Commissioned work inspired by a NB childhood to be premiered by SNB at the Beaverbrook Gallery
Dr. Mary Pedersen, physician, veteran, and philanthropist has commissioned a new work by one of Canada’s pre-eminent composers, Heather Schmidt. Dr. Pedersen relocated to New Brunswick in 2021 where she continues to support her love of music and the arts. The new commission, a partnership with Symphony New Brunswick, honours her late sister, Cheryl Ann Pedersen Sutton.
Symphony New Brunswick fans became acquainted with Heather Schmidt in April when the orchestra performed her Symphony no. 1 (“Manufactured Landscapes”) and we welcomed her to New Brunswick as she conducted workshops for young composers. Now she has written River Run, to be premiered on this tour by SNB’s Camerata New Brunswick at the Beaverbrook Gallery on May 6th.
This piece is a reflection of Mary and Cheryl’s childhood and adolescent days growing up on a potato farm in Four Falls, and their school days in Aroostook and Perth-Andover. A life with ample exposure to New Brunswick’s waterways often included travelling along, over, or on the Aroostook, Tobique, and St. John Rivers. These adventures inspired the perfect title, River Run.
“This composition is a celebration of Cheryl’s life. Cheryl was a truly kind and radiant woman whose joie de vivre was contagious and will now continue to live through this piece of music,” says Dr. Pedersen, “My mom, Marion (Murchison) Pedersen, and piano teacher, Sister Marie Estelle, created the environment for the beginning of my love for classical music and it only gets better as I can now give back and support musicians and artists. After all, ‘music is the medicine of the mind.’”
“This could be the most important concert of the season for Symphony New Brunswick. We are honoured to have worked with Heather Schmidt and with Dr. Pedersen in her commission of River Run,” says Reid Parker, President of Symphony NB, “We can’t thank Dr. Pedersen enough for commemorating her sister and their New Brunswick childhood forever through this work.”
The premiere of River Run takes place at the Beaverbrook Gallery on May 6th. There will be a reception at 6:30 and all guests with tickets are invited to attend to celebrate this momentous occasion. Camerata NB will tour this program to Saint John ( May 8th, Kent Theatre at Rothesay Netherwood School), Dieppe (May 9, La Caserne) and Albert County ( May 10, Harvey Historical Centre).
This program will also feature Boléro and Pictures at an Exhibition. Arguably Ravel’s most famous composition, Boléro is also one of the composer’s most personal works, having been inspired by both the rhythms of the machines in his father’s factory and the melodies of his mother’s night-time lullabies. “What makes Boléro especially intriguing is how it is both straightforward and complex,” says Reid Parker, President at SNB. “The constant rhythm of the percussion underscores the repetition of the main themes as these are developed by every instrument in turn, until the entire ensemble has been showcased as the swelling crescendo builds to its triumphant finish. This is why they say that nobody writes Spanish music like the French!”
The program concludes with Mussorgsky’s equally famous Pictures at an Exhibition, inspired by a display of paintings and art objects by the composer’s friend, artist Viktor Hauptmann. “Each of the ten short movements musically depicts a different artwork, so listening to the whole composition mirrors the contemplative experience of moving through an art gallery,” explains Mr. Parker. “These artworks were created during the artist’s travels abroad, so the listener is also treated to a walking tour of Europe, from the catacombs of Paris and the castles of Tuscany to the fields of Poland and the gates of Kyiv. The piece is really a grand reflective exercise, a tribute to the ways in which music and art intersect to brighten our everyday lives.”
About Heather Schmidt
Heather Schmidt pursued double majors in piano performance and composition at Juilliard and at Indiana University, where, at age 21, she became the youngest student ever to receive a Doctor of Music degree. As a virtuoso soloist, Heather received First Place in the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, and First Place, the Audience Choice Award, and the Maestro’s Choice Millennium Foundation Award at the Canadian Concerto Competition. Composition awards include three consecutive Broadcast Music Inc. Awards, SOCAN Composer Awards, the Zwilich Prize in the International League of Women Composers Competition, the Juilliard Composers Competition, and the Dean’s Composition Prize at Indiana University. She has also been nominated for a Juno in the category of Best Classical Composition.
About Symphony NB
SNB operates the province’s only full-scale, full-season professional symphony orchestra as well as Camerata New Brunswick, its professional chamber orchestra. It also plays host to the Saint John String Quartet, Ventus Machina – a professional woodwind quintet based in Dieppe – and Résonance, a new music ensemble in Saint John. Through top-notch performances, educational programs, and community partnerships, SNB promotes the awareness and appreciation of symphonic music in an increasingly diverse New Brunswick.