Meet "Amy"

I was always a fan of street artists, be it musicians, performers, graffiti artists, because they create a beautiful buzz around the city and they add life to some dull days..

And this was the case with Amy, with her beautiful voice, and great guitar play, she enchanted all the people walking around University and Queen intersection and put a smile on my face.

Meet "The Bagpiper"

After having a wonderful breakfast this morning with my ex colleague Rena and her husband Dan, on my way back taking the subway from Osgood Station, ran by this band going for a St Patrick’s celebration.. Couldn’t but ask one of the Bagpipers to take a picture..

Great to see people having good time, and spreading smiles around.

And it’s true the official date is tomorrow but I wish you from now a Happy St Patrick’s day everyone, may the Shamrock brings you lots of luck and success.

Meet "St. Lawrence String Quartet"

In my third and last part talking about the New Creations Festival concert I attended last Friday, I'm delighted to write about St. Lawrence String Quartet who played with the  Toronto  Symphony Orchestra, the 3rd part of the concert, conducted by the great Composer, Conductor and Creative Thinker John Adams, who appeared with the world’s major orchestras in programmes combining his own works with a wide variety of repertoire ranging from Beethoven and Mozart to Ives, Carter, Zappa, Glass, and Ellington.
Adams presented a Canadian Premiere, "Absolute Jest" for String Quartet and Orchestra.

Here is the background of the  St Laurence String Quartet:
Geoff Nuttall, violin
Mark Fewer, violin
Lesley Robertson, viola
Christopher Costanza, cello

Established in 1989, the St. Lawrence String Quartet has developed an undisputed reputation as a truly world class chamber ensemble. The quartet performs over 120 concerts annually worldwide and calls Stanford University home, where the group is Ensemble in Residence.

Lesley Robertson and Geoff Nuttall are founding members of the group, and hail from Edmonton, Alberta, and London, Ontario, respectively. Christopher Costanza is from Utica, NY, and joined the group in 2003. Mark Fewer, a native of Newfoundland, begins his first season with the quartet in 2014, succeeding violinist Scott St. John. All four members of the quartet live and teach at Stanford, in the Bay Area of California.

The harmony between the four of them was remarkable, and their performance was outstanding leaving the audience in awe and asking for more.. And the combination between the Quartet, the Orchestra and Adams's energy in conducting made it an unforgettable night and the least they deserved a stand ovation with lots of applause that kept running for more than 10 min.

I hope I'll get to see the Quartet playing again, get to know great Canadian Artists and embrace more the wonderful local culture.

St. lawrence String Quartet - Scherzo

Meet "Vincent & Shauna"

In my post yesterday, I was talking about the New Creation Festival, and the concert  I attended at the closing night of the festival, where the first part of the concert, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra played the Three Pieces for Orchestra from Brian Current, and then the second part of the concert, the Orchestra played, and always conducted by Peter Oundjian, four pieces from the Composer Vincent Ho.. Beautiful four pieces (Dusk, Overdrive, Nighthawks and New Dawn)..

In writing his cello concerto, City Suite, Vincent Ho counts as his chief inspirations the Canadian cellist Shauna Rolston, whom he had in mind as the performer of the work.

And from Vincent notes on how Toronto inspired him to write his City Suite:

The first movement of City Suite, “Dusk”, he describes as “inspired by a melancholy evening I had in Toronto...sitting in front of my hotel window taking in the view of downtown. As dusk settled, a feeling of “coldness” crept in as I watched the city transform into its darker alter ego. Emotionally speaking, this movement represents the initial turmoil I felt many years ago that begun my period of sadness.” The second movement, “Overdrive,” was inspired by the fast pace of urban life, while personally, it “represents the anger I felt that followed the turmoil I spoke of in the first movement.”

The third movement is named after Edward Hopper’s famous painting, which Ho encountered in a book of the artist’s collected works. As Ho describes, “The sadness and desolation it evoked immediately resonated with me... I knew I needed to compose my own musical interpretation of the image. This movement also represents the next stage of the emotional process I was undergoing: sadness.” The final movement, entitled “New Dawn”, evokes the joy of a new day of life in a city. “This feeling of a fresh start provides a sense of comfort and a degree of optimism...as well as the closure I feel when I leave the day before behind. It also represents the reconciliation I needed to reach after all these years of carrying my inner conflicts.”
As the Award-Winning Canadian cellist Shauna Rolston, she injected more life to Vincent's music with her wonderful performance, so for a while I lost focus on the whole Orchestra and I was simply mesmerized by her, by her cello and this amazing relation between them.

I was so happy to discover in one night great Canadian artists and tomorrow I'll be writing about the third and last part of the concert.

You can listen to some of Vincent work on his website vinceho.com

And for Shauna captivating Cello play..

