The City of Mississauga turns 50 this year, and to celebrate the half-century milestone, Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish and the MSO will present The Heroic Symphony — a Mayor’s Gala Concert on October 19.
After the concert Maestro Mastromonaco joins the Mayor, members of Council, and special guests for a VIP reception.
“I am a big believer that providing access to arts and culture in large cities such as Mississauga helps to foster a spirit of inclusivity and enjoyment in the neighbourhoods that we choose to live, shop and enjoy,” said Mayor Carolyn Parrish in a statement. “That’s why I couldn’t be more thrilled to host this memorable gala concert dedicated to our City’s golden, 50th anniversary.”
Mississauga, a Brief History
Even in a nation as new as Canada, Mississauga’s history as a city is relatively recent.
The Mississaugas of the Credit inhabited the area from the late 17th century. The Mississaugas are an Anishinaabe nation who gradually replaced the Haudenosaunee in the region after migrating south from the shores of Lake Huron near Georgian Bay. After their move south, the Mississaugas settled into the area between the Credit River and Burlington Bay.
European settlers didn’t begin arriving in earnest until the early 1800s, after treaties sent the Mississaugas west near Cayuga, where the nation is now settled. The land was surveyed, and divided into townships. Over time, small communities began to develop over the area, including Cooksville, Clarkson, and Dixie, among many others.
The Town of Mississauga was created in 1968, and the City of Mississauga incorporated in 1974, swallowing up the villages of Port Credit and Streetsville, along with portions of the townships of Toronto Gore and Trafalgar, into the new urban region.
Since then, its growth has been exponential.
The Concert
Appropriately, the program for Heroic Symphony will feature works of the Romantic era. That includes Chopin’s first piano concerto, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”.
Along with audience favourites, the concert features Mississauga composer Larysa Kuzmenko’s Metropolis Overture, written to incorporate the spirit of the city as it transformed from a string of rural townships into the busy urban area it is today.
Toronto-based composer, pianist, and Juno nominee Larysa Kuzmenko’s music has been performed widely across Canada, including commissions and performances by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra directed by Peter Oundjian and Jukka-Pekka Saraste, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Rune Bergmann, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra directed by Bramwell Tovey, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra directed by Jeffrey Moule, the Gryphon Trio, and many others.
Pianist Eric Guo will be the guest artist in a performance of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11. Written when the composer was about 20 years old, Chopin himself performed at the premiere in 1830.
It was barely a year ago that Guo, then a student at the Glenn Gould School, won first prize at the International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments. Since then, he’s been on a flurry of concert and recital engagements in Europe and North America.
The MSO
The Mississauga Symphony Orchestra is a hybrid orchestra, meaning its members include a mix of professional and skilled amateur musicians. Maestro Denis Mastromonaco has led the MSO since 2013, incorporating both popular and innovative works in his programming. The Mississauga Symphony Youth Orchestra was included in the MSO’s mandate in 2014, adding a focus of education to performance and audience entertainment.
Find out more about the concert, and the rest of the MSO’s 2023/24 season, [HERE].
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