Music in the Autumn air in Niagara

 I don't know about you but when we get a weekend in late October like this, I simply have to get out of the house at every opportunity.  Considering just three days ago we were shivering and walking in the rain, I will take this weekend and bottle it if I possibly can.

I plan to play tourist in my own Region part of the weekend, enjoying the last remnants of the fall colours before they are gone for good, but also do some outdoor chores around the house, as the trees love shedding so much at this time of year.  I suspect I won't be alone in that endeavour.

That being said, if you want some music to go along with your weekend and want to take a break from being outside for a bit, I have a couple of dandy concerts on both days that might interest you.

The Gallery Players of Niagara, like most large and small arts ensembles and organizations during the pandemic, have had to adapt to the changing landscape and provide virtual performances when necessary and grab the live ones when they can.

So this afternoon at 3 pm the Players will be hosting a concert at Silver Spire United Church in downtown St. Catharines entitled Southern Exposure.  The concert, featuring local guitarist Timothy Phelan and a host of guest artists on flute, clarinet, cello and percussion instruments, is rescheduled from an earlier date and acts as sort of a prelude to the Players' new season that kicks off November 13th.

Phelan, a local artist and educator ranked amongst the finest of our classical guitarists in the province, has curated the concert and will present what's being described as a "vibrant South American tour from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro", featuring everything from Astor Piazzolla's "The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires" to the seductive Bossa Nova rhythms of A.C. Jobim and Luis Bonfa.

Phelan will be joined for the concert by Douglas Miller on flutes, Michele Jacot on clarinets and saxophones, Margaret Gay on cello and Mike Phelan on percussion.

The concert is without Covid restrictions but mask wearing is strongly recommended.  The concert is being offered both live and virtually, with the live-stream available online until the end of July in 2023.  Tickets for the live concert will be available at the door on a pay-what-you-can basis, or you can purchase online both live and for the virtual concerts by visiting the Gallery Players website.

Tomorrow afternoon at 3 pm, also in downtown St. Catharines, you can enjoy an afternoon of music with organist Andrew Henderson and soprano Jocelyn Fralick at Knox Presbyterian Church.  

Fralick is part of the local Fralick family of musicians and educators and has been a fast-rising star in her own right for quite awhile now.  Andrew Henderson is the organist son of John and Cathy Henderson in Thorold, of Henderson's Pharmacy fame.

Andrew currently works out of New York City at Madison Avenue Church and has been much in demand for many years now both in North America and internationally.  I still remember an organ concert he gave many years ago in Thorold at one of the local churches and even then he was well on his way to becoming simply one of the best of the young breed of church organists.

The concert will feature a number of familiar organ masterworks along with a number of favourite vocal selections and should prove quite varied for a pleasant Sunday afternoon of music.

Tickets are $20 or $5 for students under 18, and available online at www.knoxchurch.com, at Henderson's Pharmacy in Thorold or at the door tomorrow afternoon.

So there you have it.  Lots of music to accompany your Autumn rituals whatever they may be.

I would write more but hey, I want to get out and enjoy that sunshine while I can...

See ya!

October 22nd, 2022.

A tale of two Ontario music festivals

 I received a couple of music festival brochures in the mail this week...yes, I still get mail, and glad of it! Both brochures remind me that although summer is over, the music isn't by a long shot.  Yes, Virginia, there is lots to enjoy indoors, musically speaking...

The Elora Singers' 2022-23 winter season actually starts this afternoon with the first performance at 2:30 at Harcourt Memorial United Church in Guelph.  They will reprise the performance at the same venue this evening at 7:30, so still lots of time to catch the first concert of the season.  Featured is a new oratorio by Craig Hella Johnson entitled Considering Matthew Shepard.  It's described as a moving and powerful reflection on the hatred that ended the life of Matthew Shepard.  Beyond a reflection though, it offers hope of acceptance and inclusion in a changing world, and that is certainly worth considering for sure.

The second performance of the season will be very well attended for sure, as excerpts from Handel's Messiah will be performed with a chamber orchestra and featuring soloists from the ranks of the choir.  There will be one performance only, at 4 pm on Sunday, December 4th at St. Joseph's Church in Fergus.

The annual tradition of A Festival of Carols returns for four performances in December:  at 5 and 8 pm at St. John's Church in Elora on the 12th and at 5 and 8 pm at Melville United Church in Fergus on the 13th. These performances regularly sell out and are well worth attending, so plan to get your tickets early.

The Singers take a break until Sunday, March 5th when they present Baroque Meditations at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Kitchener.  The concert will feature two main works:  the seldom-heard Stabat Mater by the the early baroque Italian composer Agostino Steffani and Handel's Dixit Dominus, written while he lived briefly in Rome.

The winter season will end with another contemporary work, Arvo Part's Passio, a setting of the Passion text according to St. John, paired with Sir James MacMillan's a cappella setting of Psalm 51, known as Miserere.  There will be one performance only, at 4 pm on Sunday, April 2nd at the magnificent St. George's Anglican Church in Guelph.

The Elora Singers are a world-class ensemble in every sense of the word and absolutely worth the drive to the Elora/Guelph/Fergus/Kitchener area of Ontario this season or any season.  For tickets or more information go to www.EloraSingers.ca or call 1-519-846-0331.

