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The Magazine of the Rose Theatre Brampton • November 2013

An Out of This World Evening WithColonel Chris Hadfield

Gentleman’s RuleA Cappella Reaches A Whole New Level

THEATRE • DANCE • MUSIC • COMEDY • EXPERIENCE IT LIVE!

3rosetheatre.caBOX OFFICE: 905.874.2800

In gratitude for the purchase of specialized equipment

5 Services & Policies7 In the Gallery

8 Scene @ The Rose30 Sponsor & Donor Recognition

every month

features

16

20

22

10 JOEL PLASKETTWith Special Guest Bill Plaskett

12 JOE SEALY & PAUL NOVOTNYJazz in Studio Two

13 DR. AMIT ARYACanadian-born Indian Classical Vocalist

14 THE COMEDY CLUBWith Ali Rizvi Badshah, Keith Pedro & Jazz Mann

16 KURT ELLING1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project

17 GENTLEMAN’S RULE10-Man A Cappella Group

18 CELTIC TENORSAdding a Celtic Twist to the Classical Repertoire

20 BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMAAlmost 75 Years on a Gospel Mission

22 LIONA BOYDWith Special Guest Michael Savona

24 COLONEL CHRIS HADFIELDFormer Commander

of the International Space Station

26 MYSTIC INDIAA Fusion of Music, Dance

and Bollywood Extravagance

The Magazine of the Rose Theatre Brampton

contents

“ The stand-out

jazz male vocalist of our time.”

– NY Times

5rosetheatre.ca

POLICIESSERVICES &

Cellphones/pagers Please keep electronic devices turned off during the performance. The light from texting is also distracting for other patrons and performers.

FragrancesDue to allergies and sensitivities, please refrain from wearing perfumes, colognes, or other scented products.

Cameras/RecordingCameras and recording devices are not allowed in the theatre unless otherwise specified in the pre-show announcement by the presenter.

Food & DrinkOnly bottled water is allowed inside the theatre. Try to unwrap candies or lozenges prior to the performance as the crinkling paper can be distracting.

Arriving LateLatecomers will be seated at the discretion of Front of House during an appropriate break in the performance.

Babes in ArmsAre not permitted in the theatre, except for certain age-appropriate shows indicated; however, each person – including children – requires a ticket.

For the Benefit of All Patrons, Please Take Note ...

Our Service Commitment If there is anything we can do to make

your experience more enjoyable, please do not hesitate to ask

one of our volunteer ushers or staff members for assistance.

Bar ServiceMost events at The Rose will include bar service.

When this is the case, the bar will be open one hour before showtime and during intermission.

Pre-Order Service Avoid long lineups at the bar by taking advantage

of our pre-order drink service. Purchase drinks before the show.

Hearing AssistanceDevices may be attained from the Box Office,

free of charge.

Coat Check There is a complimentary coat check

located next to the entrance for Studio Two.

Free ParkingThe following operation of the Market Square

parking garage is in effect for allscheduled Rose Theatre shows.

During the week, the gates lift at 6:30 pm and remain up until 7:00 am the next day.

On weekends, the gates will remain up from Friday at 6:30 pm to Monday at 7:00 am.

DEC 11CLASSIC ALBUMS LIVE: BAND ON THE RUN

DEC 13LEAHY FAMILY CHRISTMASPerformance Sponsored by:

JAN 30ROSANNE CASH

JAN 31JIM BREUER

DEC 18A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMASWITH DAVID BENOIT

JAN 20TOWER OF POWER

MAIN STAGE

13 • 14 SEASON

9 0 5 . 874 . 2 8 0 0r o s e t h e a t r e . c a

ROSETHEATREPRESENTS

DEC & JAN

BRAMPTON PERFORMING ARTS COMPANIES

At the Rose Theatre:DEC 1 • Peel Choral Society Mr. Grinch Explains

DEC 7 • The Rose OrchestraJoy!

DEC 8 • Brampton Festival Singers

DEC 14 • Brampton Concert BandChristmas at The Rose

At Lester B. Pearson Theatre:DEC 6-7 Brampton Music TheatreSeussical Jr.

DEC 8 Chinguacousy Concert Band & Chinguacousy Swing Orchestra

DEC 13-15 • MelodymakersCinderella

STUDIO TWO

DEC 7 THE SANTALAND DIARIES

DEC 12-13 DIANA PANTON

JAN 16 THE COMEDY CLUB:Oh Canada with Winston Spear

LIVEEXPERIENCE IT

DEC 20-22

at LESTER B. PEARSON THEATRE

SOLDOUT!

4 odeum november 2013


Let’s Talk…

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or subscribe to our blog (find it on the home page).

You’ll enjoy insightful commentary,

interviews with artists, photos and videos.

Enjoy and feel free to comment.

Your opinion is important to us.

Sylvia EngT: 905.793.7073 C: 416.806.0440E: [email protected]

For Group Discounts Contact Our Group Sales Programmer:

T: 647.438.5559 Toll Free: 1.866.447.7849

E: [email protected]

Visit www.rosetheatre.ca

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Whatever way you look at it, visiting us as a group

will put a smile on your face!Groups Have

MORE Fun!Groups SaveMORE Money!

Celebrate with your family, friends, colleagues or customers and we’ll offer personal group service when you book for 15 or more guests.

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ORGROUPS A L E S

R O S E T H E A T R E

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R O S E T H E A T R E

IN THE GALLERY

The Art Gallery is a unique

exhibition space located on the

upper level of the Rose Theatre

Brampton. The gallery features

exhibits of original work by

community and professional

artists. Exhibitors benefit from

exposure to theatre patrons,

who are enthusiastic about arts

and culture.

The first Holiday Arts Showcase

features a wide range of

talented artists who either live

or work in Brampton. Beginning

November 4 through to

December 27, 2013, you’ll view

artworks in a range of mediums

including acrylic, encaustic,

watercolour and photography.

Most of the works are available

for sale and make unique gift

ideas during the festive holiday

season. Your purchase will help

support artists while fostering

cultural and community

development.

Exhibiting Artists Include:

Mary Ellen ChapmanCarolyn DoornikHenry Dagenais

Sonia FarquharsonDebra Konrad

Besta KrusynskiConrad Mieschke

Alex RodwayKaamar Thiya

Sheila Vander Wier

1. Mary Ellen Chapman2. Sheila Vander Wier3. Alex Rodway4. Henry Dagenais

1

2 3

4

8 odeum november 2013 9rosetheatre.ca

The community came together on October 4 in celebration of local music and art for the annual Indie Arts Showcase.

