Province provides more than $2.1-million in funding to Ottawa festivals
OTTAWA—The recipients of 2011 Celebrate Ontario funding have been announced, and this year the provincial government’s commitment to several Ottawa area festivals is over $2.1-million, marking an increase of over half a million dollars from last year’s investment.
The twelve festivals benefiting from this year’s funding are the Canadian Tulip Festival, Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest, Festival franco-ontarien, Music and Beyond, Tim Horton’s Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival, Ottawa Folk Festival, Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Ottawa International Children’s Festival, Ottawa International Writers Festival, Rideau Canal Festival, Summer Solstice Aboriginal Arts Festival, and the TD Ottawa International Jazz Festival.
“It is very encouraging to see an increased commitment from the province,” says Barb Stacey, Executive Director of Ottawa Festivals, a not-for-profit organization that represents more than 50 not-for-profit festivals, special events and fairs that take place in Canada’s Capital Region, “There is no question that these events have tremendous socio-economic impact on the community by providing affordable access to cultural and community-based activities while also attracting more visitors. These events help showcase Ottawa’s identity while also creating significant economic impact that supports increased prosperity, jobs and opportunities for our community.”
Created to help festivals and events improve their programming and services to attract new audiences, increase visitor spending and create jobs; Celebrate Ontario is investing a total of $20-million in 230 events across the province.
Chamber Music Society ‘bowled over’ by music critic’s generosity: Former Citizen writer left bulk of his estate to organization
Steve Mazey, The Ottawa Citizen
Photograph by: Chris Mikula, The Ottawa Citizen
Delighted Ottawa Chamber Music Society officials say they are “absolutely bowled over by the generosity of spirit and vision” of the late Citizen music critic Jacob Siskind, who left the bulk of his estate to the organization.
“Mr. Siskind’s bequest will make it possible for the Ottawa Chamber Music Society not only to continue bringing the world’s finest chamber musicians to perform for audiences in Ottawa, but will also allow the organization to move forward on a stable financial footing so critically important to excellence and growth,” executive director Glenn Hodgins said in a statement.
“Jacob was a passionate music lover, and with this gift he has made certain that Ottawans will be the beneficiaries of that passion,” artistic director Roman Borys said in a statement.
“It is truly a staggering endorsement and one we acknowledge with gratitude and humility.”
Full story: Chamber Music Society ‘bowled over’ by music critic’s generosity
Fest offers music for beginners
Tracey Tong, Metro News Ottawa
Learn to play the ukelele at a free workshop.
Folkfest – The 17th annual Ottawa Folk Festival runs at Britannia Park from Friday through Sunday.
Artists – Headliners include Arrested Development, Calexico, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and the Jim Cuddy Band.
Go green – This is a green festival. Bring your own water bottle and refill at the hydration station, and cycle and leave your bike at the lockup or hop on the festival’s shuttle.
Online – Register for the free lessons at ofcmusic.ca.
Ottawa residents are lucky to be able to choose among lots of music festival offerings.
Earlier this year, there was the jazz festival, Ottawa Bluesfest, Music and Beyond, and Chamberfest.
If all that listening has inspired you to get in on some of the music-making action, you’re in luck.
The Ottawa Folklore Centre is running a series of free music lessons at Ottawa Folkfest, which runs Friday through Sunday.
Read more: Fest offers music for beginners
Chamber and Beyond
Doubts about the city’s ability to support two competing classical music festivals have eased now that both have wrapped up a successful year
By Steven Mazey, The Ottawa Citizen
Chamberfest artistic director Roman Borys says he still has doubts about whether Ottawa can support a second summer classical music festival
Photograph by: Julie Oliver, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — There was competition this year from a new kid on the classical music block, but the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival managed to attract bigger crowds this year than it did last year, organizers reported as the 17th annual festival concluded Saturday.
Ottawa Chamber Music Society Executive Director Glenn Hodgins said he is still tallying attendance, but is confident it surpassed the 2009 festival, based on the larger numbers he saw throughout the festival, including noon and afternoon performances. At the end of the 2009 festival, Hodgins estimated attendance was in the range of 50,000, but he says the final figure last year exceeded 70,000, including free outdoor events.
Saturday’s closing concert by the Tokyo String Quartet attracted a near-capacity crowd, as did the opening recital by mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade. Hodgins said the festival’s most expensive platinum passes, which offered reserved seating, sold out for the second year in a row. He said sales of other passes were strong, and a new 10-concert pass was a hit with patrons.
Read more: Chamber and Beyond
Chamberfest ends on spectacular note
By Richard Todd, The Ottawa Citizen
The Tokyo String Quartet’s playing never seemed to falter in the smallest detail .
Photograph by: David Kawai, The Ottawa Citizen
So what did you do on Sunday? You know, the morning after the 15-day Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival ended with a spectacular concert by the Tokyo String Quartet.
Artistic Director Roman Borys and his colleagues in the Gryphon Trio flew to St. John’s Newfoundland and gave a concert there that evening. Considering that he did nothing more during the Festival than deal with hundreds of artists, sample at least a bit of as many events as he could get to, chat amiably with as many members of the public as came to him and, oh yes, perform several times himself, why he hardly did anything. So it’s good to know that he’ll do some honest work in Newfoundland.
Executive Director Glenn Hodgins said he was going to walk his dog. No doubt, like the rest of us he will reflect upon the highs and lows, mostly highs, of the 17th Chamberfest, which some have hailed as the best ever.
Read more: Chamberfest ends on spectacular note
A standing O, a proud mom
By Steven Mazey, The Ottawa Citizen August 5, 2010
Stewart Goodyear, seen here practicing at the Anglican Church of St. John the Evangelist, played the last of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas Saturday night at the Ottawa Chamberfest.
Photograph by: David Kawai, The Ottawa Citizen
There were cheers, whoops and whistles from a near-capacity crowd at Dominion-Chalmers Church when Canadian pianist Stewart Goodyear performed the final notes of the final piano sonata Beethoven wrote.
The July 31 performance brought an end to one of the high-profile events at this year’s Ottawa Chamber Music Festival — Goodyear’s performances of the complete 32 Beethoven sonatas, spread over nine concerts.
It was the first time Goodyear, 32, had tackled such a project, though he has known the pieces for years. He first learned a few of the sonatas before he was in his teens. At 16, he worked on the complete sonatas over a memorable year at the Curtis Institute.
His festival performances attracted big crowds, and Goodyear’s new recording on the Marquis Classics label has been the biggest seller at the festival CD tables, a clerk said.
Read more: A standing O, a proud mom
Metro Minute with Cecilia quartet
Tracey Tong, Metro News
The Cecilia String Quartet performs today at Chamberfest.
Time flies in the summertime — and the days of the 2010 Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival are numbered. Check out of work early and pop over to St. Andrew’s Church at 3 p.m. today to catch a performance by the Cecilia String Quartet.
Read more: Metro Minute with Cecilia quartet
Music review: OCMF 2010 Day 13
By Richard Todd, The Ottawa Citizen
Two concerts on Thursday afternoon offered music which, though not out of the way, was excellently performed and had a reasonable degree of variety.
The noon concert at Dominion-Chalmers featured the Gryphon Trio whose members form the backbone of the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, especially Roman Borys the Festival?s Artistic Director. They chose to honour this year’s bicentennial composers, Schumann and Chopin, both of whom were born in 1810.
They began with Schumann?s Piano Trio no. 2 in F. This trio has a curious combination of stolidity and lyrical power. The Gryphons were able to find more of the latter than the former and to produce an engrossing account and one of considerable excitement.
The Gryphons? other offering was Chopin?s Piano Trio in G minor. This is not necessarily a better work than the Schumann, likely not, in fact. But it?s a piece of greater immediate appeal, perhaps because of the composer’s familiar and popular idiom.
Read more: Music review: OCMF 2010 Day 13
Chamberfest for the masses
Tracey Tong, Metro Ottawa
Nadina Mackie Jackson and Guy Few perform at St. John the Evangelist at noon tomorrow. “Guy is a virtuoso pianist and trumpet player,” said artistic director Roman Borys. “And Nadina has pulled the bassoon out of the orchestra and put it in the chamber environment.”
Artistic director Roman Borys always has his “ear to the ground” for new music and musicians. Here are his top five picks for the rest of the festival.
Now entering its second week, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival has been a huge success so far, according to its artistic director.
“The venues have been very, very full,” said Roman Borys. “It’s extremely rewarding to see the public responding so strongly to the choices we’ve made.”
So what happens once you’re the “greatest chamber music festival in the country”?
The festival’s next goal is to bring it to an international level, said Borys.
“There is a big international audience for this kind of programming,” he said, with performances that are “up close and personal.”
Read more: Chamberfest for the masses
Rock with ‘the stones’ at late show
Pebbles, buzzsaws, blowtorches take the stage
By Steven Mazey, The Ottawa Citizen
Jesse Stewart and Germaine Liu practise their performance on the eerie-sounding waterphone, one of the unusual instruments they will use in their concert Sunday.
Photograph by: Chris Mikula, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — Fans of Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms, brace yourselves: Rock music is coming to the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival.
In a late-night show at Saint Brigid’s Centre for the Arts Sunday, Ottawa percussionist and composer Jesse Stewart will rock the fest, making music with some actual rolling stones, water, metal pipes, slabs of marble and a few blowtorches. Call it Chamberfest’s answer to Earth, Wind and Fire.
As part of the evening cabaret series that includes some of the festival’s more adventurous fare, Stewart and percussionists Germaine Liu, Patrick Graham and Mark Zurawinski will make music on instruments that include pebbles gathered from the shores of Lake Ontario, a rusted buzzsaw blade, some large Florida seashells filled with water and a xylophone-like creation Stewart has made from thin rectangles of flat marble.
Read more: Rock with ‘the stones’ at late show
