Playing It By Ear – Season 91
What are we doing next year? Intriguingly I ask myself this question more than people ask it of me. Usually spring is filled with announcements of plans for the upcoming year but this year Eric …
Bach in Books!
This spring we’re doing lots of great Bach related activities including Bach in Brandenburg and the online class On Bach’s Time – so we thought we’d give you some recommendations for books to fill your …
Bach and the Plague
The spring of 1694 was a time of upheaval for the young Johann Sebastian Bach. His elder cousin, Johann Christoph, had been sent for to repair the organ of St. George’s church near Sebastian’s family …
Where is Brandenburg exactly…
You might have heard about Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti, but how much do we know about the city that inspired their namesake? What happened before Bach presented the concerti to the city’s Margrave? What is a …
The Nearly Lost Brandenburg Concertos
The Brandenburg Concerti by Johann Sebastian Bach were originally titled “Six Concerts à plusieurs instruments” and composed as a set of six works for concerto grosso. Presented by the composer to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of …
Create a Custom SSO Phone App
With the launch of our Digital Concert Stream, we’ve been hearing from you about how excited you are to enjoy the SSO whenever you want! We have a ton of great opportunities to learn and …
Seeing the Light with Reena Esmail
It’s not everyday that a wind quintet has the chance to learn music featuring Hindustani ragas – its part of what makes The Light Stays the Same a high light of our La Chambre performance. …
Aftab Darvishi and the Daughters of Sol
The music of Aftab Darvishi is something you have to hear. Mystical and engaging, her music transports the listener – and the players – and is one of the nightlights of our season. Born in …
Rediscovering Louise Farrenc
Born in the early years of the 19th Century, French composer Louise Farrenc (nee Dumont) began her musical career as a piano student of Cecile Soria (a former student of Muzio Clementi). Louise devoured the …
Time to Set Sail!
Our reimagined 90th season has taken us on some wonderful adventures – tangos in Argentina, love songs in Italy, strolling the street of Paris, even beer at Oktoberfest! But now we’re hitting the high seas …
Discovering Ruth Gipps
Music was a more than just a passion for English composer Ruth Gipps: it was a way of being. Born in 1921 to a highly musical family (her mother was the principal at the Bexhill …
A trip on the RMS Queen Mary!
The story of the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary is one whose length and grandeur nearly rivals that of the ship herself. On the day she was unveiled to the world, King George V of …
Copland’s Quiet City
A composition for trumpet, English Horn, and string orchestra, Aaron Copland’s “Quiet City” took the composer two years to write before it could be pronounced complete. Receiving its premiere on January 28, 1941, the piece …
Sibelius’ Suite Mignonne
Regarding Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’s fascination with nature, his biographer, Tawaststjerna famously wrote that “even by Nordic standards, Sibelius responded with exceptional intensity to the moods of nature and the changes in the seasons: he …
Elgar’s Serenade for Strings
Edward Elgar’s Op.20 “Serenade for Strings” was written in March of 1892 and was first performed by the Worcester Ladies’ Orchestral class later that year. Musicologists posit that this enduringly popular offering from Elgar was …
Watch Party Ideas for Dublin!
Our musical adventures take us to Ireland – one of the warmest, most welcoming places in the world…as they say everyone wants to be Irish! As people have been enjoying the SSO from home, we’ve …
Catching up with Kim de Laforest
When Kim de Laforest last joined the SSO as a soloist, she brought the house down – and when you hear her fiddling you’ll know why! But Kim is a versatile artist who often plays …
Catching up with Eileen Laverty
Singer-songwriter Eileen Laverty joins the SSO for our live stream A Night in Dublin – we took some time to catch up with her ahead of our performance! SSO: What was the writing process for …
O’Shea’s x SSO
Our friends over at O’shea’s Irish Pub have created this special menu to go with our Saturday concert A Night in Dublin! If you are local to Saskatoon you can call and pre-order for Saturday …
St Patrick’s Day Around the World
Leprechaun motifs! Hats with Buckles! Shamrocks everywhere! Some hallmarks of St. Patrick’s Day festivities are present no matter where in the world you celebrate this green-laden day of celebration and Gaelic pride. So how did …
Who was Molly Malone?
Every major city on Earth has something akin to an unofficial anthem. Be it of folk origin or more modern in its sensibilities, an old city hums with a particularly musical energy. A popular song …
Give New Life to an Old Violin
In 2015, we launched our Painted Violins project – it was a unique undertaking to give new life to violins who had passed their usefulness, hand them over to artists who would turn them into …
A Londonderry Air for Danny Boy
A musical tribute to love, loss, and the joy of life that perseveres, Danny Boy is one of those legendary standards that can squeeze a teardrop out of solid stone. The mystery surrounding the origin …
La Cucina x SSO Encore
You loved our partnership with La Cucina so much that we decided to do it again! They’ve come up with another special menu just for our patrons that pairs with The Carnival of Venice . …
