Orchestras Canada

On Saturday, 28 January, the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières – led by Music Director Jacques Lacombe – will give the first-ever Canadian performance of Kurt Weill’s Symphony No. 1, on a program of music by Weill, Hetu, and Gershwin, featuring the singer Fabiola Toupin. Intriguingly, the program is sponsored by the Kurt Weill Foundation, and it will also include a photo-montage by Janet Lacombe.

You can learn more about the program via a short video clip hosted by Maestro Lacombe here.

We’ve recently posted reader reviews of 2 recent book of potential interest to administrators and board members of Canadian orchestras on the OC blog – Jim Collins’s Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos and Luck – Why Some Thrive Despite Them All and Michael M. Kaiser’s Leading Roles – 50 Questions Every Arts Board Should Ask. Our hearty thanks to reviewers Thérèse Boutin of the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières (Collins); Natalie Williams Calhoun of the PEI Symphony Orchestra (Collins); Paul Inksetter of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra (Kaiser); and Catherine Molina of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra (Kaiser) for their work! You can check out their reviews here.

The Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières has announced its 28th annual young performers competition, in 2012 devoted to winds and percussion. Applications are due February 13, and the short-listed competitors will be invited to Trois-Rivières for the finals March 9-11. There’s a distinguished panel of judges, led by OSTR music director Jacques Lacombe, and significant prizes (including the opportunity to perform with the orchestra at its May concert). For more information, please visit ostr.ca.

The Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières has recently launched a new education program, in partnership with the Commission scolaire de l’Énergie, and – in particular – the teachers and students at Immaculée-Conception in Shawinigan. Through the program, 30 grades 5 and 6 students will be twinned with orchestra members over a period of two and a half months, and they’ll participate in a series of activities (including sessions with members of the orchestra’s management and production teams) that will culminate in attendance at rehearsals and a concert by the orchestra. Some of the sessions will be “live” at the school, and others will take place via intranet. It’s hoped that this pilot project can be repeated in one or more of the three school districts in the orchestra’s catchment area – whether they’re urban or rural, French or English.

Congratulations to the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, which has recently announced the appointment of Fabien Gabel as its new music director. Maestro Gabel succeeds Yoav Talmi, and will begin his duties with the OSQ in the fall of 2012. A native of France, he is a regular guest conductor with a number of outstanding European orchestras, and has made an award-winning recording with the Orchestre national de France and Marie-Nicole Lemieux. As exciting as this news is for the OSQ, we were also intrigued by the decidedly “social media” approach that the OSQ took to launching the new maestro: first with a “days, hours, minutes” count-down to the announcement on a dedicated microsite, then with a truly beautiful video that introduced us to the new maestro, and finally with a short questionnaire intended to inform Maestro Gabel about his new audience, new orchestra and new community. You can find it all here.

The Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières has announced a five-year contract renewal for its busy Music Director, Jacques Lacombe. Speaking about the contract renewal, Maestro Lacombe said, “I’ve been so welcomed by my hometown orchestra, and have had such a vote of confidence from this wonderful musical family, I consider myself fortunate to continue this relationship. By sharing our talents and our energies, we have created an orchestra that we can all be proud of – and we’ve only just begun our work together!”

Every year, we get media releases about holiday concerts, and every year, we applaud the intrepid programmers who come up with fresh approaches to seasonal classics, skilfully balancing novelty with tradition.

Herewith, an idiosyncratic list of concerts and events that have caught our eye!

December 11, Symphony on the Bay presents a family Christmas, Hannukah and New Year’s concert at Burlington ON’s Royal Botanical Gardens, featuring the winners of its Young Artists’ Competition, waltzes and a sing-along. James McKay conducts.

December 9 and 10, the Orchestre symphonique de Saguenay-Lac St. Jean presents one performance each in Jonquière and Roberval, featuring star baritone Gino Quilico and rising star Marie-Pier Simard-Gagnon, along with the massed Symphony Chorus and the vocal ensemble from the Conservatoire de musique de Saguenay. Maestro Jacques Clement conducts.

December 11, the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, led by Music Director Jacques Lacombe, presents a holiday program with pianist Andre Gagnon and the 84 members of l’Orphéon de Trois-Rivières. The program is comprised of material originally recorded for CD by Gagnon and the orchestra last year and now available on the disc Dans le silence de la nuit.

Also on December 11, the National Arts Centre Orchestra Players’ Association presents its 22nd annual Christmas FanFair Concert and Carol Sing-Along in support of the Ottawa Food Bank and the Snowsuit Fund. It’s a free concert, and it takes place in the main foyer of the National Arts Centre at 12 noon. The concert is led by NAC violist (and conductor of the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra) David Thies-Thompson, and special guests include guest conductor Laureen Harper (yes, the Laureen Harper), mezzo-soprano Julie Nesrallah, and violist Paul Casey, winner of the Harold Crabtree Foundation Award in the 2011 National Arts Centre Bursary Competition. Last year the National Arts Centre Orchestra Player’s Association donated more than $30,000 to the Ottawa Food Bank and the Snowsuit Fund through fundraising efforts over the holidays.

