Partners in music and in life, Evie and Jeffrey Allan Sawatzky have been entertaining crowds across the province for many years. Performing their first concert with an orchestra since they have been married, Evie Sawatzky recently spoke with The News Review about an upcoming show planned for the city.
Sawatzky says the event will be about a wide variety, from the big standards and jazz classics from the 20th century to opera and folk classics.
"We've often been described as the Josh Groban and the Sarah Brightman of the prairies. We've got a bit of the Michael Buble feel to the show as well," Sawatzky describes.
The songs selected are songs that are special because of what they mean and the stories they tell, Sawatzky says. She notes that Wheels of a Dream, from the musical Ragtime, is an example of a song that has a special place for the duo.
"It really parallels both Jeff and myself, our family history. We're from a Mennonite background, so our families came over from the Ukraine and found a new life here on the prairies. This song, Wheels of a Dream, tells the story of an African-American couple, he's from the north and she's from the south, and it's at the turn of the century as well... It's got these themes of hope and a new beginning, and symbolically western Canada has been that," Sawatzky describes.
One thing that Sawatzky promises is that the show will be diverse, with the songs connected by the performers having a passion for the music.
"I think the exciting thing about the show that Jeff and I can do together is that it can be really diverse. In one moment we're touching on classical stuff, and the next moment it goes to contemporary big band. The evening just keeps on moving," Sawatzky notes.
"It's kind of a trip down memory lane. The songs all have great stories and in themselves are really special moments in the evening."
The Sawatzkys met when the Regina Symphony Orchestra held a competition in which Evie participated and Jeff judged. Evie won the competition in a public vote, and remembered Jeff for when she needed a male lead in one of her own projects for RuBarb Productions, called Stepping Out. Sawatzky says that this was the start of them touring together, performing together, and growing closer. Jeff proposed in the middle of the second act in the 2009 Christmas show.
"We've had a lot of comments that it has been really neat to see this relationship grow on the stage," Sawatzky says.
She also says that Saskatchewan is an important place for the couple, and that they are proud to call the province home.
"I think it's really important that we share our music with Saskatchewan... To be able to live with the sky and the fresh air, and to be able to do what we love, and have people enjoy what we love too... There's just as much need for great music."
The Sawatzkys will be performing with the Sawatzky Orchestra on February 6 at 2:00 p.m. at the Anne Portnuff Theatre.
The show is part of the Stars for Saskatchewan series. Tickets can be purchased at the Arts Council office or at Welcome Home Floral and Gift Shop. Tickets are $30.
