The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra is hitting the road this spring to perform at the P.W. Enns Centennial Concert Hall.
MCO on Tour: Classical Meets Country takes the stage at the Winkler concert hall on Wednesday, April 15 at 7 p.m.
It’s part of MCO’s spring tour, an annual outreach initiative bringing the Winnipeg-based orchestra’s programming to rural and remote Manitoba communities, explains Suzu Enns, director of education and community engagement.
It’s about “meeting people where they’re at,” she said, noting this show is tailored-made for Winkler with a theme celebrating the simple pleasures of nature and rural life. “This is a theme that really resonates in the classical repertoire … the countryside and nature has always been an inspiration, and we want to share that with the audience.”
The program features elegant waltzes, lively dances, and rustic melodies ranging from the Baroque era through to modern times. Selections include works by Aaron Copland, Karen Sunabacka, Beethoven, Vivaldi, The Beatles, and more.
“It’s that repertoire of Beethoven or Vivaldi that you may expect to hear from a string chamber orchestra, and then also other types of things that you may not expect but that sound so great when we’re playing them,” Enns said.
There will even be a few sing-a-long moments.
“Anyone can enjoy this—you don’t have to be totally versed in what classical music is,” Enns stressed. “I think it’s a really nice entry point to some great music.”
Tickets to Classical Meets Country are available online at winklerconcerthall.ca.
Student engagement
The public concert is just one part of MCO’s activities in the area that week.
“It’s really a two-day excursion in that part of the province,” Enns said.
For the first time, the MCO Toy Symphony school program is venturing outside Winnipeg, stopping at École St-Malo on the Wednesday and then J.R. Walkof School in Winkler Thursday.
“It’s about teaching the kids ‘toy’ parts,” Enns said, explaining the elementary school kids are given a variety of toy instruments to help them explore rhythm, sound, creativity, and collaboration together. “They’ll be practising and learning how to play the part and also learning how to play in an ensemble and follow a conductor.”
The workshop will culminate with a rehearsal with MCO musicians followed by a performance together in the school gymnasium.
“We’re going to be playing with the students in a full school concert,” Enns said. “We have a bunch of good repertoire, really audience-friendly, kid-friendly but also educational orchestral music.
“This is the first time most of them will ever have seen an orchestra. And then at the same time to have 60 or even up to 80 students actually playing with the orchestra—it’s quite a lot for the kids,” she said. “It’s all about making the experience really, really kind and welcoming and fun so that they can really feel confident and supported during it all.”
Past MCO Toy Symphony workshops have been a blast, Enns shared, and she’s excited to be bringing it to these two rural schools.
“The concentration and focus that they have, especially when they’re younger kids, it’s amazing,” she said. “It’s amazing how music can bring us together, bring communities together, but it can also just bring out such an inspiring side of it with the kids.”
It’s a big part of the outreach work MCO does to try and reduce the barriers that might exist to keep people from learning what orchestral music is all about, she noted.
