Music Gallery Presents: Improvisation in Art and Life
2024-02-01 18:30 - 20:00 UTC | 918 Bathurst: Culture, Arts, Media & Education, 918 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M5R 3G5, Canada
A multi-disciplinary practice in improvisation with Nilan Perera. This hands-on workshop explores ways that various mediums can be improvisational.
It is not limited to music, people of many disciplines are welcome to partake in this process. This can include but is not limited to poetry, writing, and dance.
We don’t anticipate community members being proficient musicians
If you have instruments, poems, or works you wish to iterate on via improvisation, please bring them along!
This workshop is designed to show, through direct examples, that anyone can create through improvisation, and that the process of original art creation is not only within your means, but a critical form of communal expression.

On the Washed up
2024-02-03 19:30 - 23:00
VCRTAPES CLEANS UP HIS ACT, TO HANG IT UP ON STAGE

Music Gallery Presents: Conceptualizing a Grantable Idea
2024-02-08 18:30 - 20:30
A hands on workshop on how to ideate grant-ready projects.
Want to apply for a grant, but don’t know where to begin? This free workshop is dedicated to helping artists of all disciplines come up with grantable concepts.
This interactive session aims to guide artists through hands-on exercises to refine their project concepts. By honing your ideas, this workshop equips you to present focused and compelling proposals for grants and juries.

Music Gallery Presents: Listening and Sounding In the Dark with Anne Bourne
2024-02-15 19:00 - 21:00
In partnership with Venus Fest, we present a deep listening session with Anne Bourne. Exploring the themes of listening in the dark
A series of circles for listening meditation and to practice sounding Oliveros Tuning meditation.
The event will draw minimal electricity to offer a shared experience of perception in darkness.
Generate safe space through expanded sensory perception, discernment and attention.
An opportunity to accumulate choral soundfields in community as experiential peace activism.

Tapestry Jam - 1 Year Anniversary
2024-02-25 20:00 - 23:00
A one-of-a-kind experience of moving like mixed fruit jam to new music; no borders, no tribes, just jam. We are too caught up in the moment to care about self, image, or identity. We are not this or that anymore. We are creaturely parts.”
The jam, that usually accommodates 4 musicians, will now have 6 participants. As always, the participants will remain anonymous to each other and the audience until the day of the performance.
Join us on Sunday February 25th as we celebrate the 1 year anniversary of this crazy experiment.

NAVAN – LIVE IN CONCERT
2024-03-01 20:00 - 23:00
Get ready for a night of enthralling Persian rhapsody! Join us on March 1st, 2024, for Navan’s live concert, where modern Persian music meets a dynamic fusion of pop-rock, blues, jazz, and hip-hop. Navan, a distinguished figure in alternative pop, will take the stage with a world-class band, including Grammy-nominated musicians, to deliver an unparalleled musical journey.
Doors at 7:30pm

1234 DanceArts Showcase and Artisan Market
2024-03-02 20:00 - 22:00
An artist showcase featuring established and emerging singers, poets musicians, dancers and choreographers from across Ontario. Our aim is to break down barriers between artistic genres and create an inclusive performance space for marginalized individuals.
Our event also features a Vendor’s Market to highlight local vendors.
Doors at 7pm
For more info and tickets, click here.

Zoe Alexis-Abrams Illustration Show - Gardeners Dream + Light Tables Talk
2024-03-04 12:00 - 2024-03-10 17:00
It’s our pleasure to announce that the talented Zoë Alexis-Abrams illustration show is now on at 918 in our gallery Sun Room!
Statement from Artist:
“In response to my current position as Horticultural Technician Apprentice, I’ve been dreaming of my decolonized relationship to the land. In the Anthropocene, our community’s relationship to public space becomes alarmingly personal. My research + experiential maps bump up against Settler + Indigenous collaborations in public space planning; recognizing the Master Plans of both Allen Gardens + Toronto Island-Mnisiing as living documents with public-facing identities.
My experience of this research is fresh and alive. It is messy, in-process, + subject to change. Who has access to the dream? Who is dreaming? Whose dreams take the longest to realize? How do we reconcile project deadlines with developing relationships to land (we can’t)?”

Soocha Tea - Workshop
2024-03-06 20:00 - 21:00
A 12-week tea workshop to teach you everything you ever wanted to know about tea and more! This wonderful hands on educational experience will enlighten you to the vast flavorful world of Korean tea.
Due to the limited space, it will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
Registration required! For registration, click [here](https://canada.korean-culture.org/en/1364/board/569/read/128247).

