Symphony Nova Scotia
Encyclopedia
Symphony Nova Scotia is a professional orchestra
based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
.
Symphony Nova Scotia traces its origins back to several different orchestras, including the Halifax Symphony (1897–1908, 1955–1968), the Halifax Sinfoniette (1947–1955), and the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra
(1968–1984). Its current structure began in 1983 with 13 full-time musicians. Today, under the leadership of Music Director Bernhard Gueller, it is the largest employer in Nova Scotia’s cultural community, employing 37 musicians and ten administrative staff, along with over 150 contracted artistic, production and technical personnel. It has won four East Coast Music Awards for classical music
.
The orchestra has been praised for its versatility and flexibility, and for performances in a variety of styles. Conductor and arranger Howard Cable
calls Symphony Nova Scotia “the most versatile orchestra in Canada,” and the Chronicle Herald has said that, “they can play it all: Beethoven, Shostakovich, Hatzis and Current, as well as Tommy Dorsey, Scott Macmillan, Rose Cousins, Buck 65 and Natalie MacMaster.”
Symphony Nova Scotia's education programs reach over 15,000 elementary, junior, and senior high school students each year. The Symphony also conducts accessible community programs, including pre-concert chats, performances in local public libraries, and free community concerts.
Symphony Nova Scotia is has been recognized as a forward-thinking orchestra for their collaborations with popular and folk music artists. According to CBC
Canada Live
broadcaster Andrew Craig, “Symphony Nova Scotia simply proves that orchestras can evolve, and that there is no loss of artistic integrity in promoting the music of living composers, pop or otherwise.”
Pops collaborations in recent years include:
In 1947 another orchestra was created in Nova Scotia through the efforts of Walter Kaufmann and Alfred Strombergs as well as Mariss Vetra and Dr. Srul Tulio Laufer. Backed by the Nova Scotia Opera Association, the orchestra primarily served as accompaniment for opera and ballet performances. Formally named the Halifax Sinfoniette in 1951, the group of 13 professional musicians was led by Strombergs until 1955.
In 1955 the Sinfoniette became the second incarnation of the Halifax Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra began under music director Thomas Mayer with 17 full-time musicians (often augmented by members from the Royal Canadian Artillery Band
and the Stadacona Navy Band). By 1966 the orchestra had 35 full-time members and presented about 70 concerts annually. Conductors included Jonathan Sternberg (1957–58), Leo Mueller (1958–64), and John Fenwick (1964–67).
When the Halifax Symphony Orchestra and New Brunswick Symphony Orchestra (founded in 1962) were both disbanded in 1968, the Atlantic provinces came together to create the 48-member Atlantic Symphony Orchestra
, a regional orchestra designed to tour the four provinces.
Despite the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra
’s popularity, it suffered from high costs, declining government and corporate support, and a lengthy labour dispute in 1979. The orchestra declared bankruptcy in 1983.
In October 1983 Symphony Nova Scotia was created under the direction of conductor Boris Brott
and Board president Brian Flemming.
The original Symphony Nova Scotia hired a core of 13 full-time players for a January–May season. In its second season the number of employed musicians doubled, and by 1987 the orchestra had grown to a complement of 39.
succeeded Boris Brott
in 1987. Under his leadership, Symphony Nova Scotia made six recordings, toured to Ontario
and Quebec
, and won and initiated several community outreach programs, including a production of The Nutcracker
in collaboration with Halifax Dance and Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia
.
The orchestra also made a step towards sustainability in 1992 with a fundraising event called Pure Gold. Featuring violinist Isaac Stern
and contralto Maureen Forrester
, the event raised $140,000 for the newly-created Symphony Nova Scotia Foundation.
Tintner served as Symphony Nova Scotia’s principal conductor until 1994. He continued to support Symphony Nova Scotia as Conductor Laureate until 1999.
To address the immediate cash flow crisis, the Board of Directors, after consulting with staff and musicians, chose to restructure the organization rather than to shut the orchestra down. The orchestra members donated their services for two weeks during a provincial tour with a young fiddler from Cape Breton
, Natalie MacMaster
. The administrative staff was reduced and reorganized, and Raffi Armenian
was hired as Interim Artistic Director until Leslie Dunner
was chosen to take the podium in 1996-97.
1998-99 was Dunner’s last season as Music Director with the orchestra, and a search began for a new conductor. In spite of the sudden loss of Conductor Laureate and Artistic Advisor Georg Tintner
in October 1999, orchestra, staff and Board members worked together to make artistic decisions until Simon Streatfeild
was hired as Artistic Advisor in May 2000.
