Events

  • Brock’s new Women’s Choir preparing for inaugural concert

    Friday, November 23, 2018 | By

    Brock’s new Women’s Choir preparing for inaugural concert in front of a pianist

    The Brock University Choirs rehearse for their upcoming performance on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

    (From The Brock News, Friday November 23, 2018 | By: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

    Brock University’s new Women’s Choir is joining forces with the established Chamber Choir to perform its first concert next month.

    Assistant Professor Rachel Rensink-Hoff will lead the Brock Choirs in Concert performance on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. It will take place at the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

    The concert is part of the Department of Music’s Viva Voce! Choral Series, which begins its season Saturday, Nov. 24 with a performance by the Avanti Chamber Singers. The Women’s Choir and Chamber Choir are each comprised of about 30 members from Brock University and the wider Niagara community.

    Rensink-Hoff believes the concert provides a great opportunity to bridge the gap between students and the community and showcase the breadth of talented singers from the region as a whole.

    “It’s a neat dynamic as the students get to know the community members and vice versa,” she said. “I’ve been trying to encourage interaction between the singers during breaks so that it feels as comfortable as possible and the singers can bond with each other.”

    The choirs will be joined on stage by the Walker String Quartet, which will also perform some solo pieces during the concert.

    The Brock Choirs in Concert performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1 at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

    Tickets for the concert are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and students. There is also a $5 option available for eyeGo program members. Tickets are available through the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (PAC) Box Office at 905-688-0722 or on the PAC website.

    The next performance in the Viva Voce! Choral Series will take place on Feb. 23 featuring the Avanti Chamber Singers. For more details on upcoming concerts, visit the Department of Music website.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News, Viva Voce Choral Series

  • Brock’s String Orchestra and Wind Ensemble kick off holiday season with tributes to music legends

    Tuesday, November 20, 2018 | By

    A conductor is onstage leading a group of performers.

    Brock University’s Wind Ensemble will perform its Tribute to the Legends concert on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Partridge Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

    (From The Brock News, Friday November 16, 2018 | By: Sarah Moore)

    Brock University’s String Orchestra and Wind Ensemble will bring captivating melodies from legendary composers to the stage in their first performances of the season.

    As part of the Brock University Music Department’s instrumental series, the Orchestra’s Simply Strings concert will take place Wednesday, Nov. 28 in the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre’s Cairns Recital Hall. The Ensemble will perform its Tribute to the Legends recital on Tuesday, Dec. 4 in Partridge Hall.

    The String Orchestra brings musicians from the University together with members of the community to perform standard masterworks and lesser-known gems of the string repertoire. It was added to the ensemble roster of the Brock University Choirs and Brock University Wind Ensemble in September 2017 to provide a place for university and community string players to perform together and share their talents.

    Led by conductor George Cleland, the String Orchestra will perform Mozart’s Adagio and Fugue, Warlock’s Capriol Suite, Sibelius’ Canzonetta, Op. 62a and Britten’s Simple Symphony at the Nov. 28 concert.

    Under the baton of conductor Zoltan Kalman, the University Wind Ensemble features the talents of 64 musicians drawn from Brock University, community members and Niagara region high schools. Musicians from the Hamilton Symphony on the Bay and Niagara Symphony will also join in the concert on Dec. 4.

    The program will feature works of the past and present, including Bernstein: Three Dance Episodes, Gillingham: Galactic Empires, Grainger: Lincolnshire Posy, Bourgeois: Trombone Concerto, Barker: Cole Porter on Broadway, Bennett: Symphonic Songs and Bourgeois: Trombone Concerto.

    Kalman said the ensemble is thrilled to pay tribute to some of the world’s most influential composers in the state-of-the-art Partridge Hall.

    “We’re going to perform a diverse repertoire of timeless classics and easy-listening charts that will surely leave our audience breathless,” he said. “The evening also includes a brilliant trombone concerto, featuring our very own, supremely talented Alyssa Shanghavi.”

