Orchestra Toronto stars shine on April 14

TORONTO - March 20, 2013 - PRLog -- TWO OF OUR OWN STARS

SHINE ON APRIL 14

Orchestra Toronto’s concert on Sunday, April 14, is a family affair, when it presents two of its own stars — violinist Grace Hong and violist Brenna Whyte — in a program titled Between Friends.

Conducted by Orchestra Toronto Music Director Danielle Lisboa, the program begins with Hong, the orchestra’s concert master, playing The Water of Life, by Canadian composer Kevin Lau. Then Whyte joins Hong for a hidden gem by Romantic virtuoso Max Bruch, the Double concerto for violin and viola in E minor.

Hong is also featured in Johannes Brahms’ last symphony, the No. 4 in E minor, a work of maturity and genius. The symphony’s final movement features a theme based on a Bach cantata that’s crafted to perfection and brings the piece to an astounding finale.

Concert master of Orchestra Toronto for the past 14 years, Hong has performed and taught throughout North America. She has been concert master of the Scarborough Symphony Orchestra, the East York Symphony and the Toronto Philharmonia and has toured extensively with Livent USA productions. A renowned teacher, her students can be found in orchestras and opera companies across Canada and the United States.

One of Hong’s outstanding graduates is Brenna Whyte, who started studying with Hong in high school to support her position as concert master of the student orchestra at Toronto’s Havergal College. A singer, violinist and violist, Whyte went on to Montreal’s McGill University, where she was involved with the Medical School Orchestra but graduated with a bachelor’s degree in arts and science. Back in Toronto, Whyte has been performing with Orchestra Toronto for four years, is studying for a master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Toronto and is selling real estate.

Toronto-based Kevin Lau, described as a composer with a "masterful control over his idiom" by Classical Music Sentinel, is quickly establishing himself as one of Canada's brightest emerging composers.

Lau’s music has been commissioned and performed by more than 20 ensembles and he has composed the scores to 15 films. He is the recipient of the 2010 Karen Kieser Prize in Canadian Music and he has been appointed RBC Affiliate Composer of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for 2012-14.


The performance begins at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 14, in the George Weston Recital Hall of the Toronto Centre for the Arts. A pre-concert talk begins at 2:15 p.m. and there’s an Instrument Petting Zoo — at which children can handle and try out musical instruments — in the lobby before the concert and during intermission.

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Orchestra Toronto, one of Canada’s oldest and largest community volunteer symphony orchestras, provides musicians with an opportunity to develop and perform public concerts from the symphonic repertoire. Dedicated to providing affordable family entertainment and music education, the orchestra performs five Sunday-afternoon concerts each season.

Performances of Orchestra Toronto’s regular season of five concerts are held at 3 p.m. Sundays in the acoustically superb George Weston Recital Hall of the Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge Street, where it is a company in residence. North York’s Toronto Centre for the Arts, the only major theatre complex north of Bloor Street, is accessible by wheelchair and is easily reached by car and by public transportation.

Single tickets for adults ($39), for seniors ($34) and for those up to 18 years old ($14) can be purchased at the Toronto Centre for the Arts box office or through Ticketmaster at 1-855-985-ARTS (2787). Special-rate tickets ($29 each for groups of 10 or more) are available by calling the Orchestra Toronto office at 416-467-7142. Special prices ($14) are also available for those up to 29 years old and a friend through OTopus; information is available at www.orchestratoronto.ca.

Season sponsor for Orchestra Toronto’s 2012-13 series of five concerts is TD Bank Group. Orchestra Toronto is also supported this season by Clairvest, KPMG, Long & McQuade Musical Instruments, RBC Foundation, St. Marys Cement Inc., VIA Rail Canada, Wilson Vukelich LLP and Yamaha Canada Music Ltd. The continuing support of the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Foundation is also gratefully acknowledged.

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For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Executive Director Samantha Little

Telephone: 416-467-7142         Email: info@orchestratoronto.ca