ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
with the PEI Symphony Orchestra Celebrating 50 Years
By Will Hobbs
On the occasion of the PEISO 40th birthday in 2008, founding member Allie McCrady recalled of that first concert: The orchestra was then a mixture of young and old, trained and untrained musicians. Basically anyone who had an interest in playing was welcome in the orchestra. It was a humble beginning but everything has to start somewhere. Though the PEISO has grown from that first performance, it is still a mix of young and old, professional, non-professional, and student performers. It continues to strive for the goals that were set out in 1968: to provide live symphonic music of high quality for the people of Prince Edward Island, and to contribute to the artistic community through the presentation of live concerts – goals that, with the continued support of the community, will be pursued for many years to come. On Sunday May 5, 1968 conductor Thomas Hahn raised his baton and gave the downbeat to a group of Island musicians who had spent a year rehearsing for that moment. And with that downbeat the PEI Symphony Orchestra (PEISO) was born. The idea of a classical orchestra for the Island had been talked about for several years. The letters of patent were granted in April of 1968 and that first programme was presented a month later.
▲ Current Music Director Mark Shapiro leading the PEISO into its 50th year ▼Music Director (1970-76) Dr. Al Reesor leads an early rehearsal of the PEISO
It was an adventuresome programme for any orchestra, let alone a newly formed group, and it set the pattern for the performances that were to follow. Over the past 50 years concerts have been a mix of popular classical pieces, lesser known works, and new music by Canadian and International composers. The roots of Island music have always been a feature of Pops Concerts with local groups and Maritime musicians joining the Symphony in a fusion of folk and classical music. As the PEISO enters its 50th season, the 2017-2018 programme continues to follow the innovative path set out on that May afternoon in 1968. The 50th anniversary season began early in May with a memorable performance by the National Arts Centre Orchestra under Alexander Shelley with guest soloist James Ehnes. It continues in October when Beethoven will be keeping company with East Coast Music Award winners Ten Strings and a Goatskin. Dvořák, Mozart, Britten, Tchaikovsky and Canadian composer Violet Archer are featured in concerts in March and April. The centrepiece of the season will be the world premiere, in November, of Cantata for Canada 150 – a piece commissioned by
the PEISO with the help of the Government of Canada. Four poems, the winning entries of a Province-wide contest for school children, are being set to music by four Island composers. Soloists, the Confederation Centre Chorus, Children’s Chorus and Hey Cuzzins Mi’kmaq Drum Circle will join the Symphony to perform an uniquely Island take on Canada at 150.
The programme begins with another work commissioned by the PEISO and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra: A Hero’s Welcome , Kati Agócs’ fanfare for the sesquicentennial. And the concert will end with a bang - Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, special effects courtesy of the PEI Regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces.
For season details and subscription information:
PEI Symphony Orchestra 903.892.4333. admin@peisymphony.com peisymphony.com
Summer 2017 pei-living.ca
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