This week, I headed to chilly Edmonton to perform my final Messiahs of the season with the Edmonton Symphony conducted by Bernhard Gueller with soloists Wendy Nielsen, soprano, Sasha Cooke, Mezzo, and Alexander Dobson, Baritone. The choir was a joint effort with i Coristi Chamber Choir directed by Debra Cairns and Da Camera Singers, directed by John Brough. We had capacity crowds both evenings with the seats behind the choir even being sold.

The Francis Winspear Centre is one of my favourite places to sing. Its acoustics are phenomenal and it’s a beautiful space to look at with the organ console right behind the stage bookended by tall stone columned walls. They certainly put a great deal of thought into this building and the audience certainly is the winner here. I wish there were more performance spaces like it in Canada.

This afternoon, I’m getting ready to catch my flight home just as another winter storm is hitting Toronto so I’m not even sure that I’m going to make it in. Let’s hope it’s not as bad as they say it is!

Fanshawe Chorus London and the Gerald Fagan Singers are celebrating not one, not two but three anniversaries this year. Fanshawe Chorus London celebrates its 40th year, the Gerald Fagan Singers its 30th and the Concert Players Orchestra its 25th. This weekend, we performed the Messiah at Centennial Hall and again at St. Peter’s Basilica both in London. Gerald Fagan conducted this wonderful event with Michèle Bogdanowicz, Soprano; Wendy Hatala-Foley, Contralto; myself, Tenor; and Alexander Hajek, Baritone. It was a beautiful Messiah!

A highlight of this trip was attending Sunday morning service at Metropolitan United Church where Rachel and I sang in the choir and later were married. It was great to see old friends and hear the choir again. It was like coming back home.

I LOVE the Messiah! It never gets old for me and this performance was no different. Conducting the Elmer Iseler Singers was famed conductor Sir David Willcocks who has probably conducted thousands of Messiahs and it seemed just as fresh to him as the first day he conducted. I hope I’m as spritely when I’m his age! This concert was in honour of Lydia Adams’ 10th Year Anniversary with the choir. She passed the baton to Sir Willcocks for this concert and but still had a hand in the performance by playing the harpsichord.

It was a great Messiah all around! The choir and orchestra were fantastic and the soloists were amazing - Leslie Fagan, soprano, Jenny Enns Modolo, Mezzo, and Tyler Duncan, Baritone. There weren’t any huge surprises in this performance other than the tempo of Comfort Ye, which was much quicker than I normally perform it but I found it quite refreshing to change things up a bit. There was only one thing going wrong in this Messiah and it had nothing to do with the piece. I have been having problems with my leg and sitting for any amount of time is very painful so sitting for the first half after Ev’ry Valley not moving at all was quite a challenge. I was so happy when the intermission came and I could get up and walk around. I don’t know what I did to myself but I’m looking into getting it worked on. Hey, any excuse to get a massage!

I took two separate trips down to New York City to sing some auditions. The first trip was about 3 days long where I was able to relax before my audition and catch up with my friend, Djordje Nesic. I also went to see Opéra Français de New York’s production of Marie Galante by Kurt Weil featuring Canadians Isabel Bayrakdarian and my Opera School friend, Ariana Chris. I had worked with OFNY a couple years ago on Castor et Pollux and it was great to see that whole gang again! (Look under the 2007 Blog entries to read about that experience) My audition on the other hand wasn’t my best audition ever but that’s what happens. Some are good and some are not so good. I think I learned that you can never be prepared for everything and to expect the unexpected! I also learned that I really hate auditions!

My second trip was literally less than 24 hours where I flew in the night before and flew out right after the audition. I did have some time right after my audition before my flight took off so I was able to hang out with Ariana and actually catch up a bit. This audition went much better which made me feel quite happy considering all the money I had spent to get there.

Just finished two concerts with the Talisker Players Chamber Ensemble at Trinity St. Paul’s in Toronto. Also singing on the program was old University of Toronto Opera School colleague baritone, Jesse Clark. We sang a concert based on the poetry of A.E. Housman featuring the music of Orr, Gurney Vaughan-Williams, and a new piece by another University of Toronto graduate, Juliet Hess. My pieces were Vaughan-Williams’ Along the Field and On Wenlock Edge, my favourite piece! It was such a fitting concert to have on Remembrance Day and considering the events happening around the world today.

