Victoria Philharmonic Choir
Encyclopedia
The Victoria Philharmonic Choir is a 60-voice auditioned choir based in
Victoria, British Columbia
. Conducted by Peter Butterfield
, the choir performs a wide range of a cappella and accompanied music, and complements the nationally known Victoria Symphony
and Pacific Opera Victoria
An international debate was initiated by its production in 2007 of Handel's
1743 oratorio "Samson", which recast Samson
as a suicide bomber in the 1940s.
led the choir until April 2009, when current director Peter Butterfield
was appointed.
The Mission of the VPCS is:
April 21, 2011: Bach St. Matthew Passion - Hosted by VancouverVoices and VvYouth at UBC's Chan Centre in Vancouver
March 12, 2011: Rockin' Handel and Bach at his Best - Handel Dixit Dominus and Bach Cantata 198
December 20, 2010: Family Christmas Carol Sing-Along Concert
November 20, 2010: Music for Twilight - Including Kodaly, Daley, Casals, Mathias, Handel, Tavener, Whitacre, Moore and Holst
March 27, 2010: Bach St. Matthew Passion with VancouverVoices, VvYouth, Students of St. Michaels University School and the Victoria Symphony Orchestra
December 22, 2009: Family Christmas Carol Sing-Along Concert
November 13, 2009: Romantic Choral Jewels - Works by Brahms, Mendelssohn, Rheinberger, Schumann and Zigeunerleben
, a native of Victoria, was appointed as the music director of the Victoria Philharmonic Choir in April 2009.
28 and 30 March 2009 Carmina Burana Carl Orff
, with the Victoria Symphony.
November , 2008: The Seasons by Joseph Haydn
This was the final performance with the founding artistic director, Simon Capet
. In his opening remarks Simon described how the choir has moved through the four seasons and now stands ready for the renewal of the new year.
Farquhar Auditorium of the University of Victoria
The fall performance was of Dvorak’s tale of a dead lover who returns to claim his fiancé with a live shadow theatre dramatization. Using the artistic design skills of popular animator Michel Gagné , of Disney and Pixar Studios and the shadow puppet artistry of Gemini-winning puppeteer Tim Gosley
, the drama of Dvorak’s scary and compelling work will be cast in shadows on the walls of the UVIC Farquhar theatre as the choir and orchestra perform.
Antonín Dvořák's The Spectre's Bride, debuted to great acclaim in 1885 and for the next 20 years was one of the composer’s most popular and frequently performed works. But by the early 20th century it had faded from play, largely due to an awkward English language libretto. Capet came across the forgotten work in a London library nearly 15 years ago. Inspired by the beautiful, lush orchestration, he vowed to restore Dvorak’s ghost-story cantata to “audience favourite” status once again. This year a VPC chorister and writer, Mollie Kaye rewrote the lyrics of the work.
As the new lyrics were being written, Kaye, her self a puppeteer, and Capet realized the work’s dramatic and haunting tale would be perfectly suited to a live shadow puppet dramatization. They first contacted Gagné creator of the “Insanely Twisted Shadow Puppets” on Nickelodeon and the animator of Remy and Emile’s taste visualizations on Pixar's “Ratatouille.” Then they contacted Victoria-born, award-winning Gosley, now in Quebec, who has worked with Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock and Canadian Sesame Street, to bring Gagne’s designs to shadow puppet life.
The cross-discipline extravaganza speaks more to musical theatre than stolid oratorio and is typical of the approach that artistic director, Simon Capet takes to producing classical music. He is always striving to present works from the past in ways that have contemporary significance.
Dvorak (1841–1904) is one of the masters of the late Romantic era, whose well-loved melodies embody the folk traditions of his Czech homeland. Dvorak chose a popular Slavic legend for Spectre’s Bride and gives it a vigorous, gothic, musical interpretation. The story describes a young woman alone on a dark night, awaiting the return of her wayward lover. But when he returns to claim her heart, he is not the man he was. Will she follow him and become his bride? The gorgeous orchestral accompaniment with its unearthly harmonies portrays the grisly journey of spectre seducing a pious maiden. Dvorak's haunting and eerie folk cantata is a wild ride from the girl's bedchamber across the howling countryside to a satisfyingly graveyard conclusion.
The performances included the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, along with soloists Ken Lavigne (tenor), Anne Grimm (soprano) and Bruce Kelly, baritone .
8, 9 & 10 March 2008: Complete Incidental Music to Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg
The Royal Theatre, Victoria, British Columbia.
The Victoria Philharmonic performed as guest of the Victoria Symphony in these three performance of the rarely performed complete incidental music to Peer Gynt.
and 11 November 2006 Port Theatre, Nanaimo. Requiem by Karl Jenkins
. Canadian Premiere performance
5, 7 & 8 April McPherson Playhouse Victoria
. Samson by GF Handel
This performance was set in 1964 Palestine
drawing inspiration from the King David Hotel bombing
. This setting, which turned out to be very controversial, brought the choir to prominence in National and International media because although no words of the original oratorio were changed, Samson
was cast as a suicide bomber rather than using his brute strength to destroy the temple of his enemies. The artistic director wished people to think about what motivates suicide bombing today in comparison to Samson's wish to destroy the Phillistine Temple. See also: Suicide attack#Background
Most of those that saw the performance were touched by the performance, some of those who did not including Rex Murphy
of the Globe and Mail were critical of updating timeless masterpieces in this way.
