Modus Operandi: Colin MacDonald Pocket Orchestra

Modus Operandi

Colin MacDonald Pocket Orchestra

Sunday, June 19 at 2:00 PST

Yarilo Contemporary Music Studio

34 Shoreline Circle, Port Moody, BC

Tickets $20/15 at the door or online at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1710854211

Livestream at http://www.yarilomusic.com/

Yarilo Contemporary Music Society is excited to present the Colin MacDonald Pocket Orchestra in a program of energetic post-minimalist music by British and Canadian composers. From movie music by Oscar-winner Michael Nyman, to Graham Fitkin's reworking of Beethoven, to Steve Martland's plaintive Pavane, contemporary British composers keep us moving in our seats. Homegrown Canadian music is also well represented by ensemble cellist Stefan Hintersteininger's lively work Shameless, and two premieres by Pocket Orchestra director Colin MacDonald.

With Modus Operandi the Colin MacDonald Pocket Orchestra continues its mandate of presenting genre-defying contemporary music that blurs the lines between jazz, rock, and classical. British composers lead the way in energy and drive, starting with Graham Fitkin's playful take on familiar symphonic themes in Beethoven 7. Michael Nyman, world-renowned for his Oscar winning score to The Piano, brings us music from the soundtrack to Peter Greenaway's Prospero's Books in the dancing rhythms of Yellow Sands. The usually hard-edged sounds of Steve Martland are softened somewhat in Mr. Anderson's Pavane, a study in texture and tonalities wrapped in an archaic dance form. Canadian composers add to this exciting program, starting with the lively Shameless, by Pocket Orchestra cellist Stefan Hintersteininger, an audience favourite at its premiere in 2009. Orchestra leader and saxophonist Colin MacDonald presents two new works, including the world premiere of the modally-textured Modulo, and a new arrangement of his paean to the moon, Vers la Lune.

Formed in 2006, the Colin MacDonald Pocket Orchestra is unique in the Vancouver contemporary music scene. This 12-member chamber orchestra specializes in the music of post-minimalist composers, and its repertoire includes works by Michael Nyman, Terry Riley, David Lang, Graham Fitkin, Steve Martland, Michael Gordon, and bandleader Colin MacDonald. Live performances by the ensemble are exciting to behold as the group performs rhythmically virtuosic music without a conductor, an experience once described as "tap-dancing on a tightrope without a safety net." Ensemble members include Colin MacDonald and David Branter (saxophones), Geeta Das (trumpet), Brad Muirhead (bass trombone), Danny Tones and Martin Fisk (percussion), Jared Burrows (bass guitar), Anna Levy (piano), Elyse Jacobson and Stefan Thorardson (violins), Stefan Hintersteininger and Doug Gorkoff (cellos).

***We would be overjoyed to have you join us in person for this concert, but if you live too far away you can still enjoy the show through our live internet stream at www.yarilomusic.com. Start time is at 2:00 pm Pacific Standard Time, so please adjust for your time zone. If you are watching from home please consider making a donation at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1710854211 to support these fine musicians!***