HOLIDAY Q&A WITH ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
JORN WEISBRODT
Q: What excites or interests you the most about making the move to Toronto?
My new job with Luminato and the chance to discover a new city. I always think when I move to a new city that I am going to die there so I am always happy when I am forced to move.
Q: What as at the top of your “to-do” list in Toronto?
Taking the subway, sitting in cafes, riding around on my bicycle, buying groceries (I am actually really excited about this as I love cooking and quite honestly am not convinced New York super markets are worth the money you spend there), walking in the park, taking a boat trip, going to the hairdresser, of course also going to the theater, galleries, museums, opera, dance, concerts etc. to see what the cultural landscape is like but I really want to get to know the Torontonians first, the audience that the festival has and will need to reach.
Q: What are your treasured holiday celebration memories?
For whatever reason in my family baby Jesus or the Christ Child would bring the presents on Christmas eve. We were not allowed in the living room for days before Christmas as my father was decorating the tree and my mother would arrange all the presents under the tree. Then once the waiting grew so painful that even my parents could no longer resist, my dad would ring a special bell that would remain silent all year long, my mother would have opened the screen door to the porch seconds before. We would race down the stairs into the living room and my mom would point into the white fields behind our house (yes, we still did have white Christmas in those days) and shout out to us that we should be quick and we could still see the christ child rush into the distance. I never caught a glimpse of him but I never doubted that it had been there. Then years later they tried Santa Claus on us but I knew that it was our neighbor.
Q: Are there any pieces of music or film, in particular, which invoke the holidays for you?
I was born in Germany and the Sissy trilogy is a big thing there and yes, two or three years ago I believe we watched the whole three parts up in St. Sauveur in the Laurentians and my Canadian relatives got addicted as well.
I was in a boys choir and we did about 30 shows in the 24 days leading up to Christmas, most of them in either far too cold churches or far too hot homes for the elderly so fainting and coughing while singing "Silent Night" are engrained in my memory. Also Bach's Christmas Oratorio is something I have to hear at least once during Christmas. It was around the same time when I discovered that it usually takes several people to do something and that I could not rule the world alone either.
Q: What do you most look forward to during the holiday season?
In Germany we call the time between Christmas and New Years "between the years". To me that means this one week is not really part of our normal time, the rules of every day life do not apply. I do not have to check emails, I do not have to have to do something, but it is a time of being together with the people that you love, of focusing on that, cooking together, going for walks together, going ice skating, it is like taking a visit in ones own childhood. It reminds me a little bit of the idea of a festival. Other rules apply during this time, just as during a festival other rules apply, rules that artists define and that transform our life.
Q: What excites or interests you the most about making the move to Toronto?
A: My new job with Luminato and the chance to discover a new city! I always think when I move to a new city that I am going to die there so I am always happy when I am forced to move.
Q: What do you most look forward to during the holiday season?
A: In Germany we call the time between Christmas and New Year’s "between the years". To me that means: this one week is not really part of our normal time, the rules of everyday life do not apply. I do not check emails, it is a time of being together with the people that you love - of focusing on that - cooking together, going for walks together, going ice skating. It is like visiting one’s own childhood, which reminds me a little bit of the idea of a festival.
Q: What is at the top of your “to-do” list in Toronto?
A: Taking the subway, sitting in cafes, riding around on my bicycle, buying groceries (I am really excited grocery shopping as I love cooking and am not convinced super markets in New York City are worth the money you spend!), walking in the park, taking a boat trip, going to the hairdresser... AND, of course, going to the theater, galleries, museums, opera, dance, concerts, etc. to experience the cultural landscape of Toronto. I want to get to know Torontonians first – the audience that the festival has and will need to reach.
Q: What are your treasured holiday celebration memories?
A: For whatever reason, in my family, Baby Jesus or the Christ Child would bring presents on Christmas Eve. We were not allowed in the living room for days before Christmas, as my father was decorating the tree and my mother would arrange all the presents under the tree. Then once the waiting grew so painful that even my parents could no longer resist, my dad would ring a special bell that had remained silent all year long and my mother would open the screen door to the porch. We would race down the stairs into the living room and my mom would point into the white fields behind our house (yes, we still did have white Christmas in those days) and shout out to us that we should be quick to still see the Christ Child rush into the distance. I never caught a glimpse of him but I never doubted that he had been there.
Q: Are there any pieces of music or film, in particular, which invoke the holidays for you?
A: I was born in Germany and the Sissi Trilogy is a big thing. Two or three years ago, I believe, we watched the whole three parts up in St. Sauveur in the Laurentians and my Canadian relatives got addicted as well.
Growing up, I was in a boy's choir and we performed about 30 shows in the 24 days leading up to Christmas – most of them in either far-too-cold churches or far-too-hot homes for the elderly, so fainting and coughing while singing "Silent Night" are ingrained in my memory.
Bach's Christmas Oratorio is something I have to hear at least once during Christmas. Around the time I first heard this piece, I realized that it usually takes several people to do something and that I could not rule the world alone!
