My Recital at St.James on April 9, 2019

Last Tuesday, I did the "Music at Midday" recital at St. James' Cathedral. I was asked to fill in just a week before, and I was really excited to help out.

I repeated the program for my last recital (in February) as I am still working on new pieces. My new pieces are really close to being ready, but I want to work on them some more with my teacher first. 

My past performances have been arranged weeks or months in advance, so this was a new experience for me. 

We recorded the Petite Suite by Gerald Bales.

Thank you so much to Robert and Elizabeth for your support and faith in me!

I really loved doing this performance!

My Recital at St. James' Cathedral - Music at Midday

Last Tuesday, I did a recital at The Cathedral Church of St. James for "Music at Midday".
Philip Elliot recorded it for me and I uploaded the full recital to SoundCloud:

https://soundcloud.com/joshua-duncan-lee/full-july-24-2018-music-at-midday-recital-at-the-cathedral-church-of-st-james-live/s-6fQwB

I played:

• Rigaudon by Andre Campra (1660 - 1744)
• Largo e Spiccato by A. Vivali (1678 - 1741) arr. J. S. Bach
• Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, BWV 533 by J. S. Bach (1685 - 1750)
• Voluntary in A Minor by William Boyce (1710 - 1779)
• Choral Song by Samuel Wesley (1810 - 1876)
• Folk Tune by Percy Whitlock (1903 - 1946)
• Trumpet Air by Bert van der Hoek (b. 1932)
• Variations on 'Fidelis' by F.R.C. Clarke (1931 - 2009)
• Gaelic Fantasy for Organ by Hans-Andre Stamm (b. 1958)

Just in case you don't have time to listen to the full recital, here are videos of a few of the pieces:

Rigaudon by Andre Campra

Prelude and Fugue in E Minor (BWV 533) by J.S. Bach

Choral Song by S.S. Wesley

Folk Tune by Percy Whitlock 

Variations on 'Fidelis' by F.R.C. Clarke

It was a lot more relaxed than my first two recitals and I felt better prepared, mainly because I had done it before.

Thomas Fitches came to hear me play!
The first time I met him was just a couple days before I started doing organ lessons. I heard him play at "Music at Midday" and so it is really a big deal to me that he came to hear my recital. Thank you so much for coming!

The biggest surprise was that Chrissy Quigley came to my recital! She helps to organize the Leahy Music Camp and she mentioned that she might come but it was wonderful seeing her!
I made sure to upload both Choral Song and Folk Tune since I know you loved them!  Thank you for coming all the way to Toronto to hear me play!

One of the highlights of the recital is showing people the Pipe Organ afterwards... I'm hoping that some of the kids will be interested in learning organ in the future!

A huge "Thank you" to my teacher, Ian Sadler and to Robert Busiakiewicz, the Director of Music at The Cathedral Church of St. James for allowing me to perform and do lessons there.  And of course, thank you to Philip Elliot for the audio-recording and to my Mom for the videos!

My Recital at St. James

I did my second ever solo recital earlier this month. It was on May 8th at the Cathedral Church of St. James.
It wasn't as nerve-racking as the first time.

Normally when I do concerts or rehearsals, my parents record some of it, but this time, they sat and enjoyed it.

We arranged with Philip Elliot to do an audio recording of the concert for us.
I'm so happy that we could get such a wonderful recording!


My program included:

• Rigaudon by Andre Campra (166 - 1744)
• Trio in C Minor, BWV 585 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
• Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, BWV 533 by J. S. Bach
• Fantasia in C Minor, BWV 562 by J. S. Bach
• Sonata de 1o Tono by Jose Lidon (1748 - 1827)
• Folk Tune by Percy Whitlock (1903 - 1946)
• Choral Song by Samuel Wesley (1810 - 1876)
• Berceuse by Louis Vierne (1870 - 1937)
• Gaelic Fantasy by Hans-Andre Stamm (b. 1958)

I finally had time to sit down and listen to the performance.