Women From Space Festival
2024-03-08 19:30 - 2024-03-10 23:00
The Women From Space Festival 2024 is HERE! Bringing the bold, edgy and cyber-punk vibes🤘
This year, they will present 9 performances & 30+ artists over three days on March 8-10
The international acts include saxophonist/composer Matana Roberts, afro-electronica sound-chemist Val Jeanty, electro-vibraphonist Patricia Brennan & DJ Arktureye as well as rising star bassist/composer Mali Obomsawin with her quartet featuring Magdalena Abrego, Allison Burik and Mili Hong.
The 17-piece all-star Women From Space Big Bang! returns with an ambitious project, commissioning 6 Canadian arrangers to reimagine the extraordinary music of Björk. The Big Bang! features some of the most exciting improvisers in Toronto along with trippy visual projections by The Liquid Crystal Display.
The local superstars include Lina Allemano’s BLOOP and two longtime collaborators Germaine Liu & Nicole Rampersaud in a brand new trio with Matana Roberts. Morgan-Paige will bring an immersive sound and visual projection experience and Grace Scheele will present her magical solo harp+electronics project. A special WfS curated improvising group will connect flutist Anh Phung, synth artist chiquitamagic and soundmaker Emjay Wright.
They will team up with the Toronto Dance Theatre to co-present movement artist Nickeshia Garrick in an improvised encounter with percussionist, turntablist Val Jeanty.

Music Gallery Presents: Mali Obomsawin Quartet
2024-03-09 20:00 - 23:00
The Women From Space Festival is back with 9 performances & 30+ artists over three days on March 8-10. The Music Gallery teams up with WFS to present Mali Obomsawin alongside Allison Burik (woodwinds), Magdalena Abrego (guitar) and Mili Hong (drums).
Opening the night is harpist Grace Scheele alongside electroacoustic duo MOCH (presented in partnership with the CMC).
Doors open at 7:30pm

Music Gallery Presents - Maria Chávez + Debashis Sinha
2024-03-14 20:00 - 23:00
“In two solo sets, Maria Chávez and Debashis Sinha explore the close-up, circular materiality of sound—from the vinyl record to tabletop bass drum.
Maria Chávez returns to the Music Gallery for an evening dedicated to the subtle grit and contours of recorded and repurposed sound.
Drawing on her ongoing practice as an abstract turntablist and sound artist, Maria will present a solo live set, deconstructing and reimagining the close-up materiality of the vinyl record.
Toronto artist Debashis Sinha joins the evening with a new solo percussion set, playing with the circular motion and surface tension of tabletop bass drum.
In the gallery, we feature works from Maria Chávez’s visual art practice—exhibited in Toronto for the first time—alongside new installations by Montreal artists Lina Choi + Robin-Dimitrije Gosselin-Monasevic that explore the movement of the vibrating loudspeaker cone as a delicate, percussive force.”
For more info and tickets, click here!

Canadian Chamber Orchestra Presents: Living Room Listening Party
2024-03-17 19:00 - 21:00
“Join us for the launch of the Canadian Chamber Orchestra’s Living Room Listening Party! The program for the CCO’s debut concert includes pieces by Edvard Grieg, Jessie Montgomery, Radia, Kevin Lau, Dinuk Wijeratne, and more! Come listen to the stories and music that inspires musicians and audience alike, and share in the experience of hearing these pieces performed live by some of Canada’s most thrilling musicians.”

Beyond Labels Fashion Show
2024-03-26 18:00 - 22:00
Beyond Labels Fashion Show, an Event that has been meticulously organized by enthusiastic students from the Humber Event Management Program. We have brought together a talented group of designers, models & volunteers to showcase the power of fashion in creating a positive impact to celebrate diversity, promote inclusivity , and empower the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Join us on 26th March 2024 @ 6:00 pm for a colourful and exciting runway show that embodies creativity, inclusivity and advocacy. We are also tied up with a Charitable Organisation – Friends of Ruby, which supports two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and all gender non-conforming youth (aged 16-29) by providing free counselling, housing and social services.
Please note that the tickets do not include drinks. Don’t miss out on Night of Lights, Sounds & Performances.

