Toronto Summer Music: Finale. Marie-Claire Saindon: “Turtulette Acadienne Montréalaise”; J.S. Bach: Magnificat; Samih Choukeir: “Lao Rahal Soti” (arr. Shireen Abu Khader) — Kathleen Allan, conductor; Joy Lee, piano; Community Program-Chamber Choir | Chopin: Ballade No. 3 In A-Flat Major, Op. 47 — Luke Zhang, piano | Eric Abramovitz: Bleep Bleep Bass (World Première) — Eric Abramovitz*, bass-clarinet; Miles Haskins, bass-clarinet | Kelly-Marie Murphy: Fierce Urgency of the Now (World Première) — Cassia Drake, viola; Jonathan Mak, piano | Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10, L. 85 — Clarisse Schneider, Sophia Lee, violins; Bridget Allen-O’Neil, viola; Lara Isaac, cello; Song Hee Lee, coach | Mozart: Serenade No. 10 in B-flat Major, K. 361/370a, “Gran Partita” — Sarah Jeffrey, Cristina Sewerin, oboes; Isabelle Dumas, Farimah Khorrami, clarinets; Jonathan Krehm, Eric Abramovitz, basset-horns; Zenghao Wang, Dorothy Cotton, bassoons; Jesse Dale, bass; Gabriel Radford, Robert Bernstein, Noah Hawryluck, Ethan Chialtas, horns | J.S. Bach: “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” (Cantata 147, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben) — Byungchan Lee, Claire Heinrichs, Jonathan Crow, violins; Vanessa J. Goymour, viola; Sabina Crow, cello; Caitlin Wood, Sarah Mole, sopranos; Jennifer Mak, piano | Janacek: Mládí for Wind Sextet — Claire Lee, flute; Cristina Sewerin, oboe; Jonathan Krehm, clarinet; Eric Abramovitz, bass clarinet; Dorothy Ward, bassoon; Avram Selick, horn | Dvořák: Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81 — Yura Lee, Yoanna Haeun Jang, violins; Remea Elisa Ines Friedrich, viola; Bethany Bobbs, cello; Emmanuel Roberts Dugal, piano. August 2, 2025, Walter Hall.
“Classical music is in good hands,” a visibly moved Jonathan Crow announced, his towering figure dominating the Walter Hall stage. The last night of this year’s Toronto Summer Music Festival was an occasion to pay homage to its indefatigable Artistic Director, who, after nine seasons, is ending his tenure. He is succeeded by another Canadian violinist, William Fedkenheuer.
Not surprisingly, this was a moving event in so many ways: from voices cracking with emotion to a standing ovation for Crow as he walked down to receive a trophy, to a 16-minute compilation of video tributes from friends and alumni of the Festival, including stars such as James Ehnes, Peter Oundjian, Angela Hewitt, and Gustavo Gimeno.
Community Program & World Premieres
It was also fitting that the evening should celebrate TSM’s community program, one of the greatest legacies of Crow’s tenure. The program’s Chamber Choir walked in, singing Marie-Claire Saindon’s ‘Turtulette Acadienne Montréalaise’; a meaningful choice, if not exactly a musically rewarding one, for all the choir’s enthusiasm and infectious energy.
Two movements from Bach’s Magnificat offered a more worthwhile vehicle for them and their conductor, Kathleen Allan, as they smoothly negotiated complex polyphonies. For the final song, the choir dispersed on either side of the stage, forming a dome as they echoed the soloist’s mournful tune, a song by the Syrian Samih Chukeir, arranged by the Jordanian-Palestinian-Canadian Shireen Abu Khader.
The program offered no description or translation of the words. But, some post-concert research revealed how poignant and relevant they were: “If my voice departs, your voices will not / If the singer dies, the songs will remain / bringing together the broken and suffering hearts.”
A message of warning for another human disaster came with the COVID-delayed premiere of Kelly-Marie Murphy’s ‘Fierce Urgency of the Now’ for viola and piano, featuring Cassia Drake (for whom the music was composed) and the ever-reliable Jonathan Mak. A call to action to save the environment, each of the piece’s three movements was inspired by a prominent environmental scientist. The music moved from contemplative ruminations in the first two movements to frenetic drive in the third.
Between these works, Luke Zhang demonstrated the outcome of his training with the Community program’s Piano Masterclass, in a brave and largely accomplished performance of Chopin’s third Ballade.
Then, Eric Abramovitz and Miles Haskins, both Community program mentors, brought a touch of comic showmanship with the former’s medley of familiar tunes for two bass clarinets, in homage to Chang Lee, one of the TSM’s members of staff.
Four first movements for larger ensembles followed: an animated Debussy String Quartet, a heavenly Mozart Gran Partita for wind, an enigmatic Janáček Mládi for wind sextet, and finally an invigorating Dvořák Piano Quintet.
The Spirit of Community
But, this evening was not primarily about technical prowess.
It was about the spirit of community, about the audience’s enthusiasm and support even after two hours without interval, about the smiles and tears as Jonathan Crow joined his staff in Bach’s ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’, about the TSM staff’s non-stop work and broad smiles, about learning that the matching fund-raising campaign had surpassed its goal, and above all about mentors and mentees, amateurs and professionals, together celebrating the thrill of music-making.
Classical music in Toronto is indeed in good hands.
Thank you, TSM staff. Thank you, Jonathan!
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