Lovers of piano music who attend a June 3 concert will enjoy more than just a concert — they will also have a chance to be part of a film, On the Shore of Dreams, which will star Nelson concert pianist-filmmaker, Dharel Verville.
He and director Gary Ramsbottom are travelling throughout the region, capturing footage for a sequence showing several concerts, all performed by a character with a serious multiple personality disorder.
Verville will show film clips as part of the performance, and play in character to allow the audience to react appropriately.
“They certainly get impacted by some of emotional message,” Verville said. “They get introduced to the whole thing and get a little taste.”
Originally from Edmonton, the 55-year-old, whose mother taught piano, has been playing piano since he was a child, and he began studying with a university professor when he was 15.
In the concert, Verville will perform Franz Liszt’s monumental piano transcription of Beethoven’s fifth symphony, and the first and second movements of his ninth symphony, which he said is considered one of the greatest pieces of music ever written.
And he will take his performance a step further, by extemporizing during the concert.
“When you extemporize, you start just playing off the top. You start playing something in the moment. Beethoven was considered one of greatest. He didn’t even necessarily like playing his own compositions, because he liked playing in the moment.”
To prepare for the role, he studied Beethoven extensively, trained his shoulders and arms, and studied Jungian psychology and more — the film delves into civil disobedience, political corruption, conspiracy theories and Judeo-Christian myths.
The process of creating On the Shore of Dreams is nothing new to Verville, who has performed as actor and pianist in five multimedia plays. His most recent accomplishment is the feature documentary film, The Naked Queen.
“Production is really the fun part,” he said. “You’re actively engaged in executing the creative stream that’s going on.”
The concert runs at 2:30 p.m. at Prince Charles Theatre. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, available at the door and Black Bear Books.
