It’s been quite a ride for Reg Quiring and wife Rosemary O’Connor.
Ten years ago, the Coquitlam couple launched a New Year’s Eve recital titled QuiRing in the New Year to showcase some of their favourite classical tunes with fellow accomplished musicians.
Violist Quiring and O’Connor, a pianist, also wanted to create a high-quality concert close to home so Tri-City residents wouldn’t be forced to head downtown on a dark and dreary Dec. 31.
As their crowds grew over the years, the couple relocated their special event to the Evergreen Cultural Centre — the venue where Quiring also runs his Coquitlam Youth Orchestra — and spiced up their program.
Not only did they present standard Classical and Romantic compositions — never shying away from difficult repertoire such as Maurice Ravel’s famous Piano Trio — they also introduced more contemporary pieces like Tibetan Dance by Bright Shen and some gypsy jazz (courtesy of Van Django).
This year is no exception.
For their 10th anniversary, the couple will usher in 2018 with another stellar package — complete with sparkling wine afterward.
Along with fellow guests Ian Swensen and Rebecca Wenham, they’ll tackle Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne for violin and piano (an arrangement from the composer’s Pergolesi ballet Pulcinella); Trio for Viola, Cello and Piano by Quiring’s favourite writer, Brahms; and the Fauré piano quartet, an emotional composition the musician penned after being rejected by his fiancée.
It’s not the first time violinist Swensen has appeared for a QuiRing show.
In 2015, the New York native (who comes from a musically gifted family of Norwegian and Japanese-Hawaiian descent) was on the Evergreen stage to perform the Ravel masterpiece as well as other chamber works.
A violin and chamber music teacher at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Sacramento State University, Swensen studied at two prestigious schools: Juilliard and the Eastman School of Music. He is also the first musician to win the top prize in the Naumburg Solo Violin Competition and First Prize in the Naumburg Chamber Music Competition.
Meanwhile, Wenham — the principal cellist with Vancouver Opera — is also back on the Evergreen stage though it’s the first time with Quiring and O’Connor (she appeared as part of the Musical Mornings salon concerts under then-producer Sarah Hagen).
• QuiRing in the New Year on Dec. 31 is part of the TD Music Series at the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam). For tickets at $42/$38/$15, call the box office at 604-927-6555 or visit evergreenculturalcentre.ca.
