Sidney Classical Orchestra hosts Canadian pianist Jamie Syer and a silent auction at its final concert of the season on April 12.
Syer will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major. The companion piece will be Symphony No. 91 in E flat major created by Beethoven’s teacher, Haydn. It was once described by the famous critic H.C. Robbins Landon as “a striking work.”
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The concert is augmented by a “giant silent auction” as well as a performance of Black Eyed Susan by the orchestra’s music director, Stephen Brown.
Syer, originally from Calgary has been a concert musician and teacher for close to 50 years. He received instruction from Linhart Walker and John Searchfield in Calgary, and later Ward Davenny and Claude Frank at Yale.
Highlights in his career include being on faculty at Mount Royal Conservatory, the University of Calgary and the University of Regina.
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Between 2004–2012, Syer lived in Victoria, where he held several positions at the Victoria Conservatory, including its first Dean from 2010–2012. Syer founded and directed the Conservatory’s Young Artists Collegium Program, which continues to provide enrichment opportunities and mentoring for talented young musicians. Moreover, he was a sessional instructor at UVic’s School of Music, where he lectured for the Department of Continuing Education.
Jamie and his wife, Laurie Syer, have played around the world, and were both featured performers at the Cambridge History Festival and the central-European interdisciplinary conference, “Canada in the European Mind.”
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The concert takes place on Friday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m.
The venue is St Elizabeth’s Catholic Church (10030 Third Street, Sidney).
Tickets can be purchased from Tanner’s Books in Sidney, City Scribe in Brentwood Bay and Long & McQuade in Victoria.
Tickets are $25 for adults, $13 for students and free for those 19 and younger.
nick.murray@peninsulanewsreview.com
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