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31 Friday , O ctober 29, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m Artscene Liona Boyd refuses to say goodbye to guitar By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Canadian classical guitarist and vocalistLiona Boyd is bringing her musical part-ner Srdjan Givoje to her homeland for a one-night Oakville performance Friday, Nov. 5. This is the first Oakville appearance in about seven years for the Canadian, internationally- renowned musician, who moved from Toronto to the United States 22 years ago. The songwriter, composer and arranger has had a long musical career, including 22 album releases and has won five Juno Awards. She will perform music from one of her two most recent albums, this one titled Liona Boyd Sings Songs of Love, on which she performed in a duet with Givoje. The duo will also perform other songs, not released on the album. I have put more of myself into these two records than I have in any previous record. I suf- fered and threw my whole life apart in order to make them and I lived just every song, every piece in these records, she said. The other album, also released in 2009, is titled Seven Journeys: Music for the Soul and Imagination, which she performs with Peter Bond. Boyd and Givoje, who is an accomplished musician himself, have been working together for nearly four years. Im very lucky because its hard to find a classical guitarist who sings, Boyd said. Its also very lucky for Boyds fans she con- tinued performing, when her music career nearly ended almost 10 years ago. Boyd was solely a guitarist in her earlier career. She had a hobby of songwriting, but never sang her creations feeling insecure about her own voice. However, she then developed task-specific focal dystonia in her hand. She said this happens to some musicians who make a repetitive motion by playing a particular note frequently. This causes the nerve receptors of the brain to wear out. She said since she was 13 she was a worka- holic who continuously played guitar and her music teacher instructed her to practice five hours a day. That was the worst thing apparently because the maps in the brain become smudged and the right signal isnt going to the finger. In her case, it was the middle finger in her right hand that she could no longer control as well as she had once been able to. When they diagnosed me they said it was incurable, Youll never be able to play again. So I was completely devastated, my whole life fell apart. She said she spent lots of money trying to rehab out of her condition, but to no avail. I knew my days were numbered and then I decided to leave the concert stage and I was feel- ing very adrift. I didnt know what to do with the rest of my life and I was desperate to get my gui- tar back, she said. Thats when she began singing and writing songs, something she always enjoyed but never made a serious pursuit. Furthermore, she sim- plified her playing technique. Suddenly I realized I could still have the guitar in my life because for a while I was afraid I would lose it and I was very sad, she said. I found a solution and Im very lucky I can sing because so many other musicians I know their whole lives have fallen apart and they just quit. She had specialized in playing guitar in the styles of the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods, as well as Nuevo Latino and contemporary music. Now, she has added a voice and performs more folk music. My voice has a very soothing quality, its healing, its romantic songs. Its not exactly what you hear on the radio a lot, but I dont want to be a Celine Dion or Mariah Carey. Im not going to do those great vocal things, she said. I want to convey a bit of a nostalgic trip back to the 60s or back to more folk music. Im just simple. Two voices, two guitars. The Oakville performance will include songs from the likes of Bob Dylan, John Denver, Simon & Garfunkel and others. The performance, taking place at The Meeting House, is part of an Ontario tour. She said she will stay for part of that tour at her par- ents home in Toronto. Boyds long musical career has taken her across the US. She has lived in Los Angeles, Miami and is now living again in L.A. The Meeting House is at 2700 Bristol Circle. The concert starts at 8 p.m. A VIP reception begins at 6:30 p.m. Regular tickets are $49.50. VIP tickets, which include seating in the front rows, dessert and prize draws, are $88. For tickets, visit www.oakvillecentre.ca. BACK ON STAGE: Liona Boyd and musical partner Srdjan Givoje will perform Nov. 5 at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. SUBMITTED PHOTO