Our Gala is not only a time for delicious food, fine wine and good company; it also features musical performances. An exquisite Fazioli piano from Showcase Pianos will be featured and played at this event.

Thank you to our 2019 Entertainment Sponsor: Jane McLennan

Gala 2019 will feature fabulous musical entertainment from the following talented musicians:

Anabelle Paetsch

Pianist

Anabelle is a versatile, accomplished and creative musician and teacher who has been based in the Vancouver area since 2003.  She has performed numerous concerts not only in BC but also in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Austria, Germany and the U.S.  Annabelle enjoys collaborating with symphony orchestras, choirs, singers and instrumentalists of all ages as well as playing solo recitals. She is well known in West Vancouver as a regular performer at the Silk Purse Arts Centre, and as an organizer of and participant in benefit concerts and musical fundraising events.  She has adjudicated piano classes, recorded two solo CDs, taught music at the university level, and worked as a musical extra in the film industry.  Her graduate degrees in music are from Western University and Annabelle also holds a Diploma in Piano Performance from the Haydn Conservatory in Austria.  Currently she is Director of Music at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in West Vancouver and maintains a busy piano studio in addition to freelance playing.

 

Allison Cociani

Soprano

Allison Cociani was born in Vancouver and grew up in the Okanagan Valley, where she studied voice and piano in her formative years. She completed a teaching and performing diploma at the Victoria Conservatory of Music under Karen Smith, after which she studied in Vancouver with David Meek, before moving to Italy to work on Italian repertoire and language with baritone Nicolo Ceriani. As a concert artist, Allison has performed in Italy and Montreal, as well as around the Lower Mainland and Okanagan Valley. She was awarded second place in the 2005 Canadian National Voice Competition. Since then she has appeared onstage with Opera Mariposa in La Serva Padrona and in Menotti’s The Telephone.

Although she is passionate about singing, her current focus has been composing. Allison appeared in the title role for her first opera, Alma, which made its world premiere June 2017 at the Metro Theatre in Vancouver. Along with new music compositions, she has written several scores for video games, and has been a busy artist in the electronic genre. As East Van Opera’s artistic director, Allison creates opportunities for young composers and performers to pursue their musical dreams. Her latest collaboration, The Fall, wove together the poetry of local writers with local composers for a meaningful building of bridges in the artistic community. East Van Opera will be debuting her newest opera Beauty’s Beast this September 2019 at the ANNEX in Vancouver.

 

Jason Cook

Baritone

A native of Vancouver, Jason Cook holds an undergraduate degree from the UBC Music Faculty with a major in voice performance and is a graduate of the RCM piano performance program. He was also a member and mentor throughout his 15-year involvement with the internationally renowned BC Boys Choir. With his roots in traditional choral performance and musical theatre, the marriage of these two styles has led Jason to the operatic stage. He was recognized as a “lovely lyric baritone” in the Georgia Straight.

Jason recently appeared as Prince Charming and the Wolf in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods with Fighting Chance Productions. Some other notable operatic roles include: Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Marcello (La bohème), and most recently Danilo in The Merry Widow. He is also a busy teacher and owner of his own studio, and brings more than a decade of experience instructing students of all ages in voice, piano and musicianship.