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra celebrates the musical accomplishments of its own community in this year’s Messiah performances (December 16 and 17) by featuring four outstanding Edmonton natives in the solo roles: Linda Perillo, Frances Jellard, John Tessier and Nathan Berg. I Coristi Chamber Choir, Òran and the U of A Madrigal Singers unite to form the chorus, and ESO music director Bill Eddins leads from the harpsichord.

The last few weeks have been good ones for Orchestras Canada members, and we’d like to acknowledge some key accomplishments and landmarks.

Congratulations to the Royal Conservatory of Music, which kicked off its 125th year of operation on November 20th. Speaking about the milestone, RCM President Dr. Peter Simon noted that, ““the broad-based programs of The Royal Conservatory support Canadian education and, ultimately, Canadian innovation. The Conservatory provides a structured system of learning that develops musical literacy, professional training for Canada’s most gifted young artists, and pioneering learning solutions. Over 125 years it has been the vision of The Royal Conservatory to weave these programs into the very fabric of society, based on our conviction that the arts are our greatest tools for learning, for fostering creativity and personal fulfillment, and for contributing to stronger and more productive societies.”
For more information about The Royal Conservatory and its programs, please visit rcmusic.ca.

We’d also like to acknowledge the many Orchestras Canada members who are finalists for the 15th annual Prix Opus, presented by the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM). The awards – which recognize outstanding concerts, events, musical works and writing about music during the 2010-11 season – will be presented January 29 at the Salle Bourgie at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal. The evening will also include a special tribute to Maestro Yuli Turovsky, founder of I Musici de Montreal.

Finalists of note from our membership include:

Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (multiple categories)
Quatuor Molinari (multiple categories)
Les Violons du Roy
Orchestre symphonique de Montreal (multiple categories)
Orchestre symphonique de Québec (multiple categories)
Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières
Orchestre Métropolitain
Tim Brady/Bradyworks

For more information about the Prix Opus – and to learn more about the nomination categories and nominees – please visit cqm.qc.ca (some pages are available only in French).

The Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières (OSTR) kicked off its annual school matinee series earlier this week in both Trois-Rivières and Shawinigan with a trio of performances of Les Quatre Saisons de Piquot, a musical fable by Gilles Vigneault and Marc Bélanger, conducted by Louis Lavigueur. The work has won a number of prestigious awards, including France’s In Honorem de l’Académie Charles-Cros and the Prix Félix for young audiences recording of the year. The work also features narrator Martin Francœur.

Claire-Émilie Calvert has developed a teacher’s guide for the program (French only) –and it can be downloaded here.

At the end of August, Orchestras Canada bade farewell to Sandra Cina, who has worked as our part-time Membership and Communications Coordinator for the past three years. Sandra will be starting a new full-time position at the Mississauga Arts Council at the end of September, and we wish her all the best.

That said, we’re happy to announce that one of our former summer students, Krista Wodelet, has succeeded Sandra in the role. Krista has just returned to Toronto, after completing her MMus in bassoon performance at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She will be dividing her time between her bassoon-playing career, Opera.ca and Orchestras Canada – and we’re delighted to welcome Krista back to OC.

Long-time friends of Orchestras Canada and the Association of Canadian Orchestras will be saddened to hear of the passing of musician and arts manager John Shaw, on September 9. Originally engaged by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra as principal oboe, he served that organization as CEO for 14 years. During his tenure with the CPO, he was also a highly effective board chair of the Association of Canadian Orchestras. At the time of his death, John was organist and music director of Central United Church in Stratford and was an active member of the Stratford Concert Choir. He leaves behind his wife of thirty-eight years, Julia, and their three children Mary (Richard), Mark (Sarah) and Andrew (Candice) as well as his sister Mary (Phillip).

Congratulations to 24-year old conductor François Pothier Bouchard, recently appointed as resident conductor with the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivieres for a two-year term. A native of Trois-Rivieres, he holds an artist’s diploma in organ performance and a Prix du Conservatoire in orchestral conducting. He is combining his work with the OSTR with artistic direction of the Orchestre symphonique des jeunes Philippe-Fillion.

The Regina Symphony has announced the appointment of Simon Fryer as the new Principal Cellist for the Regina Symphony Orchestra & RSO Chamber Players, starting in the 11.12 Season. Formerly a member of the Penderecki String Quartet and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, he is also a noted soloist, teacher, recording artist and Artistic Director of the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto’s Music in the Afternoon series.

The Board of Directors of Mississauga’s Living Arts Centre has announced the appointment of Ron Lenyk as Chief Executive Officer of the Centre effective September 1, 2011. A former publisher of the Mississauga News, Mr. Lenyk succeeds Gerry Townsend in the role.

The Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières has announced the appointment of lawyer Jean-Éric Guindon (from the firm Bélanger Sauvé) to the role of Board Secretary with the orchestra. He succeeds Mme Suzanne Michaud in the role.