On Saturday October 14, the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra launches its 45th concert season with a thrilling season premiere titled Symphonic Titans: Sibelius and Mahler. Join the MSO inside Mississauga’s world class Living Arts Centre to experience the intensity of the Sibelius violin concerto performed by Corey Gemmell, the MSO’s very own concertmaster; Mahler's titanic first symphony, and Alex Eddington's Dancing About Architecture: Sesquie for Canada’s 150th, a two minute fanfare inspired by Mississauga's iconic "Marilyn Monroe" towers.

Regular ticket prices start at only $40. Special pricing for seniors, families and patrons under 26 is available. To purchase tickets, call 905-306-6000 or visit: mississaugasymphony.ca. Complimentary underground parking is included with every ticket purchase.
Symphonic Titans will begin at 8pm.
Performed by MSO concertmaster, Corey Gemmell, the Sibelius Violin Concerto is often considered the last of the great Romantic concertos. The concerto is symphonic in scope, with the solo violin and all sections of the orchestra being equal voices. The concerto was premiered on 19 October 1905 with Richard Strauss conducting the Berlin Court Orchestra and is noted for its originality and exhilarating brilliance.
Much of the violin writing is virtuosic but even the most demanding passages alternate with a lyrical, melodic character. This work is generally symphonic in scope, departing completely from the often lighter accompaniments of many other concertos. Overall, the concerto is made up of many broad and seemingly gloomy melodies contrasted by bright moments that appear against a dark symphonic backdrop.
Violinist Corey Gemmell has distinguished himself as a soloist and chamber musician with performances in Canada, Germany, the United States and China. Mr. Gemmell is concertmaster of the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Hamilton Orchestra and the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also performed in this role with the Boris Brott National Academy Orchestra, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Orchestra, and Esprit Orchestra. He performs frequently with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. Much in demand as a teacher, Mr. Gemmell’s students have distinguished themselves at provincial and national competitions. He is presently on faculty at the Western University, the National Music Camp of Canada and is a member of the Royal College of Examiners.

Austrian composer, Gustav Mahler, was one of the leading composers of his generation. In his career, Mahler penned 9 symphonies and a number of song cycles with orchestra including Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Das Knaben Wunderhorn. Some of the melodies from these song cycles made their way into his symphonies, and his first was no exception. Nicknamed, “Titan”, Mahler's first laid down the gauntlet for a new kind of symphony that would fuse the imagination and narrative of the symphonic poem with the architectural cohesion of earlier models. And more: in meshing them together, and by incorporating everything from the sounds of the world around him, in nature and on the street, to his latest poetic and philosophical obsessions, Mahler wanted his symphonic journey to encompass the whole world.

About the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra
The Mississauga Symphony Orchestra has been active in Mississauga since 1972. It has been a resident tenant inside the Living Arts Centre since 1997. The Mississauga Symphony Orchestra has grown significantly in both membership and profile, and is now proudly designated as one of Mississauga's six pillar cultural institutions. Based out of Hammerson Hall, a world-class performing arts facility located within Mississauga’s Living Arts Centre, the MSO has offered entertaining and increasingly sophisticated programs from the classic and popular repertoires of symphonic music, all performed to the highest artistic standards. The MSO has continued to serve its original mandate to provide performance opportunities and personal development to talented amateurs while it has combined the strands of excellence and education by assisting young professional performers and composers through solo performance opportunities, commissions and mentoring. The MSO can be found online at: mississaugasymphony.ca; on Facebook at: facebook.com/mississaugasymphony, on Twitter at: @MSymph, and on Instagram at: @msymph.