RITES OF PASSION – The St. Matthew Passion by J. S. Bach
The St. Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach is sometimes glibly referred to as the “best opera Bach never wrote.” As a provincial church musician in Leipzig, Bach never composed an opera, but the St. Matthew Passion is as close as you could come – a masterpiece of high drama, emotion and impact. Intended for use on Good Friday, this monumental work recounts the story of the final hours of Christ, containing some of Bach’s most beautiful and inspired music. Regardless of your faith, creed, religion or knowledge of music, the St. Matthew Passion will impress, enlighten and move you, clearly illustrating the capability of the creative mind when inspired. Join Rick Phillips for a stimulating voyage into this great musical work of art that speaks spiritually to the whole of humanity.

BIOGRAPHY
Rick Phillips is a busy broadcaster, podcaster, freelance writer and reviewer, panel moderator, lecturer, consultant, concert host and music tour guide. He presents a variety of Music History & Appreciation courses at such venues as the University of Toronto, York University, the Royal Conservatory of Music and George Brown College. Often a juror in the classical music categories for the Juno Awards, he is the author of “The Essential Classical Recordings – 101 CDs,” published by McClelland & Stewart. From 1994 to 2008, Rick was the Host and Producer of SOUND ADVICE, the weekly guide to classical music and recordings, heard across Canada on both CBC Radio One and Radio Two every weekend. Affiliated with the CBC for 30 years, working in Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto, his career spanned production to management to on-air. He holds a B. Mus. from McGill University and a M. Mus. from the University of Toronto.

The world is facing a global refugee crisis unprecedented since the 1945-1952 period. There are currently almost 68 million people forcibly displaced.
Professor Hansen’s lecture will review the causes of mass forced migration and explore the solutions. It will argue that solutions are not found in the global north; they are rather found in the global south – where most refugees are. It ends by making a series of policy recommendations: that resources be concentrated in the global south where the refugees in fact are; that refugees be given economic, political and social opportunities in the countries to which they flee; that nascent efforts to encourage refugee self-sufficiency be expanded; that refugee access to education in particular be expanded and that donor support aim to improve life for both refugees and locals so that refugees may come to be seen not as an intolerable burden but as an economic and political asset.

BIOGRAPHY
Randall Hansen is Interim Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Full Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, and Canada Research Chair in Global Migration. He works on Immigration and Citizenship, Demography and Population Policy and the Effects of War on Civilians. His published works include Disobeying Hitler: German Resistance after Operation Valkyrie (2014), Sterilized by the State: Eugenics, Race and the Population Scare in 20th Century North America (2014), and Fire and Fury: the Allied Bombing of Germany (2009). Professor Hansen has also co- edited a number of books on immigration and public opinion in Western democracies. He appears regularly on TVO’s The Agenda and has written for and been quoted in the national and international press.

Moderator:
Daniel Tisch (CEO, Argyle Public Relationships)
Panelists:
Wendy Duff (Dean, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto)
Carol Radford-Grant (City Archivist, City of Toronto)
Robert Benzie (Queen’s Park Bureau Chief, Toronto Star)

The digital age has radically democratized communication – allowing almost anyone to create, publish and consume content. But technological advancement has also decimated the news media and made it more difficult for citizens to separate truth from falsehood – resulting in dangerous declines in trust in leaders, institutions, governments and businesses. Join us for a dynamic dialogue between an academic, an archivist, a journalist and a professional communicator – each a national leader in their field – as they explore the implications of the digital revolution on our democracy, and what we can do to preserve it.