Quick email to tell you about a fundraiser for the Lunenburg and District Music Festival.

It is this Saturday, February 18th, at 7pm at the United Church in Lunenburg (next to the TD Canada Trust). It’s a great variety show with music teachers and students all performing.

I’ll be playing a duet of Ode to Joy with a six-year-old student of mine, and solo, I’ll be playing Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C# minor (an awesome and intense piece).

Cheers,
Gus
gnote.ca

Hope all is well. Today, I’m writing to plug an opera I’m accompanying.

Wait! Don’t leave!

It’s not one of the high-falutin’ foreign language things (although those can be fun, too).

This one is in English, it’s pretty short (around an hour maybe), accessible, and fun for all ages! It’s called Amahl and the Night Visitors. It was written by Gian Carlo Menotti for tv broadcast on NBC back in the 50s, and is a lovely drama/comedy.

Not convinced yet? Ok, I’ll add controversy! What if I tell you’re we’re flying in the face of the composer’s wishes by having the very talented Ruth Ernst play the main character, the boy Amahl? Take that, Menotti! We openly defy your weird/sexist/anti-Shakespearean demands of only having a boy play that boy character! (You can see the rest of the talented cast listed here - http://maritimeconcertopera.com/?page_id=7 , and see where I found out that we were being controversial here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amahl_and_the_Night_Visitors#Composition_history )

You can see the show at the Bridgewater United Church on Saturday at 3pm, or at St. John’s Anglican, Lunenburg, Sunday at 3pm.

Till next time,
Gus

Quick reminder about the Scuttlebutt show tonight, 6-9pm. It’ll be fun, but don’t take my word for it:

“Well, it’s the last weekend of live music for 2011 here at the Scuttlebutt, and we’re ending on a great note! Lunenburg’s own Gus Webb will be in on Friday, December 16th to serenade us with Christmas music (and some Holiday parodies). We’re very excited to welcome him back, Gus is a staff favorite and always puts on a great show. Come down and sing along, and end the musical season here at the Scuttlebutt in style!”

Note that singing along is entirely optional. Probably.

Have a great Christmas!  I’ll be back soon afterwards to plug the MCO opera that I’m accompanying in January (Amahl and the Night Visitors - http://maritimeconcertopera.com/?page_id=7 )

Cheers,
Gus

P.S. – I realize a lot of these emails are local Lunenburg/Halifax events, and some of you are in far-flung places.  I am planning to be announcing more online stuff in 2012 that people everywhere can check out, but if you want me to move you to an ‘online-only’ version of this list in the meantime, drop me a line.

Hope you’re all preparing for happy holidays.  I’m planning to have happy holidays as I get over my pneumonia.  But shows must go on, and there’s some Christmas shows coming up to plug:

The 4th Annual Christmas Festival of Music and Bake Sale will be this Saturday at 7pm, at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.  It’s always a fun show (and tasty baked goods).  More details below.

On Friday, December 16th, I’ll be playing at the Scuttlebutt Restaurant here in Lunenburg, from 6-9pm or so.  It’ll be a bunch of fun Christmas stuff, including a few Christmas parodies and such.

Cheers and best wishes for a happy holiday season,
Gus

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Lunenburg, Presents
4th Annual Christmas Festival of Music and Bake Sale
Featuring Sacred and Secular Holiday Hits
Solos and Audience Sing-Alongs
With Local Guest Performers and the St. Andrew’s Choir
Emcee/Organist: Gus Webb
7pm, Saturday, December 10th, 2011
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 111 Townsend St., Lunenburg
Free-Will Offering Accepted
Bake Sale follows Concert

Hope you’re all having a good fall!  I’ve been getting back into teaching piano and tutoring, and prepping for music gigs like the following:

Next Monday, October 17th, at 7pm, is the 9th Annual “Celebrating Kim” Cabaret at the Halifax Feast, in memory of former music director Kim Jenkins. The proceeds go to the Canadian Cancer Society and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.  This is my third time participating, and it’s always a great show.  Tickets are $20, and can be reserved in advance by calling 420-1840. The official facebook event is here - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=282688055090411

On Friday, October 28th, I’ll be playing/singing(/maybe dancing?) at the Scuttlebutt Restaurant here in Lunenburg from 6-9pm.  It’ll be an eclectic mix of stuff as usual, with some Halloween numbers thrown in for good measure (definitely including Thriller, since the owner already requested it).  So come, have some dinner and/or dessert, and remember – tip early, tip often

Cheers,
Gus
gnote.ca

Hope you’re all well, and that you enjoyed the one day of summer we’re getting

This Sunday, I’m playing from 6pm-9pm at the Scuttlebutt Restaurant here in Lunenburg. As far as I know, the Scuttlebutt is the only restaurant in town that is regularly featuring live entertainment while you eat (the other places I know of that have live entertainment, it starts after the kitchens close… and as a Nighthawk, I find kitchens always close too early, but that’s a whole other email

The Scuttlebutt generally has live music Fri/Sat/Sun evenings. The food is good – I’m personally fond of the burger and cheese fries, as well as the desserts. If you want to reserve, their number is 640-3060.

