Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

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As the professional orchestra of Alberta’s creative capital city, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra presents over 80 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to country. The ESO is comprised of 56 full-time professional musicians who perform 42 weeks per season, and play an active role in the musical life of Edmonton and elsewhere as performers, teachers and recording artists. Currently in its 56th season, the ESO also performs as the orchestra for Edmonton Opera and Alberta Ballet productions, and its concerts and recordings are regularly heard across Canada on CBC Radio Two.

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at the Winspear Centre
The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at the Winspear Centre


Contents

[edit] History

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra was initially formed as Edmonton’s community orchestra and gave its first concert on November 14, 1920. The orchestra suspended operations in 1932, but was revived in 1952, when it was incorporated as a registered not-for-profit organization (the Edmonton Symphony Society), and gave its first performance on November 30, 1952. It made the transition to a fully professional orchestra during the early 1970s. Today the ESO’s budget is fast approaching $8 million. It is deficit-free, and its players are the highest paid Canadian orchestral musicians west of Toronto.

[edit] Music Directors, Concertmasters, and Current Artistic Leadership

William Eddins
William Eddins
Martin Riseley
Martin Riseley

Music Directors and Conductors

Concertmasters

  • Martin Riseley 1994 to date
  • John Lowry 2002-2003 (Interim)
  • James Keene 1972-1994
  • Charles Dobias 1970-1972
  • Marguerite Marzantowicz 1960-1964 (Interim), 1964-1970
  • Tom Rolston 1958-1964
  • Walter Holowach 1957-1958 (Interim)
  • Alexander Nicol 1952-1957

Current Artistic Leadership

  • William Eddins (upper right) was appointed Music Director in January 2005 and made his debut as Music Director in June of that year. Prior to his appointment in Edmonton he spent ten years working with Daniel Barenboim, most recently as Resident Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
  • Martin Riseley (lower right) has been the orchestra's concertmaster since August 1994.
  • Petar Dundjerski was appointed Assistant Conductor in Residence in September 2006.

[edit] Performing Venue

The Francis Winspear Centre for Music
The Francis Winspear Centre for Music

In September 1997, the ESO and the Edmonton Concert Hall Foundation successfully completed a two-decade, $45 million capital campaign and moved from the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium (the orchestra’s principal performing venue since 1957) into its new concert hall, the acoustically superb, 1716 seat Francis Winspear Centre for Music. The inaugural gala, at which the ESO performed Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, took place on September 13, 1997.

[edit] Community Commitment, Programming and Tours, Special Concerts

Community Commitment

The ESO is committed to serving its entire community, through eclectic programming choices and innovative education and outreach activities. Each season, almost 30,000 students experience the orchestra’s music at the Winspear Centre. The Young Composers Project, with local composers as mentors, allows select high school students to compose orchestral works and hear them in performance. The orchestra's annual outdoor Symphony Under the Sky Festival is a popular destination for Edmontonians on Labour Day weekend.

Programming and Tours

"Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra"
"Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra"

The ESO’s history and the varied nature of its programming reflect its imaginative commitment to its community.

Special Concerts

Special concerts drawing sold-out houses have featured, among others, k.d. lang in 1985, Tom Cochrane and Red Rider in 1989, The Arrogant Worms in 2002, Corb Lund in 2005, Paul Brandt in 2006, Video Games Live in 2007, and Ian Tyson on the 100th anniversary of the Province of Alberta on September 1, 2005. In December 2005, the orchestra returned to the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium to present two sold-out Christmas concerts with Christian singer/pianist Michael W. Smith. The orchestra continues this tradition of working with musicians from a variety of musical genres.

[edit] Composers in Residence

John Estacio was the ESO's first Composer in Residence (1992-1999). He produced nine major works for the orchestra during his residency:

  • The Twins and the Monster (2001)
  • The Brass Ring (1999)
  • Frenergy (1998)
  • Concerto for Piano, Violin and Cello (1997)
  • Wondrous Light (1997)
  • Borealis (1997)
  • Victims of Us All (1996)
  • A Farmer’s Symphony (1994)
  • Alegria (1994)
Allan Gilliland
Allan Gilliland

Allan Gilliland, the ESO’s second Composer in Residence (2000-2004) also composed nine major works for the orchestra, as well as a colorful new orchestration of Canada’s national anthem. Prior to his residency, Gilliland had been commissioned to write two works for the ESO:

  • Above the Fold (2004)
  • Calixa Lavallée O Canada (new orchestration) (2004)
  • Dreaming of the Masters I (2003)
  • Gaol’s Ruadh Ròs – A Celtic Concerto for Two Harps (2003)
  • Always Be True (2002)
  • Violin Concerto (2002)
  • A Wild Symphonic Ride (2002)
  • Loch na Beiste (2001)
  • On the Shoulders of Giants (2001)
  • Shadows and Light (2000)
  • Winspear Fanfare (1997)
  • Trumpet Concerto (1994)

[edit] Canadian Commissions

Composers Allan Gilliland, Malcolm Forsyth, Alan Gordon Bell, John Estacio, and Jeffrey McCune following the Edmonton Symphony's performance of their music in April 2005
Composers Allan Gilliland, Malcolm Forsyth, Alan Gordon Bell, John Estacio, and Jeffrey McCune following the Edmonton Symphony's performance of their music in April 2005

The ESO has a long tradition of commissioning and performing works by Canadian – and particularly Albertan – composers. On April 29, 2005 the ESO presented a highly acclaimed concert of music by five contemporary Alberta composers – Alan Gordon Bell, John Estacio, Malcolm Forsyth, Allan Gilliland and Jeffrey McCune – in Southam Hall at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre as part of the Alberta Scene festival.

