Celebrating 60 Years of Symphonic Music

Thunder Bay is Canada’s Smallest City to Have a Fully Professional Orchestra

The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra came from humble beginnings. The orchestra was formed in 1960 as the Lakehead Symphony Orchestra, after two Toronto musicians on their way to Edmonton stopped in Port Arthur because their car broke down. René Charrier and Douglas Dahlgren wandot talking with the musicians and the idea for a symphony orchestra was born. The two ended up moving to Port Arthur, and the first concert was held on November 29, 1960 in the Lakeview (now St. Ignatius) High School gymnasium. Forty-one local amateur musiciansered into Laskin’s Furniture and started playing on the display piano. Saul Laskin g participated.

In 1970, the group changed its name to the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, following the amalgamation that year. Music director Dwight Bennett established the Thunder Bay Symphony Chorus in 1974 to complement the orchestra. Bennett started hiring more professional players, and Heather Morrison moved to Thunder Bay in 1976 to assume the role of principal keyboard, a job she kept for 43 years. “It was always my goal to find a community and become a part of it,” she says, and the TBSO provided that exact opportunity.

The orchestra attracted young musicians eager for experience. Principal flute Penelope Clarke joined in 1978. She thought she would move on after a year or so, but ended up staying. “Thunder Bay is a really people-friendly town,” she says. “The young musicians that come here, they meet people, they feel supported,” she says.

Principal oboe Colleen Kennedy, with the orchestra since 1981, agrees. “The welcoming atmosphere was part of why I chose to stay and have my career here. As a musician, it’s a wonderful feeling knowing that the community supports the arts,” she says.

For the orchestra, moving into the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium in 1985 was “a big boon,” says Morrison. “It is one of the best orchestral halls in the country.”

“Our orchestra is small, but the acoustics help the orchestra sound a lot,” Clarke says.

The TBSO is the only fully professional orchestra between Winnipeg

and the Greater Toronto Area. Although small in size, with only 30 musicians currently, it has gained national recognition and was nominated for the Juno Award in 2019.

Its small size has also helped nurture strong collegial relationships. Outside of the TBSO’s performances, many of the musicians form ensembles and perform in the community, enriching Thunder Bay’s cultural life. Looking back at her career with the orchestra, Morrison says the “musical bond” with fellow musicians was the richest part of her experience with the TBSO.

If you think we’re lucky to have a symphony here, it’s not luck, points out Paul Inksetter, the general manager from 2000 to 2004. “It’s a lot of hard work,” he says. “And if we don’t do it ourselves, it’s not going to happen. Thunder Bay is actually a very small community to have a fully professional symphony orchestra.” The TBSO has faced numerous financial difficulties, but it has continued to grow, thanks to the dedication of the people of Thunder Bay who willed it to survive.

“Just the fact that we are here is a testament to our tenacity,” says Linda Penner, president of the board of directors. “No other city our size in our country has enjoyed this kind of achievement. And for us to have sustained it for 60 years is a remarkable feat in and of itself.”

While the pandemic has intensified conflicts between the board, administration, and musicians at many orchestras, that has not happened in Thunder Bay. “The management and board said, ‘We are going to support these people. We are going to find