Review: Meaghan Smith and SNS
If there’s a show I could press rewind on and listen to all over again, it would be Meaghan Smith’s recent Maritime Fusion concert with Symphony Nova Scotia. It was really that much fun. She’s funny, she paints quirky miniature paintings, and she makes us laugh and cry. She’s the kind of gal you could totally girl crush on.
Her lovely songs were even more beautiful with the symphonic arrangements of SNS bassoonist Chris Palmer.…
Read MoreReview: Sleeping Beauty (Ballet Jörgen and Symphony Nova Scotia)
Canada’s Ballet Jörgen returned to the Cohn last month with a gorgeous production of Sleeping Beauty, choreographed by Artistic Director Bengt Jörgen, and bringing a winter-weary Halifax the promise of spring beauty.
I’m lamenting the loss to our community of arts journalists Elissa Barnard and Andrea Nemetz, who are currently in the fourth month of a seemingly never-ending strike at the Chronicle Herald, but it seemed a great pity that there would be no mention made somewhere of these magical performances.…
Read MoreReview: Dartmouth Community Concerts Presents Quartetto Gelato
We’re a bit late to the party on this one, but it’s really never too late to congratulate the Dartmouth Community Concert (DCCA) folks on 59 years of bringing great live classical music into our midst. DCCA started in 1957, affiliated initially with Columbia Artists, whose motto “A Carnegie Hall in every town” for many years brought outstanding performers to the suburbs, and when they got out of that business, DCCA carried on.…
Read MoreMade in Atlantic Canada – Getting Ready for the Canadian Music Centre’s Next Concert
Piano soloist Barbara Pritchard plays as much Canadian music as she possibly can.
“There’s a huge variety of styles, everything from traditional to experimental,” she says.
“There’s so much good Canadian music out there, that I want to do my bit.”
For example, her upcoming Musikon concert, Fantastic, on May 8 at Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery, is a recital of piano fantasies featuring “a beautiful arrangement of an Irish love song by Paul McIntyre” and a wacky piece by Peter Hatch which begins with chopsticks and includes Gertrude Stein recitations.…
Read MoreReview: The World Beloved
The World Beloved – Mass Meets Grass
Halifax Camerata Singers, Jeff Joudrey, Artistic Director
Lynette Wahlstrom, Accompanist
April 2, 2016 First Baptist Church
With guests: Dominic Desautels, Clarinet; Tom Terrell, Guitar; Donald MacLennan, Violin; Ryan Eavis, Banjo; Dan MacCormack, Mandolin; Adam Fine, Bass…
Read MoreReview: All Brahms – Marc-André Hamelin with SNS
Symphony Nova Scotia presented an all-Brahms concert at the Cohn this week, and it was an exciting evening showcasing all that is great about the orchestra. Under the direction of Music Director Bernhard Gueller, twelve or thirteen additional players enlarged the band, and the featured guest artist was “Megastar Pianist” Marc-André Hamelin. The concert gave a showcase to Dr. Piano’s Steinway Model D concert grand, and if pianos could talk, I’m sure this one would say it enjoyed a thorough and musical workout.…
Read MoreMUSICIAN OF THE MONTH: JANICE JACKSON
April’s Musician of the Month is none other than Halifax’s own Janice Jackson!
Janice Isabel Jackson has sung over 200 world premieres and performed with contemporary music ensembles and in concert halls around the world – Beijing, Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Torino, Toronto, Montreal, New York, Berlin, Johannesburg, Cape Town and more. She has appeared in countless contemporary music festivals including the November Festival (Ghent), Wien Modern (Vienna), Ludwigs Lust (Hamburg), The Proms (Amsterdam), IRCAM (Paris), Big Torino 2000 (Turin), the Diem Festival of Electro-acoustic music (Denmark), and the Scotia Festival of Music (Nova Scotia).…
Read MoreTogni to Stage New Opera April 1
Nova Scotia composer Peter-Anthony Togni has just completed his first opera, with libretto by Sharon Singer. The new work, which has been underway since 2010, is now in rehearsal in Toronto, and Classic Concerts NS has a sneak peek rehearsal photo of the Love Scene with singers Lucia Cesaroni (Isis) and Newfoundland’s Michael Barrett (Osiris).
Other singers are Michael Nyby as Seth and CBC Radio Two’s Julie Nesrallah as Nepthys.…
Read MoreReview: Seven Strings a Secret
Gotta love Cecilia Concerts. Their tagline “Great Music, Warm Hospitality” says it all – classical music in a welcoming environment with friendly volunteers who work hard to present the finest local artists (including their annual Musician in Residence program), emerging Canadian artists and more. Cecilia Concerts originally began as St. Cecilia Concerts twenty-seven years ago, and the organization has developed many community partnerships over the years, including with Alliance Francaise, The Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts and others.…
Read MoreReview: Leonie Rettig and SNS
Leonie Rettig is a very brave twenty-something. Imagine travelling to Canada from Germany to perform for the very first time under the baton of a maestro (Bernhard Gueller) who has watched you grow up musically since you were a teenager. You practice, you travel, you check in to your hotel, you rehearse with the orchestra. All is ready. You get your concert clothes on, you go to the hall, and, so cruelly that it’s hard to even remember, five minutes before you go onstage, inexplicably the lights go out in the concert hall.…
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