Upcoming Events at Novalis Hall

Sunday, June 5, 2011
Acclaimed Brazilian pianist
Luiz de Moura Castro

Sunday, June 26, 2011
Rites of Summer
A Celebration in Music & Dance
with pianist Rena Amiralieva and movement artist, Dianne Chapitis

Saturday - Sunday, June 25 - 26, 2011
Building a Bread Oven
with Warren Lee Cohen

Sunday, September 11 - 26, 2011
Graham Jack Plays Cohpin

People have often told Graham Jackson that they like the way he plays the piano, many appreciate his dynamic yet relaxed style and the singing tone he sustains. "The result is a soul-satisfying effect of 'rightness' that leaves one feeling somehow healed," remarked one of his listeners.

Graham's piano teacher had urged him to pursue a concert career as a young man. Somewhat daunted by the early success of his contemporary, Glenn Gould, he opted for a music degree instead and went on to teach in Waldorf Schools for seven years. He spent the next five years teaching piano at the Royal Conservatory and keyboard harmony at the University of Toronto and he also served as examiner for both these distinguished academies.

Graham eventually encountered the Camphill movement, working alongside his wife, Veronica, in the Pennsylvanian and South African communities for 14 years while rearing a family. He returned to Canada in 1982 (when he and Veronica had amicably separated) where he has continued to teach piano and faithfully play for eurythmy at the Toronto Waldorf School he helped found in 1968.

Camphill Nottawasaga Spring and Fall Fairs are often enhanced by Graham Jackson's musical presence. His forthcoming September 11 concert at Novalis Hall marks an important anniversary of our times and also affords our community an opportunity to celebrate Graham's lifelong dedication to the music of Chopin, an aesthetic calling which likely accounts for the pianist's remarkable youthfulness at just-turned-eighty-years-of age!

Please encourage your family and friends to come out in force for this first event of the Novalis Project Fall programme when we can happily meet and mingle after our long summer break.

For Register please call 1-705-722-5408,
or e-mail rsvp@novalisproject.com

2011 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Franz Liszt, one of the most awe-inspiring figures in all musical history. Luiz de Moura Castro, one of the world’s foremost interpreters of the music of Liszt, returns to Novalis Hall to present this special commemorative concert. Not to be missed!

"Master of masters… the complete control of sonorities and colours that you can extract from the instrument with technique, heart and thought, leaves me elevated in spirit… "
- Pierre Challier, foremost French music critic

A native of Rio de Janeiro, Luiz de Moura Castro began to study the piano at age 5 with one of the greatest pedagogues in Brazil and made his professional debut aged only nine. Renowned as a concert pianist, professor of music and adjudicator, he has performed in concerts and music festivals in the United States, South America, Europe, Russia, Korea, China and Japan. He lectures and concertizes annually on four continents in addition to teaching graduate courses in universities in the US and South America. He is included in Benjamin Saver’s book “The Most Wanted Piano Teachers in the USA” Vol.1. Ritmo Magazine counted his Piano de Cuba CD among the top ten recordings of 2000, declaring it:

…marvellous music translated into sound by a great pianist…
Imaginative, ingenuous, original!

For Register please call 1-705-722-5408,
or e-mail rsvp@novalisproject.com

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Rena Amiralieva was born into an acclaimed musical family in Baku, Azerbajan and was a seasoned performer by age 10. Subsequently garnering academic accolades and winning prestigious prizes in Russia and Europe, she emigrated to Canada twenty years ago. She has delighted audiences at summer festivals in Ontario with her “polished and brilliant playing” and her recent recitals at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Arts and Glen Gould Studio have established her as a concert pianist of rare accomplishment and repertoire. Rena has a keen sense of the elemental forces of fire, air, earth and water that attend all summer growth, forces that inform the music she chooses for this special programme that includes Liszt piano solos and choreographed interpretations by her fellow artist, Dianne, of the natural patterns and rhythms inherent in the music of Debussy that Rena plays.

Dianne Chapitis is a performance artist, choreographer and practitioner of the Mitzvah technique-an art of body alignment that informs her approach to dance and deepens her sensitivity to the movement and rhythm inherent in music. Her dancing incorporates patterns and activity seen in nature, a practice grounded in an honours degree in Kinesiology (University of Waterloo) ballet, modern dance, mitzvah technique, music and physics. She has performed in the Guelph Jazz Festival, the Distillery Jazz Festival in Toronto, a celebration of John Coltrane music in Syracuse NY, with classical musician Guy Few in Waterloo and Stratford musician, Loreena McKennett. In 2009 she created a dance solo for the University of Guelph choral concert, “Force of Nature”. She is also a member of this choir. Currently teaching in the opera department at the University of Toronto, Dianne maintains a private coaching practice and travels regularly to teach at the Juilliard School in New York.

Private Mitzvah Technique sessions with Dianne are available by appointment on Monday and Tuesday, June, 27/28.

