The Caledon Music Competition returns in 2025 from August 2 to 31, bringing a few of Canada’s prime classical music expertise to the pastoral locale. The theme this yr is “Inside Tales” — an exploration of storytelling by way of music.
How does music inform tales, and take its viewers to a distinct place and mindset? That concept is explored by way of quite a lot of works, together with each conventional and beloved works of the classical canon and a few of its brightest hidden gems.
We spoke to Creative Director Terry Lim about this yr’s lineup.
Competition at a Look
August 2: Davis Household Farm — Music and Dance
Surrounded by the beautiful blooms of a sunflower farm on a gorgeous summer time night, viewers members will be capable of sip drinks as they benefit from the music. There’ll even be a crescent moon after the glory of the sundown.
Soprano Emily Vondrejsova performs quite a lot of songs from the jazzy model of Edith Piaf’s La Vie en rose to pop music, jazz classics and extra. This system additionally contains Arvo Half’s minimalist Fratres for cello and piano, and two tangos by Piazzolla: Adios Nonino for solo piano, and The 4 Seasons. The works might be carried out by Competition Artists Joonghun Cho (piano), Terry Lim (flute), and Amahl Arulanandam (cello).
August 17: Alton Mill Arts Centre — Youthful Passions (Facet-by-Facet)
Through the Competition, Lim and the Competition Artists work with younger artists who’re largely beneficial by the Competition Artists. They’re paired as much as study from a working skilled.
The spotlight of the Facet-by-Facet expertise is that this live performance, the place their collective efforts are showcased. Competition Artists Luri Lee (violin), Christina Choi (violin), Carolyn Blackwell (viola), and Drew Comstock (cello) might be on stage with 4 younger artists.
The repertoire will embody Mendelssohn’s Octet, and Bach’s Double Concerto for 2 violins in D minor, together with a collection of vocal repertoire from Handel, Mozart, Bellini, and Dvorak carried out by Emily Vondrejsova, who’s a local of close by Erin, Ontario.
August 23: Westminster United Church — A Journey into Cabaret and Broadway
Violinist Luri Lee, cellist Peter Eom and pianist Joonghun Cho carry out works revolving round cabaret and Broadway. That features American composer Paul Schoenfeld’s Café Music Music for violin, cello and piano, a trio he developed performing cabaret music with buddies at a café in Minneapolis. Additionally on the invoice is a collection of Gershwin items, together with the Porgy & Bess Fantasy for violin and piano alongside some solo piano works, and Prutsman’s chamber work 4 Broadway Showtunes for cello and piano.
August 31: Alton Mill Arts Centre — The Grand Finale
The live performance closes with a constructive observe, and a program centred round Bach’s iconic Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, one of the crucial beloved works of all time. Lim has paired the Concerto with the Haydn-Mozart Toy Symphony, together with Mozart’s Flute Quartet in D Main, that includes flutist Sarah Moon, and Vaughan William’s The Lark Ascending. The latter might be carried out by Kai Rousseau on violin, the Younger Competition Artist. The opposite Competition Artists performing will embody Sarah Kim, violin; Douglas Kwon, violin; Laurence Schaufele, viola; Daniel Hamin Go, cello, and Terry Lim on flute.
Terry Lim: The Interview
In programming the season, Lim says that he establishes the theme first, after which assembles repertoire that works into it — some thematic, others with out an apparent backstory. The musicians are handpicked.
There’s a course of whereas he’s creating the applications. “Let’s put collectively Mendelssohn’s octet,” he begins. Mendelssohn wrote the piece whereas he was in his teenagers, and with the main points, he creates a narrative to weave across the music.
It’ll be a part of the Facet-by-Facet Live performance, which options teenage musicians.
“I simply needed to develop our applications with younger artists,” he says. “It’s simply labored out effectively,” he says of the initiative. “They get an opportunity to play some solos,” he provides of the younger artists.
The academic facet of the competition is one thing Lim wish to develop upon — relying on the funding scenario, which, as he notes, is ever altering.
Together with the younger artists of the Facet-by-Facet program, Younger Competition Artist Kai Rousseau performs within the competition finale. Native artist Kai Rousseau, who hails from Belfountain, is finding out in direction of a Grasp’s diploma in music on the College of Toronto. “It offers him an opportunity to play with excessive degree professionals,” Lim notes.
“That’s one thing that I wish to develop.”
The Music
The music was chosen by Lim along with the Competition Musicians.
“Every musician had tales behind the works they needed to carry out,” he says. “I’m just about proud of all of the concert events.”
The artists will speak slightly in regards to the repertoire they are going to carry out, and why they selected the precise works.
“Annually, I attempt to do one thing completely different,” he says. “The enjoyable half is programming and placing issues collectively.”
He says he tries to strike a steadiness between interesting to the out of city and native audiences, a few of whom might not be so aware of classical music in any respect. “I attempt to program it in order that they’ll get pleasure from all of it the best way to the top.”
He’s guided by feedback from competition goers of earlier years, who left useful options. As with each advanced endeavour, placing a music competition collectively has a studying curve.
Some particulars come from direct expertise.
“Final yr, once we did the sunflower farm for the primary time, I had no concept in regards to the mosquitoes,” laughs Lim, who lives in downtown Toronto. “I used to be enjoying flute, and it stored hitting my head.”
The Competition Expertise
“It’s been actually thrilling to fulfill individuals on the market,” Lim says. He’s spent a whole lot of time attending to know the realm and its residents. It’s an ongoing course of. “I take their suggestions very significantly.”
He’s additionally turn out to be aware of the area’s venues as a way to select the proper one for every live performance.
“I decide sure venues,” Lim says. That features the Davis Farm, the Alton Mills Arts Centre, and Westminster United Church in Orangeville. “Toronto individuals don’t learn about [them],” he says. “I take into consideration environment. I select specific spots.”
Within the case of the Davis farm, the competition’s relationship goes past that of a easy venue. The Davis household is sponsoring the occasion, and in return, Lim will donate 10% of the ticket gross sales to the Celiac Basis, in honour of one of many members of the family who lives with the illness.
“It’s a gorgeous spot.”
On the Alton Mills Arts Centre, they’ll be performing in an open area with a everlasting roof.
“It someway makes it nearly like a church inside.,” he says. “[There are] weirdly good acoustics on the market.”
- Discover tickets and passes, and extra live performance particulars, [HERE].
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Anya Wassenberg is the Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. Beforehand, she was a contract author with a specialty in tradition and journey for 3 many years, and a artistic writing teacher for Ontariolearn.