Kirk MacDonald Quartet featuring the legendary Harold Mabern: Cross Border Jazz Series from Toronto, New York and Vancouver
Kirk MacDonald – tenor saxophone; Harold Mabern – piano; Kieran Overs – bass; Jesse Cahill – drums. Acclaimed Toronto-based saxophonist/composer Kirk MacDonald is touring western Canada with the legendary American pianist Harold Mabern, joined by bassist Kieran Overs and Vancouver drummer Jesse Cahill. Kirk MacDonald has an established reputation as one of Canada’s leading saxophonists, Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards, and has worked with many leading musicians in a variety of musical genres. He has performed on over fifty CDs as both leader and sideman. Harold Mabern, one of jazz’s most enduring and dazzlingly skilled pianists, was born in Memphis, a city that produced saxophonists George Coleman and Charles Lloyd, pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. and trumpeter Booker Little. He was an unsung hero of the 1960s hardbop scene, performing and recording with many of its finest artists, and only in recent years has he begun to garner appreciation for his long-running legacy in jazz and the understated power of his talent. The quartet will be presenting music from both MacDonald and Mabern along with music from MacDonald’s two CDs featuring Mabern. A powerful and unique band that has wowed sold out audiences throughout Canada and at Jazz at Lincoln Centre's “Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola”. Not to be missed! Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13. Doors at 7; show at 8 p.m. The Yardbird Suite, 11 Tommy Banks Way, Edmonton. Presented by the Edmonton Jazz Society. Ticket info available from Tix on the Square, 780-420-1757, or online at www.tixonthesquare.ca
The Most Amazing Symphonies
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cosette Justo Valdés. Conductor Cosette opens the door to the wonder, power and magic of the most glorious symphonic music. The symphony orchestra at its most impressive, telling stories of firebirds, love and passion. Saturday, April 13 at 2 p.m., Winspear Centre for Music. Ticket info from: 780-428-1414 or www.winspearcentre.com
Colleen Brown sings The Joni Mitchell Songbook
Colleen Brown is a musical chameleon who is at home behind her piano, playing an upbeat soul tune or singing a poignant ballad at centre stage. This Albertan, who splits her time between Edmonton and Ontario, has been winning over audiences nationwide with her groove-filled and melodically mature pop-influenced songs that have enjoyed high rotation on both CBC 2 and CKUA Radio Network. Joni Mitchell remains one of Brown’s biggest influences and few artists can interpret Mitchell’s vast body of work with such intensity and confidence. Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. Arden Theatre, 5 St. Anne Street, St. Albert. Tickets: $36. For more info or to purchase, call the Arden box office: 780-459-1542; or go online: https://stalbert.ca/exp/arden/tickets-box-office/
Festival City Winds Intermediate Bands Between Friends
The evening will be full of marches, folk songs, lullabies, and music based on travel experiences – all things that might be experience and shared Between Friends. The Intermediate Two Band will explore music from the British Isles (Green Bushes, Deir’ In De, and Suite for Band), including Artistic Director Wendy J. Grasdahl’s ancestral home of Wales (Welsh Folk Fantasy), as well as music capturing the mystery and grandeur of the ancient Han Dynasty empire with The Temple of Guan Yu. The Intermediate One Band will transport the audience to picturesque New England, follow new immigrants as they arrive on Ellis Island (Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears), experience two dogs frolicking in the yard (That Old Hound Dog Rag), and reflect with the melancholy Beatles ballad Yesterday. The evening concludes with both bands coming together to perform Larry Daehn’s A Song for Friends. Music Director: Wendy J. Grasdahl. Come celebrate friendship with Festival City Winds! Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Robert Tegler Centre, Concordia University of Edmonton, 7128 Ada Boulevard – 73 St. south of 112 Ave. Tickets: $12/adults; $5/children 12 and under, available at the door or from Tix on the Square, 780-420-1757, or online at tixonthesquare.ca
John Wort Hannam Band
A prize-winning songwriter and performer, John Wort Hannam is known for his unique take on the simple day-to-day dramas of common folk through songs that map the landscapes of both the human heart and this vast country of ours. With a keen eye for the quirky, and lyrics that create stories behind the songs, this born storyteller thrives on live performance, sharing both the personal and the profound. Saturday, April 13: doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. at Parkview Community Hall, 9135 146 Street. Ticket info available from Tix on the Square, 780-420-1757, or online at www.tixonthesquare.ca
Edmonton Youth Orchestra in Concert
Intermediate and Senior Edmonton Youth Orchestras with the winner of the 38th Northern Alberta Concerto Competition (Woodwinds) and Shumayela choir. Intermediate Orchestra: from Der Freischutz – Overture; Folk Song; Finale: Carl Maria von Weber. Tecum Principium from Dixit Dominus, Antonio Vivaldi. Life has Loveliness to Sell, Dominick Diorio, orchestration: Massey. Angelus from Scenes Pittoresques, Jules Massenet. The Dargason from St. Paul Suite, Gustav Holst, orchestration: Massey. Senior Orchestra: Clarinet Concerto no. 2 in E flat major Op. 72, Carl Maria von Weber: Soloist, Cristian Kasinski. Symphony no. 5 in D minor op. 47, Dimitri Shostakovich. Michael Massey has been conductor of the EYO since 1977. He is Pianist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and is widely respected as a conductor, soloist, teacher and accompanist. In 2002, for his contribution to the cultural life of Edmonton, he was inducted into the Edmonton Cultural Hall of Fame, as an Artist Builder, and also received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal. In October 2016, in recognition of his long service to the Alberta music community, Michael was inducted into the “Alberta Order of Excellence”, the highest honor the Province of Alberta can bestow on a citizen. Sunday, April 14 at 2 p.m., Winspear Centre for Music. Ticket info from: 780-428-1414 or www.winspearcentre.com
Mission Hill Brass: Hope Springs a Concert
Our special guest will be Emily Ewing, a member of the Canadian Staff Band of the Salvation Army based in Toronto. Admission: $20 at the door. Please join us Sunday, April 14 at 3 p.m., St. Albert United Church, 20 Green Grove Drive, St. Albert.
Alberta Baroque Ensemble presents Splendor of the Baroque
The performance includes: C.P.E. Bach: Sinfonia in B Minor; Telemann: Concerto for Flute and Violin in A Major; J.B. Bach: Suite in G Minor; J.S. Bach: Concerto for Flute in E Minor. Featuring Elizabeth Koch on flute and Susan Flook on violin. Sunday, April 14 at 3 p.m., Robertson-Wesley United Church, 10209 123 Street. Edmonton. Ticket info available from Tix on the Square, 780-420-1757, or online at tixonthesquare.ca
Concordia School of Music, JuBELLations, and Jubiloso! Bells of Concordia present Shall We Dance?
Rhythm and movement drive the heart of the latest concert by Concordia’s handbell ensembles as they present musical expressions of “dance.” A variety of cultures and styles from classical to pop are represented in this unique timbre, spanning highlights from Khachaturian and Tchaikovsky, Cole Porter, and Glen Miller. Jubiloso! Bells of Concordia, a 16-member community-based auditioned ensemble, performs on the largest set of handbells and handchimes in Canada, more than six octaves in all, and released a CD in 2016. JuBELLation is Concordia’s newest handbell orchestra, with teenaged to adult ringers. Conductor Debbie Rice is recognized internationally for her work in this field. She has served as executive director for the International Handbell Committee and as national president of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, the largest handbell organization worldwide, and travels frequently as a clinician and festival conductor in the U.S. and for international events. Sunday, April 14 at 4 p.m., St. Timothy's Anglican Church, 8420 145 Street, Edmonton. Ticket info available from Tix on the Square, 780-420-1757, or online at tixonthesquare.ca
Allan Bevan’s Ancient of Days
Featuring the much-anticipated world premiere of "Ancient of Days", commissioned by Edmonton Metropolitan Chorus. A multi-media work for chorus, orchestra, soloists, actors, based upon the ideas, poetry, and visual art of the English mystic, William Blake. Plus, a selection of four of Bevan's masterful compositions, and Allan's sublime arrangement of "Danny Boy". Performers: Edmonton Metropolitan Chorus, David Garber, conductor, artistic director; Remi Do, piano. Concordia Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Danielle Lisboa, conductor. Soloists: Janet Smith, soprano; Kimberley Denis, alto; RJ Chambers, tenor; Michael Kurschat, baritone; Dawn Sadoway, in the role of Emmanation; Timothy J. Anderson, in the role of William Blake. Tickets: Orchestra Section $25; Terrace $30; Dress Circle $40. Children 12 and under FREE (but need a ticket). Purchase from: Tix on the Square, 780-420-1757, or online at tixonthesquare.ca and Eventbrite.ca Monday, April 15, 7:30 to 8:35 p.m. (no intermission). Winspear Centre for Music, 4 Sir Winston Churchill Square, corner of 99 Street & 102 Avenue, Edmonton T5J 4X8
