UPCOMING EVENTS
Bringing art music to exciting & unexpected venues
Distinction
Alina Khvatova, violin
Cheryl Emery-Karapita, piano
Tuesday, July 5, 2022 – 7:30 pm
ATB Community Room, Casa
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$5 from every regular adult ticket sold will be donated to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation for relief efforts.
Seating will be distanced and masks will be available for patrons who wish to wear one.
Our opening night concert pays tribute to the continued tragedy in Ukraine by symbolically separating the Ukrainian and Russian repertoire. Violinist Alina Khvatova, and pianist Cheryl Emery-Karapita, will perform a distinctive program of Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian music, featuring Lyudkevych, Latoshinsky, and Wieniawski, and Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Tchaikovsky.
Program
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 – 1975)
Ten Preludes for Violin & Piano, Op. 34 arr. by Dmitri Tsyganov
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943)
Vocalise Op. 34, No. 14
Pytor Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893)
Melodie from Souvenir d’un lieu cher Op. 42
Sergei Prokofiev (1891 – 1953)
Gavotte, Op.32, No.3 arr. by Jascha Heifetz
March from The Love For Three Oranges arr. by Jascha Heifetz
Intermission
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
Selections from Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001
I. Adagio
IV. Presto
Henry Wieniawski (1835 – 1880)
Légende for Violin and Piano, Op. 17
Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16
Stanyslav Lyudkevych (1879 – 1979)
Holosinnya for Violin and Piano
Boris Latoshinsky (1895 – 1968)
Ukrainian Dance
William Kroll (1901 – 1980)
Banjo and Fiddle
Music in the Garden
2022 Centric MusicFest String Quartet:
Laurie Syer, violin
Eric Auerbach, violin
Gabriel Kastelic, viola
Julie Amundsen, cello
Wednesday, July 6, 2022 – 7:30 pm
Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden
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*Tickets are limited for this event*
Centric MusicFest and the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden are partnering to produce this exclusive concert! Enjoy an evening in one of Lethbridge’s beautiful outdoor locales while your visit is enhanced with music streaming live to wireless headphones, as performed by the 2022 Centric MusicFest string quartet. This year’s quartet is composed of Lethbridge musicians, Gabe Kastelic and Julie Amundsen with visiting colleagues, Laurie Syer and Eric Auerbach. Enjoy an uplifting and soulful program of music by Borodin, Barber, Glass and Haydn. Wine, spirits and sake will be available for purchase.
*Please note: In case of poor weather, the event will be moved indoors at the same location.*
Program
Philip Glass (b. 1937)
String Quartet No. 2 “Company”
Alexander Borodin (1833 – 1887)
from String Quartet No. 2
I. Allegro moderato
III. Noturno (Nocturne): Andante
Samuel Barber (1910 – 1981)
Adagio from String Quartet, Op. 11
Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)
String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 76, No. 4 “Sunrise”
I. Allegro con spirito
II. Adagio
III. Menuetto. Allegro
IV. Finale. Allegro ma non troppo
Music in Nature
2022 Centric MusicFest String Quartet:
Laurie Syer, violin
Eric Auerbach, violin
Gabriel Kastelic, viola
Julie Amundsen, cello
Friday, July 8, 2022 – 7:30 pm
Outdoor Classroom, Helen Schuler Nature Centre
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*Tickets are limited for this event*
The Centric MusicFest quartet will perform a second concert amongst the beauty of the Helen Schuler Nature Reserve in Lethbridge’s iconic river valley. Enjoy an evening in one of Lethbridge’s beautiful outdoor locales and while your visit is enhanced with music streaming live to wireless headphones, as performed by the 2022 Centric MusicFest string quartet. This year’s quartet is composed of Lethbridge musicians, Gabe Kastelic and Julie Amundsen with visiting colleagues, Laurie Syer and Eric Auerbach. Enjoy an uplifting and soulful program of music by Borodin, Barber, Glass and Haydn.
*The Outdoor Classroom features built-in seating but concert-goers are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs or portable seating for their own comfort.
*Please note: In case of poor weather, the event will be moved indoors at the same location.*
Program
Philip Glass (b. 1937)
String Quartet No. 2 “Company”
Alexander Borodin (1833 – 1887)
from String Quartet No. 2
I. Allegro moderato
III. Noturno (Nocturne): Andante
Samuel Barber (1910 – 1981)
Adagio from String Quartet, Op. 11
Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)
String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 76, No. 4 “Sunrise”
I. Allegro con spirito
II. Adagio
III. Menuetto. Allegro
IV. Finale. Allegro ma non troppo
Rising Stars / Passion of Brahms
Alayna McNeil, violin
assisted by pianists John-Paul Ksiazek & Deanna Oye
2022 Centric MusicFest String Quartet:
Laurie Syer, violin
Eric Auerbach, violin
Gabriel Kastelic, viola
Julie Amundsen, cello
with Ryan Kolodziej, piano
Saturday, July 9, 2022 – 7:30 pm
ATB Community Room, Casa
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Seating will be distanced and masks will be available for patrons who wish to wear one.
