MERIDIANS

The many paths, both outward and in, we
must follow to create ourselves again...

On Friday, May 11 please join Redshift Music Society at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre for a very special evening

To celebrate our 10th anniversary season, to commemorate the passing of the co-Artistic Director baton from Mark McGregor to Benton Roark, and to herald the arrival of the MARS Quartet, Redshift is having a very special concert at the Cultch Music by two performer/composers who intersect and bisect genres and styles, Benton Roark and Mark Haney are on the forefront of a new movement that bridges the gap between theatre, classical or 'new' music and the indie rock/pop world. Referred to as alt- classical, chamber-pop or a number of other labels, Mr. Roark and Mr. Haney are both part of the new
generation of composer/ performers who are blurring the lines and expectations in both the concert halls and the clubs.

In "Songs from the Rainshadow's Edge", Benton Roark takes us on a journey inward through the dark, dream-state of the soul in an attempt to recover the shattered bits of Self left in the wake of severe psychological trauma. "3339" by Mark Haney creates a Canadian myth, placing the story of Terry Fox into the context of the Hero's Journey.

Making their debut will be the MARS Quartet, an ensemble dedicated to performing new material that creates links and crosses boundaries between music, theatre and other performance. The MARS Quartet features four of Vancouver's finest interpreters of
new music, Mark McGregor (flute), Marcus Takizawa (viola), Mark Haney (double bass) and Martin Fisk (percussion), they will be joined for this concert by Kathleen Allan (soprano), Adrian Verdejo (guitar) and Adrienne Wong (narration).

The summer of 1980: A 5 year old boy in Espanola, Ontario follows the epic journey of a young man from British Columbia who would run 3339 miles in 143 days; across 3 time zones, 6 provinces and 10 stages of the Hero's Journey

3339 incorporates resonant melodies, pulsing ostinati, numerically-derived structures and materials, looping figures and motifs, enveloping soundscapes, field recordings and a narrator (Neworld Theatre's Adrienne Wong) to re-tell the most mythic of all Canadian tales: that of Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope.

Written as a response to his acclaimed album "Aim for the Roses" ("A daring aim, well jumped." - The Globe and Mail, "One of the most original releases this year"- The Vancouver Province), 3339 is Mark Haney's revisitation, both literal and figurative, of the geography of his northern Ontario childhood and the legend who ran through it.

Composer/Double Bassist Mark Haney has performed across Canada with a wide variety of artists and groups, enabling him to explore Canada's vast terrain (both musical and physical) and giving him a passion for Canadian stories. In 2010 Mark was featured in The Sun, The Province and on the front page of the Victoria Times-Colonist for the release of "Aim for the Roses", an avant-garde double bass suite that tells the true story of Canadian daredevil Ken Carter, and one of the most intricate double bass recordings ever produced.

Mark will be touring with Rodney Decroo this summer, and will be collaborating with renowned cartoonist Seth on a musical exploration of the fictional city of Dominion, based on Seth's graphic novel George Sprott.

...but what dreams in slumber my dreaming self does dredge up still recall the other side of rainshadow's edge – where thunderclouds roll off, and life's film, scarce begun, is skimmed to morrow's trough, revealing us as one.

Songs from the Rainshadow's Edge is a mythopoetic journey across the threshold of debilitating psychological trauma and back again. Touching on similar themes but with hindsight perspective, this haunting song-cycle serves in many ways as an epilogue to Benton's recent, lauded record, "The Return of the Lonesome Coyote Patchwork Pulpit,
and Sundry Other Tales from the Rainbow's End.

Comprising five works for soprano, chamber ensemble, and electroacoustics, Songs from the Rainshadow's Edge features a lush score full of neo-impressionistic harmonies, jazz rhythms, and detuned lullabies. It tells a story about losing one's Self, and about taking the path inward, into the void, to recover it.

Composer Benton Roark holds a profound interest in music's relationship to other art forms, especially poetry and theatre. A recent highlight was the premiere of "Shadow Catch" at the Firehall Arts Centre, which he produced and co-composed as part of the City of Vancouver's 125th Anniversary Celebration.

His work has been commissioned and performed throughout North America and Europe by a variety of ensembles and artists, including the Bozzini Quartet, Aventa and the Erasmus Foundation. Benton has also earned acclaim as the songwriter/leader of Rollaway.
("floor-stomping"- The Georgia Straight, "just too good to deny"- Discorder Magazine)