Terry Scandrett & Angela Bassage

Moving Together | Message from the Music Director

We do not need words to move in the same direction. We can do anything, in agreement and harmony, if we do it together. It really is possible. It is called music.

The 2023/24 Season marks my seventh as Music Director of the Victoria Symphony. Still, I never cease to feel privileged to step onto the stage with the dedicated musicians of this great orchestra. They continue to show me that it is possible to communicate as a collective mind, without using words.

Whether it is a symphony by Haydn, Mussorgsky’s “Great Gate of Kiev,” the lush impressionism of Ravel, or a newly created work by a contemporary composer, we are always in unspoken agreement to move the world through messages of deep existential value— even if it is only for a night or for a moment. This is what we do. And we want to move you with us.

Please join us at the Victoria Symphony’s 2023/24 Season and explore the great things we can achieve by moving together.

Christian Kluxen

Message from the CEO

There are not many sacred and quiet places left in modern life. It’s ironic that one of the few spaces remaining where I can hear myself think is in the concert hall. Invariably, out of the “quiet” emerges powerful and often unexpected feelings of awareness, as well as the profound consolation and joy of a shared human experience.

For me, this is the unique pleasure of attending a Victoria Symphony concert.

Every week, all season long, our incredibly gifted and dedicated musicians create what I think of as a magical bond with our audience. It’s a deep social connection that allows for self-discovery as well as the reassuring knowledge that, as humans, we can create and share beautiful things when we so choose. Providing the opportunity for our audiences to connect with themselves, our musicians, great art, and our community, is what I love best about our work at the Symphony.

As an audience member you will experience the widest possible range of human emotions in a welcoming and unpretentious atmosphere. We want nothing more than to share our

Matthew White

enthusiasm and love of music with you, and to provide you with moments of discovery in return. We will always do our best to listen to what you’re looking for as we continue to evolve as an organization and as an arts loving community. I invite you to share your experience of the Symphony whenever you are so moved.

I love to see the looks of surprise, joy, laughter, intense concentration, melancholy, and even consternation, on the faces of our patrons. It reminds me that there will always be a special place for dedicated artists to perform live for receptive and curious people. The Symphony is not just about listening to the music, it’s about feeling it, watching it, and interacting with it in a shared space. You are a vital and transformative part of the whole experience. Every concert is special because it’s shared with a unique group of people.

Subscribe to the Victoria Symphony and discover new music, old music in a new light, our local community of arts lovers, gifted artists, and most importantly, yourselves.