A newsletter for the VCM community - Winter 2012
A Harmonious Celebration
In this issue… New Board Members Page 3 Events Galore! VCM concerts and fundraisers Pages 4-7 VCM Faculty Updates Page 9 Presenting: Gibson Musicales Page 11
“A Harmonious Celebration” – musically concordant; having the parts agreeably related: congruous; marked by accord in sentiment or action.
Summer Academies 2012 Page 12
All of these definitions hold true for our event that took place on Sunday, January 22 at 2:30 pm in Alix Goolden Hall. Over 700 people filled the hall ready to participate in a celebration of music and dance to bring in the Year of the Dragon. Master of Ceremonies, and Victoria City Councillor, Charlayne Thornton-Joe welcomed performers from the VCM, Victoria Children’s Choir, Victoria Chinese Public School & Victoria Chinese Culture Club who shared their talents with an appreciative audience. The Honourable Ida Chong was in attendance to give the opening remarks, as well as to pass along a generous donation to the Conservatory for this special occasion. The afternoon ended with an abundance of Dim Sum goodies, chow mein, desserts, green tea and juice, generously sponsored by RBC - Royal Bank Douglas & Pandora Branch, Thrifty Foods, Fairway Market & Silk Road Aromatherapy & Tea Co. At the end of the day, our guests’ hearts were warmed with good music, dance and food. See page 7 for more pictures!
250.386.5311 • 900 Johnson at Quadra • www.vcm.bc.ca
A Letter from Jamie Syer Dear Students, Parents, and Colleagues, On January 13, I announced the difficult decision to resign from my position at the Conservatory in order to return to my home in Alberta. As some of you will know, my wife and family are there and, as well as being closer to them, I will be exploring and developing new opportunities in the community where we live. These 7½ years I’ve spent in Victoria have been, in many ways, the most challenging and the most satisfying of my career. The highlight for me has been working with such an energetic and creative group of teachers and students. I have made many friends in Victoria—at the Conservatory, the University, and in the wider community—and it is those friends and colleagues who have made these years so richly rewarding for me. I don’t need to tell you of the remarkable changes in the Conservatory over the last few years. I’ve been proud to have played a part in those changes; but whatever we’ve achieved has been done together, as members of a strong team of faculty, Department Heads, managers and administrators. I want to especially acknowledge the energy, skills and confidence of Jane Butler McGregor. Without her, I doubt that our transformation would have taken place. There is, of course, much more to do—and there always will be, given the dreams and ideas of those who teach and work at the Conservatory. The VCM needs to continue to work hard to be an energetic and visible presence in Victoria. We must never stop imagining what the idea of a “Conservatory” really means. And all who work, teach, or learn here must know that they are warmly appreciated and generously supported. I will be continuing in my position of Dean, and Artistic Director of the Collegium, until April 5, 2012. There will be more news coming about how my various responsibilities will be handled between the time that I leave and the appointment of a new Dean. But meantime, I am looking forward to working with you over the coming months—and to making some good music, too. With warmest wishes, Jamie
Visit our website at www.vcm.bc.ca/careers-dean to view the posting and job description for the position of Dean. We hope to have a new Dean in place by the beginning of the fall term in September. We are pleased to welcome Michael van der Sloot as Collegium Artistic Director, following Jamie Syer’s departure in April.
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Welcome to Our New Board Members We are very pleased to welcome three new Board members to our already outstanding Board of Governors. They were unanimously voted on to our Board at our AGM this past December. We look forward to the opportunity of working with each of them and thank them sincerely for agreeing to share their wealth of wisdom and experience with all of us!
GARY KARR Gary Karr, acclaimed as “the world’s leading solo bassist” (Time Magazine), has performed as soloist on six continents with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Simon Bolivar Orchestra (Caracas, Venezuela), Jerusalem Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, and with all the major orchestras of Australia. Gary has previously been a member of both the Pacific Opera and Victoria Symphony Boards and the VCM will benefit greatly from his experience.
ALAN LOWE Alan Lowe received his Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Manitoba and his Master of Architecture from the University of Oregon. Alan has been practicing Architecture in British Columbia since 1988. He ventured into local politics in 1990 when he was elected as a City Councillor in Victoria for two successive three year terms. In 1999, Alan became the youngest Mayor of Victoria at the age of 38 and was re-elected twice to that position. He is also currently serving as the secretary to the Board of Directors of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.
VERNE JOHNSON
Starting with Imperial Oil Limited in 1966, Verne has spent his entire career in the petroleum industry, primarily in western Canada, contributing to the growth of oil and gas companies of various sizes. Verne is currently Chairman of Fort Chicago Energy Partners LP, and a Director of Gran Tierra Energy, and was recently appointed as Chairman of Petromanas Energy Inc. He was previously a Director of Harvest Energy Trust, Blue Mountain Energy and Suroco Energy Inc., all publicly traded companies. Verne is also a Director of a number of private companies and has served on the Board of Calgary Opera for 12 years.
NON-VOTING BOARD MEMBERS: MICHAEL DIAS Faculty Representative Michael Dias, PhD Candidate (University of Victoria) is an enthusiastic performer, musicologist and teacher. As well as being the director of the VCM Guitar Orchestra, he maintains a busy teaching studio as a part of the guitar faculty at the VCM. A regular performer on the concert stage with the Victoria Guitar Trio and Quelus Duo, Michael was the first prize recipient at the 2008 Northwest Guitar Festival Competition.
SHAWNA WYVILL Student Representative Shawna Wyvill is currently a full time student in the Camosun Music Diploma program and is studying classical piano. She has always been passionate about music and is excited to be involved with the VCM. Along with her studies, she teaches piano and theory part time at Taber Music School and also co-ordinates the theory program for the Victoria Children’s Choir.
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VCM Presents: Conservatory Concert Series – An Update By Jamie Syer The first season of our new VCM Presents “Conservatory Concert Series” is already half over, and I hope you have been enjoying the music as much as I have. We began with the very impressive Cecilia String Quartet, continued with an ear-stretching program of recent and contemporary music, and just a few days ago enjoyed a scintillating performance by trumpeter Brad Turner, backed by four of our own distinguished jazz faculty. Next up, February 18, is a concert I have called “Dualling Pianos”, featuring Bartók’s groundbreaking “Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion” as well as two-piano works by Debussy and Brahms. Robert Holliston and I will be joined by percussionists extraordinaire Masako Hockey and Jonathan Eng. As you know, this season was a bit of an experiment: could we be successful in creating a wellpublicized, effectively-supported series of concerts, attractive to the wider musical community, and to our own VCM students and faculty? Audiences have been moderately strong, though there are still lots of empty seats. Some students have attended, and a few faculty members. In my estimation, we still have some way to go before VCM Presents becomes an indispensable part of the Conservatory, and of the Victoria music scene. Think about what you could do to help spread the word about the three concerts to come. As you know, all are free to VCM students and faculty. Together with series Curator Bradford Werner, and members of the Artistic Directorate, I’ve started planning for the 2012-13 season. Already confirmed is the piano trio “Triple Forte” with Jasper Wood, violin, Yegor Dyachkov, cello, and David Jalbert, piano. Together, these three outstanding musicians have created an ensemble noted for its energy and elegance. I’m considering several possibilities for the other concerts, particularly instruments or genres not represented this year, and especially featuring voice and winds. We hope to begin the season with a performance from our incoming Keyboard Department Head, Walter Prossnitz who would very much like to play chamber music with his new Brad Turner VCM colleagues. Anyone interested, please contact Walter or myself. And there will, of course, be room for other VCM performers. Brad Werner and I are looking for concert proposals that are imaginative, of high musical quality, and attractive to a broad audience. If you have suggestions for local or visiting artists, or a programme proposal, please get in touch with me by mid-February.
