ESO returns to the Arden stage

During these difficult economic times, many symphonic orchestras across North America have folded and closed their doors. Not so with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

In fact, as the ESO celebrates its 60th anniversary, its books are in the black, reviews are strong, and new or younger music fans are filling seats thanks to the galvanizing spirit of music director Bill Eddins.

While many orchestras suffer from a formal, stuffy image, the ESO has challenged those preconceived notions. With its Northern Lights Tour in 1994, it was the first orchestra to perform in Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Inuvik. And in March 1996, it enjoyed the distinction of being the first orchestra to perform on a First Nations reservation in Hobbema.

Stepping out of their comfort zone to deliver soul-shaking performances has always been part of the company’s mandate. Back in January 1985, when the Arden Theatre was a fledgling venue, its 56-member core crammed onto the stage, delivering one of its dazzling performances.

This Sunday afternoon, after a 27-year break, the ESO has enlisted the formidable talents of pianist Kemal Gekic for a return visit to the Arden.

The Croatian-born artist, 48, gets off to a flying start with a sensitive interpretation of Liszt’s First Piano Concerto, Rossini’s galloping William Tell Overture and Beethoven’s The Ruins of Athens.

While a western ponytail and casual outfit dominate his style, as a pianist Gekic is strictly old school. He has a searing technique and an artistic imagination that few equal, and critics lavish their praises.

After rehearsing with him for the first time this week, ESO cellist Ronda Metszies says, “He’s a master pianist, a real virtuoso. He’s so at home on the keyboard. He just flies along.”

However, music director Bill Eddins is the glue connecting every facet of a concert. He is a mighty presence, a laid-back, larger than life personality. Everyone interviewed for this article described the Minneapolis resident as energetic and deeply passionate about music.

Metszies probably said it best.

“He’s wonderfully collegial. There’s a feeling of mutual respect. He’s not old school where the conductor had a God complex, one where you would call him maestro and bow and not make eye contact. He’s very devoted to making the best of what we play and drawing the most out of the music.”

After a pause the St. Albert resident adds, “Most people who watch him have been swept away. He’s dissolved the boundaries that exist between the audience and the stage. He’s made people feel engaged and welcoming.

A devoted Trekkie, food lover, pinball fan and tennis player, Eddins is game to try everything at least once.

He elaborates by saying, “I am curious by default. I would hope to approach everything in life with willingness.

“He’s just enthusiastic. He knows how to work a room but he also knows how to work a score,” says David Baker, ESO publications editor and unofficial company historian.

Eddins hopped aboard the ESO train after a three-year search for a music director.

“Something electric happened when he auditioned. There was a spark,” Baker explains.

Right from its inception, the orchestra attracted the best professional talent and committed supporters. Ironically, it was amateurs who assembled the first Edmonton orchestra in 1920 at the Pantages Theatre. For the next twelve years, until they ran out of money, the orchestra staged concerts principally in the New Empire Theatre.

“They were music teachers and members of the PPCLI (Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry). They would get together and play at a dance on Saturday night and then play classical on Sunday,” says Baker.

Although some are surprised to discover that a 52-piece orchestra existed 16 years after Edmonton was founded, Baker believes it was inevitable.

“Even the fur trappers pulled out fiddles and accordions. And there are stories of people who portaged pianos. There was a sense that if we are to be a community, we have to have music.”

Edmonton was fortunate to have a keen roster of music lovers in the early days, people such as Richard Eaton, Francis Winspear and Marion Mills who in 1952 registered the orchestra as a formal, non-profit association under the Edmonton Symphony Society.

“This meant it was no longer a fly-by-night operation. It was a sustaining orchestra. There was a vision.”

Lee Hepner was the first official music director and remained on board until 1964 when Brian Priestman was brought on as conductor.

“Brian was hired to bring his own artistic vision and imprint. He was very intelligent, very scholarly, very British. He was a big man, but a kind man and that was important with an amateur ensemble. He was certainly the right guy. You didn’t want a despotic personality.”

Although the ESO was still an amateur ensemble in the sixties, it attracted leading artists such as Jack Benny, Lois Maxwell, Maureen Forrester, Glen Gould and leading world violinists Henryk Szeryng and David Oistrakh.

However, it was a concert with Procol Harum in 1971 that put the ESO under North America’s spotlight. As part of their tour, the British rock band was scouting for a symphony they could record an album with. ESO assistant general manager Bob Hunka put up his hand.

“Everyone was going, ‘Are you nuts?’ When a conductor gets on the podium and opens the books, the musicians stay on the books. That’s the last thing a rock band does. They’re more used to the 16 bar blues progression.”

After the initial storm, conductor Lawrence Leonard addressed the project with utmost professionalism and the orchestra’s first recording went gold.

“The orchestra had good charts. Leonard took it seriously and everybody approached it with the right frame of mind.”

The ’70s was the Peter Lougheed era when the ESO was flush with petro dollars. Under Pierre Hetu’s reign, the orchestra collaborated on a series of TV programs produced by ITV (now Global) that featured entertainers such as Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdinck, Roberta Flack, Charles Aznavour, Henry Mancini, Neil Sedaka and Anne Murray. The exposure was phenomenal.

However, Hetu’s tenure was also fractured. He was given the task of winnowing out weaker players and bringing the orchestra to a professional level.

“To this day, some musicians remember him warmly and others spit when they hear his name. But the orchestra he left behind was light years ahead of the one he inherited. Musically it was on par with any orchestra in the country.”

Uri Mayer came on the scene in 1981 and remained for 13 years. Although not a strong visionary, he kept the momentum going. Under Mayer, the orchestra enjoyed a golden era with CBC as the most recorded symphony in the country.

“They recorded miniatures, pieces that were three to four minutes long. It was perfect to fill in time.”

By 1995, Polish conductor Grzegorz Nowak was appointed.

“He loved the big stuff. Considering how many times I’ve heard Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, his performance was breathtaking. It was like hearing it for the first time,” Baker said.

But Nowak was tempestuous and butted heads with the administration. An ESO low-point arrived when the orchestra went on a 10-week work stoppage.

“He was everything you think a European maestro is. As a maestro, he was a very good conductor and he was the first person to tell you that.”

In 2002, Nowak’s contract was not renewed and the ESO spent the next few years casting about for a new music director until Eddins stepped onto the podium.

Through the decades many St. Albert musicians have expressed themselves through the orchestra – Metszies, Michael Massey (cello/piano), David Otto (tuba), John Taylor (bass) and Neda Yamach (violin).

Yamach, a 2002 Bellerose alumna who was hired on as a full-time violinist in 2011, sees a bright future for the company.

“We have a loyal audience. Our concerts are well attended. There’s more to come with bigger and better things happening.”