CSO Chamber Nucleus: 23-24 Series

Robert Tegler Student Centre Saturday, March 30, 2024 7:00 PM THE CONCORDIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA presents THE CSO CHAMBER NUCLEUS 23-24 Season: Concert II TOUR FUNDRAISER

Please silence your cell phones, alarms and other audible electronic devices before the concert begins. Turn your screen brightness down if you plan to use your phone in a dark setting.

PROGRAM Three Shanties

Malcolm Arnold

I. Allegro con brio II. Allegretto semplice III. Allegro vivace Rock Larochelle, flute Stephanie Wong, oboe Amber Campbell, clarinet Ross McLean, horn Douglas Ridgway, bassoon

Snowfall

Allan Nelson (premiere)

Allan Nelson, violin Linnea Barisoff, violin Darrell Soetaert, viola John Fedor, cello

String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor

Sergey Rachmaninov

I. Romance Svitlana Remniakova-Ostrovska, violin Raymond Leung, violin Blaine Madsen, viola Ryan Hoffman, cello

Melody Svitlana Remniakova-Ostrovska, violin Danielle Lisboa, piano

Myroslav Skoryk

Melody

Ernest Bloch

Frank Ho, violin Danielle Lisboa, piano

Birdsong

Vivian Fung

Frank Ho, violin Ping-Shan Liao, piano

Elegia

Henrique Oswald

Ryan Hoffman, cello Danielle Lisboa, piano

Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, BWV 1049 I. Allegro II. Andante III. Presto Jennifer Gregory, flute Rock Larochelle, flute Frank Ho, violin CSO Nucleus Strings Stephanie Wong, harpsichord

J.S. Bach

CSO NUCLEUS STRINGS VIOLIN I Frank Ho Allan Nelson Raymond Leung VIOLIN II Svitlana Remniakova Linnea Barisoff Song Gee Harold Steinbrenner VIOLA Darrell Soetaert Anna Schultz Alan Dunn CELLO John Fedor Ryan Hoffman Katarina Loutas Sharon Toronchuk Frances Elgaard BASS Dante Wright Colin Campbell

SAVE THE DATE Concordia Symphony Orchestra Sunday, April 21, 2024 A Garland of Ragas Edmonton Convention Center 9797 Jasper Ave 5:00 p.m.

(Pre-concert performances begin at 4:00 p.m.) tickets in advance now available at Edmonton Arts Council Shops & Services

Would you like to receive information about our upcoming concerts? Please add your email to our mailing list: CSO MAILING LIST

THIS EVENING’S PERFORMERS Danielle Lisboa, piano Canadian-Brazilian Danielle Lisboa leads an active career as an orchestral conductor, music educator and scholar, regularly conducting community and professional ensembles. Lisboa holds a doctorate in orchestral conducting from the Eastman School of Music University of Rochester. On arriving in Canada in 2008, she became Orchestra Toronto’s first apprentice conductor, was named assistant conductor two months later and shortly after was appointed the orchestra’s music director and conductor.

During her tenure, Lisboa became known for her cutting-edge programming and public engagement. Her vision and dynamic leadership took Orchestra Toronto into new paths for outreach and youth initiatives, including the Marta Hidy Concerto Competition and the popular annual children’s concerts. Two years later she led Bellus Barbari, the Toronto Women’s Symphony Orchestra, in its inaugural Ontario tour.

Lisboa moved to Edmonton in 2013 to serve as associate professor of music at Concordia University of Edmonton in the areas of conducting and music theory. Lisboa is former music director and co-founder of the Edmonton Metropolitan.

Her current research interests encompass topics of women and leadership on the orchestral podium and analysis and transcription of sacred rituals of native peoples of Brazil with recent partnerships and publications in Portugal and Brazil. Lisboa reinstated the Concordia Symphony Orchestra as a new ensemble in fall of 2017. She spearheaded Concordia’s first operatic project, developed a summer string camp for youth, and a provincial concerto competition. Most recently, she led the Orchestral Training and Leadership workshop to mentor young conductors and orchestral players into leadership roles. Recent speaking engagement featured at the 2023 International Conductor’s Guild Conference held in Valencia, Spain on the topic of “The Status of the Maestra in Today’s Orchestral Podium”.

