Two brilliant Canadian artists with deep ties to the B.C. coast will bring a spectacular program of works for violin and piano to the Coast Recital Society on Sunday, Feb. 2.
Violinist Timothy Chooi and pianist Jane Coop will present works by Beethoven (the German composer’s virtuosic Kreutzer Sonata), Camille Saint-Saëns and Sergei Prokofiev.
Born in Victoria, Timmy Chooi began playing at three years of age and made his debut at 16 as a soloist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He went on to win a string of major music competitions, and has played with orchestras in Berlin, London, Vienna, Amsterdam and throughout Asia; he is also a professor of violin at the University of Ottawa.
Chooi is extremely prolific on social media, creating videos about music and the life of a musician. His posts have attracted more than 100,000 followers and more than 10 million views (visit @timothychooi on Instagram).
Meanwhile, Jane Coop is one of Canada’s most distinguished artists. Born in New Brunswick and raised in Calgary, she toured the U.S. as a soloist with Mario Bernardi and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. She’s played in more than 20 countries and throughout Canada.
Coop is a faculty artist at the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, the oldest chamber festival in North America, and was a senior professor and head of the Piano Division at UBC where she received a Killam Teaching Award. She’s a member of both the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia.
When not residing in Vancouver, Coop enjoys a second home in Gibsons.
Limited seating is available at the Raven’s Cry Theatre. The concert starts at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 2. Single tickets are $35 for adults, $10 for students. For tickets, email [email protected] or call 604 885-0991. More information is available online at www.coastrecitalsociety.ca.
Feeling feverish?
Chest Fever, the official revival of the group known as The Band and as an alter ego of San Diego rock band Mrs. Henry, will be kicking off its North American tour with a string of tour dates in BC starting on Feb. 1 in Roberts Creek and ending on Feb. 7 in Vancouver at The Rickshaw.
Chest Fever is composed of members of the San Diego Music Award-winning rock band Mrs. Henry, including keyboardist Jody Bagley, guitarist Daniel Cervantes, bassist Blake Dean, and multi-instrumentalist Ben Pinnola.
“The group absolutely loves touring in Canada, and we’ve felt such a warm embrace for both our original music and our celebration of The Band’s timeless catalog,” said guitarist Daniel Cervantes. “Every tour we do is unique and tailored to that journey, and fans can expect a show unlike any we’ve done before. As high energy and as high level as you can get!”
Chest Fever with Mrs. Henry performs at the Roberts Creek Legion on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m.
Advance tickets are available online by browsing to robertscreeklegion.com.
Bard bounds back
Riding high after last summer’s community production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Driftwood Players (operating under the umbrella of Coast Shakespeare) are readying another performance of the Bard’s work: his riotous comedy Twelfth Night.
The plot presents a maze of mistaken connections among lovers flexing their gender identities, all-night partying, singing, and practical jokes. It begins with the immortal line, “If music be the food of love, play on,” and grows more euphonious with every passing stave. The play is full of songs and music of Shakespeare’s era, which will be performed live on period instruments.
Auditions take place on Feb. 9 and 10, with performances in early July. Aspiring shipwreck victims, besotted buffoons, vexatious stewards — or any other role described at coastshakespeare.ca — should email [email protected] to request a ten-minute audition slot.
