World Harmonica Festival "Tommy Reilly Memorial Concert"

Join us for a special memorial concert in honor of Tommy Reilly, the legendary harmonica virtuoso who transformed the instrument and left an indelible mark on the world of music. Tommy began taking violin lessons at the age of 8 and picked up the harmonica three years later. He became a soloist in the band and won the gold medal at the Canadian Exhibition in 1932 and 1933. Just before World War II, he toured as a harmonica player through the variety theaters of Europe and was interned in camps in the German Reich as a citizen of an enemy country when the war broke out. During this time, he developed the classical playing style of the harmonica, thereby opening the instrument to classical music.