Candice Turner-Smith is an Arts Management Consultant living in the Niagara Region. She is presently working with the TD Niagara Jazz Festival to design and support a new operating model and re-built the Board of Directors. Prior work includes The Norm Foster Theatre Festival also thru a time of transition. Candice retired from the Niagara Symphony Orchestra in 2019, supporting the orchestra as its Executive Director since 2012. Following 12 seasons at the Shaw Festival, Candice is experienced in working with Boards and Committees and has strong planning, fiscal management, and is adept at integrated marketing/fundraising strategies. A native of Montreal, she is also a journalist by trade.One of her most memorable projects was the 2012 Cultural Capital of Canada project for the Niagara Region, designed to celebrate the arts and highlight their value in each of our 12 municipalities. Niagara's rich cultural landscape is one of the region’s most vital assets. She was also elected Chair Artistic Festivals for the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games.Other projects include: Marketing the Arts of St Catharines/Niagara; Riverbrink Art Museum, Carousel Players, Chorus Niagara; Theatre Beyond Words, Lost & Found Theatre, the National Tap Dance Company of Canada, The School of Restoration Arts at Willowbank; the Department of Dramatic Arts at Brock University, Music Niagara, Bravo Niagara, Orchestra’s Mississauga, and the Ontario Arts Council Regeneration Conference.In the early 90s Candice was Administrative Director of Kawartha Summer Theatre followed by 5 years as stage manager for the USO of Metropolitan New York. Since 2004 she has undertaken many cultural management projects. For the Niagara Symphony Orchestra in 2007-8 she guided the Board, staff and stakeholders through a cash flow crisis, stabilization, and a Music Director & ED search. Candice is also a contributing writer for several Ontario magazines.

A cultural treasure for seven decades, the Niagara Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is a professional orchestra of over 50 musicians providing classical and contemporary orchestral music to more than 12,000 residents of the Niagara Region annually.Each season, the NSO presents 24 concerts in three distinct series: Masterworks, POPS! and Classical Family. The NSO proudly showcases top national and international guest artists bringing the stars of the world to the stages of Niagara.A year of firsts, the 2015/16 season marked the long-awaited move to the new FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre and the debut of the NSO’s first Artist-in-Residence, composer/pianist Stewart Goodyear.In the fall of 2010, the NSO welcomed Bradley Thachuk as the eighth Music Director. Maestro Thachuk lead the orchestra onto the stages of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, the next chapter in an illustrious history.The NSO is also a leader in music education, offering programmes to inspire and nurture a life-long love of music in Niagara’s citizens. Summer Music Camp, Composer in the Classroom, the Youth Club and The Academy at Summer Music Camp give students the opportunity to explore and make music. Our Spotlight On! programme showcases student ensembles in the lobby during NSO performances.A registered not-for-profit arts organization, the NSO receives support from individual donors, corporate sponsors and federal, provincial, regional and municipal governments, all of whom recognize the vital role the creative arts play in a developing and sustaining a thriving community.

The Marketing the Arts of St. Catharines-Niagara project is made up of three initiatives to effectively build profile, generate more audiences and support the growth of earned revenues for local arts organizations. They are: CultureinNiagara.com; Inspire! Niagara Arts in Niagara Schools; Inspire! Professional Development Series.