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Artscene 21 · Friday, March 2, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com Merry English time at Chamber concert By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF When the Oakville Chamber Orchestra performs its next pair of concerts, it will be a merry old English time. That's because the March 3 and 4 concerts will feature a selection of music written by English composers. Additionally, the Saturday evening Merry Olde England concert will include a serving of tea and crumpets and a special visitor who will remind people of Great Britain. The concert will feature music by such composers as Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Henry Purcell and Edward Benjamin Britten. Perhaps the highlight of the concert are the two string orchestra pieces: Introduction and Allegro by Elgar and Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by Vaughan Williams. "This is a celebration of English music. If people are not so familiar with it, the two pieces we're doing, the Elgar and the Vaughan Williams, are very special pieces for string orchestra. They're very passionate pieces. It's just excellent music," said music director Charles Demuynck. He noted both are lush and rich sounding, a distinctly early 20th century English sound. "The Vaughan Williams is very special because it's got such interesting harmonies, really beautiful cord changes," he added. A theorbo player will also join the orchestra for the concert. Demuynck described the instrument as similar to a lute, just larger, which was often heard in Baroque music. "We decided to have that to give it different sound and explore a very interesting sound option for this kind of music," he said. The chamber orchestra will play Britten's Simple Symphony, which Demuynck called a lively and fun piece. The music itself was written in the composer's childhood and was arranged by him in his later years. "Among string players, it's known as the not-so-simple symphony because it's not an easy piece to play," the conductor joked. "The music itself is not complicated. It's based on pieces written in his childhood and they're relatively simple. But the arrangement of them is not technically simple. It's not easy to play but it's easy to listen to." The Saturday concert will be performed at Central Baptist Church, 340 Rebecca St., at 7:30 p.m. The Sunday concert will take place at St. Simon's Anglican Church, 1450 Litchfield Rd., at 3 p.m. Regular tickets cost $25, or $20 for seniors, $15 for students or $10 for children. For tickets, visit www.oakvillechamber.org. eric riehl / oakville beaver stomping ground: The children in the ArtHouse at the Y program have recorded their own version of Stomp, which will be showcased at the upcoming ArtHouse Festival Series concert on Saturday. Concert showcases ArtHouse programs By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The final concert of the third season of the ArtHouse Festival Series (formerly Festival Quattro) will also be a first for the performance series. At the Saturday, March 3 Variations concert, all the cost-free programs provided to Oakville children through ArtHouse will be showcased to concertgoers. The concerts are a fundraising source for all the programing, and now people will get a first hand look to see what it is that they are supporting. "It's the first time we've brought the two things together, which I'm very excited about," said ArtHouse founder Don Pangman. "I think a lot of people support the ArtHouse Festival Series without really knowing exactly what we're doing, providing these programs to young kids in Oakville." ArtHouse has three visual arts programs, two of which are in partnership with Oakville Galleries, called Red Fish Blue Fish. The other is the Little Monet's Program, led by Oakville artist and instructor Dawn-Angela Seeley. The works created by these students, aged seven to 11, will be displayed in the halls of St. Mildred's-Lighbourn School, where the concert will take place. Additionally, the students, with the help of their instructors, in the Junior Chef's Ethnic Cooking Program will have biscotti available for all concertgoers. During the performance, the audience will also be treated to another example of ArtHouse programing. A video featuring some 40 children from the ArtHouse at the Y program will be shown, featuring their audiovisual production of Stomp, whereby they make music with such things as brooms, garbage cans and lids, and more. "There's a lot in this. It's dance, but I call it enriched fitness so it doesn't turn boys off," Pangman said. "The dancing could involve break dancing or hip hop and stuff like that, then suddenly their attention is back on it." Since ArtHouse began in 2009, it has provided cost-free programs to approximately 400 children. It had about 90 in its first year. Now, the organizers have decided to showcase the work of these students at a fundraising concert. "It seemed to be the right time," Pangman said, when asked why it was decided to do so now. "We're growing. We're learning. This has been hugely successful." A concert of course couldn't be a concert without its musical attraction. Providing professional-caliber music to the audience will be a trio of successful Canadian musicians. They are pianist Maxim Bernard, an International See Musicians page 22