Arts scene was full of diversity during 2008

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on Dec. 31, 2008.)

By Gillian Brunette

A wide range of music and drama was presented to the Huntsville community in 2008 by a number of community theatre/concert groups and organizations.

The Huntsville Association for the Performing Arts (HAPA) entered its 28th year with four chamber concerts in its 2008/9 series.

HAPA had a memorable past year, with new portable stages and a new website (www.hapachambermusic.ca). The group also had their fine Steinway grand piano refurbished and provided a number of complimentary concert tickets to students throughout Huntsville.

“Every concert was well received and it was gratifying for the HAPA board of directors that all performers, all Canadians, turned out to be of the highest level of excellence,” said HAPA president Martina Schroer.

The Huntsville Festival of the Arts also enjoyed a good year, despite posting a small deficit for 2008. Following one of the best years in its 16-year history in 2007, which resulted in a healthy $20,000 surplus, this past season offered more in the way of entertainment but netted less in terms of dollars.

However, the festival remains in a solid financial position, and continues with its commitment to providing arts education initiatives for Huntsville youth, supporting local community theatre groups, and providing arts scholarships.

The HFA not only presented numerous mainstage shows this past year, but also offered fringe events throughout its summer festival. These included outdoor concerts with the Muskoka Concert Band, the Poetry Cafe and workshop, Tunes/Jazz at Tall Trees, the Poetry Slam, Arts Walk, Arts Splash and an extended Jazz Festival.

The non-profit organization held its annual major fundraiser at Deerhurst Resort in May. The 2008 May Marche, after expenses, netted about $39,000.

Grease was the word reverberating around Huntsville High School (HHS) in early February, with students and staff getting pumped and ready for their musical production. The show, presented at the Algonquin Theatre from Feb. 13 to 16, was an ambitious project for HHS. With a cast of some 40 students and an eight-piece band, it was the first musical undertaken by the school.

Of Mice and Men opened on Feb. 21 for four performances and was received with much acclaim. Presented by the North Muskoka Players and directed by Gregg Evans, the story, based on John Steinbeck’s novel, told of California drifters George and Lennie and their dream of a place to call their own.

April saw another big local production taking place at the Algonquin Theatre. Annie, the musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, featured a cast of more than 30, including 14 children aged six to 14. It was produced and directed by Jim and Michele Collins and sold out performances netted $24,000 for the St. Johns Anglican Church in Ravenscliffe.

Also in April the stars of Northern Blues Review were back with an all-new show. Northern Blues Review 5 performed at the Algonquin Theatre on April 25, once again filling the house with appreciative fans.

In May, an original musical theatre work titled Knights ran for three performances at the Algonquin Theatre. Knights was written and directed by composer, writer, and performer John Oliver Peel, co-founder of the National Martial Arts Theatre Company, and provided a thrilling and engaging experience for the whole family.

The summer of 2008 offered a cornucopia of concerts, plays and art and artisan shows, which kept the community buzzing through to the fall and serving as a reminder that the arts scene in Huntsville is alive and well.

The year drew to a close with a heartwarming Christmas play that touched all hearts young and old. Produced by Gregg Evans and the North Muskoka Players and directed by Derek Shelly, A Gift to Last told the story of a “real” Christmas in Canada during the early 1900s.

A rousing and uplifting concert from the Soweto Gospel Choir brought the Algonquin Theatre year to a close. Presented by the HFA, the choir played to a sold-out crowd.

It was events such as these that allowed the Algonquin Theatre to shine. For the third straight full year of operations the theatre met the revenue expectations as budgeted. The number of actual shows in 2008 was down slightly from 2007 but overall ticket sales were up by more than $50,000. Gross sales in 2008 were over $800,000.

The Algonquin Theatre has over 15,000 patrons registered and more than 200 volunteers. Patrons purchasing tickets to the theatre this past year came from as far away as New Zealand and Bangkok, and from the United States and all parts of Canada.

Powerful Soweto Gospel Choir performs in Huntsville, following Massey Hall show

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on Dec. 10, 2008.)

By Gillian Brunette

Stirring gospel music, energetic dancing and vibrant costumes are a feast for your eyes and ears.

The Algonquin Theatre will resound with the emotional sounds of pure African gospel music when the Soweto Gospel Choir performs there on Dec. 20.

Thanks to good fortune and timing, the Huntsville Festival of the Arts has managed to secure the booking of this amazing 26-strong choir.

The choir comes to Huntsville direct from the 3,000-seat Massey Hall, said festival general manager Rob Saunders. “Compared to the $84 ticket price being charged to patrons at Massey Hall, the adult ticket price of $40 is a great deal and would make a perfect early Christmas gift.”

The Soweto Gospel Choir, whose patron is Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, was formed to celebrate the unique and inspirational power of African gospel music and is dedicated to sharing the joy of faith through music with audiences around the world.

OUT OF AFRICA: The world-famous 26-voice Soweto Gospel Choir performs at the ­Algonquin Theatre on Dec. 20 at 8 p.m.

The choir, under the direction of David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, draws on the best talent from the many churches in and around Soweto. It performs in six of South Africa’s 11 official languages.

When it comes to vocal talent, Africa, and more particularly South Africa, has spawned the most evocative sounds on earth and still produces the very best that the world has to offer in this art form. The Soweto Gospel Choir is that very best.

