Orchestras Canada

This week, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has welcomed over 10,000 students in grades 4, 5 and 6 to the Francis Winspear Centre for an hour-long concert entitled The Sounds of Story – a program that features not only the ESO, but also young local pianists and the Kokopelli Choir. The program has been designed to unveil the relationship between story and music by using literature from the Alberta Education Curriculum and beloved pieces of music. It sounds fun! Students will learn about musical punctuation in a Bach Chorale, study the influence of foreign culture and music language in Ravel’s Ma mère l’oye, identify themes as contrasting characters in Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto, and trace the structure of a musical “story” in Haydn’s Symphony No. 100. As well, Edmonton composer Allan Gilliland will make a special appearance to talk about how he was inspired to write the piece Loch na Beiste by the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. One gifted student will hear their own Sounds of Story poem read aloud to their peers by Mr. Gilliland during the performance of his work.

www.edmontonsymphony.com

Every year at about this time, we brace ourselves for all the media releases about Canadian orchestras’ holiday programming. How best, we wonder, to generate all the enthusiasm that’s due for all of the upcoming Nutcracker and Messiah performances?

This year, we’ve got all that – and much, much more. Here’s a coast to coast round up of the holiday events that we’ve heard about so far.

Vancouver
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra presents a remarkable 18 performances of three different holiday-themed programs this year. In the lead? Thirteen performances of the VSO’s Traditional Christmas program, led by Music Director Bramwell Tovey, and featuring the UBC Opera Ensemble, Enchor and narrator Christopher Gaze. This program travels to six different communities in Metro Vancouver, including Burnaby, South Delta, Surrey, North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Downtown Vancouver. Before Christmas, The orchestra also gives 3 performances of Vivaldi’s complete Four Seasons, featuring concertmaster Dale Barltrop, and presents a pair of Holiday Hooray! programs (without orchestra) in its Tiny Tots series. vancouversymphony.ca

Edmonton
The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra kicks off its holiday season “boogie woogie style” on November 30, with a performance entitled The Days of Christmas, featuring pianist/vocalist Michael Kaeshammer and special guest Jill Barber. As the ESO media release says, “Having started out studying classical piano in his childhood, Michael Kaeshammer’s real passion lies in the boogie-woogie and stride piano playing styles of the likes of Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis, and Pete Johnson, to name a few. Ever the crowd-pleaser, [he] will showcase his skill and creativity performing specialized arrangements of I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Mary’s Boy Child, Winter Wonderland, and Merry Christmas, Baby.” ESO resident conductor Lucas Waldin leads the program. edmontonsymphony.com

Calgary
The Calgary Philharmonic is presenting a full array of holiday programming, including performances of Handel’s Messiah, the Sing Along Messiah, a traditional Christmas program, a program with the Canadian Tenors, a Christmas program with Christian singer/songwriter Michael W. Smith, and a new year’s Salute to Vienna concert. cpo-live.com

Regina
The Regina Symphony Orchestra presents an eclectic holiday program on December 4 that features a lobby performance by the Conservatory of Music’s Amadeus Strings, selections from The Nutcracker, audience sing-alongs, a medley of music from The Polar Express, a celebrity performance of Haydn’s Toy Symphony (possibly written by Leopold Mozart), and the symphonic debut of 2010 Regina Symphony Singing Star contest winner, Paula Haubrich. RSO Music Director Victor Sawa is on the podium, and “in the spirit of the season, the RSO will be accepting donations of non-perishable food items for the Regina Foodbank at this concert.” reginasymphony.com

Toronto
On December 6 at 9 pm ET on Bravo!, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir will be featured in the premiere television broadcast of its popular annual Sing-Along Messiah, produced by 90th Parallel Productions. This historic television event was recorded live last January at Toronto’s Koerner Hall, and is produced by Gordon Henderson and Stuart Coxe and directed by Dave Russell. The broadcast complements Tafelmusik’s four live performances of Handel’s Messiah from December 15th to 18th at its home venue, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, and a performance of Sing-Along Messiah on Sunday December 19th at Massey Hall. tafelmusik.org

Timmins
The Timmins Symphony has had the great joy of announcing that its 2010 production of The Nutcracker Ballet (scheduled for November 27 and 28) was completely sold out two weeks ahead of the performances. Said music director Matthew Jones, “We are delighted that the Timmins has embraced this community production and that our local dancers and actors will be performing to full houses of family and friends. We thank Timmins for supporting Nutcracker this Holiday Season.” timminssymphony.com

