Orchestras Canada

Last week, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec announced its 2011-12 season, a season that features the orchestra’s first-ever Associate Artist, Alain Lefèvre, new series formats, new presentation formats, new pricing – and a diverse repertoire, too. As with any major orchestra’s season, there is far too much here to list in detail – but we’ll highlight a few things that struck us.

• The role of Associate Artist Alain Lefèvre: following the lead of such orchestras as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the OSQ has appointed an associate artist, Alain Lefevre, to play a number of different roles with the orchestra, starting in the 2011-12 season. Over the three years of his contract, he will perform as soloist, play a lead role in the orchestra’s education programs (among other things, visiting secondary schools, and serving as mentor to outstanding young artists in the region), and serving as a creative resource, helping to promote new and existing Canadian work.
• The use of symbols in the brochure to classify each concerts’ intended audiences, ranging from «connaisseurs » through ‘novices », « family » « the curious » and « all ». If you click on « your » symbol on the OSQ’s website, you get a customized calendar of upcoming concerts that meet your needs.

The Orchestre symphonique de Quebec made a number of announcements during its season launch on March 16 – and not all of these announcements pertained to the artistic programming plans for 2011-12, either.

We were particularly taken by the orchestra’s announcement of a Sustainable Development Policy and Plan – something that, to our knowledge, is unique in Canada. In the media release about the new plan, the orchestra has publicly committed itself to the following principals – presented verbatim:

Encourage access to symphonic music so that everyone, no matter what their social or economic or background, can benefit from it;
• Be a participatory organization oriented toward the community in order to take into account the community’s concerns in the way it conducts business;
• Safeguard and promote the cultural heritage to allow future generations to benefit from it on the same level as present generations;
• Foster a healthy, stimulating and welcoming work environment so that work is enjoyable and the atmosphere is always positive;
• Consume in a responsible manner so as to minimize the social and environmental impact of the OSQ’s purchases;
• Be a promoter of sustainable development and heighten the awareness of all parties involved concerning the benefits of such an approach;
• Reduce its ecological footprint in order to minimize its impact on the environment.

The Orchestra acknowledges that respecting the principles of sustainable development is a factor contributing to the success of organizations fostering the full development of everyone’s ability and potential. Already, the OSQ is committed to providing leadership and innovation in sustainable development among its employees, business partners and the general public.

The OSQ worked with Roche ltée, Groupe-conseil on the development of the plan – and we look forward to reporting on its implementation in the months and years to come!

On March 2, sixteen members of the Orchestre symphonique de Quebec will take part in the closing concert of the 12th annual Mois Multi festival, a festival devoted to multi-disciplinary and electronic arts. The concert, a collaboration with Montreal-based artist Herman Kolgen, features a multi-media performance of Steve Reich’s Different Trains. The audience will be seated on stage, and treated to the immersive experience of the live and pre-recorded elements of Reich’s 1988 score, performed in “perfect symbiosis” with the percussive videographic images prepared by Kolgen.

The programming of a few of our member orchestras has caught our eye recently.

On January 30, the Esprit Orchestra (led by music director Alex Pauk) presents a program featuring the Elmer Iseler Singers, and violist Teng Li and works by Ligeti, Kancheli, and Canadians Douglas Schmidt (his “Discouraged Passion”) and José Evangelista (the Symphonie minute). www.espritorchestra.com

And who could resist the headline on Sinfonia Toronto’s most recent media release: “Lady Gaga’s Violinist to Play with Sinfonia Toronto”? Tonight, January 21, Canadian violinist Judy Kang (evidently a favourite of the Lady) will perform Marjan Mozetich’s Affairs of the Heart with the intrepid chamber orchestra, under the direction of music director Nurhan Arman. The program also includes works by Mozart and Robert Fuchs. sinfoniatoronto.com

This weekend, Montreal’s Arion Orchestre Baroque performs a program of music featuring baroque woodwinds by Fasch and Telemann, starring baroque bassoonist (and artistic director of the Festival International de Musique Baroque de Lamèque) Matthieu Lussier. The concerts take place at Redpath Hall, McGill University. www.early-music.com

