Nov
18
Bach and Before
St. Peter's United Church Sudbury @ 7:30pm
Featured composers include Monteverdi, John Farmer, Peter Warlock, and of course, J.S. BACH! Performed by Dr. Jamie Arrowsmith, Dr. Charlene Biggs, Allan Yzereef, You Young Park, Karly Schofield, Susan Urquhart and the Sudbury Chamber Singers. Tickets at the door: $25 adults, $20 seniors, students
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NOV
25
Cello Cafe & Friends
Red Oak Retirement Home at 2pm.
Cello Café & Friends is a monthly venue for amateur and student players of various instruments to showcase their talent. Although it originated with Alexandra Lee’s cello students performing musical pieces, it now provides a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere for various musical students in Sudbury.
Aug
TBA
Strings Retreat - Thorneloe University
Check back soon for more information on Strings Retreat 2024
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Check out our strings retreat video
The City of Lakes Music Society, a not-for-profit organization, is the brainchild of Alexandra Lee, former principal cellist for the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and Juno-nominated Silver Birch String Quartet.
After the String Quartet disbanded in 2016, Lee recognized a gap within the City of Greater Sudbury when it came to classical chamber music. It was her love of stringed-ensemble music and desire to foster this genre that led to the creation of an organization that would embrace the appreciation of classical chamber music. A small group of like-minded people met in the Fall of 2016. Brainstorming sessions were held to envision and develop the mandate of this new organization that would fulfill a need in the Greater Sudbury area while ensuring a sustainable and long-lasting presence within the community.
The City of Lakes Music Society was incorporated in January 2017 with a Board of Directors of only three members. As of March 2019, the Board consists of a full complement of seven members who also act as volunteers when it comes to organizing and promoting events as well as managing the organization. The Music Society received charitable status in 2018.
In late August 2017, Paulette Gagnon, a professional arts consultant, offered her assistance in developing the Music Society’s Strategic and Working Plan which was adopted later in the year. Unfortunately, Paulette Gagnon was never formally acknowledged for her in-kind donation before passing away in October 2017. The Plan remains the Music Society’s living document which is reviewed and amended as needed.
Lee’s original ‘Cello Café’ event held monthly at a local eatery, where local student cellists would perform their work-in-progress for their families and friends, has morphed into ‘Cello Café and Friends’ which now includes students playing various musical instruments or singing. This event continues to occur several times per year at local Residences for Seniors on the 4th Sunday of the month. This provides an opportunity for students to gain confidence in performing, while entertaining an appreciative public.
The Mattawa String Retreat, a week-long music-educational experience for adults, was originally conceived by the North Bay Symphony. In 2016, the Silver Birch String Quartet spearheaded the summer retreat for its seventh season. Since 2017, the Retreat is now one of the City of Lakes Music Society’s main events where people from across Ontario attend and enjoy the companionship and musical efforts of other amateur musicians. Lee, who now lives in British Columbia, returns every summer to Mattawa as the Artistic Director for the retreat.
Matt Kallio, Lee’s successor as the City of Lakes Music Society’s Artistic director, spearheaded the Keys to the Library Concert Series bringing local guest performers to play a short program at the City’s Library on Mackenzie street. With donations received over a 3-year period, a digital piano was purchased for the Library Concert Series and other chamber music events in the area. Kallio also headed some interesting concerts (Ode to St Cecilia, Bachanalia, Terpsichordia) until his relocation to Alberta in the summer of 2019.
The City of Lakes Music Society offers a formal chamber music concert series held throughout the year with performances from local professional musicians featuring the work of the world’s greatest composers.
Lastly, the City of Lakes Music Society’s mission statement:
“The City of Lakes Music Society is a not-for-profit arts organization focused on fostering the appreciation of classical chamber music in the City of Greater Sudbury and surrounding regions. Activities include the presentation of concerts and the facilitation of workshops, lectures for amateur musicians, as well as special concert experiences for families. The Society aims to educate and increase the public’s understanding and appreciation of the arts by providing performances in public places, senior citizens’ homes, churches, community centres and educational institutions and by providing seminars on topics relating to such performances.”
Born and raised in Québec, Danielle received a Diploma in Psychology from the CEGEP de Maisonneuve in Montréal in 1971. She later obtained the Accredited Appraiser Designation from the Appraisal Institute of Canada in 1995 and an Honours Bachelor Degree in Economics in 2009.
Danielle retired in June 2016 as Director of Asset Services for the City of Greater Sudbury where she was employed for over 20 years. Hired as the Real Estate Appraiser in 1995, she later held the positions of Real Estate Coordinator, Manager of Asset Services, Acting Director of Solid Waste and Director of Fleet Services. As Manager and Director, Danielle prepared and managed multi-million-dollar budgets.
In preparation for retirement and to fulfill her musical dream, Danielle started taking cello lessons in 2009 and piano lessons in 2015.
Retirement was also a time to give back. Danielle was instrumental in the birth of the City of Lakes Music Society and continues to support the organization by volunteering her time to further its on-going development.
Born and raised in Sturgeon Falls, returning to Northern Ontario to live in Sudbury in 1992, Sylvie has worked as a Clinical and Educational Audiologist for 30 years. She has become increasingly involved with classical and orchestral music through her son’s interest in violin and viola. She was treasurer for the Sudbury Youth Orchestra from 2012-2014 and has remained an avid supporter of the SYO’s activities. As an adult violin learner, she appreciates the importance of music performance and appreciation for all ages, and the beauty of ensemble orchestrations.
An award-winning violist and chamber musician whose playing has been described as “absolutely splendid… dancing with emotion,” (The Day) Dr. Jamie Arrowsmith’s career spans genres and pushes boundaries. His recent work includes collaborations with Asian and Arabic musicians as part of the London, UK-based Notes Inégales Improvisation Ensemble, and he has appeared at several leading music festivals, including the BRAVO! Vail Valley Music Festival, the Strings in the Mountains Chamber Music Festival, and the Southbank Centre New Music Biennial. Jamie frequently appears as part of the Cambrian Concert Series, and continues to perform as a guest soloist and chamber musician around Northern Ontario.
As the Resident Conductor of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra, Jamie regularly leads the ensemble in concerts featuring a wide variety of repertoire and guests. Notable performances include Symphony!, in collaboration with the Juno-nominated Sultans of String, as well as Sudbury’s first-ever orchestral staging of Les Misérables, in partnership with YES Theatre. Jamie also led the SSO in a full-scale production of Benjamin Britten’s rarely-performed opera Noye’s Fludde, which included over a hundred participants from local schools, youth choirs and community music organizations. In his role as programming director for the SSO Chamber Music Concerts, he has introduced local audiences to refreshing and well-received programs of both traditional and innovative new repertoire.
Jamie is Music Director of the award-winning Sudbury Youth Orchestra, the Sudbury Sound Collective Improvisation Ensemble, and is musical co-director of the City of Lakes Music Society. He has twice been named as Music Director for the Northern Ontario Music Festival Honour Band, and is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician. Jamie brings music from the stage to the community through his educational outreach performances in schools, public spaces, and community hubs throughout the region of Greater Sudbury.
Jamie has worked with such renowned conducting pedagogues as Neil Varon, Cliff Colnott and Charles Olivieri-Monroe, and he has been a participant in numerous conducting programs around the world, including the Oregon Summer Conducting Institute and the Olomouc International Conducting Masterclass where he was a guest conductor of the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra. He holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Kent State University and Brunel University, and has won numerous first prize awards as a chamber musician, including the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, the MTNA Chamber Music Competition and the Green Lake String Quartet Competition. In 2014, he joined the distinguished panel of judges for the Guangya Chengdu International Violin Competition in Chengdu, China. He has also been recognized by Northern Ontario Business as a 40 Under 40 award winner for community arts leadership, and is a recipient of the Joan Mantle Music Trust Community Award. His academic work focusses on the intersection of professional and amateur practice in community orchestras, and he has published and presented papers on the topic at conferences around the world. Jamie continues to enjoy his role as Head of Strings and Coordinator of the Independent Music Production program at the Cambrian College School of Music in Sudbury, Ontario.
Charlotte Leonard, a native Sudburian, is a recently retired Professor Emeritus of Music at Laurentian University, where she taught music history and low brass, serving at times as departmental chair, for over 35 years. She received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from The University of Western Ontario, a Master of Music in Trombone Performance from the University of Michigan, and both a Master of Art and a Ph.D. from Duke University.
Dr. Leonard has published two score anthologies of early baroque music. The first is entitled “Seventeenth-Century Lutheran Church Music with Trombones” and the second “Selections from the Gespräche (1655-56) with Capellen by Andreas Hammerschmidt, both for A-R Editions, as well as articles in various musicological journals.
She plays principal trombone with the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and the North Bay Symphony Orchestra, and occasionally the Sault Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Leonard is a founding member of the Northern Brass Quartet, the Northern Brass Choir, and Triple Play with Brenda Arrowsmith and Dr. Charlene Biggs.
