State of the Arts: 2024 was quite the year in Sudbury

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A year’s end is always a time to reflect for the Sudbury Arts Council and 2024 was marked by both beginnings and endings in the arts.

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– Sudbury Symphony Orchestra: This past February, the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra (SSO) announced its new artistic and executive director Bill Rowson.

Rowson, a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the University of Toronto, is considered one of Canada’s most compelling and versatile young artists for his work with orchestras across Canada. Rowson is the former associate conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the current music director of the Stratford Symphony Orchestra

Rowson, the first SSO conductor to live in Sudbury for many decades, hit the ground running with unlimited enthusiasm, a wealth of experience and a keen eye for change.

In the past few months, his programming has included a surprise concert in September, Sgt. Pepper’s Live, launching his tenure with a bang. Members of the SSO were joined by Sudbury musicians Dayv Poulin, Ed Landry, Nick Krawczuk, Matt Foy and Zach Weil. What a night it was.

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Rowson’s Christmas Kick-off on Nov. 30 included Bel Canto, Sudbury Chamber Singers and the Sudbury Young Singers. The sold-out event is a predictor of things to come.

Clearly, Rowson has gone out of his way to connect with the community, a wise and welcome move.

SSO’s Jan. 18 concert Is titled Mendes to Mendelssohn and will be performed at the Sheridan Auditorium of Sudbury Secondary School, the new home of the orchestra.

Sudbury Arts Council applauds this new chapter in SSO’s history.

– Art Gallery of Sudbury: The Art Gallery of Sudbury has been operating out of a storefront on Elgin Street since moving from the Bell Mansion, which has structural and safety issues, in the fall of 2023.

In December, the board of governors of Laurentian University announced Bell Mansion, which had been the home of the Art Gallery of Sudbury since the late 1960s, approved the sale of the heritage building and property. The news came as a surprise for the gallery’s curator and director, Demetra Christakos.

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Christakos has spoken of the challenges of daily recalibration and to providing public access to the work of the art gallery.

In 2022, Sudbury Arts Council went on record opposing the sale of the Bell Mansion to private interests.

“The absolute lack of public consultation in this case has produced this worst possible outcome,” Andrew Boyd, the 2022 president of the Sudbury Arts Council, told the media at the time.

As the AGS looks forward to its move into the new arts hub in Tom Davies Square, expected in 2027, exhibitions will continue at 172 and 174 Elgin St.

The gallery also exhibits at spaces including Pinchman’s in the South End and The Laughing Buddha on Elgin Street.

Sudbury Arts Council wishes the AGS a less stressful 2025.

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– Place des Arts: There’s no getting around the fact that 2024 was a tough year for Place des Arts. The departure of executive director Jean-Gilles Pelletier came as a shock last spring.

Place des Arts was struggling with a deficit of $710,785 at the end of 2023. Some of the financial support officials had counted on had not been realized.

It was clear the organization needed to reassess. With Pelletier’s exit, former Sudburian Denis Bertrand returned as interim executive director and has dedicated himself to examining and revisioning.

Bertrand has been a consultant to the artistic and cultural sectors in audience development for almost two decades. He was also the executive director of Théâtre Action and a founding member of the Alliance culturelle de l’Ontario.

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The organization has had to reimagine its business model and is meeting 2025 head-on with positive enthusiasm.

The most noticeable change for the public is that The Bistro is no longer open. It was not viable as a public restaurant; however, the staff offers excellent catering to groups and events. The bar is always open for events.

– New poet laureate: In June, the City of Greater Sudbury announced Alex Tétreault as the city’s eighth poet laureate.

Tétreault was born and raised in Sudbury and is known for his activism in the queer community and his social issues column in Le Voyageur.

A graduate of Laurentian University’s French theatre and political science programs, he has served on several theatre and cultural boards over the years and appeared on stages in Sudbury, Toronto and Ottawa and is president of Theatre Action, an arts service organization catering to Ontario’s francophone theatre community.

