Musical Wednesdays return to Chalmers-Wesley United Church
Submitted by Shirley Nadeau
The organizers of the Summer Open Doors program at Chalmers-Wesley United Church, located at 78 Rue Sainte-Ursule in Old Quebec, are pleased to announce the program of the upcoming summer concert series.
The first of the Musical Wednesdays concerts, featuring Crépuscule – Christian Haerinck (bagpipes), Dominic Haerinck (guitar) and Daniel Fréchette (fiddle) – a trio of musicians who play toe-tapping traditional Scottish music – will take place on June 29, starting at 12:05 p.m. Admission to all concerts is free, but donations are always welcome.
Before the Musical Wednesdays concert series gets underway, however, two additional free concerts will be presented at Chalmers-Wesley by visiting American choirs.
On Friday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m., the Chamber Singers of Greenwich Academy from Connecticut will present a program of works by Mozart, Schubert and Rutter.
On Saturday, June 18, at 7 p.m., Mundus, a contemporary and world music choral ensemble from Minneapolis, will perform. All are welcome!
There is also an exceptional free concert on Sunday, July 3 as the Ville de Québec celebrates the 414th anniversary of its founding by Samuel de Champlain in 1608. Organist Jean Côté will give two 40-minute recitals at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
The Musical Wednesdays concerts continue throughout July and August at 12:05 p.m. as follows:
July 6 – Rébecca Veilleux (mezzo-soprano) and Élie Lefebvre-Pellegrino (baritone), voice students of the Conservatoire de musique de Québec, will sing selections from their favourite operas, accompanied by pianist Maureen Frawley.
July 13 – Marc-André Marquis, organist of Églises Saint-Mathieu and Sainte-Geneviève;
July 20 – Guitars & Co. a group of young classical guitarists from Nîmes, France;
July 27 – Le Duo Cordes au Vent: Peter Calkins (flûte traversière) and Lise Lavoie (guitar classique);
Aug. 3 – David Jacques (baroque guitar) and Lawrence O’Hearn (flûte irlandaise).
Aug. 10 – Alain Châteauvert (classical piano) will perform works From Chopin to Debussy including pieces by Franz Liszt and Quebec composers Ernest Gagnon and Calixa Lavallée.
Aug. 17 – Sharon MacLeod (soprano) and Peter Calkins (tenor) will present some of their favourite solos and duets from Quebec Art Company musicals. They will be accompanied by pianist Marc-André Marquis.
Aug. 24 – Pianists Maureen Frawley and Dana Nigrim will perform duets by Franz Schubert and Gabriel Fauré.
Aug. 31 – The season ends with a concert by Jacquelin Rochette, organist of Chalmers-Wesley from 1980 to 1987, who originated our summer concert series over 30 years ago and who, as the former artistic director of Cassavant Frères, was very involved in the restoration of the organ for the past many years.
The Musical Wednesdays concert series and the Summer Open Doors program at Chalmers-Wesley United Church are made possible by the financial support of the Cultural Development Agreement of the Ville de Québec and the Government of Quebec, and the Café de Paris, which also provides gift certificates for door prizes that are drawn at the end of each concert.
The church will be open daily to visitors from June 21 to Sept. 12, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Monday to Saturday and 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, following the worship service. For more information about Chalmers-Wesley United Church, visit chalmerswesley.org.