KW Symphony looking to diversify songs as part of rebuild

Members of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Board of Directors addressed Waterloo City Council this week to provide an update on the efforts to rebuild the orchestra following its 2023 bankruptcy.

After only a few months on the job, the board members told council they have the beginnings of a strategic plan that will guide the symphony going forward.

“We’ve concluded that we don’t think this is a matter of simply better marketing, better management or better anything,” said secretary Ross Well. “We need to reimagine a symphony in this community.”

One of the ways the board is hoping to reinvent the symphony is by expanding its repertoire to appeal to a wider audience.

“We are trying to envision how we’re going to reach out more broadly to the Waterloo Region community in all its diversity,” said Well. “There’s lots of success in that area in other symphonies. I guess to be blunt, we don’t always have to play Beethoven.”

Council was provided an opportunity to ask questions of the board members. Councillor Diane Freeman asked if the board is looking for government support.

Board chair, Bill Poole replied saying they have reached out to the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo and have discussed options to help the symphony through this transition period, but they haven’t gone much further than that.

“We’re not really going out on widely based appeals yet because we believe we need to build our case for support through this vision of what we are going to be.”

The board will be meeting with musicians and outside arts councils to work on that vision through a strategic business plan. That meeting will happen Feb. 15.

The new board was elected in 2024 and since been working to restore the 78 year pillar of the region’s arts community. Thanks to the efforts of the musicians and dedicated supporters, the music has not stopped and the hope for a strong and vibrant symphony in the future is sill alive.