Oak Bay New Music Festival June 2 & 3 2018 in Victoria BC. Preview.(media release)
One of my delights, when I’m not at the theatre, is new music. I’ve had the opportunity over the past six years to meet and engage with many of Victoria’s young composers and musicians. The Victoria Composers Collective has partnered with the Oak Bay Music Society since 2015 to offer a festival of new music. Originally held in February, the Oak Bay New Music Festival moves to a new spot in the calendar–June 2 and 3 at St Mary’s Anglican Church in Oak Bay.
Lynne Penhale, organizer
For Victoria’s growing audience of contemporary art music, the fourth Oak Bay New Music Festival will have plenty to offer. As in previous years, local composers and performers connected to the Victoria Composers Collective take centre stage to present the latest contemporary music sound.
Festival organizers centered this year’s concerts around the theme, The Art of Listening: Reinvigorating the Arts of Reception. “Every performance on the program has been hand-crafted and designed in consultation with the composer, providing a unique perspective and a peak into the creative world of the composer”, says Lynne Penhale, composer and organizer of the festival since its inception in 2015. “My favourite element of our festival is not just the music, but the community that surrounds it: it brings people together “, she said.
A new “Global Perspectives” concert, developed out of an international “Call for Scores” will be performed on Saturday night. “The festival invites the audience to experience many different ways of listening, and with entries by composers from Croatia, Uruguay, New York, Texas and Scotland, this concert will offer an even wider variety of new music styles” concludes Lynne, grateful for the large number of composers contributing to this year’s events.
The festival’s opening concert on Saturday afternoon showcases a program of Canadian Art Songs. Composed during the 20th and early 21st century, this program will be sung by Cathy Fern Lewis. “Canada has a wealth of superb art songs, and I’m so pleased to perform these beautiful songs with pianist and contemporary music champion, Rachel Iwaasa”, Lewis said. “This program is close to my heart; I am carrying on the tradition of her teacher mentor, renowned Canadian soprano Frances James Adaskin.”
The final concert, consisting solely of works composed for keyboard instruments by members of the Victoria Composers Collective will be presented on Sunday afternoon.
Cathy Fern Lewis, vocalist
Oak Bay New Music Festival
June 2 and 3
St Mary’s Anglican Church, 1701 Elgin Road, Oak Bay
Ticket, $20/$15 available at Ivy’s Books and at the door.
Complete schedule at www.oakbaymusic.ca
Saturday, June 2, 2018
2 pm Composer’s Meet and Greet
4 pm Cathy Fern Lewis & Rachel Iwaasa present “Nocturnes: Canadian Art Songs”
8 pm “The Listening Artist: Global Perspectives”
Sunday, June 3, 2018
2 pm “The Listening Artist: Local Perspectives”
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