Banff’s summer arts festival celebrates heights of creativity in Canada
by Shari Bishop Bowes
Artists have escaped to the Rocky Mountains for inspiration for well over a century.
Those who love the arts have been escaping to Banff to enjoy the fine offerings of the Banff Summer Arts Festival since The Banff Centre opened its doors in 1933.
Classical music performed by well known Canadian performers, the world premiere of a new dance work from the ballet studio, Mozart’s comic gem of an opera, and an art display and film presentation on the “real cowboy” — and that’s just a small offering from a long list of events in the Banff Summer Arts Festival, running July 9 through August 14.
More than 80 events pack the calendar in the Banff Centre’s annual celebration of creativity. Here are some of the highlights:
Constantinople — A World Premiere
July 29 & 31
The world premiere of composer Christos Hatzis’ groundbreaking musical extravaganza will be performed by the Juno Award-winning Gryphon Trio. Constantinople mixes sound, movement and visuals to tell a dazzling, original story bridging ancient and modern cultures.
One of North America’s premier chamber ensembles, the Gryphon Trio has been touring for a decade. The trio first performed music from Constantinople at a highly acclaimed concert in 2000 as part of the Music Toronto chamber music series, and has since performed the solo trio movements at concerts throughout Europe and North America.
The work first came to the Banff Centre in 2002 for an intensive development workshop. At its Banff Summer Arts Festival premiere, Constantinople will see its first multi-media staging. The Gryphon Trio will be joined by the popular Canadian cabaret singer Patricia O’Callaghan, and Arabic vocalist Maryem Tollar.
The Marriage of Figaro
August 11, 12, 12 & 14
Figaro craves the lovely Susanna. Unfortunately, so does the lusty Count, Figaro’s boss. And then, there’s the noble scoundrel’s abused wife, Countess Almaviva. And the teenage Cherubino, romantically aroused by virtually anyone of the female gender. True love, false love, intrigue and entrapment — all the giddy elements of a contemporary gossip column, keenly etched and ultimately exalted by the exquisite charm and humanity of Mozart’s music.
With a cast of outstanding young singing actors, guided and inspired by the top creative minds in Canadian theatre and music, with costumes and sets which delight the eye, and the 45-piece Banff Festival Orchestra to thrill the ear, Mozart’s comic gem will demonstrate, once again, why it is one of the most beloved operas of all time. The Marriage of Figaro is sung in Italian with English sur-titles.
The 2004 Banff Summer Arts Festival is inspired by the music of Mozart.
The Music of The Banff Summer Arts Festival
Throughout the Festival
The musical offerings at The Banff Summer Arts Festival are nothing short of astounding.
Musical highlights in the first few weeks of the festival have included a special tribute concert to retiring artistic directors Thomas and Isobel Rolston, and the Banff Festival Orchestra conducted by legendary composer Krzysztof Penderecki.
The legacy of the Rolstons’ long-time contributions to the music programs at The Banff Centre continues throughout the festival, with many distinguished Banff alumni returning to perform.
“Fridays with Friends” is a seven-concert series featuring everything from a cabaret style concert to Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony and an alumni string quartet performance.
“Music for a Summer Evening” began with a June 19 concert, with a further 15 performances by duos, trios, quartets and other ensembles in the Rolston Recital Hall.
This festival’s heavy emphasis on the genius of Mozart continues with “Mostly Mozart Sundays” at the historic St. George’s-in-the-Pines Anglican Church in Banff. Orchestra and chamber ensemble performances of the immortal Wolfgang’s masterpieces are held on Sundays at 3 p.m. through August 8.
If evening concerts don’t fit your schedule, there are always the “Music at Noon” concerts, featuring a variety of musical styles — baroque to classical, jazz to contemporary — in the Rolston Recital Hall. This 11-concert series runs through August 11.
The music doesn’t end at the Banff National Park gates, with regular “Canmore Mondays” concerts held at 7:30 p.m. through July 26. Soloists and chamber music ensembles perform an exciting range of music from the baroque masters, to works by contemporary composers, at the Canmore Seniors’ Center in downtown Canmore.
Festival Dance
July 14 & 15
From the complex and popular ballet Divertimento No. 15 by George Balanchine, to the lively, folk-inspired Tam ti Delam by Brian Macdonald, to a sparkling new work, Configurations of the Body, by Toronto-based choreographer D.A. Hoskins, Festival Dance performances will showcase modern classical choreography that spans the latter half of the 20th century and into the 21st.
Each year, many of Canada’s most promising young professional dances gather at The Banff Centre to present Festival Dance as part of the Banff Summer Arts Festival. Directed for 20 years by Brian Macdonald, one of Canada’s honoured choreographers, and new artistic director Annette av Paul, a founding director of Ballet British Columbia and former principal dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Festival Dance has become a critical training and performance opportunity for dancers early in their professional careers.
