Concordia Symphony Orchestra Chamber Nucleus launches international tour fundraising series

The Concordia Symphony Orchestra (CSO) Chamber Nucleus proudly presents the first of two concerts in the 23-24 Chamber Music series as it enriches the city’s classical music scene while nurturing up-and-coming musicians. 

The CSO Nucleus is fundraising for its first international tour, taking place in June 2024. The Global Musician Tour aims to introduce Canadian classical music to audiences abroad and to present a repertoire of lesser-known composers to champion global genre awareness.

“The Global Musician Tour is a dream coming to fruition. I couldn’t be more excited about what is to come! The CSO troupe and friends will be presenting works by Canadian composers such as Marjan Mozetich, Christos Hatzis, Violet Archer, Vivian Fung, and Richard Mascall,” said Lisboa.

“This is a statement to CSO’s commitment to making the classical music world more open to genres and styles as colourful and plural as our societies today as we all share one single emotional core.”

The touring group is made up of CSO members, Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) faculty and students, and guest musicians from the Edmonton community. Playing alongside top-level musicians in the CSO Nucleus are five CUE students.

Man Wui (Raymond) Leung (violin) will star as one of the soloists of Steve Reich’s Duet for Two Violins and String Orchestra alongside Marie Krejcar and the Nucleus Strings. The piece will be conducted by John Fedor. Double bass student Dante Wright is part of the chamber ensemble.

Raymond Leung is a second-year international student from Hong Kong. A pupil of Frank Ho, he is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree at CUE and hopes to become a professional violinist.

“This will be my first time being a soloist in a chamber group. It’s exciting to see more people coming,” said Leung.

The first concert of the 23-24 Chamber Nucleus Series presents an eclectic selection of pieces that includes works by Steve Reich, Telemann, Mozart, Elgar, Villa-Lobos, and Piazzolla among other composers.

Other program highlights include a piano trio formed by students Rron Delos Santos (piano), Raymond Leung (violin), and CSO’s cellist Katarina Kuhn in Franck Bridge’s Romance, Telemann’s Trio Sonata in G Minor featuring student Jenna Kragt (piano/harpsichord) and Mozart’s Oboe Quartet in F Major, K. 370 starring student Stephanie Wong (oboe). Stephanie will collaborate with CSO’s concertmaster Frank Ho (violin), CSO principal viola Darrell Soetaert and CSO cellist Julia Darby.

Date: Saturday, November 18, 2023

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Venue: Robert Tegler Centre, 7128 Ada Boulevard

Donations can also be made by email at donations@concordia.ab.ca or online here (please select “Concordia Symphony Orchestra” from the dropdown menu).

Donations over $20 will receive a donation receipt.