Stratford Summer Music Festival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stratford Summer Music is a nonprofit organization hosting an annual festival which spans several weeks, set in both indoor and outdoor venues throughout the downtown core of Canada’s Shakespearean capital, Stratford, Ontario. Local, provincial, national and international artists across a wide range of genres perform.[1]
Mark Fewer is the current artistic director of Stratford Summer Music. He has performed around the world in halls such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall and Salle Pleyel, and in recital venues such as Bartok House (Budapest) to Le Poisson Rouge (New York City) to The Forum (Taipei). As a conductor he has directed Musici de Montreal, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, the Newfoundland Sinfonia, the McGill Baroque Orchestra and the choir Capella Antica.[1] His current focus is on bringing live music to the Stratford community and surrounding area, and on finding different ways to present performances.
Community involvement
Stratford Summer Music is involved in music education programs for youth in local communities and has facilitated mentorships between established and aspiring musicians in the past.
In 2019 Stratford Summer Music's artistic director Mark Fewer introduced an award with the intention of shining an annual spotlight on the existing body of work and achievement of local music teachers.[2] Mark McIntosh, a teacher at Avon public school was last year's recipient. This year the award was given to Colleen Rothwell, a Stratford native and teacher at Shakespeare public school.[2]
