Concerts at the Music Garden at Queens Quay: 10 year anniversary

We got this from the Harbourfront folks about the 10th anniversary program for the Music Garden. If you haven't already you should check out the Sunday afternoon and Thursday evening free concerts that are performed at the Music Garden.

The garden was inspired by Bach’s Suite No. 1 in G Major for Unaccompanied Cello, in a collaboration between cellist Yo-Yo Ma and landscape artist Julie Moir Messervy. See and hear Yo-Yo Ma below.



The garden was inspired "with each dance movement within the suite corresponding to a different section of the Garden: Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Menuett and Gigue" the Harbourfront anniversary notes says.

The garden was built 10 years ago, and was inspired by

All concerts are approximately one hour long (except where noted) and take place weather permitting. Concerts are cancelled in the event of inclement weather.

Sunday, June 28, 4pm
Shauna and Friends
Renowned Canadian cellist Shauna Rolston leads six outstanding student cellists from the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music in music by Elgar, Massenet, Kreisler and others, arranged for cello solo, duo, and ensemble. As a prelude, Barbara Croall (cedar flutes and First Nation drum) and Anita McAlister (trumpet and conch shell) perform Croall’s Calling from Different Directions, which was composed for the Music Garden in summer 2008. Calling from Different Directions is a short, arresting piece that invokes the four sacred directions, bringing together instruments from different cultural "directions": trumpet, conch shell, traditional cedar flutes and First Nations hand drum.

Thursday, July 2, 7pm
Samulnori!
This exuberant Toronto ensemble returns with traditional Korean drumming and dance—rooted in nature; transplanted to Canada.

Sunday, July 5, 4pm
Orfea and the Golden Harp
Theatre Cotton Robes presents their delightful adaptation of the Orfeo myth for the whole family. A little girl shoulders her golden harp and journeys to the Underworld to bring her beloved grandfather back to life; along the way we hear music from 400 years of opera, including Monteverdi, Mozart and Offenbach. Performed by baritone Lawrence Cotton, soprano Brooke Dufton and pianist Rachad Feizoullaev. (For information about Theatre Cotton Robes, visit www.theatrecottonrobes.com.)

Thursday, July 9, 7pm
Quartets with a Past
The Kirby String Quartet presents four classical works that look back to earlier composers: Beethoven’s Quartet Op. 74, Mendelssohn’s Capriccio Op. 8, Brahms’ Quartet Op. 67, third movement, and Stravinsky’s neo-classical Concertino. Aisslinn Nosky and Julia Wedman (violins), Max Mandel (viola), Carina Reeves (cello).

Thursday, July 16, 7pm
Moonlight, Mountains and Flowing Streams: Voices of Ancient China

The China Court Trio performs music from the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Wen Zhao, (pipa – Chinese lute), Yongli Xue, (zheng – Chinese zither), Yu Cheng Zhang (bowled clay flute and vertical flute). (For information about Wen Zhao, visit wendyzhao.com.)

Sunday, July 19, 4pm
Does This Drum Make My Brass Sound Big?
The brass and percussion sections of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada return with a delightful, varied programme that showcases outstanding young Canadian musicians. (For information about the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, visit nyoc.org.)

Thursday, July 23, 7pm
Another knock at the door
Toronto’s Shiraz Ensemble presents a heady brew of Persian art music and original compositions. Yashar Salek (Daf/Dayereh), Nima Rahmani (Santoor), Saeed Kamjoo (Kamanche), Araz Salek (Tar), Shahin Fayaz (Rabab). A co-presentation with Small World Music.

Sunday, July 26, 4pm
Oiseaux Interurbains/Migratory Songflutes
Alison Melville performs acoustic and electronic music from the 12th to 21st centuries, for various flutes, recorders and recorded sound, including works by Bach, Telemann, Hildegard of Bingen, Jacob van Eyck, Peter Hannan, Linda C. Smith, Ben Grossman and the performer. (For information about Alison Melville, visit alisonmelville.com.)

Thursday, July 30, 7pm
Behind the Masques
The period musicians of Toronto Masque Theatre, with renowned Montreal dancer-choreographer Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, reveal different faces of baroque dance—courtly, theatrical, grotesque. Lacoursière will also perform several baroque dances reflected in the design of the Music Garden. "[Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière] has set a new standard for historical dance in Toronto."—Robert Everett-Green, reviewing Toronto Masque Theatre in the Globe and Mail, April 25, 2009. (For information about Toronto Masque Theatre, visit torontomasquetheatre.ca.)

