Untitled - Cowichan Symphony Society

Cowichan Symphony Society
Cowichan Symphony Society
Message from the Board
What better music could there be to open the fifty-ninth season of the Cowichan
Symphony Society? Truly, Prelude to Die Meistersinger is bold, optimistic and light
hearted. A hero (Walther) ultimately triumphs with his song, unlike any of the mastersingers before him, and he gets the girl, too. Your symphony society is also proud to
be bold, optimistic and light hearted, and therefore, we are delighted to present to the
citizens of the Cowichan Valley, a season of live professionally played, serious music,
which should be the envy of countless similar communities all over Canada, indeed
the rest of the world.
The season includes many firsts for the society. For example, we have never
welcomed trumpet and harp soloists to our stage. The marvelous, famously difficult
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.3 has never been played before on our famous
Steinway. The complete performance of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
with narration has never seen our stage. We have never had a Valentine’s Love Affair on
our stage, -– that should be an interesting one! All of the above is just a tickling
sample of an abundant season of ravishing music.
Welcome then to the fifty-ninth season. We hope you quickly become Season
Subscribers to the music bargain in all of Canada. The Board decided this year to
include one more concert than last year while keeping the per concert ticket price
exactly the same as before. The additional concert is a more light-hearted one (a
Valentine’s Love Affair) featuring the fast-growing Vancouver Island Symphony under
the baton of dynamic maestro Pierre Simard.
Every year the Society hosts 1500 school children to the educational concerts
featuring the Victoria Symphony. We thank the local school district for allowing the
children to come and hear live music played by real people on real instruments that
are not electrically connected to huge amplifiers. At our last February educational
concerts, every seat was occupied, except when the children stood to cheer and dance
to the rhythms of the orchestra. It was a wonderful sound to hear and sight to see.
The 2015-2016 season will be our Diamond Jubilee year. Already we are thinking
about presenting celebrations and, of course, special music. Please be aware that we
shall be making an extra plea for donation support in that year.
Our annual fundraising has always been organized in a fairly low-key non-pressure
manner. Nevertheless, each year, many of our subscribers make donations and we are
extremely thankful to those persons. When you subscribe and add a donation, you
should know that it is through your generous support that we are able to continue to
provide seasons of music to the valley in our beautiful theatre and at such a modest
price.
The board of the society wishes you a very happy music season in 2014/2015
Sincerely
Ted Rhodes (President), Chuck Thompson (Treasurer), Terry Harrison, Roger Hart
(Vice Presidents), Ray Cadorette (Secretary), Delmere (Del) Kitt, Les Broadway, Mike
Simkins, Kathy Lassche, Don Holmes, Edith Strochen, Dr. Peter Leckie. Denise
Augustine at School District 79 co-ordinates the educational concerts
Warmland Dental
Season Sponsor
Cowichan Symphony Society
Concert sponsorship (gift of $500 or more) is greatly appreciated. The cost of staging
the Victoria Symphony at the Cowichan Theatre is approximately $17,000 per concert.
You can help by telling others about this concert series and encouraging friends and
family to attend the concerts.
At every concert, children's seats are available priced priced at only $5.00
Victoria Symphony 2014 - 2015
Saturday September 20 at 7:30pm
Tania Miller, conductor
Anna Fedorova, Piano
Wagner, Prelude to Meistersinger
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3
Bartok, Concerto for Orchestra
Wagner’s Die Meistersinger Prelude is a majestic opener to the Cowichan Symphony
Society’s fifty-ninth Season It was enthusiastically received at its premiere in 1868, and
was judged to be Wagner's most immediately appealing work. The work is written for
large orchestra and contains dazzling scenes of colour, splendour, ensembles full of
life and character unfolding before the spectator's ears and eyes. The full production of
Meistersinger would not occur until 1868 but the ten-minute Prelude Wagner unveiled
six years before hinted at something that would become rather unique in his catalogue
– pure, uncomplicated optimism. The story details a sixteenth century singing contest
put on by the Guild of Mastersingers in the town of Nuremberg. It speaks essentially
to the eternal struggle between old and new, between the conservative musical
traditionalists and the unbound forward-thinkers.
