Canadian Guitar Quartet 7:30 pm Friday March 25, 2022 BUY TICKETS
For more than twenty years, the Canadian Guitar Quartet has been performing chamber music for guitar at an international level of excellence. After their American debut in New York in 1999, classical music lovers have been clamoring for encore after encore throughout the three Americas and Europe.
It has been almost twenty years since they last performed here in Vernon and the response was the same, a resounding standing ovation. They are finally returning.
Founding member, Louis Trépanier along with fellow musicians Jérôme Ducharme, Renaud Giguère and Christ Habib will take the stage at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre on Friday evening, March 25 at 7:30 and present a program featuring transcriptions from Mozart to their own compositions.
As an original member, M. Trépanier can state that the 2022 version of CGQ is arguably the best and most versatile since the quartet’s inception, and that statement is confirmed by past members of the quartet as well.
The Canadian Guitar Quartet is the perfect example of a coming together of four amazing individual talents. In the case of the CGQ, the musical result is far greater than the sum of the parts.
The guitar can be one of the most sensual of musical instruments. Listen to the harmonies, the counterpoint and the intricacies of the melodies. Hear the response of each of the musicians to the inflections from the others. Sit back and enjoy the Canadian Guitar Quartet!
Opening for the Canadian Guitar Quartet are two of the North Okanagan’s finest young cellists, Holly McCallum and Angela Zeng. Holly comes to us from White Lake and is preparing for university. Angela is a Grade 12 student at Kalamalka Secondary in Coldstream. These amazing ladies have been members of the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra (OSYO) and have both held the position of principal cellist during their tenure with the OSYO. Together they recently performed the Serenata for Two Cellos and Orchestra by Carlo Alfredo Piatti with the combined OSO and OSYO. Both Angela and Holly study cello with John Kadz, Johanne Perron and Morna Howie.
Click on the image/link below to view a video of the Canadian Guitar Quartet:
SINGLE CONCERT TICKETS Adults – $40 22 and Under – $20 Guest of a subscription member $35
It was an absolute pleasure to attend the NOYSE (North Okanagan Youth Showcase of Excellence) concert at Vernon’s Centre for the Performing Arts at 2 pm. on Feb.1st. Besides providing excellent entertainment throughout the year at bargain prices, NOCCA (North Okanagan Community Concert Association) sponsors the NOYSE concert featuring auditioned talented young musicians. It was a most inspiring afternoon for this reviewer!
The program featured educator and vocalist/actor/performer Paul Rossetti as MC. Paul used his educator skills (he is Principal at St. James Catholic School in Vernon) to interview each performer and/or group. He did this from a comfy chair and couch installed on the side of the stage. His charm and insight brought out the best in each performer.
Teslyn Bates who is only 15, began the program with Debussy’s “Au Claire de la Lune” (By the Light of the Moon). She played the piece with great sensitivity and accuracy. Her second piece- Six variations on a Canadian Folk Song- “Land of the Silver Birch” by Pierre Gallant.(composer not in the program; I hope I heard right!) was mildly modern and very clever. She played it with confidence and rhythmic vitality. I liked it!
Angela Zeng, cellist extraordinaire, thrilled us with her virtuosity on the cello as she played Capriccio by Tchaikovsky. Her intonation was perfect and so was her bowing technique; she showed skills far beyond her 15 years.
Gus Hansen gave us a change in style by playing brilliantly on his guitar; offering: “Over the Rainbow’ ; accompanying himself singing “Running Away” (showing himself as an accomplished vocalist); and a stunning “Corcovado” as a guitar solo. One small reservation from this reviewer: The tone of the guitar was harsh. A much more mellow sound would heighten the listener’s enjoyment. The Line 6 amplifier appeared to have plenty of tone adjustment and the semi-acoustic guitar could be played with the neck pick up. Nevertheless Gus showed wonderful ability!
Noah Wessels, a 17 year old pianist, immediately took charge of things by playing the “Polonaise in A” by Chopin. He brought out the military character of the piece perfectly. The 3rd movement of the “Moonlight Sonata” by Beethoven was played with authority and brilliance. During his interview, Noah revealed that he made string instruments as a hobby!
After the Intermission, we were treated to the lovely ethereal sound of the VCMS vocal quartet. The four young ladies-Zaela Thiessen, Alex Thiessen, Julia Atkins and Ulyana Doerksen- exhibited perfect ensemble, blend and tuning during their renderings of folk melodies “All the Pretty Little Horses, She Walks With Beauty and Windy Nights.”
