The SSO is thrilled to present a podcast in collaboration with Saskatchewan’s very own Olivia Adams.
Olivia is a pianist, music clinician, and teacher. She holds a MA in Music and Feminist Studies from the University of Ottawa and a B.Mus. in Piano Performance from Western University. Olivia speaks and adjudicates across Canada and the US. She is a researcher on gender and music in Canadian music conservatories and is the author of the forthcoming book “Loud and Clear: Graded Piano Music by Women Composers” centering on the voices of female BIPOC composers comes out this October with Debra Wanless Music & 80 Days Publishing. She has written articles for the Canadian Music Teacher Magazine, Opus, and the book Hands On Piano. In 2020 received a Canadian Government SSHRC grant for her research on gender and race in the conservatory curriculum. Olivia works as a piano teacher and collaborative pianist in Ottawa, and a Music Director at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church. She is passionate about equity in the music studio, writing curriculum, and increasing inclusionary practices in classical music.
Olivia’s new podcast Loud and Clear, amplifies the voices of women in music. In conversation with composers, artists, and musical leaders, the podcast explores the experiences of women in all areas of music creation and production, including conducting, composing, producing, broadcasting, directing, teaching, performance, and research.
New episodes launch each Tuesday everywhere you get your podcasts.
We pulled off a fun surprise…
In spring 2022 we gathered together an audience for a concert with a surprise guest artist. No one knew who was coming, but we put together an elegant evening of torch songs with the sensational Julie Nesrallah!
Star of stage and host of CBC Radio’s Tempo, Nesrallah has become the voice Canadian classical music lovers turn to for their daily dose of morning radio. Known for her incredibly artistry on operatic and concert stages, Nesrallah stepped into new shoes (literally!) to sing some of her favourite standards, specially arranged by Saskatoon’s own Paul Suchan.
Ahead of her concert filming, Julie sat down her the SSO’s Mark Turner to taste test some exceptional gin from Black Fox Distillery.
This past April, the SSO’s Simeon Taylor and Mark Turner had the chance to experience a world first.
The duo co-direct the live streaming of the SSO’s performances and are the creative team behind ConcertStream.tv – together they’ve filmed dozens of performances for live streaming and video-on-demand. Pairing Taylor’s background in film and Turner’s background in music, the two work in tandem to direct and capture a live performance that helps you see what they want you to hear.
When they started live streaming in fall of 2020, they didn’t dream that they’d end up flying to Sweden to experience the first ever gathering of directors of orchestral streaming…but in April they boarded a plane bound for Gothenburg and found themselves spending a week with peers from around the globe gathered together to explore the world of multi-camera orchestral filming.
Helmed by the IMZ International Music + Media Centre, the week was lead by renowned directors Peter Maniura and Kriss Russman, with Mons Per Fogelberg (head of streaming for the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra) and the GSO’s entire streaming team. After days spent learning from the best, Taylor and Turner got to sit in the director’s seat and film a performance by superstar soprano Barbara Hannigan. A thrill to film this exceptional Canadian artist alongside the Gothenburg Symphony, the week lead to incredible opportunities to learn from the best, connect with colleagues around the globe, and be part of the creation of a network that allows for the filming of orchestral performances to grow and flourish!
The SSO is grateful to the support of SKArts for supporting Simeon Taylor’s participation in the IMZ Academy.
At the end of his 7 season, Maestro Eric Paetkau steps down from the role of Music Director. Ahead of his final concert as Music Director, Eric sat down with CEO Mark Turner for one final chance for a music talk.
Exploring the highlights, memorable moments, and special stories never told before the pair reminisce about performances spanning back to Eric’s SSO debut in 2014.
It’s a walk down memory lane and a chance acknowledge Eric’s considerable achievements at the helm of the SSO.
The SSO announces the retirement of Lahni Russell after more than three decades as Principal Cellist.
Ms. Russell earned a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music (both with High Distinction) from Indiana University studying with world-renowned cellist, Janos Starker. Post-graduation she spent two years at the Banff Centre of the Arts and was the first ‘cellist to win the Regina Concerto Competition (1987) before winning the audition for Principal Cellist in Saskatoon in 1989.
