The Academy Concert Series
held its second concert of the 2011-2012 season last Saturday, January 28, 2012
at Eastminster United Church (310 Danforth, near Chester subway station).
The program for the concert was all Mozart, and all pieces he composed while
living in Vienna in 1788-1789. A copy of the program and the program
notes can be sent to you upon request.
As usual when playing with
the Academy Concert Series, it was a real treat to play with such talented
musicians. On violin there were Edwin Huizinga and Emily Eng. On
viola was Charlene Yeh. And on clarinet for the Clarinet Quintet in A
Major “Stadler K. 581 was Nicolai Tarasv. Nicolai was the Artistic
Director for Academy Concert Series for 16 years before this transition year
where he is handing off the reins to me. It was fun and exciting to honor
Nicolai by having him come back to play such a wonderful piece, and one which
showcases his abundant talent as a musician!
The music is always the
main event at our concerts, but in addition to that, as part of our ongoing
efforts to share the joy of music with our community, Academy Concert Series
invited students and their families from Axis Music to attend the concert for
free. Axis Music was founded in January 2011 to provide tuition-free
violin, cello and piano music lessons to youth in Toronto Community Housing.
I am pleased to report that we had ten elementary aged students and their
parents take up our offer and attend the last concert. They were so attentive
and excited. One students was even asking for autographs at the end of the
concert! (So cute!)
It is always a particular
pleasure to hear from audience members after each concert. Perhaps it
bears reminding that we invite audience members to come and speak to the
musicians after concerts and to email me with any comments, questions or
feedback. This time around I received a number of beautiful emails from beloved audience members. Here are a
few quotes from those emails, which I’d like to share with you.
“The concert was a warm, relaxing and wonderful experience,
enhanced by the selection of the three pieces and the brilliant performance by
your group.”
- Steve Gabhauer
“Just wanted to give feedback on
last night's concert:
1. program selection =
wonderful
2. performance = exquisite
3. organization for entry and
snacks = excellent
…
A most enjoyable evening.
Thanks to you and your fellow performers.”
- Richard
Lee
Again, thank you so much to everybody who attended the concert. I would also like to thank our sponsors, both individual and corporate as well as the Queen and Beaver Public House located at 35 Elm Street near Yonge and Dunas who donated dinner for two for our raffle, and the volunteers who helped make it all possible! We couldn’t do it without your support!
I hope to see you April 28, 2012 for "Schubert's Final Journey" with the fabulous Lumière Quartet.