On January 26, the Orchestre symphonique de Quebec, led by resident conductor Airat Ichmouratov, presents a program of Armenian and Armenian-inspired music at Palais Montcalm. The concert includes the North American premiere of Maestro Ichmouratov’s David de Sassoun (a symphonic poem based on one of the central stories of the Armenian experience) along with works by Komitas, Ippolitov-Ivanov and Khatchaturian. Featured soloist is Hampartsoum Djabourian, a virtuoso performer on the doudouk, a traditional double reed instrument. osq.qc.ca

In a nifty partnership with the Riversdale Business Improvement District, the Saskatoon Symphony will provide live accompaniment to Buster Keaton’s comedy classic “The General” in a special performance at Saskatoon’s Roxy Theatre, the “only remaining atmospheric theatre west of Ontario”. Saskatoon conductor, musician, and educator Brian Unverricht conducts. www.saskatoonsymphony.org

We’ve been hearing more about concerts by Canadian orchestras that endeavour to reach out to new and different audiences, featuring new approaches to venues, schedules and format. Here are some highlights:

The Orchestre symphonique de Quebec is once again presenting a pair of “concerts avec les gens” or “concerts with the people”, in October and again in May. The programs, led by OSQ resident conductor Airat Ichmouratov and hosted by Irene Brisson, present core classical repertoire in a relaxed yet informative atmosphere – and at a very reasonable price! This season’s concerts (“A Night at the Opera” and “Classical Music 101”) will each be performed four times, in Sainte-Foy, Beauport, Neuville and Saint-Georges-de-Beauce.

For the second year in a row, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is presenting a series entitled Les Grand Québécois, celebrating the province’s outstanding musicians and musical personalities.  This year, the spotlight falls on

• pianist/host Alain Lefèvre, in a unique program that includes a healthy serving of his own music, along with works by Gershwin, Shostakovich and François Dompierre;
• opera doyen Joseph Rouleau, world-renowned bass, president of Jeunesses Musicales Canada since 1989 and (with André Bourbeau) cofounder of the Montreal International Musical Competition.  This concert pays tribute to M. Rouleau’s lengthy career and features both orchestral and operatic repertoire associated with him;
• tenor Marc Hervieux, in a program of “symphonic pop” and opera arias.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is launching the new Exposed: Unveiling Great Music series this fall, a three-concert series designed to “take both new and experienced music lovers on a journey of selected major orchestral works”. The three works chosen for this year’s launch include Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 (led by TSO music director Peter Oundjian), Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring (led by Vasily Petrenko, and using the Beyond the Score format developed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra), and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 (led by conductor and musical explicator Rob Kapilow, inventor of What Makes It Great?©).

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is launching a new Matinee series this year, four one-hour-long day-time concerts that will each feature a major symphonic work selected from the orchestra’s Masterworks programming. “This new series gives you a sneak peek of how the orchestra perfects the concert before show time that evening,” says WSO Music Director Alexander Mickelthwate. “The hour-long concerts remove a lot of the intimidation that people may feel towards symphonic music too. We want to break down those barriers.” Featured repertoire includes Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, Saint Saens’ Symphony No. 3 (Organ), and Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra.

Awards season is heating up in the province of Quebec with the announcement of the nominees for the ADISQ prizes for 2010. We issue hearty congratulations to the following OC member orchestras!

In the category Album of the Year – Orchestra or Large Ensemble, we salute both the Orchestre metropolitain and the Orchestre symphonique de Quebec for their nominations – the OM for their recording of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 (led by Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin), and the OSQ for their recording of piano concertos and a symphony by Felix Mendelssohn, featuring Louis Lortie as pianist and conductor. Both recordings were released on the ATMA Classique label, and produced by Johanne Goyette. For more information about all the nominees, please visit here.

