Daily masterclasses, Limelight Concerts make PRISMA Festival a must for classical-music fans
Every instrument of the orchestra, from tuba to harp, has its day at centre-stage during the glorious annual Powell River fest
Post Sponsored by PRISMA Festival
PRISMA Festival.
Over the course of its 10-year history, PRISMA Festival has become best known for its evening concerts featuring chamber and orchestral repertoire as well as free, family-friendly community celebrations like PRISMA on the Beach or the Kids’ Concert and Fun Fair. But one of the things that makes PRISMA such an action-packed event for classical-music enthusiasts is everything that goes on in the daytime.
Powell River (and the qathet region) is such a beautiful destination that it may be hard to pull yourself away from the great outdoors and scenic coastal landscapes and into a 700-seat theatre, but it will be worth it—especially if you’re the type who is keen to go behind the scenes for a glimpse into the mind of a musician.
Daily Masterclasses and Limelight Concerts are festival highlights.
Watch skills develop in real time as students learn from esteemed guest artists at PRISMA masterclasses each day after lunch. Then stick around to watch them play the music that excites them the most in Limelight Concerts, which take place weekdays from June 13 to 25 at the Evergreen Theatre (the home of PRISMA in Powell River). Daily admission is only $5 (waived with the purchase of a Festival Pass.)
Limelight Concerts will feature students and/or guest artists in unique configurations playing compositions they love. From solo tuba to chamber-music ensembles to string quartets, each 30-minute concert will be curated by a different member of the PRISMA Festival Orchestra or guest-artist roster. These performances eschew the tuxedo-clad inklings of classical music, adopting a more informal delivery.
During the masterclasses, PRISMA’s passionate and talented emerging young musicians get instruction from world-renowned guest artists in front of the festival audience’s eyes and ears. The audience witnesses the progress that is happening on stage and experiences the juxtaposition of preparation and spontaneity that is the essence of music performance. Throughout PRISMA, each instrument of the orchestra (violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, harp, and percussion) will have its day at centre-stage.
PRISMA Festival.
While the finalized schedule of masterclasses and Limelight Concerts will be announced closer to the festival—and in a few cases, daily— many will be ad-hoc combinations of students and/or guest artists that form over the course of PRISMA. Here are a few to watch for:
The harpists are always a hit, and this year will be led by Heidi Bearcroft of the Toronto Symphony.
Or, how about a wall of sound from the brass players?
Or, Dutch oboist Pauline Oostenrijk, principal oboist in the Residentie Orchestra The Hague.
Or, PRISMA’s String Quartet in Residence—the Concordia Quartet.
PRISMA will also be featuring a new guest artist, Richard Antoine White, in a TED-style talk as he recounts the journey that took him from homelessness as a child on the streets of Baltimore to a notable professional music career. He has the distinction of being the first Black musician in the United States to earn a doctorate in tuba performance and is now a professor of tuba at the University of New Mexico as well as principal tubist of the Santa Fe Symphony and the New Mexico Philharmonic.
For more information, visit prismafestival.com.
PRISMA Festival.
Post sponsored by PRISMA Festival.