British Invasion!!!!!

Oh my! Eeeek! Three more days and it's time for British Invasion, PSWE's next concert in our series this year. Directed by Dr. Robert Taylor, Director of Bands at UBC, this concert is going to be SO. MUCH. FUN!!!!!!

Why wait for some big-name performers to come to town? In fact, why wait for Christmas? Buy a couple of tickets, and give one to someone you really, really like. Then go for drinks afterwards, and call it their Christmas gift! Hope we'll see you there. I'll be the one with the shiny instrument.

Return of the Blog!

WOW!!!! The blog is back! It's been a long while since a PSWE blog post, and since the departure of our much-missed Music Director, Marc Crompton, the crickets have been chirping loudly out here in the PSWE blogosphere.

Yesterday we PSWEenies got up early and headed out to UBC to have a full-day rehearsal with Dr. Robert Taylor, our guest conductor for our upcoming concert. Sure, it was early, and yes, it was lousy weather...but as soon as we got on stage, and the lights came up, we were warm and toasty. Partly from the lights, and partly from the excitement of spending the day together making real musical progress.

The program that Dr. Taylor has put together is really enjoyable to play, and audiences are going to find it very accessible at the same time. This concert features music from Britain, by British composers or about British subjects. Super fun, especially because I love playing Holst and Grainger. As an added bonus, the music (to my ear, anyway) sounds really, really festive without being a "Christmas Concert." No Jingle Bells, no holiday music - and yet, when we're playing this stuff, I swear I can smell snow in the air. It'll be a wonderful antidote to the clamour and "holidayness" of this time of year.

It was a great day of hanging out, making music and getting to know one another, or getting reaquainted with each other. We've got some new members, and some long-timers (if I say old-timers I'll be smacked at our next rehearsal) and it's great to get to make connections, musically and socially, with people. That's the beauty of playing in this group...the notes don't matter.

Anyhow, I'll stop before I start getting too mushy. But before I leave you, a shameless commercial plug:

Come on out and hear the results of our hard work - British Invasion with Dr. Robert Taylor will take place Saturday, December 10 at 8 pm at the Evergreen Cultural Centre. www.evergreenculturalcentre.ca

Can Serious Music be Fun?

Classical music is sometimes referred to as serious music.  Music for wind band most often fits in this broad category of classical music, so it must be serious.  Right?

Great music, of any style, plays with ones expectations.  It sets up expectations and then defies those expectations.  One could say this of most art forms - maybe all.  If a piece of art constantly satisfies expectations, it becomes boring.  In a play or movie, if every character does what you think they should do, the work is very predictable.  When a character does something unexpected, the play gets interesting.  Great comedy relies heavily on this concept.  When a comedian says something unexpected or a comedic actor does something unexpected, it gets laughs.  Think of slapstick comedy.  The first time someone slips on a banana peal, it's hilarious.  However, after the 20th time, it's a bit boring!

The repertoire on PSWE's upcoming concert also explores the balance between the expected and unexpected.  Pieces like Wengler's Versuche Uber Einen Marsch and Ive's "Country Band" March are full of the unexpected.  As the listener allows herself to get drawn into the the language that the composer uses, expectations arise and are quickly defied.

The reaction that one has with defied expectation is not always one of laughter, but our brains are set up to enjoy this kind of switching up patterns.  The brain is always looking for patterns and trying to organize the universe.  When we are surprised by a change in the pattern, our brains kick in with a burst of dopamine, giving us that same rush that we would find with chocolate, wine or sex.

PSWE is serious about our music making.  We are constantly striving to play challenging repertoire at our best but that does not mean that the music we play is always "serious."  Come to the Evergreen Cultural Centre on June 19th for a serious bit of fun in "All in Good Fun."

Be there!! June 19th, 8pm.  Seriously!