    Such performances from the Department of Music are a key part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ mandate of building connections between the community and the breadth of talent and creativity at Brock.

    The conductors said their ensembles serve as cultural ambassadors of the Niagara region and encouraged, “faithful audience members and other music lovers to come out and experience these concerts.”

    Tickets are on sale now for both performances.

    Simply Strings takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Cairns Recital Hall. Tickets are $12 general admission and $5 for children 14 and under, as well as high school students through the eyeGo program. Complimentary tickets are available to current Brock students with valid student ID.

    Tribute to the Legends takes place Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Partridge Hall. Tickets are $12 for general admission and $5 for high school students through the eyeGo program. Complimentary tickets are available to current Brock students with valid student ID.

    All tickets can be purchased through the FirstOntario PAC Box Office.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News, The University String Orchestra, The University Wind Ensemble

  • Students wrap up Music@Noon series for the semester

    Friday, November 16, 2018 | By

    Brock Music student is playing piano on stage in Cairns Recital Hall.

    Music student Divya Iyer was one of four performers for the first student performance of the year on Oct. 30. The next group of students will perform on Nov. 20 at Cairns Recital Hall.

    (From The Brock News, Friday Nov. 16, 2018 | By: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

    Over the past two months, professors and senior music students in Brock’s Department of Music performed on stage as part of the RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series. Now, in the final three performances of the semester, first-year music students will have the chance to showcase their talents on stage, as well.

    The next concert in the series will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 20 in the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Vocal, guitar and piano students will perform.

    Brock’s instrumental students will then perform on Nov. 27 and piano students will follow with a recital on Dec. 4. Music@Noon will return in the new year with a performance on Jan. 8 featuring flutist Rebecca Hall and Brock Professor and pianist Karin Di Bella.

    Music@Noon is a free, one-hour recital series that takes place most Tuesdays at noon during the academic year. The Department of Music invites and encourages staff, faculty, students and the community to attend.

    For more information about the Music@Noon Recital Series, please visit the Music@Noon website.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, News, RBC Foundation Music @ Noon Series

  • Avanti Chamber Singers to commemorate the Christmas Truce at first concert of the season

    Thursday, November 15, 2018 | By

    The Avanti Chamber Singers are led by Rachel-Rensink-Hoff during choir rehearsal.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers are led by conductor Rachel Rensink-Hoff during rehearsal for their upcoming performance Saturday, Nov. 24 at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in St. Catharines.

    (From The Brock News, Wednesday November 14, 2018 | By: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

    On Christmas Day, 1914, French, British and German soldiers along the Western Front laid down their weapons, emerged from the trenches and joined in song to celebrate the season. Now referred to as the Christmas Truce, the unofficial ceasefire was a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amid the violence of the First World War.

    To mark the 100th anniversary of the 1918 armistice, conductor Rachel Rensink-Hoff will lead the Avanti Chamber Singers in a performance to remember the truce on Saturday, Nov. 24 at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in St. Catharines. This marks the first performance of the season for Brock’s choir in residence.

    Titled And on Earth, Peace, the concert will include Remembrance Day tributes, popular songs from the time of the First World War and classic Christmas carols. Songs will be performed in English, German and French, and the audience will be invited to sing along to carols that soldiers would have sung.

    “The moving story of the Christmas Truce was fitting inspiration for our first performance of the season,” said Rensink-Hoff, Assistant Professor of Music in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. “As we look back to Remembrance Day and forward to the holiday season, we will join together in song — just as those soldiers did more than 100 years ago.”

    Many differing stories about the Christmas Truce have been shared. Even today, it is still unclear exactly what happened on Christmas Day all those years ago.

    The most commonly shared account is that soldiers all sang carols together in celebration on Christmas Eve before emerging to wish their enemies a Merry Christmas the next day. After the soldiers ceased fire, they met to exchange small gifts and souvenirs.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers is comprised of 30 musicians from around the Niagara region.

