Please join us to celebrate our 5 medium ensembles!
The Queen’s Cello Ensemble has currently more than 20 cellists participating and gives Queen’s students the opportunity to lead sections and to gather valuable experience in helping younger and older cellists from the Kingston community to perform at a high level. Queen’s students also get the opportunity to arrange music for this ensemble and conduct the ensemble. This term, our concert features arrangements by Olivia Budgell, BMus ’24, as well as music by Bach, Faure and Chopin arranged by Rosalynn Heuer and Joan Harrison.
The Multi-Genre Vocal Ensemble will most beautifully and musically remind you that, alas, the only thing constant is change! Turn the World Around is a program of songs about cycles and seasons, with repertoire ranging from Philip Glass to Paul Simon, Harry Belafonte to Anaïs Mitchell.
The Clarinet Choir will present excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite arranged by Ian Deterling. Ian Deterling is a composer of aesthetically intriguing works for varied instrumentation. Blending tradition with contemporary practice, his music engages audiences by being authentic, relevant, and memorable. Deterling’s works have been performed nationally and internationally, most notably by members of prestigious organizations such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the São Paulo State Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, and the San Antonio Symphony. His works and arrangements for educational ensembles are frequently performed at high schools and colleges as well as by amateur community bands, orchestras, and ensembles all around the world.
The Queen’s Percussion Ensemble presents “Shared Space”: Melodic post-minimalist music for percussion. The program includes Starfall by James Vilseck which reflects a sense of wonder one has while staring up into the sky and appreciating the beauty of the stars. Porcupine by Keith Stratton uses a variety of instruments (including marimba and vibraphone, glockenspiel, various drums, claves and shakers) to present a slightly prickly but ultimately charming piece with an endearingly lopsided groove. Shell by Emma O’Halloran was inspired by the work of photojournalist Seph Lawless who has traveled across the United States capturing images of abandoned shopping malls. There’s a certain feeling evoked
from places that should be full of people but are now empty and decaying. Before online shopping, these were vibrant communal places, now the emptiness is amplified. This will be the Canadian Premiere of Shell. Shared Space by Ivan Trevino was commissioned by McCallum High School Percussion Ensemble for
their 2015 PASIC showcase concert. The piece is scored for seven percussionists who share a setup of one 5.0 octave marimba, one vibraphone, one glockenspiel, one cajón, and two concert toms. At times, up to five players perform on the same keyboard instrument, some standing on the opposite side of the instrument, creating a challenging and fun learning and performing experience.