Soundstreams to Present Final Concert of 2024 INVOCATIONS

Soundstreams will present its final concert of 2024: Invocations, a co-production with Music TORONTO featuring violin virtuoso Lara St. John, soulful singer Aviva Chernick, and guests, performing with the celebrated Gryphon Trio.

This rich musical offering is meant to resonate with listeners, to invoke something beyond ourselves. One referenced invocation is the "nign," a wordless and originally improvised prayer stemming from Hasidic Judaism in the 18th century, and the inspiration for several works in the program: Avner Dorman's Nigunim, recipient of The Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music; a world premiere by James Rolfe, Metzarim; and Aaron Copland's classic Vitebsk. The program opens with Vivian Fung's impassioned Prayer, inspired by Hildegard von Bingen, paired with Amy Beach's spiritual plea, Invocation. It closes with Robert Schumann's epic and soul-searching Piano Quintet in E-flat, Op. 44.

Invocations takes place on one night only: Thursday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Jane Mallett Theatre St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts (27 Front St E, Toronto). Tickets are available at Soundstreams.ca.

Says Lara St. John: "In the latest global shift towards anger, xenophobia and disregard for the planet we all share, my only answer can be music, providing beauty and solace to those who are suffering. My own invocation for these times is to be strong enough to turn my worry for others into something that can heal and keep alight the flame of art and music within periods of darkness."

Says Lawrence Cherney: "For more than 40 years, Soundstreams has been reimagining musical forms that speak to age-old traditions and rituals. We've commissioned new works that breathe new life into forms like the tango, the fanfare and the oratorio. The nigun has such a rich history as a form of prayer, and it's been a sheer delight to explore the ways in which for generations it has been an appeal to something or someone beyond ourselves."

Invocations will be performed by Lara St. John, violin, Aviva Chernick, vocals, Noa Sarid, violin, and Sheila Jaffe, viola; and the Gryphon Trio - Annalee Patipatanakoon, violin, Roman Borys, cello, and Jamie Parker, piano.

This concert is co-presented by Soundstreams and Music TORONTO, with support from the Azrieli Foundation, Tupman & Bloom LLP, the NAE Fund, and the Temerty Foundation.

Soundstreams TD Encounters | November 26

The Nigun: Marc Chagall, Aaron Copland, and James Rolfe

From Medieval Hasidic Judaism to the Present
Featuring the Gryphon Trio (piano trio), Aviva Chernick (vocals), James Rolfe (composer)

Co-presented with Koffler Arts

Date: Tuesday, November 26th | 7:30 p.m.
Location: Holy Blossom Temple, Mishkan Room (1950 Bathurst St, York)
Cost: Free

Join Soundstreams in an exploration of the connections between art, music, and Jewish heritage through the vibrant cultural landscape of Vitebsk, Belarus-home to a celebrated art school founded there in 1918 by Marc Chagall and others including Wassily Kandinsky. While the school didn't last, the legacy of Vitebsk lives on through music. Both Aaron Copland's Vitebsk: A Study on a Jewish Theme, written 1928, and James Rolfe's Metzarim, written 2024, were inspired by the form of the Hasidic nigun-originally a wordless melody and improvised prayer. Copland was inspired by one such melody he encountered listening to the incidental music which accompanied S. An-Sky's play The Dybbuk, performed by the Yiddish Theatre in New York City in 1925. This Soundstreams TD Encounters will delve into the rich heritage of the nigun form and how it continues to inspire artists today.

Featuring the renowned Gryphon Trio, Annalee Patipatanakoon (violin), Roman Borys (cello), Jamie Parker (piano), performing Aaron Copland's Vitebsk, alongside an excerpt from Canadian Jewish composer James Rolfe's newest work Metzarim, also featuring Aviva Chernick (vocals), the inaugural artist-in-residence at Beth Tzedec Synagogue. Following musical performances, composer James Rolfe will join our performers for a panel discussion and audience Q&A.

Soundstreams' TD Encounters event series are free and hosted in venues across the city. Always offering something different, they are equal parts performance, artist discussion, and Q&A, and give audiences the opportunity to engage with artists and their work in an intimate and accessible setting.

Seats are free but space is limited.

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