MUSIC MOVES - 2016 C’mon Festival Shakes It Up

Chamber Music and Dance

Friday July 15 and Saturday July 16 at 8 p.m.
Sunday July 17 at 3 p.m.
McCauley’s Studio 96 (10909 – 96 Street)
www.cmonfestival.ca

Smart, quirky and intoxicating define the music on offer at the Fourth Annual C’mon Festival, July 15 – 17 at Studio 96.

A celebration of the ageless interplay between music and dance, the C’mon Festival: Music Moves will present three exotic programs, including many Edmonton premieres, with a unique combination of instruments made famous by Igor Stravinsky’s 1918 Soldier’s Tale. The versatile C’mon Ensemble, seven of Alberta’s top professional classical musicians will collaborate with dancers from Edmonton’s resident ballet company, Citie Ballet, with choreography by its artistic director, Jorden Morris.

Featuring dancers Kylee Hart, Mingyi Liang and Kiera Keglowitsch, the festival will include a choreographed version of Bizet’s Carmen and the premiere of a C’mon Festival commission by Nicolás Arnáez for musicians, dancer and live electronics. Edmonton actor Garret Ross will narrate Dance Marathon ($1,000 Stake), a poignant depiction of the hardship of the Depression, with composer Alastair King’s score inspired by popular music of the period. The traditional finale to the festival, Johann Strauss’ Blue Danube, will get a hilarious treatment from Edmonton singer/songwriter Andrea House.

The festival programming blurs the lines between classical music and other genres. In addition to standard and contemporary classical repertoire, it has become a trademark of the festival to present non-classical music especially arranged for the virtuoso capabilities of the C’mon Ensemble, who are Aiyana Anderson-Howatt violin, Janice Quinn double bass, Echo Mazur clarinet, Matthew Howatt bassoon, Brian Sand trumpet, Kathryn Macintosh trombone and Timothy Borton percussion.

An element of audience participation sets the C’mon Festival apart from most classical (more)

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music presentations, and this year promises some unique opportunities for festival-goers to be directly involved in the performances.

The idea behind the C’mon Festival is to create a casual atmosphere and accessible delightful programming. Started by trombonist Kathryn Macintosh and a few of her colleagues from the Edmonton Symphony, the aim is to draw new audiences to the riches of classical music.

Artistic director Kathryn Macintosh says, “I love to juxtapose the contrasting sensibilities of composers of today with those of the past. This year is probably the most long-reaching arc we’ve ever done. We’re actually drawing a line between music of the 15th century with composers like Edmonton’s own Nico Arnaez, who is using the very latest technology to express human connections.”

Admission is by donation.

The C’mon Festival is supported by:

Alberta Foundation for the Arts
City of Edmonton
Edmonton Arts Council

Information submitted by Kathryn Macintosh.