Yamaha Piano Series

SERVING CENTRAL ONTARIO

ALLISTON - BRADFORD WEST GWILLIMBURY
GEORGINA - INNISFIL - MIDLAND - ORILLIA

Pickering - Toronto - Mississauga

A Yamaha Concert Grand Piano
will be the premier instrument for a
cavalcade of Jazz, Rag-time, Classical
and Blues performers throughout the
twelve days of the Festival.
Performances on this exquisite
marvel of Yamaha craftsmanship and
grand piano evolution will range
from solo recitals to jazz and blues
ensembles in shows and concerts.

In recognition of the dedication to the
arts of the many fine instrumentalists
and vocalists in our region performing
in other musical idioms, the Festival
will be presenting a series of recitals
and showcases featuring a selection
of excellent teachers and students
from throughout Simcoe County.

Printer Ready Programme

GO TO PIANO CONCERTS

GO TO "OUT TO LUNCH" CONCERTS & RECITALS SERIES

"This venue has one of the best pianos I've ever played in the Toronto area. So if you want to hear some great music in a totally acoustic (un-amplified) environment with a great piano and great musicians, this is a rare opportunity, and one that should be taken advantage of."
Mark Eisenman - Canadian Jazz Pianist
LISTEN
to what Mark Eisenman has to say about the Yamaha CFX piano.

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"Thank you again for the opportunity to have my piano recital at this incredible venue. I hope this environment inspires my students to continue music for a lifetime."
Sarah Lawton - Music Teacher, Barrie, Ontario.

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"another fabulous FREE Barrie Jazz & Blues festival at the Rotunda. Matt Herskowitz from Mtl (sic - Montréal) playing Gerschwin. Brilliant!"
Jennifer Sibley, Barrie

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LISTEN
to what Matt Herskowitz has to say about the Yamaha CFX piano.

LISTEN
to what Fern Lindzon has to say about the Yamaha CFX piano.

LISTEN
to what D. D. Jackson has to say about the Yamaha CFX piano.

LISTEN
to what Attila Fias has to say about the Yamaha CFX piano.

LISTEN
to what Nancy Houle has to say about the Yamaha CFX piano.

"THE GIANTS OF JAZZ" ARTICLE

CONCERTS & RECITALS MANAGERS

JOE FINLEY - BOB GARRETT
BRAD & SUE LUMBERS
RAY MARTINELLI - RUSS STRATHDEE

FRIDAY, JUNE 9

8:00 P.M.

A "GIANTS OF JAZZ" CONCERT

PRESENTS

A retrospective on a Trinidad-born American jazz and classical pianist and singer who was an outspoken critic of racial discrimination and segregation. She used her influence to improve the representation of Black Americans in film.

"SHE DOOD IT!!"

HAZEL DOROTHY SCOTT
June 11, 1920 – October 2, 1981

Hazel Scott was the gorgeous face of jazz at the mid-twentieth century. She was the most glamorous, well-known Black woman in America. She headlined sold-out concerts, hosted her own television show and starred in Hollywood films. She wowed integrated audiences – she refused to play a segregated room – mixing jazz and classical music.
“Vivacious,” newspapers liked to say. “She has the most incandescent personality,” raved the New York Times.

She was a child prodigy with perfect pitch. The Julliard School of Music accepted her as a special student at the age of 8, when the minimum age for acceptance was 16. Scott grew up regarding Fats Waller as an uncle, Art Tatum as a de-facto dad and Billie Holiday as a big sister. Her first professional gig, at 15, was with the Count Basie orchestra. At 19, she was the star headliner at Café Society. In her early 20s, she’d hit the town with Leonard Bernstein on one arm and Frank Sinatra on the other. Lena Horne was a close friend.

Her virtuosity was astonishing. She would start playing classical music, perhaps Bach or Beethoven, then slowly add syncopation and rhythm until it was swinging jazz. Then she’d launch into boogie-woogie. Her albums were hits. An early example of her fusion of jazz and classical music can be found on "Swinging the Classics: Piano Solos in Swing Style with Drums" (Decca, 1941). She was a Hollywood film star at 23, making four films in one year, musicals like “I Dood It,” “The Heat’s On” and “Rhapsody in Blue.” She also hosted her own radio show, and in 1950, she became the first Black artist with her own nationally syndicated television show.

