Rosie Levine from NOW was at both prior BOOM events,
as well as honouring both BOOM events with being one of the top ten parties in all of Toronto.
BOOM de Luxe promises to even be better!
| SONIC BOOM a Real Blast By ROSIE LEVINE NOW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 1996 One of the funkiest fundraisers in many moons was that presented by Autumn Leaf Performance, harvesting loot for, and awareness of, Sonic Boom, now in its third season offering contemporary music culture. A spiffily attired crowd gathered at the extravagantly eccentric mansion of Vivian Reiss and Irving Garten for Nursing the Boom: The 1996 Sonic Boom Grand Ball of Food and Performance, where enthusiasm peaked with ambience, performances, live installations and amazing food courtesy of Azalea chef Didier LeRoy and his staff. Following champagne, performances began simultaneously - each in different rooms - and repeated four times throughout the night - to enable Boom boosters to suss out the stellar repertoire. Participating on the second floor were diva Fides Krucker - singing in the sumptuous bathtub - accompanied by Diane Aitken on flute, followed by Chantel Dauphinais dancing the tango in the bedroom. The garage housed an Anxiety of Immortality video installation by Sonic Boom's artistic director Thom Sokoloski with recorded and live music by ArrayMusic's Michael White on trumpet. The third-floor studio was home to interactive media artist David Rokeby's Very Nervous System installation, while Dancemakers' Marie Josée Chartier danced her solo. Composer Joel Garten did piano improv, and pianist Eve Egoyan performed in the swellegant living room. Actor Arsinée Khanjian peeled potatoes in the kitchen while interpreting a Paul Eluard poem. Keeping performance times running smoothly was designer/writer Ariel Garten. The cultured crowd included the consul general of France, Pierre-Jean Vandoorne, and his wife Martine Vandoorne; world-acclaimed and pregnant cellist Ofra Harnoy, with her husband, entertainment lawyer, Bob Cash; renowned opera singer Jean Stilwell; filmmaker Atom Egoyan; and composer Leslie Barber, with her partner, from director Patricia Rozema, flashing pictures of their baby, Jacoba. |
Big Dada goes BOOM By ROSIE LEVINE NOW NOVEMBER 20-26, 1997 In an exquisite setting - the artistic home of Vivian Reiss and Irving Garten - 180 partiers went gaga over Dada BOOM, a grand ball of food and performance. Guests dressed dadaesque for the sold-out funder for Autumn Leaf Performance's upcoming season of new opera culture. Warmed by Bacardi martinis and wine, Dada devotees enjoyed delectable dishes prepared by chef Didier LeRoy. Between courses, Ariel Garten as Empress Voltaire announced the varied "delusions of artistry." On the third floor, painter Reiss joined singers Fides Krucker, Katherine Duncanson and Linda Catlin Smith in a creative ensemble performance. The living room housed awesome mezzo-soprano Jean Stillwell, accompanied by pianist Grant Wenaus. Young composer Joel Garten gave new meaning to ‘guts' by playing the innards of the piano. In the garage, choreographers Marie-Josée Chartier and Shannon Cooney danced to a composition by Michael White, performed by flutist Dianne Aitken. Award-winning director Patricia Rozema appeared on video. In the sumptuous bathroom, soprano Trish O`Callaghan, wearing a wet suit, entertained in the tub with percussionist Andy Morris, who sported a tuxedo bottomed only by briefs. Sara Chase danced solo in the adjacent bedroom and, in the shower, tenor Benjamin Butterfield, in scuba gear, was accompanied by harpist Leslie McInnis. Sartorial standouts included singer Jennifer Moore, composer Michael J. Baker, choreographer Darcy Callison and vocalist Tony Bergamin. Creating a buzz was renowned bass baritone Bryn Terfel, hitting Dada BOOM the night before his acclaimed recital at Roy Thomson Hall. Also seen were the consul general of France, Pierre-Jean Vandoorne; Canada Council board director Riki Turofsky; composer Lesley Barber; RTH and Massey Hall program director Wende Cartwright; costume designer Beth Pasternak; communications consultant Alberta Nokes; dapper New-Music camera operator Basil Young, with Sunquest`s Yvette Sutherland; author/teacher Betty Kovacs; and highly regarded assistant director David Webb, about to begin work with filmmaker Mike Newell on Pushing Tin, starring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton.
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