Musica Reflecta Director Anastasia Tchernikova conducts the
performance of Peter and the Wolf, at
St Barnabas on the Danforth, narrated by
Fr Jonathan Eayrs.
Earlier this month (May 2013), many families from the Danforth
community found themselves in St. Barnabas for a reason they may not have
expected. Alas, however unexpected the reason, the results were quite magical.
On Sunday May 5th, St. Barnabas played host to the budding chamber orchestra
Musica Reflecta, in a team effort with the rising group of visual artists
Madeleine Collective, for a night of storytelling and music for an audience of
all ages.
Peter and the Dinosaurs, as the event was so called, was a
collaboration between the two groups with the goal to bring the wonders of live
classical music to a fresh audience, an audience that remains open-minded, yet
discerning in their taste; children.
In this vein, who better to kick off the evening than
8-year-old Laurelle Lassonde, who made her piano debut under the baton of Music
Director and her piano teacher Anastasia Tchernikova, playing a special
commission by Canadian composer Chris Thornborrow, Mini Piano Concerto No.1.
Most striking though, were the orchestral showcases in
Carnival of the Dinosaurs, a piece by Canadian Opera Company children's music
composer Dean Burry, as well as the timeless classic, Sergei Prokofiev's Peter
and the Wolf, narrated by none other than Father Jonathan Eayrs and complete
with a dreamy collection of visuals by the talented Madeleine Collective.
In all, the project and partnership between Musica Reflecta,
Madeleine Collective, and St. Barnabas Anglican Church yielded a night of
wonder for both kids and adults alike, and continues to resonate as a
successful event in the neighbourhood. However, for all the musicians in the
orchestra that night, no praise was worth more than when the orchestra hit a
dramatic pause in per-formance, and from far back in audience a young voice
energetically exclaimed "DINOSAURS!".
nice
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