After many months of staying home and lots and lots of Zoom time, I was thrilled last week to get out and see two live performances.
On the weekend I saw a Tafelmusik performance in High Park, part of their Dream in High Park series.
“Experience the beauty of music of the past with these intimate chamber concerts featuring two or three members of Tafelmusik orchestra. Presented in an informal style with introductions from the musicians, a different program will be offered each night.”
On the night we went, Tafelmusik performers Geneviève Gilardeau, on violin, and Lucas Harris, on lute, were featured.
And then on Tuesday night, thanks to my daughter’s generosity and organizational skills, I went to Stratford on opening night to see Why We Tell the Story, a cabaret performance and celebration of Black musical theatre directed by Marcus Nance.
Between Tafelmusik and Stratford, it feels like it’s springtime in the world of performance. Little buds are sprouting and growing as we all get vaccinated and covid restrictions ease up. I was front row center at Stratford, just a few feet from the stage. I confess I cried. It felt magical. I knew I missed live performance but I had no idea how much until last week. I’m excited about what’s up for us at Guelph in the year ahead as we open our new, and newly renovated, performing arts spaces. You can follow along with the progress here.
I know technically it’s summer, but in terms of the pandemic and performance, it feels like spring to me.
To push the horticulture analogy just a little bit further–and why not, it’s Guelph!– it feels like we’re building an arts greenhouse, making fertile ground to take in all of the new performance ideas–theatre, and music and more–and bring them in and help them flourish.
I’m very excited about the year ahead and I hope you are too.
