Boran Zaza, Author at Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada

Statement of Solidarity – Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony

Posted on September 18, 2023September 18, 2023

Orchestras Canada (OC) stands in solidarity with musicians, staff, board and community following the announcement that the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) will not be proceeding with their 2023-24 season.

The KWS has a long history of artistry, innovation and resilience. Yesterday’s announcement should serve as a wake-up call about the ongoing challenges facing many Canadian not-for-profit performing arts organizations in this post-COVID period.

As Canada’s national association for orchestras, we believe in the power of music and musicians to change lives. Advocacy is a key pillar of our work, and we actively advocate for the policies and funding frameworks that will make it possible for musicians and arts workers to lead lives of dignity, creativity and contribution in Canadian communities.

We will continue to advocate for KWS and all our member orchestras, and to provide support, guidance, connections and resources. Our hearts are with you.

Lessons learned: Live Multi-Camera Directing in Classical Music – Part II

Posted on October 31, 2022November 4, 2022

By Boran Zaza, Director of Communications & Development at Orchestras Canada and content creator for classical musicians.

If you haven’t read Part I of this blog post series, I recommend you do so before proceeding!

One of the most important lessons I learned from attending the Live Multi-Camera Directing in Classical Music workshop in Sweden last April, was that preparation is the most important part of the process. The better you know your score, orchestra, conductor, concert hall, camera setup and production team, the better you’ll be set for successful live coverage of the concert. Of course, it was impossible for us, the 16 participants from around the world, to plan all that without ever having been to Gothenburg or its famous concert hall. Thus, we took our preparation process virtual, on the world wide web!

Preparing for Live Multi-Camera Directing

Before landing in Gothenburg, Sweden, we attended an online workshop on how to prepare for Live Multi-Camera Directing in classical music. Each participant was assigned a piece of music to direct live in Gothenburg – either during the dress rehearsal, or during a concert of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. I was assigned “Sur le même accord” by Henri Dutilleux: A beautiful work for solo Violin and Orchestra, which I later got to direct live, with the fabulous Barbara Hannigan conducting, and John Storgårds on the violin.

Along with the piece assignment, we were given a camera layout sketch, showing us where the 9 cameras to which we would have access would be placed on the day of the concert.

Camera layouts example

The Magic of Presets

So, now we knew what piece of music we’d be directing, we knew where the cameras would be placed — but an essential piece of information was yet to come: The presets for each camera. As a director, you’d normally have to plan these yourself. But since we were 16 directors with no prior access to the concert hall and the cameras, those presets were done for us in advance by the IMZ Academy team.

So what’s a preset anyway? In modern-day multi-camera directing, a camera operator on stage is no longer needed: they can control the camera from afar. As a director, you can plan all the shots and closeups in advance so your camera operators can access them with the click of a button (rather than manually trying to move the camera to the right position and zoom in manually)! Want a close-up on the 2nd row of the 1st violins? Camera 3 Preset 6! A timpani solo is about to start? Camera 1 preset 30!

Often cameras can have many presets. At the concert hall in Sweden, each one of the 9 cameras had anywhere between 25 and 50 presets.

Me (left) with 3 camera operators. We see the initial presets of the 9 cameras on the screen.

Scripting the Score

With the score, camera angles and a description of each preset, we had all the information needed to start scripting the score that we were going to direct! Our approach differed from the conventional, where one might have a score reader calling which instrument has a solo coming up and direct in a “go with the flow” manner. Scripting the score meant that as a director, I had to listen to the work many times and then make informed (and artistic!) decisions on which camera, and which preset should be used in which measure — all while being aware of the impact my choice of shots would have on the listeners. As a beginner, It took me around 18 hours of work to script my score for a work that was 10 minutes long. A professional director would script 10-15 minutes of orchestral scores per day.

Example of my scripted score

Score Scripting Tips and Tricks

I learned some of these tips the easy way, and some the hard way… Here they are:

1- Make sure your marking is clear, and write a description of the shot

Use a pencil and a ruler to mark your score, or use your iPad if you are at ease with it! Always write a description of the shot you are supposed to see, so that you know you have the right thing on the screen on the day of the concert.

