Welcome to the
Céleste Music Early Keyboard Festival
June 1-30, 2026
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In partnership with the Town of Newmarket, Céleste Music proudly presents our inaugural Early Keyboard Festival at the Serpa Galleries in the Old Town Hall, Newmarket. This immersive and interactive festival transforms the gallery into a living exhibition of sound, where history comes alive through professional concerts, engaging lectures, and inspiring student performances.
At the heart of the festival are five exceptional public concerts, each thoughtfully curated to showcase Céleste Music’s extraordinary collection of historical keyboard instruments. We have assembled a roster of world-renowned performers and experts in historical performance, artists whose performances reveal the original colours and sounds of our unique, stunning instruments.
We are especially thrilled to debut several newly acquired historical keyboards — presented for the very first time in North America.
Guests are invited to explore the instruments up close, connect with the artists, and immerse themselves in a vibrant celebration of art, music, and discovery!
2026 FESTIVAL CONCERTS
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BEETHOVEN @ 1800
Friday, June 5, 2026
7:00 PM
Beethoven on an original Viennese fortepiano (ca. 1800)
ELEGY AND FANTASY
Sunday, June 14, 2026
2:00 PM
A Romantic dialogue:
Broadwood (1807) and Graf (1835)
IN ILLUSTRIOUS COMPANY AT THE GRAF PIANO
Sunday, June 21, 2026
2:00 PM
A Romantic Salon inspired by
"Liszt at the Piano"
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CELESTE MUSIC ACADEMY FESTIVAL SHOWCASE CONCERT
Saturday, June 27, 2026
2:00 PM
Rising artists on four historic instruments
Grand Prize announced
VOYAGE TO VERSAILLES
Sunday, June 28, 2026
2:00 PM
Grand finale: debut of the exquisite Hemsch harpsichord (2025)
Location:
All concerts are at the Serpa Galleries in the Old Town Hall in Newmarket, ON
460 Botsford St, L3Y 1T1
BEETHOVEN @ 1800
Friday, June 5, 2026
7:00 PM
Old Town Hall, Newmarket, ON
Our opening concert, Beethoven @ 1800, invites audiences to step directly into Beethoven’s world. At the heart of the program is a rare original Viennese fortepiano built in ca. 1800 by Michael Rosenberger – the very kind of instrument Beethoven himself would have known and played.
The evening begins with the iconic “Moonlight Sonata,” followed by the vibrant and lyrical Horn Sonata, Op. 17, and culminates in the brilliant Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op. 16.
Most exciting of all, this marks the first-ever concert on this original Rosenberger fortepiano on this continent – a truly historical musical moment.
Featuring:
Andrea Botticelli, Fortepiano
Daniel Ramírez Escudero, Oboe
Jean-François Normand, Clarinet
Yoni Kahn, Natural Horn
Dominic Teresi, Bassoon
Programme:
"Moonlight" Sonata, Op.27 No. 2
Horn Sonata, Op. 17
Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op. 16
ELEGY AND FANTASY
Sunday, June 14, 2026
2:00 PM
Old Town Hall, Newmarket, ON
Elegy and Fantasy brings together two extraordinary artists for an evening of passion, poetry, and dramatic musical storytelling. Ontario-based pianist Charlotte Tang joins Japanese-Dutch fortepianist Riko Fukuda in a rare dialogue between performers, instruments, and eras.
Featuring music by Dussek, Schubert, and Schumann, this concert unveils the expressive power of early Romantic keyboard music through the voices of two remarkable historical instruments: an original English Broadwood fortepiano (1807) and a Viennese Conrad Graf fortepiano (1835).
The program is shaped around music born in an age of upheaval and imagination. The brilliant and restless Jan Ladislav Dussek composed amid the cultural turbulence of the French Revolution, forging a bold new emotional language for the piano. Riko Fukuda performs movements from the haunting Élégie harmonique and the dramatic Le retour à Paris, works filled with longing, exile, and return.
The evening culminates in Schumann’s monumental Fantasy — one of Romanticism’s most poetic and deeply personal masterpieces — performed by Charlotte Tang. Here, music becomes confession, dream, and transcendence.
The luminous English Broadwood and the expressive Viennese Graf emerge as perfect partners for this musical journey, inviting audiences to hear Romantic music as its composers themselves might have imagined it: immediate, intimate, and alive.
Featuring:
Riko Fukuda, Broadwood Fortepiano, 1807
Charlotte Tang, Graf Fortepiano, 1835
Programme:
“Élégie harmonique,” Op. 61 - Dussek
“Le Retour à Paris,” Op. 64 - Dussek
Grand Rondo, D. 951- Schubert
Fantasy, Op. 17 - Schumann
IN ILLUSTRIOUS COMPANY
AT THE GRAF PIANO
Sunday, June 21, 2026
2:00 PM
Old Town Hall, Newmarket, ON
Join us for a Romantic salon gathering inspired by Danhauser’s painting “Liszt at the Piano,” featuring music by Beethoven, Liszt, Wieck, and von Scharouth. At the heart of this concert is the distinctive voice of the Conrad Graf piano and the world it conjures, brought to life in a solo recital by the renowned Spanish fortepianist, Patricia García Gil. Patricia will also give a free lecture on the history of Conrad Graf instruments.
