What a week it has been in the arts community in Niagara! And for your humble scribe, busily getting things done for the accountant for tax time and lots of other mundane tasks, there has been very little time to write about it all since last weekend. So let's try to get caught up on at least a few of the things happening over the past week.
Last Sunday afternoon, as I wrote in my last entry, the Niagara Symphony presented their final Masters concert of the current season. This was the second and last appearance by Toronto-born conductor Bradley Thachuk, one of three remaining conductors vying for the position of Music Director of the Niagara Symphony next season. To put it mildly, Bradley's first appearance in his Pops! programme a few months ago was not an unqualified success. From too much chatting with the audience to trying an ill-concieved guitar solo that fell flat to presenting himself onstage in jeans during the second half, the performance just didn't come together last time. This time, in tails (albeit looking like they might be his fathers'...) Bradley meant business, and for the most part he delivered.
The program began with the requisite Chase the Sun by Carrabre, which as Bradley correctly noted at the concert, by now the orchestra would know backwards and forwards. As does the audience, I might add. His comment about having this great idea to project the words of the piece on a screen while the orchestra played the music - which Diane Whittry did in fact do in January - brought some laughter from the audience and was a fun moment at the concert. The big piece in the first half was the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5, the 'Emperor', with young Toronto pianist David Louie as soloist. Both conductor and pianist showed they could add something to the already well-worn Piano Concerto No. 5, and Louie especially was quite exceptional. Watch for good things from this young pianist in the future.
The second half was entirely taken up with the Sibelius Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43, which Bradley mentioned was more or less his orchestral calling-card nowadays. He knows the work well, and save for some over-the-top conducting theatrics in the final movement, his conducting showed an assurance not seen the last time he appeared with the orchestra. From what I can see, Thachuk appears to be a more effective Masters conductor rather than Pops! conductor, which is unusual given his age. Sure, he still appears a little on the young side and short of some of the requisite seasoning you like to see in a music director of an orchestra such as the Niagara Symphony, but really, he has no apologies to make for the fine performances he drew from the orchestra and soloist last Sunday. This was a far cry from the ragged sound of the orchestra in his Pops! appearance.
The problem I find with Pops! performances, by and large, both here and elsewhere, is the conductor feels compelled to let his or her hair down, as it were, and try to become too much the friendly, funny neighbour. Most of the candidates so far have fallen victim to that, and I only hope Diane Whittry, when she makes her Pops! appearance at the beginning of May, doesn't go down the same road. There is a fine line between relaxing the rules and having a bit of fun with the music and going over the deep end and losing all decorum altogether. Maybe I'm in the minority on this, but I like my conductors to still control the situation, even if it is a Pops! performance.
Anyway, one more Pops! performance to go for this season, and then we see who ends up leading the orchestra next season. It has been an exciting ride so far, and the ride isn't over yet.
Meantime, the second annual In the Soil: Niagara's Homegrown Arts Festival kicked off this week, and by all accounts it will be building on the success from last year and be even more popular this year. There are performances all over downtown St. Catharines for another week, with a special showcase performance Friday evening at the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre, Centre for the Arts, Brock University. At that performance, Juno-nominated Great Lakes Swimmers will be joined onstage by a number of local acts for a varied programme of music for all ages and tastes.
This past Thursday evening, I attended the Silva Culture Variety Show at the Sullivan-Mahoney Courthouse Theatre in downtown St. Catharines, which featured a number of local acts many of us have not been exposed to before, including Patrick Guay from Ridgeway and Dr. Hussain Khan from St. Catharines performing on the tabla. I unfortunately couldn't stay for the second half, which included Carly Erber of St. Catharines, the one known as "the Swiffer Lady", and I am very disappointed to have missed her part of the show. The show was co-hosted by Barbara Worthy and Deanna Jones, and they kept the show moving throughout. Overall, it was a promising start to the local festival that is gaining momentum each year. If you get a chance, catch a performance or two before it wraps up next weekend; the performances are very affordable and presented throughout the downtown each evening.
For a complete listing of what's coming up, check out their website at www.inthesoil.on.ca. Tickets are available at the door for all performances on a first-come, first-served basis, with the exception of the Friday evening Showcase at Brock; tickets for that performance are available through the Brock box office at 905-688-5550, ext. 3257.
The other significant news this week was the announcement funding is now in place for the Marilyn I. Walker Centre for the Fine & Performing Arts, the Brock portion of the new Performing Arts Centre to be built downtown. It is a relief all the funding is now in place, but now the hard work really starts: getting shovels in the ground and making the dream a reality. I will write more about this development in my next entry, but suffice it to say, let's get this thing going soon!
April 17th, 2010.
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