Wednesday, June 25, 2008

MUSIC NIAGARA

Truly Classical - music, wine, words and song: Celebrating 10th Anniversary Season
July 21 - August 16, 2008


Have lunch with Stephen Sondheim, share a glass of wine with Vivaldi, spend the night with Brahms and wake up with Mozart.

For Immediate Release - Niagara-on-the-Lake, June 20, 2008: MUSIC NIAGARA (presented by the Niagara International Chamber Music Festival) celebrates ten years of artistic excellence under the guidance of artistic director, Atis Bankas. This year the Festival offers fifty concerts in twelve venues, with a unique blend of chamber music, jazz, dance, spoken word and virtuoso heart-stopping talent. Performances of Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Brahms are offered side by side with the music of Stephen Sondheim, Argentine Tango and American spirituals. Where else can you hear the breathtaking strings of Schubert and Stravinsky in the majesty of one of Ontario's oldest Anglican churches? Or enjoy Canada's international sensation Quartetto Gelato whilst overlooking the Niagara River, plus savour the delights of world-class wines and gourmet cuisine?

Highlights of the 2008 season include: eminent pianist Anton Kuerti, master interpreter of the works of Beethoven performing his celebrated Diabelli Variations; Robert Silverman and Music Glenn Gould Avoided; an exclusive Canadian performance with Ryusuke Numajiri, pianist, composer and principal conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra; the celebrated St. Petersburg String Quartet; the hugely popular JazzAfterPlay series, with jazz veterans John Sherwood, Peter Appleyard and Juno-award winner Brandi Disterheft among others; plus a perennial audience favourite, the Young Virtuoso series. A not-to-be-missed concert is Songs of Freedom featuring the charismatic tenor Vanya Abrahams (of Showboat and Ragtime fame). Songs of Freedom is a powerful re-telling of one man's journey on the Underground Railroad to reach Niagara-on-the-Lake and freedom from slavery. And of special interest to movie buffs this year the festival is presenting Music from the Movies, with Rudolph Valentino's classic 1925 The Eagle and Simcha Jacobovichi's award-winning docudrama Charging the Rhino.

MUSIC NIAGARA also enjoys a unique creative collaboration with its neighbour, The Shaw Festival. This year there are four concerts with Shaw Festival ensemble and alumnae: a concert presentation of Stephen Sondheim's rarely performed Marry Me A Little ; a musical adaptation of a 1929 fable based on Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion featuring artistic director emeritus Christopher Newton; Shaw on Mozart and Bax also presented by Christopher Newton, accompanied by the Gould String Quartet; and The Adventures of P.G. Woodlouse, a cosmopolitan fantasy world of music and storytelling for the entire family.

MUSIC NIAGARA is also proud to announce that the highlight of their closing gala on August 16 will be Canada's own superstar of the stage Brent Carver who will sing a selection of his favourite songs, from Kurt Weill to Leonard Cohen.

MUSIC NIAGARA: July 21 - August 16, 2008.
Regular concert prices range from $10 to $35, plus special dining options.
For tickets call Shaw Festival Box Office: 1 800-511 SHAW (7429)
For more information, please call: 1 877-MUSFEST (687-3378) or visit out web site: http://www.niagaramusicfest.com/
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For interview requests, complete concert listings, performers bios and photos, please contact:
Barbara Worthy Tel.: 905 468 5566 email: concerts@niagaramusicfest.com

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