Il Primo - Three Baritones in Concert at the Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach.
The Steinbach Arts Council is proud to present Il Primo – Three Baritones in Concert at the Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach on Thursday, Sept 29th at 7:30pm.
Building upon the success of their premiere performance for the Estevan Arts Council in October of 2009, this group of rich, robust, and nuanced musicians is sharing their artistry with audiences in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Following in the tradition of the three tenors (but singing like real men), Il Primo is a crowd pleaser with diverse repertoire stemming from popular song to opera and from folksongs to musical theatre. This is music for everyone’s taste. Audiences will hear such familiar tunes as Both Sides Now, My Way, You Raise Me Up, and O Sole Mio, as well as classics by Gilbert and Sullivan and Rossini, but with a unique style and evocative blend of musical qualities that everyone can, and will, enjoy.
Who make up Il Primo? Mel Braun, David Klassen and David Playfair, three distinguished baritones are accompanied on piano by the incomparable piano skills of Dr. Laura Loewen. All four are prairie artists based in Manitoba … all four are classically-trained musicians and performers with well-established and long careers … and all four teach music at the university level, Loewen, Braun and Klassen at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Playfair at Brandon University.
SAC is especially honored to feature their local artist, David Klassen, who is well known on the southeast stage.
“A couple of years ago we were asked to put together an evening of music that would be popular but have substance. With the strong trend in Pop-opera and the high demand for tenor boy bands like Il Divo, we thought this would be a great way to showcase some great music that audiences wanted to hear and that we enjoyed performing, as well as provide an opportunity to hear mature voices” said David Playfair. “In some ways it was a case of, ‘Anything tenors can sing, we can sing better.’ As baritones, we can attest to, and lament the fact that it’s often the tenors who get most of the attention.”
“We have developed a special mix of repertoire that we feel communities can relate to and enjoy,” explains Mel Braun. “It’s a mixture of the familiar and some new and unusual thrown in for variety, but all tunes that everyone can enjoy.”
