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Vancouver Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Bach and Mozart fans rejoice! Early Music Vancouver's Summer Festival brings blockbuster works to life
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Classical fans with a special penchant for music of the past rejoice when midsummer brings Early Music Vancouver's much-loved, long-running annual festival, offering dedicated listeners a rich sampler of events spread over two weeks, not to mention hailing from several centuries. This is actually festival number 55. Back in the day, early music zealots decided to host performers, amateurs, and niche audiences here on the West Coast for an intensive bout of summer music-making. This proved a wonderful idea. As decades passed, the festival morphed almost continuously into what proved to be a lasting strength of the endeavour: as tastes changed, so did focus and logistics. Exploring continuous redefinitions of 'early music' by scholars has become a fascinatingly practical policy. Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Which brings us to this year's theme, Bach & Mozart: In Endless Ascent, which updates the festival's intense commitment to the music of J.S. Bach and adds a blockbuster work by Bach's fervent admirer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in a slightly new form. Two superb Bach extravaganzas are planned for Aug. 5 and 7. A pair of Bach cantatas are on offer Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral, plus his triple concerto and a new complementary work by Canadian composer Grégoire Jaey. Two days later, same place, same time, it's The Musical Offering, Bach's cerebral, wonderful, confoundingly rich gift to Frederick the Great of Prussia. One of Mozart's very greatest hits, his unfinished Requiem, winds up the festival Aug. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Chan Centre, in a 2024 completion by English conductor and composer Howard Arman. Masterworks like Bach cantatas, the Musical Offering, and Mozart's Requiem need no further hype. Some of the more esoteric works demand informed commentary, but this is the real point of the festival: celebrate landmarks of the past, but also revel in some unexpected or unfamiliar scenery along the way. Given a baker's dozen of events, listeners are advised to consult the EMV website to see all the possibilities. Interested in music and movement? This is a special sub-theme of the festival. Things kick off July 26 with Baroque in Motion on Granville Island. On July 30, 7:30 p.m. at the Vancouver Playhouse , The Enchanted Forest with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra is a more formal affair and also a radical rethink of music from the 18th century, directed by Alexander Weimann and Les Jardins Chorégraphiques, co-directed by Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière and Stephanie Brochard. De Juer et de Baler/To Play and Dance will set toes tapping, if not actual dancing in the aisles, at Christ Church Cathedral, Aug. 2, 7:30 p.m., featuring Norbert Rodenkirchen on medieval flutes — a favourite performer who's a stalwart of the Sequentia ensemble — and Pierre Hamon, percussion. And for those far more nimble than I, Yoga & Medieval Music with Norbert Rodenkirchen and Sandra Jara is on Aug. 3, 3 p.m. at Canadian Memorial United Church. (No prior yoga or music experience is necessary, we are advised; just bring your curiosity, an open heart, and a yoga mat.) Like virtually all music presenters, EMV is trying to expand far beyond an exclusively European focus. Silk Strings: A Chinese-Baroque Musical Dialogue, July 29, 7:30 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral, is designed to do just that. Chinese instrumentalists join Festival players, co-directed by Christina Hutten and Edward Top. A real joy of the festival is watching the assortment of hard-working musical guests form the backbone of multiple concert explorations. Guests soprano Magali Simard-Galdès and Simon Poirier on natural horn, will be kept busy with multiple appearances, including Figments & Fragments: Marenzio to Mozart, Aug. 1, 1 p.m. at the Cathedral. This will be an exploration through contrapuntal improvisation on manuscripts that have only partly survived the centuries. Poirier is joined by Abraham Ross on organ and fortepiano in the lunchtime show. That evening Poirier, Simard-Galdès, and Olivier Godin offer music by Schubert and his Biedermeyer-era contemporaries in music for horn, fortepiano, at the Cathedral. Simard-Galdès is also featured in the previously mentioned Bach Cantatas event and the Mozart Requiem. For detailed programs and logistics, check out the website here . Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances.
