Maestro's Musings

Lots of Ludwig!

2011-04-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe that May 1 marks the final concert of my 20th anniversary season with the Kingston Symphony. This year has gone by so quickly – filled with great concerts and unforgettable music – and I’m truly looking forward to this final concert.

Not only will this concert feature three beautiful Beethoven pieces, but also three local musicians of outstanding calibre.

Our concertmaster, Gisèle Dalbec, along with our principal cellist Wolf Tormann and local composer and pianist Michel Szczesniak will play the famous Triple Concerto. The program also includes the Egmont Overture and Symphony No. 5.

There are very few tickets left to this concert, so if you don’t want to miss this homegrown musical treat, make sure to purchase yours today!

Our annual Beat Beethoven Run takes place on Sunday, June 5. The orchestra will then play another Beethoven piece, his third symphony, Eroica, as runners embark on and 8-kilometre or 4-kilometre route. This is annually one of the biggest fundraisers for the Kingston Symphony Association, a non-profit organization, and the members of the orchestra sincerely enjoy taking part. We’re hoping this year will be a little drier than last year, but we’ll have a good time no matter what.

So in honour of all this Beethoven, I thought I’d share some fun facts about the sometimes misunderstood master musician.

Did you know that the Eroica was originally titled Bonaparte, and dedicated to Napoleon? Beethoven thought that Napoleon would bring democracy and the enlightenment to all of Europe. Beethoven was so disgusted with the leader when he proclaimed himself emperor, he scratched Bonaparte’s name from the title and left a gaping hole in the paper.

Beethoven started going deaf in his twenties, but kept composing music. In order to hear the notes, he sawed the legs off the piano so he could hear the vibrations as he played. By the time he was 40, he was completely deaf.

Beethoven first performed for an audience when he was seven years old, but didn’t make an impression on his audience. It was when he was 13 that he began improvising his own work on the piano, and was encouraged to publish these sonatas.

Beethoven’s final masterpiece is an ironic one. He suffered at the hands of his violently alcoholic father while growing up, and then his progressive and eventually complete deafness cut his spirits in his adult life. And yet, he was able to compose the Ninth Symphony and its “Ode to Joy,” arguably one of the most beautiful compositions in history.

Many musicians and music critics – including Beethoven’s one-time teacher, Joseph Haydn—actually feared Beethoven’s work because it relied so much on passion rather than the mathematically precise nature consistent with the Classical style of the age.

And this, my friends, is what music is all about. I hope you find Beethoven’s works as powerful as I do. If you can’t make it to the concert on May 1, then stop by Confederation Park on June 5 as we play for the Beat Beethoven Run.

Thank you for supporting the Kingston Symphony in its 57th year, my 20th as music director. It’s been a phenomenal season, and dare I say it, next season will be even better. Stay tuned for more information about our season launch and artists who will perform with us next year.

Movie music mania!

2011-04-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

What makes a horror movie scary? The music.
What makes us swoon during a romantic movie? The music.
What makes a car chase so exciting? The music.

Without carefully thought-out soundtracks, movies would not make our hearts race or even keep us interested! Before actors even spoke in films there was music to set the mood.

I can’t wait for this Friday, April 8, when we play some of the most iconic pieces from movies spanning several decades. We go back to 1961 and play some Henry Mancini from his unforgettable work on Breakfast at Tiffany’s; we’ll play parts from the score to Out of Africa; then we’ll honour one of the largest-grossing movies of all time with music from Titanic.

The Academy of Motion Pictures obviously thought these pieces were worthy of its highest honour when they each won the Oscar for best score in their respective years.

What do you think? What are the qualities of a perfect movie score?

As with any music, it’s up to the listener to decide what’s great. And if the romance of the Oscar-winners noted above doesn’t do it for you, how about Raider’s March from Indiana Jones? Or the spine-tingling bass riff from the soundtrack to Jaws? We’ve got an entire collection of John Williams tunes lined up to satisfy those who crave action and adventure.

Then there’s Gabriel’s Oboe from The Mission; Barber’s Adagio from Platoon; and some of Hans Zimmer’s work from Pirates of the Caribbean.

We’ll play a few other epic works throughout the evening, all paired with a montage of clips to highlight those movie memories.

I’m very much looking forward to this concert. These are some of the greatest pieces used in movies spanning the last 50 years.

If you haven’t been to a live orchestral performance, this is the perfect introduction to the world of classical music and I look forward to seeing you on Friday night. And if you’re a frequent attendee of our concerts, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

A Villain's Dream

2011-03-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the acclaimed Canadian composer Healey Willan’s nickname was "squealy" villain? I guess one can look quite ominous while playing the pipe organ.

But Kingston’s own F.R.C. Clarke didn’t see him as a villain. The former student of Willan wrote his biography and also completed one of his unfinished works – his Requiem.

It was 23 years ago on March 27 that the Kingston Symphony and the Kingston Choral Society premiered this work. Some say that Willan abandoned composing it because it was unsingable – the choral arrangements in eight parts were just too difficult. But the Kingston Choral Society has sung it once and will sing it again, exactly 23 years later, on Sunday, March 27, 2011.

This will be a celebration of the late F.R.C. Clarke and a celebration of music. Not only will we perform the Requiem in its entirety, with help from soloists Jennie Such, Soprano, Janice Coles, Mezzo Soprano, Tim Stiff, Tenor and Bruce Kelly, Baritone, but the program also features Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture and Elgar’s Serenade for Strings.

This afternoon concert will be lead by guest conductor Brian Jackson, former music director of the Kingston Symphony who conducted the premiere of Willan’s Requiem.

It will be a wonderful afternoon of music. I'm really looking forward to this concert and to hearing the orchestra and choir perform from a seat in the hall rather than standing on the podium.

Click here to hear the podcast.

Click here to read about Requiem in the latest edition of Follow the Music Online, the Kingston Symphony’s quarterly newsletter.

The 12 days of Tom Allen

2011-03-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

It's March 1. As I count down the days to when CBC Radio 2 host Tom Allen will join the Kingston Symphony for an evening of good tunes and good times, I wanted to give you some insight into Tom's creative and varied background. I'll post a trivia fact about him each day until the day of the concert, when I hope to see you in the audience!

March 1

He was born in Montreal, QC into a family of preachers and raconteurs.

March 2

He joined the high school band, chose to play the trombone, and professes that his first year was not promising…

March 3

He studied music at McGill University in Montreal, Boston University, and earned a master’s degree in music at Yale, before moving to Manhattan as a trombone freelancer.

March 4

He worked as a tour guide at Lincoln Center, and cooked in Tex-Mex, French, and Russian restaurants, and temped on Wall Street while he was trying to pay the bills and trombone gigs were few and far between.

March 5

Was trombonist with the New York City Ballet and the American Symphony Orchestra, and was one of 87 trombonists along the first base line for Carl Yastrzemski’s retirement party at Fenway Park.

March 6

Had a column on "how to acknowledge your male temp on Secretary's Day" published in the Toronto Star in 1991.

March 7

Has been an on-air voice for CBC Radio for two decades, including stints on Morningside, This Morning, The Sunday Edition and hosted A Good Place to Be, Weekender, Fresh Air, Music and Company, and currently Shift.

March 8

He has written three books: Toe Rubber Blues (1999), Rolling Home – A Cross-Canada Railroad Memoir (2001, which was winner of the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction) and The Gift of the Game (2005).

March 9

He’s currently working on his first fiction work, a novel that we can’t give you any details about... sorry!

March 10

He has been called: "the Garrison Keillor of music," "a breath of fresh air," "part historian, part comedian, and part everyman," among other things. Read what others have to say by clicking here.

March 11

Tomorrow, he’ll guide the audience through an evening that explores music history and its connection to society and industry, the sordid lives of composers, the qualities of a masterpiece, why some instruments are funnier than others, and how great music is always relevant to the daily life of any age.

Man-eating goats? Can't wait!

2011-02-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

You just never know what Tom Allen is going to say next.

