Allen Harrington

Allen Harrington is a rare kind of musician—one who can make both the saxophone and bassoon sing with equal mastery. Whether unleashing the saxophone’s full expressive range or shaping the velvety warmth of the bassoon, he plays with a sound that is, by turns, electrifying, soulful, and endlessly fluid. As one critic put it, his playing has a “radio-active resonance” (Halifax Chronicle Herald), while others have praised his “mellifluous tone” and “considerable virtuosity” (Winnipeg Free Press).

Music fans in Manitoba may know Allen best as an MCO bassoonist, where he anchors the woodwinds with his impeccable artistry. But his musical reach extends beyond the MCO. As an Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music, he inspires the next generation of saxophonists, bassoonists, and chamber musicians.

A native of Saskatoon, Allen’s talent has taken him across Canada and onto the world stage. In 1999, he won the Grand Award at the National Music Festival, making him only the second saxophonist ever to achieve this distinction. In 2006, he became the first Canadian and only the second North American to reach the finals of the prestigious International Adolphe Sax Competition in Belgium, finishing fourth in a field of 144 of the world’s best saxophonists.

A sought-after chamber musician and soloist, Allen has performed at major saxophone festivals in North America, Europe, and Asia with his duo partner, pianist Laura Loewen. Their performances have captivated audiences from Canada to Brazil. He continues to be a dynamic presence in Winnipeg’s music scene, performing with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles.

Whether on saxophone or bassoon, Allen Harrington is a musician of rare versatility and depth—an artist who transforms every performance into something unforgettable.

David Bui

David Bui is a first prize winner of the Ionel Perlea International Conducting Competition 2021 and has served as RBC Assistant Conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra since April 2022 under the direction of Chief Conductor Otto Tausk. In this role, he has led a wide range of performances, including Main Series concerts, Kids Concerts, Community Concerts, open-air events like Symphony in the Park, and the VSO Gala, showcasing a repertoire that spans classical masterpieces and contemporary works.

Committed to music education, David teaches conducting at the VSO School of Music and the Vancouver Island Music Academy (VIMA). In 2024, he led the BCMEA Honorary String Ensemble, an initiative by the British Columbia Music Educators’ Association to highlight talented student musicians. Additionally, he has served as an adjudicator for the District Strings Festival and the Jean-Coulthard-Reading program, supporting emerging composers and young performers.

David completed his postgraduate studies in conducting with Prof. Ulrich Windfuhr at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, graduating with distinction in 2022. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, where he studied with Prof. Christian Ehwald and Prof. Hans-Dieter Baum. During his studies, he made his debut with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin in 2017. He has been a scholarship holder of the Forum Conducting and was supported by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media as part of Reboot Culture (Kultur Neustart).

In the heart of winter, a dream of spring. Allen Harrington gives us a taste of the warmth to come in this stunning program.

Jocelyn Morlock’s (1969-2023) Nostalgia returns to the MCO stage for the third time, a poignant echo of its origins, having been first commissioned by the Orchestra in 2008. Morlock wore her heart on her sleeve with this work: inspired by the works of Bach and Kundera, the piece envelops itself in bittersweet nostalgia, with all its comforts and fears. Morlock wrote of the work that “nothing appears quite as wonderful as that which is forever lost,” and her passing in 2023 brings a heartrending weight to those words. A radiant presence in the Canadian music community, she was a composer of boundless imagination and warmth, and Nostalgia remains a luminous reflection of her spirit.

Sally Beamish (1956- ) is one of the UK’s foremost contemporary composers, and Under the Wing of the Rock: Saxophone Concerto No. 2 is considered one of her masterpieces. Celtic folklore is an enduring love of Beamish’s, and it’s on full display here. The concerto is based on the “Lullaby of the Snow,” taken from Alexander Carmichael’s collection of Celtic folklore the Carmina Gadelica. The story goes that a soldier, having just taken part in the Glencoe massacre, comes across a mother singing this lullaby to her child. She knows that the winter will eventually take their lives, so she holds her child close and sings her to sleep. The soldier realizes that the lullaby belongs to his clan; they are related. Instead of following orders, he opts to rescue her. The Wing of the Rock thus takes on Christ-like significance; the place the mother sheltered herself and her child from the winter winds becomes the place she found her salvation.

Evoking a sense of rebellion and passion, Libertango signalled Astor Piazzolla’s (1921-1992) break from the tango genre and his entrance into nuevo tango. Unlike traditional tango, nuevo tango includes a variety of classical and jazz influences. A portmanteau of ‘libertad’ (Spanish for ‘freedom’) and ‘tango’, this work exuberantly celebrates Piazzolla’s new approach.

Despite his revolutionary modernism, Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was hopelessly nostalgic. His Simple Symphony was originally designed as a piece that could be performed by the average high school orchestra, and what better way to write for those players than by using the music you wrote as a child? Each movement in the work is based on compositional sketches Britten wrote as a young boy. Don’t be fooled by its juvenile provenance: the young Britten was just as much a genius as he was later in his life, and his work stands the test of time.

Another look back, this time Britten pays his respects to one of his first musical mentors. The Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge is full of gratitude for his first music teacher and lifelong mentor Frank Bridge. Beginning with the Introduction, Britten uses the primary theme in a variety of different ways, each movement representing a facet of Bridge that Britten admired. The Aria Italiana playfully refers to Bridge’s energy; the Funeral March, Bridge’s reverence; and the Fugue pays homage to his skill. Rooted in tradition, Britten looked towards the future with hope and more than a bit of whimsy. 

- Lukas Sawatsky