The Royal Conservatory of Music Announces February Concerts

The Royal Conservatory of Music has announced its lineup for February concerts. See the full schedule below:

Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage

The popular concert series continues on February 23 with "Jelly & George" featuring Aaron Diehl and Cécile McLorin Salvant. This tribute to jazz pioneers Jelly Roll Morton and George Gershwin features the fresh perspectives of American jazz pianist/composer Diehl, joined by the extraordinary 2016 Grammy-winning vocalist, Cécile McLorin Salvant, who made her Canadian debut in Koerner Hall in 2013 with Ramsey Lewis. The New York Times described Diehl's playing as "melodic precision, harmonic erudition, and elegant restraint," and Paris Hot Club Magazine has called McLorin Salvant a "true and remarkable jazz singer ... a young jazz prodigy."

World Music

The unmistakably joyous and uplifting a cappella vocal music of South Africa will pulsate through Koerner Hall on Valentine's Day,February 14, as Ladysmith Black Mambazo makes its Royal Conservatory debut. Nelson Mandela designated the group "South Africa's cultural ambassadors to the world" as it carries a message of peace, love, and harmony year after year, bringing this message in song and dance to every theatre they perform in. The audience has the option of adding on a post-concert Valentine's Day soirée with a chocolates and cocktails reception.

Music Mix & Family Concerts

As part of The Conservatory's sesquicentennial programming, Harry Manx returns to Koerner Hall on February 3. The"Mysticssippi" blues man has been called an "essential link" between the music of East and West, creating musical short stories that wed the tradition of the blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas. For this special "only at Koerner Hall" Canada 150 concert, Manx will be joined by the Dévah Quartet, with Clayton Doley on keyboards, Mark Lalama on accordion and piano, and Kevin Breit on mandolin and guitars.

Tony Award-award winning actor and singer Brent Carver joins the Art of Time Ensemble for an evening of song on February 24 in a concert titled The Songbook. Art of Time's Artistic Director Andrew Burashko invited Carver to join him in hand-picking a lineup of songs from a wide variety of styles and genres, from Broadway to the cafes of Paris, and from the Great American Songbook to pop music of the sixties. A roster of Canada's top composers from a variety of different musical perspectives were then commissioned to create new arrangements of the classic material, and the results are rich embroideries upon the original songs, performed by Carver and an ensemble of stellar classical and jazz instrumentalists.

Iconic Celtic fiddle player Ashley MacIsaac, who has garnered international acclaim by playing the fiddle in Cape Breton style with his own spin, performs two concerts on February 25. During the afternoon, he will appear as part of the Family Concert series with Jay Andrews on percussion and Mary McIntyre on piano. For the evening concert, MacIsaac's band will share the stage withThe Once, the Newfoundland-based band that has collected three Canadian Folk Music Awards and was named Newfoundland & Labrador Art Council's Artist of the Year for their joyous, harmony-rich acoustic music.

Classical Music

Gidon Kremer returns to Koerner Hall for the fourth time on February 4 and for the second time with his very own Kremerata Baltica. Described as "freakishly brilliant" by The Washington Post, the Grammy Award-winning chamber orchestra was founded by Kremer in order to foster young musicians from the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, who share the musical and cultural life of the Baltics. Maestro Kremer is leading the group on landmark tours of North America and Europe this concert season, to celebrate the orchestra's 20th anniversary and his 70th birthday year. Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, arranged for string orchestra by J. Cohen and A. Pushkarev, will be accompanied by projections of paintings by Russian artist Maxim Kantor, as part of the program titled "Russia: Masks and Faces."

The Dover Quartet catapulted to international stardom following a stunning sweep of the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, becoming one of the most in-demand ensembles in the world. On February 11, the Quartet will appear with Grammy Award nominated Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital, who does "everything you never dreamt a mandolin could do." (Haaretz Daily) Their program will include works by Sulkhan Tsintsadze, Smetana, Bach, and the Canadian premiere of David Bruce's Cymbeline. The performance will be broadcast live and for free on The Conservatory's website at rcmusic.ca/livestream. The concert will be preceded at 7:15 pm with a pre-concert chat with Rick Phillips.

Canadian Opera Company Music Director Johannes Debus conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra on February 10 in a program of John Burge's Snowdrift, Haydn's Symphony No. 97 in C Major, Hob.I:97, and Sibelius's Symphony No. 5. BassoonistBee Ungar, who is currently pursuing an Artists Diploma at The Glenn Gould School and was a winner of The Glenn Gould School Concerto Competition, joins them in Heitor Villa-Lobos's Ciranda des sete notas.

Canadian diva Adrianne Pieczonka performs Franz Schubert's popular song cycle Die Winterreise, with Rachel Andrist at the piano, as part of Mazzoleni Masters's Songmasters concert series on February 12. This concert is already sold out.

Another vocal concert, The Glenn Gould School Vocal Showcase, part of Aimia Discovery Series, takes place on February 4. This is a wonderful opportunity to see The Glenn Gould School's talented voice students present an evening of art songs, arias, and ensembles.

Free Concerts

Inaugural Alexandra Koerner Yeo Chair in Cello at The Royal Conservatory, Andrés Díaz, performs works by Martin?, Richard Strauss, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts, with Barry Shiffman and other special guests on February 5 as part of the new free Sunday Interludes concert series.

The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists presents a Taylor Academy Showcase Concert by the leading young classical musicians in Canada on February 11.

The Glenn Gould School Concerto Competition Finals on February 1 is a unique chance to hear the talented solo performers of The Glenn Gould School compete for the opportunity to perform a concerto with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra during the 2017-18 concert season.

The Royal Conservatory's 2016-17 concert season is made possible through the generous support of:

Major & Series Sponsors and Supporters: Aimia, BMO, Invesco, RBC Foundation, TD Bank Group, David G. Broadhurst,Leslie & Anna Dan, Michael & Sonja Koerner, a gift in honour of R.S. Williams & Sons Company Ltd., Rebanks Family, Dorothy Cohen Shoichet, The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, and an anonymous donor

Performance Sponsors and Supporters: Alexanian Carpet & Flooring, Audi Uptown, Deloitte, Downtown Porsche, Georgian Capital Partners, KPMG, Tom's Place, The Cheng Family Fund, Consulate General of Spain - Tourism Section, Brayton Polka, Deborah Leibow & Ken Snider, Philip & Eli Taylor, Kris Vikmanis & Denny Creighton, Worldwide Quest, and two anonymous donors

Wine & Beverage Sponsors: Inniskillin, Mill St. Brewery, Acqua Panna & S. Pellegrino, Woodbridge by ROBERT MONDAVI

Media Sponsors: Classical 96.3 FM, JAZZ.FM91, NOW, WholeNote, Musicworks

Government Supporters: Government of Canada, Canada Arts Presentation Fund-Canadian Heritage, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, Toronto Arts Council

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