# Oakville Symphony Orchestra

The Oakville Symphony is a Canadian orchestra performing in Oakville, Ontario.

## History

The Oakville Symphony was founded in 1967 by Kenneth Hollier, a local musician and educator with the original mission statement to “make music for the pleasure of its members and the enjoyment of its audience”. The Oakville Symphony currently performs at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts.
In 1968, a small group met for the first rehearsal in a music room at T. A. Blakelock High School, among which a few members still perform with the orchestra today. The newly formed orchestra's first performance was held at the YMCA on June 24, 1968.
The Oakville Symphony has a long history of presenting collaborations with local groups including the Oakville Symphony Youth Orchestra, White Oaks Choral Society, the Clarkson Opera Society, the Oakville School of Ballet, the Oakville Children's Choir and the Oakville Suzuki Association.
From 1998 to 2020, the Oakville Symphony has been under the direction of Roberto De Clara. Initiatives such as the Young Artist Awards, a Family Christmas Concert and a Young People's Concert plus a program of community outreach called Meet a Musician and the maestro's popular Not Just the Score talks have ensured that audiences of all ages are reached in the community.
The Oakville Symphony has a loyal base of subscribers for its main concert series which takes place on four weekends a season with two performances of each concert which are close to sold-out. The Orchestra attracts guest soloists of international renown who enjoy the warmth of the welcome from musicians and patrons alike. A review of pianist Christopher Goodpasture's performance of Grieg's Concerto for Piano in A minor with the OS stated, "The orchestra seemed to understand that this was a very special performance and rose to the challenge with its best work. The communication between soloist, orchestra and conductor was akin to that of a chamber ensemble."
Over 80 musicians play regularly with the orchestra, eleven of them are paid professionals who lead sections and mentor the high school students in the Young Artist program.
For the 2024/2025 season, the orchestra performs the following repertoire:
| Composer | Repertoire |
| Gabriela Ortiz | Kauyumari (Canadian Premiere) |
| Johannes Brahms | Violin Concerto |
| Amy Beach | Gaelic Symphony |
| Johannes Brahms | Intermezzo op. 118 No. 2 (Arranged for Orchestra) |
| Frédéric Chopin | Piano Concerto No. 1 |
| Sergei Prokofiev | Selections from Romeo and Juliet |
| John Williams | Music from Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial |
| Samuel Barber | Mutations from Bach |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Piano Concerto No. 23 |
| Henri Tomasi | Trumpet Concerto |
| Igor Stravinsky | Suite from The Firebird |
| Ludwig van Beethoven | Symphony No. 8 |
| Giacomo Puccini | "Quando me'n vo'" from La bohème |
| Giacomo Puccini | "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi |
| Charles Gounod | "Je veux vivre" from Roméo et Juliette |
| Howard Levy | Diatonic Harmonica Concerto (Canadian Premiere) |
| Astor Piazzolla | Oblivion |
| Dave Brubeck | Blue Rondo à la Turk (Arranged for Orchestra) |
| Arturo Marquez | Danzón No. 2 |
For the 2023/2024 season, the orchestra performed the following repertoire:
| Composer | Repertoire |
| Jessie Montgomery | Overture (Canadian Premiere) |
| Claude Debussy | Nocturnes |
| Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Piano Concerto No. 1 |
| Johannes Brahms | Hungarian Dances No. 1 |
| Nadya Poklad | Imagination (World Premiere) |
| Béla Bartók | Violin Concerto No. 2 |
| Ludwig van Beethoven | Symphony No.5 |
| Giuseppe Verdi | Overture to La forza del destino |
| Giuseppe Verdi | "O don fatale" from Don Carlos |
| Hector Berlioz | La Mort de Cléopâtre |
| Leokadiya Kashperova | Symphony in B minor (Canadian Premiere) |
| François Borne | Fantaisie Brillante pour flûte sur Carmen |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Symphony No. 40 |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | "Vorrei punirti indegno" from La finta giardiniera |
| Vincenzo Bellini | "Ah, non credea" & "Ah, non giunge" from La Sonnambula |
| Jean Sibelius | Finlandia |

## Notable performances

* Anna Clyne: PIVOT (2021), Canadian premiere in November 2022
* Jessie Montgomery: Overture (2022), Canadian premiere in November 2023
* Béla Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2 with Jonathan Crow in February 2024
* Leokadiya Kashperova: Symphony in B minor, Canadian Premiere in April 2024
* Gabriela Ortiz: Kauyumari, Canadian Premiere in November 2024