Blockbuster Beethoven with the
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Gryphon Trio

On Friday, May 25 and Saturday May 26 at 8 pm, and Sunday May 27 at 2:30 pm at the Centre In The Square Canada’s famed Gryphon Trio joins the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) and Music Director Edwin Outwater in a performance of Beethoven’s lively Triple Concerto. This concert provides a powerful double-dose of Beethoven with his much-loved 7th Symphony closing the program, and the KWS season, with a flourish.

(...read more)

A Canada-China Creative Cultural Exchange:
The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony proudly presents the
National Chinese Acrobats

On Thursday, May 10 and  Friday, May 11 at 8 pm at the Centre In The Square, audiences will be mesmerized and mystified by stunning displays of artistry and daredevil acts.  This creative collaboration is a first of its kind between a Chinese acrobatic troupe and a Western symphony orchestra. The National Chinese Acrobats is an exciting Canada-China cultural exchange between the Hunan Acrobatic Troupe, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) and the Sony Centre in Toronto.

(...read more)

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony presents a festival celebrating Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Two thrilling concert programs, a screening of Amadeus, and lots of exciting extras make up the KWS Mozart Festival running from April 18 to 22, 2012 as the KWS celebrates Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most prolific and influential composers of all time. 

(...read more)

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Takes the A Train with
Big Bands and conductor/arranger Matt Catingub

Some of the most popular jazz and swing music made famous by the big names of big bands will be performed by the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS), led by multi-talented musician Matt Catingub at the Centre In The Square on Friday, April 13 and Saturday, April 14 at 8 pm. 

This lively concert will celebrate the music of the famous big bands, including selections by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Quincy Jones.  The program includes timeless greats like Stompin’ at the Savoy, Take the A Train, Moonlight Serenade, It Had to be You, and tunes made famous by the likes of Billie Holiday and Rosemary Clooney.

(...read more)

Metallica, Rush and Prog Rock greats inspire an amped up performance by the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony

On Thursday, March 29 and Friday, March 30 at 7:30pm at the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) amps up the volume with a progressive rock-inspired performance including the world premiere performance of a Rush-style composition by Nicole Lizée and other works that bridge the gap between old and new; acoustic and electric; classical and rock.

(...read more)

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony welcomes a world-renowned pianist and an amazing Canadian conductor for
Kuerti Conducts the Emperor

On Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24 at 8 pm at the Centre In The Square, conductor Julian Kuerti and pianist Nareh Arghamanyan join the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) in a performance of Beethoven’s most famous and endearing, Emperor piano concerto.  This program of triumphant, heroic, and energetic music includes Schumann’s second symphony and Torque by Gary Kulesha, one of Canada’s most prolific composers

(...read more)

KWS Featured in Idina Menzel’s Barefoot at the Symphony
and a JUNO Nomination!

The KWS is excited to be celebrating two great media projects: Barefoot at the Symphony with Idina Menzel and Marvin Hamlisch and Tapestries, a 2012 JUNO nominated recording. These two projects highlight this excellent orchestra and we are proud to be a cultural ambassador for Waterloo Region.

(...read more)

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony performs much-loved film music of John Williams and shares the stage with “Vader’s Fist” Legion of Star Wars re-enactors

Some of the most popular film music of all time will be performed by the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) at the Centre In The Square on Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March  3 at 8 pm and a matinée performance Saturday, March 3 at 2:30 pm.  Music from The Cowboys, Jaws, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Schindler’s List, Superman, Jurassic Park, The Terminal, and Star Wars will be featured on this all-John Williams program, conducted by the always-entertaining Michael Krajewksi.

(...read more)

Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY –
A live-orchestra, multi-media experience you won’t want to miss! 

This thrilling performance combines state-of-the-art videos and art stills shown on massive screens highlighting the most memorable experiences of Square Enix’s world-renowned Final Fantasy video games all set to live, award-winning orchestral music.  The live soundtrack will be performed by the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) and singer Susan Calloway, led by conductor Arnie Roth.  Join fellow gamers or come to appreciate the true musicianship of composer Nobuo Uematsu at the Centre In The Square on Tuesday, February 28 at 8 pm.

