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PGSO season-ender a homecoming for bassoonist

Nadina Mackie Jackson guest musician this Sunday afternoon at Vanier Hall
Nadina Mackie Jackson
Nadina Mackie Jackson

Hometown bassoonist Nadina Mackie Jackson is returning to the city to perform with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra this Sunday afternoon at Vanier Hall, 2 p.m. start.

Jackson is one of the country’s most accomplished bassoonists.  She played in the PGSO (then the New Caledonia Chamber Orchestra) before stints with the Montreal Symphony and Canadian Opera Company orchestras. 

Since then, she has focused on a remarkable solo and chamber music career and has commissioned no less than 18 works for bassoon and orchestra.

She will play one of those pieces, the “Odd Bird” concerto by Quebecois composer Mathieu Lussier.

“Nadina was a crucial figure in my life and career, always inspiring and encouraging me as a bassoonist and composer,” says the composer. “This work is heavily influenced by baroque music, and is characterized by a redemptive and joyful spirit, celebrating the idea of forging a path through hard moments and finally finding a true way.” 

The concert will begin with a beautiful, haunting Pavane by Gabriel Fauré, written after his father’s death. 

The PGSO season will conclude with the robust late-Romantic Symphony No.3, the “Organ” symphony, by Camille Saint-Saëns. 

“I’m hope this concert will really provide a cathartic reflection on the last strange and challenging year,” says PGSO Music Director Michael Hall. “Starting with a quietly mourning piece, this hopeful, almost defiant concerto, and finishing with an absolutely triumphant symphony.”

It's the PGSO's final performance of the season. A pre-concert chat begins at 1 p.m.

Tickets are available online at pgso.com, or in the PGSO box office weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.