Duchess of Malfi Jeremy Jeresky Moulin Rouge · 2014-06-29 · putting them together like puzzles....
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Duchess of Malfi Jeremy Jeresky Moulin Rouge Issue 17 February 2011
Transcript of Duchess of Malfi Jeremy Jeresky Moulin Rouge · 2014-06-29 · putting them together like puzzles....
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Duchess of Malfi
Jeremy Jeresky
Moulin Rouge
Issue 17 February 2011
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2 February, 2011 3
Online features @ www.beatmagazine.caFebruary Feature Article: Silence Genti - Black History MonthDISHing with Donald | What’s On? | Contests & Promotions | Rants & Raves
contentsFebruary 2011
festivals
Behind The BeatPublisher Richard Young
[email protected] Nicole Laidler
[email protected] with
DonaldDonald D’[email protected]
Arts Calendar Valerie Cavalini [email protected]
Advertising/Marketing
Richard [email protected]
Copy Editor Beth Stewart Photography Paul Miszczyk
Graphic Design Lionel MoriseWebsite Renaissance Monkey DesignPrinting Wonderland Printing Ltd.
On the cover: “Drive by painting: First snow on highway 69” (detail) by Chris Brandon, acrylic on canvas. Photo credit: Jim Vergunst, Grafi ks Marketing & Communications Ltd., Sarnia. See article page 4.
CONTACT INFORMATION:The Beat – Arts in London PO Box 25294London, Ontario N6C 6B1
The Beat is published monthly and has a circulation of 8,000 magazines. Reproduction of any material published in The Beat is strictly prohibited without written permission from the managing editor. The views and opinions expressed in The Beat’s contents and advertisements are those of the authors and do not necessarily refl ect those of the managing editor.
music
visual artsfestivals
word
sfi lm
theatre
4 Visual Arts B eth Stewart – Visionary Chris Brandon
6 On Stage Dean Hall – Th e Duchess at the Palace
10 Dance Susan Scott – Love and lust at the Moulin Rouge
12 Spotlight Richard Young – Q & A with Catherine McInnes
14 Feature Jill Ellis – Jeremy Jeresky takes art to the streets
16 Jazz, Blues & Pop Bob Klanac – Porter meets Costello
18 Classical Beat Nicole Laidler – Ooh, la, la!
22 Pegg’s World Robert Pegg – Rating Family Day TV
23 Final Frame Joseph David – London through the lens
24 Arts Calendar February Frolics
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4 February, 2011 5
She continues to be infl uenced by the colour and the texture of nature as she strives to capture the passage of time. “Nothing stands still, just look at the sky,” she muses.
Her ideas come from diverse sources. Her painting “Sky Falls,” for example, came to her in a vivid dream. “I could see the falls in the distance, yet I could feel the water rushing around my feet, and the water became all these diff erent colours as opposed to the thin white line,” says the artist.
She recreated the feeling from her dream by visiting the Vermilion River in the Sudbury District where she stood on a snowmobile bridge to soak in the sense of water rushing towards her.
“I had to go back to being very linear to create the fl ow of the diff erent threads of water,” Brandon says. And, using lime green and gold in particular, she tied the coloured threads together to capture the power of the water’s fl ow.
She is currently working on a series of small 8 by 10 inch canvasses that fi t together horizontally or in rectangular grids to form larger pieces.
Brandon came to the attention of Th e Art Exchange owner Al Stewart last spring when she arrived at his gallery with seven or eight suitcases and asked if she could show him some work.
“What grabbed my attention was her mention that she had studied under Roly and Patterson,” Stewart recalls. “Th en she just started bringing out canvas aft er canvas, putting them together like puzzles. Th ey covered my fl oor. She blew me away.”
Beth Stewart is a secondary school teacher, visual artist and writer.
Chris Brandon is a bit of a paradox.
Th e artist and fi ne art scholar has 50 years of experience and an extensive body of work behind her, but she is just starting to break into the exhibition scene.
Brandon was born and raised in a Northern Ontario paper mill town. It’s a place she describes as “rough territory” for a girl to grow up in, but she also credits it with giving her a lifelong love of the Canadian wilderness and the courage to explore it.
Brandon headed for the bright lights of Sarnia at the age of 16, aft er eloping with her high school sweetheart.
While raising a family, she fi nished high school, attended the Univer-sity of Western Ontario where she majored in fi ne art and minored in geography, and earned a Masters Degree from Wayne State University in Detroit while on a Canada Council scholarship.
It was in London that Brandon’s eyes were opened to the artistic world at large.
During her time at Western she received instruction from Roly Fenwick, Duncan de Kergommeaux and Patterson Ewen, who
Chris Brandon: A tenacious visionaryBy Beth Stewart
became a mentor during Brandon’s third and fourth years at Western. “We talked about art and the nature of creativity,” Brandon says.
Ewen, known for his large plywood paintings of natural phenomena, fuelled Brandon’s love of the Canadian land-scape, telling her: “If the land is what you care about, you don’t have to put people in your work. Create universal images, ones that could be anywhere.”
So she did.
In addition, Brandon embraced the Surrealist manifesto of the 1920s, in particular its empha-sis on the creativity of the unconscious mind. Th is led to the practice of letting her visions fl ow automatically from the mind to the brush to the canvas.
And Brandon experienced an epiphany. She understood that
“fi nding something unique in art was usually serendipitous” and this was true even for works that appear to be very studied.