Memories

What are your favourite PSWE moments over the past years?  We've been performing at Evergreen Cultural Centre for almost a decade and are nearing our 30th year as an ensemble.  Whether you've heard us for the first time recently, or are a die-hard fan or member going back to day one, we'd love to hear about your fondest memories of PSWE.  I share mine in the Director's Note of the concert programme for our upcoming performance on June 19th at Evergreen Cultural Centre.

In The Spotlight

PSWE's been real busy of late preparing another great selection of repertoire for your listening pleasure.  Upcoming this weekend at Evergreen Cultural Centre is In the Spotlight featuring a number of members of the ensemble.  In particular, our own Dean Markell will be performing Elegy for Miles Davis by Richard Rodney Bennett.  This is a work that is particularly reminiscent of Miles's recordings with Gil Evans.  Variations of a Theme by Paganini will feature every section of the band as James Barnes explores this famous theme.  Also on the program are works by Vaughan Williams, Whitacre, Yo Goto and Bernstein.  See you all at 2pm at Evergreen Cultural Centre on Sunday, April 18th.

This Week's Repertoire

The Joy of Sax concert is going to give audience members a nice balance of the familiar and the new.  In the familiar category we have Grainger, Gregson and Ives.  New to PSWE audiences will be Stanhope, Villani-Cortes and Farnon.  The program will include music heard on previous PSWE recording and different arrangements of pieces that you've heard at our concerts before.  Here's what you'll hear:


Festivo - Edward Gregson

Vancouver Saxophone Ensemble: 
Variations on America - Charles Ives
Songs without Words - David Stanhope - Movement I. Questions, II. Innocence (Featuring PSWE Saxophone Section)
Suite Francaise - Darius Milhaud - Movement 4. Alsace-Lorraine, 5. Provence

Intermission

Children's March - Grainger
Vancouver Saxophone Ensemble: 
Slava - Leonard Bernstein
Duet from Lakme - Leo Delibes  
Suite - Robert Farnon
Braseijo - Edmundo Villani-Côrtes 

We're looking forward to sharing this repertoire with you on Saturday night.  Get your tickets at Evergreen Cultural Centre or through your friendly, neighbourhood PSWE musician.  

How to get to Evergreen

The number one reason people give me to not come to a PSWE concert at Evergreen Cultural Centre is that Coquitlam is just too far away.  Members of the PSWE board had the conversation about travel times and I was amazed at how close Evergreen Cultural Centre really is.  Our two board members who live furthest from Coquitlam calculate that it actually takes less time to get to Evergreen than any of the major concert halls in downtown Vancouver.  Our president comes from Abbotsford and obviously must drive through Coquitlam to get to Vancouver.  The big surprise was our board member from West Vancouver.  Driving time to downtown Vancouver from Caulfield is about 25 minutes.  Then you have to find parking. The driving time to Evergreen Cultural Centre from Caulfield is about 30 minutes and parking is easy and free!  Obviously, if you live in the West End, you can walk to the Orpheum, but from most places in the Lower Mainland, Evergreen is a lot closer than you think!

So how do you get to Evergreen?  It's so easy!  If you're approaching from the Trans-Canada head north on Lougheed Hwy.  You will have likely taken the Cape Horn exit and followed signs that say Lougheed Hwy East or to Port Coquitlam/Maple Ridge.  You will travel along Lougheed until it turns into Pinetree Way at Coquitlam Centre Mall.  You are continuing to travel north (toward the mountains).  Keep going.  Once you've passed the mall, you will get to Guilford and you will see Evergreen Cultural Centre on the north-east corner.  Find parking through the first driveway on your right.

You might prefer to use the Barnet Hwy if you are coming from the north side of Vancouver or from the North Shore.  If that's the case, you can follow the major traffic patterns through Port Moody (along St. Johns) and either travel all the way to Pinetree Way (at Coquitlam Centre Mall) and turn left and follow the directions above or jog left at Ioco Rd as you are coming out of Port Moody and turn right on Guilford Way.  When you get to Pinetree Way, you will see the Evergreen Cultural Centre.  Turn left and make an immediate right into the parking lot!

Use the map below and we'll see you on Saturday night!!!!



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