Phot

o by

TJ

Wel

ls

Phot

o by

TJ

Wel

lsPh

oto

by T

J W

ells

Inset: Excited Rick Springfield fans in the lobby before the concert

Mayor Fennell with fans who flew in from Newfoundland just for the Rick Springfield concert

Local artisans filled the Rose Theatre lobby

The Red Boy gained a new member for the night - Brampton’s very own caped crusader.

Just in case The Rose wasn’t intimate enough, Rick walked right into the crowd of adoring fans

SPIN July 4 at 8PM on the Main Stage

Rose Theatre Box Offices1 Theatre Lane, Brampton

Mon. to Sat.: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Sun.: Closed if no event

905.874.2800www.rosetheatre.ca

Lester B. Pearson TheatreMain Floor, Civic Centre,150 Central Park Drive,

Brampton

Hours are subject to change; please call ahead

or check the times online.

o·de·um 1. A small building of ancient Greece

and Rome used for public performances of music and poetry.

2. A contemporary theatre or concert hall.

Odeum is the monthly magazine of the Rose Theatre Brampton

EditorSasha Romasco

[email protected]

Art Direction & DesignTina Mulliss

[email protected]

ContributorsLachman Balani, Alison Broverman,

Marcy Cornblum, Ashley Goodfellow, Bill King, Nick Krewen

To advertise

with The Rose contact:Gaye Storozuk Coordinator,

Advertising & [email protected]

905.793.6347

Rick Springfield rocked The Rose on October 16

Photo by TJ Wells

Rick Springfield Photos By

Custodio’s Studio

KO headlined the free event

Local artists participated in the Ontario Plein Air Society’s live art competition

“I think what I want to do next is go back to an album – a kind of, here-it-is, all-fell-swoop-at-once,” admits Plaskett, who delivers his songs in multiple styles, from rock to folk to country and blues. “I’m not there yet. I’ve got a lot of songs, but I’m not sure what kind of record I want to make. “I’m taking my time getting there because I want to put my best foot forward. But I’m working on tunes and will probably play a few new ones at The Rose.” Plaskett is an interesting anomaly in that, over a dozen albums spread between his solo work, Thrush Hermit and his rock band, Joel Plaskett Emergency, he’s only yielded one Top 30 hit (a 2011 collaboration with Shotgun Jimmie called “Jimmie’s Still Jimmie”) and received sporadic airplay. But he’s managed to galvanize a fervent following, winning the Billboard World Song Contest and Great American Song Contest for his tunes “Fashionable People,” “Face of the Earth” and “Nowhere With You” along the way, and being short- and long-listed for our prestigious Polaris Music Prize. The fact he’s not a massive seller is something Plaskett has seemed to accept. “The livelihood for me has always been from the stage, so it’s not been about creating something to sell anyway, because you have something to sell from the stage,” says Plaskett about his recording craft. “I like to inhabit somebody’s world and stay there, so I think there’s still a value in creating a body of work that allows people to check in with you for half an hour or 45 minutes.” Lately, the multiple East Coast Music Award winner says he’s also been focusing on his career in the production chair, recently overseeing the self-titled debut album of Mo Kenney and also working on the album Dreamhouse by Steve Poltz, a witty Haligonian who had an earlier relationship with Jewel and co-wrote one of her biggest hits, “You Were Meant For Me.” “I’m really proud of Mo Kenney’s record,” Plaskett declares. “I played all the bass and drums on that record, so my personality’s pretty heavy on it. I really believe in her as an artist and as a singer. Her energy is really authentic and it was fun for me to work on somebody’s first album. “Dreamhouse was a collaboration between Steve and I in a room for two or three weeks. He’s a total freak, an awesome guy, and a great guitar player. It’s an idiosyncratic record – our two minds at work together. “The big reason I like making records with other people is that I learn things,” he chuckles. “I try different approaches and navigate other people’s personalities and desires to capture other kinds of sounds, or just the way other people write. There’s a bit of a selfish quality to it, gleaning knowledge from other people even though they’re hiring me. “I can be focused in terms of seeing the end result of something, and I have certain working methods I employ to try and get there. Some people want that focus, so I enjoy signing on to those projects because I feel there’s a real exchange there.” For Plaskett, who played the role of a busker in the 2008 hit Canadian film One Week starring Joshua Jackson, the Rose Theatre gig is a rare opportunity to poke his head out of the studio and test drive songs. “I tend to work with my head down, then I look up and there’s a bunch of stuff that I’ve done,” he admits. “That’s the cool thing about songs – as the depth of the catalogue builds, I keep moving forward. When I look back, there’s a lot of dust kicked up in my way – and that’s a good thing.”

oel Plaskett is known for taking unique recording approaches when it comes to making albums.

For 2009’s Juno Award-winning Three, the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia-based singer and songwriter tripled everything: the number of tunes he placed on the album, song titles and the number of discs he issued. For his latest effort, 2012’s Scrappy Happiness, Plaskett gave himself a tight deadline. “I took that singles approach with Scrappy Happiness and turned it into an album,” explains Plaskett, who began his career in 1993 as the co-founder, singer and guitarist of critically acclaimed Halifax rockers Thrust Hermit. “I wrote and recorded 10 songs in 10 weeks, delivered in real time as close as I could fabricate them. I’d deliver them

to the CBC one by one and it’d get played a couple days later.” Plaskett, who is appearing at The Rose with his father and Three collaborator Bill, says he’s currently deciding what his next approach will be, but is fairly certain it won’t be the same single-by-single approach that dominated Scrappy Happiness.


ON THE MAIN STAGE NOVEMBER 1 AT 8PM

by Nick Krewen


We’re looking for Brampton talent from K - Grade 12 for the

2014 CENTRE STAGE CONCERT!

AUDITIONS: NOVEMBER 23 & 24ALL TALENTS WELCOME!

