The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Artistic Director Jean-Sébastien Vallée welcome six emerging choral conductors to Toronto for Take the Podium, the TMChoir’s 2023 Conducting Symposium. This annual gathering offers an invaluable opportunity for emerging conductors from across North America to work with artistic director and conductor Jean-Sébastien Vallée and the full TMChoir for a five-day...
Bach’s Mass in B Minor (Concert) Review: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Shines in Religious Epic Toronto Guardian Jeremy Gee March 30, 2023 Of all the things to pack a crowded concert hall on a Toronto evening in 2023, a two-and-a-half-hour Catholic epic is not the first thing that jumps to mind. That Bach’s Mass in...
Leslie Barcza barczablog March 29, 2023 Last night’s performance of the Bach B minor Mass by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at Koerner Hall with a baroque orchestra led by their new artistic director Jean-Sébastien Vallée has put us on notice, that maybe Toronto Mendelssohn Choir are changing. Yes they were already the big choir...
Ken Stephen Large Stage Live! March 29, 2023 Toronto Mendelssohn Choir 2022-2023 # 3: The Glory of the B Minor Mass The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir crowned its season on Tuesday night at Koerner Hall with a powerful, majestic, thrilling performance of one of the most sublime works in the entire choral repertoire: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass...
Joseph So La Scena Musicale March 29, 2023 With Easter just around the corner, we are at the height of the oratorio season. Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s offering this year was Bach’s great B Minor Mass. It was a large and enthusiastic audience gathered last evening at Koerner Hall, where they were treated to a superlative...
Joseph So Ludwig Van March 22, 2023 Toronto classical music lovers found their cup truly runneth over this past week, given the veritable feast of terrific concert offerings in our city. The musical omnivore that I am, I attended one every day — except on Saturday, when I managed to squeeze in two. My...
The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, Musicologist-in-Residence. Hailed by Bach expert Christoph Wolff as Bach’s “musical and artistic creed,” the Mass in b minor is deservedly considered one of the most innovative and insightful works in the history of classical music. Yet in spite of its frequent performances and the extensive amount of...
operaramblings March 20, 2023 On Saturday evening the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers gave a very beautiful, carefully constructed and thought provoking concert. To start with it was at the Church of the Holy Trinity which, as most Torontonians will know, is a sort of social hub servicing the spiritual and material needs of Toronto’s homeless...
The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, Musicologist-in-Residence. Described by TMChoir leadership as a “musical vigil drawing awareness to the problems of hunger and homelessness in our city,” the repertoire of tonight’s concert spans numerous time periods and musical styles, but is unified by shared themes. All of tonight’s musical pieces inspire reflection or...