Your Edmonton Symphony Orchestra announces their 2010-2011 Season

Edmonton, AB ’Ķ Your Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) and Music Director William Eddins have announced exciting details of the upcoming 2010-2011 performance season.  Leading the ESO into their 59^th season, and his sixth as Music Director, Bill Eddins will conduct concerts in every series including the Masters, Sunday Showcase, Midweek Classics, Robbins Lighter Classics, Robbins Pops, ESSO Symphony for Kids, Late Night with Bill Eddins, The ESO Presents, and Symphony Specials.  Edmonton’Äôs orchestra cooks up over 80 superb concerts for all palates, entertaining a wide array of audiences with classical and popular music, family and educational programs.  So next season, if you haven’Äôt already, join us at our beautiful home, the Francis Winspear Centre for Music, for one or many symphony concerts that will truly nourish your soul.

"It is with great joy that I look forward to our 2010-2011 season.  Only the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra can travel from one side of the artistic spectrum - with Cirque de la Symphonie - right through to Mozart, Zappa, Brahms, and beyond.  This season promises to be as exciting as live music can possibly be."

~ Bill Eddins

Conductors and Guest Artists

Internationally renowned artists Chantal Kreviazuk, Jens Lindemann, Michael Kaeshammer, Corey Cerovsek, Pieter Wispelwey, Sasha Cooke, and Elmar Oliveira are just a few of the very special guests who will grace the ESO with their presence during the 2010-2011 performance season.

Bill Eddins will conduct nearly 30 concert events.  When he is not leading, the ESO will have guest conductors and audience favourites Robert Bernhardt, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Bruce Pullan, Bruce Hangen, Anu Tali, Gregory Vajda, Richard Kaufman, Jack Everly, and Steven Reineke return to the podium.  Making their conducting debuts with the ESO are Mei-Ann Chen, Jean-Franˆßois Rivest, Jamie Sommerville, and George Daugherty.  

Resident Conductor Lucas Waldin continues his tenure with the ESO under the mentorship of Bill Eddins.  This two-year appointment, which began at the start of the 2009-2010 season, is funded in part by the Canada Council for the Arts and supports the ESO’Äôs vision and focus on music education at all levels.  It is an elite training opportunity for a young conductor to be involved in both artistic leadership and administrative organization, while providing the necessary resources and guidance to engage and educate new generations and communities with the importance of music in their daily lives.

Gala and Specials

Be amazed, be awed, be stunned!  Extraordinary feats of artistry bring a magically musical experience to our annual Gala.  On Tuesday, October 5^th, Cirque de la Symphonie will present an astounding, jaw-dropping production, unlike anything they have previously presented in North America.  Bill Eddins conducts the orchestra through beloved masterpieces by Bach, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saˆ´ns, and more as an amazing troupe of aerial flyers, contortionists, and strongmen perform high above and on the Winspear stage.

The upcoming line-up of Symphony Specials are sure to appeal to music lovers of all ages and genres.  Fresh from the 2010 Lilith Fair festival tour celebrating women in music, Juno Award-winning singer/songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk makes her debut with Edmonton’Äôs orchestra and conductor Lucas Waldin.  Everybody’Äôs favourite Looney Tunes and characters from Warner Bros. Studios will appear on-screen at the Winspear Centre for three performances of Bugs Bunny At The Symphony.  Crown jewels such as What’Äôs Opera, Doc?, The Rabbit of Seville, and A Corny Concerto will be performed under the direction of conductor and creator George Daugherty.  Paying homage to a composer that was one of the first to break down barriers between rock, jazz, and classical music, the ESO and Bill Eddins present music of the legendary Frank Zappa in Don’Äôt Eat the Yellow Snow. 

Free Summer Music

Summer music will be free at the Winspear Centre as the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, made up of the most talented members of youth orchestras across the country, share music by Rimsky-Korsakov, Strauss, and Shostakovich with Canadian conductor Jacques Lacombe.  On two noon-hour occasions in August, the ESO in conjunction with Winspear Centre Presents, invites you to cool off from the afternoon sun to the stunning sounds of the Davis Concert Organ, and a showcase of ESO musicians performing their favourite pieces.