13,14 May
Royal Theatre, Victoria. Choral Fantasy (Beethoven) , Ave verum corpus
(Mozart) with the Victoria Symphony
Orchestra
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. Conducted by Peter Butterfield
Peter Butterfield
Peter Butterfield is a Canadian conductor and classical tenor. In 2003 he founded the VancouverVoices and since 2009 he has been the director of the Victoria Philharmonic Choir. As a singer he has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America; working primarily as a concert singer since the...
, the choir performs a wide range of a cappella and accompanied music, and complements the nationally known Victoria Symphony
Victoria Symphony
The Victoria Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in Victoria, British Columbia. It is considered by some to be Vancouver Island's premiere active performing arts organization. Currently directed by Tania Miller - one of North America's first female musical directors - the staff consist of both...
and Pacific Opera Victoria
Pacific Opera Victoria
Pacific Opera Victoria is located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It performs four full productions per season at Victoria's Royal Theatre accompanied by members of the Victoria Symphony...
An international debate was initiated by its production in 2007 of Handel's
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
1743 oratorio "Samson", which recast Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
as a suicide bomber in the 1940s.
History
The Victoria Philharmonic Choir (VPC) was created June 2005, as a non-profit performing arts organization dedicated to arts and cultural innovation through the performance of high quality symphonic choral music, and partnering with other arts, culture and tourism organizations. It is committed to creating and nurturing a new standard of excellence in musical performance in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Founding artistic director Simon CapetSimon Capet
Simon Capet is an English conductor and filmmaker. He notably founded the Victoria Philharmonic Choir in 2005 and the Euphonia Music Festival in 2006...
led the choir until April 2009, when current director Peter Butterfield
Peter Butterfield
Peter Butterfield is a Canadian conductor and classical tenor. In 2003 he founded the VancouverVoices and since 2009 he has been the director of the Victoria Philharmonic Choir. As a singer he has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America; working primarily as a concert singer since the...
was appointed.
Vision and Mission
The Vision of the Victoria Philharmonic Choir Society (VPCS) is:- To provide Greater Victoria and Vancouver Island, and further afield when appropriate, with live performances of choral music of the highest professional standard;
- To support the choral needs of Victoria's and Vancouver Island's musical community;
- To mount its own independent choral productions; and
- To develop and educate future generations of choral singers and choral audiences.
The Mission of the VPCS is:
- To draw together, as the Victoria Philharmonic Choir, serious amateur singers who are willing and eager to continually develop their vocal talent, through commitment to the highest standards of choral excellence;
- To create fulfilling concert seasons and summer festivals;
- To arrange educational programs, workshops and seminars on both vocal technique and choral music; and
- To cooperate with other arts organizations towards mutually beneficial ends.
Current Season (2010/2011)
May 13–15, 2011: Verdi Requiem - As guests of the Victoria Symphony, in collaboration with the Victoria Choral SocietyApril 21, 2011: Bach St. Matthew Passion - Hosted by VancouverVoices and VvYouth at UBC's Chan Centre in Vancouver
March 12, 2011: Rockin' Handel and Bach at his Best - Handel Dixit Dominus and Bach Cantata 198
December 20, 2010: Family Christmas Carol Sing-Along Concert
November 20, 2010: Music for Twilight - Including Kodaly, Daley, Casals, Mathias, Handel, Tavener, Whitacre, Moore and Holst
2009/2010 Season
July 24, 2010: Summer Choral Concert - Including Vierne Messe Solenelle, Faure Requiem, Bach Sanctus and OsannaMarch 27, 2010: Bach St. Matthew Passion with VancouverVoices, VvYouth, Students of St. Michaels University School and the Victoria Symphony Orchestra
December 22, 2009: Family Christmas Carol Sing-Along Concert
November 13, 2009: Romantic Choral Jewels - Works by Brahms, Mendelssohn, Rheinberger, Schumann and Zigeunerleben
2008/2009 Season
Canadian tenor and conductor Peter ButterfieldPeter Butterfield
Peter Butterfield is a Canadian conductor and classical tenor. In 2003 he founded the VancouverVoices and since 2009 he has been the director of the Victoria Philharmonic Choir. As a singer he has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America; working primarily as a concert singer since the...
, a native of Victoria, was appointed as the music director of the Victoria Philharmonic Choir in April 2009.
28 and 30 March 2009 Carmina Burana Carl Orff
Carl Orff
Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
, with the Victoria Symphony.
November , 2008: The Seasons by Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
This was the final performance with the founding artistic director, Simon Capet
Simon Capet
Simon Capet is an English conductor and filmmaker. He notably founded the Victoria Philharmonic Choir in 2005 and the Euphonia Music Festival in 2006...
. In his opening remarks Simon described how the choir has moved through the four seasons and now stands ready for the renewal of the new year.
