Tag: Holly McCallum

Canadian Guitar Quartet – March 25, 2022

by SillyGilly, posted in Concert
Canadian Guitar Quartet
Canadian Guitar Quartet

Canadian Guitar Quartet
7:30 pm Friday March 25, 2022
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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

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.

Even More NOYSE – An Absolute Pleasure!

by SillyGilly, posted in Review

Even More NOYSE 2020

Review by Jim Leonard

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.

Review by Jim Leonard for the Vernon Morning Star.

NOYSE 2020 Poster

Even More NOYSE Concert – Saturday February 1, 2020

by SillyGilly, posted in Concert

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!

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Teslyn Bates
 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

NOYSE 2020 Poster

Inter Contemporary Dance Group from Accentz studio

More NOYSE – January 28, 2018

by SillyGilly, posted in Concert

Inter Contemporary Dance Group from Accentz studio
Inter Contemporary Dance Group from Accentz studio

More NOYSE
Sunday January 28, 2018 2:00 pm
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NOCCA is excited to support North Okanagan’s incredible young talent with a bi-annual North Okanagan Youth Showcase of Excellence (NOYSE) concert held at Vernon’s Performing Arts Centre. NOYSE is back this year with More NOYSE. The inaugural showcase in 2016 was an unqualified success and 2018 promises to raise the bar.

Hosted by Sarah Hagen of “Morning Melodies” fame at Vernon’s Performing Arts centre, More NOYSE promises to be an afternoon of outstanding variety and entertainment.

Featuring Marcus Coetzee – violin, Jax Dolman – vocal, Jonathan Fraser-Monroe – dance, Inter Contemporary Dance Group from Accentz studio, Holly McCallum – cello, Shaughnessy O’Brien – guitar and vocal, Tiernen O’Keefe – dance, Brandon Schmor – piano, Jacob Soucy Quartet – trumpet, keyboard, bass & drums, and Libby Wyse – violin. Don’t miss this opportunity to support our young artists, and to hear and see how bright the future is for the performing arts in the North Okanagan!

This concert is not part of the regular NOCCA subscription series. Seats are available on a first come-first serve basis and all proceeds will go to an education fund to provide ongoing scholarships for music students in the North Okanagan as they continue their musical careers.

SINGLE CONCERT TICKETS
Adults – $20  NOCCA subscribers – $15  Under 18 – $10
Students on the 8to12 program – $5

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

Concert Review: piano-cello duo electrifies

by SillyGilly, posted in Review

dyachvkov and saulnierBy Jim Leonard – a special review for The Vernon Morning Star

The North Okanagan Community Concert Association (NOCCA) kicked off its season Thursday September 22nd with a rapturous performance by cellist Yegor Dyachkov and pianist Jean Saulnier.

Saulnier began by commenting, “this is not a cello accompanied by piano concert. We are equal partners in the music we have chosen.”

He and Dyachkov proceeded to demonstrate exactly what that statement meant.

The Five Pieces in Folk Style Opus 102 by Robert Schumann was played with great sensitivity. Both players were careful not to assert their part over the other.

Schumann cleverly wrote the music to portray: “With Humour; Slowly; Not Fast; Not Too Surprising and Strong and Marked.” The duo brought these titled works to life.

Brahms wrote his Sonata in E minor Opus 38 for an advanced amateur cellist. It was in three movements: Allegro ma non troppo (Lively but not too much so); Allegro quasi Menuetto – Trio (Lively in the style of a minuet with contrasting trio) and Allegro. Even though the title seemed to indicate a cello sonata accompanied by piano; this was not the case.

The most interesting part of this sonata was the last movement, which contained a fugue (a complex round). The fugue was Brahm’s homage to J.S. Bach’s masterwork The Art of the Fugue. It had the style of Bach’s fugal writing. The notes were passed seamlessly between the piano and cello and gave the impression of a much larger ensemble.

After intermission came Dimitri Shostakovich’s Sonata in D minor.

Throughout the four movements the moods oscillated between miserable, hopeful and urgent. Shostakovitch’s Russia was ruled by the tyrant and mass murderer Joseph Stalin. Stalin banned Shostakovitch’s music, calling it “chaos instead of music.” To the uninitiated, the melodies and harmony may have been too restless.

This listener enjoyed some of the other techniques involved in playing a cello throughout the sonata: pizzicato (plucking the strings instead of bowing them), applying a mute to the bridge of the cello, and portamento (sliding the fingers up and down the fingerboard while bowing). The virtuosic piano part was played brilliantly with the cello following suit.

After a standing ovation, the duo offered a short, quiet encore: Sappiche Ode by Brahms, a perfect end to a wonderful concert.

As is customary at NOCCA concerts, some young up-and-coming talent was also featured. The cello duo of Anastasia Martens and Holly McCallum (both in their early teens) presented some Bach arranged for two cellos.

Both girls showed their abilities and confidence in their playing. Their sound was warm and large and their ensemble playing was excellent.

Watch out world!

The next NOCCA concert is October 29, 2016 featuring pianist Ian Parker and the “new” (1979) Hamburg Steinway grand piano. It will be a gala event where everyone is invited to dress “to the nines” in formal wear. Check out NOCCA’s website nocca.ca, or facebook for the latest news and reviews. Lastly,  many thanks to the NOCCA organization for bringing such stellar talent to the North Okanagan!

– Guest reviewer Jim Leonard is a Vernon-based pianist, organist and composer.