brand new love

The latest Serena Ryder album dropped yesterday. And it is mighty fine. It highlights her brilliant songwriting and fabulous voice. I'm really digging all of the songs but especially Hiding Place and her awesome cover of You're No Good.


Also cool is the fact that she is lending her song Sing, Sing to one of my favourite organizations, the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. They put on an event annually called Music Monday, in which they demonstrate the importance of music education by having students all across the country put on outdoor, public concerts. They choose a new song every year for these students to perform. Sing, Sing is an excellent choice for Music Monday 2009.


By the way, if you too feel strongly that music is an integral part of the education of Canadian children, consider becoming a signatory. It doesn't cost anything to add your name to the list of supporters of music education.


I got the chance to see Serena live this past summer at the Burlington Sound of Music Festival. The pictures in this post are a few that I took at the concert. It was a fantastic show! Her band was excellent and I was pleased to see that her bass player, Anthony Lavdanski, was a recent graduate of the school that I work at. It always makes me smile to see "my kids" on stage.

winter wonderland

ahhh...snow day...



After a spell of rather tropical weather (for Canada that is) we were hit with a snow storm today. I have a bit of an addiction to The Weather Network so after consulting the website on Thursday afternoon and reading the weather warnings, I decided to plan accordingly. When I announced to my boss and assistant that I would take some work home just in case I could not make the commute in due to the storm they both looked at me as if I had three heads. At that moment it was a spring-like afternoon in Toronto. Sunny, warm, gorgeous. All of the snow from our previous storm had long since melted away. Obviously, they hadn't heard the latest forecast. I was relieved to wake up to a fresh blanket of snow. Now they would know I wasn't just gunning for a free day off. I checked the forecast and traffic report and it didn't look good. I decided not to attempt the commute, even though the GO trains appeared to be operating on schedule. I was confident that I could get to work in good time but afraid of a 5-hour trip home. When I received the email shortly after 9:30am stating that the university would close at 11am, I was very happy to have not made the trek into Toronto. And since we were closing, I felt no need to dig into the knapsack full of work that I had brought home. So what did I do? First, I finished the birthday blanket that I had been knitting for my mother-in-law. And I think it turned out pretty well.


This is the Glowing Colours Afghan made from Lion Brand Jiffy yarn. I only recently began attempting patterns that call for sewing pieces together. My sewing skills are rather limited. But I picked up a fantastic book that has given me the confidence to attempt some knitting patterns that have scared the hell out of me in the past. Check it out! I sewed three separate pieces together and you can't even see the seams!


After that was done, Steve and I ventured outside to clear the snow from the driveway. Thankfully, one of our kind neighbours had plowed the sidewalk with his snowblower, giving us a clear path to start from. It didn't take us long to dig out, but I did think back to our December storm when Samantha and Corey were visiting from Regina. That storm had delayed their trip home by more than a day. We were happy to have our guests stay for an extra day, as we don't see them very often. And as it turns out, Samantha is a fantastic snow-shoveler. Corey and I had no problem staying inside the warm house while Steve and Samantha braved the cold to clear out the driveway.


Sam, you rock! You can come back anytime. You can even bring Corey with you!

It's now late Friday night and the snow is still falling albeit slowly. There is a fresh blanket on the ground that will need clearing in the morning but that's fine by me. Winter is one of the things I love about Canada. There is something magical about this season that I can't quite put into words. But I love it!

oh night divine...

Steve and I had a very Canadian experience a few weeks ago. We attended a live Vinyl Cafe Christmas show at the University of Toronto's Convocation Hall. For those of you who are a) not Canadian or b) don't listen to CBC radio, the Vinyl Cafe is a one-hour, weekly variety program on CBC Radio One. It features stories, music & essays. Mostly, it is centered around the fictional family of Dave, the owner of the Vinyl Cafe Record Store, his wife Morley, their children Stephanie and Sam, Arthur the dog and Galway the cat. It is the brilliant creation of Stuart McLean, a magnificent writer and master storyteller.

Stuart McLean, hard at work.

Up until recently, I had only heard a few episodes of the Vinyl Cafe but each one made me laugh or left me completely emotional. Luckily, the CBC has added the Vinyl Cafe to its podcast lineup, so I now get a weekly dose. But seeing it live adds another level to the experience. I had seen pictures of Stuart McLean so I thought I knew what to expect visually from the performance. I was completely unprepared for what we saw. McLean was unbelievably energetic, on his toes as he told his stories, practically airborne. I hadn't expected so much movement from him but it only heightened the experience. His timing and delivery are impeccable. He was simply brilliant.


In addition to the fantastic storytelling, there was music. Two fabulous Canadian talents, Allison Russell and Danny Michel performed with the "house band" featuring Chris Whitely on guitar & trumpet, John Sheard on piano and Dennis Pendrith on bass. The music of these talented individuals added another dimension to the night. Danny Michel's performance of Snowglobe was a particular highlight as was Allison Russell's Till It's Gone.

Allison Russell & Chris Whitely

Danny Michel

If you are a fan of the Vinyl Cafe and have the chance to take in the live show, you must! And if you haven't yet listened to the Vinyl Cafe, do it! You will not be disappointed.

what am I doing here?, part 1

OMG!!!

