The 9th Annual Quadra Island Chamber Music Festival will bring beauty and elegance to intimate spaces July 23-27.
Chamber music is specifically composed for a small group of instruments and meant for audiences in a private room or small auditorium.
Philip Hansen, founder and artistic director of the festival, has been hard at work engaging musicians and designing programmes that will delight audiences in four unique venues on Quadra Island. Hansen is principal cellist for the Orquestra Filarmonica de Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, one of the largest orchestras south of the equator. Hansen’s dedication to the festival is reflected in his contract which insured time off during the orchestra’s busy winter season so he could return to Quadra. When asked why he is so passionate about this event, Hansen said that without question, the festival brings beauty and elegance to an age of ever more instant gratification and reminds us all on a deep level what it means to be really human.
This year’s theme – Home and Away – features traditional, British Columbian, and Canadian composers to be performed at 7 p.m. Venues include the Quadra Island Bible Church, The StoneHouse, SouthEnd Farm and Winery and the Community Centre. A Family Concert takes place on Thursday, July 25 at the Quadra Bible Church.
The 2019 line-up welcomes an incredible array of accomplished and talented individuals from many corners of the globe. They comprise: multi-instrumentalist Konstantin Bozhinov, guitar and accordion; Catherine Carignan, bassoon; Brenda Fedoruk, flute; Sarah Fryer, mezzo soprano; Kai Gleusteen, violin; Natasha Hall, violin; Catherine Ordronneau, piano; Leanna Rutt, cello, and Daniel Scholtz, viola.
Each year, a young musician is invited to play at the festival. This year’s featured local youth is pianist Towa Stewart. He will be joining the festival on Saturday evening to perform La Campanella by Liszt and Danzas Argentinas by Ginastera.
Tickets for Tuesday and Saturday, $20, are available at Inspirations, Works of H’Art and the Tidemark Theatre. The Family concert on Thursday at 1 p.m. is by donation. For more information: www.quadrafestival.ca
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