Pianist Ian Parker returns for Millennium Place show
The fine talent of Canadian-born pianist Ian Parker will be heard at a recital at Millennium Place on Nov. 2, at 4:30 p.m.
He will also offer a masterclass for piano students at 2 p.m. the same day.
"For me, I have the biggest thrill having interaction with kids and the masterclass is so often done incorrectly," Parker said this week from New York.
"Giving a lesson in public is more like going to the doctor, for the student – it’s more important to look at the scope of performance."
The masterclass is one way he help students perform better.
On calming performance nerves, he has some advice to offer.
"It’s good to find ways to centre yourself, and have listening at a level where you are conscious, and always play on the safe side," he adds.
Parker is currently in his second month of a two-year music program, called the Artist Diploma, at New York’s Juilliard School of Performing Arts.
Parker was one of two selected to participate in the program, and says the format is akin to an artist in residency program. Participating students can make use of all the Juilliard chamber music recitals.
Performance is key to Parker’s study, and upcoming shows include a performance with the Toronto Symphony on Oct. 19 and 20, the CBC McGill series on Oct. 31, as well as two tours in 2003 including the Prairie Debut tour, and the Debut Atlantic tour.
"I’m happy with my performance level, but I have never had so many shows in one year before," says Parker.
He says key to performing in a chamber ensemble, is listening to their tempo, as well as your own. Despite being a soloist, one works closely with the backdrop of an orchestra or choral group.
Krafty Kutz at Tommy’s
DJ Krafty Kutz is making his first appearance in Whistler, at Tommy Africa’s on Oct. 15.
The DJ records for Finger Lickin Records, an independent dance music label whose albums include Krafty Kutz with Finger Lickin, Vol. 1, as well as a 12-inch on Southern Fried Records called Gimme the Funk.
"This guy has some of the fattest, funkiest breaks that Whistler will ever have the pleasure of groovin’ to," says resident DJ Logic.
Additional tour stops for the Krafty one include Toronto, Montreal and Los Angeles.
Grooverobber and Frosty will also be DJs at the Whistler show.
Tickets are available at the door; prices go up if you leave it until later in the evening.
New Thenon album due this month
Ryan O’Dowd says his local punk band, Thenon, will release their first 11-track CD later this month.
Most recently the band was part of the new Tree Top Films production, Fourplay, which included the tracks Mind Bent, and Rising Sun, in the segments which featured riders Craig Kelly and Josh Evans.
Additional members of the band include Kevin Young and Jay Greenway on guitar, Pride on bass, and Mark Morrisset on vocals.
Locals gear up for Halloween film contest
Lauren Graham of Treetop Films is plotting a spooky plot for the upcoming Halloween video contest at the Garibaldi Lift Company.
"Oh, it’s about my roommates getting killed," laughs the former Cap College film studies grad, who says she will shoot the 15-minute segment on digital video camera.
For more information about the contest contact Chili Thom at 604-894-5568.
Common Ground at Garf’s
Warren Barrow’s debut film Common Ground – an Epic Adventure in Sledding, from Freed Up Alliance – hits the video screen at Garf’s on Oct. 20.
"I wanted to create something where freeriders could get more recognition," says Barrow, whose film is an "insider’s look at the high tech world of snowmobiling and what the top pros are riding."
Freeride snowmobiling is Barrow’s passion, and the focus of his film.
"I wanted to encompass a broad band of snowmobiling, to try and give something to the whole community of sledders."
Local riders like Jay Fentimen and Rob Alford are in the film, which includes big air on 50-foot snow ramps as well as backcountry riding.
Featured athletes include Geoff Kyle, Andy Lindbeck, Jorli Ricker, Tucker Hibbert, and Mike Michalchuk. Also featured are Noel Kohanski, Dan Gardiner, Chris Burandt, Blair Morgan, Cody Borchers, Mad Mike Jones, Brian Deegan, and Tyler Nelson.
Common Ground features both snocross and hillcross racing at the X Games, deep powder riding, and massive cliff jumps. Footage was shot in South Dakota, the Sea to Sky Corridor, the Red Bull events series in Aspen, Utah, Montana and Revelstoke.
Catch smalltown Montana, where snowmobile-friendly townsfolk carve paths for sleds just like everyday sidewalks.
Scott Fulmer, Dagan Beach, and Darcy Wittenburg were part of the camera crew for the film, which was financed independently.
For more information log on to www.getfreedup.com.
