Musicians hold farewell concert
Central Okanagan music teachers will host a farewell concert on Feb. 25 that will be tinged with sadness. In November, Okanagan College decided not to renew a storage contract with the Kelowna chapter of the B.C. Registered Music Teachers’ Association for its Kawai grand piano. The 17 teachers had two options: find another storage and performance space or sell the piano they purchased after a fund-raising campaign in the 1970s.
A number of options were explored but ultimately, the piano was sold for its appraised value of $4,500 to Julie Thorp of Oliver who plans to use it in a South Okanagan church as well as in concerts to fund-raise for
Ukrainian mothers and children who have moved to Canada.
“History will be in the making on Feb. 25,” said Claudia Kargl, chapter president. The 2:30 p.m. concert – free and open to the public – is the last time the piano will be used in the auditorium of the college’s Kelowna campus. It will also be the last time students will be able to perform on the grand piano.
Kargl and teacher Marla
Mesenbrink decided the concert should be a demonstration of Okanagan and Canadian heritage in both music and art form.
“Our 17 teachers were invited to have their students participate in this unique inter-connection-of-the-arts experience that blends performance with language arts and visual arts. A selection of repertoire conveying nature and the outdoors has been chosen to showcase the Okanagan spirit,” said Kargl, noting 28 students will participate in what will be called the Young Artist’s Way.
Kargl applied for three grants: two from the provincial government and one from the national Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Associations. They have both been approved in principle.
A $300 provincial grant is for professional development, and it can be extended and further developed into a $200 heritage grant.
“The CFMTA’s Branching Out initiative encourages registered music teachers’ association chapters across Canada to collaborate with the arts and beyond. A perfect creative storm of three grants for one event,” said Kargl.
“This concept was very appealing to further broaden our scope of a multiarts project. The criteria for the CFMTA $100 grant fit wonderfully into what the kids were already embracing in their creative project. As a multi-disciplinary artist performer, I added the idea for students to study and explore the iconic Canadian Group of Seven Painters to blend that aspect into their artistic expression in a canvas painting.”
The objective is for students to study the images of these iconic Canadian artists, observe their painting techniques and choose one of the artists to incorporate their characteristic styles on a canvas painting by the student. Students’ original paintings will be exhibited on easels in a promenade for the public to admire.
“Each student will also express their performance piece through storytelling. The public is cordially invited to attend this unique musicarts event and give praise to our budding young talent in our community,” Kargl said. “As a grand finale, a group photoshoot will culminate the event and bring the many decades of performance opportunities of the BCRMTA at the college to an end.”