Czech Orchestra at Showplace

For aficionados of symphony music, an Oct. 9 concert at Showplace promises to be a highlight they will talk about for years to come.
The concert, co-presented by the Millbrook Valley Council for the Arts and Shaer Productions, features the North American debut of the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. Conducted by Maestro Kerry Stratton, the featured soloist will be Korean born violinist Ji-Yoon Park, a prize-winning musician also making her North American debut.
Tickets to the 8 p.m. performance cost $40, $30 for seniors and students, at the Showplace box office or phone 742-7089.
The program features Sinfonia in F by Jiri Antonin Benda, Sinfonia in G Minor by Johann Baptist Vanhal and Symphony No. 29 in A, K. by Mozart. As well, Ms Park will perform the Violin Concerto in A by Michael Haydn.
Formed in 1977 and comprised of members of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the chamber ensemble has toured internationally to great acclaim as well as recorded, winning a coveted Grand Prix du Disque.
For her, Ms Park has also toured extensively, capturing first prize honours at the Concours des Jeunes interpretes (2001) and the Concours International Tibor-Varga (2004).
Meanwhile, Maestro Stratton was summoned to Prague this past June to receive the Gratias Agit Award, which is presented to those who made a significant contribution to the promotion of the Czech Republic abroad. In November, he will bring the 40-piece Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia to Canada.
The Peterborough concert is one stop on a tour which will see the chamber orchestra and Ms Park perform at a number of Ontario venues.

Orchestra's Canadian debut in city; Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra Oct. 9

By WERNER BERGEN

The Canadian debut of the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra will take place Oct. 9 at Showplace Peterborough.

The Millbrook Valley Council for the Arts and Shaer Productions will also present the North American debut of prize-winning Korean violinist Ji-Yoon Park, at the concert.

Maestro Kerry Stratton will conduct the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra.

Ji-Yoon Park will perform the Violin Concerto in A by Michael Haydn as featured soloist.

Stratton and his International Touring Productions have been bringing international performers to Canada for years including the Vienna Symphony Chamber Orchestra to Millbrook in April 2006.

"It's the Canadian debut with this trip. The first one is in Peterborough, isn't that grand," said Stratton in a telephone interview.

"I brought the Vienna Symphony to Millbrook. It was wonderful. It was a night they won't forget. Back in Vienna I can tell you that (they talk about it). They had a pancake and back bacon dinner. How many Viennese do you think have had that. Of course the audience was so warm, they played for them, that's how I'll put it to you.

"Now the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra which Playbill Magazine says is one of the top 10 orchestras in the world," said Stratton.

Stratton said there are a number of reasons why Peterborough is first in Canada.

"First of all Dan (Shaer) is a terrific partner, the best presenting partner to have. He's exactly what arts presenters ought to be. When I told him of the available dates he said 'I'll take the first one'."

He said the experience by the Vienna chamber orchestra in Millbrook has made it around the musicians' circuit. And Stratton's relationship with Czech musicians all helped bring the orchestra here.

"I have a long relationship with the Czech Republic, in fact I have been decorated by the Czech Republic. I tell you I was overwhelmed (national honours list); it goes back for many years now. Talking them to come here along with their U.S. tour is a real coupe. If you have a tour with seven concerts and the first one has to be somewhere, why not Peterborough?."

In June, Stratton was presented with the prestigious Gratias Agit Award in Prague, presented to exceptional persons who have made a significant contribution to the promotion of the Czech Republic abroad.

Stratton states he finds "something about the peculiar Czech melancholy which I find distinctly Irish," referring to his own background. Even before his 2007 Award, his service to both Czech and Slovak cultures earned him the Jan Masaryk Award in 2000 from the Czechoslovak Association of Canada.

"One of the reasons I have brought the orchestras I have brought and taken them to the places I've taken them is that I'm from a small Ontario town (Belleville). I remember vividly the impressions community concerts made on me when I was 11 and 12 years old. And I have to think that when I'm doing the payback now to all these smaller cities in the province, there's got to be a boy or girls in the audience, as maudlin as this sounds, I know how they feel.

"They feel they are the only kid around who likes this kind of music, I don't want them to feel alone. I did feel alone when I was that age," he said.

Tickets are $40, $30 seniors and students. They are available in advance from the Showplace box office by calling 705-742-7089 or 1-866-444-2154; or visit www.showplace.org. Showtime is 8 p.m.