The first Lakes District Arts Council (LDAC) virtual performance and Off The Wall Art Show of the new year features photographs by the Southside’s own Mike Robertson and music by the classical piano and violin duo of meagan&amy.
“Like most folks my age, I started taking photographs (very sparingly) with the family Kodak Brownie. Santa brought us a Polaroid in 1970 and then I bought my own Instamatic when I was in high school. I entered a small collection of prints and won the Best Photographer trophy at the 1980 Lakes District Fall Fair!” says Robertson.
Robertson considers himself an amateur photographer as he has never wanted to make money selling photos.
“My greatest pleasure is to give smiles and memories to others. The theme of my photography is Beyond Ordinary. I study and attempt to capture moments where different aspects of human and nature collide. I am not a ‘techie’ and have found photography to be kind of a free-thinking exercise and not be bound by exact rules and techniques,” he says.
The second act of the virtual show is meagan&amy,a vibrant Canadian duo consisting of violinist Amy Hillis and pianist Meagan Milatz, who share an intense passion for innovative programming and fearless music-making. Praised for their energy, sensitivity, and musical maturity, they were awarded the first ever “RoadTrip!” Canadian recital tour by Jeunesses Musicales Canada, Debut Atlantic and Prairie Debut. As a result, they will tour to over 50 different Canadian cities starting in 2019 and into the future.
meagan&amy’s debut album, Roots, was released in September 2019 with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Other recent highlights for the duo include recitals at Ottawa Chamberfest and the Festival International de Lanaudière as well as a national broadcast of their complete recital on CBC’s In Concert in 2018. They are regularly featured on other CBC Music programs such as Tempo with Julie Nesrallah and Backstage with Ben Heppner.
To view the 23-minute concert meagan&amy prepared just for the LDAC, go to this link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2FdV2dEl6g&feature=youtu.be
Next month’s show will be coming around the end of February, featuring the art work of Albert Gerow and a performance by The Montreal Guitar Trio.
In other news, coldsnap, Prince George’s annual winter music festival, starts today. This year’s festival is 100 per cent virtual, featuring daily live streams and pre-recorded concerts by BC performers including Rachelle van Zanten, Kelsey and Bella Rain Abraham, Saltwater Hank, Barney Bentall, Kim Gouchie and Alex Cuba.
Also, the Lakes District Museum has put out a call for proposals from local artists. For more information call Michael at the Museum, or send an e-mail to: ldmuseumsociety@gmail.com
- John and Sandra for the LDAC group of volunteers