Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada

Category: Blogroll

Resources from A Spotlight on Women in Musical Leadership

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On Wednesday, October 27, 2021, Orchestras Canada and the Association for Opera in Canada partnered to present a spotlight on the Women in Musical Leadership (WML) program, a multi-year training fellowship for female and non-binary conductors.

Helmed by Tapestry Opera and lead partners Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Pacific Opera Victoria, WML addresses the historic gender inequity at the classical podium by providing intensive training, mentorship, and opportunities to gifted conductors. Working in tandem with a growing network of partner organizations across Canada, WML facilitates placements where participants observe and engage in the activities of partner seasons.

Watch the recording of the session
Download the information document of the WML program

If you have any questions about how to get involved or want to learn more about WML, please get in touch with Jennifer Szeto, Women in Leadership Project Manager: [email protected]

Linda Penner Wins The Betty Webster Award 2021

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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

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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

View the platform in English and in French 

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

View the platform in English and in French 

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.

Storytelling’s Superpower: Artistic Responses to the Climate Crisis

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On June 2nd, Soulpepper Theatre Company, Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT), and Artists for Real Climate Action (ARCA) hosted “The Green Sessions: A Day of Learning”. OC staff attended and were blown away! As we explore and contextualize the implications of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for Canadian orchestras under OC’s 2021-2024 strategic framework, this afternoon of learning offered insights into a key question: What could our artistic responses to the climate crisis accomplish?  

The Green Sessions: A Day of Learning comprised plenary sessions with renowned speakers as well as anumber of breakout sessions to explore specific aspects of the climate emergency in detail. Presenters included Melina Laboucan-Massimo, the Hon. Steven Guilbeault, Jesse Wente, Seth Klein, Annamie Paul, Dale Marshall, Kendra Falconi, David Maggs, Carolynne Crawley, Alanna Mitchell, Toby Heaps, Matt Millares, Gabrielle Bastien, Batul Gulamhusein and Emma Stenning. 

Below, you’ll find a few key takeaways: 

Indigenous Worldviews at the Forefront 

The day began with a heartfelt presentation from Melina Laboucan-Massimo (founder of Sacred Earth Solar and co-founder of Indigenous Climate Action). Melina’s home community is Lubicon Lake Cree First Nation in Little Buffalo, Alberta – situated in the heart of the Boreal Forest and the Alberta oil sands. Melina emphasized the power of Indigenous worldviews to address the climate crisis by valuing reciprocity with mother Earth as well as collective care structures and governance. Melina also reflected on the impact of intergenerational trauma on First Nations people brought on by environmental racism (such as an oil spill in Melina’s home community), residential schools, and centuries of colonialism. For Indigenous peoples in Canada, cultural and environmental genocide are connected, as continued destruction of the land or removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands also contributes to the destruction of Indigenous ways of life. In our fight for climate justice, it is imperative to acknowledge the strength of Indigenous worldviews to inform paths forward as well as pain, exhaustion and trauma Indigenous communities face amidst settler colonialism. Orchestras Canada stands in solidarity with the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people on the frontlines of the fight for environmental justice. 

Watch Melina’s keynote, “Indigenous Issues and the Climate Emergency,” here 

 

Storytelling’s Superpower: Inspiring Action and Change 

In his keynote, The Hon. Steven Guilbeault (Minister of Canadian Heritage) drew from his experience working in environmental activism prior to joining the House of Commons. He mused on the limitations of climate communication focusing on dreadful statistics or doom, expressing his belief in the connection between the arts and a new wave of more effective climate communication focused on instilling hope to inspire action. 

In his keynote, Jesse Wente (Chair of the Canada Council for the Arts) emphasized the power of art to “liberate our imaginations” to envision better futures than what capitalism and colonialism currently offer, socially and environmentally. Further, he argued that storytelling is “crisis resistant” — as artists, we have the power to reframe and raise the profile of the climate emergency, within and beyond our sector, starting any time. We can use art to communicate and vivify our current emergency and our futures; to mobilize communities and inspire new thinking about our present and future relationships with the Earth. For example, through partnerships with scientists and environmental organizations, The Only Animal uses theatre to foster a “love story” between audiences and the natural world.  

Watch Minister Guilbeault’s keynote, “The Climate Emergency and Politics,” here 

Watch Jesse’s keynote, “The Climate Emergency and Culture,” here  

Rallying Around The Emergency 

Author Seth Klein’s keynote presentation distilled the arguments from his recent book, A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency, connecting the lessons from large-scale mobilization around the Second World War to our present-day climate crisis. Every great mobilization needs the arts! For example, looking back to World War II, artists played a critical role in helping to sell war bonds, creating paintings of the front lines, and producing relevant music. It was an era when art and hope met to motivate people amidst an incredible challenge.  

