14/15 VSO Allegro Issue #3

Mendelssohn's GreatHymn of Praiseat the Chan Centre

The Pacific Rim Celebration

Love Songs: A Special Valentine's Pops

A Tribute to Barbra Streisand

January 31 to March 14, 2015 Volume 20, Issue 3

VSO ConcertmasterDale Barltropperforms Bartók

Magazine of the Vancouver Symphonyallegro

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First ViolinsDale Barltrop, ConcertmasterJoan Blackman, § Associate ConcertmasterNicholas Wright, Assistant ConcertmasterJennie Press, Second Assistant ConcertmasterMary Sokol BrownMrs. Cheng Koon Lee Chair

Jenny EssersAkira Nagai, Associate Concertmaster EmeritusXue Feng WeiRebecca WhitlingYi Zhou

Second ViolinsJason Ho, PrincipalKaren Gerbrecht, Associate Principal Jim and Edith le Nobel Chair

Jeanette Bernal-Singh, Assistant PrincipalAdrian Shu-On ChuiDaniel NortonAnn OkagaitoAshley Plaut

ViolasNeil Miskey, Principal Andrew Brown, Associate PrincipalStephen Wilkes, Assistant PrincipalLawrence BlackmanEstelle & Michael Jacobson Chair

Matthew DaviesEmilie Grimes Dr. Malcolm Hayes and Lester Soo Chair

Angela SchneiderProfessors Mr. & Mrs. Ngou Kang Chair

Ian Wenham

CellosAriel Barnes, PrincipalNezhat and Hassan Khosrowshahi Chair

Janet Steinberg, Associate PrincipalZoltan Rozsnyai, Assistant PrincipalOlivia Blander Gerhard and Ariane Bruendl Chair

Natasha Boyko Mary & Gordon Christopher Chair

Charles InkmanCristian Markos

BassesDylan Palmer, Principal David BrownJ. Warren LongFrederick Schipizky

FlutesChristie Reside, Principal Ron & Ardelle Cliff Chair

Nadia Kyne, Assistant Principal Rosanne Wieringa Michael & Estelle Jacobson Chair

PiccoloNadia KyneHermann & Erika Stölting Chair

OboesRoger Cole, PrincipalWayne & Leslie Ann Ingram Chair

Beth Orson, Assistant Principal

Karin WalshPaul Moritz Chair

English HornBeth OrsonChair in Memory of John S. Hodge

ClarinetsJeanette Jonquil, Principal Cris Inguanti, § Assistant Principal David Lemelin

E-flat ClarinetDavid Lemelin

Bass ClarinetCris Inguanti §

BassoonsJulia Lockhart, PrincipalSophie Dansereau, Assistant Principal Gwen Seaton

ContrabassoonSophie Dansereau

French HornsOliver de Clercq, PrincipalBenjamin Kinsman Werner & Helga Höing Chair

David Haskins, Associate PrincipalAndrew MeeWinslow & Betsy Bennett Chair

Richard Mingus, Assistant Principal

TrumpetsLarry Knopp, Principal Marcus Goddard, Associate Principal

Vincent Vohradsky W. Neil Harcourt in memory of Frank N. Harcourt Chair

TrombonesMatthew Crozier, Principal Gregory A. Cox

Bass TromboneDouglas Sparkes Arthur H. Willms Family Chair

TubaPeder MacLellan, Principal

TimpaniAaron McDonald, Principal

PercussionVern Griffiths, PrincipalMartha Lou Henley Chair

Tony Phillipps

HarpElizabeth Volpé Bligh, Principal

Piano, CelesteLinda Lee Thomas, PrincipalCarter (Family) Deux Mille Foundation Chair

Orchestra Personnel ManagerDeAnne Eisch

Music LibrarianMinella F. LacsonMaster Carpenter Pierre Boyard

Master ElectricianLeonard Lummis

Piano TechnicianThomas Clarke

*Supported by The Canada Council for the Arts

§ Leave of Absence

Vancouver Symphony OrchestraBRAMWELL TOVEY MUSIC DIRECTORKAZUYOSHI AKIYAMA CONDUCTOR LAUREATEGORDON GERRARD ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR*Marsha & George Taylor Chair

JOCELYN MORLOCK COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE*MARCUS GODDARD COMPOSER-IN-ASSOCIATION

We welcome your comments on this magazine. Please forward them to: Vancouver Symphony, 500 – 833 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 0G4 Allegro contact and advertising enquiries: [email protected] / customer service: 604.876.3434 / VSO office: 604.684.9100 / website: vancouversymphony.ca Allegro staff: published by The Vancouver Symphony Society / editor/publisher: Anna Gove / contributors: Cover photo credit: Jonathon Vaughn, Epix Studios / Don Anderson / art direction, design & production: bay6 creative inc. Printed in Canada by Web Impressions. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written consent is prohibited. Contents copyrighted by the Vancouver Symphony, with the exception of material written by contributors.

Allegro Magazine has been endowed by a generous gift from Adera Development Corporation.

In this IssueThe Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Allegro Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Government Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Message from the Chairman . . . . . . . . . . . 7Maestro Bramwell Tovey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10VSO Mobile Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19VSO Musician Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28VSO Spring Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36VSO Stradivarius Legacy Circle . . . . . . . . 40Advertise in Allegro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Patrons’ Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54VSO School of Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Vancouver Symphony Foundation . . . . . . 62Corporate Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68At the Concert / VSO Staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Board of Directors / Volunteer Council . . . 71

allegroJanuary 31 to March 14, 2015 / Volume 20, Issue 3

Magazine of the Vancouver Symphony

9 Bramwell Tovey

65John Morris Russell

51Akiko Suwanai

50Perry So

9Katherine Chi

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@VSOrchestra

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65Ann Hampton

Callaway

28 VSO Musician Profiles: Marcus Goddard

READ OUR NEW FEATURE

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21Steven Reineke

ConcertsJANUARY 31, FEBRUARY 1, 2 / Air Canada Masterworks Diamond / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Rogers Group Financial Symphony Sundays / Bramwell Tovey conductor, Katherine Chi piano

FEBRUARY 5 / Tea & Trumpets / World Traveller / Gordon Gerrard conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Christopher Gaze host/narrator, Colleen Venables violin

FEBRUARY 6, 7 / London Drugs VSO Pops / Love Will Keep Us Together /. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Steven Reineke conductor, Betsy Wolfe vocalist, Mike Eldred vocalist

FEBRUARY 8 / Kids’ Koncerts / Platypus Theatre: Latin Beats, Heroic Feats! / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Gordon Gerrard conductor, Platypus Theatre

FEBRUARY 14, 16 / Goldcorp Masterworks Gold / Thomas Søndergård conductor. . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Dale Barltrop violin

FEBRUARY 20, 21 / Classical Traditions / Bramwell Tovey conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Monica Huisman soprano, Isaiah Bell tenor, Elektra Women’s Choir, Chor Leoni

FEBRUARY 22 / Vancouver Sun Symphony at the Annex / Displaced Emotion / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Bramwell Tovey conductor, Monica Huisman soprano

FEBRUARY 28 / Pacific Rim Celebration / Chinese New Year / Perry So conductor. . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Guilian Liu pipa, Li Bo horse hair lute, Claire Huangci piano

MARCH 1 / Pacific Rim Celebration / A Japanese Celebration / Gordon Gerrard conductor . . . . . . .51 Akiko Suwanai violin, Yuriko Nariya koto, Dale Barltrop violin, Sakura Singers, Cattleya Chorus, Winds Choir, NAV Chorus

MARCH 7, 8, 9 / Mardon Group Insurance Musically Speaking / Rogers Group Financial. . . . . . . . .57 Symphony Sundays / North Shore Classics / James Feddeck conductor, Timothy Chooi violin

MARCH 12 / Tea & Trumpets / Sibelius at 150 / Gordon Gerrard conductor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 Christopher Gaze host/narrator, Melody Ye Yuan violin

MARCH 12, 15 / VSO Chamber Players / Cris Inguanti clarinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Yi Zhou violin, Charles Inkman cello, Amanda Chan piano, Mary Sokol Brown violin Jeanette Bernal-Singh violin, Andrew Brown viola, David Brown bass

MARCH 13, 14 / London Drugs VSO Pops / The Legendary Barbra Streisand / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 John Morris Russell conductor, Ann Hampton Callaway vocalist

The Vancouver Symphony Society is grateful to the Government of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts,Province of British Columbia and the BC Arts Council,and the City of Vancouver for their ongoing support.

The combined investment in the VSO by the three levels of government annually funds over 28% of the cost of the orchestra’s extensive programs and activities.

This vital investment enables the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to present over 150 life-enriching concerts in 16 diverse venues throughout the Lower Mainland and Whistler, attract some of the world’s best musicians to live and work in our community, produce Grammy® and Juno® award-winning recordings, tour domestically and internationally, and, through our renowned educational programs, touch the lives of over 50,000 children annually.

Thank you!Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia

Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and

Official Languages

Gregor Robertson, Mayor of Vancouver

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Dear Friends,

Thank you for joining us for today’s concert; we are delighted to have you with us.

Our purpose at the VSO is to enrich and transform lives through music, and we strive to fulfill this purpose every day by presenting passionate, high-quality performances of classical, popular and culturally diverse music; creating meaningful engagement with audiences of all ages and backgrounds wherever we perform; and developing and delivering inspirational education and community programs.

Halfway through the 2014/2015 Season, we are pleased to report the year is going well, and we are fulfilling our purpose in a variety of ways, to large and diverse audiences. Tens of thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds have heard the orchestra perform since the season opened in September, and we have enjoyed a wide variety of outstanding concerts and guest artists in the Orpheum Theatre and numerous venues throughout the Lower Mainland.

Our educational activities continue to flourish as well, with our first set of concerts for Elementary School students taking place in November to packed houses, and the VSO Connects program in full swing, culminating in close to one-hundred in-school visits by Maestro Tovey and members of the orchestra this year.

The Annual General Meeting of the Vancouver Symphony Society also took place in November, recounting the numerous activities carried out by the orchestra during the 2013/2014 Season, including a small surplus on financial results for the tenth time in the past eleven years.

December was an extraordinary month for the VSO and our audiences, as the VSO presented close to twenty-five performances to record numbers, including our fifteen Traditional Christmas Concerts in six different venues, annual performances of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC with Concertmaster Dale Barltrop, two great Masterworks concerts, a Tea & Trumpets matinee, and, on January 1st, the annual Salute to Vienna New Year’s concert.

We are grateful to all of our subscribers, single ticket buyers, donors, sponsors, the three levels of government, as well as the hundreds of volunteers who work together to make the VSO one of the most active and successful performing arts organizations in North America.

Please enjoy today’s concert,

Fred G. Withers Chair, Board of Directors

FRED G. WITHERS

Message from the VSO Chairman

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VISIT THE SYMPHONY GIFT SHOP FOR CD SELECTIONS

AIR CANADA MASTERWORKS DIAMOND ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM

Saturday & Monday, January 31 & February 2ROGERS GROUP FINANCIAL SYMPHONY SUNDAYSORPHEUM THEATRE, 2PM

Sunday, February 1Bramwell Tovey conductorKatherine Chi piano

SIBELIUS Kuolema, Op. 44: Valse triste

PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 I. Andante – Allegro II. Theme and Variations III. Allegro ma non troppo

INTERMISSION

BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major Romantic I. Ruhig bewegt II. Andante III. Scherzo: Bewegt IV. Finale: Mässig bewegt

PRE-CONCERT TALKS with Nicolas Krusek free to ticketholders at 7:05pm.

Concert Program

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MASTERWORKS DIAMOND SERIES SPONSOR

KATHERINE CHI

BRAMWELL TOVEY

SYMPHONY SUNDAYS SERIES SPONSOR

BRAMWELL TOVEY INVESTED INTO THE ORDER OF CANADA

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s esteemed Music Director, Maestro Bramwell Tovey, was invested into the Order of Canada as an honorary Officer by His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, during a ceremony held at Rideau Hall, in Ottawa on November 21st of 2014.

BRAMWELL TOVEY’S achievements as a composer and conductor have enriched Canada’s cultural life.

Of being invested into the Order of Canada, Maestro Tovey says, “I am deeply honoured to have been appointed an honorary Officer of the Order of Canada. In accepting the award from His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, I am mindful of the extraordinary musicians it has been my privilege to lead—at the Winnipeg Symphony (from 1989–2001) and the Vancouver Symphony (2000–ongoing). Their contribution to the community as musicians, teachers and citizens and their unfailing inspiration has guided me through the last 25 years since I came to live in Canada. This award is really a recognition of their excellence."

The Order of Canada was created in 1967, during Canada’s centennial year, to recognize outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.

Please join the VSO musicians, Board and staff in congratulating Maestro Tovey for this achievement.

