Red Deer pianist Dale Wheeler and his musical friends will soon be performing a variety of tunes from around the world.
Their Piano Plus concert on Sunday, Feb. 26, at the Red Deer College Arts Centre, will include some Canadian, Russian, Danish, American and English compositions.
Wheeler, an RDC music instructor, has selected three preludes and couple of musical studies by Sergei Rachmaninoff to play as a soloist. The Russian composer who straddled the Romantic era and 20th-Century could be counted on to create interesting, complex works, said Wheeler.
The pianist will then team up his keyboards with other instruments and voices for a diverse program of duets and chamber performances.
Included is the composition Blues for Gilbert by English composer Mark Glentworth (played with vibraphonist Malcolm Bell), a set of religious-themed works based on the life of Jesus by Saskatchewan’s Robert Fleming (with singer Sharon Braun), and a concerto by Danish composer Launy Grondahl (with trombonist Peter Fielding).
Three original Poems of Love, by U.S. trombonist James Bicigo (husband of RDC music instructor Karen Gustafson), will also be performed by Wheeler, along with trombonist Bicigo, trumpeter Gustafson and singers Braun and Danica Hoffart.
Wheeler said it’s a different kind of challenge to perform with other musicians — but a lot of fun to play with friends.
He has taught at the post-secondary level for over 25 years. Wheeler holds a doctorate in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, as well as degrees from the University of Saskatchewan and Trinity College of Music in London.
He has appeared as a soloist, accompanist, adjudicator and workshop clinician throughout Canada and the U.S. He presented at the European Piano Teachers Association Conference in Serbia and conducted masterclasses in South Korea. Wheeler is also a senior examiner and clinician for the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. concert are available through the Black Knight Ticket Centre.