LCMS presents Kafka Fragments

For Immediate Release: March 31, 2014

SOPRANO STACIE DUNLOP AND VIOLINIST ANDREA NEUMANN PRESENT PROVOCATIVE KAFKA FRAGMENTS THIS MONTH AT THE ROSE GELLERT HALL

LANGLEY, BC – Stacie Dunlop, soprano, and Andrea Neumann, violin take the stage at Langley Community Music School’s next Concerts Café Classico on Sunday April 13 to present the provocative and powerful work, Kafka Fragments. Pre-concert coffee and commentary held by LCMS artistic director of concerts Elizabeth Bergmann is at 3:00 p.m. followed by the concert at 4:00 p.m.

“I bought the score for Kafka Fragments many years back, and put them away knowing that one day, with the right person, I would learn to perform these,” says Stacie Dunlop, soprano. “I knew this would be the perfect project for us as soon as I met Andrea. It’s a definite love/hate relationship working on this piece. I love the virtuosity, the poetry, the microscopic intensity needed to dissect the work, and the same intensity to put it back together again – but it’s also these things that make it such a challenging work. It’s been worth the many hours of practice that has been put into bringing this pretty amazing work to life.”

Kafka Fragments by Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtag is a set of 40 miniatures that were inspired by the diaries, letters and notebooks of Franz Kafka. “It’s a very special work, there’s nothing quite like it in the repertoire for either voice or violin,” adds Dunlop. “Contemporary music can be complex, challenging, boundary and sometimes back breaking! It’s amazing to be the performer of a new work and to bring to life notes on the page for the first time, or in the case of Kafka Fragments, to bring an old work that has never been heard before to many communities – it’s a must see for local audiences.”

With a voice that has been described as a “powerful demonstration of musical artistry wed to superb technique”, soprano Stacie Dunlop is an avid performer of contemporary music who has appeared at Calgary Opera, the Banff Centre, Toronto Opera in Concert, Knoxville Opera, Patria Music Theatre, Toronto Philhamonia, Britten-Pears, Tanglewood and Mountainview International Song and Chamber Music Festival. She created the role of Emmy Hennings in the Banff Centre’s world premiere of Zurich 1916 and performed role of Ariane in The Enchanted Forest with Patria Music Theatre. She toured England with the British Contemporary Ensemble “(rout)” and has been recorded by BBC and CBC Radio. Past performances include Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress with Opera Nova Scotia, Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Brettl-lieder, her self-produced show, Rêve doux-amer and most recently the premiere of Three Neruda Odes, by Peter-Anthony Togni, with Blue Engine String Quartet. Upcoming performances include Schoenberg’s String Quartet #2, Op. 10 and a new work by NYC based composer Ed Harsh with The Cecilia String Quartet. Highly involved in the creation of new music, Stacie has commissioned works from Canadian composers R. Murray Schafer, Harry Freedman, Paul Steenhuisen, Juhan Puhm, Clark Ross, Scott Godin and Tawnie Olson. In a recent review of the CD My Life in Widening Circles, Stacie was said to be “a committed and accomplished singer who intuitively comprehends her vital place as a creative vehicle in expression of human depth.”

Violinist and violist Andrea Neumann has musical roots in Alberta. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the University of Toronto and her Masters in Chamber Music Performance degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has performed with distinguished artists such as the Purcell String Quartet, Angela Cheng, Emanuel Hurwitz, Clive Greensmith, Ian Swensen, and Bonnie Hampton. In 1999, Andrea had the pleasure of playing a recital on the legendary Heifetz Guarnerius del Gesu violin. She toured with the San Francisco based New Century Chamber Orchestra and was also a member of the Santa Rosa Symphony in the 1999/2000 seasons. She has performed at festivals including Domaine Forget, The Banff Festival, The Yellow Barn, Mountain View Festival, and most recently, the Hornby Festival. Andrea was a member of the award winning Land’s End Chamber Ensemble for five years. The ensemble recently released a CD of the music of R. Murray Schafer entitled “My Life in Widening Circles” which features Andrea on viola. Andrea currently lives in Calgary where she maintains an active freelance career and teaching studio. This past year, she was invited to perform as soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. She enjoys performing and exploring every style of music from Baroque to New Music.

“The piece is challenging to perform. Mostly because of the mental endurance needed to perform a work that is almost 70 minutes long with no breaks,” says Dunlop. “It is also physically virtuosic for the voice and violin, rhythmically complex, and it is dramatically challenging to get the mood just right. This came more easily as Andrea and I have fairly good communication as performers, and also the poetry dictates a certain vibe.”

Tickets are sold for $15 adults, $13 seniors and $10 students. Call 604.534.2848 or visit our website www.langleymusic.com to purchase tickets online. The Rose Gellert Hall is located at 4899 207 Street in Langley.

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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