Articles tagged with: MIWSFPA

  • Choral season to wrap with final show

    The Avanti Chamber Singers, under the direction of Rachel Rensink-Hoff, will close out the 2017-18 Department of Music season on Saturday, April 28 at St. Thomas Anglican Church.

    The curtain will close on Brock’s 2017-18 Music season with a final performance by the Avanti Chamber Singers.

    Boundless, the last concert of the academic year, will be presented by the Department of Music and the Avanti Chamber Singers on Saturday, April 28 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at St. Thomas Anglican Church, 99 Ontario St., St. Catharines.

    The show features celestial-inspired music, exploring the harmony and mystery of the universe with a range of primarily 21st-century works.

    The program includes pieces such as Gloria Patri by Urmas Sisask, And Einstein Said by Trent Worthington, Stars by Eriks Ešenvalds, and the centerpiece of the program, Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers is a mixed chamber choir comprised of experienced choral singers from across the Niagara region. The group performs under the direction of Artistic Director Rachel Rensink-Hoff, who is also conductor of the Brock University choirs, Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music Education at Brock University.

    “It has been a wonderful year,” she said when describing the choral and concert season as a whole. “We are seeing more and more people from the local community coming to our concerts, which is so exciting and motivating for our performers.”

    Looking forward to the 2018-19 Music season, there will be new choral opportunities for students and the community. The Brock choirs are being restructured to feature two ensembles: a mixed chamber choir and a women’s choir. Both are open by audition to all Brock University students, staff and faculty. New for this year, the women’s choir will also be open to the wider Niagara community “in hopes that it will function as a bridge between Brock’s music program and the wider singing community here in St. Catharines,” Rensink-Hoff said.

    Women’s choir rehearsals will be on Thursday evenings from 6 to 8:45 p.m. in the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Interested singers from the community are encouraged to contact Rensink-Hoff by email at rrensinkhoff@brocku.ca for an audition.

    Advance tickets for the last choral concert of the season are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and $5 for students and under the eyeGo program. They can be purchased at Thorold Music, 289 Glendale Ave.; Booksmart, 350 Vine St.; online through Eventbrite; or through members of the Avanti Chamber Singers.

    Tickets will also be sold at the door for an additional $5.

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    Categories: Announcements, Events, Special Events, Viva Voce Choral Series

  • Music@Noon season to end on high note

    Sherry Yu is one of six pianists who will perform in the last Music@Noon concert of the 2017-18 season on Tuesday, April 3.

    The curtain will close next week on this season’s RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series.

    The final performance of the 2017-18 season takes place Tuesday, April 3, with first- and second-year Bachelor of Music piano students taking the stage at Cairns Recital Hall.

    Short videos of this season’s Music@Noon performances are available on the Department of Music Instagram page.

    The free recital series will return to the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in late September.

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

  • Encore! Professional Concert Series presents Pat & Emilia

    Encore! Professional Concert Series presents: Pat & Emilia: A Mixed-Media Chamber Opera

    Pat & Emilia is a new mixed-media chamber opera based on the lives of two Windsor, Ontario artists – photographer Pat Sturn (1910-2011) and opera singer Emilia Cundari (1930-2005). Act One, created by Tara Sievers-Hunt, features opera arias from Emilia’s repertoire alongside monologues inspired by newspaper interviews given by the singer from the 1950s to 1970s. Act Two showcases new music by Canadian composer Jeff Smallman with text by Windsor Poet Laureate Marty Gervais.

    Tara Sievers-Hunt (soprano) as Emilia | Jocelyn Zelasko (soprano) as Pat
    Margaret Gillie (clarinet) | Velda Kelly (violin)
    Nadine Deleury (cello) | Mary Siciliano (piano)

    Including familiar arias from Italian opera as well as new music by composer Jeff Smallman. Text by Marty Gervais.

    Preceded by the documentary film, ‘Imagining Angels’, on the making of the opera

    Friday March 23, 2018

    Time: 7:30 p.m.
    Location: Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul Street, St. Catharines

    Tickets: $28.50† adults; $22.50† seniors/students; $12.50† child (14 and under); $5* eyeGo program. General admission. † Includes the $2.50 FOPAC Cultural Capital Improvement Fund (CCIF); other applicable fees and taxes are extra. *No CCIF applied; other applicable fees and taxes are extra.

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

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    Categories: Encore! Professional Concert Series, Events

  • The Department of Music on stage!

