Shumiatcher Pops Concert Series
8:00 p.m. Saturday, January 17, 2009 (brochure date is incorrect)
Conexus Arts Centre

 As demonstrated in the CBC’s national broadcast of “Tango” on Canada Live, this trio of “one-of-a-kinds” can really pluck your heartstrings and get your heart pumping!  On January 17, the Regina Symphony Orchestra welcomes back the True Jive Pluckers trio, as a part of the 2008-09 Shumiatcher Pops Concert Series.  This concert, with its masterful renditions of Jazz, Classical, Gypsy, Tango, Klezmer and Blues pieces, is a musical smorgasbord of entertainment that will have audiences enthralled.

The True Jive Pluckers barely need an introduction to South Saskatchewan audiences.  They have a fan base that is quickly growing, many of whom are also fans of the Regina Symphony Orchestra.  As it happens two of the trio members are also musicians of the Orchestra; the irrepressible Eduard Minevich (RSO Concertmaster) and the groovy Stephen McLellan (RSO Principal Bass).  The inclusion of guitar great, Jack Semple makes for an unexpected blend of musical genius – the True Jive Pluckers. 

This is the True Jive Pluckers second appearance as guest artists for an RSO Shumiatcher Pops concert, and an opportunity for the group to highlight music from their premiere CD “We are Here” with tunes like: Pennies from Heaven; Jaxx Jazz; Don’t Worry About a Thing; and Papa’s Tango.   The trio will also join the Orchestra for such musical masterpieces as: I Get a Kick Out of You; Moonglow; Georgia; and Fiddler on the Roof.
 
Eduard Minevich, violin, was classically trained at the prestigious St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, but he is not strictly a classical musician. He particularly likes to explore the worlds of Jazz, Gypsy, Klezmer and his favorite, Tango.  Ed’s musical career has taken him around the globe as a soloist and music director.  He and Canadian fiddle champion, Frank Leahy, wrote and arranged the shows Bending the Bows and Road to Carnegie Hall, which they have performed with many North American Orchestras including the RSO.   He enjoys his roles of solo artist, and Concertmaster, and is thrilled to undertake new musical adventures with his soul mates, Jack and Steve.

Jack Semple, has played guitar everywhere from the Vancouver to the Montreaux  Jazz Festivals.  He has worked for CBC radio and TV, won a Juno Award, and shared the stage with a wide range of top artists from Martha Reeves, to k.d. lang and Ronnie Hawkins.  In 1992 he was the national winner of the Much Music “Guitar Wars” competition.  Jack has recorded extensively and recently won a Western Canadian Music Award for his acoustic CD “Qu’Appelle”. Heralded as a blues guitar virtuoso, he is also an acclaimed composer and has many movie scores and television themes to his credit, including the film Guitarman, in which he also played the title role. Regina is where he chooses to make his home and as serendipity would have it, that’s where he met two neat guys named Ed and Steve
 
Stephen McLellan, studied bass with the legendary Thomas Monohan, at the University of Toronto however, his beginnings were as a bass guitarist playing Rock, Rhythm and Blues, and Jazz in a number of Toronto bands.  He has performed in everything from Broadway musicals like Phantom of the Opera, Grease, and with the touring company of Forever Plaid and toured with the National Ballet of Canada and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet for performances all over the continent.  He has played bass guitar for the late, great Chet Atkins and has worked as a studio musician for performers like Anne Murray.  He has recorded widely with the CBC, and recently appeared, playing his bass, in the film Youkali Hotel.   

The True Jive Pluckers premiere CD “We are Here” will be available at the concert.  Following the performance stay and seize the opportunity to meet these engaging musicians and have your CD signed.  Free coffee will be available courtesy of the Regina Symphony Women’s Association. 

Adult tickets for True Jive Pluckers – Jive Alive – start at $28. To purchase tickets visit: reginasymphony.com or call the CBO 525.9999 or 1.800.667.8497.

Schumiatcher Pops Concert Series
Concert Sponsor: BMO-Nesbit Burns
Media Sponsor: Z99

Not eligible for American Idol… Canadian Idol is on hiatus…
SGI Canada RSO Symphony Singing Star is back!

The Regina Symphony Orchestra is looking for its next Symphony Singing Star and it could be you.  If you are over the age of 14, and sing any type of music, you could be on stage with the RSO during its upcoming one hundred and first season.  Country, Pops, Opera, R&B, Jazz, whatever… you could have the RSO as your back-up band!

The SGI Canada RSO Symphony Singing Star is a two-pronged RSO Fundraising Event beginning with the Symphony Singing Star Auditions on Saturday, February 7, 2009 at Centre Court, Cornwall Centre in Regina.  Participants must be solo, amateur, and unsigned singers (of any music genre) prepared to perform a cappella (without accompaniment) so the judges (and audience) can truly appreciate your vocal abilities.  Your performance style and stage presence will also be considered in your final tally.  NOTE to supporters and audience members at the Auditions:  admission is FREE at the Cornwall Centre, so come out and cheer on our Saskatchewan talent.

The top ten audition participants will go on to compete at the *FINALE of the  SGI Canada RSO Symphony Singing Star at the Casino Regina Show Lounge on Thursday, March 12, 2009.  The Grand Prize for the top vocalist at the Finale, is a performance with the RSO during its 2009-2010 Season.  This season’s SGI Canada RSO Symphony Singing Star performed at the Orchestra’s “Home for the Holidays” concert on December 6, 2008.  Second and Third Prize will be announced in the near future.

Curious?  Go to www.reginasymphony.com for further FAQs, Rules & Regulations, and the Entry Form. Don’t delay. The Regina Symphony Orchestra must receive your complete application package, with the $30 registration fee, by 4 p.m. (Central time) Thursday, February 5th.

*FINALE: SGI Canada RSO Symphony Singing Star
If you want a chance to support one of the Symphony Singing Star Finalists, help pick the next RSO Symphony Singing Star, or just come out and enjoy the untapped talent of Saskatchewan’s ‘own’ superstars, then mark your calendars for Thursday, March 12th.  Your evening, at the Casino Regina Show Lounge will include: a dessert buffet, great entertainment and a ballot to vote for your favourite vocalist.   Tickets will soon be available for the SGI Canada RSO Symphony Singing Star Finale.  Tickets will be $20 and $30.   Watch for Finale Tickets to go on sale soon.  For regular updates keep checking www.reginasymphony.com or phone 791.6395, or 791.6394.

Starting with:
Government House Concert Series – January 10 and January 11, 2009
“Romantic Music”
With: Agrium RSO Chamber Players

January 2009 is the month to sample the many music offerings of the Regina Symphony Orchestra.  Following its traditional December hiatus, the RSO is back with a selection of concerts demonstrating the scope of music that the Orchestra presents: a double Government House Chamber Concert (January 10 & 11); a Shumiatcher Pops Concert (January 17); a Concert Special – this time for kids (January 25); and Mosaic Masterworks Concert (January 31).

This weekend “cozy up” to the 12-member Agrium RSO Chamber Players at a concert in the Henry Newlands Ballroom at Government House.  The ballroom of the Regina heritage property has an audience capacity of 120, allowing for total sound emersion along with a close-up view of the musicians at work.  On January 10 (8:00p.m.) and January 11 (3:00p.m.) the Chamber Players will introduce the audience to the lesser-known talents of Early Romantic composer Franz Paul Lachner (1803-1890), and Post Romantic composer Julius Röntgen (1855-1932).  James Fitzpatrick, Principal Clarinet and Assistant Librarian for the RSO, describes both the Serenade for Winds (Röntgen) and Nonet (Lachner) as “effervescent” and “tuneful”; a most desirable combination to get things going after the RSO’s short break. 

Both Franz Paul Lachner and Julius Röntgen were born into musical families.  Separated by a generation their paths crossed when Röntgen became one of Lachner’s piano students.  As well as being an accomplished pianist and a conductor, Lachner was a prolific and acknowledged composer in his day. Beethoven and Lachner’s friend Schubert, were his major musical influences.

Röntgen was a renowned accompanist, most notably for the violinist Carl Flesch and cello player Pablo Casals.  Röntgen’s career as a composer was concentrated toward the end of his life, with his greatest influences provided by the works of Schumann, Liszt and Brahms. 

Tickets for the Government House double concert on either Saturday, January 10 at 8 PM or Sunday, January 11, at 3 PM are available at reginasymphony.com or by phoning 306.791.6395 before 4 p.m. Thursday, January 8th.  If not sold out, concert tickets will also be available at the door.
 
Government House Concert Sponsors:

CBC, Agrium RSO Chamber Players

Check out other RSO concerts during January:

8:00 p.m. January 17, Conexus Arts Centre: Shumiatcher Pops Concert Series, “Jive Alive” – with the True Jive Pluckers trio performing an awe-inspiring evening of Blues, Jazz, Klezmer, and more.  This evening with guitar great, Jack Semple, the irrepressible Ed Minevich on violin, and groovy bass player Stephen McLellan, will heat up your January.  SELL OUT ALERT.

2:00 p.m. January 24, Campbell Collegiate: Special Kids Koncert; a Sunday afternoon, where music and words will come alive through “Peter and the Wolf” and “Babar the Elephant”.  Breathing life into the music and words will be the Regina Symphony Orchestra with Maestro Victor along with story teller, Kelly Handerek.  Space is limited.  Purchase tickets early. 

