OraSTORYo!

My oratorio students at the University of Toronto presented their annual OraSTORYo! performance in Walter Hall on Tuesday, January 13th, 2015. Handel, Mozart and Mendelssohn were well represented, as well as Rheinberger, Telemann, Haydn, Wilberg and Orff. These fine performers -at the fourth-year and graduate levels (pictured below), are now preparing for their performance of Handel’sLa Resurrezioneat St. Basil’s Church, 50 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, April 8th, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. I am also grateful for the work of my exceptional colleagues in this course, pianist Mia Bach, and doctoral teaching assistant Charlene Santoni.

Pictured from left: Darryl Edwards, Charlene Santoni, Mia Bach. Pictured on right (starting front row left): Jennifer Krabbe, Samuel Chan, Daniel Denino, Marina Davis, Rebecca Genge. From middle row, left: Maeve Palmer, Madison Angus, Robin Whiffen, Caroline Reynolds. From back row, left: Peter Warren, Kari Abraham, Clarisse Tonigussi, Ariella Flatt.

Five days previously, we headed by bus to Jackson’s point, where at a retreat centre we had a super time with the singers of North Toronto Collegiate Institute. We enjoyed lunch, and after our performance, we did a choir workshop on Handel’s Zadok the Priest, followed by a reception where students interested in university music study chatted with us. That was busy! Carol Ratzlaff, NTCI vocal music teacher, and Artistic Director of VIVA! Youth Choirs is such a strong example of leadership for terrific music making in our high schools – schools that are not designated as high schools for the arts.

With Carol Ratzlaff and the singers of North Toronto Collegiate Institute

From top left: Jennifer Krabbe, Luksimi Sivaneswaralingam, Ariella Flatt, Marina Davis, Clarisse Tonigussi, Caroline Reynolds, Maeve Palmer, Robin Whiffen, Monica Orso, Madison Angus, Wenjie (Tony) Qiu, Peter Warren, Samuel Chan, Daniel Denino, Giovanni Spina, Alexandra Asher, Rebecca Genge, Megan Maeve McCarthy, Kari Abraham