Brantford Symphony Orchestra once again wowed the audience with its “When All Other Lights Go Out: Beethoven and Shore” concert on Saturday, October 24, 2026.
The performance featured the first of four guest conductors who will take turns leading the orchestra throughout the 2026-27 season.
Typically led by former longtime Artistic Director and conductor Philip Sarabura, the BSO Board of Directors is using this season to audition potential successors following his retirement earlier this year.
At the end of the season, musicians, board members and season-ticket holders will get the chance to vote on which candidate should become the BSO’s new artistic director and conductor.
Those auditioning for the role include, Shawn Bennett, who conducted Saturday’s performance; Francois Koh; Samuel Tam; and husband-and-wife duo Sharon Lee and Marcus Scholtes.
Originally from Newfoundland and Labrador, Bennett is Toronto-based conductor and educator who has led a number of prestigious ensembles throughout his career, including Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, l’Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra Toronto.
In 2024, he was named the inaugural artistic director of Wilfrid Laurier University’s new “NextGen” Youth Orchestra program. He also holds a masters degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Toronto, where he served as assistant conductor for both the university’s Symphony Orchestra and Wind Symphony.
Following a warm welcome and introduction from BSO Board of Directors co-chairs Maureen Wells and Joann Alho, Bennett took a moment to address the audience.
“It’s my absolute honour to be standing up here alongside this amazing group of musicians tonight as your guest conductor,” he said. “As many of you are aware, after 18 fantastic seasons as artistic director Philip Sarabura, has decided the time has come for him to pass the baton and enjoy a well-deserved retirement. Philip’s contribution to this orchestra and to cultural life in Brantford cannot be overstated, and we wish him all the very best.”
The program featured a diverse lineup of works, including Jean Sibelius’s Finlandia, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade in A Minor, Op. 33, and Florence Price’s “Juba Dance” from Symphony No. 1 in E Minor. It also included Howard Shore’s Symphonic Suite from The Lord of the Rings (both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers), and finally Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36.
Before getting the performance underway, Bennett spoke about the themes connecting the evening’s selections.
“Tonight’s program features music spanning nearly four centuries, all linked through a central theme: our ability as humans to find strength and resilience when faced with the darkest and most difficult of times,” he said. “We invite you to allow the music that you hear to serve as a reminder that no matter how great the challenge, be it personal or existential, our species has always found a way. Fortunately for us, so many great artists throughout history have created their own monuments of enduring human spirit through painting, sculpture, poetry, prose, and of course, music.”
Throughout the concert, Bennett provided the audience with small anecdotes about the different works, providing some history here and there, or commenting on the state of the artist’s world at the time.
During intermission, audience members could be overheard speaking about the moving, rich and powerful performances of the first half, as well as Bennett’s enthusiasm as conductor.
Some later took to social media to speak about the concert, like Brantford resident and in-kind sponsor, Stacey Bester.
“Shawn Bennett brought such energy and enthusiasm to the podium, and it carried right through to the audience,” she wrote. “His expressive conducting gestures were a performance of their own; a joy to watch as well as listen to. I’m looking forward to more beautiful music and experiencing what each guest conductor brings to the orchestra this season.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
