Monthly Archives: February 2017

Sultans of String April 2 at the Venables

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The Sultans of String, with all their incredible talent and explosiveness, are coming to our magnificent theatre on Sunday, April 2. This is a change from the original scheduled performance, because they’ve been asked to attend the Juno Awards!

(From their press release) “Canada’s genre bending string slingers SULTANS OF STRING garner a JUNO nomination for World Music Album of the Year at the celebratory JUNOs Press Conference for their feast of raucous reels ragas ‘n’ rumbas, Subcontinental Drift, featuring special guest/sitar master Anwar Khurshid (Oscar-winning Life of Pi).

“We are honoured to receive this JUNO nomination for our new album! We could not have made this recording without the support of the whole Canadian roots community, and our special collaboration with Anwar”, states bandleader/violinist Chris McKhool. He adds, “there is something magical about joining world music rhythms that we often play, but with pop sensibilities and forms and lengths, and blending that with the music of the East.”

Yet Subcontinental Drift is more than a genre-hopping passport. It is a musical promise that embraces differences while finding common ground across culture, land, and time.

“Together we started writing songs about freedom and equality, and our hope of creating a better world. I feel in some way that these songs reflect our own personal hopes and journeys towards finding a world peace. This is a message that is needed more than ever at this time”.

The award nomination comes on the heels of the band’s whirlwind North American and UK Subcontinental Drifttours, including a special appearance organized by the High Commission at London’s Trafalgar Square. Distributed by Fontana North in Canada, the album hit #1 in Canada on Earshot’s international charts, top 10 on the American CMJ charts and top 15 on Billboard’s World Music charts in the U.S. It also got picked up for distribution in the U.S. by CEN/SONY and by Proper in Europe.

Sultans of String are celebrating their 10th anniversary as a band, criss-crossing North America and performing at many taste-making forums such as JUNOFest, legendary jazz club Birdland in NYC, and California’s hip music scene, including the San Jose Jazz Festival. They recently sold out Koerner Hall (Toronto’s Carnegie Hall), and performed with Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton Symphony Orchestras. Sultans of String were recently filmed by MPBN’s Maine Arts! in a feature concert, and performed live on BBC TV, Irish National Radio, and the internationally syndicated shows WoodSongs, World Cafe, and on SiriusXM in Washington. The band has been on the road non-stop, and will make their debut in The Netherlands and mainland Europe this summer. 

They are currently recording a festive world-music-inspired Christmas Caravan CD featuring Canada’s singer to the stars Rebecca Campbell (Bruce Cockburn, Alanis Morissette, Emmylou Harris) and 5x Platinum selling Nikki Yanofsky, The Chieftains’ very own Paddy Moloney, JUNO winner Alex Cuba, Cameroon’s Richard Bona, Panamanian 7x Grammy/5x Latin Grammy winning Ruben Blades, and more.

Tickets are $40. Seating is assigned. This will be one of the most incredible music experiences of your life. You can afford the ticket and you cannot afford to miss this. Tickets are available on line at VenablesTheatre.ca, at the Frank Venables Theatre box office or at Medici’s at 522 Fairview Road in Oliver…250-498-2228

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8mKJL4SvpQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSgbRZVDa30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tUM9ifOaQw

Colourful Concert February 24

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When I first started reading the reviews for Duo Concertante, Canada’s premiere violin and piano ensemble, I wondered what I could be getting in for. “Vigorous, passionate, red-blooded” said one. “Ethereal textures, colorful sonorities” and “suspended between poetry and romance” said another. “Grace and fire…fury and repose” said another. Then a conclusion, “Two packages of musical dynamite that would credit any stage in any city in any continent on the planet!”

Wow!   Nancy Dahn, violin, and Timothy Steeves, piano, are coming to OUR stage at the Venables Theatre, Oliver, on Friday, February 24th . Performance starts at 7:30 pm and tickets for $22.50 are available on line at www.venablestheatre.ca, at the Venables box office open 10 to 3 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday or at the door.

Dahn and Steeves are partners in life as well as in music and their powerful musical instincts and flawless technique have been recognized throughout North America, Europe, and Asia where they maintain a busy touring schedule. Their tight quality of ensemble playing speaks to years of successful collaboration where the fluidity of the piano intertwines intimately with the poignancy of the violin. The inscription over Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” sonata reads, “in stilo molto concertante” with the implication that the performers are two equal and dynamic voices. This notion defines Duo Concertante’s artistic relationship.   The “Kreutzer” sonata was the first piece the duo played when, in 1997, they burst into the performance world.

Both Dahn and Steeves are based at Memorial University in St. John’s where they are energetic, experienced teachers who have given hundred of master classes and workshops throughout the world. Their commitment to working with young musicians gave rise to the annual Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival, which they founded in 2000 to bring together young chamber music performers with world-class artists and ensembles for an intensive two weeks of learning and performance.

The couple have seven acclaimed CDs including Beethovens Complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano, which received rave reviews from the international press and their recording of R. Murray Schafer’s Duo for Violin and Piano which won the 2011 Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year.

Tickets are on sale now for this concert which will close another very satisfying South Okanagan Concert Society season of music. Those requiring bus transportation from Osoyoos can call Maureen at 250 495 7978 to make arrangements.

 

Casting Call for next SOAP production

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SOAP is looking for actors to perform in their Spring 2017 production of Since You Left Us, a comedy by Vancouver based Playwright Susinn McFarlen. Auditions will be held as follows:

  • Quails Nest Arts Centre;  5840 Airport Street; Oliver
  • Thursday February 9, 2017 from 6 pm to 8 pm; and
  • Friday February 10, 2017 from 6 pm to 8 pm

Since You Left Us calls for six cast members – three men and three women:

  • Fanny (F) – The sister who arrives at Denny’s in search of her son. She is uptight, nervous, and anxious.
  • Denny (F) – The dog-obsessed sister, Denny is the crazy glue that keeps the laughs coming.
  • Mike (M) – Denny and Fanny’s fireman brother, who, along with his friend Chuck, is always enjoying yet another beer.
  • Dolly (F) – Mother of Fanny, Denny and Mike — one sexy 70-year-old in a plunging leopard-skin patterned blouse, cinch belt, tight pants and spike heels.
  • Chuck (M) – Dolly’s much younger, alcoholic boyfriend.
  • Danno (M) – Fanny’s missing son, late teens.

People with all levels of acting experience (or lack of experience) are welcome to attend. Even if you are not sure of wanting a part, grab a friend and come out for an evening of laughs, reading parts from this great script.
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​RUN DATES: April 28 – May 6, 2017
Also planned to be part of the Okanagan Zone ​Theatre Festival in late May 2017 in Salmon Arm

Synopsis
There’s dysfunctional and there’s really, really dysfunctional. The family in Since You Left Us is one of the latter: shot through with alcoholism, bad parenting, sibling rivalry and unhealthy co-dependency (with a Jack Russell terrier named … Jack).

Since You Left Us is laugh-out-loud funny until the end when something is revealed that suddenly makes the play profoundly poignant.

The dog-obsessed Denny is the crazy glue that keeps the laughs coming in this production. Mouth-to-mouth on a mutt? Diapers on a dog? Cooing and baby-talking to Jack Denny is hysterically funny but can turn an evil eye on her mother, brother and sister that stops them dead in their tracks. Denny is a ‘don’t mess with me’ sort of gal – and who would mess with her? She’s big and tough and strong.

But the story is really Fanny’s, the sister who arrives at Denny’s in search of her AWOL son, Danno. Fanny can be uptight, nervous, and anxious but she is able to loosen up and, in doing so, is pulled back into this flawed family that is, nevertheless, a family.

It’s Dolly’s 70th birthday but she’s one sexy septuagenarian in a plunging leopard-skin patterned blouse, cinch belt, tight pants and spike heels. She’s got herself a much younger boyfriend – married, alcoholic Chuck, with whom she’s about to move in.

Mike is Denny and Fanny’s fireman brother who, along with his friend Chuck, is always enjoying yet another beer with the toast, “first one of the day”. These people, with the exception of reformed alcoholic Fanny, really drink.

There’s a lot of fighting, bitching, arguing and yelling so if your own family dynamic finds itself in the same position, Since You Left Us might not be for you. On the other hand it will make your family appear positively happy. It’s funny, the dialogue crackles with wit, these are people you might know (and love).

More information at www.soplayers.ca/since-you-left-us.html

Piano “jewel” in Venables lobby setting

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The Frank Venables Theatre lobby now provides the shimmering setting for a jewel of a piano: a Petrof grand. The glossy black instrument has been donated to the Venables theatre society as a memorial to piano teacher, Agnes Sutherland, who passed away in March 2016. A “baby sister” to the Yamaha used onstage at the Venables, the Petrof will provide entertainment at small recitals, receptions, weddings, exhibits and gala events in the theatre lobby. The fundraising campaign achieved its goal in a matter of months, raising $10,000 for this “lovingly used” instrument.  Giving added meaning to the memorial, the piano was purchased from Jeanne Crawford, whose daughter had been a piano student of Sutherland’s many years ago. The family had kept the piano in pristine condition.

As proven at a donor reception on Saturday January 28, the piano holds its own in the large lobby. Despite a lofty two-storey ceiling, the instrument’s smooth tones easily filled the space. The reception featured several pianists, chosen for their musical variety. Fourteen-year old Chase Alaric amazed the donors with his boogie-woogie blues workout. Jim Wyse tickled the keys with some jazz arrangements, with loudest applause for Oscar Peterson’s moving Hymn to Freedom. Piano students Kendra and Mataya Leinor and Kelan Harty (above) added sophistication with some classical pieces. One of Sutherland’s former pupils, Lisa Elgert, performed Lara’s Theme from Doctor Zhivago. In a fitting tribute, Ginette Aubin (below) lent her powerful pipes to a performance of I Believe, accompanying herself on the piano.