Masters Series

The ESO’Äôs flagship Masters series is the core of the 2010-2011 season, as the orchestra perfoms masterful classics by distinguished composers.  Mozart’Äôs exotic Fifth Violin Concerto and Sibelius’Äô intricate Fifth Symphony opens the series, while Ravel’Äôs vivacious Rapsodie espagnole and Daphnis et Chloˆ© brings the series to a close.  Chopin’Äôs First Piano Concerto will be heard in celebration of the 200^th anniversary of the composer’Äôs birth, as well as Beethoven’Äôs breathtakingly powerful ’ÄúEroica’Äù Symphony, Duruflˆ©’Äôs poignant Requiem, Rachmaninoff’Äôs beloved Second Piano Concerto, and Brahms’Äô affectionate ’ÄúDouble’Äù Concerto for Violin and Cello.  Other orchestral masterworks by Bach, Mendelssohn, Boulanger, Shostakovich, Schumann, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and so much more round out this series.

Our guest artists in the Masters series are some of the most dynamic and virtuosic musicians in the classical scene today.  Next season, the ESO is thrilled to have Anu Tali, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Mei-Ann Chen, Gregory Vajda, and Jean-Franˆßois Rivest all take the helm of the orchestra, along with Bill Eddins and Lucas Waldin.  Taking the spotlight as soloists are pianists Janina Fialkowska, Dubravka Tom‰°iŸç, and Bill Eddins, violinists Elmar Oliveira, Corey Cerovsek, and Mark Fewer, cellist Pieter Wispelwey, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, tenor Bonaventura Bottone, Joseph Macerollo on accordion, plus blind pianist and Cliburn Gold Medalist Nobuyuki Tsujii.

Late Night with Bill Eddins and The ESO Presents

Following the successful launch of our Late Night with Bill Eddins series in our 2009-2010 season, these uniquely interactive 9:30 pm concerts return to feature music of the masters plus conversation about the ingenuity of the music.  Late Night Percussion welcomes Colin Currie for the lyrical, yet urgently rhythmic Rough Music percussion concerto by the impressive H.K. Gruber.  With the 20^th century being a time of exciting innovation, the ESO brings Late Night 1900s to a whole new level with the bright and heroic Fifth Symphony by Prokofiev and Honneger’Äôs Pacific 231, a work inspired by the mechanical marvel of a train engine.  The music won’Äôt end with the concert either.  Guests can mingle in the lobby afterwards while sipping on a cocktail and listening to live music performed by talented local musicians.

Brilliant soloists on the international classical scene perform in concert with the orchestra, followed by solo recitals after intermission in one of our newest series, The ESO Presents.  Polish pianist Rafa‰Ç Blechacz, having unanimously won the 15^th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, performs the masterful music of his countryman and showcases his technical brilliance in doing so.  His performance will be presented in special partnership with the Chopin 2010 Celebration Committee and the Polish Culture Society of Edmonton.  Audiences have the special opportunity to experience Pieter Wispelwey’Äôs versatility, phenomenal technique, and remarkable interpretation of cello repertoire, and see the renown cellist accompanied by Bill Eddins on piano in the program’Äôs second half.

Sunday Showcase Series

In four matinˆ©e concerts that feature symphonic favourites with bright melodies, Bill Eddins leads the full Sunday Showcase series that features select ESO musicians as soloists alongside rising young musicians.  This series is especially well suited for the young and old alike.  Families of all generations can come together to enjoy a weekend afternoon of timeless masterpieces.  Edmonton violinist Ewald Cheung will perform Vivaldi’Äôs delightful Four Seasons in the series opener, while Principal Clarinet Julianne Scott plays a charming set of variations on a popular Mozart tune.  Laureate of Canada’Äôs Honens International Piano Competition, Swiss pianist Gilles Vonsattel makes his ESO debut and Principal Bass Trombone Christopher Taylor performs a tuneful Ballade by Ewazen.  David Eggert, also from Edmonton and winner of the prestigious Eckhardt-Gramattˆ© Prize presents Saint-Saˆ´ns beloved First Cello Concerto and Principal Tuba Scott Whetham takes on a lighthearted heavyweight ’Äì Vaughan Williams’Äô Tuba Concerto.  At only 15 years of age, Calgary pianist Jan Lisiecki has amassed an impressive collection of accolades and he makes his ESO debut playing a tempestuous work by Mozart.  Interim Concertmaster Eric Buchmann is also featured in the closing concert of this series, bringing Kabalevsky’Äôs fiery Violin Concerto to the stage.  Our post-concert Coffee Shop continues next season, inviting all concert guests to engage in an informal Q&A session with our guest artists in the main lobby.

