Orchestras Canada

The Saskatoon Symphony has announced its 2012-13 season, designed by music director Victor Sawa to show off the orchestra’s artistic capacities and show-case some of the relationships the organization has developed with its new neighbours in the 20th Street district. The line-up includes a six concert Masters Series, four POPS concerts, a chamber series, special events, and a new contemporary music program called ‘The Core’, a two-concert series presented in partnership with PAVED Arts, an artist-run centre in the 20th Street neighbourhood.

The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, under music director Arthur Post, has announced its 2012-13 season – and it’s a busy one, consisting of 28 separate events over 5 different series (and some special events, as well.) Highlighted soloists include Yi-Jia Suzanne Hou (violin), R. Carlos Nakai (native American flute), André Laplante (piano), blues artist Matt Andersen, tenor Michael Burgess, and a special performance by Ben Heppner.

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal has announced its summer season, an imaginatively laid-out program that includes a pair of free outdoor concerts, and appearances at festivals in Orford, Lanaudière and at home in Montréal. The big news in the announcement is A Cool Classical Journey, a brand-new festival at the Maison symphonique and other venues at Place des Arts, featuring 20 different 45-minute long concerts performed by international artists—all taking place on Saturday, August 11! Featured artists include the OSM (which is featured four times throughout the day), Canadian Brass, the Tetzlaff Trio, pianists Lars Vogt and Marc-André Hamelin, and many, many others.

As its 2011-12 season winds down, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is reporting record sales in its first year in the Maison symphonique. “All series taken together, concerts have had a 95 percent occupancy rate this year, an outstanding season for the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal,” OSM chief executive officer Madeleine Careau happily reported. “We were expecting an enthusiastic response from audiences,” adds OSM Sales and Customer Service Director Gilbert Brault, “but the results have surpassed all our hopes.” While the new hall contains fewer seats (maximum capacity of 2,100) than the old Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier (2,900 seats), the Orchestra will have sold more tickets than last year. “It’s clear that the OSM experience at Maison symphonique has a positive effect, since we’ve issued more tickets this year, up from the 151,000 tickets issued in 2010-2011 to nearly 161,000 tickets this season, for an increase of six percent.”

The OSM has also noted that its clientele is getting younger, with young concert-goers constituting on average of 20 percent of the audience at Maison symphonique de Montréal.

The orchestra’s 2012-2013 season promises to be just as positive. “The trend indicates that subscribers are enthusiastic, because they’ve been quicker to renew their subscriptions,” Gilbert Brault concludes. “We’re hopeful that that trend will carry on over the weeks ahead.”

We’re hard at work putting final touches on the program for BOTH components of Orchestras Canada’s national meetings, taking place in Montreal in late May. Component #1 is the meeting of CEOs, which runs from May 27-29; component #2 – made possible by a visionary foundation partner – is designed for education and community engagement staff of member orchestras, and takes place May 28 and 29.

The meetings are co-hosted by the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal and HEC Montreal. Program highlights include presentations by Dr. Robert Flanagan of Stanford University, Kelly Hill of Hill Strategies Research, Robert Sirman of the Canada Council for the Arts, key faculty at HEC Montreal, Stephen Huddart of the J.W. McConnell Foundation, Phillip Bravo of Carnegie Hall’s Link-Up National and International program, Dr. Ann Patteson of Queen’s University and the Royal Conservatory’s Learning Through the Arts program – and, as a particular highlight, a session with Maestro Kent Nagano, with CBC host/producer Kelly Rice. We’ll get a behind the scenes tour of the Maison symphonique with acoustician Tateo Nakajima. And there’s more!

To view the agenda for the CEOs meeting, please click here.
To view the agenda for the Education/community engagement meeting, please click here.

Two matters of some urgency:

While we’ll be taking registrations right up to a week before the meetings, the deadline for booking hotel rooms at the Hyatt Regency Montreal at our negotiated rate of $137/night is today – April 25. To get more information and to book on-line, please visit orchestrascanada.org.

Tickets for our highlight concert, the sold-out performance by the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal on Monday, May 28, are in very short supply – and we’re distributing them on a first come, first served basis to meeting registrants. Register on-line today, to avoid disappointment.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks since we last reported on season launches – and we’re pleased to catch up on the latest:

The Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, under music director Jacques Lacombe, presents a nine-concert program (plus gala fundraising concert) during its 35th anniversary season. Highlights include the premiere of a new work by André Gagnon and Michel Tremblay, based on letters from Gabrielle Roy to her mother, and performed by Marie-Nicole Lemieux with the orchestra.

