Last updated: May 1, 2024
A Note from the NAC Orchestra
The NAC Orchestra is grateful to collaborate with arts organizations across the country that are doing brilliant work and playing crucial roles in their communities. This, of course, includes the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, which this past March, on our annual exchange, presented the NAC Orchestra’s joint performance with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at Roy Thomson Hall.
Tonight, we are delighted to welcome this world-renowned orchestra here once more, led by their exceptional Music Director Gustavo Gimeno. Our collaborations over the years extend to co-commissioning new work, including music from Nicole Lizée, Alexina Louie, and John Estacio. In particular, we share an important commitment to nurturing the next generation of Canadian artists, such as composer Alison Yun-Fei Jiang, whose work Illumination is on the program tonight.
We hope you enjoy tonight’s performance. Thank you, as always, for being here, and for supporting the live performing arts.
Nelson McDougall, Managing Director
National Arts Centre Orchestra
Alexander Shelley, Music Director
National Arts Centre Orchestra
A Note from the Beck Family Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is thrilled to be here in Ottawa, and grateful for an opportunity to share musical moments with new audiences. This transcendental program, foregrounding women composers of the past and present, also celebrates Canadian music-making and fosters a sense of pride in the impact this nation’s orchestras have on classical music.
These performances also serve as a showcase for the extraordinary mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, who, beyond having an absolutely stunning voice, feels like a true 21st-century classical singer. She is one of our 2023/24 Spotlight Artists, along with the superb violinist James Ehnes, who appears with us this month in Toronto as well. D’Angelo will be performing works from her 2021 Deutsche Grammophon album enargeia, which features pieces by women composers—from Hildegard von Bingen to Sarah Kirkland Snider and more.
As a part of this special occasion, we’re also presenting a new work that we commissioned from our TSO RBC Affiliate Composer, Alison Yun-Fei Jiang, titled Illumination. The prominence of women creators in this program reflects the actions we’ve taken in recent years to prioritize supporting more women composers through both commissioning and programming.
The most important feature of this orchestral exchange, between Toronto and Ottawa, is the celebration of the exceptional musical talent that this country hosts—from coast to coast, to coast. Thank you for having us.
Mark Williams
Beck Family Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
A message from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, in loving memory of their Conductor Laureate Sir Andrew Davis
For 50 years, our Conductor Laureate Sir Andrew Davis never missed a season without appearing on the podium with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
His consummate musicianship, unwavering devotion to our orchestra, and steadfast love for our city have impacted generations of musicians, audiences, and the broader TSO family and will continue to shape the identity of our community for generations.
As we cherish the memories from half a century of music-making alongside Sir Andrew, we will also remember a man of generous spirit, a husband, a father, and a friend—our thoughts are with his son, Edward Frazier Davis. Our thoughts are also with the throngs of international artists, managers, current and former orchestra members from around the world who have been sending their condolences. In celebration of his long association with our city, a small street near the home where he lived was named Sir Andrew Davis Lane in 2016. We invite you to keep him in your thoughts the next time you walk past this street, or hear the TSO perform at Roy Thomson Hall.
Rest in music, Sir Andrew Davis—and thank you.
Program
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Gustavo Gimeno
Music Director
Emily D’Angelo
Mezzo-soprano
ALISON YUN-FEI JIANG* Illumination (11 min)
VARIOUS, arr. JARKKO RIIHIMÄKI enargeia (26 min)
I. JARKKO RIIHIMÄKI Ouverture
II. HILDEGARD VON BINGEN “O frondens virga I”
III. HILDUR GUÐNADÓTTIR “Fólk fær andlit”
IV. MISSY MAZZOLI “This World Within Me Is Too Small”
V. MISSY MAZZOLI “You Are Dust”
VI. SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER “Dead Friend”
VII. SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER “The Lotus Eaters”
VIII. SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER “Nausicaa”
IX. JARKKO RIIHIMÄKI Transition
X. HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, arr. Sophia Muñoz & Missy Mazzoli “O frondens virga II”
Emily D’Angelo, mezzo-soprano
INTERMISSION
JOHANNES BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 (44 min)
I. Un poco sostenuto – Allegro
II. Andante sostenuto
III. Un poco allegretto e grazioso
IV. Adagio – Più andante – Allegro non troppo ma con brio
*TSO RBC Affiliate Composer. RBC Affiliate Composer is generously supported by RBC Emerging Artists.
