Celebrating 35 Years of Making Music in KW!!

CON GUSTO 35th Anniversary Edition

As we rapidly approach a special milestone, it never ceases to amaze me how much the KWCO has achieved over the last 35 years. This has been done by part-time musicians who are full-time music lovers who saw opportunities, took risks and committed to a quest for lifelong learning and evolution both at a personal and organization level. We have learned so much over the years from projects that the KWCO has dared to imagine, then worked to bring to fruition. The Viennafest and Opernball dinner shows, the Kiwanis Youth Concerto Award concert, and our international excursions started as small ideas that grew, and which we continue to cultivate even now when they are better than ever before! I am always inspired by our new members who show up every year, with most of them leaving the first rehearsal feeling overwhelmed and exhaust-ed. They persevere, returning week after week, and are rewarded with the rush that comes with playing a great rehearsal or concert and knowing that something inside has changed between the final curtain call and the first time they unpacked their instrument at the rehearsal hall. These members remind me of my first rehearsal, and remind me that the most rewarding things I have accomplished in my own musical endeavours and in my life took work and perseverance to achieve. Today’s challenges elevate us to heights that enable us to see the world differently and achieve more than we could ever predict. The orchestra we see today is a result of 35 years of finding ways to love music, with many more to come! Erin Walker, D.D.S. - KWCO President

Music is everywhere. In the car, at the movies, at the mall, in restaurants, the dentist’s chair, even when you’re put on hold! This quick and easy

proliferation of music was not always the case. In the past, if one wanted to hear music, it had to be made yourself. Families gathered around the

piano, singing or playing instruments – and whether or not an individual had a knack for playing it, music was listened to attentively and with great

pleasure. Well the KWCO has been doing the old “gather by the piano” for 35 years now. At a time when technology seem to reign supreme in our

lives, our enthusiastic group of musicians gathers together on Tuesday nights, to dig into the wonders of Beethoven, Mozart and Dvorak and some-

times it feels as though we’ve journeyed back to those good old days to bring these composers back to life. No batteries, no wi-fi, nothing plugged

in. All we need is a quick tune up and to find your reading glasses to help us open the door to the wonder – yes WONDER!!! Of it all. With friends

and fellow music lovers from every walk of life we struggle, concentrate, sometimes fake (?!?) and ultimately recreate, “con gusto”, what the great

masters have left us only on paper.

Tuesday night. How can we live without it? Let’s be thankful that someone showed us the way to the gift of music.

Happy 35th Anniversary, KWCO!!

Dan Warren, KWCO Conductor and Music Director, 1998 to present

Every time I see the orchestra in action, I am bowled over by the flourishing organization it has become, really a dream come true! In the beginning the dream was such a modest one. The Summer Repertory Orchestra was established to provide playing opportunities during the time when almost all other performing ensembles were taking lengthy breaks between seasons. But music is a powerful force, and so the 60-odd musicians who had nowhere else to play after the summer's closing concert pressed for a permanent organization. By January of 1980, the basic necessities--a re-hearsal space, the loan of music stands and percussion equipment, and Raffi Armenian's permission to borrow music from the KW Symphony--were in place, and the KW Community Orchestra was born. A year later we celebrated our first anniversary in style with a concert of dances by great composers in a hall decorated with roses. While that first anniversary was the marking of an achievement, it also brought the realization that a young orchestra is a work in progress. Organi-zational work continued, musical ambitions grew, yet no one at that time had quite imagined the extent to which the orchestra would prosper. Here we are at 35 years – wow! Congratulations to all the players and conductors who have moved the orchestra forward over the decades, and in particular, to Dan Warren, whose innovative vision and long term commitment have brought it to full, vibrant maturity. I salute you all with admiration

and affection. My only regret is that I won't be around to help celebrate the orchestra's centenary!

Erna Van Daele, KWCO Founder, and Conductor, 1980-1985

KW COMMUNITY ORCHESTRA NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2015

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In The Beginning….

