Tag: music

Renée Silberman reviews London Symphonia, The Brahms Effect with Tom Allen; London Symphonia, Beethoven, Shostakovich and Marsh; The Jeffery Concerts, James Ehnes, violin, Andrew Armstrong, piano.

by Richard Young

The Beat Magazine 2025 is thrilled to introduce its newest volunteer contributor, Renée Silberman, founder and director of London’s Serenata Music. Alongside Daina Janitis, who previews coming concerts, Renée will be reviewing selected Classical Music events. Renée offers a roundup of recent Classical Music concerts in her first story for The Beat Magazine.

Dear music-loving friends and those who wish to join this august circle of the concert-going public. I offer you a report on the final three events of the 2025-26 season and hope it will give cause to rejoice in the kind of offerings now regularly available here in London.

In quick succession, London Symphonia presented a pair of concerts showcasing the artistry of their musicians, who performed cleverly curated programs.

On April 18, Graham Lord, principal clarinet and London Symphonia’s String Quartet, explored works from the clarinet repertoire that represent the gamut of expressive language and technical complexity inherent in the instrument’s nature. Without question, musician, raconteur, CBC broadcaster Tom Allen, enriched the experience, having first of all helped shape the evening’s format, and then enlarged upon the historical development of the clarinet in its many aspects – discussing many of its uses, as an orchestral voice, as a solo instrument in art music and jazz, and more.

(Pictured: Tom Allen.)

The first half of the program took us on a tour of the musical magic the clarinet produces with samplings from works by four composers: Gerald Finzi (1901-1956),  Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912), Mozart (1756-1791), and Steve Reich (b. 1936). Tom Allen elucidated the characteristics of each piece with his unique combination of knowledge and storytelling skill, always engaging, never didactic. Graham Lord’s consummate musicianship drew the audience in – his sensitivity to style,  especially in the tenderness of the second movement, Larghetto of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet and in the exhilarating New York Counterpoint multi-voiced tape plus live line – prepared us for the emotional heart of the concert, the Brahms Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in B Minor Op. 115. The Quintet, Brahms’ valedictory work written for Richard Mühlfeld, in Brahms’ opinion, the most outstanding wind player he had ever heard, traverses a grand range of feeling, mood, tones and textures.

There is an elegiac quality, a sense of retrospection, and yet, in this remarkable gift to the generations, the artist’s creative drive evidently had lost none of its energy. On hearing the Quintet, Clara Schumann wrote to Brahms, “The joy that I had survives in my heart, and for that I am grateful.” And so it is that we, too, find renewal in this epic, Protean composition.

On May 2, London Symphonia wrapped up its season with “Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Marsh,” a program of disparate compositional traditions and voices.

Under the leadership of Conductor Tania Miller, the orchestra produced a stimulating journey through time and spirit, a reflection of the type of programming that presents a combination of the contemporary with the tried and true. Moreover, London Symphonia provides a generous opportunity for its members to savour the limelight. This was notable in singling out Laura Chambers, Principal Flute, to take a solo turn in a World Premiere commissioned by the orchestra, with funding support from SOCAN Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council. Composer Alexis Dyan Marsh and flautist Laura Chambers became colleagues at the University of California and have continued a working relationship over the years.

(Pictured: Laura Chambers.)

View of a Cartwheel From An Ascending Plane for Flute Solo and Orchestra is written in six parts, “as a collage of lived experience. The work is woven from three distinct threads: the vastness of the Canadian West grounded in the Manitoban landscape, the evolution of human connection, and the vertical trajectory of personal ambition.” The composition is atmospheric, depicting landscapes and human connections. The element of friendship sets humans in the vast landscape, and may describe the friendship between Marsh and Chambers, linking people to place; furthermore,  Marsh acknowledges her personal motivation in developing her artistry as a composer. Laura Chambers plays with great warmth and vitality, a strong personality within the wind section and in the orchestra.

(Pictured: Alexis Marsh.)

The Chamber Symphony in C Minor, Op. 110a (after String Quartet No. 8), orchestrated by Rudolf Barshai, inevitably reminds citizens of the 21st century of the tragic circumstances in which Dmitri Shostakovich lived. The tale of Shostakovich, and indeed of Rudolf Barshai, who was eventually declared persona non grata in the Soviet Union, is a cautionary one – to endure the horrors of authoritarianism is a problem not strictly relegated to the past. Tania Miller fielded this powerful work with deep understanding – her intellectual energy is supported by kinetic energy which pulsated through her body, a driving force that animated the orchestra. Maestra Miller spoke of the composer’s view that the Eighth String Quartet, the point of departure for Barshai’s orchestration, was in fact a requiem for himself. 1960, the year of the Quartet’s publication, was a time of distress and depression for Shostakovich, for although he believed he had betrayed his principles in joining the Communist Party, he lived in continuing fear of arrest or execution, incessantly hounded by the director of cultural policy, Andrei Zhdanov. No amount of abasement was enough for the Soviet authorities. Shostakovich was trapped in the Soviet Union, and his music conveys his pain. But in the devoted hands of Tania Miller, the music becomes the instrument for vindicating Shostakovich’s suffering.

Every good performance of a work by Shostakovich is an almost sacred act that validates yet again all those who were or are caught in a vortex of evil. By contrast, a performance of Beethoven’s  Seventh, which he referred to as “a grand symphony in A Major (one of my most excellent works),” is essential life affirmation! Rhythmic intensity is written into the score, but still, there is a requirement that the conductor will truly sustain the orchestra’s propulsive momentum. Wagner identified the symphony as “the apotheosis of the dance.” Tania Miller danced in joy as she partnered with the buoyant musicians of London Symphonia! The dynamic range, the sophisticated play of key signatures, and the studied wildness of the Finale animated the finale of the orchestra’s 2025-26 season!

On Monday, May 4, The Jeffery Concerts brought its season to a remarkable conclusion with a recital by James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong.

(Pictured: James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong.)

Mr. Ehnes is billing the programs this year as a “50th Canada Birthday Tour,” and what a celebration it is! James Ehnes is Canada’s foremost violinist, a peerless artist, dedicated to his profession and a musical ambassador who is renowned for performing on major stages internationally and with a particular commitment to bringing music to communities across Canada.

Ehnes brought his wonderful vitality to a full house at the Wolf Performance Hall with works by Christian August Sinding (1856-1941), Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), Carmen Braden (b. 1985), and Bela Bartók (1881-1945). Each of these pieces is close to Ehnes’ heart, and each speaks in a distinctive voice.

The first movement of Sinding’s Suite for Violin in A Minor, op. 10, set the pace and tone for the recital, beginning as it did with a dizzyingly swiftly moving Presto. For an audience member who began studying the violin at an advanced age, it was both daunting and instructive to watch Ehnes’ bow glide efficiently across the strings. But there was more to the playing than mere technique – The Brahms Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, op. 108, intense and dramatic, reveals a powerful side of Ehnes’ playing style. Two years ago, Mr. Ehnes performed the Brahms Violin Concerto with London Symphonia, and on that occasion, showed, as he did the other night, that these big works with significant content are well suited to his musical personality. The playing is both dazzling and refined.

And there is always an interest in the new, as evidenced in Carmen Braden’s Imaginal. Braden composed this piece in honour of James Ehnes’ fiftieth birthday, to celebrate “…anything that held us together in this crazy world, it’s music, friends, curiosity and caterpillars.” (“Imaginal” cells are the catalysts for the transformation of caterpillar cells into butterflies, according to Carmen Braden). And Bartók’s Rhapsody No. 1 for Violin and Piano, Sz. 86 makes full use of traditional Hungarian verbunkos dances, transforming folk music into high art.

Mssrs. Ehnes and Armstrong finished the program with three encores, which they announced from the stage. Scherzo-Tarentelle by Henryk Wieniawski; La Guitar by Moritz Moszkowski, arranged by Pablo de Sarasate; and La Ronde des Putins (The Dance of the Goblins)  byAntonio Bazzini.

This scintillating, thrilling recital rounded out a remarkable season of music making!

I  encourage one and all to discover the profound satisfaction of hearing extraordinary live performances here in London! There is first-class music to be enjoyed in our city! Come out to some of the wonderful concerts London offers! Support our city’s art scene!

Renée Silberman, May 2026

To learn more about London Symphonia, visit Concerts | London Symphonia

To learn more about The Jeffery Concerts, visit The Jeffery Concerts

To learn more about Serenata Music, visit Serenata Music – Home

Where were YOU in the winter of 2015?

by Richard Young

Previewed by Daina Janitis

(Pictured: London Symphonia Guest Conductor Tania Miller.)

If you recall the disaster of that season – and were part of the London spirit that helped to rebuild – you really should join in celebrating the spirit of resistance and revival that has taken London Symphonia toward its 10th anniversary.

And the program of the final concert of the 9th season – as well as the musicians – of Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Marsh will be an evening of three survival strategies: a spinning cartwheel, a searing letter from a war‑torn city, and a symphony that refuses to stop dancing.

I was the Volunteer Committee Chair in 2015 when Orchestra London formally filed for bankruptcy, ending decades of orchestral history in the city. And I had the joy of seeing London Symphonia incorporated later that year, picking up the tradition that began back in 1937 and continuing as the only professional orchestra to offer a full season in the region. Many current players, including concertmaster Joe Lanza, bridge both eras, having performed with Orchestra London and now with London Symphonia. And the community helped with trust and creativity. The glorious concert space of “The Met” would not have happened without Londoners’ belief in all the gifts of the spirit.

This concert is music about resilience, played by an orchestra that had to prove its own.

(Pictured: LS Principal Flute Laura Chambers.)

And what a dazzling group of talents our London orchestra has brought together in these nine years. Laura Chambers is the LS Principal Flute. Her solo work, ensemble contributions, and innovations are renowned across Canada- but did you know …

  • She’s a lover of the outdoors. Her performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring for an audience of over 30,000 at sunset in the Nevada desert is her most memorable to date.
  • She’s a passionate educator. Laura’s studio of students spans in age from 5 to 85, and she is welcomed as a guest clinician at schools, music camps and festival workshops throughout Canada.
  • In addition to her performance and private teaching, Laura is a PhD candidate at York University, where her research is focused on the recontextualization and sustainability of classical music in today’s world.
  • She currently holds a sessional lecturer position at the University of Toronto and is a faculty member of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Oscar Peterson’s School of Music.

And because you supported us for the last nine years, LYS has thrived. You can now be part of a world premiere- the flute concerto that Laura Chambers commissioned from Alexis Marsh just for Laura by London Symphonia.

(Pictured: Composer Alexis Marsh.)

Alexis Marsh, a Canadian composer from Winnipeg, built her career in Los Angeles, scoring films and series like TNT’s Animal Kingdom, animated feature Next Gen, and numerous indie projects. She’s used to writing music that lives inches away from the camera, following tiny facial expressions and shifts in mood. A concerto lets that language move into the open, onto a stage.
You’ve heard Laura Chambers in countless moments this season—now imagine an entire work tailored to the way she phrases a single line. The concerto’s title, View of a Cartwheel from an Ascending Plane, sounds like a film shot: a spinning shape seen from above, slowly receding.

And Tania Miller is one of London Symphonia’s favourite guest conductors. Of course, the musicians like her; they know what it means to rebuild something, and so does she. In her writing on leadership, she talks about being “the fuel and the fire,” about creating a spark and then “sometimes letting them play and standing back to enjoy the performance. She sees orchestral work as a “collective search for the meaning in the music,” emphasizing fresh ideas and connection rather than top‑down control.

(Pictured: Tania Miller.)

She is a builder herself, renewing ensembles, most famously as music director of the Victoria Symphony for 14 years, where she developed a reputation as a visionary leader and innovator. She was the first woman to lead a major Canadian orchestra, appointed to Victoria at 33, and now directs the Brott Music Festival and its training programs, all of which underscore her comfort with change and institution‑building. She’s a creative risk-taker — leaving a secure position in Victoria to become, as one article suggested, a guest conductor for hire exploring ‘uncharted waters.

Beginning to sound like a feminist manifesto? No apologies from me- but even the Old White Dead Guy pieces chosen for this program are exciting expressions of resistance and revival.

Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony Op. 110a came to life as a string quartet dashed off in three days in bombed‑out Dresden, dedicated ‘to the victims of fascism and war’ and packed with his own musical initials like a secret signature—a grief‑stricken protest from someone who knew all about other kinds of terror. It was a piece written amid literal rubble, carrying both an official dedication to war’s victims and a coded act of resistance from a composer who knew about other kinds of terror in his life under Stalin’s iron rule.

Ludwig Van’s Seventh? He composed it in 1811–12, and it was first heard in Vienna in 1813 at a benefit concert for soldiers wounded at the Battle of Hanau, one of the late‑war clashes that helped drive Napoleon’s army out of German territory. No wonder the symphony feels like resistance turned into rhythm—an entire orchestra insisting on life while a collapsing empire limps away in the background.

Its rhythms carry little melancholy. Wagner called it “the apotheosis of the dance” – and other musical worthies of the time said it was “exuberant,” “boisterous,” and “life-affirming”. Don’t we need something right now to remind us that we can choose to dance in the face of pointless war and the threat of domination?

Londoners … every ticket bought since 2015 has been a small act of faith, and on this night the orchestra pays that faith back in music about survival, defiance, and hard‑won joy. You helped the rebuilding – now come to the concert and celebrate this local source of pride.

IF YOU GO:

What: London Symphonia presents Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Marsh

When: Saturday, May 2, 2026, at 7:30pm.

Where: Metropolitan United Church, 468 Wellington Street, London, Ontario.

Tickets: Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Marsh | London Symphonia

Previewed by Daina Janitis

The Brahms Effect with Tom Allen: The Clarinet and the Art of Being Human

by Richard Young

Previewed by Daina Janitis

The Brahms Effect with Tom Allen, London Symphonia, Saturday, April 18, 2026, 7:30 PM

At a time when the world can feel heavy with noise, how comforting it is to gather for an evening devoted to listening — not only to music, but to the stories that live inside it. The Brahms Effect brings together two artists who understand that sound and story are human languages made from the same yearning: the desire to be understood.

Storyteller, broadcaster, and master communicator Tom Allen has long revealed the hidden pulse beneath great music, helping audiences hear composers not as distant figures but as people alive with wit, frailty, and imagination. Alongside Graham Lord, London Symphonia’s principal clarinetist, Allen explores the clarinet as perhaps the most human of instruments — an instrument that can sigh, laugh, ache, and console, often within a single breath.

(Pictured: Tom Allen.)

Tom Allen is well known to Canadians through his CBC story broadcasts – but did you know?

  • He planned to be a professional trombonist and worked hard at it into his late twenties
  • By around age 30, he realized that, in his own words, “storytelling and language were where my greatest strengths were,” so his career began to pivot toward radio and narration rather than full‑time performance.
  • A formative moment was a 1982 music history class at Boston University with John Daverio, whose vivid, funny stories about composers convinced Allen that classical music history could be anything but boring. That realization—that extraordinary music comes from very ordinary, messy human lives—became the core of his storytelling approach.
  • Tom and harpist Lori Gemmell are life partners (married), living in Toronto; their personal partnership is the foundation for the artistic one. Around 2010 they began creating staged shows together that mix storytelling, history, and chamber music, which they themselves started calling “chamber musicals.”

So, the honest answer is he didn’t so much abandon the trombone as discover that his strongest instrument was language. The trombone training, the practicing, and the orchestra life became the soil out of which the storyteller grew.

A native of the Vancouver area, clarinetist Graham Lord has made Southwestern Ontario his musical home as principal clarinetist of both London Symphonia and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. A sought‑after guest principal with orchestras from Toronto and Vancouver to Winnipeg, Edmonton, Kitchener‑Waterloo, Nova Scotia, and Thunder Bay, he brings a national Canadian perspective to the clarinet’s most human voice.

(Pictured: Graham Lord.)

For The Brahms Effect, Graham Lord not only performs but also curates the program, guiding listeners through music that has shaped his own artistry — from the intimacy of Finzi and Mozart to the shimmering urban chorus of Steve Reich and the deep, autumnal glow of Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet.

And what an uncanny gift for curating- as well as performing- Graham Lord has. Tom Allen will involve you in the music before the clarinet begins, and I hope he tells you that Gerald Finzi’s Five Bagatelles for clarinet and piano were composed initially in 1941 as Finzi was drafted into war service. He added to the composition in 1943 and premiered it in London’s (the Big One) National Gallery during the Blitz. The clarinet is heard at its most versatile here – nostalgic, playful, and intimate.

Their program is as emotionally varied as any engrossing story. You’ll be delighted by the lyrical ease of Mozart and the big-city tension of Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint. Graham’s choices are a musical trip through history, genius, and feeling. Samuel Coleridge‑Taylor’s Clarinet Quintet sets the stage for Brahms’s late‑life masterwork — the Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115 — music born from an unexpected friendship with a clarinetist that rekindled Brahms’s creativity and deepened his faith in beauty.

