The Toronto Consort

he Toronto Consort offers an extensive Student Education Project designed for students of high school age. The programs are presented at Trinity-St. Paul's Centre in Toronto, thanks to support from the J.P. Bickell Foundation, the Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation, CVRD Inco, The John McKellar Charitable Foundation and The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation.

Two unique educational opportunities!

The first program, entitled “Shakespeare's Songbook”, brings alive the kinds of music which would have been heard by William Shakespeare in Renaissance England.

Based on recent researches in the field, this 50-minute concert/lecture uses the songs and dances of Shakespeare's plays as a way of introducing high school students to the wonderful world of Elizabethan music.

With music for fools, fairies and Falstaff, students hear and are introduced to ballads, recorder and hurdy-gurdy improvisations, harpsichord fantasias and a capella vocal works. A great way to increase understanding of William Shakespeare, and to be introduced to an unforgettable musical world!

The second program, entitled “An Introduction to Medieval Music” (click here to download Teachers' Guide PDF), is a wonderful way to introduce students to the unusual world of medieval music.

The 50-minute program is devised as a pilgrimage, just as it might have happened in medieval Europe in the early 13th century.

First stop is Paris, where we hear the cries of street vendors, listen to itinerant students singing the original Carmina Burana, and take part in lively instrumental dances. As we travel through France we encounter a group of knights on their way to the Crusades, and hear their songs and stories. Finally we reach Spain where we are joined by throngs of pilgrims singing cantigas and dancing. Throughout, students are introduced to medieval instruments and their unique sounds.

The Toronto Consort has prepared a special Teachers’ Guide, introducing medieval music history, and the instruments heard in the concert, which is available to participating groups.

The programs are designed for secondary school students, and will be of particular interest to music students, English students, history students and students of French and Spanish. For more information on the programs and dates of presentation, please call Lisa at 416-966-1045.