Category Archives: Uncategorized

STACIE DUNLOP: SOPRANO AND PASSIONATE PROMOTER OF CONTEMPORARY REPERTOIRE, WHOSE TEACHING IS INFLUENCED BY HER ROY HART TRAINING WHICH IS BENEFICIAL FOR “ANY PERSON, SINGER OR NON-SINGER, ACTOR, POET, DANCER, PERFORMANCE ARTIST, SOMEONE WHO MIGHT HAVE HAD PAST STRUGGLES WITH THEIR VOICE…ANYONE…EVERYONE”…..A REVIEWER’S INTERVIEW WITH PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on December 13, 2018 by strecker

JAMES STRECKER: I understand you’ll be going back and forth to France over the next 3 years to participate in a program called the Advanced Pedagogic Group at the Centre Artistique International Roy Hart. To begin, what is the history … Continue reading →

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FRANK HORVAT: “FOR THOSE WHO DIED TRYING” – COMPOSER’S NEW CD ON ATMA, WHICH WAS INSPIRED BY “THE MURDER OR DISAPPEARANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN THAILAND,” EXPLAINS, “THE 35-MOVEMENT STRING QUARTET HONOURS EACH VICTIM”…..A REVIEWER’S INTERVIEW WITH PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on November 8, 2018 by strecker

  Photo by Anita Zvonar Composer Frank Horvat is known for compositions that tell deeply personal stories. For Those Who Died Trying is the world premier recording of The Thailand HRDs, Horvat’s 35-movement work performed by the Mivos Quartet, to … Continue reading →

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A WEEK OF REST IN LONDON (HA!) WITH SUPERB FRENCH VEGAN CUISINE AT CAFÉ FORTY ONE, PLUS INFINITE RICHES OF ART AND MUSIC AND THEATRE – AND WITH ONLY ONE DAY OF RAIN

Posted on October 23, 2018 by strecker

FRIDAY: Inauspicious beginning to a much-needed sanity break and rest. One hour to Pearson International with half the world on the highway going home on the Friday night of a holiday weekend and half the world going somewhere else. Night … Continue reading →

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ONCE MIRANDA AND NOW PROSPERO: TWO VISITS TO THE 2018 STRATFORD FESTIVAL’S THE TEMPEST

Posted on September 9, 2018 by strecker

William Hutt as Prospero and Martha Henry as Miranda in 1962 Martha Henry’s Prospero gazes down from the upper level of the Stratford Festival stage as we enter the auditorium to witness Shakespeare’s assumed last play, The Tempest. We are … Continue reading →

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RANEE LEE: JAZZ VOCALIST APPEARING AT TORONTO SUMMER FESTIVAL OF MUSIC ON AUGUST 2 AT KOERNER HALL EXPLAINS “I’VE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT WE ARE PREDESTINED TO CULTIVATE OUR GIFTS AND, IN MY CASE, MUSIC, I BELIEVE, CHOSE ME!” … A REVIEWER’S INTERVIEW WITH PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on July 24, 2018 by strecker

JAMES STRECKER: If you were asked for 50 words for an encyclopedia to summarize what you do, or have done, in the arts, what would you say? RANEE LEE: I do what is in me to do. Music connects, offering … Continue reading →

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TIM CORLIS: COMPOSER OF SOUNDING THUNDER: THE SONG OF FRANCIS PEGAHMAGABOW, AT TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL ON JULY 23, REMEMBERS, “THE BIGGEST TURNING POINT IN MY LIFE WAS WHEN I MADE A DECISION TO MEDITATE REGULARLY AND DEVOTE MY ARTISTIC TIME TO WRITING MUSIC THAT SPEAKS FROM THE HEART” … A REVIEWER’S INTERVIEW WITH PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on July 19, 2018 by strecker

JAMES STRECKER: If you were asked for 50 words for an encyclopedia to summarize what you do, or have done, in the arts, what would you say? TIM CORLIS: My work, as a composer, singer, and choral director, has often … Continue reading →

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NATASHA PAREMSKI: PIANIST FEATURED IN MESSIAEN (JULY 19) AND SCHUBERT (JULY 20) AT TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL REMEMBERS “…I STILL REMEMBER MY VERY FIRST PIANO LESSON SO VIVIDLY – THE WONDER AND THE MYSTERY AND THAT UNBRIDLED JOY” … A REVIEWER’S INTERVIEW WITH PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on July 16, 2018 by strecker

JAMES STRECKER: Name two people, living or dead, whom you admire a great deal and tell us why for each one. NATASHA PAREMSKI: 1. Charles Hamlen, because he is a god amongst men. A truly generous person who shows kindness … Continue reading →

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THANK YOU, PETER OUNDJIAN: CONDUCTOR’S VERY HUMAN BEETHOVEN’S 9TH AND 14 DISTINGUISHED YEARS WITH THE TSO

Posted on June 29, 2018 by strecker

Photos by Nick Wons The cellist we met on the tube warned us that her fingers would be a blur during Beethoven’s 9th Symphony that night at Roy Thomson Hall. And so it was, during the first of Peter Oundjian’s … Continue reading →

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KINAN AZMEH: SYRIAN-BORN CLARINET PLAYER, FEATURED AT TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL ON JULY 18, DECLARES “BEING OPEN AND FREE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT, MUSIC FOR ME IS AN ACT OF FREEDOM.” – A REVIEWER’S INTERVIEW WITH PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on June 29, 2018 by strecker

Photo by Martina Novak JAMES STRECKER: If you were asked for 50 words for an encyclopedia to summarize what you do, or have done, in the arts, what would you say? KINAN AZMEH: I would like to be described as … Continue reading →

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ALEX PANGMAN: HIGHLY RESPECTED JAZZ SINGER WITH TREASURED CHOPS – AND ALSO A DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT – EXCLAIMS “FOR A JAZZ SINGER, I SURE LOVE SINGING COUNTRY MUSIC WITH MY HUSBAND! I REALLY LOVED IT WHEN ONE REVIEWER CALLED ME A SINGER, AND NOT JUST A JAZZ SINGER” …. A REVIEWER’S INTERVIEW WITH PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

Posted on May 31, 2018 by strecker

JAMES STRECKER: If you were asked for 50 words for an encyclopedia to summarize what you do, or have done, in the arts, what would you say? ALEX PANGMAN: Oh man, this question is the hardest!!! I always find summing … Continue reading →

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