University of New Brunswick Chamber Music and All That Jazz Festival. Annual festival of concerts and workshops, organized in 1966 by
Joseph Pach and
Arlene Pach and held annually until 1983. Originally a three day festival, it grew to two weeks of events in various locations including Memorial Hall (on campus), the Fredericton Playhouse, and Christ Church Cathedral. At the first four festivals
R. Murray Schafer served as host, and the
Toronto Woodwind Quintet (in 1966), the Aeolian String Quartet (in 1967), and the mezzo-soprano
Phyllis Mailing (in 1968) were among the featured performers. Jazz was introduced in 1969 by
Phil Nimmons and remained an integral part of the festival; among others who took part were
Ed Bickert,
Jim Galloway,
Moe Koffman,
Rob McConnell, Kathryn Moses, Nimmons himself, and
Oscar Peterson (who premiered the orchestral version of his
Canadiana Suite there with Nimmons' band in 1970). Chamber musicians included
Robert Aitken,
Walter Babiak,
Nicholas Fiore, Erica Goodman, the English classical guitarist John Mills, the violinist Mischa Mischakoff (remembered as Toscanini's concertmaster),
Mary Morrison, and
David Zafer. Festival participants presented an eclectic mix of music and many workshops in both jazz and chamber music. The final festival was held in June 1983. Over its 18 seasons the University of New Brunswick resident groups, the Duo Pach and the
Brunswick String Quartet, were mainstays.
Author
Patricia Wardrop
Bibliography
Hamilton, Andrew, and Creech, Gwenlyn. 'Where nothing happened they made music thrive,' Music, Mar-Apr 1978
Claus, Jo Anne. 'The music of friends,' Atlantic Advocate, Aug 1977
Turney, William. 'Jazz and chamber music - creating a heritage,' Arts Atlantic, Summer 1981
Links to Other Sites
Arlene & Joseph Pach
A brief profile of musical couple Arlene & Joseph Pach. From the “Faces of Our World” website.
Joseph Pach
A website dedicated to violinist Joseph Pach. Check out the online audio clips from his recordings.
