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About the MSO

Background & History

The Mississauga Symphony Orchestra has been active in Mississauga since 1972. It has been a resident tenant inside the Living Arts Centre since 1997. The Mississauga Symphony Orchestra has grown significantly in both membership and profile, and is now proudly designated as one of Mississauga’s six pillar institutions of arts, culture, and heritage.

Under the direction of Maestro Denis Mastromonaco since 2013, the orchestra continues to offer entertaining and increasingly sophisticated programs from classical and popular repertoires of symphonic music performed to the highest artistic standards.

With the inclusion of the Mississauga Symphony Youth Orchestra in 2013, the organization has become the centre of classical music in Mississauga, built around the pillars of music education, performance and entertainment.

The MSO continues to serve its original mandate to provide performance opportunities and personal development to talented amateurs while combining the strands of excellence and education through solo performance opportunities, commissions and mentoring.

The Mississauga Symphony Orchestra is thrilled to present its eleventh season under the direction of Maestro Denis Mastromonaco.

Structure & Leadership

Orchestras Mississauga, which includes the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra (MSO) and the Mississauga Symphony Youth Orchestra (MSYO), is governed by a dedicated volunteer Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors have been drawn from the local community, and from the orchestra. The Music Director, Executive Director, and paid professional musicians sit Ex Officio. Both the Music Director and the Executive Director also sit on the Executive Committee. Both report directly to the Board at large. The Board also includes appointed representation from Mississauga City Council.

Board of Directors

With a combination of community musicians and professional section leaders, the MSO has earned a reputation as the best hybrid orchestra in Canada.

Music Director & Conductor

Denis Mastromonaco

The Mississauga Symphony Orchestra is thrilled to enter its eleventh season under the direction of Maestro Denis Mastromonaco. Mastromonaco has over 25 years of experience in conducting and teaching both symphonic and operatic groups. He has worked with orchestras nationally and internationally including Camerata Strumentale of Italy, Czech Republic’s West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

A graduate of the University of Toronto, Maestro Mastromonaco went on to obtain a Master of Music Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the State University of New York. With extensive international training, he also holds diplomas in conducting from the Vienna Conservatory, the University of Salzburg and from the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. His work with distinguished conductors and orchestras include Salvador mas Conde, Jorma Panula, Gustav Meier, Hans Zender, Vancouver Symphony, Windsor Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Vidin State Philharmonic.

As an advocate for music in the community, Maestro Mastromonaco has been Music Director for numerous ensembles and has taught, adjudicated and served as clinician for schools, arts festivals and competitions all while promoting the importance of music in local communities. Mastromonaco has been the recipient of prestigious awards including the Emme Contestabile Prize in Orchestral Conducting from Accademia Musicale Chigiana, the City of Vaughan 2005 Outstanding Citizen Award and in 2013 the Ontario Service Medal for contribution to the arts.

Executive Director

Eileen Keown

Currently the Executive Director of Orchestras Mississauga, Eileen Keown has a wide range of experience in the music profession. Ms Keown is the former General Manager and a performing member of the Chamber Music Society of Mississauga. She has been an administrator at Mount Royal University, Dean of the Royal Conservatory of Music Community Schools, General Manager of the Kiwanis Music Festival, Executive Director of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and Executive Director of the Oakville Children’s Choir. Ms. Keown is a senior examiner in piano for RCM examinations in Canada and the US, and is active as a teacher, clinician, adjudicator and performer. In 2015, Eileen was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship for community service by the Rotary Clubs of Mississauga. Ms Keown received her musical training at the University of Alberta, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, as well as a completed artist residency at the Banff Centre.

President

Anne Milochik

Anne Milochik is a 30-year resident of Mississauga who strongly believes that Mississauga, a city with nearly 1 million residents, deserves a high quality symphony orchestra, and welcomes the orchestra’s designation as one of the Six Pillars of Arts, Culture and Heritage, as conferred by the City’s Culture Division. Anne is delighted to see the evolution in the quality of the MSO over the years, especially under the direction of Maestro Mastromonaco. Anne sees the establishment of the Mississauga Symphony Youth Orchestra as a positive influence to provide music education and training to the next generation of musicians with a goal of sustaining the symphonic art form in Mississauga.

