THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra has extended the contract of music director Paul Haas for another four years.
Haas has served in the role for nearly three years and said he was excited by the challenges when he first arrived in the city.
After the departure of Arthur Post, he said, the orchestra was left in flux and was somewhat adrift artistically.
Add in financial woes and changing social and cultural dynamics and there were plenty of obstacles to overcome, Haas said.
It was an interesting time to be here,” Haas said in a release issued on Thursday by the TBSO.
“Since then we’ve added annual Indigenous concerts to our schedule, we’ve upped our educational program, we’ve created new repertoire to reflect our unique geographic location in the world, and we’ve reached out to our loyal patrons and new audiences. And that’s gone a long way to help pay down our deficit, so it’s been quite a ride.”
Symphony president Linda Penner said Haas is the perfect fit for the organizations, bringing operational and musical stability to the orchestra by agreeing to stay on.
“Paul has brought new energy to our orchestra in a time of transition. There are many new faces onstage as our older musicians retire and others move on,” Penner said.
“Since Paul has arrived more than a third of our players are new. Paul’s collaborative style with his team has made these—and many other transitions—the smoothest they could be, and the sound of the orchestra has never been better.”
The TBSO’s next main stage performance, Sibelius Sings, with vocalist Thomas Cosbey, the Thunder Bay Youth Orchestra and the Thunder Bay Symphony Chorus on Feb. 6 at the Community Auditorium.
