An Evening with the Toronto Concert Orchestra

As a lover of the arts and talent in general, there was a specific love I had for the performers in this late afternoon seduction. Performing at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, the the Toronto Concert Orchestra romanced and invigorated me with Tchaikovsky, Symphony No 4. The playing was eloquent and reserved when necessary, but the pieces required subtlety and thunder in a moments change. I do not have a collection of the Russian romancer, but after this I think I will imbibe in Toronto’s version. The players were flawless and Kerry Stratton was charming – thank you Kerry for teaching us about the various movements in the piece before hand – it lent to a greater appreciation.

I love arts, I also love food. Tchaikovsky was sandwiched by two extraordinary talents, composer Kevin Lau (pictured above with myself), and pianist Lan Ning Liu. If this were a meal, I would have been introduced to a seductive appetizer, primed for dinner with Lau’s composition ‘Sea of Blossoms’ – (from the brochure) inspired by a haiku poem the first line of which reads ‘Blossoms on the waves…’. Just as Kevin described before the piece when on stage, it took the audience through rolling and crashing waves of harmonic and natural transcendence, lifting us as the strings vibrated and bringing life through the breathing of the chorus. Look for more beautiful work from this young man.

Then the dessert. Piano Concerto No 1, performed by Lang Ning Liu, hailed recently in the New York Times as ‘a sensitive, extremely compelling artist’, praised for her ‘elegant pianism, warmth, and artistic maturity’. She studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, debuting with the orchestra at age 10, and holds a Masters from the esteemed Juilliard School in New York. There are many other accomplishments and roles, including as Youth Ambassador for the Chinese Culture Centre of Greater Toronto. I only want to say that her performance was lovely. Previous write-ups express already her talent and ability to inspire – leaving me little left to praise her. I simply recommend that you attend and enjoy for yourself.

Special mentions go to Lance Elbeck (Concertmaster), Gisela Depkat on Cello, and the guy with the cymbals who almost knocked me out of my seat from the back of the orchestra section.

Kerry Stratton can be heard on Sundays at 3pm on FM 96.3 in Toronto.

For more information visit www.torontoconcertorchestra.com