Music has been a significant part of life in Mi’kma’ki for many thousands of years, and classical music in particular since the founding of Halifax in 1749. Musicians of various European origins brought their instruments, musical traditions, and tastes with them, and their commitment to and joy of music-making planted the seeds for the vibrant Symphony Nova Scotia we know today. The region’s musical story is a testament to the hard work and creativity of the musicians who have shared their music so generously over the centuries, the instrument makers, composers, and music teachers who worked alongside them, and the scores of dedicated community volunteers who supported them. This book tells their stories. Symphony Nova Scotia at 40: A Milestone of Musical History marks the fortieth anniversary of Symphony Nova Scotia and offers a fascinating cultural history that explores in three parts how the region’s musical past laid the ground for the orchestra’s future. The book features dozens of archival images, a foreword by world-renowned Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster, and an introduction by SNS Music Director Holly Mathieson. Written by long-time Symphony Nova Scotia supporters and board members Mary Lu MacDonald (an historian), Adrian Hoffman (a musician), and Jane Gordon (a sociologist), Symphony Nova Scotia at 40 is a one-of-a-kind collector’s item and a treasured keepsake for all lovers of orchestral music and Nova Scotia’s rich cultural history.

Mary Lu MacDonald has Honours BAs in both English and French — earned twenty-one years apart. She also has a master's degree in Canadian Studies and a doctorate in pre-Confederation Canadian history. She has published three books and multiple articles in her field. She has served on the boards of the (Canadian) Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the (international) Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing. She was a founding officer of the Canadian Association for the Study of Book Culture.
Mary Lu has served for a decade on the board of Scotia Festival of Music. As a member of the board of directors for Symphony Nova Scotia, she served on the Program Advisory Committee and began to work on a history of the organization, which quickly shifted further and further back in time as she traced the development of symphonic music in Halifax.

Mary Lu MacDonald's profile page

Adrian Hoffman grew up just outside Boston. He studied cello, then trombone, composition, and opera direction at the New England Conservatory of Music, then freelanced with the Boston Pops Orchestra (Arthur Fiedler), the Boston Ballet Co., the Boston Opera Co., and the Boston Philharmonia. He moved to Canada in 1969 to join the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra as a trombonist, then also served the ASO as a composer, arranger, librarian, personnel supervisor, and occasional conductor. He left the orchestra to join CBC Radio in 1978 becoming executive producer of Radio Music & Arts. He went on to produce and host both All the Best and Musically Yours and produced and guest hosted for numerous network CBC radio programs. In 1994, he became a part-time member of the Music Faculty at Dalhousie University (now the Fountain School of Performing Arts); he retired from teaching in 2016.

Adrian has also been involved in the Nova Scotia music community as a founding member of inNOVAtions in MUSIC and Debut Atlantic. He was an appointed member of the Canada Council Touring Office Advisory Board and has acted as president of the National Radio Producer's Association. He also served as a Scholarship Selection Committee member, board member, and chair of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust (NSTT).

Adrian continues to volunteer for the NSTT as past chair, Debut Atlantic as a member of the Artistic Selection Committee, and Symphony Nova Scotia (SNS) as the chair of the Program Advisory Committee. From 2014 to 2020, he was a member of the Music Director Search Committee for SNS.

Adrian Hoffman's profile page

Dr. Jane Gordon is a PhD in Sociology and retired after thirty-seven years as a faculty member at Mount St. Vincent University in the Sociology-Anthropology Department, cross-appointed to Women’s Studies. She is now a professor emeritus.

Jane has served on both professional and community boards of governors, among them the Mount, Dalhousie, and the Canadian Association of University Teachers. She has volunteered with community boards including the Halifax Transition House Association, Planned Parenthood of Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Kiwanis Music Festival, the Early Music Society of Nova Scotia, and the Halifax Summer Opera Festival.

In memory of her husband, Jane donated money to Symphony Nova Scotia to commission a piece of music to be performed by the orchestra: Halifax Harbour by Elizabeth Raum. That experience led her to develop the Maria Anna Mozart Award.

Dr. Gordon joined the board of Symphony Nova Scotia in 2018; her term will end in 2023.

Jane Gordon's profile page