Graham Lord, principal clarinetist and curator of The Brahms Effect with Tom Allen and Andrew Chung, Artistic Producer of London Symphonia discuss why the clarinet is such a magical pairing with the string quartet, the genius of Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet, how Graham chose the repertoire for the concert, and Steve Reich’s rarely performed New York Counterpoint, which creates the texture of a clarinet choir of 11 voices: https://youtu.be/rlJgMLWSFX0?si=YE-TRUe7BtISTgBv

Through Lord’s expressive artistry and Allen’s narrative insight, the concert invites listeners to rediscover what music can do when it’s shared in real time — the way it draws us closer, reminding us of our capacity for empathy, wonder, and joy. By Saturday, April 18th, who can predict the noises of aggression, resentment, and hatred that will be filling our social media and news reports? What lies will we have to decipher and expose?

But in our London, a city that values its creators, The Brahms Effect will offer exquisite music and enchanting stories — a concert that reminds us that art, at its best, recalls to us our most human selves.

IF YOU GO:

What: London Symphonia presents The Brahms Effect with Tom Allen.

When: Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 7:30pm.

Where: Metropolitan United Church, 458 Wellington Street, London, ON.

Tickets: The Brahms Effect with Tom Allen | London Symphonia

Previewed by Daina Janitis.

Why I should NOT be writing about Classical Music for The Beat:

Well, judge for yourself from the photo. I’m 80. I took Latin in high school instead of keyboarding. I am not a performer or a specialist in classical music (a few curling RCM diplomas for Grade 8 and 9 Piano notwithstanding). I played Highwaymen CDs for my kids when they were in the bathtub, and I love Linda Ronstadt songs. I asked for a ticket to the Elvis Presley concert in Maple Leaf Gardens for my 12th birthday, and attended in my choir accompanist uniform, clutching my leather satchel of sheet music. A nerd.

Why I want to Write for The Beat Magazine 2025:

I miss it since the print version retired. I admire its hard-working, eclectic editor, Rick Young, and its many volunteer writers for the kind, informative, and enthusiastic pieces they wrote about our London arts scene.

What I Think I Can Bring:

I taught high school English for thirty-three years- and have been retired for over twenty. Because I was grateful for the people who provided my children experiences and adventures in school music- and in the London Youth Symphony and Amabile – I started volunteering for these heroic people with talents I couldn’t match. I’m on the board for LYS and Magisterra Soloists, I was on the AHMAA board for saving the Aeolian Hall, I assemble newsletters for my union and for the classical music events in London, and I attend every concert I can manage.

But to my mental peril, I have been caught up in the political turmoil of our time. In just the last few months, I’ve read in horror about the denigration of DEI, the turning of the Kennedy Center into a “massage music” emporium, the selling off of public education and public journalism, the incitement of hatred for immigrants, and the finest relief for this anger I feel is in classical music.

What is the source of that solace? It’s a living genius in the musicians who play classical music for us in London, Ontario. Attending a pop music concert is certainly enjoyable, but attending a classical concert is intellectually stimulating and emotionally immersive. It requires sustained focus, careful listening for structure and nuance, and an openness to delayed gratification and complexity. Your emotional responses can be profound and spiritual. The concert offers a contemplative experience, with less overt physical movement and a stronger emphasis on collective listening and silent appreciation. Thank you, London musicians, for the courage you put into your work.

Maud: Jeffery Music Foundation- What have you DONE????

by Richard Young

Ethel: You look distraught. Whatever is the matter?

Maud: Have you SEEN the chamber group The Jeffery Concerts has brought to London for Friday, March 13th? AAAAARGH!!!

Previewed by Daina Janitis

(Pictured: The Poiesis Quartet.)

Ethel: Yes, Maud- and how lucky are we in London to have this Jeffery Foundation board of music lovers, music teachers, and music performers bringing amazing talents that we’d otherwise have to travel to see and hear. That’s the Poiesis Quartet. As the newly crowned winners of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Poiesis Quartet’s arrival in London is a momentous point in their career, bringing the kind of risk-taking, collaborative artistry that keeps chamber music alive for new generations.

Their Jeffery debut at Metropolitan United Church is not our grandmothers’  “subscription” recital, but a chance for Londoners of all ages to encounter four young musicians who treat the string quartet as a living laboratory for sound, story, and social connection.

Maud: But just LOOK at their outfits and piercings- and their use a mixed bag of pronouns. And the program? Chamber concerts are for the B’s- Bach and those other gentlemen of classical music! What kind of name is Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate?

Ethel: I don’t know where he was born- but the Jeffery Foundation bringing that music and those musicians to London, Ontario is enacting Canadian core values: public access to culture, support for emerging talent, and a belief that serious art belongs not in gated institutions but in the shared spaces of a city. In a world where U.S. arts centres are increasingly entangled with partisan politics and boycotts, the Jeffery series offers something different: a locally rooted, not-for-profit platform where excellence is measured in artistic integrity and community impact, not donor glamour.

Maud: Are they at least going to dress up in dignified concert black as they play?

Ethel: Oooh- I doubt it. And I hope they let their freedom in concert dress reflect the freedom in bending and improving traditions of all kinds, bring that beautiful stage at The Met to new life! Try meeting some of them first … look up their own website: Poiesis Quartet

Or, let’s let one of them tell us about him/her/they!

(Pictured: Drew Dansby.)

Drew Dansby, cello, Drew Dansby (he/him) is a recent double-degree graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory, with degrees in cello performance under Darrett Adkins and chemistry with minors in Comparative American Studies and sociology. Drew joined the cello section of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra full-time beginning in the 2023-24 season, becoming the youngest member of the orchestra at 22. He has served as an acting cellist in the Charlotte Symphony, associate principal cellist of the New York String Orchestra, and principal cellist of the Verbier Festival Orchestra. Originally from Charlotte, NC, Drew made his solo debut with the Charlotte Symphony at age 15. Drew is also a founding member of the Charlotte Piano Trio, which has performed 14 concerts over 5 years across North Carolina, and was the founder and director of the 2022 Myers Park Summer Series. Drew has been recognized as a National YoungArts winner and gold medalist in the Cleveland Cello Society competition. Drew was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the USA for three summers, including as a violinist in 2018 and as principal cellist in 2019, and he was the first member in the history of the orchestra to be accepted on two instruments. As a winner of Oberlin’s concerto competition, he performed David Baker’s Concerto for Cello and Jazz Band with the Oberlin Jazz Ensemble in April 2024.

And the rest of them are just as impressive in their achievements – so with the Poesis Quartet, we are getting a quadruple whammy of inspiration!

Maud: But the music? Will I be able to tolerate any of it?

Ethel: Listening to music of any era should not be centred on your pain threshold, honey. You may have to adjust your hearing aids and your expectations a bit, but the piece that won THE 2025 Banff Festival prize certainly didn’t scare those judges!

Maud: I didn’t know about that Banff Festival. Is it a big thing???

Ethel: A biggie, indeed. The Banff International String Quartet Competition was organized in 1983. It is now recognized as one of the world’s major string quartet competitions. 

Ten quartets from around the world are selected to take part in the semi-final competition. All members of the quartets must be under the age of 35. After playing various styles of both traditional and modern chamber music before audiences over a period of several days, three finalist groups are chosen. After further performances, these are judged and a winner chosen.

And here’s a photo of them receiving the 2025 Banff award.

As arts reporter Keith Powers said about the 2025 competition, “Each repertoire choice had a tell: of a quartet’s confidence, technique, history — all subtle, all different. For the Poiesis Quartet, this competition was not only a test of mettle, but it was also a forum for identity. The eventual competition winner cemented a place in the finals with a spectacular performance at the conclusion of the open competition: Bartók’s String Quartet No. 5 (the first work the group ever learned!). Then Poiesis stole the finals with royally inclusive and distinctive choices: quartets by Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, Brian Raphael Nabors, Ken Hisaishi, and Kevin Lau.

“The final round presents our ensemble, our values,” cellist Drew Dansby said. “We feel like everything we’ve done is being fulfilled with this.”

Want to hear the piece they played in the final round, Maud? Get ready …

Maud???  Maud???  Maud???

IF YOU GO:

What: The Jeffery Concerts presents the Poiesis Quartet

When: Friday, March 13, at 7:30pm.

Where: Metropolitan United Church, 468 Wellington Street, London, ON.

Tickets: The Jeffery Concerts – 2025/26 Season | The Grand Theatre

Previewed by Daina Janitis.

Magisterra Masterworks featuring the Magisterra Piano Trio, Thursday, March 5.

by Richard Young

Previewed by Daina Janitis

Here is the poster for Thursday night’s Magisterra Concert. So, you already know lots about it- but I’ll tell you more!!!

First, though, I’m going to come clean about what may keep people from flocking to some exquisite chamber music- and in THIS city, that is one opportunity among a flood of riches.

It’s PARKING, isn’t it???

