Canada’s national sport will mix with orchestral music in Saint John in the new year.
The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra’s 61st annual concert tour continued Vive le Canada when include a performance who “The Hockey Sweater” when the tour coming to the Imperial Theatre on Jan. 11.
The piece was composed by Abigail Richardson-Schulte and is based on Roch Carrier’s famous short story of the name story.
The story, based on Carrier’s life as a young fan of the Montreal Canadiens, tells the story of being forced to wear a sweater of the hated Toronto Maple Leafs after a mistake by the Eaton’s mail order company.
Well-known storyteller Stephen Tobias will narrate the performance.
NBYO president and CEO Kenn Mainville said orchestra members are excited to performance with Tobias.
“Stephen’s presence adds a wonderful layer,” Mainville said in a press release. “This piece depends on the narrator’s ability to capture the humour, tension and innocence in Roch Carrier’s story and Stephen does that with ease.”
Mainville said the Saint John audience will hear an orchestral performance that’s both playful and nostalgic.
Maestro Tony Delgado said the orchestra started practicing for the demanding performance early in the summer.
“Our young musicians can’t wait to perform this Canadian classic for New Brunswick audiences,” Delgado said.
Delgado said the piece was commissioned by the Toronto Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.
The concert tour will also include performances in Fredericton on Feb.15 and Moncton on March 28.