Brandon now divides her time between her winter home in Mooretown just south of Sarnia and her beloved camp north of Killarney Provincial Park.
visual arts pridevisual arts
What: Chris Brandon: Exhibition and SaleWhere: The Art Exchange (247 Wortley Road)When: February 21-March 12 (Opening reception, February 25 @ 7:30 pm)Contact: www.theartexchange.ca
www.heartlondon.ca
For more informa on contact519.439.0013 or [email protected]
Chris Brandon’s acrylic on canvas painting “Sky Falls” is the result of a vivid dream. Photo credit: Jim Vergunst, Grafi ks Marketing & Communications Ltd., Sarnia.
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6 February, 2011 7
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on stage
The Duchess at The PalaceBy Dean Hall
When opportunity knocks the resultant vibrations can sometimes prove resounding. Such is the case at London Community Players where an unforeseen glitch in the playbill brought Bernard Hopkins to the rescue.
“Th ey asked me what play I would like to do if I had my druthers,” the Stratford Festival icon explains. “I hope they’ve read the one I had in mind.”
In addition to his years of work as a renowned actor and director, Hopkins is a scholar of note whose work on re-envisioning plays of the Jacobean canon while at the Stratford Conservatory brought him back in touch with some of the gems of that repertoire.
He teamed up with producer and designer Jordan Morris, whose work he admired, and a fascinating creative collaboration was afoot at LCP.
Palace Th eatre patrons, this season, have witnessed stage characters employ swords, poison, shotguns and hatchets in dispatching one another, with delight as the outcome rather than long term psychological damage – so what better time to introduce Th e Duchess of Malfi , a work that has stained the annals of theatre history for 400 years as one of the most macabre, dark and bloody creations ever enacted on the stage.
Th e play by Shakespeare’s contemporary John Webster is one of the more celebrated examples of a genre known as the revenge tragedy, favoured by dramatists in the early decades of the seventeenth century.
Th e original, penned in blank verse and divided into fi ve acts, follows a style familiar to readers of Shakespeare but this production
has been adapted and streamlined to suit Hopkins’ relatively youthful ensemble of emerging local talent.
“Th e subplots were huge,” he explains. “I’ve worked on inching out those and taking the convolution out of the play. I rearranged the fi rst few scenes to introduce the characters essential to the duchess’ story – one by one – and eased out extraneous characters.”
Hopkins also reorganized the end of the play into one continuous scene. “Th ere are eight great scenes that are beyond compare, totally magnifi cent, worth looking at again and again,” he enthuses. “Th e wooing scene between the duchess and her steward is one of the greatest jewels of drama in its language and situation.”
Th e source for Webster’s play was the real life tragedy of Giovanna d’Aragona, a young Italian noblewoman, who in 1490, at the age of 12, was married to the second Duke of Amalfi only to be widowed by age 19.
Marriages were made as strategic political manoeuvers among the ruling families of the
The Retro Revolution Begins!
9:00PM | February 10Coco Love Alcorn
unpluggedat Grosvenor Lodge
7:30PM | February 26Neil Young Tribute
at The ARTS Project
7:30PM | March 31Dala
at Wolf Performance Hall
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COMPELLING GRAPHIC DESIGN
chess of Malfi Th e Du is known as macabre, dark oody!and blo
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PLENTY OF FREE PARKING
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DALE HENDERSON’S
The BeatleManiacsThis tribute show will turn imagination into reality and bring the incredible sound of the “Fab Four” to life!Saturday February 5, 8:00pm
Cowboys and OutlawsBlack hat, or white, you will hear them all in this high energy tribute to Western Music as we know it.Friday February 11, 8:00pmSaturday February 12, 8:00pm
How Great Thou ArtAn Elvis Presley gospel experience featuring live stories, highlights, reflections, and performances by tribute artist Pete Doiron. Sunday February 20, 3:00pm
Cinema SeriesOpera and Ballet in High Definition
Select weekday shows starting at 1:00pm. Call us or visit our website for show listings.
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8 February, 2011 9
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turbulent Italian Renaissance so the actions of a beautiful, rich and lonely widow who not only fell in love with her accomplished young household steward, Antonio Bologna, but secretly married him, were bound to raise the wrath of the family.
Th ey kept their union secret for some years but following the birth of their second child rumours reached the ears of Giovanna’s brothers, a Cardinal and nobleman, who employed spies to watch this upstart sister and began a reign of persecution against the couple with monstrously tragic results.
Rather than adhering to the traditional choice of cumbersome Renaissance costumes and paraphernalia, the production team decided to set the play in decadent 1930’s Europe – an era that echoes the work’s strong theme of corruption, both in politics and the fl esh.
Social levels and functions can still be indicated by the mode of dress without
What: The Duchess of Malfi Where: The Palace Theatre (710 Dundas St. E.) When: February 18-26Contact: www.londoncommunityplayers.com
inhibiting movement. An elegant and multifunctional white staircase with adjoining alcoves will allow changes of scene and place to move fl uidly as the eight principals and a corps of supporting characters present the story.
“We’ve had a wonderful time creating our situation and throwing ideas about,” Hopkins adds, reinforcing the idea of a creative community at work. “I’m only in charge until they’ve got the play. In the end it’s about their imaginations.”
Dean Hall is an actor, director and retired theatre educator with over forty years experience on the stage.
