Orchestras Canada

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.

On April 22, Aradia Ensemble (Kevin Mallon, director) will give a free hour-long lunch-time concert at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre, featuring excerpts from Samuel Arnold’s Polly, written as a sequel to the composer’s highly successful The Beggar’s Opera.

Aradia’s recording of Polly, which will be released for sale at the concert, is a world premier recording.  Aradia Ensemble Director Kevin Mallon will be joined by Laura Albino as Polly, Marion Newman as Jenny Diver, Jason Nedecky as Ducat, Loralie Kirkpatrick as Trapes, Gillian Grossman as the Indian Scout, Sean Watson as Morano and introducing Kyra Folk- Farber as Mrs. Ducat.

This week, April 16 and 17, the Kamloops Symphony (under the direction of Bruce Dunn) will present a pair of Charlie Chaplin movies, complete with live accompaniment.  The films are The Rink and The Adventurer, and they’ve been freshly scored for smaller orchestra by Carl Davis.  As the KSO’s media release advises, “a large screen will fill the stage to provide a larger than life view of The Rink and The Adventurer. American composer Aaron Copland’s Music for the Theatre sets the stage for an evening of hilarity.”

Les Violons du Roy (led by principal guest conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni, and featuring violinist Vadim Guzman) will present a dynamic and varied program of music from North and South America, tonight (April 16) at the Palais Montcalm.  Works include Chavez’s Toccata for percussion, Villa Lobos’s Bachianas brasileiras #9, two tangos by Piazzolla, Prevost’s Scherzo, Barber’s Adagio, and Bernstein’s Serenade for violin, strings and percussion.

From May 4 to 13, the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal (led by Music Director Kent Nagano) will present a comprehensive Beethoven festival that includes all nine symphonies, the Triple Concerto, and a new work by Booker Prize-winning author Yann Martel, narrated by Michel Dumont and set to the ballet music from Creatures of Prometheus.  Featured soloists in the “Triple” are James Ehnes, violin; Antonio  Meneses, cello; and Menahem Pressler, piano.

Hearty, if belated congratulations to the Orchestras Canada members whose recordings have been nominated for Juno Awards this year!  The nominations were announced March 3, and the awards will be presented during Juno week, April 12-18 in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

In the Classical Album of the Year, Large Ensemble or soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment category, we salute OC members
Les Violons du Roy – Bartok
Louis Lortie and Orchestre symphonique de Québec - Mendelssohn – Piano Concertos 1 & 2 – Symphony No. 5
National Youth Orchestra of Canada – Selections From the 2009 National Tour
Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Orchestre Métropolitain - Bruckner Symphony No. 8

In the Classical Album of the Year:  Solo or Chamber Ensemble, we honour
I Musici de Montreal – Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence, Quartet No. 1

And, in the Classical Composition of the Year category, we recognize the nomination of Rob Teehan‘s Dreams of Flying, recorded by the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

For more information on the Juno Awards, you can visit the website here.

The National Arts Centre has announced the renewal of Maestro Pinchas Zukerman’s contract as the NAC Orchestra’s Music Director for four more years, to August 31, 2015.  The decision to renew Mr. Zukerman’s contract was unanimously approved by the National Arts Centre Board of Trustees, on the recommendation of NAC President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Herrndorf.  In a statement Mr. Herrndorf said, “Pinchas Zukerman’s gift of music has delighted audiences across Canada and internationally. For more than a decade the National Arts Centre has benefitted from his leadership on the podium, his extraordinary artistry as a soloist, and his deep commitment to music education. We are thrilled this relationship will continue.”

Congratulations to Bernard Labadie, music director of Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Quebec, who will make his debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra this weekend in Bach‘s St. Matthew Passion.  He will not be the only Canadian on stage, either:  celebrated contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux will be one of the six soloists for these performances.

In the last couple of weeks, we’ve had more reports of Canadian orchestras raising funds for Haitian relief efforts.

