Joseph So Ludwig Van Toronto December 19, 2022 Is there a more popular classical vocal work for the Christmas Season in the English-speaking world than Handel’s Messiah (1742)? It’s a rhetorical question, and the answer is a resounding NO. There are other beloved works in celebration of the birth of Christ, such as Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium (1734), or Berlioz’s L’enfant...
Joseph So Ludwig Van December 7, 2022 It’s a well-established scientific fact: music makes us feel good. Our brain reacts to a favourite song by releasing the hormone dopamine, which has an immediate and positive effect on our mood. At this time of year, among the melodies we hear when we’re out and about doing...
$35,000 OTF Grant helps Toronto Mendelssohn Choir revenue generation efforts Toronto, Ontario – November 14, 2022 OTF Grant helps Toronto Mendelssohn Choir navigate through pandemic Toronto – 2022, Toronto Mendelssohn choir received a $35,000 grant from the OTF to help Improve and increase ability to access financial resources and develop new and/or...
The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, Musicologist-in-Residence. Welcome – for many of you, welcome back – to the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s Festival of Carols! A beloved holiday tradition in Toronto, the Festival of Carols offers a chance to hear, sing, and reflect on Christmas carols. This year’s program features a combination of well-known...
Toronto, November 17, 2022 — Celebrate this holiday season with Toronto’s beloved tradition — Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s annual celebration of music: Festival of Carols. This year, the TMChoir is bringing back the much-anticipated sing-along portion of the concert with pieces such as Joy to the World, Silent Night, and O Come All Ye Faithful. Under...
Lydia Pervić The Whole Note November 6, 2022 Here’s some good news for a change: there’s a new professional chamber choir in Toronto, the city that barely has any, and none independent from larger arts organizations. Meet the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, the new 24-member chamber choir within the larger Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, now forging its own...
Paula Cirton Ludwig Van November 3, 2022 Is there anything grander in a concert hall than a big chorus, a big orchestra, and big piece of music? The huge romantic sweep of Mendelssohn’s final oratorio Elijah (1846) filled Roy Thomson Hall to the rafters, except you couldn’t make out one word that was being sung. It...
Joseph So La Scena Musicale November 3, 2022 Following the intimate, a cappella opening show given by the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers in Trinity St. Paul’s Centre a month ago, the full Toronto Mendelssohn Choir launched its new season in grand style last evening, with an old favourite – Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Together with the University of Toronto’s MacMillan Singers...
The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, Musicologist-in-Residence. A resounding success at both its 1846 premiere in Birmingham, England, and at its revised London premiere in 1847, Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah has remained a beloved staple of English-language choral repertoire ever since. Having experienced earlier success with his 1836 oratorio Paulus, which depicted the life...