2- Pace your script to have enough time between different shots; Even switching presets takes time

I learned this tip the hard way: I approached the score from a video editor’s point of view, and as someone who usually edits videos after the fact, I wrote a script that had too many camera angles and switched between too many presets too quickly, especially toward the end of the piece where the tension was rising (and to me, that had to translate into more camera angles). It led to us having to drop quite a few shots during the live event… we almost all had a meltdown trying to catch up with the script! Yikes! Live and learn.

3- Don’t default to a wide shot when there’s a lot going on in the orchestra

Oftentimes, the most interesting and intense shots come from capturing the little details in the orchestra. So even if you see in the score that everyone is playing and it’s fortissimo, don’t just go for a far shot — rather, find an interesting detail from an expressive musician in the orchestra.

4- A “Conductor Sandwich” is always a safe bet

This is especially true if you have a particularly charismatic conductor (and I had THE Barbara Hannigan). You can always get away with having a stable shot of the conductor, switching to something else, coming back to the conductor, switching, coming back to the conductor… you get the idea!

5- Don’t spend too much time on a big close up

Imagine someone standing very close to your face and talking to you, for 2 minutes! That’s a lot of time for someone to be that close to you. Same concept with multi-camera directing! Don’t stay too long on a close-up without starting to zoom out! I remember I had a close-up on the violinist for very long during a slow section of Sur le même accord, and that felt… uncomfortable to those watching!

6- Percussion is always a good idea!

You can never get too many shots of the percussionists, and they really liven up the video! Don’t hesitate to script more shots of them (and make sure you are getting the RIGHT percussion instrument in the shot!).

Stay tuned for the next blog post, in which I will reflect on the experience of live multi-camera directing of an Orchestra performance, and talk about what our friends from the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (who travelled all the way to Sweden with me) have been up to!

I documented the whole trip on Instagram stories as well! You can check them out here.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Katia Makdissi-Warren Wins the Betty Webster Award 2022

Posted on September 22, 2022September 22, 2022

Montréal, Canada (September 22nd, 2022) – Orchestras Canada (OC) presented the 2022 Betty Webster Award to Katia Makdissi-Warren, composer and Artistic Director of Oktoecho, at its Annual General Meeting, to celebrate her longstanding contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion in the Canadian music community. Watch the award winner announcement video here.

The Betty Webster Award was established in 2002 to honour Orchestras Canada’s founding Executive Director. Past winners include distinguished musicians, volunteers, educators, ensembles, and arts managers: a tribute to Mrs. Webster’s inclusive vision for Canadian orchestras. In 2022, the jury focused on the caliber and impact of the nominees’ contributions to inclusion of one or more Canadian orchestras.
Innovative Composer
Katia Makdissi-Warren is an innovative composer who has gained attention on the national and international scene with a unique style that combines Middle-Eastern, Western and Indigenous music. In 2001, she founded Oktoécho, an ensemble specializing in this unique fusion, and regularly composes for the group as well as serving as artistic director.

Her fusion aesthetic leads her to work regularly with the Indigenous, Arab and Jewish communities. Along with her ensemble, she has won several prizes, including the 2019 OPUS prize for best album of the year and the Conseil des Arts de Montréal prize for Diversity and Inclusion in 2020.

In 2019-2020, during her year-long tribute to the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, Katia composed several works for chamber orchestra, including gamelan, Sufi chant, Indigenous chant and others.

Katia Makdissi-Warren studied composition in Quebec City and Hamburg, and then Arab and Syriac music in Beirut with Ennio Morricone, Franco Donatoni, Manfred Stahnke, P. Louis Hage and Michel Longtin. Her works have been performed by such groups as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the National Oriental Orchestra of Beirut, I Musici de Montréal, Les Violons du Roy, l’Ensemble contemporain de Montréal (ECM+), the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra and the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra.

“I am deeply honored by this award, which I dedicate to those around me, the wonderful artists and administrative teams I work with, and the listening public. Through music, you allow me every day to connect a little more with the greatness of humanity. Thanks to you, I can find myself in the depths of my own culture and thus find myself connected to all cultures. Thank you also to the entire Betty Webster Award team,” says the winner.