    Rensink-Hoff said she works with different individuals every year, and hopes to showcase the hard work and talent of this year’s choir at the opening concert.

    “The challenge with a new choir is gelling together as a group — not just musically, but interpersonally,” she said. “This is now my second season with Avanti and it makes a big difference when you know people more closely because it helps all of us feel that we are in this together.”

    Accompanying the Avanti Chamber Singers will be pianist and organist Lesley Kingham and guest trumpeter Timothy White.

    And on Earth, Peace takes place Saturday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Advanced tickets are available through the Avanti Singers website, at Thorold Music and Booksmart, or from choir members for $20 for adults and seniors. Tickets at the door are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors. A $5 ticket is available for students and eyeGo program members.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers will also be performing on Feb. 23 and April 27 at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church.

    Rensink-Hoff is also the conductor for the Brock University Choirs, which includes both the chamber choir and the new women’s choir. Their first performance will take place Dec. 1.

    For more information about upcoming choral performances, visit the Brock University Music website.

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    Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, Media Releases, News, Viva Voce Choral Series

  • Award-winning pianist returns to Brock for Walker Cultural Leaders Series

    Thursday, November 08, 2018 | By

    david jalbert

    Award-winning Canadian concert pianist David Jalbert will give a recital Friday, Nov. 16 as part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ 2018 performance season.

    (From The Brock News, Wednesday Nov. 7 | By: Sarah Moore)

    Renowned Canadian concert pianist David Jalbert is returning to St. Catharines Friday, Nov. 16 as the next performer in the Walker Cultural Leaders Series.

    The performance will also open this year’s Encore! Professional Concert Series, hosted by the Department of Music at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

    Jalbert, who performs regularly as a soloist and recitalist across North America and Europe, last came to Brock as part of the MIWSFPA’s 2013 performance season.

    A national and international prize-winner, he has won five Opus Awards, was nominated for three Juno Awards and was the 2007 laureate of the prestigious Virginia Parker Prize of the Canada Council for the Arts.

    Music Department Chair Matthew Royal said the accomplished performer will be a highlight to the School’s 2018 event season, both for the public and music students alike.

    “We are delighted to have David Jalbert return to Brock to give a master class to our piano students, and to perform a solo piano recital,” he said. “He is a superbly expressive pianist whose musicality and intelligence are supported by a flawless technique.”

    Jalbert will perform in Partridge Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Art Centre, where attendees will be treated to a program of solo piano works by Bach, Schumann, Liszt and Fauré. The recital will conclude with a performance of Prokofiev’s monumental Sonata No. 7, Op. 83, in B flat major.

    “The highlight of this concert will, I believe, be the Prokofiev 7th Piano Sonata,” Royal noted. “This is one of those pieces that all pianists worth their salt must conquer at some point in their careers. I predict it will be a ‘tour de force.’”

    Tickets are available by contacting the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office at 905-688-0722 or firstontariopac.ca

    Tickets are $29 for adults, $23 for seniors and students and $13 for children 14 and under. Special $5 tickets are also available through the eyeGo program.

    The Walker Cultural Leaders Series brings leading artists, performers, practitioners and academics to Brock’s MIWSFPA.

    The sessions celebrate professional achievement, artistic endeavour and the indelible role of culture in society. The education program is generously funded by Marilyn I. Walker.

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    Categories: Encore! Professional Concert Series, Events, News

  • Guitarist to conclude faculty Music@Noon performances

    Friday, November 02, 2018 | By

    Tim Phelan poses with his guitar.

    Guitarist Tim Phelan will perform as part of the RBC Foundation Music@Noon series on Nov. 6.

    (From The Brock News | Friday, Nov. 2)

    Fans of Queen are in for a treat during the next RBC Foundation Music@Noon concert.

    Guitarist Tim Phelan will take the stage of the Cairns Recital Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 6 with an arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody by Niagara composter Floyd Turner.

