News

We’ve heard from several people who are keen to secure their seats, and our box office is now ready for you—with an extra “Early Bird” discount available to reward you for making your summer plans in good time.

There are still some final touches to add to the rest of our website, but we didn’t want to keep you waiting.

Our artistic director, Arthur Rowe, has confirmed the performer roster, and all the repertoire for the 2018 season has been finalized.

We are thrilled to open our series with the James Ehnes Quartet. Due to the tremendous demand for seats when we presented James in recital, we are again booking the Dave Dunnet Community Theatre, in Oak Bay High School, for this concert.

Our usual venue, the Phillip T. Young Recital Hall at the University of Victoria, will be the site for the remainder of our concerts. There, we welcome back festival favourites Joan Blackman, Yariv Aloni, Eugene Osadchy, Arthur Rowe, and Minsoo Sohn.  We’re also thrilled to introduce rising stars violinist Andréa Tyniec and the Tesla Quartet, second-prize winners in the most recent Banff International String Quartet Competition.

 

All of our concerts take place at 7:30 p.m. and are preceded at 6:40 p.m. by an informal talk by our performers.

We hope that as we are, as autumn weather takes over, you’re still savouring fond memories of VSMF’s  2017 festival season.

 

The VSMF 2017 annual general meeting will take place on the evening of Tuesday, December 5, at the School of Music at University of Victoria.

 

More details of time and room number, as well as what’s on the agenda (including artists and dates for the 2018 season), will be announced closer to December 5, but we wanted to alert you to the date so you can make plans to attend.

 

The AGM is a great opportunity for you to meet the festival board, vote on the incoming board, and let us know your hopes and dreams for future editions of the festival.

 

Members of the Victoria Summer Music Festival Society are entitled to vote at this event. If you didn’t purchase or renew your membership during the summer, you’ll have a chance to do so at the meeting. For just $5.00 you can make a strong public statement about your belief in VSMF and demonstrate to funding agencies that we’re a vital part of the community.

You’re invited to a special free preview of “Seasons of the Sea” at the Wingate Centre , Quadra at Balmoral, Monday July 22, 2:00 pm.

A cultural collaboration weaving First Nations storytelling by Rosemary Georgeson with music by Vancouver composer Jeffrey Ryan performed by Joan Blackman, solo violin, and Vetta Chamber Ensemble.

Seating is limited. Reserve by email or calling 250-294-7778.

This is VSMF’s third free daytime event for 2017!

We’re delighted to present Victoria’s rising young Wisteria String Quartet in an informal lunchtime concert at the Royal BC Museum’s Newcombe Plaza – aka the Food Truck Festival in the back courtyard!

You can sit and enjoy the music while you have your lunch – possibly obtained at one of the tempting food trucks.  Or – if you’re just passing by, take a few minutes to sample the musical fare on offer from the festival later in the month up at UVic!

The Wisteria String Quartet was formed in the fall of 2016, and is comprised of violinists Amy Toth and Jasmine Mather, violist Jaling Kersen, and cellist Claire Dresselhuis. Since its founding, the young ladies and aspiring musicians of the WSQ have continued to develop a strong musical relationship and dedication to chamber music.

We’re delighted to invite you and your friends to a free concert featuring the McKenna Family Five string quintet and Cuarteto Chroma at the Robert Bateman Centre on June 17 from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. The Centre is once again generously hosting a free concert ahead of our evening ticketed series

Both award winning ensembles travelled to Victoria for the Lafayette String Quartet’s prestigious Quartet Fest West chamber music workshop.

 

Yes! the online box office for the 2017 Victoria Summer Music Festival is now open!

We’re still adding the final touches to the rest of our website, but didn’t want to keep you waiting to secure your admission to this, our twenty-second festival of mid-summer concerts.

You already know from previous summers how quickly many of our festival concerts sell out, and we don’t want you to miss out!

Once again, artistic director Arthur Rowe has lined up a roster of performers who bring an irresistible mix of musical virtuosity and compelling engagement with each other and the audience to the intimate acoustic setting of the Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria.

The Victoria Summer Music Festival Society invites you to attend its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, December 6, 2016, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Room B016 (downstairs) at the Music Wing, MacLaurin Building, University of Victoria. We will be reporting on the events of the 2016 season and previewing plans for the 2017 festival. Music and refreshments provided. For more information contact vsmf@vsmf.org

Our music director, Arthur Rowe, will be performing alongside other members of the UVic music faculty in a Faculty Chamber Music Series concert on Saturday, October 29, at 8:00 p.m. Arthur will be accompanying cellist Bridget McRae in the Brahms F-major cello sonata. The concert will also feature Ewald, Mozart, Piazolla, Schubert, and more!

Can’t make it to UVic for the concert? You can also listen live.

A waiting list is being taken for our James Ehnes@40 concert, which is now officially sold out.
If you would like to have your name added to the waiting list, please send an email to vsmf@vsmf.org with your name, phone number, and the number of tickets you require. We will confirm receipt and let you know where you are on the waiting list.
Requests will be filled in the order they are received.
Students are reminded that any of their reserved, unpaid-for tickets will be held only until 7 pm on October 20, and will then be made available to the next person on the waiting list.

We have a limited number of tickets left for the James Ehnes concert on Thursday, October 20. To avoid overselling the hall, we have closed down online ticket sales. If you have not yet purchased tickets, please send us an email and let us know how many you need.