Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman is bringing his international talent to Langley this weekend.
To kick off the 2024 Concerts Cafe Classico Series, the Langley Community Music School is hosting Crozman at its Rose Gellert Hall on Sunday, Jan. 28.
Crozman was born in Calgary to parents who have a background in music, and he quickly took to the cello.
“My dad played violin and my mom plays the flute, and they wanted me to play an instrument that was in a lower register. I think the idea was that we would do trios together – which never happened,” he chuckled.
He moved to Ontario at age 11, and then ventured to Paris, France, at 17 to further his education and growing career in music.
“Something I appreciated as I got older is that the cello is an instrument that can have lots of different roles within the music we play. It can be a solo instrument, it can be the main instrument in a concerto with an orchestra, but it can also be a supportive instrument like in a string quartet,” Crozman shared.
His fourth album that came out most recently was six years in the making, he said, and was more of a personal project for Crozman.
He describes it as music specific for solo cello, and a collection based on old pieces from the beginning of cello history in 1689.
“I wanted to commission seven new composers to write pieces to go along with each of these, which carry the idea of searching out something,” Crozman explained.
The album name “Ricercari” was intentionally chosen for its songs, an Italian word meaning “to search for” or “to search out.”
Crozman will play some of the songs from the album at his performance at the Langley Community Music School.
“I think that it’s exciting because it’s the first time I’ll be playing it in British Columbia. I played it in other provinces, but not in B.C. yet. It’s always fun to introduce people to these new pieces,” he said.
He currently plays the Spanish cello “El Tiburon” attributed to Juan Guillami of Barcelona, 1769, on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Instrument Bank.
“It’s a beautiful instrument,” he commented.
His performance takes place Sunday, Jan. 28, with doors opening at 2 p.m. followed by an informal conversation between artistic director Elizabeth Bergmann and Crozman. The concert starts at 3:15 p.m.
Tickets start at $25 for adult, $23 for senior, and $10 for students, and can be bought online at langleymusic.com.
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