To Register Call 905.793.4841

JOEL PLASKETTWITH SPECIAL GUEST BILL PLASKETT

Front, Centre and Behind the Scenes

J


album, Dual Vision. It was our second and we were able to take it to a higher level of arranging and performance,” says Sealy. “We worked so hard on that album. We played every day for months before we recorded. We worked hard on the arrangements by test recording and listening back but also dreamed so freely when we chose the songs. We were also really into discovering how to set a tone for the listener. We really viewed it as a linear – not a song-by-song – experience. We even had an in-studio concert for a small group of invited guests. We recorded the set live and the next day started making the recording. It was a production process that was very good for the music and the listener,” says Novotny. Even though the inherent cost of recording a record has dropped dramatically, it’s still about the music. Recording just for the sake of recording is obvious to the listener. There’s a long lead time, planning – song considerations, whether original or not, and an obvious purpose and passion to do so. “A duo recording can take up to six months of planning, rehearsing and recording,” says Sealy. “I like to take longer than six months,” says Novotny. “A record needs to know what it is on every level so the music decisions are mature. Once you have made mature music decisions the marketing decisions can then be mature as well. It takes time to understand the context you aim for and then present the music in the best way possible to meet that context. Recordings freeze musical moments and you want to record your best stuff. It takes time to consider and it should not be a fire drill.” Players never stop listening – that’s where the inspiration comes from. “As a DJ at Jazz FM, I listen to a variety of contemporary and classic jazz recordings,” says Sealy. “I am a very eclectic listener. My current playlist is Laura Mvula, Bossacucanova, Caravan Palace, Curtis Stigers, Abbey Lincoln, Adele, Allen Toussaint, Bebel Gilberto, Christian McBride, Daft Punk, Dave Santoro, Guinga, The Infamous Stringdusters, Oz Noy, Ralph Towner and Paolo Fresu, Tedeschi Trucks, Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan and Edgar Meyer. I listen to the great Russian composers and I also love film composers like John Powell or Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead. David Byrne is so cool too!”


He also performed right here in the GTA last year at a Three Generations Concert (three generations of Mewati Gharana) with his guru Pandit Jasraj Ji as well as Pandita Tripti Mukherjee. This sold-out concert was broadcast all across Canada on television and received widespread acclaim. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Mewati Pradeep Award in 2009 from the Pandit Jasraj Institute for Music Research, Artistry and Appreciation. In 2012, the Rajasthan Association of North America honoured him for achievement at a very young age. Jasraj Ji has named him the “Mewati Gharana in Toronto.” Mewati Gharana is a major style of classical Hindustani music, popularized in recent times by the award-winning Jasraj Ji (he won the second-highest civilian award for excellence in arts in India, the Padma Vibhushan), fondly known in music circles as the “Sun of Song.” The fountainhead of this style of music from the 19th century was Ustad Ghagge Nazir Khan from the Mewat region of Rajasthan, and from where the name of this style of singing is derived. Lore has it that it was passed from generation to generation in hidden places, including in the secrecy of dark jungles after the sun had set. Today, however, Jasraj Ji has modernized the procedure and set up institutes all over, including several places in the US and Canada, to spread it to the four corners of the globe. “In 2006 I moved to Toronto, continuing to imbue myself with Indian classical music and, in 2009, I got a chance to perform at the premier South Asian festival – Masala! Mehndi! Masti! at the CNE grounds in downtown Toronto,” continues Dr. Arya. “Finally in 2010, under the blessings and auspices of Jasraj Ji, we launched a not-for-profit Pandit Jasraj Institute of Music here in Toronto to propagate Indian classical vocal music, where we impart knowledge and rehearsals to deserving students of all ages and levels.” Despite being very busy in his full-time medical practice, Dr. Arya still makes time to train his vocal chords in the elaborate style of Mewati Gharana and to play the swarmandal, an acoustic harp tuned to the notes of a raga. Dr. Arya’s constant meditation on the complexities and framework of the Mewati Gharana has moulded him into a cerebral musician whose maturity and understanding far exceeds his age. A highly spiritual person, Dr. Arya is an up-and-coming artist whose style reflects an aesthetic blend of contemplation in music and technical excellence.

he piano jazz duo has a long-revered history, one that challenges the most disciplined and technically adept players. The soloist can set the pace and experiment with rhythm and harmony as the mood swings but when two players set about to cover much the same terrain, minds have to respond as one. Long-running relationships, compatibility, wide ears and sensitivity are imperative.

Joe Sealy and Paul Novotny fit the profile. The two have been business partners since the early ’80s and, to this day, find plenty of reasons to continue the relationship. They have recorded five duo sides and have two Juno nominations – Sealy’s Africville Suite was awarded the Juno for Best Contemporary Jazz Album 1997. “We’ll be playing various recordings from previous albums for this occasion,” says Sealy. “I may have a new tune to try that has not yet been recorded,” says Novotny. Playing live presents a different kind of stimulus than the isolated confines of the recording studio. “Common ground is an important element; however, we do enjoy a good challenge,” says Sealy. “The common ground that we try to achieve is mostly between us and our audience. We always try to understand who and where we are playing and choose music that fits the context of the presentation. Sometimes it could be slanted more towards originals, sometimes the American Songbook and sometimes jazz standards,” says Novotny. The music industry has radically changed with so much of great historical significance available on YouTube and the public’s insatiable appetite for the latest technological toys and instruments. CD sales have tanked with a good portion moving online. “We have some terrific relationships with our physical and digital aggregates. It’s such an international business now and we are currently working with EMI-Universal in Japan, Highresaudio.com in Germany and The Orchard in the USA. We also sell physical product in the USA through CD Baby. Our music is distributed internationally and goes to places we cannot go. It is an inspiring climate for music distribution,” says Novotny. “Our biggest selling – strictly duo – album would be our second

Tby Bill King

JOE SEALY PAUL NOVOTNY DR. AMIT ARYA

IN STUDIO TWO NOVEMBER 8 AT 8PM IN STUDIO TWO NOVEMBER 9 AT 8PM

for Two the Show! Serves UpSoothing Music!

Dr. Amit Arya takes centre stage with his mellifluous voice along with Shri Kiran Morarji (disciple of the famed tabla maestro Zakir Husain) on tabla and Dr. Neelesh Nadkarni on harmonium. “I was always fascinated by music from an

early age. As best as I can remember, I started learning to play music at six,” commences Dr. Arya who is based in Brampton and a medical doctor by profession. “Then, when I was eight years old, I initiated my training as a vocalist with one of the top trainers in the industry in Vancouver, British Columbia, where I was born and raised, so I am a true Canadian-trained artist. I then went on to learn from other perfectionists, also in Vancouver. “My parents, who were ardent lovers of Indian classical music, would take me along as well for concerts in Vancouver, where my ears and being picked up this intense sound and I started tuning into it. I always had this longing to go to India to perfect my passion. “In 1996, I met the great vocal maestro of the Mewati Gharana, Pandit Jasraj Ji, at whose institute I was already learning in Vancouver, and trained relentlessly under his tutelage. It was an awesome experience. By 1999 I was super-passionate about music and sang Bollywood songs and bhajans (hymns) at every occasion!” A role model of dedication, hard work and perseverance, Dr. Arya has the distinction of being the only Canadian-born Indian classical vocalist who has reached a high level of fulfillment. He has performed widely in North America and, in 2011, embarked on his first tour of India, where he performed at various locales.

by Lachman Balani

Prepare to be mesmerized by relaxing music that will surely transport you to nirvana.


et’s get one thing straight: None of the comedians in the Fresh Princes of Brampton show actually live in Brampton. Kind of funny, no? (Full disclosure – two of them have called this city home at one point or another.) But these guys are familiar. You’ve probably seen

them onstage, on TV or even on the big screen. And more than that, their comedy could be from anywhere. They are your neighbours, your co-workers, your friends, maybe even your shrink (more on that in a minute) – except these guys are funnier. A lot funnier. And they know what makes Brampton laugh. They are in the business of being funny, and they are good at it. These three comics – Ali Rizvi Badshah, Jazz Mann and Keith Pedro – each serve up a unique and hilarious antidote to your daily dilemmas. They all agree that laughter is the cure-all. So when they take the stage in the Rose Theatre’s Studio Two, you’ll get more than just a comedy show – you’re in for what might be the funniest therapy session you’ve ever had. Badshah, who actually credits his start in comedy to an incident in Brampton, says comedy, for him, is about the truth. “I think what makes me funny is my heartache,” he laughs. “I laugh at my own suffering – comedy is my therapy.” It sounds cliché, but there does seem to be truth in the old adage that laughter is the best medicine. Mann agrees. “If there’s one good thing you can do for yourself, come out and see this show,” he says. “When you are laughing, you have no other care in the world.” Mann, who has a long list of credits behind him in comedy and acting, believes that stand-up comedy is the simplest of the art forms. It’s the art form that makes the quickest connection to its audience because it’s raw and honest. “It’s one guy and a mic,” he says, “and (the material) is usually based on what people are thinking but don’t want to say out loud.” His comedy, he says, often plays up the fact that he is “brown” – similar to the punchlines that made Russell Peters, Brampton’s claim-to-comedy-fame, famous.

But that’s not his only angle. When Mann’s onstage, his first love is making a bond with his audience. “One thing I love to do is, I love to talk to the audience,” he says. One of his strengths is improv, which means he can easily pluck out something happening in the moment and run with it. It means each performance is catered to that audience and no two shows are exactly the same. Badshah says although his start in comedy is credited to Russell Peters, his own material is more about similarities than differences. (Badshah lived in Brampton briefly in the mid-to-late ’90s and at that time was a street dancer. He was at a party – it was a hip hop jam – and some other “brown” guy made a brief appearance then disappeared. Two weeks later, Badshah was watching a comedy special on CBC and recognized the guy from the party. It was Russell Peters. He figured if that guy can make it, so can he – and he was right.) Growing up watching shows like SCTV and Benny Hill with his father, he learned early that what makes people laugh is the simple observations of life. Like unicorns, or lingerie. “It’s comedy for Everyperson, comedy that feels universal,” he says. “But what makes something funny is the truth.” Badshah, who did sketch comedy with Second City for a few years, really made his big break in the funny business in 2006 when he was selected for Second City’s Next Comedy Legend on CBC. Since then, he’s been featured in several CBC comedy specials, had his own radio show on CBC One and you might recognize him from commercials for Bell and Honda. He’s also been a producer, a writer and a creative director for various television projects. The evening in Brampton will also feature Pedro, who is described by Badshah as fast and funny. “His comedy is like a real firecracker,” said Badshah. “He’s a high-energy comic and he goes for the jugular. I love it.” The show, which is part of the Rose Theatre’s Yuk Yuk’s comedy series, is for patrons who want to enjoy the smart humour of three fresh young comics. “The best part,” said Mann, who is looking forward to performing in Brampton, “is you don’t have to travel to Toronto. We’re coming right to you.”


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IN STUDIO TWO NOVEMBER 14 AT 8PM

by Ashley Goodfellow

Ali Rizvi Badshah

L

PRINCESof BRamPtoN

Fresh

Ali Rizvi Badshah, Keith Pedro & Jazz Mann

A Triple Dose of Funny

16 odeum november 2013 17rosetheatre.caBOX OFFICE: 905.874.2800

ON THE MAIN STAGE NOVEMBER 14 AT 8PM ON THE MAIN STAGE NOVEMBER 15 AT 8PM

by Bill King

D efining who is and isn’t a jazz singer is a futile endeavour. Every singer comes attached to the past and sub-genres. Ray Charles never strayed far from the church – every note and phrase owed to the brothers and sisters who gathered Sunday mornings to sing the praises. Jimmy Rushing and Jay McShann never strayed far from the blues; in fact, Kansas City native McShann invented a new music that

swung and jumped like the blues in a traditional jazz way. There were the crooners – Billy Eckstine, King Pleasure, Herb Jefferies and Johnny Hartman – who embraced the soft side of a song and sang long smooth tones declaring every note a play for the heart. Mel Tormé played all sides, with Al Jarreau anything was possible and Mark Murphy bridged the generations. The jazz crown these days belongs to Chicago native Kurt Elling. With 10 Grammy nominations and a win in 2009 for Dedicated to You, Elling is as popular as ever. The journey began at St. Paul Lutheran School in Rockford, Illinois. Elling sang in choirs, played violin, French horn, piano and drums. By chance, Elling remembers viewing Tony Bennett and the Woody Herman band on television and visualized singing with the band, yet his training was formal with lessons in counterpoint and the musical movements of Johann Sebastian Bach. One can never deny the grounding musical education choirs offer – having printed notes right under your chin and hearing harmony swirl in all directions. Elling continued his studies at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, majoring in history with a minor in religion. He sang with a 70-piece a cappella choir and it was there he was introduced to the midsection of jazz – Dexter Gordon, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock and Ella Fitzgerald. After graduation, Elling began playing gigs around the Chicago area, working as a bartender and wedding singer. In 1995, Elling hooked up with long-time partner pianist Laurence Hobgood while performing Monday nights at the Green Mill. With nine solid tunes under their belt they entered the studio and recorded. The tapes were passed on to then-Blue Note president Bruce Lundvall, who signed Elling to the label. There’s no denying Lundvall has an ear for talent – he moulded multi-million-selling Norah Jones into a worldwide entity. The songs from the demo would go on to be nominated for a Grammy (Close Your Eyes in 1995).

