I was out Friday afternoon doing some errands and out of the corner of my eye at one shop I visited I found the brochure for the 2019 season for Music Niagara, one of the best local summer music festivals around. It got me to thinking, the season is almost upon us already for summer music, so this weekend I thought I would touch on a couple of the more notable ones I've had the pleasure of attending in the past. Music Niagara is one, of course, and the other is the Elora Festival.
But before summer we have the remainder of spring, and there are still two concerts remaining in the current Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts to enjoy. Today being Mother's Day, what better way to celebrate with your Mom than a drive to Niagara-on-the-Lake and enjoy an afternoon recital at Stratus Vineyards? I was at Stratus last month for a performance by the Cheng2 Duo I wrote about last month in this space and it really is a nice location for a concert.
This afternoon at 2, James Parker and the New Gen will be performing at Stratus, and I hope there might still be some space available should you wish to attend. Parker is of course one of Canada's leading classical artists, a pianist of international renown. The New Gen aspect involves Parker teaming up with two of Canada's rising classical musicians for a concert of solo and chamber works.
The final concert of the season for Bravo Niagara! is at St. Mark's Anglican Church in the heart of the Old Town for Piano Six: Gala Concert. Again the performance highlights next generation classical artists including Marika Bournaki, David Jalbert, Angela Park, Ian Parker, Anastasia Rizikov and Daniel Wnukowski. The idea is modelled after the original "Piano Six" that included such luminaries as Angela Cheng and Angela Hewitt, among others.
That final concert is at 7:30 pm on May 25th. Tickets and more information on either performance can be had by calling 289-868-9177 or logging on to www.bravoniagara.org.
After spring comes summer, of course, and with it two very established music festivals I have had the pleasure of attending for many years now: Music Niagara and the Elora Festival.
Music Niagara celebrates their 21st season this year, the brainchild of longtime Artistic Director Atis Bankas. It has in recent years produced a fruitful partnership with the Niagara TD Jazz Festival that broadens the musical spectrum somewhat to include more jazz performances along with humour and more traditional classical performances. But there are concerts of choral, pop and country included as well, so just about anyone will find something of interest this year.
Things get underway this season on July 14th at 4 pm with the opening gala at St. Mark's Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake featuring Countermeasure. This will be a concert of a cappella singing featuring some of Canada's top young vocal talent.
Other performances through the three week festival include such artists as soprano Inga Filipova, the "Jeru" Quartet, the Odin String Quartet, The Retro Ramblers, pianist Janina Fialkowska, the Elmer Iseler Singers and so many others. There is even a Last Night of the Proms concert scheduled for St. Mark's Church on July 22nd!
One of the nice features is the Young Virtuosos series, featuring emerging musicians ages 8 to 18 and students of the 2019 Music Niagara Performance Academy. There are Young Virtuosos recitals scheduled for July 22nd, 26th, and 28th, all afternoon performances.
If you, like me, are a fan of CBC Radio you'll be interested in performances featuring Tom Allen on July 28th and Julie Nesrallah on August 3rd.
The season finale is an all Beethoven programme at St. Mark's on Saturday evening, August 10th at 7 pm, a celebration in anticipation of Beethoven's 250th anniversary next year.
If all this sounds tempting, you can find out more by calling Music Niagara at 905-468-2172 or 1-800-511-7429, which is the Shaw Festival box office, or by going online at www.musicniagara.org.
Finally the 40 Anniversary Elora Festival is set to get underway July 12th in the picturesque village of Elora, just northwest of Guelph. It's an easy hour-and-a-half drive from Niagara and worth the trip any time of the year.
The Opening Night Gala on July 12th will be in the Gambrel Barn and feature soloists with the Elora Singers in a performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, among other works.
The Singers will also collaborate with many of the guest artists during the two-week festival including Natalie MacMaster, the State Choir LATVIJA, Festival of the Sound Ensemble and Unforgettable: Nat King Cole Story.
As always, the Elora Singers also perform Evensong and the usual Sunday services at St. John's Church which I try to attend every year if time permits. With all those performances and music to study I honestly don't know how these talented singers manage to pull it all off, but they do!
There are a host of performances by solo artists and ensembles as well, including Canadian superstars Daniel Taylor on July 21st and Measha Brueggergosman on July 27th.
You'll also find a number of performances by young and up-and-coming artists at Elora as well, including the Cheng2 Duo on July 20th at St. John's Church. So we've come full circle from my first visit to Brava Niagara! last month in Niagara-on-the-Lake!
For tickets and more information on the Elora Festival, call the box office at 519-846-0331 or online at www.elorafestival.com.
Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day!
May 12th, 2019.
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