{"id":110088,"date":"2024-12-06T15:27:53","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T20:27:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=110088"},"modified":"2024-12-09T07:00:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T12:00:03","slug":"preview-cathedral-bluffs-symphony-orchestras-classical-christmas-showcases-young-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/12\/06\/preview-cathedral-bluffs-symphony-orchestras-classical-christmas-showcases-young-talent\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra\u2019s Classical Christmas Showcases Young Talent"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra, April 2024 (Photo: Allan Cabral)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra and the North York Music Festival come together in CBSO\u2019s next concert, Classical Christmas, on December 14. Along with holiday music, the concert will showcase the winners of the NYMF on the piano, flute and violin.<\/p>\n

Music competitions typically only make headlines when they involve international organizations, and no small amount of prestige. But, they can be a crucial development for young musicians at the grass roots level too.<\/p>\n

We spoke to Ella Porett, Artistic Director & Founder of the North York Music Festival, and Cathedral Bluffs conductor Martin MacDonald about the competition and the young musicians who\u2019ll be performing alongside the orchestra.<\/p>\n

\"L:
L: North York Music Festival Artistic Director Ella Porett; R: Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra conductor Martin MacDonald (Photo courtesy of CSBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CSBO & NYMF<\/h3>\n

Part of the Ontario Music Festivals Association, and like most such organizations, NYMF offers competition for music students at all levels, from the six and under, level 1 category to best performers overall up to age 17. It\u2019s an important step for music students in many ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s tremendously important for everybody involved,\u201d says Ella. She founded NYMF, and has been leading the organization for 16 years now. Porett was working as a teacher, and also served as an examiner for the Royal Conservatory and other music festivals. \u201cI came at it from every side,\u201d she says. \u201cOf course, I’m a Mom, so my child had to participate,\u201d she laughs. It was through their experiences that she saw a gap to be filled. \u201cI kind of saw all the things we were lacking.\u201d That included performance opportunities.<\/p>\n

She says the participants range in age from four to 83. Offering categories at all levels, including adult beginners, is important. \u201cThey don’t want to compete against six year olds,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Competition may seem to introduce unnecessary tension into a young musician\u2019s progress, but the atmosphere makes all the difference. \u201cIt has to be very friendly,\u201d Ella says. \u201cThey should feel inspired.\u201d<\/p>\n

It comes down to choosing the best adjudicators, those who will encourage even as they offer a critique.<\/p>\n

Naturally, it\u2019s the highest level candidates who enter the concerto competition \u2014 those who\u2019ll end up performing with the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra on stage.<\/p>\n

As Ella points out, the competition opens up a world of possibility. \u201cIt’s incredibly difficult to find an opportunity to play with an orchestra,\u201d she notes. It tends to open the doors to submissions. \u201cIt’s phenomenal,\u201d she says of the response. Several kids from a single high school enter the competition.<\/p>\n

For the young musicians, it\u2019s a chance to meet their peers, and to feel part of a larger community of music-makers. Constructive and positive feedback can add to their momentum as students. As Ella points out, the competition is important for the parents too as validation of their own contributions to their child\u2019s musical education.<\/p>\n

\u201dIt’s building a community,\u201d she says. Over the years, participation has grown. \u201dIt grew exponentially up till the pandemic,\u201d she reports. Even now, in 2024, some people, she confirms, still prefer to participate online. Full in-person participation levels haven\u2019t yet come back.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s most important is playing music. \u201cHabitually we’ll get almost 3,000 performances during the festival.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin M cDonald was happy to continue Cathedral Bluffs\u2019 longstanding association with the festival. \u201cIt’s a big part of the mandate of the CSBO is to promote young talent,\u201d he says. \u201cIt’s one of the pillars of our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

After taking over as music director of CSBO in 2022, he says Ella was one of the first people to get in touch. \u201cIt was a long association.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the level of talent that surprised him. \u201cI still remember adjudicating for the first time, and being blown away,\u201d he says. As he points out, CSBO is a community orchestra, but one that plays on a high level. \u201cYou also want a young soloist to be comfortable with playing in front of an orchestra,\u201d he says. They get a taste of performing with an entity that feels far bigger than they are on stage.<\/p>\n

Adjudicating the competition can make for some marathon sessions. He says that it was just under 12 straight hours last year. \u201cBut it was worth every minute of it.
\nIt was so hard to choose from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naturally, the majority of the participants are young pianists, including winner 10 year old Alice Wang, who\u2019ll be performing the first movement of Mozart\u2019s Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat major, K. 271.<\/p>\n

Other winners are Karen Kobayashi on the flute, who\u2019ll play the 1st movement of Mozart\u2019s Flute Concert No. 2 in D major, K. 314, and violinist Ophir Strumpf, who\u2019ll perform the 2nd movement of Tchaikovsky\u2019s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe numbers were high, and the talent was high,\u201d MacDonald says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a real springboard for the kids who play at that level,\u201d Ella adds. They\u2019ll get a taste of what it is to be a soloist in an orchestral setting. \u201cThis is career building.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin hadn\u2019t done a lot of adjudicating prior to his experience with NYMF. He mentions how it can help develop the aspirations of a young musician, and help them decide on what path they\u2019d like to pursue. Is playing as a soloist for them? Or do they prefer to be part of the orchestra?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we really provide a warm environment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Classical Christmas<\/h3>\n

Along with the concerto showcase for the competition winners, the upcoming concert includes a couple of holiday classics that aren\u2019t often found on local programs. That includes Coleridge-Taylor\u2019s Christmas Overture, and selections from Rimsky-Korsakov\u2019s The Snow Maiden, along with excerpts from Tchaikovsky\u2019s Nutcracker. Prokofiev\u2019s Lieutenant Kije Suite symphonique, op. 60, is also on the program.<\/p>\n

With a base of volunteer players, and paid professional section heads, MacDonald says he recognizes the importance of creating a good experience for the musicians of the orchestra. \u201cThey want to play music with some meat to its bones,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He mentions the lush romanticism of Coleridge-Taylor\u2019s setting of traditional Christmas carols, and the fact they\u2019re performing all of Prokofiev\u2019s Lieutenant Kije Suite, rather than the usual excerpts. \u201cThe dance from The Snow Maiden is a really nice piece; it’s fun \u2014 but it’s also really hard to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about community, and the music too.<\/p>\n