Conductor

If you're down by Nathan Philips Square, check out this head-scratcher of an exhibit: a bunch of helmets and brains boxed in plexiglass, purportedly raising awareness about brain health. 

I sat in two very different audiences this past week.

Wednesday morning, I listened to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra rehearse Beethoven and Brahms, with Augustin Hadelich on the violin and Elim Chan conducting.The audience was 100% white and comprised of members of the monied demographic that most commonly has its Wednesday mornings free.

Wednesday evening, the audience was more diverse and less monied. We gathered in a Toronto Metropolitan University lecture hall to listen to six mayoral hopefuls give their pre-packaged answers to pre-approved questions about what they would do if they were mayor.

Just in case it doesn't go without saying, the major contrasts between the two events were: 

• the early event was uplifting and harmonious, the latter irritatingly discordant
• the morning event displayed astonishing virtuosity by both the violinist and the conductor; the latter showcased the embarrassing lack of even basic oratory skills among the candidates (Daniele Zanotti, the CEO of the United Way, gave the best speech; sadly, he's not running for mayor)
• as grand as the morning event was, it will make little impact on my life as a resident of Toronto; as dismal and pointless as the evening event was, the stakes for me and everyone else in Toronto couldn't be higher

The events had two things in common: both were highly orchestrated (sorry, couldn't resist), and a small-statured Asian woman held everyone's attention. 

Thanks for reading!

Karen

Olivia Chow, third from the right, is the candidate
to challenge in debate because she
has a name-recognition-fuelled lead in the polls.