Upcoming VCM Concerts VCM Masters Series - Classics and the Romantics Wednesday, February 8 • 7:30pm • AGPH A delightful concert of Haydn’s St. Nicolai Mass and concertos by Classical and Romantic compsers featuring some of our talented rising stars. With the VCM Conservatory Chorale, Senior Orchestra and faculty members. Conducted by Brian Wismath and Michael van der Sloot. Artistic Director: Stephen Brown. Continued...
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VCM Children’s Concert Series: The Magic Flute Saturday, February 11 • 11:00am • Wood Hall Join us for this fun and engaging musical concert presented by Music Corner Ensemble, a talented group of musical storytellers for kids of all ages. Two friends set out on an exciting quest to the Temple of Wisdom where they brave fire and water to rescue a princess. Children participate through movement, song, riddles and games while Music Corner performs music adapted from Mozart’s original opera. Tickets: $15/$12 VCM Presents: Conservatory Concert Series Robert Holliston & Jamie Syer “Dualling” Pianos Saturday, February 18 • 7:30pm • AGPH A memorable performance of “dualling” pianos with two VCM colleagues playing together for the first time, along with Jonathon Eng and Masako Hockey on percussion. Tickets: $25/$15; VCM students, faculty and staff are free VCM Opera Studio: Scenes from Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28 • 7:30pm • Metro Studio The VCM Opera Studio will be presenting ‘Scenes from Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte’, conducted by Timothy Vernon and directed by Glynis Leyshon with Csinszka Redai at the piano. Mozart’s masterful romantic comedy concerns two soldiers who test their lovers’ fidelity. They disguise themselves as handsome foreigners and try to seduce each other’s partners. The women are dazzled by the attention and soon forget all about their original fiancés. Tickets: $20/$10; $5 VCM students, faculty and staff
Don’t forget! There’s FREE parking in McCall’s lot, just up the street from us, on the corner of Johnson and Vancouver. Parking is available in their lot after 5:00pm on weekdays, and all day on Saturday and Sunday (unless McCall’s is using it for their own purposes). Please spread the word to students and parents as well! Our own VCM lot is reserved parking and only those with a valid permit can park there. Idling in cars while waiting for students is also restricted. Please remind all of your students and their parents that they will be ticketed if the park in the VCM lot.
VCM Presents: Conservatory Concert Series VCM Faculty Spotlight Saturday, April 28 • 7:30pm • AGPH Our faculty spotlight features a stellar mix of VCM musicians for an entertaining recital with music designed to celebrate a spring evening. Featuring the Aurora Trio, plus Nicholas Fairbank (organ), Mary Jill McCulloch (flute) and Kathryn Whitney (voice). Tickets: $25/$15; VCM students, faculty and staff are free
VCM Presents: Sara Davis Buechner, piano Saturday, May 26 • 7:30pm • AGPH Known for her dazzling playing in frequent appearances with the Victoria Symphony, this is Buechner’s first solo performance in Victoria since 2003. An entertaining program with music by Hadyn, Turina and Gershwin. Tickets: $25/$15; VCM students, faculty and staff are free
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Mark Your Calendars! Upcoming Fundraising Events Eric Charman’s 80th Birthday Gala Celebration
Sunday, March 4 • 5:00pm • McPherson Theatre • Tickets: $250 For more than 50 years, Eric Charman has dedicated ceaseless time and effort towards raising funds and advocating for the arts in Victoria. Now, three of the organizations that Eric holds so closely to his heart are working together to pay a special tribute to honour Eric and thank him for all that he has done. Together with Pacific Opera Victoria and Victoria Symphony, we will be hosting the ultimate gala celebration – a very special “chair-ity” event for Eric Charman’s 80th birthday. The night will include a champagne reception with silent auction, a short live auction, a spectacular grazing supper prepared by the chefs of the Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour, and a concert with the Victoria Symphony, conducted by Maestro Timothy Vernon, featuring outstanding musicians and soloists from POV, VCM, and the Victoria Children’s Choir, Eric’s only birthday wish is to raise $300,000 to benefit the VCM, POV and the Symphony. Join us for a night Victoria won’t soon forget!
