Oakville Symphony Orchestra

Last updated
Oakville Symphony
Orchestra
Founded1967
LocationOakville, Ontario, Canada
Concert hall Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts
Principal conductorLorenzo Guggenheim
Website www.oakvillesymphony.com

The Oakville Symphony is a Canadian orchestra performing in Oakville, Ontario.

Contents

History

The Oakville Symphony was founded in 1967 by Kenneth Hollier, a local musician and educator with the original mission statement to “make music for the pleasure of its members and the enjoyment of its audience”. The Oakville Symphony currently performs at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts.

In 1968, a small group met for the first rehearsal in a music room at T. A. Blakelock High School, among which a few members still perform with the orchestra today. The newly formed orchestra's first performance was held at the YMCA on June 24, 1968.

The Oakville Symphony has a long history of presenting collaborations with local groups including the Oakville Symphony Youth Orchestra, White Oaks Choral Society, the Clarkson Opera Society, the Oakville School of Ballet, the Oakville Children's Choir and the Oakville Suzuki Association.

From 1998 to 2020, the Oakville Symphony has been under the direction of Roberto De Clara. Initiatives such as the Young Artist Awards, a Family Christmas Concert and a Young People's Concert plus a program of community outreach called Meet a Musician and the maestro's popular Not Just the Score talks have ensured that audiences of all ages are reached in the community.

The Oakville Symphony has a loyal base of subscribers for its main concert series which takes place on four weekends a season with two performances of each concert which are close to sold-out. The Orchestra attracts guest soloists of international renown who enjoy the warmth of the welcome from musicians and patrons alike. A review of pianist Christopher Goodpasture's performance of Grieg's Concerto for Piano in A minor with the OS stated, "The orchestra seemed to understand that this was a very special performance and rose to the challenge with its best work. The communication between soloist, orchestra and conductor was akin to that of a chamber ensemble." [1]

Over 80 musicians play regularly with the orchestra, eleven of them are paid professionals who lead sections and mentor the high school students in the Young Artist program.

For the 2023/2024 season, the orchestra performs the following repertoire:

ComposerRepertoire
Jessie Montgomery Overture (Canadian Premiere)
Claude Debussy Nocturnes
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
Johannes Brahms Hungarian Dances No. 1
Nadya PokladImagination (World Premiere)
Béla Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No.5
Giuseppe Verdi Overture to La forza del destino
Giuseppe Verdi "O don fatale" from Don Carlos
Hector Berlioz La Mort de Cléopâtre
Leokadiya Kashperova Symphony in B minor (Canadian Premiere)
François Borne Fantaisie Brillante pour flûte sur Carmen
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 40
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart "Vorrei punirti indegno" from La finta giardiniera
Vincenzo Bellini "Ah, non credea" & "Ah, non giunge" from La Sonnambula
Jean Sibelius Finlandia

For the 2022/2023 season, the orchestra performed the following repertoire:

ComposerRepertoire
Ralph Vaughan Williams English Folk Song Suite
Anna Clyne PIVOT for Orchestra
Edward Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor
Joseph Haydn Symphony No. 104 in D major, "London"
Arcangelo Corelli Concerto grosso in G minor ("Christmas Concerto")
Franz Anton Hoffmeister Viola Concerto in D major
Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 8 in G major
Johann Strauss II Overture to Die Fledermaus
Ney Rosauro Concerto No. 1 for Marimba and String Orchestra
Jean Sibelius Symphony No. 2 in D major
Kevin LauFor Home
Esteban Fioroni (arrange)Tangos from Argentina
Georges Bizet Carmen Suite No. 1
Maurice Ravel Piano Concerto in G major
Alberto Ginastera Dances from Estancia

Notable performances

See also

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References

  1. "Toronto Concert Reviews in Toronto, Ontario". Toronto Concert Reviews. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  2. Rajeswaran, Anusha. "Haydn Symphony No. 104". Oakville Arts Council. Oakville Arts Council. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  3. "Bliss (Oakville Symphony performs Overture)". Jessie Montgomery. Jessie Montgomery. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  4. "Maestro Lorenzo Guggenheim of the Oakville Symphony discusses "Vitality" on Classical Jukebox". The New Classical FM. ZoomerMedia Digital Network. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  5. "Performance Search Results". Boosey & Hawkes. Boosey & Hawkes. Retrieved 7 April 2024.