Downtown Nanaimo Summertime Music

August 29th at China Steps 11:30 am-2:00 pm: 
Andrea Smith
BIO: Andrea Smith has won V.I.M.A’s Female Songwriter of the Year and first place in songwriting at the Shuswap Lake International Writers Festival in 2005. She has played with some of Canada’s greatest musicians including Don Thompson, Pat Coleman, Robbie King and Ken Lister.

Her last CD release “Sweet Embrace” has a steller line up including Phil Dwyer, David Gogo, Pat Steward, Miles Black and island favorites Todd Sacerty, Phil Whipper, Chad Geekie and Tina Jones.

Andrea is both songwriter and singer.  She is a proficient musician, guitarist and pianist recently graduated from Vancouver Island University with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies.

August 30th at Diana Krall Plaza 11:30 am-2:00 pm: 
Blackberry Island Trio

BIO: Karl Rainer  (violin) and Pippa Williams (oboe) are both well know in the community as music educators and  talented, professional musicians.
They both possess a remarkable clarity and focused sound and bring a beautiful and sensitive interpretation of the works they are presenting. Their tone quality, expressiveness and  technique are all there.

The Duo will bring a performance of an imaginative selection of works designed to celebrate  the musical creations of the great British and Italian and German composers.

Karl Rainer:
Karl studied violin with Karoly Sziladi and Joseph Berljawski. He is currently the Music Director and concertmaster of the Nanaimo Chamber Orchestra, and was a founding member of the Waterloo Chamber Players. His orchestral experience includes the KW Chamber Orchestra, the Guelph Chamber Orchestra and the Waterloo Chamber Players among many others, and he has also performed in many musicals. His concert chamber music appearances include the Leith String Quartet and the Nero String Quartet, among others.

Pippa Williams
Pippa obtained her music degree at the University of Toronto. She studied oboe with Richard Dorsey and Melvin Berman and piano with William Aide and Andrew Markow. She is the Music Director of the Strathcona Symphony Orchestra and Principal Oboe with the Vancouver Island Symphony.