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Desert Song
Our 20th season opened with an interesting and varied program of guitar and piano music by Vancouver artist, Itamar Erez. We were delighted to see so many new faces in the audience! Itamar played a mix of classical, contemporary, and own compositions, displaying his gift to interpret various musical genres and intricate rhythmic patterns. Thanks to our artist and our appreciative audience.
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Desert Song
Itamar Erez, guitar and piano
Sunday, October 6 at 2pm
Blend Middle Eastern music, jazz, and flamenco, and you find the unique sound of Itamar Erez, world-renowned guitarist, pianist, and composer. His music is praised for its depth and sensitivity, and has been heard at prestigious venues around the world. In a program especially created for our series, Itamar will perform music by J.S. Bach, Brazilian composers such as Pixinguinha and Garoto, and also his own compositions for guitar and piano.
Programme
Presto (from Violin Sonata in G minor, BWV 1001) — Johann Sebastian Bach
Hommage/Sheva — Itamar Erez
Migrant Voices — Itamar Erez
Desvairada — Garoto
Intense — Itamar Erez
Seu Laurenco no Vinho — PixinguinhaYahli’s Lullaby — Itamar Erez
Choro For Lulo — Itamar Erez
New Dawn — Itamar Erez
Blackbird — John Lennon
Landslide — Fleetwood Mac / Stevie Nicks
Requinto — Itamar ErezBiography
Itamar’s music holds a depth and sensitivity that touches listeners deeply. It blends the delicateness of Middle Eastern music, the freedom found in jazz and the passion of flamenco, creating a unique sound all his own. Recipient of the 2014 ACUM Prize for Special Achievement in Jazz and the prestigious 2014 Landau Prize, Itamar Erez is an internationally renowned composer and guitarist who has shared the stage with such musicians as Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Tomatito, Avishai Cohen, JeanLouis Matinier, Zohar Fresco, and others.
“The music really catches fire…Erez stretches out, using his impressive instrumental technique to great effect…” (Songlines Magazine- 2010)
Itamar has released Six albums to date, including “Desert Song” (2006) and “Hommage” (2010) with the Adama Ensemble, “New Dawn” (2013) with percussionist Yshai Afterman and special guest Antonio Serrano on harmonica, and “Mi Alegria” (2019). “May Song,” was released in October 2022 and features music written during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Migrant Voices”, Itamar’s 6th album, was released in 2024. It is an collaboration album with Hamin Honari (Iranian-Canadian percussionist). This unique project blends diverse cultural influences, highlighting the spontaneous interplay between guitar and percussion.
In recent years, Itamar performed in Canada, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Cyprus, Israel, India, Tunisia, Colombia & Surinam. Itamar made his Carnegie Hall (NY) debut Apr 2018 performing with the Omar Faruk Tekbilek Ensemble with Ara Dinjkian & Brian Keane as special guests.
Among the venues and festivals that Itamar played throughout his career were: Barbican Hall (London UK), Sydney Opera (Sydney, Australia), the Jerusalem Jazz Festival (Israel), Oman Opera House, The Megaron (Athens, Greece), Schauspielhaus Leipzig (Germany), Amsterdam Jewish Music Festival (Holland), the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and others. As a workshop facilitator and masterclass teacher, Itamar shares his unique approach to music and instrumentation with students around the globe. Recent gigs for Itamar included showcasing his quartet at the JazzAhead music conference April 2022 in Bremen, Germany and touring in Israel with his quartet in November 2022, playing with International Guitar Night (2023).
2024 brings a variety of performances in Canada, US & Europe, including gigs at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Penticton’s Dream Cafe, Bellingham’s Jazz Center, Edmonton’s Yardbird Suite, and many others. A new collaboration with Guitar Poet Brian Gore will see more concerts in the US and Canada in 2024. In addition to his performing and teaching career, Itamar has also composed music for various chamber ensembles and classical guitarists, as well as for film. He has written commissioned works for the ‘Sound of Dragon Ensemble’ and other groups, and his compositions for classical guitar, including “Yahli’s Lullaby,” “Morning Song,” “Choro for Lulo,” and “Choro Sentimental,” have been played by concert guitarists around the world. Itamar has also written music for the film “Greek To Me,” directed by Harry Killas.
He is currently on faculty at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music, teaching guitar, jazz, and world music. -
The French Violin
Ending our season on the highest note possible!
Bravo to Victor Fournelle-Blain and Jean-Sébastien Levesque for an outstanding concert
of French sonatas for violin and piano!
