Orchestra Toronto and conductor Michael Newnham will team up with Sultans of String and a few special guests for Christmas Caravan, a concert on December 7. The program takes a multicultural approach to the season, including traditional carols along with a number of original works.
“We are thrilled enter this joyous time of year with our selection of seasonal favourites that honours and celebrates a variety of cultures from around the world,” said Michael Newnham, Music Director of Orchestra Toronto in a statement. “We are confident this cross-cultural holiday celebration will bring the warmth and energy of the season, with a fresh perspective on familiar melodies.”
The musical influences range from flamenco and Django-jazz to Turkish and Caribbean traditions, and the program includes new arrangements of Jingle Bells, Silent Night, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, and Little Drummer Boy.
Among the original works is the premiere of an orchestral arrangement of Ken Whiteley’s song The Light of Christmas, arranged for the concert by Ben Bolt-Martin.
LV talked to Sultans of String bandleader Chris McKhool about the concert.
Personnel
Sultans of String is Chris McKhool on violin, guitarist and composer Kevin Laliberté, and bassist Drew Birston.
McKhool is a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal recipient for his work creating community through music, and leads the Billboard charting band. He has recorded and performed with jazz, world, folk and pop artists including Béla Fleck, Jesse Cook, the Chieftains, Richard Bona, and Nikki Yanofsky, and recently received both the Dr. Duke Redbird Lifetime Achievement Award and the Merilaïnen Music Awards as Indigenous Ally of the Year, for his work on Walking Through the Fire.
Kevin Laliberté, co-founder of Sultans of String, toured the globe with guitarist and recording artist Jesse Cook for five years, including an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, backing up Charlotte Church. He’s released five solo albums of original instrumental music, blending the traditions and sounds of flamenco, bossa-nova, pop and jazz, along with Spanish guitar. His music was used in the 2017 film Unforgettable, and numerous times on TV series.
Bassist, composer, producer and singer/songwriter Drew Birston is based in Toronto, where he’s been working in the Canadian music business for more than 25 years. He’s also toured the globe with a number of artists, including Amanda Martinez, Justin Hines, Chantal Kreviazuk, The Leslie Spit Treeo, and Sarah Slean. His solo album Orca Songs, released in 2016, was critically acclaimed. Career highlights include a performances at Madison Square Garden, UK’s Celtic Connections Festival, and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The band’s newest member is Saskia Tomkins, who plays the Nyckelharpa, a fascinating instrument that originates from Sweden.
The Nyckelharpa is a bowed chordophone that is also outfitted with keys. While Sweden is its primary origin, the instrument has roots throughout Europe dating back to the Middle Ages. The modern version has 16 strings and 39 keys.
“She’s a great artist,” McKhool says.
Saskia has classical music training, with a background that includes folk music and a degree in jazz. She is an All-Britain Champion Irish Fiddler, and worked with the Broadway production of Come From Away as a special consultant.
Guest artists include Ken Whiteley on guitar and mandolin, and vocalist Aviva Chernick.
“Aviva Chernick [will be] singing a Hannukah song,” McKhool adds.
Ken Whiteley is a legend in the Canadian roots music world. He’s played in ensembles that range from a jug band to folk and swing bands, and tackled blues, gospel, and children’s music too. His many accolades include a Canadian Folk Music Award, Genie Award for Best Original Song in a Canadian film, Lifetime achievement awards from the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals and Mariposa Folk Festival, along with 7 Juno and 13 Maple Blues Awards nominations.
Award-winning singer, and teacher of voice and meditation, Aviva Chernick performs in Hebrew, Ladino, and English. She is a founding member and lead singer of the Canadian World Music group Jaffa Road, and has toured with them and her own ensembles through North America, Brazil, and Israel, along with performing recently as a guest of the Canadian Ambassador to the UAE at Expo in Dubai. She leads the meditation and singing community in Toronto called neySHEV.
Percussionist Alberto Suárez is another guest artist. He is a native of Matanzas, Cuba, where he began to play percussion at age 13. He trained formally at the Matanzas provincial music school and the National Conservatory of Music in Cuba’s capital, Havana, and subsequently performed as part of the acclaimed International Orchestra. Since coming to Canada, he’s performed at a number of international percussion festivals, and with prominent artists that include Nick Ali, Ruben Vasquez, Jane Bunnett, Proyecto Charanguero, Hilario Duran, Alexis Baro, Luis Mario Ochoa, and Julie Leahy.
