Art of Time Ensemble is a Toronto-based musical collective of leading Canadian musicians from the worlds of jazz and classical music. Composed of classical,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and pop musicians, Art of Time Ensemble is known for exploring the intersection of classical music with other genres and the convergence of music with theatre, dance, literature and film. Popular Art of Time programs include presentations of contemporary songs by

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

, Tom Waits, Nick Cave,

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

, Leonard Cohen and others reinvented by Canadian and British composers.

History

Formed in 1998 by Andrew Burashko, Art of Time has become an integral part of Toronto’s cultural scene, attracting some of Canada’s top artists from a range of disciplines including the performing arts, film and literature; and noteworthy international musicians such as

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...

Madeleine Peyroux Madeleine Peyroux (born April 18, 1974) is an American jazz singer and songwriter who began her career as a teenager on the streets of Paris. She sang vintage jazz and blues songs before finding mainstream success in 2004 when her album ''Carele ...

and

Gavin Bryars Richard Gavin Bryars (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer and double bassist. He has worked in jazz, free improvisation, minimalism, historicism, avant-garde, and experimental music. Early life and career Born on 16 January 1943 in ...

. Andrew Burashko’s original idea behind the Art of Time Ensemble was to provide a way into classical music for new audiences. From 1999 to 2019, the ensemble presented an annual concert subscription series in Toronto.

Collaborations

The Ensemble has worked on many notable collaborations with artists in their respective disciplines including writers

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

and

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...

; singers

Barbara Hannigan Barbara Hannigan (born 8 May 1971) is a Canadian soprano and Conducting, conductor, known for her performances of Contemporary classical music, contemporary opera. Education Hannigan's initial musical education came from music teachers in her ...

and

; actors

Brent Carver Brent Carver (November 17, 1951 – August 4, 2020) was a Canadian actor best known internationally for performances in both London's West End and on Broadway in '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'' as Molina, for which he won the Tony Award for Best L ...

and

Martha Burns Martha Burns (born 23 April 1957)"Martha Burns ret ...

; dancers

Peggy Baker Peggy Laurayne Baker (née Smith; born October 22, 1952) is a Canadian modern dancer, choreographer and teacher. She has been awarded the Order of Canada and she was the first person to receive the Ontario Premier’s Award for Excellence in the A ...

and

Evelyn Hart Evelyn Anne Hart (born April 4, 1956) is a Canadian ballerina and former principal dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Life and career Born in Toronto, Ontario, Hart studied dance at the Dorothy Carter School of Dance in London, Ontario, Can ...

; and filmmakers

Peter Mettler Peter Mettler (born September 7, 1958) is a Swiss-Canadian film director and cinematographer. He is best known for his unique, intuitive approach to documentary, evinced by such films as '' Picture of Light'' (1994), '' Gambling, Gods and LSD'' ( ...

and Bruce MacDonald. Over the years, the core artists of Art of Time Ensemble have, among many others, included: * Composer

Jonathan Goldsmith Jonathan Goldsmith (born September 26, 1938) is an American character actor. He began his career on the New York stage, then started a career in film and television. He appeared in several TV shows from the 1960s to the 1990s. He is best known ...

* Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra,

Benjamin Bowman Benjamin Walter Bowman (born September 20, 1979) is an American-Canadian violinist. The Metropolitan Opera and incoming Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin appointed Bowman as concertmaster as of the 2018-19 season, after a successful one-year ...

* Principal cellist of the National Arts Orchestra, Rachel Mercer * Concertmaster of Esprit Orchestra, Stephen Sitarski * Soloist and former principal violist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Toronto Symphony,

Steven Dann Steven Dann (born December 27, 1953) is a Canadian violist. Early years Dann was born in Burnaby, British Columbia. He played the violin until 1970, when he switched to the viola. He began studying with Lorand Fenyves in Toronto in 1972, and con ...

* Soloist and cellist of the Duke Trio, Thomas Wiebe * Composer and jazz saxophonist,

Phil Dwyer Philip John Dwyer (28 October 1953 – 30 November 2021) was a Welsh professional Association football, footballer. Born in Cardiff, he began his career with his hometown club Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City, joining the side as an apprentice ...

* Guitarist Rob Piltch

Recordings

As of 2022, Art of Time Ensemble has released eight commercial albums on the Pheromone and Art of Time Recordings labels. Their 2009 album '' Black Flowers'' featured singer-songwriter

Sarah Slean Sarah Hope Slean (born June 21, 1977) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, composer and musician. She has released eleven albums to date (including EPs and live albums). She is also a poet, visual artist, and occasional actress. Career Major recordi ...

. In 2010 they released the album '' A Singer Must Die'', a collection of

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s in collaboration with singer and composer

Steven Page Steven Jay Page (born June 22, 1970) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was a founding member, lead singer, guitarist, and a primary songwriter of the music group Barenaked Ladies. Page left the band in Februar ...

. In 2022, Art of Time Ensemble released the album ''Songs of Leonard Cohen Live'', a collection of live recordings from their 2018 ''A Singer Must Die'' concert series presented at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, Canada. Vocalists on the album include Sarah Slean, Sarah Harmer, Steven Page, Tom Wilson and Gregory Hoskins.

Discography

* ''Live in Toronto'' (Art of Time Ensemble album), 2005 *'' Black Flowers'', 2009 *'' A Singer Must Die'', 2010 *''Sgt. Pepper'', 2013 *''All That Jazz??'', 2015 *''Ain't Got Long'', 2020 *''Christmas in Prison,'' 2021 *''Songs of Leonard Cohen Live'', 2022

References

External links

* * Canadian classical music groups Musical groups from Toronto {{Canada-band-stub