Gueller was assisted from 2005-2008 by the orchestra’s conductor-in-residence, Sri-Lankan-born Dinuk Wijeratne. In 2008, when Wijeratne had completed his Canada Council
-funded term with the orchestra, Cape Breton
native Martin MacDonald
was appointed as the new resident conductor. MacDonald completed his term in May 2011, and Israeli-born Shalom Bard was selected as his successor.
Symphony Nova Scotia presently employs 37 full time musicians for a 33-week season.
The orchestra has recently renewed a focus on touring, regularly traveling to communities across the province and incorporating a full concert series in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
. Community engagement and outreach initiatives also continue to grow as the orchestra develops projects with partners from the educational, artistic, heritage and ethnic communities.
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Symphony Nova Scotia traces its origins back to several different orchestras, including the Halifax Symphony (1897–1908, 1955–1968), the Halifax Sinfoniette (1947–1955), and the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra
Atlantic Symphony Orchestra
Atlantic Symphony Orchestra was a professional Canadian symphony orchestra in Atlantic Canada that was active during the second half the 20th century. It has the distinction of being the only full-time regional professional orchestra in Canadian history. The orchestra was formed shortly after the...
(1968–1984). Its current structure began in 1983 with 13 full-time musicians. Today, under the leadership of Music Director Bernhard Gueller, it is the largest employer in Nova Scotia’s cultural community, employing 37 musicians and ten administrative staff, along with over 150 contracted artistic, production and technical personnel. It has won four East Coast Music Awards for classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
.
The orchestra has been praised for its versatility and flexibility, and for performances in a variety of styles. Conductor and arranger Howard Cable
Howard Cable
Howard Reid Cable is a conductor, arranger, music director, composer, and radio and television producer.-Biography:...
calls Symphony Nova Scotia “the most versatile orchestra in Canada,” and the Chronicle Herald has said that, “they can play it all: Beethoven, Shostakovich, Hatzis and Current, as well as Tommy Dorsey, Scott Macmillan, Rose Cousins, Buck 65 and Natalie MacMaster.”
Symphony Nova Scotia's education programs reach over 15,000 elementary, junior, and senior high school students each year. The Symphony also conducts accessible community programs, including pre-concert chats, performances in local public libraries, and free community concerts.
Cross-over collaborations
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
Canada Live
Canada Live
Canada Live is a Canadian radio program, which debuted on March 19, 2007 on CBC Radio 2, which airs concert performances in a variety of musical genres from locations across Canada. The program airs weekdays on Radio 2; one episode per week is repeated on CBC Radio One on Friday afternoons.The...
broadcaster Andrew Craig, “Symphony Nova Scotia simply proves that orchestras can evolve, and that there is no loss of artistic integrity in promoting the music of living composers, pop or otherwise.”
Pops collaborations in recent years include:
- Hip hop artist Buck 65Buck 65Richard Terfry , who uses the stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian experimental artist, MC and turntablist. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, country, rock, folk and avant garde influences.Terfry is also a radio host,...
(2008) - Celtic fiddlers Natalie MacMasterNatalie MacMasterNatalie MacMaster, CM is an award-winning fiddler from the rural community of Troy in Inverness County, Nova Scotia, Canada who plays Cape Breton fiddle music....
(1995, 1996, 2009), Ashley MacIsaacAshley MacIsaacAshley Dwayne MacIsaac is a Canadian professional fiddler from Cape Breton Island.His album Hi™ How Are You Today?, featuring the hit single "Sleepy Maggie", with vocals in Scottish Gaelic by Mary Jane Lamond was released in 1995...
(2010), and Richard Wood (2011) - Pop-rock trio MirMir (band)Mir is a band based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their projects have been released in Canada and Europe, and their 2006 itinerary includes 4 tours in Germany.Asif Illyas is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist and pianist...
(2009) - Singer-songwriters Jill BarberJill BarberJill Barber is a Canadian singer-songwriter formerly based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, now based in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Biography:Born and raised in Toronto, she is sister to singer-songwriter Matthew Barber...
(2008) Gordie SampsonGordie SampsonGordie Sampson is a singer-songwriter and producer from Big Pond, Nova Scotia, Canada.He has written songs for Carrie Underwood , Martina McBride , LeAnn Rimes , and George Canyon and produced and sound engineered...
(2008), Jenn GrantJenn GrantJenn Grant is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Background:Born on Prince Edward Island to Ken and Heather Grant, she moved to Halifax with her mother and brother at age ten when their marriage broke up...
(2010, 2011), David MylesDavid Myles (singer-songwriter)David Myles is a Canadian songwriter / performer/ recording artist originally from Fredericton, New Brunswick. Myles lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 2008, he and Nina Corfu were married. His parents are Carmel and Jim Myles.-Education:...
(2010), Meaghan SmithMeaghan SmithMeaghan Smith is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. While her independently-recorded debut album, The Cricket's Orchestra was picked up by Sire Records/Warner Music Canada and released in early 2010, she received a great deal of exposure by contributing a cover of alternative rock group...
(2011), Erin Costelo (2011), Basia BulatBasia Bulat- External links :*...
(2010), and the Sons of MaxwellSons of MaxwellSons of Maxwell is a Canadian music duo who perform both traditional Celtic folk music and original compositions with a pop-folk sound. The duo consists of brothers Don and Dave Carroll, originally from Timmins, Ontario, now living in Halifax, Nova Scotia...
(2011) - Indie pop icon Owen PallettOwen PallettMichael James Owen Pallett is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist from Toronto, Ontario. He won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album He Poos Clouds....
(2009) - Songwriter and TV personality Steve SmithSteve Smith (comedian)Steven "Steve" Smith, Jr., is a Canadian actor, writer and comedian.Smith was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Before turning to comedy, he studied engineering at the University of Waterloo and then worked a variety of jobs...
from The Red Green ShowThe Red Green ShowThe Red Green Show is a Canadian television comedy that aired on various channels in Canada, with its ultimate home at CBC Television, and on Public Broadcasting Service stations in the United States, from 1991 until the series finale April 7, 2006 on CBC...
(2010) - Soul singer Dutch Robinson (2011)
Discography
- 1992 - Opportunity Knocks, Howard CableHoward CableHoward Reid Cable is a conductor, arranger, music director, composer, and radio and television producer.-Biography:...
, conductor (CBC RecordsCBC RecordsCBC Records is a Canadian record label, owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which distributes CBC programming, including live concert performances in album and digital format....
) - 1994 - Music of Frederick DeliusFrederick DeliusFrederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
, Georg TintnerGeorg TintnerGeorg Tintner CM was an Austrian-born conductor whose career was principally in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada....
, conductor (CBC RecordsCBC RecordsCBC Records is a Canadian record label, owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which distributes CBC programming, including live concert performances in album and digital format....
) - 1995 - Beethoven, Vaughan Williams, Bales, Georg TintnerGeorg TintnerGeorg Tintner CM was an Austrian-born conductor whose career was principally in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada....
, conductor (CBCCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
Maritimes) - 1997 - Late Romantics, Georg TintnerGeorg TintnerGeorg Tintner CM was an Austrian-born conductor whose career was principally in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada....
, conductor (CBC RecordsCBC RecordsCBC Records is a Canadian record label, owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which distributes CBC programming, including live concert performances in album and digital format....
) - 2001 - MacKinnons' Brook Suite, Scott MacMillan, conductor (Warner Music GroupWarner Music GroupWarner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
) - 2003 - Seasons' Celebration, Howard CableHoward CableHoward Reid Cable is a conductor, arranger, music director, composer, and radio and television producer.-Biography:...
, conductor (CBC RecordsCBC RecordsCBC Records is a Canadian record label, owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which distributes CBC programming, including live concert performances in album and digital format....
) - 2003 - Tintner Memorial Collection (Naxos RecordsNaxos RecordsNaxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
)- Vol 1: Mozart Symphonies No. 31, 35 and 40
- Vol 2: Schubert Symphonies No. 8, 9
- Vol 3: Beethoven Symphony No. 4- SchumannRobert SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
Symphony No. 2 - Vol 4: Haydn Symphonies Nos. 103, 104
- Vol 5: Brahms Symphony No. 3, Serenade No. 2
- Vol 6: Beethoven Symphony No. 3 - Sibelius Symphony No. 7
- Vol 7: Mozart Idomeneo Overture, Symphonies Nos. 34, 41
- Vol 10: Music of Frederick DeliusFrederick DeliusFrederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
. 1994 (re-release) - Vol 11: Mozart Marches & Dances, Les Petits Riens
- Vol 12: Down Under
- 2006 - Dancing in the Light, Bernhard Gueller, conductor (CBC RecordsCBC RecordsCBC Records is a Canadian record label, owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which distributes CBC programming, including live concert performances in album and digital format....
