Marielle Groven, Aaron Lumley & Jasper Stadhouders (Ontario/Netherlands)
Nova Scotia-born pianist, violinist, and composer, Marielle Groven, covers enormous musical and emotional territory in her practice. Her composing often evokes stillness and poise, generating maximal effect through precise and understated gestures. By contrast, her improvising reveals a quicksilver imagination and a penchant for assertive and sweeping expression. These are traits that her partner, double-bassist (and Guelph native) Aaron Lumley, shares in spades. He extracts extraordinarily rich, earthy sounds from his instrument, engaging it in a sensuous and athletic dance as he goes. This somewhat nomadic pair has alighted during this period in Guelph, and it is the Festival’s privilege to be able to present them – as (re)adopted locals – during their stay. To animate and extend their music, they have invited the superb Dutch guitarist, Jasper Stadhouders, with whom Lumley recorded Strung Out while residing in Amsterdam in 2015. He will be playing acoustic guitar in Guelph to complete a compelling trio of acoustic stringed instruments played by three notable younger exponents.
Saturday, 15 September, 2pm, Cooperators Hall, River Run Centre (on a bill with Satoko Fujii’s This is It!), $25/$20
Marielle Groven website
Aaron Lumley website
Jasper Stadhourders website
Lumley & Stadhouders, Strung Out on Bandcamp