Each year our Next Generation Stage features some of the fresh new faces of Jazz. This year we introduce you to some great young talent and bring back some familiar faces. Check out the stellar line-up on our Next Generation Stage, located on Dalhousie Street just west of Market St.[one_half_first]
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013
The Karin Visser Quartet
1:30 pm to 2:00 pm
If you are looking for a quartet that has class and talent, then you have found it. Having met at Mohawk College, Karin, Kevin, Justin and Tyler quickly formed a great friendship and soon after began playing jazz together. They have studied under such musicians as Darcy Hepner and Carol McCartney. They are all incredibly excited to be playing at the Brantford International Jazz Festival.
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Brantford Collegiate Institute Jazz Band
featuring Avery Kadish
3:00 pm to 3:30 pm
BCI Jazz Band – Brantford Collegiate boasts an active Music department with a variety of vocal and instrumental ensembles. Under the direction of Shawn Oakes, Matt Weil and Mark Barecca the music department includes a Junior and Senior Symphonic Wind Band, a vocal ensemble, a male Barbershop Chorus, a full scale musical with orchestra as well as a Jazz band. The ensembles are known for their energetic and emotional performances. The jazz band performs standards from big band, latin, swing, and much more. The ensembles and individual students have won several awards at music festivals. BCI is the only school in the country to have its own male barbershop chorus that competes internationally with other students from Ontario each year in the United States at the International Youth Chorus Festival
An aspiring triple threat, Avery Kadish has acted in various film and television projects and just completed work on a Disney animated TV series, ‘Ella The Elephant’, as the voice of “Tiki”, one of its lead characters, airing this month. Avery has performed in various stage musicals across Ontario, and has just finished a run as Jane Banks in Drayton Entertainment’s production of Mary Poppins. She will also be the lead in Meadowvale Theatre’s production of A Secret Garden in February 2014. Avery’s real passion however, is singing. She is currently under the direction of the Hernandez Voice Studio in Brantford and has garnered various awards. She volunteer’s her time singing at government events, local service groups and sports organizations, has sung numerous times on the local Sanderson Centre stage, and was recently the vocalist for the Hamilton All-Star Junior Jazz Band. Inspired by the likes of Natalie Cole and Ella Fitzgerald, Avery is thrilled to be performing at the Brantford Jazz Festival with BCI musicians under the direction of Shawn Oakes.
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High Rendition Jazz Band
4:30 pm to 5:00 pm
Brought together by the love of Jazz, the High Rendition Jazz Band is a group of talented musicians between the ages of 14 and 19 from various high schools in the Burlington, Oakville and surrounding Halton area. Since their formation in 2008, High Rendition Jazz has worked to realize their vision “to be a recognized high performance youth jazz band, making our communities a better place to live by playing great jazz”.
As members of the Oakville Arts Council, the band continues to forward their ambition through performance, most recently at Oakville Family RibFest, the Burlington Sound of Music Festival, the Oakville Jazz Festival and at the July 1st Canada Day Celebrations at Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON. In May 2013, High Rendition Jazz also won a Silver Award in the Instrumental Jazz Division at the Nationals MusicFest Canada Festival in Toronto, ON. High Rendition Jazz is led by the multi-talented Musical Director Carmen Gassi. Carmen has been teaching instrumental music for the past 16 years. He has taught for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and is presently a music educator White Oaks Secondary School for the Halton District School Board (HDSB) in Oakville Ontario. Carmen is a 2012 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence. He is also assistant conductor with the Brampton Symphony Orchestra and Brampton Youth Orchestra. He has conducted the Halton Senior Winds Showcase Band for the past two years. Carmen holds an Honours degree in Music, a Masters of Music degree and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Western Ontario.
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Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013
The Christopher Stephens Quartet
1:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Our quartet is
- Christopher Stephens: Alto Sax
- David Hollingshead: Piano
- Dimitrios Mavrids: Bass
- Calvin Barnard: Drums
The four of us are or have studied music at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario and have had the pleasure to work with some of Canada’s finest musicians, including Mike Malone, Pat Collins, Adrean Farrugia, Kieran Overs and Michael Stuart. We recently recorded a high quality video of an arrangement created by Calvin. I also was accepted to the Honours Bachelor of Music program at McMaster University this summer and will be going to obtain my degree in September.
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The Dan Pitt Trio
2:00 pm to 3:15 pm
Dan Pitt has studied with Bob Shields, Lorne Lofsky and Kieran Overs. He is currently in his third year of the Applied Music program at Mohawk College studying jazz guitar. In his spare time, Dan is a part time local music teacher as well as a musician for hire. At the moment, Dan is a member of the Hamilton All Star Jazz Band. After Mohawk, Dan plans to continue his music education and receive a Degree in Music Performance.
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Brantford Community Symphony Orchestra
4:15 pm to 5:00 pm
The Brantford Community Symphony Orchestra is the new kid on the musical block in this city. It presented its first concerts this year to large and enthusiastic audiences, particularly for its season finale at New Covenant Church at the end of May.
The BCSO first came together in 2012 through the efforts of Karl Langton, assisted by his late brother Max, both working to fulfill the often-expressed wish of their mother for a community orchestra here to match the fine bands and choruses which give city amateur musicians a performing outlet. Norah Langton, who died in 2009, was an influential piano teacher and a long-time promoter of live music.
The BCSO is open to instrumentalists of all ages and abilities, provided you have your own instrument and can read well enough to keep up. There is no audition and the orchestra is always seeking new members.
The orchestra is conducted by Deb McLoughlin and explores a wide range of repertoire from classical to pop to Broadway. The founding of the BCSO was supported by a Cultural Innovations Grant from the City of Brantford and rehearsal space and other on-going support comes from the Brantford School of Instrumental Music.
Those interested in joining this group can call Karl Langton at 519-753-7931 or e-mail langton@mcmaster.ca.
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