News

Music presents the University Wind Ensemble: A MUSICAL MONTAGE

Saturday, December 02, 2017 | By dvivian

The University Wind Ensemble enjoys a rich heritage of musical excellence, bringing together both university and high school students as well as members of the Niagara musical community to explore and perform major symphonic wind band works, both original and arranged.

The University Wind Ensemble Series conducted by Zoltan Kalman

featuring a Canada 150 Performance of Suite Canadienne composed by Michael Kositsky

Led by conductor Zoltan Kalman, the ensemble explores major symphonic wind band works, both original and arranged. Includes a Canada 150 performance of “Suite Canadienne”: A Medley of Canadian Folksongs, composed by Michael Kositsky.

Folksongs to be included: I’s the B’y / Un Canadien errant / Black Fly / Four Strong Winds / North West Passage / J’entends le moulin / Springhill Mine Disaster / Something to Sing About.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Partridge Hall, First Ontario Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul Street, St. Catharines, ON

Tickets: $12*; $5* child (14 and under); $5* eyeGo program. Free admission to current Brock students with valid student ID card. *No CCIF applied; other applicable fees and taxes are extra. † Applicable fees and taxes are extra.

Available from the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office: 905.688.0722 or Long Distance Toll Free: 1.855.515.0722; online: firstontariopac.ca

This is a special Canada 150 event.

Tags: department of music
Categories: Announcements, Events, News
COLOUR CONSTRUCTS at Rodman Hall/ Constructions en couleurs à Rodman Hall

Tuesday, November 21, 2017 | By dtemprile

Pictured is a view of the exhibition Material Girls at Rodman Hall Art Centre. (source: RHAC)

In fall 2017, Rodman Hall invites visitors to experience the exhibition Material Girls, which brings together Canadian and international female artists from across artistic disciplines and cultural backgrounds. Giving particular attention to the colourfulness and jubilance of this exhibition, in Colour Constructs, students in Visual Arts, Studies in Arts and Culture, and French Studies explore the materiality of colours in their own diverse ways. Student works are complemented by graffiti art by Niagara-based artist Mat Vizbulis, a classroom guest during the semester. Curators Catherine Parayre and Shawn Serfas. /

A l’automne 2017, Rodman Hall invite ses visiteurs à découvrir l’exposition Material Girls, qui regroupe des artistes femmes du Canada et d’ailleurs, dont les pratiques artistiques et l’environnement culturel diffèrent. En s’inspirant des couleurs et de la gaieté de cette exposition, des étudiants-e-s en Arts visuels, Arts et cultures et Etudes en français explorent dans Constructions en couleurs la matérialité des coloris par le biais d’approches variées. Les graffitis de l’artiste Mat Vizbulis, établi dans la région du Niagara, complètent les oeuvres des étudiant-e-s. Commissaires: Catherine Parayre et Shawn Serfas.

Article from the Brock News: Bilingual exhibition to shed light on Material Girls
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2017 | by Darien Temprile

A new Rodman Hall exhibition aims to help visitors experience Material Girls in a new way.

Geo, a piece created by third-year Visual Arts student Lilliana Pagliaro, will be featured in the Colour Constructs/Constructions en couleurs exhibition opening at Rodman Hall Thursday, Nov. 30.

Colour Constructs/Constructions en couleurs, opening at the downtown St. Catharines art centre Thursday, Nov. 30, features works by students in Brock’s Visual Arts (VISA), Studies in Arts and Culture (STAC) and French Studies (FREN) programs.

The exhibition, curated by Brock Professors Catherine Parayre and Shawn Serfas, initiates a sophisticated dialogue with Material Girls, an ongoing exhibition that opened at Rodman Hall Sept. 14.

Material Girls is a large-scale group exhibition of work by Canadian and international emerging, mid-career and senior female artists from different artistic disciplines and cultures. Curated by a team from the Dunlop Art Gallery, a unit of the Regina Public Library, it explores material process and notions of excess as they relate to the feminized body, gendered space and capitalist desire.

For Colour Constructs, students reacted to words, colours and visuals directly related to Material Girls.

STAC students contributed nine texts based on words and expressions found in the curatorial statement of Material Girls; FREN students provided eight written fragments in French, describing colours from Material Girls; and VISA students, in their own paintings, reference the vividness of artwork presented in Material Girls.