Chicago Tribune
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Fox Valley Festival Chorus the area's musical ambassadors to the world
The Fox Valley Festival Chorus traces its roots to a humble beginning as a Barber-Greene Company ensemble in 1950. It became a community chorus in 1960, and its name was changed in 1966 to the Aurora Festival Chorus. The chorus had several directors over the decades, and was rebranded as the Fox Valley Festival Chorus in 1980. Membership in the group declined in the 1990s, however, and had dwindled to only seven members by the year 2000. In what would become an historic moment for the arts in Aurora and the Fox Valley, Mary Beth McCarthy became the chorus director in that year. Under her dynamic leadership, the group began to grow in numbers and, without exaggeration, has become Aurora's and the Fox Valley's musical ambassador to the world. The chorus has been an amazing story of hard work and dedication from Ms. McCarthy and all of its leaders and members. Eleanore Strong, the accompanist for the chorus, shared some thoughts about her meeting and working with Ms. McCarthy, first as a student and orchestra member at Rosary College Prep in Aurora. (Full disclosure, Eleanore Strong is my daughter.) 'I was always impressed by how Ms. McCarthy went above and beyond, and tried to give her students cool experiences,' she said. 'She organized a trip for our orchestra to Lincoln Center in New York City, and always planned creative and interesting shows that students wanted to be part of. 'As the director of the Festival Chorus, she again planned experiences that members wanted to be part of and that might get new people excited to join.' Over the years, the chorus began a transition from being only a 'local community' service organization to also representing our valley area on national and international stages. Membership grew to more than 60 people, and it currently lists 54 members. Mary Beth McCarthy's ideas to give her charges experiences beyond the local community began to take shape in 2013 when the chorus traveled to New York to perform John Rutter's 'Requiem' at the famed Carnegie Hall. The group returned to New York in 2015, and performed Mark Hayes' 'Requiem' at Lincoln Center. She spoke of her very ambitious ideas to perform at bigger venues and on famous stages. 'I want everyone to learn, but also to really enjoy experiences and to make things a little different every time,' she said. 'I like people to become engaged and to enjoy it like I do.' The chorus' international experience began in 2017 with a journey to Italy. Amazingly, the group performed in the great cathedrals and basilicas in Rome (including the Vatican), Assisi, Florence and Venice. Closer to home, the group took a performance tour in 2019 that included Toronto, Canada, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. 'I do a lot of research to develop interesting and good itineraries,' she said. 'Linda Marquardt, one of our members, has done much work in getting together all the operational things for the tours.' The Fox Valley Festival Chorus returned recently from a 10-day musical tour of Paris, Chartres and the Normandy region of France. Performances were given at the Church of the Madeleine and the Church of St. Augustine in Paris, and in the Chartres Cathedral in nearby Chartres. Their journey continued to Caen and the Normandy region, and included a visit to the beaches and to the Normandy American Cemetery to sing our national anthem and hymns, and also to lay a wreath. The travelers I have spoken with agreed it was a solemn, reverent and patriotic experience. And in the nearby village of Sainte Marie du Mont, a concert was given in the Church of Notre Dame. Chorus members were given a four-minute ovation from the French people, who very openly expressed gratitude to all Americans — a very emotional time with more than a few tears being shed. As I visited with Ms. McCarthy about the recent trip to France, she insisted that the story not be about her, but about everyone else involved. 'I give a lot of my personal thanks to all. I'm so proud of my chorus … they have worked so very hard,' she said. 'I'm grateful to our accompanist Eleanore, and to Nannette Grommes, our rehearsal accompanist. 'My special thanks go to our brass group, the Fox Valley Festival Chorus Brass, who also accompany us on our tours, and to Mark Running, who does a lot of the musical arrangements and coordination with the brass.' If you know or run into Ms. McCarthy or any of the Festival Chorus members, try to show them your gratitude. They have been goodwill ambassadors of the Fox Valley, and have represented you and all of us around the world.
