On Friday, November 19, The Royal Conservatory Orchestra and Maestro Earl Lee took to Koerner Hall’s stage, and presented a magnificent concert of epic proportions (by any standard, but especially in contrast to the past year’s capacity restrictions!). The full stage of musicians was mirrored by the largest audience that Koerner Hall had seen since March 2020. The joy and excitement of returning to a large-scale live music event were palpable, and were met with a thrilling performance.
The concert opened with Hector Berlioz’s overture Le corsaire, Op. 21, followed by George Walker’s Lyric for Strings, and Camille Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103 (“Egyptian”), with Thomas Torok (4th year BMus student, and 2020 Concerto Competition winner) as the soloist. The second half was comprised of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, op. 14.
You can watch the whole performance on RoyalConservatory.Live.
Renowned Korean-Canadian conductor and cellist Earl Lee was recently appointed Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. As an alumnus of the Taylor Academy and former Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Lee is no stranger to the RCM’s stages. However, this marked his conducting debut with The Royal Conservatory Orchestra.
Understandably, the breadth of the program posed many challenges, logistically, technically, and musically. In the end, the performance was a remarkable example of rising to the occasion, and spoke volumes to Maestro Lee’s leadership, and the work ethic, collaboration, and artistry of all involved.
The RCO’s next Koerner Hall performance is on Friday, February 11 at 8:00 pm, under the direction of Maestra Tania Miller. This program will include:
More ticketing and livestream details are available on this performance’s event page.