Montreal
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal celebrates the end of 2010 with three different programs led by Music Director Kent Nagano. The festivities kick off with a program featuring piano prodigy Jan Lisiecki (Grand Prize winner at last year’s OSM Standard Life Competition), renowned contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9. Then, the OSM carries on with one of its longest-running Christmas traditions: Handel’s Messiah at Notre-Dame Basilica, with the OSM Chorus and singer soloists Dominique Labelle, Daniel Taylor, Michael Schade and Tyler Duncan. And finally, mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, backed by the Chœur des enfants de Montréal, will perform traditional Christmas melodies with the OSM at the Basilica. The two Christmas concerts at the Basilica will be telecast during the holiday period by Radio-Canada, this season’s official broadcaster. osm.ca

With Hallowe’en falling on a weekend this year, a remarkable number of Canadian orchestras are scheduling programs that celebrate the scary side of orchestral music – for thrill-seekers of all ages. Here’s a round-up (with our thanks to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra staffer who updates the TSO’s Facebook page for the photo!):

The Winnipeg Symphony opens its Concerts for Kids series on October 31, with celebrated children’s performer Frank Oden. Oden, a resident of Denver CO matches original poetry, humour, education and theatrical production values with a live symphonic performance. And, of course, young audience members are encouraged to dress in costume for a chance to win prizes.

Also on Sunday afternoon, Symphony Nova Scotia presents a program of “the most ghoulish classical music ever written”, led by resident conductor Martin MacDonald. The program is preceded by treats and a musical instrument petting zoo, and will also feature an onstage costume contest.

The Victoria Symphony, led by Music Director Tania Miller, will present a pair of performances October 30 and 31 of reliably spooky music: Saint-Saens’ Danse Macabre, HK Gruber’s Frankenstein!! (with narrator Douglas MacNaughton), and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Maestra Miller and members of the orchestra will be in costume and invite the audience to come dressed for the occasion too.

Also on October 30 and 31, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra presents a concert of “hair-raising” orchestral music, including The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, selections from Symphonie Fantastique, and Bach’s Toccata in D Minor. And they’re offering chocolate, post-concert!

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jack Everly present a program called “Mysterioso” tonight (October 29) and tomorrow – and it focuses on the “magical” side of Hallowe’en, with illusionist Joseph Gabriel, the comic magic duo Les Arnold and Dazzle, quick-change artists David & Dania, singer Christina Bianco, and “hypnotic orchestral gems that will leave you spellbound!” The media release also notes that “guests are also invited to bring and display their own creatively carved pumpkins in the Winspear Centre lobby for the duration of these Halloween weekend concerts.”

(Photo from the TSO’s Young People’s Concert)

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has launched a search for its next Young Composer. The program, now in its 10th year, provides one high school student with the opportunity to write a work for the full ESO, under the mentorship of former ESO Composer in Residence Allan Gilliland. Over a period of six months, the student will create a musical work for his/her current instrument of study, and working alongside Mr. Gilliland, will orchestrate the piece for the ultimate showcase of the new work. With support from Canadian Western Bank, this year’s mentee will receive a $1,000 bursary towards post-secondary studies. Students can submit applications online until November 29th, 2010. For more information, please visit http://www.DiscoverESO.com

We admit it: in the transition to our summer publication schedule, we missed listing some summer concerts offered by member orchestras and others. Our apologies to the Winnipeg Symphony (which presented a series of free concerts in Winnipeg and Kenora, June 25 to July 4 – culminating in a
performance for Her Majesty the Queen, with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Juno Award-winner Chic Gamine, Sierra Noble and Chantal Kreviazuk); the Windsor Symphony (which kicked off Summerfest Uptown at the Windsor Armouries on June 26 – and will be continuing with its “Quintets and Sunsets” series July 10 and 11); and the Niagara Symphony (which gave a Canada Day performance on – you guessed it – July 1).

Here’s what we can tell you about other upcoming events!

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra presents the six-concert Symphony Under The Sky festival, September 3 – 6, at the Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park. It’s a varied program, with (as the media release says) “everything from Bach to Billy Joel.” Guest conductor Bob Bernhardt will lead the orchestra in five of the six concerts, and soloists include violinist, Karen Gomyo the Knock School of Irish Dance, pianist Jim Witter, and the guns of the Royal Canadian Artillery. For more information, please visit here.

