Orchestra Kingston

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Orchestra Kingston

Orchestra Kingston is Kingston’s community orchestra. Located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Our Origins:

In 2005 a small chamber group meeting every 2 weeks to read through classical works observed that Kingston needed a good community orchestra to open up more playing opportunities. From those humble beginnings, Orchestra Kingston has grown into a 40+ piece orchestra that provides local musicians with the opportunities to play international and Canadian orchestral repertoire. Conductor

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Conductor and composer John Palmer joined the orchestra as its music director in the orchestra’s first season. He is a retired high school teacher and works at home composing, arranging and teaching low brass, theory and harmony. He has been a trombone instructor at National Music Camp of Canada, and it was in that capacity that John began to write arrangements and compositions for the Faculty Brass Ensemble at the camp. They commissioned him to write Lakeside Fanfare for the 40th Anniversary of the camp and since then his compositions and arrangements have been performed regularly at NMC, by BrassWerks in Kingston and by other string, flute, and brass ensembles. The Humboldt Brass Chamber Music Workshop held annually at the State University in Arcata, California has awarded John the 1st prize for their composition competition for each of the last 5 years. John’s brass arrangements and compositions are published by Solid Brass Music Inc. , and flute choir works by Nourse Wind Publications. His 2 major flute ensemble works have been performed at the National Flute Association and recorded by the Columbia Flute Choir. His original compositions and arrangements have been performed by Orchestra Kingston, BrassWerks, The Kingston Symphony, and The Mississauga Symphony. In July of 2010, the National Arts Centre Orchestra highlighted one of his recent compositions at their 2nd annual new Canadian composition summer reading sessions

08/20/2026

Ripe watermelon is a sign that we are getting closer to the end of Summer! It also means a return to those activities we love to do, like preparing for the first concert of our season. Thanks to Play! Gaming and Entertainment for helping fund the work we do in the Kingston Community.

08/18/2026

Orchestra Kingston is getting ready for our 2026-27 season! We will have a booth at the Seniors Centre on Francis St. in Kingston at their Active Living Expo from 10 am - 3 pm.

Stop by to see all the booths and enter a draw for door prizes, including 2 season tickets to our concerts. Hope to see you there!

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1331220495789904

07/12/2026

Summertime, and the livin' is easy. Fish are jumping and ... Bingo is nigh? Feeling the heat? Play! Gaming and Entertainment is a great way to cool off and have fun while you are! We here at Orchestra Kingston continue to be thankful for the wonderful financial support Play! Gaming and Entertainment gives us.

06/24/2026

This is Provincial Bingo Week. Orchestra Kingston is supported by funds from Play! Entertainment and Gaming here in Kingston. We are thankful for their support.

06/17/2026

If you are in the Kingston area this weekend, one of our Bassoonists, Daniel McConnachie, will be performing with three fellow bassoonists at a house concert on Amherst Island on Saturday, June 20th at 3pm. They are a group of 6 bassoonists living in the Kingston area who get together to play music written for 4 bassoons, hence the title of the group, Too Many Bassoons. For this concert, they will be a true quartet. Lots of interesting music, and by request, one of Daniel's own compositions for bassoon quartet, Four Miniatures. Hope to see you there!

06/08/2026

Summer is almost officially here! Less than two weeks away! A shout-out to our sponsor, Play! Gaming and Entertainment. Thanks for your support of what we do as an organization. Thanks to everyone who attended our concerts this past season. We are very much looking forward to our upcoming season. Come join us as we explore some wonderful music. Be there!

06/02/2026

Congratulations from all of us here at Orchestra Kingston to the Kingston Youth Orchestra under the direction of Hugh Johnston on their first-place award at the Ontario Music Festivals Association (OMFA) Community Youth Orchestra U19. Well done!

05/23/2026

Play! Gaming and Entertainment is a major sponsor of Orchestra Kingston. We are thankful for their continued support of our concerts and community outreach as an arts organization in the City of Kingston.

05/13/2026

Thanks to all our supporters of this past season! You can now subscribe to our 2026/27 Season here:

https://thespire.ticketsplease.ca/events/orchestra-kingston-2026-27-subscription/

There’s something here for everyone at reasonable prices: 4 concerts for $75/Adults, $60/Seniors & Students, Under 16 FREE. All concerts at The Spire.

In November, we feature our Senior Concerto Competition Winner, clarinetist Zhiyi (Scott)Song, plus cinematic music depicting a fall fair, a spring morning, and the bright sunny world of Beethoven’s 1st Symphony, and a new piece by local composer Dave Barton.

In December, we collaborate with She Sings! Women’s Choir under the direction of Emily McPherson to present holiday music, plus we feature our Junior Concerto Competition Winner, violinist Grace Yeseo Jeon.

In February, we brighten winter by featuring soloists from the orchestra in a variety of pieces, plus high-energy works by F***y Mendelssohn and Borodin.

In May, we close out the season with Verve by local composer Daniel McConnachie, Dvořák’s 8th Symphony, and we feature Rachel Szabo in Mozart’s 1st Flute Concerto.

05/11/2026

On behalf of the members of Orchestra Kingston, I want to thank all of our subscribers and the many audience members who attend our concerts faithfully. Your support of what we do is so important to all of us. Also, thanks to Ian MacInnes and his team at IG Wealth for their sponsorship of our last concert of the season. Your support in this manner is greatly appreciated.

We are already looking forward to next season. Please join us as we explore both new and old musical classics of the orchestral repertoire and introduce you to the up-and-coming soloists here in Kingston, like our own Scott Song.

Daniel McConnachie
Board Chairman

Address

PO Box 382
Kingston, ON
K7L4W2

Telephone

+16137664345

Website

https://linktr.ee/orchestrakingston

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