MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR On behalf of the City of St. John’s, I am pleased to extend warm greetings to the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra as you launch your 2025/2026 season, Obsessed, Onstage, Onfire. This year’s theme reflects the passion, dedication, and energy the NSO brings to our community year after year. Through inspiring performances, meaningful education prog rammes, and steadfast community engagement, the NSO cont inues to ignite a love of music that enriches the cultural fabric of our city. My sincere thanks go to the musicians, staff, volun teers, patrons, and sponsors who make each season possible. Your commitment ensures that the symphony not only thrives, but also continues to inspire audiences of all ages. On behalf of Council, I congratulate the NSO on another exciting season and wish you every success as you share your extraordin ary talent with our community.
Warm regards,
Danny Breen Mayor of St. John’s
Message fro
m the Lieute
nant Govern or
As Honorary Patron of the Newfo undland Symphony Orchestra, it is my great pleasure to extend greetings and very best wishes for the 2025-2026 season. The NSO is a wonderful orc hestra, which has served to cultivate and profile many of the exceptional artists we have in our province. The gift of the NS O’s rich orchestral music has become an integral part of the cul tural fabric of Newfoundland and Labrador. Again this year, a variety of performances are planned, sure to delight audiences and inspire us all. This season is the first under the artistic leadership of Music Director Simon Rivard. Congratu lations on your new role, and welcome! I hope you will enjoy the perfor mances the NSO has in store this year. To everyone involved: the musici ans, staff, crew, and all who hav e a hand in producing this season, I thank you and wish you the best.
Joan Marie J. Aylward, O.N.L
dor
Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labra
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We acknowledge the province of Newfoundland and Labrador as the traditional territory of diverse Indigenous groups, and we acknowledge with respect the diverse histories and cultures of the Beothuk, Mi’kmaq, Innu, and Inuit of this province. We strive for respectful relationships with all the peoples of this province as we search for collective healing and true reconciliation and honour this beautiful land together.
CHRISTMAS POPS
A YULETIDE VIBE
Friday, November 21, 2025 • St. John’s Arts & Culture Centre
Martin MacDonald, conductor; Steve Maloney, vocals with Vicki Harnett and Miranda MacDonald, vocals
PROGRAMME Christmas Overture Samuel Coleridge-Taylor O Come All Ye Faithful John Francis Wade I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Hall, Oliver, Herms, Longfellow O Little Town of Bethlehem Phillips Brooks Let it Snow Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn Skaters Waltz Émile Waldteufel The First Noel Traditional
I Believe in Santa Claus Dolly Parton Mary Did You Know? Buddy Greene, Mark Lowry I’ll Be There Christmas Eve Ron Hynes I’ll Be Home for Christmas Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, Buck Ram INTERMISSION
Selections from The Nutracker Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Marche, Trepak, Waltz
Santa Claus is Coming to Town Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn This Christmas Donny Hathaway Angel Gabriel Traditional Basque, Edgar Pettman O Holy Night (“Minuit, Chrétien”) Adolphe Adam Sleigh Ride Leroy Anderson Christmas Baby Please Come Home Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector The Christmas Song Mel Torme Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane
Arrangements provided by Marc David, Jim Duff, Leslee Hayes, Peter MacDonald, Brigham Philips, Christopher Smith.
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CONDUCTOR
MARTIN MACDONAL D
Martin MacDonald is one of Canada’s most dynamic and outstanding conductors and has been awarded both the Heinz Unger Award and the Jean-Marie Beaudet Award for orchestral conducting. Martin has guest conducted extensively across Canada having worked with the orchestras of Toronto, National Arts Centre, Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Niagara, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Windsor, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland. He has served as a Cover and Guest Conductor for the National Ballet of Canada for several productions, and has worked with the Minnesota Ballet, Atlantic Ballet, and Halifax Dance. Martin has recorded extensively for the CBC and for several commercial recordings. Martin has a Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from McGill University. At McGill, he studied conducting with Alexis Hauser, served as assistant conductor to the McGill Symphony Orchestra, and worked with both Opera McGill and the McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble as well as several other orchestral and chamber music activities. Martin has a Bachelor’s degree in Cello from Memorial University. Martin further studied conducting with Bernhard Gueller, Boris Brott, and Michael Jinbo; and in workshops with Kenneth Kiesler, Gustav Meier, Jorma Panula, and Johannes Schlaefli. Martin’s conducting activities have been generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. As a cellist, Martin has performed extensively with many orchestras and chamber music ensembles throughout Canada. Martin resides in Toronto, Ontario with his wife, Kristen and their daughter, Frances.