So, this Sunday I’ll be bringing my keyboard and mic, and playing and singing a mix of stuff from different genres (classical, pop, jazz, rock, musical theatre, tv, movies, video games, some of my own original songs, etc.) If you come, you may even hear me sing some numbers in foreign languages like Latin and Romanian!

Have a Happy Canada Day!
Gus

My hot dog stands are gone.
Progress marches on, and I must march with it.
Never mind the families that had obtained the dream
Of owning their own hot dog stand
(Next to five other, identical hot dog stands).
Space is at a premium, the old must make way for the new.
They can work at the new burrito place.

Solar power is the way of the future.
“Ha!” you exclaim, “You’re not all bad.
You noticed that your windmills are in the midst
Of populated areas, and are causing vibration-based health issues,
(Due to the low frequencies involved)
Which is why you replaced them all.”

“Uh, no,” I respond.
“There was an achievement for it.”

I built a statue honoring a ‘defender’.
I don’t know who he is.
He looks a bit like Superman,
But not so much as to incur copyright quandaries.

Time marches on,
And I remain a slave to the whims of the programmers.
This unnamed island is cheaper than the realm of Azeroth.
This unnamed island is less time consuming
   than the World of Warcraft
If not as beautiful.
Is that a good thing?

- Gus Webb

Greed is ruining my resort town.
It was a beautiful place, once.
Now six hot dog stands are in the same block
A result of my mad quest for achievements.

Cash is King here.
Cash, and shiny new buildings.
Structure and planning go out the window.
The tourists don’t care
They spend their money in the allotted time,
   and the cash keeps rolling in.
Even as I sleep.

Am I the ruler of this land
Or does it rule me?
The cash rolls in
But I must collect it on my appointed rounds.
My commitments wear heavy on my soul.

Don’t judge me.

This place will be beautiful again.
Someday.
When money is plentiful
And achievements hold sway no more.

- Gus Webb

You can access the playlist at this link.

Or you can go to individual videos by topic:

Part 1, Introduction, Opening Statements

Part 2, Questions on:
Jobs in the Public Sector
Pensions – particularly the Public Pension System

Part 3, Questions on:
Pay Equity and Women’s Rights (Bill C-10)
Child Care, potential for a National Child Care System

Part 4, Questions on:
Post Secondary Education (Federal Oversight of Funds, Standards)
Canada Post (keeping it public)

Part 5, Questions on:
Public Services
The Harper Government and its Abuse of Democracy

Part 6, Questions on:
Safe, Affordable Housing on South Shore / potential for National Housing Strategy
Encouraging More Canadians to Have Children (Immigration tie-in)

Part 7, Questions on:
Rolling Back Corporate Taxes to fund Health Care, Environment, Social Services, Seniors, and government services such as DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans)
Health Care

Part 8, Closing Statements

8:45pm – Closing statements.  Earle (NDP) notes that Harper fell because of Contempt of Parliament, a first, and a really, really bad thing.  (I wonder why the media isn’t covering this properly.  I had to do my own research to figure out what this Contempt stuff was.)  Wells (Liberal) also mentions the Contempt. MacLellan (Green) ignored that and talked positively about himself and the Greens.

I’m worried that these parties are going to split the vote again, though.  We need to get out the vote!  One of them has to beat the Conservatives!

8:34pm – Everybody here wants to up corporate taxes again, to use the money for public programs.  Supporters of tax cuts say the cuts create jobs, but that’s not how things go down.

8:26pm – Question about children, and effectively the future of the Canadian population.  Interesting and poignant discussion.

8:13pm – Liberals and Green also have plans to make government more accountable.

8:12pm – NDP has plans to put new restrictions on PM’s ability to get prorogation – they’d need government approval if they’re trying to do it to avoid a non-confidence vote.

8:10pm – Current question’s title: The Harper Government and its Abuse of Democracy.  Had a good summary of how messed up things are right now.

8:00pm – NDP, Lib, and Green all support helping make post-secondary education more affordable (though they have different plans to go about it), and they all support Canada Post staying public.

7:35pm – All three candidates here (NDP, Lib, Green), are all for keeping the Canada Pension system working, none of this privatization nonsense.  (As a book I’m reading right now – The Paradox of Choice – notes, having to figure out all the ins and outs between tons of Pension plans as an individual is yet another stressful choice that gets piled on to us in modern society.)

7:21pm – Keddy skipped a school debate earlier today, too.

7:15pm – Keddy got booed for not being here, due to ‘scheduling conflicts’.

7:07pm – They’re still setting up.  Apparently the incumbent Conservative isn’t here.  The heck?