SweetWater Music Festival

Over six days, audiences can:
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Immerse themselves in Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition for two pianos with Philip Chiu and Janelle Fung, paired with paintings by Paula Arciniega.
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Feel the heat of Payadora’s fiery tango at Heartwood, with Drew Jurecka and Joe Phillips igniting an unforgettable night of rhythm and groove.
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Experience Celestial Harmonies at Historic Leith Church, where harp, clarinet, and strings shine in Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, and Ravel—capped by our legendary post‑concert after party.
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Bask in Return of the Light, a 70‑minute no‑intermission journey featuring Debussy’s L’après‑midi d’un faune for two pianos, a luminous new two-piano commission by Collingwood composer Ian Cusson, and Elgar’s expansive Piano Quintet.
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Spend an intimate evening with Sarah Slean, four‑time Juno‑nominated singer‑songwriter‑composer‑pianist, at the Harmony Centre.
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Close the festival with Carnivals & Rhapsodies: a two‑piano spectacular with Chiu and Fung in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Saint‑Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, enriched by new Indigenous‑themed movements by William Rowson.
Join us this September as SweetWater’s Keys of Life celebrates the piano in all its colours — from shimmering impressionism and rich Romanticism to tango, jazz, and beyond.



