Details

Bring the wee lads and lasses and spend an afternoon enjoying music from the Celts. Bill Eddins, who has conducted many concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, leads this exciting spectacle.

(A) Dress Circle Adult $29 / Child $17
(B, C & F) Orchestra & Terrace Adult $27 / Child $16
(D) Upper Circle Adult $21 / Child $13
Choir Loft (behind stage) Adult $21 / Child $13
(click map for interactive seating chart)

Tickets subject to applicable service charges.

Thank you to our series sponsor:

The next Esso Symphony for Kids performance is February 27, 2010. You may also want to check out our Family Christmas Concert on December 19, 2009.

Program Information

Program

ANDERSON
The Rakes of Mallow (from The Irish Suite) (3’)*
Knock School of Irish Dance

ANDERSON
The Campbells Are Coming (from The Scottish Suite) (3’)*

GILLILAND
Loch na Bieste (8’)*

BANTOCK
A Celtic Symphony: Excerpt (4’)*

ARNOLD
Cornish Dances, Opus 91: No. 4 Allegro ma non troppo (3’)*

ANDERSON
The Irish Washerwoman (from The Irish Suite) (4’)*

DAVIES
An Orkney Wedding with Sunrise (5’)*
John Stewart, bagpipes

HARDIMAN
Music from Lord of the Dance (Arr Larry Moore) (6’)*
Knock School of Irish Dance

*Indicates approximate performance duration

Please note there is no intermission for this performance.

Artist Information

 

William Eddins, conductor

 

William Eddins is in his fifth season as Music Director of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. A native of Buffalo, New York, he currently resides in Minneapolis with his lovely wife Jen, a clarinetist, and their two boys Raef (AKA Raefster; Munchers) and Riley (AKA Squeaky; The Imp; Dr. No).

Bill has been playing piano since he was five when his parents bought a Wurlitzer Grand piano at a garage sale. He started conducting during his sophomore year at the Eastman School of Music, and most of the '80s were spent trying to decide whether to pursue a career in conducting or piano. The quandary was answered for him when he realized that the life of a poor, starving pianist was for the birds. In 1989 Bill decided to study conducting with Dan Lewis at the University of Southern California, from whence he managed to land assistant conductor posts with the Chicago Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra in 1992.

Bill has many non-musical hobbies including: cooking, eating, discussing food, and planning dinner parties. He is also quite fond of biking, tennis, reading, and pinball. Unfortunately, due to pianistic paranoia his days in the martial arts are long over.

Bill is committed to bringing classical music to the greater public. He has started a podcast – Classical Connections – which is dedicated to exploring the history of classical music and highlights live chamber music performances in which Bill has taken part (check it out for yourself at Bill Eddins' website). He has also produced a solo piano CD – Bad Boys, Volume I – which features Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" Sonata and Albright's Nightmare Fantasy Rag. His latest recording, on the Naxos label, features American music for cello and orchestra.

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Lucas Waldin, conductor

 

The 2009/10 season marks the first for Lucas Waldin as Resident Conductor for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. This mentorship position is made possible through the Canada Council for the Arts. Mr. Waldin graduated in 2006 from the Cleveland Institute of Music with a Masters in Conducting. He has performed with L'Orchestre du Festival Beaulieu-Sur-Mer (Monaco), Staatstheater Cottbus (Brandenburg), and Bachakademie Stuttgart. Lucas was assistant conductor of the contemporary orchestra RED (Cleveland), director of the Cleveland Bach Consort, and a Discovery Series Conductor at the Oregon Bach Festival. In 2007, he was invited to conduct the Miami-based New World Symphony Orchestra in masterclasses given by Michael Tilson Thomas. In Lucerne in 2009, he also participated in a masterclass led by Bernard Haitink, with the Lucerne Festival Strings.

A native of Toronto, Lucas Waldin has spent summers studying in Europe, including studies at the International Music Academy in Leipzig, the Bayreuth Youth Orchestra, and the Acanthes New Music Festival in France. On this continent, he has studied under the renowned Bach conductor Helmut Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival, and has attended conducting masterclasses with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in Toronto. Mr. Waldin received a Bachelor of Music degree in flute performance from the Cleveland Institute, studying with Joshua Smith.

 

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Knock School of Irish Dance

 

The Knock School of Irish Dance was established in 1996 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, by Angela Hogan, T.C.R.G. From those early days with 13 dancers until today with more than 120 dancers of all ages and levels, the school strives for excellence and joy in the dance. Busy in the community, the Knock School dancers are extremely well received and frequently requested for performances of all kinds. They have performed at Heritage Days; Klondike Days Military Tattoo; Edmonton Symphony Orchestra Education, POPS, and Symphony for Kids Concerts; the Emerald Ball; Big Breakfast Television; and absolutely everywhere during the week of St. Patrick’s Day!

Each June brings with it the excitement of Knock School’s annual Dance Drama. The magnificent Winspear Centre is the venue for this presentation featuring every dancer at the school. Dancers from Knock School have competed at the World Championships in Ireland and Scotland since 1997 and at the North American Championships in Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Boston, Nashville, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Ottawa. The school's advanced dancers have ranked as high as 3th at the North American Championships. Knock has had two 1st place dancers in the Western Canadian Regional Championships , and their Ceili Teams have placed 1st, 2nd & 4th in Western Canada,winning a combined total of six Western Canadian Regional Championships.

The Knock School last appeared with the ESO in May 2005.

Media

Lord of the Dance: