WINNIPEG SYMPHONY
January – February 2013
COMPOSERS: STEVE REICH CHRISTOS HATZIS GARETH FARR PETER-ANTHONY TOGNI GUEST ARTISTS: DAME EVELYN GLENNIE ELMER ISELER SINGERS RWB DANCERS JEFF REILLY CURATORS: ALEXANDER MICKELTHWATE, MUSIC DIRECTOR VINCENT HO, COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE MATT SCHELLENBERG, POP NUIT
ORCHESTRA
ISSUE 4
WSO SPONSORS, FUNDERS
AND
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The WSO proudly acknowledges the ongoing support of the following sponsors, media and funders: EDUCATION & OUTREACH PROGRAMS
IN MEMORY OF PETER D. CURRY
NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL
POPS SERIES
CONCERTS FOR KIDS SERIES
POWER SMART HOLIDAY TOUR
INDIVIDUAL CONCERTS
SOUNDCHECK PROGRAM
WSO IN BRANDON
SUMMER CONCERT SERIES
CANADA DAY AT THE FORKS
PIANO RAFFLE
CAR RAFFLE
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY Women’s Committee of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
MEDIA SPONSORS
FUNDERS
Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 1
GOVERNMENT GREETINGS Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages Our Government knows how important arts and culture are to our communities and our economy. As we approach Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations in 2017, we are proud to invest in projects like the New Music Festival that highlight the talents of our artists, affirm our collective identity, and help define who we are as Canadians. On behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Government of Canada, I congratulate the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and all the organizers, artists, and volunteers who helped bring the 22nd New Music Festival to life.
The Honourable James Moore
Premier of Manitoba On behalf of the Province and people of Manitoba, I am happy to welcome you to the 22nd Annual Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's New Music Festival. Designed to bring light and melody to Manitoba during the dark winter days, the internationally-acclaimed New Music Festival gathers some of the best performers and composers from around the world for six days of celebration right here in Winnipeg. And each year, our vibrant musical community welcomes them with open arms. It is one of the most popular events in our calendar, and a key reason to why Winnipeg has gained recognition as a Cultural Capital of Canada. Congratulations to all the organizers, composers, musicians, dancers, and volunteers who dedicate their efforts to bringing musical performance to Manitoba, year after year.
The Honourable Greg Selinger
2 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
Minister of Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism The Manitoba government is proud to support our acclaimed Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the 2013 edition of its celebrated New Music Festival. This annual showcase of musical talent, creativity and innovation is always a highlight of the cultural season, bringing unique warmth to our winter. The WSO is known around the world for discovering, commissioning and performing new music, by composers from Canada and abroad, to an appreciative and knowledgeable audience of Manitobans and visitors. Congratulations to the WSO for your leading role in encouraging musical excellence. I wish you continued success.
The Honourable Flor Marcelino
Mayor of Winnipeg On behalf of the citizens of Winnipeg and my esteemed colleagues on City Council, I am honoured to extend greetings to everyone attending the 22nd Annual New Music Festival, hosted by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. The New Music Festival has become a signature event, drawing in over 10,000 people annually in what can only be described as a showcase for exceptional symphonic music. Without the sustained efforts of volunteers, performers, sponsors and employees — the New Music Festival would not be the success it continues to be year after year. This year’s Festival is sure to be an unforgettable experience, as Distinguished Guest Composer Steve Reich will be presented with several of his masterpieces, including the Pulitzer Prize winning Double Sextet. Also in attendance at this event will be Christos Hatzis, presenting the world premiere of his new piece entitled Redemption; Gareth Farr, one of the Pacific Rim’s most renowned composers; as well as Dame Evelyn Glennie, one of the world’s greatest percussionists. To top off all of this excitement will be dancers from The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The Elmer Iseler Singers and bass clarinetist Jeff Reilly. Once again, I would like to offer congratulations on your outstanding success, and offer best wishes for many more successful seasons. Warm regards,
His Worship Sam Katz Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 3
WINNIPEG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA GREETINGS
Photographer: Keith Levit
Alexander Mickelthwate, Music Director Welcome to the New Music Festival. This year I am thrilled to welcome Steve Reich, one of the Godfathers of Minimalism, the return of Evelyn Glennie, world premieres by Christos Hatzis and Vincent Ho, Canada's Elmer Eisler singers, Michael Gordon and Johnny Greenwood (both of them having strong connections to Reich's music) and a very special guest from New Zealand, Gareth Farr. We will delve into Minimalism. Minimalism. We. We will. We will delve. We will delve into Minimalism with the music of Steve Reich and friends. We. We will. We will delve. Steve. Steve Rei. Steve Reich. And friends. Johnny Greenwood. Green. Green. Red. Pink. Wood. Greenwood. Michael Gordon. Michael Gordon. Gordon. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Wait. Not yet. Don't go yet. Don't go yet. After the concert. The concert. Concert. We will also. Will also. Also. World premiere. We will also feature a world premiere by Chris. Also feature a world premiere by Christo. Feature a world premiere by Christos. World premiere by Christos Hatzis. Not by Chris. Not by. Not. He is our tuba player. Not Chris. Not Chris but Christos. Chris but Christos. Christos. Excited for Eve. Excited for Eve. Eve. Evening. Evelyn. Steve and Eve in the evening. Steve and Eve. Just Evelyn. And most famous drag queen from New Zealand. New Zealand. St. Ste. Steve. Red. Pink. Greenwood. Christos not Chris. Steve and Eve in the evening. Just Evelyn. And most famous drag queen from New Zealand. Here you have it. Your first example of minimalism. Minimalism originated in the New York downtown scene in the 1960s and includes features like steady pulse, gradual transformations, reiterations of musical phrases or small units such as figures, motifs, cells. See you at the concerts,
Alexander
NMF ADVISORY COMMITTEE Matthew Patton, Artistic Consultant Matt Schellenberg, Pop Nuit Curator Ron Lambert, Friend, Facebook
4 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
Sotirios Kortoulas Peter Johnson Robbie Rousseau
NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL GREETINGS Vincent Ho, Composer-in-Residence Greetings! We are thrilled to present to you another exciting weeklong program of new works at our 22nd annual New Music Festival. This year we celebrate the music of one of the world's greatest composers: Steve Reich. As this year's Distinguished Guest Composer, we are proud to have him here for the first time ever as we feature many of his greatest compositions. From his Pulitzer Prize-winning Double Sextet to his deeply religious Tehillim, we bring to you a musical portrait of a man whose contributions have defined minimalism as we know it. Also joining us is one of Canada's leading composers: Christos Hatzis. In honour of his 60th birthday, we are proud to reveal the world premiere of his WSO-commissioned piece, Redemption: Book 3. Additionally, one of the Pacific Rim's most celebrated composers, Gareth Farr, comes to us from New Zealand as we present (for the first time in North America) his highly acclaimed percussion concerto, Hikoi. Do you hear a distant drumming? That’s because one of the world’s greatest percussionists is back as our Distinguished Guest Artist: Dame Evelyn Glennie! After her sensational appearance here at 2011’s NMF, she returns to premiere two new concertos written especially for her – one of which is by yours truly! After the success of our first collaboration (The Shaman), Dame Glennie and I have re-teamed to create another large-scale piece – From Darkness to Light: A Spiritual Journey, a work written in honour of the victims and survivors of cancer. For our opening gala concert, we are excited to present to you one of the world's greatest choirs: Canada's very own Elmer Iseler Singers, featuring bass clarinetist Jeff Reilly and soprano Rebecca Whelan. They will be kicking off the weeklong event with their celebrated performance of PeterAnthony Togni's Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae (Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah). As well, dancers from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet will be featured this week in the highly acclaimed piece In Tandem, choreographed by Peter Quanz to the music of Steve Reich. We're also looking forward to a special evening of wind music, with our city's very own U of M Wind Ensemble, The Winnipeg Winds, and the U of M Flute Ensemble. It will be an event you don't want to miss. Come join us for this major musical celebration: the WSO's 2013 New Music Festival.
Vincent Ho, DMA
Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 5
NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL GREETINGS Matt Schellenberg, Pop Nuit Curator Welcome Everyone! This year the New Music Festival expands its scope to include Pop Music. I know what you're thinking… not another one. We already have to go to Jazz Festivals with no Jazz, Folk Festivals with no Folk, Blues Festivals headlined by Alice Cooper… is there no end to the Pop takeover? Well, before you jump to any conclusions let me just say that Pop music has been fighting with its title since day one. In theory, it's a genre defined by its popularity and mass appeal, and as such has had to twist and evolve over the years a bit cautiously. Innovating within a genre that celebrates formula perhaps seems like a dead-end job, yet hundreds of thousands of kids in their basement are tinkering on their Garage Band right now hoping to make their band be the next big thing, the newest thing, a sound no one's heard before… and some succeed. Ever since the Beatles threw in the towel on Love Me Do and started recording their guitars backwards, Pop music has played a major role in the progression of pushing the boundaries of conventional composition. From Pink Floyd to King Crimson to Nirvana all the way to Björk or Arcade Fire, innovative composers keep turning Pop music on its head. This year the New Music Festival is proud to showcase some of these achievements with a new after-hours sub-sect of the Festival called Pop Nuit. Pop Nuit will be headlined by violinist Sarah Neufeld of Arcade Fire. Sarah's band won the Grammy for best album in 2011 for The Suburbs. Her new solo project will grace the West End Cultural Centre on Wednesday with local eccentric pop musician Jesse Krause opening the night. Krause's odd home-made instruments and work with Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers and the Riel Gentlemen's Choir has made him a staple of Winnipeg's avant-pop scene. The performance I am personally most excited to see is Tasman Richardson of Toronto. Richardson is a video artist who uses MIDI technology to control video clips and put them into what could be conceived of as a digital drum machine. He uses only audio from the clips to create rhythm. He will be performing his work Temple. We are ending the Festival with a final performance and party hosted by Pop Nuit where Richardson will perform with Winnipeg's own Royal Canoe, who will be playing their version of Beck Hanson's Song Reader, an album the artist put out only on sheet music (quite the feat in the Pop world.) I hope you will join me on Wednesday and Saturday for some unconventional Pop music and a local brew after-hours at this first year of Pop Nuit. See you there! Sincerely,
Matt Schellenberg Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 7
Photographer: Keith Levit
CONDUCTORS, COMPOSER & CURATOR Alexander Mickelthwate, Music Director German conductor, Alexander Mickelthwate is renowned for his “splendid, richly idiomatic readings” (LA Weekly), “fearless” approach and “first-rate technique” (Los Angeles Times). Critics have noted Alexander’s extraordinary command over the Austro-Germanic repertoire, commenting on the “passion, profundity, emotional intensity, subtlety and degree of perfection achieved” in Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 as “miraculous” (Anton Kuerti, 2011). Following on from his tenure as Assistant Conductor with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which he completed in 2004, Alexander Mickelthwate was Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for three years, under the direction of Essa-Pekka Salonen. Now in his seventh season as Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Alexander has significantly developed the orchestra’s profile through active community engagement and innovative programming initiatives like the annual New Music Festival and the Indigenous Music Festival. Chosen to perform at the Carnegie Hall Spring for Music Festival in New York, May 2014, due to “creative and innovative programming” (CBC Manitoba Scene), the orchestra is the only Canadian ensemble in the showcase. As well as significantly contributing to the New Music Festival and Indigenous Festival, Alexander lead the orchestra’s first out of province tour since 1979 to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, launched the International Conducting master-classes, the New Music Festival 2012 film project and played a major part in the acoustic overhaul of the Centennial Concert Hall. Always looking for a fresh approach and creative ways of crossing musical genres, Alexander has collaborated with Iceland’s Bedroom Community, Wayne Shorter, Mark O’Connor, Belle and Sebastian, Jason Alexander, DJ P-Love, Canadian bands Waking Eyes, Liptonians and Dukhs. Alexander has conducted for the Queen of England, for former President Jimmy Carter, and was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. 8 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
Vincent Ho, Composer-in-Residence Vincent Ho is widely recognized as one of the most outstanding composers of his generation. His works have been hailed for their profound expressiveness and textural beauty that has audiences talking about with great enthusiasm. His many awards have included Harvard University's Fromm Music Commission, The Canada Council for the Arts' “Robert Fleming Prize,” ASCAP's “Morton Gould Young Composer Award,” four SOCAN Young Composers Awards, and CBC Radio's Audience Choice Award (2009 Young Composers’ Competition). Born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1975, Vincent Ho began his musical training through the Royal Conservatory of Music. He received his Associate Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) in 1993, his Bachelor of Music from the University of Calgary in 1998, his Master of Music degree from the University of Toronto in 2000, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California (2005). His mentors have included Allan Bell, David Eagle, Christos Hatzis, Walter Buczynski, and Stephen Hartke. In 1997, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Schola Cantorum Summer Composition Program in Paris, where he received further training in analysis, composition, counterpoint, and harmony, supervised by David Diamond, Philip Lasser, and Narcis Bonet.
Photographer: Keith Levit
Richard Lee, Resident Conductor From the time his mother sat him down at a toy piano when he was three years old, Richard Lee has spent his life immersed in music. He graduated to a real piano at the age of five and took up the violin at age seven. At age seventeen, he passed – with honours – the grade X piano and violin exams at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. After a brief and ill-advised stint as a physics major, Richard came to his senses and pursued a degree in Music Performance at the University of Toronto as both a violinist and violist. After teaching middle school music for five years, Richard returned to the U of T where, as the Victor Feldbrill Fellow in orchestral conducting, he obtained a Master’s degree under the tutelage of Raffi Armenian. Richard is the Music Director of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra (based in Tyler) and the Korean Canadian Symphony Orchestra (Toronto). He is also the Resident Conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and conductor of the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra. Guest engagements this season include the Kingston Symphony Orchestra as well as a tour of Mexico with I Musici de Montréal. Musician, news junkie and connoisseur of fine ales, whiskies and cigars, Richard maintains residences in both Winnipeg and Toronto. He roots for the Toronto FC and the Toronto Raptors basketball club.
Matt Schellenberg, Pop Nuit Curator Born into the bustling metropolis of Kleefeld, Manitoba, home to four streets and one bay, Matthew Schellenberg moved to Winnipeg so that he would be able to buy a Slurpee whenever he wanted. As a young adult, his house on Lipton Street gave birth to a group called The Liptonians, who won a Western Canadian Music Award for Best Pop Recording in 2008. The band toured the country extensively and had their songs arranged to be performed with the WSO in 2011. As a result of this concert, a relationship was born and Schellenberg was selected to curate a new portion of the New Music Festival dedicated to showcasing innovative pop music called Pop Nuit. Schellenberg's latest musical collective, Royal Canoe, recently inked a management contact with Nettwerk Music and booking agency agreements with Red Ryder in the USA and LOUD Booking in France. The band has toured the continent this past year and has been featured in many a tastemaking blog as well as receiving a shout out from the New York Times. When Schellenberg is not planning events for NMF he can be found tinkering with sounds for Royal Canoe's upcoming album, which will be released in 2013.
Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 9
PRE-CONCERT EVENTS & PERFORMANCES All pre-concert events occur on the Piano Nobile, Centennial Concert Hall, except Wednesday, January 30 at Parlour Coffee and the Pantages Playhouse Theatre.
Thursday, January 31 Doors open at 6:30 pm
Monday, January 28 Doors open at 6:30 pm
6:40-7:00 pm – Discussion Guests: Choreographer Peter Quanz, hosted by Bill Richardson and Vincent Ho
THE ELMER ISELER SINGERS
STEVE REICH'S CHAMBER MUSIC
6:40-7:00 pm – Discussion Guests: Peter-Anthony Togni, hosted by CBC Radio's Bill Richardson
7:00-7:20 pm – Performance Performers: Brandon University Percussion Ensemble; Victoria Sparks, director
7:00-7:20 pm – Performance Performers: Caroline Márkos (soprano), Lisa Nazarenko (cello), Natasha Fransblow (piano)
Program: arr. Steve Reich and Glenn Kotche: Clapping Music Lynn Glassock: Factions
Program: André Previn: Four Songs for Soprano, Cello, and Piano Tuesday, January 29 Doors open at 6:30 pm
Friday, February 1 Doors open at 7:00 pm
GLENNIE & REICH: PART 1 7:10-7:30 pm – Discussion
CHRISTOS HATZIS: WORLD PREMIERE Guests: Composer Gareth Farr, hosted by 6:40-7:00 pm – Discussion Guests: Composers Christos Hatzis and Jim Hiscott, hosted by Bill Richardson 7:00-7:20 pm – Performance Performers: Henry Liao (violin), Sam Yoon (violin), Natasha Fransblow (piano)
Bill Richardson and Vincent Ho 7:30-7:50 pm – Performance Performers: Heather Jonasson (flute), Kelsey Nordstrom (oboe), Tom Ingram (clarinet), Karl Sawatzky (French horn), Kristy Tucker (bassoon)
Program: Christos Hatzis: Old Photographs
Program: Gyorgy Ligeti: Six Bagatelles Jeremy Hill: Two Pieces for Woodwind Quintet
Wednesday, January 30 Doors open at 6:45 pm
Saturday, February 2 Doors open at 7:00 pm
GHOST TRAIN 5:00-6:30 pm – Meet & Mingle: Parlour Coffee Join us at Parlour Coffee (468 Main Street) and enjoy a complimentary espresso. Hear choreographer Peter Quanz talk about his acclaimed work In Tandem and experience some special performances by our guest artists. 7:00-7:20 pm – Discussion Pantages Playhouse Theatre, 180 Market Avenue Guests: Composers Andrew Staniland hosted by Vincent Ho 10 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
GLENNIE & REICH: PART 2 7:10-7:30 pm – Discussion Guests: Composer Vincent Ho, hosted by Bill Richardson and Alexander Mickelthwate 7:30-7:50 pm – Performance Performers: Jeremy Buzash (violin), Natalie Dawe (cello), Greg Myra (piano) Program: Patrick Carrabré: Firebrand Trio
POST-CONCERT EVENTS & PERFORMANCES Piano Nobile, Centennial Concert Hall
Friday, February 1 10:15 pm – Midnight
Monday, January 28 9:45 pm – Midnight
Join our NMF after-party, featuring Winnipeg's own Will Bonness (piano) performing an evening of great jazz tunes.
Join our NMF after-party, featuring Winnipeg's own Will Bonness (piano) performing an evening of great jazz tunes.
Tuesday, January 29 9:45 pm – Midnight Join us for the after-party reception sponsored by the Canadian Music Centre, featuring Will Bonness (piano).
Thursday, January 31 9:45 pm – Midnight Up close and personal with Steve Reich Join us in this special Q&A with Steve Reich, hosted by CBC Radio's Bill Richardson, as he talks about his chamber works performed this evening. Stay for a drink and enjoy the wonderful jazz playing of Winnipeg's own Will Bonness (piano).
Saturday, February 2 10:15 pm – Midnight Up close and personal with Steve Reich Join us for the second Q&A with Steve Reich, hosted by CBC Radio's Bill Richardson, as he talks about his works, Tehillim and The Desert Music. Stay for a drink and enjoy the wonderful jazz playing of Winnipeg's own Will Bonness (piano). Special thanks to tonight’s sponsor, The Jewish Post & News
Will Bonness, piano Will Bonness has been active on the Winnipeg, Canadian and international jazz scenes since his teen years. At age 17, he joined Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau Band for a year-long world tour which included performances in New York and London. He performs regularly throughout Manitoba with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Bonness has appeared on a number of recordings including the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra’s Steppin’ Out (2008), Larry Roy and Steve Kirby’s Wicked Grin (2008), and Papa Mambo’s Crooked Cha (2007). His 2009 debut
Subtle Fire was nominated for Jazz Recording of the Year at the Western Canada Music Awards. Bonness is on faculty at the Canadian Mennonite University and he teaches privately from his home.
Bill Richardson Bill Richardson is a writer and broadcaster. He's the host of Saturday Afternoon at the Opera on CBC Radio 2.
Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 11
WINNIPEG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 2012-2013 SEASON MUSIC DIRECTOR Alexander Mickelthwate RESIDENT CONDUCTOR Richard Lee COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE Vincent Ho
CELLOS Yuri Hooker, Principal **Cristian Markos, Assistant Principal Alex Adaman Margaret Askeland Arlene Dahl Carolyn Nagelberg Emma Quackenbush
FIRST VIOLINS Gwen Hoebig, Concertmaster
BASSES Meredith Johnson, Principal **Viorel Alexandru, Assistant Principal Paul Nagelberg Bruce Okrainec Mary Lawton, Assistant Concertmaster Zdzislaw Prochownik Chris Anstey Patrick Staples Raymond Chrunyk FLUTES Mona Coarda Hong Tian Jia Jan Kocman, Principal *Trevor Kirczenow Martha Durkin Simon MacDonald Rachel Moody PICCOLO † Jane Radomski Martha Durkin Julie Savard Jun Shao OBOES Bede Hanley, Principal SECOND VIOLINS Robin MacMillan Darryl Strain, Principal Elation Pauls, Assistant Principal ENGLISH HORN Karen Bauch Robin MacMillan Rodica Jeffrey **Takayo Noguchi CLARINETS Boyd MacKenzie Micah Heilbrunn, Principal Meredith McCallum Michelle Goddard Susan McCallum Claudine St-Arnauld BASSOONS Phoebe Tsang Alex Eastley, Principal Meryl Summers VIOLAS The Sophie-Carmen EckhardtGramatté Memorial Chair, endowed by the Eckhardt-Gramatté Foundation Karl Stobbe, Associate Concertmaster
Daniel Scholz, Principal Anne Elise Lavallée, Assistant Principal
Laszlo Baroczi Richard Bauch Greg Hay Suzanne McKegney Merrily Peters Mike Scholz
TRUMPETS Brian Sykora, Principal Paul Jeffrey Isaac Pulford The Patty Kirk Memorial Chair
TROMBONES Steven Dyer, Principal John Helmer BASS TROMBONE Julia McIntyre, Principal TUBA Chris Lee, Principal TIMPANI Jeremy Epp, Principal PERCUSSION Frederick Liessens, Principal HARP Richard Turner, Principal Endowed by W.H. & S.E. Loewen
ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL MANAGER Chris Lee PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN Raymond Chrunyk ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN Laura MacDougall Fred Redekop is the official Piano Tuner and Technician of the WSO
HORNS *On Leave Patricia Evans, Principal **Temporary Position Ken MacDonald, Associate Principal † Dual Section Position James Robertson The Hilda Schelberger Memorial Chair
Caroline Oberheu Michiko Singh
12 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
Please note: Non-titled (tutti) string players are listed alphabetically and are seated according to a rotational system.
CONCERT ONE Monday, January 28 I 7:30 pm Centennial Concert Hall
Doors open at 6:30 pm
THE ELMER ISELER SINGERS Elmer Iseler Singers Lydia Adams, conductor Jeff Reilly, bass clarinet (1) Rebecca Whelan, soprano (2)
PROGRAM Voices Silent Dawn Tag Des Jahrs (Day of the Year) I. Der Früling II. Der Sommer III. Der Herbst IV. Der Winter
Harry Freedman (CAN) Timothy Corlis (CAN) Kaija Saariaho (FI) Poems by Friedrich Hölderlin
- INTERMISSION Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae Peter-Anthony Togni (CAN) (Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah) (1) (2) I. Quomodo Sedet Sola Civitas II. Quomodo Dominus Filiam Sion Obtexit III. Silentio IV. Quomodo Obscuratum est Aurium V. Recordare, Domine For our opening gala we are proud to present one of the world’s most celebrated choirs: the Elmer Iseler Singers. Joining them this evening is one of Canada’s premiere bass clarinetist Jeff Reilly and soprano Rebecca Whelan. Together they bring to you a performance of the extraordinary work Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae (Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah) by Canada’s own Peter-Anthony Togni. Hailed by critics around the world, the work has captivated audiences for its powerful interpretation of “The Book of Lamentations.” We open this evening’s concert with a work by iconic Canadian composer Harry Freedman, titled Voices, followed by Silent Dawn composed by Timothy Corlis, one of this generation’s fastest rising stars. Also featured is Kaija Saariaho’s haunting work Tag Des Jahrs (Day of the Year) for choir and electronics. Sincere thanks to The Canada Council for the Arts (touring division) and The Ontario Arts Council (touring division) for their support.
Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 13
COMPOSER INTERVIEW PETER-ANTHONY TOGNI BY
VINCENT HO Is the audience an important factor to consider when composing? When I'm sitting down to write something, during the actual process of composition, I do not think of the audience, only what I want to say and how to say it. As the piece develops I gradually start to think of who might be listening to it, but then who really knows who will be listening, certainly with all the available media today (YouTube, etc.). I do hope that wherever my music travels that the listener will feel what I'm trying to say. Describe a little about the creative process you undergo when composing a new work.
What inspired you to become a composer? It was film music. When I was nine or ten, I became very interested in the music in films. I used to make up my own stories and improvise things on the piano, usually involving Roman armies in Battle! Who were your favourite composers when you started composing (of any musical genre)? And now? John Barry, Bartok, Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Now it's
Sibelius, Thelonius Monk, Bob Dylan, Christos Hatzis and Peteris Vasks. You have been active as an organist, pianist, and jazz improviser for many years. How have these experiences shaped the music you now write?
I pray for inspiration and the rest is a grind. It's quite mundane and almost nonmusical, shaping the ideas, making choices and then living with them.
On top of your performing and composing activities, you have also been a host for CBC Radio 2 for over 20 years. Now that we are living A lot of what I write comes in a time where anyone can out of what I have played and improvised. My keyboard access information of all sorts from anywhere in the work is kind of like my world via the Internet, how laboratory. It's where I work has the role of radio out ideas. I learn from my changed in regards to mistakes! promoting new music?
