Thursday, July 12, 2012

Summer Music Season is upon us!

It is that time of year when those seeking great music in summer venues in Ontario are revelling in musical riches.  There are several music festivals both large and small, near and further away from Niagara, so let's take a look at what's going on the next month or so if you want to escape the heat and enjoy some great music.

The Rotary Shell at Charles Daley Park in Lincoln, just down the QEW from St. Catharines, started their annual Sunset Music Series last week, with all performances beginning at 7 pm and running through to about 8:30 pm.  This is a great, family-friendly free event, with food vendors on site at very affordable prices, and all you have to do is bring yourselves and chairs and blankets.  With Lake Ontario as the backdrop on a warm summer evening, this is an ideal spot to enjoy some great music.  All performances are on Tuesday evenings, by the way, and range from bluegrass to latin jazz to The Lincoln Concert Band.  Full event details are available at www.sunsetmusicseries.ca.

Music Niagara is set to launch their 14th season Friday evening, which of course is July 13th, in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  Artistic Director Atis Bankas has put-together a series of concerts related to the War of 1812, of course, including Tchaikovsky's familiar 1812 Overture at Jackson-Triggs Amphitheatre on Sunday evening, July 29th.  There is lots more planned, of course, with the opening night concert featuring young Canadian pianist Stewart Goodyear playing Beethoven's Emperor Concerto.  The closing concert on August 11th will feature a Haydn Spectacular, featuring Haydn's Mass for Troubled Times.  Also featured during the festival will be the world-famous Trinity College Cambridge Choir, performing this Saturday night at St. Mark's Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  This is truly one of the finest music festivals around, and it is all right in our own backyard.  For more information and to book tickets, call 905-468-2172 or go to www.musicniagara.org.

The other music festival I love to attend is the Elora Festival in Elora, just north-west of Guelph.  It also gets underway tomorrow night, July 13th and runs through to August 5th at several venues around town.  Featured highlights this year include The Barra MacNeils this Saturday night, July 14th at the Gambrel Barn, and Britten's The Company of Heaven Sunday afternoon at St. John's Church.  The Trinity College Cambridge Choir stops in Elora Sunday afternoon as well, at 4 pm at the Gambrel Barn.  There is lots more planned, including the performance I am looking forward to attending, A Summer's Evening on Broadway with the Elora Festival Singers and soloists, conducted by Noel Edison, also at the Gambrel Barn on Saturday evening, August 4th.

One of the real pleasures of visiting Elora is to stay overnight after the performance and explore the town the following day, which Sophie and I have done the past several years.  There are plenty of local Bed & Breakfasts available, and all reasonably priced, too.  One thing I always try to do on the Sunday morning is to attend the Sunday Service at St. John's Church at 11 am.  It is a lovely opportunity to hear the Elora Festival Singers in their natural setting singing a lot of sacred music of the Anglican Church.  Best of all, it is free, but space is limited so get there early if you plan to go any Sunday morning during the Festival.

For more information or to order tickets, call the box office at 1-888-747-7550 or go to www.elorafestival.com.

Already underway and as popular as always is the Brott Music Festival in Hamilton and area, celebrating 25 years of extraordinary music-making.  I find it hard to believe they have been going that long, but then I remember going to performances at this festival 20 years ago and it was already a major summer attraction.  Maestro Boris Brott has assembled a wide variety of musical events right through to August 16th, with some of the remaining highlights including the Rousing Russians concert this Saturday night, July 14th at the McIntyre Performing Arts Centre at Mohawk College and the High Tea   Organ Recital at St. Christopher's Anglican Church in Burlington on July 22nd at 3 pm.  That concert features Matthew Jones on recorder and Jan Overduin on organ.  There is also a number of jazz concerts planned as well, including Alex Pangman and the Alleycats performing at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington July 27th at 7:30 pm.

Brott, always the showman, knows how to programme a music festival and this year will be no different.  If you have not already done so, you can book tickets by going to www.brottmusic.com.

Finally, the Stratford Summer Music Festival is set to get underway this Sunday, July 16th in Stratford, of course, running for six weeks until August 26th.  This is one festival I have yet to get to, but hopefully this year I can fit it into my schedule while in Stratford for theatre over the course of the summer.  Featured performers this year include the Summer Music debut of the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra on Saturday, August 18th, and the concert version of Two Pianos, Four Hands with Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt on Sunday, July 22nd.  There will also be performances with young Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki again this year, and he is one to watch in classical music circles.

Performances take place throughout Stratford, and tickets are available by calling 1-866-288-4313 or by going to www.stratfordsummermusic.ca.

I will be posting all of these and many other summer events on my website's Calendar page shortly, and you can find that by going to www.finemusic.ca/calendar.

Enjoy the music!

July 12th, 2012.

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