WEBSITE: http:\\www.harbourfrontcentre.com

TORONTO MUSIC GARDEN 2005

FREE CONCERTS & GARDEN TOURS!

Summer Music in the Garden series returns with free concerts and garden 

tours on Toronto’s waterfront!

June 26 to September 18

TORONTO --- Summer Music in the Garden returns for its 

sixth stellar season of free outdoor performances by Canadian musicians 

and dancers of international renown, along with the popular Garden tours.

  Artistic director Tamara Bernstein has  put together an imaginative 

and eclectic series that showcases classical music from Western 

traditions along with traditional music from China, Japan and the 

Mediterranean region. The Garden tours, both scheduled and self-guided, 

explore the picturesque landscape literally set to music with the 

scheduled tours led by the Toronto Botanical Garden volunteers guides.  

Toronto Music Garden programmes are presented by Harbourfront Centre, in

 partnership with the City of Toronto Department of Parks and Recreation.

The setting is so beautiful, and the audiences are so appreciative, that

 first-class artists are eager to perform at the Toronto Music Garden, 

Ms. Bernstein said.  Its also a great place for children to discover 

different musical instruments and styles.

Over 70 performers will appear in 21 concerts in this years Summer Music

 in the Garden. Returning favourites include True North Brass, the Kirby

 and Madawaska String Quartets, violinist Kathleen Kajioka, erhu 

virtuoso George Gao, the Kiyoshi Nagata Ensemble and the Esmeralda 

Enrique Spanish Dance Company.

Artists making their Toronto Music Garden debut this summer include 

dancer-choreographer Peter Chin, the Toronto Symphony Orchestras new 

principal cellist Winona Zelenka, the newly-formed Windermere String 

Quartet, world-renowned medieval string player Shira Kammen, and two 

virtuosi of South Asian traditions: vocalist Suba Sankaran and sarangi 

player Aruna Narayan.

Four Quebecois musicians make their Toronto Music Garden debut this year:

 the sensational young marimbist Anne-Julie Caron; Montreal bassoonist-composer

 Mathieu Lussier, who performs with the ensemble Musica Franca; 

accordionist Daniel Thonon and actress-singer Dominique Dupire, who will

 take us on a magical journey through the streets of old Paris on 

Bastille Day.

This years Music Garden season includes two mini-series. Faces of String

 Quartet presents four concerts: In Moon Mirrored on Water, Phoebe Tsang,

 Sacha Barlow, Carol Gimbel and Cherry Kim accompany erhu virtuoso 

George Gao in traditional Chinese melodies. In The Saddest of All Keys 

the Windermere String Quartet performs quartets by Haydn and Mozart on 

period instruments. The Madawaska String Quartet returns with music 

inspired by song and dance by Dvorak, Gershwin and others; the Kirby 

String Quartet brings music by Beethoven, Webern and John Zorn.

 The Mediterranean Voices theme also links four concerts. Alpharabius 

Ensemble performs songs filled with flower imagery from Arabic and 

Medieval Europe. In a program called The clear viol of her memory, 

Kathleen Kajioka and California-based Shira Kammen traverse the 

collective memory of the violin, performing on medieval fiddles, baroque

 violins and Arabic violin. (This performance is co-presented with the 

Toronto Early Music Centre.) The Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company

 adds their flamenco flair to the mix; in a program called Caf 

Mediterran, Levon Ichkhanian, Wilson Laurencin, Ernie Tollar, Attila 

Darvas and Gordon Sheard present a feast of Mediterranean melodies from 

Calabria, Lebanon, Greece and Spain.

A triptych of solo concerts stands near the midpoint of this years 

series. Kimberley Pritchard presents an entertaining and enlightening 

journey through the history of the accordion, from its ancestry in 

ancient China to cutting edge contemporary music. Baritone saxophonist 

David Mott returns to perform his own compositions and improvisations. 

Anne-Julie Caron traverses the globe in her solo recital, with music 

from Croatia to Japan; from Bach fugues to ragtime.

In The Velveteen Rabbit, children and adults alike can enjoy an original

 musical retelling of the classic tale, created and performed by flutist

 Camille Watts, double bassist Peter Pavlovsky and percussionist Erin 

Donovan.