Uncork Your Palate
Thursday, April 26 • 6:30pm • Crystal Gardens • Tickets: $95 The VCM and Naramata Bench Wineries invite you to Uncork Your Palate, a very special evening of wine, food and music at Victoria’s historic Crystal Garden. Participating restaurants and caterers will serve a sampling of hors d’ouevres and appetizers, paired with distinctively fine wines from the Naramata Bench Wineries. Meet the winemakers, be the first to taste Naramata’s Spring Release wines, and bid on wines and other exciting packages at the silent and live auctions. Tickets will be available online at TicketRocket at ticketrocket.org/Uncork and at the VCM. For further information: vcm.bc.ca/calendars/uncork-your-palate/
30th Annual Mother’s Day Garden Tour
May 12 & 13 • 10:00am - 4:00pm • Tickets (two day pass): $30 Soon it will be time to shake off your long winter hibernation and revel in the wonders of spring. Presented by Newport Realty and Newport Property Management, our Annual Mother’s Day Garden Tour is a perfect way to celebrate Mother’s Day, or simply to enjoy a beautiful spring weekend! This 30th Annual fundraising event will be in honour of Ann Nation, founder of the original tour. The 2012 Garden Tour will feature 10 of Victoria’s most impressive private gardens ranging from exotic to native, new to established, country to urban. Visitors can look forward to performances by our talented students and faculty. If you are willing to volunteer your time to play in one of the gardens please let us know. Contact Sandy Henderson at henderson@vcm.bc.ca, or 250-386-5311, ext. 2371. We greatly appreciate your support! Tickets will be available in April at a variety of locations, including the VCM front office, and Victoria Thrifty Foods locations. All proceeds are donated to the VCM.
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A Very Special Concert Gary Karr, Harmon Lewis, and friends Sunday, February 26, 2012 2:30pm - Alix Goolden Hall Adults $25, Seniors/Students $20
A Harmonious Celebration Here are more pictures from this spectacular event:
World-renowned duo Gary Karr, double bass, and Harmon Lewis, piano and organ, will be joined by outstanding students from the Conservatory’s Collegium Program in entertaining music which will be enjoyed by all ages. All proceeds from this rare concert will be donated to the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Gary Karr, acclaimed as “the world’s leading solo bassist” (Time Magazine), is in fact the first solo doublebassist in history to make that pursuit a full-time career. Together with his longtime musical partner, pianist and organist Harmon Lewis, the Karr-Lewis Duo maintained a schedule of appearances that took the team all over North America as well as Great Britain, continental Europe, Russia, Israel, Australia and the Orient, where their many recordings continue to be runaway favourites. They continue to perform at the annual summer KarrKamp in Victoria.
The Hon. Ida Chong with Angela Xie and Karmen Tse
Throughout their career, Karr and Lewis have been dedicated supporters of music education, so it is appropriate that their Victoria Conservatory of Music concert will include ensemble performances with five of the Conservatory’s most outstanding students - all members of the VCM’s Collegium Program for Young Musicians. Partnering with Mr. Karr will be: violinist Nelson Moneo in a performance of the Duo Concertante for Violin and Bass by Giovanni Bottesini; Ethan Allers, cello, Duo for Cello and Contrabass by Gioachino Rossini; Razvan Bezna, guitar, in music from Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras; and Christina Chwyl, harp, with The Swan by Camille Saint-Saëns. Gary Karr and Harmon Lewis will also perform together in music for bass with piano or organ. Mr. Lewis will be playing the VCM’s 1910 Casavant pipe organ.
Lucy Gao and Christina Chwyl
The Victoria Chinese Culture Club
Through the generosity of the performers, all proceeds from this project will go towards supporting programs of the Victoria Conservatory of Music.
Victoria Chinese Public School
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New Strategic Planning Process to Get Underway Having now successfully completed the VCM’s first 3-year strategic plan, we are now preparing to enter into the next 3 year strategic planning process again in February and March. As part of the process, we will begin by conducting meetings with groups of key VCM stakeholders: students, parents, faculty, staff and donors, to ensure that we get a wide representation of information and ideas that we believe are important to include in the formal planning process. The formal strategic planning team will led by Ted Matthews (who also led the first session) and will include all members of our Board of Governors, including our student, staff and faculty representatives, and all members of the Management and Artistic Directorate teams. Once a draft of a new plan is prepared, we look forward to inviting you to a presentation of the plan for feedback and suggestions!
Music Therapy Continuing Education Day By Dr. Johanne Brodeur The day started around 9:00 am with delegates trickling in; by 10:00 the hallway of the Music Therapy wing was buzzing with activitity with participants networking and shopping for instruments at The Creative Music Therapy Solutions display booth. Ongoing tours of the MultiSensory Studio were very popular and the studio amazed everyone who entered this magical space. Participants had the choice of three concurrent sessions four times throughout the day with a roster of extraordinary speakers. Several VCM Faculty members dedicated their time, talent and knowledge to this event: David Clenman (Training the Ear), Robert Holliston (Music’s Capacity to Heal), and Gergana Velinova (Is Singing Only for Singers?). Music therapists Allan Slade, Marie Slade, Kim Brame, Julie Bomhof and Johanne Brodeur presented sessions on their respective areas of expertise. We also had the immense pleasure of having various guest speakers: delegates from UVic CanAssist introduced new technologies, the Limbic Media Team demonstrated how to manipulate video and audio using body movements and interactive painting interface, Lissa Zala spoke on Epilepsy and Seizure awareness, and Terry Manzo presented on the Music of the Spheres…of Health. Thank you to Margo Doucette, Kolina Ecklin, Jason Stuart and Alex Reesor who contributed to the success of the day; it was an extraordinary day indeed. This event is held every 2 years. Looking forward to seeing you in 2014!
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David Clenman
VCM Faculty Updates •
Voice teacher Kathryn Whitney has been elected to a Visiting Fellowship at the AHRC Centre for Music Performance as Creative Practice in England, a national performance research group based at King’s College, London, and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Kathryn will be artist in residence at King’s from May through July, 2012, where she will design and sing a series of art song performance workshops as part of the “shaping music in performance” project, lead by Professor Daniel Leech-Wilkinson. Kathryn also performed a number of national premieres of Canadian works this past year, including the UK, Italian, and Portuguese premieres of Stephen Chatman’s song cycle “You are Happy”, based on the work of Margaret Atwood, which was written in 1989 for Maureen Forrester.
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Last October 25th, Nicholas Fairbank was in Mexico performing in the Festival Internacional de Órgano de Morelia, at Morelia Cathedral (Michoacán), on the largest pipe organ in Latin America. Celebrating its 45th year, this annual festival brings performers from around the world. Nick’s recital included works by several Canadian composers and was played to a full house of over 1,000 people. www.festivalinternacionaldeorganodemorelia.com
Keaton Ollech has received the Hilda King Theory Award for the highest mark in RCM Basic Harmony. Congratulations Keaton! Keaton studies Harmony with Crystal Wiksyk (pictured above)
Nicholas has also been commissioned to write a new piece for Victoria’s Ensemble Laude which will be premiered at the Kathaumixw international choral festival in Powell River next July. On February 17th at 8:00pm, the Victoria Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Yariv Aloni, will perform Nick Fairbank’s “Suite for Strings” at First Metropolitan United Church, 932 Balmoral Road. www.victoriachamberorchestra.org
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Guitarist Alexander Dunn has been busy lately. Last summer, he judged the Guitar Foundation of America International Competition, the largest and most prestigious guitar festival in the world, and judged and performed at the Boston GuitarFest at the New England Conservatory of Music. After adjudicating guitar students for the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, Dunn played a solo recital at the VCM and in Vancouver, a recital at the Walther Auditorium at the Lincoln Center in NYC, an all-Schubert concert with VCM faculty and guests, and is preparing GuitarWorks: a program of important modern guitar pieces including Ponce’s Variations sur Folia, George Crumb’s Quest, and the Canadian premieres of Nicholas Maw’s Six Interiors (with soprano Anne Grimm) and Elliott Carter’s Luimen. 2012 activities include recitals, teaching and adjudication in Texas, Vancouver, California, Quebec, a lecture/recital on Beethoven songs at the GFA convention, an appearance at Boston GuitarFest, the Bangkok Guitar Festival, and a solo recital at the Walther Auditorium, NYC.
