TSO On The Road

Conversation with Conductor Alain Trudel

torontosymphony — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:00:16 +0000

We had a chance to sit down and chat with Conductor Alain Trudel during our most recent Northern Residency Tour to Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.

“If an orchestra is there for you at a young age, then you’re used to that medium – you’re used to that language and it is something that is in your life.” – Conductor Alain Trudel

Surprise at East View Public School Prelude in Sault Ste. Marie

torontosymphony — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:56:30 +0000

TSO Principal Percussionist John Rudolph and TSO Percussionist Don Kuehn were performing at East View Public School in Sault Ste. Marie when a young man came to their attention. His name was Dion and he was renowned at the school for his drumming. So John and Don called him up to the front of the room and proceeded to play along with this talented young man.

The Prelude performances are small ensembles of TSO Musicians who visit local schools to perform concerts designed for young listeners. The TSO will be performing 37 Prelude performances as a part of the Northern Residency in Elliot Lake, Sudbury, and Sault Ste. Marie this week.

Chat with Roberta Smith

torontosymphony — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:35:01 +0000

As Director of Orchestra Operations and Education Programmes, Roberta Smith has led the Northern Residency tour since it began. The Northern Residency is a big project and so we wanted to sit down with her and get a sense of what it is all about.

TSO Brass Prelude in Sudbury, Sept. 13

torontosymphony — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:16:01 +0000

[Andrew Scinto, Music Teacher at Churchill Public School, Sudbury]

We had a chance to speak with Andrew Scinto from Churchill Public School in Sudbury. Andrew had brought his students to attend the TSO Prelude performance at Lasalle Secondary School yesterday. Performing was TSO Trumpet Jim Gardiner, TSO French Horn Gabe Radford and TSO Principal Trombone Gord Wolfe.

Q: What class did you bring today?

A: I brought a mix of ages – my grade seven concert band from last year and the remaining cast and crew from an “Annie” production last year.

Q: So, what did you think of the brass ensemble?

A: Magical. I don’t think they’re musicians, I think they’re magicians. I’m blown away. Being a musician all my life and hearing these instruments played by masters was truly beautiful. What a great opportunity for kids to hear the same instrument that I would demonstrate for them (or they may play themselves) and to see the looks on their faces was amazing.

Q: Have your students had a lot of exposure to symphony orchestras?

A: You can attend symphony rehearsals during the day here for free. I’ve asked anyone who wants to attend and had reasonable turnouts, but no they don’t get a lot of opportunities to hear a symphony orchestra. And I don’t know if they can fathom the world class caliber of the Toronto Sympyhony Orchestra players. But once you hear it and see it, it’s obvious and then we can talk about it. I think it’s hard to explain it to kids, they have to experience it.

An Evening Concert with Soprano Shannon Mercer in Sudbury

torontosymphony — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:09:52 +0000

Last night’s concert was, in the words of attendees, “mesmerizing” and “one of the best nights in the city.”

Alain Trudel, Soprano Shannon Mercer and the TSO musicians brought the house down. The crowd erupted into a standing ovation at the end of the first intermission.

Be sure to check out our Facebook Fan page (and become a fan!) later today as we will be uploading more photos from the concert.

We also want to thank the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and the mayor of Sudbury for their support and participation in this program. Here we see the mayor who spoke at our reception after the concert.

A chat with Soprano Shannon Mercer

torontosymphony — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:33:15 +0000

We had the chance to chat with Soprano Shannon Mercer backstage between rehearsals in Sudbury this morning.

Having sat in on the rehearsals, we can say that the upcoming concerts are shaping up to be truly amazing. We are quite excited and will be updating the blog later this evening after the first concert.

Here is a link to Shannon’s website if you would like to learn more about her or purchase some of her CDs.

The trip to Sudbury

torontosymphony — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:54:10 +0000

The trip to Sudbury was a lot of fun. The bus was a time for people to catch up, share stories and even grab a quick nap before the well-packed schedule kicks off this evening.

It’s amazing how many people had a baby picture (or two!) to share with everyone from the summer break.

We stopped halfway for a chance to grab a coffee or tea and take a group picture outside of the bus.

And here we see some of the “back of the bus” crew.

It wasn’t all fun and games. Quite a few musicians were busy brushing up on some of the pieces for the concerts. Here we see Kristen Bruya, Assistant Principal Double Bass working on one of the pieces for tonight’s rehearsal.

Everyone is cleaning up and getting ready for the first rehearsal this evening.

On the road again…

torontosymphony — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:54:20 +0000

The TSO is on the road again!

This time we are heading up to Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie as part of our 7th annual Northern Residency.

We took off just 2 hours ago. Here is a short video that recaps our departure; edited and shared from the bus.

We will have a lot to share from the road: Alain Trudel, Shannon Mercer and Bootleggers Tarantella to name just a few.

The TSO Returns to Carnegie Hall

torontosymphony — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:01:33 +0000

Well, we are back on the road again! This time, it’s to New York City’s Carnegie Hall. The TSO will be performing this Saturday March 26th at the Isaac Stern Auditorium. On the programme are Vaughan Williams Symphony 4, Four Sea Interludes from Britten’s opera Peter Grimes, and the Carnegie Hall debut of Canadian composer John Estacio’s Frenergy. Joining us on tour is the legendary violinist, Itzhak Perlman for Bruch Violin Concerto No.1.

We are so excited to be back in the Big Apple again. The last time the TSO performed at Carnegie Hall was in October 2008 to a sold-out audience who gave a roaring standing ovationan. The sign in Carnegie’s Box Office says this concert is sold out too!

If you are in New York City this weekend, we hope you have your ticket.

on the road

torontosymphony — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:17:33 +0000

What is an On The Road blog without some on the road photos? Here’s a slice of life in transit…

Violin Young-Dae Park and Viola Doug Perry review bowings on the bus leaving Orlando.

TSO Principal Cello Joseph Johnson preps new music alongside his cello on the bus towards Daytona Beach.

After 6 concerts, 6 cities, and over 1,000miles of travel, the 80 musicians of the TSO fly home to Toronto.