I can’t believe that May 1 marks the final concert of my 20th anniversary season with the Kingston Symphony. This year has gone by so quickly – filled with great concerts and unforgettable music – and I’m truly looking forward to this final concert.
Not only will this concert feature three beautiful Beethoven pieces, but also three local musicians of outstanding calibre.
Our concertmaster, Gisèle Dalbec, along with our principal cellist Wolf Tormann and local composer and pianist Michel Szczesniak will play the famous Triple Concerto. The program also includes the Egmont Overture and Symphony No. 5.
There are very few tickets left to this concert, so if you don’t want to miss this homegrown musical treat, make sure to purchase yours today!
Our annual Beat Beethoven Run takes place on Sunday, June 5. The orchestra will then play another Beethoven piece, his third symphony, Eroica, as runners embark on and 8-kilometre or 4-kilometre route. This is annually one of the biggest fundraisers for the Kingston Symphony Association, a non-profit organization, and the members of the orchestra sincerely enjoy taking part. We’re hoping this year will be a little drier than last year, but we’ll have a good time no matter what.
So in honour of all this Beethoven, I thought I’d share some fun facts about the sometimes misunderstood master musician.
Did you know that the Eroica was originally titled Bonaparte, and dedicated to Napoleon? Beethoven thought that Napoleon would bring democracy and the enlightenment to all of Europe. Beethoven was so disgusted with the leader when he proclaimed himself emperor, he scratched Bonaparte’s name from the title and left a gaping hole in the paper.
Beethoven started going deaf in his twenties, but kept composing music. In order to hear the notes, he sawed the legs off the piano so he could hear the vibrations as he played. By the time he was 40, he was completely deaf.
Beethoven first performed for an audience when he was seven years old, but didn’t make an impression on his audience. It was when he was 13 that he began improvising his own work on the piano, and was encouraged to publish these sonatas.
Beethoven’s final masterpiece is an ironic one. He suffered at the hands of his violently alcoholic father while growing up, and then his progressive and eventually complete deafness cut his spirits in his adult life. And yet, he was able to compose the Ninth Symphony and its “Ode to Joy,” arguably one of the most beautiful compositions in history.
Many musicians and music critics – including Beethoven’s one-time teacher, Joseph Haydn—actually feared Beethoven’s work because it relied so much on passion rather than the mathematically precise nature consistent with the Classical style of the age.
And this, my friends, is what music is all about. I hope you find Beethoven’s works as powerful as I do. If you can’t make it to the concert on May 1, then stop by Confederation Park on June 5 as we play for the Beat Beethoven Run.
Thank you for supporting the Kingston Symphony in its 57th year, my 20th as music director. It’s been a phenomenal season, and dare I say it, next season will be even better. Stay tuned for more information about our season launch and artists who will perform with us next year.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Movie music mania!
What makes a horror movie scary? The music.
What makes us swoon during a romantic movie? The music.
What makes a car chase so exciting? The music.
Without carefully thought-out soundtracks, movies would not make our hearts race or even keep us interested! Before actors even spoke in films there was music to set the mood.
I can’t wait for this Friday, April 8, when we play some of the most iconic pieces from movies spanning several decades. We go back to 1961 and play some Henry Mancini from his unforgettable work on Breakfast at Tiffany’s; we’ll play parts from the score to Out of Africa; then we’ll honour one of the largest-grossing movies of all time with music from Titanic.
The Academy of Motion Pictures obviously thought these pieces were worthy of its highest honour when they each won the Oscar for best score in their respective years.
What do you think? What are the qualities of a perfect movie score?
As with any music, it’s up to the listener to decide what’s great. And if the romance of the Oscar-winners noted above doesn’t do it for you, how about Raider’s March from Indiana Jones? Or the spine-tingling bass riff from the soundtrack to Jaws? We’ve got an entire collection of John Williams tunes lined up to satisfy those who crave action and adventure.
Then there’s Gabriel’s Oboe from The Mission; Barber’s Adagio from Platoon; and some of Hans Zimmer’s work from Pirates of the Caribbean.
