TAFELMUSIK BAROQUE ORCHESTRA AND CHAMBER CHOIR:
BIOGRAPHY
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
Tafelmusik, Canada’s award-winning orchestra on period instruments, has become an internationally
recognized ensemble lauded by Gramophone Magazine as “one of the world’s top baroque orchestras.”
Founded in 1979 by Kenneth Solway and Susan Graves, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra was under the
inspired leadership of Music Director Jeanne Lamon from 1981 to 2014. She assumes the role of Chief
Artistic Advisor during the search for her successor, and will work on developing the Tafelmusik
International Baroque Academy (TIBA). Lamon will continue to perform with the orchestra for specific
Toronto and touring programmes, and will lead artistic planning until Tafelmusik’s new Music Director is
appointed.
With its artist-focused mandate and commitment to excellence and innovation, Tafelmusik is known
around the world for its creative, innovative new contexts for the performance of baroque and classical
music.
At the heart of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra is a group of seventeen remarkably talented, enthusiastic,
and dynamic permanent members, each of whom is a specialist in historical performance practice. Their
collaboration results in a delightful transparency, vitality, and richness of sound, which has garnered
acclaim around the world. The musicians participate on many levels, whether as core members, soloists,
or contributors to the exceptionally creative programming ideas that bring Tafelmusik concerts to life
and make them fully relevant in a 21st-century context.
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Jeanne Lamon Hall
Tafelmusik recently launched an ambitious $3 million project to revitalize Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, its
home performance venue since 1981. The two-phase project is being undertaken in partnership with
long-time collaborators Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church and the Toronto Consort, and will help usher in
Tafelmusik’s vision of becoming a global centre of excellence in period performance, while preserving
the 125-year-old building’s sacred and historic character. Phase One renovations were completed in
September 2013 and include acoustical improvements, the installation of a permanent stage, and more
comfortable seating. Aspects of Phase Two were completed in September 2014 and saw improvements
to the lobby/narthex area, increased wheelchair accessibility, installation of lighting and safety
equipment, and improvements to air circulation.
Tafelmusik Media
In January 2012, Tafelmusik launched its own independent label, Tafelmusik Media, which encompasses
new digital, live performance, studio CD and DVD recordings, and re-releases of previous Tafelmusik
recordings from SONY Classical and CBC Records. The Watch and Listen site, launched as the precursor
for Tafelmusik’s future digital concert hall, features excerpts from recent releases, including films from
the House of Dreams DVD, and audio tracks from Beethoven Symphonies 1–4. Tafelmusik Media
recordings are distributed by Naxos USA and Naxos Global Logistics.
Tafelmusik Chamber Choir
The Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, specializing in baroque and classical performance practice, was formed
in 1981 to complement the orchestra. Under the direction of Ivars Taurins, the choir was awarded the
Healey Willan Prize in 1991 and has been described as “the best period-performance choir anywhere in
the world” (The Globe and Mail).
The Tafelmusik Chamber Choir has made several critically acclaimed recordings, including Gloria in
Excelsis Deo released on CBC Records in 2007 in celebration of the choir’s 25th anniversary season, and
a live-concert CD of Handel’s Messiah recorded in 2011 at Koerner Hall, which was nominated for a 2013
JUNO Award. Tafelmusik’s annual performances of Messiah and Sing-Along Messiah have become an
established part of Toronto's holiday tradition. In September 2011, the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir
appeared with Kent Nagano and l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal at the inaugural concerts of La
Maison symphonique de Montréal. This performance of Beethoven Symphony no. 9 was recorded and
has been released on CD by Analekta.
Touring
Tafelmusik’s regular tours in Canada, the United States, and Europe are complemented by tours to such
destinations as Asia and Australia. The orchestra has toured in Asia since 1990, performing in Japan,
Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the People’s Republic of China.
Tafelmusik’s unique multidisciplinary and cross-cultural concert programmes — such as The Galileo
Project and House of Dreams — were created by double bassist Alison Mackay and have opened doors
around the world. In recent years, Tafelmusik has taken The Galileo Project on the road to Australia and
New Zealand, Japan, the Beijing Music Festival, and Kuala Lumpur. The orchestra returns to Australia
and New Zealand in February and March, 2015, with House of Dreams. In 2013, House of Dreams
travelled to Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles as part of eight-city US Tour, and in November 2014,
Tafelmusik returns for performances of The Galileo Project at Penn State University (State College, PA),
Chicago, Kansas City, Houston, and Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), among other destinations. Tafelmusik
also performed at New York’s legendary Carnegie Hall in 2009, 2011, and 2014.
Tafelmusik has been invited to perform in Europe’s most prestigious concert halls, including the
Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Musikverein in Vienna, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, and the
Barbican Centre in London. In June 2014, Tafelmusik made its debut as Orchestra-in-Residence at
BachFest Leipzig, in the city where Bach spent the last 25 years of his life. Since 1984 Tafelmusik has also
performed in Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Israel,
Latvia, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Mexico, The Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain,
Switzerland, United Kingdom, Venezuela, and from coast to coast in the United States and Canada.