It was my first time singing in the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. Talisker Players, Jesse Clark and I performed in their free noon-time series for a packed house. We performed part of our concert which was to be presented in full that evening. It was a great space to perform in and the audience was really receptive. Jesse sang the premiere of Juliet Hess’ The Poplar Trees and Gurney’s The Western Playland and I performed Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge. It was nice to have another go at these great pieces!

This morning, I was interviewed on Classical 96.3 with Mike Duncan and Jean Stilwell. I had last seen Jean in Winnipeg for Manitoba Opera’s production of Davies’ The Transit of Venus. We chatted about the upcoming Talisker concert and we reminisced about the Kiwanis Provincial competition where I first met Jean. She was the adjudicator that year and chose me to continue on to the National Kiwanis where I won first place. Thanks Jean!

In the afternoon, Talisker and I went over to the All Saints Church Community Centre and played Vaughan-Williams’ Along the Field and On Wenlock Edge. The drop-in centre provides a warm place, coffee, computer services, library books, and help to those in need. After the concert, we met some great people. One gentleman came up and told me that he had once sang tenor and asked for an autograph. He said he was so moved by the performance. Another gentleman, was a library of jokes. One after the other, he would rattle off jokes most of which I can’t repeat here and some I would probably ruin the punch line if I tried.

Rachel, Sue Black and I performed at the Fellowship Towers Senior’s Home in Toronto. We sang an hour concert of some old favourites and operatic arias.

I ran into my old Oratorio class professor from the University of Toronto, Douglas Bodle. He made such an impact on me and really turned me on to Oratorios. He was still as witty as ever and told me some stories about his time in “God’s waiting room”. It was so good to see him again.

I’ve been out in Hamilton, Ontario, performing Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (the Magic Flute) with Opera Hamilton. This was my sixth production of Magic Flute and it never gets old. I love singing it! It was a production that was supposed to happen last year but because of financial troubles the company postponed their season. Now, back on track, the company is moving forward and upward.

We had a great cast made up of mostly Canadians directed by Michael Cavanaugh and conducted by Opera Hamilton’s David Speers. Shannon Mercer was Pamina, Alex Dobson - Papageno, Zorana Sadiq - Papagena, Audrey Elizabeth Luna - Queen of the Night, Leslie Ann Bradley, Michèle Bogdanowicz and Wendy Hatala Foley - First, Second and Third Lady, Kevin Langan - Sarastro, Gerald Isaac - Monostatos, Benoît Boutet and Nelson Sierra - the Armed Gaurds.

I had actually seen this set (brought in from Opera Company of Philadelphia) before. Rachel had performed Second Lady with another company so it was fun to be on the same set as her but in another production. I think it’s the best serpent I’ve ever come across so far.

On another note, I was almost run over by former Leaf’s coach, Pat Quinn. He was coming out of a parking lot at the hotel and didn’t see me crossing the sidewalk until almost the last second. He was apologetic and I was just glad not to have been flattened by him. But, if you’re going to be run over by somebody, why not someone famous?

No rest for the weary....

After finishing with Opera in Concert, I drove down to Pittsburgh to meet with Joshua Grunmann, Pianist, at the home of Freda Silberman, who, with her husband started the free Silberman Series at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. We stayed overnight at her condo where she told us stories of the people who had come through their house over the years. Especially memorable was the story of André Previn who wasn’t really interested in coming to an after-party and sat on the couch pouting with his arms crossed, not wanting to socialize or eat anything but Ms. Silberman said that when someone had brought him a plate of food, he conceded and ate the whole thing up. Another interesting fact about that building was that Mr. Rogers ((won’t you be my neighbour)) had lived in the building and his widow still lives there.

Joshua and I performed Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin at the Silberman Series. It was Joshua’s first performance of the piece and my second. It was so great to come back to the cycle and work on it again. I really love it and hope to perform it over and over again!

Hot on heels of my week in Vancouver, I returned to Toronto to perform with Opera in Concert in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux as Roberto. Such amazing music! It’s really difficult to sing because of the high sustained tessitura (or the range where most of the notes fall) and the weight one needs to put into voice yet so much fun to sing. I love singing the really dramatic kind of roles.

