We are presenting two exciting concerts in November: A pops concert with Van Django & KSO, taking place in Sagebrush Theatre on November 5 & 6, and a family concert with The Wild Orchestra, taking place in Sagebrush theatre on November 7.
Van Django & KSO features the band Van Django from Vancouver as guest artists. Audiences will enjoy musical flights of dazzling fancy, driving rhythms, and boundless creativity rooted in the Gypsy Jazz of 1930s France. With a clever mix of contemporary stands, classical ditties, rock homages, and solid originals, Van Django and the KSO will whip the crowd into a joyful frenzy.
Van Django has been performing since 1998 and have toured extensively in Canada as well as international forays to the US, Europe, and China. They have had repeat performances at Djangofest northwest in 2008-2016, sharing the stage with gypsy jazz luminaries souch as the John Jorgenson quintet, legendary gypsy jazz guitarist Romane, and many others. The experience of one of their shows has been described as “the most fun you can have sitting down.”
There are two performances of Van Django & KSO with limited COVID-safe seating in Sagebrush Theatre: Friday, November 5 at 7:30 pm, and Saturday, November 6 at 7:30 pm. The November 6 performance will also be live streamed, with the recording available to view on-demand online until December 5. The performance is approximately 70 minutes long, with no intermission.
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The Wild Orchestra is a fun, family-friendly concert that will introduce the different instruments of the orchestra to the audience. New illustrations by Kamloops artist Susan Mark, inspired by Jean de Brunhoff’s book L’histoire de Babar, will be projected behind the musicians, enhancing the performance of Francis Poulenc’s work inspired by the same book. Joining the KSO on stage as the narrator of L’historie de Babar is Chris Bose. This concert also features the world premieres of two works by Kamloops-born composers Ryan Noakes and Kevin Mulligan.
Susan Mark is a local artist, musician, and author/illustrator whose 27 year career in the Kamloops school district led her to teach in the Education Department at TRU. She has written, illustrated, and published a number of children’s books for various charities.
Chris Bose is an author, multi-disciplinary artist, musician, curator, filmmaker, and a founding member of the Arbour Collective, an Aboriginal arts collective based in Kamloops with a national membership. He is also workshop facilitator of community arts events, digital storytelling, and art workshops. He performs curatorial work for First Nations art shows and projects, and research and writing for periodicals across Canada.
Ryan Noakes is an international award-winning composer and an accomplished singer. He received his BMus in composition from the University of Victoria and his MMus in composition from the University of British Columbia. In 2017 he returned to his hometown of Kamloops where he is a founding member of the Slow No Tempo a cappella quartet and the new Music Director of the Cantabile Singers.
Kevin Mulligan is a Toronto-based musician hailing from Kamloops. He is a versatile artist working as a pianist, tenor, educator, and composer. Kevin received his BMus and MMus in composition from the University of Toronto, has been involved with the Kamloops Interior Summer School of Music for several years, and his music has been performed across North America by numerous artists and ensembles.
There are two performances of The Wild Orchestra with limited COVID-safe seating in Sagebrush Theatre on Sunday, November 7: 2:00 pm and 4:30 pm. The 4:30 performance will also be live-streamed, and the recording will be available to view on-demand online until December 6. The concert is approximately 55 minutes long, with no intermission.
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