The wild west meets chamber music

In a fit of giggles WindRose Trio oboe player Beth Levia swears she will never again use straw bales as props.

“At our first concert of the season we brought in bales of straw. It went everywhere. I spent about one hour trying to pick up the straw. We thought Holy Trinity would never let us come back,” Levia laughs.

Well, the trio is back at Holy Trinity Anglican Church on Sunday June 19 for Hi Ho WindRose, Away!, their final concert of the season.

Levia, clarinetist Rob Spady and bassoon player Matthew Howatt have generated a loyal fan base since WindRose Trio’s debut CD, Path of Contact, won the 2008 Western Canadian Music Award for Best Classical Recording.

While the trio is very serious about chamber music, their recitals are sprinkled with quirky humour. This year, they adopted a western theme dressing up as cowboys and cowgirls and serving chuckwagon-style snacks during intermission.

While Levia and the boys plan to don vests, cowboy hats and boots with plastic spurs for their last concert of the season the straw bales remain at the farm.

In contrast to their casual garb, the repertoire is more formal with works by Sandor Varess, David Maslanka, Nino Rota’s striking Nonetto and the world premiere of Ian Crutchley’s Orton.

Rota is a 20th century Italian composer who scored music for many of Federico Fellini’s most admired films and received an Oscar for his composition of The Godfather music.

Nonetto is the recital’s anchor piece and requires nine instruments – flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello and bass.

Six additional musicians are joining the trio. They include flautist Chenoa Anderson, horn player Mary Fearon, violinist Aiyana Anderson, viola player Jeanette Comeau, cellist Colin Ryan, St. Albert’s upright bassist John Taylor and Julianne Scott replacing Rob Spady for this event only.

“This is one of those pieces that doesn’t get played often. It is either too small for orchestras or it requires too many musicians for small ensembles,” Levia explained.

She adds that although Rota is a brilliant composer and millions have heard his music, he is only starting to be recognized and appreciated as a serious composer.

“With nine players, we get bigger harmonies. More people play at the same time and we built more interest in the sonic spectrum. It’s cleanly composed, but rich. Strings blend with woodwinds and brass to create a wonderful colour palette.”

The trio also commissioned Ian Crutchely’s Orton, a composer extremely active in New Music Edmonton. In this work Crutchely has included a recorded track of voices that plays at the same time as the musicians.

In addition, the repertoire includes Sandor Veress’ Hungarian flavoured folk Sonatina and American composer David Maslanka’s Quintet No. 1 for Winds.

“This is going to be a spectacular recital and we encourage people to dress up in western wear.”