Jane Emerick
[email protected]
A group of Celtic-inspired youth musicians will be playing in Squamish this weekend to delight their audiences while raising funds to return to the roots of their style of music.
The North Shore Celtic Ensemble, featuring Squamish's own fiddler Jocelyn Pettit, will be playing three shows on Saturday April 22. Two free half hour shows will be played at Gelato Carina (at 2 p.m.) and the Squamish Adventure Centre (3:30 p.m.). A full two-set evening show will take place at the Brackendale Art Gallery from 7:30-9 p.m. The cost of the evening show is $12 for adults and $6 for children and the proceeds of their performances will help fund the groups trip to Canada Day Celebrations in Ottawa and the Aberdeen International Youth Festival in Scotland.
Jay Knutson, director of the group, said there would be a guest appearance by the Coquitlam Celtic Ensemble and the style of the music played would be "orchestral Celtic." He said the young group would be giving the traditionally East Coast genre, "a West Coast stamp."
"We focus on getting music off the paper," said Knutsen. "It is infectious and energetic. We do a complex show delivered in a way that is simple. There is movement in the performance."
He said having the opportunity to play on an international level would be a memorable and beneficial experience for the young musicians.
"Playing at the Aberdeen International Youth Festival gives the kids the opportunity to share the stage with a meshing of cultures and interpretation of the genre," he said.
The Aberdeen International Youth Festivalaims to celebrate the best youth talent of music, theatre and dance,from all over the world.Events at the ten-day event include orchestral concerts, steel drums, song recitals, massed choirs, and African dance and drumming. The Festival will be held August 2 to 12, 2006.
Pettit, 11, said she is looking forward to her upcoming adventure.
"I am really excited about playing at the event," she said. "I haven't been to Scotland before and through the festival we are going to see lots of different towns."
She said people would enjoy the shows on Saturday because they are bringing something unique to Squamish."It will be fun," she said. "People will like it because they haven't heard it before."
Tickets for the show can be purchased in advance at the Brackendale Art Gallery or at Mostly Books on Cleveland Avenue. Questions can be emailed to Joel Pettit at [email protected].