enargeia – Libretto
II. “O frondens virga I”
— Hildegard von Bingen
O frondens virga,
in tua nobilitate stans
sicut aurora procedit:
nunc gaude et letare
et nos debiles dignare
a mala consuetudine liberare
atque manum tuam porrige
ad erigendum nos.
II.“O leafy branch”
— Hildegard von Bingen
O leafy branch,
rapt in your nobility
like the dawn coming forth-
now exult and jubilate,
and consent to free us, weak,
from base habitude:
reach out your hand
to raise us up!
III. “Fólk fær andlit”
— Hildur Guðnadóttir
Miskun.
Miskun, miskun, miskun.
Miskun.
Miskun, miskun, miskun.
Fyrirgefið okkur fyrir.
Fyrirgefið okkur fyrír.
Fyrirgefið okkur, fyrirgefið okkur.
Miskun.
Miskun, miskun, miskun.
Fyrirgefið okkur fyrir, fyrir.
Okkur.
Fyrirgefið okkur.
Fyrir.
Miskun.
Miskun, miskun, miskun.
III. “People get faces”
— Hildur Guðnadóttir
Mercy.
Mercy, mercy, mercy.
Mercy.
Mercy, mercy, mercy.
Forgive us for.
Forgive us for.
Forgive us, forgive us.
Mercy.
Mercy, mercy, mercy.
Forgive us for, for.
Us.
Forgive us.
For.
Mercy.
Mercy, mercy, mercy.
IV. “This World Within Me Is Too Small”
— Missy Mazzoli
Death moves his hands
through me again,
a lonely outsider among men.
Death moves his hands
through me again,
a lonely outsider among men.
I’ll keep my silence here.
I’ll leave this place alone.
I’ll give myself to no one at all.
Death moves his hands
through me again,
a lonely outsider among men.
This world within me is too small,
but still inside it something sings.
I’ll keep my silence here.
I’ll leave this place alone.
I’ll keep my silence here.
IV. « Ce monde en moi est trop petit »
—Missy Mazzoli
La mort passe à nouveau ses mains
à travers moi
une étrangère solitaire parmi les hommes.
(La mort passe à nouveau ses mains
à travers moi
une étrangère solitaire parmi les hommes.)
Je garderai mon silence ici.
Je quitterai cet endroit seule.
Je ne me donnerai à personne.
La mort passe à nouveau ses mains
à travers moi
une étrangère solitaire parmi les hommes.
Ce monde en moi est trop petit
mais toujours au-dedans, quelque chose chante.
Je garderai mon silence ici.
Je quitterai cet endroit seule.
Je garderai mon silence ici.
V. “You Are the Dust”
— Missy Mazzoli
You are the dust,
you are the sand,
you are the breathing earth,
you are the breathing earth,
you are the flood,
you are the road,
you are the flood,
you are the dust,
you are the one,
the one most loved
when left behind.
V. « Tu es la poussière »
— Missy Mazzoli
Tu es la poussière
tu es le sable
Tu es la terre qui respire
(tu es la terre qui respire)
Tu es l’inondation
tu es la route
tu es l’inondation
tu es la poussière
tu es celui
celui qui est le plus aimé
quand il est laissé derrière.
VI. “Dead Friend”
— Sarah Kirkland Snider
Dead friend,
turn your back on me,
I beg you,
do not look at me
with those eyes.
Dead friend,
I must leave you here.
I can’t stay,
you can’t follow me
where I go.
Dead friend,
turn your back on me,
let me go.
