19/20

“MUSIK FÜR DAS ENDE IS DRAMATICALLY POTENT...A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO ENCOUNTER THE THEATRICALITY OF VIVIER’S VISION, ITS SEDUCTIVE SHOWMANSHIP.”The New York Times

FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

RITUAL AND MEMORY

Rituals connect us to our past. They awaken collective memories— how we got to today—but they are also harbingers, illuminating a galaxy of future possibility.

Ritual is at the root of three programs exploring universal themes: Two Odysseys reimagines ancient Indigenous legends sung in Indigenous languages; Claude Vivier’s Musik für das Ende takes us on a ritual journey through life and death to an ecstatic state of rebirth; and Electric Messiah is an intercultural spiritual exploration of love, betrayal, and redemption.

Many cultures mark occasions celebratory and sombre with brass. Trumpet fanfares, both newly minted and traditional, open our season with Top Brass. Similarly, period instruments like the harpsichord and the hurdy-gurdy evoke memories of a distant sound world, receiving a distinctly refreshing update in Improvised Components.

Retro technologies awaken nostalgia, lovingly probed in The Lost Karaoke Tapes by Nicole Lizée, who found some old video cassettes in a dumpster. And who doesn’t have a secret memory? Belgian singer Claron McFadden reveals some of them in Secrets.

2019/20 will be a season to remember. Please join us!

Lawrence CherneyArtistic Director

Ole Edvard Antonsen, trumpet

Ingrid Jensen, trumpet

Jens Lindemann, trumpet

Virtuoso String Orchestra

Three luminaries of the trumpet will dazzle you with a display of wizardry in works ranging from the baroque to world premieres by Anna Pidgorna and Brian Current, from celebratory fanfares to concerti with chamber orchestra. The entire concert hall becomes our stage with spellbinding spatial and theatrical elements.

R. Murray Schafer, Trumpet AubadeToru Takemitsu, PathsGeorg Philipp Telemann, Concerto for Three TrumpetsGyörgy Ligeti, Mysteries of the Macabre

“SEDUCTIVE, GOLDEN TIMBRE AND VIRTUOSIC FLAIR…”The New York Times

Top BrassOCTOBER 3, 2019 | TRINITY-ST. PAUL’S CENTRE

Two Odysseys: Pimooteewin /GállábártnitIn partnership with Signal Theatre

NOVEMBER 13–16, 2019 DANIELS SPECTRUM, ADA SLAIGHT HALL

“IN ABORIGINAL MYTHOLOGY, THERE IS NO HEAVEN AND THERE IS NO HELL. YOU CROSS A KIND OF A RIVER STYX AND YOU GO INTO THIS REGION OF THE HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS ... YOU DON’T GO AWAY.”Tomson Highway, Librettist, Pimooteewin

In this double-bill, discover the world’s first music theatre works sung and narrated in the Indigenous languages Cree and Sami, and rooted in those traditional legends from Canada and the Nordic countries. These cross-cultural odysseys examine how we live on earth, how we pass to the land of the dead, and the consequences of love and sacrifice.

Michael Greyeyes, Cole J. Alvis, directors

Melissa Hui, Britta Byström, composers

Tomson Highway, Rawdna Carita Eira, librettists David Fallis, musical director

Yolanda Bonnell, Heli Huovenin, narrators

Melody Courage, vocal soloist

Choir 21Chamber Orchestra

Production Sponsor

Electric Messiah DECEMBER 10–12, 2019 | THE DRAKE UNDERGROUND

Experience a theatrical reimagining of Handel’s masterpiece infused with jazz, gospel, blues, hip-hop, classical, and world music, complete with hypnotic dance. Never the same two years in a row, the intimacy of this performance creates a deep personal connection to universal themes of love, betrayal, and redemption.

“ELECTRIC MESSIAH WILL RECONNECT YOU TO THE MUSIC OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON IN A WAY THAT IS SURPRISING, FRESH, AND ABOVE ALL, FUN.”Blog TO

The Lost Karaoke TapesNicole Lizée, Australian Art Orchestra & Guests

JANUARY 30, 2020 | THE GREAT HALL

Renowned for her fusion of pop, cinema, psychedelia and turntablism, Juno-nominated composer Nicole Lizeé is inspired by the glitches of retro technology. Lizée takes you on a multimedia trip using 80’s karaoke videotapes that she found in a dumpster. Revisit hits like Whip It and Endless Love with an erratic karaoke machine, fragmented music videos, and electronic and live sound.

“NICOLE LIZÉE MAKES IMPRESSIVE NEW MUSIC FROM THE MANIPULATION, DECAY AND MALFUNCTIONING OF OLD TECHNOLOGIES… A DEEPLY SATISFYING APOTHEOSIS.”Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

Improvised ComponentsMARCH 6, 2020 | THE DRAKE UNDERGROUND

Rarefied early instruments and improvisation: joined at the hip? You bet, says curator Nick Storring, who invites us to hear this alluring sound world anew through 21st century ears. Journey through music from the renaissance and baroque, solo improvisations created on the spot, and a world premiere by Storring composed for the whole ensemble.

