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On the eve of its 75th Anniversary Gala weekend, The Banff Centre is looking to the future with a sense of energy, vigour and renewed purpose. While the centre offers endless possibilities for exploration in almost every art form, nowhere is the sense of renewal stronger than in its music department.
“Historically, I think we’ve had international recognition for the work we’ve done in, for lack of a better term, classical music,” says Barry Shiffman, renowned violinist and the Banff Centre’s director of music programs. “Where we have started to increase our offerings is around the area of new creation. The new creations could be a new opera, they could be a new indie band or violin sonata or an experimental piece for laptop with classical flutists. The energy that comes from people involved in creating new work is infectious.”
From its humble beginnings as a summer school for classical pianists, the music program has grown beyond the wildest dreams of its founders. It now includes year-round residencies for emerging and mid-career classical musicians and composers, a world-renowned summer program for jazz musicians (founded by the late, great Oscar Peterson), an audio engineering program and residencies for indie-rock groups.
This weekend’s gala celebrations reflect this diversity. Jill Barber will play two concerts of her infectious folk-jazz-pop songs, and Toronto’s Red Sky theatre company will present three performances of a new work entitled Tono (Higher, Faster, Stronger). Through dance and music, Tono explores similarities between the aboriginal cultures of Canada, Mongolia and China.
On Friday night, Shiffman will utilize his licence to thrill by playing with centre participants and faculty in From Russia With Love, an evening of Russian chamber music. He is particularly excited about the 75th Anniversary Gala orchestral concert on Saturday.
“This weekend will culminate in a performance of [Beethoven’s] ‘Emperor’ Piano Concerto by Jon Kimura Parker, one of Canada’s finest piano soloists,” he says. “We’re pretty psyched about that. Additionally on that program we will have Richard Margison, the great Canadian tenor, and Tracy Dahl, the great soprano. So if you can imagine hearing all three in one concert — that’s a real feast.”
While many alumni of the centre will be in Banff for the weekend, others will be travelling to Toronto and Ottawa to participate in performances that highlight the many contributions The Banff Centre has made to Canadian culture. From June 27 through June 29, Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre presented a festival of works created in Banff, including two shows by Onalea Gilbertson and the Dandi Trio. In August, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival will present a concert by the St. Lawrence String Quartet to mark the centre’s 75th anniversary.
What continues to draw artists as diverse as Montreal chamber-rockers Bell Orchestre and Toronto’s extraordinary Gryphon Trio to develop projects at The Banff Centre is its unique atmosphere and unusual approach to music education. There is a refreshing openness that allows musicians to escape the stylistic straightjackets imposed by some music schools, and cross-disciplinary collaborations are encouraged. As Shiffman says, “People connect with this diverse world of artists that are on campus. It’s really exciting.”
Also unlike other institutions, the centre does not offer degrees, and, in Shiffman’s words, it aspires to “destroy the hierarchy” between faculty and participants. Much of their interaction simply involves creating, rehearsing and performing music together.
“There are just so few places that you can go and focus on new creations, focus on artistic development, in an environment that is not degree-driven,” he says. “You have a freedom of experimentation here that is something artists need to fight for.”