GENTLEMAN’S RULE

KURT ELLING The latest group to emerge from the Bloomington, Indiana, school is Gentleman’s Rule,

whose cheeky “Pachanelly Canon” (a mash-up of Pachelbel’s Canon and Nelly’s “Ride Wit Me”) video has almost half a million views on YouTube by now. Most of the eight members of Gentleman’s Rule never really considered a cappella singing until they got to university and spent time in another popular Indiana University a cappella group called Straight No Chaser. “It was like a fraternity where you sing for sorority girls,” remembers TJ Breen fondly. “We all sang in Straight No Chaser at different times.” Breen caught the a cappella bug in Straight No Chaser. He now sings tenor in Gentleman’s Rule and is also the group’s music director. In school, he studied arts management while minoring in vocal music, and he’s delighted that his musical passion is driving his career post-school. Gentleman’s Rule got its real start because of reality TV. The group first formed when 10 Indiana University grads (and former Straight No Chaser members) auditioned for the NBC reality TV show The Sing-Off. They didn’t make it on to the show, but that didn’t discourage them. Two guys dropped out and the group

Mby Alison BrovermanWith a Song in My Heart!

shrunk to eight singers, who then began to rehearse and perform. By a weird twist of fate, one of The Sing-Off producers worked as a producer on their debut album, Act Accordingly, which came out late last year.And it’s looking like the upcoming year will be a big one for Gentleman’s Rule. This month, the group will tape a live-concert TV special for PBS that will air early next year. They’ll try to capitalize on the television appearance with a North American tour in the spring. The group’s repertoire is wide-ranging, and they choose it somewhat democratically. “We have pitch sessions where we all throw out songs we’d like to do,” says Breen. The music they cover is from a variety of sources – Act Accordingly includes their renditions of recent pop hits like Bruno Mars’ “Marry You,” a country tune (Jake Owen’s “Barefoot Blue Jean Night”) and several more traditionally easy listening songs, like Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.” “We want something from every genre.” As the successful YouTube video mentioned earlier might indicate, the fellows in Gentleman’s Rule also like to do mash-ups between genres – their debut album includes the aforementioned “Pachanelly Canon” as well as a medley featuring both Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” and the cheesy funk hit “Play That Funky Music.”

It’s clear from their eclectic playlist that the musical tastes of Breen and his fellow Gentleman’s Rule members are all over the place. In his spare time, Breen listens to asmuch – and as wide a variety of – music as he can. And he likes everything, from rock and pop to classical to folk to country, and everything in between. “We all listen to as much music as possible,” he says. “That’s where we get our inspiration.” Breen credits their wide-ranging repertoire – and the fact that each song gets its own unique twist – with the fact that the group can please a variety of crowds. “We take contemporary [pop] songs and make them appeal to an older crowd,” he says. “And vice versa – we’ll do older songs and younger people will love it.” Gentleman’s Rule has also started introducing original songs into their repertoire. One of Breen’s favourites is a song called “All My Life,” which is one of two original songs featured on their album (the other is “I’m Coming Home”). But in terms of the songs they cover, one of the songs Breen is proudest of is the group’s reinterpretation of “Hey Ya.” “We break it down, give it our own spin,” he says. “I love that.”

aybe it’s something in the water but Indiana University has a history of graduating a cappella singers.

In 2009, Elling was commissioned by the Chicago Jazz Festival to revisit the celebrated 1963 pairing of jazz giants John Coltrane and vocalist Johnny Hartman. Elling and pianist Laurence Hobgood rearranged the music and recorded live in the Allen Room of Jazz at Lincoln Center, culminating in a Grammy Award. Over the years, Elling has won the Down Beat Critics Poll 13 times, Down Beat Readers Poll seven times and JazzTimes Readers Poll eight times, all in the male vocalist category. His most recent album is 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project. The Brill Building was built in 1931 and located at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in Manhattan. It was known as the house of music or Tin Pan Alley. At one time, the best young writers assembled and wrote thousands of popular hits of the day. Those songs kept the orchestras of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey and brother Tommy atop the charts. Composer Carole King (as quoted in The Sociology of Rock by Simon Frith) described the energy on the premises. “Every day we squeezed into our respective cubbyholes with just enough room for a piano, a bench, and maybe a chair for the lyricist if you were lucky. You’d sit there and write and you could hear someone in the next cubbyhole composing a song exactly like yours. The pressure in the Brill Building was really terrific – because Donny [Kirshner] would play one songwriter against another. He’d say, ‘We need a new smash hit’ and we’d all go back and write a song and the next day we’d each audition for Bobby Vee’s producer.” The album is a tribute to New York and homage to the artists of the Brill Building and the music composed there. The Drifters’ “On Broadway,” Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me,” “I Only Have Eyes for You,” “A House is Not A Home” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” all seem odd choices for a jazz singer yet when rearranged and sung by an artist as sensitive and accountable as Elling – It’s Magic!

A CAPPELLA GROUP10-MAN

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The Celtic Tenors welcome the challenges that performing in other genres of music brings. “All music has its challenges,” he says. “The classical music has at times its wide ranges (vocally and emotionally) and requires good technique and stamina. The a cappella numbers require our tuning to be spot-on. But even in pop and country, etc., we don’t want to sound silly – there is little worse than hearing an operatic version of a pop song (no names mentioned). We have to adapt to the different styles within the boundaries of our own voices, and I hope people think we do that successfully.” Fans seem to enjoy it – the Celtic Tenors have put out nine albums, made two TV specials for PBS, and travelled around the world to perform. “There are many highlights, from recording in Abbey Road in London to performing for world leaders. At times

we are pinching ourselves and each other on a daily basis,” says Nelson. “For all of us, a hobby has become a career.” They’ve travelled and performed so much together that they’re almost like brothers at this point. “We know each other very well, and our individual habits – both good and bad,” says Nelson. “There are ‘tour phrases,’ which are repeated daily, and silly gestures, etc. We each behave

quite differently onstage and have different styles of relating to the audiences.” They like to play up their personas onstage to a certain extent, but they are never too far from themselves. “Audiences love to make up their minds on who is the organized one, the scatty one and the cheeky one – and normally they’re pretty spot-on,” says Nelson. “And since day one, while our personalities have developed and we have gained more confidence, our same character traits are still pretty much the same. We try to be ourselves, and I think and hope that comes across. There is no point in not being yourself, as audiences see through that. One thing each of us hates is seeing ‘falseness’ onstage or, indeed, in reality.”

