Orchestra London Canada

Last updated

Orchestra London (Canada) was a Canadian professional symphony orchestra based in London, Ontario. The orchestra was founded by conductor and violinist Bruce Sharpe in 1937 with the name the London Civic Symphony Orchestra. In 1957 the orchestra changed its name to the London Symphony Orchestra, but as the orchestra achieved full professional status it adopted the name Orchestra London in 1981 to avoid confusion with the famous London Symphony Orchestra in London, England. [1]

Contents

After weeks of speculation, the orchestra ceased operations on December 11, 2014 due to massive budget shortfalls. [2] The musicians of the now bankrupt organization formally filed for bankruptcy on behalf of the orchestra on May 22, 2015. [3] Despite this, the contracted musicians of the ensemble have continued to put on self-produced concerts within the London community. [4]

Initially, former musicians of the ensemble played under the identity, "#WePlayOn". On January 20, 2017, however, the musicians launched their new identity, London Symphonia at a concert at Metropolitan United Church in London, Ontario. The new identity includes a logo change and the launch of a new website, LondonSymphonia.ca. [5] The group has 28 musicians and a concertmaster. [6] The London Symphonia performs with renowned soloists such as violinist James Ehnes and pianist Janina Fialkowska. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orchestra</span> Large instrumental ensemble

An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Symphony Orchestra</span> American orchestra

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, with Jeff Tyzik as Principal Pops Conductor, Enrico Lopez-Yañez as Principal Pops Conductor Designate, and Na'Zir McFadden as assistant conductor. Leonard Slatkin, the previous music director, is the orchestra's current music director laureate. Neeme Järvi, music director from 1990 to 2005, is the orchestra's current music director emeritus.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO). The TSO's most recent music director was Peter Oundjian, from 2004 to 2018. Sir Andrew Davis, conductor laureate of the TSO, has most recently served as the orchestra's interim artistic director. Gustavo Gimeno is music director of the TSO, since the 2020–2021 season.

The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra specializing in historically-informed performance and based in Toronto. The orchestra plays period instruments appropriate to the era of music, including baroque, classical and romantic eras.

The Kitchener–Waterloo Symphony (KWS) was an orchestra based in the twin cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Its home venue was located at Centre In The Square in Kitchener, Ontario. The orchestra consisted of 52 professional musicians under full-time contract. KWS performed close to 90 performances during a 38-week season for a combined concert audience of over 90,000. The orchestra is regularly heard across Canada on CBC Radio Two. In September 2023, the symphony abruptly halted its 2023-2024 season, citing its financial difficulties, and later declared bankruptcy. This included all concerts and other activities such as, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Youth Orchestra and Bridge to Music.

The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons. It is also the resident orchestra for the Calgary Opera, Alberta Ballet Company, and the Honens International Piano Competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janina Fialkowska</span> Musical artist

Janina Fialkowska, is a Canadian classical pianist. A specialist of the Classic and Romantic repertoires, for more than thirty years she has appeared regularly with professional orchestras around the world, often performing the music of Chopin, and also contemporary Polish composers including Lutosławski and Panufnik. In 1990, she gave the world premier performance of the recently discovered Franz Liszt Third Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Victor Feldbrill, was a Canadian conductor and violinist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singapore Symphony Orchestra</span>

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Singapore. It is Singapore's flagship orchestra. Its principal concert venue is the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. The orchestra also gives concerts at the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, and performs over 60 concerts per year. The orchestra was first established In 1978 with Choo Hoey its resident director. The orchestra's music director from 1997 to 2019 was Shui Lan, and Hans Graf its Chief Conductor from 2020 and Music Director from 2022. The SSO is part of the Singapore Symphony Group, which also manages the Singapore Symphony Choruses, the Singapore National Youth Orchestra (SNYO), the VCHpresents chamber music series, the Singapore International Piano Festival and the biennial National Piano and Violin Competition. It achieved third place in 2021 for Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year award, and made the list of the BBC Music Magazine's Top 21 Best Orchestras in the World in 2022.

Raffi Armenian, is a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and teacher. He directed the Kitchener–Waterloo Symphony orchestra for many years. Since 1999 he has been the director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Toronto. From 2008 to 2013 he was the director of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuckamore Festival</span> Chamber music festival in Newfoundland, Canada.

The Tuckamore Festival is a chamber music festival in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. It is traditionally held annually in August for two weeks. The festival was co-founded in 2001 by violinist Nancy Dahn and pianist Timothy Steeves, classical musicians who perform together as Duo Concertante. Dahn and Steeves are the current artistic directors of the festival. This year's festival will be held online from August 8–21, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Laughton</span> Canadian musician

Stuart John Laughton is a Canadian musician. He was Founder and for 13 years Artistic Director of The Forest Festival in Ontario's Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manitoba Chamber Orchestra</span> Canadian orchestra

The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (MCO) is a chamber orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers an annual subscription series at Westminster United Church, which regularly features Canada's leading soloists, such as James Ehnes and Measha Brueggergosman, and Marc-André Hamelin. Other core MCO activities include recording, touring, and engaging extensive outreach in remote communities in northern Manitoba. Currently, Anne Manson serves as the MCO's Music Director, Karl Stobbe as its Concertmaster, and Vicki Young as its managing director.

Festival of the Sound is an annual classical music festival that occurs from July to August in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada.

The Centre for Young Musicians, or CYM, is a specialist Saturday music centre formed in 1970 and based at Morley College in London, England. It offers musical training to students 5 to 18 who play a musical instrument and has seen more than 50,000 students pass through its doors since it first began.

Dmitry Yulianovich Sitkovetsky is a Soviet and American violinist, conductor, and arranger.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) was a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario that was active during the first two decades of the 20th century under the leadership of conductor and pianist Frank Welsman. It was the first professional orchestra that existed for any notable length in the city of Toronto. After 13 seasons of performance, the orchestra folded in 1918 because of problems related to World War I. The current Toronto Symphony Orchestra is unrelated to this one.

The Don Wright Faculty of Music is the faculty of music at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. The faculty was founded in 1968. Originally known as just the Faculty of Music, it was renamed in 2002 in honour of Don Wright after a significant donation.

John Alexander Georgiadis was a British violinist and conductor. He was twice Concert Leader with the London Symphony Orchestra during the 1960s and 70s, a member of both the ensembles London Virtuosi and the Gabrieli String Quartet as well as conductor for both the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and as Director of Orchestral Studies at the Royal Academy of Music.

References

  1. Novak, Barbara; Jane Baldwin; Andres Mcintosh (May 25, 2015). "Orchestra London Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Foundation.
  2. Maloney, Patrick (December 11, 2014). "Symphony locks doors after cancelling weekend shows and, reportedly, dozens set for 2015" . The London Free Press .
  3. Maloney, Patrick (May 22, 2015). "Orchestra London can't afford to pay for its own bankruptcy, so its former musicians will cover the cost" . The London Free Press. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  4. Cornies, Larry (January 9, 2015). "Besieged orchestra musicians resolve to play on" . The London Free Press.
  5. "#WePlayOn Is Now London Symphonia". #WePlayOn. January 21, 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  6. "Meet the Musicians". London Symphonia. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  7. Janina Fialkowska Plays Chopin.| Janina Fialkowska , retrieved 2024-02-11