Orchestras Canada

On Sunday, February 5, the Kingston Symphony (led by music director Glen Fast) will give the world premiere of a new concerto for piano and orchestra by Kingston composer and pianist Michel Szczesniak, entitled Felt Resonance. Szczesniak, an adjunct lecturer in piano at Queen’s University, has performed concerti with the Winnipeg, Victoria and Kingston Symphonies, recitals for CBC Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon and has served as solo pianist with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Banff Festival Ballet. To learn more about the work – and its articulate composer – please visit the KSA newsletter, here.

September 30, October 1 and 2 mark year 2 for Culture Days and the 15th anniversary of les Journées de la Culture. Here’s a quick round up – east to west, more or less – of the orchestral activity we were able to identify via media releases from member orchestras, as well as the user-friendly websites for the movement.
Culture Days : culturedays.ca
Alberta Arts Days : culture.alberta.ca
Journées de la culture : journeesdelaculture.qc.ca

Symphony Nova Scotia: open dress rehearsal, September 30; Musical Munchkins programs at local libraries, October 1; small ensembles in various venues including the Discovery Centre October 1 and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, October 2.

Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil : chamber concert, October 2.
Orchestre symphonique de Lévis : open rehearsal with on-stage seating, October 2.
Orchestre symphonique des Basses-laurentides: meet the musicians, October 2.
Orchestre métropolitain : Sing with the Choir of the Orchestre métropolitain, October 1.

National Arts Centre Orchestra: participating in a complete weekend of Culture Days events presented by the National Arts Centre
Kingston Symphony: instrument petting zoo and open rehearsal, October 1.
Peterborough Symphony: behind the scenes at Showplace Peterborough, October 1.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra: 2 lobby concerts by a small ensemble, featuring performance, story-telling and instrument demonstrations, October 1.
Kitchener Waterloo Symphony: open rehearsal, September 30.
Stratford Symphony Orchestra : orchestra petting zoo, October 1.

Winnipeg Symphony: open dress rehearsal, September 30; small ensembles at Nuit Blanche, as part of Musicians in Healthcare, and at Steinkopf Gardens, October 1.

Saskatoon Symphony: quintet performance at Flowers by Fred, September 30; musical petting zoo, October 2.
Regina Symphony: Chamber Players performance at the Mackenzie Gallery, October 2.

Edmonton Symphony: Open dress rehearsal and tours of the Francis Winspear Centre for Music, September 30; Symphony 101 with D.T. Baker, October 1.

Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra: assorted events at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre, October 1.
Victoria Symphony: instrument petting zoo, October 1 and 2

On June 19, the Winnipeg Symphony (led by music director Alexander Mickelthwate) will accompany the gala festival finale of the inaugural International Cello Festival of Canada. The festival runs from June 15-19, and the last concert has not only six outstanding cellists performing as soloists with orchestra, but also a grand finale featuring a cello orchestra of 55 players performing Popper’s Requiem and Song of the Birds! As the media release states, “this is an event not to be repeated in Winnipeg any time soon!”

Featured cellists include Patrick and Thomas Demenga, Denise Djokic, Jian Wang, Colin Carr, and Frans Helmerson.

For more information about the International Cello Festival of Canada, visit www.artsforall.ca.

The Kingston Symphony, led by Music Director Glen Fast, will perform for over 2500 students next week, in the continuation of a remarkable partnership between the orchestra, the Queen’s University School of Music, and both local school boards. Here’s how it works:

Each year, teachers representing the school boards, music education professors at Queen’s University, and Kingston Symphony staff plan the repertoire and write a curriculum for the program. Music education students from the School of Music at Queen’s University visit the elementary schools to teach the various lesson plans. Representatives from the three co-operative organizations also conduct professional development sessions with area teachers on ways to prepare the students for the symphony concert experience. The culmination of all this work? Five Kingston Symphony concerts take place over two mornings and one afternoon –giving the students a first-hand classical music experience.

