Scene and Heard

Counting Down to our Opening Night - Celebracion!
June 21, 2010
By George Laverock

It's hard to believe that in less than ten weeks our 10^th festival will have begun! Between now and August 16, hundreds of artists will be coming to the West Coast, many for the first time, and all to help us celebrate our 10^th anniversary.

I have had a lot of fun putting together this year’s program, and we are very proud that we are bringing great musicians from 9 countries to enhance Vancouver’s musical life in August.

This year we are starting on a Friday night, and unlike last year when the Orpheum was closed for Olympic renovations, we are back in the big theatre for our Odlum Brown Opening Night – Celebración!

I can promise you that it will be an evening that will make you want to dance (which apparently is illegal in civic theatres!). In this extravaganza of Latin sounds, we have musicians from Argentina, Cuba, the USA and Canada... happy music with a strong sense of rhythm. We are so pleased to be able to bring back the Adrián Iaies Trio (from Buenos Aires), who were a hit at our 2008 Festival. They will get things under way on August 6, with intimate trio sounds that resonate with tango flavours. Then trumpeter Miguelito Valdés will join the trio for at least one song, as we could not do an evening like this without saluting Cuba and the many wonderful musicians we have had in the past from that highly cultured island. Miguelito is also a member of Vancouver’s popular Latin group Zapato Negro, so he will be staying on the stage for the second set. Then John Korsrud and his 22-piece Orquesta Goma Dura will heat things up with a set of their powerful arrangements. After intermission, the headliner group, the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band will show is why they are considered the hottest Latin jazz band on the continent.

I’ll be back next week to tell you about some of the immensely talented Australian musicians that are coming.