Thirteen Strings is a chamber orchestra in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. It was founded in 1976 by Brian Law, then conductor of the

Ottawa Symphony Orchestra The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (OSO) is a full size orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, including professional, student and amateur musicians. With around 100 musicians, the OSO is Ottawa's largest orchestra, which allows it to perform large symphonic rep ...

, who led the ensemble until 1991. Its initial members were drawn from the

National Arts Centre Orchestra The National Arts Centre Orchestra (NAC Orchestra) is a Canadian orchestra based in Ottawa, Ontario led by music director Alexander Shelley. The NAC Orchestra's primary concert venue is Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. Since its incept ...

. After Law left in 1991, various guest conductors directed the ensemble, including

Calvin Sieb Calvin Robert Sieb (30 May 1925 – 21 May 2007) was an American-born Canadian classical violinist who was the concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (1959/1960–79) and the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse (1979–89), and also playe ...

. Jean-François Rivest was the Artistic Director from 1999 to 2006. The Artistic Director in 2012 was

Kevin Mallon Kevin Mallon is a Northern Irish classical conductor, who now lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Biography and career Kevin Mallon was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey but at an early age he went to live in Belfast, Northern Ireland and became ...

. The performances are often supplemented by vocal or instrumental soloists. The ensemble performs in such venues as St Andrew's Presbyterian Church and Dominion-Chalmers United Church. Thirteen strings also organizes Junior Thirteen Strings, which consists of Ottawa region string players aged 12–17 selected to play with the Thirteen Strings in a concert during their regular season.

Composition of the Thirteen Strings

In 2012 the Thirteen Strings' members were Martine Dubé, Andréa Armijo Fortrin and Manuela Milani as violin I; Brigitte Amyot, Maria Nenoiu, David Thies-Thompson and Solange Tremblay as violin II; Guylaine Lamaire and Peter Webster on viola;

Julian Armour Julian Armour, (born 29 September 1960 in Missoula, MT) is a Canadian cellist and artistic director. Armour is married to violist Guylaine Lemaire. He is the son of the philosopher Leslie Armour. Early life and education Shortly after his b ...

and Thaddeus Morden on cello; and Hilda Cowie on bass, with additional non-string members Louis-Pierre Bergeron (horn), Marie Bouchard (harpsichord), Julie Paul (oboe), and Camille Churchfield and Christian Paquette (flute).

References

* Concert Program dated 27 April 2012, Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra

External links

Official Website
* Thirteen Strings photos http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.280716455344983.65085.280682838681678&type=1 * Thirteen Strings music http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/Thirteen-Strings {{Authority control Canadian classical music groups Musical groups from Ottawa Musical groups established in 1976 1976 establishments in Ontario