The High River Gift of Music’s upcoming concert promises a percussion and piano performance unlike any you have previously experienced.
Set for Saturday, May 6 at High River United Church, the concert will feature Percussiano3’s Rod Thomas Squance on percussion and the piano duo of Elizabeth and Marcel Bergmann.
This innovative concert brings together a dazzling six-handed display of rhythm and melody with music ranging from Back to Brubeck and Schubert to Piazzolla.
A stunning soloist, percussionist Squance captivates audiences with his perfect blend of compelling musicianship, sparkling technique and exotic sound. He has performed with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project, Paquito de Rivera, Dong-Won Kim, Kojiro Umezaki, Yu Hongmei and Prafulla Athalye.
Squance has appeared on national radio and television, solo recitals and with many orchestras. Classically trained, he also plays jazz vibraphone, Balinese shadow-puppet music and Indian classical music. He currently teaches at the University of Calgary.
The prize-winning Bergmann Piano Duo’s dynamic and energetic performances of uniquely eclectic programs have inspired audiences nationally and internationally. The duo has recorded extensively and their repertoire ranges from the Baroque to the contemporary, including a myriad of Marcel’s own arrangements and compositions.
It’s been more than two decades since these musicians first encountered each other at the Banff Centre for Performing Arts. The connection was instant. Since that time, they have continued to collaborate on percussive/piano arrangements of repertoire ranging from classical music to children’s opera, from contemporary to global and jazz.
In a Percussiano3 program, you’ll hear instruments ranging from the classical piano to castagnets, gourds, cow bells, sleigh bells, snare drum and chimes.
There will be a special concert prelude featuring High River’s own Jordan Middleton and friends. Middleton began his musical journey with the Senator Riley School band program and his deeper fascination with the saxophone began at a Gift of Music school workshop, where guest artists Proteus Quartet shared tips and tricks with local music students.
Middleton was so inspired he spent the summer busking to raise funds for his own soprano saxophone. The concert is an opportunity to hear Middleton before he leaves High River for future music studies.
"Jordan is an incredibly passionate and talented young musician,” said Michèle Wheatley-Brown, artistic director for the High River Gift of Music Society. “Music is his life — he is always listening, playing, composing or collaborating with others. It is rare to see such a committed and hard-working musician at his age. I know he will have an exciting musical career."
Middleton performs at 6:30 p.m., followed by Percussiano3 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets — $30 for adults/seniors and $10 for youth — are available at highrivergiftofmusic.com and at the door.
High River Gift of Music is a non-profit society that has been bringing extraordinary classical music to the High River area since 2009.