The award includes a plaque and a donation to an orchestra or a group of the recipient’s choice. Ms. Makdissi-Warren requested that this year’s donation be made to the Inuit girls drumming group, which currently consists of six girls aged 10-14. The Inuit girls drumming group has performed in their community for Elders, in support of residential school survivors, at teachings, at vigils and in long-term care homes. They include audiences in their performances, sharing drums and basic teaching with them.

Jury’s choice
The national jury was chaired by OC board member and Music Nova Scotia’s Executive Director, Allegra Swanson, and included Allison Migeon (Co-founder and Executive Director, Ensemble Obiora), D’Arcy Gray (Community Engagement Manager, Symphony Nova Scotia), Jaelem Bhate (Artistic Director, Symphony 21; Orchestras Canada Board member); plus last year’s laureate Linda Penner (President, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra).
OC’s Executive Director, Katherine Carleton C.M., commented, “Katia Makdissi-Warren’s leadership and creativity provide such an inspiring perspective on what an instrumental ensemble can embody. As an observer of the jury’s process, I can attest to the high caliber of nominations for the Betty Webster Award this year. It has been especially exciting to witness our sector’s embrace of inclusion as a guiding principle, and the creativity, respect and collaborative spirit that artists and administrators have brought to this urgent and necessary work.”

* Credit for Katia’s headshot: Jérôme Bertrand and Geneviève Bigué-SMCQ

Lessons learned: Live Multi-Camera Directing in Classical Music – Part I

Posted on July 26, 2022July 26, 2022

By Boran Zaza, Director of Communications & Development at Orchestras Canada and content creator for classical musicians.

The Setting

In April 2022, thanks to generous funding from the Canada Council for the Arts through the Supporting Artistic Practice program, I had the unique opportunity of attending a workshop that was the first of its kind in the world: Live Multi-Camera Directing in Classical Music, focused on Orchestras. The workshop was organized by the IMZ Academy and hosted by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in their beautiful Konserthuset (concert hall) in Sweden.

“I was in a convention last year with other classical music directors. I looked at my peers, and realized we all had white hair!”, reflected Peter Maniura, Director of the IMZ Academy, and an award-winning TV producer and director. “We had to do something about it, we had to train a new generation of multi-camera directors who know classical music.” This is how the idea of this workshop came to be!

The Participants

16 participants from around the globe came together in the beautiful city of Gothenburg, Sweden from April 26-28 to attend this workshop. Canada was well-represented: I was there, along with 2 colleagues from the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra! More on that later. Other participants came from the BBC Philharmonic, Latvian Television, the Lithuanian National Television, the Swedish Television as well as music learning institutions that record and/or stream their concerts such as the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague and Bruckner University among others.

Gothenburg and Digital Concerts

Why Gothenburg? The city is significant as it is home to Sweden’s national symphony orchestra, which has been creating digital concerts for over a decade and owns state-of-the-art equipment for audio and video! It all started back when the renowned Gustavo Dudamel was the GSO’s Principal Conductor: when he led his farewell concert in 2012, many of the patrons couldn’t get a ticket as the concert was sold-out. This is how the idea to digitize the orchestra’s concerts came. “Taxpayers support our orchestra. Not all of them live in Gothenburg, and many live in remote places and can’t access our concerts. We had to find a way to make our music accessible to them.” said Sten Cranner, General Manager & Artistic Director of GSO.

Inside the GSO’s Konserthuset

The Gear

To provide the best possible coverage and digital concert experience for their patrons attending from outside the concert hall, the GSO uses ten Panasonic AW-UE150 4K PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras, another AK-UB300 4K box camera, two sliders and two Polecam Autopods, which give vertical and lateral movements within shots. Two camera operators control all these cameras remotely, so there are no camera operators physically on stage. This is fantastic for classical music as having a camera operator moving on stage can be disturbing for both the musicians and the audience. The director, score reader, sound engineer and camera operators all work together in the control room, from which the concert is both streamed live and recorded simultaneously, allowing for editing for the final version that lives on the website and mobile app, GSOplay. Those digital concerts are regularly followed by over 150,000 monthly listeners (and those numbers skyrocketed during the pandemic). Check this video to learn more:

One of the GSO’s PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) cameras

Stay tuned for upcoming blog posts, where I share the process of preparing for the workshop, as well as my top learnings and tips for a successful live multi-camera broadcast of a classical concert!

I documented the whole trip on Instagram stories as well! You can check them out here.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Reflections on SphinxConnect: Forging Alliances

Posted on February 24, 2022

From January 27-29, 2022 the Orchestras Canada team had the pleasure of attending the SphinxConnect: Forging Alliances conference. The annual convening, held virtually this year, brought together a stellar lineup of presenters across the North American arts ecosystem (musicians, administrators, board members, funders, and more) to discuss diversity in classical music – including fellow Canadian and Orchestras Canada’s own board member, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser. The conference culminated in the annual Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latinx string players – another virtual adaptation for this year, but with no loss of talent and creativity.

In the blog post below, OC staff share a few of our reflections on themes that emerged – however, we encourage you to learn from the thoughtful presenters directly as you are able. The recordings of the conference presentations are all generously made available for free in a playlist on the Sphinx Organization’s YouTube channel!

About the Sphinx Organization

The Sphinx Organization is a US-based “social justice organization dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts,” founded by American violinist and music educator Aaron Dworkin. It began its work in 1997 as the Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latinx string players. The competition continues to this day, but Sphinx has since evolved a robust suite of programming focused on fostering excellence and increasing representation of Black and Latinx classical artists – including education, performance, commissioning of new works, and leadership development opportunities for Black and Latinx artists and arts workers.

Conference reflections

1- Human potential and innovation

A theme that arose repeatedly in the sessions that OC staff attended is the human potential and innovation that is possible for orchestras, if we are willing to embrace its full spectrum. The conference program covered so many areas of opportunity for orchestras – from governance, to artistic programming, to music education and community engagement and beyond. There is so much talent – both in emerging artists and arts workers, as well as existing expertise in folks already working in the art form – that we can engage with and learn from.

As Achia Floyd put it in the “Rising LEADers” session: don’t think within a frame of what we are losing by diversifying classical music, but instead what we are gaining… the opportunities for developing the talent and art form you already have in your organization, and how we can grow through better, more innovative and inclusive collaboration.

2- An ongoing tension for orchestras: Upholding tradition vs. Responding to today’s realities

A quote that stands out in particular to OC staff is “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but maintaining the fire,” shared by Enrique Márquez in the Rising LEADers session. WOW! How can (and will) orchestras’ art, our capacity to gather people to enjoy music together, serve our neighbours in 2022 and beyond?

For the last couple of centuries, orchestras have been (by and large) in the business of tradition – particularly Eurocentric tradition, at the expense of racialized artists, workers, and patrons. While there is much beauty in the music we have played through centuries, presenters across SphinxConnect sessions rightly point out that the continued survival and elevation of classical music in the 21st century depends on a keener attention to the needs and ambitions of the communities in which we presently live – especially those that our Eurocentric traditions have excluded.

Not only is drawing from a broader palette of talent (in the work played, in those playing it, and in those “keeping the lights on” behind the scenes) the right thing to do from an anti-racist + being good humans and art-makers point of view, it enriches an orchestra’s work and is essential to the perception of our continued relevance and value. For example, one panelist pointed out that millennials expect diversity when they enter arts spaces – if your orchestra is not reflecting the communities you serve, you risk being passed over by your audiences of present and future.

Jazmín Morales, host of the “Where the Wild Things Are” panel, emphasized that to be “wild” and thus responsive to the “wild times” in which we live means to think freely about what is possible and not get stuck in procedure and habit. And as the “Higher Registers: Evolving Artistic Excellence” panel pointed out, the pandemic has broken many habits (e.g. rigid artistic planning cycles, length of concerts) — how can we continue to evolve with and respond to our turbulent times?

3- Sustaining and continuing to build on positive change

In his closing keynote, Weston Sprott stated that he had seen more progress on diversity and inclusion in classical music in the last two years than he had seen prior to that in his entire lifetime – however, “the jury is still out” on how long the work lasts… as such, “It’s on us to keep the pressure to ensure that all this progress is not temporary”.

Presenters also emphasized that lasting change in the diversity of our art forms is key – and part of ensuring lasting change is (as David Stull put it) by “altering the DNA” of arts institutions, structurally inserting and creating mechanisms that require change to continue, such as multi-year ongoing programs that commit to diverse artists’ advancement over the long term – not just the present moment.

