{"id":114303,"date":"2025-05-14T15:20:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T19:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=114303"},"modified":"2025-05-14T15:48:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T19:48:44","slug":"interview-artistic-director-tania-miller-summers-brott-music-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/05\/14\/interview-artistic-director-tania-miller-summers-brott-music-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Artistic Director Tania Miller On This Summer\u2019s Brott Music Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_114305\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114305\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-114305\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-9.jpg\" alt=\"Tania Miller and the National Academy Orchestra in 2024 (Photo courtesy of Brott Music)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-9.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-9-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-9-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-9-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-114305\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><br \/>Tania Miller and the National Academy Orchestra in 2024 (Photo courtesy of Brott Music)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Brott Music festival, under the direction of Tania Miller, will be back for summer 2025 with a diverse program of music, and different ways to experience it. Auditions for the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, and the emerging vocalists of BrottOpera, wound up early in 2025, with rehearsals set to begin soon.<\/p>\n<p>The festival kicks off on June 26, with the summer finale on August 14.<\/p>\n<p>We spoke to Artistic Director and Conductor Tania Miller about this year\u2019s offerings.<\/p>\n<h2>Brott Music<\/h2>\n<p>The Brott Music Festival focuses on the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, a federally recognized National Arts Training Program that provides professional level performance experience, mentorship and more to talented young Canadian musicians each summer. NAO members are chosen by a series of auditions which have wrapped up earlier this year. Along with training, orchestra members are paid $500 per week during the program.<\/p>\n<p>The NAO serves as the orchestra-in-residence for the orchestral music festival.<\/p>\n<p>Also part of Brott Music is BrottOpera, a training program offered to emerging vocal artists via audition. The participants are paid a stipend for their roles in the opera that&#8217;s produced each year, along with accommodations, coaching and training, and additional performance opportunities with a full orchestra, along with an evening of arias and ensembles.<\/p>\n<p>Highlights of the Season include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A Night at the Oscars: an opening night with red carpet flair, and music from the movies;<\/li>\n<li>Bizet\u2019s Carmen: a staged production of the iconic opera about a fiery heroine;<\/li>\n<li>Postcards from the Sky: A concert by candlelight in Hamilton\u2019s atmospheric 175-year-old Church of the Ascension;<\/li>\n<li>Hollywood &amp; The Rite of Spring: Superstar violinist Kerson Leong performs Korngold\u2019s<br \/>\nViolin Concerto (created after the noted film composer retired from movie scores with the end of WWII), and the orchestra adds Stravinsky\u2019s masterpiece;<\/li>\n<li>Broadway Dreams: Phantom alum David Rogers (Raoul in the Livent national tour of Phantom of the Opera), and Kaleigh Gorka, who\u2019s starred as Frozen\u2019s Elsa in the touring Canadian production, sing some of Broadway\u2019s biggest hits;<\/li>\n<li>Romeo &amp; Juliet: Video and performance come together with a story about the iconic ballet as narrated by Veronica Tennant;<\/li>\n<li>Beethoven Immersive: The immersive experience, where audience members sit inside the orchestra, returns with Beethoven\u2019s Fifth;<\/li>\n<li>I Dream of Italy: The season finale includes works by Rota, Strauss, Respighi, and Tchaikovsky, with guest artist double bassist Joel Quarrington.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There will also be two free lunchtime concerts on Hamilton\u2019s waterfront, along with Brott Education Concerts later this year in the fall, and holiday musical magic in December, including Musical Magic of Christmas and Handel\u2019s Messiah.<\/p>\n<p>Performances take place in a variety of venues.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_114306\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114306\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-114306\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Tania-Bowing-whole-orchestra-.jpg\" alt=\"Tania Miller and the National Academy Orchestra in 2024 (Photo courtesy of Brott Music)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Tania-Bowing-whole-orchestra-.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Tania-Bowing-whole-orchestra--300x110.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Tania-Bowing-whole-orchestra--1024x376.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Tania-Bowing-whole-orchestra--768x282.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-114306\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><br \/>Tania Miller and the National Academy Orchestra in 2024 (Photo courtesy of Brott Music)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Tania Miller: The Interview<\/h2>\n<p>Programming Brott Music isn\u2019t quite the same as most other summer music festivals. Even though the programming is condensed into the summer months, there\u2019s a whole orchestra to audition and assemble beforehand, among other things.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo much goes into the planning stages, the admin stages, choosing the orchestra, choosing the singers&#8230;\u201d Tania Miller begins. \u201cIt\u2019s a real process throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The selection is quite competitive, and so many of the NAO performers jump into a professional career not long after their summer intensive. That includes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/05\/09\/scoop-nicholas-sharma-named-toronto-symphony-orchestras-next-rbc-resident-conductor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nicholas Sharma, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra\u2019s newly announced RBC Resident Conductor<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are a lot of Canadian conductors who\u2019ve had the opportunity to work with the Brott Festival Orchestra,\u201d Miller notes. She points out it involves a full eight weeks of conducting and rehearsals, including both orchestral and opera repertoire.