Dr. Karem Simon launches Solitary Clarinet album on August 26

Dr. Karem J. Simon, professor emeritus at UPEI, will officially launch his album, Solitary Clarinet, on Saturday, August 26, 2023, starting at 10:30 am in UPEI’s new Performing Arts Centre (PAC) Theatre. 

Dr. Simon will perform several pieces from the project and will speak about the album’s concept and the journey in bringing it to fruition. Admission is free to this family-friendly event, which will be 75–90 minutes in duration.

A unique aspect of the launch is that it is anticipated that it will occur in multiple venues. It will begin in the PAC Theatre, and, when the program is completed there, the audience will proceed across campus to the newly renovated Dr. Steel Recital Hall for the second half. 

Released in the fall of 2022, this album features many of Dr. Simon’s favorite clarinet monologues. It was recorded during the summer of 2020 soon after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. All the production of this album involved UPEI. It was recorded in the Dr. Steel Recital Hall, home of the UPEI music department. Recording engineer Steve Bellamy (UPEI Class of 1995) and producer Amy Simon (UPEI Class of 2004), both former students of Dr. Simon, were involved throughout the process. 

While the album is available on all the standard music streaming platforms, physical copies can be purchased for $20 each at the launch.

The theatre is located in the UPEI Performing Arts Centre and Residence building (building #21 on the campus map: https://files.upei.ca/map.pdf).