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Gloucester
Music Club celebrates 25 years with a very special recital
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
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 Danielle
Lemieux performed 'I Dramed a Dream' at the
Gloucester Music Club's 25th anniversary gala
recital on Sunday accompanied by fellow GMC
alumni Nadia Boucher. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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For
the past 25 years the Gloucester Music Club has provided
young and aspiring classical musicians and vocalists with
a stage on which they could perform in front of a live
audience.
Many
past GMC members have gone on to pursue a formal musical
educatuon at university and even a career in music as
a teacher or a member of a professional ensemble.
On
Sunday, several Gloucester Music Club alumni were joined
by a number of current members in marking the club's golden
anniversary with a special recital at the Shenkman Arts
Centre.
Among
the returning performers were Alex Soloway, who earned
a Master's Degree in music from McGill University last
year and has performed in concert at Carnegie's Weill
Recital Hall in New York and the Mozarteum University
Chamber Festival in Salzburg; Nadia Boucher, who has worked
professionally as a rehearsal pianist, music director
and accompanist since earning her Master's Degree from
the Cleveland Institute of Music; and Sahra Abdi who currently
sings with the Capital Chamber Choir.
The
alumni performances were interspersed with performances
by several veterans of Gloucester Music Club recitals
including siblings.Alice and Kevin Yang, Anika-France
Forget, Yaying Chi, and Alexander and Charlotte Hou.
Alice
Yang set the tone for the 90-minute long master class
with an impeccable performance of Beethoven's Sonata in
E Major Op. 14 No. 1.
She
was followed on stage by Francesca de Vries, who played
the title composition from the 1968 production of Romeo
and Juliet by Nino Rota, and Alexander Hou who chose Chopin's
Polonaise in G Minor for the occasion.
Among
the 24 performances there were several highlights. Chief
among them was Soloway's performance of the Prelude,
Intermezzo, and Gigue from Arnold Schoenberg's
Piano Suite Op. 25; and Danielle Lemieux's spell-binding
solo vocal performance of I Dreamed a Dream from
the musical "Les Miserables" accompanied by
on the piano by Nadia Boucher.
Other
performances of note included cellist Nicholas Cooper's
recital of Chant de Menestral by Alexander Glasunow
accompanied on piano by Gloucester Music Club alum Marie-Luc
Lemay; Maria Rechner's playing of Waltz in C-sharp Minor
by Chopin; Kevin Yang's performance of Jardins sous
la pluie by 19th century French composer Claude Debussy;
Amy Li's recital of Chopin's Nocturne in D-flat Major;
and Sahra Abdi's vocal offering of the baroque classic
Come Again, Sweet Love Doth Now Invite accompanied
by Joanne Moorcroft.
The
evening's performances were brought to an end by Dorian
De Luca whose rendition of Prelude in D-major, Op 23 No
4 by Rachmaninoff provided the perfect bookend to Alice
Yang's introduction.
A
catered reception followed the gala where old acquaintances
were renewed and teachers were reunited with former students.
At
the centre of it all was Gloucester Music Club founder
Joan Klenavic, who served as the club's executive director
from 1991 to 2005.
"Isn't
this wonderful. To have so many beautifully talented young
people and all these dedicated teachers and family members
with them," an emotional Klenavic said afterwards.
"And then there's all the other people who couldn't
be here tonight because they are pursuing their professional
careers in New York and many other places."
The
Gloucester Music Club organizers three sets of recitals
every year between November and the Kiwanis Music Festival
in April. And while they are held to allow young musicians
a chance to show off their talent in front of their peers,
family members and other audience members, the recitals
are also used as an important preparation for the Festival
competition.
The
Gloucester Music Club executive is made up of members
of the Gloucester Music Teachers Association who appreciate
the value of having a venue like the Gloucester Music
Club recitals for their students.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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THE OTTAWA SCHOOL OF THEATRE presents an all ages production of Treasure Island in the Richcraft Theatre at the Shenkman Arts Centre. Showtimes Thursday, April 18 and Friday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets $20 for adults. Students and youth 25 and under $10. To purchase visit 
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CLASSIC PIANO RECITAL – Orléans pianist Emily Hou will be performing works by Chopin, Mozart, Rachmaninov and Liszt at Kanata United Church as part os the Beaverbrook Community Concert Series. The recital will start promptly at 3 p.m. Kanata United Church is located at 33 Leacock Dr. in Kanata. For more information visit 