In our fantastic cast was Lara Ciekiewicz as Queen Elisabeth, Jennifer Enns Modolo as Sara, Justin Welch as Nottingham, Stefan Fehr as Lord Cecil, David English as Gualtiero, Alison D’Amato, Musical Director, Robert Cooper, Chorus Master, and Bill Silva, Director.

I was asked by Vancouver Opera to sing in a workshop for an upcoming opera written by John Estacio called Lillian Alling. It’s a opera based on the true story of a woman by the same name. In the opera, she comes to the New World in search of a man and during her search decides to go back to Russia by way of Alaska. She travels by foot and rail across the States and ends up in Vancouver headed up the Telegraph Trail on her way across Alaska into Russia.

I haven’t sung the music of Estacio before but I attended a performance where one of his pieces was played and I was riveted by his ability to create a musical picture solely with an orchestra. You can imagine exactly what he is trying to convey just like he was painting with music. It should be a very interesting operatic event and is slated to be performed with Vancouver Opera in 2010.

It has been a while since the last time I blogged but alot of wonderful things have happened. Leaving Vancouver, I traveled to San Francisco to sing with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra led by Nicolas McGegan. On the program was Rameau’s Pygmalion and Arne’s Comus, starring British soprano Sophie Daneman, soprano Meredith Hall, a fellow Canadian, with whom I have performed with many times before, and myself as Pygmalion. We sang five concerts in four different venues - Berkeley, Palo Alto, Contra Costa and San Francisco. Nic and the band certainly have a wonderful following and play extremely well. It was a delight to share the stage with these people. We stayed and rehearsed in Berkeley right near the college and in keeping true to its reputation, the day we arrived they were removing the last tree dwellers who had for a long time been protesting the cutting down of trees on campus to build a new sports centre. In between performances, we had the chance to visit with Nikki Einfeld (who was Nanetta in Falstaffi in Edmonton), her husband and daughter.

Over at the Opera House in San Francisco, Dmitri Hvorostovsky was singing in Simon Boccanegra. The opera house was next door to our venue at the Herbst Theater (where the United Nations charter was signed!) though I didn’t bump into him or get to see him perform. Although I did get to walk backstage of the opera house and stand on the stage. It’s a beautiful theatre! Maybe one day I’ll be there...

Rachel and I sang an impromtu concert from a balcony into the courtyard of Bute and Barclay in downtown Vancouver. We put the speakers facing the street and sang about 8 songs while people walked by. We sang 5 opera arias - O Mio Babbino Caro, Che Gelida Manina, Si mi chiamano Mimi, M’appari tutt’ amor, Quando men vo and 3 other songs including “You Raise Me Up” and “The Prayer”. People in the neighbourhood came out onto their balconies and so many people stopped on the street to listen. We had such great feedback from people especially ones who had never been to the opera but now plan on going. We certainly had never done anything like this before but we might have to make it a yearly event.

One of the neighbours posted this clip on You Tube of the last two songs from the performance -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUhqLk9cZU

And here’s another short one -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNNg6ONP8xE

I was asked by V. Tony Hauser, a Toronto based photographer who has photographed everyone from the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson to Glenn Gould to John Lennon, to come and pose for his new exhibit that will be showing at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. It’s for his series of portaits on stage personalities. He’s doing this exhibit on special, almost extinct Polaroid film and on a camera that is probably about 80 years old. I can’t remember if the camera had a name but it’s the camera where the photographer stands underneath a black sheet looking at his subject while he focuses and adjusts the lens and once that is done, he puts the film in and exposes the film. Once he sets the focus, you have to remain quite still as any movement forward or backwards can put you out of focus. We had such a good time chatting in between shots and I really enjoyed the experience. I’ve been such a fan of his work for some time now and it was such an honour to be asked to be photographed. I’m really looking forward to seeing the end results!

I spent the week at the Westben Music Festival in Cambellford, Ontario singing the music of Lerner and Loewe. You know...My Fair Lady, Camelot, Gigi, Paint Your Wagon, etc. It's great stuff! We performed it six times over six days to practically sold out houses or should I say, barn? That's right...the festival is held in a barn. A very clean, very modern and built-for-concerts kind of a barn but a barn nonetheless. Some days were so stormy that we would have to pause in the concert because of the thunder and lightening - it happened one day right after Curis sang the lines "Damn, damn, damn, damn" almost as if God himself was sending out a warning for cursing. Other days, the doors of the barn on all sides would be open and you could look out across the fields and see the wind blowing across the corn. It's a vista I'll never forget.