A longtime subscriber to multiple renowned arts organizations in the GTA, Anne’s primary source of entertainment and extra-curricular interest has been music, including continuing as an adult piano student.

A pharmacist by training and a professional project manager by trade, Anne Milochik has been a member of several committees and boards of professional organizations throughout her career, including: the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (Education Committee), the Medical Information Group of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Canada (founding President), and the Project Management Institute (Pharmaceutical Special Interest Group; Lakeshore Chapter, Director of Programs; Southern Ontario Chapter, Marketing Committee, Nominations Committee).

Anne’s enthusiasm to promote awareness of the MSO in the community, to build the base of individual and corporate donors, and to grow interest in classical music with youth of various backgrounds, is a most welcome benefit to the board of directors.

Meet the Orchestra

With a combination of community musicians and professional section leaders, the MSO has earned a reputation as the best hybrid orchestra in Canada.

Structure & Leadership

HONORARY PATRON

Her Worship Mayor Bonnie Crombie

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

J. Anne Milochik, President
Marie Carnihan, Secretary, Chair Players Committee
George Brant, Lawyer
Paul Eck, Fundraising Advisor
Pieter Kool, Rotarian
Kathleen Dick, Book Sale Liaison
Teresa Lau, MSYO Chair

EX-OFFICIO

Cllr. Chris Fonseca
Eileen Keown
Denis Mastromonaco

STAFF

Denis Mastromonaco
Music Director & Conductor

Eileen Keown
Executive Director

Ryan Tobin
Director of Marketing & Production

Jennifer Tung
Assistant Conductor

Claudine LaRochelle
Director of Fundraising & Development

Susan Grohmann
Administrator & Coordinator – MSYO

Dave O’Donnell
Official Photographer

Members List

CM Concertmaster

* Principal

WINDS

Flute

Sandra Anderson
Elizabeth Rutter
Carol Ann Savage *

Oboe

Victoria Hathaway
Karen Rotenberg *‍

Clarinet

Janis Cadieux
Colin Savage *‍

Bassoon

David Fleming
Ondrej Golias *‍

BRASS AND PERCUSSION

Horn

Elizabeth Bowes
Elke Elbe *
Laura Jack
Denise Taylor

Trumpet

Sam Cancellara *‍
Todd Holland
Geoff Tiller

Trombone

Bill Beecroft *
Juergen Kalzer
Ethan Whitlow
Greg Yasinsky

Tuba

Grant Cowan

Percussion

Jeffrey Mason
Edna Teguibon
Emma Mattiacci

STRINGS

Violin

Andrea Bandow
Andrew Bell
Alexandre Bigeau
Holly Bell-Sparling
Izzie Boxen
Marie Carnihan
Ronald Charles
Ian Chau
Michael Curitti
Jin Sul Doh
Elizabeth Loewen-Andrews
Corey Gemmell CM
Alexa Grittani
Monika Hakala
Dorothea Helmer
Stefan Hlouschko
Maureen Hudes
Heike Ikeno
Bradley Ing
Andrew Kizas
Gabriela Mielnik
Xian Polermo
Andrey Perfecky
Michael Phillips
Teresa Pitek
Livio Rattner
Kai Rousseau

Rosalind Stefanac-Skugor
Leanna Uccello
Diana Urbanek

Viola

Patrick Blair
Michael Cheng
Alison Clarke
Jonathan Craig *
Eric Fahn
Jillian Haight
William McMillan
Sunjay Nak
Julia Pacitti
Madeleine Spence

Cello

Alexis Allen
Bethany Brink
Mary-Katherine Finch *
Ian Frensch
Daphne Grittani
Hyun-Young Ju
Sarah Martin
Elaine McLeod
David Padgett
Tom Phillips
Tara Tieman
Ana Trcka

Bass

Julio Henriquez
Natalie Kemerer *
Kevin Mann
Darius Nargolwalla
Ian Richards
Paul Weston