Canadian composer Rudolf Komorous; Standing, a seminal work by Japanese composer Jo Kondo; and the elegant and occasionally jazzy Ritmos and Melos by American Terry Riley. The program closes with Rick Sacks performing his own Life in the Factory on a six-foot motorized conveyor belt.

Nov. 10, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Chamber Music Series
Café Music
The dynamic young trio of violinist Caroline Chéhadé, cellist Michael Nicolas and pianist Marie-Hélène Trempe from Jeunesses Musicales Canada presents a concert steeped in the musical ambience of bars and cafés. This meeting of multiple musical influences offers an escape to Latin America, an encounter with Astor Piazzolla's tango nuevo and a detour into the world of jazz with a foray into ragtime.

Nov. 15, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Piano Virtuoso Series

Serenity and Passion
Young virtuoso pianist Lucas Porter performs a rich and varied program of works ranging from the tranquility of Bach's Birthday Cantata and Chopin's Nocturne in F-sharp Minor to the passionate outbursts of Scriabin's etudes and the drama of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite.

Nov. 17, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Chamber Music Series
What to Do 'Til the Power Comes On
The TorQ Percussion Quartet presents What to Do 'Til the Power Comes On, a program of compositions for percussion inspired by electronic music. Seeking to recreate the sounds and styles of the electronic genre in a strictly acoustic setting, the quartet performs works by electronic music pioneer Paul Lansky, Hungarian-American composer Lukas Ligeti and Canadian composer Ann Southam, as well as premieres a new composition by TorQ member Daniel Morphy.

Nov. 22, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.

Piano Virtuoso Series
Atmospheres
Pianist Ricker Choi takes a break from his usual daytime routine as a financial risk consultant to perform an alluring program of solo piano pieces that range in tone from dark to light, contemplative to extroverted. He opens the program with Chopin's majestic Ballade No. 1, continues with four short pieces from Brahms' introspective Op. 118 and concludes with Scriabin's ecstatic Sonata No. 5.

Nov. 23, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.

World Music Series

In the Shadow of the Volcano:
Traditional Music of Southern Italy
The fiery passion of southern Italy comes alive in this program by Toronto's new Vesuvius Ensemble, which will celebrate the folk music of Campania. The soulful voice of Francesco Pellegrino is accompanied by a rhythmic band of rustic string, wind and percussion instruments. The ensemble introduces audiences to various musical forms hailing from the Italian countryside, including the villanella, tarantella, fronna and tammurriata.

Nov. 29, 2011
12 - 1 p.m.
Chamber Music Series

Postcards from Paris
Pianist Carson Becke and violinist Nathaniel Anderson-Frank present a program of compositions evoking the end of La Belle Époque, including works by Debussy, Satie and Ravel. The concert also features music by award-winning Canadian composer Elizabeth Raum.

HANSEL AND GRETEL: AN XSTRATA ENSEMBLE STUDIO SCHOOL TOUR PUBLIC PERFORMANCE
Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck
Two performances: Nov. 5, 2011 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre
227 Front St. E. (Front and Berkeley)
Tickets: $20 for adults, $15 for seniors (ages 65 and up)/students (ages 16 to 29), $10 for children (ages 15 and under), all prices include HST

For over 20 years, the Canadian Opera Company's renowned school tour has brought opera to local schools and communities across Ontario.

On Nov. 5, 2011, as part of the 2011 Xstrata Ensemble Studio School Tour, children and adults alike have the opportunity to attend a special public performance of one of the company's touring productions, Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck, at the COC's Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre. Adapted specifically for children and sung in English, this school tour production of Hansel and Gretel features members of the COC Ensemble Studio in the retelling of the adventures of a brother and sister who must outsmart an evil witch who lures children to her gingerbread house with the intention of eating them. The operatic version of this beloved fairytale is noted for its enchanting score, much of it inspired by European folk music. A question-and-answer period with members from the cast and crew will follow the 50-minute performance.

Tickets to the public performance of Hansel and Gretel are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors (ages 65 and up)/students (ages 16 to 29), and $10 for children (ages 15 and under) and can be purchased online at coc.ca, by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information, please visit: http://www.coc.ca/

To post a comment, you must register and login.