BUZZon - Ivy Wigmore

Back in 2008, when publisher/managing editor Peter Richards asked me if I was interested in reviewing PEI Symphony Orchestra performances for The Buzz, I said I’d love to—assuming that knowledge of classical music wasn’t a requirement. Because I knew (know) very little. For the record, Peter told me that as long as I
read more…

March 2012
Fair Winds Blowing

UPEI Wind Symphony

Review by Ivy Wigmore

I’m relieved to see a fair bit of activity around the Confederation Centre as I approach for the UPEI Wind Symphony’s performance of Johan de Meij’s orchestral work, “The Lord of the Rings.” This is my second attempt. The previous week, we arrived—via cleared streets and in the sunshine—to learn that the performance was cancelled due to road
read more…

March 2012
Absolutely Fabulous

PEI Symphony Orchestra

Review by Ivy Wigmore

On February 12th, the ice was thick on the roads, snow was piled high on either side and a bitter wind was lowering the already frigid temperature. Baby, you know it was cold outside. But in the Homburg Theatre? The band was smokin’! The PEI Symphony Orchestra’s celebratory theme for this season continued with the annual pops concert warmer:
read more…

December 2011
Christmas Party

Celebrate the Joy of the Season
Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra

Review by Ivy Wigmore

The PEISO’s November 22nd concert this year was an invitation to “Celebrate the Joy of the Season,” an event so fun-packed that they had to start early to get it all in. At 1 pm, the festivities commenced with the Musical Instrument Petting Zoo, in which instruments on loan from Long & McQuade
read more…

November 2011
A Rare Treat

Celebrate Women In Music
Prince Edward Island Symphony

Review by Ivy Wigmore

The theme for the PEI Symphony Orchestra’s 44th season is “Celebration” and on October 16, that season got underway with a celebration of women in music. October is Women’s History Month; Person’s Day on October 18th commemorates the date in 1929 when women were legally acknowledged to be persons. Little wonder
read more…

October 2011
Ghost Story

Are they real?

by Ivy Wigmore

When my grandson was about five, he turned to me one day and said “We can’t see ghosts, right, Nana?” I told him I thought that we could see them sometimes and he responded, “Yeah. But we’re not supposed to, right?”

It’s often said that children and animals can see things that adults cannot. And that ability can make things confusing for a while as they sort out
read more…

May 2011
Engaging Listening

A Fresh Turn
PEI Symphony Orchestra

Review by Ivy Wigmore

The final PEI Symphony Orchestra performance of the season, “A Fresh Turn,” featured the premier of Jim O’Leary’s new composition, “Softly at Night the Stars are Shining” with soloist Helen Pridmore. Because I so enjoyed the last O’Leary work the symphony did, I’d been looking forward to this one since it was first
read more…

March 2011
Surprise Symphony

Symphonic Reel
PEI Symphony Orchestra with Kendra MacGillivray

Review by Ivy Wigmore

The PEI Symphony Orchestra’s pops concert this year was “Symphonic Reel.” The title is a contradiction in terms that begins to describe this year’s presentation, which was, in no small part, about musical surprises and new ways of thinking about particular genres. As I looked over the programme for the
read more…

January 2011
A Thread of Magic

Raising the Barre
PEI Symphony Orchestra

Review by Ivy Wigmore

The PEISO presented “Raising the Barre” in late November. The phrase didn’t even hint at the time of year, or festivities to come and yet… there was an unmistakeable whiff of candy cane in the air and a thread of magic woven throughout the afternoon’s performance. We were knee-deep in wizardry immediately, with Paul Dukas’
read more…

November 2010
Seasonal Starter

Autumn Rising
PEI Symphony Orchestra

Review by Ivy Wigmore

The 43rd season of the PEI Symphony Orchestra got underway on Sunday, October 17 with a diverse programme collected as “Autumn Rising.” First up was Franz Joseph Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto, featuring soloist Alan Klaus. Haydn was fond of writing surprises into his music. Here’s how he played with his audience’s expectations in the
read more…

September 2010
Tremendous Fun

Letters From Wingfield Farm

by Ivy Wigmore

Walt Wingfield has left his gig as a Bay Street stock broker. Disenchanted and seeking to simplify his life, he buys a farm in Persephone Township. As so often happens when we try to simplify, complications ensue. There’s an ironic and laconic strain of humour that seems to pervade rural areas. In Dan Needles’ Letters from Wingfield Farm, the
read more…

August 2010
Comedy and Pathos

The Fixer-Upper

by Ivy Wigmore

Some months back, when Laurel Smyth was discussing plans for The Fixer-Upper, she said that she’d balked at playing Phyllis the Sexpot in addition to her major role of Aunt Tillie. Smyth, who says she has “just five years to go ‘til the pensions kick in,” felt that the character wasn’t a good match for her at this stage in her career. However, she soon
read more…