Friday, May 27, 2022
Knox United Church, Parksville.
Concert at 6:45 pm, doors open at 6:00 pm
Alexander Weimann, Artistic Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver and Music Director of Les Voix Baroques, Le Nouvel Opera and Tempo Rubato, brings his internationally acclaimed talents as harpsichordist to Oceanside Classical Concerts. He brings with him an ensemble of outstanding baroque musicians – a recipe sure to reach the highest of heights.
Born in Munich, Germany in 1965, Mr. Weimann’s music studies have included the organ, church music, musicology (with a summa cum laude thesis on Bach’s secco recitatives), theatre, medieval Latin, and jazz piano. His studies were aided by federal scholarships reserved for the extremely talented.
Baroque ensembles and orchestras across Canada have been conducted by Mr. Weimann – the Montreal-based Ensemble Arion, Les Violons du Roy, and, in the United States, the Portland Baroque Orchestra. Regularly, he has been the featured soloist for the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and is a frequent conductor of the Victoria Symphony and Symphony Nova Scotia (recently, with Handel’s Messiah).
Over 100 CDs feature Alexander Weimann. His North American debut recording was with the ensemble Tragicomedia (Capritio, Harmonia Mundi USA) and his 2001 recording of Handel’s Gloria (ATMA Classique) brought acclaim from critics worldwide. In 2005, Weimann released recordings of the complete works by Alessandro Scarlatti; again, he received unanimous praise. The Scarlatti recording was nominated for an Opus Prize as best Canadian early music recording in 2006. Soprano Karina Gauvin and Montreal-based ensemble Tempo Rubato were featured with Weimann on a recording of Bach’s St. John’s Passion (won the Opus award). He received a Juno award in 2013 for his recording with Karina Gauvin and Arion Baroque Orchestra (Prima Donna). Also in 2013, a complete recording of Handel’s Orlando was released to high acclaim.
A further music interest for Weiman, as a grounding in the roots of western music, is Gregorian Chant. In addition to his studies, he attends and offers numerous master classes in harpsichord and historical music performance.
Mr. Weimann will be joined by musicians Natalie Mackie (Viola da gamba), Chloe Meyers (Baroque violin), and Soile Stratkauskas (Baroque flute).
Natalie Mackie is a graduate of University of British Columbia School of Music and teaches in the Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Program. She was a key figure in founding the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, a Vancouver ensemble that performs early music for modern ears. Accomplished at playing period instruments like the cello and viola da gamba, she also provides leadership on-stage and behind the scenes. Her efforts have cemented the group’s status as one of North America’s foremost period-instrument orchestras and ensured its ongoing success. Natalie has played with ensembles in Canada and the US and has toured throughout Canada, the US and Europe.
Violinist Chloe Meyers performs with early music ensembles across North America as a leader, orchestra member, and chamber musician. She is the concertmaster of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver and co-concertmaster of Arion Baroque Orchestra in Montreal. She has led or appeared as soloist with groups including the Victoria Baroque Players, Pacific MusicWorks, Ensemble Les Boréades, the Theatre of Early Music, Ensemble Masques, and Les Voix Baroques, of which she was a founding member. She has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with international violin stars, performing double concerti with Stefano Montanari, Enrico Onofri, Amandine Beyer, and Cecilia Bernardini. Chloe’s playing may be heard on many award-winning disks, including three Juno-nominated recordings she led as concertmaster. A committed and enthusiastic teacher, she trains young artists in the Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Program, an exciting initiative of the University of British Columbia, Early Music Vancouver, and Pacific Baroque Orchestra. Chloe lives in Ladner with her family and dog.
Finnish-born flutist Soile Stratkauskas completed her undergraduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and gained her Master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music in London, UK. Soile has performed with many prominent period instrument orchestras in the UK, including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Gabrieli Consort and Players, and has toured in Europe and recorded with these groups. Soile is the founder and artistic director of the Victoria Baroque, and is passionate about creating opportunities for music making in the community. With Victoria Baroque, she has performed eleven successful concert seasons in Victoria, as well as guest performances for Early Music Vancouver, the Early Music Society of the Islands, the Cowichan Symphony Society, and Artspring. Soile is the principal flutist of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra and teaches at the University of British Columbia as part of Early Music Vancouver’s Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme
Written by Mary Leigh Warden, additional biographies provided by Alexander Weimann
Source: Alexander Weimann website