Founded by Maestro Kristian Alexander in 2011, Markham Contemporary Music Festival
is an
annual event that takes place in various concert venues in Markham,
Ontario. The Festival promotes the performance of music written
worldwide in the 20th and
the 21st centuries. It also includes lectures and
seminars in both English and French, workshops, master-classes, pre-concert chats,
intermission discussions, post-concert receptions, documentary films about
the life of contemporary composers, and networking events.
The 2017 Markham Contemporary Music Festival included the following events:
Saturday, June 10, 2017 at 8:00 p.m.
Cornell Recital Hall A centrepiece to Markham’s 2017 Contemporary Music Festival, the Kindred Spirits Orchestra presents a stimulating concert of twentieth century music. Two works from prominent Danish composer, Carl Nielsen are showcased in this captivating program: Suite for String Orchestra, and Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra. The former, his opus 1, was written while still studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, and alludes to the composer’s future style and unique mature voice. The KSO’s own principal clarinetist Carmen Gassi tackles the wildly bi-polar Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra; a piece of music said to depict the soloist for whom it was written. Entirely based on melodies composed from age nine to twelve, British composer Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony is a crafty reworking of simple piano works into a stunning work for strings. Michael Berec
| conductor Kristian Alexander | host Tickets are $10 (general admission) and can be purchased by phone through the Kindred Spirits Orchestra Box Office at 905.604.8339, in person at the Kindred Spirits Orchestra administration office at
1-4981 Highway 7, Markham ON L3R 1N1 (Monday through Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) or at the door of Cornell Recital Hall, 1 hour prior to the
viewing. Sunday, June 11, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. MCMF Rehearsal Hall
Monday, June 12, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. MCMF Rehearsal Hall Tuesday, June 13, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.
Official opening ceremony
Concert
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Carmen Gassi | clarinettist
Nielsen, Concerto for clarinet and orchestra
Britten, Simple Symphony
Nielsen, Keine suite
Exhibit
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Open Visit of the World Musical Instruments Collection at the International Music Academy.
Free admission.
Exhibit
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Open Visit of the World Musical Instruments Collection at the International Music Academy.
Free admission.
Performance and workshop
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Maestro Kristian Alexander leads the Kindred Spirits Orchestra in a open rehearsal featuring Canadian composers, artists, and pieces. A composition workshop (part 1 - artistic expression through contemporary writing techniques) for young Canadian composers is also included.
Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at 7:00 pm.
Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 5:00 p.m.
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Open Visit of the World Musical Instruments Collection at the International Music Academy.
Free admission.
Sunday, June 18, 2017 at 5:00 p.m.
Monday, June 19, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.
Lecture (in French) and documentary film about the live and work of the Danish composer Nielsen. Organized together with the Consulate of Danemark in Toronto.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.
Performance and workshop
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Maestro Kristian Alexander leads the Kindred Spirits Orchestra in an open rehearsal featuring Canadian composers, artists, and pieces. A composition workshop (part 2 - exporing new ideas in collective writing of contemporary music) for young Canadian composers is also included.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 at 5:00 p.m.
Exhibit
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Open Visit of the World Musical Instruments Collection at the International Music Academy.
Free admission.
Friday, June 23, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.
Lecture (in English) and documentary film about the live and work of the Danish composer Nielsen. Organized together with the Consulate of Danemark in Toronto.
Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 1:00 p.m.
MCMF Rehearsal Hall
3a-50 Innovator Ave (2nd fl.), Stouffville ON L4A 0Y2
Open Visit of the World Musical Instruments Collection at the International Music Academy.
Free admission.
Sunday, June 25, 2017 at 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.
Performance and workshop
Cornell Recital Hall
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham ON L6B 0T2
Maestro Kristian Alexander leads the Kindred Spirits Orchestra in an open rehearsal featuring Canadian composers, artists, and pieces. A composition workshop (part 3 - writing music for film and television) for young Canadian composers is also included.
Thursday, June 29, 2017 at 8:00 p.m.
Flato Markham Theatre for the Performing Arts
171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham ON L3R 6GB
Concert
Written years after the original opera’s fruition, Verdi’s Overture to La forza del destino is a gripping and illustrative prelude that is recurrently performed autonomously in concert halls.
Composed during the turbulent years of the early twentieth century, Prokofiev’s output was the most prolific as he penned his wildly dreamy and spirited Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra.
Premiered only days before Tchaikovsky’s sudden death, makes his final Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique”, a truly desperately mournful yet awe-inspiring requiem.
Kristian Alexander | conductor
Aaron Schwebel | violinist
Michael Berec | host
7:15 p.m. Prélude (pre-concert recital)
7:30 p.m. Pre-concert talk in the foyer of Markham Theatre
Intermission discussion with Michael Berec and Aaron Schwebel
Post-concert complimentary glass of Champagne
Verdi, Overture to La forza del destino
Prokofiev, Concerto for violin and orchestra No. 1, Op. 19
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6, Op. 74 “Pathétique”
Thursday, June 29, 2017 at 10:00 p.m.
Flato Markham Theatre for the Performing Arts
171 Town Centre Blvd., Markham ON L3R 6GB
Official closing of Markham Contemporary Music Festival. Meet-and-greet the conductor, the musicians, volunteers, management and staff while listening to live jazz.