Category Archives: #Vancouver Entertainment

Come on a Dream Ride Sunday September 4

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Dear Fine Folk… you are warmly invited to come on a Dream Ride with us September 4, 4pm @ St. Andrews Wesley Church in Vancouver.

DREAM RIDE

Can’t believe eight years have passed since I bounced off the end of my mother’s bed and into a very different head space! 

All was not lost though. Beautiful new music has come to the surface, twenty pieces for solo piano and new project called Dream Ride. Serendipitous events that have urged us forward in surprising ways, like finding baritone Pablo Romero in the forest. 

Featuring Linda Lee Thomas, renowned VSO pianist, also known as the “Queen of Tango”. Dream Ride explores the Tango idiom while venturing into realms of pure lyric beauty.

Next Performance: September 4 @ 4 pm – 5 pm

St. Andrews Wesley Church (Burrard and Nelson) Vancouver. By Donation *no upward limit! free parking under the church.

Dream Ride ~ the music of Holly Burke and Bill Runge

Featuring:
      Linda Lee Thomas – piano
             Pablo Romero – vocals
                    Bill Runge – soprano saxophone and clarinet
                              Holly Burke – flute

Here’s a video taste of what you’re in for…

On the subject of heads…here’s another cool thing I stumbled upon in the forest.

This amazing carving known as “Twin Spirits” is just off of Rawlings trail in Stanley Park, not far from Second Beach.

The Parks Board in their greater wisdom do not “acknowledge” this remarkable creation because the artist failed to go through their application process. Hey maybe the artist didn’t know where the office was – didn’t have a computer – was living in the park? I’m just so glad this carver went ahead with their vision, their inspiration for all the people to enjoy.

Thank you, Park Banksy. Love to know who you are and meet you one day ❤️

 

 

                                       “Cos you know two heads are better than one” – Twisted

Come to the Dream Ride Premiere June 22 )))))

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🌈 Just look at this fantastic purple poster above! Bill and I would love to see you at the gig. It’s in Burnaby which isn’t too far for many of our wonderful friends! It’s going to be simply sensational! Hope to see you there! ❤️ H+B

P.S. Two composers walked into a church…(best ending for this joke wins a Naturals CD)

‘Two Eagles’ takes flight January 8 @ Frankie’s Jazz Club

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Yes, it’ll be the first public performance of Two Eagles ~1000 hours later…or is it ten thousand hours later…Bill has meticulously finished the band arrangement of ‘Two Eagles.’ Can’t wait to hear it played by Bill’s stellar band The Bill Runge Quintet. Miles Black on piano, Bernie Arai on drums, André Lachance on bass and Nick Apivor on the magical vibes. It was a full circle type of experience with this tune. It began on a cold clear February day when I spied two magnificent eagles in the large evergreen just off my building. They were there for hours…just hanging out. I went to the piano and found a figure I liked, and a couple of potential places to go and Two Eagles was born (I kept running back and forth from the piano to the window to the window to see if they were still there.) Last week, Bill was completing the full band arrangement and looked out his window to see two glorious eagles soaring around his building. “We’re not changing the name!” said Bill.

Listen to an excerpt of “Two Eagles”!

Can’t help but get a little excited about stepping out onto the new terrain of a new year. The forever hope of things being better. Things will be better, it always feels that way, even this year. So here we are sending some good vibes your way )))))

Your buddies,

Holly and Bill

Bill Runge’s hot new Quintet steps out!

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I wanna tell the world how wonderful it is to have such a creative and accomplished partner! These musical flowerings are nourishing for all of us. Like my swirly leafed begonia plant…it’s been in bloom for weeks now! But plant music is tremendously quiet <PPPPP>

Bill’s new Quintet is exciting! dynamic! filled with verve! His writing is peerless and he’s chosen his musical companions well.  Come and find out tonight!

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Featuring a bucket list of favourite tunes from Weather Report, Steps Ahead, Don Grolnick plus some of Bill’s best original pieces from his recordings. Bernie Arai – drums, Nick Apivor – vibes/perc, Miles Hill – bass & Kristian Alexandrov – piano. Reservations recommended.

Aaaand at Frankie’s too this Saturday:

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Are you the type of person that scrolls all the way to the bottom? Well here’s your reward! A sneak preview of this hot new band!

Kozmik Dancing September 16!

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Yes Friends,

A thrilling dance experience can be yours this weekend! I’ve written a bunch of new music for the Kozmik Keyboard to accompany YOU, while Jacob Larmour speaks inspirationally, and you, of course, dance.

Rain or shine 2-6 pm @ Davie and Bute st. You know, the rainbow walk! Jacob Larmour and I will be on from 3:30 – 4:30 for a fascinating guided experience of the human story.  Not to be missed!

Horns at the Atrium – July 22 – 5pm

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Standing in the echoing expanse that is the atrium in the heart of downtown… 

      notes float…

                      quivering quavers…       and semi-quavers…         and demi-semi-quavers until a trill fills the sonorous soundscape….         and then a saxophone…

     deep drone from the trombones… Ellen and Andrews’ auditory ovation to the next wash of sound to gently caress your malleus, incus and stirrup to pure ecstasy! 

Will you please join us tomorrow?

2-4 open rehearsal, 5-6 show
SFU Woodwards Atrium (London Drugs)

   ….here is a harmonious historical recollection of last year’s happening…

 

 

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Come to Spacious Music at the Atrium September 24!

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Oh yessss…if you couldn’t make it to the June 25 Concert ~ now’s your chance…incredible new music from John Korsrud, Hugh Fraser, Bill Runge and moi! It’s a free concert in a public space…fabulous musicians…super music in the great spaciousness…

 

See you there!

 

Here’s a sneak peek at my co-write with Bill Runge, “Lagoon”, which will have its second performance on September 24.

Progress Report and Invitation 😀

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Dear Friends,

Seraphina (my flute) and I have been noticeably quieter this last year and a half as I continue to recover from my little accident. (I fell off my mother’s bed while clipping her toenails and went backwards into a chest of drawers! strange but true!) Although I’m not back to performing yet, I have been enjoying writing at the piano, very much. Bill asked me to collaborate with him on a piece for the jazz festival. It’s called “Lagoon,” and I’d love to share this new piece with you. I’ll be there in the back row probably, with my ear plugs and shades…but feeling very happy! Eventually we’ll get back to the Naturals recording we were working on. Can’t say exactly when. I certainly am learning a lot about the brain though, neuroplasticity and all that. Brains are cool 🙂

Hope to see you on next Sunday, June 25 at the Atrium at the Woodwards Building! Performance is at 5pm!

Be Well,
Holly

Art in the Garden, Dino DiNicolo and the Rare Gangetic Dolphin

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I am so fortunate to live on Stanley Park in the spring when the trees leaf they seem to rise up and surround my balcony like a canopy filled with bird song. Zephyrs of wind move through the trees and I can sometimes hear the little children at the Pooh Corner Daycare playing capriciously and singing “Jingle Bells” at the top of their lungs!

What could be more inspiring than playing with Dino DiNicolo in a beautiful garden surrounded by trees, flowers, and art? Dino and I have done this tour for years, sometimes in the rain, which has its own special atmosphere, but we expect nothing but sunny skies. The flowers are getting ready for their great performance! Art in the Garden is a tour of 16 gardens in West Vancouver and North Vancouver with a very reasonable charge of one dollar for each garden, each one unique featuring a visual artist, a musical duo, and of course the beautiful plants and flowers that have been nurtured all year.

Dino and I are scheduled to perform:

Saturday May 28th, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Garden #14: 2820 Marine Drive, West Vancouver

Sunday May 29th, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Garden #12: 5570 Woodpecker Place.

Come and smell the roses… and everything else!
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And let’s not forget..

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The rare, and uniquely beautiful, Ganges River Dolphin. (Just look at that smile!)

Cherry Blossom Festival

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Holly Burke performs at the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival this week, and in April!
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It’s Cherry Blossom Time!
Hello Dear Friends, and happy Haiku to you! What is haiku? Well if you’d like to know more, you absolutely have to join internationally acclaimed dancer Yayoi Hirano and I to experience the poetry, petals, movement and music. Read on…
You’re invited to a delightfully intimate performance I am involved in. This will be the world premiere of Haiku Mime, a whimsical physical interpretation of haiku poetry submitted from around the world. Weaving text read by yours truly around the expressive movements of Yayoi Hirano, I love our spontaneous interplay as we illuminate these modern haiku poems together. Please join us and be a part of the blossoming of this novel cultural collaboration.

Performance Dates and Times:

Burrard Station Courtyard
March 24: 12:30 pm
(Free Admission)

Van Dusen Gardens
April 9: 11:00 a.m.
April 10: 3:00 p.m.
(Japan Fair Admission $8-$14)

And lastly, thanks to everyone who kindly contributed to our Indiegogo campaign, moving Holly Burke and The Naturals closer to completing our second recording. We’ll resume work on “Playground” as soon as I’m over my concussion. Thank you for all your good wishes!

Copyright © 2016 Holly Burke and The Naturals, All rights reserved.
You are one of my beloved fans!yayoi mime 2 square small

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April 9-10 Sakura Festival