Tafelmusik made its debut at the Reate Festival in Rieti, Italy by invitation from the Festival’s Artistic
Director Kent Nagano in 2009, and was invited to return in August 2010.
The only Canadian orchestra to have held an annual international residency, Tafelmusik was orchestrain-residence at the Klang und Raum Festival in Irsee, Germany for 19 years from 1993 to 2011. For Klang
und Raum’s final edition, the festival’s Artistic Director Bruno Weil led Tafelmusik in works by Mozart,
Haydn, and Beethoven.
Recordings
An integral part of Tafelmusik’s success worldwide has been its recordings, with a discography of more
than 80 baroque and classical albums on the Analekta, CBC Records, Sony Classical, Collegium, Hyperion
and BMG Classics labels, nine of which have won JUNO Awards. Recent releases on the Tafelmusik
Media label include Baroque Virtuoso (a limited edition commemorative CD featuring highlights from
Jeanne Lamon’s recordings), Beethoven Symphonies 1 to 4, House of Dreams (CD and DVD), The Galileo
Project (CD and DVD), Sing-Along Messiah (DVD), a live-concert CD of Messiah recorded in 2011 at
Koerner Hall, and several re-releases of Tafelmusik CDs originally recorded for SONY and CBC Records.
Tafelmusik’s reach has extended to television and film, with performance documentaries Le Mozart Noir
and The Four Seasons Mosaic. Produced by Media Headquarters, Le Mozart Noir is a documentary on Le
Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a black French composer and contemporary of Mozart. Originally broadcast
on CBC, BBC, PBS, TV5, and ARTV, the DVD was released in 2005. The Four Seasons Mosaic, also
produced by Media Headquarters, is a cross-cultural arts special that reinvents Vivaldi’s The Four
Seasons to include a Chinese pipa, Indian sarangi, and Inuit throat-singing. The Four Seasons Mosaic
premiered on CBC Television’s “Opening Night” in 2005, and the DVD is paired with Tafelmusik’s L’estro
armonico CD. A live performance of Tafelmusik’s Sing-Along Messiah produced by 90th Parallel
Productions was released on DVD 2012 on the Tafelmusik Media label, and has been telecast nationally
on Bravo!, CTV, and by American public broadcaster WNED.
Toronto Season
At home in Toronto, Tafelmusik performs over 50 concerts each season at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, a
historic church in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto, as well as a series of performances at George
Weston Recital Hall in the Toronto Centre for the Arts, and at Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre for the
Performing Arts, Royal Conservatory of Music.
Tafelmusik’s long and celebrated collaboration with Opera Atelier has helped establish Toronto as an
important North American centre for baroque and classical opera performance. The two organizations
collaborate on two productions per season in Toronto’s historic Elgin theatre. In 2012 Tafelmusik joined
Opera Atelier at the Royal Opera House in Versailles, France to perform Lully’s Armide, and returned in
May 2014 for performances of Lully’s Persée.
Artist Training
Working towards its vision of becoming an international centre of musical excellence, Tafelmusik has
invested much energy and many resources into ongoing music education and outreach programs for
music-lovers of all ages. In 2002, the orchestra and choir founded the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer
Institute (TBSI). TBSI offers advanced students, pre-professional, and professional musicians an in-depth
introduction to baroque repertoire and performance practice through masterclasses, lectures,
orchestral and choral training, and chamber ensembles. TBSI is held at the Faculty of Music at the
University of Toronto, where Tafelmusik is the baroque orchestra-in-residence. Building on the success
of TBSI, in January 2013, Tafelmusik launched the Tafelmusik Winter Institute, a week-long specialized
institute for experienced players of period instruments. In 2010, Tafelmusik launched Baroque Mentors,
allowing emerging artists to learn directly from Tafelmusik musicians and distinguished guest artists
through university residencies and guest artist masterclasses.
Tafelmusik continues its commitment to the Advanced Certificate in Baroque Performance Programme
at the University of Toronto. This one-year programme is an intensive immersion in baroque
performance on period instruments, combining study and performance with Tafelmusik musicians with
academic courses offered at the Faculty of Music. Also offered is a two-year graduate programme
leading to a Master of Music in Period Performance.
Tafelmusik's vision for music education includes a programme for students in elementary and secondary
schools featuring free outreach concerts, a musician-in-the-classroom programme, multi-disciplinary
projects with area schools, and education events on tour, including children’s concerts and school visits.
As part of an ongoing commitment to music education, Tafelmusik provides permanent music-education
classroom materials to the school groups they meet on tour, including access to Tafelmusik’s online
learning centre, curriculum-based study guides, the JUNO Award-winning TafelKIDS™ recording Baroque
Adventure: The Quest for Arundo Donax CD, the critically acclaimed Four Season Mosaic DVD with Inuit,
Chinese and South Asian musicians, and Tafelmusik recordings related to our education concerts.
For more information, please visit: www.tafelmusik.org