Two concerts vie for music lovers June 7 in Iqaluit

Renowned classical pianist Angela Hewitt performs at Iqaluit’s St. Jude’s Cathedral June 7 at 8 p.m. (FILE PHOTO)

Nunavik singer Beatrice Deer, seen here at the Puvirnituq Snow Festival in March, returns to Iqaluit June 7 for an Alianait concert at Inuksuk High School AT 7:30 p.m. (FILE PHOTO)

If you live in Iqaluit, you will have a hard choice to make June 7, when world-famous pianist Angela Hewitt and award-winning Nunavik singer Beatrice Deer each perform at different venues in the city.

For classical piano music performed by a renowned pianist, St. Jude’s Anglican Cathedral is the place to be.

Pianist Hewitt will play at the domed cathedral to celebrate its first anniversary.

Hewitt’s repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary, although she is perhaps best-known for her Bach interpretations.

Organizers expect an audience of anywhere from 200 to 300 to see Hewitt play the cathedral’s Kawai grand piano, for a recital starting at 8 p.m.

“She has her piano tuner in there now, tuning the piano,” outreach minister Russ Blanchet said from the church June 6.

Students from Iqaluit schools were expected to join the pianist for a teaching session June 7, he said.

The Iqaluit recital will a be first for Hewitt, who plays in concert halls around the world.

The opportunity to help raise funds for the reconstruction of St. Jude’s, and celebrate its re-opening, is more than enough reason to visit Iqaluit, she has said.

Meanwhile, just up the hill from St. Jude’s, a young, award-winning Inuk singer and songwriter is also expected for a June 7 performance at the city’s next biggest venue, Inuksuk High School.

Singer Beatrice Deer of Quaqtaq, who has performed in Iqaluit before, has released several albums: the most recent, a Christmas album, with seasonal favourites in Inuktitut, released in November 2010.

Deer performed for the first time when she was 15, at a Quaqtaq fundraiser for the local hockey team.

But her fan base has grown considerably since then: she’s performed as events such as the Northern Lights trade shows and the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and at northern music festivals and other venues across Canada.

Recently, Deer was on stage at the National Arts Centre with the acclaimed “Tulugak: Inuit Raven Stories,” during last month’s Northern Scene festival in Ottawa.

The Inuksuk Drum Dancers will open the Deer’s show.

The Nunavik native, who now lives in Montreal, is on her way to Cape Dorset, passing through Iqaluit from Ottawa, said concert organizer Heather Daley.

“Normally I wouldn’t book a concert on the same night,” said Daley, who was aware of the St. Jude’s anniversary recital. Deer’s trip to Cape Dorset presented a chance that Daley, who is executive director of the Alianait Arts Festival, could not pass up.

“I decided to risk it,” she said. “And certainly from the reaction I got on Facebook I think we’re still going to get a good audience – and I think both shows will.”

The concert-organizer expects a more modest audience, she said, in a concert that will be family-friendly.

St. Jude’s concert, for audiences over the age of 14, should also include a few dozen visitors new to the North, including the pianist with her staff and closest fans — some are travelling to Iqaluit from Ottawa as part of package tour deal, Blanchet said.

“The concert at the school will probably draw some people away,” he said of the Inuksuk show. “I don’t think they knew about it when they set the date,” he laughed.

Both shows had tickets left to sell at the end of the Thursday, Blanchet and Daley confirmed.

Deer, like Hewitt at the cathedral, is set to offer a performance workshop for students. Students at Joamie School will see Deer on the afternoon of June 6.

Hewitt performs at St. Jude’s Anglican Cathedral at 8 p.m. June 7, with tickets $25 at Arctic Ventures Marketplace and at the door on concert night.

Tickets for Deer’s 7:30 p.m. at Inuksuk High School are also on sale at Arctic Ventures Marketplace for $22 ($12 for teenagers) in advance, and $25 ($15 for teens) at the door, and free for elders and kids aged 12 and under accompanied by an adult.

with files from Peter Varga