)
2010/11 Season
- April 28, 2011: Edvard GriegEdvard GriegEdvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
’s Piano Concerto, featuring Jon Kimura ParkerJon Kimura ParkerJon Kimura Parker, OC is a Canadian pianist.- Biography :He was born in Vancouver, Canada, the son of Keiko Parker and the nephew of Edward Parker.He appeared with the Vancouver Youth Orchestra when he was five...
, piano. - April 7/10, 2011: Derek CharkeDerek CharkeDerek Charke is a Canadian classical composer and flutist.-Life:Derek Charke’s music is recognized as an important and original contribution to the Canadian music scene. Derek’s compositions increasingly pair electroacoustic elements, many derived from environmental sounds, with acoustic instruments...
’s Symphony no. 1, “Transient Energies.” - March 24, 2011: “Mozart’s Jupiter” concert, featuring Avan Yu, piano.
- February 10, 2011: “Elizabeth BishopElizabeth BishopElizabeth Bishop was an American poet and short-story writer. She was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 1949 to 1950, a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1956 and a National Book Award Winner for Poetry in 1970. Elizabeth Bishop House is an artists' retreat in Great Village, Nova Scotia...
in Word & Music” concert, featuring Suzie LeBlancSuzie LeBlancSuzie LeBlanc is a Canadian soprano and early music specialist, who has enjoyed an active international career performing in concerts throughout Europe, North America and Japan, in repertoire ranging from lute songs to chamber music to oratorio and early opera.Suzie LeBlanc specializes in the 17th...
, soprano. - January 27, 2011: Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto no. 3, featuring Jonathan Crow, violin.
- January 21, 2011: Concert collaboration with Erin Costelo (vocals, piano) and Meaghan SmithMeaghan SmithMeaghan Smith is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. While her independently-recorded debut album, The Cricket's Orchestra was picked up by Sire Records/Warner Music Canada and released in early 2010, she received a great deal of exposure by contributing a cover of alternative rock group...
(vocals, guitar). - November 25, 2010: “Piano Prodigy Jan LisieckiJan LisieckiJan Lisiecki is a classical pianist. Born in Calgary, Canada to Polish parents, Lisiecki is most well known as being extremely accomplished in piano as well as in academics at a young age....
” concert, featuring Jan LisieckiJan LisieckiJan Lisiecki is a classical pianist. Born in Calgary, Canada to Polish parents, Lisiecki is most well known as being extremely accomplished in piano as well as in academics at a young age....
, piano. - October 1, 2010: “Red Green: With Strings Attached” concert, featuring Steve Smith (comedian)Steve Smith (comedian)Steven "Steve" Smith, Jr., is a Canadian actor, writer and comedian.Smith was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Before turning to comedy, he studied engineering at the University of Waterloo and then worked a variety of jobs...
and Morag SmithMorag SmithMorag Smith is a Canadian television comedian, born in Mississauga, Ontario. She attended Streetsville Secondary School. With her husband Steve Smith, Morag performed as a comedy duo in several television series....
.
2009/10 Season
- May 2, 2010: “Antonin DvořákAntonín DvorákAntonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
Festival: From the New World” concert, featuring Giora SchmidtGiora Schmidt-Biography:Giora Schmidt was born into a family of musicians in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents emigrated from Israel in 1978, and are formerly of the Philadelphia Opera Company Orchestra. His mother, Michal Schmidt is a cellist and pianist and is on the faculty of Bryn Mawr and Haverford...
, violin. - April 29, 2010: “Antonin DvořákAntonín DvorákAntonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
Festival: The Cello Concerto” concert, featuring Matt HaimovitzMatt HaimovitzMatt Haimovitz is an Israeli-born cellist now based in the United States and Canada. He mainly plays a cello made by Matteo Gofriller in 1710.-Family, musical education and early career:...
, cello. - March 11, 2010: “Left-Handed Concerto” concert, featuring Katherine Chi.
- February 19, 2010: Concert collaboration with Jenn GrantJenn GrantJenn Grant is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Background:Born on Prince Edward Island to Ken and Heather Grant, she moved to Halifax with her mother and brother at age ten when their marriage broke up...
, vocals. - November 27, 2010: “A Soldier’s Carol” concert, featuring Mir (band)Mir (band)Mir is a band based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their projects have been released in Canada and Europe, and their 2006 itinerary includes 4 tours in Germany.Asif Illyas is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist and pianist...
