Stories of the Underground Railroad

Stories of the Underground Railroad

by | Apr 10, 2023

Stories of the Underground Railroad

Stories of the Underground Railroad with the Juno-award winning Toronto Mass Choir. Cutting-edge gospel music with Caribbean music influences set to the magical shores of Collingwood.

Toronto Mass Choir celebrating three decades of soulful sound.

Simcoe.com

Artist Bio

Toronto Mass Choir

VENUE

First Presbyterian Church
200 Maple Street Collingwood, ON

This event has been made possible by the gracious support of:

  • Tony & Anne Arrell
  • Steve & Mary Glogowski
SING! in the Summer

SING! in the Summer

by | Jul 31, 2021

The Perfect Event for Your Sunday Afternoon

SING! in the Summer Presents The Ault Sisters, FreePlay, and Hampton Avenue in a concert of stunning a cappella harmonies. 

These jazz-infused choral groups have all the rhythm & grooves you need for a perfect Sunday afternoon. Tantalize your senses with sing-a-long favourites, while dancing-along in the aisles!

Jazz trio, The Ault Sisters is made up of sisters, Amanda, Alicia, and Alanna and are featured on TV’s “Your All Time Classic Hit Parade” every Friday night. This talented trio of siblings puts their signature seamless harmonies to stunning effect on classic standards and a selection of original tunes.

Freeplay is a duo featuring Dylan Bell & Suba Sankaran. Using nothing but their voices and innovative live-looping techniques, genre-bending FreePlay takes you from the concert halls of Europe, to the jazz clubs of Manhattan, to the temples of India, and back to their native Toronto, Canada… all without leaving your seat. From Bach to Bird to the Beatles, Dylan and Suba effortlessly cross musical boundaries, continually combining and recombining sounds to create a concert of endless variety, with the intimate delivery of two people. Think Simon and Garfunkel crossed with a Bach 2-part invention…

The award-winning, Hampton Avenue quartet feature Dylan & Suba of Freeplay Duo along with Tom Lillington & Debbie Flemming (est. 1995). They’re known for their tight jazz harmonies and upbeat rhythms.

Program

SET ONE

AULT SISTERS
Blue Skies (Irving Berlin)
Centrepiece (Edison/Hendricks)
They Can’t Take That Away From Me (George & Ira Gershwin)
And So It Goes (Billy Joel)
Lucky To Be Me (Bernstein/Comden)

HAMPTON AVENUE
On The Sunny Side of the Street (Jimmy McHugh)
Cuban Night (Debbie Fleming)
In A Mellow Tone (Duke Ellington)
Let’s Jive (Debbie Fleming)

FREEPLAY
Come Together (Lennon/McCartney)
Mas Que Nada (Jorge Ben)
What’s Going On (Marvin Gaye)
Conga (Enrique Garcia)

SET TWO

AULT SISTERS
How High The Moon (Lewis/Hamilton)
Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (Ellington/Russell)
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (Sherwin/Maschwitz)
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (Raye/Prince)

HAMPTON AVENUE
Feeling Good (Newley/Bricusse)
Baila (Debbie Fleming)
Doodlin’ (Horace Silver)
Everybody’s Boppin’ (Jon Hendricks)

FREEPLAY
Fragile/This Pretty Planet (Sting/Chapin)
Invention (J. S. Bach)
Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard (Paul Simon)
God Only Knows (Asher/Wilson)
Chaiyya Chaiyya (A. R. Rahman)

GROUP FINALE:
Everybody Sing (Debbie Fleming)

AULT SISTERS:
Amanda Ault, Alicia Ault and Alanna Ault
www.aultsisters.com
Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @theaultsisters
HAMPTON AVENUE:
Dylan Bell, Debbie Fleming, Tom Lillington, Suba Sankaran
www.hamptonavenue.com
FREEPLAY:
Dylan Bell, Suba Sankaran
www.freeplayduo.com
Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @freeplayduo

Artist Bio

The Ault Sisters
Freeplay Duo
Hampton Avenue

Presented in collaboration with SING! The Toronto International Vocal Arts Festival 

VENUE

First Presbyterian Church
200 Maple Street Collingwood, ON

This event has been made possible by the kind support of Scenic Caves Nature Adventures as well as Thomas Vincent and Family.