Midweek Classics Series

Interspersed throughout the season, four concerts in the Midweek Classics series bring audiences famous and not-so-famous baroque treats and contrasting classical masterpieces.  Two of Edmonton’Äôs finest trumpet players, the ever-entertaining Jens Lindemann and the ESO’Äôs own Principal Trumpet Robin Doyon kick off the series performing Vivaldi’Äôs Concerto for Two Trumpets.  Russian-born Sergei Babayan is the featured soloist in a stormy Bach keyboard concerto and the orchestra plays a famous practical joke with Haydn’Äôs ’ÄúSurprise’Äù Symphony.  Celebrating the eve of Mozart’Äôs 255^th birthday, Williams Eddins and the orchestra presents the composer’Äôs lush Sinfonia concertante for Violin and Viola.  Concertmaster of the Montrˆ©al Symphony Andrew Wan and ESO violist Charles Pilon are guest soloists in the aforementioned work, and dazzling pianist Angela Cheng returns to play Mozart’Äôs final solo piano concerto in the series finale.  Lucas Waldin conducts in this series which will see his own arrangement of Purcell’Äôs Chacony played by the orchestra, and Lidia Khaner, Principal Oboe, and guest artist Teresa Hron, recorder, are also featured soloists.

Robbins Lighter Classics Series

From Flamenco flavours to classic Chaplin, the Robbins Lighter Classics series promises enjoyable evenings all around.  Spanish music and dance from the shores of Atlantic Canada opens this series with the fiercely authentic sounds of El Viento Flamenco.  The ESO’Äôs own Virginie Gagnˆ© (Violin), Allene Hackleman (Principal orn), Megan Evans (Asst. Principal Horn), Julianne Scott (Principal Clarinet), and Ronda Metszies (Cello) step into the spotlight for a showcase of their favourite music and virtuosity with Bill Eddins conducting.  Lucas Waldin takes to the podium for a celebration of Ukrainian culture, with the help of special guests Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company and Gene Zwozdesky, while silence still proves to be golden as the film classic from a comic genius is projected above the orchestra as they perform the score live in Charlie Chaplin’Äôs The Gold Rush.  The series closes with Tom Allen’Äôs Classical Goodtime Variety Show.  Former host of CBC Stereo’Äôs morning show, Tom Allen, along with great Canadian horn virtuoso and guest conductor Jamie Sommerville, explore how music is always relevant to the daily life of any age in the most silliest of ways.  In a stirring mix of seasonal beauty, Glad Tidings ’Äì A Lightly Classical Christmas will have charming guest conductor Bob Bernhardt joined by narrator Archbishop Richard Smith in this must-see event.

Robbins Pops Series

The ever-popular Robbins Pops series launches with a whirlwind of extraordinary trumpet music, and legendary pops maestro Bruce Hangen is bringing trumpet virtuoso Jens Lindemann with him!  It will be nothing short of an entertaining series opener as Mr. Lindemann performs the world premiere of Allan Gilliland’Äôs Dreaming of the Masters III, which was written specifically for him.  A hypnotic orchestral Halloween performance will leave you spellbound when Pops maestro Jack Everly is joined by an unbelievable illusionist, perplexing quick-change artists, and a comic-magic duo that will have you laughing, yet asking ’ÄúHow did they do that?’Äù  The ESO invites you to be their symphonic valentine when Steven Reineke returns to the Winspear Centre to perform timeless love songs in Love Will Keep Us Together.  Be serenaded by soprano Betsy Wolfe and tenor Mike Eldred, not to mention Mr. Reineke on piano and harmonica.  Broadway star and Tony Award-winner Ben Vereen will showcase his superb versatility and star power in a one man show, the ESO led by Jack Everly will take a spin on the musical roulette wheel with Pops Goes Vegas!, and the luminous harmonies of vocal trio Times Tree lend their extraordinary voices to our Christmas Pops.  The red carpet is rolled out to close this series on a Hollywood high note when conductor Richard Kaufman leads the orchestra through Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated music including The Godfather, Finding Neverland, and Casablanca.

ESSO Symphony for Kids

Over the course of the season, the ESO’Äôs family series ESSO Symphony for Kids will present four highly entertaining and educational programs for young audiences.  Platypus Theatre opens the series with the theatrical story of a young girl’Äôs battle to save music.  Families are invited to then take a symphonic walk through Roald Dahl’Äôs magical, terrifying, and hilarious forest in the imaginative presentation of DANDI Productions’Äô Little Red Riding Hood.  Lucas Waldin concludes his conducting duties in this series with Juno Award-winner and entertainer extraordinaire Al Simmons.  One of the true masters of mischief, mayhem, and melody brings his irresistible songs and madcap sense of humour to an outrageously fun afternoon for the whole family.  Charlie Chaplin’Äôs hilarious The Gold Rush will bridge great cinema and great music, as Bill Eddins and the ESO bring the score to life while the silent film is projected above the stage. 

