Orchestras Canada

Not one, but two Canadian orchestras, are welcoming the visit of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to Canada this week. The royal couple was welcomed to Saint John, NB by the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra; and tonight (May 23), they’ll hear the Regina Symphony Orchestra perform the world premiere of a new work by a member of the RSO at the RCMP Depot Division Drill Hall. The official Royal Tour itinerary notes that “this event will provide Their Royal Highnesses with the opportunity to enjoy a performance of the Regina Symphony Orchestra for the first time since His Royal Highness became the ensemble’s patron in 2008.”

Youth orchestras across the country are about to get an email from consultant C. Stephen Smith – and we urge you to take the time to read his email carefully, and respond! Mr. Smith has been engaged by Orchestras Canada to help us better understand the current situation and needs of Canadian youth orchestras. Step 1 in the process is a survey of Canadian youth orchestras; step 2 is a series of teleconference discussions with representatives from youth orchestras across the country on themes identified through the survey. Step 3 is the development of recommendations on the ways in which Orchestras Canada could be most useful to youth orchestras, working collaboratively with them as well as such organizational partners as the Association des orchestres des jeunes du Quebec (AOJQ) and the Saskatchewan Orchestral Association.

The study is being undertaken with the financial support of the Ontario Arts Investment Fund, and Task Force made up of Ken MacLeod of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra/Sistema NB (chair), Louise Richard (AOJQ), John Gomez (Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy), Diana Weir (Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra), Paul Dornian (Mount Royal Conservatory), Sheila Redhead (Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra), and Katherine Carleton (Orchestras Canada, ex officio).

For more information about the project, please contact Katherine Carleton via email at katherine [at] oc [dot] ca.

Last Saturday – February 18 – the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra made musical history by inviting Acadian hiphop group Radio Radio to perform with them in a gala fundraising performance in Moncton. The program was an enthusiastically-received mash-up of Radio Radio material (arranged for the group and orchestra by Chris Palmer, Richard Kidd and NBYO conductor Antonio Delgado) and such orchestral classics as Bizet’s Suite from Carmen, Tchaikovksy’s Romeo and Juliet, and the William Tell Overture. Over 1400 people attended, and many more people in Atlantic Canada will be able to experience the event thanks to Bell Aliant and Radio Canada. The former filmed it for streaming on community television and the latter recorded the concert for regional broadcast.

And the concert wasn’t the only highlight of the NBYO’s busy weekend: the NBYO and Sistema NB made good use of their time in Moncton by hosting sectional and orchestral workshops for almost 100 young musicians in the area, members of local school bands, and two young participants in Sistema NB made their debut with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra.

February 25-29, the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Institute for Orchestral Studies will host a workshop for emerging professional and pre-professional Canadian conductors. The workshop, led by conductor and teacher Kenneth Kiesler is designed to complement the conducting program at the NAC’s Summer Music Institute.

Five conductors will take part in the program: Antonio Delgado (trained through Venezuala’s renowned El Sistema, and, since 2010, music director of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and Sistema NB), Nadège Foofat (leader of the Esopus Chamber Orchestra of upper New York State, and a graduate of Juilliard and Yale), Dina Gilbert (founder and artistic director of the Ensemble Arkea, a Montreal-based chamber orchestra, assistant conductor of the Peterborough Symphony and Kawartha Youth Orchestra, and trained at the Université de Montréal), Philippe Ménard (Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique des Musiciens Étudiants de Montréal, and a graduate of the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal), and Lucas Waldin (resident conductor with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music).

The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra has just returned from a wildly successful tour to Vienna, Austria, where they won first prize at the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival and were described by the judges as “outstanding.” The 68 NBYO members were led by their music director Antonio Delgado.

It’s hard to convey – in this format – the sheer joy and excitement that the NBYO brought to their performances, and the pride that they and their supporters are feeling! For that, we’ll refer you to the NBYO website and blog, where the highlights of each day (and some wonderful pictures) have been posted. A recording of select tour performances will be released by the NBYO in the fall.

