Stratford Summer Music is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

hosting an annual

festival A festival is an event 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, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

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 Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

’s Shakespearean capital,

Stratford, Ontario Stratford is a city on the Avon River (Ontario), Avon River within Perth County, Ontario, Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a 2021 Canadian census, 2021 population of 33,232 in a land area of . Stratford is the County seat, s ...

. 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 Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

and

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

, and in recital venues such as Bartok House (

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

) 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 was ...

(

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) to The Forum (

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

). 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 Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as primary education, elementary or secondary education, secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a rese ...

programs for youth in local communities and has facilitated

mentorship Mentorship is the patronage, 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 perso ...

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, 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

arts management Arts administration (alternatively arts management) is a field in the arts sector that facilitates programming within cultural organizations. Arts administrators are responsible for facilitating the day-to-day operations of the organization as we ...

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; 25 September 19324 October 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was among the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian ...

. 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 Chor Leoni is a low voice choir based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The group was founded as Chor Leoni Men's Choir in 1992 by Order of Canada recipient Diane Loomer, C.M. (1940 - 2012), and consists of up to 70 TTBB singers. In 2024, ...

, 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 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

, l'Orchestre de la Francophone Canadienne, the National Youth Orchestra, the Phil Nimmons Jazz Quartet, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the Vancouver Bach Choir,

Measha Brueggergosman Measha Brueggergosman–Lee (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 m ...

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

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American rock and roll singer, 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 Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac (born February 24, 1975) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and actor from Cape Breton Island. He has received three Juno Awards, winning for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots & Traditional Album – Solo at th ...

, 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 A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

, 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 artwork installations, and live arts projects. Artwork Jerram's work has been featured in over 900 exhibitions and is in over 50 permanent collections, incl ...

, 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 federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

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