The last seven months have been a season like no other for the musicians of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Since the devastating news of our organization's filing for bankruptcy in September, we have had to figure out what this means for us as a group and as individuals, both professionally and personally. Once we recovered from our initial shock, we understood that this cannot truly be the end of KWS’s 78 year history. This community must have its orchestra back.
We quickly got to work forming committees and starting our Go Fund Me campaign which still remains active. We found ways to continue presenting concerts and began exploring paths forward as an organization. We worked alongside the AFM Symphonic Services Division, CFM Local 226, legal counsel and members of our community.
We have presented benefit concerts, chamber music and chamber orchestra concerts, school outreach and kinder concerts, and participated in local chamber music series. On May 11th we will present a concert with full orchestra at St Matthews Lutheran Church in Kitchener.
The Grand Philharmonic Choir, with whom the KWS has a long history, has continued to hire us to perform with them for their scheduled concerts. In the past the choir hired the symphony as a unit, this season they have hired our members as individual freelancers.
We have received an incredible amount of support from our community here in Waterloo Region and from the musical community across Canada and abroad. The support from other OCSM orchestras and colleagues around the world has meant a tremendous amount to us; we are grateful for all of you.
We are very hopeful that there will be a future KWS. We are currently engaged in steps towards that goal and although there are many challenges along the way, we are doing everything we can and believe our efforts will be successful.
KWS Delegate Rebecca Diderrich
April 26, 2024
Photo: Musicians of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, May 11, 2024 at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Kitchener, conducted by Andrei Feher
Credit: David Delouchery, Hawkeye Films, Kitchener, ON; Tel 519 596-4100, or connect on Facebook
