Coquitlam musicians Reg Quiring and Rosemary O’Connor always wanted an oboe player for their annual New Year’s Eve chamber music show.
So when Joo Bin Yi, the new principal oboist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO), said he was interested in the QuiRing the New Year recital at Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre, the pair jumped for joy.
“We were lucky to have nabbed him,” Quiring told the Tri-City News on Dec. 18.
Still, Yi won’t be the only VSO performer on stage Dec. 31, as the couple will also play with cellist Jonathan Lo, a former student of the Quiring Chamber Music Camp started two decades ago by Quiring and his sister, violinist Angela Goddard.
And the world-class musicians will also see violin master — and Quiring’s childhood friend from Calgary — Catherine French of the Boston Symphony Orchestra return for the fifth time to their New Year’s Eve presentation.
Starting at 7:30 p.m., the music program starts with Quiring on viola and French playing G.F. Handel and Johan Halvorsen’s "Passacaglia," followed by:
- "Three Pieces for Oboe, Cello and Piano, Opus 83" by Max Bruch
- featuring O’Connor, Yi and Lo
- "Oboe Quartet in F-major, K. 370" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- featuring Quiring, Yi, Lo and French
- "Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Opus 47" by Robert Schumann
- featuring Quiring, O’Connor, Lo and French
O’Connor said because she and Quiring were not familiar with oboe repertoire, Yi recommended the Bruch composition for the New Year’s Eve recital while O’Connor, a concert pianist, picked the Schumann quartet for the second half.
“It’s got a beautiful andante movement that’s iconic,” she said.
“It’s an interesting piece because the cellist needs to tune his C-string lower to loosen the strings to reach a B-flat. It’s an effect in the music that's special.”
As for the Mozart tune, Quiring said he first heard it as a teenager and “it’s never really left my consciousness. It’s really memorable.”
Besides the music, QuiRing in the New Year includes a glass of sparkling wine and dessert for patrons post-performance.
Tickets at $51/$44/$16 are now on sale for QuiRing in the New Year on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. You can visit the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam) website or call the box office at 604-927-6555.
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