Multiple conference presenters advocated for a broad scope for diversity work in each organization: it cannot be siloed on one committee or in one role. Presenters emphasized the importance of aligning values at all levels of decision-making (including board, executive leadership, and funders) – but also noted that change can happen in any team or role. For example, in “Learning to Disrupt ‘the White Racial Frame’ in an Industry Rooted In It” marketing and communications staff reflected on how they had applied anti-racism in their daily work at Minnesota Orchestra, sharing examples of racist vs. anti-racist language.

4- Last but never least… the music! A chat with 2022 Sphinx Competition judge, Juan-Miguel Hernandez

Juan-Miguel Hernandez, a Montréal-born violist with a distinguished international performance career, is no stranger to the Sphinx Competition. In a mid-February phone conversation with Boran Zaza (OC Communications and Development Director) Hernandez credited his top prize in the Senior Division at the 2006 Sphinx Competition as an important “kickstart” for his success as a classical musician:

“I had it in me, but I needed them to say, okay, we’ll give you what you need to kickstart the career. […] It’s the whole being in the right place at the right time. Sphinx makes sure you’re in the right place at the right time.”

When discussing the 2022 competition, for which Hernandez was one of several judges, he emphasized that each young performer arrives with outstanding technical skills – to decide on the top prizes, Hernandez boils judges’ expectations “down to an incredible artistry in a way of doing music. […] And we were incredibly impressed with the level of artistry that we saw.” Given the virtual format of the 2022 competition, judges cast their votes individually after the performances to decide on competition winners (as opposed to gathering in person to reach a decision). Despite the change in format, for Hernandez “this year I have to say I was very, very happy with the end result.”

Congratulations to the 2022 Sphinx Competition Winners!

Senior Division

First Place Laureate & winner of the Robert Frederick Smith Prize ($50,000): Kebra-Seyoun Charles, double bass
Second Place ($20,000) : Gabriela Lara, violin
Third Place ($10,000): Harper Randolph, viola
Audience Choice ($5,000): Gabriela Lara, violin

Junior Division

First Place Laureate ($10,000): Jonathan Okseniuk, violin
Second Place ($5,000) : Brandon Leonard, cello
Third Place ($3,000): Ana Isabella España, violin
Audience Choice ($1,000): Brandon Leonard, cello

Links to resources

The full recording of the 2022 Sphinx Competition can be viewed here.

Recordings of all SphinxConnect conference sessions: YouTube

Notes on conference sessions attended by OC staff here.

$112,800 OTF Grant Supports Resilient Ontario Orchestras Project

Posted on December 8, 2021December 8, 2021

Peterborough, ON (December 8th, 2021) – Today, Orchestras Canada held a ceremony at the closing of its dynamic online Festival of Learning, celebrating the $112,800 Resilient Communities Fund grant it received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) in late 2020 to help with its Resilient Ontario Orchestras project. Local MPP Dave Smith sent greetings and congratulations to the participating orchestras. The Resilient Communities Fund grant program was created by OTF to help Ontario’s non-profit sector rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

“Investing in the arts community spurs development in the local creative economy; boosts the social and cultural fabric of our community and enables passionate individuals to pursue what they enjoy,” MPP Dave Smith said. “We may not know what the future holds, but the pandemic has shown us we need to rebuild and encourage organizations such as Orchestras Canada to become more resilient. This investment will deliver just that; expanding their digital capacity and educational programs,” MPP Smith added.

The Resilient Ontario Orchestras project was designed to help Ontario’s smaller budget orchestras and youth orchestras (groups with annual, pre-pandemic revenues under $500,000) by enabling access to customized consulting help and resources at a critical time. Twenty-three orchestras were matched with expert consultants, who undertook short-term work with them, focusing on their areas of need, including: artistic planning, audience development, marketing, governance, strategic planning, volunteer management, financial management, human resources, revenue generation, risk management, health and safety and pandemic protocols, digital technology adoption, digital content capture and distribution.

“We are so grateful to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for its leadership and vision,” said Katherine Carleton, Executive Director of Orchestras Canada. “This grant has enabled us to respond to the unprecedented challenges faced by Ontario’s orchestras with both precision and generosity. Thank you, OTF!”

