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On September 21, 2024, Symfonie Orkest Nijmegen in the Netherlands will present the European premiere of two movements (Nijmegen and Bergen-Belsen) from Queen’s University Associate Professor Dean Burry’s symphony Tracing Colville. 

The concert features music from the allied countries that took part in the liberation of the Netherlands during World War II. Between 1944-45, more than 7,600 Canadian soldiers gave their lives to liberate the people of the Netherlands from the horrors of Nazi occupation.  The liberation played a key role in the culmination of the Second World War as the allied forces closed in on Germany from all sides. In November of 1944, the Canadians were tasked with defending the Nijmegen Sailent, a vast area of flooded fields and forests. Holding Nijmegen bridge became a symbol of allied determination and proved to be a key piece in the push into Germany. 

Tracing Colville received its world-premiere with the Kingston Symphony Orchestra on October 30, 2022 at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts. It combines the visual experience of war, with artworks by Canadian artist Alex Colville projected above the orchestra, and Burry’s musical composition inspired by Colville’s art that traces key locations of the Canadian experience during the Second World War.

Professor Burry can speak to the significance of his two movements, what listeners can expect from the concert, and why the Canadian efforts in the liberation of the Netherlands during the war should never be forgotten.

“It is thrilling to be returning to the city that inspired this work,” says Burry. “My first trip to the Netherlands showed me how closely the two countries are connected, and it really is a gift to be able to share a contemporary Canadian perspective of this incredible story. The fact that the concert takes place in the historic Concertgebouw de Vereeniging where Canadian troops were entertained during the war even adds more poignancy.”

To set up an interview with Dean Burry, please email mediarelations@queensu.ca

On background:

Burry will be travelling to the Netherlands for the performance and talking about the piece at presentations at the residence of the Canadian Ambassador in Wassenaar, Radboud University and at various locations in the Nijmegen area. 

Through a partnership with the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, the performance will also highlight the stunning war art of Alex Colville projected above the orchestra.