issue 04 / volume 41

A treat for classical, folk music lovers

» ‘Experience the Glory’ concert review

Margaret Matthews
Senior Columnist

Rew I had the privilege
to attend a concert
performed by the renowned
Kyiv Symphony Orchestra

and Chorus from Ukraine,
organized and directed by Dr.
Wes and Kim Janzen, who are
part of the Music Mission Kiev
BC Society. The group works
as an agent of Multi-nation
Missions Foundation, which
provides assistance to widows,
pensioners, refugees, and
orphaned children in Ukraine.
This concert was part of the
Canada — Ukraine Friendship

Tour, which performed concerts :
: Carpathian mountain region

: of west Ukraine; excerpts from
: Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker;

: and excerpts from Bach’s

: compositions.

across Canada.

The chorus was comprised
of 34 singers who sang in
Russian, Ukrainian, and
English with fluency and
ease. It was obvious from the

: delighted the audience with
: sacred masterpieces of classical :
: music; lively Ukrainian folk

: songs and dances; traditional
: spiritual/gospel songs; excerpts :
: from Handel’s Messiah sung
: in Ukrainian, English, and

: commencement of the concert
: that all the singers had years

: of voice training at opera

: schools in Ukraine and Russia
: as their tone and pitch were

: perfect and very professional.

: To accompany them was the

: symphony orchestra consisting
: of eight instrumentalists, two

: of whom played the bandura,

: a Ukrainian instrument with a
: likeness to a mandolin.

The symphony and chorus

Russian; themes from the

The group took to the stage

: dressed in formal attire, men in
: black suits and women in long
: black dresses. They performed
: 20 numbers in all, with a short
: intermission in-between. After
: the intermission, the group

: returned dressed in colourful

: Ukrainian garb, which was

: a treat in itself. They were a

: delight to both the eyes and

: ears of the audience.

The audience gave them

: a standing ovation for their

superb performance and our

: listening pleasure, which I will
: not forget for a long time.

The best part of this

: entire musical treat was that

: it was free to attend. However,

: the audience was given the

: Opportunity to donate to the

: cause at the end of the concert.

For more information on

: Music Mission Kiev, check out
: the group’s official website.

 

Comic Corner: Racism, British style

  

Ed Appleby

, lllustrator

§ Millustrator
@theotherpress.ca

here is a trend now that

games do not have to
be politically correct to be
enjoyable—just look at Cards
Against Humanity or Kittens
in a Blender. Banzai takes this
concept and gets it completely
wrong.

Banzai is a DVD betting
game for two to four players

published in 2006 by Screenlife, :
: betting round gives a distinct

: advantage to those who have

the same company that
publishes the popular Scene It?

franchise. The game is based on : 4 ¢
: There is usually no logical way

a British game show produced

from 2001 to 2003 where viewers :

» ‘Banzai’ game review

: were encouraged to wager on
: what they thought the outcome :
: of scenarios being played out on :
: the show would be. :

: both produced with a pseudo

: Japanese game show feel. To

: decide who is in charge of the

: betting, players must place

: as many plastic sushi into a

: bowl as they can with a pair of
: chopsticks. Wagers are made

: and the winner then gets all of
: the sushi. Once a player has all
: of the sushi, they win.

The game and show are

There are many problems
with the game. The sushi

deft hands with the chopsticks.

to know what the result of

: the DVD scenario will be, but

anyone who plays the game
enough times will know how

: the scenarios will end. I have
: yet to play a game that wasn’t
: grossly imbalanced.

And then there is the

: horrific racism.

The game and the show

: that it was based on are horribly
: offensive, from getting people

: to do disgusting and degrading

: things, to the Japanese minstrel
: show framing device. The

: show never had any significant

: airtime due to the uproar

: caused by the Asian-American

: community.

Racism aside, it’s the

unbalanced gameplay and
> reliance ona DVD player that
: make this a disaster of a game.

 

U2's big comeback

» ‘Songs of Innocence’ review

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

2 made a big comeback
when they performed in

the recent Apple announcement

and unexpectedly announced
their next album, Songs of
Innocence. According to Bono,
it is the most personal album
that Uz has made.

The album is produced by

: Mouse, with some songs
: produced by OneRepublic
: member, Ryan Tedder. That’s

00000

U2.

the band, like the moment

: that changed their lives forever
: when they saw the Ramones

: perform in Dublin (“The

: Miracle [of Joey Ramone]”),

: the band’s first big trip to

Gnarls Barkley member, Danger : California (“California [There is

probably why it sounds so
much like a Black Keys album
and a OneRepublic album but
with the signature sounds of

On the album, the songs
talk about the early years of

: No End to Love]”), a bombing
: that happened in Dublin that

: Bono almost experienced (“Tris
: [Hold Me Close]”) and Bono’s

: neighbourhood (“Cedarwood
: Road”).

One of my favourite songs

: in the album is “Sleep Like

: a Baby Tonight” because it

: sounds similar to the Beatles
: song “Good Night.” Bono

: sounds the same as in the

: band’s earlier albums.

If you are a fan of U2, you

will enjoy this album. Songs of
: Innocence is available on iTunes
: asa free gift until October 13.