For Register please call 1-705-722-5408,
or e-mail rsvp@novalisproject.com

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For Register please call 1-705-722-5408,
or e-mail rsvp@novalisproject.com

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Sunday, June 6, 2010 at 3:00pm
Location: Novalis Hall, 7841 4th line, Angus, Ontario

Around the World with Flute and Percussion
A dynamic presentation by John and Kathleen Rudolph

Come and enjoy this enlivening and instructive event! Instruments provided for audience participation! Children of all ages welcome!

John Rudolph was appointed principal percussionist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1997. He teaches at the Faculty of Music at U. of T., the Glenn Gould Professional School and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Kathleen Rudolph, is much in demand as a recitalist, chamber musician and teacher. After 17 years with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Ms. Rudolph was appointed coordinator with the wind division of the Glenn Gould School, Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

Tickets: $10

For Reservations please call 1-705-722-5408,
or e-mail rsvp@novalisproject.com

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The Spiritual In Art

…a water colour painting course with Italian art master, Donald Hall

June 28/29, 2008 at Novalis Hall, 7841 4th line, Angus, Ontario

Explore the 'light' energy of the Black Madonna and experience Donald Hall's inspired approach to art history and his unique insights into the work of the great Italian masters.

Educate your senses and gain a practical understanding of Goethe's theory of colour.

Learn Donald's engaging exercises in colour, form and composition.

Enjoy meaningful social exchange with kindred spirits old and new.

Experience the tranquil, rural ambience of Novalis Hall and environs.

Create your own rite of passage into summer.

Mornings: 9.30-12.30pm       Afternoons: 2.00-4.30pm

Please bring dry watercolours or a set of Pelikan watercolour cakes and brushes-suggested sizes small, three quarters and one inch. Bring your own easel if possible-some can be provided. Course suited to beginners and advanced students alike.
        
Course fee, including paper, lunches and snacks: $225
(a non-refundable deposit of $35 is due before June 10) Cheques payable to Ita Wegman Foundation, 92 Mary St., Barrie, ONL4N1T1

“In working with Donald Hall and in hearkening to his profound insights on the great masters, I have renewed my connection with painting.”           
Denis Schneider, art teacher

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Summer 2004 | HOME

Sunday, May 2, 3:00pm

The Tragedy of Mephistopheles
Goethe's story of Faust

A one man performance by New York actor and storyteller, Glen Williamson. A tragic story involving the search for a goddess, a battle for the human soul, and a parade of natural, human and divine events. It's more than a devil bargained for.

"A consummate actor in complete command of his craft."
Berkshire Chanticleer

"This remarkable actor brings Goethe's tale vividly to life."
The Independent, New York

Tickets: $20

Sunday, May 23, 3:00pm

Summer Strings

Samuel Yeung, viola.
Sarah Findley Boyer, violin.

Two Duets k. 423 & 424 for violin and viola (Mozart) Passacaglia duo for violin and viola (Handel-Halvorsen) Music is a language that has meaning and form, the expression of which arouses a sense of beauty in the listener.

These two accomplished performers communicate their own vibrant understanding of the language that goes beyond words and that only their instruments can speak.

Tickets: $15

Sunday, June 13, 2:15pm

Community Celebration of the 7TH Anniversary of Novalis Hall

3:00 pm

TheScott Marshall Jazz Trio

Enjoy a state of the art jazz performance on saxophone, grand piano and acoustic bass.This concert is a feature of the Barrie Jazz and Blues Festival.

"…each improvisational flight of this remarkable trio was distinct and free, yet the total effect was greater than the sum of its parts. Their interaction reminded me of a conversation in which listening is deep enough that whoever speaks is inspired to say more than he/she knows…"
The Seasonal, Autumn 2003

4:15pm - Birthday Cake is served.

Tickets: $10

Saturday, July 24, 3:00pm

Symphony in the Barn Chamber Players perform:
From Classical to Jazz An Exploration of Form

Music from the era of Beethoven, Bach, and Ravel leading into themes from Miles Davis, and Duke Ellington. This event is a fundraiser for the Novalis Project and it will be followed by High Tea and a chance to meet the orchestra members.

The highlight of the 2003 Novalis season was a concert by the versatile Symphony in the Barn orchestra. They are back by popular demand. This musical phenomenon emanates from the biodynamic farm of Michael and Dorothea Schmidt in Durham. Every summer an international confluence of young musicians of outstanding ability become apprentice farmers who rehearse and perform in a functional barn. Audiences experience the joy orchestra members share in cultivating the soil and captivating the spirit. Today's programme communicates the pleasure these disciplined musicians take in the improvised jamming sessions that often erupt at the end of a day's work. At such moments classical tradition crosses over into jazz.

Tickets: $30

Sunday, August 22, 3:00pm

The Hilario Duran Trio
featuring special guest vocalist, Emer O'Driscoll

Liberating and enlivening rhythms from the cutting edge of contemporary music.

