 | The Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival (Chamberfest) has been operating each summer since 1994. In that year Julian Armour started a small festival that was to become the largest chamber music festival in the world. The initial season had 22 concerts at various churches in Ottawa (Canada). Each year the number of concerts increased and by 2001 there were over 100 concerts in the two weeks of the festival. The CBC Radio frequently broadcasts concerts nationally during the festival, making the effective audience very large. The festival is now organized and run by the Ottawa Chamber Music Society. Running July 25 to August 9, 2008, Chamberfest will offer over 110 events and hundreds of musicians over a 16-day period. |
| The festival now attracts many of the world's major musicians and groups. Although the concerts are primarily for classical music, the scope has been enlarged to include music by pop and jazz composers and also music from non-European countries. The concerts of a typical day would have several different types of music. The festival is very popular because of its quality, but also because it is very affordable. The 15th anniversary of the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival will start on Friday, July 25, with a first-ever Festival appearance by the incredible Canadian-Armenian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian (see photo), performing music from her recently released album Tango Notturno. Isabel Bayrakdarian is a world-renowned soprano. Her first recording, titled “Joyous Light”, was released in March 2002 and rose to No. 1 in the Canadian classical charts. Soon afterwards, her vocals were featured in Atom Egoyan’s film Ararat, and in the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in the track Evenstar. Performing alongside Isabel Bayrakdarian in the Tango Notturno ensemble will be her husband, Armenian-Canadian pianist/arranger, Serouj Kradjian; Argentinian bandoneón virtuoso, Fabian Carbone; Marie Bérard, violin; Roman Borys, cello; Roberto Occhipinti, bass and Shalom Bard, clarinet. The Gryphon Trio will be the artistic programming directors and artists-in-residence for Chamberfest 2008. Event: Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival Date: July 25 (Friday) - August 9 (Saturday), 2008 Location: Christ Church Cathedral St. Giles Presbyterian Church McLeod-Stewarton United Church St. Matthew's Anglican Church St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church Dominion-Chalmers United Church Ottawa, Ontario Canada | |
| SOURCE: Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival 2008 |
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