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Previews Pro Nova ends season The Pro N o v a Ensemble is the North Shore's only resident c h a m b e r music ensemble, w h i c h raises a question in a lot of people's minds: w h a t exactly is c h a m b e r music? For a m u s i c i a n , it's clover. "If you're a soloist y o u have t o keep playing the s a m e concertos all your life," says Hans-Karl Piltz, the ensemble's violist. " I m a g i n e h o w m a n y times Yehudi M e n u h i n has played the M e n d e l s s o h n concerto. Thousands of times. That's terrible. If you're w i t h a n orchestra y o u sit in a s e c t i o n , maybe twenty violins in the first row, t w e n t y in the s e c o n d , a n d sixteen violas. You feel like you're a c o g in a m a c h i n e . You have no w i l l , no imput. " B u t c h a m b e r music is the ideal of most sensitive players. You d o n ' t have to have any conductor t o tell y o u w h a t to do. You not only play w i t h the g r o u p ; y o u also play as a solo m e m b e r of the group. So y o u have b o t h things: a social experience a n d a n i n d i v i d ual, virtuoso kind of experience. In Pro Nova's case w e d o n ' t tour. W e live here. W e play the m u s i c w e like t o p e o p l e w h o like us." A t the heart of the e n s e m b l e is a trio of t w e l v e years' s t a n d i n g : Piltz, cellist A u d r e y N o d w e l l , a n d violinist A u r o r a Feld. Usually there's a second violinist, but there's a lot of turnover w i t h that p o s i t i o n . There's g o o d reason for n o b o d y w a n t i n g t o play s e c o n d fiddle: the principal violinist produces the d o m i n a n t s o u n d , a n d s o b e c o m e s the group's de facto leader. This leaves little c h a n c e for the a d d i t i o n a l violinist to stand out. Pro N o v a swells its ranks by inviting guests, w h o usually c h o o s e w h a t they w a n t to play. A t t h e last concert of the present s e a son the three string players w i l l be j o i n e d by a pianist, Rosemary O'Connor. A t this time of w r i t i n g the p r o g r a m m e has not been d e c i d e d , but it is likely to include a Beethoven quartet. PACIFIC Honda 816 Automall Drive North Vancouver 6 0 4 9 8 4 0 3 3 1 "Come and visit us in the new Automall For Parts, Service, and Sales" Theatre BC's Festival of Plays For eighty years Theatre BC has been p r o m o t i n g d r a m a in British C o l u m b i a . For the purposes of the A n n u a l Festival of Plays it divides the province into zones. Each zone presents its p r o d u c t i o n s locally a n d a n a d j u dicator decides w h i c h one w i l l g o o n to Theatre BC M a i n s t a g e , t o be held in N a n a i m o in July. This year's six entries f r o m the North Shore Zone w i l l be performed at Presentation House, and for theatre lovers it's an event not to be m i s s e d . For a start, there's the variety of the plays. First up is Rescuing Robyn, performed by the Half-Stratford Players and p r o m i s i n g " m e a t y m o n o l o g u e s , luscious language, a n d scintillating s w o r d s m a n s h i p . " Next c o m e s Breaking the Code, a b i o g r a p h i c a l play about the brilliant a n d t o r m e n t e d m a t h e m a t i c i a n A l a n Turing, said by s o m e t o be the real father of the computer. After that c o m e s Theatre W e s t Van's Talking With... (see page 18). Deep C o v e Stage Society's Time of My tife f o l l o w s , a witty a n d p o i g n a n t play by A l a n A y c k b o u r n . Next is Tell Me Why, a d r a m a a b o u t suicide performed by Teens For more information see the Calendar pages. M a k i n g a Difference. W r a p p i n g things up on the last night, Rock Paper Scissors presents Canned Ham -- The Oameshow. You d o n ' t just get to see the plays; you can listen t o the adjudicator deliver his evaluations each night. There w i l l be comedy skits nightly by The Skittles. If y o u have a w e e k l y ticket or a participant's ticket you can propose y o u o w n c a n d i d a t e for one of the People's C h o i c e awards. Or y o u can simply hang out in the bar every night, w h e r e the organizers promise the chance for " e n e r g e t i c m i n g l i n g . " The concerts will take place at 7.30 on May 26 at the Mount Seymour United Church and at the same time on May 29 at the North Shore Unitarian Chapel. 20 May | June