Festival on the St. Lawrence is an international festival
of music, art and heritage in the region of the 1000
Islands and St. Lawrence Seaway.
The
result of a partnership between Saint Lawrence College,
Human Resources Development Canada, and the State University
of New York at Potsdam, it is being developed as an
annual summer event that engages the communities along
the Canadian and American shores of the St. Lawrence
Seaway.
This year's Festival will present concerts of symphony
and choral music, chamber music, jazz and multimedia.
From
May 14 to June 30, musicians from the region, across
Canada and the United States will be presented in Kingston,
Gananoque, Brockville, Prescott and Cornwall. As a bi-national
initiative, the festival is in partnership with SUNY
Potsdam to promote events on the American shores of
the Seaway. This year, events will be held in Massena
(June 5), Clayton (June 12), and at the Remington Museum
in Ogdensburg (June 19).
The Festival kicks off with the Young and Emerging
Artists Competition at the Brockville Arts Center on
April 24. Senior prizewinners from the Kingston Kiwanis
Festival, the Brockville Lions Club Music Festival,
and the Cornwall Kinsmen Music Festival will perform
for the public and a jury of three professional musicians.
One young artist will be sponsored to travel to Edmonton
and perform at one of Canada's premier concert halls,
the Francis Winspear Centre for Music, as part of the
Resonance at Winspear concert hosted by the Alberta
College Conservatory of Music. Scheduled for May 12,
2004, this highly publicized annual concert features
outstanding faculty and students from the Conservatory
of Music. Second and third prizewinners receive scholarships
for educational programs sponsored by Festival on the
St. Lawrence. All three winners will perform during
Festival 2004 concerts.
Festival on the St. Lawrence builds bridges and partnerships
in the communities along the St. Lawrence Seaway. This
season, concerts are being produced in partnership with
the Kingston Theatre Organ Society and the Kingston
Jazz Society. As well, a special event to open the Firehall
Theatre in Gananoque is being hosted by FoSL in partnership
with the Kingston Symphony and the Thousand Islands
Playhouse.
Ensemble Vivant, a Toronto group comprised of piano,
violin and cello, has been performing to sold-out houses
throughout North America and Europe and recording for
over 15 years. Variety and unique eclecticism are the
trademarks of Ensemble Vivant. Members of the faculty
at Queen's School of Music will be performing a concert
at the beautiful St. Columban's church in Prescott.
Two fascinating performances will bring other art forms
to the stage. The acclaimed team of Kristi Allik and
Robert Mulder will present their most recent ~infoweaver:
Shanawdithit that pays homage to homage to a vanished
people of Newfoundland. The performance uses computer-generated
electroacoustic music and computer generated imagery.
The Montreal musicians who form Kiosque à Musique
will perform at Grenville Christian College. Kiosque
pays homage to Canadian musicians of early last century
who would join together in their villages, using only
those instruments at their disposal and perform outdoor
concerts. Kiosque brings this tradition to life in a
performance of brilliant musical arrangements vaunting
the talents of its instrumentalists in décor
and costumes from the period. A historical narration
allows the audience to discover fascinating anecdotes
of the time.
The festival will close with the well-known and classy
jazz ensemble of Laila Biali. Called Without Words,
this group captured the enthusiasm of the Kingston Jazz
Society's audiences last year. Everyone is thrilled
to have them back.
Several Outreach concerts are planned during festival
2004. Musicians and music students will be visiting
hospitals, schools and care homes in the region. For
full events listings and more information visit www.fosl.ca |