Ask CEO Mark Turner about opening night at the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and he doesn’t hold back.

“We’re not kicking this season off gently, we’re kicking in the door,” says Turner. “People don’t go to the symphony to hear nice and sweet. They want a wall of sound, music that expresses every shade of human emotion.”

Orchestration: Sense of Adventure will feature an exciting homecoming for violist Ryan Davis in his debut as a soloist with the SSO. Surrounded by family and friends, he’ll be perform Cecil Forsyth’s Viola Concerto in G minor a piece he first came to love studying under Saskatoon Principal Violist James Legge.

“This is the symphony that raised me. Many of these musicians helped me get on my musical path.”

“It’s hard to express how special this is for me to play this piece with my teacher from way back then,” says Davis. “This is the symphony that raised me. Many of these musicians helped me get on my musical path.”

Principal Flutist Randi Nelson spent nearly five decades with the orchestra. (Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra)

The SSO will also take this evening to reflect and pay tribute to the symphony’s late flutist Randi Nelson with the world premiere of Christos Hatzis’ Up to Her Waist in Lupins. Nelson served as principal flute with the orchestra for nearly 50 years. The piece will feature Alllison Miller who grew up watching Nelson perform and now holds the Randi Nelson Chair of Principal Flute. Erin Brophey sat beside Nelson for many years in the orchestra. The Principal Oboist says it’s going to be an emotional performance for the musicians as well as the audience.

“If you asked Randi what her favourite composer or piece of music was she’d tell you, ‘It’s the one I’m playing right now!’ She loved discovering new works,” says Brophey. “I miss her and I loved playing with her.”

Judith Yan takes the podium as guest conductor to open the 2022/23 SSO season. (David Howells)

Under the direction of guest conductor Judith Yan, the evening will close with Symphony No. 2 by English composer Ruth Gipps. This is a piece that’s been called “lightening in a bottle” fit for a blockbuster action film. The entire program is a Canadian premiere.

“This season is all about celebrating music we know and also giving our audience the chance to fall in love with new music,” says Turner. “We want to stretch our wings as an orchestra and take our audience along for the ride. Performances like this reinvigorate the classical music scene.”