Great Concert!!!!

OK, I'm slightly biased, but I'm not one to complement unless I truly mean it. PSWE played amazingly well tonight. The band was "on" technically and truly was getting at the expressive aspects of all of the repertoire. The program fit together extremely well - I felt that there was a natural progression from beginning to end.

Special kudos go to our many soloists of the evening. In no particular order, and my apologies to whomever I missed: Ken, Anne Sluyter, Dean, Debbie, Karen, Mary, Robert, Terry, Linda, Graeme, Ferdinand, Rob and the entire percussion section. Rob Mann, you played outstandingly well - I can't wait until next week! Dave and Mary, thanks for all of your work on the performance.

If you missed it, you can still make it to hear the program at Kay Meek next weekend.

As always, if you'd like to comment, press the comment button below and have your say!

Symphonic Winds - Tasty Music

I've spent a fair amount of time talking about the composers, the symphonic form, our guest soloist etc. but what are you really going to hear when you come to Evergreen Cultural Centre on November 14th, or Kay Meek Centre on the 21st?

I like to compare music to food. I like food. I like music. Some combinations of food work well and one course will enhance the next. The same goes with music. A great concert is like a great meal - one course flows into the next. You may end up somewhere completely different than you started, but the trip was connected, logical and pleasing.

Saturday's meal will begin with an exciting appetizer. The opening of deMeij's first Symphony is bold and flashy. It enlivens your taste-buds and makes you want more. Ticheli's second movement from his Second Symphony is smooth and velvety. It is filled with nuance and complexity like a truly great soup. The third course, the Scherzo from Vaughan Williams' Eighth Symphony, is small but demands your attention. It draws on some of the complexity of the second course but has a bit of a spicy kick to it that challenges you and excites you. The fourth course is fun and whimsical. It's the kind of dish that combines ingredients that really shouldn't go together. It almost feels like the chef just threw the kitchen scraps into a pot and walked away, but it works. Nothing that seemingly random could possibly work that well. This is the Finale from Ive's Fourth Symphony. The first meal is finished with a simple but perfectly matched desert: Morton Gould's famous Pavanne. The contrast is what makes this desert work. It is refreshing and will send you off to intermission in anticipation of a second round of tasty treats.

I'm not sure how to describe the second half of the concert in gastronomic terms. We open with Wagner, Trauersinfonie. At the risk of being repetitive, I think that we have our second soup course of the evening. This one however is pure cream soup. No chunks of anything. With each spoonful, you'll experience an ever-changing flavour spectrum but nothing is sudden. The next course is beef carpacio. It is simple, but stunning. What little adornment there is simply serves the main ingredient: Mozart, Concerto in C for Oboe. This is followed by the main course. This is not the main course because of it's relative importance to the other courses but more because of it's richness and body.

The Persichetti Symphony for Number 6 is rich and full. It is a meal unto itself in that takes those who experience it on profound journey and with each bite, one experiences the next step in understanding the genius of the chef. The final course of the evening returns us to Morton Gould and the grand Finale to his West Point Symphony. This is kind of finish to a meal that closes all doors to anything further. Perhaps a creme carmel with a nice smokey scotch. It finishes with a bang and leaves you completely satisfied.

Bring your appetite and join us at Evergreen Cultural Centre on Saturday, November 14th or Kay Meek Centre on Saturday, November 21st.