Upcoming 2024 projects include the CSO Chamber Nucleus European tour in the role of artistic director, conductor, and pianist. The group will present the program “Canadian Impressions” in Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Italy.

In July, Dr. Lisboa will serve as visiting scholar at the Southwest University in Chongqing, China for a two-week program leading the University Symphony Orchestra.

Frank Ho, violin Violinist FRANK HO enjoys a multi-faceted career as a chamber musician, soloist, and pedagogue. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Alberta, as well as a Certificate in Performance and a Master of Music degree from Yale University.

His principal teachers were Evan Verchomin and James Keene (Alberta College Conservatory in Edmonton); Sidney Harth and Erick Friedman (Yale School of Music); and Yfrah Neaman (Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England). He has participated in masterclasses with distinguished artists such as Franco Gulli, Steven Staryk, Gyorgy Pauk, and Jaap Schroder. His performing career as soloist and chamber musician has taken him across three continents. Highlights include concerts at prestigious venues such the Royal Festival Hall and the Purcell Room in London; Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Merkin Hall in New York City; and numerous campuses and concert series in western Canada. Many of his concerts have been featured on the CBC. Mr. Ho was the director of the Strathcona Conservatory of Music in Edmonton from 2005 to 2010, where he also maintained a private studio. He is currently a faculty member of the MacEwan University Conservatory of Music and sessional violin instructor at King’s University College, as well as a much sought-after private instructor. His students have been prizewinners in local, provincial, and national competitions in Canada, and many have been accepted to institutions such as the McGill Schulich School of Music, the University of Victoria, the University of Alberta, and the University of Ottawa. Mr. Ho is an active adjudicator at music festivals across the country and has been a member of the College of Examiners for the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto since 2006.

Mr. Ho makes his home in Edmonton with his wife and three children. He currently performs on a violin by Toronto maker John Newton, and a bow by Canadian maker Reid Hudson.

Ping-Shan Liao, piano Pianist Ping-Shan Liao has presented numerous recitals and fascinated audiences worldwide with her passion for music. Her performing career has brought her to many countries such as the United States, Taiwan, China, Russia, and Canada.

Throughout her career, she has also collaborated as a chamber and concerto pianist, performing concertos with the International Chamber Ensemble De Rome, the Edmonton Festival City Winds, Concordia Symphony Orchestra, and the Prairie Jubilation Wind Ensemble.

Born and raised in Taiwan, Ping-Shan started her music study at a young age and was the prize winner of many competitions in Taiwan. After graduating from the National Taiwan Normal University, she pursued her graduate studies in the United States and received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance & Literature from the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester. During her time studying at Eastman, Ping-Shan was invited to present a solo concert at the Alexander Goldenweiser Memorial Museum in Moscow, as well as being selected to perform at the Taiwan National Recital Hall as part of the “Young Artists Series” concerts, which recognize the outstanding global achievements of Taiwanese musicians.

Besides her passion in performing, Ping-Shan has been serving as a piano adjudicator and clinician for many music festivals and competitions. Before moving to Edmonton with her husband and two daughters in 2005, she served as a Professor of Piano at the Prairie Bible College in Three Hills, Alberta. Ever since, she has been teaching piano, piano pedagogy and music theory at the Concordia University of Edmonton.

Svitlana Remniakova-Ostrovska, violin Svitlana Remniakova-Ostrovska, a distinguished professional violinist hailing from Ukraine, is a luminary in the realm of classical music. Her educational journey culminated in a Diploma of Music with an excellent value from the P. I. Tchaikovsky State Music Conservatory in Kyiv, Ukraine. Svitlana's extensive work experience spans continents,

having

worked

in

the

symphony

orchestras of Dniepropetrovsk, Kyiv, and Cairo, including

engagements

with

orchestras and

quartets in

Berlin, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain,

Croatia, Serbia, China, Oman, Libya, and Jordan.

Since relocating to Canada in August 2019, Svitlana has become a notable figure in the Canadian music scene, contributing to both performance and education. She is associated with institutions like Concordia Symphony Orchestra, Windermere Music Academy, and Innovations Music School, where her students have achieved distinction, winning international competitions in Slovenia, London, and Vienna. Notably, Svitlana is a co-organizer of the International String Connections Festival & Conference in Edmonton since 2020 and currently serves as the President of the Alberta String Association, exemplifying her commitment to fostering musical excellence and community engagement.

Rock Larochelle, flute Rock, originally from St. Paul, Alta., has taught in Francophone and immersion schools for 30 years. He now works part-time as an educational consultant. As well as being a flutist with the Concordia Symphony Orchestra, he is also one of the founders of the Opus@12 Chamber Concert Society, which offers free concerts in the rotunda of La Cité Francophone. Rock has been studying for the past 17 years with Elizabeth Koch (principal flutist of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra) and also had the opportunity to study with Sir James Galway in Switzerland in 1990 and 2013. He is married to Sharon Toronchuk (cellist) and they have a daughter, Caroline (pianist and mezzo-soprano), in addition to their well-rounded tenor cat Luigi.

Darrell Soetaert, viola Born in rural central Alberta Darrell grew up in a very musical family and community. He began playing the violin at the age of twelve after receiving his first instrument. While growing up Darrell studied the flute in junior high band and began playing the piano. His violin teachers have included Leona Wood, Jennifer Bustin, and Guillaume Tardif. He has continued to stay involved in his boyhood community by playing for such theatrical productions as 'Mary's Veil,' 'Lost Apostle', and 'The Park Bench.’

Darrell graduated with his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Alberta. While attending school Darrell received the Jason Lang Memorial Scholarship, Beryl Barnes Memorial Award, Dale Macmillan Memorial Scholarship, Tony Lefebvre Memorial Scholarship, and the Woodgrove Unifarm Local Scholarship. He studied violin in his first two years with Guillaume Tardif and then with a leap of faith picked up a viola and began studying with Aaron Au and Charles Pilon.

Darrell has played in the University Symphony Orchestra, Academy Strings Orchestra, and Edmonton Pops Orchestra. He maintains a busy teaching and performing schedule in the Edmonton area and permanently occupies the viola chair in the Wild Rose Quartet, which he founded in 2008.

Stephanie Wong, Oboe Stephanie is an oboist, pianist, harpsichordist, and specialist in early winds, and is completing her degree in modern oboe at CUE. She started playing the oboe during her former life as a research scientist and later took up the baroque oboe, before finally deciding to pursue a career in music. She has attended numerous early music workshops in Canada.

Stephanie is

principal oboe in Concordia Symphony Orchestra and is an active chamber musician. She is vice-president of Opus@12 Chamber Concert Society and is in a number of ensembles.

Ryan Hoffman, cello Ryan Hoffman is a cellist with over 15 years of teaching experience, who recently moved to Edmonton from the United States. He has been teaching here since Fall of 2020, and has been active with Alberta String Association, Opus@12 Chamber Music Society, and Concordia Symphony.

Prior to moving, Ryan taught and performed in and around Virginia.

He taught both Suzuki and traditional students at several schools, including Eastern Mennonite University and Bridgewater College.

He performed in several orchestras, including Altoona Symphony, Fairfax Symphony, Huntington Symphony, and Waynesboro Symphony, and as a chamber musician with Two Rivers Chamber Music and Melodious Strings.

Ryan's academic degrees include a Doctor of Musical Arts from James Madison University, a Master of Music from Penn State University, and a BA in Music from Susquehanna University.

Douglas Ridgway, bassoon

Doug started bassoon in junior high school in order to join the orchestra and learn what all those keys did. He studied with John Cambell in Los Angeles and Matt Howatt in Edmonton. He has performed with the Concordia

Symphony,

Nova

Musica,

Edmonton Philharmonic, Wye Strings, the Edmonton

Mozart

Festival,

University Symphony Orchestra.

and

the

Jennifer Gregory, flute Originally from Ontario, Jennifer Gregory started playing the flute in high school and continued her music studies through completing degrees at the University of Western Ontario (Bachelor of Music History) and at the University of Alberta (Master in Arts for Ethnomusicology).

While professionally, Jennifer works in emergency management, she continues to stay musically active. She has played with many community ensembles in Edmonton, including Festival City Winds, Edmonton Metropolitan Orchestra and now with Concordia Symphony Orchestra. Jennifer also enjoys working with community productions of operas and musicals, for groups like Pop Goes the Opera, Walterdale Theatre, and Foote in the Door Productions. Most recently, she’s played in productions of Into the Woods and Beauty and the Beast.

Amber Campbell, clarinet Amber Campbell is originally from Red Deer, Alta., and has a master of music degree in clarinet performance from the University of Alberta.

