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Calgary Herald

CPO gets early start on its jam-packed 70th season

Article content Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Article content It promises to be a big bash this year as the Calgary Philharmonic plans an epic dance party, outdoor events and a travelling roadshow to celebrate its 70th season. Article content It all kicks off Sept. 5 at the Big Four Roadhouse on the Stampede grounds with a premiere of SYNTHONY: EDM Meets Orchestra. Guest DJs and vocalists join Calgary Phil in a fun mashup of electronic anthems. Article content The CPO begins its Jack Singer Concert Hall appearances on Sept. 12-13 with Grammy Award-winning conductor Karen Kamensek leading Grammy winner Gil Shaham playing Beethoven. Shaham is considered one of the foremost violinists in the world, and this will be his first Calgary performance. Article content Article content The CPO brings back its popular Pops and Symphony Sundays for Kids series, with The Music of Sting + The Police (Sept. 19 and 20) and The Gruffalo (Sept. 21). Article content The busy month wraps up on Sept. 27 with one of the most anticipated concerts of the season as international piano superstar Lang Lang — also making his Calgary debut — joins the orchestra and conductor Ramón Tebar at the Jack Singer. Article content This season, the CPO will branch out across the city, performing 70 concerts in seven venues across the city, such as the Jubilee, the Bella and the Grace Presbyterian Church. And it's bringing in big talent, with 29 conductors from around the world to lead the orchestra, including Yue Bao, Jessica Cottis, Calgary's own Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, Calgary Phil music director laureate Hans Graf, and Calgary Phil resident conductor Juliane Gallant. Article content Article content Some of the guest artists expected this year are guest artists such as Alberta's country star Tenille Townes, former Barenaked Lady and Canadian rock icon Steven Page, rising star Amaryn Olmeda (violin), Canadian luminary Stewart Goodyear (piano), multi-disciplinary artist Vivek Shraya, and the renowned Steven Isserlis, one of two living cellists inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame. Article content Article content The CPO will also continue its tradition of collaboration, with the Calgary Youth Orchestra in January, with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in April and Baroque fall and winter concerts with Mathieu Lussier and Camillie Delaforge, respectively. Article content Always trying to reach new audiences, the CPO will bring back popular additions such as Rockin' Pops (including the music of Prince, disco, Latin pop, Sting and the Beatles), and blockbuster movies accompaniments (Home Alone in Concert, The Princess Bride, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi). Article content And it wouldn't be Christmas without the annual musical tradition of Handel's Messiah.