NON PROFIT RED DEER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Making a Difference with Music

by Jennette Miller

Founded in 1987, the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra (RDSO) is a classic Albertan story of hard work and determination. Initially a semi-professional orchestra, the dedication and perseverance of our volunteers, board members, staff, and musicians over many years has seen RDSO grow to become Central Alberta’s only professional performing arts organization! We now have a core group of 28 professional musicians annually performing seven Main Series concerts under the artistic guidance of Music Director Claude Lapalme. Life as an Orchestra in a Pandemic

To say that the past 15 months of life in a pandemic have been a trying time for everyone would be a vast understatement, however, it’s been crippling for performing arts organizations that are built on gathering the community together.

Since the spring of 2020, public health restrictions have limited even recorded performances to small groups of musicians. Thanks to the flexibility of Maestro Lapalme, musicians, videographers, and audio production crews, a series of digital concerts has been produced and is available to view online for free!

1. RDSO’s first-ever online performance,

Quintessentially Schubert, features RDSO musicians and guest pianist, Tong Wang for Schubert’s famous

Trout Quintet.

2. Music from the Land is a family-friendly musical journey with Cree singer-songwriter Walter MacDonald White Bear and RDSO trumpet player Samantha Whelan Kotkas. This cross-cultural experience explores how music is inspired by the natural world in both Classical and Indigenous musical traditions.

3. Our most recent digital endeavour, Behind the Red

Door for String Quartet, is Albertan through and through! An artistic depiction of ‘life at home,’ the first recorded performance of Calgary composer

Arthur Bachmann’s piece seems customized for pandemic audiences.

RDSO in the Community

The impact that music, especially live music, has on people is truly profound, and we’ve become more and more aware of this during the past year. Research published since the pandemic has shown that our relationship to music is more than just mere enjoyment: music activates brain circuitry that affects empathy, trust and cooperation, gives us a sense of belonging and a place within our culture, and literally makes us feel better by releasing those feel-good chemicals in the brain. According to one poll of over 2000 adults, 81.5% of adults stated that music helped them cope with the loneliness of the pandemic.

The belief in music’s profound effect on wellbeing has been a central tenet of RDSO’s strategic planning in recent years, translating into community programs that strive to enrich our central Alberta community:

• Open Dress Rehearsal: Free access to RDSO’s

Main Series concert dress rehearsals to see how a performance comes together.

• Music for Mental Health: Complimentary concert tickets provided in partnership with local community service agencies to promote the inclusion of vulnerable people and improved mental health.

• Seats for Students: Free seating for elementary, middle, secondary and post-secondary students to each of RDSO’s Main Series concerts.

• Symphony @ the Snell: A free music education program in partnership with Red Deer Public Library, providing opportunities for students and seniors to enjoy high quality, creatively programmed, and nationally recognized symphonic music.

• Community Concerts: Free, family-friendly, publiclyaccessible performances produced and delivered by

RDSO. (Our first Community Concert was part of the cultural programming at the 2019 Canada Winter

Games!)

• Music + Explorers: An after-school music enrichment program aimed at fostering better citizens by making a difference through music - primarily among economically disadvantaged elementary students.

Perhaps the most unique of our programs is Choir Kids! Introduced in 1998 by Claude Lapalme as the first of its kind in Canada, this program allows children’s choirs the opportunity to rehearse and perform two pieces of choice, personally orchestrated by Maestro Lapalme with a professional ensemble. The majority of these programs have been paused due to the pandemic’s public health restrictions and venue closures, but we look forward to resuming this important work when safe to do so. Now that an uncertain and difficult year without live concerts (not to mention without ticket revenue!) is behind us, RDSO is looking forward to once again performing symphonic concerts in a post-pandemic Central Alberta!

Each season, we try to program a bit of something for everyone: from our holiday favourites that sell out each December, to the legends of the past like Bach and Beethoven, to heroes of big-screen movie magic like John Williams and Danny Elfman - we play it all! And best of all, RDSO prides itself on featuring local and Canadian artists and composers throughout each season to showcase a selection of music as diverse as the people in our community.

We invite you to join us for some world-class live music when life gets back to normal, and to follow us on social media or subscribe to our mailing list. A cultural institution built by the community, RDSO will continue to rely on community support, donations, advocacy, and volunteerism - we hope that you will help us ignite passion for arts and culture in Central Alberta!

Red Deer Symphony Orchestra is a registered charity and nonprofit governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. If you would like to find out more about RDSO, its community programs and concerts, or become involved in the organization.

Contact Jennette Miller at info@rdso.ca. RDSO’s online series of concerts can be accessed at www.rdso.ca.

RDSO’s Road Ahead