VTO 007 starts tonight

The Music Gallery and Rough Idea's annual mini-festival VTO — featuring artists on their way to play the Victoriaville festival in Quebec — kicks off tonight here at St. George the Martyr with our Dutch guests, the Corkestra. Leader Cor Fuhler will be playing the grand piano instead of his usual array of keyolins and other inventions. Hope you enjoy today's sunshine and join us at 7 for a pre-concert wine-and-cheese reception, hosted by our friends at the Dutch Consulate! Go here for concert info.

Arnold Dreyblatt — Concert and Exclusive Interview

Arnold Dreyblatt's week-long residency at the Music Gallery has been an amazing experience for all involved so far. Arnold has been working closely with the musicians to create two new works, and will be playing his '79 classic, Solo Nodal Excitation at the culminating concert tomorrow night (Sat, May 5). The Music Gallery's Jonny Dovercourt had an exclusive sit-down interview with Arnold the other day, you can read it here on the Zoilus blog. Thanks to Carl Wilson for hosting it.

Dreyblatt + VTO tickets

Tickets are now on sale for Arnold Dreyblatt (May 5) and all three VTO 007 concerts — Corkestra May 15, Fond of Tigers + Evergreen May 18 and KoenjiHyakkei May 20 — at our usual advance ticket outlets, Rotate This, 620 Queen W., and Soundscapes, 572 College ST., in Toronto.

Also, Eye Weekly recently ran a review of the Fred Frith concert here on its daily blog.

New audio on MG myspace; Monica Germino tomorrow night

The Music Gallery myspace page has been updated with new some new audio featuring tracks previewing artists playing the MG in the coming weeks. Go to www.myspace.com/themusicgallery — before Facebook turns it into an Interdustbowl.

Also, please do check out Monica Germino's concert at the MG tomorrow night (Thursday, April 19), entitled "Plugged & Unplugged." This engaging program of violin, video and more will feature the Amsterdam artist performing works by Philip Glass, Louis Andriessen, Jacob ter Veldhuis and others.

VTO 007, Frith + Dreyblatt tickets

Announcing! The VTO festival returns this year with VTO 007, co-presented by Rough Idea and the Music Gallery. This fest will consist of three nights of out-rock, jazz and global sounds: Amsterdam's Corkestra May 15 at the MG; an all-Canadian double bill of Fond of Tigers and Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan May 18 at MG; and Japan's KoenjiHyakkei May 20 at the Horseshoe.

Ticket update! Tickets will be on sale tomorrow (April 11) for Fred Frith and Arnold Dreyblatt. Please note there will be a very limited number of tickets on sale at the advance price for the Frith concert.

Fred Frith; Toronto-Montreal Project

Hello! We're pleased to announced that US/UK composer, improviser and guitar innovator Fred Frith will be performing at the MG on April 22, in a co-presentation with Rough Idea. Fred will be performing with Anne Bourne on cello and voice, John Oswald on sax and Owen Pallett on violin. Advance tickets will be available soon at Rotate This (620 Queen W.) and Soundscapes (572 College St.) for $15 each.

Also, a reminder not to miss our next concert presentation — The Toronto-Montreal Composer Project, happening this Sunday (April 1st) here at St. George the Martyr.

Next concert: Andrew Downing's Melodeon

The Music Gallery's next presentation is an intriguing interdisciplinary event. Bassist-about-town Andrew Downing brings his group Melodeon to St. George the Martyr to perform an original live score to a classic silent film from the roaring '20s, The Shock -- starring Lon Chaney (but NOT as the Hunchback). Showtime is 8pm, next Friday, March 23rd. Tickets are available at the door, $15 regular, $10 for Music Gallery members or seniors, and $5 for students with valid I.D.

Next two concerts: Penderecki Quartet + Maza Meze

The next concert at the Music Gallery will be New Music Concerts' presentation of works composed for the Penderecki String Quartet, this Saturday (March 10). We apologize for this concert not making it into our calendar sooner.

On Tuesday (March 13, that's a week tonight), and still with guests George Sawa and Nabeel Shehadeh, will be the Maza Meze concert originally scheduled in February.

Thanks to all who braved the treacherous climate to make it to our trio of shows last weekend!

Aventa Ensemble — Moonlit tour visits MG Thursday night

Don't forget that tomorrow night (Thursday, March 1st), the Music Gallery presents Victoria's Aventa Ensemble, as part of our commitment to helping new music groups tour in Canada.

Here's what you need to know about the concert:
Victoria BC's 13-piece Aventa Ensemble, with Bill Linwood, conductor -- featuring Janice Jackson, soprano -- "Moonlit," tour of Canadian and Danish new music

Programme:
Giorgio Magnanensi — il suono blu (2006)
Klaus Ib Jørgensen — Moon-pain (2003-2006)
Bent Sørensen — The Weeping White Room (2002)
Michael Oesterle — Urban Canticle (1999)
Poul Ruders — Abysm (2000)

Spring approaches

The Music Gallery has some great concert presentations coming up at our space here at St. George the Martyr. As we look towards spring, look forward to a visit by Victoria BC new music ensemble Aventa Ensemble with guest soprano Janice Jackson on March 1st. The following night (March 2), we present a double bill of Asian music with Orchid Ensemble (Chinese classical music from Vancouver) and Jeng Yi (Korean drum group from Toronto). On March 23, Andrew Downing drops by with his group Melodeon to perform live original scores to classic silent films in our Inter Avant stream. April 1st, we team up with Montreal's Theatre LaChapelle to present the Toronto-Montreal Composer Project, an exciting roadshow of new works and commissions.