Toronto Centre
Testimonials
Glenn Shimoda, 2007 Festival Performer
“I was so honoured to receive the Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects Toronto Centre Award. It’s been my pleasure to play for the Contemporary Showcase Festival. The atmosphere of this festival is always friendly, warm and encouraging. I appreciate the adjudicators taking the time to give comments and advice in detail.
I’ve enjoyed playing Canadian pieces that I like. Thank you very much for the award and the great opportunity to play the recorder.
Nicole Angela Chow , 2007 Festival Performer
“Thank you very much for awarding me the Robert Aitken Flute Award in the Toronto Contemporary Showcase Festival this past November. I sincerely appreciate it, and I had a splendid time at the Showcase.
Thank you for your time and organization of this event. I do look forward to November, 2008!”
Katie Binnersley, 2007 Festival Performer
“Thank you all very much for the wonderful opportunity of participating in the Contemporary Showcase Festival this year. It is so great that you can provide a place for young performers to not just showcase their own efforts, but also to hear the music other people are working on and, of course, the illuminating comments of the adjudicator.
Unfortunately, it is unusual to get a room full of people who perform and want to discuss Canadian music; in fact, it is unusual to fine people who know it at all.
I was really disappointed that I could not attend the final concert – school got in the way – but I really appreciate the award, which will go towards my voice lessons in the coming year.”
Jamie Thompson, Adjudicator (and former Performer),
2007 Festival
“I can't say enough good things about the ACNMP's Contemporary Showcase!
It offered me a positive, formative experience at a critical stage of my development as a young performer.
Not only did it affirm my instincts to explore and enjoy contemporary, Canadian music, it was a direct and positive influence on me as I charted a course for myself as a musician and teacher. To be critiqued by such reputable musicians as Douglas Stewart and Gary Kulesha had a profound impact on me as a young artist.
To have been asked to return as an adjudicator for this non-competitive showcase is both a reminder of these earlier experiences as well as a distinct honour and privilege.
I encourage young performers to participate and attend this exciting event: it can only be a positive experience!”
Sharon Kahan, Adjudicator, 2007 Festival
“What a pleasure it is to be involved in this festival. The opportunity for dialogue with the participants was, once again, a true inspiration for me. It is wonderful to hear young players who are excited about new music and feel connected to it in a personal way. Many of them spoke passionately to me about the kinds of feelings and images the music evoked in them, and were excited to try new ideas and interpretations. I cannot stress how important it is for all of us to have the opportunity to engage in a meaningful discourse with these young artists. Bravo to all involved!!"
Ann Southam, composer
“I have attended many of the Contemporary Showcase Concerts and I am always thrilled by the talent, intelligence and the adventuresome spirit which these musicians, teachers and students alike bring to the music.
Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects, in my view, is a most precious resource, and the results are here for all to see and hear.”
Judy Kehler Siebert, DMA -
Associate Professor, Piano and Chamber Music
Faculty of Music, University of Manitoba;
Adjudicator, 2006 Festival
“It was a great privilege to adjudicate the piano performances that were part of the Contemporary Showcase in Toronto during Canadian Music Week 2005. Listening to an all-Canadian-composers Festival event like this heightens my awareness of the importance for us as musicians and educators to teach and demonstrate the compositions of our times. We must convey the importance of Contemporary Showcase models for the students of today, the performers of tomorrow, that we value and support the current artistic ideas of the composers amongst us and explore the expressions of what is happening around us currently. It also encourages creativity in our students to compose-not merely study “history” in their music studies—but sound-wise, to experiment on big canvases the subject matters and ideas of today, and not just colour within the lines!
My interaction with students, teachers and organizers was enjoyable and as always, I learn more than I can possibly impart. All practical aspects of the festival must be commended as well; the organization was outstanding with attention given to every detail. This project deserves all the support it can get and much more visibility-both locally and nationally. It may encourage more communities to begin similar celebrations of “our own music of our own time”!
Amir Safavi; Performer, 2006 Festival
“I would like to thank Mrs. Fothergill, Mrs. Potter, Mrs. La Plante, and the other devoted people in the centre for organizing such a wonderful festival and gala concert. As a recipient of the ACNMP Award in 2005 and a participant almost every year, I am so grateful to all the composers, teachers, adjudicators, scholarship donors, and organizers who keep our Canadian Music alive. November is just a month in the Fall, but to me is a month of celebration and rejuvenation of our Canadian Music.”
