As the music director, Ronald Royer has been keeping busy with the SPO’s season, which is focusing on online content. On Friday, September 18, 2020, the SPOGreatMusic Podcast was launched. On Friday, October 9, the first installment of videos of chamber music and Sheridan College student animated shorts was posted on the SPO YouTube Channel. Besides famous classical works by J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Dvorak, Ravel, and more, the SPO will be presenting music by 31 Canadian composers, with several of these being represented by more than one composition. The goal is to create a mixture of familiar masterpieces with a group of new, engaging and enjoyable Canadian compositions. Despite the challenges of the Covid-19 outbreak, Mr. Royer is thrilled the SPO can still present a season of musical content.
Mr. Royer will be performing in several of the videos as a cellist, including a video with pianist Lisa Tahara of Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in A Major, Op. 69. As a composer, Mr. Royer wrote the music for Vladimir Moltov’s animated short, Ramon the Magnificent. His String Quartet No. 1 and Danzon Overture will be recorded by the Odin String Quartet. Mr. Royer is also composing a group of Preludes for pianist Alexander Panizza and a work for solo violin, inspired by J.S. Bach, for SPO concertmaster Corey Gemmell. Finally, Mr. Royer is serving as the producer of the SPO podcast series and will be interviewed on a few episodes as a guest. For more information, please visit the SPO website (https://www.spo.ca/).