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Browsing: Orchestral

Julian Armour & Guylaine Lemaire: Finding Balance

By Kaitlyn Chan on 31 January 2025 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Interviews, Multimedia, Orchestral, Ottawa, Strings

This February, renowned musicians and artistic leaders Julian Armour and Guylaine Lemaire celebrate 20 years of marriage. The Ottawa-based couple have contributed significantly to the Canadian music scene for decades now as both performers and arts administrators. Amidst all this busyness, Armour and Lemaire are also the proud parents of four boys. Armour and Lemaire wear several hats in their professional lives. Armour is the artistic and executive director of Music and Beyond, artistic director of the Chamber Players of Canada, principal cellist of the chamber orchestra Thirteen Strings, and teaches at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. Retired…

Gwen Hoebig: Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s concertmaster extraordinaire

By Holly Harris on 31 January 2025 Canadian Music, Classical, Classical Music, Orchestral, Vancouver

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra wraps up its 2024-25 season on a poignant note this spring as its revered concertmaster, Gwen Hoebig, steps down from the position she’s held for an astonishing 37 years. The Vancouver-born musician lauded for her impeccable artistry currently holds the mantle as Canada’s longest-serving concertmaster, following the retirement of L’orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s Richard Roberts in September 2022 after his own 40 seasons. When asked what she’s most proud of from her decades-long tenure, Hoebig replies succinctly: “My playing, and also my relationship with my colleagues. … My overriding goal as concertmaster has always been to…

Five Applicants Awarded in IMAGINE Arts Incubator

By Newswire on 30 January 2025 Arts Industry, Chamber Music, Classical, Classical Music, Education, Newswire, Orchestral

Kingston, ON – Five successful applicants have been selected for the 2024/25 IMAGINE Arts Incubator, hosted by the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts (“the Isabel”) at Queen’s University. The IMAGINE Arts Incubator was developed in 2020 to foster creativity and innovation and to enable Kingston and national professional artists and creators to explore, invent, collaborate, and produce. The program supports artists and their projects through the granting of venue space, production staffing, and artist honoraria. “The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts is committed to supporting creativity that engages with culture, seeks a relationship with diverse audiences…

Credit: Vancouver Sun

Remembering Kazuyoshi Akiyama (1941-2025)

By Madeline Boldt on 29 January 2025 Arts Industry, Canadian Music, Classical, Classical Music, Obituaries, Orchestral, Toronto, Vancouver

Legendary Japanese conductor Kazuyoshi Akiyama has passed away at the age of 84. A cornerstone of Vancouver’s classical music scene, Akiyama led the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for over 13 years. Under his leadership from 1972 to 1985, the VSO transitioned from the Queen Elizabeth Theatre to the Orpheum, marking a new era of growth, increased ticket sales, and a revitalized sound. Early Life and Career Born in Japan in 1941, he launched into the world of classical music in 1964 when he made his debut with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. His immediate success earned him the roles of both Music…

Review | It’s the Band that Shines in Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Hollywood Rocks

By Madeline Boldt on 28 January 2025 Movie soundtrack music, Musical Theatre, Orchestral, Popular Music, Vancouver, Vocal

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra brought Tinseltown glitz and glamour to the Orpheum stage this weekend with Hollywood Rocks, a carefully curated collection of iconic songs from your favourite movies and TV shows. The orchestra was led by Maestro Stuart Chafetz, with Broadway stars Julie Reiber and Bryce Ryness lending their incredible voices. From the moment Chafetz set foot on stage, the tone for the evening was set: lighthearted, energetic, and, above all else, fun. “Tonight’s show is guaranteed to bring back memories, put a smile on your face, and, hopefully, create some new memories” he prefaced, encouraging the audience to…

Announcing Calgary Opera’s 2025/26 Season

By Newswire on 23 January 2025 Classical Music, Newswire, Opera, Orchestral

Calgary, AB – Calgary Opera’s 2025/26 Season will deliver an epic range of adventurous operas onstage, in addition to programs and events year-round. Programming includes the moving Madama Butterfly; hilarious hit, The Barber of Seville; and two family-friendly productions: Little Red Riding Hood for the holidays and a playful Hansel and Gretel featuring designs from The Old Trout Puppet Workshop. New Sunday matinee performances will give audiences more flexibility. “Opera’s timeless stories of love and loss remind each of us to make the most of the life we’re living right now,” said Sue Elliott, Calgary Opera’s General Director & CEO. “Our 2025/26 season is filled with hearts-and-minds experiences that will engage…

Orchestre Métropolitain Cancels Some of Its Concerts Citing Financial Challenges

By Newswire on 21 January 2025 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Montreal, Newswire, Orchestral

Montreal, January 22, 2025 – Due to the significant challenges the entire cultural milieu is currently facing, and which are also affecting us, Orchestre Métropolitain has made the difficult decision to cancel some of its concerts – Fatal Attraction on March 13-14 and Latin Fiesta on May 16. Faced with rising production costs, inflation influencing the public’s cultural habits, and stagnating government subsidies, the OM had a responsibility to make this decision in order to regain a balanced budget and ensure the Orchestra’s long-term stability. All ticket holders will receive a refund within ten working days of the announcement of…

First Volume in Groundbreaking Strauss Recording Project

By Newswire on 17 January 2025 Classical Music, Newswire, Orchestral, Ottawa

January 17, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) is celebrating an important milestone in its visionary recording project devoted to the tone poems of Richard Strauss. Poema: Ad Astra, the first of four albums fusing Strauss’s creative brilliance with contemporary works by leading Canadian composers, is now available for purchase and streaming worldwide via the Analekta music label. This latest addition to NACO’s award-winning discography pairs Strauss’s Don Juan with Kelly-Marie Murphy’s Dark Nights, Bright Stars, Vast Universe and Death and Transfiguration with Kevin Lau’s The Infinite Reaches. The NAC Orchestra commissioned both pieces and premiered them in Southam Hall in 2023. Strauss has long been a favourite…

Canada's NAC Orchestra (2024-2025 Season). Photo: Rémi Thériault

NAC Orchestra Set to Embark on a Monumental International Tour

By Newswire on 16 January 2025 Classical Music, Newswire, Orchestral, Ottawa

January 16, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) is proud to announce the launch of its latest international tour. This major tour will see the NAC Orchestra, led by Music Director Alexander Shelley, return to Japan for the first time in 40 years and debut in the Republic of Korea. NACO and Shelley, along with star pianists Yeol Eum Son (in Korea) and Olga Scheps (in Japan), will visit and perform in six cities at some of the world’s most renowned concert halls, including Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and the Seoul Arts Center. The Orchestra’s concert…

TSO conducted by Anja Bihlmaier at Roy Thomson Hall. Photo: Jae Yang

Review | TSO Delights with Dvořák and Mozart Crowd-Pleasers

By Denise Lai on 13 January 2025 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Toronto

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) heralded the new year with two audience favourites: Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622 and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, op. 95 (“From the New World”). On Jan. 12, the concert opens with the usual choice of a rarely-performed modern piece. Most Toronto audiences, myself included, are unfamiliar with Grażyna Bacewicz, even though she was one of Poland’s most well-regarded composers of the mid-20th century. Her “Concerto for String Orchestra” is her best-known and most-performed piece, and considered a prime example of Polish neoclassicism, showcasing Bacewicz’s style of blending traditional and…

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