Johannes Debus (Co-founder and Artistic Director) and Elissa Lee (Co-founder and Executive Director) of BIGLAKE have announced the Summer Season for 2025. It will be the fifth anniversary of for the festival in Prince Edward County.
This year’s Festival launches with an event on July 26, with daily festival programming from August 15 to 23.
“This year’s festival theme is HIDDEN GEMS,” says Elissa Lee, Co-founder and Executive Director. “We’ve curated a dazzling lineup of immersive musical experiences — from fresh interpretations of beloved classics to striking contemporary works, all woven together with stunning, lesser-known treasures. We can’t wait for audiences to uncover the magic of ‘new’ music drawn from a rich and storied past.”
BIGLAKE 2025
Silent Movie In The Barn (July 26)
The summer season kicks off with a Fundraiser Concert in a bucolic barn setting. The theme is the 1920s, during the silent film era, and Buster Keaton’s classic flick The General (in its original 35mm format) will screen with live piano improvisation by Ilya Poletaev. Poletaev is the Associate Professor of Piano at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montréal, and he also serves as Assistant Director at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival’s Choral Week. He is also a concert and collaborative pianist. His career took flight after taking home First Prize at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig in 2010, becoming the first Canadian to do so.
Hidden Gems Music Festival (August 15 to 23)
Festival Launch: Hidden Gems (August 15)
Canadian pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico performs a concert where the first half consists of a selection of works by women composers that includes Ilse Fromm-Michaels, Meredith Monk, Ann Southam , and Alice Ping Yee Ho . After intermission, the theme is lesser known jazz influenced pieces, with music by Masamitsu Takahashi , Art Tatum , Bill Westcott , and Ernesto Nazareth .
Community Jam (August 16)
Wellington Rotary Park is the scene where the community is invited to join in with a public performance of an improvisational piece titled In Sea. They’ll be playing alongside the SHHH!! Ensemble, and musicians Annelise Noronha, Sandro Perri, Alex Whyte and Diana Lam.
Candlelight Concert: Starry Night (August 16)
Set in a historic barn, this concert will be performed by SHHH! Ensemble (Zac Pulak and Edana Higham). The theme is the night sky and its wonders, and the program includes music written for the Ensemble by Canadian composers Jocelyn Morlock, Daniel Mehdizadeh, Monica Pearce, Mari Alice Conrad, and Harry Stafylakis, along with selections by J.S. Bach and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.
Hidden Gems Marathon (August 17)
Last year’s Beethoven Marathon was so popular, the format returns again. Ensemble Made In Canada with guest violist Sebastian Krunnies from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra begin the Marathon with a showcase of music by Hungarian composer Dohnányi. Next up, acclaimed Romanian violinist Mihaela Martin performs the virtuosic Sonata no. 3 by Enescu with Ilya Poletaev. All the musicians return for the finale, along with special guests Alain Coulombe and BIGLAKE director Johannes Debus to perform the music of French Venezuelan composer Hahn.
Avataar (August 18)
Jazz lovers will appreciate this performance by Toronto’s Avataar. Avataar is led by saxophone player Sundar Viswanathan, whose contemporary jazz compositions take their inspiration from the musical traditions rooted in India, Africa, and Brazil. The band will perform works from both of their albums, including the JUNO Award-winning release Worldview.
Cheng² Duo (August 19)
Cheng² Duo is the uber-talented Canadian brother-and-sister ensemble of cellist Bryan Cheng and pianist Silvie Cheng. Bryan performs on the 1696 “Bonjour” Stradivari (on generous loan from the Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank). Their program includes hidden gems by Ravel, Falla, and Tsintsadze, alongside well-loved pieces by Debussy and Shostakovich.
David R. Maracle (August 20)
Artist, multi-instrumentalist and Indigenous Knowledge keeper David R. Maracle (Tehanenia’kwe:tarons) of the Bear Clan performs his unique musical style of Indigenous fusion. In his art, he brings the animal sounds of the Indigenous forest to life, including Bear, Wolf, and Loon, as well as incorporating the natural elements of rain, rivers, fire, winds, and thunder.
Fretless & Madeleine Rogers (August 21)
The Fretless & Madeleine Rogers will entertain with a program of music that includes takes fiddling and folk melodies into arrangements with a distinctly contemporary sound Fretless is Trent Freeman, Karrnnel Sawitsky, Ben Plotnick and Eric Wright, and together with singer Madeleine Rogers as they transform traditions into a unique modern sound. This is Biglake’s first co-production with The Regent Theatre.
BIGLAKE’s 5th Birthday Gala (August 22)
BIGLAKE celebrates its birthday Viennese style with the 16-piece BIGLAKE Chamber Ensemble. The program features 18th century music by Mozart, J. Strauss Jr., and Heidrich. The gala concert takes place in the beautiful gardens at The Eddie, a 78-acre farm property.
Octets (August 23)
Performers Mihaela Martin, violin, Elissa Lee, violin, Blues Hang, violin, Helen Y, violin, Sebastian Krunnies, viola, (TBS, viola), Bryan Cheng, cello and Trey Lee, cello will perform works that composers Enescu and Mendelssohn wrote during their youthful days.
- Tickets for BIGLAKE Summer Season are available as of April 26; find the tickets and the full schedule [HERE].
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox HERE.
