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Read on for coverage of labour disputes in San Antonio and Springfield; a wave of Omicron cancellations; opinions and people in the news, including composer and Order of Canada recipient John Estacio. (Photo: CBC News)
Labour news
The New York Times reported on the pandemic struggles of orchestras with ‘underlying conditions’, focusing on the San Antonio Symphony and Springfield (Massachusetts) Symphony Orchestra, both of which remain in contentious labour disputes.
As the San Antonio Symphony strike continues, some musicians have found work or relocated to other cities, according to San Antonio News Report. For those with deeper roots in San Antonio, the decision to leave is more fraught.
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Read on for coverage of pandemic responses, Nutcracker productions, and other issues and people in the news. (Photo: Karolina Kuras/National Ballet of Canada)
Orchestras and Issues in the News
Both Ontario and Quebec are re-imposing capacity limits, gathering restrictions, and considering further “circuit breaker” measures in response to the spiking Omicron variant, the Globe and Mail reports. Arts leaders in Ontario are urging policy makers to maintain capacity levels and restrict food and drink sales, the Toronto Star reports.
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Read on for coverage of returns to live performance, news about notable conductors, updates from the San Antonio Symphony strike, and more. (Photo: TSO music director Gustavo Gimeno, Ont. Arts & Culture Report)
Returns to the stage
A live Roy Thomson Hall audience greeted the Toronto Symphony last week with a welcoming standing ovation, reports the Toronto Star. Critic Michael Crabb reviewed season-opening performances by the TSO as well as the National Ballet of Canada.
The Globe and Mail posted a feature by Ontario Arts & Culture Report, interviewing several arts leaders about their experience of the lockdown and how they felt returning to live events, including new TSO music director Gustavo Gimeno and Shaw Festival director Kate Hennig.
Several orchestras in Quebec have faced venue difficulties and public reluctance, Le Devoir reports (in French). The Montreal Symphony canceled repeat performances of three upcoming concerts in response to lagging ticket sales. The OSQ, OM, and Les Violons du Ruy are experimenting with holiday promotions, amid concerns that many audience members are waiting to buy tickets at the last minute.
New Yorker critic Alex Ross reviewed the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones, a revival of Mussourgsky’s Boris Godunov, and a “wild ovation” for the return of the Met Orchestra, chorus, stage hands, and other employees after an extended furlough.
The Calgary Philharmonic announced its concert schedule for the winter season after a successful return to live performances in the fall, the Calgary Herald reported.
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an ongoing pandemic. Here are stories we're following... Federal election platforms
The Canadian Arts Coalition compiled arts and culture platforms from five parties, together with a CPAC debate on challenges facing the cultural sector. The debate is viewable in the original French, and in English translation.
Leadership changes
The Toronto Symphony announced that CEO Matthew Loden will resign as of Sept. 22, Ludwig Van reports. Loden joined the TSO in 2018, and will return to Texas as Dean of the Shepherd School at Rice University.
The Calgary Philharmonic appointed Marc Stevens as President and CEO, the Calgary Herald reported. Stevens most recently served as General Manager of the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
The Montreal Gazette reported that the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal's new music director, Rafael Payare, tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-August, as did his wife, cellist Alisa Weilerstein. Both were vaccinated and had minimal symptoms.
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Ruth Budd died on June 30, 2021 at age 97. This interview by Matt Heller was published in Una Voce, April 2013.
Before there was an OCSM or a Symphony Six, there was a school orchestra in Winnipeg with a problem. “The person who was playing the bass either broke his leg or his arm on the football field,” recalls Ruth Budd, who was a 16-year-old violinist at the time. “The conductor said, ‘Who would volunteer?’ and I said I would! He said, ‘Don’t be silly. You know a girl couldn’t play the bass.’”
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May 2021: Conductors on the move, musicians host radio, and institutions building back better. Photo: Conductor Nicolas Ellis
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It is now almost an entire year since I last played an orchestral concert. I believe this is the longest I’ve gone without playing one in my entire post-pubescent life.
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This week, more on how COVID-19 has affected the arts in general and musicians in particular; the streaming wars; the Metropolitan Opera furlough; and the death of James Levine. (Image: from Toronto Symphony/Against the Grain Theatre's Messiah/Complex)
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by Michelle Zapt-Belanger
In April 2020, the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra held two entirely digital, contactless auditions.
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