Concert 2: King James & Shakespeare    

Lydia Adams, Conductor
Friday, November 25, 2011, 8:00 pm
Young Centre for the Performing Arts
55 Mill Street, Building 49 at the Distillery District

Over the last 400 years, the King James Bible has provided composers with an endless supply of musical inspiration, from musicals to oratorios, masses, songs and carols!
   Come and find out how the Elmer Iseler Singers mine this rich collection of material, incorporating musical selections with entertaining and intriguing commentary on this endlessly fertile subject. A captivating occasion is inevitable! Shakespeare may even contribute a word two; it's also his 400th anniversary!

Special Guests: Gene DiNovi, pianist Dave Young, bassist Albert Schultz, narrator Part of THE WORD FESTIVAL		in collaboration with the Young Centre for the Performing Arts
ABOVE, CENTRE: Members of Elmer Iseler Singers at Young Centre for the Performing Arts with (l to r) Gisele Kulak, David King, Albert Schultz, Mitchell Pady, Gordon Pinsent and Olena Jatsyshyn kick off the 76-hour continuous reading of the King James Bible as part of The Word Festival.

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Concert 3: Handel’s Messiah    

Lydia Adams, Conductor
Friday, December 2, 2011, 8:00 pm 
Metropolitan United Church
56 Queen St. East (at Bond), Toronto  

The Elmer Iseler Singers and Lydia Adams welcome the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto and an excellent cast of Canadian musicians in this continued popular tradition of Handel's grand and sublime oratorio, “Messiah”.

Leslie Fagan	Mia Lennox-Williams	Graham Thomson	Peter McGillivray
Special Guest Artists:
The Amadeus Choir Leslie Fagan, Soprano Mia Lennox-Williams, Mezzo Graham Thomson, Tenor Peter McGillivray, Bass		Patricia Wright, Organist Robert Venables and Robert Di Vito, Trumpets And Orchestra

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Concert 4: The Sealed Angel     Lydia Adams, Conductor Friday, February 3, 2012 at 8:00 pm Koerner Hall, The Royal Conservatory of Music 273 Bloor St. West (just west of Avenue Road)  North American premiere of The Sealed Angel by Rodion Shchedrin Winner of the 1992 Boris Yeltsin State Arts Award Prize In collaboration with Soundstreams Profoundly moving, this hypnotic choral drama is one of the most important Russian works of the 20th century and is considered a contemporary answer to Rachmaninov’s Vespers. Brilliantly choreographed by Lars Scheibner (Germany) and performed by Toronto’s Elmer Iseler Singers and the Amadeus Choir conducted by Lydia Adams, it also features ProArteDanza and distinguished soloists. The Sealed Angel contains 9 anthems and is based on a short story by 19th century Russian writer Nikolai Laskov in which The Old Believers want to keep venerable Russian texts and icons out of the hands of reformists. The program also includes celebrated Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's shimmering choral work Tag des Jahrs. Special Guest Artists: The Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto ProArteDanza Distinguished soloists spheres                                                      TOP	collaboration with

Concert 5: Music of the Spheres Lydia Adams, Conductor Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 8:00 pm Procter & Gamble Great Hall, Ontario Science Centre 770 Don Mills Road (south of Eglinton Avenue East) Special Guests: Dr. Roberta Bondar, guest speaker                           Shawn Grenke, piano
	In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Roberta Bondar’s flight in space.
Join us in The Great Hall of the Ontario Science Centre for an inspired Earth Day Eve celebration! Fabulous images from Dr. Roberta Bondar’s photographic explorations interweave with the Amadeus Choir and the Elmer Iseler Singers for a stunning presentation of two World Premieres: “Light in the Darkness – The Earth Sings” by Lydia Adams, text by Roberta Bondar and "And Yet It Moves", music and lyrics by Jason Jestadt. The title of the latter work takes its name from the four words believed to have been uttered by Galileo when forced to recant that the Earth moves around the sun, following the 1633 inquisition.			Dr. Roberta Bondar, astronaut, physician & scientist, author, photographer, educator and environmentalist.
In collaboration with the Amadeus Choir, the Ontario Science Centre and The Roberta Bondar Foundation

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plus. . .

SUBSCRIBERS' BONUS Concert: GET MUSIC! Gala Concert    

Monday, May 7, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Metropolitan United Church
56 Queen St. East (at Bond), Toronto

Participating secondary school conductors and choirs of this season’s GET MUSIC! Educational Outreach Initiative in Memory of John C. Bird join Canada’s conductor/ mentor/ clinician Lydia Adams and the Elmer Iseler Singers for a grand finale and performance of Canadian and international composers.

Concert is free for season subscribers!

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Note: All concert programmes subject to change.1/2012

View Other Events for 2011-2012

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This page was last edited 31 August 2011