Orchestras Canada has curated and hosted an online “Festival of Learning” throughout November and December to share what’s been learned during the Resilient Ontario Orchestras project with the broader orchestral community.

Orchestras Canada is the national association for Canadian orchestras, with a mission to support, connect, and challenge Canadian orchestras, helping them accomplish together what they cannot do alone. Orchestras Canada proudly serves and represents orchestras in every Canadian province, including youth and training orchestras, volunteer-driven and community-based smaller budget orchestras, as well as regional and major professional orchestras.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. Last year, nearly $112M was invested into 1,384 community projects and partnerships to build healthy and vibrant communities and strengthen the impact of Ontario’s non-profit sector. In 2020/21,OTF supported Ontario’s economic recovery by helping non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Visit otf.ca to learn more.

Celebrating 50 years of serving Canadian Orchestras!

Posted on November 12, 2021November 12, 2021

From November 12-14, 1971, the Association of Canadian Orchestras (ACO) held its first in-person Steering Committee Meeting in the board room at the Canada Council for the Arts in Ottawa. This meeting – at which the function and form of the new association were discussed and approved – was the culmination of many months of exploration and discussion; and by some measures, it was the official start of the movement now known as Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada.

In short: November 12th 2021 is (arguably) Orchestras Canada’s 50th anniversary! (Other important dates to remember? 1952, when a group of community orchestra leaders in Ontario first met to talk about common challenges; 1955, when the Ontario group met again and elected a steering committee; and 1964, when the nascent Ontario movement “was recognized…as the voice of Ontario community orchestras by the newly created Province of Ontario Council for the Arts.”) We salute these take-charge Ontarians: however, the national association’s founding clearly stems from the early 1970s and the leadership of such people as Jan Matejcek, Ezra Schabas, Robert Sunter, Ken Winters, Terence Wardrop, and Betty Webster.

To mark the occasion, we’d like to share the story of the founding of the Association of Canadian Orchestras, an entertaining and enlightening tale about our origins researched and written by the late Dorothy Beckel. Mrs. Beckel (1924 – 2021) was President of the Association of Canadian Orchestras, a founding member of the advisory council for Orchestras Canada, and a long-time supporter of orchestra music in every community she graced. She captured the momentum, personalities and major pre-occupations that led to the founding of ACO – and quite a tale it is.

Our favourite excerpt? It’s a quote from the redoubtable Helen M. Thompson, long-time head of the American Symphony Orchestra League, who came to talk to Canadian orchestra leaders about priorities and values as they began the critical work necessary to establish a national association for Canadian orchestras.

“If you have 41 symphony orchestras in Canada, be quite sure of this fact in all your operations on their behalf: 38 of those 41 are the most important ones. To be sure, the three at the top are your finest flower, but the 38 are the plant, and it is from them that everything stems: your new audience development; player development; symphonic-environment development. The fine flower at the top is immeasurably strengthened, beautified, insured, by a healthy and flourishing plant. It is a proof of experience that all orchestras are served by all audience development, player development and development of symphonic environment.

Every orchestra, large-budget or small budget, needs strength and stature in its own community. A function of an orchestral association is to assist in the attainment of these by doing things for the individual orchestra which the orchestra cannot do for itself”

How ACO Began by Dorothy Beckel (Original PDF)

How ACO Began by Dorothy Beckel (Text)

Linda Penner Wins The Betty Webster Award 2021

Posted on September 29, 2021February 28, 2022

Peterborough/Thunder Bay, Canada (September 29th, 2021) – Linda Penner is the winner of the Orchestras Canada Betty Webster Award for 2021.

Linda Penner was nominated by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. The award announcement, delivered by video, celebrates her long-time contributions to the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, the communities it serves, and the role she has played in sustaining the spirit and resilience of its musicians, staff, and volunteers.

The Betty Webster Award was established in 2002 to honour Orchestras Canada’s founding Executive Director. Past winners include distinguished musicians, volunteers, educators, ensembles, and arts managers: a tribute to Mrs. Webster’s inclusive vision for Canadian orchestras. Starting in 2021, the guidelines for the Award were refined to better celebrate Mrs. Webster’s legacy, by specifically honouring an individual who has made an under-recognized but sustained and significant contribution to the Canadian orchestral community through their work (paid or volunteer) with one or more Canadian orchestras. Additionally, in 2021, the jury focused on the calibre and impact of the nominees’ contributions to the resilience of one or more Canadian orchestras.

