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Duo Rendezvous offering Creston romantic music with Café Paris

With Valentine’s Day approaching, the Creston Concert Society can help out with a romantic evening of music featuring Duo Rendezvous...
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Jasper Wood (left) and Daniel Bolshoy are Duo Rendezvous

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, you may find yourself at a loss of what to do with your someone special. Luckily, the Creston Concert Society can help you out (OK, a few days early) with a romantic evening of music featuring Duo Rendezvous: Café Paris on Feb. 9.

Already in great demand across the country, thanks to the thriving solo careers of the two performers, violinist Jasper Wood and guitarist Daniel Bolshoy, Duo Rendezvous formed as a response to the demand for a refreshing and passionate chamber ensemble. These charismatic virtuosi enjoy engaging their audiences with humor and passionate musicianship. Their unique programming enriches the existing guitar and violin repertoire with transcriptions of masterpieces from around the world and newly commissioned pieces by leading Canadian composers.

Wood was born in Moncton, N.B., into a musical family of six brothers and sisters, made his first public appearance at the age of five and has since established himself as a major talent of his generation, capturing the hearts of music lovers everywhere with his “thrilling virtuosity” (the Strad) and his “sweet tunefulness edged in melancholy” (Washington Post). He holds a master’s degree in music from the Cleveland Institute of Music and in 1996 embarked on his international solo career.

An acclaimed competition winner, Wood has developed a flourishing reputation as a sought-after soloist with major orchestras, including Canada’s Montreal and Toronto symphonies and as a recital/chamber musician throughout North America and Europe. He has been awarded both the coveted Sylva Gelber Prize (1996) and the prestigious Virginia Parker Award (2004) from the Canada Council for the Arts. Wood has eight solo and violin/piano CDs and is currently professor of violin at the University of British Columbia.

Having performed hundreds of concerts internationally, Bolshoy is internationally recognized as “Canada's reigning master of the guitar”. He is regularly praised for his friendly and informative spoken introductions, and progressive programming of solo and chamber music. A true ambassador of the arts, Bolshoy’s performances take him from the most prestigious stages, on which he makes frequent appearances, to intimate concerts at remote and small communities where audiences are captivated by his skill, charm and uniquely communicative stage presence. He is regularly invited to appear in recital and concerti with orchestras and concert societies across Canada, the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. As a recording artist, Bolshoy appears on seven CD recordings, including his most recent featuring the solo guitar works of Eduardo Sainz de la Maza, as well as two documentary films.

A devoted music educator, Daniel Bolshoy is currently the head of the guitar division at the University of British Columbia and head of the guitar department at Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s newly created VSO School of Music, where he shares his passion for music with the next generation of guitar enthusiasts and tomorrow’s guitar heroes.

Together, as Duo Rendezvous, Wood and Bolshoy will present Café Paris, a program defined by passion for performance and love of virtuosic and intimate music from the turn of the last century, from the brothels of Buenos Aires to the cafés of Paris, mixing Debussy and Ravel with Piazzolla, Django Rhinehardt and Sarasate, music that comes from everywhere and goes directly into the heart.

Duo Rendezvous’s entertaining and dazzling virtuosity make this a concert not to be missed on at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Prince Charles Theatre. Tickets are $22 for adults, and $10 for students in advance at Black Bear Books, or $25 and $12 at the door. For more information, email info@crestonconcertsociety.ca or visit the Creston Concert Society’s Facebook page to keep up-to-date on upcoming shows and music news.

—CRESTON CONCERT SOCIETY