SecretsAPRIL 23, 24, 2020 THE DRAKE UNDERGROUND

Inspired by the anonymous secrets of Torontonians collected especially for this concert, this brilliant Belgian ensemble traverses classical, jazz, and soul to plumb the full range of emotion embedded in our secrets. From love lost and the depths of despair, through to the very heights of joy and ecstasy— will you let them tell your secret?

Claron McFadden, vocals

Michel Massot, tuba, euphonium, trombone

Tuur Florizoone, chromatic accordion

Marine Horbaczewski, cello

“LIKE AN ELEMENTAL FORCE OF NATURE… HER FEEL FOR NEW MUSIC IS PROFOUND… BUT HER REAL BRILLIANCE IS IN THE WAY SHE LISTENS AND CREATES.”Seen and Heard International

Katelyn Clark, harpsichord, organetto

Emily Redhead, baroque violin

Pierre-Yves Martel, viola da gamba

Ben Grossman, hurdy-gurdy

Musik für das EndeBy Claude VivierIn partnership with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre

MAY 6–9, 2020 | BUDDIES IN BAD TIMES THEATRE

“A GORGEOUS, SLICK AND CLEVER PRODUCTION.”The Globe and Mail

At the age of 34, Quebec composer Claude Vivier was murdered by a man he picked up in a Parisian bar. On his desk, an unfinished piece of music appeared to foretell his own death.

The man and myth are inseparable from Vivier’s music, driven by a dangerous life lived at the very extremes of human experience. From there, he brought back a vision of the pure sound and light of eternity.

In this immersive spectacle for 10 singers, actor, keyboards, and percussion, Vivier invites performers and audience to become “celebrants” in a transformative ritual journey through life, death, and beyond. Experience this critically acclaimed reprise before it tours to Europe.

Chris Abraham, director

Zack Russell, playwright

Judith Bowden, set and costume design

Kim Purtell, lighting design

HOW TO SUBSCRIBEOnline: Soundstreams.ca Phone: 416-504-1282

SEE OUR FULL SEASON Top BrassTwo Odysseys: Pimooteewin / GállábártnitElectric Messiah The Lost Karaoke TapesImprovised ComponentsSecretsMusik für das Ende

SUBSCRIBE TOany 3 shows – save 15% off single ticket prices

any 5 shows – save 20% off single ticket prices

join us for the full season – save 25% off single ticket prices

Or, Mix and Match, the more you see, the more you save! Create your own 3 or 5 show season.

All subscribers receive• Best seats at the best prices• Advance access to your tickets• Free ticket exchanges• Personalized ticketing service • Subscriber notes with detailed concert information• Bring a friend, get 20% off their ticket

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVEUP TO

25% Top Brass October 3, 2019

$77 $64 $49

Trinity St. Paul’s Centre 427 Bloor Street West

Two Odysseys November 13–16, 2019

$77 $64 $49

Daniels Spectrum, Ada Slaight Hall 585 Dundas Street East

The Lost Karaoke Tapes January 30, 2020

$77 $64 $44

The Great Hall 1087 Queen Street West

Musik für das Ende May 6–9, 2020

$77 $64 $49

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre 12 Alexander Street

Electric Messiah December 10–12, 2019Improvised Components March 6, 2020 Secrets April 23–24, 2020

$44 $34 $25

The Drake Underground 1150 Queen Street West

VENUES AND SEATING

SOUNDSTREAMS IS A WORLD LEADER AMONG CONTEMPORARY MUSIC COMPANIES, AND THE FOREMOST GLOBAL PRESENTER OF NEW CANADIAN MUSIC.

We present living Canadian and international composers in innovative musical experiences, in our Toronto performance series, and through extensive outreach, commissioning, touring, and digital distribution.

Encounters is a free performance and discussion series, held at The Gladstone Hotel. Discover and engage with Soundstreams’ music and artists in a relaxed atmosphere, with food and drinks available on site.

Emerging Composer Workshop, heading into its eighth year, is an intensive mentorship program that helps talented young composers from Canada and abroad launch their careers.

SoundMakers, online, in the classroom, and in the community, provides an interactive, experiential musical learning experience that empowers creativity. Visit soundmakers.ca to experiment.

S E A S O N S P O N S O R S

The Koerner Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation,

The Catherine and Maxwell Meighan Foundation,

Ontario Arts Foundation, Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation

S E A S O N P A R T N E R S

an Ontario government agencyun organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario

Design: Joanne Pettigrew Design Photography: Cylla von Tiedemann