Media Releases

• The Brock University Wind Ensemble presents “Full Steam Ahead” on stage at the Cairns Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

  Monday, November 16, 2015 | By Brock University

  Whether you’re a jazz aficionado or a connoisseur of the classics, the Brock University Wind Ensemble is sure to strike a chord.  Full Steam Ahead will be the ensemble’s inaugural performance held in the Cairns Recital Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.

  Under the baton of conductor Zoltan Kalman, the University Wind Ensemble features the talents of 60 musicians drawn from Brock University, high school students within the Niagara Region, and the broader music community. This concert includes Janice Fralick from the Niagara Symphony; Mary Sobota and Joanne Romanow from the Burlington Concert Band; and Kelly Hindrichs, Peter Macdonald, Frances Cohen, Mary-Anne Pearson, David Pearson, and Graham Young from Hamilton’s Symphony on the Bay.

  High school students from the Niagara Region showcased in this performance include: Lindsey Cook from E. L. Crossley SS (Pelham); and Makayla Todd and Todd Morgan from Laura Secord SS (St. Catharines).

  The Wind Ensemble’s program features masterworks of the past and present, including “La Gioconda” by Amilcare Ponchielli; “Selections from Porgy and Bess” by George Gershwin; “Children of Sanchez” by Chuck Mangione; “Orient Express” by Philip Sparke; “The Lord of the Rings” by Johan de Meij; “The Christmas Song” by Mel Tormé; “Christmas on Broadway” by John Higgins; “Lost in the Woods” by Department of Music alumus Chris Barletta; and “West Side Story” by Leonard Bernstein.

  Kalman states: “The players and I are incredibly excited about our inaugural performance in the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre! In celebration of our new performance home I have programmed a repertoire like none other in the history of the Wind Ensemble. It will feature a stimulating and grandiose mix of different musical styles that will definitely leave our audience breathless, will demonstrate the exceptional talent and brilliance of this group, and will allow us to soar to new heights.”

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

  Join us for Full Steam Ahead on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in Cairns Recital Hall. Tickets are $8 general admission, $5 eyeGo high school program (+HST), and are free to current MIWSFPA students with valid student ID. Purchase tickets through the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office: 905-688-0722; or online at boxoffice@firstontariopac.ca

  Media day: Tuesday, December 1, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. in Cairns Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

  Tags: cairns recital hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Full Steam Ahead, university wind ensemble, uwe, wind ensemble, Zoltan Kalman
  Categories: Events, Media Releases, News, The University Wind Ensemble

• Avanti Chamber Singers launches 10th Anniversary Season with Nocturne: Songs of the Night

  Monday, November 16, 2015 | By Brock University

  Saturday, November 21, 2015 marks the first concert of the season, presenting a fascinating combination of classical compositions and jazz arrangements from the “Great American Songbook.” Held at Covenant Christian Reformed Church in St. Catharines, the choir will be joined for the jazz segments of the evening by the Twilights Jazz Trio, featuring Lesley Kingham on piano, Rob McBride on bass and Devon Fornelli on drums.

  This 10th anniversary season celebrates the Avanti Chamber Singers’ accomplishments since they began their first rehearsals under the leadership of founding conductor Harris Loewen. Since then, the choir has presented concerts within the Niagara region and beyond. They also hold the distinction of being the Ensemble-in-Residence for the Department of Music, Brock University, where Loewen is an Associate Professor.

  Along the way, the Avanti Chamber Singers (ACS) have released three CDs of choral music by Niagara composers, continuing the Voices of Niagara CD series begun by the former Niagara Vocal Ensemble, also conducted by Loewen. All recordings in the series, including Avanti’s Glorious Light (Xmas), Gate of the Year (Sacred), and Beauty is Before Me are still available through the ACS or the Department of Music.

  This coming season will offer three regular concerts, all with a thematic orientation. Following Nocturne, on November 21, Avanti Chamber Singers will perform Animalia: The Lighter Side of the Animal Kingdom on February 20, and Water Music: Of Rain, River and Sea on April 30. The concerts present an engaging variety of musical styles, ranging from classical and jazz to folksongs and spirituals.

