{"id":45677,"date":"2017-06-02T15:24:48","date_gmt":"2017-06-02T19:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=45677"},"modified":"2017-06-02T15:33:29","modified_gmt":"2017-06-02T19:33:29","slug":"feature-toronto-loves-to-sing-the-rise-of-choir-choir-choir-acquired-taste-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/06\/02\/feature-toronto-loves-to-sing-the-rise-of-choir-choir-choir-acquired-taste-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE | Toronto Loves To Sing: The Rise Of Choir! Choir! Choir! And Acquired Taste"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_45687\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-45687\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45687\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/06\/AtLeesPalaceCreditJosephFuda.jpg\" alt=\"Choir! Choir! Choir! performs at Lee Palace, 2014 (Photo: Joseph Fuda)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/06\/AtLeesPalaceCreditJosephFuda.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/06\/AtLeesPalaceCreditJosephFuda-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/06\/AtLeesPalaceCreditJosephFuda-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-45687\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Choir! Choir! Choir! performs at Lee Palace, 2014 (Photo: Joseph Fuda)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span class=\"wpsdc-drop-cap\">W<\/span>hat do Toronto-based string players, pianists and woodwind players do on their off days? While some enjoy travelling, playing video games, or even <a href=\"http:\/\/www.musicaltoronto.org\/write-for-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">writing for Musical Toronto<\/a>, others find their solace in the dulcet sounds of Palestrina. And I don\u2019t mean listening to Palestrina; I mean singing him.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pocketconcerts.ca\/acquired-taste\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Acquired Taste<\/a>, an amateur choir for professional instrumentalists in Toronto, was started in 2017 by Emily Rho and Rory McLeod, the creators of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.musicaltoronto.org\/2014\/10\/15\/whos-who-pocket-concerts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pocket Concerts<\/a>, an acclaimed chamber music series where chamber music concerts take place in peoples\u2019 homes. As described on their website, Acquired Taste\u2019s aim is, \u201cto create an environment where highly trained musicians can explore their love of music in a new way, rediscovering the \u2018amateur musician\u2019 mindset in a judgement-free environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GU46Eu7DDAo?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Since starting in early 2017, Acquired Taste has grown into a choir of more than twenty members. And the sounds posted as previews of their June 4th concert on their website certainly demonstrate more than an amateur musician\u2019s mindset, with blend, musicality and discipline to burn.<\/p>\n<p>Professional musicians aside, something is in the air with choir-culture in Toronto. Toronto\u2019s amateur pick-up choir Choir! Choir! Choir! has gained international fame with its youtube-sensation videos of collaborations with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WL4joPpeD6w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patti Smith<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dQPx2UVhTUc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Bowie<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FySSNE-mDRE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Leonard Cohen<\/a> tributes, and performances at the Toronto International Film Festival, Art Gallery of Ontario and the Juno Awards.<\/p>\n<p>Choir! Choir! Choir!, the brainchild of Toronto\u2019s Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman, meets once a week at Clinton\u2019s Tavern. Since their creation in 2011, thousands of Torontonians have joined Goldman and Adilman in song. And while their concerts boast an undeniably good time for a range of demographics, they also possess a philanthropic aim. In the past couple of years, the pickup group has raised money to bring two Syrian Refugee families to Canada, and the choir has donated thousands of dollars to over twenty-five charities.<\/p>\n<p>Acquired Taste, with its undeniably different vibe from Choir! Choir! Choir! (think less Joni Mitchell, more Brahms), will also donate proceeds from its June 4th concert to the Out of the Cold program.<\/p>\n<p>So what is it with choirs and the goodwill they inspire?<\/p>\n<p>In 2013, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/health\/news\/10496056\/Choir-singing-boosts-your-mental-health.html\">the Telegraph newspaper reported<\/a> that choir-singing boosts one\u2019s mental health, yielding more psychological benefits than playing sports or singing solo.<\/p>\n<p>The two pickup choirs started by Rho and McLeod and Goldman and Adilman certainly demonstrate these psychological benefits. Don\u2019t believe me? Go and see for yourself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Acquired Taste performs Sunday, June 4th at 7:30 p.m. at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Tickets can be bought at <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pocketconcerts.ca\/acquired-taste\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>www.pocketconcerts.ca<\/strong><\/a><strong>. Those interested in joining can contact Rory McLeod at <\/strong><a href=\"mailto:rory@pocketconcerts.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>rory@pocketconcerts.ca<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Choir! Choir! Choir! holds two drop-in sessions a week at Clinton\u2019s Tavern. More information can be found on their website <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.choirchoirchoir.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>www.choirchoirchoir.com<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u00a0or their Facebook group. Their next show is at Toronto\u2019s Masonic Temple on June 25th.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><b><i>#LUDWIGVAN<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What do Toronto-based string players, pianists and woodwind players do on their off days? They sing, of course.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":45687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6439,11,4967,3693,63,70],"tags":[9590,5807],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/06\/AtLeesPalaceCreditJosephFuda.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-bSJ","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45677"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45677"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45692,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45677\/revisions\/45692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45677"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=45677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}