[This is the last in a series of articles by Charlotte Nediger briefly outlining the history of Tafelmusik and the roles people played in creating that history.]
When Tricia Baldwin arrived as Managing Director at Tafelmusik in 2000, she found a well-established orchestra and choir with a solid local, national and international reputation. Despite the success, balancing the books was an ongoing challenge. The heyday of significant government funding for international touring and the multi-recording contract with Sony had passed. At the same time, Tafelmusik had reached a new level of maturity as an organization, and was ready to tackle the challenge of defining a new era in its history. Under the guidance of Tricia, Board President Lynn Haight and Music Director Jeanne Lamon, new relationships were forged and old ones were strengthened and redefined.
Analekta, a dynamic young recording company based in Montreal, filled the void left by the pared-down European labels, and has produced eight Tafelmusik CDs in the last four years. CBC has continued its remarkable support of the orchestra and choir with regular radio broadcasts as well as CD recordings. A new addition to our CBC collaborations is television, specifically performances with singers Daniel Taylor and Isabel Bayrakdarian for CBC's Opening Night.
Television also lies at the heart of our recent work with Media Headquarters. The award-winning performance documentary, Le Mozart Noir: Reviving a legend, was produced by Media Headquarters in association with CBC, BBC and TV5 (France), and has been broadcast in Canada, U.S., England, France, Netherlands, Finland, Israel and Australia. We are currently in the midst of filming a second documentary with Media Headquarters: The Four Seasons Mosaic is inspired by our recent concert explorations of the fours seasons in music around the world.
Foremost amongst Tafelmusik's new initiatives are those aimed at young people. Tafelmusik's first Family Matinee was presented in 2001, and it has since become an annual feature of the Toronto season. (This season's matinee, "Handel with a Twist," takes place Saturday, April 3 at 2:00 pm.) Increased education programming includes a wide range of activities in Toronto-area schools and on tour in North America. In 2002 Tafelmusik launched its web-based Baroque Learning Centre, an introduction to baroque music for use by students around the world (and interested concertgoers!). The single most significant initiative in Tafelmusik's recent history has been the establishment of the annual Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute. For two weeks each June advanced students, pre-professional and professional musicians arrive in Toronto for two weeks of intensive study and inspiring music-making. Several alumni are already performing with the Tafelmusik Orchestra and Chamber Choir, proof of the institute's success. This year's institute is being presented in collaboration with the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto, where Tafelmusik has just been appointed Orchestra-in-Residence.
The main focus of Tafelmusik's work continues to be live performance - both on tour and here at home. In the last few years we've expanded our reach into the community with regular concerts at the George Weston Recital Hall in North York and regular appearances at the Royal Ontario Museum. From the very earliest years of Tafelmusik's history, our Toronto audiences have been the mainstay of our success and the life-force behind our music-making. Live concerts are a dialogue between the performers and the audience, and the "conversations" at Tafelmusik are never dull! Your loyalty and commitment also continues beyond the applause. The remarkable list of individual donors that fills many pages of every house programme is made up almost entirely of regular concert-goers. So it is to you, our Toronto audience, that we must offer thanks for 25 wonderful years of music. Here's to many more!