KWCO—1980 Member Listing

Conductor—Erna Van Daele

Violins—John Bailey*, Philippe Elsworthy*, Anne-Marie Elijzen, Elizabeth

Fraser*, Fran Henderson*, Hette Hillsdon, Susan MacKinnon-Kesler, Marg

McKenzie (Assoc.ConcMast), Elizabeth McLaughlin

Florence Misener *(ConcMaster), Debbie New, Rick Prokopowicz, Rudy Roth,

Leon Thiry, Dora Waters

Violas—Angela Klauss, Fred Lenz, Ilona Scharer, Ron Read, Olga Kalyniak

Cellos—Lois Ball, Mary Harris, David Heath *, Elizabeth MacLeod, Heather

Rawlings *

Bass—Sharon Carter, Ader Hind, Miriam Shalinsky

Flute—Len Bradfield, Terry English, Elizabeth-Anne Finch, Randi Goddard,

Renee Hoops, Liz Leedham, Sarah Shortreed, Shawn White

It was the summer of 1979, and Erna Van Daele was running a program called the Summer Repertory Orchestra. The

SRO brought together people of all ages and occupations to play that summer. They performed Bizet, Beethoven, and

Britten, in the temporarily-vacant KW Symphony rehearsal hall. A variety of people participated – young musicians on

their way to music school, university music students facing autumn auditions; many were instrumentalists of surprising

abilities, who had chosen to work in other professions. It was realized that this last group of people represented a

musical resource rarely tapped in the community, and one that would rarely get a chance to play in an orchestra. Ms.

Van Daele, and KWSO conductor Raffi Armenian, realized that there was an opportunity for enthusiastic amateur mu-

sicians to come together and form an orchestra. In the KW area, there was the Symphony for professional musicians,

a Youth Orchestra for younger musicians, but nothing for the serious amateur to participate in. Here were the begin-

nings of what would become the KW Community Orchestra.

With support from the KW Symphony, and access to their music library, Ms. Van Daele and 40 or so local amateur

musicians came together, and became the KWCO. Their first official concert was on June 12, 1980. It was titled

“Meet Your Orchestra Night” and was held at the Adult Recreation Centre on King St in Waterloo. The programme

included Mozart’s Overture to the Magic Flute, a suite by J.S.Bach, Benjamin Britten’s arrangement of several pieces

by Rossini, and a suite inspired by Canadian folk songs – the Miramichi Ballad, by Kelsey Jones. The highlight of the

night was a classical guitar concerto by A.Vivaldi, with orchestra members Ron Read and Elizabeth Schwartz as the

soloists. There was also a performance by KWCO percussionist Mike Schuett, who performed Toshiro Mayazumi’s

Concertino for Xylophone! A few weeks later, the KWCO performed at the Waterloo Days event at Waterloo Park

Bandshell, and at the Canada Week event in Victoria Park, Kitchener.

The original orchestra established its new identity in matching black t-shirts sporting the orchestra motto and logo – a

cheery cellist in a hard hat, and the motto “non guisto ma con gusto”… loosely translated meant “we might not always

get it right, but we do it with feeling!” The KWCO still uses the motto “Con Gusto” We aren’t professionals, but we

play for the love of the music and still “with feeling”!!

Oboe— Leonard Coleman, Beryl Hultin

Clarinet—Louise Freyburger, Cathy Oille,

Mike Sichewski

Bassoon—Louise Riedstra, Mike Murase

French Horn—John Chapple *, Tacey Kobayashi, Barbara

Lippert, Beth Skirving, Lola Welwood

Trumpet— David Anstadt, Barry Daniels, Bob Snyder

Trombone—Chris Babey, Sue Munro, Andy Schoenhoffer

Timpani— Don Matthews

Percussion— Elizabeth Papas-Smith, Mike Schuett

Piano— Elizabeth Papas-Smith

* denotes member still playing in KWCO

Erna Van Daele conducting the first KWCO concert,

at the ARC, Waterloo

KWCO, May 29, 1983 - WLU Theatre Auditorium

Through the Years...

Through the following years, the KWCO continued to grow and mature. Many local professional musicians

became featured soloists – Margaret Metcalfe and James Mason of the KWS, violinist Victor Danchenko - to

name just a few recognizable artists, were some of those who gladly shared their talents with the KWCO

and the community. The concert with Victor Danchenko was performed in a joint venture with the Georgian

Bay Symphony Orchestra. Another joint venture featured Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Choirs of St.Peter’s Lu-

theran Church, Kitchener.

In 1985, Edit Haboczki was named the new conductor, and she ably led the orchestra through the next

nearly 10 years. There were concerts that featured Scottish Country Dancers, a cabaret-style concert with

opera singers, the 10th anniversary concert with Erna Van Daele as a guest conductor; a concert featuring a

bagpiper and Highland dancers, and (in another concert) a tuba soloist, Jane Noyes-Maness, of the KWS!

