Contemplating Clouds on a Prairie Sky
When you look at the cover of Contemplating Clouds on a Prairie Sky by composer Wayne Toews there is a note that says Dedicated to Ellen Remai, who has enriched Saskatoon through support of the …
The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s novel of the same name, directed by Rupert Julian and starring Lon Chaney. The plot centers on a mysterious, …
Music Talk – Enigma
Music Talks are back and in a new format! Maestra Tania Miller sat down with SSO CEO & Creative Producer Mark Turner to talk about the upcoming season 94 opener Enigma. Thank you to Black …
Frenergy
The bulk of the musical material found in this piece comes from sketches for my Triple Concerto. These sketches were to be part of the proposed final movement for the concerto, a fast-paced scherzo to …
Controlled Burn
While raging forest fires made headlines all summer and will likely increase in the coming years due to climate change, Cree composer Cris Derksen’s work is about controlled burns, a traditional Indigenous practice used to …
Enigma Variations
English composer Edward William Elgar (1857-1934) had a habit to improvise on the piano in the evening. After a long day of teaching violin lessons, he began noodling away at the keyboard when he happened …
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1
The Piano Concerto No.1 in Bb minor, Op. 23 was composed between 1874-1875 and revised three times until 1888. The premiere of this concerto would mark ten years after Tchaikovsky’s first public performance, so he …
Celebrating Margaret Wilson
Our beloved principal clarinet Margaret Wilson is retiring after 47 seasons with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. We are fairly certain that Margaret is the longest-serving principal clarinet of any organization in Canada. She’s also close …
Judith Yan, conductor
Equally adept at conducting symphony, opera, and ballet, Judith Yan’s career has taken her internationally, conducting for major companies in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. She has held Staff Conductor positions at San Francisco Opera, Canadian …
The Drama of the Johannes Passion
Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion stands as a testament to the power of music to convey profound emotion and drama. Written in the early 18th century, this sacred oratorio continues to captivate audiences with …
The Genius of William Grant Still
Called “the Dean of African-American composers”, William Grant Still (1895–1978) worked in all genres of music – from jazz to Broadway musicals to modern classical music (he studied in New York with Edgard Varèse, who …
Sergei Rachmaninoff, composer
Legendary Russian-American composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff left Russia after the Communist revolution of 1917. He was born on April 2, 1873, on a big estate near Novgorod, Russia. From the age of four, Rachmaninoff …
Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
In 1934, Sergey Rachmaninoff performed the solo part for the world premiere of his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, in Baltimore, Maryland. With its virtuosity, emotional range, and creative twists on Niccol …
Dvorak’s Symphony no. 7
Rachmaninoff writes cryptically on the first page of the manuscript, “This main theme occurred to me upon the arrival at the station of the ceremonial train from Pest in 1884.” Czechs were travelling from Hungary …
Museum of the Moon and Vicissitude
It’s not often that you get to experience art from above and below! Here’s all you need to know about the art installations you get to explore tonight.
ConcertStream.tv
A completely new way to experience the music – get up close and personal with the sound – ConcertStream.tv What does this mean? It means your orchestra wherever you are. Log In to ConcertStream.tv At …
Les Préludes
Liszt himself declared, after becoming an abbé in the Catholic Church, “The best of me is in my religious music.” However, the composer’s judgment has not coincided with posterity’s, which has set the seal of …
Music Talk – And Tomorrow
We’re live from the travel section of McNally Robinson Booksellers for Music Talk from McNally! The SSO’s Mark Turner is joined by Nicolas Ellis who leads the SSO in what promises to be a stunning …
Tabla Concerto
A note from composer Dinuk Wijeratne about his Tabla Concerto: 1. Canons, Circles 2. Folk song: ‘White in the moon the long road lies (that leads me from my love)’ 3. Garland of Gems While the origins of …
Tabla 101
Our featured Vibrant Light soloist Shawn Mativetsky is a course lecturer at the Schulich School of Music. He was a part of Shulich’s Short Form Studies and created a guide that takes you through rhythmic applications …
Music Talk – Vibrant Light
We’re going live from the travel section of McNally Robinson Booksellers for Music Talk from McNally! The SSO’s Mark Turner is joined by conductor and composer Dinuk Wijeratne who leads the SSO in Rimsky-Korsakov’s …
Jean Sibelius, composer
Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, née Johan Julius Christian Sibelius, was born on December 8th, 1865 in Hämeenlinna (Swedish: Tavastehus) in the Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous part of the Russian Empire. He was the …
