Since Jeanne Lamon stepped down as music director in 2014, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir have been busy stoking the fire until a new successor can be found. They have instituted Interim Managing Director Alexandra Skoczylas, and a Music Director search committee, consisting of musicians, board members, administrative staff, and community representatives, to search both nationally and internationally to identify possible candidates. Until then, Jeanne Lamon is keeping a close eye on things, and will perform with the orchestra for select Toronto and touring programmes leading up to the appointment of a new Music Director.
Today Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra announced details of the 2015-2016 season that looks to maintain their position as one of the most creatively active period performance orchestra in North America, but does little to go beyond it.
Besides Tafelmusik’s newly revitalized homestead at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall, they will continue to expand national and international tours, and maintain an active education program that puts them well ahead of the period orchestra pack.
2015-16 season highlights include:
- Violinist Cecilia Bernardini, (who made her Tafelmusik début last year), will guest-conduct a baroque programme in early October that includes works by Zelenka, Geminiani, Telemann and Bach.
- The orchestra and Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, under director Ivars Taurins, return with Messiah, of course, but also present a Bach’s Christmas Oratorio earlier in December.
- Bruno Weil returns to conduct Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in February 2016. The concerts will be recorded on Tafelmusik in-house Media label, thereby completing Tafelmusik’s recordings of all nine Beethoven symphonies.
- Ever since Glenn Gould put Bach’s famous Goldberg Variations on the musical map, Toronto has had a close affinity with the work. Tafelmusik rekindle that relationship, with the debut of the exciting French harpsichordist Benjamin Alard, who is the toast of Europe for his Bach interpretations (Mar 31 to Apr 5, 2016);
- Alison Mackay’s brings a new multimedia creation titled, Tales of Two Cities: The Leipzig-Damascus Coffee House (May 24, 2016);
- Opera Atelier team up with the period orchestra with David Fallis leading Lully’s Armide (Oct 22 to 31, 2015), and Mozart’s Lucio Silla (Apr 7 to Apr 16, 2016). In addition to the performances in Toronto, Tafelmusik will join Opera Atelier in performances of Armide at the Royal Palace of Versailles, France, on November 20, 21 and 22, 2015.
- House of Dreams will tour across Western Canada in March 2016, with stops in Vancouver, Victoria, Duncan, Nanaimo, Kelowna, Edmonton, and Calgary.
There are more details on the full season, including all the artists, programmes and dates, coming shortly to the Tafelmusik website.
To give you a sample of one of the many talented visiting Tafelmusik soloists next season, soprano Ruby Hughes, (scheduled to perform in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Bruno Weil, Feb 4 to 7, 2016) sings Schumann’s Muttertraum with Joseph Middleton on piano.