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Piano Concerto No. 3) was born at Semyonovo,
Russia, on April 1, 1873, and died in Beverly Hills, California, on March 28, 1943. He
composed the Piano Concerto No. 3 expressly for his North American tour in 1909 and
first played the massive work on November 28 that year with the New York Symphony,
The third concerto offers an immense challenge to stamina and endurance. Few
pianists would agree with Rachmaninoff’s own estimate that the third concerto is
“more comfortable” than the second. Rachmaninoff saw the soloist, “not merely as
someone who can sing soulfully and thunder imposingly, but as an alert, flexible,
responsive musician who knows how to blend, accompany, and listen.”
Shine is a 1996 Australian biographical drama film based on the life of pianist David
Helfgott who suffered a mental breakdown and spent years in institutions. In this film
Helfgott becomes famous and eventually meets his loving wife through his mastering
of the Rachmaninoff concerto. The film's plot reflects the true story of Helfgott's life
and achieved many Academy Awards.
Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra is a five-movement “concerto”, and one of his best
known, most popular and most accessible works. The Boston Symphony Orchestra
premiered it on December 1, 1944. It was a great success and has been regularly
performed since. In contrast to the conventional concerto form, which features a solo
instrument with orchestral accompaniment, Bartók called this piece a concerto,
because of the way each section of instruments is treated in a soloistic and virtuosic
way.
This concert is sponsored by Chuck Thompson, Sun Life Financial and Dr. Peter Leckie.
Victoria Symphony 2014 - 2015
Saturday November 29 at 7:30 pm
Tania Miller, conductor
Ryan Cole, Trumpet
Beethoven, Leonore Overture No. 3
Barber, Adagio for Strings
Arutunian, Trumpet Concerto
Vaughan Williams, Symphony No. 2 “London Symphony”
Beethoven, Leonore Overture No 3
Beethoven wrote four overtures for his opera Fidelio. Leonore No 3 is regarded to be
one of the greatest in musical-dramatic expressivity. It is a very popular opener for
symphony concerts.
Barber, Adagio for Strings
Barbers’ most well known orchestral work was first performed in 1938, when Arturo
Toscanini conducted it. The work is "full of pathos and cathartic passion" and "rarely
leaves a dry eye." Adagio for Strings can be heard in many TV shows and movies, and,
because of its beauty, has unfortunately been voted as the saddest music ever written.
Artunian, Trumpet Concerto in A-flat major (1950)
This is the Armenian composer's "virtuoso showpiece". It is an energetic powerhouse
of Eastern European lyricism and harmonic textures and is assimilated into the
standard trumpet repertoire worldwide, earning highest international praise from
audiences, critics and performers. One of the reasons this piece has become so
popular among trumpet players, is just that it's a flashy piece. It has a very Gypsyish,
Russian, Armenian kind of sound, with very soulful, beautiful melodies and plenty of
exciting rapid-tonguing kinds of things in it
Vaughan Williams, London Symphony
The famous symphony was dedicated to Vaughan Williams's friend and fellow
composer George Butterworth (1885–1916) who was subsequently killed by a sniper on
the Somme during World War I. Vaughan Williams recorded that:
"We were talking together one day when he said in his gruff, abrupt manner:
'You know, you ought to write a symphony'. I answered... that I'd never
written a symphony and never intended to... I suppose Butterworth's words
stung me and, anyhow, I looked out some sketches I had made for... a
symphonic poem about London and decided to throw it into symphonic
form... From that moment, the idea of a symphony dominated my mind. I
showed the sketches to George bit by bit as they were finished, and it was
then that I realized that he possessed in common with very few composers a
wonderful power of criticism of other men's work and insight into their ideas
and motives. I can never feel too grateful to him for all he did for me over this
work and his help did not stop short at criticism." The discerning listener may
hear familiar sounds of London such as the Westminster chimes.
The concert sponsored by Cowichan News Leader Pictorial and Ted and Rae Rhodes.
Victoria Symphony 2014 - 2015
Saturday January 17, 2015 at 7:30 pm
Bernhard Gueller, conductor
Duncan Regehr, Narrator
Tchaikovsky, Serenade for Strings
Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (complete)
The Serenade for Strings offers up its emotions unabashedly, with Tchaikovsky’s lush
Romanticism enveloping the skeletal traces of Classical style.
Tchaikovsky’s plan for this music wavered between a symphony and a string quartet,
until he landed on something in between: a serenade for string orchestra. The title and
form of the work paid homage to Mozart, the greatest composer of Classical
serenades, about whom Tchaikovsky once wrote in his diary, “Mozart I love as a
musical Christ. … It is my profound conviction that Mozart is the highest, the
culminating point which beauty has reached in the sphere of music.” Again he said: “I
wrote the Serenade on impulse. I felt it deeply, from start to finish, and therefore I dare
to believe it will not be without merit.”
Medelssohn, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
In 1825, the 16-year-old Mendelssohn stunned the musical world with his piece - the
overture A Midsummer Night's Dream. The plays of Shakespeare were a source of
delight to the Mendelssohn family and Mendelssohn had become familiar with
Shakespeare by reading German translations as a boy. Thus at the young age of 17, he
was inspired to write a piece capturing the atmosphere of Shakespeare’s comedy. The
piece, a concert overture, quickly became a popular favourite throughout Europe
Mendelssohn returned to Shakespeare in 1843 at the request of Prussian King
Frederick William IV an admirer of the overture, who wanted a set of incidental music
for an upcoming production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Thus, Mendelssohn
finished composing his new opus, the “incidental music” at the age of 33, just five years
before his death. A romantic piece, Mendelssohn’s score (Which includes the
overture) is renowned for its stunning instrumental effects, such as, at the beginning,
the emulation on strings of scampering ‘fairy feet’.
For the King, Mendelssohn crafted 14 short pieces based on themes and moods from
the overture. The complete work was first performed with the play on October 14, 1843.
Mendelssohn’s new creations, such as the Song with Chorus, a lullaby for the fair
queen Titania, and the famous Wedding March, written to accompany the multiple
weddings at the end of the play (The best-known movement which is often played in
modern wedding ceremonies.) gloriously recaptured the magical spirit.
This concert is sponsored by Darren Rodney, Janice Patzwald of the Investors Group
and Mike and Bonnie Mills.
Vancouver Island Symphony 2014 - 2015
Thursday 12 February 2015 at 7:30 pm
Vancouver Island Symphony
Pierre Simard, conductor
Ken Lavigne, Tenor (Cowichan Valley)
Nadya Blanchette, Soprano (Cirque du Soleil)
“He Sings, She Sighs - A Romantic Comedy”
The Vancouver Island Symphony under the direction of Pierre Simard presents a
Valentine's Special featuring soprano Nadya Blanchette and tenor Ken Lavigne in a
new romantic comedy.
Everybody loves a special someone. Has Ken found his match? Vancouver Island’s
own and compelling tenor Ken Lavigne teams up with diva extraordinaire Nadya
Blanchette, former Cirque du Soleil diva and renowned international chanteuse in a
one-of-a-kind show.
On stage, their charm, complicity and passion will conquer your senses, in a dazzling
performance featuring beloved love songs and duets. Seductive, powerful and
breathtaking, these fabulous singing lovebirds will make you fall in love all over again.
A love affair to experience under the baton of Pierre Simard, with the extraordinary
musicians of the Vancouver Island Symphony!
The programme includes:
Best of Broadway arias and duets
Best of Opera
Best of Bel Canto
Ken Lavigne's signature neapolitan solo songs
Nadya Blanchette's signature vintage solo songs
The concert is sponsored by Sunfest Concerts & Wideglide Entertainment.
Victoria Symphony 2014 - 2015
Saturday 14 March 2015 at 7:30 pm
Tania Miller, Conductor
Annabelle Stanley, Harp
Handel, Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 2 in F
Saint-Saëns, Morceau de concert in G for harp and orchestra
Dvorak, Wind Serenade Op. 44
Handel, Harp concerto Op. 4 No. 6
Mozart, Symphony No. 38 “Prague”
Handel, Concerto Grosso Op 6 No 2 - Handel wrote the Twelve “Grand Concertos” for a
small baroque string orchestra. Written to be played during performances of the
composer’s oratorios and odes, Handel incorporated into the movements the full range
of his compositional styles. They were largely composed of new material, being amongst
the finest examples in the genre of baroque concerto grosso.
Saint-Saëns, Morceau de concert in G for harp and orchestra
Saint-Saëns' fluency lasted him into his old age, when he wrote this Morceau de concert,
a piece rather in the nature of a small scale four-movement concerto.
Dvorak, Wind Serenade Op 44
The Serenade evokes the old-world atmosphere of the Rococo period castles, where the
worlds of the aristocracy and the common folk merged. It is composed in a "Slavonic
style" (shortly before the Slavonic Dances), and the middle part of the second movement
contains rhythms reminiscent of the furiant dance form.
Handel, Harp Concerto Op 4 No 6
True to himself, Georg Friedrich Handel took advantage of the harp's beautiful sounds
in order to show off his own exceptional sense of colour and brilliance in the guise of a
magnificent and familiar concerto.
Mozart, Symphony No. 38 “Prague”
Although Mozart's popularity among the Viennese waxed and waned, he was consistently
popular among the Bohemians and had a devoted following in Prague where Symphony
No. 38 was first performed. The lavish use of wind instruments might offer a clue that
the Prague Symphony was fashioned specifically with the Prague public in mind. The wind
players of Bohemia were famed throughout Europe, and the use of wind instruments in
the Prague Symphony represents a major advance in Mozart's symphonic technique that
was imitated in his last symphonies, and also by Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert.
In virtually every bar of this piece, you hear him straining at the limits of what his
invention, his orchestra, and the symphony can do. It is the opening movement that is
the Prague's most endlessly fascinating phenomenon. It is to do with a combination of
its structure, size, and contrapuntal complexity. This is the longest single symphony
movement of the 8th century. Hear it and hear it again. There is a reason, -– you need
at least another time around the block to make sense of what is going on. In fact, a
lifetime of listening will not exhaust its vast magical richness.
This concert is sponsored by Radar Hill Technologies Inc.
Victoria Symphony 2014 - 2015
Wednesday 18 February 2015 at 11:00 am and 12:30 pm
Tania Miller, conductor
Educational Concert for School Children
The Victoria Symphony’s Education and Outreach concerts are designed for students
in grades K to 7 in Victoria, Saanich, Sooke, Gulf Islands and Cowichan school districts
as well as independent and home schools. These concerts provide fun, accessible and
engaging experiences while exposing students to the wonders of live classical music.
Each year these concerts outreach to more than 6,800 elementary school students on
Vancouver Island.
The Cowichan Symphony Society provides a significant subsidy to assure these
concerts take place in Cowichan each February. Approximately 1400 elementary
students from Cowichan attend each year. We are grateful for the co-ordination work
of Denise Augustine, Vice-principal of Aboriginal Education, School District 79.
Please consider donating to maintain financial support for this immensely popular
event.
Music Student Scholarships
The Cowichan Valley is home to many gifted artists and teachers of the arts. For many
years the Society has encouraged music students by awarding Scholarships at the
Cowichan V alley Music Festival for excellence on instruments other than piano. The
awards established are:
Peggy Boiston Award
$1,500 for a student continuing with
post-secondary music education
Laurie John Award
$500
Kathleen Hogan Award $500
Donations in support of these awards will be gratefully accepted by the society and are
eligible for tax credits.
Supporting musicianship for the next generation
Conductors and Soloists 2014 -2015
The 2014/2015 season marks Tania Miller’s twelfth as
Music Director of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, an
appointment that deemed her the first Canadian woman to
be appointed to such a significant position in Canada. Her
vibrancy and dynamic approach to music-making have
inspired many new innovations with the Victoria Symphony
and a new era of artistic growth for the orchestra.