Truly a wide variety of musical experiences that the KWCO was able to share with the Kitchener community!

Fabio Mastroangelo led the orchestra from 1995 to 1998.

In 1998, Dan Warren, trumpet player and resident conductor with the KW Symphony, became the latest

conductor for the KWCO. He remains the orchestra’s biggest fan and supporter! Under his baton, the

orchestra has taken on more and more complex music, been involved in an exchange concert with the

Cambridge Community Orchestra, and brought back the thoroughly enjoyable Viennafest dinner show, with

great support from the community. He also led the orchestra on their first European tour, the first of three

that have now been taken!

In 2013, the KWCO performed a concert to feature talented young local pianists, all under the age of 15, in

tandem with the KW Kiwanis Festival. The winners of the 2013 Kiwanis Festival Piano Concerto classes

were awarded with a debut premiere with the KWCO at our February 2014 concert. In March 2015, we will

showcase the Kiwanis Piano Concerto winners again, and we plan to feature young wind and string players

in the next few years.

Under Mr. Warren’s baton, more young professionals have joined us as soloists – violinist Lance Ouellette,

pianists Richelle Kruisselbrink and Heidi Wall, saxophonist (and KWCO clarinetist) Danielle Beck,

bassoonist Ian Hopkin, and violinist Marcus Scholtes - some of whom have roots in the KW region.

All have delighted both the players and audience with their enthusiasm and talent. James Mason continues to share his talents with us, as our featured

soloist at least 4 times over our 35 years, as have soprano Caroline Dery,(at least 4 solo appearances, and soloist on our Vienna trip) and violinist Jerzy

Kaplanek, who returns as our featured soloist at our 35th Anniversary Concert. We have also been dazzled by the many KWS players and countless

other professionals who have shared their music and passion with us.

In 1980 Erna [Van Daele] founded the

KWCO and saved my musical life. Starting

out in my high school orchestra I had Iona

Brown as concertmaster, so the bar was set

high. When I came to Canada I had to

leave my lovely viola with its real owner. I

joined the U of T Symphony and Milton

Barnes was so glad to have a viola player

that he bought a viola for me to use. The

orchestra morphed into the Faculty of Music

orchestra and for 15 years I had no orches-

tra and no viola. I moved to Waterloo and

one day in 1980 I saw the "Come Play With

Us" poster in the Waterloo library. I over-

came my fear and phoned Erna, who was

so encouraging and also so pleased to have

another viola player that she found me a

viola to borrow. 35 years later I have my

own viola and I have played in nearly 100

concerts with a variety of excellent soloists

and professional conductors. One highlight

was the concert we did with the Georgian

Bay Symphony in 1982, with Victor Dan-

chenko, who had studied with Oistrakh and

recently immigrated from Russia, playing

the Sibelius violin concerto. He played so

beautifully and we got to do it twice! I have

made some wonderful friends. We have

shared personal experiences, had fun and

sadness - played chamber music, had

lunches, dinners, pub, parties, baby show-

ers, weddings, travels, and funerals. Al-

though the ravages of age make playing a

struggle, I still marvel at my good fortune to

have been able to enjoy playing so many

beautiful and challenging works of classical

music over the years.

10th Anniversary - 1990

KWCO, 1985 - ARC, Waterloo Photo - Tracy Fewster, KWCO cellist and photographer

Strangely enough the moments I remember most are

the low points, not the high points of our concerts. We

used to play in St Mary’s Hall (it was affordable) but

things usually turned out a bit scary. One time, for

example, we hadn’t set up enough chairs, so people

were sitting on tables- one of which collapsed in a quiet

passage of the music. That was the same hall where

one long time member had an epileptic seizure as we

were playing a very modern concerto. Very disturbing

for us all! On the other hand, it was the same location

where we once played a world premiere. The compos-

er, [Greg Trice] who was very ill, came by stretcher with

a nurse to our performance. He lay there with tears

running down his cheeks. That was quite a compliment!

Once when we were playing in Maureen Forrester

Recital Hall, I was having a really hard time getting and

keeping my cello in tune. I spent the intermission trying

to make everything right. Imagine my horror when I

realized that the doors to the stage had closed and the

orchestra was already starting the piece! The most

chilling time of all was the time when we were playing in

the Humanities Theatre at UW. Suddenly the soloist

skipped twenty bars-but somehow we survived- no

doubt Dan still has grey hairs from those few seconds!

When I think about it, we haven’t had any nightmare

concerts lately. Maybe after 35 years we’ve grown up?

“May the orchestra have another 35 successful years and remain committed to amateur musicians in the KW

community.” Nancy Norman - retired KWCO Violinist, long serving board member, and former ConGusto editor

The Fall of 1979 was a unique time in the history of amateur music making in Kitchener-Waterloo: never had it been so easy to join a classi-cal orchestra; and never has it been as easy since.

Conductor Erna Van Daele had started a pop-up orchestra for the summer months-the Summer Repertory Orchestra -SRO, that rehearsed every week in the old KWSO rehearsal hall on King Street, now the Night School nightclub. I ventured forth on the first night, and a few minutes after the first down beat, knew I did not belong there.

Three years earlier in London , at the age of 33 , never having played a note, I had started cello lessons with Christine Newlands-now the principal cellist of Orchestra London. Two years later, I moved to Waterloo and continued lessons with Ifan Williams-then the principle cellist of the KW Symphony. So, here I was-after three years of lessons and what little practising I could squeeze in between a busy psychiatric practice and raising four sons, trying to keep up with these seasoned players zipping through pieces, sight reading effortlessly .

I left at the break-but not without first writing down my contact information on the sign up sheet at the door.

How amazing it was then, some time later, to receive a call from Erna asking me to join the KW Community Orchestra - an orchestra that she was forming, this time, based on the success of the SRO, with long term funding from the recreation department of the City of Waterloo.

An unlikely scenario led to my being asked to join an orchestra—the SRO musicians had all dispersed to their respective universities, col-leges and regular music groups, leaving Erna scrambling to get this newly funded orchestra off the ground. It was open to all comers, with no auditions; if you had an instrument you were in.

From the first rehearsal, there was such a welcoming atmosphere. We were a rag tag bunch: me, sitting next to Heather Rawlings-a veter-an of the London Youth Orchestra, professional musician Florence Meisner (now Hanson) as concertmaster, and raw amateurs like myself; at our first concert at the Adult Recreation Centre we got so lost that Erna had to stop in the middle of the piece.

For 35 years the KWCO has been such an important part of my life and I still get a thrill from observing myself, as it were, playing a well-known symphony; playing most of the notes-in tune- and no longer getting lost.

Such is the power and mystery of music that at times, while in the middle of a spine tingling piece such as Nimrod from Elgar’s Enigma Variation, I’m surprised by a need to mutter a thank you under my breath.

Into the digital age… In 2004, Werner Lindschinger set up the KWCO’s first website, and managed to scoop up the domain

name ‘kwco’ for us! For a few years, he maintained the website, adding information and photographs taken at concerts.

When the site needed a reboot, 2nd violinist Art Prudham took on the job, re-designing and maintaining it. Recently, the

digital baton has been taken up by Dan Clements, who has given the site a complete overhaul—concert information and

dates, links to other music groups, a members-only section, and we hope to add on-line ticket sales to the site in the near

future. We also have a Facebook community page, which is kept up-to-date with photos and current concert information.

Visit our website at www.kwco.org Visit our Facebook page— Kitchener Waterloo Community Orchestra

Erna Van Daele:

1980-1985

Fabio Mastroangelo:

1995-1998 Daniel Warren:

1998 to present

Edit Haboczki :

1985-1995

And-a one, and-a two...

KWCO Conductors

Photo - Tracy Fewster

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KWCO Goes International!!!

When Dan met Dvorak

In 2005, the KWCO celebrated their 25th Anniversary with a special concert at the Waterloo Christian Reformed Church, with 4 soloists - Renee Ellis,

soprano; David Wadley, viola; Virginia Scarfino, clarinet; and Dan Warren, trumpet. Erna Van Daele was the guest conductor. Ms. Ellis and Mr. Warren

performed Handel’s Let the Bright Seraphim; Mr. Wadley performed Telemann’s Presto from Concerto for Viola in G; Mrs. Scarfino delighted with the

Adagio from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, K.622; and Ms. Ellis sang O luce di quest’anima from Linda di Chamounix, by Donizetti. Conductor Dan Warren

orchestra performed Mendelssohn’s Symphony #5, ‘Reformation’, and a reception was held for the audience and the orchestra.

