Diversity highlights music festival
Posted on September 28, 2008
Filed Under Concerts |
From the Barrie Examiner:
It begins today. Musicians, singers, solo performers, choirs, duos, quartets — all manner of combinations — begin arriving in Barrie for the sixth annual Colours of Music.
The festival features a lineup of Canadian and internationally-acclaimed musicians and singers, performing in several concerts each day from today through Oct. 5.
Look for lots of diversity and highlights in this year’s festival. There’s plenty of local interest, too.
“This past year, the high schools have started guitar programs,” said festival organizer Bruce Owen, citing area secondary schools in Orillia, Penetanguishene and Barrie (Bear Creek and Eastview).
“There seems to be a real explosion in guitar. I wanted to bring in one of the best guitar quartets anywhere. The Aurora Guitar Quartet (from Washington, D. C.) agreed to come and do performances and workshops. There are so many (students) taking guitar, (we’re) having trouble planning to accommodate them.”
Since the festival began, many of the artists who perform in public concerts during their 10-days in Barrie have also given their time for student workshops, where students are either bussed into Barrie or the musicians/ singers travel to schools all over Simcoe County.
It continues this year with around 4,000 students participating.
The Aurora Guitar Quartet’s public concert is slated for Friday, Oct. 3, at 2:30 p. m.
The four guitarists aren’t the only musicians travelling considerable distance to play here. Among the furthest away are Italian pianist Gabriele Baldocci, and this year’s quartet-in-residence, the Arriaga String Quartet, from Belgium.
They will be making various appearances throughout the festival, often performing in combination with other artists.
On Monday evening, for example, the Arriaga String Quartet will be performing with the Penderecki String Quartet. Originally from Poland, this group is currently quartet-inresidence at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. They will play a free concert, sponsored by the City of Barrie at Central United Church at 8 p. m.
“They are doing a really thrilling program,” said Owen, adding the two quartets join together for an octet work by Gliere, and the program also includes a work by Borodin.
“It’s all very accessible string music. Very tuneful.”
Other highlights include the festival’s first Jazz Vespers — a musical service of praise and thanksgiving with Rev. Patricia Gale-MacDonald, and Barrie’s own Fig Leaf Jazz Band.
Another first is renowned handbell soloist Susan Carscadden-Mifsud playing 37 bells with piano accompaniment.
On a more eclectic note, the original Phantom of the Operasilent movie unfolds to the improvisational accompaniment of organist William O’Meara.
Another storyline slated for this week centres onPeter and the Wolf, complete with music and narration by CBC’s Rick Phillips.
The festival’s opening act tonight features Canada’s foremost piano duo, James Anagnoson and Leslie Kinton. For Anagnoson, tonight’s performance wraps up a week of working in Toronto, where he was recently appointed dean of the Glenn Gould School.
In addition, he maintains a concert schedule, teaches several private students, as well as a piano duo class, at the school. All of it means it’s often the wee hours of the morning when he has time to practice.
But practising, he said, keeps him grounded and reminds him of what his students go through.
He and Kinton have been performing together for more than 30 years, and are known for their seamless playing — a gift they’ve had from the first time they sat down to play together.
They met as students at a summer music festival in Aspen, Colo., and decided to try playing together for the fun of it.
Brahms’Sonata,which they are performing tonight, is the first piece of music they learned to play together.
Anagnoson and Kinton, who teaches at the Glenn Gould School and University of Western Ontario, perform at Central United Church, 54 Ross St., at Toronto Street, at 8 p. m. Single tickets are $25; festival passports are $55 for adults, $25 for students, and are available at the door, as well as at Music Pro, or Music in Fusion.
For additional information, visit www.coloursofmusic.ca.
Contact the writer at
- - -
Festival performers
A list of some of the artists scheduled to perform this weekend as part of the sixth annual Colours of Music festival in Barrie.
Tonight 8 p. m. — Anagnoson & Kinton, Canada’s foremost piano duo, open Colours of Music festival with Arensky and the famous Brahms Sonata, at Central United Church.
Saturday Noon — Coldwater soprano Kristin Wilkes, tenor Kelly Robertson and pianist Guy Few perform in a Cabaret featuring the music of Bernstein, Porter, and Weber at Burton Avenue United Church.
2:30 p. m. — Belgium’s Arriaga String Quartet — the festival’s quartet-in-residence — performs with clarinetist James Campbell, at Central United Church.
8 p. m. — The Elmer Iseler Singers and True North Brass celebrate the music of Howard Cable at Hi- Way Pentecostal Church.
Sunday 2:30 p. m. — The Penderecki String Quartet and pianist Stephan Sylvestre join together to play Mendelssohn and the famous Brahms Op. 34 at Central United Church.
5:15 p. m. — Colours of Music’s first Jazz Vespers with Barrie’s own Fig Leaf Jazz Band and Rev. Patricia Gale-MacDonald takes place at Burton Avenue United Church.
8 p. m. — It’s an English Country Garden of music with Vaughan Williams, Britten, Quilter, and Reade with flutist Susan Hoeppner, soprano Wendy Nielsen and pianist Robert Kortgaard at Central United Church.
http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1218480
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.