Love Notes to get you in the mood for romance

The Oliver Community Arts Council is passing on a little love note to you from the Penticton Concert Band. Not one you read, but one to listen to.  The band is performing Love Notes on Sunday April 22 at 2:30 p.m. at the Oliver Alliance Church. Tickets are $10 on sale at Sundance Video beginning Tuesday and at the door. Students 17 yrs and under get in free.

“It is all about love,” says Gerald Nadeau, conductor of the Penticton Concert Band,  describing the band’s new repertoire. The concert promises show tunes, jazz standards, pop favourites, Dixie, and even a little opera. Much of the music has a romantic theme.

Several musicals are featured, including Moulin Rouge, Miss Saigon, and Les Miserables, all with heart-wrenching love stories played out against turbulent backgrounds.  A Ray Charles medley includes the romantic Georgia on My Mind, and I Can’t Stop Loving You.  No big band concert would be complete without the lush music of Jerome Kern, famous for ’40s standards Why Do I Love You?,  Lovely to Look At, and The Way you Look Tonight.

Not feeling quite so lovey-dovey? The band promises a cool antidote to the love bug with some Frank Sinatra (The Lady is a Tramp, My Way, and It was a Very Good Year) and a Beatles medley.

And what’s a big band concert without Dixieland? The Penticton Concert Band can’t resist adding several jazz numbers to the programme.  Four much-loved pieces by the incomparable Leroy Anderson will mix romance and plain old fun. In the medley are a romantic Serenata, the clever Syncopated Clock, a sultry Blue Tango, and the whimsical Bugler’s Holiday.

Special guest soprano Madison Johnson fronts the band on several numbers. This lovely young singer performs the show stopper O Mio Babbino Caro by Puccini, and adds her voice to several show tunes including “I Dreamed a Dream”, and “On My Own” from Les Miz, and “One Day I’ll Fly Away” and “Nature Boy” from Moulin Rouge.

Spring is in the air, and so is love. Find someone you like to be with and spend a “lovely” afternoon with the Penticton Concert Band.  You’ll definitely fall in love with the music.

Sleighbells and Song … and Snow

An enthusiastic but small audience enjoyed the musical variety show, Sleighbells and Song presented by the Oliver Community Arts Council on December 7th at the Frank Venables Auditorium.  A heavy wet snowfall kept many prospective concert goers indoors on Tuesday night, but those in attendance were appreciative. 

Choirs from the Oliver Elementary and Seventh Day Adventist Schools, the  Desert Airs Men’s Chorus and the Advent/Valley Quartet charmed the crowd in the first set. The children’s bright faces and bright voices were an instant hit and a great opener to the show. Some clever choreography, cheerful lyrics, and good rhythms combined to make for a highly entertaining start to the evening.  The Desert Airs impressed with their tuneful a cappella harmonies and crisp musical delivery – and their crisp white shirts. Handsome outfits, gentlemen!  This is a very polished men’s choir who need to have their very own concert — soon, we hope!   The mixed quartet from the Adventist and Valley Congregational churches served as a good counterpoint with some reflective music. Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming and Rise Up Shepherd were especially moving.

The second set featured seasonal music from the Penticton Concert Band. The band began with an audience sing-along  led by soprano Madison Johnson. This young lady has a powerful confident voice that did not need any added amplification.  It was a treat to hear a young person sing in full voice from abdomen, lungs, and head.  No swooping notes, breathy whispering, or pop diva imitations for her.  Brava, Miss Johnson!

The Penticton Concert Band gave an accomplished, rousing performance with good balanced sound from all sections, cohesive playing, and excellent attention to direction.   Their repertoire spanned several centuries of Christmas music and showed off styles varying from Gregorian and Baroque to jazz and pop. Although any band’s volume  could easily overwhelm listeners in an indoor venue — risking amplifying a wrong note, missed cue, or jangly ending — the Penticton Concert Band proved to be very well-rehearsed and easy to listen to, under the competent direction of conductor Gerald Nadeau.

The Oliver Community Arts Council welcomes suggestions for future community Christmas concerts.  Contact olivercac@gmail.com

Have a review of an arts council event or member group performance? Submit it to olivercac@gmail.com