STRONG ARMFORGE
Artist Blacksmithing and Sculpture by Scott McKay
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Scott McKay will be joining Daniel Castillo, Richard
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beatmagazine.ca
10 February, 2011 11dance
Love and lust at the Moulin RougeBy Susan Scott
After seven years absence from London’s dance scene, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet is returning with what looks like a sure-fi re hit. In February, the RWB presents it’s latest and highest grossing creation, the exuberant, outlandish Moulin Rouge – Th e Ballet.
Th is high-spirited production includes lush period costumes, fetching music, and a lavish set to enhance the superb dancing that the RWB is famous for. Th e popular cancan is featured and, yes, it will be danced en pointe.
Th e story is a tragic tale of love and lust in the steamy world of the Moulin Rouge during its heyday as a French cabaret in the 1890s. A beautiful, coquettish laundress named Nathalie dreams of life as a dancer but falls in love with Matthew, a poor artist. Th e scheming owner of the Moulin Rouge wants Nathalie for himself and entices her away by hiring her to dance at the cabaret. Her reunion with Matthew triggers obsession, jealousy, and rage.
“Th e story is easy to follow and people relate to it,” says dancer Vanessa Lawson. “During the show, audiences usually start clapping to the music. Th ey really get into it.”
Choreographer Jorden Morris introduced Moulin Rouge – Th e Ballet in 2009. It is the 11th show the former principal dancer has created.
Breathing life into a ballet is not for the faint of heart. Just selecting music for the show – 31 pieces in all – took Morris almost two years. He reviewed 100 to 200 CDs for each scene to fi nd the tunes that would evoke the spirit of France at the turn of the century.
“Jorden has a real knack for picking music that fi ts well with the story he wants to tell,” says music director and conductor Earl Staff ord.
Also keeping in step with the period are the elaborate costumes. Th eir inspiration and color palette came from the work of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec who immortal-ized the real Moulin Rouge – which still exists today – in his now-famous posters and paintings.
Th e RWB com-missioned Moulin Rouge – Th e Ballet to celebrate its 70th anniversary and it plans to perform it across Canada. For logistic and fi nancial reasons, the RWB was unable to return to London before this. Th e wait for its next performance may not be so long, though. Th e RWB hopes to be back in 2012.
Susan Scott is an arts writer and visual artist.
What: Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Moulin Rouge–The BalletWhere: RBC Theatre, John Labatt CentreWhen: February 16 @ 8:00 pmContact: www.johnlabattcentre.com
Moulin Rouge was commissioned to celebrate the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s 70th anniversary. Photo by Nardella
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FEB. 6 / The Pops
Brian’s FavouritesOur conductor’s musical favourites
FEB.11 & 12 /Red Hot Weekends
Guilty PleasuresInfamous pop hits we secretly love!
FEB. 13 / Serenade Brunch
Valen ne’s BrunchA roman c, delicious brunch followed
by music from West Side Story
FEB. 19 / Masterworks
La n RomanceA symphonic salsa of La n-inspired
music featuring soprano Mireille Asselin
What’s On?FEBRUARY
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12 February, 2011 13
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145 Wortley Road, London 519-667-1199We make 32 different kinds of bread.
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spotlight
with Catherine McInnesBy Richard Young
The Beat recently caught up with Home County Folk Festival artistic director and London singer/ songwriter Catherine McInnes.
Q. Th ere have been some changes in your life since the last time we talked.
A. It’s been an extraordinary year for me – co-producing a concert for Chick Corea at the Aeolian in March and presenting Bruce Cockburn for his fi rst festival appearance at Home County on my 50th birthday. In August I offi cially retired from the Th ames Valley District School Board and now teach piano and voice privately from home.
Q. Entering your 6th year as Artistic Director of the Home County Folk Festival, what would you identify as your major achievements to date?
A. Programming has been consistently high calibre and as our budget has increased we’ve been able to book artists with stronger profi les in order to build audiences. While Bruce Cockburn is a hard act to follow, I’m pleased to announce that this year’s
headliners will be Hawksley Workman and Sarah Harmer – two artists with wide appeal.
Q. Could you tell me a little bit about some of your other projects?
A. In addition to producing the Winter Home County Concerts, I have been booking shows in a variety of heritage and non-profi t public spaces in Old South, the UWO area and downtown. I think it’s good to see community spaces used for small shows. Small is my new “big” concept.
I’m very passionate about music as a therapeutic tool. I’ve become involved with Music Balm, a program of London’s Mental Health Promotions Committee as well as a local group of suicide survivors. I’ve also been asked to produce the annual Jack Richardson Music Awards in April.
Q. What do you think are the major challenges facing the arts in London?
A. Th ere is a huge talent pool in London so it’s a very fl ooded market. Yet there’s a relatively small pool of people who attend ticketed concerts and arts events. Meeting the artistic needs of diff erent demographics is not a problem. Making shows aff ordable to folks with limited fi nancial resources and ensuring that cultural workers are adequately compensated is a perennial problem.
Richard Young is the publisher of Th e Beat - Arts in London.
Editor’s note: In February Catherine McInnes performs with the Old South Jazz Quintet at the Landon Library on the 12th; at the Home County Neil Young Tribute at The Arts Project on the 26th; and at Old East Studios on the 27th. For information, visit www.catherinemcinnes.com.
