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  • March concert pictures

    On March 19th Anna Betuzzi, Camilo Jaramillo and Jany Lu entertained the audience with a delightful concert! Our audience was quite spellbound by the versatility, expressiveness and colourful moods created by these talented musicians on their respective instruments.

    Thank you to all who came out to be their appreciative audience. See you at the next concert!

  • Anna Betuzzi, Camilo Jaramburo Jaramillo, Jany Lu: March 19th

    Spring Song – Sunday, March 19th at 2pm

    Anna Betuzzi graduated from the University of Victoria, and has recently returned to join the Victoria Symphony as Principal Oboe. In a program celebrating the rich complexities of the oboe, she will present a variety of works from the baroque, romantic and modern eras. Joining her on bassoon is husband Camilo Aramburo Jaramillo, as well as collaborative pianist Jany Lu.

    Programme

    Sonata in A Minor, H. 562 – C.P.E. Bach (1714 -1788)

    1. Poco Adagio

    2. Allegro

    3. Allegro

    Sonata in A Minor, TWV 41Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)

    1. Siciliana

    2. Spirituoso

    3. Andante
    4. Vivace

    Encuentros for Oboe and Bassoon – Daniel Cueto (1986 -)

    1. Prólogo

    2. Figuritas de Wayno

    3. Pregón del Amauta

    4. Pequeña Aria

    5. Yaraví Místico

    6. Marinera de Cámara

    Collision Etudes for Solo Oboe – Alyssa Morris (1984 -)

    1. Summertime

    2. City Landscapes

    3. Jimson Weed

    4. Rainbow

    5. Autumn Leaves

    6. My World Is Not Flat

    Three Romances for Oboe and Piano Op. 94Robert Schumann (1810 -1856)   

    1. Nicht schnell

    2. Einfach, innig

    3. Nicht schnell

    Biographies

    Anna Betuzzi is the Principal Oboe of the Victoria Symphony, having joined the orchestra in 2022. She also joined the University of Victoria as a Sessional Instructor of oboe at that time. She is a recent graduate of the Artist Diploma Program at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory, where she studied with Sarah Jeffrey of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Anna holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria, where she studied with Russell Bajer. Anna has performed as guest Second Oboe and English Horn with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Guest Principal Oboe with the Vancouver Island Symphony and the Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy. Her solo appearances include the Strauss Oboe Concerto with the UVic Symphony Orchestra, and the Mozart Oboe Concerto with the Cowichan Consort. Anna has participated in the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Scotia Festival of Music, Orford Musique, the Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy, and the Trentino Music Festival in Italy. Outside of the oboe, Anna enjoys yoga, reading, walks on the beach, and drinking tea.


    Bassoonist Camilo Aramburo Jaramillo is originally from Bogota, Colombia. He studied at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory in the Artist Diploma Program, where he was a student of Glenn Einschlag, Principal Bassoon of the Buffalo Philharmonic. Camilo also holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he studied with Dr. Kim Woolley. Camilo has attended the Orchestra of the Americas Academy, and has toured Europe and South America with the Filarmonica Joven de Colombia youth orchestra. He has participated in several summer music festivals, including Femusc in Brazil. Camilo recently relocated to Victoria from Toronto with his wife, Anna.


    Jany Lu studied piano performance at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and University of Victoria with May Ling Kwok, and Piano Pedagogy and Performance with Midori Koga at University of Toronto. She is now based in Victoria, BC, where she works closely with the next generation of musicians. She is currently a keyboard faculty at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, where she teaches the fundamentals of piano playing and enjoys helping students develop their natural musicality. She also holds a position as collaborative pianist at the VCM and the Collegium program, and frequently performs at the University of Victoria and with the Victoria Symphony.

  • February concert pictures

    On February19th an absolutely delightful afternoon spent in the company of The Meeks Duo left our audience with smiles on their faces and full of love for the gift of music. The question asked by many, was: “How soon can you bring them back??”

    Scott and Clare presented the perfect package of keyboard mastery, flawless ensemble playing, imaginative and skillful arranging, and engaging personalities.

    (We also loved their surprise guest artist featured in the second encore piece 😉)

    Thanks to all who came out to the concert today. Hope to see you again soon!