Hilario Duran is one of the few great virtuoso pianists to have emerged from the rich musical soil of his native Cuba in recent decades. He is in demand as a solo performer at Jazz festivals around the world and came prominently to the attention of Canadian CBC audiences through his collaboration with flautist Jane Bunnett on the Juno award winning album Spirits of Havana in the early nineties. Acclaimed as composer, arranger and teacher, accolades accrue to him from critics worldwide. His technique is awe-inspiring, involving runs executed in octaves, block chords at fast tempos and the sudden chords in two hand unison characteristic of Cuban dance rhythms. His friend and peer, Chuco Valdes refers to Hilario's music as unparalleled and salutes him as:
"...one of the greatest Cuban pianists of our times."
In this concert Hilario is ably matched by the accomplished Roberto Occhipinti, TorontoÍs most versatile acoustic bassist. Roberto is as liable to be playing bass in a New Music concert, in the ranks of the Toronto Symphony or other major orchestra, or indulging his passion for Soul and Rhythm and Blues with his popular band Soul Stew in clubs and concert halls.

Emer O'Driscoll is a recent graduate of Humber College Music Programme and a former pupil of Toronto and Vancouver Waldorf Schools.

Tickets: $20

Friday, September 3, 8.00pm

The Esmeralda Enrique
Spanish Dance Company

An exotic combination of movement, music and vocals by one of Canada's foremost dance ensembles provides a memorable finale to our season.

Esmeralda Enrique grew up in the flamenco tradition which has its roots in Northern India, a dance form adapted by travelling gypsies which gradually became a popular feature of Spanish culture. Ms. Enrique immigrated to Canada in 1982 and later founded the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company, which has emerged as one of CanadaÍs foremost dance ensembles. Ms. Enrique is a much loved, warm and charismatic member of the Toronto dance community, named most fascinating choreo-grapher in 1995, and most popular teacher in 1997. She is the subject of television documentaries, newspaper articles and the recipient of many awards. Her over one hundred choreographed works are acclaimed for their contemporary fusion, demanding versatility and excellence not only from her own dancers but from the solo artists and theatre companies who commission them. She is joined at Novalis Hall by members of her dance company, accom- panied by their musical director, master guitarist/composer, Nicolás Hernández, with Daniel Stone on percussion. Jose Luâs Pérez gives passionate voice to traditional Flamenco songs.

Tickets: $25

In touch with mother earth

July 19 - 24 (9:30am - 12:30pm; 2pm - 4pm)

A workshop for beginners and advanced students. Six days of work and play with clay. Enjoy pottery and clay modelling with experienced potter, art teacher/therapist Annemarie Heintz. Students will learn different handbuilding methods, become familiar with the potter's wheel and experience raku firing, a perfect summer activity outdoors.

Cost, including materials: $350

The colour world of flowers

August 16 - 20 (9:30am - 12:30pm)
Five mornings of drawing and painting.

The flowers in our gardens will lead us into a magical realm of colour, beauty and wonder as we observe, draw and paint them using the various techniques of pastel, watercolour and oils.

Cost, including materials: $175

Both workshops listed above will be held at
Annemarie's studio at The Carriage House, 105 Toronto St., Barrie, Ontario.

For information call (705) 722-4131 before June11,
or (705) 722-5408 after that date.

Workshop : July 30 - August 1

Download Workshop brochure/registration form here.
(Adobe Acrobat PDF)

From Emotion to Feeling
with Dr. Michael Lipson

Learn how emotions can be transformed into heightened, creative feeling.

Evening Lecture, Friday July 30, 7:30pm

Opening the Heavens

Tickets: $20 (Lecture Only)

The threshold of death is the threshold of the heavens, which are all around us. We cross this threshold in every instant of experience, though we chronically misunderstand it. Meditation is the way consciously to leave a world of separation and senselessness and move into the true world of unity and meaning. Dr. Lipson draws on his experience of nine years as Chief Psychologist at Harlem's Hospital center for children with HIV/AIDS and on his wide scholarship in the fields of world religions, meditation, literature and philosophy. He has translated Rudolf Steiner's Philosophy of Freedom, and numerous works by Georg Kuehlewind. A Kornfeld Fellow in Medical Ethics, Fetzer grantee and Soros Faculty Scholar with the project on Death in America, his recently published book is called, Stairway of Surprise. He is a clinical psychologist in independent practice in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Workshop, July 31 - August 1, with singing and artistic activity.

Saturday, 10:00am - 8:30pm (including lunch, dinner and snacks)
Sunday, 9:00am - 3:00pm (including lunch and snacks)

Novalis asks: "Why is it that we know the essential nature of feeling only slightly as yet? It is the most natural and heavenly of all our senses, an inner light that refracts into ever more beautiful, more powerful colors. Stars could arise within us if we learned to feel the whole world. The eye now shows us only edges and planes of what we might then see more clearly and variously. We could become masters of an endless play and forget all our foolish striving in an eternal, self-nourishing, and ever-increasing pleasure…"

Our normal emotional life is bound up with our own fates and our own bodies, always egotistically tinged. We can learn, not to suppress or ignore the standard emotions, but to shift them outward so that they become pure play, understanding, and expression. The workshop will involve participants in demanding meditative and interpersonal practices to evoke and transform the life of the heart.

Two day workshop,with meals: $225
Workshop, meals and lecture: $235

Please register before July 7, 2004, call:1-705-722-5408 Email RSVP@novalisproject.com

Download Workshop brochure/registration form here.
(Adobe Acrobat PDF)