F.A.A. ARTS NEWS THE FREDERICTON ARTS ALLIANCE Serving the Arts in the Fredericton Region April 1, 2004, Volume 4, Issue 13
In This Issue
1. FAA News – Fredericton ArtsVote 2004 2. Theatre UNB Presents Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage And Her Children 3. Musician And Drummer To Team Up With Fredericton Artist 4. Kimono Opening At NBCCD 5. Brigid Toole Grant Exhibition To Open At Gallery 78 6. Lisa Kokin Exhibition And Artist Talk At Gallery Connexion 7. LASS Night 2004 Coming Up April 2 8. UNB Writer-In-Residence To Give Farewell Reading 9. Music For Holy Week At Christ Church 10. Tim Blackmore - St Croix Celebrations Concert - 1604-2004 11. Theatre St. Thomas And Gallery 78 To Present “78” 12. J.P.Cormier Joins Symphony New Brunswick 13. UNB Centre For Musical Arts To Give Final Performance Of Season 14. Leo Furey’s Book Signing At MacPhail’s Tap Room 15. TNB Theatre School Presents Hit Musical Chicago 16. Coming Up At The Fredericton Playhouse 17. Calithumpians Auditions 18. Three Generations Concert With Pianist Ludmila Knezkova-Hussey To Take Place In Bathurst 19. Dinner Concert At St Andrew’s Rossmount Inn 20. Le Trio De Guitares De Montréal At Théâtre du Centre communautaire 21. Lineup Announced For 2004 Excellence Awards Gala Celebration
Notices
Previews Symphony New Brunswick Joined by J.P.Cormier on April 6th
Reviews The Blue Orphan (The Playhouse, March 26) Catalyst Theatre, Edmonton
Galleries At A Glance
1. FAA News – Fredericton ArtsVote 2004
Mayoral Candidates’ Cultural Forum
The municipal election is just around the corner. Mark Tuesday, April 27th on your calendar when the Fredericton Arts Alliance will host a community forum on arts and culture with mayoral candidates Les Hull and Joel Richardson. The forum will take place at the Monsignor Boyd Centre, 120 Regent Street from 7 – 9 pm. Please take a few minutes and answer the questions on the Arts News Election Special sent out on Wednesday, March 31st.
Your participation and vote will help to ensure we have an arts friendly government!
For more information call the Fredericton Arts Alliance at 443-9900.
2. Theatre UNB Presents Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage And Her Children
March 31-April 3 Theatre UNB takes audiences into the chaotic and disturbing world of war with its final production of the 2003-04 season, Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children, which will be performed March 31-April 3 at Memorial Hall on the UNB campus.
Written on the eve of the Second World War and produced countless times since then, Brecht's play, widely acknowledged as one of the most important and influential works of the twentieth-century theatre, centres on the hardships and dilemmas experienced by one woman as she struggles to survive the Thirty Years' War, a religious conflict that devastated Europe in the seventeenth century. Anna Fierling, nicknamed Mother Courage, follows the war in her canteen wagon, selling provisions to both sides. Over the course of the play, her close proximity to the conflict, along with her enthusiasm for making a profit from it, spells doom for her three children, who are taken from her one by one, despite her attempts to keep them safely insulated from the fighting.
In dramatizing the difficult choices Mother Courage must make between helping others and maintaining her livelihood, the play probes the connections between war, economics, and greed, and questions whether the world we live in is more amenable to selflessness or self-interest. Directed by UNB Director of Drama Len Falkenstein, Theatre UNB’s Mother Courage combines Brecht's political and social commentary with comedy, exuberant music and song, and moments of haunting imagery and staging inspired by Francisco Goya's famed series of etchings The Disasters of War. Mother Courage and Her Children will be performed nightly at 8 pm. Tickets ($6 students, $8 regular) will be available at the door, beginning at 7:30. For more information, call 447-3078 or e-mail [email protected]
3. Musicians And Drummer To Team Up With Fredericton Artist
Israel Okeafor an accomplished Ghanaian musician will be in Fredericton from March 31 – April 3, 2004.
