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Description: 

Fee: $99

2-week series

If you thought the recorder was just an instrument for school concerts, think again! In February 2018, Tafelmusik presents A Recorder Romp, which highlights the instrument in ebullient concertos by Vivaldi and Telemann for one, two, three and more soloists, and a set of 'nightingale' variations from 17th-century Holland. The music and instruments which grace these concerts will be explored in this two-session RCM survey course by Tafelmusik's recorder soloist Alison Melville, who will also offer some 'insider' insight on the individual and collaborative creative processes which bring such a program to life. Join us to enhance your enjoyment of the concert, and to broaden your horizons about this often-misunderstood instrument!

Registrants will also receive a 15% discount to Tafelmusik's Recorder Romp performance featuring Alison Melville on February 8 - 11, 2018 at Jeanne Lamon Hall in Trinity St. Paul's Centre. Please Note: In order to receive this offer patrons must call.

"Melville shapes the phrases marvellously; music, breath, and ornaments are as one. This is art beyond time - the moment might last forever." - Early Music America.

About the Instructor:

Long recognized as one of Canada's bright lights on historical flutes and recorders, Toronto-born Alison Melville's career as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician with many ensembles has taken her across North America and to New Zealand, Iceland, Japan, and Europe. A member of the Toronto Consort, Ensemble Polaris and Artistic Director of the mixed media Bird Project, Alison appears regularly as a soloist and orchestral player with with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and has played with other ensembles across North America including Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Per Sonatori, la Nouvele Sinfonie, Les Idées Heureuses, Chatham Baroque, Oberlin Baroque Ensemble, Toronto Masque Theatre, Opera Atelier, Canadian Opera Company, Toronto Symphony, Musica Viva, and many others. She was also Artistic Co-Director for 22 years of the chamber concert series Baroque Music Beside the Grange.

Some memorable career moments include playing for The Tudors, CBC-TV's The Friendly Giant, and Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter; solo shows in inner-city London (UK) junior schools; a recent recital in sunny southern Spain; and, oh yes, a summer of concerts in Ontario prisons. Alison has been heard on CBC/Radio-Canada, BBC, RNZ, NPR, and Iceland State Broadcast Service, and on over 55 CDs, including five critically acclaimed solo recordings. A professor at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music (USA) from 1999 to 2010, she now teaches at the University of Toronto and Wilfrid Laurier University.