Staff
If patrons thought last year’s SweetWater Music Festival was hard to beat, just take a look at what’s in store this year. From early Baroque music to excellent jazz to a new composition honouring Canadians’ acts of bravery in WWI, SweetWater has something for just about everyone.
The festival opens on Friday, Sept 19 at Historic Leith Church with a music program featuring the work of composers J.S. Bach, Heinrich von Biber, Johann Schmelzer and Antonio Vivaldi, performed by early music virtuosi Elizabeth Wallfisch, Mark Fewer, Lucas Harris and Hank Knox.
Saturday, Sept 20 will see a dizzying array of events at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. The day starts with master classes, SweetWater’s signature luthier exhibit and demonstration, and a lecture by St. Lawrence String Quartet member Christopher Costanza on the Bach Cello Suites.
Local string and flute musicians will want to get involved in a very special event taking place at noon, when the St. Lawrence String Quartet will host a ‘classical jam’ session featuring the music of Mozart and Haydn. Contact marionmcdougall@hotmail.com for more information and to register.
At 2 pm, David Braid, Drew Jurecka, Brad Turner and Joseph Phillips will present a jazz concert with impeccable verve and elegance. The day ends with the music of Respighi, Haydn and Beethoven, performed by Wallfisch, Fewer and his colleagues in the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Leslie Newman, Joseph Phillips, and local favourite Kati Gleiser, as well as soprano Meredith Hall.
On Sunday, Sept 21, Gleiser takes centre stage at noon at the Roxy Theatre, with a pay-what-you-can concert highlighting the piano music of Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Piazzolla, Ravel and Albéniz. The weekend wraps with a 2 pm concert of music by Vivaldi and Bach, as well as an original David Braid composition entitled Heroes, which was inspired originally by the life of Owen Sound native and WWI flying ace Billy Bishop.
There is so much to hear, see and learn at the 11 th anniversary of the SweetWater Music Festival. More information on the schedule, guest artists, and the history of SweetWater can be found on www.sweetwaterfestival.ca. Tickets can be purchased via the website as well as the Roxy Theatre Box Office (http://roxytheatre.ca/). Festival passes and single tickets are available.