  • The Meeks Duo: February 19th

    Be our Valentine – Sunday, February 19th at 2pm

    Married Vancouver-based pianists Scott Meek and Clare Yuan are The Meeks Duo, an acclaimed four-hands piano duo whose aim is to make every performance a uniquely enjoyable experience. Already well-established performers in Canada, Scott and Clare recently made their Asian debut with concerts in Japan and Taiwan, including at the prestigious Taiwan National Concert Hall. During the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, they performed 22 weekly online concerts from their home from March to August 2020. Currently, they are very active as YouTubers, uploading new recordings every week since April 2021. 

    Programme

    Variations On Autumn Leaves (2020) — Joseph Kosma

    As Time Goes By — Herman Hupfeld/Ray Conniff

    The Way You Look Tonight — Jerome Kern/Ray Conniff

    Smoke Gets in Your Eyes — Jerome Kern/Igor Frolov

    Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree — L. R Brown/I. Levine

    Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso — Ennio Morricone

    The Man I Love — George Gershwin

    Fly Me To The Moon-light Sonata — Bart Howard/ Ludwig van Beethoven/Scott Meek

    Piano Concerto no. 1, 2nd mvt (Romance) — Frédéric Chopin

    Drinking Song from La Traviata — Giuseppe Verdi

    Romance from 2-piano Suite no. 2, op. 17 — Sergei Rachmaninov

    Coda from The Fairy’s Kiss — Igor Stravinsky

    The Lark — M. Glinka /M. Balakirev

    Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker — Pyotr Tchaikovsky

    Biographies

    The Meeks Duo

    Scott Meek maintains a busy schedule as an in-demand collaborative pianist and chamber musician. As a soloist, he has performed concertos with major orchestras in Canada, and is a top prizewinner in several national and international competitions in North America. Scott received a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University and also studied at the Oberlin Conservatory. His principal teachers were Menahem Pressler, Alvin Chow, and Carole Pollard.

    Clare Yuan runs a full studio of eager and talented students, who are inspired by her innovative teaching style and frequent performing opportunities. She has won scholarships and made her debut as a soloist in New York City, and as a conductor in Vancouver in 2013. Clare received a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. She also studied at UBC and University of Victoria. Her principal teachers were Jane Coop, Arkady Aronov, Eva Solar-Kinderman, and Christine Eschman.

    Scott and Clare combined musical forces shortly after they got married in 2013. They love the unique closeness of two musicians sharing a single instrument, and are happy to share this love with you!

    The Meeks Duo is recognized for their groundbreaking inventiveness and uniquely diverse repertoire for piano duet. Their concert programs feature their own creative transformations of classical pieces into anything from Happy Birthday to Japanese pop, as well as standard duet repertoire and works by living composers. Scott and Clare entertain and inform with stories and anecdotes, and surprise with mid-performance antics, making each concert a memorable and unique experience for their audiences.

    The Meeks Duo has been publishing new videos every week on YouTube since March 2021. Using their home as a recording studio, Scott’s original new arrangements combined with Clare’s distinctive video editing make each video visually and aurally engaging. Their interview series The Meeks Talk features engaging conversations with musicians from across the world, and they have been featured as guests on several other YouTube channels. Their music has been played on CBC and Fairchild Radio, and their albums are available worldwide all streaming platforms. Keen on promoting living composers and arrangers, Clare and Scott have had several new works and arrangements written for them, and they often perform works by lesser-known and female composers.

    “A delightful, modest young couple with extraordinary talent!”
    — Frances Herzer, member of Halpern Committee for the Performing Arts at Brock House

  • January concert pictures

    On January 15th we had a full house at our first concert of the year! Music is indeed the Food of Love.

    Forgetting all about the cold, wet weather, an appreciative audience was treated to a wonderful program of music for voice, piano, horn and clarinet this afternoon. Different combinations of and arrangements for the various instruments brought familiar works to life in a brand new way. Thanks to all who came out to listen, and to the KeyWinds Trio and guest soprano Kelly Coubrough.

  • The KeyWinds Trio: January 15th

    If Music be the Food of LoveSunday, Janury 15th at 2pm

    The KeyWinds Trio are: Margaret St. Cyr (horn), Yvonne Gillespie (piano), and Annick Richardson (clarinet). They are joined by guest artist, Kelly Coubrough.

