Royal Conservatory of Toronto Concerts for January 2013

From a media release:

JAZZ, BLUES, AND WORLD MUSIC ROCK JANUARY AT THE ROYAL CONSERVATORY TORONTO
Jens Lindemann with Friends Doc Severinsen and Wycliffe Gordon
16th Annual Maple Blues Awards
Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca, Buika, and Roby Lakatos

TORONTO -
January ice will melt when three of North America's top horn players get together for the next installment in the TD Jazz: Devoted to Dizzy concert series. Trumpeters Jens Lindemann and Doc Severinsen are joined by trombonist Wycliffe Gordon to celebrate Dizzy Gillespie's legacy on January 12. Named International Brass Personality of the Year by the Brass Herald, trumpeter Jens Lindemann plays with "seductive, golden timbre and virtuosic flair." (The New York Times) Former Tonight Show band leader, Doc Severinsen, continues to electrify audiences with his powerful and soulful trumpet playing while Wycliffe Gordon, named Trombonist of the Year six times by the Jazz Journalists Association, has performed with Dizzy, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and his own ensembles. They will be joined in the second half by an all-star big band. 

Performers from across Canada take the Koerner Hall stage at the blues party of the year on January 21, as the Toronto Blues Society and The Royal Conservatory celebrate the 16th annual Maple Blues Awards. Some of the most powerful blues entertainers in the country will be performing at the gala event, including Maple Blues Award nominees. This year the performers include Nova Scotia's road warrior legend Matt Minglewood, Mississippi "Musicians Hall of Fame" inductee Nanette Workman from Montreal, international award-winning harmonica virtuoso Carlos del Junco, Saskatchewan-native songbird Suzie Vinnick, Hamilton string-bending songwriter Steve Strongman, dynamic blues duo The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer out of Vancouver, and Harrison Kennedy, who made his Royal Conservatory debut during the Koerner Hall Grand Opening Festival in the fall of 2009. All the musicians will be backed by The Maple Blues Band featuring Gary Kendall, Michael Fonfara, Tom Bona, Teddy Leonard, Pat Carey, Al Lerman, Chris Whiteley, and Chris Murphy. Raoul Bhaneja hosts the evening and the after party features Chuck Jackson.



Three giants of world music return to Koerner Hall after their sold out performances in previous seasons. Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca bring a program titled Medianoche (Midnight) for two consecutive evenings on January 18 and 19. Under the direction of Martln Santangelo, lead dancer Soledad Barrio and the award-winning Noche Flamenca have become Spain's most successful artistic touring company. Their deeply emotional performances, suspense, strength, drama, and flowing movement are at the heart and soul of flamenco. The Spanish songstress Buika and her traditional coplas (female-centric Spanish torch songs), sophisticated flamenco and jazz cross-pollinations, gypsy rumba, beautifully rendered rancheras, and Afro-Cuban rhythms will once more enchant Koerner Hall on January 25. Roby Lakatos, the Hungarian known as "the devil's fiddler," makes an exhilarating return on January 26. The classical violinist virtuoso is equally accomplished as a jazz improviser, composer, and arranger. His "stunning display of finger-blurring virtuosity" (Los Angeles Times) is complemented by his the rest of his band, including the scorching-hot cimbalom player, Jenő Lisztes.

The Montréal à Toronto series continues in Conservatory Theatre on January 25 with the second CHANSONGS concert, featuring singer/songwriter/musicologist Benoît LeBlanc and lead singer/fiddler of Toronto's Cajun band Swamperella, Soozi Schlanger. Curated and hosted by Dominique Denis of Alliance Française de Toronto, these bilingual evenings offer a blend of music, stories, language, and culture, with song craft at their core.

The Mazzoleni Masters series in Mazzoleni Concert Hall located in historic Ihnatowycz Hall continues on January 20 with internationally-renowned cellist Andrés Díaz, joined by fellow musicians Jeanie Chung (piano), and Toronto Symphony Orchestra Principals David Kent (timpani) and John Rudolph (percussion). Their program consists of Sergei Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 19 and Tan Dun's Elegy: Snow in June. Soprano Monica Whicher, pianist Liz Upchurch, and violinist Marie Bérard present an afternoon of songs by British, American, and Canadian composers on January 27. Toronto Symphony Orchestra Principal Clarinet Joaquin Valdepeñas conducts The Glenn Gould School Chamber Ensemble in a program of Leoš Janáček's Capriccio for Piano Left-Hand and Winds, JW 7/12 and Igor Stravinsky's Concerto in E-flat Major for Chamber Orchestra, "Dumbarton Oaks" on January 22.

January Performances at The Royal Conservatory
- Jens Lindemann, Doc Severinsen, & Wycliffe Gordon (TD Jazz Series: Devoted to Dizzy): Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 8pm (KH); starting at $45
- Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca (World Music, Dance): Fri., Jan. 18 & Sat., Jan. 19, 2013 at 8pm (KH); starting at $45
- Andrés Díaz & Friends (Mazzoleni Masters): Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 2pm (MCH); $32
- Maple Blues Awards (Music Mix, Blues): Monday, January 21, 2013 at 7pm (KH); starting at $28
- Joaquin Valdepeñas Conducts (Discovery Series): Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 7:30pm (MCH); $15
- Buika (World Music, Jazz): Friday, January 25, 2013 at 8pm (KH); starting at $35
- CHANSONGS (Montréal à Toronto, Pop, Folk): Friday, January 25, 2013 at 8pm (CT); $25
- Roby Lakatos (World): Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 8:00pm (KH); $29
- Monica Whicher, Liz Upchurch & Marie Bérard (Mazzoleni Masters): Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 2pm (MCH); $32

KH: Koerner Hall; MCH: Mazzoleni Concert Hall; CT: Conservatory Theatre


• Tickets are available online at www.performance.rcmusic.ca, by calling 416.408.0208, or in person at the Weston Family Box Office
• Create your own package: select any 4-6 concerts and save 10%; select any 7+ concerts and save 15%
• A limited number of $10 BMO Rush Tickets are available starting 90 minutes before all performances presented by The Royal Conservatory.


All concerts take place at The Royal Conservatory TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto

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