About the HSO

  Whereas many musical festivals in town bring in  professional ensembles and soloists from outside of Barrie, only the HSO represents this community’s own high level of orchestral music-making. Thus, the HSO is an established cultural institution of which  everyone in Simcoe County and Barrie can be proud.

Our musicians are committed to developing the worthy tradition of sharing the excitement of live orchestral performance with an ever-widening audience. We welcome you to come and share the experience.

We rehearse Sunday evenings from 7-9:30 pm. Our  rehearsals are located at the Collier St. united Church, at 112 Collier  St. Barrie, ON.

Additionally there are sectional rehearsals as necessary and scheduled in advance.

 Oliver Balaburski has become involved in the music of many different genres over his conducting career, including opera, symphonic, chamber and even Silent Movie performances. His broad interests embrace the challenges of performing with the full artistic capacity of the ensembles. Recently, he has immersed himself in the field of composing; as result he will have an upcoming World Premiere of his first major piece, a Musical Narration in 5 parts titled "Sadie's Door", with the story written by Edward Moll.    

Oliver has had many successful concerts and performances with distinguished orchestras and ensembles such as the Symphony Orchestra of the Royal College of Music in London, UK; the Macedonian Opera and Ballet; the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra; the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra; the Opera of the National Theater in Belgrade, the Niš Symphony Orchestra (Serbia); and the Huronia Symphony Orchestra.

Oliver’s distinguished career in conducting began in 1995, when he graduated from the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in the class of Fimcho Muratovski, mentored by maestro Vanco Cavdarski. In 1999, Oliver was awarded the Norman Del Mar Junior Fellowship in Conducting at the Royal College of Music in London, UK, specializing in symphonic repertoire and studying with the distinguished conductor and Professor John Carewe. He had the honour to actively participate in Master Classes with Sir Roger Norrington and Michael Tilson Thomas and with one of the greatest Bach authorities, Helmuth Rilling. Oliver was then appointed as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Opera of the Macedonian National Theater, where he significantly increased the budget, enlarged the repertoire, and promoted the Macedonian Opera House. Until 2004, he was the Principal Conductor at the same Opera Company. 

In 2006, desiring to delve deeper into the secrets of the broader symphonic repertoire, Oliver started his Masters studies in Performance at the University of Toronto with his mentor and teacher, the eminent conductor, Prof. Raffi Armenian. He also studied with Prof. Dr. Doreen Rao at the University of Toronto, focusing on a philosophical and practical approach to vocal and instrumental music.

In 2008, Oliver received a Master's Degree in Music, and Master’s in Performance (Conducting). His conducting career started with his first engagement at the Macedonian Opera and Ballet, mentored by the distinguished conductor Vancho Chavdarski. 

Oliver Balaburski is the recipient of many awards and recognitions, including:

· Newcomer Recognition Award, Immigrant Artist by County of Simcoe, Ontario, Canada

· Recognition Of Outstanding Service by Hart House, University of Toronto

· The Arthur Plettner Graduate Fellowship, University of Toronto

· University of Toronto Fellowship

· The Norman Del Mar Junior Fellowship at the Royal College of Music, London, United Kingdom

· Macedonian Government for Specialization in Conducting Scholarship

· Macedonian National Scholarship for Talented Students.

Mr. McFadden studied violin at the Royal Conservatory of Music receiving his ARCT diploma with First Class Honours. He continued his studies at the University of Toronto and the Utrecht’s Conservatorium in Holland. 

He performed regularly with the Toronto Symphony for 16 seasons as well as being active in the recording studio and freelance music scene of Toronto. The long list of affiliations includes the Canadian Opera Company, National Ballet, Kitchener Symphony, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Symphony Nova Scotia. His varied career has taken him from chamber music to musical theatre where he was Concertmaster for shows like Ragtime, ShowBoat and Sunset Blvd. Other shows include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast.

Other ventures have included recordings and concerts with a wide range of musical styles and performers such as Ray Charles, Liza Minelli, Bobby Vinton, Peter Gabriel, Donny Osmond, Andrea Bocelli, Blue Rodeo, and Josh Groban to name a few. 

Mr. McFadden is actively involved in music ministry with his wife Julie in the local church and beyond. They are the Directors of Music at the Muskoka Bible Centre since 2019. He is the Concertmaster of the Huronia Symphony and teaches Strings privately out of his Music Studio in Midhurst. Mr. McFadden also runs Bravura House, maker of all levels of stringed instruments and accessories, providing sales and rentals to string players across North America. David continues study in advanced violin repair, bow making, and bow rehairing & repair at the University of New Hampshire’s Violin Craftsmanship Institute.