Message from the Premier
Congratulations to the esteemed Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra (NSO) on the launch of their 2024-2025 season. The NSO remains a cornerstone of Newfoundland and Labrador’s cultural arts scene, captivating with diverse programming that embraces pop culture, broadening appeal across generations. In 2023-24, the NSO engaged communities by offering in-school and virtual programs for students and free online concerts for seniors, enriching lives through music. As they begin this new season, the NSO honours maestro Marc David for his remarkable 30-year career, shaping the orchestra’s legacy and leaving a lasting impact on Newfoundland and Labrador’s cultural landscape. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador proudly supports the NSO, recognizing its pivotal role in enriching our province’s arts and culture sector.
Message from the Mayor
On behalf of the City of St. John’s, I extend warm greetings to the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra as you embark on your 2024/2025 season with the inspiring theme of “Resonance.” This season holds special significance as you celebrate the remarkable 30-year career of Maestro Marc David. His dedication, passion, and leadership have left a lasting mark on the NSO, resonating deeply with audiences in our city and beyond. The arts play a crucial role in enriching our lives, fostering creativity, and bringing people together. The NSO’s commitment to delivering exceptional musical experiences reflects the vibrant cultural landscape we’re fortunate to have in St. John’s. Your performances not only entertain but also inspire and uplift, creating lasting moments. As we celebrate this milestone season, my sincere gratitude goes to the musicians, staff, volunteers, and supporters of the NSO. Your tireless efforts ensure the symphony thrives and resonates with audiences of all ages. I’m confident that this season will be filled with memorable performances that leave a lasting impact. Congratulations to Maestro Marc David on his illustrious career, and best wishes to the NSO for a successful and resonant 2024/2025 season.
Joan Marie J. Aylward, O.N.L., B.N., R.N. Lieutenant Governor of NL
Danny Breen Mayor of St. John’s
Message from the Lieutenant Governor
As Honorary Patron, it is my pleasure to extend best wishes to the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra for the 2024/2025 season. Once again, the NSO will delight audiences with a season full of performances for many different musical tastes. This year’s theme is “Resonance”. Indeed, the NSO resonates throughout our province and contributes much to our rich artistic culture. Now with 84 members, the NSO has come a long way since its inception as a fledgling ensemble in 1962. This season also marks the final one for Principal Conductor Maestro Marc David. For 30 years the Orchestra has been guided by his steady hand. We join with you in celebrating his contributions, and his leadership with the NSO. Thank you Maestro Marc David for all the joy you have brought for audiences over your years with the NSO. I hope you will enjoy each performance this year. To the musicians, staff, crew, and all who play a part within the NSO, I wish you the best for your season, which I am confident will resonate with pride for audiences throughout the province. We are so proud of you, and we celebrate your continued success as you begin your new season in the Year of the Arts. Bravo!
Hon. Dr. Andrew Furey Premier
MASTERWORKS 2: CELLOSCAPES
Friday, November 15, 2024 • St. John’s Arts & Culture Centre
Rafael Hoekman, cello • Dina Gilbert, conductor
We dedicate this concert to our friend Kristina Szutor.
PROGRAMME
P.I. Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
Thema: Moderato semplice
Var. I: Tempo della Thema
Var. II: Tempo della Thema
Var. III: Andante sostenuto
Var. IV: Allegro grazioso
Var. V: Allegro moderato
Var. VI: Andante
Var. VII: Allegro vivo
INTERMISSION
Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Andante moderato
III. Allegro giocoso
IV. Allegro energico e passionato
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.
GUEST ARTIST
Hailed as a “Rock Star of the Cello” and noted for his “spirited and fiery performances,” Rafael Hoekman’s varied career as a soloist, teacher, chamber musician and orchestral cellist has taken him on a journey across Canada.
