Music Niagara’s
Unique | History
History of Music Niagara Festival
In 1998, Atis Bankas arrived in Niagara-on-the-Lake, fueled by the vision of founding a music school and a summer music festival in one of Canada’s most picturesque locales—Niagara-on-the-Lake. Positioned on the shores of Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Niagara River, surrounded by orchards and lush vineyards, this area offered a perfect backdrop for a cultural gathering of significance.
The early years of the festival were modest in scale but quickly grew in popularity. By its third season, the festival, initially named the Niagara International Chamber Music Festival, was attracting a growing audience of both residents and tourists, enthralled by the eclectic mix of performances. The 2004 season marked a significant expansion, with an increased number of performances spread over three weeks and the introduction of several long-standing series.
Evolving into a world-class summer music festival, Music Niagara Festival features a plethora of genres performed by Canadian and international musicians. It has become a staple cultural event in the Niagara Region, forming valuable associations and partnerships with other local arts, heritage, and cultural organizations. These collaborations have allowed the festival to present a unique and diverse array of artistic experiences annually, connecting great music with Niagara’s rich heritage and other cultural offerings, including visits to local wineries.
Music Niagara Festival is unique among specialty festivals for its high-quality performances that span the entire musical spectrum—classical, choral, contemporary, country, folk, jazz. This diversity stimulates and captivates audiences, cementing the festival’s status as a must-attend summer event that draws crowds from all over North America and beyond.
In 2014, the festival furthered its commitment to nurturing young talent by launching the Music Niagara Performance Academy. Utilizing resources from the Shaw Festival, the Academy offers weekend performance training throughout the summer, pairing gifted young musicians with seasoned professionals from Niagara’s performing arts community. The Young Virtuosos series and the Young Virtuosos in the Schools program expand this educational outreach, allowing young artists to perform in regional schools and participate in master classes, supported by the Music Niagara Instrument Bank.
The festival’s scope expanded to include events throughout the year, such as an annual Remembrance Day concert to support veterans and their families, and in 2019, a new ChoralFest.
Responding swiftly to the challenges of the 2020 pandemic, Music Niagara pivoted to an online format with the “At Home Series,” in partnership with Niagara College’s Broadcasting Team. This series featured 34 New Generation Artists and employed 80 musicians, engaging with the community and maintaining educational initiatives through a virtual Performance Academy.
By 2021, the At Home Series had adapted to include live performances, such as the highly successful live Brahms Oktoberfest, in partnership with local breweries, blending live and virtual concerts to continue reaching a broad audience.
The 2022 LIVE Summer Festival showcased a vibrant lineup of new generation performers and established Ontario musicians across various intimate venues throughout Niagara. Music Niagara presented 16 diverse performances, employing 125 musicians, including 31 New Generation Ontario artists. Notable events included an artist series featuring Susan Aglukark and three concerts dedicated to Ukrainian music and artists, responding meaningfully to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. These concerts were well attended, helping to connect with the Ukrainian community, including refugees.
Continuing to engage our online audience, we launched The Not-So-Late Show in 2022, a contemporary variety show developed in partnership with Niagara College’s Broadcasting students. Stemming from the success of the Quartetto Gelato and Joe Pilliteri performances in 2020, this new series combined live music, comedy, and local hospitality, achieving 5K views and maintaining strong viewer engagement.
In 2023, Music Niagara celebrated a key milestone: its 25th anniversary, marking a quarter-century of enriching the cultural fabric of Niagara. This year’s activities excelled once again, engaging over 200 musicians, including 116 New Generation Artists. A total of 185 Canadian artists participated in the year’s programming, which comprised 22 events—17 ticketed concerts and 5 outreach initiatives.
A highlight of the year was the introduction of the “Wine and Music Project,” consisting of four concerts that celebrated both established and emerging talents. This innovative series fostered collaborations with diverse ensembles like the Odin Quartet and Ensemble Obiora, underscoring Music Niagara’s commitment to promoting underrepresented musicians.
The festival’s outreach and educational initiatives were showcased in the “Behind the Scenes of Music” series, while the impactful “Glory to Ukraine” event marked a significant cultural celebration within the community, resonating deeply as part of the anniversary celebrations.
