A Singer Must Die - Program Guide

the 2017/18 season

FEBRUARY 22–24, 2018 8pm

A SINGER MUST DIE

The Words and Music of Leonard Cohen

february 22 – 24, 2018

A SINGER MUST DIE Andrew Burashko

Kevin Lamotte

Arwen MacDonnell

Artistic Director

Lighting Designer

Production Manager

about art of time ensemble Renowned concert pianist Andrew Burashko formed Art of Time Ensemble in 1998 by inviting a group of like-minded musicians and prominent figures in dance, theatre and other art forms to perform one-off concerts in Toronto. The company has gone on to become a leader in Toronto’s vibrant performing arts scene, through its subscription season at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre, regular appearances at Koerner Hall, album releases, performances with leading Canadian orchestras, and the tours of its unique offerings to dozens of cities throughout Canada and the United States.

Exploring the relationship between classical music in its many forms and other genres such as jazz, pop, electronica, rock, folk, electroacoustic, gospel and others, Art of Time seeks to reveal the qualities that lie at the heart of all great music.

artoftimeensemble.com #ASingerMustDie

repertoire

Anthem

I’m Your Man

Arranged by Andrew Downing

Arranged by Kevin Fox

A Singer Must Die

The Future

Arranged by Gavin Bryars

Arranged by Jonathan Goldsmith

Boogie Street

The Partisan

Arranged by Bryden Baird

Arranged by Bryden Baird

Closing Time

Treaty

Arranged by Jim McGrath

Arranged by Andrew Staniland

Come Healing

Who By Fire

Arranged by Robert Carli

Dance Me to the End of Love Arranged by Steve MacKinnon

Darkness Arranged by Kevin Breit

Dress Rehearsal Rag Arranged by Jim McGrath

Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye Arranged by Gavin Bryars

Listed in alphabetical order. All songs written by Leonard Cohen, The Partisan written by Anna Marly. There will be a 20-minute intermission

singers Sarah Harmer

Sarah Slean

Gregory Hoskins

Tom Wilson

Steven Page instrumentalists Andrew Burashko piano

Amy Laing cello

Robert CarliÂ

Joseph Phillips

Sheila JaffĂŠ

Rob Piltch

saxophones violin

bass

guitar

writers Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall

Marni Jackson

Joseph Boyden

Brian D Johnson

Ian Brown

David Macfarlane

Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson

Michael Redhill

Christopher Dewdney

Damian Rogers

Jonathan Garfinkel

Karen Solie

Barbara Gowdy

Madeleine Thien

Steve Heighton

performers andrew burashko

sarah harmer

Andrew Burashko is the founder and creative force behind Art of Time Ensemble. Born in Moscow, Burashko trained as a concert pianist across North America, making his solo debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at the age of seventeen. As a soloist, Burashko performed with some of the world’s most renowned conductors, including Sir Andrew Davis, Pinchas Zukerman, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. His has shared the stage with such diverse artists as Branford Marsalis, Peggy Baker and Madeleine Peyroux. In 1997, Burashko formed the Art of Time Ensemble to produce unique concerts that ignore the barriers between genres and disciplines, with the aim of exposing audiences to a broad range of artistic possibilities. Under Burashko’s direction, Art of Time Ensemble has become a Canadian destination for today’s most accomplished artists working in music, dance, theatre, film, and literature. In addition to their annual concert series in Toronto, Art of Time Ensemble has toured extensively throughout Canada and the Unites States, as well as in Russia and Finland.

Sarah Harmer is a Canadian singer-songwriter and activist. She has won two Juno Awards, a Polaris Prize nomination and recognition for her community work on environment protection in Ontario.

This her first foray with the Art of Time Ensemble and she is looking forward to a luxurious immersion in new arrangements of Leonard Cohen’s timeless and commanding songs. Sarah is planning a new album release this year.

robert carli Robert Carli leads a diverse career as a performer and composer for film and television. He performs as saxophonist regularly with several ensembles, including the Toronto Symphony and the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra. His music has received numerous awards and nominations, including 5 Gemini Awards and 2 Canadian Screen Awards. In addition to and eclectic mix of Canadian films and TV shows, he has composed music for over 100 episodes of Murdoch Mysteries.

gregory hoskins Gregory Hoskins’ career has spanned 27 years and 10 albums. His last studio recording, The Map of Above, The Map of Below was released in August, 2013. “On their marvellous new album…lyrics are real and bittersweet, arrangements are nimble, and the overall effect evokes a rum-based half dream involving Paul Simon, Joe Henry and truth.” (Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail).

