Writing about events at the Centre for the Arts, Brock University

You never know, sometimes, where life can lead you; nor can you possibly know when a new opportunity may present itself, usually when you least expect it. For the last few years I have been writing on local events in the arts community in this space, and I am constantly amazed the number of people who read it and take the time to comment on it. I always look forward to people's feedback, no matter what form it may take. That leads me to this week's blog entry.

I received an email last fall from Michael Chess, the Marketing Production Coordinator at the Centre for the Arts at Brock, asking if I would be interested in writing the program notes for an upcoming concert. After some initial hesitation, I agreed, and shortly afterwards found myself on the phone making arrangements to interview the people appearing at the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre Sunday afternoon of this weekend: Voices of Showtime and guest artist Peter Appleyard. I had to do the interviews separately, and with Peter I was able to record the interview in the studio at CKTB Radio, so I was able to listen back to the interview for writing the article and also to air the edited interview on the morning show, which I produce. We aired the interview, in fact, this past Monday morning.

Voices of Showtime is a vocal group that loves the great music of the 30s, 40s and 50s, and they perform it in a somewhat jazzy style I find reminiscent of the Singers Unlimited. They swing just that little bit, and truly love the music they sing. The group goes back a number of years now and primarily perform in the Toronto area, where the group is based, although individual members come from far and wide to perform with the group. This is a rare tour date for Voices of Showtime, and I am looking forward to hearing what they have to offer tomorrow afternoon. Peter Appleyard I have spoken to a few times over the years, and in fact I emceed the first jazz fundraising concert down at Willowbank in Queenston a number of years ago, where Peter was the headliner. He is still very much a going concern, and he told me in the interview he has absolutely no plans to retire from making the music he loves. That's great news for us, as he is every bit as vibrant and dynamic now as he was when I first met him many years ago.

Tickets are still available for the show Sunday afternoon by calling the box office at Brock: 905-688-5550, ext. 3257, or you could likely pick them up at the door before the concert, which begins at 2:30 pm.

This week, I was asked to write program notes for a second concert, so the first one I wrote must have been well received, I suppose. Canadian singer Louise Pitre will bring her musical tribute to Edith Piaf and all things French to the Centre for the Arts at Brock on March 27th, as she performs with her trio at the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre. I emailed Louise this week and talked to her on the phone today from her farmhouse near Alliston, Ontario. I will again be writing the notes based on that interview, and ultimately editing the interview for broadcast on CKTB Radio at a later date.

Louise has become a tour-de-force in her own right, and the concert of French chansons promises to be a great concert, even if you are, like me, largely unilingual. Somehow, I suspect the language barrier will be a problem while listening to Louise any more than it would have been years ago while listening to Edith Piaf.

Who knows? This might become another sideline for me: writing program notes for concerts. I never would have thought about that years ago, although I have had a lot of experience interviewing entertainers over the years, ranging from Peggy Lee to the infamous cross-dresser Divine. It is a part of my career I think I am ready to resurrect, so we'll see how things go in the future. In the meantime, if you go to the Voices of Showtime performance Sunday afternoon at Brock, I hope you enjoy the program notes!

January 22nd, 2011.