Vancouver Symphony Orchestra – September 24-26th, 2016

Posted on by

Heather is pleased to perform in the horn section of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for the opening concert of the 2016-2017 season.

VSO Season Opening: The Rite of Spring

  • Alexander Gavrylyuk

  • Bramwell Tovey

  • Conductor / Performers

    Bramwell Tovey conductor

    Alexander Gavrylyuk piano*
    (Cherniavsky Laureate pianist) ♦

  • Repertoire

    Jocelyn Morlock

    Oiseaux bleus et sauvages (VSO Commission)

    Tchaikovsky

    Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor*

    Stravinsky

    The Rite of Spring 

The 2016/2017 Season opens with a bang, starting with award-winning Composer-in-Residence Jocelyn Morlock’s first VSO commission. Maestro Tovey and the VSO welcome back Vancouver favourite Alexander Gavrylyuk to perform the most famous piece in the piano repertoire, and the concert wraps with the wild, exciting orchestral showpiece that is Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. 

When not performing music professionally, Heather Walker teaches the Alexander Technique to individuals who want to be free of tension, pain, bad posture, and injuries.  Explore the possibility of lightness and freedom of movement using the Alexander Technique to expand your awareness.  Use practical experiments to learn how to notice tightening, release muscle tension, re-establish better balance and move more efficiently.  Anyone can learn to recuperate from stress, prevent undue wear and tear, relieve back pain, improve posture, and use less effort in daily activities.  Heather is based in Nanaimo, B.C. and can be contacted at 250-716-3464, or heather@soundbeingstudio.com.

 

Vancouver Island Symphony by the Sea, Free Concert, Nanaimo, August 6th, 2016

Posted on by

symphony-by-the-sea-logo-largerJoin Heather as she performs with the Vancouver Island Symphony!

Saturday, August 6, 2016 
6:00pm Maffeo Sutton Park, Nanaimo

Symphony by the Sea is a FREE outdoor summer concert performed by the Vancouver Island Symphony with guest artists, conducted and produced by concertmaster, Calvin Dyck .

4000+ people attend this concert annually. Join us on Saturday, August 6 at Maffeo Sutton Park at 6:00 pm. Rain or Shine.

 

Bring your lawn chair or blanket and a picnic basket!
Donations collected to help support this special event!  Volunteers needed. Call 250-754-0177.

For more information: vancouverislandsymphony.com

When not performing music professionally, Heather teaches Alexander Technique in Nanaimo, B.C.  Whether you are suffering from back pain, poor posture, stress-related symptoms, repetitive strain injuries, or many other problems, the Alexander Technique can help you.  You will learn to “un-do” these habits of imbalance, tension, and inefficient use of your co-ordination and energy to rediscover poise and ease within yourself.  More than a simple remedy for tension and poor posture, the Alexander Technique also changes ingrained thinking patterns and clears the way for a better quality of life.  It can be used by anyone. For more information: 250-716-3464, or email heather@soundbeingstudio.com.

Adele Concerts, Rogers Arena, Vancouver, July 20 & 21st, 2016

Posted on by

Adele

Adele has started her 2016 North American Tour!  And she’ll be in Vancouver July 20, 21st, 2016.

AND I have the honour of being in her backing band for these fantastic performances!  There’s only 1 French horn player, but I was lucky enough to be chosen for this great oportunity….see you all at Roger’s Arena.   https://adele.com/home/

indexhttps://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/adele-shows-off-vocal-mastery-witty-banter-at-st-paul-tour-kickoff-20160706

 

Orchestral Pow-Wow, Island Music Festival, Comox July 9th 2016

Posted on by

MusicFest 2016

John Prine, Serena Ryder, 54-40, The Trews and so many favourites to revisit or new discoveries to find! Join us in Comox, July 8-10th, 2016.

vis20140213_edcon-mysymphony_pstr-vert_3Orchestral Pow-Wow Collaboration Concert –
The Concert Bowl Stage

Every year, thanks in part to a generous Grant from the B.C. Arts Council, the Island Music Festival is able to bring in a group of performers early before the Festival so they can work together to create a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration just for the weekend. These collaborations often become life-changing experiences for the Artists involved creating new life-long friendships and musical partnerships and for our audiences, well, don’t miss the opportunity to witness such a creative endeavour!

This years collaboration leader is the amazing Cris Derksen and her (already genre-bending collaborative) group, the Orchestral Pow Wow.

Cris Derksen plays with the intensity of a young musician who’s living the dream of creating new music and getting the chance to bring live to people. At the same time, the “new music” she’s creating is based in centuries and even millenia of the Metis and Aboriginal culture across Canada. Cris Derksen’s one more living proof that the Metis and Aboriginal cultures in Canada are living traditions- thriving, vibrant and very much engaged in the modern world, and it’s a pleasure to welcome the Orchestral Pow-wow to the Festival.

For more information, go to:

Members of the Orchestral Pow Wow at MusicFest will include :
Cris Derksen – Group Leader/Cellist The Chippewa Travellers – Pow Wow Drum Circle
Nimkii Osawamick – an Anishinaabe dance artist from Wikwemikong
Vocals – Jennifer Kreisberg – Vocals
Percussionist – Jesse Baird – Percussionist
Violin – Elyse
Violin – Daniel Lapp
Viola – Ernie Kassian
Trumpet – Dean Boland
French Horn – Heather Walker
Trombone – Christopher Spidel
Cris and the Orchestral Pow Wow will be joined by the following artists as part of their evening stage collaborative performance at MusicFest:
When not performing music professionally, Heather Walker teaches the Alexander Technique to individuals who want to be free of tension, pain, bad posture, and injuries.  Explore the possibility of lightness and freedom of movement using the Alexander Technique to expand your awareness.  Use practical experiments to learn how to notice tightening, release muscle tension, re-establish better balance and move more efficiently.  Anyone can learn to recuperate from stress, prevent undue wear and tear, relieve back pain, improve posture, and use less effort in daily activities 

Alexander Technique at International Music Academy, June 2-19th, 2016

Posted on by

pub-defilante-16-mai-festivalI am pleased to announce that I will be teaching Alexander Technique once again at an international music academy in Quebec during the month of June.  As such, Sound Being Studio, the Nanaimo centre for Alexander Technique, will be closed from June 2nd to June 19th, 2016.  I am happy to answer any correspondence or questions by email during my absence.  Private Alexander Technique sessions re-commence June 20th and continue throughout the summer of 2016 on a variable schedule.  Please contact me for more information!

Domaine Forget is a world class music academy situated on the edge of the St. Lawrence river, east of Quebec City.  The Brass & Percussion Session at Domaine Forget is designed for intermediate, advanced level students or semi-professionals, aged 15 years and over. Advocating access to different points of view by serving as a bridge between American and European approaches, le Domaine Forget offers young musicians the opportunity of benefiting  from the enriching experiences of internationally renowned professors from both continents. For imformation about the international music academy where I will be teaching Alexander Technique: www.domainforget.com

Sincerely, Heather Walker

Vancouver Opera Gala Concert June 2nd, 2016

Posted on by

BraVO!

A Vancouver Opera Concert
Thursday, June 2, 2016
7:00pm
Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Tickets: $25 | $50 | $75
604-683-0222

See four of Canada’s pre-eminent singers with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and Chorus in a festive celebration of Jim Wright’s 17 years of service to VO and to the community,

bravo-headshotstripTracy Dahl • Daniel Okulich • Krisztina Szabó • John Tessier

 

Featuring opera excerpts by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Bizet, Johann and Richard Strauss, John Estacio, and Ramona Luengen. The VO Orchestra will play selections by Johann Strauss and Pietro Mascagni and will accompany the VO Chorus in the stirring “Va, pensiero” from Verdi’s Nabucco and the “Humming Chorus” from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

Conducted by VO’s Music Director Jonathan Darlington.

Heather Walker is a core member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra.  When not playing music professionally, she teaches the Alexander Technique in Nanaimo, B.C.  The Alexander Technique is an extraordinary method for learning to move with ease, efficiency and fluidity, thereby reducing pain, injury, and postural problems.

Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra, Carmina Burana April 23rd, 2016

Posted on by

Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra

Saturday, April 23, 2016 | 7:30pm, Port Theatre, Nanaimo

GUEST ARTISTS
Scott MacInnes, Bass Trombone
VIS Symphonic Choir & VIS Children’s Choir
Patricia Plumley, Conductor
Nadya Blanchette, Soprano
Adam Dyjach, Tenor
Olivier Laquerre, Baritone

TRAD. (orch. Simard) • Carmina Burana
EDWARD TOP • Base Trombone Concerto (premiere)
ORFF • Carmina Burana

Carmina Burana graphic

Orff’s monumental show piece for soloists, choruses and orchestra closes our season with a celebration of life’s pleasures, with earth-shaking rhythms, bright colours and thrilling sounds! VIS bass trombonist Scott MacInnes brings to life a new concerto by Marcus Goddard, and we start off the show with some revisited medieval madness. An event like no other!

When not performing music professionally, Heather teaches Alexander Technique in Nanaimo, B.C.  Whether you are suffering from back pain, poor posture, stress-related symptoms, repetitive strain injuries, or many other problems, the Alexander Technique can help you.  You will learn to “un-do” these habits of imbalance, tension, and inefficient use of your co-ordination and energy to rediscover poise and ease within yourself.  More than a simple remedy for tension and poor posture, the Alexander Technique also changes ingrained thinking patterns and clears the way for a better quality of life.  It can be used by anyone. For more information: 250-716-3464

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Liszt & Wagner, April 18th, 2016

Posted on by

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Monday, April 18th, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver

The Progressives: Wagner’s Ring Without Words, Bramwell Tovey conductor/host

Richard Wagner

 

 

    • Repertoire

      Liszt: Les Preludes

      Wagner: Der Ring Ohne Worte (The Ring Without Words)

    The final concert of the 2016 Spring Festival gives the last word to the Progressive camp, and the music of Liszt and Wagner. Liszt’s Les Preludes is a perfect appetizer for the Vancouver premiere of Wagner’s epic Der Ring Ohne Worte (the Ring Without Words), a breathtaking arrangement of all the main orchestral themes of Wagner’s extraordinary Ring Cycle of operas. And so the War of the Romantics ends – and though the argument may continue, the legacy of decades of some of the greatest music ever written is the most important, and forever satisfying, result.

    When not performing music professionally, Heather Walker teaches the Alexander Technique to individuals who want to be free of tension, pain, bad posture, and injuries.  Explore the possibility of lightness and freedom of movement using the Alexander Technique to expand your awareness.  Use practical experiments to learn how to notice tightening, release muscle tension, re-establish better balance and move more efficiently.  Anyone can learn to recuperate from stress, prevent undue wear and tear, relieve back pain, improve posture, and use less effort in daily activities

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Ninth, April 9th, 2016

Posted on by

  • Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

    Performance Date: Saturday, Apr 9, 2016, 8pm,  Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver

    Repertoire

    Lohengrin: Prelude Act III

    Brahms (orch. Berio): Clarinet Sonata No.1 in F minor

    Beethoven (arr. Mahler): Symphony No. 9 in D minor

Stieler, Joseph Karl: Beethoven mit der Missa solemnis ÷lgem‰lde, 1819The VSO performs the piece that started it all – the greatest music ever written, Beethoven’s extraordinary Symphony No. 9. Beethoven’s profound statement of hope, brotherhood and joy has echoed down through the centuries, and has never been more relevant and fresh.

Heather Walker is a professional french horn player.  When not performing music, she teaches the Alexander Technique out of her studio in Nanaimo, B.C.  Explore the possibility of lightness and freedom of movement using the Alexander Technique to expand your awareness.  Use practical experiments to learn how to notice tightening, release muscle tension, re-establish better balance and move more efficiently.  Anyone can learn to recuperate from stress, prevent undue wear and tear, relieve back pain, improve posture, and use less effort in daily activities.

Vancouver Island Symphony – Music and Humour, April 2nd, 2016

Posted on by

Saturday, April 2, 2016 | 7:30pm, Port Theatre, Nanaimo

Joe Trio Promo photo

GUEST ARTISTS: Joe Trio

April’s Fool! Meet the court jesters of the classical music world; for more than 25 years, the members of Joe Trio have mixed together different music styles with wit, charm and virtuosity. Be prepared for a new appreciation of classical music as Bach meets Bond, Puccini fights with the Beatles, and other composers get decomposed as Joe Trio performs with the Vancouver Island Symphony.

Heather Walker is a professional horn player with the Vancouver Island Symphony.  When not performing music, she teaches the Alexander Technique, a simple and practical method for self-improvement and self-help. With the Alexander Technique you can be poised without stiffness, move gracefully with less effort, and be alert and focused with less strain.  Anyone can benefit. Reduce tension, strain, injuries, and back pain by re-educating your coordination. Breathing and speaking become easier, and movement becomes freer, lighter and more enjoyable. You can improve how you move, perform, look and feel.  Please contact Heather for more information. 250-716-3464