2007/2008 Season
30 & 31 October 2007: The Spectre's Bride by Antonín DvořákAntonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
Farquhar Auditorium of the University of Victoria
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
The fall performance was of Dvorak’s tale of a dead lover who returns to claim his fiancé with a live shadow theatre dramatization. Using the artistic design skills of popular animator Michel Gagné , of Disney and Pixar Studios and the shadow puppet artistry of Gemini-winning puppeteer Tim Gosley
Tim Gosley
Tim Gosley is a Canadian puppeteer who is primarily known for his work on numerous Muppet productions. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from the University of Alberta and studied puppeteering with Richard Hunt from 1981-1983. He began his career portraying several minor characters on the...
, the drama of Dvorak’s scary and compelling work will be cast in shadows on the walls of the UVIC Farquhar theatre as the choir and orchestra perform.
Antonín Dvořák's The Spectre's Bride, debuted to great acclaim in 1885 and for the next 20 years was one of the composer’s most popular and frequently performed works. But by the early 20th century it had faded from play, largely due to an awkward English language libretto. Capet came across the forgotten work in a London library nearly 15 years ago. Inspired by the beautiful, lush orchestration, he vowed to restore Dvorak’s ghost-story cantata to “audience favourite” status once again. This year a VPC chorister and writer, Mollie Kaye rewrote the lyrics of the work.
As the new lyrics were being written, Kaye, her self a puppeteer, and Capet realized the work’s dramatic and haunting tale would be perfectly suited to a live shadow puppet dramatization. They first contacted Gagné creator of the “Insanely Twisted Shadow Puppets” on Nickelodeon and the animator of Remy and Emile’s taste visualizations on Pixar's “Ratatouille.” Then they contacted Victoria-born, award-winning Gosley, now in Quebec, who has worked with Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock and Canadian Sesame Street, to bring Gagne’s designs to shadow puppet life.
The cross-discipline extravaganza speaks more to musical theatre than stolid oratorio and is typical of the approach that artistic director, Simon Capet takes to producing classical music. He is always striving to present works from the past in ways that have contemporary significance.
Dvorak (1841–1904) is one of the masters of the late Romantic era, whose well-loved melodies embody the folk traditions of his Czech homeland. Dvorak chose a popular Slavic legend for Spectre’s Bride and gives it a vigorous, gothic, musical interpretation. The story describes a young woman alone on a dark night, awaiting the return of her wayward lover. But when he returns to claim her heart, he is not the man he was. Will she follow him and become his bride? The gorgeous orchestral accompaniment with its unearthly harmonies portrays the grisly journey of spectre seducing a pious maiden. Dvorak's haunting and eerie folk cantata is a wild ride from the girl's bedchamber across the howling countryside to a satisfyingly graveyard conclusion.
The performances included the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, along with soloists Ken Lavigne (tenor), Anne Grimm (soprano) and Bruce Kelly, baritone .
8, 9 & 10 March 2008: Complete Incidental Music to Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg
The Royal Theatre, Victoria, British Columbia.
The Victoria Philharmonic performed as guest of the Victoria Symphony in these three performance of the rarely performed complete incidental music to Peer Gynt.
2006/2007 Season
6 November: University of VictoriaUniversity of Victoria
The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
and 11 November 2006 Port Theatre, Nanaimo. Requiem by Karl Jenkins
Karl Jenkins
-Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...
. Canadian Premiere performance
5, 7 & 8 April McPherson Playhouse Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. Samson by GF Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
This performance was set in 1964 Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
drawing inspiration from the King David Hotel bombing
King David Hotel bombing
The King David Hotel bombing was an attack carried out by themilitant right-wing Zionist underground organization Irgun on the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on 22 July 1946...
. This setting, which turned out to be very controversial, brought the choir to prominence in National and International media because although no words of the original oratorio were changed, Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
was cast as a suicide bomber rather than using his brute strength to destroy the temple of his enemies. The artistic director wished people to think about what motivates suicide bombing today in comparison to Samson's wish to destroy the Phillistine Temple. See also: Suicide attack#Background
Most of those that saw the performance were touched by the performance, some of those who did not including Rex Murphy
Rex Murphy
Rex Murphy is a Canadian commentator and author, primarily on Canadian political and social matters.Murphy was born in Carbonear, Newfoundland, 105 kilometres west of St. John's and is the second of five children of Harry and Marie Murphy...
of the Globe and Mail were critical of updating timeless masterpieces in this way.
13,14 May
Royal Theatre, Victoria. Choral Fantasy (Beethoven) , Ave verum corpus
Ave verum corpus (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Ave verum corpus in D major was written for Anton Stoll who was musical co-ordinator in the parish of Baden bei Wien, near Vienna. This setting of the Ave verum corpus text was composed to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi and the autograph is dated 17 June 1791...
(Mozart) with the Victoria Symphony
Victoria Symphony
The Victoria Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in Victoria, British Columbia. It is considered by some to be Vancouver Island's premiere active performing arts organization. Currently directed by Tania Miller - one of North America's first female musical directors - the staff consist of both...
Orchestra