Bloom
PEISO welcomes Arthur Arnold and Hannah O’Donnell
The PEI Symphony Orchestra (PEISO) continues its Nouveau season with Bloom on November 23 at 2:30 pm at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. The concert marks the long-awaited debut of internationally renowned conductor Arthur Arnold, and features PEI mezzo soprano Hannah O’Donnell in Hector Berlioz’s song cycle “Les nuits d’été.”
“Bloom is a concert rooted in optimism and emotional awakening,” says PEISO Music Director Jaelem Bhate. “We’re thrilled to feature Arthur Arnold—a conductor with a global reputation and deep Canadian connections—alongside Hannah O’Donnell, one of PEI’s most versatile and acclaimed voices. It’s a program that celebrates personal and collective growth.”
The program opens with Zoltán Kodály’s “Dances of Galánta,” a vibrant homage to the Hungarian folk tradition, followed by Berlioz’s “Les nuits d’été” (Summer Nights), sung by O’Donnell. The concert concludes with Johannes Brahms’ “Symphony No. 2 in D major,” often described as his sunniest and most pastoral symphony—full of lyrical themes and sweeping emotional arcs.
Arthur Arnold, a Dutch-born conductor and co-founder of the Pacific Region International Summer Music Association (PRISMA Festival & Academy), served for a decade as Music Director of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. He resigned in 2022 in protest of the war in Ukraine, taking a principled stand that underscored his commitment to artistic integrity. He is also known for his ground-breaking collaboration with the Tla’amin Nation on Canada’s west coast, where traditional Indigenous music is performed alongside full orchestra—a cultural partnership he describes as “one of the most meaningful of my career.”
“I’m honoured to finally step onto the podium with the PEI Symphony,” says Arnold. “This program speaks to transformation and healing—something we all recognize, and something music expresses so profoundly.”
Island soloist Hannah O’Donnell is equally at home on the concert and opera stage. A graduate of UPEI and Memorial University, she has performed with opera companies across Canada and internationally, and made her solo debut with the PEISO in 2017. O’Donnell is also a dedicated music educator, serving on faculty at Holland College’s School of Performing Arts and through her private studio, Middle Sea Music.
“Performing with the PEI Symphony always feels like home,” says O’Donnell. “Collaborating with so many friends and colleagues in the orchestra is incredibly special, and it’s a joy to share the music with our Island audience. Les nuits d’été is such a rich and dramatic work, and I can’t wait to explore it with Maestro Arnold and the ensemble.”
Bloom is the second concert in the PEISO’s 2025–26 Island Series, themed Nouveau, inspired by the Art Nouveau movement’s vision of beauty, purpose, and transformation through art. The series continues in March 2026 with Reclaimed, featuring JUNO-nominated composer and cellist Cris Derksen, and concludes in April 2026 with Blue—a season finale infused with jazz, gospel, and 20th-century cosmopolitan flair, with acclaimed PEI pianist Magdalena von Eccher as guest soloist.