A taste of Romania at Douglas College
By Kayla Steinman, Contributor
Bogdan Dulu, a native of Romania, graced Douglas College last Thursday with his presence and talent for that week’s instalment of Arts at One.
Playing Haydn’s “Sonata in D major, Hob.XVI:42,” while beautiful, had an almost dark tone going through it, from the most interesting melodies to darker underlining melodies that seemed to echo the joyous and energetic. It was the perfect balance between dark and light, long beautiful notes that seemed to hang in the air even after he stopped playing; showing his passion in every hand flick, and movement of his head.
The rest of his musical choices were all right in comparison; Dulu is an amazing pianist, and it’s easy to understand why he is such a world-renowned artist. Both of his hands, each doing completely different things from the other, looked almost magical when you were able to see their reflections in the piano, like there were two people playing the same notes at the same time for us.
But our subject is not just a pianist; he is also very skilled at a range of other performing arts and public speaking, having made appearances on a variety of different shows throughout Asia and Europe. He has played in places like New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall, and Vancouver’s own Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. On top of his appearances in such amazing places, he has also won many awards for his skill.
Dulu is a shining example of how natural talent can further develop when one takes the time to get an education in their specific skill. More specifically, he holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in piano, both solo and collaborative, and a Master’s from New York.
It was truly a marvelling experience to see Dulu in concert, and I can only hope he’ll return in the future. Until then, we have not one, but three music events here at Douglas this week! First off, there will be a ‘Farewell Concert’ to long-time (now retired) Douglas piano instructor Ellen Silverman on Tuesday, October 16. Then, on Thursday, we’ll have yet another instalment of Arts at One—this time, it’ll be the unmissable Music Technologies Concert. Finally, on Friday, The Vancouver Opera will be here to perform a rendition of Naomi’s Road. All events will be taking place in the Laura C. Muir Performing Arts Theatre at the New West campus from 1 to 2 p.m.