pre-season
The Nylons and Elizabeth May
The Nylons have been a Festival favourite since we started out, and we are thrilled to welcome them back this spring. Now in their 30th year of entertaining the world with their superb vocal arrangements of both popular standards and original compositions, the Nylons just keep on getting better. Canada's most beloved a cappella ensemble welcomes a special guest, Elizabeth May, in a one-of-a-kind celebration of nature in song and spoken word. Voices for Nature is a co-presentation with Georgian Triangle Earth Day Celebrations. more...
Thomas Homer Dixon
We welcome professor and author Thomas Homer-Dixon to Collingwood at the launch of his new book, "Carbon Shift: How the Twin Crises of Oil Depletion and Climate Change Will Define the Future". The author of award-winning works such as "The Ingenuity Gap" and "The Upside of Down", Professor Homer-Dixon will clarify for us the biggest issue facing humanity: climate change. A meet-and-greet reception with delicious desserts by Café Chartreuse will follow the talk, so come with your questions ready! This is a co-presentation with Georgian Triangle Earth Day Celebrations. more...
Elmer Iseler Singers
Dinner at 6:00PM
Concert at 8:00PM
On Saturday, June 20th, 2009, the Collingwood Music Festival celebrates the beginning of summer with delicious food and delicious Music For You! This is a Gala fundraiser for the Festival for our 2009 season. Dinner will be catered by Café Chartreuse, and will take place at New Life Church at 6:00 p.m. The concert will begin at 8:00 p.m.
Reviewers have remarked on the Elmer Iseler Singers' "flawless intonation, rhythmic vitality and great sensitivity to the expressive power of phrasing." As anyone who attended their concert in 2006, presented by the Collingwood Music Festival, can attest, their music is transformative, lyrical and beautiful and spiritual all at once.
Tickets for this unique dinner/concert event will be $125 a person, with a tax-receipt portion of $35 per person, and can be ordered by calling the box office at 1-888-283-1712 or on-line at www.collingwoodmusicfestival.com, Don't miss this wonderful evening of delightful food for both body and soul with one of Canada's finest choral groups. Join your friends at the Collingwood Music Festival. more...
summer concert series
Quartetto Gelato
We couldn't have a 10th anniversary celebration without Quartetto Gelato! Their ever-evolving repertoire, performed with amazing virtuosity and presented with humour and joy, charms audiences everywhere they perform. Classical in training ? eclectic by design ? Quartetto Gelato thrills audiences with music that travels the globe including classical masterworks, operatic arias, the sizzling energy of tangos, and gypsy and folk songs. This summer they will open our Summer Series an eclectic blend of musical selections celebrating the various regions of Europe, including Rossini's La Danza and Theme and Variations, Handel's Passacaglia, J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D-minor, Monti's Czardas, von Weber's Konzertstuck, and many more. Sponsored by Dr. Darrell and Mrs. Janet Reeder. more...
Leslie Newman & Caroline Léonardelli Flute & Harp Duo
Of Leslie Newman's latest CD, one critic said "This CD may be regarded as giving an object lesson in how to give life to music". Give some life to your summer: come and hear as flutist Leslie Newman and harpist Caroline Leonardelli of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra perform Fantaisie by Camille Saint-Saëns, Bach's A-Minor Partita, as well as pieces by Debussy, Tournier, Ravi Shankar, Bordel and Piazzola. The ethereal beauty of flute and harp on a gorgeous summer evening - what could be better? more...
Guy Few Trumpet & Piano
You can't beat Guy Few for absolute joie de vivre. Audiences love this virtuoso for both his performance - on piano, trumpet and voice - and his engaging personality on and off stage. Montreal's Le Devoir calls him "outrageously gifted" and "quite simply phenomenal". This summer, Guy Few, with pianist Stephanie Mara, will perform Cacilie and Befreit by Richard Strauss, Andante and Variations,K 50 by W.A. Mozart, Allegro Brillant, Op. 92 by Felix Mendelssohn, and much more...
Thomas Franke, baritone, Andrea Gerhardt, soprano, and Newena Popow, piano
This summer season we welcome two visitors from Germany, baritone Thomas Franke and pianist Newena Popow. Along with Toronto soprano Andrea Gerhardt, they will demonstrate why the human voice is the most versatile and elegant instrument there is. They will perform Hugo Wolf's In dem Schatten meiner Locken, Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe, Herbstlied and Schon Blumelein, Frederic Chopin's Waltz Op. 64 in D flat major and Waltz Op. 70 in f minor,W.A. Mozart's Voi Che Sapete, Un moto die Gioja, and duet, La ci darem la mano, as well as Schubert's Erlkonig. more...
Toronto Consort
You've heard their music as part of the soundtrack for the television series "The Tudors" and the feature film "The Sweet Hereafter". Now see them live in concert in Collingwood! Canada's greatest early music ensemble will perform pieces from The Da Vinci Codex, a selection of music from the time of Leonardo. They present early music with humour and a lighthearted virtuosity that makes their performances so memorable. Rick Phillips from CBC Radio Two's Sound Advice calls the music of the Toronto Consort "vibrant, rich and alive. A high class act." more...
Vineet Vyas & Bageshree Vaze Music of India Quartet
This husband-and-wife duo blends classical Indian and modern North American influences to create something new and beautiful for listeners. Vineet Vyas is a tabla virtuoso, and Bageshree Vaze employs both her ethereal voice and her abilities in the lighter-than-air Kathak dance style of the traditional Indian court to provide a feast for the senses at their performances. This concert is sponsored by Sensor Technology in Collingwood. more...
Joe Lagan Jazz Quintet
For twenty years, audiences have been enjoying the exciting, sophisticated sound of Joe Lagan. The well known Toronto based jazz pianist and composer will be performing with his quintet. They will be performing a variety of music from timeless jazz standards from Gershwin and Cole porter, new standards from the Beatles, Peter Gabriel and original compositions. Cool jazz for a warm summer evening, anyone? more...
Nathaniel Dett Chorale
Fresh from their triumphant tour of the USA, where they performed at the Canadian Embassy in Washington for Barack Obama's inauguration, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale will end out our 2009 summer series on a beautiful high note! Now in its twelfth year, The Nathaniel Dett Chorale will be performing uplifting pieces including Ave Maria, traditional spirituals by R. Nathaniel Dett, as well as compositions by and Sydney Guillaume. This will be the final concert of our 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Voice, and you won't want to miss what the Globe & Mail calls "an infectious spirit of joy, community and the sharing of song". more...
post-season
Nagata Shachu Japanese Taiko Drummers
This group was the runaway hit of our 2008 summer season, so we're bringing them back for you to enjoy once again! Leader Kiyoshi Nagata and his group of supremely accomplished Taiko drummers will rock your world! "What makes these performers irresistible is their extremely high level of musicianship evidenced in their virtuosic technique, discipline, precision, and energy. At the same time there is an air of humility and grace as they enthusiastically bound around the stage...The effect was a spectacular visual and aural display, as well as a wonderful celebration of Japanese life and culture.? (Kitchener Record) more...