Thursday, August 6, 7pm
Strong and Free
True North Brass returns with a programme that will delight and dazzle. Raymond Tizzard and Richard Sandals (trumpets), Joan Watson (French horn), Alastair Kay (trombone) and Scott Irvine (tuba). (For information about True North Brass, visit truenorthbrass.com.)

Sunday, August 9, 4pm
Passage to India
Singer Bageshree Vaze and tabla virtuoso Vineet Viyas perform classical North Indian ragas, along with classically-based songs from early Bollywood. (For information about Bageshree Vaze, visit bageshree.com and for information about Vineet Viyas, visit vineetvyas.com.)

Thursday, August 13, 7pm
Coming out of Hayd’n
The Cecilia String Quartet performs the Quartet in C Major, Op. 74 No. 1, by the "father of the string quartet," Joseph Haydn, and the sparkling, newly discovered String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat Major by French composer Theodore Dubois (1837-1924). Sarah Nematallah and Min-Jeong Koh (violins), Caitlin Boyle (viola) and Rebecca Wenham (cello). (For information about the Cecilia String Quartet, visit ceciliastringquartet.com.)

Sunday, August 16, 4pm
Utopian Voices
In the early baroque, fans of the renaissance cornetto and the newly perfected violin duked it out over which instrument was closest to the human voice. Happily, we don’t have to choose when the virtuosi of FOLIA—baroque violinist Linda Melsted and cornettist Kiri Tollaksen—perform glorious music by Castello, Frescobaldi, Gabrieli and others. With Borys Medicky, harpsichord.

Thursday, August 20, 7pm
“My Unrest”: Yiddish Songs for a New Day
Grammy-nominated singer Adrienne Cooper (New York) and world-renowned pianist Marilyn Lerner (Toronto) perform music from their new CD: settings of Yiddish modernist poems on love, longing, war and migration by contemporary composers including Sarah Gordon, Frank London, Fima Chorny and the performers. (For information about Marilyn Lerner, visit marilynlerner.com.)

Sunday, August 23, 4pm
Accordions for a Weill
Four virtuoso accordionists—Ina Henning, Eugene Laskiewicz, Joseph Macerollo and Alexander Sevastien—perform a wide-ranging programme of music, from Bach to Piazzola. Mezzo-soprano Ali Garrison joins Henning in songs by Kurt Weill, and accompanies dancer-choreographer Claudia Moore in Moore’s touching dance, For Heddy, to the Brecht/Weill song, Nana’s Lied. "Heddy was my dear grandma from Germany who loved parties, was a fabulous cook and worked at the Broadway Market in Buffalo. She lived to be 97. Nana's Song makes me think of her and inspired me to make this dance."—Claudia Moore

Thursday, August 27, 7pm
Echoes of Ancient Boundaries
In ancient Japan, village boundaries extended as far as the sound of their taiko drums carried. The thrilling sounds of Toronto’s outstanding taiko ensemble Nagata Shachu (formerly known as the Kiyoshi Nagata Ensemble) transcend the boundaries of East and West, past and present. (For information about Nagata Shachu, visit nagatashachu.com.)

Sunday, August 30, 4pm
Percussion from a Suitcase
Find out what happens when a percussionist—the spectacular Aiyun Huang of Montreal—creates a programme for which all the instruments fit into her suitcase! Music by Matthew Burtner, Alvin Lucier, Javier Alvarez, Roberto Sierra, Georges Aperghis and John Adams. (For information about Aiyun Huang, visit aiyunhuang.com.)

Thursday, September 3, 7pm
Bach at Dusk – With Claudia
Winona Zelenka continues her journey through Bach’s six suites for solo cello. This summer, she performs the Suite No. 4 in E-flat Major for solo cello; for the last three movements of the piece (Sarabande, Bourree I and II, and Gigue), Ms. Zelenka is joined by dancer Claudia Moore in the world premiere of a new work by choreographer Carol Anderson. The dance has been generously commissioned by renowned Canadian composer Ann Southam.
Please note: This is a 30-minute concert due to early sunset. (For information about Winona Zelenka, visit winonazelenka.com. (For more information on Claudia Moore, visit danceumbrella.net/clients_moonhorse.htm.)

