There are a few season announcements piling up in the in box….

First up is the always interesting Confluence Concerts series.  It’s an eight show line-up:

• September 24th at 3pm and 8pm at 918 Bathurst the awesome trio of Marion Newman, Patricia O’Callaghan and Suba Sankaran have a recital including a new piece by Ian Cusson and André lexis called The Drawing Room and featuring a possibly recognisable trio of sisters.
• October 12th at .7:30pm at St. Thomas’ Church, 383 Huron Street, Cellist Elinor Frey brings a group of virtuoso musicians from Montreal and Europe for music by Luigi Boccherini and contemporaries.
• November 23rd and 24th at 7:30pm at Heliconian Hall, Suba Sankaran curates an 80th birthday concert for master drummer Trichy Sankaran featuring the man himself and many of his students.
• December 5th at 7:30pm at The Atrium at Shaftsbury Place, the walter Unger salon will feature A Confluence Christmas.
• Sometime in February next year at a time and place yet to be determined Marion Newman will present Tłabat’si (Copper Box) featuring Indigenous classical musicians from across Turtle island in a series of concerts, panels and other events.
• April 7th and 8th at 7:30pm at Heliconian Hall, Andrew Downing will present Songs of Syria;  a program of the music of Syria, featuring members of the Canadian Arabic Orchestra.
• May 26th and 27th at 7:30pm at Heliconian Hall will see the season finale, All the Diamonds, featuring words and music inspired by the night sky.

Toronto Operetta Theatre have three shows scheduled (All at the S. Lawrence Centre for the Arts and 8pm unless otherwise indicated):

• October 21st, 22nd, and 23rd (3 pm), it’s Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld featuring Vania Chan, Tonatiuh Abrego and Gregory Finney with Larry Beckwith conducting the orchestra.
• December 28th (3 pm), 29th, 30th and 31st it’sJohann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus with Derek Bate conducting a cast featuring the debuting Kirsten LeBlanc, Andrea Núñez, Keith Classen and Scott Rumble.
• May 5th, 6th and 7th (3 pm) it’s the Canadian Premiere of Thomas Breton’s La Verbena de la Paloma – the Festival of the Dove. Kate Carver leads a Spanish speaking cast that includes Margie Bernal, Rómulo Delgado, and Stuart Graham.
• There are also three Cabarets at The Edward Jackman Centre. The series begins on Saturday, October 1st at 4 pm with At the Savoy with G&S, on February 11th, also at 4 pm it’s A Fair Ladies Valentine. Finally on April 1st at 4 pm it’s Latin Fiesta featuring the music of the Hispanic world.

The Women’s Musical club of Toronto are back at Walter Hall with the usual mixof chamber and vocal music.  I’d like to draw your attention to a 1.30pm concert on May 6th next year featuring Marion Newman, Melody Courage, Evan Korbut and Gordon Gerrard in a programme ranging fromMozart and Puccini to Cusson and Highway.