The Frenergy Tour unites young musicians from Europe and Canada
Twenty-four-year-old Toronto violinist Cassandra Leshchyshyn is using every extra moment she can to rehearse in anticipation of The Frenergy Tour, a landmark concert tour with stops in four Canadian cities. Starting Nov. 12, she will join 75 fellow young musicians from the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO) and the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) to create a unique transatlantic orchestra. This groundbreaking tour, their first-ever in Canada, includes concerts in Toronto, Kingston, Montreal and Ottawa.
“There’s never been anything like this,” she said. “It’s beyond exciting to work with such highcalibre artists.”
The EUYO is internationally acclaimed as one of world’s great orchestras since its founding by eminent conductor Claudio Abbado in 1976. Similarly, over the past 60 years, NYO Canada has achieved iconic status. Regarded as a “finishing school” for young musicians, nearly half of the members of the country’s orchestras are composed of its alumni. This tour will mark the first time they join forces and is the EUYO’s debut tour of Canada.
The trail-blazing tour takes its name from Frenergy, the energetic orchestral work by Canadian composer John Estacio that opens each concert.
“The name embraces what we hope to achieve, for it implies both high energy and friendship,” said Peteris Ustubs, European Union Ambassador who heads the EU’s Delegation to Canada that is organizing the tour. “I’m sure lifetime friendships will be forged between the young musicians from opposite sides of the Atlantic, further reinforcing the close ties that exist between the EU and Canada.”
A student pursuing a master’s degree in performance at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, Leshchyshyn knows first-hand the kind of high-voltage experience that awaits the young musicians. She spent the summer touring Europe with the EUYO as part of a first-time exchange. She sees that multi-city tour as a warmup for this landmark event.
“On previous tours with NYO Canada, I gained experience working with talented musicians from across the country,” she said. “In Europe, I was on stage with some of the best from around the world, with different traditions and approaches to classical music.”
Leshchyshyn is looking forward to further exchanges with both Canadian and EU musicians during The Frenergy Tour. She also anticipates joyful reunions with musicians she played with over the summer. And she knows it will all have to be fast-tracked, as the young musicians will have only three days of rehearsals in which to prepare.
“Once you start working together, it really becomes all about the music, a universal language,” she said. “You’re all on stage, co-operating, being very much in the moment. It’s a beautiful experience.”
The young violinist has carved out time from her studies to prepare for the new tour. She is most excited to perform the 1945 version of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, which she has yet to play. Also on the electrifying program are Wagner’s overture to Tannhäuser and Rossini’s overture to William Tell.
Soloist for two other featured works is multiaward-winning violinist Blake Pouliot. At age 25, the NYO Canada alumnus’s star has risen meteorically since his orchestral debut 14 years ago. With his 1729 Guarneri de Gesù violin, on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts, Pouliot performs Saint-Saëns’s ever-popular Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor and Ravel’s fiery Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra.
Viennese conductor Sascha Goetzel will be at the podium in all four cities. Principal conductor of the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, he is much in demand as a guest conductor and known for a dynamic approach.
Ticket prices range from $14 to $29, depending on the venue. By exception, entrance to the Montreal concert, taking place at Notre-Dame Basilica, is by donation. As a means of giving back to the music community, proceeds will go to the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s educational program for children, La Musique aux enfants.
Ustubs is hoping the project might continue in coming years and perhaps expand to more Canadian cities. He sees it as having a far-reaching impact on the careers of the young people on stage.
“The Frenergy Tour demonstrates the extraordinary things that can happen when youth mobilize,” he said. “As well, this tour offers encouragement to them — to the musicians of the 21st century — as they embark on successful career paths that lead to performing with major orchestras all over the world.”
The Frenergy Tour, a celebration of international musical collaboration and friendship, includes the following dates: Toronto – Nov. 12, Koerner Hall; Kingston – Nov. 13, Isabel Bader Centre; Montreal – Nov. 14, NotreDame Basilica; Ottawa – Nov. 17, National Arts Centre.
Further information and links to online ticketing: