Robin and Christopher in Rimouski
It's always interesting to look back at a season, (and often humbling to realize how much I've forgotten!) So let me try to remember 2012/13:
We began with a trip to Rimouski, where Arthur Bull and I played a concert with Eric Normand and my old friend James Darling. The concert was memorable, not just for the music, but also for the beautiful Salle Telus, with it's rockstar lighting, and green room complete with beer in the fridge! Oh and the fact we got on a train a few hours after finishing, to travel home. Roomette: best decision I ever made!
We travelled home with Christopher Williams and Robin Hayward, the Berliners, who shared the show with us in Rimouski, and came to Halifax for sL's Arcanum 17+2. Lukas Pearse and I joined the tuba and bass playing guests for some low pitched improvisations, along with Christopher's new piece Arcanum 17. The music was really colourful and Christopher and Robin's studies in microtonalism were mind and ear bending. I loved it.
Next came the Rimouski crew again, this time with Remy Bélanger de Beauport, along with Eric, Arthur and me. The weather that week in November was so beautiful, we sat outside the Backpacker's and enjoyed the sun: a study in talk, as rehearsal!
Then Mr. O. Wow this was a culmination of so many years of work and dreaming! The Cello of Mr O was a labour of love of mine, and several other's, for a long time and it was rewarding and really fun, to get it onto a stage. The shows were a nice little hit with our audiences, and we've got some interest in presenting it again, as well as making some future plans to sell it further afield! Could it be my first ever commercial idea? Time will tell! Many thanks to Karen Bassett, Steve Naylor, Lukas Pearse (again), and Theo Pitsiavas for their great work. We're looking forward to more!
Joelle lifting off!
December brought Joelle Leandre to town for an intense and challenging week of workshops, and a great concert with D'Arcy Gray and Derek Charke. We had a great time playing together, negotiating Joelle's epic intensity and bouncing from great music making to uproarious laughter! The concert was really memorable: Joelle can be an intimidating figure, but our concert brought us all together in a wonderful way that only shared music can bring. I went to visit her in Paris last month, and we were like old friends! It was an honour for all of us.
Then I left town, but the action didn't stop Tim Crofts brought in Zokugaku and Tena Palmer together for a show that was really great, by all reports. I wish I could have been there!
Ellwood, Geo and Adam
Open Source was a little abreviated this year, (which may not have a been a bad thing, in retrospect) but we enjoyed really nice concerts by Joel Leblanc and Ken Aldcroft with local musicians; and Ellwood Epps, Georgie Haley and Adam Linson. Each one of those shows have a different atmosphere, and I enjoy being an audience member, sitting back and listening to the music develop and watching the reactions of the audience.
Tim helped keep the workshop flowing all season, and I really appreciated his energy, especially when he took things over solo, in February. The workshop is a wonderful community, and together we had some great sessions this year. Tim and I will be making a few changes next season that will make the workshop more exciting for advanced players and more welcoming to newer participants! Stay tuned.
Did I miss anything? Probably.
Thanks to everyone that helped me to keep this going again this year: Tim, Lukas, John, Geordie, Gay, Steve, Darcy and D'Arcy, David, Arthur, Susan and John, Bruce, The Bus Stop crew, SAM and so many others. It continues to be great challenging work, and I love it.
Karen Bassett and Norm in The Cello of Mr. O
Next season we have some great plans for you! I'm working on scheduling right now, and I'll be posting all over the place when we finalize those. But we start again early for 2013/2014: See you June 8 for our show at OBEY!
May 23, 2013 at 05:43
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