I’ve forgotten you,
forget me,
I’ve forgotten you,
forget me.
VI. « Ami mort »
— Sarah Kirkland Snider
Ami mort,
tourne-moi le dos,
je t’en supplie,
ne me regarde pas
avec ces yeux-là.
Ami mort,
je dois te laisser ici.
Je ne peux pas rester,
tu ne peux pas me suivre
là où je vais.
Ami mort,
tourne-moi le dos,
laisse-moi partir.
Je t’ai oublié,
oublie-moi.
(Je t’ai oublié,
oublie-moi.)
VII. “The Lotus Eaters”
— Sarah Kirkland Snider
Down the ward,
the men are dreaming,
drooling in their cots.
Pricks of blood in every elbow.
I am no better.
It’s just that I’m awake.
It’s just that I’m awake and walking.
It’s just that I’m awake
and walking, walking.
Hear my footsteps down the hall,
now I’m smelling the night air,
crunching gravel as I walk, walk, walk.
Never, never, never, never will I,
never will I sleep like that again.
Never, never, never, never, never,
never will I sleep like that,
sleep like that.
And I’m lost in this night,
I’m lost in this night,
I’m already lost,
but not as lost as them.
And I’m lost in this night,
I’m lost in this night,
I’m already lost,
but not as lost as them,
my sleeping, drooling, smiling men.
I’m not as lost, I’m not as lost,
I’m not as lost as them.
Never, never, never, never will I,
never will I sleep like that again.
Never, never, never, never, never,
never will I sleep like that,
sleep like that.
And I’m lost in this night,
I’m lost in this night,
I’m already lost,
but not as lost as them.
I’m lost, I’m lost, I’m lost,
my sleeping, drooling,
sleeping, drooling,
sleeping, drooling, smiling men.
I’m not as lost, I’m not as lost,
I’m not as lost as them.
VII. « Mangeurs de lotus »
— Sarah Kirkland Snider
Au fond de la salle,
les hommes rêvent,
ils bavent dans leurs brancards.
Des piqûres de sang sur chaque coude.
Je ne vais guère mieux.
C’est seulement que je suis éveillée.
C’est seulement que je suis éveillée et que je marche.
C’est seulement que je suis éveillée
et que je marche, marche.
J’entends mes pas dans le couloir,
maintenant, je sens l’air de la nuit,
je broie le gravier quand je marche, marche, marche.
Jamais, jamais, jamais, jamais je ne le ferai,
jamais je ne dormirai encore comme ça.
Jamais, jamais, jamais, jamais, jamais
jamais je ne dormirai comme ça,
dormirai comme ça.
Et je suis perdue dans cette nuit,
perdue dans cette nuit,
je suis déjà perdue,
mais pas aussi perdue qu’eux.
Et je suis perdue dans cette nuit,
perdue dans cette nuit,
je suis déjà perdue,
mais pas aussi perdue qu’eux,
mes hommes qui dorment, bavent et sourient.
Je ne suis pas aussi perdue, pas aussi perdue,
je ne suis pas aussi perdue qu’eux.
Jamais, jamais, jamais, jamais je ne le ferai,
jamais je ne dormirai encore comme ça.
Jamais, jamais, jamais, jamais, jamais
jamais je ne dormirai comme ça,
dormirai comme ça.
Et je suis perdue dans cette nuit,
perdue dans cette nuit,
je suis déjà perdue,
mais pas aussi perdue qu’eux.
Je suis perdue, je suis perdue, je suis perdue,
mes hommes qui dorment, bavent,
dorment, bavent,
dorment, bavent, et sourient.
Pas aussi perdue, pas aussi perdue,
pas aussi perdue qu’eux.
VIII. “Nausicaa”
— Sarah Kirkland Snider
Don’t be afraid, stranger.
I’m not afraid,
I’m not afraid of you.
You look so lost, stranger,
but you’re not lost,
cause I’ve just found you.
Just take my hand, stranger,
just take my hand
and I will lead you home.
VIII. « Nausicaa »
— Sarah Kirkland Snider
N’aie pas peur, étranger,
Je n’ai pas peur,
je n’ai pas peur de toi.
Tu as l’air si perdu, étranger,
mais tu n’es pas perdu,
car je viens de te trouver.
Prends ma main, étranger,
prends ma main,
et je te conduirai chez toi.
X. “O frondens virga II”
—Hildegard von Bingen, arr. Sophia Muñoz & Missy Mazzoli
O frondens virga,
in tua nobilitate stans
sicut aurora procedit:
nunc gaude et letare
et nos debiles dignare
a mala consuetudine liberare
atque manum tuam porrige
ad erigendum nos.
X. “O leafy branch”
— Hildegard von Bingen, arr. Sophia Muñoz & Missy Mazzoli
O leafy branch,
rapt in your nobility
like the dawn coming forth-
now exult and jubilate,
and consent to free us, weak,
from base habitude:
reach out your hand
to raise us up!
Repertoire
Illumination
“A shooting star, a clouding of the sight, a lamp,
An illusion, a drop of dew, a bubble,
A lightning flash, a thunder cloud, a dream—
This is the way one should see the conditioned.”
—The Diamond Sutra (translated by Paul Harrison)
Illumination draws inspirations from diverse light forms and natural phenomena depicted in a four-line verse from the Diamond Sutra, an influential text in East Asian philosophy. The sutra, titled with the evocative imagery of the diamond or thunderbolt, an abstract term for formidable power, symbolizes wisdom’s ability to cut through and shatter illusions to reveal ultimate reality.
Rather than directly portraying the imageries, my composition aims to capture the impressions and poetics of the shifting light forms and natural phenomena. Through interweaving rhythmic, melodic, harmonic, timbral, and textural materials, the piece metaphorically embodies philosophies of transformation and impermanence, echoing the transient nature of human existence.
I dedicate Illumination to my parents, Xiao Qiong Lu and Feng Jiang, for their love and support.
Program note by the composer
enargeia
I. JARKKO RIIHIMÄKI Ouverture
II. HILDEGARD VON BINGEN “O frondens virga I”
III. HILDUR GUÐNADÓTTIR “Fólk fær andlit”
IV. MISSY MAZZOLI “This World Within Me Is Too Small”
V. MISSY MAZZOLI “You Are Dust”
VI. SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER “Dead Friend”
VII. SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER “The Lotus Eaters”
VIII. SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER “Nausicaa”
IX. JARKKO RIIHIMÄKI Transition
X. HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, arr. Sophia Muñoz & Missy Mazzoli “O frondens virga II”
Emily D’Angelo’s enargeia draws disparate works together into dialogue, but it is a concept more than a curatorial exercise. Created by D’Angelo for the Deutsche Grammophon album bearing the same name, enargeia sets out to create a layered experience that weaves together the life and outlook of medieval polymath Hildegard von Bingen with evocative works written by women at the leading edge of today’s classical music.
Born in 1098, Hildegard von Bingen was a German abbess with an intense curiosity for the world in which she lived. Composition was just one of her many pursuits, and she certainly cannot have envisioned her work sharing the stage with a 21st-century symphony orchestra. Nonetheless, the freshness of her early explorations in monophonic melody and text-setting, fused with her deep mysticism and religiosity, ensure that her settings of Latin texts remain moving to audiences almost one thousand years later. D’Angelo places Hildegard and her music at the core of enargeia, with Hildegard’s strikingly contemporary sounds opening a kind of temporal gateway between past and present. Peering through this gateway from our modern vantage, we examine intersections between old and new, life and loss, and spiritual hope versus harsh reality.
In translation, Hildegard’s “O frondens virga” implores: “Oh blossoming bough standing in all your nobility just as the morning awakens [...] though we are frail deem us worthy, keep us from falling into habitual wickedness.” Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir makes almost the same plea in “Fólk fær andlit”; reflecting on the deportation of refugees in Iceland in 2015, the lyrics translate as iterations of the simple phrases “mercy” and “forgive us for.” “This World Within Me Is Too Small” and “You are the Dust” are arias from the opera Song from the Uproar by Missy Mazzoli (b. 1980). These two songs draw on the writings of Isabelle Eberhardt, a Victorian-era explorer, journalist, and Sufi who—like Hildegard—refused to suppress her worldly curiosity at a time when it was wildly against societal norms.
Three selections from the song cycle Penelope by Sarah Kirkland Snider (b. 1973) bring the arc of enargeia nearer to its end. “Dead Friend” considers the mourning process from the position of both the grieving and the deceased, while “The Lotus Eaters” depicts a disoriented nighttime fantasy. “Nausicaa” brings enargeia back almost to where it began: just before a redux of Hildegard’s “O frondens virga”, D’Angelo sings, “Just take my hand, Stranger. Just take my hand and I will lead you home.”
Program note by Arlan Vriens
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68
I. Un poco sostenuto – Allegro
II. Andante sostenuto
III. Un poco allegretto e grazioso
IV. Adagio – Più andante – Allegro non troppo ma con brio
Brahms (1833–1897) began sketching his First Symphony in 1855, when he was 22, but did not complete it until 1876, when he was 43—so prestigious and intimidating was the legacy of Beethoven’s nine symphonies. (“You don’t know what it’s like to be dogged by his footsteps,” he remarked.) Brahms’s First earned much acclaim, and, coming late in a century dominated by radicals like Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner, was a coup for those who defended the validity of the old forms. (Hans von Bülow proclaimed it “the Tenth.”) Yet, despite its bows to Classical models (like the four-movement plan), it was a deeply personal work founded on an original kind of symphonic technique: the forging of a dense, unified structure through intensive development of short, germinal melodic and rhythmic motifs. Arnold Schoenberg coined the term “developing variation” for this practice, and insisted that the purportedly “academic” Brahms was in fact the most progressive composer of his day.
The mighty slow introduction establishes the serious, even tragic tone of the first movement, and the subsequent Allegro, with its Beethovenian rhythmic drive, has the character of a dark, anguished scherzo (minor keys are unusually prominent). In the slow movement, which follows like sunshine after a storm, several themes are given out in sequence, so seamlessly that the music unfolds as a single outpouring of melody, growing ever more intense and passionate and finally attaining real pathos. For the third movement, in place of a minuet or scherzo, Brahms wrote one of those gentle, glowing pastorales that would become his trademark, though he retained the conventional three-part (ABA) minuet-and-trio form.
In the slow introduction to the finale, a majestic horn theme (like an Alpine shepherd’s call) and a chorale-like melody in the brass seem to call for resolution, and the Allegro that follows begins with a moving, hymn-like melody (strings) that resembles the “Ode to Joy” of Beethoven’s Ninth. (When someone said so to Brahms, he famously replied that “any jackass” could see that. Indeed, it was a performance of the Ninth that had first got him thinking, at 21, about writing a symphony.) The finale is not without surprises (including the return of the “Alpine” horn theme), or moments of darkness and unease, but they pass. In a faster coda, the main Allegro theme joined by the “chorale” from the introduction, the symphony comes triumphantly to a close.
Program note by Kevin Bazzana
Artists
Gustavo Gimeno’s tenure as the tenth Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra began in 2020–2021.
Since his appointment, he has reinvigorated the artistic profile of the Orchestra, engaged with musicians and audiences alike, and brought performances of familiar works as well as some of today’s freshest sounds. Further, he has overseen renewed community engagement and sown the seeds for an ambitious program of commissioning new works from emerging and established composers.
During the 2023–2024 season, Gimeno and the TSO usher in a bold new beginning for the Orchestra in its 101st year, with major symphonic works—including Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Brahms’s Symphony No. 1, Respighi’s Pines of Rome, and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Pulcinella—presented alongside an unprecedented number of pieces never before performed by the TSO. Gimeno will share the stage with, among other soloists, Daniil Trifonov, James Ehnes, Emily D’Angelo, Frank Peter Zimmermann, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.
February 2024 will see the release of the first commercial recording Gimeno and the TSO made together, in May 2023, memorializing Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie under the Harmonia Mundi label. This builds on Gimeno’s relationship with the label, for which he has recorded Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, and Stravinsky’s ballets The Firebird and Apollon musagète with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.
Gimeno has held the position of Music Director with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg since 2015, and will become Music Director of Teatro Real in Madrid in 2025–2026—he currently serves as their Music Director Designate. As an opera conductor, he has appeared at renowned houses such as the Liceu Opera Barcelona; Opernhaus Zürich; Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia; and Teatro Real, Madrid. He is also much sought-after as a symphonic guest conductor worldwide: in 2023–2024 he returns to orchestras such as London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouworkest, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, NSO Washington, and Dallas and Cincinnati symphony orchestras.
Challenging conventions and pushing boundaries, Emily D’Angelo is a musical force to be reckoned with. With her striking stage presence, vocal authority, and expressive artistry, the singer has taken the opera and concert world by storm in recent years. For Montreal’s French-language newspaper Le Devoir, and for a growing army of fans, she is quite simply “a phenomenon.”
Although she is known for her wide-ranging repertoire and for championing contemporary composers, D’Angelo has a special relationship with the music of Mozart. Her innate feeling for his roles was clear from the moment of her stage debut as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro at the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi in 2016, and has subsequently deepened with strikingly successful debut performances at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Emily D’Angelo was born in Toronto in 1994 to a musical family. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Music at the University of Toronto, after which she joined the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio. In the summers of 2014 and 2015 D’Angelo completed a Fellowship at the Ravinia Steans Institute, where she honed her interpretation of, and dedication to, recital and concert repertoire. She became a member of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artists Development Program in 2017, and made her debut on the Met stage in 2018. That same year, she made her decisive international breakthrough when she became the first contestant to win all four top prizes at the Operalia competition in the event’s 26-year history.
Beyond the opera stage, her credits include engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere of a song cycle by Ana Sokolović and performances of new music by, among others, Unsuk Chin and Matthew Aucoin. D’Angelo signed an exclusive agreement with Deutsche Grammophon in May 2021 and her debut album, enargeia, was released later that year.
For over a century, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has played a fundamental role in shaping and celebrating Canadian culture. Now in our 101st year, the TSO’s commitment to musical excellence and ability to spark connection remain as strong as ever. With a storied history of acclaimed concerts and recordings, Canadian and international tours, and impactful community partnerships, we are dedicated to engaging and enriching local and national communities through vibrant musical experiences. Music Director Gustavo Gimeno brings an expansive artistic vision, intellectual curiosity, and sense of adventure to programming the 93-musician Orchestra that serves Toronto—one of the world’s most diverse cities. As a group of artists, teachers, and advocates who share the belief that music has the power to heal, inspire, and connect people from all walks of life, we engage audiences young and old through an array of education, community-access, and health-and-wellness initiatives. The 2023–2024 season marks the 50th anniversary of the TSO-affiliated Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra—a tuition-free training program dedicated to cultivating the next generation of Canadian artists.
Join us for a concert at Roy Thomson Hall, or experience the TSO in your neighbourhood. Visit TSO.CA or Newsroom.TSO.CA.