His CBC Radio 2 program Shift bridges the gap between classical and contemporary, and his commentary is so quick and quirky that you get swept into the stories behind the music.

That's exactly what I hope will happen to our audience members on Saturday, March 12 when Tom Allen hosts his Classical Good Time Variety Show with the Kingston Symphony.

When it comes to the world of a symphony orchestra, we sometimes fall into the category of "predictable" and "uptight." That's not a bad thing, because being classic is what we do best – and we need to be tight to present masterpieces as their finest. But Tom's ability to connect with the audience will, I hope, give everyone (orchestra members included) a more rewarding – and very entertaining – understanding of the music in a really fun and relaxed way.

As Tom says himself: "There are great stories behind the music – sex, riots, prison, syphilis and man-eating goats." You'll have to attend the concert to hear these stories in their entirety…

Tom, currently host of CBC Radio 2’s Shift program, will bring his knowledge of classical music to this light-hearted evening that mixes up story-telling, history, humour, music appreciation and audience participation.

He'll talk about music's connection to society, the sordid lives of composers, why some instruments are funnier than others, and how great music is always relevant.

The evening will feature Cage Match, In the Shadow, This Day in History, and other aspects that have been part of his radio career at CBC over the last 20 years. Tom will put two pieces against each other in a competitive comparison and ask the audience to vote for their favourite. Then he'll prove to you what it takes to create a masterpiece. And he'll give you some random trivia facts along the way that, if nothing else, will be a great conversation starter the next time you're in an awkward social situation.

Get ready for an unpredictable evening of fun and music – nothing uptight to see here!

I really hope that Classical Good Times will open doors for people wanting to know more about classical music. But I also think that those who know and love attending symphony concerts will also enjoy the program – and maybe learn something, too. The concert will include Prokofiev, Haydn, Debussy, Holst, and many other composers in an unmatchable line-up of music.

Click here for all the details on this concert.

A mid-winter muse...

2011-01-24T13:29:00.000-08:00

It’s a little before 6 a.m. and I’m looking out from the balcony of a 10th floor apartment in Victoria, B.C., enjoying my Starbucks coffee. I love this time of day; it’s a fresh, new start and the world isn’t yet cluttered with traffic lights, deadlines, and the general “hurry-up” attitude of our society.

This is the time of day when I get most of my work done, learn the scores for the next concert, discover new repertoire, and listen to some of my favourites.

I hope that every single audience member leaves our concerts feeling uplifted and even perhaps a little anointed – that these emotions will filter through from the notes on the page to the hands and hearts of our musicians, and out through their instruments to touch everyone in the audience.

I’m out on the west coast visiting family, and thinking ahead to our 2011-2012 concert season. We’ve got leads on some amazing guest performers who will join the Kingston Symphony for a variety of concerts. But it’s difficult to think of next year when we still have some amazing concerts coming up in our current season.

As I mentioned in my last post, our February 6 concert Food for a Classical Soul will feature cellist Desmond Hoebig. He will be our soloist for Elgar’s Cello Concerto – full of the angst, despair, and disillusionment Elgar felt after the end of the War.

The program also includes an absolute favourite of mine – Brahms’ first symphony. This piece is as close to perfection as you can get. The composer spent 21 years completing this work, that’s almost 7,665 days of self-critical, meticulous perfectionism. Two decades of precise musicality put on paper. Almost 200,000 hours of painstaking composing to produce one of the most amazing symphonies ever written. He knowingly pays homage to Beethoven, and at the same time takes it to another level entirely, creating an entire world within the notes of the music. I get excited just thinking about it. I can’t wait for the Kingston Symphony to share this epic work.

The third piece on the February 6 program is a piece by Kingston’s own Marjan Mozetich. Calla Lilies was written in memory of his friends who died of AIDS. Not an easy topic to launch into, and yet Marjan managed to produce a wonderful tribute piece, melodically simple and harmonically austere.

Marjan is currently Adjunct Lecturer in Composition at Queen’s University. We are so lucky to have a composer of his stature and musical importance in our midst here in Kingston.

