Symphony Nova Scotia Music Director to receive honorary doctorate

October 15, 2009 - Halifax, NS – Symphony Nova Scotia Music Director Bernhard Gueller will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from Dalhousie University on Saturday, October 17.

Dalhousie University’s honorary degrees are awarded to recognize individuals who, by their example of extraordinary achievements and service to society, provide inspiration and models of leadership and integrity to Dalhousie’s student body. Gueller, who recently renewed his contract with Symphony Nova Scotia for another five years, is recognized for his inspiring leadership of the Symphony and the connection he makes with audiences.

Under Gueller’s direction, Symphony Nova Scotia has been praised artistically as one of the top orchestras in Canada. The orchestra regularly performs in both Halifax and communities across the province, and reaches more than 15,000 young audience members each year with its education and outreach programs. New programs created at Symphony Nova Scotia under Gueller’s tenure include the Musical Munchkins program for three- to five-year-olds, the TD Under-30 Access Pass, annual collaborations with the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra, and partnerships with local organizations such as Phoenix Youth Programs, the Halifax Pop Explosion, and the IWK.

“I am deeply humbled and honoured to receive this degree,” says Gueller. “I see it as a wonderful recognition of the work done by all of us at Symphony Nova Scotia.”

Gueller will accept the honorary degree during Dalhousie University’s Fall 2009 Convocation on Saturday, October 17 at 2:30 pm at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. Honorary degrees will also be awarded to Ms. Alexa McDonough and Senator James Cowan. For more details, visit http://dalnews.dal.ca/2009/10/14/fall_convo.html.

About Symphony Nova Scotia

Symphony Nova Scotia is Nova Scotia’s orchestra. Each year more than 50,000 audience members (including 15,000 young music lovers) join us in communities across Nova Scotia for performances of the music they love – from baroque and classical to pop and rock and folk. Under the inspirational leadership of Music Director Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Visit www.SymphonyNovaScotia.ca to learn more, listen online, or subscribe today!

Symphony Nova Scotia is grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture, and Heritage, and the Halifax Regional Municipality for their continued support.

Symphony Nova Scotia to perform Macmillan's Suite Silver Dart at Celtic Colours

Halifax, NS – Symphony Nova Scotia takes to the road this week to be part of the annual Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton. The orchestra will perform the world premiere of Nova Scotia guitarist/composer Scott Macmillan’s newest work, Suite Silver Dart, on Friday, October 16, 2009 at 7:30 pm at Glace Bay’s Savoy Theatre and on Saturday, October 17 at 2:00 pm at Mabou’s Strathspey Place.

The Suite Silver Dart commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first powered flight in Canada. Spearheaded by Alexander Graham Bell and the Aerial Experiment Association, the first flight of the Silver Dart took place on February 23, 1909 in Baddeck, Cape Breton. Commissioned by Celtic Colours, the Silver Dart Centennial Association, and the Centre Bras d'Or, Suite Silver Dart is a musical exploration of the hard work, anticipation, and celebration surrounding this historic event.

Suite Silver Dart will be conducted by Symphony Nova Scotia resident conductor (and native Cape Bretoner) Martin MacDonald, and will feature Chris Stout, violin; Catroina McKay, harp; Paula-Jane Francis, piano; and of course, composer/guitarist Scott Macmillan. The concert program will also include highlights of Alexander Graham Bell’s favourite symphonic music, featuring vocalists Peter Gillis and Laurel Brown.

“I’m so excited about returning home to Cape Breton for the second time in a year with Symphony Nova Scotia,” says Symphony Nova Scotia resident conductor Martin MacDonald. “It’s such an honour to be collaborating with Scott Macmillan and Celtic Colours to present the Suite Silver Dart on this very special occasion.”

Tickets for both performances range from $20-35 and are available at 1.888.355.7744 or www.celtic-colours.com.

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Symphony Nova Scotia is Nova Scotia’s orchestra. Each year more than 50,000 audience members (including 15,000 young music lovers) join us in communities across Nova Scotia for performances of the music they love – from baroque and classical to pop and rock and folk. Under the inspirational leadership of Music Director Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Visit www.SymphonyNovaScotia.ca to learn more, listen online, or subscribe today!

