John Burge

Instrumentation: 2(2nd doubling Picc.)[Opt. 3rd Flute]2[Opt. English Horn]2[Opt.Sop.Clar. and Opt.Bass Clar2/4331/3Perc.+Timp./Strings] (Because this work was written for a large Youth Orchestra Festival, the score has many optional parts).

Commissioner: Orchestras Canada with funding from the Ontario Arts Council

Premiere: 10th Bienneial Ontario Youth Orchestra Festival, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, conducting, May, 6, 2001, Grant Hall, Kingston, ON.

Duration: approximately 13 minutes

Program Note: The Canadian Shield was commissioned by Orchestras Canada with the assistance of the Ontario Arts Council, for an Ontario Youth Orchestra Festival that was held at Queen’s University in Kingston for a premiere in the spring of 2000. The work was dedicated to Betty Webster, the very dedicated and successful orchestra administrator and was Executive Director of the Association of Canadian Orchestras at the time of composing this work. Knowing that there would likely be over 300 musicians premiering this composition, John Burge focused his attention on using gestures that primarily move through large blocks of sound and slowly evolving melodic gestures. Sonically, the composer has tried his best to capture the grandeur and starkness of the landscape that clings to the surface of the Canadian shield.

John Burge has been asked by a few different orchestras what the inspriration was behind this piece and below is a summary of his remarks:

If memory serves, for the premiere performance, there were representatives from about a dozen youth orchestras from across Ontario who rehearsed for a couple of days in Kingston and then presented a concert in Grant Hall which is an old shoebox-style hall that has a balcony going around three sides of the upper level.  The audience was relegated to the balcony and stage and all of the musicians took up the main floor because there were some 300 musicians to fit into what was still a tight space on the floor.  This is a huge number of players to keep moving and knowing these constraints ahead of time, I choose to compose a piece that moved somewhat slowly and dealt with blocks of sound in a very sonically colourful fashion.  This was an intentional starting point to help the conductor keep the instrumental forces moving in the same direction.  There is a very heroic melody introduced in cellos and horns that later returns for an extended climax. 

The first time the work was performed, 24 horns and 40 cellos created a marvellous effect.  Underneath this passage there is a short-long, short-long rhythm placed underneath in the timpani and someone once commented that it the pattern sounded like a heartbeat and it is a wonderful metaphor to say that Canadian Shield is the heartbeat hiding just beneath the surface of much of Canada and creating living and agricultural spaces within its ruggedness is a strong factor in our Canadian identity.  Alas, this timpani rhythm was only used as a mechanism for keeping the orchestra in a steady pulse and to fight the urge to accelerate but we can always pretend that I was so inspired.

I have a cottage about an hour North of Kingston and like many lakes in the area, you can see how the surroundings were carved by glaciers moving through the rock during the last Ice Age.  Holding this image as a constant reference point, the piece grew into the final version that will be performed tonight.  I do remember intentionally writing a lyrical melody that through simple reorchestration grows triumphantly in a series of climaxes and in that process, one can try to achieve acoustic grandeur.

Repeat Performances:

• Queen's University Orchestra, Wolf Tormann, conductor, Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, Kingston, ON, Oct. 18, 2019.
• The Subury Symphony, Melanie Leonard, conductor, Sudbury, ON, April 29, 2017.
• The National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Ottawa Youth Orchestra, Alexander Shelley, conductor, at the National Arts Centre, Nov. 7, 2016.
• The Sault Symphony, Jacob Chi, conducting, at the Community Theatre Centre, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on April 25, 2015.
• Georgian Bay Symphony Orchestra, John Barnum, conductor at the OSCVI Auditorium, Owen Sound, Ontario on March 22, 2014.
• Huronia Sinfonia, Oliver Balaburski, conductor, at Collier Street United Church, January 25, 2014
• Ottawa Youth Orchestra, John Gomez, conductor; Capitole Theatre, Ghent, Belgium; March 12, 2013.
• Ottawa Youth Orchestra, John Gomez, conductor; Maastrocjt Conservatorium, Masstricht, Netherlands, March 10, 2013.
• Ottawa Youth Orchestra, John Gomez, conductor; Nicolas en Anthoniuskerk, Monnickendam, Netherlands; March 9, 2013.
• Ottawa Youth Orchestra, John Gomez, conductor; St. Bridgit’s Art Centre, Ottawa, ON; February 24, 2013.
• Orchestra Toronto, Danielle Lisboa, conductor; Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, ON; February 24, 2013.
• Orchestra Kingston, Sylvain Gagnon, conductor; Kingston Salvation Army Temple; February 17, 2013.
• Quinte Symphony Orchestra, Gordon Craig, conductor, Bridge Street United Church, Belleville, ON; May 29, 2010.
• Deep River Symphony, Peter Morris, conductor; Deep River, ON; Mar. 2, 2007.
• Deep River Symphony, Peter Morris, conductor; Deep River, ON; Oct. 30, 2004.
• Kingston Symphony and the Kingston Youth Orchestra, Gordon Craig, conductor, Grant Hall, Kingston, ON; Apr. 5, 2002.
• Georgian Bay Symphony, John Barnum, conductor; Barrie, ON; Mar. 3, 2002.
• Niagara Youth Orchestra, Michael Newnham, conductor; St. Catherine’s, ON; June, 2001.
• Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Sharpe, conductor; Kitchener-Waterloo, ON; May, 2001.
• Durham Youth Orchestra, John Beaton, conductor; Oshawa, ON; June, 2001.
• Ottawa Youth Orchestra, John Gomez, conductor, Ottawa, ON, May, 2001.
• Mississauga Youth Orchesra, John Barnum, conductor, Mississauga, ON; May, 2001.
• Kingston Youth Orchestra, Gordon Craig, conductor; Grant Hall, Kingston, ON; June 2, 2001.