An accomplished clarinetist, Brenda Arrowsmith retired from the Cambrian College School of Music in 2012, after more than 30 years as head of wind instruction and theory studies. She was a principal player with the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra, and served as their rehearsal conductor for many years. Brenda is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, where she studied Theory and Composition. She also attended the Banff School of Fine Arts. In addition to the clarinet, she is a talented pianist with an Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto diploma in performance.
Throughout the years, Brenda Arrowsmith has been in demand across Northern Ontario as a wind clinician and music festival adjudicator. She has also made an impressive contribution to a number of local organizations, including the Sudbury Symphony, the Sudbury Youth Orchestra, the Northern Ontario Honour Festival Concert Band, Opera for a Cause, and the Sudbury and District Pipe Band. She also continues to act as a resource to local teachers.
Under the guidance of Professor Ingemar Korjus, she presented a strong portrayal of the role of “Mme. De Croissy” in Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmelites and a memorable portrayal of the comical role of “Dorabella”, in the University’s production of Cosi fan tutte. After finishing her degree in music, she was invited to sing with Opera Lyra Ottawa Chorus in a production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at the National Arts Centre and again in Verdi's Macbeth, as well as Puccini's Turandot featuring Richard Margison.
Brenda remains dedicated to the success of music students and the richness music brings to their lives. She often transports students and their instruments to the Kiwanis Music Festival of Sudbury to ensure they are ready to perform. When accompanying solo students, her quiet confidence gives them the strong support they need. In 2006, Brenda was a recipient of the President’s Award of Excellence from Cambrian College. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to music in the community, she has also received four volunteer awards from the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture, and was a recipient of the YWCA’s Women of Distinction award in the field of the Arts in 2012. Brenda serves on the board of the Sudbury Youth Orchestra, and continues to be involved in making music with many wonderful colleagues. She has been called “a quiet mover and shaker” in the local music scene, an individual who gives of herself so others can achieve their full potential.
Marion Harvey Hannah, retired Director of the Bel Canto Chorus, said Brenda Arrowsmith is highly regarded for her dedication, musical and personal integrity, friendly helpfulness and depth of commitment. She added: “I continue to admire this woman who so unassumingly has made such an impact on music education and who has fostered an appreciation for excellence in so many people of this community.”
Susan is the current music director of the Sudbury Chamber Singers. She is a part-time professor at Cambrian College, Sudbury, where she teaches voice. Susan is also a member of the Sudbury Symphony Music Academy where she teaches both voice and violin. She also has a very successful music studio. Susan’s passion is for teaching. Watching constant changes and improvements within her students gives her great joy. Proper technique and learning the basics are stressed when beginning lessons as Susan believes, if the proper foundations are not laid out, the remaining building blocks will not fall into place. Susan’s past students successes include provincial Kiwanis winners, successful entrants into university music programs and much more. While teaching, Susan maintains an active performance schedule singing within Sudbury and playing violin with the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. She is a recurring performer in Sudbury’s Opera for a Cause Opera Gala which occurs each November. Susan has performed in many choirs, orchestras and attended master classes with the Canadian Opera Company and Opera Hamilton. She was also a member of the opera chorus for the operas I due Foscari and La Boheme. She has also previously held the position of musical director for the operetta H.M.S. Pinafore. Susan holds both a Bachelor of Music and Licentiate of Music from Queens University, Kingston.
Dr. Charlene Biggs gave her first solo recital at the age of 11, and made her professional debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at age 14. She received her Doctorate in Piano Performance from the Eastman School of Music, and her Masters in Performance and Piano Literature from Goldsmiths College, University of London, England. She has performed extensively in Great Britain as a soloist and collaborative artist, appearing at such prestigious venues as the Royal Festival Hall, the Purcell Room, Greenwich Festival, Glasgow University, The National Theatre and the Barbican Arts Centre. She has also performed in France, Holland, Austria, Italy, Canada and the USA. Dr. Biggs was Assistant Chair of Piano in the Community Division of the Eastman School of Music and held faculty positions in both the Professional and Community Schools of the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, where she was also the National Academic Advisor. She is currently / Director of Piano Studies and Music History at Cambrian College in Sudbury Ontario. She continues as a Senior Examiner for the Royal Conservatory, and is much sought-after as an adjudicator and pedagogy clinician across Canada. Dr. Biggs has written nationally-published pedagogical articles, and continues a hectic schedule as a solo and collaborative artist.