Sudbury, ON April 4, 2014: While the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra (SSO) may have been playing the Farewell Symphony last weekend, concert goers were welcomed to a sneak peak of a 2014.2015 season line-up promising to be both true to the classics while exploring new avenues as far away as the final frontier.

 

“This year, more than ever, we’re looking to our community,” Music Director Victor Sawa said. “Our inspiration, musicians and programs are from the community. And there’s nowhere else we’d rather be performing them than for our families and friends. This year is all about our sound and our symphony.”

 

The season kicks off with the Rat Pack descending on the Big Nickel in Swinging Sixties: The Best of the Crooners on October 18, 2014. This jazz-infused concert promises to take audience members back to a different decade, complete with movie, TV themes and the songs that made Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Tony Bennett household names. The crooner this time will be a slightly younger version, Canadian singer Michael Vanhevel, conducted by legendary musician Howard Cable, best known for writing the original Hockey Night in Canada theme.

 

To celebrate the holidays, the SSO presents Classical Cheer on November 29, 2014, featuring the SSO performing the heart-warming story of Brother Heinrich’s Christmas, the tale of a monk searching for inspiration to compose a medieval Christmas carol, all narrated by Theatre Cambrian. The local theatre company will also lend a hand during a reading of the holiday favourite ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

 

For those looking for a family-friendly experience, the SSO presents a fun-filled hour long matinée starting at 2:00pm. Filled with holiday surprises and a carol sing-along; as well as free pre-concert art activities, there will be plenty to educate and entertain children of all ages.

 

Embrace the joie de vivre of France in the SSO’s February 7, 2015 concert, entitled French Romance. The concert features the melodies and dreamy allure of music by Debussy, Délibes and  Stravinsky that makes this concert the perfect  warm-up for Valentine’s Day to spend with that special someone.

 

The SSO season continues with Musical Fireworks on March 7, 2015 with Beethoven’s legendary Symphony No. 5 taking centre stage. Perhaps the most famous piece of classical music in history, it’s a fitting tribute to SSO Concertmaster, Christian Robinson, who commemorates his 10^th year in the role and will feature during a performance of Mozart’s “Turkish” Concerto.

 

Singer-songwriter Jeff Straker joins the SSO fresh from his win at the Vina del Mar International Songwriting Competition in a Prairie Pops Spectacular on April 18, 2015. The singer-songwriter has already sold out shows with the Saskatoon and Regina Symphony Orchestras, performing both his original compositions, as well as favourites from Joni Mitchell, Ian and Sylvia and Connie Kaldor.

 

In its final concert of the 14.15 season on May 9, 2015, the SSO will take audiences on a trip that is “out of this world,” through music inspired by outer space. Travelling through science fiction with music from Star Trek and Star Wars, the Orchestra will also perform selections from Holst’s The Planets, as well as Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra (popularized in 2001: A Space Odyssey).

 

There will be more than regular concerts in the coming season, as the SSO expands on its critically acclaimed collaboration series with other local arts organizations.

 

At 7:00pm on November 8^th, 2014, the SSO’s Film and Music series makes a highly anticipated return after its successful debut in the 13.14 season. This year’s film, Woody Allen’s Oscar-winning romantic comedy Midnight in Paris tells the story of a nostalgic screenwriter on vacation who discovers inspiration by travelling back to the 1920s each day at midnight.  Prior to the screening, the SSO’s String Quartet will perform a short concert that includes music in the spirit of the film. Located at the Collège Boréal Concert Hall, this fundraising event has less than 175 seats available for sale.

 

The SSO’s second special presentation, a co-production of Les Misérables: In Concert with YES Theatre will run from December 17-19, 2014. Using music alone, the two companies will tell the enthralling story of broken dreams, unrequited love, passion, sacrifice, redemption and the human spirit- all set against the backdrop of 19^th century revolutionary France.

 

All concerts for the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra’s 14.15 season begin at 7:30 p.m. at Glad Tidings (1101 Regent Street, Sudbury) unless otherwise noted. Subscriptions start at $60. For more information about the upcoming season or about the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra, contact the box office at (705) 673-1280 or email [email protected]. You can also visit the website at www.sudburysymphony.com.