ABOUT THE NSO

Vision
The Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra is:

Responsible for keeping alive and fostering the love of classical music as the only orchestra in the province;

Creating a place for the province’s top professional musicians to work together to build upon the rich classical music tradition;

A major force in music education in the province – from school age children, to university and private music studies.

 

Principal Conductor & Music Director Search

This year is also significant as it is our final season with Maestro Marc David, our Music Director & Principal Conductor. During Marc’s tenure, the NSO has professionalized, and become a significant part of the local arts community. We are planning a number of activities and retrospectives as we celebrate his incredible three decade run with the NSO, culminating in “Au Revoir” a concert celebration conducted by Marc in May 2025. Along with this, we also welcome four outstanding candidates who will join us to audition to become the next Music Director & Principal Conductor of the NSO. They are: Andrei Feher, Dina Gilbert, Julian Pelicano and Simon Rivard. Each will be with us for a Masterworks and Sinfonia concert, and we look forward to their time in St. John’s.

NEWFOUNDLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Established as an amateur ensemble in 1962 and incorporated in 1979, the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra contributes to the overall quality of life in Newfoundland and Labrador by fostering the live performance of orchestral music. From the early days with just a few professional musicians (Peter Gardner, John Herriott, Don Wherry) the NSO has grown into an 84-member semi-professional orchestra comprised of 7 contract musicians, fee-per-service players, university music students through the Orchestral Chairs Program, and other community players. The NSO Sinfonia is a professional ensemble consisting of 16 string players supplemented with other musicians as required. The Atlantic String Quartet (ASQ) is the resident string quartet of the NSO. All three ensembles present their own series of concerts plus special events.

The Philharmonic Choir of the NSO (PCNSO), an NSO-affiliated organization, is an auditioned community choir of 86 members which was formed to support the choral activities of the NSO. Since 1987, the choir has performed in many NSO productions ranging from oratorio to opera in concert.

Together with the Philharmonic Choir, the NSO family is comprised of more than 200 individuals and is by far the largest single employer of professional musicians in the province. The NSO also maintains close affiliations with Calos Youth Orchestras, the province’s finest youth orchestra with over 100 members, as well as Shallaway Youth Choir , the province’s premiere youth choir with over 400 vocalists.

NSO Foundation Incorporated

The NSO foundation was incorporated in 2002. Its purpose is to direct and oversee planned giving arrangements and periodic fundraising drives to assist the NSO‘s efforts to develop a stable and self-sustaining funding base.

Its primary objectives are:

  • to serve as the permanent custodian of endowment funds directed to the NSO;
  • to solicit, receive, and invest gifts; and
  • to accumulate, apply, and distribute principal and interest from invested funds for the benefit of the NSO and authorized NSO special projects.

Land Acknowledgement

We respectfully acknowledge the territory in which we gather as the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk, and the island of Newfoundland as the ancestral homelands of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk. We would also like to recognize the Inuit of Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut and the Innu of Nitassinan, and their ancestors, as the original people of Labrador.

We strive for respectful relationships with all the peoples of this province as we search for collective healing and true reconciliation and honour this beautiful land together.

Statement on Diversity

As the only orchestra in Newfoundland and Labrador and the largest employer of musicians in the province, the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra is a committed supporter of diversity amongst our musicians, guest artists and conductors. We are also committed to learning about and recognizing the critically important and invaluable contribution of BIPOC composers and musicians to classical tradition and performance.

In light of recent events happening across the US and Canada following the death of George Floyd, we wish to express that we stand together with those facing intolerance, injustice and inequality due to the colour of their skin. Black lives matter and racism in all its forms cannot and should not be tolerated.

We will strive to make our orchestra a place which welcomes those of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities. We will commit ourselves to learning about and recognizing the critically important contributions of Black, Indigenous and minority composers and musicians to classical tradition and performance. We will strengthen our efforts, through music and programming, to celebrate artists of colour and their work. We will commit to bring greater visibility to their invaluable presence in music and the arts, here and around the world.

– NSO management, Board of Directors and Players