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Jonathan Stuchbery is a performing artist dedicated to reaching audiences on a personal level and to pursuing joy through artistic expression.

Backstage Vol. 6: To Fold or not to Fold? (The program) 

Here's a question. One that comes to my mind at least as frequently as I attend a concert.

Do I fold the program at the end so that I can fit it into my pocket when I go home, or do I preserve it and risk dropping it, or getting cold fingers outside, or do I just leave it?

Most recently I folded the program....twice....to fit it into the pocket inside my jacket. Will this influence my decision later on to look at the program in the future? Would I ever look at it again anyway? Does it make my box full of…

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Backstage Vol. 5: Changing Strings 

The other day I had a bit of a disappointing experience. I had restrung my guitar the day before, played them, settled them in, and when I went to practice the next morning... well, I didn't like how they sounded. Okay. Fine. No big deal right? I'll put on different strings next time. The thing is though, I've been using this same brand and type of string almost uniquely for the past three years and I have had nothing but positive comments about them. So what changed?

I carefully checked the intonation…

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Backstage Vol. 4: Performance - Interview with Sylvain Bergeron 

The past few weeks I've talked about music off the performance stage, but today, with my guest Sylvain Bergeron we're going to delve into this critical aspect of our lives - the show itself.

Sylvain Bergeron is an outstanding lutenist living in Montreal, and my instructor at McGill on lutes and baroque guitar. For those of you who are not performing artists, this can shed some light on what it's like on stage, and what this career is like, and for those of you who do perform Sylvain has a lot of experience…

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Backstage Vol. 3: Walk in the Park  

The majestic metre and a half long span of the archlute's extended neck instantaneously transforms into an awkward and ridiculous burden when it's put in its case to be carted around town. In particular, the lute I am frequently using (property of McGill) is equipped with what is perhaps the most dreadful, large and unappealing case possible. It's as if I were dutifully taking up the yoke of obscurity, and being punished for my interest in something that hardly anyone else knows to even care about. 

Well…

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Backstage Vol. 2: Interview with composer Arie van de Ven 

Arie and I met during the 'five minutes' he spent at McGill (his words!) three and a half years ago. Since he moved back to Ontario from Montreal we have kept in touch and are now thrilled to be collaborating to premiere his piece 'Algoma Miniatures' for the Cygnus Trio. Just this past week the trio was able to meet with Arie in Toronto to rehearse the piece together.

Something I admire about Arie and his work is his ability to create excellent and serious music, without losing a sense of humour, and…

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Apr4

Villanella, is a form of light Italian secular vocal music which originated in Italy just before the middle of the 16th century. It first appeared in Naples, and influenced the later canzonetta, and from there also influenced the madrigal.

The subject matter is generally rustic, comic, and often satirical; frequently the mannerisms of art music, such as the madrigal, are a subject of parody. The villanelle became one of the most popular forms of song in Italy around mid-century.

May11

St. James Cathedral choir & Orchestra presents

Haydn: Nelson Mass & Te Deum with choral music by Mozart, Wesley & others.

Invite your family and friends! General tickets: $30

Director of Music: Thomas Bell Soprano: Ineza Mugisha Mezzo: Christina Stelmacovich Tenor: Charles Davidson Baritone: Jorell Williams

For many of us, the three composers who dominate the Classical period in music history are Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. However, their music overshadows the fascinating music and lives of some of their less well-known contemporaries.

On Saturday, May 11th at 7.30 p.m. the Choir of St. James Cathedral performs the much-loved Nelson Mass and Te Deum of Haydn and Mozart’s hauntingly beautiful Laudate Dominum, setting these works beside the music of their friends and colleagues William Herschel, Marianna Martines, and Samuel Wesley.

The latter years of the eighteenth century were marked by both incessant warfare and a spirit of intellectual curiosity. Haydn’s magnificent Nelson Mass and his celebratory Te Deum were both written at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Both works employ the military instruments of the orchestra – the trumpets and drums – with arresting results, ensuring the lasting popularity of this music. Less well-known, however is the music of William Herschel, a German-British astronomer who discovered the planet Uranus and pioneered the use of larger telescopes, among his many achievements. He was also an accomplished organist, oboist and composer leaving a large body of attractive music. Of the other composers featured in the programme, Marianna Martines was an outstanding singer and pianist, a friend of both Haydn and Mozart. We sing her setting of Dixit Dominus.

The orchestra plays Samuel Wesley’s Sinfonia Concertante, a charming symphony which never fails to delight.

$30

May27

Diapente - Strozzi and Casulana

Diapente Renaissance Quintet presents the third concert of their 23/24 season, featuring the music of Maddalena Casulana - the first woman to ever have her music published - and of the incomparable Barbara Strozzi.

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