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

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    Categories: Encore! Professional Concert Series, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Special Events

  • Music Archive in the Library

    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.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, News

  • Percussion Improv at the MIWSFPA

    Join us for an outdoor improv performance!

    Percussionist Devon Fornelli will converse in real time with the city soundscape using traditional instruments and found materials.

    Mr. Fornelli has extensive experience as a soloist, an orchestral percussionist, and as a chamber instrumentalist. His range of talent covers all the diverse areas of percussion and drums from the orchestral percussion section to contemporary art music, and most traditions in-between. This is his third improv performance in the Raceway that runs adjacent to the MIWSFPA.

    The performance will take place in the Lancaster, Brooks & Welch LLP Pathway, between the MIWSFPA and FOPAC.

    In case of rain, the performance will be relocated to the MIWSFPA lobby.

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    Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, Special Events

  • Avanti Chamber Singers – Choral Flora

    Avanti Chamber Singers presents “Choral Flora: A Garland of Song” for spring.  Successor to conductor Harris Loewen to be named.

    On Saturday, April 29, Avanti Chamber Singers (ACS) will present their final concert of the season, and their very last with conductor Harris Loewen. In celebration of spring, the theme is “Choral Flora,” which will include colourful choral suites and part-songs on the topic of flowers and trees.

    Joining Loewen and Avanti Chamber Singers will be Zoltan Kalman, clarinetist extraordinaire, who will perform with the choir alongside soprano soloist Melissa-Marie Shriner, as well as playing several solo works. Kalman is Loewen’s colleague at Brock University, and conducts the University Wind Ensemble.

    Avanti Chamber Singers will also take this opportunity to announce Harris Loewen’s successor as Conductor and Artistic Director.  Loewen founded ACS in 2006, at the encouragement of his former students, and has had a very successful 11 years as their conductor, producing three CD recordings.  He will be retiring this spring from a long and active career as a choral conductor.

    The concert “bouquet” will feature lyrical works by both Canadian and international composers. The main items on the program will be three delightful short suites by acclaimed Vancouver composer Stephen Chatman (“How Sweet and Fair”), as well as prolific American composers James Mulholland (“Robert Burns Ballads”) and Gwyneth Walker (“The Great Trees”).

    The program will also include several premiere performances of new arrangements by Niagara composers.  The choir will perform John Butler’s take on the French-Canadian folksong “The Rosebud”, as well as Loewen’s own version of the famous “Heidenröslein” by Heinrich Werner.  Works by famous composers such as Dvořák, Mendelssohn and Vaughan Williams will round out the program.

    Loewen states, “A floral arrangement in choral music is not only a fitting seasonal program, but a beautiful way to wrap up my career. I have loved making great music with the dedicated singers of Avanti, as well as our guest artists, and promoting the music of Niagara composers along the way.
    It’s been just a fabulous community experience in all of its various aspects.”

    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 on Saturday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m., held at Covenant Christian Reformed Church, 278 Parnell Rd, St. Catharines. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors & students, $5 for the eyeGo high school ticket program, and are available to be purchased at the door. A $5 discount is available on advance tickets in St. Catharines from Thorold Music (289 Glendale Ave.) and Booksmart (Scott/Vine Plaza, 350 Scott St.), or from members of Avanti Chamber Singers. Discount is not applicable to eyeGo pricing.

    For an interview or more information contact:
    Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
    T: 905-688-5550, x 4765 | E: miwsfpa@brocku.ca | W: brocku.ca/miwsfpa

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    Categories: Events, Media Releases, News, Viva Voce Choral Series

  • The Brock University Wind Ensemble presents “Music for the Soul” on stage in Partridge Hall

    Plato states, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 7:30 pm, join us as the Brock University Wind Ensemble explores their full breadth of repertoire with music that will move your soul.

    Under the baton of conductor Zoltan Kalman, the University Wind Ensemble features the talents of 60 musicians drawn from Brock University, elementary, and high schools within the Niagara Region and the broader music community. This concert also includes musicians from Burlington’s Symphony on the Bay: Peter Macdonald, Mary-Anne Pearson, David Pearson, and Graham Young.  As well as Patrick Beard from the Niagara Symphony.

    Elementary and high school students performing with the Wind Ensemble include: Christine Kim, a grade eight student from Glynn A. Green Public School (Fonthill); Lucas March from Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School (St. Catharines); Jessica Traynor and Synthia Khairallah from Lakeshore Catholic High School (Port Colborne).