In partnership with Fredericton artist and drummer Carlos Gomes, Israel will be conducting two public workshops. These workshops are open to beginner hand-drummers as well as to experienced musicians. Bring your own djembe, ashiko, doumbek, congas or bongos. A limited number of extra drums will be available for a small rental fee. Admission to the workshops will be $15 for one workshop or $25 for both.
The first workshop will be held on Thursday evening April 1st, 2004 from 7 to 9 pm in the Conference room at Holy Cross House at Saint Thomas University.
The second workshop will be held on Friday evening April 2nd, 2004 from 7 to 9 pm in the Tartan Room located in Memorial Hall (the UNB Art gallery).
For further information on Israel and his music, please visit www.cdbaby.com/cd/Israel
Israel's visit is being supported by the Fredericton Arts and Heritage program, the Amargi Whole Family Centre, UNB, STU, and the Fredericton drumming cooperative.
Contact Carlos Gomes at 455-0413 or Doug Rigaux at 472-2758 for more information. 4. Kimono Opening At NBCCD
New Brunswick College of Craft and Design's Gallery Downstairs will be exhibiting recent work by 2nd year Surface Design students in an exhibition entitled KIMONO. The opening is Friday, April 2nd, 6-8 pm. The show continues until April 19th.
5. Brigid Toole Grant Exhibition To Open At Gallery 78
Welcome the onset of spring with Either Side of the Window, an exhibition of new watercolours and oils by Fredericton artist, Brigid Toole Grant. Opening reception on Friday, April 2nd from 5 – 7 pm. Exhibition remains until April 25th.
Featured Acadian artist - Raymond Martin
For information call 454-5192.
6. Lisa Kokin Exhibition And Artist Talk At Gallery Connexion
Lisa Kokin, San Francisco based installation artist, returns for the 20th Anniversary year of Gallery Connexion with her exhibition, Secondhand Memories: Sewn Found Photographs. The exhibition opens Friday April 2nd from 7 - 9 pm, and runs until May 6th, 2004.
Lisa Kokin will be giving an artist talk on her work on Wednesday, April 7th at 7 pm. Her work in mixed media installation, artist's books and sculpture is about memory and history, both personal and collective. Her work has been in numerous solo and group shows in the United States and abroad. A recipient of a California Arts Council Individual Artist's Fellowship and Eureka Fellowship from the Fleishhacker foundation, Ms. Kokin is represented by The Catherine Clark Gallery in San Francisco. This exhibition marks her second visit to Gallery Connexion.
7. LASS Night 2004 Coming Up April 2
The UNB Latin American and Spanish Society (LASS) will hold its annual Latin Night on April 2nd at the SUB Ballroom. Doors open at 6:30 pm and tickets are only $13 for adults (in advance) and $15 at the door. For children, tickets are only $8 in advance and $13 at the door.
A Latin dinner with plenty of choices will be served. The show will have a wide variety of performances, including dances, singing, poetry, comedy and much more. Participants are asked to keep their tickets since prizes will be awarded.
Tickets are going fast but are still available at Mazzucas, the Friendship Convenience Store and from any of the LASS executive. You could also e-mail [email protected] and ticket arrangements will be made.
Source: UNB E-News
8. UNB Writer-In-Residence To Give Farewell Reading
Ken McGoogan, UNB's current writer-in-residence, will read from his work on Saturday, April 3rd. He will be accompanied by Joel Katelnikoff and Barbara Romanik, MA candidates in creative writing at UNBF.
The reading which is free of charge and open to the public, will be held at 4 pm at MacPhail's Tap Room, 366 Queen St., Fredericton. An award-winning author and journalist, Mr. McGoogan will read from Ancient Mariner, his second work of creative non-fiction. Fatal Passage, a Canadian bestseller, won three awards including the Writers' Trust Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize. The author of four novels, Mr. McGoogan has also worked as a journalist at three major Canadian dailies.
The reading and the writer-in-residence program are sponsored by UNB, the UNBF department of English, the Canada Council for the Arts and the New Brunswick Arts Board. For more information, please contact Edith Snook at 506-458- 7397.