Aboriginal Dance
July 22, 23 & 24
This cultural event is a thrillingly authentic blend of Aboriginal music, dance and ritual, featuring the 15-member Kwakwaka’wakw traditional dance group, the Gwa’wina (Raven) Dancers, from tribes situated along the Northeast tip of Vancouver Island. Their contemporary interpretation of traditional dance is set to new symphonic music — based on a traditional Kwakwaka’wakw song — by Gwa’wina Dancers’ music director William Wasden Jr. and composer/arranger/pianist/music director J. Douglas Dodd.
back to top
|
Aboriginal Dance features the Kwakwaka’wakw traditional dance group from the Northeast tip of Vancouver Island in B.C., the Gwa’wina (Raven) Dancers.
Cultural Journalism Conversations
July 12, 19, 26 and August 2
The popular Monday night Cultural Journalism Conversations series features four perceptive and provocative writers of non-fiction in a wide-ranging series of cultural talks.
July 12 - Tim Page is the Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic at the Washington Post and a leading Glenn Gould expert. His books include The Glenn Gould Reader and Tim Page on Music: Views and Reviews.
July 19 - Charlotte Gray has written books on Susanna Moodie, Catharine Parr Traill, and Isabel Mackenzie King. Her latest is Canada: A Portrait in Letters from 1800 to 2000.
July 26 - Mark Abley is a winner of the National Newspaper Award for critical writing, and is the author or editor of nine books. His most recent book, Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages, was short listed for both the Pearson Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize and the Grand Prix du Livre de Montréal.
August 2 - Rosemary Sullivan is the new Maclean Hunter Chair of the Creative Non-Fiction and Cultural Journalism program. Her most recent books are Labyrinth of Desire and Cuba: Grace Under Pressure with photographs by Malcolm David Batty.
Eternal Afghanistan Photography Exhibition by Beth Wald
Continues through September 15
In the fall of 2002, photographer Beth Wald accompanied veteran reporter Rob Schultheis to Afghanistan. While the wounds of the war were still raw, they found the Afghan people already firmly fixed on the future. Through Wald’s incredible photographs, you’ll see a country ravaged by conflict, and living in hope.
Banff Mountain Film Festival Screenings
July 21 & 28 & August 4
Exhilarating films from the 28th annual Banff Mountain Film Festival will thrill and inspire you. Climb the highest peaks, paddle the wildest waters, and journey to some of the most enchanting and beautiful places on the planet. A different program will be screened each night.
Terre Magellaniche
August 8
Take in this screening of a unique archival mountain film by Alberto Maria De Agostini (1913) accompanied by live cello and piano. Italian missionary, explorer, climber, photographer, and cinematographer De Agostini shot this footage during his travels to unexplored areas of Patagonia during the early 20th century. This beautiful film has been preserved in the historic Film Library of the Museo Nazionale della Montagna in Turin, Italy, and is accompanied by live music, performed by pianist Francesco Pennarola, and cellist Francesca Villa. Presented in collaboration with Museo Nazionale della Montagna of Turin and the Regione Piemonte, Italy.
VISUAL ARTS
Giddy Up! Or a Darn Good Hat Act
Through August 15
Giddy Up! is a project by Andrew Hunter that tells the tale of Andy, a young boy from Southern Ontario who yearns to visit Banff and to ride the trails, sleep under the stars, and be “a real cowboy”. The boy’s fantasies are fuelled by a mysterious neighbour, a “cowboy” lost in the suburbs of 1960s Ontario. Inspired by Westerns, country music, pulp fictions, and cowboy kitsch, Giddy Up! weaves a tale of innocence with a sinister twist.
ArtWalk
July 16, 23, 30, August 6, & 13 at 1 p.m.
Take a free, guided tour of works on display throughout The Banff Centre campus, with a focus on site-specific and commissioned works. Tours begin in the Walter Phillips Gallery.
Tea in the Butterfly Garden
Tuesdays through Sundays, through August 14 from noon to 5 p.m.
Created in 1999 by Mi’Kmaq artist Mike MacDonald, the Butterfly Garden houses a diverse mix of carefully selected native alpine plants and flowers. Enjoy a spot of afternoon tea, featuring handmade teacups and pots created by resident artists and staff.
Forest Walk
Tuesdays through Sundays, to August 14, from noon to 5 p.m.
Janet Cardiff’s Forest Walk leads participants on a 16-minute audio-guided tour through a forest at The Banff Centre. Recorded with binaural sound, the audio captures the sound of the artist’s voice and of her body moving through the forest, while blurring the line between the listener’s real time and the events described on the recording, creating an exciting yet disorienting experience.
In Phillips’s Footsteps
July 24 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Local painter and historian Alice Saltiel-Marshall hikes with you as she presents the life of Walter J. Phillips, anecdotes of his years at The Banff Centre, and information about his distinctive artistic process. Join the group at the Walter Phillips Gallery for the start of an interpretive hike to the summit of Tunnel Mountain with vistas of the town of Banff and peaks that inspired his work.
|