In 2024, Music Niagara continued its tradition of world-class programming with a memorable 26th season, featuring a diverse lineup that spanned choral, classical, jazz, pops, and gypsy music. Music Niagara presented 20 concerts and outreach performances with 2 Masterclasses. The festival employed 206 musicians, including 124 from Ontario, with a strong focus on showcasing Canadian talent. Among the performers, 146 were emerging young artists, while 100 came from underrepresented communities, underscoring the festival’s dedication to inclusivity and the promotion of diverse voices.
The season introduced the new popular Pops Series, held under Music Niagara’s new tent at Ironwood Cider House. This five day concert series included performances ranging from gypsy and Celtic music to pop and country, paired with food trucks to create a lively atmosphere that led to sold-out shows. The festival continued to prioritize young talent through the Young Virtuoso Series and honored Ukrainian musicians and composers with the Glory to Ukraine concerts, fostering cultural connections and celebrating artistic excellence.
A significant development in 2024 was Music Niagara’s partnership with the Shaw Festival, which became the festival’s Box Office. This collaboration proved instrumental in expanding the audience reach, with the Shaw Festival’s marketing and analytics efforts revealing that 53% of attendees were tourists, while 47% were local residents. Their support in advertising significantly boosted the festival’s visibility, solidifying their role as a valuable tourism partner.
As Music Niagara continues to evolve, it remains dedicated to fostering a vibrant community through the power of music, celebrating its legacy and looking forward to the future of artistic expression in Niagara and beyond. The festival remains committed to fostering community engagement, nurturing young artists, and celebrating a broad spectrum of musical traditions in Niagara-on-the-Lake and beyond.
Atis Bankas
Founder and Artistic Director
Lithuanian born Canadian violinist extraordinaire Atis Bankas has performed as a soloist in Canada, Europe, the United States, Korea, Japan, the former Soviet Union, and with orchestras under the direction of Nejme Jarvi, Iona Brown, Andrew Davis, and JoAnn Falletta among many others. Chamber music collaborators include pianists A. Laplante, S. Goodyear, R. Silverman, R. McDonald, N. Kogan, among many others. Atis Bankas is dedicatee of numerous new works by composers such as G. Kulesha, H. Freedman, D. Varelas, M. Bronner, V. Bartulis, A. Navakas, G. Samsonas, D. Hyman, S. Burbi, A. Shenderovas, P. Tiefenbach, and many others.
Atis Bankas is the first violinist of the Gould String Quartet, a member of Potsdam Trio, leader of Ensemble CamerAtis and Leader and Artistic Director of of the Canadian Chamber Academy Orchestra.
Mission & Values
Mission
Music Niagara presents world-class, diverse music experiences in unique and intimate settings that connect the community and beyond, educate and inspire audiences and artists, and enhance Niagara-on-the-Lake’s rich heritage and culture.
Values
Quality & Cultural Affordability
We believe that everyone should have access to high quality musical performances, and in partnership with our donors, sponsors, and volunteers we offer affordable and meaningful musical experiences.
Diversity & Heritage
We promote diverse Canadian artists and heritage, with an emphasis on classical music.
Education
We are committed to promoting music education by offering young and emerging artists with performance and training and providing audiences with context and meaning through program notes, lectures/readings, and creative presentations.
Innovation
We value creativity and celebrate innovation.
Collaboration
We believe that by working in collaboration with community partners we can enrich the cultural life of the community and its visitors.
Board of | Directors
Patrick Little, Chair
Edward Barisa, Vice Chair
Paul Shelestowsky, Secretary
Daniel Rafii, Treasurer
Cindi Lorforti Lepp, Director
James Hall, Director
Sally Miller, Director
Elaine Mayo, Director
Tom Smith, Director
Stacey Mullholland, Director
H A Patrick Little
Chair
Senior Partner, Heelis, Little & Almas, LLP, St. Catharines, ON
Patrick began his legal career with the City of St. Catharines in 1976, and entered private practice in 1979, concentrating his efforts in the areas of administrative, municipal and criminal law, government relations, real estate development and wills and estates. Patrick has served the community as the President/Chair of several organizations, including the Lincoln County Law Association, St. Catharines Chamber of Commerce and St. Catharines Club and as Director of the St. Catharines General Hospital, St. Catharines Downtown Association, St. Catharines Museum and St. Catharines Golf Club. He is a past Chair of the United Way of St. Catharines and District, past President of Croquet Canada, Chair of several organizing committees for the Tall Ships visits to Port Dalhousie. He is currently chair of Willowbank School of Restoration Arts. He is also an Honourary Trustee of Trinity College, University of Toronto and former Governor of Trinity College School, Port Hope.
