{"id":106048,"date":"2024-07-18T12:29:37","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T16:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=106048"},"modified":"2024-07-18T14:00:24","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T18:00:24","slug":"interview-artistic-director-daniel-vnukowski-wraps-collingwood-music-festival-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/07\/18\/interview-artistic-director-daniel-vnukowski-wraps-collingwood-music-festival-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Artistic Director Daniel Vnukowski Wraps Up Collingwood Music Festival 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The Toronto Concert Orchestra opens the\u00a0Collingwood\u00a0Music Festival\u00a02024 at\u00a0First Presbyterian Church (Photo: Tjalling Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Collingwood Music Festival brings an eclectic mix of music to picturesque Nottawasaga Bay in northern Ontario. The 2024 edition ran from July 5 to 12 as a success with good audience numbers \u2013 but that result was never guaranteed.<\/p>\n

Running a music festival is a multi-faceted operation that is never easy, and today operates in an unprecedented post-pandemic environment of uncertainty.<\/p>\n

We spoke to Artistic Director Daniel Vnukowski about the journey from last year\u2019s planning to this year\u2019s performances.<\/p>\n

\"Artistic
Artistic Director Daniel Vnukowski (Photo: Tjalling Halbertsma, 2023)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Daniel Vnukowski: The Interview<\/h3>\n

A firm belief in the enduring power and appeal of Western classical music and storytelling is at the heart of the festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe complexity, the nature of classical music itself \u2014 its innate complexity \u2014 is what keeps it alive,\u201d Daniel believes. \u201cEvery time the world goes crazy, we’re drawn to something that gives us something more spiritual, with more depth.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, while the music itself endures, many festivals do not. That\u2019s a reality any year, but in a difficult climate where many organizations are still carrying debts leftover from the pandemic, without new sources of funding, or enough audience numbers, to compensate in the present. It\u2019s led many cultural organizations to cut down their offerings, if not drop out altogether.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were very worried at different points,\u201d he says. That was the situation last fall when planning for this summer began in earnest. Realistically speaking, Collingwood is a newer festival only in its third year of regular programming. \u201cWe were all worried.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was good reason for concern. Bigger and older festivals like Hot Docs have been cutting back and going through turbulent times. After what ended up as a grey, dreary winter, though, the tide began to change.<\/p>\n

\u201cAround the spring transition,\u201d he recalls. \u201cWe had a really dark winter […] when those first spring rays of sun started to come up, I said to my team, we\u2019re counting on a festival miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vocalist
Vocalist and actor\u00a0Jackie Richardson\u00a0and composer, pianist Joe Sealy and ensemble, recounted true stories in Africville, performed at the Collingwood Music Festival 2024 (Photo: Tjalling Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An Uncertain Climate<\/h3>\n

\u201cThere was some hesitation in the air,\u201d Daniel says. That translated into reluctant sponsors, and a much reduced pool of government funding. As he explains, there was lots of support available during and immediately after the pandemic, last year, that situation changed pretty drastically. \u201cThat purse has really been tightened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corporate sponsors, even those who\u2019d been involved in previous years, wanted to wait and see. \u201cWhen they say to wait, it\u2019s often the death knell,\u201d he notes. \u201cWe thought of really downgrading.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the measures considered included reducing the youth events, and moving the entire festival indoors to avoid the expense involved in building a large outdoor stage.<\/p>\n

But, this time at least, time was on their side.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, one thing after another, one grant came in […] one family decided to double their contribution…\u201d During the very last week prior to the launch of the Festival, ticket sales picked up, and sponsors old and new suddenly called in to participate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all came together at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

Creativity in sourcing and managing expenses was another building block to this year\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

\"A
A sunset lit up the Millennium Park stage as the\u00a0Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir\u00a0performed at the Collingwood Music Festival 2024 (Photo: Tjalling Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Audience<\/h3>\n

In contrast to the financial and organizational side of things, audience reactions were more than gratifying. Despite slow initial ticket sales, momentum built as the Festival approached. Vnukowski says he could see how much audiences wanted to take part.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely, [there\u2019s] a deep need in the community to go out and rejoice with music,\u201d he says, calling the general reaction \u201cextreme enthusiasm\u201d. Hesitation led to release. \u201cLots of smiles on their faces. I almost felt like a huge exhale of relief.\u201d<\/p>\n

The community rallied around the festival, which went a long way towards bringing it to life. \u201cWe\u2019ve pretty much doubled our volunteers,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Still, there were some anxious moments. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen this before, where the ticket sales doubled in the week before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps there was a sense that, finally, it might be safe to gather in groups.<\/p>\n

\"A
A standing ovation for\u00a0the grand finale concert – L-R: Mezzo-soprano\u00a0Julie Nesrallah,\u00a0baritone\u00a0Gino Quillico and pianist\u00a0Dominic Boulianne\u00a0at\u00a0First Presbyterian Church at the Collingwood Music Festival 2024 (Photo: Tjalling Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Festival<\/h3>\n

New to the Festival this year was a youth initiative, looking for young musicians to participate. Auditions were held by video, in partnership with a local music teacher\u2019s association.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was absolutely blown away,\u201d he says. It wasn\u2019t only a question of talent, but of the sheer diversity of the applications, and the wide range of instruments. \u201cFor the first time, a church organ had a debut,\u201d he reports, noting the musician in question was a young teenager.<\/p>\n

Six were chosen to perform in concert at the Festival, and the repertoire covered everything from the Great American songbook to a chamber ensemble. There was a full house. \u201cWe had a huge turn out of support,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s a huge demand for the next generation of talent.\u201d Audiences cheered for the young musicians. \u201cThat\u2019s something we\u2019ll be expanding on greatly in future years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking for that mix of well known names and emerging artists is part of the curation process. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to have the world class talent,\u201d he says, \u201cthe guaranteed ticket sales.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with talent, he was looking for certain qualities. \u201cAs a curator, I always look for that spark in the artist,\u201d he explains. If the concept involves storytelling, so much the better to create a connection with the audience. It goes beyond virtuosity. \u201cA lot of us musicians, we started as prodigies,\u201d he says. Speed and feats of technical prowess are the priority. \u201cThat\u2019s all exciting at some point, but there\u2019s more to the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Festival included the world premiere of Postcards Lost, a musical journey told through postcards shared by a couple who survived the horrors of the Second World War. The postcards are displayed along with a live performance of Jewish music and children\u2019s poetry.<\/p>\n

Legendary singer and actor Jackie Richardson and composer\/pianist Joe Sealy performed a work titled Africville, about Canada\u2019s oldest Black community in Nova Scotia. In Songs in the Key of Cree, Thomson Highway shared stories about his childhood in a cabaret format with vocalist Patricia Cano.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople love to hear the stories,\u201d Daniel says. \u201cThat really makes for a more satisfying experience.<\/p>\n

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The 2024 edition of the Collingwood Music Festival ran from July 5 to 21 as a success with good audience numbers \u2013 but that result was never guaranteed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":106050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40967,10,76,19,4967,29,32,38,3693,49,59],"tags":[41342,36103],"yst_prominent_words":[7412,7410],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-20.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-rAs","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106048"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106048"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106060,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106048\/revisions\/106060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106048"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=106048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}