In town to lead his first concert as Sudbury Symphony Orchestra’s new artistic and executive director, William (who actually goes by Bill) Rowson said he and his family intend to move to Greater Sudbury.
It will be the first time in a long while the SSO director has actually lived in town.
Currently residing in Vancouver, Rowson said he and his wife, Yvanna, have two young daughters, and can’t afford the housing prices there.
He said he’s already house hunting in Sudbury, and they plan to move here once they wrap up their projects in British Columbia.
“Now we're going to have an exciting change in our lives,” said Rowson, who added that he has family connections in Northern Ontario, with his father having grown up in Kapuskasing and relatives residing in Thunder Bay.
He said he was “thrilled” when he learned he’d gotten the job. Rowson was one of several candidates vying for the SSO director’s chair over the past few seasons, presenting a concert in Sudbury in October.
Rowson is the former associate conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and the current music director of the Stratford Symphony Orchestra, a position he will retain.
A composer, Rowson’s original works and orchestral arrangements can be found on the programs of several orchestras and ensembles throughout Canada, the US and Europe, with works broadcast in more than 20 countries.
He is known for composing and recording the orchestral soundtrack to the feature length film “Brotherhood."
The symphony held a welcoming reception for Rowson at Place des Arts April 18, where he was greeted by Mayor Paul Lefebvre and Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh, among others.
“I'm really happy to be able to welcome Bill Rowson to our city, the newly appointed artistic and executive director of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra,” said Lefebvre.
“It’s pretty wild that we have somebody of that stature and experience and capacity that is willing to move to Sudbury. I’m actually extremely thrilled.”
SSO’s previous artistic director, Mélanie Léonard, left the symphony after the 2021-2022 season, sparking a search for her replacement.
Sudbury Symphony president Michael Guillemette said he’s also excited to finally have Rowson on board. He said he’s personally been with the symphony for 25 years, and can’t remember the last time SSO had a local artistic director.
“We can't express how excited we are to have him here,” he said. “It's wonderful to have an artistic director in town. We've had satellite artistic directors over the years, coming from all over the country, coming in just for the week of the concert, and this sort of thing. Bill’s made the commitment to actually move here in the coming fall.”
As for his plans for Sudbury Symphony Orchestra, Rowson said he’s in meetings with the organization right now regarding programming.
While he of course will feature classical music, such as a Mozart program planned for next year, he also wants to present more contemporary pieces.
“We want to reach more families with our programming, we want to reach a broader spectrum of audience with our programming,” Rowson said. “I certainly am well aware of the music that resonates with players.”
Rowson said that in general, symphony orchestras have had a hard time attracting back audiences following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So that's a top priority, because when audiences are low, then financial troubles creep in really quickly, and we're not without those also,” he said. “But it's not insurmountable, and challenging problems have bold solutions.”
If you’d like to catch Rowson in action, he’ll be leading the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra in its “Lights, Camera, Symphony!” concert at 7:30 p.m. April 20 at Laurentian University’s Fraser Auditorium.
The concert will feature the world premiere of Rowson’s suite (a set of instrumental compositions) from the film “Brotherhood,” as well as music from several other Hollywood films.
Rowson will also be on hand at Sudbury Indie Cinema at 7 p.m. April 24, when the film “Brotherhood” will be screened.
The film’s description is as follows: “In 1926, a group of teenage boys arrive at Long Point Camp for the adventure of their lives. When their canoe capsizes in a freak summer storm, their holiday descends into a soul-shuddering fight for survival.”
Rowson and film director Richard Bell will talk about the process of composing the score and making the music for the movie, followed by the screening.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.