There’s been an encouraging update from the Victoria Symphony about their annual Symphony Splash event, scheduled for August 1, 2010. Absent a major title sponsor this year, the Victoria Symphony team set about to create another kind of giving opportunity for patrons interested in ensuring that Symphony Splash went ahead. In late June, the orchestra announced that its new fundraising initiative, titled Victoria Symphony Splash Band of Heroes, has already generated $50,000 in new support for the marquee event. In response to the loss of its title sponsor, the Victoria Symphony invited numerous companies and individuals to lend their support. The Victoria Symphony Splash Band of Heroes, asks for $1,000 contributions in exchange for specific recognition benefits. According to Mitchell Krieger, executive director of the Victoria Symphony, “It’s wonderful to see these Heroes stepping up to support Victoria Symphony Splash, especially as so many are new to the Symphony family. Making more connections to the community will not only keep Splash vibrant, it will help the Symphony’s long-term sustainability. We are nearly halfway to our goal of 100 Heroes, and we hope that more will step forward between now and August 1st.” Band of Heroes has proven to be a success as 45 businesses and individuals have already joined Band of Heroes, and more are signing up every week. Band of Heroes gives companies of all sizes and individuals the opportunity to support the event in a way not previously available. See here for more information.

The Edmonton Symphony has recently learned that it’s the second Canadian orchestra ever to receive an invitation to perform at the new Spring for Music Festival at New York’s fabled Carnegie Hall. The ESO will make the trip in May 2012, as part of the festival’s 2nd annual season; the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal will be part of the festival’s inaugural season in May 2011, joining orchestras from Albany, Dallas, Oregon and Toledo, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Spring for Music is a concentrated festival of concerts by North American symphony and chamber orchestras presented annually at Carnegie Hall to broad music-loving audiences at affordable prices, sold through a unique marketing structure and with an artistic profile built around innovative and creative programs. The festival is designed to allow participating orchestras to showcase their artistic philosophies through distinctive and adventurous programming in one of the world’s most competitive musical environments. In pre-concert talks, each participating orchestra will describe how that night’s program relates to its artistic philosophy. The festival becomes a musical laboratory with lively and attentive audiences that can foster greater innovation in each orchestra’s home market.

“We’re freakin’ thrilled,” says music director Bill Eddins, who has never performed at the legendary concert hall. “It’s a cool opportunity for orchestras who wouldn’t normally be performing at Carnegie Hall,” says ESO managing director Annemarie Petrov.

The ESO will release more information next year about the New York concert, which coincides with the orchestra’s 60th anniversary.

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and their venue, the Francis Winspear Centre for Music, are opening up the hall for a series of public tours this spring.  As the ESO media release says, “Ever wonder what really happens inside the Winspear Centre?  Have you joined us for an ESO concert and were amazed by the incredible acoustics?  Are you curious about the brilliant Davis Concert Organ that shines behind the stage?  If so, we invite you to join us at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music for an Overture information session this spring.”

The free, hour-long sessions feature a backstage tour, the opportunity to meet staff members, volunteers, and members of the orchestra – and there’s even a light lunch.  There are five sessions in total, running from April 20 to May 19.

For more information, please visit here.

A number of member orchestras have announced their 2010-11 seasons, and here is a round-up of recent launches

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony announced its 66th season recently, and its fourth under the leadership of Music Director Edwin Outwater.  Major works on the season include Holst’s The Planets, Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”, and Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony, and world premieres include a new work by composer Brian Current featuring visual artist and second-generation Sufi mevlevi whirling dervish, Mira Hunter.  As well, the orchestra also announced a new social networking site for its fans: www.Kwsocial.ca, designed to connect the orchestra to its community in a new and dynamic way.  You can learn more here.

The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (led by Music Director James Sommerville) has announced its 2010-11 season – a season that includes Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, along with pops and chamber programs.  For more information, you can go to their website here.

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2010-11 season – its 6th under the leadership of Music Director Bill Eddins, who will conduct concerts on each of the orchestras’ many series.  Among many other highlights, the season will include the return of Late Night with Bill Eddins; The ESO Presents, a new series that invites brilliant international soloists to perform with the orchestra in the first half of the program, followed by solo recitals after intermission.  The season also includes the ESO’s annual outdoor event, Symphony Under the Sky.  For more information, you can visit the ESO’s website here.