Linda Penner began her association with the TBSO in 1984 by joining the TBS Chorus. In 1999, in the midst of a severe financial crisis, Linda joined the TBSO Board of Directors. In addition to its monetary struggles, the TBSO was searching for both a new Music Director and General Manager. The orchestra was on the verge of collapse. With the assistance of an Interim Music Director, Linda took on governance and administration responsibilities well beyond the volunteer role that she had accepted.

The TBSO persevered, albeit with a long-standing and significant debt. After serving on the board for 17 years, Linda accepted the position of President in 2016. Today, the TBSO is debt-free and poised for the brightest of futures serving Thunder Bay and region – a tribute to Linda’s tireless perseverance, quiet insistence, belief in teamwork, the new initiatives she has championed, and engaging personal style.

In response to receiving the award, Linda Penner said:

“I am deeply touched and honoured to receive the Betty Webster Award from Orchestras Canada.

The TBSO and other similar organizations would not be here today were it not for the sustaining presence of Orchestras Canada. In concert with determined generous individuals who care deeply and commit to making a difference in communities such as Thunder Bay and across Canada, they help us achieve what we cannot do on our own. I wish to thank all those who throughout the darkest hours of our past and continuing into our present believe in the vision of giving life to music and music to lives. Together we ensure a bright and rich music-filled future with lifted spirits.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!”

The award includes a plaque and a donation to an orchestra of the winner’s choosing. Ms. Penner has asked that this year’s donation be directed to the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.

The national jury was chaired by OC board member and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra Director of Artistic Operations, Jennifer MacDonald, and included Daniel Mills (Executive Director, Kamloops Symphony); Anna Hewitt (Past President, Oakville Symphony); Eliot Britton (Composer; Assistant Professor, University of Toronto); Allegra Swanson (Executive Director, Music Nova Scotia; Orchestras Canada Board member); plus last year’s laureate and an honorary member of the jury Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Orchestre Métropolitain, Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera).

Speaking about the Award, jury chair Jennifer MacDonald noted, “Linda Penner’s long-time, quiet, determined and effective work on behalf of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra deeply touched members of the jury for this year’s Betty Webster Award. We were unanimous in our appreciation for her accomplishments and for her selfless commitment to the TBSO over so many years.”

OC’s Executive Director, Katherine Carleton commented, “I have been a fan of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra for many years. The TBSO serves Northwestern Ontario with thoughtful education programming, strong community partnerships, and undeniable artistic flair, and it’s such an honour for us to be able to recognize Linda Penner, who has played such an essential role in making this great work possible.”

Major Federal political parties’ arts and culture platforms

Posted on September 3, 2021September 8, 2021

Now that most of the major parties have published their platforms, the OC team has spent some time with arts- and culture-specific commitments – and they are summarized below.

Bloc Québécois

Click here to view the platform (French only)

The Bloc Québécois platform includes a section about arts and culture, with a specific focus on protecting Quebec arts and culture.

The Bloc Québécois has pledged:

To repatriate all arts and culture decision-making powers
To create a Quebec agency to replace the CRTC
To improve and reintroduce reform for the future of French-language creation, including the Bloc’s amendments which aim to protect Canadian and Quebec content and to strengthen the discoverability and promotion of Quebec arts and the production of francophone content
To tax the revenues of digital giants at a rate of 3%, mirroring practices in place in France. The Bloc Québécois will force Web multinationals to negotiate with Quebec and Canadian content creators in order to establish fair revenue sharing
To ensure the sustainability and predictability of cultural and tourism programs and subsidies to help the sector, its creators, its broadcasters and its small and large events to weather the consequences of the pandemic over the next few years
To ensure that print and regional media are included in this reform
To demand that the money collected in taxes from the digital giants be redirected to a fund dedicated to Quebec’s arts, culture and media.

Conservative Party of Canada

View the platform in English and in French

The Conservative Party of Canada’s arts and culture platform focuses on cultural industries; the word “arts” does not appear.

We thank the BC Alliance for Arts and Culture for their summary of the CPC platform.

