Since first bursting onto the classical music scene fifteen years ago, Stratford Summer Music has become one of Canada’s festival success stories. Announced early this week, they return for their fifteenth anniversary season. It will incorporate 100 musical events, spread across six weeks between July 20 and August 30.
In an interview, Artistic Producer John Miller said, “it’s a combination of some of the most popular, and well-received groups and individuals in the past with some new activities.”
Season highlights include The Blind Boys of Alabama with Ben Heppner, Classical Tattoo: National Youth Orchestra of Canada with Youth Orchestra of the Americas in partnership with L’Orchestre de la Francophonie, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and Play Me, I’m Yours: pianos on the streets.
For his fourth year in a row, Jan Lisiecki returns to perform a special all-Beethoven program with the Annex Quartet.
“Jan loves to come to Stratford and he’s a real favourite,” Miller says. “He’s going to do all the Beethoven Concerti, including the Emperor with the Annex [Quartet] in a three-part series.”
Another highlight is the return of composer R. Murray Schafer for three outdoor events on Stratford’s Tom Patterson Island. They begin with Schafer at Dawn: a setting for 50 amateur voices under the direction of Mark Vuorinen, Music Director of Kitchener-Waterloo’s Grand Philharmonic Choir. “We do it all with choirs around the audience, standing and moving around them – and with other musicians set-up on a barge and in canoes,” Miller describes.
They will also include Schafer at Twilight, and will give audiences the chance to hear Schafer’s rarely heard sacred works performed by choirs, including the Theatre of Early Music in a specially choreographed setting at St. James Anglican Church.
One of the initiatives Miller said he has been working hard to expand over the past few years is presenting music outside of classical music and opera genres. “It represents us trying to be more than just a classical music festival,” Miller said. This is seen with the scheduled rock band Great Lake Swimmers, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Community-building has also been an important aspect of the festival and with the huge success of the Tom Percussion Island – a six-day interactive event featuring TorQ Percussion Quartet. Now in its second year, it includes musical installations and live demonstrations by members of TorQ, who will lead groups of kids into the thundering world of percussion music.
Piano-wise (in addition to Jan Lisiecki mentioned above) renowned pianist Paul Lewis will lead an audience through an evening of Beethoven sonatas, while Janina Fialkowska presents a more varied program of Schumann, Ravel , Beethoven and Chopin.
When asked about ticket sales last year, Miller confessed they were slightly down from previous years. “How we do is a reflection of how the Stratford Festival does and also how high the Canadian dollar is,” Miller said. But this year, with the dollar hovering around 82 cents, Miller expects a larger turn-out that will help even out the inevitable lulls from time to time.
Besides the realities of financing a huge summer festival, Miller noted the issues of limited lodgings in Stratford can be a challenge, but is amazed how the town always seems to pull together to accommodate everyone. “The administration of Tivoli Gardens sends a Band of 55 young musicians to Stratford every year, and when we have 55 musicians like that, we ask help from billets in the town. To an amazing degree the people and city understands that they have a role to play in the cultural success of the community.”
Miller recalls the story of one of the musicians from the Copenhagen Boys Choir, who has kept in touch with his billet ever since he performed in Stratford many years ago, and he even invited them to attend his wedding in Denmark.
As the Festival reaches its fifteenth year, Miller said that, “More and more we all seem to know how to do it. We try very hard to make a visit to Stratford more than just an in-and-out performance. We encourage them to stay and enjoy themselves. But I find that I’m not having to chase artists the way I used too, and now I’m the one responding to their interests to come here…”
As to the inevitable challenges of running a festival, Miller says it’s always about gaining audiences and keeping the ticket prices low. “That remains a major objective for the festival, and we have been very fortunate that corporate donors have continued to be supportive.” Miller added that the Ontario Arts Council has done an across-the-board cut to funding by five percent, which will open up more grants to less established initiatives. Miller supported the move, but mentioned that ticket sales alone do not cover the costs of presenting a festival like this, and government funding is a big part of the equation.
Miller did say that he has noticed a subtle shift in attitude by granting organizations in Ontario, where, “The sense of supporting art for the art has become supporting art as a boost to tourism.” While tourism is a driving concern, he is also aware that he’s, “Not preparing a programme just for people within a radius of 30 miles of Stratford.”
Another challenge Miller noted was distinguishing Stratford Summer Music’s identity from the many other festivals on Ontario. He also mentions a fair amount of imitation going on, but takes it all in stride, citing the old CHUM radio station slogan, “What we originate, others imitate, and we appreciate.”
Seems a fitting stance for a festival with no end in sight.
For complete details on events, accommodations and tickets, see: stratfordsummermusic.ca
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