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Eric Whitacre conducts the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra
Photo credit: Graham Lindsey |
Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra began as the dream of its founder and Artistic Director, Colin Clarke while he was a high school student. Under his direction, the Brampton Youth Wind Ensemble, as it was then called, was comprised of about 15 young musicians who wanted to take their performance skills to the next level by challenging themselves to play professional-level concert repertoire. The ensemble debuted to a small but enthusiastic audience at the University of Toronto’s MacMillan Theatre the following year. Concert-goers were impressed by the band’s amazing sound and commitment to excellence and the artistic maturity and vision of its young director. That same year, the ensemble won its first award, taking Gold at the Southern Ontario Band Festival, a division of MusicFest Canada.
Fast forward to 1994. The newly-named Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra, now with a full complement of 50 musicians, became a well-recognized and widely-celebrated musical group. Since then, the ensemble’s accomplishments have grown substantially to include many regional and national awards, featured guests at major festivals as well as radio and television broadcasts. The Wind Orchestra boasts a long list of collaborations with renowned artists: New York Philharmonic principal trombonist Joseph Alessi; acclaimed composers James Curnow, Donald Coakley, Dr. Jack Stamp and a recent performance with Eric Whitacre; appearances with internationally-recognized conductors including Dr. Glenn Price of the University of Calgary and Dr. Donald
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Wind Orchestra Trombones
Photo credit: Graham Lindsey |
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Hunsberger, formerly of the Eastman School of Music; and performances with great Canadian talents Phil Nimmons, Robert Pilon, W. Bramwell Smith, Michael Burgess, Cadence, Peter Appleyard and the True North Brass.
On the occasion of its 15th anniversary season, the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra travelled to New York City for a performance at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall as part of the historic hall’s Ensemble Spotlight Series, the first-ever Canadian youth wind ensemble to be so honoured. Looking ahead, the Wind Orchestra has accepted an invitation to return to Carnegie Hall to culminate its 20th anniversary season in May 2011.
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Colin R. Clarke
Photo credit: Graham Lindsey |
The newly-formed Symphonic Winds was created to provide a similar musical environment for intermediate to advanced high school students. The challenging repertoire chosen for this ensemble encourages students to strive for a consistently high level of musicality. The new Concert Winds is geared towards younger, less-experienced musicians, with the goal of enhancing their musical skills. The ensemble is open to all musicians from age 10 with at least one year of playing experience.
In the tradition of the Wind Orchestra, the Symphonic Winds and Concert Winds programs will provide students with a quality environment to stimulate musical growth, team-building and inter-personal skills. Using performance and repertoire as a vehicle for teaching, and providing regular coaching sessions with some of Toronto’s finest professional musicians, this program has proven successful to accelerate the level of young musicians.
The Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra and its family of ensembles maintain the rich tradition of providing positive, life-enhancing experiences for young people through the study and performance of wind band literature. It is a community-driven youth organization which operates largely through the support of a wide network of volunteers and patrons, and continues to raise the awareness of wind band repertoire and promote the importance of music education and the arts.
 Lani Sommers – Conductor, Concert Winds
Lani Sommers grew up in Bedford, Nova Scotia. A flute player, she holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Dalhousie University, Bachelor of Education from Acadia University and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Music Education at the University of Toronto. She has made her home in Toronto for the last five years since commencing her career as a music teacher. Lani has taught Instrumental Band at Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute and is currently Head of Music at Vaughan Secondary School. She is a member of the North York Concert Orchestra and Counterpoint Community Orchestra and enjoys playing and teaching flute on a regular basis. She is thrilled to be a part of the TYWO family and looks forward to another great season of music-making with the Concert Winds.
 Dan Horner - Conductor, Symphonic Winds
Dan Horner is the current Head of Music at Bayview Secondary School in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Since his arrival at Bayview, the music department has grown from just over 200 students to 500. The band component of the program, all under Dan’s direction, consists of two grade nine bands (60 students each), one grade ten band (65 students) and a grade eleven/twelve band (over 100 students).
As well, Dan is the head administrator of the Enrichment Band program which invites students from grade six to grade eight to come into the secondary school and begin their music journey, working collaboratively with Bayview students. Dan also heads the 75 member music council; a student governing body which helps plan events for all music students. All the ensembles at Bayview regularly achieve high standings at music festivals and tour internationally. TYWO is delighted to welcome Dan to lead the Symphonic Winds in another successful season.
Colin Clarke – Conductor, Wind Orchestra
Colin Clarke is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra program, and maintains an active career as a sought-after conductor, clinician, and adjudicator.
A recipient of the Clifford Evans Award for Conducting at the University of Western Ontario, he completed further studies in conducting at the University of North Texas and at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. He was a recent participant of the International Conducting Workshop in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he conducted the symphonies of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky with the highly celebrated New Symphony Orchestra of Sofia, and studied with noted pedagogues Gustav Meier and Rossen Milanov. Colin made his debut at Carnegie Hall in May 2006 with the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra, and has been invited to return to Carnegie in 2011.
With a passion for music education and outreach, Colin maintains a commitment to working with young people and the community. He has conducted many all-city bands, orchestras and choirs across Ontario, and has lead the Provincial Honour Bands of Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island. In May 2008 he was selected to serve as conductor of the National Youth Band of Canada. With a passion for music education and outreach, Colin maintains a commitment to working with young people and the community.
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