The 2026 Leith Summer Festival has added two more concerts to its summer schedule, bringing a Juno Award-winning clarinetist and a Toronto klezmer band to the Historic Leith Church near Owen Sound, Ontario. Clarinetist James Campbell performs on August 9, and quintet Schmaltz & Pepper takes the stage on August 29.
The festival, now curated by Artistic Director Jeremy Bell, runs each July and August at the church on Tom Thomson Lane in Leith. The historic stone building, finished in 1866, is known for its exceptional sound and has long been the heart of the festival nicknamed “The Small Festival with the Heavenly Sound.”
Campbell, dubbed “Canada’s pre-eminent clarinetist and wind soloist” and a recipient of the Order of Canada, brings a career that spans more than 35 countries and appearances with the Boston Pops, Montreal Symphony, and London Symphony. His August 9 afternoon performance at 2:30pm also features cellist Adrian Fung, pianist Amanda Chan, and narrator Christopher Gaze.
Schmaltz & Pepper closes out the month on August 29 at 7:30pm. The quintet includes principal clarinetist Eric Abramovitz of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist Drew Jurecka, violinist and vocalist Rebekah Wolkstein, Juno-nominated bassist Michael Herring, and Juno-winning pianist Jeremy Ledbetter. The group reimagines Yiddish and klezmer music through a classical chamber lens.
Tickets for each concert are $45 for adults and $15 for students, plus fees, and are available through the Historic Roxy Theatre. A full five-concert series pass is $200. The Historic Leith Church is a short drive northeast of Owen Sound and remains the festival’s intimate venue for all performances.
