Fall/Spring Concert Series 2008/09
The Hornby Festival Society is thrilled to announce that we are presenting our first subscribed Fall/Spring music series featuring a spectacular lineup.
- Alex*Cuba -- Sunday, October 12, 2008
- St. Petersburg String Quartet -- Saturday, November 15, 2008
- Ian Parker -- Friday, April 10, 2009
- Phil Dwyer Trio -- Saturday May 16, 2009
JOIN US THANKSGIVING WEEKEND FOR AN EVENING WITH ALEX*CUBA
Sunday, October 12, 2008 -- Hornby Hall, 8pm
Singer-songwriter Alex*Cuba hails from Cuba and resides in Smithers, B.C. Musically he lives everywhere in between. His trademark sugarcane-sweet melodies, pop-soul hooks and rock chords subtly subvert commonly held notions of what Cuban music is. Alex is on the vanguard, crafting a cross-cultural sound that mirrors his geographical journey.
From his earliest years he was immersed in music. Alex's first stage appearance on national TV was at the tender age of four. Alex went on to study guitar, tres, percussion and bass, practicing eight hours a day during his teens.
In Canada, he teamed up with his twin brother Adonis to record Morumba Cubana, as The Puentes Brothers. In 2001, the album received a nomination for a Juno award - as well as winning a West Coast Music Award and a Canadian Independent Music Award. In 2006 his debut CD with the Alex Cuba Band, Humo De Tabaco, earned him a Juno award for World Music Album. After a musical and spiritual evolution, Cuba returned to the studio, to record his second album, "Agua Del Pozo" which was released in Canada in February 2007. Acclaimed for its blend of tempo, instrumentation and songwriting, the album is a clear evolution from the debut.
Alex won an "indie" Award for Favourite World Music Artist at Canadian Music Week in March 2008 and recently picked up his second Juno Award for Best World Music album. This fall, Alex has been invited to showcase at the prestigious WOMEX conference in Seville, Spain. Alex*Cuba has performed in the UK, Japan, the US and Canada, sharing the stage with artists like Jose Gonzalez and Seu Jorge, Feist and Cesaria Evora.
With a heart as big as his retro 'fro, Cuba takes it all in stride and focuses on what he does best: crafting songs that cut through linguistic barriers like a machete through sugarcane...Viva Alex*Cuba
St. Petersburg String Quartet
Saturday, November 15, 2008
One of the world's leading string quartets, the St. Petersburg was founded as the Leningrad Quartet by Alla Aranovskaya, Alla Krolevich (Goryainova) and Leonid Shukayev, all three graduates of the Leningrad Conservatory. The Quartet blazed a trail through international chamber music competitions, winning First Prize at the All-Soviet Union String Quartet Competition, the Silver Medal and a Special Prize at the Tokyo International Competition of Chamber Ensembles, First Prize and both Special Prizes at the Vittorio Gui International Competition for Chamber Ensembles in Florence, Italy, and First Prize and the "Grand Prix Musica Viva" at the International Competition for Chamber Ensembles in Melbourne, Australia.
In 1988, second violinist Alla Krolevich immigrated to Israel but in October 2005 re-joined the Quartet. Violist Boris Vayner joined the Quartet in January of 2005.
When the city of Leningrad resumed its historic name, the Quartet changed its name to the St. Petersburg String Quartet. The Quartet has continued its ascendancy, building a reputation of worldwide proportions including a Grammy nomination, "Best Record" honours in both Stereo Review and Gramophone Magazines, and the Chamber Music America/WQXR Prize for Best CD of 2001. The Quartet held the respected position of Quartet-in-Residence at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music from 1999 to 2003.
During the season 2005-2006, St. Petersburg Quartet celebrated its 20-year anniversary. In 2007 the Quartet performed in Great Britain, Germany, Mexico and many well-known festivals in the United States included Lincoln Center in New York.
In 2008 St. Petersburg Quartet will play in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Hornby Island!
Audiences from Toronto to Tokyo, from Lithuania to London and in music halls across the United States give the St. Petersburg Quartet standing ovations. No classical CD collection is complete without recordings by the acclaimed group. This season the Quartet plans to release new CDs of Ravel and Debussy quartets as well as Tchaikovsky complete chamber music works.
Click here to access a link to hear a sample of the Quartet playing Felix Mendelssohn's String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13.
