There may still be a chill in the air in Toronto, but the Etobicoke Philharmonic will be celebrating spring with a concert. Ukrainian-Canadian soprano Natalya Gennadi performs as a soloist in the mixed program.
The concert, titled Jubilations of Spring, takes place on Friday, May 9 at Martingrove Collegiate Institute, with a Saturday matinee on May 10 at the brand-new Humber Cultural Hub Recital Hall.
We spoke to EPO Music Director Matthew Jones and bassoonist Dorothy Ward, along with soprano Natalya Gennedi, about the upcoming concert, and the new relationship with Humber Polytechnic.
EPO & Humber Polytechnic
EPO is developing a relationship with Humber Polytechnic, whose Lakeshore Campus is in the midst of a transformation into a centre for arts and culture. While the revitalization project is still underway, EPO’s Saturday afternoon concert will take place in its brand new recital hall.
Eventually, the Humber Cultural Hub will offer film, media and other performances for audiences, as well as becoming a centre for fostering the next generation of talent. The development comes as a refreshing contrast at a time when many other educational institutions are drastically cutting back and even eliminating music and other arts programs.
Humber Polytechnic, already known for its jazz department, is expanding its orchestral music offerings. EPO Music Director Matthew Jones was instrumental in bringing Humber and the orchestra together to discuss EPO becoming the in-house orchestra for a new concert hall (yet to be built), among other details.
“From my side of things, from the orchestra’s side of things, we’re always looking not only to develop our audience but our future players,” he explains.
The proposed relationship would offer students performance and other opportunities while showcasing EPO and its work. “We get to go into their environment,” he says. “I love things that are win-win.”
“We’re very nascent in this relationship,” adds EPO bassoonist Dorothy Ward. The orchestra has already worked with Humber and its students for a few years on specific projects, including for a 2023 performance titled Cultural Cabaret. As she points out, it’s not only about making musical intersections, but about fostering a sense of community. A Venezuelan student created arrangements for the 2023 performance that saw the symphony perform with a rap artist, and others have worked on marketing initiatives for EPO.
“The musical intersections have already started,” Ward says.
Jones says a proposed larger concert hall which would become EPO’s new home will be a multifunctional space, encouraging collaborations with disciplines outside strictly music, including video, multimedia, and theatre.
Jones also sees the discussions with Humber as allowing the orchestra to move forward. He points out that orchestras are, on average, somewhat behind the curve when it comes to using technology.
“The access to the technology that Humber wants, will also move us forward as well.”
He’s been in touch with Humber as the work progresses. “We were very pleased and impressed with what’s going on,” he says of the work so far at Humber. “I think EPO deserves a new place to play,” he adds. “I’m really, really pleased to see this one coming.
Natalya Gennadi
Ukrainian-Canadian soprano Natalya Gennadi earned a Dora Mavor Award nomination for her debut in Tapestry Opera’s Oksana G in 2017.
As the 2024 recipient of the New Voices mentorship program grant with Soundstreams, Natalya produced, performed, and also designed video, sound, and costumes, for a piece titled Grandma’s Shawl, which explored the connections between Ukrainian and Indigenous people in Canada in the early 20th century.
Earlier this year, she sang the role of Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus with the Stratford Orchestra, and in June, she will sing soprano solo in Verdi’s Requiem with the Kindred Spirits Orchestra, Orpheus Choir of Toronto, and Resound Choir.
During her time as the 2023 Civic Engagement Artist in Residence with Pacific Opera Victoria, Natalya produced a number of multimedia digital and live projects, including an autobiographical short film Natalya with a Y, which became a finalist in the Noteworthy Project nomination at the Opera America Digital Excellence Awards 2024.
Her own experiences in the world of opera so far have reinforced the importance of multimedia collaborations, like her Natalya with a Y short film, which used puppetry, AI, CGI, and stop motion animation, among other elements. “I wanted to try many things,” she says of the experience.
The autobiographical film touches on themes of immigration, motherhood, and what success truly looks like. “It’s funny, it’s sad,” she says. In the film, a young immigrant comes to Canada with dreams of becoming a big opera star. “Years later… she’s holding sweaters in a retail shop,” she laughs.
But, it points to the notion that success means being who you are with a sense of authenticity, and to sing for your people.
“I live in Etobicoke, and I sing in this place,” she says.
Repertoire
At Spring Jubilation, Gennadi will be performing Adele’s Laughing Song, and Klänge der Heimat (Sounds of my homeland) from Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, along with ‘We’ll Gather Lilacs in the Spring’ by Welsh composer Ivor Novello, from the musical romance Perchance to Dream and ‘There will be a Storm Tonight’ from Filumena, a Canadian-made opera composed by John Estacio, with a libretto by John Murrell.
Natalya’s looking forward to the concert. “I am in the spring mode,” she says. “I call it a journey,” she says of the repertoire she’ll perform, which ranges from Vienna to Saskatchewan and places in between.
“The centre of gravity for the program is Schumann,” Jones says.
The composer himself dubbed his first symphonic work a “Frühlings Symphonie” (Spring Symphony), and he completed it within a month. It was composed between January and February — anticipating spring, in other words, rather than revelling in it fully. It premiered on March 31, 1841.
“It is a pretty robust piece of music,” Jones adds. “It’s quite joyous.”
The last EPO concert, he points out, featured Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, a piece full of the composer’s fears and bitterness over the Stalin regime.
“We didn’t want to leave them for the summer with Shostakovich 10,” he laughs. Schumann’s No. 1, while essentially a more upbeat piece, also explores spring in all its often messy glory. “It’s complicated music,” Matthew adds.
“This is his first symphony. A lot of first symphonies aren’t as refined as this one out of the gate — I think it’s an amazing premonition of what is to come.”
Composer Alice Ho will be on hand to hear the orchestra perform her piece Jubilations of Spring. The piece is inspired by a Chinese legend, and is scored for strings and percussion.
“I think we’re really lucky that she’s joining us,” Jones says.
- Find more details and tickets for the Mother’s Day adjacent performances on May 9 and 10 [HERE].
Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra: 2025/26
EPO has also just announced their 2025/26 season. Here’s a sneak peek at the programming:
Demons and Angels (October 17, 2025)
Dvorak: Symphony No. 8
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Donnelly: Grave Digger’s Waltz
Our Story (November 21, 2025)
Kulesha: Celebration Overture
Mozart: Symphony No.31 Paris
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture
Winter Sweets (December 12, 2025)
Bach: Concerto for 2 Violins — Soloists Mark Whale, Erick Wawrzkiewicz
Sibelius: Finlandia
Holmès: La nuit et l’amour
Dramatic Metamorphosis (March 27, 2026)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5
Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations — Joel Quarrington, Double Bass
Spring Fling (May 8, 2026)
Beethoven: Pastorale Symphony
Florence Price: Piano Concerto — Luke Welch, Piano
Copland: Appalachian Spring
Also on the calendar: a Black History Month concert titled Hymns To Freedom, orchestrated by Corey Butler, and featuring singer and actress Jackie Richardson.
With the goal of making the music more accessible, particularly to seniors who may have trouble getting out on a Friday night, EPO offers shorter programs on a Saturday afternoon on December 13, 2025, and May 9, 2026. EPO is also a partner organization to Canoo, a non-profit that looks to connect new Canadians with culture in various ways, including free tickets to concerts.
- Watch for more details of the upcoming season after May 10 [HERE].
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