I Musici de Montréal released details of its first full season under the leadership of artistic director and principal conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni – 37 concerts in venues ranging from the Maison symphonique to the Salle Bourgie, featuring emerging Canadian talent, long-time artistic partners, and first-time artistic collaboration with Les Violons du Roy and the choir of the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal.

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal has launched its 2012-13 season – its fifth under Music Director Kent Nagano – and highlights include not only large-scale projects (opening the season with Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and closing it with Honegger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake), but also the debut of a new chamber choir (under the leadership of Andrew Megill), twelve Montreal premieres and three world premieres, including a new Haydn-inspired work by DJ Champion.

The Greater Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra has launched its 2012-13 season, a five-concert program that, consistent with the GTPO’s policy, is led by an array of guest conductors, each of whom brings a slightly different flavour to their chosen program.

The Victoria Symphony celebrates Music Director Tania Miller’s 10th season with the orchestra with a “blockbuster array of repertoire and stars”, including performances by James Ehnes and Chantal Kreviazuk, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin, and a New Music Festival featuring the music of John Cage.

We’re delighted to launch registration for Orchestras Canada’s National Orchestras Meeting, scheduled to take place in Montréal May 27-29. We’ll be co-hosted by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and HEC Montreal – and it’s a rich and wonderful program. For scheduling details, a link to the registration page, travel (include some nifty discounts on air and rail transportation), and hotel bookings, please visit orchestrascanada.org.

We’ve also just launched a parallel program for education and community engagement staff of Canadian orchestras, partially underwritten by an anonymous foundation partner. This event runs May 28-29, and will include presentations, round tables and panel discussions on key topics, along with a healthy amount of peer exchange. More information coming soon!

Late last week, the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec presented Maestro Kent Nagano (music director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal) with the Medal of Honour of the National Assembly. The distinction is awarded to people from varied backgrounds whoare deemed to merit the recognition of all members of the National Assembly and of Québec society.

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra has announced the identity of this year’s WSO Golden Baton Awards, given annually to those who have made a significant contribution to the musical life of the community through their excellence or their special support and contribution to the WSO. They are celebrated coloratura soprano Tracy Dahl (artistic achievement) and former WSO board chair (and now Auditor General for the Province of Manitoba) Carol Bellringer (community leadership).

Congratulations to clarinetist Emmy Munger and flutist Étienne Morissette, recent winners of the Orchestre des jeunes du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean’s recent Young Soloists competition. Both winners are students at the Conservatoire de musique de Saguenay and have been members of the youth orchestra for a number of years. They will be featured as soloists with the youth orchestra in 2012-13.

Best wishes to Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra clarinettist Rick Klassen, retiring this season after an amazing 39 seasons with the orchestra.

Calgary’s Rosza Foundation presents an annual award for excellence in arts management to an outstanding Alberta arts administrator – and we offer hearty congratulations to Stephen McHolm, CEO of the Honens International Piano Competition for being nominated in 2012. The award winners will be announced in June.

Congratulations to Nathan Brock, currently assistant conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, who was awarded the Ontario Arts Council’s Heinz Unger Award at a concert by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra last Saturday evening. Speaking about his unique qualifications for this year’s award, the jury noted “Nathan is at an exciting stage in his career, and exhibits tremendous talent and promise. He has also demonstrated a lifelong interest in orchestral music. His strong commitment to growth and excellence in the art of conducting made him the ideal choice for the Heinz Unger Award.” The award is presented every second year to an outstanding early- or mid-career Canadian conductor, and is administered by the Ontario Arts Council.

We’d also like to convey congratulations to Tricia Baldwin, Managing Director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Erika Beatty, CEO of Symphony Nova Scotia. They each won a 2012 John Hobday Award for Arts Administration, through the Canada Council for the Arts. Ms. Baldwin will use her award for professional development to travel to two international conferences and interview world leaders who are bringing music to millions through live, recorded and internet-streamed processes. Afterwards, she will present her findings at an Orchestras Canada conference and apply her new knowledge in her work as Managing Director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir. Ms. Beatty will use her award to be mentored by Pierre Lamoureux, owner of Cinemusica / FogoLabs, one of the top concert film producers in the world. Her goal is to explore how digital and emerging technologies can be used to capture and communicate the beauty and intensity of the performing arts to Canadian and international audiences. Mr. Lamoureux has agreed to share the essentials of his successful commercial business model, including planning, filming and post-production work for clients as varied as opera and ballet companies, to touring bands and documentary productions.

