ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE
Charismatic vocalist Patricia O’Callaghan joins the Gryphon Trio with a new Americana program, “Moonshine Ballads and Various Charms,” that evokes “open skies, dark tales and lazy afternoons.” Join us and experience the brand-new, beautifully re-envisioned Lakeside Ballroom at The War Memorial. Seating will be cabaret style, with complimentary snacks and a cash bar. Preferred seating is available as well (with your first drink on us).
MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM
A decade ago, the Gryphon Trio with Toronto-based vocalist Patricia O’Callaghan presented a groundbreaking concert and recording called Broken Hearts and Madmen that was global in spirit, mixing folksongs, cabaret, jazz and pop by some of today’s most revered popular composers. They have teamed up again with a new Americana program which, as they put it, "evokes open skies, dark tales, and lazy afternoons. From Arlo Guthrie to Aaron Copland, Charles Ives to Randy Newman, these are songs where nostalgia and hardship walk comfortably hand in hand. A southern waltz by Willie P. Bennet followed by a northern ballad by Sarah Harmer leaves one feeling the vast and beating heart of Americana and beyond." It is a program that promises to continue to redefine chamber music as we know it, blurring the lines between traditional and contemporary, and classical and popular, lit with brilliant arrangements and superb performances.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
For over 25 years, the endlessly inventive Gryphon Trio has impressed international audiences and the press with its highly refined, dynamic performances, and has firmly established itself as one of the world’s preeminent piano trios. With a repertoire that ranges from the traditional to the contemporary and from European classicism to modern-day multimedia, the Gryphons are committed to redefining chamber music for the 21st century.
The ensemble-in-residence at Music Toronto for nine years, the Gryphon Trio tours extensively throughout North America and Europe. Recent performances include those for the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, Northwestern University, the Eastman School of Music, Tippet Rise, and Williams College, among others.
Violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon, cellist Roman Borys, and pianist Jamie Parker are creative innovators with an appetite for discovery and new ideas. They have commissioned over 85 new works, and they frequently collaborate with other artists on projects that push the boundaries of Classical music, including collaborations with a host of jazz luminaries at Lula Lounge, Toronto’s leading venue for jazz and world music.
Deeply committed to the education of the next generations of audiences and performers alike, the Gryphon takes time out of their busy touring schedule to conduct master classes and workshops at universities and conservatories across North America, and are Artists-in-Residence at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music.
Gryphon Trio’s prolific recording catalogue includes 22 releases on Analekta, Naxos, and other labels; it is an encyclopedia of works for the genre, including works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Lalo, Shostakovich and Piazzolla. Honors include 11 nominations and three Juno Awards for Classical Album of the Year in 2004, 2011, and most recently in 2019. In 2013, Canada Council for the Arts presented Gryphon Trio with the prestigious Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts.
“This is a piano trio that plays with strength and unanimity...big, bold, almost orchestral performances.”
Patricia O’Callaghan is something of a wandering minstrel. Her fifteen-year career has taken her across genres, continents, and a range of disciplines and passions. Her recording career spans six solo CDs and many interesting guest collaborations. A speaker of French, Spanish, and German, her early recordings focused on European cabaret, and she is considered a specialist in the music of Kurt Weill. Patricia has performed his Threepenny Opera, Seven Deadly Sins, and Kleine Mahagonny with Soulpepper Theatre Company, Edmonton Opera, and Vancouver Opera, to name a few.
She has sung with some of the world’s great ensembles and artists (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Don Byron Quartet, Bryn Terfel), and has performed in venues that range from London’s Royal Opera House to New York’s Noho cabaret, Le Poisson Rouge, where she performed with the Gryphon Trio music from their groundbreaking CD, Broken Hearts and Madmen. Patricia also writes and co-writes songs and has had the honor of premiering many new compositions from both the classical and pop worlds. It has been her great privilege to work with such creators as R. Murray Schafer, David Braid, Dennis Lee, Christos Hatzis, George Aperghis, Steve Reich, and Steven Page, to name a few.
Patricia’s film, theatre and television credits include her own Bravo! special, The CBC produced Ken Finkleman series Foolish Heart, and the semi autobiographical Rhombus / Westwind film Youkali Hotel, which has won several prizes, including a Golden Sheaf Award to Patricia for best female performance. Ms. O’Callaghan has also received other awards, such as a Chalmer’s Grant from the Ontario Arts Council and a Fleck Fellowship from The Banff Centre for the Arts.
She recently completed a six-year stint as a Resident Artist at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company. Her responsibilities there included conducting, teaching, mentoring young artists, producing, curating and performing in festivals, and developing new work.
“O’Callaghan’s an impressive talent with unlimited potential ... The show’s crammed with charm and charisma”
Plan Your Visit
The War Memorial