(...read more)

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Edwin Outwater announce
2012/13 Season that will Inspire and Surprise

Music Director Edwin Outwater and Executive Director Genevieve Twomey announced today, February 15, 2012, the 2012/13 Season of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.  Under the leadership of Edwin Outwater, the KWS will present a diverse season of vivid experiences to inspire and entertain audiences of all ages and cultural backgrounds.

(...read more)

Guitar-Hero brings Passion and Flair to KW with the
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony

On Friday, February 17 and Saturday, February 18 at 8pm at the Centre In The Square guitarist Jason Vieaux joins the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) in a performance of Rodrigo’s beautiful and highly-recognizable Concierto de Aranjuez.  Joining the concerto on the program is So Far So Good, a special commission by Nico Muhly (whose works appear on the KWS’ recent, critically-acclaimed CD release) and two pieces by Ravel: Mother Goose Suite and his famous Boléro.

(...read more)

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Institute for Quantum Computing combine to blow your mind

On Thursday, February 23 and Friday, February 24 at 7:30pm at the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) joins forces with the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) to present a truly mind-bending collaboration.

(...read more)

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony succumbs to Beatlemania with
A Classical Mystery Tour

What would The Beatles have sounded like if they had the chance to perform live in concert with a symphony orchestra?  Find out when Classical Mystery Tour: Music of the Beatles performs live with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) at the Centre In The Square on Friday, February 10 and Saturday, February 11 at 8 pm. 

(...read more)

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony presents a star-studded
evening of Broadway

Three of Canada’s brightest Broadway stars team with legendary Broadway conductor Ted Sperling to present a performance not-to-be-missed!  Vocalists Louise Pitre, Elicia MacKenzie, and Dan Chameroy join Sperling and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony for Broadway 1959 at the Centre In The Square on Friday January 20 and Saturday January 21 at 8:00pm.  Audiences will be treated to a program of songs that made a splash on Broadway in 1959, including selections from West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Once Upon a Mattress, The Music Man, and more.

(...read more)

Musical Fireworks: Gluzman, Outwater, and the
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony

On Friday and Saturday, January 13 and 14 at 8pm at the Centre In The Square, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) will perform Prokofiev’s 5th Symphony with its hold-onto-your-seat ending under the baton of Edwin Outwater. Also on the program is José Evangelista’s Symphonie minute, and a performance of  Brahms’ Violin Concerto by award-winning violinist Vadim Gluzman.

(...read more)

5 Concerts in 3 Days: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony to perform community concerts across Waterloo Region January 4, 5 & 6

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) will perform at various locations across Waterloo Region during the first week in January as part of its annual community engagement schedule.

(...read more)

KWS spreads the Holiday spirit with a symphony orchestra, Christmas carols, a classic holiday tale and good cheer for the whole family!

Joining the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) in a favourite family holiday tradition will be the Grand Philharmonic Choir, Grand Philharmonic Children’s Choir, Synergy Handbell Choir, dancers from the Classical Dance Conservatory, and guest narrator Alex Mustakas.  Cincinnati Pops conductor John Morris Russell takes the podium at the Centre In The Square for performances at 8 pm on Friday & Saturday, December 16 & 17 and a special matinee performance on Saturday, December 17 at 2:30 pm.

(...read more)

Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky – the Russian greats all in one concert

Pianist Peter Longworth takes centre stage in a performance of Shostakovich’s first piano concerto, also featuring KWS’s own Principal Trumpet Larry Larson in Russian Fire, a KWS concert at the Centre In The Square on December 2 & 3 at 8pm and December 4 at 2:30pm. The program showcases Russian compositional genius with Tchaikovsky’s Mozartiana, Stravinsky’s Symphony in C and Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise.

(...read more)

Collaborative Concert brings together Local Students
and the KWS

On Monday, November 21st at 7pm, Past, Present and Future, a Waterloo Pops concert, will be hosted in the auditorium at Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School. The concert is a collaborative effort that began as a way to feature the talents of students from three schools, Sir John A Macdonald, Waterloo Collegiate, and Centennial Public School.