It is very different listening to the concert and comparing it to how I experienced it while playing. The Rigaudon and the Bach pieces all went really well. I stumbled in the Sonata; the stumble was only about a split second, but it seemed so much longer while playing. I approached the Gaelic Fantasy a little too fast..It would have sounded better if I had just gone a little slower. Everything else was good. :-)

I uploaded a few of the pieces from the concert to SoundCloud
Rigaudon by Andre Campra
https://soundcloud.com/joshua-duncan-lee/rigaudon-by-andre-campra-live

Fantasia in C Minor by J. S. Bach
https://soundcloud.com/joshua-duncan-lee/fantasia-in-c-minor-bwv-562-by-j-s-bach

Choral Song by Samuel Wesley
https://soundcloud.com/joshua-duncan-lee/choral-song-by-samuel-s-wesley


Lots of homeschoolers came out to listen. Thank you so much for coming, it was great having so much support from other homeschoolers! I really hope you all enjoyed it!

me with Robert Busiakiewicz (left) and Ian Sadler (right)

A special thank you to my teacher - Ian Sadler,  Robert Busiakiewicz - the Director of Music at St. James, and to Philip for recording the concert. :-)

Mackenzie House on Pi Day - Eaton's Goes to War

On Pi Day, we usually do something Pi/Pie related or go to the Science Centre. But, this year, Pi Day is smack in the middle of March Break and that means the Science Centre would be packed. So, instead, we decided to head downtown and visit one of our favourite museums.

We finally got to see the exhibit  "Eaton's Goes to War: Family, Memory and Meaning" at Mackenzie House. It is about the people who went to fight in the First World War who worked at Eaton's Department Store.

I was at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church for Remembrance Day last year and they did a wonderful service with beautiful music paying special tribute to the members there who served in both of the World Wars. (The whole service is available online at https://www.temc.ca/sermon/decisions-nightfall.) It got me wondering about the people who served and so, I really wanted to see this exhibition.

I didn't expect to see something about someone younger than me going to war. He was 13, working at Eaton's and he enlisted in the army along with his older brother, Fred.

picture from Archives of Ontario's site http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/images/soldier/I0073097.jpg

Both brothers lied about their ages to enlist, but when they were in England, Fred told the army about Stanley's age and he was discharged. 

picture from Archives of Ontario's site http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/images/soldier/I0073098.jpg

 Fred Gledhill received a Distinguished Conduct Medal, and became the youngest Regimental Sergeant Major in the British Army. 

One thing that is special about this exhibit is that it looks at how these men who served are remembered by their families and what happened after. 

I always hear stories about my Grandfather (Mom's Dad) and my Great Grandfather and Great Uncle (Dad's Grandfather and grand-uncle) and I know that being in the army in World War II was a part of their lives, but they were so much more. 

Eaton's Goes to War is on at Mackenzie House until April 30th this year. 

Ryerson Interior Design Students also have an exhibit up at Mackenzie House. 

Can you see the silhouettes of Mackenzie and his daughters?

There is also a display of objects made from human hair.

And of course, we spent some time in the Print Shop. 

Thanks to Alex and Jared for the wonderful afternoon!

And a special thank you for having the well thought out exhibit on Eaton's Goes to War. You always have such great exhibits!

Carol of the Bells

I just found this video online... It is from the Kingsway Conservatory of Music's 2015 Christmas Concert. 

I love this arrangement of Carol of the Bells by Marshall Fine. 

I'm in the viola section, in the light blue shirt. 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve Eve at Black Creek Pioneer Village

Merry Christmas!

Dad and I spent Christmas Eve Eve (Dec 23rd) at Black Creek Pioneer Village. It was the first time we have gone in the snow. We took the fancy new subway to the new Pioneer Village Station and then walked from the station to BCPV. It took about 10 minutes but there is a bus that passes the Village. If it weren't for the new subway stop, we wouldn't have gone in the winter.

Here are some pictures from our trip.

I hope you are having a wonderful, peaceful Christmas!

RCM Gold Medal Ceremony

Today, The Royal Conservatory of Music had the  2017 Toronto Convocation and Gold Medal Ceremony.

I feel so honoured to receive the Gold Medal for Grade 7 Organ.

I still can't believe, I could get such a high mark on an exam!

I just love music and I especially love the organ. 

I also want to say a huge Thank you to my Organ teacher, Ian Sadler!

I couldn't have asked for a better teacher. Thank you for taking me on as a student!

Here are some pictures from today.

This one is a picture of the ceiling inside Koerner Hall.

After the ceremony, we took a few pictures. 

Both of my parents are super proud of me. 

I couldn't have done this without their support.

My Speech Arts Teacher, Julia Pal, was also at the ceremony.

Three of her other students won Gold Medals!

Congratulations Julia!

Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard for their Gold Medals!!!