Seniors flock to Wosk

RON FRIEDMAN

It was another sellout performance for the Music for all Ages concert series. Last week, the Wosk Auditorium at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver was packed with people who came to listen to the virtuoso performance of Ellen and Robert Silverman.

While the pianists were world class, the atmosphere was relaxed and homey. Marjorie Groberman welcomed the audience and told them that tickets for the next concert are already going fast. She also reminded them that the JCC seniors department welcomes volunteers, then introduced Dr. Ed Lewis, the music series' artistic director. "I can sell the tickets, but unless he created the programs, you wouldn't be here," Groberman said.

Lewis introduced the day's performers, who are both accomplished pianists. Both have performed in prestigious concerts halls, with distinguished orchestras, around the world. Wednesday's concert, Music with a Spanish Flavor, took the audience on a musical journey through 19th- and early 20th-century Spain and the music it inspired.

In between numbers, the Silvermans spoke about their playing technique and gave brief biographies of the composers' lives. The concert featured pieces by Isaac Albeniz, Domenico Scarlatti, Ernesto Lecuona, Maurice Ravel and Moritz Moszkowski.

Next in the Music for all Ages lineup is a big band concert featuring a 15-piece orchestra playing Benny Goodman-era swing songs. Other performances in the series, which has been running monthly since the end of January, have included Lewis on Jewish jazz and an intergenerational klezmer band.

The concert series was made possible due to the New Horizons for Seniors initiative of the federal government and the work of local volunteers. The program was designed to connect seniors from the community to each other and the JCC, as well as to members of younger generations. While there weren't many younger faces in attendance, the turnout to the Silverman concert was unprecedented. "I venture to say that no other event for Jewish seniors has ever drawn this many people," said JCC executive director Rick Nelson.

The big band concert, the last in the series, takes place Sept. 24, 1 p.m., at the Norman Rothstein Theatre. Tickets are $8 for JCC members and $10 for non-members and can be purchased at the JCC or by calling 604-257-5111.

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