NEWS RELEASE
GDVI MUSIC
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On Wednesday, April 17 the GCVI Sr Symphonic Band will be world-premiering a brand new composition by International Award-winning Canadian Band Composer Kenley Kristofferson.
"I am so excited to share that my oldest published piece of music, We Are Stars, is being transcribed for band and will get a premiere from the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute Senior Symphonic Band, under the direction of Mr. Dan Austin.
Dan has been a champion of my music for some time now, particularly Filum Vitae, my first published band piece. He’s shared performances of his groups playing it online, shared it with me, and talked to me about the work at length. I am particularly grateful for people like him who actively share music they love because it really, really helps composers. It’s also authentic – he doesn’t share what he doesn’t like, but he boosts musical work he believes in and so many of these great experiences are grounded in giving his students an enriching musical experience.
That’s how this premiere came to be. He had just finished playing Filum at the Golden Horseshoe Music Festival in 2022 and we had talked about it, and I know that he particularly likes the feel of that piece, so we looked at what else we could do. The only other music that I have in that flavour is my choral music (and Filum began its life as a choral piece, so there’s that DNA in the music), especially We Are Stars. So, I pitched it to him that maybe we could put a band transcription of that together and he enthusiastically agreed.GCVI" - Kenley Kristofferson
To commemorate this monumental event, with help from The Upper Grand District School Board Specialist High Skills Major Program, GCVI Music has booked the legendary River Run Centre in Guelph for this performance. Tickets for the first ever GCVI Music concert at the River Run Centre in Guelph go on sale Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024.
This concert will feature performances by all our award winning GCVI Music groups, including the GCVI Chamber Choir fresh off their performance at Carnegie Hall, and the 4-time Canadian National Gold Medalist GCVI Sr Symphonic Band. There will also be performances from our special guests: Mitchell Woods Public School and the incredible Ontario District - Barbershop Harmony Society 2023 Champions; Empire Quartet!
And the special finale of the concert will be the world premiere performance of the brand-new composition from Canadian Band Composer Kenley Kristofferson.
You can get your tickets starting tomorrow here. Tickets are reserved seating so we highly recommend you get your tickets ASAP
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