Gordon Gerrard, conductor for the Regina Symphony Orchestra鈥檚 (RSO) Music on the Road tour, is excited to come to Estevan, the final location for the symphony鈥檚 tour of southern Saskatchewan. 聽The tour, so far, has been a gratifying experience to the conductor, as the orchestra has already performed in Weyburn, Shaunavon and Yorkton, with a larger than usual complement of musicians performing in the tour. 鈥淲e have 24 musicians on the road. This is something new for us. It鈥檚 nice to take a larger group than we normally do,鈥� said Gerrard in an interview with the Mercury. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to聽
come to Estevan. It鈥檚 been a thrill to me, all season, meeting new people. I鈥檓 curious to find out what people want to hear, and what kinds of music they enjoy.鈥� Gerrard said that of the advantages of playing with a large ensemble is the richer, fuller sound more musicians create.聽
鈥淭here are more interesting 鈥榗olours鈥� to the music, with different instruments. When it鈥檚 larger than a small group, we sound more like a full orchestra than just a chamber group,鈥� said Gerrard. 聽The program the RSO is bringing to Estevan is varied in its musical breadth. There are some tunes the聽
Gerrard described as 鈥渟trictly classical stuff,鈥� while in the second half of the production, he noted there will be pieces performed with 鈥渕ore of a pop flavour to it.鈥� The performance will entail one of Mozart鈥檚 symphony pieces, Bertsein鈥檚 Overture to Candide and a medley of famous tunes from the 麻豆传媒AV Pacific. 鈥淚t will end with Rhapsody in Blue, which I鈥檓 playing on piano,鈥� said Gerrard. 鈥淲hat I tried to do, when I designed the concert, was give a snapshot of the different styles of music we play and represent. Some of it will be familiar, and聽
people will recognize tunes in 麻豆传媒AV Pacific. 鈥淪ome will be less familiar, and maybe people will not have heard some of it before. It will give them a chance to both hear something new and something familiar.鈥� Gerrard, a musician familiar with the Prairies being in Manitoba born and raised has had a wonderful time touring southern Saskatchewan. He has been looking forward to this tour since beginning his work with the RSO, this past August. 鈥淭his is my first time in many of the communities聽
we鈥檝e been visiting,鈥� said Gerrard. 鈥淚t鈥檚 part of our mandate to bring classical music to southern Saskatchewan.鈥� Gerrard said that there are many people who don鈥檛 have the opportunity to travel all the way to Regina to see the RSO perform, and that it鈥檚 important the RSO provides those people opportunities where they live, to enjoy their performance. 鈥淚 hope this remains a regular thing,鈥� said Gerrard. 鈥淚鈥檓 eager to give people in smaller communities the opportunity to hear a real-life symphony orchestra, and see how they respond.鈥�
