from John Teraud, The Toronto Star, 2006
“Bach needs champions to take up the cause of his music's enchanting beauty for each new generation of listeners. One such missionary is Doreen Rao”
from John Teraud, The Toronto Star (Toronto Symphony Orchestra performance review) "Hundred voices massed for Mozart"
“The nearly 100 choristers outnumbered the orchestra, but they had been well prepared by musical director Doreen Rao. Their singing was perfectly matched to the crisp, highly articulated and multi-layered sound that Rilling achieved for the work as a whole.”
Robert Everett-Green, The Globe and Mail
“For Rao, every note has an urgent meaning, not just within the composition but in the wider world.”
from Robert Everett-Green, The Globe and Mail
“The highlight of the concert was Elgar's Serenade in E Minor, Op. 20. Rao's vocal approach paid off handsomely...the strings of the U of T Symphony sounded so much like singers that one could almost hear a text.”
from Tamara Bernstein, The Globe and Mail
(MacMillan's England) "Sir Ernest Remembered"
“England, written in 1918 while the young Sir Ernest [MacMillan] was in a German prisoner of war camp is bursting with forgivably sentimental patriotism...Rao directed an ebullient performance from orchestra, choir and soloists.”
From Ronald Hambleton, The Toronto Star
"U of T ensemble shows Mozart's Mass appeal" (Avery Fisher Hall, NY)
“... an exhilarating sequence of choral and instrumental music... the response to their well-disciplined and full-hearted performance was overwhelming”
from Arthur Kaptainis, University of Toronto Magazine
"Lincoln Center Debut: Zesty tempos, vivid projection"
“The U of T Chamber Singers and Chamber Orchestra performed the Coronation Mass at Lincoln Center's comprehensive Mozart tribute.... with a portfolio that combines performance and education, [Rao] is making strides as a conductor pure and simple. Her command of both instruments and voices in the Coronation Mass was evident. Zesty tempos and vivid projection by the chorus and soloists brought the mass vividly to life.”
from Jennie Punter, Whig Standard, Kingston,
"Beauty, horror entwined in haunting mass for Amnesty"
“John Burge's Mass for Prisoners of Conscience is a triumph. Rao, a renowned choral conductor...was in complete control throughout the Saturday concert, exuding a remarkable energy that seemed to translate to each performer. Most importantly, she communicated a profound understanding of the piece.”
from Robert Everett-Green, The Globe and Mail,
"A Christmas concert with the Messiah"
Honegger, Une Cantate de Noel
“Conductor Doreen Rao led her multitudes... she made a dignified showing.”
from Bronwyn Drainie, The Globe and Mail,
"Singing Teacher's approach turns a chorus of woes into wows"
Toronto Centre for the Arts Concert
...the concert was emotionally very satisfying, but what was intellectually impressive was the degree of excellence with which every song was executed. Doreen Rao is a brilliant artist and teacher... whose methods and materials could re-energize the art of singing in our schools.
from Robert Everett Green, The Globe and Mail
Stravinsky Le Rossignol, TSO
The University of Toronto MacMillan Singers performed their economical part with a fine sense of its radically different styles, from the quasi-medieval men’s chorus of Act II to the spectral looping melody sung by the women in Act III.
from Diane Windeler, Express News, San Antonio Concert Review
San Antonio Concert Review
“Doreen Rao is a dynamo – a vivacious, energetic, dedicated choral director....She led an invigorating concert.”
from Geoff Chapman, The Toronto Star
"Doreen Rao, first occupant of a conducting chair in honour of Elmer Iseler"
Doreen Rao, first occupant of a conducting chair in honour of Elmer Iseler
“Doreen Rao…was very much in charge from the first heroic notes of Otto Nicolai’s “Fest Overture.” Rao’s “ approach to Barber’s emotional “Adagoio,” whose passages of sustained beauty were successfully maintained.”
Ann LeBar, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington "Doreen Rao"
Northwest Bach Festival
“The Festival Chorus performed with incredible energy, joy and precision. To watch Rao pull every ounce of music out of her artists was a joy in itself.”