The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's New Music Festival 1992-96: A Critical Assessment

Abstract

<p>This thesis is a critical assessment of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's du Maurier Ltd. New Music Festival, which is held annually at the Winnipeg Centennial Concert Hall. This document is a history of the first five years of the week-long Festival. In it, 1 have outlined the origins of the event and the marketing strategies that have made it successful. 1 have also analyzed the programming decisions made by the Festival's architect, Glenn Buhr, and have identified ways in which new music is relevant to Canadians today. 1 examined how the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra has removed the barriers which often limit communication between the creators and appreciators of music. The emphasis at this Festival is on the interaction among composers, musicians and their audiences. The roles of government and corporate funding are also discussed. Special attention is given to the issues surrounding the debate over sponsorship from tobacco companies in Canada. This is the first document to present an analysis of the Winnipeg New Music Festival. Because of the event's astonishing public success, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's approach has come to be a model for other orchestras across Canada; other organizations want to learn how to draw such large, enthusiastic audiences.</p>