Violinist Joan Blackman brings her "ravishing tone" to the Comox Valley for the second Mattina Musica concert on Monday, Nov. 4.
Blackman and Hagen launch their "five concerts in five days" West Coast tour in the Comox Valley. Their program includes dramatic late works by Debussy and Beethoven.
Blackman, associate concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony, enjoys a vibrant and varied musical life. She is the artistic director of Vancouver's Vetta Chamber Music and Recital Society, and also a member of the acclaimed American String Project, which brings together concertmasters and soloists throughout North America.
She has performed and recorded as soloist with the Vancouver Symphony, Victoria Symphony, CBC Radio Orchestra, and the Banff Festival Orchestra.
Blackman has also performed chamber music with premier groups such as the Penderecki String Quartet, Purcell String Quartet, Curio, Vancouver New Music, and the Turning Point Ensemble.
She has appeared on the series Music in the Morning, Music Fest Vancouver, the Pender Harbour Music Society Concert Series, The Jeffrey Concerts in London, Ont., and at several summer festivals including the Hornby Island Festival, Pender Harbour Chamber Music Festival, and the Victoria Summer Music Festival.
She is frequently heard in recital broadcasts on CBC radio. "Your heart would need to be made of stone not to have loved Joan Blackman's splendid solo." [Seattle's Gathering Note]
From the Comox Valley, Hagen has been heard in concert halls and on the airwaves to critical acclaim throughout North America and Europe.
As well as hosting eight recital series in BC, Hagen enjoys a busy and varied concert schedule as both a soloist and collaborator. As First Prize Winner in the 2013 Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition, she was awarded the opportunity to perform solo at New York City's Carnegie Hall in May 2013.
Highlights of Hagen's upcoming season include recitals featuring Rachmaninoff's complete Opus 32 Preludes in both Ontario and PEI, a Project Sound performance in Saint John featuring New Brunswick photographers and the launch of her second album with music of Robert and Clara Schumann.
Italian for Morning Music, Mattina Musica is a five-concert series of classical music taking place on select Monday mornings. Each event begins with a pre-concert reception in the Sid lobby.
Co-presented by the Sid Williams Theatre Society and Hagen, the series began last month with cellist Ariel Barnes and continues with violinist Blackman, tenor Benjamin Butterfield, hornist Oto Carrillo and a solo recital by Hagen.
Coffee and tea is served at 9:45 a.m. and music begins at 10:30. For more information on the Mattina Musica series and other upcoming performances, visit www.sidwilliamstheatre.com or call 250-338-2430.
— Mattina Musica