Announcing SPO’s new Concertmaster

Alex Toskov, appointed SPO Concertmaster

Meet Alex Toskov

Far from a stranger to SPO, the orchestra is pleased to announce the appointment of Alex Toskov as Concertmaster.  Alex will be taking over the vacant Concertmaster’s chair in fall 2024, leading the orchestra into our 45th anniversary season. Alex is well known to our audience as the Music Director and founder of the Odin Quartet who have been our Ensemble in Residence for several years. As the resident ensemble, the Odin Quartet have headlined many of our chamber concerts annually as well as being valued collaborators on our New Generation Composer Program, our recent Songs of Hope Project, and many other New Music, chamber music and music education projects.

Learn more about Alex.

 

Learn more

Curious about what a concert master does?  Here’s an amusing and informative article. 

CELEBRATION

Join us for a special evening marking the anniversary of the  founding of the Quartet and the long and productive collaboration with the Scarborough Philharmonic. This concert will feature some beautiful quartets by the masters of the Romantic period of chamber music plus some of the new quartet compositions that have been fostered and mentored at SPO as part of the New Generation Composer program and works created by our community of Canadian composers.

Featuring: Odin Quartet: Alex Toskov, Violin, Tanya Charles, Violin, Matthew Antal, Viola, Samuel Bisson, Cello

*Daniel Mehdizadeh – Dialectics, for String Quartet (Premiere) 

*Zhiqi (Jimmy) Lin – Rotating Lantern (SPO New Generation Composer – Premiere)

 Beethoven – Presto from String Quartet op. 13

*Massimo Guida – The Burning Cove, for String Quartet (SPO New Generation Composer, Premiere) 

*Charles Liu – New Work for String Quartet (SPO Commission and Premiere) 

*Ronald Royer – Four Seasons of Canada for String Sextet

Mozart – Sinfonia Concertante Es-Dur, KV 364 (Grande Sestetto), Allegro maestoso 

Dvořák – Allegro con fuoco from String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 77  

  • Canadian Composer
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Odin Quartet at Desert Fish Recording Studio 2023
Odin Quartet at the 2023 New Generation Composer Workshop at Canadian Music Centre.

TICKET PRICES:

Adult: $35 | SENIORS $30 | STUDENTS (with ID) $15 | CHILDREN: FREE (with purchase of adult or senior ticket, elementary school students or younger

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Scarborough Bluffs United Church

3739 Kingston Rd,
Scarborough, ON M1J 3H4 Canada

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FROM PHILADELPHIA TO SCARBOROUGH

A Special Outreach Concert and Conversation:

Prepare for an intimate evening of chamber music and conversation when the Scarborough Philharmonic welcomes a visiting quartet of musicians from the famed Philadelphia Orchestra to share the stage with  ensemble-in-residence, the Odin Quartet and friends.  On the program will be contemporary Canadian and American compositions for chamber ensemble and some classical favorites.  Later, join us for a conversation moderated by our own Ronald Royer, as musicians and composers discuss exciting new developments as well as challenges in classical music on both sides of the border.

This free public program is brought to you through a collaboration between, The Consulate of the United States of America, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra.

Philadelphia Orchestra String Quartet: Marc Rovetti, Assistant Concertmaster, Daniel Han, Violin, Marvin Moon, Viola, Priscilla Lee, Associate Principal Cello

Odin Quartet:  Alex Toskov, Violin, Tanya Charles Iveniuk, Violin, Matt Antal, Viola, Samuel Bisson, Cello

Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra Chamber Players:  Kaye Royer, Clarinet, Tiffany Yeung, Violin, Jacob Clewell, Viola, Chris Hwang, Cello

Combined Chamber Ensemble: also includes Ronald Royer, SPO Music Director and Conductor, Julia Zisser, Violin, Olga Petrashkevich, violin;  David Lasker, Bass, Lisa Tahara, Piano

PRELUDE TO HOPE

Danielle MacMillan, mezzo-soprano
Maghan McPhee, soprano
Odin Quartet

As a collective of artists working within a creative circle associated with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, we have asked ourselves how artists can and should respond to the times we live in. Our answer has been the one word “Hope”. Drawing on various texts from the classical to the new, and set within our own musical styles, we have  jointly conspired to infect our audiences virally with Hope.

Featuring: Danielle MacMillan, Mezzo Soprano;  Maghan McPhee, Soprano; Odin Quartet (Alex Toskov, Tanya Charles Iveniuk, Matt Antal, Samuel Bisson); Kaye Royer, Clarinet; Gilles Thibodeau, Horn; Lisa Tahara, Piano, Vanessa Yu, piano, Ronald Royer, Conductor, Ted Runcie, Conductor

Daniel Mehdizadeh, composer Jess Azevedo, librettist, New Castles, for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, piano and cello (SPO Commission and Premiere)

 Elienna Wang: Rosé Leaves, for Mezzo Soprano, Viola and Piano

Ryan Fwu, composer, (Maya Toussi, words) , The Midnight Garden, for Soprano and Piano

Anika-France Forget: composer, (Aude A. Saint-Laurent, words),  I Will Whisper Your Name, a Sweet Boy’s Lullaby, for Mezzo Soprano, Cello and Piano

Yuhan Zhou: Tonight, for Soprano and Piano

Rachel McFarlane, music and words, Eternal Embrace, for Mezzo Soprano and Chamber Ensemble (New Generation Composer, SPO Commission and Premiere)

Alexander Glazunov: Serenade for Horn and String Quartet

Shreya Jha, music and words, Walk with Me, for Mezzo Soprano and Piano (New Generation Composer, SPO Commission and Premiere)

Ted Runcie, composer: (words by Rabindranath Tagore)Where Shadow Chases Light for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, and Chamber Ensemble (SPO Commission and Premiere)

~intermission~

Bruno Degazio:  Seven Parables of The Rising Dawn, words by St. Thomas Aquinas for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, and Chamber Ensemble (SPO Commission and Premiere)

Hsiu-Ping Patrick Wu:  That Last Moonlight, for Soprano, Cello and Piano

Ronald Royer: English translation adapted from Dante Sapia of Siena and Beatrice from Women of Dante’s Divine Comedy, for Mezzo Soprano and Chamber Ensemble (SPO Commission and Premiere)

 Mitsuko Fernandes: A Song for the SPO, for Soprano and Piano

Leela Gilday, music and words, (arranged by Martin Loomer)  All Alone, for Mezzo Soprano and String Quartet