Entertainment

Submitted to Cashbox Canada

Launched in 2012, SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival features world-class concert performances in a wide range of genres, including pop and jazz groups, classical and gospel choirs, and world music ensembles.  Toronto’s only a cappella festival educates as well as entertains, with industry veterans leading vocal workshops for singers of all ages and levels of experience.  SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival will also offer a school workshop day, public sing-along, and presentation of the SING! Legacy Award to Toronto native Frank Busseri of The Four Lads. 
Feature concerts will include the Swingle Singers, a UK-based multi-Grammy winning ensemble celebrating 50 years as a vocal super group; Sweden-based The Real Group, performing bop, vocalese, pop, and originals; and Moments to Remember: A Tribute to Harmony Groups of the ‘50s and ‘60s, Honouring Frank Busseri of The Four Lads.

“The response to last year’s festival was overwhelmingly positive,” says artistic director Aaron Jensen, an award-winning, internationally-published composer, arranger, and performer.  “Since then, we’ve grown – both in size and with respect to artistic vision.”

“Building on last year's model that focused on world-class performances, workshops and educational outreach, this year we have expanded our programming to include cross-cultural collaborations and a world premiere concert of new Canadian choral works,” adds Jensen.  “We have more than a few surprises up our sleeves for our 2013 season.”

Submitted by Michael E. Williams

Live Music generates an estimated $455 million in revenues and contributes $252 million to the Canadian economy growing at an annual rate of 6.4 % since 2010. (Source:  An Economic Analysis of the Sound Recording Industry in Canada, PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2011)

A few weeks ago, the Ontario government started a Live Music Working Group with 21 industry experts including Graham Henderson, Gil Moore and Neill Dixon.  The aim is to make Ontario a world class destination for live music.

As I have seen such a waste of these funds over the years, I wanted to see what this new program might have to offer and how its success would be evaluated.   I called the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, Michael Chan to answer my questions.  He graciously made time for me and I thank him.

MW:  Why did the provincial government decide to get involved in live music?
MC: I think it’s a good thing to do. Since the digitization of music, recorded music has been spiraling down, so we looked at the statistics, numbers and talked to industry leaders, big and small, in the music industry. We all joined together collectively to create a strategy for the growing segment of the industry, Live Music, to make Ontario an even greater destination for live music, sports and cultural based entertainment events.I have been driving this music file quite aggressively and we think there is a lot of good in there, that’s why we are doing it.

Submitted by Cashbox Canada

The Giacomo Variations, starring Hollywood icon John Malkovich as the legendary lover
Casanova, will play Toronto’s Elgin Theatre, June 7-9, 2013 for four shows only.

Based on the life of Giacomo Casanova, the Italian adventurer, writer and womanizer, The Giacomo Variations  is a remarkable and sophisticated fusion of theatre and opera and features
a superbly talented cast, breathtaking sets and costumes, and a live 35-piece Viennese orchestra,
Orchester Wiener Akademie, playing Mozart's most beloved arias.

John Malkovich (Warm Bodies, The Killing Fields, The Glass Menagerie, Dangerous Liaisons, In the
Line of Fire, Red, Burn After Reading, Being John Malkovich) is one of the most respected actors in
Hollywood. His career began in the theatre, in 1976, when Malkovich joined Chicago’s Steppenwolf
Theatre, newly founded by Gary Sinise. He appeared on stage in New York in the early eighties
before his film debut in 1984 as the blind lodger in Places in the Heart (Academy Award nomination).

The Giacomo Variations is Malkovich’s second foray into the world of opera. His first, and very
successful collaboration, in 2008 with the same production and creative team, was The Infernal
Comedy, which he continues to tour internationally.

Prior to its Toronto engagement, The Giacomo Variations  will receive its Canadian Premiere at
Place des Arts in Montreal, QC, June 4 & 5, 2013.

Submittted by Cashbox Canada

With his debut album, Drake Jensen started to make his mark on country music worldwide. Charting at #16 on the European Country Music Associations Top 100, achieving Top 20 in France with his single “All You Need”, his ground breaking video “On My Way To Finding You”, receiving various awards and accolades for standing up and being heard in his support of the gay community and freedom for all from bullying, while raising awareness through his causes and his music.

Jensen has had quite a journey this last year, travelling to Nashville, touring and performing to raise awareness of his music offerings that are country through and through. The results of these efforts are shown in his friends list on his Facebook  - http://www.facebook.com/drakejensenmusic?fref=ts.

Jensen is back now with a new offering – aptly named OUTlaw, and now in 2013 Drake is back with  a vengeance with the release of his  second album – OUTlaw, a great combination of meaningful songs, well produced and engineered with the great input of Jonathan Edwards of Corvidae Music.

Launching at the prestigious National Arts Centre in Ottawa, on Wednesday March 13, at 7:30 pm. and the evening is sure to be as eclectic a performance as the crowd this talented artist attracts at all times.

Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.ca or the National Arts Centre Box Office at htt.p://nac-cna.ca/boxoffice