Great kickoff to the Walker Cultural Leader series at Brock University

I wrote last April about the final performance in the Walker Cultural Leader series, featuring Catherine Wilson and her ensemble from Toronto in a delightful performance at the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre.  At the time I wrote the concert was great; the audience was rather pitiful as turnout was very low.

That was a shame, as the series, and in fact everything offered through the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts at Brock is of a uniformly high calibre, yet attendance always seems low, at least those I have attended in the past.

This past Friday evening the new season got underway with the Department of Music presenting renowned Canadian baritone Brett Polegato in recital at the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre.  The recital was just part of the contribution Brett made to the Walker Cultural Leader series:  he also offered group coaching with Voice Students at Brock on Thursday; and a Voice Masterclass for Music Students on Saturday morning.

The Friday evening recital, open to the general public, was better attended this time than I have seen in the past, and perhaps that reflects the fact Brett is a Niagara boy coming back home to perform for a home-town crowd.  Or perhaps he simply generated more interest due to his stature as one Canada's premiere operatic baritones.  No matter.  Those who did attend were treated to an exceptional performance by an exceptional talent.

Brett, joined by pianist Robert Kortgaard, provided a recital full of some of his favourite music, some of it well-known and a lot of it quite the opposite.  The programme ranged from Poulenc's Le Bestiaire song-cycle to three settings of Shakespeare sonnets to Ravel's rarely-heard Histoires Naturelles.  Rounding out the programme were three familiar songs by American composer Aaron Copeland, including his upbeat Ching-a-ring Chaw.

Several encore pieces included a wonderfully humorous piece by Ivor Novello, and it has been a very long time since I heard anything by Novello on any recital programme, let alone a bring-down-the- house encore piece.

All in all, it was a great evening, and a great start to the Walker Cultural Leader series, which continues next Spring with a public presentation and exhibitions by acclaimed Canadian painter Janet Werner.

The series is being funded thanks to the Marilyn I. Walker Fund, an endowment created in 2008 when Marilyn Walker donated $15-million to Brock's School of Fine and Performing Arts.

Meantime the Department of Music performance calendar has finally been released, and it features once again the Encore! Professional Concert Series.  The four-concert series begins November 21st with the Madawaska Ensemble; continues January 30th with Quartetto Gelato; February 27th with Sarah Jerrom and Friends performing The Yeats Project; and concludes March 27th with Trio Surgite.

The Viva Voce! series under the direction of Harris Loewen continues as well, with performances November 15th by the Avanti Chamber Singers and November 29th by the Brock University Choirs.  The Choral Series features those same two groups in performances in February, March and April.

The University Wind Ensemble conducted by Zoltan Kalman performs on two Tuesday evenings:  December 2nd and March 31st.  And the music@noon series, sponsored by the RBC Foundation, offers recitals by faculty, special guests and students and alumni at Brock in free concerts open to the public.

I will be posting the entire series of events coming up with the Department of Music this week on the Calendar page of my website, at www.finemusic.ca.

In the meantime, you can find out more about the great music coming up this season by going to www.brocku.ca/music.  You can find out about other MIWSFPA programmes and events by going to www.brocku.ca/finearts.

I wrote last spring about the lack of information out there on just what great work is being done at the School of Fine & Performing Arts, and the fact a more concerted effort needs to be made to get the word out prior to the entire series being moved next season to the new downtown venue currently under construction.  While I still think more needs to be done in that regard, at least there appears to be a little more information out there this season.  Let's hope that continues.

Let's celebrate the arts in Niagara with the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts at Brock University!

September 28th, 2014