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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
A Juno-award-winning piano trio will be performing for one night only in Fort Simpson at the end of the month.

The Gryphon Trio will be performing for one night in Fort Simpson on Feb. 25. The trio's members include violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon, left, cellist Roman Borys and pianist Jamie Parker. - photo courtesy of John Beebe

The Gryphon Trio, comprised of Canadian musicians violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon, cellist Roman Borys and pianist Jamie Parker, will be in the village, the last stop on their NWT tour with the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre (NACC) on Feb. 25. The trio is the last group in the centre's On the Edge season.

The musicians will be in Norman Wells, Inuvik, Hay River and Yellowknife before concluding in Fort Simpson at the OSC Gallery.

"We're really excited about this trip," said Parker.

The group has toured extensively in North America and Europe, but this will be its first time to the NWT. The musicians, who will be celebrating 20 years as an ensemble in March, are looking forward to meeting people in the communities they perform in and seeing some Northern lights.

Lively, interactive, and uplifting were some of the words that Parker used to describe what audience members can expect from the trio's performances in the territory. Growing up as music students, Parker said he and his two ensemble members heard lots of boringly-presented classical music

"We just don't want to do that," he said.

"At each performance the trio will be giving a mostly chronological tour of the history of the music they play.

Audience members can expect to hear works from Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, possibly some Felix Mendelssohn and Astor Piazzolla, an Argentinian tango master, as well as works the trio have commissioned from living composers.

'Quite a bit of energy in it'

"Most of the music that we play will have quite a bit of energy in it," Parker said.

Parker said there is a missionary aspect to what the trio does.

"We're bringing some of this music that is hundreds of years old and trying to give it an interpretation that speaks to people today," he said.

The musicians will also give short introductions to many of the pieces.

"We'll try to point out what we think is interesting about the pieces we're going to play," he said.

This is the second year Fort Simpson has been part of NACC's tours. The trio is the third performance NACC has brought to the village this season.

Marie Coderre, the executive and artistic director for NACC, said she hopes more people will become aware of the performances being held in the village. It's hard to find funding and justify the expenditure if only small numbers of people come to the performances, she said.

The centre strives to bring high quality and high profile performers to the communities on their tour routes during each of their seasons, Coderre said. The tours are all about bringing exposure to the arts to the communities. she added.

"You can learn so much from the arts," she said.

In each season NACC tries to balance performances that people don't often have an opportunity to see, such as classical chamber music, with something a bit more accessible such as folk music, said Coderre.

"We're going to bring talented people," she said.

The Gyphon Trio is one example of the level of talent Coderre said NACC seeks out.

"They are absolutely exceptional musicians," Coderre said.

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