THIS WEEK! Bach the Virtuoso: Concert Organist Christian Lane plays Bach. In this issue: Friday November 10th, 7:30 p.m.

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1 Newsletter for the Toronto Centre of the Royal Canadian College of Organists November 2017 THIS WEEK! Bach the Virtuoso: Concert Organist Christian Lane plays Bach Friday November 10th, 7:30 p.m. Christian Lane, winner of the 2011 Canadian International Organ Competition, plays Bach on the famed tracker organ of Christ Church Deer Park. PROGRAMME: Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major, BWV 564 Partita diverse sopra Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig, BWV 768 (Excerpts) Prelude, Trio, and Fugue in C Major, BWV 545/529ii Pièce d orgue, BWV 572 Wir glauben all an einen Gott, BWV 1098 Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645 Wir Christenleut, BWV 1090 In dir ist Freude, BWV 615 Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543 Venue: Christ Church Deer Park (1570 Yonge Street) Tickets: $25 / $20 (RCCO members/seniors/students) Parking: There is a Green P parking lot on Heath Street For more information: In this issue: Page 2 September Page 4 Recitals & Concerts Page 3 October Page 5 The President s Voice

2 Mario Ciferri in September The Toronto Centre s opening season was a co-sponsored gala concert celebrating the opening of the 12 th series of ORGANIX CONCERTS. Seasoned Italian artist Mario Ciferri performed a brilliant organ recital featuring a varied program of Bach, Bossi, Liszt, Franck, Reger, Tournemire, Vierne and Yon. Mario made ample use of the instrument s newest 19 rank, 11 stop antiphonal division installed by Casavant in On hand was Mario s wife Valentina (in photo), who not only turned pages, but played an integral part in registration changes. The intermission itself was a great catered event with wine and goodies. Following the party, a presentation was made to Gordon Mansell, Executive Producer and Artistic Director of ORGANIX. Gordon was selected as the recipient of the national Award of Excellence by the Royal Canadian College of Organists for ORGANIX CONCERTS. National President Peter Bishop presented the award; also on hand were Elizabeth Shannon, Executive Director; and Mark Toews, Chair of the Honourary Awards Committee, who read the citation. Mario Ciferri s colourful and exuberant playing in the second half initiated an immediate standing ovation. His musical performance and the fact there was a full audience made this a very successful evening And Congratulations to Gordon and ORGANIX CONCERTS! -Thomas Fitches Mario Ciferri s Student Masterclass On the morning of September 23rd, students and several spectators gathered at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church for a masterclass with Mario Ciferri. Patrick McElcheran, a private student of William Maddox, and two University of Toronto students, Manuel Piazza, a third-year undergraduate organ performance student of John Tuttle, and Stefani Bedin, a first-year Master of Music (organ performance) student of Kevin Komisaruk, were active participants in this event, each exhibiting high levels of musicality and great receptiveness to Ciferri s suggestions. The masterclass began with Manuel s performance of the first movement from Mendelssohn's Sonata No.3. This was followed by the Andante Cantabile from Widor's Symphony No.4, played by Patrick. Stefani concluded the class by performing Franck s Chorale No. 3. Throughout the masterclass, Ciferri placed much emphasis on matters pertaining to phrasing and worked with each of the students on carrying long legato lines and effectively building musical tension. Tempo rubato was another subject addressed in all three pieces. While it was evident that Ciferri was rather uncomfortable with the English language, he was admirably capable of conveying his thoughts through demonstrations and expressive gesturing, which had immediately audible effects on the students playing. Fortunately, some of the participants also had knowledge of Italian, which facilitated communication. All three students came away with valuable interpretative insights into their respective pieces, helpful suggestions for improvement, and warm words of encouragement. 2 Special thanks go to all who made this wonderful event possible. -Stefani Bedin

3 The Bulletin November 2017 Phantoms of the Organ Ghouls, goblins and witches hung in the air over a pulpit draped with a blinking skeleton in The Church of the Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto on Oct 27, when the annual Hallowe en concert by organ students and a couple of their teachers transpired. Marionette Sarah Svendsen, a Yale graduate was wound up, when her machinery failed in her performance of Bach s Toccata and fugue (BWV 565), by a huge key administered to her back by fellow performer Manuel Piazza. He, in turn, elicited chuckles of recognition from his listeners with a virtuosic rendition of Fugue uber ein Thema von Germanatta by Giovanni Dettori. Veteran teacher John Tuttle, unrecognizable in a red bandana and flowing locks, offered a suitably spooky rendition of Gounod s Funeral March of a Marionette. One-year organ students Lionel Rupic and William Tessier split the Prelude and fugue of Bach s Little G minor between them. 18 year-old Nicholas Wanstall offered Schumann s Canon in B minor, Kwan Youn Jung, red headlamps blinking from her hair, the slow movement from Hindemith s Sonata II, Esther Ruth Teel, in a gorgeous white dress, a substantial Bach C minor Prelude, Sebastian Moreno a thoughtful reading of Langlais Introduction and Tiento from his Suite Medievale. The program ended with master of ceremonies Stephen Frketic dividing the movements of Boëllmann s Suite Gothique amongst himself and Stefani Bedin, Matthew Boutda and Rebecca Phillips. As the audience of nearly 200 filed happily into the night, they dropped into the proffered basket contributions which will further enhance the education of young organ students. -Beverley Oziewicz Choral Evensong at Trinity College Choral Evensong is offered in Trinity College Chapel each Wednesday at 5.15 p.m. during term, led by The Rev'd Andrea Budgey, Chaplain, and the Trinity College Choir. The service follows that sung in most English Cathedrals and Chapels, and the music sung is some of the most beautiful choral music of the repertoire. A reception with refreshments follows in the Divinity Common Room. Take advantage of this brief time each week to feed your mind and soul with this unique event. 3