Source: UNBF e-news 9. Music For Holy Week At Christ Church
Christ Church (Parish) Church Senior Choir will present their annual Palm Sunday concert on April 4th at 7:00 pm. This year’s featured work will be Faure’s Requiem, sung in the original Latin. The choir, augmented by our many “friends”, will also sing The Kontakion by Vancouver composer Rubert Lang. The words to this moving composition are from the Eastern Orthodox burial service “Give rest unto your servant with your saints O Lord”.
Dianne Wilkins, director of the acclaimed Fredericton Schoolgirl Choir, will direct the choir. Bass soloist will be David Perritt.
The concert includes organ solos inspired by biblical themes played by Peter Waterhouse and Stephanie Burgoyne. The music is by JS Bach, D. Locklair and O. Messiaen. 10. Tim Blackmore - St Croix Celebrations Concert - 1604-2004
Tim Blackmore will be performing at Gallery 78 in Fredericton, Sunday April 4th, 2-4 pm. Included will be selections from his latest CD, a recording of keyboard works by the English composer William Byrd (1540-1623), as well as works by other composers of the period such as Frescobaldi, Sweelinck, Froberger and others.
"The concert and CD recording are done to mark the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s arrival in New Brunswick in 1604," says Blackmore. "I had hoped to record French keyboard music from Champlain’s lifetime (1567- 1635), but none has survived. The CD was recorded using a harpsichord sound suitable to the period, and it features variations on songs and dances such as pavans, galliards, and almans that were popular at all the courts of Europe at the time. Byrd was one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, and many of these works are masterpieces."
GALLERY 78 is located on the corner of Church and Queen streets. For tickets and more information, please contact Penny at (506) 454 -5192. 11. Theatre St. Thomas And Gallery 78 To Present “78”
Theatre St. Thomas and Gallery 78 have joined forces to present an evening of local art at the Black Box Theatre from April 5 – 8. "78" consists of four one-act plays written by Fredericton-based playwrights, and incorporates the music of local musicians and an exhibit of local art from Gallery 78. The evening begins at 7:30 pm, and tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at the door.
12. J.P.Cormier Joins Symphony New Brunswick
Symphony New Brunswick will be joined by J.P.Cormier, ECMA Instrumental Artist of the Year, for their next concert at The Playhouse on Tuesday, April 6th, at 8 pm. 'Close to the Sea' is the theme, with J.P's Cape Breton sound complemented by the orchestra in Handel's Water Music, Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave, the English Folksong Suite of Vaughan-Williams and the Petite Suite of Debussy. Daniel Warren is guest conductor. For tickets, phone The Playhouse at 458-8344. Contact: Neil MacGill at 453-7762. See preview below for more information. 13. UNB Centre For Musical Arts To Give Final Performance Of Season
Tuesday, April 6th, 2004, 7:30 pm - Memorial Hall, UNB
The UNB Centre for Musical Arts presents the UNB Concert Band and Brass Ensemble under the direction of Richard Hornsby, and the UNB Chorale under the direction of Bjorn Runefors, in their final concert for the 2003-04 season.
Admission: Adults $5, seniors $3, students with picture ID free
14. Leo Furey’s Book Signing At MacPhail’s Tap Room
You are invited to the book signing of The Long Run, the first novel by Leo Furey, the film commissioner from the Newfoundland & Labrador Film Corporation. Key Porter Books invites you to The Sound of Furey cross-Canada Literary Pub Crawl. Wednesday, April 7th, 7 pm, MacPhail’s Tap Room, Fredericton.
15. TNB Theatre School Presents Hit Musical Chicago
The Tony Award winning musical Chicago will burst onto the Playhouse stage April 14th to 16th featuring over twenty students enrolled in Theatre New Brunswick’s Senior Musical Theatre program. All three performances will take place at 8 pm.
Chicago is the smash hit Broadway musical by John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. It has been described as a stunning spectacle full of intrigue, betrayal, rivalry and friendship. Inspired by the sensationalized trials of Cook County, it tells the story of aspiring vaudeville performer Roxie Hartt’s rise to celebrity in a world where justice is secondary to entertainment.
To get your tickets call the Playhouse Box Office at (506) 458-8344 or visit www.theplayhouse.ca.