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“I love French baroque music for its grandeur and elegance, its delicacy and finesse. It is a world we don’t know well enough, in part because it requires the sound world and the wonderful range of colours produced by instruments of the period to bring out its special qualities.” This perspective of Marc Destrubé, one of the Conservatory’s first students, provides a fitting introduction to what audiences will experience at “Music for the Sun King”, Pacific Baroque Festival 2012’s tribute to the musical influence of Louis XIV’s court at Versailles. From February 9 to 12, this Festival provides a wonderful opportunity to explore that world in all its aspects. Louis’ court attracted and nurtured some of the finest musicians of the baroque period. Jean-Baptiste Lully ruled along with Molière, over Parisian stage production, and virtually invented a style of music whose influence was to spread far and wide. The very generous conditions afforded composers and performers meant that rich spectacles of music were produced, including opera, ballet, chamber music, and music for the church. The Festival also presents masterworks in French style by J.S. Bach or Telemann on each program, to reflect the breadth of influence the music of Versailles had over musicians in other lands. The final concert will conclude with the magnificent Requiem by Jean Gilles, one of the most frequently performed sacred works in 18th century France, first performed at the composer’s own funeral and later at that of Louis XV. The extraordinary viola da gamba virtuoso Paolo Pandolfo will perform in three concerts, showing that while this quintessentially French instrument may have been superseded by the louder cello as the predominant bowed string instrument in the 18th century, it has own very special qualities, especially in the hands of an extrovert Italian! More information on “Music for the Sun King” can be found on its website: www.pacbaroque.com. Victoria Conservatory of Music students admitted free: present student ID at door “A Royal Concert - Music for the King’s Chamber” Thursday, February 9th - 11:00am - Alix Goolden Performance Hall “Metamorphosis - Viola da Gambist Paolo Pandolfo” Thursday, February 9th - 8:00pm - Alix Goolden Performance Hall “Tastes Re-united - Music for the Ballet and the Opera” Friday, February 10th - 8:00pm - Alix Goolden Performance Hall “Spiritual Concerts - Music for the Royal Chapel” Saturday, February 11th - 8:00pm - Alix Goolden Performance Hall Choral Evensong: “pour les dames religieuses” Sunday, February 12th - 4:30pm - Christ Church Cathedral
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Gibson Musicales By Mary Byrne
The Victoria Conservatory of Music has enjoyed a partnership with Camosun College since 1974 offering Post-Secondary study to aspiring young musicians. While the scope of the partnership and the credentials we deliver have changed over the years, the basis of the partnership has remained the same. The VCM is Camosun College’s music department, offering thousands of hours of instruction in classical music, jazz studies, and music foundations each year to an ever-growing student body. The credentials are Camosun’s, the music instruction is VCM’s, and students of the programs are blessed with the best each school has to offer while preparing themselves for the music profession, or further post-secondary or apprenticeship training. In the past several years, the VCM and Camosun have made groundbreaking strides in bringing music to the Camosun campuses to enrich the cultural life of those remote from the VCM. In November music students were invited to perform at each Camosun campus to highlight the ongoing partnership that was part of Camosun’s United Way campaign. Following an Interurban campus jazz concert, the first seeds of an on-going presence of live music on that campus were sown. The newest installment in our musical and educational partnership with Camosun is the inauguration of a Friday afternoon concert series on the Lansdowne Campus: Gibson Musicales. The Gibson Musicales will present a series of three 45-minute concerts on select Friday afternoons featuring the music program students. The concerts present an inspiring opportunity to wind down the work week and open up the weekend.