Professor Lorna MacDonald, Lois Marshall Chair in Voice, University of Toronto; Adjudicator, 2006 Festival
“The Contemporary Showcase is a wonderful occasion to celebrate not only Canadian music, but young Canadian singers in performance. My two times as an adjudicator for this festival have impressed upon me how freeing contemporary music is for the voice, how remarkable the singers' performances can be, and the need for more opportunities for both Canadian singers and composers. Learning music of our time and country makes our place in the arts both important and relevant, and I applaud the showcase organizers, advisors, teachers, singers and pianists for being a part of the Contemporary Showcase. Bravi!”
Jason van Eyk, Adjudicator, 2004 Festival
“Adjudicating the solo string and string chamber music sections for the 2004 Contemporary Showcase in Toronto was a real joy for me. I love working with young musicians, each talented in their own way, and love to help guide their performances to greater heights. It was amazing to see and hear how quickly these young talents could adapt to my suggestions and take their performances to a higher level. As a representative of the Canadian Music Centre, I was even more pleased to be coaching young talent in the interpretation of Canadian composers’ works, and to bring to them my unique sense of the repertoire of our country’s musical creators.”
Tara Stratton, 2004 Festival Participant
“I want to thank the ACNMP for its support in the Contemporary Showcase of 2004. Your encouragement means a great deal to me. I was very honoured to receive the Patricia Elliot Scholarship and a Toronto Centre Performance Award, as well as support from the ACWC. I am grateful to the Contemporary Showcase Festival, as I have learned so much about modern Canadian composition through my participation. The generous support from your organization has inspired me to further develop my composition skills and instrumental abilities.”
David Gordon Duke, Composer
“For thirty-nine years Contemporary Showcase has been a vital link between our community of laymen, teachers and performers. As we embark on a new century of music we can be secure in the knowledge that the vision and dedication of all of the Showcase participants is there to ensure the future of Canadian music.”
Tonia Cianciulli, 2003 Festival Participant.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the wonderful experience of sharing contemporary music with others
who share the same appreciation and love for it.”
“I was so honoured to receive the Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects Toronto Centre Award. It’s been my pleasure to play for the Contemporary Showcase Festival. The atmosphere of this festival is always friendly, warm and encouraging. I appreciate the adjudicators taking the time to give comments and advice in detail.
I’ve enjoyed playing Canadian pieces that I like. Thank you very much for the award and the great opportunity to play the recorder.
Nicole Angela Chow , 2007 Festival Performer
“Thank you very much for awarding me the Robert Aitken Flute Award in the Toronto Contemporary Showcase Festival this past November. I sincerely appreciate it, and I had a splendid time at the Showcase.
Thank you for your time and organization of this event. I do look forward to November, 2008!”
Katie Binnersley, 2007 Festival Performer
“Thank you all very much for the wonderful opportunity of participating in the Contemporary Showcase Festival this year. It is so great that you can provide a place for young performers to not just showcase their own efforts, but also to hear the music other people are working on and, of course, the illuminating comments of the adjudicator.
Unfortunately, it is unusual to get a room full of people who perform and want to discuss Canadian music; in fact, it is unusual to fine people who know it at all.
I was really disappointed that I could not attend the final concert – school got in the way – but I really appreciate the award, which will go towards my voice lessons in the coming year.”
Jamie Thompson, Adjudicator (and former Performer),
2007 Festival
“I can't say enough good things about the ACNMP's Contemporary Showcase!
It offered me a positive, formative experience at a critical stage of my development as a young performer.
Not only did it affirm my instincts to explore and enjoy contemporary, Canadian music, it was a direct and positive influence on me as I charted a course for myself as a musician and teacher. To be critiqued by such reputable musicians as Douglas Stewart and Gary Kulesha had a profound impact on me as a young artist.
To have been asked to return as an adjudicator for this non-competitive showcase is both a reminder of these earlier experiences as well as a distinct honour and privilege.
I encourage young performers to participate and attend this exciting event: it can only be a positive experience!”
