Caymaneers, listen up: the Arts Festival 2012 is nearly here and it promises a bounteous line-up of quality acts. 

Bold As... 

It all kicks off on Thursday, 9 February, with Bold As... An evening of musical magic with the legendary Canadian Brass, sponsored by Appleby and Coutts. The event starts at 7.30pm at First Baptist Church. Expect a quintet of virtuosos which has forged an international reputation as one of the most popular brass ensembles around. Chuck Daellenbach, tuba, Chris Coletti and Brandon Ridenour, trumpets, Archilles Liamakopoulos, trombone, and Eric Reed, horn. They play brass standards, as well as the works of Renaissance and Baroque masters, classical works, marches, ragtime, Dixieland, Latin, jazz, big band, and Broadway. 

Canadian Brass plays to packed houses throughout the USA, Canada, Japan and Europe. They were the first brass ensemble from the West to perform in the Peoples Republic of China, as well as the first brass group to take the stage at the venerable Carnegie Hall. Masters of concert presentation with a uniquely engaging stage presence and rapport with audiences, the hallmark of any Canadian Brass performance is entertainment, spontaneity, virtuosity, and most of all, fun. 

Breaking the Barrier 

The very next night, Friday, 10 February, Billie Jean and Bach come together as performed by violinist Charles Yang and pianist Peter Dugan at the Breaking the Barrier event. From 7.30pm at Camana Bay’s Crescent, experience what’s billed as ‘the organic connection between the classical, rock and pop worlds’. The programme includes works by Ravel, Sarasate, Queen, Paganini, Rachmaninov and Yang himself. In addition to performing on both acoustic and electric violin, Yang’s improvisational crossover abilities as a violinist, vocalist, and guitarist have led him to performances in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Centre, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Forbidden City in Beijing. This event is sponsored by Island Heritage and Camana Bay. 

Blues in the Church 

The aptly-named Blues in the Church takes place on Saturday, 11 February, sponsored by the Caymanian Compass. We’ll be in the company of Juilliard Jazz Ensemble, who from 7.30pm will be presenting a programme of jazz arrangements inspired by hymns and well-known gospel pieces. These are definitive of the rich history of the US South and specifically the Mississippi Delta. 

Special guests will be the University College of Cayman Islands Choir. 

Rodney Jones leads the Ensemble for this performance. Jones has worked with many of the world’s Pop, R and B, Blues and Jazz legends, including Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Kahn, James Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, and The Manhattan Transfer. He is on faculty at The Juilliard School teaching jazz guitar. 

Meanwhile, at the gallery 

Bendel Hydes presents an exhibition and cocktail function at the new National Gallery on Monday, 13 February, from 6pm. Cayman-born painter Bendel Hydes is one of this country’s best known artists. Now based in New York City, he has exhibited widely in the US, Europe and the Caribbean, and was awarded a Gold Medal for Creativity in 2009 by the Cayman National Cultural Foundation. His paintings are in the collections of Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, and many other private collectors. This evening is an opportunity to view his works and to discuss them with the artist himself. 

Of course, Tuesday 14 February is Valentine’s Day and to celebrate, Camana Bay is screening the ballet Romeo and Juliet at Gardenia Court, from 7.30pm. Enjoy a romantic evening under the stars, watching one of the world’s most enduringly popular ballets as you sip a glass of champagne. Romeo and Juliet is a by Sergei Prokofiev and obviously based on William Shakespeare’s play. 

Seoul Sisters 

The amazing Ahn Trio will light up the stage at First Baptist Church on Thursday, 16 February, from 7.30pm at the Seoul Sisters event, Maria, Lucia and Angella thrive on dissolving the barriers between art forms. They have fused their work with that of dancers, pop singers, DJ’s, painters, installation artists, photographers, lighting designers, ecologists, and even kite makers. 

Possessing an enviable combination of talent and style in addition to their brilliant musicianship, their combination of talent and style led to them featuring on the cover of Time magazine, frequenting the pages of Vogue and GQ and being named three of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in 2003. 

The Ahn Trio have been touring for over 10 years, and have shared their innovative spirit and ever-evolving vision of music worldwide. In October 2011 they were honoured to perform at the White House at a reception for the president of South Korea hosted by Barack and Lady Obama. 

A Big Song and Dance 

The 2012 event comes to a brilliant conclusion with the Butterfield-sponsored A Big Song and Dance on Saturday, 18 February from 6.30pm at Pedro St. James. Massed choirs from primary and high schools, local dance students, and Butterfield Young Musicians of the Year showcase the young talent of Cayman, with guest Musical Director Ronald Corp. Conductor, composer, writer and educator Ronald Corp leads this celebration of local excellence, featuring choirs from most of our primary and secondary schools, local dance talent, and Butterfield Young Musician of the Year winners.  

This is a special opportunity for youngsters to experience the thrill of performing en masse and for the audience to share that joy in an outdoor picnic setting.  

Best of all, a new Corp composition based on a poem by a young Caymanian, Kimberly Eccleston, will be premiered at the event.