Rafael grew up in St. John’s, Newfoundland and began his musical training with his parents at the age of three. His principal teachers were Theo Weber in St. John’s, Yuli Turovsky in Montreal, and he completed his Master’s Degree with Shauna Rolston at the University of Toronto. With his appointment to the position of Principal Cello for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Rafael has come full circle - his father was born in Lethbridge, and his mother was born in Conrad, Montana, a short drive from the Canadian border.
As a young soloist, Rafael first attracted attention by winning First Prize at the Orford International Competition. This award led to performances of the Boccherini Concerto with I Musici de Montreal and a subsequent CD on the Amberola Label. In quick succession, Rafael garnered awards from competitions including the Montreal Symphony Competition, the CMC Stepping Stones Competition, the Debut Young Artist Competition and the Quebec Symphony’s Canadian Concerto Competition. In addition to performing with I Musici de Montreal, Rafael has appeared as soloist with the Edmonton Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, the Quebec Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Edmonton, the Red Deer Symphony, the Newfoundland Symphony, Sinfonia Toronto, the Sudbury Symphony, and the Etobicoke Philharmonic.
As a chamber musician and founding member of the Tokai String Quartet, Rafael won Fourth Prize in the Banff International String Quartet Competition as well as the Felix Galimir Chamber Music Award and the Sir Ernest MacMillan Grant for a young Canadian chamber ensemble. Rafael’s chamber music performances have been featured on several national broadcasts for the CBC. He has been heard all across Canada on tours for Jeunesses Musicales, Debut Atlantic and Prairie Debut. He counts as his chamber music partners James Ehnes, James Campbell, Alexander Tselyakov, Anton Kuerti, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, and Jamie Parker. Prior to joining the Edmonton Symphony as Principal Cello in 2015, Rafael was a member of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and held assistant principal positions with both the Winnipeg and Windsor Symphony Orchestras. He has also held positions with the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra (Principal Cello), Orchestra London Canada and Sinfonia Toronto (principal cello) and has played frequently with the Detroit and Toronto Symphony Orchestras. He is also currently Principal Cello of the Chamber Orchestra of Edmonton. Rafael is a passionate teacher and enjoys working with aspiring cellists as a faculty member at the University of Alberta and has a very active private studio of younger cellists. His students have won many honors and awards and several of them are poised to become successful professional cellists themselves. Rafael gets very excited whenever the ESO plays the music of Dmitri Shostakovich! This was the music that got him completely hooked on classical music as a teenager.
Rafael Hoekman, cello
GUEST CONDUCTOR
Dina Gilbert
Regularly invited to conduct in Canada and overseas, Dina Gilbert attracts critical acclaim for her energy, her precision and versatility. From Québec, she is currently the Principal Conductor of the Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and Music Director of the Kamloops Symphony where she is known for her contagious dynamism and her audacious programming. Dina Gilbert is passionate about communicating with audiences of all ages to broadening their appreciation of orchestral music through innovative collaborations. This commitment, as well as Dina Gilbert’s extensive knowledge of repertoire has shaped her career and the orchestras she has worked with.
Dina has conducted leading Canadian orchestras such as Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre métropolitain, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. She is frequently invited to conduct in France and also has conducted orchestras in the United States, Colombia, Spain and the Sinfonia Varsovia for a series of concerts in Japan.
Recent engagements included debuts with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire, a tour with the Orchestre national de Metz as well as several concerts with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. Over the past seasons, as the Principal Conductor of the Orchestre des Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, she participated in tours in the US, in Colombia and in Spain, and has premiered several ballets from Peter Quanz (La Dame aux Camélias : music by Weber, Lili Boulanger, Louise Farrenc and Kaija Saariaho), Étienne Béchard (Carmen Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite), Garrett Smith (Danser Beethoven), Jayne Smeulders (Prokofiev’s Cinderella) and Edward Clug (Orff’s Carmina Burana), in addition to the Grands Ballets repertoire of the company.