. - October 23, 2010: “Final Fantasy” concert, featuring Owen PallettOwen PallettMichael James Owen Pallett is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist from Toronto, Ontario. He won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album He Poos Clouds....
, violin/piano/electronics.
Awards
- 1995 - East Coast Music Award for Music of Frederick DeliusFrederick DeliusFrederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
- 1998 – East Coast Music Award for Late Romantics
- 2000 – Music Industry Association of Nova Scotia Special Recognition Award
- 2002 – East Coast Music Award for MacKinnon's Brook Suite
Nominations
- 2004 – East Coast Music Award nomination for Tintner Memorial Edition Vol. 1
- 2004 – East Coast Music Award nomination for Seasons' Celebration des saisons
- 2007 – East Coast Music Award nomination for Dancing in the Light
Educational programs
- School and Public Open Rehearsals
- Pre-Concert Chats
- School Matinees
- Library Series
- In-School Concerts
- Adopt-a-Musician
- Musical Munchkins
Orchestral lineage
The first recognized orchestra in Nova Scotia, the Halifax Symphony Orchestra, was formed in 1897. This orchestra, led by conductor Max Weil, reached a membership of 39 musicians and performed four to five concerts each season. The orchestra disbanded in 1908 with Weil’s departure.In 1947 another orchestra was created in Nova Scotia through the efforts of Walter Kaufmann and Alfred Strombergs as well as Mariss Vetra and Dr. Srul Tulio Laufer. Backed by the Nova Scotia Opera Association, the orchestra primarily served as accompaniment for opera and ballet performances. Formally named the Halifax Sinfoniette in 1951, the group of 13 professional musicians was led by Strombergs until 1955.
In 1955 the Sinfoniette became the second incarnation of the Halifax Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra began under music director Thomas Mayer with 17 full-time musicians (often augmented by members from the Royal Canadian Artillery Band
Royal Canadian Artillery Band
The Royal Canadian Artillery Band is one of only two Regular Force Army Bands in the Canadian Forces. Located at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton, the RCA Band provides quality music designed to support Canadian Forces operations, foster morale and esprit de corps, and promote Canada and the Canadian...
and the Stadacona Navy Band). By 1966 the orchestra had 35 full-time members and presented about 70 concerts annually. Conductors included Jonathan Sternberg (1957–58), Leo Mueller (1958–64), and John Fenwick (1964–67).
When the Halifax Symphony Orchestra and New Brunswick Symphony Orchestra (founded in 1962) were both disbanded in 1968, the Atlantic provinces came together to create the 48-member Atlantic Symphony Orchestra
Atlantic Symphony Orchestra
Atlantic Symphony Orchestra was a professional Canadian symphony orchestra in Atlantic Canada that was active during the second half the 20th century. It has the distinction of being the only full-time regional professional orchestra in Canadian history. The orchestra was formed shortly after the...
, a regional orchestra designed to tour the four provinces.
Despite the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra
Atlantic Symphony Orchestra
Atlantic Symphony Orchestra was a professional Canadian symphony orchestra in Atlantic Canada that was active during the second half the 20th century. It has the distinction of being the only full-time regional professional orchestra in Canadian history. The orchestra was formed shortly after the...
’s popularity, it suffered from high costs, declining government and corporate support, and a lengthy labour dispute in 1979. The orchestra declared bankruptcy in 1983.
Foundation
Boris Brott
Boris Brott, OC, O.Ont is a Canadian conductor and motivational speaker.Born in Montreal, the son of violinist and composer Alexander Brott and cellist Lotte Brott, and brother of cellist Denis Brott....
and Board president Brian Flemming.
The original Symphony Nova Scotia hired a core of 13 full-time players for a January–May season. In its second season the number of employed musicians doubled, and by 1987 the orchestra had grown to a complement of 39.
Under Georg Tintner, 1987-94
Austrian-born conductor Georg TintnerGeorg Tintner
Georg Tintner CM was an Austrian-born conductor whose career was principally in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada....
succeeded Boris Brott
Boris Brott
Boris Brott, OC, O.Ont is a Canadian conductor and motivational speaker.Born in Montreal, the son of violinist and composer Alexander Brott and cellist Lotte Brott, and brother of cellist Denis Brott....
in 1987. Under his leadership, Symphony Nova Scotia made six recordings, toured to Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and won and initiated several community outreach programs, including a production of The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
in collaboration with Halifax Dance and Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia
The Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia was co-founded in 1972 in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, by the late Evelyn Garbary, Tom Miller, and Sara Lee Lewis who continues to serve as Managing Director. The Theatre moved to Windsor, Nova Scotia in 1987, purchasing a large commercial building in the town’s...
