top of page
Élisabeth Pion_Solo [1].jpg

Tuesday Classical Evening

Farm Mainstage

Aug 4 | Gate at 7:15 PM

CLASSICAL

The Hornby Festival presents three evenings of world-class classical music and Classical Kids at beautiful Rosemuir Farm and The Hornby Community Hall. Featuring classical pianist Élisabeth Pion.

Élisabeth Pion_Headshot [2]_Jeremy Fokkens.jpg

Élisabeth Pion - Classical Piano

". . . graceful and tender style . . . she is – if nothing else – every bit as adventurous and ingenious as Mozart." – The Whole Note

". . . graceful and tender style . . . she is – if nothing else – every bit as adventurous and ingenious as Mozart." – The Whole Note

BIO

A curious explorer of piano repertoire with a rare combination of sensitivity and strength, French-Canadian pianist Élisabeth Pion is the Gold Laureate and Audience Choice Award winner of the 2025 Honens International Piano Competition, where she demonstrated passion, insight, and intellectual acuity, fulfilling Honens’ ideal of the Complete Artist.

A Radio-Canada 2024-25 Breakthrough Artist, Élisabeth appears on international stages as a recitalist, chamber musician, and guest artist, earning acclaim for her technical precision and deep engagement with her repertoire. She has performed at Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, and Sala Cecília Meireles, and performs regularly with the Orchestre Métropolitain, Edmonton Symphony, the Toledo Symphony, the Brazilian Symphony, and Les Violons du Roy, among other distinguished ensembles. She has collaborated with conductors such as Gerard Schwarz, Elias Grandy, Nathalie Marin, Kensho Watanabe, and Nicolas Ellis.

Élisabeth performs a broad range of concerto repertoire, adding her own perspective to known masterworks and bringing rarely performed works to new audiences. She has released two albums on the ATMA Classique label that were Prix Opus finalists: Femmes de Légende, and Amadeus et l’Impératrice, with Arion Orchestre Baroque and Mathieu Lussier. She continues to collaborate with Arion and Lussier for a forthcoming release of Beethoven’s complete piano concertos. Other upcoming recordings include Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major with the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières and conductor Alain Trudel, and a solo album for the Steinway & Sons label.

A laureate of numerous international competitions, Élisabeth was a 2025 finalist at the Bösendorfer and Yamaha USASU competitions and prizewinner at the Blanca Uribe, Vigo, and Rio Piano Festival competitions, among others. She was the 2022 recipient of the Jeunesses Musicales du Canada Prix Choquette-Symcox and the recipient of a Jane Ades Ingenuity Scholarship.

Born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Élisabeth studied in Montréal and London, where she now lives. She is an alumna of the Imogen Cooper Music Trust and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she worked with Professor Ronan O’Hora and received the Guildhall Wigmore Recital Prize. Élisabeth studied conducting from the keyboard with Ricardo Castro at the Scuola di musica di Fiesole and worked with Enrico Pace at the Accademia di Musica di Pinerolo, as well as with Gabriela Montero at OAcademy.

Élisabeth is also involved with the International Liberty Association, which promotes human rights in Iran and the Middle East, particularly for women and children.

https://www.elisabethpion.com

PROGRAMMES

Tuesday, August 4 | Classical Piano

Rosemuir Farm - Gate at 7:15 PM​​​

This opening night welcomes you in a world of evocative story-telling. Experience Schubert’s haunting tales, navigate through the sultry veiled worlds of Ravel & Albeniz, and let yourself be carried away by the drama and the tenderness of Chaminade and Brahms. The three recitals presented are all linked via a French « fil rouge » - the Ravel tableau you will hear is a teaser for the full Miroirs set you will hear in the following concert.

 

Franz Schubert arranged by Franz Liszt

Der Müller und der Bach

Gretchan am Spinnrade

Auf dem Wasser Zu Singen

Der Erlkönig

 

Maurice Ravel:  Miroirs

No. 3 Un barque sur l’ocean

 

Isaac Albéniz:  Iberia (Book 1)

  Evocación

  El Puerto

 

Break

 

Johannes Brahms: 3 Intermezzi Op. 117

Andante moderato (E♭ major); 

Andante non troppo e con molto espressione (B♭ minor)

Andante con moto (C♯ minor)

 

Cécile Chaminade: Sonata in C minor Op. 21

Allegro appassionato

Andante

Allegro

Friday, August 7 | Classical Kids

Hornby Community Hall - Gate at 10:00 AM

 

Are you wondering about bringing your kids to a quiet, full-evening classical performance, yet want to expose them to some of this amazing music? Then Classical Kids is the event for you!  Everyone will love this 30-minute, world-class, youth-oriented presentation created especially for young people who are learning to appreciate the classical style of music.  Join us without hesitation; we “get” kids!

Suitable for kids ages 0-99

Friday, August 7 | Classical Piano

Hornby Community Hall - Gate at 7:15 PM

This program will envelop you in an atmosphere of « Les Mille et Une Nuits ». Scents, sensations. This concert will also be an occasion for intrepid audience members to step into the world of repertoire research - you will get an insight into the art of uncovering forgotten scores, such as the Bonis and the Montgeroult - and to experience modern creativity through Élisabeth’s own compositions.

 

Mel Bonis:  Selections from Femmes de légende

 

Maurice Ravel:  Miroirs

  No. 1 Noctuelles

  No. 2 Oiseaux tristes

  No. 3 Un barque sur l’ocean

  No. 4 Alborade del gracioso

  No. 5 La vallée des cloches

 

Break

 

Hélène de Montgerault: Piano Sonata No. 9 in F-sharp minor Op. 5 No. 3

Allegro spiritoso

Adagio non troppo

Presto

 

Élisabeth Pion:  Selections from my compositions

Saturday, August 8 | Classical Piano

Hornby Community Hall - Gate at 7:15 PM

An evening centered around the art of writing Etudes for the piano, and how this form can be transcended to the realm of ultimate poetry. This program also showcases the links between Poland and France, as two of their greatest musicians, Chopin and Bacewicz, shared this blood-mingling as part of their core musical identity.

 

Hélene de Montgerault: Selections from Études

 

Louise Farrenc: Selections from Études

 

Break

 

Frédéric Chopin: 12 Etudes Op. 25

 

Graźyna Bacewizc: Sonata No. 2 in E minor Op. 25   

 Maestoso

Largo

Toccata: Vivo

Connect with us

  • alt.text.label.Facebook
  • alt.text.label.Instagram

Join the mailing list for early announcements and more.

Logo for the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation and Pentlatch People

The Hornby Festival Society respectfully acknowledges that we live and work on the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation and Pentlatch People

Hornby Festival Society

Box Office

2125 Sollans Road

Hornby Island, BC, V0R1Z0

Hours

Wednesday - Saturday 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM starting July 1

Contact

generalmanager@hornbyfest.com

250 - 335 - 2734

Photography by

jennifer armstrong photography

Don Peterson Photography

Established

29 April, 1982

Main Government Funders

Communiy Gaming Grants Logo
Canadian Heritage Logo
BCID_Supported_H_RGB_pos.png
Copy of CreativeBC-BCID-ArtsCouncil-lockup_rgb_pos_edited_edited.png
bottom of page