Previous Season

Welcome to our 30th Anniversary 2021 Season!!

You can continue to enjoy last season's concerts online by clicking on the links below.

We ask you to consider making an additional donation to support Music Mondays and the work of the artists. Donations of $30 or more will receive a receipt for Income Tax purposes.

June 7 - Link to concert
Quartetto Gelato	Tasty Tunes Blazing energy and technique, heartrending ballads and irresistible humour are brought to you by Quartetto Gelato —a multi-instrument group that defies categorization. Quartetto Gelato has enchanted audiences worldwide with its exotic blend of musical virtuosity, artistic passion and fun. With music that spans the globe and includes love songs, classical masterworks, as well as sizzling tango, gypsy, and klezmer songs, the group’s theatrical stage presence and relaxed humour establishes an intimate rapport with audiences worldwide.
June 14 - Link to concert
aksəs quartet	Impressions Saxophonists Nicole Tse - soprano, Jesse Ma - alto, Christopher Jones - tenor and Jennifer Tran - baritone explore impressions of humanity in many facets: cultural minorities, natural phenomena, metropolitan living, individual sense of self, and humanity’s entitlement are expressed and contemplated. As these impressions are examined further, the subject of impression becomes clearer, and less foreign. Featuring works by Xinyan Li, José Rìo-Pareja, Chen Yi, Guillermo Lago, and Viet Cuong, aksəs quartet will explore impressions and various aspects of humanity through this intriguing program.
June 21 - Link to concert
Alana & Leigh Cline	Alana & Leigh Cline - Celtic Fiddle and Guitar Alana & Leigh Cline are a Toronto-based Celtic fiddle & guitar instrumental duo who combine Irish, Cape Breton and Scottish styles to create their own sound. This concert will feature performances of tunes from each of these musical traditions. Many of Alana & Leigh's tunes are from the 1700s and 1800s, but they also include traditional-style modern tunes in their sets. Stories and the history of the tunes will be featured, as well as descriptions of the music played.
June 28- Link to concert
Andrew Paul MacDonald	The Waters Unfolding at Daybreak Canadian Andrew Paul MacDonald’s work as guitarist and composer has achieved popular and critical acclaim, including a 1995 JUNO Award and numerous commissions from all the major Canadian orchestras. He presents classical and jazz programs on the rarely-heard electric archtop guitar, distinguished by its unique curvature and distinctive sound. Andrew’s works can be heard on 19 CDs on the ATMA and Centrediscs labels, and have been broadcast and performed live around the world. Today's program features Giuliani's Preludes Op. 83, Bach's Partita in b minor, BWV 1002 and an original work The Waters Unfolding at Daybreak.
July 5 - Link to concert
Gloria Gift Nankunda	The Nankunda Experience "The NANKUNDA Experience" is a delightful euphony of tales derived from Gloria's rich Ankole heritage in Western Uganda meshed with her life experiences. "Nankunda" means "Someone Loves Me" in Gloria's local dialect - Runyankore. Gloria will be accompanied by two incredible musicians: Martin Kuwawi on guitar and Natalie Wong on violin. Music will be Runyankore, Luganda, Zulu and English. Be on the look out for the stories behind the music.
July 12 - Link to concert
Jean-Luc Therrien	A Wild Innocence Named one of Canada's 30 hot classical musicians under 30 for 2020 by CBC Music, Quebec-born pianist Jean-Luc Therrien has been an active soloist in Canada and abroad. Join us for a program filled with wild virtuosity featuring some of the greatest composers for the piano in the early stages of their creative life. Sergei Prokofiev and Robert Schumann were both around 30 years-old when composing these masterpieces (respectively the Sonata in D minor op. 14 and the Symphonic Etudes op. 13). Another brilliant composer featured on this program is Canadian David L. McIntyre, whose piece A Wild Innocence was commissioned by the Montreal International Musical Competition in 2011. It is a perfect introduction for a program that, as McIntyre wrote himself to describe his piece, "displays a world of touches, from warm to brilliant; various qualities of energy, from light to driving; and a broad emotional palette". This performance will be recorded for broadcast by CBC MUSIC.
July 19 - Link to concert
Tom Allen, Lori Gemmell, and Etsuko Kimura	Fire and Feathers "Part historian, part comedian, and part every-man, Tom Allen skillfully draws audiences inside the music on a concert hall stage" ...David Dredla, Associate Vice-President, Toronto Symphony Orchestra. This concert combines the dynamic violin virtuosity of TSO Associate Concertmaster Etsuko Kimura in partnership with the deeply musical harpist Lori Gemmell, Principal Harpist with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and engaging stories behind the music provided by Tom Allen. Fiery music by Canadian renegade R. Murray Schafer, (Wild Bird), plus elegant virtuosity of Camille St. Saens’ 1907 Fantasie and sizzling exoticism of Maurice Ravel's Tzigane - a feast for the ears!
July 26 - Link to concert
Manar Naeem, Lamees Audeh, and Kareem El-Tyeb	A Journey to the Middle East Manar Naeem is an oudist with the Canadian Arabic Orchestra and teaches at the Canadian Arabic Conservatory of music. She was featured in CBC's 2020 "30 hot Canadian Classical musicians under 30", the first oudist to be featured in this list! She is joined by pianist Lamees Audeh and percussionist Kareem El-Tyeb on a musical journey to different regions of the Middle East such as Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Iraq, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. Different styles, such as longa, samai, and dances will be showcased while shedding light on the various maqams (middle eastern scales) and rhythms used in middle eastern music. This will truly be a musical feast of classical Middle Eastern music!
