Back in April, St. Albert Chamber Music Society was forced to postpone a concert by a classical piano trio due to illness.
The concert slated for April 7 returns with violinist Neda Yamach, cellist Ronda Metszies and pianist Sarah Ho. It will go on as originally planned at St. Albert United Church on Sunday, June 2 at 7:30 p.m.
The evening concert will feature a special composition by St. Albert composer Michael Massey. The 10-minute work is titled Three St. Albert Sketches for Piano Trio, in what is best described as a love letter to the city.
“It was just a little something I composed,” said Massey, a recipient of the Order of Canada.
The first movement is Les Fleurs nous parlent, a tribute to the city’s floral beauty, particularly the St. Albert Botanic Park.
“It’s a place I like to hang out every summer.”
The second movement is Little River, Big Lake, a serene musical descriptor of vistas one sees when standing on the banks of these waterways. And the last movement is Commutango, a satire on the bizarre tango of commuter traffic heading to Edmonton every morning.
“I get in the car in the morning, drive to Edmonton and stop at the many traffic lights and then start up again. It’s just a fun piece.”
Opening the concert are three of Astor Piazzola’s famous tangos including the accordion driven Auscencias, the jazzier Psicosis as well as the Spring and Summer movements from Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.
Yamach formed the trio specifically for this concert and is excited about performing Dovorák’s Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor.
“I’ve wanted to play this for more than 20 years since I was a student at McGill,” said Yamach. “It’s such a rich and expressive piece of music. Up until this point, Dvorák was known for using folk melodies in his music. This represents a shift from that to romantic, expressive music like Brahms.”
St. Albert United Church is at 20 Green Grove Drive. Tickets range from $15 to $35 and are available in person at Musée Heritage Museum, online at eventbrite.ca or at the door.
