One of Oxford County’s biggest music festivals will return this year with a mixture of live and virtual shows.
The Stratford Summer Music Festival will consist of 44 concerts over the course of August. The opening night will see festival veteran Isabel Bayrakdarian perform a classical concert featuring the work of Brahms, alongside The Gryphon Trio, Sharon Wei and festival director Mark Fewer.
The festival offers a variety of offbeat musical styles, from Duane Andrews’ fusion of swing jazz and Newfoundland folk music to the cabaret-inspired troubadours Marcus Nance and Kevin Ramessar. Award-winning jazz trumpeter Jens Lindemann will headline the Grand Finale concert. The event typically sees music-lovers visiting from nearby areas like Woodstock and Tillsonburg, as well as further abroad.
The Stratford Summer Music Festival will consist of largely outdoor concerts, many of which will also offer live-stream options. There will also be fitness events associated with the festival, such as tai chi exercises and music-themed walking tours, children’s programming and a screening of the documentary on folk legend Ron Hynes, “Man of a Thousand Songs”.
Music festivals have had to adjust their format over the past year, pairing in-person concerts and time-tested promotional tools like poster printing with online streaming and at-home performances.
The 2021 edition of the Stratford Summer Music Festival will begin with Bayrakdarian’s concert at The Avondale on August 5, concluding with Lindemann performing on the August 29 at the same venue.
