BU student gets to keep the beat with Huu Bac Quintet

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This article was published 09/11/2023 (752 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon University student has an exciting opportunity to test his talents tonight with travelling international musicians.

Esteban Seunarine, a fourth-year drummer in the School of Music’s Jazz and Contemporary Popular Music Performance Program, said he is excited to be filling in as drummer in the Huu Bac Quintet show tonight, which is happening at 7:30 p.m. in BU’s Lorne Watson Recital Hall.

“Bac is a musician who’s currently toured all over the world, and it’s exciting for me because I get to play some very unique music,” Seunarine said. “I’m really excited for my friends and the rest of the student body to hear. It’ll just be the perfect sort of experience for me to see what it’s like in the working world as a musician.”

The show will feature compositions inspired by leader Huu Bac Quach’s travels to Asia, Europe and South America. Seunarine is filling in for the group’s regular drummer, Etienne Mason. Other members of the quintet include Guillaume Martineau, piano, Olivier Babaz, bass, and Zoé Dumais, violin.

The dean of BU’s School of Music, Greg Gatien, stated in a press release that the group has quite an original sound and will play jazz Brandon has not heard before.

“The unique interplay between cultures and instruments in (Huu’s) group’s performances make for a memorable and mesmerizing experience. Our community is in for a treat when they bring their invigorating mix of musical styles to the Lorne Watson Recital Hall on Thursday,” Gatien said.

The Huu Bac Quintet’s interesting mix of sounds has Seunarine eager to experience it. “The music is rooted in jazz and improvisational sort of music, which is the foundation of what we study here at BU. Then it’s infused with sort of a lot of Chinese and Vietnamese kind of folk and traditional music and instruments. And then also, I believe there’s some Peruvian infusion as well there because (Bac) spent some time in Peru. It’s a very unique sort of cocktail of all these different cultures,” Seunarine said.

It’s the amazing support of his music professors at BU that has given Seunarine the confidence to play with professional, international musicians on short notice. “They are so encouraging. I feel very grateful that I get to study under all of them, because they never diminish originality or personality,” Seunarine said. “They do such a good job of recognizing our individual differences. If something we’re doing isn’t necessarily something they quite do, they don’t dismiss it. They foster that in each and every one of us. I think that’s really special and unique.”

Eric Platz, an associate professor of music at Brandon University, said that the drumming program currently has quite a few talented drummers, but Seunarine’s talents more closely matched Huu Bac’s style of music.

“I think some of the more experienced ones right now, they all have kind of individual really strong suits,” he said. “They’re not all amazing at the same kind of thing. They all have their own style, which is great. I thought (this opportunity) matched Esteban’s skill set at the moment and … some of the things he was exploring in his work, so I thought it would be a good fit.”

Catch Seunarine with the Huu Bac Quintet tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Lorne Watson Recital Hall, inside the Queen Elizabeth II Music Building. Tickets are $20 for adults and seniors, free for School of Music and Conservatory of Music students, and are available at the door.

» khenderson@brandonsun.com