In the category Album of the Year – Classical vocal, we salute the Orchestre metropolitain and the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal. The OM was nominated for two recordings – the first, led by conductor Alain Trudel, documents l’Opera de Montreal’s 30th anniversary gala concert, and the second is a recording of tenor arias, with soloist Marc Hervieux and Music Director Yannick Nezet Seguin. The OSM (led by Music Director Kent Nagano) has been nominated in the same category for its recording of Mahler’s Song of the Earth, with soloists Klaus Florian Vogt and Christian Gerhaher.

adisq.com

One of the actions outlined in OC’s new Strategic Plan is to “use our newsletter and the blogging capacity on our website to feature in-depth stories about members’ successes and challenges”. It’s time to admit the truth: while we sincerely strive to make Orchestra News as fresh and interesting as possible (46 times per year), the format does not always lend itself to in-depth coverage of the interesting and innovative work going on onstage and behind the scenes at Canadian orchestras – nor does OC’s tiny but mighty staff team know everything that’s going on.

We could moan about this, or we could ask for help. We’ve chosen the latter course: if your organization is working on something you think is interesting, innovative, perhaps even game-changing – write it up! We’ll edit for consistency, ensure that it’s translated, and post it on our website as a Letter from the Field.

We’re inaugurating this new approach with a post from Sophie Galaise, Directrice générale of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, who tells the story of Contact Culture, a remarkable collaboration spearheaded by the OSQ that is providing cultural managers in Québec’s national capital region with real-time information about audiences. You can learn all about it, here.

The National Arts Centre has released details of its summer 2010 music season, featuring “something for everyone – from big names to small ensembles – as well as orchestral, choral, and chamber music concerts, opera, pops, and jazz.” The program runs from June 12 to July 28 at the NAC and a number of other venues across the city. Featured artists include jazz phenom Nikki Yanovsky, opera stars Michael Schade and Isabel Bayrakdarian, pianist Stewart Goodyear, and a host of young artists from across the country. The program includes the fourth season of ‘Orchestras in the Park’, which encompasses four free outdoor classical, opera, and pop music concerts. The concerts are presented by the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the National Capital Commission at Lebreton Flats Park at 7:30 p.m. on July 22-25. Other Summer Music highlights include Canada Day celebrations, public concerts which are part of the NAC’s Summer Music Institute (SMI), public readings of new works by Canadian composers, masterclasses, and a jazz concert. All the concerts are open to the public and many of them are free. Summer Music at the National Arts Centre is under the artistic direction of Pinchas Zukerman, Music Director of the NAC Orchestra. In addition to Maestro Zukerman, guest conductors include Jean-Philippe Tremblay, Jacques Lacombe, and Edwin Outwater. The NAC program also includes highlight performances from the Summer Music Institute, which this year brings together 71 young musicians (ages 12 to 28), 10 young conductors and 11 young composers to work with an exceptional faculty led by Maestro Pinchas Zukerman; Co-Artistic Director Patinka Kopec; Maestro Kenneth Kiesler, Director, Conductors Program; and NAC Award-winning composer Gary Kulesha, Director, Composers Program. For more information, please visit the NAC’s website here.

The Orchestre symphonique de Quebec has launched its summer 2010 season as well, and it sees the full orchestra (as well as small ensembles from its membership) performing throughout its home city, at the Port of Quebec, afloat on the St. Lawrence River, and at some of the province’s major summer music festivals. The program includes parks concerts (by the full orchestra, as well as its brass quintet), a pair of programs at the Agora of the Port of Quebec, an opera-inspired program at the Festival de Lanaudière, a performance at the Inaugural Le Festival d’été de Québec à New Richmond featuring legendary chanteuse Ginette Reno, a pair of programs at Domaine Forget (including its gala opening performance), and participation in a series of Sunday evening dinner cruises throughout July and August. Conductors for the summer concerts include former OSQ resident conductor Richard Lee (now resident conductor with the Winnipeg Symphony), current resident conductor Airat Ichmouratov, Stephane Laforest, Emmanuel Vilaume, and – of course – OSQ music director Yoav Talmi. For more information about the program, please visit the OSQ’s website here.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra has announced its 9th annual Baroque Summer Institute and 2nd annual Baroque Summer Festival, running from May 28 to June 20. The Institute sees pre-professional and professional musicians from around the world gathering in Toronto for an advanced training program led by some of the world’s best musicians in the field of baroque performance, and the Festival includes a number of free concerts in different venues around Toronto, visits to local schools, and family-friendly workshops at the Ontario Science Centre. For more information about the Festival and the Institute, please visit the orchestra’s website here.

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.

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.