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m m m Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 5559) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: rjerred@haltonsearch.com WH1)NKS1).\Y. A U G U S T 6, 2 0 0 3 · Page C6 Photos by Harrison Smith · Special to the Oakville Beaver MEDIUMS IN NATURE: I'he Oakville A rt Society held its 38th annual A rt in the P ark Monday at the W aterfront H eritage P ark in Bronte. M any m edium s of a rt was represented including metal sculptures, pottery, glass blown pieces, jewellery and w ood-turned items. A rtists hailed from throughout Southern O ntario and Quebec. Boh M ead. top. poses with one of his m any sculptures. Alex M itchener, right, sets his sights on an interesting piece of m etalw ork m ade from a drill and scrap metal. Pat Borg, above, checks out some of the m etal sculptures, one of the m any different sty les o f a rt found at the event. Oakville cellist lives dream with award-winning string quartet By Craig MacBride SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Oakville cellist Rachel Mercer is making a name for herself overseas, winning awards in France and currently touring the festival circuit in Israel. As part o f the Aviv Quartet, which is made up o f her and three Israelis, M ercer is enjoying her suc cess. At the Bordeaux String Quartet Competition (previously held in Evian), Mercer. 25. and her three band mates shared the second place prize - no first place prize was awarded - with a French quartet. The Aviv Quartet also won the music critics' prize, which was based on votes by attending music critics, unlike their second place prize, which was awarded by professional musicians judging the competition. "It's am azing," Mercer said in a telephone inter view from Israel. "W henever anyone w ould ask me what my dream job was. I'd always tell them it was to be in a string quartet." Now not only does she have her dream job, she has awards to go with it. The Aviv Quartet was established six years ago. but it w asn't until last year, when one of the founding members left to go back to school, that M ercer joined the remaining three. They first met as students at a music conservato ry in Amsterdam. Mercer joined the Aviv Quartet after auditioning for them in front o f a live audience in Paris. For an established group like the Aviv Quartet to have an opening is rare, and the audition went well ^enough that th'ty recmited Mercer, a student o f the Suzuki teaching method since age three, to fill the spot. The attraction o f being in a string quartet, for Mercer, is based on the simultaneous freedom and support that such a structure offers a musician. "M ost people would say it's the perfect balance between playing solos - always playing alone and traveling alone - and playing with people to support you." she said. "You become great friends, and there's a constant conversation. And the music's great." The competition circuit is the best way for groups to get exposure, and one o f the results of w inning the prizes is a tour that will take Mercer and the group through France. Italy and Belgium in the next two years. Mercer hopes that the tour will lead to return invitations and increased credibility. M ercer and her family moved to Oakville when she was 12 years old. She attended Oakville Trafalgar High School. She was a part o f the Southern O ntario C ham ber M usic Institution (SOCM I) while living here and claims that there were a lot o f great young quartets, many o f them a result o f SOC'MI. The appreciation of music overseas, however, is vastly different. Rachel M ercer (centre with the cello) is su rrounded by her fellow Aviv Q uartet m usicians. "T h ey 're different w orlds," M ercer said. "T hey're different audiences and they have different expectations." That's not to say that M ercer doesn't enjoy play ing in Canada. The Aviv Quartet recently had their Canadian debut in Waterloo, and M ercer said she "was really proud to show them around." She hopes to bring the quartet back as soon as they have free time, which, with their growing repu tation. could be a while. Oakville Jazz Festival starts Thursday Oakxille Centre joins outdoor stages and downtown pubs as venues for jazz bands By Craig MacBride SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER O nce again, the streets o f dow ntow n O akville will be overrun with jazz afi cionados. normal music fans and people ju st out for a good time. T he D ow ntow n O ak v ille Jazz Festival, now in its eleventh year, takes over the streets with beer tents, stages and m asses o f people starting Thursday evening and ending Saturday night. With 30 bands filling five outdoor stages along L akeshore Road, from Trafalgar Road to Navy Street, and six indoor venues, this y ear's celebration o f jazz music is going to be a grand event. T he Q ueen's Head, the Bourbon Street Cellar. Jonathan's, The A rbour Cafe. Paradiso and Cafe del Libros will all be hosting bands throughout the three-day celebration. Besides the regular venues and the outdoor stages, for the first tim e this y e a r's festival m akes use o f the O akville Centre for the Performing Arts (OCPA). O akville Centre Theatre M anager Ken C oulter is thrilled to be included in this y ear's festival. "W e're hoping this is the first of many years we work directly with the BIA." he said in a phone interview, adding that he has been on the organiz ing com m ittee for som e time, but never utilized the theatre. This year, however, "the nature o f som e o f the acts makes it too expensive for free show s." The acts C oulter w as talking about were Jeff H ealey's Jazz W izards, who play on Thursday night at the O akville Centre, and Spryo G yra. who play on Friday. Tickets for the show s are $42.99 and $59. respectively, and can be pur chased through the Oakville Centre box office. 905-815-2021. If y o u 're pockets are empty, though, don't fear, as the show s outside o f the Oakville Centre are free, and the list o f perform ers is im pressive. W ith big nam es like Lom e Lofsky and Alfie Zappacosta. it is bound to be a three-day event o f both great quantity and quality. For more inform ation on venues, perform ance tim es and perform ers, visit Jeff Healey