Halifax/K’jipuktuk, NS – Symphony Nova Scotia is pleased to announce that Tafelmusik’s Julia Wedman has been named the Symphony’s new Principal Baroque Leader.

The Principal Baroque Leader is a senior member of the artistic team who advises on guest artists, conductors, and repertoire for the Symphony’s Baroque season. They are the primary leader for the series, and will direct and conduct a number of Baroque programs throughout the season, in addition to working with the Symphony’s Music Director Holly Mathieson to ensure programming meets long-term goals.

“I am thrilled and honoured to be joining the Symphony Nova Scotia family, continuing along the inspirational path set by the brilliant and beloved Jeanne Lamon,” says Wedman.

Symphony Nova Scotia has long been known as an ensemble dedicated to Baroque performance practice, working exclusively with experts on its Baroque Series. The Symphony’s reputation for Baroque playing was developed and inspired by Symphony Nova Scotia’s Principal Baroque Leader Laureate and Music Director Emerita of Tafelmusik Jeanne Lamon, who passed away in June 2021.

Wedman will continue the development of the Symphony Nova Scotia Baroque playing style led by Lamon over the past three decades with a level of specialized training typically not received in music schools and conservatories. In addition to rehearsals and concerts, Wedman will also offer Baroque performance practice workshops to the Symphony’s musicians, as well as the young players in the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra.

“It was love at first sight for me, working with this exceptional group of musicians and staff, and getting to experience the warmth and dedication of the Symphony’s audience. I look forward to our beautiful musical collaborations and deepening friendships in the years to come!”

About Julia Wedman
Violinist Julia Wedman brings an “infectious vitality” to music (Victoria Times Colonist). Her playing has been described as “highly communicative” and “extraordinarily lithe and intuitive” (Globe and Mail). Originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Julia completed her studies in music at the University of Western Ontario, the University of Toronto, and Indiana University at Bloomington. She joined Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in Toronto in 2005 and is regularly featured as a soloist and director with the group on their home series in Toronto as well as on tours in Canada, the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Germany, China, and Korea.

She was a long-time member of I FURIOSI (ifuriosi.com) and is one quarter of the Eybler Quartet (eyblerquartet.com), whose discography includes music of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, in addition to rarely heard gems by Eybler, Vanhal, and Aspylmayr. Julia’s highly acclaimed recording of Heinrich Biber’s Mystery Sonatas (Sonoluminus) was featured in Gramophone magazine, saying “Rather exceptionally, one suspects, Wedman has approached Biber’s music as a true pilgrim, interpreting key moments in the life of Christ thoughtfully, vividly, and with evident personal humility and warmth. Her performances exude humanity and have about them a radiance that somehow transcends the sound of her lovely 1694 instrument.”

Performance highlights include guest Concertmaster/solo debuts with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (London), the Academy of Ancient Music (London), and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century (Amsterdam), as well as in her new role as Concertmaster with Quebec group L’Harmonie des Saisons (harmoniedessaisons.com), whose CD featuring soprano Hélène Brunet recently won a 2022 JUNO Award. Julia is featured on LHDS’s Bach Concerti CD as well as their upcoming Vivaldi Concerti recording for Atma. In addition, Julia has been working intensively on the music of J.S. Bach through her work with the Toronto Bach Festival, with dancer Brian Solomon and the Gallery Players of Niagara, and on her own recording of Bach’s solo music for violin.

Teaching highlights include her ongoing work at the University of Toronto, the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, and for the groundbreaking program at the Banff Centre for the Arts, EQ: Evolution Quartet, in collaboration with the Eybler, Parker, and JACK quartets, musicologist Suzannah Clarke, and composer Suzanne Farrin.

About Symphony Nova Scotia
Symphony Nova Scotia (Music Director: Holly Mathieson) is one of Canada’s most versatile and dynamic orchestras. Founded in 1983, the 37-member orchestra proudly performs music that reflects Nova Scotia’s diverse musical interests and history, combining classical masterworks, historically informed baroque, new compositions, and groundbreaking collaborations featuring artists from Nova Scotia’s rich pop, indie, and Celtic music scene. With a home base in Halifax and performances across the province, Symphony Nova Scotia reaches more than 80,000 Nova Scotians of all ages each year with its inclusive mix of concerts, free community programs, and educational outreach.

For more information, please contact:

Carol Kehoe
Director of Marketing and Communications, Symphony Nova Scotia
902.421.5264
[email protected]
symphonynovascotia.ca