Fondo F0119 - Music Gallery fonds

The Music Gallery is a musician-run venue, located in Toronto, for the performance of electronic music, multimedia productions, dance, contemporary jazz and world music. It was established in 1976 by the Canadian Creative Music Collective (CCMC), a composer/improvisor collective initially aligned with the free-jazz movement. The Music Gallery was directed jointly by the CCMC's Peter Anson and Allan Mattes from 1976-1989 and soley by Mattes from 1980-1987. Jim Montgomery assumed direction in 1987, a position he held until 2005 when Jonathan Bruce became its interim director. By 1990, it averaged nearly 65 concerts annually and has hosted up to 150 concerts in a year. Through the 1980's and 1990's The Music Gallery was the home of the CCMC but also served as the home base of the Canadian Electronic Ensemble, the Glass Orchestra, the Evergreen Club Gamelan Orchestra, Hemispheres, New Music Co-op and Sound Pressure among other groups. It produced 'Ear It Live, a traveling festival of improvised music that toured Ontario and Quebec from 1979-1988 and sponsored an annual electronic music festival from 1979-1991. It has hosted residencies by artists including Derek Bailey, Mischa Megelberg and Barre Phillips. It has also operated it own record label, Music Gallery Editions, and is responsible for the issuing of some 27 lps, many of which are live performances taped at the Gallery itself including recordings of the CCMC, Lubomyr Melnyk, The Artists' Jazz Band, John Oswald, Peggy Sampson, Casey Sokol and The Nihilist Spasm Band. Music Gallery performances have also been featured on CBC Radio and CKLN-FM in Toronto.