14 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
Radio has become very interactive with its connection to the internet as in CBC Music. The listener can not only listen to the music, but can access interviews, read blogs, comment. It can open many more doors than it used to. Fifty years ago, many composers were writing music that pushed experimentalism to new extremes. It was a time when artists were creating art for art's sake, where concepts overruled expression and the audience was of secondary importance. Things have changed; more and more composers are writing music that communicates directly to the audience, making it an integral goal to their creations. Why do you think that is so? What do you think were the factors that led to this change of attitude in today's composers?
not much left but to go back to a tonal centre, but in a new way, perhaps a C major chord sounds different after the experimentation fifty years ago; it's slightly wounded. How does the role of electronic/social media (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.) impact or shape today's new music? I'm not sure it shapes it at all, but it certainly gets it out there in ways we never could
“
There are no schools anymore, a composer can just be. Composers became tired of having to be part of the avant-garde to be taken seriously. It's almost impossible now to do anything shocking, there's
have been given and in the spirit of service, give it back. The audience takes hold of it until it no longer belongs to you. In your opinion, do you believe more new music festivals need to be established every program? I don't think we need more new music festivals. New music should be present and part of many different kinds of festivals and events, choral, orchestral, jazz, art
I pray for inspiration and the rest is a grind. It's quite mundane and almost non-musical, shaping the ideas, making choices and then living with them.
”
– Peter-Anthony Togni
before, for example the American composer Eric Whitacre has created a virtual choir. What do you think the composer's role and responsibilities are in this day and age?
installations and spiritual gatherings, to name just a few. New music should be part of the fabric of our lives so that in a certain sense it doesn't sound “new,” it's just the music of our time.
Every composer has a different sound and personal language. One doesn't always know where it comes from. You just work with what you
JJaannuuaarryy –– FFeebbrruuaarryy 2200113 2 II O V E R T U R E 1 3 5
CONCERT TWO Tuesday, January 29 I 7:30 pm Centennial Concert Hall
Doors open at 6:30 pm
CHRISTOS HATZIS: WORLD PREMIERE Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra Alexander Mickelthwate, conductor Richard Lee, conductor (1)
PROGRAM Romeo Cantu (World premiere)* I. Chant Spiral II. Montagne et Ciel
Michael Gordon (USA) Jim Hiscott (CAN)
- INTERMISSION Voyage (1) Redemption: Book 3 (World premiere)** I. Dreams of Power (Joseph in Egypt) II. Exodus (Joshua) III. The Psalmist (Asaph)
Daniel Belland (CAN) Christos Hatzis (CAN)
This year, we celebrate the 60th birthday of one of our nation’s foremost composers: Christos Hatzis. Since his immigration to Canada from Greece in 1982, Hatzis has established himself as one of the most important voices of our time. Tonight, we are proud to present to you the world premiere performance of his latest large-scale work, Redemption: Book 3 (commissioned by the WSO). Also premiering this evening is a new work by Winnipeg’s own Jim Hiscott titled Cantu, a work inspired by the music of Corsican chant. Opening tonight’s concert is Michael Gordon’s Romeo, which was inspired by the short symphonies of J.S. Bach. Rounding out the program is this year’s Canadian Music Centre’s Emerging Composer Prize-winning work, Daniel Belland’s Voyage. *Commissioned by The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra with the assistance of The Manitoba Arts Council **Commissioned by The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
JJaannuuaarryy –– FFeebbrruuaarryy 2200113 2 II O V E R T U R E 1 3 7
18 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
CONCERT THREE Wednesday, January 30 I 7:30 pm Pantages Playhouse Theatre
Doors open at 6:45 pm
GHOST TRAIN The University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble; Fraser Linklater, conductor (1) The University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble; Richard Lee, conductor (2) The University of Manitoba Flute Ensemble (3) The Winnipeg Wind Ensemble; Jacqueline Dawson, conductor (4)
PROGRAM Four Horsemen (1) Vermont Counterpoint (3) Colour Wheel (2) Ghost Train Triptych (4) I. Ghost Train II. At the Station III. Motive Revolution
Andrew Staniland (CAN) Steve Reich (US) Malcolm Forsyth (CAN) Eric Whitacre (US)
Tonight we bring you a special program of new works for winds, brass, and percussion featuring Winnipeg’s finest ensembles. Joining us this evening is our Distinguished Guest Composer, Steve Reich. We begin the celebration of his music tonight with his classic work Vermont Counterpoint performed by The U of M Flute Ensemble. Canadian composer Andrew Staniland, winner of 2009’s CBC Young Composers’ competition, returns to NMF for the U of M Wind Ensemble’s presentation of his latest work, Four Horsemen, written especially for wind ensemble and electronics. To commemorate one of Canada’s greatest composers, Malcolm Forsyth, we pay tribute to him with his radiant work Colour Wheel. Concluding this evening is a special performance of Eric Whitacre’s Ghost Train Triptych by The Winnipeg Wind Ensemble, a work that has thrilled audiences everywhere for its colourful sounds and haunting beauty.
Sarah Neufeld (of Arcade Fire) West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Avenue Doors open at 9:00 pm The WSO’s first Pop Nuit event featuring the solo violin styling’s of Arcade Fire’s Sarah Neufeld. Winnipeg’s innovative instrument builder Jesse Krause, of Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers fame, will open with his new project Geräuschbiest (at 9:30 pm). Tickets $15 in advance ($17 at the door).
J a n u a r y – F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 I O V E R T U R E 19
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CONCERT FOUR Thursday, January 31 I 7:30 pm Centennial Concert Hall
Doors open at 6:30 pm
STEVE REICH'S CHAMBER MUSIC University of Manitoba Percussion Ensemble; Victoria Sparks, director (1) Shanyce Crighton Sean Johnson Matthew Careless Joshua Bater Gwen Hoebig, violin (2) Karl Stobbe, violin (3) Daniel Scholz, viola (4) Yuri Hooker, cello (5) Allen Harrington, saxophone (6)
Jan Kocman, flute (7) Micah Heilbrunn, clarinet (8) Ben Reimer, percussion (9) David Moroz, piano (10) Royal Winnipeg Ballet: (11) Dancers: Amanda Green Jo-Ann Sundermeier Sophia Lee Alanna McAdie Yosuke Mino Alexander Gamayunov
PROGRAM Clapping Music (1) Different Trains (2) (3) (4) (5) I. America – Before the War II. Europe – During the War III After the War
Steve Reich (US) Steve Reich (US)
- INTERMISSION New York Counterpoint (6) In Tandem (2) (5) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) * I. Fast II. Slow III. Fast
Steve Reich (US) Choreography: Peter Quanz Music: Steve Reich (US): Double Sextet Costume Design: Anne Armit
Steve Reich’s Different Trains (1988) was commissioned by the Kronos Quartet. Recalling his travels from coast to coast visiting his divorced parents, Reich realized that if living in occupied Europe as a Jew, he would be travelling on very different trains. The music uses fragments of speech from a Pullman porter, reminiscences from Holocaust survivors and Reich’s governess, to create this multi-layered masterpiece. Double Sextet won Steve Reich the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for music, his first. Commissioned by the group eighth blackbird who performed it in our 2010 New Music Festival, we are proud to bring the work back, this time titled In Tandem, with new choreography by Peter Quanz and danced by members of Royal Winnipeg Ballet. *Works & Process at the Guggenheim commissioned and premiered In Tandem on September 11, 2009 with assistance from the Cooper Family Foundation with the additional support of Karin & Stanley Schwalb, Judith M. Hoffman, Cheryl Bergenfeld, and Steven & Michele Pesner.
Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 21
COMPOSER INTERVIEW GARETH FARR BY
VINCENT HO out it was live acoustic orchestral instruments I was utterly gobsmacked. Music of the Pacific Islands has played an influential role in the shaping of your musical language. What was the connection for you? How did it all begin?
What inspired you to become a composer? I was a terrible piano student when I was a kid. Well, I loved the piano and I loved playing, I just hated practicing. When I was 16 my piano teacher (out of desperation!) played me The Rite of Spring, in the hopes it would inspire me – it did. I was transfixed and listened to it incessantly for months after that. This led to me going to University in New Zealand as a percussionist, and changing major in my second year to a double major of percussion and composition.
Who were your favorite composers when you started composing (of any musical genre)? And now? After Stravinsky, I think my next discovery was Penderecki, Ligeti and Lutoslawski when I was in my second year at University. I was utterly fascinated by their innovations in notation, but much more importantly I had never heard sounds like the ones that they produced from acoustic instruments before. I remember hearing a piece of Penderecki (De Natura Sonoris 1) that I assumed was electronic, and when I found
22 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
New Zealand is the southernmost country of the South Pacific and despite the fact that we are a member of the commonwealth, and have the Queen as our head of state, we very much identify as a Pacific Island nation. When I was 13, my family moved from a fairly white suburb to one that had a vibrant Pacific Island community, and immediately I started hearing the sounds that would influence my music as an adult. There was a Tongan church on the corner and we'd hear the choir belt out antiphonal harmonies every Sunday. Down the road at the park we could hear the people playing Rarotongan cricket – which is pretty much the same, but when someone scores a run, there's a group of drummers that burst into wild wonderful rhythms on log drums. South East Asia is close by too. I own a set of Balinese gamelan instruments – and direct a group that perform regularly here.
In New Zealand, not only are you a successful composer but also a celebrated drag queen pop star – Lilith Lacroix. How has your alter ego influenced the music you write? [Big smile!!] Well, I guess it's two-fold really. There's the political side: when I first started doing the shows at Arts Festivals around NZ and Australia in the late 90s I was always keen to test how my 'classical' audiences would cope with the alter ego, and whether there was ever any possibility of merging my two audience bases. I once turned up to a New Zealand Symphony Concert (when I was a percussionist with them) in drag – just to see what would happen. They (very graciously!) asked me to change back into tails for the concert, and I found the subsequent conversations that I had with the orchestral members fascinating. I think what I learned from that was not about me, or drag, or performance – it was about the orchestra. When you work in an orchestra you have to LOVE the concept of being a cog in a machine – you shine from time to time, but you are not waving you hand in the air continually screaming, “Look at me!”
And then there's the musical side – more difficult to pinpoint, but I would say that the way I conceive of a musical composition, and the way I would conceive of a drag performance come from the same thing – my innate love of the dramatic. My Dad was an actor when I was a kid – I had no choice! I often conceive of a concert piece visually – to the point where I'll often think of the visual/visceral gesture first, and fill the notes in later.
and this has lead to some important collaborations and projects. YouTube is a fantastic resource to get yourself out there in the world, but it's also great for finding pretty much any type of music for inspiration. Describe a little about the creative process you undergo when composing a new work.
With so much social media at our disposal (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.), how has it impacted you as a composer?
I take the specific ensemble that I'm writing for as my initial inspiration – their personalities, the things they like/dislike playing – and if I don't know the group personally, I like to look into who they are, what is the background of the group.
I'm not sure that it has changed me as far as the nature of the music I write – but it has certainly enhanced
The next stage is the dramatic possibilities of the group/soloist – I imagine myself in the audience, I
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Keep your options open. It's important to get to know other musicians – performers, conductors, etcetera – but don't forget about collaborations with choreographers, theatre directors, film makers – any artistic discipline that needs music.
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– Gareth Farr
the circulation of my music – and as such, I suppose the amount of commissions that come in. Performers have been able to track me down from the other side of the world easily (and vice-versa)
picture the stage with whoever I'm writing for and then as myself, “What do I want to see/hear as the first gesture/image/sound of the piece,”and it always comes to me. Then I just go from
Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 23
COMPOSER INTERVIEW there developing ideas, finding variations, finding ways of deriving completely new material from the existing material. I used to find that I would ditch my initial ideas because they seemed arbitrary – the epiphany was realizing that ALL ideas are arbitrary, and when you start to work on them they become motifs, melodies, tonalities, and the basis of entire movements.
In your bio, you stated that you are both an entertainer as well as a composer, and have acknowledged the criticism you would receive for using the two words in the same sentence. In your opinion, does this reflect your own view of how the role of a composer is today? How has the role changed in the last 20 years?
Continuing from the last question, my personal mission as a composer is to write for my audience – and In your opinion, how has the to try to get inside their concept of “new music” heads and figure out what is changed during the last 20 going to be the most years? exciting, engaging, and Oh boy, now you start with the invigorating experience for them for the precious difficult questions! Your moments in the concert that timeframe almost spans the I have their attention. I see length of my career, and it's always hard to tell how you've it as my duty to 'entertain' them, in the simplest (or anyone you know) has changed when it's a day-to-day meaning of the word – thus, I'm an entertainer! I've experience. Since 1992, new never looked down upon music has changed for me in composers who don't agree a personal sense – I've gone with this – compose and let from needing to impress, needing to shock, needing to compose – but it gets me riled up when people please, needing all three of criticize me for it. I am the these. I've seen how the work of composers I know, or know sum of the various experiences of my life – why of, has changed – but the whole global concept? You got on earth would I want to be identical to a composer who me there. From the small amount of teaching I've done doesn't share my experience over this time I've noticed that – why on earth would there seems to be less interest anyone want me to? in writing music to impress In your opinion, do you the academics, and more focus on writing what honestly believe more new music festivals need to be comes from the heart – and established or should new presumably this is a global works be automatically trend. I hope so! 24 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
included in the regular concert season of every program? Both, both! We should NEVER have to choose between these two – they are both crucial. New music festivals primarily nourish the new music fans, but bring in people who are curious, but have never experienced anything like that. Regular concert programming brings in audiences that never thought they would like new music, but hear one new piece in a Beethoven concert and it changed their whole perception of music. What advice do you have to young musicians who want to pursue composing as a career? Keep your options open. It's important to get to know other musicians – performers, conductors, etcetera – but don't forget about collaborations with choreographers, theatre directors, film makers – any artistic discipline that needs music. I've always had concert music as my main focus, but some of the most amazing projects I've worked on have been in dance, theatre, film and TV – it's about meeting people, and where there is a young composer, there is a young practitioner of any of the other disciplines, just waiting for your call.