Performing Morlock’s Exaudi
During her tenure she captivated SSO audiences with many solo concerto performances including Haydn D Major, Kabalevsky, Haydn C Major, Vivaldi and Piazzolla’s Four Seasons, and in 2018, Jocelyn Morlock’s remarkable ‘Exaudi’ with the Canadian Chamber Choir. In the wider community, Ms. Russell was a founding member of Prairie Virtuosi and the U of S Amati Quartet, she sat as first chair for the Saskatoon Opera and accompanied the Saskatoon Children’s Choir on many occasions. Across Canada, she performed as guest artist with the Calgary Philharmonic in Banff, as guest Principal Cello in Regina and in the Victoria and Vancouver Symphony sections. She was Solo cello for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet during performances in Saskatoon and Victoria and was hired for that same position on the Ballet’s tours across the U.S.
In addition to her orchestral performances, Ms. Russell teaches private lessons (in person and online), coaches string ensembles and has mentored advanced string students prior to competitions and exams.
Ms. Russell is also an accomplished luthier and bowmaker. She has provided stringed instrument and bow repair, restoration services, and appraisals to professional musicians and students province-wide and beyond. Her clients have included visiting guest artists and principal string players in professional orchestras. She has operated her own business, LJ Russell Violin and Bowmaker, since 1995. She will continue to teach and offer violin shop services.
Ms. Russell is the longest serving Principal Cellist in the SSO. To recognize her contribution to the orchestra, we are happy to bestow upon her the honorary title of Principal Cellist Emeritus. We thank Lahni for her years of service and wish her well.
For many years Brahms had been preoccupied with the idea of composing a Requiem, but only in 1866, when he was 33, did he begin serious work on it. It was completed the following year with the exception of the fifth movement, which he added later in order to achieve a more balanced structure. In its incomplete form Ein Deutsches Requiem was first heard in Bremen Cathedral on Good Friday 1868. The final version was performed the following year at Leipzig’s famous concert-hall, the Gewandhaus.
Brahms may have written the Requiem in memory of his mother, who died in 1865; it is equally possible that he had in mind his great friend and mentor, Robert Schumann, whose madness and tragic death had profoundly affected the young Brahms. The composer himself gave no indication of whose memorial the Requiem might be, if indeed it was any one person’s. As with all great music, the universal message of its vision transcends the circumstances of its conception.
The work’s title reflects Brahms’ use of the Lutheran Bible rather than the customary Latin one. He compiled the text himself from both Old and New Testaments, and from the Apocrypha. It has little in common with the conventional Requiem Mass, and omits the horrors of the Last Judgement – a central feature of the Catholic liturgy – and any final plea for mercy or prayers for the dead. It also makes only a passing reference in the last movement to Christian redemption through the death of Jesus. Not surprisingly, the title of “Requiem” has at times been called into question, but Brahms stated intention was to write a Requiem to comfort the living, not one for the souls of the dead. Consequently the work focuses on faith in the Resurrection rather than fear of the Day of Judgement. Despite its unorthodox text, the German Requiem was immediately recognised as a masterpiece of exceptional vision, and it finally confirmed Brahms’ reputation as a composer of international stature.
1. Blessed are they that mourn
2. Behold, all flesh is as the grass
3. Lord, let me know mine end
4. How lovely are thy dwellings
5. Ye now have sorrow
6. For we have here no abiding city
7. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord
The similarity of the opening and closing movements serves to unify the whole work, while the funeral-march of the second is balanced by the triumphant theme of the resurrection in the towering sixth movement. Similarly, the baritone solo in the third, ‘Lord, let me know mine end’, is paralleled in the fifth by the soprano solo, ‘Ye now have sorrow’. The lyrical fourth section, ‘How lovely are thy dwellings’, is therefore at the heart of the work, framed by the solemnity of the first three movements and the transition from grief to the certainty of comfort in the last three.
This carefully balanced architecture is matched by an equally firm musical structure based on two principal ideas which Brahms skilfully uses in a variety of subtle guises throughout the work. The most important of these occurs at the opening choral entry and consists of the first three notes sung by the sopranos to the words ‘Bless-ed they’. Brahms uses this musical cell as the main building block of the whole piece, subjecting it to a variety of transformations, including upside-down and back-to-front versions, both of which play as significant a role as the original form. The other important musical idea is a chorale-like melody played by the violas at the very beginning. Its most obvious re-appearance is in the second movement, now in a minor key, as an expansive melody sung by the choir in unison. Brahms had recently discovered the cantatas of J.S.Bach, and there seems little doubt that this theme was derived from a very similar chorale melody in Bach’s Cantata No.27.
The opening movement, the text of which is one of the beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, begins in hushed and sombre mood, reflected in the orchestration by the temporary absence of the violins. As the music proceeds, however, mourning is transformed into comfort.
The second movement, in the dark key of B flat minor, is centred on the heavy rhythms of a funeral-march, with the chorus proclaiming the inevitability of man’s fate, ‘Behold, all flesh is as the grass’. A lighter central episode provides some brief respite before the funeral-march returns. Eventually, at ‘But yet the Lord’s word standeth for ever’, an energetic allegro emerges, once more transfiguring darkness into light and leading to a glorious conclusion.
In the third movement, the baritone soloist and chorus begin by pondering the transience of human existence. The soloist then asks ‘In what shall I hope?’ and the reply, ‘My hope is in thee’, wells up from the depths in a rising crescendo of affirmation. This leads seamlessly into a broad, imposing fugue, remarkable for its omnipresent pedal D which, whilst creating considerable tension during the fugue itself, also provides an unshakable foundation for the final resolution.
After the intensity of the first three movements, the pivotal fourth – a serene pastorale – provides the opportunity for contemplation and rest. This is music of exceptional beauty, and it is hardly surprising that this movement is so widely known and loved.
The fifth movement features a sublime soprano solo accompanied by woodwind, horns and muted strings. The chorus, too, plays an accompanying role. Whereas the baritone soloist in the third movement sung of grief and doubt, the soprano’s message here is one of maternal consolation.
Brahms reserves his most dramatic music for the imposing sixth movement. It begins in reflective mood, but soon the baritone soloist introduces the familiar verses ‘We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed …… at the sound of the last trumpet’, at which point the music explodes into a blaze of sound and energy. The intensity builds up until ‘Death, where is thy sting?’ where a majestic fugue ensues. In the middle of this fugue two fortissimo climaxes grow out of an exhilarating orchestral Jacob’s ladder that reaches up to heaven as it passes from the bass instruments right up to the flutes and violins. The movement ends with a final powerful statement.
The last movement begins with a radiant melody from the sopranos, followed by the basses. The moving final section is a subtle reworking of music from the very opening, and the Requiem reaches its peaceful conclusion at the same word with which it began: ‘Blessed’.
1. Selig sind, die da Leid tragen,
denn sie sollen getröstet werden.
Die mit Tränen säen,
werden mit Freuden ernten.
Sie gehen hin und weinen
und tragen edlen Samen,
und kommen mit Freuden
und bringen ihre Garben
Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
They who sow in tears,
shall reap in joy.
Go forth and cry,
bearing precious seed,
and come with joy
bearing their sheaves
2. Denn alles Fleisch ist wie Gras
und alle Herrlichkeit des Menschen
wie des Grases Blumen.
Das Gras ist verdorret
und die Blume abgefallen.So seid nun geduldig, lieben Brüder,
bis auf die Zukunft des Herrn.
Siehe, ein Ackermann wartet
auf die köstliche Frucht der Erde
und ist geduldig darüber, bis er empfahe
den Morgenregen und Abendregen.Aber des Herrn Wort bleibet in Ewigkeit.Die Erlöseten des Herrn werden wieder kommen,
und gen Zion kommen mit Jauchzen;
ewige Freude wird über ihrem Haupte sein;
Freude und Wonne werden sie ergreifen
und Schmerz und Seufzen wird weg müssen
For all flesh is as grass,
and the glory of man
like flowers.
The grass withers
and the flower falls.Therefore be patient, dear brothers,
for the coming of the Lord.
Behold, the husbandman waits
for the delicious fruits of the earth
and is patient for it, until he receives
the morning rain and evening rain.But the word of the Lord endures for eternity.The redeemed of the Lord will come again,
and come to Zion with a shout;
eternal joy shall be upon her head;
They shall take joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing must depart
3. Herr, lehre doch mich,
daß ein Ende mit mir haben muß,
und mein Leben ein Ziel hat,
und ich davon muß.Siehe, meine Tage sind
einer Hand breit vor dir,
und mein Leben ist wie nichts vor dir.
Ach wie gar nichts sind alle Menschen,
die doch so sicher leben.Sie gehen daher wie ein Schemen,
und machen ihnen viel vergebliche Unruhe;
sie sammeln und wissen nicht
wer es kriegen wird.
Nun Herr, wess soll ich mich trösten?
Ich hoffe auf dich.Der Gerechten Seelen sind in Gottes Hand
und keine Qual rühret sie an
Lord, teach me
That I must have an end,
And my life has a purpose,
and I must accept this.Behold, my days are
as a handbreadth before Thee,
and my life is as nothing before Thee.
Alas, as nothing are all men,
but so sure the living.They are therefore like a shadow,
and go about vainly in disquiet;
they collect riches, and do not know
who will receive them.
Now, Lord, how can I console myself?
