Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 41

Blues/Rock: The Cole Patenaude Band - Are You Happy Now? (Independent / 24 July 2020)

Blues/Rock:
The Cole Patenaude Band - Are You Happy Now?
(Independent / 24 July 2020)  Buy the CD Big vocals and infectious grooves make up this release from The Cole Patenaude Band. It's modern blues with a classic sensibility, anchored by solid musicianship and upbeat songwriting. 
Keyboard player Dean Thiessen and Patenaude on guitar trade off solos and melodic lines to keep it interesting through a range of bluesy style, incorporating rock and country, with a pop song sheen on songs like For the Money. Would You Be Mine is more Elvis-esque rockabilly, while How To Love is an acoustic song with folky storytelling lyrics and feel. 
Compromise is a standout track, with a snarly guitar line and a churchy organ swelling underneath a nice bluesy beat. Horns aren't credited in the notes, but I swear I heard some on this and a couple of the other tracks. 
As a husband, father, and full-time mechanic based in Langley, British Columbia, finding the time to make his music was a challenge that many people will relate to. It's a good thing he was able to time manage his way into this entertaining full-length album. 
Musician Names/Instruments: Cole Patenaude: Vocals and Guitar; Dean Thiessen: Organ and Piano; Carson Tworow: Drums; Derek Maroney: Bass 
Tracklist: 1. Letchugo 2. For The Money 3. Would You Be Mine 4. How To Love 5. Compromise 6. Good Enough 7. Barely Alive 8. I Need A Win 9. Are You Happy Now? 
Websites:
Official Website: www.colepatenaudeband.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colepatenaudeband/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/colepatenaude Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colepatenaudeband/ Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-704879947 Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdoja-mlSjLaLz4feQjQZ6Q 
A live version of the title track:

Indie Rock: Sonic Fuel - I Will Rise (Independent / 15 June 2020)

Indie Rock:
Sonic Fuel - I Will Rise
(Independent / 15 June 2020) "I Will Rise" is an upbeat rock-pop anthem to perseverance. The melodic rock song is the first single from the band. Sonic Fuel is the brainchild of vocalist/guitarist/songwriter David Hales. 
"When someone you love decides to end their life abruptly and leave you behind, it is nothing short of devastating. 'I Will Rise' is an expression of determination; a cry out to the world that the darkness someone left you writhing in will soon be a thing of the past," he said in a media release. 
The band is tight and anchor the track with a driving energy. When it comes to vocals, David Hales voice track is given the usual studio rock star treatment or harmony and reverb on the ubiquitous chorus. I was more intrigued by sections where his expressive natural voice came through the mix. 
More to come soon from this newly minted Knoxville, Tennessee-based group, including a full-length album. 
Personnel: David Hales, Vocals/Rhythm Guitars; Chris Robbins, Rhythm Guitar; Burton Akers, Bass; Seth Hales, Drums; Julius Blue, Keys; Andy Wood, Lead Guitar 
Websites:
Official Website: www.sonicfuelmusic.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sonicfuel; Twitter: @fuelsonic; Instagram: @sonicfuel; Bandcamp: Sonicfuel; Youtube Channel: Sonic Fuel

Music Organizations Across Southern Ontario Celebrate Successful Virtual Concert Partnership

From a media release:

Music Organizations Across Southern Ontario
Celebrate Successful Virtual Concert Partnership

World-renowned Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki  performs a virtually broadcasted program of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Chopin  followed by a live on-stage interview from The Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall

Produced in association with Ottawa Chamberfest, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Festival of the Sound, and Stratford Summer Music, Toronto’s Koerner Hall hosted Canadian world-renowned pianist Jan Lisiecki in concert and conversation through a virtually broadcasted performance on Tuesday, July 28. 

Jan Lisiecki (Courtesy of JanLisiecki.com)

The private event successfully welcomed more than 2,000 viewers online and was presented in place of five concerts that were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The evening’s program featured works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Chopin. Following the broadcasted performance, Jan Lisiecki was joined by Executive Director of Performing Arts at The Royal Conservatory, Mervon Mehta, for a live, interactive, on-stage interview.

“I like having an audience. I like having them here and I like interacting with them, of course with the situation right now, I can’t do anything about it. It’s not possible, it’s not safe, and that’s that,” said Lisiecki. 

