This April marks the 5th anniversary of the Bloor St. Culture Corridor! Please join us at concerts, festivals, films, exhibitions, and arts events. We have 20 extraordinary organizations bringing you more than 200 arts events every month, on the most diverse arts and culture district in Toronto (possibly the world). There are always news way to learn about the city around you, right here on the Bloor St. Culture Corridor.

The Royal Conservatory
The Koerner hall 10th anniversary concert season continues at The Royal Conservatory. Virtuoso fiddler Roby Lakatos is a scorching player and a musician of extraordinary stylistic versatility, whose unparalleled technique, musical curiosity, and Roma heritage make him truly unique. He returns to Koerner Hall for the third time on April 5. DakhaBrakha's "ethnic chaos" blends Ukrainian harmonies, modern roots and rhythms, surprising instrumentation, and theatrical flourishes. The quartet's astonishingly powerful vocals create a trans-national sound. The group makes its Koerner Hall debut on April 14. On April 30, opera stars Luca Pisaroni and Thomas Hampson present No Tenors Allowed, an evening of operatic arias and Broadway songs. After a recent concert in Boston, Operawire stated, "Pisaroni and Hampson didn't need big sets or costumes to tell the stories of their particular acts. They did it with their voices, their bodies, and together," and called the singers "two brilliant artists." For more information and tickets, please visit rcmusic.com/performance.

Toronto Reference Library
Visit Toronto Reference Library in April to discover a new collaborative series of events,  Home and Work, exploring the ways modern industry is changing the way we live, work, travel and play. On April 8, Australian digital designer Sarah Murray, who dreams of a future where sustainable housing is available and affordable for all, speaks at Tech to the Future: A Solution to the Housing Crisis? On April 9, hear from journalist and author of the memoir  Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, Stephanie Land, whose book gives a voice to the working poor in America. And don't miss the final month of  For the Record: An Idea of the North, an interactive mixed media exhibition illuminating the emergence of Toronto's hip hop culture, including a panel discussion on Tuesday, April 16, 6:30-7:30 pm, and free guided gallery tours on Tuesdays at 2 pm. Full details available at tpl.ca.

918 Bathurst Centre for Culture, Arts, Media + Education 
April is live music month at 918 Bathurst. Join them April 6 for an evening with singer-songwriter Gregg Lawless. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door.  April 7, the Broadway Arts Centre presents the First Annual Senior Dance Showcase, 'Before We Lived It'. A highly physical, emotionally rich and dynamic evening of self-choreographed solos, duets and groups.  Tickets available at the door, kids are free.  April 18, Quincy Morales will make his stage debut for an evening of energetic neo-soul and hip hop.  7pm doors, show at 8pm. Finishing a month of firsts, April 24-26 the Impromptu Concert Series debuts with Broadway: The Early Years.  Come see some incredibly talented singers perform all the hits. Tickets available at 918bathurst.com.

The Music Gallery
In April, we are pleased to team up with Arraymusic  and Native Women In The Arts to present the Raven Chacon Mini-Festivalfeaturing the world premiere of For Zitkála-Sá, dedicated to the first American Indian librettist. Originally from the Navajo Nation, Raven Chacon (born in 1977) is acclaimed as a composer of chamber music, performer of experimental noise music, and installation artist. Chacon's work explores sounds of acoustic handmade instruments overdriven through electric systems and the direct and indirect audio feedback responses from their interactions. For Zitkála-Sá showcases noted Indigenous artists Suzanne Kite, Laura Ortman, Carmina Escobar and Cheryl L'Hirondelle. Other featured performers include Olivia Shortt, Allison Cameron, Nicole Rampersaud and Germaine Liu. More information at www.musicgallery.org.

Istituto Italiano di Cultura

Join Istituto Italiano di Cultura on April 5, 10am - 12pm, Lecture: Painting with Style: Italian Fashion through Art. For many centuries, clothes have epitomized the social representation of power, wealth, knowledge and religious belief. Fashion is still one of the key elements of Italian culture worldwide. Sebastiano Bazzichetto will present a lecture on Italian fashion throughout the centuries, a journey from Ancient Roman bikinis to Medieval cowls, with a special mention of Cinecittà with Visconti and Fellini and their unforgettable visual works. April 19, 8pm, Vesuvius Ensemble: Easter Procession concert at Heliconian Hall. On Good Friday, many devoted communities still walk along an ancient footpath toward a holy sanctuary, singing powerful melodies along the way. In this special Good Friday performance, the Vesuvius Ensemble will take you along a sacred musical journey, offering both traditional and composed music which considers the sacred mysteries of life and death. More info at iictoronto.esteri.it.

Bata Shoe Museum
On April 10, the Bata Shoe Museum is excited to welcome students from the Royal Conservatory of Music for an evening of 1930s music. This free performance, part of the Music in the Museum series, is inspired by the exhibition WANT: Desire, Design and Depression Era Footwear, now on view.  In celebration of National Canadian Film Day, the BSM is presenting a free screening of the documentary Angry Inuk on April 17. Reservations for both these events can be made by emailing rsvp@batashoemuseum.ca. On April 24 (and the last Wednesday of every month) parents of young children can enjoy a docent-led Stroller Tour of museum exhibitions, included with museum admission.  Don't forget, every weekend at the BSM there is something fun for kids to do during Weekend Family Fun, featuring shoe-themed activities which are included with museum admission. Drop-in until 4pm every Saturday and Sunday. Visit batashoemuseum.ca for more information.  