In reference to "Relaxed Piano Moods" - her album with Max Roach and Charles Mingus - famed Blue Note engineer Rudy van Gelder wrote, "'The Great New Hazel Scott' might be a more appropriate title for the six tracks of this album. Her sorcery in spinning out the magical lure of the standard 'Like Someone in Love' surpasses even the technical virtuosity which originally earned her the title of "the wizard of the keyboard."

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Toronto-based pianist and composer Tania Gill has spent over twenty years cultivating a musical approach that's simultaneously singular and polymorphous. Gill's primary focus is jazz and improvised music, where she's developed a distinctive improvisational language.
Gill holds an MMus in Jazz Performance from the University of Toronto, and studied classical piano performance at the University of Victoria before shifting into McGill's jazz programme where she completed her BMus. She is a supportive and dedicated educator and currently teaches at Humber College and the University of Toronto, in addition to her roster of private students. Her pedagogical work has also included serving as an adjudicator and clinician across Canada. As a founding member of Music Declares Climate Emergency Canada, Gill is passionate about the connection between artistry and activism.

"Her finely textured improvisations are always intent but casual as if she were merely picking out notes and phrases that have always been there, waiting to be made audible. Her complexities feel natural and almost self-evident."
- Robert Everett-Green, The Globe and Mail

.... "pianist Tania Gill's sparkling, very free solo impresses,"
- The Wire

.... her "spiky, sparse piano" is "most successful in channelling the eccentric spirit of the masterful [Thelonious] Monk."
- Toronto Star

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SATURDAY, JUNE 10

9:15 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.

THE SKYLINERS BIG BAND
RON ROBBINS - Music Director
SCOTT BOYER - Pianist / Vocalist
JESS OWEN - Vocalist

"BIG BAND REHEARSAL"

Drop in to a fun-filled big band rehearsal session at the Barrie City Hall Rotunda. Pull up a chair and relax while the band goes to work on the fabulous songs, arrangements and swing rhythms of their up-coming concert to be held during the Festival on Saturday, June 17, 2023.

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8:00 P.M.

A "GREAT MOMENTS IN JAZZ" CONCERT

Featuring
PAT COLLINS - STEVE McDADE - TED WARREN

PRESENTS

"BIRTH - BLUE - BREW"

Three decades - Three recordigs - One inspired trumpeter

In 1949, Miles Davis recorded the tracks for
"Birth Of The Cool".
In 1959, Miles Davis recorded the tracks for
"Kind Of Blue".
In 1969, Miles Davis recorded the tracks for
"Bitches Brew".

Each album was era-defining, and re-directed not only the evolution of jazz, but the evolution of music in general. Davis wasn't alone in his ambitions, and was ably abetted by some the of the finest musicians, orchestrators and record producers of each decade.
Mark Eisenman and his quartet shed the light on this most fertile period in recorded music achievement and performance, and the legacy that is
"Birth - Blue - Brew".

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MARK EISENMAN

The Jazz Report's 1999
Acoustic Pianist of the Year

Mark Eisenman is one among a handful of the top 'in-demand' jazz pianists in Toronto. Born in New York City but based in Toronto since 1972, Mark started studying the piano with his father. By the age of eighteen he had resolved that he would be pursuing the piano as a career interest. He entered into the music program
at York University and after a short time discovered jazz music.
With his introduction to this idiom his musical interest peaked.

Under the tutelage of John Gittins and others, Mark ultimately took a degree in Fine Arts, and as testimony to his continuing dedication to the learning process, and until recently conducted jazz workshops at York as a part-time faculty member. His teaching has expanded to include "The Jazz Camp" and classes at Mohawk College in Hamilton in addition to a lot of private teaching in his home studio.

Mark has performed in many different venues with numerous eminent Canadian and U.S. jazz artists including the following: Blue Mitchell, Woody Shaw, Nat Adderley, Ed Bickert, Rob McConnell, Sam Noto and Pat LaBarbera. He has also had numerous radio appearances and is well represented on recordings,
the latest of which is Mark's debut recording as a leader, "The Chant". He has toured Canada extensively with various groups.

