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Dutch accordionist headlines 2019 Oak Bay New Music Festival

Music lovers can meet and listen to musicians and composers at festival, July 13-14
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Accordionist Erica Roozendaal performs on the Sunday at the Oak Bay New Music Festival, set for July 13-14 at St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church. (Facebook/Erica Roozendaal)

Dutch accordionist Erica Roozendaal leads a talented collection of musicians who will perform at the fifth annual Oak Bay New Music Festival, set for July 13-14 at St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church.

The festival is a partnership between the Victoria Composers Collective (VCC), the Canadian Music Centre in B.C. and Oak Bay Music.

Sunday’s two concerts (2:30 and 7 p.m.) both feature Roozendaal, who is visiting Canada from the Netherlands.

“Around the age of 10, I realized that I wanted to be a musician …” she wrote on her website. “My biggest joy was writing my own songs, soundscapes, and learning to play all the music I heard and found in libraries and later on the internet.”

Roozendaal will play her own music here – much of which was inspired by Dutch folk songs – as well as works by Canadian composers.

READ ALSO: Victoria Soul Gospel Choir kicks off Oak Bay’s summer music in the park

The festival weekend starts with a coffee social on the Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Good Earth Coffee House, where visitors can meet and chat with the musicians.

“This will be the perfect opportunity for the public to learn more about the festival and about the ideas of the musicians/composers, in a relaxed and informal setting,” says Collective co-director Alex Jang.

The 7 p.m. show that night will see musicians from the Collective play “underperformed works” such as “Infinity for Morton” by Canadian composer Linda Catlin Smith, plus compositions by Galina Ustvolskaya (Russia), Elisabeth Lutyens (United Kingdom) and others.

Also that evening Victoria composer Sylvia Rickard will perform a piece by Décio Arapiraca (Brazil) – grandfather to VCC member Maria Eduarda Martins.

Tickets for the festival are available online at brownpapertickets.com, or at the door.

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