Symphony Nova Scotia is grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture, and Heritage, and the Halifax Regional Municipality for their continued support.

Symphony Nova Scotia performs Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Halifax, NS – 200 years after composer Felix Mendelssohn’s birth, Symphony Nova Scotia performs his complete A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Thursday, October 8 at 7:30 pm at the Dalhousie Arts Centre’s Rebecca Cohn Auditorium.

Symphony Nova Scotia has never before performed the full version of this masterpiece, written by Mendelssohn in two instalments in 1826 and 1842. Ultimately intended as musical accompaniment to the play of the same name by Shakespeare, it includes some of the most recognizable melodies ever written, including the famous Overture, Scherzo, and Wedding March.

The performance will include narration by local actress Margot Dionne, as well as performances by two young sopranos, Jillian Bonner and Katrina Westin (both voice students at Dalhousie University) and a women’s chorus featuring members of the Halifax Camerata Singers and the Symphony Nova Scotia Chorus.

“To perform the Midsummer Night’s Dream has always been a dream for me,” says Symphony Nova Scotia Music Director and conductor Bernhard Gueller. “I can hardly believe that we’ve managed to bring all the elements together to make this a reality. It is such a complex work with choir and two soloists and the narrator. I know the accomplished Margot Dionne will bring some of the most beautiful English ever written to life again."

“From an actor and narrator's point of view, this is a thrilling collaboration – the stuff that dreams are made of!” adds Dionne.

This performance will also feature another British masterpiece, Benjamin Britten’s A Suite on English Folk Tunes, as well as a free pre-concert chat at 6:45 pm in the Arts Centre Sculpture Court, just outside the auditorium.

Get your tickets now! Prices range from $29-49 (HST included), or you can pick up a subscription package and save up to 30%. Under age 30? Pay only $15 with your TD Under-30 Access Pass, now available at the box office. For tickets and more information, call 494.3820 or visit our website at www.symphonynovascotia.ca.

About Margot Dionne
Margot Dionne, a classically trained actor and eight-year veteran of the Stratford Festival, has performed and taught theatre across North America. Currently a faculty member at Dalhousie University’s Department of Theatre, she has previously narrated A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Canadian Opera Company.

About Jillian Bonner
Saint John soprano Jillian Bonner is entering her third year of a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at Dalhousie University, studying voice with Marcia Swanston. She has performed with Opera New Brunswick’s Young Artist Series, with the Early Music Studio of Saint John, and in the Dalhousie Opera Workshop production of Orpheus in the Underworld this year.

About Katrina Westin
Halifax soprano Katrina Westin is commencing her third year of a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at Dalhousie University and studies voice with Marcia Swanston. She has appeared in Dalhousie Opera Workshop productions as Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus) and Public Opinion (Orpheus in the Underworld), and as Mabel in the local Gilbert & Sullivan Society's production of The Pirates of Penzance.

About the Women’s Chorus
This performance features women from the Halifax Camerata Singers and the Symphony Nova Scotia Chorus.

The Halifax Camerata Singers is Atlantic Canada’s leading chamber choir. Since its founding in 1986 by Artistic Director Jeff Joudrey, the Nova Scotia ensemble has distinguished itself in performing choral repertoire from all periods and styles.

The Symphony Nova Scotia Chorus was also established under the leadership of Jeff Joudrey, with the intent of providing a highly trained symphonic chorus for performances with Symphony Nova Scotia. Chorus membership includes auditioned singers from around the province, as well as the Halifax Camerata Singers as the core choir.

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Symphony Nova Scotia is Nova Scotia’s orchestra. Each year more than 50,000 audience members (including 15,000 young music lovers) join us in communities across Nova Scotia for performances of the music they love – from baroque and classical to pop and rock and folk. Under the inspirational leadership of Music Director Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Visit www.SymphonyNovaScotia.ca to learn more, listen online, or subscribe today!

Symphony Nova Scotia is grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture, and Heritage, and the Halifax Regional Municipality for their continued support.