"His professional status is based largely on his skill and versatility as an ensemble player, but what marks him most is an ability to produce, no matter what the musical company, distinctive well-structured solos".
- Toronto Star

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THURSDAY, JUNE 15

8:00 P.M.
A "GREAT MOMENTS IN JAZZ" CONCERT

Featuring
ETHAN ARDELLI - PETER TELFORD
PRESENTS
"EVANSELISM"

"Sunday at the Village Vanguard" is the initial volume of a mammoth recording session by the Bill Evans Trio, from June 25, 1961 at New York's Village Vanguard documenting Evans' first trio with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. Its companion volume is "Waltz for Debby". This trio is still widely regarded as his finest, largely because of the symbiotic interplay between its members. Tragically, LaFaro was killed in an automobile accident ten days after this session was recorded, and Evans assembled the two packages a few months afterward. While "Waltz for Debby" -- in retrospect -- is seemingly a showcase for Evans' brilliant, subtle, and wide-ranging pianism, this volume becomes an homage, largely, to the genius and contribution of LaFaro."
- Thom Jurek, ALLMUSIC
"The only question is, 'which is better, this or Waltz For Debby?' They are both landmarks. Evans' phrasing, harmonies and rhythm are all here with this, the best of his trios on one of the best live albums of all time."
"The gentle moodiness and riveting emotion this album inundates the listener with makes it exceptional. 'Sunday at the Village Vanguard' is perhaps the greatest achievement of the Bill Evans Trio and a classic for all time. Delicate or gripping, but thoroughly refined from front to back."
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Bernie Senensky has long been one of Canada's finest jazz musicians. Senensky started with classical piano lessons when he was nine, and discovered jazz around five years later. He played locally as a teenager (including with Lennie Breau and Dave Young), led the house band in various Holiday Inns all over Canada, and settled in Toronto in 1968. Senensky has performed with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Elvin Jones, Maynard Ferguson's Big Band, Rob McConnell's Boss Brass, Phil Woods, Dizzy Gillespie, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, Art Pepper, Scott Hamilton and Bill Watrous, among many other visiting Americans. Throughout the 1980s he was a regular member of the Moe Koffman Quintet. As a leader, Senensky recorded for RCI, PM, Unity and Timeless labels, and as a sideman he made recordings with Moe Koffman, Dizzie Gillespie, Eugene Amaro, Peter Appleyard, Herbie Spanier and Ted Moses.
PETERSON SPOTLIGHT
FOR PEG'S SENENSKY
CTV's "Oscar Peterson Presents" will showcase the jazz talents
of Winnipeg born Bernie Senensky. Now living in Toronto,
Senensky has been described by Peterson as "representing the
newest and most important jazz today". Performing with the
Oscar Peterson Trio, pianist Senensky will lend his talents to
"Laurentide Waltz" "Reunion Blues" and other jazz selections.
- RPM WEEKLY Magazine - July 20, 1974

Twice voted "Best Acoustic Pianist"
- The Jazz Report Awards
Winner of the SOCAN Award for
Best Jazz Composition - "Blues For Clifford"
Buddy Defranco described Bernie Senensky as
"The Best of the Best"
Bill Evans once said:
"I could just sit and listen to him play all day!"
FACULTY MEMBER

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FRIDAY, JUNE 16

8:00 P.M.

A "JAZZICAL" CONCERT

PRESENTS

"FREDERIC CHOPIN,
THE GODFATHER OF JAZZ PIANO"

FREDERIC CHOPIN :
Op. 10 no. 1, "Boogie-Woogie"
Op 10 no. 2, "El Montuno"
Op. 10 no. 3, "Le Gospel de La Tristesse"
Op. 10 no. 11, "Infinite Arpeggios"
Op. 10 no. 12, "Jazz Révolutionnaire"
Op. 25 no. 6, "Solitary Tango in Thirds"
Op. 10 no. 6, "Ghost Prayer"
Op. 25 no. 9, "Ragtime Butterfly"
Op. 10 no. 4, "The Jazz Torrent"

MAURICE RAVEL:
Piano Concerto in G: Adagio assai

GEORGE GERSHWIN:
Three Piano Preludes:
I. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso
II. Andante con moto
III. Agitato

All arrangements by
MATT HERSKOWITZ

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When Louis Moreau Gottschalk debuted in Paris at the age of sixteen as an American piano virtuoso, Frederic Chopin was seated in the audience. Included in his concert were some of Gottschalk's original compositions, which were often inspired by the influences he absorbed in New Orleans, the city where he grew up, and especially in Congo Square, where his parents would take him on Sunday afternoons. At the conclusion of Gottschalk's inaugural concert, Chopin went backstage to congratulate the young American and proclaimed, "You will be the king of pianists." Fueled by this commendation, Gottschalk did go on to greatness, and was admired by Franz Liszt and Sergie Rachmaninoff. His greatest contribution to music, however, was his influence and inspiration on Scott Joplin and others of his ilk in the development of Ragtime music.
Chopin - Gottschalk - Joplin .... and the rest is history.

