Program: Carmina Burana Live at Vivo

Presented by RMSO in collaboration with Vivo for Healthier Generations | Saturday, November 1st, 2025 @ 4:00 pm (doors @ 3pm, bar available)

The RMSO is excited to invite you on a musical journey like no other — right here at home! Join us for an epic performance of Carmina Burana featuring a 100-piece orchestra and 200 voices in Vivo’s Indoor Park!

This isn’t just a concert — it’s a travel experience for your senses. Imagine the soaring music of Carmina Burana, the buzz of hundreds of performers, and a festival atmosphere. Bring your sense of adventure (and a lawn chair!) and enjoy delicious food and beverages on site.

This is a 60-minute concert presented in three parts with no intermission:

Springtime – when nature and love come alive.
In the Tavern – where people sing, laugh, and sometimes get a little wild.
The Court of Love – where romance and new beginnings bloom.

Featured Artists

Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra in collaboration with Calgary Civic Symphony

ROLF BERTSCH Conductor
ANDREA CIONA Chorus Master
CHRISTINA THANISCH Soprano
CALEB NELSON Tenor
AARON DIMOFF Baritone

Featuring Spiritus Chamber Choir, members of the Calgary Phil Chorus, Mount Royal Kantorei.

Carmina Burana is full of power, rhythm, and feeling. Composer Carl Orff wrote it in 1936 after discovering old poems from the 1200s that spoke about the same things we still feel today, luck, love, joy, fun, and loss.
Carmina Burana is a cantata: music written for singers and instruments that tells a story through song. It’s like a musical story without acting or costumes.
It begins and ends with the famous chorus “O Fortuna,” which shows how life constantly changes: good luck, bad luck, and everything in between.
Did You Know?
You’ve probably heard “O Fortuna” in movies like The Hunger Games, Excalibur, The Doors, and in numerous commercials for everything from Coca-Cola and Old Spice to car ads and sports campaigns - anytime something needs to sound epic, powerful, or larger than life.
Hearing it performed here, in this beautiful indoor park, reminds us that music connects us across time, culture, and experience, through the emotions we all share.

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More Shows

Check out our full Season 10 lineup for information on upcoming concerts.

Season 10

Meet Our Artists

Rolf Bertsch, Conductor
Canadian conductor, pianist, and educator. Former Assistant Conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under Charles Dutoit; past Resident Conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic and later Music Director of the Calgary Civic Symphony. A committed educator at Mount Royal University’s Conservatory, he founded and directs the “Music at Mount Royal” series. As a pianist he has appeared with major Canadian orchestras, including a 1997 Carnegie Hall solo performance.

Andrea Ciona — Artistic Director, Spiritus Chamber Choir
Andrea Ciona is a Calgary-based conductor, performer, adjudicator, and educator. She directs choirs at Bishop Carroll High School (since 2010) and is on faculty at Mount Royal University Conservatory leading the Advanced Performance Program in Choral Conducting. Career highlights include conducting on the Great Wall of China, adjudicating in Jakarta, and leading a 1,000-plus ensemble at the Royal Nova Scotia Military Tattoo. She holds degrees from UBC (B.Mus., M.Mus.) and the University of Calgary (B.Ed.).

Soloists

Christina Thanisch-Smith — Soprano
Praised by Opera Canada for “shimmering vocals,” Christina is a McPhee Program alum at Calgary Opera, with recent roles including Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore), and Beauty (Giannini’s Beauty and the Beast). Concert highlights include Messiah (Winnipeg Symphony) and Mahler’s Fourth (McGill Symphony). She holds degrees from McGill and Manitoba Universities and has advanced training from leading North American and European programs.

Caleb Nelson — Tenor
A versatile Edmonton-based tenor active for over two decades, Caleb has sung 18 seasons with Pro Coro Canada and 13 with the Juno-nominated Luminous Voices. Recent solos include Monteverdi’s Vespers and Orff’s Carmina Burana. He leads the Top 40 band Mixtape, runs Silver Studios, and coaches/records choirs across Edmonton, reflecting his broad musical reach on and off the stage.

