The on-again, off-again relationship between classical music and the historic Sharon Temple just north of Newmarket is off again. The most recent incarnation of Music at Sharon ran on June and July Sundays for five summers, starting in 2007.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
The last Music at Sharon artistic directors — author and music-appreciation specialist Rick Phillips and Toronto Masque Theatre artistic director Larry Beckwith, who took over from Stephen Cera in 2009 — programmed five or six concerts a season, inviting artists whose work would be sympathetic with the magnetic historical and acoustical qualities of the perfectly square, early-18th century meeting house built by the Children of Peace.
The Music at Sharon project was overseen by the Sharon Temple Museum Society, who are responsible for the whole property and have been trying to rent out the place as an event venue.
The grounds are open to the public from Thursday to Sunday between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. for $5. But as a visitor during each of the last five years, I can attest that it was music that best helped turn what is otherwise a ghostly, dusty stillness into a palpably living place.
My most memorable visit of all to Sharon was seeing Toronto Masque Theatre’s magical production of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas last June 17. Beckwith and company knew exactly what do do with the space.
I wish I had traveled the short distance north of Toronto back in 1990, when the original Music at Sharon festival celebrated its 10th birthday with the premiere of Serinette, an opera by the late Harry Somers and James Reaney. The artistic director at the time was Lawrence Cherney, the longtime head of Soundstreams.
I asked Beckwith about Sharon yesterday. He wrote back: “We’re still hoping there will be some way of getting a series going there again soon. Everyone we had in there over the past three years — Dan Taylor, Jane Coop, Wallis Giunta, Andrew Burashko, Winona Zelenka, and many, many others — were stunned by the amazing acoustics and musical ‘ghosts’ that reside in that special place.
“So… it’s gone for now, but not forever.”
Perhaps it will be third-time lucky, should the Sharon Temple Museum Society see it that way.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
