{"id":121254,"date":"2026-01-28T12:40:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:40:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=121254"},"modified":"2026-01-28T13:00:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T18:00:01","slug":"interview-music-director-martin-macdonald-violinist-stephen-sitarski-talk-cathedral-bluffs-romeo-juliet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/01\/28\/interview-music-director-martin-macdonald-violinist-stephen-sitarski-talk-cathedral-bluffs-romeo-juliet\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Music Director Martin MacDonald & Violinist Stephen Sitarski Talk About Cathedral Bluffs & Romeo And Juliet"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Violinist
Violinist Stephen Sitarski (Photo: Bo Huang)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra will present a concert titled Romeo and Juliet on February 7. As the title suggests, selections from Prokofiev\u2019s Romeo and Juliet ballet will anchor the program, which just happens to fall near Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

But, music by Canadian composer Violet Archer and Barber\u2019s Violin Concerto add to the lineup. LV spoke to CBSO Music Director Martin MacDonald and violinist Stephen Sitarski about the music.<\/p>\n

Martin MacDonald: The Interview<\/h3>\n

The full program for the February 7 concert includes:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Violet Archer: Poem (1940)<\/li>\n
  • Barber: Violin Concerto<\/li>\n
  • Prokofiev: Selections from Romeo and Juliet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Canadian composer Violetta Teresa Giovanna Balestreri Archer<\/strong> (1913-2000) left an impressive catalogue of more than 330 compositions. She was a musician and teacher as well as a composer, and studied privately with B\u00e9la Bart\u00f3k in New York City. Her Poem for Orchestra was composed in 1940.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s an absolutely beautiful piece of music. We just had our first read through of it last night,\u201d MacDonald says. \u201cThere\u2019s just a lot of emotional clarity to it. There are a lot of these beautiful over arching phrases,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

    Archer\u2019s piece is fairly short, but incorporates a range of emotions. She saves the larger emotional passages for specific parts of the piece. It\u2019s one of the aspects that fits with the rest of the program, as MacDonald notes.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful piece of music with these long gorgeous lines. The first time I heard the piece, I knew I had to find a way to program it,\u201d Martin says.<\/p>\n

    He notes that, over the last few years, he\u2019s tried to incorporate new Canadian music into his programming, but points out that there is a body of music from an older generation of Canadian composers as well.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of this music from the older generation of Canadian composers that deserves more play,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

    It serves a purpose in the program as a whole.<\/p>\n

    \"Martin
    Martin MacDonald, Music Director of the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra (Photo courtesy of CBSO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    \u201cI think that it, especially for this particular program, the Prokofiev has so many really stunning moments, but there are also moments of terror and anguish. I felt that it was a good balance to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Though it consists of just three pieces, the program as a whole presents a nice challenge both for MacDonald and the musicians of CBSO. \u201cIt\u2019s proven to be quite a beast of a program.\u201d<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s designed to be an antidote to the excesses of the holiday season, and that post-holiday crash. Prokofiev requires a big orchestra with a beefed up woodwind section, including saxophone.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe really wanted to make it a big experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Prokofiev\u2019s Romeo and Juliet is the cornerstone of the program, and that\u2019s where he began.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI really wanted to do this,\u201d he says. MacDonald points out that, for orchestral performances, most conductors take material from the three orchestral suites that Prokofiev himself created from his ballet. But, those pieces don\u2019t present the material in the chronological order of the ballet.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI picked and chose movements from each of the suites, and then I rearranged them into the chronological order of the ballet.\u201d That means switching back and forth between all three of Prokofiev\u2019s orchestral suites. \u201cSo that it follows the narrative of the ballet,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

    He\u2019s pared about 100 minutes of music from all three suites down to roughly 47, a process that involved a lot of research. \u201cA ten-movement suite that we\u2019ve created, a custom suite we\u2019ll call it.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Martin looked to balance the emotional arc of the story. \u201cIt starts quite dramatic, with the Montagues and the Capulets,\u201d he notes. \u201cBut it ends with the aching sadness of Juliet\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\n

    It was a time consuming project that involved creating custom booklets for each of the musicians. \u201cOur librarian did an incredible amount of work on this as well,\u201d he says. The effort was worth it. \u201cPeople are really excited to play it. It\u2019s incredibly challenging music to play technically, but it\u2019s also challenging emotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

    For a community orchestra, it represents a worthwhile task. \u201cThe results so far are already really positive and satisfying.\u201d As a community orchestra, he was happy to reach out to their auxiliary players \u2014 the third flutes and clarinets, along with extra string players.<\/p>\n

    \u201cA lot of friends are back in the orchestra,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

    Including the Barber Violin Concerto is an idea that came from the soloist, Stephen Sitarski. \u201cI didn\u2019t really know it much,\u201d he says. It came up in discussions with Sitarski. \u201cWe had gone through a few options.\u201d<\/p>\n

    MacDonald became enthusiastic with the Barber Concerto when he listened to it, in particular, the way the composer juxtaposes the gorgeous lyrical moments with big emotions.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI first worked with Steve maybe 12 years ago,\u201d MacDonald recalls. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with him as a concertmaster. He\u2019s got a level of playing that\u2019s just unbelievable,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

    \u201cHe\u2019s the type of player where you feel his confidence and his command reflects into you, and you can reflect it back,\u201d Martin says. \u201cI was really happy that he wanted to be part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Stephen Sitarski: The Interview<\/h3>\n

    Stephen Sitarski is a versatile violinist with an impressive resume. He serves as the concertmaster of both The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and Toronto\u2019s Esprit Orchestra. Sitarski has also taken on the role of guest concertmaster with the Brott Festival on a few occasions, and with a number of other orchestras. In addition, he has performed widely across Canada as a soloist and chamber musician.<\/p>\n

    He has a longstanding association with Martin MacDonald.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s very simple,\u201d he says. \u201cMarty has conducted a couple of orchestras that I worked with in the past. We got to know each other,\u201d Sitarski explains. \u201cLast year, out of nowhere, he asked if I would be interested in working with his orchestra. Typically it\u2019s not unusual, especially with smaller orchestras, that the conductor makes contact with guest artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

    It presented an opportunity to play a work that he could choose \u201cSometimes, an orchestra will come up with a program.\u201d With the program set, it\u2019s simply a matter of finding someone who can perform the work. With CBSO, it came out of discussions. \u201cI probably gave Martin at least three or four choices. I didn\u2019t know at the time exactly what other pieces he had in mind for that concert. I left it with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

    MacDonald chose the Barber Concerto out of the options Sitarski mentioned. The sound fits with the rest of the program, as he discovered.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt sounds like it\u2019s loosely based on Valentine\u2019s Day,\u201d Sitarski says. \u201cThe Barber is very lyrical, it has an absolutely gorgeous, gorgeous melody. But certainly, it\u2019s a very sweet melodic piece, and it\u2019s not too long.\u201d He points out that, at less than 25 minutes, it\u2019s the right length to come after the epic Prokofiev.<\/p>\n