Ottawa (July 26, 2007) — Ottawa-born musicians Peter Kiesewalter and Tyley Ross vowed last year they would return to Ottawa to raise awareness for a purpose built concert hall until it was built. True to their word, the East Village Opera Company (EVOC) is back in concert at Chamberfest on the designated site for a proposed community concert hall on Gloucester at Elgin, 7 pm July 31.

Friday night, this unprepossessing parking lot will be transformed into a rock-opera stage, complete with lights, mikes and energy to spare. Free to the public, this one-off performance is generously donated by EVOC, and staged by Chamberfest ’07. Anyone who missed last year’s capacity crowd performance will not want to miss this crossover concert — described as “the perfect balance between rock and opera.”

“We are hoping our efforts will take this much needed concert facility one step further, and raise awareness within the private sector,” said Peter Kiesewalter in a break from a New York recording session.

So this one-off trip to Ottawa is very much a labour of commitment toward establishing a more viable music scene here in Canada. Kiesewalter and Ross believe that a state-of-the-art concert hall - built to tried and tested acoustic standards and wrapped in 21^st century technology - would secure a place for Ottawa on the North American music map.

“As Peter knows only too well, the City badly needs a concert hall that is built for acoustics, yet wired to recording quality,” explains John Frecker, executive director of the Ottawa Chamber Music Society. “A purpose-built concert hall would fill a huge void. We have the audiences. We have the musicians. But we need the more intimate, acoustically sensitive venues demanded by blues, folk, jazz, chamber and crossover music.”

In New York, meanwhile, EVOC is busy with its second album for Decca — the third since being discovered in Joe’s Pub at New York’s Public Theater. Included in the repertoire for this recording is a commission from New York City Opera. And a new arrangement of a Handel aria and Gounod’s Faust comes complete with orchestra, a children’s chorus, blazing guitars, a marching band, and hip hop.

East Village Opera Company was recently featured in the Globe and Mail as one of ‘Ten Famous Canadians You’ve Never Heard Of’ yet have built a respectable fan base abroad. With an early background in folk, jazz, classical, pop, opera and musical theatre (Ross was the lead in the original Canadian production of Tommy), the two 30-ish Canadians have made New York home. EVOC includes a vocalist, guitarists, a bassist, percussionist and a string quartet. The music is pure crossover: a deft fusion of arena-rock anthems and classical opera. The group’s charisma is inescapable and infectious.

A return trip to South America, a debut in Europe, and a collaboration with The David Parsons Dance Company are all slotted for this year. This Chamberfest one-off performance will be the last in Canada before its return to Centrepointe Theatre in January 2008. As Time Out New York says, “They electrify the classics for a new generation.”

- 30 -

For Chamberfest programme, venue and ticketing information see: www.chamberfest.com

Frances Phillips, (613) 234-8008 Ex. 241; Mob. (613) 852-7848; or email media@chamberfest.com