16. Coming Up At The Fredericton Playhouse
Don’t miss these exciting performances coming up at Fredericton’s premiere performing arts venue! For tickets or more information, call the Playhouse Box Office at (506) 458-8344 or visit www.theplayhouse.ca.
Thursday, April 1, 8:00 pm @theplayhouse MOVE! Series presents… Courage Mon Amour 2004 marks 14 years of fiery and physically-demanding modern dance from internationally renowned Quebec troupe, Cas Public. The company has built an esteemed reputation on the national and international stage by pushing the limits of physicality and artistic expression. Under the direction of distinguished choreographer Hélène Blackburn, “Courage Mon Amour” features six dancers and two violinists who escort the audience through the realms of reality, ideas and language. Escape into the depths of imagination with one of the most exciting modern dance troupes in Canada. Sponsored by AtlanticMediaWorks
Friday, April 2, 8:00 pm @theplayhouse Somethin’ Else Series presents… David Kaplan Virtuoso juggler, magician, inventor, musician, physical comedian – all wrapped up in one eccentric performer. In the footsteps of the legendary Charlie Chaplin and the great Buster Keaton, David Kaplan brings the vaudeville heritage to life. Whether he’s juggling bean bag chairs, playing a melody on his “concert balloon,” or levitating a bowling ball, David’s blend of skill and shameless gimmickry is sure to amaze and amuse. Featured on a number of television shows and described as “brilliant” by reviewers, David Kaplan delivers a most unique and hilarious spectacle. At this show, there is no other choice than to have fun! Sponsored by Bulletproof Solutions
Saturday, April 3, 8:00 pm @theplayhouse Bravo Atlantic Series presents… Nova Scotia Mass Choir A sensational 1992 debut at the International Gospel Festival in Halifax inspired the Nova Scotia Mass Choir to keep singing -- wherever they could and to all who would listen. Now more than 11 years later, this large multiracial choir of 65 members has been called one of Nova Scotia’s richest treasures. Two seasons on CBC and Vision television, two CDs and two East Coast Music Awards have made the Choir’s soulful sounds and rich harmonies well known throughout Atlantic Canada. Experience the power, beauty and spirituality of The Nova Scotia Mass Choir. Sponsored by Valley Ridge Fine Furniture
Sunday, April 4, 8:00 pm @theplayhouse Acoustic Adventure Series presents… Guy Davis “In Bed With the Blues: The Adventures of Fishy Waters” Headlines have called him a renaissance blues man and an artist who defies convention. Whatever you call him, Guy Davis is 100% pure blues. Whether he’s appearing on “Late Night With Conan O’Brian,” in front of hundreds of people on the Main Stage at the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival, or at an intimate concert, Guy strives to give each listener his all. Performing to packed-houses all over North America and with six celebrated albums to his credit, the Mississippi-born blues prodigy is approaching legendry status in the blues world. His latest project, “In Bed With The Blues: The Adventures of Fishy Waters” is a groundbreaking one-man musical journey that’s part blues concert, part story-telling. Called “amazing and awe-inspiring” by the Alberta Daily Herald, Davis’ account of a blues man named Fishy is a touching musical reflection of life on the road. Sponsored by Sue Lawrence Hair and Spa Gallery
April 5 & 7, 8:00 pm The Fredericton Playhouse presents… April Wine Live in Concert Canada’s own legendary, Platinum-selling rock band, April Wine, is together again! Since forming in 1969, April Wine has become one of the most renowned and best-selling groups in Canadian rock music history, with and incredible 16 albums and thousands of concerts to their credit. With a slew of Top-40 hits like Sign of the Gypsy Queen, Just Between You and Me and Oowatanite, April Wine has produced some of the most well-known songs of the ‘70s and ‘80s, securing their place on the international rock scene. You won’t want to miss this performance!
Tuesday, April 6, 8:00 pm Symphony New Brunswick presents… Evening at Pops: Close to the Sea Featuring JP and Hilda Cormier (Cape Breton fiddlers, step dancers and entertainers extraordinaire!); Conductor: Daniel Warren; Great classics inspired by the sea.
