The 44th annual Elora Festival is once again bringing some of the best performing artists to entertain audiences in Elora.
Starting July 7, the festival promises to offer a wide variety of artists and performances ensuring there is something for everyone, not only fans of classical or choral music.
Mark Vuorinen, artistic director of The Elora Singers, said while the choral group performs all year round, Elora Festival is a highlight event for them, and they will singing in a dozen performances, as well as accompanying many of the amazing guest artists.
Vuorinen said, they have several new, and audience favourites, coming to perform at this year’s festival, that includes Cantus, an eight-member men’s choir from Minneapolis, and the Canadian Chamber Choir will also perform, rounding out the choral offerings.
The festival kicks off with the much anticipated opening night, a formal concert where The Elora Singers will be performing Bach and Brahms. Vuorinen said this is always a highlight of the festival, and a program that showcases the choir.
Like any festival, variety is key, and Vuorinen said that they like to find guest artists that they can collaborate well with. This year’s new collaboration is with a Persian ensemble called Constantinople from Montreal, and The Elora Singers are thrilled to be singing in their concert with them.
“Constantinople is a really unique offering, they’re taking music from quite a number of centuries, recreating music of the early Medieval period based on words of the Persian poet and mystic, Rumi,” he said.
Vuorinen said a program that returning this year, is audience favourite Unplugged that shows another side of The Elora Singers.
“It’s a Broadway pieces with pop arrangements, so the Singers step out and do solo’s and duets and some big Broadway choruses, and that’s a program that’s curated and directed by one of our singers, and it’s always an audience favourite,” he said.
Just like the artists, the venues are also varied and include four locations: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, St. John’s Elora, Gambrel Barn, and even in the forest. Each of these venue locations offer a different atmosphere, ambiance, experience and acoustics.
Vuorinen said St. John’s Church for example, isn’t a large space but it’s a very beautiful historic building providing beautiful acoustics, and is the home of the festival, while St, Joseph’s Church in nearby Fergus, is a more modern church but nonetheless a beautiful performance space.
In an attempt to bridge the gap between two festival venues, Gambrel Barn and St. John’s Church, and to invite new community members to enjoy The Elora Singers music, Vuorinen started a program last year called Music in the Village. These free concerts are held outside in the town centre, and are for people who just happen upon these performances as they’re enjoying their time in Elora.
Music in the Woods is new programming that will be offered at this year’s festival. A unique experience,
Vuorinen said the event starts early in the morning, and people will be taken on a school bus to Sandy Hills Regional Forest where they will experience a 45-minute hike through the woods all while encountering musicians performing along the way.
“It’s the idea of hearing music in a different space while also encountering sound that is natural to the forest, so you’ll hear birds and the wind, and all the sounds of nature that will contribute to the whole musical experience,” he said.
Also new this year is their first ever Barn dance featuring musical group, The Barrel Boys, who will also perform some numbers with The Elora Singers. A family-friendly event for the entire community, there will food-trucks and fun for everyone.
“The idea was that it would be a community event that would look beyond our traditional audience which is an audience that likes classical music and choral music in particular,” he said. “We have some really fun arrangements and we are going to sing with The Barrel Boys, and they promise us that they are going to teach us how to line dance which will be a blast.”
There are so many performances and artists performing at Elora Festival, Vuorinen said there truly is something for everyone because there’s such a wide, and unique, variety of musical talent this year.
Elora Festival will be held July 7-16, with The Barn Dance on July 18.
To see a complete list of artists, performance dates and venues, or to purchase tickets, visit them online, call them at 519-846-0331, or visit them on Facebook to learn more!