MRU Presents: Avital Meets Avital

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M R U C O N S E R VAT O RY P R E S E N T S

T R AV E L E R S S E R I E S

MUSIC TO YOUR EARS CONCERT SEASON 2016/17

BELLA CONCERT HALL • MARCH 15, 2017 • 7:30 P.M.  @MRUPERFORMS • #BELLASTYLE #MRUBELLA  @MRUCONSERVATORY • #BELLASTYLE #MRUBELLA  MOUNT ROYAL UNIVERSITY CONSERVATORY


Message from the Conservatory WELCOME TO THE MUSIC TO YOUR EARS concert season at the Bella Concert Hall in the Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts! We are so excited to launch our inaugural season featuring seven separate series with over 25 diverse events. As a world-class centre for arts education and training, we are committed to providing education and performance opportunities for our students as well as showcasing exemplary artistic achievement in music and speech arts. From reggae legends and jazz aficionados to eastern classical masters to Canadian astronauts, this year’s line-up quite literally has something for everyone. Avi Avital is a classical mandolinist. Omer Avital is a jazz bassist. The fusion of these styles of music is the perfect example of the power of musical collaboration. MRU Conservatory is a place where, through both education and performance, we bring people together through music. We’re excited to hear them in the Bella Concert Hall. Please welcome Avital Meets Avital to the Bella! Mark DeJong Artistic Program Coordinator


“Electrifying to watch and hear” The Boston Musical Intelligence Grammy Nominee mandolinist Avi Avital join award winning bass virtuoso, oud player and composer Omer Avital for a very special project. Avital Meets Avital is a pure mix of Classical, Jazz and World music. Avi Avital is one of the world’s most exciting and entrepreneurial young musicians. He is deeply committed to building a fresh legacy for the mandolin through virtuosic performance and exciting new repertoire. Haaretz Daily has described Avital’s playing as “everything you never dreamt a mandolin could do…truly breathtaking in virtuosity and dedication.” The New York Times recognized Avi for his “exquisitely sensitive playing” and “stunning agility,” Omer Avital, praised by critics as, “extraordinary” (New York Times), “roaringly inventive” (Jazziz), and, “one of the most exciting musicians to come onto the jazz scene in the last 20 years” (Downbeat), is a visionary composer and virtuoso musician whose genre-defying ensembles are pushing the boundaries of jazz expression and providing audiences with swing and spiritual sustenance in equal measure. Avital’s compositions range from sophisticated jazz conversations (Yes! Trio) to funky, Middle-Eastern grooves (Yemen Blues) to long-form, orchestral arrangements of traditional Sephardi music (The New Jerusalem Orchestra).2010 GRAMMY Nominee for “Best Soloist”


Avi Avital Recognized by The New York Times for his “exquisitely sensitive playing” and “stunning agility,” GRAMMY nominated mandolinist Avi Avital is one of the world’s most exciting and entrepreneurial young musicians. He is deeply committed to building a fresh legacy for the mandolin through virtuosic performance and exciting new repertoire. Haaretz Daily has described Avital’s playing as “everything you never dreamt a mandolin could do…truly breathtaking in virtuosity and dedication.” Avi Avital is internationally regarded for his performances at venues including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, KKL Luzern, Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing and Wigmore Hall in London. He has appeared as soloist with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and Berliner Symphoniker under the batons of Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Simon Rattle and Philippe Entremont, among others. Avital has collaborated extensively with artists such as clarinetist Giora Feidman, soprano Dawn Upshaw, and trumpeter and composer Frank London. He has also been featured at the Tanglewood, Luzern, Spoleto, and Ravenna summer music festivals. Avi Avital is the first mandolin player to receive a Grammy nomination in the category “Best Instrumental Soloist” for his recording of Avner Dorman’s Mandolin Concerto with Andrew Cyr and the Metropolis Ensemble. He has won numerous competitions and awards, including Germany’s ECHO Prize for his 2008 recording with the David Orlowsky Trio and the Aviv Competition, the preeminent national competition for Israeli soloists. Avital has released numerous recordings in the disparate genres of klezmer, baroque, and new classical music. Avi Avital recently signed an exclusive agreement with Deutsche Grammophon who was release a Bach album in June, 2012. Avi Avital is a graduate of the Jerusalem Music Academy and the Conservatorio Cesare Pollini of Padova, Italy.


Omer Avital Praised by critics as, “extraordinary” (New York Times), “roaringly inventive” (JAZZIZ), and, “one of the most exciting musicians to come onto the jazz scene in the last 20 years” (DownBeat), Omer Avital is a visionary composer and virtuoso musician whose genre-defying ensembles are pushing the boundaries of jazz expression and providing audiences with swing and spiritual sustenance in equal measure. Avital’s compositions range from sophisticated jazz conversations to funky, Middle-Eastern grooves to long-form, orchestral arrangements of traditional Sephardi music. With his latest offering, Suite of the East, Omer has turned his traditional jazz sensibility to the performance of Middle Eastern and North African music. The hard-charging, reflective and joyful CD was chosen by TSF Jazz as Album of the Year in France and picked for NPR Music’s Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012. “The standout, strumming Spanish guitar lines one minute, sitar-like bent wails the next, with a Minguslike thump... A ferocity that not only invoked Bird but ranged through some Hendrix-like noise and Bach’s G major cello suite as well... Instantly recognizable style.” VILLAGE VOICE


Yonathan Avishai Based in France (Israeli-born and raised), pianist Yonathan Avishai is without doubt one of the major figures of the emerging Israeli jazz scene. Whether through a concert, in the theatre or in a workshop, this unique musician shares his passion for sound, music and its history. He studied music therapy and leads educational workshops on the subject around the world. A former member of “The Left Bank,” “Third World Love Quartet,” and tours with Bachir Mouhali, Donald Kontomanou, and Yoni Zelnik, Avishai has recorded and performed the world over. Packing each note with a dramatic charge, Avishai creates a poetic world rich in emotion and color.


John Hadfield As a percussionist, drummer, and composer, John Hadfield’s dedication to music has taken him from his native Missouri to concert halls and clubs across the world. John’s ability to cross genres has allowed him to appear with a broad range of ensembles and artists, including: Yo-Yo Ma, Kinan Azmeh’s City Band, Petros Klampanis’ Contextual, Nguyen Le’s STREAMS Quartet, The Saturday Night Live Band on NBC, Deep Purple, and the Silk Road Ensemble. John has also released two albums of his own compositions: The Eye of Gordon and Displaced. In addition to these albums, John’s compositions have been featured in films, including a documentary selected for the Tribeca film festival, chamber music concerts, jazz clubs, and creative music venues. John has long had a love for dance, composing music for the choreographer and modern dancer Kathryn Alter and writing the score for Preeti Vasudevan’s productions The Absent Lover and Savitri, inspired by the Mahabharata.


In his compositional work, John integrates improvisation and structure, while combining a variety of musical styles, including jazz, classical Western music, Carnatic music, and electronic music. His compositions typically involve a wide range of percussion sounds—from the traditional jazz drum set to the classical Indian kanjira, the African kalimba, as well as random objects such as bicycle wheels, pieces of metal, or ventilation tubes. He has also explored the sonic and kinetic possibilities resulting from the combination of multiple instruments and electronics (such as the software Ableton Live). John currently serves on the Jazz faculty of New York University, where he teaches drum set and the World Percussion Ensemble. Many of his former students have gone on to become successful percussionists, drummers, educators, and composers. While performing and recording John Hadfield has played alongside many inspiring and creative musicians including Lenny Pickett, Kenny Werner, Billy Drewes, Nguyen Le, Adam Rudolph, Ghalia Benali, Greg Osby, Gil Goldstein, Bobby Watson, Gilad Hekselman, Jean-Michel Pilc, Satoshi Takeshi, Bridget Kibbey, Kristin Le, Brad Shepik, Mark Helias, Chris Jennings, François Rabbath, and Erik Friedlander.



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Things are looking up He had a good job but Kofi was looking for more. Now, with new skills and credentials, there’s no limit to his success. What’s next for you?

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Acquisition of our Hamburg Steinway Piano was made possible through generous support from an anonymous donor and The Community Facility Enhancement Program, Alberta Culture and Tourism.

Take Your Seat at the Bella Concert Hall Ensure that you always have the best seat in the house. A tax-deductible donation of $1000 is all it takes to place your name on a seat in Calgary's brand new Bella Concert Hall in the Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts. With only 300 seats left, now is the time to support your arts community by sponsoring in your name, or the name of a loved one. Each seat sponsorship comes with the gift of a pair of concert tickets to an MRU Conservatory event of your choice at the Bella in 2017. To take your seat, and for more information, contact Heidi Christophel at 403.440.6591.


MRU CONSERVATORY Adult Beginning Band Ages 18+

Vocal Jazz Ensemble Ages 18+

Jazz Ensemble Ages 13+

Beginning Guitar I & II Ages 15+

Drum Set Educational Camps Ages 15+

Summer Jazz Workshop Ages 13+, adults welcome

Saxophone Quartet Ages 13+

mru.ca/conservatory


MUSIC TO YOUR EARS

Tickets at mru.ca/enjoy

The Queen, The Bear and The Bumblebee

Andrés Cárdenes

APR. 23, 2017

with the Calgary Youth Orchestra

MAY 14, 2017

Journey LIVE!

Fifth House Ensemble MAY 5, 2017

Kronos Quartet MAR. 22, 2017

Cowtown Opera APR. 2, 2017

Land’s End Ensemble with Evelyn Glennie MAY 26, 2017

Pedrito Martinez

Group APR. 22, 2017


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Music to our ears Thank you to our partners and sponsors for helping us bring concerts, community and culture to our hometown through the performing arts.


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