Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada

Month: October 2019

Youth Month and the 80th edition of the OSM Competition

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Youth Month

Since its beginnings, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal has kept education at the centre of its mission, and has continued to develop new initiatives for engaging young people in classical music. One can think back to the Youth Concerts that were started in 1935 by Wilfrid Pelletier, or to more recent examples such as La Musique aux enfants and the Children’s’ Ball, a gala event that supports educational activities at the OSM and keeps these activities accessible for all.

Continuing the momentum from these initiatives, in November 2019 the OSM will be running a Youth Month dedicated to the many programs offered by the OSM to young musicians, schools and families. The public will be able to discover rising classical music stars during a series of recitals, or to attend the first concert in the Children’s Corner concert series, conducted by the OSM’s new assistant conductor Thomas Le Duc-Moreau. School-aged children will be able to make the most of new freely available educational resources, including (for the first time) the publication of a video of a youth concert filmed at professional standard. Learn more here.

The OSM Competition

Since 1940 the OSM has presented the OSM Competition, Canada’s most prestigious performance competition for young musicians, offering prizes worth more than $100,000 in value to its winners, as well as significant visibility on the international stage. The OSM invites the public to discover 17 violinists and cellists aged between 15 and 25 during the semi-finals and final rounds, which will take place from November 27th to 30th in Montreal. All competition events are webcast to allow for nationwide coverage of the competition. The OSM presents a rich and varied program to competitors and public alike; concerts with previous competition winners, training activities with industry experts, and musical activities at the Maison Symphonique and throughout the city are all part of the competition’s busy schedule. Competitors will benefit from an international jury consisting of, among others, the OSM’s musical director Kent Nagano, and the director of the BBC Proms in London, David Pickard.

Competition winners receive enormous support from the OSM. In addition to cash prizes and scholarships, many have developed a special relationship with the orchestra; the OSM has offered many competition winners the opportunity to perform as soloists, recitalists or chamber musicians with OSM musicians. Kent Nagano also conducts an orchestra of past competition winners during the summer Classical Spree festival. In addition, the OSM fosters partnerships between competition winners and its own artistic partners and international guest artists: an important step for early-career artists.

The orchestra is very proud of the OSM Competition due to the number of ways in which it has enriched the Canadian music scene. Among the winners, many have excelled on the Canadian and international stage, including James Ehnes (violin), Angela Hewitt (piano), Louis Lortie (piano), Karina Gauvin (soprano), Jan Lisiecki (piano), Jonathan Crow (concertmaster, Toronto Symphony), Andrew Wan (OSM Concertmaster), and more recently Timothy Chooi, Blake Pouliot, Carter Johnson and Kerson Leong.

Federal Election Polling Trends

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Note: The following analysis is based on data from 338Canada.com as of October 15, 2019.

In Ontario

  • Both the Conservatives and the Liberals could either lose or gain significant ground in Ontario. So many races are too close to call that the outcome in Ontario could help either party to form the next government. The Liberals held 76 seats in Ontario when the writ was dropped and are projected to win between 32 and 92 seats. The Conservatives held 33 seats in Ontario and are projected to win between 20 and 73 seats. Conservatives have been trending up in Ontario over the past week.
  • The Liberals are projected to lose up to 5 seats in OC member ridings: Kitchener-South-Hespeler, Peterborough-Kawartha, Richmond Hill, Oakville-North-Burlington, St Catharines.
  • At the onset of the election, we had identified 6 ridings to watch for OC members in Ontario: Kitchener-South-Hespeler (Toss up Liberal/Conservative – possible Liberal loss), Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound (Conservative hold), Hamilton-Centre (NDP hold ), Barrie-Springwater-Oro Medonte (Conservative hold), Richmond Hill (Toss up Liberal/Conservative – possible Liberal loss), Oakville-North-Burlington (Toss up Liberal/Conservative – possible Liberal loss).
  • Since the televised debates, NDP fortunes have been on the upswing in various regions throughout the country, including Ontario, where the party has now pulled into several tight races with Liberal incumbents.