Seth argues that prior to going into “emergency mode” to address a crisis, societies usually experience a denial period (you may be familiar with this challenge in the climate sense…). According to Seth, the four markers of when a government has upgraded its efforts to emergency mode are:  

  1. Spending whatever it takes to “win” 
  2. Creating new institutions to get it done 
  3. Turning voluntary/incentive-based policies into mandatory measures 
  4. Telling the truth to communicate the sense of emergency 

As of yet, no Canadian political party meets all four markers regarding the climate emergency. Take the COVID-19 pandemic for comparison; these 4 markers were hit very quickly in Canada! The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) estimates that the government spends $5 billion a year on the climate emergency, and $5 billion a week on the COVID-19 pandemic. We saw extraordinary spending to protect our population against the threat of COVID-19, which (Seth argues) demonstrates that these funds have always been available for emergencies — they just haven’t been allocated to issues like climate change. With the majority of Canadian leaders not acting as if climate change is an emergency, our greenhouse gas emission levels are not reducing at the rate needed to meet the crisis looming. Currently, all measures are voluntary and, thus, easy to ignore.  

Watch Seth’s keynote, “The Climate Emergency and the Artists,” here 

Artists Leading 

Personal contributions matter, but if we want significant changes, we need the government to act. As multiple speakers noted, we have 11 years to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions enough to avoid catastrophic climate change. Annamie Paul (Leader of the Green Party of Canada) reminded attendees that Canada ranks among the top five countries in the world for greenhouse gas emissions per capita, with the worst reduction records among the G7. Since signing the Paris agreement in 2016, our emissions have actually increased every year – not declined. If we want to reduce emissions by 60% by 2030, Annamie argues that we need carbon budgets and big changes. By and large, the public recognizes the scale of our emergency – but why don’t our political leaders? How can we motivate them, or increase the number of people in politics willing to act on the climate crisis? Annamie encouraged artists to run for politics, to take up seats at the table with our voices advocating for climate action and the vitality of our sector. 

Watch Annamie’s keynote, “Climate Action and Policy,” here 

The Green Sessions: A Day of Learning was inspiring and shed light on how artists and arts organizations can engage our skills to champion change together. Stay tuned to Soulpepper Theatre for news on upcoming Green Sessions: A Day of Training and A Day of Action which are scheduled for late August/early September (exact dates TBC). You can reach Soulpepper Theatre at [email protected] and can view all recordings from The Green Sessions in this YouTube playlist: The Green Sessions: Day of Learning recordings 

Yannick Nézet-Séguin wins Orchestras Canada’s 2020 Betty Webster Award

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Yannick Nézet-Séguin is the winner of the Orchestras Canada BettyWebster Award for 2020.

Maestro Nézet-Séguin was nominated by the Orchestre Métropolitain. While the award is traditionally presented in person, this year required rethinking the tradition, and the award announcement was made through this video, which celebrates Yannick’s involvement and music making with several Canadian orchestras from coast-to-coast.

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. Past winners include distinguished musicians, volunteers, educators, ensembles, and arts managers: a tribute to Mrs. Webster’s inclusive vision for Canadian orchestras.

Maestro Nézet-Séguin is an internationally renowned, proudly Canadian, proudly Québécois conductor.  In September 2018, he became the third Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2012 and Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000, he is also Honorary Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (after serving as Music Director, 2008 to 2018), and Honorary Member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.  In September 2019, he signed a life-time contract with the Orchestre Métropolitain.  A Deutsche Grammophon artist, Maestro Nézet-Séguin has a significant and diverse discography.

In response to receiving the award, Yannick Nézet-Séguin said: “Dear musicians across Canada, I am deeply honoured to receive the Betty Webster Award from Orchestras Canada. The Canadian orchestral scene abounds in talent and, while we are going through a rough patch these days, I am one of those who remain hopeful and believe we must stand together in the coming months. To the entire musical world, to musicians across the country, bravo and thank you for your many initiatives. It warms my heart to receive this honour.”

The award includes a plaque and a donation to an orchestra of the winner’s choosing. M. Nézet-Séguin has asked that this year’s donation be directed to the Orchestre symphonique de l’École Joseph-François Perrault.

The national jury was chaired by OC board member and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra Director of Artistic Operations, Jennifer MacDonald, and included last year’s laureate, Claire Guimond (flutist and founder/long-time artistic director of Arion Orchestre Baroque, Montreal QC); Chris Lee (tuba, National Arts Centre Orchestra); Eric Mathis (Director of Artistic Administration and trombonist, Symphony Nova Scotia, Halifax NS); Leanne Miners (arts manager, North Bay ON); and Jeffrey Ryan (composer, Vancouver BC).

Speaking about the Award, jury chair Jennifer MacDonald noted, “our jury was, as always, inspired by the nominations: people and groups whose contributions are felt regionally, nationally and internationally. It was a genuine privilege to be reminded of the many ways that Canadians are making an impact on the orchestral world.  Ultimately, though, one particular nomination rose to the top, and we are honoured to name Yannick Nézet-Séguin as this year’s winner. He is a remarkable musician, visionary and humanitarian, and he continues to promote Canadian music and musicians on the world stage.”