Saint Saëns: Carnival of the Animals featuring celebrated Canadian actor Ted Follows in the humorous poems of Ogden Nash
Bizet: L’arlesienne Down Bourbon Street from the French Quarter of New Orleans French Canadian Folk Songs
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subject to availability
Tickets $20seniors &students $15
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beatmagazine.ca
14 February, 2011 15feature
Using the element of surprise, Jeremy Jeresky brings his two passions of art and social justice to the attention of Londoners. Invading diverse locations – Dundas Street East, Masonville Mall and the corner of Richmond and Dundas – Jeresky and Patrick Kaipainen quickly construct a surprise art installation called the Department of Gossip and Complaints.
In late November, when the duo fi rst launched this installation – constructed of cardboard booths labeled “complaints” and “gossip” – for one day on Dundas Street East, “Hundreds of people stopped by and hundreds more drove by. Some honked, some looked confused,” Jeresky says.
He and Kaipainen, a like-minded artist whom Jeresky refers to as his “partner in crime,” have
Jeremy Jeresky takes art to the streetsBy Jill Ellis
formed the Autonomous Art Alliance and strive to bring awareness of social justice issues and the need for public discussion to the forefront through their art.
More recent installations of the Department of Gossip and Complaints, held in early January at Masonville Mall and the corner of Richmond and Dundas, were met with mixed reviews.
“We lasted seven minutes at the mall,” says Jeresky. Th ey set up the booths but were quickly asked to leave by security and mall management.
Later that same aft ernoon, the installation appeared at the corner of Richmond and Dundas Streets. Th ey spoke to around 60 people in the two hours of time allotted for the project, says Jeresky. Some wanted to vent, others to question and others just to chat, laugh or take pictures. Th e complaint department was popular and received gripes about everything from the cold weather to personal health issues.
Jeresky discovered this urge to combine his passion for art and his empathy for those who are marginalized by society as a student at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary. “I was concerned about the disproportionalization that’s out there,” says Jeresky. “I dropped out of art school aft er 9/11. I couldn’t believe that the students and the profs were more concerned with art theory than what was going on in the world.”
Jeresky spent the next three years reading the works of 19th-century Italian politician and Marxist writer Antonio Gramsci and internalizing his quest to use art to remedy social injustice.
While still in Calgary, Jereksy became involved with a homeless shelter called the Mustard Seed and started an art program, helping the shelter’s clients construct and
paint boxes that could, in turn, be sold as fundraisers.
Now working on his Masters of Fine Art at the University of Western Ontario, Jeresky has put his words into actions by starting the New School of Colour, located in London’s Ark Aid Mission. Th e program sees a dozen or so mission clients take art lessons each week with Jeresky, who believes: “Art can be a way to make changes and alter consciousness.”
Th e classes started in a common room of the Ark Aid Mission but as Th e McIntosh Gallery’s First Community Artist, Jeresky was given money to renovate the mission’s basement, so the program now has dedicated space.
Jeresky sees the New School of Colour as an important aspect of what the Mission is able to off er the community. “Th is is a place of sociability where people can be with others,” he says.
Doug Whitelaw, Ark Aid’s executive director, sees positive changes in the community and in the clients who attend Jeresky’s class. “Arts are at the heart of the humanity of people. Jeremy’s art program gives clients an avenue of expression, since some of them are not as verbally oriented; they are visually or graphically oriented. Th is allows them to express themselves and have some fun.”
Whitelaw says the program also helps the larger picture. “It allows the larger community to see that we’re dealing with people – real people who are part of the city and part of the community.”
Jeresky and Whitelaw have both seen marked improvement in the functioning ability of some of the people who regularly attend class. One client loves to paint and his work has improved in conjunction with his coping abilities. “Benjamin’s problem-solving skills
and technical painting skills have both improved,” Jeresky explains.
Jeresky recently won a Pillar Award for Community Innovation for his work with Ark Aid.
Th e prestigious honour brings recognition to Th e New School of Colour and the accompanying cash award will ensure it is able to continue. “Th e Pillar money will go to buy supplies for the next two years or longer. Before this, we didn’t know where that money was going to come from,” Jeresky says.
Th e New School of Colour and Th e Department of Gossip and Complaints are just two projects that Jeresky is working on that combine his passion for art and concern for social justice. He and Kaipainen have bigger plans for the Autonomous Art Alliance and want to launch a mobile, street-level coff ee shop to continue their quest for public discourse.
“Sometimes my head spins with all the ideas and possibilities,” Jeresky says. Look out for this artist on a street corner near you.
Jill Ellis is a London-based fr eelance writer and chief communicator for Write.On Communication Services International (www.writedoton.com).
Jeremy Jeresky believes art can promote change and sensitivity.
Photo by Paul Miszczyk
Art allows individuals to express themselves and have some fun.
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www.music.uwo.cabeatmagazine.ca
16 February, 2011 17
w
w
They say you shouldn’t mess with success but that’s never occurred to the organizers of Jazz By Th e Bog. Originally a fund-raising benefi t pulled together by Sue Smythe for St. Aidan’s Anglican Church, it’s evolved into a three concert music series marked by a consistent originality.
When pressed by organizers to come up with the next event, London keyboardist Steve Holowitz dreamed up a program close to his heart. “Cole Porter meets Elvis Costello” draws a direct link between the music of the two songwriters, with Holowitz guiding the conceptual collaboration.
