Two Intimate Shows will take place on July 17th and July 20th 

On the 17th and 20th of July, classical music is coming to the Chaleur Region. ClassikFest is a mini-festival started by Dave Scott back in 2012. Now, 12 years later, the festival is gearing up for two intimate shows. 

Feeling like his life in music was on pause, over a decade ago, Dave did something about it. The festival began with musicians from NB and Atlantic Canada, before growing into its peak of about 40 musicians, before COVID. 

Dave attended McGill University and started working for the Sistema program after. When COVID hit, he and his colleagues from the region still wanted to put on these performances, and scaled down. 

Now, there are between six and twelve musicians in the post-COVID version of ClassikFest.

“With more musicians you can play more shows, but with less musicians you can play more music,” says Dave. 

The first concert on July 17th, will take place at St Luke’s Presbyterian Church and will feature musicians from Bathurst, and Miramichi, who all have an international background in music, including Dave who is currently studying at Florida State University.

The second show on the 20th will take place at the First United Church, and it will feature Dave and his colleagues. 

The July 17th show is titled “The British Invasion” which will draw comparisons between Samuel Coleridge Taylor and The Beatles. Taylor, who was a British musician, was all the rage in the United States back in the 19th century, and it made Dave think about The Beatles’ impact on American popular culture in the 20th century. 

Dave is excited about this year’s festival and about some of the returning musicians. The violist, Carolyn Farnand who played in the festival several times before. Her background is beyond impressive. She attended Juilliard, worked for the New World Symphony in Miami, and now holds the principal Viola Chair for Symphony Nova Scotia. 

To look at the rest of the list of impressive musicians joining this year’s ClassikFest, you can visit the website here: www.classikfestchaleur.wixsite.com

When asked why it’s important to bring classical music to the Chaleur Region, Dave says, 

“What classical music does that’s a little different than popular music is that it takes you deeper into the art. You’ll have more complex ideas, you’ll have more philosophical feelings you might not be able to put into words, but you can really feel it. For other people, it can be a way of meditating and reflecting.”

You can get tickets for the events at the door by donation. There is a suggested donation price of $25 a ticket. 

Dave Scott is a well-trained musician who has been bringing his love for classical music to his hometown for years.

We want to thank Dave for doing an interview with us and showcasing everything he is doing for the Chaleur Region. Well, that’s another edition of The Northern Heat Report. The place you come to listen to the stories that have not yet been discovered.