2019
MARKHAM CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVALS
Markham Contemporary Music Festival has been promoting, since 2011, the performance by local artists of music written worldwide in the 20th and the 21st centuries. An annual event, the Festival also includes lectures and seminars in both English and French, workshops, master-classes, pre-concert chats, intermission discussions, post-concert receptions, documentary films about the life of contemporary composers, and networking events. The Festival encourages local community engagement through activities that celebrate and preserve performing arts.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Official opening ceremony
An evening filled with activities for families and children – “Make your own musical instrument” workshop and “Write your own song” workshop animated by local musicians and artists.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
Open rehearsal
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Maestro Kristian Alexander leads Markham-based Kindred Spirits Orchestra in an open rehearsal of works by Schönberg and Schnittke featuring the work-in-progress of local musicians.
Saturday, June 8, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.
Open dress rehearsal
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Maestro Kristian Alexander leads Markham-based Kindred Spirits Orchestra in an open dress rehearsal of works by Schönberg and Schnittke featuring the work-in-progress of local musicians.
Saturday, June 8, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Concert
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
SCHNITTKE AND SCHÖNBERG
A centerpiece to Markham’s 2019 Contemporary Music Festival, this multi-media concert fetures Markham-based Kindred Spirits Orchestra performing a ground-breaking twentieth century music. One of his last musical works during his younger Post-Romantic musical output, twelve-tone composer Schönberg adheres to classical musical form while pushing the boundaries of harmony and tonality in his Kammersymphonie No. 1. Written in 1979, Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano and Strings is founded on stark contrasts: “sunshine” and “storm clouds,” in the words of the composer himself and will be presented by local pianist Antonia De Wolfe. In addition, this concert will also feature an audio-visual presentation about the lives of these two "revolutionary" composers.
Kristian Alexander | conductor
Antonia deWolfe | pianist
Michael Berec | host
| Schnittke, Concerto for piano and strings |
| Schönberg, Kammersymphonie, Op. 9 |
Sunday, June 9, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.
Exhibit
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Open Visit of the World Musical Instruments Collection at the International Music Academy.
Monday, June 10, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.
Exhibit
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Open Visit of the World Musical Instruments Collection at the International Music Academy.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.
Workshop
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Composition workshop led by Markham-based composer, pianist and educator Werner Chan. Part 1 - artistic expression through contemporary writing techniques for young Canadian composers.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
Open rehearsal
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Maestro Kristian Alexander leads Markham-based Kindred Spirits Orchestra in an open rehearsal featuring pieces by contemporary composers and presenting the work-in-progress of local musicians.
Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.
Lecture and film
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Schönberg and Schnittke. Lecture (in French) and a documentary film (in English) about the artistic achievements of these two major 20th authors, presented by Maestro Kristian Alexander.
Thursday, June 13, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.
Exhibit
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Open Visit of the World Musical Instruments Collection at the International Music Academy.
Sunday, June 16, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.
Exhibit
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Open Visit of the World Musical Instruments Collection at the International Music Academy.
Monday, June 17, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
Lecture and Film
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Lecture (in English) and documentary film about the live and work of the French Canadian composer André Mathieu, presented by Maestro Kristian Alexander.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.
Workshop
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Composition workshop led by Markham-based composer, pianist and educator Werner Chan. Part 2 - exploring new ideas in collective writing of contemporary music for young Canadian composers.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
Open rehearsal
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Maestro Kristian Alexander leads the Kindred Spirits Orchestra in an open rehearsal featuring pieces by contemporary composers and presenting the work-in-progress of local musicians.
Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at 10:00 a.m.
Exhibit
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Open Visit of the World Musical Instruments Collection at the International Music Academy.
Friday, June 21, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
Lecture and Film
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Lecture (in French) and documentary film about the live and work of the French Canadian composer André Mathieu, presented by Maestro Kristian Alexander.
Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.
Exhibit
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Open Visit of the World Musical Instruments Collection at the International Music Academy.
Free admission.
Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Concert
Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts
10268 Yonge St, Richmond Hill, ON L4C 3B7
.jpg)
VOICES OF THE WORLD
In an exclusive concert, the Hong Kong Oratorio Society unites voices with the Vancouver Oratorio Society to present the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin’s first foray in the world of symphonic writing was ambitious to say the least. His six-movement Symphony No. 1 is a lush and dramatic work, which begins with an atmospheric prelude and concludes with a glorious epilogue. The finale is one of the few compositions Scriabin wrote that highlights the human voice. Featuring soloists and a chorus, the composer himself penned the poetic prose which praises the significance and power of Art: “O wonderful image of the divine,harmony’s pure Art! To you we gladly bring praise of that rapturous feeling. You are life’s bright hope, you are celebration, you are respite, like a gift you bring to the people your enchanted visions”. Expressly written for this very concert, celebrated Canaidan Chinese composer Chan Wing-Wah bestows the City of Richmond Hill the honour of the world première of his Symphony No. 9 for soloists, choir and orchestra, a large-scale, two-movement piece set on poetic texts in Chinese and English languages.
Kristian Alexander | music director
Chan Wing-Wah | conductor
Kemuel Wong | conductor
Stephanie deCiantis | mezzo-soprano
Ryan Downey | tenor
HONG KONG ORATORIO SOCIETY
VANCOUVER ORATORIO SOCIETY
Michael Berec | host
7:15 p.m. Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:30 p.m. Pre-concert talk in the foyer of Richmond Hill Centre
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Chan Wing-Wah
| Scriabin, Symphony No. 1, Op. 26 | ||
| Chan Wing-Wah, Symphony No. 9 (world première) |
Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.
Lecture and Film
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Shostakovich and Stalin. Lecture (in English) and a documentary film about the artistic struggle and human tragedy of Soviet composers during the communism, presented by Maestro Kristian Alexander.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.
Workshop
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Composition workshop led by Markham-based composer, pianist and educator Werner Chan. Part 3 - writing music for film and television for young Canadian composers.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
Open rehearsal
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Maestro Kristian Alexander leads the Kindred Spirits Orchestra in an open rehearsal featuring pieces by contemporary composers and presenting the work-in-progress of local musicians.
Thursday, June 27, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.
Lecture and film
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Lecture and documentary film about the live and work of the Russian composer Serge Prokofiev, presented by Maestro Kristian Alexander.
Saturday, June 29, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Concert
CBC Glenn Gould Studio
250 Front St. West., Toronto ON M5V 3G5
IRON AND STEEL
Inspired by the little-known works of the 19th century romantic composer Carl Maria von Weber, 20th century composer Paul Hindemith weaves his own voice into the bombastic crowd-pleaser Symphonic Metamorphosis. Once hailed the “Canadian Mozart,” composer André Mathieu wrote his long-lost Piano Concerto No. 4 at the youthful age of eighteen: a truly remarkable accomplishment for such an incredibly emotive work, mature beyond his years. Ahead of his time, Prokofiev explores dense and forceful orchestral textures, which the composer described as “iron and steel” in his rarely performed Symphony No. 2.
Jiří Petrdlík | conductor
Christina Petrowska-Quilico | pianist
Michael Berec | host
7:15 p.m. Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:30 p.m. Pre-concert talk in the foyer
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Christina Petrowska-Quilico
| Hindemith, Symphonic Metamorphosis |
| André Mathieu, Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 4 |
| Prokofiev, Symphony No. 2, Op. 40 |
The 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 festivals have been supported by the Tourism Industry Partners, a program of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, administered by the Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation.
