Windsor Symphony Performs "Bach and Beyond"

The "Bach and Beyond" Baroque concert series continues Friday January 26th, Saturday the 27th AND Sunday January 28th with performances of "Bach Sings". Music Director John Morris Russell conducts the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and Windsor Classic Chorale on an all Johann Sebastian Bach program featuring cantatas and selections from his Mass in B-minor.

Friday's concerts are at Assumption University Chapel; Saturday evening's is at Leamington United Mennonite Church, 78 Oak Street East, Leamington; and Sunday's performance is at St. Anne's Church in Tecumseh. Call 519-252-6579 to order your tickets! Buy Tickets Online at

John Morris Russell, Music Director

MAESTRO JOHN MORRIS RUSSELL has consistently won international praise for his gift to make extraordinary music and to make a difference. Since his appointment as Music Director of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra in 2001, Mr. Russell has ushered in a new era of unprecedented artistic growth for the WSO and has invigorated the musical life of the Windsor-Essex region. The Windsor Star reported in 2006 that "the Windsor Symphony Orchestra is on a roll... Russell never shrinks from the most demanding works in the repertoire [and] his enthusiasm shows in virtually every aspect of the orchestra." Now in his sixth season, Maestro Russell will conduct 17 weeks with the WSO including symphonic and pops subscription programmes, concerts on the Bach and Mozart series, and the prestigious Windsor Canadian Music Festival.

During his tenure, Mr. Russell has attracted some of the world's most notable soloists to perform with the WSO, including Lara St. John, Stewart Goodyear, Anton Kuerti and Kevin McMillan. He has also championed the works of some of Canada's most illustrious composers, including Jacques Hétu, Brent Lee and Nathaniel Dett, conducting numerous Windsor premieres of important Canadian works and 32 world premiers of commissioned compositions. Mr. Russell has also performed the USA premiers of many Canadian works during his active schedule as guest conductor. He created the WSO's first multi-year composer-in-residence position, and is deeply involved in the production of the annual Windsor Canadian Music Festival, described by CBC producer David Jaeger as, "one of the most exciting and innovative developments to appear lately in the Canadian musical scene." Performances of the WCMF are broadcast nationally on CBC Radio's Two New Hours.

The Windsor Symphony Orchestra has made twelve national broadcasts with Maestro Russell on CBC Radio and the orchestra's first nationally televised production on the CBC series Opening Night, with violinist Eugene Nakamura and pianist Darrett Zusko. The WSO segment from this production was originally broadcast in December 2003 and again in 2004; it was subsequently nominated for a Gemini Award and won the Gold Worldmedal for "Best Performance Program" at the New York Festivals Awards for Television and New Media. In 2005, the WSO and Mr. Russell were featured in the documentary Clearly Symphony: not all performances are on stage by filmmaker Nicholas Shields and Suede Productions. In November 2006, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra released its second commercial recording which includes Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf narrated by the internationally acclaimed actor, Colm Feore, and Last Minute Lulu, composed by WSO Composer-in-Residence, Brent Lee, with text by the Newbery Medal winning author, Christopher Paul Curtis.

Peggy Dwyer, Soprano

PEGGY DWYER continues to electrify audiences with her performances in Canada and the United States. She is a frequent guest artist with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. She has performed with the Detroit Symphony Chamber Orchestra, the Niagara Symphony, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. She appeared as Marina in Toronto's Opera in Concert Canadian premiere of Marina (Arietta). She performed as the Queen of the Night with Opera Lyra in The Magic Flute, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Her performances include Handel's Messiah, Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, and most recently Richard Strauss' Vier Letze Lieder with the WSO. Ms. Dwyer is featured performing Mozart's Vorrei
Spiegarvi on the WSO's 1999 CD recording.

Catherine McKeever, Mezzo-Soprano

CATHERINE McKeever commands mastery of an impressive vocal repertory that includes Brahms' Alto Rhapsody, Mahler's Resurrection Symphony, Elgar's Sea Pictures, the Bach Passions, Christmas Oratorio, and many of the Cantatas, the Duruflé Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Handel's Messiah and other concert and oratorio repertoire. Operatic roles performed include "Amneris" (Aida), "Mother" (Amahl and the Night Visitors), "Miss Todd" (The Old Maid and the Thief), "Mrs. Ott" (Susannah), "Nicklausse" (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), and Julia Child (Bon Appetit). Ms. McKeever received her Master of Music from the University of Michigan. Her undergraduate work was completed at the University of Windsor, where she was the honored recipient of the Board of Governors Medal in Music. She balances a busy performing career with a teaching position on the voice faculty at University of Windsor. Founded in 1947, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra is a professional regional orchestra of 43 contracted musicians. It enjoys a national reputation for its innovative programming with a strong creative commitment to Canadian performers and composers.

The WSO has established a national reputation for its musical excellence and wide-ranging Educational and Community Outreach programs. The WSO can be heard regularly on CBC national radio broadcasts, and made its Gemini-nominated national television début on CBC Television's Opening Night in 2003, which won a Gold Worldmedal for "Best Performance Program" at the New York Festivals Awards for Television & New Media in 2005. The WSO is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Ontario Lieutenant Governor's Award for the Arts (2001, 2003). Since 1998, the WSO has doubled its subscription sales, and in 2005 launched the Windsor Symphony Youth Orchestra. Since 2000, the WSO has added five new concert series, and has commenced a groundbreaking Music Therapy program, in partnership with the University of Windsor and Windsor Regional Hospitals. The WSO performs a 33-week concert season from September to May. -- www.windsorsymphony.com