A Fantasy of Spirituals, Partsongs and Folk Songs

A Fantasy of Spirituals, Partsongs and Folk Songs

by | Jul 31, 2021

A Choral Feast Starring the Nathaniel Dett Chorale

The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, North America’s only Afrocentric professional chamber choir, enchants you with a program of popular spirituals, including a special tribute to the first AfroCanadian composer, Dr. Nathaniel Dett.

In forming the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Brainerd Blyden-Taylor’s goal was to build bridges of understanding, appreciation, and acceptance between communities of people, both Afrocentric and other, through the medium of music.

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Welcome Note

“I have come to you tonite because no people
have been asked to be modern day people
with the history of slavery, and still
we walk, and still we talk, and
still we plan, and still we hope,
and still we sing;”

~Sonia Sanchez, from ‘Reflections After the June 12th March for Disarmament’

Greetings Friends,

The excerpt by the celebrated poet and activist Sonia Sanchez, referenced above, gave birth to the title And Still We Sing’ that has been the impetus for our Spring concert series since our inception. To this overarching theme we have always chosen a subtitle to further amplify the general idea. ‘You Asked Me To Speak’ points the way forward, with hope, as we re-emerge from the relative ‘silence’ of lockdowns imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic with which we have lived for the past two years.

For far too long our performances have remained ‘silent’ to our Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community members. With tonight’s concert we welcome them warmly and pledge to be more inclusive in our performance practice going forward. We are most grateful to the ASL artists and interpreters of Phoenix the Fire for working with us to amplify tonight’s performance.

Together we invite you to read, listen and reflect on the Canadian premieres of Jerrell R. Gray, Aaron Manswell, Brian Nabors, and indeed the entirety of tonight’s repertoire with our theme and title in mind. Welcome to ‘And Still We Sing…You Asked Me To Speak’.

D. Brainerd Blyden-Taylor
Artistic Director

Artist Bio

Nathaniel Dett Chorale

Program

D. Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, conductor; Christina Faye, collaborative pianist
Jaideep Goray, ASL Interpreters

You Asked Me To Speak – Kim André Arnesen (b. 1980)

Anaïs Kelsey-Verdecchia, soprano

Go Down Moses (from ‘The Ordering of Moses’) – R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943)

Dérrell Woods, bass-baritone; Ryan Downey, tenor
Ego Sum – Sydney Guillaume (b. 1982)

Sweet Jesus (Songs for the Journey #1) – Brandon Waddles (b. 1988)

Jenna Cowans, alto

Steal Away – Diedre Robinson (b. 1970)
Echo – Brian Nabors (b. 1991) *
One More Life – Aaron Manswell (b. 1991) *

INTERMISSION

Serenity Prayer – Jerrell R. Gray (b. 1989) *

Ineza Mugisha, soprano

Make Me A World – Ruth Watson Henderson (b. 1932)

Dérrell Woods, bass-baritone

I Dream A World – Rosephayne Powell (b. 1962)
Stick With Love – Aaron Manswell *
Ianjai Mounsey-Ndemo, alto; Jamie Hillman, tenor
This Little Light of Mine – Brandon Waddles
Alison Ryan, soprano; Jamie Hillman, tenor
I’m Buildin’ Me A Home – Uzee Brown, Jr. (b. 1950)

Ianjai Mounsey-Ndemo, alto

Way Over in Beulah Lan’ – Stacey V. Gibbs (b. 1962)

VENUE

First Presbyterian Church
200 Maple Street Collingwood, ON

This event has been made possible by the gracious support of Donald & Catherine MacLean.

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