Prince George Symphony Orchestra will showcase local singer songwriters Saturday night as they become the biggest back-up band ever, the musical director said.
PG Symphony Session: Shun uts’utejun – playing music together - stars Kym Gouchie, Amy Blanding and Rachelle Van Zanten, local singer songwriters, who will share the stage with the Prince George Symphony on April 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Vanier Hall.
“So picture it, we have nine songs from three artists that Simon Cole, our wonderful principal clarinetist, composer and arranger, has taken and written for full orchestra,” Michael Hall, PGSO music director, said. “We’re talking winds and brass and strings and percussion and you can imagine the audience will hear these powerful and important songs backed by a 35-40 piece orchestra and all that we can do. So we’re like a big back-up band.”
It starts with making music and getting to know these three wonderful artists, Hall added.
“These three artists always have an important message, often talking about the environment we live in, so it’s very appealing to people from the North,” Hall said.
Singer songwriter Rachelle Van Zanten said she's been performing on the road since she was 18 years old.
"This is probably one of the bigger shows I’ve ever done as far as the massiveness of the arrangements and not screwing up goes,” Zanten said. “I’m pretty excited for the bigness of the arrangements. I was listening to one of the songs and it’s totally John Wayne – we’re in a John Wayne movie! Perfect! I feel really grateful – as a musician you take twists – one day you’re playing in Red Deer, Alberta while they’re snaking the drain in the back and another day you’re playing Massey Hall in Toronto and so here we are this week, riding the glorious wave and I’m pretty excited to be synced up with all these musicians to create something beautiful.”
Tickets are available at PG Symphony Sessions tickets.