Edward Barisa
Vice Chair
Ed has a bachelors’degree from Universite de Montreal and a Masters from McGill. He holds a CAE designation granted by the Canadian Society of Association Executives. He has also attended professional development seminars for senior executives at Harvard and M.I.T. on topics such as strategic planning, risk management, negotiation and change management.
Ed began his career as a high school geography teacher and then department head in Montreal. Six years later he was appointed Curriculum Co-ordinator for the Council of Ministers of Education,Canada,a coordinating body for education across the country. From there, as his academic background included a heavy dose of geography, he was appointed Executive Director of the Intergovernmental Committee on Urban and Regional Research, reporting to a Board of Directors consisting of deputy ministers of municipal affairs and housing from across the country and the President of CMHC.
Next came a move to Ottawa, from Toronto, following his appointment to head up the Canadian Bar Association. Four years later, Ed was hired by the consulting arm of Ernst and Young to lead the World University Service of Canada ,an International Development Agency, out of receivership. Mission accomplished, WUSC is still in business some thirty years later.
Toronto beckoned and Ed moved back to head up the Canadian Chiropractic Association. Once again,a search firm called and Ed was appointed as CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association, a position that he held for 17 years until his retirement.
Ed has served on the following boards at various times during his career:
Canada Studies Foundation-director and Chair
Canadian Bar Services Inc.-director
CBANET-director
Law for the Future Fund-director
Canadian Real Estate Association-director
Real Estate Executives Council-director and Chair
National Association of Realtors(U.S.)-director
Canadian Society of Association Executives-director,Chair-elect and Chair.
Paul Shelestowsky
Secretary
Paul is the Investment Advisor with Meridian Credit Union working out of Niagara-on-the-Lake. He has been in the financial industry for over 30 years and has lent his expertise to many national news outlets, including The Globe & Mail, the Financial Post and the Toronto Star, as well as appearing on BNN and CTV News Network. Paul earned an honours degree in Music from McMaster University in 1997 and is happy to be able to match his lifelong passion for music with his volunteering.
Tom Smith
Director
After graduating from Amherst College in 1971, Tom worked in publishing for a year in New York, earned a master’s degree at the University of Leeds, and taught English at The Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey. He then earned a PhD at Rutgers University in English, which led to teaching at the University of Georgia in Athens for two years. The rest of his university career was spent at campuses of Penn State University, teaching courses ranging from developmental writing to introduction to poetry to advanced literary theory. From 2006-07 and again from 2012-15, he was Head of the Division of Arts and Humanities at Penn State Abington in suburban Philadelphia, where he supervised 100 full- and part-time professors. From 2008-10, he was the Director of the Advising Center at that campus, coordinating academic advising for 3500 undergraduates. In both positions, he managed budgets, supervised annual employee evaluations, and implemented University policies.
In addition to publishing many scholarly articles on autobiography from the 1980s through the 2010s, from 2006-12 he edited Ufewriting Annual, a serial publication of scholarly and creative essays on biography, autobiography, memoir, diaries, and letters. He has recently rejoined the Annual as a Consulting Editor. He has been an Editorial Board member of the journal a/b: Auto/Biography Studies since its founding in 1986 and has been a member of the Executive Committee of the International Autobiography Association (ABA) since its founding in 1999 in Beijing. He has served on executive committees of various interest groups devoted to life writing within the Modern Language Association (MLA}, the leading professional organization of university-level language professors in Canada and the US. Since retiring in 2015, he has continued to review submissions to the above two journals and attend conferences in his field.
Growing up, Tom Took piano lessons for 12 years, played bassoon and saxophone, and sang in school and church choirs and his college Glee Club. As an adult he is an avid classical music fan, having been a subscriber for years to the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, and the smaller Philadelphiaarea ensembles Vax Amadeus, Tempesta di Mare, and Piffaro. This season he will be attending performances of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra., the Canadian Opera, and Tafelmusik.
Kekoo Gatta
Director
I was born in Uganda. Our family escaped Idi Amin’s military rule and my family of five settled in Thorold and I grew up going to Thorold High School. After graduating high school, during the recession of the mid eighty’s, I spent five years in Toronto getting my mechanic’s licence. Missing the Niagara region and knowing that I had a passion for buildings and not cars, I came back to Niagara and started dismantling old homes and rebuilding them.
