Niagara Symphony launches their 65th season this weekend

Along with everything else going on this weekend with Niagara Wine Festival events and Niagara Falls Night of Art tonight in Niagara Falls, the Niagara Symphony launches their 65th season Sunday afternoon at the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre at the Centre for the Arts, Brock University, with the first MasterWorks concert of the season.

Music Director Bradley Thachuk will be on the podium conducting an interesting and challenging programme of Russian and Canadian music, with the major work being Stravinsky's 1919 version of his Firebird Suite; also on the programme will be the Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 by Tchaikovsky, and John Estacio's Frenergy, which is a MasterWorks premiere.  The concert begins at 2:30, with the customary pre-concert chat about 1:45 in the theatre.

This season will prove to be an ambitious one for Thachuk and the Niagara Symphony, as they begin a number of new initiatives designed to pull in more subscribers and more importantly, younger subscribers.  That's not to say the music will be watered down at all; far from it, as many challenging works are on tap for the entire season, with the final MasterWorks concert in May being an all-Beethoven programme that includes the Violin Concerto and the Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, known of course as the Eroica.  I've often considered Beethoven in general and this symphony in particular to be sort of the Mount Everest of symphonic music from the early 19th century, as any modern orchestra worth their collective salt wants to show they can tackle these complex and durable works.

The all-Beethoven programme in May launches The Beethoven Project, a multi-year series designed to culminate in the opening of the new Performing Arts Centre downtown, which will be home to the Niagara Symphony as well as several other local arts organizations.  I am not sure yet if the delayed date of completion of the new centre will affect those plans at all, but time will tell.  No matter, in the lead up to the big opening in 2015 we have some great music in general and Beethoven in particular to enjoy, and that is never a bad thing.

On other news fronts from the Niagara Symphony, they have rebranded themselves this year to mark the 65th anniversary season with simply nso, all lower case, with a newly-designed logo and soon-to-come website, which you'll find at www.thenso.ca.  The actual offices of the nso have also changed for this season, having moved over the summer to 259 St. Paul Street in order to be closer to the new Performing Arts Centre as construction gets underway.

Also this week, we learned the Executive Director of the nso, Jack Mills, is leaving after three years at that helm that saw the search for a new Music Director and selection in 2010 of Bradley Thachuk to lead the orchestra, and do much to rebuild the audience base and confidence in the orchestra after many years of difficulties on a number of fronts.  I liked working with Jack and had a great deal of respect for him and what he brought to the position, so I wish him all the best as he moves on to his next adventure.

In Jack's place as of now is actually a familiar face as the new Managing Director of the nso, Candice Turner Smith, who held an interim leadership position with the orchestra from 2007 to 2009 and kept things together until Jack arrived.  Candice has great arts management credentials and it is exciting news she will be at the helm as we head closer to the new home of the nso in 2015.

Once again this season I hope to be welcoming patrons in the lobby before, after and at intermission at nso concerts, with a wealth of musical treasures available for purchase, starting with tomorrow afternoon's concert.  I look forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces and many new ones as the season progresses.  Do stop by and say hello, and you might even find a CD or two you want for your own personal collection.

By the way, this week I issued a special edition of my FINE MUSIC NEWSLETTER, highlighting much of this information and listing in my Mike's Picks section a number of affordable recordings tied to performances coming up this season with the nso.  If you are not on the mailing list, email me at music@vaxxine.com and I can send you a copy of the current newsletter and add you to the mailing list.

Let's celebrate 65 years of music-making with YOUR Niagara Symphony...now the nso!

September 29th, 2012.