On Saturday, Sept. 27, the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra (KSO) collaborated with Fairfields by Marriott to produce the Fairfield Signature Concerts series, The Best of Orchestral Music Across the BC Interior. For this set of concerts, the KSO has featured Michael Newnham as the guest conductor with Jaeden Izik-Dzurko as the guest pianist. During the Saturday performance, Izik-Dzurko delighted the crowd of nearly 300 with Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. as well as No.2 in F minor, Op. 21.
Izik-Dzurko–a distinguished Canadian pianist who recently won the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition–paired nicely with Newnham’s passion for conducting. Newnham, a fellow Canadian, is an internationally recognized conductor who has appeared as a guest conductor in Poland, Hungary, Austria and South Korea. He is probably best known for his particularly intense and inspiring conducting style, which has been noted to be derived from his profound knowledge of the works.
“I think the Orchestra is on a trajectory that is going very far forward, and I think we are seeing it across Canada,” Izik-Dzurko said.
This forward momentum almost didn’t come to pass, though, as the pandemic significantly impacted the orchestral scene. Newnham said that it was difficult to see that COVID-19 set back the revitalization of classical music, but a slow start towards bringing it back to life is still a start.
“Post-pandemic, we are seeing a gradual growth of audiences that are reaching from before 2019. So, I think that regardless of the size of the audience here, the enthusiasm and the strength of the commitment of the orchestra towards what’s going on here […] that’s the thing that’s important, because that’s what’s going to drive things,” he said.
When asked about the retention of symphonic patrons, Newnham was hopeful that classical music would remain undeterred from today’s social climate. Newnham believes that audiences will consistently show their patronage regardless of the season.
Yet, this does beg the question: why choose Chopin? Unlike great composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky, who are infamously known for their exciting and melodic scores. Even still, all the above composers’ works have been portrayed in media commonly used today. Why not open the KSO season with a popular and familiar composer? Or expose the next generation of patrons who have a reputation for engaging the audience through passion and excitement just as Newnham does with his audience?
Apparently, Newnham considered more than the score when deliberating which conductor would fit with his aims.
“[Choosing Chopin] came from [Izik-Dzurko] because he, with all the success he’s had, these two pieces are considered to be one of the absolute cornerstones of any pianist’s repertoire,” said Newnham
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Aside from the evident admiration Newnham demonstrates for his musicians, Chopin was a prime candidate, given the theme of national Polish folk music that exists in the lines of his concertos. Newnham has also spent a significant amount of time in Poland during times of peace and political unrest.
“I’m completely committed to these pieces because of my background, I spent so much time in Poland and during the political changes and things, and [music] is so intrinsic to their culture,” he said.
Although their time with the KSO is through, guests Newnham and Izik-Dzurko are only two of the highly talented artists who will be featured during the 2025/2026 season. The next series – Bach, Brass & Uncommon Times – will premiere on Feb. 7 at the SageBrush Theatre. During this set of concerts, the KSO will be joined by conductor Karl Hirzer.
Tickets are available through the KSO website at kamloopssymphony.com.