Trust, Transparency and Truth

Orchestras Canada Blog
Both Marion and Gordon agreed that this is long, sustained and slow work. It required a transparency from the orchestra, sharing things that they weren’t used to sharing with outside groups. “We’re still in the truth part of Truth & Reconciliation,” Marion says. This is uncomfortable, but necessary work to do if true consultation and partnership is the genuine goal.

Message in a Bottle

I’ve always thought I would like to stumble across a message in a bottle. Given the fact that I grew up in Manitoba and now live in Saskatchewan, I can concede that my geographical realities have somewhat hindered my chances. Nevertheless, I persevere. The notion of making a tangible connection with some great unknown person […]

RSO 2020-21 includes Jess Moskaluke, Joni Mitchell(‘s songs) and throat-boxing

Ashley Martin, Regina Leader Post
The 2020-21 season has something for everyone — at least, that’s Gerrard’s hope.
“Part of the challenge and what I think is so interesting about the job is we have an orchestra that is designed to serve a very wide range of people, different audiences and different tastes,” said Gerrard.

‘Missing’ opera: RSO seeks to open eyes and hearts in co-production

Ashley Martin, Regina Leader Post
When Gordon Gerrard first heard about Missing, presented in November 2017 in Vancouver and Victoria, he immediately wanted to bring it to Regina.

“I felt strongly that it was a story that, well, frankly everybody in Canada needs to see and hear. And I thought we would do our best to try and make it happen in Regina,” said Gerrard, music director of the Regina Symphony Orchestra.

Life of Pi an adventurous start to Regina Symphony season

Ashley Martin, Regina Leader Post
“I’m super excited about it because I’ve never really worked with these instruments before, so at this point in my career, that’s not that often that that happens,” said Gerrard.

“So this is kind of a new adventure and the fact that there are four (guest artists) also, it just changes the dynamic.”

Horoscopes by Holst

Well, friends, it seems the stars have finally aligned for me. A quick Google search of my horoscope has turned up this bit of excellent and overdue news: “This week, everything seems to be going your way, and shady issues that troubled you in the past will finally clear up.” That’s a relief. I’m a […]

Wagner’s underwear

I sometimes wonder how classical music got stuck being so darn serious. An evening at the symphony or the opera still carries with it the unfortunate baggage of a sometimes bewildering set of audience expectations. Most notably, the question of when—and when not—to clap is still hotly contested, even though there seems to be evidence […]

Storming the Castle (Gently)

Some of us lean more naturally toward rebel than others. You don’t have to think too hard for a few of history’s greats to spring to mind, like Che Guevara, Mahatma Ghandi or Rosa Parks. Of course, artists and musicians seem to be predisposed to be hell raisers. Jim Morrison had his run-ins with the […]

Beethoven’s cows

Inspiration comes from the darnedest places. In the world of symphonies and classical music, it may often be perceived that our time-honoured musical masterpieces are the result of divinely gifted minds treating on suitably lofty themes. Epic characters like Napoleon Bonaparte and Cleopatra have been successful source material, as have been majestic sights such as […]

Steven Page to join Regina Symphony in Forward Currents festival

Ashley Martin, Regina Leader Post
“It just seemed like overwhelmingly (mental health) was on people’s minds and it seemed like now was the time to try and tackle what we can do to help bring this conversation forward,” said Gordon Gerrard, the RSO’s music director.

“One of the aims of Forward Currents is not to provide any sort of answers or ‘this is what we need to do or what we have to do,’ but really it’s to inspire conversation and to keep conversations moving forward.”