Steeltown Friends of Mohawk Music present Soundscapes on Nov. 6 in the McIntyre Theatre
For more than a decade the Steeltown Friends of Mohawk Music have been entertaining audiences with an annual gala concert, all in the name of supporting Mohawk’s music program. But this year there’s a twist. The bulk of the organizing work is being done by students in Mohawk’s Applied Music program.
Bethany Gleeson, a second-year Applied Music student, is on the 12-member organizing committee. It’s a new experience for the students, she said. Students have always helped with the concert the day of, but they weren’t heavily involved in the organization of it. This year they’re doing everything from media relations to ticket sales. It’s a good way to show their support for their program, she added.
Started in 2000, the annual Gala Concert is a major fundraiser for the music program, helping to pay for scholarships, master classes and instruments. The Steeltown Friends are a non-profit group of private citizens, college employees and students who volunteer their time and talents to put on events like this that help support the college’s music program.
This year’s event is the 11thannual and features Mohawk’s own Marcel Bergmann and his wife Elizabeth. Marcel joined Mohawk’s classical music faculty in 2009. The couple has been performing together since 1989, travelling the globe for concerts in places such as Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Greece. The Bergmanns will provide a beautifully mixed and balanced program, including pieces from Bernstein’s West Side Story, a Rachmaninoff movement, some Argentinean tango music by the renowned Astor Piazolla and an original selection written by Marcel.
Back by popular demand is Heather Bambrick, a multi-talented artist known for captivating audiences with her selection of timeless pieces, brilliant vocals and unique sense of humour. She has performed at some of Canada’s premier Jazz events with artists like Oliver Jones, Peter Appleyard and Darmon Meader. Heather’s performance at last year’s gala was so popular with the audience that the organizers decided to ask her back for 2010, said Bethany. For Soundscapes she will be singing old-fashioned favourites from The Great American Songbook and will be accompanied by nationally-acclaimed Mohawk faculty members and the Mohawk College Jazz Choir.
Tickets for Soundscapes are still available. Tickets are $25 for regular admission, and $15 for students. Click here to order online or order by phone at 905-575-2740.
For more information about Soundscapes visit the Steeltown Friends of Mohawk Music website.