Credits
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Gustavo Gimeno, Music Director
Violins
Jonathan Crow (concert master, Tom Beck Concertmaster Chair)
Yolanda Bruno (associate concertmaster)
Clare Semes (associate concertmaster)
Marc-André Savoie (assistant concertmaster)
Etsuko Kimura + (assistant concertmaster)
Eri Kosaka (principal, second violin)
Kun Yan (associate principal, second violin)
Luri Lee (assistant principal, second violin)
Atis Bankas
Christina (Jung Yun) Choi*
Sydney Chun*
Amanda Goodburn
Bridget Hunt
Amalia Joanou-Canzoneri
Ah Young Kim
Shane Kim*
Leslie Dawn Knowles
Douglas Kwon
Paul Meyer
Sergei Nikonov
Semyon Pertsovsky
Peter Seminovs
Mark Skazinetsky
Jennifer Thompson
Angelique Toews
James Wallenberg+
Virginia Chen Wells
Violas
Rémi Pelletier (acting principal)
Theresa Rudolph (acting associate principal)
Ashley Vandiver (acting assistant principal)
Ivan Ivanovich*
Gary Labovitz
Diane Leung
Zeyu Victor Li
Mary Carol Nugent
Christopher Redfield+
Cellos
Joseph Johnson (principal, Principal Cello Chair supported by Dr. Armand Hammer)
Emmanuelle Beaulieu Bergeron (associate principal)
Winona Zelenka (assistant principal)
Alastair Eng*
Igor Gefter
Roberta Janzen
Song Hee Lee
Oleksander Mycyk
Lucia Ticho
Double Basses
Jeffrey Beecher (principal)
Michael Chiarello (associate principal)
Theodore Chan+
Jesse Dale
Timothy Dawson
Christopher Laven
Mark Lillie
David Longenecker*
Flutes
Kelly Zimba Lukić+ (principal, Toronto Symphony Volunteer Committee Principal Flute Chair)
Julie Ranti (associate principal)
Leonie Wall
Camille Watts
Piccolo
Camille Watts
Oboes
Sarah Jeffrey* (principal, Cathy & Liddy Beck Principal Oboe Chair)
Alex Liedtke (associate principal)
Cary Ebli
Hugo Lee*
English Horn
Cary Ebli
Clarinets
Eric Abramovitz (principal, Sheryl L. & David W. Kerr Principal Clarinet Chair)
Miles Haskins (acting associate principal)
Joseph Orlowski+
Bass Clarinet
Miles Haskins
Bassoons
Michael Sweeney (principal, Sheryl L. & David W. Kerr Principal Bassoon Chair)
Samuel Banks
Fraser Jackson
Contrabassoon
Fraser Jackson
Horns
Neil Deland (principal)
Christopher Gongos (associate principal)
Audrey Good
Nicholas Hartman
Gabriel Radford*
Trumpets
Andrew McCandless+ (principal, Toronto Symphony Volunteer Committee Principal Trumpet Chair)
Steven Woomert* (associate principal)
Renata Cardoso
James Gardiner*
Trombones
Gordon Wolfe (principal)
Vanessa Fralick* (associate principal)
Bass Trombone
Jeffrey Hall +
Tuba
Mark Tetreault (principal)
Timpani
David Kent (principal)
Joseph Kelly (assistant principal)
Percussion
Charles Settle (principal)
Nicholas Matthiesen (assistant principal)
Joseph Kelly
Harp
Heidi Elise Bearcroft (principal)
Librarians
Christopher Reiche Boucher (principal)
Andrew Harper (substitute librarian)
Sandra Pearson (substitute librarian)
Personnel Manager
David Kent
+On leave
* Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra alumni
The TSO acknowledges Mary Beck as the Musicians’ Patron in perpetuity for her generous and longstanding support.
Gustavo Gimeno’s appearances are generously supported by Susan Brenninkmeyer in memory of Hans Brenninkmeyer.
Conductor Laureate
Sir Andrew Davis
Conductor Emeritus
Peter Oundjian (generously supported by Robert and Ann Corcoran)
Principal Pops Conductor
Steven Reineke
Barrett Principal Education Conductor & Community Ambassador
Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser
RBC Resident Conductor
Trevor Wilson
Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra Conductor
Simon Rivard (generously supported by the Toronto Symphony Volunteer Committee)
Composer Advisor
Emilie LeBel
RBC Affiliate Composer
Alison Yun-Fei Jiang
- Official Car of the NAC Orchestra
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees