9– 11 ,2 01 9
BEST WOR OF MUS DS & IC M ay
may 9–11, 2019
BEST OF WORDS & MUSIC
Andrew Burashko
Arwen MacDonell
Artistic Director
Stage Manager
Arun Srinivasan
Ravi Jain
Lighting Designer
Director (Hamlet)
artoftimeensemble.com #AoTE20
about art of time ensemble
Renowned concert pianist Andrew Burashko formed Art of Time Ensemble in 1998 by inviting a group of like-minded musicians and prominent figures in dance, theatre and other art forms to perform one-off concerts in Toronto. The company has gone on to become a leader in Toronto’s vibrant performing arts scene, through its subscription season at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre, regular appearances at Koerner Hall, album releases, performances with leading Canadian orchestras, and the tours of its unique offerings to dozens of cities throughout Canada and the United States. Exploring the relationship between classical music in its many forms and other genres such as jazz, pop, electronica, rock, folk, electroacoustic, gospel and others, Art of Time seeks to reveal the qualities that lie at the heart of all great music.
repertoire 
A History of Western Music: Chapter 29 August Kleinzahler
I Thought About You Johnny Mercer Jonathan Goldsmith
Rob Piltch
Gregory Hoskins
Joseph Phillips
Piano
Singer
Guitar Bass
Thriller Suite Poetry by Margaret Atwood, music by Dan Parr Kristen Thomson
Peter Lutek
Yolanda Bruno
Joseph Phillips
Andrew Burashko
Tony Zorzi
Reader Violin Piano
Woodwinds Bass
Guitar
Mary-Katherine Finch Cello
Scene from Fire David S. Young Rick Roberts Actor
Mike Ross Actor
Excerpt from Hamlet Act 4, Scene 5 Written by William Shakespeare Ravi Jain Director
Natasha Mumba Actor
repertoire
Songs and Sonnets to Ophelia i. Ophelia’s Song ii. Women have loved before iii. Not in a silver casket iv. Spring Jake Heggie Isabel Bayrakdarian Soprano
Andrew Burashko Piano
INTERMISSION
Sonata Erotica Erwin Schulhoff Martha Burns Vocalist
Excerpt from 2 Pianos 4 Hands Written by Ted Dykstra & Richard Greenblatt Richard Greenblatt Actor
Reza Jacobs Actor
Much Ado About Nothing Act 1, Scene 1 Act 4, Scene 1 Act 5, Scene 2 Written by William Shakespeare Martha Burns Actor
Paul Gross Actor
Much Ado About Nothing i. Maiden in the Bridal Chamber ii. March of the Watch (Dogberry and Verges) iii. Garden Scene iv. Hornpipe Erich Korngold Yolanda Bruno, Violin
Andrew Burashko Piano
performers isabel bayr akdarian
yol anda bruno
Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian is a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, an achievement she made in the same year she graduated from the University of Toronto with a Biomedical Engineering degree. She’s performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, and sings regularly with the Canadian Opera Company, to name just a few. She’s appeared with the premier orchestras of New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Paris, London, Vienna, Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal under the esteemed batons of such eminent conductors as Seiji Ozawa, James Conlon, David Zinman, Michael Tilson Thomas, Alan Gilbert, Nicholas McGegan, Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Eschenbach, Colin Davis, Sir Andrew Davis, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Mariss Jansons, Leonard Slatkin, James Levine, Anne Manson, Bramwell Tovey, Peter Oundjian and Richard Bradshaw. Bayrakdarian is the winner of an impressive four consecutive Juno Awards for best classical album, and has won the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee medals. She is on the Voice Faculty at the University to California Santa Barbara.
Violinist Yolanda Bruno has been praised for her “total control of her instrument with infinite variety in the sound palette” (La Presse) and was recently listed on CBC’s 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30. Yolanda has performed across North America and Europe including solos with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, L’Orchestre Métropolitain, the Youth Orchestra of the Americas and the London Mozart Players. She has appeared in the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, the Ottawa Chamberfest, Toronto Summer Music Festival, and the BBC Proms. She recently won the 2017 Isabel Overton Bader Violin Competition and was the grand prize winner at the OSM Standard Life Competition (2013). She is also the recipient of Canada Council’s Virginia Parker Award, a distinction shared with her fellow Canadian musicians Yannick Nézet-Séguin, James Ehnes and MarcAndré Hamelin. A laureate of the 2015 Canada Council of the Arts Musical Instrument Bank Competition, Yolanda was generously loaned the 1700 Taft Stradivari violin.
performers andrew bur ashko
martha burns
Andrew Burashko is the founder and creative force behind Art of Time Ensemble. Born in Moscow, Burashko trained as a concert pianist across North America, making his solo debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at the age of 17. As a soloist, Burashko performed with some of the world’s most renowned conductors, including Marin Alsop, Sir Andrew Davis, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and Pinchas Zukerman. His eclectic musical interests have led him more recently to share the stage with such diverse artists as Branford Marsalis, Brent Carver, and Madeleine Peyroux. In 1998, Burashko formed the Art of Time Ensemble to create unique concerts that ignore the barriers between genres and disciplines, with the aim of exposing audiences to a broad range of artistic possibilities. Under Burashko’s direction, Art of Time Ensemble has become a Canadian destination for today’s most accomplished artists working in music, dance, theatre, film and literature. In addition to their annual concert series in Toronto, Art of Time Ensemble has toured extensively throughout Canada and the United States, as well as in Russia and Finland.
Martha Burns has performed leading roles at the Stratford and Shaw Festivals and at theatres across the country. Winner of the 2005 Barbara Hamilton Award for “excellence and professionalism in the performing arts”, she also received two Dora Mavor Moore Awards for her work in Trafford Tanzi and The Miracle Worker and was nominated for three more. She is a founding member of Soulpepper Theatre Company, and is a Gemini winner for Best Actress for her leading role of Ellen Fanshaw in Slings and Arrows, and two supporting actress Genie Awards for Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Love and Savagery. She received a 2015 best supporting actress nomination for the recurring role of Rebecca Baker in the Global TV series Remedy. With actor/writer, Susan Coyne, she wrote and directed the short film How Are You?, an official selection for TIFF 2008. The pair also produced and directed a documentary about one of Canada’s most influential directors, Robin Phillips, which will was screened at Hot Docs Bloor Cinema.
performers mary-k atherine finch
jonathan goldsmith
Cellist Mary-Katherine Finch enjoys a diverse performing career with numerous ensembles and in a wide variety of musical genres. As a member of Contact Contemporary Music she will perform Brian Eno’s Discreet Music at Bang on a Can’s LOUD Festival in August. Contact also has plans to record more of Eno’s music in the fall, in collaboration with Evan Ziporyn. Mary-Katherine has appeared with the Toronto Symphony, National Ballet of Canada, Esprit Orchestra, and served as guest principal cellist with Hamilton Philharmonic, Windsor Symphony, and Niagara Symphony, and is principal cellist of Mississauga Symphony. In 2015 she made her concerto debut with Mississauga Symphony. Mary-Katherine regularly performs chamber music on various concert series in Ontario. Summer festivals include Luminato, Elora, Toronto Summer Music, Festival of the Sound, and Ottawa Chamber Festival. As a dedicated teacher, Mary-Katherine maintains a busy private studio in North York and is cello instructor at the University of Toronto and Claude Watson School for the Arts. This is her first collaboration with Art of Time Ensemble.
Jonathan Goldsmith is a gifted musician and producer, and one of the country’s most sought-after film & television composers. He has won three Gemini Awards, among many other accolades. Some of his credits include scoring Sarah Polley’s feature films Away From Her and Take This Waltz, and producing albums for Bruce Cockburn, Jane Siberry, Hugh Marsh, and Martin Tielli. Jonathan is a founding member of the Art of Time Ensemble and has been involved in numerous projects with the organization as a performer, arranger and composer.
paul gross Paul Gross is one of Canada’s most popular actors, internationally known for the series Due South, as well as Slings and Arrows for which he received combined five Gemini Awards. He wrote, directed and starred in the movies Men with Brooms, Hyena Road and Passchendaele, which won Best Picture. On stage, Gross played Hamlet at the Stratford Festival and appeared on Broadway in Private Lives. He has received an Earle Grey Award, the Pierre Berton Award, a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award and is an officer in the Order of Canada.
performers richard greenbl att
reza jacobs
Richard Greenblatt studied piano at the McGill Conservatory of Music and received his acting training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England. He has directed well over 100 productions for theatres across the country. Classical works he has directed include plays by Shakespeare, Chekov, Shaw, Brecht and Shepherd, among many others. As a writer, he co-wrote 2 Pianos 4 Hands, Sibs, The Theory Of Relatives, i.d., Letters From Lehrer, Care and Soft Pedalling. He has been Resident Director at Young People’s Theatre, Deputy Artistic Director at Canadian Stage and Artistic Director of The Hour Company. He has received numerous nominations for his work, and has won six Dora Awards and two Chalmers Awards.
Reza Jacobs is an award winning composer, lyricist, sound designer and music director, known for his versatility in style and genre. His credits include sound design, musical direction and composition for the Shaw Festival, The Musical Stage Company, Canadian Stage, Young People’s Theatre, Factory Theatre, Volcano Theatre, Cahoots Theatre, Acting Up Stage Theatre, the Luminato Festival, & Harbourfront’s World Stage Festival.
gregory hoskins Gregory Hoskins’ career has spanned 27 years and 10 albums. His last studio recording, The Map of Above, The Map of Below was released in August, 2013. “On their marvellous new album…lyrics are real and bittersweet, arrangements are nimble, and the overall effect evokes a rum-based half dream involving Paul Simon, Joe Henry and truth.” (Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail). In addition to numerous collaborations with The Art of Time Ensemble and a turn as feature vocalist on the excellent 2015 album from The Henrys, Quiet Industry, he has worked with indigenous artists, collaborated and recorded with incarcerated women, and appeared with author Stephen Jenkinson (Die Wise) on a sold-out tour through the US and filmed for release in 2016. 2017 saw the release of his 11th and 12th recordings, Vain +Alone and Witness, as well as tours in Australia and the UK.
peter lutek Peter Lutek, reed instrumentalist, performs improvised music. His training as a classical and avant-garde bassoonist led to extensive exploration of the clarinets and saxophones, as well as composition and electronic synthesis. He has played with New Music Concerts (Toronto), NUMUS (Waterloo), and the Freddie Stone Ensemble, and was a founding member of the 40 Fingers saxophone quartet. Peter was also a member of the Toronto collective, Composers Workshop. He leads ENGINE, and performs regularly with Tom Richards’ Riverrun, David Mott, David Buchbinder, Andrew Downing, Circle Music Band, and the Avi Granite:6. Lutek also works as a sound engineer. He was session engineer, editor, and mixer for the 40 fingers quartet, and has been responsible for all phases of production in numerous recordings over the last 10 years for David Mott, Joseph Petric, and Tom Richards. Peter also mixed and mastered The Tortoise, the acclaimed debut recording by Rob Mosher’s Storytime.
performers natasha mumba
joseph phillips
Natasha Mumba was born in Kalulushi, Zambia and has been fortunate to be a part of this amazing theatre community in Canada since 2014. Selected credits: Shaw Festival; The Hound of the Baskervilles, Henry V, Dracula, Middletown, The Adventures of the Black Girl, Alice in Wonderland. Obsidian Theatre; School Girls; Or the African Mean Girls Play. The Citadel; The untold story of Robin Hood. Tarragon Theatre; Millennial Malcontent. Theatre Kingston; The Mountaintop. Driftwood Theatre Group; Hamlet (Ontario tour). Training: The National Theatre School of Canada. Upcoming: Canadian Stage; Measure for Measure, Much Ado About Nothing.
A Toronto native, Joe studied double bass at the University of Toronto with the renowned virtuoso Joel Quarrington. Phillips has been Principal Double Bassist with Orchestra London since 2007, a position he has also held with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia Toronto.
rob piltch
rick roberts
Rob Piltch has worked with The Bernie Piltch Quartet, The Ted Moses Quintet and Blood, Sweat & Tears. He has worked as a session player with Kim Mitchell, Shirley Eikhardt, Guido Basso, and Rob McConnell, and has recorded two albums: Bells and Rob Piltch. Rob has also performed and recorded with Colm Wilkinson, Molly Johnson, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Louise Pitre, Steven Page, Sarah Slean, Sophie Milman, and The Art of Time Ensemble. His CD Chambers is available on iTunes and on CD Baby.
A graduate of National Theatre School, Rick Roberts is arguably one of Canada’s most versatile actors. Most recently, Roberts was featured in Michael McGowan’s series Between, guest starred opposite Kim Cattrall in Sensitive Skin (TMN/Movie Central), appeared in Zoom (Pedro Morelli), God and Country (Ken Finkleman), and the miniseries The Book of Negroes (CBC). He portrayed Jack Layton in CBC’s 2013 movie, Jack. A popular fixture on Canadian Stages, Roberts starred opposite Hal Linden in Tuesdays With Morrie in 2009. He also played Brutus in Julius Caesar at the Citadel Theatre and made his Stratford debut in the title role of Zastrozzi. As a playwright, Robert’s recent work, Kite, premiered recently to critical acclaim earning numerous Dora Award nominations for writing and production. Other writing credits include Fish/Wife, The Entertainers and the short film The Birthday Cake.
He plays regularly with violinist Mayumi Seiler in her Via Salzburg Chamber Music series and in concerts with Art of Time Ensemble and the Sweet Water Music Festival. He performs with Sarah Slean, Patricia O’Callaghan, Jenny Whiteley, Andrew Downing’s chamber-jazz group Arts & Letters.
performers mike ross
tony zorzi
Born in Charlottetown, P.E.I. and raised in Toms River, New Jersey, Mike Ross is the Slaight Director of Music at Soulpepper, where he is also a Resident Artist. He acted as Music Director for Soulpepper’s Idiot’s Delight and Of Human Bondage, for which he was also the composer. Amongst his credits as an actor for Soulpepper are Angels in America, Alligator Pie, The Crucible, Death of a Salesman, The Threepenny Opera, and As You Like It. Mike has also performed in Fire and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Theatre Calgary), Assassins (Talk is Free/Birdland) and No Great Mischief and Moliere (Tarragon).
Tony Zorzi graduated the Humber College Music program in 1977 and has been teaching in the Humber Jazz and Contemporary Music Program since 1987, while continuously working as a freelance session and live electric and acoustic guitarist. Much of his live work has been pit orchestra work. As a band member he has contributed to 3 Juno-awarded recordings and as a session guitarist, numerous other Juno-nominated recordings.
kristen thomson Kristen Thomson is an actor/playwright and the recipient of four Dora Awards, two ACTRA Awards, two Canadian Comedy Awards, a Genie, a Gemini and a Leo. Select theatre credits include: Every Brilliant Thing, (Canadian Stage); Someone Else (actor/playwright/ Canadian Stage/Crow’s Theatre); The Wedding Party (actor/playwright), The Watershed (Crow’s Theatre); I, Claudia (actor/playwright/Tarragon/ Crow’s; toured internationally and was adapted for television); The Chairs, School for Wives, Streetcar Named Desire, The Guardsman, Uncle Vanya, Mirandolina (Soulpepper); The Memory of Water (Tarragon Theatre); Problem Child (Factory). Film and Television credits include: Recurring role in Cardinal/CTV; Away From Her, Downsizing, Flower and Garnet, I Shout Love.
production team r avi jain
arun srinivasan
Toronto-based stage director Ravi Jain is a multi-award-winning artist known for making politically bold and accessible theatrical experiences in both small indie productions and large theatres. As the founding artistic director of Why Not Theatre, Ravi has established himself as an artistic leader for his inventive productions, international producing/ collaborations and innovative producing models which are aimed to better support emerging artists to make money from their art. Why Not has created over 20 collaborations performing on 5 continents, including the smash hit A Brimful of Asha, which stars Ravi and his real-life mother (non-actor). Collaborations Ravi has fostered with Why Not Theatre include festivals such as Harbourfront’s World Stage Festival, Luminato Festival and The Pan Am Games Toronto2015 and international companies like The Tricycle Theatre (UK), Complicite (UK) and The SITI company (USA). Ravi was shortlisted for the 2016 Siminovitch Prize and won the 2012 Pauline McGibbon Award for Emerging Director and the 2016 Canada Council John Hirsch Prize for direction. He is a graduate of the two-year program at École Jacques Lecoq and he was the inaugural artistic-director-in-residence at The Theatre Centre.
Arun has worked extensively in the performing arts for the last 25 years in dance, theatre, music and special events. His career has garnered him seven Dora Award nominations for Outstanding Lighting Design. Several post-secondary institutions have engaged him to teach both lighting design and production. He has designed 5 previous concerts for Art of Time Ensemble and is pleased to be returning for this production. Productions have taken him to Ukraine, Malaysia, Singapore, India and across North America.
production acknowledgements Marah Braye Chief Executive Officer Chris Hutchinson Chief Operations Officer Heather Waddell Director, Planning & Production Duncan Morgan Production Manager Malcolm Cooke Head Audio Declan Lochlan Head Carpenter Bennett Hyslop Head Lighting Jamie Ufton Front of House Manager Gloria Tran & Stephanie Dotto Front of House Coordinators Ross Egan, Christoph Ibrahim, Maggie Kinnear, Jennifer Lee Assistant Front of House Manager Paola Marcon Box Office Manager Daniel Palmo, Regan Newton & Regan Latimer Box Office Coordinators
Stage Technicians employed at the Theatre are represented by Local 58 of The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, it’s Territories and Canada. Art of Time Ensemble engages, under the terms of the Independent Theatre Agreement, professional Artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. This event has been financially assisted by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, administered by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Corporation.
