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Louis Babin announces futur events…

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McGill Chamber Orchestra presents “La Suite du promeneur”

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On May 5th, conductor Boris Brott will introduce La Suite du Promeneur to the McGill Chamber Orchestra’s program. Louis Babin and Brott will be reunited 23 years after the work’s initial creation by the Orchestre de l’Isle, which the maestro conducted at the time.

The concert will take place in the magnificent Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ Bourgie Hall at 20:00.

La Suite du Promeneur has been performed by many orchestras since its inception and broadcasted in numerous countries. La Suite appeals to the listener’s heart and his desire to live life to the fullest. As Louis Babin observes in the program notes,

“Do not be a mere spectator. Do not be afraid of mistakes. Go to the end with the undoubted satisfaction of not being outdone by life.”

Boris Brott, Louis Babin, as well as Belgian violinist and guest soloist Marc Bouchkov, will take part in a discussion preceding the concert, at 18:30. Bouchkov won the First Prize at the 12th Montreal International Musical Competition.

Selected works by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky will also be performed.

 

Agenda de LaPresse.ca

Source in French : Orchestre de chambre McGill présente son concert Violon premier prix | LaPresse.ca

Also in English : https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/shop-online/concerts/mcgill-chamber-orchestra-first-prize-violin/1062/

 

Here is a glimpse of it, the second movement of the Suite du promeneur : L’extase

The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, Petr Vronsky directing, Olomouc, Czech Republic, 2012

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Olympic figure skater Eric Radford joins forces with the Canadian Cancer Society

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Official Press Release of the Canadian Cancer Society

Olympic figure skater Eric Radford

joins forces with the Canadian Cancer Society

Half of the proceeds from the sales of the music single Tribute

will go towards saving more lives

Montreal, March 26, 2014 – The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) is happy to announce that 50% of the proceeds from the sales of the music single Tribute, composed by figure skater Eric Radford seven years ago as a tribute to his trainer Paul Wirtz, who died of cancer aged 47, will go towards fighting the disease.

Broadcast on television channels all over the world, this composition provided the background music for the short figure skating program he performed with his partner Meagan Duhamel at the recent Winter Olympics. Tribute also accompanied the couple at the Skate Canada International in Saint John (New Brunswick) last October and will accompany them again today, March 26th, in Tokyo at the International Skating Union’s World Championships.

In Sotchi, Eric and Meagan finished 7th in the pairs figure skating competition and took the silver medal in the team event.

“I would like to thank Eric Radford and his associates for this generous gesture. Music is universal and it has been shown that it can help in tolerating treatment side effects as well as managing the stress often associated with this disease. So, we greeted the news that Eric Radford wanted to offer the CCS a portion of the money from the sales of Tribute enthusiastically,” says Sylvie Poissant, Acting Executive Director of the CCS – Quebec Division. “A very big thank you is also due to everyone who buys this original score for the benefit of the CCS’s research, prevention, and support activities.”

Born in Winnipeg, skater Eric Radford, who has been living and training in Montreal for the past few years, studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

You can buy the Tribute single now for $1.99 on cancer.ca/ericradford.

The composition was arranged by composer Louis Babin and performed by the string orchestra of the Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil. The recording took place in Montreal’s Lamajeure studios.

Every day, the Canadian Cancer Society works to save more lives. We have been relentless in our commitment to prevent cancer, fund research, and support people touched by the disease. For more than 75 years, our goal has remained unchanged: do more so that fewer of us have to face cancer and more survive. Let’s save more lives: visit cancer.ca or call our Cancer Information Service at 1 888 939-3333.

To view the documentary produced by TSN/CTV

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An Olympics First: Athlete Eric Radford Will Skate to His Music

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The Olympics Games depict great athletic accomplishments, all of which happen before our very eyes. Amongst them, I think of figure skater Eric Radford who will represent Canada with his partner Meegan Duhamel at the upcoming 2014 Sotchi Winter Games. Eric’s dream of skating to the sound of Tribute, his own composition, will come true during the execution of his short program to a Julie Marcotte choreography. I had the privilege to produce, orchestrate and conduct the recording session. Eric composed Tribute in memory of his trainer Paul Wirtz whom lost his battle to cancer in 2006.

You will be able to hear it during the performance of their pairs short program. The event starts February 6th.

My best wishes go out to Eric, Meegan and Julie, all of whom are innovating by skating to Eric’s original composition. It is an Olympics first and I commend them for their audacity. During the recording session, I saw Eric being moved by hearing his music being played by the strings of the Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil. Also worthy of note is the fantastic work of Sylvain Lefebvre and his team at Lamajeure Studio. Moreover, the recording session was the object of a TSN/CTV report produced by Tracey Britnell.

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“To Dream” with I Musici and OCJL

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The I Musici of Montreal under the direction of Jean-Michel Malouf teams up with the Orchestre à cordes des jeunes de Laval (OCJL) under the direction of Manon Reddy. They will play my piece for strings To Dream. Created in 2010, this piece is part of the suite Visages composed at the time of my residency at the School FACE in Montréal.

The concert will take place Sunday November 17th at Sainte-Rose Church in Laval, Quebec.

More details in French : http://www.ocjl.ca/

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Press Release : World Premiere of “L’Indécis” (The Undecided)

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L’Orchestre symphonique de l’Estuaire (OSE) has issued a press release announcing the world premiere of my most recent composition, entitled L’Indécis (The Undecided). The concert will take place at Salle Desjardins-Telus in Rimouski this coming November 2.

I composed this concerto for trumpets and one soloist for trumpeter Frédéric Demers. Mr. Demers will be performing as an invited soloist under the direction of OSE conductor Luc Chaput. I would like to express my thanks to Mr. Chaput for including this work on the evening’s program.

L’Indécis is a unique work in that the soloist uses six different trumpets. The title of the piece points to the difficult choices the performer must make in choosing amongst the six. Having been a trumpeter for a good part of my career, I drew on my own experience in imagining this performer constantly pulled in different musical directions by his instruments.

The evening’s program (in French) and complete program notes (in English) explaining the inspiration and underlying concept of L’Indécis.

Here is an extract from the program notes:

“The Trumpeter has all the symptoms of multiple-personality disorder. It’s a known phenomenon affecting most trumpeters: he plays different instruments and each one highlights a separate aspect of his personality and sensibility. But he does not know who he really is. So he decides to consult a psychologist!”

(in French)