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.
SINFONIA 2
THE UNQUIET HEART Saturday, January 10, 2026 • D.F. Cook Recital Hall Presented by Quidi Vidi Brewery
Simon Rivard, conductor • Jing Xia, guzheng
P ROGRAMME Mao Zhu 毛竹
Mountain Vespers
Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor, “Farewell”
15 min.
World Premiere
25 min.
I. Allegro assai II. Adagio III. Menuet e Trio Allegretto IV. Finale: Presto Adagio
Zhou Yuguo 周煜國
Tune of Rainbow Clouds 云裳诉
10 min.
INTERMISSION Lu Xiutang, Wang Xunzhi
陆修棠 , 王巽之
Lin Chong’s Midnight Escape 林冲夜奔
5 min.
Chamber Symphony, op. 73a
33 min.
I. Allegretto II. Moderato con moto III. Allegro non troppo IV. Adagio (attacca) V. Moderato
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GUEST ARTIST
JING XIA GUZHENG
An award winning guzheng artist, composer, producer, and ethnomusicologist based in Newfoundland, Canada. Born and raised in Hunan, China, Xia started to study the guzheng at six years old and holds degrees in music performance (B.A.), arts management (M.A.), and ethnomusicology (Ph.D.). Xia’s recent accolades include winning the 2023 East Coast Music Award “Roots/Traditional Recording of the Year” and the 2023 MusicNL Award “Album of the Year” for her solo album, “The Numinous Journey”. She was named the 2023 MusicNL “Solo Artist of the Year” and 2022 MusicNL “Rising Star of the Year”. As a performer of all styles, her musical journey on the guzheng has encompassed Chinese traditional and folk music to intercultural ensembles, improvisational music, and beyond. Her 2022 guzheng CD “The Numinous Journey” shows her diverse musical pathways and presents the guzheng in a wide range of musical genres. Xia has played with various musicians and musical groups, including guzheng virtuoso Mei Han, Newfoundland tradrock band Shanneyganock, and Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra. In 2018, she performed the world premiere of “The Congruent Place” in collaboration with the Regina-based composer Clinton Ackerman at the St. John’s Sound Symposium XIX. In January 2023, Xia world premiered Jubilant Entanglements, a guzheng concerto by well-known composer Andrew Staniland with NSO. Xia has been active in the music scenes in North America and performed in diverse musical events, including DuneFest (Saint-Pierre et Miquelon), SappyFest (NB), Newfoundland Folk Festival, Nashville Chinese New Year Festival, and Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Moving her tradition into the future, Xia formed the Light Wind Ensemble, the first Chinese ensemble in Newfoundland, and XIA-3, a fusion intercultural band, with a repertoire ranging from Chinese classics to free improv and post-rock music. As an educator and scholar, Xia has been teaching music for more than a decade and has given informative lectures, workshops, and performances at universities and conferences around the world. Her research focuses on the diasporic experience of professional Chinese instrumentalists and their intercultural and transnational music-making in North America. With an dedication to community enrichment, Xia has served as a board member in multiple music organizations, including the East Coast Music Association, Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, and the Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl. She is the Education and Outreach Coordinator at the ECMA, an artist researcher at the Currently Arts Society, and the secretary of the Improvisation Section of the Society for Ethnomusicology. Xia has also worked as a researcher in many cultural organizations.
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CONDUCTOR
SIMON RIVARD Simon Rivard is one of the most sought-after conductors on the Canadian music scene, as demonstrated by his recent appointments as Music Director of both the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and Edmonton Opera. The 2025/26 season marks the beginning of Rivard’s tenure with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, where he will lead Haydn’s Creation, among other programming. With Edmonton Opera, he leads Wagner’s Siegfried. Additionally, Simon débuts with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra (Finland), in a world premiere by one of today’s leading composers, Kalevi Aho. This season also sees Rivard on the podium with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre classique de Montréal, and Orchestre symphonique du Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, among others. As of September 2025, he will teach Orchestral conducting at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. Rivard has conducted orchestras across North America and Europe, such as Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Toronto Summer Music Festival Orchestra, Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra (Switzerland), and the Göteborgs Symfoniker (Sweden). Recently, he made his début with Opéra de Montréal in Puccini’s La bohème. He has collaborated with artists such as Barbara Hannigan, Kerson Leong, Daniel Lozakovich, Matt Haimovitz, Charles Richard-Hamelin, and Julie Boulianne, among others. In 2022, he was a finalist of the Princess Astrid International Music Competition of the Trondheim Symfoniorkester (Norway). He continues to share his love of contemporary music programming through collaborations with The Happenstancers (Canada), performing works by Unsuk Chin, Steve Reich, Matthew Ricketts, and Nahre Sol. From 2018 to 2022, he was the Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where he was mentored by Gustavo Gimeno and Sir Andrew Davis. From 2018 through 2024, he was the Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. Between 2020 and 2022, he served as the Associate Conductor of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. He is an alumni of Equilibrium Young Artists (2019-2023), Barbara Hannigan’s mentorship program for early-career professional musicians. In 2018, he was invited to participate in the first Conducting Mentorship Program at the Verbier Festival Academy (Switzerland). In addition to receiving a Special Prize, he was subsequently reinvited to coach the 2022 Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra. Born in Montréal, Rivard studied violin performance and orchestral conducting at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and McGill University. He has been mentored by Raffi Armenian, Alexis Hauser, Guillaume Bourgogne, and Jean-Sébastien Vallée, among others.
