The Valley Concert Society opens its 2022-23 season by welcoming Axiom Brass to the stage of the Matsqui Centennial Auditorium on Friday, September 30, at 7:30 p.m.
This seriously-talented quintet, based in Chicago, Illinois, is celebrating the 15th Anniversary of its existence this year. Dorival Puccini, Jr., trumpet, is a founding member and was a key motivator in creating the ensemble.
All five members of the quintet have post-graduate degrees in music and are respected educators besides being much in demand as performers. The newest member of the group is the French horn player Abby Black who joined earlier this year.
The program, with the intriguing title Lust, Mystery, and Despair, is a celebration of Latin American music. Works by the Argentinian Astor Piazzolla will open and close each half of the performance. The very first piece is entitled Escualo, Spanish for shark. It was inspired by Piazzolla’s passion for shark-fishing.
Piazzolla rose to prominence in the mid-twentieth century with his fusion of tango and classical music, known as tango nuevo. Given the prominence of tango in the program, the title begins to make sense. Music from Mexican and Brazilian composers rounds out the first half.
The sonorities of brass instruments wonderfully communicate the varied emotions in this passionate music—the brilliance of the trumpets, the richness of the trombone and tuba, and the haunting tones of the French horn. In the hands of virtuosos like these, they create magic.
Tickets for this exciting season opener are available online at www.valleyconcertsociety.com . Tickets are $32 for adults and $20 for students.
Subscriptions to the entire season are available at $140 for adults, $130 for seniors, and $60 for students. They will give you Couloir, a harp and cello duo from Europe, in November. In the new year you will hear Gesualdo Six, a male vocal ensemble from England, the Viano String Quartet, winners of the prestigious Banff competition, creative tenor Isaiah Bell, and brilliant Canadian pianist David Jalbert.
For more information, call 604-289-3377.
I look forward to seeing you at the concert.
John Wiebe
President
The Valley Concert Society