CELTIC TENORS


hen Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras shared the stage as The Three Tenors, did they have any idea how many trios of classical singers they’d inspire? Perhaps not, but the Celtic Tenors aren’t ashamed to be one of them. W

by Alison Broverman

“The group was initially, I suppose, set up on the back of the success of the ‘Big 3’ Tenors, and in the early stages was modelled pretty close on that model,” says James Nelson, one-third of the Celtic Tenors, along with Matthew Gilsenan and Daryl Simpson. “When we were signed to EMI in 2000, they reminded us of our roots and, while they said that of course we were well able to sing the classical repertoire, we ought to really give the whole ‘Three Tenor’ thing a bit of a twist by adding our own songs from Ireland and from the Celtic nations.” The group has since stretched their musical explorations beyond the classical and traditional – even covering pop, gospel and country music. Repertoire selection “is, and always has been, a tenor democracy,” says Nelson. “When we are recording an album, the initial lists are very long and, inevitably, there are always disappointments. But usually we think we make the correct decision in the end. Sometimes we really push the barriers musically, but we hope we never make fools of ourselves by singing anything which is out of our comfort zone.” Each of the three singers is classically trained and initially met in the small musical community in Ireland. “As the Irish classical music scene is quite a close-knit one, we actually ended up meeting on the operatic stage with Opera Ireland in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus,” says Nelson. “While we each bring many different styles, and individual voices, and unique personalities to the mix, classical music is still what brought us together, and binds us together.” Their musical tastes are eclectic; Nelson and Gilsenan were both big fans of the late Swedish tenor Jussi Bjoerling, all three of them share a love of opera and oratorio music, and they also listen to a wide variety of genres. “Our musical tastes are very far-reaching,” says Nelson. “I have always been a big fan of melodies and harmonies since as far back as I can remember and have always loved The Beatles, Queen, ABBA, Fleetwood Mac and Meat Loaf, to name but a few. Matthew is a big fan of Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty, our own Irish traditional music and many others. Daryl’s influences are equally eclectic, being a big fan of the great jazz masters and gospel and soul.”

While we each bring many different styles, and individual voices, and unique personalities to the mix, classical music

is still what brought us together, and binds us together.

- James Nelson


Four years later, a promoter matched them with the Jackson Harmoneers and came up with a concept. “This promoter out of New Jersey created a little gimmick; he was going to have a battle between the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Blind Boys of Mississippi,” Carter explains. “That’s how each group got the name they’ve kept to this day.” The Blind Boys enjoyed a slightly higher profile by participating in some of Dr. Martin Luther King’s public rallies in the early ’60s, but it wasn’t until 1988 – nearly 50 years after their inception – that they received their “big break.” “We did a Broadway play called the Gospel at Colonus, and that’s when the Blind Boys got exposed to the popular mainstream,” Carter states. It also brought the Blind Boys to the attention of some heavyweight rock stars – including Peter Gabriel, who signed them to his Real World label and took them on tour. “I guess he enjoyed the album so much he wanted to get a tour going,” notes Carter. “We also ended up touring with Tom Petty. Ben Harper was one of our first collaborators. He came out of the church, so he knows gospel. He said to us, ‘Let’s go into the studio and cut a gospel song.’ We weren’t thinking about an album. We went in for a song and came out with an album. That’s how that came about.”

Actually, Harper recorded two collaborative albums: the studio There Will Be a Light and the non-studio Live At the Apollo. More recently, it’s been Justin Vernon who helmed the band’s 46th studio album, I’ll Find a Way, an album that includes covers of songs written by Bob Dylan, The Chi-Lites’ Eugene Record, and obscure Motown guitar player Ted Lucas. Carter says the band has a specific requirement when considering cover material like Dylan’s “Every Grain of Sand” to add to their repertoire. “It has to have a message,” says Carter. “We are a message group. We’re on a gospel mission. We want to tell the world about God, so if we can’t fit God in the song, we ain’t using that song. “We have collaborated with many, many secular people. But when you really know them, you find out that they have been exposed to gospel, they know about it and they’re willing to let us – if some lyrics need to be changed – then we can use a song. We’re determined never to deviate from our gospel message. If we can’t put God or put our gospel flavour on a song that they bring to us, then we give it back to them. We can’t take it.” Still averaging 150-200 dates a year, Carter says he has a surefire way of winning a crowd over at a Blind Boys of Alabama performance. “I tell them I’m from Alabama, and I hope that we say something or sing something that will encourage you and lift you up and make you feel good. But the Blind Boys do not like to sing to a conservative crowd,” he laughs. “When I say that, the response is big and I’ve got ’em.”


by Nick Krewen

I blind boys

of alabama

t’s a remarkable feat; the Blind Boys of Alabama have existed in one form or another for 74 years! “The group started singing together in 1939,” declares Jimmy Carter, 81, a co-founder of the five-time Grammy Award winners and perhaps the finest group of gospel singers. Even more impressive is the fact that co-founders Carter and Clarence Fountain, 83, have been there nearly every step of the way – recording songs and albums, touring the world, and collaborating with such contemporary pop, rock and country icons as Peter Gabriel, Willie Nelson, Ben Harper and, on their brand-new album I’ll Find A Way, with producer Justin Vernon, better known to the world as Bon Iver. Due to health issues and thrice-weekly dialysis treatments, Fountain no longer joins the singers on the road – although he records with them – but Carter is still active both as performer and as the band’s spokesman, enthusiastically leading his charges as ambassadors of this highly inspirational music. Throughout the years, especially during the early decades when they toured throughout the Deep South, they’ve experienced it all: racism, segregation and hard times. “It was kind of rough sometimes,” Carter recalls from Austin, Texas, where he and the remaining Blind

Boys – Eric “Ricky” McKinnie, Joey Williams, Ben Moore, Tracy Pierce and recent recruit Paul Beasley, who once had a starring role with the Mighty Clouds of Joy – were performing at the Austin Music Festival. “We’d have a program that night, sing hard and [then] you couldn’t find a good place to eat because you couldn’t go into certain restaurants. We ate a lot of cold cuts back then,” he laughs. Starting out as students at the Talladega Institute for the Deaf and Blind in Alabama, the Blind Boys were initially known as The Happy Land Jubilee Singers and got their first gig in 1944.

