Media

October 5, 2020

TMC Safety Procedures for Kannamma Recording Sessions

2020-21 Season

After careful consideration, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir decided to record its professional core of singers in the creation of Kannamma-a concert of Thanksgiving. Recordings were done in early September. The TMC developed an extensive safety protocol for recordings that followed City of Toronto guidelines regarding performers being a minimum of two metres/6 feet apart.

September 17, 2020

Kannamma – TMC’s digital concert of Thanksgiving on Oct 10

2020-21 Season

From Bach to the Beatles, from visual arts to dance to drumming to singing – TMC’s concert of thanksgiving brings together an amazing group of artists in a program of choral music and more that evocatively expresses gratitude. Kannamma-a Concert of Thanksgiving will be livestreamed on Saturday, October 10 at 8 pm EDT

September 1, 2020

What does it take to sing together in the time of Covid-19?

2020-21 Season

Lots of planning. Location, masks, marked spots, print-at-home music, health questionnaires — and a love of choral music.

July 21, 2020

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Names New Associate Baton

2020-21 Season

Michael Vincent, Ludwig Van Toronto. Montréal-born conductor Simon Rivard has been appointed Associate Conductor of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Named as one of CBC’s “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30”, Rivard was mentored by Valery Gergiev at the Verbier Festival (2018).

July 21, 2020

TMC announces appointment of Simon Rivard as Associate Conductor

2020-21 Season

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is thrilled to announce the appointment of Simon Rivard as Associate Conductor. Simon Rivard has been serving as RBC Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra since 2018. He comes to the position of TMC Associate Conductor having worked closely with the Choir: in preparing the TMC for their performances with the TSO; jointly conducting the TMC’s Festival of Carols concerts this past December which featured the TSYO as guest artists; and directing the TMC-TSYO-TSO collaboration in May to create the virtual performance of Gabriel Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine. 

July 7, 2020

TMC shares Andrew Balfour’s Mamachimowin

2019-20 Season

The TMC has released a video of its premiere of Andrew Balfour’s Mamachimowin, commissioned by the TMC for its 125th anniversary gala concert in October 2019.

June 2, 2020

Three Major Toronto Arts Groups Combine In Historic Virtual Choral-Orchestral Video

2019-20 Season

Michael Vincent, Ludwig van Toronto. There is nothing quite like the hope found in the continued resilience shown by artists coming together during a crisis. The TSO has joined the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, to perform Gabriel Fauré’s moving Cantique de Jean Racine, under the baton of conductor Simon Rivard.

June 1, 2020

TMC, TSYO and TSO collaborate on a virtual choral-orchestral work – Gabriel Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine

2019-20 Season

Concert cancellations due to Covid-19 and the desire to keep sharing music has led to performances all around the world by virtual choirs and by virtual orchestras. The TSO’s RBC Resident Conductor Simon Rivard thought, why not choir and orchestra together? 

Building on the long-standing collaboration between the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, Simon set out to bring together (virtually) musicians from these three groups to share Gabriel Fauré’s lush and well-loved Cantique de Jean Racine.

May 31, 2020

Review of Great Poets in Music online program

2019-20 Season

Ken Stephen, Large Stage Live. On Saturday, May 30, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir was scheduled to round out its season with a concert devoted to great poets in music — a concert which I had fully planned to attend.

With a little bit of luck and a great deal of ingenuity, planning, effort, and coordination, the Choir has managed instead to present an online virtual concert built around the same theme.  It originally aired at the same time that the live concert was scheduled to take place, and is now available online.

To pull this effort together, the Choir has brought together audio recorded performances from five other choirs, tossed in a previous video performance and a new social-distancing recording of their own, and tied the entire evening together with readings of great poetry and theatre by renowned Canadian actors Tom McCamus and Lucy Peacock and commentary by the choir’s interim conductor, David Fallis.