Tag Archives: UTS

Cathartic tears on November 11th

Posted on November 12, 2025 by barczablog

With every Remembrance Day, I wonder how best to respond to the implications of November 11th, a day when we are encouraged to honour those who gave their lives in wars, in service to the nation. I went to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Scarborough Philharmonic Voyages

Posted on October 4, 2025 by barczablog

For a little while I was able to go far away from the world, as Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra helped me & the enthusiastic audience escape at their Friday October 3rd season opener, a concert titled “Voyages”. Escapism works for me, … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Interviewing Ronald Royer, composer and artistic director of Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra

Posted on March 6, 2025 by barczablog

My interest in Ronald Royer is complex. Ron was a teacher at my school, although I was only dimly aware of that because Ron arrived at the school long after I left. I encountered Ron as Artistic Director of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Poet and Peasant: a picture and an overture

Posted on August 25, 2024 by barczablog

In 1967 Joseph Budai was working on a renovation of a Chinese restaurant in Peterborough. An old lithograph picture was left inside the walls that he was renovating. At the time it was still inside an old ornate frame that … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Music and musicology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Thinking of Diefenbaker for Canada Day

Posted on July 1, 2022 by barczablog

A good performance can change how you understand a piece. I stumbled upon a YouTube recording that I keep listening to over and over, a piece I thought I knew. There are two contrasting tenor arias in Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Opera, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Neighbourhood impacts

Posted on September 14, 2020 by barczablog

I was looking in the Canadian Opera Company’s latest publication, a shiny offering that arrived in the mail less than an hour ago, with the title “Audience Impact Report.” Speaking of impacts the mailing included the obligatory return envelope & … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture, University life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Civil Rites

Posted on November 12, 2013 by barczablog

It’s quite a bargain, this deal we’ve struck.  Any social contract is a trade-off, giving something to get something.  Nobody ever thinks about it, this amazing exchange, because it’s almost totally invisible, unless someone shines light on it, as they … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment