HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1989-11-08, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1989.
Entertainment
Strange instruments
make sweet music
Unique sale at Stratford
Review
Unique music
The Robert Minden Ensemble captivated the attention of the.
audience at Blyth Memorial Hall Saturday with a unique
combination of story telling and music.
BLYTH FESTIVAL PRESENTS
unless it’s plugged
Scribner told Min-
the rest of the
Minden and his
George & Mary Davidson
MIXED BONSPIEL
Come for a chat and free coffee
LISTOWEL
Telephone
291-2145
10.30-NOON
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and Cardiff & Mulvey Insurance
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BY BONNIE GROPP
The Robert Minden Ensemble is
a delightful quartet that captivated
and entertained the majority of
youngsters and parents who atten
ded the performance last Saturday
afternoon at Blyth Memorial Hall.
The group’s unique and imagina
tive story-telling, however, proved
to be a little too mature for some of
the younger children in the audi
ence.
It was in 1971, when Robert
Minden, a professor at the Univer
sity of California, heard a myster
ious sound, drifting through his
office window and going in search
of its source he was led to
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ex-vaudevillian Tom Scribner and
his musical saw. It is with this
story “The Lost Sound’’ that
Minden begins his performance,
captivating and enchanting every
one with the magic of the musical
saw.
“You kids today don’t know how
to make music
into the wall,”
den, and for
performance,
troupe, which is comprised of his
daughters, trumpeter Dewi and
flutist Andrea, and French Horn
player Carla Hallett, demonstrate
how with a little ingenuity and
imagination, you can make music
out of just about anything.
While Minden plays the melody
on his saw the trio of talented
ladies accompany him on bottles;,
lots of bottles. By blowing into*
dozens of various sizes they pro
vided percussion for a diverse
selection of material from the
familiar Daisy to a composition by
Handel to the 40’s Whispering.
Following, there were a series of
stories based on personal situa
tions, ancient tales and surrealistic
dreams all enhanced by the use of
various and unusual acoustic in
struments.
My particular favourite was a
dream story about a young boy who
wanted to talk to the whales. “He
would stare at the ocean and wait
for the whales. Then one day he
had a strange dream’’, Minden
outlines. Using sheets of tin,
screens, stones, drones and water
phones, the sounds of thunder,
water, wind and whales enhanced
the story of a young boy’s dream.
An audience participation num
ber, “The Blyth Kitchen Band’’,
complete with copper piping, cut
lery, a wok, a whisk, wooden
spoons and a pot, were accompan
ied by the Ensemble providing
some humorous entertainment.
For the most part the audience
was enthralled with the musical
numbers, but pre-schoolers in par
ticular became a littel restless
during the narratives. The truly
unfortunate thing is that even the
older children could not appreciate
the diverse and incredible talent of
this group. However, I would be
willing to bet that there were a lot
of youngsters who spent the re
mainder of the afternoon following
the performance trying to develop
the art of spoon playing.
BRUSSELS CURLING CLUB
3-6End Games
SAT., NOV. 18/89-9:30 & 11:00 DRAWS
LOVE Jack,Joyce,
Doug,Ann, andfamily
Because storage and warehouse
space is full to overflowing, the
Stratford Festival will hold its first
ever “Garage Sale and Auction’’ in
the lobby of the Festival Theatre on
Saturday, November 18. The Gar
age Sale will begin at 10 a.m. and
run through to 4 p.m. with the
Auction scheduled to take place
from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The vast array of surplus, dupli
cate and inventory items, offered
for sale in ‘as is condition’, will
include office equipment and furni
ture, shop machinery, sound and
lighting equipment, props, statues,
large ornamental pieces and can-
delabras, stage furniture, set and
scenic pieces, assorted banners,
pennants and standards, picture
frames, material remnants, thread
and trim, helmets and 800 cos
tumes of various periods and styles
including mock-ups and under
padding.
A selection of the most unique
costumes, set pieces, some elec
tronic and additional items will be
offered by auction.
Payment for Garage Sale and
Auction items will be accepted in
cash or by cheque or on Visa,
MasterCard or American Express
credit cards.
Anyone needing lighting or
sound equipment or costumes for a
theatre, or a chair for an office, or
an industrial sewing machine, or a
special one of a kind memento of
the Festival, or a truly unusual gift
for holiday giving, will probably
find it at the Stratford Festival’s
Garage Sale and Auction.
Come to THE BOOK SHOP on Saturday November 11, 1989
to meet DAN NEEDLES who will sign his new book,
published by Key Porter
Letters from Wingfield Farm
He wrote the successful play Perils of
Persephone which was sold out in Blyth this
summer and will be repeated next year.
This hard-cover book, autographed for someone
special, will make a unique and enjoyable
Christmas gift. It’s funny and of local interest,
with charming illustrations.
The Book Shop Er
2:00-4:00 P.M.