Wednesday, April 14 through Friday, April 16, 8:00pm TNB Theatre School presents… Chicago
Tuesday, April 20, 8:00 pm Council of the Arts Fredericton ONSTAGE Series presents… La Pietà Angele Dubeau, leading a string ensemble of some of the best women musicians in Canada, presents Violins of the World.
April 21 & 22, 8:00 pm The Fredericton Playhouse presents… The Sound of Music This beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein classic has won the hearts of audiences around the globe. Set amidst the splendour of the Austrian Alps, The Sound of Music is the enchanting tale of Maria, a spirited young novice who, unsure of whether the monastic life is her true calling, leaves the abbey to become a governess. Outside the safety of the abbey walls, Maria discovers the power of music and the magic of love. The Sound of Music is the true story of romance and one brave family's daring flight from Nazi rule. With its heart-warming story, legendary musical score and charming cast of characters, The Sound of Music will always be one of our favourite things. You won’t want to miss this very special performance! Sponsored by: Johnston Chiropractic Associates
Sunday, April 25, 8:00 pm The Playhouse presents Raylene Rankin with special guest David Francey For more than 10 years, Raylene Rankin’s sweet, pure voice joined those of her brothers and sisters as part of the internationally acclaimed Canadian recording act, The Rankin Family. At the height of their popularity, the group toured the world and sold more than two million albums. Now, Raylene has recorded her very first solo album, called Lambs in Spring, highlighting her power as singer. Don’t miss this very special solo performance by one of the Maritime’s most beautiful voices!
April 30 – May 8 Theatre New Brunswick presents… Wingfield on Ice As the first frosts come to Persephone Township, Walt and Maggie Wingfield are all set to welcome new life on the farm. She's expecting and he's nesting. But Walt is alarmed about the old feuds that divide the neighbours and disturb the tranquility of the community. His attempts to mend other people's fences meet with a resistance as stiff and cold as the weather itself. And the biggest challenge to all of them is looming on the horizon.
17. Calithumpians Auditions
WANTED: A few good women! (and a few good men) Looking for a great summer job? Can you act? Can you sing? Dance? Play an instrument? Juggle? Do you like history and comedy? Do you like meeting people and greeting travellers? Do you enjoy working with children?
Come and join the Calithumpians and be a part of Fredericton Outdoor Summer Theatre. This will be our 23rd season in the park!
We are auditioning now for our summer season 2004! CALL - 506-457-1975 or email [email protected] for an audition! ACT NOW!
18. Three Generations Concert With Pianist Ludmila Knezkova-Hussey To Take Place In Bathurst World- renowned classical concert pianist Ludmila Knezkova-Hussey and two of her students, Luca Dinu, 8, and Jean- Yves Pinet, 22, will share the stage on April 12th at 7:30 pm at École Secondaire Népisiguit. This would be a great way to wind up the Easter weekend. Tickets for this unique concert are available at Catherine & Company, the Bathurst Heritage Museum and from the Ludmila Knezkova-Hussey International Piano Committee’s president Suzanne Dugas by calling her at 542-9145 after 5 pm.
This Three Generations Concert is a fundraiser for the 7th Ludmila Knezkova-Hussey International Piano Competition set forJune 27th in Bathurst. The grand finale of the concert will be an opera composed by Dr. Knezkova-Hussey with the libretto written by Lieutenant governor Herménégilde Chiasson. There will be a bus tour to the June 27th gala concert from Fredericton. The $120 price tag includes the concert ticket. The bus will leave from the Exhibition Grounds at 8 am and return about 10:30 to 11:00 pm that night. For more information or to book, call (506) 454-6767. More information on the Gala Concert will follow.
19. Dinner Concert At St Andrew’s Rossmount Inn
Fredericton musician Steven Peacock on guitar and Cynthia Bartlett on flute will present a dinner concert at the Rossmount Inn in St. Andrews on April 15th at 6:30 pm. Enjoy a three-course dinner with a concert of folk, classical and Spanish music for guitar and flute. Limited tickets, $60 each. Price includes dinner, tax, gratuities and donation to the Summer School for the Performing Arts. Please make reservations by April 12th by calling St Andrews Arts Council 529-4692 or Rossmount Inn 529-3113.