Donna Bennett, soprano, and Laura Pudwell, mezzo, myself and Curtis Sullivan, baritone, sang a variety of solos, duets and quartets from the musicals while Brian Jackson lead us from the piano and gave the audience behind-the-scenes information about all the musicals and the lives of Lerner and Loewe. Interestingly, he had once seen Julie Andrews sing the role of Liza Doolittle in My Fair Lady in London when she was 18!

I never really realized how moved the audience would be to hear this music. It was so much a part of their lives. They grew up to this music; so much of their memories are tied to this music. Memories of past loves and ups and downs. One lady I met could hardly speak to me, she had been so moved. Perhaps they'll one day decide to bring these great musicals to Toronto.

On a beautiful, sunny, warm Saturday afternoon, Jim Bourne and I performed Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin at the Elora Festival. It was my first crack at the cycle - I've been wanting to do it for a long time. We had a morning rehearsal in St. John's Church to get a feel for the space and piano (which was brilliantly maintained!) and then headed off to lunch at the Elora Mill Inn and found 'front and centre' seats by the falls. Talk about a perfect surroundings to get inspired by for a cycle which talks all about mill wheels, nature, water, flowers, and forests.

At the recital, Colin Fox, Canadian actor (who has been at Stratford, Shaw and on many TV shows and movies - AND who happens to be in my favourite movie of all time, Tommy Boy) was there to welcome the audience and announce us so Jim gave him a prologue to read that Müller wrote for this cycle. Now, that was cool! Colin Fox...reading...at my recital! I love those impromptu moments.

It's a fantastic cycle which tells of a young Wanderer who follows a stream until it comes across a Mill House and he falls in love with the Miller's daughter. They have a short courtship until a Hunter comes from the woods and takes the eye of the Miller's daughter. The young Wanderer then laments the loss of his love and is eventually carried out to sea by his beloved stream. It's a marathon of a piece to do with no book and no intermission but just like running, once you do it once, you want to do it over and over again. Can't wait until the next one!

Saratoga Springs is known for its natural spring waters with apparent healing powers and for its horse racing. In the magnificent State Park, you can find many natural springs, mineral baths and fountains where you can come and fill up your water bottles. Not only in the park can you find great drinking water but also the Spa Little Theater where this year's great operas were performed. On the bill were four operas - La Traviata, Gianni Schicchi, Buoso's Ghost, and The Pirates of Penzance. I was a part of the last three playing Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi/Buoso's Ghost and Frederic in Pirates. We had a SUPER cast! The principals being Kathryn Cowdrick (Ruth & Zita), Khori Dastoor (Mabel & Lauretta), Keith Jurosko (Sergeant of Police), Curt Olds (Pirate King & Marco), Robert Orth (Major General & Schicchi), David Neal (Simone) and Christopher Temporelli (Betto). Nelson Sheeley was our director, Curtis Tucker, our conductor for Pirates and Michael Ching our conductor for Gianni Schicchi/Buoso's Ghost. There was an amazing group of apprentices (way to many to name) who filled out the rest of the cast and chorus. They worked so hard and were great fun to work with! Special kudos to John Dooley (Samuel) with whom I had to endure an entire aria and women's chorus hunched down hiding behind a plinth.

The interesting thing about the layout for Lake George Opera is that the orchestra is behind and above the stage. There were 3 TVs out in the auditorium in which the conductor could be seen. It took some getting used to but worked out quite well. The benefit was that the audience is really close to the stage which makes for an intimate evening of opera. A huge group of my family - 11 of them in total - and some members of the Kitchener-Waterloo G&S Society came all the way down to see the shows. It was so great to have them there!

Upcoming is the Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin at the Elora Festival, my first one!

Congratulations to Edmonton Opera and our cast for our recent win at the Sterlings (Edmonton's version of the Tony's) for Outstanding Production of a Musical! Listen to the broadcast on CBC Radio 2 on "Saturday Afternoon at the Opera" on Saturday, June 28th at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time (2:00 AT, 2:30 NT) with host Bill Richardson interviewing myself and Edmonton playwright Stewart Lemoine, who wrote new dialogue for this production.