In addition to the work of students, the exhibition will include a new large commission by local graffiti artist Mat Vizbulis, who describes his work as ‘genre graffuturism.’

“As the images unfold in layers, we understand that it is truly something unexplainable,” he said. “We are then daring to define things.”

Earlier this year, Vizbulis led Brock students in experiential learning about graffiti and its role in both high art and popular culture.

The opening reception of Colour Constructs/Constructions en couleurs takes place Thursday, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. at Rodman Hall Art Centre, 109 St. Paul Cres. The exhibition will continue until March 4.

Material Girls continues at Rodman Hall until Dec. 30.

Admission to Rodman Hall Art Centre is free, although donations are accepted. For more information in French or English, visit ExperienceBU.

UPDATE:

French student Amandine Faivre, right,
speaks about her poetry with French Professor Renee-Claude Breitenstein at the opening of Colour Constructs Thursday, Nov. 30. Curated by Professors Catherine Parayre and Shawn Serfas, the exhibition is a collaboration by students in Studies in Arts and Culture, Visual Arts and French Studies. Student artwork is complemented by work by local graffiti artist Mat Vizbulis, who worked with STAC and VISA students over the course of the semester. Colour Constructs is on at Rodman Hall Art Centre until March 4.
Exhibition: Thursday Nov. 30, 2017 – Sunday Mar. 4, 2018

Opening Reception: Thursday Nov. 30, 2017 at 5:00pm

GALLERY HOURS:
Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: 10 am to 5 pm
Thursday: 10 am to 9 pm
Saturday & Sunday: 12 pm to 5 pm
Closed Mondays, statutory and University holidays

Free community event however donations accepted (suggested $5).

Tags: Brock University, Catherine Parayre, centre for studies in arts and culture, downtown St. Catharines, exhibition, french, french studies, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Material Girls, miwsfpa, rodman hall, Rodman Hall Art Centre, Shawn Serfas, stac, visual arts
Categories: Current Students, Events
DART presents: FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS

Monday, November 20, 2017 | By dvivian

It’s the perfect day for the perfect Tennessee wedding– but where are the bridesmaids?

Skulking in her attic refuge, Meredith rebels. Frances prays. Mindy eats. Georgeanne lusts, and Trisha swears off romance forever– until Tripp, the wise-cracking usher turns her eye. Trouble lurks everywhere for these colourful and disorderly women, and as the music gets louder and things get rowdier, they must come together to figure out past burns and current conundrums. With a little booze, a little wisdom, and lot of crazy talk, they help one another navigate the storms of life.

Five Women Wearing the Same Dress comes to St. Catharines from Academy Award winning author Alan Ball of “American Beauty”.

You have never experienced a wedding party like this one!

Directed by professor Gyllian Raby, and assisted by Tarndeep Pannu. Other students from the 2017-2018 4F56 ensemble include cast members Helena Ciuciura, Meryl Ochoa, Samantha Mastrella, Rebecca Downing, Candice Burn and Mark Dickinson. Set Design is by Jillian Wardell, Costume Design by Sarah Marks, Sound Design by Naomi Richardson, and Lighting Design by guest instructor James McCoy. The production is Stage Managed by Chelsea Wilson, Allie Aubry and Michelle Mohammed with Kaylyn Valdez-Scott as Publicist, and Adrian Marchesano and Mackenzie Kerr on the Production Team.

Characters:

Meredith Marlowe: The bride’s rebellious, pot-smoking younger sister who is very sarcastic and much annoyed with the whole fiasco downstairs. Sporting an outwardly tough attitude, she has a lot of insecurity to hide. Bridesmaid.
Georgeanne Darby: Tracy’s “ugly sidekick” in high school and college. Accepted the invite to be a bridesmaid even though her relationship with Tracy is strained because Tracy’s boyfriend had once got her pregnant. Bridesmaid.
Trisha: One of Tracy’s former friends with a supposed bad reputation; a jaded beauty. Bridesmaid.
Frances: The very naive and religious cousin of the bride. Bridesmaid.
Mindy McClure: The groom’s clumsy and outspoken lesbian sister. Bridesmaid.
Tripp Davenport (Griffen Lyle Davenport the Third): An usher who falls for Trisha.

