Stratford Summer Music is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

hosting an annual

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

which spans several weeks, set in both indoor and outdoor venues throughout the downtown core of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

’s Shakespearean capital, Stratford, Ontario. Local, provincial, national and international artists across a wide range of genres perform.

Artistic Direction

Mark Fewer is the current artistic director of Stratford Summer Music. He has performed around the world in halls such as Carnegie Hall,

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

and

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by acoustician Gustave Lyon together with architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed in 1927 by ...

, and in recital venues such as Bartok House (

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

) to

Le Poisson Rouge (Le) Poisson Rouge (often referred to as LPR) is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler on the former site of the Village Gate at 158 Bleecker Street. The performance space w ...

(

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) to The Forum (

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

). As a conductor he has directed Musici de Montreal, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, the Newfoundland Sinfonia, the McGill Baroque Orchestra and the choir Capella Antica. His current focus is on bringing live music to the Stratford community and surrounding area, and on finding different ways to present performances.

Community involvement

Stratford Summer Music is involved in music education programs for youth in local communities and has facilitated

mentorship Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

s between established and aspiring musicians in the past. In 2019 Stratford Summer Music's artistic director Mark Fewer introduced an award with the intention of shining an annual spotlight on the existing body of work and achievement of local music teachers. Mark McIntosh, a teacher at Avon public school was last year's recipient. This year the award was given to Colleen Rothwell, a Stratford native and teacher at Shakespeare public school.

History

Stratford Summer Music was founded by pianist

Peter Elyakim Taussig Peter Elyakim Taussig (born 1944) is a Czechoslovak-Israeli-Canadian-American author, composer, pianist, and video and performance artist. Concert pianist and recording artist Peter Elyakim Taussig was born in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, and gr ...

, the first residing artistic director. The original festival operated in Stratford from 1980 to 1984 under the general management of John A. Miller, who went on to become the National Director of the

Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

, found his own

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company and serve as the executive manager of the foundation promoting the artistry and ideas of Canadian musical icon

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...

. In 2001, John A. Miller resurrected the Stratford Summer Music festival and served as its artistic producer until his retirement in 2018. Performances have been given by

Chor Leoni Men's Choir The Chor Leoni Men's Choir is a male choir based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The group was founded in 1992 by Order of Canada recipient Diane Loomer, C.M. (1940 - 2012), and consists of up to 65 male singers. While primarily focused o ...

, the

Duke Ellington Orchestra Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

, l'Orchestre de la Francophone Canadienne, the National Youth Orchestra, the Phil Nimmons Jazz Quartet, 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

Vancouver Bach Choir Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

Measha Brueggergosman Measha Brueggergosman (née Gosman; June 28, 1977) is a Canadian soprano who performs both as an opera singer and concert artist. She has performed internationally and won numerous awards. Her recordings of both classical and popular music ha ...

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, fo ...

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

, David Jalbert,

Jean-Pierre Leguay Jean-Pierre Leguay (born 4 July 1939 in Dijon) is a French organist, composer and improviser. He studied with André Marchal, Gaston Litaize, Rolande Falcinelli (organ), Simone Plé-Caussade (counterpoint), and Olivier Messiaen (composition), ...

, and Ashley MacIsaac, among others. In recent years, Stratford Summer Music has expanded the duration of the festival to six weeks. In its 2011 survey of North American summer music festivals, the British music journal, Gramophone, named Stratford Summer Music one of the top festivals on the continent. Moon Installation 2018

The festival's 2014 line up included a TorQ Percussion Quartet residency on Tom Patterson Island, renamed – “Tom Percussion Island”. The goal of this installation was to show young people that music was fun, and encouraged visitors to play percussion instruments, including a large drum made from the trunk of a hollowed-out tree, a labyrinth of gongs, and a dinosaur made out of musical instruments for the kids to explore. In 2018 the Museum of the Moon, an exhibit created by UK artist

Luke Jerram Luke Jerram (born 1974) is a British installation artist. He creates sculptures, large installations, and live arts projects. He is currently a visiting fellow at the Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, B ...

, was installed. A custom built balloon - seven metres in diameter, using detailed

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

imagery was suspended on Tom Patterson island under which many concerts and events took place during the duration of the festival.

Notable Performances

* The Canadian Arabic Orchestra and Choir performed at the opening of the 16th season of Stratford Summer Music(2016) * A 13-year-old Jazz pianist Joey Alexander played to a full house (2016) * Mobile Homme, Les Tambours/The Drummers by Transe Express, France, flew over Stratford Market Square (2017) * Canada's National Youth Orchestra and National Youth Choir of Canada sang with Lt.-Gov Elizabeth Dowdeswell in attendance (2017)

References

{{Reflist Recurring events established in 1980 Recurring events disestablished in 1984 Music festivals established in 2001 Classical music festivals in Canada Summer festivals Music festivals in Ontario Festivals in Stratford, Ontario Tourist attractions in Perth County, Ontario