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Month: April 2026

While we are on the subject…

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…of music…

In a missive posted but a few weeks back I introduced gentle readers to the excellent guitarist – Clive Scott – who has recently joined the ranks of Anam Danu.

This has been most exciting period bringing – as it does – the prospect of the first live Anam Danu concert a little closer every day!

In turn this splendid new member has introduced us to a new musical inspiration – a scarcely believable phenomenon… arguably a true musical genius!

…the which is embarrassing, because none of us had even heard of him.

Now – you may already know the young man concerned – in which case ‘good for you’. If not – let me introduce Jacob Collier.

Before you accuse me of hyperbole – here is the start of his Wikipedia entry:

“Jacob Collier (born 2 August 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music incorporates a combination of jazz and elements from other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reharmonisations and close harmony. He is known for his energetic live performances, in which he often conducts the audience to sing harmony or play percussion parts.

In 2013, his split-screen video covers of popular songs, such as Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing”, began to go viral on YouTube. In 2014, Collier became friends with Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones after they heard and saw his video cover of Stevie Wonder’s song. He decided to stay independent and produce his first album”.

Far better than anything I could write here would be simply listening-to/seeing the man in action. To that end herewith some links.

Here he is recording (live) the video for a new single, with accompaniment from an impromptu choir of fans:

And here improvising with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra:

Should you find this prodigy as fascinating as do we, you might be interested in this BBC documentary about him:

Should you choose to watch any of these clips I would encourage you to watch through to the end. Jacob has a habit of springing surprises throughout.

Enjoy!

Washing the Dust – 2

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Photo by Andy Dawson ReidA suggested in my last post, our dalliance with the arts over the winter months here on Vancouver Island has not been confined to the theatre alone. This follow-up missive takes us into the wonderful world of music in Victoria… and a surprisingly varied world that is. Herewith a few of the highlights from a wide spectrum of celebratory events.  As chance would have it these all feature predominantly the human voice

First up – an event for which we had purchased tickets way back in the summer of 2025 – the extraordinary Ladysmith Black Mambazo at The Royal Theatre.

Now – just in case any gentle reader should be unaware of this legendary ensemble, herewith a brief extract from their extensive entry in Wikipedia:

“Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of isicathamiya and mbube. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album “Graceland”. They have since won many awards, including five Grammy Awards.

Formed by Joseph Shabalala in 1960, they became one of South Africa’s most prolific musical groups. Their releases received gold and platinum disc honours in both South Africa and abroad. The group became a mobile academy of South African through their isicathamiya music”.

At The Royal – on a virtually unadorned stage and behind a simple row of microphones – the nine members of the current choir quickly captivated the sell-out crowd with their infectious call-and-response routines, their silky harmonisation and their soulful melodies – the which were energetically underscored by their exuberant choreography. Our faces were wreathed with delighted smiles throughout.

(Sadly, we hear that Albert Mazibuko – one of the founders of Ladysmith Black Mambazo – recently passed away. Rest in peace).

At the opposite end of the spectrum from The Royal Theatre may be found the ‘Brentwood Bay Village Empourium’. This delightful meeting place bills itself thus:

“Welcome to Greater Victoria’s Favourite place to meet up with friends, enjoy great food and drink and browse our selection of merchandise – much of it locally and regionally procured. From apparel to dishware, greeting cards, candles, decor, jewellery and gifts – we’re your friendly neighbourhood general store and more”!

In addition to decent coffee and rather good snacks this hospitable cafe is also a live music venue. On Friday nights the display cabinets in the centre of the shop are pushed back to create an intimate 35 seat cabaret-style venue at which local musicians just love to play.

I am slightly embarrassed to admit that – in the decade since we came to Canada – we had not until recently attended any of these shows. This omission was corrected a few weeks back for the visit of Victoria legend, Louise Rose. This from the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame website:

“Musical from a very early age, Louise’s capabilities and interests haven’t exactly been restricted to making music. A native of the United States, she has, among other things, been a police officer, a Baptist missionary and a sociology teacher. But all that changed after she arrived in Victoria in the early 1970’s and fell in love with British Columbia’s capital city. A pianist, vocalist, and actress, she was formally trained in piano, organ, voice, conducting and arranging. Her teachers included Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington and Leonard Bernstein. She is host of ‘Let’s Sing Again’ – and leader of the Louise Rose Trio. Louise is also conductor of the highly successful Victoria Good News Choir, which specializes in blues, gospel, semi-classical and jazz”.

We have seen Louise before and can attest to the fact that she truly lives up to her legend. She improvises on the piano with an extraordinary harmonic sense and is a character very much larger than life. At the Empourium she declared that she did not hold with breaks between sets – and that she would simply play until she had run out of requests.

Finally in this eclectic smorgasbord of musical treats is one that I had not expected to experience. The Victoria Symphony Orchestra (VSO) were closing out their season with a performance of Mozart’s Requiem at the Royal – the which event was sold out long before we heard about it. In part this was because the VSO was to be joined for the performance by the choir of King’s College, Cambridge.

When I did finally hear the news it came in the form of a flyer advertising the availability of a very limited number of seats at one of the final rehearsals for the concert. This would take place at the Farquhar auditorium at the University of Victoria and only one hundred and seventy five tickets would be issued. The choir and the VSO would be led through the Requiem by the King’s College Director of Music, Daniel Hyde, with his instructions amplified for the edification of the fascinated attendees.

