{"id":59455,"date":"2019-03-20T11:16:31","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T15:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=59455"},"modified":"2019-06-17T16:10:44","modified_gmt":"2019-06-17T20:10:44","slug":"profile-mandle-cheung-the-toronto-tech-entrepreneur-who-bought-himself-an-orchestra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2019\/03\/20\/profile-mandle-cheung-the-toronto-tech-entrepreneur-who-bought-himself-an-orchestra\/","title":{"rendered":"PROFILE | Mandle Cheung: The Toronto Tech Entrepreneur Who Bought Himself An Orchestra"},"content":{"rendered":"

A portrait of Mandle Cheung and the 90-member philharmonic orchestra he created to help rekindle his love of classical music.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Mandle
Mandle Cheung leads his Mandle Philharmonic orchestra in performance. (Photo: courtesy of the Mandle Philharmonic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

M<\/span>embers of the orchestra are practicing in a small arts enclave that was once a church in the city\u2019s east end. The sound of the French horns and the swell of the string section fills the space to the rafters. At the helm is amateur conductor Mandle Cheung<\/strong>, whose style is minimalist, his eyes rarely leaving the score.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a familiar scene in the world of classical music, but the dynamic here is decidedly different. During the breaks, he chats with musicians, who offer their takes on the music. Rehearsals \u2014 paid according to union rates \u2014 are held most days of the week. \u201cHe books a lot of rehearsals to learn the score,\u201d notes orchestra manager Sharon Lee. It\u2019s an unusual scenario in a world where, typically, the conductor rules from the top down, and rehearsals are meant to fine-tune rather than learn the score. \u201cHe likes to call it \u2018the democratic orchestra\u2019,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really not conducting,\u201d Mandle confesses, \u201cI\u2019m learning the music.\u201d That includes new repertoire for the piano for an upcoming concert. \u201cI read the Tchaikovsky score and freaked out,\u201d he laughs. As a new conductor, should he begin with simpler music? \u201cI\u2019m too old for that,\u201d he says. Hence, the Mandle Philharmonic<\/strong><\/a>, a retirement dream come true.<\/p>\n

Mandle\u2019s love of classical music comes despite a family who was indifferent to the genre. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he moved to Canada with his family in 1968. \u201cWhen I was 13 years old, I heard Saint-Sa\u00ebns\u2019 Third Violin Concerto,\u201d he explains, \u201cfrom a tiny FM radio. I haven\u2019t listened to anything else since.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mandle
(Photo: courtesy of the Mandle Philharmonic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In high school, he was involved in a harmonica band, and it furthered his love of music. Although practical concerns won out in his major, once he was away from home for the first time in Winnipeg to attend the University of Manitoba, he added a minor in music to his degree in computer science. He had the good luck to take a course in conducting with noted composer, conductor, and violinist Arthur Polson. Mandle was chosen to conduct the graduation concert that year, leading the orchestra in Beethoven\u2019s Third Piano Concerto. Polson went a step further. \u201cHe introduced me to the CBC Radio Orchestra,\u201d Mandle recalls. It led to Mandle\u2019s performing Arthur Benjamin\u2019s Harmonica Concerto<\/em> with the CBC Winnipeg Orchestra under the baton of Eric Wilde.<\/p>\n

It inflamed his love of music, but after his studies were over, the practical necessities of life took precedence. \u201cAfter graduate school, I had to work and make a living,\u201d he says simply. \u201cI had to borrow money to come to university.\u201d It\u2019s a familiar refrain. Mandle went on to found his own tech company<\/a> in 1987, and naturally, his schedule had less and less time for anything but work and family. About his 40s, he stopped any involvement in music due to his burgeoning business concerns, but that wasn\u2019t the end of it. \u201cIn my 50s, I heard Mahler, and I started listening again.\u201d<\/p>\n

By 2016, he decided that he had the time and the means to pick up his old love again. He connected with some of the many classical musicians in Toronto\u2019s Korean community, including orchestra manager Sharon Lee. Sharon is the Concertmaster of Toronto Concert Orchestra’s Casa Loma Series, and violinist with Toy Piano Composers Ensemble and Trio Shastra. If the conductor is a novice, Lee is typical of the calibre of professional players he has hired to flesh out his dream orchestra.<\/p>\n