The 2025 Festival
Sunday August 24 @ 2:00 pm
Macaulay Heritage Park, Picton
(rain location St.Mary Magdalene Anglican Church, Picton)
BRASS IN THE PARK
This is our traditional Festival opener – a Free Outdoor Concert. This year we will bring you the nationally renowned True North Brass. Bring folding chairs or blankets.
Thursday September 11 @ 12:00 pm
The Andrew, 31 King St., Picton
YOGA+CELLO
A one-hour gentle yoga class with Festival’s Board member and certified yoga instructor Hedy Brambat-Kellar. Cellist Franz Ortner of the Swiss Piano Trio will accompany the class playing Bach’s Six Suites for Cello Solo. It will be a very special experience.
Friday September 12 @ 7:30 pm
St.Mary Magdalene Anglican Church, Picton
THE KITCHEN REVUE
In Martinů’s witty curtain-raiser The Kitchen Revue, CBC’s Tom Allen tells a charming tale, accompanied by live music, in which a variety of cooking utensils swagger their way through a tale of kitchen life. A pot, a lid, a whisk and then what? Accompanying this lively jazz age suite are equally charming works by Mozart, Bottesini, Saint-Saens and Composer-in-Residence Dinuk Wijeratne. Artists: The Swiss Piano Trio “one of the very top piano trio ensembles on today’s stage“, and Canadian icons Guy Few, Mathieu Lussier, James Campbell and Joel Quarrington.
Pre-concert talk by Dinuk Wijeratne and Paul Marleyn at 7:00
Saturday, September 13 @ 3:00 pm
St.Mary Magdalene Anglican Church, Picton
THE DINUK WIJERATNE WORLD MUSIC FUSION TRIO
Dinuk Wijeratne’s extensive body of work encompasses piano-led and improvisation-based music, and as a pianist, he leads his own trio in heartfelt original pieces in this afternoon’s concert. Joining Wijeratne are two exceptional musicians: versatile percussionist Nick Halley, known for his collaborations with American icon James Taylor, and two-time ECMA award-winning jazz bassist Tom Easley, one of Eastern Canada’s finest musicians.
Parish Hall at St.Mary Magdalene Anglican Church, Picton
TECHNIQUES OF CREATIVITY
Workshop and Q & A Session
A workshop for curious learners across disciplines and all ages! Unlock your creative potential with award-winning Composer-in-Residence Dinuk Wijeratne in a transformative workshop that reveals practical techniques for clarifying vision, building effective habits, and breaking through creative barriers. Learn how to make the most out of your personal creative journey.
St.Mary Magdalene Anglican Church, Picton
POPULAR TUNES FROM VIENNA TO THE NEW WORLD
Dubbed “Canada’s premier clarinetist” by the Ottawa Citizen, James Campbell has performed as soloist and chamber musician in over 35 countries with over 60 orchestras including the Boston Pops, Montreal Symphony and the London Symphony. Together with The Swiss Piano Trio and Young Artist and award-winning teenage violinist Justin Saulnier, he presents an attractive concert of music inspired by folk melodies from Ireland, Germany and the US.
Pre-concert Fanfare at 2:30:
Young Artists Justin Saulnier and Kate Moran play Mozart Duo in G for violin & viola
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Friday, September 19 @ 7:30 pm
St.Mary Magdalene Anglican Church, Picton
ARION BAROQUE ENSEMBLE
Well-known as one of Canada’s most celebrated Baroque ensembles, the clarity and freshness of the Arion Baroque Ensemble’s interpretations of Baroque music have been hailed by critics nationally and internationally. The Arion Ensemble presents a varied 18th Century program of music by Telemann, Vivaldi, Boismortier, Platti and Chédeville, featuring Vincent Lauzer on recorder, Mathieu Lussier on bassoon, Amanda Keesmaat on cello, Hank Knox on harpsichord and Sylvain Bergeron on guitar.
Saturday, September 20 @ 7:30 pm
St.Mary Magdalene Anglican Church, Picton
FOUR PLAY CELLO!
The cello has been described as the instrument closest to the human voice. Four cellists, colleagues and friends come together to explore and let their hair down in music from Vivaldi to The Beatles to Metallica. Artistic Director Paul Marleyn is joined by the Principal Cellist of the Canadian Opera Company Leana Rutt, Raphael Weinroth-Browne – the cellist in the iconic Norwegian progressive rock band Leprous, and talented emerging Nova Scotia cellist Jacob MacDonald.
Sunday, September 21 @ 3:00 pm
St.Mary Magdalene Anglican Church, Picton
INSPIRED BY LOVE
Join us for a memorable Sunday afternoon journey together with the Kreutzer Sonata, as it takes us on a European tour from Germany to Russia to the Czech Republic and back to Germany.
A performance of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Violin Sonata sets the scene, before CBC star Tom Allen narrates from Russian author Tolstoy’s short story entitled The Kreutzer Sonata, in which Tolstoy describes how two amateur musicians fall in love while playing the Beethoven violin sonata together. This dramatic short story in turn inspired the celebrated Czech composer Janacek to write a passionate and startlingly beautiful string quartet entitled “The Kreutzer Sonata” String Quartet, which will be played by the Penderecki String Quartet.
In the second half, a short work by Dinuk Wijeratne entitled “I will not let you go” leads us into a festival finale performance of Brahms beloved G major Sextet, inspired by the composer’s secret love for Agathe von Siebold.
Pre-concert talk by Kyle Heide at 2:30