Classical guitarist coming to Victoria Park
(Aug 19, 2003)
A Midsummer Night's Dream . . . A Journey to Freedom, which takes place at the Victoria Park Pavilion this Thursday evening, is a multi-dimensional cultural offering that defies simple description.
The primary emphasis is on music, particularly the artistry of guitarist Kevin Ramessar, who will perform with the Ramessar Quintessence, a new jazz chamber ensemble.
For those who know Ramessar's work -- his performances, locally, across Canada and in Europe, or his highly acclaimed debut CD (Echoes: The Sacred Dance) -- this will be enough to distinguish the event as something special.
Thursday's program has been carefully constructed and rehearsed extensively over the summer. The music is eclectic jazz, mixed with classical, folk and world music elements. The repertoire covers works from Pat Metheny, Jimmy Cliff and Bruce Cockburn to Bach, Mendelssohn and Britten.
Guest artists include the DaCapo Chamber Choir, master saxophonist Dave Wiffen, Tony Snyder, principal horn for the Wellington Winds and Jeremy Moyer, who plays and composes for traditional Chinese instruments.
The music will be augmented with dramatic, literary and visual art presentations. The distinguished Canadian actor Ted Follows will do the readings, which include brief passages from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Keats' Ode To Sleep ("O soft embalmer of the still midnight").
There is also a strong spiritual dimension. The organizers hope to draw people who are seeking or longing in one way or another -- personally, artistically or spiritually.
It starts late -- at 9 p.m., after the sun has set. Participants are invited to come early and spend some time wandering around Victoria Park as the light fades and the shadows grow long.
After gathering in the Pavilion, audience members will hear "the haunting sound of a horn . . . calling lovers to a celebration of the joy and spirituality of the nuptial vows." As the evening progresses, "the listener will be carried along a journey through the wide range of human experiences . . . Then as the dawn of the new day approaches, a song of hope will bring the evening of music and prose to an enchanted ending . . . "
The primary moving force behind this project is producer Earl McCluskie of Chestnut Hall Music, a company that was formed with a mission "to produce innovative and successful music productions, both recorded and live, that promote the careers of the artists it works with."
When I spoke with McCluskie, he explained that inspiration for the Midsummer Night's Dream project began more than two years ago when he attended a solo performance by Kevin Ramessar (who had just completed his bachelor of music degree in classical guitar performance at WLU).
McCluskie was particularly impressed by the way people came away from the concert feeling that they had experienced something special, something transcendent.
McCluskie and Ramessar formed a working relationship soon afterwards. One of the results is the Echoes CD, which includes an improvisational piece entitled Joy Go With My Love.
This work became the nucleus around which the Thursday evening program was developed.
This same composition also served as the starting point for a Chestnut Hall Music recording project involving the Ramessar Quintessence.
Thanks to a grant from FACTOR (Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Records), the ensemble was able to produce a studio demo featuring Joy Go With My Love that became the first step towards the production of a full-length CD due for release early next year. An mp3 version of this recording is available for downloading at http://www.kevinramessar/ com, along with a wealth of other background material pertaining to the concert on Thursday.
A midsummer's night event promising enchantment, enlightenment and fulfilment seems particularly appealing in the wake of last week's blackout, which gave us a chance to see what a summer night looks and feels like in its natural state.
This coincidence, of course, was entirely unanticipated when the event was originally conceived.
It is worth noting, however, that the organizers are now fully prepared should a rotating blackout hit central Kitchener during the performance at the Pavilion.
If the power goes off, the journey will proceed with acoustic instruments by candlelight.
Martin DeGroot is executive director of the Waterloo Regional Arts Council. He comments on arts and culture Tuesdays in The Record. You can reach him by e-mail at: mdg@golden.net