Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian
orchestra
based in Toronto
, Ontario
.
in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO continued to give regular concerts at Massey Hall from 1923 to 1982. Currently, TSO performances are held in Roy Thomson Hall
.
Andrew Davis
was the TSO's music director from 1975 to 1988, and is currently the orchestra's conductor laureate. The current TSO music director is Peter Oundjian
, who was appointed to the post in January 2003 and formally became music director with the 2004-2005 season. In February 2007, Oundjian extended his contract with the TSO to 2012.
The orchestra had financial and audience size problems before the appointment of Oundjian as its music director. In 1992, TSO musicians had accepted a 16% pay cut because of a threat of bankruptcy to the orchestra, with a promise from management to make up the loss in subsequent contract negotiations. By 1999, this pay restoration did not happen, which led to an 11-week musicians' strike that autumn. Relations between the musicians and management had deteriorated to the point where music director Jukka-Pekka Saraste
had offered to serve as mediator in the situation. In addition, there was a lack of public sympathy to the orchestra musicians' situation.
By 2001, the orchestra had debt of $7 million (Canadian), and both its executive director, Ed Smith, and Saraste had left the ensemble. Subscribers numbered around 20,000 as of the 2000-2001 season, and audience average capacity was 56% in 2001. By the 2006-2007 season, the subscriber base had increased to about 25,000, and the audience average capacity also increased to 84%. In November 2008, the orchestra reported its third consecutive year of budget surpluses, with average audience attendance of 88% (excluding concerts for schoolchildren), although the orchestra still retains overall debt of $8.9 million (Canadian).
Concerts of the orchestra are broadcast over CBC Radio 2. The 2005 documentary film Five Days in September: The Rebirth of an Orchestra (Canada, 2005) recorded the first days of the TSO's inaugural season with Oundjian as its new music director.
The TSO is governed by a board of 25 directors, led by Ana Lopes
, Robert W. Corcoran, and Allan S. Kimberley.
and surrounding area. Selected musicians from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra are "adopted" by schools. Each musician collaborates with a Grade 4 or 5 class for one day a week for six weeks to teach the elements of music and aid in the creation of a new piece of music. At the end of the programme, each class presents their composition to other programme participants, as well as family and friends at a Showcase Event. Students also have the opportunity to attend a TSO rehearsal and an evening, weekend or student concert.
and may feature guest artists.
vacated by Jacques Israelievitch in 2008 was filled in 2011 by Canadian violinist Jonathan Crow.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
based in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
History
The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey HallMassey Hall
Massey Hall is a venerable performing arts theatre in the Garden District of downtown Toronto. The theatre originally was designed to seat 3,500 patrons but, after extensive renovations in the 1940s, now seats up to 2,765....
in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO continued to give regular concerts at Massey Hall from 1923 to 1982. Currently, TSO performances are held in Roy Thomson Hall
Roy Thomson Hall
Roy Thomson Hall is a concert hall located at 60 Simcoe Street in Toronto, Ontario. It is the home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Opened in 1982, its circular architectural design exhibits a sloping and curvilinear glass exterior. It was designed by Canadian...
.
Andrew Davis
Andrew Davis (conductor)
Sir Andrew Frank Davis CBE is a British conductor.Born in Ashridge, Hertfordshire to Robert J. Davis and his wife Florence J. née Badminton, Davis grew up in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, and in Watford. Davis attended Watford Boys' Grammar School, where he studied classics in his sixth form years...
was the TSO's music director from 1975 to 1988, and is currently the orchestra's conductor laureate. The current TSO music director is Peter Oundjian
Peter Oundjian
Peter Oundjian is a violinist and conductor, the youngest of five children from an Armenian father and English mother. He also claims Scottish ancestry through his maternal grandfather, a Sanderson, and the MacDonell of Glengarry clan.Oundjian was educated in England, where he began studying the...
, who was appointed to the post in January 2003 and formally became music director with the 2004-2005 season. In February 2007, Oundjian extended his contract with the TSO to 2012.
The orchestra had financial and audience size problems before the appointment of Oundjian as its music director. In 1992, TSO musicians had accepted a 16% pay cut because of a threat of bankruptcy to the orchestra, with a promise from management to make up the loss in subsequent contract negotiations. By 1999, this pay restoration did not happen, which led to an 11-week musicians' strike that autumn. Relations between the musicians and management had deteriorated to the point where music director Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Jukka-Pekka Saraste is a Finnish conductor and violinist.Saraste was trained as a violinist. He later studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula, in the same class as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Osmo Vänskä...
had offered to serve as mediator in the situation. In addition, there was a lack of public sympathy to the orchestra musicians' situation.
By 2001, the orchestra had debt of $7 million (Canadian), and both its executive director, Ed Smith, and Saraste had left the ensemble. Subscribers numbered around 20,000 as of the 2000-2001 season, and audience average capacity was 56% in 2001. By the 2006-2007 season, the subscriber base had increased to about 25,000, and the audience average capacity also increased to 84%. In November 2008, the orchestra reported its third consecutive year of budget surpluses, with average audience attendance of 88% (excluding concerts for schoolchildren), although the orchestra still retains overall debt of $8.9 million (Canadian).
Concerts of the orchestra are broadcast over CBC Radio 2. The 2005 documentary film Five Days in September: The Rebirth of an Orchestra (Canada, 2005) recorded the first days of the TSO's inaugural season with Oundjian as its new music director.
The TSO is governed by a board of 25 directors, led by Ana Lopes
Ana Lopes
Ana Lopes is a Canadian Philanthropist and business executive. She is the Chair of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Vice-chair of the CAMH Foundation. In 1995, Lopes founded Saralex Communications, a promotion, marketing, and event management firm...
, Robert W. Corcoran, and Allan S. Kimberley.
