Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Announces Virtual Chamber Fest

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) continues its vibrant and varied online season from its new state-of-the-art virtual home, TheConcertHall.ca, presented by TELUS.

To date, the VSO has presented an impressive series of concerts for its new digital platform, including Vivaldi's Four Seasons; Mozart and Haydn symphonies conducted by Music Director Otto Tausk; guest appearances by violinist James Ehnes, soprano Measha Brueggergosman; and pops, jazz, and family concerts, amassing over 4,000 subscribers. The month of April offers new opportunities to hear a number of sublime chamber works featuring VSO musicians, all recorded in the gorgeous acoustic of Vancouver's Pyatt Hall.

The VSO's Virtual ChamberFest opens on Friday April 16th at 7:30pm PST with a free livestream of Mozart's Clarinet Quintet in A major, featuring musicians Jeanette Jonquil, clarinet; Timothy Steeves, Carina Vincenti, violins; Katrina Chitty, viola; and Henry Shapard, cello.

The following day, six additional performances will be available for streaming on TheConcertHall.ca, including:

Carl Nielsen: Wind Quintet, Op. 43

Christopher James, flute; Beth Orson, oboe; Jeanette Jonquil, clarinet; Gwen Seaton, bassoon; and Andrew Mee, horn

Mendelssohn: Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20

David Lakirovich, Jae-Won Bang, Yi Zhou, Ann Okagaito, violins; Andrew Brown, Jacob van der Sloot, violas; Zoltan Rozsnyai, Luke Kim, cellos

George Crumb: An Idyll for the Misbegotten & Toru Takemitsu: Rain Tree

Christie Reside, flute; Aaron McDonald, Michael Jarrett, and Vern Griffiths, percussion

Caroline Shaw: Works for String Quartet: Plan and Elevation; Valencia; Entr'acte

Cassandra Bequary, Karen Gerbrecht, violins; Emilie Grimes, viola; Olivia Blander, cello

Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 arranged by Webern

Christopher James, flute; Michelle Goddard, clarinet; Cassandra Bequary, violin; Cristian Márkos, cello; Amanda Chan, piano

Oskar Böhme: Brass Sextet in E-Flat minor, Op. 30

Larry Knopp, Marcus Goddard, Vincent Vohradsky, trumpets; Andrew Mee, horn; Brian Wendel, trombone; Peder MacLellan, tuba

In addition, the VSO School of Music presents a masterclass with Istvan Vardai (a featured guest artist from the VSO's 2019-2020 season) and student ensembles. Members of the VSO host a livestream roundtable and Q&A on all things chamber music on Saturday, April 17th at 2:00pm PST.

Also available for Chamber Music lovers on TheConcertHall.ca is the performance of Beethoven's Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20, recorded last November and featuring violinist James Ehnes, with Emilie Grimes, viola; Henry Shapard, cello; Evan Hulbert, bass; Jeanette Jonquil, clarinet, Julia Lockhart, bassoon; and Oliver de Clercq, horn.

The VSO's Chamber Music Festival can be viewed with a 7-day pass to TheConcertHall.ca for just $9.99.