The days are getting darker earlier, and you may find yourself thinking “Now what will I do with my evenings?” Well, the Creston Concert Society can’t fill all your time, but can cover help with five of those evenings. The 2013-2014 season is an all-music extravaganza, with acts sure to fulfill your entertainment needs during the year.
The season starts off with a rollicking fun performance by Cod Gone Wild on Sept. 28. Having an East Coast music style as their basis, the Cods beat it up with a modern funk rock rhythm section to create a unique, energetically modern blend of original, traditional and contemporary Celtic, Irish and Newfoundland music that is positively infectious, covering Irish traditional songs Banks of the Roses and Tell Me Ma, as well as some more recently written classics such as Dirty Old Town. This unique style comes from the melding of veteran musicians from diverse musical backgrounds such as folk, rock, jazz and funk, to create a modern Celtic sound with driving rhythms and tight vocal harmonies.
The Bergmann Piano Duo, consisting of Elizabeth and Marcel Bergmann, performs Nov. 4. Their dynamic and energetic performances of uniquely eclectic programs have inspired audiences for more than two decades in many parts of the world, including the United States, Italy, Germany, Holland, Greece and Canada, at international festivals including MusicFest Vancouver, the celebrated Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, and the Banff Arts Festival. Their recordings include Marcel’s arrangement of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells and a collection of minimal music for multiple pianos also featuring Marcel’s compositions.
Elizabeth and Marcel have been on faculty at Mount Royal University and the University of Calgary, as well as being involved in various musical projects at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Committed to supporting the production of new repertoire, the duo has commissioned and premiered several works by Canadian composers. Their extensive repertoire ranges from the baroque to the contemporary and includes numerous own arrangements and compositions, and their performances include well-known classical pieces as well as modern composers such as Brubeck and Piazzolla.
Sultans of String, 2010 Juno Award nominees and “Canada’s ambassadors of musical diversity”, will thrill their audience on Jan. 30, 2014, with their global sonic tapestry of Spanish flamenco, Arabic folk, Cuban rhythms and French manouche Gypsy jazz, celebrating musical fusion with warmth and virtuosity. Fiery violin dances with rumba and flamenco guitar with a funk bass lays down unstoppable grooves. Acoustic strings meet with electronic wizardry to create layers and depth of sound, while world rhythms excite audiences to their feet with the irresistible need to dance.
A Canadian string super-group, Sultans of String includes six-string violinist and 2009 Juno Award nominee Chris McKhool (who has guest starred with Jesse Cook and Pavlo), duelling guitar wizards Kevin Laliberté (Jesse Cook) and Eddie Paton (Robert Michaels), bass masters Drew Birston (Chantal Kreviazuk) and David Woodhead (Loreena McKennitt), and the jaw dropping talent of Cuban percussionists Chendy Leon and Alberto Suarez. Their repertoire includes original compositions, as well as covers such as Neil Young’s Heart of Gold and the Who’s Pinball Wizard.
With his exciting blend of classical tenor sound with modern style, Ken Lavigne is a singer, composer, communicator and consummate entertainer, whose versatility commands ovations at every performance. He will charm his way into the hearts of Creston concertgoers on March 1 with his sincere delivery of ballads, show tunes and operatic classics. It’s easy to see why one New York critic described him as having “a voice of liquid gold”.
After being a founding member of both the Canadian Tenors and Romanza, in 2007, Lavigne shifted his focus to independently producing solo crossover concerts and CDs. His highly entertaining concert repertoire ranges from traditional ballads and musical theatre favourites to familiar classics and operatic arias (Loch Lomand, Northwest Passage, Hallelujah, The Music of the Night) interspersed with personal vignettes and background notes on the music delivered with the warm and audience-winning charm, along with his strong flair for comedy.
The season closes on March 24 with ARC Ensemble. Over the last 10 years, the ARC (Artists of The Royal Conservatory) Ensemble has become one of Canada’s pre-eminent cultural ambassadors, raising international appreciation of the Royal Conservatory and Canada’s rich musical life. Its members are all senior faculty of the Glenn Gould School, with guest artists drawn from its most exceptional students and graduates. The ARC Ensemble has performed throughout Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia, and its first two CDs were both nominated for Grammy Awards in the best chamber music recording category.
In addition to performing pieces from the classical genre such as Mozart and Mendelssohn, the ARC Ensemble is playing a leading role in unearthing repertoire ignored due to political changes or shifts in musical fashion, and its work has received unanimous acclaim from the world’s cultural press. Its concerts and recordings are meticulously researched and assembled with rich supporting materials and are often augmented by lectures on their musical, political and social context, or included as part of larger themed festivals.
Season tickets will be available at the Creston Valley Fall Fair on Sept. 6 and 7, and are $95 for adults, $45 for students or $245 for families (two adults and two students). The passes are in the form of five individual tickets that you can use for any concert — spread them out or use all five for one show.
You can also purchase a combo with Friends of the Cinema for $150, or for $70 for eight movies. Their first movies are Quartet on Sept. 16 and 20 Feet from Stardom on Oct. 21.
All concert society shows start at 7:30 p.m.; doors open at 7 at the Prince Charles Theatre. For more information, call 250-402-9257, email info@crestonconcertsociety.ca, visit www.crestonconcertsociety.ca or like the concert society us on Facebook for artists’ postings and videos — a like may win you a free ticket to one of the society’s 2014-2015 shows.
—CRESTON CONCERT SOCIETY