Mark Ferris delights with Mozart's Concerto No. 3
Review by Deb Martin

Sinfonia, Orchestra of the North Shore
October 28, 2006
Centennial Theatre
North Vancouver

Austria - Land of Song
Guest artists:
Lambroula Maria Pappas - soprano
Mark Ferris - violin

Graceful, elegant, transforming.

For just a few minutes on Saturday night, I could close my eyes and believe I was in a salon in Austria some 200 years ago. From the opening moments Mark Ferris took our breath away with a performance of Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3,  that was pure, elegant and brilliant.

This violin concerto was composed while Mozart was living in Salzberg, Austria, and is affectionately known as "Strassburg," The movments as written are gorgeous, and Mark played credenzas of his own composition that demonstrated his brilliance as both a composer and performer.

Mark is better known as the concertmaster of both Sinfonia and the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, and as a composer, but he should definitely take this show as a soloist on the road. I would love to hear it again.

And now for the rest of the concert: Light, fluffy and easy to digest.

Sinfonia performed its annual Austrian themed concert on Saturday October 28 with a program called Austria, Land of Song. Conductor Clyde Mitchell has lots of material to choose from with  W.A. Mozart, Strauss Sr. and Jr. and Franz Lehar all being prolific composers of greatest hits.

The pool of vocal talent in Vancouver is wide and deep. Lambroula Maria Pappas sings with the best of them. She charmed the audience with her delightful versions of arias from The Magic Flute,  Die  Fledermaus and Merry Widow.

Kudos also go to Toni Stannick for her work as concertmaster in the first half of the program.