Selected Highlights from the First Decades of CELA's Work

This report is organized mostly by chronology, exploring the links over time for the Environmental Bill of Rights, Legal-Aid funding, and dozens of dangerous landfill cases are just a few examples of the important work that CELA has done. Proper respect is given on my part for exceptional cases in CELA history. But there are equally important small cases, such as protecting a maple tree; fighting against unsafe radioactive materials storage at the University of Toronto; cultivating environmental law centres all across the country; and proffering the official CELA submissions which keep the government accountable, not to mention demonstrating the wherewithal to keep fighting these battles day in and out. This is a story of those battles and the ways CELA volunteers and staff have worked over forty years to implement a magnificent world of imagination which we continue to dream every day. …

CHORAL SCENE
Sacred Music Aplenty!

The opening Kyrie of the Bach Mass in B Minor is one of the hardest starts of any major work for a choir; with no starting pitch, the precisely placed hard “K” prior to any other sound, and careful phrasing that starts right away – the opening has much to say about how the rest of the performance will play out...

SCRUTINY
Orpheus Choir of Toronto Shines Northern Light On Ēriks Ešenvalds

The Latvian community of Toronto was out in force to support the visit of their compatriot Ēriks Ešenvalds and his works being presented by the Orpheus Choir of Toronto. Part of Latvia’s official centenary celebrations, the concert featured the Canadian premiere of Nordic Light Symphony...

PRIMER
Power Up Gospel Music Festival — "Your music friends are forever friends"

“Thump thump. Thump thump,” Nicole Sinclair-Anderson says with a smile as the room fills with nervous laughter. She’s looking for a lead soloist in her “The Art of Vocal Style” workshop. Everyone’s eyes immediately go to the floor. Maura McGroarty, my high school music teacher who I haven’t seen in years, sticks her hand up and gets up to the front of the room. “How Great is Our God” comes through her deep mezzo and the room erupts with cheers and hollers as the nervousness melts away and transforms into something much more impactful. This is gospel music — people coming together through music to find joy...

ON THE RADAR
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra Heads Down The Yellow Brick Road

“The Wizard of Oz is one of the most difficult movies I have worked on”, says conductor Emil de Cou. Having spent 20 years conducting film scores, he is no stranger to film music or the Wiz. He was the first to do a live concert format of the Wizard of Oz at (American) National Symphony Orchestra Wolf Trap, the American national park devoted to music, in 2006...

FEATURE
The Craft of Ēriks Ešenvalds

At a certain point in the blended storytelling, music, and video multimedia monument Ēriks Ešenvalds calls Nordic Light Symphony, he has singers wet their fingers, running them against the rims of glasses filled with various amounts of water...

CHORAL SCENE
Going Big: From Willan to Bach

There are some big and unique choral experiences this month. There’s a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Healey Willan’s death, the combined forces of choirs from the University of Toronto and York University, a rare performance premiere for Tafelmusik and a new interpretation of Bach’s St Matthew Passion...

ON THE RADAR
The Art Of Honing The Next Great Musical Communicators

Jennifer Lee, the current Associate Conductor of TMC, is an alumnus of the symposium. “In college programs, you rarely get to work with a choir like TMC, the size, the quality of the (music) reading, the sensitive musicality, and the responsiveness of the musicians.”

CHORAL SCENE
The Dreaded Cough

Welcome to this double edition of Choral Scene! By the time you get your hands on this magazine the holiday season will be well under way. Carols will get in your ear, festive sounds will echo out and bells will be a-ringing throughout the region. I hope you’ve got your concert tickets in hand. If not, hurry up and reserve your place in these amazing concerts before you’re disappointed...

CHORAL SCENE
On Sonic Remembrance and a Story of Choral Life

Heading into the month of November remembrance, I’ve highlighted two performances: the first is by Chorus Niagara and the Orpheus Choir, and the second by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with guests. The major works in these two performances commemorate two very different wars separated by 100 years, World War I and the war in Afghanistan...

SCRUTINY
Toronto Goes Hufflepuff Over Harry Potter With Live Symphony Orchestra

“I’m a big Harry Potter Fan”, shares Noa, fully dressed in Slytherin robes, ready to go (Snape would approve). Her enthusiasm for the world of wizardry beams off her. That was me, 15 years ago when the movie came out, albeit a Hufflepuff. I’m still a huge fan, and Noa and I are in good company with the thousands showing up for these live concert performances...