You are welcome to attend these free concerts in-person or online at 56 Queen Streeet East! Donations go towards our Music program. Noon at Met concerts are livestreamed in HD here at metunited.ca/live and on our YouTube channel.
Freewill donations support the ongoing musical ministry of Metropolitan United Church, and allow us to maintain our landmark heritage musical instruments and building.
Here's our lineup for the next few months. Full bios and repertoire can be found in the monthly program.
May 11 - Organist Stefani Bedin
May 18 - Metropolitan Silver Band Quartet
May 25 - Organist William Maddox
June 1 - Veronika Anissimova, soprano and Ivan Jovanovic, pianist (with 11:30 carillon recital)
June 8 - Joshua Duncan Lee, organist (with 11:30 carillon recital)
June 15 -Matthew Fraser, organist (with 11:30 carillon recital)
June 22 - Gordon Slater, carillonneur (outdoor/indoor)
June 29 - Ellen Dickinson, carillonneur (outdoor/indoor)
July 6 - Jesse Ratcliffe, carillonneur (outdoor/indoor)
Deborah Hennig has a background as a classical pianist and a degree in Piano Performance, both of which have been influential in her carillon playing. Deborah discovered the carillon in 2012 and was instantly intrigued by the instrument’s unique musical and technical possibilities. She began studying with Dr. Andrea McCrady at the Peace Tower Carillon in Ottawa, Canada but her studies were interrupted soon after when Deborah moved from Ottawa to Hong Kong. In late 2019, she relocated to Belgium so that she could resume her carillon studies full time at the Royal Carillon School in Mechelen.Deborah graduated with High Distinction from the Royal Carillon School in September 2021. She also achieved her Carillonneur accreditation with the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America in the same year. Deborah had a successful career as a marketing and management consultant for performing arts organizations across Canada and in Hong Kong. She is now a resident of Stratford, Ontario.
Air and Dance (Alice Gomez, b. 1960)
Lament and Alleluiah
Bridge Over Troubled Water (Paul Simon, b. 1941)
arr. D. Hennig
“Singin’ in the Rain” (Arthur Freed, 1894-1973)
arr. D. Hennig
The Melody (Myroslav Skoryk, 1938-2020)
Asturias (La Leyenda), from Suite Espagnole, Op. 47 (Isaac Albeniz, 1860-1909)
arr. A. Gerken
Sarum: Variations on an Advent Chant (Deirdre Piper, b. 1943)
Canzonetta from Violin Concerto, Op. 35 (Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1840-1893)
Transcribed for organ by Arthur Pollitt, 1878-1933
Three Pieces from Organbook I (Ned Rorem, 1923-2022)
Episode
Song
Serenade
The Oak (Florence Price, 1887-1953)
Transcribed for organ by Joshua Duncan Lee
Dans un bois solitaire, K. 308 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756-1791)
Ch’io mi scordi di te, K. 505
Never weather-beaten sail (Thomas Campion, 1567-1620)
Hang golden sleep upon her eyelids fair (John Hilton, 1599-1657)
It was a lover and his lass (Thomas Morley, 1557-1602)
Da unten im Tale, WoO 33 (Johannes Brahms, 1833-1897)
Dein blaues Auge Op. 59, no. 8
Mädchenblumen, Op. 22 Richard Strauss, 1864-1949
Kornblumen
Mohnblumen
Epheu
The vision (Mikhail Glinka, 1804-1857)
The statue at Tsarskoye (Selo César Cui, 1835-1918)
La Regata Veneziana (Gioachino Rossini, 1792-1868)
Anzoleta avanti la regata
Anzoleta co passa la regata
Anzoleta dopo la regata
Sonata III (Alexandre Guilmant, 1837-1911)
Allegro
Adagio
Fugue
Sinfonia, from Solomon (Georg Frideric Handel, 1685-1759; arr. Stainton de B. Taylor, d. 1975)
Méditation, from Thaïs (Jules Massenet, 1842-1912; arr. Edwin H. Lemare, 1865-1924)
The Squirrel (Powell Weaver, 1890-1951)
Imperial March (Sir Edward Elgar, 1857-1934; arr. George C. Martin, 1844-1916)
Alleluia (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arr. David Marlatt)
Contrapunctus 1 (Johann Sebastian Bach, arr. Robert King)
Overture to HMS Pinafore (Sir Arthur Sullivan, arr. Walter H. Barnes)
The Water is Wide (Traditional, arr. Michael C. Green)
