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31st Season of Firsts
We begin the fourth decade of the Festival of the Sound with a season of firsts:
- The first Festival performance of Bach’s Mass in B minor, our most ambitious production ever and something we have hoped to do for years!
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- The first performance of a Beethoven Symphony by the Festival Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of James Sommerville.
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Family Fare: the first time we have repeated portions of our Friday evening gala concerts for a family audience on Saturday – six-piano concert on July 17 and five-harp concert on August 7. And they are free!
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- The first time the Elmer Iseler Singers have performed Gilbert and Sullivan – the Pirates of Penzance on August 8.
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The Glory of the Cello
Outstanding cellists come together to perform some of the greatest works for their instrument. Meet Denis Brott, Artistic Director of the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Michel Strauss, Professor at the Conservatoire de Paris, Coenraad Bloemendal, born in Amsterdam and now performing in Canada, Yegor Dyachkov, a young Russian/Canadian virtuoso, Chloe Dominguez, a rising star from Montreal, Marc Johnson, retired after 35 years with the Vermeer String Quartet, Roman Borys of the Gryphon Trio, Adrian Fung of the Afiara String Quartet (and his alter-ego rapper 8W), Jacob Braun, new cellist with the Penderecki String Quartet, Rolf Gjelsten of the New Zealand String Quartet, Julian Armour of the Chamber Players of Canada and young cellists Emmanuelle Beaulieu Bergeron and Sybil Shanahan. |
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Harp Heaven
Canada’s leading harpists gather this summer to honour their teacher. On August 6, Judy Loman, formerly principal harpist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and teacher of all the others, is joined by principal harpists Jennifer Swartz of the Montreal Symphony, Elizabeth Volpé Bligh of the Vancouver Symphony, Nora Bumanis of the Edmonton Symphony and Celtic and traditional harpist Sharlene Wallace in most of the best repertoire for harp. Erica Goodman, the Festival’s long-time resident harpist, is heard three times between July 23 and 28. |
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Chopin Celebrated!
Janina Fialkowska hosts a festival of music by her favorite composer, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Chopin. She is joined by André Laplante, Angela Cheng, Jan Lisiecki and Glen Montgomery in the solos, chamber works and concertos of Chopin and his contemporaries. |
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Schumann Celebrated!
When he encountered Chopin's Variations on La Ci Darem La Mano, Robert Schumann wrote “Hats off, gentleman, a Genius!” Schumann, also born in 1810, composed some of the greatest masterpieces of Romantic music. The Festival of the Sound celebrates his own genius in a full day of concerts, including The Schumann Letters, a musical biography sharing the story of the love and tragedy of Robert and Clara Schumann. |
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Music from the Inside Out
The Festival’s series of free lectures, interviews and open rehearsals gives you opportunities to better appreciate the music being heard. Join Jeffrey Stokes’s Overtures introducing Chopin, Bach and jazz and Conversations with Keith Horner, inviting you to get to know the performers in a series of personal interviews. |
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Island Queen Cruises
Enjoy Georgian Bay sunsets as the cruise ship Island Queen takes a wandering three-hour route through the wild and rugged beauty of the 30,000 Islands, a region recently designated by the United Nations as the Georgian Bay Littoral Biosphere Reserve. These cruises have been a highlight of every Festival season since our inception, blending wonderful music, – classical, jazz, dixieland – with breathtaking scenery. Performances are on the lower deck of the Island Queen and can be heard throughout the ship. |
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