Tag: bassoon

picture of a martini and text 2019-2020

Happy Hour Sound Bytes 2019-2020

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NOTE – April 3rd concert postponed

Welcome to the 2019/20 Series! Once again we are offering five entertaining concerts designed to stimulate your appetite for music as well as relax you for the weekend. As with every year, artists from the Kingston area and guests from farther away share their musical talent and passion in five concerts encompassing: classical, jazz, string and wind music.

From October to May, you can experience the joy of live performance of various genres – for the same incredible price as last year! $50.00 for all 5 concerts

October 4, 2019 – Time to Swing! 
The Swingmasters kick off the series with all your favourite tunes from the Golden Age of Swing. Dancing in the aisles is encouraged!

November 8, 2019 – The Magic of the Santur 
Do you know what a Santur is? Come and hear the award winning Iranian born musician and composer, Sadaf Amini introduce you to the beautiful and rich sounds of the traditional hammered dulcimer-like instrument from Iran with roots as far back as 1600 BC in Mesopotamia.

December 6, 2019 – Salute to Canadiana
Come and join Chris Alfano and Katie Legere as they celebrate the beautiful bassoon and clarinet music of Canadian composers (and bassoonists!) Bill Douglas and Mathieu Lussier.

Back by popular demand we again break for winter so that those of you who escape the cold can still enjoy our series in the spring!

March 6, 2020 – Motley Crow!
Bask in the rich sounds that could only come from four professional bassoonists. This new Ottawa-based bassoon quartet features Katie Legere, Ben Glossop, Orlando Corabian and Elliot MacDonald playing everything from Bach to the Beatles!

POSTPONED! – TBD – The year is 1720  
Come and experience wind music of the baroque era played on period instruments with harpsichord.

Series information

All concerts will be at 5:00 pm at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 263 Victoria Street

Your $50 subscription gets you entry into all 5 concerts

Single concert admission is $15 at the door. Children shorter than a bassoon are admitted free!

Reserve your key tag today – email Chris at alfano@cogeco.ca or Katie at legerek@queensu.ca

Go ahead, distract me!

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Last week I was practicing for a upcoming solo appearance and I thought I would try out different ways of playing through distraction.

I love listening to Podcasts and Podcast playlist (http://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastplaylist) is one of my favourites. So.. I opened it up on the stereo in my studio and turned it up so that I could here myself play and hear my metronome but could still also follow the program.

Why would I do this to myself? Isn’t it tough enough to concentrate without making it harder? Aren’t you supposed to get rid of every distraction and focus?

Well… yes you are but have you ever noticed that when you’re performing all kinds of things become a distraction? It’s a lot like the great advice I read here from the Bulletproof musician:

How to Make the Most of a Dress Rehearsal

Yes, I absolutely try to emulate a performance before it happens.

  • If I’m standing for a solo – I practice it standing
  • Before the concert I play in the shoes I’m going to wear
  • I try out the dress/outfit (is the skirt too short when I sit? Does it gets caught in my keys? Does (heavens forbid) the top work itself down while I play?!)

But it’s hard to emulate that person in the front row snoring or coughing or leaving suddenly…. so I also try to learn to focus through distractions.

Sometimes i also discover a new podcast too!

Katie