2010 SUMMER SOLSTICE FESTIVAL
June 18 – 20, 2010
The Edmonton Chamber Music Society once again brings together some of North America’s finest musicians in its third annual Summer Solstice Festival.
New to the Festival this year are acclaimed clarinetist James Campbell, the multi-talented American pianist Melvin Chen, violinist Jonathan Crow, whose impressive career includes his appointment, at 25, as Concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, cellist Matt Haimovitz, a major award-winning soloist and musical innovator, Edmonton’s own Tanya Prochazka, teacher and conductor as well as distinguished cellist, and violinist/violist Scott St. John of the renowned St. Lawrence String Quartet. They join past Festival guests violinist Jasmine Lin, violist Sharon Wei, cellist Marina Hoover, and pianist Patricia Tao, four outstanding musicians whose artistry and dynamism have delighted Summer Solstice audiences.
Music Director of the Festival as well as guest artist, Patricia Tao has put together three diverse and exciting programs. Friday’s concert, Stories and Legends, includes several works inspired by gothic fables and folk tales — Janáček’s Pohádka, the Suite from Stravinsky’s Histoire du soldat, Saint-Saëns’ Danse macabre and Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
Jazz Inflections, on Saturday, explores the rhythms and moods of jazz and the legacy of African-American musical expression. William Bolcom’s popular Graceful Ghost Rag, the blues infused movement from Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, and Allan Gilliland’s Suite from the Sound, with its nod to composer/arranger Gil Evans, are among works that map the reach and enduring influence of jazz.
The Festival concludes on Sunday with Summer Passion, a program of three works notable for their beauty and emotional depth — Beethoven’s Trio in B-flat Major, for clarinet, cello and piano, Samuel Barber’s String Quartet no. 1, with its beloved Adagio movement [view 
video], and Brahms’ lyrical Piano Quartet no. 2 in A Major.
Two notable guest speakers introduce the weekend concert programs. D.T. Baker, Music Resource director for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and host of its Symphony 101 series, will be the pre-concert host for Friday’s and Sunday’s talks. On Saturday evening, composer, arranger, trumpeter and teacher Allan Gilliland
will give a pre-concert talk. His work, Suite from the Sound, will have its Edmonton premiere in the evening’s program.
The ECMS thanks its continuing sponsors, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton, and media sponsors, the Edmonton Journal and CKUA Radio. It also thanks the Piano Centre of Edmonton for providing a Steinway concert grand piano for Sunday’s concert in Robertson-Wesley United Church.
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Stories and LegendsFRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2010 CONVOCATION HALL |
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Jazz Inflections*SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2010 CONVOCATION HALL |
7:15 PM Pre-concert talk by |
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| *CBC Radio Two is pleased to share tonight’s performance with the rest of Canada through a broadcast on the program In Concert with host Bill Richardson. Listen » | |||||||||||||||
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Summer PassionSUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2010 ROBERTSON-WESLEY UNITED CHURCH |
2:15 PM Pre-concert talk* by D.T. Baker |
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