In Québec

  • The NDP’s fortunes have improved somewhat since the televised debates, but the party still stands to lose significant ground in Québec. At the time the writ dropped, the NDP held 14 seats in Québec. As of now, they project to win 2 to 5 seats.
  • The NDP are projected to lose up to 5 seats in OC member ridings: Laurier-Sainte Marie, Hochelaga, Rimouski-Neigette-Témiscouatta-Les Basques, Trois rivières, Sherbrooke.
  • The Liberals could lose the most ground in Québec. At the time the writ was dropped, the Liberals held 40 seats in Québec. As of now, they project to win 18 to 44 seats.
  • In several ridings where OC members are based, the races between Liberals and the Bloc Québécois are too close to call.
  • The Bloc Québécois stands to be the biggest winner. At the time the writ was dropped, the Bloc held 10 seats. As of now, they project to win between 21 and 47 seats. The number of projected wins for the Bloc has nearly doubled since the televised debates.
  • At the onset of the election, we had identified 7 ridings to watch for OC members in Québec: Laurier-Sainte Marie (Toss up Liberal/Bloc – NDP loss), Hochelaga (Leaning Bloc – NDP loss), Outremont (Liberal Hold), Ville Marie-Sud Ouest-Île des soeurs (Liberal Hold), Longueil-Charles Lemoyne (Toss up Liberal/Bloc – possible Liberal loss), Québec (Toss up Liberal/Bloc – possible Liberal loss), Chicoutimi-Le Fjord (Toss up Bloc/Conservative – possible Conservative loss).

Arion’s long-serving Artistic Director wins Orchestras Canada’s 2019 Betty Webster Award

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Claire Guimond is the winner of the Orchestras Canada Betty Webster Award for 2019. Mme Guimond will receive the award on Friday, October 18th, at the opening concert of Arion Baroque Orchestra’s 2019-20 concert season. 2019-20 marks Mme Guimond’s final season as Artistic Director of the Montreal-based ensemble.

The Betty Webster Award is presented each year to an individual or organization that has made a sustained and significant contribution over a number of years to the Canadian orchestral community, with an emphasis on leadership, education and volunteerism. It was established in 2002 to honour Orchestras Canada’s founding Executive Director and is a tribute to Mrs. Webster’s visionary leadership and her extraordinary contributions to the health and vitality of orchestras right across Canada.

Mme Guimond founded Arion with three McGill University colleagues in 1981. Initially a quartet, over time the group expanded into one of North America’s best-known baroque orchestras. The orchestra features both established and emerging soloists and conductors along with Arion’s accomplished musicians in a busy program of concerts in Montreal, national and international touring, and recordings.

Mme Guimond has served not only as artistic director and flutist with Arion, but also as executive director for much of her time with the orchestra. A strong supporter of young musicians, she maintains a full calendar of teaching through masterclasses and private lessons.

The 2019-20 season will mark Claire’s 39th and final season at Arion’s helm. This year she is joined by co-artistic director Mathieu Lussier who will succeed her in 2020-21. It is a tribute to Mme Guimond’s hard work and success with Arion that Montreal is now seen as a thriving centre for early music that both attracts renowned international soloists and supports the baroque musicians that perform there.

In response to receiving the award, Claire Guimond said, “I am touched and honoured to receive the Betty Webster award from Orchestras Canada. I would also like to express my appreciation of Orchestras Canada for their important contribution to the vitality of our Canadian orchestras. I am grateful and would like to thank all those who believe in, work for, support and enrich musical life in Canada. Together we make a difference! I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Arion’s board members who have generously supported the orchestra for almost 40 years.” The award includes a plaque and a donation to an orchestra of the winner’s choosing. Mme Guimond has asked that this year’s donation be directed to Arion Baroque Orchestra.

The national jury was chaired by OC board member and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra Director of Artistic Operations, Jennifer MacDonald, and included orchestral managers Hugh Donnan (Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra), Jean-François Phaneuf (Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra) and Joanne Harada; musician and arts manager Françoise Henri (Société pour les arts en milieux de santé – SAMS Montréal); and accountant and OC secretary-treasurer Karen Wilkinson, FCPA, FCA.

Speaking about the Award, jury chair Jennifer MacDonald noted, “the jury was touched with the number of impressive contributions being made to the orchestral landscape by individuals and organizations across Canada. The jury was particularly struck by the work accomplished by Mme Guimond as an artistic director, as an administrator, and as a musician in building Arion from a small, talented ensemble to a full baroque orchestra. Because of her vision, she and Arion have proven themselves capable of attracting international talent to a flourishing local early music scene; putting Montreal, Quebec and Canada on the baroque music world map.”