We’ll play a few other epic works throughout the evening, all paired with a montage of clips to highlight those movie memories.
I’m very much looking forward to this concert. These are some of the greatest pieces used in movies spanning the last 50 years.
If you haven’t been to a live orchestral performance, this is the perfect introduction to the world of classical music and I look forward to seeing you on Friday night. And if you’re a frequent attendee of our concerts, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!
What makes us swoon during a romantic movie? The music.
What makes a car chase so exciting? The music.
Without carefully thought-out soundtracks, movies would not make our hearts race or even keep us interested! Before actors even spoke in films there was music to set the mood.
I can’t wait for this Friday, April 8, when we play some of the most iconic pieces from movies spanning several decades. We go back to 1961 and play some Henry Mancini from his unforgettable work on Breakfast at Tiffany’s; we’ll play parts from the score to Out of Africa; then we’ll honour one of the largest-grossing movies of all time with music from Titanic.
The Academy of Motion Pictures obviously thought these pieces were worthy of its highest honour when they each won the Oscar for best score in their respective years.
What do you think? What are the qualities of a perfect movie score?
As with any music, it’s up to the listener to decide what’s great. And if the romance of the Oscar-winners noted above doesn’t do it for you, how about Raider’s March from Indiana Jones? Or the spine-tingling bass riff from the soundtrack to Jaws? We’ve got an entire collection of John Williams tunes lined up to satisfy those who crave action and adventure.
Then there’s Gabriel’s Oboe from The Mission; Barber’s Adagio from Platoon; and some of Hans Zimmer’s work from Pirates of the Caribbean.
We’ll play a few other epic works throughout the evening, all paired with a montage of clips to highlight those movie memories.
I’m very much looking forward to this concert. These are some of the greatest pieces used in movies spanning the last 50 years.
If you haven’t been to a live orchestral performance, this is the perfect introduction to the world of classical music and I look forward to seeing you on Friday night. And if you’re a frequent attendee of our concerts, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
A Villain's Dream
Did you know that the acclaimed Canadian composer Healey Willan’s nickname was "squealy" villain? I guess one can look quite ominous while playing the pipe organ.
But Kingston’s own F.R.C. Clarke didn’t see him as a villain. The former student of Willan wrote his biography and also completed one of his unfinished works – his Requiem.
It was 23 years ago on March 27 that the Kingston Symphony and the Kingston Choral Society premiered this work. Some say that Willan abandoned composing it because it was unsingable – the choral arrangements in eight parts were just too difficult. But the Kingston Choral Society has sung it once and will sing it again, exactly 23 years later, on Sunday, March 27, 2011.
This will be a celebration of the late F.R.C. Clarke and a celebration of music. Not only will we perform the Requiem in its entirety, with help from soloists Jennie Such, Soprano, Janice Coles, Mezzo Soprano, Tim Stiff, Tenor and Bruce Kelly, Baritone, but the program also features Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture and Elgar’s Serenade for Strings.
This afternoon concert will be lead by guest conductor Brian Jackson, former music director of the Kingston Symphony who conducted the premiere of Willan’s Requiem.
It will be a wonderful afternoon of music. I'm really looking forward to this concert and to hearing the orchestra and choir perform from a seat in the hall rather than standing on the podium.
Click here to hear the podcast.
Click here to read about Requiem in the latest edition of Follow the Music Online, the Kingston Symphony’s quarterly newsletter.
But Kingston’s own F.R.C. Clarke didn’t see him as a villain. The former student of Willan wrote his biography and also completed one of his unfinished works – his Requiem.
It was 23 years ago on March 27 that the Kingston Symphony and the Kingston Choral Society premiered this work. Some say that Willan abandoned composing it because it was unsingable – the choral arrangements in eight parts were just too difficult. But the Kingston Choral Society has sung it once and will sing it again, exactly 23 years later, on Sunday, March 27, 2011.
