News & Reviews

Adam Cicchillitti & Steve Cowan – Tuesday April 23rd, 2024

by JP, posted in Concert


Adam Cicchillitti & Steve Cowan
7:30 pm Tuesday April 23, 2024
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Two of Canada’s most skilled and forward-thinking classical guitarists.

Adam Cicchillitti and Steve Cowan have set a benchmark in the world of classical guitar with their award-winning recordings, commissions of major orchestral works, and competition performances. On their debut release, FOCUS, Tracy Anne Smith (American Record Guide) states that “with sensitive, authoritative, au courant playing, Adam Cicchillitti and Steve Cowan retain their individuality while communicating like old friends.”

In 2021, the duo released its third album with Analekta Records, Intimate Impressions, featuring original arrangements of piano, harp, and guitar music written in 20th century Paris. They were awarded third prize at the 2021 international ensemble competition of the Guitar Foundation of America, arguably the most prestigious guitar ensemble competition in the world. These two virtuosos are clearly at the top of their game.

Click on the image/link below to view a short video of Adam Cicchillitti and Steve Cowan performing.

The warm-up act for this concert will be performed by Aya Swerdelian. Aya has been playing violin for the past 11 years. She started with her mother who is a professional violinist and is now taking lessons with Bev Martens. Aya has performed solos with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra and has gone to many festivals and provincial competitions throughout the years. She was awarded the MQN Architects Scholarship in 2022, and the Caroline Galbraith Memorial Scholarship in 2023, at the annual VCMS Scholarship Recital. Aya’s goal is to play more solos with the orchestra and show her passion for music. This evening, Aya will be performing Accolay Violin Concerto in A minor by Jean-Baptiste Accolay and Playera Op.23 No.1 by Pablo de Sarasate.



SINGLE CONCERT TICKETS
Adults – $40 
Youth (22 and under) – $20

Purchase tickets at:

TICKET SELLER
Phone: (250) 549-SHOW (7469)
E-mail: boxoffice@ticketseller.ca

– or –

Visit The Performing Arts Centre Foyer
3800-34th Street, Vernon

The concert will be held in the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre.

Haerim Elizabeth Lee & David Fung – Concert Review

by SillyGilly, posted in Review
Elizabeth Lee and David Fung

On January 24, NOCCA presented its fourth concert of their seventy-first season and once again the audience was beguiled by the offerings showcased by the performers.

The introductory duo opened with Evy Erickson on violin accompanied by Jenny Sunderland on piano. The pair performed an energetic interpretation of O. Rieding’s Concertino in A minor. This piece was beautifully contrasted by the slow and emotive music of Jules Massenet, Meditation from Thais. Both pieces were played expertly from memory. When Ms. Erickson and Ms. Sunderland concluded their presentation, the audience seemed spellbound as it took several seconds for the resounding applause to occur.

Elizabeth Lee and David Fung graced the stage for the main section of the concert and treated the audience to a cornucopia of modern composers including Debussy, Ravel and Gershwin. The musicians performed with technical brilliance and passion. They encapsulated the different genres of music into a highly complex offering for the concert-goers. It was evident that Ms. Lee and Mr. Fung were thoroughly enjoying themselves as they exuded pleasure both on their faces, smiling widely and in their body language. They were one with their music, their instruments and with each other.

Their playing evoked many images; someone rushing around the streets with a great need to get somewhere fast, to the warm, relaxed ‘Summertime’ of the southern states.

They received a well-deserved standing ovation and were enticed back to the stage three times before offering the audience more brilliant musical prowess in an intensely beautiful, intensely Gershwin finale.

Review by Shannon V Marsh and Gerald Sholomenko.

NOCCA’s next concert will feature: 
Guitarists Adam Cicchillitti and Steve Cowan on Tuesday April 23, 2024. 
Tickets can be purchased at ticket seller.ca or phone (250) 549-7469. 
For more information visit our website nocca.ca

Haerim Elizabeth Lee & David Fung – Thursday January 25, 2024

by SillyGilly, posted in Concert

Haerim Elizabeth Lee & David Fung
7:30 pm Thursday January 25, 2024

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Captivating audiences, leaving them breathless with impeccable phrasing and musicality.

Violinist, Haerim Elizabeth Lee has developed a playing style indicative of the very essence of her personality: passionate, deliberate and often witty. In 2015, Elizabeth performed as the concertmaster with Yo-Yo Ma at the Kennedy Center Honors concert in Washington, D.C. to recognize Maestro Seiji Ozawa, which was attended by former President Barrack Obama.

Elizabeth possesses a progressive philosophy when it comes to exploring and premiering works by living composers. 

Elizabeth describes her interpretation of George Gershwin’s works for violin and piano as a “contemporary take on timeless music that captures the vibrant spirit of New Your City as it once was and as it is now. Her new album, My Time is Now, will delight die-hard Gershwin fans and capture the hearts of new followers. More about Liz Lee

Pianist, David Fung will be performing with Elizabeth. He is widely recognized for “interpretations that are elegant and refined, yet intensely poetic and uncommonly espressive.” David regularly appears with the world’s premier ensembles, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Israel Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Symphony, as well as the major orchestras in Australia. 

