Re(new)al

The PEI Symphony Orchestra (PEISO) opens its 2025–26 season with Re(new)al, a dynamic and visually striking concert on October 26 at 2:30 pm at Confederation Centre of the Arts. Led by Music Director Jaelem Bhate, the program features a unique percussion quartet concerto—a showcase for four of PEI’s own percussionists who also serve as core members of the PEISO.

In a rare and thrilling feature, Michael Gallant, Branden Kelly, Ryan Drew, and Shawn Doiron will step out from the orchestra to perform as soloists in Viet Cuong’s Re(new)al, an innovative work exploring renewable energy through sound. Commissioned in part by a green energy company, Re(new)al uses water-filled glasses, bowed vibraphones, and rotating percussionists to evoke hydro, solar, and wind power—blending the elemental with the orchestral.

“We couldn’t imagine a more powerful way to open our Nouveau season,” says Music Director Jaelem Bhate. “Re(new)al is an audacious, beautiful, and rhythmically hypnotic work—and having it performed by our very own percussionists, who are not only artists but educators and leaders in our community, makes it even more meaningful.” 

The featured soloists are well-known to Island audiences and deeply rooted in the province’s musical life. Branden Kelly teaches music at Three Oaks Senior High School, while Shawn Doiron leads the music program at Colonel Gray High School. Ryan Drew is a faculty member in the Department of Music at UPEI, and Michael Gallant performs with the PEI Regiment Band. More details about each artist can be found at peisymphony.com.

The concert’s program is rounded out with music that spans over 300 years and celebrates nature, renewal, and legacy. The afternoon begins with JS Bach’s iconic Toccata and Fugue in D minor, reimagined for orchestra by Leopold Stokowski, and continues with Canadian composer Jocelyn Morlock’s Oiseaux bleus et sauvages—a vibrant work inspired by the sounds of wild birds. The concert concludes with the epic cinematic sweep of Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome, featuring surround-sound brass for a fully immersive experience.

Re(new)al is the first of four concerts in the PEISO’s 2025–26 Island Series, themed Nouveau, which draws on the Art Nouveau movement to explore beauty, purpose, and cultural transformation through music.

In an effort to make live orchestral music more accessible to younger audiences, the PEISO is introducing new single ticket pricing for students aged 30 and under and children aged 12 and under. This is an opportunity for families and young music lovers to experience the power of a full symphony orchestra live in concert. Season subscriptions and single tickets are available through the Confederation Centre Box Office. Visit confederationcentre.com, or call 1-902-566-1267 or 1-800-565-0278. For more information about the 2025–26 season, visit peisymphony.com.