The Valley Concert Society presents the Ad Mare Quintet on Friday, Feb. 23.
The concert starts at 8 p.m. at Matsqui Centennial Auditorium, 32315 South Fraser Way.
The ensemble of five woodwind professionals from Vancouver will perform a program of French repertoire.
Ad Mare was founded by bassoonist Sophie Dansereau and clarinetist AK Coope.
Dansereau experienced a personal musical highlight on Saturday, when she gave the world premiere performance of Plumb, a chamber concerto for contrabassoon, with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
This work was composed for Dansereau by Jeffery Ryan, whose Earthshine was premiered by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra on its tour, which included a stop in Abbotsford last fall.
The central work at Friday’s concert will be Quintet in G minor by Paul Taffanel, the 19th century founder of the French Flute School. This piece is deservedly one of the staples of the woodwind quintet repertoire.
The program will open with La Cheminée du Roi René, a work in seven short movements by Darius Milhaud.
The composer depicts scenes from the court of Good King René, the last king of an independent Provence before it was incorporated into France near the end of the 15th century.
Maurice Ravel’s popular Mother Goose Suite, five movements written for children, will close the program.
The second half of the concert will include Three Short Pieces by Jacques Ibert and Jean-Michel Damase’s 17 variations on a catchy theme.
The unique sound of a woodwind quintet comes from its unusual combination of instruments.
Three reeds, the oboe, clarinet, and bassoon, are joined by the silver tones of the flute and the haunting sonority of the French horn, that versatile instrument which has found its way into both brass and woodwind quintets.
A Liz Carter Talk will take place in the foyer before the concert at 7:20 p.m. There, guests will be introduced to the composers and some of the works on the program.
Tickets are available online at valleyconcertsociety.com. Cost is $28 for adults and $15 for students. For more information, call 604-289-3377.