New Music highlights this season include the world premiere of a music/dance

 piece created and performed by Peter Chin, with double bassist Peter 

Pavlovsky and percussionist Rick Sacks.  This work, entitled where/ with

 all, was commissioned for the Toronto Music Garden by Harbourfront 

Centre. 

In Bach at Dusk, cellist Winona Zelenka takes us back to the  Gardens 

roots, with a Bach Suite for unaccompanied cello.

Various Garden tours are available to explore the two-acre site which 

contains many flowering trees, shrubs and perennials.  Guided tours take

 place from June to September on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. and pre‑concert

 tours starting June 30, on Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. The free 45-minute 

guided tours are led by the Toronto Botanical Garden volunteers.  Also 

available is a 70-minute self-guided audio tour hosted by Yo-Yo Ma and 

Garden Designer Julie Moir Messervy.  The self-guided hand-held audio 

players can be picked up daily (from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) at the Marina 

Quay West office, just south west of the Garden for a rental fee of $5.

  Group tours can be booked through the Toronto Botanical Garden 

directly at 416‑397‑1366.  Please note that individual tours

 are free, but group tours are $5 per person.  New this year:  Adult ESL

 tours.

Summer Music in the Garden series complete schedule:

Sunday, June 26 at 4 p.m.

Cello Voce -- The luscious sound of five cellos, performing music by 

Manuel de Falla, Leonard Bernstein and others.  Directed by cellist 

Roberta Janzen and featuring Cherry Kim, Peter Cosbey, Garrett Knecht 

and Paul Widner, of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra.

Thursday, June 30 at 7 p.m.

Faces of the String Quartet I:  Moon Mirrored on Water --  Traditional 

Chinese melodies, performed by erhu virtuoso George Gao, accompanied by 

violinists Phoebe Tsang and Sacha Barlow, violist Carol Gimbel and 

cellist Cherry Kim.

 Sunday, July 3 at 4 p.m.

True North Brass -- Five of Canadas top brass players return to 

celebrate the Canada Day weekend with an eclectic and entertaining 

program. Barton Woomert and Raymond Tizzard, trumpets; Joan Watson, 

French horn; Alastair Kay, trombone and Scott Irvine, tuba.

Thursday, July 7 at 7 p.m.

Les Dlices de la Solitude --  Musica Franca performs music of the French

 Baroque and recent pieces by Mathieu Lussier.  Nadina Mackie Jackson, 

Mathieu Lussier, Kathleen McLean and Fraser Jackson, bassoonists; Paul 

Jenkins, harpsichordist and Terry McKenna, lute and baroque guitar.

Thursday, July 14 at 7 p.m.

Le temps des crises -- To celebrate Bastille Day,  join us on a journey 

through the fabled streets of late 19th- and early 20th-century Paris, 

with Quebec accordionist Daniel Thonon and singer-actress Dominique 

Dupire.

Sunday, July 17 at 4 p.m.

Mediterranean Voices I :  A Garden of Flowers, East and West -- Saints 

and lovers alike have inspired poets across the centuries to express 

their love in images of flowers.  Alpharabius Ensemble present a musical

 bouquet of such songs culled from Arabic lands and medieval Europe.  

Performed by George Sawa, Suzanne Meyers-Sawa, Andrea Budgey, Randall 

Rosenfeld and Bolbol Shehadeh.

Thursday, July 21 at 7 p.m.

Faces of the String Quartet II: The Saddest of All Keys -- The 

Windermere String Quartet performs music in D Minor by Haydn and Mozart 

on period instruments.  Rona Goldensher and Genevive Gilardeau, 

violinists; Anthony Rapoport, violist and Laura Jones, cellist.

 Sunday, July 24 at 4 p.m.

Once Upon an Accordion -- Kimberley Pritchard presents an entertaining 

and enlightening journey through the history of the accordion, from its 

ancestry in ancient China to cutting edge contemporary music   with 

stopovers in Paris, Argentina and Russia.

Thursday, July 28 at 7 p.m.

From Distant Places: the Art of the Solo Baritone Saxophone  -- The 

Chopin of the baritone saxophone, David Mott performs his own 

compositions and improvises  half hoping to be accompanied by boat horns

 in the harbour and the Music Gardens resident flock of starlings.

Thursday, August 4 at 7 p.m.