“Live streaming is great and I’m sure it will have an increased presence in our life but it’s also very challenging. Tonight’s production, I think, was very high-quality and that something I truly appreciate and I want but it was also personalized for all of you, who were listening,” he added.

COVID-19 has had a major impact on cultural life in Canada. Artists, presenters, and audiences have been connecting and collaborating to maintain the vitality of live music, while yearning for the much-anticipated return to concert halls and festival stages. Across Ontario, organizations are planning ways to facilitate the return to live music experiences. As restrictions are lifted, conversations about connecting in-person are beginning to happen.

“…one of the things I know for certain, no matter what happens with COVID, no matter what happens with technology, there will always be a place for live performance because, that sharing that we talked about, is essential,” said Mehta.

About Jan Lisiecki

Jan Lisiecki’s interpretations and technique speak to a maturity beyond his age. At 25, the Canadian performs over 100 yearly concerts worldwide, and has worked closely with conductors such as Antonio Pappano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Daniel Harding, and Claudio Abbado (†). Lisiecki has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Bavarian Radio Symphony, and London Symphony Orchestra. 

Having signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon at 15, Lisiecki’s sixth album for the label sees him leading the Academy of St Martin in the Fields from the piano for all five Beethoven concertos. The September 2019 release, recorded live from Konzerthaus Berlin, is the first within the label’s celebration of the Beethoven Year 2020. His earlier recordings have been awarded with the Juno Award and ECHO Klassik. 

Mr. Lisiecki made his Royal Conservatory debut on September 30, 2011, and this livestream marked his fifth performance in Koerner Hall. He is an alumnus of the Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School and his many prestigious awards include the Conservatory’s Ihnatowycz Prize in Piano.

Lisiecki plays Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3: I. Allegro con brio for Deutsche Grammophon in November 2019:

Habari Africa Festival Online Free August 7 to 16 2020

From a media release:
Batuki Music Society Presents
Habari Africa Festival Online
Free August 7 to 16 2020 Listen On The YouTube Channel Batuki Music Society is proud to present the seventh edition of the Habari Africa Festival with online concert presentations that celebrate the uniqueness, wealth and diversity of African music featuring a stellar line-up of national and international artists. 
Join us online and subscribe to the Batuki Music YouTube Channel to watch the Habari Africa Virtual Festival daily performances at 8 PM from August 7 – 16th, 2020. 
Performing artists include:Alpha Yaya Diallo is a multiple award-winning guitarist and singer from Conakry, Guinea. His dexterous guitar style, with its fluid melodic lines and compelling grooves, places him in the front ranks of African axe-men. 
Blandine is a talented singer/songwriter from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her music encompasses traditional Congolese rumba, soukous, mutuashi, jazz, Afropop and Afrobeat. 
As much as Mighty Popo inherited a love of the traditional music of Rwanda and Burundi, he also has a lifelong connection with rock, blues, jazz, R&B, reggae and folk traditions. 
Descendant of a line of griots, Malian singer-songwriter Djely Tapa presents a musical style oscillating between blues, electro and Sahelian atmospheres. 2020 JUNO Award winner for World Music Album.
Ethiopian singer, songwriter and performer Sami Dan defines new school reggae with catchy melodies and authentic beats.
From his start in life as a child soldier in the war-torn region of Southern Sudan, Emmanuel Jal has come through a huge number of struggles during his life to become an acclaimed recording artist and peace ambassador.
Through his innovative guitar style, which he calls "Tshimangology”, Olivier Tshimanga has opened up new possibilities for the modern Congolese rumba guitar and has had a profound influence on the current generation of guitar players.
Okavango African Orchestra brings together music and instruments of several African cultures to create a new music, harmonizing different tunings, rhythms and timbres. 

