It felt a bit like Mr. Holland's Opus, right here in New West.
Regular readers may remember a feature about George Ryan that ran on Sept. 23.
And George's many fans and friends are already well aware that Holy Trinity Cathedral hosted a spectacular retrospective concert of his work on Oct. 2.
The concert, in celebration of George's 70th birthday, was a benefit for Holy Trinity Cathedral and City Stage New West.
The cast and audience included a host of people with whom George has worked over his 40-plus-year career in music in Canada - with excerpts from his musicals, Christmas music, songs from his 12 years with Bard on the Beach and more.
As an audience member, it was a night of pure joy. To see so many people band together over a shared love of music - and shared respect for George - was a true delight.
The faces on stage included such familiar City Stage New West folks as Renée Bucciarelli, Dora Brooks, Damon Calderwood and Jeremy Lowe, alongside Christopher Gaze of Bard on the Beach fame - who teamed up with Ryan for a well-received rendition of Quoting Shakespeare.
Alessandro Juliani, a former student of Ryan's from St. George's School, was another familiar face for many, providing several touching solos as a homage to his days in Ryan's school musicals.
With a night jam-packed full of musical treasures, it would be impossible to pick just one highlight.
But I must give special thanks to Kyle Marsh for his touching Fields of Flowers, and Jeremy Lowe for his impassioned performance of The Memory Box.
There's a chance I just might have gotten a little teary. Maybe.
In any case, my thanks and kudos to all involved - especially to George for his generosity and time.
FOR BOOKWORMS
Bookworms, take note. St. Michael's Parish is once again organizing its huge book sale.
This is the second book sale this year - thanks to the overwhelming success of their spring event in May, they've decided to host another book sale for fall.
It's set for Saturday, Oct. 15 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the school gym. The sale will feature more than 10,000 brand new books, sold for $3 apiece or less.
Those who can never walk away from a book sale without multiple purchases will be glad to note even better prices - two for $5, or five for $10.
St. Michael's is at 9387 Holmes St. in Burnaby, just across the boundary from New West.
CHORAL DELIGHTS
Choral music fans will want to mark Oct. 13 on their calendars now.
Those fabulous folks of musica intima are launching their 2011/12 season with into the wild.
The concert is on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 7: 30 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral on Burrard Street in downtown Vancouver, and it runs again on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 2: 30 p.m. at St. Philip's Anglican Church at 3737 West 27th Ave., Vancouver.
In the choir's ranks you'll find alto Melanie Adams of New Westminster (whom I just had the pleasure of meeting for a story about her upcoming appearance in the new chamber opera Supernatural Noir, featured on page 11 today).
Tickets are $33 regular, $28 for seniors, $10 for students, with a 15 per cent discount for groups of 10 or more.
They're available at www.musicaintima.org or by calling 604-731-6618.
Do you have an item for Lively City? Send arts and entertainment ideas to Julie, jmaclellan@royalcityrecord. com. You can also follow Julie on Twitter, @juliemaclellan.