He has won numerous awards and his works have been featured on the most prominent stages of the world. He is a composer who maintains the integrity of classical music and yet writes pieces that are accessible to those making their way in our fast-paced world. His music is both traditional and modern at the same time – an amazing feat that should not go unnoticed.

In 2009, his composition Affairs of the Heart made it onto CBC Radio 2’s listener-selected list of top 49 Canadian songs that president-elect Barack Obama needed to hear. He’s on the list alongside the most varied selection of Canadian musicians, old and new. The list was compiled by Canadian listeners sending in their selections. It’s nice to know that a classical composer has “still got it” in a pop-culture world. We’re constantly bombarded with all sorts of genres of music, and classical certainly isn’t the No. 1 genre according to Billboard Magazine. And yet people are listening to Mozetich. That’s the mark of a fantastic composer.

What music resonates with you? I’d love to hear what pieces you are listening to currently, or what music has stuck with you throughout your life. It doesn’t matter what genre it is, I’d just like to know what you’re listening to and why you love it! Send me an e-mail at gfast@kingstonsymphony.on.ca.

For now, please check out my latest Youtube interview by
clicking here.

Quite the contrast

2011-01-10T07:10:00.000-08:00

Broadway Beauties: two words that hold so many connotations and emotions. If you’re even the slightest musical theatre fan, then you absolutely cannot miss the next Kingston Symphony concert on Friday, January 21 or Saturday, January 22.

You’ve got two chances to see this great line up featuring songs from Wicked, A Chorus Line, Funny Girl, Sweet Charity, Cats… I can’t even list them all.

For this concert I’ll be handing the baton over to guest conductor Michael Reason, the co-creator of the Broadway Beauties show. Michael had a vision: he wanted to create a musical review that not only patched together a collection of songs, but held a plot line that would put songs from all these different stories together, driven by the music and lyrics alone with no dialogue.

He painstakingly reviewed material and helped select the songs to make up the show, making sure the final selections and placements helped the audience understand the underlying plot. Broadway Beauties also features new orchestrations and arrangements written for all of the songs. This show has been performed to stellar reviews in Hamilton, Calgary, and Toronto. Now it’s time for Kingston to get a taste of Broadway.

The three soloists for the evening – June Crowley, Louise St. Cyr, and Amy Wallis – are all great singers and actresses. Coming from three different corners of the musical-theatre world in Canada, these women are sure to blow the audience away with their interpretations of these songs. There’s so much in this program, I can’t even begin to describe it!

So come escape to Broadway for a few hours; experience the drama and wonderful music that spans several decades of the greatest stage in the world.

Our February 6 concert, Food for a Classical Soul, is exactly the opposite of Broadway. It will feature cellist Desmond Hoebig, whom I’ve known for quite a while, and who’s so hard to put into words. To put him in perspective, he has studied at the Julliard School of Music, won first prize at several music competitions worldwide, been a guest soloist with orchestras throughout North America as well as in Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Japan and currently is professor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, TX. I could go on and on and on.

Desmond will join the Kingston Symphony for Elgar’s Cello Concerto in e minor. This concerto is Elgar’s last notable work. He composed it following the First World War, when his music was considered "out of fashion" with the concert-goers. It wasn’t until almost 50 years later that this piece gained popularity, and is still today a well-known best-seller.

As I mentioned this piece is the complete contradiction of Broadway. It represents the angst, despair, and disillusionment Elgar felt after the end of the War, and is his introspective look at death and mortality – a big change from the optimism Elgar expressed in his previous works.

This poignant and moving piece will be played along-side Mozetich’s Calla Lilies and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in c minor. It’s a fabulously rich program that’s food for any soul, but particularly those who have a thirst for classical music.

Be sure to check out the line-up of concerts in the coming months, which includes a classical variety show with CBC’s Tom Allen, a tribute to Hollywood soundtracks, and a couple others you won’t want to miss.

Happy New Year, Auld Lang Syne, and all the rest!