This will be a celebration of the late F.R.C. Clarke and a celebration of music. Not only will we perform the Requiem in its entirety, with help from soloists Jennie Such, Soprano, Janice Coles, Mezzo Soprano, Tim Stiff, Tenor and Bruce Kelly, Baritone, but the program also features Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture and Elgar’s Serenade for Strings.
This afternoon concert will be lead by guest conductor Brian Jackson, former music director of the Kingston Symphony who conducted the premiere of Willan’s Requiem.
It will be a wonderful afternoon of music. I'm really looking forward to this concert and to hearing the orchestra and choir perform from a seat in the hall rather than standing on the podium.
Click here to hear the podcast.
Click here to read about Requiem in the latest edition of Follow the Music Online, the Kingston Symphony’s quarterly newsletter.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The 12 days of Tom Allen
It's March 1. As I count down the days to when CBC Radio 2 host Tom Allen will join the Kingston Symphony for an evening of good tunes and good times, I wanted to give you some insight into Tom's creative and varied background. I'll post a trivia fact about him each day until the day of the concert, when I hope to see you in the audience!
March 1
He was born in Montreal, QC into a family of preachers and raconteurs.
March 2
He joined the high school band, chose to play the trombone, and professes that his first year was not promising…
March 3
He studied music at McGill University in Montreal, Boston University, and earned a master’s degree in music at Yale, before moving to Manhattan as a trombone freelancer.
March 4
He worked as a tour guide at Lincoln Center, and cooked in Tex-Mex, French, and Russian restaurants, and temped on Wall Street while he was trying to pay the bills and trombone gigs were few and far between.
March 5
Was trombonist with the New York City Ballet and the American Symphony Orchestra, and was one of 87 trombonists along the first base line for Carl Yastrzemski’s retirement party at Fenway Park.
March 6
Had a column on "how to acknowledge your male temp on Secretary's Day" published in the Toronto Star in 1991.
March 7
Has been an on-air voice for CBC Radio for two decades, including stints on Morningside, This Morning, The Sunday Edition and hosted A Good Place to Be, Weekender, Fresh Air, Music and Company, and currently Shift.
March 8
He has written three books: Toe Rubber Blues (1999), Rolling Home – A Cross-Canada Railroad Memoir (2001, which was winner of the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction) and The Gift of the Game (2005).
March 9
He’s currently working on his first fiction work, a novel that we can’t give you any details about... sorry!
March 10
He has been called: "the Garrison Keillor of music," "a breath of fresh air," "part historian, part comedian, and part everyman," among other things. Read what others have to say by clicking here.
March 11
Tomorrow, he’ll guide the audience through an evening that explores music history and its connection to society and industry, the sordid lives of composers, the qualities of a masterpiece, why some instruments are funnier than others, and how great music is always relevant to the daily life of any age.
March 1
He was born in Montreal, QC into a family of preachers and raconteurs.
March 2
He joined the high school band, chose to play the trombone, and professes that his first year was not promising…
March 3
He studied music at McGill University in Montreal, Boston University, and earned a master’s degree in music at Yale, before moving to Manhattan as a trombone freelancer.
March 4
He worked as a tour guide at Lincoln Center, and cooked in Tex-Mex, French, and Russian restaurants, and temped on Wall Street while he was trying to pay the bills and trombone gigs were few and far between.
March 5
Was trombonist with the New York City Ballet and the American Symphony Orchestra, and was one of 87 trombonists along the first base line for Carl Yastrzemski’s retirement party at Fenway Park.
March 6
Had a column on "how to acknowledge your male temp on Secretary's Day" published in the Toronto Star in 1991.
March 7
Has been an on-air voice for CBC Radio for two decades, including stints on Morningside, This Morning, The Sunday Edition and hosted A Good Place to Be, Weekender, Fresh Air, Music and Company, and currently Shift.
March 8
He has written three books: Toe Rubber Blues (1999), Rolling Home – A Cross-Canada Railroad Memoir (2001, which was winner of the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction) and The Gift of the Game (2005).
