MeCance will enjoy VOA’s 46th birthday Layne Christensen News Reporter lchvistensen@nsuews.com At 75, Gail McCance can still remember the first set he helped build. A set designer on Broadway, 4 production designer for the movies, a vet- eran of 90 Theatre Under The Stacs (TUTS) productions and an original founder of the Vancouver Opera Association, the Edgemont Village resident has a lifetime of memories behind him. He was 12 when he assist- ed his tather, Jack MeCance, in building a set for the 1936 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on dhe cricket pitch at Stanley Park's Brockton Point. The produc- tion was a Silver Jubilee cele- bration. To create a forest from a playing field, McCance and his father chopped 50- and 60- foot cedar trees from a vacant lot in North Van and planted them in the turf. “We made huge screens covered with chicken wire and stuffed them with cedar bows to create the icok of formal English hedges.” Father and son trucked the timber across the old Second Narrows crossing. To trans- port them across a hitch in the road, the logs had to be low- ered over the side of the ly days NEWS photo Terry Peters GAIL McCance designed the 1963 production of Norma (in background) in which Joan Sutherland made her Vancouver debut. bridge and carried across aways. “Now you'd get six months for that,” recalls McCance with a chuckle. Needless to say, their reforestation venture would not be repeated today. McCance has many such stories of his years behind the scenes, from his early days at New York’s Metropolitan Opera where he toiled in his 20s, to his years with TUTS and the Vancouver Festival and, later, with the Vancouver Opera Association. “I founded the VOA for the simple reason that friends I knew were going to start an opera. They were really nice but they had no business acumen and they didn’t sing very well,” he says sim- ply. But his contributions to the city’s performing arts community can’t be underestumated. In °97, the trustees of the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame recognized those accomplishments with a star for McCance on its Granville Street Starwatk. And on Saturday, McCance plans to be in the audience when the Vancouver Opera celebrates its 40th anniversary with a gala concert at the Orpheum Theatre. The program will feature che Vancouver Opera Orchestra, the Vancouver Opera Chorus and a lineup of soloists including internationaliy acclaimed mezzo-soprano Judith Forst, Metalwood rel From Page 13 his own straight-ahead jazz projects. Froman_ spends his time in New York City as a freelance jazz drummer. Turner and Tarry teach music at Capilano College and play in several other groups around town. Says Turner, “The band only ever gets together to tour or record a disc. “Just given the fact that chis project has been a side project for fisn, for all of us, 1 think it maintains that fresh, sponta- neous feel to it. Once a year there is a big Metalwood peri- od for us.” Adds Tarry, “Everybody's got their own voice but it all comes together no matter how long we have or haven't played together. We really all get along great — we just talk about hockey and the music takes care of itself.” Tarry teaches ciectric bass at Capilano College and plays in a number of jazz bands in the city, including his own pro- ject, the Chris Tarry Group. His goals for Metalwood 3: “I wanted to get the bass play- ing a litde more defined. | wanted to play more. Tarry says the arrangements for Metalwood 3 had been worked out during a preceding sum- mer tour. “When we recorded that, we hadn’r played togeth- erin six months or something. We went right in to the studio and that was it. The couring gets them (the tracks) to the a) Rentals m $19.95 BEASH RENTALS. NO.RINIATOM AQ&REQUIREQ RATES: Daily %. we eWeekly eMenthty “CBE fates sGpen 7 days a weer WHC Cars, Trecks, Vans & Munvans Cait fos tree pick-up Eases point where they sit right.” “Furner’s exploration mean- while on) keyboards — bring much of the colour to Metalwood 3 this dime out. “1 guess as a trumpet player pri- marily, when [’'m_ playing in this style — and I do ita bit in the city with Soul Stream and Name Dropper, I just try and emulate the people thar | admire, the peaple who have been jazz musicians and have crossed over, like Herbie, Chick Corea, This time I was trying to see how far [ could take the Rhodes piano as a basis to centre all the other keyboard sounds around. “When [ do focus on this whose first mainstage appearance at Vancouver Opera was in °68 as the Young Shepherd in Tasca. On the podium will be Timothy Vernon, artistic director of Pacific Opera Victoria, who first conducted for Vancouver Opera in ‘79 (La Traviata). Hosting the evening will be well-known author, CBC Radio host Bill Richardson. During Saturday's anniversary concert, which starts at 8 p.m., Forst will sing “Pensa alla patria” from Rassini’s The Italian Girls in Algiers, the Act IV finale trom Bizet’s Carmen and, with the opera chorus, “Rataplan!” from Verdi's La Forsa del Destino. Another VO alumni, Texas-based soprano Mary Jane Johnson will rerurn to sing the aria “Ebben? Ne andro lonta ian” from Catalani’s La Wally and “Hojotoho!” from Wagner's Die Walkiire. The opera ore!testra will play the overture to Die Fledermaus and the prelude to Act HL of Lohengrin. Tickets for the evcning are still available and range in price from $30 to S100, Tickets are avail- able ar all Ticketma cer oudets or by phone at 280-3311. third band J want to make sure that it’s changing and growing and exploring different: directions. If it’s not doing thar then there’s absolutely no reason for doing it at all,” Turner says. Metalwood has picked up two. consecutive Junos (1998 and 1999) since coming together about three years ago. A recent Down Beat Magasine eritic’s poll placed the group in the Talents Deserving Wider Recognition category with Charlie Hunter, Medeski Martin & Wood and Bela Fleck & The Flecktones. Tonight’s show starts at 8 p.m. Call the box office at 990-7810. ‘ eee ‘ ATERFRONT THEATRE, Granville Island 77 # lues trio performing RICK Bockner, Ken Hamm and Keith Bennett are scheduled to play live tonight at 8 p.m. in a special acoustic bives concert at Mount Seymour United Church, 2000 Parkgate, North Van. All three musicians have built reputations on the internation- al blues scene. Bockner combines a lifelong fascination with the minstrelsy of early blues rags with other folk traditions. Hamm was awarded a Juno in 1991 in the “Best roots and traditional CD” category for the Saturday Night Blues compila- tion. He has also been nominated several years running for “best acoustic blues guitarist” in Guitar Player magazine. Bennett, a harmonica player currency recording his second CD, has shared stages with artists ranging from John Prine to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. AES As Tickets are $15 — for more information call 924-1504. gAUDATE Lars Kaario, conductor Gerald van Wyck, organist g ‘ 20th Century SOY wor traditions as Laudate Singers €xplore the richness of Romantic and present works by Sunday, March § at 3 pm West Vancouver United Church 2062 Esquimalt Adults $18, Student3/Seniors $15 TicketMaster 280-3311 www.ticketmaster.ca Sita information 5 Brahms, Britten, Bruckner, Martin, Part and sass