This year, the program focuses on texture in music. Through various lessons and activities, students have been looking at the major concepts of texture used in western music and how combinations of instruments, timing, and dynamics make up the form of a piece. Is it rough and bumpy like sandpaper, or is it smooth like the surface of limestone?

Tonight, February 11, the Winnipeg Symphony (led by music director Alexander Mickelthwate) shares the spotlight with over 400 high school students from across Manitoba, in its annual Rising Stars Concert. The program, created to bring together and showcase Manitoba’s aspiring musicians with their professional counterparts, will offer the students the chance to meet and perform alongside their musical idols!

It’s a massive undertaking, bringing together a mass choir of 350 student voices, the Winnipeg Youth Orchestra, flutist Jaena Kim, soprano Katrina Townsend, boy soprano, Drew Brémault and and soloists from the University of Manitoba Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music. The major work on the program is Karl Jenkins’s The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, in its first-ever performance in Manitoba.

The holiday programming announcements continue this week – and here are some highlights, from coast to coast:

The Victoria Symphony, led by Brian Jackson, will give five performances (in Duncan, Victoria and Qualicum) of My Funny Christmastime, featuring soprano Mary Lou Fallis, a guest appearance by soprano Anna Madgett, new arrangements by Howard Cable, Scott Good and Roy Kaighin, an assortment of holiday classics and a singalong. www.victoriasymphony.ca

The Lethbridge Symphony combines a pair of beloved holiday traditions by performing Bach’s Magnificat and Part I of Handel’s Messiah in a pair of performances this weekend. The featured choir is the University of Lethbridge Singers. www.lethbridgesymphony.org

The Saskatoon Symphony, led by new Music Director Victor Sawa, will present a holiday concert that features the Saskatoon Children’s Choir, John Rutter’s Brother Heinrich’s Christmas, a host of local celebrities, and a Christmas sing-along. www.saskatoonsymphony.org

The Winnipeg Symphony, led by resident conductor Richard Lee, hits the road for five holiday concerts in Steinbach, Winkler,Pinawa, Gladstone and Portage la Prairie from December 7-15. Soloist for the program is tenor Conrad Siebert, and “a local celebrity in each town will also have an opportunity to perform with the orchestra and play the bells or whip during Sleigh Ride, as the audience gets a surprise visit from St. Nick himself!” www.wso.ca

Orchestra London, led by guest conductor Daniel Warren, presents a dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol on December 15. The concert is a benefit for the Unity Project, an organization dedicated to providing shelter and services to the homeless, and Orchestra London. London’s legal community features prominently in the festivities, as five London lawyers will all take part. One week earlier, the orchestra will perform parts 4, 5 and 6 of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio under the leadership of music director laureate, Timothy Vernon. www.orchestralondon.ca

Last week, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony made news by traveling to Toronto to take part in a pair of performances of Barbie at the Symphony – a family friendly progam focused on the cultural adventures of the iconic doll. You can read about it in an article in the Toronto Star. www.kwsymphony.ca

The Guelph Symphony Orchestra, led by music director candidate David Bourque, presents a blend of classics and festive seasonal music at its December program. Featured works include Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, with the Grand River Chorus and pianist Amy Wark, along with carols and opportunities for audience sing-along. www.guelphorchestra.ca

Symphony Hamilton presents a seasonal medley at its December 12 concert, led by Music Director James Mackay and featuring mezzo soprano Sophie Roland. The program, a blend of Christmas and Viennese New Year’s favourites, will include arias by Handel, Strauss waltzes and selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet. www.symphonyhamilton.ca