simon-rivard.com
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VIOLIN 1 Heather Kao Dominic Greene Andy Kao Anastasia Kiseleva Claire Boudreau VIOLIN 2 Nancy Case-Oates Carole Bestvater Elena Vigna Ilyas Duissen VIOLA Kate Read Ema Shiroma-Chao Chantelle Jubenville Rosaura Aguilar
MUSICIANS
CELLO Nathan Cook Nulibeth Ortiz Amy Collyer-Holmes BASS Frank Fusari
BASSOON Grant Etchegary
FLUTE Michelle Cheramy
HORNS Emily Dunsmore Doug Vaughan
OBOE/ ENGLISH HORN Annie Corrigan Kathy Conway
PERCUSSION Rob Power Etienne Gendron
CLARINET Glenn Rice
HARP Sarah Veber
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PROGRAM NOTES
SINFONIA 2: The Unquiet Heart Tune of Rainbow Clouds (云 诉 裳 诉) is inspired by the famous Tang poem line, “Clouds are her attire, and flowers are her face” (云想衣裳花想容), evoking the timeless love story between Imperial Consort Yang (Yang Guifei) and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Their romance, full of passion and devotion, ultimately ended tragically: political turmoil during the An Lushan Rebellion led to Yang Guifei’s forced execution. The piece captures both the elegance of their love and the poignancy of its tragic end through expressive melodies and lyrical interplay between the guzheng and piano. Lin Chong’s Midnight Escape (林冲夜奔) tells the story of Lin Chong, a loyal martial arts instructor who, after being falsely accused and persecuted, is forced to flee under the cover of night to save his life. The composition incorporates elements of Kun opera, one of China’s oldest classical theater forms, lending it a lyrical and expressive quality. As a representative work of the Zhejiang guzheng style, it showcases the guzheng’s virtuosic techniques—glissandi, rapid arpeggios, and percussive effects—vividly portraying Lin Chong’s suspense, courage, and heroism.
Notes courtesy of Jing Xia
Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) spent the majority of his career working for the noble family of Esterházy. While this position had numerous benefits—including the financial resources to regularly produce symphonies and operas—it was not without its detriments. Notably, Prince Nikolaus I preferred to spend the majority of his time at the rural estate of Esterháza, meaning his employees, including Haydn and his fellow musicians, were forced to spend extended periods away from their friends and families in the city. Haydn wrote Symphony No. 45 (1772) in protest of a particularly protracted stay in the countryside. In the final movement of the symphony, the musicians stopped playing one by one, instructed by Haydn to snuff out their candles and leave the stage. By the end of the performance, only two violins remained. Prince Nikolaus I evidently received the message; the day after the performance, the court and all of the musicians returned to the city. Appropriately, the work is now commonly referred to as “The Farewell Symphony.” Despite being one of the most successful Russian composers of the Cold-War era, Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) had a contentious relationship with the Soviet government. Shostakovich was officially censured
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PROGRAM NOTES (cont ’d)
multiple times throughout his career, accused of writing complicated, cosmopolitan music—i.e. modern music in line with Western Europe—rather than compositions that would appeal to the Russian proletariat. One such censure happened shortly after the composition of his third String Quartet, written in 1946. Some music historians have suggested that the programmatic titles Shostakovich originally gave each of the quartet’s five movements—titles that reflect on the recently ended World War II—were removed by the composer to escape further condemnation from the government. Following Shostakovich’s death, Russian conductor Rudolf Barshai helped popularize his work through numerous recordings and arrangements, including Chamber Symphony Op. 73a (1990), an orchestral arrangement of the third string quartet.
Notes courtesy of Dr. Annalise Smith
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UPCOMING CONCERTS
FEB. 6
MAR. 1
MAR. 20
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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