{"id":112995,"date":"2025-03-26T16:22:54","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T20:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=112995"},"modified":"2025-03-27T09:54:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T13:54:54","slug":"preview-brian-finley-talks-westben-2025-summer-festival-june-13-august-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/03\/26\/preview-brian-finley-talks-westben-2025-summer-festival-june-13-august-3\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Brian Finley Talks About The Westben 2025 Summer Festival: June 13 To August 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L
L & R: The Barn and The Willows venues at Westben; Middle: Cellist Brian Manker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOur theme this year is dare to dream. There is a lot of dreamers involved this season,\u201d says Co-founder and Artistic & Managing Director of the Westben Centre for Connection and Creativity through Music, Brian Finley.<\/p>\n

The Westben Festival kicks off June 13, with 37 concerts between June 13 and August 3.<\/p>\n

As Finley points out, the Festival opens with a fully staged production of The Wizard of Oz, as adapted from the classic movie by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and ends with Phantom of the Opera In Concert \u2014 both of them stories about dreamers, albeit of very different kinds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a season dedicated to dreaming what the world could be like,\u201d he adds, \u201cwhich is a good topic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Barn, Westben Festival’s 400-seat venue in a green field (Photo courtesy of Westben features Laila Biali in concert in 2024)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Westben: Music in the Great Outdoors<\/h2>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the setting that really makes it special here in Westben,\u201d Finley says.<\/p>\n

The environment for the Festival is definitely part of its draw. The venues are located in the Trent Hills region in Kawarthas Northumberland and Quinte Hastings County, offering green fields and forests, near Cambellford and the Trent River. It’s the best of bucolic small town Ontario. Brian points out the bird songs, and many native species of plants and animals that populate the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you drop Beethoven or Bach into that, it\u2019s really special.\u201d He notes that Beethoven and many other composers were inspired by the natural world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a different way of experiencing the music from the rest of the year. It has a different access point,\u201d he says, \u201ca refreshing and intimate way that\u2019s devoid of bow ties and black boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The venues integrate the outdoors with the concert experience, including The Barn, a 400-seat venue in a field with state of the art acoustics. The Willow Hill Amphitheatre makes use of a nature amphitheatre beside a pond and willow tree, and The Campfire area seats 50 in lawn chairs for a sunset concert complete with s’mores, drinks and the chance to connect with the artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the artists really feel it as well as the audience,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Along with concerts, there\u2019s a focus on outdoor activities like forest bathing, cycling, Tai Chi, tea tastings, culinary events and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot has to do with health and wellness,\u201d he says. It\u2019s why he moved to a rural community, and a greater connection to nature, years ago. \u201cIt makes your body relax, and it makes it open to new experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previous festivals have seen concerts in the woods themselves. \u201cIt\u2019s weird and wonderful, but it makes you just make you see the world differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

The friendly atmosphere that the surroundings naturally create is an integral part of the Westben Festival experience.<\/p>\n

Westben offers an eclectic mix of musical genres. Here\u2019s a quick look at the classical music offerings.<\/p>\n

\"That
That Choir (Photo: Bo Huang)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Classical Music at Westben 2025<\/h2>\n

Brian Manker, cello & Brian Finley, piano (July 17)<\/h3>\n

\u201cI had an interesting career as a pianist and a composer,\u201d Finley says, \u201cI always love to make music with our guests.\u201d It\u2019s one of the perks of running a festival, after all.<\/p>\n

Finley will be performing with cellist Brian Manker, a frequent guest of the Festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is the principal cellist of the Montreal Symphony,\u201d Finley says of Manker. \u201cHe\u2019s a fantastic musician, a beautiful storyteller \u2014 he\u2019s also the cellist with the New Orford Quartet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cello is a favourite solo instrument. \u201cIt really captures that amazing tessitura that can be so profound,\u201d Brian says.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll be performing a program that includes the Beethoven Sonata No, 3 in A, Op. 69, the Rachmaninoff Sonata in G minor, Op. 19, and Romance for Violin and Piano, Op. 23 (1893) by American composer Amy Beach.<\/p>\n

