November 23 @ 7:30 pm
Explore the Intersections of Sound, Emotion, and Community
The Contemporary Music Festival is back for 2024 with the theme “Echoes.” This year, the festival explores how music can reflect the challenges of our world like chaos, isolation, and loss while also offering hope, resilience, and connection. Join us for three special concerts that highlight diversity, creativity, and the beauty of life’s imperfections.
Concert 1: Loves Songs
Date & Time: Nov. 22, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Memorial Hall, UNB Campus, Fredericton
Experience diverse soundscapes inspired by local culture and nature in this capstone performance, featuring an improvised piece shaped by community-gathered sounds and visuals of biodiversity. The festival also debuts “Call Me Mother” by LGBTQ composer Matthew-John Knights, celebrating inclusivity and love. The program concludes with works by Hildegard Westerkamp and Juliet Palmer.
Performers: Karin Aurell (flute), Norman Adams (cello), Nadia Francavilla (violin), Carl Philippe Gionet (piano)
Concert 2: Offrande
Date & Time: Nov. 23, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Christ Church Cathedral (To be confirmed)
Experience the close-knit harmonies of flute, violin, cello, organ, and piano. This performance weaves both the personal and the public into a memorable musical offering in memory of the legacy of two extraordinary composers, Rachel Laurin (1961–2023) and Kaija Saariaho (1952–2023).
Performers: Nadia Francavilla (violins), Danielle Sametz (violins), Sue Sayle (viola), Norman Adams (cello), Carl Philippe Gionet (piano), Karin Aurell (flute), Richard Horsnby (clarinet), Thomas Gonder (organ)
Concert 3: Women of the North
Date & Time: Nov. 24, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Memorial Hall, UNB Campus, Fredericton
Inspired by personal relocation during the 2023 NWT wildfire season, Carmen Braden, a composer from Yellowknife, debuted a dramatic new piece at this performance, which is a celebration of creativity and resiliency. In addition, the performance includes pieces by Juliet Palmer, Anna Höstman, and Cassandra Miller that pay moving tribute to northern women and their stories.
Performers: Christina Haldane (voice), Nadia Francavilla (violin), Mark Kleyn (viola), Norman Adams (cello), Carl Philippe Gionet (piano), Karin Aurell (flute), Richard Hornsby (clarinet), Joel Cormier (percussion)
