FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Call
Friday, November 6
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Centennial Concert Hall stage
James Keelaghan will be available for interviews Backstage door entrance only

To Confirm Your Interview
RSVP by Thursday, November 5 at 4 pm to

Cheryl Waldner
Communications Coordinator 204-949-3970 communications@wso.mb.ca

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is the celebrated hub of Winnipeg's rich cultural life, delighting more than 100,000 audience members each year with innovative programming and musical excellence. The WSO presents educational programs for more than 25,000 students annually and tours outside the city reaching out to communities across Manitoba.

Winnipeg, MB – November 3, 2009 – This weekend’s concerts will highlight local performers as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) honours the past and present with Music of Freedom. This multi-media production will feature video clips and still photographs allied with live performances. During times of conflict and uncertainty, music is a constant, there to lift spirits, reignite hope and offer comfort.

Ron Robinson, known for his former hosting duties on the Weekend Morning Show on CBC Radio, will host the concerts that will feature songs with a war-time theme, as well as well-known pieces by quintessential composer John Williams. Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in Hollywood history with a track record including Star Wars, Superman, and Jaws. For Music of Freedom, four Williams pieces will be played including the “March” from 1941, “The Patriot,” “Exsultate Justi” from Empire of the Sun, and “Hymn to the Fallen” from Saving Private Ryan. The latter two pieces will be accompanied by vocal brigade Prairie Voices, led by director Kristel Peters.

Juno award-winning Canadian folk singer-songwriter James Keelaghan, now living in our river city, will be performing three original songs: “Honore,” written about one of the last survivors of the 1885 Red River Rebellion, “Abraham,” Keelaghan’s own reflection of the first time he saw the Plains of Abraham, and “Medusa,” about how we tend to forget those who have gone before us, made incredible sacrifices, and have now been turned to stone. “It is an absolutely haunting and beautiful piece,” says Keelaghan of “Medusa.”

Jazz singer and University of Manitoba’s Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music jazz vocal instructor and program coordinator Anna-Lisa Kirby will lend her voice to two big-band era pieces.

Along with a program filled with the music of many generations inspired by freedom, a Remembrance Day tribute will take place featuring members of the Winnipeg Infantry Tactical Grouping, appearing by the kind permission of the Commanding Officer LCol B.W. Takeuchi.

As part of the WSO’s acknowledgement to those who have served, and are serving in the Canadian Armed Forces, 300 free tickets will be given to members of 17 Wing Winnipeg for Music of Freedom as a thank you for their contribution to our nation.

The WSO performs the Pops concert, Music of Freedom, on Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7 at 8 pm, as well as Sunday, November 8 at 2 pm at the Centennial Concert Hall. Tickets range from $20 to $75 and are available through the WSO box office at 949-3999, online at www.wso.ca or through Ticketmaster (780-3333 or ticketmaster.ca).

- 30 -