Selkirk College Shares Music Experience with Community
By Bob Hall
Music lovers in the Selkirk College region are invited to join a seamless mosaic of international groove when Los Variants visit the Shambhala Music & Performance Hall in Nelson on September 26.
A five-piece super band of top-notch Canadian musicians, Los Variants will spend the day passing on knowledge in clinics with students in the Contemporary Music & Technology Program before hitting the stage at the quaint venue for an evening concert that is open to the entire community.
“One of the wonderful aspects of having a post-secondary music program in our region is that we get to share the talents of visiting musicians with faculty, students and our community,” says Laura Landsberg, a veteran faculty member in the Selkirk College program.
“We are very fortunate to have these five musicians come to work with our students, they will teach us plenty while they are here. Getting to have Los Variants perform in the evening is a bonus and something people will want to check out.”
Los Variants is the brainchild of Vince Maccarone, an Ontario-based versatile musician who has toured extensively around the world for more than three decades.
Playing drums in Los Variants, Maccarone is joined by guitarist Michael Occhipinti, Jonathon Amador on bass, Luis Orbegoso on percussion and Andrew McAnsh plays trumpet. Selkirk College faculty member David Restivo will be a special guest on piano.
All five members of Los Variants are regarded as generous mentors who are eager to share their knowledge. For students in the two-year Contemporary Music & Technology Program, it’s a chance to get the new semester off on the perfect note.
“There is so much energy on the Tenth Street Campus right now, both new and returning students are excited about the months ahead,” says Landsberg.
“Our program allows learners to immerse themselves in their passion through what we are teaching them in the classrooms, the studio time they receive, the collaboration with peers and guest musicians like Los Variants.”
In their September 26 performance, Los Variants will take the audience on a musical journey around the world exploring the band members’ origins and cultures, but maintaining a common thread in jazz and roots music. The band’s first CD — O Passio — features Afrofunk, reggae, jazz and desert blues.
Tickets for the Los Variants show are $20 (cash only) and can be purchased at the door. Doors open at the Shambhala Music & Performance Hall on Nelson’s Tenth Street Campus at 7 p.m. with the show at 7:30 p.m.
PHOTO CAPTION: Los Variants will be performing at the Shambhala Music & Performance Hall at the Selkirk College Tenth Street Campus in Nelson on Monday, September 26 starting at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. with tickets available for $20 (cash only).