Aurora Symphony: A Fundraising Music Experience
2024-03-27 18:30 - 22:00
Join us for the Aurora Symphony! Inspired by the northern lights, this extraordinary event promises an unforgettable evening of harmony and philanthropy. Immerse yourself in the enchanting melodies of renowned musicians from the Chamber Music Society of Mississauga, including Cheryl Duvall, Fethi Nadjem, Amahl Arulanandam, Matias Recharte, and Demetrios Petsalakis. Your ticket purchase will support the Chamber Music Society of Mississauga and Humber Scholarships, empowering aspiring musicians and advancing music education. Don’t miss out on this magical experience! Get your tickets now and join us for the Aurora Symphony. See you there!

Salsa For A Cause
2024-04-04 19:00 - 23:00
Salsa For A Cause is an initiative driven by an enthusiatic group of students from Humber College united in a common goal—! Get ready to dance the night away for a good cause!
Join us on Thursday, April 4th, 2024 at 7:00 PM! By just buying a ticket, not only you secured a spot on the dance floor, but also support Humber College Scholarships and create a meaningful impact towards the fight against cancer. We have joined forces to raise funds for The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, funding one of the top 5 cancer research centres in the world.
Please note that the tickets do not include drinks or food, but they’re a great way to enjoy the music, atmosphere, meet new people, and the energy of our amazing venue! Don’t miss out on a night of fun and dancing. Get your tickets today!

F for Feria
2024-04-05 20:00 - 23:00
The F for Flamenco festival by FabCollab brings top international flamenco singers, dancers, guitarists and percussionists to Toronto and puts them onstage with the best in Canadian flamenco.
F for Feria presents the award-winning dancer Isaac Tovar (Seville) with a cast of international and Canadian stars in a performance that pays homage to spring, rebirth, and the fun-filled traditional Sevilla spring fair known as La Feria.
Dance: Isaac Tovar (Seville), Laura Peralta (New York), Alison MacDonald (Toronto)
Voice: Bárbara Martinez (New York), Shirley ‘La Pili’ Pincay (Toronto)
Guitar: Nicolás Hernández (Toronto), Benjamin Barrile (Toronto)
Percussion: Nasrine Rahmani (Madrid)

Labyrinth Ontario Annual Fundraiser
2024-04-18 19:00 - 23:00
Please Labyrinth Ontario for a silent auction and merchandise launch to raise money for this upcoming year of programming!
Attendees will enjoy an open bar, photo booth and two beautiful sets performed by modal musicians🎤

Poncili Creacion
2024-04-19 20:00 - 22:00
Two nights of chaotic tranquility take over the MG as identical twin brothers bring their puppets to life.
Poncili Creacion is an art project that is only to be seen and not described. A mastery of chaos, whimsy and raw magic this two-night show will have you in awe, in stitches and hopefully, in a state of joy.
Paired with beloved, and badass improvisers Karen Ng and Philippe Melanson, this day is one for the heads!
Opening on the first night is one of the Music Gallery’s founding members, Nobuo Kubota, doing what he does best…whatever the hell he wants. Night two features the noise-filled theatrics of percussionist Brian Ruryk, banging and smashing to his heart’s content.
This is not a show to be missed!
Friday, April 19, 2024
Starts 8 PM
Doors 7:30 PM
Saturday, April 20, 2024
Starts 8 PM
Doors 7:30 PM

Gujarati Rang - Folk Concert
2024-04-21 17:00 - 20:00
Come experience a night in which we take you through a musical journey as we celebrate the vibrancy of Gujarat and all of its colours. This will be a night to remember and we have kept it very intimate. Come sing along with us in our beautiful venue which will make you feel like you’re back in a village in the heart of Gujarat. We look forward to seeing you there with your family and friends. There will be a lot of surprises so make sure you don’t miss out.
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Journey of Love - 918 Bathurst
2024-04-28 16:00 - 17:30
Beginning their first ever season with flourish and fervor, Lazzuli Baroque is proud to present
their inaugural show, Journey of Love. Featuring Italian music from the early 17th century,
Soprano Roseline Lambert and Mezzo-soprano Rocky Duval are joined by lute player Lucas
Harris and viola da gamba player Felix Deák.
Journey of Love features works by Monteverdi, Strozzi, and more. The concert takes the
audience through the stages of love: longing, infatuation, stability, fights, breakups, and a happy
ending for the lovers.