When: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1 and SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2017

Time: 7:30 pm to 9:15 pm.

Location: The Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, Brock University

Tickets: $7†; $5† child (14 and under); $5† eyeGo program. Free admission to current students of the MIWSFPA with valid student ID card. † Applicable fees and taxes are extra. ONLY 100 SEATS AVAILABLE for each performance, don’t delay.

Available from the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office: 905.688.0722 or Long Distance Toll Free: 1.855.515.0722; online: firstontariopac.ca

Tags: DART 4F56, Five Women, play, theatre
Categories: Current Students, Events, News
Music presents the Brock University Choirs: WINTERSONG

Friday, November 17, 2017 | By dvivian

The Viva Voce Choral Series features Brock’s student choral ensembles (men’s, women’s and mixed choruses).

Under the direction of newly-appointed conductor Rachel Rensink-Hoff, these excellent choirs perform multiple concerts throughout the academic year. They have also engaged in community outreach, collaborated with choirs in Canada and the U.S., and produced CD recordings of works by Niagara composers.

Viva Voce! Choral Series: Brock University Choirs

conducted by Rachel Rensink-Hoff, featuring a Canada 150 Performance composed by Stephanie Martin

Saturday, December 2, 2017
Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Cairns Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

Tickets: $15* adults; $10* seniors & students; $5* eyeGo program. *No CCIF applied; other applicable fees and taxes are extra.

Available from the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office: 905.688.0722 or Long Distance Toll Free: 1.855.515.0722; online: firstontariopac.ca

This is a special Canada 150 event.

Tags: department of music
Categories: Announcements, Events, News
Music presents the Brock University String Orchestra: OPENINGS

Tuesday, November 14, 2017 | By dvivian

For the first time in the Department of Music’s history, we are proud to present our newest ensemble. Under the direction of George Cleland, the String Orchestra combines university students and community members in the performance of standard masterworks and lesser-known gems of the string repertoire.

Brock University String Orchestra

George Cleland – Conductor

Wednesday November 29, 2017
Time: 7:30 p.m.

The Brock String Orchestra’s first concert of its inaugural season will feature repertoire from English Masters and other seasonal favourites:

St Paul’s Suite by Gustav Holst
Chaconne in G Minor by Henry Purcell
An English Suite by C. Hubert H. Parry
Concerto Opus 6 number 8, Fatto per la Notte di Natale, (the Christmas Concerto)by Arcangelo Corelli
Theme Song for String Orchestra by Mark Zuckerman

Location: Cairns Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines

Tickets: $12*; $5* child (14 and under); $5* eyeGo program. Free admission to current Brock students with valid student ID card. *No CCIF applied; other applicable fees and taxes are extra. † Applicable fees and taxes are extra.

Available from the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office: 905.688.0722 or Long Distance Toll Free: 1.855.515.0722; online: firstontariopac.ca

Tags: department of music
Categories: Announcements, Events, News
Viva Voce! First concert of the 2017-18 season

Friday, November 10, 2017 | By dvivian

Pictured above: Rachel Rensink-Hoff, newly appointed Artistic Director of the Avanti Chamber Singers.

On Saturday Nov. 18 at 7:30 pm at the St. Thomas Anglican Church (103 Ontario St, St. Catharines), the Avanti Chamber Singers present their first concert of the 2017-18 season as part of our Viva Voce! Choral Series: Semper Avanti | Ever Forward. This will be the first performance by the Avanti Chamber Singers with Rachel Rensink-Hoff as the Artistic Director.

The Avanti Chambers Singers are a Niagara community-based mixed chamber choir. They perform mainstream choral literature, both accompanied and a cappella. For the November 18th concert the repertoire includes Kyrie-Gloria pairings by Palestrina, Mozart & Corlis, Selections from Dove’s Passing of the Year, and works by Mendelssohn, Esenvalds & Dolly Parton!

Rensink-Hoff is the Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music Education at Brock University, and the newly appointed Artistic Director of the Avanti Chamber Singers.

Tickets may be purchased from Thorold Music (289 Glendale Ave.) and Booksmart (Scott/Vine Plaza, 350 Scott St.), or by members of the Avanti Chamber Singers. Additionally, tickets will be sold at the door the night of the concert.