My hope is in Thee.The righteous souls are in God’s hand
and no torment shall stir them
4.Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen,
Herr Zebaoth!
Meine Seele verlanget und sehnet sich
nach den Vorhöfen des Herrn;
mein Leib und Seele freuen sich
in dem lebendigen Gott.Wohl denen, die in deinem Hause wohnen,
die loben dich immerdar
How lovely are thy dwelling places,
O Lord of Hosts!
My soul requires and yearns for
the courts of the Lord;
My body and soul rejoice
in the living God.Blessed are they that dwell in thy house;
they praise you forever
5. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit;
aber ich will euch wieder sehen
und euer Herz soll sich freuen
und eure Freude soll niemand von euch nehmen.Sehet mich an:
Ich habe eine kleine Zeit Mühe und Arbeit gehabt
und habe großen Trost funden.Ich will euch trösten,
wie Einen seine Mutter tröstet
You now have sorrow;
but I shall see you again
and your heart shall rejoice
and your joy no one shall take from you.Behold me:
I have had for a little time toil and torment,
and now have found great consolation.I will console you,
as one is consoled by his mother
6. Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt,
sondern die zukünftige suchen wir.Siehe, ich sage euch ein Geheimnis:
Wir werden nicht alle entschlafen,
wir werden aber alle verwandelt werden;
und dasselbige plötzlich, in einem Augenblick,
zu der Zeit der letzten Posaune.
Denn es wird die Posaune schallen,
und die Toten werden auferstehen unverweslich,
und wir werden verwandelt werden.
Dann wird erfüllet werden
das Wort, das geschrieben steht:
Der Tod ist verschlungen in den Sieg.
Tod, wo ist dein Stachel?
Hölle, wo ist dein Sieg?Herr, du bist würdig zu nehmen
Preis und Ehre und Kraft,
denn du hast alle Dinge geschaffen,
und durch deinen Willen haben sie
das Wesen und sind geschaffen
For we have here no continuing city,
but we seek the future.Behold, I show you a mystery:
We shall not all sleep,
but we all shall be changed
and suddenly, in a moment,
at the sound of the last trombone.
For the trombone shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
Then shall be fulfilled
The word that is written:
Death is swallowed up in victory.
O Death, where is thy sting?
O Hell, where is thy victory?Lord, Thou art worthy to receive all
praise, honor, and glory,
for Thou hast created all things,
and through Thy will
they have been and are created
7. Selig sind die Toten,
die in dem Herrn sterben,
von nun anJa der Geist spricht,
daß sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit;
denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach
Blessed are the dead
that die in the Lord
from henceforthYea, saith the spirit,
that they rest from their labors,
and their works shall follow them
With styles ranging from R&B to classical, Nia’s soulful and eclectic music is a great fit for commercials, television and film. Her gospel singing background in church contributed to her love for music at a young age, having written her first song at the age of five. Nia has a Bachelor of Music degree in theory and composition and a Master of Music degree in composition. She is a composer of opera, instrumental music, and writes for artists and herself.
We’re thrilled to be performing the Canadian premiere of her new work “Chrysalis Extended” as part of our Swan Lake performance on February 26th.
Take time to watch her video talk about this incredible new work!
Infinitely charming and seemingly unable to age, Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme is the closest he ever came to writing a full solo work (concerto) for cello and orchestra. Inspired by the elegance and grace of Mozart, the Variations show how brilliant Tchaikovsky could be when he turned his pen to the classical style…but rococo? Not so much!
Jonathan Craig Penner
Rococo was a period of art between the Baroque era and the Classical era. Rococo style is elegant and refreshing – Tchaikovsky wrote his own theme, it wasn’t Rococo after all!
The piece is made up of a brand new theme and eight variations. Tchaikovsky wrote an original theme in a style that meant Rococo to him; the orchestra creates the mood, the horn hands it off to the cello, and they all share the elegant theme repeated four times, allowing the cello to lead us into the variations…
The variations each show us something unique:
Var 1 – Tempo della Theme (same speed as the theme) is full of triplets, lively and graceful!
Var 2 – Tempo della Theme is a dialogue between orchestra and soloist and the statement of the theme has had its rhythms manipulated to make it feel much more lively and brazen, refusing to resolve.
Var 3 – Andante (at a walking speed) is sad. It’s melancholy restatement of the theme is the only time the composer gives us the the music in a minor key.
Var 4 – Allegro vivo (fast, full of life!) warms us up taking us from the previous D minor to sunny sensuous return A major. This is one of the most difficult passages in the piece for the soloist as its filled with constant fast note runs. It’s blazingly fast and ends with a graceful use of a rocket theme (the music literally goes up like a rocket!)
