CSO places first in International String Connections Conference Festival

The Concordia Symphony Orchestra has added a new accolade to their storied legacy. The community orchestra, led by CUE’s Fine Arts Chair Dr. Danielle Lisboa, was recently awarded first place in the International String Connections Conference Festival.

The premier community orchestra, made up of highly skilled musicians from the greater Edmonton community, submitted the performance of Allan Gilliland’s Overture for the Worlds and Richard Wagner’s Parsifal: Prelude to Act I for the competition, which was held remotely. Among the competitors, the Orchestre de chambre du Cégep de Saint-Laurent (Montreal/Canada) and Isis String Orchestra (Cairo/Egypt).

We are humbled to receive this award from our esteemed colleagues. It is pure magic when our collective minds work as one body – Danielle

The orchestra is currently made up of 4 students, 2 alumni and 38 community members. Membership into the orchestra is audition-based, CSO serves as a key work integrated learning platform for CUE’s music program.

CSO’s next concert is on October 28 in Tegler at 7:00 p.m. In the program: Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 with guest soloist, Boris Konovalov.

The CSO is currently fundraising for its first international tour in 2024. The goal of this initiative is to promote less-known repertoire to a wider audience abroad and to introduce Canadian music to international audiences. Please consider a charitable donation to CSO to support our fundraising efforts. Donations can be made by email at donations@concordia.ab.ca or online using this link.