TSO & Rob Kapilow's "What Makes It Great?: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik"

On Friday we went to see Rob Kapilow's "What Makes It Great?: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. We've been to some of his concerts before. I blogged about Mozart's Jupiter Symphony last year.

Rob Kapilow always makes it so interesting. He makes it so that anybody can understand why we like what we like! He focusses on small bits at a time and he shows us what makes it special. Sometimes he even changes it up so that the music sounds not as great and then changes it back to the original so we can hear the difference.

There was only one performance of "What Makes It Great? Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" with the TSO but you can download it with a different orchestra on itunes.

After the concert, people got to ask the orchestra questions.

One girl asked them how long it takes to learn a piece. Rob Kapilow gave an example about Picasso. He said that there's a joke about someone asking Picasso to do a sketch on a napkin when he was 80 years old. It took him a few seconds and Picasso asked him for $50,000. The person said 'But it only took a few seconds'. But Picasso said it took 80 years.

He explained that it's really all of the years of practice and experience that helps the orchestra to play the way they do.

When a grown up asked about how they all get the timing right for a piece one of the double basses answered that they come together and "their hearts all beat as one". They all listen to each other so they can respond to each other and play together.

I really like those question and answer sessions!

I got to take a picture with Rob Kapilow again.

Rob Kapilow will be back again with the TSO on Feb 21, 2014 for Beethoven's Violin Concerto and Jun 6, 2014 for Appalachian Spring.

www.tso.ca

Halloween at Mackenzie House

On Halloween Mom and I went to Mackenzie House. It turns out that we went there on Halloween last year too! 

We ran into Bruce Beaton, the actor from the Necropolis Tour. He showed us around the house.
I remembered quite a bit about William Lyon Mackenzie's life from what I learnt in the last school year but you learn something new every time you come to a place like Mackenzie House.

Mom took this picture of Mackenzie's bedroom. He died from 'softening of the brain' which might have meant that he had a stroke. He died in this very room. 

We took this picture in the basement. It's very bright compared to most other basements. The Mackenzies would have used the basement as a day room.

This is a picture of Mackenzie. It would have been very expensive to pose for paintings but he was the first Mayor of Toronto.

Mackenzie's family wasn't wealthy but there are records that they rented a piano.

 This is a painting of Todmorden Mills. We plan to visit there soon!

There was a display area where they showed the boxes that the prisoners from the 1837 Rebellion made. Mackenzie was the 'Ringleader' but he escaped arrest by fleeing to America. The prisoners made these boxes for their loved ones. They were afraid that they would be executed. Samuel Lount and Peter Matthews were both hung for their participation.

The box on the bottom right of the second picture is a snuff box from John G. Parker and John Montgomery. Parker was sentenced to transportation to 'Van Dieman's Land' now known as Tasmania. He was freed in 1839. Montgomery's death sentence was commuted to transportation but he escaped to the United States. He was able to come back to Toronto after he was pardoned in 1843.


At the end of the tour I got to go in the historic print shop and I printed this souvenir.

It was my first time at the house while there was a school group. They were from St. Michael's Choir School and they were very well behaved. The children and their teacher were very nice!

TSO's Carmina Burana

Last night Mom, Dad and I went to see the Toronto Symphony Orchestra perform Carmina Burana. It was excellent!

Peter Oundjian conducted and I was lucky enough to meet him on Wednesday when I got to see one of the rehearsals for this performance.

Neil Deland, horn
Valentina Farcas, soprano
Nicholas Phan, tenor
James Westman, baritone
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
Toronto Children's Chorus

The first two pieces were Thomas Adès' Dances from Powder Her Face and Benjamin Britten's Seranade for Tenor, Horn and Strings.

I was amazed by Nicholas Phan's singing. He memorized everything and he had very good pronunciation and very good control over his breathing!

I'm so happy that the TSO's Principal Horn, Neil Deland was the one who did the horn solo for the Britten piece. I love it when the TSO musicians get to do the solos because I think they are some of the most talented musicians in the world! Neil Deland is definitely one of them!