ResilienTOgether Concert & Exhibit
2024-05-01 18:00 - 21:00
Join us for a night of music, art, and community. Come together with fellow resilient individuals as we celebrate strength and unity through creativity. The event kicks off at 6:00 PM so be sure to arrive early to secure your spot. Let’s come together and show that we are stronger when we stand TOgether!
Featuring an exciting lineup of talented performers, including Fafiella, Melo, Gabe & 4sante, alongside a captivating art exhibit showcasing the work of 15 emerging artists and 7 commissioned pieces by Toronto Visual Artists Sarah Okello, Ehiko, Indica Cornish, Kajaea, Shanice Edwards, Abigail Wedderburn, and Chinelo Yasin.
Our headliner for the night is the sensational KIBRA, promising to deliver an electrifying performance!
Setting the mood with funky beats will be DJ Sekii, while the evening’s festivities will be expertly hosted by the charismatic GLO.
Bring your friends and family to support our talented artists and experience a vibrant showcase of talent.
To add to the excitement, we’ll have snacks and refreshments available throughout the event.

Fan Wu's Album Launch: Touch The Ten Thousand Things without Dependency LP
2024-05-02 20:00 - 23:00
Album launch for Fan Wu’s touch The Ten Thousand Things without dependency LP, featuring a three-ring “stacked solos” drone/poetry continuum by Fan @abolishedbauble , Matt @princenifty (Prince Nifty) and Victoria @vicsanointedfavourites (New Chance). The performance will take place Thursday May 2nd, 8pm.
The album was created in Vernon two winters ago with a rotating host of collaborators. It is a document of an early process experimenting with infusing Daoist cosmologies into our Western milieu. We cultivate a space of contemplation under the shade of Zhuangzi’s “useless tree” where we channel the full force of our protoplasmic shapeshift.
Get tickets here!

Branded Youth Entrepreneurship Conference 2024
2024-05-03 15:00 - 20:30
Get ready for a jam-packed day of learning, networking, and inspiration at the Branded Youth Entrepreneurship Conference 2024!
There is no other youth conference where you can get professional photos of your product or headshots, coaching from marketing experts, meet business professionals from across the GTA, hear inspiring speakers, and network with other young professionals.
Since 2012, Branded has given Black, Newcomer and Most-Vulnerable-Person (MVP) youth real tools to build their businesses. Through our model of group consultations, and our annual Pitch Competition, Branded has provided over $100,000 in funding to Youth entrepreneurs across the GTA
Buy tickets here!

Thin Edge Presents: ChamberDestroy (Co-presented by Music Gallery)
2024-05-07 20:00 - 22:00
About:
ChamberDestroy is co-produced by The Music Gallery and connects contemporary music ensembles from two of Canada’s largest cultural centres with one common artistic goal. Ensemble Paramirabo-EP (Montreal) and Thin Edge New Music Collective – TENMC (Tkarón:to/Toronto) reunite on the heels of a highly successful joint touring/recording project (2015 and 2018), to premiere Nicole Lizée’s ChamberVania (AKA ChamberDestroy, FKA ChamberKill) for double sextet, soundtrack and video and Datura for double sextet and video by Yaz Lancaster (USA) alongside, Louis Andriessen’s seminal Workers Union and Julius Eastman’s Joy Boy for unspecified ensemble.
Montreal-based Nicole Lizée is one of Canada’s most sought after and imaginative composers. Her instantly recognizable musical language ingeniously marries elements of contemporary music with technology, popular culture and visuals. Nicole’s rhythmically propulsive new work explores ephemera, idioms, and connotations of early video game culture. The 8-bit world infiltrates the chamber ensemble world as instruments assume 8-bit and pixelated characteristics. Sections of the work are duel/battle-based music: ensemble vs ensemble. Puzzles need to be completed, levels are attained, 2D and 3D music are both expressed on screen via graphics and in the ensemble writing and alterations to instruments. The ensembles performs on custom-made instruments to evoke the infiltration through the 4th/5th wall into the chamber music world.
Yaz Lancaster is a transdisciplinary artist based in NYC. They are most interested in practices aligned with relational aesthetics & the everyday; fragments & collage; and liberatory politics. Their work is presented in many different mediums & collaborative projects, and often reckons with specific influences ranging from politics of identity & liberation to natural phenomena and poetics.
Louis Andriessen’s experimental compositional style developed as a rebellion against postwar serialist traditions prevalent in Europe during his formative years. Worker’s Union (1975) is an indeterminate piece ‘for any loud sounding group of instruments’. Driven by aggressive, machine-like rhythmic precision, Andriessen believes that “only in the case that every player plays with such an intention that his part is an essential one, will the work succeed; just as in the political work.” TENMC and EP are revisiting this powerful composition, which featured prominently on their joint album ‘Raging Against the Machine’ (2015 Redshift Records), in honour of Andriessen’s recent passing.
Joy Boy (1974) by visionary American minimalist composer/performer Julius Eastman, is written for open instrumentation, and includes elements of improvisation within the framework of a set harmonic structure. Joy Boy’s shimmering harmonic textures carry listeners and performers alike along for an ecstatic sonic journey.
Doors: 7:30pm
Show Starts: 8:00pm
Tickets: General $25,PWYCA $10 +, Music Gallery Members $10
Buy Tickets here!

