Season 17 - 2025 - 2026

DNTS begins its 17th season of making music! Conductors Marti Hopson and Travis Boudreau will lead a variety of pieces in the genres of classical, popular, jazz and folk music. An exciting change is that we have moved back to our original location at Andrews of Stratford - 355 Shakespeare Dr, Stratford. Playing in the activity room allows residents to enjoy the music and connects DNTS to the community. Rehearsals for this season began September 6, 2025 - we are still welcoming string players, especially cellists. Sessions are every Saturday from 10:00 to 11:30 , contact DNTSStratford@gmail.com for more information. On December 6th we held a holiday concert and social gathering at Jack Blanchard Centre (7 Pond St, Charlottetown). The tentative date for our spring concert is Saturday morning - 10:00 , June 13, 2026 at Zion Presbyterian Church in Charlottetown. 

Winter Holiday Concert 2025

 DNTS held a wonderful holiday concert on December 6th at the Jack Blanchard Centre. Many thanks to the members who helped organize, especially to provide a wonderful buffet of food refreshments ! The house was packed with friends and family who enjoyed a chance to take a break from holiday busy-ness and listen to wonderful music. Although we did not record a video, Marti Hopson manage to collect some audio files from the concert which can be listened to here. In addition to the full DNTS ensemble, the concert featured selections from our small group - The Voyageurs - as well as the brass section playing carols, and members of the string section playing traditional fiddle tunes. Proceeds from the concert were donated to the Upper Room Food Bank. 

Concert Program

DNTS

O Canada - Calixa Lavallée

Singing in the Rain/Moon River  - arr. Jan Wolters

Mozart Medley  - arr. Jan Wolters

Voyageurs

Carol of the bells 

Silent night 

Good King Wenceslas 

String Group - 

Ashokan Farewell

Irish Washerwoman 

Mrs. MacLeod’s Reel and St. Anne’s Reel

DNTS

Juba Dance - Florence Price

Enigma Variations - Edward Elgar

James Bond Theme - Monty Norman

Starlight Sleigh Ride - Mark Bisson

photo - during warm up , taken by Marti Hopson

Spring Concert June 1, 2005

DNTS celebrated spring with a wonderful concert at Steel Recital Hall, UPEI. Videos can be found in the sidebar. Conducted by Marti Hopson, Lucy Morkunas and Travis Boudreau. 

The program included: 

 Sunrise from Also Sprach Zarathustra .... Richard Strauss (arr: Hopson) 

 Go West ! ..... .....Bernstein/ Morricone/ Frontiere (arr. Ford) 

 Symphony No. 7, second movement .... Ludwig van Beethoven (arr: Hopson) 

 Aragonaise from Carmen, Act 4 ............... Georges Bizet

 Habanera from Carmen Suite No. 2 b............. Georges Bizet/Ernest Guiraud

 Hungarian Dance No. 5 ...................... Johannes Brahms

 Grasswalk from Plants vs. Zombies ............ Laura Shigihara

 Themes from Scheherazade ...... Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (arr: Meyer)

 Scene in B minor (Swan Lake) ...... Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (arr:Hopson

 Underground .............................................Cody Fry

 Firebird (Finale) .............Igor Stravinsky (arr: Glyn)

Season 16!!

Members of Definitely Not the Symphony (DNTS) are tuning up for the beginning of a 16th season of music-making.  Led by conductors Marti Hopson, Lucy Morkunas and Travis Boudreau, DNTS is an eclectic group of music enthusiasts who gather to play instrumental pieces on a regular basis.  We are 'the all-comers orchestra'.  We are recruiting people interested in string, percussion and wind instruments and welcome all ages and musical abilities.  Always wanted to learn a new instrument or brush up on your skills?  Consider joining our group!  The aim is to enjoy making music together, learn, and have fun!

The new season will begin on Saturday, September 7, 2024 with the orchestra meeting weekly on Saturday mornings (September to June) at the Benevolent Irish Society (BIS) located at 582 North River Road in Charlottetown.

Contact DNTSStratford@gmail.com for more information or find us on Facebook @DNTSPEI

 

DNTS Begins 13th Season

  

Members of Definitely Not the Symphony continue to make music together under the direction of our new conductor, Marti Hopson, and assistant conductor, Tim Fitzpatrick.  

Practices were suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 lockdown, however, we were able to re-assemble in October 2020 to begin practices once again while following mandated Covid protocols.  A new location for practices had to be found.  We were able to rent space at the Jack Blanchard Centre at 7 Pond Street in Charlottetown.

DNTS will begin its 13th season on Saturday, September 18, 2021.  Due to space restrictions and the high number of returning musicians, we regret that we are unable to welcome any more new members at this time.  However, DNTS is currently looking to replace the percussionist for the orchestra as our previous drummer is now playing the double bass.  If you are interested please contact us .

CBC Mainstreet Interview

On Thursday, April 16th, the following interview with DNTS founder, Jenny Likely, and co-conductor, Liam Payne, aired on CBC Radio Mainstreet.  The actual interview regarding the orchestra's search for a new conductor took place in March before the COVID-19 social distancing policy went into effect.   The deadline for expressions of interest in the conductor position was March 31st.  

CBC Radio Mainstreet Interview by Matt Rainnie  


To learn even more about DNTS please visit us on Facebook or contact Chris (Second Violin) at 902-569-3818.

Workshop and Practices - CANCELLED

Due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19, today's scheduled workshop was cancelled.  Additionally, all regular Saturday practices at Andrews of Stratford have been suspended until further notice.