Thursday, September 10, 7pm
Leika
In a new work commissioned by Harbourfront Centre, Andrea Nann Dreamwalker Dance Company and multimedia composer Tom Kuo reveal hidden secrets of the Music Garden through music, dance and interactive play. Please note: This is a 30-minute concert due to early sunset. Pre-performance audience participation encouraged from 6:30-7pm. (For information about Andrea Nann, visit dreamwalkerdance.com.)

Sunday September 20, 4pm
The Sanssouci Quartet
This exciting new Boston-Toronto quartet on period instruments performs Boccherini’s Quartet in D Major and Mozart’s Quartet in D Minor, K. 421. Abigail Karr and Karina Fox (violins), Sarah Darling (viola), Kate Haynes (cello). And to close: a reprise of Barbara Croall’s Calling from Different Directions, performed by Anita McAlister and the composer. (See June 28 concert.)

TORONTO MUSIC GARDEN TOURS
Guided tours begin at 11am on Wednesdays: June 3, 10, 17, 24; July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; August 5, 12, 19, 26; September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30.
Pre-concert guided tours begin at 5:30pm on Thursdays: July 2, 9, 16, 23; August 6, 13, 30, 27; September 3, 10.
Visitors are invited to take a free 45-minute walking tour led by Toronto Botanical Garden tour guides. Tours start in the west end of the Garden in the Prelude section. Self-guided 70-minute audio tours (English only) hosted by Yo-Yo Ma and Julie Moir Messervy are also available for a rental fee of $5 (free rentals for children). Private group tours are also available ($5 per person). For reservations, call 416-397-1366 or visit torontobotanicalgarden.ca.

Photos: Cirque de Soleil at the Music Garden for Luminato

We got up and close to Friday night's performance at the Music Garden by the Cirque performers, the Ban tribe (or Urban). They opened up the set and did about 40 minutes of performing. We're sure they're saving their energy for the next two days.

From what we say, it was highly entertaining the crowd was pretty massive. Make sure you catch it. Here are some pictures we took.

Cirque de Soleil's Luminato Show: The details and a map

Thanks to some reports out there we have a little more information on this weekend's huge Cirque the Soleil show on Queens Quay. All we can say for the neighbourhood is BRACE YOURSELVES. You're about to see crowds you never see on the 'western' edge of Queens Quay.


View Luminato's Cirque de Soleil show on Queens Quay Toronto waterfront in a larger map

THE THEME
The show has been described as an improvisation. It's also said to be unique, not a rehashing of past Cirque shows. From reports we've read, there will be some interaction between the performers. The theme is going to be rural setting versus the urban setting, and the coming together of the two. There will be two tribes, the "Ban" and the "Na." To pull this off, there will be three venues where they will be based out of and eventually mingle. (See Luminato site for more details on the weekend. See our past Luminato posts)

THE TIMING: WHEN IT'LL HAPPEN
Friday: The weekend kicks off at 7 p.m. when the communities enter their habitats. It'll go until about 9 p.m.

Saturday: The events are to kick off at 1:30 until 8 p.m. and there will be "interactions" every half hour. What this tells us is there will be different types of performances that will let anyone who arrives in the early afternoon to the evening an understanding of the theme.

Here's what the Star says about Saturday

Saturday is a day of adjustment, starting in the afternoon, with the two groups venturing cautiously outside of their habitations to the world of Queens Quay. The street itself has been colourfully transformed, and during the weekend, the eastbound lanes will be pedestrian-only.

Sunday: 1:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Looks like there will be much the same type of performances happening through the day, the two groups will converge on the HTO Park (near the fire house) for the finale.

9 p.m. to 11 p.m.: Don't know about the ending but safe to say that the big stage and speakers mean that there'll be a big cirque show. We've seen guys suspended on wires at the main stage and it looks like all 60 performers will converge on this. We've heard some of the soundcheck music (very pop rock but in a good way).

