Music Niagara sets the mood in NOTL
There is no shortage of festivals in Niagara-on-the-Lake, from food, to music to Shaw. They’re all competing for dollars and attention. But one seems to constantly fly under the radar.
Not for lack of quality, says Music Niagara executive director Sarah Lynch. For 19 years, some of the finest classical musicians in Canada have performed for the diverse festival. More than 5,000 tickets were sold last year, which has already been equalled for this year’s fiveweek event, starting July 14.
“Even in Niagara-on-Lake … we’re dropping off our brochures on the main street, and there are stores who say, ‘Oh, what’s Music Niagara?’”
Part of the reason, she explains, is the festival’s adherence to Niagaraon-the-Lake itself. Instead of expanding throughout the region, the festival has nestled itself within the town, with about 80 per cent of its shows at the historic St. Mark’s Church on Byron Street.
“We have a very, very loyal core group of local supporters,” says Lynch. “And Niagara-on-the-Lake is a nice destination for people who don’t live that far away, too. Someone looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon can come in and go to one of our lovely concerts.
“It’s a great cultural hub here, actually.”
In addition to jazz and blues festivals in Niagara-on-the-Lake, there are also weekly pop/rock shows at Jackson Triggs Winery all summer.
But classical music buffs have made Music Niagara their own local institution, growing in size 10 to 15 per cent each year. This year offers 36 concerts, more than 100 performers, and seven venues.
Highlights this year include Shaw and Music with Christopher Newton July 24, the Toronto AllStar Big Band Aug. 7, and the Closing Gala with Quartetto Gelato Aug. 13.
The Opening Gala July 14 at St. Mark’s Church features Music Niagara Performance Academy graduate violinist Emma Meinrenken, and the world premiere of Music Niagara Odawa First Nation Composer-inResidence Barbara Croall’s latest work for violin.
The festival was founded by Lithuanian-born Atis Bankas, who came to Canada in the early ‘80s to perform with the Niagara Symphony, and later the Toronto Symphony. While teaching at Brock University, he created Music Niagara as a venue to showcase his students, then had to expand it as professional musicians joined.