The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra offers a rich repertoire that is broad in scope. From classical giants to rock and roll hits and family favorites, the CPO offers over 65 concerts per Season designed to fit all musical tastes.
Since 1955, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra has been a cornerstone of the city’s multi-faceted arts community. One of North America’s finest and most versatile ensembles, the CPO offers an average of five distinctive performances each month ranging in style from classical giants to family favourites and rock 'n' roll hits. The CPO is firmly established as an inventive and visionary partner in bringing exceptional productions to the stage, and serves as resident Orchestra for both Alberta Ballet and Calgary Opera.
Critically acclaimed music director Roberto Minczuk has swiftly established himself as one of the most important emerging talents of his generation, elevating the quality of the CPO to new creative heights and attracting internationally renowned guest artists. Each Season offers new listening experiences as numerous Juno, Grammy and Oscar winning musicians, conductors and composers make guest appearances with the CPO’s 65 world-class musicians. Guest artists have included Colin James, Ben Heppner, Marvin Hamlisch, Chantal Kreviazuk, Ian Tyson, The Canadian Tenors, Natalie MacMaster, and many more.
The Orchestra’s North American tour, which included performances at Carnegie Hall, won rave reviews. The CPO undertook its award-winning European tour in 2000 to great acclaim, becoming the first Western Canadian Orchestra to tour Europe.
Since 1985, the CPO’s permanent home has been the EPCOR CENTRE for Performing Arts’ acoustically acclaimed Jack Singer Concert Hall.
In 2010/2011, the CPO celebrates 55 years live with a Season calendar packed with gorgeous classics, Juno and Grammy Award-winning guest artists, the world’s foremost guest conductors and blockbuster specials.
A highlight of the 2010/2011 Season is the Mozart Festival, taking place over two weeks in October and November. The festival fetes the creative genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the quintessential rock star of classical composers. Including his first and final symphonies and the greatest works ever written for piano, horn, violin and voice, the festival features some of the most notable stars in the classical world.
Other Season highlights include the Specials Disney in Concert: Magical Music from the Movies, Wizard of Oz in Concert, and Cirque de la Symphonie, in which acrobats soar above the stage. Acclaimed guest artists include Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, the legendary Ian Tyson and two of the world’s most sought after violinists: Greek virtuoso Leonidas Kavakos and Canada’s own multiple Juno Award-winner James Ehnes.
The holiday Season brings some of the Season’s most anticipated guest stars: Canada’s hottest singing sensations in A Canadian Tenors Christmas, and one of the best-selling and most influential artists in contemporary Christian music, Michael W. Smith.
No Season at the CPO would be complete without Symphony Sundays for Kids. 2010/2011 brings four new productions for the young and young at heart, including Roald Dahl’s Jack and the Beanstalk, Symphonic Sorcery: The Music of Harry Potter, Orchestra from Planet X, and Enchantment Theatre’s One Thousand and One Nights. At each concert, the fun starts with the pre-show Musical Petting Zoo where children can meet CPO musicians and ask questions about their instruments.