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29 W ednesday , N ovem ber 24, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m Artscene By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The artistic director of the Masterworks of Oakville Chorus & Orchestra is getting personal in the upcoming, season-opening concerts. The choir and orchestra will perform a composition by its direc- tor, Charles Demuynck, who will be conducting the concert, at the Nov. 26 and 27 concerts. Theres no doubt that its more stressful because its hard to avoid the feeling that people are judging your music. Its a very personal thing. But its something thats worth doing anyway and I go ahead and endure the stress, Demuynck said. Its extremely rewarding and its a very meaningful thing. Its like giving birth or creating some- thing new. The concert will start off with the nine-minute piece written by Demuynck, and then followed by a performance of Gloria, composed by Francis Poulenc. The feature and title piece of the concert will be the huge, 25-movement Carmina Burana piece of music composed by Carl Orff. Demuynck finished his piece, written for orchestra alone, more than a month ago, but said the musicians have had plenty of time to rehearse it and it sounds good. However good it sounds, Demuynck needs a name for the music and is seeking help. Im inviting the audience to suggest a title for this piece, he said. Demuynck is no stranger to composing music. My music has been performed at different concerts, conducted by me and also by others. Over the years, four or five different times my music has been heard in Oakville, he said. The most recent time his music was performed was also by Masterworks in 2009. It was a piece called Ah My Love Flutters. Despite the excitement of per- forming his own music, Demuynck points out that Carmina Burana is the headlining piece. In order to perform it, the 160-member choir and orchestra has recruited some help. Joining Masterworks at the concert will be the Mississauga Childrens Choir, directed by Thomas Bell. (For) Carmina Burana, the composer actually calls for (a chil- drens choir) specifically. There are independent parts for them so its almost impossible to do it without a childrens choir, actually, Demuynck said. Probably lots of people arent familiar with the title Carmina Buran, but they are familiar with one section of it thats extremely famous. Its been used recently on Rickards Red commercials and its played at hockey games, he said. The movement is called O Fortuna. Its worth coming to hear that alone. This is really big, excit- ing, fun. Carmina Burana is medieval, its drinking songs, love songs, party songs. Its a big fun piece from beginning to end. Its a large orchestra with a large per- cussion section. Its really a tremendous experience. Both the Friday and Saturday concerts take place at St. Matthews Roman Catholic Church, 1150 Monks Pass, at 8 p.m. General admission is $25 or $20 for chil- dren and students. For ticket infor- mation, visit www.masterworkso- foakville.ca. Conductor gets personal at Masterworks concert GETTING PERSONAL:Above, conductor Charles Demuynck and the Masterworks of Oakville Chorus & Orchestra rehearse at St. Simon's Anglican Church for their upcoming concerts on Nov. 26 and 27. Top right, Rebecca El-Saleh plays the harp and below Natalie Wong plays the violin during the rehearsal. PHOTOS BY MICHELLE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVER Theres no doubt that its more stressful because its hard to avoid the feeling that people are judging your music. Charles Demuynck, Masterworks artistic director The Ministry of Culture and Tourism wants to recognize artists and arts organizations and is look- ing for award nominations that can land the winner with $35,000. The 2011 Premiers Awards for Excellence in the Arts will recog- nize the outstanding achievements of artists and arts organizations and their contributions to arts and culture in Ontario over a signifi- cant period of time. The nomination deadline is Dec. 1. The nominee artist or group can be engaged in but is not limit- ed to the following disciplines: community arts and crafts, dance, music, opera, theatre, visual and media arts, writing, book and mag- azine publishing, digital media, film and television or sound recording. For more information, visit the Ontario Arts Council at www.arts.on.ca. $35,000 up for grabs to artists and groups through Arts Council