Stratford Summer Music released the first teaser of its upcoming season yesterday by announcing a percussive start to this year’s lineup, as well as a neat nod to the town’s Shakespeare festival.
- 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
Last year, artistic producer John Miller decided to start the annual featival — now six weeks long — with a choral symposium.
For 2014, the opening focus is on percussion, with the help of Toronto’s talented TorQ percussion quartet and European percussion soloist Nebojsa Zivkovic. Also featured in the early days in July are British Early Music specialists Philip Pickett and the Musicians of the Globe [Theatre, in London].
The press release continues:
On instruments true to the 17th century, Philip Picket and the Musicians of the Globe will present two public concerts and two public seminars, called Encounters, on their specialties: music of the Renaissance and music in Shakespeare’s plays.
On Thursday, July 24 their Encounters (at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.) will examine A Passion for Performance – Music of the Elizabethan, Jacobean and Restoration England and Cracking the Code – Exploring and Unraveling the Secret Design of Shakespeare’s Musick. Evening concerts are titled Nutmeg & Ginger: Spicy Ballads from Shakespeare’s Time (7 p.m., Wednesday, July 23 ) and Shakespeare’s Musick (7 p.m., Thursday, July 24).
TorQ Percussion Quartet will be featured over the first two weeks of the music festival’s programming, one highlight of which will be an intensive, week-long percussion seminar where university-level percussionists will have the opportunity to learn, experiment, dissect, expand, and redefine their craft. Joining TorQ in master classes, performances and one-on-one coaching will be the noted European percussionist/composer, Nebojsa Zivkovic.
The percussion focus will also include the first complete Canadian performance of John Luther Adams’ composition, Insuksuit, with 99 percussionists, as the composer had originally intended for this epic work. Insuksuit will be performed on Saturday, July 26 at 5 p.m. at the William Allman Arena in downtown Stratford.
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