Her innate curiosity towards non-classical musical genres and willingness to democratize classical music has sparked collaborations with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Orchestre national de Lyon in several Hip Hop Symphonic programs featuring renowned artists IAM, MC Solaar, Youssoupha, Arsenik and Bigflo & Oli. She has also conducted the world premiere of the film The Red Violin with orchestra at the Festival de Lanaudière and has conducted the North American premiere of film The Artist with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.
As the founder and artistic director of the Ensemble Arkea, a Montreal-based chamber orchestra, Dina premiered over thirty works from emerging Canadian composers from 2011 to 2017. Committed to music education, she has reached thousands of children with her interactive and participative Conducting 101 workshops across Canada.
From 2013 to 2016, Dina Gilbert was the assistant conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal and Maestro Kent Nagano, also assisting notable guest conductors including Zubin Mehta and Sir Roger Norrington. In April 2016, she received great acclaim for stepping in to replace Maestro Alain Altinoglu with the OSM in a program showcasing Gustav Holst’s The Planets.
Featured in the recent documentary “Femmes symphoniques”, Dina Gilbert earned her doctorate from the Université de Montréal, where she studied with Jean-François Rivest and Paolo Bellomia and she polished her skills in masterclasses with Kenneth Kiesler, Pinchas Zukerman, Neeme Järvi and the musicians from the Kritische Orchester in Berlin.
Awarded the Opus Prize of “Découverte de l’année” in 2017, Dina Gilbert also was one of the 50 personalities creating the extraordinary in Québec in 2018 by the Urbania Magazine. She has also received support from the Canada Arts Council, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and from the Père-Lindsay Foundation. Dina Gilbert is represented by the KAJIMOTO agency.
MUSICIANS
VIOLIN 1
Heather Kao
Dominic Greene
Andy Kao
Whit Fitzgerald
Gabriel Brodeur
Natalie Finn
Claire Boudreau
Zhongli Hu
VIOLIN 2
Nancy Case-Oates
Carole Bestvater
Elena Vigna
Jacquelyn Redmond
Hannah Yaremko
Karen Hawkin
Cathy Anstey
Stewart Gillies
VIOLA
Kate Read
Ema Shiroma-Chao
Chantelle Jubenville
Rosaura Aguilar
Emily Pynn
Norma Noseworthy
Jonathan Stevenson
CELLO
Nathan Cook
Nulibeth Ortiz
Amy Collyer-Holmes
Laura Wakeman
Nancy Bannister
Pierre Kusters
BASS
Frank Fusari
Denise Lear
Nick Howlett
Matthew Hardy
FLUTE
Michelle Cheramy
Sarah Comerford
Donna Spurvey
OBOE/ ENGLISH HORN
Annie Corrigan
Kathy Conway-Ward
CLARINET
Glenn Rice
Brenda Gatherall
BASSOON
Grant Etchegary
Nicole Hand
Chris Williams (contra)
HORN
Emily Dunsmore
Doug Vaughan
Michelle Stevenson
David Natsheh
TRUMPET
Katie Sullivan
Jill Dawe
Christian Berglander
TROMBONE
Darren McDonald
Erin Sullivan
BASS TROMBONE
Andrew Cooper
TUBA
Catherine Tansley
PERCUSSION
Rob Power
Etienne Gendron
Amy Parsons
David Kerr
HARP
Sarah Veber
PROGRAM NOTES
In Nocturne (2014), Canadian composer and conductor Samy Moussa (b. 1984) creates a vivid and suspenseful nighttime world. Exploring the lower tessitura of the orchestra, Moussa builds a sense of foreboding, as though something is lurking in the fog, just out of sight. Above this rumbling foundation, the orchestra climbs to moments of excited brilliance, all the while maintaining a sense of growing tension. The final moments of the piece, which rely on several extended techniques in the orchestra, paint a ghostly atmosphere, suggesting that while night is over, the potential for mystery remains.
The two works by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) on tonight’s program both feature solo cello. Variations on a Rococo Theme (1877) was written in collaboration with cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, who not only wrote some of the cello part, but also restructured the order of the variations (somewhat to Tchaikovsky’s chagrin!). Harkening back to the classical era of Mozart, the piece is not actually built on an 18th-century theme, but a musical idea of Tchaikovsky’s own invention.
