Ken Lavigne kicks off the festive season with Under the Mistletoeat Victoria’s The Royal Theatre.
“Under the Mistletoe is about homespun Christmas traditions, drawn from both the season and its music,” says Lavigne from his home in Chemainus. “For me, these seasonal traditions include stories, told with humour and love, from memories of Christmas’ past and the music that shapes what surrounds it.”
He is joined on stage by the Vancouver Island Symphony, Pierre Simard, Conductor and Nadya Blanchette.
Lavigne and Blanchette performed together previously in “He Sings, She Sighs!” with the Vancouver Island Symphony in 2015.
“I get the sense we understand each other and share a similar musical vision,” says Blanchette of Lavigne. “He is a gentleman on and off stage, and I feel privileged to collaborate with him.”
in Under the Mistletoe, Blanchette and Lavigne share renditions of seasonal classics from Sinatra to Bocelli, from the Ave Maria to Bing Crosby, with a fully decked orchestra, that will transport audiences to the heart of the season; love, connection and an appreciation of the joys in life that we often get too busy to feel. Some of the holiday favourites featured include White Christmas, O Holy Night, Angels We Have Heard on High and I’ll be Home for Christmas.
“I love this orchestra. There is an innate sense of fun coupled with musical professionalism,” says Lavigne. “They have the perfect balance of taking the music making seriously while maintaining a joyous and infectious sense of playful humour on stage.”
It’s rumoured that this sense of fun might manifest in what Lavigne calls a unique Vancouver Island tradition, The Annual Indoor Snowball Fight Extravaganza.
It’s curious though, that when asked to list his Top Ten Holiday Things, it was Lavigne who put the chance of snowfall, building a snowman, sledding and…an epic snowball fight high on the list. For Blanchette, “Family and friends gather around festival food, wine and more music making,” are on top of holiday favourites holiday list. “Playing in the snow and performing Christmas songs in different styles are favourites too. “Although now,” she says, “It’s about making new memories with liquid sunshine and evergreens.”
Under the Mistletoe is on Tuesday, Dec. 4. Get tickets at www.rmts.bc.ca or 250-386-6121.
c.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca
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