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My preview of the Regina Symphony’s "Opera for Skeptics" concert…
...is now online at the LeaderPost. It begins:The word "opera" frightens some people, conjuring up images of giant women in breastplates and horned helmets screeching at the top of their lungs.Saturday at 8 p.m., the Regina Symphony Orchestra hopes to change that perception with its next Mosaic Masterworks Concert, Opera for Skeptics -- and they've recruited a lot of help to do it.As the RSO's press release says, there won't be any long over-dramatic scenes, but there will be "Big Tunes, a Big Chorus ... a Big Orchestra ... and a Big Talent." Big tunes are a given: it's opera. The orchestra is big because the RSO will be joined by ...My review of the Regina Symphony Orchestra concert with Trio Frontenac…
...is online this morning at the LeaderPost. Here's how it begins:Crisp execution, snappy passing, solid teamwork and an exciting finish -- the Regina Symphony Orchestra's Mosaic Masterworks concert Saturday night had it all.Sorry, what did you think I was talking about?Blame Maestro Victor Sawa for the football metaphor: he referenced the Super Bowl in his introductory remarks (he was cheering for Arizona, by the way). Fortunately, it fits.Quarterbacks can only dream of play execution as crisp as that of Trio Frontenac, comprising Darren Lowe on violin, his wife Suzanne Beaubien on piano, and Blair Lofgren on cello.The Quebec City trio with deep Regina roots (both Lowe and Lofgren hail ...My preview of Trio Frontenac is online
My preview of this Saturday's concert of the Regina Symphony Orchestra, featuring Trio Frontenac, is in today's LeaderPost.It begins:Trio Frontenac, featured in Saturday's Regina Symphony Orchestra Mosaic Masterworks concert at the Conexus Arts Centre, may be based in Quebec City, but it's definitely got Regina roots.To begin with, violinist Darren Lowe and cellist Blair Lofgren, now concertmaster and principal cello of the Orchestre symphonique de Quebec, respectively, are former members of the RSO (Lowe was RSO concertmaster during 1975-1976, while Lofgren played with the RSO during the 1990s.)And the third member of the trio, Lowe's wife, pianist Suzanne Beaubien, has been a guest performer with the RSO and other local musical ...My review of the True Jive Pluckers…
...is in today's LeaderPost. It begins:In the dictionary, "eclectic" has two definitions: "Selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles," and "composed of elements drawn from various sources."They could have added a third: "the music of the True Jive Pluckers."Ranging from jazz to blues to Klezmer to classical, violinist Eduard Minevich, bassist Stephen McLellan and guitarist Jack Semple displayed amazing versatility and virtuosity in their Saturday night concert with the Regina Symphony Orchestra as part of the Shumiatcher Pops series.And it ends:With the launch of TJP's first CD, We Are Here (selling like hotcakes in the lobby), and its plans to play with the Edmonton and Hamilton ...A True Jive Pluckers preview
My preview of the Regina Symphony Orchestra's upcoming Pops concert with the True Jive Pluckers is in today's LeaderPost. An excerpt:Everything the True Jive Pluckers play is based on swing music of the late 1930s -- but everything they play isn't 1930s swing music. For the Regina Symphony Orchestra pops concert Saturday, violinist Eduard Minevich, guitarist Jack Semple and bassist Stephen McLellan will be offering an eclectic collection of jazz, classical, gypsy, Klezmer and blues. "There really isn't anything that we miss," says McLellan.The eclecticism rises naturally from the three players' very different backgrounds. Minevich and McLellan are both classically trained, but Minevich loves jazz, gypsy, Klezmer and tango, and McLellan started ...Mozart, Mahler, Magic
My review of Saturday's Regina Symphony Orchestra concert is now online at the LeaderPost. An excerpt:"The Concerto for Flute and Harp "(which Sawa himself had never heard played live before now) was originally written as a piece for chamber orchestra, and thus couldn't help but be lighter in tone. In fact, aside from two horn players, the brass section was entirely excused for this piece, which featured as soloists RSO Principle Flute Marie-Noelle Berthelet and RSO Principal Harp Cécile Denise.The two were delightful together, the flute's clear singing intertwined with and embellished by the rippling notes of the harp. (In fact, no offence to the orchestra players, but the sections with just flute and harp were ...My review of the National Arts Centre Orchestra…
...which played a benefit concert for the Regina Symphony Orchestra Saturday night, is in today's LeaderPost.It begins:"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got those strings" would be one way to sum up the National Arts Centre Orchestra's concert Saturday night at the Conexus Arts Centre.The strings are the heart of any symphony orchestra, and the National Arts Centre's string section is (a) superb and (b) much larger than what the 100-year-old Regina Symphony Orchestra (for whom the Saturday concert was a benefit) can field.The lush, rich sound pouring from the strings was a joy throughout the concert... Read the whole thing.My review of Saturday’s Regina Symphony Orchestra concert…
...,Big Bands to Broadway, is in today's Regina LeaderPost. An excerpt:Leora Joy Godden, Mark Oddan, Jeffrey Pufahl, Kaitlyn Semple, and Tahirih Vejdani sang a selection of current and past Broadway hits, interspersed in the first act with numbers by the RSO Big Band. Accompanying the singers were the full orchestra and, sometimes, the Halcyon Chamber Choir, directed by Hart Godden (who also arranged many of the pieces and assisted with the staging).Godden, Semple and Vejdani, the "Andrews Sisters" in last fall's RSO Remembrance Day concert, once again demonstrated pitch-perfect blend and sharp, clear diction. Throw in Pufahl's rich baritone and Oddan's crisp tenor, and the result was a quintet capable of doing justice to a ...My review of Saturday’s Regina Symphony Orchestra concert…
... can be read online here.Photo of the Weekend: Ballerina
My daughter Alice, at rehearsal Saturday morning on stage at the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts (Conexus Arts Centre) in the final rehearsal for her apperance that night with her pre-ballet class from the Conservatory of Performing Arts. They danced the sugarplum fairy dance from The Nutcracker at the Regina Symphony Orchestra's annual Christmas concert.She's five, but squint your eyes and you can begin to imagine what she'll look like as a young woman.Is it still permissible to keep a shotgun loaded with rock salt behind the door to fend off young men attempting to call on your ...
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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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