Manker will talk about the pieces before each is played.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so engaging,\u201d Finley says. It brings the audience into the music and instrument.<\/p>\n

Illia Ovcharenko, piano (July 20)<\/h3>\n

Ukrainian pianist and 2022 Honens winner Illia Ovcharenko performs a repertoire similar to the one he recently played for Toronto audiences<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s such a brilliant piano player,\u201d Finley says. \u201cTalk about a dreamer.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll be playing Chopin\u2019s Polonaise in A Flat, Liszt\u2019s Sonata in B minor, and works by fellow Ukrainians Bortkiewicz, Lyatoshinsky and Revutsky. Ovcharenko follows in a long list of pianists who\u2019ve performed at Westben over the years, including Angela Hewitt, Louis Lortie, and many others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really happy that he\u2019s a guest of ours this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Choral: Chanticleer (July 11) & That Choir (July 12)<\/h3>\n

Choral music is a natural choice for a festival that\u2019s looking to connect people, audience and musicians, and build a sense of community.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing does that like choral repertoire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toronto based That Choir is a professional a cappella ensemble currently in its 16th season. That Choir draws its singers from diverse backgrounds in culture, study and work, and presents a three-concert season of contemporary and traditional choral works. They are known for their collaborations as well as their own performances, including performances with artists like Sir Christopher Plummer and Louise Pitre, among many others.<\/p>\n

American classical ensemble Chanticleer was formed back in 1978 as a Renaissance music choir. They have since branched into performing a variety of genres from jazz and gospel to contemporary classical music. The GRAMMY Award-winning vocal ensemble is known for their virtuosity and audience appeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a real honour to welcome a fine ensemble like that here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhapsody in Blue \u2013 A Gershwin Celebration (July 27)<\/h3>\n

Featuring Canadian opera singer Adrianne Pieczonka, pianist Daniel Vnukowski, soprano Jonelle Sills and baritone Justin Welsh, accompanied by St\u00e9phane Mayer, it\u2019s a Gershwin powerhouse recital.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdrianne was a guest of ours several years ago,\u201d Brian recalls. \u201cWhat a superb artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

He notes her gracious personality as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI so admire her exploration into other genres and other aspects of music,\u201d he says. \u201cThis journey that she\u2019s exploring with Gershwin is going to be just amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vnukowski will play Gershwin\u2019s iconic Rhapsody in Blue, and Jonelle Sills and Justin Welsh will perform selections from Porgy and Bess.<\/p>\n

Nahre Sol & Ben Finley (July 10)<\/h3>\n

Julliard and Glenn Gould School-trained pianist and composer Nahre Sol, (whose YouTube series has garnered more than 780,000 subscribers) teams up with Westben Associate Artistic Director Ben Finley, also a bassist and composer, to perform original music. Their compositions are informed by everything from chamber music to ambient soundscapes and improvisation with a playful edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cNahre is an experimental classical pianist. Her concert\u2019s going to be very, very interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Kaeshammer (August 2)<\/h3>\n

\u201cAnother one that always sends me is Michael Kaeshammer,\u201d says Brian. \u201cHe\u2019s jaw droppingly amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

While today, Kaeshammer\u2019s repertoire incorporates a mix of jazz, pop and boogie-woogie styles, Finley says that privately, the artist is truer to his roots in classical music, and performs Beethoven to warm up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazingly beautiful,\u201d Finley reports. But, audiences shouldn\u2019t expect to hear any of that on stage \u2014 he doesn\u2019t lapse into Beethoven in public.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just so neat to know that it\u2019s in his veins.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Barn, interior (Photo: Northum Touri)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other Festival Highlights<\/h2>\n

The Festival will play host to many other artists in a variety of genres, including:<\/p>\n