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Victoria Symphony - March 03-2004

Victoria Symphony unwraps new season

Tania Miller has made sure her first full year as music director of the Victoria Symphony will be one to remember.

Miller, who made her conducting debut with the orchestra before 35,000 people at last summer's Bell Victoria Symphony Splash, took over the position with the 2003-2004 season already in place.

At a press conference Tuesday, she proudly announced the result of her inaugural kick at the scheduling can -- the symphony's 2004-2005 schedule.

"This season is a beginning ... of many exciting prospects for the future," Miller told the crowd assembled at Craigdarroch Castle.

The symphony's coming season -- which runs from Sept. 11 until May 1 -- features concerts staged around the anniversaries of two important Czech composers, Janácek and Dvorák, as well as two world premieres from symphony composer-in-residence Doug Schmidt.

The biggest coup of the season, however, is a pair of performances featuring soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, a featured soloist on the soundtracks to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Atom Egoyan's Ararat. This "not-to-be-missed" performer will sing Dec. 4 and Dec. 6 during the five-part Legacy Series, one of seven widely varied series the symphony will offer next season.

"She's a singer of such a versatility, perhaps someone that can be compared to (three-ocatve Italian sensation) Cecilia Bartoli," Miller said.

She also managed slot in two concerts by countertenor Daniel Taylor and soprano Suzie LeBlanc, whose Canada-wide tour in support of their award-winning Love Duets CD makes its only B.C. stop on Valentine's Day weekend.

The appearance of three young violin soloists -- Caitlin Tully, Corey Cerovsek and 14-year-old phenom Eugene Ugorksi -- is another highlight of Miller's impressive debut season.

The schedule is not without an element of risk. This year the symphony hopes to draw a new audience by moving all five installments of its Legacy Series from Sunday to Saturday night.

"We are looking forward to a new style of symphony ... a new opportunity to reach people of all ages," Miller said to cheers from the audience. " Saturday night is a night we think will entice ... some people in their plan for how they like to spend their weekends."

© Copyright 2004 Times Colonist (Victoria)
reprinted with permision
Story Credit: Carla Wilson

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Tania Miller's appointment as Music Director of the Victoria Symphony confirms her reputation as a consummate musician and leader. Recently named Associate Conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for the 2003-2004 season, Tania had already served three seasons as Assistant Conductor, leading approximately thirty-five concerts in the past season alone across a variety of series.

She is the conductor of the Toronto contemporary ensemble ERGO, with whom she premiered a number of compositions in Munich, Toronto and New York. Tania Miller was the Assistant Conductor of the Carmel Bach Festival in Carmel, California from 1997-2001, where she worked closely with internationally renown conductor Bruno Weil and many of the world’s leading Baroque artists. Tania was Artistic Director of Michigan Opera Works in Ann Arbor, Michigan from 1997-2000 and conductor of Detroit's Friends of Opera, where she lead productions of La Boheme, Semele, The Rape of Lucretia, Cosi fan Tutte and Dido and Aeneas.

She conducted Opera McGill's productions in Montreal in 1999 and 2000 of Les Contes d'Hoffmann and Le Nozze di Figaro. Miller's past and upcoming guest conducting engagements include appearances with various orchestras across Canada and the United States including the Toronto, Winnipeg, Oregon, Toledo, London, and Saskatoon Symphony Orchestras. Tania completed a D.M.A and Master's degree in conducting from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.