New Schafer composition to open Toronto's Koerner Hall

Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music will show off the acoustics of its new Koerner Hall with a performance of a composition by R. Murray Schafer.

Schafers Spirits of the House has been commissioned by philanthropist Michael Koerner to open the performance space to be named after him.

The Artists of the Royal Conservatory and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra will be conducted by Jean-Philippe Tremblay for the opening night performance on Sept. 25.

Pianist Anton Kuerti, Canadian tenor Richard Margison and bass singerRobert Pomakov and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir are among the guests who will perform opening night.

The evening will also include a video tribute to Royal Conservatory graduate and famed pianist Glenn Gould. The gala is set for what would have been Gould's 77th birthday.

The gala will be followed bynine nights of performances designed to display the hall's potential for jazz, roots, classical and choral music.

Master jazz musician and composer Chick Corea will be reunited with bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White, formerly part of his jazz-rock fusion band Return to Forever, in a performance Sept. 26.

That evening also features Juno Award-winning Toronto vocalist Sophie Milman.

Koerner Hall, with 1,140 seats and state-of-the-art acoustics,is part of an extensive renovation of RCM, the venerable music academy formed in 1886.

"The concerts of Koerner Hall's inaugural season cross all musical genres," Mervon Mehta, executive director ofRCM Performing Arts, said in a statement.

"Theseartists will reveal Koerner Hall's amazing acoustics while also reflecting the Royal Conservatory's commitment to the world's finest performing artists."

A 2009-10 season of performances in Koerner Hall was previously announced.

Other concerts in the opening series:

• Bla Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Meyer, Sept. 29.
• Emerson String Quartet with Menahem Pressler: Oct. 1.
• Nuit Blanche: Music Inside/Out: Oct. 3.
• Peter Oundjian conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra: Oct. 9.
• Frederica von Stade and Friends: Oct. 10.
• Frances Yip & Anthony Lun: Oct. 15.
• Keb' Mo' & Special Guests: Oct. 16.
• Ravi Shankar &Anoushka Shankar: Oct. 17.