The Andante Cantabile in B Major (1888) also shows the influence of Fiztenhagen. The piece originally appeared as the second movement of Tchaikovsky’s first string quartet, which premiered in 1871 with Fitzenhagen on cello. The cellist would go on to create his own transcription of the work, which Tchaikovsky used as a model when he created the version for cello and orchestra nearly two decades later. The movement is based on a folk tune Tchaikovsky heard whistled by a house painter while visiting his sister in Ukraine.
Program Notes provided by Dr. Annalise Smith
Though Romantic composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) admired and supported some of his contemporaries, he was greatly influenced by his Classical and pre-Classical predecessors. An avid collector of early music manuscripts, his musicological interests are reflected in much of his work. He achieves remarkable Romantic effects by using purely classical and even earlier techniques. Completed in 1885, Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in E minor, op.98 was premiered in Meiningen, Germany. Like his predecessor Beethoven, Brahms could construct an entire movement out of commonplace materials. The genial opening melody of the first movement, Allegro ma non troppo, is built from a falling third interval followed by a rising sixth. Brahms manipulates, combines and
expands variants of the opening intervals in a process of continuous motivic development often culminating in soaring melodic lines. The opening melody in strings is interrupted by an urgent three-note rising motive in winds. This idea becomes bolder as it alternates or combines with the main theme. Vivid orchestration, changing tempi, overlapping complex rhythms and dramatic contrasts propel the movement culminating in a magnificent transformation of the genial opening melody.
An agreeable ambiguity of modal and tonal melodies flavours the Andante moderato movement. A modal horn theme is followed by wind instruments until lush strings play a melodic variant in E major. An intrusive martial passage in winds introduces an exquisitely poignant melody first heard in cellos accompanied by wispy countermelodies in violins. The opening materials return in different instrumental combinations until the poignant melody returns first in strings, then restated in glorious splendour by full orchestra. Short modal phrases in winds and strings close the movement peacefully.
The Allegro giocoso movement provides a complete change of pace. The energetic opening is interrupted by brassy fanfares and cheerful wind solos. The palette of orchestral colours includes ominous horns and bassoons, lyrical winds, warm strings, and the special effect of triangle and kettledrums. The sheer momentum of this movement almost disguises the fact that once again, Brahms is working with just a few motifs which he extends by means of imaginative variations.
Modelled on a chaconne melody from J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 150, the last movement Allegro energico e passionato is more evidence of Brahms’ fascination with ancient music. Originating in the 16th century, the chaconne is a style of continuous variation over a repeated melody or harmonic progression. Brahms’ chaconne theme consists of eight solemn chords in brass and winds. While the thirty variations move seamlessly from one to another, the music is organized into a three-part structure. The initial energy subsides in the introspective middle section introduced by a lyrical melody for solo flute. Other wind instruments follow with delicate accompaniment. After some hesitant orchestral passages, the solo flute ends this interlude. Then the imposing chaconne theme returns with a vengeance. No holds are barred as sophisticated variation techniques are highlighted in an array of instrumental colours. This last movement of Brahms’ last symphony advances inexorably to a powerful conclusion.
Program Notes provided by Mary O’Keeffe
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N SO Bo ard
T om Hickey (Chair)
Ian Penne y (Vice-Chair)
Paul McDonald (Past Chair)
Douglas Wright (Treasurer)
C onor Stack (Corporate Secretary)
Jessica Chapman
Heather McKinnon
Michelle Davis
Andrea Rose
Alana W alsh-Giov annini
Aimee Letto
Robert Decker
Jennifer Massey
Jing Xia
Karen Bulmer
Amy Collyer-Holmes
Elizabeth Wright
Robert Thompson
P.O. Box 23125 St. John’s, NL A1B 4J9
709-722-4441
nso@nsomusic.ca
Photo: Brad Clarke