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© 2010 Stratford Symphony Orchestra.
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About Us | MISSION | MUSIC DIRECTOR | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
BOARD OF DIRECTORS | MUSICIAN PROFILES | PHOTOS
The Stratford Civic Orchestra was founded in 2004 by educator and arts manager Yootha Neller. Her goal was to establish a fine orchestra within the Stratford community to present excellent performances with a broad stylistic range.
The orchestra draws musicians from throughout southern Ontario, including the cities of Kitchener, London, and Toronto, as well as from the Stratford area, which is home to many musicians, actors and other artists drawn to the area by its rich and diverse cultural community.
In 2009, the orchestra changed its name to the Stratford Symphony Orchestra (SSO) to reflect its growing reputation for musical excellence. Maestro Jerome David Summers continues to guide the ensemble to greater achievements and partners the local orchestra with the top tier of Canadian guest artists such as violinist Lara St. John, chanteuse Louise Pitre, and tenor Darryl Edwards.
In 2009-2010, the orchestra presents eight concerts in four venues in Stratford: historic Knox Church, St. James Anglican Church, Central United Church and the Auditorium at Stratford City Hall.Stratford Symphony Orchestra
Board of Directors 2010-2011
- David Murray, Board Chair
- Nigel Howard, Vice-Chair
- Carolin Shepherd, Treasurer
- Jean Hewitt, Board Secretary
- Andrew MacDonald, Counsel
- Randi Patterson, Friends of the Symphony
- Douglas Bors
- Kevin Silver
- George Allan Tucker
- Ex-officio, Jerome David Summers, Music Director
- Ex-officio, John David Sterne, Executive Director
Maestro Jerome Summers, Music Director
Jerome Summers was born and educated in British Columbia, where he became a member of the Vancouver Symphony and CBC Vancouver Radio Orchestras. After acquiring graduate degrees in composition from the University of British Columbia, he undertook studies in conducting at the prestigious Toho Gakuen in Tokyo, under Kazuyoshi Akiyama and Morihiro Okabe. A versatile musician, he has established a distinguished career as a conductor, composer, and clarinetist.
Since locating in Ontario, Maestro Summers has appeared with many of Canada’s leading orchestras and performers and has broadcast frequently on CBC national radio.
His conducting activities have embraced the full spectrum of styles and genres, including opera and ballet productions, symphonic masterworks, world premiere performances of new works, pops, theatre pieces, recording session and chamber orchestra performances throughout North America and Western Europe.
Jerome Summers enters his fifth season as founding Music Director of the Stratford Symphony Orchestra and is enjoying his thirteenth year as Director of the International Symphony Orchestra in Sarnia/Pt. Huron, Mi. These thriving musical ensembles are fine examples of the numerous artistic successes Maestro Summers has developed and refined over the years. Of major significance is his 30-year tenure as professor and conductor at the University of Western Ontario, where he is now a professor emeritus.
As well, his many appearances as guest conductor across the continent have been critically acclaimed, and he will be featured on podiums in Germany, Italy, Toronto and in San Diego, Ca. in upcoming concerts this season.
Jerome Summers is celebrated as one of Canada’s most vital musicians.
Please visit www.jeromesummers.com or www.mtmartists.com for further information
John David Sterne, Executive Director
John David Sterne is a career practitioner in the management of symphony orchestras and opera companies in Canada. Among the companies he has lead include: the International Opera Festival (Montreal); Orchestra London Canada; the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra; and the Francis Winspear Centre for Music. In the eighties he served for seven years as Registrar and Faculty Manager of the Faculty of Music, the University of Western Ontario. Embracing a Servant-Leader philosophical approach to his management style, his hallmark objective is always to create an environment of care and goodwill for the musician-artists, board, staff, volunteers and patrons alike. In May 2009 he was challenged to continue building the Stratford Symphony Orchestra to a level of excellence that is this unique community’s standard. Now resident in Stratford he is also Managing Partner of Stratford Artists Management.
Jamie Klassen, Operations Manager
Jamie Klassen brings to the Stratford Symphony a dedication to the smooth running of the orchestras logistic and performance needs. In that capacity he works closely with the Music Director, Personnel Manager, Librarian and serves as assistant to the Executive Director. He has stage-managed community theatre productions and worked in a diverse array of jobs which make use of his organizational skills. Jamie is a gifted musician in his own right as pianist and trombonist. He has performed with the Stratford Symphony Orchestra, Stratford Summer Music, the Stratford Chamber Music Society and Stratford Community Players.
