Welcome to the concert!

We love orchestral music and we’re happy to get to share it with you today.

Before starting, we want to make sure you feel welcomed and comfortable. We have tables in the lobby with things you can use like sunglasses, fidgets, and noise-reducing earmuffs. During the concert, you can come in and out of the hall as many times as you wish. If you need to vocalize or walk around, please do. If the sound

of the orchestra is too loud, you can get up, and move to the back rows where it is quieter, or even go to the lobby or quiet room.

All that said, the most important thing is that we want you to relax and just be yourselves. We believe orchestral music is for everyone, and we’re glad each and every single one of you is here with us.

Simon

A message from the conductor

Simon RivardRBC Resident Conductor &TSYO Conductor

The Composer Is DeadConcert Fact Sheet

• The Toronto Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1922. The first concert performed by the Orchestra was in April 1923 at Massey Hall.

• Today’s concert is at Roy Thomson Hall.• For detailed information and to help prepare

for your visit, please see our social story.• Roy Thomson Hall was designed by architect

Arthur Erickson and opened in 1982.• The hall is mostly concrete, steel, and glass. If

you look up, you will see that the ceiling and some of the walls are glass. The glass pieces in the ceiling/roof are all different sizes—can you find two that are similar or look the same?

• The lobby opens 45 minutes before the concert will begin.

• The lobby is square, but the auditorium is round, which means that parts of the lobby are larger than others. Have you seen a circle inside a square before?

• In the lobby, there are tables where you can sit before the auditorium opens.

• There are concessions in the lobby—you can buy snacks and drinks at the concessions.

• If you have a reusable water bottle, you can fill it on site in the lobby at one of the water fountains.

• There is a coat check at the hall. It opens when the lobby opens. It costs $2 per item to use the coat check. You should bring cash if you plan to use the coat check.

• For this concert, the auditorium will open 45 minutes before the concert begins, at the same time that the lobby opens. This will give you plenty of time to find your seat.

• The ushers will help you to find your seat.• The Main Floor of the auditorium will be

open for this concert, as well as the back three sections of the Mezzanine.

• Lights will be left at Libretto level for the entire concert. (This means that the

Concert facts

lights over the audience will remain at approximately 50% brightness)

• The musicians are playing live and acoustic (not amplified); however, an orchestra can be loud. We will have a limited supply of sound-dampening headphones onsite, but we recommend bringing your own if you have a pair at home.

• The conductor will speak to the audience during the program.

• The concert will be approximately one hour in length.

• You will be able to move around the auditorium and lobby during the concert.

• If you like, you can move to the back three rows of the main floor to get a different view, or for the sounds to be a little quieter. If you need it to be even quieter, you can enjoy the concert from the tunnels (there is a screen in each tunnel where you can view the concert) or the lobby.

• If I need to use the quiet room, I can ask an usher to show me where it is. The quiet room is close to the backstage area.

• The washrooms are located toward the front of the building and are behind the large mirrored wall where you first entered. There are family and accessible washrooms on the Main Floor beside the elevator. An usher can direct you if you need assistance finding the washrooms.

• Things you will need to pay for: parking underneath Roy Thomson Hall, coat check, concession snacks and drinks. If you do not need these services, you are not required to pay. Parking underneath Roy Thomson Hall costs $4 per hour, or any part thereof, or $16 for the day (weekend daily flat rate).

• We hope you enjoy this relaxed performance with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra!

Main Floor Map

Legend1. Subway PATH2. Elevators3. Accessible washrooms4. Men's washrooms5. Women's washrooms6. Sensory stations7. Doors to the hall8. TV screens9. Stairs to access washrooms in between floors

To access the quiet room, please use the south tunnel.

South Lobby North Lobby

Stage

Audience

Box Office

Coatcheck

Back 3 rows

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Main entrance

East side—Simcoe Street

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Quietroom

Lower-level view

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Mezzanine Floor Map (2nd Floor)

Legend1. Subway PATH2. Elevators3. Accessible washrooms4. Men's washrooms5. Women's washrooms6. Sensory stations7. Doors to the hall8. TV screens9. Stairs to access washrooms in between floors

Mezzanine to quiet roomIf I am sitting on the Mezzanine, I will need to go back down to the Main Floor to access the quiet room.

South Lobby North Lobby

Stairs to Main Floor

Stairs to Main Floor

Stage

Audience

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East side—Simcoe Street

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Interstitial Floor Map

Legend1. Subway PATH2. Elevators3. Accessible washrooms4. Men's washrooms5. Women's washrooms6. Sensory stations7. Doors to the hall8. TV screens9. Stairs to access washrooms in between floors

What is the Insterstitial Floor?The Insterstitial Floor is between the Mezzanine and the Balcony, and has extra washrooms.

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Repertoire notes1. Schifrin: Theme from Mission: Impossible [3 minutes]

• Begins with a suspenseful trill before the entire orchestra loudly kickstarts the energetic piece

• A drum kit is played• The flute and trumpet trade off the

melody throughout the song and ends with trumpets

• Piece culminates with a loud crescendo

2. Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 - Mvt. 1 [7 minutes]

• Playing alternates between the Orchestra and solo cello player

• Dissonant and high-pitched strings• Abrupt changes from slow to fast and

quiet to loud• Ending of the piece is punctuated by a

couple of timpani hits

3. Mancini: Theme from Pink Panther [3 minutes]

• This piece feels sneaky and starts with the triangle and the low woodwinds

• Solo saxophone will be heard throughout

• When full Orchestra joins in, the brass instruments increase the overall volume of the piece

• Towards the end of the piece, when the theme is quietly played by the woodwinds, there will be a sudden and surprisingly loud accent played by the Orchestra. This sharp accent is repeated at the very end.

4. Stookey: The Composer is Dead [32 minutes]

• Unlike the other music in this concert, this piece has a story. There will be a narrator talking over the music to tell the story.

• The story is about a police inspector investigating the “murder” of a composer. The Orchestra will be “interrogated” for this “crime”, but this is all just pretend and no one has actually been hurt! The creators of this piece wanted it to be an unusual introduction to the orchestra.

• The piece begins with the “Composer Is Dead” theme. This is a loud musical phrase played by the brass and percussion sections. It has quiet parts, and loud parts.

• Whenever there’s any mention of the composer being dead, the loud “Composer Is Dead” theme will be played. I can cover my ears if I feel it is too loud.

• During the “I will find them if they are lurking” speech, there is a slow build up of tense music, as each instrument joins in to create a feeling of suspense.

• When the brass section is introduced, they are intentionally loud for comic effect

• During the story’s climax, the narrator becomes increasingly agitated as he lists the names of dead composers, sometimes wailing or shouting. This is all part of the acting and playing pretend, and he is not actually upset.

Call: 416.598.5099(Mon–Fri, 9:00am–5:00pm)

Email: contactus@TSO.CA

For more information: TSO.CA/Relaxed

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