On April 15, Elora Festival artistic director Noel Edison unveiled the line-up for the 30th anniversary of the festival, which runs from July 10 to August 2. The festival features a return to the Elora Quarry for concerts.
“This is a special year for us, a very nostalgic celebration.” Edison said. “As I reflect on the challenges and rewards over the past 30 years, and think about how much time and work has gone into it, it’s wonderful to see that we have reached this amazing milestone.
“When the festival first started, I had hoped that we would come this far, but with something of this magnitude, we took it one year at a time.”
The festival has grown from its beginnings in 1979 as a two-week event based on 16th, 17th, and 18th century music, aptly named Three Centuries Festival to a four-week event, and has increased the scope of music to include a wide array of musical genres.
“There is a great deal of diversity in this celebratory year that is representative of our growth,” Edison said. “We are looking back at what we’ve done, and moving ahead with some new initiatives.”
The festival opens with Berlioz’s Requiem. The Elora Festival Singers will be joined by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Elora Festival Orchestra, and guest soloist, tenor Lawrence Wiliford returns on July 18 for an afternoon of the music of Benjamin Britten with harpist Jennifer Swartz.
Additional classical performances include the return of pianist André Laplante in an afternoon of the music of Lizst, Carmina Burana, Purcell’s Fairy Queen, A Night at the Opera, and one of the world’s preeminent sopranos, Dawn Upshaw.
The Jazz and Popular series includes the Oliver Jones Trio, a 2009 Juno winner for traditional jazz album of the year, Capital Brass Works, Lily Frost performing The Billy Holiday Songbook, and 2009 Juno nominee Michael Occhipinti performing The Sicilian Jazz Project.
The Thursday night Starlight series welcomes world music performers Gadjo-Gadjo, and 2009 Juno winner for world music album of the year for Africa to Appalachia, by Jayme Stone and Mansa Sissoko.
The chamber series will include Daniel Bolshoy, Handel Organ Concerti by celebrated organist Michael Bloss, the Zapp String Quartet, the Kreutzer Project, and a special performance dedicated to instilling music appreciation in young children, Peter and the Wolf, with the New York piano and organ duo of Jason Cutmore and Daniel Sullivan.
The Elora Festival offers two other events for young people. The sixth annual festival kids camp, for children aged 8 to 13, runs July 13 to 17. The final round of the young performers competition will take place on July 15.
One of the series that has been brought back for the 30th anniversary is a return to concerts in the Elora Quarry. From July 21 to July 23 guest artists will include Natalie MacMaster, Paul Halley, and Theresa Thomason, and another 2009 Juno winner Serena Ryder.
A new initiative for this year is The Elora Festival Academy of Music. The academy is a five-day residential program for senior undergraduate and postgraduate music students.
A regimen of daily lessons and master classes will culminate in shared, late afternoon public recitals and a final Elora Festival concert showcasing all the participants. Resident instructors for the academy are internationally renowned artists Kimberly Barber, Daniel Lichti, and Leslie De’Ath.
The Elora Festival Singers are still one of the biggest draws at the festival. Through regular concerts, recordings, broadcasts, and touring, the group has established a reputation as one of the finest chamber choirs in Canada and beyond. A new recording, What Child is This? Christmas from Elora, will be available for the 30th anniversary. The group will also release The Music of Eric Whitacre in 2009.
“Thirty is a remarkable number of years for any organization, especially the arts. Three things have led to the success of the Elora Festival – community, location, and brilliant artistic programming,” said Edison.
A complete line-up for the 2009 Elora Festival is available at www.elorafestival.com. Tickets can be purchased by phone, 519-846-0331 or 1-888-747-7550, online, by mail to Box 370, Elora, Ontario, N0B 1S0, or in person at the festival office, 33 Henderson Street.