Three Pieces (Ludwig Maurer, arr. Robert Nagel)
American Patrol (F.W. Meecham, arr. Arthur Frackenpohl)
Three Spirituals (Traditional, arr. Walter H. Barnes)
Go Down Moses
My Lord What a Morning
Joshua Fit the Battle
The Magnificent Seven (Elmer Bernstein, arr. Adrian Wagner)
Épilogue sur “Nun danket” et “Balerma” (Raymond Daveluy, 1926-2016)
Psalm Prelude, Set 2 no. 2 (Herbert Howells, 1892-1983)
Trois Improvisations (Nadia Boulanger, 1887-1979)
Prélude
Petit Canon
Improvisation
Symphonie pour Orgue No. 5, Op. 42, No. 1 (Charles-Marie Widor, 1844-1937)
Allegro
Vivace
GGS Students accompanied by Jonathan Oldengarm, organist
Chaconne in G minor (Tomaso Antonio Vitali, 1663-1745)
Tiffany Yeung, violin
Trois Mouvements (Jehan Alain, 1911-1940)
Andante
Allegro con grazia
Allegro vivace
Hannah Silverberg, flute
Trio Sonata in A Minor, TWV 42:a4 (Georg Philipp Telemann, 1682-1767)
Affettuoso
Vivace
Grave
Menuet
Hannah Silverberg, flute
Tyler Romsberg, oboe
Kuan-Yu Huang, cello
Contrapuctus IV, from The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750 arr. Taran Plamondon)
Bradley Cairns-Digel, trumpet (pictured)
Laura Kuri, trumpet
Aaron Sieve, horn
Kris Leslie, trombone
Benito Vargas, tuba
Shuman Zhou
Miserere (Franz Liszt, 1811-1886)
Trois Morceaux pour Piano (Lili Boulanger, 1893-1918)
Kelsey Zhong
Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118, nos. 4-6 (Johannes Brahms, 1833-1897)
Allegro appassionato, from Piano Sonata, op. 21 (Cécile Chaminade, 1857-1944)
Mariya Orlenko
Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante (Frédéric Chopin, 1810-1849)
Sharon L Beckstead is a Past President of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada and Provost of the Honourable Company of Organists. She served as Music Director at Leaside United Church in Toronto from 1993-2018.
Praeludium, Fuge und Ciacona (Dietrich Buxtehude, 1637-1707)
Adagio, from Three Pieces for Organ (Frank Bridge, 1879-1941)
Cat Suite (Denis Bédard, b. 1951)
Prrrelude
Cats at Play
Catnap
Toc-cat-a
Meditation on AMAZING GRACE (Frederick Swann, 1931-2022)
Trumpet Tune
Partita on CRUCIFER “Lift High the Cross” (Charles Callahan, b. 1951)
Processional
Chorale – Fanfare
Musette
Trio
Meditation
Voluntary
Joined together from Israel, Korea-Canada, Saint Lucia, and the USA, the Dior Quartet is the Quartet-in-Residence at the Glenn Gould School, Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
String Quartet in E Minor, op. 59 no. 2 (Ludwig von Beethoven, 1770-1827)
Allegro
Molto adagio ("Si tratta questo pezzo con molto di sentimento")
Allegretto - Thème russe
Finale
String Quartet in F Minor, op. 80 (Felix Mendelssohn, 1809-1847)
Allegro vivace assai
Allegro assai
Adagio
Finale: Allegro molto
Ten Chorale Preludes, BV 27, arr. Ferruccio Busoni (J. S. Bach, 1685-17507)
a: Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt, BWV 6377
b: Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt, BWV 705
Seven Songs after Pushkin, op. 52 (Nkolai Medtner, 1879-1951)
I. Окно (The Window)
II. Ворон (The Ravens)
III. Элегия (Elegy)
IV. Приметы (Omens)
Skazki, op. 42 (Nkolai Medtner)
II. Phrygian
Seven Songs after Pushkin, op. 52 (Nkolai Medtner)
V. Испанский романс (Spanish Romance)
VI. Серенада (Serenade)
Skazki, op. 26 (Nkolai Medtner)
III. Skazki in F minor
Skazki, op. 42 (Nkolai Medtner)
2. Phrygian
Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém (Song to the Moon), from Rusalka (Antonin Dvořák, 1841-1904)
Apparition de l’Église éternelle (Olivier Messiaen, 1908-1992(
Naïades, op. 55 no. 2 (Louis Vierne, 1870-1937)
O Mensch, bewein dein’ Sünde groß, BWV 622 (J.S. Bach, 1685-1750)
Symphonie V en fa mineur, op. 41 no. 5 (Charles-Marie Widor, 1844-1937)
i. Allegro vivace
iv. Adagio
v. Toccata
Violin Sonata No. 3, BWV 1005 (J.S. Bach, 1685-1750)
Adagio
Fuga
Largo
Allegro Assai
Daniel Turner, guitarist
Aires de Son (G. Tamez, b. 1948)
Aire Istmeño
Quedo
Son Trunco
Sonatango (J.C. Oliva, b. 1947)
Pasión
Te perdono
Vuelvo a creer
