Archives
My preview of the Regina Symphony’s Pops Concert “Guitar Heroes”…
...which features guitarist Jack Semple, is up at the Regina LeaderPost. It begins: Most electric guitar players don't get much opportunity -- if any -- to play with a symphony orchestra. Most electric guitar players aren't Jack Semple, who's headlining the Regina Symphony Orchestra's final Shumiatcher Pops concert of the year, Guitar Heroes, on Saturday at the Conexus Arts Centre. "I've been really fortunate in the last few years," Semple says. "They've been using me on their Oscars shows and Pops shows and Mozart in the Meadow and stuff. "There are so many brilliant musicians in the orchestra," he adds. "It's like going to school. I've learned what the orchestra can do." Read the whole thing.My review of Saturday’s Regina Symphony Orchestra concert…
...featuring Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and a brand-new viola concerto by local player and composer Jonathan Ward, is in today's LeaderPost. It begins: What do you program for the final masterworks concert of the 100th season of a symphony orchestra? It would be hard to improve on the Regina Symphony Orchestra's answer to that question: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Every movement has iconic moments, and (in my opinion) if Beethoven had written nothing else in his life but the final movement, it would have been enough.My review of Saturday’s Regina Symphony Orchestra concert…
...is now online, headlined "RSO scores again with movies." Here's how it starts:Halfway through the second half of the Regina Symphony Orchestra's 10th annual The RSO Goes to the Oscars movie-music concert, Maestro Victor Sawa commented on the versatility of movie composers, who may find themselves writing theme music for sharks in one movie and mood music for superheroes in the next.But it wasn't just the composers' versatility on display Saturday night -- the RSO once again proved that it can tackle any style of music with verve.It may have helped that superheroes Batman (on timpani) and Iron Man (on viola) were lending a hand, on a night that also saw a family ...My preview of the Regina Symphony Orchestra’s movie music concert…
..., RSO Goes to the Oscars, is in today's LeaderPost.Here's a bit from the middle:For Sawa, switching from symphonies to soundtracks is natural.In a strange way, he says, "we owe a debt of gratitude to the Nazis. Oscar Hammerstein, Max Steiner, Eric Korngold, Bernard Hermann, Franz Waxman -- they all came over because they were being persecuted in Europe."The entire Hollywood sound was created by the classical composers of Europe."When we talk about classical music and how it survived the second half of the 20th century, everyone was going to the movies, they were listening to classical music."The snob factor is missing when you go to the ...Science shows musicians really ARE more sensitive
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/sensitive-musicians.mp3[/podcast] Musicians have a reputation for being sensitive types, finely tuned to the emotions of those around them. In fact, it’s become a bit of a cliché in movies (with the possible exception of the many late drummers of Spinal Tap). Normally, after a beginning like that, I’d go on to write that science has now proven the cliché wrong--but in this case, quite the opposite is true. Researchers at Northwestern University have found that the more years of musical experience musicians possess, and the earlier the age at which they began studying music, the better their nervous systems are at interpreting the emotional content of sound. The study was led by doctoral student Dana Strait, who conducts her research in the Auditory Neuroscience ...Help the Canadian Chamber Choir make its first professional recording
As I've mentioned before, I'm on the Board, and among the pool of singers, for the Canadian Chamber Choir, a fabulous national choir made up of auditioned singers from across the country. I've sung on two projects, one in Ontario and last fall one right here in Saskatchewan, and I can't praise the choir and its director, Dr. Julia Davids, highly enough. If you love choral music, you would love to hear this choir sing.Except, of course, you have to be somewhere where they're touring to do so.But that will change in the near future. The Canadian Chamber Choir is currently raising funds to make its first professional recording this summer. (I won't be one of ...The album cover meme
This fun little exercise popped up on Facebook, but I decided to do it here (and leave off the "tag everyone you've ever met" or similar instructions; I don't tag). But feel free if you think it looks like fun.To make your band's album cover, do the following:1 - To get the name of your band, go to Wikipedia and hit “random” or click here. The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.2 - To get your album title, go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations" or click here. The last ...My review of "Opera for Skeptics"…
..., the Regina Symphony Orchestra's concert on Saturday night, is online at the LeaderPost. It begins:If the Regina Symphony Orchestra's "Opera for Skeptics" Valentine's Day concert was intended to convince people to fall in love with the art form, it probably failed, since very little actual opera was presented.After all, there were no sets, no scenes, and no costumes -- aside from an aluminum-foil horned helmet that adorned maestro Victor Sawa's podium all evening.However, if the goal was the more modest one of illustrating how much wonderful music opera has to offer, the concert succeeded admirably.And thanks to the often-comic introductions by Sawa and guest baritone ...It’s Magic!
I have occasionally made reference to the fact that I can sing, and now I have vidographic proof! This is from Lyric Musical Theatre's fundraising brunch, which ran the last two Sundays at the Hotel Saskatchewan. Enjoy!Got a little choked up there at the end because I made the tactically problematic though strategically sound decision to look at my wife and daughter in the audience. *Sniff*My preview of the New Music in New Spaces concert…
..., coming up Sunday afternoon at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, is in today's LeaderPost. An excerpt:Sunday's concert will feature (Jeremy) Buzash and Eduard Minevich on violin; Jonathan Ward on viola; Amelia Borton on cello; Pauline Minevich on clarinet; Cecile Denis on harp and David McIntyre on piano. Titled "A Sound Vision," the concert will premiere five new works."Transplants" is a new electroacoustic work by Elizabeth Raum, for soundscape, video projections and solo clarinet. It's described as "a reflection on the immigrant experience, interpreted through analogies with transplanting flowers."The second piece, a new work by Jason Cullimore, also features projections, which is particularly appropriate since on Feb. 14 the MacKenzie will ...
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Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
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