Alliance Française Toronto
On April 5, visit Alliance Française Toronto and discover Yao's slam concert, Lapsus. Then, join a Jazz concert on April 13 for The Django Experiment by the Stephane Wrembel Band. On April 27, don't miss Salamate Gnawa's world music concert. There will be two lectures between April 10 and April 24: From Vietnam to Quebec: my love for the French language by Kim thúy and Dressing up the crime: historical disguises and detections by Alison Matthews David. The Movie Thursdays are still on with The Big Day on April 4, then Django on April 11, Incendies on April 18 and The Decline of the American Empire on April 25. The exhibit Peace and Solace, mystery and primal longings by George Raab will start on April 17. For our young audience, come for The Librarian, on April 28. For more information please visit alliance-francaise.ca.

Miles Nadal JCC
On Sunday April 7, at 2:00 and 4:30 pm, attend one of the Toronto Jewish Film Society screenings of an Israeli drama that challenges our notions of faith, truth and acceptance, at Innis Town Hall. Between Worlds is a quiet and understated feature film that takes place in a Jerusalem hospital after a terror attack. Discover Arts and Culture at the corner of Spadina and Bloor this April at the Miles Nadal JCC! In the first floor Gallery fiber artist Cynthia McNair's textiles: An Outsiders View of Israel, ongoing to April 28. In our third floor Gallery: Detroitus: Jeff Mann masks made exclusively from car parts, ongoing to April 29. Come to the daytime lectures: Thursday April 4: What Happened to Yiddish Theatre in Toronto with Ralph Wintrob and Illustrations in the Haggadah and the Secrets They Reveal on Thursday April 11. For more info visit mnjcc.com.

University of Toronto Faculty of Music
The Faculty of Music wraps up its centenary season with Celebrating Walter Buczynski on Sunday, April 28 at 2:30 pm in Walter Hall. This free event includes performances of late sonatas by Walter Buczynski by pianists Ilya Poletaev, Vadim Serebryany, Younggun Kim, Matthew Li, Gregory Oh and the composer himself. Visit music.utoronto.ca for details.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra's Music Director Emerita, Jeanne Lamon, returns to direct The Hunt: Mozart & Haydn from April 25-28, 2019 at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul's Centre. Join Tafelmusik for a classical program featuring music by friends and colleagues, Haydn and Mozart, and with the noble and unmistakable sound of the classical horn at its heart, with horn soloist Scott Wevers. Four horns take the stage in Mozart's Symphony no. 25 (made famous by the film Amadeus) and Haydn's spirited "Hunt" Symphony. Tafelmusik gets intimate with their Close Encounters chamber series in Strangers in Strange Lands, on Sunday, April 14, 2019 at 2pm at Temerty Theatre, TELUS Centre. The incredible flourishing of musical styles in the middle of the 18th century was due in no small part to composers travelling from their native countries to new lands. This concert is an exploration of galant music written by composers who settled far from home. For tickets, call (416) 964-6337 or visit tafelmusik.org.

Gardiner Museum
Ai Weiwei: Unbroken is now open, and we've extended our Wednesday night hours so that you have more time to see it. We're now open late Wednesday and Friday nights, with half-price admission from 4 - 9 pm, for the duration of the exhibition. We'll be commemorating Refugee Rights Month this April with Mixed Feelings: Leaving Home, Finding Home a lobby display by newcomer and refugee artists and non-artist from April 3 - 7. Presented in partnership with Turtle House Art/Play Centre, an arts-based organization that offers a variety of programming to newcomer children and families from regions of conflict. From April 10 - 21, come discover the next wave of emerging ceramic artists with Sheridan Graduate Show: AA16, You Know What I Mean, a display showcasing the work of this year's graduates from the Ceramics Program at Sheridan College. For more information visit gardinermuseum.com.

The Japan Foundation, Toronto
Catch the last two weeks of the Ukiyoe print exhibition at the Japan Foundation, Toronto,  Landmarks From Before It Was Called Tokyo: Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, before it ends on April 13. The next exhibition starting April 25is Four Seasons of Gardens in Kyoto: Photographs by Mizuno Katsuhiko. The Chikyu Film series, continues with a number of environment themed films; foraging for a delicacy in Hunt for Matsutake, natural farming and permaculture in Final Straw, Scientist David Suzuki's wisdom in Force of Nature, 70's classic anime Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. Saturday April 13 & 27 the gallery and library is open 11am - 4pm. The free Bring Your Own Bento - Drop-in Lunchtime Language Lesson continues on April 10 at 12:15pm. On April 27, the slow burning Art-House epic, Happy Hour, will be screened in its entirety from 11:30am to 5:45pm, in three parts. The film is part of a retrospective of director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, which continues in May. More details available at jftor.org.

Royal Ontario Museum

On April 9, join multifaceted artist Reena Ahluwalia as she explores the rich history of jewellery design in India at the ROM Speaks lecture Jewels of India - Designs for a Contemporary World. On April 11, discover the ROM's newest permanent gallery project dedicated to the story of the dawn of life with speaker Dr. Jean-Bernard Caron at ROM Daytime: Life - four billion years in the making. Find out more about the early phase of this fully funded project and see some spectacular fossils never exhibited to the public before, including those from four Canadian UNESCO world heritage sites. Explore the uniquely Canadian story of Japanese internment through the family stories of celebrated author Mark Sakamoto at a special ROM Connects: On Forgiveness on April 28. Hear the compelling stories about Sakamoto's grandparents, whose lives and humanity were taken from them during the Second World War, and the process of reconciling one's family histories in a uniquely Canadian way. Full events at rom.on.ca.

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