CONCERT FIVE Friday, February 1 I 8:00 pm Centennial Concert Hall
Doors open at 7:00 pm
GLENNIE & REICH: PART 1 Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra; Alexander Mickelthwate, conductor Dame Evelyn Glennie, percussion (1)
Ellen Wieser, soprano (2) Stacey Nattrass, mezzo-soprano (2) Donnalynn Grills, alto (2) Sarah Kirsch, soprano (2)
PROGRAM Suite from There Will Be Blood (North American premiere) I. Open Spaces II. Future Markets III. HW/Hope of New Fields IV. Henry Plainview V. Proven Lands VI. Oil Hikoi (1) (North American premiere)
Jonny Greenwood (UK)
Gareth Farr (NZ)
- INTERMISSION Tehillim (2) Part I: Fast Part II: Fast Part III: Slow Part IV: Fast
Steve Reich (USA)
Jonny Greenwood, member of the band Radiohead, has emerged as one of the most exciting contemporary composers of his generation. After the critical success of the movie “There Will Be Blood,” his work on the film has now garnered him international praise as a major film composer. Tonight we are proud to present the North American premiere of his work Suite from There Will Be Blood. We welcome to Winnipeg one of the towering composers of our time. From the early 1960s, Steve Reich sought to restore contemporary music to the familiar territory of stable harmony and steady pulse for audiences. Reich’s work has been called “grand minimalism” – an exhilarating recasting of sounds and rhythms we know but without the trappings of nostalgia. As the eminent author Alex Ross further wrote, Steve Reich’s music “resonates cleanly through the caverns of the mind, leaving the listener in a state of wide-awake delight.” A large ensemble of traditional instruments and singers are featured in Tehillim, whose story is taken from parts of the Psalms, classical Western text and original Hebrew. New Zealand composer Gareth Farr also joins us as we present his stunning percussion concerto Hikoi, a work inspired by indigenous cultures of the Pacific Islanders. We welcome back the renowned percussion virtuoso Dame Evelyn Glennie as soloist for this special concert.
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COMPOSER INTERVIEW STEVE REICH BY
VINCENT HO influence would be jazz during the time I was at Juilliard, sometime in the late 1950s to early 1960s. Then when I was studying with Luciano Berio at Mills College, I was undoubtedly interested in the music of John Coltrane, in particular his album Africa/Brass. I would also include West African drumming and Balinese gamelan music. How about today? Are there any composers you've become interested in or musical styles that are influencing the music you currently write?
What inspired you to become a composer? There wasn't anything else I wanted to do as much. I owe it to a combination of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Miles Davis, Kenny Clarke, Percy Heath, Horace Silver, and Be-Bop. I heard those when I was 14 and when I heard them in quick succession I stopped taking piano lessons and switched to studying percussion with Roland Kohloff. I then formed a band with a friend of mine, and that was when the wheels really started turning for me.
Would you say those were your favourite composers when you first started composing? Stravinsky was certainly one of my favorite composers, which quickly led to Bartok, and then backwards to Perotin when I was a student at Cornell University – 12th century organum from Paris became an important part of what I was interested in. I listened to Bach all of my life, and Miles Davis, particularly the period when he was playing with Kenny Clarke, Horace Silver, and Percy Heath, up to his album So What and a little beyond that. Then I think the major
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I think my influences come out of looking at my previous works and thinking about ideas that I've been pondering for years, but there are a lot of composers who I'm interested in listening to. I listen to the Bang On A Can people, who are my very good friends (Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe) and I'm very interested in anything Arvo Pärt writes, and I'm interested in younger people like Nico Muhly, so a lot of things that come around. With what is happening in the world today, what events would you say are guiding your current compositions? Or are there any events that are inspiring or motivating your creative work?
I've done documentary pieces, most famous of which is Different Trains, about my childhood train rides between my divorced parents – my singer/lyricist mother in Los Angeles and my attorney father in New York. Which, as a Jew, could have been quite different had I been born in Europe. That work incorporated pre-recorded voices of my nanny who took care of me, a retired Pullman porter, and three Holocaust survivors. That was back in 1988, and I think that work had a lot of influence on other composers in regards to quoting documentary material. That was followed by two video operas done in collaboration with video artist Beryl Korot. This first was The Cave (1993), which is about the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah are all buried. Later was Three Tales in 2002, which is about technology in the 20th century. It introduced people like James D. Watson who codiscovered the structure of DNA, Rodney Brooks who was the head of robotics at MIT, Steven Pinker who wrote “The Blank Slate” and is now at Harvard, Richard Dawkins who is a neoDarwinian, and many other scientists. We asked all of them what they were doing and their
answers became the libretto. Most recently, I was asked by the Kronos Quartet back in 2010 to do another piece for them that would use prerecorded voices. I felt I had unfinished business with 9/11 since we lived, for the last 25 years, four blocks from Ground Zero; my family was there when it all happened. So for this work, WTC 9/11, in the first movement I used the voices of the air controllers who were the first to notice that American Airlines Flight 11 was flying south when they should have been flying west to Los Angeles, and they were the first to deliberately fly into the towers. Then it switches to the voices of the New York City Fire Department, who were the most involved and heroic in that situation. For the second movement, I
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a bit different. In Judaism there is a tradition that says that at the time of a person's death until their burial you don't leave the body alone. I wasn't actually aware of this and I read about it in the newspaper. There were some Jewish women who were at Stern College right near where the 9/11 bodies were being kept at in the medical examiner's office. They volunteered to sit with the bodies singing Psalms for 24 hours, 7 days a week. As you may remember there weren't very many whole bodies but parts of bodies so the DNA identification process took a good seven months, and all during this time these women were singing Psalms in shifts. I thought this was an incredibly beautiful thing, so I decided to interview two of these women, and one of them turned out to
I think my influences come out of looking at my previous works and thinking about ideas that I've been pondering for years, but there are a lot of composers who I'm interested in listening to.
”
– Steve Reich
made my own recordings of my friends and neighbours who were in the neighbourhood at the time. One of the voices was David Lang who said, “I was taking my kids to school.” The last movement is
be Linda Golding who used to be the president of Boosey & Hawkes, my publisher. So the last movement uses their voices. That piece was performed by Kronos Quartet and recorded in 2011.
Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 27
COMPOSER INTERVIEW During the period of 2002 to the present, I was writing music just for instruments and singers. There was one piece called Daniel Variations, which was written in the memory and honour of Daniel Pearl, the reporter who was murdered by Muslim fanatics in Pakistan, 2002. He was also a musician – a violinist – so the piece has
Alarm Will Sound. It will be premiered in London on March 5 (2013), and then it will come to Stanford University on March 16. Right now I'm writing a work titled Quartet, which is just for two vibraphones and two pianos, primarily for the percussionist Colin Curie.
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other film projects as we speak. So he continues to be a composer while being one of the main members of Radiohead. After we talked and when I came back home from Krakow, I said to myself, “I gotta check these guys out,” so I Google'd them and started listening to their music, and that was what led to Radio Rewrite.
Instrumentation is very often my inspiration. I don't write for standard groups, I don't write for string quartet. I have to have paired identical instruments.
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– Steve Reich
How would describe your creative process? What goes into creating a new work?
I guess the first thing is what the instrumentation will be. Or if it's a vocal work, a lot more string writing Have you collaborated with what text will it be. If I'm than I usually do as a result Radiohead before? working with a text, the text of that. But other than that, the pieces I wrote during this I didn't collaborate with them comes first. It will determine the character of the piece, period had nothing to do at all <laughing>. I got some and the questions are how with anything going on in of their music and took what I many singers will there be the world. wanted to take. How it and what will be the voice happened was back in range. So that would be the I just finished a piece called September of 2010, I was in first decision to be made and Radio Rewrite, which is my Krakow for a big music everything would grow out of take on materials from two festival that combined a lot of that as it did with You Are Radiohead songs: Everything pop with a lot of concert Variations, Tehillim, The Desert In Its Right Place and Jigsaw music, and Jonny Greenwood Music, Proverb and Daniel Falling Into Place. I basically was there. He had prepared Variations. If it's an took some of the harmonies his own backing track and instrumental piece, then and some of the melodic performed my piece Electric the primary thing is materials and freely did what Counterpoint. I got to talking instrumentation. What I wanted to do with them. with him and discovered he instruments am I going to be You might not even used to be a violist at Oxford writing for? Most of the time recognize Radiohead in the and is still working as a I don't accept commissions piece. It's written for noncomposer. He wrote music for people offer, but sometimes the film “There Will Be rock instruments, for the I do it when it comes from Blood” and he's working on London Sinfonietta and people like Colin Curie who 28 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
really knows what I'm about, or Paul Hillier who knows what I'm about, or Kronos Quartet who really REALLY know what I'm about. But most of the time I think about what I'd like to do and then I try to find, through my agent, some group to commission the piece <laughing>. What I think about is instrumentation. Instrumentation is very often my inspiration. I don't write for standard groups, I don't write for string quartet. I have to have paired identical instruments. So in the string quartet you've got two fiddles, well that's good but where's the other viola or the other cello? So all of the pieces I've written for Kronos have basically three string quartets: two of them pre-recorded and one of them live. When I was asked by my publisher to write a piece for eighth blackbird, I asked, “What's their instrumentation?” She said, “One flute, one clarinet, one piano and percussion --” I stopped her with, “Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. I can't possibly write for that.” “Well,” she said and paused, “sleep on it.” So I began thinking about all of the pieces I had done, going all the way back to Violin Phase, with pre-recording instruments and then
having people play against them like in all of my Counterpoint pieces. I called her back the next day and said, “Look, if these people will pre-record themselves and then play against the prerecordings so that there are two flutes, two clarinets, two violins, two cellos, two pianos, two percussions, then we've got a piece.” She said, “I'll call up.” She called up and they said, “We love it!” and that became Double Sextet, which won the Pulitzer Prize and is one of the best pieces I've ever written. So that's how instrumentation becomes my inspiration. Is that one of the reasons why you've avoided other mediums such as opera or orchestra?
Well, opera I have no interest in. Operatic voices for me are irritating to listen to. I like early-music singing, people who sing Renaissance or Medieval music. And all the vocal music of mine going back to Tehillim and onwards you'll hear non-vibrato small voices who are at ease with microphones. Those are the only voices that I use. The idea of acting singers just doesn't interest me. I'm interested in documentary materials, so the “operas” that I did were The Cave and Three Tales; that's when I collaborated with video artist Beryl Korot. She did all of the video and I did all of the music, and we used documentary sources and we were totally in synchronization. In other words, every time you saw a talking head, the music would be right there with it. The speech melody would be played by musicians on stage, meanwhile she would do whatever she was going to do with other images that was going on along with the “talking head.” Basically The Cave, which is a 2-hour evening video opera, and Three Tales, which again uses interview material with scientists and is an hour long, were the collaborative works that I have done to get the interesting things in the world into my music.