Prayers for Japan CD – Now Available! By June Bender Last May, my piano students developed their own CD as a fundraising initiative for the earthquake that happened in Japan last March. They created their own music that are short poignant pieces truly well worth a listen. The recording is exciting not because it is perfect – because it isn’t – but because it is beautiful. I’m proud to say the CD is now available! The cost is $15, and all proceeds will be donated to UNICEF. If you would like to purchase one please contact me at: junebender@shaw.ca. We’d really appreciate your support!
Stephanie Galipeau
The inaugural concert of Gibson Musicales took place on Friday, January 27th and presented Stephanie Galipeau (viola, Diploma of Music student of Michael van der Sloot) performing selctions from the Sonata by Paul Hindemith and from the Suite no. 3 by J. S. Bach; Mark Bigauskas (piano, Diploma of Music student of Susan de Burgh) performing selections from Sonata no. 1 in f minor, op. 2, by Ludwig van Beethoven and Sonata in d minor by Domenico Scarlatti; Elise Cassidy (cello, Diploma Elise Cassidy student of Paula Kiffner) performing Orientale by Alexander Glazunov; and Deborah Baynes (composition, Diploma student of Stephen Brown) performing her own composition Echoes. Camosun’s new strategic plan holds as one of the pillars “Life-Changing Experiences.” So often life-changing moments happen in the presence of music and we are thrilled to be able to open this chapter of possibility with Camosun. We are really looking forward to the possibilities of this thriving partnership!
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Summer Academies 2012 – July 2-August 24 VCM will be abuzz this summer with another inspiring season of workshops, masterclasses, lessons, ensembles, and performance. We’re proud to present seven one-, two- and four-week academies for everyone from young kids trying out instruments for the first time to advanced students emerging as professional musicians. The Artistic Directors of each camp are already busy preparing for what promises to be our best summer yet! THEORY ACADEMY • July 2-August 3 • Artistic Director: Crystal Wiksyk Classes are available for the absolute beginner, all levels of Rudiments and Ear-Training, Harmony, Counterpoint, History and Composition, post-secondary entrance prep, and adult learners. Get ready for college entrance in September, prepare for the RCM Theory exams, or simply improve your overall musicianship. PIANO ACADEMY • July 2-13 • Artistic Director: Susan De Burgh Our piano programs are tailored for a variety of ages and levels. Dedicated faculty will work with you to improve practice efficiency, performance ability and musical understanding. You’ll be amazed at how much your playing progresses in just two weeks! STRING ACADEMY • July 2-13 • Artistic Director: Michael van der Sloot Join us for an exciting program of string immersion. Separate programs are tailored specifically for the needs of advanced students and junior players, with emphasis on the development of technique and musicianship. Through this intensive program, your playing will improve significantly in just one or two weeks! GUITAR ACADEMY • July 16-20 • Artistic Director: Alexander Dunn Beginner, intermediate and advanced students will all find engaging opportunities to take their playing to the next level. Join us in this encouraging learning environment for an exciting week of instruction, collaboration, and performance with some of Western Canada’s top performers and instructors. MUSIC DISCOVERY CAMP • July 16-20 & July 23-27 • Artistic Director: Emily Nagelbach MDC is the perfect way to explore music in an inspiring setting. We offer programs for children as young as 5 as well as programs for those looking to learn new instruments or take their instrumental skills to the next level. From musical theatre to group lessons, from pots and pans to Garage Band, join us this summer! VOCAL ACADEMY: ORATORIO PROGRAMME • July 27 –August 10 Artistic Directors: Ingrid Attrot and Nancy Argenta Be part of Canada’s premier Baroque vocal workshop. We offer a variety of courses designed for emerging professionals and advanced students, junior singers, adult learners, or choral singers. Receive expert guidance in Baroque performance practice and technique from leading early music specialists. FLUTE ACADEMY • August 14-24 • Artistic Director: Mary Byrne Take on a new project; explore new techniques; try out new repertoire; learn from others; practice performing; conquer a persistent habit; and most of all, surprise yourself and others with just how good you can sound!