SEPTEMBER - NOVEMBER 2014 I ISSUE 1 NATASHA PAREMSKI PERFORMS GERSHWIN: CONCERTO IN F AZIZ SHOKHAKIMOV CONDUCTS BRAHMS NORDIC FESTIVAL THE KING - A TRIBUTE TO ELVIS CONCERT FOR KIDS PHANTOMS OF THE ORCHESTRA WSO MUSICIAN PROFILES Natasha Paremski, piano Credit: Andrea Joynt wso.ca WSO SPONSORS, FUNDERS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The WSO proudly acknowledges the ongoing support of the following sponsors, media and funders: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PARTNER EDUCATION & OUTREACH PROGRAMS IN MEMORY OF PETER D. CURRY MICHAEL NESBITT POPS CONCERTS FOR KIDS MASTERWORKS A SERIES SERIES SERIES WSO IN BRANDON POWER SMART HOLIDAY TOUR INDIVIDUAL CONCERTS SOUNDCHECK MEDIA CANADA DAY PROGRAM SPONSOR AT THE FORKS PIANO RAFFLE CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY Women’s Committee of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra MATCHING DONATION CAMPAIGN FUNDERS September – November 2014 I OVERTURE 1 with Dinnera & 3-Course Dinner starts at SERIES 5:30 pm on the Piano Nobile Symphony followed by Concert at 8:00 pm Vikingur Plays Grieg: Nordic Festival Finale Viking~Icelandic Saturday, November 1, 2014 Cuisine Kjotsupe – Icelandic Lamb Soup Onion Crusted North Atlantic Cod Fish with “Skyronnaise” Tartar set on Baked Gourmet Potatoes Fries & Root Vegetables Vinatarta Cake with Vanilla Custard, Fresh Blueberries Randy Bachman’s Symphonic Overdrive Holiday~Overdrive Friday, December 5, 2014 “An Elevated State of Christmas Fare” Saturday, December 6, 2014 “The House Salad” with Lobster~Macadamia Nut Emulsion Vine Tomato & English Cucumber, Goat Cheese Pate Black Truffle & Garlic Spiked Chicken Breast, Hickory Smoked Bacon & Wild Mushroom Yukon Gold Potatoes, Madeira Sauce, Fresh Vegetables Baked Alaska with Red Velvet Cake, Pistachio Ice Cream, Toasted Marshmallow Romeo and Juliet Russian Cuisine Saturday, February 14, 2015 Perfect for Valentine’s Day! Smoked Salmon Blintz/Fresh Pepper Dill Cream Crowned with Citrus Vinaigrette Dressed Beet & Greens Slow Roasted Beef Striploin Stroganoff Potato Vereniki, Gherkins, Mushrooms, Onion, Light Cream Demi-Glace The Czar’s Cherry Parfait Singin’ in the Rain - Film with Orchestra American Cuisine “The Roaring Twenties” Saturday, March 14, 2015 with The Caesar! - Our Take on the 1924 Classic Salad Patricia Herb Butter Basted Grilled New York Striploin Steak Sliced over Ward Kelly! Mild Garlic & Onion Infused Mashed Potatoes, Fresh Green Beans & Carrots Pineapple Upside-down Cake Crowned with Vanilla Cherry Ice Cream All dinners include premium roast coffee/tea service and fresh baked bread & butter. $ Event pricing 4 EVENT PACKAGE 320 starts at $89 *$60 per person per dinner for those who already have a concert ticket. per person per concert * WSO Box Office 204-949-3999 I www.wso.ca MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Trudy Schroeder There is another season of wonderful concerts awaiting us in the WSO's programs for this coming year. Each concert offers us the chance to enjoy the music and the special contributions of each musician and soloist. I look forward to that special feeling of anticipation before the start of each concert, the chance to listen intently to the music, and the experience of discovery and renewal that comes to at some point in almost every concert. The fall is also a period of welcoming newcomers to our Photo: Nardella Photography Inc. community and to the WSO. As we start this year, we have the pleasure of welcoming new musicians, board members, staff members, and audience members to the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. This fall we welcome a number of new musicians to the WSO Janet Liang to the first violin section, Elizabeth (Liz) Dyer to the second violin section, Daniel Perry to the double bass section, and Brendan Thompson to timpani. We wish the new musicians all the best as they begin work with our fine orchestra. On the board of directors we welcome a large number of new members, and we hope they will find the experience of working with the WSO interesting and pleasurable. Joining the administrative team is Neil Middleton, our new director of Marketing and Communications, our new Production Manager is Evan Klassen, and the new Stage Manager is Sheena Sanderson. The WSO is part of Manitoba's program for celebration... we are often called upon to mark special occasions in our province's history. To our community, we welcome and celebrate opening of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. We have included many powerful compositions with themes related to human rights in this year's program. Our hope is that the museum will add significantly to the encouragement and celebration of human rights throughout the world and will provide a context for greater dialogue within our local community. We welcome back subscribers who have been with us for many years and new concert attendees and subscribers. Our audience members are a big part of our story and