Niagara Symphony has some Canadian fun on the weekend

This past weekend, the Niagara Symphony presented their third Pops! concert of the current season, with a concert titled "Winter Carnival". Conducted by John Morris Russell of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and featuring Canadian soprano Mary Lou Fallis performing selections from her successful CD Primadonna on a Moose, it was a fun concert of winter-themed music for a February weekend.

This was Russell's final appearance with the Niagara Symphony as their current conductor search continues, and he seemed to want to make the most of it. His conducting was precise, if not overly flamboyant, and his patter with both the audience and Mary Lou was unscripted and generally light and easygoing. I thought personally he talked a bit too much for this concert, as both he and Mary Lou were conversing throughout the concert and it appeared at times to be a bit too much and a bit too unscripted. However, much humour ensued and most of the audience members didn't seem to mind all that much.

Mary Lou Fallis is still one of our undiscovered gems, I think. Her one-woman shows are full of interesting insights on the music she's presenting, and this small slice of one of them was a good sampler. Her voice is quite lovely, making you wonder why she is not a fully engaged 'serious' opera singer. Her clever props are just short of going a bit too far, such as asking audience members to make up a horse-and-sleigh ensemble for her version of Canadian Sleigh Song.

A lot of the music is largely forgotten now, but with Mary Lou's research and wonderful sense of humour, she presents them as these little musical gems we should have known about all along. I particularly enjoyed We Dye to Live, a unique advertising vehicle for the Parker Dye Works in Toronto, and Take Your Girl Out to the Rink with a nice tie-in to the Rink at the Brink in the introduction. However, the discription of Lacrosse Our Own National Game neglected to mention the fact St. Catharines was home to the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame at the St. Catharines Museum complex until it was brought to their attention at intermission on Sunday afternoon. All of the music Mary Lou presented came from her Opening Day Records disc, Primadonna on a Moose which, if you didn't pick up a copy at the concert on the weekend, you can still order through my website, A Web of Fine Music (www.finemusic.ca).

As for John Morris Russell, I still feel he's a serious contender for the post of Music Director of the Niagara Symphony, however I no longer feel he's the frontrunner. Now that we have seen all four conductors in action, I find his conducting style a little too extroverted for the Symphony, and although the musicians responded with generally solid playing, I wonder if his almost over-the-top 'friendly neighbour' style of Pops conducting might wear a little thin in the long haul. But, the competition is not done yet, of course, so we'll have to wait and see what happens this spring.

We're down to the short strokes in both the season and the competition for a new Music Director; just one more Masters and Pops! concert remain to see our candidates in action. In April, Bradley Thachuk conducts his Masters concert, and the final Pops! performances in May will feature the final appearance of Diane Wittry. Then, the furrowing of brows and comparing of notes will get underway as the powers that be come to a decision on who the next Music Director of the Niagara Symphony will be. Still too early to call? I think so, but from my vantage point some clear leaders have emerged in this season-long competition. Only time will tell...

February 24th, 2010.