After the intermission, we got to hear Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. I've never heard the full piece before but I'm so happy that I got to go. I was surprised about what it means! I think everybody has heard "O Fortuna" and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir was the best I'd ever seen them!
I liked the song where Nicholas Phan was singing about being roasted on the spit and I also liked the men's drinking song.

The Toronto Children's Choir voices were so light and pure. It was cool to see them especially with them performing with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

I loved this performance!

Un jour special avec l’Orchestre Symphonique de Toronto

For English click here.

Aujourd’hui c’était un jour super cool!  J’ai passé le jour avec TSO!

J’ai assisté à une répétition de TSO par l‘aide de Josh et Sarah de TSO.  Voici une photo de moi avec mon père et Sarah, qui nous a expliqué le programme.

J'avais peur que je pourrais éternuer, mais je ne l'ai pas!

L’orchestre a répété deux pièces:  “Thomas Adès' Dances from Powder Her Face” et “Benjamin Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, Op. 31”.

La pièce d’Adès a été compose en 1995 et ce sera la première de cette oeuvre en Canada. J’aime beaucoup l’ouverture, elle a un “feel tango”.

J’ai bien aimé le Sérénade de Benjamin Britten, mieux que sur les disques.  Le tenor était Nicholas Phan et Neil Deland était soloist de cor. Ils ont travaillé sur des choses comme l'humeur, le phrasé et ce que Benjamin Britten pensée était important. Pour “Elegy”, ils essayaient d'obtenir la sensation de la nuit tombant.

Pendant la pause de répétition j'ai rencontré le premier violon Jonathan Crow du TSO. Nous avons parlé des chansons que j'apprends sur le violon. Il m’a dit qu'il connaît mon professeur de violon.

J’ai parlé avec Teng Li, le chef de viola.  Elle plaisante que je pourrais jouer le viola aussi.  J’aimerais de l’essayer un jour mais ma mère me permet de n’apprendre que deux instruments.

J’ai demandé à la violoncelliste Roberta Janzen  comment elle se prépare avant un concert.  Quand elle a fini un programme, elle va à la bibliothèque pour chercher la musique pour la semaine prochaine.  Chaque jour elle pratique pendant quelles heures chez elle.   Parfois elle  écoute un enregistrement de la musique.  Elle peut mieux comprendre sa partie.  Elle veux être prète pour la repetition.

La meilleure partie de la journeé, c’était la reunion avec Peter Oundjian, le directeur musical de l’Orchestre symphonie de Toronto.

Je me souviens encore de la première fois que je l'ai vu. C’était le concert de Noël et l’orchestre a joué “Sleigh Ride” (version de Liberace).  Je l’adorais!  Après ce concert, je revais d’être un chef d’orchestre.

Nous avons parlé un peu de la musique l’orchestre vient de répéter.  Le tempo a changé souvent et Peter Oundjian a utilisé ses mains pour montrer le temps.  Ils ont travaillé sur la sensation de danse de la pièce. Il a même utilisé son corps pour montrer le rythme.

J'ai même joué une chanson pour lui. J'ai joué un des morceaux du cinquième année - Study in G Major de Czerny.

Peter Oundjian se prépare pour un concert en effaçant sa journée à partir de 2 ou 3 heures pour qu'il puisse se concentrer sur ce qu'il a à faire ce soir-là. Pour moi, quand je prepare pour un concert, je fais le même chose.  I ne regarde pas la télé ou allumer l’ordinateur. (Parfois je joue avec le Lego.)

Je voudrais dire un grand “merci” à Josh et Sarah, tous les musiciens de TSO, surtout  Jonathan Crow, Teng Li, et Roberta Janzen, et aussi à Peter Oundjian pour une expérience  merveilleuse.

Merci à mon professeur de français pour m'aider avec ce blog.

A Special Day at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Français  

Today was the most amazing day!
I had an extra special day with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Josh and Sarah from the TSO arranged for me to sit in on a rehearsal.
Here is a picture of me and Dad with Sarah. She went through the program with us.