TSoundcheck
TSoundcheck is designed to connect young people to classical music. Based on reduced fares on selected concerts and seating ($14 flat rate), it targets 15 to 35 year olds. It does not require the buyer to be a student with only the age range as the governing factor. Tickets become available about a week before a performance and the amount of availability is dependant on ticket sales and the symphony's discretion.Adopt-a-player
The Adopt-a-player program is aimed at elementary schools in the GTAGTA
- Events :*Golden Tap Awards, an annual beer awards event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada*Golden Ticket Awards, the most prestigious awards in the amusement industry- Media :*Grand Theft Auto , a 1977 film directed by Ron Howard...
and surrounding area. Selected musicians from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra are "adopted" by schools. Each musician collaborates with a Grade 4 or 5 class for one day a week for six weeks to teach the elements of music and aid in the creation of a new piece of music. At the end of the programme, each class presents their composition to other programme participants, as well as family and friends at a Showcase Event. Students also have the opportunity to attend a TSO rehearsal and an evening, weekend or student concert.
Masterclasses
Members of the symphony are available to lead masterclasses for high school bands and orchestras. The members collaborate with existing music programs, focusing on specific needs such as solo and orchestral performance, technique or work on specific repertoire.Young People's Concert
In an effort to bring classical music to children between the ages of 5 and 12, the TSO organize a series of five one-hour concerts on Saturday afternoons. Concerts are held at the Roy Thomson HallRoy Thomson Hall
Roy Thomson Hall is a concert hall located at 60 Simcoe Street in Toronto, Ontario. It is the home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Opened in 1982, its circular architectural design exhibits a sloping and curvilinear glass exterior. It was designed by Canadian...
and may feature guest artists.
Music directors
- Luigi von KunitsLuigi von KunitsLuigi von Kunits was an Austrian conductor, composer, violinist, and pedagogue. He was the founding conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1922....
(1922–1931) - Sir Ernest MacMillanErnest MacMillanSir Ernest Alexander Campbell MacMillan, CC was an internationally renowned Canadian orchestral conductor and composer, and Canada's only "Musical Knight". He is widely regarded as being Canada's pre-eminent musician, from the 1920s through the 1950s...
(1931–1956) - Walter SusskindWalter SusskindJan Walter Susskind was a Czech-born British conductor.-Biography:Susskind was born in Prague, Austria–Hungary, now the Czech Republic. His father was a Viennese music critic and his Czech mother was a piano teacher. At the State Conservatorium he studied under composer Josef Suk, the son-in-law...
(1956–1965) - Seiji OzawaSeiji Ozawais a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
(1965–1969) - Karel AnčerlKarel AncerlKarel Ančerl , was a Czech conductor, known for his performances of contemporary music and for his interpretations of music by Czech composers...
(1969–1973)
- Victor FeldbrillVictor FeldbrillVictor Feldbrill, OC, O.Ont, FRHCM, is a Canadian conductor and violinist.He attended Harbord Collegiate Institute at an early age....
(1973–1978) - Sir Andrew DavisAndrew Davis (conductor)Sir Andrew Frank Davis CBE is a British conductor.Born in Ashridge, Hertfordshire to Robert J. Davis and his wife Florence J. née Badminton, Davis grew up in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, and in Watford. Davis attended Watford Boys' Grammar School, where he studied classics in his sixth form years...
(1975–1988) - Günther HerbigGünther HerbigGünther Herbig is a German conductor.Born in Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia, Herbig studied conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy in Weimar in 1951 with Hermann Abendroth. He later was a student of Hermann Scherchen, Arvid Jansons, and Herbert von Karajan...
(1988–1994) - Jukka-Pekka SarasteJukka-Pekka SarasteJukka-Pekka Saraste is a Finnish conductor and violinist.Saraste was trained as a violinist. He later studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula, in the same class as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Osmo Vänskä...
(1994–2001) - Peter OundjianPeter OundjianPeter Oundjian is a violinist and conductor, the youngest of five children from an Armenian father and English mother. He also claims Scottish ancestry through his maternal grandfather, a Sanderson, and the MacDonell of Glengarry clan.Oundjian was educated in England, where he began studying the...
(2004–present)
Concertmasters
The post of concertmasterConcertmaster
The concertmaster/mistress is the spalla or leader, of the first violin section of an orchestra. In the UK, the term commonly used is leader...
vacated by Jacques Israelievitch in 2008 was filled in 2011 by Canadian violinist Jonathan Crow.
- Moses Garten (1922–1926)
- Grant Milligan (1926–1927)
- Donald HeinsDonald HeinsDonald Heins was a Canadian violinist, violist, conductor, organist, composer, and music educator of English birth. He notably founded the first professional orchestra in Ottawa, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra , in 1902, serving as its director until 1927...
(1927–1931) - Elie Spivak (1931–48)
- Hyman Goodman (1948–1967)
- Gerard Kantarjian (1967–1970)
- Albert PratzAlbert PratzAlbert Pratz was a Canadian violinist, conductor, composer, and music educator. He was awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal in 1967. His compositional output was modest and consists of only instrumental works...
(1970–1979) - Moshe Murvitz (1979–1982)
- Steven StarykSteven StarykSteven Sam Staryk, OC is a Canadian violin virtuoso.Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada of Ukrainian descent, he began his musical education as a child at the Harbord Collegiate Institute...
(1982–1988) - Jacques IsraelievitchJacques IsraelievitchJacques Israelievitch is a French violinist, and one of Canada's foremost chamber musicians.At 11 years old he was the youngest graduate in the history of the Le Mans Conservatory. He went on to study at the Conservatoire de Paris with Henryk Szeryng and René Benedetti, receiving three first...
(1988–2008) - Jonathan Crow (2011-)