As the Canadian Music Centre marks the very last of its decade-old New Music in New Places concerts in Toronto, pianist Stephanie Chua is happy with the way the first of two nights of musicmaking with violinist Véronique Mathieu went yesterday at Junction Craft Brewing.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
One of the beauties of this programme, which repeats tonight, is that much of the content — including members of the audience and the snacks — was sourced within walking distance of the venue.
Chua has lived in the Junction area for several years — and was one of the co-founders of the JunctQin Trio in 2009. Composers Emilie LeBel and James Rolfe, who have pieces on the 45-minute programme, live a few blocks away.
“There are a lot of young families as well as a strong sense of community,” says Chua of the Junction and the potential to connect new people to contemporary art music in a local setting. “It is so important to find a wider audience; you don’t want to just have other contemporary musicians coming to your concerts.”
Chua says about 20 people showed up for last night’s event, not bad for a venue that’s not on a subway line and that isn’t normally associated with music. “It’s not like playing at the Music Gallery, because people have their eye on that place,” says Chua.
She was thrilled that the brewery’s loading dock made it easy to deliver a small Yamaha concert grand piano — one generously donated by the Toronto Piano Group. “Very often, it’s just not possible to get a piano into an alternative venue,” Chua adds.
The pianist explains how she and Mathieu set up a programme with “a variety of aesthetics.” That includes performing something by Healey Willan (1880-1968) — “he represents Old Toronto,” says Chua — as well as commissioning new work from LeBel and Caitlin Smith, who is currently living and working in Vienna.
“We were interested in LeBel’s background in electro-acoustic music,” explains Chua. “So we thought it would be great to get the actual sounds of the Junction into the piece.”
The only non-Canadian composer on the evening’s list is Derek Johnson — a former schoolmate of Matthieu’s.
Despite it being an unusual venue, Chua admits that the final setup follows tried-and-true concert practice, with the musicians at one end of the room, the audience in the middle and the bar at the very back, to minimize the intrusion of noise into the concert experience.
The pianist says the mood was chatty and informal at the start of the evening, with people getting their snacks and drinks while the performers and composers introduced the music.
Chua says LeBel had the idea of writing out questions and handing them out to people in the audience beforehand. “I think it made everyone in the audience feel more comfortable,” she concludes.
Once Chua and Mathieu started playing, everyone went quiet.
“We had the best of both worlds,” concludes Chua. “”We were able to play and have people be attentive as well as interact with the audience and feel informal.”
The programme repeats tonight at the Junction Craft Brewery, 90 Cawthra Ave., Uni 101 (northeast of Dundas and Keele Sts). A $25 admission includes a sampling of the host venue’s craft beers.
Audience members under 18 can get in free. Chua adds she has extended invitations to students at Humberside Collegiate and the Etobicoke School of the Arts (juice is being served, too).
You can find a few more programme details here.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