20. Le Trio De Guitares De Montréal At Théâtre du Centre communautaire
Don’t miss this fantastic concert/Concert à ne pas manquer
Le dimanche/Sunday, April 18 avril à 19h30 / 7:30 pm Théâtre du Centre communautaire Sainte-Anne Prix : Abonnés/Season tickets holders : rien/ free; Adultes/Adults : 15$, Students/étudiants : 10$
En seulement quelques années d'existence, les guitaristes Sébastien Dufour, Marc Morin et Glenn Lévesque se sont imposés comme une force du renouveau et de l'interaction entre les diverses formes musicales dédiées à leur instrument. Alliant une virtuosité passionnée et un dynamisme teinté d'humour, les membres du Trio de Guitares de Montréal (TGM) ont tôt fait de conquérir l'oreille des critiques les plus aguerris et le cœur d'un public de plus en plus vaste.
Le répertoire du Trio est un amalgame de musiques classique, jazz et du monde. Il passe en toute liberté de Boccherini à Metheny, visitant au passage les musiques traditionnelles de l'Inde ou de l'Europe de l'Est, le flamenco ou même un reggae imbibé de gigue écossaise… À cet assemblage de couleurs s'ajoute, sur scène, une impulsivité qui peut se faire exploratoire ou simplement ludique et que peu d'instrumentistes se permettent sur la place publique. Le Trio de Guitares de Montréal exploite au maximum les possibilités harmoniques et percussives de l’instrument, ce qui donne lieu quelques fois à d’étonnantes démonstrations. Les enregistrements et concerts du Trio sont amplement radiodiffusés partout en Amérique du Nord.
In only a few years of existence, guitarists Sébastien Dufour, Marc Morin and Glenn Lévesque have helped redefine their instrument and introduce new forms of interaction between the various types of music that make up its repertory. Combining a passionate, virtuoso style with a lively and humorous presentation, the members of the Montreal Guitar Trio have received praise from the most discerning critics and acquired a steadily growing public following.
The music performed by the Trio is a mixture of classical, jazz and world music. The programs move freely from Boccherini to Metheny, with incursions into the traditional music of India or Eastern Europe, flamenco, and even reggae crossed with a Scottish jig. To this combination of colours is added the impulsive stage presence of the members of the group, as they explore new avenues or simply enjoy themselves in a way that few musicians feel free to do in public. They explore all the harmonic and percussive possibilities of their instruments, creating some astonishing effects. The Trio's recordings and concerts have been widely broadcast throughout North America. 21. Lineup Announced For 2004 Excellence Awards Gala Celebration
The New Brunswick Arts Board and the New Brunswick Foundation for the Arts have announced the lineup for the 2004 Excellence Awards Gala Celebration to be held at the Fredericton Playhouse on April 19th at 8 pm. The Gala honors this year’s recipients of the New Brunswick Arts Board Excellence Awards, the Foundation of the Arts Foundation prizes as well as a new School of the Arts prize offered in partnership between the Arts Board and the Culture and Sport Secretariat of New Brunswick.
The Gala Celebration, a combination of featured performances by New Brunswick Artists and short testimonial videos celebrating the achievements of the this year’s recipients will be rebroadcast on both CBC and Radio-Canada.
The recipients will be in attendance and will be accompanied by New Brunswick’s Lieutenant-Governor Herménégilde Chiasson. The Gala celebration will be followed by a reception at the Lord Beaverbrook Hotel. The ticket price for the event will include the reception afterwards.
This year’s lineup of performers include Fredericton’s own Motion Ensemble, upcoming singer Jessica Rhaye, dancer Lee Saunders, and New Brunswick’s young blues sensation JP Leblanc.
The third Gala Celebration is bound to have something for everybody. Tickets for the event are $ 20, $15 and $ 8 for students and seniors.
For info call the NB Arts Board at 506 444-4444 or toll free in NB at 1-866-460-2787
22. CHRC Information Workshop Moncton, NB – Wednesday, April 28th, 2004
Export Marketing Of Cultural Products & Services Are You A Self-Employed Artist, A Cultural Worker, A Cultural Entrepreneur?
The Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) is organizing an information workshop to take place on Wednesday, April 28th, from 9:15 am to 3:30 pm at the Université de Moncton, Arts Faculty, Beaux-Arts building, Room 001B. The registration fee of $25, which includes lunch, is payable at the door, in cash or by cheque payable to CHRC.
To request a registration form: Email [email protected]
Notices
Happy 25th Birthday to the New Brunswick Filmmakers’ Co-op. Throughout their anniversary year, stay tuned for special activities and events to celebrate 25 years of independent filmmaking in New Brunswick. For more information on the NB Filmmakers’ Co-op, call 455-1632.
Previews Symphony New Brunswick Joined by J.P.Cormier on April 6th Preview by Neil MacGill For its next concert, Symphony New Brunswick will be joined by singer, songwriter, and fiddler J.P.Cormier, East Coast Music Awards' 2003 Instrumentalist of the Year. They will perform at The Playhouse on Tuesday, April 6th, at 8 pm. The theme, 'Close to the Sea', reflects both J.P.'s Cape Breton sound and the maritime associations of the rest of the programme.
Born in Cape Breton, J.P.Cormier began playing the guitar, self-taught, at the age of 5, and won his first competition at age 9 against a player three times his age. By 16 he was touring in the USA, and did not return to play in the Maritimes until 1995, since when he has received may ECMA nominations and awards. He will join the orchestra in each half of the programme to perform a number of his own compositions, from The Fisherman's Daughter and Haslem's Castle to Blue Angel and Kelly's Mountain.
Handel's Water Music does not refer to the sea, but to the River Thames, where it was first played to accompany a royal journey up the river by George I on July 17th, 1717. However, the sea makes its appearance in the one movement to be played, a Hornpipe, which was a lively dance especially popular among English sailors. It is said that Handel wrote the Water Music to placate the King, who had been Elector of Hanover when Handel deserted his post there to settle in England.
Ralph Vaughan Williams was a great collector of English folksongs as well as a leading figure in English music in the early Twentieth Century. His English Folksong Suite was originally composed for military band in 1923 and later arranged for orchestra in1942. It doesn't seem to have much to do with the sea, until you realize that there is nowhere in England that is any further from the coast than Fredericton!
In contrast, the restless surge of the Atlantic Ocean sweeps right through Fingal's Cave, the Hebrides’ Overture by Felix Mendelssohn, who in 1829 visited the tiny island of Staffa and the cathedral-like sea cave, with its great hexagonal columns of cooled lava. The story is that on returning from his visit the composer rushed to the piano to try out his inspired theme and had to be reminded by his Scottish landlady that it was the Sabbath: oh dear, not a day to be playing the piano!
The music is calmer in Claude Debussy's Petite Suite of 1889, originally written for piano duet but late arranged for orchestra. The two movements to be played from this work are En Bateau and Cortege.
The guest conductor for this evening of great music is Daniel Warren, who started his career as trumpet player in the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra and toured extensively with the Toronto Symphony. More recently, he has turned to conducting, and was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Kitchener- Waterloo Symphony in 1999.
For tickets to this concert, phone The Playhouse box office at 458-8344.
For more information contact: Neil MacGill 453-7762.
Reviews The Blue Orphan (The Playhouse, March 26) Catalyst Theatre, Edmonton Review by Russ Hunt
. . . in some fundamental way the show isn't about [the actors], or, really, about acting in the traditional sense at all: these characters would, we feel, be pretty much exactly the same no matter what competent actor -- and, indeed, they are all clearly at least that -- took that particular part in this tightly-orchestrated dream, this Emmett Kelly fairy tale for adults. The show is much more centrally about the idea of gigantic consequences from trivial events; about the ineffable beauty of that one blue butterfly which, according to a legend related to us, retained its song after the others had lost theirs due to complaints from the birds; about the storm which destroys the village and which may have been triggered by the trivial movement of the butterfly's wing. Even more, it's about a cluster of related images and ideas: the Blue Orphan butterfly, orphans in general, hanging on to compassion in the face of a loss of civility (what happens in that poor old mill town when the mill closes down and the orphans are left on the street at the mercy of whoever happens to find them -- a predatory, protective nun, an exploitive paper-butterfly entrepreneur, or far worse?) And, of course, it's about the phoenixlike rising of the solitary Blue Orphan butterfly which, along with Harold and Hortense, survives the storm, emerges from its pupa, and "vanishes into the clear blue sky." It's about a poem.
