A three-show festival highlights chamber music in Nanaimo.The Chamber Music Festival features six acts in three shows performed by professional musicians. The festival is hosted by the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music and 10 instructors are featured performers.“I am thrilled that the conservatory is able to present this Festival for the first time,” said Kathleen Darby, executive director of the conservatory, in a press release. “The support of the Nanaimo Arts Council and the Spirit Fund mean that we can create a new event that we are hoping will happen every year in Nanaimo.” The festival is part of Nanaimo Arts Council’s Spirit of Shadow Spirit of Light Festival, which takes place on weekends throughout February.The spirit festival included contemporary dance by Holly Bright, a showcase of the best films over the past five years of the Vancouver Island Short Film Festival, and a drumming event hosted by the Snuneymuxw First Nation. Organizers of the chamber music festival promise an eclectic mix of styles to suit all musical tastes.The festival opens Friday (Feb. 25) at 7 p.m. with the Sonora Quartet performing pieces by Shostakovtich; Susanne Bullock and Donna Falconer performing Suite Hebraique by Srul Irving Glick, Spiegel im Spiegel by Avro Part, Three Pieces After Gershwin by Paul Harvey and Sonata for Clarinet and Piano by Leonard Bernstein.The music continues Saturday (Feb. 26), 2 p.m., with Patrick Olmsted and Cindy Speelman playing selections by Guiliani, Ibert, Carulli and Piazolla. The Blackberry Island Trio performs Trio Opus 188 in A minor by C. Reinecke.The festival wraps up Saturday evening, beginning at 7 p.m., with Nicole Arendt and Chris Helman performing selections by Briggs, Rosauro, and Marcello. The Delphinus Trio performs Cooking with Gas by Julia Bowkun, Five Impressions of a Holiday by Eugene Goossens, Trio by Norman Dello Joio and Mistral by Julia Bowkun.
All performances take place at St. Paul’s Anglican Church. Festival passes are $20 and available at the Port Theatre ticket centre. Individual tickets $10 and available only at the door.For more information, please call 250-754-4611.