Aaron Dimoff — Bass-Baritone
Ontario-born Aaron Dimoff is a rising Verismo bass-baritone. Recent credits include Sparafucile/Monterone (Rigoletto, Edmonton Opera), Messiah, and Ein deutsches Requiem engagements in Alberta. Past roles span Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), the Father (Hansel and Gretel), and Der Sprecher (Die Zauberflöte); he was a COC Centre Stage finalist. Upcoming appearances include Messiah, Bach’s B-minor Mass, and Haydn’s Creation.

Choirs/Chorus

Spiritus Chamber Choir
Andrea Ciona, Artistic Director

Mount Royal Kantorei
John Morgan, Chorus Master & Artistic Director

Members of the Calgary Phil Chorus
Dr. Mark Martel, Chorus Director

Meet the RMSO Musicians

- Tokie Onoda – Principal
- Peter Li
- Michael Gray
- Stephania Luciuk
- Duarte Silva – Principal
- Margot Scullen
- Ricardo de Menezes
- Sammie McBride
- Tara Stewart
- Erin Beach – Principal
- Ross Lemon – Principal
- David Champa
- Robin Bunker – Principal
- Andrea Ciona – Principal
- Kaj Morawski
- Jonathan Gresl – Principal / Personnel & Library
- Jace Stearn
- Breanne Jamieson – Principal
- Kristin Stearn
- Megan Van Horne
- Jesse Bevans
- Jay Michalak – Principal
- Chris Morrison – Principal
- Greg Burns – Principal
- JF Cotnoir – Principal
- Ernest Flancia
- Alita Laurie – Principal

Meet the CSS Musicians

- Anastasiia Lykhosherstova (Concertmaster)
- Subin Choi
- Lauren Clausen
- Jose Trinidad Galvez García
- Anita Bailey
- Lise Zarb
- John Chik
- Katarina Wollmann
- Insung Peak
- Sandra Narvaez
- Nanako Furuyama
- Igor Motchalov
- Victoria Griza
- Carolyn Lowther (Principal)
- Justin Yipp
- Fran Hampel
- Sarina Chan
- Megan Falk
- Estee Grant
- Raven Yip
- Manon Mitchell
- Eva Chuen
- Gabby Avila
- Sonya Frebold
- Heather Bourne
- Neil Adams
- Osmond Chiu (Principal)
- Christine Mireault
- Sarah Yoon
- Bilyana Raycheva
- Katherine Sinex
- Nemo Fairlight
- Reginald Lybbert
- Daniel Downie (Principal)
- Rebekah Campan (Assistant Principal)
- Diane Bates Christmas
- Michael d'Entremont
- Ina Dobrinski
- Ray Fankhauser
- Erik Larsen
- Catherine McLellan
- Matthew Perera
- Anne Scott
- Donna DeLong
- Shirley Wright
- Deanna Manson
- Philip Egberts
- Hendrick Greidanus
- Cooper Reed
- Hilary Amante
- Karis Barker – Piccolo
- Rose Schmaltz
- Lisa MacLeod
- Stuart Brideaux
- Gina Allen
- Trevor Mansell
- Morag Mottram – English Horn
- Melody McKnight
- Richard Ingram
- Debbie Rich
- Trudy Fossey
- Andrew Leitch
- Ethan Harris
- Clio Mawdsley
- Byron Carr
- Will Quinn
- Chris Barker
- Nathanial Lazzorotto
- Gavin Kenney
- Brian Cole
- Courtnay Konshuh
- Kanami Isobi
- William Kolybaba
- Lyndon Rey
- Kathy Pham – Piano (Carmina Burana)
- Derek Lee – Piano (Carmina Burana)
- Hannah Hodjati – Celeste (Carmina Burana)