Sostenuto, meaning sustained, is not only a way of playing music to this duo's members (Anna Lumiere on piano/accordion and Serena Eades on violin), but it is a way of living within the world.
While both musicians can be found touring and recording across the continent with such groups as Mimosa (www.mimosamusic.com), Anagram (www.anagramjazz.ca) and the Rakish Angles (www.rakishangles.com). this lovely duo called Sostenuto is hitting the road this summer by bicycle.
The music is at times sultry and rich, but they are never far from injecting a good dose of silliness and lightness into a given show. From Argentinian tango to Brazilian choro, French musette to folk melodies and contemporary jazz, Sostenuto is a worthwhile treat for the senses.
Lumiere is also a member of Anagram, a modern jazz quartet, as well as Mimosa, a band that she founded in 1998 and for which she composed, recorded and produced three albums of original material. She has received an IMA award for her compositions and some of her music has been used in film and rescored for a choir.
Mimosa has also been the subject of a one-hour CBC documentary and was in a French CBC TV show (Bien au show) in 2012. Lumiere studied jazz at Capilano University and at the Banff Centre for the Arts.
Eades received a Bachelor of Music degree from Brandon University and is currently studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Serena has toured, played, and recorded with many award-winning B.C.-based artists throughout North America and has published a book of her compositions. She also plays with various orchestras and teaches private music lessons.
Aug. 1 — Sostenuto performs at the Denman Island Community Hall at 8 p.m. Tickets at the door. (Sponsored by the Piano Lounge.)
Aug. 2 — Studio Live! at 2679 Beaufort Ave. at First in Cumberland, at 8 p.m. Tickets at Bop City Records in Courtenay.
"Sostenuto (Anna Lumiere and Serena Eades) performed at our Synchronicity Festival in 2012. Their music was enchanting, transporting the listeners to the streets of Paris and Buenos Aires, and the chemistry between the two brought the mood and experience of the festival to a whole new level. Our goal was to create a European-type town square in the middle of a field surrounded by rainforest. Sostenuto made that happen." — Chad Herschler, artistic director.
For more information, visit www.sostenuto.ca.
— Sostenuto