TSO On The Road

Wednesday marked the start of our student concerts in the near north – and what a kick-off it was!  Glad Tidings auditorium was filled (first with English speakers, and then with Francophones) for two fantastic shows.  One lucky student was given the chance to take the podium and conduct for each of these shows.

We had lunch brought into the hall for the 1 hour break between shows – pizza, pasta and salad from a local restaurant in Sudbury called Ripe.  The pizza was a big hit and after lunch the musicians were ready for another great show.

Right after the concerts, we jumped on the bus to Sault Ste Marie.  We stopped at a rest stop along the way with a GREAT ice cream and fudge store – I think the most popular ice cream flavour was triple chocolate brownie, and it was yummy!

Upon our arrival in the Soo, we had an orchestra dinner where most of us ate until we couldn’t eat anymore!  The Waterfront Inn even had a welcome sign for us:

Thursday morning was our first student concert in SSM, at the Kiwanis Community Theatre Centre.  The kids loved the show – and were especially enthused about having Jim Gardiner as the soloist – born and raised in the Soo!

Thursday afternoon was hectic as Roberta had planned for many in-school performances and masterclasses.  Lucky for us, we had some wonderful volunteers from SSM helping the staff to drive musicians to their schools.  I went to Rosedale Public School with the brass trio – and the kids loved them!  Here’s a picture of Andrew, Gabe, and Megan performing for the grade 7/8 classes:

Thursday night we were ready for our SOLD OUT show in SSM!. Christian Sharpe, Orchestra Personnel Administrator, and I were so excited about selling out the hall:

The show was fabulous and the audience was amazing!  Jim Gardiner sounded awesome playing the Hummel Trumpet Concerto and the audience gave him a well deserved standing ovation.  After two encores and a whole lot of clapping, we made our way to the Civic Centre for a nice reception put on by the Mayor.

All in all it’s been a great tour.  As the last student concert wraps up, and we jump on our plane home, we’re all getting excited for an amazing season opener in Toronto!  Special thanks to everyone on tour – the musicians, Peter, the staff, our presenters & supporters, all of the wonderful people we met in the communities we visited, and our super bus drivers Tony and Stan.

Getting on the plane!

And that’s a wrap!

– Rachel Malach, TSO Tour Manager

After our last rehearsal for the tour Tuesday morning, the orchestra was ready to bring in the audience!  Tickets were selling fast for the concert Tuesday evening, and we were looking forward to playing to a full house.

But, before jumping to the concert – the education madness began.  Roberta Smith, who runs the TSO’s education program planned for a VERY busy day.  TSO staff accompanied the fantastic education musicians to over 15 chamber music performances and masterclasses for students of all ages.

I was lucky enough to attend a masterclass given by Kim Gilmore, librarian and tuba player extraordinaire!  Kim helped students from Cambrian College and Laurentian University to improve some repertoire they were working on.  Just remember “It’s all about wind”!  To finish off the class, Kim treated us to a performance of Stuff – one of her favourite pieces.  Below is a picture of Kim working with a student from Cambrian:

We must have kept the cab companies in business on Tuesday.  Kim and I got a ride with a cab driver who had an incredible connection to the TSO.  When he was a little boy, he the TSO came to his reservation and identified him as having great potential as a musician.  He studied french horn with a former member of the TSO, and while he doesn’t play today, he has kept up his singing for over 30 years!  We were thrilled to hear he would attend the concert and we hope he enjoyed it! 

Well, who wouldn’t have enjoyed it?  Thanks to the musicians and Peter for the inspiring music, to Gary Kulesha - our composer advisor – for the world premiere of his new piece Torque, and to the staff for making it run smoothly. Gord gave an outstanding performance of the Grondahl – go Gord!  I had the pleasure of sitting with our lovely bus drivers, who had a wonderful time until we realized the buses were blocked in.  The hall was so full, it was even hard to park the TSO van!

The audience loved the show – it was a great success. Congrats to Roberta, who was presented with the John Hobday Award by the Canada Council for the Arts at the top of the second half.  Her thoughtful speech set the tone for the rest of a great evening!

We then made our way to the reception, hosted by the Mayor of Sudbury at Science North (Sudbury’s renowned Science Centre).  A big thank you to the Sudbury community for being so welcoming – best of luck to the SSO with opening of its season on Sept 26!

More tidbits to come tomorrow – and with that I bid you adieu.

In the hotel…just before midnight.

After a very busy day, I can finally say it’s almost over.  This morning, after loading up the buses with all our luggage (and of course some candies and other snacks too) we got off to a great start at 10:08am and made good time on the road.  Everyone was geared up for the start of the year and excited to be back for another great season with the TSO.  After catching up with each other, it was nap time on bus one.  Bus two, on the other hand, was probably deep into their game…of poker!

We stopped for lunch near Parry Sound and contributed to the ever-growing institution of Tim Horton’s.  Back on the road again, we arrived in Sudbury on time – only to find a maze of construction and horrible traffic.  Arrival time at the hotel – 3:17pm (not too far off from our estimated eta of 3pm).  There seems to be construction everywhere in this city…this will be interesting.

Meanwhile, Chris Walroth, our amazing production manager accompanied the truck with all our equipment and set up for our rehearsals and performances in Glad Tidings Auditorium without a hitch.  The hall was ready for the TSO’s first rehearsal of 09-10!  As Peter Oundjian began conducting, we had a staff tour meeting to finalize all details for tomorrow.  With more than 15 Preludes performances and masterclasses going on at the same time, it was a challenge.

By the end of rehearsal, everything was in order (including staff training on how to stow the back seats in the TSO van!) and it was time to get back to the hotel and relax.  Luckily, we arranged for the restaurant to stay open late, and many of us enjoyed a well deserved meal after a busy day.

Tomorrow – rehearsal, MANY education activities and our evening concert in Sudbury. From what I heard in rehearsal – the show is going to be great.  Gord Wolfe‘s rendition of the Grondahl Trombone Concerto should not be missed – you won’t be disappointed!

12:09pm – Enough tidbits for today, goodnight!