Aventa Fall Tour

With a reputation for superb performance and ambitious programming, Victoria’s AVENTA Ensemble embarks on its fall national tour with performances in Regina (October 17), London (October 18), Montreal (October 20) and Toronto (October 21). Under the direction of artistic director Bill Linwood, the 15-piece ensemble displays its musical flair through an array of arresting pieces including works from Quebec composer Ana Sokolovic, British Columbia composer Rodney Sharman, Ontario composer Paul Frehner and Danish composer Poul Ruders.

The tour commences on October 17, with a performance at Regina’s Shubox Theatre (University of Regina) and features the world premiere of Rodney Sharman’s Prelude to elsewhereless, Ana Sokolovic’s Géométrie sentimentale and Paul Frehner’s Voluptuous Panic.  Aventa reprises Danish composer Poul Ruders’ KafKapriccio, described as “a wild ride of a score — raucous, witty, colourful, sensual, full of delightful allusions to music from Kafka’s time.” (Kevin Bazzana, Times Colonist, Victoria, BC).

The tour continues with a 2-day residency at the Don Wright Faculty of Music (University of Western Ontario).  On October 18, the ensemble presents a performance at London’s Von Kuster Hall featuring music from Paul Frehner, Rodney Sharman, Ana Sokolovic and Poul Ruders.  On October 19, the ensemble presents a composer’s workshop, featuring repertoire from emerging Ontario composers.

On October 20, the ensemble appears at Montreal’s Conservatoire de musique et d’Art dramatique as part of Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) Hommage à Ana Sokolovic, honoring renowned Canadian composer, Ana Sokolovic.  Quebec baritone Vincent Ranallo joins Aventa in the world premier of Sokolovic’s Tanzer Lieder(adapted especially for this concert), as well as Rodney Sharman’s Cabaret Songs.  Rounding out the program are Rodney Sharman’s Prelude to elsewhereless, Ana Sokolovic’s Géométrie sentimentale, Paul Frehner’sVoluptuous Panic, and Poul Ruders’ KafKapriccio.

The tour culminates on October 21, with a performance at Toronto’s Gallery 345. Quebec baritone Vincent Ranallo joins Aventa in Sokolovic’sTanzer Lieder and Rodney Sharman’s Cabaret Songs. Rodney Sharman’sPrelude to elsewhereless, Ana Sokolovic’s Géométrie sentimentale and Poul Ruders’ KafKapriccio are also featured on this concert.

“I can hardly give enough praise to the 13 players of Victoria’s Aventa Ensemble and conductor Bill Linwood, who tackled all this difficult music with skill, passion and dedication.”
(Robert Everett-Green, The Globe and Mail)

Stormwatch

When: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 @ 8pm (Pre-concert talk 7:15pm)
Where: Phillip T Young Recital Hall (University of Victoria, MacLaurin Building)

Aventa Ensemble
Darnell Linwood, horn / John Lowry, violin / Miranda Wong, piano
Bill Linwood, conductor

Program:
Rodney Sharman, elsewhereless
Peter Maxwell Davies, Stormwatch, Stormfall (premiere)*
Justin Christensen, Hand I used to hold (premiere)
Peter Maxwell Davies, De Assumtione Beatae Mariae Virginis

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies is universally acknowledged as one of the foremost composers of our time. In 2004, he was appointed Master of the Queen’s Music, further recognizing the revolutionary influence he has had on the British contemporary music scene.  His works often draw on the landscape of the Orkney Islands, where he has lived since 1971.

Justin Christensen is considered to be one of Canada’s leading emerging composers.  Prior to the premiere of his 2011 work Hand I used to Hold, the Canada Council for the Arts will award Justin the 2011 Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music.

*Aventa wishes to acknowledge The Scottish Arts Council for their assistance in commissioning Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ Stormwatch, Stormfall

Another exciting season of new music!

Aventa Ensemble 2011 / 2012 Season Announcement

2011/12 Season Overview

September 11, 2011 8:00PM – IgNITE! Composer Workshop

Phillip T Young Recital Hall – UVic, MacLaurin Building – Pre-concert talk 7:15PM

One of the most influential and respected composers on the scene today, Britain’s Michael Finnissy joins Aventa in the 2011 Ignite! Composer Workshop.      

Further information

November 1, 2011 8:00PM – Stormwatch

Phillip T Young Recital Hall – UVic, MacLaurin Building – Pre-concert talk 7:15PM

Aventa presents two works from Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, one of the foremost composers of our time, including the world premiere of Stormwatch, Stormfall.    

Further information

February 3, 2012 8:00PM – Living Toys

Alix Goolden Performance Hall, 907 Pandora Ave. Victoria, BC

Presented in collaboration with the Victoria Symphony as part of their 2012 New Music Festival, Aventa presents an exciting evening of music by Gavin Bryars, Anthony Genge and Thomas Adès.    

Further information

March 25, 2012 8:00PM – The Comedy of Change

Phillip T Young Recital Hall – UVic, MacLaurin Building – Pre-concert talk 7:15PM

Described as “one of the most talented of his generation” by the Evening Standard, Aventa is proud to present the Canadian premiere of The Comedy of Change by Britain’s Julian Anderson in an evening of premieres!

Further information 

Aventa National Tour

Monday, October 17, 2011 8:00PM
University of Regina, Saskatchewan
Aventa Ensemble
Bill Linwood, conductor

Rodney Sharman, elsewhereless
Ana Sokolovic , Géométrie sentimentale
Paul Frehner, Voluptuous Panic
Poul Ruders, KafKapriccio

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 8:00PM
Von Kuster Hall, University of Western Ontario
London, ON
Aventa Ensemble
Bill Linwood, conductor

Rodney Sharman, elsewhereless
Ana Sokolovic , Géométrie sentimentale
Paul Frehner, Voluptuous Panic
Poul Ruders, KafKapriccio

Thursday, October 20, 2011 8:00PM
Tanzer Lieder
Conservatoire de musique et d’Art dramatique
Montreal, QC
Aventa Ensemble
Vincent Ranallo, baritone
Bill Linwood, conductor

Rodney Sharman, elsewhereless
Ana Sokolovic, Tanzer Lieder
Poul Ruders, KafKapriccio
Paul Frehner, Voluptuous Panic
Rodney Sharman, Cabaret Songs
Ana Sokolovic , Géométrie sentimentale

Friday, October 21, 2011 8:00PM
Gallery 345
Toronto, ON
Aventa Ensemble
Vincent Ranallo, baritone
Bill Linwood, conductor

Rodney Sharman, elsewhereless
Rodney Sharman, Cabaret Songs
Ana Sokolovic , Géométrie sentimentale
Ana Sokolovic, Tanzer Lieder
Poul Ruders, KafKapriccio

Music Intima’s CD Receives a Top Marks in BBC Music Magazine

10 stars for $10! musica intima is deeply honoured and excited to announce that into light has received a 10 out of 10 star review in the prestigious BBC Music Magazine! “An astounding variety of affect and approach…the Vancouver-based professional chamber choir demonstrates outstanding pitch, blend and diction throughout this superbly recorded disc.” (Howard Goldstein, BBC Music Magazine.) To celebrate, for the next 10 days all copies of into light are on sale for only $10(+HST)! Get your copy today—the offer ends at noon on August 12, 2011. The winner of Classical Recording of the Year at the 2010 Western Canadian Music Awards, nominated for two Juno Awards, and given a 10 star review in BBC Music Magazine! musica intima was inspired to record into light, a Canadian choral music CD, after performing at the Polyfollia festival in France in 2006. We were asked to perform music from North America, and although we had always performed and commissioned Canadian works, we were challenged to find pieces that could not only stand up to their European counterparts, but could also come together to create a cohesive concert experience. To our surprise and delight, the Canadian selections were very well received and admired. musica intima found its voice in the international choral scene with Canadian compositions and we have since made them a staple of our local and touring repertoire; into light is a celebration of this music.

For more CD information, please visit http://www.musicaintima.org/listen/into_light/

ENCORE! Welcome Home Fundraising Concert

When: July 20, 2011 @ 7:30pm
Where: Redeemer Lutheran Church (1499 Laurier Avenue, Vancouver, BC)
Cost: Admission by donation – first come, first served!

By popular demand, musica intima will present selections from their Canadian summer tour in our very own city, Vancouver!

Come and meet the intimates and hear Whitacre’s “Leonardo dreams of his flying machine”, Gwyneth Walker’s “God’s Grandeur”, Tallis’ “Loquebantur” and more great pieces, all with the intima twist!

Featuring a cash bar and a silent auction full of great intima prizes: CD box sets, subscriptions, voice lessons, wine, and more!

Program:
God’s Grandeur – Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947) (7 mins)
Ave Verum Corpus – Imant Raminsh (b. 1943) (6:20 mins) CDN
Love, Beauty – Rodney Sharman (b. 1958) (3:01 mins) CDN
On Monsieur’s Departure – Jeffrey Ryan (b. 1962) (4 mins) CDN
The Beaufort Scale – Aulis Sallinen (b. 1962) (5.5 mins)
Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine – Eric Whitacre (b. 1970) (9 mins)
~intermission~
Loquebantur – Thomas Tallis (1505-1585) (4 mins)
Summer’s Singing – Leslie Uyeda (b.1953) (4 mins) CDN
Inuit Hunting Song – Derek Healey (b. 1936) (3 mins) CDN
Three Hymns – R. Murray Schafer (b. 1933) (7.5 mins) CDN
Le Pont Mirabeau – Lionel Daunais (1901-1982) (3 mins) CDN
Your Fragrance – Edward Henderson (b. 1952) (3.5 mins) CDN
El Paisanito – arr. Ward Swingle (b. 1927) (3.5 mins)

Check out the Facebook event page, or phone 604.731.6618 for more information.

Songs from Home:

Martha Guth and Erika Switzer

When: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 @ 5:30pm
Where: Christ Church Cathedral (690 Burrard Street at Georgia, Vancouver BC)
Cost: Adult $27, Student/Senior $22

Martha Guth and Erika Switzer

Martha Guth
Erika Switzer

Captivating soprano Martha Guth partners with brilliant pianist Erika Switzer to present a song recital devoted to some of Vancouver’s finest creators. Originally from Vancouver, both young artists are now enjoying successful careers in New York City. Ms. Guth won the coveted first prize at the 2007 Wigmore Hall International Song Competition in London, U.K. and, in doing so, was praised by Opera Now magazine as ‘magical’ for her performances.

The recital will include works by Jocelyn Morlock, Stephen Chatman, Jean Coulthard, Leslie Uyeda, and Rodney Sharman. This is a welcome home occasion and also MusicFest Vancouver’s nod to 125 years of creativity in Vancouver.

SUMMER SCORE READING CLUB

When: June 23, 2011 @ 2 – 4pm
Where: CMC BC Region, 837 Davie Street, Vancouver, BC
Cost: FREE for all to attend!

The first score reading club session of the summer is here and is FREE to attend. We begin the season with some surprises and a percussion and piano work that will tantalize the ears!  Join presenters Brian Nesselroad, Rodney Sharman, and Marci Rabe and discover gems you may not know, hear something new and engage in dialogue about the works.  Collectively we look at scores, listen to the music and discuss the works.  There’s something for everyone!

Brian Nesselroad will present a piece by New York based Australian composer Andrew Byrne. Rodney Sharman will present a work of David Lang’s. Marci Rabe is going to present a piece by Denmark based composer Rudiger Meyer.