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Bramwell Tovey, O.C. conductor

Grammy® and Juno® award-winning conductor/composer Bramwell Tovey was appointed Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 2000. Under his leadership the VSO has toured to China, Korea, and across Canada and the United States. Mr. Tovey is also the Artistic Adviser of the VSO School of Music, a state-of-the-art facility which opened in downtown Vancouver in 2011 next to the Orpheum, the VSO’s historic home. His tenure at the VSO has included complete symphony cycles of Beethoven, Mahler, and Brahms; as well as the establishment of an annual festival dedicated to contemporary music. In 2018, the VSO’s centenary year, he will become the orchestra’s Music Director Emeritus.In the 14/15 season Mr. Tovey will make guest appearances with leading US orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Kansas City Symphony. In Europe he will perform with the BBC Philharmonic and the Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester, and will travel to Australia for engagements with the symphonies of Melbourne and Sydney.During the 13/14 season Mr. Tovey’s guest appearances included the BBC and Royal Philharmonics; the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics; and the Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Toronto Symphonies.In 2003 Mr. Tovey won the Juno® Award for Best Classical Composition for his choral and brass work Requiem for a Charred Skull. Commissions have included works for the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, the Toronto Symphony, and Calgary Opera who premiered his first full-length opera The Inventor in 2011. Earlier in 2014 his trumpet concerto, Songs of the Paradise Saloon, was performed by the LA Philharmonic with Alison Balsom as soloist, who will also perform the work with the Philadelphia Orchestra in December 2014.A talented pianist as well as conductor and composer, he has appeared as soloist with many major orchestras including the

New York, Sydney, Melbourne, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, St Louis, Toronto, and Royal Scottish orchestras. In the summer of 2014 he played and conducted Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Phil, and in Saratoga with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has performed his own Pictures in the Smoke with the Melbourne and Helsingborg Symphonies and the Royal Philharmonic.Mr. Tovey is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and holds honorary degrees from the universities of British Columbia and Manitoba. In 2014 he was appointed an honorary Officer of the Order of Canada for services to music.

Katherine Chi piano

An artist of great breadth and musical integrity, pianist Katherine Chi is one of Canada’s fastest rising stars. She has performed throughout Canada, the United States and Europe to great acclaim, bringing a commanding technique and musical acumen to the concerto and recital repertoire. Katherine Chi gave her debut recital at the age of nine. A year later she was accepted to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music. She continued studies with Russell Sherman and Wha Kyung Byun at the New England Conservatory in Boston, where she received her Master's degree and Graduate and Artist Diplomas. She later studied for two years at the International Piano Foundation in Como, Italy, and at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne. Ms. Chi was a prizewinner at the 1998 Busoni International Piano Competition and was the first Canadian and the first woman to win Canada’s Honens International Piano Competition. Her debut recording, on the Arktos label, features works of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff.

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Jean Sibelius b. Hämeenlinna, Finland / December 8, 1865 d. Järvenpää, Finland / September 20, 1957

Kuolema, Op. 44: Valse triste Sibelius composed this haunting ‘sad waltz,’ one of his most familiar pieces, in 1903 as part of the incidental music for Kuolema (Death), a stage drama by his brother- in-law, Arvid Järnefelt. It accompanied the opening scene, in which the central character, Paavali, is seen at the bedside of his dying mother. She tells him of her dream of going to a ball. Later, when Paavali himself sleeps, Death comes to claim the mother and she, mistaking him for her dead husband, dances with him. When Paavali awakens, his mother is dead.

Sergei Prokofiev b. Sontsovka, Ukraine / April 27, 1891 d. Moscow, Russia / March 5, 1953

Piano Concerto No. 3 Prokofiev composed the first two of his five piano concertos between 1912 and 1913, while he was a student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. They are the cheeky, hard-edged products of a totally self-confident 'enfant terrible.' At the same time he also planned another concerto, but did not set fully to work on it until the summer of 1921, in the province of Brittany, France.

“...the cheeky, hard-edged products of a totally self-confident 'enfant terrible'.”

Shortly after finishing it, he took it along to Chicago, where two years earlier he had secured a commission for a new opera. At the end of December, the first production of his cuttingly satiric fairy tale opera Love for Three Oranges scored only a qualified success. On the other hand, the concerto’s triumphant debut two weeks earlier – with Prokofiev as soloist, and Frederick Stock conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra – took some of the edge off his disappointment. It quickly established itself as a modern classic.

This success is easy to understand, especially when it is compared with his previous concertos. It shares their emphasis on virtuosity (the finale never fails to bring an audience to its feet), and the sharpness of their humour. But it also contains a strong helping of warmth, which helps make it easy to approach and enjoy.

Anton Bruckner b. Ansfelden, Austria / September 4, 1824 d. Vienna, Austria / October 11, 1896

Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major Romantic There were two sharply contrasted sides to Bruckner: the timid, unsophisticated man from the countryside, and the composer of symphonies and masses of exalting breadth and grandeur. One, uncomplicated fact bridged this vast gap: his deep and abiding faith in God. It kept him naïve and self-effacing, at the same time as it helped him create a unique and magnificent set of symphonies. They are mighty cathedrals in sound, praising the Lord with reverence, craft and joy. Bruckner’s faith also gave him the inner strength to persevere in the face of lengthy, widespread misunderstanding and critical disfavour, through to his eventual acceptance as one of the last great representatives of the Austro German school of symphonic composition.

One of his most spontaneous and immediately attractive creations, the Symphony No. 4 has long been his most popular symphony. He began in it early in 1874, and finished the first draft by November. Due to the disastrous premiere of Symphony No. 3 seven years previously, it was difficult to find anyone willing even to play through the new piece. The better part of a year passed before Otto Dessoff agreed to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic in a rehearsal, only to pronounce all but the first movement “ridiculous.”

Between 1877 and 1878, Bruckner revised the symphony extensively, creating a completely new scherzo and a greatly reworked finale. Eminent conductor Hans Richter, already a Bruckner supporter, agreed

to conduct it. The premiere on February 20, 1881 won the composer his first success with Viennese audience and critics.

Bruckner himself applied the nickname Romantic to the Fourth, his only instance of such practice. It is no more Romantic in spirit than his other symphonies. Perhaps he connected its relaxed mood and prominent use of the horn section with his typically nineteenth-century love of nature.

In the manner of Beethoven’s Ninth, Bruckner’s Fourth emerges almost imperceptibly out of silence: a solo horn call sounds quietly over a shimmering bed of strings. The music grows in volume and confidence up to the arrival of a commanding theme in the brass. The second subject is an almost naïve country dance tune, with traces of bird calls. Over the expansive development of these and other, secondary ideas, Bruckner displays his own brand of dramatic majesty, side by side with an almost mystical sense of communion with nature. The opening horn call returns to preside over a galloping coda.

The slow movement is a rather melancholy creation, carried forward on a moderately-paced march rhythm and regularly underpinned by pizzicato strings. For the most part restful, with a sense of timelessness and reflection, it rises to a radiant climax shortly before the close.

The celebrated ‘hunting’ scherzo, with the horn section in full cry, is unmatched in Bruckner’s output for sheer joy and exhilaration. The central trio is another relaxed country dance. In a nod to Classical tradition, Bruckner repeats the opening section of the scherzo note-for-note, with a brief conclusion tacked on at the end.

The finale is the longest, mightiest and most dramatic section. It opens quietly, but the underlying state of high nervous anticipation is quickly and grandly realized. Bruckner brings back the symphony’s earlier themes en route to a blazing glory of a conclusion. ■Program Notes © 2015 Don Anderson

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TEA & TRUMPETSORPHEUM THEATRE, 2PM

Thursday, February 5

World Traveller Gordon Gerrard conductorChristopher Gaze host/narratorColleen Venables violin

MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides

MOZART Symphony No. 38 in D Major Prague III. Finale: Presto

BORODIN In the Steppes of Central Asia

LALO Symphonie espagnole IV. Andante V. Rondo: Allegro

GERSHWIN An American in Paris

TEA & COOKIES Don’t miss tea and cookies served in the lobby one hour before each concert. Tea provided compliments of Tetley Tea.

Concert Program

CHRISTOPHER GAZE

GORDON GERRARD

THE TEA & TRUMPETS SERIES IS SUPPORTED BY A GENEROUS GIFT FROM THEMCGRANE-PEARSON ENDOWMENT FUND.

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Gordon Gerrard conductor

Gordon Gerrard is a respected figure in the new generation of Canadian musicians. Trained first as a pianist and subsequently as a specialist in operatic repertoire, Gordon brings a fresh perspective to the podium. For four seasons Gordon held the positions of Resident Conductor and Repetiteur for Calgary Opera. He led many productions while in residence in Calgary, and has subsequently been invited back to help launch Calgary Opera’s summer opera festival Opera in the Village with productions of Candide and The Pirates of Penzance. Gordon has also conducted productions for Opera Hamilton to critical acclaim, and was Assistant Conductor for several productions at Opera Lyra Ottawa. Gordon returns to Opera McGill this season to lead a production of Le Nozze di Figaro.After two successful seasons as Assistant Conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Gordon has recently been promoted to the newly created post of Associate Conductor.

Christopher Gaze host/narrator

Christopher is best known as the Founding Artistic Director of Vancouver’s iconic Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival. He hosts

the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's popular Tea & Trumpets series and their annual Christmas concerts and is an in-demand MC for community and fundraising events.

His many honours include Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal, Honorary Doctorates from UBC & SFU, the Mayor’s Arts Award for Theatre and the Order of British Columbia. In 2015, he will play Frosch in Die Fledermaus for Vancouver Opera and then direct the world premiere of C.C. Humphrey's Shakespeare's Rebel, a new play programmed for Bard's 2015 season.

Christopher plays a leading role in British Columbia as an advocate for the arts in general and his passionate dedication to Bard on the Beach has driven it to become the largest professional Shakespeare festival in Western Canada, with attendance of over 100,000 in its 2014 season.

Colleen Venables violin

Violinist and pianist Colleen Venables is currently enrolled at the Colburn School of Music studying with Robert Lipsett. At only ten, she performed the Bach Double Concerto for Two Violins under music director Imant Raminsh with the Youth Symphony of Okanagan. At thirteen, she made her solo debut with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, and in May of the same year she performed with the VSO under conductor Evan Mitchell. Since then, she has been featured with the Kamloops Symphony, Calgary Civic Orchestra, and the Calgary Philharmonic.

A first-prize winner of the 2012 Canadian National Music Festival, Colleen won the second-prize at the prestigious 3rd Stradivarius International Violin Competition in Salt Lake City in June 2013. She was the only Canadian selected out of twenty young violinists around the world to participate in the 2012 Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition in Beijing, and was also invited to compete in the 2013 Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Standard Life Competition. ■

COLLEEN VENABLES

THE VSO HAS GONE MOBILE!check out the mobile website at vancouversymphony.ca Concert listings, photos/bios, concert planning, and ticket sales — all at your fingertips!

@VSOrchestra

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LONDON DRUGS VSO POPS ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM

Friday & Saturday, February 6 & 7Love Will Keep Us TogetherSteven Reineke conductor Betsy Wolfe vocalistMike Eldred vocalist

BARRY WHITE/ARR. BERENS Love’s ThemePORTER/ARR. APPLEBAUM I’ve Got You Under My SkinRODGERS/ARR. STEINBERG Medley of Selections I Have Dreamed Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered If I Loved YouMORRICONE/ARR. VANACORE Cinema Paradiso Suite ERIC CARMEN/ARR. BERENS Almost Paradise from Footloose Selections from Dirty Dancing PREVITE/DENICOLA/MARKOWITZ I’ve Had the Time of My LifeBARRY GORDY/ARR. BERENS Do You Love Me? ALEX NORTH Unchained MelodyVARIOUS/ARR. BERENS Elephant Love Medley from Moulin Rouge

INTERMISSIONBARRY MANILOW/ARR. BERENS CopacabanaFRANK WILDHORN Sarah from Civil War STYNE The Music That Makes Me Dance from Funny Girl BERLIN Anything You Can Do from Annie Get Your Gun DOLLY PARTON/ARR. BERENS I Will Always Love YouKANDER/ARR. BERENS Gimme Love from Kiss of the Spider Woman JAMES HORNER/ARR. REINEKE My Heart Will Go On from Titanic LOVLAND/GRAHAM/ARR. ROTH You Raise Me Up MANCINI/ARR. HERMANN Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Concert Program

VSO POPS RADIO SPONSORVSO POPS SERIES SPONSOR

FEBRUARY 7 CONCERT SPONSOR


STEVEN REINEKE

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Steven Reineke conductor

Steven Reineke’s boundless enthusiasm and exceptional artistry have made him one of the nation’s most sought-after pops conductors, composers and arrangers. Mr. Reineke is the Music Director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Principal Pops Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Principal Pops Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He previously held the posts of Principal Pops Conductor of the Long Beach and Modesto Symphony Orchestras and Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.As the creator of more than one hundred orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Mr. Reineke’s work has been performed worldwide, and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. A native of Ohio, Mr. Reineke is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, where he earned bachelor of music degrees with honors in both trumpet performance and music composition. He currently resides in New York City with his partner Eric Gabbard.

Betsy Wolfe vocalist

Betsy Wolfe can currently be seen as “Ellen” on Broadway in the Woody Allen musical Bullets Over Broadway. Other Broadway credits: The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, 110 in the Shade, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Off-Broadway: The Last 5 Years (Second Stage), Merrily We Roll Along (Encores!). Ms. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Douglas Carter Beane’s new adaptation of Die Fledermaus. Regional credits: Tales of the City (ACT), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Tommy (Dallas Theatre Center), Ragtime (Paper Mill Playhouse). She has been a guest artist for over 25 Symphony, Pops, and Philharmonic Orchestras across the U.S. and internationally. At 23 she made her

concert debut at Carnegie Hall as a headliner with the Cincinnati Pops under Maestro Erich Kunzel. Ms. Wolfe was a guest soloist for the New York City Ballet where she performed at Lincoln Center and at The Coliseum in London.

Mike Eldred vocalist

Mike Eldred is one of North America’s most in-demand and beloved tenors, thrilling audiences in concert halls, on Broadway, and on recordings, radio and television. He appeared on Broadway in Les Miserables as “Jean Valjean”, and in the original cast of the Tony-nominated The Civil War. His starring role as “Tony” in the Nashville Symphony’s production of West Side Story (NAXOS) has earned international praise as “arguably the best ‘Tony’ on record”.