In Ottawa, the National Arts Centre Orchestra Players’ Association presents a free Christmas FanFair concert on December 12 in support of the Snowsuit Fund and the Food Bank. The program will feature the musicians of the NAC Orchestra conducted by David Thies-Thompson, the Ottawa Regional Youth Choir, violist Emilie Grimes (a NACO bursary winner), and the KidSingers from the Ottawa OrKidstra program. Mayor Jim Watson will also make an appearance on the podium. Christmas FanFair organizer and NACO assistant principal double bass Marjolaine Fournier says, “For many of us in the orchestra, playing the Fanfair concert has become the highlight of our holiday season. The kind and generous spirit shown by everyone, the kids, the singing, the music and the surprises just make the whole day exceptional. It saddens me that fundraisers such as this one are still needed in a beautiful city like Ottawa, but this is the best way to give: concretely, of course, by giving money and time, but more importantly, giving with our hearts and caring for one another.” www.nac-cna.ca

And if a Messiah performance is a vital part of your holiday preparations, fear not! In addition to the performances that we referenced last week, they’re also popping up in Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Toronto (in at least three versions – by the Aradia Ensemble, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra), Kingston, Trois-Rivieres, and Halifax.

Meanwhile, in Halifax, Symphony Nova Scotia presents its 20th annual production of The Nutcracker, with Halifax Dance and Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, in eight performances. As ever, the production features “giant puppets, bright costumes, huge sets, and breathtaking music” – and if you haven’t seen it yet, you really must. (We speak from experience.) www.symphonynovascotia.ca

Earlier this week, the Winnipeg Symphony launched this year’s high school concert series under the direction of music director Alexander Mickelthwate. The concerts put the orchestra into seven different Winnipeg-area schools, reaching five public school divisions and one private school.

The program, sponsored by the Richardson Foundation, introduces students in grades 9-12 to orchestral music in a unique, up close and personal way and also features the winner of the WSO’s annual Student Soloist Competition. This year, violinist Heather Stewart will join the orchestra in the third movement of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. The orchestra is also proud to bring the concert to Brandon on May 5, 2011, which will be the second time the Up Close & Orchestral program will reach beyond the city limits.

Voluntary students will have the opportunity to make their “WSO debut” as either the guest conductor during Bizet’s Toreador March from Carmen or as the “champagne-popping” guest artist during Strauss’s Champagne Polka.

Participating students will also enjoy – free of charge – the WSO’s premiere Soundbytes concert on November 4, Music, Movies & Maddin. Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin hosts the concert that takes patrons on a journey of music and movies while exploring just how much classical music is used in Hollywood’s famous films.

For more information, please visit wso.ca.

We admit it: in the transition to our summer publication schedule, we missed listing some summer concerts offered by member orchestras and others. Our apologies to the Winnipeg Symphony (which presented a series of free concerts in Winnipeg and Kenora, June 25 to July 4 – culminating in a
performance for Her Majesty the Queen, with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Juno Award-winner Chic Gamine, Sierra Noble and Chantal Kreviazuk); the Windsor Symphony (which kicked off Summerfest Uptown at the Windsor Armouries on June 26 – and will be continuing with its “Quintets and Sunsets” series July 10 and 11); and the Niagara Symphony (which gave a Canada Day performance on – you guessed it – July 1).

Here’s what we can tell you about other upcoming events!

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra presents the six-concert Symphony Under The Sky festival, September 3 – 6, at the Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park. It’s a varied program, with (as the media release says) “everything from Bach to Billy Joel.” Guest conductor Bob Bernhardt will lead the orchestra in five of the six concerts, and soloists include violinist, Karen Gomyo the Knock School of Irish Dance, pianist Jim Witter, and the guns of the Royal Canadian Artillery. For more information, please visit here.

