{"id":118176,"date":"2025-10-07T11:42:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T15:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=118176"},"modified":"2025-10-07T11:43:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T15:43:54","slug":"preview-orchestra-toronto-opens-2025-26-season-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/10\/07\/preview-orchestra-toronto-opens-2025-26-season-light\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Orchestra Toronto Opens The 2025\/26 Season With Into The Light"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_118178\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-118178\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-118178\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-18.jpg\" alt=\"L: Conductor Michael Newnham and the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra (Photo courtesy of EPO); violinist Corey Gemmell (Photo courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-18.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-18-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-18-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-18-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-118178\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">L: Conductor Michael Newnham and Orchestra Toronto (Photo courtesy of OT); violinist Corey Gemmell (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Into The Light is the title of the season opening concert for Orchestra Toronto, featuring a program that will take the audience on a musical journey from darkness to light. The October 18 concert includes music by Christine Donkin, Richard Strauss, Beethoven, and Profofiev\u2019s Violin Concerto No. 1, with soloist Corey Gemmell on violin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis performance will take our audience on a journey from struggle to transcendence,\u201d said<strong> Michael Newnham<\/strong>, Music Director of Orchestra Toronto.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are thrilled to have Corey Gemmell, our concertmaster, perform Profokiev\u2019s Violin Concerto No. 1, a truly lyrical and unexpectedly delicate piece of early 20th-century modernism, which contrasts the darker themes in the selections by Beethoven and R. Strauss. This will be a transformative concert!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Orchestra\u2019s full program is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Donkin: Three Autumn Scenes<\/li>\n<li>Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1<\/li>\n<li>Beethoven: Leonore Overture No 3<\/li>\n<li>R. Strauss: Tod und Verkl\u00e4rung<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Corey Lyle Gemmell, violin<\/h3>\n<p>Corey Lyle Gemmell is a native of Hamilton, where he began his musical journey studying violin privately, and performing in the Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (HPYO), where he played concertmaster. He later continued his studies at the University of Toronto.<\/p>\n<p>Gemmell has built a career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. He\u2019s performed throughout North America, Germany, and in China. He currently serves as concertmaster for the Burlington Symphony Orchestra, Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Toronto, and the Scarborough Philharmonic.<\/p>\n<p>Corey has also performed with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Brott Music Festival\/ National Academy Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, the Elora Festival Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Orchestra, the Ontario Philharmonic, and the Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also been concertmaster for musical theatre productions, including Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, the Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, among others.<\/p>\n<p>A dedicated educator, Corey is currently a member of faculty at Western University, the National Music Camp of Canada and the Royal College of Examiners.<\/p>\n<p>He is also a recording artist. In 2022, he recorded works by Canadian composers Ronald Royer, Daniel Mehdizadeh, Brandon Walker, and Elizabeth Raum both as a soloist and chamber musician, with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra titled Canadian Exhibition on the Akashic label.<\/p>\n<p>Gemmell plays on a violin made in Milan in 1907 by Cipriano Briani, as well as a modern violin crafted for him in 2005 by Toronto luthier, Hratch Armenious.<\/p>\n<h3>Orchestra Toronto 2025-2026: A Season of Transformation<\/h3>\n<p>The full season features six concerts, with three evening and three afternoon performances; more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.orchestratoronto.ca\/season-2025-2026-concerts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">information here<\/a>. After October 18\u2019s Into the Light, the lineup includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. \u2014 Seasonal Celebration with the Sultans of String<\/li>\n<li>Saturday, January 24, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. \u2014 Darth Vader Meets the Godfather: Music from the Film Scores<\/li>\n<li>Sunday, March 1, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. \u2014 Exploration of the Soul: Tchaikovsky &amp; Adler<\/li>\n<li>Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. \u2014 Pardon Our French: Ravel &amp; Gershwin<\/li>\n<li>Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. \u2014 Resurrection: Mahler 2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Find more details about the Into the Light concert on Saturday, October, 18 (8:00 p.m.) in the George Weston Recital Hall at the Meridian Arts Centre, with a pre-concert chat with Music Director, Michael Newnham that begins at 6:45 p.m., [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.orchestratoronto.ca\/concert-into-the-light-prokofiev-beethoven-strauss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/p>\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>? 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