March 9
He’s currently working on his first fiction work, a novel that we can’t give you any details about... sorry!
March 10
He has been called: "the Garrison Keillor of music," "a breath of fresh air," "part historian, part comedian, and part everyman," among other things. Read what others have to say by clicking here.
March 11
Tomorrow, he’ll guide the audience through an evening that explores music history and its connection to society and industry, the sordid lives of composers, the qualities of a masterpiece, why some instruments are funnier than others, and how great music is always relevant to the daily life of any age.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Man-eating goats? Can't wait!
You just never know what Tom Allen is going to say next.
His CBC Radio 2 program Shift bridges the gap between classical and contemporary, and his commentary is so quick and quirky that you get swept into the stories behind the music.
That's exactly what I hope will happen to our audience members on Saturday, March 12 when Tom Allen hosts his Classical Good Time Variety Show with the Kingston Symphony.
When it comes to the world of a symphony orchestra, we sometimes fall into the category of "predictable" and "uptight." That's not a bad thing, because being classic is what we do best – and we need to be tight to present masterpieces as their finest. But Tom's ability to connect with the audience will, I hope, give everyone (orchestra members included) a more rewarding – and very entertaining – understanding of the music in a really fun and relaxed way.
As Tom says himself: "There are great stories behind the music – sex, riots, prison, syphilis and man-eating goats." You'll have to attend the concert to hear these stories in their entirety…
Tom, currently host of CBC Radio 2’s Shift program, will bring his knowledge of classical music to this light-hearted evening that mixes up story-telling, history, humour, music appreciation and audience participation.
He'll talk about music's connection to society, the sordid lives of composers, why some instruments are funnier than others, and how great music is always relevant.
The evening will feature Cage Match, In the Shadow, This Day in History, and other aspects that have been part of his radio career at CBC over the last 20 years. Tom will put two pieces against each other in a competitive comparison and ask the audience to vote for their favourite. Then he'll prove to you what it takes to create a masterpiece. And he'll give you some random trivia facts along the way that, if nothing else, will be a great conversation starter the next time you're in an awkward social situation.
Get ready for an unpredictable evening of fun and music – nothing uptight to see here!
I really hope that Classical Good Times will open doors for people wanting to know more about classical music. But I also think that those who know and love attending symphony concerts will also enjoy the program – and maybe learn something, too. The concert will include Prokofiev, Haydn, Debussy, Holst, and many other composers in an unmatchable line-up of music.
Click here for all the details on this concert.
His CBC Radio 2 program Shift bridges the gap between classical and contemporary, and his commentary is so quick and quirky that you get swept into the stories behind the music.
That's exactly what I hope will happen to our audience members on Saturday, March 12 when Tom Allen hosts his Classical Good Time Variety Show with the Kingston Symphony.
When it comes to the world of a symphony orchestra, we sometimes fall into the category of "predictable" and "uptight." That's not a bad thing, because being classic is what we do best – and we need to be tight to present masterpieces as their finest. But Tom's ability to connect with the audience will, I hope, give everyone (orchestra members included) a more rewarding – and very entertaining – understanding of the music in a really fun and relaxed way.
As Tom says himself: "There are great stories behind the music – sex, riots, prison, syphilis and man-eating goats." You'll have to attend the concert to hear these stories in their entirety…
Tom, currently host of CBC Radio 2’s Shift program, will bring his knowledge of classical music to this light-hearted evening that mixes up story-telling, history, humour, music appreciation and audience participation.
He'll talk about music's connection to society, the sordid lives of composers, why some instruments are funnier than others, and how great music is always relevant.
The evening will feature Cage Match, In the Shadow, This Day in History, and other aspects that have been part of his radio career at CBC over the last 20 years. Tom will put two pieces against each other in a competitive comparison and ask the audience to vote for their favourite. Then he'll prove to you what it takes to create a masterpiece. And he'll give you some random trivia facts along the way that, if nothing else, will be a great conversation starter the next time you're in an awkward social situation.