Have you ever been to Bayfield, Ontario? No, I hadn't either but it's a place you must definitely visit. The best time to go would be during the Bayfield Festival of Song held every summer by the gurus of the art song recital, Stephen Ralls and Bruce Ubukata. It's a quiet, relaxed town with quaint little cottages situated right on the shores of Lake Huron. Once there, you can take a dip in the lake, walk up and down the main street and have lunch on the patio at The Black Dog Pub or have a light lunch and coffee at Café Da Vinci ((THE most AMAZING buttertarts!!)) You should also try the Eggs Benedict at the Little Inn. I've tried many a Benedict and these are probably one of the best I've had. Bayfield is a great place to relax and enjoy the summer!

This year's line up at the Bayfield Festival of Song included a rocking evening of songs, duets and arias by soprano Natalie Paulin and mezzo Anita Krause and a couple performances by soprano Lucia Cesaroni, mezzo Kathleen Promane, your's truly as tenor, baritone Benjamin Covey and of course, pianists Stephen Ralls and Bruce Ubukata. We sang songs ranging from Chausson to Novello and the LiebesLeid Lieder of John Greer. We also were able to go into one of the local high schools and sing a little concert and answer questions. The funniest one was, "Do you play another instrument other than your vocal cords".

After the Sunday afternoon concert, I drove from Bayfield straight home to pick up my luggage for my trip to the States, had a little nap and left at 2am to drive the 7 hour trip down to Saratoga Springs to start my contract with Lake George Opera. I'm performing Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and Frederic in Pirates of Penzance. It should be fun!

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Choir finished up their season last week with Mozart's Requiem and Haydn's Missa Cellensis. After finishing up with Vanier College and the Oratorio Terezin, Nat and I drove back to Toronto from Montreal so we could be at rehearsal the next day. We had 5 performances back to back of the concert to what looked like nearly sold out houses. The choir sounded like Mozart had written this piece especially for them. They were able to wring every last drop of nuance from the piece. My favourite was the "Dies Irae" - it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Soloists were Shannon Mercer with her fiery coloratura, Meg Brage with her clear and expressive voice, Nat Watson and his amazing range and myself. Our exuberant conductor was Ivars Taurins.

As I do in all concerts, I scope out the audience, usually to find where Rachel is sitting but also to see who is there. It was cool to see Jeanne Beker of Fashion Television. I'm so glad I wore my Fluevogs that day...

Ruth Fazal composed the Oratorio Terezin after reading poetry from the book "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" written by children in the Terezin concentration city. It's woven with texts from the Hebrew scriptures sung by an adult and children's choir, 3 soloists (the Voice of Suffering (Teresa Gomez), Voice of the Prophet (Nat Watson) and Voice of God (myself)) in an attempt to understand where God was in the suffering of the Holocaust. It's a haunting and moving piece. It was very difficult to keep my emotions in check with the voices of the choirs, the orchesta and Ruth's violin solo wafting around Place des Arts.

It's been performed in Toronto, Bratislava, Vienna, Brno, Praque, Israel and New York. (Teresa has performed it in every location) We performed it this time in Montreal conducted by Iwan Edwards, played by Ensemble Amati and brought to fruition by Erica Phare of Vanier College and conductor of the choirs (La Chorale du cégep Vanier, La Chorale des jeunes du Conservatoire de McGill, Concerto Della Donna, and Le Choeur des enfants de Montréal).

((On a funny side note, it'll be the only time in my life where I'll be sitting in a cafe drinking a coffee and a bunch of kids will come up to me and say, "Hey, God! How are you?"))

Falstaff is a complicated opera. There are 10 principle singers, chorus and supers, a large orchestra and so many different scene changes. It's alot of people to co-ordinate! Add to this, 12 days to rehearse and stage the entire opera! Brian Deedrick, our fearless director and Artistic Director of Edmonton Opera, asked on our first rehearsal day, "So, put up your hand if you've done this opera before." None of us had....except the Maestro, Jim Meena who had done it many years ago. You would have thought he had just done it though...he had the entire score memorized (even rehearsal numbers - which blew me away the most)!

We had a fantastic cast which made the whole process so much fun and work like clockwork. Our cast was: John Fanning (Falstaff), Christiane Riel (Alice), Norine Burgess (Meg), Lynne McMurtry (Quickly), Nikki Einfeld (Nannetta), John Avey (Ford), Keith Klassen (Dr. Caius), Michel Corbeil (Bardolfo), Nikki EinfeldTaras Kulish (Pistola), and myself as Fenton. Cudos to the chorus and crew who were fantastic!

Edmonton Opera announced their next season in a video presentation right before the show. They're doing Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment (in which I'm playing Tonio, who sings the aria with 9 High C's), Verdi's La Traviata and Bizet's The Pearl Fishers (in which I'm singing Nadir and get to sing that famous duet, "O fond du temple saint"). Can't wait!

I've just left glorious Vancouver after spending five weeks there doing Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, presented by Vancouver Opera. It was my debut with Vancouver Opera in the role of Jaquino. The cast was stellar! Carol Wilson was Leonore, Richard Margison was Florestan, John Cheek was Rocco, Tom Fox was Pizarro, Robyn Driedger-Klassen was Marzelline and Alain Coulombe was Don Fernando. Dejan Miladinovic was our director and Johnathan Darlington was our conductor.

Dejan decided to set this production just before the Berlin wall came down. Even though the libretto indicates that it is set in Spain, he decided that since there were no real musical ties to Spain in the opera and that it is sung in German, he would set it in Germany, the birthplace of Beethoven. He then began to create a story that would still serve the text and music. He envisioned a character (Florestan) taking photographs in East Berlin and being apprehended by the German "Stasi", the secret police of East Germany before the coming down of the Wall. As Dejan was searching for photographs of the period on the internet, he came across an actual event in which a BBC photographer, who had been taking pictures in East Berlin, was apprehended by the Stasi and imprisoned until he was finally released years later. It gave him goosebumps and the rest of the story unfolded from there. It really brought the libretto, which deals with political prisoners and repression, to life and it made me realize why opera is so important. Operas deal with human stories, whether they be comic or tragic, they are stories which are timeless. The libretto that Beethoven set to music in the 1800's are issues we are still dealing with today and it's the power of the music that really makes it hit home. Just have a listen to the opera and you'll be able to hear the desperation of Leonore trying to find her imprisoned husband, the evil behind Pizarro's character and the suffering of Florestan in the dungeon. It's truly amazing music!

Not only did I get to work with Vancouver Opera but I also went to a Vancouver Canucks game! It was awesome! We had fantastic seats and they won. If only the rest of their season had gone so well...

Next is Edmonton Opera's production of Verdi's Falstaff.

The Aldeburgh Connection and Marquis Classics released another new CD entitled "Our own Songs" featuring Adrianne Pieczonka, Monica Whicher, Elizabeth Turnbull, Mark Pedrotti and myself. On the disc is music commissioned by the Aldeburgh Connection from three great Canadian composers - John Greer, Derek Holman and John Beckwith. It's a fantastic CD of Canadian music and singers! Check out the Aldeburgh Connection’s web site for listening samples and more information about ordering at their website here.

Thursday evening, I was invited to sing in a recital with Catherine Robbin, head of the Voice Department of York University with Raisa Nakhmanovich at the piano. It was given in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall, a very intimate beautiful hall. Catherine and I had sung a few times together before she decided to devote herself to teaching full time - most notably with the Aldeburgh Connection in another recital together.

Catherine beautifully sang three song groups in the first half - a group of Mendelssohn, Brahms, and my favourite group, Debussy's "Chanson de Bilitis". In the second half, we sang Britten's "Canticle: Abraham and Isaac", Catherine sang Britten's "Charm of Lullabies" and we finished with Britten Folksong Arrangements.

As an interesting side note, Norma Burrows' husband asked me if I was related to the Ainsworth who managed Covent Garden at the turn of the century. I had no idea if I was but it's worth looking into, just for fun!

Next is the DareArts final concert and then Vancouver Opera's Fidelio.

Today, I spent the day with an amazing photographer, Daniel Alexander, doing a photo shoot for a new web site I'm building. We started shooting in Walter Hall at the University of Toronto then moved to the stunning Trinity Chapel at Trinity College and finally went to the Brickworks. It was very long and cold day but we both had a great time shooting and got some great shots! Look for the web site in early summer.

