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Oakville Chamber Orchestra celebrates 30 years by Scott Stewart Oakville Beaver Staff Artscene 15 | Wednesday, October 30, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Three decades ago, a quartet of string musicians came together in Oakville, united by a love of music. Over the years, that number has swelled from four to 56, and the quartet has evolved into the Oakville Chamber Orchestra. Elaine Moroney, who plays second violin for the orchestra but is recovering from a shoulder injury, was there at the beginning. "It was a slow and modest start," Moroney said. "We all loved the opportunity to play chamber music." Charles Demuynck came on board as conductor in 1995, and brought change. Moroney said Demuynck brought structure to the group and added wind instruments "When he added winds, that expanded the repertoire we could play," she said. "(It) was a big step in our process." Demuynck left the orchestra in 2002 to explore opportunities in the U.S. He returned to the helm five years later. As the orchestra enters its 30th season, Demuynck is looking forward to the upcoming performances. The season debuts this weekend (Nov. 2-3) with Going for Baroque, an event featuring Handel's Water Music #3 and hidden gems, such as Les Boreades Suite by Rameau. Three other performances are scheduled, with two featuring the winners and runnersup from last year's concerto competition. Young musicians competed last June at the Church of the Incarnation. The top finishers in both the junior (aged 17 and younger) and senior (21 and younger) classes earned a chance to play with the full orchestra this season. Leslie Ashworth, Christopher Leung (junior) and Tiffany Tse will perform at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre on Saturday, Dec. 14, while class winners Emma Meinrenken (junior) and Ji Soo Choi (senior) will take to the stage for the season finale performances May 3-4, 2014. Sandwiched between those two shows will be an appearance by a world-renowned violinist. Jacques Israelievitch, the former concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, is coming to Oakville March 1-2, 2014 to perform Beethoven's violin concerto. "We've paired the concerto with Brahms' Serenade #1, a major chamber orchestra piece," Demuynck said. "It's a challenge for us but we're looking forward to it." The variety of music is what has kept Moroney coming back to entertain all these years. "The repertoire is the draw to the orchestra," she said. "The orchestra has grown and improved greatly over the 30 years. That's a reason why people have stayed because they sense the growth and success of the orchestra... and that's exciting." Saturday performances are at Central Baptist Church, 340 Rebecca St., while St. Simon's Anglican Church, 1450 Litchfield Rd., plays host to Sunday shows. Tickets for all performances are available on the orchestra's website at www. oakvillechamber.org. Local author launches debut novel The Clearing Saturday Oakville author Dan Newman is launching his debut novel The Clearing Saturday, (Nov. 2) at A Different Drummer Books, 513 Locust St. in Burlington. The Clearing is set in Newman's childhood home of St. Lucia, and is a psychological thriller based on the character of journalist Nate Mason. The book was officially released yesterday (Tuesday). The Oakville Chamber Orchestra, led by conductor Charles Demuynck, seen here, kicks off its 2013-14 season this weekend with its Going for Baroque concert. | submitted photo Shhhh... Oakville's Best Kept Secret. WIN a $250 donation to a charity of your choice AND $100 Gift Card to Whole Foods Market.... just by telling your Random Act of Kindness story For full contest rules and regulations, visit theocf.org Round brilliant cut diamond 1.44 ct.,VS2, F colour, Good cut GIA Certified Diamond - Value $32,500 You can have this one only, for $17,500 The Highest Quality,The Lowest Price. Guaranteed. 309 Lakeshore Road East, Oakville 905.339.7604 · www.omnijewelcrafters.com *Subject to prior sale and may be terminated at any time.