Orchestras Canada

For the seventh straight season, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra will open its season with residencies in two Northern Ontario communities. This year, the TSO (led by conductor Alain Trudel and featuring soprano Shannon Mercer and the intrepid members of Platypus Theatre) will present concerts and educational programs in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie from September 12-16.

All told, the five-day tour will bring the orchestra in contact with over 10,000 students and adults in the two cities, presenting 37 in-school performances (eight of which will be given in French language), and 12 masterclasses for secondary and post-secondary students. In addition, the orchestra will give four performances of Platypus Theatre’s beloved How the Gimquat Found Her Song for school-aged audiences, and a pair of formal evening concerts in partnership with the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra (for the Sudbury concert on September 13) and Algoma Conservatory Concerts and the Algoma Fall Festival (for the Sault Ste. Marie concert on September 15). Of course, you can follow the Northern Residency on-line via the TSO’s tour blog, here:  tso.ca.

AUDITIONS

Canadian Opera Company
Principal Viola / Alto solo
Application deadline/Date limite : September 6 septembre 2011

M. Guy Morneau, Chair of the board of Les Violons du Roy, has announced the retirement of Mme Louise Labelle, who has served as the orchestra’s Directrice generale since 2007, effective June 14. She will be succeeded by Mme Astrid Chouinard.

The Sudbury Symphony Orchestra has announced the appointment of Elizabeth Aman-Hume as the new Executive Director of the  Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and Music School, effective immediately. Elizabeth was most recently executive director of the Northern Orchestra in the Prince George region of British Columbia.

The Timmins Symphony Orchestra and Geoffrey James Lee School of Music has announced the appointment of Frances Shakov as their new Executive Director. Frances comes to the TSO from Ballet Jorgen, where she served as General Manager.

Toronto Arts Council is pleased to announce that Christy DiFelice has joined as the Grants Officer responsible for its Music programs. Christy has worked with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 2006 as Manager of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. Prior to that she worked with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Fine Arts Cultural Studies Department at York University. A graduate of York University (MA, Ethnomusicology/Musicology; 2008), her studies focused on musics and cultures of the African Diaspora, with a specialization in North American Jazz and Blues. Christy will assume her duties at TAC on July 19, 2010.

Council Chair Jane Danzo has announced that long-time BC Arts Council Executive Director Jeremy Long will retire from the BC Public Service early in the New Year.  Stating that “Jeremy Long has served the people of British Columbia for more than 20 years,” Ms Danzo noted that “he has been eligible for retirement for the past two years, but chose to stay on to help oversee the completion of the Council’s strategic planning process. He has left us with a strong foundation, and we will continue to build on it for years to come.”  Long joined the Province’s arts and culture division in 1988 and has been involved with the BC Arts Council since its inception, in 1996. He has served as Council Executive Director for the past three years.  Gillian Wood, current Associate Director, will take over as Acting Executive Director effective November 16, while a permanent replacement is selected.
 
Marilyn Fitzpatrick is the new Director of Finance at the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.

Rachel Churchill is the new interim Executive Director of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra.  She succeeds Rosie Horne in the role.