The final concert of our festival features the inaugural winner of the 2022 Centric MusicFest/Primo Music Association scholarship: violinist Alayna McNeil, as recommended by adjudicators and the scholarship committee of the Lethbridge and District Speech Arts Festival. She will be performing some of her winning repertoire, including works by Prokofiev, Bach, and Brahms with pianists John-Paul Ksiazek and Deanna Oye.
This concert is shared with the 2022 Centric MusicFest String Quartet, composed of Lethbridge musicians, Gabe Kastelic and Julie Amundsen with visiting colleagues, Laurie Syer and Eric Auerbach. They will be joined by artistic director, pianist Ryan Kolodziej, in a performance of Brahms’ dramatic Piano Quintet in F minor.
Program
Sergei Prokofiev (1891 – 1953)
Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 63
I. Allegro moderato
Alayna McNeil, violin
John-Paul Ksiazek, piano
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
Sarabande – Double from Partita I, BWV 1002
Alayna McNeil, violin
Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)
Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78
I. Vivace ma non troppo
Alayna McNeil, violin
Deanna Oye, piano
Intermission
Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Andante, un poco adagio
III. Scherzo: Allegro
IV. Finale: Poco sostenuto – Allegro non troppo –
Presto, non troppo
Laurie Syer, violin
Eric Auerbach, violin
Gabe Kastelic, viola
Julie Amundsen, cello
Ryan Kolodziej, piano
Join us in the heart of our community for lunch-time musical interludes – free!
Buy lunch from the Pop-Up’s lunch sponsor and enjoy your meal with live music!
Contact us with a receipt showing a purchase of $10 or more on the same day as the pop-up concert from that event’s lunch sponsor for a special discount on tickets to the July 5 and 9 concerts.
2022 ARTIST LINEUP
World-class musicians off the beaten track
Julie Amundsen, cello
Raised in Lethbridge, Julie Amundsen holds graduate level degrees in music performance from both the University of Alberta and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover, Germany. Over the past few years she has performed regularly with the Edmonton Symphony and instructed cello at the University of Alberta Faculty of Music. She enjoys performing with various chamber music ensembles, as well as adjudicating music festivals in both larger and smaller communities. Julie has taught chamber music and cello at several summer music camps and extensively in a private studio. She is excited to be back home!
Eric Auerbach, violin
Based in Calgary, Eric enjoys a varied performance career of solo, chamber music, and orchestra concerts. He has had the opportunity to perform in major halls across the US, Canada, and Europe. His violin studies took him to the New England Conservatory, Indiana University, the San Francisco Conservatory, and Mount Royal University. His primary teachers are Bill Van der Sloot, Ian Swensen, and Kevork Maridirossian. Very early in his musical career, Eric was inspired by the Colorado Quartet, whom he worked with closely over several summers.
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He took every chance to play and study with chamber musicians through his musical education including Joel Smirnoff, Mark Sokol, and Shmuel Ashkenasi, Ian Swensen, as well as members of the Pacifica, Rolston, St. Lawrence, and Takacs String Quartets.
His first orchestra, the Boston Youth Symphony, toured across Germany and the Czech Republic. Since then, he has performed with several orchestras in the US and Canada, most recently with the Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Along the way, he has also had the opportunity to share the stage with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Jonathan Biss, Anna Netrebko, Lara St. John, James Ehnes, and Gabor Takacs.
When he’s not performing, you may find him teaching music in Calgary. Currently, he leads violin masterclasses at the MRU Conservatory Academy program for gifted youth, and leads group classes at the Calgary Multicultural Orchestra.
Cheryl Emery-Karapita, piano
Canadian pianist Cheryl Emery-Karapita specializes in the field of song in recital with Canada’s emerging vocal and instrumental talent. After completing an M.Mus in Vocal Operatic Coaching at McGill University with Michael McMahon, Cheryl moved to Europe to pursue a post-graduate degree in Concert Accompanying with Julius Drake at the Kunst Universität in Graz, Austria. In addition to studies in Graz, Cheryl spent two summers in Baden bei Wien working with Helmut Deutsch, Roger Vignoles, Rudolph Jansen and Wolfram Rieger at the Franz Schubert-Institut.
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Current activities include recital and recording projects, teaching students at the Lethbridge Piano Intensive and CASA Art Centre, collaborating with University of Lethbridge students, Luminous Voices (Calgary), the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and Lethbridge piano ensemble, Fourtitude.
FOURtitude
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FOURtitude invites audiences to have fun as they exponentially expand the sonic possibilities of the piano, and negotiate the athletic and contortionist choreography necessary to share the keyboard. As dedicated performer-educators, the members of FOURtitude aspire to bring their enthusiasm for ensemble music making to their students and their communities!
Gabriel Kastelic, viola
A native of Lethbridge, Alberta, Gabriel Kastelic has been heavily involved in the Southern Alberta music community for many years. He has extensive experience as an orchestral musician, having performed in concert with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Red Deer Symphony, Symphony of the Kootenays, and is currently the Principal Violist of the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra.
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A seasoned chamber musician, he won first place in the Chamber Music category at the 2012 National Music Festival with his ensemble, the MRU String Trio and is presently the violist in the Musaeus String Quartet.
Along with performance, Gabriel’s greatest passion in music is teaching. He has held numerous teaching positions over the years including professor of violin / viola for the Calgary Multicultural Orchestra, Director of the String Academy for Medicine Hat College, and most recently as Music Director of the Sinfonia Allegro String Orchestra and violin/viola instructor for the University of Lethbridge Conservatory. Gabriel is also a sought-after adjudicator, frequently serving in this role for various music festivals and competitions.
Alina Khvatova, violin
A Russian-Canadian violinist born to a family of pianists, Alina started her violin lessons with her grandmother Galya, a violin teacher. Soon after, she was enrolled in the F. Chopin Moscow State College of Musical Performance. After moving to Canada in 2011, Alina studied with Robert Rozek at the Vancouver Academy of Music before pursuing and finishing her Master in Performance degree at McGill University.
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Throughout her learning journey she performed with her parents, student orchestras, pop orchestras, and most recently, with a Lethbridge band called Wander West. Currently, she teaches violin through the University of Lethbridge Conservatory of Music at CASA.
Ryan Kolodziej, piano
Dr. Ryan Kolodziej is enjoying a varied music career that has included solo and collaborative performances, accompanying nationally acclaimed amateur and university choirs, and individual instruction and group courses at the pre-college and university level. His passion for collaboration fuels his desire to work in music education and brings him back to his home town of Lethbridge every summer as the Artistic and Executive Director of Centric MusicFest.
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He currently teaches piano at L’École de musique Vincent-d’Indy and the Conservatoire de Collège Stanislas in Outremont, Montreal. At the post-secondary level, he has taught as a chargé de cours at l’Université de Montréal, as well as a course instructor at the University of Alberta. His students have enjoyed much success including top prizes at competitions, several First Class Honours in Royal Conservatory of Music exams, and RCM gold medals.
As a pianist, Dr. Kolodziej has performed in Canada and Europe with notable performances at the Banff Summer Music Festival, the DOFMS (Doors Open for Music at Southminster) series in Ottawa, and in Valencia, Spain for the Valencia International Piano Academy. He has been fortunate to receive multiple grants that supported his artistic achievements from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and a SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada) research grant award for his work on Liszt/Schubert arrangements and transcriptions.
When he is not doing music related activities, Ryan enjoys gardening, hiking, and building and endlessly customizing computers or any other related technology that he can get his hands on.
John-Paul Ksiazek, piano
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Theo Lysyk, percussion
Theo Lysyk has been an avid percussionist and musician his entire life. Starting on drums and piano at a young age, his passion for percussion flourished in his studies with the University of Lethbridge, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in music. He has proficiency over a number of percussion instruments, including marimba, snare drum, orchestral percussion as well as world percussion such as Steel Pan, African drumming, Tahitian drumming, Japanese taiko and Chinese drumming.
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Theo has travelled to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Hawaii and Los Angeles for performances, and has held clinics and educational retreats in Lethbridge and Southern Alberta. He currently works at the University of Lethbridge Conservatory of Music at Casa as a percussion instructor, and is an active performer in the community with groups such as New West Theatre, the Lethbridge Symphony, Global Drums and as a sit-in for independent bands.
Theo looks forward to progressing his studies further in the fall, where he will be attending McGill University for his Master’s in music. Ultimately he intends to nourish the world of percussion in Canada through education and performance, and hopes to inspire others to become the next generation of percussionists.
