The Windwood Music Festival is back from August 13-27, 2023! 5 new international resident artists will be performing with us on a series of themed concerts from Renaissance Fair to Masquerade Ball along with pop-up concerts at your favorite bars and cafes. Classical chamber music by world-renowned musicians is reimagined in your very own Airdrie. Join us for “A Fair to Remember”!
The Windwood Music Festival, Airdrie’s premiere classical music festival dedicated to strengthening and reinvigorating Airdrie’s arts and culture scene while providing the highest caliber of international musicians an opportunity to explore the deep connection between land, music, and people. Windwood celebrated its inaugural season in October 2022 with a week-long festival that brought eight international artists to Airdrie to perform in outdoor spaces, bars, cafes, and anywhere else that needed a musical connection.This year, Windwood Music Festival is presenting a full two-week festival, themed "A Fair to Remember”. 5 new international resident artists will be performing on a series of themed concerts from Renaissance Fair to Masquerade Ball along with pop-up concerts.
FESTIVAL PROGRAM
“A Fair To Remember”
Opening Concert “A Windwood Fairy Tale”
FRIDAY 8/18 @ 7 pm Nose Creek Park Amphitheater
Free Admission
Performing as Duo Perdendosi, violinist Maitreyi Muralidharan and pianist Tong Wang raise the curtain on the 2023 Windwood Festival with a new, thrilling musical storytelling concert. The Duo will take you along an original fairy tale from the enchanted forests of the Czech Republic and the mystical Yangzi River of the East China Sea through to bewildering drama inside “Howl’s Moving Castle”. Finally, with your help to sound the fairy godmother’s magical triangle, we come back and around again, home to Windwood, where Fauré’s luscious Violin Sonata sweeps the fantastical memories into the breeze of the open air.
Featuring works by Beethoven, Janáček, Wong, Wijeratne, Kats-Chernin, Hisaishi, Chu, and Fauré.
Food & Chamber Music Funfair
SUNDAY 8/20 @2 pm Nose Creek Park Amphitheater
Free Admission
6 international resident artists take over the stage for a special chamber music concert. Don’t miss this special opportunity: come hear tango, jazz, classics, modern, and old-time favourites alike all in one concert ! Arrive early at 12pm to enjoy a festive community potluck and family-friendly events before the musical showcase!
Featuring piano trios by Amy Beach and Fanny Mendelssohn along with works by Piazzolla, Purich, and Nina Simone/Michael Bublé’s “Feeling Good”!
Renaissance Fair
WEDNESDAY 8/23 @ 5pm Jensen Park Gazebo
Free Admission
Hark! Do mine ears deceive me? They do not! You have heard correctly! The Windwood Music Festival is proud to present a Renaissance Faire at the Jensen Park Gazebo! Come hear the distinguished WMF String Quartet perform masterworks by Florence Price and Felix Mendelssohn, along with some merry tunes from times of old. Visit the illustrious vendors of the Airdrie Farmers Market, watch the fantastical feats of circus performers and aerial acrobats, and participate in theatrical festivities! Dress for the times or come as thou art!
Musical Carousel
FRIDAY 8/25 @ 7 pm Chinook Park
Free Admission
Do you have a hard time answering the question “what kind of music do you like,” because you like so many different kinds of music that you can’t possibly choose? Well then this concert is for you! Come see all 8 WMF musicians while they perform pop hits arranged for piano and strings outdoors at Chinook Park. Following a wild collage of tunes from Russian Traditional songs, Irish fiddling, French cabaret, and good ol’ Western rodeo, the Windwood Festival musicians will invite local students and artists to join them in performing Boccherini’s String Quartet and Coldplay’s Viva la Vida! A true community collaboration, the concert will conclude with a festive performance with the musicians of the Calgary Civic Low-Brass Quartet.
A Final Fair-Well
SATURDAY 8/26 @1 pm Daybreak Church
Entry Fee: Pay What You Can
Ever heard classical strings and piano rock out? After two weeks of inspiring creativity and celebrating community, Duo Perdendosi and the resident artists come together for an eclectic chamber music concert. Experience the monumental Brahms Piano Quintet as well as American-Indian composer Reena Esmail’s luminous Piano Trio, African-American composer William Grant Still’s “Summerland”, and a final hurrah with an all-time classic: “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. Come celebrate the classics in every sense of the word!
Salon Concert
SATURDAY 8/26 @8 pm Windwood Residence House
RSVP: Seating is limited
The Windwood family invites you into their home! Join the resident artists in the intimate setting of the Windwood Residence for a special salon concert: the after party where you get to experience the magic of friendship and music right up close - along with delicious hor d’eouvres and wine! Drink, feast, and be merry!