Called “one of the most original musical thinkers of the new century” by Alex Ross of The New Yorker, Alaska-based composer John Luther Adams creates multi-layered, atmospheric new music – he’s particularly adept at building symphonic work that mimics sounds from the natural world. On June 21, on the evening of the summer solstice, Adams will premiere a new work, Inuksuit, written for The Banff Centre specifically for performance in the Canadian Rockies. Percussionists, in Banff from all over the world, will play the piece in the Centre’s outdoor amphitheatre, with the Bourgeau mountain range as backdrop. It’s one of more than 150 events that will be presented in Banff as part of the Rockies’ biggest cultural celebrations.
The Banff Centre’s annual showcase of fine and performing arts, the Banff Summer Arts Festival, runs from May through August, with performances and exhibitions in music, opera, theatre, dance, visual and literary arts, new media, and film, much of it original work created at the Centre.
The Festival kicks off in May with a trio of literary events – readings by authors including Jack Hodgins and Dionne Brand, and a May 9 evening of cabaret in the Centre’s underground Club venue called Playwrights Speakeasy, a performance event for the acclaimed Banff Playwrights’ Colony. Then the lineup swings into jazz on May 19, with nightly improvisational jazz clubs, and high-profile mainstage performances in the 950-seat Eric Harvie Theatre. One of the world’s great jazz clarinetists, Don Byron is on stage June 6.
In mid-June, a group of indigenous choreographers and dancers, hosted by Aboriginal Arts at The Banff Centre, arrive in Banff for two weeks of intense workshops and performances, setting a future course for indigenous dance. Key guests include Neil Ieremia, artistic director of the lauded new Zealand-based dance group Black Grace, and Australian choreographer Frances Rings. After a series of talks, films, and presentations, audiences can experience cutting-edge new choreography on two nights – June 20 and 21. A few nights later, Edmonton-raised, New York-based choreographer Aszure Barton returns to the Centre with her new work, Busk II, created in Banff with Barton’s new ensemble of dancers and co-creators, Aszure & Artists.
In July, writer Michael Ondaatje arrives in Banff as part of the Centre’s Literary Journalism program, presenting his early documentary The Clinton Special July 23, and participating in an on-stage interview July 24. The July schedule is also packed with opera, dance, and visual arts events. U.K.-based artist Silke Otto-Knapp opens an exhibition of her work July 25 in the Walter Phillips Gallery. Also from London, composer Jonathan Dove, one of the most dynamic players in contemporary opera, is in Banff to present his comic-tragic short opera, Siren Song.
From July 22 to 26, an international roster of young dancers will be on stage for Festival Dance, the Centre’s annual showcase of classical and contemporary ballet. This year, the program includes a new work by Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award winner Heather Myers, and the rarely produced Grosse Fuge by Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen.
In August, singers and actors from the unique Opera as Theatre program will perform in two operas, including La Tragédie de Carmen July 31 through August 9, in its intense, emotional adaptation by British theatre and film director Peter Brook. On August 6, the players switch focus to Leos Janácek’s The Cunning Little Vixen, with a new libretto by Banff Centre Emeritus Artist in Residence John Murrell. This will be preceded by a special August-long-weekend gypsy-themed event – an outdoor barbecue and a performance by legendary gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos August 1.
Other highlights for the 2009 Festival include performances of The Erotic Anguish of Don Juan by Calgary’s Old Trout Puppet Workshop; an exhibition of new media work – fabrics and everyday objects with special powers by artist Kate Hartman; a recital by opera star and Banff entre alumna Tracy Dahl; a July 4 outdoor concert by popular Australian folk-rock singer Xavier Rudd, and an evening of Beethoven and Dvorak with cellist Desmond Hoebig August 15.
The Banff Centre is Canada’s creative leader in arts and culture. Our mission is Inspiring Creativity. In our powerful mountain setting, exceptional artists and leaders from around the world create and perform new works of art, share skills and knowledge in an interdisciplinary environment, explore ideas, and develop solutions in the arts, leadership, and the environment.
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The Banff Summer Arts Festival is generously supported by presenting sponsor RBC.
Purchase individual event tickets by calling the Box Office at 1-800-413-8368 or (403) 762-6301, box_office@banffcentre.ca
For high-resolution, downloadable photos of 2009 Banff Summer Arts Festival
events:
http://www.banffcentre.ca/media_room/images/2009/summer/
For a complete schedule of 2009 Banff Summer Arts Festival events:
http://www.banffcentre.ca/bsaf/