(...read more)

Newly-launched KWS Heartstrings Program Provided 100 free concert tickets as part of Random Act of Kindness Day

On November 4, 100 people who were unable to afford the cost of a concert ticket were given a free ticket to see baritone Hugh Russell in concert with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) at the Centre In The Square to launch the Symphony’s new Heartstrings Program.

(...read more)

KWS ends the 2010/11 Season on a High Note

On November 3, 2011, Board and staff members, musicians, and donor members gathered at the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts for the Annual General Meeting of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.  Artistically, operationally and financially the orchestra achieved success.

(...read more)

Basia Bulat and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony invite you to party – folk-style

On Thursday & Friday, November 10 & 11 at 7:30pm Canadian singer/songwriter Basia Bulat joins the KWS and Music Director Edwin Outwater at downtown Kitchener’s “orchestral nightclub,” the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts, for another fascinating performance experience.

With only two albums released, Bulat has already earned both JUNO Award and Polaris Music Prize nominations, and continues to build her fan base with extensive tours around the world and across Canada.  With incredible orchestral arrangements written by Polaris Prize winner Owen Pallet, audiences will be whirled through centuries of music and various styles including folksy fiddle, gospel, driving rhythms, ballads, madrigals, and soaring melodies – just to name a few!

(...read more)

Audiences are treated to a kaleidoscope of colours with baritone Hugh Russell and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony

On Friday & Saturday, November 4 & 5 at 8pm at the Centre In The Square Hugh Russell returns to the stage with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony to perform Mahler’s highly emotional and musically graphic Songs of a Wayfarer. This program also includes Mozart’s entertaining Paris Symphony and the richly lyrical Second Symphony of Brahms.

(...read more)

Legendary Canadian Brass to appear with the
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony

Canadian Brass take the stage with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony at the Centre In The Square at 8 pm on Friday and Saturday, October 28 & 29 with a matinee performance on October 29 at 2:30 pm.

Five tremendous brass musicians — each a virtuoso in his own right — form the Canadian Brass:  Chuck Daellenbach (tuba), Christopher Coletti and Brandon Ridenour (trumpets), Achilles Liarmakopoulos (trombone) and Eric Reed (horn).

(...read more)

Tony Award-winner Idina Menzel to appear with the
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) is pleased to announce an upcoming engagement with Tony Awarding-winning Idina Menzel, the star of Wicked and Rent.  Two performances will take place at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Koerner Hall on November 17 and 18 at 8 pm.  These performances will be conducted by multi award-winning conductor/composer Marvin Hamlisch and will be taped for a future PBS special.

(...read more)

KWS’ From Here on Out Recording released by Analekta

With an impressive discography of 21 recordings and three JUNO Award nominations, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) announces the release of From Here on Out under the Analekta label, Canada’s largest independent classical record company.  KWS performs, under the direction of its Music Director Edwin Outwater, new works by Nico Muhly, Richard Reed Parry and Johnny Greenwood.

(...read more)

Celebrate Liszt’s 200th Birthday with Canadian pianist icon André Laplante and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony

On Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1 at 8 pm the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) honours the 200th anniversary of composer Franz Liszt’s birth with the help of one of Canada’s most acclaimed pianists, André Laplante, performing both Liszt’s First and Second Piano Concertos.  Also on the program is Wagner’s theatrical Overture to The Flying Dutchman and Kodály’s Gypsy-themed Dances of Galanta.

(...read more)

Sultans of String surge onto the stage with the
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) welcomes multi-award winners and JUNO nominees Sultans of String at the Centre In The Square on Friday & Saturday, September 23 & 24 at 8 pm to launch this season’s 8-concert Pops Series

(...read more)

Edwin and Friends to wow Waterloo Region in the
KWS’ most important fundraising event of the season

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony opens its 2011/12 season on September 17, 2011 with the organization’s largest fundraising event of the year - a Gala concert at the Centre In The Square featuring five guest artists and music close to Music Director Edwin Outwater’s heart. Pianist Ian Parker – young, Canadian, and part of the Parker pianist dynasty that includes Jamie and Jon Kimura Parker – performs Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Canadian singers baritone Hugh Russell and mezzo-soprano Megan Latham will sing Broadway hits by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Rising young violinist Tai Murray plays excerpts from Barber’s timeless Violin Concerto, and cellist Kenneth Olsen performs excerpts from Victor Herbert’s concerto number 2.