2010-12-14T13:18:00.001-08:00

The Kingston Symphony's Candlelight Christmas concert is just around the corner. There are so many Christmas concerts this time of year, but I truly believe this one will stand out because we’ve chosen the best of the best – the favourites in beautiful classical arrangements. The program also features my all-time favourite carol, In the Bleak Midwinter.

Candlelight Christmas, taking place at St. George's Cathedral December 21 and 22, will also include the opportunity for audience members to join in and sing along to the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah and traditional Carols such as Hark the Herald Angels Sing and the First Nowell.

We will also perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1. What does Beethoven have to do with Christmas you ask? Absolutely nothing. But this piece is a Christmas gift to myself. I chose this piece as a treat for myself, and a treat for the audience.

Queen’s University student Molly Luhta will be soprano soloist for the concert. Luhta, who is in fourth year and majoring in vocal performance, is the 2010 Queen’s University Aria competition winner. She will perform O Holy Night and Ave Maria as well as excerpts from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.

I think Christmas is a time of year that allows people to really connect, and music is what ties that connection together.

A little bird dropped this off in my e-mail this afternoon, and because it mentions me I thought I'd pass it along...

'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the hall,
The musicians rehearsed... they were having a ball!
The tickets were printed and numbered with care,
But when December 21 and 22 come, will an audience be there?

"Don't worry," said the Maestro. "The tickets will sell."
"Candlelight will be the best concert this year, I can tell."
So the horns with their bells and violins with their bows,
Perfected the carols that everyone knows.

Then out in the lobby there arose such a clatter,
But everyone knew there was nothing the matter.
Away from the box office tickets flew like a flash,
Smiling patrons paying with credit cards and cash.

They bought symphony gift certificates and CDs, too.
Perfect gifts for music lovers, old and new.
Then what to the Maestro's eyes should appear?
A concert hall full of people... but sorry, no reindeer.

With his little baton, so lively and quick,
The Maestro kept time, tick, tock, tock, tick.
Quicker than Beethoven the symphony played,
The musicians all smiled at the joy they'd made.

"Now percussion, now winds, now brass, now strings!
Let's play this allegro, let's make sure it rings!"
"Orchestra and choir, just follow my cue,
Let's make these old songs sound youthful and new!"

The audience pondered the music they heard,
Thought of life without a symphony, oh how absurd.
So they reached into their pockets, donations to make,
These would count for the 2010 tax year, make no mistake.

The Choral Society sang songs of the season,
The orchestra played with passion and reason.
Then the Maestro exclaimed so the audience could hear,
"Merry Christmas to all, thanks for a great year!"

P.S. Here's a link to the latest Word from the Maestro video:
Candlelight Christmas

2010-11-24T13:30:00.000-08:00

Here’s a little Messiah trivia to get you excited…

Did you know that the first performance of Messiah was presented in Dublin Ireland on April 13, 1742, as a benefit for people in a debtors’ prison? It raised enough money to free 142 men from the jail. The Kingston Symphony and the Kingston Choral Society are teaming up to perform this famous oratorio on December 5 – but don’t worry, we won’t be freeing anyone from the Kingston Penitentiary.

Handel was almost going to land in debtors’ prison himself right up until the Messiah premiered. He shouldered a lot of negative comments on the work, as people were upset that sacred texts were being put to secular music. But the Messiah eventually triumphed, as did Handel, and he never once accepted any money for any performance of the work.

When the version we’re familiar with today premiered in 1754, the money garnered went to benefit and orphanage, The Foundling Hospital, in London.

I always get excited about the Messiah. Its one of those works that never gets old, especially around this time of year. I think it’s because there’s just so much in this work. It’s unbelievable to me that it took Handel only 24 days to complete the Messiah – what a phenomenal task!

One of the things that always stands out to me is the “word painting” aspect of this oratorio. Word painting is said to enhance the text based on its musical treatment. In the tenor aria “Ev’ry Valley Shall Be Exalted” a single syllable of the word “exalted” is written with forty-six ascending notes. That’s a lot of notes!
For our performance of the Messiah, we’ll have with us guest soloists Tracy Smith Bessette, Marion Newman, James McLean, and Kingston native Geoffrey Sirett. Both Tracy and Marion have sung with us before.

