Classical music fans in Stratford will want to mark on their calendars a pair of upcoming concerts this weekend, one by a local group wrapping up its 12th season and another performing live for the first time in more than two years.
After joining the Stratford Concert Choir in January, interim artistic director Brian Wismath will unveil his debut program – Hope and Resilience – Sunday afternoon at Avondale United Church. It will also be the group’s first performance since live music venues were shut down by the pandemic.
“Maintaining hope and being resilient, those were the two ideas that I thought that we could most relate to during the past two years,” Wismath said in a press release. “We’re seeing examples of this in the choir, in Stratford and around the world. I think it’s that resilience that gives us hope and allows us to adapt and change regardless of what we’re facing.”
The first half of the concert will include familiar music – movements from Schubert’s Mass in G and Mozart’s Requiem in D, a mass for the dead.
“One could look at it as paying homage to those who lost their lives during COVID and those who have lost their lives recently during the war in Ukraine,” Wismath said.
Afterwards, the program shifts its focus to the future with lesser-known selections from Canadian composers, including Hope is the Thing With Feathers, an Emily Dickinson poem set to music by London’s Sarah Quartel. The concert will also feature solos by various members of the choir and accompaniment by Stratford pianist Charmaine Fopoussi.
“There’s a great anticipation, one that is maybe a little hard for any of us to explain or fully realize until we’re actually in the moment,” Wismath said. “I think this is the beginning of a new era of choral music in Stratford.”
The concert begins at 3 pm Admission is by donation.
A few hours later, Stratford’s INNERchamber will bring to an end the 12th season of its popular music and dinner series with a concert called Theme & Evolutions. The concert will feature Stratford-based percussionist Graham Hargrove, who will be joined by friends Daniel Ramjattan on guitar and Joe Phillips on bass.
“I’m really excited for it,” Hargrove said. “I chose music that (represents) my roots in percussion, which is a lot of classical and baroque music particularly, but also Latin American. (It’s) repertoire that’s lovely to translate to the marimba and to the other instruments of the ensemble.”
The group has arranged the concert using Bach’s Goldberg Variations as a starting point to tackle the theme of connection. Hargrove said he’ll also be doing some improvising, something he’s been working on throughout the pandemic.
The INNERchamber’s concerts are hybrid presentations performed live at Revival House and live streamed online. A concert pre-chat will take place at 6:30 pm before it begins at 7 pm
“I have known these incredibly talented musicians for many years, and sometimes at INNERchamber we like to dabble in a bit of musical chemistry – combining different musical personalities together to find out what new possibilities emerge,” said INNERchamber artistic director Andrew Chung. “This concert is one of those, and I can’t wait to find out how the concept of theme and variations takes on an interesting twist with Graham, Joe and Daniel.”
IF YOU GO
What: Stratford Concert Choir Returns with a concert of Hope and Resilience
When: Sunday, 3 p.m.
Where: Avondale United Church
Tickets: Pay-what-you-can
More info: stratfordconcertchoir.org
What: INNERchamber’s final concert of the season – Theme & Evolutions – featuring Graham Hargrove, Daniel Ramjattan, and Joe Phillips.
When: Sunday. Pre-concert chat begins at 6:30 pm Concert begins at 7 pm
Where: Revival House, 70 Brunswick St., and online.
Tickets: $40 for the live stream, $50 for the live show. Student and arts worker discounts are available. If purchasing a takeaway meal, pre-order by 3 pm Friday.
More info: innerchamber.ca/theme-and-evolutions