Four cultures, four rhythms, and a full orchestra: Symphony Nova Scotia teams up with DRUM!

Four cultures, four rhythms, and a full orchestra: Symphony Nova Scotia teams up with DRUM!

Halifax, NS - You’ve experienced the electrifying music, rhythms, and dance of DRUM! Now experience it with a full symphony orchestra for a truly incredible extravaganza. Symphony Nova Scotia joins DRUM! at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium for two very special performances on Sunday, October 4, 2009.

“Symphony Nova Scotia has had the pleasure of truly being a part of Nova Scotia’s cultural heritage,” said Erika Beatty, Symphony Nova Scotia’s CEO, at the official announcement June 24 in Park Lane Mall.

“We’ve partnered with Ron Bourgeois and the Acadian community with concerts such as Grou Tyme; we’ve performed with Mi’kmaq performer George Paul during the Atlantic Scene tour to Ottawa’s National Arts Centre; we’ve joined African Nova Scotian artists onstage for our Martin Luther King Jr. tribute concerts and sold-out Motown performances with artists like Dutch Robinson; and we’ve also embraced the Celtic music community through concerts created by Scott Macmillan in our Maritime Pops series and tours to Cape Breton.

“We are so delighted to come full circle by being part of Brookes and Fiona Diamond’s vision of bringing cultural elements together to showcase the best of Nova Scotia’s music with the extraordinary performers of DRUM!”

DRUM! runs this fall from September 29 to October 4 at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. Symphony Nova Scotia performs with DRUM! for its final two shows on Sunday, October 4 at 2:00 and 7:30 pm. Tickets are $49, and are very limited – call 494.3820 or visit http://artscentre.dal.ca.

About DRUM!

DRUM! is a powerfully moving musical extravaganza that for over a decade has brought audiences throughout North America and beyond to their feet. DRUM!’s heart-pounding combination of music, dance, rhythm and song tells of the arrival, settlement, struggles, and ultimate coming together of four of North America’s founding cultures as seen through the lens of our first Nation’s experience.

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Symphony Nova Scotia is Nova Scotia’s orchestra. Each year more than 50,000 audience members (including 15,000 young music lovers) join us in communities across Nova Scotia for performances of the music they love – from baroque and classical to pop and rock and folk. Under the inspirational leadership of Music Director Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Visit www.SymphonyNovaScotia.ca to learn more, listen online, or subscribe today!

Symphony Nova Scotia is grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture, and Heritage, and the Halifax Regional Municipality for their continued support.

Hornist Jamie Sommerville and Symphony Nova Scotia

Hornist Jamie Sommerville conducts and performs with Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax, Wolfville and Liverpool

Halifax, NS – Jamie Sommerville, principal horn with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic, joins his former colleagues at Symphony Nova Scotia for four performances featuring music by Mozart, Sibelius, and Canadian composer Gary Kulesha.

First, Sommerville will perform on Thursday, April 2 at 7:30 pm at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax. Then, he and the orchestra will travel to Liverpool on Friday, April 3 to perform at the Astor Theatre at 7:30 pm. On Saturday, April 4, they will perform in Wolfville's Festival Theatre at 8:00 pm; and then on Sunday, April 5, they return to the Rebecca Cohn in Halifax for a Sunday afternoon encore performance at 2 pm.

Sommerville was once the principal hornist with Symphony Nova Scotia, and this will be his first "homecoming" as conductor. "It's tremendously exciting for me to come back to the Rebecca Cohn stage after so many years away," he says. "I have such great memories of my years playing in Symphony Nova Scotia, and of life in Halifax, but most of all, the passion and talent of my colleagues in the orchestra.

"For this, my first re-appearance here as a conductor (though with horn in tow!), I have chosen a program that, above all else, features the Symphony's fantastic musicians. They are all pieces I've come to love, and I'm so looking forward to bringing the audience along as we discover them together."

All four performances will feature Sommerville in Mozart's Horn Concerto no. 3 on French horn, and Symphony no. 38 "Prague" as conductor. He will also conduct Sibelius' incidental music for the play Pelléas et Melisande and Canadian composer Gary Kulesha's Beethoven-inspired Symphony no. 3. Kulesha will actually be traveling to Nova Scotia to attend the performance.

Get your tickets now! Tickets for the Halifax performances are available at 494.3820 or 1.800.874.1669, or at www.SymphonyNovaScotia.ca. Tickets for the Liverpool performance are available at 902.354.5250 or www.astortheatre.ns.ca, and tickets for the Wolfville performance are available at 902.542.5500 or 1.800.542.TICK (8425).

While in Nova Scotia, Jamie will also be leading two masterclasses. The first will be on Monday, March 30 at 6 pm at Dalhousie University's Arts Centre, Room 406. Tickets are $15 ($10 for students and seniors) and are available at the Music Department and at the door. The second will be on Saturday, April 4 at 1 pm at Acadia University's Festival Theatre. Tickets are $15 and are available by calling 421.1300, ext. 229.

About Jamie Sommerville

Jamie Sommerville joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as principal horn in January 1998. As a former hornist for the Toronto Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, and as acting solo horn of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, he has traveled throughout the globe and recorded extensively as an orchestral player. Sommerville is heard regularly on the CBC network in various chamber music combinations, and has recorded the entire standard horn repertoire for broadcast over the past 20 years. He maintains an active and growing conducting career, presenting a full season of subscription and educational concerts in Hamilton each year.

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Expect the Unexpected with Symphony Nova Scotia – from Baroque to Berlioz to bluegrass! Each year the 37-member ensemble performs for more than 40,000 audience members (including 14,000 young music lovers) in communities across Nova Scotia. Under the inspirational leadership of Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Join the orchestra in celebrating its 25th anniversary this season!

Symphony Nova Scotia is grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture, and Heritage, and the Halifax Regional Municipality for their continued support.

This concert is generously sponsored by Women for Music.

Symphony Nova Scotia presents the 2009 Library Series

Symphony Nova Scotia presents the 2009 Library Series

Halifax, NS – Symphony Nova Scotia is once again back at the Halifax Public Library for a series of fun and informative chamber music performances. Please bring your lunch and join us for wonderful music and entertaining stories about the composers from host Max Kasper. All concerts are free of charge, and begin at 12:00 noon.

Still Movements

Wednesday, April 29 – Spring Garden Memorial Branch, Halifax

Friday, May 1 – Alderney Gate Branch, Dartmouth

In this concert, the Library Players explore the evolution of the "movements" of a piece of music. Most symphonies and quartets that we know all follow a familiar four-movement pattern. Using the music of Haydn, Mozart, Bach and Purcell, we will illustrate the differences and evolution of the string quartet movements.

The Library Players are:

Yi Lee – violin

Anita Gao-Lee – violin

Jane Levitt – viola

Max Kasper – bass

Christmas in May

Thursday, May 14 – Spring Garden Memorial Branch, Halifax

We're pleased to welcome back Halifax's own Réjouissance as they once again play at the Library. Join us for some festive Baroque music on period instruments. Though most of the music was written for the Christmas holidays, it's wonderful to hear anytime of the year (...and it's never too early to start preparing for Christmas!).

Réjouissance is:

Karen Langille – baroque violin
Ivor Rothwell – baroque bassoon, recorder
Shawn Whynot – harpsichord
Hilary Brown – baroque cello

The Best Music You've Never Heard of...

Thursday, May 28 – Spring Garden Memorial Branch, Halifax

Friday, May 29 – Alderney Gate Branch, Dartmouth

Most of us have only heard about 5% of the composers out there. Even the ones that were very famous in their time and wrote wonderful music have somehow become overshadowed by the "Greats." It's time to hear some of these composers again. The music is well worth it! Join the Gatto Dolce Duo as they perform music by Pleyel, Matthews, Aslan, Neher, Boismortier, Corrette and Romberg, to name a few!

The Gatto Dolce Duo is:

Colin Matthews – cello

Max Kasper – Bass

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Expect the Unexpected with Symphony Nova Scotia – from Baroque to Berlioz to bluegrass! Each year the 37-member ensemble performs for more than 40,000 audience members (including 14,000 young music lovers) in communities across Nova Scotia. Under the inspirational leadership of Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Join the orchestra in celebrating its 25th anniversary this season!

Symphony Nova Scotia rocks you with the music of Queen

Symphony Nova Scotia rocks you with the music of Queen – ALMOST SOLD OUT!

Halifax, NS – Symphony Nova Scotia teams up with rock group Jeans ‘n Classics, guest vocalist Michael Shotton, and the Soundtrax Choir on Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28 at 7:30 pm to bring the epic rock of Queen to the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium.

Conducted by Maestro Bernhard Gueller, the orchestra will be pulling out all the stops to bring its big, broad sound to Queen classics such as Another One Bites the Dust, Killer Queen, We Will Rock You, Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are the Champions, Who Wants to Live Forever, You Take My Breath Away, The Show Must Go On, Under Pressure, Somebody to Love, and many more.

As vocalist Michael Shotton says, “This won’t be one of those shows where you sit in your seats quietly and clap and say, ‘Wasn't that sassy!’”

These concerts are almost sold out, so get your tickets now! Tickets are $32-47.50 (HST included) or pick up a subscription and save up to 30%. Student and group discounts are also available. Call 494.3820 or 1.800.874.1669, or visit www.SymphonyNovaScotia.ca.

About Jeans ’n Classics
Jeans 'n Classics is a group of rock musicians who love orchestras and are committed to popular music. They have performed with symphony orchestras across the continent with arrangements that remain ideally poised between staying true to the original rocker spirit and creating a new, broader rock and roll sound.

About Michael Shotton
English-born Michael Shotton has led a life of rock and roll. The singer, drummer, composer and producer has recorded with rock icons such as Boston, Guns N’ Roses, Diamond Life, and Von Groove. He wrote and co-produced the 2007 anthem for the Canadian Special Olympics as well as a 9/11 fundraiser song featured on a compilation disc with Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney. Shotton’s enormous vocal range, charismatic stage presence and lust for life have made him an international audience favourite and captivating performer.

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Expect the Unexpected with Symphony Nova Scotia – from Baroque to Berlioz to bluegrass! Each year the 37-member ensemble performs for more than 40,000 audience members (including 14,000 young music lovers) in communities across Nova Scotia. Under the inspirational leadership of Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Join the orchestra in celebrating its 25th anniversary this season!

Symphony Nova Scotia is grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture, and Heritage, and the Halifax Regional Municipality for their continued support.

Symphony Nova Scotia

Symphony Nova Scotia announces its 2009-10 season

Halifax, NS – Symphony Nova Scotia is delighted to announce its 2009-10 concert season! This season the orchestra brings you more of the music you love – more classical heavyweights, more Canadian and Maritime content, and more of Nova Scotia’s best artists and bands.

“We enter our next quarter-century of music-making with a bang, and what a bang – from the complete Midsummer Night’s Dream by Mendelssohn to ABBA!” says Music Director Bernhard Gueller.

“We are proud to present exciting and celebrated soloists in exciting and celebrated works. Our 2009-10 concerts include the Dvořák Festival, where we’ll perform his cello and violin concertos with the Eighth and Ninth symphonies. We will also welcome back Anton Kuerti, along with Suzie LeBlanc, JoAnn Falletta, John McDermott, Jeanne Lamon, Ashley MacIsaac, and Howard Cable.”

Subscriptions are available now for 2009-10. Highlights include:

CELEBRITY SERIES: nine incredible classical music concerts

• The 2009-10 season kicks off with Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream – complete with narrator and expanded orchestra – on the 200^th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
• Canadian pianist extraordinaire Anton Kuerti joins the orchestra to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto K. 271.
• Audiences will have a rare opportunity to hear Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, one of Maestro Gueller’s personal favourites, arranged for full orchestra and conducted by JoAnn Falletta.
• And then, the annual composer festival continues with the music of Dvořák. Symphony Nova Scotia performs some of this brilliant composer’s greatest works, including the New World Symphony and the beautiful Cello Concerto.

POPS SERIES: eight lively Trad and Maritime Pops performances

• Maestro Gueller conducts the greatest hits of ABBA with six-piece Finnish ensemble Rajaton.
• One of Canada’s most exciting and innovative violinists, Owen Pallett (a.k.a. Final Fantasy), joins the orchestra as part of the Halifax Pop Explosion.
• Howard Cable calls big band music the “most memorable and evocative sounds of the 20^th century.” He conducts a huge salute to the “swing years” with Peter Appleyard in Symphonic Swing.
• Local favourites and ECMA-winners like Jenn Grant, David Myles, and MIR light up the Maritime Pops series.

BAROQUE SERIES: three exquisite concerts in an intimate venue, plus Handel’s Dublin Messiah

• Tafelmusik’s incomparable Jeanne Lamon joins the orchestra once again to perform selections from the Baroque masters, including Bach’s Wedding Cantata and Handel’s brilliant Concerto Grosso.
• Virtuoso violinist David Greenberg performs “Delirium Amoris” – a concert full of the most passionate Baroque music ever written.
• The orchestra performs Bach’s magnificent Mass in b minor for the first time in more than a decade.
• Baroque specialist Kevin Mallon conducts Handel’s Dublin Messiah. To honour the 250^th anniversary of Handel’s death, the orchestra will perform the original version of Messiah.

SYMPHONY SUNDAYS: this matinee series returns with three encore performances

• Symphony Nova Scotia’s principal oboist Suzanne Lemieux performs one of the most beautiful pieces in the oboe repertoire, Strauss’ Oboe Concerto.
• Irish tenor John McDermott will warm the heart with beloved favourites from years gone by.
• Hear a concert of contrasts as Janina Fialkowska joins the orchestra for a performance featuring both Chopin and Beethoven.

AND MORE…

• DRUM! comes to the Symphony this fall. Symphony Nova Scotia teams up with this incredible production to create a show-stopping DRUM! extravaganza.
• The All-Ages (formerly Family) concerts include our annual holiday hit The Nutcracker, along with Holly’s Magic Brush, a very special multisensory concert for adults and children and everyone in between.
• The Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra joins Symphony Nova Scotia for a performance of three spectacular works by Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Britten.

A brochure describing Symphony Nova Scotia’s 2009-10 season is available by calling the box office at 494.3820 or 1.800.874.1669, or by visiting the Symphony Nova Scotia website at http://www.symphonynovascotia.ca/.

Single tickets for Symphony Nova Scotia’s 2009-10 season go on sale August 1, 2009. Subscriptions – including U-Pick subscriptions – are available now.

Subscribers receive a host of rewards, including savings of up to 30%, the best available seats in the house, a free open rehearsal pass, free e-programs, and an exclusive subscriber rewards card. And if you're under 30, you can save even more – up to 60% – with the Symphony's Under-30 U-Pick.

To purchase a subscription, call 494.3820 or 1.800.874.1669 today!

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Symphony Nova Scotia is Nova Scotia’s orchestra – and we play the music Nova Scotians love, from baroque and classical to pop and rock and folk. Each year our 37-member ensemble performs for more than 40,000 audience members (including 14,000 young music lovers) in communities across Nova Scotia. Under the inspirational leadership of Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Join us in 2009-10!

Symphony Nova Scotia is grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture, and Heritage, and the Halifax Regional Municipality for their continued support.

Symphony Nova Scotia presents Bach to Bach: A Choral Celebration

Symphony Nova Scotia presents Bach to Bach: A Choral Celebration

Halifax, NS – Conductor Jeff Joudrey and the Halifax Camerata Singers combine with Symphony Nova Scotia and soloists Shannon Mercer (soprano), Christianne Rushton (mezzo soprano), Ryan Billington (tenor), Peter Groom (bass), and Richard Simoneau (trumpet) to bring you the timeless choral works of J.S. Bach on Sunday, March 22 at 2:00 pm at St. Andrew's Church.

The program of music exclusively by Bach includes Cantata no. 4, Mass in G Major, and Cantata no. 51, "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen."

"I can't wait to share this incredible music with our baroque audience!" says chorus master Jeff Joudrey.

"The great Cantata no. 4 for Easter Sunday with its solos, duets, and fantastic choruses is a perfect contrast to Cantata no. 51 "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen" (Praise God in every Nation), written for soprano soloist and trumpet. The Lutheran Mass in G major will round out the program perfectly."

Don't miss this opportunity to experience music that has stood the test of time, performed by world-class singers and musicians from across our region.

Get your tickets now! General admission seats to Symphony Nova Scotia concerts at St. Andrew's United Church are $47.50 (HST included), or you can pick up a subscription and save up to 30%. Student and group discounts are also available. Call 494.3820 or 1.800.874.1669, or visit www.SymphonyNovaScotia.ca.

About Jeff Joudrey

Conductor Jeff Joudrey is highly regarded for his vision, musical leadership, and standards of excellence in choral music. Founder of the First Baptist Girls' Choir (1983) and Halifax Camerata Singers (1986), his leadership has provided challenging and rewarding choral opportunities for many Nova Scotia singers. In addition to being Director of Music at First Baptist Church, Jeff is Chorus Master of the Symphony Nova Scotia Chorus and is in demand as a guest conductor, choral clinician, teacher, and adjudicator.

About the Halifax Camerata Singers

The Halifax Camerata Singers are an auditioned ensemble of dedicated singers from across Nova Scotia. They are the province's leading chamber choir, performing an extensive repertoire covering all periods and styles. Camerata has a reputation for performance excellence that sets a high standard, even in a province known for its rich musical tradition.

About Shannon Mercer

Shannon Mercer is taking on the opera world as one of Canada's most promising young stars. Critically acclaimed by the international press for her musical artistry, she has been hailed as "one of Canada's most promising young sopranos" and a "Leader of Tomorrow" (Maclean's). She has been particularly praised for her performances of baroque and contemporary music.

About Christianne Rushton

Recognized as a rising talent in a new generation of Canadian artists, mezzo-soprano Christianne Rushton's recent performances have included the title roles of Orpheus in Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice with Opera Nova Scotia and l'Enfant in Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortilèges, with the Juilliard Opera Center. Christianne is currently head of the voice faculty at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia where she teaches voice, vocal pedagogy and opera history.

About Ryan Billington

Ryan Billington is an assistant professor at St. Francis Xavier University, where he teaches voice, vocal improvisation, arranging, and vocal jazz ensembles, while conducting a growing family of university choirs. He is currently building a comprehensive performance program at St. FX for vocal musicians, which includes classes in voice pedagogy, diction for contemporary singers, vocal arranging, art song literature, and conducting.

Peter Groom, baritone

Baritone Peter Groom moved to Sackville, New Brunswick in 2006 from Regina, Saskatchewan, where he was head of the Voice Department at the University of Regina Conservatory of Performing Arts. A frequent performer in oratorio and recital, Peter has performed works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Vaughan Williams and others with the Regina Symphony Orchestra and other Western Canadian ensembles.

About Richard Simoneau

Principal trumpet with Symphony Nova Scotia since 1996, Richard Simoneau has become well-known as a soloist with Symphony Nova Scotia audiences. Born in 1970 in Quebec City, he pursued his studies at the Quebec and then Montreal Conservatories, graduating in May 1994. Richard has since played with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic and the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa before moving to his current position with Symphony Nova Scotia.

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Expect the Unexpected with Symphony Nova Scotia – from Baroque to Berlioz to bluegrass! Each year the 37-member ensemble performs for more than 40,000 audience members (including 14,000 young music lovers) in communities across Nova Scotia. Under the inspirational leadership of Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Join the orchestra in celebrating its 25th anniversary this season!

Symphony Nova Scotia is grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture, and Heritage, and the Halifax Regional Municipality for their continued support.