Wales Online
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Welsh Emmerdale star unrecognisable after 12 years as she launches unusual career move
Welsh Emmerdale star unrecognisable after 12 years as she launches unusual career move Sian Reese-Williams is best known for playing Gennie Walker on Emmerdale, in a role which saw her become a fan favourite - but she looks very different now Welsh Emmerdale star unrecognisable after 12 years as she launches unusual career move (Image: ITV ) Emmerdale's beloved Sian Reese-Williams looks quite different a dozen years on from her character Gennie Walker's dramatic demise. Welsh actress Sian rose to prominence portraying Gennie in the ITV soap, joining the cast in 2008. Gennie arrived in the Dales as Brenda Walker's (Lesley Dunlop) adoptive daughter. She quickly became a hit with viewers. Gennie was central to numerous major plots, including a string of unsuccessful romances before finding happiness with Nikhil Sharma (Rik Makarem). Tragically, in 2013, Gennie met her end when killer Cameron Murray (Dominic Power) killed her to hide his previous murder of Carl King (Tom Lister). Sian joined the soap in 2008 (Image: ITV ) Post-Emmerdale, Sian has been a regular on our screens, featuring in Netflix's Requiem and Holby City, as well as playing Sgt. Jane Cafferty in BBC's Line of Duty, reports Belfast Live. Article continues below In 2024, Sian unveiled her new artistic endeavour as a potter. She shared on X: "Hello. I make pottery now. I'll be selling these from next Friday so if you fancy a one-off piece of loveliness to brighten your January, head over to my insta." Sian also graced the Celebrity Side Hustles podcast in May, hosted by her ex-Emmerdale colleagues Roxy Shahidi and Matthew Wolfenden. The character was killed off (Image: ITV ) Discussing her foray into pottery, Sian disclosed: "As I was finishing series three of Hidden [a Welsh television drama that aired from 2018 to 2021], I knew it was going to be a real loss in my life. "Because A.) as an actor to have something that is even remotely constant is such a luxury and you just want to hold on to it and B.) I was proud of the show and loved it, and I'd had quite a rough few years, like life, it had been hard." After discovering a six-week pottery course in Cardiff, Sian decided to give it a go and found herself "completely obsessed" with the craft. The actress has switched up her hair "I just wanted something to have in the diary, because I hadn't cracked that downtime thing," she explained. Sian went on to say: "I've been really lucky in that for a long time I've been able to live on my acting work, but there are some years that's only just happening but there are other years where it's a bit nicer. "And that is wonderful, but it also means you have huge amounts of time on your hands when you're not working and it can be six months, a year, who knows?". She is now a potter (Image: IG ) Discussing how she utilised her free time, Sian mentioned: "I'd spent like a year out of work therefore that meant I spent every day of the year learning pottery and making it and I got quite good at it." This new venture turned out to be a positive move. She remarked: "So over the last year I've been working towards making it a business. It's a learning curve but it's so nice to have something else I'm passionate about." The soap actress has even begun to profit from her newfound pottery skills. She revealed: "I do little markets and I've started making things for restaurants, because I love food and I love boogie restaurants." Moreover, in addition to her new career, Sian also appears completely transformed. Her Emmerdale character was recognised for her glossy and sleek bob. Article continues below However, she now sports a different hairstyle - with Sian flaunting longer and wavy tresses that are a much lighter shade of brown. Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 and ITVX at 7.30pm
The Age
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Choir tempts fate in fine style for 50th birthday
