Late last week, Mme Sophie Galaise, Directrice generale of the Orchestre symphonique de Quebec, was recognized as a “Woman of Distinction” in the field of arts and culture by the YWCA of Quebec at their annual Gala. She was cited for her track record of developing and transforming the organizations for which she has worked, the positive impact she has had in the cultural milieu, and her unique combination of business acumen and sensitivity to music and the arts – and, in particular, the numerous accomplishments of the OSQ since her arrival in 2007. Congratulations!

The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra has announced the appointment of Antonio Delgado as its new Resident Conductor, effective September 2010. Maestro Delgado, himself a product of the highly regarded El Sistema of Venezuala, will play a joint role, conducting the NBYO Senior Orchestra, and also driving the growth of the Sistema movement in New Brunswick, which officially launched in Moncton earlier this year. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, he was most recently a conductor with the world famous Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela, (National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela). He has conducted every major orchestra in Venezuela, has worked in Ecuador and Puerto Rico and has been a guest conductor in Italy, Cuba, Guatemala, and Panama. In 2006 he was appointed the Music Director of the National Theatre “Teresa Carreño”, where he conducted major Venezuelan professional orchestras in Symphonic concerts, Ballets, and Operas. He began in the National System’s (El Sistema) “Nucleo La Rinconada”, where he studied violin and music theory.

We were charmed to learn that the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra’s Sistema NB program is benefiting from two ‘Teachers in Residence’ from Venezuela – Pedro Moya (violin) and Pamela Arce (cello).  During a three-week stay in New Brunswick, they have been teaching every day in the Sistema centre, giving individual lessons to Sistema children, offering a mini music camp for the Sistema orchestra, and presenting a master classes for the NBYO senior orchestra, as well.  On the final day of their visit, they’ll lead a recital of the Sistema orchestra for family, supporters and other community members.

Tomorrow night, May 15, Timothy Vernon conducts his final concert as Music Director of Orchestra London after 10 years of service.  Under the title of Music Director Laureate, he will return in June to conduct the orchestra’s opera production, Giulio Cesare, and will also lead several concerts during the 2010-11 season.  Maestro Vernon states, “This is not goodbye, but ‘until we see each other again’.  It has been a thrilling privilege this last decade to work with such fantastic, marvelous, and dedicated musicians.”

Earlier this month, Orchestras Canada staff member Jennifer Caines wrote to our Youth Orchestra and Community Orchestra members, asking them to send a letter to their MPs about the potential impact of a new Stretch Tax Credit on Canada’s smaller-budget orchestras.  We at OC were thrilled to hear not only that the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra not only took up the cause, sending letters to all 10 New Brunswick MPs in support of the proposal, but also that the NBYO has been starting to hear back.  They received a particularly warm response from MP Mike Allen, who highly praised the NBYO for its cultural contributions to the province, and noted that the “tax credit idea has come up from a number of areas” and that it will be taken into consideration along with other tax and spending plans.

If you would like to add your orchestra’s voice to the cause, we’ve prepared a letter that you can customize, and it’s posted on Orchestras Canada’s website here: here.

Then when you receive feedback from your MP, please pass it along to: jennifer@oc.ca.  Thanks for your help in getting the word out!

Three years ago, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra launched a guest conductor program, “to inspire and develop talent within the youth orchestra”.  This year, with the launch of Sistema New Brunswick and the opening of the NBYO’s first Sistema Centre in Moncton, the NBYO invited a guest conductor (and product of the famed El Sistema program) from Venezuela to lead them, and it’s not just a fly-in weekend visit, either!  Maestro Antonio Delgado is spending the entire month of January with the NBYO and Sistema New Brunswick, teaching and mentoring at the Centre, leading youth orchestra rehearsals and sharing the podium with NBYO music director Dr. James Mark in concert, as well. 

Maestro Delgado has conducted every major orchestra in Venezuela, and has worked in Ecuador and Puerto Rico. Currently, he is in charge of the Musical Direction of the National Theatre “Teresa Carreño“, where he conducts the major Venezuelan orchestras in Symphonic concerts, Ballets, and Operas.

Another highlight of the guest-conducted concert?  The musicians of the NBYO were joined on stage by all thirteen members of the NBYO faculty, including David Adams and Paul Campbell, violin; Chris Buckley, viola; Sonja Adams, cello; Andrew Miller, bass; Karin Aurell, flute; Belinda Code, oboe; Jean-Guy Boisvert, clarinet; Robert Lewis, bassoon; James Code, horn; Richard Gibson, trumpet; Richard Kidd, trombone; tuba; and Michel Deschênes, percussion.

For more information about the NBYO, please visit their website here.

Last week, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra (NBYO) announced that it will be launching Sistema New Brunswick, a program designed to bring about transformational social change through music, this fall with a prototype children9s orchestra centre in Moncton.  The program, which will eventually be rolled out to a number of communities across the province,  will be modelled on an internationally renowned Venezuelan program. The National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela, known locally as “El Sistema”, brings together the country’s most disadvantaged youth and nurtures their personal development and talent through free instruments and instruction.
           
“During a tour of Venezuela to investigate their program, we concluded that it was indeed something that was needed here in New Brunswick,” said NBYO president Ken MacLeod. “We were inspired by what we found, so the logical next step was to bringing a version of the program here in order to bring positive change.  The goal is to influence children through music, to foster positive values such as discipline, teamwork, confidence and self-esteem, and to inspire in children a sense of hope, joy and the aspiration to succeed.”
 
New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham expressed his enthusiasm for the initiative, saying that “this is a wonderful way to inspire children and youth to achieve their full potential and to acquire the values they need20to grow and to have a positive impact in the society.  This is a perfect example of New Brunswickers coming together to make a significant positive contribution to the future of our children through the arts. The NBYO is a leading force in Canada for positive change for children and we are proud of their contributions.  As this program is rolled out across New Brunswick in the next few years, we will also see more jobs created for professional artists in the province.  A strong, vibrant, cultural sector is good for our economy.”
 
The prototype program for Sistema New Brunswick will be located at Beaverbrook School in Moncton, and will take in students from four schools, Monday to Friday from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., to learn how to play music and gain other social skills in a co-operative, nurturing environment where personal qualities and achievement matter more than the quality of the music.  However, the program will not stop there.  According to Ken Macleod, “by 2015, we hope to open between four and six children’s orchestra centres throughout the province operating in both official languages.  We will engage visionary and socially driven musicians from New Brunswick, Canada, Venezuela and around the world who will collaborate with us.”