Originally from Foam Lake, Saskatchewan, Tania Miller
received her Doctorate and Master’s degrees in conducting
from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Tania Miller
Anna Fedorova is one of the world's premier young
pianists. From an early age, she demonstrated an innate
musical maturity and astounding technical abilities. Her
international concert career took off while she was only a
child, and audiences around the world were stunned by the
depth and power of her musical expression. Critics have
praised Anna's signature “sweet modesty and wild
expression,” which rendered listeners “completely taken by
surprise, compelled and astonished.”
She has performed in some of the most prestigious concert
halls of Europe, North and South America, and Asia.
Anna Fedorova
Having mastered a formidable concerto repertoire, she played with orchestras around
the world. Anna has claimed top prizes at numerous international piano competitions.
Ryan Cole is celebrated as one of Canada’s fastest rising
young orchestral players. Recognized on the national and
international level, Ryan’s recent performances include
appearing as a guest soloist with the renowned Orchestre
Symphonique de Montreal; appearing at the International
Trumpet Guild Conference in Banff, Alberta; a performance
for former U.S. president, Bill Clinton; and a recording
project for Editions BIM publishing. He recently completed
a season as assistant principal trumpet with the Regina
Symphony Orchestra…
Ryan Cole
After completing his Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of
Music Education with distinction from the University of Saskatchewan in 2009, Ryan
received his Master of Music degree in orchestral trumpet performance under Paul
Merkelo at McGill.
Ryan is also a highly skilled and popular music teacher. This year he is participating in
several of the Victoria Symphony’s education programs this year: Master Classes,
Musicians in Schools, and the vsNEW young composers program.
Conductors and Soloists 2014 -2015
Bernhard Gueller is currently Music Director of Symphony
Nova Scotia and has been music director or principal
conductor of several orchestras, including the
Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Cape Town
Philharmonic Orchestra and the Nuremberg Symphony
Orchestra where in his final concerts he was lauded for the
quality of the orchestra he had nurtured and grown.
His conducting career has taken him to many top concert
halls from America and Australia to Russia, Japan, China,
Korea, South Africa and Brazil, as well as countries in
Europe such as Spain, Italy, France, Norway and Sweden
and his native Germany.
Bernhard Gueller
He has also conducted at various festivals, including Schwetzingen, the Stellenbosch
International Chamber Music Festival and the Scotia Festival of Music.
He is acknowledged for the work he does with youth orchestras in South Africa,
Germany and Nova Scotia and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Dalhousie
University in Halifax in 2009 in recognition of his “outstanding personal
achievements.”
Duncan Regehr was born in Lethbridge, Alberta and raised
in Victoria, Canada. As a child he was encouraged by his
father, artist Peter Regehr to develop his talents. He later
studied painting with Dutch Surrealist, Henry Poesiat. His
studies also include literature, psychology and sociology.
Over the past 35 years, Duncan has evolved as a prolific
multi-media artist of international prominence in the
visual, literary and performing arts.
Duncan Regehr
A classically trained actor, he began performing
Shakespeare at the age of fifteen and has acted in and
directed national and international productions for stage, film, radio and television.
Annabelle Stanley has been the Prinicpal Harpist with the
Victoria Symphony for the past 27 years, a number of times
as a featured soloist. She has performed with many other
orchestras in the province during that time as well,
including the Vancouver Symphony. Annabelle enjoys
playing with colleagues in small groups, and frequently
plays in chamber ensembles comprised of a variety of
instruments. She is a faculty member of the University of
Victoria School of Music and the Victoria Conservatory of
Music.
Annabelle Stanley
Conductors and Soloists 2014 -2015
Pierre Simard' is Assistant Conductor of the Vancouver
Symphony Orchestra. He is also Artistic Director of both
the Vancouver Island Symphony (BC) and the Orchestre
Symphonique de Drummondville (QC). Recipient of many
honours, Pierre Simard was awarded the Canada Council's
Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Conducting, recognizing his
work on a national scale. He is also grantee of the Québec
Music Council, the Québec Arts Council and the Montreal
Mayor's Foundation.