And whether you find that it moves or engages you depends entirely on your being engaged by those ideas, whether you agree that they're a whole, and fit together with the presentation itself, the gossamer, shimmering beauty of the light on those panels and the song of the butterfly. Is it drama? I'm not at all sure. Is it theatre? Without doubt.
If, as the moving lanterns being carried back and forth behind the gauzy panels signal the end of the experience, one wonders if there's not a good deal less here than meets the ear and eye; if one wonders whether one was supposed to feel devastated at the destruction of the village by the storm; if one wonders whether the destruction should have seemed so, well, theoretical . . . one can't doubt that Christenson, Tremblay and their company have taken their idea as far along the road as it can go, and brought us a good deal of the way with them. Where's the beef? Perhaps there isn't any. Perhaps we should be content with the sizzle.
To read the rest of this review, go to Russ Hunt's Web site, at http://www.stu.ca/~hunt/reviews.htm
Galleries At A Glance
ArtContact: Featuring New works by Alexandra Flood, Fran Ward Francis, Gerard Collins, Rick Burns, Carol Collicutt, Sarah Petite, Brigitte Brieu, Toby Graser, Suzanne Hill, Kathy Hooper and equisite pottery by Judy Blake and Darren Emenau can be viewed by appointment 453-1856.
Beaverbrook Art Gallery: The Marion McCain Atlantic Art Exhibition features Vision. March 14 – April 25.
Ex-libris reading group: Thursday, April 15th, 7 pm Still Life by A.S. Byatt.
For a complete listing of on-going events please go to http://www.beaverbrookartgallery.org or call 506 458-8545
Fredericton Playhouse: TBA
Gallery 78: 796 Queen Street, Fredericton, 454-5192. Thaddeus Holownia Gros Morne Park Series. Special Feature of Acadian artist Yvon Gallant in honour of the 2004 St. Croix Celebrations. Until March 28th.
Gallery Connexion: Lisa Kokin Secondhand Memories: Sewn Found Photographs. Opening Friday April 2nd from 7 - 9 pm, until May 6th, 2004.
New Brunswick College of Craft and Design: Gallery Downstairs - Kimono recent work by 2nd year Surface Design students. The opening is Friday, April 2nd, 6-8 pm. The show continues until April 19th.
New Brunswick Fine Crafts Council - TBA. Regency Rose Cafe & Craft House: 608 Queen Street. Emerging artist Donna Lynn of Fredericton will be on exhibit at the Cafe until April 30th showing a series of Charcoal Creations. Drawing solely from imagination Donna displays native inspired portraits for her very first exhibit. All work is for sale. The Regency Rose hosts the works of over 40 NB artists, crafters, authors, and musicians. Call 455-CAFÉ (2233) for more info or to book your own exhibit. Spring hours: Mon - Fri, 8am-4pm --- http://regencyrose.tripod.com
Old Government House: TBA
UNB Art Centre: ArtZone: The Forest for the Trees and Audrey Feltham: Intimations, from March 12th through April 16th, 2004.
The Arts News is free service of the Fredericton Arts Alliance.
It is a weekly electronic calendar of events distributed each Thursday.
If you have a community arts announcement that you would like included in the Arts News,
please send it to: Amani Wassef, the FAA Coordinator at [email protected]
Please send entries for Thursday’s Arts News by the Tuesday prior to release.
Would you like more information about the FAA? Would you like to get involved? Contact the Coordinator or any of the board members of the Fredericton Arts Alliance by leaving a message at 443-9900.
Executive Members: Board Members:
George Fry, President Russ Hunt Charlotte Glencross, Past President Lee LaPaix Renee Davis, Vice President Neil MacGill Steven Peacock, Secretary Roger Moore Karen LeBlanc, Treasurer
Amani Wassef, Coordinator
To reach the FAA: Fredericton Arts Alliance, P.O. Box 1303, Station A, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5C8 (506) 443-9900 or by e-mail at [email protected]