What’s the best way to ensure a future for a music festival, and by extension, a musical art form itself? By adding more focus to the next generation. That’s the idea behind an expansion of the youth programming being offered at the Collingwood Music Festival, taking place this year from July 9 to 18.
We talked to Artistic Director Daniel Vnukowski about what’s new, and what’s being offered to younger music lovers at the Festival.
Daniel Vnukowski, Artistic Director
Daniel founded the Festival in 2019 to bring a major music festival to the beautiful Southern Georgian Bay area of Ontario. Along with his role as Artistic Director of the Collingwood Music Festival, Daniel Vnukowski has a busy career as a concert pianist and also as the host of the Classical Jukebox on the New Classical FM radio station. He studied at the Lake Como International Piano Academy in Italy, the Peabody Institute of Baltimore, and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In addition to concerts in Canada, Europe and Asia, he has been dedicated to education and outreach efforts, including a series of performances in remote communities.
Highlights of this year’s expanded youth and community programming include:
- The annual Youth Academy has been expanded to five days with scholarships;
- A Rising Star concert series;
- Local school outreach to more than 500 students;
- A free outdoor Symphony Under the Stars.
The Interview
“It’s so integral to our growth,” Vnukowski says of the focus on next gen programs.
As he notes, along with other considerations, it’s a response to changing demographics in the Georgian Bay region. More and more families are moving into a region that was once known largely as a vacation area.
“We kind of wanted to grow into a mini Tanglewood here.”
The Youth Academy is a program for musicians age 24 and under, with applicants chosen by audition. Expanded to five from three days previously, events take place in the National Ski Academy facilities, and include an intensive masterclass, youth talent night, concerts, and a chamber music group. Scholarships will cover 20% of the tuition fees.
“It’s having fives days of really immersive instruction,” he notes. The natural setting is part of the appeal.
Along with events during the Festival, the school outreach program is an important component. “We really want to hit the schools again,” he says.
It’s was a challenge to restart that outreach post pandemic, as he reports, but it’s essential, particularly considering the dearth of music education being offered in the school system. He believes that targeting middle school kids aged about 10 to 12 is key, and the response is best. “It’s before the peer pressure gets to them.,” he explains. It’s an age where kids start to want to know more about the world around them. “That’s the kind of sweet spot.”
He mentions the excitement the young performers have had in previous Festivals when they work with nationally and internationally recognized performers like the Elmer Iseler Singers. “They’re so inspiring when they work with youth.” The mentors this year include cellist Roman Borys, violinist Sharon Lee, mezzo soprano Andrea Ludwig, and Vnuknowski himself.
Vnukowski says the response to their call for video auditions went beyond their expectations, including both the Youth Academy and Rising Star concert series.
“We did not expect to have a full house,” he said of last year’s concert. “That was hugely successful.”
Summer and Beyond
Around the core of summer’s Festival week, adding more concerts and events throughout the year will keep the momentum. That will include top touring artists.
“That’s in the works for the fall,” he says. “It’s a natural growth. We’ve come from a mom and pop group playing in cottages.” It’s now an event with a true sense of community. “It’s very festive.”
The Festival has a notable economic impact on the larger community, but it’s about more than dollars and sense.
“It’s helps the newcomer find a sense of belonging,” he says. “It can help teens find themselves as they grow up.”
The Symphony Under The Stars, a free outdoor concert that’s being introduced this year, aims to bring the Festival experience to a broader audience, including those who may not think that orchestral music is their thing. The program will include well known classical works, along with movie music and orchestral arrangements of pop. “All the usual suspects,” Daniel says.
An exit survey will help them determine the impact. Are they newcomers to the Festival? Did they enjoy it — enough to come back?
“As you can see, we’re branching out,” he says. “When the 10 years olds become 65 year olds, are they still buying tickets?”
- Find out more about the Collingwood Music Festival [HERE].
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