Pierre Simard
His dedication towards our youth enabled him to create
original symphony shows featured all across North America. He also guest conducts
with artists such as Colin James, Ian Tyson, Chantal Kreviazuk, Nikki Yanofsky, the
Tenors and Chris Botti.
Nadya Blanchette leads a worldwide career that spans over
15 years of outstanding contributions (Cirque du Soleil,
Vancouver Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra,
CBC radio & television). She sings the national anthems for
the Montreal Canadians at the Bell Centre and is
remembered for her compelling Ave Maria at Pierre E.
Trudeau's State Funeral.
Her achievements include media, film & teaching
projects. Nadya Blanchette created seven shows and
released four cds, aired on the radio.
Nadya Blanchette
Recognized early for the outstanding timbre of his lyric
tenor voice as well as the ease and agility with which he
sings, Lavigne undertook thorough vocal and music
training in his native Victoria, BC, at the University of
Victoria with Susan Young and Alexandra Browning-Moore
and at the Victoria Conservatory of Music with Selena
James. Further study took him to Wales where he studied
with Stuart Burrows and to New York for training with Joan
Dorneman.
With his exciting blend of classical tenor sound with
modern style, Ken Lavigne is a versatile performer who
commands ovations at every performance.
Ken Lavigne
Season Sponsor
Reserve your subscription tickets soon through the Cowichan Theatre Ticket Centre!
Season Ticket Prices
Section
Adult
Child - eyeGo
Green
$175
$25
Blue
$150
$25
Orange
$125
$25
Single Concert Tickets
Adult
$40
Orange Section
$25
Child - eyeGo
$5
Tickets are sold at the Cowichan Ticket Centre
By Phone
Online
In Person
250-748-7529
www.cowichantheatre.ca
2687 James St
Duncan BC V9L 2X5
All cheques to be made payable to “Cowichan Theatre”
Pay for your tickets in one or two installments (50%now and 50% by September 15th)
Retain last seasons’ seats and renew between before June 30th 2014.
Subscribers may request seat changes before June 30th. If available, improved seats
will be allocated after that date.
New season subscriptions on sale after July 1st
Final payment of subscriptions by September 15th
Single ticket sales after July 1st
All ticket prices include tax and a $2 Ticket User Fee. A $3 processing fee will be
added to your subscription order.
Receipts for income tax purposes will be issued by the Cowichan Symphony Society
for donations of $20 or more.
Cowichan Symphony Society
The Cowichan Symphony Society thanks the following sponsors and donors for their
generosity during the past year:
Dr. Thomas A. Roozendaal Inc.
Dr. Peter Leckie
Chuck Thompson, Sun Life
Beverly Southerland
H. W. Wallace Cremation and Burial Centre Inc.
Jan & Johanna Grootwassink
Ted & Rae Rhodes
Ann Mendenhall
Mike & Bonnie Mills
Denham Kelsey
Matthew Hillyard
Neil Burn
William & Frances McColl
Ewald Dwerstag
James & Lynda Macovichuk
Rex Heeney
Hans Rensing
Peg McLennan
Judith Duncan
Peter Elphick
Helen Schuckel
Gertrude Owen
George Seymour
Dr. L. G. Williams
Mavis Evans
Peter Kearns
O. Nowrath
Philip & Judith Duncan
Trish Rankin
Glen Hammond
Bill & Anne Murray
John & Judy Holmes
Sunfest Concerts & Wideglide Entertainment
Cowichan News Leader
The Toronto Dominion Bank
Hillside Stone & Garden
Radar Hill Technologies Inc.
Darren Rodney, Janice Patzwald, Grant Starko, Investors Group
Season Sponsor for 2014 - 2015 is Dr. Tom Roozendaal of Warmland Dental
921C Canada Avenue Duncan British Columbia
The Cowichan Symphony Society
Box 732
Duncan British Columbia
V9L 3Y1
Cowichan Theatre
2687 James Street
Duncan British Columbia
250-748-7529
www.cowichansymphonysociety.ca
www.cowichan theatre.ca
The theatre administration and the symphony board request that no perfumes or
fragrances be worn.
Brochure designed by Jan de Bree
School District 79 supporting the educational concert for school children