Musicata and the serious side of the sax
Over the years, Roger Bergs and his Musicata-Hamilton’s Voices chamber choir have often collaborated with guest solo instrumentalists.
That collaborative tradition continues on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Church of the Ascension, 64 Forest Ave., as they roll out the welcome mat for Bergs’s long-time friend, Toronto-based saxophonist Daniel Rubinoff.
The main piece on Musicata’s “The Serious Side of the Sax” bill is British composer James Whitbourn’s 2001 “Son of God Mass.”
“It is the only major work I know requiring saxophone obbligato with organ (played by James van den Brink),” said Bergs. “It is a perfect blend of mystery and intimacy for a (21-voice) choir like ours performing in a gem of a space.”
After intermission, there are choral selections by Billings, Bach and Boyce. Rubinoff will also join Musicata for David Brunner’s “O Music,” Stephen Chatman’s “Songs of Remembrance,” Donna Gartman Schultz’s “Banks of Doon,” and Eleanor Daley’s “Life’s Mirror.”
“The works which end the program all involve sax and piano,” explained Bergs. “All of the obbligato parts were originally conceived for other instruments ranging from clarinet to cello, and I have done some modest re-arranging to make them work.”
Tickets at eventbrite.ca: $32.84, senior $27.54, student $16.93 (allin), 14 and under free.
Programming Maurice Duruflé’s 1947 “Requiem” with a collection of African-American spirituals may seem to be a rather odd move.
Not so, contends Bach Elgar Choir artistic director Alex Cann who’s done exactly that for their concert on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Central Presbyterian Church, 165 Charlton Ave. W.
“It is rarely easy programming music to go up against a requiem, especially a masterwork like the Duruflé, but the spirituals are an ideal match,” said Cann. “The nine movements of the Duruflé (accompanied by organist and former BEC artistic director Ian Sadler) are balanced by the eight spirituals of the second half. The Duruflé is a confrontation with mortality and grief: by turns the music expresses gentleness and comfort, at other times expressing anguish. The spirituals similarly convey a range of emotions and situations, some from a place of hurt or sorrow, others with expressions of hopefulness or fervour. Placed together in the same programme the two repertoires are complementary.”
The spirituals, culled from Moses Hogan’s “Oxford Book of Spirituals,” include Canadian-born Nathaniel Dett’s “Listen to the Lambs,” plus arrangements of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “My Lord, What a Mornin’,” “Ezekiel Saw de Wheel,” and others.
Cann gives a big shout-out to Karen Burke, a McMaster alumna now artistic director of the Toronto Mass Choir and an associate professor at York University.
“Karen was key in bringing this concert concept to life,” said Cann. “Her firm view was that the BEC should feel welcome to perform spirituals repertoire and she helped point the way as to how to do that in a manner which is respectful and honouring.”
Tickets at bachelgar.ca: $40, senior $35, 25 and under $15 (plus fees). Livestream: pay what you can.
Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Port Nelson United Church, 3132 South Drive, Burlington, Janice Beninger leads her Burlington Welsh Male Chorus and special guests, her Burlington Welsh Ladies Chorus, in a St. David’s Day concert. Tickets at burlingtonwelsh.com or 905-8028884: $30, under 17 $25.
The Burlington Concert Band has a long tradition of supporting and collaborating with local artists.
That tradition continues on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Grace United Church, 2111 Walker’s Line, Burlington, when Joanne Romanow and her 75-member BCB welcome vocalists Leslie and Christopher Gray, founders of the KooGle Theatre Company, to a “Broadway Bound!” program.
BCB trumpeter and publicity director Lisa Liang made the initial contact with KooGle Theatre.
“Originally, I had envisioned a collaboration with the students of the theatre, but space was the issue,” explained Liang.
“So, at our first meeting, we determined that based on space constraints and the music library, a Broadway theme with Leslie and Christopher made the most sense.”
Romanow and the BCB will open with the showbiz anthem, “Another Op’nin’, Another Show” from “Kiss Me Kate” after which there’ll be medleys galore such as “The Golden Age of Broadway,” “Lerner and Loewe in Concert,” “The Jersey Boys,” and “Selections from Wicked,” the latter led by BCB assistant conductor Julian Lam. Leslie Gray will sing “Over the Rainbow,” “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “I Dreamed a Dream,” while Christopher Gray will be heard in “Edelweiss,” “The Impossible Dream” and “Seventy-Six Trombones.”
Tickets at door or canadahelps.org : $15, family 4-pack $40, child under 12 free. Proceeds will benefit the Halton Learning Foundation.