LCMS Alumni in Concert

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 1, 2017

Langley Alumni Showcase their Talents at Concerts Café Classico Performance

Langley Community Music School (LCMS) welcomes back three esteemed alumni to their professional concert series, Concerts Café Classico, at 2:30 pm Sunday afternoon, May 14, 2017. Listen to some amazing home-grown talent and learn more about the road to achieving success as a professional musician at this concert, with coffee and commentary, featuring cellist Roland Gjernes, pianist Paul Williamson, and pianist Derek Stanyer.

The event will begin with the pre-concert talk, hosted by LCMS Senior Programs Coordinator Joel Stobbe, and followed by the concert at 3:30 p.m. The programme will feature the classical works of late Romantic period Russian composer, Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff, including his popular 2nd piano sonata and Cello Sonata.

Gjernes, Williamson and Stanyer are all accomplished award-winning musicians in their own right.

Roland Gjernes, cello, raised in White Rock, BC, is an alumnus of the Langley Community Music School, as well as a Baccalaureate of the University of Ottawa, and is currently completing his Master’s degree in New York at the Manhattan School of Music. An award-winning musician, Roland has earned the Sharon Stevenson Career Development Scholarship and Dayton Family Award from Langley Community Music School, the gold medal for 10 consecutive years from the South Fraser Registered Music Teachers’ Festival in BC, and the 2015 National Youth Orchestra of Canada Award of Excellence. He has performed as principal cellist with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and has appeared as a soloist with the University of Ottawa Orchestra, the Manhattan School of Music Wind Ensemble, the Fraser Valley Symphony, and the Semiahmoo Strings. Learn more at roland.gjernes.ca.

Langley native and LCMS alumnus, Derek Stanyer, piano, completed his Bachelor of Music at the University of Victoria, a Masters of Music at the University of Ottawa on full scholarship, and is currently working on a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of British Columbia on a full Doctoral Fellowship. He has also studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. He has won numerous awards and prizes, including the national Knigge Piano Competition and top prize in the international Johann Strauss Competition. He has performed extensively both as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist throughout Canada, France, Belgium, Austria, USA, and Mexico. In addition to his talents as a pianist, Derek has worked as a vocal coach for the UBC summer opera program, and was a member of the Vancouver International Song Institute.

Pianist Paul Williamson is also a LCMS alumnus and is currently in the second year of his Bachelors at the University of Manitoba. In addition to winning the prestigious LCMS Sharon Stevenson scholarship, Paul is an award winner at multiple local, provincial, and national competitions, including first place awards in the Federation of Canadian Music Festivals’ National Music Festival, the BC Registered Music Teachers’ Association Piano Competition, and the Lawrence Genser Scholarship Competition. He also won the University of Manitoba’s annual concerto competition and was showcased in the BC Young Artists Tour. Paul has performed as a soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra, the Abbotsford Youth Orchestra, and the Fraser Valley Symphony Orchestra. Paul also participates in several outreach programs and plans continue his studies in graduate school. “Paul is on a tremendously exciting trajectory,” says his former music teacher Betty Suderman. “He’s a prodigious talent, an enormous technique, and a musical soul.”

“We are thrilled to be welcoming back these accomplished young alumni to our concert stage,” says LCMS artistic director Elizabeth Bergmann. “The all-Rachmaninoff program will be virtuosic and dramatic. We are looking forward to hearing what Paul, Roland and Derek have been up to and about their experiences as emerging young professional musicians.”

Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $10 for students. Call the box office at 604-534-2848 or visit langleymusic.com purchase tickets. The Rose Gellert Hall is located at 4899 207 Street, Langley, BC.

UPCOMING YEAR-END CONCERTS
This Café Classico concert is part of a full week of music at LCMS, with a number of free year-end concerts. These include the (1) String Ensemble and Read & Play Orchestra Year-end Concert on Wednesday, May 10, 2017, at 7:30 p.m.; (2) LCMS Jazz Ensemble Year-end Concert on Monday, May 15, 2017, at 7:30 p.m.; (3) LCMS Children’s Choir Year-end Concert on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, at 7:00 p.m.; and the (4) LCMS Fiddler’s Year-end Concert on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.

ABOUT LANGLEY COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL
Langley Community Music School (LCMS) is a non-profit organization and registered charity that is committed to providing the highest quality of musical education to students of all ages and levels, from early learning to pre-professional and adult programs. With the support of the community, LCMS has become one of the largest non-profit music schools in the province, earning both national and international acclaim for their comprehensive and innovative programs. Learn more about LCMS programs, scholarships and bursaries.

The Langley Community Music School hosts multiple musical concerts from October to May, including the Rose Gellert Hall Series, a Saturday evening concert featuring renowned Canadian and international musicians, as well as the Concerts Café Classico Series, a Sunday afternoon concert series featuring stellar local and touring musicians playing classical, jazz or contemporary works.

Visit langleymusic.com or call 604-534-2848.

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