UNA VOCE April 2018 Vol. 25, No. 3 The Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (ocsm)isthe voice of Canadian professional orchestral musicians. ocsm’s mission is to uphold and improve the working conditions of professional Canadian orchestral musicians, to promote communication among its members, and to advocate on behalf of the Canadian cultural community. tional Ballet of Canada Orchestra into sound levels in Wise old owls and young the pit. In January the Canadian music world lost an spring chickens advocate and artist in Tommy Banks: read some trib- utes from musicians who knew him well. This year’s by Barbara Hankins centenary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth is giving rise to Editor many celebrations: we hear of a personal experience At one time in the past 40 years, the with Lenny from Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony flutist age range of kws musicians was To m m y Kay. fairly small. Now there are long- Many thanks to all our contributors! tenured members in their 60s and newbies in their 20s. Weneed to be sure our committees reflect that, so Orchestre Métropolitain in that the wisdom of the elders is Germany,the Netherlands, passed on and the fresh perspec- tives of the young inject enthusiasm and France and new ideas. It’s easy to let the ‘‘usual suspects’’ carry Mélanie Harel the load of union work and representation – and they Orchestre Métropolitain probably do it very well. However to be sure the next generation has a chance to work with the oldies, a mix- Fo r the first time in its history, ture is usually best. the Orchestre Métropolitain So I give a “hats off”and back pat of gratitude to (OM) is back from an interna- all of you who have volunteered countless hours to the tional tour with its artistic di- betterment of your colleagues this past season. And a rector and principal conductor nudge to the young folk to explore where you can get Ya n n i c k Nézet-Séguin. involved and learn more about how our committees and The tour came into being unions function. It’s not only Dracula who is looking for after the OM was invited to fresh blood. perform at the Philharmonie de Paris, which led to the rest of the tour.From November 26 to December 3, *** 2017, the OM gave seven concerts: in the German cities Una Voce readers are sure to find something that of Dortmund (Konzerthaus), Cologne (Kölner Philha- catches their attention in this final issue of the monie), and Hamburg (Elbphilharmonie); in Amster- 2017–18 season. Mélanie Harel writes about Orchestre dam (Concertgebouw) and Rotterdam (De Doelen) in Métropolitain’s successful European tour; Becky the Netherlands; and two concerts in Paris (Philhar- Whitling introduces us to Vancouver Symphony Or- monie de Paris). chestra’s new conductor; Parmela Attariwala, who pre- The OM was joined by two renowned Quebec sented at the 2017 ocsm conference on the idea soloists – contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux and cellist Declaration, gives an update of her research; Christine Stéphane Tétreault – as well as cellist Jean-Guihen Little-Ardagh announces progress with the Career Queyras and pianist Alexandre Tharaud. Guide; and Steve Mosher explains recent studies at Na- Twodifferent programs were performed on tour: Page 2 UNA VOCE Vol. 25, No. 3 certs. Rather than being put off by the idea of listening to the same programs night after night, they actually welcomed the opportunity to be able to hear the same works performed in different contexts. Whether it was strolling along the canals or visiting the museums, everyone found something to do on their day off in Amsterdam. However,this was the last stroll for your devoted Monique Lagacé, former OM represen- tative with ocsm,who fractured her foot the next day in Rotterdam, and had to miss the concert in Hamburg. She was able to play in the concert in Paris – with her cast covered by a black sock! Oh là là! The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Photo by François Goupil The highlight of the tour for me was discovering the remarkable acoustics of each of the halls we played in. New or mythical, a delight for the ears, or a feast for Program 1 the eyes, they were all unique. And excellent. Toplay in Mercure: Kaleidoscope such halls was pure joy – and also a privilege. Adjusting Berlioz: Les Nuits d’été(Marie-Nicole Lemieux) to the different acoustics of the various halls became a Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 (Jean-Guihen Queyras) thoroughly enjoyable challenge. Elgar: Enigma Variations From a visual standpoint, I have to give a hats off to the bold architecture of the breathtakingly beautiful Program 2 Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, which is