  The Avanti Chamber Singers are also active as a guest ensemble this season. In mid-November, the choir is on stage with Kenny Rogers for four shows at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. On December 5, ACS and other guest artists join the Brock University Choirs in the Cairns Recital Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, for a concert that will feature premieres of three choral works by Brock University composers. The final guest performance will be with the Brock University Choirs on April 2, 2016, where the joint choral forces will partner with the Trillium Brass in a new version of Peter Landey’s thrilling Gloria.

  Conductor Harris Loewen states, “I’m so proud to celebrate a decade milestone with this wonderful group of singers, some of whom have been performing and recording with the choir since its inception. We are really looking forward to this busy but satisfying season, as we continue to have fun learning and making beautiful music together.”

  The Viva Voce Choral Series, presented by the Department of Music, is a key part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ mandate in building connections between the community and Brock University. (For more information about ACS, visit: avantichambersingers.com).

  Come and celebrate this 10th anniversary launch on Saturday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m., held at Covenant Christian Reformed church, 278 Parnell Road, St. Catharines. Admission at the door is $25 adults; $20 seniors & students; $5 eyeGo program for high school students. A $5 discount is available for advance tickets (excluding eyeGo), and can be purchased at two St. Catharines locations: BookSmart (Scott & Vine Plaza) and Thorold Music (Glendale Avenue).

  For more information contact: Marie Balsom, Communications
  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  T: 905-688-5550, ext. 4765 | E: mbalsom@brocku.ca | W: brocku.ca/miwsfpa

  Tags: 10th anniversary, Avanti Chamber Singers, Devon Fornelli, Harris Loewen, Lesley Kingham, Niagara, Niagara composers, Nocturne: Songs of the Night, Rob McBride, Twilights Jazz Trio, Viva Voce Choral Series, Viva Voce!
  Categories: Events, Media Releases, News, Viva Voce Choral Series

• The Avanti Chamber Singers celebrate the release of their new CD “Beauty is Before Me” with their concert Viva La Musica!

  Saturday, November 01, 2014 | By Brock University

  Saturday, November 15, 2014, marks the release of the Avanti Chamber Singers’ third CD “Beauty is Before Me,” the fifth installment in the “Voices of Niagara” CD series, featuring works by local composers.

  The release will occur in conjunction with the Avanti Chamber Singers’ (ACS) season-opening concert, Viva La Musica! Presenting compositions from 1600 to the present day, this concert is a celebration of the joy and power of music. Rising Toronto oboist Aidan Dugan will perform as the featured guest artist.

  The CD is a collaborative project by ACS, Brock University’s student choirs, and the former Niagara Vocal Ensemble, all conducted by Harris Loewen. The sequence of works on the album flows through a variety of themes: the beauty of nature, the patron saint of music (St. Cecilia), the War of 1812, elegiac reflections, and a group of spirituals.

  The occasion also marks the re-release of the first two CDs in the series, recorded by the Niagara Vocal Ensemble, an all-women’s ensemble that was active in the Niagara Region between 1991 and 2011. All CDs are available through ACS and the Department of Music at Brock University.

  As with all five recordings in the “Voices of Niagara” CD series, the music on every track is written or arranged by composers with a Niagara connection, most recorded for the first time. Composers represented on this latest recording include Penny Blake, John Butler, the famous Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943), Erik Gero, Brock professors Peter Landey and Harris Loewen, Gail Poulsen, folk singer Stan Rogers, Matthew Tran-Adams, and Ronald Tremain (1923-98), Brock’s first Professor of Music.

  The concert opens with a rousing fanfare written especially for the occasion, based on the familiar round “Viva La Musica.” The program includes works by the great Renaissance composers, Jacob Handl and Orlandus Lassus, as well as a variety of more modern pieces. Canadian composers (e.g. Stephen Chatman, Eleanor Daley, Ruth Watson Henderson) are well represented, and the concert also provides samples of works from the latest CD. Oboist Aidan Dugan will perform lyrical pieces by familiar 19th century composers Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann.

  Conductor Harris Loewen states, “This latest album marks an exciting milestone in this multi-choir CD project that has been developed and released to the public over the last few years. I’m so extremely grateful for the fine and energetic musicianship that all the singers and instrumentalists have contributed in both concert and recording. It’s a truly wonderful choral legacy for the region.”