“I think that interplay will be really cool,” says Holowitz, adding that the music will be mixed together, a Porter following a Costello and vice versa, with the songs commenting on each other.
“Th ey both have a little bit of an edge lyrically and they’re both kind of sophisticated
Porter meets Costello By Bob Klanac
musically,” Holowitz notes. “I almost think of them coming from the same peapod but from diff erent generations, with the wit and acerbic tone of some of the lyrics and the complexity of the music. As a jazz player, it’s kind of cool to play off that stuff .”
Holowitz is keen to hear what fellow collabo-rators, vocalists Amber Cunningham and Paul Grambo bring to the mix.
“Th ey’re not full-blown jazz singers but they certainly have jazz elements and they will be able to improvise and interpret and scat and do all that kind of stuff ,” he explains.
With Holowitz’s rep as a jazz maven, it would seem logical to presume that his Costello would focus on the more overtly sophisticated latter day material, but oddly enough his Elvis obsession runs to the singer/songwriter’s fi rst few discs.
“I’d like to do a neat version of ‘Alison’,” he says excitedly. “I’d like to do something with ‘Watching Th e Detectives.’ I’d like to go back to that batch of stuff that I fi rst remember.”
“I can see doing ‘Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes’ as a swing tune or ‘Pump It Up,’” he says with a laugh. “It’s really a reinterpretation. It’s not meant to be faithful to the originals. We’ll just take them somewhere else.”
With the dynamic track record of Jazz By Th e Bog, one can presume that Grambo, Cunning-ham and Holowitz’s aim will be true.
Bob Klanac has been scribbling about music since he was young enough to know better. For more, go to klanac.blogspot.com
jazz, blues & pop
What: Jazz by the Bog, Cole Porter meets Elvis CostelloWhere: St. Aidan’s Anglican Church (1246 Oxford Street W.)When: February 11 @ 8:00 pmContact: www.staidans.net
Greenify Your Valentine
525 Richmond St. www.ploverslondon.ca
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Amber Cunningham joins Paul
Grambo and pianist Steve Holowitz
for an evening of jazz by the bog.
575 Richmond Street • www.giftofart.ca
10th
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- February 4th & 5th
Western’s Don Wright Faculty of MusicFeb. 4 Jackalyn ShortFeb. 4,5,6 The Marriage of FigaroFeb. 10 Wind EnsembleFeb. 11 Jehanbakhsh JasavalaFeb. 12 Les Choristes and The ChoraleFeb. 15 Jazz Ensemble
519-661-3767
CentreSpace for the Artspresents
Saturday, February 19, 2011 8:00 p.m.
TicketsRegular $20 / Seniors $15 / Students $10
Available on line at www.cronyn.ca/CentreSpace or reserve by calling 519-432-9348 or email [email protected]
CentreSpace is located in Bishop Cronyn Church 442 William St.,@ Queens Ave, London, Ontario
www.music.uwo.ca
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www.arsg.museumlondon.ca
beatmagazine.ca
18 February, 2011 19
Ooh, la, la! By Nicole Laidler
classical beat
The members of Brassroots have spent the last few weeks brushing up on their French. Th e 10-piece London brass ensemble celebrates the mid-way point of their 25th anniversary season with Ooh, la, la! – a program of French music – February 26 at Wolf Performance Hall.
“Ooh, la, la is an expression of surprise, and I suppose the surprise in this case is that the band is going to play Carnival of the Animals,” says Bram Gregson, who has led the ensemble since 1995.
Le carnival, written by Emile Saint-Saëns in 1886, was originally composed for two pianos and chamber orchestra. Fearing the light hearted animal-inspired work might damage his reputation as a “serious” composer, Saint-Saëns suppressed its performance during his lifetime.
First published posthumously in 1922, Le carnival quickly became one of his most popular suites, and in 1949, American poet Ogden Nash wrote a set of humourous verses to accompany each of its 14 movements.
Th ose verses will be performed by noted Canadian actor Ted Follows (and husband of Brassroots trombonist Susan Follows) at the upcoming Brassroots concert.
Th e band will also travel back in time to the
court of Louis XIV for Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Music of the Sun King, touch down in Quebec for some Canadian folk songs and then swing Down Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
Founded by Professor James White and brass students from the University of Western Ontario in 1986, Brassroots has performed throughout North America and recorded fi ve CDs that have received play on radio stations as far away as Australia. Today’s members are all professional musicians who perform “for the love of this type of brass playing,” Gregson says.
“Th is group is better known outside Canada than it is in London, Ontario,” he continues with a laugh. “But we do have a very loyal group of local supporters.”
Music has long been an important part of life at downtown London’s First-St. Andrew’s United Church. In fact, its historic sanctuary is home to an annual concert series organized by a dedicated director of music, organist Paul Merritt.
Th is month’s (free!) musical off ering is co-sponsored by the London Centre of the Royal Canadian College of Organists and showcases the organ as an accompaniment instrument.
Brassroots will be joined by actor Ted Follows for a celebration of French music.
TERRORISMTERRORISMPassionfool Theatre presents the Presnyakov Brothers’
March 10-12, 16-19, 23-26
The ARTS Project203 Dundas St519.642.2767www.passionfool.com
directed by Justin Quesnelle
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March Features - Val Sloggett & Ross Bishop (Painters) / Earl Brown (Woodcarving)April Features - Jill Price (Painter) / Christopher Lake (Jewellery)
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beatmagazine.ca
20 February, 2011 21
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Jane Case (violin), Bob Kennedy (clarinet), Bruce Richardson (bagpipes), Tim Richard (baritone), Th erese Sirek-Ng (alto) and the First St. Andrew’s String Orchestra team up with Merritt and fellow organist Linda Kennedy for a varied program spanning three centuries of music.