The Orchestre symphonique de Québec has released details of its 2010-11 season, its final season under the leadership of Maestro Yoav Talmi after a highly successful 12-year tenure.  The music of Beethoven is featured extensively, with performances of all of his symphonies and major concertos.  As well, the season will feature a massive performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”.  For more information, you can visit the OSQ’s website here.

Symphony Nova Scotia has announced its 2010-11 season, designed and led by Music Director Bernhard Gueller.  Features of the season include great symphonic works, a performance of Mozart’s Requiem, and a Scandinavian festival featuring the music of Grieg and Sibelius.  Pops programming includes guest appearances by Red Green and the Barra MacNeils.  www.symphonynovascotia.ca

The National Arts Centre Orchestra has announced its 2010-11 season, its 12th under the leadership of Music Director Pinchas Zukerman.  Highlights include a Mozart-Haydn Festival, a stunning array of Canadian and international soloists, the world premiere of Malcolm Forsyth’s Ballad of the Canadian Land, and works by Peter Paul Koprowski and André Mathieu.  For more information, you can visit the orchestra’s website here.

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

Late last week, the Edmonton Symphony Society held its Annual General Meeting for 2009, during which Managing Director Annemarie Petrov and Chair of the Board of Directors Steven LePoole reviewed highlights of the Edmonton Symphony’s 2008/2009 fiscal year.  The bottom line?  Good news, with Ms Petrov noting that “while we were faced with many challenges posed by an uncertain economic environment, we have been able to overcome these challenges and for the sixth consecutive year, the ESO has operated within a balanced budget.  We are very pleased to announce a surplus of $23,752.”  Ingredients in the ESO’s success?  Dynamic programming, careful selection of soloists, excellent performances by the orchestra and Music Director Bill Eddins, generous donors and sponsors and a “dramatic increase” in subscription sales resulting from a new 2-for-1 campaign.

For more information about the ESS, or to view their financial statements, you can visit their website here. 

Toronto Symphony Orchestra

The TSO also held its AGM last week, and for the fourth year in a row, the report was a positive one.  Highlights of the season included a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall, highest-in-TSO-history ticket sales and contributions, extensive education outreach programmes across the province, and a surplus of $29,637 on revenues exceeding $24.3 million.  Some facts noted in the orchestra’s media release:   the Toronto Symphony Orchestra performed 112 concerts for the general public in 2008-2009, selling 244,275 tickets. A further 27 curriculum-based programmes were performed at Roy Thomson Hall for 54,000 students, and musicians of the Orchestra reached 17,250 students with in-school programmes throughout the GTA. The Orchestra performed for an additional 11,600 students in North Bay, Timmins, Moose Factory, Moosonee, Iroquois Falls, and Fort Frances through touring initiatives.

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) has announced a four-year extension of William Eddins’ contract as Music Director. Presently in his fifth season at the helm of the orchestra with one year remaining on his current contract, this extension will see Eddins conducting the ESO through the 2014-2015 season. This partnership, which began in September 2005, will mark a significant and stable period of artistic leadership for Eddins and the ESO. Since the professional establishment of the orchestra in 1952, only one other ESO Music Director reached the 10-year tenure, that being Uri Mayer, who held the position for 13 seasons, from 1981-1994.

Nurhan Arman, Music Director of Sinfonia Toronto, has announced the appointment of Canadian composer Heather Schmidt as the orchestra’s Composer-in-Residence for the 2009-2010 season.  In making the announcement Maestro Arman said, “I am thrilled that Heather Schmidt will be closely involved with us this year. I am looking forward to leading the world premieres of her new Piano Concerto and a Cello Concerto that she is writing for us, and working on many other projects together throughout the season. This appointment re-emphasizes Sinfonia Toronto’s commitment to Canadian composers.”
 
Earlier this week, Executive Director Katherine Carleton presented the first of this year’s Orchestras Canada Betty Webster Awards to Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, at the opening of their Toronto season of concerts.  The festivities continue in October, when award winners Kathy Humphreys (General Manager of the Kamloops Symphony) and Jeff Alexander (President and CEO of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra) will be presented with their awards.  We are proud to salute these leading citizens in the Canadian orchestral community!

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra has announced that Jennifer MacDonald will join the TSO Music Department as Artist Liaison/Assistant to Artistic Administration.  Jennifer comes directly to the TSO from Ottawa where, for the past two seasons, she has been Artistic Administrator of the highly successful Ottawa Chamber Music Society.  She holds a Bachelors degree in Music (piano) from Mount Allison and a Masters in Musicology from McGill.