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His play, Nickel City Fifs, in collaboration with Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario, has won several awards with a tour throughout Ontario scheduled for early 2025.

He invites everyone to his next arts event at Knowwhere Public House on Elm Street on Jan. 16 from 5 to 7 p.m. This Sudbury artist meet-up is an opportunity for local creators and organizations of all stripes to meet and find out what others are up to in the community. “This is totally informal: no agenda, no speeches, and no break-out groups,” said Tétreault.

– La Slague’s Au bistro des découvertes: Sudbury’s Dan Bedard and La Slague made a bold and successful step in the fall of 2024 to support emerging francophone artists.

Discovering these artists, they said, despite their relative obscurity, is a keenly felt pleasure shared by the monthly audiences. There was the thrill of a new performance every month.

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These intimate, carefully curated concerts featured new talents personally recommended by seasoned French Ontario artists.

Sudbury Arts Council hopes Bedard and La Slague will team up once more in 2025.

– Jazz was hot in 2024: In 2024, Jazz Sudbury presented Jazz Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Bistro at Place des Arts, highlighting local jazz musicians at a series of free concerts. The popular event quickly outgrew the venue. As Jazz Sudbury plans for 2025, included are public performances by the Jazz Sudbury Youth Band and other pop-up concerts and the September jazz festival.

As well, 2024 was a big year for Dorland Music. Musician James Dorland partnered with The Night Owl Speakeasy to present Thursday Night Jazz featuring guest artists primarily from Toronto and backed by Sudbury musicians.

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On Jan, 9, Dorland Music moves to Pestos Restaurant in Elm Square downtown for Thursday Night Jazz. The first concert features Melissa Lauren Hiltz.

Hiltz is “a Toronto-based singer-songwriter, has earned a reputation for her powerful and emotive voice as she blends blues, roots soul, pop, and jazz. Her unique captivating style draws listeners in with every note.”

James Dorland is congratulated for his impact on the music scene in 2024.

– Knox Hall impacts Sudbury scene: Owners of Books and Beans and The Night Owl, Liana Bacon and Dan Guillemette, took a chance transforming the former Knox Church on Larch Street into a performance venue now called Knox Music Hall.

The couple added new plush seating for 300 in 2024 and began a regular series that included the likes of Whitehorse, Alex Bird, Fred Eaglesmith, Hawksley Workman and the Good Lovelies. Knox Hall quickly became the go-to place in 2024.

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Besides presenting outstanding musical and comedy acts, the venue has been used by Sudbury Music Festival and Jazz Sudbury.

Sudbury Arts Council recently honoured Bacon and Guillemette with its Oryst Sawchuk Award.

Other success stories in 2024

– YES Theatre continues to deliver productions that are resoundingly applauded by patrons. Many of their shows in the Sudbury Theatre Centre and the outdoor Refettorio are sold-out events.

The company, known best for its musicals, expanded its offerings to include new Candian works such as the play 1939 and seasoned works such as The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night Time.

The company, ably led by artistic director Alessandro Costantini is bursting with new ideas and a vision that has been embraced by Sudburians.

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YES Theatre presents Samantha Williams at 1 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Sudbury Theatre Centre. Williams was last seen in YES Theatre’s 2024 A Night on Broadway Concert. This season she will be starring in the Broadway revival of Pirates of Penzance with David Hyde Pierce and Ramin Karamiloo.

– Sudbury Performance Group, under the direction of Mark Mannisto, offers amazing variety to the local arts community. There are regular musical events, dinner theatre performances, a one-act festival, Her Northern Voice Festival, and the Northern Arts Festival just to name a few. The arts council applauds these talented performers.

Sudbury Performance Group re-mounts its popular Best of Broadway & Billboard concerts one weekend only from Jan. 9 to 11 at 7:30 p.m. Go to Showpass for tickets.

State of the Arts is a bi-monthly column by the Sudbury Arts Council. We wish you a Happy New Year.

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