art of time gratefully acknowledges and thanks supporters $65,000 or more Benefactor Eli & Phil Taylor Gary Slaight
$10 000 to $50 000 Sustaining Member The Estate of Lawrence Ballon* The Fleck Family Foundation Joan & Jerry Lozinski* The George Cedric Metcalf Foundation
$5,000 to $9,999 Member Elizabeth Abel** Martha Burns & Paul Gross Timothy & Carol Deacon** David & Ann Ellins Roger & Kevin Garland* Margaret Grottenthaler & Douglas Harrison Cheryl Hudson & Mike Say Valerie Hussey Richard MacKenzie and Alexandra Rambusch* Barbara & Ian Mason** John McGowan John & Kay McKellar Lois Miles Robert Sirman*
$1,000 to $4,999 Patron Anonymous David Abel Ian & Libby Bandeen Monica Banting & Patrick O’Neill** Mary Brock & Brian Iler Andrew Burashko The Butterfield Foundation Sandra Caldwell Tania & Christopher Carnegie Rita Davies & John McGrath Judith Gelber Carol & Grant Gooding** Julia Holland & David Crawford** Leslie MacMillan & Bernard Le Corre Sam & Rosanne Marinucci Doron Melnick & Shana Haberman
Florence Minz** Cathal O’Connor* James O’Connor & Michael Taylor** Roger Steers** Jane Thompson & Tim Murphy** Antoinette Tummillo & John Carter** Sandra Dudley & Ron Youd**
$500 to $999 Friend Nichole Anderson & Alain Bergeron Jill Black Douglas Bodley** Carolyn Cresswell** Joanne Eidinger Eleanor Engleman Gerry Frascione & Julie Walters** Lawrence Herman & Beatrice de Montmollin** Tim Lang Brett Ledger & Patricia Olasker Adrian Macdonald Alexandra MacLennan Siobhan Monaghan Tenny Nigoghossian Molly Pocklington Julie Reid** J. Sergei Sawchyn** Deanna Wolfe
$100 to $499 Supporter Les Allt Anonymous Penny Arthurs** Barb & Ted Bangay** Kate Bangay** Allan Beaty** Amin Bhatia Helena Birt** Scott Blair Dianne Bradley** Myrna Briepthaut William Brathwaite Debra Chandler Adrienne Clarkson Susan Coyne** Don Curren** David Earle Anne & Ross Eddie
Robert & Ellen Eisenberg Maxanne Ezer Melanie Foster Barbara Gowdy** Doug & Debbie Herridge Claire Hopkinson Suzanne Kavanagh Karen King** Gary Landrus Audrey Lengyel** David & Irene Locke Larry Lubin** Susan MacPherson** Andrea Margles** Beth McCarthy** Heather McDonald Barb McLean Donald Milner Andrew & Jennifer Moeller Richard Mozer Steve Munro Natasha Mytnowich Stephan Nakamura Miriam Newhouse Tim Patriquin Kenny Pearl** Pauline Pelletier** Jo Ann Pynn** Robert Rasmussen Andrew Ranachan Ross & Jane Reynolds Don Rooke Richard Shallhorn** Abigail Slater & Morry Guttman** Noah Soloman Brian Taylor Kristine Thompson** Barbara Tinsley Christianne Vie** Colette & Michael Vosberg** Helen Vosu Nancy Webster** Duncan Wood** This listing reflects our best efforts to publish information current as of April 26, 2019. If you would like to request any amendments to this listing, please email info@artoftimeensemble.com * Indicates Lead Donor for 20/20 Campaign ** Indicates contribution to 20/20 Matching Campaign
Proud suPPorters of the Art of time ensemble since 2006.
www.taylor smyth.co m
art of time ensemble
board of direc tors
Andrew Burashko Artistic Director
Ian Bandeen
David Abel Executive Director
Monica Banting
Kate Bangay Marketing & Communications Manager
Tim Deacon, CA
Mike Romaniak Production Coordinator Monnet Design Graphic Design Young Associates Chris Mustard & Julia Gaunt-Rannala Bookeeping
David Ellins Margaret Grottenthaler, Chair Cheryl Hudson Valerie Hussey Rick MacKenzie Doron Melnick Lois Miles James O’Connor Robert Sirman
art of time gratefully acknowledges and thanks season title patrons
season title sponsor
performance sponsors
Eli & Phil Taylor
Valerie Hussey
season sponsors
The Fleck Family Foundation
Slaight Music
government support
youth champion sponsor
foundation support
The S. M. Blair Family Foundation in-kind support
Taylor_Smyth Architects
piano sponsor
Q Media Solutions
media sponsor