I was a little nervous that I might sneeze, but I didn't! 

They were rehearsing Thomas Adès' Dances from Powder Her Face and Benjamin Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, Op. 31.

Dances from Powder Her Face was composed in 1995 and it's the first time it's being performed in Canada! I really liked the Overture! It had a tango feel.

I loved Benjamin Britten's Serenade. It was even better than the recordings I've heard. Nicholas Phan performed the Tenor solo and Neil Deland was the Horn soloist. They worked on things like mood, phrasing and what Benjamin Britten thought was important. For Elegy they were trying to get the feel of night falling.  

During the rehearsal break I got to meet the TSO's Concertmaster Jonathan Crow.  We talked about the songs I'm learning in violin. It turns out that he knows my violin teacher!

I also spoke with Teng Li, the Principal Viola. She joked that I should switch to playing viola. I'd really like to try it one day but my Mom will only let me study two instruments.

I asked cellist Roberta Janzen how she prepares for a concert. She told us that after one program is done she goes to the library to pick up her music for the next week. She practices her part at home for a few hours each day and sometimes she listens to a recording so she can hear how her part fits in. She makes sure she knows it before rehearsal with the full orchestra.

The best part of the day was getting to meet the TSO's Music Director, Peter Oundjian!

I can still remember the first time I saw him Conduct the TSO. It was a Christmas Concert and they played a Liberace version of Sleigh Ride and I loved it. After that I wanted to be a Conductor too. 

We talked for a bit about the piece that they rehearsed.
The tempo changes a lot and he uses his hands to show the time. They were working on the dance feel of the piece. He even used his body to show the rhythm. 

I got to play a song for him!
I played one of my Grade 5 pieces - Study in G Major by Czerny.

Peter Oundjian prepares for a concert by clearing his day from 2 or 3 o'clock so he can focus on what he has to do that evening. When I have to perform I kind of do the same thing. I don't watch TV or turn on the computer. (Sometimes I will play with Lego though.)

 I want to say a big "Thank you" to Josh and Sarah, all of the TSO musicians especially Jonathan Crow, Teng Li, and Roberta Janzen, and to Peter Oundjian for such a wonderful experience!

Playing Violin for my Grandpa

Today was a very special day. We went to Mount Pleasant Cemetery to visit my Grandpa, his brothers, sister and his Mom. My Grandpa used to play the violin and Mom got permission for me to play the violin at his grave.

I wish I could have played for him when he was alive.

Gibson House Museum

Today, Mom and I went to Gibson House. 

David Gibson was a Land Surveyor in Upper Canada who migrated from Scotland. He was one of the ring-leaders of the 1837 Toronto Rebellion. Gibson fled to the United States. There was a reward of £500 if someone would turn him in. It was the same amount for Peter Matthews and Samuel Lount who were both executed for their involvement in the rebellion. (Read more about them in my post about the Toronto Necropolis.) 

David Gibson's house was set on fire after the rebellion but he was able to return to Toronto after the Queen pardoned the people who participated in it.

We started our tour in the kitchen and they had just done some cooking.

There was a Joseph Rainer (Whitby) piano in the house.

Here is a picture of David Gibson.

This is one of his wife, Eliza Gibson.

Inside the parlour, they had a stove to help keep them warm in the winter.

This was more in the family area, closer to the piano.

This is a picture of the male-servant's room.
His mattress was made from straw.

He'd get heat from the kitchen's stove. You could hear what was going on in the kitchen downstairs.

They put a foot bath in front of the chair.

 This was from one of the children's rooms.

They had lots of toys on display on the ground in this room.

 This mat is from the 1850s.

This was the Gibson's bedroom. It has the fanciest bed. They would probably use feathers in their mattress.

I think this was a female servant's room.

This room was probably a guest room.

This was David Gibson's Office.
I like the sign that says "Responsible Government Now!"

Here is a picture of the dining room.

The sideboard was original to the house.

The clock was also from the house.

We went back into the kitchen and we learnt about how the oven worked. It would take hours for the oven to heat up and then they'd be able to bake in it.