Celebrating Canadian Women in Jazz featuring Allison Au, Tara Davidson and Amanda Tosoff
York University Department of Music presents:
Celebrating Canadian Women in Jazz: A Virtual Roundtable featuring Allison Au, Tara Davidson and Amanda Tosoff
Convener and Moderator: Prof. Noam Lemish
Thursday, March 10, 2022
9 a.m. – 11 a.m. (Virtual Event on Zoom)
REGISTER HERE
Award winning Canadian jazz artists Allison Au, Tara Davidson and Amanda Tosoff join Prof. Noam Lemish in a special roundtable discussion focused on their careers and musicmaking. 30-minute presentations by each artist will be followed by a Q&A session.
Allison Au is a JUNO award-winning Canadian Saxophonist, Composer and Arranger. Leader of the Allison Au Quartet formed in 2009, she has toured extensively throughout Canada and the US. Winner of the 2017 Montreal Jazz Festival TD Grand Prix de Jazz, the 2017 Halifax Jazz Festival Sting Ray Rising Star Award, and a 2017 Finalist for Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Jazz Artist Award, Allison was also recognized by SFJAZZ’s 2018 list of “10 Rising Instrumentalists You Should Know.”
Tara Davidson is a JUNO Award-winning alto and soprano saxophonist who has performed around the world at such prestigious venues as New York City’s Carnegie Hall, the acclaimed North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, the JZ Jazz Club in Shanghai, China, and The Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C. As a bandleader, Davidson has produced seven recordings since 2004 and performed on approximately forty recordings as a side person. Four of her recordings as a leader have been nominated by the JUNO Awards for “Album of the Year” in the “Traditional”, “Solo” and “Group” jazz categories. Davidson is an active educator presently on faculty at the University of Toronto and York University.
Tara Davidson is proud to be a Yamaha Artist and plays their Custom Z alto saxophone, Custom CSVR clarinet, and YFL-577 Series flute.
Amanda Tosoff is a B.C-raised, Toronto-based pianist, composer, and educator with six albums to her credit. As a bandleader and side-woman, she has performed across the country and abroad, and has been the recipient of such honours as the Montréal Jazz Festival Grand Prix de Jazz, the Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Jazz Artist Award, and a JUNO nomination for her 2016 album Words. As an educator for almost 20 years, Amanda has mentored students at her home studio and various music institutions, including Humber College’s Community Music School and Bachelor of Music programs. She has also been a featured lecturer at many universities and arts councils across Canada, most recently at the Canadian Jazz Summit at the University of Manitoba and the Canadian League of Composer’s workshop series. Amanda is also the co-founder of online education company, Music Arts Collective, where she has been hosting online workshops, an artist interview series, and several projects that highlight women in jazz. Amanda holds a BA in Jazz Performance from Capilano University and an MA in Musicology/Music Theory from the University of Toronto.
