THE ANNUAL ANTI-PAGEANT POETRY and MUSIC CELEBRATION
Our annual, slightly off base, celebration of the holiday season is back with some of Toronto’s fave poets and brilliant musicians and winkers. (as in wink. wink. get it?)
It’s a fun night.
The more the merrier!
DECEMBER 17TH
FEATURING:
Mick Burrs (launching his 30th chapbook)
Kirsten Sandwich a Capella trio (Kirsten Nelson, Taavi Burns and Pelayo Matute)an instrumental duet by Phoebe Tsang and Tim Fitzgerald
a holiday rock duet by Cynthia Gould and Mandy Wells (2/3rds of “Hi Heels Lo Fi”)
and the always eclectic and brilliant performers of the OPEN MIC!
BIOS:
Cynthia Gould & Mandy Wells
Cynthia Gould & Mandy Wells are the drunkest and stupidest two-thirds of High Heels Lo Fi.
High Heels Lo Fi sounds like if Joan Jett was kicked out of the Ramones’ Rock n’ Roll High School for being drunk and acting like the class clown, and acts like a madcap cocktail of rock, booze, and hilarity.
You’ve been warned.
Kirsten Sandwich
Kirsten Nelson, Taavi Burns and Pelayo Matute have been singing in choirs, both together and separately, for several years. In 2003, they decided to embark on a three-person singing and song-writing project of their own. Kirsten Sandwich was the result.
This a capella trio sings both original works and a variety of cover songs arranged for three voices. Their material spans a broad and eclectic range of genres and styles, from Renaissance madrigals to torch songs, and from lounge music to irreverent satire, but always with an element of the polyphonic choral tradition that brought them together.
This is the one we had from December 18th 2008. 😉 The only substantive difference is that now there are more children involved…
Steven Michael Berzensky [aka MICK BURRS]
Mick moved to Canada in November, 1965. Both he and his friend Kent Bowman intuitively knew what a disaster the Vietnam War would be. They understood there is always something better to live for. Peace is no cliché. Mick started writing poetry at Simon Fraser University where he was a teaching assistant. 29 chapbooks, seven books, and many edited books later, he stands here proud of co-editing with Allan Briesmaster the poetry anthology CROSSING LINES (2008). His most recent writing successes include this summer’s productions of two short Patio Plays: ASTHMA, and A QUASI-SCIENTIFIC TREATISE ON COPULATION AMONGST FRUIT FLIES. Tonight he is launching his 30th hand sewn chapbook called … ………………………………………………………….. .
Phoebe Tsang
Currently Assistant Concertmaster for the Ontario Philharmonic and Principal Second Violin of Canadian Sinfonietta, Phoebe practices an array of musical genres including tango, contemporary improvisation, hip hop, rock and pop. She has worked with I Furiosi baroque ensemble, The WoodChoppers Association, Continuum Contemporary Music and Esprit Orchestra. In December 2007 she gave the world premiere of Canadian composer Scott Good’s Anguished Grief for violin and orchestra, with Sinfonia Toronto. Phoebe is an internationally published poet and the author of Contents of a Mermaid’s Purse (Tightrope Books, 2009). A multi-disciplinary artist, Ms. Tsang also holds a BSc in Architecture from the University of London (UK). www.phoebetsang.com.
Tim FitzGerald, bass
Tim FitzGerald was a member of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra for over 15 years and formerly played with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra London.
Since moving back to Toronto in 2001, he has performed with many ensembles.
Among his favourites is the Canadian Sinfonietta, where he met fellow member Phoebe Tsang.
In recent years Tim has performed and composed vocal settings, in various styles, of Bahá’í Sacred text.
Other performing interests include jazz bass, traditional Irish music and singing:
in chorus and as soloist, often for groups of children.
His own two daughters, Julie and Zoë, have reached the ages of 21 and 31 in spite of being subjected to many of these performances early on.