This young, dynamic choir performs both traditional and contemporary music, adding its own unique feel and interpretation to both. Concert patrons can expect earthy rhythms, rich harmonies, a capella numbers, as well as accompaniment by an exciting four-piece band and percussion section. Add to this, energetic dancing and vibrant, colourful costumes, and the mix is awesome.

This magnificent choir, styled with a contemporary feel, leaves all who hear it stunned with emotion. It is no wonder that they are charting a meteoric rise to international fame.

Those who saw the 46664 Concert in Cape Town in 2003, under the auspices of former president Nelson Mandela, will have witnessed the Soweto Gospel Choir in action alongside other musical greats, such as Bono, Queen, Anastacia, Peter Gabriel, Jimmy Cliff, and the Eurythmics.

However, no amount of glittering international recognition and praise has diverted the Soweto Gospel Choir from the mission it holds close at heart, its own AIDS orphans foundation, Nkosi’s Haven Vukani, which the choir founded in 2003. Mindful of the plight of South Africa’s sick and impoverished, the foundation supports families and organizations that receive little or no government support. These destitute families and children rely on the Soweto Gospel Choir to sing all over the world for very much more than their supper. To date, the choir has collected over three million rand ($370,000 Canadian) for Nkosi’s Haven Vukani.

Over the years, the choir has accumulated many awards, including Australia’s Performing Arts Award for Best Contemporary Music Concert in 2003, the 2003 American Gospel Music Award for Best Choir, following it up with another gospel music award for Best International Choir in October 2004. Also in 2004, the choir’s debut CD Voices from Heaven was nominated for a South African Music Award, and on Feb. 11, 2007 received a Grammy award for the CD Blessed. This year, the choir received a second Grammy for its new CD African Spirit.

Tickets for the Soweto Gospel Choir are $40 for adults and $20 for youth under 18, plus GST, and are available by visiting the Algonquin Theatre box office, by calling 789-4975 or online at www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca.

The concert, which begins at 8 p.m. on Dec. 20, is expected to sell out, so don’t wait to purchase tickets and be disappointed.

More information about the Huntsville Festival of the Arts can be found at www.trumpeterhfa.blogspot.com.

Dozens audition for Wizard of Oz musical

(The following column originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on Dec. 3, 2008.)

By Rob Saunders, HFA General Manager


Have you ever asked yourself, “What happens if I throw a party and no one comes?”

Well, that was the mild concern of some Huntsville Festival of the Arts board members, prior to the casting call for their 2009 spring presentation of the Wizard of Oz.

Director Gregg Evans had no such concerns and he was proven right, with over 140 members of the community coming out last week and sharing their talents with the judges. They were big and small, young and old (ranging in age from three to 75), but all had to face their fears, stand on the Algonquin Theatre stage and present a song.

Some chose Somewhere Over the Rainbow, while others chose to Ha-Ha-Ha! Ho-Ho-Ho! their way through the merry old Land of Oz. The littlest ones sang We’re Off To See The Wizard, while those with grander aspirations put themselves in the role of the Tin Man, Scarecrow or the Cowardly Lion, and sang those characters’ reprises.

Evans quickly concluded that, based on the talent pool, he would create two full casts. It was, of course, the role of Dorothy that drew the largest interest. Thirty young ladies put their names in the hat as potential Dorothys and, once again, the talent pool in our community ensured that choosing the play’s star would be a difficult task indeed. Six young stars were identified as deserving of a second look and callbacks followed, where both the applicant’s voice and theatrical skills were reviewed.

Final cast decisions will be made by early December and then the real work begins. For those who have leading roles, scripts will have to be reviewed. Costumes will be a major challenge, not just for their complexity, but also for the sheer volume of costumes required.

Staging will also present a major test, such as recreating a Kansas tornado on a 40-foot-by -40-foot stage and, once the director has the scenes blocked out, set designers must figure out how to best create the magic of Oz given the tools at their disposal.

During the auditions and the discussion that followed, festival members involved in guiding this process reminded themselves that this is not just any play. The Wizard of Oz is one of the all-time children’s classics.

That brings many challenges. For instance, how do you change the status quo? Everyone knows Dorothy for her frail but firm personality and her overall sense of wonder. Bert Lahr was the perfect Cowardly Lion and Ray Bolger, the wise Scarecrow. The characters they developed, how they talked and acted, seem to be the only way those characters could be.

Evans will have to guide the evolution of his young cast over the next few months so they will be ready for opening night. The final product will run from Apr. 16 to 18 and also from Apr. 23 to 25, for a total of eight performances.

As an added bonus, the festival has asked the Rotary Club of Huntsville to assist in delivering the production. The Rotary Club has a long and esteemed history in Huntsville of being associated with some of the grandest theatrical productions ever mounted here. It is hoped that this inaugural collaboration between the two groups will rekindle that artistic flame.

Over the next months, further needs will be identified and, possibly, there will be further opportunities to get involved. If you think you have a skill or talent that might help, jump right in. This promises to be a great community collaboration and often those involved take away as much, or more, than they give.

For more information about the Huntsville Festival of the Arts, go to www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca, or visit our blog at www.trumpeterhfa.blogspot.com.