Festival of the Sound is an annual

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

festival that occurs from July to August in

Parry Sound Parry Sound is a sound or bay of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, in Ontario, Canada. It is highly irregularly shaped with many deep bays and islands. Killbear Provincial Park is located on the large peninsula that separates the sound from Georgian B ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. Established in by

Anton Kuerti Anton Emil Kuerti, OC (born July 21, 1938) is an Austrian-born Canadian pianist, music teacher, composer, and conductor. He has developed international recognition as a solo pianist.Parry Sound High School until the opening of the town's Charles W. Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts in 2003. The festival presents a daily program of classical music performances by both Canadian and international musicians over a period of approximately three weeks. Noted performers at the festival have included vocalists

Russell Braun Russell Braun (born 19 July 1965) is a Canadian operatic lyric baritone and Juno Award winner. Much sought-after as a soloist and for opera roles, Russell Braun performs regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the Lyric ...

, Mary Lou Fallis,

Richard Margison Richard Charles Margison, OC (born 16 July 1953) is a Canadian operatic tenor and lives in Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. Background Margison began his career in Victoria, BC, where, he sang folk songs in the coffeehouses and clubs. He appeared ...

, and

Patricia O'Callaghan Patricia Mary O'Callaghan (born October 2, 1970) is a classically trained Canadian singer. She is a soprano who has built an international reputation as a performer of contemporary opera, early 20th-century cabaret music and the songs of Leonard Co ...

; instrumentalists

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

Judy Loman Judy Loman (born 3 November 1936) is a harpist and harp teacher, born and educated in the United States and active in Canada. She was the principal harp of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1959 until her retirement in 1991, and won a Juno a ...

James Ehnes James Ehnes, (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian concert violinist and violist. Life and career Ehnes was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of Alan Ehnes, long time trumpet professor at Brandon University (Canada), and Barbara Withey Ehnes, ...

Ofra Harnoy Ofra Harnoy ( he, עופרה הרנוי; born January 31, 1965) is an Israeli-Canadian cellist. She is a Member of the Order of Canada. By joining the international artists roster of RCA Victor Red Seal, Harnoy became the first Canadian classica ...

Pinchas Zukerman Pinchas Zukerman ( he, פנחס צוקרמן, born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Life and career Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zuk ...

, Michel Strauss,

Joel Quarrington Joel Quarrington (born January 15, 1955) is a Canadian double bass player, soloist and teacher. He is the former Principal Double Bass of the London Symphony Orchestra. Career He was born in Toronto, Ontario, and began playing the double bass at ...

and

János Starker János Starker (; ; July 5, 1924 – April 28, 2013) was a Hungarian-American cellist. From 1958 until his death, he taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he held the title of Distinguished Professor. Starker is consider ...

; and pianists

Menahem Pressler Menahem Pressler ( he, מנחם פרסלר; born 16 December 1923) is a German-born Israeli-American pianist. Pressler is Jewish. Following Kristallnacht, he and his immediate family fled Nazi Germany in 1939,

Angela Hewitt Angela Hewitt, (born July 26, 1958) is a Canadian classical pianist. She is best known for her Bach interpretations. Career Hewitt was born in Ottawa, Ontario, daughter of the Yorkshire-born Godfrey Hewitt (thus she also has British nationality ...

Martin Roscoe Martin Roscoe (born 3 August 1952) is an English classical pianist. He performs as a concerto soloist, as a recitalist and as a chamber musician. Early life Martin Roscoe was born in Halton, Runcorn, Cheshire. He first became serious about mus ...

Alexander Tselyakov Alexander Tselyakov (born 1954) is a Russian-Canadian classical concert pianist and educator. Alexander Tselyakov was born in Baku, Azerbaijan and made his professional début as soloist with the Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra in his native So ...

Janina Fialkowska Janina Fialkowska, (born May 7, 1951) is a Canadian classical pianist. A specialist of the Classic and Romantic repertoires, for more than thirty years she has appeared regularly with professional orchestras around the world, often performing the ...

André Laplante André Laplante, (born November 12, 1949) is a Canadian ( Québécois) pianist. He received a 2004 Juno Award for the 2003 recording ''Concertos: Music of Jacques Hétu''. He is considered to be a Franz Liszt specialist and is much associated wi ...

, and

Jan Lisiecki Jan Lisiecki (; born March 23, 1995) is a Canadian-born classical pianist of Polish ancestry. Lisiecki performs over a hundred concerts annually and has worked closely with the world's leading orchestras and conductors, his career at the top of ...

. The program has also occasionally included pop and jazz performers, including

Catherine McKinnon Catherine McKinnon (born May 14, 1944) is a Canadian actress and folk/pop singer. Early life and education Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, McKinnon began as a child performer, making her debut radio broadcast at age eight and her television ...