Canadian drummer Daniel Barnes and Ethiopian saxophonist Girma Woldemichael perform original music of diverse cultural origins alongside Ethio-jazz classics for a potent world jazz experience.
Ruth Mathiang is a singer-songwriter with a melodic sound described as a "mixture of traditional African music with hip hop, Afrobeat, jazz and reggae inspired."
Daniel Nebiat is an Eritrean-Canadian musician, who sings and plays the krar – a traditional stringed instrument similar to the harp, tuned to a pentatonic scale.
Hassan El Hadi is a Moroccan-born singer-songwriter, oud and banjo player, performing with Persian percussionist Naghmeh Farahmand and Algerian violinist Fethi Nadjem. 
Tich Maredza Band is an acoustic guitar-based fusion of Zimbabwean traditional and contemporary rhythms with members Tich Maredza, Larry Lewis, Gordin Mapika and Tich Gombiro.
Malagasy-Canadian guitarist Madagascar Slim combines folk, blues, and Madagascar’s salegy music tradition in his own award-winning style.

Brian Litvin brings his homegrown blend of Zulu folk music, township jive and Cape Town jazz to audiences across Canada, together with his band Jabulani.
Born in Niger, to Malian parents, Kader Tarhanine music blends traditional rhythms with rock tonalities and lyrics inspired by Sahelian and Arabic poetry. 
Abdel Wahab a.ka. Haiba is an accomplished oud player, singer and composer from El Obeid city in Western Sudan. His trio features percussionist Tarig Shanga and accordionist Misara Gandi. 
Fantahun Shewankochew is an acoustic krar player, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and vocalist with a background in the professional arts community.  
Amanie Illfated is a South Sudanese born singer, songwriter and model, whose music is a dynamic fusion of R&B, Reggae, Afrobeat and Trap. 
A guitar player by trade, Omar Bongo spent his youth playing funk and reggae in the nightclubs of Mogadishu. It was on his move to Toronto, Canada in the late 1990’s that he was drawn to the traditional sounds of the kaban (oud).
Gnawa musician and composer Mehdi Qamoum, has mastered several folk instruments including guembri, outar, karbaou, bendir and a custom guembri four-string electric bass. Mehdi Nassouli is a guembri player whose passion for Moroccan music is matched by his engaging stage presence. His music is a mix of Amazigh and Gnawa music with sounds of the wider world. 
We are grateful for the support that we have received from the Ontario Arts Council, Canadian Heritage, CIUT 89.5 FM and CHOQ FM, as well as the community support, artists and audiences that have taken part in our programs. 
Habari Africa Virtual Festival 2020Friday August 7th - 16th Subscribe online: https://www.youtube.com/user/BatukiMusicFacebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1025086214577004/Info: http://batukimusic.com/site2/

A 10-Year World-ly Musical Video Archive

A 10-Year World-ly Musical Video Archive
World music is a stupid term, even if we're forced to use it for SEO purposes. (Which I just did, haha). Thomas Mapfumo (taken by me at Afrofest 2011)

It was in vogue, however, when I began writing and blogging about music from all over the globe about a decade ago. In rearranging my social media accounts recently, it occurred to me - somehow, for the very first time - that I had a huge treasure trove of concert video clips from that period. 
For reasons largely to do with work, and of course nowadays the whole global pandemic thing, I don't get out to concerts and festivals as much as I used to, and while I don't miss the expense, and couldn't possibly take the same amount of time anymore, I certainly wouldn't change any of the memories. 
Most of the 80 videos were taken in conjunction with stories that might appear on this blog, or other outlets over the years, some of which no longer exist. This is the first time I've put them all together in a playlist.
NOTE: The sound quality is what you'd expect on a cheap cell phone that is often way too close to the speakers, but I think they capture the experience pretty well.
The clips include Vieux Farka Toure, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Cheik Lo, Alpha Blondy, Thomas Mapfumo, and many more giants of the African continent, along with a few LatinX artists, and jazz cats. 
Here's the first video - you can find the whole list at this link :
 

Artist Sanaz Mazinani Envisions Vancouver In 2080 at Vancouver Art Gallery Offsite

