For Immediate Release - September 28, 2020

Guelph Musicfest continues with the Festival Trio at the Guelph Youth Music Centre on Saturday October 3 at 7:30 pm.

The concert features Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in G minor and Violin Sonata in G major, op. 30, no. 3, as Musicfest celebrates the composer’s 250th birthday. The trio also performs the great Trio in B major by Brahms.

Violinist Jerzy Kaplanek joins cellist Paul Pulford and pianist Ken Gee, replacing regular violinist Sadie Fields who sadly cannot get to Canada from Belgium because of travel restrictions. Jerzy is a member of the renowned Penderecki String Quartet, artists-in-residence at Wilfrid Laurier University. Paul, a former member of the Penderecki, travels here from New Brunswick to join the trio.

The size of the audience is limited to 50 which makes for easy social-distanced reserved seating. Generous Guelph Musicfest subscribers, many who have bought tickets are not totally comfortable with being at a live concert,  have donated their seats back to the festival and made these performances possible. They are able to watch recorded videos of the concerts online with Digital Musicfest.

How does Digital Musicfest work?

• HD video of the live concert with high-quality stereo sound is available to enjoy anytime in the 7 days following the performance, as many times as you like (people are emailed a viewing link about 24 hours after the actual concert).

• PDF of the concert printed programme is available to download.

• Watch the video as many times as you like within the 7 day period, day or night.

Digital Musicfest makes the concert available to anyone, anywhere, on any connected device (computer, tablet, phone). You only need to buy one ticket per household so it is a bargain. For those who want to be part of the live concert audience, there are a very limited number of tickets for sale. They must be purchased in advance and reserved seats must be confirmed. 

The reserved seating plan allows for social distancing. Social groups, including couples and families, can sit together with 2 metres between seating groups. It will also be mandatory to wear a face mask while you are in the GYMC, including during the concert. Anyone who is ill is not permitted to attend.

Guelph Musicfest director Ken Gee has worked hard to keep the festival alive during the pandemic, rescheduling concerts that were originally supposed to be from late May to early June, and introducing Digital Musicfest to offset the loss of live concert ticket sales. Of course, the cost of presenting the concerts does not go down, even if the maximum audience does. For the modest cost of a Digital Musicfest ticket, music lovers can support musicians in great need of performing opportunities and income. Guelph Musicfest is one of the only series to not cancel its 2020 concerts.

On Friday October 16 at 7:30 pm, Guelph Musicfest presents the internationally-renowned pianist Valerie Tryon. Valerie is considered one of the greatest interpreters of music by the Great Romantic composers. She performs a wonderful programme of music by Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Debussy, Chopin & Liszt. This is a rare opportunity to hear great music performed at the highest level of artistry. Valerie graciously replaces Robert Silverman who has issues with travel from Vancouver.

For more information, visit guelphmusicfest.ca

 

 -30-