As part of an initiative aimed at growing the passion for classical music in the region, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra will be putting on a free concert at the National Arts Centre on Sunday.
With the concert being free, it gives people who don’t necessarily have the means to attend paid concerts an opportunity to learn about the genre.
“We want to make sure this music is accessible to everyone,” said Yolande Laroche, the orchestra’s box office manager.
David Currie, the orchestra’s music director, also talked about the need for accessibility in order to grow the appetite for the music in the area.
“It’s always a challenge competing for everyone’s attention, but when people are exposed to this type of music, they usually like it and appreciate it.”
Laroche says that as long as the orchestra receives the sufficient funding, every concert put on by the orchestra this season will have a free dress rehearsal. “This particular project is geared towards young people,” she says. “That is one of our core goals.”
The orchestra, founded in 1965 and the largest in the region, has always been central to sustaining an audience for classical music in the national capital.
Another organization focused on that goal is the Leading Note Foundation and its “Orkidstra”program.
The program was created to give kids a chance to experience music and play instruments free of charge. It began as an after-school activity and is now partnered with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board in delivering the program, which is funded by grants and donations.
“The community has been very supportive,” says program co-ordinator Tegan Patmore. “Our program gives kids a chance to find their voice through music. We have been very lucky to work with the OSO in the past.”
Patmore says kids in the program have played in the lobby at the NAC before OSO performances. After performing, the kids are then able to watch the show.
“It is a great opportunity and it really motivates the kids to see people not much older than them performing,” she says.
The Ottawa Symphony also maintains a partnership with others in the Ottawa music community, including the University of Ottawa’s School of Music.
Currie also works as a professor at the school, and helps run the mentorship program between the orchestra and the university.
“The program is unique in this country and offers a great opportunity for some of our advanced students to perform with the orchestra at the concerts,” says Currie.
This week’s free rehearsal will feature conductor Alain Trudel. This performance will include Trudel wearing a live microphone so he can explain to audience what exactly is being done on stage and why.
The show will consist of classical pieces from the 19th and 20th centuries.
“It is a very real rehearsal and will give the audience a very inside view into what goes on,” says Currie.
The event starts at 2:30 p.m., and those who are interested can register to attend the show on the Eventbrite website or through the symphony’s Facebook page.