Dear friends and music lovers:

We have just concluded the Music Niagara Festival’s 22nd summer season by presenting our very first virtual At Home Series. I am very happy to let you know that it was a success: we had record numbers of people tuning in and have received rave reviews and very positive feedback from our fans and followers. I am very grateful to all of you for your continued interest in our musical activities and your ongoing financial support.

My special thanks go to Carol and David Appel who, last March, spearheaded a fundraising initiative that enabled us to launch our virtual At Home series when our originally planned series of over 30 live concerts was stopped in its tracks by the coronavirus.

This fundraising project was immediately and generously supported by our board of directors and I extend a huge thanks to all of them, as well, for their shared belief that music should not stop even in these uncertain and difficult times.

We all know that we are not out of the woods yet. I anticipate that more people will refrain from travelling to warmer climates and remain at home over the darker winter months.

Despite all the challenges presented by COVID-19, the Music Niagara Festival will continue to remain active and will entertain not only our immediate community, but also music lovers throughout Canada and elsewhere by continuing to present multi-genre, high-quality, entertaining and educational musical experiences virtually.

To assist us with this goal, Carol and David Appel have generously committed to another fundraising program: a $10,000 matching fundraising challenge, to enable us to present musical events throughout the winter and spring. I very much hope that you will continue your support by helping us to meet this challenge by Dec. 4, 2020. With your help, we can raise $20,000, which will enable us to bring more music into your homes.

In the meantime, I’m happy to let you know that in collaboration with St. Mark’s Anglican Church, we are working on our annual Remembrance Day program. Please follow us for more details on the Nov. 11 concert as well as for our Christmas holiday event.

Atis Bankas 

Artistic director

Music Niagara