David garnered international attention as a laureate of the Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition in Brussels and the Arthur Rubenstein Piano International Masters Competition in Tel Aviv. In Tel Aviv, he was further distinguished by the Chamber Music and Mozart prizes, awarded in areas in which he has a passionate interest. 

David is currently on the faculty at the University of British Columbia and is a curator at the Chan Center for the Performing Arts.  More about David Fung.

Click on the links below to view videos of violinist Haerim Elizabeth Lee and pianist David Fung.

David Fung, piano:

Haerim Elizabeth Lee, violin:


BUY SINGLE CONCERT TICKETS
Adults – $40  22 and Under – $20

Purchase tickets at:

TICKET SELLER
Phone: (250) 549-SHOW (7469)
E-mail: boxoffice@ticketseller.ca

– or –

Visit The Performing Arts Centre Foyer
3800 33rd Street, Vernon BC

All concerts are held in the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre.


*** NOCCA’s next concert will be on Tuesday April 23, 2024. 
Please visit nocca.ca for more details. ***

Quartetto Gelato – Concert Review

by SillyGilly, posted in Review
Quartetto Gelato – November 28, 2023

On November 28th, Autumn Sunderland opened NOCCA’S 3rd concert of the season. Accompanied by Paul Dykstra on piano, Autumn offered concert goers two delightful pieces, Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise followed by Suk’s Burleska. She played both from memory with confidence and skill. This was demonstrated through the voicing of her violin’s delicate tones. Her fingers rapidly moved over the neck of her instrument as she exhibited incredible agility in her bowing technique. Ms. Sunderland brought together two highly complex musical arrangements in what seemed to be an effortless manner.

The concert’s showcase, Quartetto Gelato, consisting of Colin Maier, oboe, vocals and musical saw, Tino Popovic, violin and vocals, Matti Pulkki, accordion and Kirk Starkey, cello presented the audience with an evening of outstanding, eclectic entertainment. We went on a musical journey that sent us on a wild romp from Klezmer to Gypsy Jazz, Scottish to Country (Spaghetti Roads), and ended the evening with the finale of the theme music from the Flintstones and The Simpons. Throughout the evening, the audience was invited to participate by clapping, snapping their fingers, singing and letting out their joy.

Each musician played with amazing technical expertise and mastery of their instruments. The interplay between the musicians was cohesive, seamless and flowing. This was not an ‘ordinary quartet.’ This was a classical crossover quartet! They created a “mashup musical melange.” Not only did they exquisitely mash together Mozart and Brubeck, they also mashed their instruments into multiple unique voices; the oboe became a bagpipe with cello and violin becoming the drones. The accordion became an impressive pipe organ within a massive European cathedral, The sheer athleticism of the “musiceletes” was impressive. The concert goers could not take their eyes off of Quartetto Gelato. The entire performance was captivating, mind boggling and exhilarating.

Review by Ann Dorval, Shannon Marsh and Gerry Sholomenko.

NOCCA’s next concert will feature: 
Haerim Elizabeth Lee (violin) & David Fung (piano) on Thursday January 25, 2024. 
Tickets can be purchased at ticket seller.ca or phone (250) 549-7469. 
For more information visit our website nocca.ca

Quartetto Gelato – Tuesday November 28, 2023

by SillyGilly, posted in Concert


Quartetto Gelato
7:30 pm Tuesday November 28, 2023

BUY TICKETS

An exotic blend of musical virtuosity, artistic passion and humour.

With sold-out performances in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and elsewhere, this dazzling ensemble has enchanted audiences and critics worldwide with its exotic blend of musical virtuosity, artistic passion and humour.  With a performance repertoire that spans the globe and includes classical masterworks, engaging vocals, the sizzling energy of tangos, gypsy and klezmer songs, the group’s theatrical stage presence and relaxed humour establish an intimate rapport with audiences worldwide.

At the 2010 INDIE Awards, Quartetto Gelato was honoured as Best Classical Ensemble, and achieved unique global reach when Canadian astronaut Dr. Robert Thirsk chose their first two CDs to take on board during his NASA flight on the space shuttle Columbia, to literally be heard around the world!

More about Quartetto Gelato

Click on the link below to view a video of Quartetto Gelato:


BUY SINGLE CONCERT TICKETS
Adults – $40  22 and Under – $20

Purchase tickets at:

TICKET SELLER
Phone: (250) 549-SHOW (7469)
E-mail: boxoffice@ticketseller.ca

– or –

Visit The Performing Arts Centre Foyer
3800-34th Street, Vernon

All concerts are held in the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre.


*** NOCCA’s next concert will be on Thursday January 25, 2024. 
Please visit nocca.ca for more details. ***