Marguerite Marzantowicz 1960-1964 (interim), 1964–1970 Tom Rolston 1958-1964 Walter Holowach 1957-1958 (interim) Alexander Nicol 1952-1957 Performing venue In September 1997, the Edmonton Symphony Society and the Edmonton Concert Hall Foundation successfully completed a two-decade, $45 million capital campaign, and the ESO moved from the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium (the orchestra's principal performing venue since 1957) into its new concert hall, the acoustically superb, 1716 seat Francis Winspear Centre for Music. The inaugural gala, at which the ESO performed Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, took place on September 13, 1997. Programming and special events Each season, almost 30,000 students experience the orchestra's music at the Winspear Centre. The Young Composers Project, with local composers as mentors, allows select high school students to compose orchestral works and hear them in performance. The orchestra's annual outdoor Symphony Under the Sky Festival is a popular destination for Edmontonians on Labour Day weekend. The ESO's history and the varied nature of its programming reflect its imaginative commitment to its community. In 1972, the Procol Harum album Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and its hit single "Conquistador" became the first orchestral recording to achieve international platinum sales. In 1985, the ESO premiered Malcolm Forsyth's Atayoskewin at the opening of Shell Canada's Scotford Refinery. In 1980, to celebrate Alberta's 75th anniversary, the orchestra toured the province. In 1986, the ESO performed at Vancouver's Expo 86. In 1992, a televised ESO performance with k.d. lang conducted by Tommy Banks received a Gemini Award for Best Television Variety Performance. In 1994, the orchestra undertook a five-city tour (the "Northern Lights Tour") of northern Alberta, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. In 1996, the ESO became the first Canadian orchestra to play on a First Nations Reserve. On May 8, 2012, the ESO made its Carnegie Hall debut, its first performance outside of Canada. Special concerts Special ESO concerts drawing sold-out houses have featured, among others, k.d. lang in 1985, Tom Cochrane and Red Rider in 1989, The Arrogant Worms in 2002, Corb Lund in 2005, Paul Brandt in 2006, Video Games Live in 2007, Nikki Yanofsky in 2008, reunion concerts with Procol Harum in 1992 and 2010, Ben Folds in 2012 and 2014, and Ian Tyson on the 100th anniversary of the Province of Alberta on September 1, 2005. In March 2011, the ESO presented a memorable concert devoted