A 2026 Promise

Welcome to 2026, and the second half of our 95th season!

The New Year is a natural time for looking back, looking forward, and dreaming big. So, as we step into another year together, here’s a prediction, an intention, and a promise.

First, a prediction:
2026 will be the Year of Real Music.

You might be thinking, well that’s kind of silly… Of course, there’s never been a time when music wasn’t part of life. It is as old as humanity itself, alongside cooking and language as things anthropologists have argued make us human. Music is an integral part of our everyday lives, and one of the most significant ways that we communicate.

And right now, we need music more than ever.

Time and time again it has been proven that music makes your life better.

For children, music education is closely linked to positive academic, social, and emotional development. Music also positively affects our physical and mental health, relieves stress, improves memory, and combats cognitive decline.

Music today creates the leaders of tomorrow – and keeps us healthy all life long.

You’d think such a potent medicine for the body, mind, and spirit would be well supported, especially since it’s a huge economic driver. But as we know, art is grossly underfunded. The result has been an overall diminishing of the value of art and music in society.

But what would life be like without real music?

There is so much happening in the world around us. One of the biggest challenges we’re facing is that most of the things that are meant to bring us together quite literally disconnect us.

I believe music is our opportunity to reconnect.

And so, an intention:
This year, I want to find new, exciting ways to make music together.

I recognize that as creative producer, you entrust me with the incredible role of curating your human
experience. And I want Saskatoon to have an orchestra that gives life to music for everyone and that
shows off the rich cultural connections and complexity of our city.

Our Saskatoon, in the “middle of nowhere” prairies, has this adventurous, exciting thirst for challenging
musical experiences. We want to be moved deeply. And being able to cultivate that, being able to help
that grow, being able to offer you the musical experiences you need, is perhaps our greatest
accomplishment.

Music gives us permission to be present.

We have a responsibility to be paying very close attention to what’s happening in the world right now.
But experiencing live music is permission to just let go for a bit. This is community, this is a place to feel
safe and breathe and enjoy.

We must hold on to the things that remind us how beautiful life is.

Finally, a promise:
The SSO will be relentless in our work to inspire and raise up our music community.

My vision for what music in Saskatoon could be keeps growing, and has now grown to this very big, very
bright, ambitious, audacious future – and it’s only possible because you keep showing up.

As creative producer, it is my responsibility to find the balance of keeping our musicians artistically
fulfilled, and asking the question, what does the audience need right now?

This is a responsibility I take very seriously.

When I look around at the 60 plus musicians that are part of the SSO, I see the impact they have on the
broader community. They are teachers, they are leaders, they are the people in your neighbourhood.
They are what make a community worth living in. And on stage, they become a beacon of hope for the
rest of us. This huge group of people, having deep creative discussions, arguments, disagreements, and
working things out.

They show us what can be done when we all work together.

As a musical outlet for our city, we have to react to what’s happening in the world, and we have to react
to what people are needing in their lives.

We are hungry for connection – we are seeking community – we need real music.

Your SSO is here for you – now, and into the future.

Come what may, let’s keep making music together.