The musical arc begins with Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata—echoing the painting’s own focal point in the bust of Beethoven. From there, Franz Liszt’s transcription of Beethoven’s song cycle, An die ferne Geliebte (To the Distant Beloved), turns the piano into a vehicle for declamation. The second half turns toward two remarkable women connecting German pianism to Parisian circles. Clara Wieck Schumann is represented by her Soirées musicales. Her bond with the Graf sound-world was also tangible—she received a Graf grand as a gift during her Viennese pianistic triumphs. Finally, Delphine von Schauroth—a brilliant, little-heard voice active in the same cosmopolitan networks—brings the program full circle in her Lieder ohne Worte (Songs Without Words). These pieces invite the piano to sing without words; in both gestures, the Graf becomes not just an instrument, but an orator.
Featuring:
Patricia García Gil, Graf Fortepiano, 1835
Programme:
"Waldstein" Sonata, Op. 53 - Beethoven
An die ferne Geliebte, S. 469 - Beethoven/Liszt
Soirées musicales, Op. 6 - Clara Wieck Schumann
Lieder ohne Worte - Delphine von Schauroth
CELESTE MUSIC ACADEMY
FESTIVAL SHOWCASE CONCERT
Saturday, June 27, 2026
2:00 PM
Old Town Hall, Newmarket, ON
Discover the next generation of historical keyboard artists in an inspiring recital featuring the rising stars of the Céleste Music Academy Festival. This special concert will present a varied program performed on four extraordinary instruments from the Céleste Music collection: the Hemsch harpsichord, the Viennese Rosenberger fortepiano (ca. 1800), the Broadwood fortepiano (1807), and the Graf fortepiano (1835).
The prizewinners of the festival will be featured throughout the concert, culminating in the announcement of the Grand Prize winner at the program’s conclusion. Join us for a rare opportunity to experience the brilliant musicians of tomorrow in dialogue with these monuments of Classical music history – a living, evolving, and vibrant tradition.
For more information about the Céleste Music Academy Festival
VOYAGE TO VERSAILLES
Sunday, June 28, 2026
2:00 PM
Old Town Hall, Newmarket, ON
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This grand finale concert is the debut of our French double-manual Hemsch harpsichord, built in 2025 by Marc Ducornet and decorated by the Canadian artist Alison Woolley. This newly made harpsichord is an exquisite illustration of the lush, rich sounds of the French Baroque – a sonic “voyage” to the palace of Versailles and music of the 18th century French salon. The oil painting on the lid of the harpsichord is a masterpiece of creativity and historical reconstruction, based on an 18th century painting by the French painter Nicolas Lancret. This performance marks its first appearance in a public concert since its arrival in Toronto. The instrument is a stunning work of art, craft, and sound: a true gem in the Canadian musical landscape.
The harpsichord will be brought to life with a program of sumptuous 18th century French music by Couperin, Jacquet de la Guerre, Boismortier, Duphly, Forqueray, and Rameau. Borys Medicky, the featured artist for this evocative concert, is a renowned harpsichordist, a harpsichord builder, and a faculty member at Western University. The additional concert performers, Alison Melville and Felix Deak, bring a wealth of virtuosity and historical expertise to our stage.
Featuring:
Borys Medicky, Harpsichord
Alison Melville, Flute
Felix Deak, Viola da gamba
Programme:
Trio Sonata No. 1 - Jacquet de La Guerre
Pièces de clavecin, Sixième ordre – F. Couperin
Flute Sonata in D major, Op. 91 No. 1 - Boismortier
Pièces de clavecin, Livre 3 - Duphly
Pièces de clavecin en concert, Troisième concert - Rameau
CÉLESTE MUSIC ACADEMY FESTIVAL
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Playing on historical keyboard instruments can open a world of expressive possibilities. The Céleste Music Academy Festival (CMAF) is a dynamic series of events within our Early Keyboard Festival, created for our student and adult community.
Participants are given rare access to our full collection of early keyboards, exploring their unique sounds and musical language through hands-on experience. The festival features masterclasses with Andrea Botticelli, a competition adjudicated by Riko Fukuda, a winners' masterclass with Charlotte Nediger, an open Adult Performance Class, and concludes with the Céleste Music Academy Festival Showcase Concert - a captivating finale that brings emerging artistry to the stage.
With the exception of the final Showcase Concert, all events are free and open to the public. Join us in discovering—and celebrating—the next generation of early keyboard artists!
Schedule of Events
Masterclasses with Andrea Botticelli
Céleste Music Academy Festival Competition classes
Keyboard Workshop with Edwin Beunk
June 26 10:00 AM
Masterclass with Charlotte Nediger
June 26 2:00 PM
Adult Performance Class
June 27 2:00 PM
Céleste Music Academy Festival Showcase Concert
June 6-7 10:00 AM
June 18-19 10:00 AM
June 20 2:00 PM
