16 Cowichan News Leader Pictorial
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
The cellos are coming
ARTISTS
Classical music fans would be hard-pressed to find a better place to get their cello fix than St. Michael’s church in Chemainus this Sunday. Vancouver cellist Joel Strobbe leads a group of up to eight friends in mural town May 25 for the latest instalment of the St. Michael’s Presents Classical Concert series, a show called Stolen Moments.
“Stobbe and his most talented protégés will perform a wide diversity of repertoire from the 1600’s to the present, ‘borrowing’ music originally intended for other instruments and cleverly rewriting it for cello ensemble,” publicist Lynne Landygo states in a media release. “If opportunities to hear solo cello are rare, imagine five cellos!”
The music begins at 2 p.m. in the heritage St. Michael’s Church in the heart of downtown Chemainus, followed by a meet the artists reception. Tickets ($15 in advance or $20 at the door) are available at Valley Vines to Wines (Mill Bay), Ten Old Books (Duncan), Mike’s Books (Crofton), Salamander Books (Ladysmith) and the Chemainus Festival Inn or by calling 250-748-8383.
Raw Robots rock hip-hop foundations Peter W. Rusland
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aw Robots shortcircuited its hip-hop competition, earning gold and top scores at Nanaimo’s recent Upper Island Music Festival. Carlson’s School of Dance spokeswoman, Reija Best, explained her school’s hip-hop crew — created and ‘programed’ by A.J. Kambere — earned that first place after big impressions at contests in Duncan and Victoria. “They had hundreds of entries from all different dance schools on the island, and Raw Robots again received highest score in this highlevel competition,” Best emailed the News Leader Pictorial. “In every festival there was a buzz about Raw Robots; they are truly respected in the island dance world thanks to A.J. Kambere’s talent and hard work.” Raw Robots are Christopher Fall, Vance Driver, Brendan Hardisty, Kyle Johanssen, Ysuke Kuroda, Louie Johnny, Kienan Martin, Wynton Martin, Carlow Rush, Michael Slang, Liam Stephensen, Dawson Tomich, and Darius Zaviceanu.
Bubba Sparxxx is one of several acts confirmed for this summer’s edition of Rock of the Woods.
Rock of the Woods now rocking in Sahtlam Annual music festival: Finds a new home on a large rural acreage this year
Ashley Degraaf
ailing down the ‘it’ location for Cowichan’s Rock of the Woods festival. It’s something promoter Dave Bain has been
working on since the Vancouver Island rock festival made its debut at Bamberton in 2011. This year’s festival, featuring Bubba Sparxxx, Robert Delong, The Pack A.D., Wake Owl, Vince Vaccaro and Fly Moon Royalty — to name a few of the bands recently released at a lineup launch party — will take place in the Sahtlam area this year from July 25 to 27. “This site offers the most amount of amenities to one: make people comfortable; and two: mitigate is-
he Encore! women’s choir is riding its New York groove back into Cowichan. Fresh off an exhilarating performance at the landmark Lincoln Centre, the group is ready for Showtime in Duncan. Conductor Christine Dandy described the trip as a well-timed milestone in the development of Encore! “It allowed the group to advance in terms of musical difficulty while at the same time, experiencing the wonders of singing with well-prepared, highly educated musicians in a world-class auditorium,” she said in a media release.
The first half of Saturday’s It’s Showtime concert will feature six of the nine pieces prepared for New York. The selections will be presented under the headings We Salute Women in Moments of Reflection, We Salute Women in Celebration, and We Honour Women in Observations of the World, as they were at the Lincoln Centre. Cellist Trisha Daniell, violinist Garth Williams and percussionist, Mark Ridewood will join Encore!’s accompanist Rykie Avenant for these selections. The second part of the program will include favourite tunes from Stop the World I Want to Get Off,
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sues we’ve had at other sites,” Bain said. Moving from last year’s location at GodfreyBrownell Vineyards came down to technicality issues with its agricultural land reserve designation and permits, Bain noted. But he’s also pumped about less work for his crew this year to make the new 60 to 70 acre site off Sunrise Road ROTW worthy. “It pretty much has everything built in,” he said. “We’re not having to add structures like sun shades, like we’ve had to in previous years.” Having this year’s festival in another remote area, located beyond where Gibbins Road turns into Barnjum Road (leading to Sunrise Road, which then turns into Irvine Drive) is a huge plus for promoters. Bain recently let loose a community crew to knock on doors of folks living close by and to hang up posters. The homes near the site are located on big chunks of property, spanning quite a large area, community relations manager Kelly Black noted. And festival organizers offered free tickets to those people they visited. They’ve only had a few people concerned about noise, Bain said, which isn’t unusual. “We’ve had neighbours concerned in previous years and they’re only concerned until the festival happens and they get a chance to see what it’s like,” Bain said. “We’re always wanting to work those people.” For more information about the festival, google Rock of the Woods or call Bain at 250-715-7781.
Encore! set bring that New York feeling home to Cowichan with It’s Showtime!
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Handlebars, pedals, balance– words of excitement to a child, that still bring joy to me as I begin my daily commute. Roger Partridge, Massage Therapist
Riders can enter to win $1500 in gift cards from the bike shops plus so many more prizes. Wrap-Up Party in the City Square Friday, May 30th 3:30-5:30 pm
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Celebration Stations 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. MONDAY: Power Lunch, 921 Canada Ave.
Join your fellow riders for TUESDAY: Java World, 5811 York St. NEW LOCATION! snacks, beverages, cycling WEDNESDAY: Power Lunch, 921 Canada Ave. information and the chance to THURSDAY: Duncan Garage Cafe, 330 Duncan St. win some great prizes! FRIDAY: Duncan Garage Cafe, 330 Duncan St.
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Carousel, Camelot, and The Witches’ Chorus from Verdi’s opera Macbeth. Canadian folk songs will be featured as will a special arrangement of Danny Boy by Canadian composer, Allan Bevan. And the group is also promising a few of its typical musical surprises showing off its light and breezy approach. It’s Showtime! will be unveiled May 24, at 7:30 p.m. at the Christian Reformed Church, 930 Trunk Road. Advance tickets can be purchased for $15 ($5 for kids under 12) by May 22 from choir members or by calling 250-746-084. They are $20 at the door.