A la Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Matt Herskowitz has mused about how Chopin would have been influenced by modern trends in composition and piano performance, were he alive today, and has applied his imagination to contemporizing a series of Chopin's preludes.

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MATT HERSKOWITZ

Uniquely combining the superlative technique of a classical virtuoso
with his prowess in jazz, world music and free improvisation, pianist, composer and arranger Matt Herskowitz has carved out a unique and personal voice in music. Over the course of the last decade, Matt has produced a series of critically-acclaimed recordings, premiered his works in settings from New York’s Central Park to Germany’s Ko¨ln Philharmonie, collaborated with top classical, jazz and pop artists, and has performed at music festivals across the globe.As a pianist, composer, songwriter and arranger, Herskowitz has distinguished himself in several musical genres. His 2007 solo piano release, Matt Herskowitz Plays Gershwin (Disques Tout Crin), featuring Gershwin's great solo
arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue and Matt's own original solo arrangements of the Concerto in F and Cuban Overture, was nominated in 2007 for Quebec's prestigious Prix Opus. It also made Montreal's prominent quotidian La Presse's list of top 10 jazz albums of the year. His 2006 solo release, Gabriel's Message, which features his original arrangements and compositions based on popular Christmas themes, was nominated for Québec's prestigious Félix award in 2007.
A graduate of the Juilliard School in New York and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Herskowitz is originally from Albany, New York, and has made Montreal his adopted home for more than 20 years. Among Matt's most recent recordings is "Piano Cameleons", a collaboration with pianist, John Roney, in which they explore the jazz possibilites inherent in popular classical music compositions.hi

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SATURDAY, JUNE 17
10:30 A.M.
DARYL YAEGER - Music Director
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8:00 P.M.

A "GIANTS OF JAZZ" CONCERT
RON ROBBINS - Music Director
SCOTT BOYER - Pianist / Vocalist
JESS OWEN - Vocalist
PRESENTS
"JUMP, JIVE & WAIL"
A big band Saturday night dance party as only The Skyliners Big Band
know how to do it! Bring your dancing shoes and enjoy the exciting music of Louis Prima, Woody Herman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, George Gershwin and so many more. A wonderful evening of memorable music is guaranteed.
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THE
"OUT TO LUNCH"
CONCERT SERIES

JUNE 9
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

A "JAZZICAL" CONCERT

THE MUCH-IN-DEMAND ACCOMPANIST, CHORAL
LEADER, BAND LEADER AND SOLOIST, DANNY McERLAIN PRESENTS A CONCERT OF FAMILIAR JAZZ STANDARDS INTER-MIXED WITH SOLO PIANO PIECES FROM THE CLASSICAL MUSIC REPERTOIRE.

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JUNE 12
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

"WHAT AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE TO DISCOVER AN ALBUM LIKE THIS. CANADIAN PIANIST AND COMPOSER STACIE McGREGOR HAS WRITTEN AN ABSOLUTELY PERFECT SET OF HARD BOP ORIGINALS, NEW AND YET SOMEHOW FAMILIAR, AND PLAYED WITH A CONFIDENCE AND EBULIENCE THAT IS INCREDIBLY REFRESHING THESE DAYS." - RAY NESLOVE

AWARD RECIPIENT

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JUNE 13
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

AWARD NOMINEE

A JUNO-NOMINATED PIANIST AND COMPOSER, EWEN HAS BEEN A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST FOR NEARLY A DECADE. HAVING PLAYED ON VARIOUS RECORDINGS AND WITH NUMEROUS BANDS, HE HAS EARNED HIS REPUTATION AS A HIGHLY SKILLED MUSICIAN. WHILE HE WAS ATTENDING HUMBER COLLEGE FOR A DEGREE IN MUSIC PERFORMANCE, HE RECEIVED SEVERAL PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS, INCLUDING THE HNATYSHYN FOUNDATION
"OSCAR PETERSON AWARD".