In addition to numerous collaborations with The Art of Time Ensemble and a turn as feature vocalist on the excellent 2015 album from The Henrys, Quiet Industry, he has worked with indigenous artists, collaborated and recorded with incarcerated women, and appeared with author Stephen Jenkinson (Die Wise) on a sold-out tour through the US and filmed for release in 2016.

2017 saw the release of his 11th and 12th recordings, Vain +Alone and Witness, as well as tours in Australia and the UK.

performers sheil a jaffé

steven page

Canadian violinist and violist Sheila Jaffé has performed in numerous international festivals, including Domaine Forget, IMS Prussia Cove, Toronto Summer Music and Ottawa Chamberfest. An experienced orchestral leader, Jaffé was concertmaster of the Orchestre de l’Université de Montréal, and has been chosen as leader of festival orchestras including the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchester in Germany and the Orford Festival Orchestra. She has worked under the baton of conductors Kent Nagano, Christoph Eschenbach, Lawrence Foster and Christoph von Dohnanyi. Her violin is on generous loan from Canimex.

Steven Page’s distinctive and powerful tenor is among the most instantly recognizable voices in popular music today. The singer/songwriter is a founding member of The Barenaked Ladies with whom he toured the globe and sold millions of albums. On his own, Steven continues his artistic evolution with a diverse array of solo projects. He has composed six Stratford Festival scores, collaborated and toured with Toronto’s innovative Art of Time Ensemble and journeyed across North America as host of TV’s The Illegal Eater while continuing to write, release and perform his original music. In December 2016, Steven Page became a Chopped Canada Champion on a special celebrity edition of the show. Steven released his latest opus, HEAL THYSELF, PT. I: INSTINCT in 2016 followed by a two week critically acclaimed residency at New York City’s storied Café Carlyle. Steven is currently in the studio finishing work on HEAL THYSELF, PT. 2.

amy l aing Amy plays regularly with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and has played with the Canadian Opera Company, the Windsor Symphony, Niagara Symphony, Thunder Bay Symphony, and also held a position with Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax.

Amy is an active chamber musician, and was a member of the Madawaska String Quartet. She has performed or recorded with leading Canadian artists including Jesse Cook, The Barenaked Ladies, Jim Cuddy, Steven Page, Sarah Slean, Molly Johnson, Jim Guthrie, Amy Sky, and many more.

rob piltch Rob Piltch has worked with The Bernie Piltch Quartet, The Ted Moses Quintet and Blood, Sweat & Tears. He has worked as a session player with Kim Mitchell, Shirley Eikhardt, Guido Basso, and Rob McConnell, and has recorded two albums: Bells and Rob Piltch. Rob has also performed and recorded with Colm Wilkinson, Molly Johnson, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Louise Pitre, Steven Page, Sarah Slean, Sophie Milman, and The Art of Time Ensemble. His CD Chambers is available on iTunes and on CD Baby.

performers joseph phillips

tom wil son

A Toronto native, Joe studied double bass at the University of Toronto with the renowned virtuoso Joel Quarrington.

Phillips has been Principal Double Bassist with Orchestra London since 2007, a position he has also held with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia Toronto.

Tom Wilson came to prominence in the ‘90s as the leader of the much-loved Junkhouse, and later found a whole new audience with roots-rock super-group Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, who have enjoyed recent success with their album KINGS and QUEENS, a collaboration with some of the finest female artists in the field of Americana and Roots Music. Wilson released solo albums in 2001 and 2006, and his 2005 collaboration with Bob Lanois, The Shack Recordings, was critically acclaimed. As the vocalist and guitarist for LeE HARVeY OsMOND, he released A Quiet Evil, The Folk Singer and Beautiful Scars.

He plays regularly with violinist Mayumi Seiler in her Via Salzburg Chamber Music series and in concerts with Art of Time Ensemble and the Sweet Water Music Festival. He performs with Sarah Slean, Patricia O’Callaghan, Jenny Whiteley, Andrew Downing’s chamber-jazz group Arts & Letters.

sarah slean Three-time Juno nominee Sarah Slean has since released 11 albums in over 10 countries worldwide. Over her 20-year career, Slean has published two volumes of poetry, starred in short films and a movie musical (earning two Gemini Award nominations), penned two string quartets, held numerous exhibitions of her paintings, and shared the stage with 8 of the country’s professional orchestras. Classically trained from the age of 5, she routinely collaborates with cutting-edge contemporary classical ensembles and has been invited to sing world premieres by Canada’s leading living composers. In addition to headlining theatres across Canada, Sarah has also toured Europe, the US and Scandinavia and has opened internationally for such artists as Bryan Ferry, Rufus Wainwright, Alanis Morissette, Andrew Bird, Feist, Ron Sexsmith, Chris Isaak, and Buck 65.

