Flutist opens historical doors

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Haley Rempel shares stories of great composers. (SUPPLIED PHOTO)

You have to hand it to flutist Haley Rempel; the entrepreneurial spirit burns brightly in the heart of this 27-year-old musician/performer/teacher, and waiting for opportunities just isn't part of her repertoire. Rempel goes out and makes them herself.

The graduate of River East Collegiate, McGill University and Yale University maintains a busy teaching and performing schedule while continuing to promote herself and the music she loves.

Tonight at 7:30 at the Berney Theatre at the Asper Jewish Community Campus, 123 Doncaster St., Rempel and a host of top local musicians will present a special multimedia presentation designed to stimulate and educate. The Men Behind the Music -- Bach, Handel and Mozart fulfills a desire of Rempel's to share the stories of the composers who wrote the music the audience hears.

"I want to give the audience a glimpse into the lives of the composers and the times in which the music was written," she said in a telephone interview. "It will be done in a down-to-earth way. You will find out what they were like, what it would be like to have a coffee with them, about their personalities. They led fascinating lives that impacted their music."

Rempel has shared this information with audiences before, and saw how it changed their perspectives on listening to the music.

"My goal isn't to bring back the 1700s," she said "but to bring back the spirit of the times, to let you know the real people."

Along with Rempel on flute will be harpsichordist Eric Lussier, violinist Mary Lawton, cellists Yuri Hooker and Karin Erhardt as well as Carole Pollard on piano. The stories behind the composers will be presented on film. Local talent provides the onscreen narration. "It plays out like an historical documentary," Rempel said. She warns that some content may not be suitable for anyone under 14.

Rempel was secretive about the repertoire but did disclose that Hooker would be playing one of the Bach solo cello suites and that she would perform Handel and Bach trio sonatas.

Tickets are $20, $15 for students, at the door.

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By contrast, Harry Strub, artistic director of the University of Winnipeg's Virtuosi Concerts, has been arranging, scheduling and putting on concerts for over 20 years. The 2011-2012 season marks the 21st for this unique series that is a piano and string lover's dream. Year after year, Virtuosi Concerts features award-winning and excellent chamber musicians and soloists from around the world.

Perusing the season brochure, you read about artists from Japan, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Spain and the United States. Strub, a professor of psychology at the U of W, has been on sabbatical this past year, but that hasn't put a crimp in his job as impresario. "I'm 95 per cent complete with planning the 2013-2014 season," he said recently.

Each season is a labour of love for Strub, whose series now has an enviable reputation. "I get proposals from agents and musicians," he said, adding that he contacts his own prospects as well.

Concerts are held in the intimate Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall at the U of W. With seating for just under 230 people, it provides the audience with a more personal listening experience than in larger venues. The series is popular; often, extra chairs are placed right onstage to accommodate additional listeners.

And while Virtuosi's primary focus is chamber music; players often do a bit of solo work as well. "I seem to be pioneering a formula in the music world," laughed Strub. "Half of the program is often solos and the other half duos or trios. Others are following this format now."

The season opener on Sept. 24 is entitled Radiant Sound and features the B.C.-based Borealis String Quartet. It played in Winnipeg in 2005 with the Women's Musical Club, oozing intensity with every stroke of the bow. A new cellist has joined the group, which now includes violinists Patricia Shih and Yuel Yawney, violist Nikita Pogrebnoy and cellist Shih-Lin Chen. Beethoven, Shostakovich and Grieg are on the program.

Other highlights include the return of pianist Peter Vinograde with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players in a program about Mozart and his mentors, the San Luis Potosi Chamber Orchestra from Mexico in concert with Brandon-based pianist Alexander Tselyakov and Van Cliburn Piano Competition winner Alex Kobrin with Russian cellist Boris Andrianov. Complete season and subscription information is showcased at www.virtuosi.mb.ca .

Strub gives credit to the series' biggest benefactor, the U of W. "They are our major patron," he said. "This couldn't happen without their support."

This is the final Music Matters column until September. Enjoy the summer and be sure to make music part of it. Life is always better with music.

gwenda.nemerofsky@shaw.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 23, 2011 D5