Var 5 – Andante grazioso (walking gracefully) is where Tchaikovsky moves the beat around on us. He’s mixing up where we feel the downbeat and gives us a stunning trill from the cello!
Var 6 – Andante takes that cello trill and hands the main theme off to the flute. When the soloist finally “falls” from the trill to a low E, the orchestra takes over with the joyous theme again. The soloist is given a cadenza (solo virtuosic phrase) that leads us into C major, something that feels so distant and foreign but comfortable all at once.
Var 7 – Andante sostenuto feel contemplative in the warmth of C major as it slowly winds its way toward E major – its Tchaikovsky giving us a hint that we’re heading home before long! There’s a meditative hopefulness here that seems to ask and answer a question, and E major gives us a perfect way to prepare for the return of the home key in…
Var 8 – e Coda: Allegro moderato con anima (Moderately fast with movement) has the cello gracefully bringing us home to A Major. It’s one big crescendo that leaps from fortissimo to piano only to be joined by the orchestra again. Joyful, full of light, buoyant, full of running scales to get us into the Coda that finally gives us the full drama that Tchaikovsky is so known for. This elegant journey comes to a glorious end…one that Mozart would have been proud of!
The SSO is thrilled to have Regina-born cellist Jonathan Craig Penner making his SSO debut with the Variations on a Rococo Theme as part of our Swan Lake concert February 26th.
Some works of art become bigger than life. Swan Lake started its life as Tchaikovsky’s first attempt at a ballet…and initially it was a flop.
Premiering in March 1877, Swan Lake came at a pivotal moment in Pyotr Illych Tchaikovsky’ career. The composer had two symphonies under him, and was writing his landmark piano concerto at the same time, but still hadn’t gained considerable fame. It was a stressful time in his life, entering into a loveless marriage and waiting for his music to take off. Fashioning a love story for the ages out of folk tales from Russian and German lore to tell the story of princess Odette who winds up turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse. Receiving its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow with one of the day’s leading choreographers there was much hope for this new work…but the ballet wasn’t a hit. At least, not yet.
Tchaikovsky lived in the Russia of the “Mighty Five” – a group of composers’ whose works were simultaneously creating the Russian national voice of music – but for his ballet he looked to inspiration from composers he admired for their stage dance works. He’d found genius and muse in the works of French compoers Adolphe Adam (Giselle) and Leo Delibes (Sylvia) and found there to be an elegance, charm, and and “wealth of melody, rhythm, and harmony”.
Commissioned to compose Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky drew on previous compositions for his new ballet; some of his cousins even noted he’d previously penned a short ballet called “The Lake of the Swans”. He used the technique of leitmotif for the Swan Theme – the music would allow the audience to associate certain themes, characters, or moods, with a melodic idea. In total the ballet took only a year to write from beginning to end and while many see this as his excitement for the music itself, some historians note that he was anxious to finish Swan Lake so that he could get going on composing Eugene Onegin.
At the premiere, audiences and critics felt the score was noise and “too Wagnerian, too symphonic”. To be sure, it was the most symphonic ballet written to date, elevating the orchestral music from the pit to being music worthy of sitting centre stage. But there was a curiousity around the characters of Odette and Odile that started to draw attention from dancers and patrons alike. The ballet continued to be performed and, in the years that followed the composers’ 1893 death, Swan Lake staked its claim as one of the monumental works of romantic ballet and indeed romantic music!
Swan Lake is now one of the most frequently performed ballets, and has earned the honour of being refered to as a “beloved classic”.
You can see the SSO perform the music of Swan Lake February 26th – live at TCU Place or live online at ConcertStream.tv
Olivia is a pianist, music clinician, and teacher. She holds a MA in Music and Feminist Studies from the University of Ottawa and a B.Mus. in Piano Performance from Western University. Olivia speaks and adjudicates across Canada and the US. She is a researcher on gender and music in Canadian music conservatories and is the author of the forthcoming book “Loud and Clear: Graded Piano Music by Women Composers” centering on the voices of female BIPOC composers comes out this October with Debra Wanless Music & 80 Days Publishing. She has written articles for the Canadian Music Teacher Magazine, Opus, and the book Hands On Piano. In 2020 received a Canadian Government SSHRC grant for her research on gender and race in the conservatory curriculum. Olivia works as a piano teacher and collaborative pianist in Ottawa, and a Music Director at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church. She is passionate about equity in the music studio, writing curriculum, and increasing inclusionary practices in classical music.