In 2005, some KWCO members were ready to share their music a little further afield… quite a bit further! Plans commenced for taking the orchestra to Europe, and what a trip it was!! The inaugural trip in July 2007 was to the magical city of Prague, Czech Republic. With an enthusiastic committee of orchestra members and the guiding expertise of tour planner, Maggie Dyck, we enjoyed a wonderful week-long tour. Since not all of our local players could go, we were able to swell the ranks with interested and enthusiastic members from other community orchestras – Oakville, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Owen Sound, London and Stratford. In total we had about 65 members, players and others.

We played two concerts to full houses in the Museum of Music (Prague) and in a rural church in the town of Zlonice where Dvorak once played the organ. The sound of the music of Dvorak, Smetana and others rose to the heavens and Dan was pleased! For the last night there, we cruised down the Moldau River with the stars twinkling overhead.

KWCO playing at the Naradni Museum in Prague

2007 KWCO, Prague

Now, it’s 2015, and the little start-up organization that began with a bit more than a dream and a conductor in 1980, is 35 years old. We’ve taken our music all over

Ontario (and now, to Europe as well!) featured seasoned professionals, and bright-eyed young talent. For some of us, we’ve had our dreams of playing in an

orchestra, with REAL professionals, realized! If you ask any member, they’ll have a different story to tell, of favourite pieces performed, of dreams fulfilled, of new

friendships made, and they’ll tell you what a difference the KWCO has made in their lives. For many of us, Tuesday night rehearsals are our escape from the fran-

tic-ness of modern life, where the music of the ages helps to soothe our fraying nerves, and makes it easier to face the rest of the week.

We must thank all of the composers who’ve made this possible - from Beethoven, Bruch, and Brahms, from Bach to Mozart to Vivaldi, Dvorak, Handel, Haydn,

Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Debussy… all of these and more! They’ve left us a legacy to keep for them, to share for them, and to show our contemporaries what

wonderful music really is all about… and we plan on continuing to do it…. that’s right…

Continuo...

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25th Anniversary - 2005

KWCO, Vienna, 2011

With the memories of the first trip as inspiration, we began to plan a second tour. With the help of Ellison Travel, we made plans to tour Vienna and Salzburg in July 2011.

With about 75 participants, players, spouses and interested friends, we landed in Vien-na and bussed to Salzburg the first day. From Salzburg, we made our way back to Vien-na, playing two concerts to fair sized audiences in two charming small towns nestled in the Austrian mountains. We travelled by cruise boat down the Danube, past towns and vineyards crawling up the riversides. From boat to bus we made our way back to Vienna. Once installed in the magnificent city of Vienna, we proceeded to sightsee, listen to music, eat rich foods and drink beer and wine. We concluded our trip with a visit to a local winemaker where we liberally sampled the local harvest and made our way to our farewell dinner destination at a traditional Austrian Heuriger (a wine tavern in which the wine growers serve the most recent year’s wines grown and bottled locally).

We left the Austrian Alps with great memories of the countryside, the sounds of music, the sobering reality of Hitler’s bunkers, and the camaraderie of travelling companions very much alive and ready for more.

KWCO in concert at Gros-Siegharts, Austria

KWCO in concert in Dokkum, Netherlands, 2014

Cdn. Ntnl.Vimy Memorial,

Vimy, France

Our third trip, to The Netherlands and Belgium, took place in July 2014; again with the help of Ellison Travel. This time, we had over 90 participants, players and supporters. We needed two large coaches for travelling.

Unlike the mountains of Austria or the rolling pastoral countryside of the Czech Republic, this area provided a much different terrain and set a different pace. We spent considerable time on the busses travelling to pic-turesque small towns in Belgium and the Netherlands, enjoying many canal tours, and enjoying the wonder-ful friendly people. On a long and somewhat anxious trip to Brussels, we found our concert venue sadly dis-appointing, and our audience lacking in numbers. However, according to Dan, we played beautifully despite the physical deficits. We did another long bus ride to our second concert in Dokkum where the venue was quite spectacular, the sound wonderful, the weather vile and audience size, once again, disappointing.

The highlight of this trip for many was the trip to Vimy Ridge and Ypres where our orchestra laid a wreath at the Menin Gate Memorial in memory of the Commonwealth soldiers who died there and whose bodies were never found.

We concluded this trip with a wonderful dinner in an historical restaurant, the Five Flies in Amsterdam, which by Toronto safety standards, would be closed by the fire department!

We are planning another trip for 2016 or 2017. Where would you like to go?????

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Photo - Dan Clements

Photo - Dan Clements