Leith Summer Festival Opens to a Full House — and a Dvořák Afternoon Is Next
The Leith Summer Festival opened to a full house. Next up: Thalea String Quartet and pianist Philip Chiu play Dvořák at the Historic Leith Church, July 12.
The Leith Summer Festival opened its 2026 season to a packed and enthusiastic crowd, with a gala concert that had the audience on its feet. Jazz singer Jessica Lalonde headlined the night, backed by the Adrean Farrugia Trio and the acclaimed Penderecki Quartet, drawing sustained applause inside the Historic Leith Church.
The response was warm on both sides of the stage. “One of the best and most entertaining concerts I’ve attended,” said audience member Mary H.
Performer Roberto O credited the room as much as the program: “Audience engagement in a beautiful sonic space is a rare and precious event. Kudos to the Leith Festival.”
The festival now turns to an afternoon of chamber music on Sunday, July 12.
Toronto’s Thalea String Quartet joins celebrated pianist Philip Chiu for Dvořák’s beloved Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81 — one of the great masterworks of the chamber repertoire.
Performances at the Historic Leith Church trade the scale of a concert hall for something harder to find: an intimate setting with acoustics of unusual purity, where every note carries with warmth and clarity.
The Leith Summer Festival is a registered charitable organization, and all proceeds support the ongoing preservation of the Historic Leith Church.
If you go: Sunday, July 12, 2026, 2:30 p.m., Historic Leith Church. Reserved seating through the Roxy Theatre Box Office, 251 9th Street East, Owen Sound — 519-371-2833 or roxytheatre.ca. More at leithchurch.ca. Artistic Director: Jeremy Bell.
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