In addition to numerous appearances on recordings and DVDs, Mike has released three solo CDs that have garnered critical and popular acclaim. His debut album, ME, features favorites from the Broadway stage. That record was followed by Let It Begin, a holiday album that features appearances from several of Mike’s friends including former touring partner Jim Brickman. The latest release is Come Love Me Again, a celebration of the music of John Denver and a companion to Mike’s most recent symphonic pops concert offering. ■

BETSY WOLFE MIKE ELDRED

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KIDS' KONCERTS / ORPHEUM THEATRE, 2PM

Sunday, February 8Platypus Theatre: Latin Beats, Heroic Feats!Gordon Gerrard conductor Platypus Theatre

Conceived by: Peter Duschenes, Alain Trudel and Lisa Griffiths

Written and directed by: Peter Duschenes

Performers: Peter Duschenes and Emmanuelle Zeesman

Stage Manager: Wendy Rockburn

After an unsuccessful attempt to impress his friends with his musical talents, young Max unrolls an ancient scroll and is sent tumbling through time to a distant and vibrant Latin American world where an evil force is sewing discord and disharmony. With the help of the audience and the orchestra, Max must unravel the mystery and collect the musical clues that will bring the people together in song.

Concert Program

VSO Instrument Fair The Kids' Koncerts series continues with the popular VSO Instrument Fair, which allows music lovers of all ages (but especially kids!) to touch and play real orchestra instruments in the Orpheum lobby one hour before concert start time. All instruments are generously provided by Tom Lee Music.

FEBRUARY 8 CONCERT SPONSOR

PREMIER EDUCATION PARTNER

PREMIER EDUCATION PARTNERTHE VSO’S KIDS’ KONCERTS HAVE BEEN ENDOWED BY A GENEROUS GIFT FROM THE WILLIAM & IRENE MCEWEN FUND.


GORDON GERRARD

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For a biography of Gordon Gerrard please refer to page 18.

Platypus TheatreSince 1989 Canada's Platypus Theatre has been a trailblazer in creating programs for children that bring classical music to life in an intelligent, entertaining and interactive way. Critics, educators, musicians, parents and children have lauded the company's performances for their creativity, originality and high standards of execution. Platypus' seven original programs have been seen by over half a million spectators in Canada, the United States and on six tours to Southeast Asia. After nearly 400 concerts with more

than 50 orchestras worldwide Platypus Theatre has gained an unparalleled reputation for excellence in music education.

In 2006, in collaboration with TV Ontario, Trace Pictures and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Platypus Theatre created a television adaptation of their ever-popular, "How the Gimquat Found Her Song". The film was broadcast five times on TVO and won an Award of Excellence at the 2008 Accolade Television Awards and Best Children's Program at the prestigious Banff World Television Festival. Platypus Theatre was also the subject of a nationally broadcast documentary made by CTV in 1991 and of a PBS television full-performance broadcast on UNC-TV in North Carolina in 2000.

www.platypustheatre.com

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Peter Duschenes Artistic Director and Writer

Thousands of young classical music fans have Peter to thank for introducing them to symphonic music. He co-founded the Platypus Theatre touring company in 1989 to make orchestral music accessible for youth, and more than half a million concert-goers have benefitted from his creativity. As an award-winning playwright, Peter’s writing credits include - among others - all eight Platypus productions, the television adaptation of How the Gimquat Found Her Song which won Best Children’s Program at the prestigious Banff World Television Festival in 2008. In addition to his roles in Platypus shows, he has also acted and directed with companies across Canada and the United States. When Peter isn’t busy helping the Gimquat find her song, he and his wife Sarah are helping their children, Magda and Theo, find their socks.

Emmanuelle Zeesman Actor“You know what I meeeeeeaaaans?” –Emmanuelle in the role of the Gimquat

Emmanuelle loves that line and its outrageous hip movements from How the Gimquat Found Her Song. She uses it frequently in her daily life. In addition to playing the role of the Gimquat and Corky in Bach to the Future, Emmanuelle has led audiences on many thrilling missions to defeat the horrible monster as Emily in Emily Saves the Orchestra.

Her list of other theatrical acting credits is longer than she is, including her role in Blood Brothers for which she won the Capital Critics Circle Award for Best Actor, and her roles in off-Broadway productions of A Christmas Carol and The Little Mermaid.

She is also a dynamite singer and performed across France as lead vocalist for the New Rochelle Festival touring company.

Emmanuelle will never forget when the Gimquat’s foot accidentally got caught in the conductor’s podium and she ended the Can Can in the splits before falling to the ground.

Wendy Rockburn Stage Manager

Want to know who and what goes where and when and how? Wendy’s the one who has it well under control. Since 2005, Wendy has expertly juggled all of the details for Platypus Theatre productions, from monster’s heads to lighting cues.

Not only does she manage the Platypus touring company’s stage, but she also works with theatres all over Eastern and Central Canada. As often as she can, she jets off to far places to photograph the world, and has been known to skydive over the desert in Namibia or outrace a gaucho in Argentina.

Her favorite part about Platypus shows is watching the kids follow every turn in the story in rapt attention. And the climax of the Gimquat still makes her cry, even after all of these years. No wonder we’re wild about Wendy! ■

PETER DUSCHENES EMMANUELLE ZEESMAN WENDY ROCKBURN

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MUSICIAN PROFILE SERIES: MARCUS GODDARD ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL TRUMPET & COMPOSER-IN-ASSOCIATION

I can’t imagine not playing music.“ ”

THE GREAT AMERICAN COMPOSER Aaron Copland is quoted with having said, “You compose because you want to somehow summarize in some permanent form your most basic feelings about being alive, to set down... some sort of permanent statement about the way it feels to live now, today.”

Compositional styles have evolved so drastically over the course of time—from the Baroque period, to the Classical, to the Romantic, and through to today—that the in-vogue style of composing will forever continue to change because society continues to transform, and great music is inevitably a reflection of it.

For many professional, world-class musicians, making one’s life's work about the playing and exploration of another composer’s music is job enough alone. However, for many, as they observe and explore the world in which we live, the desire to create a piece of music, a work that will only express what they want to say to the world in a very unique way, pulls them to put pen to paper and compose. The VSO’s Associate Principal Trumpet, and first-ever Composer-in-Association, Marcus Goddard, is one of these extraordinary musicians. Marcus

was drawn from a very early age to create his own music and to share his unique view of the world by putting his own notes on the page.

The piano and the trumpetI started playing the piano when I was three. My parents were both clinical social workers and my dad played in a jazz combo so there was always music in the house. From a very early age I remember always liking to make up my own melodies on the piano.

It wasn’t until I was in the fourth grade band class at school that I started playing the trumpet but I liked it right away. I grew up in the Finger Lakes area of Upstate New York, and in my school you got to start taking band class in the fourth grade; but I didn’t get a private teacher right away so the other kids progressed a lot faster than I did. But in the sixth grade I finally got private lessons from NY trumpeter Jeff Stempien and then my playing really took off."

“

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From All-State band to Aerospace engineering"As I got better and better I played in the New York All-State band. It was a venue for the highest level youth musicians in the state to all play together, and that’s where I was introduced to a lot of the classical repertoire. But I kept composing throughout high school, and one of the highlights was playing a trumpet quartet that I wrote with my private teacher and two other band teachers.

After high school I went to University in Buffalo and took a year and a half of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering—my roommate and classmate at the time actually works for NASA now!—but I kept playing my trumpet and kept composing. Then I got to a point when I just decided that playing music was way more fun than what I was currently studying, and from then on I just couldn’t imagine not playing music full time. There really was nothing else I’d rather do."

Major and minor"I moved to the University of Michigan to do my B.Mus—I majored in Trumpet Performance and minored in Composition. On trumpet I studied with Armando Ghitalla, former Principal Trumpet in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Charles Daval; and for composition I took classes with William Bolcom.

I then moved to the University of Indiana to do my M. Mus studying with trumpet teacher John Rommel, and I also did two years of a Doctorate (DMA) program; but then in 1999 I won the job here in Vancouver. It was very exciting because right before I won the job in Vancouver, I won a Principal Trumpet position in the orchestra of Tenerife in the Canary Islands and was all set to move there. I ultimately decided on Vancouver because the orchestra is amazing, and I loved the city too."

Obsession"I find now that I have a family I fit in composing when I can. I allot one notebook for each composition and when I get an idea in my head for a composition it becomes all consuming; even somewhat of an obsession.

I will purposely leave a composition alone for a while if I know I have a busy time coming up in my schedule because once I start a piece I can’t stop. It will usually start with a small kernel of an idea and then I get a sense of the overall arc of the piece, then I work my way outwards from the small idea and inwards from the big picture of the piece, all at the same time."

Composer-in-Association"To be the VSO’s first-ever Composer-in-Association really means a lot to me. Creating music for an entire orchestra is the ultimate thrill, and composing specifically for my exceptional colleagues is very special; I have a feeling for the individual personalities of our orchestra and I love to use that knowledge to highlight my creative ideas.

Maestro Tovey has been a huge supporter of my music from the beginning of my career at the VSO. He commissioned my first work for orchestra, I Send Only Angels, which he later convinced the Montreal Symphony to perform on a program that he was conducting. I can't say enough about how much that support has meant to me. Maestro Tovey has encouraged and facilitated so many of my successes and big breaks in composing. ”

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Thomas Søndergård conductor Dale Barltrop violin

HAYDN Symphony No. 99 in E-flat Major I. Adagio – Vivace assai II. Adagio III. Menuetto e Trio: Allegretto IV. Finale: Vivace

BARTÓK Violin Concerto No. 1 I. Andante sostenuto II. Allegro giocoso

INTERMISSION

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36 I. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio II. Larghetto III. Scherzo: Allegro IV. Allegro molto

PRE-CONCERT TALKS with Gordon Gerrard free to ticketholders at 7:05pm.

GOLDCORP MASTERWORKS GOLDORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM

Saturday & Monday, February 14 & 16

Concert Program

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Thomas Søndergård conductor

Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård is one of the most sought after Scandinavian conductors to have emerged in recent years. He is Principal Conductor of BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and also Principal Guest Conductor of Royal Scottish National Orchestra. From 2009-2012 he was Principal Conductor and Musical Advisor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.

His 2014/15 season includes debuts with Sydney and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras, and returns to Seattle Symphony, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic and Royal Swedish Opera. Future guest invitations include his debut with Norske Opera, Netherlands Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony and returns to DSO Berlin, Houston Symphony Orchestra and Danish National Symphony Orchestra.

In 2013, Søndergård made his critically acclaimed début at the BBC Proms with BBCNOW in programmes including Strauss’s Alpine Symphony and Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony. He returned in August 2014 for both Nielsen’s and Sibelius’ fifth symphonies, repertoire for which he is an increasingly celebrated interpreter.

Dale Barltrop violin

Australian violinist Dale Barltrop has been Concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra since 2009, and was appointed Co-Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2014, dividing his time between the two orchestras. Before coming to Vancouver he served as Principal Second Violin of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Barltrop has also appeared as guest director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Camerata of St. John’s Chamber Orchestra in Brisbane. He has performed at numerous music festivals across North America, including Mainly Mozart, Festival Mozaic, Music in the Vineyards, Tanglewood, Yellow Barn and Kneisel Hall. Barltrop serves on the faculty of the VSO School of Music and the Vancouver Academy of Music and has taught at the University of British Columbia, National

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Orchestral Institute in Maryland, Australian National Academy of Music and Australian Youth Orchestra.

Joseph Haydn b. Rohrau, Lower Austria / March 31, 1732 d. Vienna, Austria / May 31, 1809

Symphony No. 99 in E-flat Major Haydn made two trips from Vienna to England, in 1791/92 and 1794/95. They won enormous success, in terms of both art and commerce.For those trips, he composed twelve new symphonies, Nos. 93 to 104. Believing that with them he had made his finest statements in this field of composition, he decided to write no more such works.

He composed Symphony No. 99 in 1793, a few months before he departed from Vienna for the second London residency. It was scheduled to premiere in London on February 4, 1794, but since he was delayed in arriving, the debut took place a week later instead, at the first concert of the new season. It made such an impression that it had to be encored at the next concert.

The first movement begins with an introduction in slow tempo. Initially it strikes a ceremonial tone, but then it grows starker and more elusive in character. Haydn nimbly shifts gears as he launches the main section of the movement, replacing gloom with vivaciousness and sheer melodic charm. The slow second movement is among

the most beautiful such pieces in all his symphonies. He begins it with the most effortlessly disarming music imaginable, only to present in due course one of the innumerable surprises that crop up throughout his music: two brief outbursts of powerful dramatic emotion.

The third movement, a minuet, starts rather stiffly but quickly ‘unbends’ into a cheerful rustic dance. A charming waltz provides the contrasting central trio section. Haydn consistently delighted in providing his symphonies with finales that are not only brisk and merry but also carefully, ingeniously and economically conceived. This one is no exception.

Béla Bartók b. Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary / March 25, 1881 d. New York, New York, USA / September 26, 1945

Violin Concerto No. 1 For many years, the Violin Concerto that Bartók composed between 1937 and 1938 (and which has enjoyed international success ever since) was widely thought to be his single example of this type of piece. It was

only a dozen years after his death that another, much earlier concerto came to light.

It was inspired by his love for a young Hungarian violinist named Stefi Geyer. By January 1908, he had sketched a three-movement violin concerto that he intended as a portrait of her. He completed the first two sections, but decided not to compose the finale. In February, Geyer abruptly broke off their relationship. Still, she asked him to send her the manuscript of the concerto.

He sensed some value in the first movement, at least. It was performed on its own in Budapest in 1911. Five years later he revised it as part of a new work: Two Portraits for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 5. The concerto in its original form emerged only after Stefi Geyer’s death. The first performance took place in Basel, Switzerland, on May 30, 1958, and it was published the following year as Concerto No. 1.

The solo violin launches the first movement with a gently melancholy melody that Bartók referred to as “her theme.” It dominates the entire movement. The orchestration is spare but effectively flecked with colourful solo passages. A muted climax is arrived at, only

to melt away as Bartók adds a pair of harps to the scoring for the first time.

The primary characteristic of the second movement is humorous bustle. A sweet, yearning second theme provides marked contrast. In a lyrical passage towards the close, Bartók combined it with “her theme” from the first movement, then wrapped up the concerto with a final burst of joyful energy.

Ludwig van Beethoven b. Bonn, Germany / baptized December 17, 1770 d. Vienna, Austria / March 26, 1827

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36Catastrophe struck while Beethoven was working on his Second Symphony, during the summer and autumn of 1802. There had been signs of growing deafness for some time, indications which he had done his best to ignore and conceal. But it was only at that time that conditions deteriorated to the point where he came to realize that he would probably lose his hearing. He was emotionally devastated, terrified, and deeply ashamed. He wrote a highly emotional letter, intended for his brothers, in which he gave

event to his feelings. This ‘Heiligenstadt Testament’ may have served as a kind of emotional release, since the symphony he composed at the time bears no trace of the dark emotions at play within him. Its highly successful first performance took place in Vienna on April 5, 1803.

In the substantial introduction to the first movement, the opening call to attention alternates with soulful musings, all the while creating a pleasant sense of expectation. Soon it’s off to the races in a vivacious and carefree Allegro. In the serene, glowing meditation of the second movement, Beethoven demonstrates how convincingly he could relax, although his love for sharp and sudden shifts in dynamics pops up even here.

The first ‘official’ scherzo in a Beethoven symphony is less genteel and more rhythmically complex than any comparable movement by Haydn or Mozart. Its nature lies closer to a country fairground than any ballroom. Wind instruments take the spotlight in the brief central Trio. The party mood continues and intensifies in the truly rambunctious, ‘unbuttoned’ finale. ■Program Notes © 2015 Don Anderson

The 2015 VSO SPRING FESTIVAL focuses on the music of the greatest composer who ever lived, and one of history’s greatest creative geniuses: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Beginning with the Oscar®-winning film Amadeus, this 5-performance Festival takes audiences on a journey through the singular life and music of Mozart, illuminated through his own extraordinary works and the writings of some of the many composers who were influenced by his miraculous music.

Maestro Bramwell Tovey and the VSO lead us on this journey, starting with two very different explorations of the apocryphal legend of Salieri’s poisoning of Mozart; we hear Mozart’s first ever symphony, as well as his three last, great symphonies; an aria from Don Giovanni; one of Mozart’s great Serenades; funeral music written for Mozart’s Masonic Lodge; and his last composition, the Requiem — an unfinished work that lay at Mozart’s bedside as he died a tragically-early death at the age of 36.

Join Maestro Tovey and the VSO on this very special musical journey that you will never forget. ORDER YOUR TICKETS NOW!

ALL PERFORMANCES AT THE ORPHEUM

MOZARTPLUS!

The VSO Spring Festival includes Pre-Concert Talks each night with Maestro Bramwell Tovey. FREE TO TICKETHOLDERS.

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FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 7:30PMAMADEUS, THE MOVIEWinner of 8 ACADEMY AWARDS (including Best Picture), director Milos Forman’s Amadeus chronicles the imagined story of Mozart and Salieri. Relive it in all its cinematic and musical glory on the big screen at the Orpheum!

SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 8PMMOZART AND SALIERIBramwell Tovey conductor Michael Colvin tenor* James Westman baritone*RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Mozart & Salieri*MOZART Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major

MONDAY, APRIL 13, 8PMTHE LEGEND OF DON JUANBramwell Tovey conductor James Westman baritone*MOZART Serenade No. 6 in D Major, Serenata NotturnaMOZART Don Giovanni: Deh, vieni alla finestra*R. STRAUSS Don JuanMOZART Symphony No. 40 in G minor

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 8PMJUPITER!Bramwell Tovey conductorHAYDN March for the Royal Society of MusiciansMOZART ARR. SHARMAN Symphony No.1 in Eb Major, K16 BRAHMS Variations on a Theme of Joseph HaydnMOZART Symphony No. 41 in C Major, Jupiter

SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 8PMTHE GREAT REQUIEMBramwell Tovey conductor Melanie Krueger soprano* Marion Newman mezzo-soprano* Colin Ainsworth tenor* Stephen Hegedus baritone* UBC Opera Ensemble*MOZART Masonic Funeral MusicTCHAIKOVSKY Suite No. 4 in G Major, MozartianaMOZART Requiem*

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BONUS SAVINGS!Order the FESTIVAL PASS and SAVE 30% over single concert prices!

7-year old Mozart on tour in Paris with his sister Nannerl and his father Leopold in 1763.Carmontelle (ca. 1763) watercolour

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See the VSO website for details and to order your tickets: vancouversymphony.ca /springfest

Bramwell Tovey with the VSO

APRIL 13 CONCERT SPONSOR

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CLASSICAL TRADITIONS CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, 8PM

Friday & Saturday, February 20 & 21 Bramwell Tovey conductorMonica Huisman sopranoIsaiah Bell tenorElektra Women’s ChoirChor Leoni

BRAHMS Vier Gesänge (Four Songs), Op. 17 Es tönt ein voller Harfenklang (The Full Sound of a Harp Resounds) Lied von Shakespeare (Song by Shakespeare) Der Gärtner (The Gardener) Gesang aus Fingal (Song From Fingal)

MENDELSSOHN (Vespergesang), Op. 121 Adspice Domine de sede Aperi oculos tuos Qui regis Israel Aperi oculos tuos O lux beata

INTERMISSION

MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 52 Hymn of Praise Symphonie (Sinfonia) Maestoso con moto – Allegro Allegretto un poco agitato Adagio religioso Kantate (Cantata) Chorus: Alles was Odem hat Solo & Chorus: Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele Recitative & Aria: Saget es, die ihr erlöst seid Chorus: Sagt es, die ihr erlöst seid Duet & Chorus: Ich harrete des Herrn Tenor solo: Stricke des Todes Chorus: Die Nacht ist vergangen Chorale: Nun danket alle Gott Duet: Drum sing ich mit meinem Liede Chorus: Ihr Völker, bringet her den Herrn

Concert Program

BRAMWELL TOVEY

THE PRESENTATION OF THE CLASSICAL TRADITIONS SERIES IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, THROUGH THE GENEROUS ASSISTANCE OF THE CHAN FOUNDATION AT UBC, AND THE CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS.

ELEKTRA WOMEN’S CHOIR

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●CHOR LEONI

MONICA HUISMAN ISAIAH BELL

The Stradivarius Legacy Circle

For further information on leaving a Legacy gift to the VSO please call Mary Butterfield, Director, Individual and Legacy Giving at 604.684.9100 ext. 238 or email [email protected].

The Stradivarius Legacy Circle recognizes and thanks individuals in their lifetime for making arrangements to leave a bequest or planned gift in their will or estate plans to the Vancouver Symphony Foundation—creating a lasting legacy of exceptional symphonic music and music education in our community. We sincerely thank the following members for their foresight, generosity and commitment to the VSO's future.

George AbakhanJanet M. AllanRenate A. AndersonK.-Jane Baker Lorna BarrJanice BrownPeter & Mary BrunholdDr. William. T. BrysonRalph & Gillian CarderJohn & Patricia ChapmanMr. and Mrs. G.A. CooperDavid & Valerie Davies Gloria DaviesSharon Douglas

Jackie FrangiRob & Anne Shirley GoodellRenate R. HuxtableWayne & Leslie Ann IngramMargaret IrvingEstelle & Michael JacobsonMary JordanDorothy KuvaDorothy MacLeodIrene McEwenPaul Richard Moritz

Barbara MorrisMartin O’ConnorJosephine PeglerEleanor PhillipsMarion PoliakoffDiane RonanLouis RosenBernard Rowe & Annette StarkShirley SawatskyDorothy ShieldsMary Ann SigalDoris SmitRobert & Darlene

SpevakowDr. Barbara StaffordHermann & Erika StöltingElizabeth TaitMelvyn & June TanemuraTuey Family TrustRobert & Carol TulkDavid & Ruth TurnbullTessa WilsonKelley WongAnonymous (3)

Bequests The Vancouver Symphony is grateful to have received bequests since 2000 from the following individuals.

BEQUESTS TO THE VANCOUVER SYMPHONY FOUNDATION

$500,000 or moreJim and Edith le NobelKathleen Margaret Mann

$100,000 or moreSteve FlorisJohn Rand

$50,000 or moreWinslow Bennett Margaret Jean PaquinRachel Tancred RoutMary Flavelle Stewart

$25,000 or moreDorothy Freda Bailey

Phyllis Celia FisherMargot Lynn McKenzie

$10,000 or moreThe Kitty Heller Alter Ego TrustKaye Leaney

$5,000 or moreAnne de Barrett AllworkClarice Marjory BankesLawrence M. CarlsonMuriel F. GilchristJ. Stuart KeateGerald NordheimerAudrey M. PiggotJan Wolf Wynand

$1,000 or moreEleanor Doke Caldwell

BEQUESTS TO THE VANCOUVER SYMPHONY SOCIETY

$250,000 or moreRuth Ellen Baldwin

$100,000 or moreRita AldenDorothy Jane BoyceRoy Joseph FietschHector MacKay

$50,000 or moreFritz Ziegler

$25,000 or moreDorothy M. Grant Lillian Erva Hawkins

Florence Elizabeth Kavanagh Mary Fassenden LawGeraldine OldfieldAlice RumballAnne Ethel Stevens

$10,000 or moreJohn Devereux Fitzgerald Dorothea Leuchters Robert V. OsokinElizabeth Jean Proven Freda Margaret RushDoris Kathleen Skelton

$5,000 or moreRaymond John Casson Alfred KnowlesGordon McConkey

Evelyn Ann van der Veen Joan Marion WassonDorothy Ethel Williams

$1,000 or morePhyllis Victoria Ethel BaillyJoyce BashamDoris May BondKathleen Grace BoyleKathleen Mary DeClercq Jean HaszardGrace Barbara Isobel HooperLewis Wilkinson HunterAnnie Velma PickellJean SempleWilhelmina Stobie ■

The Stradivarius Legacy Circle

SpevakowDr. Barbara StaffordHermann & Erika StöltingElizabeth TaitMelvyn & June TanemuraTuey Family TrustRobert & Carol TulkDavid & Ruth TurnbullTessa WilsonKelley WongAnonymous (3)

Bramwell Tovey conductor

For a biography of Maestro Tovey please refer to page 11.

Monica Huisman soprano

Born and raised in Winnipeg, soprano Monica Huisman studied at the University of Toronto after which she was resident soprano with the Vancouver Opera’s Young Artists Ensemble and continued on to the International Opera Centre of the Netherlands, where she made her debut at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw in Francesca da Rimini. Recent and upcoming engagements include Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang with the Vancouver Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Winnipeg Symphony and Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony for the Saskatoon Symphony. She appeared for Vancouver Opera as Frasquita in Carmen, Pacific Opera Victoria as Musetta in La Bohème and the Fox in Cunning Little Vixen, Manitoba Opera as Pamina in the Magic Flute, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte, and in the world premiere of Davies’ Transit of Venus. She was a regional finalist in the Metropolitan

National Council auditions, finalist in the ‘s’Hertogenbosch’ Competition and first prize winner in both the Debut Young Artist Recital series and the Czech/Slovak competition in Montréal.

Isaiah Bell tenor

The New York Times praised tenor Isaiah Bell for “a performance of haunting beauty, ideally depicting emotional distraction with ultimate economy and glowing vocal skill”, commenting on his performance as the Madwoman in Curlew River at Tanglewood. From British Columbia, Bell is an alumnus of Atelier Lyrique de l’Opera de Montréal and the Aldeburgh Festival. Engagements during 2014/2015 include Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang with the Vancouver Symphony, Written on Skin with the Toronto Symphony, performances and a recording of L’Aiglon with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Damon in Acis and Galatea in New York and Kansas City with the Mark Morris Dance Group, Heart of Darkness for Opera Parallele in San Francisco and Messiah with the New Jersey Symphony and Orchestre

symphonique de Trois Rivières. Recent credits include Matthäus Passion with Nézet-Séguin and l'Orchestre Metropolitain, Britten's Owen Wingrave at the Edinburgh Festival, and appearances with Orchestra London, Toronto’s Mendelssohn and Amadeus choirs; Against the Grain Theatre, and Winnipeg’s Canzona Choir.

Elektra Women’s ChoirWith a mandate to inspire and lead in the choral art form through excellence in performance and through the creation, exploration and celebration of women’s repertoire, Vancouver’s renowned Elektra Women’s Choir has taken a leadership role in the international classical women’s choir movement.

The choir is known for its adventurous programming, seeking out music written specifically for women and frequently commissioning new works. Its appearances include performances at the distinguished National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association, including memorable New York performances at Carnegie Hall,

Riverside Church, and Avery Fisher Hall.