Almost sixty years ago, when we came to London, I was vaguely amused by the horrified mentions of PARKING in the city- the warnings about downtown dying if those malls were built in the suburbs offering free space for cars. And now- I’ve also become the kind of Aged Karen who would hurl epithets at City Council from the gallery, bewailing what I must pay to park my Mazda close to the classical music event I want to attend.

I’m going to offer a few suggestions for the similarly enraged:

  • Point your car to Fullarton St. between Talbot and Ridout. Use the street- it’s after 6:00 p.m. and barely a block from Museum London
  • Make an evening of it. Yaya’s Café has replaced the Rhino- and offers an intriguing Thursday night African meal until 7:00 p.m.

Home – Yaya’s Café

Contact Info

    So, what else do you need to know?

    Piano trios? Three pianos on that small auditorium stage?

    Au contraire, mon frere… as famous poet George Carlin used to say.

    A piano trio is a small chamber group of three musicians – piano, violin, and cello – playing together as equal musical partners. In a piano trio, each instrument has its own voice: the piano provides richness and colour, the violin often sings the melody, and the cello adds depth and warmth. Composers have admitted they love writing for piano trio because this intimate setting lets listeners hear every musical “voice” clearly, like three characters in a vivid, wordless conversation. 

    And the ones chosen for Thursday night are masterpieces:

    Beethoven’s Piano Trio in E‑flat major is an early piece from his “new kid in town” years in Vienna. It’s bright and energetic, with clear tunes that bounce quickly between piano, violin, and cello, plus a gentle, slow movement and a witty, fast finish.

    Brahms’s Piano Trio in B major is big, warm, and emotional. It opens with a long, singing melody, then moves through music that can feel stormy one moment and comforting the next, always with rich, lush harmonies.

    Turina’s Piano Trio No. 2 is a short, colourful work with a strong Spanish flavour. In just three movements, it shifts between dreamy, atmospheric writing and lively, dance‑like rhythms that give the trio a vivid, distinctive character.

    (Pictured: Magisterra Solists violinist and music director, Annette-Barbara Vogel.)

    You know that violinist and music director, Annette-Barbara Vogel, is brilliant- but her guest musicians are certainly no slouches!

    Anya Alexeyev, born in Moscow into a family of concert pianists, trained at the prestigious Gnessin School and Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory before earning a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London, where she won major prizes. She has appeared as a soloist with leading orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Moscow State Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and Quebec Symphony.

    (Pictured: pianist Anya Alexeyev.)

    She is a genuine musical explorer who has recorded widely for international labels, yet she is equally passionate about unearthing hidden gems of the piano repertoire. In Magisterra’s trio, she brings the depth of a truly global career together with a restless musical curiosity.

    Three things about Belgian cellist Tom Landschoot are especially intriguing for concertgoers: he has an international solo career, is a sought‑after teacher, and he has a deep chamber‑music pedigree.

    • Landschoot has appeared as a soloist with orchestras across Europe, North and South America, and Asia, including the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Frankfurt Chamber Orchestra, and symphonies from Taiwan to Ecuador, with performances broadcast on radio and television worldwide.
    • He has held a leading professorship at Arizona State University, is on faculty at elite summer institutions such as Meadowmount, and will join the Cleveland Institute of Music as Professor of Cello in 2026
    • And … be still my heart … 
Tom Landschoot has been involved in interdisciplinary public service projects through his music, such as raising funds and awareness for the need of building an orphanage and hospital in Tamil Nadu, India. As part of this humanitarian project, Landschoot was featured in a documentary film of a cellist performing across India, integrating photography, culinary, journalism and original music compositions.


    (Pictured: cellist Tom Landschoot.)

    And on this day, when wars are beginning yet again, when there is so much to mistrust and fear in our world, let’s be grateful for the wonderful people who bring us music in this chaos  
    


    IF YOU GO:

    What: Magisterra Soloists present Masterworks featuring the Magisterra Piano Trio.

    When: Thursday, March 5, at 7:00pm.

    Where: Museum London, 421 Ridout St. North, London, ON.

    Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/magisterra-at-the-museum-masterworks-piano-trios-tickets-1647395346829?aff=oddtdtcreator

    Previewed by Daina Janitis

    Laura Gagnon – Still a Road Warrior.

    by Richard Young

    In a 2023 profile I prepared of well-known London area singer-songwriter and Forest City London Music Awards recipient, Laura Gagnon, she told me, “I’m a road warrior at heart.” Since that story was published, the Port Stanley resident has kept up her busy schedule of live performances in and around London, throughout Canada, and abroad.

    I caught up with Laura as she was in the throes of organizing and preparing for The International Women’s Day – Women In Music Showcase, being held at London’s Palasad Social Bowl on Sunday, March 8th.

    What follows is an updated Q&A Interview with Laura about her career and the March 8th event. (The Interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

    Q. Tell me a little bit about your upbringing. Was yours a musical home?

    Very much a musical home! My parents are both professional musicians, and once a week, they’d have band rehearsals at our home in the garage when I was very young. The garage was connected to our kitchen, so you can imagine me singing all the tunes in the kitchen at the top of my lungs while they’re practising. Ha-ha!

    Q. Do you remember the moment when you made the decision that music was going to be a big part of your life?

    In our previous interview, I talked about Grade 10, but the more I reflect on my life and career, I realize it was much earlier than that. Recently, I discovered old VHS tapes of me singing and playing piano, and I could see how much I loved it. I was shy but determined! My first TV appearance was on “Rogers TV” for the Salvation Army. You can actually watch these on my Instagram account. The glimmer in my eyes really says it all.

    Q. Has the piano always been your primary instrument? Do you play any other instruments?

    I definitely started with piano, and then singing came not too long afterwards. It gave me the foundation for pitch and how notes worked together. The sound was beautiful to me. I then tried to learn the sax and trumpet, but that didn’t stick. Ha-ha. Then I picked up the drums. I can jam pretty well with musicians but not well enough to play a big show. I’ve recently picked up the flute, so we’ll see how that goes!

    Q. What have your musical influences been over the years?

    Going way back to when I was eight years old, it started with the Wizard of Oz and “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” I was enchanted by Judy Garland. It grew into a love for Disney songs. My favourites were Snow White, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Then along came Alicia Keys, who introduced me to soul and a female artist who could play and sing piano. The sassiness of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera followed, and then the range and sensitive tone of Mariah Carey really started to shape my musical world.

    Q. Tell me about the various groups and musicians you have played with since you started playing professionally.

    I’ve had the privilege of playing with some pretty exceptional musicians, but also some really amazing groups like the Extreme Tour, based on guiding the lost out of the dark with music. I’ve written with Guess Who Guitarist, Dale Russell (may he rest in peace). An incredible producer, songwriter and human. Gary Martin of the Touring Funk Brothers is another exceptional musician who taught me how to better connect with an audience through just one single note. These three stick out to me because they’ve had an incredible impact on my career.

    Q. What types of gigs have you played over the years?

    Oh wow! I’ve played festivals like CMW, VENUEXVENUE, World Fest, Ribfest and conferences. I sang the Canadian and American national anthems in France for a tree planting ceremony for the 100th Anniversary of Vimy Ridge. At MMA events, London, ON City Council, Ottawa, ON City Council, baseball games, hockey games, soccer games. Performed in Nashville at Rocket Town for an industry showcase and many songwriter showcases around Canada.

    Q. Tell me a little bit about any recordings you have made in your career.

    It all started with writing a song for Remembrance Day, “In Our Hearts”. I wrote it based on many veteran ceremonies I’ve sung at. I wanted to give something back to the community that had supported me for so long. Two days before their ceremony, I asked if I could perform “In Our Hearts,” and they said yes, absolutely.

    Now, at this point in time, the song hadn’t been recorded yet, and I wanted to see if it was worth diving into, and it was. There was an overwhelming need and feeling to get this song professionally done. I recorded the song at Prevail Media Group, and they brought it to life! Fast forward a year, and I get a message in my Facebook inbox from a woman asking if I have sheet music for the song. I didn’t at that moment, but I quickly wrote a lead sheet for her and sent it off.

    I asked her if she could send me clips of her singing group practising and performing it. I also wanted to come see the performance and hear them in person. I asked where they were based, and she said Australia!! Darn, that’s a bit far! Ha-ha!. But I was so honoured that they picked my song to sing for their Remembrance Day ceremony. They found it on YouTube! Thank you, Moss Vale High!

    Q. Other than the March 8th International Women’s Day – Women In Music Showcase, what projects are you currently pursuing?

