Canadians invade European capital of culture - Thessaloniki, Greece

BEGINNING IN ATHENS IN 1985, THE TITLE OF CULTURAL CAPITAL OF EUROPE HAS PASSED IN TURN TO SUCH CITIES AS LISBON, GLASGOW AND COPENHAGEN.

THIS YEAR, THE HONOUR FALLS TO THE SECOND LARGEST CITY IN GREECE, THESSALONIKI, WHICH NOW HOSTS A YEAR-LONG CELEBRATION OF THE ARTS ENCOMPASSING A VARIETY OF ART FORMS AND PERFORMERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

The Canadian contingent at the cultural festivities in Thessaloniki has been sizeable-after Germany, Canada has sent the most participants to the festival. More than a dozen Canadian and Greek corporate sponsors collaborated with the Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade to make the Canadian presence at Thessaloniki an impressive one.

In August, Kinesis Dance of Vancouver performed Paraskevas Terezakis' Cafe Nocturne in the cultural capital. Toronto's Dancemakers took Serge Benathan's Trilogy of Sable/Sand on tour in June with stops in Morocco, Yugoslavia and Thessaloniki.

Other artists and organizations making the trek to Greece have included the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Montreal's La La La Human Steps, the band Nexus, guitarist Liona Boyd, Tafelmusik baroque orchestra, Theatre Smith-Gilmour, the Winnipeg Art Gallery and painter Paul Soulikias.

Among the Canadian performers who have already made a big impression at the cultural celebration was pianist Alain Lefevre, whose concert was rebroadcast three times on Greek state television. In addition to a repertoire of romantic works, Lefevre performed the world premiere of Les Preludes by fellow Montrealer Alain Payette. The reaction to Lefevre's concert among audiences and critics was so favourable that he was asked to appear November 9 as one of four soloists in a series entitled "Great Interpreters" at the Athens Concet Hall in the company of Vladimir Ashkenazy. While in Thessaloniki, Lefevre gave three days of free master classes to enthusiastic students at the State Conservatory.

After Athens, Lefevre goes on tour to Sarajevo, Istanbul, Ankara and Beirut, where the wife of the President of Lebanon has asked him to give a benefit concert.

Overseas festivals are an excellent opportunity for Canadian artists to gain world recognition, to act as ambassadors for the country, and to gain business experience in the exporting of their work.

Note: The Canadian Brass are scheduled to appear in Thessaloniki in November.

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