Closer to home, Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts will launch their 2022-23 fall season of classical and jazz concerts in Niagara next Sunday, October 23rd at 2 in the Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.  Featured performer will be the hot young classical guitarist Milos in a concert entitled Reflections & Reinvention.  Milos was named by BBC Music Magazine as one of the six greatest classical guitarists of the last century, and that is high praise indeed.

The season continues on Saturday evening, November 5th at 7 pm, also in the Recital Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, with internationally-acclaimed soprano Measha Brueggergosman taking to the stage for a mix of classical and jazz numbers, including selections from her newest album, Measha JAZZ.  I first saw Measha when she was a young lady making her way early on as a singer with Chorus Niagara performing at the Armoury in St. Catharines years ago.  Just a few years ago I had a chance to catch up to her for a telephone interview which included lots of background vocals from her young child!

The season continues on Saturday, November 19th at 7:30 pm in the Mandeville Theatre at Ridley College with Graceland Experience, featuring Grammy Award-winning South African bassist, composer and vocalist Bakithi Kumalo.  He has played bass for Paul Simon for over 30 years and yes, was featured prominently on Simon's landmark album Graceland.  That album will feature prominently in the concert along with a variety of other world music as well.

The fall season wraps u with the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra presenting A Very Swingin' Basie Christmas on Sunday, December 18th at 7:30 pm in Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.  The Count himself is now long gone - I remember meeting him when he played the old Ontario Place Forum in Toronto back in the early 70s - but his explosive orchestra lives on and is now directed by Scotty Barnhart.  The concert will also feature special guest vocalist Carmen Bradford.

Tickets and three-concert packages are on sale now, plus a new Bravo Circle membership level as well.  For tickets and more information, go to www.bravoniagara.org or call 289-868-9177.  

The music returns post-pandemic and so long as we continue to exercise caution and common sense, we can keep the music going throughout the season!

Have a great weekend.

October 15th, 2022.

Stratford Festival scores a triumph with Chicago

 I know this is late in coming, but I only returned to the Stratford Festival this week to catch a show for the first time in three years.  The pandemic had a way of changing everything, of course, as did life changes for me over the same time period.

I had a little trepidation returning to Stratford this week, as I did earlier this summer when I returned to Shaw in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  Again I was fully masked for the entire performance and I was pleased to see so many others were as well.  I strategically chose my seat, Row A, Aisle 6 in the balcony and I was not disappointed.  The seat next to me was even vacant...bonus!

Nor was I disappointed with the performance either.  This Chicago, the first major production of the 1975 musical in a long time, is stellar from start to finish.  Credit goes of course to Fred Ebb for providing the book along with Bob Fosse as well as the lyrics, and John Kander who provided the music.  But major credit for this production in particular goes to Director & Choreographer Donna Feore, who has pretty much become the Festival's Golden Girl when it comes to musicals.

Feore displays The Midas Touch throughout the production, with sharp & witty staging, maximizing the satire of the criminal justice system with amazing precision and dexterity.  She also benefits from a stellar cast that performs every number to perfection.

Jennifer Rider-Shaw appears as convict Velma Kelly, accused of double murder and awaiting trial, basking in the sympathy of the public thanks to the clever dealings of her lawyer, Billy Flynn.  Stratford stalwart Dan Chameroy plays the role of the Flynn with understatement, which works perfectly.

Everything is going swell until Billy takes on another client accused of murdering her lover, Chelsea Preston as Roxie Hart.  Suddenly she is getting the public's attention and sympathy rather than Velma, and so the rivalry between the two begins.

Both Velma and Roxie are no angels but you do find it in your heart to almost root for them in spite of their crimes, and that is thanks to their not inconsiderable talents as well as Feore's direction.  The plot, based on a true story out of 1920s Chicago, centres on the two of them and how they can gain both fame and freedom at the same time from lawyer Flynn.

But the rest of the cast is equally up to the task, with special mention going to Steve Ross as Roxie's put-upon husband Amos, who agrees to fund Roxie's defence to the tune of $5,000, and Sandra Caldwell as Matron Mama Morton.  And kudos too to R. Markus as reporter Mary Sunshine for displaying a really phenomenal singing voice.  Really there is not a single weak link in this cast, nor in the production as a whole.

The musical numbers range from All That Jazz to Roxie and Razzle Dazzle, all familiar outside of the show now, and lesser-known numbers that showcase the cast perfectly such as Cell Block Tango and Steve Ross' fabulous take on Mister Cellophane.

The brassy orchestra led by Franklin Brasz is with them every step of the way, and the sets and costumes by Michael Gianfrancesco and Dana Osborne respectively are imaginative and perfectly complement the show.

I have always felt nobody does musicals better than Stratford does, and their return to the stage in full force this year with Chicago proves the point yet again.  It only runs until October 30th at the Festival Theatre but you still have time to catch it while you can.

The lovely drive at this time of the year with the fall colours just makes the trip all the nicer!

Chicago won't disappoint and rates a very strong four out of four stars.

For tickets and information got to www.stratffordfestival.ca or call 1-800-567-1600.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

October 8th, 2022.