the experience of listening to a live music experience changes with the energy and passion you bring to the experience. With my very best wishes for a fine year of musical enjoyment. Trudy Schroeder Executive Director Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra September – November 2014 I OVERTURE 3 CONDUCTORS Alexander Mickelthwate, Music Director German conductor Alexander Mickelthwate is renowned for his “splendid, richly idiomatic readings” (LA Weekly), “fearless” approach and “first-rate technique” (Los Angeles Times). Critics have noted Alexander’s extraordinary command over the Austro-Germanic repertoire, commenting on the “passion, profundity, emotional intensity, subtlety and degree of perfection achieved” in Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 as “miraculous” (Anton Kuerti, 2011). Following on from his tenure as assistant conductor with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which he completed in 2004, Alexander Mickelthwate was associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for three years, under the direction of Essa-Pekka Salonen. Now in his eighth season as music director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Alexander has significantly developed the orchestra’s profile through active community engagement and innovative programming initiatives like the annual New Music Festival and the Indigenous Music Festival. Chosen to perform at the Carnegie Hall Spring For Music Festival in New York, May 2014, due to “creative and innovative programming” (CBC Manitoba Scene), the orchestra was the only Canadian ensemble in the showcase. As well as significantly contributing to the New Music Festival and Indigenous Festival, Alexander lead the orchestra’s first out of province tour since 1979 to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, launched the International Conducting masterclasses, the New Music Festival 2012 film project and played a major part in the acoustic overhaul of the Centennial Concert Hall. Julian Pellicano, Resident Conductor In the fall of 2014, Julian Pellicano begins his second season as resident conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, where he leads the orchestra in a wide variety of programs throughout the year. He has worked with the Orquestra Sinfonica de Porto Alegre (Brazil), Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Eastern Connecticut Symphony, New Britain Symphony, Boston’s Dinosaur Annex Ensemble and Milwaukee's Present Music. In addition, Julian conducted the premiere of Martin Bresnick’s critically acclaimed opera My Friend's Story at the International Festival of Arts and Ideas and conducted at Carnegie Hall with the Yale Philharmonia Orchestra. Recognized for his work with living composers and transparent interpretations of contemporary works, he has premiered over 40 new pieces and as an artist in residence at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, he conducts the Norfolk Contemporary Ensemble. Julian has worked in masterclasses with Kurt Masur, Peter Eötvös, Zsolt Nagy, Martyn Brabbins, Carl St. Clair, L’Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, the Royal College of Music (Stockholm), and the Yale School of Music where he was awarded the 2008 Presser Music Award and the Philip F. Nelson Award. Beyond his position with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Julian also serves as music director of the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra. Photographer: Nardella Photography Inc. 4 OVERTURE I September – November 2014 WINNIPEG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 2014-2015 SEASON MUSIC DIRECTOR CELLOS TRUMPETS Alexander Mickelthwate Yuri Hooker, Principal Brian Sykora, Principal Leana Rutt, Assistant Principal Paul Jeffrey RESIDENT CONDUCTOR Alex Adaman Isaac Pulford Julian Pellicano Margaret Askeland The Patty Kirk Memorial Chair Arlene Dahl COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE TROMBONES Carolyn Nagelberg Vincent Ho Steven Dyer, Principal Emma Quackenbush John Helmer FIRST VIOLINS Gwen Hoebig, Concertmaster BASSES BASS TROMBONE The Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt- Meredith Johnson, Principal Julia McIntyre, Principal Gramatté Memorial Chair, endowed Andrew Goodlett, Assistant Principal by the Eckhardt-Gramatté Foundation Travis Harrison TUBA Karl Stobbe, Associate Concertmaster Paul Nagelberg Chris Lee, Principal Mary Lawton, Assistant Concertmaster Bruce Okrainec Karin Andreasen Daniel Perry TIMPANI **Brendan Thompson, Chris Anstey Acting Principal Mona Coarda FLUTES Hong Tian Jia Jan Kocman, Principal PERCUSSION Janet Liang Martha Durkin Frederick Liessens, Principal Simon MacDonald Meredith McCallum PICCOLO HARP Julie Savard Martha Durkin Richard Turner, Principal Jun Shao Endowed by W.H. & S.E. Loewen OBOES SECOND VIOLINS Beverly Wang, Principal Darryl Strain, Principal Robin MacMillan ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL Elation Pauls, Assistant