The Senior Times Online

Music Music Music
Jazz and Justice
Paul Serralheiro
While music often seems to be in a lofty realm of its own, a refuge from the harsh realities of life, it nonetheless has a part to play in the real, unjust world. There are, indeed, ways to combine the joy of music and political activism, as the Jazz and Justice series that runs monthly at the Unitarian Church, has proven.
Set up five years ago by long-time church member, guitarist and jazz fan John Inder, the series, he explains, was conceived “to make use of the beautiful concert hall with the wonderful grand piano and to help support charitable groups.” The piano in question is a stunning 1890 Steinway that made its way to Canada via New York City. It had been owned by a CPR president before it was sold to Quebecois composer and Scriabin disciple Alfred La Liberté, whose widow subsequently sold the piano to the church several years ago. For this installment of the Jazz and Justice series, pianist John Roney will be accompanied by the Silver Birch String Quartet performing music that stretches the boundaries of the jazz genre, incorporating classical elements.
“Roney really loved the hall and asked if he could play here,” Inder points out, a reaction musicians have always had when playing the series. While it’s a great way for audiences to hear jazz and help three groups supported by the church—The Montreal Mission, L’Abri en Ville and Équiterre—Inder says it’s also “a way for jazz performers to keep connections to the community.” The concert takes place at 8 pm on March 15 at the Unitarian Church, 5035 De Maisonneuve W.
Peter and the Wolf/Fantasia Live!
Two concerts to note for restless children and grandchildren who may need soothing or excitement or both about this time of year are The Montreal Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of Peter and the Wolf and the Musicians of the World Symphony Orchestra’s Fantasia Live! Prokofiev’s musical tale about Peter and his animal friends and foe will be illustrated with a projection of an animated film (directed by Suzie Templeton) on a giant screen. Also included will be excerpts appealing to children from works by Saint-Saëns, Brahms, Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky, Humperdinck and R. Strauss.
The MSO will be conducted by Jean-François Rivest at the Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts March 16 at 1:30 and 3pm. The other concert, Fantasia Live!, is an adapted for dancers and orchestra of music from the Disney film Fantasia which features pieces like Paul Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, and Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain.
The program will be presented by the MWSO, conducted by maestro Joseph Milo who in 2005 set up the orchestra as a way to employ talented expatriate musicians living in Montreal. This concert combining the talents of the orchestra and Destination Danse and narrated by Charles Prévost will take place on March 30 at 2:30 pm at the Salle Claude Champagne of the University of Montreal.
Russian Music
Equally of note in the Symphonic category are two concerts devoted to Russian music. The first, again by the Montreal Symphony, will feature guest conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky, and pianist Viktoria Postnikova in an all-Tchaikovsky concert on March 12 and 13, at 8 p.m. at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts. Maestro Rozhdestvensky has held posts with most of Russia’s major orchestras, including that of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. The other concert, titled One Thousand and One Nights, features the spectacular Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, op. 45, and will be presented by the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and will also feature dancer Anik Bissonnette. This is scheduled for March 31 at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, 7:30 p.m.
Big Band Jazz
Those who love big band jazz will be treated to Montreal’s best when the Joe Sullivan Big Band appears at l’Espace Dell’arte (40 Jean Talon E.) March 29 at 8 p.m. The event is part of an annual showcase of up-and-coming talent called Jazz en Rafale, offering groups of young musicians a chance to compete for a first recording on Montreal’s Effendi label while playing on the same bill as veterans of Montreal’s jazz scene.
The event, which happens over several nights mainly at the l’Espace Dell’arte, but also at the House of jazz on Aylmer street will also feature, among others, pianist’s Yves Léveillé Sextet with guest oboist Paul McCandless of Oregon fame.