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The French Violin
Victor Fournelle-Blain, violin; Jean-Sébastien Levesque, piano
Sunday, June 16 at 2pm
Victor Fournelle-Blain is the Principal Viola of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and enjoys an active career as orchestral and chamber musician, soloist and teacher. Also originally from Montreal, pianist Jean-Sébastien Levesque recently moved to Vancouver where he now serves as Artistic Director of Bach on the Rock, Salt Spring Island’s chamber orchestra and choir. Their program features the violin sonatas of French composers Debussy, Ravel and Saint-Saëns, demonstrating each composer’s unique style.
Programme
Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor, L. 140 — Claude Debussy (1862 — 1918)
I. Allegro vivoII. Intermède: fantasque et léger
III. Finale: très animé
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in G major, M. 77 — Maurice Ravel (1875 — 1937)
I. Allegretto (G major)II. Blues. Moderato (A♭ major)
III. Perpetuum mobile. Allegro (G major)
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75 — Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 — 1921)
Ia. Allegro agitato (attacca)Ib. Adagio
IIa. Allegretto moderato (attacca)
IIb. Allegro molto
Biographies
Violinist and violist Victor Fournelle-Blain is leading an active career as an orchestral and chamber musician, soloist and teacher. Currently Principal Viola of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, where he previously held Associate Principal, 2nd assistant and section positions, he was also Principal Viola of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (2019-2021). He has taught viola at the University of Toronto and Université de Montréal, and now teaches at McGill’s Schulich School of Music. In the summer season he attends festivals such as Concerts aux Îles du Bic, Orford Academy, Camp Musical des Laurentides and Formandi Festival (Guadalajara, Mexico). Victor first studied the violin at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal under Johanne Arel, then completed a Master of Music under Ani Kavafian at the Yale School of Music, after which he obtained an Artist Diploma at McGill’s Schulich School of Music, studying the viola with André Roy. He was awarded the 2014 Golden Violin Award (McGill), the 2012 Prix d’Europe, and the second prize of the 2010 OSM Standard Life Competition.
Originally from Montreal, Jean-Sébastien Levesque recently moved to Vancouver where he now serves as Artistic Director of Bach on the Rock, Salt Spring Island’s chamber orchestra and choir. A graduate from Université de Montréal and from Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, Jean-Sébastien has studied with renowned musicians and teachers such as André Laplante, Raffi Armenian, and Jean Saulnier. He has also participated in master classes with esteemed pianists including Jean-Philippe Collard, Jacques Rouvier, Louis Lortie, John Perry, and Marc Durand. Jean-Sébastien founded the Chœur du Brouhaha in 2010, a choir with over 60 singers that focuses on democratizing choral singing. He has also served as the founder and conductor of the choir at the Orchestre Philharmonique des Musiciens de Montréal, the children’s choir of Église Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka, and as Artistic Director and Conductor of Ensemble Vocal Vivace and of Ensemble Choral Saint-Eustache. As a pianist, Jean-Sébastien has collaborated with numerous musicians and singers, and has been involved in various projects promoting classical music to a wider audience. He has also commissioned and premiered several works by Québécois composers.
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Living!
What a beautiful concert of “Living!” Canadian music on Sunday May 26th!
We were in awe of Betty Allison’s magnificent voice and Kimberley-Ann Bartczak’s expert piano collaboration – a well-curated program made easily accessible by these two wonderful performers and their warm personalities.
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Living!
Betty Allison, soprano; Kimberley-Ann Bartczak, piano
Sunday, May 26 at 2pm
Dr. Betty Allison and Kimberley-Ann Bartczak met just as Betty became professor of voice at Dalhousie University, and Kim joined Pacific Opera Victoria as their principal coach and accompanist. They bonded over art song, and their love for Vancouver island. “Living!” explores the thriving world of the lyrical Canadian classical art song by composers from coast to coast actively writing for voice and piano today.
Programme
Three Spanish Lyrics — Raminsh (1943— )
Caminante, son tus huellas
Meciendo
Si os partieredes al albaSmall Song on Being Lost (Cloud Light) — Norbert Palej (1977— )
Small Song (Cloud Light)
Dark Lullaby (The Poet and the War)Three Songs — Matthew Emery (1991— )
For Broken and Tired Am I
Sweet, Bide With Me
RequiescatViolin (from Grasping Water) — Maria Thompson Corley (1966—)
Selections from Douze chansons folkloriques acadiennnes — Carl Gionet (1979— )
L’escaouette
L’étoile du Nord
Tout pase
Au chant de l’alouetteThe Old Grey Donkey Eeyore Stood — Stephen Deturbide (1994— )
Let the World Unfold (A Northern Lights Dream) — Michael Rose (1958— )
Catullus 2
Your PresenceBiographies
Teaching artist and soprano, Dr. Betty Allison is a professor of voice at Dalhousie University where she runs the DalOpera program and teaches applied voice. A graduate of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble, major credits include the world premiere of Mary’s Wedding with Pacific Opera Victoria, the title role in Floyd’s Susannah with Florentine Opera, Alice in Verdi’s Falstaff with L’Opèra Thèâtre de Metz Mètropole, and Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus with Edmonton Opera. Betty has performed a varied repertoire, demonstrating her natural ability and talent, from the Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), to Vixen (Cunning Little Vixen) and Elizabeth I (Glorina). She is equally comfortable on the concert stage, with her rich and florid interpretation of pieces such as Mahler’s Symphony VIII, Brahms’ Requiem, and Gubaidulia’s Galgenlieder À 3. Recently, Betty completed her doctorate at the University of Toronto. Her research focused on the connection between a singer’s voice and their overall wellness and resilience. Specifically, she examined the non-musical stressors and coping strategies that elite singers use to maintain their voices and careers.
