X Avant Festival. The Music Gallery, Toronto. October 21–25, 2009. The fourth X Avant Festival at Toronto’s Music Gallery was entitled Convergence and Collaboration. As noted in gallery artistic director Johathan Bunce’s program notes, the theme was “inspired by ambient music forefather Brian Eno’s idea of ‘scenius,’ .[...] Read more

Concerts and Events David Dacks Issue 106

Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music. Washington, D.C. September 22–27, 2009. Musicologists love to remind us how utterly primal and universal their subject has proven to be. They point to bone flutes and other instruments turned up at the earliest proto-human excavation sites and to the failure among anthropologists to find a single culture, present or past, bereft of[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Richard Sheehe Issue 106

Guelph Jazz Festival. Guelph, Ontario. September 9–13, 2009.   The annual Guelph Jazz Festival is always populist. In its sixteenth edition, it extended its support of outdoor improvisation, plus interaction between Third and First World musicians without lessening its commitment to Free Music. Much of the outstanding music making came from the[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Ken Waxman Issue 106

Jazz em Agosto. Lisbon, Portugal. August 1–2, 6–9, 2009.   There are plenty of festivals designed to exploit beautiful physical settings, but they tend to present the most accessible (and festive) musical genres. At the opposite end of the spectrum there are festivals that emphasize challenging music in ad hoc environments. Somehow, Jazz em[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Stuart Broomer Issue 106

Ulrichsberger Kaleidophon. Ulrichsberg, Austria. April 30–May 2, 2009. A site-specific performance that took into account the dimensions and machinery of a still-functioning 1853 linen factory, a resounding interface between pulsating electronic and acoustic instruments, and a full-force finale involving a mid-sized band were among the notable performances at 2009[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Ken Waxman Issue 105

Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival. Montreal, Quebec. June 3–30, 2009. Nightly touring an edition of the Suoni per il Popolo Festival means visiting with audiences as diverse as the musical menu itself. Without fail, the annual Montreal festival that urges guests to “Liberate your ears” brought to the fore exciting and diverse programming in more[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Deanna Radford Issue 105

Open Ears Festival. Kitchener, Ontario. April 24–May 3, 2009. Open Ears, as the name implies, is a festival designed to awaken the listening ear—to present new experimental music and to expand our listening experience. This year, Edwin Outwater, the music director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, posed two thematic questions, variations on the[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Megan-Fay Rothschild Issue 105

MUTEK_10. Montreal, Quebec. Over the past ten years, MUTEK has become an internationally recognized electronic music festival and the largest of its kind in Canada. This year MUTEK_10 exceeded my expectations by offering unprecedented richness, quality, and depth, making it a milestone year on many levels.Over the past[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Andrea Ayotte Issue 105