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Plus, a rare opportunity to perform alongside the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bill Eddins, is open to the public
Published Feb 17, 2024 • 4 minute read
Photo by Yu Hang Tan /Supplied
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When Mark McDonald performs on the organ at the Winspear Centre at the end of February, it will be with only a short introduction to the massive instrument.
The acclaimed organist will be performing a rendition of The Planets by Gustav Holst on Edmonton’s Davis Concert Organ, Feb. 27. But rather than a full orchestra, McDonald will climb the stage alone and take on the work entirely by himself, with less than 24 hours to practise.
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“I can know all of my notes and how I’m going to play something, how I’m going to interpret something. But until I get on the ground, I don’t know what it’s going to be like,” says McDonald.
Holst wrote The Planets at the height of the First World War, a series of seven movements each named after a planet in the solar system. Each planet has its own temperament and style inspired by their astrological signs. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jolity, and Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age, are just two of the seven movements.
McDonald will perform a transcription of The Planets written by Peter Sykes, turning the massive orchestral piece into a one-person show. He admits Holst’s stellar-inspired work has a special place in his heart.
“It’s a piece that I have loved since childhood. It stirs so much emotion,” says McDonald. “It also influenced so much music in the 20th century. Without The Planets we wouldn’t have John Williams or Interstellar.”
That comparison is easy to see. Mars, The Bringer of War, holds pride of place as a very ostentatious opening, a movement that would fit comfortably in any modern science fiction movie. It evokes massive spaceships and battles across the stars, of far-off planets and encounters with aliens.
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But it’s the more gentle movements that McDonald gravitates to, the juxtaposition with their somewhat more harsh musical neighbours.
“I think I’m generally attracted to the beauty and serenity of Venus and Neptune. They both also really work on the organ,” says McDonald. “I love the contrast between Mars and Venus, between war and peace.”
The public’s turn to play
The symphony is throwing open its doors to amateur instrumentalists looking to get a taste of the professional players’ life, joining the orchestra’s full-time performers for an evening rehearsal.
Called Rusty Musicians: B-Sides, it’s part of the organization’s ongoing learning experiences for music enthusiasts, an opportunity to sit “b-side” a professional musician as they work through a few pieces.
William Eddins, the music director emeritus of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the group’s music director from 2005 to 2017, will lead the pro-am rehearsal at the Winspear, Feb. 28.
Photo by Levi Manchak /Supplied
“If you dedicate yourself to music, music will dedicate itself to you,” says Eddins. “So when we have the opportunity to work with people who have a love for music, an interest for music, but didn’t make music their life but still want it to be part of their lives, it’s fun. We are giving them an opportunity in many ways to live out a fantasy.”
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There is no minimum level of experience required for members of the public looking to sit in with the ESO. When asked, Eddins simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
“It’s more for the experience of what we’re doing than about past experience,” he explains. “Hopefully we can inspire people to continue to do what they are doing in life and maybe in music.”
Spots are available in a whole raft of parts, from percussion to bassoon, french horn to trumpet and oboe to double bass. There’s already wait lists for flute, clarinet and timpani. A ticket to participate for the evening runs $99.
The three pieces chosen for the rehearsal are all straightforward works that involve the full orchestra. The night will wrap up with Rossini’s Overture to Barber of Saville, a well-known piece in the classical repertoire that is both fun to play and gets everyone on stage involved.
And of course, it’s also an inspiration for the full-time musicians in the orchestra to see the impact music has on people who aren’t sitting up on stage for major performances or practising for hours every day.
“It does remind us that there are people out there who absolutely do it for the joy, for the thrill of it. They are having the time of their lives,” says Eddins. “There are those rare times when you’re on stage and the band is just cooking — it’s the greatest feeling on earth. There’s nothing better than that.”
PREVIEW
McDonald Plays the Planets
When Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.
Where Winspear Centre, 4 Sir Winston Churchill Sq.
Tickets Starting at $28.50, winspearcentre.com
Rusty Musicians: B-Sides
When Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.
Where Winspear Centre, 4 Sir Winston Churchill Sq.
Tickets $99 at winspearcentre.com
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