Brian Nesselroad – White Bone Country (2006)
Rodney Sharman – the Little Match Girl Passion
Marci Rabe – tpk darlings (pecha kucha for trio trafique)

A little bit about the presenters

Percussionist Brian Nesselroad plays regularly with many ensembles in and around Vancouver, from avante garde ensembles and organizations like Turning Point, the NuBC Collective, RedShift and Vancouver New Music, to orchestral playing in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Island Symphony and the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, for which Brian is principal timpanist, to playing drum kit in the Southern rock (“Y’allternative”) band Rollaway. Contemporary chamber music is also a passion, with recent career highlights including a performance by Duo Schfifty-Five, Brian’s collaboration with pianist Andrea Lodge, at the 2008 Sound Symposium in St. Johns, Newfoundland, and the 2009 release of the debut recording by his percussion quartet Fringe Percussion, which earned rave reviews and a 2010 Western Canadian Music Awards nomination for Classical Recording of the Year. Brian is currently a candidate for the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in percussion performance at the University of British Columbia. He and his wife Jennifer celebrated the birth of their first child, Abigail Marie, in November 2010.

Rodney Sharman is a composer living in Vancouver, Canada and works in genres ranging from solo, chamber, orchestral, and choral music as well as working on collaborative projects involving dance, among others.  His work has been performed in more than thirty countries and featured at new music festivals around the world.  Some of these include the Bourges Festival (France), Ars Musica (Belgium), International Gaudeamus Music Week and Holland Festival (Netherlands), Wien Modern (Austria), Nyyd Festival (Estonia), the Huddersfield Festivals (UK), ISCM World Music Days (Canada, Mexico, Germany), and the Bang On A Can (USA).  He was the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Composer-in-Residence from 1997 to 2000 and served on the Canadian League of Composers council from 1988 to 1999.

Marci Rabe is a composer whose work enjoys performances by some of Canada’s most revered performers and organizations including Vancouver New Music, Ensemble Contemporain de Montreal, Continuum Contemporary Music, Aventa, NUMUS, and Redshift.  In 2005, Marci was awarded a short-term residency with CONTACT Contemporary Music with assistance from the SOCAN Foundation.  This honour included a full concert of her work being presented.  Her work is beginning to gain international recognition with recent performance in the United States, Denmark, and Japan.  Additionally, Mark McGregor, flute and Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa, piano, have each recently recorded her compositions on the CD’s Different Stones and Cosmophony, respectively.

TURNING POINT ENSEMBLE COMMISSIONS NEW CHAMBER SYMPHONY

for 2011/2012 Season
As part of Turning Point Ensemble’s multi-year project to commission three new chamber symphonies from three of BC’s most exciting composers – on Monday June 13th from 2pm – 5pm at the Vancouver Academy of Music’s orchestra rehearsal room, ensemble members will be reading through an early draft of new work by Rodney Sharman. This work in its final form will be premiered during our 2011/12 season.

Rodney Sharman (b. 1958) has been composer in residence with the Victoria Symphony (BC), the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. In addition to instrumental concert music, Rodney composes music for cabaret, opera, and dance. His chamber opera Elsewhereless, with libretto and direction by Atom Egoyan, was performed in concert in Amsterdam, and staged thirty-five times since its 1998 premiere in Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver. He works regularly with choreographer James Kudelka, with whom he has written scores for Oregon Ballet Theater, San Francisco Ballet, and the National Ballet of Canada.

Public reading sessions are a vulnerable time for the composer, as some of their thoughts are being “tried out” rather than showcased, and a dialogue amongst the composer and ensemble on the success of various compositional risks are profound.

There is a limited amount of space for curious listeners, so if you’d like to attend this special session, please contact Turning Point Ensemble at info@turningpointensemble.ca to reserve your seat. Due to the size of the room, we can only accomodate 15 guests, so reservations will be accepted in the order they are received.

We are especially grateful to the Arts Partners in Creative Development grant program for funding assistance in commissioning and developing this chamber symphony.