Rob McConnell Robert Murray Gordon "Rob" McConnell, (14 February 1935 – 1 May 2010) was a Canadian jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger.Jeff Sultanof. Experiencing Big Band Jazz: A Listener's Companion'. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 8 November 20 ...

Moe Koffman Morris "Moe" Koffman, Order of Canada, OC (28 December 1928 – 28 March 2001) was a Canadians, Canadian jazz saxophonist and flautist, as well as composer and arranger. During a career spanning from the 1950s to the 2000s, Koffman was one of Cana ...

, and

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

. Notable ensembles that have appeared at the Festival include the

New Zealand String Quartet The New Zealand String Quartet (established 1987) is New Zealand's only full-time string quartet. The current formation of musicians consists of Helene Pohl (1st violin), Monique Lapins (2nd violin), Gillian Ansell (viola) and Rolf Gjelsten (ce ...

, the

St. Lawrence String Quartet The St. Lawrence String Quartet is a Canadians, Canadian string quartet, and one of Canada's premier chamber ensembles. The Quartet was founded in 1989 and has served residencies at the Juilliard School, Yale University, the University of Toront ...

, the

Tokyo String Quartet The was an international string quartet that operated from 1969 to 2013. The group formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music. The founding members attended the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, where they studied with Professor Hideo ...

, the

Brodsky Quartet The Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, formed in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, in 1972 as the "Cleveland Quartet". Only Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas remain as original members. In addition to performing classical music, and in par ...

, the

National Youth Orchestra of Canada The National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada, or NYOC, french: Orchestre national des jeunes du Canada) is a Canadian youth orchestra headquartered in Toronto. The orchestra has given concert tours in every major Canadian city as well as tri ...

, the

National Academy Orchestra of Canada The National Academy Orchestra of Canada (NAO) is a professional training orchestra primarily based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1989 by conductor Boris Brott, it is recognized as a Canadian National School for professional training, a ...

, the

Gryphon Trio The Gryphon Trio is a Canadian classical music ensemble that has been nominated for several and has won three Juno Awards for its classical recordings released by the Analekta label. Its members are Annalee Patipatanakoon (violin), Roman Borys (cel ...

, and the

Beaux Arts Trio The Beaux Arts Trio was a noted piano trio, celebrated for their vivacity, emotional depth and wide-ranging repertoire. They made their debut on 13 July 1955, at the Berkshire Music Festival, Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, known today as th ...

. Choral Music has also been featured at the festival with performances by the

Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

, the

Elmer Iseler Singers The Elmer Iseler Singers is a professional chamber choir based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The twenty-voice choir, conducted by Artistic Director ''Lydia Adams'', founded by Dr. Elmer Iseler in 1979, is one of Canada’s leading choral ensemb ...

, and the

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is a Canadian large vocal ensemble based in Toronto, Ontario. It was co-founded in 1894 by Augustus S. Vogt and W. H. Hewlett to celebrate the opening of the Massey Hall. The ensemble was originally an extension of t ...

James Campbell James Campbell may refer to: Academics * James Archibald Campbell (1862–1934), founder of Campbell University in North Carolina * James Marshall Campbell (1895–1977), dean of the college of arts and sciences at the Catholic University of Ameri ...

is the second and current artistic director of the festival and has held that position since 1984. The 2014 festival ran from July 18 to August 10, and closed with a performance of the

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Symphony No. 9 under the direction of French horn virtuoso and conductor

James Sommerville James Sommerville is a Canadian orchestral hornist and conductor. He was the current principal hornist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and former Conductor and Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic, in Hamilton, Ontario.

with the

and featuring soloists

, Leslie Fagan, Marion Newman and Michael Colvin. The 2015 festival ran from July 17 to August 9, and closed with a performance of Papageno Revisited by

Alexander Brott Alexander Brott, , born Joël Brod (March 14, 1915April 1, 2005),

; the Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73 "Emperor Concerto" by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

; and the Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World," Op. 95, B. 178 by

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

. The performance was conducted by

Boris Brott Boris Brott, (March 14, 1944 – April 5, 2022) was a Canadian conductor and motivational speaker. He was one of the most internationally recognized Canadian conductors, having conducted on stages around the world, including Carnegie Hall and ...

and featured pianist Stewart Goodyear with the

References

External links

*
"Festival of the Sound"
article at ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' {{coord, 45, 20, 45, N, 80, 02, 17, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark_source:GoogleEarth, display=title Music festivals in Ontario Classical music festivals in Canada Parry Sound, Ontario Recurring events established in 1980 Tourist attractions in Parry Sound District