Details

You don’t need a hockey rink to put together an award-winning, all-Canadian lineup. Our festival finale still features the guns of the Royal Canadian Artillery in Tchaikovsky’s powerful 1812 Overture, but before that, we’ve got some of the great songs and standards from the true north strong and free in dazzling orchestral arrangements. From Four Strong Winds to Snowbird, Big Yellow Taxi to Heart of Gold, come hear the ESO play celebrated and memorable Canadian hits.

This performance will also feature the premiere of a new Canadian work by local composer Sean Doherty as part of our Young Composers Project, sponsored by Canadian Western Bank.

Tickets for grass seating available at the Hawrelak Park on-site box office beginning at 11:30 am.

Adult Reserved $29 / Grass $20
Child Reserved $13 / Grass free

Tickets subject to applicable service charges.

Thank you to our performance sponsor: 
Thank you to our Young Composers Program Partner: 

This concert made possible with funding from 

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra thanks its generous festival sponsors!

Green Power	Media	Vehicles	50/50 Draw

Program Info

Artist Bios

Bob Bernhardt, conductor

Bob Bernhardt is the second Music Director in the history of the combined Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, and is currently in his 15th season with the company. Mr. Bernhardt also holds the additional title of Principal Pops Conductor of the Louisville Orchestra, where he is currently in his 27th season. He began his professional career there in 1981 as Assistant Conductor, and has worked with the Orchestra every year since. He was the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic (1995-98), Music Director and Conductor of the Tucson Symphony (1987-95), Principal Guest Conductor of Kentucky Opera (1991-96), and Music Director of the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra (1985-1987). His vast symphonic repertoire covers most of the standard canon and his commitment to the music of our time is significant.

He has guest conducted the Detroit, St. Louis, Seattle, Phoenix, Nashville, Colorado, Pacific and Iceland Symphony Orchestras among others, and has been a frequent guest with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Tucson Symphony, and the Boston Pops. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1978. In addition to his work with the CSO, he has conducted the Opera Companies of Nashville and Birmingham. He has also conducted the Louisville Ballet, the North Carolina Ballet, the Jacksonville Ballet and the Lonestar Ballet. Born in Rochester, NY, Robert Bernhardt holds a Master's Degree with Honors from the University of Southern California School of Music where he studied with Daniel Lewis. He was a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of Union (NY) College, where he was an Academic All-American Baseball Player.

Since making his ESO debut in May 2006, Robert Bernhardt has become a favourite guest conductor of both the orchestra and its audience. The 2010 Symphony Under the Sky is the fifth consecutive edition of the festival led by Mr. Bernhardt. In the 2010-2011 ESO performance season, he will return to Edmonton to conduct holiday programs including Glad Tidings – A Lightly Classical Christmas and Christmas Pops.

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Claude Lapalme, conductor

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Lucas Waldin, conductor

The 2010/11 season marks the second for Lucas Waldin as Resident Conductor for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. This mentorship position is made possible through the Canada Council for the Arts and Enbridge. Mr. Waldin graduated in 2006 from the Cleveland Institute of Music with a Masters in Conducting. He has performed with L'Orchestre du Festival Beaulieu-Sur-Mer (Monaco), Staatstheater Cottbus (Brandenburg), and Bachakademie Stuttgart. Lucas was assistant conductor of the contemporary orchestra RED (Cleveland), director of the Cleveland Bach Consort, and a Discovery Series Conductor at the Oregon Bach Festival. In 2007, he was invited to conduct the Miami-based New World Symphony Orchestra in masterclasses given by Michael Tilson Thomas. In Lucerne in 2009, he also participated in a masterclass led by Bernard Haitink, with the Lucerne Festival Strings.

A native of Toronto, Lucas Waldin has spent summers studying in Europe, including studies at the International Music Academy in Leipzig, the Bayreuth Youth Orchestra, and the Acanthes New Music Festival in France. On this continent, he has studied under the renowned Bach conductor Helmut Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival, and has attended conducting masterclasses with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in Toronto. Mr. Waldin received a Bachelor of Music degree in flute performance from the Cleveland Institute, studying with Joshua Smith.

The ESO would like to thank Enbridge Pipelines for their commitment to the arts and this program by matching the funding provided by the Canada Council for the Arts.

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Sean Doherty, young composer

Sean Doherty (b. 1993) is an avid young composer. Born and raised in St. Albert, Alberta, he started composing at the age of 10. Being a pianist, he has written primarily for the piano; however, he has written ensembles for voice and flute, and even for orchestra. Sean has received many awards for composition including first place in Alberta Provincial Music Festival as well as first place in an APTA composition contest. Sean is currently enrolled as a grade 11 Full IB student at Bellerose Composite High school. For Post Secondary education, he is planning on attending the University of Alberta.

The ESO would like to thank Canadian Western Bank for supporting this opportunity for a local young composer to receive mentorship and a premiere of their piece at Symphony Under the Sky.

Festival Info

Parking

Park your vehicle for only $5 at the U of A’s Stadium Car Park (116 St & 89 Ave), and ride Hybrid ETS buses for FREE directly to Hawrelak Park! Parking is very limited at Hawrelak Park and not guaranteed. Free, supervised bike racks will also be available at Hawrelak Park, courtesy of the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters’ Society.

On-site Box Office

Food & Drink

Food vendors will be located in the Heritage Amphitheatre and the Winspear Concession stand will offer snacks, hot and cold drinks, wine & beer.

Symphony Under the Sky Online

We’ll be blogging, tweeting, and posting updates to our Facebook page all weekend – and you can do the same using the free Wi-Fi at the Amphitheatre.

Twitter: @edmsymphony (festival hashtag is #yegsuts)
Facebook: facebook.com/edmontonsymphony
Blog: EdmontonSymphony.com/blog

You can also submit your favourite pictures from your experiences at our festival to our photo contest! Complete rules and guidelines will be posted on our website.

Weather

In case of inclement weather, festival concerts will take place at the Winspear Centre. If at all possible, all performances will remain at Hawrelak Park. The decision about whether to change venues will be made 3 hours prior to the performance. Venue change information will be announced on 105.9 Shine FM, posted on the front page of this website, and noted at (780) 428-1414 and 1-800-563-5081.

Festival Supporters

Thank you to our festival supporters The City of Edmonton through the Edmonton Arts Council, The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton, AM 930 The Light, 105.9 Shine FM, Lexus, Bullfrog Power, Trailblazer RV, General Metals Recycling, Shanked Computer Recycling, General Dynamics and Canadian Western Bank.

Multimedia

Conductor Bob Bernhardt shares highlights of Symphony Under the Sky: