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Spotlight will shine on award-winning piano sisters at upcoming spring concert in Chilliwack

Jessica and Emily Jou are 2 featured soloists in Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra concert
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Sisters 19-year-old Jessica Jou (in red) and 16-year-old Emily Jou will be two of the featured soloists in the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra’s spring concert on March 26, 2023. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)

Two highly talented Chilliwack teens will be performing together on the piano during an upcoming orchestral concert in their hometown.

Sisters Jessica and Emily Jou are part of the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra’s (CMO) upcoming spring concert on March 29.

Jessica, 19, has received the highest mark in ARCT piano performance, while 16-year-old Emily is currently studying piano at the ARCT level. ARCT stands for the Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto and it’s the highest academic standings awarded by the Royal Conservatory of Music certificate program.

“It’s really exciting to be able to perform,” said Emily who will be taking part in her first concert with the CMO.

The orchestra will present Classical Music’s All-Time Greatest Hits Ever on Sunday, March 26.

Emily, a Grade 11 student at Chilliwack Secondary School, will be playing alongside her older sister who’s a student at UFV. Together, they will perform Spring from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

It will be the fourth CMO concert for Jessica as she’s been a member with the orchestra for a year, but it will be her first time playing as a soloist in a CMO concert. She will also play the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 8 in C major.

Jessica has been playing piano since before the age of six, and Emily began when she was four and a half years old. They recall their father playing Mozart when they were young, him saying how beautiful the music was and asking the two if they wanted to learn how to play.

Sisters 19-year-old Jessica Jou (in red) and 16-year-old Emily Jou will be two of the featured soloists in the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra’s spring concert on March 26, 2023. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
Sisters 19-year-old Jessica Jou (in red) and 16-year-old Emily Jou will be two of the featured soloists in the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra’s spring concert on March 26, 2023. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)

“I think you can create a lot of colours and there’s so much repertoire for the piano. I love playing all the pieces,” said Jessica, who also plays the flute.

Emily said she enjoys playing piano because it makes her feel happy.

“It’s a great way to communicate emotions without speaking,” she added.

Both share the same admiration for Chopin, saying they like his work the most.

“His music is very pianistic, very suited for the piano,” Jessica said. “I feel like Chopin music is virtuosic but he can make his sound emotional at the same time.”

Emily’s favourite pieces are Chopin’s waltzes and nocturnes.

For more than a decade, the young women have been playing piano both side-by-side and on their own. They have an advantage over other piano duos since they can practise together at home any time they like.

“Because we’re sisters, I like to say we have more chemistry. It’s definitely easier to work together than with anyone else,” Emily said.

They no longer get very nervous before performing. Jessica said if she does get nervous, she turns it into positive energy.

“It’s like on your birthday when you’re younger and you’re really excited. You need to say ‘I’m feeling nervous, but that’s because it’s exciting.’”

The two recently won in their class at the Chilliwack Music and Dance Festival. They placed first in the duet category with Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 on March 10. The sister grew up competing in the annual festival.

Sisters 19-year-old Jessica Jou and 16-year-old Emily Jou will be two of the featured soloists in the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra’s spring concert on March 26, 2023. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
Sisters 19-year-old Jessica Jou and 16-year-old Emily Jou will be two of the featured soloists in the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra’s spring concert on March 26, 2023. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)

The Jou sisters are not the only soloists at the CMO’s spring concert. Vancouver’s Don Burks will perform a concerto for French horn that afternoon.

People can hear young pianists Jessica Jou and Emily Jou in-person, along with the rest of the orchestra, during the CMO’s Classical Music’s All-Time Greatest Hits Ever. The concert is on Sunday, March 26 at 3 p.m. at the Salvation Army Church (46420 Brooks Ave. in Chilliwack).

Tickets are $35 for adults and $30 for seniors and students, and available at Eventbrite.ca or cash only at the door.

Sisters 19-year-old Jessica Jou (in red) and 16-year-old Emily Jou will be two of the featured soloists in the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra’s spring concert on March 26, 2023. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
Sisters 19-year-old Jessica Jou (in red) and 16-year-old Emily Jou will be two of the featured soloists in the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra’s spring concert on March 26, 2023. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)

Looking for more events taking place in and around Chilliwack? Check out What’s happening Chilliwack in our community section


 

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Email: jenna.hauck@theprogress.com
Twitter: @PhotoJennalism

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Jenna Hauck

About the Author: Jenna Hauck

I started my career at The Chilliwack Progress in 2000 as a photojournalist.
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