8:00 p.m. January 31, Conexus Arts Centre: Mosaic Masterworks Concert Series, “Three’s Company”, featuring five compositions by Beethoven (two compositions), Smetana, Enesco and Strauss to keep the evening moving along.  Darren Lowe (violin) and Blair Lofgren (cello), both formerly from Regina, along with Darren’s wife Suzanne Beaubien (piano), are featured as “Trio Frontenac”. 

For further information or tickets for all Regina Symphony Orchestra concerts and events visit: reginasymphony.com or phone the RSO Box Office at 791.6395.

For immediate release: Monday, November 24, 2008

The Regina Symphony Orchestra announced today that Erika Raum, booked to perform the Bartok Violin Concerto No. 2 at the RSO Mosaic Masterworks concert on April 3rd 2009, will be unavailable for the performance.  Ms.  Raum has ‘bowed’ out of the performance as she is expecting her second child to arrive early in April.  Erika Raum was a member of the Regina Symphony Orchestra when she was a teenager, and Maestro Sawa and the entire organization (including her parents Elizabeth Raum, Principal Oboe, and Richard Raum, Principal Trombone) were looking forward to welcoming her back as a soloist during the Orchestra’s Centennial Season.  The Regina Symphony Orchestra extends its best wishes to Ms Raum at this happy and exciting time.

The RSO is also announcing the booking of renowned musician Lara St. John* who will perform the exciting Concerto in Erika’s stead.  Elizabeth Raum’s “Overture to Carmen” and Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 6 will still complete the program.   The Masterworks concert will now be referred to as “Bohemian Dreams”.

*Canadian-born violinist Lara St. John has been described as "something of a phenomenon" by The Strad and a “high-powered soloist” by the New York Times.
The Los Angeles Times has written, “St. John brings to the stage personal charisma, an unflagging musical imagination and genuine passion.”  She is also a respected recording artist; “The Six Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo”, was described as "awe-inducing" by The Toronto Star, and “wild, idiosyncratic, and gripping” by the Los Angeles Times. It was released in the autumn of 2007 where it climbed to No. 2 and was the year’s best selling double album on iTunes. Her third recording, “Bach: the Concerto Album” was released in June of 2005, on iTunes where it immediately became No. 1 in the classical category.
Ms St. John has been featured in People, US News and World Report, on CNN's Showbiz Today, and NPR's All Things Considered, Fox News, CBC and a Bravo! Special: Live At the Rehearsal Hall.

Highlights of the 2008-2009 concert season include performances with Marc André Hamelin, her London debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and her debut at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. She performs on the 1779 “Salabue” Guadagnini thanks to an anonymous donor and Heinl & Company of Toronto. 

Tickets and further information about “Bohemian Dreams” on April 3, 2009 can be found at reginasymphony.com

“Groundbreaking”, “Thrilling”, “Engaging”, “Spectacular” … are just a few of the adjectives,
consistently used to describe Video Games Live.
 
Regina Symphony Orchestra
May 11, 2009 – 8:00pm
Conexus Arts Centre
Regina, Saskatchewan
Tickets go on Sale—Friday, November 28th, 2008
 
Video Games Live is happy to announce over 15 shows in Canada for 2009!

From the first Video Games Live (VGL) concert performed on October 30th, 2005 to the huge turn-out this summer in Toronto's Younge-Dundas Square (with over 10,000 people in attendance) to the recently sold out show in Vancouver, BC with the Vancouver Symphony... Canada has welcomed VGL with open arms.  There have been over 12 shows in Canada since 2005 but in 2009 VGL will set out on a cross-country tour to attempt to bring Video Games Live to as many Canadian cities as possible… AND... Video Games Live is coming to Southern Saskatchewan, presented by the Regina Symphony Orchestra.  Think music concert, theatrical stage show, and interactive video game all wrapped into one!  This extraordinary event is set to hit Regina on May 11th 2009, topping off the Regina Symphony Orchestra’s Centennial Season.

Video Games Live will be a stellar event, including the best video game music performed by the Regina Symphony Orchestra, along with matching video and specially designed laser and light sequences, showcasing over 50 different games in a wide variety of styles.  Games will include: Mario™, Zelda®, Halo®, Metal Gear Solid®, Warcraft®, Myst®, Final Fantasy®, Castlevania®, Medal of Honor™, Sonic™, Tron, Tomb Raider®, Advent Rising, Headhunter, Beyond Good & Evil™, Splinter Cell®, Ghost Recon™, Rainbow Six®, EverQuest® II and a special retro Classic Arcade Medley featuring over 20+ games from Pong® to Donkey Kong® including such classics as Dragon's Lair, Tetris, Frogger, Gauntlet, Space Invaders & Outrun!
This touring event, not only includes game footage on three giant video screens, it employees handheld cameras showing orchestra, and character close-ups. There will also be an interactive segment when selected audience members will actually play a game live on stage, the game displayed on the screens, while the Regina Symphony Orchestra plays the music.

