Category Archives: Personal ruminations & essays

CBD, part the first

A loving family member cajoled me to try something new today. My chief pain management strategy for dealing with my arthritic symptoms could be summed up (before tonight) with the following quote: “Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. It’s … Continue reading

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Finding Dory and the symbolists

These days I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by emotions. I’ve had a death in the family (not a tragedy, when someone lives to a ripe old age, but still, it has stirred up a lot of feelings for me … Continue reading

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Rite of Survival: a cheap drunk’s view

Let me first explain myself, why I’d admit (or even boast) that I’m a cheap drunk. Anyone wanting to cut to the part about the beer and avoid the theoretical talk, please skip down to the pictures. Our culture associates … Continue reading

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The Walrus Talks: Spirituality or ymmv

A friend took me to Walrus Talks tonight. Evidently the magazine organizes these colloquia to investigate a topic such as tonight’s theme, spirituality. It seemed apt that we were at Trinity-St Paul’s, a space I think of as much for … Continue reading

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April Fundraising Concert

From Vasilisa Atanackovic: ******* I am having a fundraising concert on Saturday, April 2 to raise money for my performance journeys in Italy through to New York. I have been given the lead roles in two musical productions in Sicily this summer with … Continue reading

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Gábor Maté: When the Body Says No

Dr Gábor Maté keeps turning up in my life. I just published a review of betroffenheit, a hybrid dance-theatre piece at CanStage, a co-production of Kidd Pivot and Electric Company Theatre, and there at the end I mentioned a PTSD … Continue reading

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Ephemerality seeks eternity

It’s early morning: after having seen a workshop of The Harvester last night before seeing Joel Ivany’s take on the Mozart Requiem with the Toronto Symphony tonight I just re-read what I wrote about the workshop last April to which … Continue reading

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Goldhamer’s Schubert: where the music is

Where do you look during a concert? One can look out the window, as i often do when given the opportunity.  I love the glass at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, or the glorious view at the Conservatory Theatre (seen below) … Continue reading

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Labadie returns with TSO – Mozart @260

Conductor Bernard Labadie returned to the podium tonight for the first time since sickness stopped him for a year and a half of convalescence, to lead the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall as part of the Mozart @ … Continue reading

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Amy’s Requiem, in the season of mourning

Ahead? the return of Bernard Labadie, who was sick and is getting better. Saturday he’ll conduct the first of the Mozart @ 260 concerts with the TSO, next week conducting their adventurous staging of the Mozart Requiem. Behind? A week … Continue reading

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