    Zoltan Kalman states: “Our concert features a captivating mix of classical, romantic and easy listening works that will highlight the brilliance and versatility of the Brock University Wind Ensemble. From the amazing love story of “Romeo and Juliet” to the high energy “A Weekend in New York” this evening aims to capture the celebration of love, power and passion.”

    The evening program includes: Philip Sparke: Prelude to a Celebration; Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Variations on a Theme of Glinka, featuring Nicholas Cooper, Oboe; Charles Gounod: Faust Selection; Roger Cichy: Geometric Dances; Leroy Anderson: The Waltzing Cat; Jan Van der Roost: Flashing Winds; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy; Alexander Arutiunian: Trumpet Concerto, featuring Tim White; Samuel R. Hazo: Arabesque;
    Philip Sparke: A Weekend in New York; and Bill Holcombe: Lennon/McCartney Portrait.

    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 the breadth of talent and creativity at Brock University.

    Experience “Music for the Soul” on Tuesday, April 4th at 7:30 pm, held in Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Tickets are $10† general admission; $5† child (14 and under); $5† eyeGo high school program (†applicable fees and taxes are extra). Current students of the MIWSFPA may each redeem a complimentary ticket with valid ID.

    Purchase tickets through the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office: 905.688.0722; long distance toll free: 1.855.515.0722; online: firstontariopac.ca; e-mail: boxoffice@firstontariopac.ca; or at the door.

    -30-

    Media call: Tuesday, March 28, 2017 at 5:15 pm in Cairns Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul Street, St. Catharines

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    Categories: Events, Media Releases, News, The University Wind Ensemble

  • Brock Department of Music to add string orchestra

    (Source: The Brock News, Monday, March 20, 2017 | by )

    A new string orchestra coming this fall will help attract new students and community musicians to Brock University’s Department of Music.

    For the first time in its 47-year history, the Department of Music will offer String Orchestra as part of its ensemble bank starting in September. The addition will make the Department’s programs more appealing to potential students, as it brings a much stronger string presence to its activities.

    “We have been trying to attract quality string students to the Department, and our lack of in-house orchestra has definitely been a detriment,” says Department of Music Chair Karin Di Bella.

    The string group will be added to the existing ensemble roster of the Brock University Choirs, and the Brock University Wind Ensemble.

    The String Orchestra has been developed to serve two key needs: filling a need in the Department’s curriculum; and providing a place for community string players to share their talents.

    “We have appreciated a partnership with the Niagara Symphony Youth Orchestra and the community-based Mercredi Musique in the past, but incoming students really want their ensemble experience to be housed at the University,” says Di Bella.

    Based on the successful model of the Wind Ensemble, the String Orchestra will work as a partnership between the Department and the community, welcoming community members to the group to fill out the numbers needed for the ensemble to be viable.

    Mercredi Musique is a key partner in the development of this new ensemble. Following the loss of their long-time music director Paul Van Dongen, the group ceased activity at the end of the 2015-16 season.

    “We are enthusiastic in our support of this endeavour. It’s an ideal direction for both the community and the University,” says Chris Thorne, former concertmaster of Mercredi Musique.

    Community string players are welcome to audition for the new Brock University String Orchestra. Auditions will be held this summer, with information posted on the Department website in the coming months. Auditions for an ensemble conductor will also be held. Any string specialists interested in applying for the conductor position should check Brock’s Human Resources listings, and let the Department know of their interest.

    The String Orchestra will rehearse during the academic year from 7 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays in Cairns Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

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    Categories: Announcements, News

  • Music Ed Plus Chamber Music Ensembles

    Friday, April 7, 2017 from 12pm-3pm. “Music in the Hallway”

    The performance will feature a five-piece jazz ensemble, coached by Zoltan Kalman, performing jazz standards and old favorites. In addition, there will be a flute, vocal and piano ensemble who will be singing and playing a more classically-oriented program, coached by Colin Maier.

    The Music Ed Plus co-curricular program – a specialized Experience Plus program – is currently in its fourth year of operation and looks forward to showcasing the musical talents of its chamber music ensembles. These concerts are part of their mandate for community engagement in both the Brock community as well as for the general public in the Niagara Region.

    Event address:
    Dr. Charles A. Sankey Chamber (hallway outside)
    Located in A block of MacKenzie Chown Complex
    Brock University
    www.brocku.ca/blogs/campus-map/

    Free community event

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    Categories: Events, Music Ed Plus Chamber Music Ensembles