Sharon Kahan, Adjudicator, 2007 Festival
“What a pleasure it is to be involved in this festival. The opportunity for dialogue with the participants was, once again, a true inspiration for me. It is wonderful to hear young players who are excited about new music and feel connected to it in a personal way. Many of them spoke passionately to me about the kinds of feelings and images the music evoked in them, and were excited to try new ideas and interpretations. I cannot stress how important it is for all of us to have the opportunity to engage in a meaningful discourse with these young artists. Bravo to all involved!!"
Ann Southam, composer
“I have attended many of the Contemporary Showcase Concerts and I am always thrilled by the talent, intelligence and the adventuresome spirit which these musicians, teachers and students alike bring to the music.
Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects, in my view, is a most precious resource, and the results are here for all to see and hear.”
Judy Kehler Siebert, DMA -
Associate Professor, Piano and Chamber Music
Faculty of Music, University of Manitoba;
Adjudicator, 2006 Festival
“It was a great privilege to adjudicate the piano performances that were part of the Contemporary Showcase in Toronto during Canadian Music Week 2005. Listening to an all-Canadian-composers Festival event like this heightens my awareness of the importance for us as musicians and educators to teach and demonstrate the compositions of our times. We must convey the importance of Contemporary Showcase models for the students of today, the performers of tomorrow, that we value and support the current artistic ideas of the composers amongst us and explore the expressions of what is happening around us currently. It also encourages creativity in our students to compose-not merely study “history” in their music studies—but sound-wise, to experiment on big canvases the subject matters and ideas of today, and not just colour within the lines!
My interaction with students, teachers and organizers was enjoyable and as always, I learn more than I can possibly impart. All practical aspects of the festival must be commended as well; the organization was outstanding with attention given to every detail. This project deserves all the support it can get and much more visibility-both locally and nationally. It may encourage more communities to begin similar celebrations of “our own music of our own time”!
Amir Safavi; Performer, 2006 Festival
“I would like to thank Mrs. Fothergill, Mrs. Potter, Mrs. La Plante, and the other devoted people in the centre for organizing such a wonderful festival and gala concert. As a recipient of the ACNMP Award in 2005 and a participant almost every year, I am so grateful to all the composers, teachers, adjudicators, scholarship donors, and organizers who keep our Canadian Music alive. November is just a month in the Fall, but to me is a month of celebration and rejuvenation of our Canadian Music.”
Professor Lorna MacDonald, Lois Marshall Chair in Voice, University of Toronto; Adjudicator, 2006 Festival
“The Contemporary Showcase is a wonderful occasion to celebrate not only Canadian music, but young Canadian singers in performance. My two times as an adjudicator for this festival have impressed upon me how freeing contemporary music is for the voice, how remarkable the singers' performances can be, and the need for more opportunities for both Canadian singers and composers. Learning music of our time and country makes our place in the arts both important and relevant, and I applaud the showcase organizers, advisors, teachers, singers and pianists for being a part of the Contemporary Showcase. Bravi!”
Jason van Eyk, Adjudicator, 2004 Festival
“Adjudicating the solo string and string chamber music sections for the 2004 Contemporary Showcase in Toronto was a real joy for me. I love working with young musicians, each talented in their own way, and love to help guide their performances to greater heights. It was amazing to see and hear how quickly these young talents could adapt to my suggestions and take their performances to a higher level. As a representative of the Canadian Music Centre, I was even more pleased to be coaching young talent in the interpretation of Canadian composers’ works, and to bring to them my unique sense of the repertoire of our country’s musical creators.”
Tara Stratton, 2004 Festival Participant
“I want to thank the ACNMP for its support in the Contemporary Showcase of 2004. Your encouragement means a great deal to me. I was very honoured to receive the Patricia Elliot Scholarship and a Toronto Centre Performance Award, as well as support from the ACWC. I am grateful to the Contemporary Showcase Festival, as I have learned so much about modern Canadian composition through my participation. The generous support from your organization has inspired me to further develop my composition skills and instrumental abilities.”
David Gordon Duke, Composer
“For thirty-nine years Contemporary Showcase has been a vital link between our community of laymen, teachers and performers. As we embark on a new century of music we can be secure in the knowledge that the vision and dedication of all of the Showcase participants is there to ensure the future of Canadian music.”
Tonia Cianciulli, 2003 Festival Participant.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the wonderful experience of sharing contemporary music with others
who share the same appreciation and love for it.”