Orchestras Canada

The last few weeks have been good ones for Orchestras Canada members, and we’d like to acknowledge some key accomplishments and landmarks.

Congratulations to the Royal Conservatory of Music, which kicked off its 125th year of operation on November 20th. Speaking about the milestone, RCM President Dr. Peter Simon noted that, ““the broad-based programs of The Royal Conservatory support Canadian education and, ultimately, Canadian innovation. The Conservatory provides a structured system of learning that develops musical literacy, professional training for Canada’s most gifted young artists, and pioneering learning solutions. Over 125 years it has been the vision of The Royal Conservatory to weave these programs into the very fabric of society, based on our conviction that the arts are our greatest tools for learning, for fostering creativity and personal fulfillment, and for contributing to stronger and more productive societies.”
For more information about The Royal Conservatory and its programs, please visit rcmusic.ca.

We’d also like to acknowledge the many Orchestras Canada members who are finalists for the 15th annual Prix Opus, presented by the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM). The awards – which recognize outstanding concerts, events, musical works and writing about music during the 2010-11 season – will be presented January 29 at the Salle Bourgie at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal. The evening will also include a special tribute to Maestro Yuli Turovsky, founder of I Musici de Montreal.

Finalists of note from our membership include:

Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (multiple categories)
Quatuor Molinari (multiple categories)
Les Violons du Roy
Orchestre symphonique de Montreal (multiple categories)
Orchestre symphonique de Québec (multiple categories)
Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières
Orchestre Métropolitain
Tim Brady/Bradyworks

For more information about the Prix Opus – and to learn more about the nomination categories and nominees – please visit cqm.qc.ca (some pages are available only in French).

Last week, the members of Les Violons du Roy and their music director Bernard Labadie departed for an 8-concert, 10-day tour to France, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The tour soloist is pianist Alexandre Tharaud – and three of the eight concerts they’re performing are already sold out! The orchestra’s Paris performance is part of the re-opening celebrations for the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Repertoire for the tour includes concertos and symphonies of J.S. Bach, J.C. Bach, Mozart, and Haydn.

For more information about the orchestra and its touring plans, please visit violonsduroy.com.

On October 24, ADISQ (the association for music and sound recording in Quebec) will hold its “other gala” – an event to honour the outstanding non-commercial recordings and performers of the year. A number of Orchestras Canada members have been nominated for the classical music awards, and we’re proud to list them here:

In the “classical recording of the year – orchestra or large ensemble”, featured nominations include recordings by Les Violons du Roy (Bonbons on ATMA Classique, led by Bernard Labadie), Orchestre metropolitain (Florent Schmitt : La Tragédie de Salomé, César Franck : Symphonie en ré, on ATMA Classique, led by Yannick Nezet-Seguin) and the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal (Beethoven: Des Dieux, des Héros et des Hommes, on Analekta, led by Kent Nagano).

In the “classical recording of the year – soloist or small ensemble”, we salute the nomination of the Quatuor Alcan, participants in the recording entitled Mathieu: Trio & Quintette; Chausson – Concert, also featuring Alain Lefèvre and David Lefèvre, on the Analekta label.

Finally, in the “classical recording of the year – vocal”, we recognize the nominations of Les Violons du Roy (Britten: Les Illuminations, featuring Karina Gauvin and led by Jean-Marie Zeitouni, on the ATMA label), and Orchestre Metropolitain (on a recording entitled Marie-Josée Lord, led by Giuseppe Pietraroia featuring the eponymous singer, on ATMA Classique).

This spring, Les Violons du Roy (led by resident conductor Eric Paetkau) and a lucky group of music student partners will present the results of their 12th annual Musiciens en herbe project in concerts in Quebec (April 19 and June 5) and Trois-Rivieres (June 8). Over the three concerts, more than 300 students will share the stage with the acclaimed chamber orchestra’s skilled professional musicians, the culmination of a year-long sequence of school visits by members of the orchestra, during which students learned first hand about the life and work of musicians, the functioning of the orchestra and the role of the conductor.

For more information about the program – and the concerts – please visit violonsduroy.com.

ADMINISTRATIVE / ADMINISTRATIFS

The City of Kingston
Communications Officer (2)
Education & Community Engagement Manager
Application Deadline/Date limite : May 6 mai 2011

AUDITIONS

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony
Third Horn (National)
Application Deadline/Date limite : September 9 septembre 2011

Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra
Principal Viola (National)
Application Deadline/Date limite : May 13 mai 2011

The Victoria Symphony
Section Violin (rotating section) (National)
Application Deadline/Date limite : May 2 mai 2011

The Vancouver Symphony has announced its 2011-12 season, its twelfth under the leadership of music director Bramwell Tovey. It’s a busy season that sees the orchestra performing in fourteen different venues in the Lower Mainland, including its home at the Orpheum. New or unusual works on the season include performances of Korngold’s violin concerto, a concert version of Bramwell Tovey and John Murrell’s new opera, The Inventor, and John Ireland’s Piano Concerto – along with a full array of standard orchestral classics, pops, family and educational programs. Featured soloists on the season include soprano Renee Fleming, pianists Lang Lang and Peter Serkin, and young Canadians Jan Lisiecki and Nicki Yanovsky. For more information, please visit www.vancouversymphony.ca.