After 2 years of older homes, I decided to start Gatta Homes in 1989, and have been building high end, energy efficient custom homes in Niagara-on-the-Lake ever since. Award winning developments like Mariner Bay Estates, Bayberry Lane, Avalon Place, Harmony Lane, Butlers Creek, Royal Albion Place, Settlements at St. David’s etc.. all pushed us to higher and better energy efficient homes.
Having raised five kids in Niagara-on-the-Lake, I am pleased that three of them have joined the family business, with the other two pursuing equally successful careers in their own fields. This gives me more time and energy to give back to the community that embraced us decades ago.
Over the years, we have donated land to the YWCA for a shelter for abused young women, we have made a three-year commitment to provide a facility to house the first ever Canadian Centre for Men and Families of Abused Men. We have supported many local organizations such as the Shaw Garden Tour, Niagara Falls Soup Kitchen, the Rotary Home Tour, the Santa Claus Parade, The Voices of Freedom Park and many hockey and soccer teams.
I also mentor young boys and girls from underprivileged backgrounds to encourage them to aim for post-secondary education by coaching wrestling at Eden High School and at the Brock Junior Badgers Wrestling Program.
James Hall
Director
James is an enthusiastic and dynamic member of the Music Niagara Board of Directors, bringing a burst of energy and a deep-seated passion for the Niagara region. His journey with Music Niagara began during his student days at Brock University, where he developed a deep appreciation for the Niagara region and its thriving cultural landscape. Those unforgettable moments at Music Niagara events not only filled his student life with melody and rhythm but also laid the foundation for his future involvement with this organization.
Following his time at Brock, James ventured to the coastal charm of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he successfully pursued a law degree and a master’s in health administration at Dalhousie University. These qualifications have not only shaped his professional journey but have also solidified his commitment to community service and healthcare excellence.
James’ return to the Niagara region marked not just a homecoming but the start of an exciting chapter at the law firm of Sullivan Mahoney LLP. This return to his roots is where his professional aspirations and personal passions intertwine. As an active member of Rotary International, James dives into community initiatives with enthusiasm, championing causes that resonate with his commitment to healthcare and community vibrancy.
James’ role at Music Niagara is more than a position; it’s an extension of his personality – full of verve, dedication, and a contagious excitement for community enrichment through music. He’s all about connecting people, celebrating heritage, and making every Music Niagara experience an unforgettable one.
Daniel Rafii
Treasurer
Bio coming soon…….
Elaine Mayo
Director
Elaine was born and educated in the London area of England to a musical family – both professional and amateur.
Elaine Studied Meteorology with the Air Ministry before joining British Airways as a flight attendant.
She helped with her husband’s electronics businss in the accounts offices, which eventually brought them to Canada in 1981 and eventually to the U.S. and became a Canadian citizen in 1985.
Elaine spent nearly 20 years in the UK from 1986-2005 where she ultimately returned to Toronto in 2005, after selling her company.
Since retiring, she has taken several volunteer positions mainly with the Garden Clubs, and is now a lady of leisure!
Cynthia LoForti Lepp
Director
Cindi resides in the town of Niagara on the Lake. She recently served as the Chair of the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity Niagara Region. She is the past president of the Board of Directors for the YWCA Niagara Region and served as the Co-Chair of the YWCA Regional Capital Campaign, assisting in the raising of $7.4 million. Cindi also served on the Capital Campaign Cabinet for Pathstone Mental Health which raised over $7 million on behalf of children’s mental health.
She has been employed by the Federal Government as Chairperson of the Employment Insurance Board of Referees for the District of Niagara and District of Hamilton where she directed proceedings during hearings and made decisions on all issues arising from Employment Insurance appeals.
In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Cindi acted as a Canadian delegate for the United Nations traveling to New York, New York to represent Canada on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW.) The CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body dedicated to the empowerment of women and gender equality.
Cindi has served on the Youth Without Secure Housing Committee, a committee that consists of representatives from various agencies and government officials in the Niagara Region, to address the needs of homeless youth.
Cindi acted as a Niagara Early Years Steering Committee member on behalf of Provincial Parliament. The Early Years Committee was responsible to create and oversee Early Years infrastructure and champion local early years parenting initiatives. They worked with the Ministry of Community and Social Services to assist in reviewing and assessing the
Early Years Challenge Fund submissions and make recommendations.