OrgAlt Press

"The hectic schedule ended midnight on Friday at downtown St. Paul's Anglican Church. Your humble scribe crowded into the church with 700 others for a rousing performance which combined the thunderous sounds of the mighty organ with a diverse selection of dramatic readings - from Dickens' The Chimes and Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven to Nash's The Cow. With its bombastic climax, Christopher Dawes and the other performers of Organ Alternatives would have drowned out any heavy metal concert - and with much more style!"

- Toronto Arts Foundation News (Phantasmata Sancti Pauli,
ARTSWEEK, Toronto, '92)

"We were sitting in St. James' Cathedral, listening to the 14th century tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I hadn't read this long narrative poem since university, and back then I wasn't paying much attention. Now I see why: the story was made to be told in public, with the audience sitting open-mouthed at the glitter and magic."

- Michele Landsberg,Toronto Star(Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
FIRST NIGHT, Toronto, '93)

Headline: "Hauntingly beautiful medieval tale is centrepiece of organ concert."
”"What better way to demonstarte the versatility of this magnificent instrument to children and explore its various timbres!  Not only were the youngest listeners completely enthralled by the music and fine narration, the older concert-goers appreciated the richness and subtleties of the words and music."

- Community Press, Belleville, Ontario (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight/Peter and the Wolf
Eastern Ontario Tour, ‘94)

"The various colours produced by the stops of the organ helped to recreate the presence of several players.  Mr. Dawes' skills enhanced the feeling by consistently producing clean lines.  He wove a wonderful aural tapestry [in Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition] as listeners promenaded through the art gallery."

- The Daily Gleaner, Fredericton, New Brunswick (Symphonic Portraits,
Christ Church Cathedral Festival of the Arts ‘93)

"Hearing and seeing the organ used in this sensual, hilarious, tragic, enigmatic way liberates a tired instrument from its sometimes limited role, and lets it do what it does very well.  It can takes us beyond ourselves into that magical realm of light and shade known as "the theatre".

-Stephanie Martin, Kitchener-Waterloo RCCO (Phantasmata II - night words and worlds on the wind.
ARTSWEEK, Toronto, '93)

"Superbly performed... I enjoyed helping to preserve a part of our Canadian heritage [St. George’s Round Church in Halifax, Nova Scotia], and hope to hear more of this type of music in the future"

- Margaret Thibideau, Metroscope, Toronto (Songès for Swete Saint George, '95)

"No matter who walked in to listen, even if foe of sacred music, he or she would have been enveloped by the splendour of the music."

- Lianne Tan, RCCO Hamilton (The Splendour of San Marco, Toronto, '95)