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Four hands, 20 fingers and one grand piano at Venables Theatre

Pianists Amelie Fortin and Marie-Christine Poirer perfrom Memoires on Feb. 15
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Black Press file photo

Young, spirited and beautiful pianists Amelie Fortin and Marie-Christine Poirier bring their fiery four-hand interpretations to Oliver’s Venables Theatre on Feb. 15.

Referring to what is happening with their spectacular career success under the name Duo Fortin-Poirier, they like to joke that if 10 fingers are good then 20 fingers are better.

When they arrive on stage at Venables Theatre at 7:30 p.m., be prepared to see one grand piano on stage with two pianists and four hands showing off the close affinity between their playing styles, and a keen shared sensitivity fueling their ensemble playing.

Fortin and Poirier are also doing a Master Class at the Shatford Centre in Penticton and will have three local duos performing for instruction from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on concert day. The Master Class is open to the public for auditing. Also, if you arrive at 6:15 p.m. at Venables Theatre, these local duos will be entertaining on the grand piano in the theatre foyer prior to the concert.

Of special note for this performance is a new presentation device where a camera captures the pianists’ fingers on the keyboard and projects it onto a screen at the back of the stage. No matter where you sit in the audience, you can see every nuance on the keyboard and the speed and dexterity with which all 20 fingers create a blend of hard driving rhythm that has made waves in performances in Quebec and, more recently, internationally.

Since their inception in 2005, Duo Fortin-Poirier have garnered many distinctions such as winning first prize in the Canadian Music Competition and taking second prize at the 2013 Concorso Pianistico Internazional Roma. They were also finalists in the 2011 Liszt 200 Chicago International Duo Piano Competition. Recently, the duo toured the Maritimes, enjoyed a prairie debut and toured the western U.S.

The program they will be performing, entitled Memoires, includes piano duo selections from Grieg, Dvorak, Piazzolla, Rachmaninoff and others.

Tickets are on sale at www.venablestheatre.ca or at the box office Tuesdays to Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Two or more tickets in advance cost $21/ticket. A single ticket in advance is $23. Single tickets at the door are $25. Children and youth are $2.50.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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