Basia Bulat, Ron Sexsmith, and Randy Bachman headline Banff Centre Summer Events

BANFF, AB, April 18, 2016 – Things are about to heat up for summer with the launch of  Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity’s eclectic summer events season featuring Basia Bulat and the Cecilia String Quartet; Ron Sexsmith; Randy Bachman; visual artist, Yael Bartana; Benjamin Britten's opera The Rape of Lucretia; and New Yorker staff writer, Nick Paumgarten. Tickets on sale now at banffcentre.ca

Headline events run from June – August and feature a highlight series in the Shaw Amphitheatre that includes performances from Ron Sexsmith and Basia Bulat performing with the Cecilia String Quartet; Jens Lindemann, Tommy Banks and other acclaimed Order of Canada brass musicians; country rock band, Blue Rodeo; electronic dub-step musicians, A Tribe Called Red; and, jazz with renowned pianist and composer, Vijay Iyer and guests.

Summer events are deeply connected to Banff Centre’s arts programs. Each year, the Centre supports the commissioning and creation of new work by individual artists and arts collectives. Opera season kicks off at Banff Centre with No One’s Safe (July 7 and 9) by Against the Grain Theatre’s artistic director, Joel Ivany. This promenading opera combines the music and stories of Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, and Così fan tutte to create a Mozart murder mystery played by participants in the opera residency, Open Space: Opera in the 21st Century. Participants will also stage Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia (July 14, 15 and 17), an intimate, haunting operatic masterpiece with an orchestra of 13 players from various Banff Centre music programs.  

Ron Sexsmith and Basia Bulat co-headline on July 24,  with Basia Bulat appearing in a special collaboration with the 2010 Banff International String Quartet winners, Cecilia Quartet, to create a set of exuberant, sparkling pop music. 

On July 28, 29 and 30, acclaimed choreographer Fernando Melo presents a new work-in-progress dance featuring dancers and participants from the Centre’s new dance residency The Creative Gesture, a program for curious and elite dance artists led by Banff Centre’s artistic director of dance, Emily Molnar.

There will also be a range of literary events (Nick Paumgarten, Eli Horrowitz, Scott Stossel, and Dionne Brand); Indigenous talks (Reconciliation and Entanglement with John Borrows); dance (featuring dancers from the Indigenous Dance Residency); film screenings (Fire Song, a debut film by First Nations director and Banff Centre alumnus Adam Garnett Jones); and a visual art lecture series (Sara Cwynar and Eunice Luk) at our indoor and outdoor cultural venues.

"This summer is a wonderful time to experience the very best in contemporary dance, music, literary, and visual arts  at Banff Centre,” says Carolyn Warren, vice president, Arts, Banff Centre. “The diverse and exciting programming allows audiences to revel in the best chamber music quartet playing in the world alongside contemporary opera and dance, and many opportunities to experience fantastic outdoor concerts offering magnificent views of Banff National Park."

Summer Highlights

Summer season at Banff Centre kicks off with National Aboriginal Day celebrations on June 21 and 22. Join us for two days of events featuring Arctic games with actor, athlete, and community leader Johnny Issaluk; live music with the musical group Pamyua; and, a screening of Sarila, an animated Inuit feature film for families. John Borrows, lawyer, author, and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law and Nexen Chair in Indigenous Leadership, features in our special Banff Centre Talk: Reconciliation and Entanglement which focuses on Indigenous cultures working towards reconciliation.

On June 22, Walter Phillips Gallery presents a solo-exhibition of Israeli artist, Yael Bartana’s films:  Inferno, Pardes, and True Finn. Guest curated by São Paulo-based curator, Ana Paula Cohen, On Cohabitation will be the first exhibition of these works in Canada. 

Juno Award-winning jazz singer, Emilie-Claire Barlow, performs classic jazz and brass numbers from the 1950s onwards in the Eric Harvie Theatre on July 2. And July 10 sees the arresting country rock band Blue Rodeo back in the Shaw Amphitheatre for an outdoor summer tradition.

Mixing traditional pow wow vocals and drumming with cutting edge electronic music, A Tribe Called Red return to Banff Centre to celebrate their aboriginal culture, alongside an open, wild party on July 31. Bursting forth from Ottawa, native Producer and DJ crew A Tribe Called Red are making an impact on the global electronic scene with a truly unique sound.

On August 14, the “architect of Canadian rock’n’roll,” Randy Bachman, comes to the Shaw Amphitheatre to perform some of his greatest hits including American Woman, Taking Care of Business, and many other tracks that have become pop-culture touchstones.

Celebrated pianist and composer, Vijay Iyer, returns to lead the 44th Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music. Jazz concerts at Banff Centre run from August 4 – 20 with the first in our Saturday Night Jazz series kicking off on August 6. These intimate performances feature the jazz stars of tomorrow with internationally acclaimed mentors including Iyer; trumpet and santur player, Amir El Saffar; harmonicist, Gregoire Maret; flautist, Nicole Mitchell; trumpet player, Jason Palmer; drummer, Ralph Peterson; and, saxophonist Gary Thomas.

For over 30 years, the Banff International String Quartet Competition has celebrated the art of chamber music while providing career support for emerging string quartets.  The triennial competition returns this summer from August 29 – September 4 and features 40 extraordinary musicians from around the world. Among the extraordinary performances of classical and contemporary work will be the premiere of a new commission from Zosha Di Castri and a hip-hop, classical mixup from the Afiara String Quartet and DJ Skratch Bastid.

Set against the backdrop of the stunning Canadian Rockies in Banff National Park, performances at Banff Centre are designed to appeal to all ages and cultural interests. Join us at the intersection of art and ideas this summer!

For more information about Banff Centre’s summer events, and to purchase your tickets online, visit banffcentre.ca