Quebec’s intrepid Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Quebec has launched its 2011-12 season under the leadership of music director Bernard Labadie and principal guest conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni. The season features twenty-seven different programs, to be performed at home in Quebec and Montreal, nationally and internationally. Highlights include a performance of Bach’s St. John Passion, with Ian Bostridge as the Evangelist, a program featuring soprano Karina Gauvin in arias by Porpora and Mozart, and a visit by guest leader Jeanne Lamon, music director of Toronto’s Tafelmusik. In the fall, the orchestra will undertake a two week European tour, with performances in the Netherlands, Switzerland and France; in early 2012, they will perform a 10-concert North American tour with recorder virtuoso Maurice Steger, and in the spring, the orchestra and choir will travel to New York’s Carnegie Hall for a repeat performance of the St. John Passion. As well, the orchestra will release a pair of recordings – one with pianist Alexandre Tharaud (who is, not coincidentally, soloist for this year’s European tour), and the second with contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux. The latter recording represents the orchestra’s first collaboration with the Naïve label of France. www.violonsduroy.com

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony announced its 11-12 season recently, its fifth under the direction of Edwin Outwater. Highlights range from a Mozart Festival to the Canadian premiere of a co-commissioned work by Nico Muhly, and the program also includes creative collaborations with the Institute for Quantum Computing, such soloists as André Laplante, Sara Davis Buechner, the Canadian Brass, Gryphon Trio, and Sultans of String. As well, the orchestra will return to the SONY Centre for several performances next season, and will introduce a weekend Matinée Series which features repeat performances of outstanding classical and pops programs. kwsymphony.ca

In the month of January, small ensembles from Quebec’s Les Violons du Roy will perform in 17 health and long-term care facilities in their region, in partnership with the Société pour les arts en milieux de santé (SAMS).

Speaking about the partnership, the orchestra’s Director of Artistic Administration, Laurent Patenaude comments that “it is a privilege for Les Violons du Roy to be able to offer these programs in partnership with SAMS. These concerts will provide a unique forum for social and artistic exchange – and will create a bridge between our artists and the residents.”

SAMS was created in 2009, and is a partner to the Health Arts Society. It is dedicated to improve the quality of life for people in long-term care and hospital patients by providing concerts by professional performers, reducing their sense of isolation and offering them access to the joy and stimulation that music can bring.

You can learn more about SAMS here.
You can learn more about the Health Arts Society here.

We continue to be amazed at the inventiveness of the seasonal programs presented by Canadian orchestras this year. So, for the third week in a row, here’s a round up of highlights from across the country, west to east.

In British Columbia, the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra presents a pair of seasonal programs, starting this weekend with two performances of a concert that features “a story from the time of Dickens, dances, musical humour, plenty of seasonal tunes and a new young Symphony Award winner”, violinist Colleen Venables. The KSO and chorus present a sing-along Messiah next weekend. www.kamloopssymphony.com

Next week, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony presents four performances of a Yuletide Spectacular – one in Guelph and three in Kitchener – led by guest conductor David Martin, and featuring Men With Horns and a great big chorus! www.kwsymphony.ca

Last night (December 9), the intrepid I Musici de Montreal presented a program featuring Montreal-based klezmer ensemble Kleztory. Other works on the program include an arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s string quartet no. 1 and a special performance of the Leopold Mozart’s Toy Symphony, featuring traditionally-clad Mohawk children from Kahnawake performing in the solo roles. www.imusici.com

This Sunday, the Ensemble instrumental Appassionata, led by Music Director Daniel Myssyk, gives a special performance of Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals at the Auditorium of Montreal’s Jardin botanique, featuring narration and projections by Guy Beausoleil, and additional music composed by Robert Marcel Lepage. www.appassionata.ca

In Quebec City, Les Violons du Roy – led by resident conductor Eric Paetkau – welcomes soprano Charlotte Corwin and harpist Valerie Milot in a pair of programs December 17 and 19, featuring seasonal music (some in special arrangements) by Frank Bridge, Peter Warlock, Gerald Finzi, Henri Büsser and Marcel Samuel-Rousseau. www.violonsduroy.com

The Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivieres welcomes younger audiences to a pair of short performances on December 12 as part of its Muffins aux sons series: Noël avec Jacques Lacombe et Trois Quatre. www.ostr.ca

And this week also brought announcements about Messiah performances in Saskatoon (with performances in Saskatoon and Battleford), Ottawa, Longueuil, Windsor, and Halifax – while the Canadian Tenors juggernaut continues its national tour, to sold out houses.

On August 31, Quebec’s Les Violons du Roy will release a new CD under the direction of Principal Guest Conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni . The new release (on the ATMA Classique Label) explores the music of Benjamin Britten, and features stellar Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin in Les Illuminations, along with two of the composer’s major works for string orchestra: the Prelude and Fugue, and the Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge. The recording marks the third recording collaboration between Maestro Zeitouni and Les Violons du Roy, with the first two devoted to the music of Piazzolla and Bartok.

M. Guy Morneau, Chair of the board of Les Violons du Roy, has announced the retirement of Mme Louise Labelle, who has served as the orchestra’s Directrice generale since 2007, effective June 14. She will be succeeded by Mme Astrid Chouinard.

The Sudbury Symphony Orchestra has announced the appointment of Elizabeth Aman-Hume as the new Executive Director of the  Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and Music School, effective immediately. Elizabeth was most recently executive director of the Northern Orchestra in the Prince George region of British Columbia.

The Timmins Symphony Orchestra and Geoffrey James Lee School of Music has announced the appointment of Frances Shakov as their new Executive Director. Frances comes to the TSO from Ballet Jorgen, where she served as General Manager.

Toronto Arts Council is pleased to announce that Christy DiFelice has joined as the Grants Officer responsible for its Music programs. Christy has worked with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 2006 as Manager of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. Prior to that she worked with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Fine Arts Cultural Studies Department at York University. A graduate of York University (MA, Ethnomusicology/Musicology; 2008), her studies focused on musics and cultures of the African Diaspora, with a specialization in North American Jazz and Blues. Christy will assume her duties at TAC on July 19, 2010.