“And Rebecca Campbell — she’s our main singer,” McKhool adds.
Singer and sometimes songwriter Rebecca Campbell’s experience includes singing both lead and backup vocals in a range of styles. As a musician, she plays percussion, guitar, melodica, and accordion. The Toronto native grew up in the Maritimes and Ottawa, and was educated in Montréal. She has performed with a long list of artists that include Jane Siberry, Ian Tamblyn, Lynn Miles, The Special Interest Group, Fat Man Waving, Bec and Rusty, Three Sheets To The Wind, Justin Haynes, Stephen Fearing, Jim Cuddy, Dan Hill, Parachute Club, Sultans of String, Bruce Cockburn, Emmylou Harris, Ani DiFranco, Alanis Morissette, Daniel Lanois, Fred Eaglesmith, Luther Wright, and The Skydiggers, among others, and has sung on more than 100 recordings.
The Music
Christmas Caravan is the title of an album released by Sultans of String in 2017. McKhool is looking forward to revisiting the music with Orchestra Toronto.
“It’s so incredibly fun. Its such a huge sound,” he says of the opportunity. “A lot of the songs we’ve written come out of performing as a duo, a trio, a quartet maximum. To bring them to the absolute limit of Western art culture is a super fun experience for all.”
The orchestral arrangements were created by Rebecca Pellett, who has an extensive history of working with symphony orchestras (including the TSO), as well as film.
“There’s a lot of great, juicy orchestral arrangements,” McKhool says.
Stratford, Ontario based arranger and musician Ben Bolt-Martin contributes the new arrangement of Whiteley’s song The Light of Christmas.
“No one has heard this before — not me, not Ken,” McKhool says.
One of the things he’s enjoying about working with Orchestra Toronto is taking advantage of their technical skills. “They can read anything you put in front of them.” They’ll meet for the first time just a few days before the show.
It puts a little more pressure on Sultans of String. “We have to make sure that all of us make sure that we know exactly what’s happening,” he says. While the ensemble can make internal adjustments on the fly, working with such a large ensemble means being very precise. “The orchestra members are complete geniuses at playing, including Michael Newnham, exactly what’s written. That’s a whole other world,” he says. “Sight reading thirty-second notes that are whizzing by is not our strength,” he adds. “Telling stories to music is our strength.”
The Little Swallow (Carol of the Bells)/Al Vuelo – Sultans of String & City of Prague Philharmonic:
The music covers a wide range of traditions and sounds, and will also include the orchestra performing on its own.
“The first song that we’re going to play is an arrangement of Shchedryk, which is a Ukrainian Christmas song.”
It translates in to English as The Little Swallow, and is an instrumental work that predates the iconic Carol of the Bells. The beloved Christmas carol was born when lyrics were added to the music. “This goes back older than that, further back in time than that.”
The work is performed as a mashup with Al Vuelo, a Sultans of String original. “It’s a fun kind of flamenco mashup of those two songs.”
It’s followed by A Django Christmas, a Sultans arrangement in the spirit of Grapelli and Django-style jazz. Also on the program is a medley of Christmas carols with Ocho Kandelikas, sung by Chernick. The title means Eight Candles, and is sung in Ladino. “It’s not Latin, it’s not Spanish. Ladino is a language spoken by Jewish folks in Spain,” he explains. “That’s a gorgeous song.”
Saskia plays Rouge River Valley, a tune McKhool wrote for fiddle, combined with Niel Gow’s Lament and Rakes of Mallow on the nyckelharpa.
Rebecca sings Leonard Cohen’s iconic Hallelujah, which McKhool acknowledges is not exactly a Christmas song. “We do that as a Spanish rhumba or flamenco version,” he says. “Everything we do, we give it our own twist.”
The Concert
“Christmas shows are nice,” Chris says. “Sometimes you get folks coming out who don’t know anything about the band.” Working with Orchestra Toronto should also offer more exposure for both ensembles. “It’s a really great way to share audiences.”
The concert takes place December 7 at the George Weston Recital Hall at the Meridian Arts Centre.
- Find tickets and more details [HERE].
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