On March 10, members of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra took part in Calgary Artists for Haitian Relief on behalf of Le Foyer de Filles Chretiennes, a Canadian-founded Haitian girls’ orphanage.  And it wasn’t just standard repertoire, either:  the group (led by resident conductor Melanie Leonard) not only performed two works on their own, they also joined with award-winning Calgary musician Kris Demeanor to perform his tune, Chocolate and Lust. Demeanor described the piece as “delightfully bombastic. The orchestra brings power and beauty to the song.”

On May 7, Les Violons du Roy will give a benefit concert to raise funds for Plan Nagua, a Quebec-based NGO that has been working in Haiti since 1976.  The program will feature one of the most evergreen of works in Les Violons’ repertoire:  Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, with each season featuring a different violinist from the orchestra. The concert will be led by harpsichordist Richard Paré, and he will be joined by violinists Nicole Trotier (Spring), Pascale Gagnon (Summer), Michelle Seto (Fall) and Pascale Giguère (Winter).

Once the cascade of season launches begins, it can’t be stopped!  This week, we heard from the following orchestras about their plans for the 2010-11 season

Orchestre symphonique de Montreal:  Next season marks the final year for the OSM in its long-time venue, the salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts – and it’s a big one.  The season opens with a major outdoor concert (led by music director Kent Nagano) that features Cirque Éloize, Luck Mervil, and Dany Laferrière, all directed by Denis Bouchard – and will include a concert version of Das Rheingold, a program on Beethoven’s celebration of nature featuring David Suzuki, Mahler and Dutilleux cycles, and such guest artists Anne-Sophie Mutter, Salvatore Accardo, Midori, June Anderson, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Yefim Bronfman, Alain Lefèvre, André Laplante, Nikolai Lugansky, Peter Serkin,  Mischa Maisky, Mikhaïl Pletnev, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Roger Norrington and others.  For more information, please visit here.

Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec:  The noted chamber orchestra and choir celebrate their 27th season under the direction of Bernard Labadie, and tenth season with principal guest conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni.  Their Quebec season consists of 26 concerts over the course of the season, and presents both baroque and classical-era works (principally under the direction of M. Labadie) and romantic and contemporary repertoire (led by M. Zeitouni), featuring emerging and established Canadian and international soloists.  Concerts take place at the capital city’s lovely Palais Montcalm.

On December 11 and 12, music director Bernard Labadie, Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Quebec will travel to the Stern Auditorium of New York’s Carnegie Hall for performances of two cornerstone works in their repertoire : Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.  The ensemble then travels to Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Hall for a pair of Messiah performances December 15 and 16.  For more information on the orchestra’s program, you can visit their website here.

Orchestra News conveys its congratulations to Bernard Labadie, music director of Quebec’s Les Violons du Roy.  Maestro Labadie made his critically-acclaimed debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera last week – and here’s what the New York Times had to say:  www.nytimes.com

 
 Last week, the Canada Council for the Arts presented fine string instruments or bows to a group of exceptionally talented Canadian artists through its Musical Instrument Bank program.  Winners included violinists Judy Kang, Marie-Ève Poupart, Renée-Paule Gauthier (currently interim associate concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic), Véronique Mathieu, Caroline Chéhadé, Nikki Chooi, Andréa Tyniec, Min-Jeong Koh, Kerry DuWors, Jessica Linnebach (a member of the first violin section of the National Arts Centre Orchestra), and Jing Wang; and cellists Rachel Mercer, Chloé Dominguez, and Emmanuelle Beaulieu Bergeron. The winners were selected by a committee consisting of Peter Gardner, violinist and director of Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra (St. John’s, NL); Uri Mayer, violist and conductor (Toronto); and Sophie Rolland, cellist (London, England).
   
Symphony Nova Scotia has appointed Alex Kall as its new Production Coordinator.  Alex first came to SNS as a summer marketing intern, plays bass (both upright and electric) and has a Bachelor’s degree from Acadia University in Music Technology.