Category Archives: Uncategorized

NJO KONG KIE: COMPOSER-PIANIST-PERFORMER ON HIS NEW WORK AT CANSTAGE “I SWALLOWED A MOON MADE OF IRON” – “I AM CHALLENGING MYSELF TO RESPOND TO XU LIZHI’S WORDS IN MULTIPLE WAYS, WHETHER THROUGH SETTING THE TEXT TO MUSIC, DISCOVERING WHAT MY VOICE WANTS TO DO, OR HOW MY BODY WANTS TO RESPOND TO THE POETRY”. A REVIEWER INTERVIEWS PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on May 14, 2019 by strecker

  JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should they matter to us? NJO KONG KIE: I have … Continue reading →

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RON KENNELL: ACTOR-WRITER, NOW AT 2019 STRATFORD FESTIVAL (IN HENRY VIII AND NATHAN THE WISE), EXPLAINS “MY MIND EXPLODES WITH IDEAS. I AM A STRANGER IN MY OWN DREAMSCAPES AND IN THEM I SPEAK IN LANGUAGES I DON’T EVEN KNOW. I WANT TO WRITE ABOUT IT ALL BUT I DON’T WANT TO MISS ANYTHING WHILE I AM HOLED UP IN MY ATTIC. IT IS A JOYOUS PROBLEM; A CURSE AND A BLESSING.” …A REVIEWER INTERVIEWS PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on May 9, 2019 by strecker

  JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should they matter to us? RON KENNELL: I have been … Continue reading →

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ALEXANDER DOBSON: “THE PIECE HAS MANY LAYERS THAT ARE REVEALED THROUGHOUT THE EVENING” SAYS BARITONE APPEARING IN “AGAINST NATURE,” JAMES KUDELKA’S BLEND OF MOVEMENT AND VOICE, AT THE CITADEL: ROSS CENTRE FOR DANCE, 304 PARLIAMENT STREET, TORONTO, MAY 22-25, MAY 29-JUNE 1, 8PM…A REVIEWER’S INTERVIEW WITH PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on May 7, 2019 by strecker

JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should they matter to us? ALEXANDER DOBSON: The project that is … Continue reading →

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STEPHEN SITARSKI: VIOLINIST/CONCERTMASTER, WHO PERFORMS PROKOFIEV’S 2ND VIOLIN CONCERTO ON APRIL 27 WITH HAMILTON PHILHARMONIC, EXPLAINS, “SINCE PROKOFIEV WAS NOT A VIOLINIST (HE WAS A VERY FINE PIANIST), MUCH OF THE VIRTUOSIC PASSAGEWORK IS NOT IDIOMATIC FOR A VIOLINIST. SO, I WAS FORCED TO BE A REAL PROBLEM SOLVER AND HAD TO PUSH MYSELF TO ‘THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX’. MANY OF MY SOLUTIONS FOR SOME OF THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGES TOOK MONTHS TO DEVELOP” … A REVIEWER INTERVIEWS PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on April 25, 2019 by strecker

JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should they matter to us? STEPHEN SITARSKI: I’m currently preparing to … Continue reading →

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HEATHER DALE: CELTIC SINGER-SONGWRITER DESCRIBES 20TH CD: “SPHERE FOCUSES ON STORIES OF WOMEN BREAKING FREE FROM SILENCE — THEY FIND THEIR OWN POWER, THEIR OWN VOICE….: LAYERING THE OLD WITH THE NEW MAKES ME FEEL CONNECTED TO MY CELTIC ROOTS, EVEN AS I’M LIVING MY LIFE IN THE 21ST CENTURY. …. A REVIEWER INTERVIEWS PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on April 23, 2019 by strecker

Photo by Bruce Zinger JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should they matter to us? HEATHER DALE: … Continue reading →

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CLAUDETTE LANGUEDOC: AUTHOR OF COURAGE AND COMPLICITY EXPLAINS, “I FELT DEEPLY ASHAMED OF JUST BEING WHITE… THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SYSTEM ROUTINELY USED SHAME TO SUBJUGATE THEIR STUDENTS, SO PERHAPS IT IS USEFUL FOR MY WRITING THAT I FELT THIS WAY.” …A REVIEWER INTERVIEWS PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on April 14, 2019 by strecker

JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should they matter to us? CLAUDETTE LANGUEDOC: The book I have … Continue reading →

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DOUGLAS WILLIAMS: BASS-BARITONE, NEPTUNE IN MOZART’S IDOMENEO WITH OPERA ATELIER APRIL 4-13, AND THEN NICK SHADOW IN STRAVINSKY’S “THE RAKE’S PROGRESS,” WITH THE MUNICH PHILHARMONIC CONDUCTED BY BARBARA HANNIGAN, EXPLAINS: “WHETHER OR NOT YOU’RE A SINGER, YOUR VOICE IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST WAYS THAT YOU PROJECT YOUR SOUL INTO THE WORLD.”…A REVIEWER’S INTERVIEW WITH PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on April 2, 2019 by strecker

  Photo by Juan Camilo Roa Photo by Florian Grey JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should … Continue reading →

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DANIEL CABENA: WITH SCARAMELLA IN VIVALDI’S CHAMBER CANTATAS ON APRIL 6, A “COUNTERTENOR OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY” EXPLAINS, “THESE CANTATAS ARE SECULAR – MOSTLY ABOUT LOVE AND ITS, LET’S SAY, UPS AND DOWNS – ESPECIALLY ITS DOWNS!” …A REVIEWER’S INTERVIEW WITH PEOPLE IN THE ARTS (Tickets at www.scaramella.ca/ticket%20order.pdf)

Posted on March 31, 2019 by strecker

JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should they matter to us? DANIEL CABENA: I’ve been working on … Continue reading →

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JOHN HOLLAND: BARITONE-MUSICOLOGIST IN DON GIOVANNI MARCH 2 AT BURLINGTON PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE EXPLAINS, “SOMETIMES OUR LARGEST GROWTH AS ARTISTS COMES FROM WHAT OTHERS WOULD PERCEIVE AS FAILURE. MUSICIANS TAKE CHANCES, AND WHILE THEY DON’T ALWAYS TURN OUT THE WAY WE WANT, INVARIABLY THEY INFORM US MORE ABOUT OURSELVES AS MUSICIANS, AND HELP US REFINE OUR CRAFT” …. A REVIEWER INTERVIEWS PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on February 17, 2019 by strecker

JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should they matter to us? JOHN HOLLAND: This year has been … Continue reading →

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MIREILLE ASSELIN: SOPRANO FEATURED AT ROM ON FEBRUARY 21 EXPLAINS, “I AM VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO REVISITING ANGEL SPEAKS WITH OPERA ATELIER AND TAFELMUSIK…. A PROJECT UNLIKE ANY OTHER I’VE PARTICIPATED IN – PART RECITAL, PART DRAMATIC CANTATA, PART DANCE – AND ME NOT ONLY A PERFORMER BUT ALSO A COLLABORATOR…IT’S A FASCINATING, FORMAT-BENDING HOUR OF MUSICAL THEATRE.

Posted on February 15, 2019 by strecker

Photo: Bruce Zinger JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should they matter to us? MIREILLE ASSELIN: It’s … Continue reading →

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