An upcoming concert series at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) will shine the spotlight on the university’s accomplished faculty.
The Faculty Showcase launches Friday, Oct. 21 at the university’s Langley campus with a concert featuring the internationally renowned Borealis String Quartet with KPU music instructor Jane Hayes on piano in a program that will include Dvorak’s passionate Piano Quintet Op. 81.
The Borealis String Quartet is KPU’s artists-in-residence. “This will be a great opportunity for Surrey, Langley and Fraser Valley residents to come out for a phenomenal evening of international level music-making,” said Hayes. “At the heart of the program is Antonin Dvorak's hauntingly beautiful Piano Quintet — a first performance for me and for KPU."
Hayes says the entire series is shaping up to be one of the most exciting the university has ever held. “From a world premiere of American composer Stephen Dankner’s Piano Quintet written especially for the Borealis String Quartet and myself, to a visiting Chinese piano scholar from Henan Polytechnic University, here for an entire year to observe our teaching and our students, the department is offering something special to the community every month,” said Hayes.
The Faculty Showcase focuses on the professional lives of KPU’s own performing instrumental, piano, and vocal faculty. The Oct. 21 concert, which is a string showcase, will be held at the KPU Langley campus auditorium, 20901 Langley Bypass, at 7:30 p.m. Upcoming concerts:
Friday Feb. 3, 2017
Wind Showcase
Paolo Bortolussi, flute; Marea Chernoff, oboe; François Houle, clarinet; Allan Thorpe, bassoon; Jane Hayes, piano; with guest Laurel Spencer, French horn in a program built around Francis Poulenc’s Sextet, a French masterpiece of the 20th century.
Friday March 3, 2017
Choral Showcase
Nominated for a Canadian Gospel Music Covenant Award for Gospel Album of the Year, the Good Noise Gospel Choir, founded and directed by KPU's own Gail Suderman, brings their inspirational artistry to Langley for a special concert outside of their traditional home at Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver.
Subscriptions to the series are $45 for adults; and $30 for seniors and students. The first 10 series subscribers will receive a free CD featuring some of the performers.