Bursting with emotion, Dvořák’s String Serenade is one of his most popular works and Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C major is, for good reason, a staple of the cello repertoire. You can hear these two intimate works – originally written for small ensembles – brought to life by the full string section of the Northern Lights Festival Orchestra on Saturday, February 18, 7:30 p.m. at the Auditorio de la Ribera in La Floresta.
Each year this annual gala unites all of the festival’s soloists to create one of the most beautiful and resounding orchestral sounds in Mexico. And this year, the young, handsome cellist Ariel Barnes from Vancouver will delight the gala audience by playing Haydn’s dazzling Cello Concerto in C major.
Described as creating a “mesmerizing musical experience” by combining his “deep personal connection” (Toronto Live Music Report) and “luscious tone and technical prowess” (The Vancouver Sun), Barnes has been hailed as “truly an inspiring artist … the outstanding Canadian cellist of his generation” (Maestro Bramwell Tovey). Equally comfortable with baroque to modern musical languages, his international concert engagements include concerto appearances, chamber music collaborations, solo recitals and world premiers of contemporary art music worldwide.
As both a celebrated performer and recording artist, Barnes is often broadcast by CBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 3, and was selected as one of six cellists across Canada as a featured artist in CBC Radio’s Canadian Bach Cello Suite Project. His recordings have garnered two Western Canadian Music Awards and a Juno nomination.
Barnes has strong links to the Ajijic festival. Having a heavy touring and recording schedule, he can only visit Ajijic occasionally but was one of the founding members of the festival in his youth. Barnes and Festival Artistic Director Christopher Wilshere shared an apartment when they were at university together. Having gone on now to worldwide critical acclaim as a soloist and recording artist, it is gratifying that he still finds time to visit Ajijic and bring his amazing talent here once again.
Inspired by the innovative and unique compositional voices of our time, Barnes has given the world premier of well over 50 works and receives generous project support from the British Columbia Arts Council, Manitoba Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts, most notably as a winner of the 2012 Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank Competition. The breadth of his musical interests have led to collaborations with performing artists such as Patrick Watson, Michael Buble and The Tragically Hip, to Baroque specialist Elizabeth Wallfisch and maverick harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani.
Tickets are available Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. -1 p.m. at La Nueva Posada Hotel and Restaurant, Donata Guerra 9, Ajijic. For reservations and info ticket information, see This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact Maureen Welch at 108-1407 between 4 and 6 p.m.