Get ready for an unpredictable evening of fun and music – nothing uptight to see here!
I really hope that Classical Good Times will open doors for people wanting to know more about classical music. But I also think that those who know and love attending symphony concerts will also enjoy the program – and maybe learn something, too. The concert will include Prokofiev, Haydn, Debussy, Holst, and many other composers in an unmatchable line-up of music.
Click here for all the details on this concert.
Monday, January 24, 2011
A mid-winter muse...
It’s a little before 6 a.m. and I’m looking out from the balcony of a 10th floor apartment in Victoria, B.C., enjoying my Starbucks coffee. I love this time of day; it’s a fresh, new start and the world isn’t yet cluttered with traffic lights, deadlines, and the general “hurry-up” attitude of our society.
This is the time of day when I get most of my work done, learn the scores for the next concert, discover new repertoire, and listen to some of my favourites.
I hope that every single audience member leaves our concerts feeling uplifted and even perhaps a little anointed – that these emotions will filter through from the notes on the page to the hands and hearts of our musicians, and out through their instruments to touch everyone in the audience.
I’m out on the west coast visiting family, and thinking ahead to our 2011-2012 concert season. We’ve got leads on some amazing guest performers who will join the Kingston Symphony for a variety of concerts. But it’s difficult to think of next year when we still have some amazing concerts coming up in our current season.
As I mentioned in my last post, our February 6 concert Food for a Classical Soul will feature cellist Desmond Hoebig. He will be our soloist for Elgar’s Cello Concerto – full of the angst, despair, and disillusionment Elgar felt after the end of the War.
The program also includes an absolute favourite of mine – Brahms’ first symphony. This piece is as close to perfection as you can get. The composer spent 21 years completing this work, that’s almost 7,665 days of self-critical, meticulous perfectionism. Two decades of precise musicality put on paper. Almost 200,000 hours of painstaking composing to produce one of the most amazing symphonies ever written. He knowingly pays homage to Beethoven, and at the same time takes it to another level entirely, creating an entire world within the notes of the music. I get excited just thinking about it. I can’t wait for the Kingston Symphony to share this epic work.
The third piece on the February 6 program is a piece by Kingston’s own Marjan Mozetich. Calla Lilies was written in memory of his friends who died of AIDS. Not an easy topic to launch into, and yet Marjan managed to produce a wonderful tribute piece, melodically simple and harmonically austere.
Marjan is currently Adjunct Lecturer in Composition at Queen’s University. We are so lucky to have a composer of his stature and musical importance in our midst here in Kingston.
He has won numerous awards and his works have been featured on the most prominent stages of the world. He is a composer who maintains the integrity of classical music and yet writes pieces that are accessible to those making their way in our fast-paced world. His music is both traditional and modern at the same time – an amazing feat that should not go unnoticed.
In 2009, his composition Affairs of the Heart made it onto CBC Radio 2’s listener-selected list of top 49 Canadian songs that president-elect Barack Obama needed to hear. He’s on the list alongside the most varied selection of Canadian musicians, old and new. The list was compiled by Canadian listeners sending in their selections. It’s nice to know that a classical composer has “still got it” in a pop-culture world. We’re constantly bombarded with all sorts of genres of music, and classical certainly isn’t the No. 1 genre according to Billboard Magazine. And yet people are listening to Mozetich. That’s the mark of a fantastic composer.
What music resonates with you? I’d love to hear what pieces you are listening to currently, or what music has stuck with you throughout your life. It doesn’t matter what genre it is, I’d just like to know what you’re listening to and why you love it! Send me an e-mail at gfast@kingstonsymphony.on.ca.
For now, please check out my latest Youtube interview by
clicking here.
This is the time of day when I get most of my work done, learn the scores for the next concert, discover new repertoire, and listen to some of my favourites.
I hope that every single audience member leaves our concerts feeling uplifted and even perhaps a little anointed – that these emotions will filter through from the notes on the page to the hands and hearts of our musicians, and out through their instruments to touch everyone in the audience.
