Songs of peace and joy

By Melissa Piche Times Contributor

Shannon Gaye, along with the Kristian Alexandrov Trio, will be performing a soulful jazz-infused Christmas concert on Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Strathmore United Church as part of the Arts on 817 concert series.

The Kristian Alexandrov Trio also includes Tyler Hornby (drums), Steve Shepard (bass) and Kait Shane (vocals).

Alexandrov is a Juno nominated pianist who currently works for the University of Calgary where he teaches jazz piano. Gaye is an accomplished singer/percussionist who is also working in Calgary as a voice over artist. 

“I released a (Christmas) CD a few years ago called Songs of Joy and Peace we are going to do some tunes from that,” said Gaye.

She goes on to tell how the concert will feature vocal pieces as well as some instrumental pieces. 

 “He (Alexandrov) is a brilliant pianist and this is just awesome to give him something to do instrumentally,” she said. 

Alexandro began playing when he was four and at the age of six he attended the prestigious L. Pipkov School of Music in Bulgaria. 

“I come from a family of musicians and that didn’t give me much choice,” laughed Alexandrov talking about his musical background. 

The pair has lived in Calgary, Toronto and most recently Vancouver before moving back to Calgary in March.  

“I was offered a teaching position at the University of Calgary. When they started a jazz program, they needed a jazz piano teacher and that kind of got the ball rolling,” he said. 

Back in May the group was performing in Red Deer when they initially ran into Carolyn Steeves, member of the Vault Cultural Collective here in Strathmore, where they did a concert titled RESPECT, a tribute to women in soul, and the rhythm and blues. That is when the idea for a local Christmas concert began. Alexandrov hopes that this is just the first of more concert collaborations to be performed locally. 

The Christmas concert is welcome to all ages and will feature some soulful music, some gospel and some blues music – a perfect playlist to help elevate the Christmas season. The concert is part of Season 5 Concert Series hosted by the Arts on 817 and will be the final concert of the year. The series will pick up again in February.  

If you would like to see this dynamic duo in person, this will be their only Christmas concert this holiday season, an event fit for all ages. Tickets are $35 for a single ticket for adults or $10 under 17. They can be purchased in person at The Vault or online (www.smoreuc.com).