November
6 & 7
2021
Martin MacDonald
Copland Fanfare for the Common Man
Mendelssohn Sinfonia No. 3
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25
Dukas Fanfare pour précéder La Péri
Gounod Petite Symphonie
Pal On the Double Concert Overture for Orchestra
Our opening program is a delightful array of sparkling and energizing works carefully curated to highlight the wonderful musicians in our orchestra. With brilliant and evocative brass fanfares by Copland and Dukas, an early string symphony by an immensely talented young Mendelssohn, young Canadian composer Jordan Pal’s roller coaster On the Double overture, and an enchanting symphony for winds full of melodic charm and wit. Outstanding pianist Kara Huber joins the Symphony in Mozart’s magnificent Piano Concerto #25, a towering pillar in the concerto genre and among Mozart’s greatest works. A grand opening to a season of musical delights.
Guest Artist: Kara Huber
April
2 & 3
2022
Lorenzo Guggenheim
Calverley Variations on a Harmonic Theme
Beethoven Violin Concerto
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Symphony #5
The Oakville Symphony is delighted to present a hidden treasure by local composer and renowned Egyptologist, Amice Calverley. Composed in 1929, her inspired and thrilling Variations on a Harmonic Theme will open the concert.
We are joined by the distinguished violinist and Oakville native, Stephen Sitarski, in performances of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. This sublime gem is considered by many to be one of his greatest compositions.
To bring the concert to a rousing conclusion, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s stirring Symphony #5, “Reformation”, will be presented in its original form. This infrequently heard version restores lost pages of fascinating music.
Guest Artist: Stephen Sitarski
May
7 & 8
2022
Geneviève Leclair
Haworth Avalon Concert Overture
Stamitz Viola Concerto
Beethoven Symphony #6
The concert opens with the Avalon Concert Overture by Ontario composer Frank Haworth. Our guest artist, the exciting Oakville violinist/violist Leslie Ashworth, returns to our stage in the delightful Viola Concerto by Carl Stamitz. What better way to celebrate Spring than Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony? Birds, streams, wind and storms are vividly depicted by the orchestral master in a celebration of nature in all its beauty.
Guest Artist: Leslie Ashworth
July
9 & 10
2022
Pratik Gandhi
Opatřil Whisky Jack
Haydn Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major
Brahms Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98
Nature is one of the greatest inspirations for artists of all kinds. The Oakville Symphony’s July concerts feature two composers whose appreciation of nature connects them across centuries and continents. The program opens with B.C. composer Leslie Opatřil’s vivacious portrait of Canada’s unofficial national bird, the whisky jack, and concludes with the sublime Fourth Symphony of renowned nature-lover Johannes Brahms.
We are also delighted to feature the brilliant cellist and Oakville native, Kendra Grittani, as soloist in Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major.
Guest Artist: Kendra Grittani
We look forward to welcoming you to this special season of the Oakville Symphony which has been designed to showcase each guest conductor with an equally-balanced program. We’ve also planned around our community’s safe return to live performances as we move out of the Covid pandemic. For this reason, the November concert will be single tickets only to ensure we are able to abide by any capacity or physical distancing requirements.
The concert programs currently feature one Classical concerto and one Romantic symphony, and can be performed without an intermission. If future public health regulations allow, the conductors may add an opening work and present a full-length program including an intermission.
In anticipation of possible travel restrictions, our guest soloists are all local. Three have roots in Oakville, and our guest pianist lives in Toronto.
All concerts will take place at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. For our existing patrons, the 3 concert subscription renewals will be emailed by the Oakville Centre on June 15th, 2021, and single tickets for the November concert will be available on October 1st for early subscribers and October 5th for the general public.
