You scream, I scream, we all scream for . . . the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra’s music and The Merry Dairy’s ice cream!
To kick off the summer season, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra is hosting a series of free open-air concerts in collaboration with The Merry Dairy ice cream truck to deliver six, two-hour concerts, filled with joyful music and icy treats.
Appropriately named the ice cream adventures, the summer tour is being funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. These family-friendly concerts, most during the evenings, debuted June 28 and are scheduled to run to July 4 in neighborhood parks across the city.
Upcoming events are scheduled as follows:
• Wednesday, July 2, 6–8 p.m., Alexander Grove Park, Stittsville
• Thursday, July 3, 6–8 p.m., Andrew Haydon Park, Nepean
• Friday, July 4, 2:30-4:30 pm., Half Moon Bay Park, Barrhaven
• Friday, July 4, 6-8 p.m., Claudette Cain Park, Riverside South
“We have more performances in all other areas of the city. We’re going to Stittsville, Manotick, Nepean and so hopefully we’ll draw in some new audiences,” Cresta DeGraaff, the symphony orchestra manager told Capital Current ahead of the series launch.
The brass ensemble is performing four 20-minute sets during each two-hour session, the concerts starting every half hour with a ten-minute intermission. Every set will feature three original pieces composed by local musicians Benjamin Glossop, Jan Järvlepp and Victor Herbiet.
“I think live music has a real special place in experiencing music as an art form — especially in intimate settings like this, with six musicians making music with instruments as opposed to hearing something come out of a speaker,” said Glossop, the OSO’s principal bassoonist.
The convenient time and friendly neighbourhood location drew quite the crowd with over thirty families lining the field at Cardinal Creek Park during the premier concert on Saturday evening.
For Erin Nazarali, a long-time resident of Orléans, the sweet treat was only part of the reason to attend the concert. She also wanted to expose her two children to the magic of live performance.
‘I think live music has a real special place in experiencing music as an art form — especially in intimate settings like this, with six musicians making music with instruments as opposed to hearing something come out of a speaker.’
— Benjamin Glossop, principal bassoonist, Ottawa Symphony Orchestra
“The Merry Dairy was a big draw! It was really close to home, though, and I saw there was this orchestra, too, and my kids are taking music lessons,” said Nazarali. “So I really wanted to expose them to live performances and different types of instruments.”
“The sound kind of envelopes you,” she added. “It’s just a whole experience from start to finish.”
The Nazarali family is no stranger to orchestral performances, having gone to some in the past at the National Arts Centre. But Nazarali said getting out to the downtown venue can be challenging.
“Sometimes it’s hard to get there. Going to the NAC, it’s a whole production of getting everyone packed up and out of the house,” she said. “But when it’s in your own backyard, it’s so easy to just go out and experience it. I think they’re doing a good thing here.”
Bridging the gap
While this tour may seem small, the venture represents the first of many changes for the symphony, which aiming to increase accessibility and exposure of orchestral music to the public.
“This tour is a part of trying to reach out to people who may not have heard of us — who might not know what we do or who might think that we’re stand-offish,” said DeGraaff. “We’re trying to show people that we’re real people, too, and we’re approachable.”
Orchestral music’s lengthy history and association with the elite can convey the perception of an overly formal and inaccessible art form, which can hinder public engagement. Combined with the impact from COVID-19, the classical genre has seen shrinking attendance in the 2020s.
‘This tour is a part of trying to reach out to people who may not have heard of us — who might not know what we do or who might think that we’re stand-offish. We’re trying to show people that we’re real people, too, and we’re approachable.’
— Cresta DeGraaff, manager, Ottawa Symphony Orchestra
Compared to the pre-pandemic 2018-19 season, the 2022-23 season saw a 25-per-cent drop in orchestral attendance across the country, according to Orchestra Canada’s most recent annual report.
“I really think we’re still suffering from COVID,” said DeGraaff. “So much was made available online, so people could stay home and get that same entertainment online.”
That’s why, she added, the OSO “thought this project was such a great idea to get out into people’s neighbourhoods and see if they would come out to listen to the music — and so far it looks good.”
Despite the overall drop in orchestral attendance, the art form may be seeing a resurgence in popularity. According to a 2024 report by the U.K.’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, interest in orchestral music saw a larger increase in attendance than any other classical genre since 2018.
Likewise, the report also found that more than half of classical audiences are new musical enthusiasts, with fewer than one-third being long-time fans of the genre.
For their upcoming 60th season, the OSO has added more inclusive changes to their programming with the hope of reaching new audiences. The season will feature the orchestra’s very fist children’s concert, A Day at the Farm, as well as a carol sing-along during the second half of their Christmas concert.
“Playing these incredible pieces of music is kind of integral to our heritage as human beings,” said Glossop. “The ways in which we experience classical music is incredibly diverse and being a musician — a part of it is just finding ways to be diverse ourselves.”
