I promised a few weeks ago to round up some more of the great summer music festivals in Ontario, so with the summer heat perhaps encouraging us to head out and catch a great concert within a short drive of home, let's take a look at a few in the outlying areas of St. Catharines-Niagara.
Now, I know there are more musical festivals than what I have listed here. Ottawa has a fine music festival, for example, but I am concentrating here on a reasonable drive from Niagara for say a day trip or overnight stay.
In my last entry, I mentioned such local venues as Artpark, Music Niagara, the Niagara Jazz Festival coming up next weekend, the Lewiston Council of the Arts series, along with the Elora Festival north of Guelph. All are still going or coming up as of this writing, although this is the final weekend for the Elora Festival.
But a short drive will reveal others worthy of note, with the first of these not that far down the highway in Hamilton. The Brott Music Festival was founded several years ago by former HPO Music Director Boris Brott, and has been a Hamilton mainstay each summer for as long as most of us can remember.
I have spent many a pleasant summer afternoon or evening attending any number of Brott concerts in the past, although it has been a few years now since I last attended. It is certainly a wide-ranging programme pairing young up-and-coming musicians with more seasoned, established pros.
Still to come for the Brott Music Festival this season, John Williams' iconic movie music will be front and centre for the next concert at the Mohawk College McIntyre Performing Arts Centre, next Thursday July 28th at 7:30 pm. The festival moves to Koerner Hall in downtown Toronto for a concert August 4th at 7:30 pm, marking the National Academy Orchestra's debut at Koerner Hall.
The series returns to Mohawk College in Hamilton on August 5th at 7:30 pm for a performance by the Jeans n' Classics band and their tribute to Led Zeppelin, before hitting the road again to pair up again this season with the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound on August 7th at 2:30 in the afternoon. That concert will once again feature the National Academy Orchestra at the Charles W. Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts in Parry Sound.
The Brott Music Festival wraps up August 11th at 7:30 pm with a concert full of classical favourites by the likes of Tchaikovsky and Ravel at the McIntyre Performing Arts Centre at Mohawk College.
Tickets to any of these performances are available by calling the box office at 905-525-7664, or go online to www.brottmusic.com.
I mentioned the Festival of the Sound up in Parry Sound on the shores of lovely Georgian Bay, and although this would constitute a weekend or at least overnight stay, the trip up to that part of the world is always enjoyable.
The Festival of the Sound kicked off earlier this month and continues until August 7th at several venues in and around the Parry Sound area.
Of particular note on the calendar are concerts featuring a Celtic Sounds Cruise at 6 pm on July 25th; a concert of Chopin and Tchaikovsky favourites on July 28th at 7:30 pm; and a performance by the Toronto All-Star Big Band on July 31st at 7:30 pm.
There is even a screening of the classic movie Amadeus, starring Tom Hulce and F. Murray Abraham at 10 am on July 26th.
The Festival of the Sound series wraps up with a piano concert finale on August 7th at 2:30 in the afternoon.
Most of the concerts and events take place at the acoustically-perfect Charles W. Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts, but some are at other locations, such as the Monday evening boat cruise on July 25th for example.
For tickets and more information, call the box office at 1-866-364-0061 or go to www.festivalofthesound.ca.
Certainly one of the most ambitious music festivals each summer takes place in Stratford, Ontario, where the Stratford Summer Music series continues until August 28th at several locations in and around Stratford. There are so many events to attend throughout the day almost every day of the festival it is enough to make your head spin, but you will find something for just about every taste in their offerings each year.
Some of the upcoming highlights include The Steel City Rovers performing over several days at 12:30 pm from July 28th to the 31st; several appearances by the Torq Percussion group, including performances, master classes and lectures throughout the coming week; The Sondheim Jazz Project at 9 pm on August 6th and Choral Vespers performed by the Choir of the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-Upon-Avon at 3 pm on August 7th.
There's even a performance by Carole Pope at 3 pm on August 13th!
Stratford Summer Music continues to offer probably the most variety of any music festival anywhere, and they do it for the better part of 7 weeks each summer. So if you want a break from the Stratford Festival, or perhaps add to your Festival experience, Stratford Summer Music offers a nice balance of challenging and lighter fare throughout most of the summer months.
For tickets and more information, call 519-271-2101 or go to www.stratfordsummermusic.ca.
Finally, the Westben Arts Festival Theatre in Cambellford in Eastern Ontario presents a wide range of concerts throughout the summer months and into the fall at several venues in the area. It too has evolved into a large-scale music festival in a small-town setting with literally something for everyone to enjoy.
Concerts coming up include Ken Whiteley and the Beulah Band on July 29th; Heather Bambrick and Friends on July 30th; the jazz group Cadence on July 31st and a concert entitled Women of Shakespeare on October 30th. Over the Christmas season Westben presents A Westben Christmas Carol on November 26th, 27th, December 3rd and 4th.
For tickets and more information, call 1-877-883-5777, or go to www.westben.ca.
So there you go - lots to see and do if you want to get out of Niagara but not out of the province for some musical offerings this summer season and beyond.
Have a great weekend!
July 23rd, 2016.
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