Scores of new musical works burst forth at Turning Point Ensemble's Solo Flare, January 28 and 29

Born out of pandemic restrictions, the project shines a light on individual artists

By Gail Johnson

Composer Dorothy Chang.

Turning Point Ensemble presents Solo Flare at the Orpheum Annex on January 28 and 29 at 7:30 pm. 

TIME AND AGAIN, local artists have shown that out of unfathomable barriers to creativity and collaboration can come thrillingly innovative work. Now, Turning Point Ensemble is proving that point once again. 

Solo Flare is a cross-disciplinary collaboration among individual composers, filmmakers, dancers, visual artists, and more. The project grew out of the pandemic as a way to give TPE members an avenue for creative and musical fulfilment despite COVID restrictions. The concert features the live premiere of 11 new works, each written for a TPE member by a composer of their choice. The musicians also collaborated with filmmakers, visual effects designers, and other performing artists, while each work was also filmed (as were another five compositions made outside of the project).

Here’s a rundown of the Solo Flare offerings: Shared Solitude by Réjean Marois with Ingrid Chiang, bassoon, piano, and footwork; Mobile by Peggy Lee with Marc Destrubé, violin; Cone by Owen Underhill with Mary Sokol Brown, violin; Fire Incantation by Mariah Mennie featuring David Brown, double bass, and Mariah Mennie, fire dance; Loons by Jeffrey Ryan with Brenda Fedoruk, flute, and Robyn Driedger Klassen, soprano; Shelter by Dorothy Chang featuring Janelle Nadeau, harp; Elementos (Zapateado Flamenco) by Josue Tacoronte (with  Jeremy Berkman, trombone; Sydney Cochrane, flamenco dancer; and Josue Tacoronte, guitar); Synapses by Bob Pritchard (with David Owen, oboe and electronics/interactive “spine” for dancer [Pritchard] and Emmalena Frederickson, dancer/choreographer); Steadfast by John Oliver with Marcus Goddard, trumpet and electronics (Oliver); Les Envolées by Farangis Nurulla-Khoja featuring Jane Hayes, piano; and Sesta Danza by Ana Sokolović with Domagoj Ivanovic, violin.

The artists of Solo Flare will be featured as part of 1+1+1…, a series of 16 short films available as part of a subscription series via Turning Point Ensemble’s website as of January 31.

For more information and tickets, head to: https://turningpointensemble.ca/solo-flare/.  

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