Augmented Five

On a Saturday evening in mid-November, a piano trio and two sopranos will fill a church in Brookswood with Haydn, Grieg and a 2020 piece by the Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk. The group behind it is Augmented Five, which the Langley Advance Times calls a Langley-based quintet that has been giving concerts in Langley since 2023.

The players

All of this comes from the ensemble’s own members page.

Angelina Van Dyke, soprano and artistic director, is a lyric soprano who sings concert, opera and chamber music and mentors at Angel Music Studios. Sylwia Karwowska plays cello and sings soprano; she holds a master’s in music and a Royal Conservatory associate diploma, specializes in German Baroque music, and teaches in Port Coquitlam. Betty Suderman is the pianist, known for Lieder and chamber work, with a career that has taken her across Canada, the United States, Kenya and Laos. Lorin Friesen, a violinist who has played with BC orchestras, also has an engineering degree from UVic. Roxi Dykstra plays viola, performs with the Vancouver Symphony and Opera, and leads youth music projects in northern BC.

Guest musicians join for particular programmes, and the site lists a pianist and lyric bass, a tenor, two flutists and a horn player among them.

What they say they are for

Their overview page puts it plainly: quality live music for Fraser Valley audiences, an artistic outlet for the members, and room to bring in other musicians and deserving students. They aim for at least two distinct programmes a year, up to five sponsored events, and they play for people in retirement residences who can no longer get to concerts. They take booking requests for other venues and events at [email protected].

Their affiliates list includes the Langley Community Music School, Langley Mennonite Fellowship, Trinity Western’s SAMC, the Valley Festival Singers and several other music societies and schools. For the school’s own programs, see our Langley Community Music School page.

November 14: From Remembrance to Hope

The programme moves from sacrifice and memory towards hope. Alongside Haydn, Grieg, Emmanuel and Skoryk’s “To the Muse”, it includes soprano duets from Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Bach and Purcell, a violin solo, “O Danny Boy” and songs by the English composer Henry Clough-Leighter. Van Dyke told the newspaper the pieces were chosen for piano trio and soprano so they would leave room for reflection. It is the group’s first Remembrance-themed concert, and the violist will not be at this one.

If you are planning the week, our Remembrance Day in Langley page lists the ceremonies.

Earlier this fall

On September 26 they played “Autumn Resonance” at Place des Arts in Coquitlam (Bach, Vivaldi, Handel and Brahms), with tickets at $26 for adults and $21 for students and seniors. So they travel, but Langley is home.

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