In 2010 the choir once again took first place in the “Equal Voices – Women” category of the National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs. Prior to 2009, the choir was awarded first prize for women’s choirs in four consecutive rounds of the biennial CBC National Choral Competition, as well as several major prizes for contemporary music performance.

Chor LeoniKnown internationally and loved locally, Chor Leoni Men’s Choir is recognized as one of the vanguard male vocal ensembles in North America. With stylistic grace and an adventurous spirit, Vancouver’s Singing Lions have enriched and transformed people’s lives through singing for over twenty years.

The ensemble has been honoured with many awards at the national and international level including five 1st place awards in the CBC National Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs. In July 2012, Chor Leoni won a dozen awards at the 51st Concorso Internazionale di

Canto Corale “Seghizzi” (Italy), including 1st place trophies in the 19th and 20th Century categories, two Audience Favourite awards, and second place in the competition’s overall Grand Prix.

Chor Leoni prides itself on its musical ambassadorship for Vancouver and Canada and has performed at major music festivals and concert venues across Canada and the United States. Internationally, the choir has shared its music in Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

Chor Leoni was founded in 1992 by Diane Loomer C.M. and is currently conducted by Erick Lichte.

Johannes Brahms b. Hamburg, Germany / May 7, 1833 d. Vienna, Austria / April 3, 1897

Vier Gesänge (Four Songs), Op. 17In 1859, while the twenty-six-year-old Brahms was still resident in Hamburg, he came to know Friedchen Wagner, a young woman who was an enthusiastic performer of music for female chorus.

She established a group, the Hamburg Women’s Choir, with Brahms as the music director. The ensemble inspired him to compose several small-scale works.

He scored these enchanting Four Songs (1860) for the luscious, ultra-Romantic combination of female voices, two horns and harp. It sets poems by Friedrich Ruperti (The Full Sound of a Harp Resounds); William Shakespeare (Come away, Death, in a German translation by August Schlegel); Josef Eichendorff (The Gardner); and finally an anonymous translation of Song from Fingal, the pseudonym of Scottish poet James MacPherson.

Felix Mendelssohn b. Hamburg, Germany / February 3, 1809 d. Leipzig, Germany / November 4, 1847

Adspice Domine de sede (Vespergesang), Op. 121Mendelssohn composed this unusual and intriguing piece for male chorus, with accompaniment by cello and bass (also known as Responsorium and Hymnus) in Berlin during February 1833. He had recently

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allegroMagazine of the Vancouver Symphony

Britten’s War RequiemMaestro Tovey and the VSOcommemorate the 100th Anniversaryof the start of World War I

Cirque Musica!The Best of Cirque on stage with the VSO

Classical Mystery Tour: The Music of The Beatles

September 27 to November 10, 2014 Volume 20, Issue 1

Bramwell Tovey and musicans of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Magazine of the Vancouver Symphonyallegro

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entered into discussions with officials of Düsseldorf regarding his becoming the German city’s music director. His use of a Latin Vespers text in this work suggests that he intended it to be performed during the type of Catholic church service he would encounter in that city. Mendelssohn scholar R. Larry Todd has this to say about the piece: “Markedly Italianite, the setting revives his impressions of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, with a ‘walking’ Baroque bass line in the first movement, responsorial singing in the third, and imitation of psalmody in the second and fourth, where a chant appears in monophony and embellished by two tenor voices.”

Symphony No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 52 Hymn of PraiseMendelssohn composed this broad, imposing work – part orchestral symphony, part cantata for solo voices and chorus – in response to a request from the officials in charge of a three-day festival in Leipzig. The occasion was the (approximate) four-hundredth anniversary of book printing by moveable type, and the person to be honoured was its inventor, the German publisher Johannes Gutenberg (1398–1468). His printed edition of the Bible was held to be not only a major milestone in the Christian faith, but a crucial element of the enlightenment of central-European society as a whole.

The festival was scheduled to open, with the premiere of Mendelssohn’s new composition, on June 25, 1840. The new piece evolved from earlier projects that included an oratorio on the life of John the Baptist. Lack of time led Mendelssohn to set that project aside and instead to develop sketches for a symphony in B-flat Major that he had set down in 1838 and 1839. As the new work evolved, he forged it into a varied tapestry of movements, with three movements for orchestra alone serving as a prelude to nine vocal ones.

Mendelssohn conducted the premiere in St. Thomas’s church, where J.S. Bach, his idol, had worked. It won an enormous triumph, and it remained highly popular during his lifetime. Over the ensuing years it has attracted both supporters and detractors. The latter have objected to what they consider a not totally convincing combination of musical genres, the use of chorale-like melodies in a concert work, and its clearly being modeled on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Even Mendelssohn’s good friend Robert Schumann suggested that the vocal segments and the purely instrumental ones would benefit from being performed separately. Mendelssohn himself harboured some doubts as to the work’s form, and he made revisions during the months following the first performances. The second performance took place in Birmingham, England, and the third once again in Leipzig, at the command of the King of Saxony, to whom Mendelssohn dedicated the piece when it was published in 1841.

By that time he had settled on calling it a ‘symphony-cantata.’ It was only at a later time that it came to be listed together with the four purely instrumental symphonies of his mature period. Its designation as No. 2 is completely inaccurate. It was the last of the five to be conceived, and the second-to-last to be completed, followed by the long-delayed No. 3, the Scottish symphony.

Mendelssohn assembled the text of Hymn of Praise from various Biblical sources, including the Psalms (several of which he had already set), plus the hymn Now Thank We all Our God. The words have no direct connection with Gutenberg, as Mendelssohn hoped that the work would outlive the occasion for which he composed it, and be taken as a generalized work of rejoicing. Perhaps he wished to draw a parallel between Gutenberg’s act of enlightenment and the composition’s generally heartening emotional tone.

He instructed that the entire work be performed without pause. The choral movements regularly display his formidable skill at Bach-style counterpoint, the simultaneous combination of independent musical lines. The solo arias contain much highly appealing melodic writing, as does the duet for two sopranos with chorus that is known in English as I Waited for the Lord. The most striking section – Mendelssohn added it after the second performance – begins with the tenor soloist’s uneasy recitative on the words ‘Watchmen, will the night soon pass? – and continues with the soprano and chorus’s uplifting reply in The Night has Departed. ■Program Notes © 2015 Don Anderson

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VANCOUVER SUN SYMPHONY AT THE ANNEXORPHEUM ANNEX, 7:30PM

Sunday, February 22

Displaced Emotion

Bramwell Tovey conductor Monica Huisman soprano

JOHN OSWALD Homonymy

NICOLE LIZÉE This Will Not Be Televised

MICHEL VAN DER AA Here [in circles]

INTERMISSION

JACQUELINE LEGGATT Variations on Exact Tensions

ZOSHA DI CASTRI Cortège

POUL RUDERS Nightshade

Concert Program

BRAMWELL TOVEY

MONICA HUISMAN

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SYMPHONY AT THE ANNEXSERIES SPONSOR

FINANCIAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY

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Bramwell Tovey conductor

For a biography of Maestro Tovey please refer to page 11.

Monica Huisman soprano

For a biography of Ms. Huisman please refer to page 41.

Displaced Emotion “Can’t you just say (sing/croon/scream) what you mean???”

“Why no. No, I can’t…”

John Oswald b. Kitchener, Ontario / May 30, 1953

Homonymy (1998) As an Anglophone Ontarian commissioned by a Québécois music society [SMCQ] to make this work, John Oswald draws upon the “faux amis” – or false correspondences – between words in English and French, an approach that is not without its political ramifications in the Canadian context. Such “false friends” often rest upon homonyms in different languages.

These may be read as references to the second referendum on Québec sovereignty that was held in 1995. “Yes” was the answer to the complicated question that was to be chosen by the separatists – the word “oui” was visible all over the city of Montréal at that time. But of course “oui” to an English speaker ironically sounds like “we,” as in “we the people united,” and thus signifies quite the opposite of what this referendum may have brought had the “oui” in fact won…

The following portmanteau is the longest single word in this concert:

"uprisingingredienterrifferensemlancillare-sponderasurelyingothawesomentalismanikin-dustrealismoothereforwarduousualtogetherror-ganderelinguistinginglishoeshinebehindistur-bulientityranneoclassholistinguishgenuously"Program Notes © 2015 Tamar Tembeck & John Oswald edited by Jocelyn Morlock

Nicole Lizée b. Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan / April 7, 1973

This Will Not Be Televised (2011/2014) This Will Not Be Televised is an escapade into the world of turntablism and its integration with concert music. The Sound of Music’s nuns, David Lee Roth’s shrill overtones and Nana Mouskouri’s distinctive croon are captured and pitchshifted, juggled, and otherwise manipulated by the turntablist in tandem with the ensemble.

Called a “brilliant musical scientist” and lauded for “creating a stir with listeners for her breathless imagination and ability to capture Gen-X and beyond generation,” Nicole Lizée creates new music from an eclectic mix of influences including the earliest MTV videos, turntablism, rave culture, Hitchcock, glitch, and 1960s psychedelia.

Nicole is a Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellow and has received a number of awards, most recently the 2013 Canada Council for the Arts Jules Léger Prize. Her commission list of over 40 works is varied and distinguished and includes the Kronos Quartet, BBC Proms, l’Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, NYC’s Kaufman Center, Eve Egoyan, and the San Francisco Symphony.

Program Notes © 2015 Nicole Lizée

Michel van der Aa b. Oss, The Netherlands / March 10, 1970

Here [in circles] (2002) Here [in circles] is the heart of Michel van der Aa’s Here trilogy, and in its instrumentation, it is the most fragile and intimate section. The soprano operates a cassette recorder on which she records herself and the ensemble in real time; she rewinds, fast-forwards and plays back, illuminating the cyclical hopelessness of the music on a small scale.

Known especially for his music theatre and multi-media works, Michel van der Aa is perhaps the most renowned Dutch composer of his generation. His 3D film-opera, called Sunken Garden, written with author David

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Mitchell (Cloud Atlas) was premiered at the Barbican Centre in April of 2013. His music is available on many labels including his own label, Disquiet Media. Program Notes © 2015 Tamar Tembeck & John Oswald edited by Jocelyn Morlock

Jacqueline Leggatt b. Toronto, ON / April 29, 1959

Variations on Exact Tension (2009/2014) Commissioned in 2009 by the Turning Point Ensemble, Variations on Exact Tension has been revised for this performance. In two sections, slow-fast, the piece explores small bits of melody which clash, interrupt, and combine in various ways.

“...the piece explores small bits of melody which clash, interrupt, and combine...”

Although known for her chamber works, electroacoustic music has become increasingly important in Jacqueline Leggatt’s oeuvre, especially through collaborative works with language poets Catriona Strang, Nancy Shaw and Christine Stewart at the Institute for Domestic Research. Her music has been performed in New York, Paris, San Diego, Italy, Hong Kong and throughout Canada. Awards include first prize in the Jean Coulthard Competition and a Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship. Program Notes © 2015 Jacqueline Leggatt

Zosha Di Castri b. Calgary, Alberta / January 16, 1985

Cortège (2010) Cortège was inspired by the idea of a strange procession, a relentless succession of people and sounds. Influenced by Cavafy’s The God Abandons Antony and Leonard Cohen’s Alexandra Leaving, Cortège is the music of impending loss, the night before the city falls into enemy hands or the evening before a lover leaves for good.

“...the music of impending loss, the night before the city falls into enemy hands...”

“listen – your final delectation – to the voices, to the exquisite music of that strange procession, and say goodbye to her, to the Alexandria you are losing.”

Zosha Di Castri is a Canadian composer/pianist living in New York. Expanding beyond composing and performing strictly acoustic concert music, Di Castri’s work also includes interdisciplinary collaborations into the realms of electronic music, sound installation, video, performance art, and contemporary dance. Program Notes © 2015 Zosha di Castri edited by Jocelyn Morlock

Poul Ruders b. Ringsted, Denmark / March 27, 1949

Nightshade (1987) Nightshade is the first piece in the Nightshade trilogy, described by the composer them as “a collection of compositions that evoke for me an almost Gothic association with pale moonlight, tombstones crypts and the elusive shadows deep inside an ancient forest at the deep of night.”

“...an almost Gothic association with pale moonlight, tombstones crypts and the elusive shadows deep inside...”

