Local audiences are in for a sonic treat as the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra presents London Calling on Nov. 2 at the Arts Centre.
Lacombe’s very own international success Leslie Newman will be appearing with the RDSO for the concert, which begins at 8 p.m. The performance will feature Newman’s much-anticipated return with two works for flute and orchestra.
Newman made her professional debut at the age of 18 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and was subsequently featured as soloist with the Toronto Symphony at the Calgary Winter Olympics Arts Festival.
Following studies in Canada and the U.S., Newman settled in England where she presented solo BBC Radio broadcasts, including performances in the world-famous Wigmore Hall.
Newman has since returned to Canada and currently lives in Toronto where she is on the flute faculty at the University of Toronto. She also holds the principal flute position with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, while continuing her solo performing and recording career.
This weekend, Newman will be performing a work that was written for her by Jim McGrath.
McGrath is a Toronto-based composer best known for his film and television work (including shows such as The Republic of Doyle and Degrassi: The Next Generation), and has been nominated for five Genie Awards. This work runs the gamut from a moody, harp-driven nocturne in the first movement to a bluesy, Gershwin-inspired second movement to a habañera and cascading cadenza in the third.
The concert ends with Haydn’s well-known London Symphony No. 104.
As RDSO music director Claude Lapalme noted, “Haydn’s final London concert in 1795 demanded of him a symphony of unsurpassed splendour, concentration and invention. He did not disappoint in writing (this) offering, the great London Symphony.
“The symphony is positive, dynamic and grandiose.”
Tickets for this concert are available through the Black Knight Ticket Centre by calling 403-755-6626 or 1-800-661-8793 or visiting www.bkticketcentre.ca.
-Weber
