Canada’s defunct broadcast orchestra re-forms as independent group
The CBC Radio Orchestra, which was de-funded by the CBC a year ago, has re-united under the name “National Broadcast Orchestra.” Though stripped of government money, the band will try to continue bringing Canadian music and artists into our homes; its first concert under the new name will feature modern Canadian music as well as a Canadian pianist’s orchestration of an unfinished Beethoven piece. The music director, Alain Trudel, says the orchestra will mostly focus on studio performances that will be made available on YouTube and in other multimedia formats. To tour and do more full-length concerts, they’ll have to get more funding, which is difficult in a recession, but Trudel says that he’s determined to keep the orchestra together, although people tell him “we couldn’t pick a worse time to do this.”