Prairie Sons wowed audiences at Kindersley and Luseland
By Joan Janzen
The duo Prairie Sons performed at Kindersley on March 11th and Luseland on March 12th as part of their Arts Council tour. The moment David Liam Roberts, cellist and Godwin Friesen, pianist, dawned the stage, they held their audiences captive as they poured their heart and soul into their performance. "I'm so glad I came," was a comment made by many who attended their concert.
Prairie Sons - David Liam Roberts, cellist and Godwin Friesen, pianist wowed their audiences at Kindersley and Luseland on March 11th and 12th. Photo by Joan Janzen
"We want to work together to create something great and fun," Godwin said. They definitely achieved their goal. They played Métis fiddle tunes by Andy Jarvis, a new composition by Godwin, a love song by Faure and 'more.'
The 'more' included a rendition of 'Both Sides Now,' a medley of songs from the 1970s to 1990s, and an encore performance of 'Big Yellow Taxi' as the audience chimed in with 'Shoo-bop, bop, bop, bop.'
Both artists were raised in musical families and were performing at a young age. David said he was playing the cello at the age of three and was busking alongside his siblings at local markets in Winnipeg. Likewise, Godwin, who grew up in Saskatoon, also performed with his siblings, resulting in the 'singing classical pianist' entertaining the crowd in song.
The two met at Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto and formed a friendship along with the Prairie Sons duo.
David currently lives in Switzerland and Godwin resides in Montreal; however David said "they come back to the prairies at least once a year." This year they returned to their longest tour ever. Their Kindersley and Luseland performances were the 27th and 28th concerts in a series of 34 scheduled performances.
Both young musicians were awarded and featured in CBC's Hot 30 Classical Musicians Under 30. Their audiences at Kindersley and Luseland thoroughly enjoyed their music, which conveyed their deep connection to their prairie roots.
Overall their performance was a love song to the prairies, and was deeply appreciated by the communities of Luseland and Kindersley.