    Right now, I’m working on a couple of singles, one to be released in about five weeks called “Blue Eyes”. It’s a soft, stripped-down, cuddle vibes kinda song. The song feels like a warm hug, chicken soup for the soul and the feeling of getting tucked into bed as a kid. I remember that feeling well. I’m really excited for this one and honoured to be working with a really amazing producer, Randy Mead, out of London. After that single, I’ll be releasing another single, then an album.

    Q. Is there anything else you think our readers should know about Laura Gagnon, the musician and Laura Gagnon the individual?

    Since we last chatted, a lot has changed, and it’s been an amazing adventure and gift. 2025 was a big year for me. I was signed to an indie label, Big Records World (Canadian label), signed to a Management/Booking label, Grace Musicians Management Group (NYC Label), and toured the United States performing and helping the homeless with a group called The Extreme Tour, as I mentioned earlier. I’d like to expand on “The Extreme Tour” because it was the pivotal point of my career. It took me out of business mode and reminded me that I’m an artist and I have a bigger mission than just playing show to show, hoping to increase my followers.

    I forgot to connect with my audience and be warm for them, be gentle with myself. I forgot that silliness is okay and actually inspires humans to be themselves. That tour reminded me why I started this career in the first place. I think it’s our job as musicians to help, heal and be kind to those who aren’t kind to themselves. To give them permission to be themselves. When lost, you help them find their way. The amazing part about that is that, in turn, sometimes in helping them, they help you. Selflessness is the key to success. Being YOU and no one else and just showing up. TRUST. I will be going back on tour with this amazing team, but also be touring a string of shows in New York City soon.

    —

    The Doll House Showcase Presents International Women’s Day – Women IN Music Showcase

    Q. The Facebook post for the event suggests that it has been 10 years since you have done one of these showcases. Why is that? What has motivated you to revive the showcase in 2026?

    I organized and ran The Doll House, a showcase for female musicians from 2016 to 2018, which allowed me to play with many amazing female musicians like Sarah Smith, Nikki James, Carly Thomas, and many others. It was all about empowering female musicians and working as a team to accomplish our goals and being there for one another when things got tough.

    The past couple of years, I’ve been asked if I’m going to be bringing this showcase back to the city by multiple musicians and showcase goers from the previous years. I thought, as it has been ten years, this would be the perfect time to bring it back.

    Q. Do you have any other partners in organizing and staging this event?

    I have been doing all the organizing and staging. I’ve done all the marketing, posters, video and picture promo, radio interviews, TV interviews, including setting up the flow of the artists and booking the venue.

    Q. Are similar events taking place in other communities?

    Yes! It’s quite amazing! Ottawa has two of them, “Girls To The Front” and “Vox Femme”, and Burlington has “Harmonia”. I know of many others, but those are the ones that stick out in my mind. I’ve performed at two of them.

    (Watch Laura in this segment from Roger’s TV What’s Up London https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18MR5Ubrsv/)

    Q. Where are the proceeds from the event going?

    Most of the proceeds are going towards My Sisters Place – a vital London, Ontario charity operated by CMHA Thames Valley that provides a safe, welcoming centre and essential services for women experiencing trauma, mental health challenges, addiction, and homelessness – and the participating musicians. In true Doll House Tradition, there will be a tip jar for all musicians to share. “It’s A Doll House Tradition To Tip The Musician!”

    My Sisters Place has the same mission as the Doll House, which is to protect and create awareness of the dangers of one’s surroundings. It advocates for women to speak out and be heard. To work together and heal through music and community. When we first started this event, that was the main purpose, so women in the music scene weren’t alone and could call on each other. It was created as a safe space, like My Sisters Place.

    Q. Tell me about the artists who will be performing on March 8th. What genres of music will be represented?

    The artists are women who have been busting their butts in the music scene worldwide. They aren’t just local heroes but international inspirations. They come from all walks of life. Some have been with the Showcase from the beginning, and some I have met in the past year. They come from Quebec, Guelph, Port Dover, London, Kincardine, Port Stanley and Toronto.  Each musician is pushing boundaries every day to create that safe space for the young musicians coming up. Easy to talk to, open to tell you anything and help you where it’s needed. Sometimes an in confidence ear.

    The lineup includes myself, Anne Moniz, Cinzia and the Eclipse, D’eve Archer, Gillian Davies, Angelina MacKinnon, Felicia McMinn, Rachel Dara, Andrea Matchett, and Kate Channer. Musical genres presented will include Pop, Folk, R&B, and Rock. (Editor’s Note: Photos of the participating musicians appear below.)

    Q. Where can readers get more information about the individual artists?

    Each artist has an Instagram account and a website. They’re all on social media, so they’re easy to find. I urge you to follow them, comment on their pages and tell them what inspired you when you saw them perform.

    Q. Do you plan on making this an annual event again?

    That’s a great question. I haven’t decided yet. But I think this is a great idea.

    Q. Is there anything else you think our readers should know about the March 8th event?

    This isn’t just a showcase. These events have always been about networking and connection, storytelling, and just making sure we all get a little bit of love. There will be merch for sale, so please bring cash. That goes directly to the artists. We have an amazing host named TIA G, who is a champion of women owning their energy, advocating for being yourself, and is a bright light in our sometimes very dark community. We are so excited to have her!

    IF YOU GO:

    What: The Doll House Showcase Presents: International Women’s Day – Women in Music.

    When: Sunday, March 8th at 6:00pm.

    Where: Palasad Socialbowl, 777 Adelaide Street N., London, ON.

    Tickets: $10 cover charge at the Door. An All Ages Event.

    For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1920189272180409/

    PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:

    (Tia G.)

    (Anne Moniz.)

    (D’eve Archer.)

    (Gillian Davies.)

    (Rachel Dara.)

    (Kate Channer.) 

    (Angelina Mackinnon.)

    (Felicia McMinn.)

    (Andrea Matchett.)

    (Cinzia And The Eclipse.)

    Q&A Interview with Laura Gagnon conducted by Richard Young, Publisher & Content Manager of The Beat Magazine 2025.

    If you have a story idea or would like to become a Volunteer Writer for The Beat Magazine 2025, you can reach Richard at richardyoung@thebeatmagazine2025.ca

    London Community Orchestra presents Romantic Echoes, March 1

    by Richard Young

    Previewed by Daina Janitis

    “In an orchestra, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Together, we can create something truly extraordinary.” – Yo-Yo Ma

    And with the London Community Orchestra, you get COOKIES!!!

    No, not the kind you have to accept, reject, or manage, the kind you can share with musicians and audience members at Dundas Street Centre United Church after each concert. Because, as all great musical experiences are, it’s a community event, one in which we are participants, even if we sit on the church benches and applaud our hearts out while some of London’s good people enrich our lives with exquisite music.

    WE ALL share in the opportunity to quicken our minds and deepen our emotions.

    Yes, this organization has been around for fifty-two years, encouraging talented non-professionals to endow their busy lives with the discipline and rewards of symphonic music. And in those fifty-two years, most of the faces have changed, but the quality of performance has evolved to make every season better than the last.

    Len Ingrao has conducted LCO since 1998 and has built this city’s large symphonic ensemble to take on artistic challenges and share them graciously with Londoners- for a very reasonable ticket price.

    (Pictured: London Community Orchestra Conductor, Len Ingrao,)

    I’ll bet you know many of them.

    Carolyn Martinelli, who has taught generations of young people at Catholic Central High School, has been a lovely concertmaster since 2005.

    (Pictured: Carolyn Martinelli, London Community Orchestra, Concertmaster.)

    Steve, who adds fire to the local community orchestra while completing his epidemiology degrees.

    Ana, who is a dedicated therapist but still plays her violin in LCO.

    Mary, the oboist and member of the FIRST London Youth Symphony over 60 years ago, who still often sets that tuning A for the community orchestra.

    Some local music teachers and profs, continuing to aspire and learn with material they love.

    And one of those teachers will be the soloist for the March 1st program – Brian Donohue.

    (Pictured: Brian Donohue, London Community Orchestra Soloist.)

    Brian is the kind of teacher who does the profession proud:

    • He’s been a member of LCO for twelve years, while teaching at Sir Frederick Banting High School, conducting bands, starting a French horn choir, and teaching the board’s first Music and Math combo course.
    • He’s always ready to help other musical ensembles with coaching and standing in when he’s needed- and devotes time to raising his three kids with his wife, Christine.
    • To keep his musical skills growing, he has long-standing involvement in London community ensembles, including playing French horn with the London Community Orchestra and Encore: The Concert Band.​
    • He has taught private horn through Western University’s New Horizons Band program, which focuses on adult and lifelong learners returning to music—he really believes that music is for everyone.
    • No, no gold medal in hockey – but he has won the Dawson Memorial Award in Music Education, Western Music Award in his final undergraduate year. Chamber of Commerce Award for excellence in Western’s Wind Ensemble, Kiwanis Music Award (festival recognition).

