On Sunday evening, the Agassiz Chamber Music Festival kicked off their 2024 offering.
Dubbed “Sounds in the Key of Spring,” the festival features a plethora of local and international players, exploring a wide array of chamber music in its various guises, combinations and permutations.
One such player is Thunderbay-born, New Haven-settled violinist Gregory Lewis, having opted to stay in the city since completing his Doctor of Musical Arts coursework at the prestigious Yale University.
Though “settled” is, perhaps, up for debate.
“I'm only going to be home for three days between now and September,” says Lewis, who has been crisscrossing the continent as a performer and clinician.
Following recent stops in Seattle, Rhode Island, Boston, and New Mexico, he arrives back in a much more familiar territory for the next week.
“Winnipeg was my first home away from home,” says Lewis, who moved to the city at 16 to start undergraduate studies at the Desautels Faculty of Music.
“It’s always so, so nice to come back... it doesn’t feel like I’m travelling when I’m here,” he says. “It just feels like I’m going to another home.”
Lewis will be plenty busy during his visit, as one of the busier players in this year’s Agassiz Festival.
Not only will he be participating in several concerts alongside fellow artists, he’ll also be headlining a few of his own.
On Tuesday, Lewis reunites with pianist Paul Williamson – who happens to be his old roommate – in a concert called “92 Strings.”
Then on Friday, Lewis will give a solo recital, joined by host Andrea Ratuski, in which audiences will be treated to a performance of Bach’s Partita in E, plus a little bit of music by Jessie Montgomery. The following afternoon, he will be presenting a violin masterclass.
Certainly a busy stop.
Lewis returns to town with a new violin under his chin. A 1768 Miller Januarius Gagliano violin, on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts’ Musical Instrument Bank.
Listen to the full conversation with Gregory to hear more about the new instrument, what it’s like being back in Winnipeg, and his participation in the Agassiz Festival.
For tickets to any of the Agassiz events, visit: www.agassizfestival.com