    Kelly Coubrough, soprano

    Programme

    Auf dem Strom, D. 943 (1828) – Franz Peter Schubert (1797—1828)

    Les nuits d’été, Opus 7 (1841) – Louis-Hector Berlioz (1803—1869)

    1.  Villanelle

    2.  Le spectre de la rose            

    3.  Sur les lagunes                

    4.  Absence

    5.  Au cimetière

    6.  L’île inconnue

    Nocturno, Opus 75 (1886) – Friedrich Wilhelm Voigt  (1849—1922)

    Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, D. 965 (1828) – Franz Peter Schubert (1797—1828)

    L’amor funesto (1842) – Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (1797 – 1848)

    Cigánské Melodie, Opus 55 (1880) – Antonín Leopold Dvořák (1841—1904)

    1.  Mein Lied ertönt

    2.  Ei, wie mein Triangel wunderherrlich läutet

    3.  Rings ist der Wald so stumm und still

    4.  Als die alte Mutter

    5.  Reingestimmt die Saiten!

    7.  Darf des Falken Schwinge Tatrahoh’n umrauschen

    Three Theatrical Songs – Milton Byron Babbitt (1916 – 2011)

    Biographies

    Yvonne Gillespie (piano)

    Yvonne began her musical studies in Piano Performance at the University of Alberta in Edmonton studying with Dr. Ernesto Lejano.  Later she embarked on music composition and completed a degree in composition at the University of Victoria, studying with Christopher Butterfield.  She continued her compositional studies at the University of British Columbia completing a Master in Music after working with both Stephen Chatman and Keith Hamel.  After pursuing Doctoral studies in music theory for three years at UBC, Yvonne decided to discontinue her theoretical studies and to focus solely on composition and piano performance.  Yvonne has performed across Canada with many ensembles, orchestras, and soloists and is currently enjoying creating amazing music with the KeyWinds Quintet and Trio.

    Margaret St. Cyr (French horn)

    Margarethas a Bachelor and a Master of Music degree in horn performance. She also has a Bachelor of Education degree. She has been a soloist with the Saint Cecilia Orchestra and Calgary Philharmonic and a featured soloist on CBC, CFRN and ITV.  Margaret has received Alberta Culture awards, a Canada Council Grant for advanced music study in Germany, a Johann Strauss Scholarship for advanced music study in Austria, a Du Maurier Search for Stars Award of Merit, and won the 1981 Canadian Composers’ Commission Competition (Dr. Malcolm Forsyth composed a piece for horn and piano for her).  In 1980, Margaret spent a year on a scholarship studying horn at the Banff Centre.  She has played horn with the Victoria Symphony, Rome Festival Orchestra, Atlantic Symphony, Canadian Chamber Orchestra, Calgary and Edmonton Symphonies and the Cowichan Consort Orchestra.  Margaret has always enjoyed playing chamber music and is very excited to be a member of the KeyWinds Quintet and Trio.

    Annick Richardson (clarinet)

    Annick started studying music at the age of ten under the guidance of Victor Capron, a family friend who started her musical education on recorder and solfège.  She began learning clarinet at the age of 14.  After high school, she began her musical studies at the University of Victoria and graduated from the Faculty of Music in 1982.  Annick has lived in the Cowichan Valley since 1997 and has enjoyed participating in musical endeavours with choirs and many other wonderful musicians in and around the Valley.  In addition to performing with the KeyWinds Quintet and Trio, she also plays first clarinet with the Cowichan Consort Orchestra performing on B flat, A, and bass clarinets.  Although classical music is her main interest, she feels privileged to be able to play a bit of jazz and swing with an incredible group of musicians in a swing band called “Annick and the Lakeside Loungers”.

    Kelly Coubrough (soprano)

    Kelly has experience in many genres of music including opera, new music, and musical theatre. She is an active performer and also enjoys sharing her knowledge as a teacher, choral conductor, and music director. Kelly holds an Honours Bachelor of Music in voice performance from Wilfried Laurier University. She sang with the Vancouver Opera Company Chorus from 2005-2012 and has performed as a soloist with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (Kelowna), Opera NUOVA (Edmonton), Queen of Puddings Music Theatre (Toronto) and Tapestry New Opera Works (Toronto). She is an avid recitalist and has been a feature soloist with numerous choirs including Vancouver Bach Choir, the Twin Rivers Choir (Castlegar), and the Whistler Singers. In August 2023 she will make her debut with Opera Kelowna as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte.

  • December concert pictures

    On December 4th, an appreciative audience was warmed by the excellent musicianship of the West Coast Chamber Players. They performed a program of old, new, and even a world premiere!

    Thanks to all who came out to hear this unique concert.

  • The West Coast Chamber Players: December 4th

    Musical FriendsSunday, December 4th at 2pm

    The West Coast Chamber Players were founded by Lauren and Jim Stubbs, whose distinguished musical careers included principal roles with the Met Opera, the National Ballet of Canada, and the Opers Orchestra of New York. The West Coast Chamber Players are: Lauren Stubbs, bassoon; Jim Stubbs, trumpet; Karen Hough, horn; Anne McDougall, violin; and Bruce Vogt, piano.

    Programme

    Double Concerto — M. Lussier (1973-)

    Piano, Bassoon, Trumpet


    “A Simple Song”
    “A Farewell Song”


    Sonata V in F minor for Violin BWV 1018 — J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
    Violin, Bassoon, Trumpet


    Adagio

    Allegro

    Adagio

    Vivace


    Duet from the Pearl Fishers — G.Bizet (1838-1875)

    Flügelhorn, Horn, Piano


    Summer Suite for Laurie and Jim Stubbs — A. Shawn (1948-) * World Premiere

    Calm, mysterious
    Brash
    Inward, plaintive, jazzy, agitated


    Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano Opus 44 — L. Berkeley (1903-1989)
    Horn, Violin, Piano

    1. Allegro
    2. Lento
    3. Tema con variazioni


    “Fantasy on Blackbird” — P. McCartney (1942-) and J. Lennon (1940-1980), arranged by Scott MacInnes for West Coast Chamber Players

    Biographies

    Lauren Stubbs (Bassoon)

    Lauren Stubbs has had a long and distinguished career performing in New York City as Principal Bassoonist with the American Composers’ Orchestra, the Opera Orchestra of New York, PDQ Bach, the New Jersey Symphony, the Joffrey Ballet, Westchester Symphony, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and American Ballet Theatre. She also performed as Principal Bassoonist with the National Ballet of Canada for several years and has performed frequently with the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic.

    Lauren received both the Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees from the Juilliard School. She has recorded on Columbia Records, CRI, Leonarda Productions, and RCA. She is a member of the Palm Court Light Orchestra Victoria.  Lauren has performed with New York chamber music groups such as Orpheus, Parnassus, St. Luke’s, Speculum Musicae, the Group for Contemporary Music, and the Solstice Ensemble. She has been much sought after as a chamber music coach and has been a chamber music coach at the Chamber Music Conference since 1982. Lauren is also the Assistant Music Director at Chamber Music Conference and a founding member of the New York Bassoon Quartet and has recorded numerous times with the Quartet.

    Lauren, together with her husband Jim, is the co-founder of the West Coast Chamber Players. The WCCP performs throughout Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia as well as various venues in the Northwest.

    James Stubbs (Trumpet)

    Jim Stubbs was principal trumpet with American Ballet Theatre, the American Symphony Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, Joffrey Ballet, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, the Opera Orchestra of New York, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He was an associate member of the Metropolitan Opera for 25 years and has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Lal Scala and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. Jim can be heard on the Columbia, RCA, Vox, CRI, Kultur, and BMG labels. He has also appeared as soloist on PBS Gala of Stars with Jessye Norman and Kiri Te Kanawa with James Levine conducting. During his career he performed with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Karl Böhm, Valery Gergiev, John Lanchberry, Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, and Dennis Russell Davies. He performed as soloist in Quiet City with Aaron Copland conducting at Carnegie Hall and has performed the Brandenburg Concerto #2 with the Victoria Symphony, and the Haydn Trumpet Concerto with the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra.

    Jim  has conducted the Salt Spring Chamber Orchestra and Choir in British Columbia in a wide range of works by composers including Bach, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Handel, Barber, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Salieri, Poulenc, and Vivaldi. Jim has also conducted at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, the Chautauqua Institute, and the Solstice Ensemble in New Jersey. Jim and his wife, Laurie, founded the West Coast Chamber Players in 2015 performing chamber music in Vancouver, Victoria and the Northwest area.

    Jim was a Professor at The College of New Jersey and at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and holds a Bachelor of Music and a Master’s Degree from the Manhattan School of Music. He studied trumpet under William Vacchiano/New York Philharmonic, Gil Johnson/Philadelphia Orchestra and Irving Sarin, Principal,Pittsburg Symphony.

    Karen Hough (Horn)

    Karen earned her BMus from UVic and went on to study at the Royal Conservatory of Toronto. She received her MMus from Yale University and was the first horn player to receive Yales’s prestigious Artist Diploma.  She spent a year as Artist in Residence at Banff. Summer festivals have included Aspen, Blossom Festival and the LA Philharmonic Institute.  After a career as an orchestral and chamber musician in Toronto, Karen returned to the West Coast at the turn of the century.  Recently retired from the Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy, she is a member of the Vancouver Island Symphony and the Victoria Jazz Orchestra.  She is also an avid chamber musician and can be found in the pit orchestra of many shows for the VOS and the Gilbert and Sullivan Society.

    Anne McDougall (Violin)

    Anne studied at the University of Alberta, where she studied with Norman Nelson and received her Master’s Degree in music, all the while raising two children.  She has many years’ experience playing with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and after relocating to Sooke, Anne quickly connected with the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra and performed as Concertmaster for seven years.  In addition to teaching violin privately, she has become involved with the strings program at Sooke’s journey Middle School and is a founder and lead teacher for “Harmony Project Sooke”.  Anne is working at full capacity sharing with her students her love of music and the discipline and commitment it requires.  She recognizes that music is the perfecrt venue for children to learn life skills while they enjoy performing and learning.

    Bruce Vogt (Piano)

    Bruce is a unique and dynamic performer who appears regularly in concert within Canada, but has also inspired audiences in Japan, China, England, the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Norway, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria.  Born in Southern Ontario, Bruce completed his initial musical studies with Damjana Bratuz and Anton Kuerti. Later he studied in the USA, England, Switzerland and Italy, working with a number of celebrated musicians including Gyorgy Sebok, Louis Kentner, Fou Ts’Ong, and Dario de Rosa.  

    Bruce’s repertoire is extremely diverse, encompassing music from the sixteenth century to the present. He has consistently championed the music of contemporary composers and has commissioned and premiered a number of new works by such Canadian luminaries as Murray Adaskin and Alfred Fisher. He is also an enthusiastic and dedicated performer on period instruments; one of his recordings (2003) features music of Robert Schumann performed on a restored 1864 Erard. His other recordings include two volumes of the music of Franz Liszt, which have established for him an enviable reputation as a Liszt interpreter.   In addition to his career as a piano soloist, chamber musician and recording artist, Bruce Vogt is also Professor at the University of Victoria.  Because he sees teaching and working with young pianists and with piano teachers as an important commitment, he makes himself available as often as possible for master classes, workshops, festival adjudications, and lectures.

  • November concert pictures

    On November 6th our audience spent an unforgettable afternoon in the company of pianist May Ling Kwok.

    May Ling played a superbly balanced program of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin and Paderewski, and captivated our audience with rare insight into her journey as an internationally recognized performer.

  • May Ling Kwok: November 6th

    Grace NotesSunday, November 6th at 2pm

    May Ling Kwok teaches at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and the University of Victoria, and she is active as a teacher, adjudicator, and concert pianist. She has undertaken concert tours to many parts of the world and she is an audience favourite at Chemainus Classical Concerts.

    Programme

    Sonata in C major, K. 330 — W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)

    1. Allegro moderato

    2. Andante Cantabile

    3. Allegretto

    Sonata in F major, Op. 10 No. 2 — L. Van Beethoven (1770-1827)

    1. Allegro

    2. Allegretto

    3. Presto

    Barcarole Op.60 — F. Chopin (1810-1849)

    Sonata in A major, D. 664 — F. Schubert (1797-1828)

    1. Allegro moderato

    2. Andante

    3. Allegro

    Nocturne Op. 16, No. 41 — A. Paderewski (1860-1941)

    Ballade in G minor, Op. 23 — F. Chopin (1810-1849)

    Biography

    May Ling Kwok

    Graduating with distinction from the University of Victoria, May Ling Kwok first studied with Robin Wood at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and later continued her doctorate studies with the famed Hungarian pianist, György Sebők at Indiana University, USA, where she was awarded the distinguished Performer’s Certificate.

    She is very active as a performer, piano teacher and adjudicator. Concert tours have taken her to the United States, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia and Europe. She has appeared as soloist with the Victoria Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, Moscow Philharmonic, Vladivostok Symphony Orchestra, the Slovakia Radio Orchestra and the Czech National Symphony.

    Also an accomplished chamber musician, she is a founding member of the McPherson Trio.

    May Ling Kwok’s discography to date are as follows:

    • Mozart Piano Concerti K. 466 and K. 595, Czech National Symphony Orchestra
    • Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
    • Schumann Piano Concerto, Slovakia Radio Symphony Orchestra
    • Mozart Piano Concerti K. 467 and K. 491, Czech National Symphony Orchestra
    • Beethoven Sonatas for Piano and Violin: “Kreutzer” and “Spring”
    • Shostakovich and Arensky Piano Trio
    • Prokofiev Sonata for Violin and Piano