On Tuesday, October 18th at 7:30pm at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg’s GroundSwell will present their second concert of the season called “Standing Wave: Ex Machina”. This concert will feature “The Standing Wave Ensemble” from Western Canada. Made up of six virtuoso musicians, the Standing Wave Ensemble has mesmerized audiences throughout the world with their intrepid performances, of the latest in boundary breaking new music.
This concert will feature music of Montreal based composer James O’Callaghan, East Coast composer Bekah Simms; Edmonton based composer Mari Alice Conrad and Manitoba composers Kiara Nathaniel, Rebeka Schroeder and Gord Fitzell. All performed by this amazing ensemble.
The Standing Wave Ensemble have been scheduled to come to Winnipeg for quite some time. The concert was postponed due to the pandemic. They were supposed to be part of the 2021-22 season but that fell through due to travel restrictions. One of the things that has come out of this is that the performance has evolved since it was first discussed three years ago.
As curator for this concert Gord Fitzell explains, “Because Standing Wave is so dedicated to the most recent works there are…the program has changed a little bit since three or four years ago when we first hatched the idea. So one of the things I am excited about is that some of the pieces are brand new…they have dates on them of 2022. Although the concert has been in the works for a while, it’s really been updated to the minute!”
Fitzell has had his own music performed by the ensemble before, and is amazed at the virtuosity of the six musicians that make up Standing Wave. Not just the virtuosity of the individual players, but also the virtuosity of the ensemble at interpreting and performing this never before heard music at a very high level.
“They are one of Canada’s greatest new music groups, and one of the few dedicated groups that have been around for a lot of years. 30 plus years they have been around…they have premiered over 100 new works, they have recorded maybe a half a dozen CDs, toured all over the place. They are absolute veterans of the field,” states Fitzell.
The six composers on the program are all Canadian, and many of them are young up-and-comers on the Canadian New Music Scene. They have been nominated for awards and have had their music performed across Canada and abroad.
Standing Wave: Ex Machina is sure to be an amazing event that will showcase this interesting brand new music, performed by the stellar musicians of the Standing Wave Ensemble. Audience members will be intrigued and spellbound by the new sound worlds that will be created on stage. Truly a feast for the ears!
The concert is on Tuesday, October 18th at 7:30pm at the Muriel Richardson Auditorium at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The cost is pay what-you-can; how-you-can. Tickets are available online, through GroundSwell’s Eventbrite page or at the door by cash or cheque.