Craig Matterson, pianist, tossed off a virtuoso yet sensitive version of Bach’s Partita in C minor. There was lots of excitement in his playing; he knew his stuff. Craig then “changed gears” completely; offering his arrangement of the jazz standard “Someday My Prince Will Come”. It was stunning as he whipped up a hurricane of sound after giving us a solid foundation of the tune at the outset.
Holly McCallum, a 17 year old cellist, offered “Variations on a Rococo Theme”, opus 33 by Tchaikovsky as her part of the program. It is a lengthy work full of mood swings- from melancholy to energetic- and urgent runs up to the highest notes on the cello. Her bowing skills and control were evident in the way she played the runs; ending in exceedingly delicate tones.
“Roots and Strings”- a duo comprised of Anna Konrad violinist, and Jackson Buller electric ukulele,- ended the concert in a fun way. They offered “The Fox”- a medley by “Nickel Creek” followed by a lovely original song “You Don’t Know”. They also had very nice voices! To end on a rhythmic and fun note, the entire roster of performers joined the duo onstage to clap along to a lively foot stomper of a tune. What a great concert it was!
The next NOCCA concert is on Saturday, February 29 2020 at 7:30 pm. Featured is internationally renowned pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin who is returning to Vernon by popular demand. Find more information at nocca.ca.
Even More NOYSE Concert – Saturday February 1, 2020 @ 2 pm
Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre
The North Okanagan Community Concert Association (NOCCA) is very pleased to be presenting the third North Okanagan Youth Showcase of Excellence entitled “Even More NOYSE” on Saturday, February 1 at 2:00pm at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre. This gala performance showcases young musicians from the North Okanagan and Shuswap.
We are very pleased to be presenting Teslyn Bates, piano; Angela Zeng, cello; Gus Hansen, guitar; Noah Wessels, piano; the Vernon Community Music School (VCMS) Youth Ensemble made up of Zaela and Alex Thiessen, Julia Atkins and Ulyana Doerksen; Craig Matterson, piano; Holly McCallum, cello; and Anna Konrad, violin with Jackson Buller, ukulele and drum. We are also very grateful to Paul Rossetti for agreeing to be Master of Ceremonies.
Please join us in celebrating these amazing young musicians!
Teslyn Bates has been playing piano since age 5, and completed her grade 10 RCM exam in June 2019 with First Class Honours. Teslyn comes from a very musical family and enjoys playing in numerous ensembles, at festival, and has been invited to complete at Piano Provincials. Teslyn plays trumpet in her school jazz band and ukulele as a hobby. She also competed at Ski Nationals in Quebec and her soccer team recently won the Provincials title.
Angela Zeng
Angela Zeng has been playing cello since age 7, is now working on her ARCT with Morna Howie at VCMS, has been a member of the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra (OSYO) for 6 years, and loves the opportunities the cello gives her to play alongside other musicians. She competes at festivals, has placed highly at Provincials, has been invited to audition at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and hopes to pursue cello as a career. Angela also enjoys competitive swimming.
Gus Hansen
Gus Hansen has always been inseparable from music. At age 5 Gus performed with his brother at the Vancouver Folk Festival, and can be found infiltrating performance venues, community theatres, and coffee houses across the province enjoying early jazz, soul and funk. Gus is delighted to be taking lessons with Neil Fraser, and has worked with several musical groups, and musical theatre bands, when he is not portraying a character himself! Gus enjoys composition and is working with other musicians on a feature-length album.
Noah Wessels
Noah Wessels started playing piano in November 2015 after watching virtuosic music performance videos online. He studies with Daisy Penner at VCMS where he also takes violin lessons with Imant Raminsh. He plays second violin in the OSYO, enjoys listening to recordings by great pianists, studying compositions, is always striving to better understand the music he is playing, and builds violins in his free time!
VCMS Youth Ensemble
The VCMS Youth Ensemble is guided by Kim van Wensem, and accompanied by Neta Petkau.
Zaela Thiessen is passionate about classical music, and along with voice, plays cello in the OSYO. She is writing a historical fiction novel, enjoys writing poetry, reading, crocheting and salsa (although she is not fond of tomatoes!)
Alex Thiessen loves harmony and prefers to sing those challenging lines that aren’t the melody. In addition to voice Alex studies music theory, piano, and plays viola in the OSYO. She will be taking exams in piano (grade 8), voice (grade 7), and theory (grade 9) this year, and is writing a fantasy novel.
