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WSO enters their 2007-2008 season

WSO Executive Director, Dale Lonis
photo: Karla Burr

more photos:

  • WSO Musicians perform - Karla Burr
  • WSO Musicians perform - Karla Burr
  • WSO Executive Director - Karla Burr

Today the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra launched its 2007/2008 season - one that marks the 60th anniversary of the WSO. Executive Director, Dale Lonis focused on connecting with the community and putting an emphasis on the individual musicians that make us the orchestra.

As an arts organization that has long battled with the perception of being elitist, a connection with the community is what the organization desperately needs. The traditional WSO audience is getting older and symphonic music is something that many members of the general public have a hard time connecting with. This is understandable, as arts programs in public education seem to continually suffer from budget cuts; as a result, youth exposure to orchestral music becomes more and more limited.

This is a problem that the WSO is aware of and is something that they are working at rectifying, without alienating its traditional audience - which is a fine balancing act.

Plans are in place for a special symphony week, beginning Monday, September 1st, where small groups of musicians from the WSO will be playing for the public between 11 am and 3 pm at The Forks. As well on Thursday, September 6th, the Women's Committee will launch their 16 page fundraising calendar that commemorates the 60th season. The Launch will be held at Grant Park's McNally Robinson.

In addition to their public events, Tanya Derksen, the education and outreach manager of the WSO, has been working on the Up Close and Orchestral program for grades 7-12. The program takes members of the orchestra to local high schools to make a "direct connection with the students". Up Close and Orchestral will reach over 5000 students at 7 schools. The WSO has educational programs in place for children aged 3-18, including Nursery Notes and Adventures in Music. Last year a program similar to Up Close and Orchestral took place in the River East School Division where Zane Zalis, a teacher at Miles Macdonell Collegiate composed a piece which the orchestra performed with students for the general public. Taking the WSO to familiar stages for people who are new to orchestral music is a step in the right direction for battling the posh perceptions people have of the symphony.

James Manishon, Artistic Resource for the WSO is excited for some of the technologies the symphony is using to reach audiences before they even arrive at the concert. Sample clips of concerts are found on the WSO web site to help subscribers choose their concerts. "Pod-casts will also be available on-line, so that concert-goers can learn about the piece they are about to see, in the car on the way to the concert."

This coming season promises to bring in some familiar faces, Bramwell Tovey returns in November for a two-concert engagement. Canadian singer and fiddler, Natalie MacMaster is also in town for three nights in February. As always the WSO has more traditional musical fare where you can expect to hear classics from musical giants such as: Brahms, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Bach. Other concerts include Verdi Requiem), two pieces by Rachmaninoff (the lay person will remember his music from 2003's The Pianist), and new pieces such as a WSO commissioned, world premiere piece from Glenn Buhr.

Comments

Avatar 1Aug 30th 2007, 16:29 Chris Clarke
Good luck to the WSO!
What was the turnout like at the release? What was the reaction like to the announcements? Were there any interesting questions?
Avatar 2Aug 30th 2007, 16:40 Karla Burr
The press release (at the Millenium Library) had about 30 - 40 people in attendance, a mix of media, WSO employees, and passer-bys. I was surprised that some of the bigger news agencies did not seem to be there.
The WSO did not take questions during the release instead, muscians and staff made themselves available for questions after the launch.

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