Our event starts at 11 am on the 2nd floor of the Koffler House (569 Spadina Avenue). Social 10:45am – 11:00am.
It’s almost fifty years since the Beatles released their final album, Let It Be. Still, their music continues to populate contemporary playlists. In asking why we still listen to the Beatles, our featured speaker, Mark Whale, will explore questions of musical value, which, as it relates to human value, transcends the boundaries of purely personal musical taste.
Mark Whale, PhD, is a fulltime Professor of Liberal Studies at Humber College, Toronto, where he teaches courses in music, philosophy and general education. Mark trained in London, England, at the Royal Academy of Music, and in Freiburg, Germany at the Musikhochschule. After a career in Europe as a violinist, teacher, conductor and concert organizer, Mark completed his PhD in music education at the University of Toronto in 2009. A published researcher, he has presented at conferences around the world on the question of musical meaning. In 2014 he gave a TED Talk at Guelph University entitled “Music: Is it just a matter of personal taste?” His current research project, for which he has received funding from Humber College, includes a series of performances and podcasts called “The Music Listening Project,” (episodes of which are available on iTunes) in which people talk with him about what it is they hear in music that touches and moves them. Mark continues to play the violin professionally. He is currently concertmaster of Toronto’s Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra. Other musical engagements are varied, ranging from solo Bach in Humber’s Arboretum, Quartets in Cafes, Piazzola on YouTube, to improvisation and the folk music of Bosnia.
Our guest musician will be Gbenga Nathaniel, an artist, entertainer and instrumentalist. He specializes in afro pop and soul and has been in the entertainment industry for over a decade. Gbenga is currently working on his own project which is a mixture of contemporary arts.
You can RSVP for this on our Meetup page at:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/khgwkrybccbzb/