Fast Forward, presented by the North Shore Celtic Ensemble in celebration of its 15th anniversary, Saturday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at North Vancouver's Centennial Theatre. Tickets: $25/$15, visit centennialtheatre.com. Info: nsce.ca.
For the co-founders of North Shore Celtic Ensemble, the last 15 years have passed in a flash.
From grassroots beginnings, the non-profit organization has continued to evolve musically and attract talented young players, all the while maintaining a strong focus on social responsibility and community involvement.
In acknowledgement of the quick passage of time and the organization's accomplishments to date, the Celtic ensemble will take the stage at North Vancouver's Centennial Theatre tomorrow night for an anniversary performance entitled Fast Forward.
"It's a little bit of the impression that we have, that it's just a big blur. We always look forward to the next project, the next project and then suddenly it's been 15 years," says co-founder and artistic director Claude Giguère.
The origin of the group was the result of a recording done by Giguère, a professional violinist, and Jay Knutson, a founding member of Spirit of the West. Having met through a friend, they collaborated on a Celtic album, Entrelace, released in 1998.
"That CD was the blueprint almost for the Celtic ensemble," says Giguère, a North Vancouver resident.
Following its release, when Giguère was teaching music at the Vancouver Waldorf School as well as privately, he came to realize just how many young players abandon their music lessons upon hitting their teenage years, something he wished to change.
"Celtic music seemed to be a great way of keeping kids doing music together," he says.
Calling on Knutson to help out and play rhythm, they used their album as the basis for a Celtic-focused youth group and started working with a few students, mainly Giguère's charges from the Waldorf school, doing a few concerts here and there.
"That kind of blossomed and it started expanding," says Knutson, a longtime North Shore resident who recently moved to Kitsilano. He also serves as co-founder and artistic director of the ensemble.
Based on the positive responses garnered from the youths themselves and audiences, the duo continued on, expanding their group to include members from outside of the Waldorf school, and the North Shore Celtic Ensemble was formed. The organization was registered as a charity in 2002, increasing its eligibility for various funding sources, and from then on, things have continued to take off.
Today, the Celtic ensemble is comprised of approximately 60 students from across the Lower Mainland divided into four different levels based on ability. In addition to a regular rehearsal schedule, members go on retreats, perform regularly and go on tour. Members have travelled to Scotland and the East Coast multiple times over the years.
The program has been designed as an alternative program for young musicians. Their approach, which Giguère describes as "orchestral Celtic," is not commonly seen, having many fiddlers on stage at once with backing instruments. All the players perform from memory and can pick up pieces by ear.
"It's about composition, it's about improvisation as well, it's about collaboration and it's about playing in a group situation. It's quite different than playing in an orchestra for instance," he says.
Giguère and Knutson work to offer their students hands-on experience with being a professional musician. They've sought to create an environment of friends, allowing
members to work together on projects, record, tour, perform, contribute to new arrangements and pieces, in addition to improving on their respective instrument.
In terms of musical genre, their interests have continued to evolve.
"We started out with a fairly traditional Celtic music style of repertoire. Over the years that repertoire has changed tremendously," say Giguère.
From incorporating different genres - jazz, blues, Cajun and Scandinavian - as well as new arrangements and works by the co-founders and students, choices are made to showcase the talents of the current membership.
They've been further challenged through a number of collaborations undertaken over the years. The North Shore Celtic Ensemble has worked with a host of groups, including Lions Gate Sinfonia, Laudate Singers, a marimba band as well as a youth orchestra from the Netherlands.
"The collaborative aspect, I think that, over the years, it's been a strong forte of our group," says Giguère.
"For the kids it's wonderful because they get to connect with a number of different youths from other groups and different professionals from other groups as well in all styles," he adds.
Every few years, the ensemble does a new recording and so far has seven full length albums and one EP under its belt.
"That really documents that particular time period of the evolution of the Celtic ensemble, which is great to look back upon but also for those guys to take with them because that represents the time that they were there. And the songs, the arrangements, all of the various shows that we have done over the course of the time that they were there, their tenure there, are documented on that CD. It's a nice process and it makes for a nice cycle through," says Knutson.
Its last CD was Troubadours, released two years ago.
As for their next recording project, Giguère and Knutson are still mulling it over, hoping to tackle a multimedia project that speaks to the current generation's engagement with new technology and social media.
In addition to cultivating their musical talents, North Shore Celtic Ensemble members are encouraged to give back.
"We've always really tried to stay connected with the community," says Knutson.
The Celtic ensemble performs regularly at the North Shore Hospice, seniors homes as well as community events, offering them increased performance opportunities, while enriching the lives of audience members. The organization formalized this continued interest by launching a Community Concert Series.
Giguère and Knutson are looking forward to tomorrow's anniversary concert, a chance to reflect on the past, while continuing to move forward.
"As we play more as a group, like any group, there is that development of sound. So every couple of years as we go through these shifts dynamically between the students that come and go, those that graduate and move on, there is a perceivably different feel and interpretation to songs that we had done prior to
that had their own unique stamp from that time," says Knutson.
For Fast Forward, they're bringing back a few alumni to share the stage with current members, and during rehearsals those shifts have been apparent, a rewarding experience for all involved.
The evening's program is a collection of repertoire from over the years, representative of the different eras of the organization.
It's been great to reconnect with some of their former students, instilling the important role the group has played in their lives. "It's meant to be more than just being part of a community band," says Knutson.
Many have maintained the bonds they forged as youths, maintaining friendships into adulthood.
Whether they've gone on to pursue a career as a professional musician or not, the majority seem to have music in their lives in some fashion. "They all find their own paths, but they're able to take that with them," says Knutson.
Further inspiring is that some Celtic ensemble alumni are currently working with the organization as faculty.
"To think that it can continue after our tenure with this group is done, that would be really great," says Knutson.
New members are welcome. For information on joining the North Shore Celtic Ensemble, visit nsce.ca.