Accordionist Joseph Petric performs with Symphony Nova Scotia

Halifax, NS – Critically acclaimed virtuoso Joseph Petric joins Symphony Nova Scotia on Thursday, March 12 at 7:30 pm at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax and on Friday, March 13 at Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB for a rare performance on a beautiful but often-neglected instrument – the accordion.

 

The evening will feature the world premiere of award-winning Canadian composer Brian Current's Accordion Concerto, commissioned by the prestigious Koussevitzky Foundation especially for Petric and Symphony Nova Scotia. The Koussevitzky Foundation only funds the world's top composers, so this commission is a very special occasion.  

 

"I'm thrilled to explore this exciting new concerto by one of Canada's most dynamic composers with local and national audiences – both live in concert and in future CBC broadcasts," says Petric. "It offers yet another rich texture to the accordion's history and narrative on the Canadian east coast."

 

"The accordion is one of my favourite instruments," adds Maestro Gueller, who will be conducting the performance. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

 

Also on the program are Grieg's Holberg Suite and Robert Schumann's uplifting Symphony no. 2.

 

Get your tickets now! Prices range from $32-47.50 (HST included), or you can pick up a subscription and save up to 30%. Student and group discounts are also available. Call 494.3820 or 1.800.874.1669, or visit www.SymphonyNovaScotia.ca.

 

************

 

This concert will also be the launch of Symphony Nova Scotia's 2009-10 season! Audience members will be the first to hear the inside scoop on the orchestra's plans for 2009-10, including new collaborations, huge Maritime and Canadian stars, and the return of some of our most beloved guest musicians.

 

Join CBC host Heidi Petracek at 7:30 pm for the pre-concert season announcement, and stay after the concert for a free audience reception. Audience members will also have the opportunity to renew or purchase Symphony Nova Scotia subscription packages at the concert. For more information, visit www.SymphonyNovaScotia.ca.

 

************

 

Composer Brian Current will give a composition lecture at Dalhousie University's Arts Centre (Room 111) on Wednesday, March 11 at 1:30 pm. Admission is $5, and tickets are available at the Music Department or at the door.

 

 

About Joseph Petric

Laureate of the BBC3 Radio and CBC National Radio Auditions, JUNO and Prix Opus nominee, and first instrumentalist recipient of the Friend of Canadian Music Award, accordionist Joseph Petric has enjoyed a distinguished international career in more than 20 countries since 1986. A recitalist of choice, Petric was the first accordionist to offer European and American debuts to critical acclaim. He has commissioned more than 207 works and has been invited to give master classes, lectures, and recitals at conservatories around the world.

 

About the Koussevitzky Foundation

The Koussevitzky Music Foundation of New York and the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation, established in 1942 and 1950, respectively, perpetuate Serge Koussevitzky's lifelong efforts to encourage contemporary composers. Koussevitzky was appointed conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1924, a post he held for 25 years. Works commissioned by him and the two foundations include such established masterpieces as Benjamin Britten's "Peter Grimes" and Béla Bartók's "Concerto for Orchestra."

 

About Brian Current

A 2005 Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of the 2003 Barlow Prize, Brian Current has established himself as one of North America 's leading young composers. His music, lauded and performed internationally as well as broadcast in over 35 countries, is renowned for its energy, wit and daring bravado.

 

Raised in Ottawa , Current studied music at McGill University in Montreal with Bengt Hambreaus and John Rea. He later completed his PhD in composition on full fellowship from the University of California at Berkeley in 2002. He has since been featured conducting with New Music Concerts, Soundstreams, CBC's In Performance and the Esprit Orchestra's New Waves Festival. Recently, the Royal Conservatory of Music appointed Brian conductor and artistic director of its New Music Ensemble.

 

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Expect the Unexpected with Symphony Nova Scotia – from Baroque to Berlioz to bluegrass! Each year the 37-member ensemble performs for more than 40,000 audience members (including 14,000 young music lovers) in communities across Nova Scotia. Under the inspirational leadership of Bernhard Gueller, Symphony Nova Scotia is recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the country. Join the orchestra in celebrating its 25th anniversary this season!

 

Symphony Nova Scotia is grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture, and Heritage, and the Halifax Regional Municipality for their continued support.