Tengo el alma destrozada
Luis Angel Medina, guitarist
Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 541 (Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750)
Sonata No. 5 in D minor, Op. 62 (Wilhelm Rudnick, 1850-1927)
Maestoso
Andante Cantabile
Finale
Symphonie VI, Op 42, No. 2 (Charles-Marie Widor, 1844-1937)
Adagio
Finale
Three Songs (Florence Price, 1887-1953)
Beside the Sea
Dawn's Awakening
Moonbridge
Stridono Lassú (Ruggero Leoncavallo, 1857-1919)
Vilja's Lied (Franz Lehar, 1870-1948)
Two Songs (Johannes Brahms, 1883 -1897)
Es träumte mir
Unbewegte laue Luft
3 Songs from Honey and Rue (André Previn, 1929 - 2019)
Whose House Is This
Do You Know Him
Take My Mother Home
Concerto in D major, BWV 972 (after Violin Concerto in D major, RV 230)
Antonio Vivaldi, 1678-1741;
arr. J.S. Bach, 1685-1750
[Allegro]
Larghetto
Allegro
Variations on an Old Folk Tune (The Fair Hills of Eire)
Amy Beach, 1867-1944
From 7 Preludes on Latino Hymns, op. 133
Derek Healey, b. 1936
Cuando fue Jesús (The Raising of Lazarus)
Saludo, saludo (Christmas)
Mananitas a La Virgen de Guadaloupe (Morning Song to the Virgin)
Trio for Trumpet, Violoncello, and Piano
Eric Ewazen, b. 1954
with David Liam Roberts, violoncello
Met's Wayne C. Vance Organ Scholar
Processional (Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, 1875-1912)
Reverie (William Grant Still, 1895-1978)
Suite (Florence Price, 1887-1953)
Fantasy - Fughetta - Air - Toccato [sic]
Reflection (Chan Ka Nin, b. 1949)
The Lord is My Shepherd (Kola Owolabi, b. 1977)
O Give Thanks To the Lord (Kola Owolabi)
Met's Minister of Music plays music of Herbert Fricker and others, from the collection of Ivor Baldwin
Arioso and Finale (David Hurd, b. 1950)
Retrospection (Florence Price, 1899-1952)
From Two Preludes on Yoruba Folk Melodies (Fela Sowande, 1905-1987)
1. K’A mura
Joshua fit de Battle ob Jericho (Spiritual, arr. Fela Sowande)
A Whimsical Intermezzo (Judith M. Baity, b. ca. 1960)
Go Down, Moses (Spiritual, arr. W.C. Handy, 1873-1958 ;adapted by Walter C. Simon)
Prizewinner in the COC's Centre Stage Competition
With Spencer Kryzanowski, pianist
Dich teure Halle, from Tannhäuser (Wagner)
Three Songs (Emery)
For Broken and Tired am I
Sweet Bide with me
Requiescat
Porgi, amor, qualche ristoro, from Le Nozze di Figaro (W.A. Mozart)
Four Songs, op. 13 (Barber)
Sure on this shining night
Hérodiade (Massenet)
Il est doux, il est bon
Rückert-Lieder (Mahler)
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
Ich atmet einen Linden Duft
Um Mitternacht
Prélude, Fugue et Variation, op. 11 - César Franck, 1822-1890
(version by the composer for harmonium and piano)
Adoration - Felix Borowski, 1872-1956
arr. for piano and organ by Roy Spaulding Stoughton, 1884-1953
Symphonic Piece, for Organ and Piano - Joseph W. Clokey, 1890-1960
Dialogue
Romance
Scherzo
Intermezzo
Fugue
Aaron James is the Director of Music at the Toronto Oratory of St Philip Neri, and a sessional lecturer in organ at the University of Toronto. An alumnus of the Eastman School of Music, he graduated in 2016 with both a PhD degree in musicology and a DMA degree in organ, along with the Performer’s Certificate in organ. He was the 2011 winner of the National Organ Playing Competition of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, and has won numerous other prizes for his organ playing, including first place in the Florence and Stanley Osborne Organ Competition and the Howard Fairclough Organ Competition; he was also a finalist in the 2012 Franz Schmidt International Organ Competition (Kitzbühel, Austria). He is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, and currently serves the College as national Chair of Examinations. His writing has been published in various scholarly and general-interest publications in print and online, including the Journal of the Alamire Foundation, Early Music, Antiphon, New Liturgical Movement, Organ Canada, Sacred Music, The Lamp, Oxford Bibliographies Online and Grove Music Online.
Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, Op 37, No. 1 (1837) - Felix Mendelssohn, 1809-1847
Partita “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme,” Op. 8, No. 2 (1935) - Hugo Distler, 1908-1942
Toccata
Bicinium
Fuge
Fugues in C Minor and F Major, from Four Fugues (1942) - Ernst Pepping, 1901-1981
Introduction and Passacaglia in D Minor, WoO IV/6 (1899) Max Reger, 1873-1916
Cari Astleford grew up in northern BC. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in organ performance from Burman University in Lacombe, Alberta under the instruction of Dr. Wendy Markosky. At the same time, she also graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She then moved on to Edmonton’s University of Alberta for her Master’s in organ performance, where she studied with Dr. Marnie Giesbrecht. While living in Edmonton, she became the organ scholar/assistant organist at Holy Trinity Anglican Church. She was also actively involved in the Royal Canadian College of Organists’ Edmonton Centre, including being treasurer for four years. Cari now resides in Toronto with her husband and is studying at the University of Toronto. She is a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts in organ performance under the direction of Dr. Patricia Wright. Cari’s doctoral research focuses on German neo-Baroque organ music in the years 1920-1945.
Transports de joie, from L’Ascension - Olivier Messiaen, 1908-1992
Alles, was von Gott geboren, from BWV 80 - J.S. Bach, 1685-1750
transcribed for organ by Rashaan Allwood
Prelude in G, BWV 884 - J.S. Bach transcribed by Max Reger, 1873-1916
In memory of… - Rashaan Allwood
Fantasia on Von Gott will ich nicht lassen - Bert Matter, b. 1937
Canonic Etude no. 2 in A minor - Robert Schumann, 1810-1856
So There! - Rashaan Allwood
Adagio, from Cello Concerto in E minor, op. 85 - Edward Elgar, 1857-1924
transcribed by Rashaan Allwood
Allegro marziale, from Mazeppa, s. 100 - Franz Liszt, 1811-1886
transcribed by Rashaan Allwood
Rashaan Rori Allwood is a multi-talented musician based out of Toronto, currently pursuing a PhD in Composition. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance and a Master's degree in Organ Performance. Rashaan is the recipient of the 2022 Marilyn Mason Award in Organ Composition from the American Guild of Organists, who commissioned him to compose a new piece for solo organ to be premiered in Washington in 2022. Rashaan was also one of the ICOT call for scores winners for short Piano works by Canadian composers in 2020. Rashaan is now the Director of Music at St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, Toronto where he regularly premieres his own new works, and organises performances for choir and instrumentalists. As a soloist, he has toured across Europe, and performed at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, UK, St. Nikolai-Kirche in Leipzig, Germany and St. Pierre’s Cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland.
Organist at Met, 1946-1952
Cantilène in A flat - Herbert Arthur Wheeldon, 1864-1923
Organist at Met, 1907-1913
Cantilène nuptiale Herbert - Austin Fricker, 1868-1943
Organist at Met, 1917-1943
Spring Song, from Three Pieces for Organ - Heather Spry, 1951-1996
The Spry family had a long and close musical association with Met.
Prelude and Variations on Old 100th - Calvin Hampton, 1938-1984
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