VSO to feature clarinet

Lively City column by Dan Hilborn
Published Aug. 6, 2005


The 17th annual free performance of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Deer Lake Park will feature a program of light classics and popular favourites under the direction of VSO assistant conductor Ken Hsieh, with guest soloist Christopher Lee, a young clarinet virtuoso.

Lee won first prize in the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra competition and performed their Weber Concerto. The winner of several competitions in Korea, Lee started studying clarinet in Grade 3 and has lived in Canada since 2003. He will be going into Grade 12 this fall and currently studies with VSO clarinetist Cris Inguanti.

The concert, which is sponsored by the City of Burnaby and Terasen Pipelines, will feature such famed pieces as Glinka's Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla, Bizet's Carmen Suite, Wagner's Prelude from Die Meistersinger, the overture from Rossini's La gassa ladra and Sibelius's Finlandia.

The concert takes place at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 12 on the outdoor amphitheatre below the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. Arrive early with a blanket and picnic basket, and take transit if possible. The park will be dark after the concert, so a flashlight could come in handy, too.

A VERY BUSY WOMAN

One of the biggest achievers in the city of Burnaby has been elected to the new board of Women in Film and Video Vancouver, a non- profit society aimed at supporting, advancing, promoting and celebrating women's achievements in B.C.'s burgeoning film industry.

Erika Tse, who spends her days as a senior corporate lawyer for Weyerhauser, is also a co-producer of two short films, business manager of two separate television shows and recently performed in the Arts Club Theatre and Touchstone Theatre production of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Nile at the Stanley Theatre in Vancouver.

"It's all just part of life. You just fit it into your schedule," Tse said nonchalantly. "You should meet some of the other women around me, both at Weyerhauser and on the board at Women in Film. They're all extraordinary. Compared to the rest of them, I'm an underachiever."

Tse is currently working with the TV shows Pink Planet - which airs at 11:30 p.m. Saturdays on Citytv, Cable 13 - and on the development of Form, a 13-episode series that explores the development of shapes and design.

She will take on the role of treasurer for WIFVV, on a new board that includes executive director Rochelle Grayson, president Yvette Dudley-Neuman, vice-president Krista Johnson and secretary Sophie McGarry.

Her impressive resume also notes that she enjoys mountain biking, snowboarding, travel and cooking and ... "I also enjoy every minute of my two children, Porter aged three, and Carter, aged one - well, almost every minute."

LOCAL POTTERS IN SHOW

Burnaby's own Keith Rice-Jones and Linda Doherty are two local artists whose work is included in the Potters' Guild of B.C. golden anniversary show Transformations: Ceramics 2005 coming to the Burnaby Art Gallery later this week.

The show, which runs Aug. 9 to Sept. 11, features a wide variety of ceramic art including hand-built sculptural works and thrown vessels, plus a separate display on the history of potters in B.C.

Carol Mayer, curator of the show, will present a talk on the exhibition as part of the gallery's Fireside Series at 10:30 a.m., Sept. 9. For more information, call the gallery at 604-205-7306.

SHUTTERFLY PLAYS

A surprisingly strong alt-country rock band that hails from Burnaby is performing at the Harmony Arts Festival this weekend in West Vancouver.

Shutterfly features father David, and children Taryn and Zak Sinclair, plus a rotating cast of bass players and percussionists who recently released their second CD, Fly Away Home.

David toured the world as a guitarist for both Sarah McLachlan and kd lang, but the band's real strength may come from the solid vocalization and songwriting skills of daughter Taryn, who started singing with the Bach Children's Choir at age eight.

Shutterfly will perform at 2 p.m. today, Saturday, Aug. 6, at the Royal Fountain Stage at Ambleside Landing.

DANCING AWARDS

Kudos to members of the Burnaby International Folk Dancers who won a variety of awards from a plethora of competitions over the past few months.

A most improved folk dancer award went to the young troupe of Caitlin Chan, Katherine Grimmer and Emily Chan with Evelyn Boettcher of the teen class, after they danced the Bolivian Carnavelito and Mexican La Raspa at the James Cowan Theatre earlier this summer.

The senior dance group - Boettcher, Linda Dawson, Fran Holmes, Norma Stephenson and Val Rozing - won a Medal of Excellence at the Peak Dance competition earlier this spring. Rozing, Dawson and Stephenson also placed first at the Pacific West Competition.

Stephenson then went on to capture the first place trophy from the Pacific West Competition after she performed the Sequidillas from the Canary Islands, Zemer Atik from Israel, Orijent from Serbia, Miserlou from Armenia and Ali Pasha from Turkey.

The Burnaby International Folk Dancers offer classes for kids as young as three years old to age 99, with ongoing lessons throughout the year. For more information, contact Linda Dawson at 604 298- 2983.

ART FOR AMNESTY

Do you have a piece of art, poetry music or theatre that looks at human rights issues or social justice themes? Then the folks at the B.C. Yukon region of Amnesty International want to hear from you.

The agency that works to protect human rights around the world is launching its Voices Rising CD at the Roundhouse community centre next month, and they want to make a real splash of it.

They are seeking all kinds of artwork to help decorate the CD launch party, but the deadline for entries is fast approaching. Submissions must be in by Aug. 14. For more details, check out their website at www.amnesty.bc.ca.

WORDLYMPICS

Spoken word artists from across the country will be converging on Vancouver this fall to vye for the coveted "Flaming Mic" award from the Canadian Spoken Wordlympics.

Burnaby-based Sudden Death Records is teaming up with Vancouver Community College, the British-UK Council, 99.3 The Fox and the Vancouver Poetry Slam to present a six-day celebration of high performance poetry.

But to get things started, festival organizers are sponsoring a contest to allow local amateur poets to create their own radio announcement for the event.

Entrants are asked to "wax poetic" in a 30-second MP3 audio recording - it could be on life, love, politics, or whatever - but it must make mention the name, date, location and web address of the festival. The required words are "The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word ... Oct. 11 to 15, 2005 ... Vancouver, British Columbia" and "www.wordlympics.com."

Entries must be in MP3 format and no profanity is allowed. E- mail all entries to local impresario Steve Duncan, using the phrase "CFSW PSA contest entry" in the subject line and including your own name, snail mail address, phone number, etc.

Entries must be delivered to srduncan@shaw.ca by the contest deadline of Oct. 1. Winners will be announced on Oct. 11 by Canada's newest senator, Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell.