St. Albert Chamber Music Society will present five diverse concerts this upcoming season ranging from a trio and opera solo to a couple of quartets and a full chamber orchestra.
“I’m very excited about this season. The musicians are quite unique in terms of their instruments, ensembles and variety of music that you’ll hear this season,” said chamber music society founder Nancy Watt.
A quick overview displays more innovation in terms of the groups and their music.
“We want to make music interesting for people. We want to reach out to young people and new audiences.”
Opening the season on Sept. 15 is the newly formed Chamber Orchestra of Edmonton. Led by artistic director Lidia Khaner, the chamber orchestra is peopled with 16 professional musicians and a couple of float players.
“Lidia has a passion for conducting. She recently completed a master’s degree in conducting and she wanted to start another smaller chamber music orchestra,” Watt explained.
Many are the Edmonton Symphony’s principal chairs such as Robert Uchida, Anna Kozak, Clayton Leung and Raphael Hoekman.
“This is a special opportunity to get orchestral experience but in a more intimate chamber music format.”
The second concert of the season features the Penny Sanborn Trio in a program of French musette pieces, Italian folk songs, tango suites, improvised jazz tunes and light classical works.
Sanborn plays classical accordion, Jamie Philip is on guitar and Rubim de Toledo rounds out the trio on bass.
“We’ve never featured the accordion before and it sounded like a good idea to me. We’re seeing more and more classical accordions on stages. It has a rich European tradition that we are just starting to appreciate.”
Jumping into the new year, St. Albert-raised Lesley Dolman, a mezzo-soprano and recent graduate of the MA Opera Performance Program at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, performs on Feb. 2, 2019.
“We’ve had a bit of song in past seasons, but we’ve never had a vocalist in our series. I’m very excited to showcase Lesley,” Watt said.
A few weeks later on March 16, the Vaughn String Quartet returns by popular request.
“They continue to improve with each year and it’s such a thrill to have them back. Their repertoire ranges from Beethoven and Haydn to South American. They are very versatile and we expect some wonderful playing.”
Closing the season on May 4 is the Top Notes Flute Quartet, a recently formed ensemble of distinguished flute players. They are Peter Dundjerski, Elizabeth Faulkner, Elizabeth Koch and Shelley Younge.
“It was Elizabeth’s idea to bring the quartet together. They’ve already done one concert in Edmonton. They’re fun and we’re happy to showcase them.”
Watt also noted last season’s concerts were held at Red Willow Place. In the upcoming season, concerts will be performed at St. Albert United Church.
“There is free parking and wheelchair access. The acoustics may even be better and there is more seating without losing the intimacy.”
All recitals are on Saturday nights. Season tickets are $140 for adults, $120 seniors and students. Individual tickets are $35 adults and $30 for seniors. They are available at the Art Gallery of St. Albert and Musée Heritage Museum.
