Looking for some entertainment for your late November Sunday afternoon?

This is the time of year there are so many concerts, theatre events and such happening, it is hard to keep track of them all.  But no matter:  you can always keep track by consulting the Calendar page of my website, www.finemusic.ca for listings that are updated regularly on happenings in Niagara and beyond.  I have been falling a bit behind the last week, but plan to catch up again this coming week, so keep an eye out for more updates.

In the meantime, there are three Sunday afternoon offerings you might want to consider if you have a desire to ignore the mall and all the holiday madness already underway, and actually relax with some great music or theatre.

In downtown St. Catharines, the Sullivan-Mahoney Courthouse Theatre is the place to be for the final performance of ECT's thought-provoking play The Valley, written by playwright Joan MacLeod.  Presented in the round and headed up by Essential Collective's Artistic Director Monica Default, The Valley tells the story of Connor, his mother Sharon, police officer Dan and his wife Janie, exploring mental health issues and the stigma that surrounds them.

The final performance is this afternoon at 2 pm with pay-what-you-can pricing, and tickets are available at the door.  This play has been getting a lot of attention recently and with good reason, so you might want to check it out for yourself before it is done.

Meantime, up the hill at the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre at the Centre for the Arts, Brock University, the Niagara Symphony presents their second Masterworks concert of the season, entitled Will to Live.  Featuring guest conductor Kenneth Woods and tenor Lawrence Wiliford, the concert begins with the Chamber Symphony Op. 46a by Ullmann, and concludes with the ever-popular Symphony No. 4 by Beethoven.  In between, Wiliford pairs with Austin Hitchcock on horn and the string section of the orchestra for Benjamin Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Strings and Horn.

I like the dark wartime-era Ullman and Britten works, both dating from the 1940s, pitted against the decidedly more upbeat and sunny-sounding Symphony No. 4 by Beethoven, often overlooked for some of his weightier symphonies, most notably the 5th.  It's also the kind of programming I like to see from the NSO, balancing newer works with traditional favourites, never going overboard and risking losing their core audience.

This concert also features the annual Silent Auction in the lobby before and at intermission of the concert, where you can outbid your neighbour on a wide variety of great gift items.  You can do your Christmas shopping right there, and enjoy a great concert, too!

Tickets to this afternoon's performance at 2:30 are available by calling the Brock box office at 905-688-5550, ext. 3257, or just pick them up at the door.  Should be a fun afternoon and a busy one at the Symphony as well.

Incidentally, earlier this month Music Director Bradley Thachuk dropped the puck at a Niagara Ice Dogs home game at the new Meridian Centre in downtown St. Catharines, and I think that is the type of cross-promotion that can only help the NSO as they try to build their core audience in the future.  I will be writing more about that aspect next month as the so-called 'Next' Gen series kicks off December 7th.

Finally, if you are near or plan to be up in the Guelph area today, the always-creative and inspiring Guelph Chamber Choir, directed by Gerald Neufeld, presents a concert entitled Carols for Christmas. Along with the usual array of holiday favourites, there will also what is being described as "music for wine glasses" - who knew there was another use for wine glasses?  Just kidding...anyway, sounds like a lot of fun, especially as that particular piece apparently brings out the "mad scientist" in Maestro Neufeld courtesy the new technology all around us today.

There's special guest artists for the concert presenting both musical and narrative offerings, at St. George's Church in downtown Guelph.  This is one of my favourite churches anywhere, incidentally, as it is a large, traditional and acoustically lovely church right in the heart of the city that embraces creative endeavours such as this afternoon's concert by the Guelph Chamber Choir.

The concert is at 3 pm and tickets are still available; you can get them at the door on a cash-only basis prior to the performance.

So there you go:  three reasons to avoid the mall and putting up your holiday decorations for another week!  You're welcome.

Have a great Sunday!

November 30th, 2014.