A native of Montreal, Kimberley-Ann Bartczak is a conductor, pianist and vocal coach. Currently the Principal Coach and Accompanist at Pacific Opera Victoria, she was Associate Artistic Director for Manitoba Underground Opera, Resident Conductor and Repetiteur at Calgary Opera, was on staff at Opera on the Avalon, and an alumna of Vancouver Opera’s Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program. Recent appearances include: Music Director for the world premiere of Veronika Krausas’ Ghost Opera at Calgary Opera and Sokolovic/Bartok’s Svadba/Bluebeard’s Castle double bill at Manitoba Underground Opera, and principal coach for Mozart’s Così fan Tutte at Pacific Opera Victoria. She is an active performer, having performed and conducted coast to coast across Canada as well as in the United States, Mexico and Europe. She also teaches at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and is a regular vocal coach at University of Victoria.
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Show of Hands
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Show of Hands
Ann Mendenhall, piano; Catharina de Beer, piano; Emily Armour, piano; Rykie Avenant, piano
Sunday, April 14 at 2pm
This concert is at Duncan United Church
Back by popular demand, Ann, Catharina, Emily and Rykie have prepared another program of works for four, six and eight hands at one piano. Included are compositions by Liszt, Mozart, Schubert, Czerny, Bizet, and a few fun pieces that will bring a smile to your face. A concert not to be missed, by four performers who find profound joy in this close collaboration.
Programme
Bolero-Fanfare (8 hands) – Gabriel van Calt
Air, from Suite no 3, BWV 1068, arranged by Amadeus Gati (6 hands) – Johann Sebastian Bach
Allegro in A minor for Piano, Four Hands, D. 947, Op. 144, “Lebensstürme” – Franz Peter Schubert
Two Minuets in G Major, arranged by Franzpeter Goebels (6 hands) – Franz Joseph Haydn
Les préludes (Symphonic Poem after Lamartine), S591 (4 hands) – Franz Liszt
Anyone for Tennis? & Bénodet Breeze (6 hands) – Mike CornickChildren’s Games (4 hands) – Georges Bizet
The Top; The Doll; The Merry-Go-Round; Trumpet and Drum; Puss in the Corner; Blindman’s Buff; Leapfrog; Little Husband, Little Wife; The BallSonata in D major for Piano Four Hands, K381 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1. Allegro 2. Andante 3. Allegro moltoFantaisie sur des thèmes d’opéras de Mozart, opus 741 no 1 (6 hands) – Carl Czerny
Libertango, arranged by Khatia and Gvantsa Buniatishvili (4 hands) – Astor Piazzolla
Biographies
Ann Baker Mendenhall grew up in Costa Rica, received her Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, and pursued her Master’s degree at the University of Victoria, studying with the late Dr. Robin Wood. Ann has been passionately involved in both teaching piano and performing for most of her life. In addition to solo performances, she enjoys collaborating with other musicians, playing chamber music and works for piano ensemble. Widely sought after as a teacher and mentor, she is dedicated to imparting to her students the joy of accomplishment and love of music. An ardent promoter of music in the wider community, Ann has served many years as President of the Cowichan Valley Music Teachers’ Association (CVMTA). She also was Chemainus Classical Concerts’ Artistic Director for a dozen years before handing the baton to Rykie and Catharina.
Catharina de Beer lives and works in Cobble Hill, BC. She completed her Teacher’s Licentiate Diploma in Piano at the University of South Africa. She also holds a degree in Teaching with specialization in inclusive education from the University of South Africa. Before immigrating to Canada, Catharina worked in the private school system, teaching piano as well as group music lessons. She was active as a collaborative pianist, organist and music director of various churches and choirs. Soon after settling in the Cowichan Valley in 2010, she established a music studio where she teaches piano and music theory. She is frequently called on for collaborative work, and performs piano music for four hands as a member of Double Digits Duo.
