New season debuts with new hope for players of the former KW Symphony

A new season of music and a new season of hope that the players of the former KW Symphony will soon be able to relaunch the bankrupt organization.

When asked by 570 NewsRadio, if the symphony was saved, Chair of the Players Committee of the KW Symphony Players Association, Kathy Robertson, said “Yes.”

The players of the symphony have been organizing their own concerts and shows since the organization folded last year.

Their 2024-25 season begins Friday night, with a concert at St. Matthews Lutheran church, at Benton and Charles Streets in Kitchener.

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“We’re very excited to be playing this concert this season….We have a new Board of Directors in place that is working hard to find a vision for the future,” Robertson said.

When asked whether the organization is close to announcing the symphony rebirth, Robertson said, “I hope we’re getting there. As I said, we do have a new Board of Directors in place, and they are currently making plans. So this is excellent news.”

Robertson could not speak about any new corporate sponsorships or fundraising achievements beyond their GoFundMe campaign to raise $2 million to support the players. So far, they’ve raised barely one-quarter of that goal.

She said government grants are being considered, but they can’t apply for those until the KW Symphony Players Association, has formalized a new organization.

The players’ Friday night debut features Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, plus selections from the 1820s, 1920s, and 2020s.

Symphony member and soloist, James Somerville will be conducting.

He says it’s an honour to be chosen to lead the orchestra.

Sommerville says playing the Unfinished Symphony is appropriate, calling it “a really great reflection of what’s going on here, which is, we had the story of the KW Symphony and we didn’t know where it was going to go, a while ago. But now we really can feel it’s an unfinished story, and we still have to write the next chapter, so to speak.”

And even though they’re playing at a church, not at Centre in the Square, he says it’s not symphony light, but “symphony heavy”, with a full orchestra.

Tickets can be purchased by clicking here, and more information about the concert can be found here.