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COMPOSER INTERVIEW together with very little turnover in personnel. But now times have changed, and the good news is that we had made a lot of recordings, and I started publishing with Boosey & Hawkes back in the 1980s. Now there are literally hundreds and hundreds of ...I'm going to come to Winnipeg and performances of my music all around hear people I've never heard of or seen the world, mostly by people I've never in my life before and I'm expecting the heard of. And that's performance level is going to be very high. the wonderful thing, I'm going to – Steve Reich come to Winnipeg and hear people I've on a very large string section, counterpoint that you want to never heard of or seen in my based on the idea that you hear and complexity you want life before and I'm expecting can't hear them in proper the performance level is to hear, and it all gets balance unless there was lot of muddied up by having too going to be very high. Why? them. The orchestras back in Because they're younger many strings. So I realized Haydn's and Mozart's time had that my music is, in character, musicians, they've heard my about 30 to 35 people, with music when they were much more Medieval or very small brass and wind younger or their teacher had Baroque than it is Romantic. sections. Then Beethoven shown them something of And so the orchestra is not comes along and introduces mine when they were good orchestration for me. I trombones, clarinets, and so younger. It's in the air, it's in went back to doing what I've you have to beef up the string been doing all of my life, their blood, they get the idea, section in order for them to which is writing for variations they know how to get the be heard. Then Wagner proper kind of rhythmic of large or small amplified comes along with this huge groove so it sounds not just chamber ensembles. brass section, and the string correct but idiomatic and section becomes the size it has Are there certain qualities in moving, I am very fortunate. performers you look for, or frozen into from that time to In your opinion, do you qualities that you need to today. That is totally believe more new music have before you consider antithetical to what I do – it's festivals need to be writing a new work? TOO fat. The sound of established or should new eighteen violins playing the I had my own ensemble for works be automatically same thing is radically 40 years from 1966 to 2006. included in the regular different than having one So I'm a practical touring concert season of every violin playing it. One violin program? has a timbre that has an edge musician and I worked with people who knew what my to it. It will cut through and All of the above. music was about. We worked be quite clear. Why does
With the orchestra, I did try writing for it in the late-1980s. I started writing Three Movements and The Four Sections, and I really felt like I was writing with one hand tied behind my back. Why? Because the orchestra is based
Johann Sebastian Bach, the greatest composer who ever lived, sound so distorted when his music is played in those Stokowski arrangements for full orchestra? It really feels kind of clumsy in the orchestra because you have
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30 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
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CONCERT SIX Saturday, February 2 I 8:00 pm Centennial Concert Hall
Doors open at 7:00 pm
GLENNIE & REICH: PART 2 Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra; Alexander Mickelthwate, conductor Dame Evelyn Glennie, percussion (1) Winnipeg Singers; Yuri Klaz, artistic director (2)
PROGRAM From Darkness to Light: A Spiritual Journey (1) (World premiere)*
Vincent Ho (CAN)
- INTERMISSION The Desert Music (2) I. Fast II. Moderate III. Slow IV. Moderate V. Fast
Steve Reich (US)
Our 2011 New Music Festival sent listeners home with unforgettable memories of both Evelyn Glennie’s performance and WSO composer-inresidence Vincent Ho’s stunning percussion concerto The Shaman. Vincent and Evelyn are back with From Darkness to Light. This powerful new work, written in honour of the victims and survivors of cancer, expresses the horrors of the disease and the spiritual journey within. Steve Reich’s The Desert Music for large orchestra and amplified chorus takes its title from collected poems by William Carlos Williams written between 1954 and 1963, a time when the poet was acutely aware of the atom bomb with a plea for man to sensitize and change. Reich’s repeating interlocking melodic patterns and instantly recognizable musical language combine rigorous structures, propulsive rhythms and seductive instrumental colour underscoring this message of hope. As Reich’s colleague composer John Adams has written, “He [Steve Reich] didn’t reinvent the wheel so much as he showed us a new way to ride.” *Commissioned by The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
Royal Canoe and Tasman Richardson Pantages Playhouse Theatre, 180 Market Avenue Doors open at 11:00 pm Pop Nuit hosts the NMF wrap-up party. This event will feature Winnipeg's own critically-acclaimed avant-pop group Royal Canoe, who will perform a new album from Beck, released only on sheet music. Opening the evening will be Tasman Richardson (a video artist who only uses audio from film clips) of Toronto at 11:30 pm. This is your last opportunity to enjoy the New Music Festival. Tickets $15 in advance ($17 at the door). Dame Evelyn Glennie
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32 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
AN ARTIST'S DREAM NOTES FOR FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT: A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY BY EMILY LAU ASCENT! By Luc Leestemaker
Luc Leestemaker never lived a day in his life like he was dying. Although receiving a serious diagnosis was devastating, Luc handled his new state of health like a creative project instead of allowing it to define and confine him as a patient. Despite the doctor's prognosis of three to six months, Luc lived fully for more than 18 months continuing to do what he loved. Being creative and inspiring creativity in others was Luc's passion. Whether it was by his own paintbrush, or with his own words, he was an artist in all ways. His experiences with his diagnosis brought back to mind conversations that he and composer Vincent Ho had about creating a symphonic and visual concept based on transformation and healing. I believe the paintings Luc
painted in his last months entitled “Spirit Guides” and “Ascension” were companions to the yet to be composed symphony that Luc heard in his heart, and collaborated with his friend. During one of the most personally challenging times in his life, Luc dared to dream big – he dared to dream of an opus that would challenge each of us to live our lives fully. The following is an excerpt from a letter Luc wrote to the executives of the New Music Festival of Winnipeg proposing a symphonic ritual, originally entitled, Ascent!: A Gesamtkunstwerk for the 21st Century. It is with great honour to witness and listen to Vincent Ho's interpretation of Luc's dream in From Darkness to Light: A Spiritual Journey.
Due to my own recent diagnosis of cancer, and my subsequent journey, both through the official medical field as well as through a plethora of other modalities and disciplines (meditation, plant and herb based supplements, sound therapy, energy healing, acupuncture, etc.), I have, through my own recent journey in dealing with this disease, become very aware of the need to bring old emotional wounds, (including but not limited to the sense of being unloved and not belonging) to the surface, relive them and understand them, which then opens the room in the body to create a new energy field and heal itself. For me this process has very much become a metaphor for the whole of humanity: We have lost our balance in our disconnect from nature and instead of becoming stronger, are continuously weakening ourselves further as the result of that isolation. Dealing with the Western medical establishment of oncologists, I have also realized firsthand how dramatic the gap is between Eastern and Western medicine; I had to create my
Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 33
AN ARTIST'S DREAM
33. Angels. Spirit Guides 3, 72 x 60 inches
34. Angels. Spirit Guides 4, 72 x 60 inches
35. Angels. Spirit Guides 2, 60 x 72 inches
56. Ascension #14, 60 x 60 inches
34 OVERTURE I Januar y â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Februar y 2013
37. Angels. Spirit Guides 5, 72 x 60 inches
own process, using the best of both worlds in order to bring my own body back into balance; through combinations of chemo, meditation, yoga, acupuncture, and the like. It is from the perspective of my own experience, and through my background as a visual artist, writer and dramatist, that I came to think of the active role art can play in creating an awareness of the paradigm shift we need; to find back our own heart; our connection with nature and the cosmos at large. To come to the understanding that each of us as a minuscule cell inside a gigantic universe is as vital, essential and important as everything else in this wondrous universe. But we won't get that gift for free. We have to travel back
to the painful trauma, where we first got disconnected from our original source: past the parent and other influences from our environment that forced us to create a 'false self,' to our true source: Mother Nature. Only then, when that original connection has been re-established, can we truly understand and enjoy our lifeâ&#x20AC;Ś The underlying idea for ASCENT! is the notion that humanity is in a place of isolation, both as a community and on an individual level, and that by travelling back to the source of the trauma of disconnection, a reconnection can be established, both within oneself, and subsequently, as a community as a whole. This experience, of the
59. Ascension #23, 48 x 36 inches
journey that needs to be taken by the Hero protagonist(s), follows in many ways the old paradigms of ancient fairytales; he/she has to travel back to the source of danger, and overcome it, in order to be free. But in ASCENT! we follow the storyline of the dream; sometimes seemingly random, sometimes making complete – rational – sense. The protagonist is portrayed not by one specific character, but instead, as in the dream world, borrows from varieties of musicians, characters, cultural artifacts, and archetypal imagery to weave a story that involves and reaches all the senses. I like to emphasize that ASCENT! is meant as a positive story, showing how by learning from crisis, we can regain balance, power and joy, and live our lives as they were meant to be lived.
49. Ascension #3, 70 x 60 inches
47. Ascension #1, 80 x 72 inches
54. Ascension #11, 72 x 60 inches
52. Ascension #6, 72 x 60 inches
60. Ascension #24, 50 x 50 inches 50. Ascension #4, 70 x 60 inches
Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 35
WSO MUSICIAN PROFILES Dan Scholz
Anne Elise Lavallée
Laszlo Baroczi
Instrument: Viola
Instrument: Viola
Instrument: Viola
Joined WSO: 1994
Joined WSO: 1997
Joined WSO: 2001
Hometown: Regina, SK
Hometown: Québec City, QC
Hometown: Miskolc, Hungary
What is your favourite restaurant to go to after a WSO concert? Favourite meal there? Gwen and David’s kitchen. Whatever they make.
What is one of your most memorable live performances? Wow, don’t know where to start here…too many to mention
Who was your idol growing up? I had many. I’d say first and for most my parents and grandparents.
What or who inspires you? Mother Nature, life and the beauty of it all.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be? Archeologist.
What do you enjoy most about being part of the WSO? My friends and colleagues. Speaking to audience members before and after concerts and in the community at large.
Richard Bauch
Greg Hay
Suzanne McKegney
Instrument: Viola
Instrument: Viola
Instrument: Viola
Joined WSO: 1974
Joined WSO: 2006
Joined WSO: 1978
Hometown: Park Forest, Illinois, USA
Hometown: Brandon, MB
Hometown: Toronto, ON
If you could have dinner with one historical figure, who would that be? Julia Child, if she’s cooking.
What or who inspires you? I find a great deal of inspiration in nature.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be? I’d be a school teacher. A good teacher is hard to come by.
What is your favourite restaurant to go to after a WSO concert? Home, where my husband has dinner waiting for me!
When did you start playing your instrument? Age 21. I heard my first symphony concert and loved the sound. What do you enjoy most about being part of the WSO? The camaraderie with the members of the viola section. We work very well together.
36 OVERTURE I January – February 2013
Photographer: Chronic Creative
Merrily Peters
Mike Scholz
Bede Hanley
Instrument: Viola
Instrument: Viola
Instrument: Oboe
Joined WSO: 1992
Joined WSO: 2006
Joined WSO: 2009
Hometown: Winnipeg, MB
Hometown: Regina, SK
Hometown: Saskatoon, SK
What is one of your most memorable live performances? Saint-Saens – The Swan: played by solo cellist Arek Tesarczyk and danced by Evelyn Hart.
What is your favourite piece to play? Star Wars
What is one of your most memorable live performances? Playing with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to an outdoor audience of many thousands – she’s still got it.
Hobbies: Reading
If you could have dinner with one historical figure, who would that be? [Argentine football coach] Diego Maradona – he is had an amazing life and I bet he loves to eat.
Hobbies: Camping, fishing, running, photography, tennis – anything outdoors.
Robin MacMillan
Micah Heilbrunn
Instrument: Oboe & English Horn
Instrument: Clarinet
Joined WSO: 2006 Hometown: Sarnia, ON
Joined WSO: 2006 Hometown: London, ON
Who was your idol growing up? My father because he always stayed true to himself.
What is your favourite piece to play? Brahms Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano.
Hobbies: Bike riding, gardening, travel, Pilates, languages.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be? Rock star!
Michelle Goddard
Instrument: Clarinet Joined WSO: 2012 Hometown: Vancouver, BC What is one of your most memorable live performances? A series of performances across Canada with the Vancouver Symphony. Hobbies: Photography, tennis, snowboarding, knitting
J aJnaunaurayr y– –F eFberburaurayr y2 0210311I IOO VV E RE TRU TU R ER E3 5 7
PERFORMER /COMPOSER BIOS Daniel Belland, composer (CAN)
Timothy Corlis, composer (CAN)
Daniel Belland is an Edmonton-based composer, pianist, and flutist. Recently, he was one of two students to win the opportunity to participate in the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s (ESO) Young Composers Project, under the mentorship of Robert Rival. His orchestral work Voyage was performed by the ESO at both the Symphony Under The Sky festival and again in November 2012. Belland is also actively involved in theatre and musical theatre, both as a composer and performer. His works include the score to ; (semicolon) the musical, an original musical that ran at Nextfest 2011 and the 2011 Edmonton Fringe Festival, as well as incidental music and sound design. He is currently studying music at Grant MacEwan University.
Timothy Corlis began studying composition at the age of 11 under the tutelage of Anglican choir director, Dr. Gilles Bryant. He later went on to study composition and choral directing under Dr. Leonard Enns and develop an early career in the lively choral community of Waterloo (ON). His compositions have been performed across Canada to critical acclaim – Notes Towards a Poem That Can Never Be Written, his large-scale choral composition to words by Margaret Atwood, was nominated for a 2009 Juno Award for best classical composition of the year. He has been described as “a composer of great depth and passion, not to mention a pristine polished craft.” (WholeNote Magazine, Toronto). He currently divides his time between Winnipeg, where he lectures at Canadian Mennonite University, and Vancouver, where he directs the Vancouver Peace Choir and is completing a DMA in composition at the University of British Columbia.
Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet Versatility, technical excellence and a captivating style are the trademarks of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, qualities that have garnered both critical and audience acclaim. These qualities keep the RWB in demand as it presents more than 70 performances every season. Founded in 1939 by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet holds the double distinction of being Canada’s premier ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. Currently under the leadership of Artistic Director André Lewis, the repertoire of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet embraces a wide array of dance styles, which includes classical story ballets and an intriguing collection of shorter dances. For more than 70 years, the RWB has strived to achieve a fine balance between the classical traditions of Europe and the boldness of contemporary ballet, which in turn has produced a unique style that continues to captivate audiences. Photo: Bruce Monk
38 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
The Elmer Iseler Singers, Lydia Adams (artistic director) The Elmer Iseler Singers (EIS), conducted by Artistic Director Adams, is a 20-voice professional chamber choir based in Toronto. Founded by the late Dr. Elmer Iseler in 1979, it is one of Canada’s most illustrious professional choral ensembles. The choir has built an enviable international reputation through its concerts, broadcasts and more than 50 recordings. Known for its unique beauty of sound, the Elmer Iseler Singers bring to life an exciting repertoire that spans 500 years of great choral music. The choir regularly commissions and performs new works and is featured at national and international festivals. From 1997 to 2007 the EIS was the professional Choir-In-Residence through the Elmer Iseler Chair at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. For three decades, the organization has been a leader in excellence of choral singing, in creation and performance of new works and in touring, broadcasting, recording and performing throughout the small and large centres of Ontario, Canada and the U.S.