From a media release:
Artist Sanaz Mazinani envisions Vancouver in the year 2080
at Vancouver Art Gallery Offsite
July 25, 2020 through to February 15, 2021
Vancouver, BC - Toronto-based artist Sanaz Mazinani creates a speculative garden comprised of native plants, sculptural water catchments and a series of glacier-like formations in All that Melts: notes from the future-past, the latest site-specific installation at the Vancouver Art Gallery’s public art space, Offsite.
Installation Sketch, All that Melts: notes from the future-past, Courtesy of the Artist
In this new work, Mazinani imagines the city of Vancouver in the year 2080, a time in which the rise of global temperatures will have melted glaciers around the world, causing ocean levels to increase dramatically and forcing coastal cities to adapt. In this dystopic future, Vancouver will be subject to significantly longer, drier and hotter summers―a climatic shift that will require fundamental changes in water consumption, conservation and urban infrastructure. This transformation will also alter the typical growing season, allowing certain species of flora to thrive and others to suffer.
These conditions establish the conceptual framework for All that Melts, a work that reflects on the past, present and future consequences of climate change in Vancouver. The artist transforms the architecture of this public art space, amidst a commercial and residential landscape, into a crucial piece of environmental infrastructure. Mazinani has wrapped the perimeter walls of the Offsite space with digitally manipulated images of glacier forms that are in contrast to native flora of the region. 
Several small garden plots have been planted around water catchments in collaboration with Hives for Humanity, a local non-profit organization committed to education and skill training towards a greater understanding of nature and bee culture. The various plant species were selected based on their inability to survive in the fragile conditions of Vancouver’s forecast climate in 2080, thereby recognizing a sense of loss. Over the duration of the exhibition, the water catchments gather rainfall to sustain the plant life. Artist Portrait.  Courtesy of the Artist
Spaced throughout the reflective pond are five sculptures that appear as glaciers, preserved cultural artifacts drifting in their own meltwater.  These morphed versions of icebergs are integral figures in a geomythology of the future.
All that Melts proposes an urban landscape for 2080 as a means of speculating about how things could be. It is one vision of a future history; a mythological space inhabited by the consequences of its recent past, a story of the earth as told by the culture that produced it.  This visually poetic, multi-media installation engages the past, as it reflects on our troubled present, in an attempt, to prompt alternative, more desirable futures.
Offsite is organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery on behalf of the City of Vancouver’s Public Art Program and is curated by Diana Freundl, Interim Chief Curator.OFFSITE: Sanaz Mazinani is open to the public on July 25, 2020 through to February 15, 2021. Offsite is located at 1100 West Georgia Street (between Thurlow and Bute). 

The Vancouver Art Gallery Celebrates Post-War Craft & Design In BC With 'Modern In The Making'