English critic Stephen Johnson states: “He can be gloriously, explosively extrovert one minute-withdrawn, haunted, intently inward-looking the next. Super-abundant high spirits alternate with pained, almost expressionistic lyricism; simplicity and directness with astringent irony.” ■Program Notes © 2015 Poul Ruders edited by Jocelyn Morlock

PACIFIC RIM CELEBRATIONCONCERT ONE: ORPHEUM THEATRE, 7:30PM

Saturday, February 28Chinese New Year

Perry So conductor Guilian Liu pipa Li Bo horse hair lute Claire Huangci piano

ZHENG LU Good News from Beijing

ZHAO JIPING Pipa Concerto

INTERMISSION

LI BO The Tale of Matou Qin

XIAN The Yellow River Piano Concerto I. Yellow River Boatmen’s Song II. Ode to the Yellow River III. Wrath of the Yellow River IV. Defend the Yellow River

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PERRY SO

LI BO

CLAIRE HUANGCI

GILLIAN LIU

Concert Program: Pacific Rim Celebration

CELEBRATING THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OPENING OF THE FIRST JAPANESE CONSULATE IN CANADA, IN VANCOUVER

125th AnniversaryConsulate General of JapanVancouver

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GORDON GERRARD

AKIKO SUWANAI

YURIKO NARIYA

Concert Program: Pacific Rim Celebration

PACIFIC RIM CELEBRATIONCONCERT TWO: ORPHEUM THEATRE, 7:30PM

Sunday, March 1A Japanese Celebration

Gordon Gerrard conductor Akiko Suwanai violin Yuriko Nariya kotoDale Barltrop violinSakura Singers, Ruth Suzuki Music DirectorCattleya Chorus, Kuniko Naito Music DirectorWinds Choir, Moko Kuwabara Music DirectorNAV Chorus, Midori Seo Music Director

YUZO TOYAMA Rhapsody for Orchestra

MICHIO MIYAGI Sakura Sakura

HOLST Japanese Suite, Op. 33

YOKO KANNO (ARR. MIYAKE) Hana wa Saku in F Major (Flowers will Bloom)

YAMADA (ARR. FUKASAWA) Akatombo

SHIN SATO (ARR. FUKASAWA) Daichi Sansyou

INTERMISSION

BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto, Op. 61, D Major I. Allegro ma non troppo II. Larghetto III. Rondo: Allegro

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SAKURA SINGERS

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PACIFIC RIM CELEBRATIONCONCERT ONE:

Perry So conductor

One of the inaugural Gustavo Dudamel Conducting Fellows of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Perry So received the First and Special Prizes at the 2008 International Prokofiev Conducting Competition in St. Petersburg.This season, engagements include debuts with The Cleveland Orchestra and the China Philharmonic Orchestra, and return visits to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Round Top Festival, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias and the Florida Orchestra. Last season saw Perry make his debut with the Residentie Orkest, and return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra — following his two-year tenure as Associate Conductor, when he spearheaded the orchestra’s outreach and education programmes. Born in Hong Kong, Perry So graduated from Yale University in Comparative Literature, where he was Music Director of the Saybrook Orchestra and the Opera Theater of Yale College. He was a prize-winner at the Mitropoulos Competition and received a commendation from the Hong Kong Home Affairs Bureau for international musical accomplishments.

Guilian Liu pipa

Ms. Guilian Liu graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music, the best music school in China, and was the youngest professor of music all over the country. Ms. Liu’s performance career has brought her to countries that include U.S.A., Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland, Finland, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. Her playing has been highly praised by maestros, like Zuqiang Wu, Dehai Liu, Seiji Ozawa, Isaac Stern, and Herbert von Karajan.Ms. Liu has served on the panels of competitions such as the 2009 Taipei Pipa Competition, the 2012 Liaoyuan International Pipa Competition, and the 2014 China National Pipa Competition.

As a Canadian citizen, Ms. Liu is now the art director of the Pearl Music Studio. Her students have won prizes in different competitions, including the Overall Champion of Vancouver Kiwanis Music Festival. Currently, Ms. Guilian Liu performs around the world with the Canadian ensemble, Red Chamber.

Li Bo horse hair lute

Li Bo is one of the world’s most renowned masters of the Morin Khuur. As an American and Japanese-Chinese master of Morin Khuur he has performed as a soloist at numerous festivals, recitals, and with some of theworld’s leading orchestras including the Tokyo Philharmonic, Chinese National Symphony Orchestra, the Northern German Philharmonic Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestrra.

Claire Huangci piano

Claire Huangci regularly performs with major orchestras such as the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg; the Essen Philharmonic, Munich Chamber, and China Philharmonic orchestras; the German Radio Philharmonic Saarbrucken; and the Stuttgart Radio, Berlin, Indianapolis, Moscow Radio, and Istanbul State symphonies. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Tonhalle Zurich, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Salle Cortot Paris, Oji Hall Tokyo and Symphony Hall Osaka. She is guest artist at festivals such as the Verbier Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, and the Schwetzinger Festspiele. She began her international career at the age of nine, studied with Eleanor Sokoloff and Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute, and with Arie Vardi at the Musikhochschule Hannover. As a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, she performed with the National Orchestra of Belgium, under Marin Alsop. Her solo debut recording, works by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, was released by Berlin Classics and her double-CD album of Scarlatti sonatas will be released in spring 2014.

PACIFIC RIM CELEBRATIONCONCERT TWO:



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Akiko Suwanai violin

This season’s highlights include tours in Japan with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and a Russian tour with Festival Strings Lucerne. Additionally, she returns to the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and makes her debuts with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Further ahead Suwanai will perform with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Bamberger Symphoniker and will take part in the Bergen International Festival, performing with Leif Ove Andsnes.Suwanai has a broad repertoire ranging from Bach to contemporary composers. She performed the world premiere of Peter Eötvös' violin concerto Seven at the Lucerne Festival with the Festival Academy Orchestra conducted by Pierre Boulez. This summer she was invited to the Helsinki Festival to perform Salonen’s Violin Concerto conducted by the composer.Akiko Suwanai performs on the 1714 'Dolphin' Stradivarius, previously owned by Jascha Heifetz, kindly loaned to her by the Nippon Music Foundation.

Yuriko Nariya koto

Yuriko Nariya was born and studied the koto in Japan and eventually became a certified koto instructor of the Miyagi School. Since coming to Canada, Yuriko has been teaching multiple students for more than thirty years. She has performed in numerous shows in Vancouver and Washington, including the Japanese Tsunami Fundraiser Charity Concert.

Dale Barltrop violin

For a biography of Dale Barltrop please refer to page 32.

The Sakura SingersIn 1970, an informal choral group known as The Sakura Singers was instituted for the JCCA (Japanese Canadian Community Association), directed by Mrs. Ruth Suzuki. In 2006, the group was incorporated under the B.C. Societies Act as a choral music

society. Upon its’ inauguration as a society, it established an Endowment Fund, purpose of which is to spread its benefit to all parties, including members and non-members. Resources from the fund are being used to promote the enjoyment of Japanese songs and a better understanding and appreciation by all Canadians pertaining to Japanese Canadian culture. Overwhelming success and longevity of The Sakura Singers is credited to the music director, Mrs. Ruth Suzuki for her relentless energy in shepherding musically, every one of the choir members for the past forty-six years. thesakurasingers.org

Cattleya ChorusCattleya Chorus was originally formed in November, 1991 by the mothers of students of the Vancouver Japanese School. Cattleya Chorus has concerts on a regular basis and also performs jointly with other chorus groups. The members also sing regularly at senior homes and participate in a variety of community events. In October 2009, Cattleya Chorus held a concert in honour of the 80th anniversary of Japan-Canada Relations. The group also held a charity concert for the victims of 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in October 2011.

Winds ChoirThis Japanese choir was formed and is conducted by Moko Kuwabara who graduated from Musashino University School of Music in Japan, where she then became a member of the Manfred Gurlitt Opera Association. The choir was formed in Vancouver in 2001 and is active in providing joyful musical experience to a variety of audiences, including senior centres and residences, churches, and public venues, such as Vancouver Art Gallery.

NAV ChorusNAV Chorus is assembled in 2007, for National Anthem singing for the Emperor's birthday ceremony, ordered by the Consul General of Japan. NAV has been participating openings for sports events, formal ceremonies and charity concerts, and more. ■

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For more information about the Patrons' Circle and the exclusive benefits associated with this program, please contact Leanne Davis Vice President, Chief Development Officer at

604.684.9100 ext. 236 or email [email protected].

GOLD BATON CLUB Gifts from $50,000 and UpDr. Peter and Mrs. Stephanie ChungMrs. Irene McEwen* Mr. Alan and Mrs. Gwendoline Pyatt*

MAESTRO'S CIRCLE Gifts from $35,000 to $49,999Heathcliff Foundation*The R & J Stern Family Foundation

Gifts from $25,000 to $34,999Mr. Gerald McGavin, C.M., O.B.C. and Mrs. Sheahan McGavin*Michael and Irene Webb

CONCERTMASTER'S CIRCLE Gifts from $15,000 to $24,999The Christopher Foundation (Education Fund)Martha Lou Henley, C.M.*Lagniappe FoundationMichael O’Brian Family FoundationMr. Fred Withers and Dr. Kathy JonesAnonymous*

Gifts from $10,000 to $14,999Larry and Sherrill BergMary and Gordon Christopher Foundation*Mr. and Mrs. G.A. CooperMrs. Margaret M. DuncanThe Gudewill FamilyWerner (Vern) and Helga Höing*Ms. Sumiko HuiYoshiko Karasawa McGrane-Pearson Endowment FundMr. Brian W. and Mrs. Joan MitchellAndrè and Julie MolnarThomas and Lorraine Skidmore

Maestro Bramwell Tovey and Mrs. Lana Penner-Tovey*Arthur H. Willms Family*Gordon YoungAnonymous

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Gifts from $7,500 to $9,999Mrs. Joyce E. ClarkeDave CunninghamIn Memory of John Hodge*Kenneth W. and Ellen L. Mahon*Mollie Massie and Hein Poulus*Mr. Ken and Mrs. Patricia Shields

Gifts from $5,000 to $7,499Dr. and Mrs. J. AbelJeff and Keiko Alexander*Eric and Alex Bretsen Etienne BrusonDr. Don and Mrs. Susan CameronPhilip and Pauline ChanIan and Frances DowdeswellCathy GrantMr. Sam and Mrs. Patti GudewillHillary HagganDiane HodginsDr. Marla Kiess*Judi and David KorbinSam and Anita Lee The Lutsky FamiliesBruce and Margo MacDonaldRoy Millen and Ruth Webber Mirhady Family Fund, held at the Vancouver FoundationJohn Hardie Mitchell Family FoundationJohn Slater and Patrick WangStanis and Joanne Smith Leon and Joan Tuey*

Mrs. Jane Wang Fei WongAnonymous (2)

BENEFACTORS Gifts from $3,500 to $4,999Mr. Hans and Mrs. Nancy AlwartKathy and Stephen Bellringer*Hank and Janice KetchamProf. Kin Lo*Mr. and Mrs. Hebert Menten*Christine NicolasDr. Rosemary WilkinsonDr. and Mrs. Edward Yeung

Gifts from $2,500 to $3,499Anako Foundation Ann Claire Angus FundNicholas AsimakopulosBetsy Bennett*The Ken Birdsall FundGerhard and Ariane Bruendl*Marnie Carter*Janis and Bill ClarkeEdward Colin and Alanna NadeauMs. Judy GarnerHeather HolmesJohn and Daniella Icke* Olga IlichHerbert JenkinGordon and Kelly JohnsonDon and Lou LaishleyM. Lois MilsonJoan Morris in loving Memory of Dr. Hugh C. MorrisJoan and Michael RileyMr. and Mrs. Maurice A. RodenBernard Rowe and Annette StarkDr. Earl and Mrs. Anne Shepherd

The Vancouver Symphony gratefully acknowledges the generosity of the following supporters who made a commitment to the 2013/2014 season and thanks those who have demonstrated their leadership with an early commitment to the 2014/2015 season.

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Ms. Dorothy P. ShieldsWallace and Gloria ShoemayMrs. Mary Anne SigalMel and June Tanemura*George and Marsha Taylor*Mr. and Mrs. David H. TrischukMichael R. WilliamsBruce Munro WrightAnonymous*Anonymous

PATRONS Gifts from $2,000 to $2,499Count Enrico and Countess Aline DobrzenskyAnn Ehrcke and Michael LevyIn Memory of Betty HowardMr. Hassan and Mrs. Nezhat Khosrowshahi*Bill and Risa LevineViolet and Bruce MacdonaldNancy and Frank MargitanDr. Robert S. Rothwell*Bella Tata* Mark Tindle and Leslie CliffArthur Toft in Memory of Fred and Minnie ToftAnonymous (2)

Gifts from $1,500 to $1,999Gordon and Minke ArmstrongDerek and Stella AtkinsMr. R. Paul and Mrs. Elizabeth BeckmannRoberta Lando Beiser*Dr. and Mrs. J. Deen BrosnanMrs. May Brown, C.M., O.B.C.*Mr. Justice Edward Chiasson and Mrs. Dorothy Chiasson*Doug and Anne CourtemancheLeanne Davis and Vern GriffithsBarbara J. DempseyJean DonaldsonSharon F. DouglasDarren Downs and Jacqueline HarrisDennis Friesen for GwenMrs. San GivenAnna and Alan GoveMarietta Hurst*Michael and Estelle Jacobson*D.L. Janzen in Memory of Jeannie KuyperSigne Jurcic C.V. KentDrs. Colleen Kirkham and Stephen KurdyakUri and Naomi Kolet in honor of Aviva’s New York OrdinationHugh and Judy Lindsay

Hank and Andrea LuckArt and Angela MonahanNancy MorrisonDal and Muriel RichardsDr. William H. and Ruthie RossMrs. Joan ScobellDavid and Cathy ScottDr. Peter and Mrs. Sandra Stevenson-MooreDr. Ian and Jane StrangL. ThomGarth and Lynette ThurberDr. Johann Van EedenNico and Linda VerbeekBeverley and Eric Watt*Dr. Brian WilloughbyEric and Shirley WilsonDr. I.D. WoodhouseNancy WuAnonymous (3) ■

* Members of the Patrons’ Circle who have further demonstrated their support by making an additional gift to the Vancouver Symphony Foundation’s endowment fund.

