February 27, 2023—Toronto Mendelssohn Choir presents Little Match Girl Passion—a musical vigil drawing awareness to the problems of hunger and homelessness in our city. The TMChoir partners with Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity and Unity Kitchen, leaders for this important cause in our community, for this presentation. The TMSingers, the Choir’s professional chamber ensemble,...
Leslie Barcza barczablog January 12, 2023 The headline is only partly in jest. Yes it was the best concert so far in 2023, as of January 11th. Many are still saying “Happy New Year” and writing the wrong date on cheques (if they even write cheques anymore). But it was truly brilliant. The Toronto...
Joseph So La Scena Musicale January 12, 2023 January is Mozart Month at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. To mark the 267th anniversary of the birthday of the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan 27, 1756 – Dec. 5, 1791), the TSO is giving four performances of his incomparable Requiem Mass. The story behind its genesis is very...
Joseph So Ludwig Van Toronto December 19, 2022 Is there a more popular classical vocal work for the Christmas Season in the English-speaking world than Handel’s Messiah (1742)? It’s a rhetorical question, and the answer is a resounding NO. There are other beloved works in celebration of the birth of Christ, such as Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium (1734), or Berlioz’s L’enfant...
Joseph So Ludwig Van December 7, 2022 It’s a well-established scientific fact: music makes us feel good. Our brain reacts to a favourite song by releasing the hormone dopamine, which has an immediate and positive effect on our mood. At this time of year, among the melodies we hear when we’re out and about doing...
The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, Musicologist-in-Residence. Welcome – for many of you, welcome back – to the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s Festival of Carols! A beloved holiday tradition in Toronto, the Festival of Carols offers a chance to hear, sing, and reflect on Christmas carols. This year’s program features a combination of well-known...
Toronto, November 17, 2022 — Celebrate this holiday season with Toronto’s beloved tradition — Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s annual celebration of music: Festival of Carols. This year, the TMChoir is bringing back the much-anticipated sing-along portion of the concert with pieces such as Joy to the World, Silent Night, and O Come All Ye Faithful. Under...
Lydia Pervić The Whole Note November 6, 2022 Here’s some good news for a change: there’s a new professional chamber choir in Toronto, the city that barely has any, and none independent from larger arts organizations. Meet the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, the new 24-member chamber choir within the larger Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, now forging its own...
Paula Cirton Ludwig Van November 3, 2022 Is there anything grander in a concert hall than a big chorus, a big orchestra, and big piece of music? The huge romantic sweep of Mendelssohn’s final oratorio Elijah (1846) filled Roy Thomson Hall to the rafters, except you couldn’t make out one word that was being sung. It...