For more information, please visit nbyo-ojnb.ca/blogs.

Earlier this week, New Brunswick Youth Orchestra/Sistema NB board chair Ken Macleod gave us a report on the first-ever national summit on Sistema, which took place in Moncton on May 14 and 15. Some 60 participants from every region of Canada and several US states took part in the gathering, which featured a keynote address by David Ascanio of Caracas, friend and collaborator of Maestro Abreu and one of the founders of El Sistema more than 35 years ago. The program featured much sharing of information, collaboration, and practical help to encourage delegates to begin or develop further their own Sistema programs. A particular highlight was the closing public event, which featured a performance by the 105 young children of the Sistema NB Children’s Orchestra and 80 voice children’s choir, who (in Ken’s words) “demonstrated, without a single spoken word, the power of youth and music to change us all – Bravo!” Mr. Macleod continues, “I am confident the results of this historic summit will be immediate and important in bringing joy and hope through music to the children, families and communities throughout Canada who can benefit. The NBYO and Sistema NB were honored to be a part.”

ADMINISTRATIVE/ADMINISTRATIF
New Brunswick Youth Orchestra/Orchestre des jeunes du Nouveau-Brunswick
Provincial Director Sistema NB/Directeur provincial de Sistema NB
February 11 février 2011

AUDITIONS
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Percussion (National)
February 25 février 2011

Victoria Symphony
Principal Cello (International)
April 4 avril 2011

YOUTH AND TRAINING / ÉDUCATION ET APPRENTISSAGE
National Arts Centre Orchestra/Orchestre du Centre national des Arts
NAC Summer Music Institute/Programme des jeunes artistes 2011
February 8 février 2011

In recent years, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra has performed in New York, then Parma, Italy, and Beijing. In the summer of 2011, they travel to Vienna, to compete in the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival under the leadership of new music director Antonio Delgado. The competition attracts outstanding youth orchestras from around the world, and the NBYO was selected to represent Canada, on the basis of a recording submitted earlier this year.

In the words of NBYO board chair Ken Macleod, “this could be our biggest test ever. All of the participants will be at the top of their game in Vienna – the heart of European classical music. The competition will be judged by internationally renowned music professionals.” The icing on the cake? The competition takes place in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, internationally acclaimed as one of the top three music halls in the world.

“The competition requires that we perform a Canadian composition, and we are proud to take New Brunswick composer Richard Kidd’s original composition, The Marco Polo Suite to the world stage,” said Delgado. “The orchestra will perform the two compulsory pieces of Antonin Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances No. 3 and No. 8 as well as Arturo Marquez’s Conga del Fuego Nuevo – music that will not only challenge our students but demonstrate their talent.”

nbyo-ojnb.com

In mid-October, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra is joining another 120 New Brunswick performers in the October 23 world premiere of a new work of musical theatre based on an amazing New Brunswick success story. Partner organizations include the Saint John Theatre Company, the NBYO and the Saint John High School Concert Choir, and they are combining to present Marco Polo: The Musical, an original work written by Saint John natives Mark Blagrave (book) and Richard Kidd (music). The play follows the story of several individuals whose lives are tied to the Marco Polo ship, from its construction and launch at Marsh Creek in Saint John, to the trip from Liverpool to Melbourne that earned her the reputation as being ‘The Fastest Ship Ever Built’, and finally, to her resting place off the coast of Prince Edward Island.

3000 students from across New Brunswick will attend a free student matinee performance of the work, the culmination of weeks of student outreach activities this fall semester, including school visits, study guides, research projects and essay contests.

nbyo-ojnb.ca

This week, we’ve posted a multi-media presentation by New Brunswick Youth Orchestra president Ken Macleod on the first year of Sistema New Brunswick. You can read all about it, here.