    And he is performing music that he LOVES, from the “easy listening” Camille Saint-Saens.  

    (Pictured: Caricature of Camille Saint-Saens.)

    Andromaque: Overture and Prelude to Act IV  is a film score before there were films! S-S wrote it in 1902 for Sarah Benrhardt to bring the Trojan War story to life, politics, grief, unwanted suitors – daily stuff in Troy, 17th-century France, and in our current relationship with the US.

    And the Morceau de Concert is going to be a showstopper. S-S originally wrote it for a horn that is no more … the “cor omnitonique,” with four pistons that promised to play easily in any key. The gadget did not survive, but the virtuoso showpiece it gives to a great horn player – with lots of dazzling acrobatics – will hold your attention on Sunday.

    (Watch this video clip of Brian Donohue speaking about Sunday’s concert: https://www.facebook.com/reel/4436111049950652)

    Speaking of virtuosi, the full orchestra will be giving us Franz Liszt and his Tasso: Lament and Triumph. Liszt was pioneering the symphonic poem by 1849 – telling a story in a single, continuous movement (so no more worries about when to clap!).

    (Pictured: Caricature of Franz Liszt.)

    The poem is apparently based on the tortured life of Torquato Tasso in the 16th century as he goes through instability in Ferrara, wanders – in a boat, I presume – on the lagoons of Venice, and finally receives recognition in Rome after his death. All of this tumult is conveyed by the constant transforming of a gondolier’s song that Liszt once heard in Venice.

    And after the concert? COOKIES and the chance to tell the musicians what generous, inspiring Londoners they are!

    IF YOU GO:

    What: London Community Orchestra presents Romantic Echoes.

    When: Sunday, March 1, at 3:00pm.

    Where: Dundas Street Centre United Church, 482 Dundas Street, London, ON.

    Tickets: https://www.lco-on.ca/eng/concert-season/tickets/

    Previewed by Daina Janitis

    Urinetown – What’s in a name?

    by Richard Young

    Producer Ceris Thomas explains the meaning of the title Urinetown in this exchange with Beat Magazine Publisher Richard Young. Urinetown: The Musical plays at the Palace Theatre from February 19 to March 1.

    (Pictured: Ceris Thomas. Photo Credit: Ross Davidson.)

    “Urinetown: The Musical is notoriously hard to describe, which is probably why so many explanations feel incomplete or confusing. Honestly, if it had a different title, people might find it easier to just shrug and say, “Sure—let’s go see this thing.”

    At its core, Urinetown is a dystopian satire that imagines a world so devastated by water shortages that bathrooms no longer exist in private homes. To manage the crisis, business and government join forces and arrive at a “solution”: the public must pay to pee. It’s an intentionally oversimplified take on a massive environmental issue, designed to get the audience quickly and clearly into the world of the show.

    As with many well-meaning systems in a capitalist society, the opportunity to profit from an unavoidable human need quickly curdles into greed and manipulation. That’s where we meet the people of Urinetown—some desperate to survive, others perfectly comfortable in their assumed wealth and eager to raise the fees even higher.

    The absurdity, poignancy, and laugh-out-loud comedy come from how the story is told. One of the creators’ most delightful choices is the musical’s constant tribute to classic Broadway shows. One song clearly channels Fiddler on the Roof; the next explodes with unmistakable West Side Story energy. The first time I heard it, I actually laughed out loud in my car.

    If you’ve ever seen a musical—any musical—you’ll catch the references and giggle along. And if you’re someone who doesn’t usually like musicals? This show lovingly invites you to laugh at all the ones your mom dragged you to see.”

    IF YOU GO:

    What: London Community Players present Urinetown: The Musical

    When: February 19 to March 1, 2026

    Where: David Long Stage, Palace Theatre, 710 Dundas St., London, ON

    Tickets: Adults: $38,  Students/Seniors (55+): $36, Youth (under 18): $23, Preview: $28 (fees included). https://mytickets.palacetheatre.ca/eventperformances.asp?evt=514

    To learn more about Urinetown: The Musical and the Palace Theatre, visit https://palacetheatre.ca/

    Follow the Place Theatre on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/atthepalacetheatre and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/atthepalace/

    London Community Players’ Urinetown: The Musical opens February 19

    by Richard Young

    London Community Players’ production of Urinetown: The Musical opens this week at the Palace Theatre. What follows is a Q&A Interview with the play’s producer, Ceris Thomas, conducted by Richard Young.

    (Pictured: Laura Williams as Penelope Pennywise, Henry Truong as Bobby Strong, Jesslyn Hodgson as Hope Cladwell, and Allison Gold as Josephine “Ma” Strong. Photo Credit: Ross Davidson.)

    Q. The description of Urinetown: The Musical found on the Palace Theatre website reads: “In a dystopia ruled by drought and corporate greed, public toilets are the law— and rebellion smells suspiciously like revolution. Equal parts absurd, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny, Urinetown skewers capitalism, power, and musical theatre itself.” Could you break that down for our readers?

    Urinetown: The Musical is notoriously hard to describe, which is probably why so many explanations feel incomplete or confusing. Honestly, if it had a different title, people might find it easier to just shrug and say, “Sure—let’s go see this thing.”

    At its core, Urinetown is a dystopian satire that imagines a world so devastated by water shortages that bathrooms no longer exist in private homes. To manage the crisis, business and government join forces and arrive at a “solution”: the public must pay to pee. It’s an intentionally oversimplified take on a massive environmental issue, designed to get the audience quickly and clearly into the world of the show.

    As with many well-meaning systems in a capitalist society, the opportunity to profit from an unavoidable human need quickly curdles into greed and manipulation. That’s where we meet the people of Urinetown—some desperate to survive, others perfectly comfortable in their assumed wealth and eager to raise the fees even higher.

    (Pictured: Kate Sepi as Officer Lockstock and Luke Bainbridge as Officer Barrel. Photo Credit: Ross Davidson.)

    The absurdity, poignancy, and laugh-out-loud comedy come from how the story is told. One of the creators’ most delightful choices is the musical’s constant tribute to classic Broadway shows. One song clearly channels Fiddler on the Roof; the next explodes with unmistakable West Side Story energy. The first time I heard it, I actually laughed out loud in my car.

    If you’ve ever seen a musical—any musical—you’ll catch the references and giggle along. And if you’re someone who doesn’t usually like musicals? This show lovingly invites you to laugh at all the ones your mom dragged you to see.

    (Pictured: Ceris Thomas, Producer of Urinetown: The Musical.)

    Q. It also reads: “No one is safe. Not even the audience. Bring your sense of humour — and your spare change,” implying audience members will be expected to participate in some way. Will they? 

    The fourth wall is very much broken in this production. Officer Lockstock serves as the show’s narrator, frequently conversing with Little Sally, a member of the “poor” who isn’t afraid to challenge Lockstock’s interpretation of events. Beyond that, the audience needs only to bring a sense of humour and a willingness to laugh out loud at the shenanigans of the players.

    (Pictured: Ryan Starkweather as Senator Fipp, Jesslyn Hodgson as Hope Cladwell, and Sean Brennan as Caldwell B. Cladwell. Photo Credit: Ross Davidson.)

    Q. Can you provide a brief Synopsis of the play? 

    Our parody poster series—riffing on Les Misérables, West Side Story, The Producers, Wicked, and more—wasn’t just a marketing gimmick. It was a visual clue to the DNA of Urinetown itself. The show gleefully borrows familiar musical theatre tropes and iconic structures, reshaping them to tell its own absurd and pointed story.

    At its heart, Urinetown gives us all the classics: a villain who controls the money, the police, and the government; a hero who controls nothing but works hard and dreams of a better future; and a beautiful daughter of the villain who becomes the catalyst for change when our hero falls instantly in love. His life is upended, his resolve hardens, and he sets out to fix a broken world—for love, for justice, and for the people he cares about.

    What follows are the choices made by the citizens of Urinetown, and the consequences that come with them. It’s familiar, it’s twisted, it’s self-aware—and all of it is driven by music that is relentlessly fun.

    (Pictured: Urinetown Les Misérables parody poster.)

    Q. Do any of the play’s satirical situations and themes have local relevance? 

    Yes—and the relevance is immediate and unavoidable. The neighbourhood surrounding our theatre is routinely ignored by municipal leadership. The parking lot outside our doors has no public bathroom, and as a result, it becomes the only option for people who have nowhere else to go. That reality mirrors Urinetown so closely that it feels less like satire and more like lived experience.

    In Urinetown, the poor are criminalized for existing. They are punished for meeting basic human needs, while those in power remain insulated from the consequences of their decisions. That dynamic is playing out here as well. When audiences say they are “afraid” to come to this area, that fear reflects the same distance and neglect that allow these conditions to persist.

    We believe that is exactly why it is important to come. Showing up matters. Being present in this neighbourhood matters. Urinetown asks us to look at who we ignore, who we punish, and who we choose to care about—and invites audiences to step into a space that deserves attention, investment, and humanity.

    Coming to this neighbourhood—choosing to be present, to witness, to engage—is not something to be afraid of. It’s something that matters. Urinetown asks us who we ignore, who we punish, and who we decide is worth showing up for. In this case, the question doesn’t end when the curtain comes down.

    Q. Will the audience recognize any of the play’s musical numbers? 

    Even if audiences don’t know the specific musical numbers themselves, they will absolutely recognize what those songs are paying homage to. Urinetown is filled with stylistic tributes to iconic musicals—there are clear nods to Fiddler on the Roof and West Side Story, as well as The Fantasticks, among others. The familiarity isn’t about recognizing a tune, but about recognizing the style, which makes the jokes land and the storytelling even richer for theatre-literate audiences—while still being fun and accessible for everyone else.

    Q. What challenges have you encountered bringing this play to the Palace Theatre stage? 

    The journey to bringing Urinetown to the Palace Theatre has been both unexpected and incredibly rewarding. London Community Players originally had a different production planned for this slot, but when royalties became unavailable, we had to pivot quickly. That shift led me to reach out to a talented artist I knew from other shows, and I was thrilled when she agreed to join us on the David Long Stage.

    Choosing Urinetown turned out to be an inspired fit. There is a deep pool of artists in London who have been eager for the chance to tackle this show, and the auditions reflected that excitement. We welcomed many new performers into the room, which always brings fresh energy to a production. Rehearsals have been collaborative, joyful, and full of discovery.

    As with any show, the real problem-solving began once we moved onto the stage. Urinetown asks us to create several locations within a single city, and the David Long Stage offers limited wing space. Rather than seeing that as a limitation, our team embraced it as a creative opportunity—finding smart, imaginative ways to build a complete world that could live in one place. As a first-time set designer, after taking a course in Stratford last summer, I’ve been supported by an incredible crew. I’m learning that a set is never truly finished; it simply reaches the moment where it’s ready to welcome an audience.

    (Pictured: Leah Exley, Christine Varga, Luba Skyba, Nicholas McConnell, Amelia Armstrong, Matt deKort – Urine Good Company Employees. Photo Credit: Ross Davidson.)

    Q. Your marketing/social media campaign for Urinetown has been nothing short of brilliant. Could you give a shout-out to those individuals responsible for it?

    Thank you! We really appreciate your kind words and that you’ve been following our campaign.

    The “Pets of Urinetown” came about naturally because so many of our cast members have pets. Sharing stories and photos of their furry friends was a fun, comfortable way for the cast to connect—and I thought it would be a gentle, playful way to spark interest in the show.

    (Pictured: Pets of Urinetown poster.)

    The poster campaign, on the other hand, was entirely the brainchild of the brilliant Henry Truong, who also plays Bobby Strong, our hero. Henry came up with the imagery, collaborated with others to bring the visuals to life, and even wrote all the copy. It was a truly inspired creative effort.

    Urinetown gives so many ways to engage with the material, from the music to the story to the little touches we’ve created for social media. I think that’s why people who love this show really, really love it—and our team’s creativity has made sharing that love so much fun.

    Q. Is there anything else you think our readers should know about LCP’s production of Urinetown? 

    One thing to know: it’s not here long! Urinetown runs for just eight performances, from Thursday, February 19th through Sunday, March 1st. Both Sunday shows are matinees, and the second Saturday also offers a matinee to give those who might feel less comfortable in the area another chance to attend. That Saturday matinee will also be adjudicated for the WODL festival, with a public adjudication immediately following the performance for anyone who wants to stay and watch.

    For peace of mind, LCP provides security at all of our productions, with patrolled entrances and monitored parking. And as a bonus, parking behind the theatre is now free at all times.

    Don’t miss it—once it’s gone, it’s gone!

    (Laura Williams as Penelope Pennywise and Matt deKort as Old Man Strong. Photo Credit: Ross Davidson.)

    CREATIVE TEAM

    Producer – Ceris Thomas

    Director – Sydney Brockway

    Stage Manager – Amanda Marshall

    Musical Director – Steven Morley

    Lighting Designer – Indrani Mahadeo

    Sound Designer – Quinton Esquega

    Costume Designer – Tannis Daoust

    Costume Assistant – Chaaya Vy

    Costume Assistant – Chloe Scripnick

    Sound Operator – Doug Deschenes

    Lighting Operator – Jenny Katkov

    Assistant Stage Manager – Larissa Bartlett

    Assistant Stage Manager – Jess Bohan

    CAST

    Kate Sepi – Officer Lockstock

    Luke Bainbridge – Officer Barrel

    Rae Ryder – Little Sally

    Henry Truong – Bobby Strong

    Jesslyn Hodgson – Hope

    Laura Williams – Pennywise

    Sean Brennan – Cladwell

    Ryan Starkweather – Fipp

    David Lu – McQueen

    Cassandra “Cass” Allen – Mrs. M/Boy Cop #1

    Skyler Gallagher – Dr. B/Cop

    Jade Rogers – Secretary/Cop

    Nicholas McConnell – Hotblades Harry/Boy Cop #3

    Antonia Sidiropoulos – Little Becky Two Shoes/Cop

    Matt deKort – Old Man Strong/Ensemble

    Allison Gold – Josephine “Ma” Strong/Cop

    Jennifer Groulx – Tiny Tom/Boy Cop #2

    Christine Varga – Soupy Sue/Cop

    Dustin Freeman – Robbie the Stockfish/Cop

    Luba Skyba – Billy Boy Bill/Cop

    Charlotte “Charlie” Camrass – Rebel Poor/Girl Cop #1

    Amelia Armstrong – Ensemble

    Leah Exley – Ensemble

    IF YOU GO:

    What: London Community Players present Urinetown: The Musical

    When: February 19 to March 1, 2026

    Where: David Long Stage, Palace Theatre, 710 Dundas St., London, ON

    Tickets: Adults: $38,  Students/Seniors (55+): $36, Youth (under 18): $23, Preview: $28 (fees included). https://mytickets.palacetheatre.ca/eventperformances.asp?evt=514

    To learn more about Urinetown: The Musical and the Palace Theatre, visit https://palacetheatre.ca/

    Follow the Place Theatre on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/atthepalacetheatre and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/atthepalace/

    Q&A Interview with Ceris Thomas conducted by Richard Young

    Help! I don’t know what to write about the London Symphonia Concert on February 14th

    by Richard Young

    Previewed by Daina Janitis

    My first problem is the fabulous team that works for, loves, and supports London Symphonia. Look at their website – https://www.londonsymphonia.ca/event/love-and-romance-denise-pelley, where you’ll find everything you wanted to know – and more – about the creator of the program and the soloists.

    And then it’s Black History Month, and here we are in Canada creating a musical program featuring two black soloists. Haven’t we heard that our more powerful neighbour has done away with DEI – and isn’t it embarrassing that we still toe the line for that acronym? And is it pointless virtue signalling that seems to praise London for being aware of our People of Colour?

    (Pictured: London vocalist Denise Pelley.)

    And, finally, am I being condescending to point out the achievements of our program originator and soloists as though Londoners needed educating about them? We know about Scott Good’s composing career, we know about Denise Pelley’s medals and her opening for Aretha Franklin, and her YM-YWCA Woman of Distinction award. If we’ve been to Stratford in the last 16 years, we know that Roy Lewis is a 16-year veteran of the Festival stage.

    But here’s the thing, and it’s raw right now. I admit to everyone that I have too much time, doubt and fear on my hands right now to ignore the horrors of authoritarianism, ignorance, and greed that are happening in our neighbourhood. At 80, I’m not going to run for office, but I want to reveal that London’s live art music scene has been my harbour of hope.

    Sitting in those Met pews – no cushion, I get the cheaper seats – and watching the faces of our Symphonia musicians and their featured guests renews hope. The evidence of their work and commitment, and the joy they show in bringing them to us in live performance, is something that no recording can do. I multiply the effect by chatting to strangers beside me, to students at the reception (who can attend for FREE, for God’s sake) and hugging the performers afterwards (very few have pushed me off). Those are gifts I never expected to receive in life.

    Because we are in the presence of souls who have battled racism and every kind of insidious discrimination, have given up lucrative jobs for their art, and have honed their talents to the utmost just for US. Bearing witness to their courage as well as their art makes US better!