Metaphysics, her first recording in 5 years, is described as a breathtaking amalgamation of Slean’s dramatic orchestral arranging and her signature take on songwriting.

arrangers bryden baird

gavin bryars

Bryden Baird is a trumpet player, composer, and arranger, and has acted as Musical Director for Steven Page (formerly of the Barenaked Ladies) and Feist. When not on the road, Baird maintains an active studio career in Toronto. Some recent projects he’s composed for include the film Gunless (with Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo), Chantal Kreviazuk’s symphony tour and the Art of Time Ensemble.

Gavin Bryars studied philosophy at Sheffield University and became a professional jazz bassist and a pioneer of free improvisation working especially with Derek Bailey and Tony Oxley. In the late 1960s he worked with John Cage, who had a great influence on Bryars’ work. He has written four operas, twi with libretti by his long-time collaborator Blake Morrison: Doctor Ox’s Experiment, and G, commissioned by the Staatstheater Mainz for the Gutenberg 600th anniversary. He has produced a large body of chamber music both for his own ensemble and for other performers. He has also written extensively for strings as well as producing concertos for violin, viola, cello, double bass and jazz bass, saxophone, bass oboe and, most recently, for piano.

kevin breit Kevin Breit has recorded with Norah Jones, Rosanne Cash, k.d. Lang, Hugh Laurie, Cassandra Wilson, Holly Cole, Jane Siberry, Serena Ryder, Taj Mahal, Irma Thomas and countless others. Known for his inimitable guitar playing, exquisite lyrics and eccentric performances, Breit is a humble Canadian musical treasure. With multiple awards including a Maple Blues Award, National Jazz Award and two JUNO awards for his own recordings, as well as for his work on albums that have a collective 10 Grammy Awards, Breit’s unparalleled creativity is infinite. Breit’s latest release, the 11-track instrumental Johnny Goldtooth & The Chevy Casanovas is set for release on Stony Plain Records, November 2017 and it features his interpretations of a mythical character in a twang world.

andrew downing Andrew Downing is a double bass player, composer and bandleader living in Toronto.

Andrew graduated from the University of Toronto’s Jazz Performance program. He has studied with Jack Winn, Dave Young, Don Thompson, Shauna Rolston and Joel Quarrington. Andrew plays primarily in the creative jazz scene in Canada, but also performs in other genres, and is a member of the David Occhipinti Quartet and the Lina Allemano Four.

kevin fox With his ability to play numerous musical instruments, Kevin Fox has worked with a variety of artists from Sarah Harmer to Tom Cochrane to Celine Dion. Kevin recently toured with Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida. As a composer/arranger, Kevin has composed music for film and arrangements for artists such as Damhnait Doyle, Lennie Gallant, Shaye and Dolories O’Riordan of The Cranberries. In June 2004, Kevin released his debut album Come Alive. In 2008 he released his second album, Songs for Cello & Voice, which earned him much critical praise.

arrangers jonathan goldsmith

andrew stanil and

Jonathan Goldsmith is a gifted musician and producer, and one of the country’s most sought-after film & television composers.

He has won three Gemini Awards, among many other accolades. Some of his credits include scoring Sarah Polley’s feature films Away From Her and Take This Waltz, and producing albums for Bruce Cockburn, Jane Siberry, Hugh Marsh, and Martin Tielli. Jonathan is a founding member of the Art of Time Ensemble and has been involved in numerous projects with the organization as a performer, arranger and composer.

Described as a “new music visionary” (National Arts Centre), composer Andrew Staniland has established himself as one of Canada’s most important and innovative musical voices. Among other accolades, Andrew is the recipient of two Juno nominations for Dark Star Requiem in 2017, was awarded the Terra Nova Young Innovators Award in 2016, was the National Grand Prize winner of EVOLUTION (presented in 2009 by CBC Radio 2/Espace Musique and The Banff Centre), and was the recipient of the Karen Keiser Prize in Canadian Music in 2004. Andrew was an Affiliate Composer to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (2006-09) and the National Arts Centre Orchestra (2002–04), and has also been in residence at the Centre du Creation Musicale Iannis Xenakis (Paris, 2005). His recent commissioners include the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Brooklyn Art Song Society, and Les Percussions de Strasbourg. Andrew is currently on faculty at Memorial University in St John’s Newfoundland.

