Ottawa Chamberfest is a

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

held by the Ottawa Chamber Music Society, also known as Chamberfest, in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

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 ...

. The 2025 edition, running from Friday, July 18 – Sunday, July 27, will be packed with a rich array of musical offerings.

History

In 1994, the idea of a chamber music festival in Ottawa came to life to address the availability of live classical music during the summer months. Ottawa Chamberfest started life as the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival with 22 concerts in two churches and was an immediate hit. Artistic and executive director Julian Armor wanted to increase the popularity of classical music among citizens. Growing steadily over the years, the 2011 edition of Ottawa Chamberfest presented almost 100 concerts, attracting over 80,000 listeners and is considered the largest chamber music festival of its kind in the world. Roman Borys, the cellist of the Juno award-winning

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 ( ...

was the Artistic and Executive Director of Ottawa Chamberfest from 2007 to 2020. His fellow trio members, violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon and pianist James Parker, were among the organization's artistic advisors. The current Artistic Director is Carissa Klopoushak, also a founding member of the Ironwood Quartet and a member of the National Arts Cente Orchestra.

Artists

Past performers at the festival include

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) ...

, Janina Fialkowska, Jan Lisiecki,

Isabel Bayrakdarian Isabel Bayrakdarian (; born February 1, 1974) is a Lebanese-born Canadian operatic soprano of Armenian descent who now resides and works in the United States. Early life Born in Zahlé, Lebanon, into an Armenian family, she moved to Canada as a ...

Simone Dinnerstein Simone Andrea Dinnerstein () (born September 18, 1972) is an American classical pianist. Education Dinnerstein was born in New York, United States to a Jewish family. She is the daughter of Renee and Simon Dinnerstein. She studied in the pre-co ...

Marc-André Hamelin Marc-André Hamelin, OC, OQ (born September 5, 1961) is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer who has received 11 Grammy Award nominations. He is on the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music. Biography Born in Montreal, Quebec ...

Julie Nesrallah Julie Nesrallah is a Canadian mezzo-soprano and radio host. Her past operatic roles include Isabella in ''L'italiana in Algeri'', the Composer in ''Ariadne auf Naxos'', Suzuki in ''Madama Butterfly'', Maddalena in ''Rigoletto'', Cherubino in ''The ...

, Yehonatan Berick,

National Arts Centre Orchestra The National Arts Centre Orchestra (NAC Orchestra) is a Canadian orchestra based in Ottawa, Ontario. The NAC Orchestra's primary concert venue is Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. Since its inception, the Orchestra has commissioned more ...

The Swingle Singers The Swingles are an a cappella vocal group. The Swingle Singers were originally formed in 1962 in Paris under the leadership of Ward Swingle. In 1973, Swingle disbanded the French group, and formed an English group known initially as Swingle I ...

, Nexus (ensemble), Trio con Brio Copenhagen,

New Zealand String Quartet The New Zealand String Quartet (established 1987) is New Zealand's only full-time string quartet. The New Zealand String Quartet are resident artists at the biennial Adam Chamber Music Festival in Nelson, New Zealand, and have been the quartet ...

, Borodin String Quartet, 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 the ...

, the

Tokyo String Quartet The were an international string quartet that operated from 1969 to 2013. History 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 Profess ...

Martin Beaver Martin Beaver (born November 10, 1967) is a Canadian violinist. He was the first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet from 2002 until its final season in 2013. As a part of the Tokyo String Quartet, he played the ''Paganini-Comte Cozio di Sala ...

, Penderecki Quartet, Paul Stewart, Gino Quilico, St. Lawrence Quartet, Danish String Quartet,

Nadia Sirota Nadia Sirota (born in New York City, New York) is an American viola player. Her father is Robert Sirota, a composer and Conducting, conductor. Life and career Sirota is best known for her singular sound and expressive execution, coaxing solo ...

, and Tom Allen.

Music

Although the concerts are primarily traditional Western classical music, the scope has evolved to embrace music from other traditions, including pop and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

composers A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and defi ...

, as the classical music of non-European traditions.

Venues

Chamberfest concert venues include churches or cultural facilities across

. *

Dominion-Chalmers United Church Dominion Chalmers United Church is a large United Church of Canada, United church, located in downtown Ottawa, at the corner of Cooper and O'Connor Street (Ottawa), O'Connor Streets (with access from Lisgar Street). It is a 1962 merger of two key ...

, now the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, is used by Chamberfest for many of its Festival concerts, but also for its Concert Series in the winter months. *

Rideau Hall Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence of the governor general of Canada, the representative of the monarch of Canada. Located in Ottawa, the Capital city, capital of the country, on a estate at 1 Sussex Drive, th ...

is the site of community programming during the summer festival. *

Beechwood Cemetery Beechwood Cemetery is the national cemetery of Canada, located in Vanier, Ottawa, Ontario. Over 82,000 people are buried in the cemetery, including Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn, Prime Minister Robert Borden, and several members of Parlia ...

, particularly the non-denominational Beechwood Sacred Space, is used both for the Festival and for Adaptive Concerts designed for neurodivergent audiences. *

Ottawa City Hall The current Ottawa City Hall () is the city hall of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The downtown complex consists of two connected buildings: a modern wing located on Laurier Avenue and a 19th-century heritage wing located on Elgin Street. Although ...

is used both for free community programming during the Festival, and for noon-hour spring concerts. * Sites at the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) () is a Arts centre, performing arts organization in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one ...

are also used for community programming. Chamberfest also partners with the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

to offer Master Classes at their site.

Other activities

In addition to their annual summer festival, Ottawa Chamberfest also organizes activities throughout the year. The Concert Series takes place from fall to spring offering approximately ten concerts per season. CEE: Community Engagement and Education engages community members of all ages in a suite of free music experiences.

References

;Citations

External links

Ottawa Chamberfest
official website
Gryphon Trio
{{Chamber music festivals Music festivals established in 1994 Music festivals in Ottawa Classical music festivals in Canada Chamber music festivals