I’m out on the west coast visiting family, and thinking ahead to our 2011-2012 concert season. We’ve got leads on some amazing guest performers who will join the Kingston Symphony for a variety of concerts. But it’s difficult to think of next year when we still have some amazing concerts coming up in our current season.
As I mentioned in my last post, our February 6 concert Food for a Classical Soul will feature cellist Desmond Hoebig. He will be our soloist for Elgar’s Cello Concerto – full of the angst, despair, and disillusionment Elgar felt after the end of the War.
The program also includes an absolute favourite of mine – Brahms’ first symphony. This piece is as close to perfection as you can get. The composer spent 21 years completing this work, that’s almost 7,665 days of self-critical, meticulous perfectionism. Two decades of precise musicality put on paper. Almost 200,000 hours of painstaking composing to produce one of the most amazing symphonies ever written. He knowingly pays homage to Beethoven, and at the same time takes it to another level entirely, creating an entire world within the notes of the music. I get excited just thinking about it. I can’t wait for the Kingston Symphony to share this epic work.
The third piece on the February 6 program is a piece by Kingston’s own Marjan Mozetich. Calla Lilies was written in memory of his friends who died of AIDS. Not an easy topic to launch into, and yet Marjan managed to produce a wonderful tribute piece, melodically simple and harmonically austere.
Marjan is currently Adjunct Lecturer in Composition at Queen’s University. We are so lucky to have a composer of his stature and musical importance in our midst here in Kingston.
He has won numerous awards and his works have been featured on the most prominent stages of the world. He is a composer who maintains the integrity of classical music and yet writes pieces that are accessible to those making their way in our fast-paced world. His music is both traditional and modern at the same time – an amazing feat that should not go unnoticed.
In 2009, his composition Affairs of the Heart made it onto CBC Radio 2’s listener-selected list of top 49 Canadian songs that president-elect Barack Obama needed to hear. He’s on the list alongside the most varied selection of Canadian musicians, old and new. The list was compiled by Canadian listeners sending in their selections. It’s nice to know that a classical composer has “still got it” in a pop-culture world. We’re constantly bombarded with all sorts of genres of music, and classical certainly isn’t the No. 1 genre according to Billboard Magazine. And yet people are listening to Mozetich. That’s the mark of a fantastic composer.
What music resonates with you? I’d love to hear what pieces you are listening to currently, or what music has stuck with you throughout your life. It doesn’t matter what genre it is, I’d just like to know what you’re listening to and why you love it! Send me an e-mail at gfast@kingstonsymphony.on.ca.
For now, please check out my latest Youtube interview by
clicking here.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Quite the contrast
Broadway Beauties: two words that hold so many connotations and emotions. If you’re even the slightest musical theatre fan, then you absolutely cannot miss the next Kingston Symphony concert on Friday, January 21 or Saturday, January 22.
You’ve got two chances to see this great line up featuring songs from Wicked, A Chorus Line, Funny Girl, Sweet Charity, Cats… I can’t even list them all.
For this concert I’ll be handing the baton over to guest conductor Michael Reason, the co-creator of the Broadway Beauties show. Michael had a vision: he wanted to create a musical review that not only patched together a collection of songs, but held a plot line that would put songs from all these different stories together, driven by the music and lyrics alone with no dialogue.
He painstakingly reviewed material and helped select the songs to make up the show, making sure the final selections and placements helped the audience understand the underlying plot. Broadway Beauties also features new orchestrations and arrangements written for all of the songs. This show has been performed to stellar reviews in Hamilton, Calgary, and Toronto. Now it’s time for Kingston to get a taste of Broadway.
The three soloists for the evening – June Crowley, Louise St. Cyr, and Amy Wallis – are all great singers and actresses. Coming from three different corners of the musical-theatre world in Canada, these women are sure to blow the audience away with their interpretations of these songs. There’s so much in this program, I can’t even begin to describe it!
