chris wong in sync
The concerts span the widest possible spectrum: from Musica Intima at Burnaby's Shadbolt Centre for the Arts to Tiller's Folly at Fort Langley Community Hall to Nardwuar The Human Serviette and the Evaporators at Vancouver's Cambrian Hall. Shows on the list include ones I attended and enjoyed: Daniel Binelli and Linda Lee Thomas at the WISE Hall; the Fred Stride Jazz Orchestra at Christ Church Cathedral; Riccardo Tesi, Pierre Imbert and Celso Machado at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, and numerous other well-attended concerts.
The series had a very good run. But Pacific Newspaper Group Inc., which publishes the Vancouver Sun and Province, decided to shelve the concert program. Kevin Mooney, who worked for the group as producer of the series, received the bad news in early November. Ironically five of the last seven shows in the series, which ended Dec. 15 with Winter Harp at St. Andrew's Wesley Church, sold out.
Before fading into memory, the series should receive major props for the vital contribution it made to cultural life in the Lower Mainland. But first, a short history:
In the early '90s, Mooney worked with Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services and the Vancouver Courier to create a series of benefit concerts in working firehalls. Then the Sun approached Mooney about developing the paper's own concert series. The initial plan was to put on shows in heritage buildings. That evolved, however, to a more flexible approach of producing concerts in a variety of venues.
Almost all of the musicians who played in the series were local artists. With support from the Sun, the series did a tremendous amount to raise their profile. At the same time, the series also boosted many venues, arts organizations and other groups by partnering with them. In a letter to Dennis Skulsky, president and publisher of Pacific Newspaper Group, Fiona Black wrote that the series has been an "integral" part of programming success at the Capilano College Performing Arts Theatre. Black, the theatre's program director, noted that the series even changed attitudes. "Prior to the series, there was certainly an overriding feeling that if 'it ain't happening in Vancouver, it ain't happening,'" she said. "The series has changed all that." It did so by presenting quality music, at affordable ticket prices, in Port Moody, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and other communities in the burbs.
In an interview, Skulsky said he's proud of what the series accomplished, but the Sun had to withdraw support because of the difficult economic times in the newspaper industry. He took exception to my suggestion that ending the series points to a bottom-line mentality. Skulsky said there's a larger context that involves reduced ad revenues, shrinking space for editorial content and having to make decisions about reducing staff. "First and foremost, we're a daily newspaper," he added. "We're not in the concert business."
If the economic situation improves, Skulsky said the Sun could revive the series. Don't expect that to happen any time soon. CanWest Global Communications Corp., which owns the Sun (and many other papers including the Courier), has a debt in the $4 billion range. CanWest has been cutting costs across its operations. It's not likely that the concert series, despite its strong track record, will re-emerge as a priority in the corporate context.
As for Mooney, he can look back on personal highlights of the series, ranging from the tribute to Louis Armstrong with Clark Terry at the Orpheum Theatre (a collaboration with Festival Vancouver) to Winter Harp at West Vancouver's tiny St. Francis in The Wood Church. Mooney, a true music aficionado, is also moving forward. He's partnering with Cap College and Coastal Jazz & Blues Society to produce a new North Shore jazz festival that will be part of the 2002 Vancouver International Jazz Festival.