The Valley Concert Society welcomes a piano trio from Vetta Chamber Music to the stage of the Matsqui Centennial Auditorium (MCA) on Saturday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Violinist Joan Blackman, the artistic director of Vetta, leads the trio as they bring some of the brightest gems among piano trios.
Blackman is a highly regarded chamber musician who has performed and recorded with major Canadian orchestras.
She has also played with outstanding chamber groups such as the Gryphon Trio as well as for music festivals across the country.
Pianist Jane Coop enjoys a remarkable national and international reputation. Three of her 16 recordings have been nominated for Juno Awards, and she was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2012.
Coop was the clinician at the Valley Concert Society’s master class for piano students and workshop for piano teachers on April 21.
Cellist John Friesen returns to his hometown of Abbotsford and will be featured in Claude Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor.
He is currently professor of music at Western Washington University.
Besides a distinguished career in classical music, Friesen has collaborated with popular musicians kd lang, Geddy Lee and Amy Grant. He has also performed solo music for movies such as Ben Kingsley’s Fifty Dead Men Walking.
The program will include two of the most beloved works for piano trio, Beethoven’s Archduke Trio and Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor.
These two compositions stand at the pinnacle of the piano trio repertoire. They communicate a rich range of emotions from drama to playfulness and heartbreaking beauty.
Also at the concert, the Valley Concert Society will announce the winners of their two annual bursaries for music students and reveal the lineup of concerts for their 2018-19 season.
Members of the trio will participate in the Liz Carter Talk which takes place prior to the concert at 6:50 p.m. in the foyer of the MCA.
Tickets are available on the society’s website valleyconcertsociety.com at $28 for adults and $15 for students. Call 604-289-3377 for more information.