Les Violons du Roy

Saturday July 17, 2010
2:00 PM
Gambrel Barn
Ticket price: $44.50

Bernard Labadie, music director
Eric Paetkau, conductor
Pascale Giguère, violin

G. ROSSINI : Sonata for strings no.1 in G Major
M. OESTERLE : Unreasonable world, for solo violin and strings
F. SCHUBERT : Quartettsatz in c minor, D 703

Intermission

J. BRAHMS : String quartet in a minor, op. 51 no. 2

The chamber orchestra Les Violons du Roy borrows its name from the renowned string orchestra of the court of the French kings. The group, which has a core membership of fifteen players, was brought together in 1984 by music director Bernard Labadie and specializes in the vast repertoire of music for chamber orchestra, performed in the stylistic manner most appropriate to each era. Although the ensemble plays on modern instruments, its approach to the works of the Baroque and Classical periods has been strongly influenced by current research into performance practice in the 17th and early 18th centuries; in this repertoire Les Violons du Roy uses copies of period bows. The orchestra has been widely acclaimed for the exceptional energy, brilliance and vitality of its performances. In recent seasons, under the leadership of first guest conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni, the orchestra has begun to explore 19th and 20th century repertoire in more depth.

Les Violons du Roy is at the heart of the music scene in Québec City, where it has been in residence at the Palais Montcalm since 2007. The orchestra is well known throughout Canada thanks to the numerous concerts and recordings broadcast by Société Radio-Canada and CBC, and its regular presence at music festivals. Les Violons du Roy first performed in Europe in 1988 and has since given dozens of concerts in France, Germany, England, Spain and the Netherlands, with internationally-renowned soloists including Magdalena Kožená, David Daniels and Vivica Genaux. The orchestra has been asked to perform twice at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The next European tour is scheduled for 2011.

Les Violons du Roy is a proud member of Orchestras Canada, the national association for Canadian orchestras.

Rascals, Rogues and Rapscallions

Saturday July 17, 2010
4:00 PM
St. John's Anglican Church

Ticket price: $39

Peter McGillivray, baritone
Pianist: Julien Leblanc
 

Prince of Rascals, Don Juan
W.A. Mozart: Madamina il catalogo è questo, Deh vieni alla finestra (Don Giovanni)
Peter I.Tchaikovsky: Don Juan's Serenade
Charles Gounod: Ballad of Queen Mab (Romeo and Juliet)
Flanders & Swann: Have some Madeira m'dear
W.A. Mozart: Fin ch’han dal vino (Don Giovanni)

The Epicureans
Henry Purcell: Bacchus is a pow'r divine
Hugo Wolf: Der Tambour
Peter Warlock: Captain Stratton' Fancy
Gilbert & Sullivan: The Pirate King's Song (The Pirates of Penzance)
Hugo Wolf: Songs from Goethe’s West-östlichen Divan
Giuseppe Verdi: È sogno...o realtà? (Falstaff)

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Mozart: Hai gia vinta la causa
Jean Sibelius - Under strandens granar
Hugo Wolf: Der Rattenfänger, Abschied
Benjamin Britten: The Plough Boy, Tickling a Trout (Albert Herring)
Francis Poulenc: Selections from Chansons gaillardes
William Bolcom: The Ballad of Black Max
Tom Lehrer: Poisoning Pigeons in the Park

Award-winning Saskatchewan baritone Peter McGillivray has been gaining accolades on both the concert and operatic stage. He won the Deuxième Grand Prix and prize for Best Canadian Performance at the 2005 Montreal International Musical Competition, a success followed by another Second Prize at the Queen Sonja Competition in Oslo, Norway. He previously gained national recognition at the 2003 CBC Radio-Canada Young Performers Competition in Calgary when he took home the First Prize as well as the Audience Award.
Most recently Mr. McGillivray returned to the Canadian Opera Company as Schaunard in LA BOHEME, followed by a great personal success as the tortured protagonist in the World Premiere of Omar Daniel’s THE SHADOW for Tapestry New Opera Works. He sang CARMINA BURANA for the Brott Festival in Hamilton Ontario and also looks forward to Tapestry’s groundbreaking initiatives ‘Opera To Go’, ‘Lib-Lab’ and ‘Opera Briefs’. Other hightlights of the current season include DIE FLEDERMAUS for Opera Hamilton, Calgary Opera’s MANON as de Bretigny and MESSIAH with the Iseler Singers.

Mr. McGillivray is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Opera Division and he also holds an honours degree in Canadian History and Literature from the U of T’s University College. He has been awarded grants from both the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts. He has been a finalist and prize-winner at the Eckhart-Gramatté Competition, at the Lotte Lenya Singing Competition and at the Robert Schumann International Competition for Piano and Lied, held in the composer’s birthplace of Zwickau, Germany.

Acadian pianist Julien Le Blanc is a much sought-after soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. He performs frequently as a duo with violinist, Marc Djokic and will be touring British Columbia this coming fall. The pair will subsequently be seen touring for Jeunesses Musicales du Canada in the spring of 2011. Later that year, Mr. Le Blanc will perform L’histoire de Babar, le petit elephant by Francis Poulenc with Acadian actress and comedienne, Viola Léger.
From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Le Blanc was Artist-in-residence at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. He made his recital début at Ottawa’s National Art Centre in 2003 and has given numerous recitals throughout both England and France. He is a frequent guest at many Canadian festivals and concert series, and has appeared regularly on Radio-Canada and CBC radio and television. Mr. Le Blanc holds diplomas from the Royal Academy of Music in London (UK), the Glenn Gould School in Toronto and the Université de Montréal. Currently a vocal coach at the Université de Montréal, he has taught both at the University of Moncton and at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto. 

Chris Donnelly

Saturday July 17, 2010
8:00 PM
Gambrel Barn
Ticket price: $39
 

Baião Malandro Egberto Gismonti
Winter's Waltz Chris Donnelly
My Foolish Heart Victor Young
Henry's Song and Dance Chris Donnelly
Metamorphosis II-V Chris Donnelly
Intermezzo Nikolai Kapustin

Intermission

Peace Dance Doug Riley
Theme For Adele Doug Riley
Child Eyes Doug Riley
Dinosaurus Doug Riley
Shoot Doug Riley
Freedom Doug Riley
Jazz Etude/Jump for Joy Doug Riley

Chris Donnelly represents a new generation of jazz pianists, composers and improvisers dedicated to creating programs that are engaging, entertaining and educating. He is continually praised for his virtuosic performances, musicality, versatility and ability to captivate audiences.

In September 2008, Chris released his Juno-nominated, debut album with Alma Records called ‘Solo,’ featuring a blend of original material and arrangements of jazz standards. This also earned him nominations for ‘Best Recording of the Year’ and ‘Best Keyboardist of the Year’ from the 2009 National Jazz Awards.

Upon completing his Masters of Music in Jazz Performance at the University of Toronto, Chris was awarded The Tecumseh Sherman Rogers Graduating Award for students ‘deemed to have the greatest potential to make an important contribution to the field of music.’

Chris is currently on faculty at the University of Toronto.