August 2 - Link to concert
Linda Ruan and Charissa Vandikas	The Charm of Four Hands Featured on CBC’s In Concert, La Fiammata has quickly become a piano duo to watch for. Speaking to their undeniable chemistry, CBC radio host, Paolo Pietropaolo, attested that “[one] can practically hear the electricity crackling between them.” As the Grand Prix Winners of the Canadian Music Competition, La Fiammata made its orchestral debut with Orchestre de la Francophonie under the baton of Nicolas Ellis in 2017. Most recently, the duo won the top prizes at the 2019 Suzana Szörenyi International Piano Duo Competition in Romania. Their program will explore the unique magnetism of Franz Schubert, Max Reger, and Sergei Rachmaninoff in their writing for two pianos and four hands. The incomparable ease of Schubert's melody writing delights in a way quite different from Reger's quaint and quirky collection of short pieces. And Rachmaninoff, the year of his triumphant return to composition, is bubbling and bursting with life. This vibrant program is sure to charm a smile to your face!
August 9 - Link to concert
Jonno Lightstone, Neil Gardiner, Marcus Chonsky, Larry Lewis, Ted Sankey	Papalote Papalote (Larry Lewis - tres/guitar/vocals, Neil Gardiner - trombone/piano/vocals, Marcus Chonsky - percussion,Ted Sankey - bass, and special guest Jonno Lightstone - flute/clarinet) is a Toronto-based Latin music group which has created an unique sound and repertoire rooted in the Cuban tradition of Son Montuno, with its seductive blend of folkloric poetry and complex rhythms: the Cha-cha-cha, Nengon and Son. Musically, Papalote balances rural and urban traditions within the genre. More than interpretive, their adaptive approach and stylistic innovations resonate with listeners and dancers alike. Toes will be tapping!
August 16 - Link to concert
Dakota Scott-Digout & Marcel d'Entremont	I Hear the Little Song: Our Favorite Songs and Arias In the 10th song of Schumann’s famous song cycle Dichterliebe, the title character hears a little song Hör ich das Liedchen klingen which opens a floodgate of memories for him. There are many pieces of music which bring back strong memories for tenor Marcel d'Entremont (winner of the CBC Music Prize at the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio Competition) and collaborative pianist Dakota Scott-Digout (winner of the Gwendolyn Williams Koldofsky Prize in Accompanying, University of Toronto) after years of performing together, from rural Nova Scotia to the Four Seasons Centre, This program is a collection of some of their favourite and most memorable musical performances.
August 23 - Link to concert
Rebekah Wolkstein and Drew Jurecka	I’m Happiest When I’m With You Violinists Rebekah Wolkstein and Drew Jurecka are artists of enormous breadth, versatility and accomplishments. Both musicians compose and perform, individually and in the Payadora Ensemble and the Venuti Quartet. Drew is a successful jazz violinist whose string arrangements are heard on this year’s Grammy-winning Best Pop Vocal Album Duo Lipa, while Rebekah performs extensively with the Toronto Symphony, The National Ballet of Canada, and The Canadian Opera Company, and also with the Grammy-nominated Yiddish Glory.
August 30 - Link to concert
Laurel Swinden and Stephanie Mara	Phenomenal Women ’Cause I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me. - Maya Angelou, Phenomenal Woman from And Still I Rise. Copyright © 1978 by Maya Angelou. Laurel Swinden and Stephanie Mara showcase outstanding works for flute and piano by four composers who happen also to be Phenomenal Women: Florence B. Price, Amanda Harberg, Valerie Coleman and Cecile Chaminade. Maya Angelou’s poem Human Family is both the explicit inspiration for Valerie Coleman’s work, and the unifying spirit of the program.
September 6 - Link to concert
Aaron Schwebel and Emily Rho	20th Century Masterpieces for Violin and Piano We close our 30 Anniversary Season with two long-time friends of Music Mondays: Aaron Schwebel (Concertmaster of the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra and Associate Concertmaster of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra) and Emily Rho (Co-Artistic Director of Toronto Pocket Concerts). They will treat us to a program of three 20th century works for violin and piano: Canadian composer Elizabeth Raum's Les Ombres - composed for her daughter, violinist Erika Raum, and pianist Rachel Andrist in 1989; Sergei Prokofiev's Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano in F minor, opus 80 - composed during one of the darkest times of Prokofiev’s life. This tremendously haunting and beautiful work still stands as one of the composer’s greatest masterpieces; and Erich Korngold's Suite 'Much Ado About Nothing' for Violin and Piano, opus 11 - the original orchestral suite was commissioned by the Vienna Burgtheater for their production of the Shakespeare play when Korngold was just 20 years old. A revival of the show two years later became so popular that the run was extended, and because the orchestral musicians were not available, Korngold adapted the score for violin and piano, playing the piano part for these shows himself. The four movement suite is derived from this version. This performance will be recorded for broadcast by CBC MUSIC.