2008 ACTIVITIES AND REPERTOIRE

Every year to prepare for the tour the OFC holds a 2-week residency where up to 15 coaches including our Education Director, Douglas Sturdevant and our String coach, David Stewart offer to advanced training. The OFC also holds master classes. In 2008, Ottawa will be the site of the first week of the residency while the second week will be held in Montreal.

The summer tour includes Quebec City, Ottawa, Drummondville, Mont-Laurier, Montreal, Kingston, Orford, Dunham and Stratford. This tour includes numerous classical concerts, two operas, chamber music and a classical and pop concert. The soloist for the classical concerts will be Marianne Fiset and the winner of our concerto competition to be chosen among the participating OFC musicians on the first day of the residency.

This summer, the OFC will record 3 Canadian pieces:

• Hercule and Omphale - Claude Champagne
• Adonis - Theodore Dubois
• Cinderella - Ernest MacMillan.

The summer activities include an exchange program with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas (POA) of New York. In Canada, the OFC and the POA will give joint concerts at the National Art Centre in Ottawa, at Fort Henry in Kingston and at Lanaudière’s International Festival. Then the OFC and the POA will give two concerts at Stowe’s Summer Music Festival in Vermont.  Later in the year, the OFC will give a pop concert at the Francophonie Summit in Quebec City and a series of concerts in Florida.

At the OFC’s, Julien Bilodeau, a young Quebec-born composer, is creating a new piece in honor of the 400^th anniversary of Quebec City. The first movement will be played during a tour of the province of Quebec by the Bavarian-Quebec Orchestra. This orchestra includes members of the OFC and musicians from Bavaria. The second movement will be played at numerous concerts in the summer. The only time both movements will be played is on July 3^rd , the official day of the 400^th of Quebec City.