A sonically scintillating celebration of contemporary Canadian chamber music

Join trio Three-Part Invention (Kathryn Cernauskas, flute; Heather Pawsey, soprano; and Karen Shumka, piano) for Sound Waves, a shifting showcase through the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre (845 Avison Way, Stanley Park), Saturday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. This limited-seating concert sees audience and musicians roaming the Aquarium together, from the Amazon Gallery to Arctic Canada and points in-between. Form and functionality, structure and sonority are explored, as differing locations, changes in temperature and humidity, light and colour, and the Vancouver Aquarium's specific creatures and acoustics are reflected in Canadian repertoire on a marine and coastal theme chosen deliberately to highlight and complement these unique elements.

R. Murray Schafer's "Aria of the Princess" (The Princess of the Stars), originally written to be performed in a canoe on a lake at dawn, will be sung across the waters of Arctic Canada, while Harry Somers's "Kuyas" (Louis Riel), sung in Cree, will echo through the Amazon Rainforest. Sound Waves also features the world premiere of Vancouver composer Leslie Uyeda's Whales (with text by B.C. poet/author Brenda Brooks) for soprano, keyboard, flute, and belugas, written specifically for this concert and the Vancouver Aquarium, and performed in the Underwater Beluga Viewing Gallery. In all, music by 16 Canadian composers will be featured, ten (10) of them from British Columbia.

Admission to Sound Waves is free; however, due to space restrictions, seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. To book a space, please call the reservations line at 604-659-3527 beginning February 28, 2006.

Kathryn Cernauskas, flute, has played solo and chamber music of all styles nationally and internationally, but is particularly noted for her performances of Canadian repertoire. Soprano Heather Pawsey, First Prize winner of the prestigious Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, has sung for Vancouver Opera, CBC Radio, Music in the Morning, Turning Point Ensemble, and the West Coast and Vancouver Island Symphonies. Karen Shumka, piano, is a much sought after vocal coach and répétiteur and a performing member of Weill Women. In 2004, trio Three-Part Invention presented Tasting Notes, two sold-out moveable chamber music concerts (awarded a Canada Music Fund Grant for "New Music in New Places") at Calona Vineyards Winery, Kelowna, B.C.

This concert is made possible through the generous support and assistance of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre and Tom Lee Music. The Canadian Music Centre gratefully acknowledges the support of the SOCAN Foundation and the Government of Canada through the Canada Music Fund.