PrettyInScarlett

Having missed the Spring 2012 Ottawa International Writers' Festival, it was good to get into the autumn events. Sadly I couldn't make the Ottawa premiere of Midnight's Children (of which have heard only positive reviews!), but started my autumn festival with the All In A Day Songwriters' Circle. Being a relative newbie to Ottawa, I know of Lynn Miles by name but not a whole lot more. Friday 26th was both a celebration of her quarter-century making music and for me, an educative evening as well. A thoroughly entertaining evening with lots of clips from CBC Radio archives, messages from friends and a cross-section of Miles' prodigious output. I particularly enjoyed 'Love Doesn't Hurt', 'Hockey Night In Canada', and You Don't Love Me Anymore', as well as a guest appearance by Sarah Slean performing 'The Right Words'. Of the New Science series, Jacob Berkowitz ' presentation of The Stardust Revolution was really interestin...

Today I came across a BBC News story about old, worn-out pianos. A sad story but I suppose certain things just wear out. The ray of hope in the story comes from a link to a website called Piano Adoption . In the recycle/freecycle spirit, Piano Adoption provides a useful service for those wishing to give a functioning instrument to a good home; sub-sites for Canada and the UK also exist. One of those 'wish I'd known....' sites, so to continue in the sharing spirit, all the links are contained above.

Somehow the performance space at Alcorn Music Studios, Gigspace , has only recently found its way onto my radar; last Friday, 12th, M and I finally found our way to 953 Gladstone Ave for an intimate performance by Trio Oirialla . Trio Oirialla comprises fiddler Gerry O’Connor , accordionist Martin Quinn , and Breton composer and guitarist Gilles le Bigot , each of whom also has many side projects. The set celebrated traditional music from Ireland, Scotland and Brittany and for the select audience it was something of a cultural history of these areas as shown through a huge variety of tunes both old and new (with a good dose of banter thrown in as well). Whilst the whole evening was hugely interesting and entertaining, a specific highlight of the evening came from one of Gilles le Bigot's guitar compositions. The Reverb Syndicate at Mayfair Theatre Saturday saw an impromptu visit to The Mayfair Theatre for one of their fundraisers for the purchase of a Digital Cinema Packa...

Following on from a successful 2012 festival, Music and Beyond held a Celebration Concert on Saturday, 29th September. The selection of works included repeats of festival favourites as well as a few new choices. One person commented to me that the sheer variety meant that the flow of the concert was a little disjointed (the stage had to be set for each individual performance), but the quality was superb. NAC Culture Days - contemporary dance Again I really enjoyed Howard Cable's The Petty Harbour Bait Skiff along with the evening's offerings from the 'Jewish Composers Through The Ages' concert: Popper's Hungarian Rhapsody and Glick's 'The Rabbi's Wedding at the Palmerston Street Shul' from The Old Toronto Klezmer Suite . Both of these fun party tunes received great applause, even more than Seventeen Voyces ' rendition of Java Jive . Yannick-Muriel Noah dazzled with 'Es gibt ein Reich' from Ariadne auf Naxos , whilst Julie Nes...