Bring Your Dancing Shoes to Horizon Stage and Get Ready to Rock!

Don’t Miss The Classics’ Farewell Performance in Spruce Grove on November 8

One of Edmonton’s most popular rock ’n roll and rhythm and blues cover bands is calling it quits – but they’re not going out without one last “Hurrah”. After over 20 years of playing together, in two incarnations, at venues such as Blatchford Field Air Hangar at Fort Edmonton, City Hall Plaza in St. Albert, the band-shell in Hawrelak Park, and in Winston Churchill Square during "A Taste of Edmonton", The Classics will perform for the final time at Horizon Stage in Spruce Grove on Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m.

As one of Canada's largest rock and roll/rhythm and blues bands, The Classics performed as The Nomads from 1989-2006, after resurrecting the 1964-1968  Edmonton-based band of the same name. They kept a busy schedule performing at clubs, private parties, casinos, corporate functions, soft seat theatres and even a few locations that weren’t typical concert venues. They appeared on stage at The Winspear with over fifty members of The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra for two sold-out nights of Rhythm and Blues, and a few months later they sold-out a performance in the Jack Singer Concert Hall with The Calgary Philharmonic. After changing their name to The Classics the group continued to enjoy a large amount of local success.

The Classics are: Bill Jamieson (tenor sax/vocals), Joseph Larmand (drums/vocals), Percy Marshall (guitar/vocals), Al McGee (alto sax/vocals), Robin Taylor (baritone sax/vocals), Les Vincent (bass/vocals), Al Wilson (piano/organ/vocals) and Bob Tildesley (trumpet/vocals). Prior to getting together, individual band members honed their talents in other well-known Edmonton groups including Any Wonder, Back Street Players, Better Days, Big Shot, The Brinkman Brothers, Cold Feet, Colored Rain, Countdown, The Embers, Fatback, Hidden Agenda, Hub Cigar Store, The Knights, The Lords, The Morning After, The Ookpiks, The Original Caste, Privilege, The Satellites, The Saratogas, Sea Breeze, The Sons of Adam, The Tommy Banks Orchestra, and the Trocadero Big Band.  

Today, the fire is still there and the musicianship has only continued to get better. The material these gentlemen play is rock and roll and rhythm and blues, and they make the energy roll off today’s stages just like it did in the clubs, school gymnasiums and beach halls when rock and roll was new. As a soft-seat venue, Horizon Stage doesn’t usually include a dance floor. But, for this special event, the theatre will be removing the first row of seats and encouraging audience members to get up and dance. And who can resist grooving and shaking to any of the classic songs on The Classics playlist? It’s going to be a great good-bye party!

Members of The Classics last performed at Horizon Stage, as The Nomads, almost exactly 16 years ago on October 30, 1999. Don’t miss their farewell concert at Horizon Stage on Saturday, November 8, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are just $35 for adults, and $30 for students and seniors and they are selling quickly! Purchase yours in-person at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995 or 1-888-655-9090, or online at www.horizonstage.com.

This performance is proudly sponsored by Canadian Heritage, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Travelodge Inn & Suites, and Ticketpro. 

Two Pianos, Four Hands, 20 Fingers, 176 Keys = A Unique Concert

Acclaimed Bergmann Piano Duo perform at Horizon Stage on November 7

Internationally renowned pianists, the Bergmann Piano Duo, are bringing their “razzle-dazzle”, “electrifyingly rendered”, classical concert to Horizon Stage on Friday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. Promising to be a performance unlike any you have previously experienced, Elizabeth and Marcel
Bergmann will perform on matching grand pianos provided by Michael Lipnicki Fine Pianos of Calgary. Their Spruce Grove concert is part of an Alberta tour that also includes performances in Medicine Hat, Brooks, Bragg Creek, Red Deer, Leduc, Grande Prairie, Slave Lake, Athabasca, and Ft. McMurray.

“We have taken a page out of 20th century musical history” stated the artists in a pre-tour interview. “In the 50s and 60s the concert landscape was full of duo-piano teams on tour with their own pianos in tow.   We are simply trying to re-establish an old tradition that will be as successful today as it was in the past century.” The Bergmann Piano Duo have touched and inspired audiences with their uniquely eclectic programmes for more than two decades. Always adventurous, they combine virtuosic dedication with the instincts of professional entertainers who love their music.

As international prize winners, including the Dranoff International Two Piano Competition and Provincia di Caltanissetta International Chamber Music Competition, the couple has performed in recitals, and with orchestras, across North America and Europe including recent appearances at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Salkind Duo Piano Festival, San Francisco and Munich.  They have several recordings to their credit and have been frequently featured on CBC broadcasts.

Acclaimed as “one of the brightest stars in the elite world of piano duos”, the Bergmann’s recitals draw from an extensive repertoire ranging from the baroque to the contemporary. They incorporate numerous arrangements and original compositions by Marcel Bergmann who writes in a “uniquely original voice that straddles the best of the classical and jazz worlds.” Their Spruce Grove concert will include works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johannes Brahms, Astor Piazzolla, Egberto Gismonti, Leonard Bernstein, and 80s rock band Toto.

Tickets to see the Bergmann Piano Duo at Horizon Stage on Friday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. are $35 for adults, and $30 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave) or by phone at 780-962-8995 or 1-888-655-9090. Tickets can also be bought online at horizonstage.com by clicking on the ‘Tickets’ link.  

