Toronto Concert Orchestra makes debut in Toronto
The Toronto Concert Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Kerry Stratton, will make its Toronto debut on September 29 at LeParc in Markham, under the auspices of the Bel Canto Foundation. Guest soloist is the renowned Italian tenor, Salvatore Licitra.
The newly-formed Toronto Concert Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Kerry Stratton, will be heard in a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Barrie, Ontario on October 16, for the Barrie Concert Society. The soloists include soprano Allison.Arends, tenor Christopher Maydell, mezzo-soprano Marta Herman, and bass Nicolai Raicu.
The orchestra will subsequently be heard in Toronto on November 8, in Koerner Hall, when soloists will be the finalists of the first CCC Toronto International Piano Competition, presented by the Chinese Cultural Centre. Winners will be named at the conclusion, and US $28,000 in prizes awarded.
On November 23, at George Weston Recital Hall, the Toronto Concert Orchestra will feature prizewinning Quebec artist Maxim Bernard in Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. winner of the 2005 Indiana University Concerto Competition. Bernard has performed with major Canadian orchestras andon CBC Radio, and is currently working on his master's degree with renowned pianist Menahem Pressler. The concert is presented by the Canadian Music Competition of Ontario.
In 2011, Toronto Concert Orchestra will perform in Barrie (April 2) and Milton (April 29).
Other Activities
For the 30th season, Maestro Stratton hosts A Little Night Music at the George Weston Recital Hall at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. This is a series of informal discussions on various music and composers, with live performances by prominent artists. The opening concert on October 4 features Schubert's Shepherd on the Rock, and Arpeggione Sonata with clarinetist Kornel Wolak and friends. The series continues October 18 and 25, and November 1, 8 and 22. For individual tickets or subscriptions call 416-733-0545.
Kerry Stratton will lead his Grand Salon Orchestra in cities of southern Ontario, including Barrie, Milton (Oct 29) and Orillia (Nov 7): We'll Meet Again: a tribute to Vera Lynn with mezzo-soprano Barbara Sadegur. In Markham (Feb 4, 2011), Grand Salon performs A Night in Vienna. In Ottawa (Feb 5) for the Viennese Winter Ball. Grand Salon will also perform in Niagara Falls (date TBD).
In October, Maestro Stratton has two new CDs which will be released on the Artists' Choice label, both with the Slovak Sinfonietta, including Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 and the Emperor Concerto, with pianist Haiou Zhang, and Mozart's Clarinet Concerto with clarinetist Kornel Wolak.
Kerry Stratton continues to share his love of music with radio audiences as host of Conductor's Choice. Sunday afternoons on The New Classical 96.3 FM.
More Czech Music Opened Toronto Philharmonia Orchestra
Toronto Philharmonia Orchestra was the orchestra-in-residence at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. From 1988 - 2010, Kerry Stratton was the Conductor and Music Director of the Toronto Philharmonia. In 2009, Maestro Stratton began his 21st season as Music Director with the Toronto Philharmonia Orchestra. The program celebrated the 40th anniversary of "Prague Spring" with Smetana's iconic Ma Vlast (My Homeland). Highlights of 2009-2010 included compositions by Avro Part, Handel, Rachmaninov, Rubinstein and Frank Zappa.
Highlights of the 2008-2009 Philharmonia season include Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, with Eve Rachel McLeod, soprano; Vicki St. Pierre, mezzo-soprano; Min Jin, tenor; and Nicolae Raiciu, baritone.
Slovak Sinfonietta
Kerry conducted the Slovak Sinfonietta in May 2010, in concerts throughout southern Ontario, including a performance May 3at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. The program included Beethoven's Symphony No. 8, and pianist Haiou Zhang in Beethoven's Emperor Concerto, No. 5. The Slovak Sinfonietta and Haiou Zhang also performed in Milton, Barrie, Markham, Richmond Hill, Niagara Falls and Orillia, and recorded three CDs while in Canada.
Prior orchestra tours of Ontario conducted by Kerry Stratton included the Solti Orchestra from Budapest, the Concert Verein of Vienna, and the Czech Philharmonic of Prague.
Radio and TV Host
On Classical 96.3 FM, Kerry has enjoyed a long association as a popular guest host of several programs, including his own weekly dedicated 6-hour program, "Conductor's Choice", Sundays, 3-9 p.m.
The Grand Salon Orchestra
Kerry Stratton leads his Grand Salon Orchestra in programs that remember the elegance of the early decades of the 1900s.
- in Brockville: Puttin' On the Ritz, featured the music of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and the Gershwin brothers, among others.
- at the Markham Theatre: Tea at the Savoy, including works by Albert W. Ketelbey, Noel Coward and Eric Coates, among others.
- Other cities have included Orillia, Barrie, Milton, Niagara Falls, Stirling, Welland, and Perth among many others.
In 2009 and 2010, Kerry Stratton conducted the Grand Salon Orchestra at the 14th and 15th annual Viennese Winter Ball at the National Gallery, Ottawa.
For the past two years, the Grand Salon Orchestra has also performed at the Ball Pologne.
"The Grand Salon Orchestra, under the director of Kerry Stratton, performed at the Ball Pologne on April 21, as Polish Orphans Charity celebrated its 10th anniversary by donating scholarships to deserving orphans in Poland and surrounding countries."
Honours & Concerts In Huntsville
In July 2010, Kerry Stratton brings his Grand Salon Orchestra for the 18th successful season to the Huntsville Festival of the Arts. In 2008, the Huntsville Festival of the Arts paid tribute to arts contributors, including Kerry Stratton, who was given a statuette and called "leader and music director of the Huntsville Festival Orchestra and an ambassador for the festival throughout the province." The event included Mozart's Letters,, in which he conducted the Festival Orchestra in music by Mozart, and read selected personal letters written by the great composer.
Also in 2008, Maestro Stratton returned to the Huntsville Festival in a summer pops program that includes works by Offenbach, Gershwin, Leroy Anderson, Morton Gould, Richard Rodgers, Tchaikovsky, Andrew Lloyd Webber and John Philip Sousa. The concert was sold out.
Czech Republic
In July 2008, Maestro Stratton made a return visit to the Czech Republic to conduct the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. They gave a pair of concerts in mid-July at the Cesky Krumlov Festival, performing works by Mozart, Benda and Vivaldi. This was Maestro Stratton's return engagement with the orchestra, which he conducted in Europe — as well as leading the full-sized Czech Philharmonic — and subsequently toured in Canada last fall. The tour followed his receipt in the spring of 2007, of the Gratias Agit Award from the Czech Republic for his significant contribution to promoting the country's musical culture.
A Little Night Music, Music Director and Host
A Little Night Music (Spring and Fall Series): combination of lectures, films, recordings and live ensembles which bring classical music to life in a straight forward and enjoyable way for concert audiences.
Kerry Stratton and the Toronto Philharmonia Orchestra performed at the Toronto Raptors (professional basketball team) opening game in 2009: "...a stirring live performance by the Toronto Philharmonia at centre court, and then the game and the players lived up to the hype..."
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