  The Viva Voce Choral Series, presented by the Department of Music, is a key part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ mandate in building connections between the community and Brock University.

  Come and enjoy this choral celebration and CD release on Saturday, November 15 at 7:30 p.m., held at St. Barnabas Anglican Church, 31 Queenston Street, St. Catharines. Admission at the door is $25 for adults; $20 for seniors & students; $5 for the eyeGo program for high school students. A $5 discount is available for advance tickets (excluding eyeGO) and can be purchased at two St. Catharines locations: BookSmart (Scott & Vine Plaza) and Thorold Music (Glendale Avenue).

  For more information contact: Marie Balsom, Communications
  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  T: 905-688-5550, ext. 4765 | E: mbalsom@brocku.ca | W: brocku.ca/miwsfpa

  Tags: Avanti Chamber Singers, Beauty is Before Me, Harris Loewen, St. Barnabas Anglican Church, Viva La Musica, Viva Voce Choral Series, Viva Voce!, Voices of Niagara
  Categories: Events, Media Releases, News, Viva Voce Choral Series

• The University Wind Ensemble With Conductor Zoltan Kalman

  Wednesday, March 05, 2014 | By Brock University

  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 transcribed. Talented brass, woodwind, and percussion performers engage with their peers and conductor while pursing their passion and enjoyment of music through creative expression.

  Click here for event poster.

   

  When: April 1, 2014, 7:30pm – 9:30pm
  Location: Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock University
  Contact: Marie Balsom, mbalsom@brocku.ca

   

  Brock University
  Media Release
  March 21, 2014
  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  905.688.5550, x4765

  The University Wind Ensemble presents a Spring Concert of classic and modern works
  Come celebrate the rebirth of the spring season with the Brock University Wind Ensemble on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 at 7:30 p.m., in the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre.
  Under the baton of conductor Zoltan Kalman, this ensemble performs a wide range of styles representing different cultures: from Ottorino Respighi, a brilliant Italian composer of richly descriptive symphonic poems, to Andrew Lloyd Webber, the celebrated British song writer.
  The University Wind Ensemble showcases the talent of 60 musicians drawn from the Brock community and regional high schools, as well as performers from the wider music community, including Kelly Hindrichs, Michael Hindrichs, Peter Macdonald, Frances Cohen, Mary Ann Pearson and David Pearson from Hamilton’s Symphony on the Bay.
  High school students from the Niagara Region and Southern Ontario include: Austin Meisel from Blessed Trinity Catholic Secondary School, Grimsby; Rebecca Heathcote from Bishop Ryan Secondary School, Hamilton; Lindsey Cook from E.L. Crossley, Fonthill; and Makayla Todd and Todd Morgan both from Laura Secord Secondary School, St. Catharines.
  The Wind Ensemble’s Spring Concert program features masterworks of the past and present, including “Flying the Breeze,” by Philip Sparke; “Lincolnshire Posy,” by Percy Grainger; “Symphonic Songs for Band,” by Robert Russell Bennett; “Laideronnette, Impératrice des Pagodes,” by Maurice Ravel (with conductor Conor Cooper); “Manhattan,” by Philip Sparke (featuring a trumpet solo by Ryan Baker); “The Pines of Rome,” by Ottorino Respighi; “Fiddle-Faddle,” by Leroy Anderson; and “Selections from Phantom of the Opera,” by Andrew Lloyd Webber (featuring singers Victoria Hoshowsky, Tim Stacey, and Conor Cooper).
  Kalman states, “The upcoming performance offers audiences an intriguing musical kaleidoscope which will undoubtedly demonstrate the brilliance, virtuosity as well as the lyrical qualities of the Wind Ensemble. There is something truly exciting for everyone,
  from the majestic “Pines of Rome” by Respighi, to a refreshing walk on the POPS side featuring the concert version of “Phantom of the Opera.”
  Such performances from the Department of Music are a key part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ mandate in building connections between the community and the breadth of talent and creativity at Brock University.

  Plan to join us on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. in the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre. Tickets are $10 general admission, or $5 eyeGo for high school students, and can be purchased at the Centre for the Arts Box Office, 905.688.5550 x3257, or at the door.

