We are thrilled to announce a radical response to our general inability to present and enjoy live music during this period. On Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 March, 2021, we will present eight different musicians, each playing two 30-minute solo concerts, each for a different single audience member: The Guelph Jazz Festival One-on-One Concert Series, Silence, 46 Essex St., Guelph.
During the concert, the musician and the listener will be the only people in the room, which will have been thoroughly disinfected prior to the concert. Both musician and listener must wear masks throughout, and the two can sit at whatever distance (more than two metres apart, naturally) will ensure their mutual comfort and ease.
Tickets for each concert are $20 (sliding scale), and are available first-come-first-served by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. Early-bird tickets are reserved for those who live alone and/or are essential workers and are available on Wednesday, 3 March. Remaining tickets for all others go on sale on Friday, 5 March.
When booking a ticket, please include alternate choices in case a first choice is no longer available. We will update this page regularly; concert slots that have had tickets booked and are thus unavailable will be listed in italics.
Saturday, 20 March
1:00pm • Reza Yazdanpanah (tar)
1:45pm • Reza Yazdanpanah (tar)
3:00pm • Marilyn Lerner (piano)
3:45pm • Marilyn Lerner (piano)
5:00pm • Dan Fortin (double-bass)
5:45pm • Dan Fortin (double-bass)
7:00pm • Alexei Orechin (guitar)
7:45pm • Alexei Orechin (guitar)
Sunday, 21 March
1:00pm • Joe Sorbara (percussion)
1:45pm • Joe Sorbara (percussion)
3:00pm • David Sait (guzheng)
3:45pm • David Sait (guzheng)
5:00pm • Christine Bougie (guitar & lap-steel)
5:45pm • Christine Bougie (guitar & lap-steel)
7:00pm • Brandon Valdivia (drums, percussion & electronics)
7:45pm • Brandon Valdivia (drums, percussion & electronics)
Furthermore, in acknowledgment of the special nature not only of the project but also of this time period, we are encouraging listeners to write a short reflection (200-500 words, perhaps) about the experience. (The musicians have already agreed to contribute as well.) Listeners who want to contribute to this aspect of this project but who are unwilling to write a text could alternatively agree to be interviewed remotely for 10-15 minutes in the weeks following the event, which will then be transcribed. Collectively these texts will surely speak powerfully on the theme of ‘live music during a pandemic.’
This project is made possible by the Celebrate Ontario program of the Government of Ontario.