Orchestra emerges from bankruptcy
OrchestrasCanada’s Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, which went bankrupt in September last year, has reached a settlement with its creditors and will resume performances in the coming month.
The agreement has been ratified by the Superior Court of Ontario.
‘The board is delighted to be working with the musicians of the KWS to continue an almost eight-decade legacy of bringing a diverse range of live concerts and outreach programs to audiences,” said board chairman Bill Poole. ‘We’re excited to define and realize a strategic and artistic vision for the future of the KWS moving forward, continuing the orchestra’s longstanding commitment of delivering exceptional live music experiences as a living part of our community.
Nice to hear, but I hope they have a sustainable financial plan as well as all these good thoughts about music.
They have a new board and apparently community support was strong in its absence — K-W is used to having locally available culture, and the Court apparently realised that its fate had been determined by the pandemic fallout. But they are still soliciting donations online, which has a slightly hand-to-mouth feel about it.
I wish them well, and am optimistic. Some of these smaller cities in southern Ontario have very rich artistic heritage, and they are well integrated with their communities so are not seen as something remote or elitist. K-W has attracted very good conductors in the past.
Those of us in Kitchener-Waterloo are absolutely thrilled to hear that the KW Symphony has been able to reform and re- start!!!
It’s been a dreadful year for classical musicians and classical music lovers in our area, with the shock of our Symphony having the rug pulled out from under it last fall- there was not one single moment of notice before the announcement. Rehearsals for the new seasons were to start the following day, new players had moved to the area, only to discover their jobs were gone overnight.
So many thanks to the Players of the KWS for not giving up, for the new board for dedicating the time to resurrecting the KWS.
Your friends in Kitchener Waterloo are so delighted to have you all back in stage!!!
Fantastic news!
Terrific news! KWSO was an excellent orchestra (it made some first-class recordings for CBC Records under Raffi Armenian) and it’s wonderful to see it’s back.