During university, she studied with Jei Yin, Charles Hudelson and Jeff Campbell. Amber played clarinet in the Edmonton Youth Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and University Symphony Orchestra, and now plays with the Concordia Symphony Orchestra. She also earned her CA designation and works full-time as an accountant. Amber enjoys spending her free time with her husband, Eric, and son, Sean, both trumpet players, as well as their musical cats Igor (Stravinsky) and Dmitri (Shostakovich).

Ross McLean, French Horn Ross McLean is a pathologist at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and father of five children. He started playing horn at age 14 and played professionally

as

assistant

to

the

Calgary

Philharmonic horn section at age 19 (1977-78) and the Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show (19771978). He has played with the Calgary Youth Orchestra and Edmonton Youth Orchestra and the Concordia Orchestra in Montreal. Since returning to Edmonton he has played with Festival City Winds, Edmonton Winds, Edmonton Pops and Borealis Orchestra. More recently, he has joined the Edmonton Philharmonic. He has played with the World Doctors Orchestra in Dubai, Paris, Houston, Dallas and is looking forward to joining them at the Sydney Opera House in Australia in 2024.

Blaine Madsen,viola

Blaine has been a member of the Concordia Symphony viola section for 20 years. An avid fan of the baroque, he is also a past member and player in Edmonton's baroque string ensemble La Folia, an ensemble dedicated to the historically informed performance of early music. Blaine has a full-time career in the IT field and is an Infrastructure Architect for a national pharmacy.

Allan Nelson, violin Allan Nelson is a fourth-year BMus student at the King's university, studying violin under CSO concertmaster Frank Ho and composition with Dr. Charles Stolte. Allan grew up in a musical household, surrounded by folk music. He started learning the fiddle at the age of 16, and classical violin at the age of 23.

In 2023 he was the recipient of scholarships provided by the Winspear fund for advanced classical music performance and the Johann Strauss Foundation, enabling him to study in Vienna with Peter Schuhmayer and in Italy with Oleksandr Semchuk. He has also been fortunate enough to participate in masterclasses led by acclaimed violinists such as Axel Strauss and Mark Fewer. Allans other awards include the Gerry Segger Music scholarship in performance excellence, and the CSO outstanding musicianship and leadership award. In addition to his solo and orchestral performance schedule, Allan runs a small violin studio in the south of Edmonton where he endeavours to share his passion for music and the violin with his many young students.

Man Wui (Raymond) Leung, violin

Man Wui Leung is a second-year international student from Hong Kong. A pupil of Frank Ho, he is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree at Concordia University of Edmonton and hopes to become a professional violinist.

After completing his degree at CUE, Leung intends to go to Yale University for his master degree.

He currently teaches violin at Serendipity Music Studio.

Linnea Barisoff, violin Originally from British Columbia, Linnea Barisoff started playing piano at age 3 and violin at age 4.

Her past violin teachers have included Rhiannon Nachbaur, Gwen Lush, Wendy Herbison, Josette Laforge, Brie Faulks, and Thomas Schoen. She also attended the annual Valhalla Summer School of Music and the annual Kootenay Fiddle Camp in Castlegar, BC. Linnea is currently studying violin with Frank Ho. While in high school, Linnea performed with the Nelson Choral Society, Nelson Community Opera and The Rossland Light Opera Players. She has been playing with the CSO since 2017. She also volunteered her time performing violin for longterm care residents.

Linnea graduated from the University of Alberta Augustana with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Science Honors in Pharmacology and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. She is currently working as a Pharmacy Manager and Licensee of a community pharmacy in Edmonton.

In addition to music, Linnea also enjoys spending time outdoors, taking photographs of wildlife and scenery

Mark your calendars!

Don’t miss the CSO Chamber Nucleus Tour Send-off Concert on Saturday, May 18 featuring all tour program!

More details to come soon The CSO is currently fundraising for its first international tour in 2024. The goal of this initiative is to promote less-known repertoire to a wider audience abroad and to introduce Canadian music to international audiences. Please consider a charitable donation to CSO to

support

our

fundraising

efforts.

Donations

can

donations@concordia.ab.ca or online using this link.

Note: Donations over $20 will receive a donation receipt.

Charitable Registration number is 10696 6468 RR0001

be

made

by

email

at