The ArtSpring Presents season opens its Opera series on October 12th with one of opera’s most thrilling dramatic sopranos, Christine Goerke who reprises her fierce portrayal of the title princess. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Franco Zeffirelli’s dazzling production of Puccini’s final masterpiece, which also features tenors Roberto Aronica as Calàf, sopranos Eleonora Buratto as Liù, and bass-baritone James Morris as Timur.
World premiere: Teatro alla Scala, Milan, 1926. Puccini’s final opera is an epic fairy tale set in a China of legend, loosely based on a play by 18th-century Italian dramatist Carlo Gozzi. Featuring a most unusual score with an astounding and innovative use of chorus and orchestra, it is still recognizably Puccini, bursting with instantly appealing melody. The unenviable task of completing the opera’s final scene upon Puccini’s sudden death was left to the composer Franco Alfano. Conductor Arturo Toscanini oversaw Alfano’s contribution and led the world premiere.
Salt Spring Chamber Music Festival Director David Visentin and his distinguished faculty welcome bright young musicians from across Canada for a week of intensive coaching and performance culminating in two concerts.
In 2008, the Salt Spring Chamber Music Festival Artistic Director David Visentin, together with former ArtSpring Executive Director George Sipos, opened the festival to include talented young students who wished to challenge themselves in the intensive study and performance of chamber music. Since that time, the festival has, by audition, invited gifted string and keyboard artists from B.C., Alberta and Ontario to work with festival faculty in an immersive week of music-making that includes masterclasses, coaching, string orchestra and chamber music showcases – some of them taking place in such unlikely and gorgeous settings as Mount Maxwell.
Fiddler, jazz trumpeter, and singer/songwriter, Daniel Lapp performs an unforgettable show featuring the finest fiddlin’ out there. Bring your friends! Joined by Stephanie Cadman (Fiddle, Tap, Voice) and friends Corwin Fox (Banjo, Guitar, Ukelele) and Cicela Månsson (Voice).
Two powerhouses of Canadian roots music: Daniel Lapp and Stephanie Cadman will pack the house July 19 at ArtSpring. For the third year, Daniel Lapp comes on stage during ArtSpring’s annual fundraiser, Treasure Fair and this year fiddlin’ with world-renowned dancer Stephanie Cadman, “a quadruple threat” – an accomplished actress of stage and screen, a virtuoso musician, and a knockout singer, Stephanie’s talents know no bounds.
I am in Need of Music
Special guests ArtSpring Makana Youth Choir
Sunday May 5
2:30pm | bar 1:30pm
$30.00 | $5.00 18 & under
Salt Spring Island – In May, two forces of Canadian classical music come together for a very special concert. Elektra is delighted to collaborate for the first time with soprano Suzie LeBlanc in a program of music about music entitled I am in Need of Music, ranging from Henry Purcell to the world premiere of a work by Vancouver composer and Elektra pianist Stephen Smith. Internationally celebrated for her performances of early music, LeBlanc is a creative and curious musician, delving into a rich diversity of styles, cultures, and words. Expect the unexpected as Elektra and LeBlanc share the stage in this intimate and compelling program.
Wednesday May 8
7:30pm | bar 6:30pm
$28.00 | $5.00 18 & under
Salt Spring Island – A spellbinding artist, Kaeshammer’s performances and recordings are intimate and inviting affairs with jazz, boogie-woogie, and blues combined with passion and meticulous detail. Kaeshammer is internationally acclaimed for his talents as a singer, songwriter, pianist, and producer who is unafraid of crossing genre boundaries, and for using his many influences to take the listener along on a memorable journey.
Note: Date change from listed as May 1 to May 8.
April 1 – June 4
“The Fish” Soapstone Sculpture
This is a beautiful soapstone sculpture of a fish by Canadian artist Garry Thurber. Thurber was a self-taught artist, sculptor, and writer whose work has been shown in numerous juried shows and galleries worldwide. He lived and worked on Vancouver Island for many years before moving to Salt Spring Island in 1987 where he enjoyed the rural lifestyle, scenery, and availability of materials for his art. Eventually, he returned to Saskatchewan where he continued to sculpt and teach until his death in 2014.
The piece has been valued at $2500
Minimum starting bid: $500
Generously donated by Carla Kamhoot
ArtSpring Lobby Art
The Lobby Art Auction is a series of four fantastic pieces of art created by acclaimed artists sold one piece at a time, throughout the 2018-19 Season at ArtSpring.
October 23 – November 30 “Christmas Night” by LeRoy Jensen
December 3 – February 16 The Oriental Screen
February 18 – April 21 “Salt Spring Anchorage” by George Bates
April 1 – June 4 “The Fish” Soapstone Sculpture; Garry Thurber
March 1 – April 21
“Salt Spring Anchorage” by George Bates
George W. Bates (1930 – 2009) was born in London, England. He came to North America in 1954, living in Toronto and Los Angeles before settling in Vancouver in 1956. His approach to painting draws from both the realist and impressionist traditions and he is perhaps best known for his expertise in painting marine scenes. “For me, the waterfront of Vancouver and the coastline of the Pacific, offer an infinite variety of subjects and atmosphere enough to challenge any artist.” This piece, titled “Salt Spring Anchorage” is typical of Bates’ work – a simplified version of reality; at once a perfect image of the scene but also an idealized impression of it.
“Salt Spring Anchorage” measures 22″ X 28″.
It has been valued at $3950
Minimum starting bid: $650
Generously donated by Jacquie A. Stevulak
ArtSpring Lobby Art
The Lobby Art Auction is a series of four fantastic pieces of art created by acclaimed artists sold one piece at a time, throughout the 2018-19 Season at ArtSpring.
October 23 – November 30 “Christmas Night” by LeRoy Jensen
December 3 – February 16 The Oriental Screen
February 18 – April 21 “Salt Spring Anchorage” by George Bates
April 1 – June 4 “The Fish” Soapstone Sculpture; Garry Thurber
Wednesday April 3
7:30pm | bar 6:30pm
$30.00 | $5.00 18 & under
Salt Spring Island – Juno winning New Orford String Quartet is at the forefront of chamber music. Four musicians with equally stellar pedigrees with the goal of developing a new model for a touring string quartet. Their concept – to bring four elite orchestral leaders together on a regular basis over many years to perform chamber music at the highest level – has resulted in a quartet that maintains a remarkably fresh perspective while bringing a palpable sense of joy to each performance.
“…nothing short of electrifying…listen and weep.” The Toronto Star
ArtSpring presents a week of new play development with two events that come together in a free rough cut on Friday, August 3rd at 6:30pm.
EVENT 1
You Need A Dramaturge
with acclaimed director and dramaturge Pamela Halstead
(Open to anyone wanting to try writing for the stage)
August 1 & 2 from 4:00pm – 6:00pm
$40
Do you have an exciting idea but don’t know where to start? Many writers have an idea for a piece or have started a play that they are stuck on and have questions: