The Music Goes On
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Sixty-six members strong, employing musicians from all over Canada and the world, Calgary Philharmonic has filled the Jack Singer Concert Hall with powerful music for over 37 years and been a member of Calgary’s vibrant arts community for 65 years. Like all performing arts organizations in Calgary, they were forced to close their doors when the pandemic hit, but these past couple months they’ve been anything but idle. And now, with the start of the 2020-21 season, they’re announcing a new fall series of free online concerts.
“We have heard over and over again how much comfort music has brought people over the past six months and how much they appreciate our virtual performances,” says Paul Dornian, President + CEO of the Calgary Phil. “In return, we have received tremendous support from our loyal audience and the community, which has helped make it possible for us to create new experiences online.”
“We want to honour that contribution by making these concerts accessible to everyone — we don’t want anyone to miss out due to financial hardship or because they have to remain in isolation,” says Dornian. “This is also a great opportunity to reach Calgarians and others who haven’t yet discovered our amazing Orchestra.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Calgary Phil musicians collaborated with their Edmonton colleagues on two virtual performances that went viral, the Orchestra performed the first movement of Beethoven's fifth symphony online as part of Tom Jackson's Almighty Voices series, and the organization launched a four-part virtual education series for children, among other initiatives.
To read more about Calgary Phil’s education series, click here.
This new online season takes the virtual orchestra experience one step further. Starting small with solos, duets, and trios, Calgary Phil intends to slowly work up to larger performances akin to what we’re used to experiencing in the concert hall. Keeping in mind the constantly shifting situation that is COVID-19, the concerts will be announced a month in advance, giving Calgary Phil the ability to pivot should guidelines change.
“I’m extremely excited that we’re finally back onstage,” says Music Director Rune Bergmann from his home in Norway. “Since it’s not possible for everyone to be together in the concert hall right now, we're using the top-quality streaming platform we developed over the last five years to reach all of you at home. “This series will be very interesting for our audience — you get the opportunity to hear some of the greatest chamber music ever written, as well as some pieces you may not have heard before. These smaller concerts also shine a spotlight on the talent we are so lucky to have in Calgary.”
For both the musicians and the music lovers all over Calgary, it’s exciting to see Calgary Phil performing again and giving valuable employment to our artists.
Check out the line-up for October below.
Saturday, October 3
Solo + Duet
Bach | Chan | Eckhardt-Gramatté | Halvorsen
Program: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, by J.S. Bach; Soulmate, by Ka Nin Chan; Caprice No. 7 (Le Depart d’un train), by Eckhardt-Gramatté; Passacaglia for violin and cello, by Halvorsen, based on a theme by Handel.
Musicians: Violin — Donovan Seidle (Assistant Concertmaster); Cello — Arnold Choi (Principal).
Saturday, October 10
Trio + Quartet
Haydn | Tagaq | Beethoven
Program: String Quartet No. 1 in B-flat Major, by Haydn; Sivunittinni, by Tanya Tagaq (arr. Jacob Garchik); Piano Trio No. 1 in E-flat Major, by Beethoven.
Musicians: Violins —Diana Cohen (Concertmaster), John Lowry (Associate Concertmaster), Hojean Yoo, Stephanie Soltice-Johnson (Assistant Principal, Second Violins), Erin Burkholder; Violas — Marcin Swoboda (Assistant Principal), Jeremy Bauman; Cellos — Josué Valdepeños (Assistant Principal), Kathleen de Caen, Daniel Poceta; Piano — Akiko Tominaga.
Saturday, October 17
Quintets
Louie | Brahms
Program: Falling Through Time, by Alexina Louie; Piano Quintet in F Minor, by Brahms.
Musicians: Violins —John Lowry (Associate Concertmaster), Adriana Lebedovich; Violas — Marcin Swoboda (Assistant Principal), Jesse Morrison; Cellos — Thomas Megee, David Morrissey; Piano — Akiko Tominaga, Susanne Ruberg-Gordon.
Friday, October 24
Sextet + Septet
Beethoven | Ho | Hindemith
Program: Sextet in E-flat Major for Two Horns and String Quartet, by Beethoven; Four Paintings by Leestemaker, by Vincent Ho; Septet for Winds, by Hindemith.
Musicians: Violins — Donovan Seidle (Assistant Concertmaster), Edmund Chung, Erica Hudson, Steven J. Lubiarz; Violas — Michael Bursey, Alisa Klebanov; Cellos — Josué Valdepeños (Assistant Principal), Daniel Poceta; Bass — Patrick Staples; Flute — Sara Hahn-Scinocco (Principal); Oboe — Alex Klein (Principal); Clarinets — Slavko Popovic (Principal), Jocelyn Colquhoun (Assistant Principal); Bassoon — Antoine St-Onge (Principal); Horns — Robert McCosh (Principal), Jennifer Frank-Umana (Associate Principal), Heather Wootton (Assistant Principal); Trumpet — Miranda Cairns (Assistant Principal).; Piano — Susanne Ruberg-Gordon.
Friday 30 October
Septets
Strauss | Stravinsky
Program: L'Histoire du soldat, by Stravinsky.
Musicians: Conductor — Karl Hirzer; Violins — Diana Cohen (Concertmaster); Basses — Kyle Sanborn (Assistant Principal); Clarinet — Jocelyn Colquhoun (Assistant Principal); Bassoon — Antoine St-Onge (Principal); Trumpet — Miranda Cairns (Assistant Principal); Trombone — James Scott (Principal); Percussion — Alex Cohen (Principal Timpani). Narrator: Haysam Kadri.
To learn more, visit calgaryphil.com.
