Auditions are now open for violin students from the Okanagan region who would like to participate in a master class led by internationally acclaimed violinist Angèle Dubeau.
Dubeau and the all-female string ensemble La Pietà will perform at Kelowna’s First Lutheran Church, 4091 Lakeshore Road, in UBC Okanagan’s Minds and Music series on March 2. In a two-part program, Dubeau will conduct a master class with four violin students, then lead La Pietà in concert performing mainly 20th-century music, including music by Canadian composers.
“We are thrilled to welcome La Pietà back to the Okanagan,” says Manuela Ungureanu, organizer of theMinds and Music series. “They gave an exceptional performance in 2006 as part of our very first season. This time, a selection of the Okanagan’s promising violin students will have an opportunity to study with an outstanding teacher in Angèle Dubeau. We will then be treated to a wonderful retrospective of La Pietà’s repertoire.”
Tickets for the Mar. 2 master class and performance at First Lutheran Church will be $23, and will be available through Ticketmaster (250-860-1470) starting Feb. 4, Ungureanu advises. The master class is from 3 to 4:30 p.m., followed by a concert from 5 to 6 p.m.
Proceeds from ticket sales will go toward the purchase of a baby grand piano for the UBC Okanagan campus. Donations are invited for either the Minds and Music program or the piano fund. Contact the UBC Okanagan Development office at 807-9251.
Call for Auditions
Four students from the Okanagan region will be selected through a blind audition process in which judges do not know the identity of the candidates. Violin students interested in participating in the master class must be studying at Royal Conservatory Grade 9 or higher level, be 32 years of age or younger, and reside in the Okanagan region.
To audition, candidates are asked to submit five copies of an audio CD or tape featuring their performances of two pieces as follows: (a) one classical selection (unaccompanied Bach piece counts as classical) and (b) one Romantic or contemporary. Audition material should be no more than 30 minutes in duration.
Along with five copies of the audio CD, candidates are asked to include a separate page with their name, contact information, a brief note about their record of relevant performance and study, and their interest in pursuing a career in music performance.
The closing date for receiving applications is Monday, February 11, 2008. Applications should be mailed to:
Minds and Music Series
c/o Manuela Ungureanu
Arts Building ART236, UBC Okanagan
3333 University Way
Kelowna, B.C. V1V 1V7
To ensure blind judging, the CDs should not bear any identifying information about the violin student. The final selection for the master class will be announced by February 25.
Other Upcoming Concerts
Daniel Bolshoy in Concert with South American Music Tomorrow, Jan. 23
This Wednesday, Jan. 23, guitarist Daniel Bolshoy will perform a free concert of South American music at UBC Okanagan. The performance begins in the Student Service Centre’s Theatre (SSC026) at 2 p.m. Bolshoy teaches guitar at Concordia University in Montreal and regularly offers master classes to guitar societies and educational institutions internationally. Admission is free and all are welcome.
Valentine’s Day with Soprano Dawn Mussellam at UBC Okanagan
Dawn Mussellam, an acclaimed soprano whose recital concerts include opera, oratorio, musical, and song repertoire, will perform Music to Stir the Heart on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. Accompanied by pianist Arnold Draper, this free concert will feature works by Handel, Mahler, Puccini, Menotti and Herbert. The performance begins at 12:30 p.m. in the Student Service Centre foyer at UBC Okanagan.
Okanagan Symphony at UBC Okanagan April 4
The Okanagan Symphony Orchestra will perform a selection from Awakenings at UBC Okanagan on April 4. The performance begins at 12:30 p.m. in the foyer of the Student Services Centre, and will include pieces by Williams, Elgar, Mahler and Smetena. Admission is free and all are welcome.
Check the UBC Okanagan website for more about the Minds and Music series: www.ubc.ca/okanagan.
About Angèle Dubeau and La Pietà
Angèle Dubeau is a graduate and First Prize Winner of the Montreal Conservatory of Music. She pursued her studies at the Juilliard School of Music and, from 1981 to 1984, left for Romania to work with Stefan Gheorghiu. Since then, Dubeau has become one of Canada’s most prominent artists.
Winner of several important international competitions, she has performed in prestigious concert halls in more than 25 countries. Her numerous recordings have been acclaimed by both the public and the press, and she is one of the few Canadian soloists in classical music to have two certified gold records for 50,000 albums sold in one year.
In 1997, Dubeau created La Pietà, a string ensemble, bringing together some of the finest women musicians in Canada. Under her direction, the group has acquired a solid reputation. From the start, the ensemble performed in some of Canada’s most prestigious venues, as well as on both the Radio-Canada and CBC television networks. Dubeau and La Pietà play numerous concerts in Canada, including several for women’s charities.
From 1994 to 2005, Dubeau was also a Radio-Canada television personality, hosting concert broadcasts and weekly music programs. Dubeau became a Knight of the Ordre National du Québec in 2004, a Member of the Order of Canada in July 1996, and in the same year, the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste awarded her the Calixa-Lavallée prize for her exceptional contribution to classical music.
Angèle Dubeau plays on the “Des Rosiers” Stradivarius violin (1733).
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