Fanfarra Cinemática
… is a multi-disciplinary and multi-generational wind ensemble on Vancouver Island dedicated to complementing the moving image with music. Formed in the spring of 2024, Fanfarra Cinemática, under the direction of veteran theatre and circus music composer, Gregg Moore, toured small communities on Vancouver Island with their inaugural, highly successful show, ‘Music for The General.’ This rare combination of seasoned professionals and capable, eager young graduates of Vancouver Island conservatories performed the innovative score composed by Moore. In 2002, he was commissioned by a group of cinema enthusiasts in the small town of Covilha, Portugal to compose a musical accompaniment for Buster Keaton’s masterpiece of silent cinema, ‘The General,’ for a festival of silent film with live music. The music reflects a wide variety of compositional influences including 19th century parlour songs, military marches, love songs and cartoon melodies. The ensemble includes trumpet, trombone, saxophone, percussion, clarinet, tuba, mandolin and keyboard. Keaton’s ‘The General’ is an imaginative masterpiece generally regarded as one of the greatest of all silent comedies.
Victoria native NATHAN SKIP (second from left) is a saxophonist and student of the saxophone programme at UVic. An interest in video game music has led him to Composition as a course of study, in amongst which, he regularly performs with scholastic ensembles and in community Jazz and R& B ensembles.
SYLVAN WILKINSON (third from right), from Red Deer, Alberta, is a recent graduate from the University of Victoria’s saxophone performance programme. Sylvan's academic career had them gracing the ranks of a wide variety of performance ensembles and winning numerous distinguished scholarships and competitions. Sylvan continues to live in Victoria as they prepare for further studies.