“Th e organ isn’t oft en heard in concert, but there is a fair bit of [original] repertoire out there,” says Merritt.
Nicole Laidler is editor of Th e Beat and a local fr eelance writer and business communicator. Visit her at www.spilledink.ca
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What: Brassroots, Ooh, la, la!Where: Wolf Performance Hall (251 Dundas St.)When: February 26 @ 7:30 pmContact: www.brassroots.ca
What: Mixtures 2Where: First-St. Andrew’s United Church (350 Queens Ave.)When: February 6 @ 2:30 pmContact: www.fsaunited.com
beatmagazine.ca
22 February, 2011 23
Paul Reubens stars in Miracle at Queens Park, a story that melds fable with fact.
pegg’s world
One of the joys of Family Day is the anticipation created by the many festive television specials aired in the days leading up to the third Monday of February.
Admittedly, it’s no easy task to rate them. Th e truth is I love them all. Of course I have a few personal favorites – like the classics A Charlie Brown Family Day and Rudolph and the Island of Misfi t Teens. Th ese are “quest” stories – tales about the search for the real meaning of Fam-ily Day in this modern, mechanized world.
I’m just as big a sucker for the schmaltzy fare such as the Depression-era Family Day on Walton’s Mountain in which all Jim-Bob wants for Family Day is a gift certifi cate to take the whole clan to Th e Mandarin buff et. It’s essentially a remake of Family Day on the Ponderosa but who cares?
Rating Family Day TVBy Robert Pegg
I even enjoy the episodic television knock-off s like the Th e Year Family Day Almost Didn’t Happen in which the girls of Friends get locked out of their apartment on Family Day Eve. And I still tear up for Family Day for Family Guy – even though it’s “not suitable for children.”
However, critics agree the most historically-signifi cant show is Miracle at Queens Park because it is an “origin” story that melds fable with fact. Paul Reubens stars as Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty who promises the electorate a new statutory holiday in February, but only if he is re-elected.
Reubens is also cast in the dual role of the “Dalton Pixie” – a mythical creature who sneaks into homes all over the province while everyone is asleep and picks the pockets of grown-ups and then leaves a present for all the good little boys and girls.
But that Dalton Pixie is a mischievous imp. He only brings hot air, empty promises and useless gift s – such as canned mushrooms or jars of pickled beets. Th ings no child would ever eat, so the parents have to order out for pizza.
By the end, the Dalton Pixie learns the true meaning of the holiday.
If only we could keep the spirit of Family Day alive year round. Just think – a world in which families sat down to eat supper together every night, discuss their day and then bask in the glow of Mr. Television, content and happy in each others’ company.
I can imagine such a world. In fact, I have a feeling that this is going to be the best Family Day ever!
Robert Pegg is a published author. He is currently working on his autobiography, Living in the Past. For more of his musings, visit www.sonnydrysdalepresents.blogspot.com
fi nal frame
London photographer Joseph David discovered this outdoor hockey rink on a drive up to Stratford. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy about its exact location,” he says. View more work at www.josephdavidphotography.com
beatmagazine.ca
24 February, 2011 25
ART RENTAL & SALES, 421 Ridout St., N., www.arsg.museumlondon.ca, 519 661-2500 Ext. 4224
Feb. featured artist: Tim Cosens: Outside In
THE ART EXCHANGE, 247 Wortley Rd., www.theartexchange ca, 519 434-0000
Jan. 31-Feb. 19 Sixth Annual Miniature Show, opening reception, Feb. 4, 7:30 pm; Feb. 21-Mar.12 Chris Brandon, opening reception, Feb. 25, 7:30 pm
ART GALLERY OF LAMBETH, 2454 Main St., www.artgalleryofl ambeth.ca, 519 652-5548
Feb. Everything Red Show
THE ARTS PROJECT, 203 Dundas St., www.artsproject.ca, 519 642-2767
Jan. 25-Feb. 5 Inside the Asylum; Jan. 25-Feb. 5 Sunfest presents: Colores de Latinoamerica; Feb. 8-19 Dave Dockstader, opening reception Feb. 8, 7 pm; Feb. 8-19 Jack Whitfi eld: Retrospective; Feb. 22-Mar. 5 Shadowood Col-lective: Stranger, opening reception, 7 pm with the I was cured, body suspension group; Feb. 24-Mar. 5 Sue Laking: Innertension
ARTVENTURE ART STUDIO, 1438 Aldersbrook Rd., www.artventure.ca, 519 471-4278
Feb. 14-Mar. 5 Sarah Cowling: Mother of 3 Also Paints, opening reception, Feb. 27, 3 pm, Mar. 14-18 March Art Camps, 9 am-12 pm; Feb. 20 Family Fun Day
FOREST CITY GALLERY, 258 Richmond St., forestcitygallery.com, 519 434-5875
Jan. 7-Feb. 19 Bruce Nauman: Audio/ Video piece for London, Ont.