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JUNE 14
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

A CLASSICAL PIANO CONCERT

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL PIANISTS APPRECIATED THE WORK OF JAZZ PIANIST BILL EVANS. BILL EVANS REVERED THE WORK OF THE GREAT KEYBOARDIST-COMPOSERS.
A MID-FESTIVAL EXPLORATION OF PIANO PIECES BY CHOPIN - PROKOFIEV - DEBUSSY - BEETHOVEN, PERFORMED BY ONE OF BARRIE'S STELLAR MUSIC TEACHERS.

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JUNE 15
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

MULTI-AWARD RECIPIENT

PRIX DE JAZZ DU MONTREAL
- THE MONTREAL JAZZ FESTIVAL

IN ADDITION TO HIS WORK AS HEAD OF THE KEYBOARD DEPARTMENT AT HUMBER COLLEGE IN TORONTO, BRIAN DICKENSON HAS MANY HIGHLY-REGARDED RECORDINGS TO HIS CREDIT. HE HAS PERFORMED EXTENSIVELY WITH NUMEROUS PRESTIGIOUS ENSEMBLES AS BOTH LEADER AND ACCOMPANIST THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA AND THE FAR EAST.

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JUNE 16
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

"CONTUMBAO DUET"

GRAMMY AWARD NOMINEE

MULTI-AWARD
RECIPIENT

CANADA'S UN-RIVALLED CUBAN JAZZ PIANO MASTER, HILARIO DURAN WILL PERFORM ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS FROM HIS LATEST RECORDING PROJECT, "CONTUMBAO".
HE IS ACCOMPANIED BY THE CHILD PRODIGY
AND PERCUSSION VIRTUOSO.

JORGE LUIS TORRES "PAPIOSCO"

TELL ME MORE ABOUT "CONTUMBAO DUET"

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JUNE 19
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

A "JAZZICAL" CONCERT

MEMBER OF THE ORDER OF CANADA

MULTI-AWARD
RECIPIENT

BE IT BEETHOVEN OR BRUBECK, MOZART OR MONK, TCHAIKOVSKY OR TATUM, PROKOFIEV OR PETERSON ....... "POLI" DIGS THEM ALL! JOIN THE CO-FOUNDER OF CANADA'S PREMIER ROCK BAND, "LIGHTHOUSE", AS HE EXPLORES THE WORLD OF JAZZ AND CLASSICAL SOLO PIANO MASH-UPS.

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Current to APRIL 28, 2023

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CONCERTS & RECITALS SERIES - 2019

CONCERTS & RECITALS SERIES - 2018

CONCERTS & RECITALS SERIES - 2017

CONCERTS & RECITALS SERIES - 2016

THE
STOLLAR CONSTRUCTION
TEACHERS & STUDENTS
RECITAL SERIES

JUNE 9

4:30 p.m.
"McFADDEN SCHOOL
OF MUSIC"
- JULIE & DAVID McFADDEN

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JUNE 10
12:30 p.m.
"JOYFUL SOUNDS
MUSIC STUDIO"
- CHERYL GRAHAM

4:00 p.m.
NENA LAMARRE

6:00 p.m.
TBA

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JUNE 12
7:00 p.m.
"HONEY MUSIC STUDIO"
- ELEANOR HONEY

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JUNE 13
5:00 p.m.
MARC WIDNER

7:00 p.m.
TBA

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JUNE 14
4:30 p.m.
TBA

6:30 p.m.
"SARAH LAWTON STUDIOS"
- SARAH LAWTON

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JUNE 15
4:30 p.m.
"MOVING ART CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS"
- MEAGHAN ING

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JUNE 16
4:00 p.m.
TBA

6:00 p.m.
MICHELLE HARPER

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JUNE 17
1:00 p.m.
SUSAN PAJOR

3:30 p.m.
"MITZI & DEMI MUSIC STUDIO"
- MITZI LANGFIELD

6:00 p.m.
"PIANO FOREVER"
- SUSAN HENSLEY

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JUNE 19
6:00 p.m.
"SOUNDS OF INSPIRATION MUSIC STUDIO"
- CARLY ANN METE
- KRISTINE MOLINARO

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Current to MARCH 29, 2023

THIS PROGRAMME SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE

Current to MAY 21, 2023