(...read more)

KW Native Evan Mitchell appointed as Assistant Conductor of Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony is pleased to announce the appointment of Waterloo Region native Evan Mitchell to the new position of Assistant Conductor beginning in August 2011. Recently finishing a three-year appointment as Assistant Conductor at the Vancouver Symphony, Mr. Mitchell studied percussion at Wilfrid Laurier University and conducting at the University of Toronto with KWS Music Director Laureate Raffi Armenian. (...read more)

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Musicians Ratify New Collective Agreement 

A four-year contract paves the way for the KWS to continue to grow as an innovative orchestra in an innovative community. 

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) and its musicians’ union, Central Ontario Musicians’ Association (COMA), have reached an agreement on a new four-year contract.  Both sides have agreed to work together over the coming years to achieve the level of artistic excellence and financial stability that will enable the KWS to grow and strengthen. (...read more)

Best-selling author Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) joins the KWS for spooky fun in Kitchener and Toronto

“Edwin Outwater is the raving lunatic, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony is the ghastly monster, and the terrified populace is anyone foolhardy enough to have purchased a ticket.”
- Daniel Handler

photo credit: Meredith photo credit: Sean M Puckett

Author, comedian, musician, and award-winning bestselling author Lemony Snicket, aka Daniel Handler joins Music Director Edwin Outwater and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony for three scary, funny concerts in Kitchener and Toronto. On May 5th and 7th the spooky show will be performed at the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts in Kitchener; on May 6th it will be heard at Toronto’s Koerner Hall, the KWS’ third performance there.
Known to thousands of children and their parents as Lemony Snicket for the bestselling Series of Unfortunate Events, author Daniel Handler is good friends with Outwater. The two have collaborated with American composer Nathaniel Stookey on the bestselling, list-topping kids’ book, The Composer Is Dead and the corresponding concert – now one of the most-played contemporary works across North America. Handler is an avid musician and music lover, and has worked with The Magnetic Fields as accordionist on the acclaimed 69 Love Songs, collaborates regularly  with front man Stephin Merritt, as well as Canadian indie pop sensations Stars, Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie, Postal Service), and many others. ... (read more)

Gilmore Award-winning pianist Kirill Gerstein performs Rach 2 - Whirling Dervish Raqib Brian Burke performs in world premiere by Brian Current

On April 1st and 2nd, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) presents a blockbuster concert featuring pianist Kirill Gerstein – who won the 2011 Gilmore Award – performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and the World Premiere of Whirling Dervish, a piece by Canadian composer Brian Current featuring the Sufi Mevlevi whirling dervish Raqib Brian Burke. Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite rounds out the program.

 Kirill Gerstein, who “shows how virtuosity and soulfulness can go hand in hand,” (Chicago Sun Times) is the sixth and latest recipient of the Gilmore Artist Award – an honour worth $300 000 and described as “music’s answer to the MacArthur Foundation ‘genius grants’” (New York Times). The Russian-born pianist, said to “turn the tried-and-true…into something startlingly fresh” (ibid), grew up in southern Russia, dropped out of Berklee College of Music just shy of a degree, attended the Manhattan School of Music, and has since amassed a long list of awards and honours. Gerstein currently teaches at the conservatory in Stuttgart and maintains a major international career, appearing with top orchestras all over the world.