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MARDON GROUP INSURANCE MUSICALLY SPEAKING ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM

Saturday, March 7ROGERS GROUP FINANCIAL SYMPHONY SUNDAYSORPHEUM THEATRE, 2PM

Sunday, March 8NORTH SHORE CLASSICSCENTENNIAL THEATRE, NORTH VANCOUVER, 8PM

Monday, March 9James Feddeck conductorTimothy Chooi violin

WAGNER Lohengrin: Prelude to Act III

PROKOFIEV Lieutenant Kijé Suite, Op. 60 I. The Birth of Kijé II. Romance III. Kijé's Wedding IV. Troika V. The Burial of Kijé

INTERMISSION

BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 I. Prelude: Allegro moderato II. Adagio III. Finale: Allegro energico

SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97, Rhenish I. ILebhaft II. Scherzo: Sehr mässig III. Nicht schnell IV. Feierlich V. Lebhaft

Concert Program

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MUSICALLY SPEAKINGVIDEO SCREEN SPONSOR

MUSICALLY SPEAKINGRADIO SPONSOR

MUSICALLY SPEAKINGSERIES SPONSOR

JAMES FEDDECK

TIMOTHY CHOOI

SYMPHONY SUNDAYS SERIES SPONSOR

MARCH 8 CONCERT SPONSOR

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James Feddeck conductor

2014/15 sees James Feddeck make debuts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (MusicNOW), NAC Orchestra, Ottawa, the Vancouver and Milwaukee Symphony orchestras and the Tampere Philharmonic. He also conducts the Béjart Ballet Company with the orchestra of Deutsche Oper Berlin.

James' recent debut with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra led one critic to comment that “musicians of this calibre are gold dust.” Other notable engagements include the Houston, Indianapolis and Atlanta Symphony orchestras, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and the St. Louis and San Diego Symphony orchestras.

Winner of the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award in 2013, James Feddeck’s career in North America has developed strongly since his last season as Assistant Conductor in Cleveland.

During his time with The Cleveland Orchestra, James conducted subscription concerts at Severance Hall, Blossom, and stepped in for Franz Welser-Möst in Cleveland’s fully-staged production of Don Giovanni and subscription performances of Carmina Burana, both to critical acclaim.

Timothy Chooi violin

Canadian violinist Timothy Chooi won the Grand Prize at the Montréal Symphony’s Standard Life Competition in 2012. Montréal’s Lapresse called the young prodigy at his debut ‘’le miracle.’’ He has appeared with the Montréal Symphony again under the baton of Maestro Kent Nagano.

Timothy is the winner of the Vadim Repin International Scholarship Audition, where he performed at Carnegie Hall. He is also the winner of the Canada Council Instrument Bank Competition, recipient of the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award, and a laureate of the Menuhin Violin Competition.

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Chooi has recently debut with the Santa Barbara Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, and with the National Arts Centre Orchestra under the baton of Pinchas Zukerman.

Born in Victoria, Canada, Timothy studies with Ida Kavafian at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec in Ottawa, Canada.

As winner of the Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank Competition, Timothy is currently using the 1729 Guarneri del Gesu.

Richard Wagner b. Leipzig, Germany / May 22, 1813 d. Venice, Italy / February 13, 1883

Lohengrin: Prelude to Act III Wagner’s opera Lohengrin, which premiered in 1850, takes place in Belgium during the tenth century. The saintly knight Lohengrin appears in answer to a prayer from Elsa, daughter of the King of Brabant, for a champion to defend her against a rival claim to the throne. He agrees to do so on condition that she not ask his name. The third and final act opens with a festive prelude, forecasting the happiness that Lohengrin and Elsa expect to enjoy once they are married.

Sergei Prokofiev b. Sontsovka, Ukraine / April 27, 1891 d. Moscow, Russia / March 5, 1953

Lieutenant Kijé Suite, Op. 60 Prokofiev composed his first film score in 1932, for Lt. Kijé. Set at the end of the eighteenth century, it is a witty fable satirizing both the military and the aristocracy. Through a bureaucrat’s error, the name Lt. Kijé (literally Lt. ‘Etc.’) is inscribed in the register of military personnel. This unusual name is noticed by the eccentric Tsar Paul I, a fanatic for all things soldierly. His staff, not wishing to admit their error, invent an entire career for the non-existent Lt. Kijé.

In 1934, Prokofiev reworked the brief snippets that make up his score into what became a popular concert suite. It opens with a cheeky, mock military march depicting Kijé’s creation, and continues with a deliberately heavy handed romance that portrays his amorous exploits. His wedding is celebrated with

pompous fanfares and clumping, oom pah dance tunes. A brisk, joyful sleigh ride follows. Finally, to a review of previous themes, he is laid to rest with full military honours.

Max Bruch b. Cologne, Rhine Province / January 6, 1838 d. house in Berlin Friedenau / October 2, 1920

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 Although this concerto sounds effortless, it followed a difficult course to its final form. It won a favourable reception when it premiered in Coblenz, Germany in 1866, but it still left Bruch unsatisfied. Seeking advice on how to improve it, he consulted by correspondence with the widely-respected Hungarian violinist, Joseph Joachim. Bruch took up some of Joachim’s suggested changes, to which he added second thoughts of his own. Joachim gave the highly successful second premiere in Bremen, Germany in 1868.

Bruch entitled the opening section Prelude, implying that it serves primarily as an introduction to the more important adagio. The Prelude opens in an air of quiet, brooding melancholy before breaking out into a full-blown and impassioned allegro. It builds up to two major climaxes before dying away in emotional exhaustion. Bruch segues without pause into the heartfelt central adagio. It features some of the most beautiful writing in the entire literature for violin.

Bruch concludes the concerto with a propulsive, gypsy-flavoured finale. It anticipates the last movement of the concerto that Johannes Brahms wrote ten years later, a work also dedicated to, and premiered by, Joseph Joachim. It’s definitely a dance, but in keeping with the concerto’s overall character, it’s still a rather serious one. The second theme has a noble contour, more elevated than heroic. A final accelerando hurtles the concerto across the finish-line.

Robert Schumann b. Zwickau, Germany / June 8, 1810 d. Endenich, Germany / July 29, 1856

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97, Rhenish In September 1850, Schumann and his gifted wife, Clara, moved to Düsseldorf, Germany,

where Robert had been engaged as the conductor of the city’s orchestra and chorus. Enchanted with the location and the welcome opportunity of having his own orchestra to work with, he promptly began to compose again, something that recent illness had kept him from doing.

First came a cello concerto. Then in a typically rapid four weeks, he set down his impressions of his new home and its verdant setting on the banks of the Rhine river (as well as his happiness with being there) in a new symphony. This is the source of its nickname, the Rhenish or Rhineland Symphony. He conducted the premiere himself, in Düsseldorf on February 6, 1851.

It is the only one of his symphonies with five movements rather than four. This may represent a tribute to Beethoven’s Sixth, the similarly picturesque and rustic ‘Pastoral’ Symphony. The opening section, a sweeping piece with a genuine sense of joy, lays claim to be his finest orchestral creation. Renowned British musicologist Sir Donald Tovey draws a parallel between it and the first movement

of Beethoven’s Third, the ‘Eroica’ Symphony, with which it shares the same key. Although Schumann called the second movement a scherzo, it the leisurely air of a country dance rather than the boisterous energy of a musical joke. His original title for it was Morning on the Rhine.

The first of two slow movements is a lyrical song without words, similar in character to his vocal and piano romances. The second is virtually a miniature tone poem or mood picture. It was inspired by a ceremony – the elevation of Archbishop Geissel to the office of Cardinal – that the Schumanns had witnessed the previous September at the magnificent (although at that time, unfinished) Gothic cathedral in the nearby city of Cologne. The addition of trombones to the orchestra gave it an aptly solemn, stately air. Schumann returns us to the sunlight of the Rhine valley with the vigorous and cheerful finale. ■Program Notes © 2015 Don Anderson

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TEA & TRUMPETSORPHEUM THEATRE, 2PM

Thursday, March 12Sibelius at 150 Gordon Gerrard conductorChristopher Gaze host/narratorMelody Ye Yuan violin

SIBELIUSFinlandia, Op. 26Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 I. Allegro moderato Karelia Suite, Op. 11 I. Intermezzo II. Ballade III. Alla marciaThe Swan of Tuonela Lemminkäinen’s Return



Christopher Gaze host/narrator

For a biography of Christopher Gaze please refer to page 18.

Melody Ye Yuan violin

Sixteen year-old Melody Ye Yuan began lessons in China at the age of five with Ms. Zhao Xiao and at eight came to Vancouver to study with Taras Gabora. She has already performed in seven countries including the country of her birth, China, with two recitals in Beijing and Guangzhou.

Melody has won numerous prizes and awards, notably First Prize at the Jenkelevich International Violin Competition in Omsk, Russia, the Gabora Prize for the best performance at the Casalmaggiore International Festival in 2012 and 2013, and first prize at the Bjorn and Lori Hareid Strings Competition 2014 at the Vancouver Academy of Music. Melody is performing on a Carlo Giuseppe Testore violin made in 1708. ■

Concert Program

CHRISTOPHER GAZE

GORDON GERRARD

THE TEA & TRUMPETS SERIES IS SUPPORTED BY A GENEROUS GIFT FROM THEMCGRANE-PEARSON ENDOWMENT FUND.

◆◆

MELODY YE YUAN

TEA & COOKIES Don’t miss tea and cookies served in the lobby one hour before each concert. Compliments of Tetley Tea and Walkers Shortbread.

$4,000,000 or moreGovernment of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage Endowment Incentives Program$1,000,000 or moreRon and Ardelle CliffMartha Lou Henley, C.M.Province of BC through the BC Arts Renaissance Fund under the stewardship of the Vancouver FoundationAlan and Gwendoline PyattThe Jim Pattison Foundation$500,000 or moreWerner (Vern) and Helga HöingWayne and Leslie Ann Ingram$250,000 or moreCarter (Family) Deux Mille FoundationMr. Hassan and Mrs. Nezhat KhosrowshahiThe Tong and Geraldine Louie Family FoundationArthur H. Willms Family$100,000 or moreMary and Gordon ChristopherJaney Gudewill and Peter Cherniavsky In memory of their Father Jan Cherniavsky and Grandmother Mrs. B.T. RogersMalcolm Hayes and Lester SooIn Memory of John S. HodgeMichael and Estelle Jacobson

S.K. Lee in memory of Mrs. Cheng Koon LeeKatherine Lu in Memory of Professors Mr. and Mrs. Ngou KangWilliam and Irene McEwen FundSheahan and Gerald McGavin, C.M., O.B.C.McGrane-Pearson Endowment FundNancy and Peter Paul SaundersKen and Patricia ShieldsGeorge and Marsha TaylorWhittall Family Fund$50,000 or moreAdera Development CorporationWinslow and Betsy BennettBrazfin Investments Ltd.Mary Ann ClarkLeon and Joan TueyRosemarie Wertschek, Q.C. $25,000 or moreJeff and Keiko AlexanderKathy and Stephen BellringerRobert G. Brodie and K. Suzanne Brodie Mrs. May Brown, C.M., O.B.C.Mrs. Margaret M. DuncanW. Neil Harcourt in Memory of Frank N. HarcourtDaniella and John IckeMollie Massie and Hein PoulusPaul Moritz Mrs. Gordon T. Southam, C.M.Maestro Bramwell Tovey and Mrs. Lana Penner-ToveyAnonymous (1)

$10,000 or moreMrs. Marti BarregarMrs. Geraldine BielyK. Taryn BrodieDouglas and Marie-Elle CarrothersMr. Justice Edward Chiasson and Mrs. Dorothy ChiassonDr. Marla KiessChantal O’Neil and Colin ErbDan and Trudy PekarskyBob and Paulette ReidNancy and Robert Stewart Beverley and Eric WattAnonymous (2)$5,000 or moreCharles and Barbara FilewychStephen F. Graf Edwina and Paul HellerKaatza FoundationProf. Kin LoRex and Joanne McLennanMarion L. Pearson and James M. OrrMelvyn and June TanemuraBella Tata / Zarine Dastur: In Memory of Shirin (Kermani) and Dali TataNico and Linda VerbeekAnonymous (1)

The Vancouver Symphony gratefully acknowledges the support of those donors who have made a commitment of up to $5,000 to the Vancouver Symphony Foundation. Regretfully, space limitations prevent a complete listing.

Vancouver Symphony Foundation

The Vancouver Symphony family extends its sincere thanks to these donors, whose gifts will ensure that the VSO remains a strong and vital force in our community long into the future.

Tax creditable gifts of cash, securities and planned gifts are gratefully received and your gift is enhanced with matching funds from the Federal Government.

Please call Mary Butterfield Director of Individual & Legacy Giving at 604.684.9100 ext. 238or email [email protected] to learn more.

