Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
TAFELMUSIK, Canada’s award-winning orchestra on period instruments, was founded in 1979 by Kenneth Solway and Susan Graves. Under the inspired leadership of Music Director Jeanne Lamon since 1981, Tafelmusik has achieved international stature, performing over 50 concerts a year at home in Toronto, touring extensively around the world, and producing numerous award-winning recordings.
Based in Toronto, the renowned Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra has eighteen permanent members and is expanded as the need arises. All members of the orchestra are specialists in historical performance practice. Their collaboration results in a delightful transparency, vitality and richness of sound, which has garnered them acclaim around the world. In April 2000, Gramophone Magazine described Tafelmusik as "one of the world's top baroque orchestras."
Tafelmusik maintains a rigorous touring schedule, spending seven to twelve weeks a year on the road with annual tours of Europe, Canada, the United States. The orchestra has been invited to perform in Europe’s most prestigious concert halls, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Musikverein in Vienna, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, and the Barbican Centre in London. Since 1984 Tafelmusik has performed in Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Mexico, The Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Venezuela, and from coast to coast in the United States and Canada. Tafelmusik has been touring regularly throughout Asia since 1990, performing in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China. A highlight of one tour through China was a performance and masterclasses at the Central Conservatory in Beijing.
The only Canadian orchestra to hold an annual residency, Tafelmusik has been orchestra-in-residence at the Klang und Raum Festival in Irsee, Germany since 1993. In 2007, Klang und Raum Artistic Director and renowned German conductor Bruno Weil will lead Tafelmusik in performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 and Mozart’s Requiem. A highlight of the 2007•2008 touring season is an extensive tour throughout Asia, taking Tafelmusik to concert halls in Macau, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai in China; in addition, they will perform two concerts at the Seoul Bach Festival in Korea. The 2007•2008 touring season also includes tours throughout the United States and Northern Ontario.
Tafelmusik has a comprehensive discography of 74 recordings on the Analekta, CBC Records, Sony Classical, Collegium, Hyperion and BMG Classics labels. In 2006, Tafelmusik was honoured with the orchestra’s 8th and 9th JUNO Awards for their recordings of Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6 (Analekta/Sony BMG in Europe) and Baroque Adventure: The Quest for Arundo Donax (Analekta).
Tafelmusik has also moved into the realm of television with performance documentaries Le Mozart Noir and The Four Seasons Mosaic. Produced by Media Headquarters, Le Mozart Noir is a documentary on Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a French Black composer contemporary to Mozart. Originally broadcast on CBC, BBC, PBS, TV5, and ARTV, the DVD was released in early 2005. The Four Seasons Mosaic, also produced by Media Headquarters, is a cross-cultural arts special which reinvents Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons to include a Chinese pipa, Indian sarangi and Inuit throat-singing. The Four Seasons Mosaic premiered on CBC Television’s “Opening Night” on March 31, 2005.
At home in Toronto, Tafelmusik performs over 50 concerts each season at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, a historic church in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto, as well as a series of performances at the George Weston Recital Hall in the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Tafelmusik explores the world of baroque opera by collaborating with Opera Atelier, a historically-informed opera company also based in Toronto, on two productions per season. Selected concerts at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre are recorded for future broadcast on CBC Radio Two programmes, and are also heard on National Public Radio in the United States
The Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, specializing in baroque performance practice and vocal technique, was formed in 1981 to complement the orchestra. Under the direction of Ivars Taurins, the choir has been praised for its clarity and brilliance, and in 1991 was awarded the Healey Willan Prize “for its consistently high level of artistic achievement and for its unique contribution to choral art in Canada.” In 2000, the Choir's Bach Motets CD on CBC Records was released to critical acclaim: "More and more, the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir is looking like the best period-performance choir anywhere in the world…a truly great recording" (The Globe and Mail). In January 2003, the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir's first a capella CD was released on CBC Records. This compilation disk features 19th- and 20th-century French choral music by Fauré, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Poulenc and Messiaen. Tafelmusik’s annual Messiah and Sing-Along Messiah, featuring the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, have become an established part of Toronto's holiday tradition. During the 2007•2008 season, the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir’s 5th CD will be released on CBC Records. Gloria! is a recording in celebration of the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir’s 25th anniversary season.
To further Tafelmusik’s vision to be an international centre of musical excellence for many generations to come, the orchestra and choir founded the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, held at the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto. The Institute will ensure the orchestra's future by placing Tafelmusik at the forefront of training in period performance. The Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute offers advanced students, pre-professional and professional musicians an in-depth course of study of baroque repertoire and performance practice through masterclasses, lectures, orchestral and choral training, and chamber ensembles.
In 2004, Tafelmusik was appointed Baroque Orchestra-in-Residence at the University of Toronto for a four-year term, through 2007•2008. During its tenure, Tafelmusik will collaborate with the Faculty of Music to provide a wide range of opportunities, including a scholarship programme for U of T students for the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute; training in period performance through attendance at orchestra rehearsals, concerts and workshops; performance opportunities under Music Director Jeanne Lamon; and the newly implemented Advanced Certificate in Performance: The Baroque Programme with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra - an intensive one-year full-time accredited programme that allows graduate-level students the opportunity for a one-year intensive immersion in baroque performance training on period instruments. In 2008•2009, a new two-year Master’s programme in baroque performance will be offered at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, in collaboration with Tafelmusik. Tafelmusik's vision for music education also includes a programme for students in grades 6 through 12 featuring free outreach concerts, a musician in the classroom programme, an annual family matinee, and occasional multi-disciplinary projects with area schools.
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