Alayna McNeil, violin
Alayna McNeil is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in violin performance at the University of Lethbridge, where she studies with Peter Visentin. Prior to university, Alayna studied violin with Lise Boutin. Alayna is an honours student, and she was awarded the Abbondanza Fine Arts Undergraduate award and the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra Strings award during both of her years at the university.
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Alayna was the 2019 winner of the Rosebowl award for the Most Artistic and Outstanding Performer in the Lethbridge Music Festival, and she received first place in her class at the 2021 Alberta Provincial Music Festival. Alayna has attended summer music programs across Canada and in the UK.
Alayna has enjoyed playing violin with the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra for six years, and she was a finalist for the Symphony’s 2020 Young Artist Competition. She has played with various chamber groups at university and throughout high school. In addition to violin, Alayna plays horn and trombone.
Alayna is honoured to have the opportunity to play in the 2022 Centric MusicFest.
Omni Percussion Duo
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Omni Percussion Duo is thrilled to perform, educate and showcase modern percussion, and aims to bring their unique interpretation and musical expression to their audiences.
Deanna Oye, piano
Pianist Deanna Oye is Associate Professor in the Department of Music at the University of Lethbridge, where she teaches Studio Piano and Collaborative Piano. Through the U of L Conservatory of Music, she also teaches a variety of high-level musicians not pursuing a post-secondary degree.
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Dr. Oye holds a doctorate in performance from the Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY), and has given solo and collaborative performances throughout Canada, the US, Scotland, Germany, the Netherlands and Japan. In addition, her work has been broadcast on CBC Radio Two and National Public Radio in the United States. She is a founding member of the Unconventional Trio with colleagues Josh Davies and Nick Sullivan, as well as the piano ensemble, FOURtitude, with Cheryl Emery-Karapita, Carolyn Herrington and Brad Parker.
A strong commitment to teaching and innovation led Deanna to the develop the unique Collaborative Piano / Guitar course series at the U of L, which gives undergraduate pianists and guitarists the opportunity to develop skills of high-level musical partnership with singers and other instrumentalists. Her piano students have achieved success in a variety of music endeavours, including performance and musicology studies at masters and doctoral levels, staff pianist positions, music in the classroom, and piano competitions.
In addition to frequent master class teaching and adjudicating, Dr. Oye is often invited to give career talks to aspiring young musicians. She is an enthusiastic advocate for new music and music in interdisciplinary contexts, with special interest in helping her students make connections between piano performance and their other passions.
The Strike Five
The Strike Five is a Lethbridge-based ensemble that employs two trumpets, a French horn, a trombone or euphonium, and a tuba to make beautiful music for the enjoyment of all who come to listen. The relatively new ensemble was formed in the final days of the faculty strike at the University of Lethbridge by Thom Dowdle (Horn), Sam Generoux (Trumpet), Hana Hubley (Tuba), Rex Mulder (Trumpet), and Brendan Ukrainetz (Trombone/Euphonium).
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They first performed with the University of Lethbridge brass studios at Trinity United Church in Picture Butte before their debut recital at the University of Lethbridge Recital Hall in mid-May. The ensemble plans to one day tour around Alberta schools to help students realize the value of pursuing excellence on musical instruments and to encourage the development of music programs while delivering high-quality performances and educational experiences. Each member is either holding or pursuing a music degree from the University of Lethbridge and hopes to use this ensemble to develop their wealth of performance experience even further.
Laurie Syer, violin
Laurie Syer is a violin and viola teacher in the small community of Bergen, Alberta. A former member of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, she has performed as soloist in a wide variety of venues in western Canada and in Europe. Laurie is a founding member of Calgary’s Allegra String Quartet, and has performed as a chamber musician with such groups as the Lyric Chamber Players, New Works Calgary and many other ensembles, both in Alberta and British Columbia.
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She was founding Artistic co-Director of Strings & Keys: a summer music workshop which welcomed dozens of students to Bergen beginning in 1995. Laurie has served as adjudicator for music festivals throughout British Columbia and Alberta. She is involved with many community projects, and enjoys gardening, baking in her outdoor wood-fired oven, and hanging out with her Border Collie, Ryak.
Our Festival
Since its inaugural event in 2014, Centric MusicFest, has become a permanent fixture in the City of Lethbridge's flourishing art and music scene. Building upon the success of its founder, Jesse Plessis, the annual summer classical and art music festival has grown under the stewardship of Artistic Director Ryan Kolodziej to feature a combination of local and visiting world-class Canadian and international musicians from coast-to-coast-to-coast. Read more...
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