ORPHEUS CHOIR OF TORONTO CELEBRATES20TH ANNIVERSARY OFTHE SIDGWICK SCHOLARS PROGRAMMEWITH HANDEL’S ORATORIO...
ATHALIA
Toronto, ON – The Orpheus Choir of Toronto and Artistic Director Robert Cooper, C.M. are pleased to announce Athalia, the fourth concert of the choir’s 45th season, on Saturday May 8, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. at Eglinton St. George’s United Church, 35 Lytton Blvd, Toronto.This season is also the 20th anniversary of the creation of the John and Mary Sidgwick Scholarship Programme, and this season’s Sidgwick Scholars will be the featured Soloists in the culminating performance of a most successful season.
The Sidgwick Scholars are young emerging artists, from the University Of Toronto, Faculty Of Music and the Royal Conservatory of Music Glenn Gould School, who are pursuing professional singing careers.The Sidgwick Scholarship Programme enables the Orpheus Choir to benefit from their fine vocal talent as section leads and soloists, while providing for the young singers valuable solo performance opportunities with Orpheus.
Athaliawas Handel’s first great English oratorio with a libretto by Samuel Humphreys, based on the play ‘Athalie’ by Racine. Athalia is the daughter of King Ahab and Jezebel. She takes over the throne of Judah after the prophet Jehu kills her son and mother, and orders the remaining children of the Jewish royal house to be put to death.One child, the boy Joas, is secretly kept safe by his aunt Josabeth. He is brought up in the temple at Jerusalem under the guardianship of the high priest Joad. When the boy is old enough to assume kingship, Athalia is overthrown, she and the followers of Baal are slain, and Joas is installed as the rightful king of Judah.
All this Handel captures in a series of majestic choruses and lyrical arias of thrilling theatricality. This is the second in the Orpheus Choir’s cycle of rarely-heard Handel oratorios.
With orchestral support by the Talisker Players, this Toronto premiere performance features sopranos Laura Klassen as Athalia, Meghan Fleet as Josabeth, Cassandra Warner as Joas, mezzo-soprano Leigh-Anne Martin as Joad, tenors Michael Ciufo and Patrick Jang sharing the role of Mathan, the Chief Priest, and baritones Phil Kalmanovitch, Michael Robert-Broder and David Ross as Abner, the Commander-in-Chief.Biographical information on the Sidgwick Scholars appears on our website.
Don’t miss this unique and stirring choral event!
Tickets are $30; $25 for seniors; $15 for students.
NURTURING CANADIAN VOCAL TALENT: A Success Story
W. Ian Walker, Helen Coxon & Robert Cooper
What do operatic tenor Michael Colvin, internationally known baritone James Westman, popular singer and recording artist Patricia O’Callaghan and member of The Canadian Tenors Victor Micallef have in common? They, and many more singers with illustrious careers, are all alumni of the Orpheus Choir of Toronto’s Sidgwick Scholarship Programme, which this season celebrates its 20th anniversary
The programme, supported by the John and Mary Sidgwick Scholarship Fund, is unique to the Orpheus Choir, providing financial support for young emerging singers. Created in 1989 on the occasion of the choir’s 25th anniversary season, to recognize the pioneering work of the Sidgwicks in forming the choir, the program provides valuable choral ensemble and section leadership experience as well as solo performance opportunities for young artists embarking on performing careers.
ORPHEUS CHOIR OF TORONTO INVOLVED WITH INTERNATIONAL AIDS
DVD/CD PROJECT “LETS FIND A WAY”
In Spring 2007, the Orpheus Choir of Toronto was asked by Toronto multicultural artist and producer Waleed Abdulhamid to be involved with an international AIDS awareness music project designed to raise funds to assist multicultural children either infected with or affected by the HIV virus. Vancouver agent and producer Robin Tomlin acted as Chairman of the Lets Find A Way Society, a non-profit charity.
Mr Abdulhamid selected the Orpheus Choir and Robert Cooper to participate in this project as a result of his own experiences as a participant in two very successful multicultural Christmas concerts with the choir. The choir was delighted to accept the opportunity to musically “give back” to this international AIDS community project, and worked with Waleed and his musicians to record the choral background for the song, “Let’s Find A Way”, in English, French and Spanish in 2007 at Grace Church on the Hill, Toronto. Members of the choir were also involved in the filming of the music video in 2008 and are featured on the DVD.
What do operatic tenor Michael Colvin, internationally known baritone James Westman, popular singer and recording artist Patricia O’Callaghan and member of The Canadian Tenors Victor Micallef have in common? They, and many more singers with illustrious careers, are all alumni of the Orpheus Choir of Toronto’s Sidgwick Scholarship Programme, which this season celebrates its 20th anniversary