From a media release:
The Vancouver Art Gallery Presents
Modern in the Making:
Post-War Craft and Design in British Columbia
July 18, 2020 to January 3, 2021
Discover the Ceramics, Fashion, Furniture, Jewellery and Textiles That Defined West Coast Modern Living in the Mid-Twentieth Century
Vancouver, BC – The Vancouver Art Gallery is proud to present Modern in the Making: Post-War Craft and Design in British Columbia from July 18, 2020 to January 3, 2021. The exhibition is the most comprehensive view of the mid-century craft and design scene in British Columbia assembled to date, examining ceramics, fashion, furniture, jewellery and textiles that defined West Coast modern living. Comprising over three hundred works created from 1945 to 1975, Modern in the Making: Post-War Craft and Design in British Columbia reveals the multiple ways modernism was interpreted in British Columbia, with the inflection of local histories, materials and knowledge with a recognition of the rich Indigenous cultures that predated the arrival of settler cultures.
“The post-war craft and design period in British Columbia was especially significant because design and craft were activities considered essential for a life of creative pursuit. Modern in the Making: Post-War Craft and Design in British Columbia surveys a period characterized by enormous creativity and innovation that transformed the culture of this region—the reverberations of which continue to be felt today,” stated Daina Augaitis, Interim Director at the Vancouver Art Gallery. “Well-crafted objects are currently experiencing a revival, as the handmade has assumed a position of renewed importance in our digital age.” Earle A. Morrison and Robin Bush for Earle A. Morrison Ltd., Victoria, BC; Airfoam Lounge Chair (#141), 1951; steel rod, plywood, walnut, upholstery. Collection of Allan Collier
In the three decades following the Second World War, thousands of people immigrated to British Columbia seeking the benefits of its resource-based economy, mild climate, natural amenities and inventive spirit. This optimistic post-war environment fostered the development of exceptional design and craft practices deeply influenced by the tenets of modernism: simplicity, fine craftsmanship and functional design for everyday use. The exhibition is organized chronologically to document how the aesthetic, material and conceptual approaches to design and craft shifted over three decades of production between 1945 and 1975.
The included works reflect the increased demand for a wide range of functional, domestic objects that could complement the new West Coast modern architectural style that had begun to emerge.
Highlights include Nuu-chah-nulth weaver Nellie Jacobson’s grass buttons and traditional baskets that point to both the ruptures in this region caused by colonial expansion and the importance of Indigenous design in the modernization of British Columbia. L: Unknown Nuu-chah-nulth weaver; Ucluelet Basket, 1944. R: Axel Ebring, pitcher, c. 1940s; ceramic. Collection of John David Lawrence; Photos: Ian Lebebvre, Vancouver Art Gallery
The transition from the functionalism of the 1950s to more expressive and idiosyncratic forms is presented with custom-designed furniture alongside craft items for the home, such as weaving and other fibre art, ceramics and enamelware. A large installation of studio pottery traces the shift from utility to personal expression as artists began exploring diverse asymmetrical forms, techniques such as raku and experimented with surface treatments. A significant presentation of weavings, varying from the highly expressive to the geometrically abstract, exemplifies the spirit of innovation in form and materiality that characterized the period. The burgeoning counterculture movements of the 1960s and 70s in this region are reflected through textiles, fashion objects and visual artworks that blur the distinction between design, craft, art and performance.
Allan Collier, Guest Curator of Modern in the Making: Post-War Craft and Design in British Columbia has had a lengthy relationship with the Vancouver Art Gallery. Collier initiated and guest curated West Coast Modern Furniture, 1945-1960 in 1988 and allowed loans from his remarkable furniture collection for the Gardiner Museum’s touring exhibition True Nordic: How Scandinavian Design Influenced Design in Canada exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2016. Collier maintains an extensive collection of post-war furniture by British Columbia-based designers as well as modern Canadian ceramics and industrial design. This exhibition was originally inspired by the possibility of the Vancouver Art Gallery becoming the eventual home for his furniture collection and the Gallery’s desire to contextualize this momentous gift within a broader framework of postwar craft and design.
L: Tony Cavelti, Brooch, 1957; 18-carat gold, pure gold dust, platinum, diamonds, rubies, sapphires. Private Collection; Photo: Ian Lebebvre, Vancouver Art GalleryR: Robert Davidson, Xiigya (bracelet), 1972; silver. Courtesy of the Museum of Anthropology, UBC, Vancouver.
Modern in the Making: Post-War Craft and Design in British Columbia is organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and curated by Daina Augaitis, Interim Director, Allan Collier, Guest Curator and Stephanie Rebick, Associate Curator.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication that features a foreword by co-curator Daina Augaitis, an in-depth historical overview by co-curator Allan Collier that maps a trajectory of design practice in the region, two commissioned essays by Michelle McGeough and Michael Prokopow and artist biographies. Co-published with Figure One and available in June.

Sun Valley Music Festival Online 2020 Summer Season July 27 To August 19 2020

From a media release:
Sun Valley Music Festival Announces
Programming for Online 2020 Summer Season
July 27 to August 19, 2020
* One-time-only webcasts* Viewing from the lawn - Local and federal regulations permitting; learn more at SVMusicFestival.org/Attending2020
Nation’s largest admission-free, privately supported festival of classical music presents 36th Summer Season as virtual festival from July 27 to August 19 via Sun Valley Music Festival website (SVMusicFestival.org) Left to right: Sun Valley Music Festival Music Director Alasdair Neale; violinist Leila Josefowicz; pianist Daniil Trifonov; pianist Orion Weiss; composer / performer Mason Bates
Presented as free, one-time-only webcasts developed by Music Director Alasdair Neale in collaboration with Creative Director James Darrah, new programming reimagines the Summer Season while preserving many previously announced elements including:
* Performances by guest artists Leila Josefowicz, Daniil Trifonov, Orion Weiss, and ensembles Time for Three and Villalobos Brothers; newly announced guest artists include composer / performer Mason Bates and genre-defying ensemble The 442s * Series celebrating 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, including guest appearances by Beethoven scholar Jan Swafford* Events ranging from solo recitals to chamber concerts to full orchestral performances—recorded in cities across North America SUN VALLEY, IDAHO (July 2020) — Festival Music Director Alasdair Neale and Executive Director Derek Dean announced the schedule of online events for the recently announced, virtual reimagining of the 36th annual Sun Valley Music Festival Summer Season. These premiere webcasts, produced by this summer’s Creative Director James Darrah, are being specially created for these digital proceedings and will air online as free, one-time-only events over the three weeks when the live, in-person Festival had been scheduled to take place—Monday, July 27, to Wednesday, August 19. All concerts will be webcast at 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time via the Sun Valley Music Festival website (SVMusicFestival.org).
Local and federal regulations permitting, these digital events will also be projected for viewers on the Lawn of the Sun Valley Pavilion, allowing audiences in Sun Valley to enjoy each concert outdoors with appropriate social distancing. For more information on viewing from the Lawn, visit SVMusicFestival.org/Attending2020.
Music Director Alasdair Neale said:

“This Summer Season is designed, first and foremast, as a big virtual bear hug to the community, which has supported us for over 35 years. We want to give back to everyone who has invited us into their homes by inviting them into our homes and our lives. We also see this as a unique opportunity to share the Festival experience with viewers around the world. Our mission is to enrich, inspire, and instill in our community a lifelong love of classical music through extraordinary, free concerts and education programs, and this year, that mission goes online!”

Since 1985, the Festival has brought together world-class musicians from distinguished orchestras across North America to perform three weeks of chamber and orchestral concerts free to the public each summer in the scenic, Rocky Mountain resort city of Sun Valley, Idaho. The transformation of the upcoming Summer Season into a free, online festival will allow musicians to make music, faculty to teach, students to learn, and audiences to enjoy music from anywhere, all while following local and national safety guidelines and practices. Music Director Alasdair Neale
The Festival is working with more than 100 sound and video professionals nationwide to record this summer’s 14 concert programs, which will feature a varied repertoire—from solo compositions by Debussy and Missy Mazzoli, to chamber works by Brahms and Osvaldo Golijov, to orchestral music by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Mason Bates. Key elements of the original Summer Season lineup will be preserved, including event dates and times, which are identical to those previously announced as main-stage, evening concerts at the Sun Valley Pavilion. 
These concerts will feature all previously announced guest artists, with violinist Leila Josefowicz performing music by Esa-Pekka Salonen, pianist Daniil Trifonov giving a solo recital of Beethoven and Mussorgsky, pianist Orion Weiss appearing on several programs as both a solo and chamber artist, and ensembles Time for Three and the Villalobos Brothers performing in the Festival’s Pops Concert. Newly announced guest artists include the genre-defying acoustic quartet The 442s, which also performs on the Pops Concert, and composer Mason Bates, who performs the electronics part in his orchestral work Mothership.
A recurring theme throughout the summer will be the music of Beethoven, in keeping with the planned Beethoven @ 250 celebration. Beethoven scholar Jan Swafford, who had been scheduled as a guest speaker at the Festival, will now provide musical commentary to online audiences. The Festival’s annual Gala concert—featuring Broadway stars Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara, and Brian Stokes Mitchell—will also take place virtually. For years, this has been the only event for which the Festival charges admission, but this summer, as a gift back to the community, the Festival presents the concert free of charge on Monday, August 3. To create the 2020 Summer Season, the Festival is recording Orchestra members and guest artists at halls, schools, and homes in cities across North America, including Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Rochester, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Toronto. Programs will include single-location, socially distanced performances; multi-location, video-synced performances; and performances that include elements of both, as in the case of orchestral works, which will feature musicians conducted in person by Alasdair Neale as well as orchestra members performing their parts remotely. Programs will also feature commentary from Mr. Neale, as well as his conversations with guest artists and Orchestra musicians.For a complete schedule of online events, visit SVMusicFestival.org.About the Sun Valley Music FestivalThe Sun Valley Music Festival was founded by Carl and Julianne Eberl in 1985 on a mission to inspire the Sun Valley, Idaho community and instill a lifelong love of classical music through admission-free concerts and tuition-free educational programming. The Festival Orchestra has grown from 20 members at its founding, to now more than 100 musicians from North America’s most distinguished ensembles, making it the largest, privately funded orchestra devoted exclusively to free performances.
Orchestra members hail from more than 45 different ensembles and institutions, including the Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Toronto Symphonies; the Cleveland, Louisville, and Minnesota Orchestras; and the Chicago Lyric, Dallas, Houston Grand, and Washington National Opera Orchestras; among many other ensembles.

Shine Your Eyes (Cidade Pássaro) On Netflix July 29 2020

From a media release:
SHINE YOUR EYESA Nigerian Musician Searches for His Missing 
Brother in the Vibrant Streets of São Paulo
LAUNCHES GLOBALLY ON NETFLIX JULY 29
A highlight of the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival, where it received its world premiere, SHINE YOUR EYES (Cidade Pássaro), the richly textured feature fiction debut of Brazilian filmmaker Matias Mariani, will launch worldwide on Netflix on Wednesday, July 29.  OC Ukeje (as Amadi) and Ike Barry (as Ogboh) in Shine Your Eyes, directed by Matias Mariani. Image courtesy of Netflix.
SHINE YOUR EYES tells the story of Amadi (OC Ukeje), a musician from Lagos who travels to São Paulo to track down his missing older brother Ikenna (Chukwudi Iwuji) and bring him back home to Nigeria. 
Following the faint traces of Ikenna’s footsteps, he discovers that his brother was not the distinguished math professor he was supposed to be, but actually had contrived an intricate and nearly delusional series of schemes to accumulate wealth in Brazil. 
As the mysteries deepen, so too does Amadi’s attraction to this vibrant newfound culture—and to his brother’s Brazilian ex-lover, Emilia. As he closes in on his sibling’s whereabouts, Amadi is faced with choosing between his faithfulness to his family and the possibility of a new life in São Paulo.
The after-screening talk back at the Berlin Film Festival 2020:

Film Festivals Unite In Support Of Film Culture

From a media release:
New York Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival & Venice Film Festival
United in support of film culture
TORONTO ─  The Toronto International Film Festival released today an official letter of solidarity with three other international film festivals, with each organization committing to cooperation, information sharing, and support of one another’s global events.
The New York Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and Venice Film Festival have all endured financial challenges amid the health pandemic. As a result, it has been essential for each organization to reimagine the delivery of its film festival to its audiences.
Here is the statement in full:This year, we saw the COVID-19 pandemic devastate communities all over the world, and bring life as we knew it to a halt. As supporters of global cinema, we watched as the work of film artists stopped in its tracks, and the culture of film itself was challenged. Films come alive with audiences, who could no longer gather in the ways we had for over a century. 
The art form we love is in crisis. Our own organizations have seen unprecedented challenges to our work and our financial security. The pandemic caught each of us as we were preparing for the biggest event of our year in the fall of 2020. We knew we had to adapt. We decided to collaborate as we never have before.
Venice is the origin story for every film festival in the world. Telluride is one of the world's most influential festivals. Toronto is home to the world’s largest public film festival. And the New York Film Festival curates for one of the world’s most storied, sophisticated film cities. Our four festivals share a love of cinema and a devotion to filmmakers. We also share a short span of six weeks each autumn.

This year, we’ve moved away from competing with our colleagues at autumn festivals and commit instead to collaboration. We are sharing ideas and information. We are offering our festivals as a united platform for the best cinema we can find. We’re here to serve the filmmakers, audiences, journalists and industry members who keep the film ecosystem thriving. We need to do that together.
We believe cinema has a unique power to illuminate both the world around us, and our innermost perceptions.
In a crisis, films can transport us. They can enchant, inform, provoke and heal. As we work through challenging circumstances this summer to prepare our festivals, we will work together, in support of film.
Cameron Bailey, Toronto International Film FestivalAlberto Barbera, Venice Film FestivalEugene Hernandez, New York Film FestivalJulie Huntsinger, Telluride Film FestivalTom Luddy, Telluride Film FestivalJoana Vicente, Toronto International Film Festival
For more information, visit tiff.net.
Social Media:facebook.com/TIFFyoutube.com/TIFFtwit... instagram.com/TIFF_NET