    (Conductor Scott Good and guest artist Denise Pelley share their insights into the upcoming February 14th performance.)

    Do you know that Denise Pelley has inspired young people in Junior Achievement for 19 years, has performed at the Grand in musicals, and has travelled to Sudan twelve times to establish a music and arts camp for 400 kids? Did you know that her son, Jason Edmonds, was killed in a road rage accident, and she created a Foundation to tell young people about that rage as one of the many dangers facing them?

    Did you know that Roy Lewis is from the UK, came to Canada, and founded the Obsidian Theatre  (focusing on Black Canadian stories) – as well as painting, sculpting, teaching Elizabethan Literature at several universities, and co-founding “Shakespeare in the Rough”? His poetry tackles the death of love, the struggle for understanding, and redemption in the face of grief.

    (Pictured: Roy Lewis, Poet and Narrator)

    Conductor Scott Good is not Black, but he’s a genius of music with a soul that encompasses the rhythms, aspirations, and hopes of all humanity. I can only hope that London hears more of his oratorios, symphonies, jazz masterpieces and chamber music. He is a creator of music and of bridges that support our shared humanity.

    Being in the very presence of artists like this is a privilege and a healing.

    (Pictured: London Symphonia Conductor, Scott Good.)

    I can only ask you to read, before you attend the concert, the words of an American poet, Joseph Fasano, whose word-compositions are as powerful as the music of our London performers this weekend:

    (Pictured: American poet and novelist, Joseph Fasano.)

    “How does Authoritarianism happen? It starts slowly, in slogans and small acts. It starts in the eroding of decency and empathy.

     It starts with a “Leader” undermining faith in any “Truth,” the deliberate disorientation of the citizen’s mind.

    And then? It stirs in the heart of the common man, whose world has become too complex for him. He looks around and finds a world that is frightful, complicated, new. He sees his falling bank account. He loses his job. New media bombards him with changes he cannot understand. He despairs. He is filled with an unnameable terror.

    When he can take the fear no longer, he abandons his reason. He hands his mind over to a Leader—a Fü*rer, a Chairman, a Figure He Never Had—who promises to simplify his thoughts, his feelings, his life; to tell him the one, concocted, state-sponsored Truth he wants to hear. And that Leader will do exactly that.

    Authoritarianism, therefore, thrives on the one-sided mind: the individual, and ultimately the group, that has become alienated from, or has repressed, a part of itself, usually in an attempt to avoid feeling what it is terrified to feel. The one-sided person seeks to control the ways in which others express themselves, and he does so for precisely this reason: he unconsciously envies those who can feel what he cannot feel.

    Authoritarianism always begins with a reductive philosophy that despises empathy, that views tenderness as a weakness, that seeks to police how others love. Dostoevsky once wrote that hell is nothing other than the state of being unable to love. Authoritarianism is nothing but the small mind’s fear of the myriad beauties of this world. Even as its rulers acquire material wealth, they wish to deprive the world of the spiritual riches they cannot have.

    Thus, as a movement, the ultimate unconscious wish of Authoritarianism is always destruction, self-destruction, s*icide. It longs for stillness, not growth; its nationalistic fervor is a not-so-hidden desire to be alienated, to sever its bonds with other nations and peoples. It ends as H*tler did in Berlin: alone, isolated, taking everyone with it into the dark.

    It is predicated, always, on a false nostalgia: a longing for an ideal, imagined past. Its slogans are vague enough to inflame the fantasies of the one-sided mind be great again, blame others, your life is hard because of Someone Else. Most catastrophically, then, the one-sided mind projects its repressed half (its shadow or its tenderness, its darkness or its heart) into this Other, and seeks to oppress it, then ultimately to destroy it. Genocide, tyranny, oppression: these are acts of the fractured, one-sided mind, afraid of encountering and experiencing the other side, the other opinion, the Great Other, in whose presence it would be challenged to face the whole of what it means to be human.

    Art, mystery, poetry, education: these things reconnect us to our wholeness, to the varied voices within us. When we act from that grace, that state of openness, of listening, of synthesis and integration, we practice the lost arts, the arts that all power structures inherently desire to devalue and repress empathy, compassion, creativity, love.

    Where is the wise way between societal extremes? Where is the movement that supports the worker, the common citizen, without stoking his deepest fears and using them to divide society and conquer it? Where is the form of government that wishes for its citizen to be whole?

    A fractured, one-sided mind is a mind that can be controlled, sold reductive narratives, induced to want and to purchase any artificial fulfillment. A whole mind, even a mind that strives for impossible wholeness, is free. And that is why real, radical wholeness is a threat to the status quo, to tyranny, to propaganda.

    As is art. As is grace. As is empathy. And that is why love, radical love, common love, even in the darkness between two bodies, is a revolution that can bring kings to their knees.”

    — Joseph Fasano

    IF YOU GO:

    What: London Symphonia presents Love and Romance with Denise Pelley.

    When: Saturday, February 14, at 7:30pm.

    Where: Metropolitan United Church, 468 Wellington Street, London, ON.

    Tickets: Online at https://ci.ovationtix.com/36746/production/1248187?performanceId=11679476

    For more information about this concert and London Symphonia, visit https://www.londonsymphonia.ca/

    Follow London Symphonia on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/londonsymphonia and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/london_symphonia/

    Here’s a recent Facebook post about the concert by conductor Scott Good, shared with his permission:

    “Dear friends,

    On February 14 at 7:30 PM at Metropolitan United (London, ON), I’ll be joined by my colleagues at London Symphonia, R&B/Jazz vocalist Denise Pelley, and poet/actor Roy Lewis to present Love and Romance.

    Yes — it’s Valentine’s Day, and we are going deep!

    The seed for this concert was planted almost two years ago when I noticed Valentine’s Day landing on a Saturday evening. As a concert designer, I love an occasion — a focal point that shapes an evening’s arc. Valentine’s Day is ideal: music across all styles is saturated with romantic passion, longing, joy, and vulnerability. It’s an excuse for genres to mix and make sense together, and for audiences to encounter both the familiar and the unexpected. I like to think of occasion concerts as community-oriented — something many can enjoy.

    I knew early on the program had to include Mahler’s Adagietto from his Fifth Symphony. I remember the first time I heard it; I’ve never known a piece of music to evoke the sensation of a loving, gentle touch quite like it. Later, I learned it was written as a love letter to his wife. It had to be here.

    Around that time, I had recently worked with Denise at the Forest City London Music Awards, where we presented Stevie Wonder’s You and I. It went beautifully. Denise brings such generosity and depth to performance, and the song – with its tender, yet vulnerable lyric – aligns perfectly with this theme. The following year we returned with You Don’t Know Me, this time with horns, strings, and rhythm section. That collaboration allowed me to shape the orchestration around her expressive vocal language, and it became clear we had the beginnings of something larger.

    Roy’s role in guiding the evening through poetry and poetic prose became unexpectedly profound. After a remarkable performance with Symphonia last year, he joined us with poems written specifically for Valentine’s Day — fourteen of them. As I read through his work, I realized something deeper was at play: these poems weren’t only about love found, but love lost. With great love comes great grief, and the concert gradually reshaped itself around that truth.

    Nine of Roy’s poems ultimately frame the program, each leading into a song or instrumental work — the pain of Cupid’s arrows illustrated by Ellington’s Good Morning Heartache, a thrilling glance explored in Bacharach’s The Look of Love, the electricity of being with the one you adore caressed by Carmichael’s The Nearness of You. Instrumental moments include Ravel’s sensuously flirty “Pantomime” from Daphnis et Chloé, featuring Laura Chambers on flute, and the king of romance, Barry White’s orchestral hit Love’s Theme.

    As the concert turns toward loss and reflection, we arrive at Autumn Leaves, performed without rhythm section, just orchestra and voice – followed by an up-tempo moment of melancholy in an orchestral rendering of Radiohead’s Weird Fishes I created for the concert, a song that aptly describes, through driving rhythm, evocative chords, and a spacious yet unrelenting melody, a feeling of loss and the difficulty of moving on.

    We close with Here’s to Life, in the Shirley Horn arrangement — a true bucket-list piece for Denise, and the perfect sentiment to end the evening:

    “May all your storms be weathered.

    And all that’s good gets better.

    Here’s to life, here’s to love, here’s to you.”

    With solos from Nevin Campbell, Joe Phillips, Rob Stone, and Shawn Spicer, and an orchestra navigating classical lyricism, jazz harmony, and blues grit, + original arrangements alongside renditions made classic by Ella Fitzgerald, Dianna Krall, and Matt Monro, this promises to be a rich, emotionally charged night of music. Join us if you can!”

    Previewed by Daina Janitis