February Concerts Announced At The Royal Conservatory Of Music

The 21C Music Festival continues with the return of Canadian violinist Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà, the superb all-female string ensemble featuring some of Canada's best musicians, on February 25 with a program titled Elle - 25th Anniversary Concert.

Dubeau writes: "How can I mark the 25th anniversary of my ensemble, La Pietà? The answer came to me naturally through the music. An album completely thought out, conceived, and played, by women: Elle, in the singular, because each woman is unique. Added to the music of Olafur Arnalds, Armand Amar, Ludovico Einaudi, Alex Baranowski, Philip Glass, and Max Richter will be works from my latest opus, an incursion into the musical world of women, including Rachel Portman, Elena Kats-Chernin, and Rebecca Dale."

Executive Director, Performing Arts, Mervon Mehta said: "Welcome back to the incomparable concert experience in Koerner Hall! Starting January 31, live music returns to Koerner Hall, and tickets are back on sale for over 35 concerts from February through June. Our audiences will remain fully masked throughout performances and we are vigilant about all COVID-19 protocols for everyone's safety. Live music is your booster!"

Presented in association with the Bureau du Québec.

Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage

Aretha Franklin truly earned her title "The Queen of Soul." Multi-genre recording artist and instrumentalist, Damien Sneed, toured with Franklin and, on February 26, he and Valerie Simpson, a six-time Grammy Award nominee (formerly of husband-and-wife songwriting and recording duo Ashford & Simpson), pay homage to Franklin with fresh renditions of her most cherished hits, including "Respect," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Until You Come Back To Me," "Daydreaming," "Freeway of Love," "Natural Woman," and others.

Classical Music Concerts

Invesco Piano Concerts

"Breathtakingly brilliant pianist" (Gramophone) Víkingur Ólafsson has been called "Iceland's Glenn Gould" by The New York Times and was named Artist of the Year at the Gramophone Awards in 2019. His remarkable originality has made an unforgettable impact. His album, Johann Sebastian Bach, on Deutsche Grammophon won Best Instrumental Album and Album of the Year at the 2019 BBC Music Magazine Awards. The program for his Koerner Hall debut on February 24 includes works by Mozart and his contemporaries.

Chamber Music Concerts

Proclaimed "a phenomenon" by the Los Angeles Times, Royal Conservatory's Artist-in-Residence, Stewart Goodyear, presents the world premiere of his piano quintet based on themes from Beethoven, joined by the Penderecki String Quartet, on February 9. Goodyear then tackles Beethoven's final monumental work, Symphony No. 9, by paring it down to solo piano and voices. Joining him are the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and soloists soprano Jonelle Sills, mezzo-soprano Beste Kalender, tenor Zachary Rioux, and baritone Korin Thomas-Smith, all current or recent students of The Royal Conservatory.

String Concerts

Jordi Savall is an exceptional figure in today's music world. Brimming with live emotion and spectacular creative vitality, he is always faithful to historical music of Europe, the Mediterranean, and the whole world. For more than 50 years, he has explored and fashioned universes full of emotions and beauty. A tireless researcher into early music, he interprets and performs the repertory both as a gambist and a conductor. On February 27, he presents a program titled Royal Concerts in the Baroque Versailles, accompanied by Le Concert des Nations. "For sheer opulence, generosity and breadth of repertoire, Jordi Savall ... blows the competition away" wrote Gramophone.

RCO Concerts

Part of the Temerty Orchestral Program at The Glenn Gould School, the Royal Conservatory Orchestra is widely regarded as an outstanding ensemble and one of the best training orchestras in North America. On February 11, the orchestra is conducted by frequent guest Tania Miller in a program of the orchestral version of Copland's Appalachian Spring, Dvořák's Symphony No. 7, and Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 with soloist Jean-Luc Therrien.

Mazzoleni Masters

Pianist Robert McDonald has appeared with major orchestras in the United States, was recital partner for many years to Isaac Stern and other distinguished instrumentalists, and has played with the Takács, Vermeer, Juilliard, Brentano, Borromeo, American, Shanghai, and St. Lawrence string quartets, as well as Music From Marlboro. In the concert on February 20, he will be joined by pianist and Dean of The Glenn Gould School James Anagnoson, Alexandra Koerner Yeo Chair in Cello Andrés Díaz, Associate Dean Barry Shiffman, and violinist Erika Raum. The program consist of works by Beethoven and Brahms.

Free Concerts

The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists presents the third Taylor Academy Showcase Concert on February 5, featuring leading young classical musicians in Canada aged 8-18.

Music on Film

For the 10th year, The Royal Conservatory co-presents music documentaries with our Bloor Street Culture Corridor partner, Hot Docs. The Music on Film series continues on February 22 with the critically acclaimed Amazing Grace, a 2018 concert film realized and produced by Alan Elliott. It stars Aretha Franklin recording her 1972 live album of the same name, co-stars James Cleveland, Alexander Hamilton, and the Southern California Community Choir, and features her father, C. L. Franklin.

Concert updates

In additional news, The Glenn Gould School Vocal Showcase, part of the Discovery Series, originally scheduled for January 29, will be filmed for a later free broadcast on February 12 and Bobby McFerrin, originally scheduled for December 4, 2021,has been cancelled.