MUSIC Sydney Chamber Choir 50th Anniversary Gala City Recital Hall, July 5 Reviewed by PETER McCALLUM ★★★★ Celebrating a 50th birthday with a requiem is certainly tempting fate. However, it was worth the risk for the Sydney Chamber Choir to select Paul Stanhope's Requiem (2021), one of the finest of the many commissioned pieces from its first half-century, to be the major work in its anniversary gala. By splicing choral settings of six poems by female writers with settings of the Latin liturgical text, Stanhope has created a rich musical meditation on loss and hope that resonates with monuments of the Western tradition while honouring the expressions of Australian Indigenous culture as expressed in the words of poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal. The Introit grows from humble, chant-like passages to a luminously ecstatic moment in a manner that recalls the shape of Faure's Requiem yet within a totally different musical utterance. The next movement, a setting of Noonuccal's Tree Grave, mixed soprano Brooke Window's bright, pure sound with dragging Mahlerian lines from the small ensemble of harp, percussion and wind instruments. The Kyrie breaks away from this mood with sharply defined rhythm before florid passages welcoming rain by Neela Nath Das. The setting of Noonuccal's Song joined leanly expressive singing from tenor Richard Butler with delicately transparent expressions of pain from harp and woodwind before a brief but quickly suppressed outburst near the close. In contrast to the traditional reverential breadth usually given to the Sanctus, Stanhope conjures holiness with irregular rhythms and angular liveliness reminiscent of Stravinsky. The Agnus Dei, the emotional centre of the work, incorporates a setting of Mary Elizabeth Frye's poem Do not Stand at my Grave and Weep by the soloists, underpinned by solemn intonations of both Latin and English words from the choir. Noonuccal's Dawn Wail for the Dead was preceded by a horn solo in burnished half-light from Euan Harvey. The last two movements return to the chant-like ideas of the opening, and the closing passages mix rekindled hope with lively bird-like snatches from the woodwind for Emily Dickinson's 'Hope' is the Thing with Feathers. Stanhope's use of vernacular poetry to humanise the Latin text recalls Britten's War Requiem but the expressive voice remains distinctively his own.
Sydney Morning Herald
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Choir tempts fate in fine style for 50th birthday
MUSIC Sydney Chamber Choir 50th Anniversary Gala City Recital Hall, July 5 Reviewed by PETER McCALLUM ★★★★ Celebrating a 50th birthday with a requiem is certainly tempting fate. However, it was worth the risk for the Sydney Chamber Choir to select Paul Stanhope's Requiem (2021), one of the finest of the many commissioned pieces from its first half-century, to be the major work in its anniversary gala. By splicing choral settings of six poems by female writers with settings of the Latin liturgical text, Stanhope has created a rich musical meditation on loss and hope that resonates with monuments of the Western tradition while honouring the expressions of Australian Indigenous culture as expressed in the words of poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal. The Introit grows from humble, chant-like passages to a luminously ecstatic moment in a manner that recalls the shape of Faure's Requiem yet within a totally different musical utterance. The next movement, a setting of Noonuccal's Tree Grave, mixed soprano Brooke Window's bright, pure sound with dragging Mahlerian lines from the small ensemble of harp, percussion and wind instruments. The Kyrie breaks away from this mood with sharply defined rhythm before florid passages welcoming rain by Neela Nath Das. The setting of Noonuccal's Song joined leanly expressive singing from tenor Richard Butler with delicately transparent expressions of pain from harp and woodwind before a brief but quickly suppressed outburst near the close. In contrast to the traditional reverential breadth usually given to the Sanctus, Stanhope conjures holiness with irregular rhythms and angular liveliness reminiscent of Stravinsky. The Agnus Dei, the emotional centre of the work, incorporates a setting of Mary Elizabeth Frye's poem Do not Stand at my Grave and Weep by the soloists, underpinned by solemn intonations of both Latin and English words from the choir. Noonuccal's Dawn Wail for the Dead was preceded by a horn solo in burnished half-light from Euan Harvey. The last two movements return to the chant-like ideas of the opening, and the closing passages mix rekindled hope with lively bird-like snatches from the woodwind for Emily Dickinson's 'Hope' is the Thing with Feathers. Stanhope's use of vernacular poetry to humanise the Latin text recalls Britten's War Requiem but the expressive voice remains distinctively his own.
