{"id":112035,"date":"2025-02-21T08:20:52","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T13:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=112035"},"modified":"2025-02-21T14:35:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T19:35:55","slug":"interview-founder-zack-goldstein-talks-new-toronto-symphony-orchestra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/02\/21\/interview-founder-zack-goldstein-talks-new-toronto-symphony-orchestra\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Founder Zack Goldstein Talks About The &#8216;New Toronto Symphony Orchestra&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_112038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-112038\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-112038\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-50.jpg\" alt=\"Image of orchestral musicians (Photo: Alexa\/CCO\/Pixabay)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-50.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-50-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-50-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-50-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-112038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image of orchestral musicians (Photo: Alexa\/CCO\/Pixabay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Orchestral music beyond the usual concert hall experience. That\u2019s the focus of a new ensemble, the New Toronto Symphony Orchestra.<\/p>\n<p>In their first concert listing for a performance that took place February 8, NTSO was careful to note, \u201cThe New Toronto Symphony Orchestra is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. We are an independent organization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their aim is not to compete with the city\u2019s venerable orchestra, but to offer a completely different experience of orchestral music. The ensemble is made up of young musicians with classical training who bring a new perspective to the centuries-old genre, focusing on improvisation and multidisciplinary collaborations.<\/p>\n<p>We spoke to the organization\u2019s founder, Zack Goldstein, about the ensemble and its goals.<\/p>\n<h2>Zack Goldstein &amp; NTSO<\/h2>\n<p>Zack holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Music from Eastman School of Music. He went on to become an instructor in clarinet at the Eastman Community Music School.<\/p>\n<p>NTSO\u2019s inaugural performance was titled Reduce \/ Reuse \/ Recycle, and consisted of free improvisation accompanied by projections by visual artist Adam Kaleta. While the NTSO is a recent phenomenon, it\u2019s been in the works for some time. \u201cI\u2019ve been working on this for a while,\u201d Zack says.<\/p>\n<p>While its composition will be fluid, a list of the members who performed for the first concert reveals a few interesting additions to the usual instrumentation:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Zack Goldstein, clarinet<\/li>\n<li>Arie Verheul Van de Ven, viola<\/li>\n<li>Andrew Park, cello<\/li>\n<li>Connor Crone, double bass<\/li>\n<li>Grace Scheele, harp<\/li>\n<li>Samuel Laramee, guitar and synthesizers<\/li>\n<li>Ben Mike, alternate tuned piano<\/li>\n<li>Crescenzo DiCecco, piano<\/li>\n<li>Jaz Tsui and Louis Pino, percussion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>He reports that their inaugural concert was a success. \u201cIt was fantastic. I honestly could not have imagined a more perfect realization of this concept,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Artist Adam Kaleta worked with a sampling board that had been loaded with set pieces he\u2019d created, but the order and how they were projected was improvised live along with the music.<\/p>\n<p>The 10 person ensemble had never performed together before that night.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI met with everybody one-on-one or one-on-two, but we\u2019d never met together before that night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The event, held at ArraySpace, sold out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBasically we, the music aspect of it, we used orchestral audition excerpts as the inspiration for improvisation,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the group used pieces like the English horn solo from Dvo\u0159\u00e1k 9th Symphony, or the bassoon solo from Paul Dukas\u2019 The Sorcerer\u2019s Apprentice \u2014 iconic pieces used by instrumentalists in auditions as fuel for free improvisation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the first half, I curated six ensembles,\u201d he says. They ranged from the full ensemble to chamber groups within it.<\/p>\n<p>For the second half of the concert, the audience curated the concert. Before the event, raffle tickets were available at the front of the house. Anyone who wanted to participate could enter. When their number was picked, the winner got to choose the ensemble for the next round of improvisation.<\/p>\n<p>It blurred the line between orchestra\/presenters and audience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverybody was in on it. There was no separation.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_112062\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-112062\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-112062\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/NTSO.jpg\" alt=\"L-R: Zack Goldstein (clarinet), Arie Verheul van de ven (viola), Cresenzo DiCecco (piano), Andrew Park (cello), Connor Crone (double bass), Grace Scheele (Harp), Jaz Tsui (Percussion), Ben Mike (alternatively\/just tuned piano), Louis Pino (percussion), Samuel Laramee (guitar\/synth) (Photo courtesy of the artists)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/NTSO.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/NTSO-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/NTSO-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/NTSO-768x430.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-112062\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">L-R: Zack Goldstein (clarinet), Arie Verheul van de ven (viola), Cresenzo DiCecco (piano), Andrew Park (cello), Connor Crone (double bass), Grace Scheele (Harp), Jaz Tsui (Percussion), Ben Mike (alternatively\/just tuned piano), Louis Pino (percussion), Samuel Laramee (guitar\/synth) (Photo courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It also tends to blur the lines between contemporary classical music and contemporary jazz. Some of the musicians involved have a jazz oriented background and experience. After a stellar solo, the audience claps in a typical jazz performance. That&#8217;s the kind of ambience he&#8217;d like to cultivate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can express your feelings, with out being judged.