The Bach Consort held their yearly benefit concert last night at Eglinton St. Georges United Church in Toronto with Bach's glorious St. Matthew Passion. It's a mammoth piece involving two choirs, two orchestras, continuo, a small children's ensemble (the Toronto Children's Chorus) and soloists. And what soloists they were! Monica Whicher, soprano, Elizabeth Turnbull, Alto, Lawrence Wiliford, Evangelist, myself, tenor arias, Alex Dobson, Jesus, and Daniel Lichti, bass. It was all conducted by the very talented Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He brought a magical quality to the piece and was able to create a sound from the orchestra that I haven't heard in this piece before. It was a great night!

The concert was in benefit of two great charities in our community, Eva's Phoenix and Toronto Symphony Adopt-a-Player.

This is a portion from Eva's Phoenix's web site explaining what they do:

"Eva's Phoenix Eva's Phoenix is a transitional housing and training facility, which formally opened in June 2000. Eva's Phoenix provides housing for 50 youth, aged 16 to 24 years, for up to a full year, and since 2002 has also allowed up to 160 youth each year, aged 16 to 29 years, to participate in its employment and pre-apprenticeship programs. Working with business, labour and community partners, Eva's Phoenix provides homeless and at-risk youth with the opportunities needed to develop life skills, build careers and live independently."

The Toronto Symphony's website says this:

"Selected musicians from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra are "adopted" by schools in the Greater Toronto Area. Each musician collaborates with a grade 4 or 5 class one day a week, for six weeks, creating a new piece of music.

Under the guidance of their adopted musician, students learn about the elements of music and eventually create a new piece of music. Each class performs its new composition for fellow students, parents and the community at a 'Showcase'."

Great music and artists in support of great organizations!

Upcoming next Thursday, Feb. 21 is a recital with Catherine Robbin at York University.

Our CD is nominated for a Juno! The CD that was recorded by the Aldeburgh Connection entitled "Schubert Among Friends" featuring Gillian Keith, Michael Schade, Gerald Finley and myself is up for Classical Album of The Year: Vocal or Choral Performance.

I just returned from Edmonton where I performed in Edmonton Opera's production of HMS Pinafore. This was not your typical G&S show. It was directed by Rob Herriot and new text was written by Stewart Lemoine. His new dialogue updated the antiquated language although keeping it in the same style as the original and he added some important (and very funny) scenes, including the meeting of Josephine and Sir Joseph, which isn't in the original. His new text also gave Cousin Hebe, a character who sings in virtually every ensemble scene but has almost no dialogue, more of a relevant and substantial character. It was a brilliant cast and we had so much fun working it together - I had to bite my lip just to keep from laughing. Monica Huisman played the role of Josephine, Rebecca Hass was Buttercup, Renee Brad was Cousin Hebe, Jeff Haslam was Sir Joseph Porter, KCB, Greg Dahl was Captain Corcoran, Steven Pitkanen was Dick Deadeye, Andrew MacDonald-Smith was the Boatswain and yours truly as Ralph Rackstraw.

There were two highlights of the trip. The first, was going to two hockey games of the Edmonton Oilers. On the first night, they played their rivals the Calgary Flames and on the second night, they played the Chicago Blackhawks. They won both games and wiped the floor of both teams. We had fantastic seats - right at centre ice about half way up.

The other highlight of the trip was being a guest on the "Oh Susanna" show. This was held at the Varscona Theatre and it can probably be best described as an evening TV talk show without the TV cameras. The host of the evening is Susanna Patchouli with her co-host, Farren Timoteo. The show that evening featured comedian Lars Callieou, the Be Arthurs, and Andrew MacDonald-Smith in the first half and then for the second half, myself and Sara-Jeanne Hosie, one of the cast members of Beauty and the Beast, were interviewed and then competed against one another in three games. The first game was to distinguish between Periodic Table Elements and children names actually used in Alberta (Xenon, stop bugging your sister!), another was to form Hilliary Clinton and Barack Obama out of ice cream and the last was broken telephone. I didn't win the grand prize - a pinapple - but did guess all the right periodic table elements.

Next, is the St. Matthew Passion with the Bach Consort in Toronto.