Gareth Farr, composer (NZ)
Harry Freedman, composer (CAN)
Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Gareth Farr began his studies in composition and percussion performance at Auckland University. The experience of hearing a visiting gamelan orchestra prompted his return to Wellington to attend Victoria University, where the characteristic rhythms and textures of the Indonesian gamelan rapidly became hallmarks of his own composition. Farr continued with postgraduate study in composition and percussion at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where his teachers included Samuel Adler and Christopher Rouse. In 1993, at the age of 25, Farr was appointed composer-in-residence by Chamber Music New Zealand, the youngest-ever composer to hold that position. At the conclusion of the residence, Farr returned to the Eastman School to begin a doctorate in composition. Farr’s music is particularly influenced by his extensive study of percussion, both Western and non-Western. Rhythmic elements of his compositions can be linked to the complex and exciting rhythms of Rarotongan log drum ensembles, Balinese gamelan and other percussion music of the Pacific Rim.
Harry Freedman (1922-2005) was born in Poland and came to Canada with his family when he was three. His early training was as a visual artist but during his teens he developed an interest in jazz, which soon spread to classical music. At 18, he made the break and began studying clarinet. After four years in the RCAF during the war, he came to Toronto to study oboe with Perry Bauman and composition with John Weinzweig at the Royal Conservatory of Music. The following year he joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as its English horn player, a post he held for 24 years until he resigned in 1970 to devote his full time to composing. Apart from brief periods with Aaron Copland and Olivier Messiaen (Tanglewood, 1949) and Ernst Krenek (Toronto, 1953), the five years he spent with Weinzweig were the extent of his formal studies in composition. Freedman is one of Canada’s most frequently performed composers. His output has given us a vast array of over 200 compositions ranging from solo voice to choir, from full orchestral symphonies to string, wind and brass ensembles, from theatre to dance stage and from film to television programs.
Malcolm Forsyth, composer (CAN) Malcolm Forsyth was born in 1936 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. He studied trombone, conducting and composition at the University of Cape Town and received his doctoral degree in music in 1972. During these years, he played trombone with the Cape Town Symphony, taught privately at the University of Cape Town and orchestrated music for the South African Broadcasting Corporation. His composition teachers include Stefans Grové and Stanley Gasser. In 1968, Forsyth moved to Canada and joined the Edmonton Symphony as bass trombonist and joined the faculty of music at the University of Alberta, teaching theory, composition and conducting. Orchestral music and works for brass are most frequent in Forsyth’s composition, however he has also written much music for strings, woodwinds, choir, voice and piano. His music is widely played and broadcast around the world, by many renowned soloists and ensembles. To date, he has won four Juno Awards for Best Classical Composition. Malcolm Forsyth passed away July 5, 2011.
Dame Evelyn Glennie, percussion Dame Evelyn Glennie is the first person in musical history to successfully create and sustain a full-time career as a solo percussionist. As one of the most eclectic and innovative musicians on the scene today, she is constantly redefining the goals and expectations of percussion and creating performances of such vitality that they almost constitute a new type of performance. Glennie has commissioned 160 new works for solo percussion from many of the world’s most eminent composers and also composes and records music for film and television. Her first high quality drama produced a score so original she was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards (BAFTA’s); the UK equivalent of the Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 39
PERFORMER /COMPOSER BIOS Oscars. In 1993, she was awarded the OBE (Officer of the British Empire). This was extended in 2007 to ‘Dame Commander’ for her services to music, and to date she has received over 80 international awards.
Michael Gordon, composer (USA) Michael Gordon is a contemporary American composer who was born in Florida in 1956 and grew up in Nicaragua and an Eastern European community in a jungle on the outskirts of Managua. His music is an outgrowth of his experience with underground rock bands in New York City and his formal training in composition at Yale where he studied with Martin Bresnick. Tuneful, rhythmic and raw, Gordon has embraced elements of dissonance, minimalism, modality and popular culture in what has been considered by some people as a bold and direct sound. Gordon is one of the founders and artistic directors of New York’s Bang on a Can Festival, alongside fellow composers Julia Wolfe and David Lang. He has collaborated with them on several projects. The opera The Carbon Copy Building, a collaboration with comic book artist Ben Katchor, received the 2000 Village Voice OBIE Award for Best New American Work, a projected comic strip that accompanies the singers interacting with each other so that the frames fall away in the telling of this story.
Jonny Greenwood, composer (UK) Jonathan Richard Guy “Jonny” Greenwood is best known as a member of the rock band Radiohead. Noted for his aggressive playing style, Greenwood is consistently named as one of the greatest guitarists of the modern era. Beyond his primary roles as Radiohead’s lead guitarist and keyboardist, Greenwood is a multi-instrumentalist and also plays viola, harmonica, glockenspiel, ondes Martenot, banjo and drums, and works with computer-generated sounds and sampling; he is also a computer programmer and writes music software used by Radiohead. Greenwood wrote the soundtracks for the films “Bodysong” (2003), “There Will Be Blood” (2007), “Norwegian Wood” (2010), “We Need To Talk About Kevin” (2010) and “The Master” (2012), and serves as 40 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
composer-in-residence for the BBC Concert Orchestra. He is the younger brother of Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood.
Donnalynn Grills, mezzo-soprano/alto Mezzo-soprano Donnalynn Grills embraces a wide range of musical styles, having performed as a guest artist with The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra; Musik Barock Ensemble; Manitoba Opera Association, Rainbow Stage, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Dry Cold Productions, Little Opera Company, GroundSwell, Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir, The Winnipeg Singers and the G & S Society of Winnipeg. She has been a featured soloist with the WSO on a number of occasions, having last appeared as the alto soloist in Penderecki’s Symphony No. 7: Seven Gates of Jerusalem (2011). Grills had the privilege of performing Steve Reich’s Tehillim with the WSO in the 1993 New Music Festival and is thrilled to have the opportunity to sing this wonderfully challenging work again. Upcoming engagements include the roles of Katisha in The Mikado presented by the G & S Society of Winnipeg and Audience with The Little Opera Company in their production of Milton Granger’s Talk Opera.
Allen Harrington, saxophone Allen Harrington is an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music where he teaches saxophone, bassoon, and chamber music. He has appeared as a soloist with more than a dozen orchestras in Canada, Europe, and South America. With his duo partner Laura Loewen (piano), he has given countless recitals around the world, in addition to touring with the Canadian organizations Debut Atlantic, Prairie Debut, and Home Routes Classical. Allen’s competition successes include the Grand Award of the 1999 National Music Festival of Canada, First Prize in the 2004 International Stepping Stone Competition, and fourth place in the 2006 International Adolphe Sax Competition. He currently plays 2nd bassoon in the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and is a regular extra in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
Christos Hatzis, composer (CAN)
Jim Hiscott, composer (CAN)
With two Juno Awards and a SOCAN Award to his credit and a slew of new commissions by internationally recognized touring artists such as violinist Hilary Hahn, percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, soprano Suzie Leblanc, the Pacifica Quartet and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and pop singers Sarah Slean and George Dalaras, Christos Hatzis is widely recognized as “one of the most important composers writing today” (CBC), “a contemporary Canadian Master” (the New Yorker) and “a Canadian icon and an international cultural institution” (See Magazine). An unusually large number of performances and CD recordings of his music as well wide internet distribution of his audio playlist have garnered a loyal international following for his music. His music is influenced by early Christian spirituality, Pythagorean and Hermetic ideas, his own Byzantine music heritage, world cultures and religions, and various classical, jazz and pop music idioms from the past and present. He is a believer in borderless culture and the uninhibited flow of cultural information. A professor of composition at the University of Toronto, Hatzis writes extensively on these and other related subjects.
Jim Hiscott was born in 1948 in St. Catharines, ON. After earning a master’s degree in Theoretical Particle Physics in 1971, he switched to music composition, studying with Samuel Dolin at the Royal Conservatory of Music and David Lidov and Richard Teitelbaum at York University. He is the recipient of the Creative Arts Award of the Canadian Federation of University Women. His compositions have been performed across North America, in Europe and Asia by many artists including the Hilliard Ensemble, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver New Music Society ensemble, Rivka Golani, Arraymusic and Philadelphia’s Relache.
Micah Heilbrunn, clarinet Born in London, Ontario, Micah Heilbrunn is currently Principal Clarinet of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, and his principal teachers include Jerome Summers, Deborah Chodacki, Robert Crowley and Joquin Valdepeñas. Heilbrunn has served as Principal Clarinet with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, has been on the clarinet faculty of Brandon University, the University of Windsor, and at the University of Manitoba, as well, he has been a featured artist at festivals throughout North America.
Gwen Hoebig, violin Recognized as one of Canada’s most outstanding violinists, Gwen Hoebig is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York City. As a student she won every major Canadian music competition, and in 1981 was the top prizewinner at the Munich International Violin Competition. A champion of new music, she has given the Canadian premieres of violin concertos by S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatté, T.P. Carrabré, Randolph Peters, Gary Kulesha, Joan Tower, Christopher Rouse and Philip Glass. As soloist with orchestra she has performed all the major violin concerti with orchestras across Canada, the United States and Europe. Hoebig joined the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as concertmaster in 1987, having been awarded the position as the unanimous choice of the audition committee. In 1993, she was honoured by the Government of Canada when she received the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation, in recognition of her contribution to the Arts. She has also been a member of the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Music and teaches regularly at the Mount Royal College in Calgary, where she is a member of the Extended Faculty.
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42 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
PERFORMER /COMPOSER BIOS Yuri Hooker, cello
Jan Kocman, flute
Yuri Hooker is Principal Cellist for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. He makes regular concerto appearances with both orchestras and has been featured on CBC Radio 2. He is also a regular performer at GroundSwell New Music, the Winnipeg Chamber Music Society, and the Clear Lake Chamber Music Festival. He is also a dedicated teacher and the founder of the Winnipeg Summer Cello Institute. He holds a bachelor of Music from Brandon University after which he pursued graduate studies with Janos Starker at Indiana University.
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra Principal Flutist Jan Kocman is well known to Canadian audiences for his solo, orchestral, and recital performances. He has been a featured soloist numerous times performing concerto repertoire by Nielsen, Mozart, J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, Telemann, Szervansky, Quantz, Glen Buhr, John Corigliano, R. Murray Schafer, Bright Sheng, Leonard Bernstein and Christopher Rouse. He attended Indiana University, where he studied with renowned flutist James Pellerite, graduating with distinction with his master’s degree in Flute Performance. During his graduate studies he served as Associate Instructor to Mr. Pellerite and completed course work in musicology with Walter Kaufmann, the founding conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as principal flutist with WSO Music Directors Piero Gamba, Kazuhiro Koizumi, Bramwell Tovey, Andrey Boreyko, and now Alexander Mickelthwate.
Sarah Kirsch, soprano A dynamic musician motivated by conceptual diversity, soprano Sarah Kirsch has dedicated herself to the collaborative practice of evocative communication through music. This season holds performances with the Phoenix Collective, Canzona and MusikBarock, the Little Opera Company, and as part of the 2013 WSO New Music Festival, Cluster New Music + Integrated Arts Festival, and Agassiz Summer Chamber Music Festival. Independently, Kirsch is in the process of curating a gallery recital featuring five new works for voice and electronics by emerging Canadian composers. She is also looking forward to working with her duo partner, pianist Christopher Kayler, on a second Home Routes house-concert tour through Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Since moving to Winnipeg in 2008, she has been honoured to have had the support of the Orville J Derraugh Memorial Scholarship, the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers’ Association, the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg, and the University of Manitoba. She was also invited to compete in the semi-finals of the 2011 E-Gré National Music Competition and the 2012 Doris McLellan Competition for Solo Performance. Sarah completed her undergraduate studies in voice performance at the University of Colorado at Boulder College of Music and graduate studies at the University of Manitoba Marcel A Desautels Faculty of Music.
Jess Krause, instrument builder/writer/singer/guitarist Born to a minister and a biologist, a farmer and an artist, Jesse Krause was moved to creative enterprise from a young age. In February of 2012, he founded the Riel Gentlemen’s Choir, a 25 voice men’s choir with a mandate of ecostewardship and social revolution, for whom he composes and conducts. As a writer/singer/guitarist for Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers since 2006, Krause has been binding classical, jazz, and pop influences together, with lyrical flair and a penchant for musically expounded narratives. Krause’s latest project, Geräuschbiest, is an innovation in instrument and sound design, as much as it is a celebration of conventional aesthetics. Together with brother Thomas Krause, accompanied by the improbable sounds of this new orchestra, Geräuschbiest is blend of the traditional and the futuristic, the sublime and the absurd.
Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 43
PERFORMER /COMPOSER BIOS David Moroz, piano Winnipeg-born pianist David Moroz enjoys a career as one of Canada’s most versatile artists. He has performed in every major Canadian city and appears regularly in recital with Canada’s most distinguished musicians. Moroz was awarded a doctor of Music degree from the University of Montreal, and holds both bachelor and master of Music degrees from the celebrated Juilliard School in New York City. He has been Artistic Director of The Winnipeg Chamber Music Society since 1987, and was appointed to the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Music in 1999, where he is Coordinator of the Piano Department.