    The performance will also include Turner’s Twelve Preludes as well as solo guitar works by Tárrega, Villa-Lobos and Bach.

    Phelan is a classical guitarist, conductor, composer, arranger and educator currently teaching at Brock University and Mohawk College. At the age of 18, he made his CBC recording debut as concerto soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Québec. Since then, he has been heard in solo, concerto and chamber music performances over CBC Radio and Television, Radio France, Radio Caribbean and Cuban National Television and Radio.

    The Department of Music invites faculty, staff, students and the community to come and experience his performance. The Music@Noon Series features free, one-hour concerts that occur most Tuesdays at noon during the academic year at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

    For more information about upcoming performances, please visit the Department of Music website.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News, RBC Foundation Music @ Noon Series

  • Brock Music students to take the stage for first time this season

    Friday, October 26, 2018 | By

    Brock Music student is on stage playing guitar.

    (From The Brock News, Friday Oct. 26, 2018)

    For the first time this season, students in Brock’s Department of Music are set to perform on the same stage that their instructors did just weeks before.

    The RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series continues on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

    Students have the opportunity to perform in the Cairns Recital Hall in front of staff, faculty, fellow students and the community. Performers will include piano, vocal and instrumental students.

    Music@Noon is a free recital series that takes place most Tuesdays at noon during the academic year.

    For more information about the series, please visit the Music@Noon webpage.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, News, RBC Foundation Music @ Noon Series

  • Sounds of clarinet and piano to fill Music@Noon stage

    Friday, October 19, 2018 | By

    Zoltan Kalman

    Clarinetist Zoltan Kalman will perform Tuesday, Oct. 23 as part of the RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series.

    (From The Brock News, Friday Oct. 19)

    Headshot of Gary Forbes

    Pianist Gary Forbes.

    Clarinetist Zoltan Kalman and pianist Gary Forbes will combine their sounds for the next RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series performance on Tuesday, Oct. 23.

    The show, which include works by composers Aaron Copland, Johannes Brahms and Luigi Bassi, is part of the free weekly concert series hosted by the Department of Music and generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation.

    Kalman performs as principal clarinetist for both the Niagara Symphony and Symphony Hamilton, and also acts as the conductor for the University Wind Ensemble at Brock University.

    Along with his work at Brock University as Staff Accompanist, Forbes is a freelance collaborative pianist, Director of Music at St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church and founder of the Reverberations Concert Series.

    Kalman and Forbes are among many talented musicians who will grace the Music@Noon stage throughout the academic year. Performances in the concert series take place most Tuesdays at noon in Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

    For more information about upcoming performances please visit the Music@Noon web page.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News, RBC Foundation Music @ Noon Series

  • Brock cello instructor to take stage for Music@Noon

    Monday, October 15, 2018 | By

    Cellist Gordon Cleland stands with his cello

    Cellist Gordon Cleland will perform on stage for the RBC Foundation Music@Noon series on Oct. 16 at the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

    (From The Brock News, Monday, Oct. 15)

    The 2018-19 RBC Foundation Music@Noon series continues with its second performance of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

    Generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation and hosted by the Department of Music, the free concert series performance will feature Brock cello instructor Gordon Cleland. All are invited to attend the recital, taking place in the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

    Currently performing with the Niagara Symphony as the principal cellist, Cleland has also performed as a soloist for the Debut Series in Montreal as well as across North America.

    Music@Noon takes place at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre most Tuesdays at noon during the academic year.

    For more information on upcoming performances, please visit ExperienceBU.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News, RBC Foundation Music @ Noon Series

  • RBC Foundation Music@Noon recital series returns for another season

    Thursday, September 27, 2018 | By

    patricia dydnansky holding flute

    Flutist Patricia Dydnansky is the first performer in the 2018-19 RBC Foundation Music@Noon Series, opening on Oct. 2 at noon at the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

    (From The Brock News, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018 | by )

    The popular RBC Foundation Music@Noon series is returning this fall with another stellar lineup of free recitals in downtown St. Catharines, beginning Oct 2.

    Generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation, and hosted by the Department of Music, the series features noon-hour performances by faculty, guests and music students that take place at the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre most Tuesdays throughout the year.

    The 2018-19 season will open with a performance by Brock’s own flute instructor, Patricia Dydnansky.

    Currently performing with the Niagara Symphony Orchestra as the Second Flute and Piccolo, Dydnansky has also performed with the Shaw Festival Orchestra, the Stratford Festival Orchestra and the Hamilton Philharmonic. A veteran performer in the Music@Noon series, Dydnansky said patrons can look forward to hearing repertoire from around the world in her recital.

    “This program includes music by composers inspired by the Native American flute and Japanese shakuhachi, a set of Celtic tunes on my new Windward Irish flute, and a delightful set of short dances for piccolo inspired by British folk songs,” Dydnansky said. “Ibert’s gorgeous Pièce pour Flûte Seule is on the bill, as well as pieces by the Baroque composers Telemann and Marais, both displaying the ability of a solo instrument to play polyphonically.”

    The series will continue with performances by Music faculty members Gordon Cleland, Zoltan Kalman, Tim Phelan, Karin Di Bella and Devon Fornelli, and conclude with student performances at the end of each semester.

    Music Chair Matthew Royal said this allows students studying at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) to watch their instructors perform on stage before having the opportunity to perform in a professional environment themselves later on in the year.

    “We are so grateful for our generous sponsors, the RBC Foundation, that allow us to host these concerts every year,” he said. “They provide a great opportunity for students to learn all that’s involved in performing in a professional-level recital, and for our talented faculty and students to showcase the hard work they have put into their performances with the local community.”

    A line-up of talented guest performances will also round out the programming this year, including Maltese-Canadian flutist Rebecca Hall, who will perform with Brock pianist Karin Di Bella on Jan. 8.  The performers first connected over their shared interest in the work of Jack Behrens, a Canadian composer, and will be continuing to work together after their early 2019 show.

    On Jan. 29, percussionist Devon Fornelli will perform with pianist John Sherwood. Fornelli, a percussion instructor at Brock, has a wide range of experience performing as a soloist, an orchestral percussionist and as a chamber instrumentalist, and Sherwood, the piano tuner at Brock, is listed as being among the top jazz pianists in Ontario.

    Royal encourages both students and those from around the community to come and experience the talented musicians that Brock University has to offer.

    The Music@Noon Recital series is generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation and will run most Tuesdays at noon throughout the academic year. The concerts are performed in the Cairns Recital Hall at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. This is a free event that is open to the public.

    For more details about future performances, please visit brocku.ca/miwsfpa/music/concerts

    2018-19 RBC Foundation Music@Noon Series:

    Oct. 2: Patricia Dydnansky (flute)
    Oct. 16: Gordon Cleland (cello)
    Oct. 23: Zoltan Kalman (clarinet) and Gary Forbes (piano)
    Oct. 30: Piano, vocal and instrument students
    Nov. 6: Tim Phelan (guitar)
    Nov. 20: Voice, guitar and piano students
    Nov. 27: Instrumental students
    Dec. 4: Piano students
    Jan. 8: Rebecca Hall (flute) and Karin Di Bella (piano)
    Jan. 29: Devon Fornelli (percussion) and John Sherwood (piano)
    Feb. 5: Voice, guitar and piano students
    Feb. 12: Instrumental students
    Feb. 26: Karin Di Bella (piano)
    March 5: Walker String Quartet: Vera Alekseeva and Anna Hughes (violins), Faith Lau (viola) and Gordon Cleland (cello)
    March 12: Piano students
    March 19: Instrumental students
    March 26: Voice, guitar and piano students
    April 2: Piano students

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News, RBC Foundation Music @ Noon Series

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