This concert will also feature Whirling Dervish, a brand new work commissioned by the KWS from Canadian composer Brian Current. Whirling Dervish stars Raqib Brian Burke, a Canadian Sufi Mevlevi whirling dervish who began practicing this spectacular form of meditation through movement at the age of 23. Ottawa native Brian Current is recognized as one of the leading composers of his generation in North America... (read more)

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) Music Director Edwin Outwater announced the KWS’ 2011/12 Season at an event held at the symphony’s administrative home, the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts, on February 23, 2011. The KWS season features top-tier soloists including pianists André Laplante, Nareh Arghamanyan, and Sara Davis Buechner; violinist Vadim Gluzman and guitarist Jason Vieaux; and guest conductors Tito Munoz, Julian Kuerti, John Morris Russell, and Ted Sperling. The KWS’ reputation for creative collaboration is reinforced during the 2011/12 season through Intersections projects with folk artist Basia Bulat, the Institute for Quantum Computing, and composer Nicole Lizée. Edwin Outwater’s engaging and “intrepid” (Feast of Music) programming for the 2011/12 season includes everything from a Mozart Festival to a co- commission with the Seattle Symphony by “brilliant young composer” Nico Muhly (Macleans). The KWS also welcomes back acclaimed Canadian ensembles like the Canadian Brass, Gryphon Trio, and Sultans of String. The KWS returns to the SONY Centre for several performances next season, and also introduces, by popular demand, a new Matinée Series which features the ‘Best of’ Signature and Pops concerts.

“This season will be nothing short of spectacular,” says KWS Music Director Edwin Outwater. “As our audience continues to grow, we are offering concerts that will keep them coming back. With memorable programs in all of our series, great soloists, Intersections concerts that journey into the Quantum Universe and beyond, the best Pops Series in KWS history, a beautiful Mozart festival, and a brand new Matinée Series, I'm very proud of what we have to offer in the 2011/2012 season.” ...read more

Measha joins KWS for Kurt Weill's Seven Deadly Sins

KITCHENER, ON – Canada’s superstar soprano Measha Brueggergosman is joined by cabaret notable Isengart, Music Director Edwin Outwater and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) for performances of the cabaret-inspired Seven Deadly Sins by Kurt Weill on February 24th at the River Run Centre in Guelph and February 25th and 26th in Kitchener at Centre In The Square...read more

photo credit: Eugene Wei

Edwin Outwater & KWS take Dan Deacon's high art dance party to a new level

In his first-ever collaboration with an orchestra, electronic artist and composer Dan Deacon will be joining the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Music Director Edwin Outwater for a concert on February 3rd and 4th at the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts in Kitchener, ON.
Known for his innovative programming, Edwin Outwater took up the Baltimore-based composer Dan Deacon’s MySpace call for new arrangements of his music. The resulting concert will feature a new work by and with the “circuitboard genius” (NME) for electronics and orchestra, an arrangement by Outwater of an older Deacon work...read more

KWS invited to perform with Russia's legendary Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet at Sony Centre in Toronto, March 1-6

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) is thrilled to announce that the orchestra has been invited to perform with the legendary Mariinsky (formerly the Kirov) Ballet at Toronto’s Sony Centre for the Performing Arts for seven performances, March 1 to 6, 2011. These performances mark the second time this season that the orchestra will appear in the newly restored venue.
In their first Toronto appearance since 1989, the iconic Mariinksy Ballet returns to perform their signature work, Swan Lake — the most popular ballet ever created. The KWS will perform Tchaikovsky’s classic score under the baton of the distinguished Russian conductor Pavel Bubelnikov...read more

Beethoven and Your Brain: Science celebrity Daniel Levitin joins conductor Edwin Outwater and the KWS for concerts in Toronto and Kitchener

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) brings famed neuroscientist and author of This Is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs Daniel Levitin on October 27th to Toronto’s Koerner Hall and on the 28th and 29th to Kitchener’s Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts. Together with Music Director Edwin Outwater, he leads an entirely new interactive concert experience involving the latest technology, live-polling the audience’s emotional reaction to the powerful music of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony...read more

Edwin Outwater renews contract through 2015

Kitchener-Waterloo, ON – The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony is thrilled to announce a five-year extension of Edwin Outwater’s contract as Music Director. Mr. Outwater began his post as Music Director of the KWS in 2007. The continuation of this partnership will provide continuity of artistic leadership, vision and high performance standards for Waterloo Region’s largest performing arts organization for many years to come...read mor