The SPOGreatMusic Performance Series: S42E00

Civic Holiday Special

Release Date: August 2, 2021

On this second summer special episode of our SPOGreatMusic Performance Series (Season 42, 2021/2022), we’re pleased to present the following videos:

 

Elizabeth Raum’s “Wascana Park”

Performed by the SPO Chamber Ensemble | Originally performed and recorded: February 8, 2020

Audio recorded and produced by John S. Gray. Video edited and produced by Devin Scott.

Notes from the Composer: “Well, [those images] brought me back!! I used to walk around the lake every day for exercise. The pictures were very beautiful and worked great with the music. This video is a nostalgic experience, seeing the pictures. Wascana Park is indeed a beautiful place to go for walks. We used to be able to skate on the lake in the winter and once a week, the fire department would come and smooth out the surface. It was the Waskimo Festival with ice sculptures and various other activities, but then we had a couple of warm winters where the lake wasn’t safe although I gather it’s been pretty cold there lately. I just looked it up and it did start up again.”

To learn more about Elizabeth Raum, please visit her website: http://www.elizabethraum.com.

 

J. S. Bach’s “Gigue” from “Cello Suite No. 3 in C major”

The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are some of the most frequently performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the period 1717–23, when he served as Kapellmeister in Köthen. Ronald Royer is the Music Director and Conductor of the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, now in his 13th season.

To learn more about Ronald Royer, visit: https://www.ronaldroyer.com.

 

Béla Kovács‘ “Hommage à Manuel de Falla”

Béla Kovács (born May 1, 1937 in Tatabánya, Hungary) is a Hungarian clarinetist. He graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary. He was principal clarinetist with the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra since 1956, until he retired in 1981. Kovács has been a Professor of Clarinet at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest and at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz, Austria. He has also composed a set of concert etudes for clarinet called “Hommages” that are written in the style of a number of different composers and are studied and/or performed widely today.

To learn more about clarinetist Kaye Royer, visit: https://ronaldroyer.com/kaye-royer/.

 

“Gaeller” – Animated Short Film

Cheryl Lee, animator and filmmaker; Lauren Greenberg, new 2021 music score.
An alien fishboy is teased in school, but finds solace in a rain storm.
Created by a graduate of the Sheridan College Animation program and featuring newly composed music. For more information on the Sheridan College Animation program, visit https://academics.sheridancollege.ca/.

 

Mikis Theodorakis’ “Footprints of the Sun” (Οι Πατημασιες του Ηλιου)

Maximos Farmakidis, contrabass; Dr. Cecilia Lee, piano.

“The Footprints of the Sun” (Οι Πατημασιες του Ηλιου) is an excerpt from Mikis Theodorakis suite, “East of the Aegean” for Violoncello and Piano; transcribed for Contrabass and Piano.

 

Mikis Theodorakis’ “Your Sea Hair” (Τα Θαλασσινα Μαλια Σου)

Maximos Farmakidis, contrabass; Cecilia Lee, piano.

“Your Sea Hair” (Τα Θαλασσινα Μαλια Σου) is an excerpt from Mikis Theodorakis’ suite, “East of the Aegean” for Violoncello and Piano; transcribed for Contrabass and Piano.

Performer and Composer Bios

 

LAUREN GREENBERG: Lauren Greenberg is a Bachelor of Music in Composition Degree candidate at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

She began piano lessons at the age of 5, musical composition studies in 2014, and studied with the eminent composer Kevin Lau before attending the Boston Conservatory at Berklee where she is currently studying with Marti Epstein. Lauren has composed a variety of musical pieces across classical and modern genres and her works have been performed in Toronto, Ottawa, and Boston. She studied flute and vocals at high school where she was a member of various bands, and choirs. She’s played the piano for high school musicals, vocal performances, and assemblies, and has been a cast member in musical theatre productions. In 2019, Lauren was the recipient of the Music Award – Lisa-Ann Lauren Posluns Memorial Endowment Fund, for exemplary contribution to the school’s music program during my four years of study.

Lauren’s work and volunteer experience includes being a Camp Counselor in Toronto, and weekly piano concerts for the elderly at Baycrest Hospital in Toronto. She has a passion for writing music, playing the piano, and enjoys sharing the beauty of music with others.

Learn more about Lauren Greenberg on her website.

 

MAXIMOS FARMAKIDIS: Maximos graduated from Athens Conservatory of Music with honours. In Toronto he studied with Thomas Monahan, instructor of contrabass at University of Toronto Faculty of Music and principal contrabass player of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Maximos Farmakidis holds a diploma in music education from the Faculty of Education and he taught high school music for the Board of Education in Toronto.  As a free-lance musician, he was involved in a variety of music genres including symphonic music, chamber music and performances as a contrabass soloist. In addition to music, Maximos Farmakidis studied electronic technology at George Brown College and at Ryerson University and worked as an electronics technologist in a prominent Toronto firm.

Connect with Maximos on his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Maximos-Farmakidis-Double-Bass-Player-244511212263022/.

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