Friends of Music

Quartetto Gelato

Sorry, it’s sold out!

On Sunday, Feb 17, at 3 p.m. at Port Hope’s Capitol Arts Centre, Friends of Music Port Hope presents Quartetto Gelato.

This dazzling ensemble emerged as part of the “new classical” scene and has since enchanted sold-out audiences around the globe. They quickly took the musical world by storm, winning nominations and awards for their recordings in both Canada and the United States. Eclectic by design, the group offers performances from the Classics, arias, tangos and gypsy music as well as folk songs; all are delivered with humour and panache.

Their name is so intriguing and their career so extraordinary that I asked local writer and classical music fan Patrick Gray to find out about it and them. Here’s what he wrote:

"They've got to be kidding!

They are. The name Quartetto Gelato is indeed a joke, but a joke with a serious side: it means "the ice cream quartet". "Ice cream" for "the fun flavorful side", and "quartetto" for the serious classical side, says the group. They are sometimes described as belonging to the "new classical" scene, and if you've listened to Jurgen Gothe on CBC you'll know that means a heady mix of serious classical music, jazz, tango, bluegrass, folk, you name it, all served up with polish and wit backed up by serious talent. Gothe is a big fan and has played QG’s CDs from the beginning.

Well, not quite the beginning. The real beginning took place in 1993 when Quartetto Gelato's founders Peter DeSotto and Cynthia Steljes, hard-working musicians with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and musicals like Phantom of the Opera, were asked to perform at their favourite restaurant in Mono Centre.
Within the year the foursome that grew out of those beginnings debuted as Quartetto Gelato.

The quartet’s first big moment of recognition came when it was awarded National Public Radio's Debut Artist of the year in 1996. Since then QG has spanned the globe giving concerts, and produced a series of CDs and a DVD. Early CDs highlighted the music of Italy, with titles like Neapolitan Café, Aria Fresca, and Rustic Chivalry. (Cavalleria Rusticana, of course.) DeSotto, in addition to playing several instruments, has been described in Stereo Review as "a credible Pavarotti stand-in", so tenor songs and arias were a natural.

More recently, a CD took listeners on a giddy ride on the Orient Express, ending up at a Turkish Circus in Istanbul. In 2007 QG appeared on CBC and PBS in A Concert in Wine Country (Ontario's wine country, by the way) which resulted in a DVD.

It has not all been easy. Cynthia Steljes succumbed to a rare form of cancer late in 2006. DeSotto promised her that he would keep the group touring in her honour, and touring "enthusiastically." That is exactly what he has done. As the website puts it, "Cynthia was about joy and light and 'sweet toughness'." Those words characterize the music the quartet continues to bring to the world—and to us.

Thanks Patrick. After the concert I’ll bring to the blog news of it and some photos from the reception after the concert.

Friends of Music 2007-2008 directors

President: Bruce Williamson (bwilliamson@nhb.com)

Past President: Jon Ed

Treasurer: Valerie Wright

Secretary: Kay MacLeod

Marketing: Bill Bickle

Programming: Bonnie Foord

Membership: Linda Seppanen

Committee members:

Stephanie MacKenzie

Sandra Matthews

Ingeburg Short

Elizabeth Wilson

The Exultate Chamber Singers

The Port Hope Friends of Music Christmas concert at the Port Hope United Church on December 8^th was magical.

After FOM President Bruce Williamson had welcomed the audience and introduced the Exultate Chamber Singers the lights went down and the choir filed down each side of a completely darkened church to the front of the sanctuary, singing as they went. They each had small reading lights attached to their music which gave the impression they were holding candles.

It was a portent of magic to come.

The combination of chorales and carols sung by The Exultate Chamber Singers and Giles Bryant’s reading of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” by Dylan Thomas was inspired and created the perfect introduction to the Christmas season. Giles Bryant, Warkworth's very talented organist and great friend of the Exultate singers was brilliant. His reading was just as Dylan Thomas would have wanted it. Every now and again he spoke with a Welsh accent which, to this listener's ears, was perfect.

At the wine and cheese party after the concert audience members mingled with the performers, asked questions, received interesting and unhurried answers, and had their pictures taken with Exultate leader John Tuttle, Giles Bryant and anyone else they asked. This part of every Friends of Music concert is looked forward to by audience members and performers alike. A good time is always had by all.

    

The Exultate Chamber Singers with Giles Bryant.

