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Jazbirds and the Opera Singers

Toronto ArtsWeek Oct. 1st 05
St. Matthew’s Riverdale presents
Jazbirds and the Opera Singers

In conjunction with Toronto ArtsWeek 05, the congregation of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in South Riverdale is proud to present a concert by professional and amateur singers in an effort to raise community awareness of their beautiful historic building and help insure its survival.

The concert will take place on Saturday October 1, 2005 at 7 pm in the church at 135 First Avenue and will feature classical and jazz singers coached by Tom Schilling of Vocalway Studios. Tom Schilling is an internationally renowned voice teacher and vocal coach who teaches in New York City, Hamilton and Toronto. His students regularly present concerts in Hamilton but have generously offered to perform in Toronto in support of St. Matthew’s. The concert will feature exceptional Classical Singers: Margaret Bárdos, Jennifer McMahon, Sandra Ramunno, Martha Spence, Leslie Jennings, Krystina Lewicki and Jazz Singers: Melissa Stylianuo, Beth Fachnie, Fred Yates and Julie McGregor.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and can be purchased from Liz Russ at Gallery 888, 888 Queen Street East, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 1pm to 6pm.

Featured Opera Singer Margaret Bárdos

Margaret Bárdos

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Margaret Bárdos has completed her seventh season in Opera Ontario’s chorus, having received the Christine Stanton-Opera Ontario Scholarship in 2002. A graduate of McMaster University and member of the Victory Artists Conservatory Company in Toronto, Margaret has been involved in the musical life of Hamilton since coming to Canada in 1983, singing with the Hamilton Children’s Choir, Vox Nouveau, and the Bach Elgar Choir. Margaret recently received the honour of becoming a James Morrow Scholar through Centenary United Church, and greatly enjoys being one of the leaders of the music program there as a soloist and alto section lead. Last season’s performances included an appearance at the re-opening gala of the Art Gallery of Hamilton, The Opera Ball in Kitchener-Waterloo, and the alto solo in the Ontario premiere of Karl Jenkin’s The Armed Man, as well as guest soloist appearances with The Canadian Orpheus Male Choir and The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. She will be making her operatic début with Opera Ontario in the role of Flora in Verdi’s La Traviata this season. A frequent guest soloist at events throughout Southern Ontario, Margaret continues her studies with voice coach Tom Schilling of Vocalway Studios. www.vocalway.com

Featured Opera Singer Jennifer McMahon

Jennifer McMahon

The Hamilton Spectator describes soprano Jennifer McMahon as “stunning”, “astonishing” and “a major operatic voice”. After obtaining her Hon. BMus from the University of Western Ontario, Jennifer has pursued her performance career, including recent engagements with Opera Ontario, The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, The Great Romantics Festival, The Guelph Chamber Orchestra, the Bach Elgar Choir, the Canadian Orpheus Male Choir, and the Toronto Philharmonia. A recipient of the Governor General’s academic medal, the Flora Everett Gold Medal scholarship, and the Opera Ontario/Christine Stanton memorial scholarship, Jennifer is currently continuing a busy performance schedule, in addition to teaching private voice lessons and composing material for an upcoming CD.

Featured Jazz Singer Julie McGregor

Julie McGregor

Julie McGregor, a deep, warm and soulful mezzo, has performed jazz over the last decade and her voice. Julie started her own jazz band in 1995, performing in restaurants and clubs outside Toronto. She sings in venues such as Quigley’s on the Beach, Gate 403, Liberty Street Cafe and for three years had a monthly house gig at Amato’s and has built a loyal fan base. In the summer of 2004, she took center stage, in front of more than a thousand people, as the winner of the Best Jazz Vocalist, at the Burlington Jazz Festival.

Julie performs jazz regularly in local jazz venues. Julie is in the process of making her début CD with Bernie Senensky, Neil Swainson and Norman Marshall Villenueve.