Holiday Concerts

Cherish favourite traditions with your family and create new musical memories with Edmonton’Äôs orchestra.  The holiday season at the Winspear Centre is always a very magical time as we present sparkling concert programs of tidings and joy.  Charismatic, boogie-woogie piano sensation Michael Kaeshammer brings his prowess as a performer and onstage charm to his performance of uniquely stylized Christmas favourites.  Richard Eaton Singers join one of Canada’Äôs finest choral conductors, Bruce Pullan, for one of the most triumphant choral pieces ever written, Handel’Äôs Messiah.  Fresh from an 80-city North American tour, plus guest appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Dr. Phil Show, Canada’Äôs gold-selling vocal group the Canadian Tenors share the perfect Christmas gift with audiences in two evening performances.  Two special matinˆ©e performances of A Family Christmas Concert with Santa Claus and Mister Grinch will warm up the whole family with a cheerful selection of carols.  Both the Robbins Pops and Robbins Lighter Classics series also include popular holiday concerts that should not be missed!

Symphony Under the Sky

Symphony Under the Sky, the ESO’Äôs annual summer festival in Edmonton will take place Labour Day weekend, September 3^rd ’Äì 6^th, 2010, at Hawrelak Park.  Spend one day, or the whole weekend outdoors with your family listening to the harmonious sounds of the orchestra in the relaxing atmosphere of the Heritage Amphitheatre.  Audience favourite Bob Bernhardt conducts the orchestra through five concerts over the course of four days.  Sensational Canadian violinist Karen Gomyo joins the orchestra for two evening concerts ’Äì one filling the sky with the virtuosic sounds of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms, the other a showcase of memorable hits by the great John Williams.  The Knock School of Irish Dance appears as special guests, performing to Irish classics and traditional tunes from the Emerald Isle to celebrate The Celtic Spirit, while two of the great pop/rock songwriters of our time come together in the talented hands of Jim Witter.  Enjoy a summer night of classic rock as the ESO performs timeless songs of Billy Joel and Elton John.  Nothing wraps up the festival like a Great Canadian Song Book with members and guns of the Royal Canadian Artillery joining the orchestra in Tchaikovsky’Äôs 1812 Overture.

Fundraisers

The ESO and Winspear Centre rely on support from the community and the generosity of individuals so they may continue to nourish individuals with the wonder of music.  As such, two integral events will take place next season with proceeds to support both organizations.  HopScotch ’Äì A Festival and Fine Whisky and Beer and Flavours of B.C’Äôs Naramata Bench ’Äì Wine Tasting & Auction will take place in October 2010 and January 2011, respectively, with guests being treated to a lovely evening of delectable snacks, great company, wonderful music, and fabulous items to bid on.

Subscriber Info

Purchasers of ESO subscription packages can save up to 31% percent off single ticket prices, depending on the series and the seating.  Subscribers also have the opportunity to purchase single tickets to ESO concerts in advance of their availability to the general public.  In the ESO’Äôs efforts to continue to be widely accessible to our current and future patrons, plus music lovers of all ages, subscription prices have not been raised for the 2010-2011 performance season. 

For the third consecutive season, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’Äôs highly popular 2 for 1 New Subscriber Promotion will be available.  This fantastic offer gives new subscribers the opportunity to purchase 2 subscriptions for the price of 1 in their first year.  Complete promotion details are available online at EdmontonSymphony.com.  The 2 for 1 subscription campaign is generously sponsored by Maclab Enterprises.

Edmonton’Äôs Orchestra

Whether our 2010-2011 performance season is your first nibble at symphonic music, or your 59^th feast of enriching sounds, a live symphony performance touches our hearts and lingers in our palate long after the concert has ended.  It will leave you wanting more, it will keep you coming back for more.  Second, third, and fourth helpings are certainly warranted!  Join us at the Winspear Centre in our new season ’Äì we look forward to having you as our guest time and time again.  Come to listen, taste the nourishment, enjoy for many years.

Important Dates

On Sale Now: Subscription packages for the 2010-2011 season.

May 11^th, 2010: Symphony Specials, Fundraisers, and Gala tickets on sale to the general public.

June 24^th, 2010: Symphony Under the Sky tickets on sale to the general public.

August 10^th, 2010: Individual series concert tickets available to Subscribers and Sampler Pass voucher redemptions begin.

August 17^th, 2010: All single concert tickets on sale to the general public.

For a full listing of the 2010-2011 season, please visit www.EdmontonSymphony.com.