ELORA, Ontario, March 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Elora Festival, led by Artistic Director Mark Vuorinen, has been a beloved summer tradition for 43 years. Now, after two years of online summer mini-festivals, we’re proud to announce our return to live performances with a summer season of over 30 concerts presented over three weekends from July 8 – 24.
The festival line-up features choral and mainstream music, jazz and chamber ensembles, children’s programming, free concerts in the village, and world premieres of commissioned works and special presentations. There is something for everyone!
The Festival opens in the iconic Gambrel Barn with the glorious Bach B Minor Mass, featuring guest soloists Hélène Brunet, Krisztina Szabó, Andrew Haji, and Tyler Duncan, members of the Summer Vocal Program and The Elora Singers, the Festival’s Ensemble-in-Residence.
The Elora Singers will perform in five additional collaborative concerts alongside Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Slean, world music ensemble Autorickshaw and the Penderecki String Quartet, the Rolston String Quartet, Canadian Brass, and the TorQ Percussion Quartet. Chamber music presentations by the Rolston String Quartet, Blackwood, baritone Tyler Duncan, and pianist Erika Switzer, and the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal will be performed in more intimate venues in Elora and Fergus, along with Tom Allen’s Being Lost, inspired by a mushroom-hunting outing by composer John Cage in the woods near Emma Lake, Saskatchewan in 1965. We are also pleased to welcome The Gesualdo Six from the United Kingdom back to the Elora Festival!
Family programming this year includes a performance of Shoestring Opera’s take on “The Magic Flute” and a percussion workshop with TorQ Percussion Quartet.
A highlight of the Festival will be the world premiere of Peter-Anthony Togni’s Voice of the Weaver, a powerful five-movement concerto for bass clarinet and chamber choir based on the poem by Mi’kmaw poet, artist, and writer Mary Louise Martin. Written for bass clarinetist Jeff Reilly and The Elora Singers, Voice of the Weaver explores the spiritual, dynamic relationship between the overwhelming awe we feel for the giant forces of nature on the one hand and the simple actions of the day to day on the other.
A full listing of the Elora Festival program can be found on our website at elorafestival.ca and on the following pages.
Artistic Director Mark Vuorinen:
With concert halls largely silent for most of the last two years, we’re so excited to be planning for a return to live performances this summer. We have many exciting concerts planned, both featuring the home team, The Elora Singers, and plenty of wonderful guests from across the country and around the world!
Board Chair Peter Barr:
Opening night is always my favourite performance because it is the culmination of so much effort and is always full of anticipation for the festival. Seeing old friends this year will be a special treat and the B minor mass is a monument in the canon of choral music.
Executive Director Laura Adlers:
“We are so grateful to our government funders, sponsors and donors for their vital support over the last two years of the pandemic. We are looking forward to connecting with our loyal patrons again this summer, and hope to also welcome new audience members to the Elora Festival. Your seats are waiting!”
The Elora Festival is seeking volunteers and billets for Festival artists and will be hiring for several new positions for summer students and office staff starting next week. We encourage everyone to sign up for our e-newsletter to receive the most up-to-date information about our activity!
Tickets for the 2022 Elora Festival go on sale at noon on Tuesday, April 5 at www.elorafestival.ca or by calling the box office at (519) 846-0331 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 10:00 am – 3:00 pm.
Please note: at this time, we will require all ticket holders to show proof of vaccination. Please check our website for regular updates to this policy as we emerge from the pandemic.
Media Contact:
Laura Adlers, Executive Director
laura.adlers@elorasingers.ca, (416) 948-0634
Please visit the Elora Festival website for full program details.
