McGill Symphony to perform this fall in Toronto
Versatility and virtuosity will be the hallmarks of the McGill Symphony Orchestra (MGSO)'s debut at Toronto's famed Koerner Hall on November 17, 2015. The first Canadian student orchestra to perform in New York's historic Carnegie Hall, the MGSO has earned a reputation as one of the most dynamic student orchestras in all of Canada. The Koerner Hall concert celebrates the 10th anniversary of the naming of the Schulich School of Music, and the concert is presented in partnership with the McGill Alumni Association. Tickets are available at the Koerner Hall Box Office.The Koerner Hall concert marks the MGSO's first tour performance in almost 20 years. During its last concert tour, the MGSO made a critically acclaimed appearance at New York's Carnegie Hall in April 1989, performing Mahler's First Symphony, later released as a Juno-nominated recording.
"I've been fortunate to get to know many of the remarkable students who have attended the Schulich School of Music thanks to Seymour Schulich's landmark gift, and all of the other generous philanthropists that he has inspired to give back to McGill and its music programs" says Sean Ferguson, Dean. "In this anniversary year, we are thrilled to provide an exciting pedagogical opportunity for our students, and to share their talents with a wider audience, by bringing the McGill Symphony Orchestra to Toronto."
The McGill Symphony Orchestra is comprised of approximately 80 musicians conducted by Maestro Alexis Hauser, who says, "The McGill Symphony Orchestra and I are thrilled to be performing in Toronto and we have crafted a program that highlights the orchestra's extraordinary prowess." The program will begin with Over Time by John Rea, one of Canada's leading composers and an award-winning composition professor at McGill. It is described by Maestro Hauser as "an amazing, architecturally structured piece with simultaneous different speeds and a vast spectrum of orchestral colours." The concert repertoire also includes the Brahms Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra with soloists from the school's string faculty, Axel Strauss, violin, and Matt Haimovitz, cello.The concerto is the composer's last large orchestral work, and "sums up a lifetime of experience and symphonic depth," according to Maestro Hauser.  A crowd-pleaser closes the concert: Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, an emotionally versatile and virtuosic showpiece with four stylistically divergent movements.
