Edette Gagné, artistic director for the Coast Symphony Orchestra for nine years, is about to make her last appearance on the Coast. The maestra’s final performance with the group will be at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons on Sunday, April 23 in a concert called Old World New World.
“It’s been nine wonderful years,” Gagné told Coast Reporter. “I loved it.”
The orchestra will miss her. Val Anderson, president of the Sunshine Coast Community Orchestra Association (SCCOA), notes that: “E is for Edette. E is for energy, enthusiasm and encouragement. If we could only harness that energy …”
Every Thursday Gagné took the ferry from Vancouver to attend rehearsal with the approximately 40-member Symphony (part of the SCCOA). She has made many friends on the Coast – she quips that one friend started the “adopt a conductor” program. This concert will be a celebration of her tenure and the work she has done with the musicians. She is proud of them and has seen them trust in themselves more and develop confidence in performing pieces that seemed challenging at first.
“We’ve had some giant works with lots of notes,” she said, laughing. “For example Beethoven’s Fifth – they had all heard it but no one had touched it.” The musicians have had an opportunity to give solos, cheered on by others in the group. Currently there are eight high school students in the concert, the most the orchestra has ever had.
“It’s a completely different experience for them than being in a school band,” Gagné commented. “They learn to trust themselves.”
The April 23 concert will open with a modern piece, Belingrath Gardens by Ralph Ford, that Gagné describes as “a flashy overture,” and it continues with contrasting harmonically meandering selections. The Violin Concerto in E minor, opus 64, by Felix Mendelssohn is performed by soloist Simon Gidora on violin. After intermission the orchestra will perform Symphony No. 9 From the New World, opus 95 by Antonin Dvorák. Gagné will give a pre-concert chat to tell the audience more about these pieces.
The conductor will not be leaving her musical career. She has always been involved in many other groups as a freelance conductor, including the BC Boy’s Choir and the Vivaldi Chamber Choir. Now she’s been offered a position with Orchestrate, a team-building musical experience that takes place in various cities. Non-musicians who attend will be turned into musicians for the day in a talkative process that’s right up Gagné’s alley. She is also proud that she will be the first female conductor worldwide for Orchestrate. Then in April 2018 she will be leading a choir at Carnegie Hall for a performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria. For this event the audience becomes the choir. You can join in on this one should you be in New York at the time by registering on Gagné’s website (www.edette.com).
“My path to the podium is not what I had envisioned,” Gagné said, commenting on her eclectic career. “But I’ve learned that every path is valid. I’m staying open to whatever the universe has for me.”
The Old World New World concert is likely to sell out quickly. It’s on April 23 at 7 p.m. (pre-concert chat at 6:30 p.m.) at the Heritage Playhouse, Gibsons. Tickets are at Laedeli in Gibsons and Strait Music in Sechelt.