<\/p>\n<p>Brott Music has two assistant conductors this year. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of conductors who want to have those chances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The variety of the program is one of the draws for both musicians and conductors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s that chance to play your first pops show, your first opera&#8230;\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n<p>Some elements have been tweaked, based on last year\u2019s experiences. For instance, the Beethoven Immersive concert opened the festival in 2024. During the performance, the audience members are seated within the orchestra, right alongside the musicians, and are invited to move to a different position for each movement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was so extraordinary,\u201d she recalls. \u201cFor the orchestra, that was their very first week,\u201d she adds. \u201cIt was a bit unnerving for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That style of performance has been moved to later on during the festival for 2025. Miller is looking forward to feedback from the musicians. \u201cIt will be interesting for me to see,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m training not just their musicianship, but how they connect with audiences,\u201d she explains. \u201cHow do you impact people through music?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where different concert formats comes into play. When it comes to the two free concerts at the Bayfront pier, she leaves much of the planning to the musicians themselves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe NAO musicians, they curate the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The free concerts, of course, are meant to attract the curious and newcomers, along with orchestral aficionados.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel that what music is striving to do is reach people in the way they really are,\u201d Miller says. \u201cThey want to make connections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s curated interesting experiences for those who want to get closer to the music, including the unique video\/performance of Romeo &amp; Juliet and other music.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s incredible for me to bring Veronica Tennant,\u201d Tania says. The former principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada is now a producer and filmmaker, and she\u2019ll be narrating personal stories to go along with her film. \u201cHer first and last role was Juliet from Prokofiev\u2019s Romeo and Juliet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Live music performance will accompany the film.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt also connects people to Romeo and Juliet in a very special way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an integral part of her music practice to find and mine ways of making those kinds of connections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wish I had another lifetime to get involved with music therapy,\u201d she adds. \u201cMusic unlocks so much of that. As a conductor, I spend a lot of time trying to convey what music is and does for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_114307\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114307\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-114307\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/BH2_3933.jpg\" alt=\"Tania Miller conducts the National Academy Orchestra in 2024 (Photo courtesy of Brott Music)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"801\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/BH2_3933.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/BH2_3933-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/BH2_3933-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/BH2_3933-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-114307\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tania Miller conducts the National Academy Orchestra in 2024 (Photo courtesy of Brott Music)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>BrottOpera &amp; More<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re really excited about our Brott Opera program,\u201d Miller says. The program has been expanded to four weeks from three, with a staged production this year, and a semi-staged night of arias and opera hits as well. \u201cWe can spend a little more time with our singers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Special guests include composers as well as musicians.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m really excited that we have<strong> Ian Cusson<\/strong> be a part of our festival,\u201d Miller says, adding that she\u2019s been wanting to work with the composer for some time. \u201cI\u2019m excited to present <strong>Marjan Mozetich<\/strong>.\u201d She points out that Mozetich grew up in Hamilton.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very excited that<strong> Joel Quarrington<\/strong> will be with us. He\u2019s a really exciting teacher and mentor,\u201d Miller adds. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the things I really love about this program is how many mentors come in and out of the program.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>View the full season brochure [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/brottmusic.com\/brochure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>], and get tickets, subscriptions and packages [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/brottmusic.com\/ticket-packages-and-discounts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a;\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? 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