Violinist Timi Levy will perform again this year at Classics by the Bay

The old pipe organ at Parrsboro’s Trinity United Church should get a good work out during this year’s Classics by the Bay festival from June 26 to 28.

Gayle Martin, who is a music professor at Mount Allison University, will play pieces by Bach and Mendelssohn as well as a series by the American composer, Arthur Foote, whom she describes as “my beloved piano teacher’s teacher.”

Her recital takes place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 28.

Rob Bentley, one of the organizers of Classics by the Bay, says the organ, built by Casavant brothers, rarely gets played to its full potential.

Festival origins

Over coffee at Tim Hortons, organizer David Howe recalls how he got the idea for the yearly classical music concerts when he lived in Wales.

He attended the international arts festival or eisteddfod in the small town of Llangollen, Wales where musicians and dancers from all over the world have been performing since 1947.

After moving to Canada, Howe realized that a classical music festival could also work in a small town like Parrsboro. Fellow organizer Timi Levy saw the potential too. She sang at the Llangollen Eisteddfod in 1986.

“These days I just sing in the shower,” Levy says with a laugh.

But, accompanied by Jennifer King on piano, she will once again be playing a variety of violin pieces at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 27 including Tzigane by Maurice Ravel, Gypsy Air by Pablo Sarasate and Roumanian Dances by Bela Bartok.

Classics by the Bay runs from June 26 to 28. For a full concert schedule click here.