Featured Jazz Singer Melissa Stylianuo

Melissa Stylianuo

Melissa Stylianou has been active on the Toronto jazz scene for 8 years and her sultry singing, startling range and impeccable yet expressive technique have been commanding loyal home-base audiences in Toronto and across Canada. The National Jazz Awards nominated Melissa for Jazz Vocalist of the Year in 2002 & 2003. A busy performer, she has headlined major Jazz Festivals all over Ontario, at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal and the Atlantic Jazz Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In February 2005, The Melissa Stylianou Trio toured concert halls in Quebec and in March, they performed at The Brandon Jazz Festival in Manitoba. Melissa has played at the country's best jazz clubs, playing regularly at the Top O’ The Senator and The Montreal Bistro, and the Melissa Stylianou Trio holds the coveted Friday evening spot every week at The Rex Hotel. Her new album will be recorded this month and will be released in spring 2006. In November, Melissa will relocate to New York City for further jazz and vocal studies with Tom Schilling, Garry Dial and Theo Bleckmann. www.vocalway.com

Featured Opera Singer Sandra Ramunno

Sandra Ramunno

For the past four years Sandra Ramunno has been studying singing with Tom Schilling and Jennifer McMahon of Vocalway studios. She has worked as a solo vocalist throughout Southern Ontario since 1993, singing classical, folk and sacred repertoire. She has also sung with several choral groups including the Wilfrid Laurier University Choir, the Laurier Singers and, most recently, the Centenary United Church Choir. Currently, Sandra resides in Hamilton, Ontario where she teaches piano privately and acts for local theatre groups. Her education includes an Honours Bachelor of Music from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario and a Master of Arts in Music Criticism from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.. www.vocalway.com

St. Matthew’s First Avenue, an English Gothic style church, was built in 1890 with bricks donated by east end brick makers on land donated by a local builder. The congregation paid off the mortgage in 1923. St. Matthew’s is currently listed as an historic building and will serve as the focal point of the proposed Riverdale Heritage Conservation District if it survives.

St. Matthew’s is in danger of being declared a surplus property by the Anglican Diocese of Toronto and then sold to the highest bidder, which could result in its demolition or conversion into condominiums. The sale of the church would also mean the loss of the home of the highly respected Matthew John Daycare with 47 children attending and a waiting list for 1-½ years. The congregation would like to prevent this and they definitely need the community’s support.

The money raised from concert ticket sales will go towards sustaining St. Matthew’s while the fight to save it goes on. We hope that some of you may even consider joining the congregation – we’re friendly and low key. But we wish to reach out to the community at large for support because we know that there are many people in this neighbourhood who value the history of our community. Gerald Whyte, of the Riverdale Historical Society, is one of our supporters. In his words, “Without our old buildings, our city has no history and what makes a city interesting if not its history?”

Please join us for an outstanding musical evening followed by refreshments in the Parish Hall. Bring your friends and neighbours and enjoy this opportunity to socialize with members of your community and support this South Riverdale historical church.

For more info about Tom Schilling's Teaching's, go to www.vocalway.com

Feedback from the concert

[Slow extended stand up claps for Julie!!]

The whole evening had a wonderful vibe to it, very engaging and comfortable. It was lovely to sing to such an appreciative crowd and I think our performances reflected that. Catch your breath and bask in a job well done! You’ve more than deserved it! You were positively charming and sooo ‘in the moment. Thanks again!

Ciao bella!

Martha Spence

Hi Julie,

Just a quick email to thank you for arranging such a wonderful event. We really enjoyed the music and appreciated very much, the effort that was involved.

Regards,

Ivy

julie

i second ivy. the evening was stunning. the music was so soothing. you have really created a sense of community for us all. we thank you so much.
cheers
miriam purtill and robert hercz

Hi Julie,

What a fantastic concert that was, we all enjoyed it so much. You did a great job on organizing everything.

Joyce, Bob, Gayle, and Betty send you Hugs and our Love.

Julie:

You did a great job putting the concert together. I really enjoyed it.

Hope you can relax a bit now.

carol fisher

Congratulations on putting together a wonderful concert. I enjoyed it all and admire all the effort you put into it.

Carolyn

Hi Julie. It was a wonderful evening, everything appeared to go smoothly -- you handled it beautifully and you sang so beautifully. Bert and I thoroughly enjoyed the event and I really hope that it helped out St. Matthews`cause, though you won`t know for a while.

All the best
Sherry

Master Vocal Coach - Tom Schilling - go to www.vocalway.com

GUESTS