There’s been an encouraging update from the Victoria Symphony about their annual Symphony Splash event, scheduled for August 1, 2010. Absent a major title sponsor this year, the Victoria Symphony team set about to create another kind of giving opportunity for patrons interested in ensuring that Symphony Splash went ahead. In late June, the orchestra announced that its new fundraising initiative, titled Victoria Symphony Splash Band of Heroes, has already generated $50,000 in new support for the marquee event. In response to the loss of its title sponsor, the Victoria Symphony invited numerous companies and individuals to lend their support. The Victoria Symphony Splash Band of Heroes, asks for $1,000 contributions in exchange for specific recognition benefits. According to Mitchell Krieger, executive director of the Victoria Symphony, “It’s wonderful to see these Heroes stepping up to support Victoria Symphony Splash, especially as so many are new to the Symphony family. Making more connections to the community will not only keep Splash vibrant, it will help the Symphony’s long-term sustainability. We are nearly halfway to our goal of 100 Heroes, and we hope that more will step forward between now and August 1st.” Band of Heroes has proven to be a success as 45 businesses and individuals have already joined Band of Heroes, and more are signing up every week. Band of Heroes gives companies of all sizes and individuals the opportunity to support the event in a way not previously available. See here for more information.

On-line registration is now open for Orchestras Canada’s National Orchestras Meeting, scheduled to take place in Winnipeg June 20-23, 2010, and co-hosted by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and the Winnipeg Symphony.  The meetings feature workshops and presentations led by experts, music, peer meetings and updates from across the country – and all but the pre-conference session will feature simultaneous interpretation, thanks to the support of Great West Life.  We may be biased, but we think it’s a rich and wonderful program!  To learn more, please visit the Winnipeg 2010 pages on our website here.

Orchestras Canada’s donors are at the heart of our work on behalf of Canadian orchestras.  We are grateful to everyone who has made a gift to Orchestras Canada this year, and – thanks to their generosity – we are only $2142 short of our individual fundraising target for the year ending March 31.  With just over three weeks left to go, we know we can reach our goal:  but we need your help. To make a gift to Orchestras Canada, you can:

1.  Visit our giving page at CanadaHelps.org here.
2.  Call Jennifer Caines at the OC office, to make a gift by credit card: 416-366-8834 x221
3.  Mail a cheque to

Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada
203-460 rue College Street
Toronto, ON M6G 1A1

March 15 marks the deadline for participation in a new survey of Canadian orchestras’ community engagement programs – and we’ve already been amazed and impressed by the level of participation you’ve shown!  Many thanks to all OC members who have taken the time and contributed to this report.  At the end of January, Jennifer Caines emailed the survey to 71 orchestras; as of earlier this week, 35 orchestras have responded.  We look forward to sharing the results with you later this spring.  If you’d like more information, please get in touch with Jennifer at jennifer[at]oc[dot]ca.

Orchestra News will not be published next week, March 12.  We’ll be back with a blockbuster issue on March 19.

A tantalizing glimpse of what’s to come at the Winnipeg Symphony’s New Music Festival 2010 was revealed yesterday, with the announcement that the WSO will debut a a new work by Darren Miller, the Saskatchewan composer who won the 2010 Emerging Composer Competition of the Canadian Music Centre, Prairie Region. Miller’s work will be premiered on February 10, 2010.  According to the media announcement, “the winning composition by Miller, for amma, was chosen from orchestral works submitted by emerging Canadian composers, all of whom have Prairie connections. Each entry was judged by a jury, which included the WSO’s composer-in-residence – and former Emerging Composer Competition winner – Vincent Ho.”

The National Arts Centre has just announced the most recent winners of the NAC Awards, three $75,000 packages encompassing musical commissions and residencies.  The honorees, well-known in the Canadian orchestral community are (alphabetically) John Estacio of Edmonton; Peter Paul Koprowski of Ottawa; and Ana Sokolovic of Montreal.  Each composer will be commissioned to write three works that will be performed by the NAC Orchestra over the next five years, and will help teach student musicians as part of the NAC’s Summer Music Institute.  The NAC initiative was established in 2002, with Gary Kulesha, Denys Bouliane and Alexina Louie the inaugural recipients. The goal is to present the awards about every five years in future.