In addition to his work for the orchestra, he is a partner in Stratford Artists Management and runs technical administration and web design for Ticket-e-boo Stratford & Area, as well as working as a barista at Revel Caffe. A recent graduate of Stratford Central Secondary School and in September 2010 he plans to attend McGill University at the Schulich School of Music as a piano performance major. Working with the Stratford Symphony Orchestra is his first foray into the world of professional music, and he is very excited to be part of the team.
LAUREL SWINDEN – PERSONNEL MANAGER
Laurel Swinden joined the Stratford Symphony Orchestra as Principal flute in 2005. She has also performed as guest principal flute of the Kingston Symphony, and has performed as a flutist or in the piccolo chair with Orchestra London and the Oakville, Memphis, Tupelo, and Mississippi Symphonies.
An active chamber musician, Laurel has performed as part of several chamber ensembles, and with
guitar duo partner Kevin Ramessar, on several chamber music series' throughout Ontario.
In addition to a busy performing schedule, Ms. Swinden founded and directs the Waterloo Region Flute Ensemble, and the Waterloo-Wellington Flute Choir in Guelph. Laurel joined the faculty of the University of Guelph in 2008, as an Adjunct Instructor of Applied Flute, coaches university chamber ensembles at the University of Toronto, including the U of T Flute Ensemble, and enjoys teaching her active studio of dedicated private flute students in Waterloo and Guelph, Ontario.
Ms. Swinden also serves as a Winds Examiner for Conservatory Canada. She has performed and presented workshops across the United States and Canada, with performances broadcast on NPR.
Ms. Swinden is currently a candidate in the Doctorate of Musical Arts program at the University of Toronto, where she studies with Nora Shulman. Her dissertation will focus on 18th century Scottish baroque repertoire for flute.
Laurel and her husband, Dr. Kevin Swinden, an Associate Professor of Music Theory at Wilfrid Laurier University, live in Waterloo, Ontario with their three dogs, Ella (Black Lab), Lucy (American Eskimo) and Holly (Pomeranian).
Jim and Christine St. Lawrence, Development Team
Jim’s early love for playing the oboe helped to pay his way through the University of Toronto where he met Chris. They both aspired to master Medieval and Renaissance musical instruments, an experience that has greatly enhanced their appreciation for the talent and skills of the members of the Stratford Symphony Orchestra. Following graduation and marriage, their interests and vocations took them to England, France, Africa, India, Toronto, Vancouver, and New York City; finally ‘retiring’ to Stratford after 25 years in NY.
They are both accomplished producers, directors, videographers, and writers thanks to many years working together at the Video Center of the New York Institute of Technology and operating their own company during which they created video reports and interactive installations on the use of technology in education for the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, computer hardware and software companies, as well as non-profit agencies.
Jim produced and directed programs for TVOntario ( including NightMusic and Fast Forward, a seminal TV series on technology), wrote a monthly column in Videography magazine for 15 years, and taught arts administration at Columbia University. He was privileged to be interim director of a non-profit computer drop-in center in Harlem and manager of web services for Polytechnic University in Brooklyn. Chris also worked independently as a photographer, film editor, writer, and producer for the CBC, TVO, NYIT’s Computer Graphics Lab and Hearst Publications New Media division.
Their eclectic individual and collective work experiences have required a facility with planning, budgeting, marketing, and fundraising that they sincerely hope will contribute to the ongoing fiscal health of the Stratford Symphony Orchestra.
Chris Meyer, Composer-in-Residence
Chris Meyer began his musical career rather late, only taking up the piano as a teenager after his parents brought home a very enticing synthesizer. Despite a subsequent immersion in music, higher learning led Chris to a degree in physics from the University of Toronto. Between labs and lectures he taught himself the foundations of music by studying harmony, counterpoint, orchestration and classical music's greatest hits.
His real training as a composer began after university and in an unusual way – as an apprentice in the “musical workshop” of Toronto composer Ronald Royer. Assisting with all tasks from copying parts and score preparation, all the way through fleshing out orchestrations and solving compositional problems, Chris learned his craft. Interesting, approachable and playable are the three goals Chris aspires towards in all his musical work for both the audience and performers. This was put to the test during his first orchestral performances with the Mississauga Symphony under conductor John Barnum.
Following those successes, Chris has had his music performed by the orchestras of Stratford, Sarnia and Port Huron, Huronia (Barrie), Georgian Bay and Scarborough. In an interesting adventure, Chris worked as an orchestrator on the soundtrack of the feature film Gooby which was released in 2009 in theatres across Canada and the United States. To top it all off, Chris is now composer-in-residence for the Stratford Symphony Orchestra for the 2009-2010 season.