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The concert\u2019s popularity comes as something of surprise to Zack himself, who says his only real promo was an Instagram post about three weeks before the date, with a few other posts leading up to it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe response was really shocking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NTSO grew out of smaller shows he\u2019s put on at clubs like Tranzac, where he says he also had an overwhelmingly positive response. \u201cEvery place I\u2019d go, I had people coming up to me and saying they resonated with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As he points out, many people quit their music practice after school ends because of economic realities and working in other fields. They lose touch with the music industry and classical music scene in particular, and outside that flow, it\u2019s even harder to get re-established. That\u2019s something Zack would also like to change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very clear to me that there\u2019s a space for these musicians who have been forgotten,\u201d he says. Institutions tend to see the potential only in the most exceptional students, and many fall by the wayside in the process. \u201cThey were sold an idea, but ended up excluded.\u201d As he notes, there are hundreds of new grads in the city each year alone, and very, very few existing opportunities for classical musicians.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou kind of get the rug pulled out from you after school,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat do you do with that? The education doesn\u2019t seem to have viable options other than performing in an orchestra or educator.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Limited opportunities doesn\u2019t create for a really vibrant classical music ecosystem. \u201cIt feels super counter-intuitive to art making,\u201d Goldstein says.<\/p>\n<p>Making new opportunities seems like the only way. \u201cI kind of went through the education system. I went far down the education rabbit hole,\u201d Zack says. He recalls spending thousands to practice for and then attend far flung auditions, with no results.<\/p>\n<p>Since returning to Toronto in 2022, he\u2019s seen the city\u2019s scene grow exponentially at venues like ArraySpace. \u201cIt\u2019s such a great space for this kind of post-classical scene,\u201d Zack says. \u201cThere is this really beautiful improvisation space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s part of a changing landscape for classical music, or post-classical music.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI definitely have a lot of hope in how things are going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Goldstein points out, traditional, longstanding organizations are seeing funding cuts, and larger organizations don\u2019t have the space to be able to experiment as much. When it comes to balancing aesthetics and the wishes of key patrons, decisions are made in favour of solvency.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt felt a little bit futile to do something within that space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was connections with the jazz department at the University of Toronto that pointed him in the direction of improvisation, an art that was practiced by Mozart, Beethoven, and other giants of the classical canon. Doing away with strict definitions is part of the process of reinvigorating the essential spirit of Western classical music in today\u2019s world, Zack believes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s too much judgment and definition,\u201d he says. \u201cAt the end of the day, we love music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The cross-pollination of genres leads to discoveries and development as a musician.<\/p>\n<p>Strict traditionalists would like everything to stay the same forever. As Zack points out, the original composers would not have wanted their music to be treated as a museum artifact, never changing.<\/p>\n<h3>What\u2019s Next?<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m looking at it as a series right now,\u201d Goldstein explains.<\/p>\n<p>Each concert will incorporate a new method of sparking musical experimentation. The frequency is yet to be determined, and he\u2019ll eventually open up the process so that interested parties can submit their own ideas for a concert focus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re looking to involve other art forms as well. I\u2019m looking to involve dance in it.\u201d Zack also lists video game artists and actors as possible future collaborators.<\/p>\n<p>The goal is also to build a sense of community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery show is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You can follow <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/newtorontosymphony\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NTSO on Instagram<\/a><\/strong> to stay in touch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"mailto:anya@ludwig-van.com?subject=Let's%20chat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em><u>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em><b>#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid=S3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid%3DS3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1695737525351000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0QTqKRwRJQFGK3KoJYigxX\">HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Orchestral music beyond the usual concert hall experience. That\u2019s the focus of a new ensemble, the New Toronto Symphony Orchestra.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":112038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41660,19,29,32,38,41221,63],"tags":[1610,41770,41771],"yst_prominent_words":[6715,6616,6825],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-50.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-t91","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112035"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112035"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112067,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112035\/revisions\/112067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112035"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=112035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}