Shadows and Light

The Evergreen Theatre has always presented a wide range of performers from near and far to appeal to a broad range of tastes. One of the more exotic evenings recently featured the distinguished Pipa virtuoso and composer, Yadong Guan, originally from Beijing. The Pipa, a four-stringed traditional Chinese instrument is one of the oldest instruments still in use and this award winning player has done much to explore the occidental repetoire that can be played on this instrument. This gifted and elegant player was accompanied by two renowned musicians in their own right – David Jacques on guitar and Christophe Lobel on cello in a wonderful fusion of music from East and West. View the gallery here. (HD Youtube movie is embedded below) or read on for more about the performance.

The performance, which featured several classical Chinese pieces as well as some by Western classical composers, such as Bartok and Claude Gagnon, received a well-deserved standing ovation from the appreciative audience. It is a rare and delightful experience, to have the opportunity to attend such a performance and the beauty of the musical pieces was matched by the elegance and delicacy of the performer in a gorgeous Chinese dress. The photo gallery of the performance and the Youtube HD show below will give those who were unable to be present a glimpse of that magical evening in April at the Evergreen Theatre.

High Definition Youtube movie watch in HD and full screen, for high speed connections.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htvIXIFL0r4

View the gallery here featuring a track by the Yadong Guan trio – Csárdás by Vittorio Monti.

This was a very special night, thank you Yadong, David and Christophe.

Ellie

Michael Copley and Ian Moore are two extremely funny musicians. The raucous humour that they bring to their performance and share with their audience is only possible from two experienced and respected classical professionals, completely at ease with their respective instruments – these range from accordion, flute, recorders through rubber chicken, kazoo etc.. Quick link directly to the gallery is here. (HD Youtube movie is embedded below). Read on for more about the performance.

Ian Moore of the Classic Buskers

The origins of this duo date back to the 70’s in Cambridge, England, where two students started busking to make some money to earn some cash. Ever since then they have been delighting audiences world-wide and shattering the prejudices of those who had considered this to be a stuffy genre. The gallery and the (longer) Youtube show integrate Steven’s images of the performance at the Evergreen Theatre with music from their CD entitled “Mini Classics” in a glimpse of the joys of attending one of their concerts.

High Definition Youtube movie watch in HD and full screen, for high speed connections.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c78pQH5rxew

View the gallery here featuring a track by the composer Offengach entitled “Orpheus in the Underworld”. The Youtube movie includes more images and Beethoven’s “Turkish March” in addition to this.

Another wonderful night at the Evergreen, thank you both, Ian and Michael.

Ellie

The songwriters circle is a Nova Scotia tradition that showcases the work of several musicians together in a ‘circle’, which is more like a line, but you get the idea, I hope. (tip: On the gallery page, you can hear music from each of these performers)

Steven Bowers, Christina Martin, Norma MacDonald and Kev Corbett
Whisky Hymnal Tour lineup

The Whisky Hymnal Tour that visited the Evergreen Theatre featured four singer-songwriters of note in the province – Steven Bowers, a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition in the “Folk/singer songwriter” category for his song “Bees In Jars” from his latest recording “Homing”; Norma MacDonald whose recording “the forest for the treesâ€? was recognized with a 2009 ECMA nomination for Female Solo Recording of the Year; the very talented and entertaining Kev Corbett; and Christina Martin, winner of 2009 ECMA category Pop Recording of The Year and two 2008 Music Nova Scotia awards – Female Artist Recording of the Year & Pop/Rock Recording of the Year for her recording “Two Hearts”.

This combination of musicians performing singly and together gives us a thumbnail of the talents of each and a desire to get to know their music in more depth. To this end, there is a special treat in store, as there is a track from each of these performers for you to listen to! You will find these on the Evergreen Theatre page below the photo gallery of this performance here The track featured over the gallery is “The Boy Who Lost an Eye”, by Steven Bowers. You can listen to “Bees in Jars”, nominated for the above mentioned award and vote for it at the competition site here , if you like the track.

It was great to hear all of this talent in one spot in one night and we look forward to hearing more from all of these musicians in the future.

Ellie