{"id":54957,"date":"2018-07-25T12:01:53","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T16:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=54957"},"modified":"2018-07-26T14:12:39","modified_gmt":"2018-07-26T18:12:39","slug":"primer-symphony-in-the-barn-gears-up-for-a-weekend-of-food-and-music-on-the-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2018\/07\/25\/primer-symphony-in-the-barn-gears-up-for-a-weekend-of-food-and-music-on-the-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"PRIMER | Symphony In The Barn Gears Up For A Weekend Of Food And Music On The Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"
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With its focus on locality, creativity and cross-pollination, the Symphony In The Barn promises a full-weekend of beauty, in the great Ontario summer outdoors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the summer reaches its peak in Durham, Ontario, another Symphony in the Barn (SITB) weekend is just around the corner.\u00a0 Widely known for his legal battle for sales of raw milk in Canada for over twenty-four years, Michael Schmidt<\/a>\u2019s festival at the beautiful Glencolton Farms<\/a> on August 3\u20135, 2018 is an interesting amalgamation.<\/p>\n

Running since 1995, the Symphony in the Barn started as a three-day festival.\u00a0 Often varying in its length (in 1996 and 2002, it ran for three weeks, and in 1997 and 2003, for four weeks), the festival is known for its mix of classical music and its living, diverse farm biodome culture.<\/p>\n

Symphony in the Barn rings a few distinctive notes. Concerning the lack of any significant aboriginal cultural component in the current Ontario educational curriculums, recently re-highlighted by the hasty cancellation<\/a> of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Curriculum Revisions Session in early July in Ontario, the festival\u2019s ongoing development with the local aboriginal performers, and the combined contribution for the general public is important. The festival won the Best Practices Award in Equity and Diversity from Community Arts Ontario in 2004, for their collaboration with native performers of Cape Croker for the Haydn\u2019s The Creation<\/em>, adding a curious mix of Western and Native Creation stories to the familiar music.<\/p>\n

The festival was born out of a cooperation with local artists and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and the aboriginal performers from Saugeen Reserve and Cape Croker.\u00a0 The aboriginal collaboration has continued throughout, and this summer, we have Shirley John, the elder\/water walker\/ protector of the Saugeen First Nation, and M\u2019wikwedong Native Cultural Group.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Arial photo of the new Symphony in the Barn stage in construction 2018 (Photo courtesy of Symphony In The Barn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“It has been the mandate of this festival since 1994 to culturally connect with the aboriginal community and have them involved in order to break down barriers, said\u00a0Carol Gimbel and Michael Schmidt, co-artistic directors, Symphony in the Barn in an email interview. ” In today\u2019s world, we always try to create different cultural segments, but in the end, the artistic expression of our culture is the only really uniting element which bridges the different, [\u2026] we are interested in building cultural bridges, not for political reasons, it is for social reasons.”<\/p>\n

In 2002, the festival added another focus: featuring young professional performers from North America. This year, Attacca Quartet (USA, see video below) and Cuarteto Janus<\/a> (Mexico) will join the guests at the farm, along with the Symphony in the Barn Festival Orchestra.\u00a0 Cuarteto Janus is the first ensemble to take part in the new mentorship program, and they will be working closely with the Toronto Amateur Chamber group, practicing the two core foci of the SITB: the immersive concert experience and social activism through the arts.<\/p>\n