Symphony Nova Scotia

great prices on the venues

Amazing evening with so much talent with the NS symphony and the band that played with them. If the lead singer had wild clothes on you would think it was David Bowie. Learnt alot of the history of the songs. A performance you do not want to miss!

Symphony Nova Scotia made an absolute mess of Handel. They crucified this version of the story of Christ. Handel's Messiah, the beloved oratorio of the greatest story ever told, has endured three centuries but it only took one concert to be recklessly dishonoured.Why? Because they MUZZLED the choir! It was billed over the holidays as “...a timeless, electrifying masterpiece, and a highlight of the Christmas season for hundreds of Nova Scotians each year.” But they turned Handel’s Messiah into Handel’s Muzzlia. What a disgrace. They created separation where the intent was spiritual unity. They gutted the spirit from the story of Christ.How? Well, they muzzled all 80 voices in the choir. They masked the entire choir. We paid $75.00 per seat to listen to a lifeless, muzzled choir. That was insulting. We walked out at the first break and demanded a full refund. You would think that someone in that organization would understand the basic acoustics of singing through a mask, about the distortion, the degradation of definition and timbre, the inability to project in an auditorium, despite superb acoustics.For some reason, the four soloists weren't masked. The maestro, conductor Alexander Weimann wasn't masked, and he wasn't even singing. Mmmmm...It turns out this warrantless mask policy was set by the CEO, Chris Wilkinson. There is no mask mandate in Nova Scotia - there is no public health requirement for anyone to wear a mask, anywhere, especially a singer on stage. It is abusive and a violation of basic human rights to enforce such a policy. Even during the height of the pandemic, singers were exempt from wearing a mask.How did Symphony NS think they could just get away with setting a psychotic policy that effectively suppressed and muffled the whole choir, the one thing that makes Handel’s Messiah really shine? Their billing of Handel's Messiah was misleading and fraudulent - nowhere on the ticket was it indicated that the choir was going to be muffled and inaudible, which defeats the experience of a live symphony and choir.Is this the New Normal" suppression of the performing arts we can expect from corporate and academic bullies?"