Visit our ExperienceBU page and avantichambersingers.com for further information.

Tags: Avanti Chamber Singers, Dr. Rachel Rensink-Hoff
Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, News
The Department of Music on stage!

Monday, November 06, 2017 | By dtemprile

Pictured above is a previous season performance of the Guitar Extravaganza (top), The Walker Quartet (left to right: Anna Hughes (2^nd violin), Faith Lau (viola), Gordon Cleland (cello) and Vera Alexeeva (1^st violin)), and pianist Dr. Karin Di Bella (bottom right).

This weekend the Department of Music is presenting two spectacular concerts that will surely be among the highlights of the fall season.

On Friday Nov. 10, as part of the Walker Cultural Leader Series, Encore! Professional Concert Series presents: The Walker Quartet with faculty pianist Karin Di Bella. The Walker Cultural Leader Series was generously founded by Marilyn I. Walker.

Now in its second season, the Department of Music’s resident Walker String Quartet and Karin Di Bella present a program of two of the most iconic works in the string quintet repertoire, the Piano Quintets by Schumann in E-flat Major and Shostakovich in G Minor.

This concert takes place on Friday Nov. 10, 2017 in the Partridge Concert Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, starting at 7:30 pm. For more information, please visit the Department concert events webpage and the ExperienceBU page.

Then on Saturday Nov. 11 as part of our continuing celebration of Canada’s 150 year of Confederation, the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre is once again the venue for the ever-popular Guitar Extravangaza III including a special Canada 150 performance of Carpe Noctem.

Brock University’s annual celebration of the guitar commences at 7:30 pm on Saturday Nov. 11 in the Cairns Recital Hall. An orchestra of 60 guitars comprised of Brock students, local amateurs and professionals will be directed by Brock University Guitar Instructor, Timothy Phelan. Special guest soloists include Matthew McAllister (Scotland) and Emma Rush (Canada). The concert features a tribute to the late Warren Stirtzinger with George Kane (USA) and James Bryan McCollum (Canada), music composed by Timothy Phelan and the World Premiere of Carpe Noctem – a six-movement work written especially for this occasion by Niagara composer Floyd Turner. For more information, please visit the Department concert events webpage and the ExperienceBU page.

Tickets for both events can be ordered from the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office (905.688.0722) or from their website.

Tags: Brock University, Canada 150, Concert, downtown St. Catharines, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Guitar Extravaganza, Karin Di Bella, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa, The Walker Quartet, Walker Cultural Leader Series
Categories: Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Walker Cultural Leader Series
HOT TALKS 2017-2018: Professor Derek Knight speaks at Rodman Hall, November 09

Sunday, November 05, 2017 | By dvivian

Geoffrey Farmer, “A Way Out of the Mirror”, 2017, Canada Pavilion, 57th Venice Biennale. Image courtesy of Derek Knight.

HOT TALKS

Artist Talks and Gallery Conversations at the Rodman Hall Art Centre
Admission by donation ($5 suggested); Members and Students Free
Sponsored by Partridge Wealth Management/RBC Dominion Securities Inc., St. Catharines

November 09: Professor Derek Knight,
Department of Visual Arts, Brock University

“Art Confidential: Trends and Obsession(s) in Recent Art”

Thursday, November 9, 7 pm
2017 saw the confluence of the Whitney Biennial, Münster Sculpture Project, Kassel’s Documenta 14, and the Venice Biennale. Derek Knight, Associate Professor, Visual Arts, Brock University discusses the pros and emerging cons of the international blockbuster exhibition as well as his top picks, from Pierre Huyghe to Phyllida Barlow to Geoffrey Farmer.

Rodman Hall Art Centre, 109 St Paul Crescent, St Catharines, ON L2S 1M3

Tags: Derek Knight, Hot Talks, rodman hall, Rodman Hall Art Centre
Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News
Work of Visual Arts prof featured on Diana Krall tour

Friday, November 03, 2017 | By dtemprile

The artwork of Brock Fine Arts Assistant Professor Amy Friend is being featured on the international tour of renowned Canadian musician Diana Krall.

(Source: The Brock News, Thursday, November 2, 2017 | By: Maryanne Firth)

When the e-mail popped into Amy Friend’s inbox, she was certain it couldn’t be real.

