The halls of Brandon University’s (BU’s) School of Music will be filled with sounds of wondrous woodwinds as the BU Clarinet Festival returns for its 14th year on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10.
This year’s festival will be highlighted by a pro series performance by James Campbell, dubbed “Canada’s pre-eminent clarinetist and wind soloist” by the Toronto Star. Campbell will be joined onstage at the Lorne Watson Recital Hall on Saturday evening by pianist Futaba Niekawa.
“We’re thrilled to have James Campbell return to headline our festival along with Vancouver clarinetist Michelle Anderson,” said BU Music Professor Dr. Catherine Wood. “Campbell and Niekawa have an exciting program planned for the Pro Series. This will be a very special performance and a rare opportunity for our community to hear the duo back together in concert.”
Campbell has performed in more than more than 35 countries with world famous ensembles such as the Boston Pops, the London Symphony, the Spanish Radio Orchestra and the Montreal Symphony. He has collaborated with legendary artists such as pianist Glenn Gould and composer Aaron Copland, and has been the recipient of the Queen’s Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medals as well as being named to the Order of Canada. Campbell was a Professor of Music at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University from 1988 to 2019 and has been the Artistic Director of the Festival of Sound since 1985.
A boundary-pushing soloist and collaborative pianist, Niekawa has released five recordings and has toured throughout Canada, the United States, England, Spain, Taiwan and Japan. She has performed with Atar Arad and Charles Castleman as well as members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Niekawa is very familiar to BU audiences for her long-term partnership with School of Music violinist Kerry DuWors as duo526.
The pro series concert will begin at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday in the Lorne Watson Recital Hall, inside the Queen Elizabeth II Music Building. Tickets will be available at the door and will be $20 for adults, and free for BU students and Conservatory of Music students.
Saturday’s festivities will kick off with a free faculty recital, with Wood and DuWors being joined by Madeline Hildebrand on piano, from 2:30 to 3 p.m., at the Lorne Watson Recital Hall. The trio will perform works of David Braid, including the Canadian premiere of Wash Away.
Sunday concerts feature Anderson and Madeline Hildebrand from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., followed by the festival finale at 3:30 p.m. with the BU Clarinet Choir, University of Regina Clarinet Ensemble, and a mass festival choir with soloists James Campbell and Michelle Anderson. Both Sunday concerts are free to the public.
The festival will also include workshops, masterclasses and a performance by the Festival Clarinet Choir, for clarinetists of all levels. School of Music alumni, including Regina Symphony Orchestra clarinetist Vanessa Klassen, guest conductor Justine Burke and St. John’s Music repair expert Christian Ilagan will also present. For more information about the BU Clarinet Festival, visit BrandonU.ca/music/festivals-and-workshops/clarinet-festival-2024.
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