Tracy has performed with the Opéra National de Paris, and has sung in the Messiah all over the world – including performances in France and Spain. We’re lucky to have her here in Kingston.

This will be Marion’s second time performing with us. She’s a vivacious scene-stealer whose distinct voice will captivate you. What’s amazing about Marion is that she started her performance career not as a vocalist, but as a pianist. At the age of 16 she performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto K. 488 in A Major with the Victoria Symphony. She has been featured on CBC radio several times, and is the recipient of a Career Development Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. She is a high-calibre performer who lifts the Canadian classical music scene to the next level.

When the Messiah premiered more than 250 years ago, there was so much excitement surrounding it that organizers feared the concert hall would be over capacity. Men were asked to leave their “dress swords” at home and women were asked to not wear hoop skirts.

You can wear whatever you like to our concert on December 5 (well, maybe leave your sword at home). And just like the concert halls were in the 1700s, the Kingston Gospel Temple will be general admission for this performance. Get in the spirit of the season! Buy your tickets soon before they sell out!

Don't forget to check out my latest YouTube video interview here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfLf7MsndjA

Thanks for reading.

Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Smetana...oh my!

2010-11-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

I can’t wait for this weekend’s concert. And that’s an understatement. We’ve got some tremendous performances lined up this season, but A Romantic Journey is definitely one of the ones I’m most looking forward to. It features Smetana’s Overture to the Bartered Bride, Dvorak’s New World Symphony, and Tchaikovsky’s ever-popular violin concerto.

This concert is an absolute knockout. The orchestra’s going to kill me for programming these three pieces in one performance – but I hope you will enjoy it. It is full of inspiration, sentiment, and satisfaction.

Everyone experiences music differently, but it’s always my wish that we can share the emotions of the music with the audience. Music covers all the complexities of emotion, and especially all the complexities of love – tenderness, passion, and subsequently hurt and loss.

A highlight of A Romantic Journey will be Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, written in 1878. Tchaikovsky knew all about love and passion in his own way, a sad way really, and he poured all of that into this concerto. As a result, this particular piece is easily one of the most technically difficult concertos ever written.

Andréa Tyniec will join us for this well-known score. I stumbled upon a video of her playing the concerto on YouTube, and I made it my mission to bring her to Kingston.

She is a fabulously talented musician – I guarantee you’ll want to see her tackle this ridiculously challenging piece. To perform this concerto you need endurance, and you need to be balanced – you have to have as much sensitivity as you have strength. Andréa has all of it, and she presents it with both poise and passion.

Andréa plays on a violin constructed by Januarius Gagliano in 1747. She won the opportunity to play on this instrument from the Instrument Bank of the Canada Council for the Arts. Every three years, musicians from across Canada compete intensely in front of a jury of professional musicians who decide which competitor will have the opportunity to develop their craft on an antique instrument. The winners choose the instrument they would like to use in order of their placement in the competition.

This violin was around for more than a hundred years before Tchaikovsky wrote his violin concerto, so to hear this piece coming from an almost 300-year-old instrument adds even more fascination. There’s so much history there. And to know that a young musician who is passionate about the classical music industry is carrying on this tradition and history is a fantastic thing.

Music is so central to my core – it’s how I relate to the world. This concert is, I hope, a chance for the audience to connect with the orchestra and with the world around them. The Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto is responsible for luring many people into the world of classical music. I hope that this concert will be no exception, and that everyone in the audience – whether they are long-time classical fanatics or newbies to the world of the classics – will be affected to their very core.

There will be two special performances of A Romantic Journey on Saturday, November 20 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 21 at 2:30 p.m. at the Kingston Gospel Temple, 2295 Princess Street. Tickets will be available at the door.

2010-10-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

The lazy, hazy days of summer are officially gone and the busy fall season is well underway. As you pull out sweaters and scarves and start spending your free time keeping warm next to the fire, we hope you consider spending some time with the symphony -- we promise to warm up your soul with plenty of great music.

