The Peninsula Orchestra was established as a branch of the Peninsula Music Club in 1978. The Club was an “umbrella” organization for amateur music making, which originally comprised a Concert Orchestra, a Country-and-Western group and a Recorder consort. Over time the Country-and-Western and Recorder groups disbanded, with only the Orchestra remaining stable and functioning effectively. In 1993 the name of the group was officially changed to the present “Peninsula Orchestra.”
We draw our membership from different communities within Ontario, Canada’s Niagara Peninsula. We are all non-paid volunteers who want to keep up with our instruments for the love of it. The orchestra has approximately 50 members — people young and old, from all walks of life, including doctors, lawyers, teachers, electricians, welders and students. Some of us are still working or about to work and others are retired, but we are all serious amateurs wanting to participate in the lifelong love and discipline of music.
We rehearse every Monday evening from 7:30 pm until 9:30 pm at Trillium United Church, 415 Linwell Rd., St. Catharines, ON L2M 2P3. Our season starts mid-September and ends in June.
We perform throughout the year, with our busiest seasons being Christmas and Spring. We regularly perform in churches, seniors’ residences and parks, including the bandshell at Queenston Heights.
Competent amateur players of standard orchestral instruments are most welcome. There are no auditions required, nor restrictions as to age.
The Peninsula Orchestra welcomed George Cleland as conductor in the 2007 season. Violinist and violist, George is the Music Coordinator for the Niagara Suzuki Association and the viola coach for the Niagara Youth Orchestra, and has been an instructor at Brock University since 2004.
A performer, teacher and conductor, George is a founding member of the Luthien Ensemble, and performs frequently as a chamber and orchestral musician with the Niagara Symphony Orchestra, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and the Niagara International Chamber Music Festival. Since 2017 he has also conducted the Brock University String Orchestra, combining university students and community members in the performance of standard masterworks and lesser-known gems of the string repertoire.
Prior to moving to the Niagara region, George was a violin instructor for the Medicine Hat College Conservatory of Music and Dance, conductor of the Medicine Hat Junior String Orchestra, and the founder and director of the Medicine Hat Community Orchestra.
New members are always welcome. If you'd love to keep up with your instrument among friends, reach out.
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