Approaching 75 Years and Counting

We’re on a gospel mission. We want to tell the world about God,

so if we can’t fit God in the song, we ain’t using that song.

- Jimmy Carter


“The guest performers on this song, who include Dan Hill, Jann Arden, John McDermott, Chris Hadfield, Serena Ryder, Divine Brown, Robert Pilon, Eleanor McCain, Maria Aragon, Mark Masri, Ron MacLean and Randy Bachman, were such a pleasure to work with.” The producer on this project is Peter Bond; Bond also produced and arranged Boyd’s very successful LP Seven Journeys: Music for the Soul and the Imagination. For “Song of the Arctic,” Boyd consulted a teacher in the Arctic to make sure her pronunciation was correct. On “Canadian Summer Dreams,” a song inspired by an idea from Boyd’s sister, Boyd sings a duet with Grammy-winner Olivia Newton-John. “We chatted over tea at her home. Olivia’s harmonies are glorious,” Boyd says. After watching a film about Glenn Gould and seeing scenes of him driving back to his place at Lake Simcoe after conquering the international music world, she was so touched that she decided it was the right time for her to move back to Canada. She wrote “Home to the Shores of Lake Ontario,” a personal story of her anticipated homecoming. In The Return…To Canada With Love, Boyd proudly celebrates the people and the landscapes of her country. “The Return is the most heartfelt and the most complex of all my recordings,” she says.

Boyd’s love affair with Canada began when she was eight years old and her family moved here from their native England. Boyd was just seven when she wrote her first award-winning story, at infants school. “I still have the book they gave me,” she says. Her passion for the classical guitar began at age 13 and they have been together ever since. In 1975, she made her Carnegie Hall debut to standing ovations from the public and critics alike. Boyd has recorded with Yo-Yo Ma, The Canadian Brass, Sir Andrew Davis and the English Chamber Orchestra, to name but a few. She has performed for dozens of dignitaries including the British Royal Family and the King and Queen of Spain. Boyd and Prince Philip remain friends and pen pals to this day. If Boyd wanted to she could cover her mantel with accolades and honours, including five Juno Awards for Instrumentalist of the Year, the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario and the Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 1998, Boyd penned her autobiography, In My Own Key: My Life in Love and Music. The book quickly became a best-seller. She travelled to Venice, Italy, this past summer to write the sequel that will come out in 2014. “I’ve had many fantastic and interesting experiences throughout my career, such as performing at the Kremlin in 1991 when the Soviet Union was collapsing, or while in Newfoundland sharing a communal cabful of fish. I’m adventurous, always open to doing new things. Every night I say a prayer of gratitude for my gifts. I don’t take things for granted,” she says. When she is not on tour or recording, Boyd occupies her time by doing yoga, reading, walking and spending time with friends.

Playing for a Canadian audience “is a wonderful feeling of homecoming. The music transports me and the audience into another dimension,” she says. Boyd returned to Toronto two years ago “after leaving the cushy Beverly Hills life,” as she describes it. Rose Theatre concert-goers can expect to hear selections such as “Emily Carr,” “Living My Life Alone,” “Spirit of the Canadian Northlands” and “This Amazing Thing Called Love.” She will share the stage with Torontonian, fellow classical guitarist and singer Michael Savona. “One of Liona’s early tapes was my introduction to classical guitar,” says Savona. “She has a magical touch on the guitar. Liona has taught me about communicating with audiences. She has put her all into the music business. I look up to her as my mentor. I am thrilled to be working with her,” Savona says. Boyd will be sure to capture hearts with selections from her recently released CD The Return…To Canada With Love, which has been two years in the making and features 12 vocal and three instrumental selections that she composed. “I love to blend the music and lyrics together to tell my stories.” She sings in Cree, Ojibwa and Inuktitut languages. One patriotic song is called “Canada my Canada,” which she considers “her gift to Canada.”


by Marcy Cornblum

W I T H S P E C I A L G U E ST

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iona Boyd, the guitar virtuoso, arranger/composer, singer/songwriter, dazzles wherever she performs with her classical guitar.

I’m adventurous, always open to doing new things.

Every night I say a prayer of gratitude for my gifts.

I don’t take things for granted.- Liona Boyd

Somebody Singing,” a song he co-wrote with Barenaked Ladies’ Ed Robertson while Robertson was grounded in Toronto and Hadfield was out of this world, the author of An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth (published last month through Random House Canada) says his music was a rare moment of leisure. “Music was a very public part of what happened up there, but of course it was an extremely small part of what I did with my time,” Hadfield notes. “We ran about 200 experiments on the space station, and we did spacewalks. We fixed a pretty significant problem just four days before we undocked and came home and, of course, maintained the spaceship itself. “We did a lot of work with kids and students around the world, exercised two hours a day in order to keep muscle strength and bone density up, but I found a little time in my spare time to make some music as well.” Hadfield decided on his profession very early in life and survived incredible odds to become one of Canada’s four astronauts. “I decided to be an astronaut when I was nine, so I started trying to gather the skills and qualifications that would maybe some day allow someone to pick me,” he recalls. “I decided I was going to need a university advanced education, know how to fly and speak other languages and do a bunch of different things, so I started working on it a long time ago.” Hadfield said 5,330 initially applied for the position and, after five months and five rounds of intensive screening, the remaining 20 were told to expect a phone call. “It was a Saturday after lunch. I was a test pilot on exchange with the US Navy when I got a phone call asking if I still wanted to be an astronaut, to which I said ‘Yes!’” Canadians are so proud he did.