Victor Sawa, RSO Music Director, an avid “gamer”, is thrilled that his dream of hosting this concert is becoming a reality.  “You can bet my family and I will be there for each and every minute.  I’m going to be making a special cameo appearance in this show, but it will be a real treat to sit back for most of it and take in every moment.”   Victor Sawa has always seen this type of concert as a way of connecting with a new audience.  But he agrees that Video Games Live is not just for gamers.  Video Games Live does include a section dedicated to the old retro arcade classics – with bleeps and bloops - but the focus is on new orchestral music as well as older, more memorable pieces that no one has ever heard played live before.  The video game music of today is just as significant and notable as any movie score. Combined with a choir, piano soloist, and amazing immersive visuals you get Video Games Live! This is a unique event and experience that EVERYONE will enjoy!
Video Games Live is an immersive concert event featuring a pre-concert costume event, gaming competitions, and the opportunity to meet Video Game composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall.  Expect many surprises. 

Don’t be disappointed.  Tickets for Video Games Live go on sale on Friday, November 28th @  10 a.m.  Tickets are: $40, $55, and $75 plus service charges.  For information or to purchase on line go to: reginasymphony.com/videogameslive or phone: 306.525.9999, 1.800.667.8497.

http://www.videogameslive.com/

For immediate release: Thursday, September 4, 2008

The Regina Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce that His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales has accepted an invitation to become Patron for a five year term beginning in the orchestra’s Centennial Season. The RSO’s Centennial season runs from September 2008 to May 2009.

“We are honoured to have been selected as one of the organizations that The Prince of Wales has chosen for Royal Patronage”, said Janice Wallace, Chair of the Board, Regina Symphony Orchestra.

The Prince of Wales is Patron or President of over 400 organizations throughout the Commonwealth. This is his first patronage in Saskatchewan. The Regina Symphony Orchestra is the only orchestra in Canada that has been granted Patronage by The Prince of Wales.

The Prince of Wales was the first honorary member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, the province’s highest honour, into which he was invested during his visit in 2001.

The Regina Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 100th concert season in 2008.2009 and plays an integral role in the cultural fabric of Southern Saskatchewan. The Orchestra is led by Maestro Victor Sawa and is a full scale professional orchestra. By continuing to strive for excellence in performance and by remaining relevant to its audiences, the orchestra will continue to grow and to enrich life in Southern Saskatchewan.

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales
KG, GCB, KT, OM, AK, QSO, SOM, CD
Patron of the Regina Symphony Orchestra

Born in 1948 and christened Charles Philip Arthur George, The Prince of Wales is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh. He became heir apparent to the throne and Duke of Cornwall on The Queen’s accession in 1952. He was invested as Prince of Wales by The Queen in 1969.

His Royal Highness graduated with an honours degree from the University of Cambridge in 1970. He received his wings from the Royal Air Force and served in the Royal Navy between 1971 and 1978. In 1981 he married Lady Diana Spencer; their two children Prince William, born in 1982, and Prince Harry, born in 1984, are respectively second and third in line of succession to the throne. The marriage was dissolved in 1996. The Princess of Wales was tragically killed in a car crash in 1997. In 2005 The Prince of Wales married Mrs Camilla Parker-Bowles, who is now known as Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall.

The Prince of Wales actively supports a large number of charities, social causes, and cultural and sports organizations. Among his many interests are the environment, organic and sustainable agriculture, health care and complementary medicine, architecture, urban planning and building heritage, youth and education, the inner city, and interfaith dialogue. His work with young people, featuring partnerships between business and the community, is carried on principally through his core charities, which now number more than twenty and include the Prince’s Trust. He is a patron of the arts, especially music and the visual arts. 

The Prince of Wales is patron or president of approximately 400 organizations around the world. In Canada, he is Colonel-in-Chief of the Lord Strathcona Horse in Edmonton, the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, the Black Watch of Canada in Montreal, the Royal Regiment of Canada in Toronto, the Royal Canadian Dragoons in Petawawa ON, the Toronto Scottish Regiment and the Air Reserve. His Royal Highness is also Patron of Abbeyfield Homes for seniors in Britain and Canada, Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, the Canadian Warplane Heritage and the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club in Ontario.

The Prince of Wales was invested as the first honorary member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit (SOM), the province’s highest honour, during his visit in 2001. Apart from the Canadian Forces Decoration (CD), this is the only Canadian honour to have been awarded to His Royal Highness.

The Regina Symphony Orchestra is the first patronage granted by The Prince of Wales in Saskatchewan and the only orchestra in Canada of which he is patron.

September 2008

For more information contact:
Lal Straub
lstraub@sasktel.net
306.791.6394