   Giles Bryant chats with audience members at the wine and cheese reception.

Exultate Director John Tuttle chats with old friend Shona Boardman.

 

Bonnie Foord chats with a choir member.

                                                                                  

Friends of Music volunteers bartend at the Exultate reception.

The Friends of Music 2007-2008 season

THE SOLD-OUT CONCERTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:

October 20th, 2007: Sold-out performance at the Capitol Theatre with Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt and German cellist Daniel Müller Schott.

November 3rd 2007: Sold-out performance at the Capitol Theatre with the Penderecki Quartet.

Saturday December 8th 2007: Full house at the Port Hope United Church for the performance by the Exultate Chamber Singers. They were joined by Warkworth's famed organist Giles Bryant who read Dylan Thomas's "A Child's Christmas in Wales".

Sunday February 17th 2008 at 3:00 pm at the Capitol Arts Centre: QUARTETTO GELATO.

Sorry! The concert is  sold out.These are four brilliant musicians who between them play multiple instruments. They also sing and dance and have an infectious sense of humour. They have a dazzling mixture of styles, playing the classics, arias, tangos, gypsy music and folk songs, all delivered with panache and their now famous sense of humour.

For more information on this eclectic, dynamic group, visit their website at www.quartettogelato.ca

Quartetto Gelato's program will include works by Piazzolla, Leoncavallo and Piaf. Tickets are $35 for adults and $15 for students. Call 905.885.1071 or 800.434.5092 for tickets or visit the Friends of Music website at www.porthopefriendsofmusic.ca. 

COMING UP AND NOT TO BE MISSED

Saturday March 1st, 2008 at 8:00 pm at the Port Hope United Church, the very famous Canadian pioneer among orchestras: TAFELMUSIK BAROQUE ORCHESTRA.

Saturday April 12th, 2008 at 3:00 pm at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Cobourg STARS OF TOMORROW. CBC Broadcaster Iain Scott will bring three singers from the University of Toronto Opera School. He considers them to be future stars of the opera world.

Saturday April 19th, 2008 AT 8:00 pm at the Capitol Arts Centre ANNE JULIE CARON on marimba and BRIAN FINLAY on piano.

Tickets for Stars of Tomorrow are $15 and can be purchased at the door or at the March 1st concert at the Port Hope United Church

Tickets for the regular concerts are $35 for adults and $15 for seniors and students. To order call 905.885.1071, 800.434.5092 or visit the website at www.porthopefriendsofmusic.ca.

Port Hope Friends of Music Alive

In the 1970's a small group of music lovers gathered at Port Hope United Church on Sunday nights to hear recitals by local soloists.

They could not have imagined that by the year 2007 they would be hosting concerts with the world’s most famous performers. Organized in 1975 and incorporated provincially in 1982, Friends of Music has evolved to become one of Ontario's most successful and respected community presenters of fine music and has brought internationally renowned artists to Port Hope.

Artists like the Tokyo String Quartet and the Vienna Boys Choir as well as world renowned Canadian performers such as the Mendelssohn Choir, Quebec's Les Violins du Roy, Measha Brueggergossman and Angela Hewitt. Friends of Music, which offers five concerts every season, is dedicated to the promotion of classical music through live performances. But it also offers a little something extra: an opportunity for the audience to meet the performers after the concert at a wine and cheese reception. This has become a highlight of every concert, enjoyed as much by the performers as their fans.

And please visit our website at www.porthopefriendsofmusic.ca for information on the 2007-2008 concerts.

For example, at The Port Hope Friends of Music Christmas concert at the Port Hope United Church on December 8^th both the concert and the reception were magical.

The combination of chorales and carols sung by The Exultate Chamber Singers and Giles Bryant’s reading of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” by Dylan Thomas was inspired and created the perfect introduction to the Christmas season. Giles Bryant, Warkworth's very talented organist and great friend of the Exultate singers was brilliant. His reading was just as Dylan Thomas would have wanted it. Every now and again he spoke with a Welsh accent which, to this listener's ears, was perfect.

At the wine and cheese party after the concert audience members mingled with the performers, asked questions, received interesting and unhurried answers, and had their pictures taken with Exultate leader John Tuttle, Giles Bryant and anyone else they asked. This part of every Friends of Music concert is looked forward to by audience members and performers alike. A good time is always had by all.

Go to the Standing Ovation page for more information on the Exultate Chamber Singers concert and to see photos from the reception.

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