Events

Sensorium Winter Lunchtime Seminar Series Featuring Professor Brandon Vickerd 

Wednesday, February 12th

11:30-12:30pm

The Sensorium Research Loft (4th Floor CFA, Room M333)

Please join us Wednesday, February 12th for our next Winter Lunchtime Seminar Series featuring Professor Brandon Vickerd!

About Brandon Vickerd

The Accolade Trio is comprised of York Music Professors Patricia Wait and Mark Chambers and Elizabeth Acker.

Admission is free.  Maps & Directions

ACCOLADE TRIO

Patricia Wait, clarinet
Patricia Wait is a clarinetist with extensive performance credits as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician. She has appeared with many leading Canadian artists and ensembles, including pianist Anton Kuerti and clarinetist James Campbell; the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Prague String Quartet and Purcell String Quartet; and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. She is also an active clinician and adjudicator.

Mark Chambers, cello
Mark Chambers is a conductor, cellist and early music specialist who has performed extensively in the US and Ontario as both a chamber musician and orchestral player. His research interests include Baroque music, period instrument performance practice, the ‘Tartini tone’, and scordatura, altered tunings for strings. He has authored several articles for the American String Teachers Journal and is a contributor to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. He teaches cello and viola da gamba and conducts the York University Symphony Orchestra.

Elizabeth Acker, piano
Elizabeth studied piano, harpsichord and jazz at York University and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She continued her piano studies with Slavka Dimitroff and James Anagnason and is comfortable playing classical, musical theatre, jazz and contemporary music. Elizabeth has been teaching in Toronto for over 30 years and has earned a superb reputation as an accompanist, chamber musician and coach, teacher and adjudicator. Elizabeth plays for the Niagara Symphony, VOCA Chorus of Toronto, various chamber groups and is a busy accompanist at York University, University of Toronto and the RCM in Toronto. In the summer, she plays chamber music at ‘Heaven’ in N.Y. State and is a coach at the Vermont Music and Arts Centre.

INTERCUT 2020: Staged Readings of Original Screenplays

An evening of staged readings of original screenplays by AMPD’s very own!

Undergraduates and graduate students in the Department of Cinema & Media Arts’ (cut production, only ) Screenwriting programs were invited to submit short screenplays or fully realized scenes. Selected scripts were chosen for revision with story editors and workshopping with actors from the Department of Theatre.

In a spirit of feedback and dialogue, the results will be presented in this live performance of short scripts and scenes. The readings will be followed by a Q & A with the screenwriters.

Intercut is open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Admission is free. All welcome.

Presented by Winters College in collaboration with the Department of Cinema & Media Arts and Department of Theatre in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design.

Canada’s most comprehensive theatre program is coming to you!

Don’t miss this rare opportunity for an out-of-province audition with our faculty.

To audition you must first apply to York University. Admission to the program is based both on academic performance and artistic merit. Academic admissibility is assessed by York University, while artistic merit is evaluated by the Department of Theatre. Therefore, the application to the Theatre program is a two-step process.

Step 1: Apply to York University

It’s not too late to apply! You can apply through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) or York University’s Application.

Do you have concerns about your eligibility?  Check out our Academic Requirements and select your academic history.

Step 2: Audition in Vancouver

Once you have applied to the program you will receive an email that will include your reference ID and directions for completing the Audition/Evaluation and Questionnaire. This email will be sent approximately 5-10 business days after you submit your application. If you are applying to more than one AMPD program, you must complete a separate Audition/Interview/Portfolio Review for each one.

The questionnaire, letter of recommendation and audition are intended to help us learn about your academic and artistic background, interests and goals as they relate to our Theatre program.

A $60 CAD evaluation fee is required to submit your questionnaire, then you will be able to book your audition.  The location details for our Vancouver audition will be made available in the drop-down menu on our booking page after you have paid your evaluation fee.

What to prepare:

i. Presentation

Our application process is designed to help us get to know you. What you choose to perform or present should reflect your interests, but does not imply that you will be limited to that area if you are accepted to the Department of Theatre. During our first year, all students experience foundation training in all areas of the program.

For the purposes of this evaluation, we prefer people to perform or present memorized or prepared material, rather than reading from a script or improvising. Please be prepared to receive redirection; it is our way of seeing if you can play. Please prepare no more than 3 minutes of material.

Applicants should come prepared to perform one of the following:

1. a contemporary monologue – use only published plays – read the play and know the story, don’t use monologue books! (you may be asked questions about your character)
2. a piece of your own dramatic writing
3. a song (no accompanist) (some examples could be original, traditional, cover, standard, rap)
4. a poem (some examples could be original, spoken word, slam, ASL)
5. a comedy routine
6. a dance piece (some examples could be street dance, traditional/folk dance, improvisational dance)
7. a performance that does not use text (some examples could be puppets, installation, juggling)

OR

Make an oral presentation about one of the following:

1. your experience directing or dramaturging a play in production or a play in development
2. your experience in teaching theatre (acting, movement, improvisation)
3. your involvement in a community event or project
4. your experience in one of the following: producing, stage managing or building costumes, lights, sets, props for a performance piece
5. a design portfolio showcasing your original design work in costumes, sets, lighting or props (some examples could be drawings, photographs, painting)
6. an organized documentation of your own art or craft work (drawings, photographs, costumes, props, sets, paintings, furniture, metalwork)
7. a critique of a performance or play or artistic installation that you have seen

ii. Personal Interview

Your 5 minute personal interview gives us the opportunity to find out more about you, your interests and expectations, as well as to answer any questions you may have for us. Be prepared to talk about your presentation. We suggest that you write down any specific questions, considerations and/or thoughts you may have about our program ahead of time.

iii. Writing Exercise

You’ll be asked one question about plays you’ve seen recently. This gives you the opportunity to express your own ideas about theatre, as well as to demonstrate your writing abilities.

