Living a varied and broad musical life, composer/musician Glenn Buhr has returned to Winnipeg. Best known in the city for his work as co-frontman of Winnipeg’s New Music Festival, Buhr’s latest brainchild is a magical mix of theatre and music, that welcomes a singer-songwriter, poet and special guest musicians to collaborate together in DreamPlay.
“It’s kind of like a three-ring circus,” says Buhr when asked about the idea behind a “collage concert.”
Stemming from his days curating the Winnipeg New Music Festival, Buhr builds on an idea he “stole” from the University of Michigan and their year-end concert.
“It was a theatre concert, where you weren’t allowed to clap between the pieces,” explains Buhr, noting the special use of lighting design to pull focus on to various soloists or ensembles. “That’s what we’re doing at this show.”
It features the Fallen Angels Orchestra – made up of predominantly Manitoba Chamber Orchestra musicians – plus special guests: singer/songwriter Scott Nolan and Cree/Métis poet, writer, storyteller, Duncan Mercredi, Winnipeg Poet Laureate through 2022.
The “wildcard” is percussionist Victoria Sparks who will be used sporadically throughout the concert, playing a variety of instruments, including a drum, flower pots and junkyard toys.
“This is the life of a percussionist, ‘what do you want me to hit?’” quips Sparks. “Percussionists, we get to ‘play’ in the world of sound more than most instrumentalists... for percussion that’s one of our wheelhouses, being willing to just experiment and try something new.”
The DreamPlay Collage Concert takes place at the West End Cultural Centre on Saturday, November 19 at 8pm with a second show Sunday at 2pm.
Visit: www.wecc.ca for more details and tickets!
