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Selkirk Pro Musica presents 'Echoes Across the Atlantic'

Contributor
By Contributor
March 1st, 2022

The Selkirk Pro-Musica is proud to introduce its second concert of the year.

The Concert Series continues its tradition of bringing compelling chamber music to the Capitol Theatre in Nelson on March 12th at 7:30 p.m. with “Echoes Across the Atlantic – Intercontinental Innovations, Past and Present.”

Featuring Vancouver Symphony Orchestra musicians Marcus Goddard, trumpet/composition and Karen Gerbrecht, violin, as well as local musicians Nicola Everton, clarinet, Dave Restivo, piano, and Bessie Wapp, vocals, audiences will experience works of a highly innovative nature. 

The concert will feature music from the ground-breaking period between the two World Wars, including the second movement from Ravel’s second violin sonata named “Blues,” highlighting how the composer was inspired by jazz music of the era. Jazz-influenced works by Martinů and Milhaud will also be performed.

The talents of Bessie Wapp and Dave Restivo are showcased on works including Kurt Weill’s Pirate Jenny and Billy Strayhorn’s Lush Life. Moving forward to the present, audiences will enjoy the compositional talents of Marcus Goddard with a new work entitled Vocalise as well as an improvisational piece featuring trumpet and loop machine.

Violinist Karen Gerbrechtis a fourth generation professional musician. Based in Vancouver, BC, Karen holds the position of Associate Principal Second Violin with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. As a classically trained violinist, she enjoys exploring new and experimental music and creating staged and site-specific performances.

With a CV that includes her continuing series performances with the Sitka String Quartet, two artist-in-residence residencies at the Banff Centre, years as Director of Chamber Music at Davidson College, NC, time spent as concertmaster for the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, and numerous shared Junos, Karen remains delighted and grateful to be a musician.

Marcus Goddardis an award-winning composer and internationally respected trumpet player whose music has touched the hearts of audiences around the world. His catalogue includes ten pieces for large orchestra, many frequently performed chamber works, and a large body of innovative work for solo instruments and electronics. Described by New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini as atmospheric” and by the CBCs Bill Richardson as possessing a shimmering, translucent, winning eloquence”, Goddards work is routinely praised by musicians, audiences, composers, and critics alike. Goddard is the Composer in Association and Associate Principal Trumpet with the Grammy and Juno Award-winning Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and composer in residence with the Victoria Symphony,

David Restivo is one of Canada’s most respected and influential jazz artists. He is a three-time winner of the National Jazz Awards’ Pianist of the Year Award, and is listed in the current edition of Canadian Who’s Who. Based primarily in Toronto since 1982, Dave has been an influential and sought-after figure in Canadas jazz community since the late 1980s. In January 2019, David joined the faculty in the Selkirk College Contemporary Music & Technology Program, and is now helping mentor students for a future in the music industry. 

Clarinetist Nicola Everton made the Kootenays home after a career spanning over twenty years as a member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Her post-secondary music studies began with a full scholarship to Arizona State University followed by a Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Nicola has been involved with the Kootenay Gallery concert series, is a founding member of Selkirk Pro Musica in Nelson and is the coordinator for the Kootenay Chapter of the Health Arts Society, a professional concert series for seniors in care.  Currently, Nicola is a member of the Okanagan Symphony and Nelsons Klezmeridian ensemble.

Bessie Wapp is a musician, theatre-maker, educator, and 2015 City of Nelson Cultural Ambassador. Bessie was based in Vancouver for 20+ years where she was a core member of stilt-dance theatre company Mortal Coil and Eastern European music sextet Zeellia. With these groups she performed throughout North America and in Europe, including at New York Citys Lincoln Centre and Zagreb, Croatias, DanceWeek Festival.In 2006 Bessie co-founded Twin Fish Theatre in Nelson, and with the company co-created Hello, I Must Be Going and Loco Phantasmo, two works inspired by stories in her family history. Most recently, Bessie was Artist in Residence with Nelson’s Oxygen Art Centre, creating the work Pandora’s Jukebox.

Tickets for Echoes Across the Atlantic” performance are available through the Capitol Theatre www.capitoltheatre.ca  and at the Box Office from 11 a.m. -3 p.m., Tuesday to Friday. 250-352-6363.

Masks are required and audience members will need to show their proof of vaccination passport.

 

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