Pinchas Zukerman, the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s music director since 1999, announced earlier this week that he will be stepping down from the role in August, 2015.  Speaking about Maestro Zukerman’s decision, Peter Herrndorf (the NAC’s President and CEO) said, “The NAC has benefitted immeasurably from his leadership on the podium, his artistry as a soloist and his deep commitment to music education. Pinchas Zukerman has made a profound contribution to the musical life of Canada and the world and has served as a transformational figure at the National Arts Centre. He will be greatly missed.”

Vancouver’s Musicfest has just announced the appointment of Matthew Baird as its new program director, succeeding George Laverock. Baird is well-known to Canadian orchestras through his many years of work at the CBC.

Orchestra News notes, with sadness, the passing of violinist and violist Eleanora Turovsky, founding concertmaster of I Musici de Montréal, a 12-year member of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and a well-known teacher at the Université de Montréal.

Early last week, the nominations for this year’s Juno Awards (to be presented in Ottawa, March 26-31) were announced. We were delighted to see so many Canadian orchestras – along with the soloists and composers who enliven their seasons – honoured in the assorted classical categories.

Our particular congratulations to the following nominees:

Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment:

Alexandre Da Costa/Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Acacia Classics*Universal
Daugherty : Fire and Blood
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Orchestre Métropolitain ATMA*Naxos
Bruckner 4
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Orchestre Métropolitain ATMA*Naxos
Florent Schmidt- La tragédie de salomé

Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance:

Marie-Josée Lord; Orchestre Métropolitain; Giuseppe Pietraroia ATMA*Naxos
Marie-Josée Lord
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Daniel Taylor Analekta*Select
J.S. Bach: Cantatas 70 & 154; Concerto 1060; Orchestral Suite No. 2

Classical Composition of the Year:

Jeffrey Ryan Naxos
Equilateral (recorded by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bramwell Tovey)

For a complete list of nominations, please visit junoawards.ca.

As living proof that there’s no rest for the wicked, we’ve been busy at Orchestras Canada in recent weeks! Here’s a quick update on a few of the things that we’ve been working on.

Youth Orchestra Task Force: Recruitment is complete, and we’re now working on scheduling the first meeting of a new task force that will study the current state and needs of Canadian youth orchestras. We are grateful to the following people for stepping forward to serve on the task force, east to west:
Ken MacLeod, New Brunswick Youth Orchestra (chair)
Louise Richard, Association des orchestres de jeunes du Quebec
John Gomez, Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy
Diana Weir, Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra
Paul Dornian, Mount Royal Conservatory
Sheila Redhead, Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra

Comparative Reports for 2010-11: Do you love orchestra data? If so, we have a treat for you. With the co-operation of 65 Canadian orchestras, from small to huge, OC’s intrepid statistician, C. Stephen Smith, has completed work on this year’s Comparative Report – a compendium of contextual, financial and audience data from the 2010-11 season. While the detailed report is only available to participating orchestras, we’ve published two summary reports (by region of the country and budget size) on our website – and you can view them here.

Final touches are being put on a brand-new report by Kelly Hill of Hill Strategies Research, commissioned by Orchestras Canada with support from the Ontario Arts Endowment Fund. To complement our annual Comparative Report study, we’ve asked Kelly to report on the observable trends from six years of data from fifty consistently-participating Canadian orchestras, 2004-05 to 2009-10. Watch this space: we’ll let you know when it’s posted (in both languages, bien sûr!) on our website.

Planning for the National Orchestras Meetings in Montréal: The full program for the 2012 national orchestras meeting will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 27 and it will wrap up at 12 noon on Tuesday, May 29. Confirmed program highlights include presentations by Professor Robert Flanagan, author of the recently-published The Perilous Life of Symphony Orchestras; key staff at HEC Montreal; Kent Nagano, music director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal; and Robert Sirman, director of the Canada Council for the Arts. Delegates will also be attending a SOLD OUT concert by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, led by Maestro Nagano and featuring Cirque Eloize, in a new “imagining” of Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe. We are also planning a parallel program for symphony education and community engagement staff, May 28-29. For more information, click here.

This past weekend, members of the Orchestras Canada board of directors met in Toronto to kick off the development of a new strategic plan for OC. Working with Peter O’Donnell and Linda Spence of Healthy Futures Group, the OC board engaged in 1.5 days of intense discussion, attended performances by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and re-affirmed our belief that Canadian orchestras have an intelligent and brave group of directors working on their behalf. While the plan itself will not be complete for a number of months, we can hint that the following themes will almost surely be explored in it:

Smart positioning of Canadian orchestras – with government bodies, the Canadian public and businesses and philanthropic funders
Collective action – enhancing and expanding partnerships and collaborations
Network building – providing the tools and venues to Canadian orchestras to learn together, build common cause, and better support one another