The Arrow Lakes Arts Council is announcing its concert series for the 2011-2012 season. Now in our 34th year of supporting arts related activities in the Arrow Lakes region, the ALAC is offering six concerts in the concert series.
The concert series is being offered in three ways again this year. You may purchase tickets for each concert or you may purchase a package of three or six series tickets. Those who purchase the package of three or six will have an assigned seat, and the single ticket holders will have open seating.
The season ticket holders from last year will be contacted and their seats from last year will be held for them, until September 30. The renewed packages will be available at this time. Anyone else who wishes to take advantage of the package deals, may contact Marilyn Massey at 250.265-4087.
This year’s Concert Series starts on Wednesday, November 16 with Trio Hochelaga, at the Bonnington Arts Centre. Trio Hochelaga, bearing Montreal’s original Iroquois name, has, since its inception in 2000, rapidly distinguished itself on the Canadian Music scene as one of the country’s most important musical ensembles. Violinist Anne Roberts, cellist Paul Marleyn and pianist Stephane Lemelin share their passion for the chamber music repertoire ranging from the classical era to the contemporary music. Trio Hochelaga has participated in major music festivals in Canada, performed with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and toured China, Taiwan and Japan. In 2010 their debut at Wigmore Hall in London, England, was one of the highlights for celebrating their 10th anniversary.
The second concert of the Concert Series will be Mirror Theatre, on Saturday, November 26. Mirror Theatre, our West Kootenay Artist Concert this season, is again part of the regular series. They will be bringing to the Bonnington Arts Centre a British Farce called “It’s a Panto Jim...But Not As We Know It”, by Andrew Yates. The crew of the Spaceship Centipede interrupt their 100 year mission to help the Seven Dwarfs wake up Snow White, and on the way they help Cinderella get the man of her dream ... just another day on the final frontier, give or take the evil Queen and mice. This is the second Panto Mirror Theatre is presenting to the Arrow Lakes area.
The third concert is on Friday, January 27, at the Bonnington Arts Centre. Pentaedre, an unique musical ensemble in the Canadian landscape, explores and presents to the public a diversified and original chamber music repertoire, developed in the tradition for winds. Under the artistic direction of Louis-Philippe Marsolais since 2005, the five artists-musicians forming the quintet are recognized for the talent, technique, precision and colour they bring to their performances. Flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon each provide their own very specific colour to create a rich, unique and homogenous sonority that is the ensemble’s distinctive trade mark.
For our family show, Ted and Marion Outerbridge are returning to the Nakusp Arena Complex in the auditorium with their new magic show “The Time Capsule Tour.” They will be appearing on Tuesday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m. This is the fourth concert in this season’s Concert Series. Ted and Marion have taken the art of illusion to new heights by combining it with dance, theatre and day to day life – and the results are so memorable, you will want to put them in a time capsule! One of the highlights of The Time Capsule Tour is the prediction of the contents of a time capsule at each performance.
On Wednesday, March 7 , at 7:30 p.m, Bax and Chung will be performing in the Bonnington Arts Centre. Bax and Chung perform a delightful one piano, four hands program of music, inspired by dance. Highlights of this uplifting program include Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances, Stravinsky’s Petrouchka, Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, and tangos by Piazzolla. The real life marriage of two great concert pianists, Lucille Chung and Alessio Bax, has led to one of the best piano duos of their generation. A musical love story, this powerful duo have appeared in the United Kingdom, Europe, China, Korea, Central America, USA and Canada. Connecting with audiences as a powerful duo, Bax and Chung are a perfect combination of balance, unity and individual personalities.
The final concert of the season will be on Saturday, March 17 the Bonnington Arts Centre. Bring out your funny bones! Lorne Elliott is set to send your giggles “madly off in all directions”. With his barely tamed afro, his rubbery face and his miniature guitar, the Canadian musical comedian is the master of all that is silly, sidesplitting and strange. Combining dry humour with musical numbers and skits, Elliott is a shrewd observer of the behaviour of the Canadian human animal. Often self-deprecating, always silly and never profane, Elliott has been performing professionally for more than two decades. His ability to entertain is as keen as his wit. Lorne has been featured on numerous Theatre Arts Festivals, he is also an award-winning playwright and his plays are regularly produced across Canada.