The latest coverage of orchestras, people, and trends in the arts. Here are stories we're following.
Performances, tours and venues
The London Symphonia’s home venue, Metropolitan United Church, will receive $300K in federal funding for renovations, the Free Press reported. Separately, Free Press columnist Jane Sims celebrated the resilience and pluck of the orchestra, dubbing it the Little Orchestra That Could. (photo: London Symphonia)
The National Arts Centre Orchestra earned rave reviews for a concert last month at Carnegie Hall, titled Truth In Our Time, the Ottawa Citizen reported.
The Boston Symphony canceled an European tour in May due to pandemic concerns, the New York Times reported. The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra also recently canceled a tour of Japan and South Korea planned for June.
BBC News reported that an orchestra of Ukrainian refugees, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, will be part of the 2022 BBC Proms line-up, appearing on July 31st.
The Regina Symphony presented its annual Forward Currents Festival this past weekend, dedicated this year to celebrating queer artists, the Leader-Post reported.
And CBC News reported on a collaboration between the Montreal Symphony and Montreal Planetarium, designed for our very youngest audience members: babies.
New seasons
The Vancouver Symphony announced its 2022-23 season, the Sun reports. A new series, Our Planet, will highlight artists and music with an environmental focus.
The Winnipeg Symphony’s new season will be its 75th anniversary, highlighted by guests including James Ehnes, Jan Lisiecki, and past music director Andrey Boreyko, the Free Press reports. The Free Press also reviewed a recent WSO concert titled Manitoba Remembers: A Covid Elegy, pairing moving performances with personal testimony.
Orchestre Métropolitain is devoting much of its new season to lifting up underrepresented voice, the Montreal Gazette reports. Ludwig Van also posted a preview of OM’s 2022-23 season in French.
People in the news
We mourned the tragic loss of maestro Boris Brott, hit by a motorist while walking in downtown Hamilton on April 5th. Among the coverage:
- The Hamilton Spectator reported on the collision and crime;
- CBC News compiled tributes and commentary in the days following;
- Local reaction in Hamilton was the topic of another CBC News report;
- Dancer Veronica Tennant wrote her own remembrance for the Spectator;
- Thunder Bay Symphony officials remembered Brott as their first music director and a pivotal figure, the TB News Watch reported;
- The Globe and Mail’s obituary highlighted Brott’s role as an institution builder.
Toronto Star columnist William Littler looked back at the Toronto Symphony’s recent music directors, on the occasion of a concert featuring five of them.
Saskatoon Symphony music director Eric Paetkau is leaving after seven seasons. He spoke with CTV News about his time with the SSO, and new projects.
ClassicFM posted about the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra’s eloquent response to a car commercial clumsily lampooning young musicians.
Compiled by Matt Heller and Melissa Goodchild, with assistance from the OCSM Editorial Committee. Please send comments, corrections, and content tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..