C'Mon Festival

After a two-year, pandemic-induced hiatus, Edmonton’s innovative classical music event, the C’mon (Chamber music old & new) Festival is excited to reconnect with its audience. Returning to the Winspear Centre this summer from July 14 - 17, the festival is pleased to continue its policy of “pay what you can.” The C’mon Festival presents Edmonton’s finest professional musicians - many from the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) - in a relaxed atmosphere, performing “seriously fun classical music.”

The vibe of the C’mon Festival is casual, eclectic, full of surprises - from the great beauty and emotional intensity of Fanny Mendelssohn’s Romanze to the baroque-flavoured quirkiness of (Pulitzer Prize-winning composer) Caroline Shaw’s Boris Kerner (featuring the haunting tones of clayflower pots). The festival is thrilled to present Julia Wolfe’s Blue Dress- this Appalachian folk-flavoured music inspired a whole program for violins around this powerful piece. There’s a generous dollop of genre-blurring in master jazz artist Wynton Marsalis’ writing for the bassoon. And the fabulous Blue Danube festival finale returns!

In addition to the festival’s three main programs (July 15 and 16 at 7:30 pm, July 17 at 3pm), there will be a noon hour preview concert on July 14 with two-time Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion Daniel Gervais and festival favourite, violinist Alissa Cheung of the Montreal-based Bozzini Quartet. Following Saturday’s concert is an extra, late night set, showcasing improvised sounds by percussionist Mark Segger and Alissa.

Artistic director Kathryn Macintosh, also the assistant principal trombonist of the ESO, is really looking forward to this year’s festival. “The last couple of years have been a challenging time for so many people. I’m glad we can finally enjoy an in-person festival. There’s nothing like live music to help us feel rejuvenated and connected to each other, for musicians and audience alike”.

Program to include:

Gerald Finzi’s Bagatelles, featuring the clarinet, cheered a London audience when they were first performed in the midst of the Second World War. The premiere of new piece by Edmonton composer George Andrix is a rare opportunity to hear the alto trombone in chamber music. The bassoon is not the first instrument that comes to mind when you think of the blues, but Wynton Marsalis’ Meelaan will convince you that it should!

Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) arr. Christopher Alexander Five Bagatelles op 23
Owen Underhill b. 1954 2nd movement of Trombone Quintet (1999)
Fanny Mendelssohn (1804-1847) Romanze from String Quartet in Eb
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) Rondo – Allegro giocoso from Clarinet Quintet op 34
George Andrix b. 1932 Elaboration and Fugal Fantasy (2019)
Wynton Marsalis b. 1961 Meelaan (2000)

Program subject to change.