Midweek Classics

 

Robbins Pops

Friday, September 17 & Saturday, September 18 at 8 pm

 

Your Edmonton Symphony Orchestra opens its 2010-2011 Midweek Classics and Robbins Pops series with one of the world’s most exciting trumpet soloists, Jens Lindemann. Led by Resident Conductor Lucas Waldin on September 15th and legendary pops maestro Bruce Hangen on September 17th & 18th, the ESO performs a whirlwind of extraordinary music with the always entertaining trumpeter at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music.

In the spring of 2009, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra announced that Concertmaster Martin Riseley would be taking a leave of absence for the 2009/10 performance season. The New Zealand native returned to his homeland to take advantage of a rare teaching opportunity at the New Zealand School of Music, and three of the ESO's fine corps of first violinists - Eric Buchmann, Richard Caldwell, and Broderyck Olson - acted as Interim Concertmasters. Following a successful first year in his post as Head of Strings at the School, Dr. Martin Riseley will continue in this role in the future, relinquishing his role of Concertmaster – a position he has held with the ESO since November 30th, 1994.

 

A groundbreaking performance in November 1971 made orchestral history. Now nearly 40 years later, British rock band Procol Harum returns to Edmonton to reunite with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and Da Camera Singers (John Brough, Artistic Director) for one night only, one last time! History will repeat itself at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music with ESO Music Director Williams Eddins leading orchestral treatments of rock hits including Whiter Shade of Pale and Conquistador.

 

This month, your Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with Winspear Presents, invites you to step out of the heat and into our cool concert hall for some free summer concerts at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music! To help kick off our exciting 2010-2011 performance season, select members of your ESO perform their favourite pieces in a showcase event, conductor Jacques Lacombe leads the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYOC) through an exciting program showcasing the talent of some of Canada’s finest young musicians, and Edmonton’s own Duo Majoya perform brilliant organ duets in conjunction with the launch of their new album.

 

The summer festival season ends on a suspended high note with your Edmonton Symphony Orchestra filling the river valley skies with the sound of music. Symphony Under the Sky returns for its 16th annual outdoor music festival at Hawrelak Park from September 3rd – 6th, 2010. The always charming conductor Bob Bernhardt returns to lead the orchestra for his fifth consecutive year. With special guest artists Karen Gomyo and Jim Witter, guest conductor Claude Lapalme, and Edmonton’s own Knock School of Irish Dance, the ESO’s concert repertoire will range from Celtic to Canadian, John Williams to Elton John, and Bach to Brahms.