built atop a for- Champagne: Exil intérieur mer port warehouse. As for the listening experience Ravel: Concerto for the Left Hand (Alexandre Tharaud) from the perspective of concert-goers seated in the hall, Elgar: Cello Concerto (Stéphane Tétreault) Iopt for the Philharmonie de Paris, with its warm yet fo- Debussy: La Mer cused sound. But my all-time favourite is the mythical The musicians of the OM also had an opportunity Concertgebouw in Amsterdam: pure velvet! The entire to benefit from the talent and generosity of Montreal concert was memorable. You could hear the orchestra creators: designer Marie St-Pierre and the aldo Group literally take off in La Mer.Iventure to suggest that, in provided made-to-measure concert attire and footwear the OM’s collective memory,wenow have a ‘‘before’’ for all the musicians. and an ‘‘after.’’ We can talk about this tour from many different an- gles – the quality of the organization, the very special ties that bind the musicians of the OM, the emotions on stage and in the halls – there is so much to say! We received a very warm welcome from the public. Our seven concerts, for which we received no less than seven standing ovations, could even be described as tri- umphal. With such success, we would be remiss if we failed to mention the exceptional bond between the mu- sicians of the OM and our musical director,Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Attimes on stage, the relationship could almost be likened to symbiosis. With Yannick at the helm, the orchestra gave its all. The tour became, not only a musical experience, but also a human experience characterized by great camaraderie and solidarity – The Orchestre Métropolitain in the Philharmonie de Paris. Photo among musicians, naturally,but also with the members by François Goupil of the administration, the soloists, and the technical Icame back from this tour full of recognition, and staff. also pride, for the OM, which has certainly experienced Agroup of 18 music-lovers and OM fans (our one of the highlights of its history.The orchestra can groupies) came along with us to all the cities on the rightly declare ‘‘mission accomplished.’’ tour.During the day they would visit museums and his- torical sites, and in the evenings they attended the con- *** Vol. 25, No. 3 UNA VOCE Page 3 The concerts given on December 2 and 3, 2017, can be that wasn’t going to last. So we simply looked for a busi- watched and heard on the Phiharmonie de Paris site un- ness that we could do. Weknew that we got along well til the end of May 2018. together,along with Tom’s ex-drummer Phil Shragge. So December 2, 2017, Philharmonie de Paris: we came up with the idea of discount bookstores. They 〈https://live.philharmoniedeparis.fr/concert/1072554/〉 did it in Edmonton and Calgary and we did it out here, December 3, 2017: Philharmonie de Paris: and it was very successful in Vancouver. 〈https://live.philharmoniedeparis.fr/concert/1072563/〉. On Tommy’s influence: He was a mentor to so many people, and in the course of Book Warehouse we had probably 1,000 employees at different levels. Atone Remembering Tommy Banks time, I’d love to tell, the whole trombone section of the Quebec Symphony was ex–Book Warehouse employees by Matthew Heller –his reach went wide. I would say his influence was one ocsm 1st Vice President of high musical standards, and more than that, just the Tommy Banks, one of Cana- correct way to do things, to do business, and to have re- da’s finest musicians and lationships with people. He went to grade 10, that’s as statesmen, passed away on far as he went; but he had a superior mind. He was a January 25 at age 81. Many Churchillian scholar: lawyers consulted with him on eloquent words have been contract writing because his English language skills written about him since, were so succinct. He really wrote tight stuff.Whatever which seems only fitting for he touched, he made better. aperson who embodied elo- quence and sophistication in all his works. Below,we’ve *** reprinted two examples, excerpted from a cbc radio in- [E. Eddy Bayens, from ‘‘Music Lost a Champion’’, Ed- terview with bass trombonist Sharman King and from a monton Musicians’ Association newsletter, Apollo Febru- tribute written by Edmonton Local President Eddy ary 2018:] Bayens. Both are worth seeking out in their original Saxophonist Glen Acorn related a story to me about forms. Tommy having booked a trio gig in a warehouse district Tommy gave a keynote address at the 2016 ocsm in Edmonton north. When they got to the job, they Conference in Calgary,where we asked him to talk found that there was no piano in the place. An evening about advocacy.Hemight easily have filled the hour of drums and bass was not an attractive prospect.