THE STONE WALLS of Mount Pleasant’s Heritage Hall have borne witness to decades of history. Opened in 1915 as a postal station, the building later operated as the Dominion Agricultural Building, then as a base for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Now, over a century later, the designated heritage building is a go-to spot for everything from intimate wedding receptions to community craft fairs.
The ornate structure is also the perfect, intimate setting for Music for the Winter Solstice, Music on Main’s annual holiday offering. The event will bring serene music to Heritage Hall on December 10 and 11 this year, with both concerts starting at 7:30 pm.
Among the performers are standout contemporary pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa and percussionist Julia Chien, both of whom are regular performers with Music on Main. Then there’s five-time Grammy Award winner Caroline Shaw, who will bring vocals and violin sounds to the hall; local music-goers likely recall her standout production Graveyards and Gardens, a collaboration with Vanessa Goodman that explored mortality and the ever-looping life cycle. Also joining the lineup is boundary-pushing artist Danni Lee Parpan.