It's just after midnight and Steve and I just got home from a fundraising gala for the Royal Conservatory of Music. I must admit that attending this event was a bit tough, given the fact that I work for Toronto's competeing music school, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. But my Canadian music geekness won out when I found out that one of my favourite bands, Blue Rodeo would be recieving an Honourary Fellowship to the RCM at this event.

So we arrived at the posh Windsor Arms Hotel. From the moment we walked up to the front doors it was clear that this was a big freakin' deal. Glass water falls lined the red carpet entrance and a violinist in a strapless white dress adorened with faux monarch butterflies greeted the guests. (Ironcially, the violinist was a graduate of U of T, who is currently finishing up her studies at the Conservatory's Glenn Gould Professional School.) The inside was decorated with white candles and orchids. Very classy. After mingling and enjoying some fabulous hors d'ouvers, we entered the main room for the dinner and presentation. The room was absolutely elegant. Dimly lit, huge candelabras, more orchids, just gorgeous. As people started filtering in, I recognized some important and famous Canadians (in addition to the guests of honour, Blue Rodeo): former Ontario premier Bob Rae, the man who made City TV Moses Znaimer, Canadian music legend Murray McLauchlan, and one of my personal heroes, Denise Donlon. She joined MuchMusic in 1985 as a host and producer, moved to Director of Music Programming in 1992 and was Vice President and General Manager from 1997 - 2000. She WAS MuchMusic. Since her departure, it's become crap. After leaving MuchMusic, she was President of Sony Music Canada until 2004. Currently she sits on the Board of Directors for one of Canada's biggest media companies, CHUM Limited. For a long time, I wanted to be Denise Donlon. To me she was the ultimate Canadian woman. Just being in the same room with her was overwhelming. After a couple of glasses of wine, I found the courage to ask for a picture with her and her awesome husband, Murray McLauchlan. She said yes, because she and I were the only people in the room that knew all the words to Blue Rodeo's songs. She was sitting at the next table and obviously saw me enjoying the performance and singing along. (I do get a little enthusiastic at concerts that I enjoy, much to the embarrasment of my friends.)

who could ask for anything more...

Busy weekend! So much to blog about.

Steve and I went out for a fantastic meal on Friday night. We had a gift certificate for a free dinner for two (appetizer, entree & dessert) at Tundra Restaurant at the Hilton Toronto. Although the chef that made the restaurant famous was no longer there, we were treated to an exquisite meal. On top of that, our waiter was perhaps the best waiter I have ever encountered in Canada. I wish I remembered his name because I would totally call the restaurant manager to sing his praises! Most servers, if handed a coupon for a free meal wouldn't work so hard but this guy was incredibly attentive. He described the menu in great detail, making excellent recommendations and knew exactly when to check on us to make sure we had what we needed. Knowing that we were on a time line, he made sure that our meal arrived in good time, had us order our dessert before we finished our entrees and offered us coffee to go so that we would get to our concert on time. He definitely earned the tip we left.

So what did we eat? I started with the Caesar salad. The lettuce was crisp, the dressing not too heavy and the Parmesan shaved in large, thin pieces. Delicious! Steve had the crab cakes and they were fantastic! The just melted in your mouth with a delicate sweetness. We ordered the same entree, since we are both suckers for a good steak. The fillet Mignon was like butta! This may have been the best restaurant steak I have ever had. And the roasted root vegetables and fritters that accompanied it were fantastic. For desert, Steve had an incredible molten chocolate cake and I dove into a trio of creme brulee, cinnamon, chocolate and vanilla. Heavenly! I can't forget to mention the wine! The Fielding Estate Cabernet Franc was excellent! (unfortunately, I can't remember the year) If I remember correctly, Steve's first reaction was "well smack my mouth!" Yes it's a bold wine, with hints of leather, ripe berries and chocolate. We are definitely planning a trip to Fielding Estate to sample some more.

After dinner, we headed over to the University of Toronto Faculty of Music to hear a concert. Any concert at the Faculty is special for me because I work there. As difficult and as stressful as my job gets, seeing the students on stage performing is such a rush. This concert combined our three choirs, the MacMillan Singers, University Women's Chorus and Master Chorale with the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra in a wonderful performance of Bruckner's Te Deum. I must admit, I got emotional even before the concert started. I know how hard these kids work. I know how stressful this point in the school year is for them. I know what it takes for them to get to the moment of performance. No matter what else is going on, they always rise to the occasion. They sang and played there hearts out and the audience gave them the love they deserved.

After the intermission, the orchestra tore into Mahler's Symphony No. 1. Once again, they did not disappoint! They played their best and the audience loved it. I grinned and applauded like a proud parent. That's always how I feel when I see them perform. It doesn't have to be perfect. They're students, they are still learning. But to see all of their handwork pay off is so incredibly rewarding. And it reminds me why I still work there.

the world where you live

Last night, Elizabeth and I heard Al Gore speak at the University of Toronto. 24 hours later, I am still completely overwhelmed. The man is an amazing speaker. Funny, witty, honest and sincere all at the same time. The sheer amount of information he disseminated in two hours was incredible. We are screwing our planet severely and we have the power to fix it. Watch his movie. Listen to his words. Do your part. If we all do our part, we may still have a planet in 50 years. If we don't...