Works commissioned by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra include:

  • Louis Applebaum Concertante / Prelude / Incantation / Sinfonia / Evocations for Two Pianos and Orchestra
  • Alan Gordon Bell Symphonies of Hidden Fire
  • Patrick Cardy Trobadores
  • George Fiala Overtura Buffa
  • Malcolm Forsyth Symphony No. 2 '... A Host of Nomads...' / Requiem for the Victims in a Wartorn World / Siyajabula! We Rejoice!
  • Allan Gilliland Dreaming of the Masters II (joint commission with CBC)
  • Stewart Grant Symphony (“Et in Terra…”)
  • Jacques Hétu Concerto for Organ
  • Gary Kulesha Dreams
  • Yuri Laniuk Palimpsesty
  • Raymond Luedeke Tales of the Netsilik (joint commission with five other Canadian orchestras)
  • Rod McKuen The Ballad of Distances - Symphonic Suite, Opus 40
  • François Morel Neumes d'espace et reliefs
  • Jeffrey McCune Aquamarine / Dance Suite / Overture Sauvage
  • John McPherson Walk in Beauty
  • Cha Ka Nin Memento Mori
  • Laurie Radford a tangle in the throat
  • Manus Sasonkin Musica post prandia
  • Robert Turner Shades of Autumn

[edit] Discography

Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (Procol Harum, Da Camera Singers, Lawrence Leonard conductor, 1972)

  • Conquistador / Whaling Stories / A Salty Dog / All This and More / In Held 'Twas In I / Luskus Delph

Music by Haydn, Debussy, Wirén (Boris Brott and John Avison conductors, 1973)

McKuen The Ballad Of Distances: Symphonic Suite, Opus 40 (Tommy Banks conductor, 1973)

Scarlet and Gold / L'Escarlet et L'Or - Alberta R.C.M.P. Century Celebrations, 1874-1974 (Tommy Banks conductor, 1974)

  • Dere Overture / Rebellion / Tribute to the R.C.M.P.

Music by Wolf, Purcell, Adaskin, Warlock (Pierre Hétu conductor, 1975)

Music by Ibert, Françaix, Rameau (Pierre Hétu conductor, 1976)

Orchestral Suites of the British Isles (Uri Mayer conductor, 1983)

Great Tenor Arias (Ermanno Mauro tenor, Uri Mayer conductor, 1984)

Great Verdi Arias (Louis Quilico baritone, Uri Mayer conductor, 1984)

  • Falstaff: “E sogno o realtà?” / La forza del destino: “Morir! tremenda cosa – Urna fatale de mio destino” / Rigoletto: “Cortigiani, vil razza dannata” / Otello: “Vanne! la tua meta già vedo – Credo in un Dio crude!” / Macbeth: “Perfidi! – Pietà, rispetto, amore” / Il trovatore: “Tutto è deserto – Il Balen del suo soriso” / La traviata: “Di Provenza” / Un ballo in maschera: “Alzati! là tuo figlio – Eri tu che macchiavi quell’anima”

Music by Forsyth and Freedman (Uri Mayer conductor, 1985)

Canadian and Russian Overtures (Uri Mayer conductor, 1986)

Harp Concertos (Gianetta Baril harp, Uri Mayer conductor, 1987)

Great Orchestral Marches (Uri Mayer conductor, 1988)

Works for Cello and Orchestra (Shauna Rolston cello, Uri Mayer conductor, 1989)

  • Morawetz Memorial to Martin Luther King / Bruch Kol Nidrei, Opus 47 / Fauré Élégie for Cello and Orchestra, Opus 24 / Dvořák Silent Woods, Opus 68 No. 5 / Bliss Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
"The Symphony Sessions"
"The Symphony Sessions"

The Symphony Sessions (Tom Cochrane, Red Rider, George Blondheim conductor, 1989)

  • Light in the Tunnel / Human Race / Can’t Turn Back / Napoleon Sheds His Skin / White Hot / Big League / Calling America / Avenue “A” / Bird on a Wire / Boy Inside the Man / Lunatic Fringe / Good Times / The Next Life

Music by Britten and Willan (Uri Mayer conductor, 1993)

Russian Sketches (Uri Mayer conductor, 1997)

Electra Rising: Music of Malcolm Forsyth (William Street saxophone, Amanda Forsyth cello, Grzegorz Nowak conductor, 1998)

  • Valley of a Thousand Hills / Tre Vie / Electra Rising (JUNO Award: Best Classical Composition)

Music by Smetana and Janáček (Grzegorz Nowak conductor, 1999)

PJ Perry and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (P.J. Perry, saxophone, David Hoyt conductor, 1999)

  • Django / Charlie Parker Medley / Bossa Nova Medley / They Kept Bach's Head Alive / Ballad Medley / Hand In Hand / Harlem Nocturne / The Old Castle / Strike Up The Band
"Semi-Conducted"
"Semi-Conducted"

Semi-Conducted (CD) / Three Worms and an Orchestra (DVD) (The Arrogant Worms, David Hoyt conductor, 2003)

  • Overture / Big Fat Road Manager / Canada's Really Big / Rocks and Trees / Log In to You / I am Cow / Last Saskatchewan Pirate / Gaelic Song / Me Like Hockey / Carrot Juice is Murder / Dangerous / Billy the Theme Park Shark / Celine Dion / We are the Beaver

Frenergy: The Music of John Estacio (Mario Bernardi conductor, 2004)

  • Frenergy / A Farmer’s Symphony / Bootlegger’s Tarantella / Such Sweet Sorrow / Solaris / Borealis / Wondrous Light

[edit] References

[edit] External Links

[edit] See also

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