Events
Jazz bassist, composer and arranger, Al Henderson, 
leads an ensemble of colleagues and friends in a signature performance. The show is part of the Department of Music’s Faculty Spotlight Series, taking place in the Martin Family Lounge at York’s Keele campus.
Joining Henderson onstage are York instructors Richard Whiteman (piano) and Barry Romberg (drums) and guest artists Alex Dean (saxophones) and Pat LaBarbera (saxophones). The concert will feature a selection of Henderson’s original compositions and arrangements.
Henderson has been a seminal force on the Canadian jazz scene for more than 30 years. He has earned critical acclaim and legions of fans as leader of his own bands – the Al Henderson Septet, Quintet and Quartet – and co-founder and co-leader of the groundbreaking group, Time Warp. He has also performed as sideman with many leading jazz artists including Diana Krall, Jane Bunnett, Arnett Cobb, Hank Crawford, Slim Gaillard, Jimmy Knepper and Flip Phillips.
As a composer, Henderson has created a large and distinctive repertoire of original works. More than 60 of his compositions have been recorded by his bands as well as other eminent artists such as Don Pullen, Jane Bunnett, Shox Johnson & the Jive Bombers, Alex Dean and Richard Whiteman. His accolades include the Jazz Report’s Composer of the Year designation and the prestigious SOCAN Award for Original Jazz Composition.“… Al Henderson is the real thing, a composer in the tradition of Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, whose works have distinctive energy and melodic and harmonic character,” said jazz writer Stuart Broomer (Toronto Life).
Admission: Free
The Music at Midday series presents a recital featuring student soloists in the classical performance program.
Admission is free. Everyone welcome.
DRUM CLINIC with JOHN RILEY
Sponsored by the Oscar Peterson Fund
JOHN RILEY
John began playing drums at age eight, after receiving a snare drum as a gift. With the support, encouragement and patience of his parents, John and Mary Ann, he played in the school band and began drum lessons with a good local teacher, Tom Sicola. While under Tom’s guidance, he gained control of the snare drum through work on the rudiments and reading. Eventually, he acquired a complete drumset and lessons expanded to include “beats of the day,” coordination and reading studies for the drumset. At age twelve, John began playing in rock bands and heard his first jazz recordings, the soundtrack to The Gene Krupa Story and Max Roach’s Conversation. Two years later, he played his first “professional” gig, which he obtained through an audition played over the telephone. John began studying with Joe Morello in 1971, after meeting him at a drum symposium. John went on to attend the University of North Texas, where he was introduced to a larger world of music and percussion. While at UNT, he played in, toured, and recorded with the famed One O’clock Lab Band. In 1976, he moved to New York City and was soon called to join the Woody Herman Band. Following that great experience, John returned to New York and began freelancing with a wide spectrum of world class musicians including Stan Getz, Milt Jackson, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, John Scofield, Bob Mintzer, Gary Peacock, Mike Stern, Joe Lovano, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, John Patitucci, Bob Berg, and many others.
John has a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz education from the University of North Texas and a Master of Music in jazz studies from Manhattan School of Music. He is on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music, and Kutztown University, and is an Artist in Residence at Amsterdam Conservatory, Holland. John is also the author of The Art of Bop Drumming, Beyond Bop Drumming, The Jazz Drummer’s Workshop, The Master Drummer DVD, and has taught master classes around the world.
Free Admission.
Faculty Concert Series: Leaving Kansas Compositions by Dorothy de Val
Faculty member, pianist and musicologist Dorothy de Val reflects on her twenty years at York with a lighthearted program of original songs and instrumental music.
Dorothy de Val, piano
Paula Arciniega, mezzo soprano
Susanna McCleary, soprano
Anne Lederman, fiddle
Kye Marshall, cello
Patricia Wait, clarinet
Barbara Ackerman, flute
Dorothy de Val is a musicologist and pianist whose research interests include Scots Gaelic song, the first English folksong revival, pianos and pianism, and Haydn reception in England. Particular research interests include early 20th-century collectors and arrangers of folksong, particularly Broadwood and Grainger, and collectors of Gaelic song (Tolmie, Broadwood, Murray and Kennedy-Fraser).
Dr. de Val is the author of In Search of Song: The Life and Times of Lucy Broadwood, published by Ashgate in July 2011. She is a contributor to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and many music reference works including The Haydn Companion, and is a regular reviewer for the journal Music and Letters. With Patricia Debly of Brock University she organized a conference on Haydn in 2009, sponsored by York University, SSHRC and The Wirth Institute. She is also a member of the North American British Music Studies Association, whose conference she organized at York in 2008.
Professor de Val’s research extends into the field of dance, focusing on English social dance and Morris dance (especially Mary Neal and the Esperance Club). She co-organized a conference at York on English country dance in the summer of 2010, and performs regularly as pianist for English country dances with her group, Playford’s Pleasure, with a focus on the life and times of Jane Austen. Her most recent project involves performing music from Jane Austen’s own collection, featuring composers such as Pleyel, Sterkel, Storace and Kotzwara.
