Trombonist Ron Westray, Oscar Peterson Chair in Jazz Performance in York University’s Department of Music, returns to Toronto’s Massey Hall on Thursday, Feb. 23 for an innovative youth outreach program. He will lead “Rhythm Counts”, an invitational workshop for young people, just before his former bandmates, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra led by Wynton […]
Two of Canada’s leading classical performers come together for a concert featuring contemporary Canadian works on Tuesday, Jan. 17 in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall at York’s Keele campus. Violinist Jacques Israelievitch and pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico, both professors in York’s Department of Music, offer an evening of repertoire as diverse and inspiring as the […]
Sixty years later, many historians consider [Rocket 88 by Ike Turner] the first-ever rock 'n' roll song, and musicians revere the tune, as well as the band's livewire performance, wrote The Canadian Press May 22: And yet, most regular people don't know that the track even exists. "If I went to my local grocery store […]
Over the next four months, ethnomusicologist Judith R. Cohen will spend her days in Washington, DC’s Library of Congress poring over the 1952 diaries of Alan Lomax, the legendary field collector of folk music in the 20th century. For the past 10 years, Cohen, a York lecturer and performer who specializes in Judeo-Spanish Sephardic songs, […]
The Gaelic Song Project is York music Professor Dorothy de Val’s next project once her book on Lucy Broadwood, the English folk song collector, is published in May. De Val is studying traditional Gaelic songs and aiming to foster an awareness of the language while also contributing to its preservation. A key part of this […]
A slew of entertainers will perform at the Winters Gala Fundraiser to raise awareness and funds for the renovation of student space in Winters College. The gala evening will take place Tuesday, March 22, starting with student performers at 6pm, followed by headlining acts from 7 to 10pm. Right: Rita di Ghent Jazz musician and […]
Juno-nominated pianist and York music Professor Christina Petrowska Quilico will launch her 24th and 25th CD, Glass Houses Revisited and The Liszt Anniversary Collection, at a concert Thursday at the Glenn Gould Studio. The CD launch and recital will take place at 7:30pm, March 17, at the Glenn Gould Studio, CBC Building, 250 Front St. […]
With the rich monastic history of some of England’s universities, the tradition of choral evensong still thrives, creating a thirst for new settings for the canticles. As Canada is not steeped in the same rituals, few Canadians take this work on, making York music Professor Stephanie Martin the exception. She composed a new setting of the […]
York jazz Professor Barry Elmes has been a mainstay of the Canadian jazz scene since the early 1980s. A drummer, composer, producer, recording artist and educator, he has performed all over the world and his work has been documented on more than 60 CDs. On Thursday and Friday, the renowned jazz musician will perform at […]
York University's Oscar Peterson Chair in Jazz Performance, Ron Westray, makes his Faculty Concert Series debut March 1 with a swinging concert of jazz standards and original works in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall on York’s Keele campus. Joining Westray on stage will be Toronto jazz artists Chris Banks and John Maharaj on bass and […]
Keeping up that intense feeling of personal connection via the Internet is incredibly important in marketing to the Justin Bieber demographic, says Rob Bowman, who teaches popular music in York University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, wrote The Globe and Mail May 29: “You’re appealing to a certain adolescent group who’ve got fairly innocent notions of […]
The research and creative work of York music professors spans a wide range of genres and media formats. Disseminated through recordings, print publications and live performances, it’s reaching growing audiences at home and around the world. Composer and choral conductor Professor Stephanie Martin (left), who serves as music director of Toronto’s historic Church of St. […]
York music professor and pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico has much to celebrate this spring. Just as her latest CD was being released, she received word that she had won the inaugural Harry Freedman Recording Award and an Ontario Arts Council grant to support her next recording project. 3 Concerti, Petrowska Quilico’s 23rd CD and her […]
Research at York is broader than books, journal articles, scientific findings or data sets. In the Faculty of Fine Arts, research can result in a dance, piece of music, or animation fit for the world stage. While the athletes and competitive games are the major focus of the 2010 Winter Olympics, the York fine arts […]
A series of films, concerts, workshops, artist talks and community events will usher in Black History Month this February, under the title Performing Diaspora 2010: Celebrating Black History Month through Expressive Culture – Afro Diasporic Women in Focus. Produced by York's Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the Global Migrations of African Peoples, Performing Diaspora 2010 is designed to serve as a catalyst […]
Performer, composer and educator Ron Westray has been appointed as the Oscar Peterson Chair in Jazz Performance at York University. “We’re excited and honoured to have an artist of Ron Westray’s calibre as the Chair,” said York University President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. “This Chair will enable us to further advance the quality of education for […]