Infinitus, Saxophilia, and more hit outdoor Blueridge Chamber Festival, September 3 and 4 at Trout Lake, and September 5 at Cates Park
Elysian Trio, Vancouver Erhu Quartet, NOW Music Society, Jodi Proznick Trio, and other local bright lights take to high-acoustic-design FOLIUM stage
Infinitus.mixes beatboxing and classical music.
Blueridge Chamber Music Festival presents Infinitus and Saxophilia as part of the Chamber Music Campout #1, at 2 pm and 3:30 pm respectively, at John Hendry Park on September 3; Vancouver Cello Quartet, Vancouver Erhu Quartet, and Jodi Proznick Quartet at 12, 1:30, and 3 pm respectively on September 4 at the same location for Campout #2; and Elysian Trio and NOW Society Ensemble at 12:30 and 2 pm respectively on September 5 at Cates Park
A BEATBOXING STRING trio? Meet Infinitus, formed in 2008 by violist Anthony Cheung, cellist Alex Cheung, and violinist John “Adidam” Littlejohn—three guys who show that classical music can be a blast. (We challenge you to find a single image of them playing where they don’t have huge smiles on their faces.)
The Vancouver trio plays Blueridge Chamber Music Festival’s free new outdoor series September 3 in Trout Lake Park, blending classical standards with cool jazz and hip-hop arrangements plus original compositions.
It’s all part of the fest’s Chamber Campout Series running September 3 to 5, featuring small ensembles on the group’s new FOLIUM stage—an aesthetically-pleasing and acoustically-designed new portable stage. Collaboratively created with the faculty and students of the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), the construction, made sustainably from BC wood, eliminates the need for amplification—a key for enjoying chamber music.
Infinitus hits the stage on the first day from 2 to 3 pm, followed by the equally fun and form-pushing Saxophilia, the Vancouver quartet with standout players Julia Nolan on soprano saxophone, Kris Covlin on alto saxophone, David Branter on tenor saxophone, and Colin MacDonald on baritone saxophone. The longtime foursome adeptly move from jazz to classical and new music; the program spans Branter’s Joie de Bop and Beatrice Ferreira’s Nightmare Fragments.
Elysian Trio.
The next day, head back to the East Van oasis for the Vancouver Cello Quartet tackling the likes of Rossini, Tchaikovsky, and Albinoni; Vancouver Erhu Quartet bringing together East and West in pieces like Mark Armanini’s Night Song VII and Jin Zhang’s Teasing Golden Snake; and the jazzers of the Jodi Proznick Quartet, led by bassist-composer Proznick with Tilden Webb on piano, Jon Bentley on tenor sax, and Jesse Cahill on drums in a program that spans Duke Ellington, Joni Mitchell, and Peter Gabriel.
The third and final campout moves over to North Van's idyllic Whey-ah-Wichen/Cates Park on September 5, with the Elysian Trio kicking things off at 12:30 pm with classical beauty (Claude Debussy's Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp) and new adventures (Aidan Wong's Supernova). The celebrated Vancouver improvisation masters of the NOW Society Ensemble round out the programming under the sun.
Blueridge Chamber Festival’s new FOLIUM stage.
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