Anne-Julie Caron, marimba virtuosa  -- From fugues to ragtime, the 

sensational young Quebec marimbist performs music from around the world,

 including Bach, Piazzola and Keiko Abe.

Sunday, August 7 at 4 p.m.

Faces of the String Quartet III:  The Madawaska Quartet -- A programme 

of music inspired by song and dance by Dvorak, Gershwin and others  

including John Gzowskis and Julia Aplin's delightful CatCh, for 

choreographed string quartet.

Thursday, August 11 at 7 p.m.

where  

with all

The world premiere of a new music/dance work composed and choreographed 

by Peter Chin, performed by Peter Chin, bassist Peter Pavlovsky and 

percussionist Rick Sacks. Commissioned for the Toronto Music Garden by 

Harbourfront Centre.

Sunday, August 14 at 4 p.m.

Mediterranean Voices II : The clear viol of her memory  -- Performing on

 Medieval fiddles, baroque and Arabic violins,  Garden favourite 

Kathleen Kajioka and world-renowned medieval fiddler Shira Kammen 

traverse the collective memory of the modern violin, from it roots in 

the Arab world through Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Europe.  Co-presented

 with the Toronto Early Music Centre.

Thursday August 18 at 7 p.m.

Kiyoshi Nagata Ensemble --  The Toronto-based Taiko group creates a new 

voice for the traditional Japanese drum.

Sunday, August 21 at 4 p.m.

The Art of the Sarangi -- Aruna Narayan, one of the worlds foremost 

soloists on the 40-stringed sarangi, brings a program classical North 

Indian music to the Music Garden, accompanied by tabla and tanpura.

Thursday, August 25 at 7 p.m.

An evening of South Asian music -- An evening of classical and original 

music steeped in the traditions of south and north India, featuring Suba

 Sankaran, voice; with Ed Hanley, tabla; and Ernie Tollar, flute.

Sunday, August 28 at 4 p.m.

The Velveteen Rabbit -- A musical retelling of this beloved childrens 

tale, created and performed by Camille Watts, flute; Peter Pavlovsky, 

double bass; Erin Donovan, percussion. A concert for all ages.

Thursday, September 1 at 7 p.m.

Mediterranean Voices III: Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company -- 

Once again this Toronto favourite brings passionate flamenco dance and 

music to the Garden, featuring Jose Luis Prez and Dominique Soulard, 

guitarist.

Thursday, September 8 at 7 p.m.

Bach at Dusk -- Winona Zelenka, the Toronto Symphony Orchestras 

magnificent new principal cellist, takes us back to the Music Gardens 

roots with a Bach Suite for unaccompanied cello.  Note: this concert 

will last approximately half an hour, due to the early sunset.

Sunday, September 11 at 4 p.m.

Mediterranean Voices IV: Caf Mediterran -- A feast of Mediterranean 

melodies from Calabria, Lebanon, Greece and Spain, plus original 

compositions. Performed by Levon Ichkhanian, plucked strings; Wilson 

Laurencin, percussion; Ernie Tollar, woodwinds; Attila Darvas, 

contrabass and Gordon Sheard, accordion.

Sunday, September 18 at 4 p.m.

Faces of the String Quartet IV:  The Kirby String Quartet -- In a 

welcome return,  violinists Aisslinn Nosky and Julia Wedman; violist Max

 Mandel and cellist Carina Reeves bring the season to an electrifying 

close with Beethovens Quartet Op. 18, No.1, Weberns lushly romantic 

Langsamer Satz, and John Zorns zany Cat o'nine tails.

The Toronto Music Garden is a unique creation, inspired by J.S. Bachs 

Suite No. 1 in G Major for Unaccompanied Cello.  Each of the Gardens six

 sections corresponds to a movement of Bachs Suite:  Prelude, Allemande,

 Courante, Sarabande, Menuett and Gigue.  The Toronto Music Garden is a 

City of Toronto park, located on the citys waterfront at 475 Queens Quay

 West, between Bathurst Street and Spadina Avenue.  It is wheelchair-accessible

 and open year-round.  For information on the Toronto Music Garden and 

its upcoming events, the public can call 416-973-4000 or check the 

Harbourfront Centre website at www.harbourfrontcentre.com.

Concerts take place Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m.  Concerts 

are cancelled in inclement weather.  Admission to the park and all its 

programming is free.

phone #: 416-973-4000