Debut Atlantic

Neil Edwards finished his post as the Executive Director of Debut Atlantic on Friday, the 19th of November, 2010.

After 6 incredible years with Debut, he is moving on to take over the Newfoundland Symphony! (Best of luck to them! ha!)

Hard working, intelligent, dedicated and sassy, Mr. Edwards has done a lot for artistic communities across the Atlantic region, and we are certain he will continue to do so!

As a final remembrance of his time with us, here is a picture taken by Ian Varty (www.ianvarty.com) on Neil’s last day. I would say it sums up who Neil is!

Catherine Manoukian and Susanne Ruberg-Gordon, after their final Debut Atlantic concert, in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.

Good luck with your future projects ladies! It was a true pleasure touring with you!

Just back from St. John’s with the Lisiecki’s where young Jan gave yet another stunning performance last night…the first ever of the newly created Beacon Concert Series. To say that the inaugural event was an outstanding success is an understatement.  A rough head count indicated that there were over 200 people in attendance…the largest audience ever for a Debut concert in St. John’s! Jan Lisiecki’s concert was very well received and he spent 45 minutes or so after the performance greeting audience members and signing autographs.

Many thanks to Andrea Rose, who planted the seed, which would blossom into this wonderful opportunity for emerging artists and audiences alike.  Kudos as well to Ki Adams and David Chafe, who produce the series, for their sense of vision, fearlessness (at least they looked fearless!), and hours of work.  Huge thanks as well to Doreen McCarthy and Dick Stoker of the Arts & Culture Centres who partnered up with Beacon Series to make this event happen.

4 days later, the wonderful sounds of Mr. Jan Lisiecki’s concert are still singing in my ears. To say the concert at the Indian River festival was a success is an understatement.

Heading out to PEI early in the morning, Neil and I met the Lisiecki’s at their hotel in Charlottetown and headed over to CBC for a series of interviews. While Jan was with the show hosts, I had the chance to get to know his parents a little. They are incredibly friendly, interesting and well rounded people. We discussed music, Jan’s career thus far in his life, their hopes and dreams for him, as well as literature and music. Delightful conversation I must say!

After the interviews, we went to a wonderful restaurant (I forget the name however!) and we all ordered the fish and chips. Jan was starving, and since they forgot to bring us utensils, he just dove right in!

The rest of the day was pretty typical, with us driving to Summerside, and getting Jan to St. Mary’s Church for some rehearsal time.

The concert was epic! Every pew in the church was filled to the brim with eager concert goers and the young Lisiecki played with grace, maturity and a musical wisdom beyond his years. The concert program was engaging and interesting and so well executed that you wanted to savour it again and again, even after the last note disappeared and the roaring standing ovation came to an end!

Here is comment given by one of the individuals in attendance:

*The concert with Jan was stunning and Debut can be proud once more of the quality of the talent it brings. Jan’s recital is an experience of a lifetime and as an audience something to remember and cherish for a long time. It’s the kind of experience  that you can say, “yes, I was there in 2010.”*

To cap off the night, we all went out for some delightful Chinese food and went to bed. Exhausted but thrilled with how the evening played itself out!

Jan has since performed in Moncton at the First Church of the Nazarene, and in Antigonish at St.FX University. Tonight, he is scheduled to perform at the English Country Garden Bed & Breakfast in Indian Brook! Give a shout out to 1-866-929-2721 to see if tickets are still available!

For a list of the entire tour, just click here!

To contact the presenters and book tickets, visit the Presenters Page on the Debut Atlantic Website!

Mr. Jan Lisiecki is scheduled to arrive in PEI tomorrow evening! His first concert is scheduled for 7:30pm at St. Mary’s Church in Indian River on Thursday, the 9th of September.

Neil (Debut Atlantic’s Executive Director) and I will be heading out to the island on Thursday to welcome Jan, do a couple of interviews and to attend the concert.

I am most excited!

Not only is this going to be my first tour with Debut Atlantic, but the concert program that Mr. Lisiecki is playing has had me on the edge of my seat since it was released! It is almost entirely works by Chopin, with a Bach Prelude & Fugue (BMV 857) as well as a piece by Mozetich, who is a Canadian Composer, to round things off.

Chopin is 200 years old this year, and attending a Lisiecki concert is the A-Class way of celebrating this remarkable composer! Jan is sure to wow us all with his intelligent, poetic and imaginative execution. From what I hear, he does especially well with the works of Fryderyk Chopin.

If you are interested in tickets for the event, contact the Indian River Festival at 506-856-3733. Ticket prices are from $20 to $22 and worth every penny!

Check back soon for posts from Debut staff and the artists about their music, the composers, the concerts, venues… all the magic that is Debut Atlantic!