Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
Saskatchewan singer-songwriter Jeffery Straker returns to Kindersley next week to perform at a special fundraiser, and he won’t be alone.
Straker will be joined on stage by 12 members of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra in a performance that features orchestral arrangements of his folk-pop songs. The concert is a fundraiser with proceeds going to support a future community centre project in town.
The concert takes place on April 6 at the Norman Ritchie Community Centre starting at 8 p.m. The concert is being presented by the Kindersley & District Arts Council, and it is one of two fundraisers the arts council will hold during its 2017-18 Stars for Saskatchewan series. The fundraisers are separate from the series.
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Straker teamed up with the full orchestra back in 2013 for a sold-out show at TCU Place in Saskatoon. The concert on Friday is with a 12-member chamber ensemble of core musicians from the orchestra, so it is described as an intimate reunion of the performance in 2013.
Jenn McLean, an arts council member and spokesperson for performances, said the concert is separate from the series, so people with seasons passes would have to get a ticket to attend the show. Tickets are more expensive for fundraisers.
Tickets for arts council concerts are available at Lela’s Music Centre, LaBelle Boutique and Integra Tire. Tickets are also available online at www.ticketpro.ca and at the door if the show has not sold out.
McLean said the arts council will also be doing a couple of draws at the event, so people will have a chance to win prizes while helping to support the cause. Proceeds from all of the arts council’s events will go to support a community centre project, but the fundraisers are focused on the cause.
The future community centre will be the new home for the performing arts in Kindersley, she said, but there is no telling when the project could come to fruition. The November concert featuring the Derina Harvey Band served as the arts council’s other fundraiser.
She noted that Straker did not perform with the orchestra members at the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC) showcase, but the concert was still booked through OSAC. The show is going to be a good time, McLean said.
“We just knew that it would be a great show to bring to the community,” she added, recognizing that attendance at arts council shows is down for the 2017-18 season and organizers hope people get out to see a great concert while helping to support the cause.
Straker, who was raised in Punnichy, Sask., performed in Kindersley several years ago. The singer-songwriter played in Kindersley in 2009, but he has released several new albums since including his latest album “Dirt Road Confessional” released in May 2017.
The concert will be a rare opportunity for people to see Straker perform with the orchestra members. He said the concert in Kindersley is one of only two performances he has scheduled with the 12 chamber players. The Kindersley show takes place next Friday, and then they are in Lloydminster on the Saturday night.
He noted that he first performed shows with chamber players from the Regina Symphony Orchestra, so the performances with the full Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra in 2013 and the follow up shows such as the ones next week came as a result of the experience.
Straker said the concert requires larger venues due to the number of musicians on stage and the venue in Lloydminster fits the bill. He was not sure if the venue in Kindersley would be good for the show, but there was a lot of local enthusiasm for him to perform and the venue turned out to be suitable.
He said he does not know if the orchestra’s chamber ensemble has played in Kindersley, but he has not played in the community for a long time and he looks forward to bringing new songs to town in a new format.
“It’s a whole different way of serving up the songs,” he added, recognizing that the arrangements for each song were created by professionals and they did a wonderful job. “For me, it almost gives me a fresh perspective on the songs. I sort of hear things about them that sometimes I didn’t even realize were there.”
The singer-songwriter also played a show with the orchestra’s chamber players at the Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon in 2016. Straker has toured across Canada, in Europe and in parts of Latin America, but he really enjoys performances at home in Saskatchewan.
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