WSO TAKES CENTRESTAGE AT THE CAPITOL.
Windsor Symphony enters a new era
W hen Kevin Mallon struck up the band last Friday at the Capitol Theatre, it marked the end of one era and the start of a new one for the Windsor Symphony Orchestra.
The WSO is celebrating its 65th season in a new home and, after a few weeks of 2013, under the baton of a new music director.
It promises to be exciting and challenging, says the orchestra’s new general manager, Paul Meanwell.
“You could say we landed on our feet in the Capitol,” Meanwell said this week during a visit to the Capitol with Jeth Mill, WSO’s former executive director who is now serving as managing director of the theatre.
“Taking over management of a theatre,” Meanwell continued, “is something quite different from what we’ve done in the past.”
The end of the 2011-12 season saw the departure after 12 years of music director John Morris Russell.
Russell’s vision had been to construct a new concert hall in the former Armouries building on University Ave. E. But that fell through when the city hatched a plan with the University of Windsor to locate an arts faculty there in conjunction with a move downtown that also includes taking over the Windsor Star building.
In return, the city handed the keys to the Capitol over to the WSO and provided $1.8 million toward the theatre’s renovations. Although it solved WSO’s growing problem over booking times at its former concert venue, the Chrysler Theatre, it thrust the orchestra into the unfamiliar role of arts entrepreneur.
Mill has said bookings are brisk. Since assuming the reins in June, WSO has booked 18 groups and 179 performance dates in the first 12 months of operation. The orchestra itself will need about 45 dates for rehearsals and concerts.
“Renovations will continue right up to opening night and beyond,” Mill said last week. “This is a work in progress. There will be work going on here throughout the first year of operation.”
New washrooms and backstage areas were a priority. The roof and some interior walls were also repaired.
But the concertgoer may not appreciate all the work that has taken place. The main entrance, while spray-washed and polished, remains pretty much the same as the old Capitol.
Last week, WSO took delivery of several acoustic panels from Wenger Corp., a Minnesota-based supplier of concert equipment. The 21 panels, covered in wood-grain veneer, will deflect the orchestra’s sound into the Pentastar Theatre.
About 60 seats in the former theatre had to be removed to extend the stage several metres. The reduced seating capacity meant WSO had to add extra concert dates on Friday nights to its Pops series.
“We’ve got some public relations work ahead of us,” said Meanwell. He said the public needs to be educated in seeing the Capitol as the WSO’s new home after several decades at the Chrysler. “I think we also have to get the message out that we have a product that appeals to a broad range of people. There may be a view of the typical symphony patron as being a little older.
“We want to change that and target a younger audience with our exciting pops concerts and other concerts.”
Meanwell is learning how to run an orchestra on the fly. The Windsor native grew up in Toronto and spent most of his working life outside this area in a series of management positions.
He holds degrees in mechanical engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston and an MBA from the University of Windsor. For 26 years, Meanwell held a variety of engineering and office positions with Union Gas. He has also acted as a management consultant, but this is his first crack at running an arts organization.
But any business has a bottom line, and that’s where Meanwell believes his expertise will be put to use.
This season, eight candidates will audition for the position of music director. First up is Toronto’s Kevin Mallon, who will conduct the opening three pops concerts Sept. 28-30.
Belfast native Mallon is one of Canada’s leading Baroque experts, having performed with Tafelmusik and conducted Toronto’s Arcadia Ensemble, the Toronto Chamber Orchestra and Ottawa’s Thirteen Strings.
He last conducted the WSO’s Christmas Oratorio in December 2011.
“They know me and I know them,” he said. “I think the orchestra wanted to see how I perform with different repertory.”
As an orchestra manager, Mallon has experienced firsthand the challenges facing the arts in Canada.
“I find that nowadays one has to be an advocate for the arts as well as a practitioner,” he said. “Society sometimes forgets just how enriching the arts can be. I think we have to keep reminding them that the arts can engender the spirits.”
Mallon also has a personal connection to this area — his fiancée, Lisa Drouillard, grew up in LaSalle.