THE BREMEN TOWN MUSICIANS
AND THE VANCOUVER ISLAND SYMPHONY
Port Theatre - Nanaimo - Feb 20/99
- text/photos by barry newman -
Nanaimo was recently treated to a wonderful
(and historically-unique) concert, which melded
original "celtic folk/rock" with the formidable
impact and lush embellishments of a fifty-piece
symphonic orchestra.
The first set... a blend of traditional Irish and
Celtic tunes and works by Hardiman, Arture
Lange and Malcolm Arnold... was performed by
The Vancouver Island Symphony.
Conductor & Artistic Director Marlin Wolfe has
previously directed the Calgary Philharmonic, the
Edmonton Symphony, CBC Vancouver &
Canadian Chamber Orchestras, the Edmonton
Chamber Players Orchestra and the Alberta Pops
Orchestra. Wolfe also teaches violin at the
Nanaimo Conservatory.
It was Wolfe's idea, after hearing The Bremen
Town Musicians perform on Gabriola Island, to
approach the band with regard to being guest
artists for the Symphony's Pops series, which
have recently included Valdy, Gary Fjellgaard,
Gary Guthman and P.J. Perry. It took Steve
Parton almost six months to complete the score.
Included among the symphony's 50 musicians
were percussionist Richard Lang (from Victoria's Perils of Pauline), Nanaimo's standup bassist
John Forrest and trumpeter Bryn Badel (a
familiar player in Victoria's jazz scene).
The second half of the concert featured The
Bremen Town Musicians performing their original
material with the Symphony. Ron Wills (electric bass) and drummer Vince
Ditrich (from Spirit of The West) opened with
Bremen Town's "Overture". Kathy Stacey, who
shares much of the vocals was seated right up
front, with her cello and a mic headset.
Shortly into the fanfare, guitarist / vocalist &
composer Steve Parton dashed up onto the
stage with his acoustic guitar... and big hair... like
a latter-day Jethro Tull. Taking a moment to catch
his breath at the end of the overture, Parton
welcomed the audience, adding, "I'll get a little
chatty later in the show!"
This was followed by "If I Did" and "The Man
and His Hands" with six young dancers from
Pacific Youth Ballet's Harbour Dancentre
weaving their way around and with Steve while
he performed.
Vince's drum roll opened for Kathy Stacey's
"Jordan's Fall"... with climbing tempo changes
inspired by her young son's misadventures.
"The Smoke" included some lush orchestral
background (Parton wrote all the scores, with the
exception of "Drowsy Maggie" by Stacey).
Opening with Stacey's plucking on her cello
strings, the intense "Thugs and Perpetrators"
brought back memories of "Conquistador", as
performed by Procol Harum and The Edmonton
Symphony back in the '70s (I've since learned
that Marlin Wolfe was that show's artistic director
and that Delores Vann (concertmaster / principle
1st violinist) performed with the Edmonton
Symphony at the Procol Harum recording).
The fabulous concert ended all too soon with
an encore, "Answer The Silence", introduced by
a whispering Parton.
Overall, the production was a refreshing foray
into the magic of fusion and an generation-bridging blend of tradition with innovation. Hats
off to Bremen Town, The Symphony and the
show's sponsor, Nanaimo Credit Union!
A lot of behind-the-scenes input and support
from the huge talent pool in and around the Hub
City contributed to the success of this remarkable
production. This included Jim Kent for the house
sound - an awesome job which utilized 40
microphones; and recording by Scott Littlejohn
from Bastion City (Parton is hoping to eventually
produce a CD of the concert).
The main players would have to be guitarist /
singer / composer extraordinaire Steve Parton,
who maintained a hands-on approach to many
aspects of the production; and the vibrant Kathy
Stacey, whose cello work, vocal harmonies and
composition skills so nicely complimented
Parton's performance.
Steve, originally from Montreal, has studied
guitar with Don Ross.
Kathy studied cello at the Royal College of
Music and performed with the London
Philharmonic Orchestra. She has performed in
concerts with John Williams and Placido
Domingo and for Prince Charles & Princess
Diana. Kathy is also the assistant principle cellist
with the Vancouver Island Symphony.
(According to Salt Spring's bluegrass band,
The Barley Brothers, "Kathy is the only
classically-trained musician we know who can
rock without a gun held to her head"...!!)
Together, Steve and Kathy also perform as a
duo called Ten Strings & A Bow (recently
performing for Bill Gates' birthday party).
The Bremen Town Musicians have performed
with Valdy, Spirit Of The West, The Irish
Descendants, The Barra MacNeills, Leo Kottke,
Ken Hamm, Don Ross, Bob Snider, Paul Hyde
and Robbie Steininger, The McDades, The
Mahones, Thomas Handy Trio, Hugh Fraser and
Joe Charron.
Their next shows will be at Legends on Mar 17
and at The Queens on Mar 25 (with Ostera
opening). The band is currently negotiating with
various orchestras (some as far east as New
York) to do a North American tour.
