Erik Taynen
Special to The Record
For many, the reality of the COVID pandemic resulted in a resounding silence when the annual Kaimerata Chamber Music Festival had to be cancelled. Venues were shut down and Canadian violinist Kai Gleusteen and French pianist Catherine Ordronneau were unable to travel from their home in Barcelona, Spain to offer their usual series of concerts in Comox and on Denman Island.
The return of the Kaimerata Festival this summer is an indication that the pandemic may be easing. The festival became a possibility only at the last minute leading to some interesting modifications.
Instead of the usual retinue of five or six performers this year Gleusteen and Ordronneau will be joined by only two musicians: cellist Beth Root Sandvoss from Calgary and violist Dan Scholz from Winnipeg. Both are well known to attendees of previous Kamerata festivals.
Due to COVIDrestrictions. audience size is limited at both Denman Island Hall and Comox United Church so it is recommended to book tickets early or arrive early at the venues if you plan to purchase at the door.
The first concert, at Comox United Church at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 5 features highlights from the works to be performed at the three concerts on Denman Island, including Ordronneau’s breathtakingly beautiful piano solos. The first concert at Denman Island Hall on Friday, Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. features Beethoven’s magestic Archduke Piano Trio. On Saturday at 4 p.m. the feature work is the string trio arrangement of J.S. Bach’s miraculous Goldberg Variations. Sunday’s matinee performance on Denman begins at 2:30 p.m. and offers the audience an opportunity to hear a remarkable but seldom performed Piano Quartet by Camille Saint-Saens. At all venues masks are optional.
As another modification this year the Kaimerata Festival is going paperless. There will be no posters. We are asking fans of the festival to encourage their friends to attend this remarkable event that is offered only in Barcelona, Spain and in the Comox Valley.
Ticket prices are $70 for a pass to all four concerts, $25 (students $10) for individual concerts and $110 for a “special supporter pass” which includes reserved seating and access to rehearsals.
Paperless tickets can be purchased online at kaimerata.com and paid for by e-transfer to kaibarcelona@hotmail.com. Alternatively, tickets can be purchased at the door and paid for by cash or cheque.
ALSO: Vancouver Island Symphony popping up in the Comox Valley for series of concerts