Julia Atkins has been taking singing lessons with Kim van Wensem since grade 5, has a passion for musical theatre, and currently has a lead role in the VSS musical theatre production. Julia enjoys listening to alternative and pop music, musical theatre including production, calligraphy and hair styling.
Ulyana Doerksen began music in Quebec City singing in a school choir, and playing violin, piano and guitar. Since moving to Vernon in addition to studying singing with Kim van Wensem and violin with Imant Raminsh at VCMS, she sings in the Seaton show and honour choirs. Ulyana enjoys classical music and jazz, drawing, and dreams of becoming a Japanese comic artist.
Craig Matterson
Craig Matterson has been studying piano since a very young age, studies with Geoff Barker at VCMS, and is currently auditioning for university at UVIC in piano and composition. In addition to classical piano Craig has been successful with jazz and rock, touring Canada, the US and Europe several times with his former band daysormay, and winning silver with his group at the BC Interior Jazz Fest. Craig believes each musical style helps one understand the others.
Holly McCallum
Holly McCallum is currently working on her ARCT in cello and piano. She has won countless honours, scholarships and awards, and was the first in history to win best of the fest in two instruments at the Shuswap music festival. She has qualified to compete in the Canadian national finals. Holly is principal cellist of the OSYO and a member of the OSO cello section.
Jackson Buller & Anna Konrad
Anna Konrad and Jackson Buller have formal training in both classical and contemporary music, and enjoy playing bluegrass, classical, folk, classic rock, pop, and more. With Anna’s sister Simone they form Roots&Strings which will release their debut album of original songs and arrangements this January. They play at farmers markets, sponsored gigs, church and school events, senior’s homes, and earned second place at the IPE youth vocal exhibition.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for NOCCA subscribers
$10 for 18 yrs and under, and $5 on the 8-12 program (grades 8-12 with student ID)
Available through Ticket Seller at Vernon’s Performing Arts Centre
ph: 250-549-7469 www.ticketseller.ca
October 26th’s NOCCA concert began with Angela Zeng; a 14 year old grade 9 student at Kalamalka S.S. and a member of the OSYO since the age of 9. She showed confidence and skill as she produced a large bold tone on her cello for three unaccompanied Bach pieces – Prelude, Saraband and Gigue. Pianist Alex MacArthur joined her as piano accompanist for a lively Tarantella. She has come far after only 7 years of study.
The combination of the Lafayette and Saguenay String Quartets proved to be a very successful venture. Their sound was very rich and full, never harsh even in the loudest sections.
First on the programme was the octet by Danish composer Niels Gade (1817-1890). Gade was influenced by Danish folk tunes and an older contemporary, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847). The four movement String Octet in F op.17 may have been a tribute to Gade’s friend and mentor Mendelssohn.It was played with great precision and energy. Incidentally, an Octet isn’t just an expansion of a quartet. It changes texture randomly from any number of parts up to and including eight different parts. There were solos which randomly appeared in any of the parts. They were all brilliantly played.
The String Octet in G minor “The Letter” by Airat Ichmouratov (1973- ) was a type of tone poem following the story of a woman of poor birth and exceptional beauty, who spent her childhood living close to a well off older man and eventually falling in love with him. After an encounter with him she conceived a son who died in childhood.The letter describing her unrequited love is delivered to the child’s father after her death.This piece was commissioned by the Saguenay Quartet and based on Stefan Zweig’s novella “Letter from an Unknown Woman”. It was full of anguished and rich harmonies appropriate to the story, but the long intro by one of the cellists before the piece disturbed the flow of the evening, and what he said was stated in the program anyways.
Actually at this point I would like to mention that there were too many announcements before and during the program- plus a presentation. All this added a half hour down time to the evening and detracted from the flow of the concert. After intermission, The String Octet in Eb major op.20, written by the 16 year old Felix Mendelssohn, was presented. The playing of this piece was excellent but this reviewer (through no fault of the performers) found the first movement overly long, maybe a young man trying to show off his skills? The next 3 movements were brilliantly played, bringing the evening to a sparkling ending.There was no encore, but the audience seemed satisfied with the bountiful musical offering from this stunning group.
The next NOCCA concert is on Sunday December 1, 2019 at 7:30 pm and will feature the Sords-Severn-Duvall Trio performing Beethoven, Brahms, Ravel and Severn. More information at nocca.ca.