Meet "Brian Current"

I got a message from my friend David, asking me if I'm interested to attend a Classical Music Concert presented by Toronto Symphony Orchestra, part of the New Creations Festival at the Roy Thomson Hall. Without any hesitation I accepted his invitation and got super excited to see the Orchestra playing in this wonderful venue.
It was the closing night of the Festival, and 3 conductors were on the program of that night.
Peter Oundjian, the internationally sought-after Music Director and Conductor and the host of the night, introduced the first composer: Brian Current.
Brian was born in London, Ontario, in 1972.. He composed in 2013 three pieces for Orchestra.
And from Brian's notes about these pieces:
Like many composers, I like to put up drawings around the piano while working. These are just an impulse at the time, but when unpacked later, I am surprised at how clearly they articulate the central idea of the music. One little sketch, a single line under a cloud of densely tangled lines, ended up describing much of Earth So Much Like Heaven, Heaven So Much Like Earth. In the music, the two layers are always present and are always inseparable. I’m not really a religious person, but the relationship between these two layers has increasingly become a metaphor to me for heaven and earth. The string orchestra plays the lower, simple line, and a group of instruments (percussion, harp, piano, solo violins and flutes) play the upper texture. In many of these patterns I am trying to create music that is very active and very calm at the same time, like water or like sunlight.

The title of the second piece, Without Grace The Universe Is Just An Explosion, is from a text by the Canadian poet Christian Bök. This title seemed appropriate as it described the music I wanted to write—a piece about violence and beauty—and also spoke to why we might need music and symphony orchestras in the first place. Overlapping gestures fade in and out throughout the piece, and many sounds are inspired by electronic effects.

The final piece is called Motion Is The Default State. This sentence was another impulse taped to the piano when trying to describe the music in early stages. The first half is about assigning separate overtones to different instruments to create huge, pulsating blocks of colour. These get progressively bigger until we explode out into a middle section inspired by the fist-pounding energy of rock music. The final section features enormous, pin-wheeling arcs of colour, which grow and overlap with one another into a celebratory finish.

The 18 minutes passed like a dream, and the music left me in awe.. hypnotized me and totally captivated all my senses.
I'll be definitively looking for more magical music from Brian and was so happy to discover this great Canadian talent.

To know more about Brian, check http://briancurrent.squarespace.com/about/

Brian Current talking about the Three Pieces for Orchestra..

Meet "Linnea Olsson"

I shared yesterday in my post "Meet Ane Brun" how I booked my ticket for her concert at Salle L'Astral and how excited I was to attend that concert..

And while waiting for Ane to go on stage, a beautiful women wearing black, holding a cello came on stage, and started playing.. It was like magic.. And then she introduced herself.. Linnea Olsson, a Swedish Cellist.. it was the first time I heard of her..

She continued playing her music and started singing.. My God.. She had a very charming voice.. You can't get enough of it.. And I was so happy when she mentioned that we can get her first album "Ah" at the door.. Which I did.. The entire album is composed of only Olsson’s velvet, gravityless vocals and her cello.

After few songs, she left the stage for Ane, but then joined her again playing the cello and contributing with vocals.. They made a fantastic duo on stage

I was so happy discovering a new artist, a real talent, which I became a fan and we'll be definitely looking forward for more of her.. More songs, more cello music, and more outstanding performance.

Meet "Ane Brun"

Last year, My dear friend Michael downloaded for me three CDs for Ane Brun, and strongly recommended that I listen to her songs and her great voice.. It was the first time I hear of her, and I was so pleased with this discovery as I really fell in love with her amazing voice and her music.. And I started following her on Facebook to know know her updates and her latest releases..

Ane Brun is a Norwegian international songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. Since 2003 she has recorded eight albums, six of which are studio albums and one live DVD. She has lived in Stockholm, Sweden since 2001, where she writes, records and runs her own label (Balloon Ranger Recordings) when not on tour.

And couple of weeks ago I discovered she's coming to Canada in a tour and three concerts between Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, and that weekend I was supposed to be in Montreal, so I looked for tickets but didn't book one waiting for my friend to confirm if he will join.. Then I kept postponing and the night I arrived to Montreal first thing I did is calling TicketMaster to check if there is any tickets left so they informed me that I have to call the venue as I'm calling super late..

I called L'Astral, where the concert is taking place, and I was so happy to know that there is 4 tickets left so I urged them to keep one for me as they don't take payment through the phone and I rushed to get mine..

By mistake I took the west side of Saint Catherine street where I had to go east, and when I realized I'm heading in the wrong direction I started running like a crazy in super cold Montreal until I reached the venue and got my ticket (huge smile)..

My mobile battery was dying, and I thought I need to take some picture of the concert, I had an hour left before the concert so I rushed to the hotel where I plugged it on the charger for 20 min and ran back to Salle L'Astral..

The venue wasn't huge but the ambiance was really warm and cosy, had a glass of wine waiting for Ane to come on stage..
I was alone but I was feeling so happy.. Listening to her wonderful voice knowing all the songs and enjoying her pleasant character..
I didn't want the concert to end -the whole audience didn't want it to end- and make her go on stage again for another round of 4 songs..

I will not talk much about her golden voice.. Her songs and let you enjoy few links..
After this concert I became a bigger fan of Ane, and her songs are my friends making my moments more enjoyable every time I listen to them.