erhaps the thing that was the most magnificent was going on a spacewalk: an experience right on the edge of fantastic. “Being on the outside of a spaceship by yourself in your little suit and

holding on to the rest of humanity with one hand – with the whole world on one side and the universe on the other, that’s a fantastic experience, a phenomenal place to be.” You’ve probably guessed by now that the above statements belong to recently retired astronaut, Canadian hero and newly minted Waterloo University professor of aviation, Col. Chris Hadfield. For one night only, the former commander of the International Space Station, and the first Canadian to undertake a spacewalk, will be taking the Rose Theatre stage to share tales of his historic adventures. “It’s a bunch of imagery and I’m not sure if there will be music or not,” said Hadfield, 54, a guitarist and songwriter who also filmed the world’s first music video in space with

by Nick Krewen

P

his rendition of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” as he explained from Vancouver last month. “It’s an opportunity to try and share the experience that I’ve been allowed over the past 21 years as an astronaut, and especially the last six months on board the [International] space station.” It was at the space station, which he commanded from March through May 2013, that Hadfield won the hearts and admiration of millions of Canadians by using social media to offer his literal window on the world – to bring his experience to hundreds of thousands of students around the globe; to perform some music and take the time for surprising phone calls, like contacting folk trio Trent Severn from space during their Goderich concert – and for his general outreach in personalizing the cosmos, and his mission, for the curious. “I flew three times – and I worked equally hard all three times to share it,” states the Sarnia-born Hadfield, who flew aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis as a mission specialist in 1995 to help build the Mir space station and aboard Endeavour in 2001 to help install Canadarm2 at the International Space Station. “I worked just as hard throughout my entire astronaut career to share the experience and show people the perspective on the world that it brings, but it was just magnificently more successful this third time – one, because of the technology that now exists and two, because of the extra time I had to do it living in and commanding the space station, than just visiting or helping to build them during the space shuttle flights.” He’s not kidding about being busy. While he was up there orbiting Earth, there were five Mission Controls (in Japan, Germany, Montreal, Houston and Moscow) that steadily fed instructions to Hadfield and his crew. “All five Mission Controls watch out for you 24/7 and they all make up a daily plan that is a red line moving across a calendar screen, giving you specific duties in five-minute increments for the whole five months,” Hadfield reveals. And while we watched him perform “Is

COL. CHRIS HADFIELDC A N A D A ’ S E A R T H Y S P A C E A M B A S S A D O R



he Rose will host an explosion of vibrant colours when The World Tour of the Bollywood spectacular Mystic India bursts onto the scene. Taking us on an amazing journey to the wondrous land of India, the audience will experience a multi-generational presentation that fuses traditional and contemporary artistic expression through music, dance, acrobatics, theatre and state-of-the-art special effects.

“We will bring in about 30 performers dressed in resplendent costumes and take the audience on a magic carpet ride through the Indian states of Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat – starting with traditional classical dances and going through 5,000 years of civilization to finally triumph with the ultra high-octane beats of Bollywood’s moves and grooves intermixed with hip hop and breakdance,” exclaims Amit Shah, director and choreographer of this remarkable production. Shah continues passionately over the phone from New York where he is based. “The show features renowned musicians, outstanding dancers, breathtaking aerialists, daring acrobats and countless opulent costumes. The colourful costumes and elaborate sets have been custom-designed in India’s film capital, Mumbai, by an expansive team of designers and workers. It is totally mind-blowing; it’s like Mumbai meets New York!”

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Shah goes on to explain how he got into the arts and creativity scene. “Ever since I was a kid, I always performed at cultural events and over time started putting shows together. Yeah, there was school and after that college and then pre-med school due to pressure from the family, but my heart was always in dance and theatre. So I dropped out of pre-med school and devoted all my time into producing a world-class act in my basement – yeah, basement! I was basically a director, producer, costume designer, choreographer all rolled into one. It was a lot of hard work with plenty of trying moments. In 2011, my day of reckoning came and I put on my first show in New Jersey. I never expected it to do so well. Unknown to me, there were entertainment agencies in the audience who, after the show, approached me to take it on the road. I was flabbergasted! Besides the US, we got stints in Berlin and Basel where chants of ‘Cirque de Soleil’ from the audience at the end of our show sent a rush up our spines. It was an exhilarating experience! Since then, there has been no looking back. I was able to get more professionals on the bandwagon to not only perform but also do the behind- the-scenes work of costume designing, arranging lighting effects and all the rest. We have travelled all over the world, including Bahrain in the Gulf, South Africa and, most recently, to several cities in China, where we were received with brimming enthusiasm. We also very recently opened for Carrie Underwood in Vegas,” he concludes excitedly. Due to his upbringing in an Indian family in the US, where he not only was exposed to his heritage but also to western influences, Shah is known for combining bona fide Indian dance with modern western dance styles. He excels at doing this through his award-winning troupe, AATMA Performing Arts. “Aatma” means “soul” in Hindi and one can, throughout the dazzling performance, not only feel that each performer has put their soul into their art but also their hearts. Accompanied by the commanding rhythms of extraordinary musicians, his versatile group of dancers and acrobats takes audiences on a kaleidoscopic journey through years of narrated history. The performances outline India’s transition from the majestic grandeur of an ancient civilization and its valiant leaders to the small hamlets of rural India and their deeply entrenched cultural celebrations, finally slamming into the fast-paced streets of Mumbai and its Bollywood pop culture. Like the country it eulogizes, Mystic India is a meeting of east and west, as performers showcase an innovative fusion of jazz, hip hop and contemporary dance with Kathak, Bharatnatyam and other Indian folk dances. Ancient Indian sports where gymnasts perform stunts on a vertical pole called the Mallakambh are usually part of his incredible show. All of this is set against an impressive backdrop of sophisticated sets that could only be conceived and created by Bollywood. As the creative visionary and genius of this cutting-edge and amazingly avant garde production says, “If you’ve ever wanted to visit India, this show is your direct flight there!” So don’t miss it!

Amit Shah

Bollywood’s Cirque Extravaganza!


FRIENDS OF THE ROSECarole Albert • Eva Andrews • Erika Boelling • Tamara Brickman • Xandra Busche

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RoSE THEATRE APPLAuDS ouR7TH ANNIvERSARy SPONSORS & DONORS

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The greatest value of the arts is the ability to build bridges across generations and cultures. You have the opportunity to enrich your life, both personally and professionally, by contributing to the impact of arts in your community.

Photo Credit: Ken Hay

Help Us Keep Raising The Curtain. Call us today to discuss your Sponsorship or Donation Opportunities.

Gaye StorozukCoordinator, Advertising & [email protected]

Please consider making a tax-deductible gift to the Rose Theatre Brampton. Your donation brings world-class entertainment to our stage and it also enriches the whole community. We need your support to remain the vibrant community resource so many have come to depend on.

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