Oakville Symphony Orchestra

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

Oakville Symphony
Orchestra
Founded1967
LocationOakville, Ontario, Canada
Concert hallOakville Centre for the Performing Arts
Principal conductorLorenzo Guggenheim
Websitewww.oakvillesymphony.com

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 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 MontgomeryOverture (Canadian Premiere)
Claude DebussyNocturnes
Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPiano Concerto No. 1
Johannes BrahmsHungarian Dances No. 1
Nadya PokladImagination (World Premiere)
Béla BartókViolin Concerto No. 2
Ludwig van BeethovenSymphony No.5
Giuseppe VerdiOverture to La forza del destino
Giuseppe Verdi"O don fatale" from Don Carlos
Hector BerliozLa Mort de Cléopâtre
Leokadiya KashperovaSymphony in B minor (Canadian Premiere)
François BorneFantaisie Brillante pour flûte sur Carmen
Wolfgang Amadeus MozartSymphony No. 40
Vincenzo Bellini"Ah, non credea" & "Ah, non giunge" from La Sonnambula
Jean SibeliusFinlandia

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

ComposerRepertoire
Ralph Vaughan WilliamsEnglish Folk Song Suite
Anna ClynePIVOT for Orchestra
Edward ElgarCello Concerto in E minor
Joseph HaydnSymphony No. 104 in D major, "London"
Arcangelo CorelliConcerto grosso in G minor ("Christmas Concerto")
Franz Anton HoffmeisterViola Concerto in D major
Antonín DvořákSymphony No. 8 in G major
Johann Strauss IIOverture to Die Fledermaus
Ney RosauroConcerto No. 1 for Marimba and String Orchestra
Jean SibeliusSymphony No. 2 in D major
Kevin LauFor Home
Esteban Fioroni (arrange)Tangos from Argentina
Georges BizetCarmen Suite No. 1
Maurice RavelPiano Concerto in G major
Alberto GinasteraDances from Estancia

See also

References

  1. "Toronto Concert Reviews in Toronto, Ontario". Toronto Concert Reviews. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
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