March 6, 2001
For Immediate Release

Space Music Mission 2001: Coming to a School Near You!

The Banff Centre’s Music Makers will be entertaining and educating young audiences with a brand new musical performance this month in elementary schools across Alberta. Space Music Mission 2001 is an interactive show that takes children on a musical journey through the solar system. In this 40-minute performance, Space Cadet Chow searches the planets for the source of a mysterious, musical sound. In the course of her journey, she discovers different musical instruments including the piano, cello, violin, viola, and dulcimer, and the audience will learn through her escapades the difference between string and percussion instruments.

Featuring performances of Rimsky-Korssakow’s The Flight of the Bumble Bee and Richard Strauss’ Zarathustra (the 2001 Space Odyssey theme), the performance will not only entertain children with a magical story, but will provide an opportunity for them to experience the excitement that wonderful music can provoke. Space Music Mission 2001 will be performed for local elementary school children in the Bow Valley this week (March 5 – March 8), and later in Wetaskiwin (March 13 – March 15), Edmonton (March 16) and Red Deer (March 18-24). In addition to the performances throughout the province, the Music Makers will make return visits to Bow Valley schools during March 26 – 30 to conduct instrument clinics for the music students in the schools they’ve visited. It is this interaction between the Music Makers and young, aspiring music students that makes this program such a success.

Pianist Stephanie Chow, who plays the role of Space Cadet Chow, is excited to be performing with the Music Makers once again: "I was a Music Maker for the first time in the winter of 1999. I had come to The Banff Centre to participate in a music residency, and to focus on piano performance. But I changed career paths after my first experience with the Music Makers program. I realized that I wanted to help develop audiences, and keep them interested in music. I wanted to make music accessible to a younger generation, and to entertain them while educating them in the language of music." Since her initial experience with Music Makers, Stephanie interned with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s Education and Outreach program. Last summer, she interned as the acting Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Canadian Opera Company.

Stephanie works alongside an equally impressive cast of talented musicians from Music & Sound’s winter residency program, including Sarah Nelson, cello; Amir Amiri, dulcimer; and Anita Dusevic, violin/viola. Together, these four musicians have devoted much time and energy toward developing an imaginative performance that introduces the magic of music to people of all ages.

The Music Makers residency is an outreach program that was created seven years ago by Music & Sound at The Banff Centre for the Arts. Each year, the Music Makers develop, create, and produce an educational music program to take to selected schools throughout Alberta. This is a unique opportunity for the group to explore new ways of bringing music to the public while supporting the musical leaders in the community through encouragement, inspiration, and practical interaction. At the same time, the Music Makers broaden the scope of their own personal career opportunities.

Amir Amiri, composer/percussionist (Iran)

Amir Amiri was born in Tehran, Iran, where he studied the santur (a 72-string hammered dulcimer). He specialized in the radiff system in Persian classical music, and graduated from the University of Tehran with a degree in composition. He has also studied Indian classical music (Regas) with teachers Shankar, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Meshkatiyan, and Ghalaee. Amir came to Canada in 1996 where he completed a long-term residency at The Banff Centre for the Arts. He returned to The Banff Centre in the fall of 2000 as the composer/performer with the ensemble VIA, and at that time he created a new ensemble called Sedonya with Sarah Nelson (cello) and Chris Jennings (bass). Amir is here this winter to create new works with Sedonya and to participate in the Music Makers program.

Stephanie Chow, piano (Canada)

Born in Prince George, British Columbia, Stephanie Chow began her piano studies at the age of three. In 1995, while studying under D. Robin Wood, she graduated with distinction from the University of Victoria with a bachelors degree in piano performance. Stephanie continued her studies and received her masters of music in performance and literature from the Eastman School, where she received the Performer’s Certificate and worked as a teaching assistant to her teacher, Dr. Nelita True. Stephanie Chow’s performance career has included guest appearances with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, the University of Victoria Little Orchestra, the Missoula Symphony Orchestra, and the Victoria Symphony. She has given recitals in Canada, the United States, Singapore, and Malaysia, and has been interviewed and broadcast on Radio Malaysia and CBC Radio. In recent years, Stephanie has been actively involved with education and outreach programs in North America. She was a Banff Centre Music Maker during the 1999 Winter Residency, interned with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s Education and Outreach program from January to May 2000, and most recently, Stephanie was acting Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Canadian Opera Company for the summer of 2000. She is currently on leave from the doctorate of musical arts program at Eastman.

Anita Dusevic, violin/viola (Canada)

Anita Dusevic has performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, and Australia, and has won numerous national and international prizes. She began her violin studies in Calgary at the age of three, studying with Dr. Lise Elson. Subsequent studies were completed with Taras Gabora and Lorand Fenyves in Toronto and at The Banff Centre for the Arts, and with Joel Smirnoff of the Juilliard String Quartet. At the age of 13, Anita made her concerto debut with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, playing the Brahms Concerto. Ms. Dusevic recently made her National Arts Centre recital debut in Ottawa, to be broadcast on CBC National Radio next season. Anita performed a concerto with the Edmonton Symphony in 1999. In 1997, she was named the winner of the Royal Overseas League Prize, which included a concert tour of England with engagements at St. James’-Picadilly and St. Martin’s-in-the-Field. Anita has participated in master classes with Ruggiero Ricci, Isaac Stern, and Zakhar Bron. As 2nd violinist in Calgary’s Beau Quartet, Ms. Dusevic contributed to the recording of the Quartet’s debut CD on the Arktos label. Along with her sister, flutist Tanya Witek, Anita was named one of the "100 Young Canadians to Watch" in MacLean’s Magazine in January 2000. Ms. Dusevic is currently a second year law student at the University of Calgary and is a prize-winning marathon runner.

Sarah Nelson, cello (Scotland)

Sarah Nelson began her full-time cello studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where she completed a bachelor of music honours degree. During her time there, she was twice the winner of the Governor’s Chamber Music Recital Prize. She then went on to study with Antonio Lysy at McGill University and graduated last June with an artist diploma. Last summer, Sarah participated in the

Chamber Music Program at The Banff Centre for the Arts before going back to Scotland. In August, she performed a recital for the Saint Andrew’s Society of Glasgow, one of her main sponsors during her studies in Canada.

Photo available
Space Music Mission 2001
Music Makers, from left to right: Amir Amiri, dulcimer; Stephanie Chow, piano; Sarah Nelson, cello; and Anita Dusevic, violin/viola.
Photo by: Don Lee, The Banff Centre