Stacey Nattrass, mezzo-soprano Stacey Nattrass is a versatile vocalist known to classical, jazz and musical theatre audiences alike. Past appearances with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra include: De Falla’s The Three Cornered Hat; 2010: The Concert; Brand on the
Brain! (NMF). Natrass has performed at Rainbow Stage (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Full Monty, Wizard of Oz, Sound of Music), with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra and The Winnipeg Singers. She is featured on the Juno nominated recording Sefarad, The Music of Sid Robinovitch. She teaches music at Garden City Collegiate and moonlights as the anthem singer for the Winnipeg Jets.
Sarah Neufeld, violinist (of Arcade Fire) Originally from Vancouver Island, BC, Sarah Neufeld began playing the violin at the age of 3. Her musical pursuits led her to move to Montreal, QC, in 1998, where she resides to this day. She is best known as a member of the indie rock phenomenon Arcade Fire, as well as instrumental post-rock ensemble, Bell Orchestre. With these bands, she has received five Juno Awards, two Brit Awards, Canada’s Polaris Prize, and a Grammy for Best Album (cumulatively). Other projects include
PRESIDENTS OF THE WINNIPEG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 1948-51 1951-53 1953-55 1955-57 1957-58 1958-61 1961-62 1962-64 1964-65 1965-67 1967-69 1969-71 1971-73 1973-74 1974-76 1976-78 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83
Hon. Mr. Justice J. T. Beaubien Mr. J. M. Sinclair Mr. Digby Wheeler Mr. W. D. Hurst Dr. Hugh H. Saunderson Mr. E. W. H. Brown Mr. David Slater The Hon. Mr. Justice Monnin Mr. Norman J. Alexander Mr. R. W. Richards Mr. W. R. Palmer Mr. E. J. Smith Dr. M. M. Pierce Mr. H. S. Brock-Smith Mr. Allan G. Moffatt Mr. Julian D. T. Benson Mr. John L. Buckworth Mr. N. Roger McFallon Mr. John F. Fraser Mr. William W. Draper Mr. John O. Baatz
44 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
1983-84 1984-86 1986-88 1988-90 1990-92 1992-94 1994-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 Feb 1999-May 1999 Jun 1999-2000 2000-Feb 03 Mar 2003-Dec 2003 Dec 2003-Jan 2005 Jan 2005- Jul 2006 Jul 2006-Nov 2006 Dec 2006- Jun 2007 2007-2012 2012-present
Mr. Andrew D. M. Ogaranko, Q.C. Mr. Harold Buchwald, Q.C. Mr. Michel Lagacé Mr. William H. Loewen Mrs. Julia DeFehr Mr. Gordon Fogg Mrs. Helen Hayles Mr. Anthony Brookes Mrs. Helen Hayles Mr. William Norrie Mr. William Loewen Mr. Bruce MacCormack Mr. Roger King Ms. Patti Sullivan Mr. Wally Fox-Decent Ms. Carol Bellringer Mr. Harvey Pollock (Interim President) Mr. Brendan MacDougall Ms. Dorothy Dobbie Mr. Timothy E. Burt, CFA
collaborations with Montreal bands The Luyas, Snailhouse, and Esmerine and most recently, a body of music for solo violin which was recently featured in Scalpel/Stradivarius, a short film by Jason Last for Italian Vogue. In addition to this busy schedule of touring and recording, Neufeld has dedicated her life to a personal practice of yoga, and became a certified instructor of Moksha Yoga in January, 2009. She is now co-owner of Moksha Yoga NYC, the first Moksha studio opened in NY.
Peter Quanz, choreographer Peter Quanz has choreographed for dance companies, opera and theatre, and has created ballets for some of the world’s leading ballet companies. He has had commissions from the Mariinsky Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the Royal Ballet (Linbury Theatre), Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The Hong Kong Ballet, the National Ballet of Cuba and The National Ballet of Canada. He created In Tandem for the Guggenheim Museum’s Works & Process Series. Quanz founded Q Dance in 2010 to provide an opportunity to collaborate with a small group of exceptionally talented artists and to allow him to create his own programs. The company has close associations with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and has staged performances at the Gotham Dance Festival in New York City and at the Spring to Dance Festival in St. Louis. Quanz is also a recipient of the Clifford E. Lee Award, Canada’s national award for young choreographers.
Steve Reich, composer (USA) Steve Reich has been called “America’s greatest living composer” (The Village VOICE), “…the most original musical thinker of our time” (The New Yorker), and “…among the great composers of the century” (New York Times). His music has been influential to composers and mainstream musicians all over the world. He is a leading pioneer of minimalism, having in his youth broken away from the “establishment” that was
serialism. His music is known for steady pulse, repetition, and a fascination with canons; it combines rigorous structures with propulsive rhythms and seductive instrumental colour. It also embraces harmonies of non-Western and American vernacular music (especially jazz). His studies have included the Gamelan, African drumming (at the University of Ghana), and traditional forms of chanting the Hebrew scriptures. Different Trains and Music for 18 Musicians have each earned him Grammy Awards, and his “documentary video opera” works – The Cave and Three Tales, done in collaboration with video artist Beryl Korot – have pushed the boundaries of the operatic medium. Over the years, his music has significantly grown both in expanded harmonies and instrumentation, resulting in a Pulitzer Prize for his 2007 composition, Double Sextet. Reich’s music has been performed by major orchestras and ensembles around the world, including the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics; London, San Francisco, Boston, and BBC symphony orchestras; London Sinfonietta; Kronos Quartet; Ensemble Modern; Ensemble Intercontemporain; Bang on a Can AllStars; and eighth blackbird.
Jeff Reilly, bass clarinet A featured soloist on ECM records and Warner Classics, Jeff Reilly has an international reputation as an innovative master of the bass clarinet. He has performed with choirs, orchestras and chamber groups, in music festivals, cathedrals and concert halls around the world – Shanghai, Paris, London, New York, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Riga, Toronto, Montreal and more. Reilly has performed in solo roles with the Elmer Iseler Singers, Symphony Nova Scotia, I Musici de Montreal, jazz drummer Jerry Granelli, British bassist/composer Barry Guy, the Paul Cram orchestra, the Upstream orchestra, saxophonist David Mott, the Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan Orchestra, mezzo soprano Andrea Ludwig and his own trio Sanctuary. Sanctuary (with organist Peter Togni, and cellist Christoph Both) has received international praise for its transcendental performances of an entirely unique form of contemporary music. Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 45
PERFORMER /COMPOSER BIOS Ben Reimer, percussion At the age of 11, Ben Reimer became captivated by the drumset and the music that showcased this instrument. In 1996, he chose to set aside the drumset and study classical percussion at McGill University. He went on to graduate from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 2001 with a master's in Music. Returning home to Winnipeg, Reimer became the Coordinator of Percussion Studies at Brandon University. He currently resides in Montreal and in 2012 premiered two concertos by Canadian composer Nicole Lizée: The Man with the Golden Arms: Concerto for Drumset and Orchestra with the Société de Musique Contemporaine du Québec and the Triple Concerto for Power Trio and Orchestra, Fantasia on Themes by Rush with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. Reimer is featured on the Centredisc CD, This Will Not Be Televised, featuring works by composer Nicole Lizée and on Pinnacles featuring works by Diana McIntosh. www.benreimer.com
Tasman Richardson, media artist Tasman Richardson’s work focuses on entropy, telepresence, appropriation, synesthesia, and JAWA editing (of which he is the founder), in which musical composition and narratives are created entirely from video cut ups. His large scale solo exhibition Necropolis at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art received wide critical acclaim and he was recently named a 21st century Canadian Icon by Bruce Mau Design. He was also co-founder and art director of the now defunct media artist collective FAMEFAME during which time he created the annual event Videodrome, a competitive showcase for emerging JAWA artists.
46 OVERTURE I Januar y – Februar y 2013
Royal Canoe
Royal Canoe is a group of musicians on a mission to construct ambitious, inventive music. The songs are thick with catchiness, rich in rhythm and are consistently pushing against the boundaries of pop music. They spend almost every day in grimy old rehearsal space writing hooks, singing through effects pedals, scrawling lyrics on scraps of paper, running conventional sounds through unconventional pieces of gear, drumming on bathtubs, listening to Big Boi and manipulating bits of old records. The band calls Winnipeg home; the enigmatic prairie city, which has served artists as both an abundant, creative watering hole and a debilitating quagmire. The city’s mood swings from euphoric summers spent biking with beers, fence-hopping residential pools and climbing abandoned roof-tops to harsh, bitter winters that are countered first with defiance, then self-loathing, then denial, then “you’ve got to be kidding me.” Royal Canoe’s songs are, in part, an effort to make sense of the resentment and romanticism of the city’s divergent identities.
Kaija Saariaho, composer (FI) Kaija Saariaho is not only among the most important Finnish composers of her time, but must be ranked as one of the leading composers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. She studied composition in Helsinki, Freiburg and Paris, where she has lived since 1982. Her studies and research at IRCAM have had a major influence on her music and her characteristically luxuriant and mysterious textures are often created by combining live music and electronics. She has won the Prix Italia and, in 1989, the Prix Ars Electronica; received commissions from Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the Ensemble Intercontemporain; and has been the subject of a pan-European collaborative project to produce a CD-ROM Prisma about her work.
Daniel Scholz, viola
Karl Stobbe, violin
Daniel Scholz is the Principal Violist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and is a member of The Winnipeg Chamber Music Society, Brandon Chamber Players and the Rembrandt String Quartet. He studied at the University of Regina, McGill University and the University of British Columbia, and was a prize-winner at the Lionel Tertis Viola Competition, the most prestigious event of its kind, held on the Isle of Mann. As a soloist, Scholz has performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the Okanagan Symphony and the Vancouver Chamber Players. Highly sought after as a teacher, he is an instructor at the University of Manitoba and the Canadian Mennonite University, and also conducts the Winnipeg Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has performed and taught at many of Canada’s major festivals and is a faculty member of the University of Manitoba’s Summer Chamber Music Program.
Described as an artist with “soulful musicianship” by the San Francisco Classical Voice (2008), Karl Stobbe has made a name for himself as one of Canada’s most accomplished and diverse violinists. He regularly performs concerti, recitals, and chamber music, in addition to appearing frequently as a concertmaster in Canada and the United States. In those roles, Stobbe has performed in Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Segerstrom Hall, Roy Thomson Hall, the Orpheum Theatre, and many other important concert venues in North America. He is one of only a few people to perform as a soloist and chamber musician with Canada’s National Arts Centre’s Scene Festival in consecutive years, representing both the provinces of British Columbia and Manitoba as a featured artist. For his contribution to those events, he was invited to the Prime Minister’s house for a reception celebrating the national music environment. Stobbe has collaborated as a soloist with many exceptional conductors, including Andrey Boreyko, Bramwell Tovey, Simon Streatfield, Roy Goodman, Anu Tali, and Anne Manson. In recital as a soloist and with the Clearwater String Quartet, he will complete performances of all of the Bach Unaccompanied Violin Sonatas and Partitas, all six Ysaye Unaccompanied Violin Sonatas, and all 16 Beethoven String Quartets in the next year.
Andrew Staniland, composer (CAN) Composer Andrew Staniland has firmly established himself as one of Canada’s most important and innovative musical voices. Described by Alex Ross in the New Yorker magazine as “alternately beautiful and terrifying,” his music is regularly heard on CBC Radio 2 and has been broadcast internationally in over 35 countries. Staniland is the recipient of the 2009 National Grand Prize in Evolution, presented by CBC Radio 2/Espace Musique and The Banff Centre; top prizes in the SOCAN young composers competition; and the 2004 Karen Keiser Prize in Canadian Music. He has been Affiliate Composer to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (2006-09) and the National Arts Centre Orchestra (2002–04), and has also been in residence at the Centre du Creation Musicale Iannis Xenakis (Paris, 2005). Recent commissioners include the Gryphon Trio, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, the Toronto Symphony, cellist Frances-Marie Uitti, and American Opera Projects. Staniland is currently on faculty at Memorial University in St John’s Newfoundland.
Peter-Anthony Togni, composer (CAN) Peter-Anthony Togni was born in Pembroke, Ontario in 1959. He spent his early years in Toronto where he attended St. Michael’s Choir School. He later went on to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, studying organ with Frederick Geoghegan and composition with Stephen Chatman. He went on to study organ and improvisation in Paris with the great French organist Jean Langlais. Togni also studied composition with Allain Gaussin at the Schola Cantorum in Paris, where he was awarded first prize in composition. For over 20 years, he has also been a broadcaster, hosting radio programs Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 47
E LI VIC
MUSST! IS BE
Looking for Winnipeg’s very best musicians for your wedding, social, corporate events or other live music requirements? The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is excited to offer you a new service that provides you the best musicians for whatever your live music needs may be. Whether you need a string quartet, solo performer, jazz or any other ensemble, or even the full 67-member Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, you’ll find that planning your live music with us is easy and convenient. You can be sure the quality is second to none. Make your event truly special with musicians from the WSO!
