FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2014, KLEINBURG ON – On Thursday, May 1, 2014, the second season of the popular McMichael Concert Series, part of the McMichael Signature Performance Series, will open with a concert by award-winning singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Daniela Nardi. Nardi’s world music project, Espresso Manifesto, has played to sold-out audiences in Toronto, Montreal, and New York, and celebrates the vibrancy of Italian music and culture. The series will once again take place in the McMichael’s stunning Woodland Gallery and will run on consecutive Thursday evenings in May.
The McMichael Signature Performance Series, which features music, dance, theatre, and conversation, gives visitors the unique opportunity to enjoy a complete cultural experience that combines the performing arts with the gallery’s world-class collection and picturesque grounds.
New this season, each of the 8 pm concerts will be preceded by a musical conversation at 7 pm between the performers and Jaymz Bee of JAZZ.FM91. Gallery hours will be extended on performance days, allowing visitors to take in both the outdoors and the current special exhibition Changing Tides, the first group exhibition of contemporary Newfoundland and Labrador art to be held in the Toronto area.
“The McMichael gallery was always a very special place for me,” said Nardi. “My mother and I would take drives to Kleinburg on sunny Sunday afternoons and our first stop was the McMichael. Walks through the lush grounds would lead us to the gallery where we’d get lost in the wonderful exhibits. It was a very special time spent with my mom.”
Nardi’s opening night performance will be followed by three concerts featuring a roster of Canada’s most talented and sought-after jazz musicians. On Thursday, May 8, acclaimed cabaret performer Lyne Tremblay and JUNO-nominated jazz singer Amy McConnell will be joined by five incredible musicians to perform Printemps à Paris, a classic French jazz and cabaret repertoire that includes songs by Michel Legrand, Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Charles Trenet, Josephine Baker, and others.
“Lyne and I are thrilled to sing at the McMichael gallery,” said McConnell. “The setting is so magical and inspiring. It will be a joy for us to conjure up a taste of Paris there.”
On Thursday, May 15, Alex Pangman, “Canada’s sweetheart of swing”, and her acclaimed Alleycats will fill the gallery with their trademark vintage sound. Pangman, a favourite of audiences and critics alike, is known for channelling the great female vocalists of the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s. In her McMichael performance, Pangman will weave her way through a songbook of standards and lesser known gems from the jazz age.
“I can’t wait to make music surrounded by the inspirational art at the gallery,” said Pangman. “While I am influenced by the American jazz artists of the 1930s, so too do I put a unique Canadian stamp on their music, which I think fits in well at the McMichael. Just as artists were creating playful, vibrant, borderless art, so too was the music of the early 1900s exhibiting those same freedoms and colours, and I can’t wait to play it amongst art that is part of a larger creative picture.”
The spring series will come to a close on Thursday, May 22, with a performance by two master pianists, Robi Botos and Hilario Durán, sponsored by Steinway Piano Gallery. Botos, who is of Hungarian descent, and Durán, a Cuban-Canadian who played for nine years with legendary trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, will explore music from Hungary and Cuba as it intersects with American jazz standards.
Tickets for the McMichael Concert Series are on sale now and can be purchased at mcmichael.com or by calling 905.893.1121 ext. 2209. Fee: $49 A+ seating; $39 A seating; $19 students with ID; $169 A+ seating series of four concerts; $129 A seating series of four concerts. Fee includes gallery admission ($15 value). All prices include taxes.
The McMichael Signature Performance Series will continue on Thursday, June 19 at 7:30 pm, with a performance by the MM2 Modern Dance Company, based out of Philadelphia. The Company will present BREATH, a series of seven works performed by seven dancers.
Tickets for BREATH can be purchased by calling 905.893.1121 ext. 2209 or visiting mcmichael.com. Fee: $29. Fee includes gallery admission ($15 value). All prices include taxes.
On Thursday, July 3 at 8:30 pm, there will be a performance by the Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, one of Canada’s leading contemporary dance companies, recognized for its seamless fusing of indigenous and contemporary dance into a compelling choreographic vision. Their performance, entitled The Honouring, pays homage to the First Nations people who fought in the War of 1812.
Tickets for The Honouring can be purchased by calling 905.893.1121 ext. 2209 or visiting mcmichael.com. Fee: $39 A+ seating; $29 A seating; $19 students (18 years and under) with ID. Price includes gallery admission ($15 value). All prices include taxes.
Media Partners: JAZZFM.91, The Globe and Mail
About the McMichael Canadian Art Collection
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of almost 6,000 artworks by Canadian artists, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, as well as First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists. The gallery is located on 100 acres of northern landscape and hiking trails at 10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in the City of Vaughan.
For more information: mcmichael.com.
Media Contacts:
Wendy Campbell
Manager, Media Relations and Online Presence
905.893.1121 ext. 2201
wcampbell@mcmichael.com
Rachel Weiner
Media Relations and Communications Coordinator
905.893.1121 ext. 2210
rweiner@mcmichael.com