GALLERY MODERNARTS, 5 York St. (behind Guildwood Lighting) www.modernarts.ca, 519 851-8864
Feb. London Artists: Tues.-Fri., 10-5, Sat. 10-4
MASONVILLE LIBRARY, 30 North Centre Rd., www.londonpubliclibrary.ca, 519 660-4646
Feb. 1-24 The Amabile Boys & Men’s Choirs present: Art from the Heart, opening reception, Feb. 5, 2-4 pm
GRANT GALLERY, 165 Main St., Lucan, 519 227-0248
Feb. Collection of Various Artists
MCINTOSH GALLERY, UWO campus, www.mcintoshgallery.ca, 519 661-2111, Ext.84602
Jan. 6-Feb. 19 Sense of Place: A cross-border print exhibition
MUSEUM LONDON, 421 Ridout St. N., www.museumlondon.ca, 519 661-0333
Sept. 25-Mar. 27 Bill Varzan: Arizona & L.A. Graffi ti; Nov. 27-Feb. 27 Heads Up, Hand Over; Dec. 18-Apr. 3 It’s Alive! Bertram Brooker & Vitalism!; Jan. 15-Apr. 3 Jack Chambers: the light from the darkness; Jan. 22-Apr. 17 Cutout: Greg Curnoe’s Shaped Collages; Jan.28-June 12 Spic & Span: a recent history of being clean; Feb. 3 Youth Council , 6 pm; Feb. 5-Sept. 11 Colour Fields; Feb. 2-Mar. 9 (6 Wed.) Continuing Ed. Lecture Series – The Creation Scene: Artists of the Renaissance, 7-9 pm; Feb. 17 Tim Blackmore (UWO) screens “Run Lola Run,” 6 pm; Feb. 24 Domestic Arrivals: Tumaini, 7:30 pm
PORTSIDE GALLERY, 187 1/2 Main St., Port Stanley, portside.cuttingpromotions.com, 519 782-7066
Feb. Annual Miniature Show & Sale, opening reception Feb. 6, 1-4 pm
THIELSEN GALLERY, 1038 Adelaide St.N., www.thielsengallery.com, 519 434-7681
Jan. 4-Feb. 19 Revolving Group Exhibition: Gallery Artists
ST. THOMAS-ELGIN PUBLIC ART CENTRE, 301 Talbot St., St. Thomas, www.stepac.ca, 519 631-4040
Jan. 15-Mar. 5 Todd Tremeer: Wartime
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AEOLIAN HALL, 795 Dundas St., www.aeolianhall.ca, 519 672-7950
Feb. 4 Sunfest presents: Pacifi ka; Feb. 5 The Great Mountain; Feb. 8 Jim Bryson & the Weakerthans; Feb. 9 Straight No Chaser; Feb. 11 The Prime Time Big Band’s “Sweethearts Dance,” Feb. 12 Sunfest presents: Hilario Duran Latin Jazz Trio; Feb. 15 The Amazing Kreskin; Feb. 17 Jenn Grant CD Release; Feb. 18 Beatriz Boizan (Latin piano); Feb. 27 Acoustic Muse presents: Harry Manx
THE ARTS PROJECT, 203 Dundas St., www.artsproject.ca, 519 642-2767
Feb. 26 Home Country Folk Festival Fundraiser: Neil Young Tribute Concert, 6:45 pm
BEST WESTERN LAMPLIGHTER INN, 591 Wellington Rd., www.orchestralondon.ca
Feb. 13 Orchestra London Serenade: Valentine’s Brunch
BISHOP CRONYN MEMORIAL CHURCH, William at Queens, www.cronyn.ca
Feb. 19 CentreSpace presents: Love Guitar Quartet, 8 pm
CENTENNIAL HALL, 609 Wellington St., www.centennialhall.london.ca, 519 679-8778
Feb. 6 Orchestra London Pops: Brian’s Favourites; Feb. 11 & 12 Orchestra London Red Hot Weekends: Guilty Plea-sures; Feb. 19 Orchestra London Masterworks: Latin Romance
CENTRAL LIBRARY BRANCH, 251 Dundas St., www.orchestralondon.ca
Feb. 5 Orchestra London Cushion Concert: Little Red Riding Hood
DUNDAS ST. UNITED CHURCH, 482 Dundas at Maitland, [email protected], 519 702-6614
Mar. 6 London Community Orchestra March Symphony Concert, 3 pm
FIRST-ST. ANDREW’S, 350 Queens Ave., www.fsaunited.com
Feb. 6 Mixtures 2, 2:30 pm
GREEK CANADIAN COMMUNITY CTR., 965 Sarnia Rd., [email protected]
Feb. 12 Black Students’ Association of UWO Gala: artists from the GTA
HOLIDAY INN, 864 Exeter Road, contact Justine 519 642-7434
Feb. 20 Black History Month Celebration – food & live music, 3 pm
LANDON BRANCH LIBRARY, Martha Bishop Room, 167 Wortley Rd., 519 434-0510
Feb. 12 OSCO Fundraiser: Jazz in the Village, 7:30 pm; Feb. 19 Sessions for Songwriters, 1 pm
LONDON CITY MUSIC THEATRE, www.londoncitymusictheatre.com, 519 432-0888
Feb. 5 The BeatleManiacs; Feb. 11 & 12 Cowboys & Outlaws; Feb. 20 How Great Thou Art
LONDON UKRAINIAN CENTRE, 247 Adelaide St. South, www.kssingers.com, 519 913-3167
Feb. 12 Karen Schuessler Singers fundraising event: Come to the Cabaret! Silent auction at 6:30 pm & Cabaret at 8 pm featuring Jazz on Broadway, tickets in advance only
MOCHA SHRINE CENTRE, 468 Colborne St., www.londonjazzsociety.ca, 519 433-4789