Contact Brent Johnson at (204) 949-3967 or wsomusicservices@wso.mb.ca
PRESIDENT’S ADVISORY COUNCIL Al Alexandruk Mal Anderson Carol Bellringer Marilyn Billinkoff Doneta Brotchie John and Bonnie Buhler Edmund Dawe Greg Doyle Julia De Fehr Susan Feldman Jamie Dolynchuk Barbara Filuk Wally Fox-Decent Jack Fraser Elba Haid Helen Hayles Kaaren Hawkins Sherrill Hershberg Ian Kay Roger King Bill Knight Michel Lagacé
Zina Lazareck Gail Leach Dr. Hermann Lee Naomi Levine Bill Loewen Dr. Brendan MacDougall Don MacKenzie Bill Marr Michael Nozick Harvey Pollock Dr. William Pope John Rademaker Kathleen Richardson George & Tannis Richardson Ed Richmond Lorne Sharfe William Shead Graeme Sifton Joanne Sigurdson Bonnie Staples-Lyon Brenlee Carrington Trepel Dennis Wallace
1 8OO 4 VV E RE TRU TU R ER EI IS eJ a p nt euma br ye r– 2F0e1b0r u a r y 2 0 1 3
EXTRA MUSICIANS JANUARY 29 Elizabeth Dyer, violin Laurel Ridd, flute Tracy Wright, oboe Sharon Atkinson, clarinet Allen Harrington, bassoon Tony Cyre, percussion Ben Reimer, percussion Victoria Sparks, percussion Donna Laube, keyboard FEBRUARY 1 Elizabeth Dyer, violin Laurel Ridd, flute Tracy Wright, oboe Sharon Atkinson, clarinet Allen Harrington, bassoon Tony Cyre, percussion Ben Reimer, percussion Victoria Sparks, percussion Byron Wood, percussion Donna Laube, keyboard David Moroz, keyboard
FEBRUARY 2 Elizabeth Dyer, violin Laura MacDougall, flute Laurel Ridd, flute Richard Gillis, trumpet Tony Cyre, percussion Derek Klassen, percussion Jamie Pham, percussion Ben Reimer, percussion Victoria Sparks, percussion Mitchell Wiebe, percussion Byron Wood, percussion Joshua Bater, timpani Will Bonness, keyboard Cary Denby, keyboard Darryl Friesen, keyboard Donna Laube, keyboard
PERFORMER /COMPOSER BIOS for CBC Radio 2, including That Time of the Night, the award winning Stereo Morning, Weekender and presently Choral Concert out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he currently resides. Togni’s works have been released on XXI Records, CBC Records, Hänssler Classics, Warner Classics UK and most recently (2010) his Lamentatio Jeremiah Prophetae was recorded by bass clarinettist Jeff Reilly and the Elmer Iseler Singers and released on the ECM label, produced by Manfred Eicher.
University of Manitoba Flute Ensemble Thanks to teachers Jan Kocman, Laurel Ridd and Layla Roberts, the flute studio at the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music has always been very strong. The U of M Flute Ensemble is made up of present and past U of M students. For this special New Music Festival performance, it also includes studio teachers Laurel Ridd and Layla Roberts.
University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble; Dr. Fraser Linklater (director) Now in its fourth decade, the University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble continues to program and perform first-class repertoire, including works by Benson, Grainger, Hindemith, Holst, Husa and Schwantner. The Chamber Winds (an offshoot of the wind ensemble) offers students an opportunity to perform works written for smaller forces, including antiphonal brass music by Gabrieli, serenades by Mozart and Dvorˇák, and theatre music by Kurt Weill. The ensemble has also been active in commissioning and performing new music for winds, including pieces by Canadian composers Bruce Carlson, Allan Gilliland and Michael Matthews.
Rebecca Whelan, soprano “Clearly a singer to watch” as described by Geoff Chapman of the Toronto Star, Rebecca Whelan’s enchanting, crystalline voice has thrilled audiences in concert halls across North America. Soon after receiving her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Toronto, Whelan was engaged by the Elmer Iseler Singers, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Amadeus Choir. More credits include performances with the Victoria Symphony, the Canadian Brass, the Esprit Orchestra, Opera Barrie, Soundstreams and Tapestry New Opera Works. Her opera credits include the role of Serpina in Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, Laetitia in Menotti’s The Old Maid, the Thief, the Angel of Death in Facing South, one of the Land of the Dead in Pimooteewin, the first ever Cree language opera, which toured throughout Northern Ontario, and more recently performing in the world premiere of Dark Star Requiem, an opera about the plight of HIV and AIDS in Africa and the dramatic Shchedrin’s The Sealed Angel.
Eric Whitacre (USA) Eric Whitacre is quickly becoming one of the most popular composers and conductors of his generation, inspiring and motivating a new generation of singers and musicians. In 2008, the all-Whitacre choral CD Cloudburst became an unexpected international best-seller, topping the classical charts and earning a Grammy nomination. Whitacre began singing with his college choir at the age of 18 and the experience changed his life forever. He wrote his setting of Go, Lovely, Rose for that same choir three years later. He went on to earn his master’s degree in composition at the Juilliard School, where he studied with John Corigliano. Since then, Whitacre has received numerous commissioning awards and honours. His work has received thousands of performances, with sheet music sales of over 1,000,000 copies worldwide. His cutting edge musical Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, which combines influences including trance, electronica, and anime with choral, cinematic, and operatic traditions, won the ASCAP Harold Arlen Award, the Richard Rogers award and 10 Ovation Award nominations.
Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 49
INVITATION TO BE A WINNER JOIN US AT THE RAFFLE TABLE IN THE LOBBY DURING WSO PERFORMANCES The Women’s Committee of the
WINNIPEG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
All Proceeds in Support of the WSO Endowment Fund Campaign TICKETS:
5.
$
(Federal Government Matching Funds)
00
each
• DRAW 1 •
• DRAW 2 •
MOTHER’S DAY BRUNCH & WSO TICKETS FOR TWO PACKAGE VALUE:
{ 700 $
Includes: • Brunch by Bergmann’s on Lombard on the Piano Nobile, followed by WSO Concert Tickets to Beethoven 9 (Choral) for Two • Manicure/Pedicure by Chez Monique • Dolce Vita Black Purse & Scarf • Lindor Dark Chocolates • CD • Rituals Complimentary Hair Cut & Blow Dry with Aveda Conditioning Treatment, by Kaitlyn • Rituals Shellac add on to a Manicure/Pedicure Combo and 15% Discount on 2 Hair Products • Rocky Mountain “Pamper Your Body” Basket • Decorative Shoe • Corsage Gift Card
WINNERS WILL BE CONTACTED BY PHONE
CHINESE FRESHWATER PEARLS PACKAGE VALUE:
{ 900 $
Includes: • 17.5” Double-Strand Black Pearl Necklace, Matching Bracelet and earrings set • WSO Concert Voucher for Two • Morden’s Chocolates • Elizabeth Arden Carry Bag • Pashmina Scarf • Decorative Shoe Articles • CD • Christian Dior Perfume
2 DRAWS
8TH Y, APRIL 2 M, A D N U S ON 5P NCERT, 2:4 POP’S CO L CONCERT HALL IA CENTENN
OUR THANKS TO OUR DONORS Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, S. Thompson Designs Inc., Sylvia Phelan, Elizabeth Arden @ The Bay, Dolce Vita Accessories, Rocky Mountain Soap Company, Rituals in Hair & Skin, Monique S. Couture, Certified Esthetician, The Women’s Committee of the WSO, Individual Committee Members MGCC Licence #4695-RF
Value: Approx. $1600
Number of Tickets: 1,000
PERFORMER /COMPOSER BIOS Ellen Wieser, soprano Soprano Ellen Wieser has appeared as a soloist with reputed Symphony and Chamber Orchestras and Opera companies across the United States and Canada to critical acclaim. Her repertoire encompasses music of the Baroque through to music of the 21st century, and she is sought-after as a recitalist, collaborator and chamber musician within all of those genres. Operatic performance credits include lead and supporting roles with Opera Lyra Ottawa, Palm Beach Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Chautauqua Opera, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, Jeunesses Musicales du Canada, the Pazzia Collective in collaboration with Winnipeg’s Cluster Festival, and the Mont-Royal Baroque Collective. Solo concert highlights have included featured appearances with the symphony orchestras of Lansing, Kentucky, Baton Rouge, and Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, the chamber orchestras of Cincinnati and Manitoba, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Highlights of Wieser’s current season include the roles of Clorinda in Opera Lyra Ottawa’s Cenerentola, and Countess Almaviva with Montreal’s Opera da Camera, as well as recitals in Montreal, Ottawa, Kincardine, and Prince Edward County.
Winnipeg Singers; Yuri Klaz, director
The Winnipeg Singers has long been regarded as one of Canada’s finest choral ensembles. The group consists of 24 trained voices, performing music that spans the times from the Renaissance to the present. Each year the choir commissions new Canadian works and premieres other new works for its Manitoba audiences. They have performed joint concerts with various diverse organizations, appear regularly as guests of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and have given concerts and workshops for local social agencies, business firms, and high schools.
Winnipeg Wind Ensemble; Jacqueline Dawson, director The Winnipeg Wind Ensemble (WWE) was formed in the fall of 1985 by band directors and other professional Winnipeg musicians. Currently the membership consists of 31 teachers, seven students, six with music – related employment, four military musicians and five musicians who pursue non-music related day jobs. A wind ensemble typically consists of woodwinds, brass, string bass and percussion with little or no doubling of parts. The WWE has shared the stage with many local and visiting soloists and bands, providing unique and rewarding opportunities for all involved. They have collaborated with trumpet legend Armando Ghitalla, tuba player John Griffiths, the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir, The University of Manitoba’s Wind Ensemble and Concert Band, the Manitoba Honour Band and soloists from within the Winnipeg Wind Ensemble.
Did you
Know... 1991: WSO tested the waters for the feasibility of a new music festival with a pair of events called A Portrait of Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Grammatté, Jan & Feb. 1992: The WSO's New Music Festival debuted in January with Artistic Director Bramwell Tovey & first WSO Composer-in-Residence Glenn Buhr. 1994: During a New Music Festival concert, the stage lights burned out and left dancers in the dark. They didn’t stop the performance and Hugh Conacher, technical director, fixed the problem in a matter of two or three minutes.
204-949-3999 I www.wso.ca Januar y – Februar y 2013 I OVERTURE 51
WSO BOARD & STAFF 2012-2013 SEASON OUR DISTINGUISHED PATRONS His Honour the Honourable Philip S. Lee C.M., O.M. Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba The Honourable Greg Selinger, Premier of Manitoba His Worship Sam Katz, Mayor of the City of Winnipeg Mr. W.H. Loewen & Mrs. S.E. Loewen, WSO Directors Emeritus WOMEN'S COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE Shirley Loewen, President Sylvia Cassie, Vice President Lesia Peet, Past President Margaret Harvie, Treasurer Evelyn Davidson, Secretary
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Timothy E. Burt, CFA, Alan Freeman President & Chair Dr. Daya Gupta Richard Turner, Gregory Hay Vice President Michael D. Kay Muriel Smith, Secretary Maureen Kilgour Rob Kowalchuk, Caroline Ksiazek Treasurer Jackie Lowe Dorothy Dobbie, Past Terry Sargeant President Karl Stobbe Trudy Schroeder, James Carr Ex officio Sylvia Cassie Alexander Mickelthwate, Michael Cox Ex officio Arlene Dahl OFFICIAL AUDITORS Runchey Miyazawa Abbott Chartered Accountants
TRUDY SCHROEDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ALEXANDER MICKELTHWATE, MUSIC DIRECTOR
EXECUTIVE OFFICE Lori Marks, Confidential Executive Assistant
ARTISTIC Bramwell Tovey, Conductor Laureate Richard Lee, Resident Conductor Vincent Ho, Composer-in-Residence
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION John Bacon, Director of Finance & Administration Sandi Mitchell, Payroll & Accounting Administrator Mihye Shin, Accounting & Administrative Assistant
ARTISTIC OPERATIONS Jean-Francois Phaneuf, Director of Artistic Operations James Manishen, Artistic Operations Associate Andrea de Haan, Production Manager DEVELOPMENT Amanda Wilson, Stage Manager Joanne Gudmundson, Director of Development Chris Lee, Orchestra Personnel Manager Carol Cassels, Development Manager Ray Chrunyk, Principal Librarian Sarah Lund, Development Coordinator Gail Loewen, Manager of Strategic Advancement Projects Laura MacDougall, Assistant Librarian Lawrence Rentz, Stage Supervisor Caroline Murphy, Telefunder, Donations & Raffles Chelse McKee, Development Assistant (p/t) EDUCATION & OUTREACH Tanya Derksen, Director of Education & Outreach SALES & AUDIENCE SERVICES Amy Wolfe, Education & Outreach Coordinator Ryan Diduck, Director of Sales & Audience Services Brent Johnson, Community Outreach Coordinator Jason Hayes, Patron Services Coordinator Heather Thornton, Group Events Representative MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Rachel Himelblau, Patron Services Representative Lisa Abram, Director of Marketing & Communications Patron Services Representatives (p/t): Susana Schanel, Marketing & Communications Theresa Huscroft Melissa Ungrin Project Manager Cheryl Waldner, NMF Overture Coordinator Clare Neil Stephanie Van Nest Sarah Panas, Intern Crystal Schwartz S. Thompson Designs Inc.
WINNIPEG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TICKET INFORMATION 1020-555 Main Street Winnipeg, MB R3B 1C3 Phone: 204.949.3950 Fax: 204.956.4271 www.wso.ca
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52 OVERTURE I Januar y â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Februar y 2013
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