So come escape to Broadway for a few hours; experience the drama and wonderful music that spans several decades of the greatest stage in the world.
Our February 6 concert, Food for a Classical Soul, is exactly the opposite of Broadway. It will feature cellist Desmond Hoebig, whom I’ve known for quite a while, and who’s so hard to put into words. To put him in perspective, he has studied at the Julliard School of Music, won first prize at several music competitions worldwide, been a guest soloist with orchestras throughout North America as well as in Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Japan and currently is professor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, TX. I could go on and on and on.
Desmond will join the Kingston Symphony for Elgar’s Cello Concerto in e minor. This concerto is Elgar’s last notable work. He composed it following the First World War, when his music was considered "out of fashion" with the concert-goers. It wasn’t until almost 50 years later that this piece gained popularity, and is still today a well-known best-seller.
As I mentioned this piece is the complete contradiction of Broadway. It represents the angst, despair, and disillusionment Elgar felt after the end of the War, and is his introspective look at death and mortality – a big change from the optimism Elgar expressed in his previous works.
This poignant and moving piece will be played along-side Mozetich’s Calla Lilies and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in c minor. It’s a fabulously rich program that’s food for any soul, but particularly those who have a thirst for classical music.
Be sure to check out the line-up of concerts in the coming months, which includes a classical variety show with CBC’s Tom Allen, a tribute to Hollywood soundtracks, and a couple others you won’t want to miss.
Happy New Year, Auld Lang Syne, and all the rest!
You’ve got two chances to see this great line up featuring songs from Wicked, A Chorus Line, Funny Girl, Sweet Charity, Cats… I can’t even list them all.
For this concert I’ll be handing the baton over to guest conductor Michael Reason, the co-creator of the Broadway Beauties show. Michael had a vision: he wanted to create a musical review that not only patched together a collection of songs, but held a plot line that would put songs from all these different stories together, driven by the music and lyrics alone with no dialogue.
He painstakingly reviewed material and helped select the songs to make up the show, making sure the final selections and placements helped the audience understand the underlying plot. Broadway Beauties also features new orchestrations and arrangements written for all of the songs. This show has been performed to stellar reviews in Hamilton, Calgary, and Toronto. Now it’s time for Kingston to get a taste of Broadway.
The three soloists for the evening – June Crowley, Louise St. Cyr, and Amy Wallis – are all great singers and actresses. Coming from three different corners of the musical-theatre world in Canada, these women are sure to blow the audience away with their interpretations of these songs. There’s so much in this program, I can’t even begin to describe it!
So come escape to Broadway for a few hours; experience the drama and wonderful music that spans several decades of the greatest stage in the world.
Our February 6 concert, Food for a Classical Soul, is exactly the opposite of Broadway. It will feature cellist Desmond Hoebig, whom I’ve known for quite a while, and who’s so hard to put into words. To put him in perspective, he has studied at the Julliard School of Music, won first prize at several music competitions worldwide, been a guest soloist with orchestras throughout North America as well as in Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Japan and currently is professor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, TX. I could go on and on and on.
Desmond will join the Kingston Symphony for Elgar’s Cello Concerto in e minor. This concerto is Elgar’s last notable work. He composed it following the First World War, when his music was considered "out of fashion" with the concert-goers. It wasn’t until almost 50 years later that this piece gained popularity, and is still today a well-known best-seller.
As I mentioned this piece is the complete contradiction of Broadway. It represents the angst, despair, and disillusionment Elgar felt after the end of the War, and is his introspective look at death and mortality – a big change from the optimism Elgar expressed in his previous works.
This poignant and moving piece will be played along-side Mozetich’s Calla Lilies and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in c minor. It’s a fabulously rich program that’s food for any soul, but particularly those who have a thirst for classical music.
Be sure to check out the line-up of concerts in the coming months, which includes a classical variety show with CBC’s Tom Allen, a tribute to Hollywood soundtracks, and a couple others you won’t want to miss.
Happy New Year, Auld Lang Syne, and all the rest!
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