I received a couple of music festival brochures in the mail this week...yes, I still get mail, and glad of it! Both brochures remind me that although summer is over, the music isn't by a long shot. Yes, Virginia, there is lots to enjoy indoors, musically speaking...
The Elora Singers' 2022-23 winter season actually starts this afternoon with the first performance at 2:30 at Harcourt Memorial United Church in Guelph. They will reprise the performance at the same venue this evening at 7:30, so still lots of time to catch the first concert of the season. Featured is a new oratorio by Craig Hella Johnson entitled Considering Matthew Shepard. It's described as a moving and powerful reflection on the hatred that ended the life of Matthew Shepard. Beyond a reflection though, it offers hope of acceptance and inclusion in a changing world, and that is certainly worth considering for sure.
The second performance of the season will be very well attended for sure, as excerpts from Handel's Messiah will be performed with a chamber orchestra and featuring soloists from the ranks of the choir. There will be one performance only, at 4 pm on Sunday, December 4th at St. Joseph's Church in Fergus.
The annual tradition of A Festival of Carols returns for four performances in December: at 5 and 8 pm at St. John's Church in Elora on the 12th and at 5 and 8 pm at Melville United Church in Fergus on the 13th. These performances regularly sell out and are well worth attending, so plan to get your tickets early.
The Singers take a break until Sunday, March 5th when they present Baroque Meditations at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Kitchener. The concert will feature two main works: the seldom-heard Stabat Mater by the the early baroque Italian composer Agostino Steffani and Handel's Dixit Dominus, written while he lived briefly in Rome.
The winter season will end with another contemporary work, Arvo Part's Passio, a setting of the Passion text according to St. John, paired with Sir James MacMillan's a cappella setting of Psalm 51, known as Miserere. There will be one performance only, at 4 pm on Sunday, April 2nd at the magnificent St. George's Anglican Church in Guelph.
The Elora Singers are a world-class ensemble in every sense of the word and absolutely worth the drive to the Elora/Guelph/Fergus/Kitchener area of Ontario this season or any season. For tickets or more information go to www.EloraSingers.ca or call 1-519-846-0331.
Closer to home, Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts will launch their 2022-23 fall season of classical and jazz concerts in Niagara next Sunday, October 23rd at 2 in the Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines. Featured performer will be the hot young classical guitarist Milos in a concert entitled Reflections & Reinvention. Milos was named by BBC Music Magazine as one of the six greatest classical guitarists of the last century, and that is high praise indeed.
The season continues on Saturday evening, November 5th at 7 pm, also in the Recital Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, with internationally-acclaimed soprano Measha Brueggergosman taking to the stage for a mix of classical and jazz numbers, including selections from her newest album, Measha JAZZ. I first saw Measha when she was a young lady making her way early on as a singer with Chorus Niagara performing at the Armoury in St. Catharines years ago. Just a few years ago I had a chance to catch up to her for a telephone interview which included lots of background vocals from her young child!
The season continues on Saturday, November 19th at 7:30 pm in the Mandeville Theatre at Ridley College with Graceland Experience, featuring Grammy Award-winning South African bassist, composer and vocalist Bakithi Kumalo. He has played bass for Paul Simon for over 30 years and yes, was featured prominently on Simon's landmark album Graceland. That album will feature prominently in the concert along with a variety of other world music as well.
The fall season wraps u with the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra presenting A Very Swingin' Basie Christmas on Sunday, December 18th at 7:30 pm in Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines. The Count himself is now long gone - I remember meeting him when he played the old Ontario Place Forum in Toronto back in the early 70s - but his explosive orchestra lives on and is now directed by Scotty Barnhart. The concert will also feature special guest vocalist Carmen Bradford.
Tickets and three-concert packages are on sale now, plus a new Bravo Circle membership level as well. For tickets and more information, go to www.bravoniagara.org or call 289-868-9177.
The music returns post-pandemic and so long as we continue to exercise caution and common sense, we can keep the music going throughout the season!
Have a great weekend.
October 15th, 2022.
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