WSO nominated for Juno Award
Ted Shaw, Windsor Star
Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Windsor Symphyony Orchestra has been nominated for a 2008 Juno Award for its recording of Peter & The Wolf.

The nomination is for best children's album of the year. The Juno awards will be announced on national TV on April 6.

"This is a spiritual shot in the arm for everyone involved," said WSO conductor John Morris Russell.

The recording features narration by actor Colm Feore, who grew up in Windsor, and a new work by University of Windsor composer, Brent Lee, based on a story by local author, Christopher Paul Curtis.

"This is the heart and soul of what music can mean to a community," Russell said. The Prokofiev work was recently added to the program for WSO's school concerts starting April 8.

"That means 5,000 kids will hear their own Juno-nominated orchestra playing Peter & The Wolf," he said. "I can't tell you how thrilled I am."

WSO board president Vicky Kyriaco-Wilson said: "This validates our top-notch educational program. Windsor should be proud to have this orchestra and someone of John Morris Russell's calibre in their midst."

This is the orchestra's first Juno nomination. It was nominated for a Gemini Award in 2004 for its performance on a CBC-TV Christmas special.

In 2007, WSO was named orchestra winner of a major award from the Vida Peene Fund for artistic excellence. The orchestra is also a two-time recipient of the Ontario Lieutenant Governor's Award for the Arts.

Rob Gold, WSO marketing director, said the recording has Windsor written all over it, from the fact it was recorded at the Capitol Theatre to the involvement of Lee, Curtis, and Feore, whose mother Sally, works in WSO's administrative offices.  

© The Windsor Star 2008