We had our first -- very successful -- concert on Sunday, October 3, and there are two great concerts just around the corner on Friday, October 22 and Sunday, October 31 (not to mention the rest of our stellar season). Both will be filled with passion and excitement – in very different ways.

Coming up this Friday night is Gettin’ Dizzy: A Tribute to the Swingin’ Trumpet. Mike Herriott is a fabulous trumpet player who is sure to get your toes tapping and bring back some great memories with tunes like Johnny’s Theme (the theme from the Johnny Carson Show), Harry James’ And the Angels Sing and Stardust, and many more from some of the greatest jazz musicians.

I think a highlight of the evening might just be when we take on the famous Flight of the Bumblebee – and to see Mike play lead trumpet for this one will be truly astonishing.

We can’t get Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Mile Davis, and Doc Severinsen on the stage together – but this is pretty close. And Mike will do these jazz greats more than justice with his skill and passion for this music. It’s going to be a fast-paced trip down a swingin’ memory lane, and I can’t wait.

Just this morning I spoke to early morning host Jack Thompson on 102.7 The Lake about this concert and you can hear just how excited I am when you hear this interview. Click here to listen to it!

On Sunday, October 31 our musicians will be full of passion once again, but in a completely different vein. Fire & Passion will feature Rimsky-Korsakov’s gypsy-inspired Capriccio Espagnol, Grieg’s Piano Concerto, and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.

Stravinsky wrote The Firebird, a ballet, in 1910, based on Russian folk tales. It is at times dark and brooding and at times diatonic and somewhat plain. It features glissando harmonics in the strings; this is said to be Stravinsky's attempt to outdo Rimsky-Korsakov in orchestral effects. (You can be the judge as we are featuring both on October 31.)

The Firebird Suite continues into an orchestral tour-de-force with a strong rhythmic pulse and ferocious almost demonic notes and builds to a great climax that I’m sure will inspire everyone in the audience. Actually, I guarantee it.

Here’s a random trivia fact: The Beastie Boys sampled Firebird in the song Electrify on the album Hello Nasty. Even punk kids are rocking out to it.

The Firebird celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and is still one of the most referenced and reproduced piece in classical music.

We’ve got jazz and swing, American and Russian, popular and not-so-well-known. We’ve got a bit of everything coming up. We’ve got anything you could want!

Be sure to have a listen to Mike Herriott in action by clicking here.

And don't forget to check out the Symphony's Youtube video series featuring yours truly! The latest video (click here) is a bit of foreshadowing for this Friday's concert, and we'll post a new one shortly that will highlight the people and pieces to be featured in Fire & Passion.

See you this Friday! (I’ll be the one at the podium holding the baton!)

My first podcast!

2010-09-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

This past week I sat down with Michael Morreale to talk about the concerts we have coming up in 2010. Check out my first podcast below. We will be providing similar interviews about each Masterworks Series concert, which we will post online at least a week before the performance.

I'd love your feedback. Please let me know what you think.

Have a good weekend,
Glen

Can you believe it? I'm on YouTube!

2010-09-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Who’d have guessed I’d be a star of stage AND screen?

This being my 20th year as Maestro of the Kingston Symphony, I can honestly say I’ve been around the musical block more than a few times. But this is the first time I’ve been asked to be in a movie! And truth be told, I’m now in several!

Prior to each concert this season, audience members will gain some insight into the music being performed through a series of short films starring yours truly. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll… okay, maybe not. But hopefully my words will provide some facts and fun and prepare you for some amazing music.

For those who are interested in seeing my YouTube debut, an introduction video is now online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxQI4hzD8Nk and here:

Other, slightly more informative, videos will become available prior to each concert throughout the season. Stay tuned!

And I’ve had so much fun writing blogs and making YouTube videos that I thought I’d add another information age phenomenon to the list – a podcast. We’re exploring the idea of a regular podcast, and while the details have yet to be finalized, I’m excited to promote the Kingston Symphony through any and all avenues. And if it means I’ll become a little more hip throughout the process, I’m okay with that too.

