Stage Door News
Stage Door News
The Bloor St. Culture Corridor, Toronto's most diverse arts and culture district, celebrates spring, and March Break, with a variety of arts and culture events for adults and families alike. Complete event details are on the Bloor St. Culture Corridor web site at www.bloorstculturecorridor.com and on the BloorStCulture mobile app.
March concerts at The Royal Conservatory's Koerner Hall include Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang and pianist Michail Lifits performing works by Fauré, Lutosławski, and Strauss on March 2. Karen Gomyo (violin), Christian Poltéra (cello), & Juho Pohjonen (piano) perform Haydn's Piano Trio in E Major, Janáček's Pohádka (Fairy Tale) and Violin Sonata, and Dvořák's Piano Trio in F Minor on March 4. Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band are part of the "Katrina 10 Years On" jazz series on March 5. On March 20, English pianist Paul Lewis performs Brahms, Schubert, and Liszt. On March 30, Canadian pianist Louis Lortie and French violinist Augustin Dumay perform works by Beethoven, Strauss, and Franck. Tickets are at www.performance.rcmusic.ca or 416.408.0208. The Conservatory offers Music Appreciation courses starting in March, including Orchestral Music of Brahms, Opera Overtures, Cinematic Music: How We Hear Film, and Opera in the City. The Conservatory School's March Break Camps are great opportunities to explore creativity and meet friends, with camps from Music Exploration Camp (ages 7-12) to Rock Camp (ages 10-14), and Camp en français (ages 5-15). More details are at www.rcmusic.ca
The Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, "the J," launches Opera For All, a new music program for opera lovers on Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout the month. In addition, Iain Scott's Opera Appreciation Monday afternoon lecture series starts March 21. As part of the Spotlight on Israeli Culture festival, the Al Green Theatre will screen an Israeli Film Series March 12 and 13. March brings two special gallery photo exhibitions. Dreamland: After Mark Twain in the Holy Land by Motty Levy (also part of Spotlight on Israeli Culture) launches March 3, and SCOTS JEWS: Identity, Belonging and the Future, an international touring exhibit highlighting communities who have maintained their Jewish traditions while also embracing Scottish culture, opens March 8. The J then celebrates Purim with Smile Theatre at the musical Purim Party and Shpiel on March 24. More information can be found at www.mnjcc.org
Throughout the month of March at the Gardiner Museum, discover one of the richest finds in American archaeology, showcased in the special exhibition Beneath the Surface: Life, Death, Gold and Ceramics in Ancient Panama. The exhibition immerses visitors in the history of the original excavation, and introduces them to the Coclé people, a complex and mysterious society that disappeared approximately 1,000 years ago and left no written language. The centrepiece of the show is a three-tiered recreation of the cemetery's wealthiest and most important burial site, accompanied by interactive touchscreens allowing for further exploration. On Saturday March 12 and Sunday March 13, families are invited to experience the incredible riches and fascinating history behind this groundbreaking discovery, and engage in hands-on clay workshops that will be set up throughout the Museum, included with admission. Visit www.gardinermuseum.com for more information.
The University of Toronto's Faculty of Music welcomes vocalist Norma Winstone, the John and Claudine Bailey Distinguished Visitor in Jazz, who has been wowing audiences across the globe since the late '60s. Winstone will perform on March 17 with the UTJO and 11 O'Clock Jazz Orchestra. Tenor Andrew Haji of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio will perform a sure-to-be extraordinary solo with the faculty chamber music ensemble on March 21. March features three free Thursdays at Noon performances. Join Michelle Colton & Alejandro Céspedes of Oregano Percussion on March 10; let our piano faculty members dazzle you with their renditions of Schubert, Brahms and Wilberg on March 17; and enjoy the sounds of the viola, percussion and marimba with Mark Duggan, John Rudolph and Theresa Rudolph on March 24. More details about concerts and programmes can be found at www.music.utoronto.ca.