Feb. 6 Happy Pals; Feb. 13 University Jazz Ensemble
OLD EAST STUDIOS, 755 Dundas St. E., [email protected]
Old East Sundays (afternoon concerts 2:30): February 13 Sarah Smith; Feb. 20 Allison Brown; Feb. 27 Catherine McInnes, tickets 519 936-8450
PAUL DAVENPORT THEATRE, Talbot College, UWO, www.music.uwo.ca, 519 661-3767
Feb.4-6 UWOpera presents Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro
6 ST. PATRICK ST., Acoustic Spotlight (8 pm), [email protected], 519 432-1107
Feb. 2 JJ Fiasco; Feb. 9 Love Guitar Quartet; Feb. 16 Georgia March; Feb. 23 Steve Simms
ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL, 472 Richmond St., www.stpaulscathedral.on.ca, 519 434-3225
Feb. 1 Feb. 1 Organ Recital: Andrew Keegan Mackriel, 12:15; Feb. 2 Orchestra London: Schubert’s 6th; Feb. 8 OR: Richard Hansen; Feb. 15 OR: Michael Bloss; Feb. 22 OR: William Lupton; Mar. 1 OR: Andrew Adair
thea
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THE ARTS PROJECT, 203 Dundas St., www.artsproject.ca, 519 642-2767
Feb. 3-12 Out of Sight Productions presents: No Traveler Returns, 7:30 pm
GRAND THEATRE, 471 Richmond St., www.grandtheatre.com, 519 672-8800
Jan. 18-Feb. 5 Kingfi sher Days; Feb. 15-Mar. 5 Sherlock Holmes; Feb. 17-19 The Pencil Project
MCMANUS THEATRE, 471 Richmond St., www.grandtheatre.com, 519 672-8800
Mar. 2-5 Raoul Bhaneja in Hamlet (solo)
PALACE THEATRE, 710 Dundas St. E., www.londoncommunityplayers.com, 519 432-1029
Feb. 4 Emerald Anniversary Party; Feb. 18-26 The Duchess of Malfi
SAUNDERS SECONDARY SCHOOL, 941 Viscount Road, 519 452-2770
Feb. 26 Orchestra London Family Concerts: The Three Musketeers with Duffl ebag Theatre; Mar. 2-4 Saunders Musical Theatre presents: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 7 pm
SPRIET FAMILY THEATRE, Covent Garden Market, 130 King St., www.oktc.ca, 672-8800
Mar. 4-6 John Lennon & Me
www.mcintoshgallery.ca
www.artsproject.ca
beatmagazine.ca
26 February, 2011
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ELDON HOUSE, 481 Ridout St., www.eldonhouse.ca, 519 661-0333
Jan.-Apr. 50th Anniversary Exhibition: The First 25 Years (1960-1985); Feb. 6 & 27 Sunday Afternoon Tours; Feb. 12 Retrospective Tours: “Trinkets of Travel & Treasures from Japan”; Feb. 20 Books of Eldon House, 2 pm; Feb. 27 Workshops: Fun with Penny Rugs, 1-3 pm
GRAND THEATRE, 471 Richmond St., www.grandtheatre.com, 519 672-9030, Ext. 280
Mar. 14-18 The Grand Academy: Music Theatre Intensive for High School Students, deadline for applications, Feb. 18
LANDON BRANCH LIBRARY, 167 Wortley Rd., www.poetrylondon.ca, 519 439-6240
Feb. 16 Poetry London presents: Readings by David O’Meara & Gregory Scofi eld, 7:30 pm
LONDON REGIONAL CHILDREN’S MUSEUM, 21 Wharncliffe Rd., 519 434-5726
Feb. 26 Black History Month Children’s program, stories & activities, 10-3 pm
MUSEUM LONDON, 421 Ridout St. N., www.museumlondon.ca, 519 661-0333
Feb. 5 The 9th Annual Opening Ceremonies for Black History Month, 1 pm
Send calendar listings to [email protected] by the 7th of the month prior to publication. For best exposure, send 45 days prior to event.
WOLF PERFORMANCE HALL, 251 Dundas St. www.londonpubliclibrary.ca, 519 686-7502
Feb. 26 Brassroots presents: Ooh la la! Music from France, Quebec & New Orleans, 7:30 pm; Feb. 27 Black History Month Closing Gala, 2-4 pm
www.mcintoshgallery.ca
McIntosh Gallery Presents:
Fugitive Light: Clark McDougall's Destination Places
Curated by Anna Hudson and Catherine Elliot Shaw
March 3rd to May 14th, 2011Opening reception: Thursday March 3rd at 8:00 P.M.
Clark McDougall, Dan Patterson's Kitchen, 1967, oil on board, McIntosh Gallery, Purchase, Alumni Collection, 1968
www.grandtheatre.combeatmagazine.ca
28 February, 2011
FOR TICKETS:
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SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE FINAL ADVENTUREBy Steven Dietz Based on the original 1899 play by William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle
FEBRUARY 15 - MARCH 5THE GAME IS AFOOT AND THE WORLD’S GREATEST DETECTIVE IS ON THE CASE.
