 The New Westminster Symphony Orchestra
began in early World War I days, and is one of the oldest community
orchestras on the West Coast of North America. The NWSO held
its first concert on February 16, 1915 (see images of concert
brochure). By 1920 the NWSO had presented 18 concerts, some of
which are shown in the Historical Photo Gallery on the NWSO website.
The original NWSO performed until 1935 when it was disbanded
due to financial difficulties.
During World War II, two
main groups provided classical music in New Westminster. The
Royal City Concert Orchestra, under the direction of Frank Harris
and sponsored by the YMCA, began in 1939. C.J. Littlewood organized
the New Westminster String Ensemble, which became the T.J. Trapp
Orchestral Class with the addition of woodwinds and brass in
1940. These orchestras merged in 1942 under the shared conductorship
of Messrs. Harris and Littlewood, and continued as the Royal
City Concert Orchestra until 1944. In September 1944 the New
Westminster Civic Orchestra was established, and performed its
first concert on June 10, 1945 with 35 musicians.
 The NWCO performed several concerts
each year until 1962 when, due to declining audiences, the NWCO
did not perform again until 1965. The New Westminster Civic Orchestral
Society met annually from 1962 to 1965 to keep the NWCO alive,
and some of the NWCO’s musicians performed in local ensembles,
including the Royal City Orchestra under conductor David Jennings.
The NWCO resumed performances in 1965 and was renamed the New
Westminster Symphony Orchestra in 1972.
The year 2009-2010 is the
66th year of musical performances and 95 years since the February
1915 debut of the original New Westminster Symphony Orchestra.
The New Westminster Symphony
Society (NWSS) is an all-volunteer organization that administers
the operations of the NWSO. The NWSS is a registered charitable
organization under the Income Tax Act (number 88915 6790 RR0001),
and became a registered non-profit society in 1958.
Reference Sources: The
Canadian Encyclopedia – Encyclopedia of Music in Canada;
New Westminster Museum and Archives
2008 - 2009
|
President: |
Lorrie Williams |
|
Vice-President: |
John Davies |
|
Secretary: |
Chris Pudlak |
|
Treasurer: |
Kyle Friesen |
|
Past President: |
Jim Stronach |
2008 - 2009
|
Roy Beavon - (NWSO
Librarian) |
|
Hank Luck |
|
Trudy Moore |
|
Marcia Nottle |
|
Irene Percival |
|
Jim Stronach (NWSO
Stage Manager) |
|