The Talisker Players present Spirit Dreaming, songs and stories from indigenous cultures from around the world, with music by Harry Somers (Canada), Peter Sculthorpe (Australia), Maurice Ravel (France), Heitor Villa-Lobos (Brazil) and others. Ilana Zarankin, soprano, Laura McAlpine, mezzo soprano, and Andrew Moodie, actor/reader, join members of the Talisker Players, in performances March 1 and 2, 8pm, at Trinity St. Paul's Centre. More information is at www.taliskerplayers.ca
Soundstreams hosts Scotland's most celebrated composer and conductor, Sir James MacMillan, whose work is emotionally potent, rhythmically thrilling, and richly reflective of his Catholic faith, Celtic cultural roots, and outspoken political conscience. On March 8, The Music of James MacMillan takes placeat Trinity-St. Paul's Centre, when MacMillan himself conducts Choir 21 and the Virtuoso String Orchestra in a program comprising works by Canadian composers R. Murray Schafer and James Rolfe, selected motets by J.S. Bach, and his own 1993 cantata Seven Last Words from the Cross. Tickets can be purchased online at www.soundstreams.ca or by calling 416.408.0208. On March 18 Soundstreams presents Salon 21: Minimalism Remixed at the Gardiner Museum, an opportunity to learn about the influence of the minimalist movement in music through the talents of four local artists: Matt Smith, guitar and electronics; Dan Morphy, percussion; Brandon Valdivia, percussion and electronics; and SlowPitch Sound, DJ. Free, with PWYC reserved seating available. Register online at www.soundstreams.ca
The Museum of Estonians Abroad/VEMU has a number of exciting events taking place in March. The exhibition The Story of the Baltic University 1946-1949 is on view until May 15. On March 6 at 4pm, feature film, Dead Mountaineer´s Hotel (directed by Grigori Kromanov, Tallinnfilm, 1979) will be screened. In Estonian with English subtitles. The film is based on the sci-fi novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Free of charge, a small donation is appreciated. On March 20 at 7pm, Estonian jazz group Peedu Kass Momentum performers Peedu Kass, Kristjan Randalu, and Toomas Rull combine sharp modern jazz with a hint of Northern rhythms and finesse. Tickets on sale at www.vemu.ca, Tartu College rental office and Estonian Credit Union. Visit www.vemu.ca for details.
The Toronto Consort presents Benjamin Bagby in Beowulf on March 11 and 12, 2016, at Trinity St. Paul's Centre. In this remarkable one-man tour de force, Bagby, accompanying himself on an Anglo-Saxon harp, delivers this gripping tale - in the original Old English - as it could have been experienced more than 1000 years ago. Also, The Toronto Consort presents Beowulf: A Lecture By Benjamin Bagby, a fundraiser in support of the Toronto Consort, on March 13 at Alliance Francaise. Visit www.TorontoConsort.org for more details.
This March, Alliance française de Toronto hosts visual artist James Kennedy 's work in an exhibition titled Continents, on view for the month. On March 15, Danièle Caloz and the Société d'Histoire de Toronto present a lecture dedicated to the summer after the volcanic eruption of the Mount Tambora. Professor Derek Knight gives a lecture dedicated to Le Corbusier's work on March 16. March is also a month of music! On March 5, Alliance française presents Franco-Ontarian band Welcome Soleil, and on March 19, Quebecois-Moroccan Hassan El Hadi and his group cleverly mix traditional Moroccan, Andalusian and Quebec parts, Arabic and Berber, rock, jazz and rai. Multiple award-winning harpsichord player Jean Rondeau will perform a concert dedicated to the work of Johann Sebastian Bach on March 30. On March 23 at 7pm, Alliance française de Toronto's Wine & Cheese soirée is back! On March 2 at 2pm, short movies for little ones will be screened. Every Thursday, Alliance française de Toronto screens a film at 7:30pm. In March, they are screening Sois belle et tais-toi by Delphine Seyrig, Bicycling with Molière by Philippe Le Guay, Le Bal des actrices by Maïwenn and Le petit lieutenant by Xavier Beauvois. To celebrate Molière, Alain Vercollier and Les Indisciplinés de Toronto present an original and humorous showat the Spadina Theatre on March 11 and March 12. Visit www.alliance-francaise.ca for more information.
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir presents Bach's famous Goldberg Variations - a showpiece of artistry and virtuosity for all keyboard players. Taking up this challenge is the young French harpsichordist Benjamin Alard in his Tafelmusik debut, March 31-April 3, at Trinity-St. Paul's Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall. These concerts also include Bach's masterful Trio sonata from The Musical Offering, and the Partita in A Minor for solo flute, all featuring flutist Grégoire Jeay, violinist Jeanne Lamon, and cellist Christina Mahler. Visit tafelmusik.org or call 416.964.6337 for tickets.
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura presents a lecture by Opera Atelier's Co-Artistic Director Marshall Pynkoski and Set Designer Gerard Gauci on March 3. The talk will focus on Opera Atelier's spring production of Lucio Silla, a marvelous early Mozart opera with glorious music and a libretto by Giovanni de Gamerra. On March 23, the Istituto presents the book "Mussolini's Army in the French Riviera" by the Italian scholar Emanuele Sica. In contrast to its brutal seizure of the Balkans, the Italian Army's 1940-1943 relatively mild occupation of the French Riviera and nearby alpine regions bred the myth of the Italian brava gente, or good fellow, an agreeable occupier who abstained from the savage wartime behaviours so common across Europe. More information is at www.iictoronto.esteri.it.
The Bata Shoe Museum welcomes March with a series of exciting exhibitions and events. Art and Innovation: Traditional Arctic Footwear from the Bata Shoe Museum continues to showcase the beautiful and innovative clothing and footwear collected by the BSM on field research trips to circumpolar nations. On March 23 at 6pm, Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack will give a Walk and Talk Evening tour of the exhibition and share stories about the museum-funded expeditions as well as the designing of the exhibition. March Break Beach Party at the BSM runs each day March 12 - 20, 10am-4pm and Sundays 12-4 pm and includes drop-in activities for children such as decorating a visor and sandal box and creating a community puzzle. Share favourite moments with #BSMfamilyfun. March is also the last chance to see the installation Empreintes by French artist Pascale Peyret featuring hundreds of suspended shoes in carbonized wood inscribed with social messages by local children. For more information and tickets, visit www.batashoemuseum.ca
The Randolph Academy kicks off its 2016 theatre season with a Caryl Churchill double-bill. A DREAM PLAY, March 15-19, is the Olivier Award-winner's adaptation of August Strindberg's most admired and influential dramas. A potent mix of Freud plus Alice in Wonderland, this surreal masterpiece follows Agnes, a girl from another world, who comes to Earth and is caught up in the sufferings and cruelties of mankind. In Churchill's modern theatre masterpiece, THE SKRIKER, March 29 - April 2, an ancient faerie from the underworld is determined to avenge a ravaged planet by striking back at the bringers of global disease: human beings. This startling fantasy follows the struggles of two young women attempting to make a life for themselves while evading the beguiling shape shifter and all her guises. Both plays run in the Annex Theatre, 730 Bathurst Street. Tickets are $22 and available at www.ticketmaster.ca or 1-855-985-2787.
The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema takes you inside the cutthroat culinary world with KING GEORGES (March 2 and 3), part of Hot Docs' monthly film series: Doc Soup. In Pakistan, Sahal Studios combine traditional strings and drums to create renditions of international classics such as Dave Brubeck's Take Five in SONG OF LAHORE (March 4-10). Pay tribute to the late, great David Bowie with LABYRINTH QUOTE-ALONG (March 5). Items are returned to their original owners after the 2011 Tohoku tsunami in LOST & FOUND (March 9). Strap on your helmet and buckle up with the Middle East's first all-women street car racing team in SPEED SISTERS (March 11-17). Meet HIP HOP-ERATION, 27 senior citizens who journey from New Zealand to Las Vegas to compete in the Hip Hop International Competition (March 11-17). Doc Soup Sundays brings a flamboyant life full of pleasure and scams to the screen in A FRENCH FORGER (March 20). The famous '8' building of Copenhagen, a radical and exciting new take on urban density in THE INFINITE HAPPINESS (March 21-27). LIFE OFF GRID brings us face-to-face with modern day pioneers living off the land across Canada (March 25-31). Presented with The Royal Conservatory of Music, Music on Film returns with EAST JERUSALEM WEST JERUSALEM (March 29), including a Q&A and short performance by renowned musician David Broza. Visit www.bloorcinema.com for more information.
Visit the ROM between March 12 and March 20, 2016 to enjoy Enchanted ROM March Break, with daily activities for kids and families taking place from 11am to 4pm. Highlights include a chance to meet historic re-enactors such as Galileo, and enjoy dramatic adventures with Toronto's Classical Theatre Project. The Museum is open for extended March Break hours with discounted General Admission available from March 12 to March 19, 2016 between 4:30pm and 8:30pm. Also this month, don't miss your last chance to experience this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year show. This popular exhibition features 100 stunning images from our natural world and closes on March 20, 2016. This month's ROM Speaks on March 22, 2016, The Stranger's Notebook, examines migration between cultures and histories and looks at the first autobiographical travelogue written in an indigenous African language. ROM Speaks is free with required RSVP and includes a post-talk reception. On March 30, 2016, celebrate the ROM's Tattoo show at the exhibition's Opening Party. A limited number of tickets are available for sale until March 21, 2016 via email at eventRSVP@rom.on.ca. Visit rom.on.ca for details and ticket information for all ROM events and programs.
A complete calendar of events and programs, including links to each presenting organization and admission and ticket information, is at www.bloorstculturecorridor.com and on the Bloor St. Culture Corridor mobile app, available for free download from the Bloor St. Culture Corridor web site, the iTunes App Store, or Google Play.
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The Bloor St. Culture Corridor mobile app is free to download
from the Bloor St. Culture Corridor web site, iTunes AppStore, Google Play
2016-03-01
Toronto: March events on the Bloor Street Culture Corridor