This performance is proudly sponsored by Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, CKUA, Travelodge Inn & Suites, and Ticketpro. 

Edmonton’s Favourite Improvisers Head to the Suburbs

Rapid Fire Theatre brings their Blazing Improv! to Horizon Stage on November 1

As Edmonton’s premier improvisational comedy troupe, Rapid Fire Theatre has been making audiences of all ages laugh for 33 years. Now they’re taking the laughter on the road and heading just 20 minutes west to Horizon Stage for a one-hour improvised comedy performance that is perfect for tweens, teens, and anyone over the age of 10 with a funny bone. No improvised show is ever the same so if you like to laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more, don’t miss Blazing Improv! on Saturday, November 1, at 4 p.m.

Rapid Fire Theatre produces improvised theatre in a variety of formats including their weekly shows at the Citadel Theatre: Theatresports and Chimprov, the annual international comedy festival: Improvaganza, and their long-form improv festival: BONFIRE, and The Wildfire Festival for junior high and high school students. Rapid Fire Theatre has received several awards, including a special Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for excellence in theatre. It is a company with vision, determination, skill and ambition tirelessly working to enhance the world of improvisation in Edmonton’s vibrant theatre community.

Blazing Improv!  is the perfect show for young people who have outgrown, or will soon outgrow, Horizon Stage’s Family Matinee series. The theatre has always done a great job of entertaining little kids but the 10 – 17 crowd sometimes drops off the radar. And that’s why Horizon Stage is presenting Rapid Fire Theatre. Comedy is cross-generational. It is a safe place for even the grumpiest 13 year-olds to let loose. Rapid Fire’s improvisers will make sure that anyone age 10 and up gets their level of humour. And that means Mom and Dad, or Grandma and Grandpa, can cajole their pre-teen or teenager into spending a late afternoon with them and maybe even take them for pizza after.

But adults without kids are still 100% welcome to attend as they too will enjoy the fresh, funny, and fully-improvised games and scenes. The only thing that everyone, regardless of their age, needs to know is that they’re going to chuckle, chortle, giggle, and snort. A lot. And they’re going to be asked to yell out stuff. A lot.  So come ready to shout out your favourite colour, breakfast cereal, room of the house, movie genre, or any other crazy suggestion that the actors request. Come with an open mind, a loud voice, and an empty bladder so that you don’t pee yourself laughing.

Tickets to see Rapid Fire Theatre’s Blazing Improv! at Horizon Stage on Saturday, November 1 at 4 p.m. are $20 for adults, and $16 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave) or by phone at 780-962-8995 or 1-888-655-9090. Tickets can also be bought online at www.horizonstage.com by clicking on the ‘Tickets’ link.  

Enjoy a Night of Fire, Passion, Music, and Dance at Horizon Stage

Let yourself be swept away by the sizzling romance of the Tango on Friday, October 24

Spend a spicy evening with the Romulo Larrea Tango Ensemble as they explore the pulsating world of the tango. These exceptional ambassadors of this hugely popular dance genre will leave you breathless and wanting more. Three incredible musicians, two talented dancers, and a sensual vocalist, will please and satisfy you with their stunning show TANGO: A Passion of a Lifetime, at Horizon Stage, in Spruce Grove, on Friday, October 24.

 A partner dance that originated in the 1890s in South America, the tango is popular around the world both with ballroom dancers and audiences alike. The Romulo Larrea Tango Ensemble has been performing together since 1990 and their concerts and recordings are recognized internationally. Headed by renowned bandoneon player, Romulo Larrea, the ensemble has developed a unique approach to the tango and become a benchmark for novices and aficionados alike.  Their musical interpretations and rich repertoire prolong the tradition of the original Buenos Aires tango orchestras.

Bandoneon player, composer, and ensemble musical director, Romulo Larrea is recognized as one of the leaders on the international tango scene. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, he began playing the bandoneon at age ten. In the 1960s he formed his first ensemble, began composing, recorded his first album, and worked with several orchestras in Montevideo and Buenos Aires. After moving to Quebec at the end of the 1970s, Larrea founded his first tango group. Known for introducing tango to Montreal, he has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and South America, shared the stage with many renowned francophone artists, and created multiple tango-themed shows.

A type of concertina that is similar to an accordion, the bandoneon is popular in Argentina, Uruguay, and Lithuania. It is an essential instrument in most tango ensembles from the traditional orquesta típica of the 1910s onwards. TANGO: A Passion of a Lifetime is an intimate presentation that tells the love story between the tango and the bandoneon through music, dance, bits of history, and treasured anecdotes. Romulo Larrea leads the trio of bandoneon, piano, and bass, and is joined by singer Verónica Larc and an inspired pair of tango dancers.

Tickets to see TANGO: A Passion of a Lifetime at Horizon Stage on Friday, October 24 at 7:30 p.m. are $35 for adults, and $30 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave) or by phone at 780-962-8995 or 1-888-655-9090. Tickets can also be bought online at www.horizonstage.com by clicking on the ‘Tickets’ link.  

“This was a wonderfully put together show that I truly enjoyed.

The dancing was passionate and skilled, and the music was phenomenal.”

 - Submitted Review on Ticketmaster Website

        

This performance is proudly sponsored by Ticketpro, CKUA, Travelodge Inn & Suites, Canadian Heritage, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ).