BY BRUCE FARQUHARSON
To have heart is to exhibit a combination of compassion, camaraderie and joy in sharing with others.
And in that spirit the Nanaimo Chamber Orchestra offers its late spring program, Heart and Harmony, as a conclusion to its season of performances.
Following tradition, the orchestra features the winner of the Concerto Competition for Young Musicians as guest artist. This year, flutist Monica Mun, will play Franz Doppler’s Fantaisie Pastorale Hongroise. Mun studied flute with Cindy Speelman at the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music and is currently pursuing a bachelor of music at the University of Victoria.
Director, Karl Rainer, has fashioned a diverse program that begins with 17th-century music by Henry Purcell, but then quickly advances to late 19th-century and 20th-century composers.
Purcell’s Two Suites from the Fairy Queen is an assortment of short pieces typical of the time, including character dances. Peter Warlock’s Six Italian Dances is a 20th-century re-working of an old manuscript dated 1575, which somewhat echoes the style of Purcell’s work.
Giovanni Bolzoni’s Minuetto is a popular miniature. The most substantial work will be Suite for String Orchestra composed in 1910 by English composer, Frank Bridge. Bridge was an accomplished string player, evident in the structure and density of this piece, which contains influences of Debussy, Ravel, Elgar and others in that time frame.
The Nanaimo Chamber Orchestra performs Saturday (June 3) at 7:30 p.m. at Malaspina Theatre, located at Vancouver Island University’s Nanaimo campus and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at St. Mark’s Anglican Church at Qualicum Beach.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $5 students and children 12 years old and younger are admitted for free.
Tickets are available by calling 250-754-8550, visiting www.porttheatre.com or at the door.
For more information, please visit www.nanaimochamberorchestra.com.
Bruce Farquharson is a member of the Nanaimo Chamber Orchestra.
