I'm thrilled to have been invited to perform with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (my hometown, with many former colleagues!) in March. I'll be performing a piece called Sapling by Emily Doolittle. Here's what she has to say about the piece:
"Many of my pieces are inspired by sounds, imagery, or processes from the natural world. In the case of Sapling, the musical ideas came first, and it is only after I had written the piece that I realized that it followed an organic process of development that made me think of the growth of a tree. The first movement begins with a persistent repeated note motive in the solo violin, which pushes its way upwards through a series of loud, percussive orchestra chords, before spreading outwards into a mist of overlapping, branching figures. The second movement, too, grows out of a repeated note, this time gentle and flexible, swaying and bending like a sapling in the wind. The third movement explores the various colours of the orchestra, as the sapling buds and bursts into leaf and flower. Sapling was commissioned by the Canada Council for the Arts for Calvin Dyck and the Vancouver Island Symphony in 2014."
The program also includes a brand-new Ukrainian-language Oratorio called Golden Harvest by Larysa Kuzmenko and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17.
Hope to see you there!
From the Saskatoon Symphony website:
Canadian Larysa Kuzmenko set out to write a new oratorio to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Ukrainian immigration to Canada. The SSO is proud to be one of five orchestras performing this incredible new work that has a deep meaning to the cultural landscape of the prairies. The performance features Saskatoon’s own Kateryna Khartova in her orchestral debut.
Violinist Carissa Klopoushak grew up playing in the SSO, and we couldn’t be more proud to welcome her for her SSO solo debut. A violinist known for her fearless playing of expressive new music, Carissa will perform a Canadian concerto work for violin and orchestra.
Ukrainian folk music played a central role in many of Tchaikovsky’s great works, none more poignantly than his second symphony. The work shows his clear love for the people and his Ukrainian family roots.
SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 2017 (SASKATOON, SK)
"GOLDEN HARVEST" - CARISSA KLOPOUSHAK WITH THE SSO
TCU PLACE, SID BUCKWOLD THEATRE, 7:30PM
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE