Freddy Vette is back by popular demand

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on Sept. 23, 2009.)

The Huntsville Festival of the Arts (HFA Productions) is bringing back the dynamic Freddy Vette and the Flames to the Algonquin Theatre on Friday, Oct. 2, beginning at 8 p.m.

So, how does a guy born in 1972 end up as the real-deal front man for a ‘50s rock ‘n roll show? That seems to be the most-asked question when it comes to Vette.

“Good music is good music, no matter what kind it is or when it was made. You don’t have to be from the 1700s to play Mozart, you don’t have to be from the ‘30s or ‘40s to play jazz, and you sure don’t have to be from the ‘50s to play rock ‘n roll,” Vette says in reply.

“There’s such a huge audience out there who are hungry for this music and aren’t able to see it performed live. We continue to discover them, and they continue to discover us. It’s a great relationship that keeps rock ‘n roll alive.”

It also doesn’t hurt that Vette came from a musical family. His mother and father had a country music band, so there were always instruments around the house. The first thing Vette tackled was the drums, then guitar, and piano along the way.

[Photo from HFA website.]

The three ladies who share the stage with Vette perform all the great ‘girl’ hits from the rock ‘n roll era including songs from Leslie Gore, the Shirelles, the Shangri-Las and Patsy Cline. Four outstanding musicians round out this high-energy, exciting eight-piece act.

Tickets for Freddy Vette and the Flames are $28 for adults and $15 for youth under 18, plus GST and are available at the Algonquin Theatre box office on Main Street, by dialling 789-4975, or online at www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca.

The festival blog at www.trumpeterhfa.blogspot.com also features past festival stories and photos.

Auditions for Nutcracker ballet on Sept. 26

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on Sept. 9, 2009.)

Young dancers will want to mark Sept. 26 on their calendars.

That’s when Ballet Jörgen Canada will be holding auditions for the 2009-2010 winter tour of the Group of Seven Nutcracker. Young dancers aged 8 to 18 are invited to open auditions to either earn a role in their local performances or to join the youth touring cast.

Continuing in the well-established tradition of education and outreach, Ballet Jörgen Canada’s Group of Seven Nutcracker Youth Outreach Program gives young aspiring dancers the opportunity to participate on stage with a professional dance company. The cast members interact with and learn from professional dance artists while gaining invaluable performance experience in the production. Last year, 142 youth participated in the program. Touring cast roles include Klara, the Nutcracker Prince and community children, while the local roles are for chipmunks, squirrels, dragonflies, beavers, white-tailed deer, frogs, a sock bunny and a bear cub.

[Photo from HFA website.]

Auditions for the Huntsville performances will be held Saturday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Algonquin Theatre. The Huntsville Festival of the Arts will be bringing this special holiday ballet to the local stage on Nov. 21 and 22.

It is essential that interested participants register to audition. Applications are available online at www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca and should be forwarded to the festival office via e-mail. Applicants chosen to participate in the November production will be required to attend further rehearsals on the weekend of Sept. 26 and 27, and five subsequent rehearsals in October and November. Rehearsals will be held at the Huntsville School of Ballet on Centre Street in Huntsville.

Ballet Jörgen Canada premiered the Group of Seven Nutcracker, a new Canadian version of the holiday classic, in the 2008-2009 season to overwhelming public praise and critical acclaim. The Group of Seven Nutcracker is a quintessential Canadian work, a national treasure that will warm the hearts of young and old alike. Born from collaboration with Kleinburg’s world-renowned McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the production features backdrops from Canadian 20th Century landscape artists Franklin Carmichael, Tom Thomson and L.L. FitzGerald. From a wintery schoolhouse in Bisset, Ontario, in 1912 to the lush summer wetlands of Ontario’s Algonquin Park, audiences are taken on a grand journey with Klara as she experiences for the first time Canadian landscapes filled with snowflakes, Mounties, and charming woodland creatures.

[Additional information from the HFA website:]

Group of Seven Nutcracker

Canada's newest full-length ballet, created by acclaimed choreographer Bengt Jorgen to Tchaikovsky's well loved score, reworks this timeless classic and is destined to become a national treasure that will warm the hearts of young and old alike.

With over 100 costumes in richly covered fabrics, the Group of Seven Nutcracker features backdrops from Canada's 20th Century landscape artists. The ballet’s second act is remembered for its celebration of dances and the Group of Seven Nutcracker follows this tradition with woodland creatures dancing in their likeness in Ontario's Algonquin Park.

The Huntsville Festival of the Arts will be presenting two performances:
Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 22, 2 p.m.
The Algonquin Theatre
Tickets: Adults $25 - Youth (18 & under) $15 - Family $70 + GST