Dr. de Val has taught at the Royal Academy of Music (London), Oxford Brookes University and the University of Oxford, and served as assistant curator of musical instruments at the Royal College of Music (London). She joined York University’s Department of Music in 1999 and served as Associate Dean in the Faculty of Fine Arts from 2004 to 2007, and as Graduate Program Director in Dance from 2009 to 2011.
Admission: Free
The York University Chamber Choir
Master’s Recital
Craig Garnham, guest conductor
Edward Moroney, piano
The choir will be performing works by Palestrina, Schütz, Monteverdi, Mendelssohn and Britten.
Ticket Admission:$15 adults | $10 students & seniors
Box Office: Purchase tickets online or call 416-736-5888
ENSEMBLE JENG YI is a Korean performing arts ensemble based in Toronto. Since their formation in 1998, the group has entertained audiences with their exciting repertoire of original compositions and traditional pieces.Building upon the conventions of Korean performing arts, Ensemble Jeng Yi has created a variety of innovative productions including intimate mu
sic recitals, site-specific works, interactive performances for young audiences, and ambitious multi-disciplinary productions. Not just talented drummers, the members are also accomplished performers of the ribbon-hat dance in which each member spins a ribboned-hat called the sangmo–all while dancing and drumming.
Guest Artist
Joo Hyung Kim, Kayagum
Joo Hyung Kim is an accomplished performer of the Kayagum,the traditional Korean zither. Born in Korea, she began her traditional Korean music training at the age of six. She majored in traditional Korean music at Kyung Buk University, and completed her M.A. in traditional music at Sook Myung University. She immigrated to Canada in 2005 and has been an active performer and composer.
Admission is free.
An evening of improvisation in a participatory “open mic” set-up, hosted by the improve studios of Matt Brubeck.
Performers and observers welcome.
Admission is free.
The Music at Midday series presents a recital featuring student soloists in the classical performance program.
Admission is free. Everyone welcome.
The York University Jazz Festival, running November 18-21, showcases rising young talent directed by leading lights of the Canadian jazz scene.
Catch the next generation of outstanding jazz artists, right here on campus – and with no cover charge!
Monday, November 18
7:30 pm – Small ensembles directed by Roy Patterson, Lorne Lofsky and Mark Eisenman.
Martin Family Lounge, 219 Accolade East Building
The York University Jazz Festival, running from November 18-21, showcases rising young talent directed by leading lights of the Canadian jazz scene.
Catch the next generation of outstanding jazz artists, right here on campus – and with no cover charge!
Tuesday, November 19
7:30 pm – Small ensembles directed by Anthony Michelli, Artie Roth and Kelly Jefferson
Martin Family Lounge, 219 Accolade East Building
The York University Jazz Festival, running November 18-21, showcases rising young talent directed by leading lights of the Canadian jazz scene.
Catch the next generation of outstanding jazz artists, right here on campus – and with no cover charge!
Wednesday, November 20
7:30-10:00pm
Small ensembles directed by Kevin Turcotte, Jim Vivian and Frank Falco
The York University Jazz Festival, running November 18-21, showcases rising young talent directed by leading lights of the Canadian jazz scene.
Catch the next generation of outstanding jazz artists, right here on campus – and with no cover charge!
6:30pm: The York University Jazz Choirs directed by Mim Adams take centre stage in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall.
7:30pm: The York University Jazz Orchestra directed by Mike Cado performs an eclectic mix of jazz standards and new jazz renditions of modern pieces in the Martin Family Lounge.
The York University Concert and Chamber Choirs
Dr. Lisette Canton, Conductor
Join the York University Concert and Chamber Choirs as they perform Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio (Oratorio de Noël), Pergolesi’s Magnificat and Buxtehude’s Das neugeborne Kindelein with chamber orchestra.
Ticket Admission: $15 | $10 students & seniors.
Box Office: Purchase tickets online or call 416-736-5888
Interim Director’s David Lum and Mark Skazinetsky, conduct the York University Symphony Orchestra.
Admission: $15 | $10 for students & seniors.
Box Office: Purchase tickets online or phone
Want to study music at York?
Our Music Audition Prep Workshop is for you!
In this 90-minute session, you will:
- learn how to prepare for all the elements of our music audition: sight reading, performance and interview
- get tips on how to choose your audition pieces
- find out more about our music program and admission process
You’ll also have the opportunity to:
- chat with professors
- meet current students in the program
- enjoy live performances by our faculty members
Following the workshop, take a tour of the state-of-the-art facilities and equipment available to York music students. Check out the classrooms, studios, labs, informal study spaces and concert venues where you’ll learn, compose, conduct research, rehearse and perform as a music student at York.
Bring your questions! Friends and family are welcome.
Admission to the Music Audition Prep Workshop is free but pre-registration is required.
Reserve your spot now by emailing musicprg@yorku.ca. Please let us know how many people will be in your party.
We look forward to meeting you!