The following concerts have been RESCHEDULED:

Eve Egoyan, originally scheduled for January 22, has been rescheduled to Friday, April 8, 2022

Joshua Bell with Peter Dugan, originally scheduled for February 6, has been rescheduled to Tuesday, May 24, 2022

The King's Singers: Finding Harmony, originally scheduled for February 12, has been rescheduled to Thursday, February 16, 2023

The following concerts have been POSTPONED:
NEW DATES WILL BE PROVIDED AS SOON AS WE CONFIRM THEM

Gould's Wall from January 12 to January 16, 2022 (world premiere)

Danish String Quartet on Saturday, January 22, 2022 (Ontario premiere)
Gerald Finley and Julius Drake on Sunday, January 23, 2022 (Canadian premiere)
Mariza on Thursday, January 27, 2022

Punch Brothers on Saturday, January 29, 2022

Ladysmith Black Mambazo on Thursday, February 3, 2022

RoyalConservatory.Live

The Royal Conservatory is livestreaming numerous concerts this season and audiences are encouraged to check the website 30 days prior to each concert if interested in this option. Single livestreams are available for $20 per household. The Conservatory is also offering new streaming "for pick your own" passes - $99 for 5 concerts, $130 for 10 concerts, and $199 for the full season per household. Each concert will be available for viewing for seven days. Please visit The Royal Conservatory's new digital channel www.RoyalConservatory.Live.

This month, the following concerts will be offered as livestreams: Stewart Goodyear with the Penderecki String Quartet and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Víkingur Ólafsson, and Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà: Elle - 25th Anniversary Concert. Tania Miller conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra will be offered as a free livestream and, finally, HotDocs' Amazing Grace is available for streaming purchase here.

Koerner Hall has been awarded a #SafeTravels Stamp by World Travel & Tourism Council for adopting health and hygiene global standardized protocols. Click here to learn more about our safety protocols.

The Royal Conservatory's 2021-22 season was made possible through the generous support of:

Season Sponsor: BMO Financial Group

Major & Series Sponsors and Supporters: CIBC, Robert W. & G. Ann Corcoran, Invesco, Power Corporation of Canada, RBC Foundation, TD Bank Group, TELUS, Weston Family Foundation, Michael & Sonja Koerner, a gift in honour of R.S. Williams & Sons Company Ltd., Rebanks Family, Lisa Teskey in memory of Bill Teskey, and an anonymous donor

Performance Sponsors and Supporters: Azrieli Foundation, Deanne & Joseph Bogdan, a gift in memory of Robert Calvin, a gift in honour of Ted Cape, Dr. David Goldbloom & Dr. Nancy Epstein, Joyce Gutmann, Ihnatowycz Family Foundation, Bill & Janet L'Heureux, Sir Jack Lyons Charitable Trust, Florence Man & Bernard Sze, a gift in memory of Gary Miles, Brayton Polka, a gift in memory of Dorothy Cohen Shoichet, Kris Vikmanis & Denny Creighton, and four anonymous donors

Wine & Beverage Sponsors: Cave Spring Vineyard, McManis Family Vineyards

Government Supporters: Government of Canada, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, Government of Ontario, Toronto Arts Council

February at The Royal Conservatory of Music

Taylor Academy Showcase Concert

(Taylor Academy Concerts): Saturday, February 5, 2022 at 4:30pm; Mazzoleni Concert Hall; free

Stewart Goodyear with the Penderecki String Quartet and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

(Chamber Music Concerts and Canada On Stage)

Wednesday, February 9, 2022 at 8pm; Koerner Hall

at capacity - livestream tickets available for $20/household

Tania Miller conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra

(Royal Conservatory Orchestra): Friday, February 11, 2022 at 8pm; Koerner Hall; $25-$60

The Glenn Gould School Vocal Showcase

(Discovery Series) Saturday, February 12, 2022 at 8pm; free concert stream

Robert McDonald and Glenn Gould School Faculty

(Mazzoleni Masters): Sunday, February 20, 2022 at 2pm; Mazzoleni Concert Hall; $25

Víkingur Ólafsson

(Invesco Piano Concerts): Thursday, February 24, 2022 at 8pm; Koerner Hall;

at capacity - livestream tickets available for $20/household

Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà: Elle - 25th Anniversary Concert

(21C Music Festival): Friday, February 25, 2022 at 8pm; Koerner Hall; $21-$105

A Tribute to Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul featuring Damien Sneed and Valerie Simpson

(Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage): Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 8pm; Koerner Hall; $50-$110

Jordi Savall: Royal Concerts in the Baroque Versailles

(Chamber Music Concerts): Sunday, February 27, 2022 at 7pm; Koerner Hall; at capacity

All concerts take place at The Royal Conservatory of Music

TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

A limited number of $15 Rush Tickets are available

starting 3 hours before all performances presented by The Royal Conservatory.
Rush Tickets are limited to one ticket per person.

Seat locations are assigned at the discretion of the box office and locations may vary.

Rush Tickets are available by phone only, on a first-come first-served basis.

Many concerts will be livestreamed.

Please check our website for details 30 days before each concert.

Single concerts for $20; 5 concerts for only $99; 10 concerts for only $130

The entire 2021.22 season of online concerts for only $199. Pass prices are per household.

Tickets and subscriptions are available online at www.rcmusic.com/performance,

by calling 416.408.0208, or in person at the Weston Family Box Office

Follow us on Facebook at facebook/koernerhall and Twitter @KoernerHall #koernerhall

Music on Film

Amazing Grace: Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 6:30pm

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, 506 Bloor Street West, Toronto

Tickets: $17 (Members: $12, $10, Free)

Tickets can be purchased at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema box office (506 Bloor St. W.)

or at www.hotdocscinema.ca.

Media Contact: Barbora Kršek, Concert Publicity Manager and Publications Editor

416.408.2824 ext.265; barbora.krsek@rcmusic.ca

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