Saturday, June 14, 2014

Summer music festivals gearing up in Ontario

It's that time of year I want to hop in the car and head to a wonderful Ontario destination to take in some great music and ambiance.  Yes, I'm speaking of course of the summer music festival season, which is less than a month away in most Ontario locales.  So let's take a look at some of my favourites and why you might want to make the trip.

Locally, the 16th season of Music Niagara kicks off July 12th and runs through to August 10th at several locations in and around the Old Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.  Music Niagara always programs a wide variety of concerts ranging from classical to jazz, vocal to choral music in churches, smaller venues and right out in the open, such as at Simcoe Park in the heart of the town.

This year local favourites Quartetto Gelato perform July 12th, and one of the finest choral groups anywhere, The Elora Festival Singers, perform a supper concert August 2nd on the grounds of St. Mark's Anglican Church.  There will also be the customary jazz concerts on patios around town along with a wide array of local talent performing.

Music Niagara has always had a strong local presence, and is very deserving of your time and attention again this summer.  For tickets and full concert listings, check out their website at www.musicniagara.org, or call 1-800-511-7429.

Just down the QEW the 27th season of the Brott Music Festival gets underway in just a few days, June 19th to be exact, featuring a performance of the Mozart Requiem.  It is always one of the first to get going, and one of the last to wrap up, too.  This year's edition ends August 14th with a Grand Finale concert featuring a ballet performance of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

Since its inception in 1988, the Brott Music Festival, under the direction of Artistic Director Boris Brott, has grown to become the largest non-profit orchestral music festival in Canada, and the only one with a full-time professional orchestra-in-residence, the National Academy Orchestra.  The orchestra pairs talented young musicians with older, more established mentor musicians and the idea seems to work quite well, with many of those same young musicians now holding down chairs in major orchestras across the country.

For more on the Brott Music Festival, held a venues throughout Hamilton and Burlington, check out their website at www.brottmusic.com, or call 1-888-475-9377.

Out in Stratford, the annual Stratford Summer Music festival gets underway July 14th and runs through to August 24th this year.  This is always one of the most ambitious and creative music festivals around, holding concerts in churches and other locations around town, as well as on the Avon River with the popular Bargemusic concerts, and new this year will be something called Bicycle Opera.  We'll have to see what that's all about!

Artists this season range from jazz artist Jane Bunnett to the Celtic Blue Highlanders and just about every other musical ensemble you can think of.  I don't know how much of an opportunity I will have to get down to Stratford this season, but I would love to make time for some of the Stratford Summer Music events this year.

For more information, check out their website at www.stratfordsummermusic.ca, or call 1-866-288-4313.

Nearby in picturesque Elora, one of the best music festivals in all of Ontario kicks off their 35th season July 11th with lots to celebrate.  The Elora Festival runs through to July 27th this year and features everything from a kids camp to organ recitals to large-scale concerts in the wonderfully rustic Gambrel Barn on the edge of town.

I look forward to going to Elora every year for their festival, and this year I can't resist two concerts at the Gambrel Barn, the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, who will be performing Sunday July 13th at 4 pm.  One of the top five choirs in the world, the Choir of Trinity College will be performing music ranging from Byrd and Tallis to more modern composers like Part and Lauridsen.  The second concert I plan to attend is the Last Night of The Proms concert Saturday evening, July 26th.  Noel Edison and the choir and orchestra will lead the audience in all the usual crowd-pleasers, from Jerusalem to Rule Britannia and of course, Land of Hope and Glory.  I still have my tie depicting the British flag, so I might just have to bring that with me on the trip!

Also featured this year will be The Brodsky Quartet, The Gryphon Trio and the opera father-daughter team of Richard and Lauren Margison on July 19th.  As I have mentioned in past years, always try to make time too for a Sunday morning visit to the home church of the Elora Festival Singers, St. John's Church in the heart of town, and attend the church service.  The music and the venue are magnificent, and I always come out feeling refreshed and invigorated.

For more on the Elora Festival, go to their website at www.elorafestival.com, or call 1-519-846-0331.

If you plan to drive north to Muskoka this season, why not plan to visit Parry Sound for the 35th annual Festival of the Sound?  The festival runs from July 18th to August 10th this year and many performances take place at the Charles W. Stockley Centre for the Performing Arts.  Artistic Director James Campbell has programmed a wide variety of events this year including the customary concert cruises on the water.  One of the highlights has to be the final concert of the season August 10th, featuring The Elmer Iseler Singers along with orchestra and soloists in a performance of Beethoven's majestic 9th Symphony.

For more information, go to www.festivalofthesound.ca, or call 1-866-364-0061.

Finally, if you are heading to the nation's capital this year, the 20th annual Chamberfest Ottawa gets underway July 24th and continues until August 7th.  The proper title is actually the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, and it began in 1994, growing every year since.  Performances this year include the Don Byron Quintet with special guest Divine Brown on July 25th and Shakespeare's Songbook with The Toronto Consort July 26th.  Other performances include the Cecilia String Quartet, the Rosebud Chamber Players and Sondra Radvanovsky in recital.

For more information, go to www.chamberfest.com, or call 1-613-234-6306.

I will be updating my website calendar page in the coming weeks with all this information as well, and you go find that at www.finemusic.ca, and click on the Calendar page at the top to find out what's coming up in Niagara and beyond.

Enjoy some great music this summer!

June 14th, 2014.


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