I have long had a tangential interest in the King’s College Choir – and not just because I was a boy soprano back in the day before my voice broke. I grew up listening to the recordings of the King’s College Choir (in particular those of their Christmas choral music, the which I still reach for come the season). Also, my penultimate employment in the UK was at a very well known school that not only had its own excellent choir but was also blessed with strong links to Cambridge. For a number of years I sang in impromptu Christmas Eve choirs in the chapel there and can attest to some of the magic involved.

 

 

 

Washing the dust – 1

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“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls”.

Pablo Picasso

There have been years – probably too many in all honesty – in which the winter and early spring months have seen life’s dust accumulate upon our souls just that little bit too briskly.

Exposure to the arts may not truly require that much of an effort, but those of us of ‘un certain âge‘ are doubtless sometimes guilty of hibernational tendencies when is comes to our artistic intake during these dark months.

Not so this year! We have already been out and about a fair bit – and the dust of daily life has been well and truly disturbed.

Herewith a few highlights:

The threatre season at The Belfry started in February with Tawiah M’Carthy and Brad Cook’s excellent ‘Maanomaa, My Brother’. The Belfry’s notes reveals this:

“Childhood friends Kwame and Will reunite in Ghana for the funeral of a loved one, and discover how much has changed since they separated 25 years earlier. Telling their story in a beautiful combination of dialogue and movement, the play is both fiercely personal and curiously abstract. It’s a meditation on grief and diaspora starring playwrights M’Carthy and Cook“.

This is an extraordinarily beautiful and moving piece of writing, brought fiercely to life by its authors. The writing and performance are excellent and I for one was delighted that the production did not shy away from the theatrical – something that to my mind is all too prevalent these days.

Neither The Girl nor I care for the west coast habit of leaping to one’s feet at the end of a show to award a generous ovation. We cleave to the British view that standing ovations should be reserved for the truly exceptional.

In this case, however, we were both on our feet!

At the opposite end of the theatrical scale The Girl and I travelled with dear friends, one weekend in March, to the mainland for the ‘Broadway Across Canada‘ touring production of ‘Les Misérables‘ at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver.

Now, The Girl and I – separately and together – have both seen ‘Les Mis‘ on many occasions, stretching right back to the show’s transfer to the West End in London from the RSC’s home at the Barbican in 1985.

That we have done so should not be taken as a sign of obsessive reverence for the piece – though we have always enjoyed it. The reality is more prosaic. In the decade that we lived together in the UK we were visited on a pleasing number of occasions by travellers from Canada. When asked what they would like to see in London, ‘a musical‘ was always near the top of the list. ‘Les Mis‘ proved to be a reliably satisfactory way of fulfilling that desire.

With regard to the Vancouver touring production – the show provided its accustomed magic, but we did miss the full-stage revolve that had been such a integral and bold feature of the original show’s staging.

On the other hand – it was good to hear a full 16 piece orchestra featured in this production. Many modern presentations save money by utilising a heavily stripped down pit band.

On which subject – next time, music!

Doing new things

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“The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men who are capable of doing new things”

Jean Piaget

 

Gentle readers may recall (said he optimistically!) that in a post entitled ‘Safe Harbour‘ and uploaded to this site during the grim depths of February, I drew attention to the presence in my customary New Year anthology of some of the choices that The Girl and I are now making in relation to our general (and specific) well-being.

Diet and exercise were certainly mentioned – and will be returned to as the year progresses. Down (or, sadly more accurately ‘right‘) sizing, along with ‘getting our affairs in order‘, were also on that agenda. Hmm!

None of these tasks is, however, is the subject of this note. That distinction belongs to this cryptic announcement – from the above-mentioned posting:

“I have now done two productions with the Peninsula Players (as Musical Director) and I am into my second year on the Executive Committee. I have a new venture to report in this space – so look out for that also”.

What strangeness might lurk behind that by that enigmatic pronouncement?

Read on…

I have been fortunate enough – during my days upon this planet – to have been involved in many capacities with the true amateur worlds of music and the dramatic arts. I have written plays and composed musicals. I have many times been the director or musical director of productions. I have been a pit musician and I have also stood on the stage in my own right. I have taught drama and run a youth theatre.

What I have not done – and am adamant that I am not equipped to do – is to tread the boards as an actor myself.

Until now!

At the first executive meeting of the year of the Peninsula Players the assembled company were canvassed for interest a different sort of production. Our local radio station, Radio Sidney, has been granted federal funding to create a radio drama – in the form of a ten part serial – concerning a topic of interest to this and many other communities… that of financial fraud as perpetrated upon the elderly.

The dramatisation that has resulted is drawn from an actual case in which an elderly English ex-pat living in Canada was preyed upon by unscrupulous fraudsters and ended up losing his house. The serialisation of this sorry tale is to include discussion segments with appropriate experts – producing over all a most valuable and timely resource.

The reason for its mention at the Peninsula Players meeting was that those recording the drama were in need of voice-actors to play the various parts… including one reasonably well brought up Englishman of a certain age who is the main victim of the criminals.

I feel sure that I have made mention before, somewhere in these postings, of my personal philosophy that is to say ‘Yes!‘ as much as possible if and when new challenges arise. Though I had not previously done any voice-acting I have done a great deal of recorded reading over the years. I therefore submitted to the audition process, was offered the part and as a result enjoyed the fascinating experience of playing a less fortunate version of myself.

In truth I have no idea whether or not I did a good job – though those in charge seemed satisfied. I was, however, most grateful for the opportunity.