What Is: Spirituality As Connection
2024-05-09 20:00 - 22:00
Sound buzzes around the venue, crawls up the walls, and explores sonic movement.
Sound is a sensory object. We use its waves, frequencies, particles to explore our bodies, unlock memories, and learn about what it means to be human.
Kicking off our first day of programming, sound is explored in three parts. The first, a vibrotactile sound installation created by Leon Louder in partnership with VibraFusionLab. This multi-day installation brings the Montreal Insectarium to life, with whirring sounds that can be felt and heard.
In the main hall ASMR and hypnosis artist Erin Gee explore the subtleties of music and sensation in her performance. This is followed by Oakland based artist, Amma Ateria who will be presenting a neurological-centered, psycho acoustic performance titled CONCUSSSSION, a work created to help herself heal from a life altering injury.
Thursday, May 9, 2024
Starts 8 PM
Doors 7:30 PM

What Is: Spirituality As Laughter (Movement)
2024-05-10 19:00 - 19:30
Laughter fills our sanctuary room as we welcome back Laraaji.
Laughter is one of the most healing sounds known to humankind. In listening we can find joy, camaraderie and release. In the doing, our lungs and organs fill with oxygen, our stress dissipates.
On this day of creating community connection and sharing big laughs, we are so happy to invite Laraaji who returns to the Music Gallery after 10 years. Starting the evening off with a laughter yoga course (7:00 pm) alongside long time collaborator Arji OceAnanda, the night will continue (8:30 pm) into a sonic cuddle puddle of sound bath administered by Laraaji and Arji, alongside longtime Music Gallery family, New Chance with her new project Peaceful Mind.
The sound bath portion of the evening will be visually accompanied by the work of Charline Dally.

What Is: Spirituality As Laughter (Sound Bath)
2024-05-10 20:30 - 22:30
Laughter fills our sanctuary room as we welcome back Laraaji.
Laughter is one of the most healing sounds known to humankind. In listening we can find joy, camaraderie and release. In the doing, our lungs and organs fill with oxygen, our stress dissipates.
On this day of creating community connection and sharing big laughs, we are so happy to invite Laraaji who returns to the Music Gallery after 10 years. Starting the evening off with a laughter yoga course (7:00 pm) alongside long time collaborator Arji OceAnanda, the night will continue (8:30 pm) into a sonic cuddle puddle of sound bath administered by Laraaji and Arji, alongside longtime Music Gallery family, New Chance with her new project Peaceful Mind.
The sound bath portion of the evening will be visually accompanied by the work of Charline Dally.
Friday, May 10, 2024
Starts 8:30 PM

What Is: Spirituality As Sharing
2024-05-11 19:30 - 22:30
The beloved album 10 Ragas to a Disco Beat is reimagined.
Our sanctuary space is transformed to a tea salon of dreams. Come lounge at the Music Gallery and drink some cha/chai as artists of many modalities take over the main hall in an ode to experimentation.
Come lounge at the Music Gallery and drink some tea with some of the city’s best and brightest improvisers.
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Starts 8 PM
Doors 7:30 PM

GALLERY 44 MEMBERS EXHIBITION
2024-05-15 12:00 - 17:00
“Spectra brings together new work by innovative members of Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography in an exhibition that represents a variety of different photographic concepts. As the name suggests the work demonstrates the many possibilities that are open to contemporary photographers and celebrates the diversity of artistic practice revealing the ways seemingly disparate work can intersect. Spectra, a changing collective of members, has been an active participant in CONTACT Photography Festival since its inception.
Ademola Oladipo, Alex Coley, Bryan Stewart, David Scriven, Ismayil Atmaca, Ivan Rupeš, Jack Martin, Jennifer Lee, Kate Young, Katherine Childs, Kye Marshall, Lilianne Schneider, Linda Briskin, Maisie Cu, Mike Lau, Nas Filho, Paula Razuri, Ross Stockwell, Theresa Ma”
May 15 to May 26th, 2024
Hours:
Wednesday – Sunday, 12pm to 5pm
Opening reception:
Thursday, May 16th from 6-9pm
Artist talk:
Saturday, May 18th from 1-3pm