jim mcgrath Jim McGrath is a Toronto-based composer who divides his time between writing music for film and television and composing for the concert stage. His compositions have been performed by a wide range of ensembles including Ottawa’s Thirteen Strings, The Montreal Chamber Orchestra, The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and the Hamilton Philharmonic. Jim scored the CBC hit comedy/drama Republic of Doyle, as well as the critically acclaimed series Degrassi, for which he won the Gemini Award for Best Original Score for a Dramatic Series.

art of time gratefully acknowledges and thanks supporters $65,000 or more Benefactor Eli & Phil Taylor Gary Slaight

$10 000 to $50 000 Sustaining Member James & Margaret Fleck

$5,000 to $9,999 Member Martha Burns & Paul Gross Timothy & Carol Deacon David & Anne Ellins Roger & Kevin Garland Margaret Grottenthaler & Doug Harrison Cheryl Hudson & Mike Say Valerie Hussey Joan & Jerry Lozinski Richard MacKenzie & Alexandra Rambusch Barbara & Ian Mason John McGowan John & Kay McKellar Lois Miles Robert Sirman The George Cedric Metcalf Foundation

$1,000 to $4,999 Patron David Abel Anonymous Andree Appleton & Alex Leman Ian & Libby Bandeen Monica Banting & Patrick O’Neill Mary Brock & Brian Iler Andrew Burashko The Butterfield Foundation Sandra Caldwell Tania & Christopher Carnegie Rita Davies & John McGrath Judith Gelber Carol & Grant Gooding Julia Holland & David Crawford Brett Ledger & Patricia Olasker

Lesley MacMillan & Bernard Le Corre Sam & Rosanne Marinucci Florence Minz James O’Connor & Michael Taylor Basia & Alec Stanimirovic Roger & Darla Steers Jane Thompson & Tim Murphy Antoinette Tummillo & John Carter Kim & Neil Wainwright

$500 to $999 Friend Rolake Adeniran Nichole Anderson & Alain Bergeron Anonymous Helen Burstyn Sandra Dudley & Ron Youd Joanne Eidinger Dorothy Engleman & Richard Quinlan Lawrence Herman & Beatrice De Montmollin Nancy Holland Tim Lang Adrian Macdonald Alexandra MacLennan Tenny Nigoghossian Molly Pocklington Julie Reid Caroline Suri Kathleen Ward Deanna Wolfe

$100 to $499 Member Allan Beaty Amin Bhatia Carolyn Blackwell Scott Blair Ross Blundell Lorraine Butler & David Holt William Brathwaite Danielle Cerisano Debra Chandler Martha Digby Kristine Doherty Anne & Ross Eddie Eleanor Engelman

Maxanne Ezer Kathleen Freeman Melanie Foster Anamika Gadia Janet Haddock Doug & Debbie Herridge Consuelo Jackman Benjamin Jain Gerorge Karayannides Henriette Katz Lee-Ann Kovacs Audrey Lengyel David & Irene Locke Larry Lubin Heather McDonald Carlene Mercer Andrew & Jennifer Moeller Siobhan Monaghan Richard Mozer Steve Munro John Munro Natasha Mytnowych Tim Patriquin Kenny Pearl Jo Ann Pynn Ross & Jane Reynolds Pamela Ritchie Levitt Ron Schlumpf Richard Shallhorn Abigail Slater Noah Soloman Jane Thompson Kristine Thompson Barbara Tinsley Colette & Michael Vosberg

super subscribers Lawrence Ballon Horst Koschmider Suzanne Kavanaugh Don Rooke

This listing reflects our best efforts to publish information current as of Feb. 13, 2018. If you would like to request any amendments to this listing, please email info@artoftimeensemble.com

www.taylorsmyth.com

Proud suPPorters of the Art of time ensemble since 2006.

art of time ensemble

board of direc tors

Andrew Burashko Artistic Director

Ian Bandeen

David Abel Executive Director

Monica Banting

Kate Bangay Marketing & Communications Manager

Tania Carnegie

Mike Romaniak Production Coordinator

David Ellins

Tim Deacon, CA

Monnet Design Graphic Design

Margaret Grottenthaler

Young Associates Chris Mustard & Julia Gaunt-Rannala Bookeeping

Cheryl Hudson Valerie Hussey

Rita Kim, Marketing & Development Intern

Tim Lang Rick MacKenzie Lois Miles, Chair James O’Connor Robert Sirman Eli Taylor

art of time gratefully acknowledges and thanks season title sponsor

season patrons

february 22 performance sponsor

Eli & Phil Taylor season sponsors

Slaight Music

James & Margaret Fleck youth champion sponsor

foundation support

government support

corporate support

Stikeman Elliott

The S. M. Blair Family Foundation in-kind support

Taylor Smyth Architects

piano sponsor

Q Media Solutions

media sponsor