Rachel Fenlon, Penderecki String Quartet & The Elora Singers
Saturday, July 11 at 7:30PM
Rachel Fenlon, Penderecki String Quartet & The Elora Singers
Saturday, July 11, 2026
7:30PM - 10:00PM
Gambrel Barn
7454 Wellington County Rd 21, Elora
$68/$58 Adult | $20 Student | $10 Child
Three remarkable musical voices come together for an evening of luminous and intimate music. Berlin-based Canadian soprano-pianist, Rachel Fenlon, joins the acclaimed Penderecki String Quartet and The Elora Singers for a program that moves fluidly between the warmth of the Romantic era and the clarity of contemporary choral writing. Music by Franz Schubert sits alongside works by Caroline Shaw, David Lang, Eric Whitacre and Gabriel Kahane, composers who explore the expressive possibilities of the human voice and string quartet in deeply personal ways. By turns reflective, radiant, and searching, this program invites listeners into a sound world where poetry, stillness, and soaring music meet.
Rachel Fenlon, Soprano
Rachel Fenlon is a soprano and pianist who has carved a unique voice on the classical music stages of the world. Known for performing self-accompanied song recitals as both singer and pianist, Rachel also appears widely as a chamber music and opera soloist. Her debut album Winterreise (October 2024) received widespread acclaim, named Album of the Week by BBC Radio 3, CBC, and Gramophone Magazine, and Album of the Month by Classic 106 FM. CBC praised it as “an outstanding new record... extraordinary,” and BBC Radio 3 called it “extraordinary and spellbinding.” Remarkably, it is the first self-accompanied Winterreise ever recorded.
Rachel has performed across Europe, the UK, Canada, Brazil, and the U.S., with appearances at Konzerthaus Berlin, Martha Argerich Festival, Juan March Madrid, Vancouver Recital Society, Oxford Lieder Festival, Music Toronto, Salle Bourgie Montreal, Settimane Musicali di Ascona, and the National Arts Centre. In March 2025, Rachel made her U.S. debut at SXSW Festival in Austin, bringing classical music to one of the world’s most influential pop festivals.
Penderecki String Quartet
Celebrating their 40th anniversary, the Penderecki String Quartet is based in Waterloo, Ontario where they have been Quartet-in-Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University since 1991. Originating from Poland, Canada, and USA, they bring their varied yet collective experience to create performances that demonstrate their “remarkable range of technical excellence and emotional sweep” (Toronto Globe and Mail). The PSQ's international performing schedule has included appearances in New York (Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Hong Kong (Academy for the Arts), Los Angeles (REDCAT Hall at Disney Center), St. Petersburg (Sheremetev Palace), the Adam Festival in New Zealand, and throughout Europe in Rome, Madrid, Paris, Belgrade, Prague, Krakow, Vilnius, and Zagreb. The PSQ has also toured extensively in Mexico, Australia, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, and from coast to coast in Canada. The PSQ’s large discography includes over three dozen recordings including the chamber music repertoire of Beethoven and Brahms as well as the first Canadian release of the six Béla Bartók quartets. Their disc of Marjan Mozetich’s “Lament in the Trampled Garden” won the 2010 JUNO Award for Best Composition, and most recently they were nominated for a 2023 JUNO for their jazz album “Blue” with Diana Panton and Don Thompson. In October 2013, the PSQ worked with Maestro Krzysztof Penderecki on his Third Quartet (2008) and performed it at Symphony Space in New York City on the occasion of his 80th birthday. This followed with the recording of Penderecki’s Third Quartet along with quartets of Norbert Palej on the Marquis label. In 2022, the PSQ was featured in Howard Shore’s soundtrack to David Cronenberg’s film Crimes of the Future. Dedicated educators, the PSQ have been recent guests at Bloomington Indiana University’s String Academy, the Beijing Conservatory, University of Southern California (Los Angeles), and with their partner universities in Osnabrück, Germany and Lyon, France.
The Elora Singers
The Elora Singers, under the direction of Mark Vuorinen, have established an international reputation as one of Canada’s finest professional choirs. Founded in 1980, it is the ensemble-in-residence of the Elora Festival for three weeks each summer, in addition to presenting a regular concert series, producing recordings, and touring across Canada and internationally.
With twelve releases on the NAXOS label, The Grammy- and JUNO-nominated Elora Singers are recognized for their rich, warm sound and clarity of texture. The choir is renowned for their diverse styles, for their commitment to presenting and commissioning Canadian repertoire, and for collaborating with Canadian and international artists. Recent and upcoming collaborations include Constantinople and A Filetta, Sarah Slean, Laila Biali, Elinor Frey, the Elmer Iseler Singers, the Musicians of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Grand Philharmonic Choir, Festival of the Sound, Hamilton Philharmonic, TorQ Percussion Quartet, and Canadian composers Stephanie Martin and Peter-Anthony Togni. A recording featuring new works by Barbara Croall (Giishkaapkag) and Reena Esmail (This Love Between Us) was released in 2020, a Christmas recording, Radiant Dawn, was released in November 2021, and in 2024, The Elora Singers released their newest album, In Beauty May I Walk.