  Media call: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at 5:30 p.m., held in the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock University
  For interviews please contact:
  Marie Balsom, Communications
  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  T: 905.688.5550, x4765 | E: mbalsom@brocku.ca | W: brocku.ca/miwsfpa

  Tags: spring concert, university wind ensemble, Zoltan Kalman
  Categories: Events, Media Releases, News, The University Wind Ensemble

• Viva Voce! Choral Series & The Regional Women’s Choirs present a concert for International Women’s Day: “She Rises”

  Friday, February 07, 2014 | By Brock University

  The Viva Voce Choral Series includes Brock’s student choral ensembles (men’s and women’s choruses) as well as the Avanti Chamber Singers, a mixed ensemble including several Brock staff and Music alumni. Under the direction of conductor Harris Loewen, the ensembles perform multiple concerts throughout the academic year, and engage in community outreach, collaborative work with other Ontario choirs and special recording projects.

  When: March 8, 2014 – 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
  Location: St. Thomas Anglican Church, 99 Ontario St., St. Catharines
  Admission: $17 adults; $15 seniors & students; $5 for the eyeGo ticket program for high school students.

  Click here for the event poster.

  Regional Women’s Choirs present a concert for International Women’s Day: “She Rises”

  On Saturday, March 8, 2014, at 7:30 pm, the Brock University Women’s Chorus hosts guest ensembles: the McMaster University Women’s Chorus and the Queenston Ladies Choir, in a concert showcasing the beauty and power of women’s voices. This event, in celebration of International Women’s Day, takes place at St. Thomas Anglican Church, 99 Ontario Street, St. Catharines.
  Conductors Lisa Brillon (Queenston), Harris Loewen (Brock) and Rachel Rensink-Hoff (McMaster) will conduct their individual choirs, as well as the massed chorus of over 100 women’s voices, in this rare festival performance by three elite, treble-voice ensembles.
  The concert will have a clearly contemporary flavour. The majority of works to be performed were written in the 20th and 21st centuries – a number of them published in just the last few years. The program will also include works by 19th century composers Bruckner and Mendelssohn, as well as wonderful arrangements of traditional folk songs and spirituals.
  One of the featured works is the Canadian premiere of “She Rises” (2011), a piece for double women’s chorus with lyrics and music by American composer Catherine Dalton. The words speak of the inspiring Celtic sun goddess Brigid, as well as St. Brigid of Kildare (Ireland). The music, a Celtic-style melody accompanied by rich harmonies and creative vocal sound effects, is “a jubilant celebration of the energy and light that resides without and within all of us.”
  Other massed choir works include Eric Whitacre’s lyrical “Seal Lullaby,” Clifton Noble’s exciting spiritual arrangement “Hold On,” Dale Warland’s pensive “Sed Amore,” and Canadian songwriter Leon Dubinsky’s inspiring “We Rise Again,” in an arrangement by Toronto’s Lydia Adams.
  Dr. Harris Loewen, Associate Professor Music at Brock University, states: “This celebratory and wide-ranging program, presented by the very best women’s choirs of the region, will appeal to a really broad audience. If you’ve never been to this kind of choral feast, exclusively by women’s voices, this is a terrific way to celebrate International Women’s Day, and support choral endeavours by women.”
  Concerts in the Viva Voce Choral Series are presented by the Department of Music as a key part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ mandate in building connections between the community and Brock University.
  Join us for this moving celebration on March 8 at 7:30 p.m., held at St. Thomas Anglican Church, 99 Ontario Street, St. Catharines. Tickets are available at the Centre for the Arts Box Office, or at the door.

  For more information contact:
  Marie Balsom, Communications
  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  T: 905-688-5550, ext. 4765 | E: mbalsom@brocku.ca | W: brocku.ca/miwsfpa

  Tags: Brock University Women's Chorus, Harris Loewen, International Women's Day, Lisa Brillon, McMaster University Women's Chorus, Queenston Ladies Choir, Rachel Rensink-Hoff, She Rises, St. Thomas Anglican Church, The Regional Women's Choirs, Viva Voce Choral Series
  Categories: Events, Media Releases, News, Viva Voce Choral Series