First annual Columbia Valley Chamber Music Festival

The first annual Columbia Valley Chamber Music Festival is being organized by horn player Lauren Robinson.

Aug 16-20, Invermere –

A summertime musical breath of fresh air is coming to the Columbia Valley August 16-20, 2011. Although the new Columbia Valley Chamber Music Festival will be based in Invermere, organizer Lauren Robinson is hoping its spirit will find a home in the heart of the entire valley and it will become a permanent part of the annual music scene here, drawing visitors from the rest of BC and beyond.

Lauren, horn player and artistic director of the festival, and her husband, bassist Jeffrey White, regularly come to stay at the family’s condo in Invermere and each time they have been here they have said to each other. ”Wouldn’t it be really great to start a chamber music festival in this wonderful town in such a beautiful setting?”

And so Lauren has decided to do just that. Her dream is that the annual Columbia Valley Chamber Music Festival will become something much bigger than it will be this year, incorporating more communities up and down the valley and providing more opportunities for students, amateur musicians and community members. By some of the enthusiastic responses she has been receiving, it could very well exceed even her expectations!

All six of the musicians who will be performing in this first festival are donating their time. Lauren explains that they all play in orchestras and don’t get to choose the music they play so they are looking forward to this opportunity to present their own favorite music.

The festival will present two concerts of chamber music at Christ Church Trinity. The first, on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 8:00 pm, will feature diverse music for various instruments, including a world premiere, composer David J. Lang’s Song Without Words for Flugelhorn and Piano, performed by Adam Zinatelli, principal trumpet of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and pianist John Barteaux. Violinist Laura Reid will play works for solo violin, as well as other collaborations for horn, bass, viola, and piano. Admission will be $10 at the door.

The second concert on Saturday, August 20, 2011 at 8:00 pm, at will include Trio for Horn, Violin, and Piano by Johannes Brahms, as well as the Concerto for Trumpet by Georg Philip Telemann. Admission is $10 at the door.

In addition to the two concerts, the festival will include a master class for music students and amateur musicians. This master class will be free and open to the public. For more information or to sign up to participate, contact Lauren Robinson, lrrhorn@gmail.com.

In conjunction with the Invermere Public Library’s 2011 Kids’ Summer Reading Program, the festival will also be presenting children’s concerts in fun and interactive sessions. To learn more about these events, contact the library at 250-342-6416.

Christ Church Trinity is located at 110 – 7th Avenue, Invermere, BC and the Invermere Public Library is located at 201 – 7th Avenue, Invermere, BC.

For more information on any of the events in the Columbia Valley Chamber Music Festival, please contact Artistic Director Lauren Robinson at lrrhorn@gmail.com, or 267.980.0278.