If possible, try to see several different shows from a variety of companies before your evaluation so you have something to write about! You may also see one of our plays in the Theatre @ York season before you come.

If you find you’re unable to attend this audition, we also accept submissions online.  For more information about how to submit online, please visit our How To Apply page under “Step 2”.

Thank you for your interest in our Theatre program! We look forward to meeting you.

Nat Taylor Tuesdays presents Gulistan, Land of Roses

Zaynê Akyol’s award-winning documentary Gulistan, Land of Roses, about women guerillas in a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Free Women’s Unit, in combat against the Islamic State of Levant.

Please join us for this free screening.

Tuesday, February 25, 2020 | 12:45 – 2:30 PM
Nat Taylor Cinema (N102 Ross Building), York University
FREE + open to the public!

DAVE DOUGLAS : 2020 OSCAR PETERSON JAZZ ARTIST- IN-RESIDENCE

Award winning trumpeter and composer, Dave Douglas, is the Department of Music’s 2020 Oscar Peterson Jazz Artist-in-Residence. During his residency, he will deliver masterclasses for instrumentalists as well as coach small jazz ensembles.

This jam session offers a unique opportunity to hear Douglas in performance with faculty members in the Department of Music’s jazz program. Admission is free.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
DAVE DOUGLAS 
Dave Douglas is a prolific trumpeter, composer, educator and entrepreneur from New York City known for the stylistic breadth of his work and for keeping a diverse set of ensembles and projects active simultaneously.

His unique contributions to improvised music have garnered distinguished recognition, including a Doris Duke Artist Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Aaron Copland award, and two Grammy Award nominations. Douglas’ career spans more than 50 unique original recordings as a leader and more than 500 published works. His current ensembles include: Dave Douglas Quintet; Sound Prints, a quintet co-led with saxophonist Joe Lovano; UPLIFT, a sextet including bassist Bill Laswell; Present Joys, a longstanding duo with pianist Uri Caine which recently added Andrew Cyrille as third member for a 2019 recording; High Risk, an electronic ensemble with Shigeto, Jonathan Maron, and Ian Chang; and the latest project, ENGAGE, a sextet with Jeff Parker, Tomeka Reid, Anna Webber, Nick Dunston, and Kate Gentile. Douglas is often engaged in special projects which include big bands, tributes, and multi-trumpet ensembles, such as Dizzy Atmosphere.

As a composer, Douglas has received commissions from a variety of organizations including the Trisha Brown Dance Company, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Essen Philharmonie, The Library of Congress, Stanford University and most recently, Monash Art Ensemble, which premiered his chamber orchestra piece Fabliaux in March 2014. He is currently completing a new work for the chamber orchestra Alarm Will Sound, which will premiere in May 2019.

Douglas has held several posts as an educator and programmer. From 2002 to 2012, he served as artistic director of the Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at the Banff Centre in Canada. He is a co-founder and president of the Festival of New Trumpet Music, which celebrated its fifteenth anniversary in 2017. He is currently on the faculty at the Mannes School of Music and is a Guest Coach for the Juilliard Jazz Composer’s Ensemble. In 2016, he accepted a three-year appointment as the Artistic Director of the Bergamo Jazz Festival.

In 2005 Douglas founded Greenleaf Music, an umbrella company for his recordings, sheet music, podcast, as well as the music of other artists in the modern jazz idiom. Greenleaf Music has produced over 70 releases and will be celebrating its fifteenth anniversary in 2020.

“Dave Douglas is the unassuming king of independent jazz, a model of do-it-yourself moxie, initiative and artistic freedom.”
– Frank Alkyer, Publisher, Down Beat

The Music at Midday series presents a recital featuring student soloists in the classical performance program.

Admission is free. Everyone welcome.

Maps & Directions

Nat Taylor Tuesdays and York@50 presents Festival of (In)appropriation

Professor Jaimie Baron, U of Alberta, presents the Festival of (In)appropriation – cutting-edge, experimental, found-media film and video.

Please join us for this free screening.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020 | 12:45 – 2:30 PM
Nat Taylor Cinema (N102 Ross Building), York University
FREE + open to the public!

The Department of Visual Art & Art History presents Coalition, an open house exhibition featuring hundreds of works in print media, drawing, painting, photography and sculpture created by the rising young talent in the department.

Admission is free and all are welcome | Map and Directions 

Location: Gales Gallery
Time: 5:00-8:30pm
105 Accolade West Building, York University

York University music students showcase their talent.

Free admission. Everyone welcome.

Maps & Directions 

An evening of improvisation in a participatory “open mic” set-up, hosted by the improve studios of Brian Katz.

Performers and observers welcome.

Admission is free.