New Westminster Secondary School music students are getting an awesome opportunity to learn from the best.
NWSS band students are presenting their winter band concert at the Massey Theatre on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m.
The evening will feature the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s brass quintet, made up of some of the top classical brass players in the country. The quintet will play some songs of their own and will also join the students of the senior band for a grand finale piece.
But the performance is really just the icing on the cake – during the day, the quintet members will be on hand helping to work with the students.
Daytime workshops will be held with NWSS music students, as well as guests from Fraser River and Glenbrook middle schools – which, as a press release from the school notes, is helping to make connections between grade levels, between schools, and with the professional community.
“I’ve been to see the Vancouver symphony Orchestra perform, and every performance is inspiring to me as a student musician,” said Jun Lee, a Grade 12 student who is involved in both bands and choirs.
Caitlyn Collantes, a Grade 12 student and member of the senior concert band, agreed.
“Opportunities like this, working with such high-level professionals, inspire me to do better and give me an idea of what I can aspire to,” she said in the release.
Everyone in the community is invited to attend the concert. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.ticketsnw.ca and through the Massey box office at 604-521-5050. You can find details at www.nwssmusic.com. (Children under six are free. You can book a child’s ticket by calling the box office.)
TINY TOT CHRISTMAS
If you’re not in the mood for Christmas yet (and who is, really?), you should be sure to save the date for this concert. I promise it will help make everything sparkle.
Littles and their parents can have a great time ushering in the season at the next concert in the VSO’s Tiny Tots series, coming to the Anvil Centre on Saturday, Dec. 3.
The concerts are presented by Let Your Music Shine! With Lisa and Linda (a.k.a. Lisa Grace and Linda Sebenius), and they’re aimed at the toddler and preschooler set, with parents or caregivers.
The Holiday Hooray! Concert will feature favourites from The Nutcracker, Babes in Toyland and other holiday classics, with accompaniment from a brass trio.
There will be two concerts, at 10 a.m. and at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $7 for kids and $2 for babies.
Check out www.anvilcentre.com.
WINTER HARP
And speaking of concerts that will most definitely get you into the Christmas spirit …
Winter Harp is offering up an intimate concert in New Westminster next weekend.
The acclaimed ensemble, which performs with classical and Celtic harps and rare medieval instruments, is bringing a special one-hour Christmas concert to the Gallery at Queen’s Park.
They’re performing on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m., and admission will be by donation.
See www.acnw.ca for more on the event, or check out www.winterharp.com for more on the group.
Also take note – Winter Harp is making its annual return to the Massey Theatre stage with the Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir for an afternoon of Christmas music on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets range from $24 to $35 and are available through www.ticketsnw.ca.
CHRISTMAS AT HOME
The singers, led by Ramona Luengen, are presenting the concert on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. at New Westminster Christian Reformed Church.
The program includes music celebrating the Christmas season, both familiar and unfamiliar – from Connor Koppin’s There is No Rose and Will Todd’s My Lord Has Come to Stacey Gibb’s spirited arrangement of Go Tell It On the Mountain, plus works by Vivaldi and Handel.
Plus, you’ll have your chance to join in the sing-alongs.
Tickets are $20, or free for children under 12. Buy at the door or call 604-503-2074.
(I must publish my usual disclaimer: I am in fact a member of Amabilis, so if you come to the concert, look me up. You’ll find me among the altos.)
LITFEST STORY COMPETITION
Writers, get out those pens and boot up those laptops: it’s time to get writing again.
LitFest New West is presenting a short story competition this year, and submissions are being accepted until midnight on Jan. 15, 2017.
All stories must be fiction, and they must be set in New Westminster. The contest is limited to one entry per person, and stories must not have been previously published in print or on the web.
Prize money will be available for adult and youth writers. Youth prizes will be awarded in three age categories: 12 to 13, 14 to 15, and 16 to 18.
Adult entries must be between 1,200 and 1,500 words, while youth entries must be from 500 to 1,000 words.
Entry is free for arts council members, or $25 for non-members (or, better yet, become a member of the Arts Council of New Westminster and then enter for free).
You have to send in your entry to [email protected] by midnight on Jan. 15, so you still have some time.
Do you have an item for Lively City? Send arts and entertainment suggestions to Julie, [email protected], or find her on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
