The anticipation has been building, and finally the opening weekend of the Niagara Symphony's 63rd season is here. On Sunday, the Symphony will welcome Music Director Designate Bradley Thachuk to the fold, as he begins his musical journey of discovery with the orchestra. It should be an interesting odyssey.
I've written in this space much over the past year or so about the search for a musical director last season, and the fact all four candidates for the position appeared to be eminently qualified for the position. Bradley won the day following the May Pops! concerts last season, and shortly afterwards he was presented to the media at the Centre for the Arts at Brock University. Now, all that excitement generated during the search process will now have to be channelled into the new season with rising expectations for the new, young conductor.
Bradley brings a number of qualities to the table, not the least of which is youth; something the Niagara Symphony is banking on to help broaden the appeal of the orchestra and lower the age demographic somewhat. I know the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter will now be part of the Niagara Symphony's marketing strategy, and that is probably a good thing, even though I loathe both forms of social media myself. The fact remains, of course, the younger audience the Symphony hopes to attract will likely be well-versed in both forms of social media, so it makes good marketing sense to try to reach them through those channels. Whether they respond favourable and show up for some of this seasons' concerts remains to be seen.
The opening concert, at 2:30 Sunday afternoon, includes an appropriate opener: An Opening Celebration. Nothing like setting the tone off the top! Also on the programme is the lovely Symphony No. 2 by Johannes Brahms, filling up the entire second half of the concert. The featured soloist for the afternoon is Canadian cello soloist Shauna Rolston, who has been a fixture on Canadian classical music stages for almost 25 years now. She has several recordings to her credit, and should bring some interesting insights to the major work in the first half of the programme, the Variations on a Rococo Theme by Tchaikovsky. She'll also perform the lovely Elegy by Gabriel Faure.
Once again this season, A Web of Fine Music is a proud sponser of the Niagara Symphony, and as usual, I will be set up in the lobby before, after, and during intermission, with my table laden with musical treasures I'm hopeful many people will take home with them after the concert. I'll have recordings of both works Shauna will be performing at the concert, as well as the Brahms Second Symphony, plus a number of other interesting titles, so be sure to stop by my table for a good peruse. Of course, if you don't find what you're looking for, let me know either at the concert or via email anytime at music@vaxxine.com, and I will do my very best to locate that elusive piece of music for you. And don't forget, you can check out the complete calendar listings on my website, as well as a large selection of Mike's Picks, by going to www.finemusic.ca.
Tickets should still be available for the concert on Sunday, but I would not recommend waiting until the day of the concert if you can help it. Call the Centre for the Arts box office at 905-688-5550, ext. 3257, and reserve your tickets sooner rather than later. It promises to be a real musical party on Sunday, and I know the Symphony would love to see you there. In fact, so would I.
Happy 63rd Anniversary season, Niagara Symphony!
October 1st, 2010.
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