Saguenay and Lafayette String Quartets Saturday October 26, 2019 7:30 pm BUY TICKETS
Saguenay and Lafayette String Quartets – These two internationally acclaimed quartets amalgamate to perform three sophisticated and sparkling string octets by Danish Niels Gade, Canadian Airat Ichmouratov, and Felix Mendelssohn’s masterful String Octet in E Flat Major. This is musical dialogue and communication at its most sensitive and compelling.
The Saguenay String Quartet (formerly known as the Alcan Quartet) -violinists Laura Andriani and Nathalie Camus, violist Luc Beauchemin, and cellist David Ellis. The Saguenay String Quartet has developed a reputation for excellence throughout Canada and internationally since its formation in 1989. The Quartet’s originality, contagious enthusiasm, unique sonority, and remarkable cohesion have all contributed to its long-term success. The ensemble’s list of accomplishments is impressive: 1,000 concerts; over 100 live radio broadcasts, numerous television appearances; tours throughout North America, Europe, Asia; and a number of commissioned pieces and first performances.
The Quartet’s recent tours have led the Quartet to Italy, France, the United States, Asia and all over Canada. Its last visit to the Lanaudière Festival, accompanied by pianist Alain Lefèvre, was hailed by more than 6,000 people and welcomed by enthusiastic critics. This concert was also awarded the Opus Prize for the concert of the year by the Conseil québécois de la musique, as well as a Félix (Adisq) prize for the recording of the same André Mathieu repertoire.
Another cornerstone in the Quartet’s history, is the release of its highly anticipated Complete cycle of Beethoven’s 16 string quartets as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations. In addition to its performing career, the Quartet is regularly invited to teach and conduct master classes at universities, conservatories, and summer chamber music institutes both in Quebec and abroad. The Saguenay String Quartet is based in Chicoutimi, Québec, where it receives the unconditional support of the Orchestre symphonique du Saguenay. Saguenay Quartet
The Lafayette String Quartet – violinists Ann Elliott-Goldschmidt and Sharon Stanis, violist Joanna Hood, and cellist Pamela Highbaugh Aloni. In July 1986, these four young musicians, based in Detroit and just beginning their professional careers, performed together for the first time as the Lafayette String Quartet. Today the LSQ continues to flourish with its original personnel. The members of the Lafayette String Quartet divide their time between entertaining audiences all over North America and Europe and teaching some of Canada’s finest young string players. Their residency at the University of Victoria is rich in local performances and community involvement. Their concerts in Canada and abroad are hailed as “Passionate, riveting, and with flawless ensemble.”
The LSQ’s extraordinary musicianship was recognized early on. Already in 1988, it was ranked among the magazine Musical America’s “Young Artists to Watch,” and in its first years it won the Grand prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and prizes at the Portsmouth (now City of London) International String Quartet Competition, and the Chicago Discovery Competition. As winners of the 1988 Cleveland String Quartet Competition, the LSQ had the opportunity to study for two years with the Cleveland Quartet at the Eastman School of Music, in Rochester, New York.
In 1991, the four women became artists-in-residence at the University of Victoria’s School of Music, in British Columbia—positions they still hold today. They received honorary doctorates from University Canada West and were honored with the inaugural Craigdarroch Award for Excellence in Artistic Expression in 2010 from the University of Victoria.
The LSQ has performed across Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe, with concerts often allied with masterclasses and workshops. They often collaborate with other string quartets including the Saguenay (Alcan), the New Zealand, the Penderecki, the Molinari, the Emily Carr, and the Quarteto Latinoamericano. Lafayette String Quartet
The concert will be opened by cellist Angela Zeng, a student attending Kalamalka Secondary School. She has been playing cello for 7 years and studies with Morna Howie at the Vernon Community Music School. Angela has been playing with the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra since she was 9 years old and has been playing lots of chamber music with family and friends at local senior centres. Angela earned runner-up in BC Provincial Festival String Junior A category in 2017, and first place in Junior B in 2018. Recently she was invited to audition for the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Concert Program:
Neils W. Gade (1817-1890)
String Octet in F major Op. 17
Airat Ichmouratov (1973- )
Spring Octet in G minor “The Letter” Op. 56
Intermission
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
String Octet in E flat major Op. 20
Click on the image/link below to view a video of the Saguenay String Quartet (formerly known as the Alcan Quartet):
Click on the image/link below to view a video of the Lafayette String Quartet:
North Okanagan Community Concert Association 