For now, though, I’m still most comfortable on the podium. We’ve got a great season lined up, which kicks off on Sunday, October 3 and continues until May. There are several concerts you won’t want to miss. Visit www.kingstonsymphony.on.ca/concert_listings.cfm for more information.

Enjoy!

Fort Henry was a blast!

2010-08-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

The concerts at Fort Henry July 16 and 17 were a blast, to say the least! While Friday night’s weather was perfect, Saturday’s wind and hail storm threatened to shut down the evening completely. My podium almost blew away and the musicians’ chairs were water logged. Without the use of some drenched technical equipment, the orchestra was able to play “au naturale,” which created a balanced, acoustic sound that the musicians actually preferred. Some audience members commented on the orchestra’s sound and said they liked it better.

The cannons and fireworks capped off both evenings spectacularly and allowed the tradition of the 1812 Overture at the Fort to continue its legacy for another year.

To kick off the upcoming season, the orchestra will share the stage with pianist Janina Fialkowska, and premiere a brand new piece. “Two Centuries Later” will take the stage at the Grand Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 2:30 p.m. Help us celebrate the 200th anniversary of two musical masters – Chopin and Schumann – and usher in a modern-day master: Juno Award winning composer John Burge. I’ve just received the score for John’s new piece Prelude Variations, which is inspired by Chopin. I can’t wait to start working on it.

While the 2010-2011 season hasn’t commenced yet, we’re already planning the line up for my 21st season in 2011-2012. Now’s the time to let us know what you’d like to hear and which guest performers you’d like to see on stage with the orchestra.

I’ve got some tricks up my tuxedo sleeve – including Symphony No. 2 by Gustav Mahler, known as “the Resurrection.” It would be a huge undertaking, but a dream come true for me. The ninety-minute spectacle might be the event of the season in Kingston – and quite possibly the most memorable event of my career. We’re still looking at the feasibility of pulling off this mammoth mission. Stay tuned for more information.

Blogging, running, celebrating

2010-06-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

Who knew that my summer project would be to learn how to blog? If you haven’t already checked out the Kingston Symphony’s newly designed website, please do so at www.kingstonsymphony.on.ca.

I confess that I have felt "blog" before but this will be my first ever Blog experience. What does blog stand for? The first person to send me a comment with the answer wins a fantastic Kingston Symphony CD! Please write me with your questions, comments and suggestions and I will be happy to respond.

In the meantime, we are looking forward to our two traditional summer events. Join us Sunday morning, June 6, in front of City Hall for a free concert of Beethoven’s Eroica symphony. Approximately 1,000 runners and walkers will start the race at 10:30 a.m. to "Beat Beethoven." Everyone wins! This is a great chance for kids of all ages to hear great music in an informal and exciting setting. (You don't have to walk or run.)

On Friday and Saturday, July 16 and 17, we once again present evening concerts at wonderful Fort Henry. These concerts will feature music for all ages and will be great fun. Of course as usual we will end the concerts with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture with the Fort Henry Guard, real cannon fire and spectacular fireworks.

I really look forward to next year's concerts and celebrating my 20th season with the Kingston Symphony Association. In the meantime, have a safe and happy summer!

Glen

2010-04-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog. Throughout the season, I will provide you with insights into what I'm thinking about a particular piece of music, information about a guest artist we'll be featuring, or updates on Kingston Symphony concerts and events.

I'm proud of what we have accomplished this season. Our concerts were well attended and our musicians performed beautifully. Our concert last Sunday was certainly a terrific way to finish the season.

I hope you have had a chance to take a look at our new season brochure. It's my 20th anniversary season and I think it has something for everyone including some of my own favourite works. It's hard to believe that I've made Kingston my home for 20 years. Time sure flies when you're having fun!

Several concerts this past season sold out, so if you're not already a subscriber, please consider becoming one. I don't want anyone to be disappointed.

We're starting to work on our program for 2011-2012, so if you have any suggestions of repertoire you'd like to hear or soloists you may like us to feature, please let me know at gfast@kingstonsymphony.on.ca.

Thanks for reading.

Glen