TIDE VIBE
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VIOLIN 1 Heather Kao (concertmaster) Dominic Greene (asst. concertmaster) Andy Kao Anastasia Kiseleva Lauren Smee Claire Boudreau BASS Ilyas Duissen Frank Fusari (principal) Amanda Yee (OCP) Denise Lear Nick Howlett VIOLIN 2 Nancy Case-Oates (principal) Mario Miranda Carole Bestvater FLUTE Elena Vigna Michelle Cheramy (principal) Jacquelyn Redmond Sarah Comerford Valerie Hewson Karen Hawkin OBOE/ Cathy Anstey ENGLISH HORN Stewart Gillies Annie Corrigan (principal) Cathy Beehan Grace Noseworthy
MUSICIANS
VIOLA Kate Read (principal) Ema Shiroma-Chao Chantelle Jubenville Rosaura Aguilar Mahina Graham-Laidlaw Norma Noseworthy Jonathan Stevenson
CELLO Nathan Cook (principal) Nulibeth Ortiz (asst. principal) Amy Collyer-Holmes Sandra Pope Laura Ivany Katherine Shipley
CLARINET Glenn Rice (principal) Brenda Gatherall
TROMBONE Darren McDonald (principal) Erin Sullivan
BASS TROMBONE Andrew Cooper (principal)
TUBA Catherine Tansley (principal)
PERCUSSION Rob Power (principal) Etienne Gendron Amy Parsons (OCP) J Benson
HARP
BASSOON Grant Etchegary (principal) Nicole Hand Chris Williams (contra)
HORN Doug Vaughan (principal) Libby Brennan Michelle Stevenson David Natsheh
TRUMPET Katie Sullivan (principal) Jill Dawe Christian Berglander
Sarah Veber (principal)
DRUMS Etienne Gendron
ELECTRIC GUITAR Humberto Piccoli
ELECTRIC BASS Frank Fusari
PIANO Jenny Griffioen (principal)
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GUEST ARTISTS Steve Maloney is a musician and actor hailing from St. John’s. His work as a songwriter has garnered awards from MusicNL, and the Borealis Music Prize, along with a stint as Dawson City’s songwriter in residence. He can be heard on NL releases from Nico Paulo, Rube & Rake, Tim Baker, and many more. Maloney has also composed for short films, and a series for Bell Fibre1 called “The Golden League”. On stage he has been fortunate to play Roger in TaDa’s production of Rent, workshop and tour with Artistic Fraud’s production Between Breaths, and new works from Terra Bruce Productions. Vicki Harnett is delighted to be back in the band with the incredible musicians and artists of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. No stranger to stages across the country, she has been seen performing with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and TaDa! Events. Thanks and love to family, friends, and to all of you for supporting the incredible local artists that we are so lucky to be surrounded by. Miranda MacDonald graduated from Sheridan College with a Bachelors in Musical Theatre. Past credits: Come from Away in Gander, Elf (Peter MacDonald Productions), Offensive to Some (PerSIStence), Once (Theatre St. John’s), No Change in the Weather workshop (Terra Bruce), We Will Rock You (TaDa!), Trummp (PMP), choreographer for Guys and Dolls (Atlantic Light Theatre), along with performing in playhouses and festivals across Canada such as Stage West Calgary, The LOT, Factory Theatre Toronto, Upper Canada Playhouse and many more. Short Film: Betwixed and Between. Other: A member of Spirit of Newfoundland. Instructor for Newfoundland to Broadway, Artistic Director for Dynamic Fusion Show Choir (Ontario and St. John’s). Director, choreographer and musical director for youth theatre companies in Mississauga, Ontario for 4 years.
UPCOMING CONCERTS
DEC. 5-6
JAN. 10
NOV. 23
JAN. 10
A STANDING
OVATION
FOR OUR SUPPORTERS
NSO Staff Simon Rivard, Music Director Martin MacDonald, Principal Pops Conductor Hugh Donnan, CEO Lynn Ann Pye, Patron Relations Jennifer Brennan, Education & Outreach Coordinator Maria Penney, Marketing & Development Manager Dominic Greene, Personnel Manager Steve Power, Production Manager/Video Production/Editing Jenny Griffioen, Librarian Kyle McDavid, Graphic Designer
NSO Board Jessica Chapman (Chair) Michelle Davis (Vice-Chair) Tom Hickey (Past Chair) Douglas Wright (Treasurer) Robert Thompson (Corporate Secretary) Philip Harrington Eleanor Swanson Heather McKinnon Andrea Rose Duncan Fitzpatrick Glenn Colton
Alana Walsh-Giovannini Aimee Letto Robert Decker Jennifer Massey Jing Xia Karen Bulmer Chris Williams Amanda Hann Charlie Byrne Andrii Shyshkin Beth Porter
P.O. Box 23125 St. John’s, NL A1B 4J9 709-722-4441 nso@nsomusic.ca
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