December Concerts Announced At The Royal Conservatory Of Music

December concerts have been announced at The Royal Conservatory of Music. Get full details here:

TD Jazz Concerts: Jazz From Around the World

This specially curated series celebrates jazz's journey from its roots in New Orleans melding European, Afro-Cuban and Acadian music to its adoption by musicians from every corner of the world including India, Cuba, Cameroon, Japan, South Korea, Trinidad, Israel, Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey. The series continues with Grammy Award-winning Cameroonian bassist Richard Bona and Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodríguez, who met through Quincy Jones and, after years of friendship, added Cuban percussionist and vocalist, Pedrito Martínez, to create a powerhouse group. The three musicians headline the second concert in the series on December 11 while Martínez also opens the show with his own band.

Music Mix

Montreal-based Haitian musician Wesli, who won the 2019 Juno Award for Best World Music Album, shares an evening of December 3 with émigré Trinidadian songwriter Drew Gonsalves, who foundeda??Kobo Town. Born Wesley Louissaint in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wesli has grown into his role as a prolific songwriter, guitarist, and producer, whose musical journey has gone from stringing up an oil can with nylon fishing line to winning a Juno Award for World Music Album of the Year in 2019. Uniting a large cross section of Montreal talent, his music links Haitian vudou and rara with roots, Afrobeat, and hip-hop. Founded and fronted by émigré Trinidadian songwriter Drew Gonsalves, Kobo Town's music has been variously described as "an intoxicating blend of lilting calypsonian wit, dancehall reggae and trombone-heavy brass" by the Guardian and a "unique, transnational composite of rhythm, poetry and activist journalism" by Exclaim!

Presented in association with the Bureau du Québec.

Cape Breton fiddler sensation and storyteller, Ashley MacIsaac, joins Canada's queen of R&B soul, Jully Black, and singing-songwriting duo, Madison Violet, for a powerful evening of Canadian roots music on December 10. MacIsaac plays the fiddle with an intensity, authenticity, and passion that is hard to deny. He learned his chops at an early age, mentored by some of the legendary greats of the area, performing all over the island in halls, clubs, barns, and kitchens. Jully Black is a true Canadian icon. Named as one of the 25 Greatest Canadian Singers Ever by CBC Music, she has taken home multiple Juno Awards, earned many industry accolades, and was hand selected to sing for the Queen of England. Madison Violet is a Juno nominated Canadian music duo composed of singer-songwriters Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac, notable for various folk and pop award nominations and wins.

Top Canadian songwriters come together with host Blair Packham to perform their music and tell us about the inspiration, the songwriting process, and the stories behind the songs in the popular SongBird North series. The artists for the first installment on December 18 will include Rehan Dalal and Melle. The last artist will be announced shortly. Born and raised in Bombay, India, Dalal grew up surrounded by classic rock cover bands, Bollywood singers, and classical Indian musicians. After moving to Canada, he picked up a guitar and began writing songs influenced by the early 1960s soul sounds of Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, to the Motown era magic of Stevie Wonder and The Temptations. Melle's music, which combines real instruments with hip-hop electronics, reflects the struggles young people are facing today, including mental health, saving the planet, and toxic relationships.

Presented in partnership with the Songwriters Association of Canada (S.A.C.)

Unfortunately, due to illness, the highly anticipated Koerner Hall debut of Bobby McFerrin, scheduled for December 4, needs to be re-scheduled and The Royal Conservatory is working on an alternate date.

Classical Music Concerts

Invesco Piano Concerts

Called "pristine, lyrical and intelligent" by The New York Times, Juno Award winner, UNESCO Ambassador, and alumnus of The Royal Conservatory's Glenn Gould School, Jan Lisiecki returns for his sixth appearance in Koerner Hall on December 12. His very special all-Chopin program, comprised of the composer's Nocturnes and Etudes, is titled Poems of the Night. As Mr. Lisiecki writes: "[These] pieces, intertwined by way of a key-progression, recall a collection of poems in a book: each one in a different style, telling a personal, particular story which every listener will interpret differently. They are a space for introspection and reflection, simultaneously embodying what I cherish most in Chopin's music: the beautiful melodies, the innovation, and - perhaps most of all - the characteristic simplicity and refined elegance which go so effortlessly hand in hand here."

Discovery Series

On December 6, Toronto Symphony Orchestra Principal Clarinet and Royal Conservatory Orchestra Resident Conductor, Joaquin Valdepeñas, conducts Glenn Gould School students in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante in E flat Major, K. 297b, for four winds and orchestra, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 8.

Free Concerts

Rebanks Family Fellowship Concert on December 1 in Mazzoleni Concert Hall offers the opportunity to hear artists on the cusp of major careers. These concerts feature solo and chamber works performed by Rebanks Fellows currently enrolled in the one-year Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program at The Glenn Gould School. The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists presents the Academy Chamber Orchestra on December 18, featuring leading young classical musicians in Canada aged 8-18. They will be performing works by Dvořák, Correlli, and Mozetich.

RoyalConservatory.Live

The Royal Conservatory is livestreaming numerous concerts this season and audiences are encouraged to check the website 30 days prior to each concert if interested in this option. Single livestreams are available for $20 per household. The Conservatory is also offering new streaming "for pick your own" passes - $99 for 5 concerts, $130 for 10 concerts, and $199 for the full season per household. Each concert will be available for viewing for seven days. Please visit The Royal Conservatory's new digital channel www.RoyalConservatory.Live.

Koerner Hall has been awarded a #SafeTravels Stamp by World Travel & Tourism Council for adopting health and hygiene global standardized protocols. Click here to learn more about our safety protocols.

Tickets and subscriptions are available online at www.rcmusic.com/performance, by calling 416.408.0208, or in person at the Weston Family Box Office.