Canadian Music Week

For Immediate Release: November 8, 2013

JOIN LANGLEY COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL FOR A WEEKEND OF CANADIAN MUSIC THIS MONTH

See performances by Vancouver’s own Standing Wave, The Bergmann Piano Duo and more

LANGLEY, BC – Langley Community Music School (LCMS) is celebrating Canadian Music Week with a  weekend of Canadian music concerts on November 23 and 24, 2013.  Beginning with a student recital and workshop on Saturday November 23 at 2:00 p.m., the celebration continues with Britten Birthday Bash and a Bit of Bali at 7:30 p.m., a special bonus concert featuring artists Joel Stobbe, cello, Ariel Barnes, cello, Reilley West, viola, and Marcel and Elizabeth Bergmann, piano. The festivities conclude with the Concerts Café Classico season opener featuring Standing Wave, Vancouver’s cutting edge chamber ensemble on November 24. Coffee and commentary are hosted before the concert with the school’s artistic director of concerts Elizabeth Bergmann at 3:00 p.m., followed by the performance at 4:00 p.m.

The Saturday afternoon student recital and workshop features student performances of works by an array of Canadian composers.  It notably includes the premiere performance of new work by LCMS alumnus Justin Christiansen for piano trio, commissioned by LCMS for this occasion.  Justin will also serve as guest adjudicator for the workshop.  Justin Christensen is the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Jules Leger Canada Council composition prize.

Later Saturday evening, the special bonus concert  boasts a number of interesting connections between Canada, Bali and the two featured composers, Benjamin Britten and Colin McPhee. The first is the relationship between Canada and British composer Britten, whose centenary is celebrated this year. He came to Canada in 1939 and during the time spent here, he wrote a Canadian Carnival. The other connection Britten has with Canada is his friendship with fellow composer colleague, Canadian McPhee.

McPhee was born in Canada but spent a substantial amount of his life in Bali and wrote the seminal ethno musicological work on Balinese music, which is still used today as an important reference. While in the US, Britten first became acquainted with the Balinese Gamelan music through some pieces transcribed for two pianos by Colin McPhee. Britten met McPhee in 1939 and together they performed and recorded these transcriptions.

“The sounds of the Balinese Gamelan inspired Britten as is evident in many of his compositions,” says Elizabeth Bergmann, artistic director concerts for LCMS. “The audience will hear a couple of McPhee’s two piano transcriptions along with some of Britten’s finest pieces for solo cello, cello and piano, viola and piano and two pianos.”

Admission to the Saturday bonus concert is by donation at the door.

On Sunday November 24, LCMS launches  the Concerts Café Classico Season with  Standing Wave, a Vancouver based ensemble dedicated to commissioning and performing works by composers from Canada and abroad. “Standing Wave is a stellar ensemble noted for making cutting edge music accessible to the audience.  And, continuing our alumni connection, we are very pleased and proud that they will be performing Critical Distance, another of Justin Christiansen’s compositions, in concert this weekend,” says Bergmann. ”I am also excited to have Justin joining me and my husband Marcel [Bergmann]in a discussion about his music and Canadian music in general during the chat preceding the concert on Sunday afternoon.”

Tickets to the Standing Wave concert are available for $15 adults, $13 seniors and $10 students. Call the box office for tickets at 604.534.2848.

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Media Contacts:
Meagan Baker
Communications Consultant
604.351.0525
mb.baker@telus.net

Carolyn Granholm
Assistant Principal
Langley Community Music School
604.534.2848
development@langleymusic.com