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Join the OCSM Conference for these live webcast sessions. All times are EST. The broadcast will be via Facebook Live here: https://www.facebook.com/ocsm.omosc/
TUESDAY, August 13
3:20-4:00pm: Michael Wright, OCSM Legal Counsel
4:00-5:30pm: Negotiating Orchestras Workshop: ICSOM Legal Counsel Kevin Case, OCSM Legal Counsel: Negotiation Surveys
WEDNESDAY, August 14, 2019
10:00-11:00am: Dr John Chong, Musicians Clinics of Canada
THURSDAY, August 15, 2019
10:00-11:30am: Elizabeth Simpson (NACO) and Erin Parkes (Lotus Centre for Special Music Educations) - Music Circle Presentation
FRIDAY, August 16, 2019
9:00-9:45am: Morgan MacKenzie, Western Financial Group Insurance Solutions (OCSM Instrument Insurance/General Liability Policies)
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This week: Symphonic news from Ottawa, Baltimore, and Saskatoon...
The
National Arts Centre is celebrating its 50th anniversary this Sunday, June 2nd; the
Ottawa Citizen spoke with executive director and longtime NACO manager Christopher Deacon about the state of the NAC, its current initiatives and his vision for its future.
The management of the
Baltimore Symphony abruptly cancelled the orchestra's summer season, citing "long term systemic issues" and a need to change the business model. BSO musicians' last contract expired in September 2018, and management has demanded a cut from a 52- to a 40-week season, the
Washington Post reports.
The
Saskatoon Symphony ran a successful fundraising campaign and achieved a surplus for 2018-19, its first in recent memory, the
Star Phoenix reports. Music director
Eric Paetkau and executive director
Mark Turner also
spoke to the Star Phoenix about the SSO's 19/20 season.
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Concert hall worries in Winnipeg; Symphony Nova Scotia music director finalists; a late swap in Montreal; hearing aid research in Hamilton; the Pittsburgh Symphony's recovery plan, and more. Photo: WSO performing at Centennial Concert Hall, Nov. 2014, photo by blogger Jennifer Lynn Grace
Canadian orchestra news
Symphony Nova Scotia has narrowed its music director search to two finalists: Quebec-based
Jean-Michel Malouf and New Zealand-born
Holly Mathieson. Both will conduct the SNS in the fall, the
Chronicle Herald reports.
CBC News reported on a last-minute programme change Wednesday at the
Montreal Symphony, via OSM bassist Scott Feltham: after concerto soloist Daniil Trifonov's last-minute cancellation due to illness, conductor
Karina Canellakis conducted Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony without rehearsal. Trifonov recovered and performed on Thursday and Friday.
Winnipeg's Centennial Concert Hall shell is in dire need of repair, according to
Winnipeg Symphony executive director Trudy Schroeder's recent comments,
reported by Global News. The orchestra is calling on the province, the concert hall's landlord, to fund improvements.
Both
Trudy Schroeder and Brandon native
James Ehnes were among the recipients of the Order of Manitoba this year, the
Winnipeg Sun reports.
Innovators
In partnership with the
Hamilton Philharmonic, McMaster University's LiveLab is working to develop better hearing aids and PA systems with a study of audience members' listening experience, the
Spectator reports.
While on tour in London, the
National Arts Centre Orchestra connected youth orchestras in both countries in an event showcasing top talents as well as technology, the
Ottawa Citizen reports.
And the
NY Times profiled the
Pittsburgh Symphony and its music director,
Manfred Honeck. Following a 55-day strike in 2015, the orchestra has made a series of well-received recordings of standard repertoire. Several musician-led initiatives have sought to reconnect to the community.
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Seven-week CSO strike ends; NACO tours Europe; new inclusive offerings in Toronto, Edmonton, and Halifax; and more. Photo credit: H Edgar, Chicago Classical Review.
Chicago Symphony ends strike
The
Chicago Symphony reached a five-year agreement last weekend, ending a strike which began March 10th. The deal followed meetings at City Hall with
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the
Sun-Times reported. This was the first time in Mayor Emanuel's eight-year term that he attempted to broker a compromise in a labour dispute.
At issue in the seven-week strike was the CSO's pension, which will shift from a defined-benefit to defined-contribution plan, the
NY Times reports. Wages will also increase in each of the five years: 2, 2, 2.5, 3.25, and 3.5% in the final year, which will bring base salaries to USD 181,272.
The NY Times reports:
The strike was also notable for the unusual involvement of the orchestra’s revered music director, Riccardo Muti, since conductors usually avoid seeming to take sides in labor disputes. But before the strike began, Mr. Muti wrote to the orchestra’s board and management, saying, “I am with the musicians,” and he later appeared with the players on the picket line.
Canadian orchestra news
A significant rent increase at Victoria's Royal Theatre, which would impact the
Victoria Symphony and other arts groups, was postponed and will now take two years to go into effect,
CBC News reported. Arts groups are advocating for more public consultation on funding and the impact of rent hikes.
The
National Arts Centre Orchestra's May European tour, titled
Crossings, will highlight contemporary Canadian composers, the
Ottawa Citizen reports. With stops in London, Paris, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Utrecht, and Saffron Walden, NACO will perform works by Ana Sokolovic and Jocelyn Morlock, along with more traditional fare by Ravel, Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Dvorak.
The
Toronto Symphony recently offered its first 'relaxed performance', a concert specifically designed for neurodiverse audiences and those on the autism spectrum. TSO cellist Winona Zelenka wrote
an opinion piece for Toronto.com explaining and applauding the initiative.
Similar events have already been programmed by other orchestras and arts presenters, including
Symphony Nova Scotia, as the
Chronicle Herald reports.
The
Edmonton Symphony will feature drag performer and violinist Thorgy Thor on an upcoming concert, one of several drag performances at the Winspear Centre this season.
CBC News reported on the growing acceptance of drag within mainstream culture.
The
Saskatoon Symphony recently premiered a violin concerto written in 1938 by Heinz Moehn, best known as a music editor for Barenreiter, the
StarPhoenix reported. Moehn's grandson, Johannes Dyring, moved to Saskatoon in 2015 and advocated for the work; it was performed by violinist Timothy Chooi.
The McGill Chamber Orchestra has assumed a new name,
Orchestre classique de Montréal. The
Montreal Gazette reports on the history behind the names.