Ane brun "One"

Ane brun "Do you remember"

Meet "Datcha"

Since I moved to Toronto, my cousins in Ottawa kept asking me to visit for few days, and I was busy settling in and fixing my house and starting the classes, and finally decided to visit for a weekend and they recommended the Winterlude weekend at the beginning of February, so booked my train ticket and was looking forward to see  them after very long time..

First night in Ottawa, my cousins decided to take me clubbing, at Babylon club, where there is a good DJ playing that night, so I took a quick nap and them got ready and we moved around 11pm.. We passed by a pub to pick up Datcha, a friend of my cousins, and just from the short ride to the club, I felt Datcha is so funny and he didn't stop making us laugh with his stories..

And one we reached the club, the queue to get in was huge and we had to wait outside shaking in the cold.. So Datcha decided to go and talk to the security guy and pretended he's the friend of the DJ, and at the beginning the security believed him and we were about to get in but it didn't take long for Datcha's game to get caught and we had to wait for 20 minutes until he knew that a friend of his is already inside and he managed to make us cut through the queue and get in right in time before we were thinking to leave..

Once inside the club, Datcha continued with his funny tricks, where he started blowing balloons and leave them flying between people, it seems he's a character, and my cousins like when they go out with him..

The music was good but some people seemed a bit weirdos for me (maybe I'm getting old), and a funny ridiculous incident happened to me there:

So this short guy came too close to me and asked me if I m Justin, so told him I m not (with his face full of anger).. And after a while he came again and asked me to see my Facebook profile to prove to him that I m not Justin.. Then he was like "swear to God you' re not Justin" So I told him to f... off and here my cousin, to avoid a fight, she swore that I m not Justin and that I don't live in Ottawa.. so he apologized and left us in peace but kept staring at me the whole night with his face full of anger like he wanted to kill me..

And the terror for me was the name... Justin.. Do I look like a Justin? Which Justin? Who's the F... is Justin? And imagine if my real name was Jusitn..

anyway, the night ended well, we had a good time, then I went with my cousins to drop Datcha to his place, and came back home, to get some rest and get ready for another day around Ottawa and meeting other new friends.

Meet "Douglas"

When I was doing the tour with the real estate agent Eugenia Evans ( a great lady that helped me a lot to find an apartment around downtown Toronto), one of the options was at 7 King St, so when we first entered the building, Douglas, the security man was the first person we met and asked the permission to go check the apartment.. He seemed very professional and welcoming at the same time..

We checked the apartment and we left and after few days Eugenia called me to confirm that I got the apartment and I need the finalize the papers and the payment..

Right after that, I was so excited, I started looking for furnitures and planned my move.. And I heard that I need inform the security guys and I has to book the elevator as well.. So I passed by the building again, and Douglas was once again kind enough to book temporary couple of spots for the service elevator and gave me the contact details to call in case I wanted to change..

Couple of weeks later I finally moved and had so many issues with with delivery and  costumer service mainly with Sears, who were supposed delivering my mattress the first day and they didn't, so I had to go and stay in a hotel, so I don't sleep on the floor.. And the second day they did the same.. So I have to cancel my order, and get my money back even though I got calls from their executive office after I tweeted couple of nasty tweets and they tried to fix the problem but for me it was too late..

So I went to another place (Sleep Country), and asked them if I can get a mattress the same day, and the answer was positive..

And here where Douglas was really great, cause I asked him on the spot to bring the mattress without pre booking and understood the situation and helped me to finally have something to sleep on the first couple of days..

Douglas been working in security for 8 years, and before he use to freelance and write articles about hard rock music as he's a huge fan, but then needed something more stable and working in security was a good option.. And I believe he's doing a great job..

You always feel Douglas is there and willing to help if you ask him for..

Like every time mu cousins are visiting he would understand that it's very difficult to find a parking space around the building and will let them park in one of the building spots and I really appreciate that..

So far all the security guys at the building are really nice people, helpful and welcoming and working hard to make sure our security is their top priority.. God bless them..

Meet "Olga"

So after meeting my new friend Merwad for couple of times, she asked me if I’m interested to join her with a group of friends to a concert at Roy Thomson Hall where The Classic Albums Live will be performing Abbey Road – The Beatles, so without hesitation I told her I’m in.. and we agreed to meet 30 minutes before the concert.

I was excited like a kid, as I really liked the architecture of the building, and I was always curious to see how it looks from inside of course on top of my anticipation for the concert and to meet new people..

so I met them at the entrance of the hall, I arrived 10 minutes earlier, Merwad was already there with her friend Olga, and she introduced us.

Olga moved to Toronto around three years ago, she used to live in the UAE too so we had a starting point for our conversation, and she works in the medical equipment field, so we started discussing the health care system and the equipment of different medical centers and comparing it with the UAE and Lebanon, and of course she gave me couple of insights and tips from her experience the last three years..

It seems Olga is a big fan of singing, and she’s taking vocal classes, so I hope we’ll be able to hear her singing one day soon..

The concert was great, even though we felt quiet old (maybe the average age group was 50 at the concert) after all it’s the Beatles songs but we enjoyed every minute of it, and the performance of Classic Album live was fantastic..

After the concert, we went for dinner and drinks, where I had the chance to meet more friends which I will introduce in my coming posts.

Cheers.