Canadian Destinations

New summer chamber music festival in Edmonton

The Edmonton Chamber Music Society is adding a new note to Edmonton’s cultural scene with the launch of a three-day chamber music festival June 20 to 22.

Ten outstanding musicians from across North America, including acclaimed Canadian cellist Shauna Rolston, will present an eclectic and exciting range of works for piano and strings.

Programs for the evening performances explore three broad themes. From Other Lands, on Friday, June 20, highlights folk influences in such works as Manuel de Falla’s Suite populaire espagnole, the moving Desde mi ventana, arranged for piano and violins, from Osvaldo Golijov’s opera Ainadamar, and Tchaikovsky’s captivating and lively string sextet Souvenir de Florence.

Saturday’s program, Summer Passion, offers the grand emotional sweep of music in the Romantic tradition with Brahms’ Piano Trio in C major, Dvorák’s Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81, and Johan Halvorsen’s much praised arrangement for violin and viola of Handel’s Passacaglia in G minor.

Inspired by Nature is the theme of Sunday’s concert, which includes Igor Stravinsky’s Pastorale for violin and piano, Eugène Ysaÿe’s challenging Sonata no. 5 in G major, “L’Aurore,” for solo violin, and the enduringly popular “Trout” piano quintet by Franz Schubert.

Performing are Shauna Rolston, cello; Jacques Després, piano; Marina Hoover, cello; Jasmine Lin, violin; Martin Riseley, violin; Livia Sohn, violin; Patricia Tao, piano; Marcus Thompson, viola; Jan Urke, double bass; and Sharon Wei, viola.

Friday’s concert takes place at McDougall United Church, 10025-101 Street. On Saturday and Sunday, the festival moves to Convocation Hall on the University of Alberta campus.

All concerts begin at 8:00 pm. A free pre-concert lecture will be presented each evening at 7:15 pm. Festival passes, for all three concerts, are $40 for adults, $30 for seniors, and $10 for students. Single performance tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $5 for students. Tickets are available from TIX on the Square, 9930-102 Avenue, tel. 420-1757, and The Gramophone, 8724-109 Street, tel. 428-2356 and at the door.

The festival is sponsored by the Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Edmonton Journal, CKUA, and The Gramophone.

For more information, visit www.edmontonchambermusic.org