Chamberfest going ahead with fall concerts
Performances will be livestreamed but small live audiences a possibility
The Ottawa Chamber Music Society is going ahead this fall with a series of six streamed concerts featuring top Canadian classical musicians performing at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre and, if pandemic regulations allow, small audiences may be able to attend.
“We’re going for ‘slick.’ We’re going for an intimate and high-quality experience,” Carissa Klopoushak, Chamberfest’s interim artistic director, says of its digital aspirations.
The streamed concerts, which will take place at 7 p.m. each night, will feature multiple camera angles, including a straighton view from the front row, said Klopoushak, a violinist in the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
The Ottawa-raised duo of cellist Bryan Cheng and pianist Sylvie Cheng will open and close the series. Their concerts, on Sept. 19 and Dec. 19, will have works by Beethoven as their focus.
When Juno-winning baritone Russell Braun and pianist Carolyn Maule perform Oct. 6, their program will be centred around Beethoven’s song cycle, An die ferne Geliebte (To the Distant Beloved).
The concert on Oct. 24 will star Ottawa-raised pianist Angela Hewitt, who will return to her hometown to conclude her fouryear Bach Odyssey series, which has seen her perform the entirety of her favourite composer’s piano works around the world. She will play Bach’s The Art of Fugue at Dominion-Chalmers.
On Nov. 17, the Rolston String Quartet will perform a program of Haydn and Grieg, while on Nov. 28, the True North Brass quintet will offer music in keeping with the holiday season.
Klopoushak, who stepped into her role this month following the departure of Chamberfest’s longtime artistic director Roman Borys, says a full 2020-21 season of concerts had been planned, but while some performances have remained, most have not.
“This is the time to stick closer to home and celebrate artists who are closer to home,” she says, noting the series by and large features artists with Ottawa connections or who are from Toronto or Montreal.
As did other Canadian summer music festivals, Chamberfest cancelled its summer concerts this year because of the novel coronavirus. Like many festivals, Chamberfest pivoted to offering online content.
Since April, it has presented twice-weekly Chamberchats online, connecting musicians in their homes with an average audience of 200 fans and thousands of unique viewers via Zoom video conferencing.
Klopoushak says the Chamberchats have been great at keeping alive “the social hub that is the Chamberfest community.” Next Tuesday’s Chamberchat, which will coincide with passes for the concert series going on sale, will feature Klopoushak discussing the series.
“The livestream opportunity is something that will continue to be seen within the classical world,” says Klopoushak. “The possible reach is really quite phenomenal. Through the internet, there are no boundaries.”
She adds that the artists will be able to take questions from and interact with viewers during the livestream.
“Having said that, we all know there’s a special connection when everyone’s in the same room.”
Should COVID-19 rules and guidelines allow, then a small live audience may be permitted into Dominion-Chalmers, she says. The decision to allow in-person attendance would be made about a week before each concert and announced on Chamberfest’s website.
“Everyone’s safety is top of mind, the highest priority,” says Klopoushak. “But as soon as it’s safe to do so, we’re eager to bring back the live experience.” phum@postmedia.com