BY KIRSTEN BOLTON
For ArtSpring
For those who consider themselves piano aficionados, have a handful of piano favourites, or ever took piano lessons as a child, your appreciation of the range and impact of the piano and its signature musicality will be explored and celebrated in fine form at ArtSpring on Tuesday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m.
In the line-up is 50 musical masterpieces in two 50-minute sets presented as evidence by lifelong friends and musical colleagues Nico Rhodes and Patrick Courtin, who claim to have been “shocked and appalled by discovering that the piano just isn’t ‘cool’ anymore.”
Armed with the music of the greatest composers, songwriters and performers of the past 300 years, and the technology of the 21st century, the multi-talented duo delivers everything from classical piano raptures to bombastic boogie woogie; romantic piano ballads to ‘80s keyboard synth as evidence. It promises to be a mishmash of theatre, comedy, audience participation, heartfelt stories, a pinch of history and a world of musical madness.
The show’s full eclectic program is posted on ArtSpring’s event calendar and includes everything from Mozart’s Sonata No.16 in C Major to Darth Vader’s Imperial March by John Williams. Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, The Beatles’ Hey Jude and Elton John’s Tiny Dancer get acknowledged alongside Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, Nocturne No. 2 in E-flat Major by Frédéric Chopin and Habanera (Carmen) by Georges Bizet.
Rhodes was most recently at ArtSpring last season accompanying his mother Joëlle Rabu and her popular cabaret-style performance of Edith Piaf. An in-demand young arranger/musical director with 40 stage musicals and 400 original compositions to his credit, Rhodes is a proud Vancouver Island artist who was recognized in 2019 with a Nanaimo Emerging Cultural Leader Award.
Courtin is also a Vancouver Island pianist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, music director and teacher.
The concept of Piano Heist originated in Rhodes’ mind a decade ago. He admits he never liked adhering to boundaries of conventional genres and wanted to play all kinds of music on the same night: from Bach to Jerry Lee Lewis to Freddie Mercury. As a drama kid who grew up to write theatre productions, Rhodes wasn’t satisfied with merely showcasing a series of songs.
“He wanted to make people laugh in the spirit of showmen like Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Victor Borge and Tenacious D,” as described by Pique Newsmagazine.
As the review would go on to say, Rhodes sat on this idea for years, feeling like he didn’t have the tools or the bravery to commit. At last he described the dream gig to longtime agent and family friend Margot Holmes, wanting to reset his life after the COVID-19 pandemic. Her first advice: “You need another musician. [Doing it by yourself] is going to be an insane amount of work . . . it’s better if you have someone else on stage you can play off of.”
Courtin picked up the phone later that night. He talked things over with Rhodes, and Piano Heist was officially born in 2022. ArtSpring is part of a select seven-venue B.C. tour.
Thank you to Kate Merry for sponsoring this performance.
Tickets are available through ArtSpring online and through the box office.