Emily Armour has a Masters’ in Piano Performance from UVic and now teaches online to a studio of 30+ students. Recently, she was selected by a jury consisting of Canada Council, National Gallery, War Museum, and DND, as 1st alternate for the prestigious Canadian Armed Forces Artist Program Group 11. A veteran spouse, and composer specializing in commemorative music, Emily was inspired to create a federal non profit: Music for Veterans Project (MVP). MVP honours past and present members of the Armed Forces through original music, in order to help them feel seen & valued. Not only is this empathic work highly beneficial to veterans, it also greatly enhances the lives of young composers by allowing them to contribute towards something bigger than themselves that has profound historical significance. If you’re reading this, please consider making a donation to MVP. Your support can ensure that those who defend the freedoms we enjoy are recognized by future generations through the most universal language.
www.musicforveteransproject.com
Rykie Avenant is a graduate of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. After obtaining a Licentiate in Piano Performance and a Bachelor of Music Education, she worked as repetiteur for the Cape Town and Pretoria opera companies before relocating to Canada in 1991. Rykie came to Vancouver Island 21 years ago via Powell River, where she appeared regularly in concert for the Academy of Music, as well as at the International Kathaumixw Choral Festival. In the Cowichan Valley she is in demand as teacher, coach and performer, and currently focuses primarily on collaborative work with various voice studios and instrumental ensembles. She performs piano music for four hands as a member of Double Digits Duo.
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Buttons and Bellows
A wonderfully nostalgic and mellow afternoon of accordion and piano music by Walter Martella and Karina Inkster …
Thanks to all who came out to listen, and to our artists for bringing ALL the accordions to transport us to faraway places and times!
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Buttons and Bellows
Walter Martella, accordion, piano; Karina Inkster, accordion, piano
Sunday, March 17 at 2pm
With their fresh and unique approach to accordion music, Walter (instrumentalist, conductor, and music director of the Powell River Academy of Music) and Karina (musician, writer, and nutrition and fitness coach) will charm you with a program of multi-genre music including works from movie scores, pieces by Piazzolla, and even Chopin and Bach arranged for their instruments!
Programme
Set 1:
Tango Pour Claude – Richard Galliano
Blue – Richard Galliano
Prelude in C / Ave Maria – J.S. Bach/Charles Gounod
Oblivion – Astor Piazzolla
Si Dolce è Il Tormento – Claudio Monteverdi
Il Postino – Luis Bacalov
Sur le fil – Yann Tiersen
Set 2:
Fracanapa – Astor Piazzolla
Chiquilin de Bachin – Astor Piazzolla
Apnea – Richard Galliano
Nocturne – Ernest Marsden
Serenade sur l’eau – Jacques Ibert
Monster waltz – Yann Tiersen
Tanti Anni Prima – Astor Piazzolla
Libertango – Astor Piazzolla
Biographies
Conductor and Music Director of the Powell River Academy of Music, Walter Martella is an accomplished pianist, accordionist, and trumpeter. He earned a Diploma in Jazz Trumpet from Malaspina College (VIU), a Bachelor of Music Degree from UVic, and attended the Banff School of Fine Arts.
Conducting became a significant part of Walter’s life and career when he returned to Powell River to study at PRAM under Don James.
He has participated in the British Columbia Choral Federation’s conducting program and has collaborated with world-renowned conductors. He has led noteworthy works like Holst’s Rig Veda for choir and harp, the Messiah, Schubert’s Mass in G, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. He conducts the Academy Chamber Choir, Chor Musica Men’s Choir and the Powell River Chorus, as well as maintaining a full private teaching schedule.
Walter is a strong believer in the power of music as an important part of community, and has been an adjudicator for instrumental and choral festivals throughout British Columbia. He has recorded five jazz CDs, performed provincially with many well-known musicians in multiple genres, and continues to be in demand all along the West Coast as a trumpet soloist and jazz pianist.Karina Inkster is a fitness and nutrition coach, author of 5 books, magazine writer, and host of the No-B.S. Vegan podcast (syndicated on Powell River radio). Founder of K.I. Health & Fitness, she and her online coaching team work with vegan clients all over the world. Karina holds a Master’s degree in Gerontology, specializing in health and aging.
What does all this have to do with music? Well, nothing. When she’s not working (or doing a ridiculous number of chin-ups), Karina attempts to make time for her musical pursuits. She started taking piano lessons at the age of 5, has been playing Australian didgeridoo for over 2 decades, and picked up the accordion in 2013. She’s been studying accordion with Walter Martella since 2018 after moving from Vancouver to Powell River.
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