Media
Media Room
November 11, 2014
Festival of Carols 2014 Program Notes
2014-15 Season
One of the joys of Christmas is its predictability. Every year, we associate the Christmas season with familiar images, tastes, activities, objects and sounds. Santa Claus and Ebenezer Scrooge, Handel’s Messiah and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, roast turkey and cranberry sauce, mistletoe and eggnog…….. brass instruments and choral voices. They all provide a joyous, festive and warm mood to which we enjoy returning year after year.
October 23, 2014
The TMC celebrates 120 years
2014-15 Season
Michael Johnson, Concertonet.com: The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir proudly turns 120 this year, making it the oldest continuing musical organization in Toronto if not the country. Its Artistic Director since 1997, the 7th in its history, is Noel Edison.
October 20, 2014
Toronto Mendelssohn Choirs kicks off 120th season with Haydn, Mozart
2014-15 Season
Christina Strynatka, The Examiner: 4 stars. Well, that was quite some start to the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s 120th season! After a much too long wait, the 129-strong choir started its 2014/2015 season on October 15 at the wonderfully acoustic Koerner Hall, an intimate stage space where there’s not one bad seat and everything sounds just as lovely no matter where you are. It was a bit of a simple program, with Haydn’s “Lord Nelson Mass” and Mozart’s “Requiem” on the playlist, with four soloists: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir soprano Lesley Bouza, and guests mezzo-soprano Anita Krause, tenor Charles Davidson and bass-baritone Sean Watson.
October 15, 2014
Young singers flock to 120-year-old choir
2014-15 Season
Trish Crawford, The Toronto Star: The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir formed 120 years ago to celebrate the opening of Massey Hall is not the choir Toronto has today. “They would have sung folk songs, simple songs,” says artistic director Noel Edison. “Those were the formative days.”
October 10, 2014
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir set to embark on new 2014/2015 season
2014-15 Season
Christina Strynatka, The Examiner: The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, celebrating 120 years, will be unveiling the start of their new 2014/2015 season on October 15 at Koerner Hall by performing Haydn’s “Lord Nelson Mass” and Mozart’s “Requiem”. They’ll also be livestreaming the concert for anyone who can’t make it out.
September 30, 2014
Noel Edison in conversation with The Wholenote’s David Perlman
2014-15 Season
David Perlman, The Wholenote: conversation with TMC Artistic Director Noel Edison. Enjoy the video of their conversation.
September 29, 2014
Concert Review: Happy Ending for TSO Ninth
2014-15 Season
Arthur Kaptainis, National Post: This was an energetic finale, vital in rhythm and full of spirit. The 130-plus singers of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir were scattered democratically in the choir loft rather than partitioned into sections. They made a joyous, united sound. Nor was there any price in clarity in the double fugue. Maybe this unusual configuration has a future.
September 2, 2014
Mozart and Haydn Program Notes
2014-15 Season
After almost thirty years as Kapellmeister to the court of Esterháza, Joseph Haydn was let go in 1790 becoming a very successful freelance composer. The Esterházys awarded him a pension, allowing for a comfortable retirement, and stipulated that Haydn’s one remaining task be to compose and direct a new mass once a year to honour the name-day of Princess Marie Esterházy. The last six masses by Haydn were all for this purpose, the most famous being the so-called “Lord Nelson” Mass.
May 23, 2014
Much to Enjoy with TSO’s Rendition of Lerner and Loewe Musical Theatre Classics
2013-14 Season
A night at Roy Thompson Hall to see the Toronto Symphony Orchestra may not sound like a theatre-goer’s ordinary evening plan, but the renowned orchestra’s renditions of classic musical theatre hits from Lerner and Loewe is just as magical as a night at the theatre. Legendary writing duo Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, a lyricist and composer respectively, have left an indelible mark on the musical theatre world with Broadway hits such as My Fair Lady and Brigadoon, as well as Oscar-winning film Gigi. All three of these works and more are on display at Roy Thompson Hall, with guest Canadian soloists and a one hundred-strong choir combining with the TSO for a stunning and altogether memorable concert.