.
The orchestra also made a step towards sustainability in 1992 with a fundraising event called Pure Gold. Featuring violinist Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
and contralto Maureen Forrester
Maureen Forrester
Maureen Kathleen Stewart Forrester, was a Canadian operatic contralto.-Life and career:Maureen Forrester was born and grew up in a poor section of Montreal, Quebec. She was one of four children to Thomas Forrester, a Scottish cabinetmaker, and his Irish-born wife, the former May Arnold. She...
, the event raised $140,000 for the newly-created Symphony Nova Scotia Foundation.
Tintner served as Symphony Nova Scotia’s principal conductor until 1994. He continued to support Symphony Nova Scotia as Conductor Laureate until 1999.
1994-96
In spite of the successes under Tintner, the orchestra struggled financially and artistically during a period of severe cutbacks in government funding. Despite valiant attempts to cut costs by imposing wage freezes on the orchestra and staff and cutting the season to 27 weeks, by 1995 the Symphony was forecasting an accumulated deficit of $900,000.To address the immediate cash flow crisis, the Board of Directors, after consulting with staff and musicians, chose to restructure the organization rather than to shut the orchestra down. The orchestra members donated their services for two weeks during a provincial tour with a young fiddler from Cape Breton
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
, Natalie MacMaster
Natalie MacMaster
Natalie MacMaster, CM is an award-winning fiddler from the rural community of Troy in Inverness County, Nova Scotia, Canada who plays Cape Breton fiddle music....
. The administrative staff was reduced and reorganized, and Raffi Armenian
Raffi Armenian
Raffi Armenian, CM is an Armenian-Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and teacher. Since 2008 he has been the director of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal....
was hired as Interim Artistic Director until Leslie Dunner
Leslie Dunner
Leslie Byron Dunner is an American conductor and composer.-Biography:Leslie was born in New York City to parents Lloyd Bertram Dunner and Audrey Dunner. His father worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and later for the Brooklyn Department of Sanitation, while his mother was a social worker...
was chosen to take the podium in 1996-97.
1996-2000
In 1996-97 the orchestra opted to re-establish programming elements recognized as essential to the community such as free public concerts and school visits, previously pared to save costs.1998-99 was Dunner’s last season as Music Director with the orchestra, and a search began for a new conductor. In spite of the sudden loss of Conductor Laureate and Artistic Advisor Georg Tintner
Georg Tintner
Georg Tintner CM was an Austrian-born conductor whose career was principally in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada....
in October 1999, orchestra, staff and Board members worked together to make artistic decisions until Simon Streatfeild
Simon Streatfeild
Simon Streatfeild is a British-Canadian violist, conductor and teacher.Simon Nicholas Streatfeild was born in Windsor, Berkshire England in 1929. He studied viola with Frederick Riddle at the Royal College of Music from 1946 to 1950...
was hired as Artistic Advisor in May 2000.
Under Bernhard Gueller, 2002-present
After an intensive international search, a new Music Director was announced in July 2002. German-born Bernhard Gueller began his inaugural season in September of that year.Gueller was assisted from 2005-2008 by the orchestra’s conductor-in-residence, Sri-Lankan-born Dinuk Wijeratne. In 2008, when Wijeratne had completed his Canada Council
Canada Council
The Canada Council for the Arts, commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown Corporation established in 1957 to act as an arts council of the government of Canada, created to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. It funds Canadian artists and...
-funded term with the orchestra, Cape Breton
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
native Martin MacDonald
Martin MacDonald
Martin MacDonald is an award-winning Canadian conductor.-Symphony Nova Scotia:MacDonald has served as Resident Conductor of Symphony Nova Scotia since 2008, a position supported by the Canada Council for the Arts...
was appointed as the new resident conductor. MacDonald completed his term in May 2011, and Israeli-born Shalom Bard was selected as his successor.
Symphony Nova Scotia presently employs 37 full time musicians for a 33-week season.
The orchestra has recently renewed a focus on touring, regularly traveling to communities across the province and incorporating a full concert series in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...
. Community engagement and outreach initiatives also continue to grow as the orchestra develops projects with partners from the educational, artistic, heritage and ethnic communities.