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Concordia Symphony Orchestra

Concert Season · Director · Soloists · Repertoire · Registration Information

The Concordia Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Francis Dunnigan, presents three concerts annually featuring symphonies, concertos, and overtures from the traditional orchestral repertoire. The concert season showcases guest soloists as well as the full orchestra.

The Concordia Symphony Orchestra was founded in the fall of 1988 by Dr. Barry Bromley and bassoonist Don Zoell. They recognized the need for a community orchestra to encourage the participation of well-trained amateurs and former professional musicians whose commitment was to play a classical repertoire. Concordia enthusiastically supported this endeavour by promoting the orchestra’s vision and providing the rehearsal and performance facilities.

The first concert of the Concordia College Community Orchestra, as it was then known, was held on January 25, 1989. Thirty-four musicians made up the orchestral complement with John Hong-Youl Kim as concertmaster. Its debut concert, featuring Mozart, Beethoven and Mendelssohn, was warmly received. In its second concert on May 10, 1989, a young pianist, Christine Chung, performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto #4. Since then, concerts have featured promising young student musicians as well as players within the orchestra’s own ranks and a few professional musicians in solo performance. The orchestra continues to grow in strength, maturity and commitment; enthusiasm for its ideals has not waned. Repertoire now ranges from the Baroque to contemporary Canadian music.

Orchestra members include musicians from many walks of life. Some of the orchestra’s original members are still playing: violinists Veronica Hnenny and Carol Sperling, violist Martin Molzan, cellists Dennis Lazarowich and Diana Bacon, bassist (and now violist) Paddy Brine, and horn player Pat Huck.

Registration Information

Starting in 2004-2005, the ensemble received grant support from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts in support of its mission and mandate.

If any discrepancies exist between official Concordia University College of Alberta printed materials and electronic information, the information in the printed material shall have precedence unless the electronic information specifically states that it is the official source in lieu of the printed information. However, in all cases, the current printed Calendar is to be considered authoritative.