As its 24th season draws to a close, Stratford Summer Music has received international acclaim after being recognized as one of the year’s top classical music festivals in the US and Canada by the BBC’s Classical Music Magazine.
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The recognition from the popular British monthly came as a shock to the Stratford festival’s artistic director, Mark Fewer.
“That was a surprise to me, but it was great to see, and they also mentioned the diversity of the programming. For example, on our opening night, we had everything from music by JS Bach to music by Johnny Cash,” Fewer said.
Fewer said he was “thrilled to see” the magazine — considered an essential periodical by many classical music aficionados — celebrate that range, which this season, included mariachi music, Brazilian music, jazz and even Iranian folk.
It’s that variety, he added, that sets the yearly festival apart from other music festivals.
“If you go to a folk music festival, you go to a folk music festival. You will not hear jazz; you will not hear classical music. If you go to a jazz festival, you might hear popular music or jazz, but you won’t hear classical. It’s really only classical music festivals that traditionally always had a door wide open to include other (types of) music,” said Fewer, who has served as artistic director since 2018.
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While the acknowledgment from across the pond means the festival is drawing international attention — a “good thing,” Fewer said — getting recognition is still not his focus. He remains more interested in the performances being high quality
“I always say that it’s better to have a great performance and a little audience rather than having a very bad performance and a big audience,” he said.
“My first mission is always to put on the highest quality that we’re capable of putting on stage for music, and that will always be the case. As we continue to grow, we’ll be able to attract higher and higher level (performers). Although we are world class, you can always say that we can bring a higher level on stage, but that’s every organization. We’re not unique that way,” he added.
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Looking to the festival’s final weekend, Fewer is “thrilled” with how the season has gone, despite not selling out every show, as “that’s like every music festival.”
The final two performances – set for this Sunday — include The Big Finale: Zombie Blizzard, a concert aria composed by Aaron Davis and novelist Margaret Atwood, and sung by award-winning soprano Measha Brueggergosman-Lee. This performance is scheduled from 4 pm to 6 pm at Avondale United Church. The festival will also host a fundraiser for its vocal academy at the Starlight, with students joining instructor Marcus Nance for a performance from 8 pm to 10 pm Admission for this show will be by donation.
While he was unable to give specifics at this time, Fewer said he’s already looking forward to next year, which will mark the 25th anniversary of Stratford Summer Music.
“We’re down to our last weekend, and then we’ll be rolling up our sleeves with programming needs for next summer. And a lot of the fun. . . is having balls in the air that we’ll finally be able to juggle into position in the next few weeks,” he said.
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