CMC Prairie Region

SSO 18/19: Merry Christmas, Stephen Leacock
2018-11-24 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Edmonton) | TCU Place, Sid Buckwold Theatre, 35 – 22nd Street East, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 0C8, Canada
Chamber opera by Neil Wiesensel
A co-production with Saskatoon Opera
Known for his gentle satire on small town life, Stephen Leacock wrote the short story “Merry Christmas” as his own cry against the horrors of World War I and the inescapable robbing of innocence that war brings. Leacock is visited by two spirits over the course of one night. These otherworldly visitations will lead to a transformation including one that empowers the author to use his writing as a tool for peace.
This collaboration marks the first official co-production of the SSO and Saskatoon Opera.

ESO 18/19: Ravel, Shostakovich & Stravinsky
2019-01-11 20:00 - 22:00, 2019-01-12 20:00 - 22:00 | Winspear Centre, 4 Sir Winston Churchill Square NW, Edmonton, AB, T5J 4X8, Canada
A tribute to a pair of WWI veterans and a experimentation with neo-baroque techniques are sure to make this an unforgettable performance. The ESO moves perfectly from reverence to mischief in this outstanding musical display.

SSO 18/19: Ravel Piano Concerto
2019-01-26 19:30 - 21:30 | TCU Place, Sid Buckwold Theatre, 35 – 22nd Street East, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 0C8, Canada
A concert that plans to jazz up your January: Milhaud’s jazz-infused take on the creation of the world is a perfect pairing for Ravel’s incredible piano concerto. Regina Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director Gordon Gerrard makes his SSO debut.
Saskatoon’s own Godwin Friesen returns to the SSO as winner of the Shurniak Concerto Competition. His playing is laced with energy and precision that will bring the Ravel to life.
The evening is rounded out by two Canadian pieces, Glenn Buhr’s Winter Poems and Malcolm Forsyth’s Atayoskewin.

ESO 18/19: Elgar's Violin Concerto
2019-01-26 20:00 - 22:00 | Winspear Centre, 4 Sir Winston Churchill Square NW, Edmonton, AB, T5J 4X8, Canada
Performed by ESO Concertmaster Robert Uchida, Elgar’s thoughtful concerto has become a musical standard. Outgoing Symphony Nova Scotia Music Director Bernhard Gueller champions a work written for his orchestra by Sri Lankan-Canadian Dinuk Wijertane.

WNMF 2019: Bramwell Tovey conducts John Adams
2019-01-26 20:00 - 22:00 | Centennial Concert Hall, 555 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 1C3, Canada
Winnipeg New Music Festival 2019: Saturday subscribers take in the opening night of the festival with Bramwell Tovey conducting John Adams’ Harmonielehre – the work that first opened the festival in 1991.

WNMF 2019: Roomful of Teeth
2019-02-01 20:00 - 22:00 | Centennial Concert Hall, 555 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 1C3, Canada
Winnipeg New Music Festival 2019: Friday subscribers enjoy Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw’s sophomore appearance at WNMF and this time she brings her astounding ensemble, Roomful of Teeth!

SSO 18/19: Finding Heinz Moehn
2019-03-23 19:30 - 21:30 | TCU Place, Sid Buckwold Theatre, 35 – 22nd Street East, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 0C8, Canada
Heinz Moehn was a noted editor for the German publisher Barenreiter. He was best known for his editions of Mozart’s works including the great Requiem. And, while every major orchestra in the world has played his edition of the Requiem, none knew he was also a remarkable composer—until now.
Here in Saskatoon, Heinz Moehn’s grandson unearthed his grandfather’s compositions in a box of family heirlooms. The SSO collaborated with Saskatoon-based composer Paul Suchan to take Moehn’s hand-written score for his Violin Concerto and create parts for the SSO to perform—marking the first performance of the concerto in 80 years. We’ve called up rising-star Timothy Chooi to lend his artistry to this unveiling of a new, old concerto.
We’re pairing this debut of Moehn’s concerto with his edition of the beloved Mozart Requiem, featuring a thrilling cast of singers including Prince Albert-born soprano Andrea Lett and tenor Michael Harris.

ESO 18/19: Szymanowski Violin Concerto
2019-03-23 20:00 - 22:00 | Winspear Centre, 4 Sir Winston Churchill Square NW, Edmonton, AB, T5J 4X8, Canada
Under-represented works by masters (Beethoven & Mendelssohn) join fiery 20th century works, all under the hand of CPO Music Director Rune Bergmann.

WSO18/19: Holst: The Planets, with Imagery from NASA’s Great Observatories
2019-03-29 - 2019-03-30, 2019-03-29, 2019-03-30 | Centennial Concert Hall, 555 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 1C3, Canada
This special program pairs Holst’s The Planets with John Estacio’s effervescent Borealis trilogy. Guest host astronomer José Francisco Salgado brings his fantastic collection of imagery from NASA’s great observatories.

SSO 18/19: Eroica
2019-04-27 19:30 - 21:30 | TCU Place, Sid Buckwold Theatre, 35 – 22nd Street East, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 0C8, Canada
Is it possible that the thumping opening chords of Beethoven’s third symphony changed the history of music?
Considered one of the greatest and most popular orchestral works ever written, Beethoven’s Eroica is a symphonic masterpiece and it’s steeped in myth. Did Beethoven really change its dedication? Did audiences really find its strange modulations and violent transitions unsettling?
We open the night with Beethoven’s Contradances for orchestra. You’ll hear the composer working through his early sketches of ideas for his third symphony.
The night features the SSO’s Principal Flute Sarah Yunji Moon in a thrilling concerto by audience favourite Christos Hatzis. Departures requires a fearless flutist of the highest caliber–and its the perfect way for us to showcase her remarkable playing!

ESO 18/19: Prior's New Violin Concerto
2019-06-01 20:00 - 22:00 | Winspear Centre, 4 Sir Winston Churchill Square NW, Edmonton, AB, T5J 4X8, Canada
Alex’s concerto is the product of his close friendship with his colleague Simone Porter. Estacio’s work was inspired by his first sight of the northern lights after moving to Alberta. And Schoenberg, herald of the modern era, was a great admirer of “Brahms the Progressive,” as he called him.