Ensure the VSO’s future with a special gift to the Vancouver Symphony Foundation, established to secure the long term success of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

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VSO CHAMBER PLAYERS ALAN AND GWENDOLINE PYATT HALLDR. H.N. MACCORKINDALE STAGE VSO SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Thursday, March 12, 7:30pm

Sunday, March 15, 2pm

MESSIAEN Abyss of the Birds from Quartet for the End of Time

Cris Inguanti clarinet

LOUIE Echoes of Time for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano

Cris Inguanti clarinetYi Zhou violinCharles Inkman cello Amanda Chan piano

ADAMS Road MoviesYi Zhou violinAmanda Chan piano

INTERMISSION

DVORÁK String Quintet in G Major, Op. 77Mary Sokol Brown violin Jeanette Bernal-Singh violin Andrew Brown viola Charles Inkman cello David Brown bass

For more program details, see the VSO website at vancouversymphony.ca

Concert Program

WITH SUPPORT FROM

YI ZHOU

ANDREW BROWN

JEANETTE BERNAL-SINGH

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LONDON DRUGS VSO POPS ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM

Friday & Saturday, March 13 & 14 A Tribute to The Legendary Barbra StreisandJohn Morris Russell conductor Ann Hampton Callaway vocalist

STYNE/BENNETT Overture from Gypsy

ARR. BENNETT Gershwin in Hollywood

ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY A Sleepin’ Bee Cry Me A River I’ve Dreamed of You Don’t Rain on My Parade

BERNSTEIN/ARR. PERESS West Side Story Overture

INTERMISSIONHOWARD Prince of Tides Suite

ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY Starting Here, Starting Now At the Same Time Evergreen People/Being Alive Lover Come Back To Me Streisandesque Improv A Piece of Sky On a Clear Day/Happy Days

Concert Program

VSO POPS RADIO SPONSORVSO POPS SERIES SPONSOR




ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY

JOHN MORRIS RUSSELL

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John Morris Russell conductor

Consistently winning international praise for his extraordinary music-making and visionary leadership, John Morris Russell is Conductor of the Cincinnati Pops, Music Director of the Hilton Head Symphony and the first ever Conductor Laureate of the Windsor (ON) Symphony Orchestra; prior to that appointment he served as that orchestra’s Music Director for many seasons.

As a guest conductor, Maestro Russell has led many of North America’s most distinguished ensembles, including the orchestras of Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, Vancouver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Dallas, Minnesota, Miami’s New World Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, Colorado Symphony, New York City Ballet, New York Pops, the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

John Morris Russell has had two recordings released with the Cincinnati Pops: Home for the Holidays and Superheroes!

Mr. Russell received a Master of Music degree in conducting from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Williams College in Massachusetts.

Ann Hampton Callaway vocalist

One of the leading champions of the great American Songbook, Ann Hampton Callaway has made her mark as a singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger, actress, educator, TV host and producer. She won the Theater World Award and received a Tony nomination for her starring role in the Broadway musical Swing!, and made her Hollywood screen debut in Robert DeNiro's The Good Shepherd. She’s written over 250 songs including two Platinum Award winning hits for Barbra Streisand, as well as the theme for the hit TV series The Nanny.

She performs the critically acclaimed acts Sibling Revelry and Boom! with Broadway star and sister Liz Callaway, and their CD Boom! Live at Birdland was released to rave reviews debuting at #25 on The Billboard Jazz Chart. This year, Ann has taken the symphony world by storm with her tribute to her legendary mentor in The Streisand Songbook which she premiered with The Boston Pops and will be touring nationwide through 2015. ■

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Vancouver Symphony PartnersThe Vancouver Symphony Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the generosity of the following Government Agencies, Corporations and Foundations that have made a financial contribution through sponsorship or a charitable donation.

SERIES SPONSORS

CONCERT AND SPECIAL EVENT SPONSORS

FRIENDS OF THE

VANCOUVERSYMPHONY

VOLUNTEERS

MCGRANE-PEARSON ENDOWMENT FUND

VANCOUVER SYMPHONY

FOUNDATION

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For more information about the VSO Corporate Partners Programs and the exclusive benefits associated with this program please contact Ryan Butt, Manager, Corporate Programs

604.684.9100 extension 260 or email [email protected]

$400,000+Vancouver Symphony Foundation Endowment Fund

$150,000+TELUS CorporationVancouver Sun

$100,000+Goldcorp Inc.

$70,000+ Mardon Group Insurance

$50,000+ Air Canada City of Burnaby Parks, Recreation and Cultural ServicesCKNWCKWX News 1130Georgia StraightIndustrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.QM-FMWesbild Holdings Ltd.

$40,000+BMO Financial Group London DrugsRBC Foundation

$30,000+Concord PacificPwCVancouver International Airport

$20,000+Agrium Inc. Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLPBMO Capital MarketsBorden Ladner Gervais LLPThe Chan Endowment Fund of UBCCIBC

Deloitte & Touche LLPErnst & Young LLPRoy G. and Naomi Harmon Johnston Family FoundationMcGrane-Pearson Endowment Fund Mercedes-Benz Vancouver Area Retail GroupOsler, Hoskin + Harcourt LLPPhillips, Hager & North Investment CounselPolygon Homes Ltd.Rogers Group FinancialSpectra EnergyTD Bank GroupUpright Décor Rentals and Events DesignVancouver Symphony VolunteersAnonymous (1)

$10,000+AvigilonCanadian Western BankCraftsman CollisionDeans Knight Capital Management Ltd.EncanaGreat-West Life, London Life and Canada LifeHolland America Line Inc.HSBC Bank CanadaKGHM International Ltd.KPMG LLPMcCarthy Tétrault The McLean GroupMontridge Financial GroupPacific SurgicalPark Royal Shopping CentrePrimaCorp Ventures Inc.ScotiabankSilver WheatonStikeman Elliott LLPSun Life Financial

TeckTime & Gold Tom Lee MusicWall Financial

$5,000+Anthem Properties Group Ltd.BCLCCassels BrockCenterplate at Vancouver Convention CentreFriends of the Jewish Family Service Agency Genus Capital ManagementGreyell Wealth ManagementGrosvenor AmericasHaywood Securities Inc.Highland West Capital Ltd.Image Group Inc.Innovation LightingKingswood Capital CorporationLedcor Properties Inc.Ledingham McAllister Macdonald Development CorporationMarin Investments LimitedMcElhanney Consulting Services Ltd.Dr. Tom Moonen Inc.Michael O’Brian Family FoundationOdlum Brown LimitedPeter and Joanne Brown FoundationPeter Kiewit Infrastructure Co.Parq VancouverRBC Royal BankReliance PropertiesRolls-Royce Motor Cars VancouverScotiaMcLeodStantecTD Wealth

Terus Construction Ltd.UBS Bank (Canada)Wilson M. Beck Insurance Services Inc. XibitaAnonymous (1)

$2,500+British Consulate-General VancouverGeorgian Court HotelHawksworth RestaurantKian Show Services Ltd.McCarthy Tétrault FoundationNesters Market YaletownSOCAN FoundationTala FloristsWalkers Shortbread Windsor Plywood Foundation

$1,000+ABC Recycling Ltd.API Asset Performance Inc.Bing Thom Architects FoundationCibo TrattoriaDomaine ChandonDunbar DentalEthical Bean CoffeeEnotecca Wineries & Resorts Inc.EY-In honour of Fred Withers' retirementFluor CanadaThe Hamber FoundationHealth Arts SocietyHUB InternationalLantic Inc.The Lazy GourmetLong & McQuade MusicNorburn Lighting & Bath CentreThe Simons Foundation

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM SPONSORS AND PARTNERS

PREMIER EDUCATION PARTNER

MEDIA PARTNERS

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CONCERT COURTESIES For your enjoyment, and the enjoyment of others, please remember concert etiquette. Talking, coughing, leaning over the balco-ny railings, unwrapping candies, and the wearing of strong perfume may disturb the performers as well as other audience members.

LATECOMERS Ushers will escort latecomers into the audi-torium at a suitable break in the performance chosen by the conductor. Patrons who leave the auditorium during the performance will not be re-admitted until a suitable break in the performance.

HEARING-ASSIST SYSTEMS Hearing-impaired patrons may borrow compli-mentary Sennheiser Infrared Hearing System headsets, available at the coat-check in the Orpheum Theatre only, after leaving a driver’s licence or credit card.

CELL PHONES, PAGERS, DIGITAL WATCHES Please turn off cell phones and ensure that dig-ital watches do not sound during performances. Doctors and other professionals expecting calls are asked to please leave personal pagers, tele-phones and seat locations at the coat check.

CAMERAS, RECORDING EQUIPMENT Photography and video/audio recording of any kind are prohibited during the per-formance. Pictures taken pre-concert, at intermission, and post-concert are encouraged. Please feel free to tweet and post to Facebook or Instagram pre-concert, during intermission or after the concert using the hashtag posted in the lobby. During the performance, please do not use your mobile device in any way.

SMOKING AND SCENTS All venues are non-smoking and scent-free environments.

PROGRAM, GUEST ARTISTS AND/OR PROGRAM ORDER ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Finance & Administration: Mary-Ann Moir, Vice-President, Finance & AdministrationAntonio Andreescu, Junior Database & Network Administrator Debra Marcus, Director, Information Technology & Human ResourcesAnn Surachatchaikul, AccountantRay Wang, Payroll Clerk & IT Assistant

Marketing, Sales & Customer Service: Alan Gove, Vice-President, Marketing & Sales; Acting President & CEO Shirley Bidewell, Manager, Gift Shop & Volunteers Estelle and Michael Jacobson Chair

Stephanie Fung, Interim Director of MarketingAnna Gove, Editor & Publisher, Allegro MagazineKatherine Houang, Group Sales & Special Ticket ServicesKenneth Livingstone, Database ManagerCaroline Márkos, PR Associate & Assistant to the Music DirectorRobert Rose, Front of House Coordinator Cameron Rowe, Director, Audience & Ticket ServicesLaura-Anne Scherer, Social Media

Customer Service Representatives: Jason Ho, Senior Customer Service RepresentativeAcacia Cresswell Jonah McGarva Kim Smith Paycia Khamvongsa Michael McNair Anthony Soon Shawn Lau Stacey Menzies Jessica Tung Jadene McDonald Kathy Siu Karl Ventura

Development: Leanne Davis, Vice-President, Chief Development OfficerRyan Butt, Manager, Corporate Programs Mary Butterfield, Director, Individual & Legacy GivingChris Loh, Development CoordinatorDawn Nash, Stewardship OfficerAnn True, Development Officer, Direct ResponseLauren Watson, Development Officer, Special ProjectsDeanna Cheng, Special Projects Assistant

Artistic Operations & Education: Joanne Harada, Vice-President, Artistic Operations & EducationMatthew Baird, Artistic Operations AssistantSarah Boonstra, Operations ManagerRheanna Buursma, Assistant Librarian and Artistic Operations AssistantDeAnne Eisch, Orchestra Personnel ManagerRyan Kett, Artistic Operations & Education AssistantMinella F. Lacson, Music LibrarianChristin Reardon MacLellan, Education & Community Programmes Manager Ken & Patricia Shields Chair

The Stage Crew of the Orpheum Theatre are members of Local 118 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a proud member of

At the Concert

Vancouver Symphony Administration 604.684.9100

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Ronald Laird Cliff, C.M., ChairMarnie CarterCharles Filewych

Board of Directors

Gordon R. Johnson, ChairFiona LinHein Poulus, Q.C.Patricia Shields

Board Executive Committee

Fred Withers, Chair Chief Development Officer (Ret.) Ernst & Young

Larry Berg, Vice Chair President & CEO (Ret.) Vancouver International Airport Authority

Etienne Bruson, Treasurer Partner, International Tax, Deloitte

Dave Cunningham, Secretary VP Government Relations, TELUS

Dr. Peter Chung, Member-at-Large Executive Chairman, PrimaCorp Ventures Inc.

Alan Pyatt, Member-at-Large Chairman, President and CEO (Ret.) Sandwell International Inc.

Board Members

Eric Bretsen Partner, International Tax Services Ernst & Young LLP

Philip KY Chan General Sales Manager, Mercedes-Benz Canada

Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nancy WuSecretary. . . . . . . . . . . . Marlies Wagner Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . Gail FrankoMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . Paddy AikenMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . Azmina ManjiImmediate Past Chair. . . Sheila Foley

Scheduling Concerts (all venues) . . . Shirley BidewellGift Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara MorrisLotteries in Malls . . . . . . Gloria Davies

Reception Shifts. . . . . . . . .Gloria DaviesTea & Trumpets . . . . . . . . .Shirley Featherstone Marlene StrainSpecial Events Symphony of Style 2014 . .Paddy Aiken Holland America On-Board Luncheon 2014 .Marlies Wagner

Membership Volunteer Hours . . . . . . . .Sheila Foley

Debra Finlay Partner, McCarthy Tetrault LLP

Michael L. Fish President, Pacific Surgical

Cathy Grant Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales and Managing Broker Intracorp Realty LTD.

Lindsay Hall Executive Vice-President and CFO Goldcorp Inc.

Diane Hodgins Director, Century Group Lands Corporation

Gordon R. Johnson Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais

Judith Korbin Arbitrator

Sam Lee Managing Director, CIBC World Markets Global Mining Group

Roy Millen Partner, Blakes

Julie Molnar Director, The Molnar Group

Fred Pletcher Partner, Chair of the National Mining Group Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Hein Poulus, Q.C. Partner, Stikeman Elliot

Stanis Smith Senior Vice President, Buildings, Stantec

Musician Representatives Ashley Plaut Violin

Elizabeth Volpé Bligh Harp

Honorary Life PresidentRonald Laird Cliff, C.M.

Honorary Life Vice-Presidents Nezhat Khosrowshahi Gerald A.B. McGavin, C.M., O.B.C.Ronald N. Stern Arthur H. Willms

Richard Mew Gerald A.B. McGavin, C.M., O.B.C.Hein Poulus, Q.C.

Alan PyattArthur H. Willms

Manager, Gift Shop and Volunteer Resources Shirley Bidewell Tel 604.684.9100 ext 240 [email protected]

Assistant Gift Shop ManagerRobert Rose

Marsha WaldenEric WattArthur H. Willms

Administration

Curtis Pendleton Executive Director

Louise Ironside Assistant Director

David Law Operations & Facilities Manager

Vancouver Symphony Society Board of Directors

Vancouver Symphony Foundation Board of Trustees

VSO School of Music Society

Vancouver Symphony Volunteer Council 2014/2015

Fred WithersTim Wyman

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14/15 VSO Allegro Issue #3

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