Interspersing the musical numbers were several reflections on Agnes’ contributions to the Oliver community. Several members of Agnes’ family were on hand to reminisce, including speeches by her brother Dave Evans and daughter Sally Franks. Penelope Johnson of the Oliver Community Arts Council, announced the society had made an additional $5000 in memorial donations to local schools for capital expenditures in both music and fine arts departments. She also recalled Agnes’ connection to the original Venables Theatre, as an accompanist for many SOAP musicals and student recitals.  Venables Theatre manager, Deb Martin, expressed her amazement and gratitude for the outpouring of support for the memorial piano.

A total of $10,000 was raised with the support of many organizations, including those of which Agnes was a member (the Oliver Sagebrushers and the Oliver Community Arts Council), as well as the South Okanagan Concert Society, Women of Oliver for Women, and the Oliver Community Theatre Society. Roughly sixty individuals also donated generously to the memorial fund. In addition, several of Agnes’ paintings were sold to raise money for the piano. The memorial campaign was co-chaired by Marion Trimble and Sally Franks.

The funds required to pay for a brass plaque will be raised with a raffle. Prizes are three paintings by professional artist Robert E. Wood, of Calgary. Prize winners will be announced on May 11 during the Wine Capital Art Walk. Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased at the Venables Theatre.

Photo credit: Penelope Johnson

Concert enthralls with Brubeck tribute

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by Anneke Le Roux
How lucky can our little town of Oliver be!?  We have a phenomenal theatre that brings incredible acts like the Montreal-based Rémi Bolduc Jazz Ensemble performance hosted by the South Okanagan Concert Society January 27th.   I could not believe my good fortune and did not stop smiling.  The Dave Brubeck Tribute concert was World Class!

The set-up was plain and simple, no gimmicks or distractions, just pure, enthralling, mind-blowing craftsmanship. Rémi Bolduc brought together musicians that not only understand their instruments and the music of Brubeck, but that lose themselves in the dynamics of ‘telling the story’ to the audience. It is the dynamics that pull you in and make you part of this world that is pure with utter brilliance. We all know jazz is not every one’s cup of tea, but when presented to you in this way, one can not help but stand in awe. And they do this without a single piece of sheet music!

Rémi plays a 60 year old Selmer alto saxophone (the very first one he bought for himself in the 80’s) with a tone quality of velvet. His understanding and portrayal of Brubeck’s music is the exact balance of beautiful tonal themes and lightning fast arpeggios and scale dissections  that leave one astounded when he lets loose. But he does not leave you behind. The audience could not agree more when the intro started to ‘Take Five’. That can only be done with years of impressive experience.
I was a bit worried or disappointed at first when the pianist sat with his back to us because it was not just any pianist, it was François Bourassa, and I wanted to see him interact with the other musicians.  He did this but now I did not see his face, but his hands. Oh those hands…! And his feet – which had a whole conversation all on their own. He made the piano sing with the lightest touch and a more controversial contemporary approach when he started “Bluette” on the piano’s anatomy (the insides of the piano). He plucked and played together, which caused great delight in the audience.

The double bassist Fraser Hollins and drummer David Laing’s solid performances were ever impressive and not to be underestimated. They made the transitions between aTempo and double time seem effortless, and they are the reason for every foot that tapped along.

Rémi Bolduc Jazz Ensemble is beyond fantastic! They are so aware of each other and what will happen next, they know the best ways to bring enhancement so the music stands out. What a privilege to see these professional musicians in action. They promised to return to the Okanagan, but if there’s a chance that they are near you, go! Their traveling schedule is available at www.stationbleue.com.

On this note, I have to say that so often the sound engineer is left behind. But Dave Mai (sound and lights) has done the outstanding by knowing the acoustics of the theatre so well and giving each individual instrumentalist the best balance, in order to give us the best performance. Thank you.

Frank Venables Theatre gives us another reason to be proud, and that is to anyone with an Orace Hearing System. On the 12th and 24th February, there will be two separate performances. 150 MOVES, Ballet Kelowna’s Celebration of Canadian Dance and DUO CONCERTANTE, and both performances’ sound will be paired with the Orace System. In other words, the music will be played directly in your ears!

DUO CONCERTANTE will be the next SOCS concert on 24 February at 7:30 at the Venables Theatre. Canadian partners in life and music, Nancy Dahn and Timothy Steeves perform on Violin and Piano. They have been praised by critics for over fifteen years for their ‘artistry, poetry and impeccable technique’. Tickets will be on sale at the theatre during new office hours. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 10:00 – 3:00. Make sure you don’t miss any of the shows!