March 28, 2024

Drummer
BY AARON CRECES
Are you a fan of excellent classical music? Are you a student with $14 who is looking for something to do on a cold night in the city?
If so, check out the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and their latest 2013/2014 concerts.
After four years of the Intersections series, KWS celebrated its fifth year with Intersections Encore on Nov. 8 and 9.
Conducted by KWS director Edwin Outwater, the series of performances featured some of the most popular pieces from past Intersections shows, including Lullaby, a piece written by co-founder of The Barenaked Ladies, Andy Creegan.
“I love working with such amazing composers and artists,” Outwater said. “And when everything comes together with the full orchestra the result is really mind-blowing.”
The night began with a piece never performed in an Intersections series, a number titled Aheym. It was written by American composer Bryce Dessner, drawing inspiration from stories of his parents, who were Jewish immigrants.
Next in line were The Fiddelnist Rim and Song of the Winter Solstice, two beautiful original pieces from Baltimore composer and electronic musician Dan Deacon. Taking the show in a different direction, his pieces featured electronic music blaring on loudspeakers with the symphony playing in sync.
His first stint with symphony orchestra was with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony back in their 2010/2011 season.
While cheering and boisterous applause is a surefire way to get you kicked out of a symphony, audience members showed their delight in other, more subtle ways during the program intermission.
Murmurings around the concert hall showed all too well how the night was going, though audience members were reluctant to discuss their opinions
Creating a trance-like state in the third act, Creegan’s Lullaby piece was featured once again, being a favourite from the symphony’s 2012/2013 season.
“This is a great piece,” Outwater said of Lullaby. “It’s got a smoky jazz feel to it, but also an Asian pentatonic kind of thing going on.”
Shaking things up in the final act was Nicole Lizée’s piece, 2012: Triple Concerto for Power Trio: Fantasia on Themes by Rush. Not surprisingly, the Canadian composer took inspiration from the music of prog-rock power trio, Rush, for that one.
The piece was structured around the music of the band, but made to sound as if the record which contained the music had been heavily damaged.
The performance featured three additional musicians playing the musical roles of the band; with Steve Raegele on guitar, Ben Reimer on drums and Rémi-Jean LeBlanc on bass.
“Tonight’s concert was really amazing,” Outwater said. “It is incredible to bring back some of the most exciting music that we have performed on this series.”
All in all, it was a successful start to the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony’s 2013/2014 season of performances. For more information on the KWS and their programs, visit www.kwsymphony.ca.