But a feeling inside prompted the Brock Fine Arts assistant professor to respond to the inquiry, which asked about her artwork and whether she’d consider collaborating with renowned Canadian musician Diana Krall.

It was soon after that Friend found herself on the phone with the Grammy Award winner discussing possibilities for her upcoming tour.

Friend’s experimental photography has since helped Krall to set the scene on stage, acting as her backdrop as she captivates crowds in venues across North America and Europe.

Brock University Fine Arts Assistant Professor Amy Friend.

Friend’s work has been featured on the jazz singer’s international tour since June and the partnership is expected to continue through to the summer.

The project, which includes art pieces from three different bodies of work, has been “particularly fulfilling,” Friend said.

She has enjoyed the challenge of working with Krall to find pieces that fit the mood and message of individual songs, while also complementing the title of the tour and Krall’s most recent album, Turn Up the Quiet.

“It’s about trying to respect your own work, while also seeing how you can accommodate a vision that will fit within the repertoire they’re working with,” she said.

Friend is currently working to select new pieces for Krall’s Canadian tour dates, including a Nov. 24 show at Massey Hall in Toronto that she plans to attend.

“I’m looking forward to seeing her perform and to seeing my work filling the stage in a concert hall where I have heard musicians like Johnny Cash, Tom Waits and Nick Cave perform,” she said.

Krall’s latest repertoire will include a cover of Bob Dylan’s Simple Twist of Fate, which Friend is particularly excited to find a piece to accompany.

“Much of my work revolves around ideas of memory, impermanence, history and time,” said Friend, who has worked at Brock for the past decade. “I am less concerned with capturing a ‘concrete’ reality. Instead, I aim to use photography as a medium that offers the possibility of exploring the relationship between what is visible and non-visible.”

Work featured on the tour includes hand-manipulated photographs, pieces featuring floating handkerchiefs once belonging to Friend’s grandparents, and artwork inspired by snippets of film from her childhood.

Over the past few months, Friend and Krall have shared many inspiring conversations about family, creativity and women in the arts.

“She has been so great to work with, you could almost forget her status in the music world,” Friend said.

Krall often emphasized the need to respect Friend’s work and always checks in with the artist to ensure she’s pleased with the end results of each tour stop.

Friend called it “refreshing” to be able to engage with other artists.

“It exposes you to experiences that have commonalities and, at times, interesting variances,” she said. “It’s also wonderful to see how my work found a place to exist far beyond my initial intentions.”

The team responsible for the on-stage initiative also included Judy Jacob, a video and visual content director, and Paul Normandale, a lighting designer, who Friend said “took the project to the next level.”

In addition to her work with the tour, Friend has been busy over the past year with international exhibitions in Spain, Korea, Poland, Portugal and France. She has shows coming up in Boston and Italy and plans to release a new book in the near future.

The artwork of Brock Fine Arts Assistant Professor Amy Friend is being featured on the international tour of renowned Canadian musician Diana Krall.

Tags: Amy Friend, Brock University, canadian musician, diana krall, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa, visual arts
Categories: Department/Centre News, In the Media, News
Music Archive in the Library

Wednesday, November 01, 2017 | By dtemprile

Pictured is an example of a “Writing for Music” poster displayed in the Learning Commons of the James A. Gibson Library.
Photo by Evelyn Smith.

Each year the fourth-year Music students perform a series of recitals as they proceed to successfully complete their studies in the Department of Music. In order to announce the performance each student must produce a poster.

Students in the Studies in Arts and Culture program have selected a few posters from previous concert seasons and responded in creative and critical ways to create a music performance poster archive. This playful archive is now on display in the Learning Commons of the James A. Gibson library.

The fourth-year Music Student Solo Recitals return for the 2017-18 season beginning March 2 through April 2, 2018. For more information on the Student Solo Recitals, please visit the music website. For information on past Student Solo Recitals, please visit the 2016-17 season concert details.

This mini showcase will be on display in the Learning Commons of the James A. Gibson Library until 8 pm on Saturday Nov. 4, 2017 and is available to view during Library hours.

For further information, please visit our ExperienceBU page.

Tags: Brock University, downtown St. Catharines, james a. gibson library, learning commons, library, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa, music, recitals, stac, studies in arts and culture, writing for music
Categories: Current Students, Events, News