Ian Parker
Friday, April 10, 2009 (Good Friday)
Canadian pianist Ian Parker captivates audiences wherever he goes. He has appeared with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, CBC Vancouver, Cleveland Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony, Greenwich Symphony, Honolulu Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Mobile Symphony, National Symphony, Quebec Symphony, and the symphonies of Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, and Winnipeg, among others. One of the highlights of 2006 was Mr. Parker's dazzling performance of Rachmaninov's second piano concerto and the Variations on a Theme by Paganini with the Jacksonville Symphony, both at the same concert and on short notice! The tour de force brought the house down in Jacksonville and marked the grand finale of the Jacksonville Symphony's Classical Madness festivities.
An enthusiastic recitalist, Ian Parker has performed across the United States, Western Europe, Israel, and throughout Canada on tours with Debut Atlantic and Jeunesses Musicales du Canada. He made his Lincoln Center recital debut at the Walter Reade Theater in 2004 and moderates a new recital series in Vancouver for the introduction of young artists.
Mr. Parker was invited to collaborate with the internationally renowned Vogler Quartet during its twentieth anniversary tour in 2005-06 throughout the U.S. and Canada. Following the tour's tremendous success, he was invited to join them again for several concerts in the spring of 2006, as well as an extensive North American tour in the 2006-07 season.
First Prize winner at the 2001 CBC National Radio Competition, Ian Parker has also won the Grand Prize at the Canadian National Music Festival, the Corpus Christie International Competition and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition. At The Juilliard School, he received the 2002 William Petschek Piano Debut Award and, on two occasions, was the winner of the Gina Bachauer Piano Scholarship Competition. Heard regularly on CBC Radio, Mr. Parker has also performed live on WQXR (hosted by Robert Sherman) in New York.
Born in Vancouver to a family of pianists, Ian Parker began his piano studies at age three with his father, Edward Parker. He holds both the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Yoheved Kaplinsky. While at Juilliard, the Canada Council for the Arts awarded him the Sylva Gelber Career Grant, which is given annually to the "most talented Canadian artist."
Phil Dwyer Trio
Saturday, May 16, 2009 (May long weekend)
The Phil Dwyer Trio will perform a tribute to the great jazz piano trios - Bill Evans, Oscar, Ahmad Jamal, Keith Jarret and the like. Award-winning jazz giant Phil Dwyer has been a major force on the jazz scene for over two decades. This critically acclaimed musician is recognized as one of the world's great improvisers. He has performed and recorded with some of the top names in the industry including: Roberto Occhipinti, Don Thompson, Kenny Wheeler, Alain Caron, Gino Vannelli, the Clayton-Scott Group, CBC Orchestra, Hard Rubber Orchestra, Alan Jones, Darrell Grant, Dave Young, Rodney Whitaker, Mark Fewer and the Duke Trio, Ian McDougall and Ian Tyson. Phil will be joined by Ken Lister on bass and Jesse Cahill on drums for this special Hornby Island performance.
Dwyer was one of the busiest studio musicians and performers on the Toronto club and recording scene for 15 years before returning to his west coast roots on Vancouver Island in 2004. Working from that base, he continues to perform, record, and tour across Canada and internationally. He also has several ongoing musical projects with New York-based trumpet star Ingrid Jensen, including successful tours of Europe and Mexico.
Since his return to the West Coast, Phil Dwyer has remained busy as a performer and writer, but has also become deeply involved in the community as a music mentor. He operates the Phil Dwyer Academy of Musical and Culinary Arts and acts as a resource to the local school music programs throughout the year. He has also been an active fundraiser for the Bill Dwyer Memorial Scholarship Fund, which each year awards music scholarships to deserving local students.
Recent Awards include:
- 2005 - National Jazz Awards nominee in the 'Arranger of the Year' Category
- 2005 - Tenor saxophonist and featured soloist on Roberto Occhipinti's Juno-nominated Yemaya
- 2006 - National Jazz Awards winner as 'Arranger of the Year'
- 2006 - Performed on Don Thompson's Juno Award-winning Ask Me Later
- 2008 - National Jazz Awards winner as 'Saxophonist of the Year'
- 2008 - National Jazz Awards winner as 'Arranger of the Year'
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Photo by jennifer armstrong