4 Recitals & Concerts Sunday, November 12 4:00 pm Monday, November 13 7:30 pm Matthew Whitfield performs Erik Satie s Vexations St. John s Norway Anglican Church 470 Woodbine Avenue Tuesday, November 14 1:00 pm Richard Hansen, organist Sunday, November 19 4:00 pm Beethoven s Symphony No. 5 Sunday, November 19th, 2017 at 4:30 pm St. Thomas' Anglican Church (201 Church Street, Belleville, ON) Duo Pergulæ (Francine & Matthieu Latreille) The programme includes a transcription of Beethoven's Symphony No.5 for Organ Duo Tuesday, November 21 1:00 pm Wednesday, November 22 12:30 pm William O Meara, organist All Saints Anglican Church Sunday, November 26 4:00 pm Tuesday, November 28 1:00 pm Richard Birney-Smith, organist St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica announces a new series, St Michael's Concerts, featuring organ and choral concerts, Duo Voce Humana (France), Vesuvius Ensemble, and Parts II & III of Messiah with baroque orchestra and the choristers of St. Michael's Choir School. The series runs from Sept. 26 through to June 15, View the on-line brochure: Bulletin Information The Editor of the Bulletin is Matthew Whitfield, Organist & Director of Music at St. John the Baptist, Norway Anglican Church. December and January are combined into a joint issue. The submission deadline for the Dec/Jan issue of the Bulletin is: Friday, December 8th. To make a submission, please the editor at: mwhitfi3@gmail.com Supply Organist List Gerald Martindale maintains a list of supply organists for the RCCO Toronto Centre. To receive a copy or add your information to the list, contact Gerald at or bellman@rogers.com. The substitute organist list is also published online. View it at 4

5 The President s Voice Hello RCCO Toronto, I'd like to express a huge debt of thanks to all the performers and organizers for the Phantom's of the Organ concert at Church of the Holy Trinity last week. It was a fun concert as always, and we took in about $700 at the door. This covered our publicity expenses and left us a little bit to put towards student scholarships. Though the attendance of around 150 people is less than it has been in previous years at Metropolitan United, the church did appear to have a nice crowd! Our next event is THIS FRIDAY, Christian Lane's Bach concert at Christ Church Deer Park. I hope to see many of you there. He is a wonderful performer, and a past winner of the Canadian International Organ Competition. Please come out and show your support this Friday! And finally, in our next issue of The Bulletin, you'll find your order form to our January New Year's Dinner, which will take place the evening of Monday, January 15th. This is a wonderful social event for our membership - it s good to see many of you together in person. This year s dinner will be in the Great Hall at St. Paul's Bloor St. and will be catered by their in-house caterers. We will also be entertained by accordionist Michael Bridge. You can find a link to his website at in our upcoming events listing. More details about the food and Michael will be appearing in the December issue. See many of you on Friday for Christian Lane's concert at Christ Church Deer Park at 7:30pm. -Stephen Frketic RCCO 2018 Elections The Nominating Committee seeks to remind members that 2018 is a year scheduled for elections to the offices of President and Vice-President of the RCCO. These are non-remunerative positions. The President has a clear vision of leading the college in fulfilling its mission. He/she has had experience in college affairs at the national level, such as serving on committees and on National Council or the Board of Directors, and/or as regional director. A two-year term, the position entails six meetings with the Board of Directors (alternating in-person and teleconferencing), two meetings with National Council, usually held in Toronto (Spring and Fall) and one during the annual organ festival. As well, the President represents all members in contacts with sister organ associations and other arts organizations, as well as individuals. Some travel to Centres is expected. The two positions of Vice-President involve membership on National Council and the Board of Directors, and substituting for the President in his/her absence. Each Vice-President directs and coordinates work with one of the portfolios; 1) Centre Support, or 2) Communications. Each position is a two-year term. Recommendations for these positions are welcome, and should be forwarded to the National Office at info@rcco.ca no later than January 8, RCCO Toronto Programming for The programming committee is assembling concerts and events for our next season. If you have suggestions for our consideration, we would love to hear from you. No ideas are too outlandish (well, maybe there are a few!) Please send your ideas to Tom Bell: music@stpaulsbloor.org 5