Toronto, 8 August 2016 – The 2016 Festival marked Artistic Director Douglas McNabney’s last at the helm of Toronto Summer Music, a six year tenure that saw a 68% increase in audience attendance, a marked increase in the profile of the festival, the introduction of a series of free daytime lectures, films and artist interviews to augment the festival experience, the SHUFFLE concerts series, the creation of a successful Summer Academy for young musicians on the cusp of a professional career, and the launch of a Community Academy for adult amateur musicians in 2015.
Under McNabney’s leadership the festival attracted many of the world’s top musicians – pianists Ingrid Fliter, Garrick Ohlsson, Beatrice Rana; celebrated sopranos Karita Mattila, Sondra Radvanovsky; baritone Christopher Maltman, jazzman Danilo Pérez, classical guitar sensation Milos Karadglic, baritone Gerald Finley, renowned ensembles including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Emerson String Quartet, Gryphon Trio, Danish String Quartet, Brentano String Quartet, the Nash Ensemble – and presented memorable events like The Minimalist Dream House Project, and the TSM, Against the Grain, COC, Banff Centre co-production of Benjamin Britten’s chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia.
“The Festival is truly a community of music lovers who come together each summer for great music, fellowship, and building the calibre of classical music presentations in the summer in Toronto. It has been a pleasure to lead this Festival for the past six years,” said McNabney.
Wrapped in the theme London Calling!, the 2016 Toronto Summer Music Festival (July 14 to August 7) celebrated the vast musical traditions of Great Britain and featured 249 international and Canadian artists – the most in the festival’s history. Memorable moments included an exuberant and engaging recital by mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, after which the ecstatic audience clamored for 5 encore performances, and Ben Heppner spontaneously leading the audience in a rousing sing-a-long of “Rule Brittania!” at (Almost) Last Night at the Proms. Programming for the 2017 Toronto Summer Music Festival, under the new Artistic Director Jonathan Crow, will be announced in March 2017.