The Conservatives have pledged:

To create the “Canada Job Surge Plan”, which would pay up to 50 per cent of the salary of new employees for six months;
Business loans of up to $200,000 for small businesses in the hospitality, retail and tourism sectors;
To give Radio-Canada a separate and distinct legal and administrative structure to reflect its distinct mandate of promoting francophone language and culture;
To create a new Canadian Heritage Preservation Fund to provide a total of $75 million in grants to municipal governments over the next five years for the repair and restoration of historical monuments, statues, and heritage buildings;
To require large digital streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video to reinvest a significant portion of their Canadian gross revenue into producing original Canadian programming, of which a mandated proportion must be French-language programming;
To recognize and correct the adverse economic impact for creators and publishers from the uncompensated use of their works in a manner consistent with the unanimous recommendations of the Heritage Committee of the House of Commons Report in 2019;
To conduct a review of federal book publishing policy to enhance the commercial viability of Canada’s independent publishing sector.

Additionally, and of interest to registered charities: the CPC platform also includes a commitment to raise the disbursement quota for charitable foundations to 7.5% of their fair market value calculated over the preceding 24 months.

Green Party of Canada

The Green Party of Canada released its 2021 campaign platform recently.

View the platform in English and in French

The arts and culture component of the Green Party platform is comprehensive, and focuses on the role that artists and arts organizations can play in addressing the climate crisis, respect for Indigenous knowledge and practices, official language and minority language rights, access to the arts, and copyright reform.

If elected, the Green Party of Canada pledges to:

Increase funding to all federal agencies including the Canada Council for the Arts, the National Film Board and Telefilm Canada to initiate programs to support creative programming that addresses the climate crisis
Enable pandemic recovery (by increasing support for indoor or outdoor arts performances and ensuring the viability of cultural infrastructure)
Increase funding to $1 billion over 3 years to all of Canada’s arts and culture organizations including the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada, orchestras, theatres, galleries and publishers
Establishing stable base funding for arts programs and facilities at a set percentage of the federal budget
Protect Canada’s cultural identity during trade negotiations and ensure arts and cultural representation on international trade missions
Enact Copyright reform as envisaged by the current Heritage Committee report, and provide protection for Indigenous intellectual and artistic property rights
Reform the Canada Revenue Act to allow arts and culture workers to benefit from a tax averaging plan

Liberal Party of Canada

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The Liberal Party of Canada platform includes sections relevant to arts and culture organizations, and cultural industries.

The Liberals have pledged:

To launch a new Arts and Culture Recovery Program that will match ticket sales for performing arts, live theatres, and other cultural venues to compensate for reduced capacity.
To extend COVID-related insurance coverage for media production stoppages to support 150,000 Canadian jobs.
To Implement a COVID-19 transitional support program to provide emergency relief to out-of-work artists, craftsmen, creators, and authors who are primarily self-employed or independent contractors.
To ensure the realities of artists and cultural workers are considered in upcoming reforms to the Employment Insurance (EI) system.
To protect Canadian artists, creators, and copyright holders by making changes to the Copyright Act, including amending the Act to allow resale rights for artists.
To hold a summit, within the first 100 days, on plans to restart the industry.

New Democratic Party of Canada

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The NDP has pledged:

A dedicated re-building package for the performing arts, theatre, festivals and other arts that have been most severely impacted by the pandemic.
To ensure that Netflix, Facebook, Google and other digital media companies pay the same corporate taxes as Canadian broadcasters, support Canadian content in both official languages, and take responsibility for what appears on their platforms.
To modernize the Broadcasting Act fairly in order to create a level playing field between Canadian broadcasters and foreign streaming services, to rebalance negotiating power for Canadian independent producers and the Canadian cultural sector, and to ensure Canadian programming is owned by Canadians.
To prioritize partnerships with Canadian independent producers, increase funding for Telefilm and enhance financial support for the Canada Media Fund.
To increase funding for CBC and Radio-Canada.
To ensure stable, long-term funding to arts and cultural institutions.
To extend support to Canadian media to assist them in making the digital transition.
To provide financial support for Indigenous theatre at the National Arts Centre as part of a larger effort to honour and support Indigenous arts and culture.

We will update you with additional information when it becomes available.