JDRS 2017…. the year that was.

12/31/2017
JJD

2017 was a lot of things, judging from the headlines we saw all year. Not all of them good but most of them held our interest.

For me, personally, it was a busy and satisfying year. For Joe Dudych Recording Services, it marked the fourth year in business and was the most productive yet. Here are some of the highlights.

On the cusp of the new year, the finishing touches were put on John Greer’s album “Sing Me At Midnight“. Although not officially released until October, it was the first project actually completed in 2017.

February saw the recording of T. Patrick Carrabre’s first album on his own label, Winter Wind Records. Along with Scott Howarth, we recorded “Crazy at Brandon University’s Lorne Watson Hall.

Hot on the heels of Patrick’s project was one with Vincent Ho and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Vincent and the WSO licensed a pair of concerts from the CBC that were recorded at the WSO’s New Music Festival in 2010 and 2011. I was asked to remaster those concerts for release and this produced the album “The Shaman-Arctic Symphony, Orchestral Music of Vincent Ho

In March, Randolph Peters asked me to record a short piece of his that was to accompany a National Film Board produced bio/documentary on Winnipeg philanthropist, Bill Loewen. Performed by the Clearwater String Quartet, this bio/doc would be Mr. Loewen’s introduction prior to his receiving the 2017 Ramon J. Hnatyshyn Governor General’s Award for Volunteerism in the Performing Arts in Ottawa in June.

Almost immediately after wrapping up the Randolph Peters session, we began an album with two of Winnipeg’s, if not Canada’s, finest violinists, Gwen Hoebig and Karl Stobbe. Recording at St. John’s Anglican Cathedral, we had a multi-day tracking session for an album of Leclair Sonatas for Two ViolinsThis album is now completed but will be released early in 2018.

April started off with a fantastic bit of news. “Going Home Star“, an album of music by Christos Hatzis that I helped produce for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet won a Juno Award for Classical Recording of the Year (orchestra/large ensemble). Christos also won the Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year. Good news, indeed!!

June arrived and I was invited to record a concert presented by Valdine Anderson and her choir, Esprit de Choeur. They gave a concert at Crescent Fort Rouge Church on the theme of love, aptly named, “Esprit, I Love You“.  Right after that, I was off to Toronto to record “Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom” with a women’s acapella choir, The Oranta Singers. The liturgy was a composition by my sister, Sr. Christine Dudych, and she decided to keep it in the family by having me record the work.

June and July were taken up with editing and mixing the Leclair and Liturgy albums, but in July, I got a call from Glenn Buhr to record a concert he called “After the Flood” with him and The Broken Songs Band at the St. Norbert Arts Centre. Glenn and his wife and musical partner, Margaret Sweatman, were commemorating a milestone in their lives. It was 20 years since the Winnipeg “Flood of the Century” forced them from their St. Norbert home. It was a hot and steamy musical evening and you can see a bit of it on Glenn’s YouTube channel.

The last concert recording of the summer for JDRS was “Pressure Waves” presented by GroundSwell at University of Manitoba’s Eva Clare Hall. The concert showcased the compositions of six emerging composers after a week of workshops by Harry Stafylakis. The works were all performed by bassoonist, Alex Eastley, cellist, Leanne Zacharias, and pianist, Everett Hopfner.

2017 was a very full year for me. Certainly, JDRS kept me busy. Into that mix, I also threw in a basement reno and added technical duties at Winnipeg Blue Bomber home games. I am grateful to all of my clients for entrusting their work to me, and I hope that I met all expectations. Thank you, all for a wonderful 2017. I hope that 2018 finds you all healthy and happy!

See you next year!

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