THE SITES
There will be three sites for the weekend Cirque performers. The Harbourfront Centre rink, the HTO Park and the Music Garden

Harbourfront Centre: The "na" or nature tribe will be based in the Harbourfront Centre area, focused on what in the winter is the Natrel Rink. Funny it's nature as the site is surrounded by our concrete jungle. They've put up a series of stages and torches which has since been filled with water. So expect FIRE and WATER there. The rink isn't deep enough for swimming but we expect some pretty good things to happen there. Here are some pictures we snapped from the venue a few days ago.



And a picture from HarbourfrontTO



Music Garden: This will be the urban or "Ban" (Get it, urBAN). There is a ship at the western part of the park but the big venue is the eastern side of the park where there are two domes set up. So we expect, as you would, some aerial stuff going on there.



HTO Park: This is will the main concert will be where the two tribes will intermingle (will they do it before Sunday at 9 p.m.?) but they've a lot of huge speaker towers, a big stage which we've seen suspend performers. It'll be loud and you'll hear it block away so we guess they're expecting Queens Quay to be packed.



Other venues: Queens Quay itself, we're sure, will be used as the two tribes converge on each other so expect to come across Cirque performers. Also, the Simcoe Wavedeck opens Friday and there will be Cirque performers there so maybe they'll integrate it and the Spadina Wavedeck into the performance. On Queens Quay, there will be family activity area and the food festival will be RIGHT ON THE STREET all the way from Spadina down east. This will be a huge food festival.

Here's a handy map with the three venues

Luminato's Cirque setup at the Music Garden

With our perfect vantage point of the Music Garden, we went up to our rooftop to snap these pictures of the dome building in progress as the Cirque de Soleil set up at the Music Garden for Luminato.

Luminato's Cirque crew setting up at Music Garden

We were walking by the Music Garden last night and noticed that the Cirque de Soleil setup crews were installing a few venues. We'll grab pictures tomorrow, but so far, we see a mini pirate looking ship towards the Canada Malting Plant building, and a big dome on the park's eastern edge, right after the steps. So we're now thinking arrrh, pirates! and some sort of aerobatics or suspended act.

Naturalist Nature Garden Walk

Saw this on the BQNA website, happening this Tuesday.

Toronto Field Naturalist Nature Garden Walk with Peter Iveson - All welcome

Tuesday, June 2, 6.45 pm Little Norway Park

Meet at the war memorial at 6.45 PM at the south west corner of Bathurst and Queen's Quay. rain or shine. We will inspect the newly restored Cosmic Maypole and the benches program, observe the Red wing blackbird Nesting season, visit the Irish park and end up in the Music Garden. We will be observing plants flowering and observing vertibrates and invertibrates, and discussing environmental issues.

The circus is coming! Cirque de Soleil to close out Luminato on the waterfront

Very cool news. The very successful Luminato (you may remember the light show at Harbourfront Centre last year), is again making its mark on Queens Quay area. It's going to be quite the show. And it's free. Internationally known and Canadian-born circus, Cirque de Soleil, is holding a major event to close out the June festival. (See details)

For our closing weekend, Canada’s international entertainment company Cirque du Soleil® presents a special event created especially for Luminato. This event is an inquiry into the very essence of human civilization.

Beginning Friday night, two “communities” will form on the Toronto waterfront: one representing the natural world in which we have our instinctual roots and the urban community, the world we have constructed around ourselves. They’ll make their homes at opposite ends of the site, each in an environment antithetical to their respective world-view.

What will happen as the weekend unfolds and the two communities encounter and interact with each other? You’ll have to join in the festivities to find out – but expect to be amazed. Be sure to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience Luminato and Cirque du Soleil as never before!

The National Post says it'll take place at the "Harbourfront Centre, the Toronto Music Garden, and HtO Park, Cirque du Soleil's waterfront visit is experiential with encounters happening"

We like the fact that HTO Park and the Music Garden will be part of this project, it takes it out of the central harbourfront and into the western part of the Queens Quay. Plus, Music Garden has interesting design that they could take advantage of.

Luminato runs from June 5 to June 14th, and this event is FREE and runs from the 12th to 14th.

And we set sail

The freakish wind storm we got on Sunday in Toronto hit Queens Quay pretty hard. We were on the streetcar in the late morning and about a dozen of us turned in our streets as it felt the wind would actually push over the car. Waves were seen crashing.

Today, some evidence that it wasn't just a few small objects or trees that were blown over.

This boat was seen at the western edge of the Music Garden on Queens Quay near the city school.

Followed by a closeup.