Vancouver Symphony Fantastique
Michelle da Silva
On September 27, the award-winning Vancouver Symphony Orchestra opened their 2008-09 season with a bang — actually, it was more of a beep and a swoosh, as the orchestra opened with the Canadian premier of conductor Bramwell Tovey’s newest piece, “Urban Runway.” The piece, which was co-commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras, not only shows off Tovey’s talents as a world-class composer, but also speaks to the worldliness of VSO’s new season.
Season ticket holders can expect to see some of the world’s most significant musicians on the Orpheum Theatre’s stage. Virtuoso cellist Lynn Harrell helped open the season, and next up, are American violinists Hillary Hahn and Joshua Bell, Armenian-Canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, celebrated Japanese violinist Kyoko Takezawa, and 18-years-old Chinese piano prodigy Ran Jia.
And just when you are about to write off going to the symphony as something only Grams and Gramps would enjoy, the VSO has made an enormous effort to keep classical music relevant and exciting to youth. On October 29, the VSO will be presenting “Video Games Live,” a multimedia concert experience for fans of video games. Later in December, the orchestra will be presenting “Bugs Bunny on Broadway,” a blend of Warner Bros. cartoons and live music. And for those that can’t make it to New York this year, the orchestra will be bringing a little bit of Broadway to the Orpheum stage with their VSO Pops presentation of “Three Broadway Divas” starring Jan Horvath, Debbie Gravitte, and Christiane Noll.
So if you are getting tired of the same old movie or rock concert dates, why not get gussied up for an evening of old world musical charm. For a complete schedule of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s 2008-09, check out their website at http://www.vancouversymphony.ca/. |
