Two years ago, when Canadian actor Colm Feore agreed to appear with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra — taking place this weekend — things were different. 

He didn’t know his commitment would conflict with filming a Hollywood blockbuster.  Now, as part of the TSO’s New Creations Festival, Feore is taking time off the set of Kenneth Branagh’s Thor in order to recite poetry with orchestral accompaniment.

Feore’s friendship with TSO conductor Peter Oundian sometimes makes his life more hectic.

“I’d negotiated time off for this appearance before we started filming Thor,” says Feore by phone. “Now I wish now they’d said no, because the score’s very difficult. But I love working with Peter and whenever he suggests something I always say yes.”

Feore will narrate Andrew P. MacDonald’s Ode to the West Wind. It’s a TSO commission and a world première, based on Percy Shelley’s 1819 poem of the same name. To prepare, Feore’s been working with Canadian composer Gary Kulesha in California, via iPhone, rehearsing remotely in hotel his hotel room. 

“I’m sure my hotel neighbours think I’m crazy, talking along with music they can’t hear,” says Feore, “but as a Canadian actor, I do a bit of everything… All these things keep my mind alive.”