BVCA Presents: Oktopus

Sunday, February 4, 2024

The BVCA is thrilled to kick off the new year with Oktopus, a Canadian Klezmer Fusion ensemble from Quebec. Oktopus is currently on a Northern BC tour and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome them to Smithers on Sunday, February 4 at the Della Herman Theatre. Oktopus is the perfect band to kick your winter blues, with infectious on-stage energy and highly skilled musicians.

Oktopus is a major presence on the Canadian world music scene, with over 250 performances to its credit at home and abroad. The group is primarily devoted to klezmer—the musical heritage of Eastern European Jews— distinguished by a novel approach that incorporates various components of the classical and Quebecois repertoire, with some jazz and Balkan accents. The distinctive music is undeniably rooted in the klezmer tradition, reflecting the rich history of a thousand-year-old community, its persecutions and celebrations, tears and laughter, or both at the same time. Musicians of yesteryear incorporated in their repertoire the music they encountered on their journeys, and just like them, the members of Oktopus are inspired by the music they hear throughout their own travels. Thus, the melodies of several classical composers, such as Bartók, Brahms, Prokofiev or Enescu are rearranged by the octet, particularly their works derived from folk themes. Quebec songwriters are also sources of inspiration, with Leclerc and Vigneault being added to the group’s repertoire.

The Oktopus octet was formed in 2010 at the initiative of clarinetist Gabriel Paquin-Buki, creator of musical arrangements and several original compositions. Since then, the group has toured Quebec, Canada and Europe, spreading enthusiasm wherever it goes! The eight virtuoso musicians offer festive, high-energy performances, at once melancholic and profound, sprinkled with humour and spiced with narrative, in which original compositions and finely crafted arrangements combine with improvisation. Its members’ complicity, shared passion, and hard work are what makes each of their performances so memorable—whether on stage, in the street, on a ship, in a hot air balloon or in your living room, Oktopus is simply... spectentacular!

Oktopus is: Gabriel Paquin-Buki (clarinet, composition and arrangements), Guillaume Martineau (piano), Matthieu Bourget (bass trombone), Maxime Philippe (drums and percussions), Noémie Caron-Marcotte (flute), Francis Pigeon (trumpet), Madeleine Doyon (tenor trombone), and Veronica Ungureanu (violin).

------------

For more on Oktopus, visit https://www.oktopus.ca. 

The Della Herman Theatre is located at 4400 3rd Avenue, Smithers, on the unceded territory of the Gidimt’en Clan of the Witsuwit’en Nation. 

Show is at 7:30pm, Doors open at 7:00 pm. 

Individual tickets are on sale @ Mountain Eagle Books: Adults $28, Seniors (60 plus) $23, Youth (under 18) $15.